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autolenaphilia · 2 years ago

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The main reason to use Firefox and Linux and other free and open source software is that otherwise the big tech monopolies will fuck you as the customer over in search of profits. They will seek to control how you use their products and sell your data. When a company dominates the market, things can only get worse for ordinary people.

Like take Google Chrome for example, which together with its chromium reskins dominate the web browser market. Google makes a lot of money from ads, and consequently the company hates adblockers. They already are planning to move to manifest V3, which will nerf adblockers significantly. The manifest V3 compatible chrome version of Ublock Orgin is a "Lite" version for a reason. Ublock's Github page has an entire page explaining why the addon works best in Firefox.

And Google as we speak are trying to block adblockers from working on Youtube, If you want to continue blocking Youtube ads, and since Youtube ads make the site unuseable you ought to want that, it makes the most sense to not use a browser controlled by Google.

And there is no reason to think things won't get worse. There is for example nothing stopping Google from kicking adblockers off their add-on stores completely. They do regard it as basically piracy if the youtube pop-ups tell us anything, so updating the Chrome extensions terms of service to ban adblocking is a natural step. And so many people seem to think Chrome is the only browser that exists, so they are not going to switch to alternatives, or if they do, they will switch to another chrominum-based browser.

And again, they are fucking chromium itself for adblockers with Manifest V3, so only Firefox remains as a viable alternative. It's the only alternative to letting Google control the internet.

And Microsoft is the same thing. I posted before about their plans to move Windows increasingly into the cloud. This already exists for corporate customers, as Windows 365. And a version for ordinary users is probably not far off. It might not be the only version of Windows for awhile, the lack of solid internet access for a good part of the Earth's population will prevent it. But you'll probably see cheap very low-spec chromebookesque laptops running Windows for sale soon, that gets around Windows 11's obscene system requirements by their Windows being a cloud-based version.

And more and more of Windows will require Internet access or validation for DRM reasons if nothing else. Subscription fees instead of a one-time license are also likely. It will just be Windows moving in the direction Microsoft Office has already gone.

There is nothing preventing this, because again on the desktop/laptop market Windows is effectively a monopoly, or a duopoly with Apple. So there is no competition preventing Microsoft from exercising control over Windows users in the vein of Apple.

For example, Microsoft making Windows a walled garden by only permitting programs to be installed from the Microsoft Store probably isn't far off. This already exists for Win10 and 11, it's called S-mode. There seem to be more and more laptops being sold with Windows S-mode as the default.

Now it's not the only option, and you can turn it off with some tinkering, but there is really nothing stopping Microsoft from making it the only way of using Windows. And customers will probably accept it, because again the main competition is Apple where the walled garden has been the default for decades.

Customers have already accepted all sorts of bad things from Microsoft, because again Windows is a near-monopoly, and Apple and Google are even worse. That’s why there has been no major negative reaction to how Windows has increasingly spies on its users.

Another thing is how the system requirements for Windows seem to grow almost exponentially with each edition, making still perfectly useable computers unable to run the new edition. And Windows 11 is the worst yet. Like it's hard to get the numbers of how many computers running Win10 can't upgrade to Win11, but it's probably the majority of them, at least 55% or maybe even 75%. This has the effect of Windows users abandoning still perfectly useable hardware and buying new computers, creating more e-waste.

For Windows users, the alternative Windows gives them is to buy a new computer or get another operating system, and inertia pushes them towards buying another computer to keep using Windows. This is good for Windows and the hardware manufacturers selling computers with Windows 11 pre-installed, they get to profit off people buying Windows 11 keys and new computers, while the end-users have to pay, as does the environment. It’s planned obsolescence.

And it doesn’t have to be like that. Linux distros prove that you can have a modern operating system that has far lower hardware requirements. Even the most resource taxing Linux distros, like for example Ubuntu running the Gnome desktop, have far more modest system requirements than modern Windows. And you can always install lightweight Linux Distros that often have very low system requirements. One I have used is Antix. The ballooning Windows system requirements comes across as pure bloat on Microsoft’s part.

Now neither Linux or Firefox are perfect. Free and open source software don’t have a lot of the polish that comes with the proprietary products of major corporations. And being in competition with technology monopolies does have its drawbacks. The lacking website compatibility with Firefox and game compatibility with Linux are two obvious examples.

Yet Firefox and Linux have the capacity to grow, to become better. Being open source helps. Even if Firefox falls, developers can create a fork of it. If a Linux distro is not to your taste, there is usually another one. Whereas Windows and Chrome will only get worse as they will continue to abuse their monopolistic powers over the tech market.

#my writings #mozilla firefox #google chrome #microsoft windows #linux #open source #foss

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mariacallous · 9 months ago

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Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella has hailed the company's new Recall feature, which stores a history of your computer desktop and makes it available to AI for analysis, as “photographic memory” for your PC. Within the cybersecurity community, meanwhile, the notion of a tool that silently takes a screenshot of your desktop every five seconds has been hailed as a hacker's dream come true and the worst product idea in recent memory.

Now, security researchers have pointed out that even the one remaining security safeguard meant to protect that feature from exploitation can be trivially defeated.

Since Recall was first announced last month, the cybersecurity world has pointed out that if a hacker can install malicious software to gain a foothold on a target machine with the feature enabled, they can quickly gain access to the user's entire history stored by the function. The only barrier, it seemed, to that high-resolution view of a victim's entire life at the keyboard was that accessing Recall's data required administrator privileges on a user's machine. That meant malware without that higher-level privilege would trigger a permission pop-up, allowing users to prevent access, and that malware would also likely be blocked by default from accessing the data on most corporate machines.

Then on Wednesday, James Forshaw, a researcher with Google's Project Zero vulnerability research team, published an update to a blog post pointing out that he had found methods for accessing Recall data without administrator privileges—essentially stripping away even that last fig leaf of protection. “No admin required ;-)” the post concluded.

“Damn,” Forshaw added on Mastodon. “I really thought the Recall database security would at least be, you know, secure.”

Forshaw's blog post described two different techniques to bypass the administrator privilege requirement, both of which exploit ways of defeating a basic security function in Windows known as access control lists that determine which elements on a computer require which privileges to read and alter. One of Forshaw's methods exploits an exception to those control lists, temporarily impersonating a program on Windows machines called AIXHost.exe that can access even restricted databases. Another is even simpler: Forshaw points out that because the Recall data stored on a machine is considered to belong to the user, a hacker with the same privileges as the user could simply rewrite the access control lists on a target machine to grant themselves access to the full database.

That second, simpler bypass technique “is just mindblowing, to be honest,” says Alex Hagenah, a cybersecurity strategist and ethical hacker. Hagenah recently built a proof-of-concept hacker tool called TotalRecall designed to show that someone who gained access to a victim's machine with Recall could immediately siphon out all the user's history recorded by the feature. Hagenah's tool, however, still required that hackers find another way to gain administrator privileges through a so-called “privilege escalation” technique before his tool would work.

With Forshaw's technique, “you don’t need any privilege escalation, no pop-up, nothing,” says Hagenah. “This would make sense to implement in the tool for a bad guy.”

In fact, just an hour after speaking to WIRED about Forshaw's finding, Hagenah added the simpler of Forshaw's two techniques to his TotalRecall tool, then confirmed that the trick worked by accessing all the Recall history data stored on another user's machine for which he didn't have administrator access. “So simple and genius,” he wrote in a text to WIRED after testing the technique.

That confirmation removes one of the last arguments Recall's defenders have had against criticisms that the feature acts as, essentially, a piece of pre-installed spyware on a user's machine, ready to be exploited by any hacker who can gain a foothold on the device. “It makes your security very fragile, in the sense that anyone who penetrates your computer for even a second can get your whole history,” says Dave Aitel, the founder of the cybersecurity firm Immunity and a former NSA hacker. “Which is not something people want.”

For now, security researchers have been testing Recall in preview versions of the tool ahead of its expected launch later this month. Microsoft said it plans to integrate Recall on compatible Copilot+ PCs with the feature turned on by default. WIRED reached out to the company for comment on Forshaw's findings about Recall's security issues, but the company has yet to respond.

The revelation that hackers can exploit Recall without even using a separate privilege escalation technique only contributes further to the sense that the feature was rushed to market without a proper review from the company's cybersecurity team—despite the company's CEO Nadella proclaiming just last month that Microsoft would make security its first priority in every decision going forward. “You cannot convince me that Microsoft's security teams looked at this and said ‘that looks secure,’” says Jake Williams, a former NSA hacker and now the VP of R&D at the cybersecurity consultancy Hunter Strategy, where he says he's been asked by some of the firm's clients to test Recall's security before they add Microsoft devices that use it to their networks.

