XP’s design seemed more modern to my eyeballs back then. But with time, I’ve come to develop a keen appreciation for the 98 aesthetic. I’m not the only one: Up to this day, people are still paying homage to this classic look with Windows 98-inspired DIY gadgets and appreciation sites — just like 98.css. It’s a new CSS library that lets you effortlessly build interfaces in the likeness of Windows 98....
That’s right. Swedish conceptual artists Ida Jonsson and Simon Saarinen say they’ve buried the first ASCII peen inside an Ethereum transaction, reports art and advertising portal It’s Nice That. Permanent Phallus is one of three ASCII artworks embedded in Ethereum. Permanent Meme is a loving homage to the Circle Game, a suitably suggestive companion to the aforementioned raging boner. The third piece, Permanent Tag, is more of an appropriate exercise in personal branding through graffiti....
The ancient Solar System was formed from a disk of gas and dust spiraling around the nascent Sun. At first, most astronomers believe, the earliest planets formed in regular, closely-packed, orbits. Soon, however, gravitational tugs from the most massive of these worlds played havoc with the regular orbits of their neighbors. It was once thought that solar systems like our own — with small, rocky planets placed close to their parent star and larger gas giants in the outskirts of the system — would be common....
Today, she says, her name is Melanie. I’m speaking with a 30-something-year-old developer who works for the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Agency (or AIVD, in Dutch), which is why she cannot disclose her real name. Or any other personal details, for that matter. The agency resides in a bunker-like office in the Dutch city of Zoetermeer. Getting into the building, I quickly learn, is easier said than done. First, I’m buzzed in upon mentioning my name and appointment....
For their hundreds of different possible styles and configurations, lamps don’t always get loads of attention as central room decor. But it’s tough not to earn some attention when you’re not even sure that a lamp IS a lamp. That’s part of what makes the Lamp Depot Minimalist LED Corner Floor Lamp ($89.99, 40 percent off, from TNW Deals) such a cool addition to virtually any room. Sliding unobtrusively into a corner and looking almost like a coat rack, this nearly 5-foot high minimalist creation with a quality sturdy metal finish probably won’t even grab your eye when it’s unlit and resting on the edge of a room....
MyNoise is a noise generator that will help you re-create an office-like ambience in the comfort of your own home — and you really are spoilt for choice. [Read: Take it from me (and researchers): Open offices suck] Created by Stéphane Pigeon, a signal processing PhD engineer with a strong passion for sounds, MyNoise houses an extensive online catalogue featuring everything from a Japanese garden, mermaids calling, and a Tibetan choir (you know, just like the one in accounting!...
From artists and designers to stylists and beyond, color matters. Whether it’s a paint shade, a fabric dye or a swirl on a digital screen, a pro needs the ability to identify the exact hue of an object so it can be matched and reproduced. And when you consider that there are at least nearly 300 shades of green alone, nailing down the particular match you’re looking for is often a lot easier said than done....
The summer-styled website comes with its own music player, a video player with a selection of 80s and 90s footage to accompany the tunes, and an Instagram launcher that lets your browse through Poolside.FM’s feed. It also lets you choose between five different color themes for its PoolOS layout. Currently, PoolOS supports three separate playlists – the default Poolside.FM, the Hangover Club, and the Tokyo Disco – to fit your mood....
Digital content does not spring to fruition for free. In fact, just the tools for creating top-notch videos or gorgeous professional-grade images are pretty pricey — and that’s before someone even gets paid to actually use them. The Adobe Creative Cloud suite of digital creation apps is the most popular app collection of its kind anywhere — and they charge $29.99 a month for the privilege of using their tools....
Software firm Varonis determined the malware is based on Monero mining software XMRig, which is open source and hosted on GitHub. Hard Fork has previously reported on other notable instances of cryptomining malware that utilize XMRig. To date, Norman has hit at least one “mid-size” company, having infected almost every workstation and server on its network. “Most were generic variants of cryptominers. Some were password dumping tools, some were hidden PHP shells, and some had been present for several years,” wrote Varonis....
A team of researchers at the institute recently developed Grover, a neural network capable of generating fake news articles in the style of actual human journalists. In essence, the group is fighting fire with fire because the better Grover gets at generating fakes, the better it’ll be at detecting them. According to the institute: Most fake news is generated by humans and then spread on social media. But the rise of robust systems such as OpenAI’s controversial GPT-2 point toward a future where AI-generated articles are close enough to the real thing to obfuscate nearly any issue....
While looking into Nick Montfort’s portfolio of work, I discovered an excellent tool/art piece that uses javascript to erase parts of the text displayed on any webpage, and transforms it into erasure poetry. That tool is The Deletionist. As described on its website, the tool “removes text to uncover poems, discovering a network of poems called ‘the Worl’ within the World Wide Web.” It was created by Nick Montfort, Amaranth Borsuk, and Jesper Juul in 2013....
Last weekend, researchers at MIT released a video of nine mini cheetah robots frolicking in the ground, performing backflips, and playing soccer. While the first scene of these robots marching across the screen in a perfect order might be scary, the rest of the video is goofy and fun. At a point, it even feels like a bunch of puppies just enjoying the fall leaves. The mini cheetah was first shown off in March....
In an attempt to reconfigure this hierarchy, cities around the world are now reclaiming space previously given to the car, and handing it back to other forms of transport. Not everyone is pleased about this. Usually, it’s cantankerous car drivers who think they own the road that proclaim giving space to cyclists increases congestion, and removing parking spaces will negatively impact local businesses. In reality, this isn’t actually what happens....
The short video app is disabling downloads by default for creators aged 13 to 15. Meanwhile, the video makers aged 16 to 17 will get a pop-up before publishing their videos to let them choose their option for their audience: followers, friends only, or only themselves. Plus, creators from this age group will have an option to make their videos downloadable. In January, the company had rolled out restrictions on who can see content from teen accounts, making them visible only to friends or private by default....
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Bytedance is planning a corporate structure overhaul. Apart from moving the head office out of China, it’s also considering creating a new management board for the short video app. This is not entirely surprising, given TikTok is — or at least it was before the Indian ban and Hong Kong pull out — one of the fastest-growing apps across the world....
Our research into how people present themselves and manage their interactions with other users on Twitter suggests that case-by-case responses are inadequate. We found Twitter’s design promotes avoidance as the easiest solution to hostility, without offering space for the kind of restorative activity that could lead to more genuine resolution of conflict. Who faces hostility on Twitter? Hostility on Twitter is disproportionately directed towards women, people of color and marginalized groups....
While the micro-blogging service has indeed been experimenting with the feature since May, a Twitter spokesperson told The Verge the company accidentally shared the wrong release notes for the update, adding the feature isn’t quite yet ready for a wider rollout. “In May, we tested a new way to have a chat with exactly who you want, so you can create and consume more meaningful exchanges,” the release notes on the latest iOS update still read....
Uber is set to expand its Uber Green service across 1,400 new North American towns and cities, including Austin, Calgary, Houston, Miami, New York City, Tucson, Winnipeg, and Washington, D.C., providing passengers with the option to select a journey using electric or hybrid cars. Passengers who opt for Uber Green will incur a US$1 surcharge, half of which will go to the driver to support their use of a hybrid or electric vehicle, according to Uber....
Now, the ride-hailing company is “throwing money” at its US drivers in an attempt to address the fact that there aren’t enough of them to service demand. Today, Uber announced that it’s investing $250 million into a driver stimulus package to allegedly boost driver earnings. The extra money will serve to incentivize new and existing drivers to accept more rides. As the coronavirus pandemic hit, Uber use fell through the floor, and many drivers left the platform....
