AI Driven Spreadsheet

AI Driven Spreadsheet — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step guides on Aizhi.

  • Butler in a Box

    Butler in a Box

    Butler in a Box was an early voice-controlled home automation device developed in 1983 by magician Gus Searcy and programmer Franz Kavan. The device allowed users to control various home electronics, such as lights and phones, using voice commands. It predated modern smart speakers and virtual assistants by several decades. == History == The idea for the Butler in a Box originated in 1983 when Searcy was asked by friends why he couldn't simply command lights to turn on and off if he could pull rabbits out of hats, given his background as a professional magician. Searcy partnered with former IBM programmer Kavan to develop the device, with their first prototype being named "Sidney". The Butler in a Box combined remote control technology with voice recognition to enable control of home devices. However, it faced challenges due to the technological limitations of the era and its high price point of nearly $1,500 (equivalent to around $3,700 in 2021). == Features and functionality == Users could activate the Butler in a Box by speaking a wake word, typically a traditional butler name, and the device would address the user as "boss". It was capable of performing tasks such as: Turning lights on and off, controlling individual zones if lights were connected to remote control modules Making and receiving phone calls Setting timers Pairing with sensors to function as a security alarm system However, the device required extensive voice training for each user, a time-consuming process compared to modern voice recognition. Additionally, settings and trained commands would be lost if power was out for over 3 hours due to the volatile memory technology used at the time. == Reception and legacy == While innovative for its time, the Butler in a Box did not achieve widespread commercial success due to its high price and the technical limitations of the 1980s. Nevertheless, it served as an important early step in the development of home automation and showcased the potential for voice-controlled technology to enhance accessibility and convenience in the home. Decades later, products like Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and Apple's Siri would make voice-controlled smart home devices commonplace and affordable, building on the groundwork laid by early attempts like the Butler in a Box.

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  • Fabric computing

    Fabric computing

    Fabric computing or unified computing involves constructing a computing fabric consisting of interconnected nodes that look like a weave or a fabric when seen collectively from a distance. Usually the phrase refers to a consolidated high-performance computing system consisting of loosely coupled storage, networking and parallel processing functions linked by high bandwidth interconnects (such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet and InfiniBand) but the term has also been used to describe platforms such as the Azure Services Platform and grid computing in general (where the common theme is interconnected nodes that appear as a single logical unit). The fundamental components of fabrics are "nodes" (processor(s), memory, and/or peripherals) and "links" (functional connections between nodes). While the term "fabric" has also been used in association with storage area networks and with switched fabric networking, the introduction of compute resources provides a complete "unified" computing system. Other terms used to describe such fabrics include "unified fabric", "data center fabric" and "unified data center fabric". Ian Foster, director of the Computation Institute at the Argonne National Laboratory and University of Chicago suggested in 2007 that grid computing "fabrics" were "poised to become the underpinning for next-generation enterprise IT architectures and be used by a much greater part of many organizations". == History == While the term has been in use since the mid to late 1990s the growth of cloud computing and Cisco's evangelism of unified data center fabrics followed by unified computing (an evolutionary data center architecture whereby blade servers are integrated or unified with supporting network and storage infrastructure) starting March 2009 has renewed interest in the technology. There have been mixed reactions to Cisco's architecture, particularly from rivals who claim that these proprietary systems will lock out other vendors. Analysts claim that this "ambitious new direction" is "a big risk" as companies such as IBM and HP who have previously partnered with Cisco on data center projects (accounting for $2–3bn of Cisco's annual revenue) are now competing with them. In 2007, Wombat Financial Software launched the "Wombat Data Fabric," the first commercial off-the-shelf software platform providing high performance / low-latency RDMA-based messaging across an Infiniband switch. == Key characteristics == The main advantages of fabrics are that massive concurrent processing combined with a huge, tightly coupled address space makes it possible to solve huge computing problems (such as those presented by delivery of cloud computing services); and that they are both scalable and able to be dynamically reconfigured. Challenges include a non-linearly degrading performance curve, whereby adding resources does not linearly increase performance which is a common problem with parallel computing and maintaining security. == Companies == As of 2015 companies offering unified or fabric computing systems include Avaya, Brocade, Cisco, Dell, Egenera, HPE, IBM, Liquid Computing Corporation, TIBCO, Unisys, and Xsigo Systems.

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  • Software engineering professionalism

