curl's Experimental HTTPS RR Support: The Next Generation of DNS Records

2025-03-31
curl's Experimental HTTPS RR Support: The Next Generation of DNS Records

curl now experimentally supports the new DNS record type HTTPS RR, offering a more modern way than SRV and URI to convey service metadata such as ECH configuration, ALPN lists, target hostnames, ports, and IP addresses. HTTPS RR enhances HTTPS connection security (via ECH encryption of the SNI field) and efficiency (by pre-fetching HTTP/3 support information), and simplifies service discovery. curl achieves HTTPS RR resolution through DoH, getaddrinfo(), or c-ares, but currently lacks runtime disabling and still has incomplete HTTPS RR support.

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Development

BreezeWiki: Say Goodbye to Fandom Ads

2025-03-31

Tired of annoying ads and videos on Fandom wikis? BreezeWiki offers a clean and refreshing reading experience. Simply replace "fandom.com" with "breezewiki.com" in the URL to say goodbye to slow loading and data consumption. BreezeWiki is supported by multiple independently run mirror websites, ensuring availability even if one mirror is down. While BreezeWiki doesn't allow editing or creating new pages, it provides readers with a content-focused reading environment and has been well-received by many users.

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Misc

DeepSeek Surpasses ChatGPT in Monthly Website Visits

2025-03-31
DeepSeek Surpasses ChatGPT in Monthly Website Visits

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has overtaken OpenAI's ChatGPT in new monthly website visits, becoming the fastest-growing AI tool globally, according to AI analytics platform aitools.xyz. In February 2025, DeepSeek recorded 524.7 million new visits, surpassing ChatGPT's 500 million. While still third overall behind ChatGPT and Canva, DeepSeek's market share soared from 2.34% to 6.58% in February, indicating strong global adoption. Its chatbot garnered 792.6 million total visits and 136.5 million unique users. India contributed significantly, generating 43.36 million visits monthly. The overall AI industry saw 12.05 billion visits and 3.06 billion unique visitors in February.

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US Crackdown on Dissent Silences Foreign Scientists

2025-03-29
US Crackdown on Dissent Silences Foreign Scientists

The US government's increasing crackdown on dissent is creating a climate of fear for foreign scientists, who risk visa cancellation, detention, and deportation for expressing critical views. The article details numerous cases of foreign students and scholars detained or deported for criticizing government policies. Universities are complying with the administration's demands for greater control over protests and faculty, in exchange for federal funding, even canceling DEI programs. Furthermore, the government is canceling research grants on topics like LGBT+ health, poverty's impact, and climate change. This chilling effect is silencing many foreign scientists and severely hindering scientific progress.

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Streaming Services Struggle with Differentiation as Viewers Can't Tell Them Apart

2025-03-26
Streaming Services Struggle with Differentiation as Viewers Can't Tell Them Apart

A new study from Hub Entertainment Research reveals that while viewers are aware of numerous streaming services, they struggle to differentiate between them. Major platforms like Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and Max have seen year-over-year declines in viewers' ability to explain what makes each service unique. Many streamers are cutting production and focusing on popular genres (dramas, movies, fantasy), resulting in a homogenization of original content and dampening subscription interest. Viewers are finding it harder to locate specific shows, while live sports have emerged as a key driver for new sign-ups and subscriber retention. Netflix's foray into live sports with NFL games proved particularly successful. The study suggests streamers should emphasize brand-defining features and value beyond exclusive originals to improve viewer loyalty.

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OpenJDK JDK 24 GA Released

2025-03-18

OpenJDK JDK 24 is now generally available! This release is an open-source implementation of the Java SE 24 Platform, licensed under the GNU General Public License, version 2, with the Classpath Exception. Oracle also offers commercial builds under a separate license. Users can submit feedback and bug reports through the usual Java SE channels, ensuring inclusion of complete version information from `java --version`. Note that due to intellectual property limitations, source code distribution is restricted to authorized countries.

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Development

Apple Unveils M3 Ultra: A New Peak in Mac Chip Performance

2025-03-05
Apple Unveils M3 Ultra: A New Peak in Mac Chip Performance

Apple has announced the M3 Ultra, its most powerful chip yet, pushing Apple silicon to new extremes. Boasting the most powerful CPU and GPU ever in a Mac, double the Neural Engine cores, and the largest unified memory ever in a personal computer (up to 512GB), the M3 Ultra delivers up to 2.6x the performance of the M1 Ultra. Built using Apple's innovative UltraFusion packaging architecture, it connects two M3 Max dies via over 10,000 high-speed connections for low latency and high bandwidth. Its significant AI capabilities allow it to run large language models (LLMs) with over 600 billion parameters directly on the device. The M3 Ultra also features Thunderbolt 5 with over double the bandwidth and support for up to eight Pro Display XDR displays.

