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AI Winter Bites: NZ Tech Job Market Stagnant, Immigrants Face Headwinds

2025-06-03

AI Winter Bites: NZ Tech Job Market Stagnant, Immigrants Face Headwinds

New Zealand's tech sector is facing a downturn in 2025, with layoffs at major companies and the expansion of AI exacerbating job pressures. Microsoft cut 6,000 jobs, and New Zealand's health sector also slashed IT roles. A 12-year veteran software engineer from China, James Zhang, struggled to find work in New Zealand, citing ageism in the Chinese tech industry and visa challenges. While job ads have slightly increased, competition remains fierce, with immigrants facing additional hurdles. Many are forced to upskill or pursue further education.

(www.rnz.co.nz)

Tech

US Tariffs Trigger a European Cloud & AI Shakeup

2025-04-07

US Tariffs Trigger a European Cloud & AI Shakeup

New US tariffs are hitting global supply chains, significantly impacting European companies reliant on US-based hardware and cloud services. The cost of servers, networking equipment, and GPUs is soaring, driving up cloud prices and increasing AI development costs. This isn't just a financial issue; it's strategic. European businesses must adapt, shifting to EU cloud providers (like OVHcloud, IONOS), reassessing hardware sourcing, and monitoring potential EU countermeasures. This trade dispute could fragment the AI and cloud market, making regional resilience crucial.

(spark.temrel.com)

Tech

RealPage Sues Berkeley Over Algorithmic Rent-Setting Ban

2025-04-05

RealPage Sues Berkeley Over Algorithmic Rent-Setting Ban

RealPage, a real estate software company, filed a lawsuit against Berkeley, California, over a city ordinance banning landlords from using algorithms to set rent. RealPage claims the ordinance violates its free speech rights and is based on misinformation about its products. Berkeley argues the algorithms contribute to rising rents, while RealPage counters that a lack of housing supply is the primary driver. The Department of Justice previously sued RealPage for alleged cartel-like price collusion. San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis have passed similar ordinances. RealPage is considering legal action against other cities.

(apnews.com)

Tech

Massive City Data Analysis Requests: A Large-Scale Data Science Project

2025-04-13

This list comprises a large number of city data analysis requests, covering vaccination rates, flood risk assessments, correlations between diseases and environmental factors, renewable energy adoption rates, transportation impacts, housing prices, crime rates, education funding, air quality, and more. These requests span numerous neighborhoods across multiple US cities, requiring extensive data collection and analysis—a massive data science undertaking.

(askcrystal.info)

Misc

Virtual Threads Ate My Memory: A Web Crawler's Tale

2025-05-30

Virtual Threads Ate My Memory: A Web Crawler's Tale

This post details a developer's experience building a web crawler with Java's Virtual Threads. Initially, performance soared, but the crawler crashed with an `OutOfMemoryError`. The author explains how they used Virtual Threads to dramatically increase speed, then shows how they fixed the memory issue by introducing a semaphore to limit concurrent tasks. The comparison between platform threads and Virtual Threads highlights the need for explicit resource management when using Virtual Threads, as the JVM's implicit backpressure mechanisms no longer apply. The author concludes that while Virtual Threads offer significant performance gains, developers must carefully manage resources to avoid memory problems.

(dariobalinzo.medium.com)

Development Virtual Threads Web Crawler

SSA Moves to X, Sparking Concerns Amidst Massive Layoffs

2025-04-11

SSA Moves to X, Sparking Concerns Amidst Massive Layoffs

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is shifting its public communication exclusively to X, abandoning press releases and internal memos. This comes amidst significant staff cuts, raising concerns about access to information for beneficiaries and employees. While the White House claims the move optimizes service delivery, sources reveal an approximately 87% reduction in regional office staff. This aligns with Elon Musk's efforts to downsize the federal workforce and highlights the role and potential risks of X as a primary information source.

