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Python (programming language)

Python is a high-level, general-purpose programming language that emphasizes code readability, simplicity, and ease-of-writing with the use of significant indentation, "plain English" naming, an extensive ("batteries-included") standard library, and garbage collection. Python supports multiple programming paradigms but with an emphasis on object-oriented programming and dynamic typing. Guido van Rossum began working on Python in the late 1980s as a successor to the ABC programming language. Python 3.0, released in 2008, was a major revision and not completely backward-compatible with earlier versions. Beginning with Python 3.5, capabilities and keywords for typing were added to the language, allowing optional static typing. As of 2026, the Python Software Foundation supports Python 3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, and 3.14, following the project's annual release cycle and five-year support policy. Python 3.15 is currently in the alpha development phase, and the stable release is expected to launch in October 2026. Earlier versions in the 3.x series have reached end-of-life and no longer receive security updates. Python has gained extensive use in the machine learning community. It is widely taught as an introductory programming language. Since 2003, Python has consistently ranked among the top ten most popular programming languages in the TIOBE Programming Community Index, which ranks programming languages based on searches across 24 platforms. == History == Python was conceived in the late 1980s by Guido van Rossum at Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in the Netherlands. It was designed as a successor to the ABC programming language, which was inspired by SETL, capable of exception handling and interfacing with the Amoeba operating system. Python implementation began in December 1989. Van Rossum first released it in 1991 as Python 0.9.0. Van Rossum assumed sole responsibility for the project, as the lead developer, until 12 July 2018, when he announced his "permanent vacation" from responsibilities as Python's "benevolent dictator for life" (BDFL); this title was bestowed on him by the Python community to reflect his long-term commitment as the project's chief decision-maker. (He has since come out of retirement and is self-titled "BDFL-emeritus".) In January 2019, active Python core developers elected a five-member Steering Council to lead the project. The name Python derives from the British comedy series Monty Python's Flying Circus. (See § Naming.) Python 2.0 was released on 16 October 2000, featuring many new features such as list comprehensions, cycle-detecting garbage collection, reference counting, and Unicode support. Python 2.7's end-of-life was initially set for 2015, and then postponed to 2020 out of concern that a large body of existing code could not easily be forward-ported to Python 3. It no longer receives security patches or updates. While Python 2.7 and older versions are officially unsupported, a different unofficial Python implementation, PyPy, continues to support Python 2, i.e., "2.7.18+" (plus 3.11), with the plus signifying (at least some) "backported security updates". Python 3.0 was released on 3 December 2008, and was a major revision and not completely backward-compatible with earlier versions, with some new semantics and changed syntax. Python 2.7.18, released in 2020, was the last release of Python 2. Several releases in the Python 3.x series have added new syntax to the language, and made a few (considered very minor) backward-incompatible changes. As of May 2026, Python 3.14.5 is the latest stable release. All older 3.x versions had a security update down to Python 3.9.24 then again with 3.9.25, the final version in 3.9 series. Python 3.10 is, since November 2025, the oldest supported branch. Python 3.15 has an alpha released, and Android has an official downloadable executable available for Python 3.14. Releases receive two years of full support followed by three years of security support. == Design philosophy and features == Python is a multi-paradigm programming language. Object-oriented programming and structured programming are fully supported, and many of their features support functional programming and aspect-oriented programming – including metaprogramming and metaobjects. Many other paradigms are supported via extensions, including design by contract and logic programming. Python is often referred to as a 'glue language' because it is purposely designed to be able to integrate components written in other languages. Python uses dynamic typing and a combination of reference counting and a cycle-detecting garbage collector for memory management. It uses dynamic name resolution (late binding), which binds method and variable names during program execution. Python's design offers some support for functional programming in the "Lisp tradition". It has filter, map, and reduce functions; list comprehensions, dictionaries, sets, and generator expressions. The standard library has two modules (itertools and functools) that implement functional tools borrowed from Haskell and Standard ML. Python's core philosophy is summarized in the Zen of Python (PEP 20) written by Tim Peters, which includes aphorisms such as these: Explicit is better than implicit. Simple is better than complex. Readability counts. Special cases aren't special enough to break the rules. Although practicality beats purity, errors should never pass silently, unless explicitly silenced. There should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it. However, Python has received criticism for violating these principles and adding unnecessary language bloat. Responses to these criticisms note that the Zen of Python is a guideline rather than a rule. The addition of some new features had been controversial: Guido van Rossum resigned as Benevolent Dictator for Life after conflict about adding the assignment expression operator in Python 3.8. Nevertheless, rather than building all functionality into its core, Python was designed to be highly extensible through modules. This compact modularity has made it particularly popular as a means of adding programmable interfaces to existing applications. Van Rossum's vision of a small core language with a large standard library and an easily extensible interpreter stemmed from his frustrations with ABC, which represented the opposite approach. Python claims to strive for a simpler, less-cluttered syntax and grammar, while giving developers a choice in their coding methodology. Python lacks do .. while loops, which Rossum considered harmful. In contrast to Perl's motto "there is more than one way to do it", Python advocates an approach where "there should be one – and preferably only one – obvious way to do it". In practice, however, Python provides many ways to achieve a given goal. There are at least three ways to format a string literal, with no certainty as to which one a programmer should use. Alex Martelli is a Fellow at the Python Software Foundation and Python book author; he wrote that "To describe something as 'clever' is not considered a compliment in the Python culture." Python's developers typically prioritize readability over performance. For example, they reject patches to non-critical parts of the CPython reference implementation that would offer increases in speed that do not justify the cost of clarity and readability. Execution speed can be improved by moving speed-critical functions to extension modules written in languages such as C, or by using a just-in-time compiler like PyPy. Also, it is possible to transpile to other languages. However, this approach either fails to achieve the expected speed-up, since Python is a very dynamic language, or only a restricted subset of Python is compiled (with potential minor semantic changes). Python is meant to be a fun language to use. This goal is reflected in the name – a tribute to the British comedy group Monty Python – and in playful approaches to some tutorials and reference materials. For instance, some code examples use the terms "spam" and "eggs" (in reference to a Monty Python sketch), rather than the typical terms "foo" and "bar". A common neologism in the Python community is pythonic, which has a broad range of meanings related to program style: Pythonic code may use Python idioms well; be natural or show fluency in the language; or conform with Python's minimalist philosophy and emphasis on readability. === Enhancement Proposals === Python Enhancement Proposals are a design document for either providing information to the Python community, or proposal for new feature in Python. PEPs are intented to explain new processes in Python, provide naming conventions or document the processes in the language. PEPs are overseen by Python Steering Council. There are 3 kinds of PEPs, with those are being standards track PEP, Informational PEP and Process PEPs which has their own unique meanings. They were firstly introduced in 2000, in
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Vue.js

