#virtual machines in home lab

[virtualizationhowto]

What is a HomeLab and Why Build One?

What is a HomeLab and Why Build One? @vexpert #homelabsetup #homelab #vmwarecommunities #virtualmachinesinhomelab #buildingyourownserver #RaspberryPiexperiments #handsontechnologyexploration #opensourcevirtualizationsoftware #selfhosted

A home lab, or simply “lab,” is a personal space where technology enthusiasts, professionals, and hobbyists can experiment with various hardware and software. From virtual machines to your own server, a home lab offers endless possibilities. But what exactly is a home lab, and why should you consider building one? This article will explore these questions and more. What is a HomeLab? Home labs…

[woytaq]

A blog on my website about my plans for upgrading my so called home lab.

[beuxwhoyouare]

Raised You Better

My son Jasper was a good kid. He was a star soccer player in school and got a scholarship to play in college, so I only saw him on holidays. I missed him so much and looked forward to our quarterly reunions.

Well that was until his most recent visit. He was being so distant and when I finally inquired why he was acting differently, he finally admitted he actually dropped out to pursue being a personal trainer.

I was shocked. He's always been a model child and did all me and my husband expected of him. Maybe it was all our time away working? Maybe I should've been home more instead of being at the lab. It felt like a punch in the gut. I mean sure he knew what he was doing thanks to all his time training for soccer but that's not a way to build a life?

My husband and I did it right. We met in college and supported each other through our advanced degrees and worked our way up in an international pharmaceutical company. Personal training is just so...surface level. He's supposed to be better than us. That's what you want for your children. No no no this is no good. I'll have to set him on the right path.

I knew of a special program at work that was rooted in natural medicine and meditation with a mad science twist. I set up Jasper with the "Sports Nutrition" department at work but it was actually our new experiment. It looked like a TENS muscle stimulator on crack. Several wires shot out of a relatively large dark grey box with a screen and several sliders on one side. I sat connected on the other side of the wall connected with the pads all over the top of my head. All I had to do was wait for Jasper to get hooked up. We sold it to him as a scientific way to curb cravings for sweets and unhealthy things, like an ozempic shot for the brain. In reality, I was told that the machine would take positive attributes from one source and strengthen them in the weaker mind.

I saw the lights flicker and anticipated that he had already been hooked up to the machine. I just laid back and rested while focusing on the importance of getting a quality education. Eventually, I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes again it was all so groggy. But I was sitting facing the opposite direction. I lifted my arms to wipe my eyes and gasped when I looked down. My boobs were gone and replaced with sizable mounds of muscle escaping a tiny white tank top. My arms and thick thighs now filled with tattoos....no?! This isn't supposed to be how it works

I told the lab techs who I am and that I was actually Meredith. They both looked at each other spooked but judiciously jotting down notes. After answering a few security questions, they agreed to believe that I was indeed not Jasper and it must be an unforseen side effect from the treatment.

That's when they explained the problem....When my body woke up, it also said it was Meredith. Could the experiment have basically overwritten the memory of my son with my own? I felt like I basically killed my own child. Grief swept over me. But then so did a bravado, a confidence, a giddiness? The two lab techs handed me a towel as they shyly avoided looking down at a tent forming in my shorts. Oh I guess the excitement led to a physical response.

In theory I get it as a scientist. I did in fact instill positive traits on my son. Granted, that also erased him seemingly. But also it's a chance at a new life full of new experiences. I'm a man now. And what a man indeed. I walked into the shower facility at the lab. I took off the outfit Jasper donned to the lab, if I was still a woman it'd be called skimpy and slutty. Tiny shorts with underwear built in and a virtually see through tank top. In two swift moves, I had taken everything off. I had seen my son naked as a child but this is different. He looked so much like his father....well I guess I looked so much like MY dad now. His genetics graced me well as I placed one hand on my pecs and another on my new dick. I squeezed both recoiling from the newfound pleasure. This was wrong right? Like I shouldn't be doing this....I felt disgusted with myself. No. This is for the betterment of Jasper's life. I'm going to let go of my past life....I'm Jasper now.

And what a life it will be. Years of playing sport and training, whew. I wasn't going to let him throw it away, I'll let it be a side job, maybe I'll own a business with a bunch of trainers under me but I won't be hustling like that. Not yet. I gotta learn the new me. I used my hands to trace the curves of each new tattoo, then moved on to each muscle. I poked and prodded before squeezing, then I remembered I had business to attend to. I took one hand and gently took hold of the warm fleshy rod under the steamy water pulsing down onto me. I pumped back and forth for a few minutes. Jasper was not sensitive at all...I shoved aside my reservations and gripped myself firmer and began jerking harder and faster. Eventually I introduced my other hand....oh he was girthy in the best way. I mean I am thick in the best ways. Harder and faster, it felt like I was floating outside of myself as my muscles took over almost like autopilot.

The steam radiated off my new musculature when it felt like I saw a flash of light. Shot after shot came out of my new rod. The lab walls had likely never seen a show like this but I was happy to christen them. The autopilot kinky thoughts continued to take over my new mind and body. I squatted down an licked the nearest wall as my cum dripped down. I knew Jasper was queer but I didn't know how he would respond to this kind of kink. I think he was a little freak because there was not one single butterfly in my stomach from this action. I quickly toweled off and headed to my apartment. I figured "Meredith" could find her way home.

The apartment smelled like a young male in college. A musk twirled around sweat and strong cologne. Foreign to me, but familiar to my new body. I couldn't control myself and ripped my clothes off...literally. My strength made it obscenely easy to tear them off in ways they weren't intended to. I wanted to try on all my new clothes. This body made everything look good.

My phone buzzed. It was one of "my" bros asking if I was coming down to the shoot. I played it off like I forgot and asked him to send me the "deets" again.

I threw on the nearest random shirt and bottoms and made my way to the warehouse address given. I guess "I" had agreed to help with the photoshoot to launch "our" new clothing line. A nearby table had Jasper's name on it and I quickly assumed the position taking off all my clothes and putting the skimpy clothing on. I channeled my new swagger as my bros began taking pics.

Oh I think I'm gonna like this. Hopefully I can find a cute twink or something soon. I really wanna put these thighs to work plowing someone's son or two.

[caninescreations]

In regards to perfect stanley...

Do you think its even possible for Ford to "save" stan? To, essentially and pretty much literally, resurrect him as his actual, flawed and human self? Or will the best hes able to do be to kill perfect stan and set his brothers soul and image free? (And also save who knows how many people from assisted character suicide)

On another note, will ford go full monster-hunter on perfect stan when/if he finds the bones under the floorboards? Because that seems like angst for the ages.

To answer the second question first: there's no world in which Ford doesn't find the bones, let's be real here. Not-Stan keeps them on his boat out of a perverted sentimentality because he's trying to remind himself that he's never going to be that broken ever again. He'll put it away in storage when he has company over, but otherwise it's just, like. Hanging out there on his boat. Dressed up like it's an active crewmate. Straight-up taking pictures with it like it's his fishing buddy. Doesn't consider how this would look to an outside viewer beyond 'this is probably kind of tacky' and 'Ford might get a little upset about it', though he wouldn't have a concrete reason to back that up. [We know why.]

Ford likely tries to snoop on his boat at some point after the Atlantis excursion, in some fit of belated 'I have to fix this' mania where he's sure that if he tries, he can surely undo what has been done, or at least prevent this from happening in the future. He might have even been looking for a way to find Atlantis again [to blow it up], as Not-Stan is kind of the only person allowed to reliably find it nowadays. [Not-Stan treats it like a never-ending home improvement project, which Atlantis kind of likes because it missed having people in it on a regular basis.] He's not finding a tool or machine that can find Atlantis. He is, however, finding a complete, fully-articulated, weather-proofed human skeleton made of real-ass goddamn human bones. Now, Ford might not register whose bones these bones are, at first. He might take them simply because it's evidence of Not-Stan being some kind of malicious entity, and then he discovers that they're Stanley's bones when he tests them in his lab.

From there, whoof. I dunno, man. It's a Frankenstan situation for sure. A successful one? Well… to answer your first question second: No. Not that it would stop Ford from trying! Not-Stan is more complex than your average replacement/clone/copy/pod-person because he is in possession of the original Stanley's soul. It's part of why Atlantis can't make a coral replacement of someone unless they choose it themself-- the two of them cannot exist at the same time because the spirit of the original is used to power and shape its inheritor. This is also the reason why it's virtually impossible to distinguish a coral replacement from its original once it's been completed. Also, also, it's the reason Stanford's theoretical goal of saving the original Stanley from Not-Stan is impossible. Stanley chose to surrender his life in favor of getting a version of himself that was "better", in whatever sense that meant. Which means that the way his soul is bound to Not-Stan is much like the way a normal human's would be to their own home-grown body. Stanford's attempts to free it would be attempting to cancel unwilling shackles or seals, and that's just not what's happening there. Stanley's soul wants to be Not-Stan because for all the parts of him that Atlantis took out, it also took out what was haunting him. He's a shell of his former self, sure, but Not-Stan is lacking in the traits that caused Stanley misery.

…That being said, should Stanley's soul be "freed" from Not-Stan's body [read: die], assuming it's after Not-Stan's attempt to encourage Ford to accept Atlantis' offer [read:kill himself], he'd be appalled when the parts of him that were taken away returned and he got his true sense of self back. [Because telling your brother to kill himself is something Stanley would never do.] His soul was a wall that was scrubbed clean of mold and papered-over with a smiley face, and dying was the solvent to reveal the layers of old paint beneath it.

[katescribblesabit]

I love your fairy Timmy turner au and your art! It’s amazing and wonderful!! Sending virtual hugs your way since you absolutely deserve it!! Make sure to stay hydrated and take breaks from drawing when needed :3 I hope you have a great day/night wherever you are !

