news.mklos.net’s Saved Items https://news.mklos.net Shaun Inman’s Fever http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss <![CDATA[How to turn off Apple Intelligence on your iPhone]]> iPhone with grayscale screen against a colorful illustrated background.
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

It’s getting increasingly difficult to avoid AI when you open up your phone or laptop — as soon as I started this article in Google Docs, I was immediately offered some AI assistance to write it (which I didn’t take). And with the rollout of Apple Intelligence, that now applies to iPhones, iPads, and Macs, too.

But if you aren’t seeing much value in the Apple Intelligence features that have launched so far, you’re not alone: around three-quarters of iPhone owners can’t see what all the fuss is about, according to a recent survey. It’s also worth bearing in mind that these AI add-ons take up 7GB of local storage (and counting) on every device you want to use them on.

The good news is that Apple Intelligence is both opt-in and reasonably easy to disable, which isn’t something every company does with their AI tools (looking at you, Google and Microsoft). So if you find features like Writing Tools and mangled notification summaries superfluous to your needs, you can turn them off.

Assuming you’ve already turned it on, here’s how to turn off specific features of Apple Intelligence. And if you really don’t like it, here’s how to turn it off completely.

(The steps listed below were...

Read the full story at The Verge.

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https://www.theverge.com/24340563/apple-intelligence-ios-iphone-disable-how-to 1161976@news.mklos.net Sun, 12 Jan 2025 15:00:00 GMT
<![CDATA[PowerSchool data breach leaks info of students and staff at schools across the US]]> Photo collage of a pixelated student at a desk.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Schools across the US and Canada are warning parents that a data breach may have leaked information for students and employees. The K-12 operations platform PowerSchool, which supports over 60 million students and has over 18,000 customers worldwide, suffered a breach that could’ve exposed names and addresses of students and educators and, in some cases, more sensitive information like Social Security numbers, medical information, and grades.

As initially reported by Bleeping Computer, threat actors got into PowerSchool’s support platform using compromised credentials. PowerSchool told Bleeping Computer that only a “subset” of schools are affected but has not provided a count of affected school districts or people. Additionally, the outlet says that in a note provided to its customers, PowerSchool claimed it paid a ransom request and “...has received reasonable assurances from the threat actor that the data has been deleted and that no additional copies exist.”

PowerSchool’s website and social media channels have no mention of the data breach or directions for people who may have been affected.

In an email to The Verge, PowerSchool spokesperson Beth Keebler wrote that the company became aware of “a potential cybersecurity incident” on December 28th and has “taken all appropriate steps to prevent the data involved from further unauthorized access or misuse.” Keebler also wrote:

The incident is contained and we do not anticipate the data being shared or made public. PowerSchool is not experiencing, nor expects to experience, any operational disruption and continues to provide services as normal to our customers.

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https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/10/24340556/powerschool-sis-data-breach-leak-student-data-us-canada-schools 1161660@news.mklos.net Fri, 10 Jan 2025 15:10:09 GMT
<![CDATA[Horizon: Zero Dawn gets the graphical remaster a modern classic deserves]]> At their best, "remastered" video games keep terrific older titles viable on new generations of hardware and for new generations of fans. At their worst, they can feel like a cash-in.

So it was with some trepidation that I recently fired up the "remastered" Horizon: Zero Dawn, a game which won me over years ago with its PS4 version due to the simple fact that it was ONE OF THE BEST VIDEO GAMES OF ALL TIME and featured ONE OF THE BEST PROTAGONISTS OF ALL TIME in one of the BEST STORIES OF ALL TIME. (Yes, I like superlatives, which are some of the BEST WORDS OF ALL TIME. But the game world really was terrific.) Even my kids were won over, playing through the game and its sequel multiple times.

The game tells the story of a future Earth long after catastrophe—in the form of an autonomous robotic swarm—has ruined the planet. But it's not mere dystopia, though one does come across many wrecked and overgrown spaces from that earlier age. Horizon instead focuses on how humans, having lost most of their past knowledge, rebuilt a world in tribal fashion, a world populated by animal-inspired machines. The game's story operates ambitiously in two timelines and features massive killer robots, cults, and mad Sun Kings, all set against the gorgeous background of the American West.

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https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/12/horizon-zero-dawn-gets-the-graphical-remaster-a-modern-classic-deserves/ 1159437@news.mklos.net Fri, 20 Dec 2024 20:10:03 GMT
<![CDATA[Valve’s master plan for Steam Machines is finally coming into focus]]>
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

If I told you that Valve could make a play to dethrone the Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox in your living room this next year while simultaneously challenging the Meta Quest as the gamer’s VR headset of choice, would you believe me? Because Valve may have a lot of SteamOS hardware on the way.

