News'n'Clues - TECHNOLOGY Article Summaries

Filing: Amazon cuts 84 jobs in Washington state, unrelated to broader layoffs

Source: {'href': 'https://www.geekwire.com', 'title': 'GeekWire'} Published: 2025-12-15 18:35:59

Washington joins lawsuit opposing $100K fee for H-1B visas allowing foreign STEM and medical workers

Source: {'href': 'https://www.geekwire.com', 'title': 'GeekWire'} Published: 2025-12-15 18:34:35

We Just Found Out Taylor Swift Sleeps on a Coop Pillow—They're Having a Flash Sale to Celebrate

Source: {'href': 'https://www.wired.com', 'title': 'WIRED'} Published: 2025-12-15 17:16:00

Asus swaps out the PCIe x16 connector for x8 on new RTX 5060 Ti GPUs — Gigabyte does the opposite with x16 upgrade to its WindForce Max card

Source: {'href': 'https://www.tomshardware.com', 'title': "Tom's Hardware"} Published: 2025-12-15 17:02:56

Shorter and more compact, but at the cost of fewer features When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As observed by hardware enthusiast Uniko's Hardware, Asus and Gigabyte have launched new versions of their GeForce RTX 5060 Ti models, which are among the best graphics cards currently available. In the case of Asus, the new Evo-branded SKU is more compact but also involves several noticeable downgrades. Conversely, in Gigabyte's case, the update appears to be solely an aesthetic modification. The primary, and arguably most significant, modification in Asus and Gigabyte's updated models pertains to the PCIe connector. The GeForce RTX 5060 and GeForce RTX 5060 Ti operate efficiently with a PCIe x8 connector, as Nvidia has engineered these graphics cards to function optimally on this interface. Although a PCIe x16 connector can be installed on either of these mid-range, Blackwell-powered models, they are electrically configured to operate at x8. The primary rationale for downgrading from a PCIe x16 to a PCIe x8 connector is cost reduction, as the former is more expensive due to its larger size and additional data lanes. Sadly, this modification reduced some features compared to the original model. The Dual GeForce RTX 5060 Ti Evo 16GB GDDR7 no longer supports dual-BIOS functionality. The original version included a switch that enabled users to toggle between P Mode and Q Mode, allowing them to choose between enhanced performance and reduced noise levels. This feature is absent in the Evo edition. Furthermore, it does not utilize Asus GPU Guard, which involves applying adhesive to the four corners of the GB206 silicon to prevent potential cracking. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Although the updated SKUs are listed on their respective websites, pricing and availability currently remain undisclosed. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds. Zhiye Liu is a news editor, memory reviewer, and SSD tester at Tom's Hardware. Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. © Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York,

Pro-democracy HK tycoon Jimmy Lai convicted in national security trial

Source: {'href': 'https://news.ycombinator.com', 'title': 'Hacker News'} Published: 2025-12-15 16:38:57

