arXivLabs: Experimental Projects with Community Collaborators

2025-02-07
arXivLabs: Experimental Projects with Community Collaborators

arXivLabs is a framework enabling collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on the website. Participants embrace arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv only works with partners adhering to these principles. Got an idea to enhance the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

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Development

Supercharge Your Shell: The Ultimate Guide to fzf/skim and zsh History Search

2025-03-26

The author, a heavy Unix terminal user, noticed vast differences in shell efficiency among users. By combining the Ctrl-r shortcut with the fuzzy-finding tools fzf/skim, command search efficiency was dramatically improved. The article details configuring zsh and skim to enhance history command display, replacing meaningless integers with timestamps and customizing the display format (e.g., using "1d", "2d" for command execution time) for more intuitive command selection. Ultimately, the author's shell efficiency doubled, encouraging readers to improve their shell usage habits for increased productivity.

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Development Shell efficiency

Rubik's Cube Solutions and the Math Behind It: A Programmer's Perspective

2025-03-29

This article details a programmer's long journey with Rubik's Cubes and other puzzles. It features personal solving methods, deep dives into the underlying group theory, and a collection of various cubes and puzzles. The author explains Rubik's Cube solutions step-by-step, while delving into the mathematical concepts behind it, including group theory, commutators, and conjugates, drawing parallels with physics (quark theory). Anecdotes and historical notes on Rubik's Cubes complete the story.

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TikTok Ban Takes Effect: Data Shows Sharp Traffic Drop, Shift to Alternatives

2025-01-19
TikTok Ban Takes Effect: Data Shows Sharp Traffic Drop, Shift to Alternatives

The US TikTok ban went into effect on January 19, 2025. Cloudflare data reveals a significant impact after 03:30 UTC, with DNS traffic to TikTok-related domains plummeting by as much as 85%, and traffic from ByteDance's network dropping by 95%. Concurrently, alternatives like RedNote (Xiaohongshu) saw a massive surge in traffic, with a 74% increase in the US and a staggering 500% increase in Mexico. This highlights US national security concerns and the rapid user adaptation to alternative platforms.

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The Internet of Agents: Building the Future of AI Collaboration

2025-03-31
The Internet of Agents: Building the Future of AI Collaboration

Agentic AI is rapidly evolving, but the lack of shared protocols for communication, tool use, memory, and trust keeps systems siloed. To unlock their full potential, we need an open, interoperable stack – an Internet of Agents. This article explores key architectural dimensions for building this network, including standardized tool interfaces, agent-to-agent communication protocols, authentication and trust mechanisms, memory and context sharing, knowledge exchange and inference APIs, economic transaction frameworks, governance and policy compliance, and agent discovery and capability matching. The author argues that shared abstractions are crucial to avoid fragmentation and enable scalable, composable autonomous systems.

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The Relentless Cycle of Homelessness: A Two-Year Struggle

2025-02-17
The Relentless Cycle of Homelessness: A Two-Year Struggle

Morrisette, a homeless individual, repeatedly experienced a cycle of setting up camp, having it cleared by authorities, and then rebuilding. For two years, despite the kind assistance of Barrows in applying for housing, he felt despair at failing to qualify for priority placement. This article recounts a poignant story of struggle within the system, highlighting the challenges and intertwined hopes of a homeless person seeking help.

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Misc

The Right to Root: Why You Should Own Your Devices

2025-01-13

This article argues for a "right to root" – the consumer's right to install and modify software on any computing device they own outright, regardless of form factor. The author contends that manufacturers' restrictions, justified by security concerns, are anti-consumer, stifle competition, and lead to shorter device lifespans and limited repair options. Using Apple devices as a prime example (comparing the open nature of MacBooks to the closed nature of iPads), the article discusses potential legal solutions and emphasizes that manufacturers should bear the burden of proving the necessity of hardware locks, except in cases like critical medical devices.

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Isomorphic Web Components: Server-Side Rendering Made Easy

2024-12-15
Isomorphic Web Components: Server-Side Rendering Made Easy

The long-held belief that server-side rendering of web components is difficult has been challenged. This article demonstrates how to achieve server-side rendering of existing web components by cleverly using Happy DOM to emulate a browser environment. Two methods are detailed: using the `` tag for direct rendering and emulating the DOM to run component code and generate HTML. The author emphasizes the advantages of this approach: compatibility with all web components, robustness in the face of JavaScript failure, and avoidance of framework lock-in. This solves the server-side rendering problem for web components, offering a flexible and resilient solution.