If there’s fire where we currently see smoke, Valve is currently preparing a wireless VR headset codename Deckard, a pair of trackable wands codename Roy, a Steam Controller 2 gamepad codename Ibex, and a codename Fremont living room console too. (That last one now looks likelier than it did yesterday.) And Valve has also now seemingly revealed plans for partners to create third-party SteamOS hardware too.

It won’t be easy to take on Sony, Microsoft, or Meta. Those companies have a lot to lose, and they’re deeply entrenched. But the Steam Deck has revealed a massive weakness in each of their businesses that may take them years to correct — the desire to play a huge library of games anytime, anywhere.

And while they figure that out, Valve may be building an entire new ecosystem of SteamOS hardware, one that could finally let PC and peripheral makers tap into the huge and growing...

Read the full story at The Verge.

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/6/24315098/valve-steam-machines-steamos-steam-deck-vr 1156496@news.mklos.net Fri, 06 Dec 2024 23:26:18 GMT
<![CDATA[Anthropic launches tool to connect AI systems directly to datasets]]> Vector illustration of the Anthropic logo.
Image: The Verge

Anthropic has released a new open-source tool to connect AI assistants directly to the information they need to inform their responses or carry out tasks. The new Model Context Protocol (MCP) provides a universal connection to all sorts of data sources, which Anthropic says will improve performance.

Earlier this month, OpenAI started testing a new “Work with Apps” feature that lets the Mac version of ChatGPT directly connect to certain coding apps. Anthropic’s tool, on the other hand, aims to work across all AI systems and data sources.

As noted by Alex Albert, Anthropic’s head of Claude relations, developers currently have to create custom code for each dataset they want their AI model to draw from. With Anthropic’s MCP, Albert says...

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/25/24305774/anthropic-model-context-protocol-data-sources 1153634@news.mklos.net Mon, 25 Nov 2024 20:38:24 GMT
<![CDATA[Fellow Aiden review: A highly customizable pour-over coffee machine]]> When it comes to hot coffee, my preference is for pour-over. Sure, it’s a manual brewing method that takes time and attention, but I want all of the nuanced flavors and aromas that slow pouring extracts from the locally roasted coffee I resupply weekly. I can make as much or as little as I want (within the capacity of my Chemex, of course) and control all of the parameters of the process, varying them based on the characteristics of my beans. Plenty of companies have tried to offer a similar experience in a countertop drip machine, but many of them only get about halfway there.

Enter the Fellow Aiden ($365). For the first time, an automatic brewer promising pour-over quality actually delivered. The machine can accurately and precisely maintain water temperature, even offering a bloom cycle to appropriately begin the extraction process. The Aiden has both guided brewing and minutely customizable options for achieving your ideal cup whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been a coffee snob for decades. It’s this abundance of control that sets Fellow’s machine apart, and why it actually gives you coffee that may have you ditching your pour-over dripper for good.

Fellow is well known for its design prowess when it comes to coffee gear like grinders, kettles and drinkware. The company usually takes a more mechanical looking approach, with an aesthetic that resembles lab equipment instead of coffee devices. For the Aiden though, the company went for a more minimal design, giving it a plainer cube structure that’s a lot more modern than many automatic drip machines on the market. It won’t appeal to everyone, but I do think it’s unique.

A removable water tank sits on the left, complete with volume markings for your desired quantity of coffee. You don’t have to take the tank off to fill it, but if you’re working from a faucet the fact that you can makes things easier. Inside the brewing chamber, there’s a spray head adjustment which allows you to reconfigure the Aiden for single-cup use. The machine also comes with a second brew basket for this purpose that can deposit coffee straight into your favorite cup.

The adjustable spray head allows for one-cup use
Billy Steele for Engadget

Down below, a double wall carafe provides enough heat retention to keep your coffee warm for a few hours. The lid doesn’t close off the container entirely, but if you consume all of your morning joe in under three hours, you’ll be fine. I would’ve liked to see a second lid that would seal things to keep them at just-brewed temps, but Fellow did design the carafe so that it pours easily without a mess. I can’t say the same for the 2020 model Moccamaster the Aiden replaced in my kitchen.

Instead of the typical on/off switch, the Aiden has a one-button, knob-based interface where you make all of your selections. A small, circular display sits at the top left of the front panel, and turning the knob navigates the plethora of menu options. Once you find what you’re looking for, simply press the dial to make a selection. (Reviewer’s note: The display on my review unit was damaged before it arrived, but since the machine still performed as intended, I didn’t feel the need to return it just for that reason.)

There are dozens, maybe even hundreds, of automatic or semi-automatic drip coffee makers that promise the quality you’d get in a manually brewed pour-over. Sadly, almost none of them actually deliver. I’ve used a Moccamaster for four years, and while there’s a lot to like about the machine, the straight-line arrangement of the shower head doesn’t give you the even water distribution you’d want for quality pour-over simulation. Other machines don’t get hot enough, and many don’t allow you to adjust the bloom cycle, water ratios or brew temperature.

