Broadcom's VMware Acquisition: A Resounding Success Fueled by AI

2025-03-07
Broadcom's VMware Acquisition: A Resounding Success Fueled by AI

Broadcom announced stellar Q1 2025 results, boasting a 25% year-over-year revenue increase to $14.92 billion and a staggering 315% surge in net income to $5.5 billion. The integration of VMware proved highly successful, with its infrastructure software business reaching $6.7 billion in revenue. This growth is attributed to the successful upselling of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) to a majority of its top 10,000 customers and strategic pricing adjustments. Furthermore, Broadcom secured two new hyperscale clients for its custom AI accelerators, driving AI-related revenue to $4.1 billion—a 77% year-over-year increase. Despite market fluctuations and tariff concerns, Broadcom's stock price rebounded, and CEO Hock Tan confirmed no immediate plans for further acquisitions.

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Tech Broadcom

Warner Bros. DVDs Are Mysteriously Rotting

2025-03-07
Warner Bros. DVDs Are Mysteriously Rotting

A wave of DVD rot is affecting Warner Bros. Home Entertainment titles manufactured between 2006 and 2008. Editor Chris Bumbray highlighted the issue after several of his classic films became unplayable. Warner Bros. has acknowledged the widespread problem and is offering replacements, but some out-of-print titles can only be exchanged for comparable movies. This surprising development underscores the inherent risks even with physical media, a stark contrast to the perceived permanence.

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Factorio Learning Environment: A New Benchmark for LLMs

2025-03-11

Large Language Models (LLMs) are rapidly exceeding existing benchmarks, demanding new open-ended evaluations. The Factorio Learning Environment (FLE) is introduced, using the game Factorio to test agents on long-term planning, program synthesis, and resource optimization. FLE offers open-ended, exponentially scaling challenges—from basic automation to complex factories processing millions of resource units per second. Two settings are provided: lab-play with 24 structured tasks and fixed resources, and open-play, the unbounded task of building the largest factory from scratch on a procedurally generated map. Results show LLMs still lack strong spatial reasoning. In lab-play, LLMs show promise in short-term skills but fail in constrained environments, highlighting limitations in error analysis. In open-play, while LLMs discover automation strategies improving growth (e.g., electric drilling), they fail at complex automation (e.g., electronic circuit manufacturing).

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AI

The Open Source Maintainer's Dilemma: How to Actually Help

2025-03-10

A developer on Hacker News highlights the challenges faced by open-source maintainers. Large organizations rely on these projects for cost savings but rarely contribute back, leaving maintainers overwhelmed. The core issue is poor communication: maintainers lack clear contribution guidelines, leaving contributors unsure how to help effectively. The author suggests maintainers clearly state their needs—whether they accept PRs, how to submit bug reports, and if they accept monetary support—to improve efficiency and collaboration.

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Development maintenance

Thirty Years Ago: A Glimpse into Rural Indian Poverty

2025-03-11
Thirty Years Ago: A Glimpse into Rural Indian Poverty

Thirty years ago, writer Siddharth Dube visited a small village in northern India, near the site of a historic peasant revolt. He encountered stark poverty: mud huts, primitive plows, barefoot elders, and emaciated children. Villager Ram Dass recounted his youth, working long days for a meager 1.5kg of grain, using rice stalks for warmth on cold nights, and owning only one pair of shoes his entire life. The account paints a poignant picture of enduring poverty and inequality in rural India.

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Elon Musk and Ketamine: A Risky Remedy?

2025-03-12
Elon Musk and Ketamine: A Risky Remedy?

Elon Musk's public admission of regular ketamine use for depression has sparked concerns about his mental health and behavior. The article explores the dual nature of ketamine as an anesthetic and antidepressant, and the potential cognitive and psychological impairments associated with long-term abuse. Musk's case raises questions about substance use within the tech elite and the complex relationship between power and personal well-being. The prevalence of ketamine also highlights the need for responsible mental health treatment and regulation.

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Misc Ketamine

A 9-Month Odyssey: Implementing Bel in Clojure

2025-03-11

This post details a nine-month journey of implementing the Bel programming language in Clojure. Initially envisioned as a weekend project, the author encountered several challenges: creating a custom parser for Bel's unique syntax; handling Bel's continuation-passing style, which necessitated a re-implementation of the interpreter's call stack to overcome stack overflow issues; and optimizing performance by leveraging Java data structures. The author delves into Bel's powerful features, such as `lit`, `globe`, `scope`, `mac`, and `err`, showcasing the capabilities enabled by continuations. While the project is still under development, the author highlights the valuable lessons learned throughout this challenging yet rewarding experience.

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Development

UK Government Deletes Document Promoting Apple's ADP?

