Attention at Constant Cost per Token via Symmetry-Aware Taylor Approximation

https://arxiv.org/static/browse/0.3.4/images/arxiv-logo-fb.png
Researchers improved self-attention in AI models to reduce costs and energy demands. Their efficient formulation enables unbounded token generation at a fixed cost, reducing infrastructure and energy needs.

FBI couldn't get into WaPo reporter's iPhone because Lockdown Mode enabled

https://www.404media.co/content/images/2023/08/404-joseph-01-1.jpg
The FBI was unable to access a Washington Post reporter's iPhone due to it being in Lockdown Mode, a security feature that limits device connections and blocks vulnerabilities. The FBI was able to access another device, a Macbook Pro, but not a full physical image of it.

A sane but bull case on Clawdbot / OpenClaw

https://brandon.wang/images/2026/clawdbot/upcoming-promise.png
The user has been experimenting with OpenClaw (ClawDBot) and found it to be incredibly helpful in automating various tasks, such as calendar organization, text message summarization, and price tracking, and has given it access to sensitive information like bank accounts and 2FA codes. Despite the risks, the user believes that the benefits of using ClawDBot outweigh the risks and has found ...

A case study in PDF forensics: The Epstein PDFs

https://pdfa.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NewHeadshot-1-150x150.jpg
The US Department of Justice released a new dataset of 10,593 PDF files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which were analyzed for technical aspects such as PDF syntax, malformations, and redaction effectiveness. The analysis found that while the DoJ correctly redacted the EFTA PDFs in Datasets 01-07, some PDFs in the new dataset contain incorrect and ineffective redactions, and the ...

Data centers in space makes no sense

https://files.civai.org/blog/pv-price.webp
SpaceX acquired xAI to form a $1.25 trillion company aiming to send data centers into space. However, experts argue this concept is a fantasy due to scalability, upgrade, and cost-effectiveness issues.

Guinea worm on track to be 2nd eradicated human disease; only 10 cases in 2025

https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/GettyImages-594370432-640x425.jpg
The Guinea worm infection is near global eradication with only 10 human cases reported in 2025, down from 3.5 million in 1986. The Carter Center's eradication program uses cash rewards, public education, and safer water practices to prevent transmission.

Show HN: Ghidra MCP Server – 110 tools for AI-assisted reverse engineering

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/6c0998b475f886638c6e3c076f25b3146d08d1b5ca7e812135148cb54c068941/bethington/ghidra-mcp
This is a Ghidra plugin that bridges reverse engineering with AI tools. It requires 14 JARs from Ghidra and can be built with Maven.

Lessons learned shipping 500 units of my first hardware product

https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!1aA4!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F2294cc1c-f983-4c0e-a45d-1a126eede358_490x610.png
The user launched their first hardware product, Brighter, a 50,000 lumens lamp, after quitting their software engineering job and faced numerous manufacturing and quality control issues. Despite these challenges, the user learned valuable lessons about the importance of detailed planning, rigorous testing, and effective communication in the hardware development process.

Brazilian Micro-SaaS Map

MAPA DE SAAS DO BRASIL Mapa interativo de SaaS por estado e cidade

Old Insurance Maps – Georeferencing Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps on Modern Maps

https://oldinsurancemaps.net/static/img/plaquemine-skating-1900.png
OldInsuranceMaps.net is an open online platform for creating georeferenced historical maps, used by various organizations and researchers to support their research and community mapping efforts. The platform has been used to create mosaics of over 30,000 Sanborn sheets and has been integrated with other projects such as OpenHistoricalMap and HistoryForge.

I miss thinking hard

The writer feels stuck as a software engineer because they're not using their problem-solving skills as much due to relying on AI for coding. They miss the mental growth and satisfaction from deep thinking.

Show HN: Craftplan – I built my wife a production management tool for her bakery

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/puemos/craftplan/main/screenshots/plan.webp
Craftplan is a business platform for artisanal manufacturing with tools for catalog management, inventory control, and production planning. It supports small-batch production and has features for allergen tracking and BOM versioning.

New York’s budget bill would require “blocking technology” on all 3D printers

Coding Agent VMs on NixOS with Microvm.nix

https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2026-02-01-coding-agent-microvm-nix/2026-01-28-neofetch-featured_hu_d06e7aa7176833b3.png
The user wants to safely run coding agents without access to personal files by using ephemeral Virtual Machines (VMs) on NixOS. They use the microvm.nix project to create VMs with no persistent data, accessible through SSH.

The fax numbers of the beast, and other mathematical sports

https://cabinetmagazine.org/issues/57/cabinet_057_sloane_neil_wertheim_margaret_001.jpg
Neil Sloane created the Online Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences (OEIS) in 1964, initially as a collection of sequences on file cards, which has grown to over 260,000 entries. The OEIS is a widely used database for mathematicians, computer theorists, and scientists, and also attracts recreational mathematicians who explore the properties of numbers.

Deno Sandbox

https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/80?v=4
Deno Sandbox provides lightweight Linux microVMs for running untrusted code with defense-in-depth security. It controls network egress, protects secrets, and allows direct deployment to Deno Deploy without rebuilding.

