Unusual circuits in the Intel 386's standard cell logic

https://static.righto.com/images/386-curiosities/die-labeled-w500.jpg
The Intel 386 processor used standard cell logic to create its complex circuitry, allowing for faster design and manufacturing. The 386's standard cell circuitry contains multiplexers, inverters, and other logic elements, with some cells being used in unexpected ways.

GCC SC approves inclusion of Algol 68 Front End

The GCC Steering Committee agreed to include the Algol 68 Front End in trunk as experimental with certain stipulations. Jose E. Marchesi was appointed as the Algol 68 front end maintainer to ensure its continued development.

A monopoly ISP refuses to fix upstream infrastructure

https://sacbear.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/sacbear-logo.png
Xfinity customer experiences frequent 125-second outages, documented over 17 months, with a predictable schedule and pattern, affecting multiple devices and a neighbor on a different line. Despite providing detailed technical documentation, Xfinity refuses to investigate, citing equipment issues and leaving customers with no alternatives.

The privacy nightmare of browser fingerprinting

https://kevinboone.me/img/degoogle.png
People concerned about privacy use de-Googling to prevent their web browsing behavior from being tracked. However, browser fingerprinting, a method of tracking users through unique browser characteristics, is a significant challenge to overcome.

We Induced Smells With Ultrasound

https://writetobrain.com/images/image6.png
Researchers used focused ultrasound to stimulate the olfactory bulb in the brain, inducing sensations of smells. They found that different focal spots corresponded to different smells and were able to replicate this on two people with a makeshift headset.

WorldGen – Text to Immersive 3D Worlds

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Researchers introduce WorldGen, a system generating interactive 3D worlds from text prompts. WorldGen produces visually rich, navigable worlds with consistent geometry and textures, compatible with standard game engines.

NTSB report: Decryption of images from the Titan submersible camera [pdf] (2024)

The camera's SD card was found to be encrypted and contained images and videos from May 5 and 16, 2023, but not from the accident dive on May 23, 2023. The camera's NVRAM chip was successfully read using a UFS reader, but the key for the SD card was likely hidden in files generated by the CPU chip manufacturer.

Ubuntu LTS releases to 15 years with Legacy add-on

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Canonical extended the Legacy add-on for Ubuntu Pro to 15 years, covering Ubuntu LTS releases from 14.04 to 16.04. This provides continuous security maintenance and support for 15 years without requiring major upgrades.

Meta buried 'causal' evidence of social media harm, US court filings allege

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An Economy of AI Agents

https://arxiv.org/static/browse/0.3.4/images/icons/smileybones-pixel.png
Artificially intelligent agents may be deployed across the economy in the next decade with little human oversight. Economists need to consider how AI agents interact with humans and markets.

Show HN: Forty.News – Daily news, but on a 40-year delay

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FBI agents killed Robert Mathews, founder of white supremacist group The Order, in a shootout on December 8, 1984. The incident occurred after a four-year crime campaign including murders, robberies, and counterfeiting.

The Boring Part of Bell Labs

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The user's father worked at Bell Labs' applied division at Holmdel, where he designed slide rulers and other mundane tasks that supported moonshots, and the user later worked at Bell Labs' research division at Murray Hill. The user shares his experiences working at Bell Labs, including his participation in the One Year On Campus program, his work on queuing and inventory theory, and his ...

`satisfies` is my favorite TypeScript keyword (2024)

https://sjer.red/blog/2024-12-21/index.png
User is learning TypeScript's type system, which can be confusing due to its advanced nature and steep learning curve. They're looking for ways to ensure precise types, such as using type annotations or the satisfies keyword for type-safe casting.

The 1957 “Spaghetti-Grows-on-Trees” Hoax

https://cdn8.openculture.com/2025/11/02161618/spaghetti-1024x659.png
In 1957, the BBC pro­gram Panora­ma aired one of the first tele­vised April Fools’ Day hoax­es. Above, you can watch a faux news report from Switzer­land nar­rat­ed by respect­ed BBC jour­nal­ist Richard Dim­ble­by. Here’s the basic premise: After a mild win­ter and the “vir­tu­al dis­ap­pear­ance of the spaghet­ti wee­vil,” the res­i­dents of Ticoni (a Swiss can­ton on the Ital­ian bor­der) ...

$1900 Bug Bounty to Fix the Lenovo Legion Pro 7 16IAX10H's Speakers on Linux

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/b14b5edadebbb88605ee20bcbfe8e439eaf0dd910b914205701ba6f1d9ac7edd/nadimkobeissi/16iax10h-linux-sound-saga
To get audio working on Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gen 10, follow steps to patch Linux kernel and install NVidia DKMS drivers. Run commands to reset and reload audio, then calibrate speakers for proper function.

