"Surprisingly, our results show that women's contributions tend to be accepted more often than men's. However, when a woman's gender is identifiable, they are rejected more often. Our results suggest that although women on GitHub may be more competent overall, bias against them exists nonetheless."
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308716997_Gender_bias_in_open_source_Pull_request_acceptance_of_women_versus_men
🤬
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308716997_Gender_bias_in_open_source_Pull_request_acceptance_of_women_versus_men
🤬
Um… cool, I guess?
#Science #History
➡️ https://grist.org/science/a-trillion-cicadas-will-emerge-in-the-next-few-weeks-this-hasnt-happened-since-1803/
#Science #History
➡️ https://grist.org/science/a-trillion-cicadas-will-emerge-in-the-next-few-weeks-this-hasnt-happened-since-1803/
A trillion cicadas will emerge in the next few weeks. This hasn’t happened since 1803.
The cicadas are part of an historic emergence of two broods at the same time, which hasn't happened since 1803.Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco (Grist)
So now SpaceX, with no working spacesuit, and years behind on it's multi-billion dollar moon lander, is lobbying NASA to go to the Hubble Space Telescope.
"A successful private mission could improve Hubble's ability to point at celestial objects and, by boosting its orbit, extend its life by years... however, an accident could leave the multibillion-dollar telescope broken — or, even more tragically, tethered to the dead bodies of the astronauts sent to repair it."
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/16/1250250249/spacex-repair-hubble-space-telescope-nasa-foia
"A successful private mission could improve Hubble's ability to point at celestial objects and, by boosting its orbit, extend its life by years... however, an accident could leave the multibillion-dollar telescope broken — or, even more tragically, tethered to the dead bodies of the astronauts sent to repair it."
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/16/1250250249/spacex-repair-hubble-space-telescope-nasa-foia
This entry was edited (3 days ago)
🧵 I wrote ab the “is Signal secure?” manufactroversy on X. The Guardian wanted an explainer on why Elon & Jack were “concerned” about Signal. The answer, though, has nothing to do w/Signal’s product. It was part of an extended fight over whether woke NPR should be defunded & the CEO fired. Why? Because the CEO of NPR is on the board of Signal; by the Transitive Property of Bad People, Signal is thus compromised.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/18/npr-elon-musk-signal
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/may/18/npr-elon-musk-signal
How a smear campaign against NPR led Elon Musk to feud with Signal
Rightwing media personalities on X transmuted a screed against NPR’s CEO into a fight over encryption via the Transitive Property of Bad PeopleRenee DiResta (The Guardian)
Starlink is now available in Indonesia: https://www.reuters.com/technology/musk-arrives-indonesias-bali-planned-starlink-launch-2024-05-19/
#Starlink #SpaceX #LEOs #Internet #InternetAccess
#Starlink #SpaceX #LEOs #Internet #InternetAccess
Good to see #Vermont making headlines about protecting the data #privacy of people. We’ll see if our governor signs it… but regardless, it’s good to see! https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/18/vermont-data-privacy-law-tech-lobbyists-00158711
Yesterday I presented at the NL-NCSC / @SURF / @ACCSS symposium "Cyber Security & Society". According to Donald Tusk we are entering a new pre-war era, and I fear that he is right. I also fear that we do not have anything near a "war-time resilient" level of control over the IT infrastructures that our societies depend on utterly. We are sitting ducks & it is getting worse. Transcribed presentation, with slides, is here:
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/cyber-security-pre-war-reality-check/
https://berthub.eu/articles/posts/cyber-security-pre-war-reality-check/
Cyber Security: A Pre-War Reality Check - Bert Hubert's writings
This is a lightly edited transcript of my presentation today at the ACCSS/NCSC/Surf seminar ‘Cyber Security and Society’.Bert Hubert's writings
🚀 Announcing AIPEX! 🚀
The AI Policy Exchange Forum is now live! A new platform for rapid, citable discussions on AI policy and governance. Join the debate and share your insights.
