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Cekura: Automating the Testing of AI Voice Agents

2025-04-21

Cekura: Automating the Testing of AI Voice Agents

Cekura, a Y Combinator-backed startup, is revolutionizing the reliability of AI voice agents. Founded by IIT Bombay alumni with research from ETH Zurich and a proven track record in high-stakes trading, Cekura tackles the cumbersome and error-prone nature of manual voice agent testing. They automate testing and observability by simulating thousands of realistic conversational scenarios, from ordering food to conducting interviews. Leveraging custom and AI-generated datasets, detailed workflows, and dynamic persona simulations, Cekura uncovers edge cases and provides actionable insights. Real-time monitoring, comprehensive logs, and instant alerts ensure optimized, production-ready calls. In a rapidly expanding market, Cekura stands out by guaranteeing dependable performance, reducing time-to-market, and minimizing costly errors. They empower teams to demonstrate reliability before deployment, building trust with clients and users.

(www.ycombinator.com)

AI AI voice agent

Cartel Hacker Used Phone Data to Track and Kill FBI Informants

2025-06-29

Cartel Hacker Used Phone Data to Track and Kill FBI Informants

A Justice Department report reveals that a hacker working for the Sinaloa drug cartel used an FBI official's phone data and Mexico City's surveillance cameras to track and kill the agency's informants. The hacker obtained call logs and geolocation data from the FBI official's phone, and used the city's camera system to follow the official and identify their contacts. This information was used by the cartel to intimidate and, in some cases, kill potential sources and cooperating witnesses. The incident highlights the security risks posed by the global proliferation of surveillance cameras and data trade, leading the FBI to develop a strategic plan to mitigate vulnerabilities.

(www.aol.com)

Tech drug cartel

Decentralized Social Media vs. Censorship: Bluesky and the Fediverse

2025-05-05

Decentralized Social Media vs. Censorship: Bluesky and the Fediverse

This essay examines how decentralized social media platforms, like Bluesky and the Fediverse, handle government censorship. Bluesky's composable moderation services allow clients to choose which services to subscribe to, but its centralized architecture makes it vulnerable to government pressure. The Fediverse, with its interconnected network of independent instances, presents a far greater challenge to censors, requiring attacks on numerous nodes for effective blockage. The author argues that decentralized architecture without single points of failure is key to censorship resistance, but ongoing improvements are needed to withstand more powerful censorship mechanisms.

(www.tbray.org)

Tech

Berkeley Humanoid Lite: A $5K Open-Source 3D-Printed Humanoid Robot

2025-04-26

Researchers at UC Berkeley have unveiled Berkeley Humanoid Lite, an open-source humanoid robot boasting a modular 3D-printed gearbox and a sub-$5,000 price tag. Its design prioritizes accessibility and customization, with components readily sourced and fabricated using standard 3D printers. Rigorous testing validated the durability of its 3D-printed actuators. A reinforcement learning-based locomotion controller successfully demonstrated zero-shot policy transfer from simulation to hardware. By open-sourcing hardware, code, and training frameworks, the project aims to democratize humanoid robotics development.

(lite.berkeley-humanoid.org)

Hardware open-source robot humanoid robot

Tattoy Now Supports Animated Cursors

2025-07-26

Tattoy Now Supports Animated Cursors

Tattoy terminal emulator now supports animated cursors! It uses the same format as Ghostty, rendering the cursor using custom shaders. While Tattoy renders using UTF8 text-based "pixels" ("▀" and "▄"), unlike Ghostty's pixel rendering, some subtleties might be lost, but the pixelated effect can be pleasing. Development challenges included supporting transparency for anti-aliased edges, ultimately solved by creating a pixelized version of the terminal and post-processing. Currently, there might be some lag on larger terminals, which will be addressed through future performance improvements and potentially by Tattoy taking over all cursor rendering from the host terminal emulator.

