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Ambiguous Definition of 'Sun-like Star' Hinders Exoplanet Research

2025-04-09

This article discusses the ambiguous definition of 'sun-like star' in astronomy and its impact on exoplanet research. The author points out that the term 'sun-like star' has different meanings in different papers, sometimes referring to G-class stars, sometimes extending to FGK-class stars, or even encompassing all stars on the main sequence. This ambiguity leads to public misunderstanding of exoplanet research and may affect research funding. The author calls on astronomers to clearly define the concept of 'sun-like star' when communicating with the public to avoid misinterpretations.

(www.centauri-dreams.org)

Tech sun-like stars scientific definitions

Firefox Patches Over 600 XSS Vulnerabilities

2025-04-09

The Firefox team has significantly enhanced the security of its user interface by removing over 600 inline JavaScript event handlers. This move aims to mitigate the risk of injection attacks, such as Cross-Site Scripting (XSS). The improvement leverages Content Security Policy (CSP) to restrict script execution and is planned to expand to other parts of Firefox. The ultimate goal is to completely block dynamic code execution, providing a more secure browsing experience. This update will be included in Firefox 138.

(attackanddefense.dev)

Development

Accessibility Improvement Request: Two-Way Conversation Feature

2025-04-09

Accessibility Improvement Request: Two-Way Conversation Feature

A user with auditory processing disorder reports issues with the app's two-way conversation feature. On iPad, the feature only occupies one-third of the screen, resulting in tiny text. While the app transcribes speech, it lacks text-to-speech functionality, hindering replies. The user suggests adding keyboard input for easier text-based communication and doesn't require the app's home sounds/alarm features.

(apps.apple.com)

Development auditory processing disorder speech-to-text

Running Windows XP and 2003 on the Original Apple TV!

2025-04-09

Running Windows XP and 2003 on the Original Apple TV!

A developer successfully booted Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 on the original Apple TV after two years of work! This feat overcame significant hurdles due to the device's EFI-only firmware, incompatible with standard Windows. Using a custom FreeLoader bootloader and drivers, the developer achieved a bootable system with desktop access, though some features like PCI, USB, and audio remain partially or fully broken.

(github.com)

Tech

Silicon Valley's New Legislators: How Tech Oligarchs Reshape the Public Sphere

2025-04-09

Silicon Valley's New Legislators: How Tech Oligarchs Reshape the Public Sphere

This article explores how Silicon Valley's tech elite have transformed from mere technologists into powerful forces shaping political and social change. Leveraging immense wealth, technological authority, and media platforms, they translate personal ideologies into policy, reshaping the public sphere. The article argues that these 'oligarch-intellectuals' not only interpret technological trends but also dictate policy, pushing their political agendas through investment and propaganda. Their actions challenge traditional elite models and expose their internal contradictions and potential risks.

(www.theideasletter.org)

Tech Tech Oligarchs Public Sphere

CodeScientist: An AI-Powered Tool for Automated Scientific Discovery – Costs and Risks

2025-04-09

CodeScientist: An AI-Powered Tool for Automated Scientific Discovery – Costs and Risks

CodeScientist is an autonomous agent leveraging LLMs for automated scientific discovery. It generates, debugs, and runs experiments, but costs vary depending on debugging iterations, prompt size, etc., averaging around $4 per experiment. Users must carefully manage API keys and monitor usage to avoid high costs. The generated code might contain API keys; exclusion patterns are recommended to prevent accidental commits.

(github.com)

Development Cost Management

Traits of Exceptional Programmers: It's Not About Genius, It's About Habits

2025-04-09

Traits of Exceptional Programmers: It's Not About Genius, It's About Habits

This article outlines the common traits of exceptional programmers, as observed by the author. These include meticulously reading documentation, thoroughly analyzing error messages, breaking down complex problems, actively contributing and helping others, strong writing skills, continuous learning without chasing trends, humility and a willingness to learn from everyone, building a strong reputation, patience and persistence, taking ownership of bugs, admitting 'I don't know', avoiding guesswork, and prioritizing simplicity in code. The author emphasizes that becoming an exceptional programmer is a journey, not a race, requiring consistent effort and dedication.

