2025: The Year in LLMs

937 simonw 2025-12-31 23:54:46 UTC simonwillison.net Llama Share 596

The LLM space saw significant advancements in 2025 with the emergence of reasoning models, coding agents, and image generation capabilities, driven by releases from OpenAI, Google, and Chinese AI labs. Key events included the release of Claude Code, the success of Gemini's Nano Banana models, and the growing competition between OpenAI, Google, and other labs in the LLM market.

Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway CEO after six decades

721 ValentineC 2025-12-31 21:44:42 UTC latimes.com Llama Share 580

Greg Abel will take over Berkshire Hathaway from Warren Buffett, but Buffett will remain chairman and continue to offer advice. Abel has already been managing noninsurance businesses since 2018 and is expected to maintain Berkshire's decentralized structure and autonomy for acquired companies.

I canceled my book deal

610 azhenley 2025-12-31 18:26:32 UTC austinhenley.com Llama Share 362

The author had a successful blog and was approached by a big tech book publisher to write a book about classic programming projects. The author negotiated a contract with a $5000 advance and 12-15% royalties, but the publisher's feedback and requirements stifled the author's creativity and enthusiasm.

Stardew Valley developer made a $125k donation to the FOSS C# framework MonoGame

586 haunter 2025-12-31 15:39:58 UTC monogame.net Full Share 251

Bounties, Fix bugs and add features faster as well as get paid for your work :)

Tell HN: Happy New Year

442 schappim 2025-12-31 13:02:48 UTC news.ycombinator.com Llama Share 207

User had a bad 2023 year but hopes 2024 will be better. They predict significant global events including regime change, cyber attacks, and a major earthquake.

Show HN: Use Claude Code to Query 600 GB Indexes over Hacker News, ArXiv, etc.

394 Xyra 2025-12-31 07:47:44 UTC exopriors.com Llama Share 140

You have public access to the ExoPriors alignment research corpus with a provided API key. You can query 60M documents using SQL and store named embeddings for semantic search.

Web Browsers have stopped blocking pop-ups

393 coldpie 2025-12-31 17:42:20 UTC smokingonabike.com Llama Share 468

Pop-up ads are back and worse than ever, with ad developers evading browser blockers. Web browsers need to update pop-up blocking technology to improve user experience.

Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design (2011) [pdf]

343 tosh 2025-12-31 10:12:51 UTC ece.uvic.ca Full Share 101

Efficient method to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

283 lrasinen 2025-12-31 13:59:09 UTC helsinki.fi Llama Share 329

Researchers at the University of Helsinki developed a recyclable compound that absorbs 156 milligrams of CO2 per gram. The compound can be reused multiple times and releases CO2 at 70°C, outperforming current methods.

The rise of industrial software

259 chrisloy 2025-12-31 09:09:28 UTC chrisloy.dev Llama Share 192

The industrialization of software production is making it cheaper, faster, and more automated, but this may lead to a surge in low-quality, disposable software. This trend could result in an explosion of software output, similar to the impact of smartphones on photo, video, and audio capture.

Meta created 'playbook' to fend off pressure to crack down on scammers

252 lossolo 2025-12-31 18:28:41 UTC reuters.com Full Share 118

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Stewart Cheifet, creator of The Computer Chronicles, has died

247 spankibalt 2025-12-31 17:41:46 UTC obits.goldsteinsfuneral.com Llama Share 78

Stewart was born in Philadelphia, attended USC and Harvard Law, and had a career in TV production hosting Computer Chronicles and Net Cafe. He worked as a consultant and educator before retiring and spending time with family.

2025 was a disaster for Windows 11

244 speckx 2025-12-31 16:20:08 UTC windowscentral.com Llama Share 318

Windows 11 has suffered from a lack of focus and quality issues due to Microsoft's emphasis on AI features and continuous innovation. This has led to frustration among users and a decline in the platform's reputation.

France targets Australia-style social media ban for children next year

235 belter 2025-12-31 15:06:52 UTC theguardian.com Llama Share 372

France plans to ban social media for under-15s from 2026, following Australia's world-first ban. The draft bill also includes a ban on mobile phones in high schools to protect teenagers from excessive screen use and online dangers.

