Jul
18
KATU Public Schools summer programming is underway. Summer programs and enrichment activities are underway for Portland Public Schools. Earlier this season, KATU reported the district is….1 day ago… Read More
Author: believegod
CLARKSVILLE, TN – An Austin Peay State University graphic design student has landed a summer internship at the renowned Chautauqua Institution in New York.
Katie Boyer – who is pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design at Austin Peay and last year earned APSU’s inaugural Hazel Smith Summer Research Fellowship – will be a gallery assistant for Chautauqua Visual Arts (CVA) Galleries through the beginning of August.
“This opportunity means quite a lot to me,” Boyer said. “It is a wonderful chance for me to gain more hands-on experience in the gallery world.”
Boyer joined the CVA team in early June, and her responsibilities include working with staff to install and remove exhibitions, helping in the CVA Craft Gallery, and packing and shipping artwork.
CVA is part of the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York, and is centered on four pillars (School of Art, Galleries, Lecture Series & Events and Enrichment).
Boyer is the first Austin Peay student to spend the summer at Chautauqua since Khari Turner and Ashanté Kindle earned residencies at the School of Art in 2019.
“I have also never done anything quite like this before,” Boyer said. “The traveling experience alone is something I have never done by myself, and it is just as thrilling – and nerve-wracking – as the internship.
“This is a big milestone for me and my future, and I can’t wait to see what all it has in store for me,” she added.
Boyer’s internship is courtesy of the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts and the Six Talents Foundation.
She’s also thankful for Austin Peay’s Michael Dickins, who has guided her through major projects at APSU – such as establishing an online database of the university’s art collection – since the fall of 2020. Dickins is curator and director of The New Gallery and University Collections at Austin Peay.
“This opportunity would not have been possible without him,” Boyer said. “He was the one who introduced this position to me and who really advocated for me being here.”
During the internship, she’s looking forward to opening nights of the gallery’s exhibitions and installing and removing the exhibits.
“It’s very rewarding to see an exhibition complete and to see people’s reactions to the works,” she said. “The physical labor that goes into putting an exhibition together is one of my favorite parts because you get to be up close and personal with all the amazing artworks. It is very fulfilling to see all that hard work pay off when the exhibition is completely installed.”
After Boyer returns to Clarksville in August, she’ll complete her senior year at Austin Peay. She’s also eager to have “an amazing final marching band season” with the Governors Own Marching Band and creating her senior graphic design showcase.
“My goal is to make this last year at Austin Peay the best one yet.”
Jul
17
Python programming: PyPl is rolling out 2FA for critical projects, giving away 4,000 security keys
PyPI or the Python Package Index is giving away 4,000 Google Titan security keys as part of its move to mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA) for critical projects built in the Python programming language.
Python is one of the world’s most popular programming languages, loved for its breadth of packages or add-on libraries that make it useful for data science. Developers need to update these packages frequently and attackers have used this behavior to backdoor their Windows, Linux and Apple machines through bogus packages that are similarly named to legitimate ones, otherwise known as software supply chain attacks.
PyPI, which is managed by the Python Software Foundation (PSF), is the main repository where Python developers can get third-party developed open-source packages for their projects.
SEE: Working hard or hardly working? Employees don’t trust their colleagues to be productive while working from home
PyPI and JavaScript’s equivalent npm repository act like the App Store/Play Store for developers, but aren’t closed and the free services don’t have the resources to vet package submissions for malware.
Google, through the Linux Foundation’s Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), is tackling the threat of malicious language packages and open-source software supply chain attacks. It found over 200 malicious JavaScript and Python packages in one month and noted “devastating consequences” for developers and the organizations they write code for when they install them.
One way developers can protect themselves from stolen credentials is by using two-factor authentication and the PSF is now making it mandatory for developers behind “critical projects” to use 2FA in coming months. PyPI hasn’t declared a specific date for the requirement.
“We’ve begun rolling out a 2FA requirement: soon, maintainers of critical projects must have 2FA enabled to publish, update, or modify them,” the PSF said on its PyPI Twitter account.
As part of the security drive, it is giving away 4,000 Google Titan hardware security keys to project maintainers gifted by Google’s open-source security team.
“In order to improve the general security of the Python ecosystem, PyPI has begun implementing a two-factor authentication (2FA) requirement for critical projects. This requirement will go into effect in the coming months,” PSF said in a statement.
“To ensure that maintainers of critical projects have the ability to implement strong 2FA with security keys, the Google Open Source Security Team, a sponsor of the Python Software Foundation, has provided a limited number of security keys to distribute to critical project maintainers.