Vue.js (commonly referred to as Vue; pronounced "view") is an open-source model–view–viewmodel front end JavaScript framework for building user interfaces and single-page applications. It was created by Evan You and is maintained by him and the rest of the active core team members. == Overview == Vue.js features an incrementally adaptable architecture that focuses on declarative rendering and component composition. The core library is focused on the view layer only. Advanced features required for complex applications such as routing, state management and build tooling are offered via officially maintained supporting libraries and packages. Vue.js allows for extending HTML with HTML attributes called directives. The directives offer functionality to HTML applications, and come as either built-in or user defined directives. == History == Vue was created by Evan You after working for Google using AngularJS in several projects. He later summed up his thought process: "I figured, what if I could just extract the part that I really liked about Angular and build something really lightweight." The first source code commit to the project was dated July 2013, at which time it was originally named "Seed". Vue was first publicly announced the following February, in 2014. Version names are often derived from manga and anime series, with the first letters arranged in alphabetical order. === Versions === When a new major is released i.e. v3.y.z, the last minor i.e. 2.x.y will become a LTS release for 18 months (bug fixes and security patches) and for the following 18 months will be in maintenance mode (security patches only). Vue 3 was officially released in September 2020. According to the State of Vue.js Report 2025, 96% of surveyed developers reported having used Vue 3.x. However, 35% also indicated that they used Vue 2.7.x in the past year, reflecting continued reliance on Vue 2 despite its end of support. The report also noted that more than a quarter of respondents encountered challenges when migrating from Vue 2 to Vue 3. === State management evolution === 2015 - Vuex introduced as official state management solution 2021 - Pinia development begins as Vuex 5 experiment 2022 - Pinia becomes officially recommended for new projects 2023 - Vue team announces Vuex maintenance mode transition According to the State of Vue.js Report 2025, the Vue's core team recommendation is reflected in developer adoption–over 80% of surveyed developers reported using Pinia while Vuex still had 38.4% usage, indicating ongoing reliance on the older library. == Features == === Components === Vue components extend basic HTML elements to encapsulate reusable code. At a high level, components are custom elements to which the Vue's compiler attaches behavior. In Vue, a component is essentially a Vue instance with pre-defined options. The code snippet below contains an example of a Vue component. The component presents a button and prints the number of times the button is clicked: === Templates === Vue uses an HTML-based template syntax that allows binding the rendered DOM to the underlying Vue instance's data. All Vue templates are valid HTML that can be parsed by specification-compliant browsers and HTML parsers. Vue compiles the templates into virtual DOM render functions. A virtual Document Object Model (or "DOM") allows Vue to render components in its memory before updating the browser. Combined with the reactivity system, Vue can calculate the minimal number of components to re-render and apply the minimal amount of DOM manipulations when the app state changes. Vue users can use template syntax or choose to directly write render functions using hyperscript either through function calls or JSX. Render functions allow applications to be built from software components. === Reactivity === Vue features a reactivity system that uses plain JavaScript objects and optimized re-rendering. Each component keeps track of its reactive dependencies during its render, so the system knows precisely when to re-render, and which components to re-render. === Transitions === Vue provides a variety of ways to apply transition effects when items are inserted, updated, or removed from the DOM. This includes tools to: Automatically apply classes for CSS transitions and animations Integrate third-party CSS animation libraries, such as Animate.css Use JavaScript to directly manipulate the DOM during transition hooks Integrate third-party JavaScript animation libraries, such as Velocity.js When an element wrapped in a transition component is inserted or removed, this is what happens: Vue will automatically sniff whether the target element has CSS transitions or animations applied. If it does, CSS transition classes will be added/removed at appropriate timings. If the transition component provided JavaScript hooks, these hooks will be called at appropriate timings. If no CSS transitions/animations are detected and no JavaScript hooks are provided, the DOM operations for insertion and/or removal will be executed immediately on next frame. === Routing === A traditional disadvantage of single-page applications (SPAs) is the inability to share links to the exact "sub" page within a specific web page. Because SPAs serve their users only one URL-based response from the server (it typically serves index.html or index.vue), bookmarking certain screens or sharing links to specific sections is normally difficult if not impossible. To solve this problem, many client-side routers delimit their dynamic URLs with a "hashbang" (#!), e.g. page.com/#!/. However, with HTML5 most modern browsers support routing without hashbangs. Vue provides an interface to change what is displayed on the page based on the current URL path – regardless of how it was changed (whether by emailed link, refresh, or in-page links). Additionally, using a front-end router allows for the intentional transition of the browser path when certain browser events (i.e. clicks) occur on buttons or links. Vue itself doesn't come with front-end hashed routing. But the open-source "vue-router" package provides an API to update the application's URL, supports the back button (navigating history), and email password resets or email verification links with authentication URL parameters. It supports mapping nested routes to nested components and offers fine-grained transition control. With Vue, developers are already composing applications with small building blocks building larger components. With vue-router added to the mix, components must merely be mapped to the routes they belong to, and parent/root routes must indicate where children should render. The code above: Sets a front-end route at websitename.com/user/. Which will render in the User component defined in (const User...) Allows the User component to pass in the particular id of the user which was typed into the URL using the $route object's params key: $route.params.id. This template (varying by the params passed into the router) will be rendered into inside the DOM's div#app. The finally generated HTML for someone typing in: websitename.com/user/1 will be: == Ecosystem == The core library comes with tools and libraries both developed by the core team and contributors. === Official tooling === Devtools – Browser devtools extension for debugging Vue.js applications Vite – Standard Tooling for rapid Vue.js development Vue Loader – a webpack loader that allows the writing of Vue components in a format called Single-File Components (SFCs) Vue.js Plugins Collection - Collection of almost 100 plugins and ecosystem libraries across various categories. === Official libraries === Vue Router – The official router, suitable for building SPAs Pinia – The official state management solution === Video courses === Vue School – Expert-led courses on Vue.js and its ecosystem. === State management libraries === Pinia – Official state management solution with modular architecture Vuex – Legacy state management library, now in maintenance mode VueUse – Collection of 200+ composition utilities including state management helpers === Community & Core Teams Resources === The State of Vue.js Report - A comprehensive publication about Vue.js created since 2017 by Monterail, Vue & Nuxt Official Partner. Each edition includes unique data from developer survey, key ecosystem trends and case studies. The latest 5th edition released in March 2025 was co-created with Evan You and Vue&Nuxt Core Teams. Although the Vue.js Ecosystem is generally very well-developed, developers point to some ecosystem gaps as one of the most important thing missing (as of March 2025 Developer Survey in the State of Vue.js Report 2025). 22% of respondents mentioned the lack of robust, official component libraries like MUI or Radix, and the need for better testing utilities. There was also demand for more modular, enterprise-ready solutions for dashboards, e-commerce, and animation libraries similar to Fr
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General-Purpose Serial Interface

General-Purpose Serial Interface, also known as GPSI, 7-wire interface, or 7WS, is a 7 wire communications interface. It is used as an interface between Ethernet MAC and PHY blocks. Data is received and transmitted using separate data paths (TXD, RXD) and separate data clocks (TXCLK, RXCLK). Other signals consist of transmit enable (TXEN), receive carrier sense (CRS), and collision (COL).
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Magnetoquasistatic field