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SoftBank Acquires Ampere Computing for $6.5B, Doubling Down on AI

2025-03-20
SoftBank Acquires Ampere Computing for $6.5B, Doubling Down on AI

SoftBank Group Corp. announced the acquisition of Ampere Computing, a leading independent silicon design company, for $6.5 billion in an all-cash deal. This acquisition strengthens SoftBank's AI infrastructure investments and accelerates its growth in AI. Ampere will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary, retaining its name and Santa Clara headquarters. SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son stated the acquisition will help accelerate its vision for Artificial Super Intelligence. Ampere CEO Renee James expressed excitement about joining SoftBank and continuing its AmpereOne roadmap for high-performance Arm processors and AI. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2025.

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Tech

600 Million Years of Shared Stress Response in Algae and Plants

2025-03-24
600 Million Years of Shared Stress Response in Algae and Plants

A University of Göttingen-led study reveals a surprising shared stress response network between algae and plants dating back 600 million years. Researchers compared gene expression and compound production in moss and two types of algae under environmental stress, identifying a common gene regulatory network. This discovery sheds light on key mechanisms of plant adaptation to land and offers new insights into plant evolution.

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Generative AI's Ghost in the Machine: Copilot Leaks Private GitHub Repos

2025-02-26
Generative AI's Ghost in the Machine: Copilot Leaks Private GitHub Repos

Israeli cybersecurity firm Lasso discovered that even briefly public GitHub repositories can be cached long-term by generative AI chatbots like Microsoft Copilot. Over 20,000 once-public repositories from major companies including Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are affected. Even after being set to private, Copilot can access their contents via Bing's caching mechanism, exposing sensitive data such as keys and tokens. Lasso notified affected companies, but Microsoft initially classified the issue as "low severity." While Microsoft disabled Bing cache links, Copilot still retains access, highlighting significant data security risks in generative AI.

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Tech

GitHub Project ted: A Turing Machine-based File Editor

2024-12-18
GitHub Project ted: A Turing Machine-based File Editor

ted is a command-line tool written in Go that allows users to edit files according to the rules of a provided Turing machine. Inspired by the author's need to process log files, ted uses state machines to precisely extract the desired information. It supports various operations, including regular expression matching, sed command execution, variable assignment, capture and output control, and offers features such as multi-line capture, regex capture groups, and file head/tail movement.

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Luxe: A Cross-Platform Game Engine for Rapid Development

2025-06-13
Luxe: A Cross-Platform Game Engine for Rapid Development

Luxe is a cross-platform, rapid development game engine for Mac, Linux, Windows, and Web, with console support in development. Easy to learn, it prioritizes a streamlined workflow for quickly expressing game ideas, focusing initially on 2D but also supporting powerful 3D rendering through a hardware-driven renderer. Written in C++, Luxe games are typically developed using a custom version of the Wren language, with plans for broader language support. Its modular design, fluid workflow, and human-centered approach make it ideal for solo developers and teams alike. A preview version is currently available, backed by comprehensive documentation and a supportive community.

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Game

Reverse Engineering the League of Legends Game Engine for High-Fidelity Datasets

2025-02-12

This article details the creation of a high-fidelity League of Legends dataset by reverse engineering the game engine and replay file format. Existing datasets and analytics tools suffer from low granularity, imprecision, and incompleteness. The author's tool captures precise player positions, ability usage timings, and damage calculations at millisecond intervals. The article describes the technical challenges, including decrypting internal replay files, emulating the game engine, and processing encrypted packets. This work has significant implications for reinforcement learning and offers valuable insights into data extraction for similar games.

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Game

FOSDEM 2025: A Glimpse into the Open Source Mobile Track

2025-01-31
FOSDEM 2025: A Glimpse into the Open Source Mobile Track

FOSDEM, a free software developer event in Brussels, Belgium (February 1st & 2nd, 2025), will feature a dedicated 'FOSS on Mobile' track. This half-day session (February 1st, 2:55 PM - 7:00 PM) will host numerous talks on open-source mobile development. Beyond the talks, numerous project booths offer opportunities for networking and collaboration. A casual meetup is planned for Sunday, February 2nd at 2:00 PM. Don't miss the chance to connect with fellow developers and grab some stickers!