    Software engineering professionalism

    Software engineering professionalism is a movement to make software engineering a profession, with aspects such as degree and certification programs, professional associations, professional ethics, and government licensing. The field is a licensed discipline in Texas in the United States (Texas Board of Professional Engineers, since 2013), Engineers Australia(Course Accreditation since 2001, not Licensing), and many provinces in Canada. == History == In 1993 the IEEE and ACM began a joint effort called JCESEP, which evolved into SWECC in 1998 to explore making software engineering into a profession. The ACM pulled out of SWECC in May 1999, objecting to its support for the Texas professionalization efforts, of having state licenses for software engineers. ACM determined that the state of knowledge and practice in software engineering was too immature to warrant licensing, and that licensing would give false assurances of competence even if the body of knowledge were mature. The IEEE continued to support making software engineering a branch of traditional engineering. In Canada the Canadian Information Processing Society established the Information Systems Professional certification process. Also, by the late 1990s (1999 in British Columbia) the discipline of software engineering as a professional engineering discipline was officially created. This has caused some disputes between the provincial engineering associations and companies who call their developers software engineers, even though these developers have not been licensed by any engineering association. In 1999, the Panel of Software Engineering was formed as part of the settlement between Engineering Canada and the Memorial University of Newfoundland over the school's use of the term "software engineering" in the name of a computer science program. Concerns were raised over the inappropriate use of the name "software engineering" to describe non-engineering programs could lead to student and public confusion, and ultimately threaten public safety. The Panel issued recommendations to create a Software Engineering Accreditation Board, but the task force created to carry out the recommendations was unable to get the various stakeholders to agree to concrete proposals, resulting in separate accreditation boards. == Ethics == Software engineering ethics is a large field. In some ways it began as an unrealistic attempt to define bugs as unethical. More recently it has been defined as the application of both computer science and engineering philosophy, principles, and practices to the design and development of software systems. Due to this engineering focus and the increased use of software in mission critical and human critical systems, where failure can result in large losses of capital but more importantly lives such as the Therac-25 system, many ethical codes have been developed by a number of societies, associations and organizations. These entities, such as the ACM, IEEE, EGBC and Institute for Certification of Computing Professionals (ICCP) have formal codes of ethics. Adherence to the code of ethics is required as a condition of membership or certification. According to the ICCP, violation of the code can result in revocation of the certificate. Also, all engineering societies require conformance to their ethical codes; violation of the code results in the revocation of the license to practice engineering in the society's jurisdiction. These codes of ethics usually have much in common. They typically relate the need to act consistently with the client's interest, employer's interest, and most importantly the public's interest. They also outline the need to act with professionalism and to promote an ethical approach to the profession. A Software Engineering Code of Ethics has been approved by the ACM and the IEEE-CS as the standard for teaching and practicing software engineering. === Examples of codes of conduct === The following are examples of codes of conduct for Professional Engineers. These 2 have been chosen because both jurisdictions have a designation for Professional Software Engineers. Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (EGBC): All members in the association's code of Ethics must ensure that the government, the public can rely on BC's professional engineers and Geoscientists to act at all times with fairness, courtesy and good faith to their employers, employee and customers, and to uphold the truth, honesty and trustworthiness, and to safe guard human life and the environment. This is just one of the many ways in which BC's Professional Engineers and Professional Geoscientists maintain their competitive edge in today's global marketplace. Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA): Different with British Columbia, the Alberta Government granted self governance to engineers, Geoscientists and geophysicists. All members in the APEGA have to accept legal and ethical responsibility for the work and to hold the interest of the public and society. The APEGA is a standards guideline of professional practice to uphold the protection of public interest for engineering, Geoscientists and geophysics in Alberta. === Opinions on ethics === Bill Joy argued that "better software" can only enable its privileged end users, make reality more power-pointy as opposed to more humane, and ultimately run away with itself so that "the future doesn't need us." He openly questioned the goals of software engineering in this respect, asking why it isn't trying to be more ethical rather than more efficient. In his book Code and Other Laws of Cyberspace, Lawrence Lessig argues that computer code can regulate conduct in much the same way as the legal code. Lessig and Joy urge people to think about the consequences of the software being developed, not only in a functional way, but also in how it affects the public and society as a whole. Overall, due to the youth of software engineering, many of the ethical codes and values have been borrowed from other fields, such as mechanical and civil engineering. However, there are many ethical questions that even these, much older, disciplines have not encountered. Questions about the ethical impact of internet applications, which have a global reach, have never been encountered until recently and other ethical questions are still to be encountered. This means the ethical codes for software engineering are a work in progress, that will change and update as more questions arise. == Independent licensing and certification exams == Since 2002, the IEEE Computer Society offered the Certified Software Development Professional (CSDP) certification exam (in 2015 this was replaced by several similar certifications). A group of experts from industry and academia developed the exam and maintained it. Donald Bagert, and at a later period Stephen Tockey headed the certification committee. Contents of the exam centered around the SWEBOK (Software Engineering Body of Knowledge) guide, with an additional emphasis on Professional Practices and Software Engineering Economics knowledge areas (KAs). The motivation was to produce a structure at an international level for software engineering's knowledge areas. == Criticism of licensing == Professional licensing has been criticized for many reasons. The field of software engineering is too immature Licensing would give false assurances of competence even if the body of knowledge were mature Software engineers would have to study years of calculus, physics, and chemistry to pass the exams, which is irrelevant to most software practitioners. Many (most?) computer science majors don't earn degrees in engineering schools, so they are probably unqualified to pass engineering exams. == Licensing by country == === United States === The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) classifies computer software engineers as a subcategory of "computer specialists", along with occupations such as computer scientist, Programmer, Database administrator and Network administrator. The BLS classifies all other engineering disciplines, including computer hardware engineers, as engineers. Many states prohibit unlicensed persons from calling themselves an Engineer, or from indicating branches or specialties not covered licensing acts. In many states, the title Engineer is reserved for individuals with a Professional Engineering license indicating that they have shown minimum level of competency through accredited engineering education, qualified engineering experience, and engineering board's examinations. In April 2013 the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) began offering a Professional Engineer (PE) exam for Software Engineering. The exam was developed in association with the IEEE Computer Society. NCEES ended the exam in April 2019 due to lack of participation. The American National Society of Professional Engineers provides a model law and lobbies legislatures to adopt occ