2025-03-05
UK Government Deletes Document Promoting Apple's ADP?

A UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidance document previously advised high-risk individuals to use Apple's Device Protection (ADP) feature. However, following revelations of the government's demand for a backdoor in ADP, this document was deleted and replaced with a broader document downplaying the recommendation for ADP. This action raises questions: Is the UK government attempting to cover up its previous support for ADP, or is there another agenda? This event highlights the complex interplay between governments and tech companies regarding data security and privacy.

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Apple's AI Blunder: Broken Promises and Tarnished Credibility

2025-03-13
Apple's AI Blunder: Broken Promises and Tarnished Credibility

This article criticizes Apple's over-promotion of the "more personalized Siri" features within "Apple Intelligence" at WWDC 2024. The author points out that Apple only demonstrated basic features, while remaining silent on more complex and ambitious functionalities, ultimately resulting in a delay until the following year. This, the author argues, reveals not only the immaturity of Apple's AI technology but also severely damages its reputation for product quality and reliability.

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Tech

Apollo Mission: An Astronaut's Urgent Bathroom Break Before Launch

2025-03-06

During a countdown for an Apollo mission, a rocket malfunction required repairs, leading astronaut Shepard to request a quick bathroom break. After some discussion, ground control allowed Shepard to relieve himself after shutting down relevant circuits, preventing a launch delay. This anecdote led to Shepard being jokingly referred to as the "world's first wetback in space," adding a humorous footnote to space exploration history.

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Nearby Galaxy's Hidden Monster: Hypervelocity Stars Reveal Supermassive Black Hole

2025-03-09
Nearby Galaxy's Hidden Monster: Hypervelocity Stars Reveal Supermassive Black Hole

A new study suggests a previously unknown supermassive black hole lurks in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud. Researchers tracked hypervelocity stars, finding their trajectories didn't originate from our galaxy's central black hole, but rather from a black hole within the Large Magellanic Cloud, estimated to be 600,000 times the mass of our Sun. This strongly supports the existence of a supermassive black hole at the Large Magellanic Cloud's center, offering new insights into galactic evolution. The search is now on to directly detect this hidden object using various telescopes.

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Zenobē's 300MWh Battery Project: Powering Scotland's Green Energy Transition

2025-03-04
Zenobē's 300MWh Battery Project: Powering Scotland's Green Energy Transition

Zenobē, a UK-based energy company, is constructing a massive 300MW/600MWh battery storage project, Blackhillock, in Scotland. This will be Scotland's largest battery storage facility to date, representing 32% of the country's current installed capacity. Funded by £101m in debt financing, the project will provide vital grid stability services, reducing CO2 emissions by approximately 2.6 million tonnes annually and saving consumers over £170 million over 15 years. Blackhillock will also have the capacity to power over 3.1 million homes for two hours. Zenobē is a leading player in the UK EV bus sector, operating over 2,000 electric vehicles globally.

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QwQ-32B: Scaling RL for Enhanced Reasoning in LLMs

2025-03-05
QwQ-32B: Scaling RL for Enhanced Reasoning in LLMs

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in scaling reinforcement learning (RL) for large language models (LLMs). Their 32-billion parameter QwQ-32B model demonstrates performance comparable to the 671-billion parameter DeepSeek-R1 (with 37 billion activated parameters), highlighting the effectiveness of RL applied to robust foundation models. QwQ-32B, open-sourced on Hugging Face and ModelScope under the Apache 2.0 license, excels in math reasoning, coding, and general problem-solving. Future work focuses on integrating agents with RL for long-horizon reasoning, pushing the boundaries towards Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

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AI

Torii: A Powerful Authentication Framework for Rust, Giving You Control Over Your Data

2025-03-01
Torii: A Powerful Authentication Framework for Rust, Giving You Control Over Your Data

Torii is a powerful authentication framework for Rust applications that offers complete control over user data. Unlike hosted solutions like Auth0, Clerk, or WorkOS which store user information in the cloud, Torii lets you own and manage your authentication stack while providing modern auth features via a flexible plugin system. It combines powerful capabilities such as passwordless login, social OAuth, and passkeys with full data sovereignty, letting you store user data wherever you choose.

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Development

Mastering the Spotlight: Prioritization in Tech

2025-03-07

In the fast-paced world of tech, not all work is created equal. This article highlights that most high-priority tasks are actually low-impact. Success hinges on recognizing the 'spotlight' moments – projects receiving intense leadership focus. Engineers must develop the ability to quickly identify and seize these opportunities, dedicating themselves to high-impact projects. Conversely, when the spotlight isn't on them, leveraging personal time for valuable projects enhances skills and company contributions. This requires not just judgment but a skill honed through practice.

