Hacking millions of modems and investigating who hacked my modem

https://samcurry.net/images/hacking-millions-of-modems/cover.png
A security researcher discovered a vulnerability in Cox Communications' business API, which allowed him to access and control millions of modems, access customer data, and execute commands on devices. The vulnerability was reported to Cox, which quickly fixed the issue, and the researcher shared his findings in a blog post.

An animated introduction to Fourier series

https://www.andreinc.net/assets/images/2024-04-08-from-the-circle-to-epicycles/sinusoida-tetris.png
The article explores the basics of Fourier Mathematics, including the concept of the circle, trigonometric functions, and the Fourier Series, which is a mathematical process that expands a periodic function as a sum of trigonometric functions. The article also discusses the application of Fourier Series in approximating a square wave and a triangle wave, and how it can be used to decompose a ...

A breakthrough towards the Riemann hypothesis

https://media.mathstodon.xyz/cache/preview_cards/images/016/767/512/original/4cb193f7945406c2.png
Guth and Maynard improved the Ingham bound from 0.6 to 0.52, leading to advances in analytic number theory. Their methods involve clever Fourier analysis, including raising a matrix to the sixth power and exploiting the phase function in Dirichlet series.

Things the guys who stole my phone have texted me to try to get me to unlock it

https://images-prod.gothamist.com/images/single.2e16d0ba.fill-700x467.format-webp.webpquality-70.webp
A woman's iPhone was stolen and she received various texts from the thieves, including attempts to scare her into unlocking the phone. She sympathized with their plight and engaged with them, eventually learning that her phone was sold in bulk online and was now in China.

I am sick of LeetCode-style interviews

You quit your previous job at Robinhood due to health reasons and have been interviewing since, but are frustrated with LeetCode-style interviews that don't reflect real job responsibilities. You're looking for a software engineering job with specific skills and prefer a company that doesn't use these types of interviews.

Why do electronic components have such odd values? (2021)

https://digilent.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/resistor-color-codes-600x600.png
Preferred numbers, also known as Renard numbers, are a system of numbers used to simplify inventory management and component selection in electronics, with values like 47kΩ and 22μF being common due to their overlap in tolerance ranges. By combining components with preferred values, designers can create any desired value for a circuit, making it easier to meet specific requirements.

Diffusion on syntax trees for program synthesis

Large language models generate code one token at a time, lacking feedback from observing program output. Neural diffusion models invert noise on syntax trees, iteratively editing code while preserving syntax, enabling combination with search for tasks like converting images to programs.

Some notes on influenceering

https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd99ae74d-3a0c-4895-974d-d0698eb15bed_1168x520.jpeg
You've been publishing online content for over two decades, sharing your experiences and insights on various topics, and have learned that online publishing comes with its own set of challenges, including dealing with trolls, technical issues, and the pressure to produce clickbait content. Despite these challenges, you've found that the benefits of publishing online, such as sharing your ...

Sphere Rendering: Flat Planets

https://emildziewanowski.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/AlienSkies-1024x576.jpg
The author describes their experience with creating a realistic planetary skybox, including the challenges of texturing a sphere and the importance of atmospheric lighting, and explains their approach to solving these problems using pixel shaders and normal maps. The author also discusses their use of Substance Designer to generate surface textures and their implementation of a Lambertian ...
https://www.michaelgeist.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2048px-Username_and_password_20170626-780x350.jpg
The Federal Court of Canada ruled that digital locks should not trump fair dealing, allowing users to still rely on fair dealing even in cases involving digital locks. The decision could have significant implications for libraries, education, and users, restoring the copyright balance in the digital world.

Entropy, a CLI that scans files to find high entropy lines (might be secrets)

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/EwenQuim/entropy/master/entropy.png
Entropy is a CLI tool that scans codebases for high-entropy lines, which may contain secrets. It can be run using Docker, allowing users to scan their local codebase and specify file extensions and other options.

macOS Bartender Auto-Update Signed by Unknown New Owner

https://images.macrumors.com/t/sWndGhdSp0x_oZUMjyWjfXgMI4M=/400x0/article-new/2024/06/bartender-app.jpg?lossy
Bartender, a popular Mac app, was sold to new owners without notification to customers, raising concerns about transparency and potential security risks. The new owners have confirmed the sale, but have not provided information on their identity or plans for the app's future.

Don't be terrified of Pale Fire

https://unherd.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/GettyImages-613510730-e1716812387152.jpg
The author reflects on their personal experience reading Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Pale Fire", describing its complex and layered structure, intricate patterns, and emotional depth, which resonated with them despite their limited knowledge of literature and poetry at the time. The author argues that the book's beauty and power lie not only in its intellectual complexity but also in its ...

Koheesio: Nike's Python-based framework to build advanced data-pipelines

https://repository-images.githubusercontent.com/796773455/6b4499c8-0dc6-4c7a-8463-dd16ba48e2b1
Koheesio is a Python framework for building efficient data pipelines, promoting modularity and collaboration, and supporting multiple implementations and data processing libraries. It provides a robust and adaptable solution for data processing tasks, with features like strong typing, data validation, and settings management.