They ran out of money, 2 world wars bankrupted them. This is a fundamental difference with the US. It wasn't subjected to any of the horrors of ground warfare, and the Blitz failed to inflict any meaningful damage on it.What WW2 did destroy was the UK government's ability and will to finance the sort of repression that was necessary to maintain a globe-spanning empire. Churchill in his pigheaded hubris could scream from the rooftops about India forever remaining British, but Clement wasn't going to kill people over it. (In contrast, France lost the ability, but not the will, which is why it fought a few wars in Vietnam and Algiers, instead of letting their colonial subjects have self-rule and independence sans bloodshed.) What WW2 did destroy was the UK government's ability and will to finance the sort of repression that was necessary to maintain a globe-spanning empire. Churchill in his pigheaded hubris could scream from the rooftops about India forever remaining British, but Clement wasn't going to kill people over it. (In contrast, France lost the ability, but not the will, which is why it fought a few wars in Vietnam and Algiers, instead of letting their colonial subjects have self-rule and independence sans bloodshed.) (In contrast, France lost the ability, but not the will, which is why it fought a few wars in Vietnam and Algiers, instead of letting their colonial subjects have self-rule and independence sans bloodshed.) It's clearly a massive security issue.> If you're that keen, go join the reserves?There is not currently a war, and if there was, there wouldn't be a choice but to join. And the USA is at best neutral in terms of how many dictators it has taken down VS installed and propped up (especially if we count attempts and consequences as well). For every Saddam, you have an MBS. Out of curiosity, who are you thinking of?There aren't that many countries that made it through colonization, industrialization, WWII and then decolonization and the Cold War intact. There aren't that many countries that made it through colonization, industrialization, WWII and then decolonization and the Cold War intact. Shouldn't be hard to name just one, then, rather a bunch of handwaving. America was a major force behind post-War decolonization. Based on military ranking:#5 SK, #6 UK, #7 France, #8 Japan, #9 Turkey, #10 Italy, #11 Brazil, #12 Pakistan, #14 Germany, #15 Israel, #17 Spain, #18 Australia, and if it were allowed to, #20 Ukraine.Based on economic power: I won't even bother, only China, India, Russia aren't US allies in the top 30 or so, by GDP.The US was a world police but it wasn't alone. Yes, it was far bigger than all its allies taken separately, but those allies could more than double its power.What the US is doing now is a tragedy that will unfold over many decades. [1] Based on https://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-militaries-202... (if you have a better ranking, please link it). #5 SK, #6 UK, #7 France, #8 Japan, #9 Turkey, #10 Italy, #11 Brazil, #12 Pakistan, #14 Germany, #15 Israel, #17 Spain, #18 Australia, and if it were allowed to, #20 Ukraine.Based on economic power: I won't even bother, only China, India, Russia aren't US allies in the top 30 or so, by GDP.The US was a world police but it wasn't alone. Yes, it was far bigger than all its allies taken separately, but those allies could more than double its power.What the US is doing now is a tragedy that will unfold over many decades. [1] Based on https://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-militaries-202... (if you have a better ranking, please link it). Based on economic power: I won't even bother, only China, India, Russia aren't US allies in the top 30 or so, by GDP.The US was a world police but it wasn't alone. Yes, it was far bigger than all its allies taken separately, but those allies could more than double its power.What the US is doing now is a tragedy that will unfold over many decades. [1] Based on https://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-militaries-202... (if you have a better ranking, please link it). Yes, it was far bigger than all its allies taken separately, but those allies could more than double its power.What the US is doing now is a tragedy that will unfold over many decades. [1] Based on https://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-militaries-202... (if you have a better ranking, please link it). [1] Based on https://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-militaries-202... (if you have a better ranking, please link it). [1] Based on https://www.businessinsider.com/most-powerful-militaries-202... (if you have a better ranking, please link it). This breaks down as soon as you stop looking at abstract rankings and dive into the specific logistic realities of force projection. France and to a lesser extent the UK are reasonably capable, but there's no math that adds up to anything approaching America's capabilities. This has been true from the beginning, and I don't think was a nefarious plot, or even mistake, for most of the alliance's history. This has been true from the beginning, and I don't think was a nefarious plot, or even mistake, for most of the alliance's history. This has been true from the beginning, and I don't think was a nefarious plot, or even mistake, for most of the alliance's history. In the short-term it might be painful, but long-term things will definitively get better, as long as no one feels like they need to pick up the mantle, which is the biggest risk right now. That sort of works if a region has an undisputed hegemon. It means war if that title is contests. After so many invasions, killing so many innocent people across the world, how can one claim good-faith and call out evil abroad? its less evil when country economically destroyed (with sanctions), but its another thing when some of your relatives killed because some people wanted to play with their gun and shoot real people, for sport. Before downvoting, think about what if person on the other side experienced how people they knew and loved know got killed by that "moral" superpower for sport, for oil, for land and to enrich couple of their billionaires even more.US have no right to call out any kind of evil, anywhere, after destroying so many families. You just don't feel it, just try to imagine if half of your family got killed for fun, how do you feel? US have no right to call out any kind of evil, anywhere, after destroying so many families. You just don't feel it, just try to imagine if half of your family got killed for fun, how do you feel? The current administration is overtly doing what was previously done covertly. One of the most recent cases is Pakistan, where the army has taken over, and EU and Commonwealth election monitors did not issue even election monitor report even after two years. Instead, they have facilitated the murder and killing of Pakistani civilians. They are calling for democracy in Hong Kong, as that serves their own agendas, but will say nothing about an apartheid state like Israel. "Imran Khan, the former prime minister, has been jailed without trial for the last two-plus years and has been kept in solitary confinement for months out of those. But this Hong Kong (HK) Jimmy Lai conviction will be the headlines in most of the Western media a clear example of propaganda to rile up the population against China and socialism.This is why I laugh when people here on Hacker News mention China's control of media and its propaganda, when the Western media is no better than them. At least many Chinese citizens know they are being propagandized against and can filter it out." They are calling for democracy in Hong Kong, as that serves their own agendas, but will say nothing about an apartheid state like Israel. "Imran Khan, the former prime minister, has been jailed without trial for the last two-plus years and has been kept in solitary confinement for months out of those. But this Hong Kong (HK) Jimmy Lai conviction will be the headlines in most of the Western media a clear example of propaganda to rile up the population against China and socialism.This is why I laugh when people here on Hacker News mention China's control of media and its propaganda, when the Western media is no better than them. At least many Chinese citizens know they are being propagandized against and can filter it out." "Imran Khan, the former prime minister, has been jailed without trial for the last two-plus years and has been kept in solitary confinement for months out of those. But this Hong Kong (HK) Jimmy Lai conviction will be the headlines in most of the Western media a clear example of propaganda to rile up the population against China and socialism.This is why I laugh when people here on Hacker News mention China's control of media and its propaganda, when the Western media is no better than them. At least many Chinese citizens know they are being propagandized against and can filter it out." This is why I laugh when people here on Hacker News mention China's control of media and its propaganda, when the Western media is no better than them. At least many Chinese citizens know they are being propagandized against and can filter it out." It's the entrenchment of a particular kind of parasitic elite.The logic that made them into "elites" has turned in on itself and is now self-cannibalizing.The saving grace is only the capacity for the American people to see through this, but with the derangement of information pathways we're increasingly at the behest of these people and their narratives that only serve their aggrandizement.All the talk about "saving the west" or "individualism" or the some other talk of spirit that these preachers sermon about, is only to serve themselves and not one else. "Calling out evil" is another one of those victims to their self-serving motivations. Along with "climate change", "environmentalism", "democracy", "freedom", or a whole host of otherwise genuinely noble causes. "Calling out evil" is another one of those victims to their self-serving motivations. Along with "climate change", "environmentalism", "democracy", "freedom", or a whole host of otherwise genuinely noble causes. "Calling out evil" is another one of those victims to their self-serving motivations. Along with "climate change", "environmentalism", "democracy", "freedom", or a whole host of otherwise genuinely noble causes. All the talk about "saving the west" or "individualism" or the some other talk of spirit that these preachers sermon about, is only to serve themselves and not one else. "Calling out evil" is another one of those victims to their self-serving motivations. Along with "climate change", "environmentalism", "democracy", "freedom", or a whole host of otherwise genuinely noble causes. "Calling out evil" is another one of those victims to their self-serving motivations. Along with "climate change", "environmentalism", "democracy", "freedom", or a whole host of otherwise genuinely noble causes. Deportation was also used as a method to control politics in education. Lo Tong, a principal at a pro-Beijing, patriotic middle school, had been deported in 1950 for raising the People's Republic of China (PRC) flag and singing the national anthem at his school." [1]Now of course we'd all prefer Western-style freedoms but the narrative on HK is highly skewed and hypocritical, with HK used as a pawn in the broader anti-China narrative.Even Singapore isn't exactly rosy but it is a friend of the West so it's fine. Now of course we'd all prefer Western-style freedoms but the narrative on HK is highly skewed and hypocritical, with HK used as a pawn in the broader anti-China narrative.Even Singapore isn't exactly rosy but it is a friend of the West so it's fine. Even Singapore isn't exactly rosy but it is a friend of the West so it's fine. it was always BSnow everybody can seethats the only difference now everybody can seethats the only difference But for instance, America defines treason so narrowly that nobody has been convicted of it since WW2. Americans are free to sing praise of China, Russia, North Korea, whoever they like no matter how unjustified. Unless Congress has declared a war, which hasn't happened since WW2, you can talk as much smack about America or praise opposing regimes as much as you like. Everyone is comfortable and entertained to the point of drooling. They won't be leaving their cozy warm houses with TV and video games to do anything. If it were, there wouldn't be an obesity epidemic. It'll always be short-term rewards over long-term most of the time for most people.On the other hand, none of this is sustainable in the long-run, so it'll all come crashing down and things will work out. We'll probably be dead long before then though. Gotta go through some rough shit first. On the other hand, none of this is sustainable in the long-run, so it'll all come crashing down and things will work out. We'll probably be dead long before then though. Gotta go through some rough shit first. What if it was a fake all along and was just a facade and social media exposed it? mass de-regulation, tax avoidance, effective end of anti-trust killed itsocial media was just the tool-of-the-day to break democracy social media was just the tool-of-the-day to break democracy The UK throwing a very big rock at a thin glass house.I don't agree with any such laws in any country, but I think it's important to point out the hypocrisy here I don't agree with any such laws in any country, but I think it's important to point out the hypocrisy here Americans can never call out human rights abuses because of slavery. Sinking half a dozen ships in international waters is a crime.Sanity would ask for intercepting those boats in your waters, and that's it, controlling what's in them, who are these people and send them in front of a court if they breached your law, on your soil (or waters).Yet we are at the point nobody raises the voice where sinking civilian ships on the basis it's drug smugglers (without providing a proof, let alone the fact that even if it was true it's still insane) has any leftover of decency or justice.Or calling for the annexation of Greenland and Panama by any means.Or bombing Iran on the basis that it's developing nuclear weapons on behalf of the Israeli government (which is an act of war if Iran could wage it, the US does not get to decide who can have a nuclear weapon and who does not).The list of breaches in decency or law is basically infinite. Sanity would ask for intercepting those boats in your waters, and that's it, controlling what's in them, who are these people and send them in front of a court if they breached your law, on your soil (or waters).Yet we are at the point nobody raises the voice where sinking civilian ships on the basis it's drug smugglers (without providing a proof, let alone the fact that even if it was true it's still insane) has any leftover of decency or justice.Or calling for the annexation of Greenland and Panama by any means.Or bombing Iran on the basis that it's developing nuclear weapons on behalf of the Israeli government (which is an act of war if Iran could wage it, the US does not get to decide who can have a nuclear weapon and who does not).The list of breaches in decency or law is basically infinite. Yet we are at the point nobody raises the voice where sinking civilian ships on the basis it's drug smugglers (without providing a proof, let alone the fact that even if it was true it's still insane) has any leftover of decency or justice.Or calling for the annexation of Greenland and Panama by any means.Or bombing Iran on the basis that it's developing nuclear weapons on behalf of the Israeli government (which is an act of war if Iran could wage it, the US does not get to decide who can have a nuclear weapon and who does not).The list of breaches in decency or law is basically infinite. Or calling for the annexation of Greenland and Panama by any means.Or bombing Iran on the basis that it's developing nuclear weapons on behalf of the Israeli government (which is an act of war if Iran could wage it, the US does not get to decide who can have a nuclear weapon and who does not).The list of breaches in decency or law is basically infinite. Or bombing Iran on the basis that it's developing nuclear weapons on behalf of the Israeli government (which is an act of war if Iran could wage it, the US does not get to decide who can have a nuclear weapon and who does not).The list of breaches in decency or law is basically infinite. The list of breaches in decency or law is basically infinite. There is nothing logically wrong with hypocrisy. I tell my toddlers not to do stuff I do all the time.The problem with hypocrisy comes when one party is assumed to have more rights than the other. In this case, why would Britain (or the US's) government be allowed to be more corrupt than China's?I assume Britain is brought up due to the British government's historic role in Hong Kong and China. In this case, why would Britain (or the US's) government be allowed to be more corrupt than China's?I assume Britain is brought up due to the British government's historic role in Hong Kong and China. I assume Britain is brought up due to the British government's historic role in Hong Kong and China. We're all evil at one point or another, from someone's perspective. I'm not sure what it is exactly. That quote gets bent very far out of context. You could use it to justify any inaction under that interpretation, on the theory that you are not qualified to take it simply due to being imperfect. Not sure where you get this from?For me it means even "evil" people/countries can raise valid points, nothing more, nothing less. Christ, we need more woodworking classes for kids on the tech path. Christ, we really need reading comprehension classes and ideally poetry classes or something similar, since people are unable to read more than the actual characters today it seems... One can also ask how HK ended up with English language and common law in the first place… though that wasn't so recent. It's not whataboutism to point up the current messed up situation is not unrelated to the behavior of the UK, and their fingerprints are all over it. If you're saying historically as an imperial power we've done terrible stuff we can all agree with that! Since it fell from power, the UK does everything the US wants.However, historically it set up a lot of bad things that happened in the Middle East, China, Africa, etc. However, historically it set up a lot of bad things that happened in the Middle East, China, Africa, etc. previously, these well funded democracy - regime agents would win in many places, but now the tables have turned - america now has a demagogue as president. In summary, since 1997 it has for all intents and purposes been abandoned. The entire point of being a sovereign nation is nobody can force you to do anything. It is in a nation's self interest to not violate agreements and get along nicely, but sometimes that calculus changes. The only thing you can do about it is shaming them, sanctioning them, going to war if you really care, ... And a plain reading of the Basic Law (Hong Kong's constitution) permits everything that's happened, and expecting the contrary seems like a coping mechanism. There are massive exemptions for Hong Kong's autonomy and deferrence to Beijing at Beijing's discretion, or by the Head of Hong Kong who is appointed by BeijingI wasn't around for the handover so I'm largely exempt from the emotional marriage to an ideal Hong Kong residents and people affirming Hong Kong resident's feelings seem to haveThe legislature wouldn't have to be consulted for the National Security Law to have been enacted, the article and seemingly all of the west seems to think that is a controversy when it isn't necessaryAnd then there is another layer where the structure of the legislature doesn't even match western ideals and wouldn't have made a difference. The legislature is 50% popular vote and 50% corporations. Actually in an even more egregios way with the non-natural persons having a more extreme weighting of votes)People are like a different founding document governs Hong Kong, when it doesn't. People act like the governing document of Hong Kong was supposed to be ignored for 50 years, when something way different and way more integrated is supposed to happen at the end of the handover period.I think there is zero path to the goals Hong Kong residents espouse and are used to. I wasn't around for the handover so I'm largely exempt from the emotional marriage to an ideal Hong Kong residents and people affirming Hong Kong resident's feelings seem to haveThe legislature wouldn't have to be consulted for the National Security Law to have been enacted, the article and seemingly all of the west seems to think that is a controversy when it isn't necessaryAnd then there is another layer where the structure of the legislature doesn't even match western ideals and wouldn't have made a difference. Actually in an even more egregios way with the non-natural persons having a more extreme weighting of votes)People are like a different founding document governs Hong Kong, when it doesn't. People act like the governing document of Hong Kong was supposed to be ignored for 50 years, when something way different and way more integrated is supposed to happen at the end of the handover period.I think there is zero path to the goals Hong Kong residents espouse and are used to. The legislature wouldn't have to be consulted for the National Security Law to have been enacted, the article and seemingly all of the west seems to think that is a controversy when it isn't necessaryAnd then there is another layer where the structure of the legislature doesn't even match western ideals and wouldn't have made a difference. Actually in an even more egregios way with the non-natural persons having a more extreme weighting of votes)People are like a different founding document governs Hong Kong, when it doesn't. People act like the governing document of Hong Kong was supposed to be ignored for 50 years, when something way different and way more integrated is supposed to happen at the end of the handover period.I think there is zero path to the goals Hong Kong residents espouse and are used to. And then there is another layer where the structure of the legislature doesn't even match western ideals and wouldn't have made a difference. Actually in an even more egregios way with the non-natural persons having a more extreme weighting of votes)People are like a different founding document governs Hong Kong, when it doesn't. People act like the governing document of Hong Kong was supposed to be ignored for 50 years, when something way different and way more integrated is supposed to happen at the end of the handover period.I think there is zero path to the goals Hong Kong residents espouse and are used to. Actually in an even more egregios way with the non-natural persons having a more extreme weighting of votes)People are like a different founding document governs Hong Kong, when it doesn't. People act like the governing document of Hong Kong was supposed to be ignored for 50 years, when something way different and way more integrated is supposed to happen at the end of the handover period.I think there is zero path to the goals Hong Kong residents espouse and are used to. People are like a different founding document governs Hong Kong, when it doesn't. People act like the governing document of Hong Kong was supposed to be ignored for 50 years, when something way different and way more integrated is supposed to happen at the end of the handover period.I think there is zero path to the goals Hong Kong residents espouse and are used to. He's facing life in prison right now, so this conviction puts everything on the line.Glad to see this hitting the front page. I posted an article earlier with not much movement which was really worrying for the HK free thought movement; happy that this turned out to not be the case. Glad to see this hitting the front page. I posted an article earlier with not much movement which was really worrying for the HK free thought movement; happy that this turned out to not be the case. CBS just got taken over by the same cabal.Amidst ICE grabbing people out of Home Depot parking lots in the US, China is just doing the same thing over there. Amidst ICE grabbing people out of Home Depot parking lots in the US, China is just doing the same thing over there. But the Hong Kong we knew is dead. The mainland government want to keep it prosperous so will likely work to protect it from sanctions or international regulations.If you're a Russian oligarch it's probably safer to keep your money in HK than Cayman or Switzerland these days. Even if you're a petrostate sovereign wealth fund or non NATO central bank there's some value in holding assets that can't be frozen at will by the US treasury secretary.You could argue that Signapaore and the UAE compete here but they have much more dependency on the west for security and diplomacy. If you're a Russian oligarch it's probably safer to keep your money in HK than Cayman or Switzerland these days. Even if you're a petrostate sovereign wealth fund or non NATO central bank there's some value in holding assets that can't be frozen at will by the US treasury secretary.You could argue that Signapaore and the UAE compete here but they have much more dependency on the west for security and diplomacy. You could argue that Signapaore and the UAE compete here but they have much more dependency on the west for security and diplomacy. The EU is still debating after 3 years of war in Ukraine and weekly nuclear threats what to do with the Russian funds, let's be real, with the same situation in HK, the funds would have been seized within a week. The article is literally about what happens when you go around flagging too hard that you're opposing China's crackdown. People are generally not super closed nor open about it, although some individuals were more closed about it. Most seemed honest when asked about it, but again, YMMV. The Chinese were obviously always opposed to British imperalism and it was a major victory to finally get HK back, including in HK, and even acknowledged in Taiwan. There is a large body of quite nationalistic and anti-European/British films in HK cinema from British times.However, this does not mean that there is no domestic politics with pro and anti communist party, but daily life hasn't changed in HK except from the larger influx of "mainlanders".The narrative on HK in the West is simplistic and, frankly a little racist. European imperialism and colonialism has long been rejected except somehow for the so great thing it did in HK, conveniently forgetting that the British never had any democracy in HK and acquired HK by pretty nasty means. However, this does not mean that there is no domestic politics with pro and anti communist party, but daily life hasn't changed in HK except from the larger influx of "mainlanders".The narrative on HK in the West is simplistic and, frankly a little racist. European imperialism and colonialism has long been rejected except somehow for the so great thing it did in HK, conveniently forgetting that the British never had any democracy in HK and acquired HK by pretty nasty means. European imperialism and colonialism has long been rejected except somehow for the so great thing it did in HK, conveniently forgetting that the British never had any democracy in HK and acquired HK by pretty nasty means. Of course this guy isn't sone factory worker but a CEO. He met with Mike Pence, Pompey and Bolton, i.e. the West so he's "pro democracy".ICE is in my city pulling people out of their cars, then releasing them with no charges days later. Wish there was some democracy in this country. ICE is in my city pulling people out of their cars, then releasing them with no charges days later. Wish there was some democracy in this country. Now white, professional westerners who lost control of China weep and gnash about their supposed moral superiority over China. Is it possible to get a fair trial if you're an enemy of the state? In which country is it possible to get a fair trial if you're an enemy of the state, especially in today's climate? At least there's certainly an ordering of states I'd rather have against me, as a person living in them. Or if you don't like the child murder analogy: suppose an FBI employee decided to betray the US to the Soviets out of money, not ideology (cue Robert Hanssen). They grab this Hanssen-type, send him to the electric chair (on faulty evidence or simply "vibes" of guilt), but later it turns out this person was really guilty. Was this process fair?Maybe Sweden if relatively fairer, like you said. But even if it was relatively fair, what's with obsessing over Hong Kong and China if most of the world isn't fair? Maybe Sweden if relatively fairer, like you said. But even if it was relatively fair, what's with obsessing over Hong Kong and China if most of the world isn't fair? There have been a few cases of Somalis for example even killing government police/military and them being found not guilty in xeer court and even the government respected the decision. What makes you ask a such question? Here are some bad ideas which comes to my mind:* you think China is inferior? * or maybe they don't have laws? * maybe plain old racism?Forgive me, but your question sounds so bad. Counter question, did any of war criminals get a fair trial in the USA? (I am not listing countries they did war crimes, because there are too many) * or maybe they don't have laws? * maybe plain old racism?Forgive me, but your question sounds so bad. Counter question, did any of war criminals get a fair trial in the USA? (I am not listing countries they did war crimes, because there are too many) * or maybe they don't have laws? * maybe plain old racism?Forgive me, but your question sounds so bad. Counter question, did any of war criminals get a fair trial in the USA? (I am not listing countries they did war crimes, because there are too many) * or maybe they don't have laws? * maybe plain old racism?Forgive me, but your question sounds so bad. Counter question, did any of war criminals get a fair trial in the USA? (I am not listing countries they did war crimes, because there are too many) * or maybe they don't have laws? * maybe plain old racism?Forgive me, but your question sounds so bad. Counter question, did any of war criminals get a fair trial in the USA? (I am not listing countries they did war crimes, because there are too many) * maybe plain old racism?Forgive me, but your question sounds so bad. Counter question, did any of war criminals get a fair trial in the USA? (I am not listing countries they did war crimes, because there are too many) Forgive me, but your question sounds so bad. Counter question, did any of war criminals get a fair trial in the USA? (I am not listing countries they did war crimes, because there are too many) GOLDSTEIN: China has not allowed more freedom of speech. Publications can still be shut down for criticizing the government. It started to develop its own financial center in Shanghai. Foreign money can now flow into China without going through Hong Kong, so the Chinese Communist Party doesn't need Hong Kong as much as it used to.This has led to more and more tension between people in Hong Kong and the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government. In 2014, there was a fight over how to choose the government official who runs Hong Kong, and a million people in Hong Kong took to the streets to protest. The people in Hong Kong said, we don't trust your mainland courts. Two million people protested in the streets, including, by the way, Jimmy Lai, who is now in his 70s.What was it like? What was it like walking that day?LAI: I was very excited - when you see so many people, you know, is fighting for a moral issue. Chinese leaders see these protesters and Jimmy Lai, for that matter, as agents for foreign influence - as, you know, basically latter-day colonialists. That is like a captain who cannot jump the ship.GOLDSTEIN: I mean, you're rich. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. This has led to more and more tension between people in Hong Kong and the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese government. In 2014, there was a fight over how to choose the government official who runs Hong Kong, and a million people in Hong Kong took to the streets to protest. The people in Hong Kong said, we don't trust your mainland courts. Two million people protested in the streets, including, by the way, Jimmy Lai, who is now in his 70s.What was it like? What was it like walking that day?LAI: I was very excited - when you see so many people, you know, is fighting for a moral issue. Chinese leaders see these protesters and Jimmy Lai, for that matter, as agents for foreign influence - as, you know, basically latter-day colonialists. That is like a captain who cannot jump the ship.GOLDSTEIN: I mean, you're rich. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. What was it like walking that day?LAI: I was very excited - when you see so many people, you know, is fighting for a moral issue. Chinese leaders see these protesters and Jimmy Lai, for that matter, as agents for foreign influence - as, you know, basically latter-day colonialists. That is like a captain who cannot jump the ship.GOLDSTEIN: I mean, you're rich. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. LAI: I was very excited - when you see so many people, you know, is fighting for a moral issue. Chinese leaders see these protesters and Jimmy Lai, for that matter, as agents for foreign influence - as, you know, basically latter-day colonialists. That is like a captain who cannot jump the ship.GOLDSTEIN: I mean, you're rich. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. GOLDSTEIN: The moral authority and courage, yeah.LAI: Yes.GOLDSTEIN: A few weeks later, on July 1, on the anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule, protesters broke into the Hong Kong legislature buildings, smashed glass walls and spray-painted graffiti. Chinese leaders see these protesters and Jimmy Lai, for that matter, as agents for foreign influence - as, you know, basically latter-day colonialists. That is like a captain who cannot jump the ship.GOLDSTEIN: I mean, you're rich. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. LAI: Yes.GOLDSTEIN: A few weeks later, on July 1, on the anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule, protesters broke into the Hong Kong legislature buildings, smashed glass walls and spray-painted graffiti. Chinese leaders see these protesters and Jimmy Lai, for that matter, as agents for foreign influence - as, you know, basically latter-day colonialists. That is like a captain who cannot jump the ship.GOLDSTEIN: I mean, you're rich. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. GOLDSTEIN: A few weeks later, on July 1, on the anniversary of Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule, protesters broke into the Hong Kong legislature buildings, smashed glass walls and spray-painted graffiti. Chinese leaders see these protesters and Jimmy Lai, for that matter, as agents for foreign influence - as, you know, basically latter-day colonialists. That is like a captain who cannot jump the ship.GOLDSTEIN: I mean, you're rich. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. That is like a captain who cannot jump the ship.GOLDSTEIN: I mean, you're rich. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. If I'm rich but an a*hole...GOLDSTEIN: (Laughter).LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. LAI: ...What my kids will think about me?GOLDSTEIN: Yeah.LAI: You know, being rich, you can be very poor...GOLDSTEIN: Go on. The politicians that oversaw it should be ashamed.Not to mention that Carrie Lam, former leader of Hong Kong, sold her people up the river by allowing the national security law in [3]. Not to mention that Carrie Lam, former leader of Hong Kong, sold her people up the river by allowing the national security law in [3]. It states that Hong Kong "shall enact laws on its own to prohibit any act of treason, secession, sedition, subversion against the Central People's Government, or theft of state secrets, to prohibit foreign political organizations or bodies from conducting political activities in the Region, and to prohibit political organizations or bodies of the Region from establishing ties with foreign political organizations or bodies."

