ptz

I've got a large collection of e-books, but I've always just read them on my phone. Finally broke down and bought a proper e-reader with the nice e-ink display. Why didn't I do this forever ago?

It's got a backlight, but using it under a lamp with reflected light is just so much easier on my eyes and feels more like a paper book. I also haven't read a book written on dead trees in a good minute, so sitting under a lamp just brings back a missing piece of the experience I didn't even know was gone.

I also just can't get over how "fake" the display looks. Fake is usually not used to describe something positively, but in this case, it's a huge praise. The text and book cover images just look like they're printed on a sheet of paper and slipped inside to make the device look functional...like a movie prop. Turning the backlight on diminishes this effect somewhat, though (which is another reason I prefer to leave it off).

I also love that I can just set it down and not worry about coming back to a dead battery, lol. The reader app on my phone is set to prevent it from going to sleep or turning off the screen, so sometimes I'll set it down to go take care of something else, forget, and come back to a nearly dead battery.

To everyone who has recommended these gizmos to me, I finally get it. I know I said reading books on my phone was good enough, but I was wrong.

General Motors is joining forces with EVgo, one of the biggest electric vehicle charging operators in the United States, to build 400 ultra-fast DC chargers nationwide to support the growing number of battery-powered cars hitting U.S. roads.

To be clear, these are individual stalls, not charging stations. However, the two companies describe the new locations as “flagship destinations” which will feature 350-kilowatt DC chargers, ample lighting, canopies, pull-through spots and security cameras.

Most locations will feature up to 20 ultra-fast charging stalls, but some will have even more–good news for those crowded holiday road trips. GM and EVgo said the fancy new stations would be located near shopping areas offering dining, coffee shops and other amenities.

Note: Link is a gift article.

Microsoft executives have been thinking lately about the end of the world. In a white paper published late last year, Brad Smith, the company's vice chair and president, and Melanie Nakagawa, its chief sustainability officer, described a "planetary crisis" that AI could help solve. Imagine an AI-assisted tool that helps reduce food waste, to name one example from the document, or some future technology that could "expedite decarbonization" by using AI to invent new designs for green tech.

But as Microsoft attempts to buoy its reputation as an AI leader in climate innovation, the company is also selling its AI to fossil-fuel companies. Hundreds of pages of internal documents I've obtained, plus interviews I've conducted over the past year with 15 current and former employees and executives, show that the tech giant has sought to market the technology to companies such as ExxonMobil and Chevron as a powerful tool for finding and developing new oil and gas reserves and maximizing their production -- all while publicly committing to dramatically reduce emissions.

Although tech companies have long done business with the fossil-fuel industry, Microsoft's case is notable. It demonstrates how the AI boom contributes to one of the most pressing issues facing our planet today -- despite the fact that the technology is often lauded for its supposed potential to improve our world, as when Sam Altman testified to Congress that it could address issues such as "climate change and curing cancer." These deals also show how Microsoft can use the vagaries of AI to talk out of both sides of its mouth, courting the fossil-fuel industry while asserting its environmental bona fides. (Many of the documents I viewed have been submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission as part of a whistleblower complaint alleging that the company has omitted from public disclosures "the serious climate and environmental harms caused by the technology it provides to the fossil fuel industry," arguing that the information is of material and financial importance to investors.

Story continues...

Over the past 5-6 months, I've been noticing a lot of new accounts spinning up that look like this format:

• https://instance.xyz/u/gmbpjtmt
• https://instance.xyz/u/tjrwwiif
• https://instance.xyz/u/xzowaikv

What are they doing?

They're boosting and/or downvoting mostly, if not exclusively, US news and politics posts/comments to fit their agenda.

Edit: Could also be manipulating other regional news/politics, but my instance is regional and doesn't subscribe to those which limits my visibility into the overall manipulation patterns.

What do these have in common?

1. Most are on instances that have signups without applications (I'm guessing the few that are on instances with applications may be from before those were enabled since those are several months old, but just a guess; they could have easily just applied and been approved.)
2. Most are random 8-character usernames (occasionally 7 or 9 characters)
3. Most have a common set of users they're upvoting and/or downvoting consistently
4. No posts/comments
5. No avatar or bio (that's pretty common in general, but combine it with the other common attributes)
6. Update: Have had several anonymous reports (thanks!) that these users are registering with an @sharklasers.com email address which is a throwaway email service.

What can you, as an instance admin, do?

Keep an eye on new registrations to your instance. If you see any that fit this pattern, pick a few (and a few off this list) and see if they're voting along the same lines. You can also look in the login_token table to see if there is IP address overlap with other users on your instance and/or any other of these kinds of accounts.

You can also check the local_user table to see if the email addresses are from the same provider (not a guaranteed way to match them, but it can be a clue) or if they're they same email address using plus-addressing (e.g. user+whatever@email.xyz, user+whatever2@emai.xyz, etc).

Why are they doing this?

Your guess is as good as mine, but US elections are in a few months, and I highly suspect some kind of interference campaign based on the volume of these that are being spun up and the content that's being manipulated. That, or someone, possibly even a ghost or an alien life form, really wants the impression of public opinion being on their side. Just because I don't know exactly why doesn't mean that something fishy isn't happening that other admins should be aware of.

Who are the known culprits?

These are ones fitting that pattern which have been identified. There are certainly more, but these have been positively identified. Some were omitted since they were more garden-variety "to win an argument" style manipulation.

These all seem to be part of a campaign. This list is by no means comprehensive, and if there are any false positives, I do apologize. I've tried to separate out the "garden variety" type from the ones suspected of being part of a campaign, but may have missed some.

