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Engineer Builds Camera That Ignores Perspective, Sees Through Walls

2024-12-25

Engineer Builds Camera That Ignores Perspective, Sees Through Walls

Shane Wighton, the creator of the YouTube channel Stuff Made Here, has engineered an incredible camera that defies perspective and can even see through walls. Instead of a traditional lens, this camera uses a sophisticated mechanical system to scan a scene one pixel at a time, building a complete image. By utilizing a spinning gantry and a precisely controlled mirror, the camera moves in 3D space, capturing multiple views to reconstruct the final image. This allows it to create images without perspective, achieve reverse perspective, and even see around objects, showcasing an astonishing feat of engineering and imaging technology.

(petapixel.com)

Tech camera technology perspective imaging

Ruby 3.4.0 Released: Performance Boost and Language Enhancements

2024-12-25

Ruby 3.4.0 is here with exciting updates! Language-wise, it introduces a new syntax for referencing block parameters, improves string literals, keyword splatting, and index assignments, and enhances exception handling. Core classes like Array, Hash, IO::Buffer, Integer, and String have been optimized with new methods added. YJIT has received significant improvements, boosting performance and memory efficiency. The standard library is also updated, including a 1.5x speedup in JSON parsing. This release enhances support for multi-core processors and improves garbage collection efficiency.

(docs.ruby-lang.org)

Development Performance improvements

Ruby 3.4.0 Released: Enhanced Performance and New Features

2024-12-25

Ruby 3.4.0 has been released, boasting significant improvements! Key highlights include a performance-boosted YJIT compiler, a new modular garbage collection mechanism, and the convenient `it` block parameter reference. The default parser has switched to Prism, and the socket library now features Happy Eyeballs V2 for more efficient network connections. Core classes have received updates, and various bugs have been squashed. The release also includes deprecation warnings for string literal modifications and improvements to keyword splatting.

(www.ruby-lang.org)

Development release

SiaPy: A Python Tool for Efficient Spectral Image Processing

2024-12-25

SiaPy: A Python Tool for Efficient Spectral Image Processing

SiaPy is a Python tool for efficient processing of spectral images. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools for loading, processing, and analyzing spectral image data. SiaPy supports multiple file formats and features an easy-to-use API. The project is licensed under the MIT License and welcomes community contributions.

(github.com)

Development spectral image processing

ScyllaDB Shifts to Single Enterprise Edition, Offers Free Tier

2024-12-25

ScyllaDB Shifts to Single Enterprise Edition, Offers Free Tier

ScyllaDB announced a strategic shift to focus on a single release stream: ScyllaDB Enterprise, ending its AGPL-licensed open-source offering. A free tier of ScyllaDB Enterprise will be available to the community, including all performance, efficiency, and security features previously reserved for the Enterprise edition. The free tier is limited to 50 vCPUs and 10TB of total storage. This simplifies the product line while providing a powerful free option for users.

(forum.scylladb.com)

Development

The Death and Undying Life of Letters: A Century of Dialogue on Words and Emotion

2024-12-25

The Death and Undying Life of Letters: A Century of Dialogue on Words and Emotion

In "Voices from the Dead Letter Office," Cynthia Ozick explores the death and enduring legacy of letters with a unique perspective. From the passionate correspondence between Lord Byron and Lady Caroline Lamb to Ozick's own playful epistolary pursuit of philosopher Sidney Morgenbesser under the guise of Lady Caroline, the essay reveals the multifaceted nature of letters. Letters serve as vehicles for romance, inspiration for literary creations, and genuine confessions of personal emotions. Ozick traces the significant role of letters in literary history, highlighting how classics like *Frankenstein* and *Pride and Prejudice* utilize epistolary structures. She examines the evolution of letters across different eras, from traditional handwritten letters to emails and social media, emphasizing that while the form changes, the emotions and values they carry persist. Ozick concludes with a poignant reflection on letters, expressing nostalgia for past emotions and eras while contemplating the future of human communication.

