AI For Business Writing

AI For Business Writing — independent reviews, comparisons, pricing and step-by-step guides on Aizhi.

  • Artipic

    Artipic

    Artipic is a graphics editor developed for Microsoft Windows. An older version for macOS is still available but unsupported. Artipic features drawing, editing, retouching, transforming and composing images including color corrections, effects and layer-based operations. It converts all common image formats and imports camera raw formats. In the global image editing ecosystem Artipic can be positioned somewhere in the middle. It differs from simple free photo editors by more advanced capabilities, however it does not cover the complete professional-level functionality pack provided by industry leaders like Adobe Photoshop. == History == Artipic developed by Swedish company Artipic AB. Artipic 1.0 was released in March 2014 as a free version. The first commercial version on Microsoft Windows was released in November 2014, on macOS – in October 2015. == Features == Supports Microsoft Windows and macOS Standard tools: select, crop, move, rotate, transform, stamp, color picking, text Advanced tools: custom brushes, gradients, shapes, paths, layers and masks Special tools: healing brush, red-eye effect reduction, dodge and burn brushes Adjustments: Brightness & Contrast, Hue & Saturation, Curves, Levels, Color Balance, Gamma Correction, Exposure, Color Temperature, Tint, Color Enhancer, Photo Filter Simulation, Posterization, Thresholding Filters: Smoothen, Sharpen, Vignetting, High-pass, Diffuse Glow, Shadow, Gaussian Blur Reversible (non-destructive) stylization presets Batch processing White balance RAW-converter including Gray Card Adobe Photoshop images supported == Version history ==

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  • Social information architecture

    Social information architecture

    Social information architecture, also known as social iA, is a sub-domain of information architecture which deals with the social aspects of conceptualizing, modeling and organizing information. It has become more relevant because of the rise of social media and Web 2.0 in recent times. == Approach == There are different approaches to the explanation of social information architecture. === Architecture model (internal space) === Architects designing a physical community space, have to consider how the architecture will shape social interactions. A long hallway of offices creates an utterly different dynamic than desks with arranged in an open space. One might foster individuality, privacy, propriety; the other: collaboration, distraction, communalism. Still, physical spaces can be flexibly repurposed and worked around if the inhabitants desire a social dynamic not instantly afforded by the space. Office doors can be left open to invite easier interaction. Partitions can be raised between adjacent desks to limit distraction and increase privacy. That's physical architecture. The information architectures of online communities are far more deterministic and far less flexible. They literally define the social architecture by pre-specifying in immutable computer code what information you have access to, who you can talk to, where you can go. In the online world, information architecture = social architecture. === Social dialogue and information model (external space) === All major brands use information architecture to market their products online, it is then commonly wrapped under the umbrella phrase 'digital strategy'. Information architecture used for strategic purposes encompasses brand SEO, strategic placement of virals, social media presence etc. Charities, news outlets and social dialogue forums can make a much more specific use of the same tools for positive and important social purposes. Social Information Architecture is perceived as the socially conscious wing of commercial information architecture and function to exchange information and ideas between people and groups. Social iA can pick up on conflicting issues that are treated with misunderstanding between cultures and leaves individuals and societies vulnerable to exploitation and manipulation. Since the net has such a far reach it is obvious to use it for meaningful and coordinated social dialogue. Example of such issues are faith, environment, politics, climate change, war, injustice and other social challenges. Information architecture can help create frameworks in which sharing information brings people together, inspires and encourages them to participate in a forward thinking and unfragmented way. One of its core activities is to spread messages that bring people from opposite sites of social and cultural spectrums together and to confront uncomfortable subject head on. == How does social information architecture work? == Social iA utilizes a variety of Web2.0 applications to filter relevant or valuable information and weave them in appropriate information repository or provide feedback to interesting channels. Social iA makes strategic use of Search Engines, Social Media, Google Algorithms, as well as websites, video & news channels. It ‘reads’ or 'listens' to social conversations and search engine queries and engages with the net actively to gather clues about the world's pulse on the internet. It assesses data, social & political trends, and respond with targeted campaigns to give people ideas, as well as help people with making sense of information. == Principals == Dan Brown in his paper 8 Principals of Social Information Architecture enlists the following principals: 1. The principle of objects: Treat content as a living, breathing thing, with a lifecycle, behaviors and attributes. 2. The principle of choices: Create pages that offer meaningful choices to users, keeping the range of choices available focused on a particular task. 3. The principle of disclosure: Show only enough information to help people understand what kinds of information they'll find as they dig deeper. 4. The principle of exemplars: Describe the contents of categories by showing examples of the contents. 5. The principle of front doors: Assume at least half of the website's visitors will come through some page other than the home page. 6. The principle of multiple classification: Offer users several different classification schemes to browse the site's content. 7. The principle of focused navigation: Don't mix apples and oranges in your navigation scheme. 8. The principle of growth: Assume the content you have today is a small fraction of the content you will have tomorrow. == What can social information architecture achieve? == Social information architecture has many potentials in terms of fostering social connections and how information is shared in social spaces on the web.

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  • Collision problem

    Collision problem

    The r-to-1 collision problem is an important theoretical problem in complexity theory, quantum computing, and computational mathematics. The collision problem most often refers to the 2-to-1 version: given n {\displaystyle n} even and a function f : { 1 , … , n } → { 1 , … , n } {\displaystyle f:\,\{1,\ldots ,n\}\rightarrow \{1,\ldots ,n\}} , we are promised that f is either 1-to-1 or 2-to-1. We are only allowed to make queries about the value of f ( i ) {\displaystyle f(i)} for any i ∈ { 1 , … , n } {\displaystyle i\in \{1,\ldots ,n\}} . The problem then asks how many such queries we need to make to determine with certainty whether f is 1-to-1 or 2-to-1. == Classical solutions == === Deterministic === Solving the 2-to-1 version deterministically requires n 2 + 1 {\textstyle {\frac {n}{2}}+1} queries, and in general distinguishing r-to-1 functions from 1-to-1 functions requires n r + 1 {\textstyle {\frac {n}{r}}+1} queries. This is a straightforward application of the pigeonhole principle: if a function is r-to-1, then after n r + 1 {\textstyle {\frac {n}{r}}+1} queries we are guaranteed to have found a collision. If a function is 1-to-1, then no collision exists. Thus, n r + 1 {\textstyle {\frac {n}{r}}+1} queries suffice. If we are unlucky, then the first n / r {\displaystyle n/r} queries could return distinct answers, so n r + 1 {\textstyle {\frac {n}{r}}+1} queries is also necessary. === Randomized === If we allow randomness, the problem is easier. By the birthday paradox, if we choose (distinct) queries at random, then with high probability we find a collision in any fixed 2-to-1 function after Θ ( n ) {\displaystyle \Theta ({\sqrt {n}})} queries. == Quantum solution == The BHT algorithm, which uses Grover's algorithm, solves this problem optimally by only making O ( n 1 / 3 ) {\displaystyle O(n^{1/3})} queries to f. The matching lower bound of Ω ( n 1 / 3 ) {\displaystyle \Omega (n^{1/3})} was proved by Aaronson and Shi using the polynomial method.