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Hardware

Handling Difficult Employees: 5 Archetypes and How to Manage Them

2025-03-03
Handling Difficult Employees: 5 Archetypes and How to Manage Them

Canopy founder Claire shares her insights on managing challenging employees, outlining five common archetypes: the resistant veteran, the passive resister, the brilliant but abrasive tech genius, the excuse-maker, and the emotionally volatile employee. The article details the characteristics of each type and offers specific strategies for effective management, emphasizing a focus on team well-being and data-driven decisions rather than emotional reactions. The ultimate goal is a healthy, high-performing team culture, sometimes requiring the difficult decision to part ways.

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Startup employee types

PocketFlow: A New Framework for Building Enterprise-Ready AI Systems

2025-03-21
PocketFlow: A New Framework for Building Enterprise-Ready AI Systems

PocketFlow is a TypeScript-based LLM framework utilizing a nested directed graph structure. This breaks down complex AI tasks into reusable LLM steps, enabling branching and recursion for agent-like decision-making. The framework is easily extensible, integrating various LLMs and APIs without specialized wrappers, and features visual workflow debugging and state persistence, accelerating the building of enterprise-grade AI systems.

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Banned from MSG for a T-Shirt He Designed Years Ago?

2025-03-29
Banned from MSG for a T-Shirt He Designed Years Ago?

Frank Miller, a graphic designer, was banned for life from Madison Square Garden (MSG) and its properties, including Radio City Music Hall, for an incident he claims he wasn't even involved in. The ban stems from a "Ban Dolan" T-shirt he designed in 2017, referencing a conflict between Knicks owner James Dolan and Charles Oakley. Although Miller wasn't wearing the shirt and hadn't attended an MSG event in almost two decades, he was identified, likely via facial recognition technology, and denied entry to a concert on his parents' anniversary. MSG claims his actions violated their code of conduct, but Miller argues this highlights the potential misuse of facial recognition and corporate power, raising concerns about privacy and surveillance.

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Misc

The Centennial Computer: A Post-Apocalyptic Computing Dream

2025-03-25
The Centennial Computer: A Post-Apocalyptic Computing Dream

This article explores the possibility of designing a general-purpose computing machine built to last a century. The author reflects on the pervasive planned obsolescence and internet dependence of modern electronics, drawing inspiration from science fiction to envision a self-repairing, self-replicating computer adaptable to various power sources and communication methods. This computer would feature a simple interface, an open-source operating system (like Forth-based DuskOS or CollapseOS), and comprehensive documentation and tools to ensure long-term usability in a post-apocalyptic setting. The design prioritizes durability, repairability, and openness, challenging the modern consumerist model of technology.

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Google Search's Trust Crisis: Why I'm Considering Switching

2025-03-29
Google Search's Trust Crisis: Why I'm Considering Switching

Google Search has been my default for years, but recently, it's been riddled with errors. From incorrect sports scores to inaccurate song information and flawed troubleshooting advice, the results have become unreliable. The search results are swamped with outdated information, SEO spam, and AI-generated nonsense, eroding my trust in the platform. While this might be attributed to bugs in Google's Knowledge Graph, the over-reliance on AI and a perceived lack of responsiveness to user feedback are making me consider switching search engines.

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Tech

Rust Adopts Ferrocene Language Specification

2025-03-30

Rust's lack of an official specification has hindered its adoption in safety-conscious organizations. The Rust project now announces its adoption of the Ferrocene Language Specification (FLS), developed by Ferrous Systems, as a core project component. This move aims to remove a significant barrier to using Rust in safety-critical systems.

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Automattic Announces Restructuring, 16% Workforce Reduction

2025-04-02
Automattic Announces Restructuring, 16% Workforce Reduction

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg announced a company restructuring involving a 16% workforce reduction. This decision aims to improve efficiency, profitability, and competitiveness in a rapidly evolving market. Affected employees will receive severance packages, benefits, and job placement resources. Automattic stated this restructuring is necessary to ensure long-term success and continue its mission to democratize the internet.