(www.wired.com)

Tech Social Security Administration

Italian Gov't Suspected of Mass Surveillance on Journalists Using Israeli Spyware

2025-06-12

Italian Gov't Suspected of Mass Surveillance on Journalists Using Israeli Spyware

Citizen Lab's new report reveals that government spyware from Israeli surveillance tech provider Paragon was used to hack at least two European journalists, including Italian journalist Ciro Pellegrino. This follows WhatsApp's earlier notification to roughly 90 users about Paragon's 'Graphite' spyware. The findings further implicate the Italian government in a potential mass surveillance operation. While Italy's parliamentary committee COPASIR denies targeting journalists, new forensic evidence challenges this claim, sparking a political controversy over the government's use of spyware and its implications for freedom of the press.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech journalists

Strange Islands: From Country-Switching Isles to Vanishing Lands

2025-02-08

This article explores a collection of unusual islands, from Pheasant Island, which switches countries every six months, to Ailsa Craig, the granite supplier for Olympic curling stones, and Hans Island, the insignificant rock that sparked a Danish-Canadian war. Other islands mentioned include the purported location of Amelia Earhart's demise (Nikumaroro Island) and the world's most remote inhabited island (Tristan da Cunha). These islands stand out for their unique geographical features or intriguing histories, showcasing the diversity and mystery of islands worldwide.

(amanvir.com)

Misc islands geography oddities

Eight Sleep's Security Nightmare: Backdoors and Exposed AWS Keys

2025-02-21

Eight Sleep's Security Nightmare: Backdoors and Exposed AWS Keys

The author discovered critical security flaws in their Eight Sleep smart bed: exposed AWS keys and a backdoor allowing Eight Sleep engineers remote SSH access. This means engineers can access the bed's Linux system, obtain sleep data, and potentially control other devices on the home network. The author switched to a cheap aquarium chiller, achieving similar temperature control without the security risks. This raises concerns about IoT device security and the ethical implications of companies collecting user data.

(trufflesecurity.com)

Tech

Running DOOM from a QR Code: A Tale of Extreme Compression

2025-04-18

Running DOOM from a QR Code: A Tale of Extreme Compression

Programmer Kuber Mehta has achieved the seemingly impossible: running the classic game DOOM directly from a QR code! Dubbed 'The Backdooms,' this project utilizes zlib and gzip compression, base64 encoding, and a cleverly designed self-extracting HTML wrapper to deliver a fully playable DOOM experience without any downloads. The development journey was fraught with challenges, requiring iterative adjustments to compression ratios and QR code versions. This incredible feat showcases the power of extreme compression and innovative application design, a testament to programmer ingenuity and perseverance.

(github.com)

Game QR Code Game Compression

Unraveling Predator-Prey Cycles: The Lotka-Volterra Equations

2025-04-13

The Lotka-Volterra equations, also known as the Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model, are a pair of first-order nonlinear differential equations often used to describe the dynamics of biological systems where two species interact, one as a predator and the other as prey. The model assumes prey have unlimited food and reproduce exponentially unless preyed upon; the predation rate is proportional to the rate at which predators and prey meet. Predator population growth depends on the predation rate and is affected by natural death rate. The model's solutions are deterministic and continuous, meaning predator and prey generations continuously overlap. The Lotka-Volterra model predicts fluctuating predator and prey population numbers and reveals characteristics of population equilibrium: prey equilibrium density depends on predator parameters, while predator equilibrium density depends on prey parameters. The model has found applications in economics and marketing, describing dynamics in markets with multiple competitors, complementary platforms, and products.

(en.wikipedia.org)

AI Lotka-Volterra equations predator-prey model

Hands-On Guide to Large Language Models: Code and Illustrations Included

2025-04-19

Hands-On Guide to Large Language Models: Code and Illustrations Included

Jay Alammar and Maarten Grootendorst's new book, "Hands-On Large Language Models," provides a practical and visually rich guide to understanding and using LLMs. The book features numerous illustrations and accompanying code examples, making complex concepts accessible to a broad audience. With its comprehensive coverage and readily available code repository, it's a valuable resource for both beginners and experienced developers.

