A US judge has held Israel's NSO Group accountable for hacking journalists through WhatsApp, raising questions about the responsibility of companies in hacking and surveillance activities.
The case underscores ethical concerns related to the sale and use of cyber tools, likening them to traditional weapons sales, and prompting discussions on potential legal consequences for management.
It also brings attention to broader issues such as privacy, government surveillance, and the responsibility of social media companies in safeguarding user data.
The paper by Aymeric Fromherz and Jonathan Protzenko discusses translating C code to safe Rust, focusing on memory safety by avoiding unsafe Rust features.
The authors introduce a type-directed translation method, static analysis using "split trees" for pointer arithmetic, and a strategy for handling C's struct types in Rust.
Their approach successfully translates the HACL* cryptographic library and EverParse's binary parsers into a verified 80,000-line cryptographic library in pure Rust, maintaining performance with minimal strategic copies.
Converting C code to Safe Rust is difficult due to fundamental language differences, particularly Rust's ownership model, which requires significant redesign for safety.- Tools like C2Rust assist in translation, but the process is complex, and some C programs can't be ported without changing their semantics due to inherent unsafety.- While translating C to Rust can enhance safety and reveal bugs, Rust's safety is often misunderstood, and formal verification of C code, which aids translation, is not always available.
A raycaster inspired by the game Wolfenstein has been implemented in Bash, demonstrating the challenges of using Bash for graphical applications.- The project faces limitations due to Bash's slowness, lack of floating-point support, and terminal constraints, making it difficult to maintain screen state and optimize performance.- Despite using Unicode half blocks for better resolution, the project struggles with high I/O demands and inefficient color updates, highlighting the complexity of using Bash for such tasks.
A Raycaster in Bash is a project that simulates a 3D effect using raytracing once per column, efficiently rendering scenes with minimal echo commands.
The project is notable for its use of string repetition to draw lines for sky, grass, and objects, making it an inspiring example for creating voxel render engines in constrained environments.
The discussion highlights similar raycasting projects in MS Batch and awk, showcasing creativity in using unconventional programming languages for complex tasks.
Qualcomm has emerged victorious in a legal dispute with Arm regarding chip design licensing, specifically related to Qualcomm's acquisition of Nuvia.
The case revolved around whether Qualcomm's existing license covered Nuvia's designs, with Arm asserting that all Arm-compliant CPUs were derivatives of their Instruction Set Architecture (ISA).
The jury's indecision on Nuvia's breach of license favored Qualcomm, raising concerns about Arm's licensing practices and possibly encouraging companies to consider RISC-V, an open-source alternative.
FindMy.py is a comprehensive library designed to query Apple's FindMy network, aiming to consolidate the fragmented "Find My-scene." It is currently in its Alpha stage, meaning its API design may undergo changes.
The library supports cross-platform functionality, location report decryption, Apple account sign-in, and two-factor authentication (2FA), offering both asynchronous (async) and synchronous (sync) APIs.
Installation is available via PyPi using the command pip install findmy, and contributions are encouraged, with specific guidelines for code formatting provided.
A Python implementation of Apple's FindMy API aims to enhance cross-platform access, benefiting users on Linux and Android who currently require a Mac for FindMy features.
This tool could enable tracking of locations and AirTags without dependence on Apple's ecosystem, though there are concerns about Apple's potential intervention to halt such projects.
The discussion highlights Apple's limited cross-platform support and the difficulties in managing device features like parental controls outside its ecosystem, with suggestions for alternatives like Blue Bubbles and Firewalla.
An investigation by indie journalist Liz Pelly has uncovered Spotify's use of fake artists to increase profits, particularly in genres like jazz and ambient.- This practice, known as the "Perfect Fit Content" program, enables Spotify to avoid paying royalties to genuine musicians, raising concerns about transparency and regulation in music streaming.- Despite the controversy, Spotify's profitability has improved, while the music industry and mainstream media have largely overlooked these issues, leaving independent journalism to bring them to public attention.
The article raises concerns about Spotify allegedly favoring low-quality, generic music, possibly AI-generated, over genuine artists to cut costs.- Users express dissatisfaction with Spotify's music recommendations, sparking a debate on the ethics of its business practices and the impact on artists.- The discussion underscores the challenges artists face in a streaming-dominated market and suggests alternatives like independent radio or other streaming services.
The OS/2 Museum blog explores vintage PC computing, with a focus on OS/2, DOS, and related subjects.- A recent post highlights the DOS APPEND command, a Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) program that aids older DOS applications in accessing files across different directories, first introduced in DOS 3.3.- The post delves into the history, evolution, and implementation of APPEND, discussing its significance in modern computing contexts.
The DOS APPEND command was historically significant for modifying assembler behavior without changing the assembler, akin to modern environment variables and overlayfs mounts.
DOS commands like SUBST and JOIN were used for directory mapping and path management, helping to overcome path length limitations.
The discussion includes DOS's historical development on DEC minicomputers and the evolution of computing hardware from minicomputers to current systems.