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The Perils of 'Design Thinking'

On the first day of a required class for freshman design majors at Carnegie Mellon, my professor stood in front of a lecture hall of earnest, nervous undergraduates and asked, “Who here thinks that design can change the world?” Several hands shot up, including mine. After a few seconds of silence, he advanced to the next slide of his presentation: a poster by the designer Frank Chimero that read, Design won’t save the world. Go volunteer at a soup kitchen, you pretentious fuck. My professor was

We ran a Unix-like OS Xv6 on our home-built CPU with a home-built C compiler (2020)

How we ran a Unix-like OS (Xv6) on our home-built CPU with our home-built C compiler [Thanks for many comments and votes on Hacker News! ] It’s been two years since I started working as a software engineer. I sometimes tell my colleagues about a student project I did in my junior year of university, and it’s so well-received that I’m writing this post. Now, let me ask you a question. Have you ever designed your own ISA, built a processor of that ISA on FPGA, and built a compiler for it? Furth

Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 29, #749

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Today's NYT Connections puzzle could be tough. There's a very 1980s phrase in it and I had no idea where to put it. Even now, I'm going to have to Google it within its category to find out what it means. (It's this.) Read on for clues and today's Connections answers. The

Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 29, #279

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles. Today's Connections: Sports Edition might be tough. But all you Hoosiers will nail the yellow category, I think. Read on for hints and the answers. Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 9. That's a sign that the game has earned enough loya

Are portable AC units viable at home? My verdict after testing one during a heat wave

ZDNET's key takeaways The EcoFlow Wave 3 is a portable air conditioner and heater that costs $1,299 on its own and $1,399 with a battery, a limited-time discount This is a portable air conditioner and heater that is more powerful than its predecessor It is also off-grid ready for camping, RVing, and even helping in a pinch.The Wave 3 is pricey, loud in some settings, and is not as efficient in extreme heat, direct sun, or tent camping. $1,299 at Amazon Many parts of the US are sizzling right

We ran a Unix-like OS Xv6 on our home-built CPU with a home-built C compiler

How we ran a Unix-like OS (Xv6) on our home-built CPU with our home-built C compiler [Thanks for many comments and votes on Hacker News! ] It’s been two years since I started working as a software engineer. I sometimes tell my colleagues about a student project I did in my junior year of university, and it’s so well-received that I’m writing this post. Now, let me ask you a question. Have you ever designed your own ISA, built a processor of that ISA on FPGA, and built a compiler for it? Furth

Tired of Prime Video Ads? How to Ditch Them for Good

Amazon rolled out advertisements in Prime Video content for customers in the US in January 2024. Since then, it has reportedly increased the ad load. If you're reading this, you might be missing the commercial-free days of yore. Whether you're accessing Prime Video through an Amazon Prime membership ($15 a month or $139 a year) or a $9-a-month standalone Prime Video membership, you can remove ads on movies and TV shows for an extra $3 a month. Amazon notes if you pay for no commercials, "some c

ICE Rolls Facial Recognition Tools Out to Officers' Phones

WIRED published a shocking investigation this week based on records, including audio recordings, of hundreds of emergency calls from United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. The calls—which include reports of incidents of staff sexual assaults, suicide attempts, and head injuries—indicate a system inundated by life-threatening incidents, delayed treatment, and overcrowding. In a 6-3 decision on Friday, the US Supreme Court upheld a Texas porn ID law, finding th

‘The Old Guard 2’ Cast on Making a Sequel That Bleeds, Thinks, and Fights Harder

On July 2, Netflix and Skydance will finally unleash The Old Guard 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2020 action hit starring Charlize Theron as an immortal warrior protecting humanity. Ahead of the release, io9 caught up with returning stars KiKi Layne, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Marwan Kenzari, as well as franchise newcomer Henry Golding (Crazy Rich Asians, Snake Eyes), to talk about stepping back into the brutal, secretive world of the Image Comics universe and what it took to bring its next chapt

Normalizing Flows Are Capable Generative Models

Normalizing Flows (NFs) are likelihood-based models for continuous inputs. They have demonstrated promising results on both density estimation and generative modeling tasks, but have received relatively little attention in recent years. In this work, we demonstrate that NFs are more powerful than previously believed. We present TarFlow: a simple and scalable architecture that enables highly performant NF models. TarFlow can be thought of as a Transformer-based variant of Masked Autoregressive Fl