(tattoy.sh)

Development animated cursor shader

The Physics of Sales: From Push to Pull

2025-09-02

The Physics of Sales: From Push to Pull

This article reveals a fundamental flaw in how many founders approach sales: the 'seller-push' mentality. By observing hundreds of sales calls, the author argues that successful sales aren't about convincing customers, but about helping them achieve their goals. The author introduces the 'buyer-pull' theory and lists 11 signals indicating a 'seller-push' approach. Changing this mindset is key to unlocking sales efficiency.

(howtogrow.substack.com)

Startup

Marclay's 'The Clock': A 24-Hour Cinematic Masterpiece on Time

2025-01-04

Marclay's 'The Clock': A 24-Hour Cinematic Masterpiece on Time

Zadie Smith's insightful review in the New York Review of Books explores Christian Marclay's groundbreaking film, 'The Clock.' This 24-hour cinematic experience seamlessly weaves together countless movie clips featuring clocks, unfolding in real time. Smith meticulously dissects the film's structure, aesthetics, and philosophical implications, examining the interplay between real and staged time, accidental and deliberate choices, and cultural perceptions of time's passage. The film's masterful juxtaposition of clips creates a unique narrative, prompting profound reflections on time, life, and the nature of cinema itself.

(www.nybooks.com)

Art film review time

Duke Students Throw Away Thousands in Unused Goods

2025-05-27

Duke Students Throw Away Thousands in Unused Goods

A writer living in a Durham apartment building populated largely by Duke University students discovered a treasure trove of discarded items during the end-of-year move-out. High-end goods, including a $900 acrylic table, $395 Balenciaga slides, and over $1000 worth of Lululemon clothing, were found in the building's trash room. The author meticulously documented the items, totaling approximately $6000 in value. A comparison of Duke's donation program with other universities revealed comparable donation rates among wealthy private institutions. The story highlights issues of consumerism, waste, and the effectiveness of university donation initiatives.

(indyweek.com)

Misc waste university donations

AI Art Prompt Showcase: From Dreamy Forests to Cyberpunk Dragons

2025-04-15

AI Art Prompt Showcase: From Dreamy Forests to Cyberpunk Dragons

This post is a collection of prompts for generating AI art, covering a wide range of styles and subjects. From dreamy forests and regal goddesses to photorealistic portraits, cyberpunk elements, fantastical creatures, and creative food and nature scenes, these detailed prompts offer inspiration for AI art enthusiasts. Many include details like photographers, styles, and lighting information to enhance the final output.

(foundationvision.github.io)

AI prompts

Librarians: More Dangerous Than You Think

2025-04-19

Librarians: More Dangerous Than You Think

This article playfully celebrates the powerful influence of librarians. Starting with the provocative statement, "Librarians are dangerous," the author explains that this danger isn't in a physical sense, but rather in their positive impact on society. Librarians are portrayed as agents of change, promoting literacy, information literacy education, and community engagement. They are not simply guardians of books but disseminators of knowledge and igniters of minds, playing a crucial role in combating misinformation, fostering equality, and building a better world. The author encourages readers to reassess the value of librarians and pay tribute to their work.

(bradmontague.substack.com)

Misc information literacy

Massive European Paper Mill Exposed: Over 1500 Fake Research Papers Discovered

2025-09-06

Massive European Paper Mill Exposed: Over 1500 Fake Research Papers Discovered

An investigation uncovered a vast network of Ukrainian companies, potentially Europe's largest paper mill, churning out fake or low-quality research papers and selling authorships. Researchers traced over 60 suspicious email domains linked to 1517 published papers, involving over 4500 researchers from 460 universities across 46 countries. The papers exhibited hallmarks of paper mills: fabricated data, plagiarism, irrelevant citations, and peer review manipulation. While the mill claims to offer legitimate services, website wording suggests papers are produced to order or authorships are sold. This highlights the urgent need to combat academic paper mills.

(www.nature.com)

Tech fake research paper mill

iOS 26's Savior: iPhone Recovery Without a Mac or PC

2025-06-23

iOS 26's Savior: iPhone Recovery Without a Mac or PC

iOS 26 introduces a new Recovery Assistant feature that allows you to restore your iPhone without needing a Mac or PC. This feature, automatically triggered when the iPhone encounters a startup issue, puts the device into Recovery mode and attempts to resolve the problem. It also allows for recovery via another Apple device (like an iPad), downloading and installing a newer iOS version to revive a malfunctioning iPhone. This expands upon a recovery feature first introduced on iPhone 16 models last year, offering a more convenient repair solution.

