Beam: Reflection's 501B open-weight model

407 Philpax 2026-10-05 20:03:35 UTC reflection.ai Llama Share 125

Beam is a large language model that combines pretraining and reinforcement learning to achieve strong performance in coding, agentic, and reasoning tasks. It was trained on 23.8 trillion high-quality tokens from the web and proprietary licensed datasets using a novel scaling recipe for reinforcement learning.

Example.com just launched the biggest redesign in decades

185 jgx0 2026-10-05 23:03:35 UTC debugbear.com Llama Share 103

The example.com domain has undergone several changes over the years, with updates aimed at reducing bandwidth demands and improving its utility. The latest redesign introduces multi-language support using JavaScript, showing content in a new language every 5 seconds.

Resurrecting iChat Audio and Video Conferencing

34 thepipetogrep 2026-10-06 04:03:35 UTC blog.pipetogrep.org Llama Share 6

User successfully set up iChat's video conferencing on OS X Leopard over the internet by creating a custom SNATMAP server. The solution involves setting up a web server to serve the snatmap.txt file and updating the /etc/hosts file on both Macs.

Find the flattest route between any two points in SF

168 ishan0102 2026-10-05 22:03:35 UTC flattensf.com Llama Share 57

The route is computed using 1m lidar elevation and street graph data, balancing distance and climbing. The slider offers various options, excluding stairways on bikes while allowing them on foot.

Opus 5.5 agents discover two room-temperature magnetic semiconductor candidates

303 outlier99 2026-10-05 21:03:35 UTC vals.ai Llama Share 198

Researchers used AI to design a new magnet with properties between ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic materials, which could improve computer memory. The material has zero net spin moment but sorts electrons by energy level, allowing for faster switching and higher storage performance.

Dust: Pretraining Transformers Without Backpropagation

153 E-Reverance 2026-10-05 22:03:35 UTC qlabs.sh Llama Share 36

Researchers have developed a zeroth-order optimization algorithm called Dust that is competitive with backpropagation at pretraining transformer language models. The algorithm perturbs activations independently at every token, allowing for parallel evaluation and efficient computation.

Friendship ended with Deno, now Node is my best friend

132 ibobev 2026-10-05 23:03:35 UTC dbushell.com Llama Share 67

The author has returned to using Node.js after a long period of using Deno, finding it more modern and stable. They've switched to PNPM for package management and are exploring other built-in Node APIs to improve performance.

Why Common Lisp is now the best programming language

123 misterchocolat 2026-10-06 03:03:35 UTC vivienhenz.com Llama Share 167

The author believes Common Lisp is the best programming language due to its ability to write code quickly and efficiently, thanks to its image-based nature and lack of a crash loop. This allows LLMs to make changes without restarting the program, making it ideal for rapid development.

Accountability mechanisms can be joyful

8 luu 2026-10-06 06:03:35 UTC liquidbrain.net LocalLLM Share 0

A music-based accountability system replaces punishment with positive reinforcement, fostering mutual support. It leverages shared joy and intrinsic motivation rather than fear, making daily tasks more engaging.

An algorithmic failure beneath the secret ballot

69 leecoursey 2026-10-06 00:03:35 UTC blog.citp.princeton.edu Llama Share 37

A security vulnerability in US ballot scanners allows for the reconstruction of 1.5 million ballots cast in Georgia's May 2026 primary, potentially exposing voters' secret choices. The flaw can be exploited using AI tools and public records, undermining the integrity of elections.

Web Search API

527 tosh 2026-10-05 11:03:35 UTC developers.cloudflare.com Llama Share 240

Web Search API is now available in beta, allowing AI agents to search the internet and ground responses in live information. It supports three providers: Ceramic.ai, Exa, and Linkup, with no additional markup on top of provider prices.

Anthropic reported diary entry to police, woman faces felony charge

680 emptybits 2026-10-05 07:03:35 UTC techspot.com Llama Share 523

A Florida woman is facing felony charges after using a chatbot to write a threatening message, which was reported to police by the company's safety systems. The incident highlights the need for users to think carefully before sharing sensitive information with AI-powered tools.

Testing 12 different Zigbee temperature/humidity sensors

93 walrus01 2026-10-05 22:03:35 UTC smarthomescene.com Llama Share 33

The article compares 12 Zigbee temperature and humidity sensors from various brands, including Aqara, Sonoff, Tuya, Thirdreality, Zemismart, and Moes. The sensors were tested for accuracy and reporting interval using a calibrated reference sensor in a controlled environment.

Competitive Programmer's Handbook (2018) [pdf]

177 vinhnx 2026-10-05 19:03:35 UTC cses.fi Llama Share 40

This book provides a thorough introduction to competitive programming, focusing on algorithms and mathematical thinking. It is suitable for students interested in IOI or ICPC, as well as anyone looking to learn about competitive programming.

