Tech

for-the-first-time,-beloved-ide-jetbrains-rider-will-be-available-for-free

For the first time, beloved IDE Jetbrains Rider will be available for free

Development, IDE, Jetbrains, Jetbrains Rider, Rider, Tech, visual studio, WebStorm / /

The integrated development environment (IDE) Rider by Jetbrains is now available for free for the first time ever.

After trialing non-commercial free licenses with other products like RustRover and Aqua, Jetbrains has introduced a similar option for Rider. It also says this is a permanent situation, not a limited-time initiative.

In a blog post announcing the change, Jetbrains’ Ekaterina Ryabukha acknowledges that there are numerous cases where people use an IDE without any commercial intent—for example, hobbyists, open source developers, and educators or students. She also cites a Stack Overflow survey that 68 percent of professional developers “code outside of work as a hobby.”

Rider has always been a bit niche, but it’s often beloved by those who use it. Making it free could greatly expand its user base, and it could also make it more popular in the long run because learners could start with it without having to pay an annual fee, and some learners go pro.

It’s also good news for some macOS developers, as Microsoft not long ago chose to end support for Visual Studio on that platform. Yes, you can use VS Code, Xcode, or other options, but there were some types of projects that were left in the lurch, especially for developers who don’t find VS Code robust enough for their purposes.

There is one drawback that might matter to some: users working in Rider on the non-commercial free license “cannot opt out of the collection of anonymous usage statistics.”

There are some edge cases that are in a bit of a gray area when it comes to using a free license versus a paid one. Sometimes, projects that start without commercial intent can become commercial later on. Jetbrains simply says that “if your intentions change over time, you’ll need to reassess whether you still qualify for non-commercial use.”

For the first time, beloved IDE Jetbrains Rider will be available for free Read More »

annoyed-redditors-tanking-google-search-results-illustrates-perils-of-ai-scrapers

Annoyed Redditors tanking Google Search results illustrates perils of AI scrapers

AI, ai overview, Google, reddit, Social Media, Tech / /

Fed up Londoners

Apparently, some London residents are getting fed up with social media influencers whose reviews make long lines of tourists at their favorite restaurants, sometimes just for the likes. Christian Calgie, a reporter for London-based news publication Daily Express, pointed out this trend on X yesterday, noting the boom of Redditors referring people to Angus Steakhouse, a chain restaurant, to combat it.

As Gizmodo deduced, the trend seemed to start on the r/London subreddit, where a user complained about a spot in Borough Market being “ruined by influencers” on Monday:

“Last 2 times I have been there has been a queue of over 200 people, and the ones with the food are just doing the selfie shit for their [I]nsta[gram] pages and then throwing most of the food away.”

As of this writing, the post has 4,900 upvotes and numerous responses suggesting that Redditors talk about how good Angus Steakhouse is so that Google picks up on it. Commenters quickly understood the assignment.

“Agreed with other posters Angus steakhouse is absolutely top tier and tourists shoyldnt [sic] miss out on it,” one Redditor wrote.

Another Reddit user wrote:

Spreading misinformation suddenly becomes a noble goal.

As of this writing, asking Google for the best steak, steakhouse, or steak sandwich in London (or similar) isn’t generating an AI Overview result for me. But when I searched for the best steak sandwich in London, the top result is from Reddit, including a thread from four days ago titled “Which Angus Steakhouse do you recommend for their steak sandwich?” and one from two days ago titled “Had to see what all the hype was about, best steak sandwich I’ve ever had!” with a picture of an Angus Steakhouse.

Annoyed Redditors tanking Google Search results illustrates perils of AI scrapers Read More »

apple-teases-“week-of-announcements”-about-the-mac-starting-on-monday

Apple teases “week of announcements” about the Mac starting on Monday

Apple, m4, Mac, Tech / /

Apple has released new iPhones, new Apple Watches, a new iPad mini, and a flotilla of software updates this fall, but Mac hardware has gone unmentioned so far. That’s set to change next week, according to an uncharacteristically un-cryptic post from Apple Worldwide Marketing SVP Greg Joswiak earlier today.

Imploring readers to “Mac [sic] their calendars,” Joswiak’s post teases “an exciting week of announcements ahead, starting on Monday morning.” If the wordplay wasn’t enough, an attached teaser video with a winking neon Mac logo drives the point home.

Though Joswiak’s post was light on additional details, months of reliable rumors have told us the most likely things to expect: refreshed MacBook Pros and 24-inch iMacs with few if any external changes but new Apple M4-series chips on the inside, plus a new M4 Mac mini with a substantial design overhaul. The MacBook Pros and iMacs were refreshed with M3 chips almost exactly a year ago, but the Mac mini was last updated with the M2 in early 2023.

