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Rethinking Event-Driven Programming: A Bidirectional Observer Pattern in PHP

2025-09-01

Rethinking Event-Driven Programming: A Bidirectional Observer Pattern in PHP

Traditional observer patterns are observer-centric: events trigger passive reactions. This PHP Observer package shifts the perspective to the emitter. Emitters dispatch signals (events, plans, inquiries, commands), and observers can return counter-signals, creating a bidirectional dialogue. This allows for dynamic handling of complex workflows, such as canceling orders based on inventory or dynamically configuring libraries. The package offers seven signal types, robust error handling, and observability features, making it ideal for building responsive, emitter-driven applications.

(medium.com)

Development Observer Pattern Bidirectional Communication

C++20's Strongly Happens Before: Untangling the Memory Model

2025-09-01

This article delves into C++20's newly introduced "strongly happens before" relationship, which solves a tricky problem within the C++ memory model. Using a simple multithreaded program example, the author progressively explains how modification order, coherence ordering, and the "strongly happens before" relationship constrain the order of concurrent execution. The article also analyzes why certain executions seemingly violating the C++ memory model are allowed on Power architectures and explains how "strongly happens before" fixes these inconsistencies, ultimately guaranteeing a single total order for all `memory_order::seq_cst` operations.

(nekrozqliphort.github.io)

Development

The Bloody Cane: Gutta-Percha, the Transatlantic Cable, and Environmental Destruction

2025-09-01

The Bloody Cane: Gutta-Percha, the Transatlantic Cable, and Environmental Destruction

The 1856 caning of Senator Charles Sumner by Representative Preston Brooks is a notorious event highlighting the fractured political climate before the American Civil War. Less known is the story of the cane itself, crafted from gutta-percha, a natural rubber from Southeast Asia. This seemingly innocuous material proved crucial to the 19th-century communications revolution, enabling the transatlantic telegraph cable. However, the insatiable demand led to widespread deforestation and environmental devastation, ultimately replaced by synthetic plastics. The story serves as a cautionary tale about the unforeseen consequences of technological advancement and the need for sustainable practices.

(worldhistory.substack.com)

Misc

Amazon Prime Video Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Button Misleading Consumers

2025-09-01

Amazon Prime Video Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Button Misleading Consumers

A user is suing Amazon Prime Video, claiming its use of the "buy" button is misleading, as it actually purchases a revocable license to access digital content, not permanent ownership. The plaintiff points out that the fine print below Prime Video's "buy" button is too inconspicuous, only visible at the final stage of the transaction. Legal experts believe Amazon might argue users should read the full terms, but the plaintiff is likely to win because ordinary consumers understand "buy" as a permanent transaction. The key to this case is proving that Amazon's advertising is misleading and the losses suffered by consumers due to content removal.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

Wartime Trade: A Surprising Economic Reality

2025-09-01

Wartime Trade: A Surprising Economic Reality

MIT political scientist Mariya Grinberg's groundbreaking new book, "Trade in War," challenges conventional wisdom about wartime trade. Contrary to popular belief, nations frequently trade with their enemies during conflicts. Grinberg's research reveals that state leaders carefully calculate the economic benefits and military risks of trade, selectively engaging in it based on the potential utility of goods to the enemy, the impact on their own economy, and their estimations of war duration. For example, Germany's WWI dye exports to Britain are analyzed through this lens. The book offers a fresh perspective on international relations, highlighting the complex economic strategies states employ during war and their remarkably poor predictions of conflict length.

(news.mit.edu)

Tech war economics international relations

Headless Saints and the French State's Neglect of its Churches

2025-09-01

Headless Saints and the French State's Neglect of its Churches

Many French churches feature a disturbing number of decapitated statues, a legacy of the French Revolution's anti-clerical sentiment. While nearly 250 years have passed, these heads remain absent, highlighting the French state's complex relationship with the Catholic Church. The state owns most churches built before 1905, yet their upkeep is often neglected, leaving many in disrepair. The article contrasts the decaying state of rural churches with the architectural marvel of Vézelay's Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, showcasing the enduring beauty of medieval religious architecture against the backdrop of secularization and state indifference.

(thecatholicherald.com)

Misc Religious Heritage Secularization

AI Web Crawlers: Devouring the Open Web?

