jackcole

@jackcole@mstdn.social
249 Followers
319 Following
164 Posts

Retired scientist (cyber security research), father of 4, pilot, chemist, permanent law and languages student. #fedi22 #cybersecurity #AI #ML #flying #music #photography #languages #chemistry #electronics #law

My posts are automatically deleted after a week. If there was an older post for which you'd like information, photo, or cartoon, let me know.

Show threadjackcole16m ago
@dennisfaucher Usenet is still here. Didn't mention Archie and Veronica.
jackcole19m ago
Medieval Illumination6h ago
Owlman riding an owl. Letters of St. Augustine, Anjou 15th century. Marseille, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 209, fol. 225v.
#medieval #MedievalArt
jackcole10h ago
evacide12h ago

Don't mind me. Just addin' another slide to my cyberfascism talk.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/06/ahead-budapest-pride-eff-and-46-organizations-call-european-commission-defend

Ahead of Budapest Pride, EFF and 46 Organizations Call on European Commission to Defend Fundamental Rights in Hungary

This week, EFF joined EDRi and nearly 50 civil society organizations urging the European Commission’s President Ursula von der Leyen, Executive Vice President Henna Virkunnen, and Commissioners Michael McGrath and Hadja Lahbib to take immediate action and defend human rights in Hungary.With...

Electronic Frontier Foundation
Show threadjackcole10h ago
@rbreich #GOP is a death cult.
jackcole10h ago
Steve Herman11h ago
DoD and NOAA ending access to real time satellite microwave data that weather forecasters consider crucial for determining how quickly hurricanes intensify. https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/messages/2025/06/MSG_20250625_1735.html https://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/messages/2025/06/MSG_20250625_1735.html
jackcole10h ago
Pax Ahimsa Gethen15h ago

"When the author of a book states that all sales of those books will contribute to an anti-trans fund, the only way we can choose not to participate is by not selling the books any longer. "

- #SanFrancisco bookstore #Booksmith on why they've stopped selling titles by #transphobic author #JKRowling.

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/san-francisco-bookstore-stops-selling-jk-rowling-titles-due-harry-pott-rcna215255

San Francisco bookstore stops selling J.K. Rowling titles due to 'Harry Potter' author's anti-trans views

A bookstore in San Francisco announced earlier this month that it will no longer sell titles by J.K.

NBC News
jackcole10h ago
John Carlos Baez11h ago

Great! A bunch of us here wanted it. Now it exists. 👍

It's a "dark archive" of the arXiv - a non-public backup to save the data in case of attack by hackers or the US government. The arXiv, I hope you know, is the biggest source of modern math and physics papers.

Who got the job done? The TIB: the Technische Informationsbibliothek, run by the Leibniz Information Centre for Science and Technology, in Hannover, Germany.

They write:

"The TIB has now set up a so-called dark archive for the arXiv content in order to be able to make the backed-up data accessible if the data stored in the USA is lost. The archive functions as a silent reserve: the complete copy of the content is stored decentrally at the TIB, but is not publicly accessible. This means that the data stock – almost 10 terabytes – is protected against potential outages and can be activated in an emergency.

The TIB is currently working on processes to keep the archive up to date: new submissions and updated versions must be backed up regularly in order to preserve the state of research as completely as possible.

“Building a Dark Archive is an expression of our longstanding commitment for a reliable, international academic provision, and as a partner of arXiv. Even though the Dark Archive today only works in the background, it is a key element in safeguarding digital research contents in the long term, because in case of a crisis, we could open the archive,” explains Dr Irina Sens, Deputy Director of the TIB."

We should call it the darXiv.

More details here:

https://blog.tib.eu/2025/05/14/protecting-science-tib-builds-dark-archive-for-arxiv/

Protecting Science: TIB builds Dark Archive for arXiv - TIB-Blog

Research and science are international; it is not for nothing that we speak of international specialist communities. Although a service such as arXiv is operated by an institution based in the USA, namely Cornell University, it is used by researchers worldwide. Part of arXiv‘s funding has also been internationalised since 2010 with the introduction of arXiv membership. The TIB finances the German contribution together with the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (HGF) and the Max Planck Society (MPG). The TIB has now set up a so-called dark archive for the arXiv content in order to make the backed-up data accessible in the event that the data located in the USA is lost.

TIB-Blog
jackcole15h ago
Miss Gayle16h ago

"The effects as this plays out will be—well, horrific. An eight-year study study of six key crops—corn, soybeans, rice, wheat, cassava and sorghum—in the premier scientific journal Nature on Wednesday predicted that each degree Celsius increase in temperature will lower global food production by an average of 120 calories per person per day."

