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Breakthrough in Reachability Analysis of the Domain Name System

2024-12-12

Researchers have presented the first decision procedure for verifying the Domain Name System (DNS), establishing its complexity as 2ExpTime. The study formalizes DNS semantics and uses a novel abstraction based on positive prefix-testable languages, reducing the DNS verification problem to the verification problem for pushdown systems. This approach effectively models attack vectors in DNS, such as amplification attacks and rewrite blackholing, providing a new theoretical foundation for ensuring DNS security and reliability.

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(arxiv.org)
Development DNS security formal verification reachability analysis

Animal Adoption: A Balancing Act of Genes and Emotion

2024-12-13

A lioness adopting a leopard cub sparks a fascinating exploration into the world of animal adoption. This article delves into the evolutionary mechanisms behind this behavior, examining kinship selection, environmental pressures, individual differences, and maternal instincts. Research suggests that animal adoption isn't solely an evolutionary strategy, but also reflects animal emotions and individual variations, challenging traditional evolutionary explanations.

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(nautil.us)
Misc animal behavior evolutionary biology kinship selection

Revolutionary Idea: Applying Magit Principles to the jj Version Control System

2024-12-13

The author proposes a novel approach: applying the Magit version control interface from Emacs (which uses text files as its UI) to the nascent jj version control ecosystem. The article points out that Magit's text-based UI offers efficiency and portability. By leveraging the LSP protocol, a Magit-like experience can be implemented in various editors, avoiding redundant development. The author envisions generating specific text files (such as .jj/status.jj) and utilizing LSP features like semantic tokens, folding ranges, and goto definition to achieve Magit-like version control operations. The ultimate goal is to create a cross-platform, efficient user interface for jj version control.

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(matklad.github.io)
Development

Mirror Bacteria Research Raises Significant Risks, Scientists Warn

2024-12-13

Synthetic biologists have achieved remarkable breakthroughs, such as creating bacteria with chemically synthesized genomes. However, two synthetic biologists recently joined other scientists in calling for a halt to research that could lead to the creation of "mirror bacteria." These bacteria are composed of the same components as natural cells but with opposite stereochemistry in all biopolymers. Because mirror bacteria might lack natural predators and evade immune systems, they pose a catastrophic risk. The article emphasizes that while scientific research should be open, certain research, like mirror bacteria research, is too risky given the potential for devastating consequences. Therefore, it should be stopped.

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(www.the-scientist.com)
Tech synthetic biology mirror bacteria biosafety

Carta's Difficult Subscription Cancellation Process Sparks Outrage Among Founders

2024-12-12

Funding management software Carta is facing criticism for its cumbersome subscription cancellation process. Several founders have taken to social media to complain about the difficulty of cancelling their subscriptions, citing mandatory meetings scheduled well after their renewal dates. While Carta attributes the issue to a temporary staffing shortage, competitors highlight their straightforward cancellation methods, involving simple clicks or emails. This controversy raises concerns about Carta's customer service and cancellation policies, underscoring the importance of careful consideration when choosing service providers.

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(techcrunch.com)
Startup subscription cancellation startup

Elixir/Erlang Hot Code Swapping: Zero-Downtime Deployments

2024-12-13

This article delves into Elixir/Erlang's hot code swapping capabilities, enabling the loading and unloading of code at runtime without requiring system restarts for application upgrades. A simple KV module example demonstrates manual hot swapping, while iex's c/1 and r/1 commands, and the Relups tool, are introduced for easier application and release upgrade management. The article explains Erlang applications, releases, appups, and relups, detailing the use of the Distillery tool to generate application releases and upgrade releases, ultimately achieving zero-downtime deployments and preventing service interruptions.

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(kennyballou.com)
Development hot code swapping

CCxTrust: A Confidential Computing Platform Leveraging Collaborative Trust from TEE and TPM

2024-12-12

CCxTrust is a novel confidential computing platform that cleverly combines the strengths of Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) and Trusted Platform Modules (TPMs) to establish a collaborative trust framework. By leveraging the black-box Root of Trust (RoT) embedded in CPU-TEEs and the flexible white-box RoT of TPMs, CCxTrust achieves end-to-end protection of sensitive data and models, overcoming the limitations of relying on a single hardware RoT. The platform implements independent Roots of Trust for Measurement (RTM) and a collaborative Root of Trust for Report (RTR), further enhanced by a composite attestation protocol for improved security and efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate significant performance advantages.