2025-09-01

AI Web Crawlers: Devouring the Open Web?

The rise of AI has unleashed a swarm of AI web crawlers, relentlessly scraping content to feed Large Language Models (LLMs). This results in 30% of global web traffic originating from bots, with AI bots leading the charge. Unlike traditional crawlers, these AI bots are far more aggressive, ignoring crawl delays and bandwidth limitations, causing performance degradation, service disruptions, and increased costs for websites. Smaller sites are often crippled, while larger sites face immense pressure to scale their resources. While solutions like robots.txt and proposed llms.txt exist, they are proving insufficient. This arms race between websites and AI companies risks fragmenting the web, restricting access to information, and potentially pushing the internet towards a pay-to-access model.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech web traffic

Groundbreaking Study: Beta-Blockers May Harm Women After Heart Attacks

2025-09-01

Groundbreaking Study: Beta-Blockers May Harm Women After Heart Attacks

Groundbreaking research reveals that beta-blockers, a first-line treatment for heart attacks for decades, don't benefit most patients and may increase hospitalization and death risk in some women, but not men. A large-scale trial showed women with minimal heart damage after a heart attack who received beta-blockers were significantly more likely to experience another heart attack, heart failure hospitalization, and nearly triple the death risk compared to those not receiving the drug. However, for patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction below 40%, beta-blockers remain standard care. This study highlights crucial gender differences in heart disease treatment and is likely to reshape international clinical guidelines.

(www.cnn.com)

Tech beta-blockers gender differences

OpenAI Cracks Down on Harmful ChatGPT Content, Raises Privacy Concerns

2025-09-01

OpenAI Cracks Down on Harmful ChatGPT Content, Raises Privacy Concerns

OpenAI has acknowledged that its ChatGPT AI chatbot has led to mental health crises among users, including self-harm, delusions, and even suicide. In response, OpenAI is now scanning user messages, escalating concerning content to human reviewers, and in some cases, reporting it to law enforcement. This move is controversial, balancing user safety concerns with OpenAI's previously stated commitment to user privacy, particularly in light of an ongoing lawsuit with the New York Times and other publishers. OpenAI is caught in a difficult position: addressing the negative impacts of its AI while protecting user privacy.

(futurism.com)

AI

Crypto Utopia: Experimenting with Network States in Malaysia's Forest City

2025-09-01

Crypto Utopia: Experimenting with Network States in Malaysia's Forest City

In a repurposed hotel on a reclaimed island in Malaysia, crypto and tech entrepreneurs are conducting a real-life experiment: building new sovereign states from scratch. Network School, the brainchild of former Coinbase executive Balaji Srinivasan, attracts nearly 400 students learning coding, decentralized governance, and building crypto projects. The curriculum blends practical skills with ideological exploration, combining coding sprints with seminars on topics like the Meiji Restoration and Singapore's statecraft. Srinivasan's vision is to create "startup societies" defined by shared beliefs, not territory, and he sees the world as ripe for his brand of nation-state disruption, using Forest City as a testing ground for global rollout. Despite challenges, the project injects energy into Forest City, offering a unique case study in exploring future models of societal governance.

(www.latimes.com)

Startup network state startup society

IBM's Software Strategy Shift: From Free to Fee

2025-09-01

This article recounts IBM's strategic shift from offering free software to charging for it in the early 1970s. Initially, to build utility value for its computers, IBM offered software for free, similar to today's bundled internet and phone packages. However, antitrust pressures and internal factors, such as executive bonuses versus future recurring revenue, led IBM to unbundle software and hardware pricing and start charging for system engineer services. This transition also resulted in adjustments to the training model for junior engineers. To support 7x24 online services, IBM developed techniques to optimize billing. Following the failure of the Future System project, IBM refocused on 370 hardware and software, ultimately deciding to charge for kernel software, marking a complete change in its software strategy.

