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Canada Joins the EU? A Surprising Proposal

2025-01-03

Canada Joins the EU? A Surprising Proposal

The Economist proposes a bold idea: Canada should join the European Union. The article uses the forty-year "Whisky War" between Canada and Denmark as a springboard, cleverly contrasting their peaceful approach to resolving a territorial dispute. It argues that Canada and the EU offer mutual benefits; the EU needs Canada's vast land and resources, while Canada needs the EU's labor market and economic dynamism. This article is not just political analysis but a thought-provoking case study in international relations, sparking discussion about new models of future international cooperation.

(www.economist.com)

Misc Canada International Cooperation

Revolutionizing Similarity Measurement: Tversky Neural Networks

2025-08-17

Revolutionizing Similarity Measurement: Tversky Neural Networks

This paper introduces a novel neural network architecture based on Tversky similarity, challenging the prevalent use of dot product or cosine similarity in deep learning. It elegantly transforms the traditionally discrete set operations of the Tversky model into differentiable functions, enabling training within the deep learning framework. Experiments demonstrate significant performance improvements in image recognition and language modeling, alongside enhanced interpretability, allowing for intuitive explanations of model decisions. The core innovation lies in a differentiable Tversky similarity function that considers both common and distinctive features, aligning better with human perception of similarity.

(gonzoml.substack.com)

AI Explainable AI

Record-Breaking 7.3 Tbps DDoS Attack: A Wake-Up Call for Internet Security

2025-06-20

Record-Breaking 7.3 Tbps DDoS Attack: A Wake-Up Call for Internet Security

Cloudflare reported a record-breaking 7.3 Tbps distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, unleashing 37.4 TB of junk traffic in just 45 seconds. Attackers 'carpet bombed' nearly 22,000 destination ports of a single IP address, exploiting the UDP protocol's lack of connection verification to overwhelm the target server. This incident highlights the escalating threat to internet security and the growing scale and sophistication of large-scale DDoS attacks.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech UDP protocol

JetBrains' AI-Powered Code Completion: Small Model, Big Impact

2025-07-18

JetBrains' AI-Powered Code Completion: Small Model, Big Impact

JetBrains' Full Line Code Completion in PyCharm is a game-changer. Instead of relying on massive LLMs, it uses a smaller, locally-run model optimized for Python. This model excels at auto-generating log statements, significantly boosting developer productivity. It predicts variable names, data structure access, and generates clearer logs than most developers would write – logs valuable even in production. Trained on a curated dataset and employing optimization techniques like quantization and caching, it's fast and efficient. This demonstrates the potential of smaller, specialized models for specific tasks, offering a new paradigm for AI-assisted programming.

(newsletter.vickiboykis.com)

Development

Fully Homomorphic Encryption: Towards a Truly Private Internet

2025-07-18

Fully Homomorphic Encryption: Towards a Truly Private Internet

Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) allows arbitrary computations on ciphertext without decryption. This means data can remain encrypted across the internet, preventing breaches and enabling true privacy. While currently slow, FHE's speed is improving 8x yearly. In the future, FHE may power encrypted cloud computing, encrypted large language model inference, and confidential blockchain smart contracts, potentially disrupting data-harvesting business models and shifting the internet from 'spy by default' to 'privacy by default'.

(bozmen.io)

Tech Fully Homomorphic Encryption

Intel in the 1980s: A Symphony of Success and Failure

2025-03-05

Intel in the 1980s: A Symphony of Success and Failure

This article recounts Intel's journey through the 1980s, from the triumph of the 8086/8088 to the disastrous failure of the iAPX 432, and the subsequent rise of the 80186, 80286, and 80386. The iAPX 432, Intel's ambitious attempt at an object-oriented 32-bit CPU, ultimately failed due to its complexity and shortcomings in the Ada compiler, resulting in a $100 million loss. However, Intel persevered. The success of the 8086 family established its dominance in the microprocessor market. The subsequent introductions of the 80186, 80286, and the groundbreaking 80386 further solidified Intel's leadership and fueled the rapid growth of the personal computer industry.

(www.abortretry.fail)

Tech

Deduce: An Educational Functional Program Proof Checker

2025-03-24

Deduce is an automated proof checker designed for education, helping students learn to prove the correctness of functional programs, deepen their understanding of logic, and improve their mathematical proof-writing skills. It's aimed at students with basic programming skills (Java, Python, or C++) and some exposure to logic from a discrete mathematics course. Deduce provides resources ranging from installation and code writing to a reference manual and cheat sheet, with an example proof of a linear search algorithm to illustrate its use.

