AI Detector Gemini

AI Detector Gemini — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step guides on Aizhi.

  • Pixorial

    Pixorial

    Pixorial was a cloud-based consumer photo sharing, video sharing and video editing platform. The company was formed in 2007 in Centennial, Colorado as a media conversion service. In 2013, Pixorial was chosen as one of two video storage companies to partner with the launch of Google Drive. Pixorial allowed users to edit and share videos on social channels by connecting through their Pixorial account. The company closed on July 18, 2014, and its assets were acquired by LifeLogger Technologies Corp in November 2015. == History == The company was founded in 2007 and launched in 2009 by former Netscape employee Andres Espineira. Changing its focus to video editing software in 2009, Pixorial began developing an app that would be launched for iOS and Android devices in 2011. Later developments in the app in 2012 would also included real time filters, which were later removed. With the launch of Google Drive in 2012, Pixorial was chosen as an integrated video partner. This integration with Google Drive allowed users to access videos stored in Google Drive within the web app of Pixorial. After the Google Drive launch, Pixorial developed a crowdsourced, location-based video sharing app, Krowds. The app was cited in July 2012 by PC Magazine as one of "The 8 Best Apps for Making and Sharing Videos on Your iPhone". In late July, Pixorial replaced its original mobile app with the MyPlayer HD app that optimized HD video viewing for large screen viewing including tablets and smart televisions. Pixorial's services terminated on July 18, 2014. == Products == === Krowds App === Pixorial's app was launched in April 2013 for iOS, and in May for Android, as a tool to aggregate event videos through location based collections. The app was launched to generally positive reviews. === Movie Creator === Launched July 12, 2012 Pixorial's Movie Creator allowed users to edit movies in a simple story-telling platform Movie Creator's features include transitions, text boxes, access to free music tracks, credits, and social media sharing capabilities. The Pixorial platform allowed users to view, share, and edit videos without modifying the original. Movie Creator integrated pictures and video to create user movies. == Awards == 2012 Apex Award from the Colorado Technology Association, for Best Technology Project of the Year 2010 Computerworld Laureate for Media, Arts and Entertainment

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  • Supertoroid

    Supertoroid

    In geometry and computer graphics, a supertoroid or supertorus is usually understood to be a family of doughnut-like surfaces (technically, a topological torus) whose shape is defined by mathematical formulas similar to those that define the superellipsoids. The plural of "supertorus" is either supertori or supertoruses. The family was described and named by Alan Barr in 1994. Barr's supertoroids have been fairly popular in computer graphics as a convenient model for many objects, such as smooth frames for rectangular things. One quarter of a supertoroid can provide a smooth and seamless 90-degree joint between two superquadric cylinders. However, they are not algebraic surfaces (except in special cases). == Formulas == Alan Barr's supertoroids are defined by parametric equations similar to the trigonometric equations of the torus, except that the sine and cosine terms are raised to arbitrary powers. Namely, the generic point P(u, v) of the surface is given by P ( u , v ) = ( X ( u , v ) Y ( u , v ) Z ( u , v ) ) = ( ( a + C u s ) C v t ( b + C u s ) S v t S u s ) {\displaystyle P(u,v)=\left({\begin{array}{c}X(u,v)\\Y(u,v)\\Z(u,v)\end{array}}\right)=\left({\begin{array}{c}(a+C_{u}^{s})C_{v}^{t}\\(b+C_{u}^{s})S_{v}^{t}\\S_{u}^{s}\end{array}}\right)} where C θ ε = sgn ⁡ ( cos ⁡ θ ) | cos ⁡ θ | ε , S θ ε = sgn ⁡ ( sin ⁡ θ ) | sin ⁡ θ | ε , {\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}C_{\theta }^{\varepsilon }&=\operatorname {sgn} (\cos \theta )\,\left|\,\cos \theta \,\right|^{\varepsilon },\\S_{\theta }^{\varepsilon }&=\operatorname {sgn} (\sin \theta )\ \left|\,\sin \theta \ \right|^{\varepsilon },\end{aligned}}} sgn is the sign function, and the parameters u, v range from 0 to 360 degrees (0 to 2π radians). In these formulas, the parameter s > 0 controls the "squareness" of the vertical sections, t > 0 controls the squareness of the horizontal sections, and a, b ≥ 1 are the major radii in the x and y directions. With s = t = 1 and a = b = R one obtains the ordinary torus with major radius R and minor radius 1, with the center at the origin and rotational symmetry about the z-axis. In general, the supertorus defined as above spans the intervals: − ( a + 1 ) ≤ x ≤ + ( a + 1 ) − ( b + 1 ) ≤ y ≤ + ( b + 1 ) − 1 ≤ z ≤ + 1 {\displaystyle {\begin{array}{rcccl}-(a+1)&\leq &x&\leq &+(a+1)\\[4pt]-(b+1)&\leq &y&\leq &+(b+1)\\[4pt]-1&\leq &z&\leq &+1\end{array}}} The whole shape is symmetric about the planes x = 0, y = 0, and z = 0. The hole runs in the z direction and spans the intervals − ( a − 1 ) ≤ x ≤ + ( a − 1 ) − ( b − 1 ) ≤ y ≤ + ( b − 1 ) − ∞ ≤ z ≤ + ∞ {\displaystyle {\begin{array}{rcccl}-(a-1)&\leq &x&\leq &+(a-1)\\[4pt]-(b-1)&\leq &y&\leq &+(b-1)\\[4pt]-\infty &\leq &z&\leq &+\infty \end{array}}} A curve of constant u on this surface is a horizontal Lamé curve with exponent ⁠ 2 t , {\displaystyle {\tfrac {2}{t}},} ⁠ scaled in x and y and displaced in z. A curve of constant v, projected on the plane x = 0 or y = 0, is a Lamé curve with exponent ⁠ 2 s , {\displaystyle {\tfrac {2}{s}},} ⁠ scaled and horizontally shifted. If v = 0, the curve is planar and spans the intervals: a − 1 ≤ x ≤ a + 1 − 1 ≤ z ≤ + 1 {\displaystyle {\begin{array}{rcccl}a-1&\leq &x&\leq &a+1\\[4pt]-1&\leq &z&\leq &+1\end{array}}} and similarly if v = 90°, 180°, 270°. The curve is also planar if a = b. In general, if a ≠ b and v is not a multiple of 90 degrees, the curve of constant v will not be planar; and, conversely, a vertical plane section of the supertorus will not be a Lamé curve. The basic supertoroid shape defined above is often modified by non-uniform scaling to yield supertoroids of specific width, length, and vertical thickness. == Plotting code == The following GNU Octave code generates plots of a supertorus:

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  • JotterPad

    JotterPad

    JotterPad is a text editor app for Android, developed by Two App Studio. It is proprietary software that uses the freemium pricing strategy. == Features == Jotterpad supports the markdown and fountain markup languages. Among its features are themes, synchronisation with Google Drive and Dropbox, dictionary and thesaurus, and snapshots. JotterPad uses a freemium pricing model, which means that a restricted version of the app is offered for free, while access to additional functionality requires payment. About half of the features are available in the free version. The synchronisation feature was originally limited to one account, and in Jotterpad 12 the option to synchronise using multiple accounts was added as a monthly subscription service.

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  • DataViva

    DataViva

    DataViva is an information visualization engine created by the Strategic Priorities Office of the government of Minas Gerais. DataViva makes official data about exports, industries, locations and occupations available for the entirety of Brazil through eight apps and more than 100 million possible visualizations. The first set of datum – also available at ALICEWEB – is provided by MDIC (Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade) / SECEX (Secretariat of Foreign Trade), an official institution of the Government of Brazil and shows foreign trade statistics for all exporting municipalities in the country. The other database, provided by Ministério do Trabalho e Emprego (MTE – Ministry of Labor and Employment), shows information about all the industries and occupations in Brazil (RAIS – Annual Social Information Report). The platform consists of eight core applications, each of which allows different ways of visualizing the data available. Some applications are descriptive, that is, showing data aggregated at various levels in a simple and comparative way, such as Treemapping. Others are prescriptive, using calculations that allow an analytic visualization of the data, based on theories such as the Product Space. All the applications are generated using D3plus, an open source JavaScript library built on top of D3.js by Alexander Simoes and Dave Landry. Inspired by The Observatory of Economic Complexity, DataViva is an open data, open-source, and free to use tool. It was developed in a partnership with Datawheel, co-founded by MIT Media Lab Professor César Hidalgo, and is maintained by the Government of Minas Gerais.

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  • Text Retrieval Conference

