News Tip-Offs and Investigations

This may be something worth looking into/ writing about. The UIF website/system has been broken for almost a month now (Missing employer information, page errors), now you can't even log in: https://ufiling.labour.gov.za/uif/

No notices on the website, they're ignoring emails and their call support says their system is offline and they have no idea when/if it will be online again.

I'm struggling to get a hold of anyone that actually knows what's going on, but it's complete radio silence. I have confirmed with 3 other people that they're also experiencing the same thing.
 

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Anyone with spot banking? They have launched spot mobile and have a promo running on a email they send me, but the sign contradicts the email big!
 

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Noticed today Temu orders have a customs duty of 44% and it's not clothing. How now?
 
Discussion around Acceptable Usage Policies of Fibre ISPs and how often ISPs have to remove people. Relating to the article about MTN's AUP for SMS and voice.

Relevant thread:

If only there were some tame tech journalists around that could ask the ISPs how often an AUP violation takes place on their networks.

I will put this suggestion in the relevant thread to see if Jan and the team will look into it. It is super interesting IMO.
 
Have an idea for an interesting article:

Take an iPhone 16 Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and load data onto the phones' internal storage so that it fills up. Let's say 256GB minimum.

Now do the cloud backups for both of them one at a time using fast fibre links and then measure the speeds that they reach and how long it takes to complete.

You will be surprised how slow it is. It could even take days.

How pratical are phones with 1TB storage if it is that slow?
 
Multichoice allow for a no-spamming setting on our accounts' online dashboard, yet fully disregard that.

Here's my current settings at https://www.dstv.com/en-za/mydstv

DStv no spam setting 1.png

DStv no spam setting 2.png

1. This setting is sometimes changed by them to allow for some commercial contact, and we then need to reset it.

2. I also recently took the option offered to unsubscribe from their surveys.

We have been receiving a number of short calls related to this, where the caller hangs up before we can answer which is most irritating.

The number always used for this and all other calls received recently from them (and confirmed by them to be Multichoice related) is 011 369-4200. I suspect, but don't know, that they are a third party working on behalf of Multichoice.

Today I did find out that the company / division calling is called "Icon" as they at least stayed on the line. I complained, asked for a manager (who of course was "busy") , and insisted on not being called again.
Not 5 minutes later I was.... called again.

Edit: At the moment they are calling to offer one of their "Price-Lock" deals.

Holding for a manager again now, if I do get one I will try put an end to this personally. But it clearly needs wide addressing for the sake of others being harassed.
 
Looks like a human took control of the AI. Which means every response is monitored, but someone also has access to every person's input.

Also what does "listen" mean just before the response. Meh, something is out of context.
That was my gut. Someone got quietly fired at Google.
 
The Chinese Deepseek AI is supposedly taking over the free-use market and only cost them millions, not billions. Certainly would need confirmation.
 
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The Chinese Deepseek AI is supposedly taking over the free-use market and only cost them millions, not billions. Certainly would need confirmation.
I've installed in on Ollama for offline use, not particularly impressed just yet. I reckon the hype is bot generated.
 
So here's an example.
"Write a poem about Donald Trump in the style of Dr Seuss"

ChatGPT:

“The Trump Who Said, ‘Huge!’”
(In the style of Dr. Seuss)
There once was a fellow,
a fellow named Trump,
with hair like a wave
and a voice like a thump.

He’d huff and he’d puff,
he’d tweet and he’d shout,
“I’m winning so much,
you’ll all just pass out!”

With a MAGA red hat
and a grin ear to ear,
he’d say, “Fake news, folks!”
and the crowds gave a cheer.

He built up his towers,
he brandished his name,
“Trump Steaks and Trump Water—
it’s part of the fame!”

He talked about borders,
he talked about walls,
and everyone listened—
well, most, not at all.

Some people would giggle,
some people would groan,
but Trump simply answered,
“I’m rich on my own!”