Today's NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for June 28, #278

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles. Today's Connections: Sports Edition has some oddball categories that I wouldn't really consider sports. They're more like games, and hobbies or leisure activities. But you get the idea. Read on for hints and the answers. Connections: Sports Edition is out of beta now, making its debut on Supe

Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 28, #748

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Today's NYT Connections puzzle could be tough. Just remember, sometimes last names can disguise themselves as regular nouns. Read on for clues and today's Connections answers. The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive

TikTok is testing its own version of Instagram’s ‘broadcast channels’

TikTok is testing a new messaging tool called “bulletin boards,” the social network confirmed to TechCrunch on Friday. The feature lets brands and creators share public, one-to-many messages to their followers. Bulletin boards are pretty similar to Instagram’s broadcast channels feature that launched in 2023. Just like with broadcast channels on Instagram, only the creator of a bulletin board can post messages, and followers are limited to leaving emoji reactions. Bulletin boards support text,

You can now mute words just on Threads, and even set a 30-day timer

It looks like Meta is finally treating Threads as its own app, rather than just an Instagram sidekick. After rolling out a standalone DMs system, Threads is now getting its own mute lists, along with something new (and very welcome): temporary filters that expire automatically. No Instagram strings attached In a post this week, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced a revamped “Hidden Words” feature for Threads that includes its own independent word filters. Until now, muting a word on Threads

Best Grills for 2025: We Tested Dozens to Find the Best Grill in Every Category

We use thermocouples linked to computer software to measure internal grill temperatures. Brian Bennett/CNET We test the main types of grills differently, but for most, we include a high-heat test like searing steak or grilling burgers, a medium, indirect heat test like grilling a whole chicken for more than an hour and a low-and-slow test with racks of ribs. With over 30 grills tested, we've got this down to a tee. To determine what should be the best outdoor barbecue grill, we collect data inc

Shark FlexStyle Multi-Styler Is Now Over 2x Cheaper Than the Dyson Airwrap, Stock Is Running Out Fast

If you’ve ever tried to recreate a salon-style blowout at home and ended up with sore arms, frizzy strands, or a drawer full of half-used hair tools, you’re not alone. Getting professional-looking results without the help of a stylist can be tricky, especially when you’re working with multiple hot tools, tangled cords, and limited time. Honestly? At some point, you decide to head back to the salon and have a stylist finish what you started because it’s so annoying to deal with. But that’s why ha

Anker’s Upgraded Portable Power Station Hits Its Lowest Price of the Year Ahead of Amazon Prime Day

It’s a lovely time of year to be outdoors. The weather is nice, the vibes are on point, and there’s no denying the appeal of a good long walk, a day at the beach, or just hanging out in the forest. However, just because you’re going back to nature doesn’t mean you have to do away with all of the lovely modern conveniences, and that’s where a great portable power station comes in. See at Amazon Thanks to a great deal on Amazon right now, you can get your hands on the excellent Anker 521 Portabl

Low-income broadband fund can keep running, says Supreme Court

is a senior policy reporter at The Verge, covering the intersection of Silicon Valley and Capitol Hill. She spent 5 years covering tech policy at CNBC, writing about antitrust, privacy, and content moderation reform. The Supreme Court ruled that the funding mechanism behind a key broadband subsidy program for schools and underserved areas can continue operating. In a decision issued on Friday, the Supreme Court rejected claims that Congress and the FCC’s implementation of the fund is unconstitu

My air conditioner broke during a heat wave - and this portable AC saved the day

ZDNET's key takeaways The EcoFlow Wave 3 is a portable air conditioner and heater that costs $1,299 on its own and $1,399 with a battery, a limited-time discount This is a portable air conditioner and heater that is more powerful than its predecessor It is also off-grid ready for camping, RVing, and even helping in a pinch.The Wave 3 is pricey, loud in some settings, and is not as efficient in extreme heat, direct sun, or tent camping. $1,299 at Amazon Many parts of the US are sizzling right

