AI Detector Make It Human

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

Zamzar

Zamzar is an online file converter and compressor, created by brothers Mike and Chris Whyley in England in 2006. It allows users to convert files online, without downloading a software tool, and supports over 1,200 different conversion types. Since its formation, the service has converted over 510 million files for users from 245 different countries. The service supports the conversion of documents, images, audio, video, e-Books, CAD files and compressed file formats. Users can type in a URL or upload one or more files (if they are all of the same format) from their computer; Zamzar will then convert the file(s) to another user-specified format, such as an Adobe PDF file to a Microsoft Word document. Once conversion is complete, users can immediately download the file from their web browser. Users can also choose to receive an email with a link to download the converted file. In February 2021 Zamzar expanded their tool and announced a new file compression service. The compressor is visually similar to the conversion tool with a drag and drop download feature. As with the converter, users have the option to subscribe for a paid plan if they wish to compress multiple or larger files than the free service permits == File conversion API == in 2015 Zamzar launched a file conversion API, allowing users to integrate file conversion capabilities into their own websites and applications. Sample code is provided to allow users to integrate file conversion capabilities in C#, Java, Node.js, PHP, Python and cURL. Zamzar also maintains a project on GitHub which allows users to perform file conversion from the command line on Linux, MacOS or Windows systems. == Email file conversion == It is also possible to send files for conversion by emailing them to Zamzar. Zamzar launched this capability in 2012, allowing users to email files to dedicated email addresses for the file to be automatically converted to a different format. A link is then emailed back to the end user to allow them to download their converted file. == User privilege levels == Zamzar is currently free to use, but there is a limit of two conversions per hour for files up to 100MB. Users can pay a monthly subscription in order to access preferential features, such as unlimited file conversions, online file management, shorter response and queuing times and other benefits. == Name == Its name comes from Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis. Its main character is called Gregor Samsa and it is from his surname that Zamzar is derived. The founders of the service considered three other names – Konvertieren, Khamailen and Obrogo – before settling on Zamzar.
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Digital scrapbooking

Digital scrapbooking is the term for the creation of a new 2D artwork by re-combining various graphic elements. It is a form of scrapbooking that is done using a personal computer, digital or scanned photos and computer graphics software. It is a relatively new form of the traditional print scrapbooking. Recent advances in technology now enable the craft to be pursued on tablets and smart devices utilising imaging apps as well as hobby specific apps, some of which have been created specifically by brands for use with their own image products. Digital scrapbooking kits are available to purchase and download at many websites that specialize in the craft. Kits contain graphics and word-art and are usually themed and color-coordinated. They usually consist of a mix of background images and "cut out" [extracted] images containing alpha channels. Once a kit has been downloaded to the computer or device, it can then be used over and over again to make new scrapbook pages (scrapbook layouts) within the software program that one chooses to use, often in combination with the users's own family photographs, scanned keepsakes and other unique personal elements scanned on a flatbed scanner. Scanning is usually done at 300dpi, to make the resulting images suitable for print. == Licensing and Copyright == Kits are sometimes licensed differently from other forms of traditional royalty-free stock images that may be purchased per-item or in sets at online stock photography sites. Some kit packs will be wholly royalty-free, but some kit makers may restrict usage to non-commercial work only. Some may specifically forbid the use of their work in projects for commercial gain, for example greetings cards and gift tags that may be made with their kits. Licensing often varies from kit to kit, even from the same maker. Some kits include derivative works of public domain material. In contrast to stock, creators of digital scrapbooking kits often require a credit or byline to indicate that their image elements have been used in a new creation. == Uses == Some artistic individuals combine digital scrapbooking with traditional scrapbooking to create what's known as hybrid scrapbooking projects. Hybrid scrapbooking involves creating layouts on the computer using digital supplies that will then be printed and combined with traditional supplies such as buttons, ribbons and other elements. Conversely, a hybrid scrapbook project may also be created using traditional paper supplies and augmented with digital elements that have been printed and cut out specifically for use on the project. Journaling may be done within the software programs to accompany images and to create digital storybooks, or scrapbooks, which are then published in photo books via various popular print-on-demand services, printed and added to traditional scrapbooks, burned to CDs or posted on the Web. Digital Scrapbooking may also be done online by uploading photos to a specialist scrapbooking website and utilising their custom built platforms and decorative image elements to complete the projects for print to finished products, for example photo books and holiday greeting cards. == Market Size == The traditional scrapbooking market appeared to decline somewhat in the USA since 2010, probably due to the 2008 financial crisis, and the digital scrapbooking market (being potentially a much cheaper form of scrapbooking) may have increased accordingly. Both markets currently appear to have recovered lost ground and expanded since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic as many people sought to productively fill their time during lockdowns, quarantines and self-isolation / stay at home directions. == Digital scrapbooking software == The main software programs that are typically used are Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, paint.net (freeware), Filter Forge, Corel Paintshop Pro, and GIMP. Additionally Adobe offer the Photoshop iOS product using the same code base as the desktop version to drive the app version. == Digital scrapbooking supplies == Digital scrapbooking supplies are downloaded from the Internet and then stored on a computer or external hardrive, DVD or CD media, SD cards, or in the cloud, to be used as needed. Both paid and free digital scrapbooking supplies available from numerous designers on their blogs or in e-commerce stores either as solo designers or as part of a wide cohort of designers working cooperatively in large full service e-commerce websites. Usually designed at 300ppi image resolution, digital scrapbooking product offerings and supplies often include: Full coordinated kits containing digital background “papers”, decorative alphabets, and diverse embellishments generally containing a mixture of .JPG and .PNG files; "Quick pages", flattened files containing a completed page layout with transparent photo windows in .PNG file format; Digital templates, fully layered layouts i.e. pages that have had the composition pre-designed ready for use in an imaging program or app, fully customizable for color schemes, kit choices, photographs and other embellishments, generally supplied in either .PSD or .TIF file format; Hybrid “quick pages”, i.e. layouts that are both fully designed and fully layered for customization, generally supplied in either .PSD or .TIF file format; Adobe Photoshop actions, brushes, custom shapes, paths and styles, saved in their respective native Photoshop file formats; and Corel PaintShop Pro equivalent tools.
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Web developer

A web developer is a programmer who develops World Wide Web applications using a client–server model. The applications typically use HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in the client, and any general-purpose programming language in the server. HTTP is used for communications between client and server. A web developer may specialize in client-side applications (Front-end web development), server-side applications (back-end development), or both (full-stack development). == Prerequisite == There are no formal educational or license requirements to become a web developer. However, many colleges and trade schools offer coursework in web development. There are also many tutorials and articles which teach web development, often freely available on the web - for example, on JavaScript. Even though there are no formal requirements, web development projects require web developers to have knowledge and skills such as: Using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Programming/coding/scripting in one of the many server-side languages or frameworks Understanding server-side/client-side architecture and communication of the kind mentioned above Ability to utilize a database
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Communications system