“As it stands now, it’s a security dumpster fire,” Williams says. “This is one of the scariest things I’ve ever seen from an enterprise security standpoint.”

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demifiendrsa · 1 year ago

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youtube

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance - Announce Trailer

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Japanese version

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Extended Cut

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Extended Cut Japanese version

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Special Program Spotlight

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store) on June 21, 2024 worldwide. Pre-orders will open on February 27, 2024.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is an enhanced version of Shin Megami Tensei V, which originally launched for Nintendo Switch in November 2021.

Title logo

Key visual

Overview

The latest title in the series, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance allows players to enjoy the story of Shin Megami Tensei V in its entirety, with a new story path, untold in the original. Massively expanded with new areas, demons, and music, Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance features more accessible gameplay, an improved battle system, new demon experiences, and greater field exploration. Pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch family of systems (physical only), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Steam, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC will begin on February 27, 2024. Details on digital pre-orders for Nintendo Switch will be announced at a later date. When a grisly murder scene in modern-day Tokyo blocks the protagonist’s walk home, an unplanned detour leaves him buried and unconscious. He finds himself in a wasteland ravaged by apocalypse now called Da’at. Before bloodthirsty demons can claim his life, a savior emerges, and they unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino. Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance delivers a full-fledged RPG that can be enjoyed by existing and new fans. At the start of the game, players will choose between two paths: the story told in Shin Megami Tensei V, the Canon of Creation, or the brand-new Canon of Vengeance. This dramatic new tale of revenge introduces brand-new characters, an enigmatic cohort of demons called the Qadištu, a new dungeon and map to explore. Additionally, the original Shin Megami Tensei V battle system, demon merging and field exploration have been evolved and expanded in this newest entry in the series.

Further details

■ What is Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance?

Released in 2021, ATLUS’s renowned RPG Shin Megami Tensei V has sold more than one million copies worldwide.

This highly acclaimed game has evolved in every aspect, including the system and scenario, and will be available on multiple modern platforms!

At the beginning of the story, the player is presented between two routes. The story told in Shin Megami Tensei V, the Canon of Creation, and a brand-new route, Canon of Vengeance, a dramatic tale of revenge by the fallen.

The Canon of Vengeance follows the scenario of SMTV, but changes drastically from the latter half of the game. The outcome will be completely different. Enjoy the two divergent stories to your heart’s content.

The battle system, demon fusion, and field exploration have also evolved in depth with the addition of new elements. We are excited to deliver a full-fledged RPG that can be enjoyed by those who have already played SMTV, as well as those who are playing this series for the first time.

■ Story

Thou shalt be God—.

When a grisly murder scence in modern-day Tokyo blocks our protagonist’s walk home, an unplanned detour leaves him buried and unconscious. He awakens in a New Tokyo, a wasteland ravaged by apocalypse now called Da’at – but before bloodthirsty demons can claim his live, a savior emerges, and the two of them unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino.

Revenge Awaits—.

Demons attack humans and seek to create a world of chaos.

Bethel, an organization that seeks to protect God’s order.

Caught up in the conflict between the two, while exploring Da’at, the protagonist meets and starts traveling with Yoko Hiromine.

Using magic, Yoko and the main character stand together on the front line.

The Qadistu, four female Demons stand in their way. “Found it, the Key of Resurrection…” A member of the Qadistu, Lilith calls protagonist the Key of Resurrection, and herself The Oppressed.

What is their purpose? A tale of revenge by the oppressed begins.

■ The Oppressed: The Qadistu

In the Canon of Vengeance, four female demons appear in front of the protagonist. Another story of creation told by new Demons.

■ Characters

Lilith (voiced by Katelyn Gault in English, Atsuko Tanaka in Japanese)

“I am Lilith of the Qadištu The one to restore the world to what it ought to be.”

A woman who is said to have been Adam’s first wife in the Old Testament. Later left Garden of Eden and turned into a demon.

Leader of the Qadištu. In order to achieve an unidentified goal, she stands in front of the protagonist.

Protagonist / Nahobino

A high school senior living in Tokyo. On his way back from school, he is involved in a tunnel collapse and wanders into an apocalyptic version of Tokyo, Da’at. His hobby is reading.

The protagonist fuses with Aogami and becomes a “Nahobino,” using this power to fight back demons.

The decision-making during the Nahobino state lies with the protagonist, and Aogami guides him with his voice.

Aogami (voiced by Damian Mills in English, Toshiyuki Morikawa in Japanese)

“Regardless of what may happen, rest assured that I will always protect you.”

A mysterious man who appears before the protagonist, who is being attacked by a demon in Da’at.

By taking the protagonist’s hand, he transforms into a condemned being, the Nahobino.

He seemingly participated in the war 18 years ago, but his memory of it has slipped away.

Yoko Hiromine (voiced by Erin Yvette in English, Chiwa Saitou in Japanese)

“With no one to save them, in the back of their mind, the victim desires only one thing: revenge against the assailant.”

She is a senior in high school at St. Marina Academy. Cool and somewhat mysterious.

She meets and works with the protagonist in Da’at. She has always possessed mysterious powers and was once called a “saint”. At the academy, she has been recognized for her power and learned exorcism magic. She also participates in the battles.

■ Over 270 Demons

In addition to existing demons, this title features more than 270 demons, including new demons newly drawn by the character designer Masayuki Doi. Enjoy an incredible demon experience!

■ Includes Shin Megami Tensei V Downloadable Content Demons and Quests!

The demons and quests that were available with Shin Megami Tensei V are included in this title as standard features! Experienced players are encouraged to try their hand at these challenging quests.

“A Goddess in Training”

“The Rage of a Queen”

“The Doctor’s Last Wish”

“Return of the True Demon”

■ Evolution in Depth!

Adding unique skills to all demons, new interactions with demons, and more… Many other new elements! Stay tuned for more information!

■ Additional Downloadable Content

Downloadable content featuring new demons will be distributed simultaneously on the release date.

Demon God Dagda from Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final and newly introduced is the demon Goddess Konohanasakuya, newly drawn by character designer Masayuki Doi!

Holy Will and Profane Dissent

When the protagonist goes to investigate a mysterious reaction, he meets Danu, the earth mother goddess, who claims to have come from a world that exists in another universe. Danu is apparently searching for his son, Dagda. The protagonist embarks on a search for Dagda with Danu. By completing the game, Dagda can be made an ally, and fusion will be unlocked.

Sakura Cinders of the East

In addition, earning downloadable content that makes it easier to gain experience and in-game currency will be released at the same time.

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 1 month ago

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

January 18, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Jan 19, 2025

Shortly before midnight last night, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its initial findings from a study it undertook last July when it asked eight large companies to turn over information about the data they collect about consumers, product sales, and how the surveillance the companies used affected consumer prices. The FTC focused on the middlemen hired by retailers. Those middlemen use algorithms to tweak and target prices to different markets.

The initial findings of the FTC using data from six of the eight companies show that those prices are not static. Middlemen can target prices to individuals using their location, browsing patterns, shopping history, and even the way they move a mouse over a webpage. They can also use that information to show higher-priced products first in web searches. The FTC found that the intermediaries—the middlemen—worked with at least 250 retailers.

“Initial staff findings show that retailers frequently use people’s personal information to set targeted, tailored prices for goods and services—from a person's location and demographics, down to their mouse movements on a webpage,” said FTC chair Lina Khan. “The FTC should continue to investigate surveillance pricing practices because Americans deserve to know how their private data is being used to set the prices they pay and whether firms are charging different people different prices for the same good or service.”

The FTC has asked for public comment on consumers’ experience with surveillance pricing.

FTC commissioner Andrew N. Ferguson, whom Trump has tapped to chair the commission in his incoming administration, dissented from the report.

Matt Stoller of the nonprofit American Economic Liberties Project, which is working “to address today’s crisis of concentrated economic power,” wrote that “[t]he antitrust enforcers (Lina Khan et al) went full Tony Montana on big business this week before Trump people took over.”

Stoller made a list. The FTC sued John Deere “for generating $6 billion by prohibiting farmers from being able to repair their own equipment,” released a report showing that pharmacy benefit managers had “inflated prices for specialty pharmaceuticals by more than $7 billion,” “sued corporate landlord Greystar, which owns 800,000 apartments, for misleading renters on junk fees,” and “forced health care private equity powerhouse Welsh Carson to stop monopolization of the anesthesia market.”

