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MDN's Birthday: Cakes, Collaboration, and Community

2025-07-25

MDN's Birthday: Cakes, Collaboration, and Community

In the web world, exchanging cakes to mark milestones is a cherished tradition among browser makers. Microsoft famously sent cakes to Mozilla for Firefox releases, and now web.dev has gifted MDN a birthday cake, acknowledging MDN's significant contribution to the global developer community. Reaching millions of developers monthly and boasting over 100,000 contributors, MDN expresses gratitude to its passionate community, looking forward to 20 more years of empowering developers and building a better web together.

(developer.mozilla.org)

Development

JVM Optimization: A VarInt Tale of Unexpected Results

2025-07-25

While optimizing Java code in a massive distributed data processing platform, the author identified VarInt encoding as a potential optimization target. He wrote a highly optimized VarInt encoder using SIMD instructions, achieving a 4x speedup in benchmarks. However, surprisingly, the optimization yielded no improvement in production. The culprit? The benchmark used random numbers, while real-world numbers tend to be much smaller, rendering the algorithm's worst-case performance irrelevant in practice. The change was ultimately reverted, but the experience served as valuable proof-of-concept for developing and productionizing custom JIT optimizations.

(www.vidarholen.net)

Development Java Optimization

Positron: A Next-Gen Data Science IDE

2025-07-25

Posit PBC introduces Positron, a free, next-generation data science IDE. This extensible, polyglot tool allows for code writing and data exploration within a familiar, reproducible authoring and publishing environment. Built on Code OSS, Positron leverages VS Code's functionality and offers user guides and FAQs for quick onboarding. Users can share feedback and report bugs via GitHub Discussions. Positron is licensed under the Elastic License 2.0.

(positron.posit.co)

Development

GrapheneOS: A Privacy-Focused Android Rebuilt

2025-07-25

GrapheneOS is an open-source project aiming to bolster Android's security and privacy. Based on the Android Open Source Project, it removes substantial code and adds numerous security features, including a hardened malloc() library and control-flow integrity enhancements. While support is limited to select Google Pixel devices, GrapheneOS leverages hardware memory tagging for robust OS protection. A firsthand installation experience reveals a more secure and private Android, albeit with an initial setup time investment. The author highlights its strong privacy features but acknowledges the ongoing challenge of balancing functionality with a complete rejection of proprietary apps.

(lwn.net)

Development

DKIM Replay Attack Using Google Sites: A Fake Subpoena Scam

2025-07-25

DKIM Replay Attack Using Google Sites: A Fake Subpoena Scam

A friend received an email seemingly from Google, claiming a court subpoena demanding access to their Google account. While the email appeared legitimate at first glance, header inspection revealed a DKIM replay attack. The attacker used Google Sites to create a phishing site mimicking an official Google support page, forwarding the email via Namecheap's PrivateEmail service, bypassing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC verification. This case highlights the danger of leveraging trusted infrastructure (like Google Sites) for attacks, reminding us to be wary of any suspicious emails demanding urgent action or containing links to login pages.

(easydmarc.com)

Tech DKIM Replay Attack

US Air Force Grounds Sig Sauer M18 Pistol After Fatal Shooting

2025-07-24

US Air Force Grounds Sig Sauer M18 Pistol After Fatal Shooting

The US Air Force Global Strike Command has temporarily suspended the use of the Sig Sauer M18 pistol following a fatal shooting at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming. A 21-year-old airman died in the incident. A full review of the weapon's safety is underway. The M18, and its civilian counterpart the P320, have faced previous allegations of unintentional discharges and lawsuits. While Sig Sauer denies safety concerns, this incident raises further questions about the pistol's reliability.

(www.nhpr.org)

Tech Accidental Discharge Military Weapon

AMD Confirms Higher Costs for US-Made Chips

2025-07-24

AMD Confirms Higher Costs for US-Made Chips

AMD CEO Lisa Su confirmed that chips sourced from TSMC's Arizona facility will cost more than those manufactured in Taiwan. The price increase will be between 5% and 20%. AMD expects its first chips from TSMC's Arizona plant by the end of the year. This highlights the cost challenges of manufacturing chips in the US.

(www.bloomberg.com)

Hardware chip costs

Python Classes: When to Avoid Them

2025-07-24

Python's renowned for its simplicity and readability, and classes are a powerful feature for object-oriented programming. However, they aren't always the best solution. This article explores scenarios where Python's built-in types, functions, and standard library modules offer simpler alternatives. Examples include using namedtuples or dataclasses instead of simple data containers; functions instead of stateless utility classes; modules for grouping constants; dictionaries or lists for simple state management; lambdas or comprehensions for one-off operations; and leveraging Python's extensive standard library. The article emphasizes considering simpler, more efficient alternatives before resorting to classes, keeping code clean and concise—sometimes meaning skipping classes entirely.

