shamino

Why in the world is AI needed for this.  Algorithmic playlist generation, like the Music Genome Project (used by Pandora) work great.  No need for massive neural nets and AI software.

Apple deliberately refused to use these algorithms in the past, claiming that human-curated lists would work better.  So apparently, they're now deciding that these humans aren't that good after all?  Or too expensive?

Sounds like it's all just a PR stunt.  If I want a computer-generated playlist, I really don't care what algorithm is used under the covers - I just want it to work.  And I assume that most people actually using the tool are going to have a similar opinion.  Advertising "AI" might generate some clickbait, but I doubt it will do much else.

That link forwards the message to the service provider - your mobile network operator if it's SMS or (I presume) Apple, if it's iMessage.

But it's anybody's guess if they do anything in response, since you never get a response.

I recommend you report them to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center: https://www.ic3.gov/

If law enforcement gets enough complaints, then maybe they'll take action.  It's not as if the crooks can hide - they clearly own the linked URL, since that's how they're able to steal your money.

Agreed.  This is hardly a "new" scam.

As with all scams, look at where the URL is going.  If it's not going to an official government web site (as none of these scams are), then just delete the message.  Report it as junk and file an FBI report if you are so inclined.

A USB 3.5" floppy drive will work with a modern Mac.  For reading PC floppies.

Unfortunately, all Mac floppies were formatted in the HFS file system, which Apple no longer supports in macOS, so you'll have to use third-party software to copy files from those discs to some other (HFS+ or APFS) storage device before you can open them in current versions of macOS.

Ironically, it is often easier to access these files (especially old HFS-formatted CD-ROMs) from a Linux PC than from a modern Mac.

Ordinarily, I would say that a good workaround might be emulation, but the last time I checked, Mac emulators/VMs could not be configured to read from physical CD/floppy media, only from disk images.

If the situation has improved recently, either via better emulators or a third-party file system driver with HFS support, please share some links here.

Sounds like a perfect use for blockchain technology.

Migrate the CVE database to a blockchain and encourage multiple entities (tech companies, cloud providers and security-focused non-profits in addition to government agencies) to host mirrors.  There's really no reason something like this should be controlled by a single government-funded organization.  Especially when government programs (of all kinds) can (and always could) be canceled at the drop of a hat.