High-Tech ‘Bubble Wrap' Lets You Hold Fire Without Getting Burned

Source: {'href': 'https://gizmodo.com', 'title': 'Gizmodo'} Published: 2025-12-15 16:35:32

Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have developed a new material called the Mesoporous Optically Clear Heat Insulator, or MOCHI for short. Unlike the name, MOCHI is no dessert—it's a nearly transparent, long-lasting silicon gel that insulates so well, you could hold a flame on your palm without getting burned. Further down the line, MOCHI could also appear in “applications ranging from extraterrestrial habitats to lightweight apparel,” Ivan Smalyukh, study senior author and a physicist at CU Boulder, told Gizmodo in an email. The secret to MOCHI's insulating abilities lies within these small air bubbles, which trap incoming or outgoing heat within their networks. By contrast, MOCHI reflects around 0.2% of incoming light. For one of their experiments, Smalyukh and colleagues applied MOCHI to a cold window and found that doing so stopped roughly 95% of heat transfer, somewhat like high-performance building roofs and walls—but transparent, he added. According to Smalyukh, a major motivation for this project was the not-so-ideal energy efficiency of buildings worldwide. Specifically, buildings consume around 40% of energy worldwide, but poor insulation often leads to heat leaks that increase how much energy residents use to keep themselves comfortable, he said. By contrast, most existing insulation materials are opaque and look unattractive when used on windows or building exteriors. “Suitable building materials and technologies could allow for comfortable indoor environments at no or minimal energy consumption,” he said. “Thus, windows may finally even acquire new functions, well beyond what they are known for throughout the millennia of uses.” That said, MOCHI is still under development, as fabrication still takes quite a long time, the researchers admitted in a statement. For instance, MOCHI could be repurposed as solar panels for buildings, especially in climate zones with limited access to sunlight, Smalyukh explained. As of now, the researchers continue to test and refine their product. It's also led to some interesting moments, like using MOCHI as a miniature grill to cook some sausages. During this phase, matter exists in a weird, precarious limbo that ultimately determines what it becomes. How often do you think of ancient Roman cement? The “ultrablack” fabric could soon become part of cameras, solar panels, telescopes, and more. SquidKid is a small bioreactor housing real, glowing bacteria for children to nurture and raise. This tiny chip can withstand temperatures up to 1,500 degrees and could one day sit inside the core of a nuclear reactor, delivering critical real-time data.

AI agents are coming for your shopping cart: How agentic commerce could disrupt online retail

Source: {'href': 'https://www.geekwire.com', 'title': 'GeekWire'} Published: 2025-12-15 15:41:04

[Editor's Note: Agents of Transformation is an independent GeekWire series and 2026 event, underwritten by Accenture, exploring the people, companies, and ideas behind the rise of AI agents.] Imagine telling your AI assistant that you need a new winter jacket. It already knows your style preferences and budget from previous purchases. This is the promise of “agentic commerce” — AI systems that research, compare, and even buy on your behalf. Tech giants, startups, and retailers are all racing to build it. For the latest installment in our Agents of Transformation series, we interviewed startup founders, consumer brand marketing leaders, industry analysts, and others to better understand how agentic commerce could change the way we shop — now, in the future, or maybe not much at all. Adobe reported that AI-driven traffic to U.S. retail sites jumped 670% year-over-year on Cyber Monday. For ChatGPT, referrals to e-commerce apps represented only 0.82% of all sessions over Thanksgiving weekend. There's still a big gap between the pitch and what these tools can actually do today. “I am shocked at the promises versus reality,” said Emily Pfeiffer, a principal analyst and digital business expert with Forrester. Today's reality is closer to a fancy search than full autonomy. A handful of retailers have experimented with checkout-in-chat, but Pfeiffer said some polished demos don't actually work in the real world. For fashion, gifts, home decor — things where discovery is part of the value — many consumers may not want an agent to shortcut that process. Agentic commerce could work best for low-consideration, commodity purchases — like household staples and replenishment items. Pfeiffer believes this is where truly autonomous commerce is most likely to show up, though probably in specific situations rather than as a full replacement for browsing. E-commerce websites were designed for humans typing keywords into a browser — not AI agents that need to read pages and place orders on their own. For retailers, this patchwork can be confusing and expensive, especially as there's no guarantee which protocol will become dominant. “Each protocol is a burden for the merchant,” said Kumar Senthil, founder of Firmly, a Seattle-area startup building software that hides some of this complexity. His company, which recently partnered with Perplexity, lets merchants connect to multiple protocols through a single interface. Senthil, who previously built Samsung's e-commerce platform, said online retailers need to have “microstores” everywhere. But AI assistants need to draw on data from somewhere — which means a brand's homepage could still serve an important purpose, even if the act of purchasing gets dispersed. “We're continuing to emphasize crawling, indexing, and ranking technical SEO opportunities through the lens of AI,” said Ryan Ngo, vice president of North America marketing and e-commerce at the Seattle-based company. Beyond making a website “AI-ready,” Arena said brands should let shoppers ask questions about their products in plain language, using built-in AI chat on their own sites. “People are going to be frustrated that your website can't answer them,” he said. In Pfeiffer's view, the bigger strategic risk lies in places brands don't control — AI-powered search tools like ChatGPT or Gemini that could become powerful new gateways for finding and buying products. The company captures roughly 40% of U.S. e-commerce spending and has a fast-growing advertising business that brings in around $70 billion a year — revenue that depends on humans browsing and clicking. In November, Amazon sued Perplexity to stop the startup from using its AI browser agent to make purchases on its marketplace, citing computer fraud laws and security risks, along with a “significantly degraded shopping and customer service experience it provides.” Amazon has maintained what Bloomberg described as “a walled garden” that doesn't allow autonomous shopping on its site. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas called the lawsuit “a bully tactic” and argued consumers should be free to use whatever AI assistant they prefer. Easier shopping means more transactions and happier customers,” Srinivas wrote. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy acknowledged on a recent earnings call that agentic commerce “has a chance to be really good for e-commerce” and said that he expects the company to partner with third-party agents over time. Amazon's AI shopping assistant, Rufus, now has more than 250 million active customers. The company has also been testing a “Buy For Me” feature that lets customers purchase products from other brands' sites, from inside Amazon's mobile shopping app. He questioned whether Amazon's delivery speed advantage — long considered a competitive moat — will matter as much in a world where consumers place less emphasis on faster shipping times. The rise of third-party AI agents, such as Perplexity's Comet browser, could also weaken Amazon's grip on customers. E-commerce journalist Jason Del Rey noted that if agents own the relationship and steer shoppers across sites, Amazon risks looking more like fulfillment infrastructure. That raises a long-term question, he said — if agents sit between shoppers and stores, who ends up capturing most of the value? But others don't expect AI tools to displace Amazon for now. Kodali added: “It's unclear what value ChatGPT is bringing to retailers, other than dis-intermediating Google.” Last month Google unveiled a suite of AI shopping features powered by Gemini, including “agentic checkout,” which lets users set rules such as maximum spend or product specifications. Microsoft, meanwhile, is positioning itself to help retailers and brands adapt to agentic commerce, whether building assistants into their websites or surfacing their offerings in third-party chatbots. “We prioritize robust frameworks, open standards, and trust infrastructure so intelligent agents can operate reliably and securely throughout the commerce ecosystem,” said Kathleen Mitford, corporate vice president of global industry at Microsoft, responding to questions via email. Finding the perfect winter coat based on your personal preferences may be just the start when it comes to AI assistants knowing what to purchase for you. “Imagine an agent recognizing that the bathing suit you're buying isn't just another item, but part of preparing for an upcoming vacation and tailoring recommendations accordingly,” Mitford said. That example would require consumers to offer up more personal data such as calendars and budget information. But it could enable a better experience, according to Arena. “We're talking about a brand being able to personalize experiences to all of their customers across the internet — not only on a first-party website that they own,” he said. John Larson, who helped launch business messaging company Zipwhip (acquired by Twilio), said conversational commerce is evolving toward two-way interactions, enabling retailers to have more effective interactions with customers. “We do believe that real conversational commerce leveraging agentic AI is absolutely the future,” said Larson, now an investor in Seattle startup Ambassador. Lorrin Pascoe, CMO at Vancouver, B.C.-based footwear retailer Vessi, said he believes AI agents will become an important way to reach customers. “For us, it's really realizing that this isn't a gimmick,” he said. This month, it's opening its first U.S. store in Bellevue, Wash. — reversing the course that brick-and-mortar retailers took when e-commerce pushed them online. Accenture proudly supports GeekWire in its latest series highlighting how companies are using agentic AI to reinvent. We're driving change across every industry with technology and human ingenuity. Contact us to learn more about how AI agents can help transform your organization. ‘Commerce is entering the agentic era': Envive raises $15M to build AI agents for online retailers Seattle startup Gradial raises $35M to boost agentic tools that automate enterprise marketing Startup radar: Seattle founders tackle cooking, golfing, online shopping, and AI coding agents AI goes from tool to teammate: Amazon Web Services SVP Colleen Aubrey on the dawn of agentic work

We Put Flock Under Surveillance: Go Make Them Behave Differently [video]

Source: {'href': 'https://news.ycombinator.com', 'title': 'Hacker News'} Published: 2025-12-15 14:57:55

Thousands of U.S. farmers have Parkinson's. They blame a deadly pesticide

Source: {'href': 'https://news.ycombinator.com', 'title': 'Hacker News'} Published: 2025-12-15 14:37:49

