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EU Forces Google To Share Search Data, Open Android To Rivals

The EU is imposing new rules requiring Google to share anonymized search data and open up Android to rival AI companies. "Thanks to these measures, we hope to see emerging alternatives to Google Search and Google's AI services, such as Gemini, and that users in the EU can enjoy greater choice of services," Henna Virkkunen, an executive vice president at the European Commission overseeing tech, said. The Associated Press reports: In issuing the two new rules, the commission said it found that AI agents not made by Google were unable to function on Android phones at the same level as Google's Gemini. Google must now allow voice-activation of these alternative AI agents and enable them to run background tasks like booking restaurants via third-party apps. By January 2027, Google must also begin sharing anonymized search data with some rivals. The commission said the move is meant to level the playing field since Google controls a vast trove of user data that no competitor can match. Google argues the measures could weaken privacy and security by exposing user searches and reducing safeguards around third-party AI assistants. "Europeans' private searches would be exposed to unfamiliar companies, without adequate anonymization of the data and without user knowledge or consent," said Kent Walker, president of global affairs for Google and Alphabet. "This would weaken citizens' privacy, risk business trade secrets, and endanger national security."

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1Password Lets Claude Use Credentials Without Exposing Passwords

BrianFagioli writes: 1Password has launched a Claude integration that allows the AI agent to sign in to websites using credentials stored in a 1Password vault. The password manager says Claude never sees the password or one-time code. Instead, users approve each request, and 1Password injects the credentials directly into the target website while locking down access to the rest of the vault. The design appears safer than simply handing passwords to an AI model, but it does not remove every risk. Once Claude is authenticated, it may still be able to view private data, change settings, place orders, or perform other actions available inside the account. Users may want to limit the feature to low-risk tasks until browser-based agents become more predictable.

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Sony Deletes More Movies From Accounts of People Who 'Bought' Them

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Techdirt: In 2022, due to "evolving licensing agreements" with distributor StudioCanal, German and Austrian users had hundreds of movies disappear from their PS accounts, long after buying them through Sony. Then in 2023, it happened again in America, specifically when Sony ended its licensing agreement with Discovery after the Warner Bros. merger, which, of course, has since been bought by Paramount Skydance. That resulted in customers having hundreds and hundreds of episodes of TV shows deleted from their accounts. Nowhere in any of this were there refunds, of course. No recompense at all, actually. Just a thing you thought you'd bought taken away from you by the very people you thought you bought it from.

And now it's happening again. Due to another licensing agreement fallout with StudioCanal, hundreds of movies and TV shows are being ripped from the accounts of PS Store customers, and there appears to be fuck all that they can do about it. [Kotaku reports:] "This news was brought to people's attention by X user somatyk, who posted the notification they had received from PlayStation this week. Along with the unapologetic news that the purchased movies would be deleted from their account on September 1, the message concluded with, 'Click here for a full list of affected titles that will no longer be supported. Thank you.' The same warning is now reproduced in full on the PlayStation website, along with the list of 551 films and TV series that are being pulled from people's libraries."

As Kotaku notes later in their post, part of what is striking in all of this is the sheer mundanity of the announcement. Because there have been no consequences, or any action at all from the public or government, Sony treats this all as if it's perfectly normal and no big deal. You can tell me all you want about how the Ts and Cs in these purchases do in fact note that the nature of the purchase is a temporary licensing of the content for an undetermined time period... but I can promise you that the public in general doesn't understand that. They think they're buying a thing, not a license.

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Google Renames NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook

Google is renaming NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook, but will keep it a standalone app even as it ties more closely into Gemini and Google Search. "Google says it plans to bring notebooks to AI Mode, its chatbot-like experience in Search, too," reports The Verge. From the report: Along with the name change, Google is rolling out an update announced last month that allows Gemini Notebook to connect to a secure cloud computer to write and execute code. This feature is available to Google AI Ultra and Workspace business customers, but will come to Pro users on the web "over the coming weeks."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

OnePlus Will Continue Software Updates After US and Europe Exit

OnePlus has confirmed that it will exit the North American and European markets, consolidating its operations under parent company Oppo. Existing customers will continue to receive "software updates, security patches, and applicable support," but OxygenOS will be replaced by Oppo's ColorOS. 9to5Google reports: As a part of its shutdown in global regions, OnePlus has confirmed that its flavor of Android, OxygenOS, is going away. Instead, all active OnePlus devices will be moving over to Oppo's ColorOS starting with their Android 17 updates. This includes in India, where OnePlus is adamant it will continue operations -- reliable reporting disagrees.

OnePlus explains: "As part of an operational adjustment to our software strategy, following the official release of ColorOS 17, users globally with existing OnePlus devices that fall within the eligible upgrade scope will have the option to voluntarily update to the latest ColorOS. This enables us to streamline software development, accelerate update delivery, improve software quality, and make better use of our shared engineering and R&D capabilities."

