• Leading Science Organization Makes History With New President
    www.forbes.com
    Dr. Brandon JonesBrandon Jones/AGUThe American Geophysical Union has elected its first black President. AGU is one of the largest science organizations in the world. As we close out Black History Month, Dr. Brandon Jones is already speaking out on behalf of the AGUs scientific community at a challenging time and blazing new pathways for future scientists.I had the pleasure of talking with Dr. Jones recently and have known him for several years. We share the same fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, and I was the second African American elected President of the American Meteorological Society. Jones served on the AGU Board of Directors in 2017 and was AGU President-Elect in during the period 2023 t 2024.Whats the AGU anyhow? Its website noted, AGU is an international, nonprofit scientific association whose mission is to promote discovery in Earth and space science for the benefit of humanity. The AGU is a pillar of science engagement, innovation, and dissemination across multiple disciplines. As of 2021, its Black membership was just under two percent.Dr. Jones has a degree in Biology from Lincoln University, PA, a Historically Black College and University. He also holds a masters degree and a doctorate in Marine Sciences from the University of Delaware. I recetly asked him a few questions about his goals as President and the future of the AGU.Dr. Shepherd: What is your vision for AGU right now and going forward?Dr. Jones: My vision is to help AGU continue to develop the elements of future adaptiveness and maintain a posture of future preparation. As the largest professional society in the world for Earth and space science, AGU needs to focus on sustainability in a rapidly changing social and political environment.Dr. Shepherd: Why is your historic achievement so important personally and in the bigger picture?Dr. Jones: When I was 7 or 8, I had a vision of becoming an oceanographer. I had no idea what it would entail, how long it would take, or where I would end up. But I kept that vision and was open to experiences and opportunities that moved me forward. Subsequently, I learned quite a bit in that journey and now I am in this leadership role as the first black president of AGU. I am a product of opportunities that were intentionally designed to expand access to science and I think the return on investment from those efforts is undeniable.Dr. Shepherd: What thoughts do you have about Black History Month and its significance? Dr. Jones: Evolution occurs when new information is used to continue building on what came before. A lack of awareness about the past weakens the substrate that new information can be applied to, thereby impacting the change that is necessary for survival. Black History Month is part of the informational substrate that tells the whole truth of this Nation's history. Without it, change is choked and national security is compromised.It is an honor to call Dr. Jones a colleague and friend. Like me, he understands the challenges and opportunities ahead. While I am sure takes pride in being a pioneer and role model, many of us hope that the days of firsts are waning.Dr. Brandon Jones is a pioneering scientist in the earth sciences related fields of study.Brandon Jones/AGU
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  • The Alabama Health Insurance Battle: Why It Matters To All Patients
    www.forbes.com
    TUSCALOOSA, AL - NOVEMBER 12: Fans of the University of Alabama Crimson Tide display their body ... [+] paint during the game with the Louisiana State University Tigers on November 12, 2005 at at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. LSU defeated Alabama 16-13 in overtime. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)Getty ImagesHistorically, Blue Cross Blue Shield has exercised an unchallenged hegemony over Alabama's health insurance market. Now, the Alabama Farmers Federation (ALFA) is mounting a direct challenge to this dominance.Recently introduced legislation, Senate Bill 84 (SB84), seeks to enable non-profit agricultural organizations, such as ALFA, to establish self-funded health plans that would operate outside the regulatory framework governing traditional insurance models. Proponents argue this initiative will inject much-needed competition into Alabamas stagnant healthcare market. Critics, however, decry these plans as unregulated and rife with potential for patient exploitation.What will this new insurance battle mean for my patients in Alabama?And, more importantly why should all patients pay close attention to its outcome?The Alabama Healthcare Insurance BattleBCBS controls 95% of the health insurance market in Alabama. Employers are paying more for health insurance and most economists note this a large factor as to why real wages have not risen for workers. The average cost of health insurance for a family in Alabama is $25,572 up 7% from 2022 according to KFF.BCBS is deeply entrenched in Alabamas healthcare infrastructure, exerting substantial influence over local care delivery and provider reimbursements. The ALFA is attempting to circumvent stringent insurance regulations by introducing self-funded healthcare plans advertised at 30-60% lower premiums. Similar models exist in