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  • Algorithms and Combinatorics

    Algorithms and Combinatorics

    Algorithms and Combinatorics (ISSN 0937-5511) is a book series in mathematics, and particularly in combinatorics and the design and analysis of algorithms. It is published by Springer Science+Business Media, and was founded in 1987. == Books == The books published in this series include: The Simplex Method: A Probabilistic Analysis (Karl Heinz Borgwardt, 1987, vol. 1) Geometric Algorithms and Combinatorial Optimization (Martin Grötschel, László Lovász, and Alexander Schrijver, 1988, vol. 2; 2nd ed., 1993) Systems Analysis by Graphs and Matroids (Kazuo Murota, 1987, vol. 3) Greedoids (Bernhard Korte, László Lovász, and Rainer Schrader, 1991, vol. 4) Mathematics of Ramsey Theory (Jaroslav Nešetřil and Vojtěch Rödl, eds., 1990, vol. 5) Matroid Theory and its Applications in Electric Network Theory and in Statics (Andras Recszki, 1989, vol. 6) Irregularities of Partitions: Papers from the meeting held in Fertőd, July 7–11, 1986 (Gábor Halász and Vera T. Sós, eds., 1989, vol. 8) Paths, Flows, and VLSI-Layout: Papers from the meeting held at the University of Bonn, Bonn, June 20–July 1, 1988 (Bernhard Korte, László Lovász, Hans Jürgen Prömel, and Alexander Schrijver, eds., 1990, vol. 9) New Trends in Discrete and Computational Geometry (János Pach, ed., 1993, vol. 10) Discrete Images, Objects, and Functions in Z n {\displaystyle \mathbb {Z} ^{n}} (Klaus Voss, 1993, vol. 11) Linear Optimization and Extensions (Manfred Padberg, 1999, vol. 12) The Mathematics of Paul Erdős I (Ronald Graham and Jaroslav Nešetřil, eds., 1997, vol. 13) The Mathematics of Paul Erdős II (Ronald Graham and Jaroslav Nešetřil, eds., 1997, vol. 14) Geometry of Cuts and Metrics (Michel Deza and Monique Laurent, 1997, vol. 15) Probabilistic Methods for Algorithmic Discrete Mathematics (M. Habib, C. McDiarmid, J. Ramirez-Alfonsin, and B. Reed, 1998, vol. 16) Modern Cryptography, Probabilistic Proofs and Pseudorandomness (Oded Goldreich, 1999, vol. 17) Geometric Discrepancy: An Illustrated Guide (Jiří Matoušek, 1999, vol. 18) Applied Finite Group Actions (Adalbert Kerber, 1999, vol. 19) Matrices and Matroids for Systems Analysis (Kazuo Murota, 2000, vol. 20; corrected ed., 2010) Combinatorial Optimization (Bernhard Korte and Jens Vygen, 2000, vol. 21; 5th ed., 2012) The Strange Logic of Random Graphs (Joel Spencer, 2001, vol. 22) Graph Colouring and the Probabilistic Method (Michael Molloy and Bruce Reed, 2002, Vol. 23) Combinatorial Optimization: Polyhedra and Efficiency (Alexander Schrijver, 2003, vol. 24. In three volumes: A. Paths, flows, matchings; B. Matroids, trees, stable sets; C. Disjoint paths, hypergraphs) Discrete and Computational Geometry: The Goodman-Pollack Festschrift (B. Aronov, S. Basu, J. Pach, and M. Sharir, eds., 2003, vol. 25) Topics in Discrete Mathematics: Dedicated to Jarik Nešetril on the Occasion of his 60th birthday (M. Klazar, J. Kratochvíl, M. Loebl, J. Matoušek, R. Thomas, and P. Valtr, eds., 2006, vol. 26) Boolean Function Complexity: Advances and Frontiers (Stasys Jukna, 2012, Vol. 27) Sparsity: Graphs, Structures, and Algorithms (Jaroslav Nešetřil and Patrice Ossona de Mendez, 2012, vol. 28) Optimal Interconnection Trees in the Plane (Marcus Brazil and Martin Zachariasen, 2015, vol. 29) Combinatorics and Complexity of Partition Functions (Alexander Barvinok, 2016, vol. 30)

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  • Database virtualization

    Database virtualization

    Database virtualization is the decoupling of the database layer, which lies between the storage and application layers within the application stack. Virtualization of the database layer enables a shift away from the physical, toward the logical or virtual. Virtualization enables compute and storage resources to be pooled and allocated on demand. This enables both the sharing of single server resources for multi-tenancy, as well as the pooling of server resources into a single logical database or cluster. In both cases, database virtualization provides increased flexibility, more granular and efficient allocation of pooled resources, and more scalable computing. == Virtual data partitioning == The act of partitioning data stores as a database grows has been in use for several decades. There are two primary ways that data has been partitioned inside legacy data management systems: Shared-data databases: an architecture that assumes all database cluster nodes share a single partition. Inter-node communications are used to synchronize update activities performed by different nodes on the cluster. Shared-data data management systems are limited to single-digit node clusters. Shared-nothing databases: an architecture in which all data is segregated to internally managed partitions with clear, well-defined data location boundaries. Shared-nothing databases require manual partition management. In virtual partitioning, logical data is abstracted from physical data by autonomously creating and managing large numbers of data partitions (100s to 1000s). Because they are autonomously maintained, the resources required to manage the partitions are minimal. This kind of massive partitioning results in: Partitions that are small, efficiently managed, and load-balanced. Systems that do not require re-partitioning events to define additional partitions, even when the hardware is changed. “Shared-data” and “shared-nothing” architectures allow scalability through multiple data partitions and cross-partition querying and transaction processing without full partition scanning. == Horizontal data partitioning == Partitioning database sources from consumers is a fundamental concept. With greater numbers of database sources, inserting a horizontal data virtualization layer between the sources and consumers helps address this complexity. Rick van der Lans, the author of multiple books on SQL and relational databases, has defined data virtualization as "the process of offering data consumers a data access interface that hides the technical aspects of stored data, such as location, storage structure, API, access language, and storage technology." == Advantages == Added flexibility and agility for existing computing infrastructure. Enhanced database performance. Pooling and sharing computing resources, either splitting them (multi-tenancy) or combining them (clustering). Simplification of administration and management. Increased fault tolerance.

