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Nostr Protocol Basics: Events, Signatures, and Communication

2024-12-23

Nostr's NIP-01 outlines its core mechanics. Each user has a keypair, using Schnorr signatures on the secp256k1 curve. The core is the event, containing fields like ID, pubkey, timestamp, kind, tags, content, and signature. The event ID is the SHA256 hash of the serialized event data. Tags reference other events or users, with three standard tags defined: e (references an event), p (references a user), and a (references an addressable event). Event kinds define their meaning; NIP-01 defines two basic kinds: user metadata and text notes, and specifies how different kind ranges are handled (regular, replaceable, ephemeral, and addressable). Clients communicate with relays via websockets, sending events, requesting events, and closing subscriptions. Relays return events matching filters and send OK, EOSE, CLOSED, and NOTICE messages.

(github.com)

AI blockchain decentralized social

Introducing NDEF: The Language of NFC

2024-12-19

This chapter introduces the Near Field Communication (NFC) Data Exchange Format (NDEF), the common language for NFC devices and tags. NDEF is a binary format structured in messages, each containing several records. Each record comprises a header (metadata) and a payload (content). The chapter details the structure of NDEF records, including Type Name Format, Payload Type, Payload Identifier, and Payload, and shows how to write and read NDEF-formatted messages using Android apps. It also covers NDEF message size limits and record chunking for larger payloads. Finally, a sample application demonstrates creating a simple NFC tag writer app using the PhoneGap-NFC plugin, writing NDEF messages to tags to launch the Foursquare app.

(www.oreilly.com)

Development

Implementing Raft: A Deep Dive into Distributed Consensus

2024-12-21

This is the first post in a series detailing the Raft distributed consensus algorithm and its Go implementation. Raft solves the problem of replicating a deterministic state machine across multiple servers, ensuring service availability even with server failures. The post introduces core Raft components: the state machine, log, consensus module, leader/follower roles, and client interaction. It discusses Raft's fault tolerance, the CAP theorem, and the choice of Go as the implementation language. Subsequent posts will delve into the algorithm's implementation.

(eli.thegreenplace.net)

Development Distributed Consensus

The Academic Great Gatsby Curve: How Much of Academic Success Is Inherited?

2024-12-21

A new study reveals that academic success mirrors the inheritance of wealth and social status. Analyzing data from over 245,000 mentor-mentee pairs, researchers found that the more unequal the citation distribution within a discipline, the more likely a mentee's citation ranking reflects their mentor's. This suggests academic success is shaped by structural forces similar to those governing social mobility, where the advantage of a top mentor creates a self-reinforcing cycle of success. While acknowledging the benefits of top mentorship, the study cautions against relying solely on citation metrics, advocating for greater academic equity and equal opportunity.

(blogs.lse.ac.uk)

AI academic success mentor-mentee relationships academic inequality

Grayjay App: Follow Creators, Not Platforms

2024-12-20

Grayjay is a multi-platform video player that aggregates content from YouTube, PeerTube, Twitch, and more, eliminating the need to switch between different platforms. Prioritizing user privacy, it stores watch history locally and offers data import/export and auto-backup. Features include a personalized content feed, screen casting, and Harbor integration for connecting with audiences and monetizing content.

(grayjay.app)

Development video player cross-platform

German Regulator Orders Sam Altman's Worldcoin to Delete Biometric Data

2024-12-22

Germany's Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA) has ordered World, a biometric identification project co-founded by Sam Altman, to delete user data. The BayLDA found World's data collection practices violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), citing significant data protection risks. World uses a device called an 'Orb' to scan irises and faces for identification. The company has appealed the decision, seeking clarification on whether its privacy-enhancing technologies meet the EU's definition of anonymization.

(www.euronews.com)

Tech

Genesis: A Revolutionary Universal Physics Engine

2024-12-19

Genesis is a general-purpose physics platform designed for Robotics/Embodied AI/Physical AI applications. It's a multifaceted tool: a universal physics engine built from the ground up, simulating diverse materials and phenomena; a lightweight, ultrafast, Pythonic, and user-friendly robotics simulation platform; a powerful, fast photorealistic rendering system; and a generative data engine transforming natural language descriptions into various data modalities. Genesis aims to lower the barrier to entry for physics simulations, making robotics research accessible; unify state-of-the-art physics solvers; and minimize human effort in data collection and generation. The underlying physics engine and simulation platform are open-source, with the generative framework to be released soon.