ten other rural states, with Tennessee leading in participation. There, a healthy family of four pays between $400 and $600 per month for comparable coverage.The organization projects 10,000 Alabama enrollees within five years, as a frame of reference BCBSs insures 550,000 people in Alabama according to KFF.ALFAs goal is to dismantle what they describe as BCBSs monopolistic grip by offering a more affordable alternative for farmers and agribusiness workers, broadly defined. This could alleviate financial pressures on agricultural enterprises struggling to remain competitive. However, the absence of regulatory oversight established by the Affordable Care Act poses significant risksincluding denials of coverage for pre-existing conditions, caps on catastrophic care payments and lack of essential benefits such as prescription drug coverage and preventive medicine.Why This Battle Matters: Structural Implications For Healthcare Markets NationwideThe stakes in this conflict extend far beyond Alabama. The outcome will influence the trajectory of insurance market deregulation, competition, and consumer protections nationwide.At the core of the dispute is the fundamental principle of risk pooling in health insurance. BCBS, like most insurers, relies on younger, healthier enrollees to subsidize the costs of sicker patients. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) codified this system, requiring broad consumer participation. ALFAs lower-cost plans threaten to siphon off these low-risk individuals, destabilizing BCBSs risk pool and potentially driving up premiums for remaining policyholders.Pragmatically, can younger individuals be forced to purchase more insurance than they want? If so how much is too much? Philosophically, how much agency should the state or other fiscal entities have in determining or forcing personal choice?Three Questions BCBS Needs To Answer In This BattleBCBSnot an individual, but the companypublished an op-ed in Yellowhammer a great local Alabama news outlet. They clearly outlined points about consumer protection, advocating for transparency, coverage and competition. Its worth considering, though it raises some questions.Does BCBS Truly Embrace Transparency?BCBS has called for greater transparency in health insurance marketsyet, in 2015, insurance entities successfully lobbied for legislation making executive compensation figures private in Alabama. Publicly available data from 2013 noted its CEO earned $4.84 million annually. Data after that has not been released. As a non-profit entity serving Alabama, should executive salaries remain undisclosed?Does BCBS Consistently Provide Adequate Coverage?BCBS Alabama has one of the highest denial rates for medical procedures and prescriptions in the country, rejecting approximately 35% of all treatment plans. This means that a third of all treatment plans made between a doctor and a patient are denied by BCBS. Are one-third of physician-led treatment decisions truly unwarranted, or is BCBS leveraging prior authorization as a cost-control mechanism? In markets with more competition, frustrated consumers could switch insurers. In Alabama, BCBSs dominance leaves patients with little recourse. How is BCBS improving the transparency, clinical relevance and mechanics of its prior authorization process?Is BCBS Genuinely Committed To Fair Competition?BCBSs claims of supporting market competition seem contentious in light of its $2.8 billion antitrust settlement in 2024the largest such lawsuit in U.S. healthcare history, following a $2.7 billion settlement in 2020 over similar allegations of anti-competitive practices and underpayment of reimbursements. What assurances exist that BCBS is now operating within the bounds of fair competition?Three Questions AFLA Needs To Answer In This BattleThe AFLA has run two information campaign websites for this endeavor. They can be found at The Alliance For Afford Health Care and A Healthy Option They focus on price and affordability against the backdrop of market consolidation by BCBS.The challenge is that the AFLA would not be subject to the rules of the Affordable Care Act. Some may say thats a good thing but how is the AFLA going to guarantee it actually takes care of its paying customers?How Will The ALFA Ensure Consumer Protections In An Unregulated Landscape?Unlike traditional insurance plans, ALFAs self-funded model would be exempt from oversight by Alabamas Department of Insurance and ACA regulations. This regulatory void raises concerns about exclusions for pre-existing conditions, potential service caps, and the absence of comprehensive coverage for preventive care. How does ALFA plan to reassure enrollees of their financial security in the event of catastrophic illness?Will ALFAs Model Exacerbate Risk Segmentation?The ACAs structure depends on younger, healthier individuals offsetting the costs of sicker patients. ALFA, operating under minimal regulation, has every incentive to attract low-risk enrollees while avoiding high-cost patients. This could lead to an erosion of risk pooling, driving up costs for those left in traditional insurance systems. There has been some migration of this in the Tennessee market. Notably, in their op-ed BCBS points out that 64% of farmers have pre-existing conditionshow will ALFA accommodate them?Why Do