ChatGPT is adding real cartoonists' signatures to fake New Yorker cartoons

388 rdmuser 2026-10-05 23:03:35 UTC niemanlab.org Llama Share 280

ChatGPT's AI image generator has reproduced the signatures of several New Yorker cartoonists without permission, sparking concerns over intellectual property and authenticity. The issue highlights the challenges posed by AI-generated content in a world where creativity is increasingly being replicated and profited from.

Show HN: Photoc – Command-line tools for photographers

27 ahmetomer 2026-10-06 02:03:35 UTC github.com/ahmetomerv Llama Share 2

Photoc is a terminal-based tool for reviewing, organizing, and preparing photos. It can rename and sort photos into folders, create contact sheets and smaller copies, or remove GPS location before sharing.

Global Solar Atlas: summary of solar power potential globally

45 stratts 2026-10-05 23:03:35 UTC globalsolaratlas.info Full Share 23

The Global Solar Atlas provides a summary of solar power potential and solar resources globally. It is provided by the World Bank Group as a free service to governments, developers and the general public, and allows users to quickly obtain data and carry out a simple electricity output calculation for any location covered by the solar resource database.

Show HN: Entombed in a Raycaster

14 stelabouras 2026-10-06 04:03:35 UTC stelabouras.com Llama Share 3

The author implemented the Entombed maze generation algorithm in a raycaster game, creating a procedurally generated maze with unique characteristics. The project combined learning about raycasting and procedural generation with implementing the ancient Atari game's logic.

Samon: Designing a Zen Garden Raking Puzzle

40 networked 2026-10-06 00:03:35 UTC gwern.net Llama Share 17

Samon is a puzzle game where players rake sand into patterns, with the goal of creating a calm and aesthetically pleasing design. The game features various rules, including ones that introduce new elements such as grooves, pebbles, and wide rakes to increase difficulty.

DEDA – Tracking Dots Extraction, Decoding and Anonymisation Toolkit

54 greyface- 2026-10-05 22:03:35 UTC github.com/dfd-tud Llama Share 6

Colour tracking dots are used in printers to encode information about the device and printout, allowing for forensic analysis and anonymisation. The process can be performed using software such as deda_extract_yd or deda_create_dots.

Ocean the Man Who Listens to Whales

9 dnetesn 2026-10-06 05:03:35 UTC blue-continuum.com Llama Share 2

Marine biologist David Gruber is leading a project to decode sperm whale communication using AI and machine learning. He believes it's the next logical step in understanding these intelligent creatures.

Ephemeral Testing

49 ibobev 2026-10-06 00:03:35 UTC lemire.me Llama Share 13

The author proposes "ephemeral testing" where an AI agent builds on top of a software component, then tests it without assessing the original work directly. This approach simulates other layers to gather evidence about the code's quality and stability.

Texas city demands $2M for public records on Flock usage

178 01-_- 2026-10-05 23:03:35 UTC arstechnica.com Llama Share 28

Cities are charging high fees for Flock data, with some requesting $2.3 million or more to access records about police use of AI-enabled camera systems that track every vehicle passing by. Anti-surveillance groups argue this stifle public records searches and hide data on potential abuses of the system.

The lamps in my house

177 farslan 2026-10-05 15:03:35 UTC arslan.io Llama Share 80

The author shares their passion for designer lamps, showcasing 15 unique pieces from various designers and eras. They discuss the value of these lamps, which can be expensive but hold sentimental worth for them.

Making a GTK application in Haskell, part 1

151 Vosporos 2026-10-05 15:03:35 UTC floreal.tech Llama Share 39

This series will build a todo-list application using Haskell, GTK 4, and Adwaita library to create responsive design. The application state and actions are modeled as data structures, with messages triggering updates to the model and view.

Apple and a hacker's future

244 maguay 2026-10-05 11:03:35 UTC stratechery.com Llama Share 212

The author's Mac Mini was hacked due to a macOS vulnerability, but they were able to detect and remove the malware using their custom agent software. The author is now questioning Apple's approach to security and control over user data.

Qualcomm licenses patents on Huawei’s LogicFolding chip tech

187 0xedb 2026-10-05 08:03:35 UTC bloomberg.com Full Share 124

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Using Theme park rides and smartphones for demonstrating Newtonian mechanics

9 bryanrasmussen 2026-10-06 03:03:35 UTC iopscience.iop.org Full Share 4

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The first fully implanted cochlear implant reaches patients

83 rbanffy 2026-10-05 11:03:35 UTC spectrum.ieee.org Llama Share 65

Med-El has launched the TICI Unico, a fully implanted cochlear implant that restores round-the-clock hearing without visible components. The device provides comparable performance to conventional implants and allows users to hear while asleep, swimming, and recharging.

Linux containers in 500 lines of code (2016)

119 mkornaukhov 2026-10-05 15:03:35 UTC blog.lizzie.io Llama Share 24

The user has written code to create a Linux container with restricted capabilities, using namespaces and seccomp filters to limit system calls and prevent privilege escalation. The code includes various checks and restrictions, such as dropping specific capabilities like CAP_NET_ADMIN and CAP_SYS_ADMIN, as well as setting up cgroups and resource limits for the container.