    Text Retrieval Conference

    The Text REtrieval Conference (TREC) is an ongoing series of workshops focusing on a list of different information retrieval (IR) research areas, or tracks. It is co-sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (part of the office of the Director of National Intelligence), and began in 1992 as part of the TIPSTER Text program. Its purpose is to support and encourage research within the information retrieval community by providing the infrastructure necessary for large-scale evaluation of text retrieval methodologies and to increase the speed of lab-to-product transfer of technology. TREC's evaluation protocols have improved many search technologies. A 2010 study estimated that "without TREC, U.S. Internet users would have spent up to 3.15 billion additional hours using web search engines between 1999 and 2009." Hal Varian the Chief Economist at Google wrote that "The TREC data revitalized research on information retrieval. Having a standard, widely available, and carefully constructed set of data laid the groundwork for further innovation in this field." Each track has a challenge wherein NIST provides participating groups with data sets and test problems. Depending on track, test problems might be questions, topics, or target extractable features. Uniform scoring is performed so the systems can be fairly evaluated. After evaluation of the results, a workshop provides a place for participants to collect together thoughts and ideas and present current and future research work.Text Retrieval Conference started in 1992, funded by DARPA (US Defense Advanced Research Project) and run by NIST. Its purpose was to support research within the information retrieval community by providing the infrastructure necessary for large-scale evaluation of text retrieval methodologies. == Goals == Encourage retrieval search based on large text collections Increase communication among industry, academia, and government by creating an open forum for the exchange of research ideas Speed the transfer of technology from research labs into commercial products by demonstrating substantial improvements retrieval methodologies on real world problems To increase the availability of appropriate evaluation techniques for use by industry and academia including development of new evaluation techniques more applicable to current systems TREC is overseen by a program committee consisting of representatives from government, industry, and academia. For each TREC, NIST provide a set of documents and questions. Participants run their own retrieval system on the data and return to NIST a list of retrieved top-ranked documents. NIST pools the individual result judges the retrieved documents for correctness and evaluates the results. The TREC cycle ends with a workshop that is a forum for participants to share their experiences. == Relevance judgments in TREC == TREC defines relevance as: "If you were writing a report on the subject of the topic and would use the information contained in the document in the report, then the document is relevant." Most TREC retrieval tasks use binary relevance: a document is either relevant or not relevant. Some TREC tasks use graded relevance, capturing multiple degrees of relevance. Most TREC collections are too large to perform complete relevance assessment; for these collections it is impossible to calculate the absolute recall for each query. To decide which documents to assess, TREC usually uses a method call pooling. In this method, the top-ranked n documents from each contributing run are aggregated, and the resulting document set is judged completely. == Various TRECs == In 1992 TREC-1 was held at NIST. The first conference attracted 28 groups of researchers from academia and industry. It demonstrated a wide range of different approaches to the retrieval of text from large document collections .Finally TREC1 revealed the facts that automatic construction of queries from natural language query statements seems to work. Techniques based on natural language processing were no better no worse than those based on vector or probabilistic approach. TREC2 Took place in August 1993. 31 group of researchers participated in this. Two types of retrieval were examined. Retrieval using an ‘ad hoc’ query and retrieval using a ‘routing' query In TREC-3 a small group experiments worked with Spanish language collection and others dealt with interactive query formulation in multiple databases TREC-4 they made even shorter to investigate the problems with very short user statements TREC-5 includes both short and long versions of the topics with the goal of carrying out deeper investigation into which types of techniques work well on various lengths of topics In TREC-6 Three new tracks speech, cross language, high precision information retrieval were introduced. The goal of cross language information retrieval is to facilitate research on system that are able to retrieve relevant document regardless of language of the source document TREC-7 contained seven tracks out of which two were new Query track and very large corpus track. The goal of the query track was to create a large query collection TREC-8 contain seven tracks out of which two –question answering and web tracks were new. The objective of QA query is to explore the possibilities of providing answers to specific natural language queries TREC-9 Includes seven tracks In TREC-10 Video tracks introduced Video tracks design to promote research in content based retrieval from digital video In TREC-11 Novelty tracks introduced. The goal of novelty track is to investigate systems abilities to locate relevant and new information within the ranked set of documents returned by a traditional document retrieval system TREC-12 held in 2003 added three new tracks; Genome track, robust retrieval track, HARD (Highly Accurate Retrieval from Documents) == Tracks == === Current tracks === New tracks are added as new research needs are identified, this list is current for TREC 2018. CENTRE Track – Goal: run in parallel CLEF 2018, NTCIR-14, TREC 2018 to develop and tune an IR reproducibility evaluation protocol (new track for 2018). Common Core Track – Goal: an ad hoc search task over news documents. Complex Answer Retrieval (CAR) – Goal: to develop systems capable of answering complex information needs by collating information from an entire corpus. Incident Streams Track – Goal: to research technologies to automatically process social media streams during emergency situations (new track for TREC 2018). The News Track – Goal: partnership with The Washington Post to develop test collections in news environment (new for 2018). Precision Medicine Track – Goal: a specialization of the Clinical Decision Support track to focus on linking oncology patient data to clinical trials. Real-Time Summarization Track (RTS) – Goal: to explore techniques for real-time update summaries from social media streams. === Past tracks === Chemical Track – Goal: to develop and evaluate technology for large scale search in chemistry-related documents, including academic papers and patents, to better meet the needs of professional searchers, and specifically patent searchers and chemists. Clinical Decision Support Track – Goal: to investigate techniques for linking medical cases to information relevant for patient care Contextual Suggestion Track – Goal: to investigate search techniques for complex information needs that are highly dependent on context and user interests. Crowdsourcing Track – Goal: to provide a collaborative venue for exploring crowdsourcing methods both for evaluating search and for performing search tasks. Genomics Track – Goal: to study the retrieval of genomic data, not just gene sequences but also supporting documentation such as research papers, lab reports, etc. Last ran on TREC 2007. Dynamic Domain Track – Goal: to investigate domain-specific search algorithms that adapt to the dynamic information needs of professional users as they explore in complex domains. Enterprise Track – Goal: to study search over the data of an organization to complete some task. Last ran on TREC 2008. Entity Track – Goal: to perform entity-related search on Web data. These search tasks (such as finding entities and properties of entities) address common information needs that are not that well modeled as ad hoc document search. Cross-Language Track – Goal: to investigate the ability of retrieval systems to find documents topically regardless of source language. After 1999, this track spun off into CLEF. FedWeb Track – Goal: to select best resources to forward a query to, and merge the results so that most relevant are on the top. Federated Web Search Track – Goal: to investigate techniques for the selection and combination of search results from a large number of real on-line web search services. Filtering Track – Goal: to binarily decide retrieval of new

