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Hugging Face Open-Sources 'Search and Learn'

2024-12-20

Hugging Face Open-Sources 'Search and Learn'

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

Linux Kernel Initial Commit SHA Collision Risk

2024-12-31

Kees Cook, a Linux kernel developer, discovered a kernel documentation commit whose ID shares the first 12 characters with the initial commit in the kernel's repository. This potential collision could break various tools relying on unique commit IDs. While not yet merged upstream, this commit serves as a test case to proactively address SHA collisions and prevent future widespread issues.

(lwn.net)

Development SHA collision

Programming Lewis Carroll's Memoria Technica

2024-12-27

This article explores Lewis Carroll's *Memoria Technica*, a cipher he devised to aid in remembering numbers. The cipher maps consonants to digits, ignoring vowels and punctuation. The article describes the cipher's mechanics, presents online tools for encoding and decoding, and discusses its potential use in steganography. The authors detail their TypeScript implementation, highlighting optimizations for efficiency. Examples illustrate encoding and decoding, and the article analyzes the cipher's strengths and weaknesses as a steganographic technique, including a potential vulnerability related to letter and digit frequency discrepancies.

(ztoz.blog)

Development Steganography

Zuckerberg's U-Turn and the Death of Tech Culture

2025-01-12

Zuckerberg's U-Turn and the Death of Tech Culture

Dan McKinley criticizes Mark Zuckerberg's recent about-face, arguing that his hostility towards employees and tolerance of hate speech on his platforms represent a 'boss revolt' against workers in the tech industry. He reflects on the once-popular 'happy workplace' culture in tech, such as hack weeks, rotations, and 20% time, arguing these weren't just perks, but tools to boost employee morale, foster knowledge sharing and innovation, ultimately increasing productivity. McKinley contends that prioritizing efficiency at the expense of employee happiness and engagement is short-sighted and ultimately detrimental to long-term company success. He suggests that a healthy, happy workforce is both an end in itself and a means to a more productive and innovative company.

(mcfunley.com)

Tech tech culture employee morale Zuckerberg

Free Software Needs Free Tools: An Ethical Dilemma in Open Source Development

2024-12-28

This article explores the ethical dilemma faced by free software developers who use non-free development tools. The author argues that, for efficiency's sake, many developers have opted for proprietary tools or network services like BitKeeper, SourceForge, and GitHub, sacrificing the freedom of both developers and users. The author uses the example of the Linux kernel's move to BitKeeper and the subsequent forced development of Git to illustrate the risks of relying on proprietary tools. Using non-free tools, the author emphasizes, not only harms the credibility of the open-source movement but also restricts software freedom, ultimately resulting in software that isn't truly free. The author calls on developers to prioritize free and open-source development tools, upholding the values of open-source software and avoiding the sacrifice of freedom for efficiency.

(mako.cc)

Development development tools

US Weighs Ban on TP-Link Routers Over Hacking Fears

2024-12-18

US Weighs Ban on TP-Link Routers Over Hacking Fears

The US government is considering a ban on TP-Link routers, a popular Chinese brand, due to national security concerns linked to cyberattacks. Investigations are underway by the Departments of Commerce, Defense, and Justice. TP-Link holds a 65% US market share, largely due to its low prices. A Microsoft report implicated TP-Link routers in ransomware and other cyberattacks launched by Chinese hackers. Investigators allege TP-Link fails to address vulnerabilities, and refuses to cooperate with cybersecurity experts. TP-Link claims its security practices meet industry standards and is committed to addressing US national security concerns. This action reflects broader US concerns about Chinese technology and efforts to restrict imports from China.

(nypost.com)

Tech national security

Your Filesystem, a Dungeon! - rpg-cli, the Command-Line RPG

2025-01-09

Your Filesystem, a Dungeon! - rpg-cli, the Command-Line RPG

rpg-cli is a minimalist command-line RPG written in Rust. It transforms your filesystem into a dungeon, with random enemy encounters whenever you change directories. Features include character stats and leveling, turn-based combat, items and equipment, multiple classes and enemies, permadeath, quests, and hidden chests. Installation is available via binary, Cargo, Homebrew, Nixpkgs, Portage, or Pacman. The game integrates with common filesystem operations and can even replace the `cd` command. Delve deeper, battle tougher enemies, collect rare items, complete quests, level up, and experience your filesystem like never before!

