Signal, a nonprofit messaging app, prioritizes privacy and data protection, but faces high costs in maintaining its infrastructure.
The app invests in research and development to enhance privacy features and ensure user security, but lacks the financial resources of big tech companies like Meta.
Transparency and accountability in the tech industry are emphasized, along with the importance of not collecting sensitive data.
The conversation covers a wide range of topics related to Signal, such as employee salaries, privacy concerns, fundraising tactics, donation experiences, comparison with other messaging platforms, infrastructure issues, and the use of SMS verification.
Opinions are divided, with some supporting Signal's approach and others raising criticisms and suggesting alternative solutions.
The discussion also addresses the cost of using WhatsApp, concerns about anonymity, and the possibility of a universal messaging protocol.
Apple has announced that RCS support will be coming to iPhones in the near future.
RCS, or Rich Communication Services, offers advanced messaging features such as typing indicators, read receipts, and group chats.
This move by Apple will enhance the messaging experience for iPhone users and bring them closer to feature parity with Android users who already have RCS support.
Apple's announcement of RCS messaging support on iPhones has ignited conversations about the impact on Google and the messaging ecosystem.
The absence of end-to-end encryption in RCS is emphasized, as well as the limitations of messaging integration between iOS and Android.
The debate encompasses Apple's control over its platform, Google's role in RCS, and the necessity for alternative messaging solutions. Privacy worries, compatibility challenges, and the dominance of specific messaging platforms feature prominently in the discussion.
Participants engage in a wide-ranging conversation about coat hangers, clothing storage, manufacturing, intellectual property, and personal experiences.
Topics include the accessibility and cost of DIY versus buying, pricing and quality of customized items, success of new designs, alternative solutions for hanging clothes, and personal preferences for hangers and storage systems.
The conversation also briefly touches on unrelated topics like brain tumors, clothing organization, China's manufacturing capabilities, and dependence on non-Western labor.
Realtime support for the Linux kernel is being developed but faces a major obstacle with the current synchronous printk() function causing delays.
Developers are actively working on making printk() output asynchronous to resolve this issue.
Once the printk() problem is addressed, the remaining realtime preemption code can be integrated into the Linux kernel to complete the project before late 2024.
The discussion revolves around the challenges faced by real-time operating systems (RTOS) in achieving real-time capabilities.
Various operating systems such as QNX, Linux, and seL4 are compared in terms of their strengths and weaknesses in real-time applications.
Other topics include hardware-software combinations, workload scheduling, processing deadlines, logging in system deployments, trade-offs in log delivery, and difficulties in achieving real-time performance in complex hardware systems.
Kauai is leading the way in clean energy by using a publicly owned grid.
The island has made significant progress in transitioning to renewable energy sources.
The use of a publicly owned grid has allowed for greater control over the energy generation and distribution process, leading to more sustainable and cost-effective solutions.
The discussion delves into various aspects of renewable energy, including the challenges and advantages of shifting towards renewables.
Concerns about nuclear power and its waste, as well as the cost and feasibility of renewable energy sources, are also explored.
The conversation highlights specific countries like Portugal and Germany and their advancements in adopting renewable energy, while acknowledging the need for renewables to combat climate change but also recognizes the complexities and limitations of relying solely on them.
Sweden's government is reversing its previous stance to phase out nuclear power by planning to build two new reactors by 2035 and a total of 10 by 2045 to meet the growing demand for clean power.
The government is offering loan guarantees and cost-sharing to encourage private sector investment in these nuclear projects, with state-owned companies such as Vattenfall, Fortum, and Uniper expressing interest.
This decision is driven by the government's projection that electricity demand will double by 2045 as the country transitions to a fossil-free society.
Sweden plans to construct 10 new nuclear reactors by 2045, with the first expected to be operational by 2035.
The funding model for the project is still undecided, sparking ongoing debate over the advantages and disadvantages of nuclear power versus renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
While solar and wind energy have seen growth in 2021, there are limitations such as their suitability for Nordic climates and the need for affordable and efficient power storage.
The discussion also examines battery storage capacity, the feasibility of solar and wind power replacing nuclear energy, and the safety and credibility of nuclear power compared to other sources.
Concerns exist regarding the cost, waste disposal, and safety issues of nuclear energy, while supporters highlight its stability and lower radiation emissions.
Government subsidies, liability limits, and the future of energy sources are also topics of discussion.
The author's research focuses on weaknesses in password reset options, specifically regarding the revealing of phone numbers.
Websites vary in how many digits of a user's phone number they display during the password reset process.
Leaked information from various platforms can help narrow down someone's phone number, and the author conducted research on phone number exchanges to further narrow down possibilities.
The National Pooling Administration plays a role in managing phone numbers.
The article explains a method to obtain someone's phone number based on their email address and highlights the availability of password reset options using phone numbers.
The author developed a tool to automate the process of obtaining phone numbers from emails and demonstrates how it can be used to reset passwords on popular websites.