One example of them clearly being the baddies is them paying people to social media astroturf to defend the roundup pesticide online [2].1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cancer_Alley2. This is the reason we have people mistakenly repeating the conclusion that AI consumes huge amounts of water comparable to that of entire cities.If you make any other assumption than "I don't know what's happening here and need to learn more" you'll constantly be making these kind of errors. You don't have to have an opinion on every topic.Edit: By the way, I also don't think we should trust big companies indiscriminately. Like, we could have a system for pesticide approval that errs on the side of caution: We only permit pesticides for which there is undisputed evidence that the chemicals do not cause problems for humans/animals/other plants etc. If you make any other assumption than "I don't know what's happening here and need to learn more" you'll constantly be making these kind of errors. You don't have to have an opinion on every topic.Edit: By the way, I also don't think we should trust big companies indiscriminately. Like, we could have a system for pesticide approval that errs on the side of caution: We only permit pesticides for which there is undisputed evidence that the chemicals do not cause problems for humans/animals/other plants etc. Edit: By the way, I also don't think we should trust big companies indiscriminately. Like, we could have a system for pesticide approval that errs on the side of caution: We only permit pesticides for which there is undisputed evidence that the chemicals do not cause problems for humans/animals/other plants etc. If you are super into "ACAB" (all cops are bastards) you can easily "research" this all day for weeks and find so many insane cases of police being absolute bastards. You would be so solidified in your belief that police as an institution are fundamentally a force of evil.But you would probably never come across the boring stat that less than 1 in 500,000 police encounters ever register on the "ACAB" radar.This is almost always where people run aground. Stats are almost always obfuscated for things that people develop a moral conviction around. Imagine trying to acknowledge the stat there are effectively zero transgender people perving on others in public bathrooms. But you would probably never come across the boring stat that less than 1 in 500,000 police encounters ever register on the "ACAB" radar.This is almost always where people run aground. Stats are almost always obfuscated for things that people develop a moral conviction around. Imagine trying to acknowledge the stat there are effectively zero transgender people perving on others in public bathrooms. This is almost always where people run aground. Stats are almost always obfuscated for things that people develop a moral conviction around. Imagine trying to acknowledge the stat there are effectively zero transgender people perving on others in public bathrooms. If you have a system where 1 actor is bad, and the other 500,000 actors are good but also protect the 1, then you have a system with 500,001 bad actors. This line of thinking will either be totally unable to ever build a large organization, or else will pathologically explain-away wrong-doing due to black and white thinking. People take it too far in both directions, but it's safe to say that there's more than one bad actors and the system demonstrably tolerates and defends them right up to the point where they are forced not to. Since police are part of the law, when they don't hold their own accountable, there's no recourse. This is before one even starts unpacking the knapsack of how much law is designed to protect the police from consequences of performing their duties (leading to the unfortunate example "They can blow the side off your house if they have reason to believe it will help them catch a suspect and the recompense is that your insurance might cover that damage.") Which is seen in every group of authorities around the country. They literally give out get out of jail free cards for cops' friends and family in many parts of the country, that is systemic, and has nothing to do with frequency of cops committing crimes. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/04/nypd-lawsuit...> Bianchi claims his superiors retaliated against him for his stance against the “corrupt” cards after he was warned by an official with the Police Benevolent Association, New York City's largest police union, that he would not be protected by his union if he wrote tickets for people with cards. The lawsuit cites several instances where his NYPD colleagues complained about his ticket-writing, including on Facebook...> Bianchi's service as a traffic cop ended last summer when he wrote a ticket to a friend of the NYPD's highest-ranking uniformed officer, Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, the lawsuit states. > Bianchi claims his superiors retaliated against him for his stance against the “corrupt” cards after he was warned by an official with the Police Benevolent Association, New York City's largest police union, that he would not be protected by his union if he wrote tickets for people with cards. The lawsuit cites several instances where his NYPD colleagues complained about his ticket-writing, including on Facebook...> Bianchi's service as a traffic cop ended last summer when he wrote a ticket to a friend of the NYPD's highest-ranking uniformed officer, Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, the lawsuit states. one, more nuanced, sentiment is something more like "all cops are bastards as long as bad cops are protected. "another sentiment is "modern police institutions are directly descended from slavecatchers and strikebreakers; thus, all of policing is rooted in bastard behavior, therefore: all cops are bastards".there are plenty of other ways to interpret the phrase. "acab" is shorthand for a lot of legitimate grievances. another sentiment is "modern police institutions are directly descended from slavecatchers and strikebreakers; thus, all of policing is rooted in bastard behavior, therefore: all cops are bastards".there are plenty of other ways to interpret the phrase. "acab" is shorthand for a lot of legitimate grievances. there are plenty of other ways to interpret the phrase. "acab" is shorthand for a lot of legitimate grievances. You can start off with a prior that it's more likely the corporation is wrong than not. If you have long term savings do you want it to earn interest?The desire to optimize for profit exists at all levels among all participants in the economy. If your company spends more to clean up and others don't, you lose… because people buy cheaper products and invest in firms with higher profit margins. The only way out we've found is to simultaneously compel everyone. If your company spends more to clean up and others don't, you lose… because people buy cheaper products and invest in firms with higher profit margins. The only way out we've found is to simultaneously compel everyone. If your company spends more to clean up and others don't, you lose… because people buy cheaper products and invest in firms with higher profit margins. The only way out we've found is to simultaneously compel everyone. If Microsoft, Amazon and Google are assumed to have ~8000 MW of data centers in the US, that is 1.4M m3 per day. If Microsoft, Amazon and Google are assumed to have ~8000 MW of data centers in the US, that is 1.4M m3 per day. In general, people are taking the resource consumption of new datacenters and attributing 100% of that to "because AI," when the reality is generally that while AI is increasing spend on new infrastructure, data companies are always spending on new infrastructure because of everything they do.2) Comparative cost. It turns out a modern digital artist letting their CPU idle and screen on while they muse is soaking significant resources that an AI is using to just synthesize. Granted, this is also not an apples-to-apples comparison because the average AI flow generates dozens of draft images to find the one that is used, but the net resource effect might be less energy spent in total per produced image (on a skew of "more spent by computers" and "less by people"). It turns out a modern digital artist letting their CPU idle and screen on while they muse is soaking significant resources that an AI is using to just synthesize. Granted, this is also not an apples-to-apples comparison because the average AI flow generates dozens of draft images to find the one that is used, but the net resource effect might be less energy spent in total per produced image (on a skew of "more spent by computers" and "less by people"). => 16M m3 of clean water per dayEdit: convert to comparable units This is unworkable in practice; nothing will ever be completely safe. Instead, we need a public regulatory body that makes reasonable risk/reward tradeoffs when approving necessary chemicals. However, this system breaks down completely when you allow for lobbying and a revolving door between the public and private sectors. You cannot prove a negative.But, I think it's fair to assume that any chemical that is toxic to plant or insect life is probably something you want to be careful with. That's a recipe for disaster.Personally, I find myself to be incredibly biased against corporations over people. Well, consider that some people tried to put "good intentions" into corporations bylaws and has been viciously resisted.Corporations will happily take everything you have if you accidentally give it to them. Personally, I find myself to be incredibly biased against corporations over people. Well, consider that some people tried to put "good intentions" into corporations bylaws and has been viciously resisted.Corporations will happily take everything you have if you accidentally give it to them. Well, consider that some people tried to put "good intentions" into corporations bylaws and has been viciously resisted.Corporations will happily take everything you have if you accidentally give it to them. It's a rational default position to say, "I'll default to distrusting large corporate scientific literature that tells me neurotoxins on my food aren't a problem. "As with any rule of thumb, that one will sometimes land you on the wrong side of history, but my guess is that it will more often than not guide you well if you don't have the time to dive deeper into a subject.I'm not saying all corporations are evil. I'm not saying all corporate science is bad or bunk. But, corporations have a poor track record with this sort of thing, and it's the kind of thing that could obviously have large, negative societal consequences if we get it wrong. This is the category of problem for which the science needs to be clear and overwhelming in favor of a thing before we should allow it. As with any rule of thumb, that one will sometimes land you on the wrong side of history, but my guess is that it will more often than not guide you well if you don't have the time to dive deeper into a subject.I'm not saying all corporations are evil. I'm not saying all corporate science is bad or bunk. But, corporations have a poor track record with this sort of thing, and it's the kind of thing that could obviously have large, negative societal consequences if we get it wrong. This is the category of problem for which the science needs to be clear and overwhelming in favor of a thing before we should allow it. I'm not saying all corporate science is bad or bunk. But, corporations have a poor track record with this sort of thing, and it's the kind of thing that could obviously have large, negative societal consequences if we get it wrong. This is the category of problem for which the science needs to be clear and overwhelming in favor of a thing before we should allow it. That AI consumes somewhat less water than cities of millions is not a defense. If these data centers are so water efficient, please explain the Dalles data center use > 25% of their water supply?https://web.archive.org/web/20230130142801/https://centralor...https://web.archive.org/web/20251014013855/https://www.orego... What datacenter out there is using an open loop cooling system that does not return the water after cooling for other uses?It seems extremely inefficient to have to filter river water over and over then to dump it into the ground so deep it doesn't go back to getting into an aquifer. At least you have to continually monitor them as such. And I think their flaws are probably shared by all large human organisations. 1. immoral people (such as psychopaths) will be disproportionately at the helm of large corporations2. regular people will make immoral decisions, because to do otherwise would be against their own interests or because the consequences / moral impact are hidden from their awarenessThere is no way to act in life that isn't in some sense moral or political, because it also impacts others and you are always responsible for your what you do (or don't do). And corporations are just a bunch of people doing stuff together. To maintain otherwise is in itself a (im)moral act, intentionally or not, see point 2 above. 2. regular people will make immoral decisions, because to do otherwise would be against their own interests or because the consequences / moral impact are hidden from their awarenessThere is no way to act in life that isn't in some sense moral or political, because it also impacts others and you are always responsible for your what you do (or don't do). And corporations are just a bunch of people doing stuff together. To maintain otherwise is in itself a (im)moral act, intentionally or not, see point 2 above. There is no way to act in life that isn't in some sense moral or political, because it also impacts others and you are always responsible for your what you do (or don't do). And corporations are just a bunch of people doing stuff together. To maintain otherwise is in itself a (im)moral act, intentionally or not, see point 2 above. What this is implying is that, in the absence of any morals, evil provides a selective advantage.And yet, pro-social behavior has evolved many times independently through natural selection. And yet, pro-social behavior has evolved many times independently through natural selection. Google group selection if you'd like to go down a deep rabbit whole but the upshot is, if pro-social behavior did not confer and individual advantage, the individuals who lose the trait would outcompete their conspecifics and the pro-social trait would not be fixed in the population.This is why you usually see additional stabilizing mechanism(s) to suppress free-loading, in addition to the pro-social traits themselves, even in very simple examples of pro-social traits such as bacteria collaboratively creating biofilms.The genes coding for the biofilms are usually coded on transmissible plasmids, making it possible for one individual to re-infect another that has lost it.You might consider the justice system, police etc. as analogous to that.So yes, in the case where you're part of a functioning society and free-loading on the pro-social behavior of others, that is temporarily beneficial to you - until the stabilizing mechanisms kick in.I'm not saying in practice you can never get away with anything, of course you can. This is why you usually see additional stabilizing mechanism(s) to suppress free-loading, in addition to the pro-social traits themselves, even in very simple examples of pro-social traits such as bacteria collaboratively creating biofilms.The genes coding for the biofilms are usually coded on transmissible plasmids, making it possible for one individual to re-infect another that has lost it.You might consider the justice system, police etc. as analogous to that.So yes, in the case where you're part of a functioning society and free-loading on the pro-social behavior of others, that is temporarily beneficial to you - until the stabilizing mechanisms kick in.I'm not saying in practice you can never get away with anything, of course you can. as analogous to that.So yes, in the case where you're part of a functioning society and free-loading on the pro-social behavior of others, that is temporarily beneficial to you - until the stabilizing mechanisms kick in.I'm not saying in practice you can never get away with anything, of course you can. You might consider the justice system, police etc. as analogous to that.So yes, in the case where you're part of a functioning society and free-loading on the pro-social behavior of others, that is temporarily beneficial to you - until the stabilizing mechanisms kick in.I'm not saying in practice you can never get away with anything, of course you can. So yes, in the case where you're part of a functioning society and free-loading on the pro-social behavior of others, that is temporarily beneficial to you - until the stabilizing mechanisms kick in.I'm not saying in practice you can never get away with anything, of course you can. There are refineries within a stone's throw from my house. One of them sits on the highest point in our water table and the vacuum it creates has been destroying our famously soft water by creating underground fault lines which pollute the aquifer with leeched hard minerals.But hey, oil. But the massive disinformation campaigns and targeted harassment of researchers, as well as the outright corruption of science is where they lost me. It certainly looks bad but I'm not sure the logic really follows.It's just modern PR. Companies used to just do that by having good relationships with journalist but now social media has taken a lot of that role away. It's a fairly natural transition for companies to make and I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a lot of major corporations that don't do something similar.And, also, it doesn't necessarily follow that they are either willingly lying or that their products are unsafe. Companies used to just do that by having good relationships with journalist but now social media has taken a lot of that role away. It's a fairly natural transition for companies to make and I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a lot of major corporations that don't do something similar.And, also, it doesn't necessarily follow that they are either willingly lying or that their products are unsafe. What lead it to being "banned in dozens of countries all over the world, including the United Kingdom and China"? And the reason that is is because there's no affordable, moral way to give 100,000 farmers [nor consumers] a small dose of a product for 20 years before declaring it safe. So the system guesses, and it guesses wrong, often erring against the side of caution in the US (it's actually quite shocking how many pesticides later get revoked after approval).Europe takes a more "precautionary principle" approach. In those cases of ambiguity (which is most things approved and not), they err to the side of caution.Notice how this claim here is again shifting the burden to the victims (their research doesn't meet standard X, allegedly). In those cases of ambiguity (which is most things approved and not), they err to the side of caution.Notice how this claim here is again shifting the burden to the victims (their research doesn't meet standard X, allegedly). Notice how this claim here is again shifting the burden to the victims (their research doesn't meet standard X, allegedly). 1) Evidence for the null hypothesis (there are enough studies with sufficient statistical power to determine that product likely does not cause harm at a >95% CI).2) There is no evidence that it is unsafe. The problem is #2 sounds a lot stronger and often better than #1 when put into English. I'm curious for the contexts that lead other countries to actively ban the substance.If it simply hasn't been approved in other countries, one can't use that information to infer about its safety. If it simply hasn't been approved in other countries, one can't use that information to infer about its safety. The parkinsons seems like pretty clear evidence against that.> If it simply hasn't been approved in other countries, one can't use that information to infer about its safety.I don't know why you're trying to defend this with counterfactuals/hypotheticals instead of just googling. > If it simply hasn't been approved in other countries, one can't use that information to infer about its safety.I don't know why you're trying to defend this with counterfactuals/hypotheticals instead of just googling. I don't know why you're trying to defend this with counterfactuals/hypotheticals instead of just googling. And due to widespread regulatory capture, this is hardly some social benefit. The original case Chevron Doctrine was based on [1] essentially came down to the EPA interpreting anti-pollution laws in a way enabling companies to expand pollution-causing constructions with no oversight. The EPA was then sued, and defeated, by an environmental activist group, but then that decision was overturned by the Supreme Court and Chevron Deference was born.Other examples are the FCC deeming broadband internet as a "information service" instead of a "telecommunications service" (which would have meant common-carrier obligations would have applied), and so on. Another one [3] - Congress passed legislation deeming that power plants must use the "best technology available" to "minimize the adverse environmental impact" of their water intakes/processing. The EPA interpretation instead allowed companies to use a cost-benefit analysis and pick cheaper techs. Other examples are the FCC deeming broadband internet as a "information service" instead of a "telecommunications service" (which would have meant common-carrier obligations would have applied), and so on. Another one [3] - Congress passed legislation deeming that power plants must use the "best technology available" to "minimize the adverse environmental impact" of their water intakes/processing. The EPA interpretation instead allowed companies to use a cost-benefit analysis and pick cheaper techs. Judges are not subject matter experts in all of human endeavors, but they are expected to make rulings over that domain. Relying on experts and career civil servants advice is generally good, unless they're being unreasonable. the Chevron Doctrine is new to me; it appears that the parent comment was not answering "why was it banned internationally" but rather emphasizing weakness in US procedures It was weaponized by both parties to create defacto laws without proper legal procedure. It should've been unconstitutional from the beginning as only Congress can make laws. Regulatory agencies are far easier to control, generally contain administration-friendly plants, and are not expected to provide any justification for their decisions. The result is laws that change as the wind blows, confusions, and rights restrictions done by people who should have no business doing so. That editorialization is not a fair representation of the problems it has caused when regulatory agencies begin attempting to regulate constitutional rights. It was overly vague and gave far too much power to people who cannot be trusted with it.We shouldn't need Chevron Deference to make laws that protect people from harm done by corporations. That editorialization is not a fair representation of the problems it has caused when regulatory agencies begin attempting to regulate constitutional rights. It was overly vague and gave far too much power to people who cannot be trusted with it.We shouldn't need Chevron Deference to make laws that protect people from harm done by corporations. We shouldn't need Chevron Deference to make laws that protect people from harm done by corporations. While it is not a popular topic here, gun laws, and I am taking a risk with my karma even talking about it, have been subject to some of the most vague and dangerous interpretations by the ATF. Two examples are bump stocks, and FRTs, both of which the ATF interpreted as "machine guns", defying their own regulatory definition, and creating felons out of innocent people quite literally overnight. Honest people had their doors literally kicked in. I would recommend spending time reading the writings of GOA and FPC if you'd like to see how confusing it is for a law abiding gun owner to stay within the lines of the law when Chevron Deference existed. At any point something you lawfully buy, fill out the correct forms, and lawfully own, could be suddenly interpreted with no notification as criminal and thus you INSTANTLY become a felon. There are violations of ex-post-facto, denial of constitutional rights, etc.Justification is highly subjective and in many cases these regulatory agencies are handed the pen to write and sign their laws.There is no difference between a regulatory agency writing and passing law, and congress completely deferring all responsibility to them. "Justification" is not held to any standard.My personal opinion is opinion from a regulatory agency should be held to a higher standard than even the most prestigious academic journal given the consequences. Chevron Deference being used to regulate companies is one thing. Perhaps congress can actually do it's job and demand a higher level of scrutiny, care, and precision from our regulatory agencies. "Justification" is not held to any standard.My personal opinion is opinion from a regulatory agency should be held to a higher standard than even the most prestigious academic journal given the consequences. Chevron Deference being used to regulate companies is one thing. Perhaps congress can actually do it's job and demand a higher level of scrutiny, care, and precision from our regulatory agencies. There is no difference between a regulatory agency writing and passing law, and congress completely deferring all responsibility to them. "Justification" is not held to any standard.My personal opinion is opinion from a regulatory agency should be held to a higher standard than even the most prestigious academic journal given the consequences. Chevron Deference being used to regulate companies is one thing. Perhaps congress can actually do it's job and demand a higher level of scrutiny, care, and precision from our regulatory agencies. My personal opinion is opinion from a regulatory agency should be held to a higher standard than even the most prestigious academic journal given the consequences. Chevron Deference being used to regulate companies is one thing. Perhaps congress can actually do it's job and demand a higher level of scrutiny, care, and precision from our regulatory agencies. Chevron Deference allows them to reduce their own liability and burden by rubberstamping opinion into law. Congress' core directive is to protect our rights. Industry plants have a much easier time infesting regulatory bodies through revolving door policies, regulatory bodies change with every administration, and regulatory bodies are not held to a standard of rigor that approaches 1/10th of the worst quality scientific journal. The first thing any true tactical politician will do is move his or her favorite industry plants into regulatory bodies. Then, they can give "opinion" that aligns with the view of that person, which is then rubberstamped into law.If we cannot expect congress to do their job our government has failed it's absolute simplest purpose. If we cannot expect congress to do their job our government has failed it's absolute simplest purpose. P̵a̵r̵a̵q̵u̵a̵t̵ DDT is also linked to the polio pandemic. It was sprayed everywhere gypsy moths were found. Also weakened human children to to where a common disease could get into spines and cause paralysis.Researching this kind of stuff is not for the faint of heart. Forrest was interviewed by Bret Weinstein if you are interested (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7wYUnQUESU) Polio can cause paralysis just fine on its own, it doesn't need DDT or paraquat to help it.And you are also right that