A magnetoquasistatic field is a class of electromagnetic field in which a slowly oscillating magnetic field is dominant. A magnetoquasistatic field is typically generated by low-frequency induction from a magnetic dipole or a current loop. The magnetic near-field of such an emitter behaves differently from the more commonly used far-field electromagnetic radiation. At low frequencies the rate of change of the instantaneous field strength with each cycle is relatively slow, giving rise to the name "magneto-quasistatic". The near field or quasistatic region typically extends no more than a wavelength from the antenna, and within this region the electric and magnetic fields are approximately decoupled. Weakly conducting non-magnetic bodies, including the human body and many mineral rocks, are effectively transparent to magnetoquasistatic fields, allowing for the transmission and reception of signals through such obstacles. Also, long-wavelength (i.e. low-frequency) signals are better able to propagate round corners than shorter-wave signals. Communication therefore need not be line-of-sight. The communication range of such signals depends on both the wavelength and the electromagnetic properties of the intervening medium at the chosen frequency, and is typically limited to a few tens of meters. == Physical principles == The laws of primary interest are Ampère's circuital law (with the displacement current density neglected) and the magnetic flux continuity law. These laws have associated with them continuity conditions at interfaces. In the absence of magnetizable materials, these laws determine the magnetic field intensity H given its source, the current density J. H is not everywhere irrotational. However, it is solenoidal everywhere. == Equipment design == A typical antenna comprises a 50-turn coil around a polyoxymethylene tube with diameter 16.5 cm, driven by a class E oscillator circuit. Such a device is readily portable when powered by batteries. Similarly, a typical receiver consist of an active receiving loop with diameter of one meter, an ultra-low-noise amplifier, and a band-pass filter. In operation the oscillator drives current through the transmitting loop to create an oscillating magnetic field. This field induces a voltage in the receiving loop, which is then amplified. Because the quasistatic region is defined within one wavelength of the electromagnetic source, emitters are limited to a frequency range between about 1 kHz and 1 MHz. Reducing the oscillating frequency increases the wavelength and hence the range of the quasistatic region, but reduces the induced voltage in the receiving loops which worsens the signal-to-noise ratio. In experiments carried out by the Carnegie Institute of Technology, the maximum range reported by was 50 meters. == Applications == === Resonant inductive coupling === In resonant coupling, the source and receiver are tuned to resonate at the same frequency and are given similar impedances. This allows power as well as information to flow from the source to the receiver. Such coupling via the magnetoquasistatic field is called resonant inductive coupling and can be used for wireless energy transfer. Applications include induction cooking, induction charging of batteries and some kinds of RFID tag. === Communications === Conventional electromagnetic communication signals cannot pass through the ground. Most mineral rock is neither electrically conducting nor magnetic, allowing magnetic fields to penetrate. Magnetoquasistatic systems have been successfully used for underground wireless communication, both surface-to-underground and between underground parties. At extremely low frequencies, below about 1 kHz, the wavelength is long enough for long-distance communication, although at a slow data rate. Such systems have been installed in submarines, with the local antenna comprising a wire up to several kilometers in length and trailed behind the vessel when at or near the surface. === Position and orientation tracking === Wireless position tracking is being increasingly used in applications such as navigation, security, and asset tracking. Conventional position tracking devices use high frequencies or microwaves, including global positioning systems (GPS), ultra-wide band (UWB) systems, and radio frequency identification systems (RFID), but these systems can easily be blocked by obstacles in their path. Magnetoquasistatic positioning takes advantage of the fact that the fields are largely undisturbed when in the presence of human beings and physical structures, and can be used for both position and orientation tracking for ranges up to 50 meters. To accurately determine the orientation and position of a dipole/emitter, allowance must be made not only for the field pattern generated by the emitter, but also for the eddy-currents they induce in the earth, which create secondary fields detectable by the receivers. By using complex image theory to correct this field generation from earth, and by using frequencies on the order of a few hundred kilohertz to obtain the required signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), it is possible to analyze the position of the dipole through azimuthal orientation, θ {\displaystyle \theta } , and inclination orientation, ϕ {\displaystyle \phi } . A Disney research team has used this technology to effectively determine the position and orientation of an American football, something not traceable through conventional wave propagation techniques due to human body obstruction. They inserted an oscillator-driven coil, around the diameter of the center of the ball, to generate the magnetoquasistatic field. The signal was able to pass undisturbed through multiple players.
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Vismon

Vismon was the Bell Labs system which displayed authors' faces on one of their internal e-mail systems. The name was a pun on the sysmon program used at Bell to show the load on computer systems. It can also be interpreted as "visual monitor". The system inspired Rich Burridge to develop the similar but more widespread faces system, which spread with Unix distributions in the 1980s. This in turn inspired Steve Kinzler to develop the Picons, or personal icons, which have the goal of offering symbols and other images, as well as faces, to represent individuals and institutions in email messages. Other systems such as the faces available on the LAN email functions of the NeXTSTEP platform also seem to have been influenced by the original Vismon capabilities. The faces program in Plan 9 is the direct descendant of this system. Vismon was the work of Rob Pike and Dave Presotto. It was based on some early experiments by Luca Cardelli. Many other scientists and engineers of the Computing Science Research Center of the Murray Hill facility were also involved. All had been spurred by the introduction in 1983 of the new Blit graphics terminal developed by Pike and Bart Locanthi and marketed by Teletype Corporation of Skokie, Illinois as the DMD 5620. Pike was eager, along with his colleagues, to exploit the new graphic capabilities. Pike and company went around their Center, convincing everybody, from directors and administrative assistants to engineers and scientists, to pose as they got out a 4×5 view camera with a Polaroid back and took black-and-white photos (Polaroid type 52) of their faces. Their efforts yielded nearly 100 faces, which they digitised with a scanner from graphics colleagues. They wrote several programs to transform the faces, store them and serve them on several machines at the lab. As time went by, they added faces from outside their Center and outside Bell Labs. This database also led to the pico image editor (originally named zunk) which was used for image transformations, many of them with colleagues as the preferred target. The first programs built around vismon were used to announce incoming mail in a dedicated window, using the 48 by 48 pixel faces. Later on the faces were also used to decorate line printer banners.
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M-DISC