On the Aiden, Fellow addressed all of my gripes with machines I’ve used in the past. First, the dual shower heads’ spouts are spaced out so that coffee grounds are evenly saturated throughout the bloom and brewing cycles. The two easily switchable modes mean you can make a full 10-cup carafe or as little as one cup with the same quality. You will have to keep two types of filters on hand for the two baskets, but those are much easier to store than a second, single-cup pod machine. This alone would be a big innovation for drip brewers, but the company didn’t stop there.

Three roast-specific profiles and an option for cold brew are available right out of the box
Billy Steele for Engadget

Fellow also accounted for customization, another area where coffee nerds want room to experiment. The Aiden allows you to adjust brew temperature, coffee-to-water ratio and pulse behavior as much as you’d like. You can dial in the number of pulses of water, the time between them and even set each one to be a different temperature. For the bloom cycle, Fellow unlocks duration, temperature and the bloom ratio (amount of water in the initial pour).

Instead of having to live with the one setting a company programmed into its machine, you’re in complete control of all of the parameters here. The degree with which you can dial in the brew cycle to your every whim is the biggest reason why the Aiden will be so attractive to serious coffee lovers. What’s more, another important piece of the machine’s customization abilities are brew profiles, so you don’t have to start from scratch.

If you’re not familiar with the term, the best way to think about brew profiles is like recipes. The Aiden offers three out of the box — light roast, medium roast and dark roast — so you don’t need to immediately start tweaking and saving things. But if your favorite coffee roaster is like mine (Hi, Vignette Coffee Roasters), it will offer brewing guidance for things like water ratios. Of course, those companies may not always nail your preferred flavor or strength, but they provide a good starting point since they’re aware of the nuances. And with the Aiden, you’re able to actually employ that advice for each single origin or custom blend you use.

Eventually, Fellow will allow roasters and coffee shops to create and share profiles so you can brew like they do in a cafe. If you subscribe to Fellow Drops, a coffee lineup curated by the company, your Aiden will be able to automatically download the profiles for the beans that are headed your way.

Don’t fret if you aren’t at that level of coffee snobbery just yet. The Aiden provides guided brewing based on those three roast profiles and your desired number of cups for quick and easy use. These aren’t just helpful for beginners, but also for the times when more advanced users want a pot of joe without much thought. I found them helpful on the weekends when I wasn’t sure when I’d be getting out of bed and didn’t want to wake up to a cold pot of coffee. During the week though, the scheduling tool is a big advantage that much of the competition lacks.

I would be remiss if I didn’t discuss the Aiden’s heating system, since this tech is what enables to-the-degree temperature control throughout the brew cycle. Any moderate or advanced coffee lover knows that water temperature is a key aspect of brewing great coffee. Lots of automatic drip machines simply don’t get hot enough to extract all of the flavor from the grounds, leaving you with a more muted flavor profile. Inside the Aiden though, Fellow designed a heating setup with single-degree precision that even lets you adjust temperatures while the machine is brewing without stalling the process. The way this machine heats water offers consistency and control that many coffee makers can’t match.

There’s also an Aiden app, but it doesn’t do much right now. You can connect the machine to the software for firmware updates, to set the time and to name the brewer. Eventually, Fellow plans to enable the shareable profiles I mentioned earlier, in addition to scheduling and remote control from your phone. However, those items have been listed as “coming soon” since the Aiden’s launch in September. I’ve asked Fellow for the current status and I’ll update this review if I hear back.

The Aiden looks great alongside Fellow's grinders
Billy Steele for Enagadget

Before I tested the Aiden, I used a Moccamaster KBT that I purchased in 2020. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wanted to upgrade my coffee setup at home, where I’d been brewing manual pour-overs via Chemex for years. I wanted something I could turn on and have it make coffee comparable to what I’d been doing, and that’s what I got.

Moccamaster coffee machines have a reputation for being well-built and reliable, and I found that to be true. My KBT worked well daily, providing coffee that was more akin to pour-over quality than a much cheaper auto-drip brewer. The KBT still comes with an insulated carafe, although the 2020 model didn’t have a pour spout like the updated version does. This made pouring difficult and often messy. And while the machine brews at temperatures between 196 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, the straight-line design of the shower head doesn’t provide the best saturation during the brewing cycle.

With all of that said, I still think Moccamaster machines are the best alternative to the Aiden. They’re slightly cheaper, starting at $329, and will serve you well for years. Plus, there are options for glass carafes with heating elements if you prefer that to an insulated one. For many of the models though, you’ll have to live without an automatic drip stop when you remove the carafe during brewing. There’s a manual slider on the brew basket for most of the options, but an auto option is only available on machines like the KBGV Select. The 40-ounce Moccamaster models also brew about nine ounces less than the Aiden at max capacity (1.25 L/44 oz vs. 1.5 L/52.9 oz), so that’s something else to consider. It’s almost another full cup of coffee per pot.