It sued Pepsi for conspiring to give Walmart exclusive discounts that made prices higher at smaller stores, “[l]eft a roadmap for parties who are worried about consolidation in AI by big tech by revealing a host of interlinked relationships among Google, Amazon and Microsoft and Anthropic and OpenAI,” said gig workers can’t be sued for antitrust violations when they try to organize, and forced game developer Cognosphere to pay a $20 million fine for marketing loot boxes to teens under 16 that hid the real costs and misled the teens.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau “sued Capital One for cheating consumers out of $2 billion by misleading consumers over savings accounts,” Stoller continued. It “forced Cash App purveyor Block…to give $120 million in refunds for fostering fraud on its platform and then refusing to offer customer support to affected consumers,” “sued Experian for refusing to give consumers a way to correct errors in credit reports,” ordered Equifax to pay $15 million to a victims’ fund for “failing to properly investigate errors on credit reports,” and ordered “Honda Finance to pay $12.8 million for reporting inaccurate information that smeared the credit reports of Honda and Acura drivers.”

The Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice sued “seven giant corporate landlords for rent-fixing, using the software and consulting firm RealPage,” Stoller went on. It “sued $600 billion private equity titan KKR for systemically misleading the government on more than a dozen acquisitions.”

“Honorary mention goes to [Secretary Pete Buttigieg] at the Department of Transportation for suing Southwest and fining Frontier for ‘chronically delayed flights,’” Stoller concluded. He added more results to the list in his newsletter BIG.

Meanwhile, last night, while the leaders in the cryptocurrency industry were at a ball in honor of President-elect Trump’s inauguration, Trump launched his own cryptocurrency. By morning he appeared to have made more than $25 billion, at least on paper. According to Eric Lipton at the New York Times, “ethics experts assailed [the business] as a blatant effort to cash in on the office he is about to occupy again.”

Adav Noti, executive director of the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, told Lipton: “It is literally cashing in on the presidency—creating a financial instrument so people can transfer money to the president’s family in connection with his office. It is beyond unprecedented.” Cryptocurrency leaders worried that just as their industry seems on the verge of becoming mainstream, Trump’s obvious cashing-in would hurt its reputation. Venture capitalist Nick Tomaino posted: “Trump owning 80 percent and timing launch hours before inauguration is predatory and many will likely get hurt by it.”

Yesterday the European Commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union, asked X, the social media company owned by Trump-adjacent billionaire Elon Musk, to hand over internal documents about the company’s algorithms that give far-right posts and politicians more visibility than other political groups. The European Union has been investigating X since December 2023 out of concerns about how it deals with the spread of disinformation and illegal content. The European Union’s Digital Services Act regulates online platforms to prevent illegal and harmful activities, as well as the spread of disinformation.

Today in Washington, D.C., the National Mall was filled with thousands of people voicing their opposition to President-elect Trump and his policies. Online speculation has been rampant that Trump moved his inauguration indoors to avoid visual comparisons between today’s protesters and inaugural attendees. Brutally cold weather also descended on President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration, but a sea of attendees nonetheless filled the National Mall.

Trump has always understood the importance of visuals and has worked hard to project an image of an invincible leader. Moving the inauguration indoors takes away that image, though, and people who have spent thousands of dollars to travel to the capital to see his inauguration are now unhappy to discover they will be limited to watching his motorcade drive by them. On social media, one user posted: “MAGA doesn’t realize the symbolism of [Trump] moving the inauguration inside: The billionaires, millionaires and oligarchs will be at his side, while his loyal followers are left outside in the cold. Welcome to the next 4+ years.”

Trump is not as good at governing as he is at performance: his approach to crises is to blame Democrats for them. But he is about to take office with majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, putting responsibility for governance firmly into his hands.

Right off the bat, he has at least two major problems at hand.

Last night, Commissioner Tyler Harper of the Georgia Department of Agriculture suspended all “poultry exhibitions, shows, swaps, meets, and sales” until further notice after officials found Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or bird flu, in a commercial flock. As birds die from the disease or are culled to prevent its spread, the cost of eggs is rising—just as Trump, who vowed to reduce grocery prices, takes office.

There have been 67 confirmed cases of the bird flu in the U.S. among humans who have caught the disease from birds. Most cases in humans are mild, but public health officials are watching the virus with concern because bird flu variants are unpredictable. On Friday, outgoing Health and Human Services secretary Xavier Becerra announced $590 million in funding to Moderna to help speed up production of a vaccine that covers the bird flu. Juliana Kim of NPR explained that this funding comes on top of $176 million that Health and Human Services awarded to Moderna last July.

The second major problem is financial. On Friday, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen wrote to congressional leaders to warn them that the Treasury would hit the debt ceiling on January 21 and be forced to begin using extraordinary measures in order to pay outstanding obligations and prevent defaulting on the national debt. Those measures mean the Treasury will stop paying into certain federal retirement accounts as required by law, expecting to make up that difference later.

Yellen reminded congressional leaders: “The debt limit does not authorize new spending, but it creates a risk that the federal government might not be able to finance its existing legal obligations that Congresses and Presidents of both parties have made in the past.” She added, “I respectfully urge Congress to act promptly to protect the full faith and credit of the United States.”

Both the avian flu and the limits of the debt ceiling must be managed, and managed quickly, and solutions will require expertise and political skill.

Rather than offering their solutions to these problems, the Trump team leaked that it intended to begin mass deportations on Tuesday morning in Chicago, choosing that city because it has large numbers of immigrants and because Trump’s people have been fighting with Chicago mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat. Michelle Hackman, Joe Barrett, and Paul Kiernan of the Wall Street Journal, who broke the story, reported that Trump’s people had prepared to amplify their efforts with the help of right-wing media.

But once the news leaked of the plan and undermined the “shock and awe” the administration wanted, Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan said the team was reconsidering it.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Consumer Financial Protection Bureau #consumer protection #FTC #Letters From An American #heather cox richardson #shock and awe #immigration raids #debt ceiling #bird flu #protests #March on Washington

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sanctus-ingenium · 2 years ago

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any tips or stuff youve learned along the way on making a headworld "series bible" of sorts?

discord categories & channels (ft. the old working title of Where Hate Rules because i forgot to change it). i have a discord server with just me in it where I have a channel category for each writing project.

scroll down for a spreadsheet data blast

General - image dump, place to throw in new ideas so I don't forget them, plot points, etc

Worldbuilding - this is for stuff that's set in stone, not vague concepts. maps, diagrams, etc (i have a lot of diesel engine block diagrams and celestial illustrations in there as well as every holy beast)

Character log - literally just a list of characters. put in every character in the same format (i.e Name, Age, Profession, Physical Description, Hometown)

Writing Place - for prose. I write in libreoffice but when I'm out of the house on mobile or just doing test paragraphs they go here because I'd rather kill myself than use google docs ever. Each new piece of writing has an easily-searched title.

After this I have a channel for every main character. In here I put art relating to them, backstory, motivations, any random thoughts I have about them and so on. You don't wanna see how many of these I have for my Inver channel category lmaoo.

No, there are better ways to visualise Inver's absolutely massive series bible!

Discord is obviously only useful if you're online and I don't like storing so much shit in the cloud. And what if I need rows AND columns?

man i love spreadsheets. zoom in and get a load of that sweet sweet fossit guide.

this is me kissing microsoft excel with tongue to produce a datasheet about the modern-day ranger barracks in Inver (year 2017, Pascal's time) but any spreadsheet program will do. Even (gag) google sheets. I made this because in the modern era, rangers are ecologists! They participate in land management as well as faery relations.

Okay so. First thing you want to do is freeze the top row so that it remains in place when you scroll. Then populate the boxes. Here, each ranger organisation (column 1) is given its own bg colour based on its main tartan colour so visual reference is easy. The characters tab is similar - frozen top row with basic categories, then a colour-coded list of rangers.

I have one of these for 1800s Inver as well! Luckily I only had to do the habitats once since they didn't change much over the years.

Hopefully that helps?? Basically: if you're lazy and need to generate ideas and data on the go, pick discord. If you want to be more specific, make a spreadsheet or 6.

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satoshi-mochida · 1 year ago

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Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance announced for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC - Gematsu

From Gematsu

ATLUS has announced Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC (Steam, Microsoft Store). It will launch on June 21 worldwide. Pre-orders will open on February 27.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance is an enhanced version of Shin Megami Tensei V, which originally launched for Switch in November 2021.

Here is an overview of the game, via ATLUS:

And here are further details:

■ What is Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance?

Released in 2021, ATLUS’s renowned RPG Shin Megami Tensei V has sold more than one million copies worldwide. This highly acclaimed game has evolved in every aspect, including the system and scenario, and will be available on multiple modern platforms! At the beginning of the story, the player is presented between two routes. The story told in Shin Megami Tensei V, the Canon of Creation, and a brand-new route, Canon of Vengeance, a dramatic tale of revenge by the fallen. The Canon of Vengeance follows the scenario of SMTV, but changes drastically from the latter half of the game. The outcome will be completely different. Enjoy the two divergent stories to your heart’s content. The battle system, demon fusion, and field exploration have also evolved in depth with the addition of new elements. We are excited to deliver a full-fledged RPG that can be enjoyed by those who have already played SMTV, as well as those who are playing this series for the first time.

