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FreeBSD 14.1 Suspend/Resume Works Like a Charm

2025-01-13

FreeBSD 14.1 Suspend/Resume Works Like a Charm

A seasoned FreeBSD user shares the results of their suspend/resume tests on FreeBSD 14.1 using a ThinkPad W520 laptop. The tests demonstrate that suspend/resume functionality works flawlessly, mirroring the performance observed on FreeBSD 12.2. The author opted for FreeBSD 14.1 over 14.2 due to potential issues with kernel-related packages in 14.2's pkg builds, which target an older FreeBSD version.

(vermaden.wordpress.com)

Development Suspend Resume

Revisiting Earthsea: A Stunning Illustrated Edition of a Classic Fantasy Series

2025-04-28

Revisiting Earthsea: A Stunning Illustrated Edition of a Classic Fantasy Series

The author rereads Ursula K. Le Guin's Earthsea cycle in a new, fully illustrated omnibus edition featuring art by the beloved Charles Vess. This massive volume includes all six novels, along with short stories and afterwords. While praising the beautiful artwork, the author expresses some reservations about its style compared to Vess's other works. The large page size and slightly small font size present minor reading inconveniences, but overall the experience is positive. The author finds the Earthsea books as compelling as ever, particularly highlighting the dark and brutal nature of *Tehanu*. This new edition offers a fresh appreciation for this classic fantasy world, showcasing Le Guin's masterful world-building and character development.

(lars.ingebrigtsen.no)

Game Fantasy Fiction Illustrated Edition

From Permissive to Copyleft: A Shift in Open Source Licensing

2025-07-10

The author reflects on their evolution of open-source licensing preferences, shifting from a preference for permissive licenses (like MIT) to prioritize maximal adoption to now favoring copyleft licenses (like GPL). This change stems from three key factors: open source has gone mainstream, making enterprise adoption easier; the crypto space has become more competitive and mercenary, making 'friendly' sharing insufficient; and Glen Weyl's economic arguments suggesting that actively promoting open source is optimal with increasing returns to scale. The author argues that copyleft, by mandating source code sharing of derivative works, effectively promotes knowledge diffusion and technological sharing, preventing resource monopolization by a few.

(vitalik.eth.limo)

Development copyleft

SeedBox Lite: Stream Torrents Instantly

2025-08-29

SeedBox Lite: Stream Torrents Instantly

SeedBox Lite is a revolutionary torrent streaming platform that lets you instantly watch movies and TV shows without waiting for full downloads. Built with modern web technologies, it offers a Netflix-like experience with powerful torrent capabilities. SeedBox Lite supports multiple formats, features smart caching, subtitle support, and responsive design, working seamlessly across Windows, macOS, and Linux. Deployment is a breeze, taking minutes with either Docker or PM2.

(github.com)

Development

Windows 11 Native Video Wallpaper Support is Back!

2025-09-22

Windows 11 Native Video Wallpaper Support is Back!

After years of absence, native video wallpaper support is returning to Windows 11! Previously available in Windows Vista's DreamScene, the feature has been resurrected in the latest preview builds. Users will now be able to set MP4, MOV, and other video formats as their desktop backgrounds. Spotted by @phantomofearth on X, the feature promises a more personalized desktop experience, eliminating the need for third-party apps. While the impact on performance and battery life is yet unknown, its return is a welcome addition for many.

(www.windowscentral.com)

Tech video wallpaper

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of Book Blurbs

2025-02-05

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of Book Blurbs

This article delves into the controversial world of book blurbs—those quotes of praise adorning book covers. While acknowledging the time-consuming and often hyperbolic nature of blurbs, the author argues that they remain a crucial element in a crowded publishing landscape. Blurbs help readers filter through the massive number of books published, assist book reviewers and sellers in their choices, and ultimately contribute to a book's success, especially for lesser-known authors. The author suggests reforms to improve the blurb system, including limiting their number, avoiding blurbs for unsold manuscripts, and encouraging established authors to prioritize giving opportunities to newer voices.

