The Desktop Riverbed

3 weeks 6 days ago
In this video, tanks for nothin makes a custom tank to perfectly fill the space below their monitors and shows viewers the process of turning that tank into a riverbed ecosystem. NeoPixel Aquarium with Submersible Lights reef-pi
Stephanie

NEW LEARN GUIDE: Sensor-Locked Secrets with CircuitPython #Temperature & Humidity #AdafruitLearningSystem

3 weeks 6 days ago
This project is about scrambling a secret message or picture in such a way that it can only be decrypted when certain environmental factors are met. The guide covers three different types of sensor inputs: GPS coordinates, lux light values, and temperature/humidity/CO2 readings. The general concept could be adapted for other types of sensors like […]
Adafruit Learning System

Get the most out of your Apple Developer account

3 weeks 6 days ago

A free Apple Developer account provides access to the tools, resources, and support you need to build and test apps and games. A free developer account is separate from an Apple Developer Program membership. Even if your organization holds the paid membership, creating your own free account gives you direct access to downloads and support resources.

Don’t have an account?

To create your Apple Developer account, sign in to your Apple Account. If you don’t have an Apple Account, you can create one during Apple Developer account registration.

Sign in >

What you get:

Access beta versions of Xcode and Apple operating systems: Test your apps with upcoming features and API changes before release. Betas allow you to submit feedback and ensure your app works on day one of each new OS release. And you can test your apps directly on your own devices.

With Xcode beta versions, you have access to the complete toolchain to explore new SDKs, test enhanced APIs, and debug compatibility issues using the latest development tools and simulators.

Learn more about Xcode >

Learn more about Apple beta testing software >

Meet with Apple: Attend developer events that take place in person and online all year long. Events range from design workshops on UI/UX best practices to technical deep dives on frameworks and business sessions about App Store optimization.

Sign up for developer activities >

Apple Developer Forums: Join the forums to ask questions and share knowledge with developers worldwide. The forums cover specific frameworks and technologies, serving as a space to troubleshoot issues and share code samples.

Browse the forums >

Help shape the platform: Report bugs and submit feature requests with Feedback Assistant. File detailed reports with sample code, crash logs, and reproduction steps. Request new APIs or suggest enhancements. Some of the tools you use today started as developer feedback.

Download Feedback Assistant >

Looking for more?

An Apple Developer Program membership unlocks all the resources and support you need to build, test, share, and distribute apps and games.

  • Integrate Apple services: Configure your app with powerful features like the Foundation Models framework, CloudKit, MusicKit, and Apple Pay.
  • Beta test at scale: Use TestFlight to distribute beta builds to up to 10,000 external testers before your public release.
  • Unlock exclusive opportunities: Access more in-person Meet with Apple events and WWDC activities, including one-on-one appointments with Apple experts.
  • Distribute worldwide: Publish your apps and games on the App Store and grow your business. Easily share with people in 175 countries and regions and 50 languages.
  • Offer content and services for purchase: Help make purchases effortless in your app or game using Apple In-App Purchase, with secure authentication, and over 200 payment methods supported globally.

Learn more about membership >

Keep in mind:

As always, you can explore Apple Developer videos, documentation, tutorials, sample code, API references, and the Human Interface Guidelines without an Apple Developer account.

Shy Society – a monumental kinetic light installation in Venice #ArtTuesday

3 weeks 6 days ago
Shy Society is a kinetic installation by Studio Drift that transforms Venice’s Palazzo Balbi into a “breathing” building. The Concept: It mimics nyctinasty—the natural process where flowers close at night. The robotic textile blooms descend and unfurl, then retract and close in a synchronized dance. The Vibe: The movement is timed to a human resting […]
Anne Barela

Arts and Cultural Engagement 'Linked To Slower Pace of Biological Aging'

