OpenAI is adding voice and image capabilities to their ChatGPT AI system, enabling a more interactive interface where users can discuss images and have voice conversations.
These features bring wide applications including discussing travel photos, identifying food items, and aiding in solving mathematical problems.
The updates will be available to Plus and Enterprise users in the coming two weeks, with voice accessibility on both iOS and Android, and image compatibility across all platforms. OpenAI addresses concerns about impersonation and privacy related to these new capabilities, asserting they have taken steps to alleviate these risks.
OpenAI aims to improve the voice and image capabilities of ChatGPT, based on users' feedback of low-latency voice ordering and requests for faster voice responses and system interruptibility.
Despite concerns over speed, accuracy, and ecological impact, ChatGPT's potential use in robotics planning and tasks is seen as promising. There's an ongoing debate over the trustworthiness and value of AI-generated information.
OpenAI plans to launch a new image generation model, DALLE-3, amidst discussions on AI business models, the influence on internet search, and the withdrawal of a web browsing feature from an AI platform.
The Boston Unity Group (BUG), the first official Unity user group globally, has announced its final event on September 27th, citing disappointment in the company's recent direction and lack of support for developer communities.
The organizers believe their contributions are better directed towards creating opportunities within the broader local development community.
BUG members are invited to join the Boston Game Dev meetup group to continue networking with other industry professionals. The last BUG meeting will be a social event on Zoom.
The longstanding community of Unity, Boston Unity Group (BUG), has disbanded due to Unity's recent pricing changes, signaling a loss of trust in the company.
There's a widespread discussion on the decline of trust in various well-known brands, like Unity and Craftsman, due to perceived negative business practices like censorships, short-term profit focus, and decreased product reliability.
Issues in open-source game development, like limitations of game engines such as Godot, personnel changes, communication failures, and Unity's questionable support for independent developers, have also been highlighted.
Ian's Shoelace Site offers detailed information and resources about shoelaces, including tutorials on lacing shoes, tying knots, and understanding shoelace construction.
The website is known for the "Ian Knot," a quick and secure shoelace knot, and showcases various shoe lacing photos.
It provides a search functionality for easy navigation and regularly updates its content based on visitor feedback, making it a thorough resource for all shoelace-related inquiries.
Ian's Shoelace Site is receiving appreciation from users for featuring different shoelace tying techniques and knots, which they find educating and helpful.
The Ian Knot, advertised as the quickest shoelace knot, has garnered positive reviews, with users also sharing their own preferred tying methods.
Users have suggested the creation of YouTube videos based on the website's content, hinting at a potential new platform for Ian's Shoelace Site to expand into.
The "Fantilator" is a project which links multiple fans together to develop a larger apparatus; its design has been improved over time to reduce thickness and improve power supply.
The Fantilator design later undergoes a phase upgrade with enhanced cable management, and a Fanbase. At this stage, it utilizes 64 fans, and introduces control of a single fan using PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) with Arduino.
Eventually, the Fantilator project achieved success, with all fans being controlled by Arduino running a specific operating system, FantilatorOS.
"Rhythm 0" was a six-hour performance piece by artist Marina Abramović in 1974, where she allowed attendees to interact with her using provided objects, testing the extent of public behavior.
As the performance progressed, audience actions escalated from gentle interactions to extreme violence, including cutting her clothes, slashing at her throat, and threatening her with a loaded gun.
The piece, culminating in Abramović rising and the fleeing of the audience, is hailed as a seminal work in performance art history.
The central theme revolves around the interpretation of Marina Abramović's performance art "Rhythm 0", debating the generalization of audience behavior and art's ability to depict humanity's perspectives which science cannot.
The discussions also explore the impact of marketing and context on audience behavior and contemplate the potential legal implications of the performance, questioning morality and agenda behind the artwork.
The debate also encompasses Christian ethics, the intertwining roles of art and law, and the authenticity and effectiveness of the art piece in provoking thought and precipitating violent behavior.