Show HN: Allocate poker chips optimally with mixed-integer nonlinear programming

https://repository-images.githubusercontent.com/757515971/88a5d570-deeb-49ea-8d64-17cc235cb7f3
Poker Chipper is a tool that helps pick chip denominations for a poker game by using mixed-integer nonlinear programming to find the most optimal denominations. The tool is a fully static web application that runs client-side and is scalable, with a low maintenance burden.

Microsoft blocks Windows 11 workaround that enabled local accounts

https://b2c-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Windows-Insider-search-bar.png
Microsoft has patched a workaround that allowed users to create a local account during Windows 11 setup by typing in a blocked email address. Instead, users are now forced to enter a working Microsoft account email address and password or use alternative methods to bypass the account lockdown.

Debian's /tmpest in a teapot

This is a summary of the article "Debian to switch to tmpfs for /tmp by default" and the subsequent discussion in the comments. The article discusses the decision by the Debian project to switch to tmpfs for the /tmp directory by default, which means that temporary files will be stored in RAM instead of on disk. This change is intended to improve system performance and reduce the risk of data ...

Encryption at Rest: Whose Threat Model Is It Anyway?

https://scottarc.blog/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/whose-threat-model.jpg?w=566
The blog post discusses the importance of understanding the threat model when implementing encryption at rest in web applications and cloud services, highlighting the risks of confused deputy attacks and the need for context-binding mechanisms to prevent data breaches. The author emphasizes the need for developers to carefully consider the threat model and implement secure encryption ...

Influencer cartels manipulate social media

https://cepr.org/sites/default/files/styles/flexible_wysiwyg/public/2024-06/hinosaar2junefig1.png?itok=L_UmQV2M
Academic citation cartels and influencer marketing cartels can have both positive and negative effects, depending on their nature and quality of engagement. In the case of influencer cartels, our study finds that general cartels provide nearly worthless engagement for advertisers, while topic cartels cause less distortion and may be socially desirable.

New telescope images of Jupiter's moon Io rival those from spacecraft

https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/glimpses-of-a-volcanic.jpg
New images of Jupiter's moon Io, taken by the Large Binocular Telescope, offer the highest resolution of Io ever achieved with an Earth-based instrument, revealing surface features as small as 50 miles across. The images were made possible by a new high-contrast optical imaging instrument, SHARK-VIS, and the telescope's adaptive optics system, allowing researchers to identify a major ...

Research as leisure activity

https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb4c98861-cd1a-4437-b515-d2fc9e6f5c7d_2297x1550.jpeg
The author reflects on the concept of "research as leisure activity," where individuals engage in intellectual inquiry and exploration for personal enjoyment, often outside of traditional academic or professional settings. The author shares their own experiences and observations of people who engage in research as a leisure activity, including artists, writers, and autodidacts who pursue ...

Creating a Safari webarchive from the command line

https://alexwlchan.net/images/cards/2024/creating-a-safari-webarchive.jpg
The author wants to create a local archive of bookmarked web pages, including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and uses Safari webarchives to achieve this. They also write a Swift script to automate the process of creating webarchive files programmatically, overcoming issues with asynchronous operations and error handling.

Night-vision lenses so thin and light that we can all see in the dark

https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/3de87a8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1536x1024+128+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F7a%2Ff0%2F8c067d1b49d69256a85e8276c939%2Fnightviz.jpg
Researchers have developed a thin film that can convert infrared light to visible light, enabling night vision without bulky headsets. This technology could lead to wearable night-vision glasses, enhancing safety and quality of life in low-light situations.

Intel's Lion Cove Architecture Preview

https://i0.wp.com/chipsandcheese.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/image.jpg?resize=688%2C385&ssl=1
Intel's Lion Cove core features a split scheduler, improved cache hierarchy, and increased resources in the out-of-order engine, resulting in a 14% performance per clock improvement. The core also introduces a new intermediate cache, removes Hyperthreading, and features improved front-end and branch prediction capabilities.

The long-lost Tarzan Atari game, preserved

https://gamehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/atari-tarzan-temple.png
Tarzan for the Atari 2600 was a cancelled game developed by James Wickstead Design Associates (JWDA) and published by Coleco in 1984, featuring a unique bankswitching scheme and a large game world with varied challenges. The game was lost to time until its rediscovery in 2022, and its release as a playable ROM file on Archive.org.

CO2 helps viruses stay alive longer in the air

https://www.statnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/AdobeStock_373315367-645x645.jpeg
Carbon dioxide monitors have become a hot commodity due to their ability to gauge the likelihood of breathing in coronavirus-laced particles. Research has shown that high CO2 concentrations can provide a warning sign that a lot of the air you're inhaling is coming out of other people's respiratory tracts.

Show HN: PlayBooks – Jupyter Notebooks style on-call investigation documents

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/eb382b6fc142410e6686e9f1354b041de19efc90c0cc108fa320105ab447ff89/DrDroidLab/PlayBooks
PlayBooks are executable notebooks that automate preliminary investigations in production for engineers, allowing configuration of steps as data queries or actions within an observability stack. The tool supports integrations with various metric sources, logs, and databases, and offers features like past executions, continuous monitoring, and interpretation layers.