widespread spraying of DDT lead to all kind of problems (killed all the birds, for one, leading to "Silent Spring"), which one reason it was banned.another reason is the mosquitos developed resistance. And you are also right that widespread spraying of DDT lead to all kind of problems (killed all the birds, for one, leading to "Silent Spring"), which one reason it was banned.another reason is the mosquitos developed resistance. Same reason lots of stuff is banned in the EU even when it's safer than other things that aren't banned. You avoid the question instead of answering it (What caused that "political pressure"? Does such a thing just occur randomly in nature? ), following it by an assertion that you don't bother to provide any evidence for. It does, but that isn't relevant here. There were poisoning cases in France that lead to the ban [1]. [4][3] Though no longer in use as an herbicide, cyperquat's closely related structural analog paraquat still finds widespread usage, raising some safety concerns.EDIT: the neurotoxicity of MPTP was discovered after a number of heroin addicts developed a sudden, irreversible Parkinsonism after injecting bad batches: https://archive.org/details/TheCaseoftheFrozenAddictThe doctor featured in that NOVA episdoe summarizes the history of MPTP and its relevance to Parkinson's research and epidemiology here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5345642/> Over the last two centuries the pendulum of opinion has swung widely as to whether the cause of PD was due to genetics or environment causes [69]. EDIT: the neurotoxicity of MPTP was discovered after a number of heroin addicts developed a sudden, irreversible Parkinsonism after injecting bad batches: https://archive.org/details/TheCaseoftheFrozenAddictThe doctor featured in that NOVA episdoe summarizes the history of MPTP and its relevance to Parkinson's research and epidemiology here: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5345642/> Over the last two centuries the pendulum of opinion has swung widely as to whether the cause of PD was due to genetics or environment causes [69]. That doesn't comport with how the word “banned” is usually used. so, back to the original state: banned until proven safe Do you have a link to this decision? I'm having trouble finding it on my own. > “In these two ways, China economically benefits from the application of paraquat in the U.S., where it outsources many of its associated health hazards,” the report said.There would arguably be a poetic justice to the US taking a turn at bearing health and environmental costs to benefit other nations, but it's not right for that to happen to any country. As a city dweller, I used to use Roundup along my fence line. So I read the label on the Roundup bottle and it said absolutely do not spray in any windy conditions. Next I polled my coworkers about this and they all said they just stay upwind!The bottle label also said Roundup is active for up to 30 days, then I thought about my dogs. I no longer use any chemical for lawn care.As to the plight of the farmers: I wonder if most of them bothered to used proper personal protection gear when spraying? Even if they had enclosed cabs, the chemical would still coat the tractor and tank surfaces which can be rubbed against at any time. The bottle label also said Roundup is active for up to 30 days, then I thought about my dogs. I no longer use any chemical for lawn care.As to the plight of the farmers: I wonder if most of them bothered to used proper personal protection gear when spraying? Even if they had enclosed cabs, the chemical would still coat the tractor and tank surfaces which can be rubbed against at any time. As to the plight of the farmers: I wonder if most of them bothered to used proper personal protection gear when spraying? Even if they had enclosed cabs, the chemical would still coat the tractor and tank surfaces which can be rubbed against at any time. The scientist in me wants to see definitive proof from validated studies. One case published in the Rhode Island Medical Journal described an instance where a 50-year-old man accidentally ingested paraquat, and the nurse treating him was burned by his urine that splashed onto her forearms. Within a day, her skin blistered and sloughed off. Should we ban anhydrous ammonia, chlorine, or gasoline? The article is purely scare-mongering to make it seem true while obviously pushing an agenda. See my reply at the same level after I did a review. Seventy countries kind of suggested to me that something is up with this chemical. I'll eat my hat if any of the cited studies did basic attempt at falsification. I'm not saying pesticides are health tonics, but this piece feels like pure litigation PR rather than an actual investigation. It prioritizes storytelling over science and engages in what I can only describe as lying by omission. The article frames this to make you think, "Wow, this stuff is so toxic that if a farmer uses it, his body becomes a weapon." I looked into the medical case this is likely based on. By leaving out that the patient drank a cup of poison, the author conflates Acute Poisoning (death in days, acid urine) with Chronic Exposure (trace amounts over years). If the farmer in the main story had enough Paraquat in his system to burn a nurse's skin, he wouldn't be alive to give an interview about Parkinson's. Even if Paraquat was essentially harmless water, you would still have tens of thousands of farmers with Parkinson's purely by chance. You have well water (a known PD risk), head trauma risks, and exposure to dozens of other chemicals like Rotenone or Maneb. The article presents a direct line: Paraquat -> PD. But scientifically, isolating one chemical from 30 years of rural living is a nightmare. This article does the opposite: it acts like a defense attorney. It stacks up emotional anecdotes and selective correlations to confirm its bias and ignores the replication crisis in epidemiology where results often don't stick.This isn't journalism and it's not science; it's advocacy via outrage. It uses the real tragedy of these farmers to push a specific narrative, relying on readers not knowing the difference between drinking poison and spraying crops. If you've ever wondered why science doesn't make more progress, and we have the replication crisis, look no further. The nurse whose skin peeled off just from touching a patient's urine? The article frames this to make you think, "Wow, this stuff is so toxic that if a farmer uses it, his body becomes a weapon." I looked into the medical case this is likely based on. By leaving out that the patient drank a cup of poison, the author conflates Acute Poisoning (death in days, acid urine) with Chronic Exposure (trace amounts over years). If the farmer in the main story had enough Paraquat in his system to burn a nurse's skin, he wouldn't be alive to give an interview about Parkinson's. Even if Paraquat was essentially harmless water, you would still have tens of thousands of farmers with Parkinson's purely by chance. You have well water (a known PD risk), head trauma risks, and exposure to dozens of other chemicals like Rotenone or Maneb. The article presents a direct line: Paraquat -> PD. But scientifically, isolating one chemical from 30 years of rural living is a nightmare. This article does the opposite: it acts like a defense attorney. It stacks up emotional anecdotes and selective correlations to confirm its bias and ignores the replication crisis in epidemiology where results often don't stick.This isn't journalism and it's not science; it's advocacy via outrage. It uses the real tragedy of these farmers to push a specific narrative, relying on readers not knowing the difference between drinking poison and spraying crops. If you've ever wondered why science doesn't make more progress, and we have the replication crisis, look no further. Even if Paraquat was essentially harmless water, you would still have tens of thousands of farmers with Parkinson's purely by chance. You have well water (a known PD risk), head trauma risks, and exposure to dozens of other chemicals like Rotenone or Maneb. The article presents a direct line: Paraquat -> PD. But scientifically, isolating one chemical from 30 years of rural living is a nightmare. This article does the opposite: it acts like a defense attorney. It stacks up emotional anecdotes and selective correlations to confirm its bias and ignores the replication crisis in epidemiology where results often don't stick.This isn't journalism and it's not science; it's advocacy via outrage. It uses the real tragedy of these farmers to push a specific narrative, relying on readers not knowing the difference between drinking poison and spraying crops. If you've ever wondered why science doesn't make more progress, and we have the replication crisis, look no further. It also ignores confounders (like the "Rural Cluster" Problem). You have well water (a known PD risk), head trauma risks, and exposure to dozens of other chemicals like Rotenone or Maneb. The article presents a direct line: Paraquat -> PD. But scientifically, isolating one chemical from 30 years of rural living is a nightmare. This article does the opposite: it acts like a defense attorney. It stacks up emotional anecdotes and selective correlations to confirm its bias and ignores the replication crisis in epidemiology where results often don't stick.This isn't journalism and it's not science; it's advocacy via outrage. It uses the real tragedy of these farmers to push a specific narrative, relying on readers not knowing the difference between drinking poison and spraying crops. If you've ever wondered why science doesn't make more progress, and we have the replication crisis, look no further. This article does the opposite: it acts like a defense attorney. It stacks up emotional anecdotes and selective correlations to confirm its bias and ignores the replication crisis in epidemiology where results often don't stick.This isn't journalism and it's not science; it's advocacy via outrage. It uses the real tragedy of these farmers to push a specific narrative, relying on readers not knowing the difference between drinking poison and spraying crops. If you've ever wondered why science doesn't make more progress, and we have the replication crisis, look no further. It uses the real tragedy of these farmers to push a specific narrative, relying on readers not knowing the difference between drinking poison and spraying crops. If you've ever wondered why science doesn't make more progress, and we have the replication crisis, look no further. ChubbyEmu video for "A Farmer Mistakenly Drank His Own Herbicide. I think Chevron may have a point, no one knew back then and they stopped selling it ~40 years ago. But ---To me, if the US had a real Health Care System, people would not have to file lawsuits to get the care they need.But in the US, this is how things work. So they will be waiting probably 10 to 20 years for relief as the lawsuit works it way through the courts and appeals. To me, if the US had a real Health Care System, people would not have to file lawsuits to get the care they need.But in the US, this is how things work. So they will be waiting probably 10 to 20 years for relief as the lawsuit works it way through the courts and appeals. But in the US, this is how things work. So they will be waiting probably 10 to 20 years for relief as the lawsuit works it way through the courts and appeals. If the very people who spend most of their waking lives on the grounds and among those fertilizers and pesticides do not have any great instance, maybe just maybe its something else. Its makeup banned in the country of origin, China but its product was used all throughout the US for decades. Its makeup banned in the country of origin, China but its product was used all throughout the US for decades. Highlighting the role of environmental pollution in causing Parkinson's.https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46216422https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-thought-parkinsons-wa...https://archive.is/ZvjZH Spoiler: it looks like the farmers are righthttps://www.wired.com/story/scientists-thought-parkinsons-wa...Amazing thing is TCE was banned by the Biden EPA in 2024 and Trump's EPA stopped its ban. "Rotenone, Paraquat, and Parkinson's Disease" - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3114824/"In 110 PD cases and 358 controls, PD was associated with use of a group of pesticides that inhibit mitochondrial complex I [odds ratio (OR) = 1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0–2.8] including rotenone (OR = 2.5; 95% CI, 1.3–4.7) and with use of a group of pesticides that cause oxidative stress (OR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2–3.6), including paraquat (OR = 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4–4.7). "Agricultural paraquat dichloride use and Parkinson's disease in California's Central Valley" - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38309714/#full-view-affiliat..."Ambient paraquat exposure assessed at both residence and workplace was associated with PD, based on several different exposure measures. For workplace proximity to commercial applications since 1974, working near paraquat applications every year in the window [odds ratio (OR) = 2.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.46, 3.19] and a higher average intensity of exposure [per 10 pounds (4.54 kilograms), OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.31, 3.38] were both associated with an increased odds of PD. Risk estimates were comparable for men and women, and the strongest odds were observed for those diagnosed at ≤60 years of age. "Department of Pesticide Regulation Releases Preliminary Findings from Review of Environmental and Human Health Studies Related to the Use of the Pesticide Paraquat" - https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/2024/12/30/department-of-pesticide-r..."DPR's preliminary scientific evaluation found that the current registered uses of paraquat in California may adversely affect non-target organisms, including birds, mammals and aquatic organisms, with the most significant risks to birds. Additional mitigation measures, beyond current restrictions on paraquat use currently in effect, may not feasibly reduce these environmental impacts to acceptable levels.Consistent with United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) 2019 review, DPR's review of existing human health studies does not indicate a causal association between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease." "In 110 PD cases and 358 controls, PD was associated with use of a group of pesticides that inhibit mitochondrial complex I [odds ratio (OR) = 1.7; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.0–2.8] including rotenone (OR = 2.5; 95% CI, 1.3–4.7) and with use of a group of pesticides that cause oxidative stress (OR = 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2–3.6), including paraquat (OR = 2.5; 95% CI, 1.4–4.7). "Agricultural paraquat dichloride use and Parkinson's disease in California's Central Valley" - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38309714/#full-view-affiliat..."Ambient paraquat exposure assessed at both residence and workplace was associated with PD, based on several different exposure measures. For workplace proximity to commercial applications since 1974, working near paraquat applications every year in the window [odds ratio (OR) = 2.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.46, 3.19] and a higher average intensity of exposure [per 10 pounds (4.54 kilograms), OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.31, 3.38] were both associated with an increased odds of PD. Risk estimates were comparable for men and women, and the strongest odds were observed for those diagnosed at ≤60 years of age. "Department of Pesticide Regulation Releases Preliminary Findings from Review of Environmental and Human Health Studies Related to the Use of the Pesticide Paraquat" - https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/2024/12/30/department-of-pesticide-r..."DPR's preliminary scientific evaluation found that the current registered uses of paraquat in California may adversely affect non-target organisms, including birds, mammals and aquatic organisms, with the most significant risks to birds. Additional mitigation measures, beyond current restrictions on paraquat use currently in effect, may not feasibly reduce these environmental impacts to acceptable levels.Consistent with United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) 2019 review, DPR's review of existing human health studies does not indicate a causal association between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease." "Agricultural paraquat dichloride use and Parkinson's disease in California's Central Valley" - https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38309714/#full-view-affiliat..."Ambient paraquat exposure assessed at both residence and workplace was associated with PD, based on several different exposure measures. For workplace proximity to commercial applications since 1974, working near paraquat applications every year in the window [odds ratio (OR) = 2.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.46, 3.19] and a higher average intensity of exposure [per 10 pounds (4.54 kilograms), OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.31, 3.38] were both associated with an increased odds of PD. Risk estimates were comparable for men and women, and the strongest odds were observed for those diagnosed at ≤60 years of age. "Department of Pesticide Regulation Releases Preliminary Findings from Review of Environmental and Human Health Studies Related to the Use of the Pesticide Paraquat" - https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/2024/12/30/department-of-pesticide-r..."DPR's preliminary scientific evaluation found that the current registered uses of paraquat in California may adversely affect non-target organisms, including birds, mammals and aquatic organisms, with the most significant risks to birds. Additional mitigation measures, beyond current restrictions on paraquat use currently in effect, may not feasibly reduce these environmental impacts to acceptable levels.Consistent with United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) 2019 review, DPR's review of existing human health studies does not indicate a causal association between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease." For workplace proximity to commercial applications since 1974, working near paraquat applications every year in the window [odds ratio (OR) = 2.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.46, 3.19] and a higher average intensity of exposure [per 10 pounds (4.54 kilograms), OR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.31, 3.38] were both associated with an increased odds of PD. Risk estimates were comparable for men and women, and the strongest odds were observed for those diagnosed at ≤60 years of age. "Department of Pesticide Regulation Releases Preliminary Findings from Review of Environmental and Human Health Studies Related to the Use of the Pesticide Paraquat" - https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/2024/12/30/department-of-pesticide-r..."DPR's preliminary scientific evaluation found that the current registered uses of paraquat in California may adversely affect non-target organisms, including birds, mammals and aquatic organisms, with the most significant risks to birds. Additional mitigation measures, beyond current restrictions on paraquat use currently in effect, may not feasibly reduce these environmental impacts to acceptable levels.Consistent with United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) 2019 review, DPR's review of existing human health studies does not indicate a causal association between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease." "Department of Pesticide Regulation Releases Preliminary Findings from Review of Environmental and Human Health Studies Related to the Use of the Pesticide Paraquat" - https://www.cdpr.ca.gov/2024/12/30/department-of-pesticide-r..."DPR's preliminary scientific evaluation found that the current registered uses of paraquat in California may adversely affect non-target organisms, including birds, mammals and aquatic organisms, with the most significant risks to birds. Additional mitigation measures, beyond current restrictions on paraquat use currently in effect, may not feasibly reduce these environmental impacts to acceptable levels.Consistent with United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) 2019 review, DPR's review of existing human health studies does not indicate a causal association between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease." "DPR's preliminary scientific evaluation found that the current registered uses of paraquat in California may adversely affect non-target organisms, including birds, mammals and aquatic organisms, with the most significant risks to birds. Additional mitigation measures, beyond current restrictions on paraquat use currently in effect, may not feasibly reduce these environmental impacts to acceptable levels.Consistent with United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) 2019 review, DPR's review of existing human health studies does not indicate a causal association between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease." Consistent with United States Environmental Protection Agency's (U.S. EPA) 2019 review, DPR's review of existing human health studies does not indicate a causal association between paraquat exposure and Parkinson's disease." but if we aren't going to change a damn thing with daily mass shooting we sure aren't going to fix poisoning the environment, fracking is 100x worse than this and "sacrifice zones" are a real thingfollow the money, sue before current administration makes it illegal to suehttps://www.propublica.org/series/sacrifice-zones follow the money, sue before current administration makes it illegal to suehttps://www.propublica.org/series/sacrifice-zones Of course humans who inhale this thing in small quantities won't die, but you can be sure they will kill some tissues that they go into. Now comes another problem of regular exposure, and these chemicals having an entry, but no exit path. That just means there are tissues, that are likely dying out every time there is a exposure.Again none of this might kill you at the first exposure, but if there are enough dead tissues, there sure is likely to be things like Parkinson's or may be even diabetes.Im guessing combined with this, if you already some bad genetics it could cause issues like these. Again none of this might kill you at the first exposure, but if there are enough dead tissues, there sure is likely to be things like Parkinson's or may be even diabetes.Im guessing combined with this, if you already some bad genetics it could cause issues like these. Im guessing combined with this, if you already some bad genetics it could cause issues like these. Herbicides are, generally, not at all safe to humans. Roundup is probably the most safe outside of per-emergents like corn husks or whatever, but it's not a free ride either. They include herbicides, insecticides, nematicides, fungicides, and many others (see table). [0][0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PesticideYou're trying to be pedantic, but you're actually wrong. If you think about it, from the perspective of anyone trying to raise crops, weeds are pests. (They are pests to lots of non-farmers, too. )Similarly...> A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes.> Plants may be considered pests, for example, if they are invasive species or weeds. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PesticideYou're trying to be pedantic, but you're actually wrong. If you think about it, from the perspective of anyone trying to raise crops, weeds are pests. (They are pests to lots of non-farmers, too. )Similarly...> A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes.> Plants may be considered pests, for example, if they are invasive species or weeds. If you think about it, from the perspective of anyone trying to raise crops, weeds are pests. (They are pests to lots of non-farmers, too. )Similarly...> A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes.> Plants may be considered pests, for example, if they are invasive species or weeds. Similarly...> A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes.> Plants may be considered pests, for example, if they are invasive species or weeds. > A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes.> Plants may be considered pests, for example, if they are invasive species or weeds. > Plants may be considered pests, for example, if they are invasive species or weeds. There are many common pesticides which have extreme toxicity to humans, including HCN (Hydrogen Cyanide), (ab)used under the brand-name Zyklon B in WW2, and still sold today as a (controlled-use) pesticide under generic brand names.It's a chasm-leap to say that pesticides are generally safe to humans. Doing rough back of envelope math shows that you would expect 22K farmers to have Parkinsons assuming even distribution by population. The numbers aren't precise but if the article's thousands was taken literally it would ironically suggest paraquat has a protective effect against Parkinsons which is obviously absurd thing to assume from a known neurotoxin.Not every farmer with Parkinsons is suing though. If we assume 1% of farmers are involved in lawsuits then thousands is alarming because it would imply 10x rates. 100% suing would be 1/10th the general rate which would fit with the absurd counterfactual hypothesis that non-lethal paraquat exposure prevents Parkinsons. Not every farmer with Parkinsons is suing though. If we assume 1% of farmers are involved in lawsuits then thousands is alarming because it would imply 10x rates. 100% suing would be 1/10th the general rate which would fit with the absurd counterfactual hypothesis that non-lethal paraquat exposure prevents Parkinsons. The science that drove tallow out of kitchens and homes was incomplete, particularly when it was replaced with trans fats.Where it goes off the rails is when nutters conclude that because tallow was wronged in one context, it is wronged in all of them, which leads to folks rubbing tallow on their faces [1]. Where it goes off the rails is when nutters conclude that because tallow was wronged in one context, it is wronged in all of them, which leads to folks rubbing tallow on their faces [1]. This would also set a level field between beef tallow and other oils. I would expect that a lot have changed in the fast food industry supply chain since the "good old days". Not to mention that everything tastes better when one is young. The amount of sugar added to prepared food took a big jump around this time, as it replaced fat to make the food taste good. Around this time is when obesity started to become a bigger problem. What if the US number of 1 in 400 figure is that high precisely because it includes people exposed to pesticide? > More than 6,400 lawsuits against Syngenta and Chevron that allege a link between paraquat and Parkinson's are pending in the U.S. District Court of Southern Illinois. Another 1,300 cases have been brought in Pennsylvania, 450 in California and more are scattered throughout state courts.> “I do think it's important to be clear that number is probably not even close to representative of how many people have been impacted by this,” said Christian Simmons, a legal expert for Drugwatch. > “I do think it's important to be clear that number is probably not even close to representative of how many people have been impacted by this,” said Christian Simmons, a legal expert for Drugwatch. Nothing in this article indicated any causal relationship nor that they have a higher or lower incidence rate of Parkinson's.