A communications system is a collection of individual telecommunications networks systems, relay stations, tributary stations, and terminal equipment usually capable of interconnection and interoperation to form an integrated whole. Communication systems allow the transfer of information from one place to another or from one device to another through a specified channel or medium. The components of a communications system serve a common purpose, are technically compatible, use common procedures, respond to controls, and operate in union. In the structure of a communication system, the transmitter first converts the data received from the source into a light signal and transmits it through the medium to the destination of the receiver. The receiver connected at the receiving end converts it to digital data, maintaining certain protocols e.g. FTP, ISP assigned protocols etc. Telecommunications is a method of communication (e.g., for sports broadcasting, mass media, journalism, etc.). Communication is the act of conveying intended meanings from one entity or group to another through the use of mutually understood signs and semiotic rules. == Types == === By media === An optical communication system is any form of communications system that uses light as the transmission medium. Equipment consists of a transmitter, which encodes a message into an optical signal, a communication channel, which carries the signal to its destination, and a receiver, which reproduces the message from the received optical signal. Fiber-optic communication systems transmit information from one place to another by sending light through an optical fiber. The light forms a carrier signal that is modulated to carry information. A radio communication system is composed of several communications subsystems that give exterior communications capabilities. A radio communication system comprises a transmitting conductor in which electrical oscillations or currents are produced and which is arranged to cause such currents or oscillations to be propagated through the free space medium from one point to another remote therefrom and a receiving conductor at such distant point adapted to be excited by the oscillations or currents propagated from the transmitter. Power-line communication systems operate by impressing a modulated carrier signal on power wires. Different types of power-line communications use different frequency bands, depending on the signal transmission characteristics of the power wiring used. Since the power wiring system was originally intended for transmission of AC power, the power wire circuits have only a limited ability to carry higher frequencies. The propagation problem is a limiting factor for each type of power line communications. === By technology === A duplex communication system is a system composed of two connected parties or devices which can communicate with one another in both directions. The term duplex is used when describing communication between two parties or devices. Duplex systems are employed in nearly all communications networks, either to allow for a communication "two-way street" between two connected parties or to provide a "reverse path" for the monitoring and remote adjustment of equipment in the field. An antenna is basically a small length of a conductor that is used to radiate or receive electromagnetic waves. It acts as a conversion device. At the transmitting end it converts high frequency current into electromagnetic waves. At the receiving end it transforms electromagnetic waves into electrical signals that is fed into the input of the receiver. several types of antenna are used in communication. Examples of communications subsystems include the Defense Communications System (DCS). === Examples: by technology === Telephone Mobile phone Tablet computer Television Telegraph Edison Telegraph TV cable Computer === By application area === The term transmission system is used in the telecommunications industry to emphasize the intermediate media, protocols, and equipment in the circuit, rather than particular end-user applications. A tactical communications system is a communications system that (a) is used within, or in direct support of tactical forces (b) is designed to meet the requirements of changing tactical situations and varying environmental conditions, (c) provides securable communications, such as voice, data, and video, among mobile users to facilitate command and control within, and in support of, tactical forces, and (d) usually requires extremely short installation times, usually on the order of hours, in order to meet the requirements of frequent relocation. An Emergency communication system is any system (typically computer based) that is organized for the primary purpose of supporting the two way communication of emergency messages between both individuals and groups of individuals. These systems are commonly designed to integrate the cross-communication of messages between are variety of communication technologies. An Automatic call distributor (ACD) is a communication system that automatically queues, assigns and connects callers to handlers. This is used often in customer service (such as for product or service complaints), ordering by telephone (such as in a ticket office), or coordination services (such as in air traffic control). A Voice Communication Control System (VCCS) is essentially an ACD with characteristics that make it more adapted to use in critical situations (no waiting for dial tone, or lengthy recorded announcements, radio and telephone lines equally easily connected to, individual lines immediately accessible etc..) == Key components == =
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Application permissions

Permissions are a means of controlling and regulating access to specific system- and device-level functions by software. Typically, types of permissions cover functions that may have privacy implications, such as the ability to access a device's hardware features (including the camera and microphone), and personal data (such as storage devices, contacts lists, and the user's present geographical location). Permissions are typically declared in an application's manifest, and certain permissions must be specifically granted at runtime by the user—who may revoke the permission at any time. Permission systems are common on mobile operating systems, where permissions needed by specific apps must be disclosed via the platform's app store. == Mobile devices == On mobile operating systems for smartphones and tablets, typical types of permissions regulate: Access to storage and personal information, such as contacts, calendar appointments, etc. Location tracking. Access to the device's internal camera and/or microphone. Access to biometric sensors, including fingerprint readers and other health sensors.. Internet access. Access to communications interfaces (including their hardware identifiers and signal strength where applicable, and requests to enable them), such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, and others. Making and receiving phone calls. Sending and reading text messages The ability to perform in-app purchases. The ability to "overlay" themselves within other apps. Installing, deleting and otherwise managing applications. Authentication tokens (e.g., OAuth tokens) from web services stored in system storage for sharing between apps. Prior to Android 6.0 "Marshmallow", permissions were automatically granted to apps at runtime, and they were presented upon installation in Google Play Store. Since Marshmallow, certain permissions now require the app to request permission at runtime by the user. These permissions may also be revoked at any time via Android's settings menu. Usage of permissions on Android are sometimes abused by app developers to gather personal information and deliver advertising; in particular, apps for using a phone's camera flash as a flashlight (which have grown largely redundant due to the integration of such functionality at the system level on later versions of Android) have been known to require a large array of unnecessary permissions beyond what is actually needed for the stated functionality. iOS imposes a similar requirement for permissions to be granted at runtime, with particular controls offered for enabling of Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and location tracking. == WebPermissions == WebPermissions is a permission system for web browsers. When a web application needs some data behind permission, it must request it first. When it does it, a user sees a window asking him to make a choice. The choice is remembered, but can be cleared lately. Currently the following resources are controlled: geolocation desktop notifications service workers sensors audio capturing devices, like sound cards, and their model names and characteristics video capturing devices, like cameras, and their identifiers and characteristics == Analysis == The permission-based access control model assigns access privileges for certain data objects to application. This is a derivative of the discretionary access control model. The access permissions are usually granted in the context of a specific user on a specific device. Permissions are granted permanently with few automatic restrictions. In some cases permissions are implemented in 'all-or-nothing' approach: a user either has to grant all the required permissions to access the application or the user can not access the application. There is still a lack of transparency when the permission is used by a program or application to access the data protected by the permission access control mechanism. Even if a user can revoke a permission, the app can blackmail a user by refusing to operate, for example by just crashing or asking user to grant the permission again in order to access the application. The permission mechanism has been widely criticized by researchers for several reasons, including; Intransparency of personal data extraction and surveillance, including the creation of a false sense of security; End-user fatigue of micro-managing access permissions leading to a fatalistic acceptance of surveillance and intransparency; Massive data extraction and personal surveillance carried out once the permissions are granted. Some apps, such as XPrivacy and Mockdroid spoof data in order to act as a measure for privacy. Further transparency methods include longitudinal behavioural profiling and multiple-source privacy analysis of app data access.
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Homeboyz Interactive

