AI Art Video

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Intelligent automation

Intelligent automation (IA), or intelligent process automation, is a software term that refers to a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotic process automation (RPA). Companies use intelligent automation to cut costs and streamline tasks by using artificial-intelligence-powered robotic software to mitigate repetitive tasks. As it accumulates data, the system learns in an effort to improve its efficiency. Intelligent automation applications consist of, but are not limited to, pattern analysis, data assembly, and classification. The term is similar to hyperautomation, a concept identified by research group Gartner as being one of the top technology trends of 2020. == Technology == Intelligent automation applies the assembly line concept of breaking tasks into repetitive steps to improve business processes. Rather than having humans perform each step, intelligent automation can replace steps with an intelligent software robot, improving efficiency. Intelligent automation integrates robotic process automation (RPA) with artificial intelligence techniques (such as machine learning, natural-language processing, and computer vision) enabling systems to interpret data, make decisions, and adapt to changing inputs. Modern platforms use a layered architecture combining workflow orchestration, low-code tools, integration middleware, and AI services to coordinate bots and data pipelines across organisational systems. == Applications == Intelligent automation is used to process unstructured content. Common real-world applications include self-driving cars, self-checkouts at grocery stores, smart home assistants, and appliances. Businesses can apply data and machine learning to build predictive analytics that react to consumer behavior changes, or to implement RPA to improve manufacturing floor operations. For example, the technology has also been used to automate the workflow behind distributing COVID-19 vaccines. Data provided by hospital systems’ electronic health records can be processed to identify and educate patients, and schedule vaccinations. Intelligent automation can provide real-time insights on profitability and efficiency. However, in an April 2022 survey by Alchemmy, despite three quarters of businesses acknowledging the importance of Artificial Intelligence to their future development, just a quarter of business leaders (25%) considered Intelligent Automation a “game changer” in understanding current performance. 42% of CTOs see “shortage of talent” as the main obstacle to implementing Intelligent Automation in their business, while 36% of CEOs see ‘upskilling and professional development of existing workforce’ as the most significant adoption barrier. IA is becoming increasingly accessible for firms of all sizes. With this in mind, it is expected to continue to grow rapidly in all industries. This technology has the potential to change the workforce. As it advances, it will be able to perform increasingly complex and difficult tasks. In addition, this may expose certain workforce issues as well as change how tasks are allocated. Tools such as Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit and Enterprise AIO reflect these developments by analysing how entities are referenced and represented within responses produced by large-language-model-based systems. == Benefits == Streamline processes: Repetitive manual tasks can put a strain on the workforce. However, with AI agents, these tasks can be automated to allow teams to focus on more important matters that require human cognition. Intelligent automation can also be used to mitigate tasks with human error which in turn increases proficiency. This allows the opportunity for firms to scale production without the traditional negative consequences such as reduced quality or increased risk. Customer service improvement: Customer service can be significantly improved, providing the firm with a competitive advantage. IA utilizing chat features allows for instant curated responses to customers. In addition, it can give updates to customers, make appointments, manage calls, and personalize campaigns. Flexibility: Due to the wide range of applications, IA is useful across a variety of fields, technologies, projects and industries. In addition, IA can be integrated with current automated systems in place. This allows for optimized systems unique to each firm to best fit their individual needs. == Capabilities == Cognitive automation: Employs AI techniques to assist humans in decision-making and task completion Natural language processing: Allows computers to automate knowledge work Business process management: Enhances the consistency and agility of corporate operations Process mining: Applies data mining methods to discover, analyze, and improve business processes Intelligent document processing: Utilizes OCR and other advanced technologies to extract data from documents and convert it into structured, usable data Computer vision: Allows computers to extract information from digital images, videos, and other visual inputs Integration automation: Establishes a unified platform with automated workflows that integrate data, applications, and devices.
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Single address space operating system

In computer science, a single address space operating system (or SASOS) is an operating system that provides only one globally shared address space for all processes. In a single address space operating system, numerically identical (virtual memory) logical addresses in different processes all refer to exactly the same byte of data. In a traditional OS with private per-process address space, memory protection is based on address space boundaries ("address space isolation"). Single address-space operating systems make translation and protection orthogonal, which in no way weakens protection. The core advantage is that pointers (i.e. memory references) have global validity, meaning their meaning is independent of the process using it. This allows sharing pointer-connected data structures across processes, and making them persistent, i.e. storing them on backup store. Some processor architectures have direct support for protection independent of translation. On such architectures, a SASOS may be able to perform context switches faster than a traditional OS. Such architectures include Itanium, and Version 5 of the Arm architecture, as well as capability architectures such as CHERI. A SASOS should not be confused with a flat memory model, which provides no address translation and generally no memory protection. In contrast, a SASOS makes protection orthogonal to translation: it may be possible to name a data item (i.e. know its virtual address) while not being able to access it. SASOS projects using hardware-based protection include the following: Angel IBM i (formerly called OS/400) Iguana at NICTA, Australia Mungi at NICTA, Australia Nemesis Opal Scout Sombrero Related are OSes that provide protection through language-level type safety: Br1X Genera JX a research Java OS Phantom OS Singularity Theseus OS Torsion
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Amino (app)

