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Thunderbird 140 Released: Dark Mode, Easy Setting Sync, and Exchange Support

2025-07-09

Thunderbird email client version 140 is out, boasting several new features. A standout is "dark message mode," adapting message content to dark themes. It also features easy transfer of desktop settings to the mobile Thunderbird client, experimental Microsoft Exchange support, and global controls for message threading and sort order. This is an extended-support release (ESR) with 12 months of support, though Thunderbird encourages users to switch to the monthly Release channel. A staggered rollout to existing users helps catch bugs before widespread deployment, but manual upgrades are available via Help > About. Check the release notes for a complete changelog.

(lwn.net)

Development email client

FlashSpace: Blazing-Fast Workspace Manager for macOS

2025-02-08

FlashSpace: Blazing-Fast Workspace Manager for macOS

FlashSpace is a lightning-fast virtual workspace manager for macOS, designed to enhance and replace the native macOS Spaces. It eliminates the wait for macOS animations and offers features like multi-display support, customizable hotkeys for workspace switching, and the ability to assign apps to specific workspaces and displays. Additional features include a focus manager, cursor manager, profiles for quick configuration switching, and SketchyBar integration for enhanced workflow.

(github.com)

Development virtual workspace

Millions of Accounts Vulnerable Due to Google OAuth Flaw

2025-01-14

Millions of Accounts Vulnerable Due to Google OAuth Flaw

A new study reveals a critical vulnerability in Google's "Sign in with Google" authentication flow, potentially exposing millions of Americans' data. Attackers can purchase domains from defunct startups, recreate former employees' email accounts, and gain access to various SaaS services linked to those accounts, including HR systems and chat platforms containing sensitive information. The researcher reported the issue to Google, which initially marked it as "won't fix." Only after the researcher's Shmoocon talk was accepted did Google reopen the issue and pay a bounty. While Google is working on a fix, millions of accounts remain vulnerable.

(trufflesecurity.com)

Tech

Algorithms and Worker Power: The Rise and Fightback Against Reverse Centaurs

2025-05-30

This article explores the convergence of 'chickenization' (exploitative work arrangements) and 'reverse centaurs' (AI-driven, human-subordinate collaborations) in modern labor. Using gig workers and delivery drivers as examples, it reveals how algorithms manipulate workers, hide true earnings, and exert control through surveillance. In response, worker organizations are developing counter-algorithmic apps (like Para) to expose algorithmic opacity and organize collective action (like the #DECLINENOW movement). Initiatives also reverse-engineer algorithms, promoting worker transparency and autonomy, such as creating 'tuyul' apps for improved delivery driver autonomy. Ultimately, the author calls for labor solidarity, leveraging technology to combat algorithmic control and rebuild worker power.

(pluralistic.net)

Tech algorithmic control tech empowerment

Martin: The AI Assistant That's Light Years Ahead of Siri and Alexa

2025-07-15

Martin: The AI Assistant That's Light Years Ahead of Siri and Alexa

Martin is a revolutionary AI personal assistant accessible via text, call, or email. Managing your inbox, calendar, to-dos, notes, calls, and reminders, Martin has completed over 500,000 tasks for 30,000 users in just 5 months, with a 10% weekly growth rate. Backed by top investors like Y Combinator and Pioneer Fund, and notable angels, Martin's lean team is seeking ambitious AI and product engineers to build the next iPhone-level consumer product.

(www.ycombinator.com)

AI Personal Productivity

Fixing the Loading Issues in Myst IV: Revelation

2024-12-13

Fixing the Loading Issues in Myst IV: Revelation

This article documents the author's journey in fixing the notoriously slow loading times in Myst IV: Revelation. The game suffers from a two-second load time per click, even on SSDs. Using profiling tools, the author pinpointed the issue to the game's inefficient image loading via the LEADTOOLS library, which loads images row by row. The solution involved extracting game assets, converting images to the DDS format for faster loading, and implementing multithreading. However, challenges remain, such as crashes related to water effects, requiring further optimization.

(medium.com)

3

Game game optimization performance profiling

OBNC: An Oberon Compiler

2025-05-17

OBNC is a compiler for Niklaus Wirth's Oberon programming language, implementing the final 2016 version. It translates Oberon source code to C, which is then compiled and linked using the host OS's C compiler and linker. Released under the GNU General Public License (compiler) and Mozilla Public License (libraries), OBNC offers flexibility for project licensing. The package includes the compiler, build tools, documentation generator, a basic library, and an extended library (ext) adding features like command-line argument access and environment variable handling. It's implemented in C, works on POSIX-compliant systems, and requires the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector. A pre-compiled Windows version is available.

