TWEAKS AND UPDATES

How-To Geek: Microsoft Ends Free Windows 10 & 11 Upgrades for Windows 7 & 8. “Microsoft just closed its free upgrade path for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users. This may seem like an insignificant change, but it will affect two very large groups of people. Enthusiasts can no longer use their old Windows 7 and 8 product keys to activate Windows 10 or 11 on a new PC or in a virtual machine. And stubborn gamers who refused to install Windows 10 will soon be forced to make an upgrade, as Steam will stop working on Windows 7 and 8 in 2024.”

Search Engine Land: YouTube relaxes controversial topic guidelines to boost ad revenue opportunities . “YouTube is updating its Advertiser-Friendly Content guidelines regarding controversial issues. Under the new best practice recommendations, creators will be able to earn ad revenue on content discussing topics such as: Sexual and domestic abuse. Abortions. Eating disorders.”

USEFUL STUFF

Linux Journal: The 6 Best Tools to Create a Bootable USB From an ISO in Linux. “Linux, known for its robustness and versatility, offers a plethora of tools for creating bootable USB drives from ISO files, which are exact copies of disk data. This guide aims to delve into the top six tools available on Linux for crafting bootable USB drives from ISO files.”

Hongkiat: Best Time Lapse Apps For Your Smartphone . “Shooting time-lapse videos offers a unique perspective on the world, capturing the enchanting progression of events too slow for the human eye. The combination of a low frame rate and rapid video playback allows you to craft stunning visuals such as blooming flowers, sunsets, or drifting clouds. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need expensive equipment to create time-lapse content. In fact, your smartphone, coupled with the right app, can produce mesmerizing results. Here are 5 top-notch time-lapse apps available for both Android and iOS.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

TorrentFreak: The World’s Oldest Active Torrent Turns 20 Years Old. “Twenty years ago, a group of friends shot a Matrix fan film on a limited budget. Sharing their creation with the rest of the word initially appeared to be too expensive, but then they discovered a new technology called BitTorrent. Fast forward two decades and their ‘Fanimatrix’ release is the oldest active torrent that’s still widely shared today.”

UC Davis: Plug-in Electric Vehicles Archive to Be Housed at UC Davis Library. “During National Drive Electric Week, the University of California, Davis, today (Sept. 27) announced that it has begun to build a Plug-in Electric Vehicles Archive. It will be housed at the UC Davis Library’s Archives and Special Collections with support from the UC Davis Electric Vehicle Research Center. The archive will focus on the decades-long story of how plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, or PHEVs — long seen as a science project — shifted from prototypes and modifications to mass production.”

Ars Technica: Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Altman reportedly collaborating on mysterious AI device. “Ex-Apple design star Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman have been discussing the design of an unspecified new AI device, reports The Information, citing two people familiar with the talks. It’s unclear what exactly the device may be, but the report has many people on social media and the press guessing about a re-imagining of a smartphone that relies heavily on generative AI. Others think the device may be something else entirely.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Washington Post: Tech giants ramp up cloud security under pressure from Washington. “After a recent theft of emails from top U.S. officials raised alarms about the country’s increasing dependence on the biggest cloud computing companies, Amazon, Google and Microsoft have begun to explain more of the work they do to secure the data of tens of millions of online customers.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Cornell University: Gamers help highlight disparities in algorithm data. “Is The Witcher immersive? Is The Sims a role-playing game? Gamers from around the world may have differing opinions, but this diversity of thought makes for better algorithms that help audiences everywhere pick the right games, according to new research from Cornell, Xbox and Microsoft Research.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

UC San Diego Today: These Screen-printed, Flexible Sensors Allow Earbuds to Record Brain Activity and Exercise Levels . “A pair of earbuds can be turned into a tool to record the electrical activity of the brain as well as levels of lactate in the body with the addition of two flexible sensors screen-printed onto a stamp-like flexible surface.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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