■ Story

Thou shalt be God—. When a grisly murder scence in modern-day Tokyo blocks our protagonist’s walk home, an unplanned detour leaves him buried and unconscious. He awakens in a New Tokyo, a wasteland ravaged by apocalypse now called Da’at – but before bloodthirsty demons can claim his live, a savior emerges, and the two of them unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino. Revenge Awaits—. Demons attack humans and seek to create a world of chaos. Bethel, an organization that seeks to protect God’s order. Caught up in the conflict between the two, while exploring Da’at, the protagonist meets and starts traveling with Yoko Hiromine. Using magic, Yoko and the main character stand together on the front line. The Qadistu, four female Demons stand in their way. “Found it, the Key of Resurrection…” A member of the Qadistu, Lilith calls protagonist the Key of Resurrection, and herself The Oppressed. What is their purpose? A tale of revenge by the oppressed begins.

■ The Oppressed: The Qadistu

In the Canon of Vengeance, four female demons appear in front of the protagonist. Another story of creation told by new Demons.

■ Characters

Lilith (voiced by Katelyn Gault in English)

“I am Lilith of the Qadištu The one to restore the world to what it ought to be.” A woman who is said to have been Adam’s first wife in the Old Testament. Later left Garden of Eden and turned into a demon. Leader of the Qadištu. In order to achieve an unidentified goal, she stands in front of the protagonist.

Protagonist / Nahobino

A high school senior living in Tokyo. On his way back from school, he is involved in a tunnel collapse and wanders into an apocalyptic version of Tokyo, Da’at. His hobby is reading. The protagonist fuses with Aogami and becomes a “Nahobino,” using this power to fight back demons. The decision-making during the Nahobino state lies with the protagonist, and Aogami guides him with his voice.

Aogami (voiced by Damian Mills in English)

“Regardless of what may happen, rest assured that I will always protect you.” A mysterious man who appears before the protagonist, who is being attacked by a demon in Da’at. By taking the protagonist’s hand, he transforms into a condemned being, the Nahobino. He seemingly participated in the war 18 years ago, but his memory of it has slipped away.

Yoko Hiromine (vocied by Erin Yvette in English)

“With no one to save them, in the back of their mind, the victim desires only one thing: revenge against the assailant.” She is a senior in high school at St. Marina Academy. Cool and somewhat mysterious. She meets and works with the protagonist in Da’at. She has always possessed mysterious powers and was once called a “saint”. At the academy, she has been recognized for her power and learned exorcism magic. She also participates in the battles.

■ Over 270 Demons

In addition to existing demons, this title features more than 270 demons, including new demons newly drawn by the character designer Masayuki Doi. Enjoy an incredible demon experience!

■ Includes Shin Megami Tensei V Downloadable Content Demons and Quests!

The demons and quests that were available with Shin Megami Tensei V are included in this title as standard features! Experienced players are encouraged to try their hand at these challenging quests.

A Goddess in Training

The Doctor’s Last Wish

The Rage of a Queen

Return of the True Demon

■ Evolution in Depth!

Every system of Shin Megami Tensei V has been brushed up in detail and new elements have been added, including field exploration, demon conversations, battles, growth elements, and new demon experiences! Of course, with multiple endings—this is truly the definitive version of Shin Megami Tensei V. Adding unique skills to all demons, new interactions with demons, and more… Many other new elements! Stay tuned for more information!

■ Additional Downloadable Content

Downloadable content featuring new demons will be distributed simultaneously on the release date. Demon God Dagda from Shin Megami Tensei IV: Final and newly introduced is the demon Goddess Konohanasakuya, newly drawn by character designer Masayuki Doi!

Holy Will and Profane Dissent

Sakura Cinders of the East

Konohana Sakuya laments the turbulent world and searches for a hero who can pacify the world. She sees an image of a certain hero within the protagonist and challenges him. Winning the battle will allow you to make Konohana Sakuya your ally, and fusion will also be unlocked. In addition, earning downloadable content that makes it easier to gain experience and in-game currency will be released at the same time.

Watch the announcement trailer and a special program below. View the first screenshots at the gallery.

Announce Trailer

English

youtube

Japanese

youtube

Special Program Spotlight

English

youtube

Japanese

youtube

#Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance #Shin Megami Tensei V #Shin Megami Tensei #SMT V #SMT #Atlus #Gematsu #Youtube #long post

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drst · 1 month ago

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So this is what the Biden administration spent it's last week in office doing. It's important to know this isn't unusual activity for them. But this is all just in one week:

"Out With a Bang: Enforcers Go After John Deere, Private Equity Billionaires

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/out-with-a-bang-enforcers-go-after

At least for a few more days, laws are not suggestions. In the end days of strong enforcement, a flurry of litigation is met with a direct lawsuit by billionaires against Biden's Antitrust chief.

Matt Stoller

Jan 16, 2025

It’s less than a week until this era of antitrust ends. And while much of the news has been focused elsewhere, enforcers have engaged in a flurry of action, which will by legal necessity continue into the next administration. One case in particular angered some of the most powerful people on Wall Street, the partners of a $600 billion private equity firm called Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR).

But before getting to that suit, here’s a partial list of some of the actions enforcers have taken in the last two weeks.

The Federal Trade Commission

Filed a monopolization claim against agricultural machine maker John Deere for generating $6 billion by prohibiting farmers from being able to repair their own equipment, a suit which Wired magazine calls a “tipping point” for the right to repair movement.

Released another report on pharmacy benefit managers, including that of UnitedHealth Group, showing that these companies inflated prices for specialty pharmaceuticals by more than $7 billion.

Sued Greystar, a large corporate landlord, for deceiving renters with falsely advertised low rents and not including mandatory junk fees in the price.

Issued a policy statement that gig workers can’t be prosecuted for antitrust violations when they try to organize, and along with the Antitrust Division, updated guidance on labor and antitrust.

Put out a series of orders prohibiting data brokers from selling sensitive location information.

Finalized changes to a rule barring third party targeted advertising to children without an explicit opt-in.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Went to court against Capital One for cheating consumers out of $2 billion by deceiving them on savings accounts and interest rates.

Fined cash app purveyor Block $175 million for fostering fraud on its platform and then refusing to offer customer support to affected consumers.

Proposed a rule to prohibit take-it-or-leave-it contracts from financial institutions that allow firms to de-bank users over how they express themselves or whether they seek redress for fraud.

Issued a report with recommendations on how states can update their laws to protect against junk fees and privacy abuses.

Sued credit reporting agency Experian for refusing to investigate consumer disputes and errors on credit reports.

Finalized a rule to remove medical debt from credit scores.

The Antitrust Division

Sued to block a merger of two leading business travel firms, American Express Global Business Travel Group and CWT Holdings.

Filed a complaint against seven giant corporate landlords for rent-fixing, using the software and consulting firm RealPage.

Got four guilty pleas in a bid-rigging conspiracy by IT vendors against the U.S. government, a guilty plea from an asphalt vendor company President, and convicted five defendants in a price-fixing scam on roofing contracts.

Issued a policy statement that non-disclosure agreements that deter individuals from reporting antitrust crimes are void, and that employers “using NDAs to obstruct or impede an investigation may also constitute separate federal criminal violations.”

Filed two amicus briefs with the FTC, one supporting Epic Games in its remedy against Google over app store monopolization, and the other supporting Elon Musk in his antitrust claims against OpenAI, Microsoft, and Reid Hoffman.

And honorary mention goes to the Department of Transportation for suing Southwest and fining Frontier for ‘chronically delayed flights.’"

It's worth reading the entire piece because the Biden people have also gone after KKR which is one of the biggest and most well-connected private equity firms. Remember when suddenly last year all the rich people who used to donate to both parties stopped giving money to Democrats? The billionaires coup against Biden was because of anti trust enforcement.

IF YOU'RE THINKING "GOSH I NEVER HEARD ABOUT ANY OF THIS BEFORE" I HOPE YOU CAN PUT TOGETHER THAT THE NEWS AND SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS ARE ALL OWNED BY BILLIONAIRES WHO ARE VERY ANGRY ABOUT ALL OF THIS AND MAYBE THAT'S WHY YOU NEVER SAW ANYONE TALK ABOUT THE HUGE RESURGENCE OF ANTI TRUST WORK DONE BY BIDEN FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS.

