In my experience using large language models (LLMs), one of my most frequent frustrations is that they seem mostly unable to identify when they are missing some context needed to fully answer a question. In other words, they don’t “know” Read more
An app signing key is used to sign APKs (Android Package Kits) that are installed on a user’s Android device. As part of the Android operating system’s secure update model the signing key never changes during the lifetime of an Read more
According to wikipedia (and as discussed in various places in the Android docs, including here), Android is “based on a modified version of the Linux Kernel along with other open-source software”. iOS is mostly proprietary software, so there is less Read more
Two-factor authentication (2FA) requires a user of a software application to present two types of evidence to prove they are who they claim to be. In practice, a user will often present a password and a short code sent to Read more
Modern programming languages like Java or C++ have standard library API’s that make it relatively easy to take advantage of multicore processors by enabling simultaneous execution of multiple tasks within a program without the programmer having to think too deeply Read more
The companies that deliver natural gas to residential end users are typically called Local Distribution Companies (LDC’s) in the United States, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Some are owned by investors and others are owned by municipalities. Because Read more
With web extension Manifest V3 rolling out across chromium-based browsers, support is being dropped for extensions that are not compatible with the new manifest version. For example, uBlock Origin began to be disabled for more Chrome users recently, as discussed Read more
C++ does not have automatic garbage collection like Java does, so the programmer is generally responsible for ensuring objects that are created are subsequently destroyed. Any object that is created but not destroyed can cause a memory leak. The tradeoff Read more
When you compile Java source code using javac (the primary Java compiler included in the Java Development Kit), the .class files that are produced from the source code contain bytecodes that can run on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), rather Read more
Here are some questions I wanted to clarify recently about Super PACs (Political Action Committees): Is funding unlimited? For the most part it is. From the definition of a Super PAC from https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/taking-receipts-pac/contributions-to-super-pacs-and-hybrid-pacs/: Political committees that make only independent expenditures Read more