Amino was a social media application originally developed by Narvii, Inc. It was originally created by Yin Wang and Ben Anderson in 2010, and then launched as an app in 2012. Amino was acquired by MediaLab AI Inc in January 2021, and the founders are no longer associated with the application. The platform ceased all operations in December 2025. == History == In 2010, Wang and Anderson came up with the idea for a convention-like community while attending an anime convention in Boston, Massachusetts. Later that year, they would release two apps revolving around K-pop and photography that allowed fans of those subjects to chat freely. That same year, Amino was officially released. === Shutdown === In early December 2025, the Amino platform abruptly stopped all operations. Users worldwide lost access to the mobile application and website, with server requests returning connection time-out errors. Parent company MediaLab AI has issued no official statement regarding the cause to date, or declared any possible cause behind it. === Final Message === According to Shawn, a member of Amino support, Amino has ceased operations as of December 19th. The message that was sent out from Shawn reads: "Hey there, Thanks for your message. Amino has ceased operations. As of December 19th, we no longer retain personal data relating to you. Accordingly, we are unable to provide a copy of your data. Kind regards, - Amino Support" This message was sent on January 4th, 2026. This was the final support message sent from the Amino Support mail. == Growth == Amino received 1.65 million dollars of seed funding in 2014, primarily from Union Ventures. Some additional seed investors include Google Ventures, SV Angel, Box Group, and other interested parties. By July 2014, Amino's apps were downloaded 500,000 times. Though only having 15 communities at that time, Amino eventually grew to have 41 communities in September 2015. Amino's apps had been downloaded 13 million times by July 2016. Fandoms had migrated from websites like Facebook and Reddit to Amino, partly because of the app's mobile-native experience. Before 2016, when a user wanted to join a new Amino, they had to download another app for the Amino they wanted to join, with each apps name beginning with "Amino for:". In 2016, Amino Apps launched a centralized portal that hosted every Amino community in one app, meaning users no longer had to download multiple apps. In July of the same year, ACM, an app that allowed users to create their own communities, was launched. This resulted in the number of communities on Amino skyrocketing to over 2.5 million as of June 2018. == Features == The main feature of Amino was communities dedicated to a certain topic that users could join. Users could also chat with other members of a community in three ways: text, voice, or screening room, which allowed users to watch videos together while voice chatting. Other features include polls, blog posts, image posts, wiki entries, stories, and quizzes. In some cases, posts that were very well-made and had been noticed by a community's administration would end up receiving a feature, making it appear on the front page along with other featured content. In 2018, a premium membership option called Amino+ was added. Amino+ comes with additional features such as exclusive stickers, the ability to make stickers, custom chat bubbles, high resolution images, and other perks. Membership can now only be purchased with money. Amino coins can be purchased or earned through enabling ads, watching ad videos, completing activities on the Offer Wall, and playing Lucky Draw when checking in, but are of little use due to the users not being able to buy Amino+ by amino coins anymore. Members can give and receive coins through props. In 2019, Amino introduced six original short-form animated series, labelled "Amino Originals," produced by independent artists from across the internet. ATJ's "Little Red," a re-imagining of Little Red Riding Hood, premiered on November 15, 2019. "Little Red" was joined by five other shows in late December. Sophie Feher's "The Reef," a comedy featuring an aspiring marine biologist meeting a merman, premiered on December 27 alongside "Princely," an LGBT fairy tale created by Matt Bruneau-Richardson of Tiny Siren Animation. "Spaced Out," an alien abduction comedy by Michael Jae, and YouTuber Alex Clark's "Wyndvania II" premiered on December 28. Mysie Pereira's fairy tale "Turned to Stone" and Marcin Pawlowski's "Stranded" premiered on December 29, 2019. == Administration == On each community, there are two types of staff members, these being ‘Leader’ and ‘Curator.’ Leaders are higher rank than curators. Curators are usually the ones who feature posts, or post important announcements for users to see. Curators are able to disable a post or public chat, delete comments or chat threads, manage featured content, manage posts in topic categories, and approve Wiki entries. Leaders have more power than curators. In addition to curator powers, leaders can submit a community to be listed, change the Amino's features, change navigation, alter the community appearance, change the Amino's privacy settings, manage the Amino's join requests, send invites, appoint or demote Curators, strike or ban members, manage flagged content, change users' custom titles, manage topics and wiki categories, and create broadcasts (notifications sent for posts). One leader will have the status of agent. An agent is the primary leader of a community; the person who created the community is automatically agent. An agent has the ability to delete their community as long as it is not too large or too active. An agent can appoint and remove both leaders and curators. Agent status can be transferred voluntarily to another leader, curator, or community member. If an agent is inactive, Team Amino may assist in transferring agent status. == Apps == === Amino Community Manager === Otherwise known as ACM, this application is what users use to create and manage their own community in Amino. This app allows moderators to customize a community's theme, icon, and categories. ACM also allows moderation to customize community descriptions, pick leaders, change language settings, create a tagline for the community, change the home page lay out, alter the side navigation menu, and more. Unlisted communities are able to change their community's title and Amino ID, but this is not an option once a community is listed. A leader can use ACM to submit a request for their community to be listed on the explore page, after which the community will be reviewed by Team Amino for approval. Communities can be deleted on ACM, but only by the agent of that community. == Guidelines == Amino has a set of guidelines that all communities must comply with. Amino does not allow harassment or hate, spam or self-promotion (including promotion of one's own Amino community), sexual/NSFW content, self harm, real graphic/gross content (fictional content is generally acceptable), unsafe/illegal content, or content that violates copyright. Communities are allowed to have additional rules so long as they do not violate Amino's rules. In addition to Amino's rules, users are required to be at least 13 years of age in the U.S. and 16 years of age in European Union countries. While sexual imagery is not allowed in any community and text based sexual content is not allowed in public areas, some private communities are allowed to discuss sexual themes. However, they are not exempt from Amino's rules on NSFW content. If guidelines are broken, a leader may disable content or impose a warning, strike, or ban, depending on the severity of the infringement. A warning is a message informing the user that they have violated a guideline and may face further punishment unless they change their behaviour. A strike will put the user in read-only mode for up to 24 hours; this mode prevents the user from posting, chatting, or interacting with posts in that community. A ban removes the user from the community. Team Amino can separately issue users with strikes or bans across the entire platform. == Controversies == In 2017, organizations in Argentina for the protection of minors reported inappropriate material on the app, ranging from pornography to material promoting suicide to underage users. In 2019, Abilene police in Texas released a statement that sexual predators were using Amino chat rooms to approach minors. In 2020, authorities from the Christian County in the state of Kentucky alerted parents about possible sexual predators on Amino. In 2025, the British Police identified Amino as one of several platforms used by a child exploitation network that had previously extorted minors in different countries in Europe and North America. Several families reported to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children that pedophiles were using the app for the purpose of sexual role-playing with minors, c
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Virtual advertising