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Development

AI Boom Fuels Unexpected Tech Job Growth

2025-02-23
AI Boom Fuels Unexpected Tech Job Growth

Contrary to fears, the rise of artificial intelligence is projected to significantly boost tech sector employment. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts a more than 10% increase in jobs within professional, scientific, and technical services—more than double the national average—between 2023 and 2033. This growth is driven by the increasing complexity of AI systems, demanding more skilled professionals for development and management. Data scientists, information security analysts, and computer research scientists are expected to experience some of the fastest job growth, exceeding 30% in many cases.

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Tech Job Growth

Tesla Used Car Prices Plummet Amidst Growing Competition

2025-03-10
Tesla Used Car Prices Plummet Amidst Growing Competition

The used car market is booming! Driven by historically high new car prices, consumers are flocking to the pre-owned market for better deals. Used Tesla Model Ys, in particular, have seen prices drop over $6,000 in the past year, with some low-mileage models available for under $30,000. Used Model 3s are even cheaper, with some high-mileage options dipping below $15,000. This trend is linked to the launch of new Tesla models, increased competition, and shifting consumer search preferences. A surge in rival EV manufacturers is giving consumers more choices, challenging Tesla's market dominance.

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Tech

Trump Admin to Use AI to Target Pro-Palestine Students

2025-03-09
Trump Admin to Use AI to Target Pro-Palestine Students

The U.S. State Department is launching "Catch and Revoke," an AI-powered program to scan news and social media for pro-Palestinian and Hamas sympathies among student visa holders. This initiative, starting October 7th, raises serious concerns about free speech and potential biases in AI. The program aligns with the Trump administration's broader efforts to combat perceived antisemitism and domestic terrorism, efforts criticized for their overbroad definitions and potential for silencing dissent. The passage of the "Take it Down Act," ostensibly targeting revenge porn and deepfakes, further exacerbates these concerns, potentially providing a tool for suppressing criticism. The combined actions represent a significant attack on free speech and expression, fueled by surveillance technology.

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Tech

Xbox's Next Decade: Handhelds and Next-Gen Consoles

2025-03-10
Xbox's Next Decade: Handhelds and Next-Gen Consoles

Microsoft's Xbox strategy is shifting. While console sales have declined, its active user base has skyrocketed thanks to the Activision-Blizzard acquisition. Microsoft is focusing on a multi-platform strategy, including a planned 2025 release of an Xbox-branded handheld, codenamed "Keenan," running Windows and deeply integrated with PC Game Pass. More excitingly, Microsoft has greenlit next-gen Xbox consoles, slated for 2027, which will be closer to Windows, improving developer efficiency and continuing backward compatibility. This move aims to solidify its core user base and maintain competitiveness through more powerful hardware and tighter Windows integration.

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IBM CEO: Global Trade Isn't Dead, AI Is a Tool, Not a Panacea

2025-03-12
IBM CEO: Global Trade Isn't Dead, AI Is a Tool, Not a Panacea

IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, speaking at SXSW, asserted that despite the Trump administration's attacks on globalism, global trade remains vital for US growth. He emphasized the importance of attracting global talent, arguing that the US should be a hub for international expertise. While acknowledging AI's potential, Krishna cautioned against overhype, predicting AI will write only 20-30% of code, boosting programmer productivity rather than replacing them. He compared AI to calculators and Photoshop, highlighting its role in improving quality and predicting significant energy efficiency improvements. However, Krishna expressed greater optimism for quantum computing's role in scientific discovery, believing AI is limited to learning from existing knowledge and incapable of generating truly novel insights. His views contrast with those of OpenAI's Sam Altman, who anticipates a more transformative impact from AI.

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Securely Deploying to On-Prem IIS: Azure Pipelines in Action (Part III)

2025-03-08
Securely Deploying to On-Prem IIS: Azure Pipelines in Action (Part III)

This post details a secure deployment flow from Azure DevOps to an on-premises IIS server without requiring administrator privileges. The author tackles challenges like permission minimization and application pool manipulation, achieving automated deployments. The focus is on secure remote management using PowerShell and Just Enough Administration (JEA), with a complete YAML pipeline template and PowerShell scripts provided for a quick and secure setup.

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Age Verification Laws: A Trojan Horse for Mass Surveillance

2025-03-07
Age Verification Laws: A Trojan Horse for Mass Surveillance

Initially intended to protect children from harmful online content, age verification laws have morphed into a massive surveillance apparatus. From skincare products to dating apps and diet pills, the requirement to verify age is expanding, collecting vast amounts of personal data from all users. This isn't accidental; it's a deliberate strategy. Legislators leveraged concerns about child safety online to gradually expand age verification, ultimately aiming to build a comprehensive surveillance system. This practice not only violates the privacy of all users but also seriously threatens online freedom. We must resist this privacy-invasive legislation and explore more effective, less invasive methods of protecting children online.