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  • MyChild App

    MyChild App

    MyChild App is an Android app that helps parents screen developmental disorders in their children between the age of 1 and 24 months. The app contains information for parents about the different stages of a child's development. == Background == Launched in 2015 on Google PlayStore, the app is a consumer product of the parent company, Time Ahead, Inc. Its office is based in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. As of August 2016, the app had been downloaded by 11,000+ users in 140+ countries and is a part of fbstart case study. == Funding == In 2015, MyChild App raised a seed round of $100k led by 500 Startups, followed by angel investors Samir Bangara, Anisha Mittal, Pallav Nadhani, Deobrat Singh, Lalit Mangal, Arihant Patni, Amit Gupta, Dr. Ritesh Malik, Saurab Paruthi, and Singapore Angel Network.

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  • Distributed concurrency control

    Distributed concurrency control

    Distributed concurrency control is the concurrency control of a system distributed over a computer network (Bernstein et al. 1987, Weikum and Vossen 2001). In database systems and transaction processing (transaction management) distributed concurrency control refers primarily to the concurrency control of a distributed database. It also refers to the concurrency control in a multidatabase (and other multi-transactional object) environment (e.g., federated database, grid computing, and cloud computing environments. A major goal for distributed concurrency control is distributed serializability (or global serializability for multidatabase systems). Distributed concurrency control poses special challenges beyond centralized one, primarily due to communication and computer latency. It often requires special techniques, like distributed lock manager over fast computer networks with low latency, like switched fabric (e.g., InfiniBand). The most common distributed concurrency control technique is strong strict two-phase locking (SS2PL, also named rigorousness), which is also a common centralized concurrency control technique. SS2PL provides both the serializability and strictness. Strictness, a special case of recoverability, is utilized for effective recovery from failure. For large-scale distribution and complex transactions, distributed locking's typical heavy performance penalty (due to delays, latency) can be saved by using the atomic commitment protocol, which is needed in a distributed database for (distributed) transactions' atomicity.

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  • Mixed raster content

    Mixed raster content

    Mixed raster content (MRC) is a method for compressing images that contain both binary-compressible text and continuous-tone components, using image segmentation methods to improve the level of compression and the quality of the rendered image. By separating the image into components with different compressibility characteristics, the most efficient and accurate compression algorithm for each component can be applied. MRC-compressed images are typically packaged into a hybrid file format such as DjVu and sometimes PDF. This allows for multiple images, and the instructions to properly render and reassemble them, to be stored within a single file. Some image scanners optionally support MRC when scanning to PDF. A typical manual states that without MRC, the image is generated in a single process, with text and graphics not distinguished. With MRC, separate processes are used for text, graphics, and other elements, producing clearer graphics and sharper text, at the price of slightly slower processing. MRC is recommended to optimise the scanning of documents with harder-to-read text or lower-quality graphics. MRC can also reduce the size of the scanned file, though higher compression using JBIG2 can sometimes lead to character substitution errors in scanned documents. == File format == A form of MRC is defined by international standard bodies as ISO/IEC 16485, or ITU recommendation T.44 (accessible free of charge). It defines a file format with bilevel masks and two data layers in each "stripe" of the image. The mask can be encoded in ITU T.4, JBIG1, or JBIG2, while the images can be JPEG, JBIG1, or run-length encoded color. The format is loosely based on JPEG, with a APP13 segment registered for this purpose. It is not known whether this file format is actually used, as formats like DjVu and PDF have their own ways of defining layers and masks.

