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macOS 26: The Last Intel-Supported Version

2025-06-09

macOS 26: The Last Intel-Supported Version

Apple announced at WWDC that macOS 26 Tahoe will be the final macOS version supporting Intel chips. Starting next year, major new macOS releases will only run on Apple Silicon Macs (2020 M1 and later). While Intel Macs will receive security updates for a time, users won't get new features in macOS 27 and beyond. Some older Intel Macs, like certain MacBook Airs and Mac minis, are already unsupported by macOS Tahoe. However, Tahoe still supports some Intel Macs, including the 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro. Apple's message is clear: upgrade to Apple Silicon for continued feature and security updates.

(9to5mac.com)

Tech

Apple Cuts Max TLS Certificate Lifetime to 47 Days: Automation is Key

2025-04-15

Apple Cuts Max TLS Certificate Lifetime to 47 Days: Automation is Key

Apple is gradually reducing the maximum lifetime of TLS certificates to 47 days, a move aimed at enhancing security and driving the adoption of automated certificate lifecycle management. This change stems from the CA/B Forum's years-long trend of shortening certificate lifetimes and the unreliability of existing certificate revocation systems (CRLs and OCSP). While the change becomes fully effective on March 15, 2029, Apple anticipates that shorter certificate lifetimes will necessitate the use of automation, mitigating service disruptions caused by expired or revoked certificates. Certificate authorities like DigiCert offer various automation solutions to help organizations adapt to this change.

(www.digicert.com)

Tech TLS certificates certificate lifetime

The Mysterious Disappearance and Open Sourcing of W++

2025-05-30

The Mysterious Disappearance and Open Sourcing of W++

W++, a fun, experimental programming language designed for learning, chaos, and memes, has been open-sourced. After achieving over 33,000 downloads on the VSCode Marketplace, it was mysteriously removed. This repo contains the full source code, including a C#-based tokenizer, parser, and interpreter, along with a custom VSCode extension. Featuring async lambdas and a unique "pseudo-OOP" (OOPSIE) approach, W++ aims to demonstrate that even joke languages can teach valuable programming skills. The author, Ofek Bickel, encourages investigation into the reasons for its takedown.

(github.com)

Development

The Rise and Fall (and Potential Resurrection?) of Stack Overflow

2025-06-02

The Rise and Fall (and Potential Resurrection?) of Stack Overflow

Stack Overflow, once a haven for developers, thrived on a culture of mutual help and knowledge sharing. However, a gamified reputation system inadvertently fostered competition over collaboration, slowly eroding its vibrant community. The advent of AI further exacerbates this trend, prompting reflection on the future of developer communities. Stack Overflow's journey serves as a cautionary tale: tech platforms that prioritize genuine community over mere content generation are more likely to thrive, particularly in the age of AI.

(www.infoworld.com)

Development

Git's 20th Anniversary: From Humble Beginnings to Version Control Domination

2025-04-07

Git's 20th Anniversary: From Humble Beginnings to Version Control Domination

Twenty years ago today, Linus Torvalds made the first commit to Git. Since then, it's become the dominant version control system. This article recounts Git's early history, from its origins as a tool to address version control and collaboration challenges in the Linux kernel community, to its evolution into the powerful system we know today. Author Scott Chacon shares his personal journey with Git, explaining how it transformed from a simple "stupid" content tracker into a feature-rich VCS that reshaped software development. The story also delves into the origins of some core Git commands and the birth of GitHub's iconic Octocat.