Submit your contribution: www.aipolicylab.se/aipex
#AI #AIPolicy #AIGovernance #AIPEX #Innovation
The AI Policy Exchange Forum is now live! A new platform for rapid, citable discussions on AI policy and governance. Join the debate and share your insights.
Submit your contribution: www.aipolicylab.se/aipex
#AI #AIPolicy #AIGovernance #AIPEX #Innovation
This entry was edited (5 hours ago)
We’ve always told devs that browsers prioritize what to implement based on dev demand.
There is one exception: #SVG.
SVG is used on >65% of websites. Yet, browsers have been *refusing* to work on SVG, ignoring pressure and pain points from web devs.
#StateOfHTML showed SVG as the top content pain point: https://2023.stateofhtml.com/en-US/features/content/#content_pain_points
Tons of work (SVG 2, fill & stroke, and more) has sat unimplemented for years. At this point, in standards circles, we know not to touch SVG with a barge pole.
[1/2]
There is one exception: #SVG.
SVG is used on >65% of websites. Yet, browsers have been *refusing* to work on SVG, ignoring pressure and pain points from web devs.
#StateOfHTML showed SVG as the top content pain point: https://2023.stateofhtml.com/en-US/features/content/#content_pain_points
Tons of work (SVG 2, fill & stroke, and more) has sat unimplemented for years. At this point, in standards circles, we know not to touch SVG with a barge pole.
[1/2]
State of HTML 2023: Content
The 2023 edition of the annual survey about the latest trends in the HTML ecosystem.2023.stateofhtml.com
I'm proud to have played a small part in @sundogplanets 's campaign on the space junk pollution (both light and actual) that starlink and it's ilk produce .
https://distributedfutu.re/episode83.html
(We had a good track record of predicting future hot issues on that podcast - reality hasn't caught up with us yet)
https://distributedfutu.re/episode83.html
(We had a good track record of predicting future hot issues on that podcast - reality hasn't caught up with us yet)
Why is The Wayback Machine so important for preserving our digital culture? According to new analysis from Pew Research Center:
❌ 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible
❌ 23% of news webpages contain at least one broken link
🔗 https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/
❌ 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible
❌ 23% of news webpages contain at least one broken link
🔗 https://www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/2024/05/17/when-online-content-disappears/
When Online Content Disappears
A quarter of all webpages that existed at one point between 2013 and 2023 are no longer accessible.Janakee Chavda (Pew Research Center)
"Geometry hates Tesla, and physics hates Starlink. Reality has a leftist bias. The future is fiber, and public transit. These are both vastly preferable, more efficient, safer, more reliable and more plausible than satellite and private vehicles. Their only disadvantage is that they fail to give an easily gulled, thin-skinned compulsive liar more power over billions of people. That's a disadvantage I can live with."
https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/16/symmetrical-10gb-for-119/
Great piece by @pluralistic
https://pluralistic.net/2024/05/16/symmetrical-10gb-for-119/
Great piece by @pluralistic
I spent 15 years, from 2005 to 2020, working with my neighbors to build a fiber network in our rural town (Plainfield, Mass. pop. 600) in western Massachusetts. Most of that time was dealing with funding and regulatory issues, but by the time everyone stayed home to avoid the pandemic in 2020, working with the local municipal gas/electric/fiber department in the city of Westfield we had the network in place and most of the homes installed. 1 Gbps for $85, symmetrical, uncapped. It meant that while families in other towns were driving to library parking lots so their kids could use the WiFi to do their schoolwork, in our town they had faster broadband in their homes.
4 years later and we have not had to change prices. We are now interconnected with 5 neighboring towns in a mesh to share diverse backhaul paths and get increased economies of scale. We are building a stabilization fund to cover insurance deductibles, equipment replacement, and upgrades, and we are keeping more dollars in the regional economy instead of having it siphoned off to Verizon shareholders.