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  • Software design

    Software design

    Software design is the process of conceptualizing how a software system will work before it is implemented or modified. Software design also refers to the direct result of the design process – the concepts of how the software will work which may be formally documented or may be maintained less formally, including via oral tradition. The design process enables a designer to model aspects of a software system before it exists with the intent of making the effort of writing the code more efficiently. Creativity, past experience, a sense of what makes "good" software, and a commitment to quality are success factors for a competent design. A software design can be compared to an architected plan for a house. High-level plans represent the totality of the house (e.g., a three-dimensional rendering of the house). Lower-level plans provide guidance for constructing each detail (e.g., the plumbing lay). Similarly, the software design model provides a variety of views of the proposed software solution. == Part of the overall process == In terms of the waterfall development process, software design is the activity that occurs after requirements analysis and before coding. Requirements analysis determines what the system needs to do without determining how it will do it, and thus, multiple designs can be imagined that satisfy the requirements. The design can be created while coding, without a plan or requirements analysis, but for more complex projects this is less feasible. Completing a design prior to coding allows for multidisciplinary designers and subject-matter experts to collaborate with programmers to produce software that is useful and technically sound. Sometimes, a simulation or prototype is created to model the system in an effort to determine a valid and good design. == Code as design == A common point of confusion with the term design in software is that the process applies at multiple levels of abstraction such as a high-level software architecture and lower-level components, functions and algorithms. A relatively formal process may occur at high levels of abstraction but at lower levels, the design process is almost always less formal where the only artifact of design may be the code itself. To the extent that this is true, software design refers to the design of the design. Edsger W. Dijkstra referred to this layering of semantic levels as the "radical novelty" of computer programming, and Donald Knuth used his experience writing TeX to describe the futility of attempting to design a program prior to implementing it: TEX would have been a complete failure if I had merely specified it and not participated fully in its initial implementation. The process of implementation constantly led me to unanticipated questions and to new insights about how the original specifications could be improved. == Artifacts == A design process may include the production of art Software design documentation such as flow chart, use case, Pseudocode, Unified Modeling Language model and other Fundamental modeling concepts. For user centered software, design may involve user experience design yielding a storyboard to help determine those specifications. Documentation may be reviewed to allow constraints, specifications and even requirements to be adjusted prior to coding. == Iterative design == Software systems inherently deal with uncertainties, and the size of software components can significantly influence a system's outcomes, both positively and negatively. Neal Ford and Mark Richards propose an iterative approach to address the challenge of identifying and right-sizing components. This method emphasizes continuous refinement as teams develop a more nuanced understanding of system behavior and requirements. The approach typically involves a cycle with several stages: A high-level partitioning strategy is established, often categorized as technical or domain-based. Guidelines for the smallest meaningful deployable unit, referred to as "quanta," are defined. While these foundational decisions are made early, they may be revisited later in the cycle if necessary. Initial components are identified based on the established strategy. Requirements are assigned to the identified components. The roles and responsibilities of each component are analyzed to ensure clarity and minimize overlap. Architectural characteristics, such as scalability, fault tolerance, and maintainability, are evaluated. Components may be restructured based on feedback from development teams. This cycle serves as a general framework and can be adapted to different domains. == Design principles == Design principles enable a software engineer to navigate the design process. Davis suggested principles which have been refined over time as: The design process should not suffer from "tunnel vision" A good designer should consider alternative approaches, judging each based on the requirements of the problem, the resources available to do the job. The design should be traceable to the analysis model Because a single element of the design model can often be traced back to multiple requirements, it is necessary to have a means for tracking how requirements have been satisfied by the design model. The design should not reinvent the wheel Systems are constructed using a set of design patterns, many of which have likely been encountered before. These patterns should always be chosen as an alternative to reinvention. Time is short and resources are limited; design time should be invested in representing (truly new) ideas by integrating patterns that already exist (when applicable). The design should "minimize the intellectual distance" between the software and the problem as it exists in the real world That is, the structure of the software design should, whenever possible, mimic the structure of the problem domain. The design should exhibit uniformity and integration A design is uniform if it appears fully coherent. In order to achieve this outcome, rules of style and format should be defined for a design team before design work begins. A design is integrated if care is taken in defining interfaces between design components. The design should be structured to accommodate change The design concepts discussed in the next section enable a design to achieve this principle. The design should be structured to degrade gently, even when aberrant data, events, or operating conditions are encountered Well-designed software should never "bomb"; it should be designed to accommodate unusual circumstances, and if it must terminate processing, it should do so in a graceful manner. Design is not coding, coding is not design Even when detailed procedural designs are created for program components, the level of abstraction of the design model is higher than the source code. The only design decisions made at the coding level should address the small implementation details that enable the procedural design to be coded. The design should be assessed for quality as it is being created, not after the fact A variety of design concepts and design measures are available to assist the designer in assessing quality throughout the development process. The design should be reviewed to minimize conceptual (semantic) errors There is sometimes a tendency to focus on minutiae when the design is reviewed, missing the forest for the trees. A design team should ensure that major conceptual elements of the design (omissions, ambiguity, inconsistency) have been addressed before worrying about the syntax of the design model. == Design concepts == Design concepts provide a designer with a foundation from which more sophisticated methods can be applied. Design concepts include: Abstraction Reducing the information content of a concept or an observable phenomenon, typically to retain only information that is relevant for a particular purpose. It is an act of Representing essential features without including the background details or explanations. Architecture The overall structure of the software and the ways in which that structure provides conceptual integrity for a system. Good software architecture will yield a good return on investment with respect to the desired outcome of the project, e.g. in terms of performance, quality, schedule and cost. Control hierarchy A program structure that represents the organization of a program component and implies a hierarchy of control. Data structure Representing the logical relationship between elements of data. Design pattern A designer may identify a design aspect of the system that has solved in the past. The reuse of such patterns can increase software development velocity. Information hiding Modules should be specified and designed so that information contained within a module is inaccessible to other modules that have no need for such information. Modularity Dividing the solution into parts (modules). Refinement The process of elaboration. A hierarchy is developed by decomposing a macrosco