The Minecraft Wiki has transitioned from Fandom to a new site, minecraft.wiki, which introduces enhanced features such as a fresh design, faster page loads, fewer advertisements, better search capabilities, and anonymous editing.
Users are being urged to share the news, use minecraft.wiki links instead of Fandom ones, and contribute to improving the new wiki. They may also transfer their Gamepedia/Fandom accounts to the new site.
The new Minecraft Wiki is hosted by Weird Gloop, and currently, only the English edition has moved. Non-English versions could possibly shift in the future.
The DJI Mini 4 Pro camera drone, a lightweight and advanced drone with high-quality imaging capabilities and a long battery life, is offering free express shipping for a limited time.
The drone boasts of intelligent features like waypoint flight and advanced return-to-home functionality, and offers multiple shooting modes for versatile photography and video experience.
Users are provided with easy editing features and have access to a community for gaining inspiration and tips. Additional accessories related to the drone can be bought separately.
The discussion encompasses multiple facets of DJI drones including user experience, concerns about their durability and geofencing, and the US Department of Defense labelling DJI as a domestic security threat.
The discourse also covers the rivalry between Chinese and western drone enterprises, the proficiency of DJI drones, alternative drone options, and the controversy around DJI's software liaising with Chinese policies.
Moreover, subjects like wireless transmission distance, noise levels, lawfulness, privacy, and the worthiness of DJI drones were also handled.
The author gives an overview of Apache Open Office, an office productivity software by Apache Software Foundation, emphasizing its lack of major updates since 2014.
They question the active status of the project, citing numerous commits to the software's repository that only involve whitespace changes.
The author urges users to express their worries to the Apache Software Foundation and proposes a link to another, better-maintained office software.
Key topics discussed include the perception of Apache OpenOffice as an undermaintained project, Apache Software Foundation's role and effectiveness, and comparisons between OpenOffice and LibreOffice.
Open-source software's challenges are highlighted, such as balancing open-source commitment with profitability and addressing OpenOffice's build process and complexity.
An undercurrent theme emerges about ageism in the tech industry, backed by a mention of Mark Zuckerberg's statement about preferring young hires.
The SR-71 Blackbird, a Cold War strategic reconnaissance aircraft, employed an Astro-Nav System (referred to as "R2-D2") that used star sightings to provide navigational guidance.
The Astro-Nav System, akin to a 1960s variant of GPS, enabled the Blackbird to update its inertial navigation system and offer course advice.
The Blackbird's pilots and Reconnaissance Systems Officers (RSOs) managed this system along with other surveillance and defensive technology onboard.
The text revolves around several aspects related to navigation systems, including the SR-71 Blackbird's Astro-Nav system's efficiency and celestial navigation particulars.
It highlights on the limitations of mapping software, radar, and navigation reference systems, and the significance of collaboration during World War II in aerospace technology.
Besides, it mentions the use of star trackers and a brief note on an inexpensive CPU and application possibilities for Y Combinator (YC) Winter 2024, a startup accelerator program.
A recent New York law obliges employers to reveal pay rates in job adverts, aiming to encourage salary transparency and tackle pay disparities related to age, gender, and race.
The law applies to businesses with a minimum of four employees, incorporating remote workers reporting to New York-based managers.
Critics suggest that compliance might be difficult for small employers and that the law imposes an extra administrative load on businesses. Comparable pay transparency laws are in place in California and Colorado.
A newly introduced law in New York mandates employers to include pay rates in all job advertisements.
Discussions show divergent views, with some questioning the law's efficacy and others arguing it could help job seekers avoid underpaying jobs while promoting pay equivalence.
The conversation extends to deciding salary brackets, considering factors like value and performance of software engineers, impact of sexism and racism in compensation, and advantages or challenges of publicizing salary details.
Users of Kerbal Space Program 2 have encountered a bug causing the game to populate the Windows registry with redundant data, triggering a malfunction in the game.