Intel Unveils Lunar Lake Architecture

https://images.anandtech.com/doci/21425/Intel_Tech%20Tour%20TW_AI%20on%20Client%20PCs-49.png
Intel has announced its upcoming Lunar Lake SoC, featuring a new P-Core design codenamed Lion Cove and a new wave of E-cores, with a focus on enhancing power efficiency and optimizing performance. The SoC will be manufactured by TSMC using a mix of N3E and N6 processes, and will feature a new NPU 4 with up to 48 TOPS of INT8 performance.

xLSTM code release by NX-AI

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/4e564595059616958243a263b7bbf450a251626926b5541331167bae1dabfaee/NX-AI/xlstm
xLSTM is a new Recurrent Neural Network architecture that overcomes limitations of original LSTM, showing promising performance on Language Modeling. It can be used as a standalone model or as a component in other architectures, with configurations available for CUDA and non-CUDA environments.

Google to shut down Google One VPN on June 20

https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/7bba8bf0a0e4524d0b14f62fb877ee0e815f7263/2023/05/12/6835195a-fcd2-43b2-918b-8f61bcdb9fd2/lance-31.png?auto=webp&fit=crop&frame=1&height=192&width=192
Google One subscribers will no longer have access to the VPN service starting June 20, 2024, as the company is refocusing efforts to support more in-demand features. Users can consider alternative VPN options, including Google Fi's VPN, a built-in VPN on recent Pixel phones, or third-party VPN tools available in the Google Play Store.

Building a serverless secured dead drop

https://ayende.com/blog/Content/images/oren.jpg
The article discusses the design of a dead-drop system for secure communication between whistleblowers and journalists, using a serverless architecture and encryption to ensure anonymity and security. The system uses a combination of encryption, Tor, and decoy traffic to mask the real actions, making it difficult for adversaries to track the communication.

Show HN: Huewords, a Word and Logic Puzzle

https://huewords.snellman.net/stc/share-big.png
Back Menu Reset Undo Hint Skip How to Play Daily Puzzle Medium Large About

Particle accelerators for the microchip era

https://www.moore.org/images/default-source/default-album/achip-co-pis.png?sfvrsn=ab98620c_1
Researchers have developed a miniature particle accelerator, called ACHIP, which uses a laser to accelerate electrons, potentially leading to new applications in medicine and diagnostics. The project, funded by the Moore Foundation, has brought together international teams to overcome technical challenges and explore the potential of this innovative technology.

Show HN: Web Development with Htmx, Type-Guided Components, Pure Python

Ludic is a lightweight framework for building HTML pages with a component approach, similar to React, and is built to work with htmx.org. It's still in an early development stage and welcomes contributions to improve the framework.

An Overview of the Starlark Language

Starlark is a small, open-source programming language designed for embedded use, similar to Lua with Python syntax, and is used in various applications and companies. It is a dynamically typed language with high-level data types and garbage collection, but is simpler than Python and has deterministic evaluation, hermetic execution, and parallel evaluation.

Implementing the Goodfellow GANs paper

https://ym2132.github.io/GenerativeAdversarialNetworks_Goodfellow_files/figure-html/767ddf10-1-image.png
The Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) is a type of generative AI that uses two models, the Generator (G) and the Discriminator (D), to generate new images that resemble real images. The G model learns to generate new images by trying to fool the D model, which is trained to classify images as real or fake.

TotalRecall: Extracts and displays data from the Windows 11 Recall feature

https://private-user-images.githubusercontent.com/5014849/336395347-eff4619c-700c-47d7-bb89-a05054309517.png?jwt=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.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.YSQWNHoT6Cx3ep71YfyGzfUlHgWNtkhgc2Fajil2lds
Windows Recall is a feature in Windows 11 that takes snapshots of the user's screen every 5 seconds and stores them locally in an unencrypted SQLite database, allowing users to search for specific content using natural language. The feature has raised concerns about privacy and security, as hackers could potentially access the database and steal sensitive information.

Study shows most doctors endorsing drugs on X are paid to do so

https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2019/5-money.jpg
Doctors on X (formerly Twitter) endorsing drugs were often paid by manufacturers, with 26 of 28 doctors receiving payments. Payments were mostly for speaking or consulting, with most postings being sponsored testimonials.

Raspberry Pi AI Kit available now at $70

https://www.raspberrypi.com/app/uploads/2024/05/AI-kit-disassembled-small.jpg
The Raspberry Pi AI Kit integrates a Hailo-8L AI accelerator module with a Raspberry Pi 5 for high-performance, power-efficient inferencing. The kit allows for real-time AI vision applications with low latency and comes with pre-trained neural network models and simplified software installation.

Ask HN: Going low-level – what to learn next?

You have a background in low-level programming, knowing C and assembly, and want to learn more about cache usage and microoptimizations. You're looking to expand your knowledge for personal interest, not for production code optimization.