#MuniBroadband #FFTW
4 years later and we have not had to change prices. We are now interconnected with 5 neighboring towns in a mesh to share diverse backhaul paths and get increased economies of scale. We are building a stabilization fund to cover insurance deductibles, equipment replacement, and upgrades, and we are keeping more dollars in the regional economy instead of having it siphoned off to Verizon shareholders.
#MuniBroadband #FFTW
A media podcast I listened to today said that “the web is old-fashioned”, as part of their analysis of the OpenAI and Google news this week. As if the web will turn into The Well, or something. But I am seeing the fediverse, standards-based web builders like Eleventy, and open newsletter platforms like Ghost and Buttondown (that both support the web), and I just don’t agree that the web is old-fashioned. Quite the opposite, it’s only just getting started (again)!
Yes, the Web never went away… it was just consigned to the back room by the seductive power and convenience of the bright and shiny social platforms. But now *finally* some of that bright and shiny has faded for some people, and they are seeing what has developed in that back room while so many were looking at the shiny…
I was honored to meet Mastodon founder Eugen Rochko, aka @Gargron, yesterday afternoon in San Francisco. He's the real deal: committed to doing something good for the world and boasting serious technical skills. He also has genuine humility, a welcome trait in the tech world.
The occasion was a meet-and-greet put together by Flipboard's @mike, whose company has enbraced the fediverse in a big way.
I hope to do more to help make the fediverse succeed.
You're helping, by participating.
The occasion was a meet-and-greet put together by Flipboard's @mike, whose company has enbraced the fediverse in a big way.
I hope to do more to help make the fediverse succeed.
You're helping, by participating.
This entry was edited (3 days ago)
Google is experimenting with "showing people links to websites." This revolutionary feature is hidden under the "More" tab as AI search moves closer to becoming the default
https://www.404media.co/google-search-web-filter-ai-overview/
https://www.404media.co/google-search-web-filter-ai-overview/
Revolutionary New Google Feature Hidden Under 'More' Tab Shows Links to Web Pages
If you're looking for search results from the search engine, you'll need to navigate to a new filter and bypass all the AI-generated junk.Samantha Cole (404 Media)
Google search has a new, but somewhat hidden "Web" tab that clears out all the junk and just gives you a list of text-based results. You know, like how Search was before it started sucking.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2334403/google-now-has-a-web-search-button-for-text-only-results-without-the-junk.html
I'm begging, screaming out into the ether: someone give me a Chrome extension that forces this as the default search in the URL bar.
https://www.pcworld.com/article/2334403/google-now-has-a-web-search-button-for-text-only-results-without-the-junk.html
I'm begging, screaming out into the ether: someone give me a Chrome extension that forces this as the default search in the URL bar.
Google's new 'Web' tab is search without all the extra junk
Google Search's new tab returns only text-based results, dispensing with much of the add-ons Google has built in that are cluttering up its own standard searches.Michael Crider (PCWorld)
There's a massive elephant in the room when it comes to #FossSustainability . How do you recruit folks to help with building?
Just why is your community pipeline limited? Could it per chance be your public behaviour as the BDFL?
I mean you realise your community is more than just the code right?
http://onepict.com/20240512-elephant.html
Just why is your community pipeline limited? Could it per chance be your public behaviour as the BDFL?
I mean you realise your community is more than just the code right?
http://onepict.com/20240512-elephant.html
My contribution to the #Aurora #Photography from last night! I hadn't planned on venturing too far but as night drew closer and I saw all the amazing photos I packed up the gear and headed into the mountains!
Batteries are growing on the grid to handle evening power use surges when solar peters out. California just hit 7GW out of 10GW capacity. Our house is battery powered from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will be part of a virtual power plant soon.
