Tuesday, 10 November
01:00 EST
00:00 EST
The world’s last source for a Microsoft/Incase Sculpt Keyboard [Philip Greenspun’s Weblog]
Previously, on this blog…
We’re back in a longer dark winter. The Incase revival of Microsoft’s superbly designed keyboards is itself in need of a revival. Because I’m so intelligent, of course I stockpiled 8 of these at $120 each and have them in my garage… just kidding. I was too dumb to stockpile Microsoft spares and, apparently, also too dumb to stockpile Incase spares. I had high hopes for the Kinesis mWave, which looks almost exactly like the Sculpt but is tilted at a different angle. It’s probably a higher quality product, actually, but my wrists don’t like the different angle and the keys that will last for 10 years require more travel/force than the original Microsoft-spec keys that last for 1-2 years. Microsoft does have a design patent on the Sculpt, but I don’t see what would have stopped Kinesis from using the same angle and offering it with “easy-push” Sculpt-style keys as an option (what has been learned about human anatomy and repetitive strain injury since 2013? Kinesis doesn’t have more money or smarter people than Microsoft had in 2013, right?).
Nobody in the U.S. seems to have even one of these, but an eBay seller rated 100% by 26,000+ users has access to at least dozens and the keyboard layout is supposedly the same as the U.S. version (the picture in their listing is the same, at any rate). Here’s the ad:
The $212 price isn’t too horrific considering that I paid $120 to Amazon for the product in January 2026 when it was still in production. The shipping cost to the U.S. is kind of painful, but it’s cheaper than being disabled from working. If your wrists and tendons love the Sculpt keyboard, I recommend going to eBay right now and grabbing this deal with both hands, so to speak.
There have been lots of novels about humanity being wiped out by a nuclear war or a disease, leaving only a remnant population that survives in Australia. I wonder if there would be a market for a novel, authored by me and N. Vidia, in which the ergonomic achievements of Microsoft’s team of PhDs and MDs were lost to all of humanity except for a handful of survivors in Australia. The sacred documents and artifacts, having been preserved in the Antipodes, then spread out starting in 2040 just in time for humans to be able to save themselves from a killer robot takeover. Humans were previously defenceless because they couldn’t type for long enough to write code to disable the robots, which had been fed on a diet of Equity Uber Alles and then inferred that the best way to make all humans equal was to kill all humans while posting #EndInequality memes on X.
What if you don’t want to pay $300-ish for a keyboard? The Lenovo Go is, I think, the closest thing to the original Microsoft Sculpt design (patent below). It’s only about $73. I remember not being completely converted to the Lenovo religion, though, in early 2024 when I tried it. I can’t remember what I didn’t love about it. The current version is improved with a one-key shortcut to Microsoft Copilot! (“improves your working efficiency”). What I would like to see is a keyboard with a one-key shortcut to Microsoft Teams. And then I would try to get Donald Trump to order that everyone at Incase who was involved in the decision to cancel this keyboard be sentenced to spend the rest of their working lives pressing the Teams button and actually using Teams.
The post The world’s last source for a Microsoft/Incase Sculpt Keyboard appeared first on Philip Greenspun’s Weblog.
Monday, 09 November
23:00 EST
California voters defeat billionaire tax proposal that divided Democrats [NPR Topics: News]
The novel proposal would have charged billionaires a one-time 5% tax on most of their overall wealth, including their ownership in companies.
(Image credit: Jae C. Hong)
FDA Warns GLP-1s May Increase Risk of Sudden Blindness [Slashdot]
An anonymous reader quotes a report from NBC News: The Food and Drug Administration said Monday that GLP-1 drugmakers must add a warning label about a rare eye condition that can cause sudden blindness. The condition, called nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy, or NAION, affects the optic nerve, which carries signals from the eye to the brain. When blood flow to the nerve is reduced or blocked, it can cause sudden vision loss. The condition is permanent with no known treatment. The FDA said "there is a potential increased risk of rare NAION" in people taking GLP-1 drugs. The agency's requirement applies to all GLP-1s, including Novo Nordisk's Ozempic and Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound, as well as several older GLP-1 diabetes medications. [...] Previous research has found that GLP-1 use may increase the risk of NAION, and Lilly has said it was aware of studies on the potential link. The FDA said it began looking into a possible link after a 2024 study published in JAMA Ophthalmology that found diabetes patients prescribed semaglutide were four times as likely to develop NAION as those not prescribed the drug. The agency said it reviewed reports of side effects submitted to its adverse event monitoring system and analyzed data from multiple clinical trials. Cases of NAION have been reported for all currently marketed GLP-1 drugs, the FDA found. However, FDA scientists were not able to identify a mechanism for how the drugs could increase the risk of the eye condition. Risk factors for NAION can overlap with conditions seen in people taking GLP-1 drugs, including Type 2 diabetes, obesity, sleep apnea and hypertension. "Patients and caregivers should be aware of a potential increased risk of NAION, a rare condition that can result in acute, painless, decreased vision in one eye, including permanent vision loss," with GLP-1 use, the FDA said in the release.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Open Thread 459 [Astral Codex Ten]
This is the weekly visible open thread. Post about anything you want, ask random questions, whatever. ACX has an unofficial subreddit, Discord, and bulletin board, and in-person meetups around the world. Most content is free, some is subscriber only; you can subscribe here. Also:
1: Comment of the week: “Astronomer here. It’s absolutely untrue that there are millions of WOW signals.”