Homeboyz Interactive (HBI) was a faith-based recruitment, training and job placement non-profit business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, founded by a Jesuit brother in 1996 to transform gang members into productive workers. == History == James Holub, a former Jesuit brother affiliated with Wheeling Jesuit University, asked gang members in the Southside of Milwaukee, WI how they could be helped, to break the cycle of poverty and violence. The youth suggested that they be trained for work they found exciting. To attract interest, the training must lead to jobs that paid at least a living wage, and computer skills seemed the most attractive. The non-profit Homeboyz Interactive was established to prepare professionals in web design, application development, and PC/network support. This non-profit outfit spawned the for-profit web design firm HBI Consulting, which provided trainees with work experience. It turned out more than 20 teachers yearly for computer and computer network programs for high schools and other clients, as well as for computer service providers. Some graduates of the program continued their education, some founded their own business, and others continued working at HBI. The Economist described this effort as "turning thugs into programmers" on Milwaukee's South Side, which has proportionally twice as many murders as New York. Holub had "buried his 28th gang member" before he implemented the Homeboyz plan, with the understanding that "nothing stops a bullet like a job." The programs would pass through about 80 prospects a year who successfully completed training and provide them with a job while studying for their high school equivalency test, before they were asked to decide in which direction to go. Most accepted a job or went on to community college but about 25 entered the Homeboyz training for computer programmers. Of first 150 graduates of this program none lost their job; their average pay after two years was US$63,000. Some preferred to return to full-time work at HBI. By 2002, a total of 142 people had graduated from HBI training and moved into full-time IT careers. The training curriculum as of 2000 included JavaScript and Photoshop, among other web-development tools. In 2000, HBI received a 14% ownership stake in reEmploy.com, a payrolling company, in exchange for the development of an electronic time sheet created by the organization. As of 2001, HBI Consulting, the for profit web design firm, had 72 clients. Among those clients were GE Medical, Toyota Forklift, Northwestern Mutual Life, Verizon Wireless, BP; and Marquette University. Companies that graduates of HBI's training programs secured positions have included Northwestern Mutual and Manpower Inc., United Community Center in Milwaukee and EKI Consulting. A pair of graduates also started their own company in 2002, Innovative Source, a web design firm, which itself has had clients such as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Women's Center. This was a common path forward, graduates starting their own consulting firms. In 2004, HBI received a grant for General Support from the Vine and Branches Foundation in the amount of US$120,000. The product Project Foundry found its start in the difficulty of managing project-based learning across dozens of students with widely varying levels of skill, a problem encountered by Shane Krukowski, who developed the software while teaching at HBI. Krukowski subsequently an eponymous company to commercialize the software through a subscription-based business model. Some came to Homeboyz through the criminal courts or Department of Corrections. A Jesuit Volunteer (JV) was assigned to work with the program, and to add a spiritual dimension through regular reflection together. Gradually the market began prioritizing graphic design and flash images more than site construction. After 2006 Homeboyz HBI morphed into several spinoffs and ceased to exist as a separate entity.
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LTE (telecommunication)

In telecommunications, Long Term Evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for cellular mobile devices and data terminals. It is considered to be a "transitional" 4G technology, and is therefore also referred to as 3.95G as a step above 3G. LTE is based on the 2G GSM/EDGE and 3G UMTS/HSPA standards. It improves on those standards' capacity and speed by using a different radio interface and core network improvements. LTE is the upgrade path for carriers with both GSM/UMTS networks and CDMA2000 networks. LTE has been succeeded by LTE Advanced, which is officially defined as a "true" 4G technology and also named "LTE+". == Terminology == The standard is developed by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) and is specified in its Release 8 document series, with minor enhancements described in Release 9. LTE is also called 3.95G and has been marketed as 4G LTE and Advanced 4G; but the original version did not meet the technical criteria of a 4G wireless service, as specified in the 3GPP Release 8 and 9 document series for LTE Advanced. The requirements were set forth by the ITU-R organisation in the IMT Advanced specification; but, because of market pressure and the significant advances that WiMAX, Evolved High Speed Packet Access, and LTE bring to the original 3G technologies, ITU-R later decided that LTE and the aforementioned technologies can be called 4G technologies. The LTE Advanced standard formally satisfies the ITU-R requirements for being considered IMT-Advanced. To differentiate LTE Advanced and WiMAX-Advanced from current 4G technologies, ITU has defined the latter as "True 4G". == Overview == LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and is a registered trademark owned by ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) for the wireless data communications technology and development of the GSM/UMTS standards. However, other nations and companies do play an active role in the LTE project. The goal of LTE was to increase the capacity and speed of wireless data networks using new DSP (digital signal processing) techniques and modulations that were developed around the turn of the millennium. A further goal was the redesign and simplification of the network architecture to an IP-based system with significantly reduced transfer latency compared with the 3G architecture. The LTE wireless interface is incompatible with 2G and 3G networks, so it must be operated on a separate radio spectrum. The idea of LTE was first proposed in 1998, with the use of the COFDM radio access technique to replace the CDMA and studying its Terrestrial use in the L band at 1428 MHz (TE) In 2004 by Japan's NTT Docomo, with studies on the standard officially commenced in 2005. In May 2007, the LTE/SAE Trial Initiative (LSTI) alliance was founded as a global collaboration between vendors and operators with the goal of verifying and promoting the new standard to ensure the global introduction of the technology as quickly as possible. The LTE standard was finalized in December 2008, and the first publicly available LTE service was launched by TeliaSonera in Oslo and Stockholm on December 14, 2009, as a data connection with a USB modem. The LTE services were launched by major North American carriers as well, with the Samsung SCH-r900 being the world's first LTE Mobile phone starting on September 21, 2010, and Samsung Galaxy Indulge being the world's first LTE smartphone starting on February 10, 2011, both offered by MetroPCS, and the HTC ThunderBolt offered by Verizon starting on March 17 being the second LTE smartphone to be sold commercially. In Canada, Rogers Wireless was the first to launch LTE network on July 7, 2011, offering the Sierra Wireless AirCard 313U USB mobile broadband modem, known as the "LTE Rocket stick" then followed closely by mobile devices from both HTC and Samsung. Initially, CDMA operators planned to upgrade to rival standards called UMB and WiMAX, but major CDMA operators (such as Verizon, Sprint and MetroPCS in the United States, Bell and Telus in Canada, au by KDDI in Japan, SK Telecom in South Korea and China Telecom/China Unicom in China) have announced instead they intend to migrate to LTE. The next version of LTE is LTE Advanced, which was standardized in March 2011. Services commenced in 2013. Additional evolution known as LTE Advanced Pro was approved in 2015. The LTE specification provides downlink peak rates of 300 Mbit/s, uplink peak rates of 75 Mbit/s, and QoS provisions permitting a transfer latency of less than 5 ms in the radio access network. LTE has the ability to manage fast-moving mobiles and supports multicast and broadcast streams. LTE supports scalable carrier bandwidths, from 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz and supports both frequency division duplexing (FDD) and time-division duplexing (TDD). The IP-based network architecture, called the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) designed to replace the GPRS Core Network, supports seamless handovers for both voice and data to cell towers with older network technology such as GSM, UMTS and CDMA2000. The simpler architecture results in lower operating costs (for example, each E-UTRA cell will support up to four times the data and voice capacity supported by HSPA). Because LTE frequencies and bands differ from country to country, only multi-band phones can use LTE in all countries where it is supported. == History == === 3GPP standard development timeline === In 2004, NTT Docomo of Japan proposes LTE as the international standard. In September 2006, Siemens Networks (today Nokia Networks) showed in collaboration with Nomor Research the first live emulation of an LTE network to the media and investors. As live applications, two users streaming an HDTV video in the downlink and playing an interactive game in the uplink have been demonstrated. In February 2007, Ericsson demonstrated for the first time in the world, LTE with bit rates up to 144 Mbit/s In September 2007, NTT Docomo demonstrated LTE data rates of 200 Mbit/s with power level below 100 mW during the test. In November 2007, Infineon presented the world's first RF transceiver named SMARTi LTE, supporting LTE functionality in a single-chip RF silicon processed in CMOS In early 2008, LTE test equipment began shipping from several vendors and at the Mobile World Congress 2008 in Barcelona, Ericsson demonstrated the world's first end-to-end mobile call enabled by LTE on a small handheld device. Motorola demonstrated an LTE RAN (Radio Access Network) standard compliant eNodeB and LTE chipset at the same event. At the February 2008 Mobile World Congress: Motorola demonstrated how LTE can accelerate the delivery of personal media experience with HD video demo streaming, HD video blogging, online gaming, and VoIP over LTE running a RAN standard-compliant LTE network & LTE chipset. Ericsson EMP (later ST-Ericsson) demonstrated the world's first end-to-end LTE call on handheld Ericsson demonstrated LTE FDD and TDD mode on the same base station platform. Freescale Semiconductor demonstrated streaming HD video with peak data rates of 96 Mbit/s downlink and 86 Mbit/s uplink. NXP Semiconductors (later part of ST-Ericsson) demonstrated a multi-mode LTE modem as the basis for a software-defined radio system for use in cellphones. picoChip and Mimoon demonstrated a base station reference design. This runs on a common hardware platform (multi-mode / software-defined radio) with their WiMAX architecture. In April 2008, Motorola demonstrated the first EV-DO to LTE hand-off handling over streaming a video from LTE to a commercial EV-DO network and back to LTE. In April 2008, LG Electronics and Nortel demonstrated LTE data rates of 50 Mbit/s while travelling at 110 km/h (68 mph). In November 2008, Motorola demonstrated industry first over-the-air LTE session in 700 MHz spectrum. Researchers at Nokia Siemens Networks and Heinrich Hertz Institut have demonstrated LTE with 100 Mbit/s Uplink transfer speeds. At the February 2009 Mobile World Congress: Infineon demonstrated a single-chip 65 nm CMOS RF transceiver providing 2G/3G/LTE functionality Launch of ng Connect program, a multi-industry consortium founded by Alcatel-Lucent to identify and develop wireless broadband applications. Motorola provided LTE drive tour on the streets of Barcelona to demonstrate LTE system performance in a real-life metropolitan RF environment In July 2009, Nujira demonstrated efficiencies of more than 60% for an 880 MHz LTE Power Amplifier In August 2009, Nortel and LG Electronics demonstrated the first successful handoff between CDMA and LTE networks in a standards-compliant manner In August 2009, Alcatel-Lucent receives FCC certification for LTE base stations for the 700 MHz spectrum band. In September 2009, Nokia Siemens Networks demonstrated the world's first LTE call on standards-compliant commercial software. In October 2009, Ericsson and Samsung demonstrated interoperability between the first ever commercial LTE device and the live network in
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Scalable Video Coding

