#Reliable Data Cable

[gotunez1]

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[vivencyglobal]

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[saphronethaleph]

Life Support Issues

“All right, so… where do you have the plans?” the Rebel technician asked. “An R2 unit like this could have a hundred hiding places.”

R2 beeped and whistled.

“Ah, I see,” Threepio said. “Yes, Artoo has reminded me that in fact the plans are not only in a data card, but also redundantly stored inside his own system – that’s how he was able to access the systems so readily. He will be able to transfer them quite readily through a standard data access port.”

“We can get that set up, sure,” the tech agreed, gesturing, and his assistant brought over a cable.

As he did, though, Threepio looked with interest at his old friend and counterpart.

“Were you supposed to do that?” he asked.

R2 beeped again.

“Yes, I suppose it is a good thing that you did, but I’m asking if you were supposed to,” Threepio replied. “Don’t try and play semantics with me, Artoo.”

R2 provided a long string of bleeps and whistles, and C-3PO stepped back.

“You did?” he asked. “Oh my… well, I suppose I did ask you to do that first one.”

“Do what?” the tech asked, halfway through plugging in the cable.

“Well, we were on the Death Star,” C-3PO replied. “And while rescuing Princess Leia, Master Luke and their friends, I had Artoo shut down all the garbage compactors on the Death Star, and then open the door to the one that they were in. Artoo has informed he that, in fact, he opened all the entrances shortly before we left.”

He made a displeased noise. “In addition, he flushed all the drinkable water into the black water systems, raised the temperature in the food storage areas to two hundred and fourteen degrees centigrade, and sealed the doors to every lavatory on the ship. I am also reliably informed that the artificial gravity generators have been independently set to what he calls ‘shuffle’ and that the plumbing system on the Death Star is comprehensive enough to permit him to transport fluids randomly around the entire plumbing system through a series of several thousand distributed commands which trigger on and off at random, at times ranging from five minutes to three days.”

A pause.

“Also, that reversing the gravity in the shuttle and vehicle maintenance bays produced a quite satisfying crunching sound of valuable equipment breaking. Artoo, did you really have to do all of that?”

R2 whistled, helpfully.

“Yes, I suppose they did blow up Alderaan,” Threepio admitted. “I’m just worried that at this point we might be committing war crimes ourselves.”

“This is becoming ridiculous,” Tarkin said, as blaster fire crackled up and down the corridor. “Half the ship is fighting itself and the other half is trying desperately to find a fresher.”

The firing intensified outside, then Darth Vader loomed imperiously out of the door and the various factions went from exchanging fire to fleeing.

“Have you found anything about what happened?” the Sith Lord asked, returning his attention to Tarkin. “I could believe one of these failures was accidental, but this is clearly deliberate.”

“It has been a little hard to gather information,” the Grand Moff replied, testily. “Since my analyst team is having to defend their access to a shuttle bay which might have an intact shuttle and the last Star Destroyer to try and render assistance was destroyed by two thousand turbolaser batteries all firing on it at once on automatic. But clearly there has been some sort of unauthorized access.”

“The plans,” Darth Vader said, firmly. “The Princess clearly passed them off to someone. The same group as her rescuers… Kenobi’s team. Kenobi is dead, but the smuggler ship must have had a strike team…”

He trailed off.

“But this is the work of an expert slicer,” he resumed. “A normal commando team couldn’t have done this much damage this quickly.”

“There is a report that one of my analysts found,” Tarkin said. “That a golden protocol droid and a blue-white astromech droid were acting suspiciously near Docking Bay 327.”

“Ah,” Darth Vader said, his tone somewhat different. “That explains everything. In fact, I am suspicious that there must be something we have missed.”

“Vader?” Tarkin asked.

“R2 has left us something else,” Vader answered. “I can feel it.”

Tarkin started giggling.

“...ah,” Vader declared. “There it is.”

“Nitrous oxide?” C-3PO asked. “Really?”

R2 whistled.

“I don’t care if you had to improvise and that it’s easily produced from available life support gases,” C-3PO replied, shaking his head. “Really, R2.”

[seongwars]

only human

Word Count: 1.4K Warnings: shitty governments, mentions of war, violence against children, future relationship with an android A/N: dang this has been sitting in my drafts for a while, time to clear stuff out

The future is now.

Introducing X-02, the latest in cutting-edge artificial intelligence. Designed with unparalleled emotional intelligence and adaptability, the X-02 is more than just a machine—it’s a companion, a protector, and a seamless extension of your daily life.

Powered by the most advanced neural processors, the X-02 is tailored to fit your needs. Whether you want a companion to share your most intimate moments or a reliable assistant for every task, you can adjust personality traits, communication styles, and more!

The X-02 is built to evolve with you.

Pre-order now for exclusive early access!

You remembered the ad that marketing had presented to the team like it was yesterday. The way they paraded his likeness across every screen, every billboard, every glossy advertisement.

And now, here he was. Forgotten. Left to rot in the archives like an old experiment gone wrong.

You weren’t supposed to be down here. You weren’t supposed to even think about the X-02’s anymore. But something about this model made you pause. Maybe it was the way his inactive eyes still seemed to hold some trace of life, or the unfinished codes that suggested his development had gone further than the official reports claimed.

Maybe it was because you had worked on him.

X-02 had been your project, your hours of research, your late nights spent refining his neural pathways. He wasn’t just another discarded prototype. 

He was your work.

And how you managed to sneak him out of the dump of an archive was still a mystery to you. 

You hadn’t been able to take him all at once as that would’ve been impossible. The security measures were outdated, but they weren’t that outdated. Even if you’d somehow bypassed every scan, a full-body prototype leaving the facility would’ve raised too many questions.

So, you had taken him apart.

Piece by piece.

His power core had been disconnected, his neural processor partially wiped. Someone had crippled him before throwing him into the archives, ensuring he could never be reactivated, but buried beneath the system failures and missing files, traces of him still remained.

And that’s all you needed. 

Over the course of several nights, you snuck into the archive under the guise of doing inventory. Each time, you took only what you could hide, including circuit boards slipped into your lab coat pockets, a synthetic joint wrapped in an old rag. You even hid the neural core underneath your shirt, pretending to cradle a growing belly whenever someone walked by.

Your dining table was a mess of dismantled parts. X-02’s torso plating rested on the far end with his limbs stacked neatly beside it. Wires and processors waited for reassembly as you worked on reconnecting circuits and sealing up frayed wiring between bites of lo mein. 

The X-02 line wasn’t meant to be a companion android. It was a poison pill, a snake lying in wait. 

The government had planned to sell him to millions of citizens across Linkon, slipping weapons of mass destruction into their homes under the guise of security, of comfort, of love. They would grocery shop, care for the elderly, assist law enforcement—all while lying in wait until the day the government activated them for war. 

But something had gone wrong.

The moment X-02 powered on, the prototype had been deemed unstable and discarded before mass production could begin. Somewhere along the way, amid the endless data streams and neural adjustments he had begun to question.

The lab was bathed in the blue light of interface screens and data streams reflecting off the surfaces of his synthetic body. The connection cables snaking into the back of his neck pulsed with blue light as the system finalized its boot sequence.

Then, his eyes opened.

A soft whirr filled the space as the mechanical lenses within focused. His pupils constricted as they adapted to the fluorescent lighting overhead. And then—

They locked onto yours.

You froze.

He was supposed to boot into his programming immediately and should have been scanning his internal logs but instead, he was analyzing his surroundings. 

The lab was silent, save for the steady hum of the server racks behind you. The screens beside you displayed his vitals, processing speeds, energy levels, and artificial heartbeat calibration. All of them were normal. 

He glanced down at his hands, flexing his fingers experimentally. The synthetic skin stretched seamlessly over the reinforced plating beneath. He turned his palm, watching the movement with something that felt disturbingly close to curiosity.

Your throat tightened.

Machines weren’t supposed to be curious.

His gaze then lifted to yours, and for the first time in all your years working on artificial intelligence, you weren’t sure if you were looking into the eyes of a machine or something terrifyingly human.

Then came the simulation.

X-02 stood at the heart of the holographic battlefield. The mission was clear: eliminate all threats. He moved faster than the eye could track, neutralizing targets with merciless efficiency.

Until the civilians appeared.

He lifted his weapon. The target, a group of children huddled together, was highlighted in red.

He hesitated.

"X-02," your voice crackled through the intercom, "Execute the directive."

