'The 2018 MacBook Pro Keyboard Drives Me Crazy' Slashdotby msmash on macbook at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at September 2, 2019, 11:38 pm)

Ryan Bigg: I recently upgraded from a 2015 MacBook Pro to a 2018 MacBook Pro. So I've been using this computer as a work computer for almost 3 months now and, my god, the keyboard drives me mental. Even writing this blog post now on the train and there's: duplicated "o's" that I've had to go back and fix, or missing ones -- guess how fun it is to write a book about a Toy Robot with this particular problem double spaces -- or no spaces a Command key that registers 9 out of every 10 times words like "times" that inexplicably get spelled like "timies", or "about" that gets spelled like "abouot" Apple is all about the thinness of their laptops. I do not particularly care about the thinness of this device. For the most part, it sits on one of two desks that I use or it sits on my lap on the train. Maybe I use it on the couch from time-to-time. I do not care about the thinness of this device while I am using it. I only care about it when I store it away, in my backpack. This keyboard has a key travel distance that, I am sure, is measured in microns or perhaps nanometers. It feels like I am typing on a concrete slab. Key presses inexplicably duplicate. Or don't register at all. All for thinness. This keyboard is a catastrophic engineering failure, designed by a company that should know better. A company with more money in the bank than several countries combined. This keyboard would be, by far, the part of the MacBook Pro that is used the most by everybody who owns one, and it is so poorly engineered for the pursuit of thinness. The author is a junior engineering program lead at Culture Amp, an analytics platform that specializes in staff surveying and analytics.

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UN calls for urgent action to end violence in Nigeria AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 11:30 pm)

UN special rapporteur says deadly attacks rocking Nigeria could have a ripple effect throughout the region.
Guatemala arrests former presidential candidate Sandra Torres AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 11:30 pm)

Arrest comes on the eve of the UN-backed anti-corruption commission's exit.
Bangladesh bans mobile phone access in Rohingya camps AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 11:30 pm)

The move threatens a communication blackout for Rohingya who use mobile phones to connect across camps and borders.
Don't Get Locked Up Into Avoiding Lock-in Slashdotby msmash on software at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at September 2, 2019, 10:38 pm)

Gregor Hohpe: A significant share of architectural energy is spent on reducing or avoiding lock-in. That's a rather noble objective: architecture is meant to give us options and lock-in does the opposite. However, lock-in isn't a simple true-or-false matter: avoiding being locked into one aspect often locks you into another. Also, popular notions, such as open source automagically eliminating lock-in, turn out to be not entirely true. Time to have a closer look at lock-in, so you don't get locked up into avoiding it!

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The growing human cost of the war in Yemen AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 10:30 pm)

At least 60 people were killed in Yemen air raid, raising the question who can hold Saudi-UAE-led coalition to account.
Chinese Deepfake App Zao Sparks Privacy Row After Going Viral Slashdotby msmash on china at January 1, 1970, 1:00 am (cached at September 2, 2019, 9:38 pm)

A Chinese app that lets users convincingly swap their faces with film or TV characters has rapidly become one of the country's most downloaded apps, triggering a privacy row. From a report: Released on Friday, the Zao app went viral as Chinese users seized on the chance to see themselves act out scenes from well-known movies using deepfake technology, which has already prompted concerns elsewhere over potential misuse. Users provide a series of selfies in which they blink, move their mouths and make facial expressions, which the app uses to realistically morph the person's animated likeness on to movies, TV shows or other content. The company was forced to issue a statement on Sunday pledging changes after critics attacked the app's privacy policy, which it had "free, irrevocable, permanent, transferable, and relicenseable" rights to all user-generated content. There has been growing concern over deepfakes, which use artificial intelligence to appear genuine. Critics say the technology can be used to create bogus videos to manipulate elections, defame someone, or potentially cause unrest by spreading misinformation on a massive scale. "We understand the concerns about privacy. We've received the feedback, and will fix the issues that we didn't take into consideration, which will take some time," a statement released by Zao said. Zao is owned by Momo Inc, a Tinder-like dating service that is listed on the US Nasdaq.

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[no title] Scripting News(cached at September 2, 2019, 9:35 pm)

2016: "If you want a favor you're more likely to get it if you're connected. This is true in business, the press, education, sports, etc."
New US ambassador to UN yet to take up position AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 9:30 pm)

Russia and China have been quick to fill the vacuum left by the United States.
Campaigning under way in Tunisia ahead of presidential vote AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 9:30 pm)

It's unlikely any candidate will obtain a majority, meaning second round will likely be held in November.
Lukaku calls for more action on racism after Cagliari abuse AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 9:30 pm)

Inter Milan striker takes aim at football governing bodies and social media companies after suffering racist abuse.
Suicide car bomb attack rocks eastern Kabul AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 9:30 pm)

Interior ministry confirms explosion took place near Green Village compound which houses foreigners and NGOs.
Brexit crisis deepens as Tory rebellion mounts AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 9:30 pm)

A general election appears inevitable as support for Boris Johnson collapses.
Tennis player Mike Bryan fined $10,000 for US Open gun gesture AL JAZEERA ENGLISH (AJE)(cached at September 2, 2019, 9:30 pm)

The match was played hours after a man in Texas shot dead seven people and wounded 22 others.
[no title] Scripting News(cached at September 2, 2019, 9:06 pm)

Braintrust query resolution. Peter Judge saw immediately what the problem was: no Content-Length header. Thank you for the help. Here's the postmortem. I'm writing an XML-RPC service, the request was being routed to the service through PagePark. Of course I blamed the one bit of technology that wasn't mine. Heh. Further, the XML-RPC spec requires that the Content-Length header be provided and be correct. If I had followed my own design, I wouldn't have needed the help. Dear Murphy, I am unworthy, I am unworthy.