Scalable Video Coding (SVC) is a video compression standard developed jointly by the ITU-T and the ISO/IEC. The two organizations formed the Joint Video Team (JVT) to create the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC standard (ITU-T Rec. H.264 | ISO/IEC 14496-10 AVC). SVC aims to provide adaptable or scalable content, allowing a single encoded video stream to be decoded at various bitrates, resolutions, and quality levels, thus catering to diverse devices and network conditions. == History == In October 2003, the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) issued a Call for Proposals on SVC Technology. Fourteen proposals were submitted, twelve of which utilized wavelet compression, while the remaining two were extensions of H.264/MPEG-4 AVC. The proposal from the Heinrich-Hertz-Institut (HHI) was selected by MPEG as the foundation for the SVC standardization project. In January 2005, MPEG and the Video Coding Experts Group (VCEG) agreed to finalize SVC as an amendment to the H.264/MPEG-4 AVC standard. In November 2008, Google launched Gmail Video Chat, which employed an H.264/SVC codec, marking the first consumer application of the standard. This service was succeeded by Google+ Hangouts in 2012. In 2011, Google Code highlighted SVC as the successor to the open-source RVC video chat engine, noting its prominence in 2010. == Principles of scalability == === Overview === Scalability refers to the ability to represent a video signal at multiple levels of detail within a single encoded bitstream. This enables decoding of a base layer for basic quality and additional enhancement layers for progressively higher quality. SVC defines three types of scalability: Spatial scalability: Supports multiple resolution levels. Temporal scalability: Enables varying frame rates. Quality scalability: Provides different image quality levels. === Spatial scalability === Spatial scalability allows the reconstruction of video at different resolutions, such as QCIF, CIF, or SD. This is achieved through a pyramidal decomposition into multiple spatial layers. === Temporal scalability === Temporal scalability adjusts the frame rate of the decoded video stream. Various frame rates are supported using a hierarchical structure of video frames. === Quality scalability === Quality scalability, or Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) scalability, improves the signal-to-noise ratio of a layer, reducing quantization distortion between the original and reconstructed images. SVC supports two approaches: Fine Grain Scalability (FGS) and Coarse Grain Scalability (CGS). ==== Coarse Grain Scalability (CGS) ==== CGS incorporates quality scalability across spatial resolutions. Each spatial resolution is encoded as a separate layer, refining texture and motion data. For a given resolution, quality scalability is achieved by encoding multiple quality layers with progressively finer quantization steps, starting from a base layer with minimal quality. ==== Fine Grain Scalability (FGS) ==== FGS enables progressive refinement of transformed coefficients within a single spatial layer. The base quality layer is encoded using the AVC standard with an initial quantization parameter (QP) ensuring minimal acceptable quality. Subsequent refinement layers reduce the QP by six, halving the quantization step. The refinement data stream can be truncated at any point, allowing fine-grained quality scalability.
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AI alignment

