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2023-04-22

The EARN IT bill is back, seeking to scan our messages and photos

News

  • The EARN IT Act seeks to create a government commission to set "best practices" for internet websites and apps while allowing state governments to encourage lawsuits and criminal prosecutions against those who do not follow these practices.
  • This act removes legal protections for users and website owners and pressures websites to remove or compromise the security of their end-to-end encryption services.
  • The bill allows for scanning of user messages, photos, and files, which has been shown to have flaws and can result in false accusations and violations of user privacy.
  • The bill sponsors attempted to add language that protects encryption, but it leaves room for client-side scanning, which violates the privacy promise of end-to-end encryption.
  • Digital rights supporters must speak up to protect the privacy and security of the internet and prevent the passing of the EARN IT Act.

Industry Reactions

  • The EARN IT bill has returned, and many people are concerned about its potential impact on privacy and encryption
  • Critics question the bill's effectiveness, burden of proof, and potential for abuse of power
  • The bill is being justified by the protection of children, but the impact on individual rights and society's ills is also being considered

CATL has announced a new "condensed" battery with 500 Wh/kg

News

  • CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, has announced a new "condensed" battery with a density of 500 Wh/kg that will go into mass production this year.
  • The battery has almost double the energy intensity of Tesla's 4680 cells and integrates innovative technologies, including ultra-high energy density cathode materials and innovative anode materials, separators, and manufacturing processes.
  • CATL plans to work with partners on electric passenger aircraft development and testing while also launching an automotive-grade version of its batteries this year.
  • The announcement confirms and exceeds Elon Musk's prediction of commercial energy density of 400 Wh/kg by 2023.
  • This breakthrough is groundbreaking due to the condensed battery's immediate mass production, unlike many other high-density batteries that are still in their infancy.

Industry Reactions

  • CATL has developed a new "condensed" battery with a density of 500 Wh/kg that outperforms current batteries by almost two times.
  • The technology could be widely adopted due to the credibility of CATL as a major battery producer and their expertise in scaling production.
  • The new battery will increase the efficiency of electric vehicles and enable them to travel significantly further on a single charge.

Eid Mubarak

  • The post is a celebratory message for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.
  • The author wishes everyone a happy and blessed Eid.
  • There is no new or exciting tech news in this post.
  • This post may be of interest to Muslim members of the tech community.
  • The post demonstrates the diverse nature of the tech industry and its members.

Industry Reactions

  • The post is a message wishing Muslims a happy Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan fasting
  • Discussions include the cultural significance of the holiday and Muslim traditions for observing the lunar calendar
  • Some users share personal experiences and offer advice on greeting Muslim neighbors during Eid, while others debate the appropriateness of religious-related posts on Hacker News.

GitHub Copilot emits GPL code

News

  • GitHub Copilot is being sued for training on non-permissively licensed code, exposing users to legal risks.
  • Codeium, an open-source generative AI company, has removed GPL-licensed code from its training data and implemented string-based filters to avoid legal risks, producing non-license-violating code suggestions.
  • Codeium uses GPL licensed code input to suggest code that matches licensed code, without violating licenses.
  • Codeium is committed to improving data sanitization, filtering processes, and maintaining a fresh training dataset with up-to-date license metadata.
  • Codeium for Enterprises provides unbeatable data security and is trusted in industries such as fintech, defense, and biotech.

Industry Reactions

  • GitHub Copilot has been criticized for emitting GPL code, causing concerns over copyright infringement.
  • There is a debate over whether AI-generated code should be considered copyright infringement and how FOSS community rights could be laundered away via LLMs.
  • Legal issues related to training on permissive licenses and the requirement for attribution could limit available data for training such platforms.

Tech bosses are letting dictators censor what Americans see

News

  • Chinese and Indian censorship laws are increasingly determining what people in free countries, including the United States, can do online.
  • American-run companies are enforcing these foreign censorship laws globally, letting dictators censor what Americans see.
  • Twitter and other U.S. tech companies have been blocking content not just within their own countries but globally, allowing the most authoritarian diktats to guide content moderation.
  • Midjourney, one of the most popular AI image generators today, restricts political expression for all of its global users and forbids users to create images of China's Xi Jinping.
  • Tech companies in free countries should not arm authoritarians any further and control not just the voices of their own subjects, but now increasingly what anyone, anywhere can say about them.

Industry Reactions

  • The post discusses the dangers of allowing powerful entities to censor information, and emphasizes the importance of critical thinking and verifying news sources.
  • There is a debate about the responsibility of tech companies and the role of censorship in preserving democracy.
  • The conversation touches on global power dynamics and the need for fairness, respect, and open reflection on privilege.