Nvidia reportedly weighs ramping up H200 production to meet surging demand in China

Source: {'href': 'https://techcrunch.com', 'title': 'TechCrunch'} Published: 2025-12-15 14:28:20

The First Trailer for ‘Stranger Things 5' Part 2 Wants to Flip the Upside Down… Upside Down

Source: {'href': 'https://gizmodo.com', 'title': 'Gizmodo'} Published: 2025-12-15 14:00:30

With just 10 days to go until we inch ever closer to the end of Stranger Things, Netflix has released a new trailer for the show's penultimate batch of episodes. We've known it's been coming since the Duffer brothers started teasing it in the run-up to the first part of Stranger Things‘ fifth and final season, but our first proper look at volume 2 definitely wants you to know that definitive answers as to just what the mysterious other plane of existence that is the Upside Down is are coming. Oh, and maybe the end of life as our heroes know it, but what's that next to some good old-fashioned mystery teasing? Appropriately set to a remix of Diana Ross' “Upside Down” (what else, at this point? ), the new trailer sees the scattered kids begin to enact their plans to stop and kill Vecna, from Eleven recruiting some help from Eight (the returning Linnea Berthelsen), to Will recovering from the shocking events of part one that saw him learn how to tap into Vecna's powers. Stopping that, of course, might need a few dramatic sacrifices to be made, so it's probably not going to help fans' concerns over which of their faves might not make it to the end that we even get a nice big death flag tease for Dustin and Steve here, as they promise that if they're going out, they're going out together. Hopefully that won't be the case, but we've only got 10 more days before we find out: the second volume of Stranger Things season 5 will hit Netflix as a bonus present under your tree on December 25, before the show goes out with a bang in theaters and on the streamer on New Year's Eve. Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. Subscribe and interact with our community, get up to date with our customised Newsletters and much more. Eywa as his witness, James Cameron has pledged to make movies for theaters so that side of the business stays alive. Wait, is the government actually going to do something about this? The hit Netflix series returns on December 25 with three more episodes, leading into the big series finale on December 31.

LG TV users baffled by unremovable Microsoft Copilot installation — surprise forced update shows app pinned to the home screen

Source: {'href': 'https://www.tomshardware.com', 'title': "Tom's Hardware"} Published: 2025-12-15 13:28:07

Users report Copilot appearing after a recent software update, with no option to uninstall. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. LG smart TV owners are reporting that a recent webOS software update has added Microsoft Copilot to their TVs, with no apparent way to remove it. Reports first surfaced over the weekend on Reddit, where a post showing a Copilot tile pinned to an LG TV home screen climbed to more than 35,000 upvotes on r/mildlyinfuriating, accompanied by hundreds of comments from users describing the same behavior. According to affected users, Copilot appears automatically after installing the latest webOS update on certain LG TV models. LG has previously confirmed plans to integrate Microsoft Copilot into webOS as part of its broader “AI TV” strategy. At CES 2025, the company described Copilot as an extension of its AI Search experience, designed to answer questions and provide recommendations using Microsoft's AI services. The issue, for many, isn't necessarily what Copilot does, but that it has been forced onto consumers with no option to remove it. LG's own support documentation notes that certain preinstalled or system apps cannot be deleted, only hidden. Users who encounter Copilot after the update report that this limitation applies, leaving them with no way to fully remove the feature once it has been added. It's a similar story on rival models, for instance some Samsung TV's include Gemini. The overwhelmingly negative reaction from users indicates a growing frustration with AI features being imposed on consumers in every way possible. Smart TVs have naturally become platforms for advertising, data collection, and now AI services, with updates adding new functionality that owners did not explicitly request and, in most cases, do not want. While LG allows users to disable some AI-related options, such as voice recognition and personalization features, those settings do not remove the Copilot app itself. Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox. Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.

