Friday Squid Blogging: Neon Flying Squid

The neon flying squid can fly in formation.

The shoal of about 100 squid rose unexpectedly from a patch of the Pacific Ocean around 370 miles from Tokyo and glided near the boat for about 30 metres. The astonished researchers were the first to capture photographs of such a thing, which looked like the early stages of an alien invasion.

They were probably neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii), the subsequent study states, a species that is part of a 20-strong flying squid family that was known to leap from the water but, until then, was only rumoured to also be able to glide above it.

The neon flying squid was able to gain such elevation by using the hyponome, a funnel-like muscular organ also present in other cephalopods, such as octopuses. The organ is able to force water out in a jet, propelling the body along both in and out of the sea. Photographs of the gliding squid show them with their arms (they have 10 limbs in all) splayed outwards.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

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The Register

Biting the hand that feeds IT — Enterprise Technology News and Analysis

Salesforce partners not seeing meaningful revenue from Agentforce AI platform, report says

Salesforce partners say they have yet to see any meaningful revenue from Agentforce, two years after the CRM giant launched its AI platform, promising spectacular growth. That's according to a recent report from TD Cowen, which surveyed Salesforce partners and found muted interest in the technology, designed to let users build AI agents for customer interactions. The survey of partners in the US, Europe, and Asia found growing customer interest in Agentforce, but no revenue yet. Asked about interest in Agentforce AI Agents, 11 percent of respondents said they had not seen much immediate interest, while 56 percent said they expected to see interest but needed time for initiatives to mature. A third of partners said there was strong interest in Agentforce as they were starting to see buying and trial activity. However, none were seeing Agentforce become a driver of bookings activity. The report also noted weaker commercial growth among partners across Salesforce's portfolio. A third were meeting or beating targets as opposed to 43 percent in the previous quarter. “Agentforce adoption [is] still subdued," the report said. Salesforce did not immediately return a request for comment. In its most recent results for Q1 FY2027, ended April 30, the CRM vendor said its current remaining performance obligation – a measure of future contract values – had grown 14 percent year over year to $33.6 billion, “propelled by Agentforce, Data 360, and Slack, partially offset by softness in commerce and Tableau.” “We are seeing incredible demand for Agentforce with annual recurring revenue now greater than $1 billion,” CEO Marc Benioff told analysts. Salesforce has backed Agentforce to help it beat the so-called SaaSapocalypse — where AI agents perform common enterprise tasks and obviate the need for software upgrades. It says Agentforce will help customers build, test, deploy, manage, and orchestrate AI agents in the enterprise. The TD Cowen report is not the only dark cloud over the strategy. Last month, a report from KeyBanc Capital Markets cited its CIO survey, which found customers did not view the CRM plan favorably. "Our checks and customer conversations have not been strong, nor has the feedback been on Agentforce. What we can piece together in the disclosed numbers does not signal building momentum and, most recently, our CIO survey delivered another blow with Salesforce being a standout for the wrong reasons," the report said. KeyBanc found that partners and customers thought enterprise data was not coherent enough to do meaningful AI work and that Agentforce, “as a product, just isn't there." ®

The Guardian

Latest news, sport, business, comment, analysis and reviews from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voice

Lindsay Clancy killed her children. Why do many women support her? – Stateside with Kai and Carter

The trial of Lindsay Clancy, a former nurse accused of murdering her three children, is wrapping up its fifth week. On Friday morning, the defense rested, and the public attention to the case is at a fever-pitch — especially on social media. Clancy, 36, does not deny that she strangled her children, but has pleaded not guilty due to lack of criminal responsibility, also known as an insanity defense. She argues that she was in the throes of postpartum psychosis, a rare and devastating condition that can go unrecognized and untreated. Host Carter Sherman speaks with Jenna Amatulli, deputy head of news for Guardian US, about how the case has renewed attention on the fundamental shortcomings in the US's maternal healthcare system, and about why Clancy's story has captivated – and polarized – so many people

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Cop surveillance drones are going great

Handshake, not a drug deal: SFPD drone case falls apart:

DA officials did not say whether they agreed with Helvestine's argument that the footage showed only a handshake. But the DA's office subsequently motioned to dismiss the case ahead of its preliminary hearing, records show. That motion was granted on May 8 last year by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Michelle Tong. [...]

Deputy Public Defender Brian Cox, the head of the office's Integrity Unit, argued police officers regularly mischaracterize normal interactions as drug transactions, and that drones amplify those risks. [...]

"SFPD interprets otherwise innocent behavior as criminal because to a hammer, everything is a nail," said Cox. "Drones and other surveillance technologies simply give police more power -- and greater reach -- to do that." [...]

The police hub that deploys San Francisco's police drones is also backed by billionaires.

The Real Time Investigations Center, which helps the police department find suspects on the streets and aids arrests using drones and Flock Safety automatic license plate reading cameras, has bulked up through benefactors including Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman, former Y Combinator partner Michael Seibel, and Michael Moritz's family foundation Crankstart.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

Lee Friedlander, The Little Screens, 1961-70

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Lee Friedlander, The Little Screens, 1961-70

Found Kodachrome Slide

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Found Kodachrome Slide

date stamped on slide April 1967

At Least You Got Someone to Fall Back On

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

At Least You Got Someone to Fall Back On

Well Rehearsed

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Well Rehearsed

I Hate to Think I've Been Blinded Baby

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

I Hate to Think I've Been Blinded Baby