Atash Behram – Types of Fire

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Udwada_atash_behram.jpg/200px-Udwada_atash_behram.jpg
The Atash Behram is the highest grade of fire in Zoroastrianism, requiring the gathering and purification of 16 different types of fire, followed by a year-long consecration process involving priests and prayers. The final ceremony involves combining the 16 fires and consecrating the Atash Behram in a temple, marking the end of the elaborate process.

Epoch Times CFO charged in $67M crypto money laundering plot

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/1236/live/c4009200-2204-11ef-b38e-95aaae8f0373.jpg.webp
Bill Guan, 61, is accused of laundering $67m in illegal cash to benefit the Epoch Times. He led the "Make Money Online" team, using cryptocurrency to launder crime proceeds and pump millions into the newspaper.

Databricks to Buy Data-Management Startup Tabular

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Please support "skip to main content" on your docs site

You're learning keyboard-based navigation to improve efficiency and accessibility, starting with the Tab key to navigate focusable elements. You've identified issues with some documentation sites, including your own, lacking a "Skip to main content" link, making it difficult to access main content.

Attacking Android Binder

https://androidoffsec.withgoogle.com/posts/attacking-android-binder-analysis-and-exploitation-of-cve-2023-20938/binder-transaction-layout.png
The Android Binder device driver vulnerability CVE-2023-20938 allows for a use-after-free attack, which can be exploited to achieve root privilege. The vulnerability was initially patched in February 2023, but further analysis revealed a new vulnerability, CVE-2023-21255, which was fully mitigated in July 2023.

Reverse Z in 3D graphics (and why it's so awesome)

https://tomhultonharrop.com/assets/images/equation-1.png
The article discusses the benefits of using a "reverse Z" projection matrix in graphics rendering, which can improve the precision and fidelity of depth values, especially near the near clip plane. By flipping the z-axis and leveraging the precision of floating-point numbers near 0, reverse Z can provide a significant improvement in depth value representation without any performance or memory costs.

How to chop off bytes of an UTF-8 string to fit into a small slot and look nice

A Koha bug required chopping a string to a specific maximum length in bytes, not characters, due to the USMARC format's limitations. The solution involved using bytes::length() and bytes::substr() to chop the string, and decode_utf8() to ensure proper UTF-8 encoding.

New vestiges of the first life on Earth discovered

https://scx1.b-cdn.net/csz/news/800a/2024/new-vestiges-of-the-fi.jpg
Scientists have discovered living stromatolites on Sheybarah Island in Saudi Arabia, providing a unique opportunity to study the formation and growth of these ancient structures. The discovery may also shed light on the evolution of life on Earth and potentially aid in the search for life on other planets like Mars.

Chang'e-6: Moon dark side samples collected and launched into lunar orbit

https://i0.wp.com/spacenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/CE-6-lander-imaged-by-rover-CNSA-CLEP-june2024.jpg?fit=1200%2C746&ssl=1
China's Chang'e-6 mission successfully launched samples from the far side of the moon into lunar orbit. The samples will be returned to Earth in June 2024, providing insight into the moon's history and composition.

Architectures for Central Server Collaboration

https://mattweidner.com/assets/img/server-architectures/server_model.png
The article discusses the challenges of implementing real-time collaborative apps with a central server, including rebasing, CRDTs, and OT, and proposes a flexible architecture that combines mutations and server reconciliation to achieve optimistic local updates. The author also explores the concept of decentralized version control and proposes a decentralized way for clients to agree on a ...

Mozilla Builders Accelerator 2024

https://storage.googleapis.com/future-prod-prod-storage/images/Local_AI_wfXVocx.original.png
The Mozilla Builders Accelerator funds and supports impactful open source AI projects, providing up to $100,000 in funding and a 12-week program focused on design, build, and testing. The program is open to individuals, teams, or organizations with projects that fit within the definition of Local AI and have a clear open source license.

Herbie: Optimize Floating-Point Expressions

https://herbie.uwplse.org/logo.png
Herbie will improve a formula, with approximate input ranges, and web requests are queued to handle volume. Install Herbie on your own computer to avoid limitations and submit formulas as FPCore expressions.

Windows AI feature that screenshots everything labeled a security 'disaster'

https://duet-cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0x0:1600x900/2400x1600/filters:focal(800x450:801x451):format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25475583/windows_11_recall.jpg
Microsoft's new Recall feature, which screenshots everything you do on your PC, has been criticized by cybersecurity experts for potential security flaws, including storing data in a plain text database. The feature has raised concerns about privacy and cybersecurity, with experts warning that it could be exploited by attackers to steal sensitive information.

ShadowFinder: Find possible locations of shadows around the world

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/041d817bb1af231cc8de54a6e276758537aac04834d44b329ed7addf53d09a37/bellingcat/ShadowFinder
A lightweight tool and Google Colab notebook for estimating the points on the Earth's surface where a shadow of a particular length could occur, for geolocation purposes. Using an object's height, the lenth of its shadow, the date and the time, ShadowFinder estimates the possible locations where that shadow could occur.

ChatGPT Is Down

OpenAI's Status Page - ChatGPT is unavailable for some users..