And no, Trump cannot magically make this all go away. The lawsuits will have to be played out and many of them have state level components that mean the feds can't just shut them down.

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dertaglichedan · 7 months ago

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Bill Gates was like a 'kid in a candy store' with young pretty Microsoft interns, so much so that they were banned from being alone with him, an upcoming book claims.

Intimate details of the billionaire's relationships with women are set to be exposed by New York Times journalist Anupreeta Das, who writes that Gates' infidelity left his wife Melinda 'seething for a long time.'

Bill’s calendar would allegedly include blocks of time which were for unexplained reasons, and his security staff were once overhauled by Melinda because she felt they were ‘enabling’ him.

In upcoming book ‘Billionaire, Nerd, Savior, King: Bill Gates and His Quest to Shape Our World’, it is claimed that the Gates' marriage finally hit breaking point in 2019 when his connection to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein came to light.

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girlboss-enthusiast · 1 year ago

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what's the deal with firefox

Boy howdy, am I glad you asked! I'll be comparing Firefox to Chrome and Edge.

Firefox uses fewer resources than Chrome or Edge, meaning that your browser and other apps will run faster and your battery will last longer on mobile/laptop.

Firefox is privacy-focused, meaning the browser doesn't gather data unless you opt into it, and by default it blocks third-party cookies, trackers, and other things that track you across the web. You can choose between standard, strict, and custom blocking, plus install privacy tools from the add-on store. This will protect your personal data and help websites load more quickly.

Speaking of ad blocking, Firefox supports ad-blocking extensions on Android devices, unlike the other Big 3 browsers. I don't even use the YouTube app on my phone anymore because if I watch via Firefox, I get no ads. I can actually read articles on news sites without being spammed by ads! It's amazing!

Firefox has equivalent add-ons for almost all Chrome extensions, so you won't lose functionality when you switch.

Firefox accounts allow you to sync across devices, just like Google accounts allow Chrome settings to sync, so moving from desktop to mobile or vice versa is very simple.

The Mozilla Foundation, Firefox's parent company, is a non-profit which advocates for online transparency and users' rights to keep the internet usable for everyone.

Firefox is free, open source, and non-proprietary, and allows you to opt out of all sponsored content, unlike Chrome or Edge.

Firefox does not tie you down to a particular product or corporation, such as Microsoft or Apple. It works on any platform.

Cutest mascot by far.

#i should make an infographic about this #or find one that an actual designer made lol #firefox #answers.txt

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mostlysignssomeportents · 2 years ago

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We should ban TikTok('s surveillance)

With the RESTRICT Act, Congress is proposing to continue Trump’s war on Tiktok, enacting a US ban on the Chinese-owned service. How will they do this? Congress isn’t clear. In practice, banning stuff on the internet is hard, especially if you don’t have a national firewall:

https://doctorow.medium.com/theyre-still-trying-to-ban-cryptography-33aa668dc602

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/30/tik-tok-tow/#good-politics-for-electoral-victories

My guess is that they’re thinking of ordering the mobile duopoly of Google and Apple to nuke the Tiktok app from their app stores. That’s how they do it in China, after all: when China wanted to ban VPNs and other privacy tools, they just ordered Apple to remove them from the App Store, and Apple rolled over:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/11/foreseeable-consequences/#airdropped

That’s the completely foreseeable consequence of arrogating the power to decide which software every mobile user on earth is entitled to use — as Google and Apple have done. Once you put that gun on the mantelpiece in Act I, you damn betcha that some strong-man backed by a powerful state is going to come along and shoot it by Act III.

The same goes for commercial surveillance: once you collect massive, nonconsensual dossiers on every technology user alive, you don’t get to act surprised when cops and spies show up and order your company to serve as deputies for a massive, off-the-books warrantless surveillance project.

Hell, a cynic might even say that commercial surveillance companies are betting on this. The surveillance public-private partnership is a vicious cycle: corporations let cops and spies plunder our data; then the cops and spies lobby against privacy laws that would prevent these corporations from spying on us:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/25/nationalize-moderna/#hun-sen

Which makes the RESTRICT Act an especially foolish project. If the Chinese state wants to procure data on Americans, it need not convince us to install Tiktok. It can simply plunk down a credit card with any of the many unregulated data-brokers who feed the American tech giants the dossiers that the NSA and local cops rely on.

Every American tech giant is at least as bad for privacy as Tiktok is — yes, even Apple. Sure, Apple lets its users block Facebook spying with a single tap — but even if you opt out of “tracking,” Apple still secretly gathers exactly the same kinds of data as Facebook, and uses it to power its own ad product:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

There is no such thing as a privacy-respecting tech giant. Long before Apple plastered our cities with lying billboards proclaiming its reverence for privacy, Microsoft positioned itself as the non-spying alternative to Google, which would be great, except Microsoft spies on hundreds of millions of people and sells the data:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/11/25/the-peoples-amazon/#clippys-revenge

Tech’s surveillance addiction means that Tiktok’s own alternative to the RESTRICT Act is also unbelievably stupid. The company has proposed to put itself under Oracle’s supervision, letting Oracle host its data and audit its code. You know, Oracle, the company that built the Great Firewall of China 1.0:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2010/01/selling-china-surveillance

We should not trust Tiktok any more than we trust Apple, Facebook, Google or Microsoft. Tiktok lied about whether it was sending data to China before:

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/emilybakerwhite/tiktok-tapes-us-user-data-china-bytedance-access

And even if it keeps its promise not to send user data to China, that promise is meaningless — it can still send the vectors and models it creates with that data to China — these being far more useful for things like disinformation campaigns and population-scale inferences than the mere logs from your Tiktok sessions.

There are so many potentially harmful ways to process commercial surveillance data that trying to enumerate all the things that a corporation is allowed to do with the data it extracts from us is a fool’s errand. Instead, we should ban companies from spying on us, whether they are Chinese or American.

Corporations are remorseless, paperclip-maximizing colony organisms that perceive us as inconvenient gut-flora, and they lack any executive function (as do their “executives”), and they cannot self-regulate. To keep corporations from harming us, we must make it illegal for them to enact harm, and punish them when they break the law:

https://doctorow.medium.com/small-government-fd5870a9462e

After all, the problem with Tiktok isn’t the delightful videos or the fact that it’s teaching a generation of children to be expert sound- and video-editors. The problem with Tiktok is that it spies on us. Just like the problem with Facebook isn’t that it lets us communicate with our friends, and the problem with Google isn’t that it operates a search engine.

Now, these companies will tell you that the two can’t be separated, that a bearded prophet came down off a mountain with two stone tablets, intoning, “Larry, Sergey, thou shalt stop rotating thine logfiles and, lo, thou wilt data-mine them for actionable market intelligence.” But it’s nonsense. Google ran for years without surveillance. Facebook billed itself as the privacy-forward alternative to Myspace and promised never to spy on us:

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3247362

The inevitabilist narrative that says that corporations must violate our rights in order to make the products we love is unadulterated Mr Gotcha nonsense: “Yet you participate in society. Curious. I am very intelligent”:

https://thenib.com/mister-gotcha/

Of course, corporations push this narrative all the time, which is why American Big Tech has been quietly supporting a ban on Tiktok, which (coincidentally) has managed to gain a foothold in the otherwise impregnable, decaying, enshittified oligarchy that US companies have created.

They have conspicuously failed to call for any kind of working solution, like a federal privacy law that would ban commercial surveillance, and extend a “private right of action,” so people could sue tech giants and data-brokers who violated the law, without having to convince a regulator, DA or Attorney General to bestir themselves:

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/01/you-should-have-right-sue-companies-violate-your-privacy

Instead, the tech giants have the incredible gall to characterize themselves as the defenders of our privacy — at least, so long as the Chinese government is the adversary, and so long as its privacy violations come via an app, and not buy handing a credit card to the data-brokers that are the soil bacteria that keeps Big Tech’s ecosystem circulating. In the upside-down land of Big Tech lobbying, privacy is a benefit of monopoly — not something we have to smash monopolies to attain:

https://www.eff.org/wp/interoperability-and-privacy

Not everyone in Congress is onboard with the RESTRICT Act. AOC has come out for a federal privacy law that applies to all companies, rather than a ban on an app that tens of millions of young Americans love:

https://www.businessinsider.com/aoc-first-tiktok-congress-ban-without-being-clued-in-2023-3

You know who agrees with AOC? Rand Paul. Yes, that absolute piece of shit. Paul told his caucusmates in the GOP that banning an app that millions of young American voters love is bad electoral politics. This fact is so obvious that even Rand fucking Paul can understand it:

https://gizmodo.com/rand-paul-opposes-tiktok-ban-warns-republicans-1850278167

Paul is absolutely right to call a Tiktok ban a “national strategy to permanently lose elections for a generation.” The Democrats should listen to him, because the GOP won’t. As between the two parties, the GOP is far more in thrall to the Chamber of Commerce and the rest of the business lobby. They are never going to back a policy that’s as good for the people and as bad for big business as a federal privacy law.