Windows on Btrfs

News

  • Windows on btrfs driver enables file sharing between Windows and Linux dual-boot and fully supports both operating systems.
  • Quibble, an open-source reimplementation of the Windows bootloader, allows to boot Windows off of other filesystems with EFI drivers and Windows compatibility.
  • Quibble boot menu looks like a high-quality grub with nice fonts and works well with btrfs.
  • Windows 10 apps (Microsoft Store apps) do not work with Quibble and btrfs conversion program ntfs2btrfs has some errors.
  • Booting Windows and Linux on the same partition with separate subvolumes is a possible alternative to dual booting, but may be affected by Windows updates.

Industry Reactions

  • Lack of native Windows extension/driver for mounting ext4 partitions discussed
  • Dual-booting still popular, especially for gaming
  • Third-party solutions like Paragon cautioned against

Inkscape is hiring: Accelerating the GTK4 migration

News

  • Inkscape is hiring a senior C++ developer with experience in gtkmm and an Inkscape expert to accelerate the GTK4 migration.
  • The migration to a newer and more actively developed GUI framework version aims to improve the performance of the user interface and the canvas, particularly OpenGL.
  • The complex migration will change hundreds of files in the codebase, making it necessary to perform it as quickly as possible.
  • The project is scoped to fit a 16-week full-time schedule that may be extended up to an additional 8 weeks with additional compensation.
  • The candidate is expected to have significant experience in gtk/gtkmm, ideally with some experience in GTK4 and the ability to work asynchronously and across time zones. Knowledge of Inkscape is not required.

Industry Reactions

  • Inkscape is hiring a Senior Developer to work on PDF editing and native macOS support, and a GFX developer for a 16-week project
  • Users have concerns about Inkscape's UI performance, particularly on macOS, and hope the switch to GTK4 will address this issue
  • Discussions include the challenges of migrating between different versions of GTK, the potential of running Inkscape as a web-based application, and the importance of supporting FOSS projects through hiring developers

The weird world of Windows file paths

News

  • Windows file paths are more complicated than Unix paths
  • There are three kinds of absolute Windows paths: Drive paths, UNC paths, and device paths
  • Relative paths on Windows can be defined relative to the current directory, the root of the current drive, or a drive's current directory
  • There are restrictions on the characters and lengths of file names in Windows paths
  • Windows paths can be constructed in many different ways to refer to the same directory.

Industry Reactions

  • Windows file paths can pose challenges with handling spaces, quotes, and special characters in scripting languages
  • PowerShell users should be aware of limitations when using special characters such as []
  • Workarounds for escaping special characters in PowerShell can be complicated for non-experts
  • Different types of quotes and UTF-8/ANSI encoding can also pose issues in script development
  • Some commenters suggest using quotes to handle spaces in filenames and directories
  • Desktop.ini files can be used as a workaround for localizing folder names.

Nuclear Power Is the Answer to Global and Environmental Energy Woes

News

  • Only nuclear power can meet global energy demands while being carbon-free and reducing dependence on oil and gas.
  • The US is investing in nuclear energy, particularly in advanced nuclear technologies, to lead the charge in the industry.
  • Advanced reactors and small modular reactors offer financial benefits and improved safety and security compared to previous designs.
  • Renewables use vast amounts of materials, generate tons of waste, and can't meet energy demands for growing populations without extensive land usage.
  • Nuclear power is crucial in mitigating the effects of high land usage renewables on the grid and can solve environmental energy woes.

Industry Reactions

  • Debate on the role of nuclear power in meeting global energy demand, with discussions on its pros and cons compared to renewable sources like solar and wind.
  • Concerns regarding nuclear waste disposal and high decommissioning costs, while renewable energy sources face challenges in maintaining a reliable power supply.
  • Despite challenges, nuclear power can be an effective means of reducing CO2 emissions.

Office of the President of Mongolia: Top to bottom text on the web

News

  • The Office of the President of Mongolia has implemented a top-to-bottom text feature on their website.
  • This feature allows users to access written content in the traditional Mongolian script, which is typically read vertically from top to bottom.
  • Users can access over 80 documents in this format, including official statements and historical documents.
  • The implementation of this feature is a step towards preserving traditional Mongolian culture and making it accessible to a wider audience.
  • The feature can be found on the website under the date 7-8/01/2024 in the traditional Mongolian calendar.

Industry Reactions

  • The article explores various writing scripts and their difficulty in reading, including pictographic and alphabetic languages.
  • The discussion also involves the advantages and disadvantages of alternating scripts and their historical significance.
  • Technical discussions on displaying Mongolian script on websites, with admiration for the website's efficient use of screen space.