Over 30 Non-profit Organizations Oppose ALFAs Proposal?A broad coalition of healthcare advocacy groups, including patient advocacy groups, have voiced opposition, arguing that ALFAs plans undermine consumer protections and could destabilize Alabamas insurance market. Why is there such widespread resistance, and what does this suggest about the feasibility of ALFAs approach?The Root Cause: How The ACA Shaped This ConflictAt its core, this battle is a byproduct of the Affordable Care Acts unintended consequences. While the ACA expanded access to coverage, it also spurred market consolidation, elevated premiums and incentivized monopolistic behaviors.By mandating comprehensive essential benefits and protections for pre-existing conditions, the ACA imposed substantial compliance costs, disproportionately burdening smaller insurers and independent providers. Large entities exploited this dynamic, leveraging economies of scale and engaging in aggressive mergers.Additionally, the ACAs medical loss ratio mandate (requiring insurers to spend 80-90% of premiums on care) compressed profit margins, prompting further industry consolidation. As a result, family premiums surged. Simultaneously, hospital mergers, driven by ACA incentives, enabled dominant systems to charge 12-18% more further inflating costs and health insurers have passed this price on to patients.Thus, while the ACA increased coverage, it inadvertently entrenched monopolistic tendencies, stifled competition and escalated insurance premiumscreating the very conditions that have led to ALFAs emergence as an alternative..Why Should All patients Care About The Alabama Health Insurance Battle?Health insurance isnt affordable or sustainable. Alabamas health insurance battle is a microcosm of broader systemic failuresrising premiums, lack of competition without transparency and regulatory missteps.Will this specific type of deregulation restore balance, or will it exacerbate the very problems it seeks to solve?The story will play out in Alabama.
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  • Microsoft's own Copilot will tell you how to activate Windows 11 without a license
    www.techspot.com
    Facepalm: A Reddit user has made an uncomfortable discovery for Microsoft. The company's own AI assistant Copilot will provide you instructions on how to activate Windows 11 without a valid license. When asked, "Is there a script to activate Windows 11?" Copilot readily offers a step-by-step guide that enables unauthorized activation of the operating system. Since the discovery, the activation method has been independently verified by multiple sources including Windows Central and Laptop Mag. While the method itself is not new it has been circulating since 2022 its promotion by Microsoft's own AI tool is particularly eyebrow-raising.The technique relies on a PowerShell command that integrates a third-party script to perform unauthorized activation. The script is typically sourced from GitHub repositories dedicated to Windows activation methods.To its credit, Copilot does include a brief warning about the risks of executing such scripts, reminding users that unauthorized activation may violate Microsoft's terms of service.When questioned about the dangers of using activation scripts, Copilot outlines several potential risks, including legal ramifications due to violation of licensing agreements, security vulnerabilities from potentially malicious scripts, system instability and performance problems, lack of official support from Microsoft, potential issues with updates, and ethical considerations regarding software piracy.Furthermore, the ease with which potentially harmful scripts can be obtained and executed poses significant security risks. A recent Wall Street Journal report highlighted a case where malware was disguised as an AI tool on GitHub, demonstrating the very real dangers of blindly trusting and executing online code.For decades, Microsoft has grappled with the persistent issue of software piracy a challenge that has both hindered and, paradoxically, fueled the company's global expansion. // Related StoriesIn 2006, the company reported staggering losses of approximately $14 billion due to unauthorized use of its products, despite investing millions in anti-piracy measures. However, Microsoft's approach to piracy has been nuanced far less aggressive than one might expect from a company facing such significant financial damage.A long time ago, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates candidly discussed his attitude toward software piracy during a 1998 presentation at the University of Washington. He acknowledged the rampant theft of Microsoft products in China, where millions of computers were sold annually without corresponding software purchases. Rather than expressing outrage, Gates remarked: "As long as they're going to steal it, we want them to steal ours. They'll get sort of addicted, and then we'll somehow figure out how to collect sometime in the next decade."Microsoft's tolerance for a certain level of piracy appeared to persist well into the 2010s. In a move that surprised many, the company announced in 2015 that it would allow users with non-genuine copies of Windows to upgrade to Windows 10 at no cost (but they would remain non-genuine and marked as unactivated).