Link: https://www.resilience.org/stories/2025-06-26/so-many-moving-pieces/

#Climate #FoodSecurity #PolyCrisis #Agriculture #Disasters #Environment #Economics #Energy #ClimateCrisis #Sustainability

jackcole18h ago
Laffy21h ago

Via Anna Bower:

NEWS: In #Newsom v. #Trump, Judge Breyer finds that he has jurisdiction to consider a preliminary injunction based on Posse Comitatus Act grounds — and grants California’s request for discovery on that issue.

Breyer also declined the government’s request to transfer the case to the central district of #California.

Read the order here: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.450934/gov.uscourts.cand.450934.101.0_1.pdf

jackcole18h ago
Laffy21h ago

“The US economy contracted in the beginning of the year at a much faster pace than previously reported, after new data factored in much weaker consumer spending.”

https://thereport.be/article/?app=breaking&u=https%3A%2F%2Fcnn.it%2F45GF9uf

A battery of new data shows how the US economy is holding up amid Trump’s tariffs

A deluge of economic data released Thursday should have provided a clearer picture of how the US economy is faring in the face of President Donald Trump’s massive policy shifts. But the latest numbers were a mixed bag, leaving economists still scratching their heads.

CNN
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Ars Technica1d ago
Anthropic destroyed millions of print books to build its AI models
Company hired Google's book-scanning chief to cut up and digitize "all the books in the world."
https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/06/anthropic-destroyed-millions-of-print-books-to-build-its-ai-models/?utm_brand=arstechnica&utm_social-type=owned&utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social
Show threadPhrank1d ago
@arstechnica 😭
Show threadSueDiOh1d ago
@arstechnica Even the ones that RFK Jr reads for health and science info. And there's the problem. AI has no discernment.
Show threadSweet Home Alaberta 🇨🇦 🇺🇦 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️ 🇲🇽1d ago
@arstechnica
Doubtful that even the nazis burned this many books.
Show threadWenzel 🏳️‍🌈4h ago
@NMBA @arstechnica don't downplay what they did. The intention to censor is far worse than the intention to teach an AI. Still, unless Anthropic makes those scans available to archives for free, I'm mad.
Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE1d ago

@arstechnica It's not necessary to do this. Machines are available that can scan books without damaging them.

As used for these, for example: https://www.cambridge.org/core/publications/collections/cambridge-library-collection

The machines aren't cheap, mind, and need careful handling.

Cambridge Library Collection

Welcome to Cambridge Core

Cambridge Core
Show threadRoy -- the dull one1d ago

@TimWardCam @arstechnica

I'm afraid that you, like me, need reprogramming in order to reside in the 21st Century.

A bias against destroying things is so, so out of fashion.

To begin your readjustment, write this on the blackboard 535 times:

I MUST MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS.

There, now, don't you feel more... more... more "modern"?

Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE1d ago
@oldclumsy_nowmad @arstechnica Yeah, our kids were like that. They even treated things like bicycles as temporary and disposable, whereas we treated them as serious pieces of capital equipment.
Show threadRoy -- the dull one1d ago

@TimWardCam @arstechnica

Thanks for speaking out in favor of respect for books (and other things that are investments of human and natural resources).

Show threadTim Ward ⭐🇪🇺🔶 #FBPE1d ago

@oldclumsy_nowmad @arstechnica I'm married to a publisher.

But I was always brought up to respect books. To the extent that the one or two times in my life that I've thrown a book away because it was so crap I didn't want to inflict it on anyone else felt like a very strange thing to do.

Show threadKing_DuckZ1d ago
@TimWardCam @arstechnica I came here to say the same, I'm sure I saw a triangle shaped scanner somewhere once. As an added bonus, I bet it's even faster since you don't have to rip the pages off and you can do two pages at once
Show threadInfoSecBen1d ago
@arstechnica Savages and thieves.
Show threadmtconleyuk1d ago

@arstechnica
God damn, fuck these people.

(Do not talk to me about how they did what conservators do in preserving content digitally. These people are shite.)

Show threadIndiealexh1d ago
@mtconleyuk @arstechnica and conservators typically avoid damaging the original media or restore the original media.
Show threadGeorgiana Brummell1d ago
@arstechnica I am totally blind. When I scan print books, I often ruin them because I have to either press down on them if I use a flatbed scanner, or hold them open if I use a document scanner. Making books available online (provided they're in accessible formats), means that more won't have to be destroyed and those of us who must rely on screen readers and ocr won't have to spend hours scanning just so we can read the books.
Show threadKarl Auerbach1d ago

@dandylover1 @arstechnica Have you contacted people who scan books on a large scale, like Carl Malamud's projects?