(miasap.se)

Development

Startup Necromancy: Exploiting Abandoned Google Apps Domains

2025-01-15

Startup Necromancy: Exploiting Abandoned Google Apps Domains

A security researcher discovered a critical vulnerability: improperly shutting down Google Workspace accounts leaves defunct startup domains vulnerable. New owners can reactivate former employees' Google accounts, granting access to third-party services (Slack, ChatGPT, Zoom, etc.) accessed via Google OAuth. Sensitive data, including tax documents and internal communications, becomes exposed. Google initially dismissed it, but after the researcher's Shmoocon presentation, they reevaluated, offering a bounty. This highlights the risk of insufficient account closure procedures and potential weaknesses within OAuth authentication.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

McKinsey to Pay $650 Million in Opioid Settlement, But Executives Avoid Charges

2024-12-14

McKinsey to Pay $650 Million in Opioid Settlement, But Executives Avoid Charges

Global consulting giant McKinsey & Company agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal probe into its role in boosting opioid sales. While McKinsey admitted its strategies led to unsafe and unnecessary opioid prescriptions, and a former senior partner pleaded guilty to destroying documents, other executives escaped criminal charges. This highlights the ongoing issue of large corporations paying hefty fines for their role in the opioid crisis while their top executives rarely face consequences, raising concerns about corporate accountability.

(www.npr.org)

Misc opioid crisis McKinsey corporate accountability

Property-Based Testing: Why it Trumps Unit Testing for Complex Inputs

2025-05-21

This article debates the merits of property-based testing (PBT) versus traditional unit testing. The author argues that while unit tests suffice for functions with single inputs, the combinatorial explosion of edge cases in multi-input functions makes PBT, with its randomized input generation, superior at uncovering hidden boundary errors. However, PBT has a learning curve; mastering complex input generation strategies is crucial. Most PBT examples are too simplistic to showcase its true power in handling complex input spaces.

(buttondown.com)

Development property-based testing

Redis 8.0 Open Source Comeback and Valkey Performance Showdown

2025-05-31

Redis 8.0 Open Source Comeback and Valkey Performance Showdown

Redis Inc.'s controversial decision last year to close-source Redis shook the open-source community, but the community responded by forking Redis into Valkey. Now, Redis 8.0 is open-source again, and the original creator, Antirez, has returned. This article benchmarks Valkey 8.1 against Redis 8.0, showing Valkey outperforms Redis 8.0 in throughput and latency, especially with I/O threads enabled. It also explores core allocation optimization techniques and the limitations of benchmarking.

(www.gomomento.com)

Development

Kotlin, Swift, and Ruby Fall Out of Tiobe's Top 20

2025-04-14

Kotlin, Swift, and Ruby Fall Out of Tiobe's Top 20

The latest Tiobe Programming Community index shows Kotlin, Swift, and Ruby dropping out of the top 20 most popular programming languages. According to Tiobe CEO Paul Jansen, these languages have lost traction and are declining. The decline is attributed to their primary use in specific mobile platforms (Kotlin for Android, Swift for iOS), with cross-platform alternatives now readily available. Furthermore, Python's dominance leaves less room for Ruby.

(www.infoworld.com)

Development Tiobe index

Pulitzer Winner Quits Washington Post After Bezos-Trump Cartoon Rejected

2025-01-05

Pulitzer Winner Quits Washington Post After Bezos-Trump Cartoon Rejected

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from the Washington Post after the newspaper refused to publish her cartoon satirizing owner Jeff Bezos bowing to Donald Trump alongside other tech CEOs. The Post cited prior coverage of the topic as the reason for rejection, but Telnaes viewed it as censorship and a threat to press freedom. The incident sparked controversy, with the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists accusing the Post of 'political cowardice'.

(www.abc.net.au)

Misc cartoon censorship Jeff Bezos

IPv4 Down? Linux, WireGuard, and Hetzner Saved My Internet!

2025-06-29

A power outage knocked out my IPv4 internet connectivity, leaving only IPv6, but many websites were inaccessible. I used a Hetzner VPS, WireGuard, and Linux network namespaces to cleverly fix this. By setting up a WireGuard server on the VPS, I tunneled my IPv6 connection to restore IPv4 functionality. Network namespaces allowed me to run my work VPN and Docker without interfering with WireGuard. I also solved WireGuard MTU issues. This whole process highlighted the flexibility and problem-solving power of Linux.

