Highlights, press releases and speeches

The Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is set to be completed in 2026, with the final tower symbolizing Jesus Christ. Construction began in 1882 by Antoni Gaudí and will result in the world's tallest church.

The article discusses the debate within the Rust community on using threads versus async/await for concurrency, highlighting that while threads are simpler and familiar, async/await offers composability and fits better with Rust's strengths. It argues for embracing async/await's unique advantages over traditional threading, despite its complexity.

"Everyone is John" has gained a niche following and is now under a Creative Commons license, with resources found on everyoneisjohn.com. It's a humorous RPG where players are voices in John's head, competing to fulfill their obsessions.

The article emphasizes the importance of good documentation in software projects, using esbuild and Redis as examples of well-documented open source projects that enhance understanding and contribution. Good documentation saves time, facilitates contributions, and can significantly affect a project's success.

A bug in Hubris kernel, rare due to its small size, emerged when two independent features combined adversely. The issue was traced and fixed, highlighting the dynamic nature of software and the complexity of memory management in embedded systems.

The article reveals that AMD systems are susceptible to Rowhammer attacks despite TRR mitigations, similar to Intel systems, with significant implications due to AMD's market share. ZenHammer, a new tool, can exploit DDR4 and DDR5 devices, suggesting the need for further research to secure DRAM against such vulnerabilities.

"Jampack" is depicted as a post-processing tool designed to optimize the output of Static Site Generators (SSGs) for an enhanced user experience and superior Core Web Vitals scores. It carries out critical tasks such as inlining critical CSS, lazy-loading the rest of CSS, prefetching links on the page for faster future page navigations, and compressing untouched assets in a second pass.

Track the Starlink satellite constellation in real-time.

Martin Scorsese amassed a vast collection of VHS tapes of films and TV programs, which he used for personal viewing and film-making research. This unique archive, now at the University of Colorado Boulder, offers insight into his creative process and the history of broadcast media.

Tracecat is an open-source security automation platform in public alpha, offering both cloud and self-hosted options, aiming for simplicity and accessibility. It's designed for teams of all sizes, with a focus on AI features and ease of use, but not recommended for production yet.

Pyenv allows seamless switching between multiple Python versions and integrates with tox for testing across versions. It uses shims added to PATH to intercept Python commands and direct them to the specified version.

The article criticizes LinkedIn iOS for its large size, highlighting duplications in plugins and frameworks. It suggests inefficiencies, particularly with statically linked dependencies causing unnecessary bloat.

In Bb 2.0 is a collaborative project by Darren Solomon allowing users to play videos together for a combined audio experience; it's best viewed on desktop as mobile compatibility is limited.

The author reflects on their challenging experiences with CSV files in data science, citing issues like data corruption and inefficient parsing due to the format's lack of specificity. They advocate for binary formats like Apache Parquet, which offer better compression, efficiency, and schema self-description, making data handling more robust and performant.

Supervision offers versatile computer vision tools for various tasks like loading datasets, drawing detections, and customizing visualizations, supporting popular libraries. It also provides utilities for managing datasets, enabling easy data handling and integration with models like YOLO for robust applications.

Eric Ghost created innovative stealth packaging for LSD distribution in the '60s, disguising it as Kodak film. His methods included the first mechanically produced blotter paper, advancing the underground psychedelic movement and influencing its cultural narrative.

Windows 98 Icon Viewer Made by Alex Meub

The article discusses the author's surprise at the use of non-metallic headphones during an MRI, which transmit sound via air through tubes to avoid magnetic interference. The headphones' poor quality is attributed to this simple but effective design.

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The article recounts the author's favorite software engineering interview challenge at MemSQL in 2013, involving setting up and using memcached, an in-memory key-value store. It highlights memcached's basic operations and atomic commands for concurrent client interactions.

It's been a long time since the last SPQR release, and a lot of work has been done. Here's a brief review of what we've been working on. SPQR 2.0 news #431 In this release, we add new s...

OpenAPI AutoSpec is a local server proxy that automatically creates OpenAPI specs from network requests, documenting API behavior without complex setup. It generates a link to capture traffic, and after actions are performed, exports the specs for sharing or external use.