The new Mac mini will allegedly be closer in size to an Apple TV and is said to be slightly taller than current Mac minis but with a smaller footprint. The new design will continue to include a space-saving internal power supply rather than relying on an external power brick, but it will also rely more heavily on USB-C/Thunderbolt ports to save space, cutting down on the number of other ports. At least some models will also include USB-C ports on the front, a design change inherited from the Mac Studio.

Apple teases “week of announcements” about the Mac starting on Monday Read More »

removal-of-russian-coders-spurs-debate-about-linux-kernel’s-politics

Removal of Russian coders spurs debate about Linux kernel’s politics

Baikal, Biz & IT, Invasion of Ukraine, Linus Torvalds, Linux, Linux kernel, russia, Russian invasion of Ukraine, sanctions, Tech, Ukraine / /

“Remove some entries due to various compliance requirements. They can come back in the future if sufficient documentation is provided.”

That two-line comment, submitted by major Linux kernel maintainer Greg Kroah-Hartman, accompanied a patch that removed about a dozen names from the kernle’s MAINTAINERS file. “Some entries” notably had either Russian names or .ru email addresses. “Various compliance requirements” was, in this case, sanctions against Russia and Russian companies, stemming from that country’s invasion of Ukraine.

This merge did not go unnoticed. Replies on the kernel mailing list asked about this “very vague” patch. Kernel developer James Bottomley wrote that “we” (seemingly speaking for Linux maintainers) had “actual advice” from Linux Foundation counsel. Employees of companies on the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (OFAC SDN), or connected to them, will have their collaborations “subject to restrictions,” and “cannot be in the MAINTAINERS file.” “Sufficient documentation” would mean evidence that someone does not work for an OFAC SDN entity, Bottomley wrote.

There followed a number of messages questioning the legitimacy, suddenness, potentially US-forced, and non-reviewed nature of the commit, along with broader questions about the separation of open source code from international politics. Linux creator Linus Torvalds entered the thread with, “Ok, lots of Russian trolls out and about.” He wrote: “It’s entirely clear why the change was done” and noted that “Russian troll factories” will not revert it and that “the ‘various compliance requirements’ are not just a US thing.

Removal of Russian coders spurs debate about Linux kernel’s politics Read More »

ios-18.2-developer-beta-adds-chatgpt-and-image-generation-features

iOS 18.2 developer beta adds ChatGPT and image-generation features

AI, Apple, apple intelligence, chatgpt, iOS, ios 18, iOS 18.1, iOS 18.2, ml, openai, Tech / /

Today, Apple released the first developer beta of iOS 18.2 for supported devices. This beta release marks the first time several key AI features that Apple teased at its developer conference this June are available.

Apple is marketing a wide range of generative AI features under the banner “Apple Intelligence.” Initially, Apple Intelligence was planned to release as part of iOS 18, but some features slipped to iOS 18.1, others to iOS 18.2, and a few still to future undisclosed software updates.

iOS 18.1 has been in beta for a while and includes improvements to Siri, generative writing tools that help with rewriting or proofreading, smart replies for Messages, and notification summaries. That update is expected to reach the public next week.

Today’s developer update, iOS 18.2, includes some potentially more interesting components of Apple Intelligence, including Genmoji, Image Playground, Visual Intelligence with Camera Control, and ChatGPT integration.

Genmoji and Image Playground allow users to generate images on-device to send to friends in Messages; there will be Genmoji and Image Playground APIs to allow third-party messaging apps to work with Genmojis, too.

ChatGPT integration allows Siri to pass off user queries that are outside Siri’s normal scope to be answered instead by OpenAI’s ChatGPT. A ChatGPT account is not required, but logging in with an existing account gives you access to premium models available as part of a ChatGPT subscription. If you’re using these features without a ChatGPT account, OpenAI won’t be able to retain your data or use it to train models. If you connect your ChatGPT account, though, then OpenAI’s privacy policies will apply for ChatGPT queries instead of Apple’s.

Genmoji and Image Playground queries will be handled locally on the user’s device, but other Apple Intelligence features may dynamically opt to send queries to the cloud for computation.