It’s clear Fellow recognized all of the shortcomings of so-called pour-over simulators on the market when designing the Aiden. The company finally delivers on the promise of the smoothness and flavor of manually brewed coffee in an automatic drip machine. The Aiden gets hot enough, offers adequate saturation and segments the brew cycle just like you would for a pour-over or Chemex. Plus, there’s a host of customization options, which allow you to dial in your process based on the beans you’re using. And that means I can actually get rid of a lot of the clutter I needed for a single-cup pick-me-up.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/fellow-aiden-review-a-highly-customizable-pour-over-coffee-machine-172028575.html?src=rss]]>
https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/fellow-aiden-review-a-highly-customizable-pour-over-coffee-machine-172028575.html?src=rss 1152980@news.mklos.net Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:22:44 GMT
<![CDATA[Half-Life 2 is getting a huge 20th anniversary update]]> Screenshot from Half-Life 2 featuring a close up of character Alyx Vance.
Image: Valve

Half-Life 2 is getting a major update in celebration of the classic title’s 20th anniversary. In addition to Steam Workshop support directly within the game, Valve has fixed bugs and restored some content, added new graphics settings, updated gamepad controls, and a whole lot more. You’ll also be able to get the game for free on Steam through November 18th at 1PM ET. After that, it will cost $9.99.

Valve is also now including the Episode One and Episode Two expansions with the base game. They’ll be accessible from the Half-Life 2 menu, and Valve says that “you will automatically advance to the next expansion after completing each one.” You’ll also be able to access the Steam Workshop within the Extras menu, which means you’ll no longer...

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/15/24297691/half-life-2-20th-anniversary-update-documentary 1151409@news.mklos.net Fri, 15 Nov 2024 22:33:55 GMT
<![CDATA[OpenAI's ChatGPT for Mac Now Works With Xcode]]>

When ChatGPT is given permission to interact with an app like Xcode through a new Work with Apps feature, a selection of code can be sent directly to ChatGPT alongside a prompt. TechCrunch had a demo of the feature, and described how it works:
In a demo with TechCrunch, an OpenAI employee opened the ChatGPT app and an Xcode environment containing a simple project modeling the solar system - although it was missing the Earth. The employee selected an Xcode tab within ChatGPT, which tells the AI chatbot to look at the app, and prompted the chatbot to "add the missing planets." The chatbot was able to complete the task, writing a line of code to represent the Earth that matched the rest of the project's format.

Back in October, GitHub brought Copilot integration to Xcode, with Copilot providing coding assistance right in the app. ChatGPT's integration is not that deep, and it is not able to write code in Xcode. ChatGPT is instead using the macOS Accessibility API for screen readers that allows apps to read text, which also means that it cannot interpret images or videos.

The new ChatGPT for Mac feature is available for ChatGPT Plus and ChatGPT Teams users starting today, with Enterprise and Edu support coming in the near future. Going forward, OpenAI plans to bring this integration to other apps.
This article, "OpenAI's ChatGPT for Mac Now Works With Xcode" first appeared on MacRumors.com

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https://www.macrumors.com/2024/11/14/openai-chatgpt-xcode-for-mac/ 1151124@news.mklos.net Thu, 14 Nov 2024 18:49:39 GMT
<![CDATA[How to run a local Linux web server running in a Windows 11 window]]> https://www.tomshardware.com/software/linux/how-to-run-a-local-linux-web-server-running-in-a-windows-11-window 1150022@news.mklos.net Sun, 10 Nov 2024 15:01:17 GMT <![CDATA[How to schedule your Mac to start up and shut down on its own]]> Screenshot from a Verge hands-on video with Apple’s new Macs, including the 2024 Mac Mini, the bottom of which is shown here.
Mac Mini power button got you down? Try a power schedule! | Screenshot: YouTube

Apple’s new Mac Mini looks like someone hit the Mac Studio with a shrink ray, and I love it. But there is at least one, uh, hot-button issue: you have to reach underneath it to power it on. If that bothers you (and you’re not into flipping it upside down so it looks like it’s wearing a little hat), you can automate when it starts up and shuts down by creating a power schedule. I’ll tell you how.

There are plenty of reasons you might want to do this. I did it on my MacBook Air because I don’t use it that often, and I got tired of opening its lid only to find a dead laptop. Someone else might want their computer to wake up in the middle of the night to perform scheduled backups. Others might need to shut down their Mac for business...