(genesis-world.readthedocs.io)

AI physics engine robotics simulation generative AI

Bloom Filters: The Secret to Making SQLite 10x Faster

2024-12-22

Researchers cleverly used Bloom filters to make SQLite analytical queries 10x faster. They discovered that SQLite's nested loop joins were inefficient, with much time spent on B-tree probes. By using a Bloom filter before the join operation to quickly filter out rows unlikely to match, and then performing B-tree probes only on potential matches, the number of probes was significantly reduced. Bloom filters have minimal memory overhead and were easy to integrate into SQLite's existing query engine, resulting in a significant performance boost. This improvement has been integrated into SQLite v3.38.0.

(avi.im)

Development Bloom filters Database optimization

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening: A Reflective Pause

2024-12-22

Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" paints a serene and evocative winter scene. The speaker pauses by a snow-covered wood, contemplating the quiet beauty of the night. His horse seems puzzled by the unscheduled stop, mirroring the speaker's own internal conflict between the allure of the tranquil woods and the responsibilities that await. The poem's enduring appeal lies in its elegant imagery and profound reflection on life's commitments.

(poets.org)

Misc poetry Robert Frost nature

FindMy.py: An All-in-One Python Library for Querying Apple's FindMy Network

2024-12-21

FindMy.py is a Python library providing everything needed to query Apple's FindMy network. It unifies the fragmented Find My ecosystem, offering a cross-platform solution supporting various devices (AirTags, iDevices, etc.) and authentication methods (including SMS and Trusted Device 2FA). It features both async and sync APIs. Currently in Alpha, the API may change, but core functionality is stable.

(github.com)

Development

The Future of Dashboard Design?

2024-12-23

This article explores the shortcomings of current dashboard design. The author points out that existing dashboards are often poorly designed and fail to effectively utilize the human visual system to process large amounts of information. The article reviews cognitive systems engineering research from the 80s and 90s on dashboard design, such as ecological interface design and visual momentum, and notes the current industry's lack of focus on improving dashboard design. The author calls for greater attention to dashboard design, to better integrate query functions and improve information processing efficiency.

(surfingcomplexity.blog)

Development dashboard design observability user interface

ByteDance Open-Sources Monolith, its Recommendation System Framework

2024-12-20

ByteDance has open-sourced Monolith, a deep learning framework for large-scale recommendation modeling. Built on TensorFlow, it supports batch and real-time training and serving. Key features include collisionless embedding tables ensuring unique representation for different ID features, and real-time training for capturing the latest trends and helping users discover new interests. Tutorials and demos are provided to facilitate usage.

(github.com)

AI Recommendation System

The Rise and Fall of New York's Grand Penn Station

2024-12-21

Opened in 1910, New York's Pennsylvania Station, covering eight acres, was an architectural marvel, a Classical gateway to the city. Its Roman Baths-inspired waiting room soared 148 feet high. Yet, just 54 years later, this magnificent station was demolished, replaced by the current, widely criticized transit hub. This article recounts the station's history, from its conception and construction by McKim, Mead, & White to its controversial demolition, highlighting the changing transportation landscape and the impact on urban development and preservation efforts. The loss of Penn Station ultimately led to the creation of the Landmarks Preservation Commission.

(ny.curbed.com)

Misc Pennsylvania Station Architectural History Urban Development

Cancer Risk Decreases with Age: Study Unveils Key Protein NUPR1

2024-12-22

A new study sheds light on why cancer risk declines after age 80. Researchers found that elevated levels of a protein called NUPR1 in older mice caused cells to behave as if iron-deficient, limiting cell regeneration and thus suppressing both healthy and cancerous growth. The same mechanism was observed in human cells. Lowering NUPR1 or increasing iron levels boosted cell growth. This discovery could lead to new cancer therapies targeting iron metabolism, particularly in older individuals, and may improve lung function in those with long-term COVID-19 effects. The study also suggests that ferroptosis-based cancer treatments are less effective in older cells due to their functional iron deficiency, highlighting the importance of early intervention. Preventing carcinogenic exposures in younger individuals is even more crucial than previously thought.

(www.sciencealert.com)

Tech cancer NUPR1 protein

America's Unexpected Health Boom: A Mystery Solved?

2024-12-19

Recent data reveals an unexpected improvement in American health, with decreases in drug overdose deaths, traffic fatalities, obesity rates, and murder rates. This contrasts sharply with America's long-standing image as a "rich death trap." While some attribute this to effective policies like increased access to drug addiction treatment and expanded availability of Narcan, experts suggest these policies' impact might be overstated. Other factors, such as the natural decline in overdose deaths post-pandemic and changes in law enforcement, likely played a role. The precise causes of this improvement remain unclear, highlighting the complexities of reality often obscured by simplistic explanations.

