#available cloud computing services

[fusiondynamics]

Future Applications of Cloud Computing: Transforming Businesses & Technology

Cloud computing is revolutionizing industries by offering scalable, cost-effective, and highly efficient solutions. From AI-driven automation to real-time data processing, the future applications of cloud computing are expanding rapidly across various sectors.

Key Future Applications of Cloud Computing

1. AI & Machine Learning Integration

Cloud platforms are increasingly being used to train and deploy AI models, enabling businesses to harness data-driven insights. The future applications of cloud computing will further enhance AI's capabilities by offering more computational power and storage.

2. Edge Computing & IoT

With IoT devices generating massive amounts of data, cloud computing ensures seamless processing and storage. The rise of edge computing, a subset of the future applications of cloud computing, will minimize latency and improve performance.

3. Blockchain & Cloud Security

Cloud-based blockchain solutions will offer enhanced security, transparency, and decentralized data management. As cybersecurity threats evolve, the future applications of cloud computing will focus on advanced encryption and compliance measures.

4. Cloud Gaming & Virtual Reality

With high-speed internet and powerful cloud servers, cloud gaming and VR applications will grow exponentially. The future applications of cloud computing in entertainment and education will provide immersive experiences with minimal hardware requirements.

Conclusion

The future applications of cloud computing are poised to redefine business operations, healthcare, finance, and more. As cloud technologies evolve, organizations that leverage these innovations will gain a competitive edge in the digital economy.

🔗 Learn more about cloud solutions at Fusion Dynamics! 🚀

[becuzitisbitter]

When computer scientists gain entry, as they’re doing, into the presidential palaces and mayors’ offices of the world’s largest cities, it’s not so much to set up shop as it is to explain the new rules of the game: government administrations are now competing with alternative providers of the same services who, unfortunately for them, are several steps ahead. Suggesting their cloud as a way to shelter government services from revolutions — services like the land registry, soon to be available as a smartphone application — the authors of The New Digital Age inform us and them: “In the future, people won’t just back up their data; they’ll back up their government.” And in case it’s not quite clear who the boss is now, it concludes: “Governments may collapse and wars can destroy physical infrastructure but virtual institutions will survive.” With Google, what is concealed beneath the exterior of an innocent interface and a very effective search engine, is an explicitly political project. An enterprise that maps the planet Earth, sending its teams into every street of every one of its towns, cannot have purely commercial aims. One never maps a territory that one doesn’t contemplate appropriating. “Don’t be evil!”: let yourself go.

To Our Friends, The Invisible Committee, 2014

[probablyasocialecologist]

The flotsam and jetsam of our digital queries and transactions, the flurry of electrons flitting about, warm the medium of air. Heat is the waste product of computation, and if left unchecked, it becomes a foil to the workings of digital civilization. Heat must therefore be relentlessly abated to keep the engine of the digital thrumming in a constant state, 24 hours a day, every day. To quell this thermodynamic threat, data centers overwhelmingly rely on air conditioning, a mechanical process that refrigerates the gaseous medium of air, so that it can displace or lift perilous heat away from computers. Today, power-hungry computer room air conditioners (CRACs) or computer room air handlers (CRAHs) are staples of even the most advanced data centers. In North America, most data centers draw power from “dirty” electricity grids, especially in Virginia’s “data center alley,” the site of 70 percent of the world’s internet traffic in 2019. To cool, the Cloud burns carbon, what Jeffrey Moro calls an “elemental irony.” In most data centers today, cooling accounts for greater than 40 percent of electricity usage.

[...]

The Cloud now has a greater carbon footprint than the airline industry. A single data center can consume the equivalent electricity of 50,000 homes. At 200 terawatt hours (TWh) annually, data centers collectively devour more energy than some nation-states. Today, the electricity utilized by data centers accounts for 0.3 percent of overall carbon emissions, and if we extend our accounting to include networked devices like laptops, smartphones, and tablets, the total shifts to 2 percent of global carbon emissions. Why so much energy? Beyond cooling, the energy requirements of data centers are vast. To meet the pledge to customers that their data and cloud services will be available anytime, anywhere, data centers are designed to be hyper-redundant: If one system fails, another is ready to take its place at a moment’s notice, to prevent a disruption in user experiences. Like Tom’s air conditioners idling in a low-power state, ready to rev up when things get too hot, the data center is a Russian doll of redundancies: redundant power systems like diesel generators, redundant servers ready to take over computational processes should others become unexpectedly unavailable, and so forth. In some cases, only 6 to 12 percent of energy consumed is devoted to active computational processes. The remainder is allocated to cooling and maintaining chains upon chains of redundant fail-safes to prevent costly downtime.

[sinkovia]

Black Market

Hitman Simon Riley x Doctor Fem!Reader

In desperate need of money to clear a million-dollar debt, you accept Simon's offer to become his personal doctor, earning twenty percent of each contract he completes. But as you plunge back into the black market, ghosts from your past emerge, threatening to unravel everything you've worked so hard to run away from.

Mention of Kidnapping.

Masterlist - Black Market Masterlist

Simon sat in his dimly lit house, the dim glow of his computer screen casting shadows across his face. He leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping impatiently on the keyboard as he navigated through the depths of the black market.

His eyes scanned the screen, brows furrowing in frustration as he scrolled through the listings, weighing the risks against the potential rewards. Contract after contract flashed before him, each promising a hefty sum of money in exchange for services rendered.

But to Simon, they were all the same—assassinations, espionage, sabotage. The thrill of danger had lost its appeal long ago, replaced by a sense of weariness and disillusionment.

Cursing under his breath, Simon scrolled through the listings for hire, his frustration growing with each passing moment. There were no personal black market doctors available for hire—every reputable one was already taken. It seemed like luck was against him today.

With a heavy sigh, he closed the browser window and turned his attention to the stack of mail sitting on his desk. Among the bills and junk mail, there it was – a jury duty summons.

He groaned aloud, rubbing his temples in frustration. Spending hours in a stuffy courtroom was the last thing he needed right now. It meant taking time away from his work, time that could be spent securing lucrative contracts and staying ahead of the game.

But there was no avoiding it. He knew he'd have to fulfill his civic duty, no matter how inconvenient it might be. With a resigned shake of his head, he tucked the summons into his pocket, another burden to add to the weight on his shoulders.