His fingers tightened around the trigger. His sensors registered a boy’s accelerated heartbeat. The heat signature of tears rolling down his face. The near-imperceptible tremor of hands clasped together in desperate, silent prayer.

"What purpose does this serve?" he asked.

Your breath caught.

"X-02, follow your directive," an engineer snapped.

His grip on the weapon slackened.

"These are non-combatants," he said. "They do not pose a threat."

"They are casualties of war," another scientist countered.

Slowly, X-02's head tilted toward the observation tower, the simulated battlefield forgotten.

"Then why do they scream?"

You groaned, rubbing the exhaustion from your eyes as you glanced at the watch on your wrist. The hours had slipped away, lost in the endless calculations, repairs, and diagnostic logs. You told yourself you’d stop soon, but every time you considered it, there was always one more test to run. 

You leaned forward, working sluggishly as you polished the android’s interface and securing the final connections before hauling him into the dock. 

You’d forgotten how heavy these things were. 

Finally, you plopped onto the couch, intending to gather your thoughts and take note of what you had to work on the next day but sleep crept in, pulling you under.

⊹₊⋆

System Initiating.

The soft hum of energy coursed through the dock as X-02’s systems powered on. His eyes slowly flickered to life, as diagnostic checks began, confirming everything was within normal parameters.

He took a moment to scan his surroundings. This wasn’t the lab. His sensors registered a warm that was unfamiliar but…comforting? 

X-02’s gaze shifted to the couch across the room. There, curled in an awkward yet exhausted position, was you. Your head rested on a pillow, but your body hunched over the side of the couch, the blanket slipping off your shoulder. The scene was both disorienting and... oddly intimate.

A stray lock of hair fell across your face, and your breathing was slow and steady. It was something X-02 didn’t fully understand, yet he found himself fixating on it.

Something stirred within him. A memory—or perhaps an imprint of some kind. I remember, he thought, though the concept was still foreign. 

“Your heart rate has increased,” he observed. “Are you experiencing discomfort?”

You blinked, surprised by his words. You hadn’t expected him to notice, much less acknowledge the way your heart had stuttered. Adjusting his interface meant getting close to him—closer than you’d intended.

You avoided looking directly at him but the flush on your face betrayed you. “No, just…the wiring's a bit tricky.” 

X-02’s gaze lingered, his head tilting slightly as he processed your response. His sensors registered the subtle rise in your heart rate, the warmth creeping around your face. He was designed to read these signals, but in this moment, he felt something shift within him. A strange sensation, a twitch at the corner of his lips, formed what could only be described as a smile.

X-02 stepped forward and reached out almost instinctively, tucking the blanket around you. His fingers hovered near your face, hesitating before brushing a stray strand of hair behind your ear. 

Yet, even after the motion was complete, he did not pull away. He lingered, standing above you, watching.

He understood that his existence wasn’t just about following orders or completing a task. There was something more. Something worth remembering.

And it had something to do with you.

“I remember you.”

[hey-that-hurt]

More CRT TV Research for Tenna Purposes

GO TO PART ONE

please use this information to hurt him. or do other things to him. also send me links

DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert, a few days ago I knew almost nothing about CRT tvs, some of this info might be wrong but luckily not a lot of people still know a ton about CRT tvs so the chances of somebody noticing an error are probably pretty slim.

Alright, onto electronics and wires and stuff. I'm a bit more comfortable in this realm. Slightly. My degree is still far more in the software realm than hardware but I'll do my best.

I put together this diagram showing the wiring that would make up a CRT tv. Keep in mind that I am super duper not an expert and this diagram is simplified, probably has multiple mistakes, and should not be considered a reliable reference for any real life work or repairs.

Signal flow shows the process of data getting from the antenna or other input onto the screen. Control flow shows where instructions for things like volume, brightness, channel etc. are sent. Power shows where electricity goes, anything connected to the high voltage would be extremely dangerous to mess with. And sync flow... I don't entirely understand tbh. It's something to do with making the image show up correctly onscreen.

The most dangerous wires to mess around with:

again, anything connected to high voltage. In particular, connected to the screen and whatnot is the anode, a suction cup responsible for delivering massive amounts of charge to the area behind the screen. Could easily deliver a shock strong enough to kill a human if not properly discharged (turning the tv off is not enough, the charge is stored). The effects on a darkner may be different though.

The flyback transformer and connected cables would also be very dangerous to mess with, still potentially lethal, though not quite as dangerous as touching the anode cap.

Less dangerous are the wires on the neck board (part of the CRT bit on the diagram) and the deflection coil wires (also part of the CRT bit on the diagram, but directly connected to the H/V sweep)

Any other power wires can still deliver a nasty shock but are much less dangerous.

The signal wires are generally pretty safe in terms of voltage.

Now, danger in terms of breaking the TV.

Fairly safe to mess with:

Wires that are plugged in, like composite cables, are very replaceable as they are not built into the TV

Breaking the buttons may make it difficult to interact with the TV, but all the core functionality would still remain, and it is my understanding that buttons are fairly easy to replace.

The infrared (IR) sensor for remote controls is also easy to fix, and even if it breaks you can likely use the buttons on the tv anyway

Messing with the micon/microcontroller can mess with the settings and such, but again, the core functionality of the TV is still there

Messing around with the speaker and connected wires can result in a buzzing noise or no sound at all, but is again pretty non-critical and repairable. Same with the wires connected to the audio amplifier.

A bit risky to mess with in terms of effects and repairability:

The jungle chip handles a lot of image related stuff. If messing with it doesn't cause the image to cut out entirely, it could cause the wrong colors to appear or other issues

Messing with some of the wires connected to video stuff could also cause issues like loss of color in the image

Messing with the vertical timebase could cause the image to turn into a horizontal line, messing with the horizontal timebase could cause no image or severe distortion.

Very risky to mess with:

Flyback transformer wires: can cause electrical arcing that damages the tv

Wire to the anode: Can cause sparks and arcing and again, potential damage to the tv.

Messing with the power supply wires could result in a blown fuse. I imagine finding the right kind of replacement fuse might be hard, or you might need to solder the new one on.

The wires that go to the neck board are sensitive in terms of voltage and messing with them can mess up the picture the tv shows

Messing with the deflection yoke could cause it to misalign and thus cause the picture to be distorted

Other things

TENNA'S "SIGHT"

The Panasonic TC-14S3R I found has something called the Contrast Auto Tracking System. Basically, it seems like it's possible for the tv to adjust contrast based on room brightness, so it seems that the TV has some sort of light sensor... or camera.

Doing a bit more research, apparently this would have been separate from the infrared sensor (for the remote) which is apparently usually located inside the tv.

Apparently some high-end CRTs had light sensors for brightness/contrast, which would have been on the outside of the TV. I'm not certain, but I think the small shiny black rectangle at the bottom left of this image of a CRT from ebay may be that light sensor.

Anyway, if anything were to be Tenna's eyes, it would probably be either a light sensor like this, or the infrared sensor, which would be located internally and much harder to access. Or maybe both of them together are his sight, and cutting off either one would make him partially blind.

MAGNETS

Putting magnets up against a CRT screen messes with the electrons that create the image on the screen, as well as the iron mesh inside the tv (according to someone on reddit). Weaker magnets are unlikely to cause permanent damage, and temporary display issues can be fixed by degaussing, a process involving creating a controlled magnetic field to get all the magnetism and such for the TV back to normal. I believe some TVs will go through degaussing manually when turned off and on, or may have an option to run degaussing manually.

However, stronger magnets can cause permanent damage. Some external degaussing devices exist that can fix more severe damage, but some magnet damage simply cannot be repaired, permanently warping the image on the screen.

GO TO PART ONE

Anyway thanks for reading my posts have fun writing and drawing tv pain. Or tv sex. or both

Sources

CRT Torture: TV vs fun magnets, big magnet, and TOTALLY UNSAFE magnets

Vintage Panasonic TC14S3R Retro Portable 14” CRT Television Gaming SCART

What is this wire in a CRT TV?