(github.com)

Game command-line game

Ordinary Objects: No-Code Mixed Reality Prototyping

2025-01-27

Ordinary Objects: No-Code Mixed Reality Prototyping

Ordinary Objects is a no-code mixed reality prototyping platform enabling designers to rapidly create high-fidelity spatial app prototypes. It boasts powerful authoring features and a unique workflow for prototyping spatial user flows and interactions. Supporting import formats like WAV/MP3 audio, animated GLB 3D assets, and PNG/JPG images, it offers real-time feedback—no play mode needed. Ordinary Objects runs natively on major platforms and features real-time collaborative editing, streamlining teamwork.

(ordinary.space)

Development mixed reality prototyping spatial computing

Dillo Browser: 25 Years of History, a Resurrection Story

2024-12-16

The Dillo web browser, born in 1999, has weathered 25 years of development. It has stalled several times but persevered. Initially led by Jorge Arellano Cid, it went through major GTK and FLTK phases, with key developers changing hands and the project experiencing ups and downs. In 2024, Rodrigo Arias Mallo took over, and with community help, released version 3.1.1, bringing this veteran browser back into the spotlight. Dillo's story exemplifies the spirit of open source and is a legendary tale of technological legacy and innovation.

(dillo-browser.github.io)

Development open-source browser

Why You Should Ditch Query Builders and Embrace Raw SQL

2025-01-25

This article champions writing database queries directly in SQL instead of relying on query builders. Through several examples, the author demonstrates how SQL features (like `IS NULL`, `COALESCE`, `ARRAY_REMOVE`, `STRING_TO_ARRAY`) elegantly handle optional parameters, arrays, pagination, and batch updates, reducing complex Rust logic. This approach simplifies code, improves readability and testability, and enables easier database testing and debugging. The author argues that raw SQL is often cleaner and more efficient than complex builder patterns.

(mattrighetti.com)

Development Database Queries

Irish Rewilding: The Exotic Gardens of Rossdohan Island

2024-12-21

Irish Rewilding: The Exotic Gardens of Rossdohan Island

Rossdohan Island in Ireland tells a captivating story of an exotic garden created by a 19th-century surgeon returning from India. The island boasts a unique microclimate, thanks to plantings of Southern Hemisphere species. Despite house fires and changing ownership, these exotic plants persist, forming a unique ecosystem alongside native flora. Today, rewilding efforts face the challenge of preserving this historical legacy while restoring native biodiversity, requiring legislation, policy changes, and public participation.

(worldsensorium.com)

Misc rewilding exotic species

Record Seizure of Viagra-Laced ‘Erectile Honey’ in France

2025-01-20

Record Seizure of Viagra-Laced ‘Erectile Honey’ in France

French customs officials announced a record seizure of illegally imported "erectile honey" laced with Viagra and other medications in 2024. The honey, primarily sourced from Turkey, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, is sold on the black market and in night shops as a natural sexual stimulant. However, it often contains hidden pharmaceuticals like sildenafil or tadalafil, the active ingredients in Viagra and Cialis, which can be dangerous when interacting with other medications, such as those for high blood pressure. A single seizure in Marseille last November confiscated 13 tons from Malaysia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also issued warnings in 2021 and 2022 about honey-based supplements promising "sexual enhancement."

(www.politico.eu)

Misc smuggling Viagra

HawkEye: A Cross-Platform Open-Source License Header Checker and Formatter

2025-01-28

HawkEye: A Cross-Platform Open-Source License Header Checker and Formatter

HawkEye is a powerful open-source tool for checking and formatting license headers in code files. Supporting multiple formats and integrating seamlessly with GitHub Actions, it also provides a command-line interface for local use. HawkEye checks for license header completeness and consistency, auto-corrects non-compliant files, and even allows for license header removal. Initially developed in Java, it was rewritten in Rust for a smaller Docker image and improved performance.

(github.com)

Development license checking code formatting

IMDb Founder Steps Down After 35 Years

2025-01-22

IMDb Founder Steps Down After 35 Years

Col Needham, founder of the Amazon-owned IMDb database, stepped down as CEO after 35 years at the helm. He's succeeded by Nikki Santoro, the former COO, who becomes the first woman to lead the company. Needham will transition to executive chairman. Santoro, with the company since 2016, has overseen expansion of the database and improvements to IMDbPro. This marks a significant transition for IMDb into a new era.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech CEO transition Tech Company

SQLook: A Nostalgic SQLite Database Manager

2025-01-26

SQLook: A Nostalgic SQLite Database Manager

SQLook is a modern web-based SQLite database manager with a nostalgic Windows 2000 interface. It blends contemporary web technologies with the classic aesthetics of a computing icon. Features include database management, a visual database structure viewer, an interactive SQL query editor, a table generator, data export, sample data generation, and more. Created by Ralph Barendse, inspired by the Windows 2000 UI, and built using HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, and SQL.js.