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https://www.theverge.com/24288127/mac-power-schedule-terminal-commands-automation-startup-shutdown 1149174@news.mklos.net Wed, 06 Nov 2024 14:30:00 GMT
<![CDATA[The PS5 Pro’s biggest problem is that the PS5 is already very good]]> In many ways, the timing of Sony's 2016 launch of the PS4 Pro couldn't have been better. The slightly upgraded version of 2013's PlayStation 4 came at a time when a wave of 4K TVs was just beginning to crest in the form of tens of millions of annual sales in the US.

Purchasing Sony's first-ever "mid-generation" console upgrade in 2016 didn't give original PS4 owners access to any new games, a fact that contributed to us calling the PS4 Pro "a questionable value proposition" when it launched. Still, many graphics-conscious console gamers were looking for an excuse to use the extra pixels and HDR colors on their new 4K TVs, and spending hundreds of dollars on a stopgap console years before the PS5 served that purpose well enough.

Fast-forward to today and the PS5 Pro faces an even weaker value proposition. The PS5, after all, has proven more than capable of creating excellent-looking games that take full advantage of the 4K TVs that are now practically standard in American homes. With 8K TVs still an extremely small market niche, there isn't anything akin to what Sony's Mike Somerset called "the most significant picture-quality increase probably since black and white went to color" when talking about 4K TV in 2016.

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https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2024/11/the-ps5-pros-biggest-problem-is-that-the-ps5-is-already-very-good/ 1149125@news.mklos.net Wed, 06 Nov 2024 11:00:16 GMT
<![CDATA[OpenAI’s Canvas can translate code between languages with a click]]> On Thursday, OpenAI unveiled Canvas, a new interface for ChatGPT designed to enhance collaboration on writing and coding projects. The feature bears similarities to a feature called Artifacts in Anthropic's Claude AI assistant, introduced in June. Canvas displays content in a separate window alongside the AI chat history, allowing users to keep an eye on working document drafts or programming code while collaborating with the AI assistant.

OpenAI began rolling out canvas to ChatGPT Plus and Team users globally on Thursday, while Enterprise and Education users will gain access next week. The company also plans to make canvas available to all free ChatGPT users once it exits the beta stage.

Like Artifacts, Canvas is sort of a scratch pad, a way to visually separate portions of the active working context (the user prompt) to keep them from getting lost in the chat backlog. From our experience, Artifacts can ease the process of working on projects with Claude that require editing and revisions, and Canvas functions in a very similar way.

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https://arstechnica.com/ai/2024/10/openais-canvas-eases-collaborations-with-chatgpt/ 1141965@news.mklos.net Fri, 04 Oct 2024 19:55:09 GMT
<![CDATA[Microsoft Excel is adding Python - boosted by Copilot]]> https://www.techradar.com/pro/microsoft-excel-is-adding-python-boosted-by-copilot 1138082@news.mklos.net Wed, 18 Sep 2024 13:28:00 GMT <![CDATA[Neofetch is over, but many screenshot system info tools stand ready]]>
Four terminal windows open to different system information fetching tools

Enlarge / Sorry about all the black space in the lower-right corner. Nerdfetch does not make good use of the space it's given—unlike the Asahi install on this MacBook. (credit: Kevin Purdy)

Almost nobody truly needed Neofetch, but the people who did use it? They really liked it.

Neofetch, run from a terminal, displayed key system information alongside an ASCII-art image of the operating system or distribution running on that system. You knew most of this data, but if you're taking a screenshot of your system, it looked cool and conveyed a lot of data in a small space. "The overall purpose of Neofetch is to be used in screen-shots of your system," wrote Neofetch's creator, Dylan Araps, on its Github repository. "Neofetch shows the information other people want to see."

Neofetch did that, providing cool screenshots and proof-of-life images across nearly 150 OS versions until late April. The last update to the tool was made three years before that, and Araps' Github profile now contains a rather succinct coda: "Have taken up farming." Araps joins "going to a commune in Vermont" and "I now make furniture out of wood" in the pantheon of programmers who do not just leave the field, but flee into another realm entirely.

Read 5 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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https://arstechnica.com/?p=2049004 1137188@news.mklos.net Fri, 13 Sep 2024 15:18:19 GMT
<![CDATA[Anker’s slim 65W charger can squeeze in between bulkier power adapters]]> Anker’s upcoming 65W Prime charger plugged into a small power strip between two larger power adapters.
Struggling to squeeze more adapters onto a power strip? Anker’s upcoming 65W charger could be the solution. | Image: Anker Japan

Anker has come up with a clever design for a new 65W charger that’s thin enough to squeeze between larger power adapters on a power strip, potentially making an over-crowded outlet useable again.

Thin chargers aren’t a new idea, but they typically feature a set of folding prongs on the flat side of the adapter, allowing them to plug into outlets behind furniture and sit flush against the wall. Anker’s approach is to instead position a pair of folding prongs on the end of its new charger, taking advantage of the thin design in a different way.