(endler.dev)

Development

Domain Sniping: The Pain of Launching Open Source SaaS

2025-04-09

The author, preparing to launch their open-source SaaS project, KillSaaS, discovered their desired domain name had been snatched, registered on the very same day they intended to purchase it. Investigation revealed a prematurely public GitHub repository leaked information, exploited by a domain sniper. Despite contacting Namecheap for assistance, recovery failed. The author chose an alternative domain, reflecting on the ethics of domain sniping and the importance of information security before launching open-source projects.

(kill-saas.com)

Development domain sniping

Toulouse Offers Sanctuary: A Haven for US Scientists Facing Budget Cuts

2025-04-09

In response to drastic US budget cuts threatening scientific research, the Toulouse academic community is launching an initiative to host researchers whose work is at risk. Supported by the Occitanie Region and the French government, the program initially offers ten positions for scientists in humanities, climate science, health, and space research. This act of solidarity aims to safeguard crucial research and data, and underscores Toulouse's commitment to academic freedom and scientific progress. Applications open in April 2024, with researchers expected to arrive in 2025.

(en.univ-toulouse.fr)

Tech

ClickHouse Embraces Rust: A Challenging Integration Journey

2025-04-09

ClickHouse Embraces Rust: A Challenging Integration Journey

ClickHouse, originally written in C++, embarked on a journey to integrate Rust to attract more developers and expand its capabilities. The article details this process, from initially choosing the BLAKE3 hash function as a pilot project, to integrating the PRQL query language and the Delta Lake library. The journey encountered numerous challenges, including build system integration, memory management, error handling, and cross-compilation issues. Despite problems like bugs in Rust libraries, excessively large symbol names, and interoperability issues with C++ code, the ClickHouse team overcame these obstacles, successfully integrating Rust into the project and paving the way for future development.

(clickhouse.com)

Development

MIT's Tactile Vega-Lite: Making Charts Accessible to the Visually Impaired

2025-04-09

MIT's Tactile Vega-Lite: Making Charts Accessible to the Visually Impaired

Researchers at MIT's CSAIL have developed Tactile Vega-Lite, a program that transforms data from sources like Excel spreadsheets into both standard visual charts and tactile charts. This tool streamlines the design process for tactile charts, incorporating design standards to help educators and designers quickly create accessible charts for the visually impaired. Users can easily understand information presented in various graphics, such as bar charts comparing minimum wages or line graphs tracking GDPs. Future improvements include a refined user interface and machine-specific customizations for enhanced usability and accuracy.

(news.mit.edu)

Development Tactile charts Data visualization

DeepCoder-14B: Open-Source Code Reasoning Model Matches OpenAI's o3-mini

2025-04-09

DeepCoder-14B: Open-Source Code Reasoning Model Matches OpenAI's o3-mini

Agentica and Together AI have released DeepCoder-14B-Preview, a code reasoning model fine-tuned via distributed RL from Deepseek-R1-Distilled-Qwen-14B. Achieving an impressive 60.6% Pass@1 accuracy on LiveCodeBench, it rivals OpenAI's o3-mini, using only 14B parameters. The project open-sources its dataset, code, training logs, and system optimizations, showcasing a robust training recipe built on high-quality data and algorithmic improvements to GRPO. This advancement democratizes access to high-performing code-generation models.