The Democrats have the opportunity to position themselves as “the party that wants to keep Tiktok but force it to stop being creepy, along with all the other tech companies,” while the GOP positions itself as “the party of angry technophobes who want to make sure that any fun you have is closely monitored by Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pinchai and Tim Cook and their pale imitations of the things you love about Tiktok.”

That’s not just good electoral politics — it’s good policy. Young voters aren’t going to turn out to the polls for performative Cold War 2.0 nonsense, but they will be pissed as hell at whoever takes away their Tiktok.

And if you do care about Cold War 2.0, then you should be banning surveillance, not Tiktok; the Chinese government has plenty of US dollars at its disposal to spend in America’s freewheeling, unregulated data markets — as do criminals, petty and organized, and every other nation-state adversary of the USA.

The RESTRICT Act is a garbage law straight out of the Clinton era, a kind of King Canute decree that goes so far as to potentially prohibit the use of VPNs to circumvent its provisions. America doesn’t need a Great Firewall to keep itself safe from tech spying — it needs a privacy law.

Have you ever wanted to say thank you for these posts? Here’s how you can: I’m kickstarting the audiobook for my next novel, a post-cyberpunk anti-finance finance thriller about Silicon Valley scams called Red Team Blues. Amazon’s Audible refuses to carry my audiobooks because they’re DRM free, but crowdfunding makes them possible.

Image: Cryteria (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HAL9000.svg

CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en

[Image ID: A modified vintage editorial cartoon. Uncle Sam peeks out over a 'frowning battlement' whose cannon-slots are filled with telescopes from which peer the red glaring eyes of HAL 9000 from '2001: A Space Odyssey.' Topping the battlements in a row are Uncle Sam and three business-suited figures with dollar-sign-bags for heads. The three dollar-bag men have corporate logos on their breasts: Facebook, Google, Apple. Standing on the strand below the battlements, peering up, is a forlorn figure with a Tiktok logo for a head. The fortress wall bears the words 'RESTRICT Act.']

#rand paul is right actually ugh ugh ugh #politics #oracle #restrict act #privacy #privacy without monopoly #tiktok #commercial surveillance #trade war #bytedance #apple #google #facebook #meta #usausausa #generational warfare #electoral strategy #pluralistic #aoc

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maxbeta360 · 7 months ago

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Personal masterpost / 2nd intro

Max,Chief,Master Chief,Spartan He/Him | fictionkin/fictive & general machine alterhuman

I’m a boiling hot mess when it comes to alterhuman labels. I really can’t put my identity into words but I’m going to try here

As you might’ve picked up already, I am Master Chief but I am also an Xbox360, Or atleast somehow connected to one…? It feels like my brain is running as an Xbox engine but my body is the body I have in source/canon

This ‘Xbox self’ only stores really dated games from between 2001-2014. I have other games but the most prominent ones are Minecraft Beta and Halo 1 - 5. The only exception of time after 2014 that still affects my identity is Halo Infinite for some reason. I have lots memories from that source and I’m not sure why

Old Microsoft game marketing is a huge visual representation of my identity. The oversaturated green, the hit or miss edginess of gaming stores at the time, and just the general nostalgia of it all is me in a way. I also really like old YouTube and old Tumblr because it just reminds me of the time where I belonged :]

So basically I am like a time capsule of early gaming and the early internet XD (I will never say XD again I am so sorry)

I also really love the “eerie” liminal space of Minecraft Beta :] It kind of became a safe haven for me. I love the empty atmosphere that only the old games had

I’m a binary trans man btw. I am not transmasc. The term doesn’t match my experience but I have nothing against it

I’m hetroflexable but I usually just say I’m straight to simplify it

I’m nonspeaking in my cannon and when I front but I have no issue typing or writing my words

Age is a weird thing for me. The body is 20 years of age but I’m like 9 or something. But not in a human way. More like a 9 year old game disc that is still going strong

I’m part of a system btw. I feel like that’s important to share. Uhh both me and the main guy (host) don’t really talk about it because we know it’s confusing to other people and the last thing we would want is to confuse people. Plus we’re both figuring it all out for ourselves

You’ve probably seen the main guy before if you’re on fictionkin tumblr. He interacts with a lot of my post and I do the same so you’ll see him around on my blog

DNI / BYI

DNI if you are; H0mophobic, Transph0bic, T3erf, R@dqueer, pr0ship, M@ps, Z00s, ‘transsystems’ anything of the sort

Hard DNI if you support ai generated content. Also if I accidentally reblog ‘art’ that’s ai generated, please tell me. I often miss the signs

BYI Info that’s a little less harsh

I try my best to add alt text to my posts with images in them but don’t expect it in every post

I am not a fan of the Halo TV Series and I am not a fan of depictions of me without my helmet on so If you are a mutual and you reblog something like that (which is fine) I would really appreciate it if you used the #max don’t look hashtag? Because I have that tag blocked :]

And that’s about it. Thanks for sticking to the end or scrolling to the bottom at least

Image credit | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

“and the universe said I love you because you are love.”

#fictionkin #otherkin #alterhuman #fictive intro #otherkin community #fictionkind #alterhuman community #fictionkin intro #robotkin #fictionkin community #traumagenic system #endos dni please #🌌🎮

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zandyland · 5 days ago

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Say, for the sake of argument, you want to make a bad programming language. Why would you do this?

Well, for instance, you might get your hands on a book of scripts to generate ephemera for celestial events, only to find out it was written for Microsoft QuickBasic for Macintosh System 7. You quickly discover that this particular flavor of BASIC has no modern interpreter, and the best you can do is an emulator for System 7 where you have to mount 8 virtual floppy disks into your virtual system.

You could simply port all the scripts to another BASIC, but at that point you might as well just port them to another langauge entirely, a modern language.

Except QuickBasic had some funky data types. And the scripts assume a 16-bit integer, taking advantage of the foibles of bitfutzery before converting numbers into decimal format. BASIC is very particular -- as many old languages are -- about whitespace.

In addition to all this, BASIC programs are not structured as modern programs. It's structured to be written in ed, one line at a time, typing in a numbered index followed by the command. There are no scopes. There are no lifetimes. It's just a loose collection of lines that are hopefully in a logical order.

So sure, I could port all these programs. But I'm sure to make mistakes.

Wouldn't it just be easier, some basal part of my brain says, to write your own language that some some modern ameneties, that you compile for your own laptop, that kind of acts like BASIC? A language where you just have to translate particular grammar, and not the whole structure of the program?

Of course it's not easier. But I'm already too far in to quit now.

Memory

Who doesn't love manual memory layout?

In QuickBasic, memory is "kind of" manual. The DEFINT and DEFDBL keywords let you magically instantiate types based on their first letter. I don't know how you deallocate things, because all the scripts in this book finish quickly and don't hang around to leak a lot.

In QuickBasic, this looks like

I guess that the second statement just overrides the first.

There is no stack in a BASIC program, so there will be no stack in my language. Instead you just give names to locations.

creates a symbol named age and makes it refer to 0x1F. The pointer operator should be obvious, and the walrus means we're defining a symbol (to be replaced like a macro), not doing a value assignment during the execution of the program. Now we can assign a value.

Atoms infer types. age knows it's an int.

You cannot assign a new type to an atom.

However, you can cast between types by creating two atoms at the same address, typed differently.

The language does not convert these, it simply interprets the bits as the type demands.

Larger types

Not all types are a single word. Therefore, you can use the range operator .. to refer to a range of addresses.

Note that strings are stored with an extra byte for its length, instead of null-terminating it. Assignment of a string that is too long will result in a compilation error.

Next and Auto

There are also two keywords to make the layout of memory easier. The first is :next which will place the span in the next available contiguous location that is large enough to hold the size required. The second is :auto. For all :auto instances, the compiler will collect all these and attempt to place them in an intelligent free location. :auto prefers to align large structs with 64-word blocks, and fills in smaller blocks near other variables that are used in the same code blocks.

String Allocation

Strings come with a macro to help automatically build out the space required:

This is equivalent to:

That is, a string with capacity 5, a current size of 0, and zeroes (null char) in all spots. This helps avoid memory reuse attacks. ZBASIC is not a secure language, but this is still good practice.

There is also another macro that is similar to a "string literal".

Verbose and annoying! Just like BASIC.