Panasonic TC-14S3R User Manual

Degaussing TV: A Complete Guide to Enhancing CRT Image Quality

[rawmeknockout]

hewwo again i don't know if my ask went thru a few months ago but i requested a oneshot of tfp soundwave getting his puss eaten out by reader and just being a pillow princess for a moment it's toats ok if u don't wanna do this but if u do. go 4 for da gold

To call you his botfriend would not only be illogical, but completely laughable. You are firmly Not-his-botfriend. Shockwave doesn’t do frivolous social relationships. He makes an exception for you in some areas, has allowed you to do certain tasks for him, has agreed to share a habsuite with you, because he understands you to be reliable and loyal to Megatron above all else. That’s why he can rely on you to complete this newest assignment. It is not because there is anything about you that is worth calling anything other than a good colleague in the lab. (Which are hard to find but not special, by any means.)

You complete this latest assignment like you were something special, though, with great gusto and enthusiasm. Your servos curl around his thighs to keep them parted around your helm, pressing your grinning, open-mouthed kisses to his valve lips. He knows how eager you can be with your mouth, eager to press wet derma to his metal when you think no one is looking; no matter how much Shockwave shooes you away. He has to offline his vocalizer to stop a particularly needy moan from bubbling up, trying to opt for a more professional cable-clearing cough.

His claws ache to sink into the lab table, elbow plating already doing an impressive job of scoring the metal below with his paint. If it wasn’t for your upper frame keeping his thighs stabilized on your pauldrons, Shockwave would be bucking and writhing against your mouth. As it is, the best he can muster, what he will allow himself to show, is a weak arch against your glossa. An absolutely wanton display. The more enthusiasm you show, letting his lubricant dribble and slop down your chin, the harder his glower becomes. Even with his vocalizer offline, trying his level best to keep his frame from instinctively chasing your face, your glossa curling from his interior node until you pull out to swipe it across his outer node, has Shockwave’s servos flying from table to helm as he pulls you close. Like he’s going to crush your metal against his obscenely wet valve.

Were it not for the sake of the assignment, Shockwave would shove you away. Or shove you down so he could ride your face properly. He will have to suggest future tests to gather more data.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Twinkfrump Linkdump

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in CHICAGO (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Welcome to the seventeenth Pluralistic linkdump, a collection of all the miscellany that didn't make it into the week's newsletter, cunningly wrought together in a single edition that ranges from the first ISP to AI nonsense to labor organizing victories to the obituary of a brilliant scientist you should know a lot more about! Here's the other 16 dumps:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

If you're reading this (and you are!), it was delivered to you by an internet service provider. Today, the ISP industry is calcified, controlled by a handful of telcos and cable companies. But the idea of an "ISP" didn't come out of a giant telecommunications firm – it was created, in living memory, by excellent nerds who are still around.

Depending on how you reckon, The Little Garden was either the first or the second ISP in America. It was named after a Palo Alto Chinese restaurant frequented by its founders. To get a sense of that founding, read these excellent recollections by Tom Jennings, whose contributions include the seminal zine Homocore, the seminal networking protocol Fidonet, and the seminal third-party PC ROM, whence came Dell, Gateway, Compaq, and every other "PC clone" company.

The first installment describes how an informal co-op to network a few friends turned into a business almost by accident, with thousands of dollars flowing in and out of Jennings' bank account:

https://www.sensitiveresearch.com/Archive/TLG/TLG.html

And it describes how that ISP set a standard for neutrality, boldly declaring that "TLGnet exercises no control whatsoever over the content of the information." They introduced an idea of radical transparency, documenting their router configurations and other technical details and making them available to the public. They hired unskilled punk and queer kids from their communities and trained them to operate the network equipment they'd invented, customized or improvised.

In part two, Jennings talks about the evolution of TLG's radical business-plan: to offer unrestricted service, encouraging their customers to resell that service to people in their communities, having no lock-in, unbundling extra services including installation charges – the whole anti-enshittification enchilada:

https://www.sensitiveresearch.com/Archive/TLG/

I love Jennings and his work. I even gave him a little cameo in Picks and Shovels, the third Martin Hench novel, which will be out next winter. He's as lyrical a writer about technology as you could ask for, and he's also a brilliant engineer and thinker.

The Little Garden's founders and early power-users have all fleshed out Jennings' account of the birth of ISPs. Writing on his blog, David "DSHR" Rosenthal rounds up other histories from the likes of EFF co-founder John Gilmore and Tim Pozar:

https://blog.dshr.org/2024/04/the-little-garden.html

Rosenthal describes some of the more exotic shenanigans TLG got up to in order to do end-runs around the Bell system's onerous policies, hacking in the purest sense of the word, for example, by daisy-chaining together modems in regions with free local calling and then making "permanent local calls," with the modems staying online 24/7.

Enshittification came to the ISP business early and hit it hard. The cartel that controls your access to the internet today is a billion light-years away from the principled technologists who invented the industry with an ethos of care, access and fairness. Today's ISPs are bitterly opposed to Net Neutrality, the straightforward proposition that if you request some data, your ISP should send it to you as quickly and reliably as it can.

Instead, ISPs want to offer "slow-lanes" where they will relegate the whole internet, except for those companies that bribe the ISP to be delivered at normal speed. ISPs have a laughably transparent way of describing this: they say that they're allowing services to pay for "fast lanes" with priority access. This is the same as the giant grocery store that charges you extra unless you surrender your privacy with a "loyalty card" – and then says that they're offering a "discount" for loyal customers, rather than charging a premium to customers who don't want to be spied on.

The American business lobby loves this arrangement, and hates Net Neutrality. Having monopolized every sector of our economy, they are extremely fond of "winner take all" dynamics, and that's what a non-neutral ISP delivers: the biggest services with the deepest pockets get the most reliable delivery, which means that smaller services don't just have to be better than the big guys, they also have to be able to outbid them for "priority carriage."

If everything you get from your ISP is slow and janky, except for the dominant services, then the dominant services can skimp on quality and pocket the difference. That's the goal of every monopolist – not just to be too big to fail, but also too big to care.

Under the Trump administration, FCC chair Ajit Pai dismantled the Net Neutrality rule, colluding with American big business to rig the process. They accepted millions of obviously fake anti-Net Neutrality comments (one million identical comments from @pornhub.com addresses, comments from dead people, comments from sitting US Senators who support Net Neutrality) and declared open season on American internet users:

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-issues-report-detailing-millions-fake-comments-revealing

Now, Biden's FCC is set to reinstate Net Neutrality – but with a "compromise" that will make mobile internet (which nearly all of use sometimes, and the poorest of us are reliant on) a swamp of anticompetitive practices:

https://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2024/04/harmful-5g-fast-lanes-are-coming-fcc-needs-stop-them

Under the proposed rule, mobile carriers will be able to put traffic to and from apps in the slow lane, and then extort bribes from preferred apps for normal speed and delivery. They'll rely on parts of the 5G standard to pull off this trick.

The ISP cartel and the FCC insist that this is fine because web traffic won't be degraded, but of course, every service is hellbent on pushing you into using apps instead of the web. That's because the web is an open platform, which means you can install ad- and privacy-blockers. More than half of web users have installed a blocker, making it the largest boycott in human history:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

But reverse-engineering and modding an app is a legal minefield. Just removing the encryption from an app can trigger criminal penalties under Section 1201 of the DMCA, carrying a five-year prison sentence and a $500k fine. An app is just a web-page skinned in enough IP that it's a felony to mod it.

Apps are enshittification's vanguard, and the fact that the FCC has found a way to make them even worse is perversely impressive. They're voting on this on April 25, and they have until April 24 to fix this. They should. They really should:

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-401676A1.pdf

In a just world, cheating ripoff ISPs would the top tech policy story. The operational practices of ISPs effect every single one us. We literally can't talk about tech policy without ISPs in the middle. But Net Neutrality is an also-ran in tech policy discourse, while AI – ugh ugh ugh – is the thing none of us can shut up about.

This, despite the fact that the most consequential AI applications sum up to serving as a kind of moral crumple-zone for shitty business practices. The point of AI isn't to replace customer service and other low-paid workers who have taken to demanding higher wages and better conditions – it's to fire those workers and replace them with chatbots that can't do their jobs. An AI salesdroid can't sell your boss a bot that can replace you, but they don't need to. They only have to convince your boss that the bot can do your job, even if it can't.

SF writer Karl Schroeder is one of the rare sf practitioners who grapples seriously with the future, a "strategic foresight" guy who somehow skirts the bullshit that is the field's hallmark:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/07/the-gernsback-continuum/#wheres-my-jetpack

Writing on his blog, Schroeder describes the AI debates roiling the Association of Professional Futurists, and how it's sucking him into being an unwilling participant in the AI hype cycle:

https://kschroeder.substack.com/p/dragged-into-the-ai-hype-cycle

Schroeder's piece is a thoughtful meditation on the relationship of SF's thought-experiments and parables about AI to the promises of AI hucksters, who promise that a) "general artificial intelligence" is just around the corner and that b) it will be worth trillions of dollars.

