Monthly Archives: August 2024

Article note: The part where one private cartel can compel another private cartel (which likes to pretend they're a utility or not based on what's better for them) to cut off an essential service based on a flimsy accusation really is completely absurd.

Enlarge (credit: Getty Images | Bosca78)

A large Internet service provider wants the Supreme Court to rule that ISPs shouldn't have to disconnect broadband users who have been accused of piracy. Cable firm Cox Communications, which is trying to overturn a ruling in a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by Sony, petitioned the Supreme Court to take up the case yesterday.

Cox said in a press release that a recent appeals court ruling "would force ISPs to terminate Internet service to households or businesses based on unproven allegations of infringing activity, and put them in a position of having to police their networks—contrary to customer expectations... Terminating Internet service would not just impact the individual accused of unlawfully downloading content, it would kick an entire household off the Internet."

The case began in 2018 when Sony and other music copyright holders sued Cox, claiming that it didn't adequately fight piracy on its network and failed to terminate repeat infringers. A US District Court jury in the Eastern District of Virginia ruled in December 2019 that Cox must pay $1 billion in damages to the major record labels.

Article note: Remember the "Everything must integrate with google+" era? Like that, but dumber.

Article note: Ooh, the suggestion of a structured prior art database for 3D printer technology overseen by eg. OSHWA as a community defense mechanism is a neat idea.

Article note: That's a good step.

Article note: Stratasys trollin' again, in the preferred jurisdiction of patent trolls. They've held back the FDM field for like two decades already (most recently with their heated build chamber bullshit), now they're coming around to try again... With patents dated years after community projects and even commercial hobbyist level printers were publicly doing the things the claim. Bambu aren't exactly "The good guys" since they've commercialized a bunch community work without credit or giving back (and filed patents for them in China), but at least they're chiefly engaged in shipping products to users.

Enlarge / The Bambu Lab A1, complete with heated build platform. (credit: Bambu Lab)

A patent lawsuit filed by one of 3D printing's most established firms against a consumer-focused upstart could have a big impact on the wider 3D-printing scene.

In two complaints, (1, 2, PDF) filed in the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, against six entities related to Bambu Lab, Stratasys alleges that Bambu Lab infringed upon 10 patents that it owns, some through subsidiaries like Makerbot (acquired in 2013). Among the patents cited are US9421713B2, "Additive manufacturing method for printing three-dimensional parts with purge towers," and US9592660B2, "Heated build platform and system for three-dimensional printing methods."

There are not many, if any, 3D printers sold to consumers that do not have a heated bed, which prevents the first layers of a model from cooling during printing and potentially shrinking and warping the model. "Purge towers" (or "prime towers" in Bambu's parlance) allow for multicolor printing by providing a place for the filament remaining in a nozzle to be extracted and prevent bleed-over between colors. Stratasys' infringement claims also target some fundamental technologies around force detection and fused deposition modeling (FDM) that, like purge towers, are used by other 3D-printer makers that target entry-level and intermediate 3D-printing enthusiasts.

Article note: This was one of the things I was most interested in as soon as Intel started talking about microcode patches for localized over voltage issues. Test protocol isn't completely conclusive because it's a single device data set and there's potentially some context sensitivity, but looks like a good first pass. Possibly related to handling of branch-intensive code? Basically: slight regressions, near-negligible on most jobs. Most noticible on cryptographically intense loads at around a 10% hit.

Article note: It's always the add on security/management features. If you already have kernel access in any recent AMD box, you can use some (necessary for compatibility) memory remapping features to make the SMM (basically maximum-privilge firmware) read code from memory written by the OS... which can give you a firmware-resident foothold that will persist even through OS reinstalls.

Security flaws in your computer's firmware, the deep-seated code that loads first when you turn the machine on and controls even how its operating system boots up, have long been a target for hackers looking for a stealthy foothold. But only rarely does that kind of vulnerability appear not in the firmware of any particular computer maker, but in the chips found across hundreds of millions of PCs and servers. Now security researchers have found one such flaw that has persisted in AMD processors for decades, and that would allow malware to burrow deep enough into a computer's memory that, in many cases, it may be easier to discard a machine than to disinfect it.

At the Defcon hacker conference, Enrique Nissim and Krzysztof Okupski, researchers from the security firm IOActive, plan to present a vulnerability in AMD chips they're calling Sinkclose. The flaw would allow hackers to run their own code in one of the most privileged modes of an AMD processor, known as System Management Mode, designed to be reserved only for a specific, protected portion of its firmware. IOActive's researchers warn that it affects virtually all AMD chips dating back to 2006, or possibly even earlier.

Article note: Wow, that is a _much_ beefier, more flexible chip than the RP2040. 2x Cortex M33F, more better PIOs, more better IO in general including proper psram support, etc. Not all the details yet, but looks pretty compelling.

Article note: Can at least one of the tech media outlets just start titling all of these "Reddit considers further enshittification: Part N" and put the details in the subtitle to make it easier to keep track of?

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

Reddit executives discussed plans on Tuesday for making more money from the platform, including showing ads in more places and possibly putting some content behind a paywall.

On Tuesday, Reddit shared its Q2 2024 earnings report (PDF). The company lost $10.1 million during the period, down from Q2 2023’s $41.1 million loss. Reddit has never been profitable, and during its earnings call yesterday, company heads discussed potential and slated plans for monetization.

As expected, selling ads continues to be a priority. Part of the reason Reddit was OK with most third-party Reddit apps closing was that the change was expected to drive people to Reddit’s native website and apps, where the company sells ads. In Q2, Reddit’s ad revenue grew 41 percent year over year (YoY) to $253.1 million, or 90 percent of total revenue ($281.2 million).

Article note: Can at least one of the tech media outlets just start titling all of these "Reddit considers further enshittification: Part N" and put the details in the subtitle to make it easier to keep track of?

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

Reddit executives discussed plans on Tuesday for making more money from the platform, including showing ads in more places and possibly putting some content behind a paywall.

On Tuesday, Reddit shared its Q2 2024 earnings report (PDF). The company lost $10.1 million during the period, down from Q2 2023’s $41.1 million loss. Reddit has never been profitable, and during its earnings call yesterday, company heads discussed potential and slated plans for monetization.

As expected, selling ads continues to be a priority. Part of the reason Reddit was OK with most third-party Reddit apps closing was that the change was expected to drive people to Reddit’s native website and apps, where the company sells ads. In Q2, Reddit’s ad revenue grew 41 percent year over year (YoY) to $253.1 million, or 90 percent of total revenue ($281.2 million).