M-DISC (Millennial Disc) is a write-once optical disc technology introduced in 2009 by Millenniata, Inc. and available as DVD and Blu-ray discs. == Overview == M-DISC's design is intended to provide archival media longevity. M-Disc claims that properly stored M-DISC DVD recordings will last up to 1000 years. The M-DISC DVD looks like a standard disc, except it is almost transparent with later DVD and BD-R M-Disks having standard and inkjet printable labels. The patents protecting the M-DISC technology assert that the data layer is a glassy carbon material that is substantially inert to oxidation and has a melting point of 200–1000 °C (392–1832 °F). M-Discs are readable by most regular DVD players made after 2005 and Blu-Ray and BDXL disc drives and writable by most made after 2011. Available recording capacities conform to standard DVD/Blu-ray sizes: 4.7 GB DVD+R to 25 GB BD-R, 50 GB BD-R and 100 GB BDXL. == History == M-DISC developer Millenniata, Inc. was co-founded by Brigham Young University professors Barry Lunt, Matthew Linford, CEO Henry O'Connell and CTO Doug Hansen. The company was incorporated on May 13, 2010, in American Fork, Utah. Millenniata, Inc. officially went bankrupt in December 2016. Under the direction of CEO Paul Brockbank, Millenniata had issued convertible debt. When the obligation for conversion was not satisfied, the company defaulted on the debt payment and the debt holders took possession of all of the company's assets. The debt holders subsequently started a new company, Yours.co, to sell M-DISCs and related services. As of the 2020s, there are only 2 licensed manufacturers of M-Discs: Ritek, sold under the Ritek and RiDATA brands, and Verbatim with co-branded discs, marketed as the "Verbatim M-DISC". 128 GB BDXL never made it to market due to the 2016 bankruptcy. Early in 2022, Verbatim changed the formulation of their M-DISC branded Blu-rays. These new discs could be written at a faster rate than the previous ones – 6× speed instead of 4×. The new discs also had different colouration and markings compared with older version. Later in the year customers accused Verbatim of selling an inferior product and deceptive marketing. Verbatim responded that the new discs were a further development of the older discs and should have the same longevity, and that the technical changes therein were responsible for the altered appearance and higher write speeds. The updated M-DISC currently sold on the market uses the same metal ablative layer (MABL) metal oxide inorganic recording layer used in many of Verbatim's regular Blu-ray products. == Durability claims == The original M-DISC DVD+R was tested according to ISO/IEC 10995:2011 and ECMA-379 with a projected rated lifespan of several hundred years in archival use. The glassy carbon layers, in theory if preserved correctly in an environment like a salt mine, could store the data for over 10,000 years before going outside of readable specifications. However, the polycarbonate plastics, which are commonly used by almost all optical media and heavily in CBRN and ballistic protective equipment due to their optical, physical impact and chemical resistant properties, have a lifespan rating of only around 1000 years before degradation. Verbatim Japan claims that M-DISCs now use a titanium layer to prevent moisture ingression and to provide environmental stability. M-DISCs sold in Japan are advertised to have a projected lifespan of 100 years or more based on internal ISO/IEC 16963 testing, while other regional Verbatim websites claim that M-DISCs have a projected lifespan of "several hundred years" based on ISO/IEC 16963 testing. == Durability testing == In 2009, testing was done by the US Department of Defense (DoD) producing the China Lake Report testing Millenniata's M-Disk DVD to current market offerings from Delkin, MAM-A, Mitsubishi, Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim with all brands using organic dyes failing to pass the series of accelerated aging tests. From 2010 to 2012, the French National Laboratory of Metrology and Testing (LNE) used high-temperature accelerated aging testing, at 90 °C (194 °F) and 85% relative humidity inside a CLIMATS Excal 5423-U, for 250 to 1000 hours with a mix of inorganic DVD+R discs from MPO, Verbatim, Maxell, Syylex and DataTresor. The summary of the tests states that Syylex Glass Master Disc was rated for 1000+ hours, DataTresor Disc 250 hours+ and M-Disk under 250 hours. The Syylex disc was a custom-ordered product that could not be burned in a consumer player when they were still purchaseable from Syylex before their bankruptcy, so it was not truly in the same category as the others. In 2016, a consumer Mol Smith did real world stress testing on the 25 GB BD-R M-Disc alongside TDK's standard BD-R 25 GB disc using a copied movie, which demonstrated the reliability of M-Disc's molding compared to standard discs; after 60 days of outdoor direct exposure the M-Disk was played without error, while the TDK disc was physically destroyed. In 2022, the NIST Interagency Report NIST IR 8387 listed the M-Disc as an acceptable archival format rated for 100+ years, citing the aforementioned 2009 and 2012 tests by the US Department of Defense and French National Laboratory of Metrology and Testing as sources. == Commercial support == While recorded discs are readable in conventional DVD and BD drives, M-disc DVDs can only be burned by drives with firmware that supports the slightly higher power mode that M-Disk requires for burning its inorganic layers, as such writing speed is typically 2× speed. Blu-ray M-discs can be both written and read in most standard Blu-ray drives and are certified by the Blu-ray Disc Association to meet all current standard specifications as of 2019. Typically, the M-Discs cost 1.5–3× the price of standard Blu-Ray discs with DVD M-Discs now having sparse availability. With the first-generation DVD M-DISCs, it was difficult to determine which was the writable side of the disc due to being near fully translucent, until coloring and later labels similar to that on standard DVD discs was added to discs to help distinguish the sides preventing user error. Asus, LG Electronics, Lite-On, Pioneer, Buffalo Technology, and Hitachi-LG produce drives that can record M-DISC media while Verbatim and Ritek produce M-DISC discs. == Adoption == The regional government of the U.S. state of Utah has used M-Disc since 2011. Some consumers and avid datahoarders have adopted the format for cold digital data storage. == Alternative technologies == === Optical === Syylex Glass Master Disc: these discs use etched glass and are only typically degradable by physical or chemical damage, but not by normal ageing inside an archival environment. Current BD 25 GB, BD-R DL 50 GB & BDXL 100 GB (three layer) and Sony's BDXL 128 GB (four layer) discs are rated for up to 50 years (Standard inorganic HTL discs). Sony's Optical Disc Archive, is an optical competitor to the LTO tape-based data storage system, currently with up to 5.5 TB cartridges of dual-sided 120mm discs, with desktop readers and automated rackmount standard archival systems allowing for large scale archival and data retrieval rated for an estimated 100+ years. Pioneer DM for Archive is a disc media and drive combination developed by Pioneer to meet the requirements laid out by the Japanese government for preservation of financial data for a minimum of 100 years. The discs use a MABL type recording layer and are manufactured with tight tolerances. Although burnable in any BD Writer, when burned in Pioneers DM for Archive writers using the DM Archiver software the media and burn quality meet ISO/IEC 18630 which defines the testing methods needed for ensuring media and burn quality. === Magnetic === Linear Tape-Open (LTO) is rated for up to 30 years in a climate-controlled environment and is currently in use by most industries, including broadcast and corporate digital data systems. The latest generation released in 2026 is LTO-10, it defines two unique cartridge types which can hold 30 TB or 40 TB each Hard disk drives are currently available up to 30 TB (HDD) capacity in 3.5-inch format and 5 TB in 2.5-inch laptop format. However, unlike optical media, they are limited to 5–25 years of operation lifespan due to inevitable mechanical failure or magnetic instability. == Gallery ==
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Comparison of user features of operating systems

