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Media Giants Sue AI Startup Cohere for Copyright Infringement

2025-02-14
Media Giants Sue AI Startup Cohere for Copyright Infringement

Condé Nast and other media companies are suing AI startup Cohere for allegedly using their news articles to train its large language model without permission. The lawsuit claims Cohere engaged in systematic copyright and trademark infringement, not only using articles without authorization but also fabricating articles and falsely attributing them to the publishers. The plaintiffs are seeking substantial damages, while Cohere calls the lawsuit frivolous and maintains it employs responsible training practices.

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(arstechnica.com)
Tech

Mercure: A Fast and Reliable Real-time Communication Solution

2025-01-02
Mercure: A Fast and Reliable Real-time Communication Solution

Mercure is an open, easy, fast, reliable, and battery-efficient solution for pushing data updates to web browsers and other HTTP clients. It's ideal for publishing asynchronous and real-time updates of resources served through web APIs, powering reactive web and mobile apps. The protocol and a production-ready Go implementation, along with libraries and a Docker image, are available on GitHub. A managed, highly scalable version is also offered at Mercure.rocks.

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(github.com)
Development real-time communication web API

We Were Never Pure: A Long History of Globalization

2025-01-10
We Were Never Pure: A Long History of Globalization

This essay challenges the notion that globalization began in the 1990s, arguing instead that it's a continuous process throughout human history. By analyzing historical markets, the Columbian Exchange, and cultural exchanges, the author demonstrates that cultural blending isn't a modern phenomenon but a fundamental characteristic of human societal evolution. The article critiques the view of globalization as a threat, suggesting this stems from historical amnesia and a fantasy of 'pure cultures.' It calls for recognizing globalization as the driving force of human cultural evolution, not a catastrophe.

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(aeon.co)
Misc globalization cultural exchange

Rails 8: Surprisingly Great for Solo Projects

2025-01-01

After building and deploying a new Rails 8 application, it's clear: Rails is awesome, especially for small, single-developer projects. The new Getting Started guide is excellent, leading you from zero to a production-ready app with authentication, caching, rich text, CI, and a database – all without much hassle. Rails 8 simplifies database setup, making SQLite production-ready. Built-in CI config and free Github Actions minutes make continuous integration a breeze. A new, easy-to-use authentication generator and streamlined deployment further enhance the experience. Rails 8 makes development efficient and accessible, even for solo developers.

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(literallythevoid.com)
Development

Minimizing Action with Gradient Descent: A Novel Physics Perspective

2025-04-29

This post presents a unique perspective on physics: viewing it as an optimization problem. The author solves the free-fall problem by minimizing the action using gradient descent, instead of traditional analytical or numerical methods. The post compares analytical, numerical, and action-minimization approaches, implementing the latter with PyTorch. The results match analytical and numerical solutions, offering a fresh perspective on classical mechanics and paving the way for exploring more complex physical systems.

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(greydanus.github.io)
Tech

Shawn Mendes' Song Secretly Reveals His Stance on the Kuril Islands Dispute?

2025-06-09
Shawn Mendes' Song Secretly Reveals His Stance on the Kuril Islands Dispute?

This article humorously analyzes Shawn Mendes' song "Lost in Japan," using lyrics, flight schedules, and geographical data to deduce that Mendes may have visited Iturup Island in the Kuril Islands, subtly supporting Japan's claim to the territory. The author's playful yet detailed investigation links seemingly simple lyrics to a complex geopolitical issue, leading to a surprising conclusion.

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(ericneyman.wordpress.com)
Misc geographical deduction

Improving GPD Pocket 4 Speaker Sound: PipeWire and Convolution DSP Magic

2025-04-09
Improving GPD Pocket 4 Speaker Sound: PipeWire and Convolution DSP Magic

Modern laptop speakers rely heavily on digital signal processing (DSP) to sound good. The author measured the frequency response of the GPD Pocket 4's built-in speakers using Room EQ Wizard, revealing a noticeable resonance peak at ~4kHz causing harshness. By generating a convolution filter's impulse response with REW and leveraging the PipeWire audio server, the author compensated for this flaw, significantly improving sound quality, mirroring similar optimizations done by the Asahi Linux project for Apple Silicon MacBooks.