I have a question about the au, considering the jimmy timmy power hour still happens, did Jimmy Neutron and his friends ever hear about Timmy going missing from the national news channels? I’d like to think they were probably really sad about it and tried looking for him themselves :( OR since they already know about fairies and everything, when Timmy turned into a fairy, did he ever pop by and say hi and told them that he was alright and everything was fine so they wouldn’t be so sad? If he did, does he still visit them in Jimmy’s lab even as adults so they all can still hang out once more and ever explain why he became a fairy? I wonder if that would sort of get Jimmy to maybe just a little bit believe in magic

Anyways I’m sorry if this is so long 😭

aw don't apologize! its fine, and thank you for the virtual hug haha

i haven't even thought about including the Jimmy Timmy power hour in the au honestly. i did some quick research and it seems like many people do consider the trilogy canon on both shows.

so.. if we do wanna take it into the wacky crossover territory. well,

Sheen probably pestered Jimmy into visiting Timmy again since its been a while and he was bored. Jimmy eventually faltered and dug out the old portal door he had build. setting it up attracted their other friends and they all wanted to go.

When they arrived at Dimmsdale however they quickly learned about Timmys disappearance from AJ and Chester. they offered to help look but they also couldn't find anything that day. they eventually had to go back home.

Jimmy however couldn't really let it go. he was a genius! if anyone could help, then it was him right? so he cooked up a plan and went back and asked around for some kind of DNA samples of Timmy. Jimmy then build some kind of locating machine that brings them to the one they want to find.

he then teleported right into the living room of Cosmo and Wanda where Timmy currently was. to say they were all surprised is an understatement haha

since Timmy was a fairy now, there were no consequences of telling Jimmy the actual truth anymore. (since Jimmy is from an differente Dimension - LOOPHOLE hehe) So Timmy was able to properly explain that yes magic was real in Timmys dimension and that he simply wanted to stay with his fairy family. (maybe he properly introduced them hehe)

Timmy also begged Jimmy not to tell anyone. ESPECIALLY anyone from Timmys dimension.

[ixhika-jsx]

Resources and study tips to get you in cyber forensics

Master post • Part1 • part2

let's get you prepped to be a cyber sleuth without spending any cash. Here’s the ultimate tips and resources.

Ps: you can't become one while doing these pointers but you can experience the vibe so you can finally find your career interest

### 1. **Digital Scavenger Hunts**

- **CTF Challenges (Capture The Flag)**: Dive into platforms like [CTFtime](https://ctftime.org/) where you can participate in cyber security challenges. It's like playing *Among Us* but with hackers—find the imposter in the code!

- **Hunt A Killer (Digitally)**: Create your own digital crime scenes. Ask friends to send you files (like images, PDFs) with hidden clues. Your job? Find the Easter eggs and solve the case.

### 2. **YouTube University**

- **Cyber Sleuth Tutorials**: Channels like *HackerSploit* and *The Cyber Mentor* have playlists covering digital forensics, cybersecurity, and more. Binge-watch them like your fave Netflix series, but here you're learning skills to catch bad guys.

- **Live Streams & Q&A**: Jump into live streams on platforms like Twitch where cybersecurity experts solve cases in real-time. Ask questions, get answers, and interact with the pros.

### 3. **Public Libraries & eBook Treasure Hunts**

- **Library eBooks**: Most libraries have eBooks or online resources on digital forensics. Check out titles like *"Hacking Exposed"* or *"Digital Forensics for Dummies"*. You might have to dig through the catalog, but think of it as your first case.

- **LinkedIn Learning via Library**: Some libraries offer free access to LinkedIn Learning. If you can snag that, you've got a goldmine of courses on cybersecurity and forensics.

### 4. **Virtual Study Groups**

- **Discord Servers**: Join cybersecurity and hacking communities on Discord. They often have study groups, challenges, and mentors ready to help out. It's like joining a digital Hogwarts for hackers.

- **Reddit Threads**: Subreddits like r/cybersecurity and r/hacking are packed with resources, advice, and study buddies. Post your questions, and you’ll get a whole thread of answers.

### 5. **DIY Labs at Home**

- **Build Your Own Lab**: Got an old PC or laptop? Turn it into a practice lab. Install virtual machines (VMware, VirtualBox) and play around with different operating systems and security tools. It’s like Minecraft but for hacking.

- **Log Your Own Activity**: Turn on logging on your own devices and then try to trace your own steps later. You’re basically spying on yourself—no NSA required.

### 6. **Community College & University Open Courses**

- **Free Audit Courses**: Many universities offer free auditing of cybersecurity courses through platforms like Coursera, edX, and even YouTube. No grades, no stress, just pure learning.

- **MOOCs**: Massive Open Online Courses often have free tiers. Try courses like "Introduction to Cyber Security" on platforms like FutureLearn or edX.

### 7. **Scour GitHub**

- **Open-Source Tools**: GitHub is full of open-source forensic tools and scripts. Clone some repositories and start tinkering with them. You’re basically getting your hands on the tools real investigators use.

- **Follow the Code**: Find projects related to digital forensics, follow the code, and see how they work. Contribute if you can—bonus points for boosting your resume.

### 8. **Local Meetups & Online Conferences**

- **Free Virtual Conferences**: Many cybersecurity conferences are virtual and some offer free access. DEF CON has a lot of free content, and you can find tons of talks on YouTube.

- **Hackathons**: Look for free entry hackathons—often universities or tech companies sponsor them. Compete, learn, and maybe even win some gear.

### 9. **DIY Challenges**

- **Create Your Own Scenarios**: Get a friend to simulate a hack or data breach. You try to solve it using whatever tools and resources you have. It's like escape rooms, but digital.

- **Pen & Paper Simulation**: Before diving into digital, try solving forensic puzzles on paper. Map out scenarios and solutions to get your brain wired like a detective.

### 10. **Stay Updated**

- **Podcasts & Blogs**: Tune into cybersecurity podcasts like *Darknet Diaries* or follow blogs like *Krebs on Security*. It’s like getting the tea on what’s happening in the cyber world.

### 11. **Free Software & Tools**

- **Autopsy**: Free digital forensics software that helps you analyze hard drives and mobile devices. Think of it as your magnifying glass for digital clues.

- **Wireshark**: A free tool to see what's happening on your network. Catch all the data packets like you're a digital fisherman.

### 12. **Online Forensics Communities**

- **Free Webinars & Workshops**: Join communities like the *SANS Institute* for free webinars. It's like attending a masterclass but from the comfort of your gaming chair.

- **LinkedIn Groups**: Join groups like *Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR)*. Network with pros, get job tips, and stay in the loop with the latest trends.

### 13. **Practice Cases & Mock Trials**

- **Set Up Mock Trials**: Role-play with friends where one is the hacker, another the victim, and you’re the investigator. Recreate cases from famous cybercrimes to see how you'd solve them.

- **Case Studies**: Research and recreate famous digital forensic cases. What steps did the investigators take? How would you handle it differently?

There you have it—your roadmap to becoming a cyber sleuth without dropping a dime. You don't have time find your interest after paying pennies to different ppl and colleges. You can explore multiple things from comfort of your home only if you want to.

[gingersforeverbox]

Coffee and revelations

A/n: I'm not gonna lie y'all, this piece was hard for me and offered a new challenge, but I finally got it done! I honestly don't know if I will keep doing platonic requests, so please consider this my first and possibly my last. Anyways, thank you for the patience, and I hope y'all enjoy. Word count: 2.1k

warnings: panic attacks, formerly toxic home-life, canon-typical swearing and technology, and Nathan ofc

How you got the position of being the assistant of a multibillionaire ‘tech messiah’ (Nathan’s words, not yours) is routinely up to debate, but the best and most plausible answer is that you are the only one in a long list of assistants that was actually able to put up with said messiah for more than a month or two.

 Your first weeks out in the middle of nowhere deep in the forests of Alaska were… rough to say the least. It was a constant barrage of papers and virtual conferences, emails and phone calls, and of course a boss that didn’t necessarily hover over your shoulder so much as he simply reminded you of his eternal presence using the over-coms and cameras. Thankfully there was only one or two in your room that you quickly dismantled using a handy-dandy pocket knife that was spare from the helicopter on the two and a half hour ride to the drop off point. Why Nathan insisted on being so dangerously isolated from people, you’ve yet to fully uncover. You had your theories of course, most likely something to do with the brains of the man, along with a splash of gifted kid problems that you’d recognized in others your age before you moved out to be surrounded by nature, Nathan, and the machines he cooks up in his labs. 

Over time, you began seeing Nathan for who he was: a troubled man who is too smart for his own good. Yet the urge to call this man ‘Dad’ infects you everyday, whether it's when you’re asking for your next assignment or explaining your stance on why Star Trek was so important to the influence of modern technology. He was just oddly comforting to be around when he was being decent and not a total asshat. Some people may insist that they aren’t cut out for parenting, and that may be true for some, but Nathan comes by it almost naturally. Even if he may still consider girls to be odd creatures, he still respects the fact that you’re just some teen who happened to get stuck with him while furthering your career. 

Deep down, Nathan knows that he has a soft spot for his young assistant. He can tell in moments of pride for you and your work, or when you actually beat him in an argument, or even when you silently leave him a glass of water and a pain killer at his desk for his hangover the morning after his drinking episodes. He knows he’s not the best boss or role model, but he appreciates your time and presence more than he cares to admit.

With the buzz of the over-coms, Nathan’s tired voice comes alive in your windowless  room. 

“Y/n. Coffee. Stat,” he demands bluntly.

You grumble as you slide off the bed, something about being capable of holding meetings in other countries on behalf of the sarcastic grump of a man only to be interrupted by a snarky ‘What was that?’ to float through the room. 

“On my way,” you sigh just loud enough for the microphone(s) to pick up.

Kyoko is silent as usual when you pass her in the hallway, on the way to the kitchen for the coffee that was already filling from the prepped machine. 