(www.theatlantic.com)

Misc American health drug overdose obesity

ScyllaDB Shifts to Single Enterprise Edition, Offers Free Tier

2024-12-25

ScyllaDB announced a strategic shift to focus on a single release stream: ScyllaDB Enterprise, ending its AGPL-licensed open-source offering. A free tier of ScyllaDB Enterprise will be available to the community, including all performance, efficiency, and security features previously reserved for the Enterprise edition. The free tier is limited to 50 vCPUs and 10TB of total storage. This simplifies the product line while providing a powerful free option for users.

(forum.scylladb.com)

Development

uBlock Origin: A Highly Efficient Ad Blocker

2024-12-23

uBlock Origin (uBO) is a highly efficient and lightweight content blocker for Chromium and Firefox browsers. It blocks ads, trackers, coin miners, and malware by default using multiple filter lists like EasyList and EasyPrivacy. Users can customize blocking rules and choose between a simple or advanced interface. Crucially, uBO emphasizes that using an ad blocker is not theft, but a means of protecting user privacy. The project is open-source and relies on community-maintained filter lists.

(github.com)

Development ad blocker

Java JEP 483: Ahead-of-Time Class Loading & Linking Boosts Startup Time

2024-12-22

JEP 483 significantly improves Java application startup time by loading and linking application classes ahead of time when the HotSpot JVM starts. It achieves this by monitoring a single application run, storing the loaded and linked forms of all classes in a cache for reuse in subsequent runs. This feature requires no code changes and offers substantial speed improvements for large server applications, such as Spring PetClinic showing a 42% reduction in startup time. While currently a two-step process, future versions will streamline cache creation to a single step and offer more flexible training run configuration.

(openjdk.org)

Development

Tracking Down Bulgarian Marketplace Scammers: A Programmer's Undercover Investigation

2024-12-23

A programmer, while selling an item on an online marketplace, fell victim to a sophisticated scam involving a phishing website and fake courier information. Driven by personal reasons, he launched an investigation, uncovering a vast Bulgarian-based scam operation utilizing a custom Node.js system and Telegram bots. The investigation revealed the group's organizational structure, members' identities, and operational methods, implicating thousands across multiple European countries. Despite reporting, such scams are difficult to eradicate.

(sy1.sh)

Tech online scam

Electric Car Batteries Outlast Expectations, Potentially Lasting 20+ Years

2024-12-24

Studies of thousands of electric vehicles reveal that EV batteries are lasting far longer than anticipated, potentially exceeding 20 years. Contrary to the common belief that EV batteries require expensive replacements after a few years, research shows they can retain 87% of their original capacity even after 300,000 kilometers. This is largely attributed to less frequent charging and improvements in battery management systems. While rapid charging and hot climates accelerate battery degradation, the overall trend is positive, with some models showing an annual degradation rate of just 1.8%. This could significantly disrupt the automotive industry, as EVs offer lower maintenance costs and longer lifespans, potentially revolutionizing the traditional 15-year car lifespan.

(www.wired.com)

Tech electric vehicles battery lifespan battery management systems

Retro Revival: Bringing a Tandy Coco Back Online with FujiNet

2024-12-20

This article details the author's journey in connecting an old Tandy Coco computer to the internet using the FujiNet project, an ambitious open-source initiative aiming to be the only peripheral needed for vintage computers. The author faced challenges during the assembly process, including soldering difficulties, hardware bugs, and software compatibility issues. Despite these hurdles, they successfully connected to the internet and ran various applications, including an ISS tracker and games. The experience highlights the vibrancy of the open-source community and the potential of retrocomputing, showcasing the fun of hardware repair and software development.

(www.leadedsolder.com)

Tech internet connectivity

Botan: A Modern C++ Cryptography Toolkit

2024-12-19

Botan is a powerful, open-source C++ cryptography library released under the permissive Simplified BSD license. It aims to be the best option for cryptography in C++, offering tools for implementing various systems like TLS, X.509 certificates, modern AEAD ciphers, PKCS#11 and TPM hardware support, password hashing, and post-quantum crypto schemes. A Python binding is included, with other language bindings available. A feature-rich command-line interface is also provided. Botan 3.6.1 is the latest release and is available through many distributions including Fedora, Debian, Arch, and Homebrew.