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(kittenlabs.de)
Hardware convolution DSP

Changefly ID: Next-Gen Authentication for a Safer Internet

2025-05-30

Changefly ID offers a revolutionary approach to user authentication, moving beyond email and phone numbers. It provides secure logins for various applications, including payments, paywalls, loyalty programs, and more. The system uses a three-step process to generate API keys and authenticate users, prioritizing privacy and security. Changefly ID is free for personal use and offers commercial licensing options. Its mission is to build a safer internet by leveraging advanced security features like end-to-end encryption and machine learning.

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(www.changefly.com)
Development

Redis 8.0 Open Source Comeback and Valkey Performance Showdown

2025-05-31
Redis 8.0 Open Source Comeback and Valkey Performance Showdown

Redis Inc.'s controversial decision last year to close-source Redis shook the open-source community, but the community responded by forking Redis into Valkey. Now, Redis 8.0 is open-source again, and the original creator, Antirez, has returned. This article benchmarks Valkey 8.1 against Redis 8.0, showing Valkey outperforms Redis 8.0 in throughput and latency, especially with I/O threads enabled. It also explores core allocation optimization techniques and the limitations of benchmarking.

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(www.gomomento.com)
Development

Rediscovering Lost Wisdom: The Somers System of Land Appraisal

2025-06-01
Rediscovering Lost Wisdom: The Somers System of Land Appraisal

This article delves into the Somers System of land appraisal, a method used at the turn of the last century. Unlike modern computerized methods, the Somers System relied on community consensus to determine land values. The process involved two phases: a town hall meeting where citizens collectively assessed street values, followed by an algorithm calculating individual parcel values based on the resulting map. While largely forgotten, the author explores its viability in data-sparse environments and attempts to recreate it using modern GIS technology, questioning its accuracy against market values and exploring its potential for modern property or land value taxation.

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(progressandpoverty.substack.com)
Misc land appraisal Somers System community input

Doomsday Predictions: Why People Always Feel the End is Nigh

2024-12-18
Doomsday Predictions: Why People Always Feel the End is Nigh

From Columbus's time onward, doomsday predictions have accompanied humanity. The author argues that people believe in them not for comfort, but because they seem logical. A 'Good Cup Bad Cup' theory is introduced: people pay more attention to bad things, and negative memories fade faster, leading to a perception that bad things are increasing and the world is deteriorating. Historical examples, from ancient Egyptian prophecies to the Millerite movement, support this: people always feel the present is worse than the past. The author calls for a rational perspective, urging readers to avoid biases and recognize positive changes.

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(www.experimental-history.com)
Misc doomsday prophecies cognitive biases historical analysis

AI Accelerates Material Synthesis: Berkeley Lab Uses AI Algorithm to Dramatically Increase Efficiency

2025-09-22
AI Accelerates Material Synthesis: Berkeley Lab Uses AI Algorithm to Dramatically Increase Efficiency

Researchers at Berkeley Lab used an AI algorithm, AutoBot, to significantly improve the efficiency of synthesizing high-quality films. AutoBot analyzes data from multiple characterization techniques to quickly learn the relationship between synthesis parameters and film quality. The research found that high-quality films can be synthesized at relative humidity levels between 5% and 25%, without requiring stringent environmental controls. This research lays important groundwork for commercial manufacturing and demonstrates the immense potential of AI in materials science.