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Development

Web Origami: A New Programming Language for Simplified Website Building

2024-12-13

Web Origami is a new programming language designed to simplify the creation of small- to medium-sized websites. Using a concise syntax that complements HTML and CSS, users can describe website structure using formulas similar to spreadsheets, transforming data and files into HTML and other website resources through simple programs. Even without JavaScript knowledge, features like full-text search and RSS feeds can be created. Origami provides a command-line interface, built-in functions, and an async-tree library, with support for JavaScript extensions. Its core concept is to abstract website building as data transformation, making site creation and deployment efficient, low-cost, and easy to understand.

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HTMX v2.0.4 Release Notes: Bug Fixes and Improvements

2024-12-14
HTMX v2.0.4 Release Notes: Bug Fixes and Improvements

The HTMX v2.0.4 release notes detail numerous bug fixes and improvements. This release focuses on stability and compatibility enhancements, including fixes for nested shadow root issues, improved `hx-boost` behavior on forms, better support for Web Components and Shadow DOM, and updated extensions for improved performance and reliability. Adjustments to the `htmx.ajax` function and optimizations to `hx-trigger` event handling are also included.

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Development Release Bug Fixes

Intel's Modular PC Design: A Sustainable Approach to Reduce E-waste

2025-01-24
Intel's Modular PC Design: A Sustainable Approach to Reduce E-waste

Addressing the growing e-waste problem, Intel introduces a modular PC design. This innovative approach allows for easy upgrades and repairs by modularizing key components, extending device lifespan and reducing electronic waste. Three levels of modularity—factory, field, and user—cater to different repair needs and skill levels. Intel aims to lower carbon footprint, support the right-to-repair, streamline manufacturing, and ultimately create a more sustainable PC lifecycle.

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Hardware modular design

Secret Passages Unearthed Beneath Milan's Sforza Castle: A Da Vinci Connection?

2025-03-09
Secret Passages Unearthed Beneath Milan's Sforza Castle: A Da Vinci Connection?

Scientists have discovered a hidden network of underground passages beneath Milan's Sforza Castle using non-destructive methods like ground-penetrating radar and laser scanning. The tunnels, hinted at in a Leonardo da Vinci sketch from around 1495 and historical records, likely served as escape routes or defense mechanisms for soldiers. This discovery underscores Da Vinci's military engineering prowess and highlights the importance of preserving cultural heritage. Further investigation revealed additional tunnels and underground chambers, one possibly leading to the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, potentially built by the Duke of Milan to access his late wife's tomb. Despite significant historical damage, the castle's subsurface structures retain a wealth of historical information, reminding us that history is often hidden in plain sight.

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Chilean Kayaker Briefly Swallowed by Humpback Whale

2025-02-17
Chilean Kayaker Briefly Swallowed by Humpback Whale

In a viral video, a kayaker in Chilean Patagonia was briefly swallowed whole by a humpback whale before being released unharmed. Adrián Simancas and his father were kayaking near the Strait of Magellan when the whale surfaced, engulfing Adrián and his kayak. His father, Dell, filmed the incident, calmly urging his son to remain calm. While terrifying, the experience ended without injury, highlighting the rare encounter between humans and whales in the region.

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Recursion Demystified: A Project-Based Approach

2025-01-04

The Recursive Book of Recursion challenges the intimidating reputation of recursive algorithms. Using Python and JavaScript examples, it progressively explains recursion's fundamentals, common algorithms (factorials, Fibonacci sequences, tree traversal, maze solving, etc.), and optimization techniques (tail call optimization, memoization). It covers advanced topics like divide-and-conquer, permutations, combinations, and dynamic programming, culminating in fractal art generation. Project-based and highly accessible, this book is perfect for beginners and experienced programmers alike.

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Development

Smartest Kid: A Python-based Windows Desktop AI Assistant

2025-03-03
Smartest Kid: A Python-based Windows Desktop AI Assistant

Meet Smartest Kid, a Windows desktop AI assistant built in Python! Inspired by SmarterChild, it boasts a clean, simple chat UI and uses Windows COM automation to interact with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel), images, and your file system. Perfect for Windows users exploring AI-powered desktop automation. The project is open-source and welcomes contributions to expand its functionality and personality.