3 weeks 6 days ago
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the Guardian: Singing, painting or visiting a gallery or museum helps people age more slowly, according to the latest study to link taking an active interest in art and culture with improved health. The findings are the first to show that both participating in arts activities and attending events, such as viewing an exhibition, lead to people staying biologically younger. "These results demonstrate the health impact of the arts at a biological level. They provide evidence for arts and cultural engagement to be recognized as a health-promoting behavior in a similar way to exercise," said Prof Daisy Fancourt, the lead author of the research and the head of the social biobehavioral research group at University College London. However, slower aging does not necessarily mean someone will live longer. The "epigenetic clocks" used in the study to assess biological ageing are predictive of future morbidity and mortality, and previous studies have suggested a link between arts engagement and longer lifespan, but much more research would be needed to establish potential causal effects on longevity. Those who take part in artistic pursuits the most often slow the pace of their biological aging the most. Under one of the study's methods of assessment, those who did so at least weekly slowed their aging process by 4%, while monthly engagement led to it slowing by 3%. Similarly, another of the tests showed that those who undertook an arts activity at least once a week were on average a year younger biologically than those who rarely engaged in such pursuits. Those who exercised once a week were only six months younger by that measure. The benefit the arts confer on the pace at which people age is so dramatic that it is comparable to the difference between smokers and those who have given up smoking, the researchers say. The results, published in the journal Innovation in Aging, are based on blood test and survey response data from 3,556 adults taking part in the UK Household Longitudinal Study. It uses blood samples to estimate people's biological age and the pace at which they are ageing.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella Testifies In OpenAI Trial

3 weeks 6 days ago
The Musk v. Altman trial entered its third week Monday, with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and former OpenAI co-founder and renowned AI researcher Ilya Sutskever taking the stand. Nadella testified that Elon Musk never raised concerns to him that Microsoft's investments in OpenAI violated any special commitments, and said he viewed the partnership as clearly commercial from the start. He also described OpenAI's 2023 board crisis as "amateur city." Meanwhile, Sutskever testified that he had raised concerns about Sam Altman because he feared OpenAI could be "destroyed." He expressed concerns about Altman's behavior to the board, in part because he said he felt "a great deal of ownership" over the startup. "I simply cared for it, and I didn't want it to be destroyed," Sutskever said. CNBC reports: Nadella said he was "very proud" that Microsoft took the risk to invest in OpenAI when "no one else was willing" to bet on the fledgling lab. Musk, who testified late last month, said Microsoft's $10 billion investment was the key tipping point that made him believe OpenAI was violating its nonprofit mission. He testified that the scale of the investment bothered him, and it prompted him to open a legal investigation into OpenAI. "I was concerned they were really trying to steal the charity," Musk said from the stand. Nadella said he did not believe Microsoft's investments in OpenAI were donations, and that there was a clear commercial element to their partnership from the outset. He said during the partnership's early years, Microsoft gave OpenAI sharp discounts on computing resources, and Microsoft believed it would reap marketing benefits from doing so. During a separate video deposition that was played on Monday morning, Michael Wetter, a corporate development executive at Microsoft, said the company has recognized approximately $9.5 billion in revenue to date through its partnership with OpenAI as of March 2025. [...] Nadella said he was "pretty surprised" by the board's decision [to fire Altman in November 2023], and that his priority was to try and figure out how to maintain continuity for Microsoft customers. Immediately after Altman was removed, Nadella said he made an effort to learn more about what happened, adding that he suspected jealousy and poor communication was at play. During conversations with OpenAI board members after the firing, Nadella said he was simply trying to understand the language in the OpenAI's statement about Altman being "not consistently candid" while communicating with the board. That language, Nadella said, "just didn't sort of suffice, because this is the CEO of a company that we are invested in and we're deeply partnered with, and so I felt that they could have explained to me what are the incidents or what is the detail behind it." There must have been instances of jealousy or miscommunication that could have justified pushing out Altman, Nadella said. He wanted more depth from the board members after the remark about candor, but no such information was available, he said. "It was sort of amateur city, as far as I'm concerned," Nadella testified. [...] Musk testified that he is not entirely against OpenAI having a for-profit unit, but he said it became "the tail wagging the dog." He repeatedly accused Altman and Brockman of enriching themselves from a charity while also reaping the positive associations that come from running a nonprofit. "Microsoft has their own motivations, and that would be different from the motivations of the charity," Musk said from the stand. "All due respect to Microsoft, do you really want Microsoft controlling digital superintelligence?" During a videotaped deposition shown in court last week, former OpenAI director Tasha McCauley recalled a discussion with Nadella and her fellow board members after the 2023 decision to dismiss Altman as OpenAI's CEO. "To the best of my recollection, Satya wanted to restore things to as they had been," McCauley said. The board members didn't think that was the right move, she said. But as a court witness on Monday, Nadella said he never demanded that the board reinstate Altman as OpenAI CEO. Recap: Sam Altman Had a Bad Day In Court (Day Eight) Sam Altman's Management Style Comes Under the Microscope At OpenAI Trial (Day Seven) Brockman Rebuts Musk's Take On Startup's History, Recounts Secret Work For Tesla (Day Six) OpenAI President Discloses His Stake In the Company Is Worth $30 Billion (Day Five) Musk Concludes Testimony At OpenAI Trial (Day Four) Elon Musk Says OpenAI Betrayed Him, Clashes With Company's Attorney (Day Three) Musk Testifies OpenAI Was Created As Nonprofit To Counter Google (Day Two) Elon Musk and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Head To Court (Day One)