Today batteries help with daily peak shaving; longer gaps in solar/wind production are harder. #FusionEnergy could help with that but is only one part of the overall solution. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/07/climate/battery-electricity-solar-california-texas.html
#Fusion #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition #Battery
Today batteries help with daily peak shaving; longer gaps in solar/wind production are harder. #FusionEnergy could help with that but is only one part of the overall solution. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/07/climate/battery-electricity-solar-california-texas.html
#Fusion #RenewableEnergy #EnergyTransition #Battery
Giant Batteries Are Transforming the Way the U.S. Uses Electricity
They’re delivering solar power after dark in California and helping to stabilize grids in other states. And the technology is expanding rapidly.Brad Plumer (The New York Times)
⚡ Today is a momentous day for Internet competition in Canada — not quite "mission accomplished", but a very important and long-awaited step: As of today, you can finally buy full fibre service from competitors like TekSavvy! (some conditions apply sorry I'm a lawyer I have to say things like this 
Let me explain more:
👇🏼🧵 #CRTC #CdnPoli #TekSavvy
1/8
Let me explain more:
👇🏼🧵 #CRTC #CdnPoli #TekSavvy
1/8
State Department launches the US “International Cyberspace and Digital Policy Strategy: Towards an Innovative, Secure, and Rights-Respecting Digital Future.” https://www.state.gov/united-states-international-cyberspace-and-digital-policy-strategy/
#Space #LaunchCost comparison by ourworldindata.org : https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/cost-space-launches-low-earth-orbit?time=1982..latest
Cost of space launches to low Earth orbit
Cost to launch one kilogram of payload mass to low Earth orbit as part of a dedicated launch. This data is adjusted for inflation.Our World in Data
Launch costs have fallen 95% 📉 (with another massive reduction expected in the coming years) thanks to reuse, improved engineering, and increased volumes.
“In economics, we assume that resources are limited; land is limited; natural resources are limited. With #space 🌌, it allows us to change that.” https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/may/03/were-in-a-new-era-the-21st-century-space-race-takes-off
#LaunchCost #SpaceMining
“In economics, we assume that resources are limited; land is limited; natural resources are limited. With #space 🌌, it allows us to change that.” https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/may/03/were-in-a-new-era-the-21st-century-space-race-takes-off
#LaunchCost #SpaceMining
‘We’re in a new era’: the 21st-century space race takes off
As humans enter what has been termed the ‘third space age’, it’s private companies – not governments – leading the chargeOliver Holmes (The Guardian)
I bought an assortment of resistors. It has 25 pieces of 0 Ohm.
Why and where, my kind fediferse friends, would one use those?
Why and where, my kind fediferse friends, would one use those?
Well, don’t use them if you are trying to build a weapon to attack Star Trek’s Borg, because as they say…. “Resistance is futile!” 🤣🤓
I no longer feel so bad about having a couple hundred tabs open…. 😃
From: @davidbisset
https://phpc.social/@davidbisset/112384612154510374
From: @davidbisset
https://phpc.social/@davidbisset/112384612154510374
David Bisset (@davidbisset@phpc.social)
A #Firefox user has kept 7,400+ browser tabs alive for two years. https://www.neowin.net/news/a-firefox-user-has-kept-7400-browser-tabs-alive-for-two-years/PHP Community on Mastodon
Most of history is people living nasty, brutish and short lives and modernity is a paradise by comparison, example 9,328:
Before the introduction in the 1920s of iodized salt, iodine deficiency was so widespread in the northeastern U.S. that it was known as the “goiter belt,” for the painfully enlarged thyroid glands that millions had as a result of this deficiency.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/05/01/iodized-salt-100-years-deficiency/
Before the introduction in the 1920s of iodized salt, iodine deficiency was so widespread in the northeastern U.S. that it was known as the “goiter belt,” for the painfully enlarged thyroid glands that millions had as a result of this deficiency.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2024/05/01/iodized-salt-100-years-deficiency/
Last week I wanted to replace my tap. But the nut with which it was fixed was both unreachable and extremely tight. Hence a normal wrench didn’t do the job.