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(newscenter.lbl.gov)
Tech Film Synthesis

LLMs Struggle with Right-to-Left Code: The Case of q/kdb+

2025-07-09
LLMs Struggle with Right-to-Left Code: The Case of q/kdb+

Large language models (LLMs) face challenges when writing code in q/kdb+, a language with a right-to-left, no-operator-precedence evaluation order. The author demonstrates that LLMs struggle to generate correct code adhering to these rules, often mixing Python and q syntax. The article explores why LLMs find right-to-left coding difficult and proposes Qython as a solution. Qython is a Python-like language that compiles to q, leveraging LLMs' Python expertise to circumvent the difficulties of q's unique syntax. A practical example showcases Qython's effectiveness.

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(medium.com)
Development

Build a Rock-Solid SOC 2 Foundation: One-Stop Shop

2025-05-12
Build a Rock-Solid SOC 2 Foundation: One-Stop Shop

Tired of struggling with SOC 2 compliance? This tool provides clear, actionable SOC 2 checklists to understand requirements and easily track progress. Instantly generate foundational, SOC 2-compliant policies to kickstart your documentation. Centralize evidence uploads and link files directly to controls, simplifying audit preparation. Collaborate effectively with team task assignment, status tracking, and evidence request management—all within one platform. Future updates include automated evidence collection, continuous control monitoring, and vendor integrations.

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(www.lumoar.com)
Development

Optus Firewall Upgrade Causes 14-Hour Emergency Services Outage, Potentially Leading to 3 Deaths

2025-09-22
Optus Firewall Upgrade Causes 14-Hour Emergency Services Outage, Potentially Leading to 3 Deaths

An Optus firewall upgrade caused a 14-hour outage of emergency services (Triple Zero, 000) in Australia. Initial monitoring failed to detect the issue, and it wasn't until a customer reported the problem that Optus realized the severity. The CEO, Stephen Rue, stated that staff may not have followed established procedures. At least three deaths are potentially linked to the outage, with victims believed to have attempted to contact emergency services during the downtime. Optus is investigating and has expressed remorse, vowing to improve its emergency service protocols.

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(www.theregister.com)
Tech emergency services

US Government Tightens Spending Controls to Combat Fraud

2025-02-20
US Government Tightens Spending Controls to Combat Fraud

The US government has tightened spending restrictions on SmartPay government cards, encompassing both travel and purchase cards. Travel cards, common across government agencies, are tracked via software like Concur. Purchase cards, used for expenses under $10,000, require pre-approval through a multi-step process involving supervisors and finance departments. Every purchase is meticulously tracked through systems like Pegasys, demanding precise reconciliation of spending against approvals. A GSA employee highlighted the complexity of the system, arguing that committing fraud would require collusion across multiple parties, countering previous allegations.

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(www.wired.com)
Tech Government Spending Financial Management Fraud Prevention

PCIe 8.0: Double the Speed, Powering AI and Quantum Computing

2025-08-07
PCIe 8.0: Double the Speed, Powering AI and Quantum Computing

PCI-SIG announced that the PCIe 8.0 specification, targeting a 2028 release, will boast a raw bit rate of 256 GT/s—double that of PCIe 7.0. This translates to a potential 1 TB/s bidirectional throughput in a full x16 configuration. Designed to handle the massive data demands of AI, machine learning, edge computing, and even quantum systems, PCIe 8.0 also focuses on improved protocol efficiency, reduced power consumption, and backward compatibility. Its applications span high-performance computing, hyperscale data centers, aerospace, and automotive industries.

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(nerds.xyz)
Tech

Hegel 2.0: The Unrealized Revolution of Ternary Computing

2025-05-14
Hegel 2.0: The Unrealized Revolution of Ternary Computing

This article explores the Cold War clash between the US and Soviet Union in computer science and philosophy. Warren McCulloch's refusal of a Soviet invitation sets the stage for a narrative about the ternary computer SETUN and its connection to McCulloch's neural network theory and Gotthard Günther's 'transclassical logic'. Günther sought to synthesize Hegel's dialectic with cybernetics, arguing that ternary logic could solve contradictions inherent in binary logic and provide a foundation for a digital metaphysics. Though SETUN ultimately failed, it spurred exploration of non-binary computing and prompted reconsideration of binary oppositions in digital culture.