InvertOrNot provides a free API to help apps decide whether to invert images for better dark-mode appearance, using a deep learning model. It's open-source, with an emphasis on user privacy and the option to self-host for image retention control.

Meta's billing mishap led to a $40K charge on a credit card for advertising, and despite proof of payment, Meta has disabled the account and demands another $40K wire transfer. The small business struggles to resolve the issue, risking its operations and considering a chargeback as a last resort.

The article discusses the evolution of inkjet printing from noisy office environments in the early 1980s to modern quiet printers, with a focus on the technological advancements in inkjet printheads. It also explores the diverse applications of inkjet technology beyond paper printing, including DNA microarrays, circuit boards, and 3D-printed structures.

The author shares their experience with Apple's Vision Pro headset, noting its impressive pass-through and screen resolution but mentioning discomforts like limited field-of-view and the need for physical keyboards. They praise visionOS for its native app framework and stability, while acknowledging it's still early days with room for improvement.

The article explains that setting CONFIG_PREFIX or using the default VITE_ prefix allows runtime environment variable configuration, beneficial for dynamic environments like Kubernetes. It also describes how to reference these variables in the container at runtime.

Ohio's driver's license suspensions are often for unpaid debts, affecting over 1.7 million drivers annually. Such suspensions risk significant labor force reductions and disproportionately impact poorer communities.

A Wharton professor highlights Spruce Pine, North Carolina, as crucial for the economy due to its unique mine supplying quartz for semiconductor production. The mine's closure could disastrously disrupt the tech industry.

The Netherlands has become a global leader in efficient and sustainable agriculture, pioneering innovations in food and farming technology, while facing challenges like energy costs and emission reduction targets. Dutch companies lead in seed technology and vertical farming, contributing significantly to the country's status as a top exporter of agricultural products.

The author discusses the creation of a calendar-integrated tool to manage medium-priority emails and tasks, highlighting the challenges of working with Google's APIs and the potential of local LLM models for automation. They emphasize the need for structured output from LLMs to improve automation efficiency.

The article discusses the author's experiments with Chess-GPT, a model trained to predict chess moves, which also learned to estimate player skill and chess board state. The author tested interventions to manipulate the model's skill level and board state, which improved its performance despite some limitations.

The author observes that scripts often become obsolete or unmaintainable, suggesting using the project's main language for scripting could improve maintainability. They note the trade-off with runtime support and suggest standardizing on a suitable language.

The EU is investigating Apple for not complying with the Digital Markets Act, which could result in fines up to 20% of its global turnover. Apple's App Store policy changes, including a new fee structure, are suspected of not meeting DMA obligations.

A Reddit user's 22TB of storage was destroyed due to EVGA's power supply pin layout change and failure to provide compatible cables. EVGA declined responsibility for the loss, leaving the user to seek warranty claims or pay out of pocket.

The article criticizes the ineffective insults among faculty members in CS, urging them to sharpen their verbal attacks. It guides on tailoring insults to the two CS paradigms: theorists and experimentalists, to undermine their work's value.

The article discusses a proof of concept for detecting adblockers using 103 Early Hints, effective in Firefox but not in Chrome or Safari. It compares this method with more involved techniques that are less prone to false positives.

Backpressure in software refers to the resistance in processing input data as fast as it arrives, often due to computational speed. Strategies to manage it include controlling input flow, buffering, and dropping data to prevent system overload.

The article discusses the profound influence of René Girard's theories on mimetic desire and scapegoating in society, which the author applies to current social and cultural analysis. Girard's insights offer a lens to understand human behavior, conflict, and the role of imitation in shaping desires and violence.

Jay Graber, CEO of decentralized social media platform Bluesky, champions the idea of decentralization as the future of the internet, emphasizing user control over social network identities and data. Bluesky, initially a Twitter project, is now an independent entity with a new protocol, AT Protocol, aiming to reshape online interactions and moderation systems.