(countercraft.substack.com)

Misc publishing industry book blurbs marketing strategies

AI Art and Copyright: Hiroshi Kawano's Artificial Mondrian

2025-06-02

AI Art and Copyright: Hiroshi Kawano's Artificial Mondrian

In the 1960s, artist Hiroshi Kawano used a computer program to predict Piet Mondrian's painting style and hand-painted the "Artificial Mondrian" series. This sparked a debate about copyright and artistic creation: did the algorithm infringe on Mondrian's copyright? The article explores the applicability of US and EU copyright law to similar cases, analyzes the "fair use" principle, and delves into data copyright issues in AI model training. The author argues that overly expanding the scope of copyright protection for Mondrian's work poses risks and suggests that the UK adopt an "opt-out" system similar to the EU's for AI model training data copyright, balancing the interests of the creative industry and the development of AI technology.

(inferencemagazine.substack.com)

AI

Multimodal Siamese Networks for Dementia Detection from Speech in Women

2025-08-24

Multimodal Siamese Networks for Dementia Detection from Speech in Women

This study leverages a multimodal Siamese network to detect dementia from speech data, specifically focusing on female participants. Utilizing audio recordings and transcripts from the Pitt Corpus within the Dementia Bank database, the research employs various audio analysis techniques (MFCCs, zero-crossing rate, etc.) and text preprocessing methods. A multimodal Siamese network is developed, combining audio and text features to enhance dementia detection accuracy. Data augmentation techniques are implemented to improve model robustness. The study offers a comprehensive approach to multimodal learning in the context of dementia diagnosis.

(www.nature.com)

AI Dementia Detection Multimodal Learning Speech Analysis

The Hollow Center of AI: Technology vs. Human Experience

2025-05-24

The Hollow Center of AI: Technology vs. Human Experience

This article explores the unsettling feeling many have toward AI-generated content, arguing it stems not from malice but from a perceived "hollow center"—a lack of genuine intention and lived human experience. AI excels at mimicking human expression, but its inability to genuinely feel evokes anxieties about our uniqueness and meaning. Drawing on Heidegger and Arendt, the author posits technology as not merely tools, but world-shaping forces; AI's optimization logic flattens human experience. The response shouldn't be avoidance or antagonism, but a conscious safeguarding of the unquantifiable aspects of human experience: art, suffering, love, strangeness—preserving our unique place amidst technological advancement.

(fakepixels.substack.com)

AI Human Experience

Munich vs. Hamburg: A Tale of Two German Cities

2025-06-18

Munich vs. Hamburg: A Tale of Two German Cities

A long weekend trip to Munich provided a fascinating comparison to the author's home in Hamburg. The article explores the historical impact of the Wittelsbach dynasty on Munich's development, contrasting it with Hamburg's independent growth as a free imperial city. Munich's strong religious presence is highlighted against Hamburg's more secular atmosphere. While Munich boasts more museums and nearby natural beauty, Hamburg offers superior green spaces and a less frenetic pace of life. The author concludes that Munich offers stronger tech job opportunities, but Hamburg better suits his personal preferences.

(mertbulan.com)

Misc city comparison German culture travelogue

12350 BC: The Most Powerful Solar Storm Ever Recorded

2025-05-19

12350 BC: The Most Powerful Solar Storm Ever Recorded

Scientists have discovered the most powerful solar particle storm ever recorded, dating back to 12350 BC during the last Ice Age. Using a newly developed model, SOCOL:14C-Ex, researchers determined the storm was 18% stronger than the previously strongest known event in 775 AD, and over 500 times more intense than the largest storm of the satellite era (2005). This finding significantly expands our understanding of solar activity's intensity and timeline, providing crucial data for assessing risks to modern infrastructure from future solar storms. The model's accuracy was validated using 14,300-year-old wood samples from the French Alps.

(phys.org)

Tech radiocarbon

Bolt Graphics' Zeus GPU: A RISC-V Challenger to Nvidia

2025-03-16

Bolt Graphics' Zeus GPU: A RISC-V Challenger to Nvidia

Bolt Graphics, a California startup, unveiled its Zeus GPU platform based on the open-source RISC-V architecture. In path tracing workloads, Zeus significantly outperforms Nvidia's RTX 5090, boasting up to 10x the speed. However, its performance in traditional rendering and AI tasks remains unclear, and a mature software ecosystem is lacking. Zeus uses a multi-chiplet design, offering various configurations with up to 2TB of memory and built-in high-speed networking, targeting high-performance computing and scientific simulations. Developer kits are slated for late 2025, with mass production in late 2026. Despite significant challenges, Zeus's emergence injects new dynamism into the GPU market.