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Startup

Critical Ubuntu User Namespace Bypass Exploits Discovered

2025-03-29
Critical Ubuntu User Namespace Bypass Exploits Discovered

Qualys researchers have uncovered three critical security bypasses in Ubuntu 23.10 and 24.04's unprivileged user namespace restrictions. These bypasses, leveraging the aa-exec tool, busybox shell, and LD_PRELOAD technique, allow local attackers to create user namespaces with full administrative privileges, potentially exploiting kernel vulnerabilities. Canonical acknowledges these as limitations of their AppArmor defense, not vulnerabilities, and recommends administrative hardening steps such as enabling kernel.apparmor_restrict_unprivileged_unconfined=1 to mitigate the risks.

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Development

ChatGPT's Hallucinations Spark Another GDPR Complaint Against OpenAI

2025-03-20
ChatGPT's Hallucinations Spark Another GDPR Complaint Against OpenAI

OpenAI faces another European privacy complaint over ChatGPT's tendency to hallucinate false information. Noyb is supporting a Norwegian user falsely accused by ChatGPT of murdering two children and attempting to kill a third. This highlights the risks of LLMs' 'hallucinations' and GDPR's accuracy requirements. While OpenAI offers remedies like blocking prompts, this is insufficient under GDPR's right to rectification. The case could result in fines up to 4% of annual turnover and force OpenAI to modify its AI products, impacting the entire industry.

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AI

Hacker Laws: A Compendium of Software Development Principles

2025-03-30

This repository serves as a comprehensive guide to various laws, principles, and patterns prevalent in software development. From Brooks' Law and Conway's Law to Amdahl's Law and the 90-9-1 principle, it offers a detailed overview without advocating for any specific approach. It explores diverse aspects, including cognitive biases, distributed systems limitations, code quality, and team dynamics, providing valuable insights and lessons learned for developers of all levels.

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Development Laws of Software

Rethinking Rats: A Long War and the Possibility of Coexistence

2025-03-30
Rethinking Rats: A Long War and the Possibility of Coexistence

This article explores the complex relationship between humans and rats. Historically demonized for spreading diseases like the plague, recent research suggests that rats may not be solely to blame for plague transmission; human hygiene plays a crucial role. The article further reveals that urban rats aren't as dirty or aggressive as commonly perceived, nor are they superspreaders of disease. Instead of a brutal war on rats, the author calls for communication and coexistence, suggesting improvements to infrastructure, sanitation, and other measures to foster a more harmonious relationship with rats.

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Unexpected Exciton Mobility at Cryogenic Temperatures: Phasons in Moiré Superlattices

2025-03-28
Unexpected Exciton Mobility at Cryogenic Temperatures: Phasons in Moiré Superlattices

Researchers at Berkeley Lab have discovered that phasons, low-temperature quasiparticles in moiré superlattices, enable interlayer excitons to move even at extremely low temperatures where motion should cease. This challenges conventional understanding and opens new avenues for improving the stability of quantum technologies by leveraging excitons as qubits. The discovery, made possible by the Molecular Foundry's Imaging and Manipulation of Nanostructures facility, provides fundamental insights into materials science and offers a promising path forward for quantum information science.

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The Snapchat Streak and the Half-Life of Status Games

2025-03-25
The Snapchat Streak and the Half-Life of Status Games

This article explores how Snapchat's streak feature briefly became a potent social capital game and its eventual decline. The author analyzes the fragility of 'proof of work' mechanisms in social networks and how major platforms extend their lifecycles by adding new content formats. Weaknesses of tech giants like Apple and Google in building social features are discussed, along with examples of companies leveraging social dynamics for business growth. Finally, the author concludes that for true happiness, one shouldn't tie it to others' scoreboards.

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Google Docs Fatal Error: The Bizarre Math.abs() Bug

2025-03-27
Google Docs Fatal Error: The Bizarre Math.abs() Bug

The Google Docs team encountered a bizarre fatal error: in a specific Chrome version, the Math.abs() function unexpectedly became an identity function at the super-optimized level, causing the document editor to crash after extensive text manipulation. After two days of intense debugging, the team finally traced the issue to an optimization change in the V8 engine, which caused Math.abs() to return negative values under specific conditions. This was a low-probability, non-deterministic error that was ultimately resolved with a temporary fix and assistance from the V8 team. The entire process revealed the complexity and challenges of debugging large software systems.