[...] OnePlus will continue "maintenance support" for OxygenOS versions on older models not included in the Android 17 update scope, but newer devices will likely need to make the switch to ColorOS for all forms of continued support. OnePlus does explain that rollback versions to OxygenOS will be available for those who prefer the prior experience: "OnePlus devices will be able to choose whether to update to the latest ColorOS system. Older models that are not included in the update scope will also continue to receive version maintenance support. If users update to ColorOS, they will be able to roll back to OxygenOS. The specific rollback versions available will be subject to future official announcements."

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EU Won't Require User-Replaceable Batteries for Wearables

The European Commission has exempted wearables from upcoming EU rules requiring portable-device batteries to be removable and user-replaceable. The broader Batteries Regulation still takes effect in February 2027 for many consumer products, but the exemption means companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, and Meta won't have to redesign their wearables for the EU. Thurrott reports: Yesterday, the Commission announced that new product categories would be exempted from complying with its Batteries Regulation, including wearable devices such as smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart glasses. This will likely be good news for companies like Apple, Google, Samsung, and Meta, which won't have to redesign their devices to include user-replaceable batteries for consumers in the EU market.

The EU's Batteries Regulation will come into effect in February 2027, which is when Nintendo plans to stop selling all models of the original Nintendo Switch in the EU. While Nintendo had no choice but to redesign its handheld console to keep selling it in the EU, it probably didn't make sense for the company to put in the same effort for the OG Switch, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in March 2027.

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MetaFilter

The past 24 hours of MetaFilter

Don't automate the fun out of life

ARC-AGI-3 is a collection of turn based puzzle games compressed into a 64x64 4-bit pixel grid, each with a unique set of hidden rules.

It is also the public training, test, and evaluation set for an AI benchmarking competition, and frontier models have been doing abysmally at it. (hat-tip to Half as Interesting). Evaluating AI agents using games is not exactly new; many have tried benchmarking them via the game Baba Is You, and just today a new benchmark was published suggesting that the most advanced models can finally 100% the game... 's two intro levels. And more than 4 times more slowly than an arbitrary human solver. And just a few hours ago, Impossible Research self-reported their new Schema Harness was able to solve virtually all of ARC-AGI-3's public set.

"The flyovers will continue until morale improves"

"In videos widely shared on social media, a Blue Angels fighter jet is seen flying what appears to be just feet above onlookers at Pensacola Beach." In the face of broad criticism of the incident and the announcement of an investigation, Sec. Hegseth posts his response.

Summer Zillowing

If each of your cars doesn't have its own tiny chandelier I don't think you can even call yourself an American. Rebecca Makkai is back with her series of Zillow snarks about the homes of some people who should be paying more taxes. (Warning: Substack.)

Makkai is the author of several books including Pulitzer finalist The Great Believers, I Have Some Questions for You, and The Hundred-Year House. Her Substack, SubMakk, also includes some insightful writing advice, like her breakdown of deep interiority and "You're Writing a Book. So Stop Writing a Movie."

Dave Kendall, Host & Creator of 120 Minutes, Dies at 63

In tribute to Kendall, {Matt} Pinfield wrote, "Dave was one of the true believers. Long before alternative music found its way into the mainstream, he was there every week on 120 Minutes, introducing people to bands that would go on to define an era. He didn't just host a show. He gave a home to music that deserved to be heard. He loved the music, respected the artists, and connected with fans in a way that always felt authentic. That's a rare gift."

Kendall had relocated to Bangkok in the past decade; obit from the Bangkok Post here. "By far the most important thing about 120 Minutes was that it acted as a distribution channel for organic musical produce, if you will," Dave Kendall, the show's former host and producer who first pitched the show to MTV, wrote via email. "The only other outlet for non-mainstream music at the time was a few local college radio stations, because unlike in the UK, mainstream US radio stations were not open to new ideas." I found a list of 120 Minutes episodes here!

Snook.ca

Life and Times of a Web Developer

A Few of The CSS Tidbits I Put in The Site

When I was building this site, I was keeping it lean but perhaps a bit messy. It’s not a big complex site and I didn’t need to write CSS to maintain a big complex site. As such, I even wondered if I’d stick to any kind of naming convention.

Old habits are hard to break and I found anytime I tried to get away with just element selectors for something, it was clunky as I continued to iterate. Sure enough, the more I worked on the site, the more I moved back to my modular ways. But ultimately, that’s neither here nor there. For a site like mine—written and maintained by one person—what kind of naming convention I use is nearly irrelevant. (I say nearly because I don’t want to be obtuse just for the sake of it!)

With my projects over the last few years, I’ve used a few different newer CSS features and have enjoyed what they can do. Here’s a few of the things I put into this site...

Clamp

I originally used clamp on The Snook Nook for the site title at the top of the page. I wanted it to feel balanced regardless of screen width. I adjust both the font size and letter spacing in this case, so that the title always looked proportional.