They have tools that seem to be able to do scanning without destroying the books. And they don't have a lot of money. They are friendly folks who are probably more than happy to share ideas, plans, and know sources for such machines.

Show threadPomax1d ago
@karlauerbach @dandylover1 @arstechnica Specifically, it's usually not one, but two scanners, and instead of scanners they're normal off the shelf digital cameras. Books simply rest comfortably on two plates of glass that meet at an angle, with each camera pointed at its own page, which means there is no need to destroy, or even carefully unbind anything. You just open the book as far as it was designed to be opened in the first place.
Show threadGeorgiana Brummell1d ago
@TheRealPomax @karlauerbach @arstechnica I would love something like that. I have a Pearl camera, which has a wonderful stand and guide to help place the book, but it still just lies flat on the table, so if it's prone to closing or doesn't open all the way, I still have to hold it to ensure that everything scans properly.
Show threadPomax1d ago
@dandylover1 @karlauerbach @arstechnica there's a few "how to make one yourself" tutorials out there, but I'll be honest, if I had to make one myself I'd find a much handier friend to make one for me and then pay them in food and/or drinks =D
Show threadGeorgiana Brummell1d ago
@karlauerbach @arstechnica No. Most of what I read is in the public domain, and the only books I scan are ones I own, so usually, a little warping to the spine is okay. It only annoys me if the book is an antique. However, this is truly a wonderful source, and I may ask if they can scan Male and Female Costume by Beau Brummell, so that it can be made accessible for all!
Show threadIndiealexh1d ago

@dandylover1 @arstechnica sure but you are one person who only has access to a flatbed scanner.

Industrial scanners exist that can hold a book open at an angle and scan the page while in the book without damaging them. A company with billions in funding can afford that.

Show threadGeorgiana Brummell1d ago
@indiealexh @arstechnica I agree about that. Usually, even I use my Pearl camera, which is far less fdamaging. But if these scanners are available to more than just libraries, museums, and other such institutions, they should definitely use them! Why destroy books if it's not necessary to do so?
Show threadchris@strafpla.net1d ago

@dandylover1 @arstechnica Contrary to quasi-religious belief it‘s absolutely a-ok to destroy a paperback that has many prints in the process of media transformation for accessibility.
It may even save some books from vanishing. I still have tons of obscure, old media that’ll never be made available electronically that I want to transform to save it.
Telling a blind person about destruction free book scanning of paperbacks is misguided.

(Still: make sure to feed your authors and poets!)

Show threadGeorgiana Brummell1d ago
@chris @arstechnica Yes. There is a huge difference between scanning a modern copy of an old book and scanning the original! What drives me crazy is when modern paperbacks are copied from old ones, and instead of actually retyping or scanning and correcting them so that the new one is clean and ledgible, they just take a picture of it, so that the new hard copy has the same handwriting, fading,, discolouration, ripped pages, etc. as the original! It basically makes the book useless to me as an alternative to an online scanned copy in similar condition because my software would scan the printed copy as badly as the pdf!
Show threadVon Xylofon1d ago
@dandylover1 @arstechnica Yeah, but that's not what they did.
Show threadGonçalo Ribeiro1d ago
@arstechnica curious to know what kind of books they fed it, to know what kind of BS will be produced.
Show threadDP01d ago
@arstechnica Techbros are barbarians. They are neither educated nor intellectual. Musk is not an outlier. He may be the most pungent among them, but in the end, it's just leaves from the same rotten tree ...
Show threadStefan Scholl1d ago

@arstechnica I once read this in a science fiction book and thought this was a ridiculous idea by the author.

WTF??

Show threadBen Todd1d ago

@arstechnica

More proof that LLM people are arseholes of the highest order.

Show threadKarl Auerbach1d ago

@arstechnica Have you read Virnor Vinge's novel "Rainbows End"?

In that book libraries are digitized by shredding the books into pieces and scanning the pieces while they fall through the air immediately after the shredding.

Materials that are overlooked and not scanned fall into a pre-history category and effectively fall out of human knowledge.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainbows_End_(Vinge_novel)

Rainbows End (Vinge novel) - Wikipedia

Show threadRoyce Williams1d ago

@karlauerbach

Here to fanboy-gush about this book. Soooo good.

Show threadNazo1d ago

@arstechnica And they had a license to use the data in each of course.

Right?

Right???