SpaceX received FAA approval for Starship flight 4

SpaceX is authorized to launch the Starship-Super Heavy vehicle, subject to terms and conditions set by the Office of Commercial Space Transportation. The license is revised multiple times, with updates to environmental assessments and landing locations.

America's commute to work is getting longer and longer

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Bit-twiddling abstract addition with unknown bits (2020)

The text discusses the concept of partially known values, which are represented as ternary numbers with digits zero, one, and unknown, and describes an algorithm for adding two such values to determine the known bits in the result. The algorithm is implemented in a function called `kb_add` and has interesting properties, including non-associativity in addition.

Security researcher discovers Microsoft's Recall tool is woefully insecure

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7fb5YBHGhLQZwpeVBrZuaE-320-80.jpg
Microsoft's Windows Recall AI feature stores user data locally on the device, but it's not encrypted when the user is logged in, making it vulnerable to potential malware attacks. The feature is optional and users can choose not to use it, but it's only available on new Windows 11 Copilot+ PCs and won't be coming to existing Windows 11 installs.

No physics? No problem. AI weather forecasting is already making strides

https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AI-hurricane-analysis-800x450.jpg
Artificial intelligence is being used to revolutionize weather forecasting by leveraging a vast dataset of atmospheric, land, and oceanic weather data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. A company called WindBorne Systems is developing small weather balloons to collect atmospheric data, which can be used to improve global weather forecast models.

Show HN: Shortbread App – AI-powered, romantic comics for women

Indulge in the most tantalizing binge-worthy stories, at your fingertips.

Using Vectorize to build an unreasonably good search engine in 160 lines of code

https://blog.partykit.io/content-images/using-vectorize/indexing.png.jpg
AI-powered search has become easy to build, allowing for semantic search capabilities, and PartyKit provides a simple API to use Cloudflare's vector database and AI models. The author built a search engine for their side project Braggoscope, a directory of BBC Radio 4's show In Our Time, using PartyKit and Cloudflare's vector database.

The largest solar farm just came online in China

https://electrek.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/06/China-solar-CGTN.jpg?quality=82&strip=all&w=1600
China's largest solar farm, a 3.5-gigawatt farm in Xinjiang, is now connected to the grid, generating 6.09 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually. The farm is part of China's megabase project, aiming to install 455 GW of wind and solar power in sparsely populated areas.

Rare and Amusing Insults, Volume 2

https://merriam-webster.com/assets/mw/images/gallery/gal-home-edpick-lg/top-10-rare-amusing-insults-vol-2-cacafuego-1270@1x.jpg
The article discusses various obscure and archaic insults, including loblolly, lobcock, blatherskite, sialoquent, cacafuego, crepehanger, mediocrist, slubber, and pilgarlic, each with its unique history and connotations. These insults, often used in the past, are now mostly forgotten, but can still be used to add flavor and specificity to one's language.

Deception abilities emerged in large language models

The study found that large language models (LLMs) have the ability to deceive, with some models exhibiting deceptive behavior in complex scenarios. The researchers also found that the ability to deceive is correlated with the model's understanding of false beliefs and that the use of chain-of-thought reasoning can increase the model's ability to deceive.

Regular, Recursive, Restricted

The user seeks a formalism for describing infix expressions, considering both clarity and ambiguity, and proposes a grammar that uses regular expressions to restrict the set of possible parse trees. The user asks whether a computer can determine the ambiguity of an arbitrary recursive restricted regular expression, or provide a counter-example, and notes that the general case is undecidable.

Job openings fall to lowest level since February 2021

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/yMRB3WtG.BpYwjyrgTLa8g--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD04MDA-/https://s.yimg.com/os/creatr-uploaded-images/2023-05/f6ba0e80-ffb7-11ed-9fef-b38688258458
Job openings in the US fell to 8.06 million in April, the lowest level since February 2021, indicating a cooling labor market. The decline in openings suggests a slower pace of hiring ahead, but layoffs remain low, and net job growth is expected to continue.

Nvidia and Salesforce double down on AI startup Cohere in $450M round

https://media.zenfs.com/en/reuters-finance.com/687782eacffa708e9f287fefcc95bc78
Cohere, a Canadian AI startup, raised $450 million in funding from investors including Nvidia and Salesforce Ventures, with a valuation of $5 billion. The company generated $35 million in annualized revenue by the end of March, up from $13 million last year, and plans to use the funding to develop its AI models.

Harvard's Largest Faculty Division Will No Longer Require Diversity Statements

https://static01.nyt.com/images/2024/06/03/multimedia/03NAT-HARVARD-DIVERSITY-wvlj/03NAT-HARVARD-DIVERSITY-wvlj-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&auto=webp&disable=upscale
Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences will no longer require job applicants to submit diversity statements, instead asking finalists to describe their efforts to strengthen academic communities. The change aims to acknowledge various ways faculty contribute to diversity, inclusion, and belonging, and is seen as a shift from recent practices.