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(arxiv.org)
AI Confidential Computing Trusted Execution Environment Trusted Platform Module

The World of Tomorrow: Why Did Progress Lose Its Glamour?

2024-12-12

This article explores the allure and subsequent fading of the 'World of Tomorrow' vision prevalent in the mid-20th century. It traces the evolution of societal yearnings for a better future, from the pursuit of efficiency, order, and speed to desires for exploration, adventure, and achievement, and finally, the longing for security, comfort, and ease. However, as technological advancements became reality, their flaws emerged, such as the blandness of industrialized food and the destructive nature of urban renewal projects. The author argues that disillusionment with progress stems from a misunderstanding of progress itself – the pursuit of 'one best way' rather than acknowledging diversity and individual preferences. To regain progress's charm, understanding contemporary aspirations and providing possibilities for various lifestyles, rather than a single future blueprint, is crucial.

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(worksinprogress.co)
Misc Technological Progress Cultural Shift Social Trends

The Humble For Loop in Rust: Performance and Readability

2024-12-12

This article explores the trade-offs between the humble `for` loop and functional programming approaches like `map` and `fold` in Rust, considering both performance and readability. Through benchmarks comparing different methods on vector and nested vector operations, the author finds that `map` often outperforms `for` loops in simple transformations, offering better declarative style. However, for more complex scenarios such as flattening nested vectors or handling errors, `for` loops demonstrate a significant performance advantage and maintain greater code clarity. The author advocates for a pragmatic approach, choosing the best tool for the job rather than blindly favoring functional programming.

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(blog.startifact.com)
Development performance for loop

NES Expansion Port Finally Awakens After 39 Years

2024-12-12

After 39 years of dormancy, the Nintendo Entertainment System's long-forgotten expansion port is finally being utilized in commercial products. This article explores the history of the NES expansion port and why it remained largely unused for so long, examining factors such as Nintendo's strategy, technological limitations, and the market environment. Now, thanks to the efforts of the open-source hardware community and enthusiasts, the expansion port is being used to add features like Bluetooth controller support and Famicom Disk System compatibility, marking a breakthrough in retro gaming console modding.

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(tedium.co)
Game expansion port retro gaming console modding

Pink Floyd's 'The Wall': A Descent into Isolation and the Search for Meaning

2024-12-12

Pink Floyd's 'The Wall' is a groundbreaking concept album chronicling the fictional Pink's journey from childhood trauma to self-imposed isolation. Haunted by the loss of his father in World War II, a domineering mother, and the crushing weight of fame, Pink constructs a metaphorical wall to shield himself from emotional pain. This wall, built brick by brick through life's hardships, leads him to the brink of insanity. Yet, the narrative explores themes of freedom and responsibility, culminating in a theatrical mental trial that leaves the listener questioning the nature of life, loss, and redemption. Inspired by Roger Waters' personal experiences and disillusionment with stardom, 'The Wall' remains a powerful and enduring piece of musical art.

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(thewallanalysis.com)
Game The Wall Concept Album

Storing Times for Human Events: Best Practices and Challenges

2024-12-12

This blog post discusses best practices for storing event times on event websites. The author argues that directly storing UTC time loses crucial information, such as the user's original intent and location. A better approach is to store the user's intended time and the event location, then derive the UTC time. Examples like user error, international timezone adjustments, and the 2007 Microsoft Exchange DST update illustrate the importance of storing the user's intended time. The author recommends designing a clear and user-friendly interface to help users accurately set event times and locations, emphasizing the importance of maintaining the user's original intent to avoid errors caused by timezone changes.

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(simonwillison.net)
Development time storage timezone user experience event management

High-Resolution Bitmap Graphics with Commodore 64 BASIC 2.0: A Fast Screen Clearing Routine

2024-12-12

This article demonstrates efficient high-resolution bitmap graphics handling in Commodore 64 BASIC 2.0, focusing on a fast screen clearing routine. The author points out that native BASIC lacks direct bitmap manipulation commands, making conventional clearing slow. A clever solution utilizes the BASIC string storage mechanism: long strings filled with CHR$(0) overwrite the bitmap memory, achieving fast clearing. The technique is illustrated with a cosine function plotting example.