(harpers.org)

Misc letters emotion

‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Footage Saves Innocent Man from Death Row

2024-12-25

‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ Footage Saves Innocent Man from Death Row

Juan Catalan, a California man, faced the death penalty for a murder he didn't commit. The sole eyewitness's description matched Catalan, despite his pleas of innocence. His girlfriend remembered he was at a Dodgers game the night of the murder. His lawyer secured footage from an HBO filming of 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' at the stadium, showing Catalan and his daughter, proving his alibi. This unexpected evidence led to the dismissal of charges, highlighting the fallibility of eyewitness testimony and the risk of wrongful convictions.

(innocenceproject.org)

Misc wrongful conviction evidence exoneration

Immutable Linux Distros: Are They Right for You?

2024-12-25

Immutable Linux Distros: Are They Right for You?

This article explores immutable Linux distributions, which enhance stability and security by locking down the core system as read-only. It explains the concept, advantages, and selection criteria for immutable distros, recommending several desktop and server options like Fedora Silverblue, Vanilla OS, and openSUSE Aeon. The author shares personal experiences and discusses the differences between immutable distros and traditional ones, along with snapshot tools like Timeshift and Btrfs. In essence, immutable Linux distros offer a compelling alternative for users prioritizing stability and security, trading some flexibility for a more maintenance-free experience.

(linuxblog.io)

Development Linux distributions immutable systems system stability

Efficient Fine-tuning: A Deep Dive into LoRA (Part 1)

2024-12-25

Efficient Fine-tuning: A Deep Dive into LoRA (Part 1)

Fine-tuning large language models typically requires substantial computational resources. This article introduces LoRA, a parameter-efficient fine-tuning technique. LoRA significantly reduces the number of parameters needing training by inserting low-rank matrices as adapters into a pre-trained model, thus lowering computational and storage costs. This first part explains the principles behind LoRA, including the shortcomings of traditional fine-tuning, the advantages of parameter-efficient methods, and the mathematical basis of low-rank approximation. Subsequent parts will delve into the specific implementation and application of LoRA.

(medium.com)

AI Parameter-Efficient Fine-tuning

CRT Simulation in a GPU Shader Outperforms BFI

2024-12-25

CRT Simulation in a GPU Shader Outperforms BFI

Blur Busters has unveiled a groundbreaking CRT simulation algorithm for GPU shaders, offering superior motion blur reduction compared to Black Frame Insertion (BFI). Combining Mark Rejhon's CRT beam simulator with Timothy Lotte's variable-MPRT BFI algorithm, it delivers smoother visuals, especially on high refresh rate displays, even for legacy 60Hz content. The algorithm, available on Shadertoy and GitHub, boasts less flicker than BFI and is set to be integrated into RetroArch.

(blurbusters.com)

Tech CRT simulation motion blur reduction GPU shader

Jujutsu VCS: Streamlining Code Merges and Branch Management

2024-12-25

Jujutsu VCS: Streamlining Code Merges and Branch Management

This article presents a highly efficient workflow for managing code merges and branches using the Jujutsu version control system. The author introduces a 'megamerge' approach: create a merge commit as a working area, and then use `jj squash` to integrate changes into the appropriate parent commits upon completion of each task. Further streamlining is achieved with the `jj absorb` command, which automates this integration process. This workflow allows developers to seamlessly manage multiple parallel streams of work, significantly boosting efficiency, particularly when tackling large, long-running upgrades. The author contrasts this with the complexities of achieving the same results with Git.

(v5.chriskrycho.com)

Development Code Merge

Earth's Subsurface May Hold Vast Reserves of Natural Hydrogen

2024-12-25

Earth's Subsurface May Hold Vast Reserves of Natural Hydrogen

Two geologists from the U.S. Geological Survey have developed a model suggesting Earth's subsurface may contain up to 5.6 × 10⁶ million metric tons of natural hydrogen. The model incorporates factors like natural production rates, reservoir amounts, and leakage from hydrogen-bearing rocks. While most of this hydrogen is likely inaccessible, the researchers highlight that harvesting just 2% could meet humanity's energy needs for roughly two centuries, offering a potential game-changer for clean energy.