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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A Data Center Drained 30 Million Gallons of Water Unnoticed

3 weeks 6 days ago
A Georgia data center developed by QTS used nearly 30 million gallons of water through two unaccounted-for connections before residents complained about low water pressure and the county utility discovered the issue. "All told, the developer, Quality Technology Services, owed nearly $150,000 for using more than 29 million gallons of unaccounted-for water," reports Politico. "That is equivalent to 44 Olympic-size swimming pools and far exceeds the peak limit agreed to during the data center planning process." From the report: The details were revealed in a May 15, 2025 letter from the Fayette County water system to Quality Technology Services, which outlined the retroactive charge of $147,474. The letter did not specify how many months the unpaid bill covered, but when asked about it Wednesday, Vanessa Tigert, the Fayette County water system director, said it was likely about four months. A QTS spokesperson said the timeframe was 9-15 months. Once the data center was notified, it paid all retroactive charges, a QTS spokesperson said in an email, noting the unmetered water consumption occurred while the county converted its system to smart meters. The Fayette County water system confirmed the data center's meters are now fully integrated and tracked. Tigert, the water system director, blamed the issue on a procedural mix-up. "Fayette County is a suburb, it's mostly residential, and we don't have much commercial meters in our system anyway," she said. "And so we didn't realize our connection point wasn't working." The incident became public last week when a county resident obtained the 2025 letter to QTS through a public records request and posted it on Facebook, prompting outrage from residents concerned about the data center's water consumption. [...] Tigert, who sent the 2025 letter to QTS, said the utility didn't know about the water hookups because the connection process "got mixed up" as the county transitioned to a cloud-based system while also trying to accommodate an industrial customer. Tigert also said her staff is small and at capacity. "Just like any water system, we don't have enough staff. We can't keep staff," she said. "I've got one person that's doing inspections and plan review, and so he's spread pretty thin." She said it's possible her staff did know about hookups but that she hadn't been able to locate the inspection report. "I may have hit 'send' too soon," she said about the 2025 letter to QTS. While the utility charged the data center a higher construction rate for the unapproved water consumption, Tigert confirmed the utility did not penalize or fine the data center. For what it's worth, the Blackstone-owned company says its data centers use a closed-loop cooling system that does not consume water for cooling. The reason for last year's high water use, according to QTS, was the temporary construction work such as concrete, dust control, and site preparation. Once the campus is fully operational, it should only use a small amount of water for things like bathrooms and kitchens. But that point could still be years away, as construction and expansion in Fayetteville may continue for another three to five years.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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