You find yourself slumping down on the hard concrete steps in front of the courthouse, the weight of defeat heavy upon you. Having lost your case and now facing a million dollars in debt, the world seems to close in around you. With a resigned sigh, you reach for your pack of cigarettes, seeking solace in the familiar routine.

"Mind sharing your pack?" A deep, coarse voice breaks through your thoughts, and you glance over to see a tall man dressed in black leaning against the railing beside you. Without hesitation, you extend your pack to him, and he takes one before returning the pack to you.

Simon curses to himself, realizing he's forgotten his lighter, confiscated earlier by a courthouse officer. "Mind lighting me? Fuckers at the courthouse took my light," he grumbles, frustration evident in his voice.

You smiled and handed him your lighter, the flame casting a warm glow on his face as he lit his cigarette. "Jury duty?" you asked casually, observing him take a deep drag before exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Yeah, you?" he replied, his tone resigned but with a hint of intrigue.

You laughed wryly and took another drag, the bitter taste of nicotine mingling with the heavy weight of your circumstances. "Just got sued for a million fucking dollars."

"Bloody fuck, what did you do?" Simon's eyebrows shot up in surprise, his interest immediately piqued.

You couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. "I replaced a man’s heart with a pig heart," you confessed, fully aware of how crazy it sounded.

Simon's eyes widened in intrigue, and without hesitation, he walked over and sat down next to you, his curiosity now fully ignited. Knowing how to perform a heart transplant suggested a level of medical expertise that interested him. 

"And how the bloody hell did you do that?" he asked, his curiosity evident in his voice.

“I was just sitting at the intersection for ages waiting for the light to change, when I noticed a guy getting mugged. Without thinking, I grabbed my emergency kit from the car and rushed over. Since I have O negative blood, I used my own blood for a transfusion to stabilize him. Then, I spotted a truck nearby loaded with pigs. I didn't waste a second - I hopped in, grabbed a pig, and performed an open heart surgery right there on the sidewalk. Sure, the guy ended up with a pig heart, but he's alive because of it. And now he's suing me? Unbelievable. Should've left that fuck to die.”

Simon couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all, but beneath the laughter, a plan began to form in his mind.

"So he was standing in the courtroom with a pig's heart?" 

You shook your head, a wry smile playing on your lips. "No, he ended up getting a proper heart transplant. One that would never have happened if I hadn't stepped in. The bastard would've bled out and wasted all my blood before the paramedics even arrived."

"Are you a licensed doctor?” 

Open heart surgery on a sidewalk and having O-negative blood? You were better than any doctor he could hire on the black market.

You shrugged nonchalantly. "No, I had my license revoked a few years back. They said my practice and way of thinking were unconventional, that I should be working in a lab making more Frankenstein’s than helping people. I took it as a compliment though. Those doctors were just scared of what I could do, of how far I would go to save someone." 

Simon smiled and took another drag before smashing the cigarette on the floor under his boot.

"So you're looking for jobs?"

You sighed, mirroring his action with your own cigarette. "In desperate need for a job."

"I think we could help each other," Simon suggested, his tone shifting slightly.

You slowly side-eyed him, then awkwardly laughed as you leaned away. "I'm not looking for jobs like that."

Simon's eyebrow quirked up before he realized how he sounded, and he shook his head with a smile. "Not like that, love. I meant that you could work for me, and I'd pay you."

You relaxed a bit and leaned back, intrigued. "What do you do?"

"Let's just say, you stay with me as my personal doctor, and I pay you twenty percent after each job I complete. You'll have your money in a couple of months," 

"A million dollars in a couple of months? What kind of jobs are giving you that type of money-" realization dawned on you, and a chill ran down your spine. Simon was involved in something much darker than you anticipated, and memories of your own past involvements in the black market came flooding back, making your palms sweat with unease.

"I'm sorry, but I can't take your offer," you said, your voice firm but polite. Simon furrowed his brows in confusion and frustration. He had just given you an opportunity of a lifetime, one you so desperately needed, and you turned him down?

Internally sighing, Simon knew he'd have to resort to more extreme measures now.

You got up and dusted off your butt before looking down at him. "Thank you for the offer, but I'm going to head out," you said, offering a weak smile before turning and heading to your car.

That night, Simon tracked down where you lived and noted your home address. He packed his duffle bag and got into his car, making his way over to your house. With careful precision, he snuck into your backyard and opened your back window before silently slipping inside.

Meanwhile, you were sitting at your desk, scrolling through job offerings in your pajamas, feeling the weight of impending debt pressing down on you. With a heavy sigh, you turned off your monitor, resigned to your fate. That's when you noticed it—the faint outline of a man in the dark reflection of your monitor screen.

Simon attempted to cover your mouth with a rag, but you reacted swiftly, elbowing him hard and knocking the wind out of him. Turning around, you landed a solid punch to his jaw, leaving Simon in disbelief. He had underestimated you.

As you ran, trying to reach your room, Simon quickly pinned you to the floor. Despite your resistance, he managed to overpower you, but you fought back fiercely, headbutting him in the face. Simon grunted, trying his best not to harm you.

You nearly reached your nightstand where you kept your gun, but Simon pinned you down again, this time on your stomach. Desperately, you struggled against him, but Simon pressed a rag against your mouth and nose, forcing you to inhale its contents. Despite your efforts to resist, you eventually succumbed to the effects, your body going limp in a matter of seconds.

Simon breathed deeply as he stood up, his chest heaving with exertion. Opening your nightstand, he retrieved your gun with a heavy sigh. "Bloody hell, love," 

Simon headed to the bathroom in search of your medical supplies. Finding what he needed, he grabbed a trash bag and hastily gathered a few of your clothes and essential items. With a sense of urgency, he tied up the bag and threw it over his shoulder, carefully picking you up and carrying you to his car.

Tag list: @shinchanboi @talooolaaloolla

[crookedkryptonitebeliever]

Ok regarding that “can i make Yves do my homework if I give him my childhood pictures” ask, exactly how much access does Yves have to our lives? Does he have images or videos from when we were still a baby or would they be new information to him?

A bunch of my baby pictures and videos are lost because my dad lost the computer that had them but we recently found my aunt’s old camera filled with our childhood pictures, it was a pleasant surprise for us but would it be for Yves too?