(jsiek.github.io)

Development program verification educational tool

Optimizing Airport Travel: A Practical Guide

2025-08-24

Optimizing Airport Travel: A Practical Guide

This article offers a practical guide to optimizing airport travel, drawing on the author's personal experiences. Key strategies include booking flights about two weeks in advance, opting for basic economy and direct flights, avoiding budget airlines, and efficiently managing time at the airport. The author suggests arriving at the terminal one hour before departure, adjusting this based on factors like traffic and checked baggage. The article also explores maximizing airport waiting time through activities like reading, listening to music, or watching movies, and cautions against attempting work on the plane unless absolutely necessary.

(thezvi.substack.com)

Misc airport travel travel strategies

Sequin: Coordinating Change Data Capture in Postgres with Watermarks

2025-01-05

Sequin: Coordinating Change Data Capture in Postgres with Watermarks

Sequin is a real-time change data capture (CDC) tool that streams changes from Postgres to destinations like Kafka and SQS. This article dives into how Sequin elegantly solves the complex problem of simultaneously performing full table capture and incremental change capture. By employing a watermarking mechanism, Sequin coordinates two data streams, preventing data loss or duplication and ensuring data consistency. Sequin uses a chunked capture strategy, processing tables in smaller batches for efficiency and reduced memory usage.

(blog.sequinstream.com)

Development Change Data Capture Data Consistency

Image Acquisition, Density, and Velocity Measurements in Dense Crowds: The Chupinazo Case Study

2025-02-09

Image Acquisition, Density, and Velocity Measurements in Dense Crowds: The Chupinazo Case Study

Researchers quantified crowd density and velocity at the Chupinazo festival in Pamplona by analyzing crowd footage. They used machine learning algorithms (like P2PNet and YOLOv8) for crowd detection and Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) for velocity field measurement, overcoming challenges like perspective distortion and shadows. High-density crowds exhibited high-amplitude motions akin to 'crowd quakes,' and a model was developed to describe the unusual frictional forces causing spontaneous chiral oscillations.

(www.nature.com)

Tech crowd dynamics

Breakthrough Non-Reciprocal Optical Memory: Nanosecond Write Speeds, Billions of Cycles Without Degradation

2025-02-04

Breakthrough Non-Reciprocal Optical Memory: Nanosecond Write Speeds, Billions of Cycles Without Degradation

Researchers have developed a novel non-reciprocal optical memory that achieves ultra-fast nanosecond write speeds using magneto-optic and thermo-optic effects. The memory is based on a microring resonator (MRR) with an integrated electromagnet, controlling current to alter the magnetic field and thus modulate light transmission. Experiments show clear eye diagrams at 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps, and stable operation after 2.4 billion write/erase cycles, demonstrating exceptional reliability and endurance. This breakthrough promises to revolutionize high-performance optical memory, offering new possibilities for future high-density, low-power information processing systems.

(www.nature.com)

Hardware optical memory non-reciprocity high-speed writing

Terminal User Pain Points: Even Experts Struggle

2025-02-09

A survey of 1600 terminal users reveals persistent frustrations, even among seasoned users (40% with 21+ years of experience). Key issues include remembering command syntax (awk, jq, sed, etc.), keyboard shortcuts (tmux, text editors), and navigating inconsistencies across systems (OS differences, editor variations). Color configuration, copy/paste (across SSH, tmux, etc.), discoverability of useful tools, a steep learning curve, shell history management, and poor documentation also surfaced frequently. The results highlight the ongoing struggles even experienced users face with terminal minutiae, emphasizing the need for improved user experience.

(jvns.ca)

Development terminal UX command line interface learning curve

Emilua: A C-powered, Lua-driven Container Runtime Revolution

2025-05-26

Emilua is a novel container runtime built in C and scripted with Lua, supporting diverse kernel technologies like Linux namespaces and FreeBSD jails. Unlike typical CLI-based runtimes, Emilua leverages Lua's programming power for unparalleled flexibility and security, bypassing the risks of using BASH, such as synchronization issues and security vulnerabilities. Security is paramount; Emilua prevents calling binaries from container images and securely erases temporary buffers. Furthermore, Emilua extends to Capsicum sandboxes, demonstrating its adaptability. Emilua offers a more secure and flexible solution, especially for complex scenarios demanding custom container setup phases.

(docs.emilua.org)

Development

PHP License Update: Simplifying a Legacy of Confusion

2025-07-15

After years of licensing confusion and disagreements, this RFC proposes a pragmatic solution for PHP. It suggests unifying the PHP License and Zend Engine License under the Modified BSD License (BSD-3-Clause), ensuring compatibility with GPL and resolving long-standing issues with OSI approval and compatibility. This change maintains existing user and contributor rights, addressing conflicts with distributions like Debian. PHP 9.0.0 will fully adopt this simplified license.