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(retro64.altervista.org)
Development Bitmap Graphics

Bonscore: Independent Credit Scoring for Businesses

2024-12-12

Bonscore offers an independent and transparent credit scoring service for businesses. Data is sourced directly from the company register, ensuring objectivity and preventing manipulation. Unlike traditional credit agencies, Bonscore uses proprietary algorithms to assess the probability of default, providing industry benchmarks for comparison. This empowers businesses to evaluate the creditworthiness of potential and existing clients, competitors, and suppliers, leading to more informed business decisions such as: vetting new clients, analyzing existing client payment behavior, participating in tenders, assessing supplier reliability, analyzing competitor financial health, and making credit decisions.

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(bonscore.org)
Startup business credit scoring risk assessment business decisions

Engineer Implements Reversible 1D Cellular Automata Using Bitwise Operations

2024-12-12

Richard Palethorpe, an engineer, created a demo using the GFXPrim library showcasing a one-dimensional binary cellular automaton and its reversible counterpart. The automaton evolves based on rules where each cell's state is determined by its own state and those of its left and right neighbors. The article details bitwise operation optimizations, such as parallel processing of multiple cells using 64-bit integers and bit rotation to simulate neighbor interaction. Reversible implementation is achieved by XORing with the previous state. The author explores compiler optimization and vectorization impacts on performance and ultimately implements an efficient rendering method.

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(richiejp.com)
Development cellular automata bitwise operations reversible computing

New Study Pinpoints Neanderthal Interbreeding with Modern Humans

2024-12-13

A new analysis of ancient DNA from modern humans in Europe and Asia has precisely determined the timeframe of Neanderthal interbreeding with Homo sapiens. The interbreeding began approximately 50,500 years ago and lasted for about 7,000 years, until Neanderthals began to disappear. This research, using 58 ancient genomes and present-day human genomes, revealed an average interbreeding date of around 47,000 years ago, consistent with archeological evidence. The study also found that East Asians possess about 20% more Neanderthal genes than Europeans and West Asians, potentially due to the presence of mixed genes when modern humans migrated eastward around 47,000 years ago. The findings offer a more complete picture of past human migrations and gene flow, and shed light on the impact of Neanderthal genes on modern human health.

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(news.berkeley.edu)
Tech Neanderthals Homo sapiens Gene flow

Parkinson's Law: Set Deadlines, Boost Efficiency

2024-12-12

Parkinson's Law states that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. James Stanier, writing from an engineering management perspective, argues for the importance of setting challenging yet achievable deadlines. Using the 'Iron Triangle' (scope, resources, time), he demonstrates how deadlines prevent scope creep, improve efficiency, and spark innovation. He also highlights the implementation of weekly reporting to encourage proactive task completion, ultimately leading to higher efficiency.

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(theengineeringmanager.substack.com)
Development Parkinson's Law Project Management Deadlines

MIT Develops Noninvasive Imaging Method for Deeper Tissue Penetration

2024-12-13

MIT researchers have developed a novel noninvasive imaging technique that more than doubles the depth limit of metabolic imaging. Using high-powered lasers and a specialized fiber shaper, the method minimizes light scattering, allowing for clearer and faster imaging of living tissue. This label-free approach avoids tissue preprocessing, providing a more natural representation of cellular structures and functions. The increased depth penetration and speed promise significant advancements in cancer research, tissue engineering, drug discovery, and immunology.

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(news.mit.edu)
Tech biomedical imaging laser technology in vivo imaging

Stripe Investigates Unexpected DNS Error Spike: A Tale of Complex Network Troubleshooting

2024-12-12

Stripe recently experienced an unexpected spike in DNS errors. This post details how they used tools like Unbound, tcpdump, and iptables to track down the root cause. The investigation revealed that a Hadoop job analyzing network logs was performing numerous reverse DNS lookups (PTR records), leading to traffic amplification due to retries exceeding the AWS VPC resolver's limits. Stripe resolved the issue by adjusting Unbound forwarding configurations to distribute the load across individual Hadoop hosts. The case highlights the importance of robust monitoring, multi-faceted troubleshooting, and strategies for handling traffic surges in high-availability systems.