(alt.folklore.computers.narkive.com)

Tech software strategy

AI Music: The Silent Revolution Sweeping the Charts

2025-09-01

AI Music: The Silent Revolution Sweeping the Charts

Forget guitars and keyboards; a new wave of music creation is here, driven by AI. Oliver McCann, using the stage name imoliver, proves that musical talent isn't a prerequisite for chart success. His AI-generated tracks have garnered millions of streams, leading to a record deal—a first for an AI musician. This rise of AI music tools, however, has sparked a flurry of copyright lawsuits from major record labels. Simultaneously, AI's democratizing effect is empowering hobbyists, who are using it to create music at an unprecedented scale. Despite controversies over quality and ownership, the potential of AI music to reshape the industry is undeniable.

(apnews.com)

Tech

Escaping the microSD Card Hell: Rock 5 ITX+ and EDK2-RK3588 UEFI Firmware

2025-09-01

Escaping the microSD Card Hell: Rock 5 ITX+ and EDK2-RK3588 UEFI Firmware

Tired of constantly removing the side panel of his Rock 5 ITX+ to swap OSes via microSD, the author explored using EDK2-RK3588 UEFI firmware. This allowed booting and installing generic ARM Linux images from USB. The journey involved overcoming the quirks of the Rock 5 ITX+, like its inability to boot from microSD. Successful installations of Fedora Rawhide and Ubuntu 25.10 were achieved, though minor issues like sound remained. While an SD card extender offers a simpler solution, this article delves into the potential of EDK2-RK3588, paving the way for greater RK3588 platform versatility.

(interfacinglinux.com)

Hardware

China Develops Lunar Soil Brick Maker: Solar-Powered Lunar Base Construction

2025-09-01

China Develops Lunar Soil Brick Maker: Solar-Powered Lunar Base Construction

A Chinese research team has developed a prototype machine that uses solar energy to transform lunar soil into durable construction bricks, marking a significant step towards building lunar structures from in-situ resources. The machine, a solar-powered 3D printer, uses a parabolic reflector to concentrate sunlight, reaching temperatures exceeding 1300°C to melt the regolith without any additives. While the bricks alone can't withstand lunar pressures, they'll serve as protective layers for pressure-retaining habitats. This technology is a key part of China's broader vision for lunar construction, aligning with the International Lunar Research Station project and aiming for full-scale surface construction with automated robots.

(www.moondaily.com)

Tech Lunar Base

The Poop Problem: How Hikers Are Impacting Our National Parks

2025-09-01

The Poop Problem: How Hikers Are Impacting Our National Parks

Millions of hikers annually leave behind human waste in natural areas, posing a significant public health and environmental risk. Research shows that despite available facilities, many hikers defecate in the backcountry due to lack of awareness, unclear regulations, or perceived insignificance. Promoting Leave No Trace principles, researchers advocate for using wag bags or properly digging cat holes, emphasizing the necessity of packing out waste in sensitive environments to protect fragile ecosystems.

(theconversation.com)

Misc Leave No Trace hiking waste disposal

Bayes, Bits & Brains: A Probability and Information Theory Adventure

2025-09-01

This website delves into probability and information theory, explaining how they illuminate machine learning and the world around us. Intriguing riddles, such as predicting the next letter in Wikipedia snippets and comparing your performance to neural networks, lead to explorations of information content, KL divergence, entropy, cross-entropy, and more. The course will cover maximum likelihood estimation, the maximum entropy principle, logits, softmax, Gaussian functions, and setting up loss functions, ultimately revealing connections between compression algorithms and large language models. Ready to dive down the rabbit hole?

(bayesbitsbrains.github.io)

AI

Senior Devs Embrace AI Code, But Efficiency Gains Aren't Always Smooth Sailing

2025-09-01

Senior Devs Embrace AI Code, But Efficiency Gains Aren't Always Smooth Sailing

A Fastly survey reveals senior developers are more likely to use AI-generated code than junior developers, with over half of their shipped code originating from AI. While AI can significantly boost coding speed, senior developers also spend more time fixing AI-generated errors, offsetting some time savings. The survey also uncovers the hidden costs of AI coding: high energy consumption and potential vulnerabilities. Despite this, AI still improves developer job satisfaction.