The article mentions an online service called phonerator that generates lists of possible phone numbers based on public data related to a country's phone numbering plan.
Concerns are raised about the exposure of personal information through phone numbers, and potential attack vectors are discussed.
Solutions for better privacy and security are proposed, including allowing users to set labels for their contact information and using virtual numbers or dedicated SIM cards.
Responsible disclosure is emphasized, and the author mentions their efforts to address the issue with online services.
The author's research has been presented at conferences, and they are a Red Teamer and cybersecurity researcher.
The article covers various topics related to online security, open-source intelligence, phone number identification, and ethical considerations.
It discusses strategies for increasing online security and the limitations of eSIMs on iPhones.
The article also addresses the impact of cybersecurity tools and responsible disclosure, negative uses of an email to phone number generating tool, drawbacks of a national ID system, and security vulnerabilities in password reset options on websites.
The U.S. Justice Department has given the green light for a lawsuit against RealPage, a real-estate software company accused of unlawfully manipulating rental prices.
Tenants allege that RealPage and landlords who employ its algorithmic pricing system are violating antitrust laws and causing rents to increase.
The lawsuit claims that RealPage's practices result in higher rental costs for tenants.
The Justice Department has approved a collusion lawsuit against apartment owners who are alleged to have used software to coordinate rent prices, leading to higher rental costs.
The discussion explores tactics employed by landlords to maintain high rents and occupancy rates in highly demanded housing markets, and the impact of new building developments on rental prices.
The legality of using software to set prices without explicit coordination, the need for reparations, and potential transformative changes in the housing system are debated, along with the role of software companies in collusion and the concept of private property.
The company saved over $230,000 annually by transitioning its infrastructure from AWS to a bare-metal solution.
The move was motivated by the company's need for independence from the public cloud, as their service involves notifying customers when the public cloud experiences downtime.
They utilized Kubernetes, Helm, NFS, and MetalLB to manage applications, storage, and load balancing on their own servers for more control over resources and to eliminate issues experienced in shared hosting environments.
The discussion examines the cost and benefits of using cloud services like AWS versus managing on-premises servers for infrastructure management.
Some commenters advocate for bare metal servers, citing potential cost savings and hardware control, while others emphasize the convenience and scalability of cloud providers.
The conversation also delves into challenges and considerations of disaster recovery, the importance of expertise in operating cloud services, and issues related to high salaries and job requirements in the tech industry.
Microsoft is updating Windows 11 to comply with the European Commission's Digital Markets Act, which aims to increase competition and user choice.
Users in the extended European Economic Area (EEA) will be able to uninstall specific Microsoft apps, easily change default settings, and avoid prompts to use Microsoft services.
These changes will be rolled out in a preview update of Windows 11 this month and will also be implemented in Windows 10 at a later date. Other major tech companies like Google and Apple will also be impacted by the Digital Markets Act.
The discussion covers a wide range of topics related to operating systems, including critiques of Windows 11 and macOS, debates on privacy and data protection, and comparisons between Linux and other systems.
Users express preferences for Linux and Mac, discussing customization options and mentioning issues related to security settings, file navigation, gaming, and software management.
The discussion also includes frustrations with preinstalled apps and unnecessary features, discussions on cookie consent and website access, and concerns about the behavior and limitations of different operating systems.
Airplane has successfully migrated most of its data generation and collection to the OpenTelemetry (OTel) standard.
The migration to OTel has improved data reliability, connectivity with different vendors, and cost monitoring.
OTel is a vendor-agnostic set of standards and tools for processing observability data and providing library support for multiple programming languages.
The article explores the pros and cons of using a single observability solution versus multiple solutions for data collection and analysis.
OpenTelemetry is introduced as a potential solution to avoid vendor lock-in, and SigNoz is highlighted as a product that offers metrics, traces, and logs in one application using OpenTelemetry.
The complexities and limitations of monitoring and tracing solutions in the industry are discussed, including frustrations with the cost and limitations of DataDog and suggestions for alternative tools. The benefits of consolidating observability tools from different vendors are also debated. However, the limitations of OpenTelemetry compared to other tools like APM are mentioned.
Researchers at ETH Zurich and a US start-up have developed a laser scanning technique for 3D printing robots with bones, ligaments, and tendons made of different polymers.
Slow-curing polymers enable enhanced elastic properties and increased durability, expanding the possibilities of soft robotics.
The new technology enables the combination of soft, elastic, and rigid materials, as well as the creation of delicate structures and parts with cavities. The researchers and the start-up plan to offer 3D printing services to customers.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a method to 3D print robots with bones, ligaments, and tendons, but high printer costs and maintenance requirements have hindered widespread adoption.
Cheaper alternatives exist, highlighting the potential for increased accessibility in the future.
The discussion covers the limitations of current robotics compared to human capabilities, the possibility of creating theme parks like "Westworld," the development of synthetic muscles, and the challenges of 3D printing at the cellular-protein scale.