Comparison of user features of operating systems refers to a comparison of the general user features of major operating systems in a narrative format. It does not encompass a full exhaustive comparison or description of all technical details of all operating systems. It is a comparison of basic roles and the most prominent features. It also includes the most important features of the operating system's origins, historical development, and role. == Overview == An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also include accounting software for cost allocation of processor time, mass storage, printing, and other resources. For hardware functions such as input and output and memory allocation, the operating system acts as an intermediary between programs and the computer hardware, although the application code is usually executed directly by the hardware and frequently makes system calls to an OS function or is interrupted by it. Operating systems are found on many devices that contain a computer – from cellular phones and video game consoles to web servers and supercomputers. As of June 2024, the dominant general-purpose desktop operating system is Microsoft Windows with a market share of around 72.91%. macOS by Apple Inc. is in second place (14.93%), and the varieties of Linux are collectively in third place (4.04%). In the mobile sector, including both smartphones and tablets, Android is dominant with a market share of 71%, followed by Apple's iOS with 28%; for smartphones alone, Android has 72% and iOS has 28%. Linux distributions are dominant in the server and supercomputing sectors. Other specialized classes of operating systems (special-purpose operating systems)), such as embedded and real-time systems, exist for many applications. Security-focused operating systems also exist. Some operating systems have low system requirements (i.e. light-weight Linux distribution). Others may have higher system requirements. Some operating systems require installation or may come pre-installed with purchased computers (OEM-installation), whereas others may run directly from media (i.e. live cd) or flash memory (i.e. USB stick). == MS-DOS == === Overview === MS-DOS (acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and some operating systems attempting to be compatible with MS-DOS, are sometimes referred to as "DOS" (which is also the generic acronym for disk operating system). MS-DOS was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s, from which point it was gradually superseded by operating systems offering a graphical user interface (GUI), in various generations of the graphical Microsoft Windows operating system. IBM licensed and re-released it in 1981 as PC DOS 1.0 for use in its PCs. Although MS-DOS and PC DOS were initially developed in parallel by Microsoft and IBM, the two products diverged after twelve years, in 1993, with recognizable differences in compatibility, syntax, and capabilities. During its lifetime, several competing products were released for the x86 platform, and MS-DOS went through eight versions, until development ceased in 2000. Initially, MS-DOS was targeted at Intel 8086 processors running on computer hardware using floppy disks to store and access not only the operating system, but application software and user data as well. Progressive version releases delivered support for other mass storage media in ever greater sizes and formats, along with added feature support for newer processors and rapidly evolving computer architectures. Ultimately, it was the key product in Microsoft's development from a programming language company to a diverse software development firm, providing the company with essential revenue and marketing resources. It was also the underlying basic operating system on which early versions of Windows ran as a GUI. == Microsoft Windows == === Overview === Microsoft Windows, commonly referred to as Windows, is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families, all of which are developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. Active Microsoft Windows families include Windows NT and Windows IoT; these may encompass subfamilies, (e.g. Windows Server or Windows Embedded Compact) (Windows CE). Defunct Microsoft Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile, and Windows Phone. Microsoft announced an operating environment named Windows on 10 November 1983, as a graphical operating system shell for MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces (GUIs); Windows 1.0 first shipped on 20 November 1985. Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal computer (PC) market with over 90% market share, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced in 1984, while Microsoft has in 2020 lost its dominance of the consumer operating system market, with Windows down to 30%, lower than Apple's 31% mobile-only share (65% for desktop operating systems only, i.e. "PCs" vs. Apple's 28% desktop share) in its home market, the US, and 32% globally (77% for desktops), where Google's Android leads. Apple came to see Windows as an unfair encroachment on their innovation in GUI development as implemented on products such as the Lisa and Macintosh (eventually settled in court in Microsoft's favor in 1993). As of January 2023, on PCs, Windows is still the most popular operating system in all countries. However, in 2014, Microsoft admitted losing the majority of the overall operating system market to Android, because of the massive growth in sales of Android smartphones. In 2014, the number of Windows devices sold was less than 25% that of Android devices sold. This comparison, however, may not be fully relevant, as the two operating systems traditionally target different platforms. Still, numbers for server use of Windows (that are comparable to competitors) show one third market share, similar to that for end user use. As of October 2020, the most recent version of Windows for PCs, tablets and embedded devices is Windows 10, version 20H2. The most recent version for server computers is Windows Server, version 20H2. A specialized version of Windows also runs on the Xbox One video game console. === Windows 95 === Windows 95 introduced a redesigned shell based around a desktop metaphor; File shortcuts (also known as shell links) were introduced and the desktop was re-purposed to hold shortcuts to applications, files and folders, reminiscent of Mac OS. In Windows 3.1 the desktop was used to display icons of running applications. In Windows 95, the currently running applications were displayed as buttons on a taskbar across the bottom of the screen. The taskbar also contained a notification area used to display icons for background applications, a volume control and the current time. The Start menu, invoked by clicking the "Start" button on the taskbar or by pressing the Windows key, was introduced as an additional means of launching applications or opening documents. While maintaining the program groups used by its predecessor Program Manager, it also displayed applications within cascading sub-menus. The previous File Manager program was replaced by Windows Explorer and the Explorer-based Control Panel and several other special folders were added such as My Computer, Dial Up Networking, Recycle Bin, Network Neighborhood, My Documents, Recent documents, Fonts, Printers, and My Briefcase among others. AutoRun was introduced for CD drives. The user interface looked dramatically different from prior versions of Windows, but its design language did not have a special name like Metro, Aqua or Material Design. Internally it was called "the new shell" and later simply "the shell". The subproject within Microsoft to develop the new shell was internally known as "Stimpy". In 1994, Microsoft designers Mark Malamud and Erik Gavriluk approached Brian Eno to compose music for the Windows 95 project. The result was the six-second start-up music-sound of the Windows 95 operating system, The Microsoft Sound and it was first released as a startup sound in May 1995 on Windows 95 May Test Release build 468. When released for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, Internet Explorer 4 came with an optional Windows Desktop Update, which modified the shell to provide several additional updates to Windows Explorer, including a Quick Launch toolbar, and new features integrated with Internet Explorer, such as Active Desktop (which allowed Internet content to be displayed directly on the desktop). Some of the user interface elements introduced in Windows 95, such as the desktop, taskbar, Start menu and Windows
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HtmlUnit