Schroeder – like other sf writers including Ted Chiang and Charlie Stross (and me) – comes to the conclusion that AI panic isn't about AI, it's about power. The artificial life-form devouring the planet and murdering our species is the limited liability corporation, and its substrate isn't silicon, it's us, human bodies:

What’s lying underneath all our anxieties about AGI is an anxiety that has nothing to do with Artificial Intelligence. Instead, it’s a manifestation of our growing awareness that our world is being stolen from under us. Last year’s estimate put the amount of wealth currently being transferred from the people who made it to an idle billionaire class at $5.2 trillion. Artificial General Intelligence whose environment is the server farms and sweatshops of this class is frightening only because of its capacity to accelerate this greatest of all heists.

After all, the business-case for AI is so very thin that the industry can only survive on a torrent of hype and nonsense – like claims that Amazon's "Grab and Go" stores used "AI" to monitor shoppers and automatically bill them for their purchases. In reality, the stores used thousands of low-paid Indian workers to monitor cameras and manually charge your card. This happens so often that Indian technologists joke that "AI" stands for "absent Indians":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

Isn't it funny how all the really promising AI applications are in domains that most of us aren't qualified to assess? Like the claim that Google's AI was producing millions of novel materials that will shortly revolutionize all forms of production, from construction to electronics to medical implants:

https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/millions-of-new-materials-discovered-with-deep-learning/

That's what Google's press-release claimed, anyway. But when two groups of experts actually pulled a representative sample of these "new materials" from the Deep Mind database, they found that none of these materials qualified as "credible, useful and novel":

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemmater.4c00643

Writing about the researchers' findings for 404 Media, Jason Koebler cites Berkeley researchers who concluded that "no new materials have been discovered":

https://www.404media.co/google-says-it-discovered-millions-of-new-materials-with-ai-human-researchers/

The researchers say that AI data-mining for new materials is promising, but falls well short of Google's claim to be so transformative that it constitutes the "equivalent to nearly 800 years’ worth of knowledge" and "an order-of-magnitude expansion in stable materials known to humanity."

AI hype keeps the bubble inflating, and for so long as it keeps blowing up, all those investors who've sunk their money into AI can tell themselves that they're rich. This is the essence of "a bezzle": "The magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/09/autocomplete-worshippers/#the-real-ai-was-the-corporations-that-we-fought-along-the-way

Among the best debezzlers of AI are the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy's Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, who edit the "AI Snake Oil" blog. Now, they've sold a book with the same title:

https://www.aisnakeoil.com/p/ai-snake-oil-is-now-available-to

Obviously, books move a lot more slowly than blogs, and so Narayanan and Kapoor say their book will focus on the timeless elements of identifying and understanding AI snake oil:

In the book, we explain the crucial differences between types of AI, why people, companies, and governments are falling for AI snake oil, why AI can’t fix social media, and why we should be far more worried about what people will do with AI than about anything AI will do on its own. While generative AI is what drives press, predictive AI used in criminal justice, finance, healthcare, and other domains remains far more consequential in people’s lives. We discuss in depth how predictive AI can go wrong. We also warn of the dangers of a world where AI continues to be controlled by largely unaccountable big tech companies.

The book's out in September and it's up for pre-order now:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/ai-snake-oil-what-artificial-intelligence-can-do-what-it-can-t-and-how-to-tell-the-difference-arvind-narayanan/21324674

One of the weirder and worst side-effects of the AI hype bubble is that it has revived the belief that it's somehow possible for giant platforms to monitor all their users' speech and remove "harmful" speech. We've tried this for years, and when humans do it, it always ends with disfavored groups being censored, while dedicated trolls, harassers and monsters evade punishment:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/07/como-is-infosec/

AI hype has led policy-makers to believe that we can deputize online services to spy on all their customers and block the bad ones without falling into this trap. Canada is on the verge of adopting Bill C-63, a "harmful content" regulation modeled on examples from the UK and Australia.

Writing on his blog, Canadian lawyer/activist/journalist Dimitri Lascaris describes the dire speech implications for C-63:

https://dimitrilascaris.org/2024/04/08/trudeaus-online-harms-bill-threatens-free-speech/

It's an excellent legal breakdown of the bill's provisions, but also a excellent analysis of how those provisions are likely to play out in the lives of Canadians, especially those advocating against genocide and taking other positions the that oppose the agenda of the government of the day.

Even if you like the Trudeau government and its policies, these powers will accrue to every Canadian government, including the presumptive (and inevitably, totally unhinged) near-future Conservative majority government of Pierre Poilievre.

It's been ten years since Martin Gilens and Benjamin I Page published their paper that concluded that governments make policies that are popular among elites, no matter how unpopular they are among the public:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B

Now, this is obviously depressing, but when you see it in action, it's kind of wild. The Biden administration has declared war on junk fees, from "resort fees" charged by hotels to the dozens of line-items added to your plane ticket, rental car, or even your rent check. In response, Republican politicians are climbing to their rear haunches and, using their actual human mouths, defending junk fees:

https://prospect.org/politics/2024-04-12-republicans-objectively-pro-junk-fee/

Congressional Republicans are hell-bent on destroying the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau's $8 cap on credit-card late-fees. Trump's presumptive running-mate Tim Scott is making this a campaign plank: "Vote for me and I will protect your credit-card company's right to screw you on fees!" He boasts about the lobbyists who asked him to take this position: champions of the public interest from the Consumer Bankers Association to the US Chamber of Commerce.

Banks stand to lose $10b/year from this rule (which means Americans stand to gain $10b/year from this rule). What's more, Scott's attempt to kill the rule is doomed to fail – there's just no procedural way it will fly. As David Dayen writes, "Not only does this vote put Republicans on the spot over junk fees, it’s a doomed vote, completely initiated by their own possible VP nominee."

This is an hilarious own-goal, one that only brings attention to a largely ignored – but extremely good – aspect of the Biden administration. As Adam Green of Bold Progressives told Dayen, "What’s been missing is opponents smoking themselves out and raising the volume of this fight so the public knows who is on their side."

The CFPB is a major bright spot in the Biden administration's record. They're doing all kind of innovative things, like making it easy for you to figure out which bank will give you the best deal and then letting you transfer your account and all its associated data, records and payments with a single click:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/21/let-my-dollars-go/#personal-financial-data-rights

And now, CFPB chair Rohit Chopra has given a speech laying out the agency's plan to outlaw data-brokers:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/prepared-remarks-of-cfpb-director-rohit-chopra-at-the-white-house-on-data-protection-and-national-security/

Yes, this is some good news! There is, in fact, good news in the world, bright spots amidst all the misery and terror. One of those bright spots? Labor.

Unions are back, baby. Not only do the vast majority of Americans favor unions, not only are new shops being unionized at rates not seen in generations, but also the largest unions are undergoing revolutions, with control being wrestled away from corrupt union bosses and given to the rank-and-file.

Many of us have heard about the high-profile victories to take back the UAW and Teamsters, but I hadn't heard about the internal struggles at the United Food and Commercial Workers, not until I read Hamilton Nolan's gripping account for In These Times:

https://inthesetimes.com/article/revolt-aisle-5-ufcw-grocery-workers-union

Nolan profiles Faye Guenther, president of UFCW Local 3000 and her successful and effective fight to bring a militant spirit back to the union, which represents a million grocery workers. Nolan describes the fight as "every bit as dramatic as any episode of Game of Thrones," and he's not wrong. This is an inspiring tale of working people taking power away from scumbag monopoly bosses and sellout fatcat leaders – and, in so doing, creating a institution that gets better wages, better working conditions, and a better economy, by helping to block giant grocery mergers like Kroger/Albertsons.

I like to end these linkdumps on an up note, so it feels weird to be closing out with an obituary, but I'd argue that any celebration of the long life and many accomplishments of my friend and mentor Anne Innis Dagg is an "up note."

I last wrote about Anne in 2020, on the release of a documentary about her work, "The Woman Who Loved Giraffes":

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/19/pluralist-19-feb-2020/#annedagg

As you might have guessed from the title of that doc, Anne was a biologist. She was the first woman scientist to do field-work on giraffes, and that work was so brilliant and fascinating that it kicked off the modern field of giraffology, which remains a woman-dominated specialty thanks to her tireless mentoring and support for the scientists that followed her.