(www.together.ai)

AI Code Reasoning

arXivLabs: Experimental Projects with Community Collaborators

2025-04-09

arXivLabs is a framework for 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 works with partners who adhere to them. Have an idea to improve arXiv for the community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

A Weird Node Image Patch: The Mystery of Jar Order

2025-04-09

A Node image patch update caused a prolonged outage of production JVM applications. The root cause was the use of a wildcard `/jars/*` in the JVM classpath. An ext4 filesystem's directory hash seed changed after the patch update, altering the jar loading order. This prevented a client library dependent on a specific version of the Bouncy Castle library from initializing correctly, resulting in a `NoSuchFieldError`. The author investigated, ruling out buildah layer squashing and OverlayFS layer order issues. The problem was ultimately traced to the change in the ext4 filesystem's directory hash seed. Modifying the hash seed in the ext4 image file confirmed this. This incident highlights how seemingly minor system details can have serious consequences, emphasizing the importance of deep understanding of underlying system intricacies.

(thewisenerd.com)

Development

DIY Birkeland-Eyde Reactor: An Arduino-Powered Experiment

2025-04-09

DIY Birkeland-Eyde Reactor: An Arduino-Powered Experiment

Citizen scientist Marb built a DIY experimental reactor to demonstrate the Birkeland-Eyde process, a historically significant but inefficient method of producing nitric acid from atmospheric nitrogen using electric arcs. While energy-intensive and largely obsolete for industrial use, Marb's focus is on the scientific experiment. He cleverly uses an Arduino UNO to control the electric arc, incorporating a desiccant dryer for optimal air conditions and a temperature sensor for feedback. Though the current yield is low, Marb plans a follow-up video with more details if there's sufficient interest.

(blog.arduino.cc)

Tech Birkeland-Eyde process Nitrogen fertilizer

The Rise and Fall of US Government Efficiency: From WWII Prowess to Modern Ineptitude

2025-04-09

The Rise and Fall of US Government Efficiency: From WWII Prowess to Modern Ineptitude

This podcast delves into the evolution of US government efficiency. During WWII, the government employed process charting and work simplification initiatives, showcasing surprisingly modern management techniques resembling lean principles. However, the 1960s saw a shift towards corporate-style 'long-run planning', resulting in increased bureaucracy and decreased efficiency. Using the USDA and IRS as case studies, the discussion contrasts effective and ineffective management, highlighting the importance of process simplification and continuous improvement. The authors emphasize learning from historical successes and applying these lessons to improve modern governance.

(www.governance.fyi)

Startup historical case studies Government Management

Who Wants Impartial News? A Cross-National Study Reveals the Complexities of Preference

2025-04-09

Who Wants Impartial News? A Cross-National Study Reveals the Complexities of Preference

A new study investigates preferences for impartial news across 40 countries. While most people express a preference for impartiality, certain groups lean towards news aligning with their views: politically engaged individuals with strong ideologies, young people relying heavily on social media, women, and those with lower socioeconomic status. The study also finds higher support for non-impartial news in countries with diverse news sources and lower-quality democracies. This challenges traditional notions of journalistic impartiality, suggesting that perceptions of 'impartiality' are deeply contextual, shaped by political, social, and economic environments.

(www.niemanlab.org)

Tech news preference media impartiality cross-national study

Visualizing Linux Kernel Security: A Defense Map and Hardening Checker

2025-04-09

Visualizing Linux Kernel Security: A Defense Map and Hardening Checker

Linux kernel security is intricate. This project presents a visual map detailing the relationships between vulnerability classes, exploitation techniques, detection mechanisms, and defense technologies. The map, written in DOT language and rendered with GraphViz, aids navigation of documentation and kernel source code. Complementing the map is a tool, `kernel-hardening-checker`, automating the verification of Linux kernel security hardening options, particularly those often disabled by default in major distributions, thereby enhancing system security.

(github.com)

Development Linux kernel security security hardening vulnerability analysis

Fed Up with GUI Toolkits, Dev Builds Own Barium Library

2025-04-09

A seasoned developer, weary of the constant updates and compatibility issues plaguing modern GUI toolkits, decided to forge his own path by building a custom GUI library called Barium. The article chronicles his years of wrestling with various frameworks (GTK, Qt, Tk, etc.), and explains his rationale for choosing Common Lisp and the X Window System as the foundation. Barium is lightweight, efficient, directly calls Xlib and Cairo, supports OpenGL, and offers a clean Lisp API. While still experimental, it represents a powerful statement about the developer's desire for long-term stability and control over their development environment.