For Snook.ca, I wanted something that was big and bold on a large screen but wouldn’t fill up an entire phone screen. Again, clamp came in clutch.

font-size: clamp(2em, 4vw, 4em)

Clamp takes three values: the minimum, the preferred value, and the maximum. In this case, I wanted the font-size to be related to the screen width, which is where the vw units come in. The largest I wanted to go was 4em. This was eye-balled. There’s no special math here. Likewise, 2em still seemed reasonable on the bottom end and looked good for me.

Balanced Headings

I remember reading about this awhile back and it was a nice little thing to add to the site: text-wrap: balance. I just have it on the page title to avoid orphaned words and make them look a little more, well, balanced.

On the old site, I never loved how my headings looked over multiple lines because of the pencil lines I had on headings. As a result, I kept the titles shorter, on purpose. With this version, I wanted to get more creative with page titles, going longer if I needed to without it looking weird.

Grid

When Grid first came out, I was using it for larger, dynamic layouts like the restaurant grid on my Fifty site. Now, I find myself also using it for smaller elements. The article meta is a great example of this.

The article meta showing section title and article date

.meta {
  display: grid;
  justify-items: center;
}

Boom. All the items are center aligned and stacked. I probably would've defaulted to trying to use display: flex here but that would've required an extra declaration to adjust the flex-direction to column. (And using align-items instead of justify-items.)

.meta-before:before {
  content: "";
  display:block;
  width:50px;
  padding-bottom: 5px;
  border-top: 2px solid var(--green);
}

The horizontal line is a pseudo-element that gets added into the grid stack before everything else. That border declaration leads me to the next thing.

CSS Custom Properties

The CSS isn’t large or anything but it was nice to use custom properties for easy colour management. I declared them on the root element. I could’ve probably just declared this on the html element itself just as easily.

:root {
  --yellow: #FFCA00;
  --green: #668800;
  --white: #EFEFE6;
  --black: #3C3C3C;
  color-scheme: light dark;
}

Again, I didn’t need multiple levels of abstraction. I just wanted something that made it easier to remember these hex codes and spit them out where I need them.

Dark Mode

That last line in the previous example declares that my design supports light and dark mode and lets me use the light-dark function to easily declare colour options like this declaration for the body text.

color: light-dark(var(--black), var(--white));

Link Underlines

I’ve always just either toggled underlines on hover or toggled text colour. I don’t know when all the text-decoration options were added but I liked being able to do so.

a { 
  color: currentcolor; 
  text-decoration-thickness:2px; 
  text-decoration-color: var(--green); 
}
a:hover { text-decoration-color: var(--yellow); }

I was able to adjust the thickness and then change the colour on hover. I haven’t used the ol’ LVHA format in years but I might come back to it to give more useful visual clues for visited and active links.

The link colour just picks up whatever the light-dark colour is currently set.

CSS has come a long way

I was really delighted by how easy it was to use all of these features and not have to be too concerned about cross browser issues. Looking through MDN was fun to discover what features I had missed over the years and could now implement reliably. Can I Use also continues to be a fantastic resource for verifying browser support.

What investment gurus get wrong

To see a country’s financial follies, look to its celebrity advisers.


The Synthesis of Selection

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

The Synthesis of Selection

Found Kodachrome Slide -- The Bill Roof Collection

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Found Kodachrome Slide -- The Bill Roof Collection

handwritten on slide, “4 Generations"

Found Kodachrome Slide

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Found Kodachrome Slide

date stamped on slide July 1978

Found Photograph

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Found Photograph

handwritten on back of photograph, "Gary Lykins, John, roomate and friend"

Pantages Theatre

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Pantages Theatre

Winter in LA

Greg Adams Photography posted a photo:

Winter in LA

a little different from PA...

Brauneck

Peter Kernwein posted a photo:

Brauneck

Droogte des Doods in het Stamcafé

sproeien

In de rubriek 'eens kijken wat het land nu weer totaal ontregelt': de droogteramp. De watertekorten zijn feitelijk, de droogtecommissies hebben opgeschaald, water sproeien is verboden, het is chaos. Het gaat waarschijnlijk nog wel even duren, dus we moeten ons voorbereiden op het ergste. Ook uit de kraan komt straks geen water meer, dan wordt het knokken om het laatste pak Bar Le Duc, er komt een kliklijn om de illegale watervoorraad van uw buurman te verlinken, BN'ers gaan een lied zingen, velen van ons zullen het niet overleven. Om de ernst van alles vast op ons te laten inwerken, in drooggelegde Stamcafé (droge wijn mag wel natuurlijk), de fotoserie DROOGTE IN NEDERLAND. Houd u vast.

De middenberm, droog

droge middenberm

Het land, droog

droog land

De Waal, droog

droge waal

Almere, droog

woestijndroog

De Zwarte Cross, droog

droog zand

Tina Nijkamp, droog

tina nijkamp

Debby Gerritsen, behoeft geen uitleg

debby gerritsen

Het bos, droog

droog bos

HEEL HOLLAND GORT- EN GORTDROOG

gortdroog land