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  • Navigational database

    Navigational database

    A navigational database is a type of database in which records or objects are found primarily by following references from other objects. The term was popularized by the title of Charles Bachman's 1973 Turing Award paper, The Programmer as Navigator. This paper emphasized the fact that the new disk-based database systems allowed the programmer to choose arbitrary navigational routes following relationships from record to record, contrasting this with the constraints of earlier magnetic-tape and punched card systems where data access was strictly sequential. One of the earliest navigational databases was Integrated Data Store (IDS), which was developed by Bachman for General Electric in the 1960s. IDS became the basis for the CODASYL database model in 1969. Although Bachman described the concept of navigation in abstract terms, the idea of navigational access came to be associated strongly with the procedural design of the CODASYL Data Manipulation Language. Writing in 1982, for example, Tsichritzis and Lochovsky state that "The notion of currency is central to the concept of navigation." By the notion of currency, they refer to the idea that a program maintains (explicitly or implicitly) a current position in any sequence of records that it is processing, and that operations such as GET NEXT and GET PRIOR retrieve records relative to this current position, while also changing the current position to the record that is retrieved. Navigational database programming thus came to be seen as intrinsically procedural; and moreover to depend on the maintenance of an implicit set of global variables (currency indicators) holding the current state. As such, the approach was seen as diametrically opposed to the declarative programming style used by the relational model. The declarative nature of relational languages such as SQL offered better programmer productivity and a higher level of data independence (that is, the ability of programs to continue working as the database structure evolves.) Navigational interfaces, as a result, were gradually eclipsed during the 1980s by declarative query languages. During the 1990s it started becoming clear that for certain applications handling complex data (for example, spatial databases and engineering databases), the relational calculus had limitations. At that time, a reappraisal of the entire database market began, with several companies describing the new systems using the marketing term NoSQL. Many of these systems introduced data manipulation languages which, while far removed from the CODASYL DML with its currency indicators, could be understood as implementing Bachman's "navigational" vision. Some of these languages are procedural; others (such as XPath) are entirely declarative. Offshoots of the navigational concept, such as the graph database, found new uses in modern transaction processing workloads. == Description == Navigational access is traditionally associated with the network model and hierarchical model of database, and conventionally describes data manipulation APIs in which records (or objects) are processed one at a time, iteratively. The essential characteristic as described by Bachman, however, is finding records by virtue of their relationship to other records: so an interface can still be navigational if it has set-oriented features. From this viewpoint, the key difference between navigational data manipulation languages and relational languages is the use of explicit named relationships rather than value-based joins: for department with name="Sales", find all employees in set department-employees versus find employees, departments where employee.department-code = department.code and department.name="Sales". In practice, however, most navigational APIs have been procedural: the above query would be executed using procedural logic along the lines of the following pseudo-code: On this viewpoint, the key difference between navigational APIs and the relational model (implemented in relational databases) is that relational APIs use "declarative" or logic programming techniques that ask the system what to fetch, while navigational APIs instruct the system in a sequence of steps how to reach the required records. Most criticisms of navigational APIs fall into one of two categories: Usability: application code quickly becomes unreadable and difficult to debug Data independence: application code needs to change whenever the data structure changes For many years the primary defence of navigational APIs was performance. Database systems that support navigational APIs often use internal storage structures that contain physical links or pointers from one record to another. While such structures may allow very efficient navigation, they have disadvantages because it becomes difficult to reorganize the physical placement of data. It is quite possible to implement navigational APIs without low-level pointer chasing (Bachman's paper envisaged logical relationships being implemented just as in relational systems, using primary keys and foreign keys), so the two ideas should not be conflated. But without the performance benefits of low-level pointers, navigational APIs become harder to justify. Hierarchical models often construct primary keys for records by concatenating the keys that appear at each level in the hierarchy. Such composite identifiers are found in computer file names (/usr/david/docs/index.txt), in URIs, in the Dewey decimal system, and for that matter in postal addresses. Such a composite key can be considered as representing a navigational path to a record; but equally, it can be considered as a simple primary key allowing associative access. As relational systems came to prominence in the 1980s, navigational APIs (and in particular, procedural APIs) were criticized and fell out of favour. The 1990s, however, brought a new wave of object-oriented databases that often provided both declarative and procedural interfaces. One explanation for this is that they were often used to represent graph-structured information (for example spatial data and engineering data) where access is inherently recursive: the mathematics originally underpinning SQL (specifically, first-order predicate calculus) does not have sufficient power to support recursive queries, even those as simple as a transitive closure. More recent SQL implementations do support hierarchical and recursive queries. A current example of a popular navigational API can be found in the Document Object Model (DOM) often used in web browsers and closely associated with JavaScript. The DOM is essentially an in-memory hierarchical database with an API that is both procedural and navigational. By contrast, the same data (XML or HTML) can be accessed using XPath, which can be categorized as declarative and navigational: data is accessed by following relationships, but the calling program does not issue a sequence of instructions to be followed in order. Languages such as SPARQL used to retrieve Linked Data from the Semantic Web are also simultaneously declarative and navigational. == Examples == IBM Information Management System IDMS

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  • Manufacture Modules Technologies

    Manufacture Modules Technologies

    Manufacture Modules Technologies Sarl (MMT) is a Swiss company established in Geneva in 2015 which originally specialised in the development and commercialization of "Horological Smartwatch modules", firmware, apps and cloud. Located at Geneva's Skylab high-tech hub, it expanded into the development and manufacturing of "E-Straps" operated with a mobile application. Philippe Fraboulet is the CEO. == History == In June 2015, Fullpower Technologies and Union Horlogère Suisse (Swiss Watchmakers Corporation) formed MMT as a joint venture, which then launched the MotionX Horological Smartwatch Open Platform for the Swiss watch industry. The initial licensees were Frederique Constant, Alpina and Mondaine, brands owned by Union Horlogère Suisse. Fullpower created and managed the circuit design, firmware, smartphone applications (including sleep activity), as well as the cloud Infrastructure. MMT managed the Swiss watch movement development and production as well as licensing and support. In July 2016, Union Horlogere Holding and MMT were spun-out of the Frédérique Constant Group. Fullpower Technologies' 19.99% share was acquired by Union Horlogere Holding BV, giving it 100% of MMT's shares. == Business == The company offers firmware, a cloud, manufacturing, service and over-the-air facilities for upgrades. The company also offers its own apps, which bear the label “Swiss Made software”.

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  • Vector-field consistency

    Vector-field consistency

    Vector-Field Consistency is a consistency model for replicated data (for example, objects), initially described in a paper which was awarded the best-paper prize in the ACM/IFIP/Usenix Middleware Conference 2007. It has since been enhanced for increased scalability and fault-tolerance in a recent paper. == Description == This consistency model was initially designed for replicated data management in ad hoc gaming in order to minimize bandwidth usage without sacrificing playability. Intuitively, it captures the notion that although players require, wish, and take advantage of information regarding the whole of the game world (as opposed to a restricted view to rooms, arenas, etc. of limited size employed in many multiplayer video games), they need to know information with greater freshness, frequency, and accuracy as other game entities are located closer and closer to the player's position. It prescribes a multidimensional divergence bounding scheme, based on a vector field that employs consistency vectors k=(θ,σ,ν), standing for maximum allowed time - or replica staleness, sequence - or missing updates, and value - or user-defined measured replica divergence, applied to all space coordinates in game scenario or world. The consistency vector-fields emanate from field-generators designated as pivots (for example, players) and field intensity attenuates as distance grows from these pivots in concentric or square-like regions. This consistency model unifies locality-awareness techniques employed in message routing and consistency enforcement for multiplayer games, with divergence bounding techniques traditionally employed in replicated database and web scenarios.