No One Is in Charge at the US Copyright Office

It’s a tumultuous time for copyright in the United States, with dozens of potentially economy-shaking AI copyright lawsuits winding through the courts. It’s also the most turbulent moment in the US Copyright Office’s history. Described as “sleepy” in the past, the Copyright Office has taken on new prominence during the AI boom, issuing key rulings about AI and copyright. It also hasn’t had a leader in more than a month. In May, Copyright Register Shira Perlmutter was abruptly fired by email by

Threads now has a better word filter than Instagram

Threads has taken another step towards decoupling from Instagram by introducing its own word blocking filters. Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced on Thursday that the Hidden Words setting on Threads includes “newly added custom filters to block words, phrases, and emojis in batches, with optional time limits.” A previous version of Hidden Words was tied to Instagram, meaning you could only mute the same words and phrases across both platforms. This change enables users to tailor what they wa

Fault Tolerant Llama training – PyTorch blog

Collaborators: Less Wright, Howard Huang, Chien-Chin Huang, Crusoe: Martin Cala, Ethan Petersen tl;dr: we used torchft and torchtitan to train a model in a real-world environment with extreme synthetic failure rates to prove reliability and correctness of fault tolerant training Training loss across 1200 failures with no checkpoints. NOTE: Each small spike is a non-participating worker recovering which affects the metrics but not the model Introduction We want to demonstrate torchft in wo

Today's NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 27, #747

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today's Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles. Today's NYT Connections puzzle has a fun blue category. It made me happily remember a PBS show of my youth. Read on for clues and today's Connections answers. The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score

Best Internet Providers in Grand Rapids, Michigan

What is the best internet provider in Grand Rapids? CNET recommends AT&T Fiber as the best internet service provider in Grand Rapids thanks to its wide availability and symmetrical upload and download speeds. It's a great choice for avid gamers or if you do a lot of video conferencing. There are no hidden fees or data caps. Plans start at $55 and go up to $245 per month for the 5-gig plan. However, there are other options to consider, too. Look to Xfinity if you want an affordable internet ser

Threads now lets you manage Hidden Words separately from Instagram, set time limits

Threads, Meta’s competitor to X, now has its own Hidden Words setting that operates separately from Instagram. The feature allows you to filter out posts that contain words, phrases, or emojis you don’t want to see in feeds, search, profiles, and replies. Previously, Hidden Words was tied to Instagram, so the filters that you entered would be applied to content on both platforms. Now, you can create a separate list of Hidden Words on Threads to further personalize the content that you see on th

AI usage is stalling out at work from lack of education and support

Deagreez / Getty Images A new survey of enterprise use of artificial intelligence released Thursday by the Boston Consulting Group shows the technology has stalled in its deployment, and the most-hyped new area, "agents," has seen low adoption within companies so far. The obstacles to greater AI usage are primarily a lack of training, limited access to tools, and insufficient encouragement from management, the group states. These obstacles are raising concerns about job loss and lack of oversi

AMD demo shows procedural generation slashing VRAM use from 35 GB to just 51 KB

Why it matters: Managing graphics memory has become one of the most pressing challenges facing the realm of real-time 3D rendering. As visuals become more detailed, the amount of VRAM required for modern high-end games is pushing against what average customers can afford. AMD and Nvidia are currently developing remedies to the issue, which involve shifting certain rendering tasks from memory to the GPU. A new research paper from AMD explains how procedurally generating certain 3D objects in rea

Meta admits wrongly suspending Facebook Groups but denies wider problem

Meta admits wrongly suspending Facebook Groups but denies wider problem 36 minutes ago Share Save Graham Fraser and Imran Rahman-Jones Technology reporters Share Save Getty Images Meta says it is "fixing" a problem which has led to Facebook Groups being wrongly suspended - but denied there is a wider problem with its platforms. In online forums, Group administrators say they have received automated messages stating, incorrectly, that they had violated policies so their Groups had been deleted

Easier not being green: Why I ditched Bissell for the Tineco CARPET ONE Cruiser

Ryan Haines / Android Authority I’ll admit it — I’m pretty new to the carpet life. Having spent most of my adulthood in apartment buildings, I just accepted laminate and tile as ways of life. Now that I live in a house, though, I have a couple of new surfaces to worry about. I have rugs from room to room and carpet throughout my living area, and I’ve quickly learned that a weekly pass with a vacuum is like trying to fight a fire with a teacup. So, I decided it was time to venture into the wide