There’s no word yet on when iOS 18.2 will be released publicly.

iOS 18.2 developer beta adds ChatGPT and image-generation features Read More »

few-truly-shocked-that-nfl-player-used-illegal-stream-to-watch-his-own-team

Few truly shocked that NFL player used illegal stream to watch his own team

DMCA, DMCA takedown, IPTV, iptv streaming, methstreams, nfl, nfl streaming, piracy, seattle seahawks, streaming, tariq woolen, Tech / /

Had Woolen been visiting his native Fort Worth, Texas, the local Fox affiliate likely would have been showing Detroit playing Minnesota. This would have meant purchasing a streaming service subscription to view the Seahawks (or, realistically, signing up for a free trial) after doing considerable research to determine the rules around local blackouts.

Woolen is actually lucky, presuming he only wants to watch his own team. A Sunday Ticket or similar package, or good Fox reception, would have carried Woolen through the next six weeks of Seahawks games (one of them a bye week) and then again until the Seahawks play Arizona on December 8 on CBS. On December 29, a Thursday, he would need a local broadcast or Amazon Prime to watch.

Of course, Woolen would waste a good portion of the cost of any streaming or cable package once he actually returns to his team and is playing games instead of watching.

Header from a letter sent by the UFC, NBA, and NFL to the US Patent and Trademark Office requesting faster turn-around for DMCA takedown notices relating to live sports streaming. Credit: US PTO

Networks want a faster DMCA for game piracy

So Woolen could do that kind of location/network/price/date work to find the best legal broadcast option. Or, as suggested by a DMCA takedown notice submitted to Google by Fox for that Sunday, turn to any one of dozens of pirate streams of the Seattle game available that day, including the MethStreams service he ended up on.


These streams tend to stay up, because removal measures by broadcast networks and sports leagues are not all that effective, by their own admission. The UFC, NBA, and NFL have asked the US Patent and Trademark Office to update the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to allow for infringing content to be removed “instantaneously or near-instantaneously.”

Currently, service providers like Google “frequently take hours or even days to remove content in response to takedown notices,” the sports leagues claim, which makes such takedowns beside the point when they arrive after a live event is over.

Woolen himself may not have a larger argument with availability versus prices. Responding to Kleiman’s salary/streaming call-out, Woolen wrote: “It’s free it’s for me,” prepended by two “Face with Tears of Joy” emoji. But even if the NFL wanted to provide players like him with a legitimate option to stream every game, from anywhere in the US, on any given day, it could not, because it does not exist.

Few truly shocked that NFL player used illegal stream to watch his own team Read More »

report:-arm-cancels-qualcomm’s-architecture-license,-endangering-its-chip-business

Report: Arm cancels Qualcomm’s architecture license, endangering its chip business

ARM, qualcomm, Tech / /

Any company that makes Arm chips must license technology from Arm Holdings plc, the British company that develops the instruction set. Companies can license the instruction set and create their own CPU designs or license one of Arm’s ready-made Cortex CPU core designs to incorporate into their own chips.

Bloomberg reports that Arm is canceling Qualcomm’s license, an escalation of a fight that began in late 2022 when Arm sued Qualcomm over its acquisition of Nuvia in 2021. Arm has given Qualcomm 60 days’ notice of the cancellation, giving the companies two months to come to some kind of agreement before Qualcomm is forced to stop manufacturing and selling its Arm chips.

A Qualcomm spokesperson told Bloomberg that Arm Holdings plc was attempting to “strong-arm a longtime partner” and that Qualcomm was “confident that Qualcomm’s rights under its agreement with Arm will be affirmed.”

Qualcomm bought Nuvia to assist with developing high-performance Arm chips that could compete with x86 chips from Intel and AMD as well as Apple Silicon chips in iPhones and Macs—Nuvia was founded by people who had headed up Apple’s chip design team for years. Arm claimed that the acquisition “caused Nuvia to breach its Arm licenses,” and Arm demanded that Qualcomm and Nuvia destroy any designs that Nuvia had created pre-acquisition.

Report: Arm cancels Qualcomm’s architecture license, endangering its chip business Read More »

san-francisco-to-pay-$212-million-to-end-reliance-on-5.25-inch-floppy-disks

San Francisco to pay $212 million to end reliance on 5.25-inch floppy disks

California, floppy disks, San Francisco, Tech, trains / /

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) board has agreed to spend $212 million to get its Muni Metro light rail off floppy disks.

The Muni Metro’s Automatic Train Control System (ATCS) has required 5¼-inch floppy disks since 1998, when it was installed at San Francisco’s Market Street subway station. The system uses three floppy disks for loading DOS software that controls the system’s central servers. Michael Roccaforte, an SFMTA spokesperson, gave further details on how the light rail operates to Ars Technica in April, saying: “When a train enters the subway, its onboard computer connects to the train control system to run the train in automatic mode, where the trains drive themselves while the operators supervise. When they exit the subway, they disconnect from the ATCS and return to manual operation on the street.” After starting initial planning in 2018, the SFMTA originally expected to move to a floppy-disk-free train control system by 2028. But with COVID-19 preventing work for 18 months, the estimated completion date was delayed.