The article revisits the analysis of bump allocators, suggesting that bumping up is potentially more efficient than bumping down, particularly when aligning with word size. It concludes that bumping up offers advantages like the realloc fast path, and with proper alignment, can be the optimal allocation strategy.

Opera's user base on iOS in the EU surged 164% after Apple complied with the DMA, introducing a choice screen for default browsers. This change led to significant growth for Opera, particularly in France with a 402% increase in new users.

General Motors halts sharing of OnStar Smart Driver data with brokers after public backlash and claims of non-consensual enrollment. The move, seen as a victory for privacy, ends data sharing with LexisNexis and Verisk as of March 20th.

The author enjoys making Unix tools work on Windows via MSYS2 for efficiency, despite the challenges involved. They provide specific steps and configurations to successfully integrate MSYS2 and tools like mutt with Windows.

The article discusses the U.S. lawsuit against Apple, alleging it exploits an illegal monopoly, and delves into Apple's focus on user experience as a strategic advantage in maintaining customer loyalty and market power. It also examines Apple's App Store policies and their impact on developers and the tech ecosystem.

The Synapsuit, an exosuit developed by researchers in South Korea and Switzerland, aims to reduce user fatigue through electrostatic clutches that support joints without constant muscle stimulation. While promising, the technology is still in prototype stages, with a functional system expected by 2026.

The article announces the release of C64 OS version 1.06, which includes new applications, utilities, and low-level features. It also delves into the intricacies of file management and hidden files on Commodore machines.

The article discusses Deno's use of V8 Isolates to optimize Foreign Function Interface (FFI) calls, achieving speed by providing type information for direct native binding calls. Deno employs a Rust-based assembler to create efficient bindings, improving performance in JavaScript runtimes.

Germany, once the leading producer of solar panels, is grappling with the dominance of China in the industry, as the demand for solar panels rises due to Europe's ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. While some German manufacturers are urging the government to provide incentives and protection for their niche markets, critics argue that affordable solar panels are urgently ...

Telnet, though outdated as a work tool, still hosts a subculture with ASCII art and games. Sites like Mewbies provide directories to experience Telnet's offerings, including an ASCII "Star Wars" and text-based adventures.

Lambda's proposed law suggests that while individual components of a system may remain simple, the complexity of the overall system increases as features are added. The author argues that compilers should be more adept at detecting conflicts between units to prevent systemic issues like deadlocks.

The illness affecting dairy herds in Texas, New Mexico, and Kansas has been identified as a strain of bird flu, HPAI, which is spread by wild waterfowl but poses no human risk. Dairy cows show reduced feed intake and milk production, yet no movement restrictions are advised, and milk remains safe.

The CMS.Law GDPR Enforcement Tracker provides an updated list of EU GDPR fines, excluding those under non-EU or pre-GDPR laws. It introduces unique IDs (ETid) and Direct URLs for precise referencing and sharing of fines.

The article provides an in-depth guide on x86inc.asm, a tool developed by x264 developers that eases the process of writing hand-written assembly on x86. It discusses how to optimize software using vector assembly (SIMD), the use of inline assembly and intrinsics, the function and use of x86inc.asm in various applications like libvpx, libaom, x265, and FFmpeg, and the importance of templated ...

The article outlines a comparison between deploying an e-commerce site using Nitric's Infrastructure from Code (IfC) and traditional Infrastructure as Code (IaC) with Terraform, highlighting the simplicity and cloud portability of Nitric. It emphasizes Nitric's ability to reduce infrastructure drift and simplify deployment by inferring infrastructure from application code.

Go's concurrency, enabled by Goroutines and channels, simplifies parallel task execution but can be complex and prone to memory leaks. Proper monitoring and tools like LeakProf and pprof are crucial for detecting and managing "leaky" Goroutines.

The study examines sexualization on Twitch.tv, finding women self-sexualize more than men, influenced by societal beauty standards and media. It highlights the need to understand media's role in perpetuating gender inequality and the impact of sexualized content on young people.

The article discusses a legal case where the plaintiff, X Corp., seeks to punish the defendants for alleged unauthorized data access and misuse in reports, which X Corp. claims is damaging its business and reputation. The case centers on the defendants' speech and data collection methods.