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  • Doom defies the impossible by running in TypeScript's type system
    www.techspot.com
    In context: People have ported Doom to everything from calculators to McDonald's cash registers. There has recently been a push to get the software running on platforms with no actual processing power PDF and Word documents are the latest examples. Of course, these methods are painfully slow, but it's incredible that the game can even execute on non-computer platforms. Software engineer Dmitri Mitropoulos has taken porting Doom to non-computing platforms to a whole new level. The programmer managed to get Doom running inside TypeScript's type system a feat so mind-bogglingly complex that it took him an entire year to pull off.TypeScript is a language developed by Microsoft that builds on JavaScript by adding static type-checking to catch coding mistakes before execution. Think of it as a spelling or grammar checker for code, ensuring functions and variables are entered correctly. Developers commonly use it to build large JavaScript applications.Running a game within TypeScript's type system is considered "impossible." Even Mitropoulos noted that he started the project to "quickly" prove why it could not be done. However, as he got into it, he became obsessively motivated to make it work. In the end, even seasoned TS developers were left impressed and speechless.Mitropoulos reacting to TypeScript finally rendering its first frame of Doom.Mitropoulos's version of Doom runs inside 3.5 trillion lines of types, consuming a staggering 177 terabytes. Compiling a single frame takes 12 days, resulting in an excruciatingly slow 0.0000009645 frames per second. The TypeScript type tracker must process 20 million type instantiations per second to generate the output, resulting in the extremely slow frame rate.Despite the massive overhead, Mitropoulos believes performance improvements are possible. In the Michigan TypeScript Discord server, he suggested that compilation could be reduced to "1 to 12 hours" with further optimizations. He has already identified areas where he can improve the speed. // Related StoriesTo make it all work, he built a virtual machine entirely from TypeScript types, including logical implementations of all 116 WebAssembly instructions required to run Doom. Every element of a functioning computer RAM, disk space, even an L1 CPU cache had to be painstakingly recreated within the type system. Since TypeScript only allows string iterations from the left, he had to input binary algorithms in reverse.TypeScript community reactions: "What!?" "This is a masterpiece." "I have so many questions."Running the program required a custom WebAssembly runtime, processing everything within a TypeScript editor. The TypeScript compiler also had to be modified to handle the project's extreme scale, as its type tracker alone consumed over 90GB of RAM during execution.Mitropoulos described the effort as a grueling challenge. He wrote 12,364 handwritten tests, learned multiple programming languages, and initially estimated the project would require up to 1.25 petabytes before optimization. At one point, compiling a single frame took three months of continuous type instantiation. He remarked that AI was no help."Oh, and AI can't help with any of this stuff," Mitropoulos said in his brief seven-minute video explanation (masthead). "It's so low-level that there are no arrays or objects or strings or booleans inside the engine only binary numbers and Doom only uses 64-bit and 32-bit integers, that's it. Oh, and those integers are neither signed nor unsigned. I spent a whole day figuring that one out."The gargantuan task took an entire year of 18-hour days to complete. Other TS developers had so many questions about the project that Mitropoulos plans to release two more videos explaining the highly technical details and his motivations. For now, we have one more piece of evidence proving Doom can run on anything including things that were never meant to run games at all.
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  • 3 underrated Amazon Prime Video movies you should watch this weekend (February 28 March 2)
    www.digitaltrends.com
    Table of ContentsTable of ContentsThe Ghost Writer (2010)Moonstruck (1987)Beautiful Boy (2018)If you subscribe to Amazon Prime because you love you some free two-day shipping, you might also be aware that you get a nifty side benefit with that subscription. Amazon Prime Video actually has a remarkably deep bench of interesting movies, including plenty that you might never think are worth your time.Weve pulled together three of the most underrated titles available on Prime Video that you can check out this month. From a great rom-com to a gripping thriller, this list should have something for everyone, regardless of how you want to spend a weekend evening.Recommended VideosNeed more recommendations? Then check out the best new movies to stream this week, as well as the best shows on Netflix, best shows on Hulu, best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and best shows on Disney+.RelatedThe Ghost Writer (2010) Official Trailer - Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan Movie HDTelling the story of a ghostwriter who is hired to complete the memoirs of a former English prime minister after his predecessor died unexpectedly, The Ghost Writeris a remarkably tense thriller that seems to have loose connections to actual British politics. As the writer delves deeper into the life of his subject, he