Tootfinder

Weekend Reads
* Who carries Tor traffic?
https://www.petsymposium.org/foci/2026/foci-2026-0014.php
* Internet shutdown measurement gaps

SoftBank announces an OpenAI-powered "patching service" to secure Japan's top 3,000 companies behind crucial infrastructure from cyberattacks (Yuri Kageyama/Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/openai-soft

SoftBank and OpenAI team up to shield Japan from cyberattacks
Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group Corp. is launching a service using OpenAI technology to protect against the looming threat of cyberattacks. Chief Executive Masayoshi Son called Japan’s vulnerability to cyberattacks “a crisis,” comparing it to a potential assault by machine guns instead of the rifle shots of the past. SoftBank will offer “a patching service,” targeting the nation’s top 3,000 companies, behind crucial infrastructure like airports, power systems and transporta…

#PhDCongratulations!!! 🥳🥳🥳Prithwitosh Dey of the #IMPRS #SolarSystemSchool successfully defended his thesis “Solar inertial modes as probes of rotation and convection”!…

🇺🇦 #NowPlaying on KEXP's #VarietyMix
Patti Smith:
🎵 Land: Horses / Land of a Thousand Dances / La Mer (De)
#PattiSmith
https://open.spotify.com/track/0KkXMzaRaXL8AyChkWbYCx

#Buildpacks Move the Container Hardening Control Point Away From the #Dockerfile
https://www.infoq.com/news/…

BNPL lenders like Flex, Zip, and Affirm are now pitching loans for basic household needs; Americans spent $160B through pay-later loans in 2025, up 2x from 2023 (Stacy Cowley/New York Times)
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/17/business/buy-now-pay-later.html

‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Lenders Pitch Loans for Needs Like Electricity and Rent
The rapid growth of pay-later loans raises questions about whether their popularity is driven by consumer preference or desperation.

🇺🇦 Auf radioeins läuft...
Patti Smith:
🎵 April Fool
#NowPlaying #PattiSmith
https://open.spotify.com/track/53eJ84ALjlKpU2A2OpohCN

Google DeepMind and Isomorphic Labs launch a bioresilience program to leverage AI models for pathogen surveillance, vaccine design, and outbreak response (Madison Mills/Axios)
https://www.axios.com/2026/07/16/google-deepmind-biosecurity-safety

Exclusive: Google bets that AI can stop bioweapons
Google says the same frontier AI models that could create new biological risks can also help prevent them.

Google's $99 Google Home Speaker, which is built for Gemini for Home and works as a Matter controller, will ship on June 29, nine months after it was announced (Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/tech/951147/ go

Google's $99 Google Home Speaker, which is built for Gemini for Home and works as a Matter controller, will ship on June 29, nine months after it was announced (Jennifer Pattison Tuohy/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/tech/951147/ go

Google’s first smart speaker in six years arrives next week
The Google Home Speaker is designed for Gemini for Home and its more conversational smart home assistant.