A hacker demonstrated fingerprint cloning from high-definition photos, raising security concerns over biometric data. Researchers suggest using biometrics as a secondary authentication factor, not a replacement for passwords.

Crew battles in Super Smash Bros involve teams competing in 1v1 matches until one is out of players, often highlighting regional rivalries. The article explores optimal strategies considering character matchups and player strengths, and models the problem mathematically.

"Flatito" is a tool designed to search for keys in YAML and JSON files, providing the value and the line number of the key's location. It also offers a variety of options and commands for user flexibility, and encourages open collaboration via its GitHub platform, adhering to a code of conduct for all interactions.

Inclusive Sans is a font designed for readability and accessibility, incorporating features for visual and cognitive ease. It is available in Regular and Italic on Google Fonts, with support for Aboriginal languages.

The article explores whether GPT-4 could replace data analysts by conducting comparative studies and designing specific metrics. Results indicate GPT-4's performance is comparable to humans, although further research is needed before conclusive claims.

Vittles Season 7 explores how policy influences food and life, offering a subscription for weekly newsletters and essays like Max Walker's piece on Devon's dairy culture and its historical ties to London via railway milk. Devon's dairy tradition, including the clotted cream and Devon split, evolved with industrialization and tourism, impacting London's dairy supply and hinting at a potential ...

CFEngine, a 30-year-old software, has evolved beyond its original configuration management purpose and remains relevant despite the emergence of tools like Puppet, Chef, and Ansible. It was created to handle diverse IT environments and is still applicable in modern systems, offering robust autonomous features and self-healing capabilities.

The author expresses frustration with having to repeatedly log into a hotel's Wi-Fi using a captive portal and automates the process using WWW::Mechanize and Perl, saving time and hassle. They also reflect on the evolution of wireless connectivity in hotels and the convenience it now offers.

Java programs are compiled into bytecode, which is then optimized at runtime by a JIT compiler in HotSpot JVM. The article explains advanced techniques for debugging JIT compilation, not intended for beginners.

NE Edge seeks to build AI datacenters near the Millstone nuclear plant in Connecticut, with $1.6 billion invested, amid local cost concerns. AWS and others are also pursuing nuclear-powered datacenters, with Microsoft exploring small modular reactors.

The author expresses a desire to gain practical experience in hosting and maintaining a Linux server, despite their appreciation for the abstraction provided by cloud services. They plan to rent a server for around $10 per month, develop a personal application, and deepen their understanding of security and networking, inviting suggestions and advice to aid their journey.

Budget Kanban is a visual financial tool for managing project budgets that updates in real-time and allows for customization. It simplifies tracking by using a Kanban board, making financial oversight and decision-making more efficient.

The article discusses the development of Sunstone technology, including the completion of its architecture and the ongoing implementation into a CMOS chip. It highlights Sunstone's potential performance, estimating it to be significantly faster than existing processors when released.

The article discusses JavaScript's type coercion, explaining how 'undefined' can be used in place of booleans, and how it behaves in arithmetic operations, often leading to unexpected results. It provides code examples demonstrating the 'falsey' nature of 'undefined'.

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The article discusses the development of an asymmetric Authenticated Key Exchange protocol, starting as a simple key exchange and evolving to protect against attackers, with the user providing data and bearing risks. The protocol builds on Diffie-Hellman, ensuring secure sessions and addressing potential security attacks, but the author acknowledges incomplete analysis and issues with active ...

The speaker discussed their programming journey with Elixir, highlighting the importance of reducing friction for language adoption by providing standardized tools and resources. They also emphasized Livebook's role as a versatile entry-point for Elixir, offering an interactive, integrative, and extendable coding environment.

The NYSE is delisting Fisker due to persistently low stock prices, triggering loan repayments the company can't afford. Fisker's woes deepen with lost deals, quality issues, and a dire need for cash.

Tcl/Tk 9.0 beta introduces full Unicode range, new encodings, and attached archives for app deployment. It features a new event handling engine and partial SVG support for scalable interfaces.