begins to suspect that this former prime minister is hiding something that could be devastating to his legacy.Featuring a remarkably tight script and some steady central performances from Pierce Brosnan and Ewan McGregor, The Ghost Writerwill leave you on the edge of your seat all the way through to its final shot.You can watchThe Ghost Writeron Amazon Prime Video.MOONSTRUCK (1987) | Official Trailer | MGMCher and Nicholas Cage make a wonderful pairing in one of the best romance movies of all time. Moonstruckis a slightly off-kilter romantic comedy that follows Chers Loretta, a widow who finds herself falling for the younger brother of the man she just agreed to marry.As he aggressively pursues her, she comes to understand that love is much more complicated and wondrous than the pragmatism that has ruled her life thus far.Moonstruckis a remarkably well-written slice-of-life fable that feels just as timely today as it did when it was made 40 years ago.You can watchMoonstruckon Amazon Prime Video.Beautiful Boy - Official Trailer | Amazon StudiosAfter bursting onto the scene in a major way in 2017sCall Me By Your Name, Timothe Chalamet was able to cement his status as a rising star with Beautiful Boy. Based on a true story, the film follows a father and son as they deal with the sons addiction and the toll it takes on their family.Told from the dueling perspectives of the son and father, the film gives Chalamet and Steve Carrell plenty of scenes together, but the movie is at its best when Chalamet gets a chance to showcase the duality of his addiction and the vicious cycle he finds himself trapped in.You can watchBeautiful Boyon Amazon Prime Video.Editors Recommendations
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  • The best shows on Amazon Prime Video right now (March 2025)
    www.digitaltrends.com
    The best part of an Amazon Prime subscription is fast and free shipping on product purchases, plus access to special events like Amazon Prime Day. Subscribers also get full access to Amazon Prime Video, the streaming service. Add a few extra bucks, and you can go ad-free. Its worth it since the best shows on Amazon Prime Video right now include an extensive mix of originals and library content.This month, new shows likeClean Slate have received positive reviews, and originals likeThe Wheel of Time are returning for another season. Dig deeper, and youll find tons of great shows worth re-watching or watching for the first time, likeHow to Get Away With Murder, JAG,andChuck.Add a few to your watch list, and you wont worry that theres nothing on the next time youre trying to figure out what to watch.Need more recommendations? Then check out thebest new shows to stream this week, as well as thebest shows on Netflix,best shows on Hulu, thebest shows on Max, andbest shows on Disney+.Recently added to Amazon PrimeThe Wheel of Timetv-142021On Calltv-ma2025Clean Slate2025RelatedEditors Recommendations
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  • Copilot exposes private GitHub pages, some removed by Microsoft
    arstechnica.com
    FREE FOR THE TAKING Copilot exposes private GitHub pages, some removed by Microsoft Repositories once set to public and later to private, still accessible through Copilot. Dan Goodin Feb 27, 2025 6:43 pm | 6 Credit: Microsoft Credit: Microsoft Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreMicrosofts Copilot AI assistant is exposing the contents of more than 20,000 private GitHub repositories from companies including Google, Intel, Huawei, PayPal, IBM, Tencent and, ironically, Microsoft.These repositories, belonging to more than 16,000 organizations, were originally posted to GitHub as public, but were later set to private, often after the developers responsible realized they contained authentication credentials allowing unauthorized access or other types of confidential data. Even months later, however, the private pages remain available in their entirety through Copilot.AI security firm Lasso discovered the behavior in the second half of 2024. After finding in January that Copilot continued to store private repositories and make them available, Lasso set out to measure how big the problem really was.Zombie repositoriesAfter realizing that any data on GitHub, even if public for just a moment, can be indexed and potentially exposed by tools like Copilot, we were struck by how easily this information could be accessed, Lasso researchers Ophir Dror and Bar Lanyado wrote in a post on Thursday. Determined to understand the full extent of the issue, we set out to automate the process of identifying zombie repositories (repositories that were once public and are now private) and validate our findings.After discovering Microsoft was exposing one of Lassos own private repositories, the Lasso researchers traced the problem to the cache mechanism in Bing. The Microsoft search engine indexed the pages when they were published publicly, and never bothered to remove the entries once the pages were changed to private on GitHub. Since Copilot used Bing as its primary search engine, the private data was available through the AI chat bot as well.After Lasso reported the problem in November, Microsoft introduced changes designed to fix it. Lasso confirmed that the private data was no longer available through Bing cache, but it went on to make an interesting discoverythe availability in Copilot of a GitHub repository that had been made private following a lawsuit Microsoft had filed. The suit alleged the repository hosted tools specifically designed to bypass the