Nobody Cares: Technology-only Edition

[Argent Stonecutter]

I would recommend disabling all the AI features in flags regardless of whether they also disable running local models because surely you want to disable all AI features anyway.

 

[Free]

It's smarter than launching them into space. Not sure by how much, though.

Silicon Valley bets $200M on AI data centers floating in the ocean

Panthalassa aims to test floating AI computing nodes in the Pacific in 2026.

arstechnica.com

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

What I want to know is why hasn't everyone already turned all the AI flags off on their Chrome installs already.

Unfortunately the AI flags are all on by default, so Chrome ends up downloading the 4GB model basically the instant you first launch the browser, before you even have time to turn them off.

 

[Noodles]

Says the person still using Facebook.

 

[Free]

This is sort of funny, but I imagine not to the other passengers on the flight.

Robotic passenger traveling for work causes Southwest flight delay

Passengers on a Southwest Airlines flight arrived late after a humanoid robot prompted a runway delay.

www.mysuncoast.com

Bebop is a 70-pound humanoid robot built for events and performances. The team with Dallas-based Elite Event Robotics was traveling with the robot for work Thursday on a Southwest flight from Oakland, California, to San Diego.

Because Bebop’s case was too heavy to check under Southwest’s rules, the team bought the robot a seat, but once it was strapped in, concerns arose.

“Then, they come and start asking, ‘What kind of batteries does it have? What’s going on with this? X, Y, and Z.’ They want to see it,” said Eily Ben-Abraham with Elite Event Robotics.

All the questions eventually led to a delay of more than an hour.

“Meanwhile, I’m watching his flight, and I keep seeing online: ‘runway delay,’” said Chana Ben-Abraham with Elite Event Robotics.

Southwest ended up confiscating Bebop’s lithium battery because it exceeded the airline’s maximum allowable size.

Gotta bring those batteries down to laptop sizes...

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

Unfortunately the AI flags are all on by default, so Chrome ends up downloading the 4GB model basically the instant you first launch the browser, before you even have time to turn them off.

*Now* it does.

 

[Veritable Quandry]

In the middle of working on final grades our course management system got hit by a ransomware attack.

 

[Spirits Rising]

In the middle of working on final grades our course management system got hit by a ransomware attack.

Canva, perchance?

 

[Veritable Quandry]

Canva, perchance?

Yes. The Canva servers are back up, but OSU is being cautious in restoring our front end. The hackers apparently did not get as much information as they claim. They do have messages, grades, names, and email addresses. They did not get passwords or social security numbers. I know at OSU most financial information is on different systems.

 

[Spirits Rising]

Yes. The Canva servers are back up, but OSU is being cautious in restoring our front end. The hackers apparently did not get as much information as they claim. They do have messages, grades, names, and email addresses. They did not get passwords or social security numbers. I know at OSU most financial information is on different systems.

That is a relief to know, actually. The school district my daughter is in (on paper) uses Canva for remote classes and such.

 

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

Commodore 64 Helps Revive The BBS Days

Before the modern Internet existed, there were still plenty of ways of connecting with other computer users “online”, although many of them might seem completely foreign to those of us …

hackaday.com

Are you keeping up with the Commodore, because the Commodore is keeping up with you! I picked up one for my Birthday, which was Saturday. I used to have a Jiffy DOS'd C128 setup, bought used for $35 in the 90's, but lost it in a flood. This is much more convenient and more compatible than a regular C64 with some of the modern specialized upgrades like network cartridges and various hardware drive emulators. And it has a proper keyboard. The keyboard mapping of the PC VICE emulator always annoyed me and messed me up. Easier to use than VICE too. It can use original peripherals as well. It has networking support, so you can use it on BBS's right out of the box with the software included in the fake cassette USB drive that comes with it. It also can stream it's video and audio to a PC for display/capture. And you can transfer files to it with ftp, no need to take out any micro sd card you put in it.