(jamesmcm.github.io)

Development

Linux Kernel PGP Trust Chain Crisis: The SHA-1 Retirement Fallout

2025-05-09

Linux kernel development relies on PGP signatures, requiring maintainers to submit signed pull requests to Linus Torvalds. Due to issues with keyservers, Konstantin Ryabitsev maintains a git repository of relevant keys. Removing SHA-1 signatures would leave 485 public keys without a trust path to Linus Torvalds, impacting many core developers. This threatens the kernel's development process, potentially excluding key contributors. A keysigning event at Embedded Recipes 2025 aims to rebuild the trust chain.

(blog.kleine-koenig.org)

Development

Critical AirPlay Vulnerability: Millions of Devices at Risk

2025-04-30

Critical AirPlay Vulnerability: Millions of Devices at Risk

Security researchers have uncovered a critical vulnerability, dubbed 'AirBorne,' in Apple's AirPlay SDK, potentially exposing tens of millions of devices to hacking. Attackers on the same Wi-Fi network could gain control of AirPlay-enabled devices like smart speakers and TVs. While microphone access is currently theoretical, the risk is real. Apple has released patches for its devices and provided fixes to third-party manufacturers, but many devices may take a long time or never receive updates. Users should update their devices and routers immediately and exercise caution on public Wi-Fi.

(9to5mac.com)

Tech

Atari ST's 40th Anniversary: A Budget 16-bit GUI Revolution

2025-01-09

Atari ST's 40th Anniversary: A Budget 16-bit GUI Revolution

Atari's 1985 CES unveiling of the Atari ST, a 16-bit GUI computer, sent shockwaves through the industry with its surprisingly low price ($800-$1000 for a 520ST bundle). While the 130ST failed due to insufficient RAM, the 520ST's powerful performance and innovative GEM operating system made it a hit, challenging Commodore and Apple and injecting new energy into the personal computer market. Its impact on software development remains significant.

(www.goto10retro.com)

Tech 16-bit computer

Bill Atkinson, Macintosh GUI Pioneer, Passes Away

2025-06-08

Bill Atkinson, Macintosh GUI Pioneer, Passes Away

Bill Atkinson, the engineer behind much of the original Macintosh's groundbreaking graphical user interface (GUI), passed away on June 5th from complications of pancreatic cancer. Atkinson, Apple employee #51, was instrumental in the development of the first Macintosh and the Lisa's GUI. His innovations included the menu bar, the lasso selection tool, the "marching ants" animation, and an efficient circle-drawing algorithm. He's perhaps best known for HyperCard, a revolutionary hypermedia application creation system he described as a "software erector set." After leaving Apple, Atkinson pursued a passion for nature photography and joined the AI company Numenta in 2007. His passing marks the loss of a true tech legend whose impact on computing remains profound.

(appleinsider.com)

Tech

Anthropic's Claude 3.7: Reasoning AI Powered by Reinforcement Learning

2025-02-24

Anthropic's Claude 3.7: Reasoning AI Powered by Reinforcement Learning

Anthropic has launched Claude 3.7, an upgraded AI model that distinguishes itself from traditional large language models (LLMs) by focusing on reasoning capabilities. Trained using reinforcement learning, Claude 3.7 excels at solving problems requiring step-by-step thinking, particularly coding challenges, outperforming OpenAI's models on certain benchmarks. This advancement stems from additional training data and optimizations for business applications like code writing and legal question answering. The release of Claude Code further enhances its practicality in AI-assisted coding, providing robust support for complex code planning.

(www.wired.com)

AI

Microsoft Bets Big on India's AI Future: A $3 Billion Investment

2025-01-07

Microsoft Bets Big on India's AI Future: A $3 Billion Investment

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella announced a $3 billion investment in India to expand its AI and Azure cloud services, leveraging India's massive population to fuel revenue growth. The plan includes training 10 million Indians in AI skills. This investment will build a scalable AI computing ecosystem for Indian startups and researchers, highlighting the intense competition among tech giants for the Indian market and its potential as a leading developer hub.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

arXivLabs: Experimental Projects with Community Collaborators

2025-04-25

arXivLabs is a framework enabling collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on the website. Individuals and organizations working with arXivLabs uphold arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only partners with those who share them. Got an idea for a project that will benefit the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

China Retaliates Against US Tariffs, Escalating Trade War

2025-04-10

China Retaliates Against US Tariffs, Escalating Trade War

In response to new tariffs imposed by President Trump, China announced retaliatory tariffs on US goods, escalating the trade war between the world's two largest economies. Starting April 10th, China will impose an 84% tariff on all US imports. This follows the implementation of the steepest US tariffs in a century, bringing the total US tariffs on Chinese goods to 104% this year. The move significantly intensifies the ongoing trade conflict.