(tomscii.sig7.se)

Development GUI Development

Modernized Dockerfile Formatter: dockerfmt

2025-04-09

Modernized Dockerfile Formatter: dockerfmt

Introducing dockerfmt, a modernized Dockerfile formatter built on top of the buildkit parser. It offers improved support for RUN commands (though grouping and semicolons are not yet supported), basic inline comment support, and various command-line options for checking, writing, indentation, and newline handling. JS bindings are also provided for easy integration. While features like line wrapping for long JSON commands and the # escape=X directive are not yet implemented, dockerfmt provides a user-friendly and effective way to format your Dockerfiles.

(github.com)

Development formatter

Microsoft Scraps $1B Ohio Data Center Project Amidst Global Cancellations

2025-04-09

Microsoft Scraps $1B Ohio Data Center Project Amidst Global Cancellations

Microsoft has abruptly halted plans to build three data centers in Licking County, Ohio, representing a $1 billion investment. This follows a string of data center project cancellations across the US, Europe, APAC, and the UK, fueling speculation of an oversupply in the data center market. While Microsoft maintains sufficient capacity and ongoing infrastructure investment plans, the cancellation suggests a strategic shift potentially driven by evolving demand forecasts.

(www.datacenterdynamics.com)

Tech Data Center

PostgreSQL FTS: 50x Speedup with Simple Optimizations

2025-04-09

PostgreSQL FTS: 50x Speedup with Simple Optimizations

A recent benchmark by Neon showed PostgreSQL's built-in full-text search (FTS) lagging behind pg_search. However, this article reveals that Neon's benchmark used an unoptimized standard FTS setup. By pre-calculating and storing the `tsvector` column and configuring GIN indexes with `fastupdate=off`, a dramatic performance boost is achieved. Experiments on a 10-million-row dataset demonstrated a ~50x speed improvement, proving that properly optimized standard FTS can rival dedicated search engines. The article also explores VectorChord-BM25, a BM25-based extension excelling in ranking tasks.

(blog.vectorchord.ai)

Development Full-Text Search

Razer Halts Blade 16 Preorders Amidst US Tariffs

2025-04-09

Razer Halts Blade 16 Preorders Amidst US Tariffs

Razer has pulled the Blade 16 and other laptops from its US website, halting preorders and purchases. This coincides with the recent announcement of US tariffs on countries including China and Taiwan, major sources of laptop components. While Razer hasn't publicly commented on the impact of tariffs, the Blade 16 configurator now returns a 404 error, and other products only offer a 'notify me' option. However, the Blade 16 remains available for preorder in other countries, suggesting US sales may have been paused due to the tariffs.

(www.theverge.com)

Hardware

Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental: Deep Research Just Got a Whole Lot Smarter

2025-04-09

Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental: Deep Research Just Got a Whole Lot Smarter

Gemini Advanced subscribers can now access Deep Research powered by Gemini 2.5 Pro Experimental, deemed the world's most capable AI model by industry benchmarks and Chatbot Arena. This personal AI research assistant significantly improves every stage of the research process. In testing, raters preferred reports generated by Gemini 2.5 Pro over competitors by more than a 2:1 margin, citing improvements in analytical reasoning, information synthesis, and insightful report generation. Access detailed, easy-to-read reports on any topic across web, Android, and iOS, saving hours of work. Plus, try the new Audio Overviews feature for on-the-go listening. Learn more and try it now by selecting Gemini 2.5 Pro (experimental) and choosing 'Deep Research' in the prompt bar.