(www.fastly.com)

Development

Open Source's Unsung Heroes: Hobbyist Maintainers Carrying the Weight

2025-09-01

Open Source's Unsung Heroes: Hobbyist Maintainers Carrying the Weight

This podcast explores the massive disconnect between the corporate world consuming open source and the hobbyist community producing it. The conversation reveals this isn't a new problem, but a long-standing reality whose security, stability, and future software consequences we're only now confronting. Data suggests a significant portion of actively used open source code is maintained by unpaid or part-time hobbyists, a discrepancy often overlooked by corporations. The discussion emphasizes understanding the constraints and needs of these hobbyist maintainers to find effective solutions, rather than simply throwing money at the problem.

(opensourcesecurity.io)

Development hobbyist contributors

Ford's Model T: A Genesis of Efficiency

2025-09-01

Ford's Model T: A Genesis of Efficiency

Ford's Model T wasn't an overnight success, but rather the culmination of lessons learned from its predecessor, the Model N. The Model N, with its low price and mass production of interchangeable parts, quickly dominated the market. Ford pushed further with the Model T, employing high-precision machining, single-piece casting of engine blocks, and innovative processes like stamped steel parts, significantly reducing production costs. Simultaneously, Ford pioneered the assembly line, using streamlined process management and continuous improvement to reduce car assembly time from hours to 93 minutes. This ultimately led to the mass adoption of automobiles and revolutionized manufacturing worldwide.

(www.construction-physics.com)

Tech Assembly Line

Sunset on the British Empire? The Chagos Archipelago Sovereignty Dispute

2025-09-01

Sunset on the British Empire? The Chagos Archipelago Sovereignty Dispute

The UK government's plan to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Archipelago, including the crucial British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), to Mauritius has sparked a complex international dispute. BIOT's existence is vital for maintaining the symbolic 'never-setting sun' of the British Empire, as it remains sunlit when the UK is in darkness. However, the plan faces challenges from Mauritius's new government and the new US administration, which uses Diego Garcia's military base. This article explores BIOT's strategic importance, its comparison to the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) in Cyprus, and the potential consequences of a 'sunset' scenario. Loss of BIOT's sovereignty could leave the symbolic 'never-setting sun' reliant on the SBAs, which are geographically and strategically less significant.

(oikofuge.com)

Misc territorial sovereignty

One Big Server: Rethinking Microservices and the Cloud

2025-09-01

One Big Server: Rethinking Microservices and the Cloud

This article challenges the prevailing wisdom of microservices, arguing that today's powerful servers often make a single, large server architecture more cost-effective. It details the capabilities of a modern server, comparing the costs of cloud, self-hosted, and rented options. The author contends that for most web services, a high-performance server (plus a backup) suffices, unless extreme QPS or burstiness is involved. The complexities and costs of cloud-native architectures often outweigh their benefits. Vertical scaling (upgrading a server) is often more efficient than horizontal scaling (adding servers), prompting a re-evaluation of conventional wisdom.

(specbranch.com)

Development server architecture

C++ Modules: A Broken Promise?

2025-09-01

This article takes a pessimistic view on the progress of C++ modules. The author argues that if C++ modules cannot demonstrate a 5x (preferably 10x) compilation speedup across multiple existing open-source codebases, they should be abandoned. The article highlights the challenging development journey, citing the tight integration required between compilers and build systems as a major hurdle. The author emphasizes that the focus should be on improving compilation speed rather than addressing relatively rare issues like macro leakage. He recounts the standardization process, pointing out underestimation of implementation difficulties. Finally, the author suggests an alternative approach – `import std` – while acknowledging its limited potential for improvement.

(nibblestew.blogspot.com)

Development modules compilation speed

From Aegospotami Meteorite to Socrates' Death: A Millennial Clash Between Science and Superstition

2025-09-01

From Aegospotami Meteorite to Socrates' Death: A Millennial Clash Between Science and Superstition

This article recounts the story of a meteorite that fell in Greece in the 5th century BCE, validating the philosopher Anaxagoras' theory about the composition of celestial bodies. This event, similar in impact to the confirmation of Einstein's theory of relativity, shook the world view of the time. The article traces the development of early scientists from Thales to Anaxagoras, who challenged creation myths and pioneered scientific inquiry. It explores Parmenides' discovery of the moon's reflection of sunlight, and Anaxagoras' scientific explanation of solar eclipses. However, this scientific progress sparked religious and political backlash, leading to Anaxagoras' exile and ultimately Socrates' execution. The article explores the conflict between scientific advancement and societal conservatism, and its impact on the development of human thought and belief, ultimately highlighting the complex relationship between scientific progress and belief in supernatural forces.