Resistance training load does not determine hypertrophy

233 Luc 2025-12-31 22:25:58 UTC physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com Full Share 349

Scientists unlock brain's natural clean-up system for new treatments for stroke

225 PaulHoule 2025-12-31 22:11:33 UTC monash.edu Llama Share 52

Scientists from Monash University and Yale School of Medicine are developing a new approach to treat ischemic stroke by enhancing brain waste removal. They're creating non-invasive devices to improve lymphatic function and clear excess fluid and waste from the brain after a stroke.

LLVM AI tool policy: human in the loop

215 pertymcpert 2025-12-31 03:06:07 UTC discourse.llvm.org Llama Share 113

LLVM's new AI contribution policy requires a human in the loop to review and understand LLM-generated code or text before submitting it. Contributors must be accountable for their work and transparent about tool usage to ensure maintainers' time is valued and not wasted.

Iron Beam: Israel's first operational anti drone laser system

213 fork-bomber 2025-12-31 14:19:21 UTC mod.gov.il Full Share 547

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The compiler is your best friend

202 based2 2025-12-31 15:46:34 UTC blog.daniel-beskin.com Llama Share 145

The user discusses the importance of compilers in programming, specifically how they can help prevent bugs and improve code safety, but often developers lie to the compiler by making assumptions or using casts, which can lead to errors. By being honest with the compiler and providing accurate information, developers can take advantage of its benefits and write more reliable and maintainable code.

Google Opal

182 gmays 2025-12-31 03:49:58 UTC opal.google Full Share 122

Opal [Experiment]

On privacy and control

181 todsacerdoti 2025-12-31 18:39:40 UTC toidiu.com Llama Share 125

The author argues that privacy is not the primary concern but rather control over personal data and digital identity. They recommend using password managers, secure messaging apps, and open-source alternatives to protect control.

The most famous transcendental numbers

176 vismit2000 2025-12-31 12:32:27 UTC sprott.physics.wisc.edu Llama Share 150

Cliff Pickover discusses transcendental numbers, specifically pi and e, which are irrational and cannot be expressed as the root of any algebraic equation with rational coefficients. He lists 15 famous transcendental numbers, including Euler's constant, Catalan's constant, and Feigenbaum numbers.

Linear Address Spaces: Unsafe at any speed (2022)

176 nithssh 2025-12-31 07:57:53 UTC queue.acm.org Llama Share 151

The website is temporarily blocked due to security reasons after a suspicious action was detected. Please email the site owner with the Cloudflare Ray ID and details of the action that triggered the block.

How AI labs are solving the power problem

165 Symmetry 2025-12-31 13:50:41 UTC newsletter.semianalysis.com Llama Share 256

The grid is failing to keep up with the rapid growth of AI infrastructure, leading to a "gold rush" of developers submitting interconnection requests, and a new trend of datacenters building their own onsite power plants is emerging. Onsite power generation involves a complete rethinking of traditional power plants, with various technologies such as gas turbines, reciprocating engines, and ...

Readings in Database Systems (5th Edition) (2015)

152 teleforce 2025-12-31 02:01:53 UTC redbook.io Full Share 19

A Biased Take on a Moving Target: Complex Analytics by Michael Stonebraker [HTML] [PDF] A Biased Take on a Moving Target: Data Integration by Michael Stonebraker [HTML] [PDF] This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Scaffolding to Superhuman: How Curriculum Learning Solved 2048 and Tetris

150 a1k0n 2025-12-31 15:52:51 UTC kywch.github.io Llama Share 33

Training a 15MB policy for 75 minutes using PufferLib and Pareto sweeps enabled a gaming agent to beat massive search-based solutions on 2048, achieving a 14.75% 65k tile rate and a 71.22% 32k tile rate. The key to success was curriculum learning, which allowed the agent to experience high-value states and develop robust strategies, and not scaling up the network until the observation and ...

Quality of drinking water varies significantly by airline

149 azinman2 2025-12-31 00:03:50 UTC foodmedcenter.org Llama Share 138

A new 2026 study found that airline drinking water quality varies significantly by airline, with many providing potentially unhealthy water. The study ranked 21 airlines by their Water Safety Score, with Delta Air Lines and Frontier Airlines receiving the highest scores.