The developers are cognizant of this issue and are currently testing a solution for a hotfix release.
An interim solution suggested by users is to delete the registry entries, but caution is recommended due to potential risks. Criticisms have been raised about the capability of the development team and the safety implications for personal computers.
Discussions surround a range of topics relating to Kerbal Space Program 2 (KSP2), including technical issues with the Windows Registry causing game problems and criticism of the registry as a system for configuration management.
Other topics include debates over KSP2's development and performance, concerns about the acquisition by Take-Two Interactive, comparisons between the Windows Registry and Unix file systems, and disappointment regarding the game's features and its development team.
Overall, there is a diversity of viewpoints and critiques concerning KSP2 and its ongoing development process.
The "life-dashboard" project repurposes used Kindle devices, exploiting their large e-ink screens, wifi connectivity, and ARM processors for a low-power, heads-up display for daily life.
The second version of the project, rewritten due to complications with image generation and display, now uses FBInk to showcase images from an API Gateway/Lambda backend and is deployable with Terraform. It also includes instructions for jailbreaking, setting up SSH, and installing dependencies.
Having garnered over 1.1k stars and 19 forks on GitHub, the project aims to extend the product-life of a Kindle by 5+ years and leverage 3D printed frames using wood-filled filament.
Apple has withdrawn support for PostScript and EPS files in its macOS Sonoma operating system citing security issues.
Users have provided diverse reactions to this removal; while some understand the necessity for enhanced security, others are nostalgic and stress the significant role of PostScript.
Due to this change, users will require alternative software to convert these files, or they may still utilize PostScript via a virtual machine.
PostScript, a publishing format, is being phased out from WebKit/Safari and Microsoft Office due to its associated security risks; such a trend is similarly occurring with EPS files and may see Ghostscript as their replacement.
Apple is distancing itself from different scripting environments, such as Perl, with a shift towards Swift for their codebase, provoking user agitation over the changes.
Significant frustration exists among users due to Apple's decision to remove support for PostScript and EPS in macOS, leading to discussions about potential alternatives and the effects on user experience.
A Microsoft representative confirms the company's decision to lay off more than 20,000 employees in the last year, providing insight into the factors influencing this move.
This decision was partly driven by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly affected the company's operation and revenue streams.
The representative provides a behind-the-scenes look at the decision-making process involved in these mass layoffs, shedding light on how large corporations tackle such large-scale changes.
The discussion focuses on myriad subjects including job cuts at Microsoft, class struggles, hate speech on Twitter, communication aptitudes for engineers, Google's employment protocols, the part of investors, and outsourcing in the tech field.
Key concerns related to labor rights and protections, income disparity, and effects of job layoffs are being highlighted.
The conversation underscores fears about wealth redistribution, inequality, and the handling of employees in the tech industry.
The blog post examines the monetization tactics of "Wordscapes", specifically focusing on its mini-game "Mt. Fortune".
The author found, after a 28-day analysis, the impediments (rocks) in the game aren't random but designed to push players to spend in-game currency, suggesting that the game is manipulating to extract real money.
Concerns are raised about the ethicality of games permitting real-money purchases, particularly those targeting all age groups, due to such potentially exploitative practices.
The article scrutinizes the adverse effects and unethical practices of mobile casino games, especially on younger users, emphasizing the necessity for stricter regulations and age-appropriate online shops.
It highlights common issues like monetization, loot crates (virtual items with randomized rewards), in-app purchases, and corporate accountability, while also discussing manipulation of probabilities and the pressing need for widespread awareness and stringent regulation.
The discussion broadens to criticize the quality and monetization hurdles of mobile gaming, the limited selection on Apple Arcade, and associated concerns, such as NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and the financial risk posed to young people.
The summary discusses communication in St Helena, covering topics such as post, freight, telephones, internet and email services, and communication companies, including their limitations and high costs.