(adamgrant.micro.blog)

Development

Psychedelic Compound Shows Promise in Extending Lifespan, Opening New Frontiers in Anti-Aging

2025-07-24

Psychedelic Compound Shows Promise in Extending Lifespan, Opening New Frontiers in Anti-Aging

A study published in Nature Partner Journals’ Aging demonstrates that psilocin, a byproduct of psilocybin (the active ingredient in psychedelic mushrooms), extended the lifespan of human skin and lung cells by over 50%. In vivo studies on aged mice showed significant lifespan extension and improved health markers. This research suggests psilocybin could revolutionize anti-aging therapies, paving the way for healthier aging.

(news.emory.edu)

Tech psilocin

A Month-Long Digital Detox: Reclaiming My Time and Focus

2025-07-24

A Month-Long Digital Detox: Reclaiming My Time and Focus

A blogger is undertaking a month-long experiment to reduce their reliance on large internet platforms like Meta products, Reddit, and YouTube. To combat the allure of echo chambers and infinite scrolling, they've set rules limiting social media, news consumption, and replacing mindless browsing with activities like building their website and RSS reader, and pursuing offline hobbies such as painting and baking. The goal is to improve focus and well-being.

(smallcypress.bearblog.dev)

Misc internet addiction

Apple's FastVLM: A Blazing-Fast Vision-Language Model

2025-07-24

Apple's FastVLM: A Blazing-Fast Vision-Language Model

Apple ML researchers unveiled FastVLM, a novel Vision Language Model (VLM), at CVPR 2025. Addressing the accuracy-efficiency trade-off inherent in VLMs, FastVLM uses a hybrid-architecture vision encoder, FastViTHD, designed for high-resolution images. This results in a VLM that's significantly faster and more accurate than comparable models, enabling real-time on-device applications and privacy-preserving AI. FastViTHD generates fewer, higher-quality visual tokens, speeding up LLM pre-filling. An iOS/macOS demo app showcases FastVLM's on-device capabilities.

(machinelearning.apple.com)

AI High-Resolution Images AI Efficiency

OpenStreetMap Launches Vector Tiles

2025-07-24

The OpenStreetMap Foundation announces the deployment of vector tiles on its servers and the release of the layer on the OSM website. This follows over a year of development, including months of testing and optimization for speed and reliability. The result is a sharper, faster visual experience. Developers can leverage this vector data source to create custom styles and utilize the new OSMF-hosted tiles. Further evolution of the Shortbread spec and styles is planned, with community feedback encouraged.

(blog.openstreetmap.org)

Tech Vector Tiles

Debian Trixie (v13) Arrives: A Sysadmin's Upgrade Guide

2025-07-24

Debian 13 (codename Trixie) is scheduled for release on August 9th, 2025. This post details the author's experience preparing clients for the upgrade, focusing on server systems from a sysadmin perspective. It covers updated package versions, including significant changes in apt 3.0, systemd, and the Linux kernel 6.12, highlighting potential issues like VirtualBox and Vagrant compatibility. Configuration management tools like Puppet and Ansible, and virtualization technologies, are also discussed.

(michael-prokop.at)

Development

Proton Launches Lumo: A Privacy-First AI Assistant to Challenge Big Tech

2025-07-24

Proton Launches Lumo: A Privacy-First AI Assistant to Challenge Big Tech

In response to Big Tech's use of AI to fuel surveillance capitalism, Proton introduces Lumo, a privacy-first AI assistant. Lumo keeps no logs, employs zero-access encryption for all chats, and ensures users retain complete control of their data, never sharing, selling, or stealing it. Lumo offers a secure alternative, allowing users to enjoy AI benefits while protecting their privacy. Built on open-source language models and operating from Proton's European datacenters, Lumo features unique privacy tools like 'Ghost Mode'. This launch represents Proton's commitment to building a European sovereign tech stack and underscores its dedication to data privacy and user rights.

(proton.me)

AI privacy AI

Witness the Seven Sisters Eclipse in July 2025

2025-07-24

Witness the Seven Sisters Eclipse in July 2025

On July 20, 2025, a celestial event awaits stargazers across much of the U.S. and Canada: the moon will occult the Pleiades star cluster, also known as the Seven Sisters. This monthly occurrence, happening since September 2023, offers a chance to witness the moon temporarily blocking these young stars. Visible to the naked eye in the early morning hours, the best viewing will be from dark locations away from city lights. Other celestial events in July 2025 include Venus, Jupiter, and Mars conjunctions with the moon.