In comes the 3D printer
In comes the 3D printer
Hey look, we're in The Guardian with @mariafarrell!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/04/the-internet-is-in-decline-it-needs-rewilding
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/may/04/the-internet-is-in-decline-it-needs-rewilding
The internet is in decline – it needs rewilding
The online world was meant to be an open system but has become dominated by huge corporations. If we are to revive it, that must endJohn Naughton (The Guardian)
The dangerous Kids Online Safety Act #KOSA now has a House version, and some lawmakers are seeking to attach the bill to must-pass legislation. Legislation of this magnitude deserves to pass—or fail—on its own merits. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/05/us-version-kosa-still-censorship-bill
The U.S. House Version of KOSA: Still a Censorship Bill
A companion bill to the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) was introduced in the House last month. Despite minor changes, it suffers from the same fundamental flaws as its Senate counterpart.Electronic Frontier Foundation
Do not panic
we are told we must not panic
but what is panic
if not an appropriate reaction
to a world
that is dying of complacency.
*
A compendium of the 215th week of plague poems…
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2024/05/03/plague-poems-the-two-hundred-and-fifteenth-week/
we are told we must not panic
but what is panic
if not an appropriate reaction
to a world
that is dying of complacency.
*
A compendium of the 215th week of plague poems…
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2024/05/03/plague-poems-the-two-hundred-and-fifteenth-week/
Plague Poems – The Two-Hundred-and-Fifteenth Week
Be kind to yourself so what if during this pandemic you didn’t finish your novel learn to play guitar or master sourdough the only thing that matters is that you have survived and besides you…LibrarianShipwreck
Any company right now: You want some AI?
Me: Not particularly, thanks
Company: Got it, here's a big huge heaping helping of AI
Me: No thank you please
Company: Make job go fast, do vroom vroom on your career:
Me: I don't really…
Company: We put AI IN YOUR FREAKING MOUSE DRIVERS CAN YOU BELIEVE IT
Me: Kinda but not really
Company: Here's AI tools for your software engineering
Me: These are really obtrusive and in my w…
COMPANY: YOU WILL LOVE OUR AI
Me: …
Me: Not particularly, thanks
Company: Got it, here's a big huge heaping helping of AI
Me: No thank you please
Company: Make job go fast, do vroom vroom on your career:
Me: I don't really…
Company: We put AI IN YOUR FREAKING MOUSE DRIVERS CAN YOU BELIEVE IT
Me: Kinda but not really
Company: Here's AI tools for your software engineering
Me: These are really obtrusive and in my w…
COMPANY: YOU WILL LOVE OUR AI
Me: …
This entry was edited (3 weeks ago)
I hate airport facial recognition scans and really wish they’d be outlawed.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/3/24148346/tsa-facial-recognition-airports-us-senators-oversight
https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/3/24148346/tsa-facial-recognition-airports-us-senators-oversight
Here’s the letter from 14 senators slamming TSA facial recognition in airports
The TSA’s been planning to expand facial recognition to a whopping 430 US airports over the next several years — but a bipartisan group of 14 senators is challenging that.Sean Hollister (The Verge)
Even Google admits - grudgingly - that it is losing the spam wars. The explosive proliferation of botshit has supercharged the sleazy "search engine optimization" business, such that results to common queries are 50% Google ads to spam sites, and 50% links to spam sites that tricked Google into a high rank (without paying for an ad):
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/03/core-update-spam-policies#site-reputation
1/
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2024/03/core-update-spam-policies#site-reputation
1/
https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/02/microsoft_google_passkeys/
Hey, you know what? If Microsoft and Google can finally mainstream public-key infrastructure, MORE POWER TO THEM.
The tech, simply put, works like this: When you create an account for a website or app, your device generates a cryptographic public-private key pair. The site or app backend gets a copy of the public key, and your device keeps hold of the private key; that private key stays private to your gear. When you come to login, your device and the backend authentication system interact using their digital keys to prove you are who you say you are, and you get to login. If you don't have the private key or can't prove you have it, you can't login.So ... "passkeys" are 30-year-old #public #key #cryptography with a shiny new name.
Hey, you know what? If Microsoft and Google can finally mainstream public-key infrastructure, MORE POWER TO THEM.