Government initiatives to improve the internet, like using satellite services (Starlink, OneWeb), and the soon-to-come Equiano Cable, are highlighted, which will potentially enhance island's web services.
It briefly highlights the role of St Helena Radio in radio communications, Sure's limited television services, and the engagement of Maestro Technologies for new data and voice networks. It also traces back St Helena's history in telegraph development and its connection to the Equiano subsea cable.
St Helena Island is enhancing its internet connectivity through the installation of an undersea fiber-optic cable, enabling it to become a communications hub.
The island's government is planning to create satellite uplink stations and a new cloud region despite concerns about reliable utilities and remoteness of the location.
Discussions revolve around the monopolistic nature of the internet service provider and exclusive governmental telecommunications deal, but measures are being initiated to equip small businesses with fiber-optic internet, along with recent ISP decisions to supply unlimited data.
Costco has partnered with online marketplace Sesame to provide virtual primary care services to its members for $29, including virtual checkups and mental health visits.
The service is positioned towards the uninsured and individuals with high deductibles.
Costco's move parallels other major retailers like Amazon and Walmart, who have also expanded into the realm of healthcare services.
The debate focuses on several healthcare industry elements, including the benefits of partnerships like Costco and Sesame providing low-cost medical care.
Discussed shortcomings encompass health insurance inadequacy, healthcare pricing opacity, challenges in healthcare allocation, and high costs associated with medical procedures and education.
There's a compelling appeal for reform and more affordable options in healthcare, reflecting frustrations with the American healthcare system and acknowledging the efficiency of other systems like Israel's.
A new release allows for the creation of macOS native containers, enabling users to run macOS within macOS, and build and distribute images using Docker.
This software can be installed via Homebrew, a package management system that simplifies the installation of software on macOS.
Important to note is that this initiative is independent, meaning it is not approved or endorsed by Apple Inc.
The discussion is centered around the use and implications of macOS containers, exploring matters such as security concerns and the advantages of using macOS and Homebrew.
A challenge highlighted is running Linux on Apple Silicon, which demonstrates the tech-specific obstacles in using macOS containers.
Emphasis is also given to the technical and licensing considerations of distributing macOS in containers, pointing towards the regulatory hurdles involved in the process.
The article explores reasons behind indie game failures, advocating for starting with smaller projects before advancing to larger ones.
John Romero, co-founder of id Software, shared his insights on the importance of scoping, discipline in game development, financial stability, and conservative spending.
Romero reflects on the swift production of games in the 90s, emphasizing the value of learning from past experiences and offering advice to aspiring developers.
The discussion thread explores a range of issues pertinent to game development, including the industry's ever-evolving landscape and hurdles encountered by developers.
Highlighted are renowned figures in the field, John Romero and John Carmack, and topics such as success in indie game development, the allure of retro-style graphics, and the influence of technology on game development.
The discourse includes insights on John Romero's experience with the creation of games like 'Doom' and 'Daikatana', plus useful recommendations for further reading and documentaries about game development.
"I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World" by Rachel Nuwer delves into the history and possible medicinal applications of MDMA, chiefly for treating PTSD.
Nuwer presents a balanced view, discussing both the benefits and drawbacks of MDMA, emphasizing its capability to cultivate feelings of connection.
The book suggests that MDMA may help alleviate feelings of loneliness and disconnection in the modern world, which implies its potential importance in mental health treatments.
The Hacker News discussion focuses on the therapeutic and recreational use of MDMA (ecstasy), highlighting its positive effects on mental wellness and relationships, while also noting potential negative impacts.
The topics of potential addiction, long-term effects, and responsible use are raised, with comparisons made between MDMA and alcohol. Community support and the right environment are emphasized in impacting the MDMA experience.
The discussion also delves into the controversy of self-medication and the role of pharmaceutical companies in mental health treatment. It underscores the necessity for further research into the therapeutic potential of MDMA and other psychedelic substances.