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  • Networked Help Desk

    Networked Help Desk

    Networked Help Desk is an open standard initiative to provide a common API for sharing customer support tickets between separate instances of issue tracking, bug tracking, customer relationship management (CRM) and project management systems to improve customer service and reduce vendor lock-in. The initiative was created by Zendesk in June 2011 in collaboration with eight other founding member organizations including Atlassian, New Relic, OTRS, Pivotal Tracker, ServiceNow and SugarCRM. The first integration, between Zendesk and Atlassian's issue tracking product, Jira, was announced at the 2011 Atlassian Summit. By August 2011, 34 member companies had joined the initiative. A year after launching, over 50 organizations had joined. Within Zendesk instances this feature is branded as ticket sharing. == Basis == Support tools are generally built around a common paradigm that begins with a customer making a request or an incident report, these create a ticket. Each ticket has a progress status and is updated with annotations and attachments. These annotations and attachments may be visible to the customer (public), or only visible to analysts (private). Customers are notified of progress made on their ticket until it is complete. If the people necessary to complete a ticket are using separate support tools, additional overhead is introduced in maintaining the relevant information in the ticket in each tool while notifying the customer of progress made by each group in completing their ticket. For example, if a customer support issue is caused by a software bug and reported to a help desk using one system, and then the fix is documented by the developers in another, and analyzed in a customer relationship management tool, keeping the records in each system up-to-date and notifying the customer manually using a swivel chair approach is unnecessarily time-consuming and error-prone. If information is not transferred correctly, a customer may have to re-explain their problem each time their ticket is transferred. For systems with the Networked Help Desk API implemented, it is possible for several different applications related to a customer's support experience to synchronize data in one uniquely identified shared ticket. While many applications in these domains have implemented APIs that allow data to be imported, exported and modified, Network Help Desk provide a common standard for customer support information to automatically synchronize between several systems. Once implemented, two systems can quickly share tickets with just a configuration change as they both understand the same interface. Communication between two instances on a specific ticket occurs in three steps, an invitation agreement, sharing of ticket data and continued synchronization of tickets. The standard allows for "full delegation" (analysts in both systems each make public and private comments and synchronize status) as well as "partial delegation" where the instance receiving the ticket can only make private comments and status changes are not synchronized. Tickets may be shared with multiple instances. == Implementation list ==

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  • Pydio

    Pydio

    Pydio Cells, previously known as just Pydio and formerly known as AjaXplorer, is an open-source file-sharing and synchronisation software that runs on the user's own server or in the cloud. == Presentation == The project was created by musician Charles Du Jeu (current CEO and CTO) in 2007 under the name AjaXplorer. The name was changed in 2013 and became Pydio (an acronym for Put Your Data in Orbit). In May 2018, Pydio switched from PHP to Go with the release of Pydio Cells. The PHP version reached end-of-life state on 31 December 2019. Pydio Cells runs on any server supporting a recent Go version. Windows/Linux/macOS on the Intel architecture are directly supported; a fully functional working ARM implementation is under active development. Pydio Cells has been developed from scratch using the Go programming language; release 4.0.0 introduced code refactoring to fully support the Go modular structure as well as grid computing. Nevertheless, the web-based interface of Cells is very similar to the one from Pydio 8 (in PHP), and it successfully replicates most of its features, while adding a few more. There is also a new synchronisation client (also written in Go). The PHP version has been phased out as the company's focus is moving to Pydio Cells, with community feedback on the new features. According to the company, the switch to the new environment was made "to overcome inherent PHP limitations and provide you with a future-proof and modern solution for collaborating on documents". From a technical point of view, Pydio differs from solutions such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Pydio is not based on a public cloud; instead, the software connects to the user's existing storage (such as SAN / Local FS, SAMBA / CIFS, (s)FTP, NFS, S3-compatible cloud storage, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage) as well as to the existing user directories (LDAP / AD, OAuth2 / OIDC SSO, SAML / Azure ADFS SSO, RADIUS, Shibboleth...), which allows companies to keep their data inside their infrastructure, according to their data security policy and user rights management. The software is built in a modular perspective; up to Pydio 8, various plugins allowed administrators to implement extra features. On the server side, Pydio Cells is deployed as a collection of independent microservices communicating among themselves using gRPC and logging user actions via Activity Streams 2.0 (AS2). Pydio Cells microservices are built with the Go Micro framework (using an embedded NATS server). A standard installation will deploy all required services on the same physical server, but for the purposes of performance, reliability and high availability, these can now be spread across several different servers (even in geographically separate locations) according to the 12-factors architecture pattern. Pydio Cells is available either through a free and open-source community distribution (Pydio Cells Home), or a commercially-licensed enterprise distribution (in two variants, Pydio Cells Connect and Pydio Cells Enterprise), which add features not available in the community distribution as well as additional levels of support beyond the community forums. == Features == File sharing between different internal users and across other Pydio instances SSL/TLS Encryption WebDAV file server Creation of dedicated workspaces, for each line of business / project / client, with a dedicated user rights management for each workspace. File-sharing with external users (private links, public links, password protection, download limitation, etc.) Online viewing and editing of documents with Collabora Office (Pydio Cells Enterprise also offers OnlyOffice integration) Preview and editing of image files Integrated audio and video reader Activity stream ('timeline') for all actions taken by users Integrated chat platform Client applications are available for all major desktop and mobile platforms.

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  • Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner

    Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner

    Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner (formerly Windows Live Safety Center and codenamed Vegas) was an online scanning, PC cleanup, and diagnosis service to help remove of viruses, spyware/adware, and other malware. It was a free web service that was part of Windows Live. On November 18, 2008, Microsoft announced the discontinuation of Windows Live OneCare, offering users a new free anti-malware suite Microsoft Security Essentials, which had been available since the second half of 2009. However, Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner, under the same branding as Windows Live OneCare, was not discontinued during that time. The service was officially discontinued on April 15, 2011 and replaced with Microsoft Safety Scanner. == Overview == Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner offered a free online scanning and protection from threats. The Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner must be downloaded and installed to your computer to scan your computer. The "Full Service Scan" looks for common PC health issues such as viruses, temporary files, and open network ports. It searches and removes viruses, improves a computer's performance, and removes unnecessary clutter on the PC's hard disk. The user can choose between a "Full Scan" (which can be customized) or a "Quick Scan". The "Full Scan" scans for viruses (comprehensive scan or quick scan), hard disk performance (Disk fragmentation scan and/or Desk cleanup scan) and network safety (open port scan). The "Quick Scan" only scans for viruses, only on specific areas on the computer. The quick scan is faster than the full scan, hence that appellation. The service also provides a virus database, information about online threats, and general computer security documentation and tools. == Limits == The virus scanner on the Windows Live OneCare Safety Scanner site runs a scan of the user's computer only when the site is visited. It does not run periodic scans of the system, and does not provide features to prevent viruses from infecting the computer at the time, or thereafter. It simply resolves detected infections. Many users who have posted on the Product Feedback forum report script errors relating to Internet Explorer 7 (besides IE being the only browser supported by this service). The OneCare safety scanner team have been actively solving these problems, many of them registry-related.