Virtual advertising is the use of digital technology to insert virtual advertisements into a live or pre-recorded television show, often in sports events. This technique is often used to allow broadcasters to overlay existing physical advertising panels inside the sports venue with virtual content on the screen when broadcasting the same event in multiple regions; a Spanish football game can be broadcast in Mexico with Mexican advertisements. Similarly, virtual content can be inserted onto empty space within the sports venue such as the pitch, where physical advertising cannot be placed due to regulatory or safety reasons. Virtual advertising content is intended to be photorealistic, so that the viewer has the impression they are seeing the real in-stadium advertising. == History == Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, advertising on television and in newspapers was a popular method of spreading information. The marketer Jeremiah Lynwood stated that "Thirty years ago, [U.S.] consumers viewed an average of 560 ads per day", mostly from newspapers, television shows, gasoline pumps, and so on. Lynwood also stated that, at the time, "American consumers may be exposed to 3,000 commercial messages every day". Within that time frame, the exposure of daily ads have supported many local and big businesses. With the arrival of the 2000s and 2010s, technological advances have created new opportunities for many businesses to grow. In the 21st century, virtual advertising has been used to create virtual product placements in television shows hours, days, or years after they have been produced. Advertisements can be targeted to regional markets and updated over time to ensure maximum efficiency of advertising money. A good example of how virtual advertising is used in everyday life is in sports. Virtual advertising uses the latest technology to place an ad in position to the field of play, regardless of camera motion, and the players' movement over the logos. Recently, the NHL have virtually inserted sponsors on the glass above the physical boards in NHL stadiums. Big brands will not spend their time or money on hitting a certain region when their main goal is to build global brand awareness. Digital signage opportunities allow these larger brands to purchase signage in a stadium during games that are instead nationally televised. This gets even more expansive thanks to social media outlets like Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon. On the other hand, local businesses sign when there are smaller games going on. The signage is much more affordable and still reaches a vast number of people. Virtual advertising may even make live attendance more attractive to sport fans because the technology allows the playing field and surrounding areas to be cleared of advertisements while television viewers at home are exposed to commercials. For the most part, virtual advertising makes a live attendance more attractive to sports fans, because instead of being at home watching commercials, live fans are able to be clear of advertisements and enjoy the game without pop-up ads. == Technology == The technology used in virtual insertions often uses automated processes such as: automatic detection of playfield limits, automatic detection of cuts, recognition of playfield surface, recognition of existing logos for logo replacements, etc. An operator is usually dedicated to the visual control of the effect but new systems allow to use the instant replay operator. == Examples == === Live events === Virtual advertisements can be effectively integrated into live television in real-time. For example, Fox Sports Net places a virtual advertisement on the glass behind the goaltender that can only be seen on television. The advertising in the playfields is property of the club, except in some professional sports where the league or federation owns the advertising rights. However, the advertising rights broadcast on the screen are property of the broadcasters or the TV channel. This means that second right holders can benefit from selling this virtual advertising. The number of TV viewers is also higher than the people in the stadium, generating more visibility to the advertised marks and more income to the broadcasters. Virtual advertising was first introduced in football during the 2015 Audi Cup at the Allianz Arena in Munich. AIM Sport implemented the technology to digitally overlay advertisements on the stadium's perimeter boards, allowing different sponsors to be displayed to viewers in different broadcast regions. In Formula One, virtual ads are placed on the grass or as virtual billboards. In baseball, Major League Baseball places virtual advertisements on a back-board behind the batter which can be targeted differently in local markets or countries. During the World Series, MLB international broadcasts of the World Series feature different advertisements on a per market basis, showing a different ad in the US, Canadian, Latin American and Japanese markets. In tennis, e.g. during the 2019 ATP Finals in London's O2 Arena certain logos in the background were replaced for various country feeds. In table tennis e.g. during the ITTF World Tour Australian Open 2019 virtual advertising overlays were used by uniqFEED AG in Switzerland. Since the 2022–23 season, the National Hockey League (NHL) has used digitally enhanced dasherboards (DED) to erase and replace ads on each arena's boards with up to 120 thirty-second segments on all or part of the rink. Each broadcaster can use a different set of ads. DED were first used at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which was organized by the NHL. At UEFA Euro 2024, AIM Sport provided virtual advertising for all matches, marking one of the largest implementations of the technology in an international tournament. In addition to the tournament itself, virtual advertising was also used in the participating teams' domestic matches, extending region-specific advertising beyond the competition itself.
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Sensory, Inc.