The article describes an online archive of Japanese textbooks dating from the 19th to 20th centuries, showcasing their artistic value with hand paintings and traditional printing methods. These historic books, available in PDF format, reflect Japan's cultural changes and the artistry of bookmaking pre-dating modern print technology.

The U.S. military separates force generation (man, train, equip) from force employment (combat use), with services generating forces and combatant commands employing them. CYBERCOM, lacking a dedicated force generation entity, faces challenges in readiness and talent retention.

The article details the author's journey in developing the IRIS technique for visualizing chip internals using infrared light, and the process of creating a cost-effective light source by learning from existing methods and iterating on prototypes.

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The article warns that high-tech cars collect data which can lead to increased insurance premiums and privacy breaches, but offers ways to prevent data sharing. It highlights the lack of legal protection for data stored in cars, unlike mobile phones.

The article sets community guidelines for a Meta/Facebook-related forum, prohibiting personal info, off-topic content, and private messaging for tech support. It also bans NSFW content, hate speech, and non-professional posts.

The author reflects on moving beyond processor architecture research after six years, feeling a duty to share a new understanding in computing models. They argue that current cultural mindsets limit innovation, advocating for computing models that represent collective human thought.

The article discusses Andrew Huberman, a popular podcaster and Stanford professor, who shares his personal journey and scientific insights, influencing millions to adopt his advice on life's basic functions. Huberman's rise to fame and personal appeal have led to a significant following, yet a disconnect emerges between his public persona and private complexities.

The article discusses the significant impact of the Rhysida ransomware attack on the British Library, highlighting the detailed report released by the Library as a valuable resource for IT risk management. It also draws a parallel with the Library of Alexandria, emphasizing the importance of resource allocation over myths of destruction.

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SpaceX significantly outperformed its competitors in 2023, dominating orbital launches, spacecraft operations, and mass lifted to orbit. Their launches, primarily for Starlink satellites, accounted for the majority of global orbital launches and spacecraft deployments.

The article explains how containerization works, detailing mechanisms like chroot, cgroups, and namespaces that isolate and control process resources, which are simplified by tools like Docker.

The article discusses significant performance issues with Wayland due to unresolved problems in surface suspension and a broken FIFO implementation, necessitating a reversion of a commit and the introduction of additional protocols for improvement. It also highlights the current preference for X11 over Wayland due to these issues.

Sometimes our bodies react to the world around us before we realise, shaping our emotions.

The article advertises complete digital access to Financial Times (FT) journalism on any device, with options to cancel anytime and discounts for upfront annual payments. It also offers the print edition delivered six days a week.

The article expresses enthusiasm for the advancements in AI and vector databases for user interactivity, but also highlights the importance of diverse, orthogonal features for precision in retrieval systems. It advocates for hybrid retrieval approaches and incorporating explicit, domain-specific information to enhance search accuracy.

Clever music apps for making beats, loops, and melodies.

The author reflects on their career progression, starting from a focus on networking to find the right people to work with, to specializing in systems programming and enjoying remote, research-heavy work. They also discuss the balance between being a specialist and a generalist in their field.

Harry Houdini, at thirty-four, sought to reinvent his act after years of performing as an escape artist. He challenged death with stunts like the milk-can escape, evoking public fascination with risk and questioning reality, while also reflecting on societal cruelties and his own immigrant journey.

Highlights, press releases and speeches

The article advises that older Android devices struggle with displaying the globe and suggests disabling features to reduce CPU usage. It also recommends recalibrating the compass if directional accuracy is poor.

A study finds Twitch.tv female streamers often self-sexualize more intensely than males, suggesting a 'pornification' trend in digital content. The research indicates a gender disparity in content presentation and raises concerns over the impact on audience perceptions of gender and sexuality.

The article discusses the importance and controversy of street names, focusing on the New York City council's frequent changes, and the implications of naming streets after controversial figures. It also highlights the struggles of rural areas and developing countries without addresses, emphasizing how this lack impacts emergency services, social services, and economic growth.

The article explains how containerization works, detailing mechanisms like chroot, cgroups, and namespaces that isolate and control process resources, which are simplified by tools like Docker.