Show threadMEMOra1d ago
@nazokiyoubinbou @arstechnica this! I work in a publishing house and I actually don't mind the destroying books all that much (unless they are rare or antique) but most of those were probably covered by copyright.
EDIT: They didn't, it's in the article. In fact they destroyed the original copies in order to say that they just transformed the way they use legally bought books. And the court accepted that strategy.
Show threadVon Xylofon1d ago
@nazokiyoubinbou @arstechnica The judge ruled fair use because they destroyed the books, so they didn't need it. What a fucking world.
Show threadNazo1d ago

@vonxylofon @arstechnica I can't think of any way in which that makes sense.

I mean by that token, it would be ok to commit corporate espionage as long as you make memorize it and destroy the original.

Show threadVon Xylofon1d ago
@nazokiyoubinbou @arstechnica This is copyright. Copyright stopped making sense by the time 1920s rolled over.
Show threadFi Projekt1d ago
@arstechnica Awful.
Show threadHot Dog Water Moccasin1d ago

@arstechnica

Not in a dicky tone, but isn't this ultimately what AI is about? The creators want all knowledge sifted through their filters. A book is a bomb to their ownership goals. Leaving a paper trail, so to speak, is bad for business.

Show threadToni Aittoniemi1d ago
@arstechnica They are in such a hurry, they must destroy data to get to it.
Show threadsamiamsam1d ago

@arstechnica

#fuckers

Show threadPatrick Morris Miller1d ago
@arstechnica Gods, fuck those people.
Show threadWulfy1d ago

@arstechnica

Having seen many books rot away and be thrown out.
Especially the "useless" ones.

I think the cost of one book being transferred from a physical medium into a digital one is a small price to pay.

And I say that as a book lover.

Show threadThe Aforementioned W1d ago

@n_dimension I have too and I agree with you -- but are these digital books actually made available to anyone?

@arstechnica

Show threadJimmy1d ago

@arstechnica @Gargron Cutting up ONE copy of a book in order to scan it is not destroying literature and knowledge, y’all.

It’s OK. There are lots and lots of copies of all the books. It’s not 1580 and books aren’t transcribed by hand.

On the plus side, at least the author made a couple of bucks before getting their work stolen.

Show threadpodfeet1d ago
@arstechnica @Gargron I can’t even bring myself to write in the margin of a book … in pencil.
Show threadJulie Webgirl1d ago

@arstechnica

It's spelled Clod.

Show threadNagaram1d ago

@arstechnica

I'm torn two fold by this

As someone whose job it once was to digitize books WITHOUT destroying them, I KNOW it's possible to do this non destructively.

But also that job would have been SO much easier if I could have cut the spine off. And TBH, not every book is a one of a kind precious cultural artifact. We can easily sacrifice a copy of nearly every book that's ever been written especially if it means we can archive the contents and make it accessible to more people.

Though whether or not Googles company here is doing the "make it accessible" part for anything other than AI is not known to me.

Show threadShortCircuit1d ago
Ya gotta get that shit into the computer somehow. You gonna type it in?
Show threadDa_Gut1d ago

@arstechnica

Shades of Rainbows End. https://bookwyrm.social/book/21939/s/rainbows-end!

Rainbows End - BookWyrm

From the back cover: World famous poet Robert Gu missed twenty years of progress while he nearly died from Alzheimer's. Now, when he awakens in San Diego, in the year 2025, with his mind and health restored, reality's a shock. Books are just about gone. Computers are old news, replaced by "smart" contact lenses that connect him to the Internet via his clothes and wireless nodes just about everywhere. Buildings look low rent -- unless you're wearing. Then, they look like whatever you want. Even he is different. He's seventy-five, but his treatment has made him look almost a teen. And that's just the tip of the iceberg in the new Digital Age. As Gu tries to catch up with his future, a mysterious stranger draws him and other innocents into a conspiracy that could have disastrous consequences. Before he knows it, he's in so deep that even his high-ranking military son and daughter-in-law are clueless. His only hope -- the world's only hope -- is that his thirteen-year-old granddaughter Miri and her secret friend, Mr. Rabbit, might be able to keep the worst from happening....

Show threadKofi Loves Efia 1d ago
@arstechnica vernor vinge predicted this would happen in the book "rainbows end" he even got the year right too. Neeto
Show threadLillyLyle/Count Melancholia1d ago
@arstechnica It's like Savonarola all over again.
Show threadGabriel Pettier1d ago
@arstechnica books bought in bulk, probably no rare book was destroyed, we create and destroy (hopefully recycle into new books) millions of books every year already.
Show threadBritstralian1d ago
@arstechnica This surely breaches copyright in many ways: modern day enclosure writ large!
Show threadMatthew Tillman8h ago
@arstechnica I recently read, in a hardcover book ironically, that most modern hardbacks won’t last (the paper/binding) more than 60 years. I don’t know if this is true but I tell people that seem my house that I’m neck deep in an experiment on the topic.