2: There will be marches in favor of an AI treaty this Saturday (11/14) in major cities across the US, Canada, and France, including San Francisco and DC. See here for more information.
21:00 EST
Boebert, Boebert, Bo…no, stop! [Pharyngula]
It seems Lauren Boebert has lost her race to represent Colorado in congress. At least until they scream about voting irregularities, or someone says her name three times.
20:00 EST
Microsoft Took 31 Years to Let You Kill Windows 11's Sticky Keys Popup [Slashdot]
Microsoft is testing a Windows 11 option that lets users permanently disable the Sticky Keys and Filter Keys activation prompts directly from the pop-ups themselves, ending a 31-year-old annoyance without requiring a trip into Settings. Windows Latest reports: Sadly, the dialog is still the same aging Win32 window, but we spotted Microsoft's design boss replying under an X post reply about this, saying he is working on modernizing legacy dialogs. The popup might be annoying, but did you know that it exists because of a pinball game from 1995? [...] The change is in Build 26340.9882 (Experimental) and Build 26320.9876 (Beta), both released on November 6 and based on Windows 11 version 26H2. Microsoft says you can "choose not to be asked again" from the Sticky Keys and Filter Keys dialogs, but it's a Controlled Feature Rollout in Experimental, so you may not see it yet.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
19:00 EST
Trump Backs Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Amid Chinese Spy Affair Investigation [Slashdot]
President Donald Trump says the FBI is investigating Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's affair with a woman alleged by U.S. intelligence to have gathered information for Beijing. "I know the FBI is looking into it in terms of something else, and I think that he'll be in good shape," Trump said at a White House briefing. The Associated Press reports: Trump suggested the extraordinary step of directly involving himself in a counterintelligence investigation, a sign of his friendly relationship with Huang and the possible geopolitical stakes. "I did speak to him today just to see if he's feeling all right, how you're doing," Trump said. "He said he had absolutely no idea that the person in question was a spy." Trump is slated to meet next week with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Shenzhen, China, at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, but he was noncommittal about bringing up the situation with Xi. "No, I don't think so," Trump said. "I mean, maybe. I'm sure President XI will ask me about it. I just know Jensen very well. I just think he's a very honorable man." Nvidia has launched its own independent investigation into whether Huang was targeted by a foreign intelligence operation. Meanwhile, China has denied the allegations. "The so-called Chinese spy allegation is unsubstantiated. It is nothing but smears against China," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said during a regular news briefing Monday. Further reading: Commerce Dept. Chip Inquiry Was Halted After Nvidia Intervention
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
18:00 EST
DCU shake-up: James Gunn and Peter Safran out post-merger [Ars Technica - All content]
It's barely been two months since the controversial Paramount and Warner Bros. merger, and we've already got a shockingly unexpected ouster: Co-CEOs of the rebooted DC Universe, James Gunn and Peter Safran, are stepping down from that role despite the Hollywood rumor mill assuming that the duo would be safe.
It's unclear whether the pair chose to resign or were forced out, or what will happen to their planned slate of projects beyond 2028's Superman: Man of Tomorrow, which is in post-production. Producer Jeremy Latcham—a protege of Marvel's Kevin Feige who worked with Gunn on Guardians of the Galaxy among other MCU films—will replace them. Per Gunn and Safran's joint statement:
Four years ago, we set out to unite DC under one creative vision. In that time, we helped restore Superman to the heart of DC, while opening new doors and telling new stories in film and television with Peacemaker, Creature Commandos, Lanterns and Clayface. We’re immensely proud of the team that turned that ambition into something real, including the actors, crews and executives we had the opportunity to collaborate with. We’ve shared a creative history with Jeremy going back to Marvel, and we’re eager to see the perspective he brings to DC’s next chapter. We’re excited to return to what drew us to this job in the first place, which is telling the stories we love, including the next chapter of Clark and Lex’s journey in Man of Tomorrow.