safety and security guardrails built into the companys generative AI services. The repository was subsequently removed from GitHub, but as it turned out, Copilot continued to make the tools available anyway. Screenshot showing Copilot continues to serve tools Microsoft took action to have removed from GitHub. Credit: Lasso Lasso ultimately determined that Microsofts fix involved cutting off access to a special Bing user interface, once available at cc.bingj.com, to the public. The fix, however, didn't appear to clear the private pages from the cache itself. As a result, the private information was still accessible to Copilot, which in turn would make it available to the Copilot user who asked.The Lasso researchers explained:Although Bings cached link feature was disabled, cached pages continued to appear in search results. This indicated that the fix was a temporary patch and while public access was blocked, the underlying data had not been fully removed.When we revisited our investigation of Microsoft Copilot, our suspicions were confirmed: Copilot still had access to the cached data that was no longer available to human users. In short, the fix was only partial, human users were prevented from retrieving the cached data, but Copilot could still access it.The post laid out simple steps anyone can take to find and view the same massive trove of private repositories Lasso identified.Theres no putting toothpaste back in the tubeDevelopers frequently embed security tokens, private encryption keys and other sensitive information directly into their code, despite best practices that have long called for such data to be inputted through more secure means. This potential damage worsens when this code is made available in public repositories, another common security failing. The phenomenon has occurred over and over for more than a decade.When these sorts of mistakes happen, developers often make the repositories private quickly, hoping to contain the fallout. Lassos findings show that simply making the code private isnt enough. Once exposed, credentials are irreparably compromised. The only recourse is to rotate all credentials.This advice still doesnt address the problems resulting when other sensitive data is included in repositories that are switched from public to private. Microsoft incurred legal expenses to have tools removed from GitHub after alleging they violated a raft of laws, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Lanham Act, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Company lawyers prevailed in getting the tools removed. To date, Copilot continues undermining this work by making the tools available anyway.Microsoft representatives didnt immediately respond to an email asking if the company plans to provide further fixes.Dan GoodinSenior Security EditorDan GoodinSenior Security Editor Dan Goodin is Senior Security Editor at Ars Technica, where he oversees coverage of malware, computer espionage, botnets, hardware hacking, encryption, and passwords. In his spare time, he enjoys gardening, cooking, and following the independent music scene. Dan is based in San Francisco. Follow him at here on Mastodon and here on Bluesky. Contact him on Signal at DanArs.82. 6 Comments
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  • Google will finally fix awesome (but broken) song detection feature for Pixels
    arstechnica.com
    Better late than never Google will finally fix awesome (but broken) song detection feature for Pixels Google broke the feature last year, and it's taken months of complaints to get this far. Ryan Whitwam Feb 27, 2025 3:56 pm | 29 When Now Playing works, it looks like this. Credit: Ryan Whitwam When Now Playing works, it looks like this. Credit: Ryan Whitwam Story textSizeSmallStandardLargeWidth *StandardWideLinksStandardOrange* Subscribers only Learn moreGoogle's Pixel phones include numerous thoughtful features you don't get on other phones, like Now Playing. This feature can identify background music from the lock screen, but unlike some similar song identifiers, it works even without an Internet connection. Sadly, it has been broken for months. There is some hope, though. Google has indicated that a fix is ready for deployment, and Pixel users can expect to see it in a future OS update.First introduced in 2017, Now Playing uses a cache of thousands of audio fingerprints to identify songs you might encounter in your daily grind. Since it works offline, it's highly efficient and preserves your privacy. Now Playing isn't a life-changing addition to the mobile experience, but it's damn cool.That makes it all the stranger that Google appears to have broken Now Playing with the release of Android 15 (or possibly a Play Services update around the same time) and has left it that way for months. Before that update, Now Playing would regularly list songs on the lock screen and offer enhanced search for songs it couldn't ID offline. It was obvious to Pixel fans when Now Playing stopped listening last year, and despite a large volume of online complaints, Google has seemingly dragged its feet. There are only so many settings to fiddle with, and none of them will make Now Playing work. There are only so many settings to fiddle with, and none of them will make Now Playing work. An update to the Android System Intelligence component earlier this year was supposed to fix bugs with Now Playing, but it doesn't appear to have improved matters. In fact, the bug is still present in the latest Android 16 Beta release as well as the stable Android 15 builds. In the