Sensory, Inc. is an American company which develops software AI technologies for speech, sound and vision. It is based in Santa Clara, California. Sensory’s technologies have shipped in over three billion products from hundreds of leading consumer electronics manufacturers including AT&T, Hasbro, Huawei, Google, Amazon, Samsung, LG, Mattel, Motorola, Plantronics, GoPro, Sony, Tencent, Garmin, LG, Microsoft, Lenovo, and more. Sensory has over 60 issued patents covering speech recognition in consumer electronics, biometric authentication, sensor/speech combinations, wake word technology, and more. == History == Sensory, Inc. was founded in 1994, originally as Sensory Circuits, by Forrest Mozer, Mike Mozer and Todd Mozer. The three had also co-founded ESS Technology years earlier. In 1999 Sensory acquired Fluent Speech Technologies, which was formed and started by a group of professors out of the Oregon Graduate Institute (formerly OGI, now OHSU). Fluent Speech Technologies developed high performance embedded speech engines, the technology from this acquisition is now the core technology used throughout Sensory's chip and software line. === Company timeline === 1994 – Founded 1995 – Introduces the RSC 164 - first commercially successful speech recognition IC 1998 – Introduces first speaker verification IC 2000 – Acquires Oregon based Fluent-Speech Technologies 2002 – Acquires Texas Instruments line of speech output ICs (the SC series) 2007 – Introduces first Voice User Interface for Bluetooth silicon (CSR BC-5) - BlueGenie 2008 - Sensory and BlueAnt partner on the V1 - Revolutionary new Bluetooth headset with a voice user interface. First wearable to use a voice user interface for control and best-reviewed speech recognition product in history 2009 – Introduced world's smallest text to speech system (TTS) and Truly HandsfreeTM Triggers/ wake words. 2010 – Introduced the NLP-5x – First Natural Language Voice Processor and TrulyHandsfree wake words in SDKs for Android, iOS, Linux, and Windows. NLP5x used the first generation of TrulyHandsfree wake words with low power and enhanced accuracy. 2011 – Sensory partners with Google and Microsoft to enable TrulyHandsfree as a front end to Goog411 and Bing411 2012 – Partnered with Tensilica to offer ultra-low power TrulyHandsfree wake words; introduced Speaker Verification and Speaker Identification for mobile phones and other consumer electronics. 2012 - TrulyHandsfree released into Samsung's Galaxy S2 for "Hey Galaxy" wake word 2013 – TrulyHandsfree wake words migrated to many new platforms and began shipping as MotoVoice in the Google-owned MotoX. Sensory's TrulyHandsfree in mobile takes off with the Galaxy S3 and S4 and Galaxy Note and is licensed into wearables like Google Glass. 2014 – Announced new initiative in Vision; added LG and Motorola as customers; received the 2014 Global Mobile Award for Best Mobile Technology Breakthrough at the GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain (judges commented, "A big advance for the wearables market, this offers many benefits for consumers, increasing uptake and usage of many mobile apps, driving revenue for operators and content providers.") 2015-2018 - Licensed Google, Amazon, MSFT, Baidu, Huawei, ZTE, and many others with TrulyHandsfree wake words. Sensory develops first wake words for OK Google, Hey Siri, and Hey Cortana. 2019 - Sensory launched two new solutions: SoundID, sound identification, and TrulyNatural, embedded large vocabulary speech recognition. Sensory also acquired Vocalize.ai, an independent testing lab. 2020 - Sensory introduced VoiceHub, which allows the automated generation of wake words. 2021 - Sensory expands VoiceHub with speech recognition and NLU capabilities. The company initiated a new cloud platform, SensoryCloud.ai. 2022-Sensory rolls out SensoryCloud.ai with speech to text, text to speech, face & voice biometrics 2024- Sensory Automotive & TrulyNatural Speech-to-text On-Device launched == Technology and products == Sensory originally developed both hardware (Integrated Circuit - IC or "chip") and software platforms but migrated to software only around 2005 and added cloud and hybrid computing capabilities in 2021. Sensory's RSC-164 IC (Integrated Circuit or "chip") was used on NASA's Mars Polar Lander in the Mars Microphone on the Lander. Speech Synthesis SC-6x chips – acquired some speech synthesis technology from Texas Instruments. Sensory’s embedded AI solutions include the following: TrulyHandsfree (THF) - wake word detection and phrase spotting. TrulyNatural (TNL) - large vocabulary continuous speech recognition with NLU. TrulySecure (TS) - face and voice biometrics. TrulySecureSpeakerVerification (TSSV) - speaker and sound identification. VoiceHub - Online portal for creating custom wake words and speech recognition models with NLU. Sensory Automotive- Sensory Automotive is a full voice and vision suite of AI technologies that operate efficiently in the car without connecting to a network. The cloud initiative, SensoryCloud.ai, is targeting Speech To Text (STT), Text To Speech (TTS), Wake Word verification, face and voice recognition, and sound identification.
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Extremely online