HtmlUnit is a headless web browser written in Java. It allows high-level manipulation of websites from other Java code, including filling and submitting forms and clicking hyperlinks. It also provides access to the structure and the details within received web pages. HtmlUnit emulates parts of browser behaviour including the lower-level aspects of TCP/IP and HTTP. A sequence such as getPage(url), getLinkWith("Click here"), click() allows a user to navigate through hypertext and obtain web pages that include HTML, JavaScript, Ajax and cookies. This headless browser can deal with HTTPS security, basic HTTP authentication, automatic page redirection and other HTTP headers. It allows Java test code to examine returned pages either as text, an XML DOM, or as collections of forms, tables, and links. The goal is to simulate real browsers; namely Chrome, Firefox and Edge. The most common use of HtmlUnit is test automation of web pages, but sometimes it can be used for web scraping, or downloading website content. == Benefits == Provides high-level API, taking away lower-level details away from the user. Compared to other WebDriver implementations, HtmlUnitDriver is the fastest to implement. It can be configured to simulate a specific browser. == Drawbacks == Element layout and rendering can not be tested. The JavaScript support is not complete, which is one of the areas of ongoing enhancements. == Used technologies == W3C DOM HTTP connection, using Apache HttpComponents JavaScript, using forked Rhino HTML Parsing, NekoHTML CSS: using CSS Parser XPath support, using Xalan == Libraries using HtmlUnit == Selenium WebDriver Spring MVC Test Framework Google Web Toolkit tests WebTest Wetator
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Caspio

Caspio, Inc. is an American software company providing a low-code platform for building cloud-based business applications. Founded in 2000 by Frank Zamani, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with operations in Poland, the Philippines, and Spain. Caspio’s platform allows organizations to create online database applications and workflow tools without extensive coding. == History == Caspio was founded by Frank Zamani in 2000. The company initially focused on simplifying custom cloud applications and reducing development time and cost as compared to traditional software development. Caspio released the first version of its platform, Caspio Bridge, in 2001. In 2014, Caspio released a HIPAA-Compliant Edition of its low-code application development platform. Caspio also released an EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance Edition of its low-code application development platform in 2016. Caspio's second European Software Development Center opened in Kraków, Poland in 2017. In 2019, Forrester Research listed Caspio and three other platforms in its highest of four ranked tiers of twelve low-code platforms for business developers based on rankings of offerings and strategy at that time. Caspio also opened data centers in Montreal, Canada and India in 2020.
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Creepiness

Creepiness is the state of being creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or unease to someone and/or something. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others; interest in horror or the macabre might come across as 'creepy', and often people who are perverted or exhibit predatory behavior are called 'creeps'. The internet, especially some functions of social media, has been described as increasingly creepy. Adam Kotsko has compared the modern conception of creepiness to the Freudian concept of unheimlich. The term has also been used to describe paranormal or supernatural phenomena. Some people have phobias which are irrational fears, which can make them perceive something as creepy. == History and studies == "Creepiness" is subjective: for example some dolls have been described as creepy, while what makes something "creepy" or "strange" to someone might seem normal to someone else. The adjective "creepy", referring to a feeling of creeping in the flesh, was first used in 1831, but it was Charles Dickens who coined and popularized the term "the creeps" in his 1849 novel David Copperfield. In the 20th century, association was made between involuntary celibacy and creepiness. The concept of creepiness has only recently been formally addressed in social media marketing. The sensation of creepiness has only recently been the subject of psychological research, despite the widespread colloquial use of the word throughout the years. Francis T. McAndrew of Knox College is the first psychologist to do an empirical study on creepiness. == Causes == The state of creepiness has been associated with "feeling scared, nervous, anxious or worried", "awkward or uncomfortable", "vulnerable or violated" in a study conducted by Watt et al. This state arises in the presence of a creepy element, which can be an individual or, as recently observed, new technologies. === Individuals === Creepiness can be caused by the appearance of an individual. Another study investigated the characteristics that make people creepy. Creepy people were thought to be more often male than female by an overwhelming majority of participants (around 95% of both male and female participants). Another study conducted by Watt et al. also found that participants associated the ectomorphic body type (more linear) with creepiness, more than the other two body types (51% vs mesomorphic, 24% and endomorphic, 23%). Other cues of creepiness included low hygiene, especially according to female participants, and a disheveled appearance. Participants also identified the face as an area with potentially creepy features: in particular the eyes and the teeth. Both of those physical features were deemed creepy not only for their unpleasant appearance (ex. squinty eyes or crooked teeth) but also for the movements and expressions they engaged it (ex. darting eye movements and odd smiles). In fact, appearance does not seem to be the only factor making an individual creepy: behaviors provide cues as well. Behaviors such as "being unusually quiet and staring (34%), following or lurking (15%), behaving abnormally (21%), or in a socially awkward, "sketchy" or suspicious way (20%)" are all contributing to a feeling of creepiness, as described by Watt et al.'s study. === Technology === In addition to other individuals, new technologies, such as marketing's targeted ads and AI, have been qualified as creepy. A study by Moore et al. described what aspect of marketing participants considered creepy. The main three reasons are the following: using invasive tactics, causing discomfort and violating of norms. Invasive tactics are practiced by marketers that know so much about the consumer that the ads are "creepily" personalized. Secondly, some ads create discomfort by making the consumer question "the motives of the company advertising the product". Finally, some ads violate social norms by having inappropriate content, for example by unnecessarily sexualizing it. It is marketing's extensive knowledge used in an improper way, together with a certain loss of control over our data, that creates a feeling of creepiness. Another creepy aspect of technology is human-looking AI: this phenomenon is called the uncanny valley. Humans find robots creepy when they start closely resembling humans. It has been hypothesized that the reason why they are viewed as creepy is because they violate our notion of how a robot should look. A study focusing on children's responses to this phenomenon found evidence to support the hypothesis. == Evolutionary explanation == Several studies have hypothesized that creepiness is an evolutionary response to potentially dangerous situations. It could be linked to a mechanism called agent detection which makes individuals expect malignant agents to be responsible for small changes in the environment. McAndrew et al. illustrates the idea with the example of a person hearing some noises while walking in a dark alley. That person would go in high alert, fearing that some dangerous individual was there. If that was not the case the loss would be small. If, on the other hand, a dangerous individual was actually in the alley and the person had not been alerted by this creepy feeling, the loss could have been significant. Creepiness would therefore serve the purpose of alerting us in situations in which the danger is not outright obvious but rather ambiguous. In this case, ambiguity both refers to the possible presence of a threat and to its nature, sexual or physical for example. Creepiness "may reside in between the unknowing and the fear" in the sense that individuals experiencing it are unsure if there truly is something to fear or not. Creepy characteristics are not simply caused by threat potential: in fact, ectomorphic body types are not the most powerful bodies and facial expressions are not a proxy of physical strength either. Therefore, creepiness is not only related to how threatening a characteristic is, in the sense of how dangerous and strong the individual can be. There are more facets to consider. Another characteristic of creepiness is unpredictable behavior. Unpredictability links back to this idea of ambiguity. When an individual is unpredictable it is not possible to tell when their behavior will turn violent: this adds to the ambiguity of a potentially dangerous situation. This theory is endorsed by studies. Not only is unpredictability directly listed as a creepy characteristic, but other behaviors, such as norm-breaking behaviors are indirectly linked with unpredictability. Such behaviors show that the individual does not conform to some social standards others would expect in a given situation. For example, the aforementioned staring at strangers or lack of hygiene—behaviors that make us uneasy or creeped out because they do not fit the norm and therefore are not expected. More generally, participants tended to define creepiness as "different" in the sense of not behaving, or looking, socially acceptable. Such differences point towards a "social mismatch". Humans have a natural system of detection of such mismatch: a physical feeling of coldness. When an individual is creeped out, they report feeling those "cold chills". This phenomenon has been studied by Leander et al, with relation to nonverbal mimicry in social interactions, meaning the unintentional copying of another's behavior. Inappropriate mimicry may leave a person feeling like something is off about the other. Absence of non-verbal mimicry in a friendly interaction, or the presence of it in a professional setting, raises suspicion as it does not follow the relevant social norms. Individuals are left wondering what other unusual behavior the other might engage in.
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Acousto-electronics