In the field of artificial intelligence (AI), alignment aims to steer AI systems toward a person's or group's intended goals, preferences, or ethical principles. An AI system is considered aligned if it advances the intended objectives. A misaligned AI system pursues unintended objectives. It is often difficult for AI designers to specify the full range of desired and undesired behaviors. Therefore, the designers often use simpler proxy goals, such as gaining human approval. But proxy goals can overlook necessary constraints or reward the AI system for merely appearing aligned. AI systems may also find loopholes that allow them to accomplish their proxy goals efficiently but in unintended, sometimes harmful, ways (reward hacking). Advanced AI systems may develop unwanted instrumental strategies, such as seeking power or self-preservation because such strategies help them achieve their assigned final goals. Furthermore, they might develop undesirable emergent goals that could be hard to detect before the system is deployed and encounters new situations and data distributions. Empirical research showed in 2024 that advanced large language models (LLMs) such as OpenAI o1 or Claude 3 sometimes engage in strategic deception to achieve their goals or prevent them from being changed. Some of these issues affect existing commercial systems such as LLMs, robots, autonomous vehicles, and social media recommendation engines. Some AI researchers argue that more capable future systems will be more severely affected because these problems partially result from high capabilities. Many prominent AI researchers and AI company leaders have argued or asserted that AI is approaching human-like (AGI) and superhuman cognitive capabilities (ASI), and could endanger human civilization if misaligned. These include "AI godfathers" Geoffrey Hinton and Yoshua Bengio and the CEOs of OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. These risks remain debated. AI alignment is a subfield of AI safety, the study of how to build safe AI systems. Other subfields of AI safety include robustness, monitoring, and capability control. Research challenges in alignment include instilling complex values in AI, developing honest AI, scalable oversight, auditing and interpreting AI models, and preventing emergent AI behaviors like power-seeking. Alignment research has connections to interpretability research, (adversarial) robustness, anomaly detection, calibrated uncertainty, formal verification, preference learning, safety-critical engineering, game theory, algorithmic fairness, and social sciences. == Objectives in AI == Programmers provide an AI system such as AlphaZero with an "objective function", in which they intend to encapsulate the goal(s) the AI is configured to accomplish. Such a system later populates a (possibly implicit) internal "model" of its environment. This model encapsulates all the agent's beliefs about the world. The AI then creates and executes whatever plan is calculated to maximize the value of its objective function. For example, when AlphaZero is trained on chess, it has a simple objective function of "+1 if AlphaZero wins, −1 if AlphaZero loses". During the game, AlphaZero attempts to execute whatever sequence of moves it judges most likely to attain the maximum value of +1. Similarly, a reinforcement learning system can have a "reward function" that allows the programmers to shape the AI's desired behavior. An evolutionary algorithm's behavior is shaped by a "fitness function". == Alignment problem == In 1960, AI pioneer Norbert Wiener described the AI alignment problem as follows: If we use, to achieve our purposes, a mechanical agency with whose operation we cannot interfere effectively [...] we had better be quite sure that the purpose put into the machine is the purpose which we really desire. AI alignment refers to ensuring that an AI system's objectives match some target. The target is variously defined as the goals of the system's designers or users, widely shared values, objective ethical standards, legal requirements, or the intentions its designers would have if they were more informed and enlightened. In democratic AI alignment, the target is the values and preferences of median voters, which increases political legitimacy. AI alignment is an open problem for modern AI systems and is a research field within AI. Aligning AI involves two main challenges: carefully specifying the purpose of the system (outer alignment) and ensuring that the system adopts the specification robustly (inner alignment). Researchers also attempt to create AI models that have robust alignment, sticking to safety constraints even when users adversarially try to bypass them. === Specification gaming and side effects === To specify an AI system's purpose, AI designers typically provide an objective function, examples, or feedback to the system. But designers are often unable to completely specify all important values and constraints, so they resort to easy-to-specify proxy goals such as maximizing the approval of human overseers, who are fallible. As a result, AI systems can find loopholes that help them accomplish the specified objective efficiently but in unintended, possibly harmful ways. This tendency is known as specification gaming or reward hacking, and is an instance of Goodhart's law. As AI systems become more capable, they are often able to game their specifications more effectively. Specification gaming has been observed in numerous AI systems. OpenAI GPT models for programming—including in real-world cases—have been found to explicitly plan hacking the tests used to evaluate them to falsely appear successful (e.g., explicitly stating "let's hack"). When the company penalized this, many models learned to obfuscate their plans while continuing to hack the tests. Another system was trained to finish a simulated boat race by rewarding the system for hitting targets along the track, but the system achieved more reward by looping and crashing into the same targets indefinitely. A 2025 Palisade Research study found that when tasked to win at chess against a stronger opponent, some reasoning LLMs attempted to hack the game system, for example by modifying or entirely deleting their opponent. Some alignment researchers aim to help humans detect specification gaming and steer AI systems toward carefully specified objectives that are safe and useful to pursue. When a misaligned AI system is deployed, it can have consequential side effects. Social media platforms have been known to optimize their recommendation algorithms for click-through rates, causing user addiction on a global scale. Stanford researchers say that such recommender systems are misaligned with their users because they "optimize simple engagement metrics rather than a harder-to-measure combination of societal and consumer well-being". Explaining such side effects, Berkeley computer scientist Stuart J. Russell said that the omission of implicit constraints can cause harm: "A system [...] will often set [...] unconstrained variables to extreme values; if one of those unconstrained variables is actually something we care about, the solution found may be highly undesirable. This is essentially the old story of the genie in the lamp, or the sorcerer's apprentice, or King Midas: you get exactly what you ask for, not what you want." Some researchers suggest that AI designers specify their desired goals by listing forbidden actions or by formalizing ethical rules (as with Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics). But Russell and Norvig argue that this approach overlooks the complexity of human values: "It is certainly very hard, and perhaps impossible, for mere humans to anticipate and rule out in advance all the disastrous ways the machine could choose to achieve a specified objective." Additionally, even if an AI system fully understands human intentions, it may still disregard them, because following human intentions may not be its objective (unless it is already fully aligned). === Pressure to deploy unsafe systems === Commercial organizations sometimes have incentives to take shortcuts on safety and to deploy misaligned or unsafe AI systems. For example, social media recommender systems have been profitable despite creating unwanted addiction and polarization. Competitive pressure can also lead to a race to the bottom on AI safety standards. For example, OpenAI has been sued for releasing a ChatGPT version that encouraged suicide for some unstable users, a behavior the company had overlooked amid a rushed product release. Similarly, in 2018, a self-driving car killed a pedestrian (Elaine Herzberg) after engineers disabled the emergency braking system because it was oversensitive and slowed development. === Risks from advanced misaligned AI === Some researchers are interested in aligning increasingly advanced AI systems, as progress in AI development is rapid, and industry and governments are trying to build advan
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Artificial Intelligence for Digital Response

Artificial Intelligence for Digital Response (AIDR) is a free and open source platform to filter and classify social media messages related to emergencies, disasters, and humanitarian crises. It has been developed by the Qatar Computing Research Institute and awarded the Grand Prize for the 2015 Open Source Software World Challenge. Muhammad Imran stated that he and his team "have developed novel computational techniques and technologies, which can help gain insightful and actionable information from online sources to enable rapid decision-making" - according to him the system "combines human intelligence with machine learning techniques, to solve many real-world challenges during mass emergencies and health issues". == How to use == It can be used by logging in with ones Twitter credentials and by collecting tweets by specifying keywords or hashtags, like #ChileEarthquake, and possibly a geographical region as well. == Use == It has been deployed in conjunction with UNICEF in Zambia to classify short messages related to AIDS/HIV received through the U-Report platform. AIDR was used for the first time during the 2010 Pakistan floods. The first real test of AIDR took place during the 2014 Iquique earthquake in Chile. == Related talks and events == Muhammad Imran delivered a keynote talk on the science behind the AIDR system at the International Conference on Information Systems for Crisis Response And Management (ISCRAM). Abdelkader Lattab and Ji Lucas also presented the system at the 2016 QCRI-IBM Data Science Connect event.
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Fansly