(github.com)

AI

Modern CMake: A Guide to Ditching Terrible Build Systems

2025-04-15

Tired of wrestling with frustrating build systems? This guide introduces Modern CMake (3.15+), a clean, powerful, and elegant solution that lets you focus on coding instead of battling unmaintainable build files. The author argues for choosing a robust build system, especially for cross-platform development, multiple compilers, CI/CD integration, and utilizing tools like Clang-Tidy. CMake stands out due to its wide IDE support and extensive community resources. The article recommends using a suitable minimum CMake version (3.15 or higher) and setting a maximum version for long-term compatibility, saving developers countless hours of frustration.

(cliutils.gitlab.io)

Development

Bungie's Content Vault: A Digital Black Hole?

2025-03-02

Bungie's Content Vault: A Digital Black Hole?

In a bizarre twist in a copyright lawsuit, Bungie is unable to provide the court with evidence of early Destiny 2 content, including the Red War campaign, due to its “content vault” system. This reveals the vault isn't simply storage; it functions more as a content shredder, inaccessible even to Bungie itself. This explains the scarcity of returning original Destiny 2 content, while remakes of Destiny 1 content are more common. Unless significant effort is made, the content within the vault is likely lost forever.

(www.forbes.com)

Game content management copyright lawsuit

Charts.css: A JavaScript-Free Responsive Chart Framework

2025-04-12

Charts.css is a lightweight, open-source charting framework that allows you to create various responsive charts, such as area, column, and line charts, without needing JavaScript. It uses semantic HTML, making it easy to customize styling and access data, and boasts excellent accessibility. The framework is small (76kb, 7kb gzipped), performs exceptionally well, has zero external dependencies, and is ideal for building lightweight web applications.

(chartscss.org)

Development chart framework responsive design

Parisian Panic: A Cascade Delete Disaster in Production

2025-06-21

Parisian Panic: A Cascade Delete Disaster in Production

A software engineer working at Joe AI, a Paris-based real estate startup, accidentally deleted a user record in the production database, triggering a cascade delete that wiped out three months of crucial data. While some data was recovered by upgrading to a paid Supabase plan, the incident highlighted the risks of directly manipulating production databases and the critical need for robust backup strategies. The disaster ultimately spurred the team to improve their development workflow, setting up local Supabase instances, leading to increased efficiency. The experience underscores the importance of learning from mistakes and embracing a culture of risk-taking and iterative improvement.

(vince.beehiiv.com)

Development database incident cascade delete production environment

Model Context Protocol (MCP): A New Standard for Building Powerful LLM Applications

2025-04-13

This article introduces the Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open protocol for building enterprise-grade Large Language Model (LLM) applications. MCP solves the problem of a lack of standardization in integrating LLMs with enterprise tools, allowing frameworks like LangChain to seamlessly integrate with various data sources and tools such as databases and GitHub. The article details MCP's core components (MCP server, client, and host), installation setup, and Python hands-on demonstrations. These include building a LangChain application to calculate simple and compound interest using Ollama, and interacting with multiple MCP servers using both stdio and sse transport modes. With MCP, LLM applications can more effectively leverage enterprise data and tools for more powerful functionality.

(www.polarsparc.com)

Development Tool Integration MCP Protocol

$10,000 Bounty: ISBN Visualization Contest Winners Announced

2025-02-27

$10,000 Bounty: ISBN Visualization Contest Winners Announced

Anna's Archive held a $10,000 bounty contest for the best visualization of its ISBN data, highlighting archived and unarchived books. The contest attracted numerous creative entries, resulting in four winners: one $6,000 prize, one $3,000 prize, and four $500 prizes. The first-place winner impressed with its flexible options, smooth performance, and simple implementation; the second-place entry excelled in its macro-level visualization and intuitive UI. The remaining third-place winners showcased unique strengths such as multiple views, comparison features, and flexible tools. The contest not only yielded superior visualization tools for Anna's Archive but also demonstrated global developer enthusiasm for knowledge sharing and cultural preservation.

