Computing | Software and Hardware

[Doc]

The game of life simulating the game of life.

xP5-iIeKXE8

[Typhoon]

Major Linux Problems on the Desktop, 2021 edition

MS has made significant improvements to WSLg. Happy using it.

[noddy]

yeh, ive got it on my windows laptop, seems to work fine for having all the great nix tools available on windows.

ita been a long time since i was restricted to just one machine , so i have a windows laptop and 2 linux mini pcs.

makes my life simple, i dont need to care about what runs where, i just use the appropriate machine.

windows for games and music and proprietary things, one linux as a general purpose media machine, the other as a stable dev machine which i rarely install too, it has all the programming languages and electronics tools.

[Typhoon]

Stephen Diehl | Web3 is Bullshit

[Typhoon]

FT | Why don’t computers work? [paywalled?]

A neat theory to explain the productivity puzzle 2.0

Bryce Elder MAY 18 2022

It’s a well-researched oddity of the past few decades that as technology gets faster, people get slower. Digitisation of the workforce has failed to do what it promised and there is no agreement as to why.

Economist Robert Solow summarised the problem in 1987, saying: “You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics.” Data keep on proving his point. All measures of IT spending have kept trending higher yet since 2005, rates of labour productivity growth at least halved in the US, UK, Japan, Germany and France.

This paradox (sometimes called the productivity puzzle 2.0, in observance of similar trend in the 1970s and 1980s) excites plenty of debate. It might be, as Robert Gordon has argued, that recent technological advances just aren’t that great relative to history. Perhaps, as Jonathan Haskel and Stian Westlake argue, the measure itself is becoming obsolete. Other popular theories involve some combination of structural headwinds, mismeasurement, lag effects, fiscal suppression and a long term return to the mean. What none capture is why constant incremental improvements, rather than arresting a weakening trend, appear to be contributing to it.

A paper from University of Lausanne PhD student Seda Basihos makes an interesting contribution to the debate. (Note: unreviewed preprint, there be dragons.) She argues that because of rapid obsolescence, computing is a uniquely pernicious force.

Computers are the worst thing to happen to the global economy in 150 years because . . . well, you will have probably guessed already. Every digital fix has a knack of creating three new problems. Any tweak threatens to invoke the recursive loop of pointless labour. A PC might look modular but it’s a morass of potential incompatibilities and performance bottlenecks, meaning entire corporate systems are junked whenever a software update or a withdrawal of OEM support prematurely terminates the usefulness of one part. And because of this accelerated replacement cycle, workers have to continually relearn their jobs.

Basihos’ paper takes as its starting point Microsoft’s launch of Windows 95. Exposure to the Brian Eno start-up sound coincided with a brief uptick in US worker productivity. In the longer term, however, the “permanent obsolescence shock” that followed might be responsible for roughly one-third of lost productivity growth, Basihos finds.

She suggests to think of the economy as an airline, where jets are capital stock and pilots are labour. Any replacement jet part that isn’t like-for-like will cause a potential mismatch, and every mismatch raises the likelihood of a plane ending up in the sea.

Airlines will generally try to crash no more frequently than their competitors, because planes that crash are very inefficient both in terms of capital allocation and labour productivity. A well-functioning, competitive market places the onus on airlines to keep pace with whatever incremental improvement any one airline rolls out, even when it requires Ship of Theseus style replacement of the whole fleet.

The pilots, meanwhile, have to retrain on new systems or retire. But retraining pilots isn’t such a priority, because learning to fly takes ages and the CEO keeps on promising Level 5 autonomy. The result: the income share going to capital increases, fewer new labour tasks are created so labour’s income share declines, and measured productivity goes into tailspin.

As well as positing a tidy solution to Solow’s paradox, the paper touches on tech rot as a possible explanation for the dislocations between R&D spending versus GDP growth, wages versus productivity, and business investment versus interest rates. Though it’s some distance from a fully worked thesis, it’s something to consider when contemplating the $10tn or thereabouts of equity wealth created by tech obsolescence (justifiable or by design) over the past couple of decades.

[The author typed this post on a 2008 Lenovo T500 running Windows Vista.]

[noddy]

yeh, its a definate reality of things.

its also a sympton of the ignorance of the decision makers in regards all of the purchasing and upgrades.

banks and many long term science data places are still using cobol/fortran on terminal based systems and have ignored the last 50 years of constant upgrades.

they are not ignorant of the cost/benefit tradeoff and wont throw away a working system for a debatable new feature.

i make most of my living nowdays by being a dinosaur that knows C , again doing terminal based apps on *nix systems, it hasnt changed much in the last 50 years either.

the constant upgrades, shiny new thing, endless change world is the mainstream world of people that read magazine opinions written by vendors and feel like experts.

