Mysteries of Dropbox: Testing of a Distributed Sync Service (2016) [pdf]

Researchers developed a formal model of file synchronizer behavior using Quviq QuickCheck, a testing framework that generates random test cases. The model was used to test Dropbox, Google Drive, and ownCloud, exposing unexpected behavior in two out of three systems, including situations where data could be lost.

CPU-Z and HWMonitor Compromised

User needs to register or sign in with developer credentials and ensure a unique User-Agent string to access the application. Alternatively, try resetting to default User-Agent or file a ticket for assistance.

Code is run more than read (2023)

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The author emphasizes the importance of considering users and maintainability in software development, and that code is a means to an end, not an end itself. They also highlight common software development dysfunctions and the need for a stronger ethical stand to not harm users, while acknowledging business realities.

FBI used iPhone notification data to retrieve deleted Signal messages

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The FBI recovered deleted Signal messages from an iPhone by extracting data from the device's notification database. The messages were preserved in internal memory due to the defendant's iPhone settings and iOS's data caching capabilities.

Helium Is Hard to Replace

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The war in Iran, and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz, has unfortunately made us all familiar with details of the petroleum supply chain that we could formerly happily ignore. Every day we get some new story about some good or service that depends on Middle East petroleum and the production of which has been disrupted by the war. Fertilizer production, plastics, aluminum, the ...

You can't trust macOS Privacy and Security settings

https://eclecticlight.co/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/insenticon.jpg?w=1024
In this Friday’s magic demonstration, I’m going to show how what you see in Privacy & Security settings can be misleading, when it tells you that an app doesn’t have access to a protected folder, but it really does. Although it appears you can achieve this using several ordinary apps, to make things simpler and clearer I’ve written a little app for this purpose, Insent, available from ...

How NASA built Artemis II’s fault-tolerant computer

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A new trick brings stability to quantum operations

https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2026/04/a-new-trick-brings-stability-to-quantum-operations/_jcr_content/articleLeadImage/image.imageformat.carousel.1623848018.jpg
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a highly stable swap gate for neutral atom qubits using geometric phases. This robust gate can be applied to 17,000 qubits simultaneously with a precision of over 99.9 percent.

I still prefer MCP over skills

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The author is against the "Skills" standard for LLMs, preferring the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for service integration. MCP provides a more practical and standardized way to connect LLMs to services.

Penguin 'Toxicologists' Find PFAS Chemicals in Remote Patagonia

https://www.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/styles/sf_landscape_16x9/public/media/images/Penguin%20colony%202%20%28C%29%20Ralph%20Vanstreels.JPG?h=47f8d3d6&itok=1ya16FJB
Scientists used leg bands with chemical sensors on 54 Magellanic penguins to detect pollutants in their environment. The study found PFAS in over 90% of the bands, revealing exposure to pollutants in a remote region.

C++: Freestanding Standard Library

In some earlier articles, we used the term freestanding. We said that a freestanding implementation is one that operates without the support of a hosted operating system. Think embedded systems, OS kernels, or bare-metal environments where heap allocation, system calls, and exception support are typically unavailable. The C++ standard defines a minimal subset of the language and library that ...

Deterministic Primality Testing for Limited Bit Width

Discussion: In the late 1980’s Gary Miller and Michael Rabin came up with their now-famous Miller-Rabin primality test. See Wikipedia and my 2013 Program Gallery entry. It was notable in that it provided a randomized algorithm to check if an integer is prime, which had a tunable parameter to increase the probability of being correct. The intervening 40 years has seen a huge body of research ...

France to ditch Windows for Linux to reduce reliance on US tech

https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/france-flag-2233577438.jpg?w=1024
France plans to switch from Windows to an open source operating system to regain control over its digital destiny and reduce reliance on US tech companies. This move is part of France's effort to achieve digital sovereignty and reduce dependence on US technology.

Native Instant Space Switching on macOS

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The user is frustrated with MacOS window management, specifically the inability to instantly switch spaces without animation. They found a solution called InstantSpaceSwitcher, a menu bar app that achieves instant space switching without drawbacks.

Show HN: Marimo pair – Reactive Python notebooks as environments for agents

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/177dd4a7de8403c870007868a9e6066a6547ccc5e1bd0f859ed03a168c83e2e3/marimo-team/marimo-pair
The skill declares its own allowed-tools, but Claude Code may still prompt you to approve each Bash call. To avoid repeated prompts, copy the absolute paths to the scripts from the installed skill and add them to your .claude/settings.json (project-level) or ~/.claude/settings.json (global):

Model-Based Testing for Dungeons & Dragons

https://www.loskutoff.com/static/blog/dnd-quint-combat/splash.png
The author created a formal model of the Dungeons & Dragons game using a 6,000-line Quint spec, which was later expanded to include combat mechanics and interactions, and used a model-based testing (MBT) approach to validate the implementation against the spec. The MBT pipeline found and fixed several bugs in the implementation, including issues with spell slots, damage calculations, and ...