Array Allocation

Likewise, arrays have a similar macro:

Which expands in a similar way as strings, with a capacity word and size word. The difference here is that the type given may change the actual size of the allocation. Giving a type that is larger than a single word will result in a larger array. For instance, f64 takes up two words some systems, so array::empty!(5, f64) will allocate 10 words in that case (5 * 2). Larger structs will likewise take up even more space. Again, all this memory will be zeroed out.

Allocation order

As an overview, this is the order that memory is assigned during compilation:

Manual Locations -> Next -> Auto

Manual locations are disqualified from eligibility for the Next and Auto phases, so a manual location will never accidentally reference any data allocated through :next or :auto.

Here is an example:

This produces the initial layout:

Which, after the code is run, results in the memory values:

Note that types are not preserved at runtime. They are displayed in the table as they are for convenience. When you use commands like "print" that operate differently on different types, they will be replaced with one of several instructions that interpret that memory as the type it was at compile-time.

Truly awful, isn't it?

#programming #programming languages #basic #yak shave

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demifiendrsa · 1 year ago

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ATLUS has moved up Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance from its previously planned June 21, 2024 release date to June 14, 2024.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store.

Latest details

■ What is Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance?

Released in 2021, ATLUS’s renowned RPG Shin Megami Tensei V has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide.

This highly acclaimed title has evolved in every aspect, including the system and scenario, and will be available on multiple modern platforms!

The Canon of Vengeance follows the scenario of Shin Megami Tensei V, but changes drastically from the latter half of the game. The outcome will be completely different. Enjoy the two divergent stories to your heart’s content.

The battle system, demon fusion, and field exploration have also evolved in depth with the addition of new elements. We are excited to deliver a full-fledged RPG that can be enjoyed by those who have already played Shin Megami Tensei V, as well as those who are playing this series for the first time.

■ Story

Thou shalt be God—

When a grisly murder scene in modern-day Tokyo blocks our protagonist’s walk home, an unplanned detour leaves him buried and unconscious. He awakens in a new Tokyo, a wasteland ravaged by apocalypse now called Da’at… but before bloodthirsty demons can claim his life, a savior emerges, and the two of them unite to become a mighty being, neither human nor demon: a Nahobino.

Revenge Awaits

Demons attack humans and seek to create a world of chaos. Bethel, an organization that seeks to protect God’s order. Caught up in the conflict between the two, while exploring Da’at, the protagonist meets and starts traveling with Yoko Hiromine. Using magic, Yoko and the main character stand together on the front line.

The Qadistu, four female Demons stand in their way. “Found it, the Key of Resurrection……” A member of the Qadistu, Lilith, calls protagonist the Key of Resurrection, and herself The Oppressed. What is their purpose? A tale of revenge by the oppressed begins.

■ Characters

Tao Isonogami (voiced by Jeanine Tirado in English, Hayami Saori in Japanese)

“You were ready to do whatever it took to protect someone you care about. I know exactly how that feels.”

Tao is a classmate of the protagonist and a member of the high school lacrosse club. Friendly and caring.

She has possessed a strong spiritual sense since when she was young and has been assisting Bethel Japan as their “saint.” She supports the protagonist once he joins Bethel.

In combat, Bethel Japan as their “saint”, she specializes in healing and support skills.

Yuzuru Atsuta (voiced by Mark Whitten in English, Kaito Ishikawa in Japanese)

“Innocent people get born into pain they can’t escape and don’t deserve. What do you call that but proof that our world’s fundamentally broken?”

Yuzuru is a friend of the protagonist.

Holding a strong sense of justice, he joins Bethel as a temporary unit to fight demons and protect his sister Miyazu.

He gains more power after visiting Da’at with the protagonist, reaffirming his commitment to fight for peace in Tokyo.

In battles, he wields the Demon Summoning Program to summon his loyal demon partner Hayataro as his demon partner.

Ichiro Dazai (voiced by Stuart Allan in English, Kishou Taniyama in Japanese)

“That angel taught me something truly important: you can’t rely on others to carry out your justice.”

Ichiro is a classmate of the protagonist. He has a cheerful personality but can often be rather tactless.

His grades are poor and often seen as “useless” at school.

As he livestreams himself as a hobby, he is dragged to Da’at after a tunnel collapse incident. Bethel recruits him to fight demons, to which he agrees as he believes that it’s for a noble cause. In battles, he uses unique demons such as Aitvaras and Mokoi as his demon partners.

Miyazu Atsuta (voiced by Ashlyn Madden in English, Ryou Hirohashi in Japanese)

“I refuse to hurt Tao anymore!”

Yuzuru’s younger sister and only relative. Shy and physically weak, she is a frequent visitor to the school nurse’s office.

She respects her brother and is worried about his involvement in Bethel.

Sahori Itsukishima (voiced by Erica Lindbeck in English, Lynn in Japanese)

“Demons are just like people too. There are good types and bad…”

Tao’s best friend and a former member of the lacrosse club.

A victim of bullying by her teammates, leaving her a vulnerable target for the demon Lahmu.

■ Demons

Naahmah (voiced by Kari Wahlgren in English, Shizuka Ito in Japanese)

“Now wail and lament! Your anguish shall become the Magatsuhi that I seek!”

One of the four female demons of the Qadistu, also known as the “Mother of Demons”. She is the most sensual and seductive of the four Qadistu, and her beauty is said to charm not only humans, but even Angels and Demons.

Eisheth Zenunim (voiced by Allegra Clark in English, Kimiko Saitou in Japanese)

“Now, tell me… what part of yourselves do you hate the most?”

One of the demons of the Qadistu, who seduces humans and leads them to their demise. In Jewish mythology, she is said to eat the souls of the fallen. Under the guise of salvation, she attacks humans and steals their souls.

Agrat bat Mahlat (voiced by Cherami Leigh in English, Reina Ueda in Japanese)

“So I shall dispense a punishment. May your existence be lost to darkness.”

A member of the Qadistu, she is also the “Queen of Demons.” Also known as “the demon who dances on the roof” and is said to wander through the air with her chariot and her train of messengers of destruction.

Glasya-Labolas

One of the 72 demons of King Solomon’s “Ars Goetia.” His form is that of a dog with griffin-wings. Bloodshed and murder, and can predict the future and make people invisible.

■ Gameplay

Press Turn Battle

The battles in this title features a command-based Press Turn Battle.

The Press Turn System rewards the player for exploiting the weaknesses of enemies. If you successfully hit an enemy with the skill type they are weak to, your party will gain an extra turn. The simple, yet tactically challenging battle system is still in place.

This title also offers various new skills and elements that expand the strategic nature of battles.

Striking an enemy’s weak point increases the number of Press Turn icons in the upper right corner of the screen, allowing additional actions! If you keep targeting the weak points well, you can take up to 8 actions, for an unscathed victory.

A number of exclusive skills available only to certain demons have also been added!

■ Systems

Magatsuhi Skill

As the battle progresses, your actions will fill the Magatsuhi gauge. Once the Magatsuhi gauge is capped, you can use the special technique Magatsuhi skill.

Magatsuhi Skills have a variety of effects, including damaging enemies and support and healing skills. This title features more than 50 Magatsuhi skills, including more than 20 newly added to the game, such as ones only usable with certain demons.

Each skill has powerful abilities, so keep an eye out for opportunities to activate them in battle.

In addition to the Magatsuhi skills previously introduced in Shin Megami Tensei V, there are now skills that can be activated when there is a strong mythological relationship between two demons or when there are demons with the same alignment in the party!

Unique Skills

In this title, every demon has their own special passive skill, called Unique Skills.

Unique Skills may include those that increase the power of attack skills, provide powerful effects when a particular demon is present, or ones that are useful for demon conversation.

The combination of the demons allows the player to experience more tactical battles.

—Blessed Melody When active, your team’s power is enhanced when all allies exploit the target’s weakness with Light Skills.

—Four Heavenly Kings When summoned with a demon who has the Unique Skill “Four Heavenly Kings” as active, it will enhance its own abilities.

—Demonic Mediator When active and if a demon negotiation goes sour, your partner demon will intervene to mediate the conversation.

Demon Conversation

When attacked by a demon, you may be able to talk with them and potentially recruit them as an ally.

Each demon has a different personality and preference. In this title, more variations in the conversation are added, deepening the interaction.

Demons vary in temper and personality. If you can negotiate with them skillfully, they will become a supportive companion.

Certain negotiations may be interrupted by an ally demon in your party, triggering a unique interaction. Enjoy the special conversation between the related demons! You can enjoy conversations related to the relationship between the demons.

Sometimes, a demon may surprise you with a pop quiz! Show off your knowledge to impress them!

