China Confirms Solar Panel Projects Are Irreversibly Changing Desert Ecosystems - Slashdot by

A team studying one of the largest photovoltaic parks in China, the Gonghe project in the Talatan Desert, found a striking difference between what was happening under the panels and what lay just beyond. They used a detailed framework measuring dozens of indicators -- everything from soil chemistry to microbial life -- and discovered that the micro-environment beneath the panels was noticeably healthier.

Solar panels cause deserts to improve - cooler soil, extra moisture, green pockets.

Finnish Customs wants to turn back the tide on Temu

"Chinese shopping platforms fuel a culture of disposable consumption and pose a serious threat to the future of responsibly operating businesses," Elo said in a statement. "It's completely unsustainable — not only for the environment and the climate, but also for workers' rights and consumer safety."

One of the surprising things when I first arrived here in Finland was the prevalence of second hand stores.

It is totally normal for people to buy second hand stuff. That does not align with what Temu and Shein and other brands like these mean to do in this world.

Instagram wants me to make content — I just want to post a photo by Allison Johnson

sharing app at one point, but that changed long ago. Today, it’s a platform for Content. Why post a photo when you can turn it into an opportunity for engagement? Instagram wants us all to imagine ourselves as the content creators of our own little lives, prompting our followers to like, comment, and subscribe. You want to post a picture of your kid at the beach and add a song to play alongside it? Fine, I love that for you. I’d rather not personally, but that hasn’t stopped Instagram from shoving its app full of these opportunities to adorn your photos in the name of engagement.

But Instagram has the critical mass. And so even though it is a mess of an app now, it’s very difficult to go somewhere else.

OpenAI is huge in India. Its models are steeped in caste bias. by Nilesh Christopher

Singha’s experience is far from unique. An MIT Technology Review investigation finds that caste bias is rampant in OpenAI’s products, including ChatGPT. Though CEO Sam Altman boasted during the launch of GPT-5 in August that India was its second-largest market, we found that both this new model, which now powers ChatGPT, and Sora, OpenAI’s text-to-video generator, exhibit caste bias. This risks entrenching discriminatory views in ways that are currently going unaddressed.

India needs its own foundation model. We can’t just be data providers.

Inside China’s New Wave of Conceptually Innovative Bookstores by By Jean-Yves Mollier and Patricia Sorel
October 2, 2025

Once inside, customers are further surprised by a vast mirror covering the floor, which doubles the visual effect of this store created for the third millennium. Architect Li Xiang, founder of the X+Living design firm in Shanghai, visitors the impression of entering a rocket, whose speed is represented by the spiral staircase that takes them on a world-spanning trip. As at Hangzhou, Li Xiang divided the Shenzhen store into four distinct sections: a “concept” zone, a “forum,” a more conventional area aimed at children, and finally a conference room for events.

These spaces can be more than stores/libraries. They can be communal spaces.

We need more such spaces!

Apple sidelines lighter Vision Pro to prioritize smart glasses by Jay Peters

With its glasses, Apple will be late to the game. Meta just announced a bunch of new glasses of its own, including a second-generation version of the Ray-Ban Meta glasses with much better battery life that are available now, a new pair of Oakley-branded glasses designed for athletes launching this month, and the Meta Ray-Ban Display glasses, which my colleague Victoria Song called the best smart glasses she’s ever tried.

I read the same piece of news on three publications - MacRumours, slashdot and the verge. They are all source from the same Mark Gurman report.

I was not sure if I wanted to talk about it. But I guess I do.

This is not a good look on Apple, or the way it is being reported. Apple seems to be behind Meta on these things, till it comes out with a product (Vision Pro) and then Meta bashes it, but eventually creates its own take on the ideas (use hand gestures to control the UI).

The reason it is not a good look because this reads like - this company did something great, so let’s abandon our efforts and do the same thing. That is not a good place to be in. You seem like a laggard.