(wiki.php.net)

Development

Automating Transaction Tracking in Interactive Fiction with LLMs

2025-03-31

An author automated transaction tracking logic in an Emacs-based interactive children's book using an LLM (via gptel). The book features a protagonist who earns, saves, and spends money. Each passage initially contained code tracking transaction amounts. To enhance educational value, the author wanted to show how the cash balance was calculated. Using gptel, a simple prompt allowed the LLM to automatically add a JSON object (cashOperations) to each passage's code, tracking changes in cash with operation type, amount, and description. This significantly improved efficiency, paving the way for adding an arithmetic explainer feature.

(blog.tendollaradventure.com)

Development

Major Math Error Corrected in Black Plastic Study; Authors Say It Doesn't Matter

2024-12-20

Major Math Error Corrected in Black Plastic Study; Authors Say It Doesn't Matter

A study reporting toxic flame retardants from electronics in black plastic household products, including kitchen utensils, contained a significant mathematical error. The initial findings suggested exposure levels were near the safety limit, causing public alarm and prompting articles advising people to discard their kitchenware. A correction revealed the actual exposure is far below the safe limit. While the overall conclusion—that flame retardants significantly contaminate plastic products—remains, the study also found contamination is uncommon, affecting only a minority of products.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech flame retardant black plastic math error correction

Microsoft Quietly Removes Windows 11 Upgrade Workaround

2025-02-05

Microsoft Quietly Removes Windows 11 Upgrade Workaround

When Windows 11 launched in 2021, Microsoft offered a registry tweak allowing upgrades on PCs that didn't meet system requirements. However, Microsoft recently removed the official support documentation for this method. This means Microsoft no longer officially supports this workaround, recommending users buy new, compatible PCs for Windows 11 upgrades. This move is likely tied to the upcoming end of Windows 10 support and collaborations with hardware manufacturers.

(www.neowin.net)

Tech Registry

Senior Devs Embrace AI Code Generation, But at What Cost?

2025-09-07

Senior Devs Embrace AI Code Generation, But at What Cost?

A Fastly survey reveals that over half the shipped code of nearly a third of senior developers (10+ years experience) is AI-generated, compared to just 13% of junior developers. While AI tools boost productivity, nearly one-third of all respondents reported frequently fixing AI-generated code, offsetting time savings. This suggests that while experienced developers trust AI more in production, human oversight remains crucial to ensure code quality and security.

(www.infoworld.com)

Development

Fiverr's New Ad: AI Vibe Coding Needs a Human Touch

2025-08-03

Fiverr's New Ad: AI Vibe Coding Needs a Human Touch

Fiverr's latest ad campaign playfully tackles the limitations of AI 'vibe coding.' Using the humorous imagery of a squashed avocado, the ad highlights how AI-generated code, while seemingly perfect on the surface, often requires human intervention to truly succeed. While AI lowers the barrier to entry for app and website creation, Fiverr argues that the human element is crucial for taking a project beyond a basic demo and into a fully functional product. This campaign follows a previous controversial ad and aims to reposition Fiverr as a platform that champions the collaboration between AI and human creative talent.

(www.creativebloq.com)

Tech Freelancing

arXivLabs: Experimenting with Community Collaboration

2025-02-13

arXivLabs is a framework enabling collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on the website. Individuals and organizations involved embrace arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and partners only with those who share them. Have an idea to improve the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

HEXUS Forums to Close Due to UK Online Safety Act

2025-02-25

The HEXUS forums are shutting down or transitioning to read-only mode due to the impending full implementation of the UK's 2023 Online Safety Act. The act requires significant work that the forums currently lack the resources to undertake. This marks the end of a once-vibrant community, a decision lamented by the announcement. Thanks are extended to the site's admins and members for their contributions.

(forums.hexus.net)

Misc Forum Closure

Waymo Gets Green Light for Self-Driving Operations at SFO

2025-09-16

Waymo Gets Green Light for Self-Driving Operations at SFO

Waymo has received a pilot permit to operate commercially at San Francisco International Airport (SFO). Initially, pick-ups and drop-offs will be at SFO's Kiss & Fly area, with plans to expand to other airport locations. This marks a significant milestone for Waymo's Bay Area expansion, offering residents and visitors a new innovative transportation option and reflecting San Francisco's commitment to modern transportation.

(waymo.com)

Tech SFO

Proposal: Essential Effects for C

2025-01-20

This proposal suggests enhancing C's core type system with a type-and-effect system, requiring functions and blocks to declare the effects of their evaluation. This improves metaprogramming composability and simplifies defining MISRA-style restrictions. The system tracks and checks effects but doesn't handle dynamic effect handling. Three main effect groups are proposed: Local (e.g., local writes), Persistent (e.g., non-local writes), and Control (e.g., non-local control transfers). Static effect checking is achieved by assigning type-and-effect to each statement, expression, and function body, discarding local effects to ensure correct ordering. Best practices are suggested, like limiting the magnitude of `mut` and `vol` effects and specifying effect checks for operators and control structures. The goal is to improve C's safety, readability, and composability, especially for metaprogramming and resource management.