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  • AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications

    AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications

    The AIX Toolbox for Linux Applications is a collection of GNU tools for IBM AIX. These tools are available for installation using Red Hat's RPM format. == Licensing == Each of these packages includes its own licensing information and while IBM has made the code available to AIX users, the code is provided as is and has not been thoroughly tested. The Toolbox is meant to provide a core set of some of the most common development tools and libraries along with the more popular GNU packages.

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  • List of Go software and tools

    List of Go software and tools

    This is a list of Go software and tools, including compilers, development environments, build tools, testing frameworks, web frameworks, database tools, and related software for the Go programming language. == Core toolchain == Go — programming language and toolchain go command — build and package tool gofmt — source code formatter go vet — static analysis tool == Compilers and runtimes == gc — default Go compiler gccgo — GCC front end for Go GopherJS — Go-to-JavaScript compiler gollvm — Go compiler using the LLVM backend llgo — experimental Go frontend for LLVM TinyGo — compiler for embedded systems and WebAssembly Yaegi — Go interpreter == Development environments and editors == Emacs — text editor with Go support GoLand — JetBrains integrated development environment LiteIDE — Go-focused integrated development environment Neovim — text editor with Go support TextMate — text editor with Go support Vim — text editor with Go support Visual Studio Code — editor with Go support == Language servers and editor tools == delve — debugger gopls — Go language server golangci-lint — lint runner revive — linter staticcheck — static analysis tool == Build, dependency and release tools == Air — live reload development tool dep — deprecated dependency manager Go modules — dependency management system Goreleaser — release automation tool Mage — build tool Task — task runner == Testing and benchmarking == benchstat — benchmark comparison tool Ginkgo — testing framework GoMock — mock generation tool testify — testing toolkit testing — standard testing package == Web frameworks and HTTP tools == Beego — web framework Caddy — web server Chi — router Echo — web framework Fiber — web framework Gin — web framework Gorilla Mux — router Hugo — static site generator Revel — web framework Traefik — reverse proxy and load balancer == RPC and API tools == Goa — API design framework gRPC — remote procedure call framework grpc-gateway — REST gateway oapi-codegen — OpenAPI code generator Swag — OpenAPI documentation tool == Database and ORM tools == Bun — SQL toolkit and ORM CockroachDB client libraries — database drivers and tools ent — entity framework GORM — object–relational mapper sqlx — SQL toolkit == Command-line and terminal tools == Bubble Tea — terminal user interface framework Cobra — command-line framework pflag — flag parsing library urfave/cli — command-line framework Viper — configuration library == GUI toolkits and application frameworks == Fyne — cross-platform graphical user interface toolkit == Documentation, generation and analysis == errcheck — unchecked error checker godoc — documentation tool goimports — import management tool mockgen — mock generator pkgsite — package documentation site Prometheus — monitoring and alerting toolkit stringer — code generation tool wire — dependency injection code generator == Package hosting and community services == GoCenter — former Go package repository pkg.go.dev — package documentation and discovery site proxy.golang.org — module proxy == Major applications written in Go == Consul — service networking platform Docker — containerization platform InfluxDB — time-series database written in Go Kubernetes — container orchestration platform Ollama — platform for running and managing large language models locally Terraform — infrastructure as code tool Vault — secrets management tool

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  • Artificial intelligence arms race