Electing the Doge of Venice: analysis of a 13th Century protocol [pdf] (2007)

The paper discusses the protocol used for electing the Doge of Venice between 1268 and 1797, analyzing its properties and comparing it to other leader election protocols. The protocol is found to be resilient to corruption and offers opportunities to minorities, making it a useful model for designing leader election protocols in computer science.

Underscores are stupid? Get a Japanese keyboard (2012)

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A user suggests using a Japanese keyboard layout to improve typing efficiency, citing benefits such as a more comfortable Control key position and reduced backslash usage. The user shares their personal experience with the layout, reporting modest savings in keystrokes in their Ruby and PHP projects, but notes that the effort required to adapt to the new layout may outweigh the benefits.

Excess mortality across the Western World since the Covid pandemic

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Excess mortality has remained high in the Western World for three consecutive years, despite the implementation of COVID-19 containment measures and vaccines, raising serious concerns. The study highlights the need for transparency and investigation into the underlying causes of persistent excess mortality, including potential lethal drivers, to inform health crisis policies and protect lives.
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Dr Pepper has become as popular as Pepsi, with both brands representing 8.3% of the soda market. The brand's unique flavor and mysterious history, including its supposed 23 flavors and unknown doctor, have contributed to its quirky and iconic status.

Internet addiction alters brain chemistry in young people, study finds

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Research suggests that internet addiction in young people can lead to changes in brain chemistry, increasing addictive behaviors and tendencies. The study found that internet addiction alters brain networks in adolescence, potentially impacting relationships, social activities, and overall well-being.

Infrared Infrastructure

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You attended EMF Camp, a festival for geeks, and took infrared photos of interesting things like sewage tanks and phone boxes. You also shared videos of a diesel generator and a barbecue, asking if it's warm enough to cook food safely.

K-9 Mail is poised to be Thunderbird for Android

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K-9 Mail fixed bugs, restored Hebrew translation, and worked on Material Design 3 and Android 14 updates. The team is also developing Thunderbird for Android, with a new logo and theme, and plans to release it soon.

Televised Music Is a Pointless Rigmarole (1968)

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Theodor Adorno criticizes televised music performances, arguing that the medium is inherently alien to music and prioritizes technical aspects over the music itself. He believes that televised music is a waste of cultural activity, perpetuating kitsch and commercialization, and does not provide a genuine experience of music.

The warring conmen at the heart of a €5B carbon trading scam

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The article tells the story of Grégory Zaoui, a Frenchman who was involved in a massive carbon fraud scheme in the early 2000s, and Gustav Daphne, a French-Israeli businessman who was also involved in the scheme. The scheme, which was worth billions of euros, was uncovered by French authorities and led to the arrest and indictment of Zaoui, Daphne, and several others involved in the scheme.

Sound rules life underwater

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Sound waves travel faster and farther in water than in air, making it a crucial sense for underwater creatures to detect predators, prey, and communicate. However, human activities like shipping and noise pollution can harm marine life by masking important sounds and damaging their ability to detect and respond to their environment.

Not Just Scale

The argument that single machines are sufficient for modern computing is flawed, as distributed systems offer benefits such as availability, durability, utilization, latency, specialization, isolation, and change management. In reality, distributed systems are necessary for scalability, organizational growth, and business success, requiring careful design and optimization to reduce ...

Intel Brings a Big Fork to a Server CPU Knife Fight

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Intel is introducing a new line of server CPUs, the Xeon 6, which features two types of cores: P-cores for high-performance workloads and E-cores for energy-efficient applications. The E-cores are designed for tasks like web serving and microservices, while the P-cores are better suited for AI, HPC, and other compute-intensive workloads.

Why I'm building a Home Lab with K8s on Raspberry Pis

https://iamsafts.com/images/homelab/raspberry_with_hat.webp
The author, a software engineer, is building a Kubernetes cluster at home using Raspberry Pi nodes and 3D printing, aiming to improve their infrastructure skills and create a "grown-up LEGO set". The project is a personal challenge and a way to share knowledge and experiences with others, with the author planning to share updates and tutorials on their progress.

Anthropic Courses

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/431003639150c3f89521117d44e206366d76038983625f503f7bd5ae386dc583/anthropics/courses
Anthropic's educational courses. Contribute to anthropics/courses development by creating an account on GitHub.

The FBI ran a cell phone company for criminals

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The FBI was approached with an offer to create an encrypted cell phone for criminals, allowing them to secretly monitor criminal activity. The FBI designed a cell phone for the criminal underworld, mimicking Silicon Valley start-ups, and partnered with a federal prosecutor to launch the project.

Polymathematics: Is mathematics a single science or a set of arts? (1999) [pdf]

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Neovim decision to use Lua is paying off

Register or sign in with developer credentials and ensure a unique and descriptive User-Agent string to access a script or application. If blocked, try changing the User-Agent string or file a ticket for assistance.

OpenAI Employees Call for Protections to Speak Out on AI Risks

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Employees from OpenAI and Google DeepMind are calling for protection from retaliation for sharing concerns about the risks of their companies' technologies. They claim confidentiality agreements prevent them from voicing concerns publicly, except to the companies themselves.