High-Altitude Adventure with a DIY Pico Balloon

https://spectrum.ieee.org/media-library/a-printed-circuit-board-attached-to-two-small-solar-panels-hangs-beneath-a-balloon.png?id=63339900&width=1200&height=1354
Amateur balloonists use superpressure balloons called pico balloons, which can last months and travel long distances, reporting their position. Pico balloons are inexpensive, lightweight, and use amateur-radio network WSPR for global tracking without satellites.

Agent Skills

https://agent-skills.mintlify.app/mintlify-assets/_next/image?url=%2F_mintlify%2Fapi%2Fog%3Fdivision%3DDocumentation%26title%3DOverview%26description%3DA%2Bsimple%252C%2Bopen%2Bformat%2Bfor%2Bgiving%2Bagents%2Bnew%2Bcapabilities%2Band%2Bexpertise.%26primaryColor%3D%25237f7f7f%26lightColor%3D%2523bfbfbf%26darkColor%3D%2523404040%26backgroundLight%3D%2523ffffff%26backgroundDark%3D%25230d0d0f&w=1200&q=100
Agent Skills provide procedural knowledge and context to agents, enabling them to perform tasks more accurately and efficiently. This open standard allows skill authors to deploy capabilities across multiple agents and teams to capture organizational knowledge.

Thatcher Effect – Optical Illusion and Explanation

https://assets.codepen.io/277/thatch.png
The Thatcher effect shows that brains have trouble recognizing upside-down faces with inverted features. This is due to the brain processing individual features rather than the face as a whole.

X offices raided in France as UK opens fresh investigation into Grok

https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/480/cpsprodpb/96f8/live/12bc3eb0-00ea-11f1-8974-f3140348ffed.jpg.webp
French prosecutor's office raided X's Paris office investigating unlawful data extraction and child pornography. Elon Musk and former CEO Linda Yaccarino summoned to hearings over suspected crimes.

Goblins: Distributed, Transactional Programming with Racket and Guile

https://files.spritely.institute/images/blog/2022-08-12_The-Spritely-Institute_Mascot-nobg3-scaled-225.png
Spritely's Goblins provides a secure, distributed object programming environment with automatic transactions and debugging tools. It allows asynchronous programming against objects from any language, currently supporting two languages.

AliSQL: Alibaba's open-source MySQL with vector and DuckDB engines

https://opengraph.githubassets.com/bbd2f6ea2de5ba56b097e2e0cdebd709fd6e442bfef46bfdf12596b8e7809fb1/alibaba/AliSQL
AliSQL is Alibaba's MySQL branch with performance optimizations and features for large-scale applications. It integrates DuckDB and supports vector processing for AI-driven applications.

Xcode 26.3 – Developers can leverage coding agents directly in Xcode

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/images/2026/02/xcode-26-point-3-unlocks-the-power-of-agentic-coding/article/Apple-Xcode-agentic-coding-hero_big.jpg.large.jpg
Xcode 26.3 introduces agentic coding, allowing developers to use coding agents like Claude Agent and Codex for greater autonomy. This feature streamlines workflows, boosts productivity, and enables developers to focus on innovation.

The Mathematics of Tuning Systems

https://math.ucr.edu/home/baez/tuning_talk/jpgs/tuning_talk-01.jpg
Leibniz said music is the pleasure of counting without knowing it. Western music tuning systems, from Pythagorean to equal temperament, have evolved over centuries with mathematical innovations.

Broken Proofs and Broken Provers

Proof assistants like Isabelle can have bugs, but they are generally reliable. Isabelle's design helps prevent errors, but users must still be cautious.

Exploring Different Keyboard Sensing Technologies

https://lttlabs.ghost.io/content/images/2026/01/KB-Tech-2-Change-Name.png
Keyboard switch technologies include physical contact, optical, electro-magnetic, and capacitive methods, each with pros and cons such as durability, customization, and tactile feedback. Newer hybrid and analog approaches are emerging, suggesting future keyboards will prioritize user experience and input behaviors over sensing methods.

Reimplementing Tor from Scratch for a Single-Hop Proxy

https://foxmoss.com/_astro/kurrat.DtO8OrkL_1Aqsr4.webp
The user created a CLI app to connect directly to a Tor exit node without using the Tor circuit, but found that Tor blocks direct connections to exit nodes. They successfully implemented a Tor relay node, obtained keys, and connected to an exit node, achieving faster speeds than using Tor's circuit.

221 Cannon is Not For Sale

https://fredbenenson.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/IMG_1722-787x1024.png
The author's vacant land in Wilton, CT was targeted by a scammer who impersonated him and his brother, attempting to sell the property multiple times. The scammer used fake IDs and communicated through email and text messages to avoid detection.

The largest zip tie is nearly 4 feet long and $75

https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Screenshot-2026-01-15-at-4.50.12-PM.jpeg?quality=85&w=1920
Cable Tie Link sells the world's largest zip tie, 47 inches long and holding 2,000 pounds. It's available for $75 or in packs for $799.99 and $1,699.99.

Prek: A better, faster, drop-in pre-commit replacement, engineered in Rust

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/j178/prek/master/docs/assets/logo.webp
prek is a Rust-based alternative to pre-commit, offering faster performance and additional features. It provides a single binary with no dependencies, improved toolchain installations, and parallel hook execution.