Friday Squid Blogging: Squid Camouflage

Post Syndicated from Bruce Schneier original https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2025/12/friday-squid-blogging-squid-camouflage.html

New research:

Abstract: Coleoid cephalopods have the most elaborate camouflage system in the animal kingdom. This enables them to hide from or deceive both predators and prey. Most studies have focused on benthic species of octopus and cuttlefish, while studies on squid focused mainly on the chromatophore system for communication. Camouflage adaptations to the substrate while moving has been recently described in the semi-pelagic oval squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana). Our current study focuses on the same squid’s complex camouflage to substrate in a stationary, motionless position. We observed disruptive, uniform, and mottled chromatic body patterns, and we identified a threshold of contrast between dark and light chromatic components that simplifies the identification of disruptive chromatic body pattern. We found that arm postural components are related to the squid position in the environment, either sitting directly on the substrate or hovering just few centimeters above the substrate. Several of these context-dependent body patterns have not yet been observed in S. lessoniana species complex or other loliginid squids. The remarkable ability of this squid to display camouflage elements similar to those of benthic octopus and cuttlefish species might have convergently evolved in relation to their native coastal habitat.

As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven’t covered.

Blog moderation policy.

[$] An early look at the Graphite 2D graphics editor

Post Syndicated from jzb original https://lwn.net/Articles/1051242/

Graphite is an effort to unify
illustration, raster editing, desktop publishing, and animation in one
browser-based application. The project has been in development since
2020 and announced its first alpha release in 2022. According to creator Keavon Chambers, the project’s mission is to become
“the 2D counterpart to Blender“, by bringing a node-based,
non-destructive workflow to 2D graphics. The project, currently still in
alpha, is a long way from complete; but it is worth testing for anyone
involved with open-source-graphics production. Current
builds, from September 2025, include vector-illustration tools, a
node-based compositor, and early brush tooling, with broader pixel-based-
and photo-editing work still in progress.

A partial ruling in the Vizio GPL suit

Post Syndicated from corbet original https://lwn.net/Articles/1051984/

The judge in the Vizio GPL-compliance lawsuit has ruled, in a
summary judgment, that the GNU General Public License, version 2,
does not require the provision of signing keys needed to install modified
software on a device.

Read as a whole, the Agreements require Vizio to make the source
code available in such a manner that the source code can be readily
obtained and modified by Plaintiff or other third parties. While
source code is defined to include “the scripts used to control
compilation and installation,” this does not mean that Vizio must
allow users to reinstall the software, modified or otherwise, back
onto its smart TVs in a manner that preserves all features of the
original program and/or ensures the smart TVs continue to function
properly. Rather, in the context of the Agreements, the disputed
language means that Vizio must provide the source code in a manner
that allows the source code to be obtained and revised by Plaintiff
or others for use in other applications.

As the Software Freedom Conservancy, the plaintiff in the case, has pointed
out, the judge has ruled against a claim that was never actually made.

SFC has never held the position, nor do we today hold the position,
that any version of the GPL (even including GPLv3!) require “that
the device continues to function properly” after a user installs
their modified version of the copyleft components.

Linus Torvalds, meanwhile, has posted his own take
on the ruling that has, as one might imagine, sparked an extended
discussion as well.

Ruby 4.0 released

Post Syndicated from jzb original https://lwn.net/Articles/1051953/

Once again there is a brand-new release under the tree from the
Ruby programming-language project: Ruby 4.0
has been released with many new features and improvements. Notable
changes include the experimental Ruby Box
feature for in-process isolation of classes and modules, a new
just-in-time compiler called ZJIT, and improvements to Ruby’s
parallel-execution mechanism (Ractor). There are a number of language
changes as well. See the documentation
for Ruby 4.0 for more.

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