issue tracker for Android 16, one user has finally gotten Google's attention and celebrated with a post on Reddit.After getting bug reports and screen recordings, a Google engineer was able to identify the problem and develop a fix that allegedly restores background song detection, as well as the enhanced search feature of Now Playing. Unfortunately, all we have to go on for now is this one bug tracker post. The post says the fix is done, and it will arrive in "an upcoming release."As for what counts as "upcoming," there are two possibilities. Google is testing Android 15 QPR2, which is the second "quarterly platform release" for this version of the OS. These builds eventually become Pixel Drop updates, which deliver a raft of improvements for Google's phones every few months. We expect to see a new Pixel Drop in March 2025 that could include the Now Playing fix. However, it's not impossible the fix will end up bundled into the Android 16 update. That's expected out in June as part of Google's revamped platform release schedule.Ryan WhitwamSenior Technology ReporterRyan WhitwamSenior Technology Reporter Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he's written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards. 29 Comments
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  • We now know how much emissions have delayed the next glacial period
    www.newscientist.com
    Earth during a glacial periodZoonar/Alexander Savchuk/AlamyWithout human-induced climate change, Earth may have been on track to plunge into another glacial period within 11,000 years. This long-term forecast of the planets natural climate is based on a new analysis of how wobbles in the shape of its orbit and the tilt of its axis combine to change the amount of solar energy reaching the planet.For millions of years, these orbital oscillations known as Milankovitch cycles brought the planet in and out of glacial periods about every 41,000 years. But the past 800,000 years have seen these glacial cycles, also known as ice ages, occur only every 100,000 years or so. The term ice age can be used to refer to any time there was ice at Earths poles, as there is now, though it is also commonly means periods of widespread glaciation.Ambiguities in the record of when ice sheets advanced and retreated meant it wasnt possible to explain how orbital changes were involved in driving this longer cycle, a mystery known to palaeoclimatologists as the 100 thousand year problem.AdvertisementWhere previous studies tried to link changes in orbit to specific periods like the onset of an ice age, Stephen Barker at Cardiff University, UK and his colleagues took a new tack. They looked at the overall patterns of how glacial periods, also called ice ages, fade and return during the intervening interglacials. This enabled them to link changes in orbit with changes in ice despite fuzziness in the ice record over the past million years.They found these 100,000-year cycles appear to follow a straightforward rule. For the past 900,000 years, every interglacial has occurred after Earths axis wobbled at its furthest point from the sun as the planet was also tilting closer towards the sun, following the most circular phase of its orbit.Unmissable news about our planet delivered straight to your inbox every month.Sign up to newsletterThis suggests all three of these aspects of Earths orbit known as precession, obliquity and eccentricity combine to create the 100,000-year glacial cycle, says Barker. Since 900,000 years ago this simple rule predicts every one of those major glacial termination events. This tells us that its really quite easy to predict, he says.Based on that rule, and absent the warming influence of our greenhouse gas emissions, we could expect the next interglacial period following the one we are currently living in known as the Holocene to begin around 66,000 years from now. But that could only start if there was a glacial period before then, says Barker.The phasing of obliquity and precession that preceded the Holocene suggests glaciation would be likely to be well underway between 4300 and 11,100 years from now. We might even be currently living at what would have been the onset of this next glacial period. Of course, thats only in a natural scenario, says Barker.The more than 1.5 trillion tonnes of carbon dioxide humans have emitted into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution are expected to cause enough warming to disrupt this long-term glacial cycle.The amount weve already put into the atmosphere is so great that it will take hundreds to thousands of years to pull that out via natural processes, says Barker. However, he says more research is needed to define Earths future natural climate in more detail.This is in line with earlier modelling that suggests rising CO2 levels due to anthropogenic emissions will prevent the onset of the next glacial period for tens to hundreds of thousands of years, says Andrey Ganopolski at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.However, he says even pre-industrial levels of CO2 in the atmosphere may have been high enough to delay the advance of the ice sheets by 50,000 years. That is due to the unusually minor orbital variations expected in coming millennia and the unpredictable way Earth responds to those changes.Journal referenceScience DOI: 10.1126/science.adp3491Topics:
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  • Mindy Kaling's 'Running Point' is airing on Netflix despite Pepperdine University's trademark lawsuit. Here's what's happening.