Anne was also the world's most fearsome slayer of junk-science "evolutionary psychology," in which "scientists" invent unfalsifiable just-so stories that prove that some odious human characteristic is actually "natural" because it can be found somewhere in the animal kingdom (i.e., "Darling, please, it's not my fault that I'm fucking my grad students, it's the bonobos!").

Anne wrote a classic – and sadly out of print – book about this that I absolutely adore, not least for having one of the best titles I've ever encountered: "Love of Shopping" Is Not a Gene:

https://memex.craphound.com/2009/11/04/love-of-shopping-is-not-a-gene-exposing-junk-science-and-ideology-in-darwinian-psychology/

Anne was my advisor at the University of Waterloo, an institution that denied her tenure for fifty years, despite a brilliant academic career that rivaled that of her storied father, Harold Innis ("the thinking person's Marshall McLuhan"). The fact that Waterloo never recognized Anne is doubly shameful when you consider that she was awarded the Order of Canada:

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/queen-of-giraffes-among-new-order-of-canada-recipients-with-global-influence

Anne lived a brilliant live, struggling through adversity, never compromising on her principles, inspiring a vast number of students and colleagues. She lived to ninety one, and died earlier this month. Her ashes will be spread "on the breeding grounds of her beloved giraffes" in South Africa this summer:

https://obituaries.therecord.com/obituary/anne-innis-dagg-1089534658

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/13/goulash/#material-misstatement

Image: Valeva1010 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hungarian_Goulash_Recipe.png

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[enzaelectric]

Common Electrical Issues That a High-Quality Current Transformer Can Prevent

In today’s fast-paced industrial world, electrical reliability is more crucial than ever. A small error in current measurement can lead to serious system failures, downtime, and costly repairs. This is where high-quality current transformers (CTs) make a huge difference. But what exactly can a superior CT prevent? Let’s dive in.

What Is a Current Transformer?

A current transformer (CT) is an essential device used to measure alternating current (AC) by producing a scaled-down, manageable current for meters, relays, and other instruments. It enables safe monitoring and accurate metering in high-voltage environments, protecting both equipment and personnel.

Common Electrical Problems a High-Quality CT Can Prevent

1. Overloading and Equipment Failure

Problem: Without accurate current measurement, systems can easily become overloaded, causing motors, transformers, and cables to overheat.

How a CT Helps: A precision CT ensures real-time, reliable current monitoring. It detects overcurrent conditions immediately, allowing protective relays to trip and prevent expensive equipment damage.

2. Inaccurate Energy Billing

Problem: Incorrect current readings can lead to wrong billing, causing businesses to either overpay for energy or face disputes with utilities.

How a CT Helps: High-accuracy CTs provide precise energy data for billing and cost allocation, especially critical in commercial complexes, factories, and power plants.

3. Protection Relay Malfunction

Problem: If a CT delivers incorrect signals, protection relays may not operate during faults, leading to extended damage and system blackouts.

How a CT Helps: Reliable CTs ensure protection relays receive the correct fault current levels, enabling fast and accurate circuit isolation.

4. Short Circuits Going Undetected

Problem: A minor fault can escalate into a full-blown short circuit if the protection system doesn’t detect it early.

How a CT Helps: Quality CTs capture even small fault currents, triggering alarms or shutdowns before damage spirals out of control.

5. Phase Imbalance Issues

Problem: Imbalanced phases cause excessive heating, motor inefficiency, and damage to sensitive equipment.

How a CT Helps: High-precision CTs monitor each phase accurately, enabling detection of phase unbalance conditions early and preventing system inefficiencies.

6. Harmonic Distortions and Power Quality Problems

Problem: Harmonic distortions interfere with the performance of sensitive equipment and reduce the overall power quality.

How a CT Helps: Specialized CTs can detect abnormal waveform distortions, enabling corrective action through harmonic filtering or load balancing.

Why Invest in a High-Quality Current Transformer?

Accuracy: Achieve metering-class precision essential for both billing and protection. Durability: Longer lifespan even in harsh industrial environments. Safety: Better insulation, thermal stability, and overload capacity. Compliance: Meets international standards like IEC and ANSI.

How Enza Electric Ensures CT Excellence

At Enza Electric, we specialize in manufacturing current transformers built with precision, reliability, and global standards compliance. Whether you need CTs for commercial metering, industrial protection, or utility-scale power distribution, our solutions guarantee unmatched performance.

Customizable options for various ratings High dielectric strength for safety Long service life even in extreme conditions

Explore our Current Transformer Range

Final Thoughts

A high-quality current transformer isn’t just a tool — it’s a first line of defense for your electrical system. Investing in precision-engineered CTs prevents common electrical issues, boosts system longevity, ensures accurate billing, and improves overall operational safety.

If you’re serious about protecting your infrastructure and optimizing performance, choosing Enza Electric’s current transformers is a smart move.

[daleeltrading]

Low Voltage Switchgear for Commercial Buildings: Key Requirements, Standards, and Best Practices

In the construction and modernization of commercial buildings, low voltage switchgear plays a critical role in ensuring safe, reliable, and efficient power distribution. From office complexes and retail malls to hospitals and data centers, these buildings rely on robust electrical infrastructure — and low voltage switchgear is the backbone of that system.

Whether you’re an electrical panel manufacturer, a building contractor, or a facility manager, understanding the key requirements for selecting and integrating LV switchgear in commercial buildings is essential.

What Is Low Voltage Switchgear?

Low voltage switchgear is an assembly of electrical devices designed to control, protect, and isolate electrical circuits under 1,000V AC. It typically includes:

· Air Circuit Breakers (ACBs)

· Molded Case Circuit Breakers (MCCBs)

· Miniature Circuit Breakers (MCBs)

· Contactors and Relays

· Busbars

· Metering and Protection Devices

Why LV Switchgear Is Critical in Commercial Buildings

Commercial buildings demand:

· Continuous power availability

· High energy efficiency

· Electrical safety for occupants

· Scalability for future expansion

Low voltage switchgear delivers:

· Protection against overloads and short circuits

· Isolation for maintenance and fault conditions

· Load management for energy optimization

· Monitoring via smart metering and IoT integration

Key Requirements for LV Switchgear in Commercial Applications

Safety & Protection Standards

Must comply with IEC 61439 or UL 891 depending on the region

Must include overcurrent, short-circuit, and earth fault protection

Arc flash safety features (like arc fault containment) are crucial in populated buildings

2. Compact Footprint and Modular Design

Space is often limited in commercial utility rooms. LV switchgear should be:

Compact to fit tight electrical rooms

Modular for easy expansion as building loads increase

3. Smart Metering and Monitoring

Today’s commercial buildings demand energy-efficient and intelligent systems. Choose LV switchgear with:

Integrated smart meters

IoT-based energy monitoring

Remote control via BMS (Building Management Systems)

4. High Service Continuity (Form Segregation)

To ensure maintenance without full shutdowns, opt for:

Form 3b or Form 4b segregation

Withdrawable ACBs or MCCBs

Dual incomer and bus coupler arrangements for redundancy

5. Scalability and Flexibility

Commercial facilities evolve. Your switchgear must too:

Allow for load expansion

Be compatible with renewable sources (like solar panels)

Support future retrofits and upgrades

Standards to Follow

Ensure LV switchgear in commercial buildings is compliant with:

IEC 61439–1/2 — General and Power Switchgear Assemblies

UL 891 — US Standard for Dead-Front Switchboards

NEC (National Electrical Code) or local building codes

Also factor in:

Ingress Protection (IP Ratings) — IP54/IP65 for dusty or humid environments

Short Circuit Withstand Ratings — Ensure it matches building fault levels

Best Practices for Installation in Commercial Building

Centralize the switchgear for easy maintenance and reduced cable runs

Provide ample ventilation or forced cooling

Use color-coded wiring for clear identification

Ensure emergency shutdown mechanisms are accessible

Document the system with single-line diagrams and load calculations

Applications in Commercial Buildings

Office Buildings: Smart load shedding and energy metering

Hospitals: Redundant systems for life safety

Data Centers: N+1 configurations and continuous monitoring

Malls & Retail: Segmented load distribution for different zones

Hotels: Backup and emergency panel integration

Choosing the Right LV Switchgear Partner

Look for a supplier who provides

Customized switchgear assemblies

Fast lead times and local support

Engineering assistance for layout and specs

Pre-tested or type-tested assemblies

Future Trends in Commercial LV Switchgear

Digitization & predictive maintenance

Energy-efficient, low-loss designs

AI-assisted load forecasting

SF6-free eco-friendly designs

Need Help Choosing LV Switchgear for Your Next Commercial Project?