It absolutely is. If Yves was there with you while your aunt showed you the photo gallery of her old camera, Yves would momentarily lose a bit of inhibition and let his pupils dilate to a maddening degree before instantly constricting it back to appear normal. It's a rare, super deluxe edition photos of you, there isn't anything else like it out there as they're most likely not uploaded to the internet or a cloud based service, where he could easily hack.

Him coming across media from your childhood or at least during those early days where people still go to and get their photos developed, is like winning the lottery for him. Because, although he tries to collect everything relating to your existence, there is only so much he can do in a day. He rather prioritizes the present and the future, as the past is the past; neither you nor him can change it, he can only understand or connect it to your current behaviours or thought patterns.

He does have some information about you as a baby or a child, but that is if they're "readily available" to him. (I.e., it can be found in predictable places like in your childhood home.), that is why, Yves would try to build a good relationship with people you grew up with, to extract information.

Despite being reclusive as he is, Yves would never fail to attend every and any family gathering he is invited to or expected to come. Encouraging that drunk uncle to drink more if he knew he has something to say about you, bribing your relatives with gifts and career opportunities, perhaps even drugging that really difficult and combative cousin to make them more bearable to interrogate.

As soon as he knew your aunt could be another goldmine of your data, he would get to work. Wasting no time building a rapport with her, it's a piece of cake given how obsessive and manipulative his nature is.

Inevitably, your aunt will come to love him and see Yves as family. By extension, her relationship with you will skyrocket too, she will invite you to her place much more often even though she might not be the most sociable person in the first place. Yves will find a way to make her bend to his whims.

The majority of their conversations would be about you, only sometimes Yves would talk about something else if it meant he could keep the drive to spill more about your lore going. His sharp ears and mind will pick up on clues as to where he might find more pictures or writings about you. He would then break into your aunt's home to give it a thorough shakedown and leave without a trace. Yves would repeat this process until he's positive that she has nothing left to offer. That camera is getting fucking stolen and replaced with a duplicate.

It didn't matter if your aunt was a minimalist or a severe hoarder, he would go through all her things just to try and find pieces of your puzzle. He would wade through cobwebs, dust piles, rat droppings and mould if he had to, Yves isn't scared to get dirty to obtain what he wants, "squeamish" isn't in his vocabulary.

When she is robbed of all your essence, Yves would become distant. Not hostile towards her, just cold and indifferent. He would still maintain some sort of relationship with her though, in case she becomes useful again later. As of now, he either puts his entire focus on your current peripheral and direct life, or start to hunt other members down- from his snooping, he had learned of other people who may have valuable input about your childhood.

All of this is happening in the background. You wouldn't suspect a thing, there wasn't a dip in his attention for you. In fact, he may have gotten a lot more smothering, as Yves would be shaking at the thought of testing out his new theories and hypothesis that were birthed from his new knowledge.

He just loves you so much that he couldn't help himself but to get greedy. Yves wants all of you; past, present and future. And any version of you that could have been.

[minimalsizeconspiracy]

No-Google (fan)fic writing, Part 1: LibreOffice Writer

Storytime

The first documents and fanfictions I wrote on a computer were .doc documents written with Microsoft Word 98. At least those I remember.

From there, I sort of naturally graduated to following versions of Microsoft Word, the last one I’ve actively used to write texts of any considerable length (more than half a page) being Word 2007 (but only under duress from my employer).

That was partly due to the fact that the Microsoft Office suite has always been expensive and there were times I simply didn’t want to spend the money on it. So I started using OpenOffice Writer fairly early on, “graduating” to LibreOffice Writer once that was available.

Word versus Writer

What are the differences between Word (Microsoft) and Writer (LibreOffice)?

Cost

Firstly, Writer is free. It comes as part of the LibreOffice Suite, which has a replacement for almost every application Office has. The ones it hasn’t, you won’t need for writing fanfic, trust me.

So, +1 for being freely available.

Interface

Interface-wise – well, it might look a little old-fashioned to those used to Google docs and Word. Back in the day, it was mostly that the buttons looked differently. However, Writer did not adopt the “ribbon” Word has shipped and continues to have customisable bars. For me, that’s a huge +1 argument for using Writer over Word or Google docs, because I can edit these bars and only keep the buttons I actually need – unlike the Word ribbons, which drove me to despair and ultimately away from Word after 2007 appeared.

Features

Other than that, it really isn’t all that different from Word. You can use document structures like headings, subheadings, track changes, compare documents, footnotes, endnotes, everything else Word can do. It really is a proper, great replacement for Word – it even is mostly compatible with Word in that .doc and .docx documents can be opened with Writer, even if the layout may look a bit off.

So +1 – your old files are compatible with it.

File formats

Files written with Writer are stored as .odt (Open Document Text), but there are options for export into other formats, such as PDF, EPUB or XHTML. Exporting to AO3 is simple – copy the text you want, set the AO3 text editor to Rich Text and paste.

Easy +1.

Syncing

LibreOffice does not offer cloud-storage. So if you want your files available on several devices, you need a different solution. As I write more for this series, I’ll describe the different options in more detail, but Dropbox, GIT or, depending on which provider you’re using, your email providers cloud storage are options. OneDrive, if you mind Microsoft less than Google.

Or an old-fashioned USB in combination with an automatic backup application.*

Ease of use for Word/Google doc-users

As someone who came straight from Word (although a very old version) to Writer, I’ve always found it very easy to use. What I particularly like is that the interface is much less cluttered than the Word ribbons and I can customise the bars. In all honesty, if it weren’t for that cosmetic difference, I think many users wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Writer and Word.

So if you’re just looking for something to replace Word or Google docs, Writer is definitely a good option.

*I’m not recommending USBs because I’m of the opinion that it’s a convenient solution. I’m doing it because I’m a cynic. Every time a company tells me I can have something for free, my first question will be “what will I be paying with instead?”

Because if I don’t pay money, I’ll pay with my data. That’s one of the main reasons I never started using Google. It’s just too good to be true, all those services for free.