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  • MoFA Mitra

    MoFA Mitra

    MoFA Mitra is a mobile application launched by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal to provide digital consular services, emergency support, rescue coordination, and complaint registration facilities for Nepali citizens living and working abroad. The application allows Nepali migrant workers, students, tourists, and Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) to access embassy services, emergency help, and official information directly from their smartphones. == Background == The need for a centralized digital support platform for Nepalis abroad had been discussed for several years due to increasing complaints related to labor exploitation, rescue delays, documentation problems, and lack of communication with Nepali diplomatic missions. Media organizations and migrant rights advocates had continuously highlighted issues faced by Nepali workers abroad, including human trafficking, fraudulent recruitment, delayed repatriation, and difficulties in receiving emergency assistance. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs developed the MoFA Mitra app to digitize complaint handling, improve communication between embassies and citizens, and make emergency response faster and more accessible. == Features == The app includes several services and features for Nepali citizens abroad, including complaint registration, rescue coordination, embassy communication, and digital consular support services. Features of the application include: Online complaint registration Emergency rescue request system Direct contact with Nepali embassies and consulates Digital consular information Passport and document-related assistance Labor and migration support information Emergency hotline access Real-time notifications and alerts Location-based embassy information Tracking and coordination support for stranded citizens According to reports, the application was designed to simplify access to diplomatic services and strengthen emergency response coordination for Nepalis abroad. == Launch == The application was officially launched by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu in May 2026. Government officials stated that the app would strengthen Nepal’s digital governance system and improve support mechanisms for Nepali citizens residing overseas. Officials said the platform would help improve communication between Nepali diplomatic missions and citizens during emergencies and rescue operations. == Reception == The launch of the app received positive coverage from Nepali and international media outlets. Commentators described the initiative as a significant step toward modernization of Nepal’s diplomatic and consular services and digital governance infrastructure. Some observers also emphasized the importance of effective implementation, rapid response mechanisms, and continuous monitoring to ensure practical benefits for migrant workers abroad.

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  • Secure environment

    Secure environment

    In computing, a secure environment is any system which implements the controlled storage and use of information. In the event of computing data loss, a secure environment is used to protect personal or confidential data. It may also be known as a trusted execution environment (TEE). Often, secure environments employ cryptography as a means to protect information. This is typically used for processing confidential or restricted information. Some secure environments employ cryptographic hashing, simply to verify that the information has not been altered since it was last modified.