(www.macrumors.com)

Development Recovery Assistant iPhone Repair

US Navy Shipbuilding: A Case for Simpler Designs

2025-05-15

US Navy Shipbuilding: A Case for Simpler Designs

US Navy shipbuilding is plagued by cost overruns and schedule delays. This policy proposal argues that this stems from the Navy's reliance on complex, multi-role ship designs and outsourced design processes. The authors recommend a return to simpler, single-purpose ship designs and in-house design capabilities to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and ultimately build more ships for less. Case studies of the Ford-class carrier, Burke-class destroyer, and Littoral Combat Ship illustrate the problems of complex designs. The proposal offers alternative, more cost-effective ship designs, focusing on streamlined capabilities and efficient production.

(www.construction-physics.com)

Tech Navy shipbuilding cost overruns

Excel's Date Parsing: A 400-Year-Old Bug?

2025-04-07

Excel's Date Parsing: A 400-Year-Old Bug?

While building Quadratic, an AI spreadsheet, the team uncovered bizarre quirks in Excel's date parsing. Entering "1/2" and adding 1 yields 45660; "10:75" becomes 0.46875. This stems from Excel's serial date system, counting days since January 1, 1900. However, historical inaccuracies (treating 1900 as a leap year and the Gregorian calendar shift) create discrepancies. Quadratic uses Rust's chrono library, avoiding these issues and integrating seamlessly with Python, SQL, and other modern tools. The team corrected the 1900 leap year error, restoring balance to the universe.

(www.quadratichq.com)

Development Date Parsing

Seastar: A Fast, Extensible Build System for Multiple Languages

2025-06-15

Seastar: A Fast, Extensible Build System for Multiple Languages

Seastar is a fast and extensible build system currently supporting C and C++, with plans to add Rust and Zig. Designed for ease of creation, prototyping, and iteration, it aims to mimic the user-friendliness of Rust's Cargo while offering seamless compilation across multiple languages. Seastar is simple to build and run; just install Cargo and Rust, clone the repository, and run the provided commands. Currently in early stages, it's not recommended for production use.

(github.com)

Development

AI Cheating: How Tech Made School Easier, But Harder to Grow Out Of

2025-09-05

AI Cheating: How Tech Made School Easier, But Harder to Grow Out Of

A New York City high school senior describes how AI tools have transformed education, detailing how students use ChatGPT and similar AI to cheat on assignments, class discussions, and even debate competitions. While schools employ anti-cheating measures, students constantly find ways around them. The article argues that AI not only enables cheating but also undermines the urgency of learning and student initiative, fostering reliance on external validation rather than internal growth, ultimately producing a generation lacking independent thought and problem-solving skills. The author suggests reforming assessment methods—oral exams, personalized writing assignments, and project-based grading—to cultivate critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

(www.theatlantic.com)

Misc Student Learning

Edible Robots: RoboCake Takes Center Stage at Expo 2025

2025-05-09

Edible Robots: RoboCake Takes Center Stage at Expo 2025

The EU-funded RoboFood project unveiled its groundbreaking creation: RoboCake, an edible robotic wedding cake! Developed by EPFL and IIT researchers in collaboration with pastry chefs, this cake features two adorable, edible robotic teddy bears animated by an internal pneumatic system. Even more innovative, IIT created edible rechargeable batteries made from vitamin B2, quercetin, activated carbon, and chocolate, powering the cake's LED candles. This interdisciplinary marvel not only offers a unique culinary experience but also addresses electronic waste and food waste issues, with applications in emergency nutrition and healthcare.