An extremely online (often capitalized), terminally online, or chronically online person is someone who is closely engaged with Internet culture. People said to be extremely online often believe that online posts are very important. Events and phenomena can themselves be extremely online; while often used as a descriptive term, the phenomenon of extreme online usage has been described as "both a reformation of the delivery of ideas – shared through words and videos and memes and GIFs and copypasta – and the ideas themselves". Here, "online" is used to describe "a way of doing things, not [simply] the place they are done". == Criteria == While the term was in use as early as 2014, it gained popularity over the latter half of the 2010s in conjunction with the increasing prevalence and notability of Internet phenomena in all areas of life. Extremely online people, according to The Daily Dot, are interested in topics "no normal, healthy person could possibly care about", and have been analogized to "pop culture fandoms, just without the pop". Extremely online phenomena such as fan culture and reaction GIFs have been described as "swallowing democracy" by journalists such as Amanda Hess in The New York Times, who claimed that a "great convergence between politics and culture, values and aesthetics, citizenship and commercialism" had become "a dominant mode of experiencing politics". Vulture – formerly the pop culture section of New York magazine, now a stand-alone website – has a section for articles tagged "extremely online". == Historical background == In the 2010s, many categories and labels came into wide use from media outlets to describe Internet-mediated cultural trends, such as the alt-right, the dirtbag left, and doomerism. These ideological categories are often defined by their close association with online discourse. For example, the term "alt-right" was added to the Associated Press' stylebook in 2016 to describe the "digital presence" of far-right ideologies, the dirtbag left refers to a group of "underemployed and overly online millennials" who "have no time for the pieties of traditional political discourse", and the doomer's "blackpilled despair" is combined with spending "too much time on message boards in high school" to produce an eclectic "anti-socialism". Extreme onlineness transcends ideological boundaries. For example, right-wing figures like Alex Jones and Laura Loomer have been described as "extremely online", but so have those on the left like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and fans of the Chapo Trap House podcast. Extremely online phenomena can range from acts of offline violence (such as the 2019 Christchurch shootings) to "[going] on NPR to explain the anti-capitalist irony inherent in kids eating Tide Pods". United States President Donald Trump's posts on social media have been frequently cited as extremely online, during both his presidency and his 2020 presidential campaign; Vox claimed his approach to re-election veered into being "Too Online", and Reason questioned whether the final presidential debate was "incomprehensible to normies". While individual people are often given the description, being extremely online has also been posited as an overall cultural phenomenon, applying to trends like lifestyle movements suffixed with "-wave" and "-core" based heavily on Internet media, as well as an increasing expectation for digital social researchers to have an "online presence" to advance in their careers. == Participants and media coverage == One example of a phenomenon considered to be extremely online is the "wife guy" (a guy who posts about his wife); despite being a "stupid online thing" which spent several years as a piece of Internet slang, in 2019 it became the subject of five articles in leading U.S. media outlets. Like many extremely online phrases and phenomena, the "wife guy" has been attributed in part to the in-character Twitter account dril. The account frequently parodies how people behave on the Internet, and has been widely cited as influential on online culture. In one tweet, his character refuses to stop using the Internet, even when someone shouts outside his house that he should log off. Many of dril's other coinages have become ubiquitous parts of Internet slang. Throughout the 2010s, posters such as dril inspired commonly used terms like "corncobbing" (referring to someone losing an argument and failing to admit it); while originally a piece of obscure Internet slang used on sites like Twitter, use of the term (and controversy over its misinterpretation) became a subject of reporting from traditional publications, with some noting that keeping up with the rapid turnover of inside jokes, memes, and quotes online required daily attention to avoid embarrassment. Twitch has been described as "talk radio for the extremely online". Another example of an event cited as extremely online is No Nut November. Increasingly, researchers are expected to have more of an online presence, to advance in their careers, as networking and portfolios continue to transition to the digital world. In November 2020, an article in The Washington Post criticized the filter bubble theory of online discourse on the basis that it "overgeneralized" based on a "small subset of extremely online people". The 2021 storming of the United States Capitol was described as extremely online, with "pro-Trump internet personalities", such as Baked Alaska, and fans livestreaming and taking selfies. People who have been described as extremely online include Chrissy Teigen, Jon Ossoff, and Andrew Yang. In contrast, Joe Biden has been cited as the antithesis of extremely online—The New York Times wrote in 2019 that he had "zero meme energy".
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CU-RTC-WEB

Customizable, Ubiquitous Real Time Communication over the Web is an API definition being drafted by Bernard Aboba at Microsoft. It is a competing standard to WebRTC, which drafted by a World Wide Web Consortium working group since May 2011. As of 2024, CU-RTC-WEB is still in the drafting phase, with ongoing discussions and contributions from various stakeholders in the tech community. Bernard Aboba, who serves as a co-chair of the W3C WebRTC Working Group, is actively involved in both CU-RTC-WEB and WebRTC, indicating a commitment to advancing real-time communication standards across platforms.
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Cardiovascular health awareness in Nepal

Cardiovascular health awareness in Nepal has improved in recent times. It has emerged as a cost-effective tool for prevention of heart disease in recent years. == Background == Cardiovascular diseases in Nepal is responsible for maximum number of deaths and rapid urbanization possess extra threat in this situation emphasizing need for widespread awareness campaigns. Efforts to enhance cardiovascular health awareness among the general public, particularly through social media platforms, have proven pivotal in motivating individuals to adopt healthier lifestyle choices and improve heart health in Nepal in recent years. These awareness initiatives, often organized on special occasions such as World Heart Day of World Heart Federation, World Hypertension Day, and World Health Day of World Health Organization, have garnered active participation from the public, reflecting a growing interest in health-related information. Notably, various hospitals, organizations, and health professionals actively contribute to cardiovascular health awareness in Nepal. The prevalence of heart health-related content on social media platforms indicates a substantial dissemination of information. The engagement of a large number of followers underscores the audience's keen interest in health matters, evident in the significant engagement on various social media accounts and pages. During an event of cardiovascular health awareness a Guinness World Record was achieved on World Heart Day 2023. A Facebook live awareness programme on heart health prevention attracted 11,212 viewers during the 30-minute presentation and was awarded the "Most viewers for a cardiovascular health awareness live stream on Facebook" by Guinness World Record signifying depth of public involvement and importance of social media use in health awareness. In 2014, a 11-day heart camp was conducted in Nepal to raise awareness . In 2015, a is a heart health education program " Mission to Save Heart" was conducted to empower health professionals to manage heart attacks and reduce heart disease deaths.
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Index locking