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Tech

Internet Archive's Great 78 Project Faces Copyright Lawsuit: Preservation or Infringement?

2025-03-07
Internet Archive's Great 78 Project Faces Copyright Lawsuit: Preservation or Infringement?

The Internet Archive (IA) is facing a copyright lawsuit over its "Great 78 Project." Music publishers argue that the songs included are readily available elsewhere and don't need archiving. However, archivists and the Association for Recorded Sound Collections counter that 78 RPM records are scarce, many aren't commercially re-released, and IA's project is crucial for preservation and long-term access. They emphasize the project's value extends beyond the audio, including metadata such as labels and copyright information. The dispute highlights the tension between preserving cultural heritage and copyright restrictions in the digital age.

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Hypershell Exoskeleton: Boosting Leg Power, But Not a Medical Device

2025-03-11
Hypershell Exoskeleton: Boosting Leg Power, But Not a Medical Device

Hypershell has launched a power exoskeleton that claims to boost peak biological torques at the hip joint by up to 40%, reduce them by 30%, and provide a 30kg offset (at max assistance, adjusted to body weight). The carbon fiber version (without battery) weighs 1.8kg. The range is 17.5km at 4km/h in 30% Eco mode. Charging time is based on lab tests and may vary. Disclaimer: This product is not intended for medical use; users assume all risks.

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Breaking the Algorithmic Ceiling: Efficient Generative Pre-training with Inductive Moment Matching (IMM)

2025-03-12
Breaking the Algorithmic Ceiling: Efficient Generative Pre-training with Inductive Moment Matching (IMM)

Luma Labs introduces Inductive Moment Matching (IMM), a novel pre-training technique addressing the stagnation in algorithmic innovation within generative pre-training. IMM significantly outperforms diffusion models in both sample quality and sampling efficiency, achieving over a tenfold increase in the latter. By incorporating the target timestep, IMM enhances the flexibility of each inference iteration, overcoming the limitations of linear interpolation in diffusion models. Experiments demonstrate state-of-the-art FID scores on ImageNet and CIFAR-10, along with superior training stability. This research marks a significant advance in generative pre-training algorithms, paving the way for future advancements in multi-modal foundation models.

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From Java/Kotlin to Go: A Tale of Two Ecosystems

2025-02-18
From Java/Kotlin to Go: A Tale of Two Ecosystems

This post recounts a developer's journey from Java and Kotlin to Go. Initially favoring Java's mature ecosystem and Spring framework, the author encountered performance bottlenecks with slow startup times and high resource consumption in larger projects. The shift to Go, driven by Kubernetes tooling and a self-hostable software distribution platform, proved surprisingly smooth. The author highlights Go's faster startup times, lower resource usage, and lightweight ecosystem as significant advantages. While acknowledging Java's strengths, the author concludes that Go is a superior choice for cloud-native applications and Kubernetes.

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Development

Restate: Simplifying Complex AI Game Workflows

2025-03-10
Restate: Simplifying Complex AI Game Workflows

This article demonstrates building an interactive text-adventure game from a single user prompt using the Restate framework. The application orchestrates image generation, audio synthesis, and multiple large language model calls, tasks traditionally requiring complex message queues and error handling. Restate simplifies this with durable handlers and built-in concurrency primitives, providing automatic retries, state management, and guaranteed request execution. The author details the application architecture, code implementation, and challenge solutions, showcasing how Restate efficiently handles long-running workflows and improves developer productivity.

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Game

Auntie PDF: Your Go-To PDF Helper

2025-03-08
Auntie PDF: Your Go-To PDF Helper

Auntie PDF is a smart PDF processing tool that acts like your all-knowing aunt, helping you easily understand and extract key information from your PDFs. Simply upload your PDF, and Auntie PDF, powered by advanced OCR technology, will extract all important text and organize it for you, allowing for quick comprehension. It supports various PDF types, but it's best to avoid password-protected files and ensure clear text within the document.

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Hacking the Clock: How Scientists Are Reviving Ancient Forests

2025-03-10
Hacking the Clock:  How Scientists Are Reviving Ancient Forests

Britain faces a biodiversity crisis, with the decline of ancient oak trees threatening countless species. This article explores how scientists are using technology—from laser scanning and microbial injections to artificial wounding—to accelerate the development of features in young trees that mimic the habitats found in centuries-old giants. This 'veteranization' process, while seemingly destructive, speeds up the natural creation of hollows and decay crucial for supporting diverse ecosystems, bridging the centuries-long gap between young and ancient trees, and offering hope for endangered species.

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Tech
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