(github.com)

Development Cryptography

Looking Backward: A Utopian Novel Reflecting American Social Contradictions

2024-12-21

Edward Bellamy's 1888 bestseller, *Looking Backward, 2000-1887*, depicted a utopian America in the year 2000, free from poverty and social unrest. The protagonist time-travels to experience this society where the state controls resources and equality reigns. However, the novel is not merely idealistic; it reflects the stark inequalities, worker exploitation, and political corruption of late 19th-century America. Bellamy offered a solution to these problems, albeit one that appears naive and utopian today. Despite its dated aspects, the novel's exploration of social conflict and the pursuit of justice remains relevant.

(www.laphamsquarterly.org)

Misc Utopia Social Inequality American History

Decoding the Telephony Signals in Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'

2024-12-22

A telecom hardware engineer decoded the telephony signals in a scene from Pink Floyd's 'The Wall'. The audio clip, featuring dial tones, rapid tone combinations, and an answer tone, was analyzed using spectrograms. By comparing the frequencies to known standards (DTMF, CAS R2, SS5), the engineer identified the signaling as SS5 and decoded the number as 044 1831. This analysis not only showcases the engineer's expertise but also reveals insights into the film's sound design and suggests a possible connection to a real-life London number.

(corelatus.com)

Tech signal decoding telecommunications

Google Search: Quality Decline Sparks User Frustration

2024-12-18

SEO expert Elie Berreby highlights a significant decline in Google Search quality, leading to widespread user dissatisfaction. Analyzing user feedback from non-official channels like YouTube comments, he reveals complaints about deteriorating search results, excessive advertising, and AI overviews stealing content. Google's strategy seems to prioritize monetization over user experience, potentially driving users towards alternative search engines. The article serves as a warning to Google, suggesting dire consequences if improvements aren't made.

(semking.com)

1

AI Google Search Search Engine Quality AI Content Theft

Journal Removed from Science Index for Publishing Faulty Study

2024-12-23

The journal Chemosphere has been removed from the Web of Science after failing to meet quality criteria. This follows the retraction of eight articles this month and the publication of 60 expressions of concern since April. A highly publicized study on black plastics and toxic flame retardants, published in Chemosphere, was corrected due to a mathematical error that significantly underestimated exposure levels. Despite the correction, the study's conclusions remained unchanged, sparking controversy.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech academic journal retraction research quality

C++: A Resurgence of Programming Fun

2024-12-23

The author reflects on over a decade of programming, lamenting that languages like JavaScript, Python, and Ruby failed to recapture the joy he felt coding as a child. Recently, while developing a roguelike game using C++, he rediscovered that programming fun. He argues that C++ was once notorious for the overuse of template metaprogramming, but since C++11, the standards committee's efforts have revitalized the language. Additions like auto type inference, nullptr, and range-based for loops have significantly improved developer experience and efficiency. Modern C++ is powerful, boasting rich libraries and tools, yet avoids the negative aspects of excessive popularity. The relatively pure community allows developers to focus on creation, which is the essence of programming enjoyment.

(learncodethehardway.com)

Development

Hugging Face Open-Sources 'Search and Learn'

2024-12-20

Hugging Face has open-sourced a project called 'Search and Learn,' focusing on the scalability of search and learning methods with massive computation. The project includes replicable experimental results with provided code and configuration files. The research highlights the power of general-purpose methods in scaling with increased computation, emphasizing search and learning as two methods that demonstrate excellent scalability.

(github.com)

AI Model Scaling

The Age of Average: Design Homogenization in the Modern World

2024-12-13

From interior design to automobiles and movie posters, a striking homogeneity pervades modern design. The article uses the example of Komar and Melamid's 'People's Choice' paintings to illustrate the surprising uniformity of aesthetic preferences. The sameness of Airbnb interiors, fast-casual architecture, car designs, and brand logos and advertising all exemplify this trend. The author argues this 'Age of Average' isn't accidental but a result of factors like technological constraints, cost pressures, and market convergence. However, this also presents an opportunity; bold brands and courageous companies that dare to be different and distinctive can thrive.

(www.alexmurrell.co.uk)

3

Design design homogenization aesthetic convergence age of average

Is Saving Online Content Worth It? A Blogger's Reflection

2024-12-21

While organizing his online bookmarks, blogger Ruben Schade discovered that most of his years of accumulated links were broken or altered, leading him to reflect on the meaning of preserving online content. He realized the ephemeral nature of the internet and the vulnerability of even the Internet Archive. Although he has saved a large amount of potentially worthless personal blogs, podcasts, and videos, he believes these constitute valuable time capsules of personal memories and history, worthy of preservation. Ultimately, he argues that the value of saving online content lies in its historical significance and personal memories, while the challenge lies in how to achieve efficient and economical preservation.

(rubenerd.com)

Misc online archiving digital legacy

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