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(www.cabinetmagazine.org)
Tech Ternary Computing

US Immigration Crackdown Drives International Conferences Overseas

2025-05-24
US Immigration Crackdown Drives International Conferences Overseas

Several academic and scientific conferences in the United States have been postponed, canceled, or relocated due to growing concerns among international researchers about the country's stricter immigration policies. The tightening of visa rules and border control, coupled with other policies implemented by the Trump administration, is deterring international scholars from attending US-based events. As a result, organizers are moving conferences to countries like Canada to ensure broader participation. This trend, if it continues, could significantly impact US science and cities that rely on hosting these events, representing a potential decline in US influence within the global academic community and a possible deglobalization in scientific collaboration.

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(www.nature.com)
Tech

The 1954 Seattle Windshield Pitting Epidemic: A Case of Mass Delusion

2024-12-18
The 1954 Seattle Windshield Pitting Epidemic: A Case of Mass Delusion

In April 1954, Seattle and surrounding areas were gripped by a mysterious phenomenon: countless tiny pits appeared on car windshields. Panic ensued, with theories ranging from cosmic rays to nuclear fallout and even sand flea eggs. Official investigations were chaotic, experts disagreed, and mass hysteria gripped the public. The truth, however, was far less dramatic: the pits were already there, unnoticed until widespread attention and media fueled a collective delusion. The event became a textbook example of mass delusion, highlighting the dangers of misinformation and the power of groupthink.

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(www.historylink.org)
Misc mass delusion social psychology 1954 Seattle event

Firefly's Rocket Expertise Fuels Deep-Sea Probe

2025-03-02
Firefly's Rocket Expertise Fuels Deep-Sea Probe

Firefly, initially focused on rockets for launching satellites and spacecraft, has leveraged its experience building the Alpha rocket – despite some early setbacks – to design the propulsion system for its Blue Ghost deep-sea probe. CEO Jason Kim highlights the use of flight-proven attitude control thrusters from the Alpha rocket and in-house developed reaction control thrusters, reducing risk and capitalizing on existing expertise. Firefly's Texas facility, where rocket engine tests are conducted alongside a cow pasture, has expanded significantly. While thrusters were built on-site, the main engine for Blue Ghost was sourced from a supplier.

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(www.cnn.com)
Tech Aerospace Technology

HTTP/3's Divide: Hyperscale vs. Long Tail

2025-03-17
HTTP/3's Divide: Hyperscale vs. Long Tail

Despite HTTP/3 and its underlying QUIC protocol being standardized and widely used by major websites, native support in mainstream programming languages and open-source tools remains lacking. This article analyzes this paradox, arguing that its root cause lies in the internet's "two-tiered" structure: a vast gap exists between a few large tech companies ("hyperscale web") and the rest of the developers ("long tail web") in terms of resources and technological capabilities. Hyperscale players have the resources to quickly adopt new technologies, while the long tail is constrained by the update speed and compatibility issues of open-source tools. OpenSSL's handling of QUIC further exacerbates this divide. The author calls for attention to this issue to prevent the benefits of technological progress from being monopolized by a select few.

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(httptoolkit.com)
Development

A Personal Approach to Unix Package Management

2025-04-13

The author shares a clever method for managing personal software packages on Unix systems. They use a `~/lib/` directory tree to store software for different architectures, with each program installed in a separate, versioned subdirectory (e.g., `emacs-30.1`). A `~/bin/bin.` directory contains symbolic links or wrapper scripts pointing to these programs, allowing easy switching between versions. For tools like pipx and Cargo, the author keeps their default installation locations but creates links in `~/bin/bin.` to avoid path conflicts. This setup isn't perfect, but it's very useful for managing software unavailable through the system's package manager or that is too old.