Intel 486 CPU announced April 10, 1989

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Intel announced the 486 CPU at Comdex on April 10, 1989, priced at $950 each in quantities of 1,000. Predictions about its limited demand and high price were later proven incorrect as the 486 became a viable processor for several years.

We've raised $17M to build what comes after Git

https://blog.gitbutler.com/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fd2m1ukvwmu7gz4.cloudfront.net%2FCleanShot%25202026-02-17%2520at%252011.06.49%25402x.png&w=3840&q=75
GitButler, a tool for software development, has raised $17M in Series A funding to redesign the way developers collaborate. The goal is to create a more social and intuitive platform that removes friction from collaboration and integrates AI tools seamlessly.

DRAM has a design flaw from 1966. I bypassed it [video]

OpenAI backs Illinois bill that would limit when AI labs can be held liable

https://media.wired.com/photos/69d81fc99011397f817a1986/125:94/w_2560%2Cc_limit/OpenAI-Backs-Bill-That-Lets-AI-Labs-Dodge-Liability-for-Critical-Harms-Business-2244268254.jpg
OpenAI supports Illinois state bill SB 3444, which shields AI labs from liability for "critical harms" caused by frontier models. The bill defines frontier models as those trained with over $100 million in computational costs and requires labs to publish safety reports.

Generative art over the years

https://blog.veitheller.de/assets/genart/phyllotaxis.png
The user has been making generative art since 2016, starting as a programming exercise and evolving into a personal journey of self-expression and discovery. Through experimentation and learning various algorithms and techniques, the user has developed a "vocabulary" of creative tools that inform their artistic decisions and help them convey a personal aesthetic.

"Negative" views of Broadcom driving VMware migrations, rival says

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Nutanix claims to have gained tens of thousands of VMware customers due to customer dissatisfaction with Broadcom's takeover strategy. The main drivers for migration are high costs, bundled products, and reduced channel partners, making VMware unaffordable for small businesses.

US summons bank bosses over cyber risks from Anthropic's latest AI model

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US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent summoned major bank chiefs to discuss cyber risks from Anthropic's AI model Claude Mythos. The model has exposed thousands of software vulnerabilities, prompting concerns about potential hacking risks.

Show HN: Keeper – embedded secret store for Go (help me break it)

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/7bf9ea37d3895d3bea2f5cb853102a32bb08a75c793992edc74f0cdec447d417/agberohq/keeper
Keeper is a Go library for a hardened secret store with four security levels, per-bucket DEK isolation, and a tamper-evident audit chain. It uses Argon2id key derivation and XChaCha20-Poly1305 authenticated encryption.

Show HN: QVAC SDK, a universal JavaScript SDK for building local AI applications

QVAC SDK is a universal JavaScript/TypeScript SDK for building local AI applications across desktop and mobile, built on QVAC Fabric and Bare runtime. It's open source under Apache 2.0 and comes with extensive documentation for easy development.

Charcuterie – Visual similarity Unicode explorer

https://charcuterie.elastiq.ch/social-share.png
A visual explorer for Unicode. Browse the character set, discover related glyphs, and learn more about the scripts, symbols, and shapes that make up the standard. Charcuterie is still under active development, and feedback is welcome. If you would like to support the project and help make more time for it, consider a donation.

CollectWise (YC F24) Is Hiring

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CollectWise is a Y Combinator-backed startup using generative AI to automate debt collection. They're hiring an AI Agent Engineer to build voice AI infrastructure and reach $10 million in annual revenue within a year.

Supply chain nightmare: How Rust will be attacked and what we can do to mitigate

https://kerkour.com/assets/2021/rust-crate-backdoor/num_cpu.png
The Rust ecosystem is vulnerable to supply chain attacks due to its centralized package repository and lack of a comprehensive standard library. Dev Containers and other security measures can help mitigate these risks, but thinking like attackers and learning their tactics is essential for building secure-by-design systems.

The Art of Risk Management (2017)

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Artemis II and the invisible hazard on the way to the Moon

https://www.ansto.gov.au/sites/default/files/styles/hero_image/public/hero-images/Earth%20and%20moon_0.jpg?h=498e3814&itok=c7GdPYbY
NASA's Artemis II mission is testing radiation protection for humans beyond Earth's magnetic shelter, measuring how radiation levels change with trajectory and shielding. The mission will lay the foundation for safe human exploration of the Moon and Mars by characterizing the radiation field inside the spacecraft and linking it to biological effects.