(www.open-std.org)

Development type system

Microsoft's Free Copilot Chat: A Trojan Horse for Paid AI?

2025-01-15

Microsoft's Free Copilot Chat: A Trojan Horse for Paid AI?

Microsoft launched Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat, a free version of its AI-powered Copilot, aiming to lure businesses into its ecosystem. This rebranded Bing Chat Enterprise offers GPT-powered chat and file upload capabilities. However, the crucial AI agent functionality, acting like virtual assistants automating tasks and monitoring inboxes, requires a $30 per user per month subscription. Pricing is complex, based on message costs varying from 1 to 30 cents depending on complexity and data access. Microsoft hopes the free tier will entice businesses to upgrade to the full Microsoft 365 Copilot, integrating AI directly into Office apps, despite the absence of a trial period.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech AI for Business Microsoft Copilot Pricing Model

National Cryptologic Museum Unveils Fascinating New Exhibits

2024-12-24

National Cryptologic Museum Unveils Fascinating New Exhibits

The National Cryptologic Museum has opened exciting new exhibits ranging from psychic espionage to the search for extraterrestrial life. The "Project Star Gate" exhibit reveals the Cold War-era government program using psychics for intelligence gathering, featuring artwork from agent Joe McMoneagle. The "Mind Machine" exhibit demonstrates the power of the mind to alter machine output, while the "SETI" exhibit explores the search for alien life, including attempts to communicate via radio signals. New permanent exhibits include a linguist's dream—a Language Whiteboard—and a "You Are Leaving the American Sector" sign from the Berlin Wall. These captivating exhibits are on display until mid-December.

(www.nsa.gov)

Misc National Cryptologic Museum Cold War Psychic Espionage

arXivLabs: Community-Driven Experiments on arXiv

2025-06-10

arXivLabs is a platform enabling collaborators to build and share new features directly on the arXiv website. Participants, both individuals and organizations, uphold arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these principles and only partners with those who share them. Got an idea to enhance the arXiv community? Explore arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

CSS Layouts: A Critical Analysis

2025-08-06

This article offers a critical analysis of CSS layout mechanisms. The author argues that CSS conflates rich text styling and the layout system, leading to inconsistent inheritance—text styles inherit, but layout properties don't. Nested inline-block and inline-flex models exemplify this conflict: internally they're block or flex, externally they're inline. The author proposes that an ideal layout system would decompose behavior into independent facets, offering a more flexible and intuitive API than the current subtractive one with extra containment barrier hints. Finally, the article touches upon the limitations of relative em scaling and improvements in pixel handling.

(acko.net)

Development

Don't Roll Your Own Crypto: Why Developers Keep Failing at Encryption

2025-02-01

Don't Roll Your Own Crypto: Why Developers Keep Failing at Encryption

Developers often mistakenly believe that using lower-level cryptography libraries avoids the risks of 'rolling their own crypto.' This article argues that many developers misunderstand cryptography, and even using existing libraries doesn't guarantee security if mistakes are made in protocol design or key management. The author presents real-world examples and stresses the importance of robust key management and the need for developers to deeply understand and have expert review of their cryptographic implementations.

(soatok.blog)

Development

Covert Web-to-App Tracking via Localhost on Android: Meta and Yandex Caught

2025-06-03

Researchers have uncovered a novel tracking method employed by Meta and Yandex, potentially impacting billions of Android users. Native apps like Facebook, Instagram, and several Yandex apps silently listen on localhost ports, receiving browser metadata and cookies from Meta Pixel and Yandex Metrica scripts embedded on websites. This allows linking browsing sessions to user identities, bypassing privacy measures. Meta has since updated its Pixel script (as of June 3rd) to stop sending data to localhost.

(localmess.github.io)

Tech

Raspberry Pi 5 Gets Ultrafast Storage Boost with New HAT

2025-08-01

Raspberry Pi 5 Gets Ultrafast Storage Boost with New HAT

Will Whang's RPI5-SDexpress-Hat adds a microSD Express card slot to the Raspberry Pi 5, enabling ultrafast storage speeds. Benchmarks show impressive read speeds exceeding 630 MB/s, though write speeds are closer to high-end microSD cards. The HAT also includes an eject button and two Qwiic connectors. Despite the impressive performance, high microSD Express card costs mean the HAT won't be mass-produced, but the design is open-source.

(www.cnx-software.com)

Hardware high-speed storage

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