She always puts you on edge. You logically know that she is just an extremely fancy AI that Nathan had made at some point in his isolation, but she just seemed so damn real. She looked just like a normal- albeit very beautiful- woman, perfect down to the real hairs on her head that Nathan had claimed to place individually while building her. Due to that being one of the first things that Nathan had ever said to you when you came to the facility, you could never quite tell if he was being serious or not, but you wouldn’t put it past him to be so meticulous with “his things”. 

Whilst distracted by the slender form of the AI as you round the corner of the kitchen counter, your depth perception fails you, and causes you to stub your toe and trip around the corner. 

With a tumble, your body falls in slow motion. A short gasp leaves your throat as you watch the mug of coffee shatter into pieces and chunks, coffee splattering across the tiles of the facility.

Despite being alright from the fall, something snaps in the back of your mind. It’s like a dam of worries and fear over the response of your gruff boss, cracks- pouring out, along with the tears that sting your eyes. 

You’re unaware of how long you lay on the floor of the kitchen, alone… until you aren’t. 

“Hey, woah woah woah, kid, you okay?” Nathan questions as he stoops down to gather your arms and inspect them for glass. Your eyes are glassy with tears as your limp arms are turned and prodded by Nathan's surprisingly warm hands. 

“I’m so sorry, I was just trying to get your coffee, I promise I-” your words fell out of your mouth despite your throat tightening, desperately trying to choke down your tears. The cries soon turned into short and shallow breaths, panic seeping into your bones as the stress of Nathan being upset with you began to bare down on your shoulders. 

“Hey, stop breathing like that kid, you’re hyperventilating.” Nathan slowly moves his hands to your shoulders, trying to ground you to reality and prevent you from spiraling. Nathan’s solid hands gently squeeze in a slow pulsing rhythm before he slides his hands back down your arms and softly folds them over your chest like a mummy in a sarcophagus. 

“Can you start patting your chest with your hands one at a time for me, kid?” Nathan mirrors you with a neutral expression then demonstrates exactly what he wants you to do with a small nod of encouragement. As you watch the man gently pat his chest with his hands folded upright, you slowly begin to get in sync with his demonstration, your breath slowly becoming more regulated. Your mind, however, still felt like it was reeling. The feeling of your heart rate calming down was only a small comfort whilst overanalyzing the situation- particularly Nathan’s response. 

‘Why is he staring like that? Does he always look like that or is something different? He thinks I’m a disappointment, why can’t I just do what he wants? It’s just like home all over again, I’m so tired. I just want him to approve, that’s all I-’

“Hey,” he interrupts gently. “Stop thinking for a minute, everything is going to be fine. It was an accident, it’s just a cup.” Nathan continues to show the soft patting motion he is guiding you through, although a twinge of worry flares in his dark eyes. Noticing that the self soothing isn’t helping as much as anticipated, he opts for a different approach. 

As you sit silently, chaos reigning above all else in your mind, you feel soft arms wrap around your shoulders; Nathan quietly pulls you into his chest whilst making a rocking motion a few paces away from the glass filled area. 

“Are you physically hurt, Y/n?” 

A small shake of your head is felt against his chest where your head is resting softly, a soothing hand petting the back of your head. With a small sigh of relief, Nathan softly pulls you away for a moment to check your face for any deception, pleased to find none. 

“As long as you’re not hurt, that’s what matters, okay?” He states with his typical stone expression as he waits for confirmation that you understand him.

Tears well up in your eyes once more as you quietly nod up to the man who then pulls you back into his warm embrace without a word. 

“Thank you, dad.” 

Shocked at your sudden revelation of your image of him, he feels a new emotion wiggling under his chest. It felt warm and tingly inside, a feeling that Nathan quickly identifies as pride, along with something new: paternal affection. He always knew that he wouldn’t have children any time soon (unless it’s one of the nights where he is drunk and thinking about the possibility that he has a child somewhere in the world due to his relations with various women), yet in that moment the truth becomes glaringly obvious. 

He got a kid the first time you stepped foot in the facility.The first time you impressed him with your efficiency in your work. The first time you went to him for help with an assignment, when he had snapped at you for needing help in the first place, which led to him drinking himself to sleep in his office that night. The next morning he may have finished your work for you, leaving it on your desk once the hangover subsided, but he never acknowledged it.

Only now is he realizing how badly he fucked up.

While Nathan’s revelation hits him like a ton of bricks, causing him to feel another uncommon emotion for him- remorse. Guilt. 

“I-” he hesitates, as if mentally psyching himself up for the next words to fall from his lips, “I’m sorry, kid,” he mutters. “I’m sorry I was so hard on you, I know I fucked up,” he bluntly admits. 

At his blunt yet sincere tone, you pause in his arms, tilting your head to look up to the thickly bearded man. 

“You’re really not mad at me?” you ask hesitantly, unsure of his response. 

“No, kiddo. It was just a cup, and you could never make me genuinely mad,” he reassures with a soft shake of his head as he continues to hold you close, slowly swaying both of you in a comforting manner. 

With a gentle nod of acceptance on your behalf, a comfortable silence fills the air surrounding the kitchen of the facility. 

“Y’know,” the man speaks up in a slightly more gentle tone than he usually takes with you, “I think you’re doing a good job. You put up with me and my bullshit, you’re a smart cookie, and you even like Star Trek,” he lists with a small yet fond smile. 

“You couldn’t get better in my eyes if you tried, kid. I’m not gonna hurt you, and I will do everything I can to make sure nothing else will for that matter. I was more worried about you being hurt than the stupid cup of coffee, goofball,” he grins in a fatherly tone. 

In return, an involuntary smile breaks across your face as you both continue to sit on the kitchen floor. The worries surrounding the man you feel so attached to seem to fall away slowly at his reassurance and warm embrace. Sure, it may take some time to get used to Nathan’s new and more caring nature, but it’s a good change- a great one. 

Another comfortable silence fills the air around the both of you as you wordlessly express your affections with a tighter hug. 

With a clink of ceramic, you both look up from your embrace to see Kyoko gathering the shards of the mug with a dustpan and a cloth- always a dutiful machine. The man beside you scoffs softly in amusement before looking back to you. “Well, I’d say that’s enough barista duty for you. Kyoko seems capable. Besides, I want you to come take a look at some code with me downstairs,” he shrugs softly. “If you feel up for it, of course,” he adds in a rare moment of kindness. 

You pause for a moment, playfully humming and looking up to the high ceilings of the facility before looking up to his dark brown eyes. 

“Can you teach me some stuff about coding?” you ask with a warm smile gracing your features. 

“Duh, that’s the point, dude,” Nathan chuckles fondly as he gently encourages you to stand from the floor of the kitchen with a soft sigh. He offers you a hand to keep you steady as you stand to your full height before walking over to a cupboard and filling a glass of water for you. 

“Drink this first, though,” he orders in a blunt manner, “You cried a bunch and you need to hydrate,” he explains thoughtfully. 

With a nod of acceptance, you take the glass and begin to sip on it as the man guides you past Kyoko- who has finished cleaning up the mess- towards the elevator with a gentle hand on your upper back to guide you, caringly. As you reach the elevators and make your way down to the lab, you both talk about anything and everything that comes to mind, both of you seeming to enjoy the feelings of closeness that has brought you together as a guardian figure and as someone worth looking out for. 

The rest of the day is filled with playful jokes, lighthearted banter, and smiles (even from Nathan); a beautiful change to a growing bond of care for one another. 

[saint-vagrant]

heyyy, somehow gained many new followers recently. thank you very much for enjoying my work! in light of that, let's do a small introduction.

i'm Seosamh Dáire, or you can call me joe. he/him • sé/é only. transsexual butch man and leatherdyke ✦ fear tras/aiteach agus gearrán 🐗

i'm a painter, comic author-illustrator, web/html artist, petty designer, smalltime archivist, passionate marxist. i like anime and virtual pets both from ~1990. as someone working primarily with past decades, i'm interested in broadening our ideas of time/place and who was in it. pro-palestine, native rights and strong proponent/student of irish-native solidarity, blm, roma, the works (uninterested in debating these topics!)

i make trans gay art for perverts and i was recently an artist in residence in the Burren, focusing on traditional paintings and reflecting/writing on being Queer In The Land.

SUPERPOSE: the tremendous dark trans sci-fi comic i make with my life+work partner Anka @kingfisher-cove . take a look! this project is my whole LIFE, and almost every piece i make pertains to it, so if you're unsure of who or what my images are of, that's a safe bet. the comic is recommended for mature readers. here's a brief synopsis,

An ongoing queer sci-fi horror comic about physics.

On the Atlantic coast, in a town called PORT CITY— “a place out of time”

While a tourist destination boasting a popular beach and boardwalk, Port City is also home to ROMAN LABS, an aerospace-turned-tech company now floundering in the tech boom.

Rafael and Royal are each listless in their own lives as longtime locals with little mobility, whose orbits have only occasionally overlapped, until now. Turning a job at the lab into a last-ditch effort for a glimpse of a more equitable future brings Royal and Rafael together, and beaches Kas, a young physicist, on Port City’s shores.

Together they seize the opportunity to alter their future and carve out a place in time for themselves, finally shaking the town and their lives from standstill. Changing history begins with the machine.

(also a supplementary web art/ARG aspect, using flat digital spaces to create a sense of 3d depth and narrative.)

SUPERPOSEBLOG @superposeblog is the repository for all updates and news about the comic.

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PATREON is where i share most of my work first, early comic pages, WIP, process and thoughts and other resources. it's a direct way to support mine & my partner's work. we are an independent team of two and i'm sure you can appreciate the effort and dedication to managing our practise as well as life obligations. for one-time support, there's also ko-fi. thank you!

i've also begun a new, as of yet unnamed 18+ comic about trans disposability/sapped as a resource + weird blood + nuclear war. so look out for that next year 😘

[mariacallous]

Scan the online brochures of companies who sell workplace monitoring tech and you’d think the average American worker was a renegade poised to take their employer down at the next opportunity. “Nearly half of US employees admit to time theft!” “Biometric readers for enhanced accuracy!” “Offer staff benefits in a controlled way with Vending Machine Access!”