(www.discovermagazine.com)

Misc astronomical event Pleiades lunar occultation

Critical Security Flaw in Jitsi's Public Instance: Unauthorized Mic and Camera Access

2025-07-24

Critical Security Flaw in Jitsi's Public Instance: Unauthorized Mic and Camera Access

A critical security vulnerability has been discovered in Jitsi's public instance, an open-source video conferencing application. Attackers can silently initiate a Jitsi meeting in the background by tricking users into visiting a malicious link, gaining unauthorized access to their microphones and cameras. Jitsi claims this is a 'feature' and refuses to fix it. The vulnerability exploits previously granted permissions, allowing attackers to capture audio and video even without the user's knowledge or interaction. The author urges Jitsi to at least remove this 'feature' from the public instance to mitigate the significant security risk.

(zimzi.substack.com)

Tech

HyperPB: A Blazing-Fast Go Protobuf Parser Outperforming UPB

2025-07-24

HyperPB: A Blazing-Fast Go Protobuf Parser Outperforming UPB

This article introduces HyperPB, a remarkably fast Protobuf parser written in Go. Building upon the strengths of UPB (one of the fastest Protobuf runtimes), HyperPB leverages Go's register ABI and lack of undefined behavior for significant optimizations. Employing JIT compilation and online PGO, it surpasses both Protobuf Go's generated code and vtprotobuf in benchmark tests. At its core is a table-driven interpreter, enhanced with clever optimizations like zero-copy techniques, hot/cold data splitting, and arena reuse.

(mcyoung.xyz)

Development

Are We Building AI Tools Backwards?

2025-07-24

Are We Building AI Tools Backwards?

This article critiques the current approach to building AI tools, arguing that they neglect the essence of human learning and collaboration, leading to decreased human efficiency. The author proposes that AI tools should focus on enhancing human learning and collaboration, rather than replacing human thought processes. Using incident management and code writing as examples, the article explains how to build human-centric AI tools and emphasizes the importance of incorporating human learning mechanisms, such as retrieval practice and iterative improvement, into the design. Ultimately, the author calls for placing humans at the core of AI tools, building positive feedback loops instead of the negative ones that decrease efficiency.

(hazelweakly.me)

AI human learning

Apollo 11's Lunar Customs Declaration: A Moon Rock Mystery

2025-07-24

Apollo 11's Lunar Customs Declaration: A Moon Rock Mystery

Upon their return from the moon in 1969, the Apollo 11 astronauts had to fill out a customs declaration form. The form listed "moon rock and moon dust samples" as acquired items, with "Moon" as the departure point and Honolulu, Hawaii as the arrival. This incredible document highlights not only humanity's first moon landing but also the meticulous nature of US customs and a charming anecdote about Neil Armstrong's friendship with a pilot.

(magazine.uc.edu)

Tech Apollo 11 Customs Declaration

Knowledge Distillation: How Small AI Models Can Challenge the Giants

2025-07-24

Knowledge Distillation: How Small AI Models Can Challenge the Giants

DeepSeek's R1 chatbot, released earlier this year, caused a stir by rivaling the performance of leading AI models from major companies, but at a fraction of the cost and computing power. This led to accusations that DeepSeek used knowledge distillation, a technique potentially involving unauthorized access to OpenAI's o1 model. However, knowledge distillation is a well-established AI technique, dating back to a 2015 Google paper. It involves transferring knowledge from a large 'teacher' model to a smaller 'student' model, significantly reducing costs and size with minimal performance loss. This method has become ubiquitous, powering improvements to models like BERT, and continues to show immense potential across various AI applications. The controversy highlights the power and established nature of this technique, not its novelty.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

AI Knowledge Distillation AI Model Compression

itch.io Deindexes All NSFW Content Following Payment Processor Pressure

2025-07-24

Facing scrutiny from payment processors over the game "No Mercy", itch.io has urgently deindexed all adult NSFW content. This action is to maintain its relationship with payment partners and ensure platform operation. itch.io is conducting a content audit, with some content potentially removed permanently. Affected creators will be notified via email. The platform apologizes for the abrupt change and promises a blog update on the situation.

(itch.io)

Game NSFW content

Google's AI Overviews: A New Way to Find Information or a Traffic Thief?

2025-07-24

Google's AI Overviews: A New Way to Find Information or a Traffic Thief?

