"&udm=14"
It's a search form which takes you to Google but applies a code to the query which removes all the AI and other BS in search results today.
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Playing with Notebook LM
So, I have been playing around with Notebook LM (requires Google account) recently. The idea is you can give it a series of files and it can answer questions and do things specific to the input documentation. The real "wow" is that it can generate a conversation "podcast" to let you listen to a simulated conversation about the material. The AI voice gen isn't perfect, but it's lightyears ahead of most text-to-speech, even managing to insert filler "ums" and also adjust the tone of the speakers to a certain degree.
My first exploration with it was to upload some worldbuilding and plot documentation from a fantasy world of mine and see what conversation it generated. It did a summary of the world and some of its key features etc. It lost the plot on the larger storyline I had crafted, but it was entertaining to hear.
This morning I conducted an experiment, the version linked above is the Google version. There is also a non-Google implementation, making use of a Llama driven backend for processing the source file, called Open NotebookLM. For this, I took a PDF of a recent article on GQ about the restoration of the roof of Notre Dame.
First, here is the audio generated by Google's Notebook LM:
Now, here is the output of Open Notebook LM:
Open Notebook's audio is noticeably worse, and the length limitations from the freely available online via huggingface.com, definitely make Google's implementation better. But it's still quite listenable though it feels more like a fluff piece compared to the article, to me. Also, I think it is interesting, Open Notebook pronounces Notre Dame correctly, while Google may as well be talking about the university.
A few years ago I wrote a python tool that pulled my "Watch Later" YouTube playlist and converted them into an audio podcast feed, which was useful for commuting and consuming lecture or podcast style videos from YT. I don't use it anymore since I no longer have the same commute time. But I can imagine a similar tool which pulls unread articles from my to-be-read Wallabag and runs one through Open Notebook LM, then uploads and creates the RSS feed for the generated file.
I don't know how much I'd use it, and I am not yet confident it would be enough content from the source that I would feel I got informed enough. But I can easily believe the quality and depth will be coming in the near future. We'll see.
I was also toying with the idea of generating a personal daily overview/summary and feeding that to the system. Have a sort of personalized morning show that discussed your schedule for the day, headlines, last night's sports scores, upcoming appointments, etc. I might write a concept of what could go into that file and see what Open Notebook spits out, that might make the project more interesting to explore.
Lastly, writing entry forced me to do some Glowbug code changes to allow it to properly handle when I upload audio files to the blog. Up to now it's been strictly for uploading images. While not ideal to have writing stopped for the need of programming, I do appreciate being able to build what I need and have it immediately put to use.
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"Is This the End of Geofence Warrants?"
Google is changing how they track user location data. The link is a breakdown by the EFF regarding these changes. As they say it, it isn't a full victory for privacy - but it is stepping in the right direction.
Google’s announcement outlined three changes to how it will treat Location History data. First, going forward, this data will be stored, by default, on a user’s device, instead of with Google in the cloud. Second, it will be set by default to delete after three months; currently Google stores the data for at least 18 months. Finally, if users choose to back up their data to the cloud, Google will “automatically encrypt your backed-up data so no one can read it, including Google.”
[...]
However, we are not yet prepared to declare total victory. Google’s collection of users’ location data isn’t limited to just the “Location History” data searched in response to geofence warrants; Google collects additional location information as well. It remains to be seen whether law enforcement will find a way to access these other stores of location data on a mass basis in the future. Also, none of Google’s changes will prevent law enforcement from issuing targeted warrants for individual users’ location data if police have probable cause to support such a search.
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Google Loses Antitrust Case Over App Store
Google clearly plans to appeal, but this is a big loss for the company.
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Pixel Fold available for Preorder
As an ardent fan of my Surface Duo 2, and a lover of adopting new technology, the new Google Pixel Fold has my attention. However, seeing that price point. Just, no. I can't justify it. The Duo 2 was already a stretch financially and as much as I love the dual screen lifestyle - it isn't something I can do until it's much cheaper.
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Creating fake online clout via making Google info panels
This guy uncovered a number of people with fake IMDB credits, and it seems they were able to get fake movie roles credited to them as part of a larger effort to build online clout by having an info panel show up when you search their name on Google.
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"New Gmail Attack Bypasses Passwords And 2FA To Read All Email"
Bolding below is mine for emphasis.
According to cyber security firm Volexity, the threat research team has found the North Korean 'SharpTongue' group, which appears to be part of, or related to, the Kimsuky advanced persistent threat group, deploying malware called SHARPEXT that doesn't need your Gmail login credentials at all.