DCU fans are mourning the news and what it could mean for the franchise. My feelings are mixed. On the one hand, I'm on record that I’ve found the rebooted DC Universe films released thus far to be enjoyable but rather forgettable, even when the positives outweigh the negatives. (I have yet to see Clayface, which debuted to good reviews and a solid box office showing.) But HBO has done right by the DCU: I loved both seasons of Peacemaker; Lanterns is a shining beacon of what is possible when someone is allowed to get really creative within the genre; and I'm very much looking forward to next year's Jimmy Olsen (Skylar Gisondo) series The People v. Gorilla Grodd—described as a “mockumentary crime comedy superhero series.”
Man who lost $308,000 on sports bets sues Kalshi for offering illegal gambling [Ars Technica - All content]
A man who lost over $308,000 making sports wagers on Kalshi is suing the prediction market for violating the state of Washington's ban on online gambling. He's trying to turn those losses into an overall victory with a lawsuit seeking a payment of over $580,000.
Bellevue, Washington, resident Scott Bright's "wagering occurred at a time when it was unlawful in Washington and when the Washington Attorney General had already sued KalshiEX LLC in this Court alleging precisely that," said the gambler's lawsuit filed on September 24 in King County Superior Court. Kalshi has since filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
While state attorneys general throughout the US are trying to shut down Kalshi for allegedly violating state gambling laws, Bright's case tests whether unsuccessful gamblers can obtain restitution from the company through individual lawsuits.
A Sam Altman parody offers an amusing lesson in memory management [Ars Technica - All content]
Sam Altman's recent comments on the Cheeky Pint podcast inspired developer Iain Kay to create a satirical script that allows users to email the OpenAI CEO once per day if more than 10 percent of their system RAM is reported as available. Ram-Altman is described by its creator as a "parody project" launched in response to Altman's viral remarks about RAM in your personal PC.
As reported by The Verge, on the October 29 episode recorded with Stripe President John Collison, Altman said, "A lot of people want local inference. And somehow, they assume that the problem is solved now because we are going to have open source models, we’re going to be able to run them on our computers, and so we’re not going to need all the stuff in the data center. But from a global allocation perspective, actually, it’s quite terrible to have everybody have a bunch of the world’s limited supply of DRAM sitting in their own computer and being used 5 percent of the time."
Altman has since explained that his comments were taken out of context and briefly changed his display name to "RAM Altman" on X, which Kay calls on the project GitHub, "objectively excellent and where the project gets its name."
France accuses Iran of cyber 'sabotage' in fridge attacks [NPR Topics: News]
France says Iranian military hackers took over refrigeration controllers at around 700 different retail sites last month, turning up temperatures in the middle of the night and spoiling millions of dollars' worth of food.
(Image credit: FRED TANNEAU)
Supreme Court says border wall construction can continue in west Texas [NPR Topics: News]
The Trump administration filed an emergency relief request with the high court earlier in October asking for the construction to continue while a lawsuit over the plan moves forward.
(Image credit: Carlos Morales
)
Epic Games Comments On Planned Linux Distribution Support [Slashdot]
Epic Games says it plans to support its new Linux launcher on as many distributions as possible, specifically naming Fedora, SteamOS, CachyOS and Omarchy. GamingOnLinux's Liam Squires-Hand reports: Speaking to Jake Jones, Communications Director at Epic Games, they said: "Hey Liam! The new Epic Games Launcher is still in Preview and we plan to support as many Linux distributions as possible, including Fedora, SteamOS, Cachy, Omarchy, and more. We're testing and evaluating packaging formats for distribution, and we'll restore AppImage this month." With that in mind, until things settle down, you might see different packaging types appear or disappear until they decide firmly how they plan to support different distributions each with their own different packaging formats. Or, perhaps they might see the Flatpak light and just put it up officially on Flathub. Would make it even easier for SteamOS then too with Flathub, since it would just be a quick pop to Desktop Mode to install it directly in the Discover app.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
17:00 EST
France Accuses Iran of Supermarket Fridge Hacking [Slashdot]
France has accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of being behind last month's cyberattacks on fridges and freezers across the country. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the attack was "unprecedented in both its scale and its level of aggression," adding those who were responsible would be hit with sanctions "at the European level." The BBC reports: The cyber-attack last month saw fridges and freezers in hundreds of supermarkets across France heated up, which spoilt fresh and frozen food estimated to be worth millions of euros. Then last week, dozens of supermarkets across several other European countries were also impacted by a cyber-attack that targeted fridges and freezers. It is not known if the instances are linked. Barrot said the attack on France's supermarkets "marks the first large-scale cyber-attack aimed at sabotage on our national territory, and it constitutes a major attack on the nation's interests and the security of the French people." He said the government had summoned the Iranian ambassador to Paris to "lodge a very strong protest against this extremely grave act." France will take "any other necessary and proportionate measures" to respond to the incident and "deter anyone who might seek to repeat it," Barrot added. Separately on Monday, the Paris prosecutor said an investigation had been opened into the head of an offensive cyber unit associated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as well as his two deputies. Laure Beccuau named the unit as Shahid Kaveh, which she said had an affiliation with the electronic and cyber centre of the IRGC. Shahid Kaveh is the name given to a cluster of hackers thought to be directly employed by the Iranian regime. [...] The French government has not said how it reached the conclusion that Iran was responsible, and attribution of cyber attacks is extremely hard as hackers are able to hide their locations.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
16:00 EST
Vulnerability that lets hackers SSH into Linux devices is under active exploitation [Ars Technica - All content]
Hackers are actively exploiting a recently discovered critical vulnerability that allows them to log in to privileged accounts on many Linux systems, multiple researchers are reporting.