(blog.google)

AI Deep Research

The College Essay: A Mirror Reflecting Back an Idealized Self

2025-04-08

The College Essay: A Mirror Reflecting Back an Idealized Self

With many colleges dropping the SAT/ACT requirement, applications have surged, placing greater emphasis on the college essay. However, the author argues that the essay, a central element of the application, is arguably more biased than standardized tests, reflecting back to applicants the idealized self colleges desire rather than their true selves. Drawing on Lacan's 'mirror stage' theory, the author contends that the essay forces students to curate an idealized version of themselves, potentially leading to neurosis and self-deception. Some universities, like Sonoma State, have eliminated the essay requirement, resulting in a more diverse and creative student body. The author calls on other universities to follow suit, promoting fairer and more equitable admissions.

(lareviewofbooks.org)

Misc mirror stage Lacan

Navigating California's Fictitious Name Permits for Physicians

2025-04-08

Navigating California's Fictitious Name Permits for Physicians

California physicians practicing under a name other than their own require a Fictitious Name Permit (FNP) from the Medical Board of California. The $70 application, processed in 4-6 weeks, is frequently rejected due to incomplete signatures, duplicate names, missing information (tax IDs, corporate details), or non-payment. FNPs are valid for two years and require renewal with a $50 fee, incurring a $20 late fee after 30 days. Failure to renew within five years results in automatic cancellation. Renewals also require disclosure of disciplinary actions and confirmation of tax and child support compliance.

(www.mbc.ca.gov)

Misc medical license fictitious name California Medical Board

From the Bel Air Fire to Firebrake®: The Story of Boron Flame Retardants

2025-04-08

From the Bel Air Fire to Firebrake®: The Story of Boron Flame Retardants

The devastating 1961 Bel Air fire, which destroyed hundreds of homes, spurred innovation in flame retardant technology. U.S. Borax played a crucial role in controlling the blaze using borate compounds, leading to the development of Firebrake®, a groundbreaking zinc borate flame retardant. Decades of research culminated in products like Firebrake 500, offering superior thermal stability and widespread application in polymers. Today, U.S. Borax continues its commitment to developing advanced boron-based flame retardants, addressing the growing need for safer and more effective fire protection.

(www.borax.com)

Tech borate

2024 US Election: A Calm Surface, Underlying Security Challenges

2025-04-08

2024 US Election: A Calm Surface, Underlying Security Challenges

Despite media portrayals of a smooth 2024 US election, significant security threats emerged. At least 227 bomb threats targeted polling locations, election offices, and tabulation centers nationwide on and after Election Day. Explosives detonated at ballot drop boxes in the Pacific Northwest, hoax active shooter calls targeted schools serving as polling places in the Northeast, and law enforcement responded to voting locations across the country. However, preemptive collaboration between election officials and law enforcement minimized disruption. This unprecedented level of cooperation, unlike previous election cycles, effectively addressed various crises. But future elections will likely face evolving threats, demanding continuous investment and innovative partnerships to safeguard election security.

(www.brennancenter.org)

Misc election security cyber threats law enforcement collaboration

Identify Woodpeckers by Their Drumming: A Birder's Guide

2025-04-08

Identify Woodpeckers by Their Drumming: A Birder's Guide

Spring in North America is heralded by the rhythmic drumming of woodpeckers. This article provides a guide to identifying various woodpecker species by analyzing their drumming patterns. It details the differences in drumming speed, duration, and rhythm between species like the Downy, Hairy, and various Sapsucker woodpeckers. By paying attention to these subtle acoustic variations, even novice birders can improve their ability to identify these fascinating birds.

(www.allaboutbirds.org)

Misc bird identification woodpeckers sound recognition

C++ Ranges: Performance Bottlenecks and Optimization Strategies

2025-04-08

This article delves into performance issues with C++ Ranges adaptors like `views::filter` and `views::take_while`. These adaptors introduce redundant iterator comparisons, impacting efficiency. The author analyzes the root causes and proposes two solutions: using Tristan Brindle's Flux library, which enhances performance through internal iteration and improved memory management; and a more radical approach leveraging potential C++ token sequence features to generate optimal loop code, bypassing Ranges limitations. Both solutions significantly improve efficiency, especially for complex range operations involving `views::reverse`.

(brevzin.github.io)

Development

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