A new wave of return-to-office mandates has arrived since the New Year, including at JP Morgan Chase, leading advertising agency WPP, and Amazon—not to mention President Trump’s late January directive to the heads of federal agencies to “terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to work in-person … on a full-time basis.” Five years on from the pandemic, when the world showed how effectively many roles could be performed remotely or flexibly, what’s caused the sudden change of heart?

“There’s two things happening,” says global industry analyst Josh Bersin, who is based in California. “The economy is actually slowing down, so companies are hiring less. So there is a trend toward productivity in general, and then AI has forced virtually every company to reallocate resources toward AI projects.

“The expectation amongst CEOs is that’s going to eliminate a lot of jobs. A lot of these back-to-work mandates are due to frustration that both of those initiatives are hard to measure or hard to do when we don’t know what people are doing at home.”

The question is, what exactly are we returning to?

Take any consumer tech buzzword of the 21st century and chances are it’s already being widely used across the US to monitor time, attendance and, in some cases, the productivity of workers, in sectors such as manufacturing, retail, and fast food chains: RFID badges, GPS time clock apps, NFC apps, QR code clocking-in, Apple Watch badges, and palm, face, eye, voice, and finger scanners. Biometric scanners have long been sold to companies as a way to avoid hourly workers “buddy punching” for each other at the start and end of shifts—so-called “time theft.” A return-to-office mandate and its enforcement opens the door for similar scenarios for salaried staff.

Track and Trace

The latest, deluxe end point of these time and attendance tchotchkes and apps is something like Austin-headquartered HID’s OmniKey platform. Designed for factories, hospitals, universities and offices, this is essentially an all-encompassing RFID log-in and security system for employees, via smart cards, smartphone wallets, and wearables. These will not only monitor turnstile entrances, exits, and floor access by way of elevators but also parking, the use of meeting rooms, the cafeteria, printers, lockers, and yes, vending machine access.

These technologies, and more sophisticated worker location- and behavior-tracking systems, are expanding from blue-collar jobs to pink-collar industries and even white-collar office settings. Depending on the survey, approximately 70 to 80 percent of large US employers now use some form of employee monitoring, and the likes of PwC have explicitly told workers that managers will be tracking their location to enforce a three-day office week policy.

“Several of these earlier technologies, like RFID sensors and low-tech barcode scanners, have been used in manufacturing, in warehouses, or in other settings for some time,” says Wolfie Christl, a researcher of workplace surveillance for Cracked Labs, a nonprofit based in Vienna, Austria. “We’re moving toward the use of all kinds of sensor data, and this kind of technology is certainly now moving into the offices. However, I think for many of these, it’s questionable whether they really make sense there.”

What’s new, at least to the recent pandemic age of hybrid working, is the extent to which workers can now be tracked inside office buildings. Cracked Labs published a frankly terrifying 25-page case study report in November 2024 showing how systems of wireless networking, motion sensors, and Bluetooth beacons, whether intentionally or as a byproduct of their capabilities, can provide “behavioral monitoring and profiling” in office settings.

The project breaks the tech down into two categories: The first is technology that tracks desk presence and room occupancy, and the second monitors the indoor location, movement, and behavior of the people working inside the building.

To start with desk and room occupancy, Spacewell offers a mix of motion sensors installed under desks, in ceilings, and at doorways in “office spaces” and heat sensors and low-resolution visual sensors to show which desks and rooms are being used. Both real-time and trend data are available to managers via its “live data floorplan,” and the sensors also capture temperature, environmental, light intensity, and humidity data.

The Swiss-headquartered Locatee, meanwhile, uses existing badge and device data via Wi-Fi and LAN to continuously monitor clocking in and clocking out, time spent by workers at desks and on specific floors, and the number of hours and days spent by employees at the office per week. While the software displays aggregate rather than individual personal employee data to company executives, the Cracked Labs report points out that Locatee offers a segmented team analytics report which “reveals data on small groups.”

As more companies return to the office, the interest in this idea of “optimized” working spaces is growing fast. According to S&S Insider’s early 2025 analysis, the connected office was worth $43 billion in 2023 and will grow to $122.5 billion by 2032. Alongside this, IndustryARC predicts there will be a $4.5 billion employee-monitoring-technology market, mostly in North America, by 2026—the only issue being that the crossover between the two is blurry at best.

At the end of January, Logitech showed off its millimeter-wave radar Spot sensors, which are designed to allow employers to monitor whether rooms are being used and which rooms in the building are used the most. A Logitech rep told The Verge that the peel-and-stick devices, which also monitor VOCs, temperature, and humidity, could theoretically estimate the general placement of people in a meeting room.

As Christl explains, because of the functionality that these types of sensor-based systems offer, there is the very real possibility of a creep from legitimate applications, such as managing energy use, worker health and safety, and ensuring sufficient office resources into more intrusive purposes.

“For me, the main issue is that if companies use highly sensitive data like tracking the location of employees’ devices and smartphones indoors or even use motion detectors indoors,” he says, “then there must be totally reliable safeguards that this data is not being used for any other purposes.”

Big Brother Is Watching

This warning becomes even more pressing where workers’ indoor location, movement, and behavior are concerned. Cisco’s Spaces cloud platform has digitized 11 billion square feet of enterprise locations, producing 24.7 trillion location data points. The Spaces system is used by more than 8,800 businesses worldwide and is deployed by the likes of InterContinental Hotels Group, WeWork, the NHS Foundation, and San Jose State University, according to Cisco’s website.

While it has applications for retailers, restaurants, hotels, and event venues, many of its features are designed to function in office environments, including meeting room management and occupancy monitoring. Spaces is designed as a comprehensive, all-seeing eye into how employees (and customers and visitors, depending on the setting) and their connected devices, equipment, or “assets” move through physical spaces.

Cisco has achieved this by using its existing wireless infrastructure and combining data from Wi-Fi access points with Bluetooth tracking. Spaces offers employers both real-time views and historical data dashboards. The use cases? Everything from meeting-room scheduling and optimizing cleaning schedules to more invasive dashboards on employees’ entry and exit times, the duration of staff workdays, visit durations by floor, and other “behavior metrics.” This includes those related to performance, a feature pitched at manufacturing sites.

Some of these analytics use aggregate data, but Cracked Labs details how Spaces goes beyond this into personal data, with device usernames and identifiers that make it possible to single out individuals. While the ability to protect privacy by using MAC randomization is there, Cisco emphasizes that this makes indoor movement analytics “unreliable” and other applications impossible—leaving companies to make that decision themselves.

Management even has the ability to send employees nudge-style alerts based on their location in the building. An IBM application, based on Cisco’s underlying technology, offers to spot anomalies in occupancy patterns and send notifications to workers or their managers based on what it finds. Cisco’s Spaces can also incorporate video footage from Cisco security cameras and WebEx video conferencing hardware into the overall system of indoor movement monitoring; another example of function creep from security to employee tracking in the workplace.

“Cisco is simply everywhere. As soon as employers start to repurpose data that is being collected from networking or IT infrastructure, this quickly becomes very dangerous, from my perspective.” says Christl. “With this kind of indoor location tracking technology based on its Wi-Fi networks, I think that a vendor as major as Cisco has a responsibility to ensure it doesn’t suggest or market solutions that are really irresponsible to employers.

“I would consider any productivity and performance tracking very problematic when based on this kind of intrusive behavioral data.” WIRED approached Cisco for comment but didn’t receive a response before publication.

Cisco isn't alone in this, though. Similar to Spaces, Juniper’s Mist offers an indoor tracking system that uses both Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth beacons to locate people, connected devices, and Bluetooth tagged badges on a real-time map, with the option of up to 13 months of historical data on worker behavior.

Juniper’s offering, for workplaces including offices, hospitals, manufacturing sites, and retailers, is so precise that it is able to provide records of employees’ device names, together with the exact enter and exit times and duration of visits between “zones” in offices—including one labeled “break area/kitchen” in a demo. Yikes.

For each of these systems, a range of different applications is functionally possible, and some which raise labor-law concerns. “A worst-case scenario would be that management wants to fire someone and then starts looking into historical records trying to find some misconduct,” says Christl. "If it’s necessary to investigate employees, then there should be a procedure where, for example, a worker representative is looking into the fine-grained behavioral data together with management. This would be another safeguard to prevent misuse.”

Above and Beyond?

If warehouse-style tracking has the potential for management overkill in office settings, it makes even less sense in service and health care jobs, and American unions are now pushing for more access to data and quotas used in disciplinary action. Elizabeth Anderson, professor of public philosophy at the University of Michigan and the author of Private Government: How Employers Rule Our Lives, describes how black-box algorithm-driven management and monitoring affects not just the day-to-day of nursing staff but also their sense of work and value.

“Surveillance and this idea of time theft, it’s all connected to this idea of wasting time,” she explains. “Essentially all relational work is considered inefficient. In a memory care unit, for example, the system will say how long to give a patient breakfast, how many minutes to get them dressed, and so forth.

“Maybe an Alzheimer’s patient is frightened, so a nurse has to spend some time calming them down, or perhaps they have lost some ability overnight. That’s not one of the discrete physical tasks that can be measured. Most of the job is helping that person cope with declining faculties; it takes time for that, for people to read your emotions and respond appropriately. What you get is massive moral injury with this notion of efficiency.”

This kind of monitoring extends to service workers, including servers in restaurants and cleaning staff, according to a 2023 Cracked Labs’ report into retail and hospitality. Software developed by Oracle is used to, among other applications, rate and rank servers based on speed, sales, timekeeping around breaks, and how many tips they receive. Similar Oracle software that monitors mobile workers such as housekeepers and cleaners in hotels uses a timer for app-based micromanagement—for instance, “you have two minutes for this room, and there are four tasks.”