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  • Vinted

    Vinted

    Vinted Group UAB is a Lithuanian technology company best known for its online marketplace Vinted. Vinted is the leading second-hand fashion marketplace in Europe and a go-to destination for all kinds of second-hand items. According to the company, its mission is to make second-hand the first choice worldwide. The company operates as an ecosystem of businesses, including the Vinted Marketplace (its peer-to-peer resale platform), Vinted Go (logistics and shipping services), Vinted Pay (in-app payment solutions), and Vinted Ventures (an investment arm supporting the circular economy). Headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, it also has offices in Germany and the Netherlands and employs more than 2,200 people. == History == Vinted was co-founded in 2008 by Milda Mitkute and Justas Janauskas in Vilnius, Lithuania. The idea originated when Mitkute was moving house and wanted a way to sell clothes she no longer needed. Janauskas helped her create a website where users could trade clothing items. In 2016, Dutch entrepreneur Thomas Plantenga joined Vinted as a strategy consultant and later became Chief Executive Officer, leading the company through a period of international growth. In 2019, Vinted became Lithuania’s first technology unicorn after raising €128 million at a €1 billion valuation in a funding round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. In October 2020, it acquired United Wardrobe, a Dutch competitor, and in November 2020 German Kleiderkreisel and Mamikreisel were officially merged into the Vinted platform. In 2024 it acquired Trendsales, a Danish resale platform. According to Vogue Business, Vinted’s revenue grew 61% between 2022 and 2023 and the company posted a net profit of €17.8 million in 2023. Usage of Vinted in the UK has grown from 1.2 million users in 2021, to 8 million in 2023. In 2024, the group reported consolidated revenue of €813.4 million (up 36% from 2023) and a net profit of €76.7 million, up 330% from 2023. As of 2024, Vinted was valued at approximately €5 billion, operating in more than 26 markets worldwide and announcing plans to launch in Ireland, Greece, Latvia, Slovenia, and Estonia in 2025. As of 2025 the company employed more than 2,200 people. In April 2026, Vinted completed a secondary share transaction of €880m, valuing the company at €8bn. == Products and operations == Vinted primarily resells clothing but now supports multiple categories including homeware, kidswear, electronics, books, collectibles, and high-value fashion. Vinted has worked with public figures such as Paul Mescal and Alexa Chung on exclusive wardrobe sales and has also partnered directly with charities including Oxfam on initiatives which promote the social and environmental value of second-hand fashion, such as the Style for Change fashion show at London Fashion Week. In 2025, Vinted produced its first television format, the second-hand fashion competition series RE/Style, hosted by Emma Willis. The show features emerging fashion designers from across Europe creating runway-ready looks from second-hand garments and aired on Prime Video UK. In 2025, Vinted was reported as France’s top clothing retailer by sales volume. == Criticism == Vinted has faced scrutiny from European data protection authorities in France, Lithuania, and Poland following complaints regarding GDPR compliance and account blocking practices. In July 2024, the Lithuanian authority fined the company €2,375,276. The case was coordinated by a dedicated Vinted Working Group under the European Data Protection Board. In early 2024, Swedish police reported around 300 fraud cases linked to the platform, in which users’ bank accounts were targeted by scammers. In October 2024, Channel 4 in the United Kingdom aired a documentary examining safety and privacy concerns related to the platform, including the sexualisation of underage users’ images and risks associated with second-hand baby products lacking safety certification. In November 2025, BBC News reported that Vinted’s update to its sizing system in the United Kingdom led to widespread user criticism. Vinted said the update was intended to standardise sizing across international brands.

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  • TinyML

    TinyML

    TinyML (short for tiny machine learning) is an area of machine learning that focuses on deploying and running models on low-power, resource-constrained embedded systems such as microcontrollers and edge devices. TinyML supports on-device inference with low latency and minimal reliance on cloud connectivity, which makes it suitable for applications in the Internet of Things (IoT), wearable devices, and real-time systems. == History == The idea of running machine learning models on embedded systems has gained traction in the late 2010s, as model compression, quantization, and efficient neural network architectures progressed. The term TinyML was popularized in 2019 with the publication of the book TinyML by Pete Warden and Daniel Situnayake and the creation of the TinyML Foundation.

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  • World Database of Happiness