    Artificial intelligence arms race

    A military artificial intelligence arms race is a technological, economic, and military competition between two or more states to develop and deploy advanced AI technologies and lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). The goal is to gain a strategic or tactical advantage over rivals, similar to previous arms races involving nuclear or conventional military technologies. Since the mid-2010s, many analysts have noted the emergence of such an arms race between superpowers for better AI technology and military AI, driven by increasing geopolitical and military tensions. An AI arms race is sometimes placed in the context of an AI Cold War between the United States and China. Several influential figures and publications have emphasized that whoever develops artificial general intelligence (AGI) first could dominate global affairs in the 21st century. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the leader in AI will "rule the world." Researchers and experts, such as Leopold Aschenbrenner and Adrian Pecotic respectively, warn that the AGI race between major powers like the U.S. and China could reshape geopolitical power. This includes AI for surveillance, autonomous weapons, decision-making systems, cyber operations, and more. == Terminology == Lethal autonomous weapons systems use artificial intelligence to identify and kill human targets without human intervention. LAWS have colloquially been called "slaughterbots" or "killer robots". Broadly, any competition for superior AI is sometimes framed as an "arms race". Advantages in military AI overlap with advantages in other sectors, as countries pursue both economic and military advantages, as per previous arms races throughout history. == History == In 2014, AI specialist Steve Omohundro warned that "An autonomous weapons arms race is already taking place". According to Siemens, worldwide military spending on robotics was US$5.1 billion in 2010 and US$7.5 billion in 2015. China became a top player in artificial intelligence research in the 2010s. According to the Financial Times, in 2016, for the first time, China published more AI research papers than the entire European Union. When restricted to number of AI papers in the top 5% of cited papers, China overtook the United States in 2016 but lagged behind the European Union. 23% of the researchers presenting at the 2017 American Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) conference were Chinese. Eric Schmidt, the former chairman and chief executive officer of Alphabet, has predicted China will be the leading country in AI by 2025. == Risks == One risk concerns the AI race itself, whether or not the race is won by any one group. There are strong incentives for development teams to cut corners with regard to the safety of the system, increasing the risk of critical failures and unintended consequences. This is in part due to the perceived advantage of being the first to develop advanced AI technology. One team appearing to be on the brink of a breakthrough can encourage other teams to take shortcuts, ignore precautions and deploy a system that is less ready. Some argue that using "race" terminology at all in this context can exacerbate this effect. Another potential danger of an AI arms race is the possibility of losing control of the AI systems; the risk is compounded in the case of a race to artificial general intelligence, which may present an existential risk. In 2023, a United States Air Force official reportedly said that during a computer test, a simulated AI drone killed the human character operating it. The USAF later said the official had misspoken and that it never conducted such simulations. A third risk of an AI arms race is whether or not the race is actually won by one group. The concern is regarding the consolidation of power and technological advantage in the hands of one group. A US government report argued that "AI-enabled capabilities could be used to threaten critical infrastructure, amplify disinformation campaigns, and wage war":1, and that "global stability and nuclear deterrence could be undermined".:11 == By nation == === United States === In 2014, former Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel posited the "Third Offset Strategy" that rapid advances in artificial intelligence will define the next generation of warfare. According to data science and analytics firm Govini, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) increased investment in artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing from $5.6 billion in 2011 to $7.4 billion in 2016. However, the civilian NSF budget for AI saw no increase in 2017. Japan Times reported in 2018 that the United States private investment is around $70 billion per year. The November 2019 'Interim Report' of the United States' National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence confirmed that AI is critical to US technological military superiority. The U.S. has many military AI combat programs, such as the Sea Hunter autonomous warship, which is designed to operate for extended periods at sea without a single crew member, and to even guide itself in and out of port. From 2017, a temporary US Department of Defense directive requires a human operator to be kept in the loop when it comes to the taking of human life by autonomous weapons systems. On October 31, 2019, the United States Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Board published the draft of a report recommending principles for the ethical use of artificial intelligence by the Department of Defense that would ensure a human operator would always be able to look into the 'black box' and understand the kill-chain process. However, a major concern is how the report will be implemented. The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) (pronounced "jake") is an American organization on exploring the usage of AI (particularly edge computing), Network of Networks, and AI-enhanced communication, for use in actual combat. It is a subdivision of the United States Armed Forces and was created in June 2018. The organization's stated objective is to "transform the US Department of Defense by accelerating the delivery and adoption of AI to achieve mission impact at scale. The goal is to use AI to solve large and complex problem sets that span multiple combat systems; then, ensure the combat Systems and Components have real-time access to ever-improving libraries of data sets and tools." In 2023, Microsoft pitched the DoD to use DALL-E models to train its battlefield management system. OpenAI, the developer of DALL-E, removed the blanket ban on military and warfare use from its usage policies in January 2024. The Biden administration imposed restrictions on the export of advanced NVIDIA chips and GPUs to China in an effort to limit China's progress in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. The policy aimed to prevent the use of cutting-edge U.S. technology in military or surveillance applications and to maintain a strategic advantage in the global AI race. In 2025, under the second Trump administration, the United States began a broad deregulation campaign aimed at accelerating growth in sectors critical to artificial intelligence, including nuclear energy, infrastructure, and high-performance computing. The goal was to remove regulatory barriers and attract private investment to boost domestic AI capabilities. This included easing restrictions on data usage, speeding up approvals for AI-related infrastructure projects, and incentivizing innovation in cloud computing and semiconductors. Companies like NVIDIA, Oracle, and Cisco played a central role in these efforts, expanding their AI research, data center capacity, and partnerships to help position the U.S. as a global leader in AI development. ==== Project Maven ==== Project Maven is a Pentagon project involving using machine learning and engineering talent to distinguish people and objects in drone videos, apparently giving the government real-time battlefield command and control, and the ability to track, tag and spy on targets without human involvement. Initially the effort was led by Robert O. Work who was concerned about China's military use of the emerging technology. Reportedly, Pentagon development stops short of acting as an AI weapons system capable of firing on self-designated targets. The project was established in a memo by the U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense on 26 April 2017. Also known as the Algorithmic Warfare Cross Functional Team, it is, according to Lt. Gen. of the United States Air Force Jack Shanahan in November 2017, a project "designed to be that pilot project, that pathfinder, that spark that kindles the flame front of artificial intelligence across the rest of the [Defense] Department". Its chief, U.S. Marine Corps Col. Drew Cukor, said: "People and computers will work symbiotically to increase the ability of weapon systems to detect objects." Project Maven has been noted by allies, such as Australia's Ian Langford, for the

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  • Mojito (framework)

    Mojito (framework)