[Miss_Faucie_Fishtits]

The year is 2030 and we are at the world’s largest tech conference, CES in Las Vegas. A crowd is gathered to watch a big tech company unveil its new smartphone. The CEO comes to the stage and announces the Nyooro, containing the most powerful processor ever seen in a phone.

https://asiatimes.com/2022/05/tech-firm ... ter-chips/

[Typhoon]

https://physics.aps.org/articles/v15/s7 ... Transistor

Researchers have identified the best silicon and silicon dioxide materials for the next generation of transistors, which are expected to be just a nanometer long.

[Typhoon]

This same thought has repeatedly crossed my mind recently when using Google Search

The Atlantic | The Open Secret of Google Search

One of the most-used tools on the internet is not what it used to be.

DKB | Google Search Is Dying

Although I adblock / trackblock like mad using Pi-hole, AdBlock, and uMatrix, it is of little use if the remaining links returned for a query are crap.

[Zack Morris]

Google Search will face even more headwinds in the AR future where information and experiences will be mediated by platform vendors, contained in non-indexable formats.

OTOH, Google is well positioned to create a wearable platform and parse the abundant data its sensors gather.

[Doc]

Google Search will face even more headwinds in the AR future where information and experiences will be mediated by platform vendors, contained in non-indexable formats.

OTOH, Google is well positioned to create a wearable platform and parse the abundant data its sensors gather.

In other words agent Smith will easily be able to take over the AR undetected.

[Typhoon]

Google Search will face even more headwinds in the AR future where information and experiences will be mediated by platform vendors, contained in non-indexable formats.

OTOH, Google is well positioned to create a wearable platform and parse the abundant data its sensors gather.

AR is going to have to become considerably more convenient before it has a chance to become widely adopted.

For example, it will have to be miniaturized to the point that eyeglasses with AR are indistinguishable from ordinary eyeglasses.

Or it may simply go the way of 3D TV.

[Zack Morris]

Google Search will face even more headwinds in the AR future where information and experiences will be mediated by platform vendors, contained in non-indexable formats.

OTOH, Google is well positioned to create a wearable platform and parse the abundant data its sensors gather.

AR is going to have to become considerably more convenient before it has a chance to become widely adopted.

For example, it will have to be miniaturized to the point that eyeglasses with AR are indistinguishable from ordinary eyeglasses.

Or it may simply go the way of 3D TV.

Consumer-grade sunglass/eyeglass sized AR devices will arrive within 4 years. They are already far along in development and internal prototypes already exist. There will be a few others released earlier, such as by Snapchat, but their intended use cases are not well aligned with what transparent AR HMDs will truly be useful for.

[Doc]

Google Search will face even more headwinds in the AR future where information and experiences will be mediated by platform vendors, contained in non-indexable formats.

OTOH, Google is well positioned to create a wearable platform and parse the abundant data its sensors gather.

AR is going to have to become considerably more convenient before it has a chance to become widely adopted.

For example, it will have to be miniaturized to the point that eyeglasses with AR are indistinguishable from ordinary eyeglasses.

Or it may simply go the way of 3D TV.

Consumer-grade sunglass/eyeglass sized AR devices will arrive within 4 years. They are already far along in development and internal prototypes already exist. There will be a few others released earlier, such as by Snapchat, but their intended use cases are not well aligned with what transparent AR HMDs will truly be useful for.

It is not the glasses that are holding things up It is the slowness of the internet.

[Typhoon]

Google Search will face even more headwinds in the AR future where information and experiences will be mediated by platform vendors, contained in non-indexable formats.

OTOH, Google is well positioned to create a wearable platform and parse the abundant data its sensors gather.

AR is going to have to become considerably more convenient before it has a chance to become widely adopted.

For example, it will have to be miniaturized to the point that eyeglasses with AR are indistinguishable from ordinary eyeglasses.

Or it may simply go the way of 3D TV.

Consumer-grade sunglass/eyeglass sized AR devices will arrive within 4 years. They are already far along in development and internal prototypes already exist.

I'll believe it when I see it.

There will be a few others released earlier, such as by Snapchat, but their intended use cases are not well aligned with what transparent AR HMDs will truly be useful for.

Aside from a few highly specialized applications, perhaps such as architectural rendering walkthroughs, I don't expect a large market for HMDs.

I may be proven to be completely wrong, but currently I suspect that HMDs will go the way of 3D TV.

[noddy]

for AR to work you need to be constantly recording the world around you and streaming it to the tech giants, which makes you persona non grata in public, in business and a suspected pedophile in many places.

Google dropped the glass thing pretty quick when it worked out the legal ramifications of being a glasshole.