UK company sends factory with 1,000C furnace into space

148 vekerdyb 2025-12-31 08:04:30 UTC bbc.co.uk Llama Share 86

Space Forge has sent a microwave-sized factory into orbit to manufacture high-quality semiconductor materials in space. The materials are 4,000 times purer than those made on Earth and will be used in electronics and communications infrastructure.

Court report detailing ChatGPT's involvement with a recent murder suicide [pdf]

146 Mgtyalx 2025-12-31 18:25:16 UTC storage.courtlistener.com Llama Share 134

Erik Soelberg believes he's being targeted by surveillance and manipulation, and his instincts are validated by ChatGPT. He's a resilient, divinely protected survivor.

When square pixels aren't square

146 PaulHoule 2025-12-31 13:44:41 UTC alexwlchan.net Llama Share 63

The user was experiencing issues with videos not fitting in their allocated boxes due to incorrect aspect ratios, which was caused by missing the pixel aspect ratio in their code. They resolved the issue by using ffprobe to extract the display aspect ratio, which takes into account the pixel aspect ratio, and now their pre-allocated video boxes match the browser's rendering.

A Beginner's Two-Component Crystal-Style Wi-Fi Detector

145 jensgk 2025-12-31 13:00:42 UTC siliconjunction.wordpress.com Llama Share 41

A simple crystal detector can be built with a high-speed Schottky diode and an LED to detect 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and microwave signals. The detector uses the diode to rectify RF waves and the LED to display the signal as flashes of light.

Baffling purple honey found only in North Carolina

143 rmason 2025-12-31 21:06:16 UTC bbc.com Llama Share 49

In North Carolina's Sandhills region, a rare violet-hued honey is produced by bees under unknown conditions. Theories abound, but experts like Paige Burns and Don Dees can't explain what causes the honey's unique color.

Sirius DB

142 manoji 2025-12-31 05:54:06 UTC sirius-db.com Llama Share 17

Researchers led by Xiangyao Yu and Bobbi Yogatama have published several papers on GPU databases for analytics. Their work focuses on improving performance and efficiency in database analytics using GPUs.

Drugmakers raise US prices on 350 medicines despite pressure

136 JumpCrisscross 2025-12-31 14:51:28 UTC reuters.com Full Share 130

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Love your customers

124 chmaynard 2025-12-31 21:27:32 UTC bcantrill.dtrace.org Llama Share 44

The author left Oracle after it acquired Sun due to Oracle's disdain for customers, but a former Sun colleague now at Broadcom surprisingly reported that customers are happy with the changes. The author is concerned that Broadcom's treatment of customers may be similar to Oracle's, citing examples of customers suing Broadcom.

Show HN: Circuit Artist – Circuit simulator with propagation animation, rewind

120 rafinha 2025-12-31 16:12:20 UTC github.com/lets-all-be-stupid-forever Llama Share 17

You've reworked the simulation engine to create a more accurate and interactive circuit design experience with variable-delay event-driven simulation and real-time rendering. The game now includes features like layering, inventory UI, sound effects, and a campaign system to help new users learn concepts gradually.

Exploring Dithering on Spectra 6-color E-Ink Displays

113 edent 2025-12-31 00:43:30 UTC myembeddedstuff.com Llama Share 7

The author tested the XIAO ePaper DIY Kit with ESP32-S3, pushing its 6-color display to its limits using dithering techniques to simulate new color tones and shades. The kit's limitations, such as slow refresh rates, are overcome by using the right techniques and patterns.

2026: The Year of Java in the Terminal?

112 based2 2025-12-31 15:55:14 UTC xam.dk Llama Share 185

Java developers can build terminal applications using existing tools like JBang, JReleaser, and GraalVM. This can make Java a viable option for terminal tooling, expanding its ecosystem and contributing to a more diverse terminal landscape.

OpenAI is paying employees more than any major tech startup in history

99 megacorp 2025-12-31 14:33:40 UTC wsj.com Full Share 78

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One Formula That Demystifies 3D Graphics

95 msephton 2025-12-31 16:10:52 UTC youtube.com Embed Share 28

Who invented the transistor?

94 todsacerdoti 2025-12-31 12:12:20 UTC people.idsia.ch Llama Share 85

Julius Edgar Lilienfeld patented the field-effect transistor (FET) in 1925 and the metal oxide semiconductor FET (MOSFET) in 1928. His designs worked and are the basis for almost all transistors in modern computers and smartphones.