(www.bloomberg.com)

Tech

H5N1 Avian Flu: A Deep Dive into the Pandemic Threat

2025-01-01

H5N1 Avian Flu: A Deep Dive into the Pandemic Threat

This article delves into the potential pandemic threat posed by the H5N1 avian flu virus. The virus has already infected birds, cows, and mink, and has now been detected in pigs. While human cases remain relatively low, the author, drawing on epidemiological models and expert forecasts, assesses the probability of a pandemic in the next year (5%), and the potential mortality rate (ranging from comparable to a normal seasonal flu to resembling the 1918 Spanish flu). The article also discusses strategies for responding to a potential pandemic and highlights the economic impact on agriculture.

(www.astralcodexten.com)

Tech Avian Flu Pandemic

Notepad++ Gets a Rogue-lite Plugin: Adventure in Your Text Editor

2025-09-04

Notepad++ Gets a Rogue-lite Plugin: Adventure in Your Text Editor

A new Notepad++ plugin brings rogue-lite gameplay to your text editor! This 64-bit Windows-only plugin features six levels of turn-based combat, powerful relic collection, boss battles, and trap avoidance. It includes a storyline and audio, but play at your own risk—data and settings loss is possible. Installation is easy: unzip, install the font, drag and drop the theme and plugin files into their respective Notepad++ folders. Ready for your Notepad++ adventure?

(github.com)

Game Game Plugin

Backblaze's Financial Troubles Spark Data Backup Concerns

2025-04-29

Backblaze's Financial Troubles Spark Data Backup Concerns

Cloud backup provider Backblaze, which went public in 2021, has been consistently losing money, with its stock price plummeting 71%. A recent report suggests Backblaze may face bankruptcy, raising concerns about the security of user data. Backblaze denies the report, claiming its financial data is accurate and its service is stable and reliable. However, the company's continued massive losses and negative reports still leave users worried about the security of their data backups, highlighting the importance of a robust backup strategy.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

Estimating Oil Storage Tank Occupancy Using Satellite Imagery: A Beginner's Guide

2025-06-17

Estimating Oil Storage Tank Occupancy Using Satellite Imagery: A Beginner's Guide

TankerTrackers.com uses satellite imagery and tanker tracking data to shed light on the opaque nature of the global oil market. This article details how to measure the diameter and height of oil storage tanks using satellite images and estimate occupancy based on shadow variations. By comparing images from different dates, changes in oil volume can be tracked, helping analyze market trends. This method cleverly leverages publicly available information and image analysis to provide a novel perspective on oil market analysis.

(medium.com)

Tech oil reserves satellite image analysis

Spotify's Ghost Artists: The Algorithm's Dark Secret

2024-12-19

Spotify's Ghost Artists: The Algorithm's Dark Secret

This article exposes Spotify's 'Perfect Fit Content' (PFC) program, which secretly fills its playlists with low-cost 'ghost artists' to reduce royalty payouts. These ghost artists, mass-produced by production companies, lack artistic merit but dominate popular playlists, squeezing out independent musicians. This practice has angered artists and industry insiders, raising concerns about the devaluation of music and the future of streaming. It reveals streaming services' disregard for artistic integrity and musician rights in their pursuit of profit maximization.

(harpers.org)

Tech streaming ghost artists

Failing My Anthropic Interview (Again): A Reflection

2025-08-29

The author recounts two failed interviews with Anthropic, the first due to a simple mistake, the second due to not being good enough. The post details the author's disappointment and self-reflection, exploring the tension between authenticity and fitting a company culture. The author concludes by embracing the setback and encouraging perseverance.

(taylor.town)

Misc job interview

Dart Macros Project Abandoned: Focusing on Data Handling and Build Performance

2025-01-29

The Dart team announced the cancellation of its long-running macros project due to high compile-time costs impacting developer experience, particularly hot reload. The team acknowledged insurmountable technical hurdles, deciding to prioritize improving data handling capabilities and build speeds over continuing to invest in macros. Future efforts will focus on better data serialization/deserialization support, enhancements to the `build_runner` tool, and the independent release of augmentations—a feature initially prototyped as part of the macros project—to improve developer workflow.

(medium.com)

Development

Global Tech Talent Map: Hot Tech & Job Locations

2025-01-28

HNHIRING's latest job trends report paints a picture of the global tech talent landscape. It lists the hottest programming languages, tech stacks, and job locations. The report reveals high demand for talent in cloud computing, AI, and big data, with North America, Europe, and parts of Asia emerging as tech talent hubs. This report is a valuable resource for job seekers and companies alike, offering insights into market demand and talent distribution.

(hnhiring.com)

Tech tech talent job trends tech stack

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