(blog.gitbutler.com)

Development

UK Universities Shell Out Millions for Controversial Oracle Java Deal

2025-06-13

UK Universities Shell Out Millions for Controversial Oracle Java Deal

UK universities and colleges have signed a £9.86 million ($13.33 million) framework agreement with Oracle to continue using its controversial Java SE Universal Subscription. The deal includes a waiver of historical fees for institutions using Oracle Java since 2023. This follows criticism of the new subscription model's high cost, prompting many to switch to open-source alternatives. Despite this, UK higher education institutions chose to renew, citing simplified licensing and increased efficiency. However, questions remain about why they didn't switch to open-source options.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech Licensing Agreement Open Source Alternatives

Harlan Ellison: The Typewriter-Wielding Sci-Fi Master Rejects the Digital Age

2025-05-09

In an interview, acclaimed science fiction writer Harlan Ellison defends his staunch refusal to use computers, preferring the tactile experience of his manual typewriter. He views computers as hindering the direct connection with his muse and diminishing the inherent difficulty of artistic creation. Despite his prolific career spanning 70+ books and numerous awards, Ellison maintains that art should be challenging, not easy. He discusses his latest short story collection, *Slippage*, and the republication of his *Edgeworks* series, highlighting their unique value and accessibility.

(harlanellison.com)

Tech Writing Process Technological Resistance

Ruby Namespaces: A Critical Look at a Proposed Implementation

2025-05-12

This blog post questions a proposed implementation of namespaces in Ruby. The author argues that the proposal aims to solve problems like library name clashes, globally shared modules, and multiple gem versions, but these issues are not frequently encountered in practice. The complexity introduced by the proposal, such as deduplication, might outweigh its benefits. The author prefers a lighter-weight approach, such as restricting constant access and providing a BasicObject-like mechanism to improve code maintainability and modularity.

(bugs.ruby-lang.org)

Development Namespaces Modularity

Thriving in Obscurity: The Long Road to Creative Mastery

2025-06-02

Thriving in Obscurity: The Long Road to Creative Mastery

Most creative endeavors take years to bear fruit. Even the most successful creators spent years, if not decades, producing content in obscurity. The article uses the example of musician Mike Posner, whose early work went unnoticed until a single song unexpectedly became a hit. It encourages creators to persist, publishing even when there's no audience, building a 'binge bank' of content for future fans. The core message: keep doing what you love; eventually, the world will catch up.

(www.jeetmehta.com)

Design persistence

Smartphone Turns into Pocket Spectrometer with a Simple Card

2025-09-24

Smartphone Turns into Pocket Spectrometer with a Simple Card

Purdue University researchers have devised a clever method to transform a regular smartphone into a high-precision spectrometer using a simple card with a special color reference chart. The technique uses an algorithm to analyze smartphone photos, extracting hidden spectral information with an accuracy of 1.6 nanometers. This breakthrough promises wide applications in defense, medicine, food safety, and more, making spectroscopy more affordable and accessible.

(spectrum.ieee.org)

Tech spectral analysis

MIT Retracts AI Research Paper: Data Falsification, Unreliable Conclusions

2025-05-16

MIT has retracted a preprint paper on artificial intelligence, scientific discovery, and product innovation. The paper was questioned due to concerns about data falsification and unreliable research findings. Following an internal investigation, MIT confirmed serious issues with the paper and requested its withdrawal from arXiv and The Quarterly Journal of Economics. Two professors acknowledged in the paper also publicly expressed their concerns, emphasizing the unreliability of the results and urging that they not be cited in academic or public discussions. This incident highlights the importance of research integrity.

(economics.mit.edu)

AI

The Decline of 'Thinkers' in Science: A Call for 'Little Science'

2025-05-11

The Decline of 'Thinkers' in Science: A Call for 'Little Science'

This article explores the distinction between science and technology, highlighting the current imbalance in the scientific community—a surplus of 'doers' and a deficit of 'thinkers.' The author argues that while 'doers' like Elon Musk excel at leveraging existing technology, scientific progress demands 'thinkers' capable of groundbreaking innovation. The post-WWII era of 'Big Science,' while yielding remarkable achievements, has also led to institutional sclerosis and decreased innovation, the author contends. A return to 'Little Science,' fostering individual exploration and curiosity-driven research, is advocated to create more space for 'thinkers' and ensure the continued advancement of science.