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  • Outline of automation

    Outline of automation

    The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to automation: Automation – use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization. == Essence of automation == Control system – a device, or set of devices to manage, command, direct or regulate the behavior of other devices or systems. Industrial control system (ICS) – encompasses several types of control systems used in industrial production, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, distributed control systems (DCS), and other smaller control system configurations such as skid-mounted programmable logic controllers (PLC) often found in industrial sectors and critical infrastructures. Industrialization – period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial one. Numerical control (NC) – refers to the automation of machine tools that are operated by abstractly programmed commands encoded on a storage medium, as opposed to controlled manually via handwheels or levers, or mechanically automated via cams alone. Robotics – the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots and computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing. == Branches of automation == === General purpose === Autonomous automation – autonomous software agents to adapt the controllers of computer controlled industrial machinery and processes Banking automation Broadcast automation Building automation – advanced functionality provided by the control system of a building. A building automation system (BAS) is an example of a distributed control system. Home automation – control system of a home. Office automation – the varied computer machinery and software used to digitally create, collect, store, manipulate, and relay office information needed for accomplishing basic tasks such as business process automation and robotic process automation. Console automation Database automation Integrated library system Laboratory automation === Specific purpose === Automated attendant Automated guided vehicle Autonomous mobile robot Automated highway system Automated pool cleaner Automated teller machine Automatic painting (robotic) Pop music automation Remotely operated vehicle Robotic lawn mower Telephone switchboard Vending machine == Fields contributing to automation == Cybernetics – the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cognitive science – interdisciplinary scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. Robotics – the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots and computer systems for their control, sensory feedback, and information processing. == History of automation == History of mass production – Prerequisites of mass production were interchangeable parts, machine tools and power, especially in the form of electricity. Mass production was popularized in the 1910s and 1920s by Henry Ford's Ford Motor Company, which introduced electric motors to the then-well-known technique of chain or sequential production. History of home automation == Automated machines == Machine to Machine OLE for process control (OPC) Process control – a statistics and engineering discipline that deals with architectures, mechanisms and algorithms for maintaining the output of a specific process within a desired range. Run Book Automation (RBA) Robot – a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. == Automated machine components == Artificial intelligence – the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. Friendly artificial intelligence – an artificial intelligence that has a positive rather than negative effect on humanity, and the field of knowledge required to build such an artificial intelligence. === Automation tools === Artificial neural network (ANN) – mathematical model or computational model that is inspired by the structure or functional aspects of biological neural networks. Human machine interface (HMI) – operator level local control panel that monitors field devices Laboratory information management system (LIMS) – software package that offers a set of key features that support a modern laboratory's operations. Industrial control system – encompasses several types of control systems used in industrial production, including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, distributed control systems (DCS), and other smaller control system configurations such as skid-mounted programmable logic controllers (PLC) often found in the industrial sectors and critical infrastructures. Distributed control system (DCS) – control system usually of a manufacturing system, process or any kind of dynamic system, in which the controller elements are not central in location (like the brain) but are distributed throughout the system with each component sub-system controlled by one or more controllers. Manufacturing execution system (MES) – system that manages manufacturing operations in a factory, including management of resources, scheduling production processes, dispatching production orders, execution of production orders, etc. Programmable automation controller (PAC) – digital computer used for automation of electromechanical processes, such as control of machinery on factory assembly lines, amusement rides, or light fixtures. Programmable logic controller (PLC)A Programmable Logic Controller, PLC or Programmable Controller is a digital computer used for automation of electromechanical processes, such as control of machinery on factory assembly lines, amusement rides, or light fixtures. The abbreviation "PLC" and the term "Programmable Logic Controller" are registered trademarks of the Allen-Bradley Company (Rockwell Automation). PLCs are used in many industries and machines. Unlike general-purpose computers, the PLC is designed for multiple inputs and output arrangements, extended temperature ranges, immunity to electrical noise, and resistance to vibration and impact. Programs to control machine operation are typically stored in battery-backed-up or non-volatile memory. A PLC is an example of a hard real time system since output results must be produced in response to input conditions within a limited time, otherwise unintended operation will result. Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) – generally refers to industrial control systems (ICS): computer systems that monitor and control industrial, infrastructure, or facility-based processes, as described below: Industrial processes include those of manufacturing, production, power generation, fabrication, and refining, and may run in continuous, batch, repetitive, or discrete modes. Simulation § Engineering Technology simulation or Process simulation == Social movements == Automation-related social movement – a movement that advocates semi- or fully automatic systems to provide for human needs globally. For example, automation of farming and food distribution throughout the world so that no one will go hungry. One goal is to automate all mundane labor, to free humans to engage in more creative activities (or less work). The Technocracy movement – social movement active from the Great Depression (1930s) to date that proposes replacing politicians and business people with scientists and engineers who have the technical expertise to manage the economy. The Zeitgeist Movement – movement advocating the replacement of the market economy with an economy in which all resources are equitably, commonly and sustainably shared. == Automation in the future == Android – a robot or synthetic organism designed to look and act like a human, and with a body having a flesh-like resemblance Technological singularity – the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means Semi-automation – using a centralized computer controller to orchestrate the activities of man and machine. == Automation-related publications == IEEE Spectrum – the flagship publication of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), explores the development, applications and implications of new technologies, and provides a forum for understanding, discussion and leadership in these areas. IEEE Transactions on Information Theory – peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), focused on the study of information theory, the mathematics of communications, including computer communications, robotics communications, etc. IEEE Transactions on Control S

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  • Synthetic data

    Synthetic data

    Synthetic data are artificially generated data not produced by real-world events. Typically created using algorithms, synthetic data can be deployed to validate mathematical models and to train machine learning models. Data generated by a computer simulation can be seen as synthetic data. This encompasses most applications of physical modeling, such as music synthesizers or flight simulators. The output of such systems approximates the real thing, but is fully algorithmically generated. Synthetic data is used in a variety of fields as a filter for information that would otherwise compromise the confidentiality of particular aspects of the data. In many sensitive applications, datasets theoretically exist but cannot be released to the general public; synthetic data sidesteps the privacy issues that arise from using real consumer information without permission or compensation. == Usefulness == Synthetic data is generated to meet specific needs or certain conditions that may not be found in the original, real data. One of the hurdles in applying up-to-date machine learning approaches for complex scientific tasks is the scarcity of labeled data, a gap effectively bridged by the use of synthetic data, which closely replicates real experimental data. This can be useful when designing many systems, from simulations based on theoretical value, to database processors, etc. This helps detect and solve unexpected issues such as information processing limitations. Synthetic data are often generated to represent the authentic data and allows a baseline to be set. Another benefit of synthetic data is to protect the privacy and confidentiality of authentic data, while still allowing for use in testing systems. Computer security experts claim generated synthetic data "... enables us to create realistic behavior profiles for users and attackers. The data is used to train the fraud detection system itself, thus creating the necessary adaptation of the system to a specific environment." In defense and military contexts, synthetic data is seen as a potentially valuable tool to develop and improve complex AI systems, particularly in contexts where high-quality real-world data is scarce. At the same time, synthetic data together with the testing approach can give the ability to model real-world scenarios. == History == Scientific modelling of physical systems has a long history that runs concurrent with the history of physics. For example, research into synthesis of audio and voice can be traced back to the 1930s and before, driven forward by the developments of the telephone and audio recording technologies. Digitization gave rise to software synthesizers from the 1970s onwards. In the context of privacy-preserving statistical analysis, in 1993, the idea of original fully synthetic data was created by Donald Rubin. Rubin originally designed this to synthesize the Decennial Census long form responses for the short form households. He then released samples that did not include any actual long form records - in this he preserved anonymity of the household. Later that year, the idea of original partially synthetic data was created by Little. Little used this idea to synthesize the sensitive values on the public use file. A 1993 work fitted a statistical model to 60,000 MNIST digits, then it was used to generate over 1 million examples. Those were used to train a LeNet-4 to reach state of the art performance. In 1994, Stephen Fienberg introduced 'critical refinement', in which a parametric posterior predictive distribution (instead of a Bayes bootstrap) is used to do the sampling. Later, other important contributors to the development of synthetic data generation were Trivellore Raghunathan, Jerry Reiter, Donald Rubin, John M. Abowd, and Jim Woodcock. Collectively they came up with a solution for how to treat partially synthetic data with missing data. Similarly, they developed the technique of Sequential Regression Multivariate Imputation. == Calculations == Researchers test the framework on synthetic data, which is "the only source of ground truth on which they can objectively assess the performance of their algorithms". Synthetic data can be generated through the use of random lines, having different orientations and starting positions. Datasets can get fairly complicated. A more complicated dataset can be generated by using a synthesizer build. To create a synthesizer build, first use the original data to create a model or equation that fits the data the best. This model or equation will be called a synthesizer build. This build can be used to generate more data. Constructing a synthesizer build involves constructing a statistical model. In a linear regression line example, the original data can be plotted, and a best fit linear line can be created from the data. This line is a synthesizer created from the original data. The next step will be generating more synthetic data from the synthesizer build or from this linear line equation. In this way, the new data can be used for studies and research, and it protects the confidentiality of the original data. David Jensen from the Knowledge Discovery Laboratory explains how to generate synthetic data: "Researchers frequently need to explore the effects of certain data characteristics on their data model." To help construct datasets exhibiting specific properties, such as auto-correlation or degree disparity, proximity can generate synthetic data having one of several types of graph structure: random graphs that are generated by some random process; lattice graphs having a ring structure; lattice graphs having a grid structure, etc. In all cases, the data generation process follows the same process: Generate the empty graph structure. Generate attribute values based on user-supplied prior probabilities. Since the attribute values of one object may depend on the attribute values of related objects, the attribute generation process assigns values collectively. == Applications == === Fraud detection and confidentiality systems === Testing and training fraud detection and confidentiality systems are devised using synthetic data. Specific algorithms and generators are designed to create realistic data, which then assists in teaching a system how to react to certain situations or criteria. For example, intrusion detection software is tested using synthetic data. This data is a representation of the authentic data and may include intrusion instances that are not found in the authentic data. The synthetic data allows the software to recognize these situations and react accordingly. If synthetic data was not used, the software would only be trained to react to the situations provided by the authentic data and it may not recognize another type of intrusion. === Scientific research === Researchers doing clinical trials or any other research may generate synthetic data to aid in creating a baseline for future studies and testing. Real data can contain information that researchers may not want released, so synthetic data is sometimes used to protect the privacy and confidentiality of a dataset. Using synthetic data reduces confidentiality and privacy issues since it holds no personal information and cannot be traced back to any individual. Beyond privacy protection, synthetic data is also being explored for methodological innovation in drug development. For instance, synthetic data may be used to construct synthetic control arms as an alternative to conventional external control arms based on real-world data (RWD) or randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Collectively, regulatory agencies such as the FDA and EMA appear to be at various stages of recognizing and integrating AI-generated synthetic data into their methodologies. While there is growing consensus on the potential of such data to support model development and the broader lifecycle of medicinal products, to date no drug or medical device has been approved using solely or predominantly synthetic data—particularly not as a comparator arm generated entirely via data-driven algorithms. The quality and statistical handling of synthetic data are expected to become more prominent in future regulatory discussions, particularly in contexts such as predictive modeling (e.g., digital twins), where innovative approaches have already been referenced. === Machine learning === Synthetic data is increasingly being used for machine learning applications: a model is trained on a synthetically generated dataset with the intention of transfer learning to real data. Efforts have been made to enable more data science experiments via the construction of general-purpose synthetic data generators, such as the Synthetic Data Vault. In general, synthetic data has several natural advantages: once the synthetic environment is ready, it is fast and cheap to produce as much data as needed; synthetic data can have perfectly accurate labels, including labeling that may be very expensive or impo