GIF: Onesuite
The charger’s prongs not only fold flat — they can pivot from side to side, allowing it to also be plugged into wall outlets.

Anker recently announced new...

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/13/24219351/anker-power-charger-prime-usb-c 1130597@news.mklos.net Tue, 13 Aug 2024 14:18:02 GMT
<![CDATA[Sci-Fi Writer Releases Free Archive of Legendary Word Processor Used by George RR Martin]]> A screenshot of the Word Star UI.

This little MS-DOS program has helped generations of writers put their thoughts to the page.]]>
https://gizmodo.com/sci-fi-writer-releases-free-archive-of-legendary-word-processor-used-by-george-rr-martin-2000484618 1129717@news.mklos.net Thu, 08 Aug 2024 13:45:12 GMT
<![CDATA[Sci-fi writer and WordStar lover re-releases the cult DOS app for free]]>
WordStar running under emulation

Enlarge (credit: Robert J. Sawyer)

WordStar's most recent claim to fame might be that it's the word processing application on which George R.R. Martin is still not finishing A Song of Ice and Fire.

But many writers loved and still love WordStar, a word processor notably good for actual writing. As computers moved on from DOS to Windows, and word programs grew to encompass features that strayed far from organizing words on a page, WordStar hung back, whether in DOS emulation or in the hearts of its die-hard fans.

One of those fans is Robert J. Sawyer, an award-winning science fiction author still using the program last updated in 1992. Deciding that the app is now "abandonware," Sawyer recently put together as complete a version of WordStar 7 as might exist. He bundled together over 1,000 pages of scanned manuals that came with WordStar, related utilities, his own README guidance, ready-to-run versions of DOSBox-X and VDosPlus, and WordStar 7 Rev. D and posted them on his website as the "Complete WordStar 7.0 Archive."

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https://arstechnica.com/?p=2041325 1129314@news.mklos.net Tue, 06 Aug 2024 18:36:10 GMT
<![CDATA[After initially rejecting it, Apple has approved the first PC emulator for iOS]]> Screenshots from the App Store showing a UTM SE menus and Windows emulation.
Images of UTM SE from its App Store listing. | Screenshots: UTM SE

Apple has approved UTM SE, an app for emulating a computer to run classic software and games, weeks after the company rejected it and barred it from being notarized for third-party app stores in the European Union. The app is now available for free for iOS, iPadOS, and visionOS.

After Apple rejected the app in June, the developer said it wasn’t going to keep trying because the app was “a subpar experience.” Today, UTM thanked the AltStore team for helping it and credited another developer “whose QEMU TCTI implementation was pivotal for this JIT-less build.”

Screenshot: UTM SE
UTM SE doesn’t include any virtual machines, but does help you find them.

As with other emulators on the App Store, you can’t do much...

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/13/24198015/apple-utm-se-pc-os-emulator-for-ios 1127401@news.mklos.net Sun, 14 Jul 2024 01:24:57 GMT
<![CDATA[Anthropic’s AI now lets you create bots to work for you]]> Vector illustration of the Anthropic logo.
Image: The Verge

Anthropic is releasing a new feature for its AI chatbot Claude that will let anyone create an email assistant, a bot to purchase shoes, or other personalized solutions. It’s called “tool use” (or the nerdier “function calling”), and it hooks up to any external API of your choosing.

While I’m not a huge fan of the term “AI agents,” that’s essentially the game plan here. For instance, the tool can analyze data to create personalized product recommendations based on a user’s purchase history or provide quick responses to customer inquiries, such as tracking order status or offering real-time technical support. To spin up an assistant, all it needs is access to an API and someone who knows how to code.

Also, this tool can work with images,...

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/30/24167231/anthropic-claude-ai-assistant-automate-tasks 1118322@news.mklos.net Thu, 30 May 2024 16:00:00 GMT
<![CDATA[Raspberry Pis get a built-in remote-access tool: Raspberry Pi Connect]]>
Raspberry Pi Connect looks like a good reason to make a Pi account, at least if you're not running your own DynDNS, VPN, and other remote-access schemes.

Enlarge / Raspberry Pi Connect looks like a good reason to make a Pi account, at least if you're not running your own DynDNS, VPN, and other remote-access schemes. (credit: Raspberry Pi)

One Raspberry Pi often leads to another. Soon enough, you're running out of spots in your free RealVNC account for your tiny boards and "real" computers. Even if you go the hardened route of SSH or an X connection, you have to keep track of where they all are. All of this is not the easiest thing to tackle if you're new to single-board computers or just eager to get started.

Enter Raspberry Pi Connect, a new built-in way to access a Raspberry Pi from nearly anywhere you can open a browser, whether to control yourself or provide remote assistance. On a Raspberry Pi 4, 5, or Pi 400 kit, you install Pi connect with a single terminal line, reboot the Pi, and then click a new tray icon to connect the Pi to a Raspberry Pi ID (and then enable two-factor authentication, of course).