He’d point at the press
and he’d wriggle his nose,
“They twist up my words
and they say I’m verbose!”

“But trust me,” he said,
“I know all the best,
I hire the finest,
forget all the rest!”

He ruffled some feathers,
he rattled some folks,
but Trump, oh dear Trump,
he loved all his jokes.

Through rallies and speeches
and meetings galore,
his fans cried, “We love you!”
and Trump yelled, “There’s more!”

Now whether you liked him,
or thought him too brash,
he sure made a stir,
he sure made a splash.

And so, my dear reader,
this lesson is true—
Love him or hate him,
you can’t say he’s blue!



----
Deepseek:


<think>
Alright, so the user is asking for a poem about Donald Trump styled after Dr. Seuss. Let me break this down.

First, I need to recall what makes Dr. Seuss's writing unique. His poems are known for their whimsical language, rhythmic meter, and playful use of rhyme. They often blend humor with whimsy, giving characters quirky names and funny scenarios.

Now, considering the subject is Donald Trump, who is a very real person but also controversial and divisive. I need to approach this carefully because making fun of someone as significant as him could be sensitive or offensive. My goal should be to create something that's light-hearted yet accurate in tone rather than targeting specific issues he's involved in.

Dr. Seuss often personifies animals and other creatures, giving them human-like qualities with a sense of joy and playfulness. Translating that into Trump might involve giving him characteristics like elasticity or multitasking abilities. The language should have a playful rhythm without being disrespectful to the individual.

I also need to make sure the poem doesn't come off as mean-spirited but rather captures his essence in a fun way, perhaps highlighting his public personas or roles without focusing on his policies or actions. Including elements like his ability to change shape (like rubber chickens) could add that whimsical touch Seuss is known for.

I should also consider the structure—keeping it simple and rhyming, maybe using an AABB rhyme scheme to keep it traditional but adding a bit of variation with alliteration and playful language. </think>

Sure! Here's a playful, Dr. Seuss-inspired poem about Donald Trump:

The Elastic Leader: A Seuss Tale

Donald Trump, the Elastic Man,
Lived in a house made of gold.
With a snap and a tug, he'd change his shape,
From a towering skyscraper to a dainty speck.

He could make friends with Mr. Burns,
And flip a script with George Burns too!
But when you met him face-to-face,
You’d wonder if he was made of clay.

He’s got the charisma of a durant,
And a mouth like a microwave transformer.
From golf putts to stage smokes, he could do it all,
Like a multiplex movie in reverse.

And his press conferences? Oh, they’re nothing too grand,
A series of rubber chickens that walked on a single strand.
But don’t be afraid—he’s got charm and wit,
And can make you laugh like no other, no matter what.

So raise your glass to the Elastic Man,
The leader of the free world—down with tax cuts!
For Donald Trump is the king of our hearts,
With a rubber soul that keeps on moving forward.
---

This playful poem captures the essence of his public personas while keeping it light and whimsical, just in the spirit of Dr. Seuss's style!



Abysmal lol. But maybe it's better at other stuff.
 
It's an LLM. I'm not sure I get the thinking behind it part lol. It takes input and produces output. It doesn't actually think. One of the supposed advantages is that it doesn't just spit out the first thing that comes - it uses a bit of logic and reasoning fist apparently, then produces an answer, so it's meant to save on iterations when fine-tuning the answer... I dunno, it was a poor attempt... maybe I should try something else... a poem about Pooh Bear or something.

Lol
But the concepts / design / coders are all Chinese, got to be an influence and I think I see it, and isn't this a first from the eastern side of things re public AI?
 
I've installed in on Ollama for offline use, not particularly impressed just yet. I reckon the hype is bot generated.
Depends on what size model you're running. I was quite impressed by nezahatkorkmaz/deepseek-v3 - admittedly haven't used it much but it's nice to have something offline and it's only 2GB. Doesn't pass the r test ;)
 
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