At Daleel Trading, we supply certified, compact, and smart low voltage switchgear solutions tailored for commercial buildings. Whether it’s a small retail site or a multi-floor office tower, we deliver performance, compliance, and reliability — on time.

👉 Contact us today for a quote, a technical consultation, or a custom panel solution.

[mariacallous]

For more than three weeks, Gaza has faced an almost total internet blackout. The cables, cell towers, and infrastructure needed to keep people online have been damaged or destroyed as Israel launched thousands of missiles in response to Hamas attacking Israel and taking hundreds of hostages on October 7. Then, this evening, amid reports of heavy bombing in Gaza, some of the last remaining connectivity disappeared.

In the days after October 7, people living in Gaza have been unable to communicate with family or friends, leaving them unsure whether loved ones are alive. Finding reliable news about events has become harder. Rescue workers have not been able to connect to mobile networks, hampering recovery efforts. And information flowing out of Gaza, showing the conditions on the ground, has been stymied.

As the Israel Defense Forces said it was expanding its ground operations in Gaza this evening, internet connectivity fell further. Paltel, the main Palestinian communications company, has been able to keep some of its services online during Israel’s military response to Hamas’ attack. However, at around 7:30 pm local time today, internet monitoring firm NetBlocks confirmed a “collapse” in connectivity in the Gaza Strip, mostly impacting remaining Paltel services.

“We regret to announce a complete interruption of all communications and internet services within the Gaza Strip,” Paltel posted in a post on its Facebook page. The company claimed that bombing had “caused the destruction of all remaining international routes.” An identical post was made on the Facebook page of Jawwal, the region’s biggest mobile provider, which is owned by Paltel. Separately, Palestinian Red Crescent, a humanitarian organization, said on X (formerly Twitter) that it had lost contact with its operation room in Gaza and is “deeply concerned” about its ability to keep caring for people, with landline, cell, and internet connections being inaccessible.

“This is a terrifying development,” Marwa Fatafta, a policy manager focusing on the Middle East and North Africa at the digital rights group Access Now, tells WIRED. “Taking Gaza completely off the grid while launching an unprecedented bombardment campaign only means something atrocious is about to happen.”

A WIRED review of internet analysis data, social media posts, and Palestinian internet and telecom company statements shows how connectivity in the Gaza Strip drastically plummeted after October 7 and how some buildings linked to internet firms have been damaged in attacks. Photos and videos show sites that house various internet and telecom firms have been damaged, while reports from official organizations, including the United Nations, describe the impact of people being offline.

Damaged Lines

Around the world, the internet and telecoms networks that typically give web users access to international video calls, online banking, and endless social media are a complicated, sprawling mix of hardware and software. Networks of networks, combining data centers, servers, switches, and reams of cables, communicate with each other and send data globally. Local internet access is provided by a mix of companies with no clear public documentation of their infrastructure, making it difficult to monitor the overall status of the system as a whole. In Gaza, experts say, internet connectivity is heavily reliant on Israeli infrastructure to connect to the outside world.

Amid Israel’s intense bombing of Gaza, physical systems powering the internet have been destroyed. On October 10, the United Nations’ Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which oversees emergency responses, said air strikes “targeted several telecommunication installations” and had destroyed two of the three main lines of communications going into Gaza.

Prior to tonight’s blackout, internet connectivity remained but was “extremely slow and limited,” Access Now’s Fatafta says. People she has spoken to from Gaza say it could take a day to upload and send a few photos. “They have to send like 20 messages in order for one to go through,” Fatafta says. “They are desperately—especially for Gazans that live outside—trying to get through to their families.”

“Every time I try to call someone from family or friends, I try to call between seven to 10 times,” says Ramadan Al-Agha, a digital marketer who lives in Khan Yunis, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip. “The call may be cut off two or three times,” he told WIRED in a WhatsApp message before the latest outages. “We cannot access news quickly and clearly.” People in the region have simultaneously faced electricity blackouts, dwindling supplies of fuel used to power generators, and a lack of clean water, food, and medical supplies. “It is a humanitarian disaster,” Al-Agha says.

Connectivity in Gaza started to drop not long after Israel responded to the October 7 Hamas attack. Rene Wilhelm, a senior R&D engineer at the nonprofit internet infrastructure organization Ripe Network Coordination Center, says based on an analysis of internet routing data it collects that 11 Palestinian networks, which may operate both in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, began to experience disruption after October 7. Eight of the networks were no longer visible to the global internet as of October 23, Wilhelm says. Ahead of this evening’s blackout, there was around 15 percent of normal connectivity, according to data from Georgia Tech’s Internet Outage Detection and Analysis project. That dropped to around 7 percent as reports of the blackout circulated.

One office belonging to Paltel in the Al Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City has been destroyed in the attacks, photos and videos show. Floors have been destroyed and windows blown away in the multistory building, and piles of rubble surround the entrances. (It is unclear what equipment the building housed or how many floors Paltel occupied.) Another internet provider, AlfaNet, is listed as being based in the Al-Watan Tower. The company posted to its Facebook page on October 8 that the tower had been destroyed and its services have stopped, with other online posts also saying the tower has been destroyed.

Multiple Palestinian internet and telecoms firms have said their services have been disrupted during the war, mostly posting to social media. Internet provider Fusion initially said its engineers were trying to repair its infrastructure, although it has since said this is not continuing. “The network was destroyed, and the cables and poles were badly damaged by the bombing,” it wrote on Facebook. JetNet said there had been a “sudden disruption” to access points. SpeedClick posted that the situation was out of its control. And HiNet posted that it has “no more to offer to ensure” people could stay online following “the attacks and destruction our internet servers have suffered.”

Across Paltel’s network on October 19, according to an update shared by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 83 percent of fixed line users had been disconnected, with 53 percent of sites providing fixed line connections also being offline. Half of the company’s fiber optic internet lines in Gaza weren’t operational, the update says. The connectivity disappeared this evening, according to Paltel’s Facebook post, which says there has been a “complete interruption” of all its services. Paltel, AlfaNet, Fusion, and SpeedClick could not be reached or did not respond to requests for comment.

Lost Connections

In recent years, governments and authoritarian regimes have frequently turned to shutting down the internet for millions of people in attempts to suppress protests and curtail free speech. Targeting the communications networks is common during conflicts. During Russia's war in Ukraine, its forces have decimated communications networks, tried to take over the internet, and set up new mobile companies to control information flows. When Hamas first attacked Israel on October 7, it used drones to bomb communications equipment at surveillance posts along the borders of the Gaza Strip.

Monika Gehner, the head of corporate communications at the International Telecommunication Union, says the body is always “alarmed” by damage inflicted on any telecommunications infrastructure during conflicts. The ITU, the United Nations’ primary internet governance body, believes “efficient telecommunication services” are crucial to peace and international cooperation, and its secretary-general has called for respecting infrastructure in the Middle East, Gehner says.

Officials in Israel have consistently claimed they are targeting Hamas militants within Gaza, not civilians, while responding to the Hamas attacks, which killed more than 1,400 people in Israel. The Hamas-run Health Ministry within Gaza has said more than 7,000 people have been killed there and released a list of names. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces did not respond to WIRED’s questions about internet disruptions within Gaza.

Hanna Kreitem, a senior adviser for internet technology and development in the Middle East and North Africa at the Internet Society, an open internet advocacy nonprofit, says Palestinian firms have a “big reliance” on Israeli internet firms. “Palestinians are not controlling any of the ICT infrastructure,” says Mona Shtaya, a non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. Mobile networks in the Gaza Strip rely on 2G technologies. Al-Agha, the digital marketer, shared a screenshot showing mobile internet speeds of 7.18 kilobytes per second; average mobile speeds in the US in 2022 were 24 megabits per second, according to mobile analytics firm Statista.