Instead, it "directly inspects and exfiltrates data" from a Gmail account as the victim browses it. This quickly evolving threat, Volexity says it is already on version 3.0 according to the malware's internal versioning, can steal email from both Gmail and AOL webmail accounts, and works across three browsers: Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and a South Korean client called Whale.
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Why we have Google trust issues with new things
The shockingly large graveyard of Google's projects sounds like it might grow larger with rumors floating of Stadia's demise coming soon. And this is why we have trust issues with big G. Why should I invest in new Google projects if they're just going to kill them? We have no guarantee on it and there is far too much evidence to make me believe a new project is going to be long lived.
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"Google Calendar’s ‘known senders’ filter should help stamp out spam invites"
I am eager to see this added to my calendar options. I still, from time to time, find an invite has snuck in from some spammer. It has gotten markedly better in the last few months, but I eagerly welcome this added level of control.
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"You.com wants to take on Google"
I'm always interested in search engines, and anything that might compete with Google. I did a few test searches on You.com and found the results acceptable, but nothing spectacular. Granted, I didn't delve into the developer focused search queries that the site is currently tuned for. I'll be giving it a bit more exploration.
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"Google exec suggests Instagram and TikTok are eating into Google's core products, Search and Maps"
The TikTok threat to Google’s business isn’t just limited to YouTube, as it turns out. Core Google services, including Search and Maps, are also being impacted by a growing preference for social media and videos as the first stop on younger users’ path to discovery, a Google exec acknowledged today, speaking at an industry event.
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Google's Blake Lemoine Feels Their Latest AI Has Reached Sentience
Two notable excerpts for me:
“I know a person when I talk to it,” said Lemoine, who can swing from sentimental to insistent about the AI. “It doesn’t matter whether they have a brain made of meat in their head. Or if they have a billion lines of code. I talk to them. And I hear what they have to say, and that is how I decide what is and isn’t a person.” He concluded LaMDA was a person in his capacity as a priest, not a scientist, and then tried to conduct experiments to prove it, he said.
As well as this counter perspective:
But when Mitchell read an abbreviated version of Lemoine’s document, she saw a computer program, not a person. Lemoine’s belief in LaMDA was the sort of thing she and her co-lead, Timnit Gebru, had warned about in a paper about the harms of large language models that got them pushed out of Google.
“Our minds are very, very good at constructing realities that are not necessarily true to a larger set of facts that are being presented to us,” Mitchell said. “I’m really concerned about what it means for people to increasingly be affected by the illusion,” especially now that the illusion has gotten so good.
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Hello Google. Yes, I appreciate you encrypting every search. You've told me about it every search I've made for the last several days. Please stop.
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The Future of Search Is Boutique
An interesting examination of a potential way to compete with Google and other search engines. I'm not sure I believe it as something that should be treated as simple. One problem I foresee with something like this is when you approach a problem like this from defining a vertical, you will struggle with boundaries and scope creep as your vertical grows more and more complex. So the management and protection of that vertical is a growing challenge.
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I just discovered I can turn off the Gmail inbox divisions (Primary / Social / Promotions / Updates / Forums) and I am thrilled. (Click the gear in the upper right, then 'Customize' under the Default Inbox Type.)
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I'm binge watching Suits and it just reminded me of how Google acquired Meebo back in the day. If you go to meebo.com you can see their "joined Google" message from 2012, which is that they joined to work on Google+. This sort of thing happens all the time, whether it's acquiring them for technical tools, or for talent within the company, it still ends up taking away offerings from consumers.
The sunsetting of projects after a company acquires other tools to be part of it is the real crime and it feels like that happens 99% of the time.
The Google graveyard is one thing, but I wonder what it looks like if you include all the companies they acquired over the years as well.
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Glowbug Development & Commit Updates
The recent commits to Glowbug's Github:
- Speed up frequency of server pings for new posts - This was a small admin side fix which increased the frequency of server pings checking for new posts, from 5 seconds to 3 seconds.
- Image manager Page introduced - As discussed earlier tonight, another admin side implementation.
- Moving to Google Analytics - I had previously tried to use a self-hosted site analytics tool but found it lacking in my current structure. So I moved to Google Analytics as a temporary tool. At some point I'll code my own analytics tool as well.
- Fixed bug which would tweet when saving a draft - I accidentally discovered a bug that a tweet went out when saving a draft. This commit fixed it.
By far the biggest of these was the image manager implementation. I don't currently plan for any major coding, we'll see what comes up.
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