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Development V8 engine

Rediscovering Piranesi's Perspective Trick: A Forgotten Artistic Technique

2025-03-27
Rediscovering Piranesi's Perspective Trick: A Forgotten Artistic Technique

This article delves into the unique perspective technique employed by 18th-century artist Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Unlike traditional perspective, Piranesi's trick uses a near-large, far-small ratio when depicting a series of similar objects, rather than true perspective convergence. This technique, while violating perspective rules, enhances image readability and comprehension. The article analyzes the mathematical principles of this technique and, through comparison with traditional perspective, demonstrates its potential applications in image processing and mapmaking. The author even developed an algorithm to apply this technique to image editing software, offering a fresh perspective on image manipulation.

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Design

Protected Query Pattern: A Solution for Data Authorization in Full-Stack Apps

2025-04-02
Protected Query Pattern: A Solution for Data Authorization in Full-Stack Apps

Securing data access in modern full-stack applications is challenging. This article introduces the 'protected query pattern,' an elegant solution. It wraps pure query functions with an authorization layer, offering `query.protect` and `query.unsafe` methods for authorized and direct queries respectively. This approach avoids duplicated authorization logic, improves maintainability and readability, and supports data redaction. Kilpi simplifies implementation, offering centralized authorization and data filtering for enhanced efficiency.

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Development data authorization

Beginner's Guide to Linux/Unix Programming

2025-03-30

This book offers a comprehensive introduction to programming on Linux and Unix systems, even for those without prior programming experience. The author's friendly, conversational style, backed by over 40 years of teaching experience, guides readers through programming techniques, efficient workflow strategies, and the underlying design of Unix. Numerous diagrams and hands-on projects reinforce key concepts, building upon each other throughout the book. While prior C/C++ experience is helpful, it's not required; however, access to a Linux system is necessary.

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Development

arXivLabs: Experimental Projects with Community Collaborators

2025-03-30
arXivLabs: Experimental Projects with Community Collaborators

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 only partners with those who adhere to them. Have an idea to enhance the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

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Development

Nvidia's AI Power Play: Moore's Law is Dead, Long Live the 600kW Rack

2025-03-31
Nvidia's AI Power Play: Moore's Law is Dead, Long Live the 600kW Rack

At Nvidia's GTC, Jensen Huang unveiled Nvidia's next three generations of GPUs, including the Blackwell and Rubin processors, and a massive 600kW rack-scale system. This reveals Nvidia's strategy to pursue massive compute power expansion by stacking more silicon, increasing memory bandwidth, and lowering precision, post-Moore's Law. However, this brings immense power consumption and cooling challenges, necessitating the construction of specialized "AI factories." Nvidia's move also paves the way for competitors, signaling a new era of ultra-dense computing in data centers.

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Tech AI Compute

Blockchain Misuse: Hype or Innovation?

2025-03-18
Blockchain Misuse: Hype or Innovation?

This article critically analyzes the current state of blockchain applications in areas such as supply chain management, object authenticity verification, statement authenticity guarantee, voting, proof of authorship, and land registry. The author points out that many seemingly logical blockchain solutions ignore the core issue of 'blockchain is not the Internet of Things (IoT)', leading to difficulties in guaranteeing data authenticity. The article argues that in many scenarios, distributed databases or digital signatures can solve the problem without the complexity and resource consumption of blockchain. The author believes that currently, only in the area of value transfer does blockchain (such as Bitcoin) demonstrate true value, while the application prospects of smart contracts remain unclear.

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Servo vs. Ladybird: A Battle of New Browser Engines

2025-03-26
Servo vs. Ladybird: A Battle of New Browser Engines

This article compares Servo and Ladybird, two projects aiming to revolutionize the browser engine landscape. Servo, initially backed by Mozilla, transitioned to the Linux Foundation due to funding issues and is now developed by Igalia with an undisclosed but significant funding source. Ladybird, started by Andreas Kling, relies on Patreon, GitHub sponsorships, and ad revenue, and has grown into an independent project with 7 full-time engineers, boasting substantial donations. In web standards compliance tests, Ladybird slightly edges out Servo, although Servo excels in CSS tests. Performance-wise, Servo significantly outperforms Ladybird, but both lag behind mainstream browsers. Both are open-source, but target different audiences and development models; Servo emphasizes embeddability, while Ladybird focuses on the browser itself.

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Half of US Drinking Water Contaminated with 'Forever Chemicals'

2025-03-28
Half of US Drinking Water Contaminated with 'Forever Chemicals'

The EPA's latest data reveals that nearly half of Americans have drinking water contaminated with PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals'. These compounds, found in numerous products, persist in the environment and are linked to serious health issues like cancer and immune deficiencies. While the EPA has implemented regulations, millions remain at risk, highlighting the urgent need for widespread testing and remediation efforts.

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