    Mojito is an environment agnostic, Model-View-Controller (MVC) web application framework. It was designed by Yahoo. == Features == Mojito supports agile development of web applications. Mojito has built-in support for unit testing, Internationalization, syntax and coding convention checks. Both server and client components are written in JavaScript. Mojito allows developers designing web applications to leverage the utilities of both configuration and MVC framework. Mojito is capable of running on both JavaScript-enabled web browsers and servers using Node.js because they both utilize JavaScript. Mojito applications mainly consist of two components: JSON Configuration files: these define relationships between code components, assets, routing paths, and framework defaults and are available at the application and mojit level. Directories: these reflect MVC architecture and are used to separate resources such as assets, libraries, middleware, etc. == Architecture == In Mojito, both server and "client" side scripting is done in JavaScript, allowing it to run on both client and server thereby breaking the "front-end back-end barrier." It has both client and server runtimes. === Server runtime === This block houses operations needed by server side components. Services include: Routing rules, HTTP Server, config loader and disk-based loader. === Client runtime === This block houses operations called upon while running client sides components. Services include local storage/cache access and JSON based /URL based loader === Core === Core function can be accessed on client or server. Services include Registry, Dispatcher, Front controller, Resource store. === Container === mojit object comes into the picture. This container also include the services used by mojits. API and Mojito services are the blocks which caters to services needed for execution of mojits. === API (Action Context) === Mojito services are a customizable service block. It offers mojits a range of services which might be needed by mojit to carry out certain actions. These services can be availed at both client and server side. Reusable services can be created and aggregated to the core here. == Mojits == Mojits are the modules of a Mojito application. An application consists of one or more mojits. A mojit encompasses a Model, Views and a Controller defined by JSON configuration files. It includes a View factory where views are created according to the model and a View cache that holds frequently requested views to aid performance. === Application Architecture === A Mojito application is a set of mojits facilitated by configurable JSON files which define the code for model, view and controller. This MVC structure works with API block and Mojito services, and can be deployed at both client and server side. While the application is deployed at client side, it can call server-side modules using binders. Binders are mojit codes that let mojits request services from each other. Mojit Proxy acts as an intermediary between binders and mojit's API (application context) block and other mojits. Controllers are command-issuing units of mojits. Models mirror the core logic and hold data. Applications can have multiple models. They can be centrally accessed from controllers. View files are created in accordance with controllers and models, and are marked-up before they are sent to users as output. === Application Directory Structure === Directory structure of a Mojito application with one mojit: [mojito_app]/ |-- application.json |-- assets/ | `-- favicon.icon |-- yui_modules/ | `-- .{affinity}.js |-- index.js |-- mojits/ | `-- [mojit_name | |-- assets/ | |-- yui_modules/ | | `-- .{affinity}.js | |-- binders/ | | `-- {view_name}.js | |-- controller.{affinity}.js | |-- defaults.json | |-- definition.json | |-- lang/ | | `-- {mojit_name}_{lang}.js | |-- models/ | | `-- {model_name}.{affinity}.js | |-- tests/ | | |-- yui_modules/ | | | `-- {module_name}.{affinity}-tests.js | | |-- controller.{affinity}-tests.js | | `-- models/ | | `-- {model_name}.{affinity}-tests.js | `-- views/ | |-- {view_name}.{view_engine}.html | `-- {view_name}.{device}.{view_engine}.html |-- package.json |-- routes.json (deprecated) |-- server.js == Model, View and Controller == The Model hosts data, which is accessed by the Controller and presented to the View. Controller also handles any client requests for data, in which case controller fetches data from the model and passes the data to the client. All three components are clustered in the mojit. Mojits are physically illustrated by directory structures and an application can have multiple mojits. Every mojit can have one controller, one or more views and zero or more models. === Model === The model it represents the application data and is independent of view or controller. Model contains code to manipulate the data. They are found in the models directory of each mojit. Functions include: Storing information for access by controller. Validation and error handling. Metadata required by the view === Controller === The controller acts like a connecting agent between model and view. It supplies input to Model and after fetching data from model, passes it to View. Functions include Redirection Monitors authentication Web safety Encoding === View === The view acts as a presentation filter by highlighting some model attributes and suppressing others. A view can be understood as a visual permutation of the model. The view renders data received from controller and displays it to the end user.

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  • LakeFS

    LakeFS

    lakeFS is an open-source data version control system for managing data stored in object storage. It provides Git-like operations such as branching, committing, merging, and reverting for large-scale data stored in systems including Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, and Google Cloud Storage, as well as other S3-compatible object storage platforms. lakeFS is used in data engineering and machine learning workflows to manage changes to data, support reproducibility, and enable data governance across data lakes. The software is available as an open-source project, as well as in enterprise and managed service offerings, including lakeFS Cloud. == History == lakeFS was created in 2020 by Einat Orr and Oz Katz at Treeverse. Its first public release, version 0.8.1, appeared in August 2020 and introduced Git-style operations with support for Amazon S3. In 2021, Treeverse raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by Dell Technologies Capital, Norwest Venture Partners, and Zeev Ventures. The same year, lakeFS was included in InfoWorld’s Best of Open Source Software (Bossie) awards. In June 2022, Treeverse introduced lakeFS Cloud, a managed service providing hosted lakeFS deployments for cloud-based data lakes. Version 1.0 was released in October 2023, adding integrations with platforms such as Databricks and Apache Iceberg, as well as support for orchestration tools including Apache Airflow. Public case studies and conference materials have described usage of lakeFS by organizations such as Microsoft, Volvo, and NASA. In July 2025, Treeverse announced an additional $20 million in growth funding to support further development of lakeFS. In November 2025, Treeverse announced the acquisition of the open-source data version control project DVC. == Software == === Overview === lakeFS provides Git-like operations such as branching, committing, merging, and reverting for datasets stored in object storage. These operations are used to manage changes to data, test modifications in isolation, reproduce specific data states, and recover from errors or unintended updates. === Architecture === lakeFS operates as a metadata layer on top of object storage systems such as Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, and Google Cloud Storage. It stores repository metadata describing commits, branches, and tags, enabling versioned views of data without copying underlying objects. The system provides access through multiple interfaces, including a web user interface, command-line tools, a REST API, and software development kits. It is designed to integrate with existing data engineering and machine learning workflows, and can be deployed either in self-hosted environments or as a managed service. === Functions === lakeFS provides version control functionality for data stored in object storage–based data lakes. Core features include: Atomic commits and version tracking for datasets, supporting reproducibility and auditability. Branching and merging mechanisms that allow isolated development and testing without duplicating data. Configurable hooks that can validate data or trigger external processes during commit and merge operations. The ability to revert repositories to earlier states to recover from data errors or failed changes. Recording of commit history and associated metadata for lineage tracking. Support for managing data across multiple object storage systems, including Amazon S3, Azure Blob Storage, Google Cloud Storage, and MinIO. Use of fixed data versions to reproduce experiments and machine learning model training. === Integrations === Coverage of lakeFS has described integrations with platforms such as Databricks and Apache Iceberg, as well as support for environments including Red Hat OpenShift. Additional materials describe its use with Trino, including validation of data changes prior to merging in versioned data workflows, as well as compatibility with orchestration tools such as Apache Airflow.