In databases an index is a data structure, part of the database, used by a database system to efficiently navigate access to user data. Index data are system data distinct from user data, and consist primarily of pointers. Changes in a database (by insert, delete, or modify operations), may require indexes to be updated to maintain accurate user data accesses. Index locking is a technique used to maintain index integrity. A portion of an index is locked during a database transaction when this portion is being accessed by the transaction as a result of attempt to access related user data. Additionally, special database system transactions (not user-invoked transactions) may be invoked to maintain and modify an index, as part of a system's self-maintenance activities. When a portion of an index is locked by a transaction, other transactions may be blocked from accessing this index portion (blocked from modifying, and even from reading it, depending on lock type and needed operation). Index Locking Protocol guarantees that phantom read phenomenon won't occur. Index locking protocol states: Every relation must have at least one index. A transaction can access tuples only after finding them through one or more indices on the relation A transaction Ti that performs a lookup must lock all the index leaf nodes that it accesses, in S-mode, even if the leaf node does not contain any tuple satisfying the index lookup (e.g. for a range query, no tuple in a leaf is in the range) A transaction Ti that inserts, updates or deletes a tuple ti in a relation r must update all indices to r and it must obtain exclusive locks on all index leaf nodes affected by the insert/update/delete The rules of the two-phase locking protocol must be observed. Specialized concurrency control techniques exist for accessing indexes. These techniques depend on the index type, and take advantage of its structure. They are typically much more effective than applying to indexes common concurrency control methods applied to user data. Notable and widely researched are specialized techniques for B-trees (B-Tree concurrency control) which are regularly used as database indexes. Index locks are used to coordinate threads accessing indexes concurrently, and typically shorter-lived than the common transaction locks on user data. In professional literature, they are often called latches.
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Fifth Estate

The Fifth Estate is a socio-cultural reference to groupings of outlier viewpoints in contemporary society, and is most associated with bloggers, journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and online social networks. The "Fifth" Estate extends the sequence of the three classical estates (clergy (first), nobility (second), commoners (third)) and the preceding Fourth Estate, essentially the common press. The use of "fifth estate" dates to the 1960s counterculture, and in particular the influential Fifth Estate, an underground newspaper first published in Detroit in 1965. Web-based technologies have enhanced the scope and power of the Fifth Estate far beyond the modest and boutique conditions of its beginnings. Nimmo and Combs asserted in 1992 that political pundits constitute a Fifth Estate. Media researcher Stephen D. Cooper argued in 2006 that bloggers are the Fifth Estate. In 2009, William Dutton argued that the Fifth Estate is not just the blogging community, nor an extension of the media, but "networked individuals" enabled by the Internet, e.g. social media, in ways that can hold the other estates accountable.
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Web worker

A web worker, as defined by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG), is a JavaScript script executed from an HTML page that runs in the background, independently of scripts that may also have been executed from the same HTML page. Web workers are often able to utilize multi-core CPUs more effectively. The W3C and WHATWG envision web workers as long-running scripts that are not interrupted by scripts that respond to clicks or other user interactions. Keeping such workers from being interrupted by user activities should allow Web pages to remain responsive at the same time as they are running long tasks in the background. The web worker specification is part of the HTML Living Standard. == Overview == As envisioned by WHATWG, web workers are relatively heavy-weight and are not intended to be used in large numbers. They are expected to be long-lived, with a high start-up performance cost, and a high per-instance memory cost. Web workers run outside the context of an HTML document's scripts. Consequently, while they do not have access to the DOM, they can facilitate concurrent execution of JavaScript programs. == Features == Web workers interact with the main document via message passing. The following code creates a Worker that will execute the JavaScript in the given file. To send a message to the worker, the postMessage method of the worker object is used as shown below. The onmessage property uses an event handler to retrieve information from a worker. Once a worker is terminated, it goes out of scope and the variable referencing it becomes undefined; at this point a new worker has to be created if needed. == Example == The simplest use of web workers is for performing a computationally expensive task without interrupting the user interface. In this example, the main document spawns a web worker to compute prime numbers, and progressively displays the most recently found prime number. The main page is as follows: The Worker() constructor call creates a web worker and returns a worker object representing that web worker, which is used to communicate with the web worker. That object's onmessage event handler allows the code to receive messages from the web worker. The Web Worker itself is as follows: To send a message back to the page, the postMessage() method is used to post a message when a prime is found. == Support == If the browser supports web workers, a Worker property will be available on the global window object. The Worker property will be undefined if the browser does not support it. The following example code checks for web worker support on a browser Web workers are currently supported by Chrome, Opera, Edge, Internet Explorer (version 10), Mozilla Firefox, and Safari. Mobile Safari for iOS has supported web workers since iOS 5. The Android browser first supported web workers in Android 2.1, but support was removed in Android versions 2.2–4.3 before being restored in Android 4.4.
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Digital media in education