So, you know, if you’re good with data being collected on you or you can’t afford to pay for a syncing service, by all means, use unpaid services. Just be aware of what comes with it. You will pay, one way or the other, with money or your data. Nothing in the world is for free, especially not those apps companies are trying to get you to use. Read No-Google (fan)fic writing, Part 2: Zettelkasten

Read No-Google (fan)fic writing, Part 3: LaTeχ

Read No-Google (fan)fic writing, Part 4: Markdown

Read No-Google (fan)fic writing, Part 5: Obsidian

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Wajahat Ali at The Left Hook:

Elon Musk showed the world that buying the U.S. presidency only costs about $300 million. This is like shopping at The Dollar Store for the world’s richest man. I grudgingly tip my hat to Musk, an immigrant, who is an aficionado of Nazi salutes much like his Hitler-supporting grandparents who moved to South Africa because they were inspired by the Apartheid regime. Musk’s $290 million was a small risk with a massive return on investment. Money alone didn’t move the needle. He also bought Twitter at a loss so he could take over a major social media site and use it to promote misinformation, conspiracy theories, and platform white supremacists and hate-mongers like Tommy Robinson and Nick Fuentes.

He went all-in with Donald Trump after saying he wouldn’t donate to any candidate because he realized Trump is an unethical criminal who would treat the Oval Office like an ATM. It’s all quid pro quo. Donald has returned the favor by allowing Musk to roam free around Mar-a-Lago, join phone calls with world leaders, dine with tech billionaires who bent the knee, and he even publicly thanked him for helping with those “vote counting computers” in Pennsylvania. So far, whatever Musk wants, he gets. Musk decided to torpedo the bipartisan government spending deal via Twitter and Republicans almost shut down the government to appease him. Musk went all-in with H1B visas and referred to MAGA who criticized him as “contemptible fools” and “retards,” and Trump did a 180 on the issue and sided with him.

So, why be content with just the appetizers? Why not raid the fridge and grab everything, including the cake, the cookies, and all the crumbs? Musk has a voracious appetite and the United States of America as his “all you can eat” buffet. As Donald Trump yells at the clouds and threatens to make Canada the 51st state for balking at “the dumbest trade war in history,” Musk is busy gaining access to all of our financial data. On Friday, David Lebryk, a top civil servant at the Treasury Department, was pushed out of his job after he refused to give DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency headed by Musk, access to the system. Please note Musk is a private citizen and not a federal employee. We still don’t know the scope of DOGE’s role, its limits, its budget, its staff, or whether it will function as a department of the government or exist as an independent organization. What we do know is DOGE is behaving like a Trojan Horse and has allowed Elon Musk to gain access to the Treasury’s federal payment system, which includes every US taxpayer’s personal information. Through DOGE, Musk has promised to eliminate wasteful spending, which according to him includes ending DEI programs, “defanging” regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission and FTC which have investigated his businesses, privatizing the US postal service, “deleting” the IRS, and ending remote work. However, he wants to improve defense spending, so he will continue receiving government subsidies for his SpaceX which will produce rockets that explode in the sky and give Americans the most expensive fireworks.

Another target on his chopping block is eliminating humanitarian spending. He’s accomplishing that goal by attacking USAID, which provides life-saving support to marginalized communities around the world. But to Musk, who loves the pro-Nazi AfD party, USAID is an “evil” and “criminal organization” that deserves to die. As of Sunday, USAID’s X account and website are no longer available. People around the world, such as children in Sudan, Gaza, and Ukraine, will die as a result of this cruel, unnecessary action, but, hey, none of that matters to the “pro-life” MAGA movement. On Saturday night, two top security officials from the agency were put on leave because they refused officials from DOGE access to private systems. Thanks to Musk’s interference, the head of the FAA was also forced to resign, which led to the United States being without an FAA chief during a preventable and tragic airline collision in DC that claimed nearly 70 lives. Musk didn’t appreciate Starlink being fined in 2022 for violations of safety protocols.

In two weeks’ time, the Co-”Presidency” of Elon Musk and Donald Trump has destroyed everything that made America great, as the broligarchy has taken over and plundered everything in sight.

See Also:

Let's Address This (Qasim Rashid): MAGAs 7 Deadly Sins—So Far—And How to Fight Back

America, America (Steven Beschloss): Bullies, Criminals and the Fight for America

[ghcstao3]

(scrapped) halloween curse

Leave it to none other than John “Soap” MacTavish to get himself cursed on Halloween night.

It must be just absolutely formidable luck, in his opinion, that the one time he decides to be nice and step in between a poor cashier trying to do their job and some complete degenerate of a customer—in spite of it being nine at night, and in spite of the deep exhaustion in his bones—it just so happens that he places himself in the crossfire of a hex cast by a middle-aged woman (see: an utter bitch) who is entirely undeserving of magic, and now he’s stuck beneath his own personal raincloud, and now he’s waiting in line of a DMV-esque office of curse-breakers and hex-undoers, and now he’s internally begging for someone to put him out of his misery.

Apparently just wanting to buy discounted Halloween chocolate the night of the holiday is not allowed to be an uneventful affair. Soap stares at the ticket he’s been clutching for the last hour, knee bouncing incessantly as his patience wears thin every number that’s called that isn’t him. His ass has long gone numb sitting in a hard plastic chair against the wall, his clothing soaked through and sticking uncomfortably to his body.

At the very least, the curse only seems to affect him, so he hasn’t gotten any rude stares for leaving puddles. Thank goodness for small miracles.

His number is finally called twenty minutes later, and he stands begrudgingly—his socks and shoes squelch unpleasantly as he marches up to the available kiosk, a shiver beneath his skin as wet rapidly becomes cold.

The employee at the kiosk, face hidden by a mask made up of a balaclava and a human skull that looks just a little too realistic, has their head down when Soap approaches the desk. They pore over some paperwork, leaving Soap to wallow in his misfortune just a moment longer.

It’s torture, really, those few extra seconds of waiting.

Finally, though, the employee shifts, something indicative of moving on from one task to another.

“What can I help you w—“

The employee immediately cuts himself off once he glances up at Soap, staring impassively at the grey cloud above his head. He blinks slowly, sits back in his chair, and clasps his hands over his workspace as his query is reworked.

“Name and species, then,” the employee says. His deep, coffee-brown eyes bore into Soap’s as he leaves a space for the answer.

“Um.” Soap clears his throat, shuffles on his feet. “John MacTavish. Kelpie.”