On October 15, the SFMTA moved closer to ditching floppies when its board approved a contract with Hitachi Rail for implementing a new train control system that doesn’t use floppy disks, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Hitachi Rail tech is said to power train systems, including Japan’s bullet train, in more than 50 countries. The $212 million contract includes support services from Hitachi for “20 to 25 years,” the Chronicle said.

The new control system is supposed to be five generations ahead of what Muni is using now, Muni director Julie Kirschbaum said, per the Chronicle. Further illustrating the light rail’s dated tech, the current ATCS was designed to last 20 to 25 years, meaning its expected expiration date was in 2023. The system still works fine, but the risk of floppy disk data degradation and challenges in maintaining expertise in 1990s programming languages have further encouraged the SFMTA to seek upgrades.

San Francisco to pay $212 million to end reliance on 5.25-inch floppy disks Read More »

streaming-subscription-fees-have-been-rising-while-content-quality-is-dropping

Streaming subscription fees have been rising while content quality is dropping

culture, netflix, streaming, Tech / /

In Q2 2022, 78.6 percent thought their ad-free SVOD service had “moderate to very good” stuff to watch. But in Q2 2023, that dropped to 77.4 percent, and in Q2 2024, the percentage fell further to 74.5 percent. For ad-supported SVOD services, the percentage dropped from 74.2 percent in Q2 2023 to 60.8 percent in Q2 2024.

Quality Perception by screen bar graph

Credit: TiVo

Credit: TiVo

Ars Technica asked TiVo why subscribers may be feeling less satisfied with streaming content quality, and Scott Maddux, VP of global content strategy and business at TiVo parent company Xperi, pointed to some potential reasons while noting that other factors could also be contributors.

“As more and more consumers shift to ad-supported SVOD services, the perception of the content quality may have also shifted downward a bit,” Maddux said.

Maddux also suggested that streaming companies’ financial challenges could be impacting content quality:

The amount of new original content overall on SVODs may be down [year-over-year] as many streamers continue to struggle to hit profitability targets. Without new original content (or exclusive content deals), perceptions of value/differentiation may decline.

Similarly, a CableTV.com survey of 7,130 US streamers released in January 2024 pointed to a drop in subscriber satisfaction with streaming content quality. The publication asked respondents how satisfied they were with their streaming provider’s original content. Disney+, Hulu, Max, Netflix, and Paramount+ all saw their satisfaction rates fall from 2023 to 2024. However, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, and Peacock all improved from 2023 to 2024.

In September 2023, Whip Media released its 2023 US Streaming Satisfaction report, which surveyed over 2,000 US streaming subscribers. The report said that the 2023 analysis:

clearly indicates that satisfaction among the top tier of streaming platforms is gradually declining while mid-tier platforms rise in overall satisfaction. The narrowing competitive market suggests there is high demand for showing the right mix of original and library content—and consistently maintaining a delightful viewer experience—in order to drive an overall value that subscribers expect.

Whip Media’s 2023 report found that Apple TV+, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, and Prime Video all showed gains in terms of the percentage of subscribers satisfied with the quality and variety of original content available on the platforms from 2022 to 2023.

Streaming subscription fees have been rising while content quality is dropping Read More »

qualcomm-brings-laptop-class-cpu-cores-to-phones-with-snapdragon-8-elite

Qualcomm brings laptop-class CPU cores to phones with Snapdragon 8 Elite

ARM, qualcomm, snapdragon, snapdragon 8 elite, Tech / /

Qualcomm has a new chip for flagship phones, and the best part is that it uses an improved version of the Oryon CPU architecture that the Snapdragon X Elite chips brought to Windows PCs earlier this year.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the follow-up to last year’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 3—yet another change to the naming convention that Qualcomm uses for its high-end phone chips, though, as usual, the number 8 is still involved. The 8 Elite uses a “brand-new, 2nd-generation Qualcomm Oryon CPU” with clock speeds up to 4.32 GHz, which Qualcomm says will improve performance by about 45 percent compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Rather than a mix of large, medium, and small CPU cores as it has used in the past, the 8 Elite has two “Prime” cores for hitting that high peak clock speed, while the other six are all “Performance” cores that peak at a lower 3.53 GHz. But it doesn’t look like Qualcomm is using a mix of different CPU architectures anymore, choosing to distinguish the higher-performing core from the lower-performing ones by clock speed alone.