(phys.org)

Tech natural hydrogen geological model clean energy

Thunderbolt 4/5 Docks: Impact on SSD Performance

2024-12-25

Thunderbolt 4/5 Docks: Impact on SSD Performance

This article tests the performance impact of Thunderbolt 4 and Thunderbolt 5 docks on different SSDs (Thunderbolt 3 and USB4). Results show that using a TB5 dock with an Intel Mac nearly doubles the speed of a USB4 SSD, reaching 20Gb/s—unprecedented. However, TB3 SSD read speeds decreased with the TB5 dock. A TB4 hub limited USB4 SSD speeds and reduced TB3 SSD write speeds. The tests demonstrate unpredictable performance variations depending on the Mac, dock, and SSD combination, highlighting the need for careful testing.

(eclecticlight.co)

Hardware Performance Testing

PCWorld's Hardware Guru, Gordon Mah Ung, Passes Away at 58

2024-12-25

PCWorld's Hardware Guru, Gordon Mah Ung, Passes Away at 58

PCWorld mourns the passing of Gordon Mah Ung, executive editor and renowned hardware journalist, who died over the weekend at age 58 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. With over 25 years of experience covering computer technology, Ung's rigorous reporting, unique personality, and commitment to journalistic standards touched countless lives. He led hardware coverage at Maximum PC for 16 years and hosted the popular video podcast, The Full Nerd. His passion for PC tech, humor, and occasional outbursts of righteous anger made him a legend. His death leaves a void in the industry and among PC enthusiasts.

(www.pcworld.com)

Hardware hardware journalist

Alibaba Unveils QvQ: A New Visual Reasoning Model

2024-12-25

Alibaba Unveils QvQ: A New Visual Reasoning Model

Alibaba recently released QvQ-72B-Preview, a new visual reasoning model under the Apache 2.0 license. Designed to enhance AI's visual reasoning capabilities, QvQ builds upon the inference-scaling model QwQ by adding vision processing. It accepts images and prompts, generating detailed, step-by-step reasoning processes. Blogger Simon Willison tested QvQ, finding it successful in tasks like counting pelicans but less accurate on complex reasoning problems. Currently available on Hugging Face Spaces, future plans include local deployment and broader platform support.

(simonwillison.net)

AI visual reasoning AI model

T2 SDE: Major Update for Cross-Architecture OS Development Environment

2024-12-24

T2 SDE is a low-code, ultra-portable package manager and Linux distribution that enables fully automated, reproducible, cross-compilation of custom operating systems across architectures (ARM, x86-64, etc.). The latest release, T2 24.12, boasts 37 pre-compiled ISO images supporting 25 CPU architectures and includes numerous packages like LibreOffice and OpenJDK. It even has proof-of-concept support for the Nintendo Wii U. T2 continues to improve, with a commitment to supporting IA-64 Itanium, enhancing security features like full-disk encryption, and boosting performance through features like hardware video encoding and decoding.

(t2sde.org)

Development Cross-Compilation Package Manager

The AI Backlash: A Necessary Correction for Practical Implementation

2024-12-24

The AI Backlash: A Necessary Correction for Practical Implementation

InfoWorld reports a growing developer frustration with the hype surrounding AI, emphasizing the need for practical and easily integrated tools. The article uses the RamaLama project as an example, showcasing how container technology simplifies AI model deployment and usage, and highlights the importance of smaller, more easily understood AI models. Developers want AI to seamlessly integrate into their workflows, not exist as a separate entity. This "AI backlash" presents an opportunity for effective AI implementation.

(www.infoworld.com)

Development AI applications container technology model miniaturization

Real-time ISS Urine Tank Monitor App Launched

2024-12-24

Real-time ISS Urine Tank Monitor App Launched

A developer has created pISSStream, a macOS menu bar app that displays the fill level of the International Space Station's urine tank in real time. While not perfect in terms of coding style, the app's unique concept provides a lighthearted look at a detail of life in space. The developer stated they will not be adding any other data, focusing solely on the urine tank's fill level.

(github.com)

Development macOS app International Space Station real-time data

Planet Puppet: A Ventriloquism Convention Chronicle

2024-12-24

Planet Puppet: A Ventriloquism Convention Chronicle

This article recounts the author's experience at an international ventriloquism convention. The convention brought together ventriloquists and their puppets from around the world, creating a vibrant and unusual atmosphere. The author vividly describes the diverse attendees, captivating performances, and the techniques behind the art of ventriloquism, revealing the unique charm and legacy of this ancient art form. The piece also explores the future of ventriloquism and its reflection of human nature and the profound implications of performance art, offering a captivating blend of entertainment and insightful reflection.