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(stripe.com)
Development Network Monitoring Troubleshooting

Ephemeral Database Access with GitHub Actions and S3

2024-12-12

This article presents a clever method for running a temporary database using GitHub Actions for ephemeral compute and S3 object storage for persistence. Spin up a MySQL-compatible database on demand, store data in S3, and automatically tear it down when finished, eliminating ongoing costs. A secure tunnel allows public access for integration tests, demos, or short-term development. Important: This approach is suitable only for short-term tasks; it's not designed for long-running database services.

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(wesql.io)
Development Database

Novel Link Between Cell Nutrition and Identity Could Improve Immunotherapies

2024-12-12

Scientists at the Salk Institute have discovered a nutritional switch from acetate to citrate is key in determining T cell fate, shifting them from active effector cells to exhausted ones. Published in Science, the findings reveal that different nutrients alter a cell's gene expression, function, and identity. This groundbreaking research offers new therapeutic targets for immunotherapies, potentially keeping T cells active against chronic diseases. The discovery highlights a direct link between cellular function and nutrition, opening new avenues for treating chronic illness.

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(www.genengnews.com)
AI Immunotherapy T cells Cellular Metabolism

Microsoft Discontinues iMac Rival Surface Studio 2+

2024-12-13

Microsoft has discontinued its Surface Studio 2+, ending its only direct competitor to Apple's iMac. The high-end all-in-one PC, aimed at creative professionals, featured a unique tilting touchscreen display. However, its high price and lagging specs hampered its success. This leaves a gap in the Windows ecosystem for premium all-in-one devices and cements Apple's dominance in this market segment.

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(www.macrumors.com)
Hardware All-in-one PC

ChatGPT Clone in 3000 Bytes of C

2024-12-12

Developer Nicholas Carlini created a ChatGPT clone using only 3000 bytes of C code, powered by the GPT-2 model. This dependency-free implementation loads GPT-2's weight matrix and BPE file, then performs tokenization, matrix operations, transformer inference, and detokenization. While the output quality is not high, its efficiency is remarkable, producing multiple replies per second on modern hardware. This demonstrates the potential of compact code in implementing complex AI models.

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(nicholas.carlini.com)
AI

QEMU Gains Vulkan Acceleration with VirtIO GPU Driver Update

2024-12-12

QEMU version 9.2.0 and later now supports Vulkan acceleration for VirtIO-GPU thanks to the Venus patches. This represents a significant advancement in Vulkan graphics rendering for QEMU virtual machines. The article details the setup process, including installing necessary packages (Linux kernel 6.13+, QEMU 9.2.0+, Vulkan drivers, etc.), building QEMU from source, and creating a VM image. While virt-manager currently lacks Vulkan configuration support, command-line parameters offer a workaround. Troubleshooting tips are provided, along with notes on current limitations in virt-manager and libvirt.

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(gist.github.com)
Development

WXT: Next-Gen Web Extension Framework for Accelerated Development

2024-12-12

WXT is an open-source tool revolutionizing web extension development. Supporting Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, and all Chromium-based browsers, it builds both Manifest V2 and V3 extensions from a single codebase. Boasting lightning-fast HMR, file-based entry points, and default TypeScript support, WXT offers auto-imports and automated publishing. Framework-agnostic and compatible with any Vite plugin, it features a module system and remote code downloading, maximizing development speed and allowing developers to focus on features, not build scripts.

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(wxt.dev)
Development web extension development framework

Former Twitter Founder Launches Mozi, a Social App Focused on Offline Connections

2024-12-12

Ev Williams, founder of Twitter and Medium, has launched a new social app called Mozi, aiming to redefine the essence of social interaction. Unlike content-focused social media, Mozi prioritizes helping users build and maintain relationships with people in their real lives. By integrating with users' contact lists, it shows when users and their acquaintances will be in the same location (city or event), facilitating offline meetings. Mozi emphasizes privacy, lacking public profiles and follower counts, aiming to be a private platform promoting genuine social connections.

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(ev.medium.com)
Startup social app relationships privacy
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