As Christl explains, this simply doesn’t work in practice. “People have to struggle to combine what they really do with this kind of rigid, digital system. And it��s not easy to standardize work like talking to patients and other kinds of affective work, like how friendly you are as a waiter. This is a major problem. These systems cannot represent the work that is being done accurately.”

But can knowledge work done in offices ever be effectively measured and assessed either? In an episode of his podcast in January, host Ezra Klein battled his own feelings about having many of his best creative ideas at a café down the street from where he lives rather than in The New York Times’ Manhattan offices. Anderson agrees that creativity often has to find its own path.

“Say there’s a webcam tracking your eyes to make sure you’re looking at the screen,” she says. “We know that daydreaming a little can actually help people come up with creative ideas. Just letting your mind wander is incredibly useful for productivity overall, but that requires some time looking around or out the window. The software connected to your camera is saying you’re off-duty—that you’re wasting time. Nobody’s mind can keep concentrated for the whole work day, but you don’t even want that from a productivity point of view.”

Even for roles where it might make more methodological sense to track discrete physical tasks, there can be negative consequences of nonstop monitoring. Anderson points to a scene in Erik Gandini’s 2023 documentary After Work that shows an Amazon delivery driver who is monitored, via camera, for their driving, delivery quotas, and even getting dinged for using Spotify in the van.

“It’s very tightly regulated and super, super intrusive, and it’s all based on distrust as the starting point,” she says. “What these tech bros don’t understand is that if you install surveillance technology, which is all about distrusting the workers, there is a deep feature of human psychology that is reciprocity. If you don’t trust me, I’m not going to trust you. You think an employee who doesn’t trust the boss is going to be working with the same enthusiasm? I don’t think so.”

Trust Issues

The fixes, then, might be in the leadership itself, not more data dashboards. “Our research shows that excessive monitoring in the workplace can damage trust, have a negative impact on morale, and cause stress and anxiety,” says Hayfa Mohdzaini, senior policy and practice adviser for technology at the CIPD, the UK’s professional body for HR, learning, and development. “Employers might achieve better productivity by investing in line manager training and ensuring employees feel supported with reasonable expectations around office attendance and manageable workloads.”

A 2023 Pew Research study found that 56 percent of US workers were opposed to the use of AI to keep track of when employees were at their desks, and 61 percent were against tracking employees’ movements while they work.

This dropped to just 51 percent of workers who were opposed to recording work done on company computers, through the use of a kind of corporate “spyware” often accepted by staff in the private sector. As Josh Bersin puts it, “Yes, the company can read your emails” with platforms such as Teramind, even including “sentiment analysis” of employee messages.

Snooping on files, emails, and digital chats takes on new significance when it comes to government workers, though. New reporting from WIRED, based on conversations with employees at 13 federal agencies, reveals the extent to Elon Musk’s DOGE team’s surveillance: software including Google’s Gemini AI chatbot, a Dynatrace extension, and security tool Splunk have been added to government computers in recent weeks, and some people have felt they can’t speak freely on recorded and transcribed Microsoft Teams calls. Various agencies already use Everfox software and Dtex’s Intercept system, which generates individual risk scores for workers based on websites and files accessed.

Alongside mass layoffs and furloughs over the past four weeks, the so-called Department of Government Efficiency has also, according to CBS News and NPR reports, gone into multiple agencies in February with the theater and bombast of full X-ray security screenings replacing entry badges at Washington, DC, headquarters. That’s alongside managers telling staff that their logging in and out of devices, swiping in and out of workspaces, and all of their digital work chats will be “closely monitored” going forward.

“Maybe they’re trying to make a big deal out of it to scare people right now,” says Bersin. “The federal government is using back-to-work as an excuse to lay off a bunch of people.”

DOGE staff have reportedly even added keylogger software to government computers to track everything employees type, with staff concerned that anyone using keywords related to progressive thinking or "disloyalty” to Trump could be targeted—not to mention the security risks it introduces for those working on sensitive projects. As one worker told NPR, it feels “Soviet-style” and “Orwellian” with “nonstop monitoring.” Anderson describes the overall DOGE playbook as a series of “deeply intrusive invasions of privacy.”

Alternate Realities

But what protections are out there for employees? Certain states, such as New York and Illinois, do offer strong privacy protections against, for example, unnecessary biometric tracking in the private sector, and California’s Consumer Privacy Act covers workers as well as consumers. Overall, though, the lack of federal-level labor law in this area makes the US something of an alternate reality to what is legal in the UK and Europe.

The Electronic Communications Privacy Act in the US allows employee monitoring for legitimate business reasons and with the worker’s consent. In Europe, Algorithm Watch has made country analyses for workplace surveillance in the UK, Italy, Sweden, and Poland. To take one high-profile example of the stark difference: In early 2024, Serco was ordered by the UK's privacy watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), to stop using face recognition and fingerprint scanning systems, designed by Shopworks, to track the time and attendance of 2,000 staff across 38 leisure centers around the country. This new guidance led to more companies reviewing or cutting the technology altogether, including Virgin Active, which pulled similar biometric employee monitoring systems from 30-plus sites.

Despite a lack of comprehensive privacy rights in the US, though, worker protest, union organizing, and media coverage can provide a firewall against some office surveillance schemes. Unions such as the Service Employees International Union are pushing for laws to protect workers from black-box algorithms dictating the pace of output.

In December, Boeing scrapped a pilot of employee monitoring at offices in Missouri and Washington, which was based on a system of infrared motion sensors and VuSensor cameras installed in ceilings, made by Ohio-based Avuity. The U-turn came after a Boeing employee leaked an internal PowerPoint presentation on the occupancy- and headcount-tracking technology to The Seattle Times. In a matter of weeks, Boeing confirmed that managers would remove all the sensors that had been installed to date.

Under-desk sensors, in particular, have received high-profile backlash, perhaps because they are such an obvious piece of surveillance hardware rather than simply software designed to record work done on company machines. In the fall of 2022, students at Northeastern University hacked and removed under-desk sensors produced by EnOcean, offering “presence detection” and “people counting,” that had been installed in the school’s Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Complex. The university provost eventually informed students that the department had planned to use the sensors with the Spaceti platform to optimize desk usage.

OccupEye (now owned by FM: Systems), another type of under-desk heat and motion sensor, received a similar reaction from staff at Barclays Bank and The Telegraph newspaper in London, with employees protesting and, in some cases, physically removing the devices that tracked the time they spent away from their desks.

Despite the fallout, Barclays later faced a $1.1 billion fine from the ICO when it was found to have deployed Sapience’s employee monitoring software in its offices, with the ability to single out and track individual employees. Perhaps unsurprisingly in the current climate, that same software company now offers “lightweight device-level technology” to monitor return-to-office policy compliance, with a dashboard breaking employee location down by office versus remote for specific departments and teams.

According to Elizabeth Anderson’s latest book Hijacked, while workplace surveillance culture and the obsession with measuring employee efficiency might feel relatively new, it can actually be traced back to the invention of the “work ethic” by the Puritans in the 16th and 17th centuries.

“They thought you should be working super hard; you shouldn’t be idling around when you should be in work,” she says. “You can see some elements there that can be developed into a pretty hostile stance toward workers. The Puritans were obsessed with not wasting time. It was about gaining assurance of salvation through your behavior. With the Industrial Revolution, the ‘no wasting time’ became a profit-maximizing strategy. Now you’re at work 24/7 because they can get you on email.”

Some key components of the original work ethic, though, have been skewed or lost over time. The Puritans also had strict constraints on what duties employers had toward their workers: paying a living wage and providing safe and healthy working conditions.

“You couldn’t just rule them tyrannically, or so they said. You had to treat them as your fellow Christians, with dignity and respect. In many ways the original work ethic was an ethic which uplifted workers.”

[braveclementine]

Back in Malibu

Warnings: None

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OC Elizabeth Lightwood. I do not condone any copying of this.

"Wake up, daddy's home." Tony snapped his fingers to bring the computers and lights back to life. He'd gotten back to Malibu in under eight hours. Pumpkin was upstairs, fast asleep so he was taking the advantage to come down into his lab and get to work. It seemed his little soulmate rabbit was jetlagged.

"Welcome home, sir." Jarvis' voice responded through the coms. "Congratulations on the opening ceremonies. They were such a success as was your senate hearing. And may I say how refreshing it is to finally see you in a video with your clothing on, sir?"

Tony laughed until he heard the splashing sounds as the green smoothie was thrown up on the wall instead of into the blender. "You!" The robot knocked the blender completely over.

"I swear to God I'll dismantle you, I'll switch your motherboard and turn you into a wine rack. How many ounces a day of this gargle am I supposed to drink?"

"We are up to 80 ounces a day to counteract the symptoms, sir." He downed the nasty stuff easily.

"Check Palladium levels."

"Blood toxicity, 24%" Jarvis informed him. "It appears that the continued use of the Iron Man suit is accelerating your condition. Another core has been depleted."

Tony sighed as he reached up to remove the new arc reactor from his chest. The palladium levels were getting to high and soon he would be able to counteract them all. Eventually, it would completely poison his system and he'd die. And he'd end up leaving Pumpkin all alone.

He closed his eyes, frustrated. There had to be something he could do.

"God they're running out quick." He commented, taking the fried chip out of the arc reactor.

"I have run simulations on every known element and none can serve as a viable replacement for the pallidum core." Jarvis informed him as Tony opened up the box of palladium chips to replace it. "You are running out of both time and options."

Tony huffed as he shoved the arc reactor back into the container he'd made for it. He kept his shirt up, watching the dark lines surrounding his chest.

"Unfortunately, the device that's keeping you alive, is also killing you. Mrs. Hogan is approaching. I recommend that you inform her of-"

"Mute." He dropped his shirt quickly as he watched Pepper come over to the lab and punch in the code without looking up.

He turned his screens back to his cars quickly and finished off the last of his nasty drink. "Un uh." He said.

"Is this a joke?" She asked. "What are you thinking?"

"What?"

"What are you thinking?!"