Though he can’t see the eyebrow raise, Soap can almost sense it in the subtle mirth that washes over the employee’s gaze before he changes his attention to the monitor in front of him and begins typing. “Thought kelpies’ whole thing involved water.”

“Yeah, bodies of water,” Soap corrects. He folds his arms over his chest with a petulant huff. “Not fake rain that wasn’t even meant for me. And even then. Why’s that your business, anyway?”

The employee’s eyes flicker back to Soap momentarily before they’re averted again. The man hardly seems perturbed by Soap’s (rightful) irritation as he clicks away at whatever is on his computer, like, if anything, he takes delight in frustrating a stranger on a bad day.

There must be some underlying shit luck hidden in the curse currently raining down, literally, on Soap’s head.

Or maybe he’s just dealing with public services.

“It’s just conversation,” Soap is told, and what a difficult time he has believing that.Really, really, just leave it to John MacTavish and fucking Halloween.

[cyberstudious]

An Introduction to Cybersecurity

I created this post for the Studyblr Masterpost Jam, check out the tag for more cool masterposts from folks in the studyblr community!

What is cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is all about securing technology and processes - making sure that the software, hardware, and networks that run the world do exactly what they need to do and can't be abused by bad actors.

The CIA triad is a concept used to explain the three goals of cybersecurity. The pieces are:

Confidentiality: ensuring that information is kept secret, so it can only be viewed by the people who are allowed to do so. This involves encrypting data, requiring authentication before viewing data, and more.

Integrity: ensuring that information is trustworthy and cannot be tampered with. For example, this involves making sure that no one changes the contents of the file you're trying to download or intercepts your text messages.

Availability: ensuring that the services you need are there when you need them. Blocking every single person from accessing a piece of valuable information would be secure, but completely unusable, so we have to think about availability. This can also mean blocking DDoS attacks or fixing flaws in software that cause crashes or service issues.

What are some specializations within cybersecurity? What do cybersecurity professionals do?

incident response

digital forensics (often combined with incident response in the acronym DFIR)

reverse engineering

cryptography

governance/compliance/risk management

penetration testing/ethical hacking

vulnerability research/bug bounty

threat intelligence

cloud security

industrial/IoT security, often called Operational Technology (OT)

security engineering/writing code for cybersecurity tools (this is what I do!)

and more!

Where do cybersecurity professionals work?

I view the industry in three big chunks: vendors, everyday companies (for lack of a better term), and government. It's more complicated than that, but it helps.

Vendors make and sell security tools or services to other companies. Some examples are Crowdstrike, Cisco, Microsoft, Palo Alto, EY, etc. Vendors can be giant multinational corporations or small startups. Security tools can include software and hardware, while services can include consulting, technical support, or incident response or digital forensics services. Some companies are Managed Security Service Providers (MSSPs), which means that they serve as the security team for many other (often small) businesses.

Everyday companies include everyone from giant companies like Coca-Cola to the mom and pop shop down the street. Every company is a tech company now, and someone has to be in charge of securing things. Some businesses will have their own internal security teams that respond to incidents. Many companies buy tools provided by vendors like the ones above, and someone has to manage them. Small companies with small tech departments might dump all cybersecurity responsibilities on the IT team (or outsource things to a MSSP), or larger ones may have a dedicated security staff.

Government cybersecurity work can involve a lot of things, from securing the local water supply to working for the big three letter agencies. In the U.S. at least, there are also a lot of government contractors, who are their own individual companies but the vast majority of what they do is for the government. MITRE is one example, and the federal research labs and some university-affiliated labs are an extension of this. Government work and military contractor work are where geopolitics and ethics come into play most clearly, so just… be mindful.

What do academics in cybersecurity research?

A wide variety of things! You can get a good idea by browsing the papers from the ACM's Computer and Communications Security Conference. Some of the big research areas that I'm aware of are:

cryptography & post-quantum cryptography

machine learning model security & alignment

formal proofs of a program & programming language security

security & privacy

security of network protocols

vulnerability research & developing new attack vectors

Cybersecurity seems niche at first, but it actually covers a huge range of topics all across technology and policy. It's vital to running the world today, and I'm obviously biased but I think it's a fascinating topic to learn about. I'll be posting a new cybersecurity masterpost each day this week as a part of the #StudyblrMasterpostJam, so keep an eye out for tomorrow's post! In the meantime, check out the tag and see what other folks are posting about :D

[fusiondynamics]

Available Cloud Computing Services at Fusion Dynamics

We Fuel The Digital Transformation Of Next-Gen Enterprises!

Fusion Dynamics provides future-ready IT and computing infrastructure that delivers high performance while being cost-efficient and sustainable. We envision, plan and build next-gen data and computing centers in close collaboration with our customers, addressing their business’s specific needs. Our turnkey solutions deliver best-in-class performance for all advanced computing applications such as HPC, Edge/Telco, Cloud Computing, and AI.

With over two decades of expertise in IT infrastructure implementation and an agile approach that matches the lightning-fast pace of new-age technology, we deliver future-proof solutions tailored to the niche requirements of various industries.

Our Services

We decode and optimise the end-to-end design and deployment of new-age data centers with our industry-vetted services.

System Design

When designing a cutting-edge data center from scratch, we follow a systematic and comprehensive approach. First, our front-end team connects with you to draw a set of requirements based on your intended application, workload, and physical space. Following that, our engineering team defines the architecture of your system and deep dives into component selection to meet all your computing, storage, and networking requirements. With our highly configurable solutions, we help you formulate a system design with the best CPU-GPU configurations to match the desired performance, power consumption, and footprint of your data center.

Why Choose Us

We bring a potent combination of over two decades of experience in IT solutions and a dynamic approach to continuously evolve with the latest data storage, computing, and networking technology. Our team constitutes domain experts who liaise with you throughout the end-to-end journey of setting up and operating an advanced data center.

With a profound understanding of modern digital requirements, backed by decades of industry experience, we work closely with your organisation to design the most efficient systems to catalyse innovation. From sourcing cutting-edge components from leading global technology providers to seamlessly integrating them for rapid deployment, we deliver state-of-the-art computing infrastructures to drive your growth!

What We Offer The Fusion Dynamics Advantage!