(www.nplusonemag.com)

Misc ventriloquism culture

Operational PGP: A Guide to Secure Email Communication

2024-12-24

Operational PGP: A Guide to Secure Email Communication

This guide isn't about installing or using PGP; it's about using it securely. It emphasizes operational security beyond just encrypting email content, covering email composition, storage, key management, and more. It recommends composing emails in a text editor, avoiding saving drafts in email clients; generating and destroying keys frequently; avoiding publishing keys to keyservers; keeping email subjects blank to minimize metadata leakage; using the `gpg --throw-keys` option during encryption; enabling encryption by default and explicitly choosing whether to sign emails. The goal is maximizing PGP's security potential.

(gist.github.com)

Development Email Security Key Management

Wide Events: A Practitioner's Guide to Enhanced Observability

2024-12-24

This article introduces 'Wide Events,' an observability approach that enhances system monitoring and debugging by emitting a single event containing all collectable information for each unit of work. The author details how to choose appropriate tools (like Honeycomb), add rich attributes (including service metadata, instance info, build info, HTTP request/response details, user/customer info, rate limits, caching info, localization info, uptime, metrics, async request summaries, sampling info, and timing info), and handle errors and feature flags. Common concerns like excessive data volume, redundant data, and the relationship with existing metrics are addressed. The article highlights the significant practical value of this approach, showcasing how it simplifies debugging and reveals unexpected system behaviors.

(jeremymorrell.dev)

Development wide events log monitoring

Genius and Rebellion: The Rise and Fall of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory

2024-12-24

Genius and Rebellion: The Rise and Fall of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory

William Shockley, a brilliant but irascible physicist, is renowned for his invention of the transistor. His Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory brought together many of Silicon Valley's early luminaries. However, Shockley's arrogance and poor management style led to the departure of the "traitorous eight," who founded Fairchild Semiconductor, marking the beginning of a Silicon Valley legend. While Shockley Semiconductor was eventually acquired, its historical significance remains undeniable; it not only nurtured transistor technology but also gave birth to the flourishing modern semiconductor industry.

(www.abortretry.fail)

Tech transistor Silicon Valley Shockley

Who Owns AI-Generated Code? Legal Experts Weigh In

2024-12-24

Who Owns AI-Generated Code? Legal Experts Weigh In

The ownership of code generated by AI like ChatGPT is a complex legal grey area. Experts consulted highlight a lack of clear legal precedent, with ownership hinging on both contract and copyright law. While OpenAI disclaims ownership of generated content, in practice, ownership could fall to the user, the AI developer, or even the providers of the training data. Further complicating matters, the copyrightability of AI-generated code itself is debated; the US Copyright Office suggests the code isn't protectable, but the application incorporating it might be. The situation is legally murky and developers are urged to proceed cautiously.

(www.zdnet.com)

AI AI code ownership copyright law legal risks

Mike the Headless Chicken: An 18-Month Miracle

2024-12-24

Mike the Headless Chicken: An 18-Month Miracle

In 1945, a Wyandotte rooster named Mike miraculously survived for 18 months after being beheaded. The axe missed the jugular vein, leaving most of his brainstem intact, allowing him to maintain basic life functions. Though he could only gurgle and walk unsteadily, Mike's unusual survival made him a sideshow sensation, touring with other oddities. He tragically choked to death in 1947. Today, Fruita, Colorado celebrates Mike with an annual "Mike the Headless Chicken Day."

(en.wikipedia.org)

Misc headless chicken miracle survival

Deep Dive into BSC Cryptocurrency Scams

2024-12-24

During the 2021 cryptocurrency bull market, the Binance Smart Chain (BSC) was flooded with various scams. The author analyzes multiple cases, exposing common tactics employed by scammers, including: creating smart contracts that make tokens unsaleable; manipulating approval functions to fail transactions or approve for minuscule amounts; setting adjustable transaction fees, eventually to 100%; falsely claiming ownership renunciation or liquidity locking; and using deceptive marketing. These scams preyed on the lack of knowledge among many new investors, successfully defrauding significant funds. The article concludes with a warning against seeking financial advice from social media platforms like Reddit.