[New: 9/18/2024]: https://thelemmy.club/u/fxgwxqdr
[New: 9/18/2024]: https://discuss.online/u/nyubznrw
[New: 9/18/2024]: https://thelemmy.club/u/ththygij
[New: 9/18/2024]: https://ttrpg.network/u/umwagkpn
[New: 9/18/2024]: https://lemdro.id/u/dybyzgnn
[New: 9/18/2024]: https://lemmy.cafe/u/evtmowdq
https://leminal.space/u/mpiaaqzq
https://lemy.lol/u/ihuklfle
https://lemy.lol/u/iltxlmlr
https://lemy.lol/u/szxabejt
https://lemy.lol/u/woyjtear
https://lemy.lol/u/jikuwwrq
https://lemy.lol/u/matkalla
https://lemmy.ca/u/vlnligvx
https://ttrpg.network/u/kmjsxpie
https://lemmings.world/u/ueosqnhy
https://lemmings.world/u/mx_myxlplyx
https://startrek.website/u/girlbpzj
https://startrek.website/u/iorxkrdu
https://lemy.lol/u/tjrwwiif
https://lemy.lol/u/gmbpjtmt
https://thelemmy.club/u/avlnfqko
https://lemmy.today/u/blmpaxlm
https://lemy.lol/u/xhivhquf
https://sh.itjust.works/u/ntiytakd
https://jlai.lu/u/rpxhldtm
https://sh.itjust.works/u/ynvzpcbn
https://lazysoci.al/u/sksgvypn
https://lemy.lol/u/xzowaikv
https://lemy.lol/u/yecwilqu
https://lemy.lol/u/hwbjkxly
https://lemy.lol/u/kafbmgsy
https://discuss.online/u/tcjqmgzd
https://thelemmy.club/u/vcnzovqk
https://lemy.lol/u/gqvnyvvz
https://lazysoci.al/u/shcimfi
https://lemy.lol/u/u0hc7r
https://startrek.website/u/uoisqaru
https://jlai.lu/u/dtxiuwdx
https://discuss.online/u/oxwquohe
https://thelemmy.club/u/iicnhcqx
https://lemmings.world/u/uzinumke
https://startrek.website/u/evuorban
https://thelemmy.club/u/dswaxohe
https://lemdro.id/u/efkntptt
https://lemy.lol/u/ozgaolvw
https://lemy.lol/u/knylgpdv
https://discuss.online/u/omnajmxc
https://lemmy.cafe/u/iankglbrdurvstw
https://lemmy.ca/u/awuochoj
https://leminal.space/u/tjrwwiif
https://lemy.lol/u/basjcgsz
https://lemy.lol/u/smkkzswd
https://lazysoci.al/u/qokpsqnw
https://lemy.lol/u/ncvahblj
https://ttrpg.network/u/hputoioz
https://lazysoci.al/u/lghikcpj
https://lemmy.ca/u/xnjaqbzs
https://lemy.lol/u/yonkz

Edit: If you see anyone from your instance on here, please please please verify before taking any action. I'm only able to cross-check these against the content my instance is aware of.

2x10 - Cold Fire

How to Play

The rules for each round are below. Calculation and reporting of scores is on the honor system.

Round 1: Find the Connection

Clue 1 (5 points)

Clue 2 (3 points)

Clue 3 (2 points)

Clue 4 (1 points)

Answer

Round 2: Find the Fourth in the Sequence

Clue 1 (5 points)

Clue 2 (3 points)

Clue 3 (2 points)

Answer (0 points)

Bonus Connection Answer (add +1 to your score if you got it correct)

Android updates are undergoing a revolution as we speak. Is it a positive thing, though? We will see. Google’s focus on N+3 for everyone might make it more common for OEMs to provide 2 or 3 platform updates, but on the other hand, in the cases where they want to provide more updates than it’s expected of them it gets way more complicated than before. It might also cause a feature stagnation, stripping users of useful improvements.Where is Google leading us? I don’t know, but I think we will find out very soon.

I was doing some research on putting a custom GSI ROM on an older device and stumbled on this article. It's from 2022, but should still be accurate.

If you've ever wondered about how Android updates work and why some devices seemingly have arbitrary cutoff points for updates, this article explains why.

I won't spoil the read, but things are actually better than they used to be with one glaring regression in the form of GRF (Google Requirement Freeze)

Since most people didn't hate the pilot episode, I put together a second. Both rounds are in the same post this time.

How to Play

The rules for each round are below. Calculation and reporting of scores is on the honor system.

Round 1: Find the Connection

Clue 1 (5 points)

Clue 2 (3 points)

Clue 3 (2 points)

Clue 4 (1 points)

Answer

Round 2: Find the Fourth in the Sequence

Clue 1 (5 points)

Clue 2 (3 points)

Clue 3 (2 points)

Answer (0 points)

Bonus Connection Answer (add +1 to your score if you got it correct)

This is the second round of Trek Connect. If you missed the first round, it's here

How to Play Round 2

1. In this round, each set of four clues forms a sequence. Up to three clues can be revealed, and you are responsible for determining the last item in the sequence.
2. As before, clues are revealed one at a time, and the goal is to correctly identify the last item in the sequence using as few clues as possible.
3. A bonus point is awarded for correctly identifying the connection between the items in the completed sequence .
4. Also as before, scoring is on the honor system.

Clues

Clue 1 (5 points)

Clue 2 (3 points)

Clue 3 (2 points)

Answer (0 points)

Bonus Connection Answer (add +1 to your score if you got it correct)