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  • YNAB

    YNAB

    You Need a Budget (YNAB) (pronounced ) is an online personal budgeting program based on the envelope system developed by a privately owned American company of the same name. It is available via any web browser or a mobile app. == History == The program was initially developed as standalone software in 2004 by Jesse Mecham, while he was in college pursuing his master's degree in accounting, after he and his wife faced financial difficulty and decided to improve their budgeting. It evolved from a spreadsheet that he created for the budgeting process. The acronym stands for "you need a budget." In 2015 they changed their licensing model to software as a service. In 2020, YNAB had 115 employees, all working remotely. == Overview == The service encourages users to follow four principles or "rules": Give every dollar a job: Each dollar in a budget is allocated to a specific purpose. This concept is also called zero-based budgeting. Embrace true expenses: All expenses are planned for, so that there are no surprises. Roll with the punches: Being flexible when there is overspending. Age your money: Keeping money in your budget without immediately spending it. Users can either import transactions automatically from their financial institutions or input them manually. The software also displays financial reports to keep users informed about their finances at a glance. == Awards and recognition == YNAB has been named one of the best budgeting apps by U.S. News & World Report, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, CNN, HuffPost, CNBC, and hundreds of other financial reporting outlets. The Wall Street Journal – Best budgeting app for hands-on budgeters. Forbes – Best Budgeting Apps Money – Best budgeting app for college students. Lifehacker – Most popular personal finance software. Wirecutter – "Great pick for hard-core budgeters". Investopedia – Best overall budgeting app.

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  • NAPLPS

    NAPLPS

    NAPLPS (North American Presentation Layer Protocol Syntax) is a graphics language for use originally with videotex and teletext services. NAPLPS was developed from the Telidon system developed in Canada, with a small number of additions from AT&T Corporation. The basics of NAPLPS were later used as the basis for several other microcomputer-based graphics systems. == History == The Canadian Communications Research Centre (CRC), based in Ottawa, had been working on various graphics systems since the late 1960s, much of it led by Herb Bown. Through the 1970s they turned their attention to building out a system of "picture description instructions", which encoded graphics commands as a text stream. Graphics were encoded as a series of instructions (graphics primitives) each represented by a single ASCII character. Graphic coordinates were encoded in multiple 6-bit strings of XY coordinate data, flagged to place them in the printable ASCII range so that they could be transmitted with conventional text transmission techniques. ASCII SI/SO characters were used to differentiate the text from graphic portions of a transmitted "page". These instructions were decoded by separate programs to produce graphics output, on a plotter for instance. Other work produced a fully interactive version. In 1975, the CRC gave a contract to Norpak to develop an interactive graphics terminal that could decode the instructions and display them on a color display. During this period, a number of companies were developing the first teletext systems, notably the BBC's Ceefax system. Ceefax encoded character data into the lines in the vertical blanking interval of normal television signals where they could not be seen on-screen, and then used a buffer and decoder in the user's television to convert these into "pages" of text on the display. The Independent Broadcasting Authority quickly introduced their own ORACLE system, and the two organizations subsequently agreed to use a single standard, the "Broadcast Teletext Specification". This later became World System Teletext. At about the same time, other organizations were developing videotex systems, similar to teletext except they used modems to transmit their data instead of television signals. This was potentially slower and used up a telephone line, but had the major advantage of allowing the user to transmit data back to the sender. The UK's General Post Office developed a system using the Ceefax/ORACLE standard, launching it as Prestel, while France prepared the first steps for its ultimately very successful Minitel system, using a rival display standard called Antiope. By 1977, the Norpak system was running, and from this work the CRC decided to create their own teletext/videotext system. Unlike the systems being rolled out in Europe, the CRC decided from the start that the system should be able to run on any combination of communications links. For instance, it could use the vertical blanking interval to send data to the user, and a modem to return selections to the servers. It could be used in a one-way or two-way system. In teletext mode, character codes were sent to users' televisions by encoding them as dot patterns in the vertical blanking interval of the video signal. Various technical "tweaks" and details of the NTSC signals used by North American televisions allowed the downstream videotex channel to increase to 600 bit/s, about twice that used in the European systems. In videotext mode, Bell 202 modems were typical, offering a 1,200 bit/s download rate. A set top box attached to the TV decoded these signals back into text and graphics pages, which the user could select among. The system was publicly launched as Telidon on August 15, 1978. Compared to the European standards, the CRC system was faster, bi-directional, and offered real graphics as opposed to simple character graphics. The downside of the system was that it required much more advanced decoders, typically featuring Zilog Z80 or Motorola 6809 processors with RGB and/or RF output. The Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (then Department of Communications) launched a four-year plan to fund public roll-outs of the technology in an effort to spur the development of a commercial Telidon system. AT&T Corporation was so impressed by Telidon that they decided to join the project. They added a number of useful extensions, notably the ability to define original graphics commands (macro) and character sets (DRCS). They also tabled algorithms for proportionally spaced text, which greatly improved the quality of the displayed pages. A joint CSA/ANSI working group (X3L2.1) revised the specifications, which were submitted for standardization. In 1983, they became CSA T500 and ANSI X3.110, or NAPLPS. The data encoding system was also standardized as the NABTS (North American Broadcast Teletext Specification) protocol. Business models for Telidon services were poorly developed. Unlike the UK, where teletext was supported by one of only two large companies whose whole revenue model was based on a read-only medium (television), in North America Telidon was being offered by companies who worked on a subscriber basis. == One-way systems == Telidon-based teletext was tested in a few North American trials in the early 1980s — CBC IRIS, TVOntario, MTS-sponsored Project IDA, to name a few. NAPLPS was also part of the NABTS teletext standard, for the encoding and display of teletext pages. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, affiliates of the regional sports network group SportsChannel ran a service called Sports Plus Network, which ran sports news and scores while SportsChannel was not otherwise on the air. The screens, which frequently featured team logos or likenesses of players in addition to text, were drawn entirely with NAPLPS graphics and resembled the loading of Prodigy pages over a modem, though slightly faster. == Two-way systems == Various two-way systems using NAPLPS appeared in North America in the early 1980s. The biggest North American examples were Knight Ridder's Viewtron (based in Miami) and the Los Angeles Times' Gateway service (based in Orange County). Both used the Sceptre NAPLPS terminal from AT&T. The Sceptre contained a slow modem that connected over the consumer's telephone line to host computers. The Sceptre was expensive whether purchased or rented. Despite huge investments by their parent companies, neither Viewtron nor Gateway lasted into the second half of the decade. Another system, Keyfax, was developed by Keycom Electronic Publishing, a joint venture of Honeywell, Centel (since acquired by Sprint) and Field Enterprises, then-owner of the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper. Keyfax had originally been a WST teletext service, broadcast overnights on Field's Chicago television station WFLD-32 and through the VBI of both WFLD and national superstation WTBS; the decision was made to convert Keyfax into a subscription service, using a proprietary NAPLPS terminal device in a last-ditch effort to save the service. It did not work and Keyfax had ceased operations by the end of 1986. Other early-1980s NAPLPS technology was deployed in Canada, both as a way for rural Canadians to get news and weather information and as the platform for touchscreen information kiosks. In Vancouver these were featured at Expo 86. The kiosks became ubiquitous in Toronto under the name Teleguide, and were deployed in many shopping centres and at major tourist attractions. The latter city was the North American nexus of NAPLPS and the home of Norpak, the most successful of NAPLPS-oriented developers. Norpak created and sold hardware and software for NAPLPS development and display. TVOntario also developed NAPLPS content creation software. London, Ontario - based Cableshare used NAPLPS as the basis of touch-screen information kiosks for shopping malls, the flagship of which was deployed at Toronto's Eaton Centre. The system relied on an 8085-based microcomputer which drove several NAPLPS terminals fitted with touch screens, all communicating via Datapac to a back end database. The system offered news, weather and sports information along with shopping mall guides and coupons. Cableshare also developed and sold a leading NAPLPS page creation utility called the "Picture Painter." In the late 1980s, Tribune Media Services (TMS) and the Associated Press operated a cable television channel called AP News Plus that provided NAPLPS-based news screens to cable television subscribers in many U.S. cities. The news pages were created and edited by TMS staffers working on an Atex editing system in Orlando, Florida, and sent by satellite to NAPLPS decoder devices located at the local cable television companies. Among the firms providing technology to TMS and the Associated Press for the AP News Plus channel was Minneapolis-based Electronic Publishers Inc. (1985–1988). In 1981, two amateur radio operators (VE3FTT and VE3GQW) received special permission from the Canad