"Hey! I'm thinking I'm busy and you're angry about something. Do you have the sniffles? I don't wanna get sick. Keep your distance."

"Did you just donate our entire modern art collection to the-"

"Boy Scouts of America?"

"Yes! It is a-

"Worthwhile organization?" He asked as he walked away from her, snatching one of the visuals out of midair to turn into a pretended piece of crumpled paper and throwing it at a virtual bullseye with fake points. "I didn't physically check the crates but basically yes. And it's not our collection, it's my collection. No offense."

"No, you know what? I think I'm actually entitled to say our collection, considering the time that I've put in over 10 years curating that."

"It's a tax write-off, I needed that."

"You know, there's only about 8,011 things that I really need to talk to you about."

"Hey, Dummy stop now. The Bridgeport's already machining that part." Tony said to the machine as he walked past. He really didn't want to talk to Pepper right now.

"The expo is a gigantic waste of time." Pepper cut him off from the front.

He put his hands on her shoulders and said, "I need you to wear a surgical mask until you're feeling better, is that okay?"

"That's rude."

"There's nothing more important to me than the Expo." Tony continued walking. "It's my primary point of concern. I don't know why you-"

"The Expo is your ego gone crazy." Pepper corrected.

"Wow, look at that." He said, picking out a huge frame with an Iron Man poster in it. He turned his head back to look at Pepper. "That's modern art. That's going up."

"Oh you've got to be kidding me right now." Pepper scoffed.

"I'm gonna put this up right now." Tony replied, completely ignoring her. It didn't matter what he donated or where stuff went. He was going to be dead soon and he was going to make the most of the rest of his- very short- life.

"Stark is in complete disarray. Do you understand that?"

"No! Our stocks have never been higher"

"Yes from a managerial standpoint!"

"Well if it's messy, then let's double back. Let's move on to another subject."

"Oh, no no no, you are not taking down the Barnett Newman and putting that up!" Pepper protested as he went to hop up on the counter to hang the poster up. First, he shoved the vials off the counter so that the glass crashed onto the floorboards.

"I'm not taking it down, I'm just replacing it with this, let's see where I can get it." He stood up on the counter.

"Okay fine. My point is we have already awarded contracts to the windfarm people and to-"

"Don't say windfarm I'm already feel gassy."

"-the Plastic Plantation Tree, which was your idea by the way-"

"Yeah?" He observed the poster that was now hanging on the wall. It looked absolutely amazing.

"Those people are on payroll, and you won't make a decision-"

"Everything was my idea, I don't care about the liberal agenda anymore. It's boring, boring! I'm giving you a boring order, you do it." He hopped down from the counter to land in front of her.

She gave him a quizzical look. "I do what?"

"Excellent idea, I just figured this out. You run the company."

"Yeah, I'm trying to run this company." Pepper pointed out. "Pepper, I need you to run the company." Tony spoke at the same time and then added, "Well stop trying to do it and do it."

"You will not give me the information that I need-"

They overlapped their words, her arguing for him to give her information and for him trying to tell her that she was supposed to run the company now.

"You're not listening to me!"

"You're not listening to me!"

"I'm trying to make you CEO!"

Pepper went silent and Tony added, "Why won't you let me?"

"Have you been drinking?" Pepper asked, a quaver in her voice.

"Uh, chlorophyl." Tony responded, blinking. He stepped forward and took her by the shoulders, "I hereby irrevocably appoint you Chairman and CEO of Stark Industries effective immediately. Yeah, done deal. Okay?"

Pepper stayed silent as he walked over to where one of the robots was coming around with drinks. God, he loved how this lab worked. "Actually, I've given this a fair amount of thought believe it or not. Been doing a bit of headhunting so to speak." He popped the champagne bottle and started to pour glasses, "trying to figure out who a worthy successor would be. And then I realized," The champagne flew into the air in a stream before splashing back down in the tray. "It's you. It's always been you."

Pepper sat down in a chair in silence, to stunned to speak while he poured the glasses. "I thought there'd be a legal issue, but actually I'm um capable of appointing my successor, my successor being you."

He held out a glass of champagne to her. "Congratulations?!"

He was entirely pleased, seeing the shy, shocked smile come out on her face when she realized that he was being serious. Her hand was shaking as she reached for the glass.

"Take it, just take it."

"I don't know what to think." She said, her voice quavering even more as she was overcome by her emotions.

"Don't think, just drink." He added with a wink.

She laughed a little as they clinked their glasses and then added a bit more seriously, "But what about Pumpkin? When she becomes human?"

Tony shrugged, "If she ever wants to run a business, well you'll be CEO and she can talk to you. But I'm thinking more about just taking her to see the world. Spoiling her silly."

If he lived that long. He was glad that they had bonded, but between how long it was taking- he was still just a little frustrated about that in the back of his mind- and his own proclaimed health crisis, he wondered if he'd even get to see what his soulmate looked like as a human.

Animal soulmates whose human partner died before they were transformed back usually didn't last long. And they would be stuck in their animal form for the rest of their lives.

"Well then its a done deal." Pepper said softly, and they drank to it.

🎃 :::::  🧡  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  🧡  ::::: 🎃

You sat on one of the expensive couches, watching Tony who was wearing all black, spar against Happy in his gear. You were fairly content to simply half-watch really, flopped over on your side in a patch of sun. Your eyes were mostly closed, but you could hear heels coming down the hallway. Pepper had already entered and you hadn't thought there was another lady in the house- unless it was a man wearing heels- and you sat up straight to see a gorgeous red head walking down the stairs with a contract in her hands.

Your nose twitched in irritation. There was a predatory scent about her and once catching the edge of a tattoo on her upper arm that was not a name, you knew she'd been an animal soulmate as well. In this case however, it was clear she had been a predator. You sniffed the air again. Fox maybe?

"I promise you this is the only time I will ask you to sign over your company." Pepper called out, trying to get Tony to get out of the boxing ring and sign over the company.

He had already told you what he was doing and you thought it was a great idea. It would free up more of his time than already and Pepper seemed like a good successor.

Happy kindly hit Tony in the head as he still hadn't taken his eyes off the red head, which was just slightly irking you. But you pushed it back. Tony had done an exceptional job at staying loyal to you. A pretty red head probably wouldn't change that.

Tony kicked Happy in the stomach hard so that he crashed against the edge of the boxing arena. You got to your paws, stretching, then bounded up to the edge of the couch to be a little higher.

"What's your name lady?" Tony called out.

"Rushman. Natalie Rushman." The red head replied.

"Front and center, come to the church." Tony replied.

"No, you're seriously not going to-" Pepper protested.

"If it please the court, which it does- "

"It's not problem."

"I'm sorry. He's very eccentric." Pepper apologized.

Natalie climbed into the boxing arena and you watched with the grace of which she moved. Yes, she had definitely been a fox. Your eyes narrowed in, disliking her even more.

They stared at each other for way to long. You glanced over to Pepper who gave you an apologetic look.

"What?" Tony finally asked. His back was to you so you couldn't see what sort of face he was making. He looked over at Happy and said, "Can you give her a lesson?"

"No problem." Happy responded which made Pepper roll her eyes in exasperation.

Tony climbed out of the boxing ring to go and sit in the same seat as Pepper. They talked in undertone to each other and you kept your back on Tony to show your anger and decided to watch Natalie and Happy instead.

"You ever boxed before?" Happy asked.

"Yes, I have." Natalie responded.

"Like Tae Bo, booty boot camp, crunch, something like that?" Happy asked.

"How do we spell your name, Natalie?" Tony called out across the room.

"R-U-S-H-M-A-N." She responded.

Tony immediately turned to his tablet and you sunk into the couch, knowing he was probably googling her. You couldn't help but overhear him rattling off all the languages she could speak and that she was a model in Tokyo. Well if you ever needed a confidence deflator, just put yourself in the company of Natalie Rushman.

Natalie was looking over her shoulder at Tony and Happy took this as the advantage to say, "Rule number one: Never taken your eye off your opponent." He went to throw a soft punch at her.

Before he could even get close, she grabbed his hand with lightning speed, somehow got her legs around his neck, and slammed him to the floor with a loud thud. It was over in the blink of an eye.

"OH MY GOD!" Pepper shrieked, leaping to her feet. "HAPPY!"

You got to your paws, hopping down from the couch. Well, there was no way you were staying in this room now. She had everything.

You padded out of the room to go and find some food.

[virtualizationhowto]

Enhanced vMotion Compatibility VM Migration in VMware Environments

Enhanced vMotion Compatibility VM Migration in VMware Environments - Learn about EVC mode, configuration, limitations #vmwarevsphere #vmwareevc #enhancedvmotion #vmmigration #virtualmachinemigration #homelab #homeserver

VMware has one of the coolest technologies in something called Enhanced vMotion Compatibility. It helps ensure that you can migrate virtual machines across different hosts with differen CPU generation configurations. With the enhanced vMotion compatibility feature, organizations can keep their CPU features consistent across all hosts in the cluster, even with dissimilar hosts. Let’s look at how…

[healthcaremarketanalysis]

Revolutionizing Healthcare: The Role of Cloud Computing in Modern Healthcare Technologies

In today’s digital era, cloud computing is transforming industries, and healthcare is no exception. The integration of cloud computing healthcare technologies is reshaping patient care, medical research, and healthcare management. Let’s explore how cloud computing is revolutionizing healthcare and the benefits it brings.

What is Cloud Computing in Healthcare?

Cloud computing in healthcare refers to the use of remote servers to store, manage, and process healthcare data, rather than relying on local servers or personal computers. This technology allows healthcare organizations to access vast amounts of data, collaborate with other institutions, and scale operations seamlessly.

Download PDF Brochure

Key Benefits of Cloud Computing in Healthcare

Enhanced Data Storage and Accessibility Cloud technology allows healthcare providers to store massive volumes of patient data, including medical records, images, and test results, securely. Clinicians can access this data from anywhere, ensuring that patient information is available for timely decision-making.