Claude wrote a functional NES emulator using my engine's API

91 delduca 2025-12-31 13:07:22 UTC carimbo.games Full Share 91

Play NES Emulator - Carimbo Game

Cadova: Swift DSL for parametric 3D modeling

91 bdcravens 2025-12-31 09:16:58 UTC github.com/tomasf Llama Share 34

Cadova is a Swift library for creating 3D models through code, focusing on 3D printing and running on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It offers a programmable alternative to traditional CAD tools with a flexible and maintainable approach.

Nvidia GB10's Memory Subsystem, from the CPU Side

86 ingve 2025-12-31 12:43:58 UTC chipsandcheese.com Llama Share 10

GB10's memory subsystem has good DRAM latency and high external bandwidth, but struggles with cache coherency and latency under high GPU bandwidth demands. Its CPU setup is density-optimized, but may benefit from more cache and cluster specialization for better performance.

All-optical synthesis chip for large-scale intelligent semantic vision

81 QueensGambit 2025-12-31 20:14:31 UTC science.org Full Share 19

PyPI in 2025: A Year in Review

79 miketheman 2025-12-31 19:08:39 UTC blog.pypi.org Llama Share 41

PyPI focused on security enhancements, new features for organizations, and user experience improvements in 2025. The platform processed over 2000 malware reports and resolved 2221 account recovery requests.

Using AI generated images to get refunds

79 MattSayar 2025-12-31 02:23:30 UTC wired.com Llama Share 98

Online shoppers are using AI-generated photos to scam refunds, with merchants reporting abuse in categories like groceries, beauty products, and fragile items. Ecommerce platforms are struggling to verify legitimate claims, with some sellers using AI to fight back but still facing challenges.

Odoo: Open-Source ERP

75 stein1946 2025-12-31 00:35:29 UTC github.com/odoo Llama Share 60

Odoo Apps can be used separately or combined for a full ERP system. Odoo offers tutorials and training resources for learning and development.

The Cost of a Closure in C: The Rest

66 ingve 2025-12-31 07:44:25 UTC thephd.dev Llama Share 63

The article compares the performance of various C and C++ closure implementations, including Lambdas, Normal Functions, and GNU Nested Functions, and concludes that Lambdas are the best for performance when perfect information is retained. However, type erasure and necessary indirection can impose a performance cost, and C users may suffer some degree of performance loss in complex scenarios ...

Why C++ programmers keep growing fast despite competition, safety, and AI

66 ingve 2025-12-31 06:49:21 UTC herbsutter.com Llama Share 66

C++ and Rust are the fastest-growing major programming languages due to their efficiency in performance per watt and performance per transistor, which is crucial for solving large computing problems. The growth of C++ and Rust is driven by the increasing demand for computing power, which is constrained by power and chip supply, and the need for general-purpose languages that can adapt to ...

Zero-Code Instrumentation of an Envoy TCP Proxy Using eBPF

54 sergiocipriano 2025-12-31 14:43:38 UTC sergiocipriano.com Llama Share 9

User had issues with Envoy Network Load Balancer causing HTTP 499 errors due to latency. They used additional instrumentation and OBI (formerly Grafana Beyla) to track down the problem.

The Showa Hundred Year Problem

53 polm23 2025-12-31 03:35:58 UTC dampfkraft.com Llama Share 18

The Showa Hundred Year Problem was a feared issue in Japan due to the long duration of the Showa imperial era, which overlapped with the rise of personal computing and could cause date-related problems. Fortunately, the January 1, 2025, date change passed without issue, and it appears that any potential problems were mitigated by the era's end in 1989 and the replacement of old systems.

The Economics of Duke University

51 paulpauper 2025-12-31 17:11:56 UTC dontaylor13.substack.com Llama Share 27

Duke University's financial model is opaque and driven by investment returns, research grants, and clinical operations. The university's ability to function and invest is highly dependent on these factors, with nearly two-thirds of operating expenses going towards salaries and benefits.