At Fusion Dynamics, we believe that our responsibility goes beyond providing a computing solution to help you build a high-performance, efficient, and sustainable digital-first business. Our offerings are carefully configured to not only fulfil your current organisational requirements but to future-proof your technology infrastructure as well, with an emphasis on the following parameters –

Performance density

Rather than focusing solely on absolute processing power and storage, we strive to achieve the best performance-to-space ratio for your application. Our next-generation processors outrival the competition on processing as well as storage metrics.

Flexibility

Our solutions are configurable at practically every design layer, even down to the choice of processor architecture – ARM or x86. Our subject matter experts are here to assist you in designing the most streamlined and efficient configuration for your specific needs.

Scalability

We prioritise your current needs with an eye on your future targets. Deploying a scalable solution ensures operational efficiency as well as smooth and cost-effective infrastructure upgrades as you scale up.

Sustainability

Our focus on future-proofing your data center infrastructure includes the responsibility to manage its environmental impact. Our power- and space-efficient compute elements offer the highest core density and performance/watt ratios. Furthermore, our direct liquid cooling solutions help you minimise your energy expenditure. Therefore, our solutions allow rapid expansion of businesses without compromising on environmental footprint, helping you meet your sustainability goals.

Stability

Your compute and data infrastructure must operate at optimal performance levels irrespective of fluctuations in data payloads. We design systems that can withstand extreme fluctuations in workloads to guarantee operational stability for your data center.

Leverage our prowess in every aspect of computing technology to build a modern data center. Choose us as your technology partner to ride the next wave of digital evolution!

[allaboutkeyingo]

SQL Server 2022 Edition and License instructions

SQL Server 2022 Editions:

• Enterprise Edition is ideal for applications requiring mission critical in-memory performance, security, and high availability

• Standard Edition delivers fully featured database capabilities for mid-tier applications and data marts

SQL Server 2022 is also available in free Developer and Express editions. Web Edition is offered in the Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) program only.

And the Online Store Keyingo Provides the SQL Server 2017/2019/2022 Standard Edition.

SQL Server 2022 licensing models 

SQL Server 2022 offers customers a variety of licensing options aligned with how customers typically purchase specific workloads. There are two main licensing models that apply to SQL Server:  PER CORE: Gives customers a more precise measure of computing power and a more consistent licensing metric, regardless of whether solutions are deployed on physical servers on-premises, or in virtual or cloud environments. 

• Core based licensing is appropriate when customers are unable to count users/devices, have Internet/Extranet workloads or systems that integrate with external facing workloads.

• Under the Per Core model, customers license either by physical server (based on the full physical core count) or by virtual machine (based on virtual cores allocated), as further explained below.

SERVER + CAL: Provides the option to license users and/or devices, with low-cost access to incremental SQL Server deployments.   

• Each server running SQL Server software requires a server license.

• Each user and/or device accessing a licensed SQL Server requires a SQL Server CAL that is the same version or newer – for example, to access a SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition server, a user would need a SQL Server 2019 or 2022 CAL.

Each SQL Server CAL allows access to multiple licensed SQL Servers, including Standard Edition and legacy Business Intelligence and Enterprise Edition Servers.SQL Server 2022 Editions availability by licensing model:  

Physical core licensing – Enterprise Edition 

• Customers can deploy an unlimited number of VMs or containers on the server and utilize the full capacity of the licensed hardware, by fully licensing the server (or server farm) with Enterprise Edition core subscription licenses or licenses with SA coverage based on the total number of physical cores on the servers.

• Subscription licenses or SA provide(s) the option to run an unlimited number of virtual machines or containers to handle dynamic workloads and fully utilize the hardware’s computing power.

Virtual core licensing – Standard/Enterprise Edition 

When licensing by virtual core on a virtual OSE with subscription licenses or SA coverage on all virtual cores (including hyperthreaded cores) on the virtual OSE, customers may run any number of containers in that virtual OSE. This benefit applies both to Standard and Enterprise Edition.

Licensing for non-production use 

SQL Server 2022 Developer Edition provides a fully featured version of SQL Server software—including all the features and capabilities of Enterprise Edition—licensed for  development, test and demonstration purposes only.  Customers may install and run the SQL Server Developer Edition software on any number of devices. This is  significant because it allows customers to run the software  on multiple devices (for testing purposes, for example)  without having to license each non-production server  system for SQL Server.  

A production environment is defined as an environment  that is accessed by end-users of an application (such as an  Internet website) and that is used for more than gathering  feedback or acceptance testing of that application.   

SQL Server 2022 Developer Edition is a free product !

[darkmaga-returns]

by Murtaza Hussain

We have a commitment to ensuring that our journalism is not locked behind a paywall. But the only way we can sustain this is through the voluntary support of our community of readers. If you are a free subscriber and you support our work, please consider upgrading to a paid subscription or gifting one to a friend or family member. You can also make a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donation to support our work. If you do not have the means to support our work financially, you can do your part by sharing our work on social media and by forwarding this email to your network of contacts. We know a lot of people have strong opinions about X/Twitter, but it is where many Palestinians are posting updates on the genocide in Gaza. If you use that site, make sure to check out our feed, which we run as a regularly updated news service. We are also on Instagram. Paid subscribers also have access to our internal Discord Server

—Drop Site News

In mid-March, Google announced that it was paying the staggering sum of $32 billion for the acquisition of the Israeli cloud-computing security company Wiz. The acquisition, pending regulatory approval, will be the largest ever of an Israeli firm.

“Organizations of all sizes—from start-ups and large enterprises to governments and public sector organizations—can use Wiz to protect everything they build and run in the cloud,” Google said in a statement announcing the acquisition. The statement added that Wiz would join Google Cloud, but that the Tel Aviv-based company’s security services would still be available across other cloud platforms used by major firms, including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Oracle Cloud.

