Italy fines Meta $887M over Android users' data access

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• Daniel Lemire

  Modern processor architectures still suffer from slow integer division, forcing major compilers to substitute constant divisions with sequences of multiplication and shifts. Standard toolchains often introduce extra corrective instructions to handle multiplier overflow during signed calculations. Computer scientists have now designed a streamlined mathematical approach using 64-bit operations that eliminates these corrective steps and lowers instruction latency.

  8 min read
• Italy's data protection agency fines Meta €805M for allegedly accessing Android users' photos and videos without their consent or informing them (Reuters)

  European regulators are intensifying their scrutiny of big tech's mobile operating system permissions and personal data handling. The significant financial penalty follows findings that personal media was improperly acquired from mobile devices without proper disclosure. This major enforcement action highlights mounting legal challenges surrounding unauthorized data collection practices across widespread digital platforms.

  1 min read
• Lessons from a Literary Clock

  Repurposing legacy consumer electronics often requires creative workarounds to bypass modern software incompatibilities. By pairing human ingenuity with artificial intelligence troubleshooting, an outdated e-reader was successfully adapted into a functional, book-themed timepiece. The project demonstrates how aging hardware can be saved from landfills through iterative problem-solving and automated stability fixes.

  5 min read