Sunday Paper: Markdown’s Quiet Power, Systems, AWS’s Reality Check, Apple’s Creator Studio
Sunday Paper is where I jot down links and ideas that caught my attention this week, with a few personal reactions along the way.https://islandinthenet.com/sunday-paper-markdown-systems-power-and-platforms/
From #MariaShriver #SundayPaper
“…we all have a choice in life regarding how we want to deal with hard times. We can use them to fine-tune our spirituality and life skills, or we can use them to become bitter, revengeful, and resistant to change.
The choice, it said, belongs to us.”
Happy, not so happy, okay as we can be, Sunday. May we choose reason over division, healthy dialogue over vitriol and of course love over hate. Amen.
There is money in death. Anduril Industries, a defence tech startup, just pulled in $1.5 billion in funding, shooting their valuation up to a whopping $14 billion. Honestly, this just feels like more money being pumped into the military-industrial "kill all others" complex. Do we need another mega-death company? - Anduril Raises $1.5 Billion to Rebuild the Arsenal of Democracy
The automotive industry is outdoing itself with this new trend: subscription-based features in vehicles. Because, of course, who wouldn’t want to pay a monthly fee to use the heated seats they already paid for? According to Autocar, big brands like Hyundai, BMW, Mercedes, and Audi are all in on this brilliant idea. They’ve decided that certain car functions—ones that used to just come with the car—should now be hidden behind a paywall. - Audi Will Paywall More Software Features Starting Next Year
Bill Gates has some interesting ideas about the future of work. He’s suggesting that artificial intelligence might actually make a three-day workweek a reality! According to Business Insider, Gates isn’t saying AI will take our jobs but instead, he believes AI will transform them, making it possible for us to work less while machines handle all the boring stuff. - Forget the 4-Day Week – Bill Gates Thinks We Should Aim for 3 Days at Work
Looks like I might need to add another Raspberry Pi to the collection. The Raspberry Pi Foundation just dropped the Raspberry Pi Pico 2, and it’s packing some serious upgrades while still holding onto that sweet $5 price tag. Bloomberg’s got the scoop on this, and honestly, it’s hard not to get excited. We’re talking dual-core ARM Cortex-M33 processors, a bump in RAM and storage, and even some enhanced security features like a signed boot process. This is a pretty big leap forward for the Pi lineup, and I can already think of a dozen projects I’d love to try out with this little powerhouse. - Raspberry Pi Pico 2, our new $5 microcontroller board, on sale now
https://islandinthenet.com/sunday-paper-27/
#AndurilIndustries #AutomotiveIndustry #BillGates #RaspberryPi #SundayPaper
From Burnout to Balance: AI-Enhanced Work Models: Upwork's research highlights the rise of AI-enhanced work models, aiming to balance productivity and employee well-being. Executives are pressuring employees to boost productivity to meet economic challenges, declaring 2023 the "Year of Efficiency." Generative AI, seen as a tool for increasing output, is now widely mandated or encouraged1. A McKinsey report shows CEOs prioritising cost-cutting to prepare for economic recovery. Workers feel overwhelmed. Despite AI’s potential, many employees report increased workloads and burnout, with 71% feeling strained and 1⁄3 considering quitting.
https://islandinthenet.com/sunday-paper-strained-ai-productivity/
Former Google DeepMind ane OpenAI employees demand transparency and accountability from AI companies on risk issues.
AI companies have strong financial incentives to avoid effective oversight, and we do not believe bespoke structures of corporate governance are sufficient to change this.
AI companies possess substantial non-public information about the capabilities and limitations of their systems, the adequacy of their protective measures, and the risk levels of different kinds of harm. However, they currently have only weak obligations to share some of this information with governments, and none with civil society. We do not think they can all be relied upon to share it voluntarily.
So long as there is no effective government oversight of these corporations, current and former employees are among the few people who can hold them accountable to the public. – A Right to Warn about Advanced Artificial Intelligence
Tip of the hat to Daring Fireball.
https://islandinthenet.com/sunday-paper-a-right-to-warn-about-advanced-artificial-intelligence/
#ArtificialIntelligence #GoogleDeepMind #OpenAI #Oversight #SundayPaper
Sunday Paper - Backups
The article by Jim Kasson at Lensrentals discusses the transition from film to digital photography and the need for a different approach by backing up digital images rather than archiving them. Archiving involves storing images offline and often results in data loss due to media degradation and obsolescence. In contrast, backing up means keeping images on a hard drive and making additional copies on various media. This method ensures data safety and easier access. Similar to my approach, [...]
NPR shares a heartwarming story about Jamaican author Juleus Ghunta, who faced reading challenges in his youth until a compassionate young teacher recognised his potential. He is currently working on his first full-length collection of poetry.
Finshots has a TLDR; explainer on how a 1990s mega-merger with McDonnell Douglas might have led to the downfall of Boeing.
https://islandinthenet.com/sunday-paper-25/
#Boeing #Finbots #JuleusGhunta #McDonnellDouglas #SundayPaper
The Online Photographer (TOP) handles a topic, depth of field, that I have wanted to write about for a while but I know their version is less offensive than what I would have written. I admit that I was also guilty in the past of spreading the equivalent aperture myth.
First, I've observed (over many years of observing) that EA is almost always asserted (not always, so don't take offense, please) as an argument against smaller-than-FF sensors, and of the superiority of FF sensors and fast lenses. Second, people seldom point out that you can get even shallower DoF with larger-than-FF formats. The reason for the latter is probably because shallow DoF isn't actually the point. Showing that one's camera is cooler and mo bettah and more he-man than gnarly liddle-sensor cameras and baby zooms is the point. Third are all those people who shoot wide open all the time even when they shouldn't, getting important areas of the image (like the dog's nose) out of focus even when more DoF would be better for the picture. Third are all those people who shoot wide open all the time even when they shouldn't, getting important areas of the image (like the dog's nose) out of focus even when more DoF would be better for the picture.f/1.7 is ƒ/1.7 (Don't Be a Looser)
After reading this old TOP post by Mike, I have decided to learn a new macOS or Lightroom short every day until the end of the month.
I damn sure don't know everything Photoshop can do. Furthermore, I'm secretly convinced no one does. That's right...my superstitious, primitive, ignorant folk belief is that there is not one being in the Universe who knows everything Photoshop is capable of. The people who design it sure don't, because they keep adding other ways to do things it can already do. I don't think even AI can know. As in Arthur C. Clarke's short story "The Nine Billion Names of God," perhaps the Universe will end as soon as any single being masters Photoshop completely. Overhead, without any fuss, the stars will go out. I'm joking. Kinda joking. Also a tiny bit…not.In the Era of Tech, Ignorance is Ordinary
https://islandinthenet.com/sunday-paper-24/
#EquivalentAperture #Shortcuts #SundayPaper #TheOnlinePhotographer
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