Maybe in a few generations time kids will be part of the borg enough to not care, but its unlikely to happen when us lot are still around.

[Nonc Hilaire]

I think the glasses will become ubiquitous. The first app will be a development tool for building “Pokemon Go” style programs for walking tours and museum docents. Watch sports with a ‘heads-up’ readout on plays and players. Facial recognition and security.

Lots of prospects, but software for consumer level content creation is critical. Easy like the old Macintosh hypercard system.

[Heracleum Persicum]

.

Shanghai Micro Fabrication
“advanced packaging”
A revolution is underway in chip design


Sanction , history shows , leads for sanctioned nation to wake up and develop their own, loosing dependency.

Iran, sanctioned last 40 yrs, excellent sample .. now China

For Russia, Sanction is best thing happened to Russia .. Russia now will develop their own economy and invention

West should have delivered all technology to China at lower and lower price to prevent Chinese develop their own and become leader.

Western thinking is, Chinese, Russians, Iranians, Indian are "id*t" and can not invent and develop their own technology and sanctioning them would lead to their decline .. a mistake

Not allowing American tech exported to China (and Russia and Iran .. and maybe soon to Europe) dramatically reduces revenue for tech companies that need profit for R&D and invention, in the meantime China dramatically increase R&D funds.
.

[Doc]

Google Search will face even more headwinds in the AR future where information and experiences will be mediated by platform vendors, contained in non-indexable formats.

OTOH, Google is well positioned to create a wearable platform and parse the abundant data its sensors gather.

AR is going to have to become considerably more convenient before it has a chance to become widely adopted.

For example, it will have to be miniaturized to the point that eyeglasses with AR are indistinguishable from ordinary eyeglasses.

Or it may simply go the way of 3D TV.

Consumer-grade sunglass/eyeglass sized AR devices will arrive within 4 years. They are already far along in development and internal prototypes already exist. There will be a few others released earlier, such as by Snapchat, but their intended use cases are not well aligned with what transparent AR HMDs will truly be useful for.

These kind of displays have been out there for at least ten years in industrial grade versions. Boeing for example started using them to help wire its aircraft in manufacturing. They display the wiring diagram based on what the user is looking at. And it has been at least ten years, if not twenty. As far as consumer grade. .. I think there will be a lot of legal issues and issues with people complaining about/hating others using them As Typhon and Noddy said in their responses. My general sense is that people are getting more prone to unplug rather than be more plugged in.

[Heracleum Persicum]

.

SMIC’s 7-nm chip process a wake-up call for US
US sanctions are increasingly too little, too late and out of date

7-nm is the actual limit of DUV lithography: The 5-nm and 3-nm processes developed by TSMC and Samsung will not work without EUV.

It is quite likely that the US government has until recently not tried or not been able to impose a ban on the sale of DUV equipment to China because it would have forced ASML to abandon a large and fast-growing market.

It would also have hurt second source supplier Nikon and had a severe knock-on impact on makers of other semiconductor production equipment, including American market leaders Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA.

[Typhoon]

305631938_492555036208883_3302529168945453754_n.jpg (81.51 KiB) Viewed 4447 times

[Zack Morris]

What's with this Spamhaus stuff? It's trying to blacklist me.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Yes, you will. But riches and fame acrrue to those who believe, build, and make others see.

There will be a few others released earlier, such as by Snapchat, but their intended use cases are not well aligned with what transparent AR HMDs will truly be useful for.

Aside from a few highly specialized applications, perhaps such as architectural rendering walkthroughs, I don't expect a large market for HMDs.

I may be proven to be completely wrong, but currently I suspect that HMDs will go the way of 3D TV.

There are a number of great use cases for devices with different form factors:

1. Navigation, outdoor and indoor.
2. Fitness and health: calorie and consumption tracking, automatic workout tracking, marking and cycling and jogging routes and recording times, making the experience more connected and social.
3. Ubicomp: hands-free, less distracting communication letting you remain present in the world. No need to lug around a 0.5 lb screen in your pocket.
4. Contextual reminders: give me the information or nudge I need when I need it. At-a-glance visualization of your upcoming schedule. Shopping list as you leave work/enter the store. Spatial and object-associated long-running timers ("how long has it been since I've watered this plant? Vacuumed this carpet? Rotated my tires? Tended to this part of the garden?")
5. Supermemory: extract meaningful data points and action items from my conversations without recording them verbatim, automatically updating my knowledge bases. E.g., you bump into a colleague who mentions a cool new paper -- *clip*, link appears in your iMessage thread with them, system can place a world-locked reminder icon on your monitor bezel next time you're on your computer.
6. Exploration: what restaurants/coffee shops/bars/bookstores are around here in relation to me? Which of these places I'm looking at are actually decent? Which of them have been frequented by trusted friends or people whose opinion I trust? Where do people generally hang out on a Friday night in this town?
7. Instant knowledge: what kind of bird is that? Where can I buy those shoes? No need to reach for phone, wait for face unlock, find app, launch app, find section of app that opens camera, wait for camera, take photo. The next evolution of UX -- make the device disappear and get out of my way.
8. DIY: how do I reattach this slipped bike chain? How do I play this song on the piano?
9. Shared augmentation: instantly share a photo to another glass wearer without breaking the conversation flow and surrendering your phone to them. If they mention something you don't know (a song, a film, etc.), ask your devices and see a trivially dismissable info card for mutual reference anchored in the same location in space. Meeting a friend and wondering where to go next to grab a bite? Don't dive into your phones, just have a local map pulled out between you and decide on options together.
10. Music whenever you want it via extra-aural but still private speakers.
11. Capture + perspective share: "Wow, cool car!" *snap*
12. Custom UI anywhere: order a muffin from the table at the coffee shop with on-table UI.
13. Find my... anything. Where did I place my keys? "I'm here at Shinjuku station but where are you? Oh hang on, let me ask my glasses to direct me to your spot."

And on and on and on. It will happen slowly -- at first.

[Doc]

What's with this Spamhaus stuff? It's trying to blacklist me.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Yes, you will. But riches and fame acrrue to those who believe, build, and make others see.

There will be a few others released earlier, such as by Snapchat, but their intended use cases are not well aligned with what transparent AR HMDs will truly be useful for.

Aside from a few highly specialized applications, perhaps such as architectural rendering walkthroughs, I don't expect a large market for HMDs.

I may be proven to be completely wrong, but currently I suspect that HMDs will go the way of 3D TV.

There are a number of great use cases for devices with different form factors:

1. Navigation, outdoor and indoor.
2. Fitness and health: calorie and consumption tracking, automatic workout tracking, marking and cycling and jogging routes and recording times, making the experience more connected and social.
3. Ubicomp: hands-free, less distracting communication letting you remain present in the world. No need to lug around a 0.5 lb screen in your pocket.
4. Contextual reminders: give me the information or nudge I need when I need it. At-a-glance visualization of your upcoming schedule. Shopping list as you leave work/enter the store. Spatial and object-associated long-running timers ("how long has it been since I've watered this plant? Vacuumed this carpet? Rotated my tires? Tended to this part of the garden?")
5. Supermemory: extract meaningful data points and action items from my conversations without recording them verbatim, automatically updating my knowledge bases. E.g., you bump into a colleague who mentions a cool new paper -- *clip*, link appears in your iMessage thread with them, system can place a world-locked reminder icon on your monitor bezel next time you're on your computer.
6. Exploration: what restaurants/coffee shops/bars/bookstores are around here in relation to me? Which of these places I'm looking at are actually decent? Which of them have been frequented by trusted friends or people whose opinion I trust? Where do people generally hang out on a Friday night in this town?
7. Instant knowledge: what kind of bird is that? Where can I buy those shoes? No need to reach for phone, wait for face unlock, find app, launch app, find section of app that opens camera, wait for camera, take photo. The next evolution of UX -- make the device disappear and get out of my way.
8. DIY: how do I reattach this slipped bike chain? How do I play this song on the piano?
9. Shared augmentation: instantly share a photo to another glass wearer without breaking the conversation flow and surrendering your phone to them. If they mention something you don't know (a song, a film, etc.), ask your devices and see a trivially dismissable info card for mutual reference anchored in the same location in space. Meeting a friend and wondering where to go next to grab a bite? Don't dive into your phones, just have a local map pulled out between you and decide on options together.
10. Music whenever you want it via extra-aural but still private speakers.
11. Capture + perspective share: "Wow, cool car!" *snap*
12. Custom UI anywhere: order a muffin from the table at the coffee shop with on-table UI.
13. Find my... anything. Where did I place my keys? "I'm here at Shinjuku station but where are you? Oh hang on, let me ask my glasses to direct me to your spot."

And on and on and on. It will happen slowly -- at first.

Yes we are well aware of the implementation of the Social credit system. No Thanks I'll pass.

[Nonc Hilaire]

Would someone please explain the Elon Musk “mobile-sink” joke?

[crashtech66]

Would someone please explain the Elon Musk “mobile-sink” joke?

I took it as a Dad-joke. "Let that sink in."
1. Let me and my sink in, I own you now.
2. Get used to it, take a chill pill.
3. Twitter is a money sink, billions will go down the drain to make a point.