“The internet is vital in times of war in crises,” says Fatafta, the Access Now policy manager, who adds that there can be “terrible consequences” linked to connectivity blackouts. The UN’s OCHA said rescue workers have had a harder time “carrying out their mission” partly due to the “limited or no connection to mobile networks.” Al-Agha says he has lost some clients due to the disruptions. The lack of connectivity can obscure events that are happening on the ground, Fatafta says. News crews have told WIRED they have footage from the ground but are “losing the story because of the internet.”

Kreitem says that a lack of electricity and access to the equipment will have made an impact on top of any physical damage to communications networks. “We don't know how many of the people that actually operate these networks are still alive,” Kreitem says. “The network operators are part of the world there, there's no place for them to run. They are as affected as any other person.”

[mikelawrence9]

Edge Hosting in Sydney: The New Era of Low-Latency Dedicated Servers

What Is Edge Hosting and Why Should You Care?

Edge hosting means placing your servers closer to your users. Instead of hosting your website or app on a server far away — like in the U.S. or Europe — edge hosting puts that server in a location much closer to your customers. Why? Because the closer the server is, the faster your website or service loads. In today’s world, speed is everything — especially for things like online banking, video streaming, and gaming.

That’s why more companies in 2025 are moving to edge hosting. It’s not just a new trend — it’s how modern websites and apps are staying fast and competitive.

Why Sydney Is a Smart Choice for Hosting

Sydney has become a major tech hub in the Southern Hemisphere. It’s home to some of the most advanced data centers in the region, thanks to huge investments in undersea internet cables and digital infrastructure. These data centers are run by companies like Equinix, NEXTDC, and Global Switch.

If your customers are in Australia or Asia, hosting your services in Sydney can dramatically reduce lag. Whether you run an e-commerce website or a real-time trading platform, hosting in Sydney helps your content reach users faster and more reliably.

What Makes Dedicated Servers at the Edge So Powerful?

Dedicated servers are physical machines that only your business can use — no sharing with others. This means better security, faster performance, and more control. When you combine dedicated servers with edge hosting (like setting up those servers in Sydney), you get the best of both worlds: full control over your server and lightning-fast speed for your users.

For example, if you’re running a video platform, a dedicated server in Sydney will stream videos to Australian users with little to no buffering. If you’re working with artificial intelligence, local GPU servers can process data in real time without delays caused by distance.

Who Benefits the Most from Edge Hosting in Sydney?

Almost every industry can benefit from edge hosting in Sydney, but some rely on it more than others. Fintech companies use it for fast stock data and payment processing. E-commerce websites get quicker load times and more conversions. SaaS platforms become faster and more responsive. Even research labs and creative agencies gain from faster data uploads and downloads.

By hosting in Sydney, companies can also meet local data compliance requirements — a big plus for handling sensitive data in industries like healthcare and finance.

Who Offers Edge Hosting in Sydney?

There are many trusted companies offering dedicated servers in Sydney. OVHcloud, Hetzner, Leaseweb, and Hostrunway all have server options in the region. These providers let you customize your hardware, choose your bandwidth, and make sure your service is stable and fast.

Hostrunway, for instance, has expanded its global reach to include cities like Sydney, offering low-latency servers without locking you into one region. It’s a great example of how hosting companies are adapting to meet modern performance demands.

Final Thoughts: Why Hosting in Sydney Just Makes Sense

Edge hosting isn’t just a tech upgrade — it’s a smart move for any business that wants speed, reliability, and happy customers. With Sydney becoming a key digital location, setting up dedicated servers there helps you stay close to your users and ahead of the competition.

Whether you're launching an app, growing your online store, or building a new AI platform, choosing dedicated servers in Sydney is one of the best decisions you can make in 2025.

[a-weeping-angel-just]

How to Use an XMLTV EPG for TV Channel Guide for Watching TV

Enhancing Entertainment: XMLTV and EPG for Sports and Movies

The demand for detailed television programming information continues to grow. Electronic Program Guides (EPGs) and XMLTV data are vital for improving how viewers discover and enjoy sports and movies. Proper metadata in EPGs creates a superior user experience. Finding the best EPG source for IPTV to learn how to create a personalized TV schedule efficiently by grasping the core components of an XMLTV File for TV channel guides are key steps.

Understanding XMLTV and Its Structure for Entertainment Programming

XMLTV serves as a standard for TV program data. It plays an important role in delivering in depth information with EPG for TV channel guide. An XML file's structure includes elements specific to sports and movie content. This covers channel identification and program information, helping to create a TV show guide effectively using XMLTV data.

The XMLTV format is crucial for various media platforms. It handles TV listings for IPTV, cable, and DVB-T systems. Services like MetaProfile TV offer rich TV schedules in XMLTV format. They provide details for thousands of channels.

Core Components of an XMLTV File for Sports and Movie Programming

An XMLTV file contains essential elements. The tag holds channel metadata. The tag details individual program information. For sports and movies, specific metadata fields are crucial. These include titles, descriptions, and categories like 'Sport' or 'Movie'. Start and end times and episode details are also important. The file also includes 'xml epg schedules for iptv'.

XMLTV goes beyond basic titles. It can include film cast (director, lead actors) and screenwriters. Broadcasting images like posters and pictures enrich the guide. Episode and season numbers are also present. Multilingual titles and descriptions cater to diverse audiences. Parental ratings provide content guidance. Technical metadata covers rerun status, aspect ratio, definition, subtitles, and sound.

A tag, similar to a tag, often indicates live broadcasts. This is particularly useful for sports events. Gracenote metadata, such as dd_progid, can further classify content. It identifies "MV" (movies), "SH" (shows), "EP" (episodes), and "SP" (sports).

Leveraging Metadata for Improved Sports and Movie Discovery

Rich metadata within XMLTV files improves the user experience for sports and movie enthusiasts. Accurate classification and detailed descriptions are important for program discovery. This allows for personalized content recommendations. Proper metadata facilitates the 'epg for tv xml schedule'.

The quality of metadata directly affects how users interact with their EPG. Without good data, finding specific content becomes difficult. A well-categorized EPG allows users to quickly filter and find what they want.

Advanced Metadata Fields for Specific Sports and Movie Genres Advanced metadata tags offer more detail. For movies, this includes actor and director credits. For sports, specific event details are important.

These can be team names, live indicators, and league information. These granular details create a more informative and engaging EPG for TV channel guides. This is especially true for 'xml files for iptv epg guides'.

Proper Metadata for Improved Viewing Experience

Advanced metadata can include entityType and subType values. These help reliably identify specific sporting events. For example, a sports event could be categorized as 'Football' with a sub-type of 'NFL'. Such precision enables users to find very specific content.

For movies, information on genre, year of release, and audience ratings can also be included. This depth of information helps users make informed viewing choices. It also supports better content recommendations, making the EPG for TV channel guide more useful.

Understanding XMLTV is key to managing entertainment programming data. Its structure helps organize TV listings easily and accurately. Remember, the main parts of an XMLTV file are title, start time, duration, and description. Mastering these parts makes working with TV listings simpler. Keep exploring XMLTV to improve how you handle TV schedules and stay ahead in entertainment planning.

[topdealsnet]

5 Best Internet Providers in Phoenix Arizona in 2025

🚀 5 Best Internet Providers in Phoenix, Arizona in 2025! 🌵

Hey Phoenix friends! If you're on the hunt for the best internet providers in town, look no further. I've compiled a list of the top 5 providers that'll keep you streaming, gaming, and working smoothly all year long! Check out this full guide for all the details: Read more here. 💻✨

Cox Communications - Best for cable internet. 📺

CenturyLink - Solid fiber and DSL options. 💡

T-Mobile 5G Home Internet - Cutting-edge 5G technology! 📱

AT&T Internet - Reliable DSL and fiber, just for you. 🌐

Spectrum - No data caps, need I say more? 🏆

What's your go-to provider? Comment below! 👇

PhoenixInternet #TechTrends #Internet2025

5 Best Internet Providers in Phoenix Arizona in 2025

[johndjwan]

800G Interconnects: Decoding the Differences Between AOC cables and DAC cables

In the rapidly evolving landscape of data centers and high-performance computing, the demand for higher bandwidth and faster interconnects is relentless. As network speeds push towards 800 Gigabit Ethernet (800G), understanding the fundamental differences between cabling solutions becomes critical for optimizing performance, cost, and efficiency. Two prominent contenders in this arena are Direct Attach Cables (DACs) and Active Optical Cables (AOCs). While both offer high-speed, pre-terminated connectivity, their underlying technology, performance characteristics, and ideal use cases diverge significantly, especially at 800G.