Guest Characters

As the story progresses, human guest characters may join the party and participate in battles. They can fight and use items in the same manner as demon allies. Use your companions and your demons to your advantage in battle.

Consecutive Encounters

After defeating an enemy demon, a new demon may appear and continue the battle. Although it will be a series of battles, winning may generate bonuses in Macca, EXP, and items earned.

The more demons that discover the protagonist, the more likely it is that a serial encounter will occur. It is also a good idea to aim for a large bonus by engaging in combat with enemies that are densely packed together.

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mariacallous · 1 year ago

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The US Department of Justice had long been expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Apple. But when the suit arrived Thursday, it came with surprising ferocity.

In a press conference, attorney general Merrick Garland noted that Apple controlled more than 70 percent of the country’s smartphone market, saying the company used that outsize power to control developers and consumers and squeeze more revenue out of them.

The suit and messaging from the DOJ and 15 states and the District of Columbia joining it take aim at Apple’s most prized asset—the iPhone—and position the case as a fight for the future of technology. The suit argues that Apple rose to its current power thanks in part to the 1998 antitrust case against Microsoft, and that another milestone antitrust correction is needed to allow future innovation to continue.

Like the Microsoft case, the suit against Apple is “really dynamic and forward looking,” says John Newman, a law professor at the University of Miami. “It's not necessarily about Apple seeing direct competitors,” he says. “It's more about them trying to grab the territory you would need if you were going to even try to compete against Apple.”

Antitrust action in the tech industry has been a focus of the Biden administration’s agenda, which has seen suits brought against both Amazon and Google by the DOJ and the Federal Trade Commission. “This case demonstrates why we must reinvigorate competition policy and establish clear rules of the road for Big Tech platforms,” Democratic senator Amy Klobuchar told WIRED in a statement.

Rebecca Hall Allensworth, a law professor at Vanderbilt University, says that though the government almost always faces an uphill battle in antitrust cases, the Apple case appears relatively solid. “It's a lot stronger than the FTC Amazon monopolization lawsuit from last year,” she says. “And yet, it's very hard to win antitrust cases.”

In a statement, Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz said that the lawsuit “threatens who we are and the principles that set Apple products apart in fiercely competitive markets,” including the way its products work “seamlessly” together and “protect people’s privacy and security.”

Apple has long argued that keeping its mobile operating system, app store, and other services closed offers greater security and safety for customers. But Newman says that the DOJ complaint indicates that Apple doesn't enforce these policies consistently as would make sense if the goal was to protect users.

“Instead [Apple] heavily targets the types of app developers that pose the biggest competitive threat to Apple,” Newman says. The DOJ alleges that restrictions Apple places on iMessage, Apple Wallet, and other products and features create barriers that deter or even penalize people who may switch to cheaper options.

History Repeating

The antitrust case against Microsoft in the late 1990s accused the company of illegally forcing PC manufacturers and others to favor its web browser Internet Explorer. It is widely credited with causing the company to be slow to embrace the web, falling behind a wave of startups including Google and Amazon that grew into giants by making web services useful and lucrative.

When asked about the threat the new antitrust lawsuit might pose to Apple’s business, a DOJ official noted that “there are actually examples where companies, after having been charged and had to change business practices because they violated the antitrust laws in the long run, end up being more valuable than they were before.” Microsoft, thanks to its success in cloud services and more recently AI, is now the most valuable company in the world.

The Department of Justice said Thursday that any potential remedy was on the table for Apple—implying that even breaking up the company is a possibility. But Allensworth says it is unlikely the government would pursue that outcome. The proposed remedies could more likely force Apple to change its "technological and contractual restrictions on app development, and on interoperability with other phones,” she says. “That is something that could be very meaningful, if that remedy were fully realized and overseen in a good way. But it still leaves Apple basically in control of the ecosystem,” Allensworth says.

Paul Swanson, antitrust partner at the law firm Holland & Hart, sees potential difficulties ahead for the suit. “They're alleging that Apple is excluding competition in the smartphone market by making their products stickier, by making it very attractive to stay within their ecosystem. And the way that Apple does that, according to the DOJ, is that it doesn't cooperate nicely with other companies,” he says. But Swanson says antitrust laws don’t generally require companies to work with others. “A business doesn't violate antitrust laws by terminating or refusing to work with another business.”

This is not the first antitrust case against Apple. In 2020, Epic Games filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of anticompetitive behavior, after being kicked off the App Store for offering a version of the Fortnite game that circumvented the Apple’s steep 30 percent fees for in-app purchases. Epic lost the case in the lower courts, and in January the Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal—and Apple announced it would levy a new app store fee on developers.

Newman notes that the government seems to have kept a close eye on that case in constructing the suit launched Thursday. The case was filed in the Third Circuit Court in New Jersey, rather than the Ninth Circuit Court, which includes California. He predicts it will ultimately end up before the Supreme Court. “I think this one's probably going all the way,” Newman says.

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gamerspine · 1 month ago

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February 2025 game releases

More info on Gamerspine Behind The Backrooms : Lost Levels - STEAM - 2025/02/02 終わりの鐘が鳴る前に Chapter3 (Before the End Bell Rings Chapter 3) - STEAM - 2025/02/02 How Much Items - Plants - STEAM - 2025/02/03 How Much Items - Tanks - STEAM - 2025/02/03 Macro Data Rafinement Simulator - STEAM - 2025/02/03 Pinchi-Stingi - STEAM - 2025/02/03 Spirit Swap: Lofi Beats to Match-3 To - STEAM - 2025/02/03 Ball Adventure - STEAM - 2025/02/04 Froggies at the Zoo - STEAM - 2025/02/04 Kingdom Come: Deliverance II - STEAM EGS PS5 - 2025/02/04 Urban Shadows Racing™ Tokyo - STEAM - 2025/02/04 Blocks - STEAM - 2025/02/05 Locks - STEAM - 2025/02/05 Looney Landers - STEAM - 2025/02/05 Rift of the NecroDancer - STEAM - 2025/02/05 While Waiting - STEAM - 2025/02/05 Atonement - STEAM - 2025/02/06 Escape Together: Secrets of the Professor - STEAM - 2025/02/06 Keep Driving - STEAM - 2025/02/06 Pelican Harbor - STEAM - 2025/02/06 zu xing - STEAM - 2025/02/06 Astral Throne - STEAM - 2025/02/07 Cats & Critters: A Dungeon Claw-er - STEAM - 2025/02/07 Los Pingheros - STEAM - 2025/02/07 Night Fright - STEAM - 2025/02/07 Unblinking - STEAM - 2025/02/09 Cats and the City: Shanghai - STEAM - 2025/02/10 FriendShapes - STEAM - 2025/02/10 Line of Fire - Pirate Waltz - STEAM - 2025/02/10 COLD VR - STEAM - 2025/02/11 Sid Meier's Civilization® VII - EGS XONE NSW PS5 XS - 2025/02/11 JUMP KING QUEST - STEAM - 2025/02/12 Legacy: Steel & Sorcery - STEAM - 2025/02/12 Urban Myth Dissolution Center - STEAM - 2025/02/12 Dawnfolk - STEAM - 2025/02/13 METAL SUITS - STEAM - 2025/02/13 Slime Heroes - STEAM - 2025/02/13 Youtopia - STEAM - 2025/02/13 Afterlove EP - STEAM - 2025/02/14 Assassin’s Creed Shadows - EGS PS5 Ubisoft Connect - 2025/02/14 Date Everything! - PS5 Microsoft Store NSW - 2025/02/14 Going for Nuts - STEAM - 2025/02/14 Peril in the Pines - STEAM - 2025/02/14 The Legend of Heroes: Trails through Daybreak II - NSW PS4 PS5 STEAM - 2025/02/14 World Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered - EGS PS4 XS GOG XONE STEAM PS5 - 2025/02/14 寒いから鍋食いたいね女苑ちゃんと！！(It's cold and I want to eat hot pot with Joen!) - STEAM - 2025/02/14 Planet Pioneers - STEAM - 2025/02/17 Avowed - STEAM - 2025/02/18 Lost Records: Bloom & Rage - PS5 XONE STEAM - 2025/02/18 Collect Baby Oil - STEAM - 2025/02/19 Reverse Problem - STEAM - 2025/02/19 BrokenLore: LOW - STEAM - 2025/02/20 Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii - STEAM - 2025/02/20 Iridio: Prologue - STEAM - 2025/02/21 Century of Anticipation - STEAM - 2025/02/26 Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii - XS PS4 PS5 XONE Microsoft Store - 2025/02/27 Monster Hunter Wilds - STEAM - 2025/02/27 PGA TOUR 2K25 - STEAM PS5 - 2025/02/27

#gsrelease #videogames

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