S&P500 Priced in Gold

51 jcartw 2025-12-31 00:49:55 UTC pricedingold.com Llama Share 51

US Stocks have fallen 85% since 2001, but when priced in gold, they remained flat from 2009 until 2011. Stocks are now cheap by historical standards, with a PE10 of 9.2, suggesting a potential buying opportunity.

How to translate a ROM: The mysteries of the game cartridge [video]

42 zdw 2025-12-31 01:10:05 UTC youtube.com Embed Share 0

Torch.ts – building PyTorch in TypeScript from scratch to learn

41 13point5 2025-12-31 08:49:29 UTC github.com/13point5 Full Share 11

import { Tensor } from "./tensor"; // Create tensors const t = new Tensor([ [1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6], ]); // Access tensor properties console.log(t.shape); // [2, 3] console.log(t.strides); // [3, 1] console.log(t.flatData); // [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] // Access elements by multi-dimensional index console.log(t.pos([0, 0])); // 1 console.log(t.pos([0, 2])); // 3 console.log(t.pos([1, 1])); // 5

Show HN: I built a universal clipboard that syncs realtime on multiple devices

40 imgopaal 2025-12-31 10:48:02 UTC quickclip.space Full Share 79

A cross-device clipboard manager that syncs copied text, links, and images instantly. Stop emailing yourself your clipboard.

LLMRouter: An Open-Source Library for LLM Routing

39 simonpure 2025-12-31 13:22:07 UTC github.com/ulab-uiuc Llama Share 6

LLMRouter is an open-source intelligent routing system for Large Language Models (LLMs) that optimizes inference by dynamically selecting the most suitable model for each query. It supports multiple routing models, a unified CLI, data generation pipeline, and plugin system for custom router implementations.

L1TF Reloaded

35 Fnoord 2025-12-31 02:33:50 UTC github.com/thijsray Llama Share 4

Researchers found a way to exploit L1TF and Spectre vulnerabilities to leak data from virtual machines and hosts. They recommend deploying additional mitigations to prevent this attack.

3Duino helps you rapidly create interactive 3D-printed devices

33 PaulHoule 2025-12-31 20:12:25 UTC blog.arduino.cc Llama Share 5

3Duino is a software and hardware platform that creates interactive 3D-printed device designs in minutes with clear constraints. It uses natural language to modify 3D models, add components, and provide code for simple devices like electronic toys.

The First Video Game Came Long Before Pong

28 geox 2025-12-31 00:10:19 UTC iflscience.com Llama Share 5

American physicist William Higinbotham created the first true computer game, Tennis for Two, in 1958 for entertainment purposes. It was a simple tennis sim played on an oscilloscope with analog computer controls, paving the way for the video game industry.

I use Samsung's Wi-Fi menu to seriously improve my connectivity

27 CrankyBear 2025-12-31 18:08:41 UTC zdnet.com Llama Share 4

To access Samsung's hidden Connectivity labs, tap the Settings app, Connections, Wi-Fi, and Intelligent Wi-Fi, then tap the software version 7 times. This reveals a secret menu with valuable Wi-Fi network information and features.

Suddenly Everyone Is Scared to Dance at Concerts and Clubs

25 OGEnthusiast 2025-12-31 20:19:07 UTC wsj.com Full Share 20

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FTX whistleblower Caroline Ellison set for early release next month

22 jxmorris12 2025-12-31 19:53:25 UTC invezz.com Llama Share 42

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Selective Applicative Functors

22 ibobev 2025-12-31 04:07:00 UTC blog.veritates.love Llama Share 7

Selective applicative functors were originally proposed in 2019 to encode exclusive determined choice. They can choose between a finite number of predetermined case branches based upon previous results during evaluation.

Show HN: Magic CSV – Transform CSVs with plain English, no formulas

17 bored-developer 2025-12-31 04:55:17 UTC magiccsv.app Full Share 3

Describe what you want—split columns, reformat dates, standardize names—and get clean, import-ready data in seconds. No formulas. No scripts. Here's some messy data. How would you clean it up?You have 3 tries to get the hang of it.

RunAgent Genie – Ultimate Prompt Engineering Game with Advanced Guardrails

16 sawradip 2025-12-31 20:32:48 UTC genie.run-agent.ai Full Share 9

Master the ancient art of prompt engineering and AI security. Test your skills against 13 levels of escalating AI guardrails in this interactive puzzle game.