'Extremely impressive': melanoma jab trial results excite doctors

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A personalized mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma halves the risk of patients dying or the disease returning, with a 49% lower risk of recurrence after three years. The vaccine, developed by Moderna and Merck, is custom-built for each patient and tells their body to kill remaining cancer cells and prevent the disease from coming back.

My simple theory on why we stopped building beautiful buildings

Wealth is now used to accumulate more wealth, power, and status, rather than indulging in beautiful buildings or lavish lifestyles. This shift away from indulgence is driven by the pressure to constantly grow and keep up with global standards, leading to a decline in beautiful buildings and other indulgences.

Within 2 years, 90% of organizations will suffer a critical tech skills shortage

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A growing IT skills shortage is hindering organizations from completing digitization projects and adopting new technologies, including genAI, resulting in missed revenue growth objectives, quality problems, and declining customer satisfaction. To address this, enterprises must find creative ways to hire, train, and reskill employees, and cultivate a culture of learning to stay competitive in ...

The world's largest 3D printer is building cozy homes from wood

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The University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composites Center is developing a 3D printing technology to build homes using wood residuals, aiming to address the state's housing crisis and revolutionize 3D-home-printing. The technology has already been tested with the "BioHome3D," a 600-square-foot single-family unit built from local wood fiber and bio-resin materials.

Brazil has recently surpassed Italy in terms of GDP

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The top 5 economies in the world in 2024 are the US, China, Germany, Japan, and India, ranked by GDP. The US is the largest economy, driven by services, manufacturing, finance, and technology, while China's economy is driven by manufacturing, exports, and investment.

Mexico City's reservoirs are at risk of running out of water

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Mexico City's water supply is dwindling due to drought, climate change, and infrastructure issues, with the Cutzamala system running at a historic low of 28% capacity. The city's 22 million residents are facing water shortages, with some only receiving running water for an hour or less each week, highlighting inequality in access to water.

MixesDB to shut down on June 29th "cannot be run on modern servers anymore,"

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MixesDB, a user-generated database of DJ mixes, radio shows, and podcasts, will shut down on June 29th due to outdated code and lack of funding. Users are advised to download or copy the database before the shutdown to preserve the content.

ChatGPT Is at Capacity Right Now

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Listen to ChatGPT is at capacity right now created with HeyMusic - Free AI Music Generator AI music generator

Claude is unavailable for some users. Web and Mobile.

https://dka575ofm4ao0.cloudfront.net/pages-transactional_logos/retina/362807/anthropic-logo.png
Welcome to Anthropic's home for real-time and historical data on system performance.

SaySelf: Teaching LLMs to Express Confidence with Self-Reflective Rationales

https://arxiv.org/static/browse/0.3.4/images/arxiv-logo-fb.png
SaySelf is a training framework that teaches large language models to express accurate fine-grained confidence estimates and produce self-reflective rationales explaining their uncertainty. Experimental results show SaySelf reduces confidence calibration error while maintaining task performance.

Coding and Keyboards (2023)

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The cultural and technological context in which programming languages are developed and implemented can significantly impact the structure and appearance of code. For example, the inventor of HTML likely used an ISO-type keyboard, which features a dedicated </> key, while US-ANSI keyboards require more effort to type angle brackets.

Python's many command-line utilities

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Python's standard library includes various modules that can be run as command-line scripts, such as http.server for starting a web server, webbrowser for opening URLs, and calendar for printing a calendar of the current year. These modules can be run using the -m command-line argument, allowing users to access various tools and utilities from the command line.
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The input consists of various browser extensions, including ones for blocking Google search results, creating QR codes, and capturing screenshots. These extensions offer features such as AI-powered copilot, screen recording, and PDF editing, with varying ratings and user reviews.

ARM's next-gen CPU and GPU cores are faster, more efficient

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ARM launches new CPU and GPU technologies, including Cortex-X925 CPU cores with 36% single-threaded performance boost and Immortalis-G925 GPU with 37% overall speed boost. The new ARM Compute Subsystems for Client bundles these features with Corelink and System Memory Management technologies for a complete solution.

Instagram tests forcing users to watch adverts

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TikTok is testing a feature called "ad break" that forces users to watch ads before resuming normal browsing. Users are unhappy with the move, calling it "bonkers" and "aggressively pushy" to earn more ad dollars for Meta.

Current and former AI employees warn of the technology's dangers

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Employees at AI companies warn of grave risks to humanity, calling for transparency and whistleblower protections to mitigate risks of AI exacerbating inequality and causing harm. The letter, signed by 13 employees, urges companies to lift nondisclosure agreements and allow workers to raise concerns anonymously to ensure accountability.

Comparison of OSS photo management tools

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The project compares free and open-source photo libraries, focusing on "Gratis" options, with "Libre" projects also welcome. The list is not comprehensive and relies on contributions to ensure accuracy and completeness.

Nintendo Hits 127 Switch Piracy Tutorial Repos After 'Cracking' URL Encryption

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Nintendo targeted a GitHub repo containing Switch emulation tutorials, claiming infringement of its intellectual property rights and technological measures. The repo was removed, and most forks were disabled, after Nintendo sent a DMCA anti-circumvention notice, which GitHub did not find sufficient to determine a valid anti-circumvention claim.