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  • Knuth–Eve algorithm

    Knuth–Eve algorithm

    In computer science, the Knuth–Eve algorithm is an algorithm for polynomial evaluation. It preprocesses the coefficients of the polynomial to reduce the number of multiplications required at runtime. Ideas used in the algorithm were originally proposed by Donald Knuth in 1962. His procedure opportunistically exploits structure in the polynomial being evaluated. In 1964, James Eve determined for which polynomials this structure exists, and gave a simple method of "preconditioning" polynomials (explained below) to endow them with that structure. == Algorithm == === Preliminaries === Consider an arbitrary polynomial p ∈ R [ x ] {\displaystyle p\in \mathbb {R} [x]} of degree n {\displaystyle n} . Assume that n ≥ 3 {\displaystyle n\geq 3} . Define m {\displaystyle m} such that: if n {\displaystyle n} is odd then n = 2 m + 1 {\displaystyle n=2m+1} , and if n {\displaystyle n} is even then n = 2 m + 2 {\displaystyle n=2m+2} . Unless otherwise stated, all variables in this article represent either real numbers or univariate polynomials with real coefficients. All operations in this article are done over R {\displaystyle \mathbb {R} } . Again, the goal is to create an algorithm that returns p ( x ) {\displaystyle p(x)} given any x {\displaystyle x} . The algorithm is allowed to depend on the polynomial p {\displaystyle p} itself, since its coefficients are known in advance. === Overview === ==== Key idea ==== Using polynomial long division, we can write p ( x ) = q ( x ) ⋅ ( x 2 − α ) + ( β x + γ ) , {\displaystyle p(x)=q(x)\cdot (x^{2}-\alpha )+(\beta x+\gamma ),} where x 2 − α {\displaystyle x^{2}-\alpha } is the divisor. Picking a value for α {\displaystyle \alpha } fixes both the quotient q {\displaystyle q} and the coefficients in the remainder β {\displaystyle \beta } and γ {\displaystyle \gamma } . The key idea is to cleverly choose α {\displaystyle \alpha } such that β = 0 {\displaystyle \beta =0} , so that p ( x ) = q ( x ) ⋅ ( x 2 − α ) + γ . {\displaystyle p(x)=q(x)\cdot (x^{2}-\alpha )+\gamma .} This way, no operations are needed to compute the remainder polynomial, since it's just a constant. We apply this procedure recursively to q {\displaystyle q} , expressing p ( x ) = ( ( q ( x ) ⋅ ( x 2 − α m ) + γ m ) ⋯ ) ⋅ ( x 2 − α 1 ) + γ 1 . {\displaystyle p(x)=\left(\left(q(x)\cdot (x^{2}-\alpha _{m})+\gamma _{m}\right)\cdots \right)\cdot (x^{2}-\alpha _{1})+\gamma _{1}.} After m {\displaystyle m} recursive calls, the quotient q {\displaystyle q} is either a linear or a quadratic polynomial. In this base case, the polynomial can be evaluated with (say) Horner's method. ==== "Preconditioning" ==== For arbitrary p {\displaystyle p} , it may not be possible to force β = 0 {\displaystyle \beta =0} at every step of the recursion. Consider the polynomials p e {\displaystyle p^{e}} and p o {\displaystyle p^{o}} with coefficients taken from the even and odd terms of p {\displaystyle p} respectively, so that p ( x ) = p e ( x 2 ) + x ⋅ p o ( x 2 ) . {\displaystyle p(x)=p^{e}(x^{2})+x\cdot p^{o}(x^{2}).} If every root of p o {\displaystyle p^{o}} is real, then it is possible to write p {\displaystyle p} in the form given above. Each α i {\displaystyle \alpha _{i}} is a different root of p o {\displaystyle p^{o}} , counting multiple roots as distinct. Furthermore, if at least n − 1 {\displaystyle n-1} roots of p {\displaystyle p} lie in one half of the complex plane, then every root of p o {\displaystyle p^{o}} is real. Ultimately, it may be necessary to "precondition" p {\displaystyle p} by shifting it — by setting p ( x ) ← p ( x + t ) {\displaystyle p(x)\gets p(x+t)} for some t {\displaystyle t} — to endow it with the structure that most of its roots lie in one half of the complex plane. At runtime, this shift has to be "undone" by first setting x ← x − t {\displaystyle x\gets x-t} . === Preprocessing step === The following algorithm is run once for a given polynomial p {\displaystyle p} . At this point, the values of x {\displaystyle x} that p {\displaystyle p} will be evaluated on are not known. ==== Better choice of t ==== While any t ≥ Re ( r 2 ) {\displaystyle t\geq {\text{Re}}(r_{2})} can work, it is possible to remove one addition during evaluation if t {\displaystyle t} is also chosen such that two roots of p ( x + t ) {\displaystyle p(x+t)} are symmetric about the origin. In that case, α 1 {\displaystyle \alpha _{1}} can be chosen such that the shifted polynomial has a factor of x 2 − α 1 {\displaystyle x^{2}-\alpha _{1}} , so γ 1 = 0 {\displaystyle \gamma _{1}=0} . It is always possible to find such a t {\displaystyle t} . One possible algorithm for choosing t {\displaystyle t} is: === Evaluation step === The following algorithm evaluates p {\displaystyle p} at some, now known, point x {\displaystyle x} . Assuming t {\displaystyle t} is chosen optimally, γ 1 = 0 {\displaystyle \gamma _{1}=0} . So, the final iteration of the loop can instead run y ← y ⋅ ( s − α i ) , {\displaystyle y\gets y\cdot (s-\alpha _{i}),} saving an addition. == Analysis == In total, evaluation using the Knuth–Eve algorithm for a polynomial of degree n {\displaystyle n} requires n {\displaystyle n} additions and ⌊ n / 2 ⌋ + 2 {\displaystyle \lfloor n/2\rfloor +2} multiplications, assuming t {\displaystyle t} is chosen optimally. No algorithm to evaluate a given polynomial of degree n {\displaystyle n} can use fewer than n {\displaystyle n} additions or fewer than ⌈ n / 2 ⌉ {\displaystyle \lceil n/2\rceil } multiplications during evaluation. This result assumes only addition and multiplication are allowed during both preprocessing and evaluation. The Knuth–Eve algorithm is not well-conditioned.