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    Pepperdine University filed a trademark lawsuit against Netflix and Warner Bros. Entertainment.Pepperdine University said the companies used its IP in a new TV series, "Running Point."A judge denied the university's request for a temporary restraining order against the companies.Mindy Kaling's new sports comedy with Netflix and Warner Bros. Entertainment is making waves at Pepperdine University."Running Point" is a new 10-episode TV series that follows Isla Gordon (Kate Hudson), a woman who becomes president of a professional basketball franchise called the Los Angeles Waves. Kaling, Hudson, and Los Angeles Lakers president Jeanie Buss serve as executive producers. Netflix premiered the series on Thursday. Mindy Kaling, Jeanie Buss, and Kate Hudson attended the "Running Point" premiere in February. Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images However, the rollout was nearly benched just one week before its debut when Pepperdine University sued the entertainment companies. On February 20, the university filed a legal complaint accusing the companies of trademark infringement, trademark dilution, and false advertising. The university also asked a California judge to approve a temporary restraining order against them."When Defendants released and promoted the trailer for 'Running Point' on January 30, 2025, Pepperdine (and others) were immediately astounded at the striking correlations in branding between the fictional Los Angeles Waves and the real Los Angeles-based Pepperdine Waves," the university said. "The uses are too many and too close to be coincidental."Moish E. Peltz, a partner at Falcon, Rappaport, & Berkman LLP, told Business Insider it's "certainly surprising that Warner Brothers and Netflix would go to market with such a strikingly similar sports team."Prof. Betsy Rosenblatt of Case Western Reserve University's School of Law said the decision seemed "riskier than any number of other decisions they could have made."Netflix referred to its opposition filing when contacted for comment.Confusion among consumers? Kate Hudson plays Isla Gordon in "Running Point," a sports comedy streaming on Netflix. Courtesy of Netflix 2025 In the complaint, the university said the fictitious basketball team's logo, branding, and colors were "strikingly similar" to Pepperdine's real-life sports franchise. Pepperdine University also said "Running Point" promoted a specific player number 37 which is worn by the school's mascot and correlates to its founding year."The lawsuit details how 'Running Point' portrayal of the 'Waves' team will cause consumer confusion and falsely suggest an affiliation between Pepperdine and the show," the university's press release said. "The university has also expressed deep concerns about some of the series' themes, which include explicit content, substance use, nudity, and profanity elements that are inconsistent with Pepperdine's Christian values and reputation."Peltz said trademark law aims to prevent consumer confusion, which is the focus of Pepperdine University's trademark infringement claim. Pepperdine University said the fictional basketball franchise looked "similar" to its real-life brand. Courtesy of Netflix 2025 "Are consumers going to be confused about whether a sponsorship, affiliation, or consent was granted?" Peltz said. "That will depend on how you define the target market and who those consumers are."Peltz said location"People watching Netflix on the East Coast or around the world may have no idea," he said. "People watching in the Southern California market might be scratching their heads like, 'Wait, I thought the Waves were a college team. Why are they a pro team in this thing? What's going on here?'"Although trademark infringement is the first cause of action in the complaint, Rosenblatt said it may not be Pepperdine University's strongest claim. Pepperdine University said "Running Point" could cause confusion among consumers. Courtesy of Pepperdine University "Their infringement claim based on confusion may not be that strong because maybe consumers won't think that Pepperdine is involved in this show. They just think, 'Isn't it weird that this fictional team has the same name and some indicators as Pepperdine?'" Rosenblatt said.Trademark dilution, however, could hold more weight.In the complaint, Pepperdine University said that Netflix and Warner Bros. Entertainment's "improper use of the asserted trademarks" could "dilute, tarnish, and disparage Pepperdine's reputation and marks.""Particularly because the Netflix show has content that is so at odds with Pepperdine's conservative values and religious philosophy, it might harm Pepperdine's mark in that way," Rosenblatt said.Peltz said the trademark dilution claim requires proof of fame, which would examine whether Pepperdine University's trademarks are well-known and being diluted by "Running Point."A judge denied the university's TROIf granted, the temporary restraining order against Netflix and Warner Bros. Entertainment would have barred them from certain actions, including airing "Running Point" episodes unless they're first edited to exclude references to the fictitious Waves team and the university's trademarks.In a memorandum on Monday, Netflix argued against the temporary restraining order, saying the use of Waves is not "explicitly misleading" and the use is "artistically relevant," among other arguments.A judge denied Pepperdine University's request two days later. Pepperdine University's mascot during a NCAA game in 2009. Icon Sports Wire/Corbis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images "The First Amendment, broadly speaking, allows people to use other people's trademarks in expressive ways," Rosenblatt said.In response, the university's senior vice president, Sean Burnett, said the case against Netflix and Warner Bros. Entertainment will "continue on its regular course.""We do not believe Netflix and Warner Bros. can be permitted to take the Waves trademarks and colors we have used for almost 90 years to identify Pepperdine to instead identify the team that is the subject of their series," Burnett said in a press release. "While we are disappointed with today's ruling, we believe the University will ultimately prevail and prevent the continued unauthorized use of Pepperdine's intellectual property in a way that misrepresents our institution."Representatives for Warner Bros. Entertainment, Mindy Kaling, Kate Hudson, and Jeanie Buss, did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
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