Improved Collaboration Cloud-based healthcare platforms enable easy sharing of patient data between healthcare providers, specialists, and labs. This facilitates better collaboration and more accurate diagnoses and treatment plans, especially in multi-disciplinary cases.

Cost Efficiency The cloud reduces the need for expensive hardware, software, and in-house IT teams. Healthcare providers only pay for the resources they use, making it a cost-effective solution. Additionally, the scalability of cloud systems ensures they can grow as healthcare organizations expand.

Better Data Security Protecting sensitive patient information is critical in healthcare. Cloud computing providers invest heavily in data security measures such as encryption, multi-factor authentication, and regular audits, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards like HIPAA.

Telemedicine and Remote Patient Monitoring Cloud computing powers telemedicine platforms, allowing patients to consult with doctors virtually, from the comfort of their homes. It also enables remote patient monitoring, where doctors can track patients' health metrics in real time, improving outcomes for chronic conditions.

Advanced Data Analytics The cloud supports the integration of advanced data analytics tools, including artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), which can analyze large datasets to predict health trends, track disease outbreaks, and personalize treatment plans based on individual patient data.

Use Cases of Cloud Computing in Healthcare

Electronic Health Records (EHRs): Cloud-based EHRs allow healthcare providers to access and update patient records instantly, improving the quality of care.

Genomics and Precision Medicine: Cloud computing accelerates the processing of large datasets in genomics, supporting research and development in personalized medicine.

Hospital Information Systems (HIS): Cloud-powered HIS streamline hospital operations, from patient admissions to billing, improving efficiency.

Challenges in Cloud Computing for Healthcare

Despite its numerous benefits, there are challenges to implementing cloud computing in healthcare. These include:

Data Privacy Concerns: Although cloud providers offer robust security measures, healthcare organizations must ensure their systems are compliant with local and international regulations.

Integration with Legacy Systems: Many healthcare institutions still rely on outdated technology, making it challenging to integrate cloud solutions smoothly.

Staff Training: Healthcare professionals need adequate training to use cloud-based systems effectively.

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The Future of Cloud Computing in Healthcare

The future of healthcare will be increasingly cloud-centric. With advancements in AI, IoT, and big data analytics, cloud computing will continue to drive innovations in personalized medicine, population health management, and patient care. Additionally, with the growing trend of wearable devices and health apps, cloud computing will play a crucial role in integrating and managing data from diverse sources to provide a comprehensive view of patient health.

Conclusion

Cloud computing is not just a trend in healthcare; it is a transformative force driving the industry towards more efficient, secure, and patient-centric care. As healthcare organizations continue to adopt cloud technologies, we can expect to see improved patient outcomes, lower costs, and innovations that were once thought impossible.

Embracing cloud computing in healthcare is essential for any organization aiming to stay at the forefront of medical advancements and patient care.

Content Source:

[animeking114]

Top 7 Anime like Dr. Stone

Dr. Stone Science Future season has finally begun. The final season of sci-fi adventure begins with the epic journey of Senku Ishigami. Dr. Stone Science is one of the best anime series in the last decade and there is no sci-fi anime that can surpass its quality. Also you can check the Dr. Stone Science Future release schedule. Let us see the best sci-fi anime series like Dr. Stone.

The Promised Neverland

- Genre - Dark Fantasy, Sci-fi - Episodes - 23 The Promised Neverland directed by Mamoru Kanbe is an intriguing adventure based on Kaiu Shirai's manga series which sold more than 44 million copies. The story is set in the future world where three orphan kids who are cursed by a monster find ways to survive. On the other hand, the never ending battle between Humans and Monsters is a major threat to the world. An agreement called "The Promise" is the only hope to save the world from evil. The Promised Neverland anime series is all about the battle between demons and humans.

Uninhabited Planet Survive

- Genre - Sci-fi - Episodes - 52 The Uninhabited Planet Survive takes place in the 22nd century where humans struggle to live on Earth. Luna, a young girl from Mars plays the lead role. During a school trip, Luna and her gang are teleported to another planet. As the story moves, Luna, her robot cat, and friends survive against threats to return home. The Uninhabited Planet Survive is directed by Yuichiro Yano and it's an original TV anime. Uninhabited Planet Survive is inspired by locations and characters of Dr. Stone, and it is one of the best sci-fi anime of all time.

Steins Gate

- Genre - Psychological, Sci-fi, Thriller - Episodes - 24 Steins Gate is an adaptation of the novel series of the same name. The story takes place in different timelines in 2010 in Akihabara in Tokyo. Rintaro Okabe, a self-proclaimed scientist plays the lead role who runs a Lab with his friends. Okabe works on a time travel project and he finds a strange person who is murdered. When Rintaro Okabe informs one of his friends about the murder, he is shocked to find the strange man alive. Okabe's friend is killed when an organization tries to steal their time machine. As the story moves, Okabe tries to save his friends and change the future through the time machine.

Blast Of Tempest

- Genre - Dark Fantasy, Mystery - Episodes - 24 The Blast of Tempest anime is all about two friends who solve the mystery behind a murder. Mahiro Fuwa and Yoshino Takigawa are high school students. One day, Fuwa's stepsister, Aika Fuwa, killed in a mysterious way. As the story moves, Mahiro Fuwa meets the mage and leader of a clan, Hakaze Kusaribe, who is trapped on a deserted island. Fuwa asks Hakaze Kusaribe to find the mystery behind the murder, but his friend finds the clan's goal to awaken the "Tree of Exodus" which is a threat to the world. In the end, the friends manage to find the murder of Aika Fuwa and also stop the curse.

Serial Experiments Lain

- Genre - Psychological horror, Techno-horror, Cyberpunk - Episodes - 13 - Streaming Networks - Crunchyroll Serial Experiments Lain is a mysterious series that follows the journey of a high school girl, Lain. She is a young and introverted girl whose life changes when one of her friends loses her physical form, and starts sending cryptic texts to everyone in the school. Lain's friend is caught in a virtual realm world and the story travels after incidents from this world. Serial Experiments Lain is directed by Ryūtarō Nakamura and the anime is adapted into a video game.

Appare-Ranman!

- Genre - Historical, Adventure - Episodes - 13 The Appare-Ranman! is one of the best anime like Dr. Stone. It is set in the Meiji era. Appare Sorano, plays the role of the son of a Sorano merchant family who aspires to travel all over the world. Appare Sorano embarks on an adventure, but he is trapped by the Samurai Kosame Isshiki near the sea. Both struggle to find ways to return to Japan and things change when they find a ship. Appare Sorano and Kosame Isshiki land in Los Angeles without money. They find the Trans-America Wild Race and decide to fight against their rivals before finding ways to reach Japan.

Astra Lost in Space

- Genre - Sci-fi - Episodes - 12 - Streaming Networks - Amazon Prime Video, Crunchyroll Astra Lost in Space is an incredible sci-fi anime series. The story takes place in the future world in the year 2063 where humans travel to other planets. Astra Lost in Space is all about the journey of students who travel to McPa planet for a camp. When the students land on the planet, they are attacked by a sphere of light. All nine students start floating in different parts of the outer space where they also find an abandoned spacecraft. The students are stranded on a planet which is 5012 years away from their home planet and they decide to use the Astra ship to reach home. Read the full article

[queen-of-the-avengers]

Iron Man: Part Seven

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader (implicitly)

Word Count: ~1.7k

Warnings: canon violence and angst

Author’s Note: any and all comments are appreciated <3

x

It takes another ten days for Tony to build the rest of the suit. He's been spending all his time in his lab working nonstop with you helping him. Granted, he's doing most of the work but you're here as moral support as well. Tony had to build the suit in stages instead of as one big project so he can assemble it and dismember it as he pleases.

For someone who has never done this before, he's doing white well for himself. Tony connected the two arms, both palm repulsors, and both boots together to work simultaneously without problems, and he's ready for another test.

"Day Eleven, test thirty-seven, configuration 2.0. For lack of a better option, Dum-E is still on fire safety. If you douse me again and I'm not on fire, I'm donating you to a city college." You chuckle in amusement. "Alright, I'm gonna start off with a one percent thrust capacity. Three, two one."

Tony fires up the suit and hovers a foot over the ground, making sure to keep steady in one place.

"It seems to be working," you say.

Tony sways from left to right as he tries to get used to moving about, and Dum-E follows him with the fire extinguisher hose just in case he erupts into flames mid-flight. Tony gently sets himself back on the ground with a smile on his face.

"Okay, don't follow me around with it because I feel like I'm gonna catch on fire spontaneously. Just stand down! If something happens, then come in. Again, Jarvis. Bring it up to two and a half percent." Jarvis ups the thruster capabilities. "Three, two, one."

Instead of one foot above the ground, he goes at least ten feet. He has a harder time trying to stay in one place, so he's moving all across the room trying to gain control. He flies over to his precious cars, and he laughs nervously.

"Okay, this is where I don't want to be! Not the car, not the car!"

"Turn right!"

"If I could turn right, don't you think I would have turned right?" he snaps out of frustration. He moves away from the cars and over to his workstation, and the power coming from his boots is enough to make papers go flying everywhere. "It could be worse! We're fine!" Tony flies over to the spot where he first started and finally gains control over where he wants to be. He lowers himself to the ground and loses balance but quickly regains it. Dum-E raises the fire extinguisher hose at Tony, but Tony is way ahead of him. "No! No!"

"You did amazing!" you gasp and bounce over to him.

"Yeah, I can fly."

"You're just like me now," you laugh.

"It's time for the real thing."

"Are you sure?"

"Never been more sure in my entire life. Help me, please."

"Jarvis, you heard the man. Get the rest of the suit ready."

"Yes, ma'am," the computer system says.

Many machines begin putting the suit together over Tony's body so there is nothing left of him that isn't sealed inside. The last thing to go is the mask, and you grab it and hand it to him. You grab one of the Bluetooth headphones and slide it into your ear so you can hear and speak to Jarvis without having to be in the suit with Tony. You won't be able to see what he sees, but all you need is to be able to hear.