(www.strangeloopcanon.com)

Tech philosophy of science scientific innovation research paradigms

The 50-Year-Old Mystery of Internet Packet Size

2025-04-18

This article delves into the enduring question of optimal internet packet size. From RFC 791's initial suggestion of 576 octets to today's default of 20-1500 octets, packet size has been a key trade-off in network design. Tracing the evolution of Ethernet, it explains the relationship between minimum packet size and collision detection, and the balance between maximum packet size and transmission efficiency. Jumbo frames and Path MTU discovery are also discussed, concluding that 46-1500 octets remains a reasonable range for the public internet, a choice that has persisted for nearly 50 years.

(www.potaroo.net)

Tech packet size

Firefly's Blue Ghost Captures Solar Eclipse from the Moon

2025-03-16

Firefly's Blue Ghost Captures Solar Eclipse from the Moon

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander captured incredible images from the moon's surface, including a stunning 'diamond ring' solar eclipse during the total lunar eclipse on March 14th. This marks the first time a commercial company has actively operated on the moon and observed a total solar eclipse where Earth blocks the sun, a phenomenon that occurred simultaneously with the lunar eclipse seen on Earth. The event highlights the new era of private lunar exploration.

(www.space.com)

Tech solar eclipse

Locality of Behavior: A Principle for More Maintainable Code

2025-07-03

This article introduces the principle of Locality of Behavior (LoB), which emphasizes that the behavior of a code unit should be readily apparent within that unit itself. The author uses examples of AJAX requests in htmx and jQuery to illustrate how LoB improves code maintainability. While LoB may conflict with principles like DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself) and SoC (Separation of Concerns), the author argues that judiciously prioritizing LoB enhances code readability and maintainability, ultimately leading to higher software quality and sustainability.

(htmx.org)

Development design principles

From Side Project to $1M ARR in Four Years: The ProjectionLab Story

2025-07-09

From Side Project to $1M ARR in Four Years: The ProjectionLab Story

Kyle bootstrapped ProjectionLab, a personal finance planning tool, to $1 million in annual recurring revenue in just four years. The journey was filled with ups and downs, from solo development to finding the right growth partner, Jon, and building a team. Kyle emphasizes the importance of perseverance and the value of working with the right people. He encourages entrepreneurs to keep showing up, even when growth is flat or doubts creep in. ProjectionLab's success is a testament to consistent effort, a love for the product, a focus on the customer, and teamwork.

(projectionlab.com)

Startup Success Story

Human Body Exhibit May Feature Executed Chinese Political Prisoners

2025-07-10

Human Body Exhibit May Feature Executed Chinese Political Prisoners

A touring exhibition of plastinated human bodies, 'Real Bodies,' displayed in Birmingham, UK, is suspected of using corpses of executed Chinese political prisoners. British parliamentarians raised concerns, citing evidence that the bodies originated from a Dalian, China firm previously investigated for using bodies obtained from Chinese police. The exhibition's organizer, Imagine Exhibitions, failed to provide documentation proving consent or origin of the cadavers. This raises serious ethical concerns and echoes findings of the China Tribunal's investigation into forced organ harvesting. The incident highlights the need for international cooperation to address such atrocities.

(www.theartnewspaper.com)

Misc Body Exhibit Organ Harvesting

Ravens Show Unexpected Geometric Skills

2025-04-20

Ravens Show Unexpected Geometric Skills

Researchers at the University of Tübingen have demonstrated that ravens possess the ability to recognize geometric regularity. In a study published in Science Advances, carrion crows were trained to identify an outlier shape amongst several similar ones. The crows successfully distinguished subtle differences in shapes, exhibiting an understanding of right angles, parallel lines, and symmetry. This challenges previous assumptions about animal cognition, suggesting this ability may be more widespread than previously thought.