Digital media in education refers to the use of digital technologies to support and enhance teaching and learning processes. This includes the application of multiple digital software applications, devices, and online platforms as tools for learning. Learners interact with these technologies to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media content and communication in various forms. The integration of digital media in education has dramatically increased over time, significantly transforming traditional educational practices. When viewed through a global and inclusive lens, digital education should be guided by principles of equity, inclusion, and public infrastructure to ensure meaningful participation of all learners. == History == === 20th century === Technological advances in the 20th century, particularly the invention of the Internet, laid the foundation for incorporating technology into education. In the early 1900s, the overhead projector and instructional radio broadcasts were among the first technologies used for educational purposes. The introduction of computers in classrooms occurred in 1950, when a flight simulation program was developed to train pilots at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, access to computers remained extremely limited for several decades. In 1964, John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz developed the BASIC programming language, which simplified computer interaction and introduced time-sharing, enabling multiple users to work on the same system simultaneously. This innovation made computing increasingly accessible for educational settings. By the 1980s, schools began to show more interest in computers as companies released mass-market devices to the public. Networking further enabled the interconnection of computers into unified communication systems, which proved more efficient and cost-effective than previous stand-alone machines. This development prompted wider adoption of computing in educational institutions. The invention of the World Wide Web in 1992 further simplified internet navigation and sparked further interest in educational settings. Initially, computers were integrated into school curricula for tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet creation, and data organization. By the late 1990s, the Internet became a research tool, functioning as a vast library. By 1999, 99% of public school teachers in the United States reported having access to at least one computer in their schools, and 84% had a computer available in their classrooms. The emergence of World Wide Web also contributed to the development of learning management systems (LMS), which allowed educators to create online teaching environments for content storage, student activities, discussions, and assignments. Advances in digital compression and high-speed Internet made video creation and distribution more affordable, fostering the use of the systems designed for recording lectures. These tools were often incorporated into learning management platforms, supporting the expansion of fully online courses. === 21st century === By 2002, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology began offering recorded lectures to the public, marking a significant milestone in the movement toward accessible online education. The launch of YouTube in 2005 further transformed educational content distribution. Educators increasingly uploaded lectures and instructional videos on platforms with initiatives like Khan Academy, which was active in 2006, contributing to You Tube's role as a prominent educational resource. In 2007, Apple launched iTunesU, another platform for sharing educational resources and videos. Meanwhile, learning management systems gained popularity, with Blackboard and Canvas becoming two of the most widely used platforms with Canvas's release in 2008. That same year also marked the introduction of the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), which provided open access to webinars and expert-led instructions for global learners. As technology evolved, traditional projectors were gradually replaced by interactive whiteboards, which enabled educators to integrate digital tools more effectively in their classrooms. By 2009, 97% of classrooms in the United States had at least one computer, and 93% had Internet access. The COVID-19 pandemic, which forced schools across the world to close, significantly impacted education with schools shifting to distance education. Students attended classes remotely using devices such as laptops, phones, and tablets, supported by digital platforms that facilitated at-home learning environments. However, adapting assessment methods to the new learning environment posed certain challenges. A study conducted by Eddie M. Mulenga and José M. Marbán on Zambian students during the pandemic revealed difficulties in adapting to digital learning, particularly in subjects like mathematics. Similar issues were reported among students in Romania, where the transition to virtual learning presented significant obstacles in engagement and adaptability. === Post-pandemic developments === In the period following the onset of COVID-19, education systems worldwide rapidly adopted digital solutions to maintain continuity of learning and teaching. By the end of March 2020, all 46 OECD and partners countries closed some or all of their schools nationwide. By June 2020, the length of school closures in these countries ranged from 7 to over 18 weeks. These disruptions in formal education prompted governments and educators to quickly adopt digital learning. This global shift to online education highlighted considerable inequalities in digital access, although many systems struggled with inequitable access, especially in regions lacking devices, stable internet connections, or conducive home learning environments. Stimultaneously, commercial educational technology (ed-tech) companies introduced rapid digital solutions to the disruption caused by the pandemic. This led to what has been described as a "seller's market," where the urgency of implementation may cause the prioritization of availability and scale over pedagogical and equity considerations. In the post-pandemic era, digital media in education continues to evolve. It increasingly intersects with artificial intelligence (AI) technologies such as adaptive learning platforms, AI-enabled content generation, and personalized learning environments. These tools enhance global engagement and access but also raise concerns about infrastructure, inclusivity, ethical implementation as well as critical pedagogies. Scholars recommend that educators and policymakers adopt inclusive practices, prioritize equitable infrastructure, and develop critical digital literacy. Facer and Selwyn also emphasize the need for public digital infrastructure and sustainable and justice-oriented policies that empower all learners. Overall, these perspectives reflect a growing consensus that digital media in education should be implemented critically to promote inclusive, multimodal, and future-oriented learning environments.
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Fyre (software)

Fyre, formerly de Jong Explorer, is a cross-platform tool for producing artwork based on histograms of iterated chaotic functions. It implements the Peter de Jong map in a fixed function pipeline through either a GTK GUI frontend, or a command line facility for easier rendering of high-resolution, high quality images. The program was renamed from de Jong Explorer to Fyre simply because 'It wasn't taken yet' and so that in the future, it could support more functions than just the standard Peter de Jong map. Fyre features a sidebar on the left to which the user can input the required variables and on the right is displayed the result of the equation. == Extra features == Additional image manipulation tools such as Gaussian blurs and Gamma controls are included in the program. The advantage to using them directly within Fyre is that the image accuracy and quality do not decline. Fyre features animation capabilities so that a user can link together several maps and create uncompressed AVIs from them. However, the uncompressed animation files are very large and so should be compressed with a separate tool, such as mencoder. == Peter de Jong Map == For most values of a,b,c and d the point (x,y) moves chaotically. The resulting image is a map of the probability that the point lies within the area represented by each pixel. Therefore, the longer that the user lets Fyre render for, the larger the probability map becomes and the more accurate the resulting image.
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CU-RTC-WEB

Customizable, Ubiquitous Real Time Communication over the Web is an API definition being drafted by Bernard Aboba at Microsoft. It is a competing standard to WebRTC, which drafted by a World Wide Web Consortium working group since May 2011. As of 2024, CU-RTC-WEB is still in the drafting phase, with ongoing discussions and contributions from various stakeholders in the tech community. Bernard Aboba, who serves as a co-chair of the W3C WebRTC Working Group, is actively involved in both CU-RTC-WEB and WebRTC, indicating a commitment to advancing real-time communication standards across platforms.
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GPU switching