From then on, visiting connect.raspberrypi.com gives you an encrypted connection to your desktop. It's a direct connection if possible, and if not, it runs through relay servers in London, encrypting it with DTLS and keeping only the metadata needed for the service to work. The Pi will show a notification in its tray that somebody has connected, and you can manage screen sharing from there. The Pi's docs site has a lot more on the particulars.

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https://arstechnica.com/?p=2022695 1113531@news.mklos.net Tue, 07 May 2024 21:30:21 GMT
<![CDATA[Powerful New Chatbot Mysteriously Returns in the Middle of the Night]]>

The mysterious AI chatbot, “gpt2-chatbot,” returned to the major large language model benchmarking site, LMSYS Org, on Monday night roughly a week after it abruptly disappeared. But now, there are two: “im-a-good-gpt2-chatbot” and “im-also-a-good-gpt2-chatbot.” These models exhibited the same GPT-4 level capabilities,…

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https://gizmodo.com/powerful-new-gpt2-chatbot-mysteriously-returns-1851460717 1113305@news.mklos.net Tue, 07 May 2024 14:15:00 GMT
<![CDATA[How to install Steam using Whisky on Apple Silicon Macs]]> Mac. Here's how to use it to run Steam games.

The Whisky app
The Whisky app

We previously covered how to use the Whisky app to install the Game Porting Toolkit (GPTK) and WINE to run older Microsoft Windows Win32-based games on your Mac.

Win32 is an older 32-bit API from the 1990s based on the C++ and C programming languages. It is no longer officially supported by Microsoft because most computer architectures transitioned to 64-bit computing long ago.


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https://appleinsider.com/inside/apple-silicon/tips/how-to-install-steam-using-whisky-on-apple-silicon-macs?utm_medium=rss 1112777@news.mklos.net Fri, 03 May 2024 20:04:47 GMT
<![CDATA[Microsoft launches passkey support for all consumer accounts]]> Microsoft logo
Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft is fully rolling out passkey support for all consumer accounts today. After enabling them in Windows 11 last year, Microsoft account owners can also now generate passkeys across Windows, Android, and iOS. This makes it effortless to sign in to a Microsoft account without having to type a password in every time.

You can create passkeys for your Microsoft account by following this link, and you can choose your face, fingerprint, PIN, or a security key to use a device to sign in with a passkey.

Image: Microsoft
How passkeys work when you sign in to a Microsoft account.

“Today, you can use a passkey to sign in to Microsoft apps and websites, including Microsoft 365 and Copilot on desktop and mobile...

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/2/24147124/microsoft-passkeys-support-consumer-msa 1112400@news.mklos.net Thu, 02 May 2024 13:59:43 GMT
<![CDATA[How To Create AI Images on Midjourney]]>

There are plenty of apps you can turn to to generate pictures using artificial intelligence. Still, Midjourney remains one of the best and one of the most popular options, having launched in beta form in July 2022.

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https://gizmodo.com/how-to-create-ai-images-on-midjourney-1851431163 1111484@news.mklos.net Sun, 28 Apr 2024 10:00:00 GMT
<![CDATA[Gentler Streak quieted my evil brain goblin so I could run in peace]]> Person looking at the Gentler Streak app on their Apple Watch
Streaks aren’t the only way to be consistent. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge

Six weeks ago, I was having a tough time sticking to my running routines and goals. Physically, I was mostly fine. Mentally, the thought of running — a sport I usually love — made me roll into a blanket burrito and never leave my bed. I started hating myself, but none of my usual fitness apps and trackers were helping. After building a weeklong streak, I couldn’t muster the energy to get out of bed one Saturday. I broke it and spent the next day wallowing in guilt and self-pity.

Fed up, I went digging around the internet and ended up downloading the Gentler Streak app.

Gentler Streak is what it sounds like. It’s an iOS and Apple Watch app with a more compassionate approach toward building a fitness habit. You can set an activity status:...

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https://www.theverge.com/24134067/gentler-streak-app-ios-apple-watch 1110044@news.mklos.net Sun, 21 Apr 2024 13:00:00 GMT
<![CDATA[LastPass users targeted in phishing attacks good enough to trick even the savvy]]>
LastPass users targeted in phishing attacks good enough to trick even the savvy

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)

Password-manager LastPass users were recently targeted by a convincing phishing campaign that used a combination of email, SMS, and voice calls to trick targets into divulging their master passwords, company officials said.

The attackers used an advanced phishing-as-a-service kit discovered in February by researchers from mobile security firm Lookout. Dubbed CryptoChameleon for its focus on cryptocurrency accounts, the kit provides all the resources needed to trick even relatively savvy people into believing the communications are legitimate. Elements include high-quality URLs, a counterfeit single sign-on page for the service the target is using, and everything needed to make voice calls or send emails or texts in real time as targets are visiting a fake site. The end-to-end service can also bypass multi-factor authentication in the event a target is using the protection.