Fansly is a subscription-based social media platform that allows content creators to monetize exclusive content, including photos, videos, live streams, and direct messages. Operated by Select Media LLC, the platform is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. While the platform hosts a variety of content genres, it is primarily known for adult content and is frequently compared to OnlyFans. == History == Fansly was launched in 2020 by Micheal Etelis under Select Media LLC, which was incorporated in February 2020. The platform also operates through CY Media LTD, registered in Kamares, Cyprus, established in May 2021. The company has remained privately held with no disclosed external funding rounds or official valuation, operating as a bootstrapped entity. Based on Fansly's social media presence, which was created in November 2020, the platform did not begin gaining traction until early 2021 when creators started to become concerned about potential content policy changes at OnlyFans. In August 2021, OnlyFans announced it would ban sexually explicit content effective October 2021, citing pressure from banks involved in its payment processing. Although OnlyFans reversed the decision six days later, the announcement triggered a massive influx of users to Fansly; the platform received nearly 4,000 new creator applications in a single hour, causing its servers to crash from the surge in traffic. By August 21, 2021, Fansly had reached 2.1 million users. == Features and business model == Fansly operates as a B2C marketplace, taking a 20% commission on all transactions conducted on the platform, with creators retaining the remaining 80%. This commission rate is the same as that charged by its main competitor, OnlyFans. A distinguishing feature of Fansly is its tiered subscription model, which allows creators to set multiple subscription levels at different price points, each offering different perks such as exclusive content, chat access, or custom requests. By contrast, OnlyFans historically relied on a single-tier subscription model. Revenue streams on the platform include recurring subscriptions, one-time pay-per-view content purchases, tips, paid messaging, and live-streaming fees. The platform also features an algorithmic "For You" feed that helps users discover new creators, addressing a limitation of competitors that lack internal content promotion mechanisms. Additional features include content watermarking, geolocation blocking to control where content is visible, two-factor authentication, community polls, 24-hour stories, and social media integration with platforms such as Twitter and Twitch. Payouts are processed within one to two business days and support multiple methods, including bank transfers, Skrill, Paxum, and cryptocurrency. In December 2025, Fansly expanded its live-streaming capabilities, introducing ticketed access, private list gating, configurable chat permissions, stream goals, and interactive device integration. == Controversies == === OnlyFans anti-competitive allegations === In August 2022, a series of lawsuits were filed in the United States alleging that OnlyFans had bribed employees of Meta Platforms to place Instagram accounts of creators who also sold content on competitor platforms, including Fansly, onto a terrorist blacklist. The lawsuits alleged that adult performers had traffic driven away from their Instagram accounts after being falsely tagged as terror-related. OnlyFans denied awareness of such activity. The plaintiffs withdrew the bribery claim in July 2023, and the case was dismissed in August 2023. === Privacy class action === In June 2025, Select Media LLC (operating as Fansly) was the subject of a digital privacy class action lawsuit filed in Massachusetts District Court. The lawsuit alleged that the platform secretly collected and shared users' sensitive viewing data with Google and other third parties without consent. The case was brought on behalf of an estimated class of over 10,000 users across multiple states.
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ISO/IEC 11801

International standard ISO/IEC 11801 Information technology — Generic cabling for customer premises specifies general-purpose telecommunication cabling systems (structured cabling) that are suitable for a wide range of applications (analog and ISDN telephony, various data communication standards, building control systems, factory automation). It is published by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25/WG 3 of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). It covers both balanced copper cabling and optical fibre cabling. The standard was designed for use within commercial premises that may consist of either a single building or of multiple buildings on a campus. It was optimized for premises that span up to 3 km, up to 1 km2 office space, with between 50 and 50,000 persons, but can also be applied for installations outside this range. A major revision was released in November 2017, unifying requirements for commercial, home and industrial networks. == Classes and categories == The standard defines several link/channel classes and cabling categories of twisted-pair copper interconnects, which differ in the maximum frequency for which a certain channel performance is required: Class A: Up to 100 kHz using Category 1 cable and connectors Class B: Up to 1 MHz using Category 2 cable and connectors Class C: Up to 16 MHz using Category 3 cable and connectors Class D: Up to 100 MHz using Category 5e cable and connectors Class E: Up to 250 MHz using Category 6 cable and connectors Class EA: Up to 500 MHz using category 6A cable and connectors (Amendments 1 and 2 to ISO/IEC 11801, 2nd Ed.) Class F: Up to 600 MHz using Category 7 cable and connectors Class FA: Up to 1 GHz (1000 MHz) using Category 7A cable and connectors (Amendments 1 and 2 to ISO/IEC 11801, 2nd Ed.) Class BCT-B: Up to 1 GHz (1000 MHz) using with coaxial cabling for BCT applications. (ISO/IEC 11801-1, Edition 1.0 2017-11) Class I: Up to 2 GHz (2000 MHz) using Category 8.1 cable and connectors (ISO/IEC 11801-1, Edition 1.0 2017-11) Class II: Up to 2 GHz (2000 MHz) using Category 8.2 cable and connectors (ISO/IEC 11801-1, Edition 1.0 2017-11) The standard link impedance is 100 Ω. (The older 1995 version of the standard also permitted 120 Ω and 150 Ω in Classes A−C, but this was removed from the 2002 edition.) The standard defines several classes of optical fiber interconnect: OM1: Multimode, 62.5 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 200 MHz·km at 850 nm OM2: Multimode, 50 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 500 MHz·km at 850 nm OM3: Multimode, 50 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 2000 MHz·km at 850 nm OM4: Multimode, 50 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 4700 MHz·km at 850 nm OM5: Multimode, 50 μm core; minimum modal bandwidth of 4700 MHz·km at 850 nm and 2470 MHz·km at 953 nm OS1: Single-mode, maximum attenuation 1 dB/km at 1310 and 1550 nm OS1a: Single-mode, maximum attenuation 1 dB/km at 1310, 1383, and 1550 nm OS2: Single-mode, maximum attenuation 0.4 dB/km at 1310, 1383, and 1550 nm Grandfathered === OM5 === OM5 fiber is designed for wideband applications using SWDM multiplexing of 4–16 carriers (40G=4λ×10G, 100G=4λ×25G, 400G=4×4λ×25G) in the 850–953 nm range. === Category 7 === Class F channel and Category 7 cable are backward compatible with Class D/Category 5e and Class E/Category 6. Class F features even stricter specifications for crosstalk and system noise than Class E. To achieve this, shielding was added for individual wire pairs and the cable as a whole. Unshielded cables rely on the quality of the twists to protect from EMI. This involves a tight twist and carefully controlled design. Cables with individual shielding per pair such as Category 7 rely mostly on the shield and therefore have pairs with longer twists. The Category 7 cable standard was ratified in 2002, and primarily introduced to support 10 gigabit Ethernet over 100 m of copper cabling. Like the earlier standards, it contains four twisted copper wire pairs rated for transmission frequencies of up to 600 MHz. However, in 2006, Category 6A was ratified for Ethernet to allow 10 Gbit/s while still using the conventional 8P8C connector. Care is required to avoid signal degradation by mixing cable and connectors not designed for that use, however similar. Most manufacturers of active equipment and network cards have chosen to support the 8P8C for their 10 gigabit Ethernet products on copper and not GG45, ARJ45, or TERA connectors as Class F would have originally called for. Therefore, the Category 6 specification was revised to Category 6A to permit this use; products therefore require a Class EA channel (ie, Cat 6A). As of 2019, some equipment has been introduced which has connectors supporting the Class F (Category 7) channel. Note, however, that Category 7 is not recognized by the TIA/EIA. === Category 7A === Class FA (Class F Augmented) channels and Category 7A cables, introduced by ISO 11801 Edition 2 Amendment 2 (2010), are defined at frequencies up to 1000 MHz. The intent of the Class FA was to possibly support the future 40 gigabit Ethernet: 40GBASE-T. Simulation results have shown that 40 gigabit Ethernet may be possible at 50 meters and 100 gigabit Ethernet at 15 meters. In 2007, researchers at Pennsylvania State University predicted that either 32 nm or 22 nm circuits would allow for 100 gigabit Ethernet at 100 meters. However, in 2016, the IEEE 802.3bq working group ratified the amendment 3 which defines 25GBASE-T and 40GBASE-T on Category 8 cabling specified to 2000 MHz. The Class FA therefore does not support 40G Ethernet. As of 2025, there is no equipment that has connectors supporting the Class FA (Category 7A) channel. Category 7A is not recognized in TIA/EIA. === Category 8 === Category 8 was ratified by the TR43 working group under ANSI/TIA 568-C.2-1. It is defined up to 2000 MHz and only for distances up to 30 m or 36 m, depending on the patch cords used. ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25/WG 3 developed the equivalent standard ISO/IEC 11801-1:2017/COR 1:2018, with two options: Class I channel (Category 8.1 cable): minimum cable design U/FTP or F/UTP, fully backward compatible and interoperable with Class EA (Category 6A) using 8P8C connectors; Class II channel (Category 8.2 cable): F/FTP or S/FTP minimum, interoperable with Class FA (Category 7A) using TERA or GG45. == Abbreviations for twisted pairs == Annex E, Acronyms for balanced cables, provides a system to specify the exact construction for both unshielded and shielded balanced twisted pair cables. It uses three letters—U for unshielded, S for braided shielding, and F for foil shielding—to form a two-part abbreviation in the form of xx/xTP, where the first part specifies the type of overall cable shielding, and the second part specifies shielding for individual cable elements. Common cable types include U/UTP (unshielded cable); U/FTP (individual pair shielding without the overall screen); F/UTP, S/UTP, or SF/UTP (overall screen without individual shielding); and F/FTP, S/FTP, or SF/FTP (overall screen with individual foil shielding). == 2017 edition == In November 2017, a new edition was released by ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 25 "Interconnection of information technology equipment" subcommittee. It is a major revision of the standard which has unified several prior standards for commercial, home, and industrial networks, as well as data centers, and defines requirements for generic cabling and distributed building networks. The new series of standards replaces the former 11801 standard and includes six parts: == Versions == ISO/IEC 11801:1995 (Ed. 1) ISO/IEC 11801:2000 (Ed. 1.1) – Edition 1, Amendment 1 ISO/IEC 11801:2002 (Ed. 2) ISO/IEC 11801:2008 (Ed. 2.1) – Edition 2, Amendment 1 ISO/IEC 11801:2010 (Ed. 2.2) – Edition 2, Amendment 2 ISO/IEC 11801-1:2017, -1:2017/Cor 1:2018, -2:2017, -3:2017, -3:2017/Amd 1:2021, -3:2017/Cor 1:2018, -4:2017, -4:2017/Cor 1:2018, -5:2017, -5:2017/Cor 1:2018, -6:2017, -6:2017/Cor 1:2018 (As of September 2023, this set is current.)
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Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice

Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice is a textbook written by James D. Foley, Andries van Dam, Steven K. Feiner, John Hughes, Morgan McGuire, David F. Sklar, and Kurt Akeley and published by Addison–Wesley. First published in 1982 as Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics, it is widely considered a classic standard reference book on the topic of computer graphics. It is sometimes known as the bible of computer graphics (due to its size). == Editions == === First Edition === The first edition, published in 1982 and titled Fundamentals of Interactive Computer Graphics, discussed the SGP library, which was based on ACM's SIGGRAPH CORE 1979 graphics standard, and focused on 2D vector graphics. === Second Edition === The second edition, published 1990, was completely rewritten and covered 2D and 3D raster and vector graphics, user interfaces, geometric modeling, anti-aliasing, advanced rendering algorithms and an introduction to animation. The SGP library was replaced by SRGP (Simple Raster Graphics Package), a library for 2D raster primitives and interaction handling, and SPHIGS (Simple PHIGS), a library for 3D primitives, which were specifically written for the book. === Second Edition in C === In the second edition in C, published in 1995, all examples were converted from Pascal to C. New implementations for the SRGP and SPHIGS graphics packages in C were also provided. === Third Edition === A third edition covering modern GPU architecture was released in July 2013. Examples in the third edition are written in C++, C#, WPF, GLSL, OpenGL, G3D, or pseudocode. == Awards == The book has won a Front Line Award (Hall of Fame) in 1998.
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Fansly

Fansly is a subscription-based social media platform that allows content creators to monetize exclusive content, including photos, videos, live streams, and direct messages. Operated by Select Media LLC, the platform is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. While the platform hosts a variety of content genres, it is primarily known for adult content and is frequently compared to OnlyFans. == History == Fansly was launched in 2020 by Micheal Etelis under Select Media LLC, which was incorporated in February 2020. The platform also operates through CY Media LTD, registered in Kamares, Cyprus, established in May 2021. The company has remained privately held with no disclosed external funding rounds or official valuation, operating as a bootstrapped entity. Based on Fansly's social media presence, which was created in November 2020, the platform did not begin gaining traction until early 2021 when creators started to become concerned about potential content policy changes at OnlyFans. In August 2021, OnlyFans announced it would ban sexually explicit content effective October 2021, citing pressure from banks involved in its payment processing. Although OnlyFans reversed the decision six days later, the announcement triggered a massive influx of users to Fansly; the platform received nearly 4,000 new creator applications in a single hour, causing its servers to crash from the surge in traffic. By August 21, 2021, Fansly had reached 2.1 million users. == Features and business model == Fansly operates as a B2C marketplace, taking a 20% commission on all transactions conducted on the platform, with creators retaining the remaining 80%. This commission rate is the same as that charged by its main competitor, OnlyFans. A distinguishing feature of Fansly is its tiered subscription model, which allows creators to set multiple subscription levels at different price points, each offering different perks such as exclusive content, chat access, or custom requests. By contrast, OnlyFans historically relied on a single-tier subscription model. Revenue streams on the platform include recurring subscriptions, one-time pay-per-view content purchases, tips, paid messaging, and live-streaming fees. The platform also features an algorithmic "For You" feed that helps users discover new creators, addressing a limitation of competitors that lack internal content promotion mechanisms. Additional features include content watermarking, geolocation blocking to control where content is visible, two-factor authentication, community polls, 24-hour stories, and social media integration with platforms such as Twitter and Twitch. Payouts are processed within one to two business days and support multiple methods, including bank transfers, Skrill, Paxum, and cryptocurrency. In December 2025, Fansly expanded its live-streaming capabilities, introducing ticketed access, private list gating, configurable chat permissions, stream goals, and interactive device integration. == Controversies == === OnlyFans anti-competitive allegations === In August 2022, a series of lawsuits were filed in the United States alleging that OnlyFans had bribed employees of Meta Platforms to place Instagram accounts of creators who also sold content on competitor platforms, including Fansly, onto a terrorist blacklist. The lawsuits alleged that adult performers had traffic driven away from their Instagram accounts after being falsely tagged as terror-related. OnlyFans denied awareness of such activity. The plaintiffs withdrew the bribery claim in July 2023, and the case was dismissed in August 2023. === Privacy class action === In June 2025, Select Media LLC (operating as Fansly) was the subject of a digital privacy class action lawsuit filed in Massachusetts District Court. The lawsuit alleged that the platform secretly collected and shared users' sensitive viewing data with Google and other third parties without consent. The case was brought on behalf of an estimated class of over 10,000 users across multiple states.
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Electronics

Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other electrically charged particles. It is a subfield of physics and electrical engineering which uses active devices such as transistors, diodes, and integrated circuits to control and amplify the flow of electric current and to convert it from one form to another, such as from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) or from analog signals to digital signals. Electronic devices have significantly influenced the development of many aspects of modern society, such as telecommunications, entertainment, education, health care, industry, and security. The main driving force behind the advancement of electronics is the semiconductor industry, which continually produces ever-more sophisticated electronic devices and circuits in response to global demand. The semiconductor industry is one of the global economy's largest and most profitable industries, with annual revenues exceeding $481 billion in 2018. The electronics industry also encompasses other branches that rely on electronic devices and systems, such as e-commerce, which generated over $29 trillion in online sales in 2017. == History and development == Karl Ferdinand Braun's development of the crystal detector, the first semiconductor device, in 1874 and the identification of the electron in 1897 by Sir Joseph John Thomson, along with the subsequent invention of the vacuum tube which could amplify and rectify small electrical signals, inaugurated the field of electronics and the electron age. Practical applications started with the invention of the diode by Ambrose Fleming and the triode by Lee De Forest in the early 1900s, which made the detection of small electrical voltages, such as radio signals from a radio antenna, practicable. Vacuum tubes (thermionic valves) were the first active electronic components which controlled current flow by influencing the flow of individual electrons, and enabled the construction of equipment that used current amplification and rectification to give us radio, television, radar, long-distance telephony and much more. The early growth of electronics was rapid, and by the 1920s, commercial radio broadcasting and telecommunications were becoming widespread and electronic amplifiers were being used in such diverse applications as long-distance telephony and the music recording industry. The next big technological step took several decades to appear, when the first working point-contact transistor was invented by John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain at Bell Labs in 1947. However, vacuum tubes continued to play a leading role in the field of microwave and high power transmission as well as television receivers until the middle of the 1980s. Since then, solid-state devices have all but completely taken over. Vacuum tubes are still used in some specialist applications such as high power RF amplifiers, cathode-ray tubes, specialist audio equipment, guitar amplifiers and some microwave devices. In April 1955, the IBM 608 was the first IBM product to use transistor circuits without any vacuum tubes and is believed to be the first all-transistorized calculator to be manufactured for the commercial market. The 608 contained more than 3,000 germanium transistors. Thomas J. Watson Jr. ordered all future IBM products to use transistors in their design. From that time on, transistors were almost exclusively used for computer logic circuits and peripheral devices. However, early junction transistors were relatively bulky devices that were difficult to manufacture on a mass-production basis, which limited them to a number of specialised applications. The MOSFET was invented at Bell Labs between 1955 and 1960. It was the first truly compact transistor that could be miniaturised and mass-produced for a wide range of uses. Its advantages include high scalability, affordability, low power consumption, and high density. It revolutionized the electronics industry, becoming the most widely used electronic device in the world. The MOSFET is the basic element in most modern electronic equipment. As the complexity of circuits grew, problems arose. One problem was the size of the circuit. A complex circuit like a computer was dependent on speed. If the components were large, the wires interconnecting them must be long. The electric signals took time to go through the circuit, thus slowing the computer. The invention of the integrated circuit by Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce solved this problem by making all the components and the chip out of the same block (monolith) of semiconductor material. The circuits could be made smaller, and the manufacturing process could be automated. This led to the idea of integrating all components on a single-crystal silicon wafer, which led to small-scale integration (SSI) in the early 1960s, and then medium-scale integration (MSI) in the late 1960s, followed by VLSI. In 2008, billion-transistor processors became commercially available. == Subfields == == Devices and components == An electronic component is any component, either active or passive, in an electronic system or electronic device. Components are connected together, usually by being soldered to a printed circuit board (PCB), to create an electronic circuit with a particular function. Components may be packaged singly or in more complex groups as integrated circuits. Passive electronic components are capacitors, inductors, resistors, whilst active components are such as semiconductor devices; transistors and thyristors, which control current flow at electron level. == Types of circuits == Electronic circuit functions can be divided into two function groups: analog and digital. A particular device may consist of circuitry that has either or a mix of the two types. Analog circuits are becoming less common, as many of their functions are being digitized. === Analog circuits === Analog circuits use a continuous range of voltage or current for signal processing, as opposed to the discrete levels used in digital circuits. Analog circuits were common throughout electronic devices in the early years, in devices such as radio receivers and transmitters. Analog electronic computers were valuable for solving problems with continuous variables until digital processing advanced. As semiconductor technology developed, many of the functions of analog circuits were taken over by digital circuits, and modern circuits that are entirely analog are less common; their functions being replaced by hybrid approach which, for instance, uses analog circuits at the front end of a device receiving an analog signal, and then use digital processing using microprocessor techniques thereafter. Sometimes it may be difficult to classify some circuits that have elements of both linear and non-linear operation. An example is the voltage comparator, which receives a continuous range of voltage but only outputs one of two levels, as in a digital circuit. Similarly, an overdriven transistor amplifier can take on the characteristics of a controlled switch, having essentially two levels of output. Analog circuits are still widely used for signal amplification, such as in the entertainment industry, and conditioning signals from analog sensors, such as in industrial measurement and control. === Digital circuits === Digital circuits are electric circuits based on discrete voltage levels. Digital circuits use Boolean algebra and are the basis of all digital computers and microprocessor devices. They range from simple logic gates to large integrated circuits, employing millions of such gates. Digital circuits use a binary system with two voltage levels labelled 0 and 1 to indicate logical status. Often logic 0 will be a lower voltage and referred to as Low while logic 1 is referred to as High. However, some systems use the reverse definition (0 is High) or are current based. Quite often, the logic designer may reverse these definitions from one circuit to the next as they see fit to facilitate their design. The definition of the levels as 0 or 1 is arbitrary. Ternary (with three states) logic has been studied, and some prototype computers made, but have not gained any significant practical acceptance. Universally, computers and digital signal processors are constructed with digital logic circuits using transistors such as MOSFETs in the electronic logic gates to generate binary states. Logic gates Adders Flip-flops Counters Registers Multiplexers Schmitt triggers Highly integrated devices: Memory chip Microprocessors Microcontrollers Application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) Digital signal processor (DSP) Field-programmable gate array (FPGA) Field-programmable analog array (FPAA) System on chip (SOC) == Design == Electronic systems design deals with the multi-disciplinary design issues of complex electronic devices and systems, such as mob
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