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Development Windows automation

Iterated Log Coding: A Novel Floating-Point Encoding Format

2025-02-26

This article introduces a novel real number encoding format—iterated log coding. Unlike traditional floating-point representations, this format uses a sequence of sign bits to represent numbers, each sign bit indicating the positivity or negativity of the number within a specific range. This approach allows for a remarkably wide range of representable numbers, including extremely large or small values that are beyond the capabilities of traditional floating-point formats. It features a unique lexicographic ordering property. While the precision distribution is non-uniform, the method offers advantages in representing numbers within certain ranges, particularly where extremely large or small values are involved and precision requirements are less stringent.

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Development floating-point encoding

Apple's 'Liquid Glass' UI Redesign: Form Over Function?

2025-07-02
Apple's 'Liquid Glass' UI Redesign: Form Over Function?

Apple's new user interface design, "Liquid Glass," has sparked controversy. The author dissects Apple's developer documentation, revealing inconsistencies. The guidelines advocate blurring the lines between content and navigation while simultaneously advising clear separation. Unnecessary whitespace reduces screen density, and overly simplistic icon design requirements lead to bland, indistinguishable icons. The author argues that Apple prioritizes form over function, sacrificing user experience and developer freedom, resulting in homogenized third-party app icons. The focus on a "liquid glass" effect overshadows the importance of the elements it distorts.

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A Programmer's Lesson: Always Bundle a Proposal with a Complaint

2024-12-27
A Programmer's Lesson: Always Bundle a Proposal with a Complaint

In 1988 at Apple, a young, cocky engineer, Kent Beck, was summoned to Jean-Louis Gassée's office after sending an email complaining about a company decision. Instead of anger, Gassée challenged Beck to consider his perspective and rewrite the email as a proposal for a solution. This experience taught Beck three valuable lessons: most problems aren't as big as they seem; always include a solution with a complaint; and effective communication requires empathy. This anecdote highlights crucial workplace communication skills and the importance of understanding different viewpoints.

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Web Server Listen Overflows Traced to a Linux Kernel Performance Issue

2025-02-14

Upgrading web servers from CentOS to Ubuntu led to listen overflow errors. Investigation revealed a system CPU spike on newly booted Ubuntu hosts within minutes of startup, causing slow web request processing and subsequent listen overflows. The culprit was inode cgroup switching in the Linux kernel; after writing many files, the kernel spent significant time moving inodes between cgroups. Disabling the io or memory controllers in systemd resolved the issue. CentOS was unaffected as it uses cgroups v1, unlike Ubuntu's cgroups v2. A minimal reproduction script was created to demonstrate the issue.

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Development Performance Issue

In Defense of Text Labels: Why Icons Aren't Enough

2025-02-22
In Defense of Text Labels: Why Icons Aren't Enough

This article argues for the importance of text labels alongside icons in user interface design. The author contends that relying solely on icons increases cognitive load, as many icons lack immediate clarity and require extra interpretation, especially in complex interfaces with numerous icons. Text labels efficiently clarify meaning, reducing ambiguity and improving usability. The article also highlights inconsistencies in iconography across different applications, adding to user confusion. Therefore, the author advocates for a combined approach, using both icons and text labels for optimal user experience.

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Can You Beat Oregon Trail by Waiting at a River for 14,272 Years? A Reverse Engineering Odyssey

2025-01-13
Can You Beat Oregon Trail by Waiting at a River for 14,272 Years? A Reverse Engineering Odyssey

A Twitch streamer attempted to beat the classic game Oregon Trail by exploiting a bug: waiting at a river for 14,272 years. This led to an epic reverse engineering challenge. Using MAME emulator and debugging tools, the author delved into the Apple II version's code, discovering the game crashed due to flawed year handling during save/load. While not achieving a complete victory, the author successfully modified the game's code, resolving the crash, and shared their reverse engineering approach, offering valuable insights for other developers.

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Game game

Koniku: Building the Future of Computing with Living Neurons

2025-02-24
Koniku: Building the Future of Computing with Living Neurons

Koniku is attempting to build computers unlike any that have ever existed, using living neurons. Founder Oshiorenoya Agabi and his team in Berkeley, California, are developing a neuron-silicon hybrid chip, called the Koniku Kore, initially for chemical sensing, with future applications spanning drug development, agriculture, and neurological disease treatment. The company has secured contracts with defense and consumer product companies and plans to release a developer chip. While challenges remain, such as neuron cultivation and signal interpretation, Koniku's innovation lies in its fusion of biology and electronics, pushing towards 'wetware' AI and challenging the limitations of traditional silicon-based computing.

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