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  • Broadcast (parallel pattern)

    Broadcast (parallel pattern)

    Broadcast is a collective communication primitive in parallel programming to distribute programming instructions or data to nodes in a cluster. It is the reverse operation of reduction. The broadcast operation is widely used in parallel algorithms, such as matrix-vector multiplication, Gaussian elimination and shortest paths. The Message Passing Interface implements broadcast in MPI_Bcast. == Definition == A message M [ 1.. m ] {\displaystyle M[1..m]} of length m {\displaystyle m} should be distributed from one node to all other p − 1 {\displaystyle p-1} nodes. T byte {\displaystyle T_{\text{byte}}} is the time it takes to send one byte. T start {\displaystyle T_{\text{start}}} is the time it takes for a message to travel to another node, independent of its length. Therefore, the time to send a package from one node to another is t = s i z e × T byte + T start {\displaystyle t=\mathrm {size} \times T_{\text{byte}}+T_{\text{start}}} . p {\displaystyle p} is the number of nodes and the number of processors. == Binomial Tree Broadcast == With Binomial Tree Broadcast the whole message is sent at once. Each node that has already received the message sends it on further. This grows exponentially as each time step the amount of sending nodes is doubled. The algorithm is ideal for short messages but falls short with longer ones as during the time when the first transfer happens only one node is busy. Sending a message to all nodes takes log 2 ⁡ ( p ) t {\displaystyle \log _{2}(p)t} time which results in a runtime of log 2 ⁡ ( p ) ( m T byte + T start ) {\displaystyle \log _{2}(p)(mT_{\text{byte}}+T_{\text{start}})} == Linear Pipeline Broadcast == The message is split up into k {\displaystyle k} packages and sent piecewise from node n {\displaystyle n} to node n + 1 {\displaystyle n+1} . The time needed to distribute the first message piece is p t = m k T byte + T start {\textstyle pt={\frac {m}{k}}T_{\text{byte}}+T_{\text{start}}} whereby t {\displaystyle t} is the time needed to send a package from one processor to another. Sending a whole message takes ( p + k ) ( m T byte k + T start ) = ( p + k ) t = p t + k t {\displaystyle (p+k)\left({\frac {mT_{\text{byte}}}{k}}+T_{\text{start}}\right)=(p+k)t=pt+kt} . Optimal is to choose k = m ( p − 2 ) T byte T start {\displaystyle k={\sqrt {\frac {m(p-2)T_{\text{byte}}}{T_{\text{start}}}}}} resulting in a runtime of approximately m T byte + p T start + m p T start T byte {\displaystyle mT_{\text{byte}}+pT_{\text{start}}+{\sqrt {mpT_{\text{start}}T_{\text{byte}}}}} The run time is dependent on not only message length but also the number of processors that play roles. This approach shines when the length of the message is much larger than the amount of processors. == Pipelined Binary Tree Broadcast == This algorithm combines Binomial Tree Broadcast and Linear Pipeline Broadcast, which makes the algorithm work well for both short and long messages. The aim is to have as many nodes work as possible while maintaining the ability to send short messages quickly. A good approach is to use Fibonacci trees for splitting up the tree, which are a good choice as a message cannot be sent to both children at the same time. This results in a binary tree structure. We will assume in the following that communication is full-duplex. The Fibonacci tree structure has a depth of about d ≈ log Φ ⁡ ( p ) {\displaystyle d\approx \log _{\Phi }(p)} whereby Φ = 1 + 5 2 {\displaystyle \Phi ={\frac {1+{\sqrt {5}}}{2}}} the golden ratio. The resulting runtime is ( m k T byte + T start ) ( d + 2 k − 2 ) {\textstyle ({\frac {m}{k}}T_{\text{byte}}+T_{\text{start}})(d+2k-2)} . Optimal is k = n ( d − 2 ) T byte 3 T start {\displaystyle k={\sqrt {\frac {n(d-2)T_{\text{byte}}}{3T_{\text{start}}}}}} . This results in a runtime of 2 m T byte + T start log Φ ⁡ ( p ) + 2 m log Φ ⁡ ( p ) T start T byte {\displaystyle 2mT_{\text{byte}}+T_{\text{start}}\log _{\Phi }(p)+{\sqrt {2m\log _{\Phi }(p)T_{\text{start}}T_{\text{byte}}}}} . == Two Tree Broadcast (23-Broadcast) == === Definition === This algorithm aims to improve on some disadvantages of tree structure models with pipelines. Normally in tree structure models with pipelines (see above methods), leaves receive just their data and cannot contribute to send and spread data. The algorithm concurrently uses two binary trees to communicate over. Those trees will be called tree A and B. Structurally in binary trees there are relatively more leave nodes than inner nodes. Basic Idea of this algorithm is to make a leaf node of tree A be an inner node of tree B. It has also the same technical function in opposite side from B to A tree. This means, two packets are sent and received by inner nodes and leaves in different steps. === Tree construction === The number of steps needed to construct two parallel-working binary trees is dependent on the amount of processors. Like with other structures one processor can is the root node who sends messages to two trees. It is not necessary to set a root node, because it is not hard to recognize that the direction of sending messages in binary tree is normally top to bottom. There is no limitation on the number of processors to build two binary trees. Let the height of the combined tree be h = ⌈log(p + 2)⌉. Tree A and B can have a height of h − 1 {\displaystyle h-1} . Especially, if the number of processors correspond to p = 2 h − 1 {\displaystyle p=2^{h}-1} , we can make both sides trees and a root node. To construct this model efficiently and easily with a fully built tree, we can use two methods called "Shifting" and "Mirroring" to get second tree. Let assume tree A is already modeled and tree B is supposed to be constructed based on tree A. We assume that we have p {\displaystyle p} processors ordered from 0 to p − 1 {\displaystyle p-1} . ==== Shifting ==== The "Shifting" method, first copies tree A and moves every node one position to the left to get tree B. The node, which will be located on -1, becomes a child of processor p − 2 {\displaystyle p-2} . ==== Mirroring ==== "Mirroring" is ideal for an even number of processors. With this method tree B can be more easily constructed by tree A, because there are no structural transformations in order to create the new tree. In addition, a symmetric process makes this approach simple. This method can also handle an odd number of processors, in this case, we can set processor p − 1 {\displaystyle p-1} as root node for both trees. For the remaining processors "Mirroring" can be used. === Coloring === We need to find a schedule in order to make sure that no processor has to send or receive two messages from two trees in a step. The edge, is a communication connection to connect two nodes, and can be labelled as either 0 or 1 to make sure that every processor can alternate between 0 and 1-labelled edges. The edges of A and B can be colored with two colors (0 and 1) such that no processor is connected to its parent nodes in A and B using edges of the same color- no processor is connected to its children nodes in A or B using edges of the same color. In every even step the edges with 0 are activated and edges with 1 are activated in every odd step. === Time complexity === In this case the number of packet k is divided in half for each tree. Both trees are working together the total number of packets k = k / 2 + k / 2 {\displaystyle k=k/2+k/2} (upper tree + bottom tree) In each binary tree sending a message to another nodes takes 2 i {\displaystyle 2i} steps until a processor has at least a packet in step i {\displaystyle i} . Therefore, we can calculate all steps as d := log 2 ⁡ ( p + 1 ) ⇒ log 2 ⁡ ( p + 1 ) ≈ log 2 ⁡ ( p ) {\displaystyle d:=\log _{2}(p+1)\Rightarrow \log _{2}(p+1)\approx \log _{2}(p)} . The resulting run time is T ( m , p , k ) ≈ ( m k T byte + T start ) ( 2 d + k − 1 ) {\textstyle T(m,p,k)\approx ({\frac {m}{k}}T_{\text{byte}}+T_{\text{start}})(2d+k-1)} . (Optimal k = m ( 2 d − 1 ) T byte / T start {\textstyle k={\sqrt {{m(2d-1)T_{\text{byte}}}/{T_{\text{start}}}}}} ) This results in a run time of T ( m , p ) ≈ m T byte + T start ⋅ 2 log 2 ⁡ ( p ) + m ⋅ 2 log 2 ⁡ ( p ) T start T byte {\displaystyle T(m,p)\approx mT_{\text{byte}}+T_{\text{start}}\cdot 2\log _{2}(p)+{\sqrt {m\cdot 2\log _{2}(p)T_{\text{start}}T_{\text{byte}}}}} . == ESBT-Broadcasting (Edge-disjoint Spanning Binomial Trees) == In this section, another broadcasting algorithm with an underlying telephone communication model will be introduced. A Hypercube creates network system with p = 2 d ( d = 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , . . . ) {\displaystyle p=2^{d}(d=0,1,2,3,...)} . Every node is represented by binary 0 , 1 {\displaystyle {0,1}} depending on the number of dimensions. Fundamentally ESBT(Edge-disjoint Spanning Binomial Trees) is based on hypercube graphs, pipelining( m {\displaystyle m} messages are divided by k {\displaystyle k} packets) and binomial trees. The Processor 0 d {\displaystyle 0^{d}} cyclically spreads packets to roots of ESB

