The problem here is that presumably Nine PBS has already paid OSS, who in turn was supposed to pay Iron Mountain, but didn't, and now Iron Mountain has locked things up. And now Nine PBS will have to pay a second time to get their data back.

For what it is worth, Germany has pioneered what's referred to "balcony solar": a modest set of solar panels, plus an inverter with good safety architecture, which plugs directly into a wall outlet and backfeeds the premises. These get their name from the notion that you can drape the panels over a balcony rail, plug in, and start making power. The systems are modest: a few kW max, but that can make a dent in the energy budget of most flats. Some systems can also pair with modest-sized batteries (oversized power-banks). These systems gives renters with access to sunshine the ability to make some of their own power. They are available in the US now, too, although most states' regulations don't specifically allow them yet. Plus, owing to the differences in Europe vs US home wiring, you may need to be careful about what you plug into.

I agree. If digital distribution was going to make for lower MSRPs, you'd already see it in the world: buy a physical disc at retail for $X, or buy the digital copy of the same game for $Y, where Y never has been the case for the same title.

The watermark comes from subtle choices in the frequency of words. For the watermark to be effective, Claude needs to be able to mess around with word choice in order to leave its imprint. Changing the spelling of a single word gives Claude no place to add a watermark.

I don't follow the logic here: you're saying that India's caste system is a cause for dysentery? Dysentery is a problem in lots of places in the world that don't historically have caste systems. Gemini's response of "the fact that poor Dalit families cannot afford these alternatives..." is insufficient, because it applies to poor people the world over. Please do tell me about the Dalits in Africa.

Recall that dysentery was even a problem here in the US once upon a time.

Careful, now. If you start asking Gemini questions like that, pretty soon it'll turn into an effective altruist, and then we'll all be screwed for sure.

Damn, AC, you couldn't even make it to the 2nd sentence of the summary before your short attention span started complaining?

Yeah, but starting a wildfire because you think people need some spectacle about the sex of your unborn child is a special kind of failure. I'd say it's distinct from fireworks, which is more everyday dumbassery.

Can't it be both? I mean, we already have laws against arson, and convictions for starting wildfires happen every year. Doesn't that demonstrate some animus against those perps?

Don't forget gender reveal parties!

All things that I can do with my smartphone plus Apple CarPlay or Android Auto and a key fob.

Given that status, you may be able to find a provider who would prescribe it off-label. You'll probably end up paying out of pocket for it. But, as the article points out, because the ACIP is such a circus sideshow now, hardly any insurance plan will cover these new vaccines.

If it's school-issued, then they aren't repurposed old laptops, so that everyone is on the same platform.

Indeed: what does it matter if the kids are running google docs or Office-365 on a Macbook Neo?

I'm old enough to remember when most schools had a "computer lab", and every box was an Apple IIe.

It's pretty clear that the current US Government doesn't give too fucks about the care and feeding of the golden goose that is basic science. Too many uncomfortable answers to difficult questions, perhaps. Too many questions, period. And definitely too many of 'those people'. Technology companies are good - 'cause we love money - but the research that makes them possible is way too speculative, and why should we pay for that, anyway?

But the rest of the world recognizes the value, and sees an opportunity in luring away top researchers. This story about the TMT is only kinda related - the issues in Hawaii go back a long way - but goes to show that Europe, Canada, Japan, China, are perfectly happy to put up money to get that talent.