Eureka's Christmas Vacuum Deals Are Practically a Holiday Clean-Out, Make Your Home Shine Like Never Before

Source: {'href': 'https://gizmodo.com', 'title': 'Gizmodo'} Published: 2025-12-15 12:30:31

All products featured here are independently selected by our editors and writers. If you buy something through links on our site, Gizmodo may earn an affiliate commission. Their vacuums have been picking up holiday messes for over 100 years, all the way back to 1922, and they've got your back this year. Six of Eureka's top cleaning machines are marked down for their Christmas sale, ranging from the super-smart E20 Evo Plus robot cleaning machine to the amazingly lightweight and versatile ReactiSense 451 stick vacuum that cleans much more than just your floors. Eureka's Christmas sale is your best chance to save hundreds of dollars while saving your floors from all that holiday fallout. The E20 Evo Plus brings a super-powerful 10,000Pa of suction to your floors to remove both large, heavy debris and tiny particles from carpets and hard floors. The self-emptying charging base is bagless, and has a 45-day capacity so you're likely emptying it fewer than 10 times per year. The anti hair-tangling brush and DragonClaw Side Brush combine for a 98% hair removal rate, ideal for homes with pets. The E20 Plus is Eureka's upgraded successor to the ultra-popular E10s, with boosted cleaning performance anti-tangle capability, and obstacle avoidance. The 8,000Pa of suction power is a 100% improvement over the E10s, and the DuoDetect AI 3D Obstacle Avoidance uses a dual-line laser that acts as the robot's eyes and helps it intelligently cut a clear path around obstacles that trap lesser robot vacs. An anti hair-tangling brush means there's even less need for human intervention or maintenance than ever before. It's may not be hard to find vacuums that can reach into tight places, and it may not be hard to find vacuums with excellent suction. But finding one that checks both of those boxes is rare, and finding one like the Eureka FlexReach that's only $136 during this Christmas sale event is nearly impossible. The FlexReach extends its powerful 192AW of suction with an ingenious design that includes a Quick Lift detachable pod that allows you to bring its cleaning power to above-floor areas — stairs, upholstery and furniture, those cobwebby corners, and more. With the pod attached, the main body can turn 80 degrees in either direction, or lay flat to reach beneath furniture and other hard-to-reach areas. The Eureka FlexReach is a rare combination of flexible reach, pro-level power, and a $136 sale price that's unbeatable. The RapidClean Pro is everything you could ask for in a stick vacuum — lightweight, powerful, versatile, loaded with a long-lasting rechargeable battery, and priced for everyone at just $110 during Eureka's Christmas sale event. The 90W of suction power combined with multi-surface versatility makes the RapidClean Pro an enticing buy for apartment residents and other small-home denizens, although its 40 minute cleaning time on a single charge means it can also tackle larger spaces. The RapidClean Pro comes with a 2-in-1 furniture brush and crevice tool so you can take advantage of its lightweight and ergonomic design to use it above the floor. But that Tangle-Resistant Brush will be your best friend when you're using the ReactiClean 410 on carpeted and hard floors to remove as much fur as your pets decide to shed. Nobody really wants to vacuum all day long, but it's nice to know that if you really need to do a hardcore cleaning binge, the Eureka ReactiSense 451 rechargeable stick vacuum has your back. It's also a full hour of smart cleaning, because the ReactiSense has intelligent Smart Sense+React sensors that detect the amount of dirt or debris and automatically adjusts the suction and brush speed to compensate, and once captured, the dirt stays sealed in the cup behind an H13 HEPA filter that captures 99.95% of microparticles. Subscribe and interact with our community, get up to date with our customised Newsletters and much more.

Mirelo raises $41M from Index and a16z to solve AI video's silent problem

Source: {'href': 'https://techcrunch.com', 'title': 'TechCrunch'} Published: 2025-12-15 12:30:00

Mirelo is building AI that adds soundtracks to match the video's action. This attracted attention from VCs gearing up for a generative AI revolution in games. The two-year-old German startup has raised a $41 million seed round led by Index Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, TechCrunch learned exclusively. This new capital will help Mirelo compete more effectively in its emerging category. So did Kuaishou-owned Kling AI, out of China, and ElevenLabs, which is also backed by a16z. Altogether, the startup expects its team of 10 people to “double if not triple” in headcount by the end of next year, Mirelo CEO and co-founder CJ Simon-Gabriel told TechCrunch. The startup published its models on Fal.ai and Replicate, and expects API usage to drive most of its revenue in the short term, Simon-Gabriel said. But it is also investing in building out its workspace for creators, Mirelo Studio, which could eventually support full professional use. As Mirelo prepares to scale, the startup and its investors are also anticipating concerns around training data that have dogged other generative AI companies. According to Georgia Stevenson, who led Index's investments, Mirelo based its models on public and purchased sound libraries, and is signing revenue-sharing partnerships that respect artists' rights. It's a tension inherent to generative AI tools, but Mirelo isn't displacing musicians and sound designers — at least not yet. With a freemium model including a recommended plan for creators priced at €20/month (approximately $23.50), the startup is mostly targeting amateurs and prosumers hoping to unmute AI-generated videos. According to Simon-Gabriel, creators can't fully benefit from this new potential without audio. That earlier round was led by Berlin-based firm Atlantic, which also participated in the new funding, bringing Mirelo's total raised to $44 million and helping close its resource gap. The startup is also backed by angels who lend credibility to its technology and could open new doors, including Mistral CEO Arthur Mensch, Hugging Face chief science officer Thomas Wolf, Fal.ai co-founder Burkay Gur, and others. Still, the team is aware that AI-generated videos may not be mute for long. For instance, Gemini's video generator now incorporates soundtracks powered by DeepMind's Veo 3.1 video-to-audio model. You can contact or verify outreach from Anna by emailing annatechcrunch [at] gmail.com. As a freelance reporter at TechCrunch since 2021, she has covered a large range of startup-related topics including AI, fintech & insurtech, SaaS & pricing, and global venture capital trends. As of May 2025, her reporting for TechCrunch focuses on Europe's most interesting startup stories. Anna has moderated panels and conducted onstage interviews at industry events of all sizes, including major tech conferences such as TechCrunch Disrupt, 4YFN, South Summit, TNW Conference, VivaTech, and many more. A former LATAM & Media Editor at The Next Web, startup founder and Sciences Po Paris alum, she's fluent in multiple languages, including French, English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. With iOS 26.2, Apple lets you roll back Liquid Glass again — this time on the Lock Screen Google launched its deepest AI research agent yet — on the same day OpenAI dropped GPT-5.2 Google debuts ‘Disco,' a Gemini-powered tool for making web apps from browser tabs Marco Rubio bans Calibri font at State Department for being too DEI

Exclusive: Thea Energy previews Helios, its pixel-inspired fusion power plant

Source: {'href': 'https://techcrunch.com', 'title': 'TechCrunch'} Published: 2025-12-15 12:30:00

Fusion power has the potential to rewrite trillion-dollar energy markets, but first, startups have to prove their designs will work and won't be too costly. Neither is easy, especially when considering the massive magnets and lasers used in many designs must be installed with millimeter precision or better. Fusion startup Thea Energy says its pixel-inspired reactor and specialized control software should be able to generate power without requiring the same level of perfection. “We have a way to tune out imperfections on the back end.” That margin of error could give Thea a leg up on the competition. By building a power plant first and ironing out the kinks in software, Thea could help bring the cost of fusion power down dramatically. But first the company has to build a working prototype. Thea is building a unique take on the stellarator, a specific type of reactor that uses magnets to whip the plasma fuel into shape. Most stellarators are built with magnets that look at home in a Salvador Dali painting. In a typical stellarator, the magnets are built to follow the contours of a shape that's intended to work with the quirks of plasma, helping to confine it for longer using less power than tokamaks, which use a series of identically sized and shaped magnets. Yet stellarators have one major disadvantage: the irregular shape makes mass manufacturing magnets challenging. So instead, Thea designed its reactor around small, identical superconducting magnets that are arranged in arrays. For one, it has allowed Thea to rapidly iterate on its magnet design. That unfortunately means one is $20 million and takes two years [to make],” he said. The team came away surprised at how well it all worked. It was really hard for us to actually manufacture it so poorly.” The team also tested superconducting material from five different manufacturers along with intentionally defective material. “Every single time we did that, the control system, without us turning knobs and intervening, was able to tune out those defects,” he said. Thea's reactor design, Helios, will use two types of magnets. They're similar to those found on a tokamak, the type of doughnut-shaped reactor that competitor Commonwealth Fusion Systems is building. The startup predicts Helios will generate 1.1 gigawatts of heat, which a steam turbine will turn into 390 megawatts of electricity at a cost below $150 per megawatt-hour. The reactor will have to shut down for an 84-day maintenance period once every two years. If all goes well, that means its capacity factor — a measure of how much power it generates over a given period of time — will be 88%. Berzin said the company will announce a site for Eos in 2026 with plans to turn it on “around 2030.” As it builds Eos, Thea plans to start work in parallel on Helios. It's a similar approach to how Commonwealth Fusion Systems is moving forward with work on Arc, its first commercial power plant, while building Sparc, its demonstration plant. For now, Berzin is looking forward to hearing what the fusion community thinks. Tim De Chant is a senior climate reporter at TechCrunch. He has written for a wide range of publications, including Wired magazine, the Chicago Tribune, Ars Technica, The Wire China, and NOVA Next, where he was founding editor. De Chant is also a lecturer in MIT's Graduate Program in Science Writing, and he was awarded a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at MIT in 2018, during which time he studied climate technologies and explored new business models for journalism. You can contact or verify outreach from Tim by emailing tim.dechant@techcrunch.com. DoorDash driver faces felony charges after allegedly spraying customers' food With iOS 26.2, Apple lets you roll back Liquid Glass again — this time on the Lock Screen Google launched its deepest AI research agent yet — on the same day OpenAI dropped GPT-5.2 OpenAI fires back at Google with GPT-5.2 after ‘code red' memo Google debuts ‘Disco,' a Gemini-powered tool for making web apps from browser tabs Marco Rubio bans Calibri font at State Department for being too DEI

Don't Want to Build a PC? Try One of These Prebuilt Desktops Instead

Source: {'href': 'https://www.wired.com', 'title': 'WIRED'} Published: 2025-12-15 12:00:00

While advancements in laptops have replaced a lot of what made desktops necessary, they're far from out of the picture. Not only is the DIY PC-building scene as vibrant as ever, but prebuilt desktops and new designs are making these PCs cheaper and smaller. If you don't want to build your own PC, I've got you covered with these prebuilt options I've personally tested. First, you can achieve performance not possible on a laptop. For PC gamers, AI developers, content creators, and anyone else who uses the extra power, desktop PCs are still unbeatable in this regard. However, with RAM prices escalating like crazy, if you don't need anything special in terms of performance, buying a laptop is a cheaper way to go—at least, for now. Secondly, people buy desktop PCs for their upgradeability. Not only is it fun to tinker with the technology, but it's also a cost-saving measure that lets you replace parts piecemeal. Standard PC manufacturers use a mix of proprietary and off-the-shelf parts, which affects the long-term lifespan of the PC. Meanwhile, more expensive PCs built by boutique system integrators like Falcon Northwest, Origin, or iBuyPower use mostly off-the-shelf parts. As a side note, some smaller PC manufacturers and system builders, like Minisforum and CyberPowerPC, have already started raising prices on desktops due to the memory shortage, But many of the options we've listed below are still selling for normal prices, and based on what we're hearing, prices on all PCs in 2026 are going to eventually go up. Outside of that definition, desktop computers can range from tiny to massive, and they could even include PCs with built-in displays, which are called “all-in-one” computers. Full tower: The biggest desktop PC size, most commonly for high-end gaming machines. There's no standardized measurement, but they are typically over 22 inches tall and deep. Most importantly, they are large enough internally to support E-ATX motherboards and more extensive cooling setups. Mid tower: These days, this is the most common desktop PC size. Whether for gaming or work, it's the size with the most versatility, with enough room to get some decent performance while still allowing for easily upgradable parts. Most PCs you buy will use a mid-tower case. Small form factor (SFF): This size has grown in popularity in the DIY space, but it's still uncommon in prebuilt PCs, though you'll find some options out there, such as the Corsair One or some of the options listed below. These cases exclusively use smaller Mini-ITX motherboards, designed to fit into these miniature cases, while still allowing you to get in and upgrade parts. Mini PC: These are the smallest PCs you can buy. They aren't designed to be upgraded yourself, relying on laptop components to fit into such a small package. What to Look for in a Desktop Computer When people typically think of the phrase “desktop computer,” they think of the traditional, large tower that sits on your desk (or on your floor). That's certainly an important segment of what's out there, and if that's what you're shopping for, the basic specs as configured are important. If you're new to the world of desktop PCs, that might sound like a long list of specs to check. In the end, it all comes down to what your needs are. Most desktop PCs are used for gaming these days, which is why so many are oriented toward flashy lights and powerful GPUs. But regardless of what you need your desktop PC for, you'll want a minimum of 16 GB of RAM, though you might want to upgrade to 32 GB or 64 GB for gaming and content creation machines. If you want to game, you'd better get yourself a decent graphics card to start with and a system with some solid cooling. But another really important aspect about a desktop computer is its upgradability. How comfortable are you with upgrading your PC yourself? It's worth taking some time to watch a few how-to videos and familiarize yourself with the components so you can save money over time. All the desktop PCs we've tested have been sent to us for review, but we adhere to strict ethics and neutrality. When we get a desktop PC to test, we pay careful attention to the build quality of the case, especially in how it's delivered. These are large electronics with lots of movable parts that can easily be damaged during delivery. Some even ship with the graphics card uninstalled. We take note of how easy it is to replace, pay attention to how cleanly the cables are routed and organized, ensuring that all the components are connected correctly. From there, we start benchmarking performance in a variety of tests, including 3DMark, Cinebench, Geekbench, and Pugetbench, as well as games like Cyberpunk 2077, Black Myth: Wukong, Marvel Rivals, and more. Measuring performance is more than just about reporting frame rates, too; observing CPU temperatures, frequency, and fan noise carefully. The whole point is to get a good sense for how the desktop will perform across a variety of tasks. Lastly, we consider the upgrade path as part of our testing, seeing how easy it is to remove the GPU and other important components. As noted above, most people buy a prebuilt desktop with hopes of upgrading it in the future, and that always has to be part of our consideration when testing a desktop. There's a lot to like about the Dell Tower Plus (7/10, WIRED Recommends), starting with its design. It's simple, really, but when it comes to a monolith sitting on (or below) your desk, you don't want anything too distracting. If you like the idea of a mixed-use home office computer, the Dell Tower Plus is your best option. The use of some proprietary parts, such as the motherboard and power supply, means they can't be easily replaced on your own. You can, however, upgrade simpler parts like the GPU, memory, and storage. You can add extra fans, swap out the CPU cooler, and more. This is more or less in line with prebuilt PCs from HP and Lenovo, though in the world of non-gaming, Dell offers the most compelling option for mainstream use in home offices. There's still nothing quite like the Mac Mini (8/10, WIRED Recommends). You can even upgrade to the M4 Pro to turn it into a true powerhouse machine, though that costs an extra $800. The Mac mini does have a fan, but it remains extremely quiet on your desk. You're stuck with the CPU, motherboard, and power supply that come installed, so there are some limitations as you look at upgrading down the line. The version I checked out was equipped with an RTX 5060 Ti, 16 GB of RAM, and a 1-TB PCIe SSD. While it's about the lowest I'd spec out for a new system for serious gaming, it's very capable at 1080p, and can even manage 1440p in some games if you tweak the settings a bit. I put together a similar desktop from parts for comparison, and you're really only spending a few hundred dollars for Asus to assemble and test your system. That's a good compromise for space-conscious or tech-averse gamers looking to just sit down and play. It's a spruced-up version with some Alienware branding and extra performance. But the point is not necessarily to configure it this powerfully when you buy it, as these are all components you can upgrade yourself in the future, probably for cheaper. And because this uses an Intel CPU, it probably can't be upgraded either, as it would need a new motherboard. That's not great, but it's also true of options such as the HP Omen 35L and Lenovo Legion Tower. It's certainly true that the M4 iMac (9/10, WIRED Recommends) that exists today doesn't occupy the same space of reverence it once did. It's incredibly fast, high-end, and—dare I say—fun, thanks to its color options. The difference in size is even more noticeable if you're coming from something larger, like a 32-inch monitor. It's as clean a desktop setup as you can get, and that's exactly what some people are looking for. Framework's first entry into the world of desktops is an unabashed success (7/10, WIRED Recommends). This Mini-ITX, 4.5-liter case feels tiny for what it can do and for how much access to the components it provides. These small form factor prebuilt PCs are still fairly uncommon as a middle ground between Mini PCs and Mid-Towers. That might not knock your socks off in gaming performance, but for its size, I was still impressed. And like Framework Laptops, you can replace the Mainboard with relative ease—so long as AMD brings out a more powerful version in the future. That massive, overpowered chip is only offered on the Mac Studio. With up to 28 CPU cores and 60 GPU cores, the M3 Ultra is the most powerful chip Apple has ever made, a considerable step up above the M4 Max, especially in terms of GPU performance. It's absolutely insane how much performance Apple has squeezed into this tiny machine. To be fair, that level of performance (and price) makes it a niche computer. But when you need raw power, it's great that Mac users now have an option that competes with even the most powerful Windows desktops. Get best-in-class reporting and exclusive subscriber content that's too important to ignore. WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.