"Engage Heads Up Display," Tony says.

"Check."

"Import all preferences from the home interface."

"Will do, sir. I have indeed been uploaded. We're online and ready."

"Can you start the virtual walk-around?"

"Importing preferences and calibrating a virtual environment."

"Do a check on control surfaces."

"As you wish."

Tony's suit starts to flex and move so Jarvis can make sure everything is in working order.

"Test complete. Preparing to power down and begin diagnostics."

"Tell you what. Do a weather and ATC check. Start listening in on ground control."

"Sir, there are still terabytes of calculations needed before an actual flight is—"

"Jarvis! Sometimes you got to run before you can walk," Tony grins.

"You're taking her out on a test run?" you ask.

"You want to come with me?"

"Jarvis, I'll make sure he's fine," you nod with a smile.

"Ready? In three, two, one."

Tony flies into the air and shoots toward the long tunnel that leads out of the garage. You quickly fly after him and keep up with his speed to make sure nothing goes wrong. Tony cheers from within the suit at the feeling this rush is giving him. There is a festival going on in town that has lots of kid rides and a Ferris Wheel, and you two fly by it to observe them at the height you're at.

"Are you doing okay?" you ask and fly beside him.

"This handles like a dream! Let's see what this thing can do. What's SR-71's record?" Tony asked Jarvis.

"The altitude record for fixed-wing flight is eight-five thousand feet, sir."

"Records are made to be broken! Come on!"

Tony changes directions and shoots straight into the sky. He wants to see how high he can go without shutting down. If anything were to go wrong, you'd be able to catch him and keep him safe, but you still worry about him. You'll be able to catch him if he shuts down, but you can't exactly heal his injuries if he gets hurt.

"Tony, please be careful," you warn.

The higher Tony flies, the more ice builds up on the surface of the suit.

"Sir, there is a potentially fatal buildup of ice occurring," Jarvis stutters.

"Keep going! Higher!" Tony urges.

"Tony! There is a lot of ice!" you warn.

The higher he goes, the more the controls flicker on and off. It gets to the point where Tony's entire suit shortens out so he can no longer talk to you and Jarvis. Tony hovers in the air for half a second before free-falling back down to Earth's surface.

"Tony!" you gasp. The ice isn't going to come off on its own, so you use your hydrokinesis to melt the ice so it's no longer an issue for him. You fly in front of Tony and grab his arms to keep him steady. His eyes are the only things you see, and he looks worried. "Don't worry, Tony, I got you."

The closer he gets to the ground without coming back online, the more worried you get. You're about to use your aerokinesis to fly him to safety when his entire suit comes back online. His laughter fills the air as he's able to take control back. Right before he hits the ground, he zooms past the cars who swerve to avoid hitting him.

"You're insane!" you shout.

"Tell me something I don't know." You two make your way back to his house, and he hovers a foot above the rooftop. "Kill power."

Jarvis immediately cuts all power to the suit, and Tony expects to land gracefully onto his roof. Instead, he crashed through the ground into the room where his piano is and down to the basement where his cars and lab are.

"Tony!" you gasp and fly down using the same hole he created. He's landed on one of his precious cars, and Dum-E thinks he needs to jump in. He starts spraying Tony with the fire extinguisher. "Are you okay?"

"Ouch," he groans.

"There are two things you need to work on. Ice build-up and landing more gracefully."

"Help me up."

It takes Tony twice as long to get the suit off him than it did to put it on him. He's got some work cut out for him to make this a lot easier in the future. Tony has an ice pack on his head from when he crashed into his car that will easily heal if he takes some time to rest. You walk past one of his tables and notice the brown package that Pepper brought in more than a week ago. Tony hasn't had time to look at it mainly because he's been so busy working.

"This is for you," you say when you see a note 'From Pepper' on the top. "What do you think it is?"

Instead of answering you, he opens the package. Inside is a glass container with the old arc reactor that you replaced. It sits on a pedestal surrounded by the words "PROOF THAT TONY STARK HAS A HEART" all around it. You can't help but notice the small smile on his face. She has a crush on him and based on this reaction, he feels the same. They're good for each other. Who else would do this for him if they didn't have feelings for him?

"Man, she must really like you," you comment.

"Yeah," he whispers.

He sets the container down and goes about his business. You bite your lower lip to stop yourself from smiling too much and join his side at his computer. There are a total of six computers surrounding Tony with two in the front and flour behind him. You take the remote and turn the TV on to see what's happening in the news right now.

"Notes. The main transducer feels sluggish at plus forty altitudes. Hull pressurization is problematic. I'm thinking icing is the probable factor," Tony says to Jarvis.

"A very astute observation, sir. Perhaps, if you intend to visit other planets, we should improve the exosystem."

"Connect to the system and have it reconfigure the shell metals. Use the gold titanium alloy from the Seraphim tactical satellite. That should ensure fuselage integrity while maintaining the power-to-weight ratio. Got it?"

"Yes. Shall I render using the proposed specifications?"

"Thrill me," he mutters.

There is a benefit for the Firefighter Family's Fund at Disney's Concert Hall, and that's the station you stopped at.

"Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society," the female announcer says.

"Jarvis, did we get an invite for that?" you wonder.

"I have no record of an invitation, ma'am."

"He and Y/N haven't been seen in public since their bizarre and highly controversial press conference. Some claim Tony and Y/N are suffering from posttraumatic stress and have been bedridden for weeks. Whatever the case may be, no one expects an appearance from them tonight."

"The render is complete," Jarvis announces and shows the finished product.

"A little ostentatious, don't you think?"

"What was I thinking? You're usually so discreet," Jarvis says sarcastically.

"You know what would look good? A little red in there. I bet Pepper likes the color red."

"You heard the lady, Jarvis," Tony chuckles.

"Yes, that should help you keep a low profile." Jarvis paints the suit on the computer. "The render is complete."

"Hey, I like it. Fabricate it. Paint it."

"Commencing automated assembly. Estimated completion time is five hours."

"Would you like to go to a party?" Tony asks you.

"I thought you'd never ask."

"Don't wait up for me, honey," Tony says to Jarvis.

x

Follow my library blog @aqueenslibrary​​​​​​ where I reblog all my stories, so you can put notifications on there without the extra stuff :)

[oudelinc]

How does Remote Desktop Services work?

Basically, when Remote Desktop Services has been implemented, it runs on a Windows server – the host – that powers the operating system and applications running on top of it. It creates a virtual desktop that it then projects on the clients’ devices using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). It then proceeds to capture mouse and keyboard inputs from the clients’ devices and sends them back to the server for further actions or responses.

The ten benefits of using Remote Desktop Services

Leverage legacy devices

Businesses can use or recycle their older computers – they can use their less-capable computers and yet work using the latest technologies. As long as there is a browser and a stable Internet (or LAN) connection, the clients’ endpoints will perform as well as the latest devices, no matter how old the devices may be. Of course, some minimum requirements still need to be met.

Enable workers

The ability to access the latest technology means the users will be able to perform better at their assigned tasks. Arming personnel with the right tools results in a more efficient, accurate, and informed workforce. This translates into healthy profits for the businesses employing them.

Remote work

Apart from being efficient, the users will also be able to work from home – or anywhere else they may prefer to work from. It makes the employees happy while assuring the business that productivity will not be interrupted because of, say, COVID 19 restrictions. Businesses save on overhead and maintenance of physical structures like buildings and offices.

Central storage of data

Remote connection plus platforms like AWS, Azure or GCP create the perfect cloud computing environment that also includes centralized storage in the architecture. There are many advantages here, including:Should a user lose data there will always be a copy stored in the cloud A secure storage service provided by a professional data hosting company No need for businesses to run their own server rooms hire the tech knowhow to maintain it The technology behind these storages means read/write processes are also quick and accurate

The currency of technology is guaranteed

All software and hardware that is shared by the desktop services providers are kept current, updated, and secured. The administrators can provide the best and latest solutions on the market – sometimes at a fraction of the licensing costs it would take to install them individually on the clients’ side. A central update strategy ensures all users have the latest solutions to work on.

Security is guaranteed too

The currency of technology also includes the security systems protecting the entire service providers’ infrastructures. This means the software – like antiviruses, anti-malware, peripheral defense systems, data monitoring tools, and every other software – used to keep data, devices, and networks safe are always current and centrally updated.

Easy scalability

Data and processing power requirements increase in proportion to a business’ growth rate. And, should they require more resources to cater to a higher quota of resources – or even due to sudden surges during peak hours, for example – it is easy to quickly scale the current resources to meet the demands.

In fact, most service providers can scale their services with a few clicks.

It is cheaper

When a business adopts RDS its IT budget will almost always get smaller. They don’t have to worry about upgrades for software or hardware, licensing issues aren’t as costly, there is no need to keep buying or upgrading to newer versions of the latest technologies, and there is also no need for a server room or an IT lab. All of these features are handled by the service provider.

The ability to use any operating system or device

The clients don’t have to all be using Windows to connect to the RDS server. There is no need for conformity – the client can have a Linux machine and use their browsers to connect to the RDS web services. And they can even do it from their Android or iOS mobile devices.

Local administrators have full control

Finally, we come to the main reason most businesses opt for remote desktop services – full control over all computers, servers, and workspaces. Administrators can share resources that they deem important to each user, and nothing more. They decide who accesses what and can easily add or remove or applications.

[cuprohastes]

“Hey, in this book about capitalism and nationalism breaking down into a giant shitshow where billionaires are treating human beings like machines, I’m creating a massive online world where people who have ended up living in shipping crates can hang out in their virtual Barbie Dream Homes between dead end jobs.”

Linden labs totally missing the point: 😃

huh. so i just found out "Torment Nexus" was invented for that one specific meme. i genuinely thought it was from an Orson Scott Welles novel. my ignorance is an unending source of surprise and delight