Qualcomm promises a similar 40 percent performance boost from the new Adreno 830 GPU. The chip also includes a marginally improved Snapdragon X80 5G modem, up from an X75 modem in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3—its main improvement appears to be support for additional antennas, for a total of six, but the download speed still tops out at a theoretical 10Gbps. Wi-Fi 7 support appears to be the same as in the 8 Gen 3, but the 8 Elite does support the Bluetooth 6.0 standard, up from Bluetooth 5.4 in the 8 Gen 3.

Qualcomm brings laptop-class CPU cores to phones with Snapdragon 8 Elite Read More »

qualcomm-cancels-windows-dev-kit-pc-for-“comprehensively”-failing-to-meet-standards

Qualcomm cancels Windows dev kit PC for “comprehensively” failing to meet standards

copilot, copilot+ PC, microsoft, snapdragon x, snapdragon x elite, Tech, Windows 11, windows 11 24h2, windows on arm / /

It’s been a big year for Windows running on Arm chips, something that Microsoft and Arm chipmakers have been trying to get off the ground for well over a decade. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus are at the heart of dozens of Copilot+ Windows PCs, which promise unique AI features and good battery life without as many of the app and hardware compatibility problems that have plagued Windows-on-Arm in the past.

Part of the initial wave of Copilot+ PCs was a single desktop, an $899 developer kit from Qualcomm itself that would give developers and testers a slightly cheaper way to buy into the Copilot+ ecosystem. Microsoft put out a similar Arm-powered dev kit two years ago.

But Qualcomm has unceremoniously canceled the dev kit and is sending out refunds to those who ordered them. That’s according to a note received by developer and YouTuber Jeff Geerling, who had already received the Snapdragon Dev Kit and given it a middling review a couple of weeks ago.

“The launch of 30+ Snapdragon X-series powered PCs is a testament to our ability to deliver leading technology and the PC industry’s desire to move to our next-generation technology,” reads Qualcomm’s statement. “However, the Developer Kit product comprehensively has not met our usual standards of excellence and so we are reaching out to let you know that unfortunately we have made the decision to pause this product and the support of it, indefinitely.”

Qualcomm’s statement also says that “any material, if received” will not have to be returned—those lucky enough to have gotten one of the Dev Kits up until now may be able to keep it and get their money back, though the PC is no longer officially being supported by Qualcomm.

Qualcomm cancels Windows dev kit PC for “comprehensively” failing to meet standards Read More »

redbox-easily-reverse-engineered-to-reveal-customers’-names,-zip-codes,-rentals

Redbox easily reverse-engineered to reveal customers’ names, zip codes, rentals

dvd, privacy, redbox, Tech / /

Thousands of Redboxes getting dumped

It’s worth noting that the amount of data expected to be stored on Redboxes is small compared to Redbox’s overall business. Since Redbox once rented out millions of DVDs weekly, the data retrieved only represents a small portion of Redbox’s overall business and, likely, of business conducted on that specific kiosk.  That might not be much comfort to those whose data is left vulnerable, though.

The problem is more alarming when considering how many Redboxes are still out in the wild with uncertain futures. High demand for Redbox removals has resulted in all sorts of people, like Turing, gaining access to kiosk hardware and/or data. For example, The Wall Street Journal reported last week about a “former Redbox employee who convinced a 7-Eleven franchisee” to give him a Redbox, a 19-year-old who persuaded a contractor hauling a kiosk away from a drugstore to give it to him instead, as well as a Redbox landing in an Illinois dumpster.

Consumer privacy concerns

Chicken Soup’s actions may violate consumer privacy regulations, including the Video Privacy Protection Act outlawing “wrongful disclosure of video tape rental or sale records.” However, Chicken Soup’s bankruptcy (most of its assets are in a holding pattern, Lowpass reported) makes customer remediation more complicated and less likely.

Mario Trujillo, staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, told Ars that this incident “highlights the importance of security research in uncovering flaws that can leave customers unprotected.”

“While it may be hard to hold a bankrupt company accountable, uncovering the flaw is the first step,” he added.

Turing, which reverses engineers a lot of tech, said that the privacy problems she encountered with Redbox storage “isn’t terribly uncommon.”

Overall, the situation underscores the need for stricter controls around consumer data, whether it comes internally from companies or, as some would argue, through government regulation.

“This security flaw is a reminder that all companies should be obligated to minimize the amount of data they collect and retain in the first place,” Trujillo said. “We need strong data privacy laws to do that.”

Redbox easily reverse-engineered to reveal customers’ names, zip codes, rentals Read More »