Screenshot_2026-05-12_10-07-18 by cronocloudcreeggan, on Flickr


Code for the program:

10 print "[shift-clr/home] " :  print "hello vvo"
15 gosub 70
20 print "this is a c64 ultimate"
25 gosub 70
30 print "an fpga recreation that"
35 gosub 70
40 print "supports original peripherals"
45 gosub 70
50 print "plus some new niceties"
55 gosub 70
60 print "keyboard mapping always made vice annoying"
65 end
70 for a = 1 to 1800 : next a
75 print ""
80 return

 

[Free]

When is everyone buying a buggy whip?

 

[Veritable Quandry]

When is everyone buying a buggy whip?

I am doing leather work over the summer. Might make one.

 

[Noodles]

I bought a C64 mini but I hate the joystick it came with and the USB pad I bought doesn't work so I have not really used it.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Are you keeping up with the Commodore, because the Commodore is keeping up with you!

I HAVE been reading up on the C64 Ultimate since it came out - they're selling like crazy! It's a really successful project. It would be nice to pick one up, but right now at home I don't really have the desk space, nor an extra little desk to set it up on by itself. So for now at least, I'll have to stick with VICE. Someday for sure!

 

[Free]

Uh boy.

The newest AI boom pitch: Host a mini data center at your home

The plan aims to speed up AI compute deployment while compensating residents.

arstechnica.com

Data centers may be coming to your neighborhood as side installations associated with new homes—and in exchange would offer subsidized electricity and Internet access along with backup batteries to homeowners. The company behind the plan has already begun pilot testing in preparation for a 100-home trial run this year.

The “distributed data center solution” announced by the San Francisco startup SPAN would deploy thousands of XFRA nodes that contain liquid-cooled Nvidia RTX Pro 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPUs operating with minimal noise, according to a press release. By harnessing excess power capacity among US households, SPAN aims to quickly expand the available compute for AI workloads without the costs and delays associated with trying to build warehouse-sized data centers.

“Data centers are loud, ugly, and often drive up local electricity bills,” said Chris Lander, vice president of XFRA at SPAN, in correspondence with Ars. “[This] is quiet, discreet, and makes energy more affordable for the host and community.”

Maybe they can sell the idea as a solution to ones home heating costs? Just dump the output of all their servers into ones HVAC, and...

 

[Free]

The weird need to name computers along the lines of Somethingbook... At least Apple went with a more generic "PowerBook." But Google having to brand their hardware with Chrome, and now the company name? Not sure I need that on my desk.

Google's Android-powered laptops are called Googlebooks, and they're coming this year

Google has revealed its vision for the AI laptop of tomorrow.

arstechnica.com

Google took its first swing at laptops with Chromebooks way back in 2011. These web-first laptops have seen success over the years, mostly in enterprise and education. Google insists Chromebooks aren’t going away, but the company’s focus has shifted to something new: Googlebooks. That’s what Google has decided to call the new line of Android-powered laptops, which will begin shipping later this year.

If you thought other Google products were steeped in Gemini, you haven’t seen anything yet.

And now I'm really not wanting one.

 

[CronoCloud Creeggan]

The weird need to name computers along the lines of Somethingbook... At least Apple went with a more generic "PowerBook." But Google having to brand their hardware with Chrome, and now the company name? Not sure I need that on my desk.

Google's Android-powered laptops are called Googlebooks, and they're coming this year

Google has revealed its vision for the AI laptop of tomorrow.

arstechnica.com

I'm having a "dafuq?" moment.

And now I'm really not wanting one.

Damn right! What the fuck is Google thinking?

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

I guess the -book thing comes from how this form-factor way back when it was first coming out was referred to as a "notebook" computer, before the whole world rejected that and decided to call them laptops instead.

 

[Free]

I guess the -book thing comes from how this form-factor way back when it was first coming out was referred to as a "notebook" computer, before the whole world rejected that and decided to call them laptops instead.

I know where it comes from. But I'd hoped the "netbook" fiasco would destroy any future efforts. I'm afraid that hope might be dead.