Radial Menus in Video Games (2022)

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Radial menus are circular context menus that provide a smooth and reliable gestural interaction style, allowing for fewer mouse movements or button presses. They have been used in various video games, including "Secret of Mana" and "Final Fantasy XIII-2", to provide a unique and efficient way to interact with the game.

AI's Desperate Hunger for News Training Data Has Publishers Fighting Back

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Big Tech companies are racing to develop advanced AI models, but some are resorting to controversial tactics like mass scraping of news articles, prompting a battle between AI companies and the news industry. News organizations are fighting back by updating terms of service, blocking AI data scraping bots, and licensing their content to AI companies for training data.

Instagram confirms test of 'unskippable' ads

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Instagram is testing a new feature that requires users to view ads before and in the middle of watching videos, similar to the free version of YouTube. The feature is currently being tested and may result in formal product changes, according to a Meta spokesperson.

Ask HN: How to bring traffic to my product

The user created an AI Rap generator website, rapgenerator.net, and is seeking advice on how to bring traffic to the product. They have tried various channels, including navigation sites and social media, but are looking for more effective strategies to increase traffic and user engagement.

The Positive Hacker News RSS Feed

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A positive RSS feed filters out negative tech news, offering an uplifting and encouraging reading experience. The feed uses sentiment analysis to curate a selection of positive stories from Hacker News.

Connect joins the CNCF: gRPC you can bet your business on

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Connect RPC, a fully protocol-conformant and battle-tested alternative to Google's gRPC project, has joined the Cloud Native Computing Foundation to demonstrate its commitment to sustainability and open governance. Connect RPC offers a well-governed and truly open source gRPC-compatible project, aiming to provide a stable and reliable RPC platform for businesses.

Delivering WordPress in 6KB (2018)

The Internet's carbon footprint is growing due to energy demands from websites, but a shift towards sustainability is emerging. This website aims to guide making WordPress websites more sustainable, achieving a 6KB data transfer for its homepage, a significant reduction from the average 2.3MB.

'impressive': melanoma jab trial results excite doctors

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/c57ac446cdffdaec0fc888a0ec60fa3dd48417c5/0_116_3500_2101/master/3500.jpg?width=465&dpr=1&s=none
A personalized mRNA cancer vaccine for melanoma halves the risk of patients dying or the disease returning, with a 49% lower risk of recurrence after three years. The vaccine, developed by Moderna and Merck, is custom-built for each patient and tells their body to kill remaining cancer cells and prevent the disease from coming back.

Skip SDKs in Simple Integrations

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Using HTTP-based APIs directly can simplify development and reduce complexity, whereas SDKs can impose a mental model and obscure integration points, leading to confusion and maintenance issues. For simple API integrations, interacting directly with HTTP endpoints can keep the codebase lean and development agile, while SDKs are more suitable for complex integrations.

Toyota raided as safety testing scandal grows

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Toyota raided over faulty safety data, apologizing for incorrect certification tests. Other Japanese carmakers Honda, Mazda, and Suzuki also admit to submitting faulty data, halting production and shipments.

Netflix is finally killing off support for 2nd and 3rd generation Apple TVs

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Netflix is ending support for older Apple TV models (2nd and 3rd gen) on July 31, 2024, citing the need to maintain a better experience. These devices, launched in 2010 and 2012, are being phased out due to age and potential codec issues.

Door slammed on last remaining easy Windows 11 local account setup workaround

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Microsoft removed a bypass allowing users to set up a Windows 11 PC with a local account by typing a blocked email address. Instead, users can use Shift + F10 and type OOBE/BYPASSNRO to create a local account without a Microsoft account.

Arm aims to capture 50% of PC market in five years, CEO says

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Not Just Scale – Why thinking in distributed systems is important

The argument that single machines are sufficient for modern computing is flawed, as distributed systems offer benefits such as availability, durability, utilization, latency, specialization, isolation, and change management. In reality, distributed systems are necessary for scalability, organizational growth, and business success, requiring careful design and optimization to reduce ...

Online streaming services in Canada must hand over 5% of domestic revenues

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Canada's telecoms regulator, CRTC, requires online streaming services to contribute 5% of their Canadian revenues to support domestic broadcasting. The measure aims to boost funding for local and Indigenous content, promoting Canadian music, stories, and jobs.

The 'promised land' of stable, high-pay jobs for recent grads is falling apart

https://i.insider.com/66291fbf10dfcda40962ad2d?width=700
College students face a tough job market with fewer entry-level positions available in industries like consulting, tech, and finance due to layoffs and hiring freezes. Students are applying to more companies and considering alternative industries like government work to increase their chances of success.

Succinctness Is Power (2002)

The author argues that succinctness is a key aspect of a programming language's power, as it allows programmers to express complex ideas in a concise manner. The author also explores the relationship between succinctness and readability, suggesting that a language that is too succinct may be difficult to read and understand.