Month: November 2022

Original The Simpsons style guide reveals fascinating character design secrets

Posted on 01/11/2022

It’s one of the most recognizable animations around, and it’s hard to imagine a time before each of The Simpsons’ main character designs were forever etched on our consciousness. But a fascinating glimpse at an early 1990s style guide shows just how precise those looking simple drawings really are.

For Simpsons writer Josh Weinstein shared a photo of a hand-drawn page titled ‘Simpsons No-No’s’, demonstrating various characteristics you’ll never see on screen. Did you know Lisa Simpson has very specifically shaped teeth? (Check out the best character design tips if you’re looking for inspiration.)

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Weinstein only shared two of the document’s 500 pages – and like countless Simpsons fans in the replies, we’d love to see the whole resource published one day. But even in those two Lisa-centric pages, there’s a mind-boggling amount to chew on.

The Simpsons

(Image credit: Josh Weinstein)

From just these pages, we’ve learned that Lisa’s nose should always overlap her eyes, her smile shouldn’t be pointy, and those teeth should never, under any circumstances, be square. It’s a fascinating glimpse at how

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Sigstore Reaches GA For Working To Secure The Open-Source Software Supply Chain

Posted on 01/11/2022
FREE SOFTWARE --

Sigstore that is backed by Google, Red Hat, GitHub, and other prominent organizations with an aim to secure the open-source software supply chain has reached general availability and issued the “v1.0” releases for their key software components.

This week Sigstore celebrated its general availability milestone and releasing the v1.0 software of their Record transparency log and Fulcio certificate authority software. Sigstore now considers itself to be production-grade for software artifact signing and verification.

Sigstore provides the means of easily and cryptographically-backed means of signing code, verifying signatures using a transparency log, and monitoring of activity for safely vetting the software supply chain. On the project site of sigstore.dev, Sigstore describes itself as:

sigstore is a set of tools developers, software maintainers, package managers and security experts can benefit from. Bringing together free-to-use open source technologies like Fulcio, Cosign and Rekor, it handles digital signing, verification and checks for provenance needed to make it safer to distribute and use open source software.

A standardized approach

This means that open source software uploaded for distribution has a stricter, more standardized way of checking who’s been involved, that it hasn’t been tampered with. There’s no risk of key compromise, so third parties can’t

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Zara Home office collection by Saint-Lazare

Posted on 01/11/2022

Zara Home and graphic design and architecture studio Saint-Lazare have collaborated on a new collection of stationery, home office furniture and accessories – titled ‘La Papelería’ – that is inspired by nostalgia for an old stationery shop in Galicia, and is infused with a mid-century feel.

Zara Home and Saint-Lazare: ‘La Papelería’ collection

Zara home stationery collection

(Image credit: Courtesy Zara Home)

Paris and New York-based studio Saint-Lazare – founded in 2000 and with a portfolio spanning architecture projects such as the HQ of French printing house Imprimerie du Marais, as well as branding, objects, furniture and more – has a tradition of working closely with craftspeople and learning from their process.

Wall-mounted desk, wooden storage stool and magazine rack from Zara home office furniture and stationery collection

(Image credit: Courtesy Zara Home)

Saint Lazare’s starting point for ‘La Papelería’ was the furniture. A slender, folding desk

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Too bright for comfort: Electronic gadgets emit high-energy blue light, excessive exposure of which can be damaging to health

Posted on 01/11/2022

Most of us spend quite a lot of time in front of devices, be it laptops, computers or TVs, and smartphones. In fact, as per a report by app analytics firm App Annie, in 2021, Indians spent an average of 4.7 hours a day on mobile phones, compared to 3.7 hours in 2019. Notably, the Covid pandemic had a considerable role to play here. It’s a known fact that excess screen time has a damaging impact on the eyes. However, the blue light emanating from them is harmful to other aspects of health too.

Blue light, part of the visible light spectrum that humans can see, “has the shortest wavelengths and therefore the highest energy”, says Dr Sudipto Pakrasi, chairman – ophthalmology at Medanta Hospital. Although natural and a part of the sunlight, it is also emanated by various gadgets such as TVs, laptops, smartphones, tablets, gaming devices, etc, which constitute the artificial sources of blue light.

“Blue light emitted by electronic devices has been linked to a host of eye-related issues such as cataracts, macular degeneration, dry eyes, blurred vision, and eyestrain,” says Dr Rishi Bhardwaj, HOD – ophthalmology, Paras Hospitals, Gurugram.

“Prolonged exposure also has a cumulative effect

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Tesla Won’t Sell Its ‘Trailer Mode’ Software to Owners With Aftermarket Tow Hitches

Posted on 01/11/2022

Multiple Tesla owners have reported being unable to purchase Tesla’s Trailer Mode towing software after installing third-party tow hits. Tesla has allegedly offered multiple reasons as to why, despite apparently offering the software to owners with aftermarket hits previously. Though Tesla vehicles are still capable of towing without it, the software update makes it safer by disabling Autosteer and automatic steering interventions, lowering automatic emergency braking force, and increasing the follow distance on automatic cruise control.

The limitation appears to affect owners of the Model X and Model Y, which have tow ratings of 5,000 and 3,500 pounds respectively. Neither tow package is available in the vehicles’ configurator, with only the Model Y’s Tow Package appearing on Tesla’s accessory site. Because the official Tesla tow package has been out of stock in the United Kingdom for an extended period (archives on The Wayback Machine last show it stocked in June), Model Y owner and cybersecurity specialist Scott Helme purchased a third-party option—only to learn Tesla was unwilling to sell him access to the software.

Helme explained to us that he bought his car “pre-reg” (registered, but not his choice of specification), and went to a reputable company with EU type-certified

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