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(utcc.utoronto.ca)
Development software management

Stop Killing Games: The Future of Game Ownership and Digital Rights

2025-07-05

The author recounts their experience of YouTube taking down a video on self-hosting and buying a new dishwasher only to find its functionality locked behind an app requiring WiFi and a Bosch account. This sparked reflection on digital product ownership, especially in gaming. They point out that more and more games rely on DRM and online connections, resulting in shorter game lifespans and players losing long-term ownership. The article calls attention to the "Stop Killing Games" initiative, hoping to change game design and sales models to protect player rights and restore the meaning of actually "owning" a game.

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(www.jeffgeerling.com)
Game

Local LLM Inference: Potential is Huge, But Tooling Needs to Mature

2025-04-21
Local LLM Inference: Potential is Huge, But Tooling Needs to Mature

This article benchmarks the performance of local LLM inference frameworks such as llama.cpp, Ollama, and WebLLM. Results show llama.cpp and Ollama are blazing fast, but still slower than OpenAI's gpt-4.0-mini. A bigger challenge lies in model selection and deployment: the sheer number of model versions is overwhelming, and even a quantized 7B model is over 5GB, leading to slow downloads and loading, impacting user experience. The author argues that future local LLM inference needs easier model training and deployment tools, and tight integration with cloud LLMs, to become truly practical.

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(medium.com)
Development model deployment inference performance

StringZilla v4: CUDA-Accelerated SIMD String Processing Library Released

2025-09-23
StringZilla v4: CUDA-Accelerated SIMD String Processing Library Released

StringZilla v4 is here! This SIMD-first string processing library now supports CUDA, meaning it's blazing fast not only on CPUs but also on GPUs! Version 4 boasts numerous new features, including GPU-accelerated dynamic programming algorithms, several hash functions (including a novel AES-based one), and biosequence fingerprinting using 52-bit integers. Benchmarks show StringZilla v4 achieving over 500 GCUPS in Levenshtein distance calculations, outperforming other libraries by tens or even hundreds of times. The library is Apache 2.0 licensed and free for commercial use.

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(ashvardanian.com)
Development

How Nazi Germany's Purge of Mathematicians Benefited the US

2025-04-18
How Nazi Germany's Purge of Mathematicians Benefited the US

In 1933, the Nazi regime expelled Jewish mathematicians from Göttingen University, crippling German mathematics. This exodus led to a significant influx of brilliant minds into the United States, including Einstein and von Neumann, bolstering American scientific and mathematical prowess. The article uses this historical event as a cautionary tale, highlighting the dangers of anti-science and anti-intellectualism, and raising concerns about parallels in the current American political climate.

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(undark.org)
Tech Nazis Göttingen

Estonia: A Digital Identity Pioneer

2025-03-19
Estonia: A Digital Identity Pioneer

Estonia's e-ID system, operational for over 20 years, is the cornerstone of its e-governance. All Estonian citizens, regardless of location, possess a state-issued digital identity used for daily transactions, from paying bills and voting online to signing contracts and accessing healthcare. This success has influenced EU policy, driving interoperability across Europe. Estonia now champions the adoption of digital wallets, enhancing security and convenience, while sharing its expertise globally.

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(e-estonia.com)
Tech digital identity e-governance Estonia

Larry the Cat: A Political Life at 10 Downing Street

2025-07-05
Larry the Cat: A Political Life at 10 Downing Street

Larry, the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street since 2011, has become a beloved British institution. This tabby cat, cared for by Downing Street staff and not the personal property of the Prime Minister, has witnessed six premierships. While his mousing skills have been questioned (earning him the nickname 'Lazy Larry'), his charm and media savvy have made him a star, even outpolling some Prime Ministers in popularity. Larry's duties, officially, involve greeting guests, inspecting security, and testing furniture for nap-worthiness.

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(en.wikipedia.org)
Misc Downing Street Cat
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