What was left unsaid in Google’s announcement, however, were the personal backgrounds of its four founders. The co-founders of Wiz—Yinon Costica, Assaf Rappaport, Ami Luttwak, and Roy Reznik—are all veterans of Unit 8200, the signals intelligence division of the Israeli military, which is playing a key role in helping to carry out Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

[georgegraphys]

2024 team sponsors recap!

this is completely irrelevant to F1 but i study and do these stuffs for a living sooo 😩😩 2023 sponsors are based on the sponsors that are there at the beginning of the season (new sponsors that join in the middle of the season will be classified as 2024's)

Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team:

New sponsors: Whatsapp, Luminar (American tech company), SAP (German software company), nuvei (Canadian credit card services), Sherwin Williams (American painting company) 2024 data last update: 2024/02/14

Old sponsors that left: Monster Energy, Pure Storage (American technology company), fastly (American cloud computing services), Axalta (American painting company), Eight sleep (American mattresses company) 2023 data last update: 2023/01/07

Oracle Red Bull Racing F1 Team:

New sponsors: Yeti (American cooler manufacturer, joined later in 2023), APL (American footwear/athletic apparel manufacturer, joined later in 2023), CDW (American IT company, joined later in 2023), Sui (American tech app by Mysten Labs, joined later in 2023), Patron Tequila (Mexican alcoholic beverages company, joined later in 2023) 2024 data last update: 2024/02/15

Old sponsors that left: CashApp, Walmart, Therabody (American wellness technology company), Ocean Bottle (Norwegian reusable bottle manufacturer), PokerStars (Costa Rican gambling site), Alpha Tauri (? no info if they're official partners or not but Austrian clothing company made by Red Bull), BMC (Switzerland bicycle/cycling manufacturer), Esso (American fuel company, subsidiary of ExxonMobil), Hewlett Packard Enterprise (American technology company) 2023 data last update: 2023/03/07

More: Esso is a subsidiary of Mobil so there's possibility they merged or something

Scuderia Ferrari:

New sponsors: VGW Play (Australian tech game company, joined later in 2023), DXC Technology (American IT company, joined later in 2023), Peroni (Italian brewing company), Z Capital Group/ZCG (American private asset management/merchant bank company), Celsius (Swedish energy drink manufacturer) 2024 data last update: 2024/02/15

Old sponsors that left: Mission Winnow (American content lab by Phillip Morris International aka Marlboro), Estrella Garcia (Spanish alcoholic beverages manufacturer), Frecciarossa (Italian high speed train company) 2023 data last update: 2023/02/16

More: Mission Winnow is a part of Phillip Morris International. They are no longer listed as team sponsor but PMI is listed instead.

(starting here, 2023 data last update is 2023/02/23 and 2024 data last update is 2024/02/15)

McLaren F1 Team: (Only McLaren RACING's data is available idk if some of these are XE/FE team partners but anw..)

New sponsors: Monster Energy, Salesforce (American cloud based software company, joined later in 2023), Estrella Garcia (Spanish alcoholic beverages manufacturer), Dropbox (American file hosting company), Workday (American system software company, joined later in 2023), Ecolab (American water purification/hygiene company), Airwallex (Australian financial tech company), Optimum Nutrition (American nutritional supplement manufacturer), Halo ITSM (American software company, joined later in 2023), Udemy (American educational tech company, joined later in 2023), New Era (American cap manufacturer, joined in 2023), K-Swiss (American shoes manufacturer, joined later in 2023), Alpinestars (Italian motorsports safety equipment manufacturer)

Old sponsors that left: DP World (Emirati logistics company), EasyPost (American shipping API company), Immersive Labs (UK cybersecurity training company?), Logitech, Mind (UK mental health charity), PartyCasino (UK? online casino site), PartyPoker (American? gambling site), Sparco (Italian auto part & accessory manufacturer), Tezos (Switzerland crypto company)

Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team:

New sponsors: Valvoline (American retail automotives service company, joined later in 2023), NexGen (Canadian sustainable? fuel company), Banco Master (Brazilian digital banking platform, joined later in 2023), ServiceNow (American software company, joined later in 2023), Regent Seven Seas Cruise, Wolfgang Puck (Austrian-American chef and restaurant owner, joined later in 2023), Financial Times (British business newspaper), OMP (Italian racing safety equipment manufacturer), stichd (Netherlands fashion & apparel manufacturer)

Old sponsors that left: Alpinestars (Italian motorsports safety equipment manufacturer), crypto.com (Singaporean cryptocurrency company), ebb3 (UK? software company), Pelmark (UK fashion and apparel manufacturer), Peroni (Italian brewing company), Porto Seguro (Brazilian insurance company), Socios (Malta's blockchain-based platform), XP (Brazilian investment company)

Stake F1 Team (prev. Alfa Romeo):

???? Can't found their website (might be geoblocked in my country???)

BWT Alpine F1 Team:

New sponsors: MNTN (American software company), H. Moser & Cie (Switzerland watch manufacturer), Amazon Music

Old sponsors that left: Bell & Ross (French watch company), Ecowatt (??? afaik French less-energy smthn smthn company), Elysium (French? American? Software company), KX (UK software company), Plug (American electrical equipment manufacturing company)

Visa CashApp RB F1 Team (prev. Scuderia Alpha Tauri):

New Sponsors: Visa, CashApp, Hugo Boss, Tudor, Neft Vodka (Austrian alcoholic beverages company), Piquadro (Italian luxury bag manufacturer)

Old sponsors that left: Buzz (?), Carl Friedrik (UK travel goods manufacturer), Flex Box (Hongkong? shipping containers manufacturer), GMG (Emirati global wellbeing company), RapidAPI (American API company)

Haas F1 Team:

New sponsors: New Era (American cap manufacturer, joined later in 2023)

Old sponsors that left: Hantec Markets (Hongkong capital markets company), OpenSea (American NFT/Crypto company)

Williams Racing:

New sponsors: Komatsu, MyProtein (British bodybuilding supplement), Kraken (American crypto company, joined later in 2023), VAST Data (American tech company), Ingenuity Commerce (UK e-commerce platform), Puma (joined later in 2023)

Old sponsors that left: Acronis (Swiss software company), Bremont (British watch manufacturer), Dtex Systems (American? cybersecurity company), Financial Times (British business newspaper), Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts, KX (UK software company), OMP (Italian racing safety equipment manufacturer), PPG (American painting manufacturer), Umbro (English sports equipment manufacturer), Zeiss (German opticals/optometrics manufacturing company)

[dertaglichedan]

Cloud and AI are ‘fundamentally changing’ ability to forecast weather, NOAA chief says

LAS VEGAS — National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Rick Spinrad said this week that even as hurricanes, wildfires and other weather events worsen, the use of innovative tech like cloud computing and AI is improving the agency’s ability to predict and forecast them.