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  • Personal cloud

    Personal cloud

    A personal cloud is a collection of digital content and services that are accessible from any device through the Internet. It is not a tangible entity, but a place that gives users the ability to store, synchronize, stream and share content on a relative core, moving from one platform, screen and location to another. Created on connected services and applications, it reflects and sets consumer expectations for how next-generation computing services will work. The four primary types of personal cloud in use today are: Online cloud, NAS device cloud, server device cloud, and home-made clouds. == Online cloud == The online cloud is sometimes referred to as the public cloud. It is the cloud computing model where online resources like software and data storage are made available over the Internet. Typically, an individual or organization has little control over the ecosystem in which the online cloud is hosted, and the core infrastructure is shared between many individuals and organizations. The data and applications provided by the service provider are logically segregated so that only those authorized are allowed access. == NAS device cloud == A network-attached storage (NAS) device is a computer connected to a network that provides only file-based data storage services to other devices on the network. Although it may technically be possible to run other software on a NAS device, it is not designed to be a general purpose server. Cloud NAS is remote storage that is accessed over the Internet as if it were local. A cloud NAS is often used for backups and archiving. One of the benefits of NAS Cloud is that data in the cloud can be accessed at any time from anywhere. The main drawback, however, is that the speed of the transfer rate is only as fast as the network connection the data is accessed over and can therefore be fairly slow. == Server device cloud == In many ways cloud servers work in the same way as physical servers but the functions they perform can be very different. Typically, the cloud server is an on-premises device that is connected to the Internet and gives users the functions available on the online cloud but with the added benefit and security of the files being in their control on their premises. The server cloud has been historically enterprise-based deployed by businesses needing an in-house cloud. However, there are also in-house options available for individual users. == Home-made clouds == For the more technologically proficient user a common solution for using a personal cloud is to create a home-made cloud system by connecting an external USB hard drive to a Wi-Fi router. This enables both wired and wireless computers to access the USB hard drive and use it for storage or for retrieving files a user needs to share on the network thereby acting like a cloud. Setting up a personal cloud requires a user to have particular skills in technology and network setup. One of the risks associated with improper setup is security, and leaving the files accessible to anyone with technical knowledge. Not every router supports this type of access and modification.

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  • DesktopTwo

    DesktopTwo

    Desktoptwo was a free Webtop (whose URL was desktoptwo.com and which is now a parked domain) developed by Sapotek (whose URL was sapotek.com, which also is now a parked domain). It's also been called a WebOS although Sapotek stated on its website that the term is premature and presumptuous. It mimics the look, feel and functionality of the desktop environment of an operating system. The software only reached beta stage. It had a Spanish version called Computadora.de. Desktoptwo was web-based and required Adobe Flash Player to operate. The web applications' found on Desktoptwo were built on PHP in the back end. Features included drag-and-drop functionality. Sapotek had liberated all the web applications found on Desktoptwo through Sapodesk on an AGPL license. Desktoptwo belonged to a category of services that intended to turn the Web into a full-fledged platform by using web services as a foundation along with presentation technologies that replicated the experience of desktop applications for users. In a "Cloud OS" the functionality of a server was granularized and abstracted as Web services that Web developers used to create composite applications similar to how desktop software developers use several APIs of the OS to create their applications. Sites like Facebook attempt to create a similar effect by exposing their APIs and allowing developers to create applications upon these. Some of the features found on Desktoptwo were: File sharing, Webmail, Blog creator, Instant messenger, Address book, Calendar, RSS Reader and Office productivity applications. Desktoptwo.com and the Sapotek website no longer operate.

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