PSF says it deems any project in the top 1% of downloads over the prior six months as critical. Presently, there are more than 350,000 projects on PyPI, meaning that more than 3,500 projects are rated as critical. PyPI calculates this on a daily basis, so the Titan giveaway should go a long way to cover a chunk of key maintainers but not all of them.
In the name of transparency, PyPI is also publishing 2FA account metrics. There are currently 28,336 users with 2FA enabled, with nearly 27,000 of them using
giant chips Intel has reportedly told customers that it will raise the price of most of its microprocessors and peripheral chip products. According to a report in Nikkei Asia, the biggest US chipmaker plans to raise prices on flagship products such as central processing units for servers and computers as well as on a wide range of other items, including chips for Wi-Fi and other connectivity. In a statement Nikkei Asia, the company said, “On its Q1 earnings call, Intel indicated it would increase pricing in certain segments of its business due to inflationary pressures. The company has begun to inform customers of these changes.”
Why the price hike
Intel has reportedly cited rising costs for increasing prices. The company said that price hikes are required due to the surging costs for production and materials. Intel’s notice to clients comes at a time when almost the entire world is in the grip of severe inflation. In the US too, consumer prices reportedly rose 9.1% in June, a 40-year record.
How much will be the price increase
According to the report, the percentage increases have not been finalized yet. They could differ for different types of chips, “but are likely to range from a minimal single-digit increase to more than 10% and 20% in some cases.”
Intel is not the only one
The world’s biggest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently told clients that it will raise prices by a “single-digit” percentage starting in 2023. The company plans to increase prices for most of its fabrication processes by 6% starting from January 2023, as per a report in DigiTimes. In May, Bloomberg reported that Samsung is set to increase its chipmaking prices by up to 20%. Samsung, however, has not responded to the report. China-based relatively smaller chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp too is said to have told investors that it will be raising its prices in view of the rising material costs.
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You’re unlikely to be mistaken for a member of the Hells Angels on the Cake sa. Quiet and friendly-looking rather than leather-jacket-sexy, this new release from Swedish startup Cake is Still a lot of fun to zip around on.
The brand is by Stefan Ytterborn, a former Ikea employee and founder of action-helmet brand POC, who saw a gap in the market for green off-road motorbikes that can smoothly traverse the bumpiest of sand dunes and hairiest of mountain paths. There are several sa models to choose from: the sa Plus requires a motorbike license and maxes out at 90kmph, while the sa Flex – really a moped – can be used with a regular driving license but has a top speed of 45kmph. The Plus can travel about 84km, and the Flex 92km, between charges. Meanwhile, the new sa Work comes in Plus or Flex form; it’s basically a beefier update, boasting a 50 per cent bigger battery capacity than the originals.
Cake calls the sa a “Swiss Army knife on wheels”
All are low-slung, weigh less than 100kg and possess dirt bike-style wheels and stellar suspension. What the sa lacks in speed it makes up for in ease of use. It’s activated by entering a passcode on its handlebar-mounted screen; a companion app has GPS and can track your riding stats.
The best bits? The brand calls sa a “Swiss Army knife on wheels”, which is about right: it’s a versatile machine that has a mule-like carrying capacity and can be furnished with various attachments, from surfboard racks and extra seats to, as of this month , colorful windscreens. And once at your destination, its battery can be used to fire up personal devices, including phone, laptop, small stove and coffee machine. (If you intend to power several gadgets, and bigger appliances, I’d recommend the Work and/or the optional second battery.)
Pick from attachment packages such as the Carry (rack, basket, waterproof bag) or the Max (power converter, baskets, cargo net), or build your own. Cake sa, from £7,850, Work version from €8,850, ridecake.com
Walk on water
Philip Werner, Awake’s founder, calls electric surfing a “totally new sport”. Participants do not require Oahu-like waves for an adrenaline rush; they need only grip a handheld remote that Werner calls a “dynamite stick”. The new Rävik S 22 is Awake’s zippiest model yet. The jet-propelled board has a response time of 0.02 seconds and a top speed of 57kmph. It’s less buoyant than its predecessors, enabling sharper turns, and making it slightly more difficult for beginners to embrace than the Rävik 3, but novices should still be able to stand up within an hour or so. It lasts about 20 minutes with the standard battery, and can be ridden on waves as well as in sleepy bays. Awake Rävik S 22, from €12,900, awakeboards.com
Cool it
With the TravelR, Colorado upstart RovR is a challenging market behemoth Yeti for