GPU switching is a mechanism used on computers with multiple graphic controllers. This mechanism allows the user to either maximize the graphic performance or prolong battery life by switching between the graphic cards. It is mostly used on gaming laptops which usually have an integrated graphic device and a discrete video card. == Basic components == Most computers using this feature contain integrated graphics processors and dedicated graphics cards that applies to the following categories. === Integrated graphics === Also known as: Integrated graphics, shared graphics solutions, integrated graphics processors (IGP) or unified memory architecture (UMA). This kind of graphics processors usually have much fewer processing units and share the same memory with the CPU. Sometimes the graphics processors are integrated onto a motherboard. It is commonly known as: on-board graphics. A motherboard with on-board graphics processors doesn't require a discrete graphics card or a CPU with graphics processors to operate. === Dedicated graphics cards === Also known as: discrete graphics cards. Unlike integrated graphics, dedicated graphics cards have much more processing units and have its own RAM with much higher memory bandwidth. In some cases, a dedicated graphics chip can be integrated onto the motherboards, B150-GP104 for example. Regardless of the fact that the graphics chip is integrated, it is still counted as a dedicated graphics cards system because the graphics chip is integrated with its own memory. == Theory == Most Personal Computers have a motherboard that uses a Southbridge and Northbridge structure. === Northbridge control === The Northbridge is one of the core logic chipset that handles communications between the CPU, GPU, RAM and the Southbridge. The discrete graphics card is usually installed onto the graphics card slot such as PCI-Express and the integrated graphics is integrated onto the CPU itself or occasionally onto the Northbridge. The Northbridge is the most responsible for switching between GPUs. The way how it works usually has the following process (refer to the Figure 1. on the right): The Northbridge receives input from Southbridge through the internal bus. The Northbridge signals to CPU through the Front-side bus. The CPU runs the task assignment application (usually the graphics card driver) to determine which GPU core to use. The CPU passes down the command to the Northbridge. The Northbridge passes down the command to the according GPU core. The GPU core processes the command and returns the rendered data back to the Northbridge. The Northbridge sends the rendered data back to Southbridge. === Southbridge control === The Southbridge is a set of integrated circuits such Intel's I/O Controller Hub (ICH). It handles all of a computer's I/O functions, such as receiving the keyboard input and outputting the data onto the screen. The way how it usually works usually has two steps: Take in the user input and pass it down to the Northbridge. (Optional) Receive the rendered data from the Northbridge and output it. The reason why the second step can be optional is that sometimes the rendered the data is outputted directly from the discrete graphics card which is located on the graphics card slot so there is no need to output the data through the Southbridge. == Main purpose == GPU switching is mostly used for saving energy by switching between graphic cards. The dedicated graphics cards consume much more power than integrated graphics but also provides higher 3D performances, which is needed for a better gaming and CAD experience. Following is a list of the TDPs of the most popular CPU with integrated graphics and dedicated graphics cards. The dedicated graphics cards exhibit much higher power consumption than the integrated graphics on both platforms. Disabling them when no heavy graphics processing is needed can significantly lower the power consumption. == Technologies == === Nvidia Optimus === Nvidia Optimus™ is a computer GPU switching technology created by Nvidia that can dynamically and seamlessly switch between two graphic cards based on running programs. === AMD Enduro === AMD Enduro™ is a collective brand developed by AMD that features many new technologies that can significantly save power. It was previously named as: PowerXpress and Dynamic Switchable Graphics (DSG). This technology implements a sophisticated system to predict the potential usage need for graphics cards and switch between graphics cards based on predicted need. This technology also introduces a new power control plan that allows the discrete graphics cards consume no energy when idling. == Manufacturers == === Integrated graphics === In personal computers, the IGP (integrated graphics processors) are mostly manufactured by Intel and AMD and are integrated onto their CPUs. They are commonly known as: Intel HD and Iris Graphics - also called HD series and Iris series AMD Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) - also formerly known as: fusion === Dedicated graphics cards === The most popular dedicated graphics cards are manufactured by AMD and Nvidia. They are commonly known as: AMD Radeon Nvidia GeForce == Drivers and OS support == Most common operating systems have built-in support for this feature. However, the users may download the updated drivers from Nvidia or AMD for better experience. === Windows support === Windows 7 has built-in support for this feature. The system automatically switches between GPUs depending on the program that's running. However, the user may switch the GPUs manually through device manager or power manager. === Linux === Modern Linux systems handle hybrid graphics in two parts: power/control for the inactive GPU, and optional render offloading for individual applications. vga_switcheroo (in the kernel since 2.6.34) coordinates power and mux control on systems with multiple GPUs. It was designed primarily for muxed designs (hardware display switch), and on muxless laptops it is typically used only for power control. A display server restart is no longer required for offloading on muxless systems. DRI PRIME (Mesa) enables per-process render offload on muxless systems: an app renders on the discrete GPU and the integrated GPU presents the result. Users can opt in via the DRI_PRIME environment variable (e.g., DRI_PRIME=1) or desktop integration. On GNOME, the switcheroo-control service exposes the discrete GPU to the shell, adding a “Launch using Discrete Graphics Card” entry to app menus on supported systems (Wayland or Xorg), which invokes render offload under the hood. With the proprietary Nvidia driver, render offload is provided as PRIME Render Offload (supported since driver 435.xx). Distributions commonly ship a helper like prime-run or desktop menu entries that set the required environment for offloading. ==== Notes and limitations (Linux) ==== On muxless systems the internal display is hard-wired to the integrated GPU; the discrete GPU cannot directly drive that panel and instead renders offscreen for composition by the iGPU. External displays connected to the dGPU may allow direct output depending on the laptop’s wiring. Power-saving behavior varies by driver and distro defaults. Some setups need explicit configuration to power down the inactive GPU when idle. Desktop integrations (e.g., GNOME's menu item) simply opt an app into offload; they do not "auto-switch" the whole session. Users can still launch apps on either GPU as needed.
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