Google's integrated AI Overviews in search results are becoming increasingly prevalent, but research suggests users are more likely to end their browsing sessions after seeing AI-generated summaries, raising concerns. AI summaries are prone to inaccuracies, leading users to potentially receive misinformation. While Google disputes the study's findings, claiming AI features increase user engagement with websites, the research indicates AI Overviews are changing how people gather information, negatively impacting web publishers while Google's profits soar.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

T-Mobile's Nationwide Satellite Texting Service Launches

2025-07-24

T-Mobile's Nationwide Satellite Texting Service Launches

T-Mobile has officially launched its Starlink-powered satellite messaging service, "T-Satellite," nationwide. No longer in beta, the service offers text messaging and location sharing for $10/month (limited time, then $15/month), or included with select plans. It automatically connects in areas without cellular coverage, supporting texts to 911 and location sharing. Future plans include voice messaging, satellite-optimized apps, picture messaging, and international roaming. Unlike Apple and Google's offerings, T-Mobile supports a wider range of devices and plans to add more features.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech

The 10,000 Steps Myth: Why Your Fitness Tracker Might Be Lying

2025-07-24

The 10,000 Steps Myth: Why Your Fitness Tracker Might Be Lying

A major study debunks the 10,000 steps daily myth. Researchers found that 7,000 steps significantly reduces mortality and disease risk, with incremental benefits beyond that. The 10,000-step goal originated from a 1960s marketing campaign, not rigorous science. The study shows that increasing steps from 2,000 to 4,000 daily reduces death risk by 36%, while 7,000 steps yield most health benefits. Optimal step counts vary by age; older adults maximize benefits at 6,000-8,000 steps. Consistency, not an arbitrary target, is key.

(theconversation.com)

Tech steps

America's AI Race: A Bid for Global Domination

2025-07-24

The US is in a fierce competition to achieve global AI dominance. President Trump's AI Action Plan, launched early in his second term, outlines a three-pronged approach: accelerating innovation, building AI infrastructure, and leading in international diplomacy and security. Winning this race is seen as crucial for securing American prosperity, economic competitiveness, and national security.

(www.ai.gov)

AI National Strategy

I Drank Every Single IBA Official Cocktail

2025-07-24

I Drank Every Single IBA Official Cocktail

The author recounts his multi-year journey to taste all 102 International Bartenders Association (IBA) official cocktails. This ambitious project took him across continents and into numerous bars, encountering classic, contemporary, and newly added drinks. The quest was fraught with challenges, from obscure ingredients to newly added cocktails, but ultimately rewarding, leading to a deeper appreciation of mixology and culminating in a celebratory IBA Tiki party.

(aaronson.org)

Misc IBA

The Promised LAN: A 24/7 Always-On Private Network

2025-07-24

The Promised LAN is a closed, membership-only network operating a 24/7 LAN party since 2021. Its sophisticated architecture connects independent nodes via IPSec, using BGP for routing. A custom TLD (.tpl) powers its DNS, employing distributed root servers and recursive resolvers for high availability. For streamlined TLS certificate management, they've built an internal PKI system leveraging DNS records and SSH for certificate issuance, bypassing external services like ACME. This article details the system's architecture and security policies, showcasing its elegant design and commitment to security.

(tpl.house)

Development

EV Brake Dust: A Hidden Air Pollution Threat

2025-07-24

EV Brake Dust: A Hidden Air Pollution Threat

A new study reveals that while electric vehicles (EVs) produce significantly less brake dust than gasoline cars thanks to regenerative braking, it's still a substantial source of air pollution. Brake dust, containing metals like iron, copper, and zinc, is harmful to human health. The study found that up to 55% of non-exhaust traffic-related PM10 in cities comes from brake wear. Although EVs have slightly higher tire wear, brake dust is more likely to become airborne. Improving air quality requires not only promoting EVs but also addressing non-exhaust pollution sources and encouraging public transport, cycling, and walking.

(modernengineeringmarvels.com)

Tech Brake Dust

Shattering the Illusion: How Quickly Leaked AWS Keys Are Exploited

2025-07-24

Shattering the Illusion: How Quickly Leaked AWS Keys Are Exploited

Researchers found that even after AWS automatically quarantines leaked access keys, attackers can exploit them within minutes for data exfiltration, privilege escalation, and other malicious activities. Traditional key rotation strategies are insufficient against the speed of attackers. A new tool, AWSKeyLockdown, instantly revokes keys upon quarantine, mitigating this threat. The research highlights the importance of Zero Trust architecture and ephemeral identities, urging organizations to shift from reactive to proactive security measures.

(www.clutch.security)

Tech

CARA Hexapod Robot: Control Algorithms and Gait

2025-07-24

CARA Hexapod Robot: Control Algorithms and Gait

This article details the control system of the CARA hexapod robot. It begins with a homing sequence for each joint, using current draw to detect physical limits. Trajectory planning leverages inverse, forward, and rotational kinematics equations for smooth movement. A trotting gait, combining swing and stance phases, is implemented, allowing for forward movement and turning by adjusting leg angles and phasing.

(www.aaedmusa.com)

Hardware gait planning

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