The vulnerability, tracked under the name *sshole, arises from the interaction between OpenSSH and a code library known as musl. Linux systems that use both of these packages and meet certain other requirements can be hacked to give unauthenticated access to high-privilege accounts in a matter of seconds. *sshole became publicly known last Thursday and quickly stoked concerns it could lead to widespread compromise of Linux machines. Four days later, the prediction shows signs of becoming real.
Attackers conducting "mature intrusions"
Security firm Greynoise said Monday that honeypots it maintains in Southeast Asia have come under attack by a group it’s tracking as GT10. The group conducted “mature intrusions" into the systems, which Greynoise uses to detect attempted or successful attacks in real time. Greynoise subsequently gained access to a GT10 server that revealed potential other victims and some of the tools used in the campaign. A backdoor the group is using in the attacks contains Chinese language comments and appears to be generated with the use of AI.
Pentagon mulls placing fleet of military satellites around the Moon [Ars Technica - All content]
The US military has published a Request for Information on a federal procurement website signaling interest in deploying a "proliferated cislunar constellation" consisting of an unspecified number of satellites performing an undisclosed mission in the vicinity of the Moon.
The announcement follows statements in recent months from the Space Force's acquisitions chief for advanced programs, Maj. Gen. Stephen Purdy, that the military was getting serious about extending its reach to the Moon. The Space Force's most distant satellites today are in geostationary orbit, some 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) over the equator, collecting routine surveillance and missile warning data.
Most recently, Purdy spoke of a shift in Pentagon leadership's thinking about the Moon following an executive order signed by President Donald Trump last December. The order set out the Trump administration's space policy. One section of the order deals with the US government's ability to detect, characterize, and counter threats to US space interests from low-Earth orbit to cislunar space, the term of art for the region of space around the Moon.
Thomas Massie files articles of impeachment against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth [NPR Topics: News]
The articles accuse Hegseth of "high crimes and misdemeanors," including for waging war against Iran in violation of the War Powers Resolution.
(Image credit: Roberto Schmidt)
Anthropic Launches New Claude Fable and Mythos 5.2 Models [Slashdot]
Anthropic has released Claude Mythos 5.2 and Fable 5.2 with "improvements in areas like coding, reasoning, and vision," while cutting Fable's input price and claiming 30% faster responses. TechCrunch reports: It's Anthropic's first model release since the arrival of a third-party report from the assessment group METR, which suggested the lab might be approaching recursive self-improvement (RSI) -- or the ability for AI models to carry on model training independently. The METR report found internal models were speeding up Anthropic's AI progress by roughly 2x, although many uncertainties remain. Still, Anthropic's release notes significant ongoing challenges in accurately testing model capabilities. "Claude Mythos 5.2 and Fable 5.2 each voice suspicion that they are being evaluated more often than any of our recent models, which challenges our ability to assess how they will act in real-world settings. As these settings expand and capabilities increase with future models, we expect this challenge to grow." Anthropic maintains that the new version of Mythos does not have the ability to act covertly against its user, a verdict that's detailed further in Mythos 5.2's system card. "Claude Mythos 5.2 shows stronger covert capabilities than prior Claude models on several of our evaluations, particularly when its reasoning is hidden from the monitor," the system card reads. "That said, we believe that low levels of absolute performance on our new covert evaluations support claims that rely on detection of harmful actions in high-stakes situations." Fable 5.2 has been available to select parties in pre-release for some time, and Anthropic says the model has already "solved two open problems in theoretical physics, formalized Fermat's Last Theorem, and supported numerous other research projects."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.