(annas-archive.org)

Tech contest

Open Source PebbleOS Lives On: SiFli Chip Powers Core Time 2

2025-05-14

Open Source PebbleOS Lives On: SiFli Chip Powers Core Time 2

This post, the first in a series on building a smartwatch, details the selection of the SiFli SF32LB52J chip for the Core Time 2 smartwatch. The author recounts past experiences with the STM32F2 in original Pebble watches, highlighting the crucial considerations of software compatibility, power consumption, and cost when choosing a microcontroller unit (MCU). The SiFli chip ultimately won out due to its 512KB SRAM, 16MB PSRAM, low power consumption, and open-source SDK, breathing new life into the open-source PebbleOS ecosystem.

(ericmigi.com)

Hardware chip selection

A 37-Year-Old's Decade-Long Journey into Computer Science

2025-07-05

A 37-year-old teacher, after a non-linear career path, embarks on a decade-long journey into computer science. He's not a complete beginner, having built websites and possessing some web development experience. Driven by a passion for creation and supported by his wife, he aims to master API design, database building, operating systems, networking, driver development, and more. His goal isn't just a job, but to build applications like community apps, streaming devices, and educational tools, potentially even launching his own venture. This is a testament to lifelong learning and self-challenge.

(initcoder.com)

Development lifelong learning

Finding the Best Restaurants in Colorado Springs with LLMs and the Google Places API

2025-02-15

Finding the Best Restaurants in Colorado Springs with LLMs and the Google Places API

This post details a data science project using LLMs and the Google Places API to identify the best restaurants in Colorado Springs. The author navigated the complexities of Google API registration, data cleaning (including removing irrelevant entries like synagogues and shops), and experimented with ranking algorithms like Bayesian Average and Wilson Score Interval before settling on the latter. The final output includes a ranked list of restaurants and heatmaps visualizing their locations, revealing interesting geographical patterns in the city's culinary scene.

(mattsayar.com)

Development

Bikini Atoll: An Ecological Miracle Amidst Atomic Scars

2025-03-15

Bikini Atoll: An Ecological Miracle Amidst Atomic Scars

Nearly 60 years after 23 nuclear detonations scarred Bikini Atoll, it appears as an idyllic Pacific paradise once again. However, Stanford professor Stephen Palumbi's research reveals a surprising ecological recovery near Bravo Crater, the site of the most powerful US bomb ever detonated. Flourishing coral reefs and fish populations exist despite the devastation. Palumbi's team will sequence the genomes of corals and coconut crabs to study genetic mutations and adaptation to radiation, with potential applications in cancer research. This research highlights the ocean's resilience while serving as a stark reminder of the past and the importance of preventing similar disasters.

(medium.com)

Tech nuclear testing ecological recovery genomic research

AI Democratizes Creation: Judgement, Not Skill, Is King

2025-06-02

In 1995, Brian Eno presciently noted that computer sequencers shifted the focus in music production from skill to judgment. This insight perfectly mirrors the AI revolution. AI tools are democratizing creative and professional tasks, lowering the technical barriers to entry for everyone from writing to coding. However, the true value now lies in discerning what to create, making informed choices from countless options, evaluating quality, and understanding context. The future of work will prioritize strategic judgment over technical execution, demanding professionals who can ask the right questions, frame problems effectively, and guide AI tools towards meaningful outcomes.

(notsocommonthoughts.com)

AI Judgment

The 1890s Kinetoscope: A Precursor to AI's Loneliness?

2025-02-05

The 1890s Kinetoscope: A Precursor to AI's Loneliness?

This article draws parallels between the single-user Kinetoscope of the 1890s and today's AI technology, particularly large language models. The article argues that both technologies, while offering mass-produced content, create a simultaneously interconnected yet atomized experience, resulting in a new kind of technological loneliness. The author explores the historical context of Edison's invention and its surprisingly prescient design choice, highlighting the uncanny resemblance to our current reliance on personalized algorithmic feeds and AI companions. It prompts reflection on the direction of technological progress and its impact on individual experience.