LastPass in the crosshairs

Lookout said that LastPass was one of dozens of sensitive services or sites CryptoChameleon was configured to spoof. Others targeted included the Federal Communications Commission, Coinbase and other cryptocurrency exchanges, and email, password management, and single sign-on services including Okta, iCloud, and Outlook. When Lookout researchers accessed a database one CryptoChameleon subscriber used, they found that a high percentage of the contents collected in the scams appeared to be legitimate email addresses, passwords, one-time-password tokens, password reset URLs, and photos of driver’s licenses. Typically, such databases are filled with junk entries.

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https://arstechnica.com/?p=2018339 1109668@news.mklos.net Thu, 18 Apr 2024 18:42:06 GMT
<![CDATA[United States v. Apple is pure nerd rage]]> Illustration of an iPhone surrounded by green message bubbles.
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge

United States v. Apple is a lawsuit written for the general public, an 88-page press release designed to be read aloud on cable news shows.

A lawsuit is, functionally speaking, a communication between lawyers and a judge. Because it is a specialized missive to a specialized audience, it can become highly technical and jargonistic — this is especially so when it comes to niche areas of law like antitrust or complex sectors of litigation like technology. Tech lawsuits are often obscure even to techies, interspersed with bizarre software terminology that is pretty much meaningless outside of a court of law. (For example, antitrust law loves “middleware,” and copyright law loves “technological protection measure.”)

Although the dreaded...

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https://www.theverge.com/2024/3/22/24109168/us-doj-apple-antitrust-complaint-nerd-rage 1104180@news.mklos.net Fri, 22 Mar 2024 21:33:47 GMT
<![CDATA[Fleischer Cartoons Enter the Modern Age with Restored Superman Shorts]]>

Superman’s taken on many animated forms over the decades, but it all started with the 1940s shorts from Fleischer Studios. While they’ve been re-released (and remastered) a number of times, some of those efforts haven’t entirely been up to snuff, which is why Fleischer itself is trying its own hand at the process.

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https://gizmodo.com/superman-fleischer-cartoons-restoration-1851342887 1102822@news.mklos.net Sun, 17 Mar 2024 16:25:00 GMT
<![CDATA[Once “too scary” to release, GPT-2 gets squeezed into an Excel spreadsheet]]>
An illustration of robots sitting on a logical block diagram.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images)

It seems like AI large language models (LLMs) are everywhere these days due to the rise of ChatGPT. Now, a software developer named Ishan Anand has managed to cram a precursor to ChatGPT called GPT-2—originally released in 2019 after some trepidation from OpenAI—into a working Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. It's freely available and is designed to educate people about how LLMs work.

"By using a spreadsheet anyone (even non-developers) can explore and play directly with how a 'real' transformer works under the hood with minimal abstractions to get in the way," writes Anand on the official website for the sheet, which he calls "Spreadsheets-are-all-you-need." It's a nod to the 2017 research paper "Attention is All You Need" that first described the Transformer architecture that has been foundational to how LLMs work.

Anand packed GPT-2 into an XLSB Microsoft Excel binary file format, and it requires the latest version of Excel to run (but won't work on the web version). It's completely local and doesn't do any API calls to cloud AI services.

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https://arstechnica.com/?p=2010453 1102655@news.mklos.net Fri, 15 Mar 2024 20:56:31 GMT
<![CDATA[Banish OEM self-signed certs forever and roll your own private LetsEncrypt]]>
Banish OEM self-signed certs forever and roll your own private LetsEncrypt

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson | Getty Images)

Previously, on "Weekend Projects for Homelab Admins With Control Issues," we created our own dynamically updating DNS and DHCP setup with bind and dhcpd. We laughed. We cried. We hurled. Bonds were forged, never to be broken. And I hope we all took a little something special away from the journey—namely, a dynamically updating DNS and DHCP setup. Which we're now going to put to use!

If you're joining us fresh, without having gone through the previous part and wanting to follow this tutorial, howdy! There might be some parts that are more difficult to complete without a local instance of bind (or other authoritative resolver compatible with nsupdate). We'll talk more about this when we get there, but just know that if you want to pause and go do part one first, you may have an easier time following along.

The quick version: A LetsEncrypt of our own

This article will walk through the process of installing step-ca, a standalone certificate authority-in-a-box. We'll then configure step-ca with an ACME provisioner—that's Automatic Certificate Management Environment, the technology that underpins LetsEncrypt and facilitates the automatic provisioning, renewal, and revocation of SSL/TLS certificates.

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https://arstechnica.com/?p=2009175 1102483@news.mklos.net Fri, 15 Mar 2024 10:45:23 GMT