    World Database of Happiness

    The World Database of Happiness is a web-based archive of research findings on subjective appreciation of life, based in the Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organization of the Erasmus University Rotterdam in The Netherlands. The database contains both an overview of scientific publications on happiness and a digest of research findings. Happiness is defined as the degree to which an individual judges the quality of his or her life as a whole favorably. Two 'components' of happiness are distinguished: hedonic level of affect (the degree to which pleasant affect dominates) and contentment (perceived realization of wants). == Aims == The World Database of Happiness is a tool to quickly acquire an overview on the ever-growing stream of research findings on happiness Medio 2023 the database covered some 16,000 scientific publications on happiness, from which were extracted 23,000 distributional findings (on how happy people are) and another 24,000 correlational findings (on factors associated with more and less happiness). The first findings date from 1915. == Technique == The World Database of Happiness is a ‘findings archive’, which consists of electronic ‘finding pages’ on which separate research results are described in a standard format and terminology. These finding pages can be selected on various characteristics, such as population studies, the measure of happiness used and observed co-variates. All finding-pages have a specific internet address to which links can be made in scientific review papers or policy recommendations. This allows a concise presentation of many findings in a table, while providing readers with access to detail. == Scientific use == The Database has been cited in 254 scientific papers, for example to access under what conditions economic growth enhances average happiness or to show that rising mean happiness at first raises happiness inequality, but further rise will diminish these differences, or that healthy eating is associated with more happiness, even after controlling for the effect on health Another finding is that relative simple happiness training techniques raise happiness by some 5% == Popular use == The World Database of Happiness is often used by popular media to make lists of the happiest countries around the globe. An example is the Happy Planet Index, which aims to chart sustainable happiness all over the world by combining data on longevity, happiness and the size of the ecological footprint of citizens. == Strengths and weaknesses == The database has a clear conceptual focus, it includes only research findings on subjective enjoyment of one's life as a whole. Thereby it evades the Babel that has haunted the study of happiness for ages. The other side of that coin is that much interesting research is left out. The findings are reported with technical details about measurement and statistical analysis. This detail is welcomed by scholars, but makes the information difficult to digest for lay-persons. Still another limitation is that the determinants of happiness appear to vary considerably across persons and situations, which make it hard to draw general conclusions about the causes of happiness. What is clear is that poor health, separation, unemployment and lack of social contact are all strongly negatively associated with happiness. Another problem for the World database of happiness is that the studies on happiness increase with such a high rate that it gets increasingly difficult to offer a complete overview of all research findings. A further concern is that the Database of Happiness is exclusively focused on hedonic happiness (feeling good) and not on mature happiness that might exist in the face of suffering

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  • Alerts.in.ua

    Alerts.in.ua

    alerts.in.ua is an online service that visualizes information about air alerts and other threats on the map of Ukraine. == History == The idea of the site appeared in the first weeks of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, during the development of other projects related to alerting the population about alarms. So, on March 2, 2022, the "Lviv Siren" bot was created, which reported on air alarms in Lviv on Twitter. Later, the idea arose to monitor alarms all over Ukraine and display them on a map. However, the lack of a single official source reporting alarms made this task much more difficult. On March 15, 2022, the Ajax Systems company announced the creation of the official Telegram channel "Air Alarm". This channel receives signals from the "Air Alarm" application and instantly publishes messages about the start and end of alarms in different regions of Ukraine. This immediately solved the problem with the source of information and gave impetus to the further implementation of the project. On March 22, 2022, the first version of the "Air Alarm Map" website was published, located on the war.ukrzen.in.ua domain. The map quickly gained popularity in social networks. It, like several other similar projects, began to be widely distributed by the mass media: Suspilne, Novyi Kanal, UNIAN, DW, Fakty ICTV, Vikna TV, Ukrainian Radio, STB, Espresso, dev.ua, itc.ua and state bodies: Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Khmelnytska OVA, etc. On April 8, 2022, the site moved to the alerts.in.ua domain, where it is still available today. On August 25, 2022, the service began monitoring local official channels in addition to the main "Air Alarm". On September 11, 2022, the English version of the site was published. On March 22, 2023, its own Android application was published. The project is actively developing and has its own community. == Description == The main part of the site is a map of Ukraine, on which the regions where an air alert or other threats have been declared are highlighted in real time. As of October 16, 2022, 5 types of threats are supported: Air alarm. The threat of artillery fire. The threat of street fighting. Chemical threat. Nuclear threat. Additionally, based on media reports, information is published about other dangerous events, such as explosions, demining, etc. On the site, you can view the history of announced alarms with links to sources. Alarm statistics for different time periods are also available. For developers, there is an API that allows you to develop your own services based on information about declared alarms. The site is available in Ukrainian, English, Polish and Japanese. == Use == The map is used by: To monitor the situation in the country and the region. To illustrate the alarms announced in the mass media: TSN, Ukrainian truth, Channel 24, Suspilne, RBC Ukraine, Gromadske, Glavkom. As a map of alarms in mobile applications, there is Alarm and AirAlert. As an API for its services, including alternative alarm maps, Telegram, Viber channels, Discord bots, IoT projects, etc. == Statistics == 89.5% of users use the map from a mobile phone, 10% from a PC and 1% from a tablet. Top 6 countries by visit: Ukraine, United States, Poland, Germany, Great Britain and Japan . == Alternative projects == eMap was created by the developer Vadym Klymenko. AlarmMap is an online from the Ukrainian office of Agroprep. The official map of air alarms was developed by Ajax Systems together with the developer Artem Lemeshev, Stfalcon with the support of the Ministry of Statistics.

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