Show HN: Build the habit of writing meaningful commit messages

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/4191975820666521caaf251b26834b7291b33248c978cb582c1507446ad16e95/arpxspace/smartcommit
smartcommit is a CLI tool that generates structured commit messages using AI. It asks questions to understand the code's intent and provides a reviewable message for editing or confirmation.

Garibaldi, History's Sexiest Revolutionary?

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Giuseppe Garibaldi was a charismatic Italian leader who united Italy in the 19th century through his bravery and populist appeal. He was a key driver of the Risorgimento movement, leading volunteer armies against larger foes and becoming a national hero.

Cryptographers held an election but they can't decrypt the results

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Windows ARM64 Internals: Deconstructing Pointer Authentication

https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/686bd4d91556b08defea7eb6/68efda1cfea9a36ebc6f546e_1.png
Pointer Authentication Code (PAC) is an anti-exploit feature on Armv8.3-A and Armv9.0-A ARM architectures that signs pointers to validate their use at runtime. Windows implements PAC on ARM64 installations, enabling it for user-mode and kernel-mode code, with the ability to expand in the future to protect data accesses.

A Reverse Engineer's Anatomy of the macOS Boot Chain and Security Architecture

https://static.ghost.org/v5.0.0/images/publication-cover.jpg
The Apple Silicon boot process begins with an immutable Boot ROM that initializes the hardware and establishes a Chain of Trust, using a Group ID Key (GID Key) to decrypt the Low-Level Bootloader (LLB) and enforcing strict code signing to prevent malicious firmware execution. The Secure Enclave Processor (SEP) is a fully independent computer-on-a-chip that runs its own kernel, manages its own ...

Pixel Art Tips for Programmers

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To create good pixel art, programmers should develop good taste by looking at well-regarded pixel art online and noticing details, and view pixel art as a puzzle game where they need to compromise on certain details. Sticking to a limited color palette and choosing well-chosen constraints can help hide flaws and allow for creative solutions, while practice remains a big part of achieving good results.

A year without caffeine (2013)

172.172.87.192

China reaches energy milestone by "breeding" uranium from thorium

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Chinese researchers at the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics successfully converted thorium to uranium in a 2 megawatt reactor, paving the way for clean nuclear energy. This achievement marks a major leap forward in thorium-based molten salt reactor technology.

Tektronix equipment has been used in many movies and shows

I'm unable to summarize the input as it appears to be a jumbled collection of characters and does not form a coherent text.

Markdown is holding you back

https://assets.buttondown.email/images/13893aef-0747-4d6d-a3b4-cfb1be8542d6.png
The author discusses the limitations of Markdown for technical content, citing its lack of semantic structure and machine-readability. They suggest alternative formats like reStructuredText, AsciiDoc, DocBook, and DITA for more complex documentation projects.

Show HN: I built a wizard to turn ideas into AI coding agent-ready specs

A friendly 4-step wizard that helps you define, design, and plan your next app idea. AI-powered chat generates comprehensive technical specs, dev plans, and agent guidance.

The realities of being a pop star

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Being a pop star has its pros and cons, including fun experiences like attending parties and wearing luxurious clothes, but also drawbacks like feeling embarrassed and being scrutinized by the public. It also comes with a level of expectation to be truthful all the time, which can be challenging for artists who want to maintain a persona or fantasy.

Agent design is still hard

https://lucumr.pocoo.org/social/2025-11-21-agents-are-hard-social.png
Building agents is complex and messy, with SDK abstractions breaking down when used in real-world scenarios. The user shares their experience with building an agent using the Vercel AI SDK and Anthropic SDK, highlighting the importance of explicit cache management and reinforcement learning.

How to Spot a Counterfeit Lithium-Ion Battery

https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/unlabeled-lithium-batteries-being-recharged.jpg?id=62225417&width=1200&height=900
Michael Pecht, a University of Maryland mechanical engineer, audits battery factories and finds many with poor cleanliness and safety features. Counterfeit batteries, often homemade, are a major concern, causing fires and explosions with lethal consequences.

Depot (YC W23) Is Hiring a Staff Infrastructure Engineer

https://bookface-images.s3.amazonaws.com/small_logos/4bc0c4958bdeddfb5cee7883f042a17f65e1bd00.png
Depot is hiring a Staff Infrastructure Engineer to build a scalable platform for software collaboration and developer acceleration. The ideal candidate has robust systems engineering skills and experience with AWS, Terraform, and distributed systems.