(sqlook.com)

Development database management web application

24 Hours in an Invisible Epidemic: The Loneliness Crisis

2025-01-20

24 Hours in an Invisible Epidemic: The Loneliness Crisis

This article follows a 62-year-old man for 24 hours, illustrating the growing loneliness epidemic in the US. Data reveals a decline in time spent with family and friends, a rise in solitary time, and a yearly increase in reported loneliness. The article highlights the negative emotional and physical health consequences of isolation, emphasizing the need for greater awareness and action to address this often-overlooked public health crisis.

(pudding.cool)

Misc social isolation epidemic

Run DeepSeek R1 Reasoning Models Effortlessly on AMD Ryzen AI Processors

2025-02-07

Run DeepSeek R1 Reasoning Models Effortlessly on AMD Ryzen AI Processors

DeepSeek R1, a new class of reasoning models, tackles complex tasks using chain-of-thought (CoT) reasoning, albeit with a longer response time. These highly capable, distilled DeepSeek R1 models are now easily deployable on AMD Ryzen™ AI processors and Radeon™ graphics cards via LM Studio. The article provides a step-by-step guide to running various DeepSeek R1 distillations on different AMD hardware configurations, including recommended model sizes and quantization settings for optimal performance.

(community.amd.com)

AI AI reasoning models

Imgur Website JavaScript Disabled Prompt

2024-12-23

Imgur Website JavaScript Disabled Prompt

If you're visiting the Imgur website and see the message "If you're seeing this message, that means JavaScript has been disabled on your browser, please enable JS to make Imgur work," it means JavaScript is disabled in your browser. You need to enable JavaScript to view images and use Imgur's features properly.

(imgur.com)

Misc

India Pulls Cloudflare's VPN App and Others from App Stores

2025-01-03

India Pulls Cloudflare's VPN App and Others from App Stores

India has removed several VPN apps, including Cloudflare's popular 1.1.1.1, from its app stores citing a 2022 regulation requiring VPN providers to store user data for five years. This move has sparked backlash from the industry, with some VPN providers withdrawing from India or ceasing marketing there. The action marks a significant tightening of VPN regulations in India.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

Solving a 350-Image Classification Problem with GPT-4

2025-01-13

A small AI company tackled a challenging image recognition problem: identifying 350 highly similar car illustrations. Traditional computer vision and augmented reality approaches failed. The team tried MobileNet transfer learning and data augmentation, but results were inconsistent. Ultimately, they cleverly combined a KNN-based image embedding search with GPT-4, submitting candidate images to GPT-4 for final matching. While not perfect, this solution significantly improved accuracy and successfully powered a museum app, even improving the company's main product line. This demonstrates how large language models are increasingly becoming versatile tools in product development, simplifying the AI application process.

(olup-blog.pages.dev)

AI

WordPress Battles Private Equity: A Fight for the Future of Open Source

2024-12-12

WordPress Battles Private Equity: A Fight for the Future of Open Source

WordPress, the world's leading content management system, is locked in a battle with private equity firm Silver Lake and its investment, WP Engine. After receiving massive investment, WP Engine, a for-profit company built on WordPress, has aggressively exploited the WordPress trademark while contributing minimally back to the open-source community. After repeated attempts at communication failed, Automattic CEO and WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg took action, restricting WP Engine's access to WordPress.org resources to defend the open-source community and the future of WordPress. This conflict highlights the fundamental conflict between open-source communities and profit-maximizing private equity firms, serving as a cautionary tale about the long-term health of open-source projects.

(automattic.com)

Development Private Equity

SATA SSD's DRM Functions and Accessibility Limitations

2025-01-20

A Linux kernel log shows warnings about an Intel SSDSCKJF360A5L SSD: "supports DRM functions and may not be fully accessible." This relates to an ATA protocol extension allowing the storage device to respond differently based on whether a request is signed by the mainboard's trusted platform module. This enables features like preventing modification of video players. Linux might have an incomplete view of the SSD, hence the warning. Additionally, the log notes the SSD's read cache is enabled but doesn't support outdated DPO or FUA techniques, which are irrelevant for SSDs.

(unix.stackexchange.com)

Hardware

Hackers Reveal Vulnerability in Europe's Remotely Controlled Power Grid

2024-12-29

Hackers Reveal Vulnerability in Europe's Remotely Controlled Power Grid

A significant portion of Europe's renewable energy production is remotely controlled via longwave radio. While designed to stabilize the grid, this system, using unencrypted and unauthenticated Versacom and Semagyr protocols, is vulnerable to abuse. Researchers analyzed these protocols and demonstrated how vulnerabilities could be exploited to remotely control streetlights, power plants, and potentially cause large-scale blackouts. They also showcased the possibility of using this vulnerability to create a city-wide light art installation.