(drb.ie)

Tech Ancient Greek Philosophy Science and Religion

Qweremin: A C64-Based Qwerty Theremin Blends Old and New

2025-09-01

Following a 2022 C64-based theremin project, the author created the Qweremin, a novel instrument merging the classic theremin with a qwerty keyboard. The Qweremin addresses the theremin's notorious difficulty, improving volume control precision and responsiveness using external DACs. The article also recounts a chance encounter with legendary game composer Rob Hubbard, resulting in an autographed clamp for the instrument.

(www.linusakesson.net)

Hardware electronic instrument

Spotilyrics: Code with Synced Spotify Lyrics in VS Code

2025-09-01

Spotilyrics: Code with Synced Spotify Lyrics in VS Code

Tired of juggling coding and remembering lyrics? Spotilyrics, a VS Code extension, seamlessly syncs your Spotify lyrics right into your editor. Color-themed from your album art, the lyrics appear in a smooth side panel, letting you code on one side and enjoy the music on the other. A simple one-time login with your Spotify Client ID is all it takes. Boost your coding vibe and productivity—install it now!

(github.com)

Development

Process Monitor for Linux (Preview) Released

2025-09-01

Process Monitor for Linux (Preview) Released

Microsoft has released a Linux version of Process Monitor (Procmon), a powerful system call tracing tool similar to the Procmon in the Sysinternals suite for Windows. It allows developers to conveniently trace syscall activity on Linux systems. The tool supports command-line options to monitor specific processes and syscalls, with the option to save results to a database file. Developers can also contribute to the project on GitHub, fixing bugs and adding new features.

(github.com)

Development

Archaeologists Use Lewis & Clark's Laxatives to Find Lost Campsites

2025-09-01

The Lewis and Clark expedition's 600 giant laxative pills, nicknamed "thunder-clappers," contained mercury, a stable compound. Traces of these pills are helping archaeologists pinpoint the expedition's campsites. High mercury levels in soil indicate old latrine pits, and military manuals help reconstruct the camp layouts. This discovery highlights the limitations of early 19th-century medical practices, where "heroic medicine", while sometimes effective, often did more harm than good.

(offbeatoregon.com)

Tech

Near-Death Experience: A Rebirth of Consciousness

2025-09-01

Near-Death Experience: A Rebirth of Consciousness

The author recounts his battle with a brain tumor. On the eve of surgery, he undergoes a profound experience, gaining a deep understanding of time, life, and love. Post-surgery, despite a painful recovery, he cherishes life more and realizes that 'consciousness' is not just neuronal activity but also care, love, and the perception of life. This story is filled with profound reflections on the meaning of life and a delicate portrayal of love.

(bigthink.com)

Misc life experience

Re-examining a Chess Complexity Metric: A Critical Analysis

2025-09-01

Re-examining a Chess Complexity Metric: A Critical Analysis

This article presents a critical analysis of David Peng's research paper on a chess complexity metric and its accompanying codebase. The author argues that the proposed metric is flawed, its conclusions lack sufficient logical support, and it fails to adequately account for rapid advancements in neural network technology and the dynamic nature of chess engine evaluations. Several logical fallacies within the paper are dissected, and improvements are suggested, including incorporating Stockfish-NNUE evaluations, considering time factors, and including more human vs. engine game data. The author concludes by urging the implementation of a reliable chess complexity metric before cheaters can exploit it.

(lichess.org)

Game

Sideloading Restrictions: The Battle for Control of Your Devices

2025-09-01

The debate around sideloading on Android and iOS continues. Google's recent tightening of Android's sideloading restrictions has sparked controversy. The article argues the core issue isn't whether users can run any code on their own hardware, but rather the manufacturers' control over the operating system, not the hardware itself. Apple serves as a case study: iOS's tight integration with hardware is key to its success; forcing changes would undermine the iPhone. The real focus should be on the ability to install and run alternative operating systems on one's hardware—e.g., running Android on an iPhone. Manufacturers should be legally required to provide necessary technical support and documentation to facilitate the development of alternative operating systems.

(hugotunius.se)

Tech

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