Microsoft, Google do a victory lap around passkeys
Windows giant extends passwordless tech to everyone elseJessica Lyons (The Register)
I thought the concerns about Boeing were overblown. Then I watched the John Oliver piece on Boeing in which he details the damage that Boeing's merger with MD did to their culture and how the creation of the 737 max was managed. I will no longer fly on that plane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8oCilY4szc&utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into The Insight @the-insight-mike
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8oCilY4szc&utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=activitypub
Posted into The Insight @the-insight-mike
Boeing: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
John Oliver discusses how Boeing went from being a company known for quality craftsmanship to one synonymous with crashes, mishaps, and “quality escape.” Wha...YouTube
excellent deepdive in how google is killing independent review sites
https://housefresh.com/how-google-decimated-housefresh/
https://housefresh.com/how-google-decimated-housefresh/
HouseFresh disappeared from Google Search results. Now what?
Two months ago, we sounded the alarm about independent publishers being demoted on Google to give way to big media sites. This is what happened next.Gisele Navarro (HouseFresh)
In "The Internet and Climate Change" Dan York @danyork of ISOC wrote: "...in the face of climate change, the Internet’s infrastructure needs our help to be able to continue to operate"
"The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a new Sustainable Web Community Group developing best practices for building more sustainable websites... Get involved... the W3C’s Sustainable Web Community Group is open"
https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2024/04/the-internet-and-climate-change/
"The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a new Sustainable Web Community Group developing best practices for building more sustainable websites... Get involved... the W3C’s Sustainable Web Community Group is open"
https://www.internetsociety.org/blog/2024/04/the-internet-and-climate-change/
The Internet and Climate Change - Internet Society
What impact does the Internet have on the Earth's climate? And what's being done to counteract negative effects?Dan York (Internet Society)
This entry was edited (2 weeks ago)
Many yearn for the "good old days" of the web. We could have those good old days back — or something even better — and if anything, it would be easier now than it ever was.
https://www.citationneeded.news/we-can-have-a-different-web/
#web #newsletter #CitationNeeded
https://www.citationneeded.news/we-can-have-a-different-web/
#web #newsletter #CitationNeeded
We can have a different web
Many yearn for the “good old days” of the web. We could have those good old days back — or something even better — and if anything, it would be easier now than it ever was.Molly White (Citation Needed)
If you've ever found yourself missing the "good old days" of the #web, what is it that you miss? (Interpret "it" broadly: specific websites? types of activities? feelings? etc.) And approximately when were those good old days?
No wrong answers — I'm working on an article and wanted to get some outside thoughts.
No wrong answers — I'm working on an article and wanted to get some outside thoughts.
I miss:
1 - the early 1990s when "the World Wide Web" was just one of many different possible systems for sharing content (others being gopher, hytelnet, etc) - and we were all trying to figure out what this "Web" was all about.
2 - that same time period when you could create a basic website using vi or emacs without any special knowledge
3 - the early to mid-2000s when we had blogs and were commenting on each other's individual sites, with discussions flowing back and forth.
1 - the early 1990s when "the World Wide Web" was just one of many different possible systems for sharing content (others being gopher, hytelnet, etc) - and we were all trying to figure out what this "Web" was all about.
2 - that same time period when you could create a basic website using vi or emacs without any special knowledge
3 - the early to mid-2000s when we had blogs and were commenting on each other's individual sites, with discussions flowing back and forth.
@danyork I miss the days when you could put a computer on the internet without having to worry about being hacked by Kremvax.
Mastodon Migration
•Something about this plan to move Hubble, didn't make sense. If the space telescope still has 10 years of useful life, why this risky SpaceX mission to boost it's orbit now?
Well it turns out the main thing threatening the utility of Hubble is... wait for it... SpaceX Starlink satellites, which orbit just above Hubble constantly "photo-bombing" the images. Within a few years there will be so many Starlinks that Hubble will be useless.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/science/hubble-spacex-starlink.html