(media.ccc.de)

Tech grid security remote control

The Harvard Blood Factory: How a Pure Scientist Won WWII

2025-01-07

The Harvard Blood Factory: How a Pure Scientist Won WWII

Edwin Cohn, a temperamental Harvard protein chemist, unexpectedly transformed his lab into a highly effective applied R&D powerhouse during WWII. Initially focused on theoretical research, the war spurred him to lead his team in inventing methods to produce life-saving albumin from blood. Cohn's team not only created albumin more stable than plasma but also developed other blood products for treating battlefield injuries. While his methods are outdated, his ability to translate lab discoveries into commercial-scale products remains a valuable lesson. Cohn's story offers a compelling case study for science organizations and funders: combining a pilot plant, funding, and vision to tackle significant problems can yield extraordinary results in translating research into real-world impact.

(www.asimov.press)

Tech blood products research translation

YC-backed Structured is Hiring a Founding Engineer

2025-01-28

YC-backed Structured is Hiring a Founding Engineer

Structured, a Y Combinator-backed startup, is seeking a founding engineer. Structured is redefining how developers build and deploy data apps by consolidating the entire analytics stack into code. They're looking for an ambitious, scrappy, and product-minded engineer to build the core SDK, design interactive components, and tackle challenging problems like real-time data sync and cloud deployments. This is a chance to join a stellar team of ex-Meta engineers, own significant equity, and shape a startup from the ground up.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Development

Making Unsafe Rust Safer: Verification Tools for Unsafe Code

2024-12-17

Making Unsafe Rust Safer: Verification Tools for Unsafe Code

Rust's popularity stems from its ability to eliminate memory and concurrency errors at compile time, but its `unsafe` code blocks can bypass these checks. This article explores tools for verifying unsafe Rust code, including code called from C or C++ libraries. It introduces runtime error detection tools—sanitizers—and Miri, an interpreter that deterministically finds undefined behavior. Sanitizers detect out-of-bounds memory access, data races, and more, while Miri provides more precise error reporting with code snippets. However, Miri currently doesn't support code called via FFI from C/C++, necessitating the use of C/C++ compiler sanitizers in such cases. These tools enhance the safety and reliability of Rust code, even when dealing with `unsafe` code or interacting with C/C++ libraries.

(blog.colinbreck.com)

Development Safety Memory Errors

OpenAI Whistleblower's Death: From Suicide to Active Investigation

2025-01-16

OpenAI Whistleblower's Death: From Suicide to Active Investigation

The death of Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI researcher, has taken a dramatic turn. Initially ruled a suicide, the San Francisco Police Department has reopened the case as an 'active and open investigation' following allegations from Balaji's family and inconsistencies in the initial autopsy. Balaji publicly criticized OpenAI's practices before his death, sparking speculation about foul play, even drawing comment from Elon Musk. This case highlights the risks faced by whistleblowers in the tech industry and raises crucial questions about ethics and accountability in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

(www.republicbiz.com)

Tech whistleblower death investigation

Life After the Newag DRM Disclosure: A 38C3 Report

2024-12-29

Life After the Newag DRM Disclosure: A 38C3 Report

Following the disclosure at 37C3 of remote failure simulation code in Newag trains, security researchers faced a backlash. This update details the aftermath, including legal battles with Newag and train operators, media interactions, and multiple official investigations. The report also reveals new cases from different train operators, illustrating the challenges faced by security researchers when confronting powerful adversaries.

(media.ccc.de)

Tech security research legal battles

Physicists Measure Quantum Geometry for the First Time

2024-12-24

Physicists Measure Quantum Geometry for the First Time

MIT physicists have, for the first time, measured the quantum geometry of electrons in solids. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), they overcame a long-standing challenge of directly measuring the geometry of quantum wave functions. This breakthrough opens new avenues for understanding and manipulating the quantum properties of materials, with potential applications in quantum computing and advanced electronics. The team's success involved international collaborations and innovative experimental design, navigating challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

(phys.org)

Physics quantum geometry quantum materials

The PC is Dead: Reclaiming Personal Computing

2025-01-20

This article argues that the personal computer era has ended due to surveillance capitalism and DRM. Once a symbol of technological liberty, allowing individuals complete control, the PC has been subverted. Today's tech companies prioritize endless growth over useful products, creating an "extractive economy" that treats user data as a resource to be exploited. The author calls for legislative reform, support for open-source projects, and other measures to regain control of our digital lives and usher in a "Personal Computer 2.0" era.

(www.vintagecomputing.com)

Tech tech freedom

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