(actu.epfl.ch)

Tech edible robots

Intraterrestrials: Unveiling Earth's Hidden Microbial Worlds

2025-05-17

Intraterrestrials: Unveiling Earth's Hidden Microbial Worlds

Karen Lloyd's 'Intraterrestrials' takes readers on a thrilling journey into the hidden depths of our planet to explore the extraordinary microorganisms thriving in extreme environments. From deep-sea sediments and volcanic vents to permafrost, Lloyd, a seasoned geomicrobiologist, details her adventures collecting samples in challenging and sometimes dangerous locations. The book vividly portrays the difficulties and excitement of her expeditions, including a daring sampling mission in a highly acidic crater lake in Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano (which erupted just 54 days later!). Through these captivating stories, Lloyd reveals the surprising diversity and resilience of 'intraterrestrials,' highlighting their unique adaptations and offering insights into the evolution of life on Earth and the potential for life beyond.

(www.nature.com)

Tech extreme microbes geomicrobiology

AI Revolutionizes Code Development: A Roundup of Powerful Tools

2025-03-21

From command-line interfaces to visual platforms, AI is transforming software development. This article explores a range of exciting AI-powered coding tools, including terminal-based AI coding assistants (like aider chat, Kwaak, RA.Aid, CodeBuff), advanced headless IDEs (like SWE-Kit), and AI-driven code generation platforms (like v0, Base44, bolt). These tools cover everything from code generation and understanding to complete software building processes, supporting multiple programming languages and frameworks. Whether you're an experienced developer or a coding novice, you'll find tools to boost efficiency and simplify your workflow.

(aicode.danvoronov.com)

Development AI development tools low-code platforms

SpatialStudio Adds write_string Function

2025-09-02

SpatialStudio Adds write_string Function

SpatialStudio, a spatial video editing tool, recently added a new write_string function. This addition significantly enhances SpatialStudio's capabilities. Developer Daniel Habib shared the code on GitHub, encouraging users to check out the update. The related videos have already garnered over 200 views.

(www.splats.com)

Development Spatial Video

NATS Near-Exit from CNCF Sparks Debate on Open Source Sustainability

2025-05-29

NATS Near-Exit from CNCF Sparks Debate on Open Source Sustainability

Synadia, the company behind the open-source messaging system NATS, briefly threatened to remove it from the CNCF and switch to a non-open-source license, raising concerns about the long-term viability of open-source projects. While a last-minute agreement saw Synadia transfer the trademark to the Linux Foundation and keep NATS open source, the incident highlighted tensions between open-source foundations and contributing companies. The dispute revealed vulnerabilities in the current framework, underscoring the need for clearer asset management and stronger safeguards to protect open-source projects from similar future threats. The controversy also sparked discussions about the role of foundations in maintaining the stability and trust within the open-source community.

(www.infoq.com)

Development

Rapa Nui's Surprising Connections: Radiocarbon Dating Rewrites Polynesian History

2025-07-10

Rapa Nui's Surprising Connections: Radiocarbon Dating Rewrites Polynesian History

New research using radiocarbon dating challenges the long-held belief that Easter Island (Rapa Nui) developed in isolation after its initial settlement. The study reveals a complex pattern of cultural exchange and interaction between Rapa Nui and other Polynesian islands. While the initial Polynesian settlement expanded westward to eastward, the study shows that the complex ritual sites known as marae originated on Rapa Nui before spreading westward. This indicates a dynamic exchange of cultural ideas, challenging the previously accepted linear model of Polynesian development and highlighting Rapa Nui's significant role in shaping the region's cultural landscape.

(phys.org)

Tech Easter Island Polynesia

Hacker News: A Cure for Eternal September?

2025-09-22

This article explores how Hacker News (HN) maintains high-quality discussions and content while experiencing relentless user growth and traffic. HN uses strict rules, algorithmic ranking, human moderation, and a unique link aggregator model to effectively filter low-quality content and encourage in-depth discussions. While HN isn't flawless, suffering from issues like commenters not reading articles, excessive criticism, and user base biases, its unique operational model offers valuable lessons for other online communities.