(phys.org)

AI geometric recognition raven

A Decade of Rust: Reflections and Future Outlook

2025-06-05

A Decade of Rust: Reflections and Future Outlook

A founder who started using Rust a month after the release of Rust 1.0 reflects on a decade of experience building two startups with over 500,000 lines of Rust code. The article recounts initial challenges like poor version compatibility, long compile times, and the steep learning curve, but also praises the exceptional contributions of the Rust community and highlights Rust's advancements in reliability and performance. Looking ahead, the author anticipates significant improvements in compile speed, portability, const evaluation, and concurrency, along with broader adoption in domains like web browsers and game development.

(tably.com)

Development development experience

MIT Students Outperform State-of-the-Art HPC Libraries with Hundreds of Lines of Code

2025-03-16

MIT Students Outperform State-of-the-Art HPC Libraries with Hundreds of Lines of Code

Researchers at MIT's CSAIL have developed Exo 2, a new programming language that allows programmers to write 'schedules' explicitly controlling how the compiler generates code, leading to significantly improved performance. Unlike existing User-Schedulable Languages (USLs), Exo 2 lets users define new scheduling operations externally to the compiler, creating reusable scheduling libraries. This enables engineers to achieve performance comparable to, or better than, state-of-the-art HPC libraries with drastically reduced code, revolutionizing efficiency in AI and machine learning applications.

(news.mit.edu)

AI

Notepad's Transformation: The End of Simplicity?

2025-05-30

Notepad's Transformation: The End of Simplicity?

Microsoft is adding formatting features like bold, italics, and hyperlinks to Notepad, transforming the minimalist text editor into a lightweight word processor. This move is controversial, with many users arguing it compromises Notepad's simplicity and ease of use, making it bloated and potentially driving users to alternatives. While Microsoft offers the option to disable formatting, it seems like a solution in search of a problem, rather than truly addressing user needs.

(betanews.com)

Development

Jeep's Full-Screen Ads: A PR Nightmare

2025-02-11

Stellantis, parent company of Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler, and Ram, is facing backlash for implementing full-screen pop-up ads on its infotainment systems. Jeep owners report being bombarded with ads, particularly for Mopar extended warranties, every time the vehicle stops. This intrusive advertising is disrupting the driving experience and causing significant frustration. While Stellantis claims the ads are part of a SiriusXM contract and suggests users simply close them, the move is seen as prioritizing ad revenue over user experience, particularly given the high cost of new vehicles. The negative response has prompted discussion among Jeep owners about finding ways to disable the ads, highlighting a growing consumer backlash against subscription models and in-car advertising.

(techstory.in)

Tech in-car advertising subscription models

Beyond NP: A More Intuitive Complexity Problem

2025-04-17

Beyond NP: A More Intuitive Complexity Problem

The author challenges the use of the Halting Problem as the canonical example of a problem harder than NP-complete, arguing it's confusing and unintuitive. While undecidable, verifying a "yes" answer for the Halting Problem can be done by running the program for a finite number of steps. A more easily understandable alternative is presented: moving a token on an infinite grid to reach a target point. This problem is PSPACE-complete in lower dimensions, but its complexity explodes with increasing dimensions, eventually reaching ACKERMANN-completeness, visually demonstrating a complexity far beyond NP problems.

(buttondown.com)

Development NP problems halting problem

Datalog Engine in miniKanren and WebAssembly

2025-06-15

This article details a Datalog engine built using Scheme and the miniKanren library, running in the browser via WebAssembly. The engine implements core Datalog features: fact assertion, rule definition, and fixpoint iteration. The author thoroughly explains the implementation details of data structures, indexing mechanisms, and rule application, providing a graph traversal example. This project demonstrates the potential of functional and logical programming techniques for building efficient database systems, leveraging WebAssembly for cross-platform execution.