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  • Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool

    Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool

    The Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) is a legacy service in Microsoft Windows that allows Microsoft technical support agents to analyze diagnostic data remotely for troubleshooting purposes. In April 2022 it was observed to have a security vulnerability that allowed remote code execution which was being exploited to attack computers in Russia and Belarus, and later against the Tibetan government in exile. Microsoft advised a temporary workaround of disabling the MSDT by editing the Windows registry. == Use == When contacting support the user is told to run MSDT and given a unique "passkey" which they enter. They are also given an "incident number" to uniquely identify their case. The MSDT can also be run offline which will generate a .CAB file which can be uploaded from a computer with an internet connection. == Security vulnerabilities == === Follina === Follina is the name given to a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability, a type of arbitrary code execution (ACE) exploit, in the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT) which was first widely publicized on May 27, 2022, by a security research group called Nao Sec. This exploit allows a remote attacker to use a Microsoft Office document template to execute code via MSDT. This works by exploiting the ability of Microsoft Office document templates to download additional content from a remote server. If the size of the downloaded content is large enough it causes a buffer overflow allowing a payload of Powershell code to be executed without explicit notification to the user. On May 30 Microsoft issued CVE-2022-30190 with guidance that users should disable MSDT. Malicious actors have been observed exploiting the bug to attack computers in Russia and Belarus since April, and it is believed Chinese state actors had been exploiting it to attack the Tibetan government in exile based in India. Microsoft patched this vulnerability in its June 2022 patches. === DogWalk === The DogWalk vulnerability is a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool (MSDT). It was first reported in January 2020, but Microsoft initially did not consider it to be a security issue. However, the vulnerability was later exploited in the wild, and Microsoft released a patch for it in August 2022. The vulnerability is caused by a path traversal vulnerability in the sdiageng.dll library. This vulnerability allows an attacker to trick a victim into opening a malicious diagcab file, which is a type of Windows cabinet file that is used to store support files. When the diagcab file is opened, it triggers the MSDT tool, which then executes the malicious code. Originally discovered by Mitja Kolsek, the DogWalk vulnerability is caused by a path traversal vulnerability in the sdiageng.dll library. This vulnerability allows an attacker to trick a victim into opening a malicious diagcab file, which is a type of Windows cabinet file that is used to store support files. When the diagcab file is opened, it triggers the MSDT tool, which then executes the malicious code. The vulnerability is exploited by creating a malicious diagcab file that contains a specially crafted path. This path contains a sequence of characters that is designed to exploit the path traversal vulnerability in the sdiageng.dll library. When the diagcab file is opened, the MSDT tool will attempt to follow the path. However, the path will contain characters that are not valid for a Windows path. This will cause the MSDT tool to crash. When the MSDT tool crashes, it will generate a memory dump. This memory dump will contain the malicious code that was executed by the MSDT tool. The attacker can then use this memory dump to extract the malicious code and execute it on their own computer. == Retirement == Microsoft will no longer be supporting the Windows legacy inbox Troubleshooters. In 2025, Microsoft will remove the MSDT platform entirely. Get Help is the replacement tool. == Windows versions == Windows 7 Windows 8.1 Windows 10 Windows 11 (up to 22H2) Future versions and feature upgrades will deprecate the MSDT after May 23, 2023.