(nyuu.page)

Tech BSC scams smart contract vulnerabilities

EgyptAir Flight 804 Crash: The Untold Story

2024-12-24

EgyptAir Flight 804 Crash: The Untold Story

On May 19, 2016, EgyptAir Flight 804 vanished from radar over the Mediterranean Sea. For eight years, the investigation was stalled, with conflicting reports from Egypt and France – one blaming a deliberate explosion, the other an accidental fire. In October 2024, Egypt unexpectedly released a 663-page final report, including both sides' findings. This article unravels the timeline, analyzes the reports, and reveals the most likely cause: a malfunction in the first officer's oxygen mask system ignited a fire, leading to the crash. This tragedy highlights aviation safety concerns and exposes the many ambiguities of the investigation.

(admiralcloudberg.medium.com)

Tech EgyptAir 804 Air Crash Investigation Aviation Safety

Electric Car Batteries Outlast Expectations, Potentially Lasting 20+ Years

2024-12-24

Electric Car Batteries Outlast Expectations, Potentially Lasting 20+ Years

Studies of thousands of electric vehicles reveal that EV batteries are lasting far longer than anticipated, potentially exceeding 20 years. Contrary to the common belief that EV batteries require expensive replacements after a few years, research shows they can retain 87% of their original capacity even after 300,000 kilometers. This is largely attributed to less frequent charging and improvements in battery management systems. While rapid charging and hot climates accelerate battery degradation, the overall trend is positive, with some models showing an annual degradation rate of just 1.8%. This could significantly disrupt the automotive industry, as EVs offer lower maintenance costs and longer lifespans, potentially revolutionizing the traditional 15-year car lifespan.

(www.wired.com)

Tech electric vehicles battery lifespan battery management systems

Suprnova Founder: From Torrent Empire to YouTube Megachannel

2024-12-24

Twenty years ago, the torrenting world was rocked by the sudden shutdown of Suprnova.org. Its founder, Andrej Preston (aka Sloncek), recently spoke to TorrentFreak, recounting his journey from a 15-year-old building a torrenting empire to shutting it down amidst copyright concerns, and ultimately transitioning to YouTube, where he built "The Infographics Show," boasting over 14 million subscribers. He admits his younger self was naive regarding copyright and business, but he's proud of Suprnova's scale and the person it shaped him into. This experience instilled valuable project management and content creation skills, leading to his YouTube success. He also offers insightful perspectives on copyright, online entertainment, and the future impact of AI-generated content.

(torrentfreak.com)

Misc Torrent

NeurIPS'24: Anxiety and Shifts in the AI Job Market

2024-12-24

At NeurIPS'24, many graduating PhD students and postdocs expressed anxiety and frustration about the AI job market. This stems from the rapid development of deep learning over the past decade, where large tech companies aggressively recruited AI PhDs, offering lucrative salaries and research freedom. However, with the maturation and productization of technologies like large language models, the demand for PhDs has decreased, and universities have started training undergraduates and master's students in relevant skills. This shift has left many PhD students feeling left behind, their research direction out of sync with market demands, and their future career prospects uncertain. The author expresses understanding and apologies, noting that many important research directions in AI remain, beyond large language models.

(kyunghyuncho.me)

AI AI job market

Cerebrum: A New Framework for Simulating Brain Networks

2024-12-24

A groundbreaking new framework, Cerebrum, combines biologically-inspired Hodgkin-Huxley neuron models with graph neural networks to simulate and infer synaptic connectivity in large-scale brain networks. Trained and evaluated on three canonical network topologies (Erdős-Rényi, small-world, and scale-free), Cerebrum demonstrated more accurate and robust connectivity inference with scale-free networks. Integrating empirical synaptic data from C. elegans and simulating disease effects (e.g., Parkinson's, epilepsy), Cerebrum is released as an open-source toolkit to foster collaboration and accelerate progress in computational neuroscience. This advancement promises to improve our understanding of brain networks and drive innovation in neuroscience and clinical practice.

(svbrain.xyz)

AI brain networks neural computation graph neural networks

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