Amazon unveils 192-core Graviton5 CPU with massive 180 MB L3 cache in tow — ambitious server silicon challenges high-end AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon in the cloud

Source: {'href': 'https://www.tomshardware.com', 'title': "Tom's Hardware"} Published: 2025-12-15 11:00:00

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. This month, Amazon Web Services introduced the Graviton5, its fifth-generation custom general-purpose server processor, designed to compete against industry-standard CPUs from AMD and Intel in AWS's data centers. The new processor extends AWS's in-house Arm-based CPU program with a CPU that packs up to 192 cores and 180 MB of L3 cache, and is designed to compete with higher-end AMD EPYC and Intel Xeon processors, potentially replacing some of them in AWS data centers. The AWS Graviton5 processor is fabricated using a 3nm-class process, likely by TSMC. The processor integrates 192 Neoverse V3 cores alongside an assumed 180 MB L3 cache. Amazon Web Services is intentionally opaque about the exact specifications and internal design of its Graviton5 CPU. Nonetheless, it offers comparisons with the previous-generation Graviton4 chip, which allows us to decode some details and delve into them with a little more depth. That means we're likely dealing with a unique design in Graviton 5. In performance comparisons between the Neoverse V3 core and its predecessor, Arm claims a 9%-16% uplift over Neoverse V2 across general cloud workloads and up to 84% in AI data analytics. This is one of the reasons why AWS is so conservative about performance upticks, both for Graviton5 as well as compute-intensive M9g instances in general. Nonetheless, with a 192-core processor, AWS puts itself into the highest league among CPU developers. L3 primarily serves CPU workloads by reducing DRAM access; it is optimized for low latency and directly participates in the core's coherence protocol. By contrast, SLC sits outside the core clusters on the SoC fabric and is shared by all CPU cores, various other accelerators, I/O devices, NICs, and DMA engines. It tends to be much larger (often 100–300+ MB) and optimized for throughput rather than latency, as it acts as a global buffer that reduces pressure on DRAM and provides coherent access for heterogeneous compute blocks. SLC can improve scaling for very high core counts and enables unified memory semantics across CPUs, GPUs, and on-die accelerators, a role traditional L3 caches cannot fulfill on their own. Amazon has not publicly explained the design decision, but based on Graviton4's architecture and what we know about Graviton5, the reason is almost certainly architectural scalability. But doubling the core count to 192 dramatically increases mesh traffic, hop distances, and contention on any unified cache structure. At this scale, a monolithic SLC could almost certainly become a latency bottleneck and would not support AWS's claim of up to 33% lower inter-core communication latency. A distributed L3 sliced across the die allows hot data to remain physically close to compute clusters, reducing average access latency and improving overall coherence behavior. The fivefold cache expansion AWS advertises reinforces this architectural necessity. Scaling Graviton4's 36 MB SLC by that factor yields 180 MB, and AWS's additional statement —2.6X more cache per core, at double the core count — implies ~187 MB total, which aligns with a large, multi-slice L3 rather than a single SLC block, which would create routing complexity. Finally, L3-based designs offer stronger multi-tenant performance predictability, which is crucial for AWS. Under cloud workloads, shared caches experience heavy cross-tenant interference and variable latency, so when designing cache subsystems, developers must take into account AWS's use case. Just as AWS didn't disclose many details about other design aspects of Graviton5, it also didn't disclose much about the memory subsystem of the CPU. It goes without saying that Graviton5's memory subsystem is more powerful than that of Graviton4, as it supports higher memory speeds, which likely means that it at least retains a 12-channel memory subsystem of the Graviton4, but with higher data transfer rates (i.e., higher than DDR5-5600). A 12-channel DDR5 design operating at 6400 MT/s would provide around 614 GB/s of aggregate bandwidth, which translates to approximately 3.2 GB/s per core, which is actually lower than 5.6 GB/s per core in the case of Graviton4. However, the larger L3 cache could compensate for this decrease in memory bandwidth. Then again, we do not know the exact number of memory channels supported by Graviton5. Input/output throughput is similarly increased, according to AWS: network bandwidth is up by 15% on average across instance sizes, with as much as double the throughput for the largest configurations. Storage bandwidth through Amazon EBS rises by around 20% on average, according to AWS. These gains are designed to improve performance not only for compute-heavy applications, but also for distributed systems that depend on fast storage and networking. On the security side, Graviton5 is built on the AWS Nitro System, with sixth-generation Nitro Cards that handle virtualization, networking, and storage. AWS has also introduced a new component called the Nitro Isolation Engine, which the company describes as a formally verified isolation layer. Instead of relying solely on conventional security validation, the Isolation Engine uses mathematical proofs to demonstrate that workloads are separated from each other and from AWS operators. Such security measures could be a part of the company's effort to attract clients who have traditionally used on-prem servers. AWS's new Graviton5 processor offers a 192-core, 3nm Arm-based CPU with around 180 MB of L3 cache. Also, AWS confirms 33% lower inter-core latency due to a redesigned internal layout but has not disclosed whether it uses Arm's CSS, suggesting that Graviton5 may be a unique Annapurna Labs design built around Neoverse V3 cores. The processor also gains a faster memory subsystem (likely retaining 12 channels at higher DDR5 speeds), improved network and storage bandwidth, and the new Nitro Isolation Engine, which uses formal verification to guarantee tenant isolation and enforce zero-operator access. Anton Shilov is a contributing writer at Tom's Hardware. Tom's Hardware is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.

A New Las Vegas Attraction Serves Up Alien Foxes, Exoplanets, and VR Carl Sagan

Source: {'href': 'https://www.wired.com', 'title': 'WIRED'} Published: 2025-12-15 11:00:00

I'm walking around on a giant centrifuge in space, which I can see the outlines of at the edge of my vision. Huge hologram-like characters, each 10 stories tall, occasionally materialize alongside the path to talk to me and the dozen people also on this journey. Those fellow travelers aren't computer-generated characters; they're real humans. We're all walking around wearing VR headsets in a shared virtual reality space in Las Vegas that can best be described as an amusement park ride for the visual cortex. Interstellar Arc, Vegas's latest immersive attraction in the city's Area15 entertainment district, is a stark reimagining of virtual reality within larger physical spaces. The narrative adventure utilizes recent advances in VR, resulting in a forward-looking technological undertaking that likely wouldn't have been possible even a few years ago. And as VR technology gets lighter, faster, and more advanced, experiences like these may help drive the future of an industry that's struggled to find its footing in the mainstream after more than a decade on the commercial market. Raphaël and Lajeunesse spent years as a traditional filmmaking duo, but had already begun to transition to more immersive storytelling formats when they demoed the Oculus Rift headset soon after it hit the market in 2013. “We decided that this was the future of our lives, and that we were going to dedicate ourselves to telling stories in VR,” Raphaël says. Raphaël says F&P developed the first VR camera that could film in 360 degrees and was involved in a number of early VR experiences. From here they developed “Space Explorers: The Infinite,” a touring immersive pop-up meant to bring the space experience to average people in various cities globally. Interstellar Arc is the next evolution of this work. After you buy a ticket for $54 ($39 for kids 8 to 12), you start the Interstellar Arc experience by stepping into a futuristic lobby dressed up as a “spaceport.” As visitors, we are told we're now in the 25th century and are about to embark on humanity's first interstellar mission to explore the distant exoplanet Arcadia. We're each outfitted with our own wireless Meta Quest 3S headsets—each affixed with some noise-canceling headphones—then take our seats inside the virtual Arc for liftoff. The initial “voyage” segment leverages F&P's work aboard the ISS to create a wildly realistic view of Earth and our galaxy as we depart. While still in our seats, we enter 262 years of simulated “cryogenic sleep” aboard the Arc, then arrive at what we're told is a man-made orbital centrifuge city above Arcadia, called Cosmopolis. We disembark into Cosmopolis, a sprawling landscape that's designed to feel vast. The city seems to extend for miles in both my horizontal and vertical vision; I can see outer space and Arcadia, a planet that's half blue like Earth and half red like Mars, through the city's translucent skeleton. With our headsets on, we walk around on pathways enclosed by railings; these railings are real, and designed to be visible within the VR experience. You can hold onto them if you need help orienting and balancing yourself, but they also serve to help direct participants to various parts of the indoor space throughout the experience. But there aren't always railings, and when those are absent, we're kept on the virtual path only by being able to see the edges of it, beyond which lies just black nothingness. My eyes tell me I'll plunge into the abyss if I fall off a pathway, even if my conscious brain knows otherwise. This fun psychological trick creates enough tension to keep me on the path despite the underlying knowledge that I probably don't really have to. A virtual alien fox with silver fur serves as a guide as we wander, often walking ahead of us and prompting us with its snout to explore different areas. Basketball-sized hovering orbs appear and serve as achievement checkpoints. At one point we go “underwater,” a sensation that comes complete with a visual rippling effect as we move around, along with some pretty convincing audio. If Raphaël, who joined us for our voyage, ever got sick of me using this feature to ping him with incessant questions throughout the hourlong experience, he was kind enough not to mention it. Hundred-foot-high hologram-like characters periodically appear alongside the paths we walk on (again, everything just feels huge in here), offering us guidance or fun Cosmopolis factoids. One such hologram is a representation of none other than famed astronomer Carl Sagan, who serves as Cosmopolis' “Librarian” and talks to us about his role in preserving Earth's knowledge as humanity expands outward. Carl Sagan's likeness was approved by the late astronomer's estate. “Carl's vision and philosophy has always been a huge inspiration,” Raphaël says. F&P ran through an extensive casting process to find a look-alike actor for the Sagan character, then used a few different VFX processes in postproduction to achieve the most realistic version they could. They compared the outputs with actual footage and recordings of Sagan to ensure accuracy. It's the underlying tech, however, that may position experiences like Interstellar Arc as a signal of VR's future. At various points on our walk around Cosmopolis, it feels as though we're walking not just side to side, but also uphill and downhill. But as I step along the path, it truly feels like the terrain is sloped and curved; when others in my group get ahead of me, I have to look up or at slight angles to see them. It's a wild sensation, made all the more remarkable by the lack of any accompanying motion sickness (an issue I've dealt with in VR). This is made possible by what Raphaël refers to as “redirection” of the headset's native visual processing features. The actual technical process is so complex that I still struggle to grasp it even after two extensively simplified breakdowns from Raphaël, but think of it like this: Felix & Paul are subtly rotating the headset's cameras to the side and upward slightly with each movement, creating a “cheat” for the eyes that makes it feel as though fellow participants are above or below one another when they're actually on flat ground. (One can only imagine the processing lift involved in maintaining this effect as dozens of participants move around simultaneously.) Our brains can only handle so much of this, though. “Let's say for 30 seconds you went in one direction [using the redirection effect],” Raphaël says. Through 18 months of trial and error, F&P got around this problem in part by shortening the redirection windows. We only spent a brief amount of time walking on the sloped segments, plus moving on what Raphaël calls a “sinuous path” that includes an equal amount of left and right redirection. I contacted Andy Etches, founder of VR company Rezzil, a major player in the sports VR space, to get his take on this headset innovation. “You've seen people use treadmills and omnidirectional things, which feel like falling more than walking. Also notable is F&P's use of the physical space. I got a chance to view the space with my headset off, and it didn't quite feel big enough for that. Raphaël tells me our group actually went around the room three full times as part of a “circuit,” facilitated by a combination of railings and strategic prompts—the fox, light-up visual cues—that kept us moving along a preset path. This kind of spatial manipulation is part of VR's core value proposition, but the tech has often lacked proper vehicles to bring it to life. One is the volume of people: Interstellar Arc can accommodate up to 170 participants at once, Raphaël says, quite a crowd even in a room this large. That can be an issue for typical VR headsets, which rely on cameras and sensors to triangulate their position within a room. Those devices lock onto fixed surfaces when you're alone, but it's much harder with more than 100 people roaming around. The grid functions almost as a “giant QR code,” as Raphaël puts it, helping each headset maintain its precise location by locking onto the unique pattern. Etches says he's seen similar anti-latency approaches for large-scale VR programs, but typically using markings on the wall or floor. The feature seems to work, at least in my limited experience. I never saw any drifting or bouncing around from any fellow group members, though in fairness there were nowhere near 170 people in the room at the time. With new consumer VR headset models arriving each year and lighter, more nimble options on the horizon, Raphaël knows Interstellar Arc won't be able to rely on the same tech for long. “You have this technology that's just barely now getting to the point where it's good enough, very recently, and it still can get a lot better,” he says. Etches believes VR has already been edging toward the mainstream in recent years. But he thinks experiences like Interstellar Arc will only fuel the fire by creating a perfect setting for fantasy, historic, or futuristic viewing experiences. The VR experience of Interstellar Arc isn't one that can be easily recreated at home. To Etches, though, attractions like these will help drive wider VR adoption, even for games played in the living room. “My experience over the last nearly 10 years of working in VR is that the minute someone tries it, they go, ‘Oh, this is amazing,'” he says. “If we can find a factory that's going to put 170 people through an amazing experience every hour of the day, I'm all for it. If the US has to build data centers, here's where they should go Event: Join some of the most influential voices in tech and beyond WIRED may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Condé Nast.