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  • Zassenhaus algorithm

    Zassenhaus algorithm

    In mathematics, the Zassenhaus algorithm is a method to calculate a basis for the intersection and sum of two subspaces of a vector space. It is named after Hans Zassenhaus, but no publication of this algorithm by him is known. It is used in computer algebra systems. == Algorithm == === Input === Let V be a vector space and U, W two finite-dimensional subspaces of V with the following spanning sets: U = ⟨ u 1 , … , u n ⟩ {\displaystyle U=\langle u_{1},\ldots ,u_{n}\rangle } and W = ⟨ w 1 , … , w k ⟩ . {\displaystyle W=\langle w_{1},\ldots ,w_{k}\rangle .} Finally, let B 1 , … , B m {\displaystyle B_{1},\ldots ,B_{m}} be linearly independent vectors so that u i {\displaystyle u_{i}} and w i {\displaystyle w_{i}} can be written as u i = ∑ j = 1 m a i , j B j {\displaystyle u_{i}=\sum _{j=1}^{m}a_{i,j}B_{j}} and w i = ∑ j = 1 m b i , j B j . {\displaystyle w_{i}=\sum _{j=1}^{m}b_{i,j}B_{j}.} === Output === The algorithm computes the base of the sum U + W {\displaystyle U+W} and a base of the intersection U ∩ W {\displaystyle U\cap W} . === Algorithm === The algorithm creates the following block matrix of size ( ( n + k ) × ( 2 m ) ) {\displaystyle ((n+k)\times (2m))} : ( a 1 , 1 a 1 , 2 ⋯ a 1 , m a 1 , 1 a 1 , 2 ⋯ a 1 , m ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ a n , 1 a n , 2 ⋯ a n , m a n , 1 a n , 2 ⋯ a n , m b 1 , 1 b 1 , 2 ⋯ b 1 , m 0 0 ⋯ 0 ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ b k , 1 b k , 2 ⋯ b k , m 0 0 ⋯ 0 ) {\displaystyle {\begin{pmatrix}a_{1,1}&a_{1,2}&\cdots &a_{1,m}&a_{1,1}&a_{1,2}&\cdots &a_{1,m}\\\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots &\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots \\a_{n,1}&a_{n,2}&\cdots &a_{n,m}&a_{n,1}&a_{n,2}&\cdots &a_{n,m}\\b_{1,1}&b_{1,2}&\cdots &b_{1,m}&0&0&\cdots &0\\\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots &\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots \\b_{k,1}&b_{k,2}&\cdots &b_{k,m}&0&0&\cdots &0\end{pmatrix}}} Using elementary row operations, this matrix is transformed to the row echelon form. Then, it has the following shape: ( c 1 , 1 c 1 , 2 ⋯ c 1 , m ∙ ∙ ⋯ ∙ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ c q , 1 c q , 2 ⋯ c q , m ∙ ∙ ⋯ ∙ 0 0 ⋯ 0 d 1 , 1 d 1 , 2 ⋯ d 1 , m ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 0 0 ⋯ 0 d ℓ , 1 d ℓ , 2 ⋯ d ℓ , m 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 0 ⋯ 0 ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ ⋮ 0 0 ⋯ 0 0 0 ⋯ 0 ) {\displaystyle {\begin{pmatrix}c_{1,1}&c_{1,2}&\cdots &c_{1,m}&\bullet &\bullet &\cdots &\bullet \\\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots &\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots \\c_{q,1}&c_{q,2}&\cdots &c_{q,m}&\bullet &\bullet &\cdots &\bullet \\0&0&\cdots &0&d_{1,1}&d_{1,2}&\cdots &d_{1,m}\\\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots &\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots \\0&0&\cdots &0&d_{\ell ,1}&d_{\ell ,2}&\cdots &d_{\ell ,m}\\0&0&\cdots &0&0&0&\cdots &0\\\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots &\vdots &\vdots &&\vdots \\0&0&\cdots &0&0&0&\cdots &0\end{pmatrix}}} Here, ∙ {\displaystyle \bullet } stands for arbitrary numbers, and the vectors ( c p , 1 , c p , 2 , … , c p , m ) {\displaystyle (c_{p,1},c_{p,2},\ldots ,c_{p,m})} for every p ∈ { 1 , … , q } {\displaystyle p\in \{1,\ldots ,q\}} and ( d p , 1 , … , d p , m ) {\displaystyle (d_{p,1},\ldots ,d_{p,m})} for every p ∈ { 1 , … , ℓ } {\displaystyle p\in \{1,\ldots ,\ell \}} are nonzero. Then ( y 1 , … , y q ) {\displaystyle (y_{1},\ldots ,y_{q})} with y i := ∑ j = 1 m c i , j B j {\displaystyle y_{i}:=\sum _{j=1}^{m}c_{i,j}B_{j}} is a basis of U + W {\displaystyle U+W} and ( z 1 , … , z ℓ ) {\displaystyle (z_{1},\ldots ,z_{\ell })} with z i := ∑ j = 1 m d i , j B j {\displaystyle z_{i}:=\sum _{j=1}^{m}d_{i,j}B_{j}} is a basis of U ∩ W {\displaystyle U\cap W} . === Proof of correctness === First, we define π 1 : V × V → V , ( a , b ) ↦ a {\displaystyle \pi _{1}:V\times V\to V,(a,b)\mapsto a} to be the projection to the first component. Let H := { ( u , u ) ∣ u ∈ U } + { ( w , 0 ) ∣ w ∈ W } ⊆ V × V . {\displaystyle H:=\{(u,u)\mid u\in U\}+\{(w,0)\mid w\in W\}\subseteq V\times V.} Then π 1 ( H ) = U + W {\displaystyle \pi _{1}(H)=U+W} and H ∩ ( 0 × V ) = 0 × ( U ∩ W ) {\displaystyle H\cap (0\times V)=0\times (U\cap W)} . Also, H ∩ ( 0 × V ) {\displaystyle H\cap (0\times V)} is the kernel of π 1 | H {\displaystyle {\pi _{1}|}_{H}} , the projection restricted to H. Therefore, dim ⁡ ( H ) = dim ⁡ ( U + W ) + dim ⁡ ( U ∩ W ) {\displaystyle \dim(H)=\dim(U+W)+\dim(U\cap W)} . The Zassenhaus algorithm calculates a basis of H. In the first m columns of this matrix, there is a basis y i {\displaystyle y_{i}} of U + W {\displaystyle U+W} . The rows of the form ( 0 , z i ) {\displaystyle (0,z_{i})} (with z i ≠ 0 {\displaystyle z_{i}\neq 0} ) are obviously in H ∩ ( 0 × V ) {\displaystyle H\cap (0\times V)} . Because the matrix is in row echelon form, they are also linearly independent. All rows which are different from zero ( ( y i , ∙ ) {\displaystyle (y_{i},\bullet )} and ( 0 , z i ) {\displaystyle (0,z_{i})} ) are a basis of H, so there are dim ⁡ ( U ∩ W ) {\displaystyle \dim(U\cap W)} such z i {\displaystyle z_{i}} s. Therefore, the z i {\displaystyle z_{i}} s form a basis of U ∩ W {\displaystyle U\cap W} . == Example == Consider the two subspaces U = ⟨ ( 1 − 1 0 1 ) , ( 0 0 1 − 1 ) ⟩ {\displaystyle U=\left\langle \left({\begin{array}{r}1\\-1\\0\\1\end{array}}\right),\left({\begin{array}{r}0\\0\\1\\-1\end{array}}\right)\right\rangle } and W = ⟨ ( 5 0 − 3 3 ) , ( 0 5 − 3 − 2 ) ⟩ {\displaystyle W=\left\langle \left({\begin{array}{r}5\\0\\-3\\3\end{array}}\right),\left({\begin{array}{r}0\\5\\-3\\-2\end{array}}\right)\right\rangle } of the vector space R 4 {\displaystyle \mathbb {R} ^{4}} . Using the standard basis, we create the following matrix of dimension ( 2 + 2 ) × ( 2 ⋅ 4 ) {\displaystyle (2+2)\times (2\cdot 4)} : ( 1 − 1 0 1 1 − 1 0 1 0 0 1 − 1 0 0 1 − 1 5 0 − 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 5 − 3 − 2 0 0 0 0 ) . {\displaystyle \left({\begin{array}{rrrrrrrr}1&-1&0&1&&1&-1&0&1\\0&0&1&-1&&0&0&1&-1\\\\5&0&-3&3&&0&0&0&0\\0&5&-3&-2&&0&0&0&0\end{array}}\right).} Using elementary row operations, we transform this matrix into the following matrix: ( 1 0 0 0 ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ 0 1 0 − 1 ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ 0 0 1 − 1 ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙ 0 0 0 0 1 − 1 0 1 ) {\displaystyle \left({\begin{array}{rrrrrrrrr}1&0&0&0&&\bullet &\bullet &\bullet &\bullet \\0&1&0&-1&&\bullet &\bullet &\bullet &\bullet \\0&0&1&-1&&\bullet &\bullet &\bullet &\bullet \\\\0&0&0&0&&1&-1&0&1\end{array}}\right)} (Some entries have been replaced by " ∙ {\displaystyle \bullet } " because they are irrelevant to the result.) Therefore ( ( 1 0 0 0 ) , ( 0 1 0 − 1 ) , ( 0 0 1 − 1 ) ) {\displaystyle \left(\left({\begin{array}{r}1\\0\\0\\0\end{array}}\right),\left({\begin{array}{r}0\\1\\0\\-1\end{array}}\right),\left({\begin{array}{r}0\\0\\1\\-1\end{array}}\right)\right)} is a basis of U + W {\displaystyle U+W} , and ( ( 1 − 1 0 1 ) ) {\displaystyle \left(\left({\begin{array}{r}1\\-1\\0\\1\end{array}}\right)\right)} is a basis of U ∩ W {\displaystyle U\cap W} .

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  • Microsoft Query

    Microsoft Query

    Microsoft Query is a visual method of creating database queries using examples based on a text string, the name of a document or a list of documents. The QBE system converts the user input into a formal database query using Structured Query Language (SQL) on the backend, allowing the user to perform powerful searches without having to explicitly compose them in SQL, and without even needing to know SQL. It is derived from Moshé M. Zloof's original Query by Example (QBE) implemented in the mid-1970s at IBM's Research Centre in Yorktown, New York. In the context of Microsoft Access, QBE is used for introducing students to database querying, and as a user-friendly database management system for small businesses. Microsoft Excel allows results of QBE queries to be embedded in spreadsheets.

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