(hsu.cy)

Tech

Geocodio's Free Tier: Balancing Abuse Prevention and Legitimate Users

2025-02-24

Geocodio's Free Tier: Balancing Abuse Prevention and Legitimate Users

Geocodio maintains a free tier despite the risk of abuse. Initially, simple IP-based blocking led to poor user experience and wasted support time. They transitioned to a granular risk scoring system, using dozens of factors (browser, IP, email, etc.) to automatically identify and handle high-risk signups. Medium-risk signups might face CAPTCHAs or email verification. This system minimizes manual intervention, balancing security and user experience, ensuring the free tier's sustainability.

(www.geocod.io)

Development abuse prevention risk scoring freemium

Estonia: A Digital Identity Pioneer

2025-03-19

Estonia: A Digital Identity Pioneer

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

(e-estonia.com)

Tech digital identity e-governance Estonia

Dieppe Raid: A Costly Failure?

2025-07-11

Dieppe Raid: A Costly Failure?

This account recounts the disastrous Dieppe Raid of 1942. Over 5000 Allied soldiers participated, suffering heavy casualties with at least 2000 killed or captured. While the RAF inflicted significant damage on German fighters, the raid itself was a failure, achieving minimal strategic objectives and resulting in substantial Allied losses. The text explores potential reasons for the failure, including German advance knowledge and deficiencies in Allied fire support and landing plans. The debacle underscored the immense challenges of a European invasion and provided crucial lessons for future amphibious operations.

(orwelldiaries.wordpress.com)

Misc Dieppe Raid

Falsify: A New Property-Based Testing Library for Haskell

2025-04-20

This blog post introduces Falsify, a novel property-based testing library for Haskell. Inspired by Python's Hypothesis library, Falsify implements internal shrinking, efficiently handling infinite data structures thanks to Haskell's lazy evaluation. Unlike QuickCheck's manual shrinking and hedgehog's integrated shrinking, Falsify uses sample trees instead of streams, resulting in more predictable and understandable shrinking behavior, especially when dealing with monadic bind.

(www.well-typed.com)

Development Property-based testing

One Dog vs. the Windows 3.1 Graphics Stack

2025-01-04

The author attempts to run Windows 3.11 on a 2008 Asus Eee PC 1000H netbook, encountering video output issues. The default VGA mode looks awful on the higher-resolution screen, and the included Super VGA driver is incompatible. The article delves into the intricacies of Windows 3.x Enhanced mode, VGA hardware, the VBE standard, and the SVGAPatch. Through reverse engineering and debugging, the author analyzes the display driver and Virtual Display Device (VDD), improving SVGAPatch to resolve some compatibility problems. However, challenges remain, highlighting the complexities of legacy systems.

(wuffs.org)

Development

Turo Car-Sharing App Implicated in Las Vegas Explosion and New Orleans Attack

2025-01-02

Turo Car-Sharing App Implicated in Las Vegas Explosion and New Orleans Attack

A Tesla Cybertruck rented through the Turo car-sharing app exploded in Las Vegas, killing one and injuring seven. Separately, a pickup truck rented via Turo was used in a deadly attack in New Orleans, resulting in 15 fatalities. President Biden ordered an investigation into a possible connection between the two incidents. Turo stated it's cooperating with law enforcement but hasn't found a link and admits it cannot fully verify all renter identities. The events raise serious questions about Turo's safety protocols and background checks, highlighting inherent risks in the sharing economy.

(www.businessinsider.com)

Tech Cybertruck explosion New Orleans attack

Vanguard: King of Low-Cost Investing?

2025-05-01

Vanguard: King of Low-Cost Investing?

Vanguard stands out in the investment world with its unique client-owned structure and exceptionally low expense ratios. Data reveals that a significant number of Vanguard funds outperformed their peers over the past decade, particularly its actively managed bond funds. Furthermore, Vanguard's cash account interest rates are considerably higher than average bank savings rates. Top rankings from J.D. Power and Morningstar reinforce Vanguard's leadership in investor satisfaction and robo-advisory services. However, the text emphasizes that past performance is not indicative of future results, and all investments carry risk.

(corporate.vanguard.com)

Startup low-cost

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