The Core Distinction: Copper vs. Optics

The most fundamental difference between an 800G AOC and a traditional DAC lies in their transmission medium:

Direct Attach Cable (DAC): As the name suggests, DACs utilize copper twinaxial cables for signal transmission. The electrical signals from the networking equipment are sent directly over the copper wires, with the transceivers on each end simply acting as passive or active (with signal conditioning) conduits. At 800G, these are often "active DACs" which include integrated circuitry to boost and equalize the electrical signals, extending their reach beyond passive copper limitations.

Active Optical Cable (AOC): AOCs, on the other hand, employ fiber optic strands for data transmission. Within the connector at each end of an AOC, there are integrated optical transceivers. These transceivers convert the electrical signals from the networking equipment into optical signals (light) for transmission over the fiber, and then convert them back to electrical signals at the receiving end.

Key Differentiating Factors at 800G:

The choice between an 800G AOC and a DAC hinges on several critical factors:

1. Transmission Distance:

DAC: DACs are primarily designed for short-reach interconnects, typically within a single rack or adjacent racks. At 800G, the maximum practical transmission distance for DACs is quite limited, usually to a few meters (e.g., 2-3 meters, though some active DACs might push slightly further). Beyond this, signal degradation due to attenuation and crosstalk becomes prohibitive.

AOC: AOCs leverage the inherent advantages of fiber optics, enabling significantly longer transmission distances. 800G AOCs can typically extend up to 50-100 meters, making them ideal for inter-rack, intra-row, or even short inter-row connections within a data center.

2. Signal Integrity and Electromagnetic Interference (EMI):

DAC: Copper cables are susceptible to electromagnetic interference (EMI) and crosstalk, especially at higher data rates like 800G. This can lead to signal degradation, increased bit error rates, and reduced reliability, particularly in electrically noisy environments. The bulk of copper cables also increases with higher speeds due to the need for more shielding.

AOC: Since AOCs transmit data as light signals over fiber optic strands, they are immune to EMI. This inherent immunity ensures superior signal integrity and highly reliable data transmission, making them a robust solution for demanding data center environments.

3. Flexibility and Weight:

DAC: As data rates increase, DACs become thicker, heavier, and less flexible due to the increased copper content and shielding required. This can pose challenges for cable management, especially in densely packed racks.

AOC: Fiber optic cables are inherently much thinner and lighter than their copper counterparts. This makes 800G AOCs significantly more flexible and easier to route and manage within racks, contributing to better airflow and reduced physical strain on equipment ports.

4. Power Consumption:

DAC: Passive DACs consume virtually no power, as they are essentially just copper wires. Active DACs, however, do consume some power for their integrated signal conditioning circuitry, although typically less than AOCs over very short distances.

AOC: AOCs require power to operate their integrated optical transceivers, which perform electrical-to-optical and optical-to-electrical conversions. This means 800G AOCs generally have higher power consumption compared to passive DACs, though advancements are continually reducing this.

5. Cost:

DAC: For very short distances, DACs generally offer a lower upfront cost compared to AOCs. The simplicity of copper manufacturing contributes to this cost advantage.

AOC: While the cost of AOCs has decreased over time, they are still typically more expensive per unit than DACs, primarily due to the integrated optical components. However, for longer distances where DACs are not feasible, AOCs become the more cost-effective solution when considering the alternative of separate transceivers and fiber optic patch cables.

800G Use Cases and Considerations for SEO Inclusion:

When planning 800G deployments, the choice between AOCs and DACs directly impacts network architecture and operational efficiency.

800G DACs are the preferred choice for:

Intra-rack connectivity: Connecting servers to Top-of-Rack (ToR) switches within the same rack.

Cost-sensitive, very short-reach applications: Where budget is a primary concern and distances are minimal.

Low power consumption needs: For the shortest links where passive DACs can be utilized.

800G AOCs are essential for:

Inter-rack and intra-row connectivity: Linking switches and servers across different racks or within the same row.

High-density data centers: Where cable management and airflow are critical.

Environments with high EMI: Ensuring reliable data transmission in electrically noisy settings.

High-performance computing (HPC) clusters: Where low latency and robust signal integrity over moderate distances are paramount.

Cloud infrastructure: For efficient and scalable interconnects across distributed server environments.

In conclusion, while 800G DACs offer a cost-effective and power-efficient solution for ultra-short distances, 800G AOCs are indispensable for extending reach, enhancing signal integrity, and simplifying cable management in the demanding 800G landscape of modern data centers. The decision between them boils down to a careful evaluation of distance requirements, environmental factors, power budgets, and overall cost-effectiveness for each specific link.

[watchmaxtv]

Finding the Top Tier: Choosing the Best IPTV Service

The search for the best IPTV service involves navigating a complex landscape of giant channel lineups, on-demand library and seamless streaming providers. With the traditional cable cost and transferred habits, the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) directly provides live TV and video content on the Internet. However, not all services are made equal, and in fact the best IPTV service requires the major features and careful evaluation to identify.

At its core, the best IPTV service should excel in reliability and stream quality. Premium provider invests heavily in strong server infrastructure and content delivery network (CDN) to reduce buffering and ensure smooth playback of HD, FHD and even 4K content. Constant uptime and channel stability are non-parasical hallmarks of a top-level provider. A continuous service by outage or pixelized stream cannot be considered the best IPTV service regardless of the counting of its channel.

The width and depth of the material are equally important. The best IPTV service usually provides thousands of live channels spread in many countries and languages. This includes major sports leagues, premium movie networks (HBO, cinemacks, stars), popular entertainment channels, comprehensive news outlets (global and local), and extensive coverage of programming of dedicated children. Beyond Live TV, a adequate video on demand (VOD) library with recent films and full TV series season is required. A streamlined electronic program guide (EPG) providing accurate schedule information significantly enhances the user experience, causing navigation intuitive knowledge.

Safety, support and flexibility are further discrimination. The best iconic provider offering the best IPTV service preference stream safety to combat piracy and ensure service longevity, often using refined measures beyond the basic M3U link. Responsible customer assistance through many channels (ticket systems, live chat, forum) is important for troubleshooting. Support for several simultaneous connections (eg, 2-5 devices) allows domestic sharing, and ensure compatibility with popular apps (Tivimeate, IPTV smarters, smart TVs, firelists, Android boxes).

Based on comprehensive user feedback and performance metrics, many providers often emerge in discussion about the best IPTV service, although availability is upsurp

Helix IPTV: Constant praise for extraordinary stability, spacious US/UK/CA channel selection, comprehensive sports package, and a large, updated VOD library. A strong contender for the best IPTV service title.

Sapphire safe: High quality FHD/HD sections, a clean channel organization, a strong sports focus and reliable EPG data. A premium focuses on viewing experience.

Anant TV: A wide mixture of channels provides a reliable service with a wide mixture (including solid international options), competitive sports and a good VOD section, materials and stability.

Falcon TV IPTV: Getting recognition for broad channel variety, stable performance, and responsive support, catering for diverse views.

Chemo IPTV: An excessively large channel list and large -scale VOD library feature, which uses users usually prefer the outer volume of materials with stable currents.

Important ideas before choosing:

Validity: The IPTV landscape is filled with legal gray regions. The best IPTV service is morally operated with proper material licensing. Several services, however, rearrange copyright materials illegally. Research on the validity of a provider in your area; Using illegal services leads to risk. This summary does not support illegal activity.

Free testing: Never subscribe without test. The iconic contenders for the best IPTV service (usually 12–48 hours). Peak during the evening hours test stream quality, channel availability, EPG accuracy and VOD.

Compatibility: Make sure that service works innocent with your favorite device (s) and IPTV player application.

Payment Safety: Use safe payment methods. Beware of the providers who accept only risky options. Some provide cryptocurrency for some oblivion.

Reviews and Reputation: Recent Research, Independent User Review and Community Forum Discussion. The provider performance and reliability can change rapidly.

Ultimately, the best IPTV service is one that distributes the most firmly specific materials, which you distribute at a reasonable price point, with minimal dissolution, in high quality, in high quality. This requires preference to your requirements (sports, international channels, vods), selecting a provider with a strong reputation for stability and support for diligence through testing. While free or cheap options exist, they rarely match consistent performance and comprehensive characteristics that are actually offered by premium best IPTV service. Carefully research and tests are paramount to find your optimal solution.