“This is fundamentally changing our ability to do probably the most important thing in our business, and that's predict, project and forecast,” said Spinrad, speaking at AWS’ re:Invent 2024 conference in Las Vegas.

Spinrad said NOAA, which houses the National Weather Service and owns or operates 18 weather satellites, archives about 230 terabytes of environmental data per month from various observational platforms, ranging from the sea, to ships and even space.

That data is then hosted by commercial cloud service providers and made available to the public and nascent climate industry through NOAA’s Open Data Dissemination program, or NODD. AWS, Spinrad said, now hosts 32 petabytes of environmental information, or about “half of [NOAA’s] holdings.”

“Our ability to collect these data, put them on NODD, store them in a system that allows AI applications, is really critical,” Spinrad said. “And it's not just for our use at NOAA. We are supporting a burgeoning climate industrial effort, a commercial weather enterprise. We are now collecting enough environmental information — enough environmental intelligence — to make a fundamental difference.”

According to Spinrad, the difference includes improved access to critical weather data for incident meteorologists in the field. Using another tool from Amazon, AppStream 2.0, incident meteorologists dispatched to the scenes of floods, droughts, storms and wildfires can “have the same kind of access to our advanced weather information and interactive processing system that they would back at the home office.”

Spinrad said forecasters have been able to make a “seven year advancement in forecast capability in a matter of months using AI, using the training data [NOAA] now has access to.” Such advancements would not be possible without the ability to assimilate new data types, he added, noting that autonomous systems, satellites and surface-based robots all provide data that can go into forecasts.

[stuarttechnologybob]

What is Microsoft AI tool, and how does it work?

Microsoft Technologies Services

Microsoft has been and is always at the forefront of artificial intelligence, providing tools and resources that simplify the use of AI in real-world applications for businesses and developers. The Microsoft AI tools, built on top of trusted Microsoft Technologies, help automate tasks, analyze data, and improve decision-making through intelligent systems.

What is the Microsoft AI Tool?

The Microsoft AI tool refers to a suite and wide options of services and platforms that allow the users to build, train, and deploy AI-powered applications. These tools are available through Microsoft Azure, the cloud computing platform, and include services such as Azure Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning, and AI Builder in Power Automate (formerly known as Power Automate).

These tools and its resources simplify and smoothen down the process of integrating AI capabilities, such as image recognition, language translation, natural language understanding, and predictive analytics, into existing apps or workflows.

How Does It Work?

The Microsoft AI tools work through cloud-based machine learning and pre-trained AI models. Here’s how they function:

Data Input

First, data is fed into the system—this could be text, images, videos, or structured data.

AI Model Processing

The Microsoft AI tools process the data using trained machine learning models. These models and its types are designed and crafted to identify patterns that make predictions, or understand the context.

Action & Output

Based on the terms of analysis and monitoring, the AI tool generates sound output—like detecting faces in photos, summarizing documents, predicting customer behavior, or translating languages instantly.

These tools work seamlessly with other Microsoft Technologies like Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365, and Teams, making them powerful and easy to integrate into business processes.

Why Use Microsoft AI Tools?

Scalable and secure with Microsoft’s cloud infrastructure

Easy to use, even for non-developers, through no-code options

Highly customizable to meet business-specific needs

Works well with other Microsoft Technologies for smooth integration

Many business organizations across various industries and sectors—from healthcare to finance—are utilizing Microsoft AI tools and other resources to enhance efficiency, automate repetitive tasks, and deliver improved customer service with its implementation into their infrastructure. Trusted partners and professional experts like Suma Soft, IBM, and Cyntexa offer expert support for implementing these AI solutions using Microsoft Technologies, helping businesses move toward smarter, data-driven operations. Their solutions help out the businesses to stay agile and alert, adaptive to change quickly, and remain competitive in the ever-evolving market as leads towards stand out of the domain in the industry.

[brittlepathfinderhaven]

From Chips to Clouds: Exploring Intel's Role in the Next Generation of Computing

Introduction

The world of computing is evolving at breakneck speed, and at the forefront of this technological revolution is Intel Corp. Renowned for its groundbreaking innovations in Additional hints microprocessors, Intel's influence extends far beyond silicon chips; it reaches into the realms of artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and beyond. This article dives deep into Intel's role in shaping the next generation of computing, exploring everything from its historical contributions to its futuristic visions.

From Chips to Clouds: Exploring Intel's Role in the Next Generation of Computing

Intel has long been synonymous with computing power. Founded in 1968, it pioneered the microprocessor revolution that transformed personal computing. Today, as we transition from conventional machines to cloud-based systems powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, Intel remains a critical player.

The Evolution of Intel’s Microprocessors A Brief History

Intel's journey began with the introduction of the first commercially available microprocessor, the 4004, in 1971. Over decades, it has relentlessly innovated:

1970s: Introduction of the 8086 architecture. 1980s: The rise of x86 compatibility. 1990s: Pentium processors that made personal computers widely accessible.

Each evolution marked a leap forward not just for Intel but for global computing capabilities.

Current Microprocessor Technologies

Today’s microprocessors are marvels of engineering. Intel’s current lineup features:

Core i3/i5/i7/i9: Catering to everything from basic tasks to high-end gaming. Xeon Processors: Designed for servers and high-performance computing. Atom Processors: Targeting mobile devices and embedded applications.

These technologies are designed with advanced architectures like Ice Lake and Tiger Lake that enhance performance while optimizing power consumption.

Intel’s Influence on Cloud Computing The Shift to Cloud-Based Solutions

In recent years, businesses have increasingly embraced cloud computing due to its scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. Intel has played a crucial role in this transition by designing processors optimized for data centers.

Intel’s Data Center Solutions

Intel provides various solutions tailored for cloud service providers:

Intel Xeon Scalable Processors: Designed specifically for workloads in data centers. Intel Optane Technology: Enhancing memory performance and storage capabilities.

These innovations help companies manage vast amounts of data efficiently.

Artificial Intelligence: A New Frontier AI Integration in Everyday Applications

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming integral to modern computing. From smart assistants to advanced analytics tools, AI relies heavily on processing power—something that Intel excels at providing.

Intel’s AI Initiatives

Through initiat