Acousto-electronics (also spelled 'Acoustoelectronics') is a branch of physics, acoustics and electronics that studies interactions of ultrasonic and hypersonic waves in solids with electrons and with electro-magnetic fields. Typical phenomena studied in acousto-electronics are acousto-electric effect and also amplification of acoustic waves by flows of electrons in piezoelectric semiconductors, when the drift velocity of the electrons exceeds the velocity of sound. The term 'acousto-electronics' is often understood in a wider sense to include numerous practical applications of the interactions of electro-magnetic fields with acoustic waves in solids. In particular, these are signal processing devices using surface acoustic waves (SAW), different sensors of temperature, pressure, humidity, acceleration, etc.
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Social media use by the Islamic State

The Islamic State is widely known for its posting of disturbing content, such as beheading videos, on the internet. This propaganda is disseminated through websites and many social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and YouTube. By utilizing social media, the organization has garnered a strong following and successfully recruited tens of thousands of followers from around the world. In response to its successful use of social media, many websites and social media platforms have banned accounts and removed content promoting the Islamic State from their platforms. == Background == The Islamic State is a Jihadist militant group and a former unrecognised proto-state. The group sophisticatedly utilizes social media as a tool for spreading its message and for international recruitment. == Target audience == IS targets a variety of different groups both in the Middle East and Western Countries. There are a wide variety of motives for why fighters may be prompted to join IS. Researchers from Quantum cite nine attributes characteristic of a fighter looking to join IS: status seeking, identity seeking, revenge, redemption, thrill, ideology, justice, and death. The standard IS recruit, both from the Middle East and Western countries, is relatively young. The average age of IS fighters is around 26 years old, with 86% of recruits being male. Middle Eastern recruits come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in Northern Iraq. Recent destruction in the Iraq War and Syrian Civil War has created hatred of Western Powers in the region. By 2025, researchers identified a significant shift toward targeting minors and adolescents, a phenomenon dubbed the "Alt-Jihad." This younger demographic is targeted not through theological arguments, but through a "victimhood-revenge" narrative that blends extremist ideology with pop-culture aesthetics in gaming environments like Roblox and Minecraft. In 2024 alone, 42 minors were arrested in Europe for involvement in IS-related plotting or propaganda. Western recruits are often second or third-generation immigrants. Computer scientists Zeeshan ul-hassan Usmani also found that the majority of the Western recruits do not feel "at home" in their home country. As a result, these fighters often have desires to go abroad and escape conditions in their home country. In addition to recruitment, IS's social media presence is also meant to intimidate and spread terror around the world. IS's posting of beheadings and other execution videos primarily target the Western world. == Content and messages == IS produces propaganda videos that range from video executions to full-length documentaries. The videos have a high production quality and incorporate montages, slow motion scenes, and are often accompanied by a short dialogue. IS has a dedicated team of over 100 media insurgents dedicated to recording these videos. While the group previously relied on glossy magazines like Dabiq, post-territorial strategies have shifted focus to the weekly newsletter Al-Naba. Unlike previous publications designed for recruitment, Al-Naba serves as a "central pillar" of the group's media strategy, focusing on bureaucratic reporting and military statistics to project a narrative of endurance and maintain internal cohesion among dispersed fighters. The IS executions typically consist of beheadings or mass shootings in retaliation to western intervention in IS territory. The particular videos that IS often post include executions of "enemies of the Caliphate," which often consist of westerners or Jordanian nationals. Most infamously, an executioner nicknamed Jihadi John was seen in many of these videos prior to his death in 2015. Jihadi John is notorious for executing many US, UK, and Japanese citizens such as Steven Sotloff, David Haines, and Alan Henning. In many of the videos and materials produced by IS, there is the theme of inclusion and brotherhood. Additionally, the videos also focus on three main messages: Convey narrative of global war and ultimate victory Radicalize populations globally Encourage international lone state actor and small cell attacks in support of IS These messages can be seen throughout all content produced by the Islamic State such as war documentaries, execution videos, and Rumiyah (magazine). == Social media usage == From 2013 to 2014, the organization primarily used mainstream platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. In 2014, these large social media platforms removed IS content. Since then, IS has chosen to utilize social media platforms that either protect their content or allow for content to quickly be reposted. These platforms of choice are Telegram, Justpaste.it, and Surespot, until the latter's shutdown in 2022. By 2025, the group had further diversified into decentralized platforms like Rocket.Chat and TamTam to evade moderation. IS also implements marketing initiatives like “Jihadist Follow Friday,” which encourages users to follow new IS-related accounts each Friday. This specific hashtag mirrors commonly used hashtags such as #motivation monday or #throwbackthursday. To augment their online presence and popularity, the organization encourages their followers to use a plethora of Arabic hashtags, which translate to #theFridayofSupportingISIS, and #CalamityWillBefalltheUS. This allows them to gain followers each week while promoting their community and message on a weekly basis. === Twitter === During 2014, there were an estimated 46,000 to 90,000 Twitter accounts that advocated for IS or were run by supporters of the group. In 2015, Twitter reported that it banned 125,000 IS sympathetic accounts. In 2016, it published an update of 325,000 deleted accounts. Though many accounts have been suspended, IS supporters often create new accounts. Twitter defines those who recreate accounts as “resurgents” and explains that these are often difficult accounts to remove completely, since they tend to pop back up in alternate forms. It is estimated that approximately 20% of all IS affiliated Twitter accounts can be traced back to fake accounts created by the same user. Many of these accounts are traced back to the “Baqiya family,” which is an online network of thousands of IS followers. Many of these accounts are active during important IS military victories. During the IS march on Mosul, there were about 42,000 tweets on Twitter supporting the invasion. === Telegram === During 2014, IS became very active on Telegram after many major social media platforms banned IS content and sympathetic accounts. Telegram is an encrypted messaging application. The platform by nature is created as an end-to-end user encryption platform. Further, it also has special features such as the self-destruct timer which erase all evidence and messages. The app has a user data protection policy because violating this policy could potentially damage the app’s brand of customer privacy. Government agencies have been unable to break Telegram's encryption technology. On Telegram, IS often uses the hashtag #KhilafahNews to attract their users. Telegram is used by IS to plan social media campaigns on alternate platforms. The organization also uses Telegram as an anchor platform to connect with their user base when their other accounts are banned on Twitter and Facebook. On 28 February 2016 a video was uploaded threatening to expose the najaasah and shoot the hesitates. Produced by Ibn-Altayb and distributed by Al-Hayat, the video shows footage of Bruxelles attacks and the victims. In July 2017, Telegram came under scrutiny from the media and news media outlets. It has been documented that IS gunmen have used this app to maintain contact with IS leaders in Raqqa days before terror attacks in Turkey, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. Despite concerns from Western media, there has been little to no action taken against IS accounts on Telegram. In April 2019 a video was uploaded in which they urged lone wolves to attempt to attack during the Holy Week in Sevilla and Málaga. In Sevilla, a jihadist who intended to perform a lone wolf attack was arrested. === TikTok === In October 2019, it was reported that IS recruitment content was discovered on TikTok. Approximately two dozen accounts were subsequently shut down in response. By 2025, TikTok had evolved into a "low-threshold" gateway for extremist recruitment, characterized by researchers as part of a "Virtual Caliphate Complex." Nearly 93 unofficial IS support groups, known as "feeder groups," were found to be repackaging official IS content into short-form videos with pink hearts, catchy music, and internet memes to evade detection and appeal to the "TikTok generation." This content often promotes a "victimhood-revenge" narrative rather than complex theology, specifically designed to radicalize minors. === Justpaste.it === Justpaste.it, an anonymous photo and text sharing website, has also been utilized heavily. With the option to lock images, the website allows anonymous
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Coherent extrapolated volition