(resobscura.substack.com)

AI Loneliness

Stop Explaining e with Compound Interest

2025-04-11

Math classes often introduce the natural constant *e* using compound interest: a 100% annual interest account doubles with yearly compounding, becomes 2.25 times with semi-annual compounding, approximately 2.714 times with daily compounding, and exactly *e* times with continuous compounding. However, this is misleading. Compound growth is exponential, but the example uses linear division of compounding periods. Banks must separately publish the interest rate, compounding interval, and annual percentage yield. There are far more elegant ways to introduce *e*, such as its unique property of being its own derivative, or its crucial role in Euler's formula. These approaches don't require prior knowledge of *e* and are mathematically more rigorous.

(blog.danielh.cc)

Misc math natural constant e compound interest

Founding Engineer: AI-Native Ops for Mental Healthcare

2025-04-10

Founding Engineer: AI-Native Ops for Mental Healthcare

Legion Health (YC S21, $1M+ ARR) is hiring a Founding Engineer to build AI-native care infrastructure. They've already built a real-time, AI-powered backend supporting 2000+ patients with a robust tech stack (Node.js, Next.js, TypeScript, Supabase, AWS). This role demands full-stack expertise, encompassing backend architecture, LLM agent infrastructure, human-AI UX, and data compliance. It's a high-impact opportunity for engineers eager to pioneer AI in healthcare.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Development Mental Health Tech Full-Stack Engineering

OpenAI's PostgreSQL at Scale: Best Practices and Challenges

2025-05-23

At PGConf.dev 2025, OpenAI shared its best practices for using PostgreSQL, revealing insights into database usage at one of the world's leading AI companies. They utilize a single-writer, multi-reader, unsharded architecture, successfully handling massive read loads for its 500 million active users. However, write requests became a bottleneck, prompting optimizations including load control on the primary database (offloading writes, lazy writes), query optimization (avoiding long transactions, optimizing complex queries), addressing single points of failure (prioritizing high-priority requests), and careful schema management (restricting schema changes). Despite these efforts, OpenAI encountered challenges related to index management, observability, and schema change history, prompting suggestions for PostgreSQL improvements. Veteran PostgreSQL expert Lao Feng provided insights based on his experience, showing that many issues could be solved with existing tools or methods, or even using his open-source Pigsty system. Ultimately, OpenAI's PostgreSQL cluster successfully processed over one million QPS, demonstrating the potential of PostgreSQL in large-scale applications.

(www.pixelstech.net)

Development

The Decline of Usability: A 2023 Update

2025-05-24

This article revisits a three-year-old rant about the failings of modern UI design. The author finds that little has improved, with contemporary interfaces abandoning time-tested usability principles for the sake of fleeting trends. Examples like unclear icons, hidden scrollbars, and inconsistent designs across applications and versions are cited as evidence of a decline in usability. The author argues for a return to fundamental design principles that prioritize efficiency, safety, and user satisfaction over superficial aesthetics.

(datagubbe.se)

Design Usability

Hacking Persian Learning with Anki, ChatGPT, and YouTube

2025-09-24

The author details their effective Persian learning system using Anki, ChatGPT, and YouTube extensions. They create various Anki flashcards, including reading practice and English-Persian translation cards, leveraging ChatGPT for instant clarification. A key technique involves using a dual-subtitle YouTube extension, watching videos at 75% speed, and repeatedly reading and listening to solidify comprehension, culminating in real-time understanding.

(cjauvin.github.io)

Misc

PyPI Launches Organization Accounts for Enhanced Sustainability

2025-05-13

PyPI Launches Organization Accounts for Enhanced Sustainability

The Python Package Index (PyPI) has introduced organization accounts to improve platform sustainability and user experience. This feature allows teams to create self-managed accounts with exclusive web addresses, simplifying management for large projects and companies handling multiple sub-teams and packages. Community projects can use this for free, while corporate projects incur a small fee. All revenue will be reinvested into improving PyPI's support and infrastructure. This addresses PyPI's growth in downloads and bandwidth, and allows for faster response times. The feature is entirely optional and won't affect existing users.

(blog.pypi.org)

Development Organization Accounts

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