(deosjr.github.io)

Development

Have I Been Pwned: The Next Generation

2025-05-19

Have I Been Pwned: The Next Generation

After years of development, the hugely popular data breach search engine, Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), has launched a completely redesigned website. This massive overhaul includes a rebuilt website architecture, enhanced search functionality (complete with celebratory confetti!), dedicated breach pages with actionable advice, a unified dashboard, and even a brand new merchandise store! The API remains unchanged, ensuring backwards compatibility. AI tools significantly assisted the development process. The result is a faster, more user-friendly experience while retaining HIBP's signature straightforward approach to providing crucial data breach information.

(www.troyhunt.com)

Tech website redesign

Mitochondria: The Social Networks of Cells and Human Health

2025-05-21

Mitochondria: The Social Networks of Cells and Human Health

This article delves into the social nature of mitochondria—the powerhouses of cells—and their impact on human health. The author, drawing on personal research experiences, reveals that mitochondria not only generate energy but also maintain cellular and organismal health through communication, fusion, and information exchange, like a complex social network. Mitochondrial dysfunction is closely linked to various diseases, including diabetes, cancer, autism, and neurodegenerative disorders. The article also explores how exercise, social connection, and ketogenic diets promote mitochondrial health, thereby improving physical and mental well-being, and suggests that maintaining energy flow through the mitochondrial collective may be key to good health and a meaningful life.

(www.scientificamerican.com)

Tech cellular energy health longevity

Harvard Rejects Federal Government's Attempt to Control Academic Freedom

2025-04-14

Harvard Rejects Federal Government's Attempt to Control Academic Freedom

Harvard University President Alan Garber issued a letter strongly condemning the federal government's attempt to interfere with the university's academic freedom and internal governance under the guise of combating antisemitism. The government's demands go beyond addressing antisemitism, encompassing direct control over Harvard's intellectual environment, including auditing viewpoints and limiting the power of specific individuals. Harvard argues these demands violate the First Amendment, exceed the government's authority under Title VI, and refuses to comply, vowing to defend its academic independence and constitutional rights. Harvard reaffirms its commitment to fighting antisemitism while upholding academic freedom and open inquiry.

(www.harvard.edu)

Misc government intervention Harvard University

Zyxel Firewall Bricked by Buggy Update: On-Site Fix Required

2025-01-29

Zyxel Firewall Bricked by Buggy Update: On-Site Fix Required

A faulty application signature update released by Zyxel last Friday is causing reboot loops, ZySH daemon failures, and login issues for some users. Affected devices include USG Flex and ATP Series devices running ZLD firmware with active security licenses and dedicated signature updates enabled in on-premises/standalone mode. The only workaround requires physical access to the firewall via a console/RS232 cable for recovery. Zyxel has disabled the application signature on its servers to prevent further impact.

(www.theregister.com)

Hardware Software Bug

Reviving WWII-Era Process Improvement: A Tool for Modern Efficiency

2025-04-02

Reviving WWII-Era Process Improvement: A Tool for Modern Efficiency

This article announces a project to recreate and update the Work Simplification Program, a WWII-era government process improvement tool. The goal is to make process improvement accessible to ordinary citizens and local organizations, not just large corporations. The project, hosted on a website called "Standards," aims to help identify and eliminate inefficient processes, leading to greater efficiency and improved public services. Unlike modern corporate approaches focusing on short-term cost-cutting, this program emphasizes long-term effectiveness and citizen experience. The team has already digitized the original training manuals and plans to recreate other materials like process charts.

(www.governance.fyi)

Tech process improvement

Maldives Fights Rising Seas with Self-Assembling Island Tech

2025-04-22

Maldives Fights Rising Seas with Self-Assembling Island Tech

Off the coast of Malé, researchers are testing a novel approach to combat rising sea levels: growing islands. The 'Growing Islands' project utilizes self-assembling technology, deploying a structure called the 'Ramp Ring'—six large geotextile bladders that passively capture sand year-round. Unlike previous experiments limited by seasonal currents, the Ramp Ring's omnidirectional design allows for continuous sand accumulation, offering a promising solution for island building and beach restoration. This technology holds potential for global application in similar coastal environments.

(www.technologyreview.com)

Tech island building

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