Coherent extrapolated volition (CEV) is a theoretical framework in the field of AI alignment describing an approach by which an artificial superintelligence (ASI) would act on a benevolent supposition of what humans would want if they were more knowledgeable, more rational, had more time to think, and had matured together as a society, as opposed to humanity's current individual or collective preferences. It was proposed by Eliezer Yudkowsky in 2004 as part of his work on friendly AI. == Concept == CEV proposes that an advanced AI system should derive its goals by extrapolating the idealized volition of humanity. This means aggregating and projecting human preferences into a coherent utility function that reflects what people would desire under ideal epistemic and moral conditions. The aim is to ensure that AI systems are aligned with humanity's true interests, rather than with transient or poorly informed preferences. In poetic terms, our coherent extrapolated volition is our wish if we knew more, thought faster, were more the people we wished we were, had grown up farther together; where the extrapolation converges rather than diverges, where our wishes cohere rather than interfere; extrapolated as we wish that extrapolated, interpreted as we wish that interpreted. == Debate == Yudkowsky and Nick Bostrom note that CEV has several interesting properties. It is designed to be humane and self-correcting, by capturing the source of human values instead of trying to list them. It avoids the difficulty of laying down an explicit, fixed list of rules. It encapsulates moral growth, preventing flawed current moral beliefs from getting locked in. It limits the influence that a small group of programmers can have on what the ASI would value, thus also reducing the incentives to build ASI first. And it keeps humanity in charge of its destiny. CEV also faces significant theoretical and practical challenges. Bostrom notes that CEV has "a number of free parameters that could be specified in various ways, yielding different versions of the proposal." One such parameter is the extrapolation base (whose extrapolated volition is taken into account). For example, whether it should include people with severe dementia, patients in a vegetative state, foetuses, or embryos. He also notes that if CEV's extrapolation base only includes humans, there is a risk that the result would be ungenerous toward other animals and digital minds. One possible solution would be to include a mechanism to expand CEV's extrapolation base. == Variants and alternatives == A proposed theoretical alternative to CEV is to rely on an artificial superintelligence's superior cognitive capabilities to figure out what is morally right, and let it act accordingly. It is also possible to combine both techniques, for instance with the ASI following CEV except when it is morally impermissible. In another review, a philosophical analysis explores CEV through the lens of social trust in autonomous systems. Drawing on Anthony Giddens' concept of "active trust", the author proposes an evolution of CEV into "Coherent, Extrapolated and Clustered Volition" (CECV). This formulation aims to better reflect the moral preferences of diverse cultural groups, thus offering a more pragmatic ethical framework for designing AI systems that earn public trust while accommodating societal diversity.
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PureWow

PureWow is an American digital media company that publishes women's lifestyle content. Acquired by Gary Vaynerchuk in 2017 as part of Gallery Media Group, PureWow tailors lifestyle topics for Millennials and Generation X, including fashion, beauty, home decor, recipes, entertainment, travel, technology, literature, wellness and money. == History == PureWow was founded by Ryan Harwood in September 2010, along with Bob Pittman's Pilot Group and the women of wowOwow Joni Evans, Mary Wells Lawrence, Whoopi Goldberg, Liz Smith, Candice Bergen, and Lesley Stahl, among others. In January 2013, PureWow hired former Real Simple editor Mary Kate McGrath as its first editor-in-chief. In August 2014, PureWow was listed as no. 352 on Inc. Magazine's 2014 list of the top 500 fastest-growing privately owned companies. In May 2015, PureWow raised $2.5 million. In 2017, serial entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk and Miami Dolphins' owner Stephen Ross' venture firm, RSE Ventures, acquired PureWow to form Gallery Media Group as a creative agency and media firm. PureWow's CEO, Ryan Harwood serves as the chief executive of Gallery Media Group. == Editions == PureWow publishes national content as well as local content for New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, and the Hamptons. The company publishes content across fashion, beauty, homecare topics, technology, entertainment, books, wellness and finances. PureWow articles are distributed via its website PureWow.com, email, and over social media channels.
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Creepy treehouse

Creepy treehouse is a social media term, or internet slang, referring to websites or technologies that are used for educational purposes but regarded by students as an invasion of privacy. == History == The term was first described in 2008 by Utah Valley University instructional-design services director Jared Stein as "institutionally controlled technology/tool that emulates or mimics pre-existing [sic] technologies or tools that may already be in use by the learners, or by learners' peer groups." This was when social media such as Facebook was starting to become mainstream and professors would try and get students to interact with them on the site for educational purposes. Some professors would require their students to use Facebook or Twitter as part of class assignments. == Usage == The term was first described as "technological innovations by faculty members that make students’ skin crawl." The term also refers to online accounts and websites that users tend to avoid, especially young people who avoid visiting the pages of educators and other adults. Author Martin Weller defines creepy treehouse as a digital space where authority figures are viewed as invading younger people's privacy. One such example is a professor giving his students an option to use a popular video game to learn about history instead of writing an essay. Students in that class chose to write the essay instead as the method was previously unmentioned and it was not an unnatural method of interaction. Another example given was Blackboard Sync, a feature that was used to connect the school website Blackboard with students' Facebook accounts. == Solutions == University of Regina professor Alec Couros suggests that instead of "forcing" student participation with their own digital platforms, professors should use methods like online forums. Jason Jones of chronicle.com suggested letting students create social media groups for the class themselves and explaining why using technologies is required and important.
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