(www.tomshardware.com)

Hardware

Nintendo's Strategy for Rising Switch 2 Development Costs

2025-07-08

Nintendo's Strategy for Rising Switch 2 Development Costs

Facing soaring development costs for Switch 2 games, Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa acknowledged the increased risk but stated the company is exploring various methods to maintain its traditional game development approach. This includes investing in more efficient development processes and developing more smaller games to mitigate costs and prices. While Switch 2 titles like Mario Kart World demonstrate higher ambition and higher price tags, Nintendo recognizes the potential price barrier and is closely monitoring the situation. This contrasts with the large-scale layoffs and game cancellations seen at other companies, highlighting Nintendo's cautious and pragmatic approach.

(www.theverge.com)

Game Game Development Costs

Supercomputer Simulations Reveal Stunning Details of Neutron Star-Black Hole Collisions

2025-06-19

Supercomputer Simulations Reveal Stunning Details of Neutron Star-Black Hole Collisions

Scientists used supercomputers to simulate neutron star-black hole collisions, revealing that before the collision, the neutron star is torn apart by the black hole's gravity, generating Alfvén waves and a final burst of radio waves lasting about a second. The collision also produces the universe's strongest shock waves and may form a brief black hole pulsar, emitting high-energy X-rays or gamma rays. This research, leveraging the powerful GPU computing capabilities of the Perlmutter supercomputer, provides crucial clues for detecting these most violent events in the universe.

(www.caltech.edu)

Tech supercomputer simulation

12-Factor Agents: Principles for Building Reliable LLM Applications

2025-04-16

12-Factor Agents: Principles for Building Reliable LLM Applications

This article explores the principles for building reliable, scalable, and maintainable LLM-powered software—the 12-Factor Agents. The author argues that existing agent frameworks fall short in production, with many so-called "AI Agents" being mostly deterministic code sprinkled with LLM steps. The author proposes principles for building more robust agents, emphasizing a modular approach of incorporating small, modular agent concepts into existing products, avoiding inefficient greenfield rewrites. This is a valuable read for engineers and entrepreneurs focused on AI application development.

(github.com)

Development

Oh Shit, Git!?! A Survival Guide

2025-01-16

This blog post humorously recounts the author's struggles with Git and offers practical solutions to common problems. It covers scenarios like undoing commits, amending commit messages, accidentally committing to the wrong branch, and recovering files, providing clear commands and steps. The author invites readers to share their own Git horror stories for collective learning.

(ohshitgit.com)

Development Code Management

Building a Database with the Rust Open-Source Community: The ScopeDB Story

2025-01-15

Building a Database with the Rust Open-Source Community: The ScopeDB Story

A team of three built ScopeDB, a shared-disk architecture cloud database for managing petabytes of observability data, in just four months using Rust. Leveraging the power of the Rust ecosystem and numerous open-source projects like Apache OpenDAL, SQLx, and SeaQuery, the team actively contributed back to the community with patches and new libraries. ScopeDB also features an open-source twin, Morax, for sharing engineering experience, demonstrating a commercial open-source paradigm.

(tisonkun.io)

Development

Fabrication of a Superconducting Qubit Chip: A Detailed Process

2025-07-12

Fabrication of a Superconducting Qubit Chip: A Detailed Process

This paper details the fabrication process of a superconducting qubit chip, improving upon existing methods to enhance reproducibility. The process involves: using a 6-inch silicon wafer as substrate, sputtering a 200nm niobium film, photolithography and plasma etching to pattern the niobium, electron beam lithography to prepare Josephson junctions, aluminum deposition to form the junctions, and finally dicing and lift-off. The paper also describes the experimental setup for qubit characterization and measurement, including the cryogenic measurement system and signal processing chain. The fabricated Josephson junctions exhibited lower-than-expected critical currents, resulting in low EJ/EC ratios.

(www.nature.com)

Development superconducting qubit chip fabrication Josephson junction

The Rise of the Small Language Model: 30B Parameters and Still 'Small'

2025-05-24

The Rise of the Small Language Model: 30B Parameters and Still 'Small'

In 2018, a 'small model' meant a few million parameters running on a Raspberry Pi. Today, a 30B parameter model is considered 'small'—requiring only a single GPU. The definition has shifted. Now, 'small' emphasizes deployability over sheer size. These models fall into two categories: edge-optimized models (like Phi-3-mini, running on mobile devices) and GPU-friendly models (like Meta Llama 3 70B, running on a single GPU). Small models excel at specialized tasks, offering higher efficiency and easier fine-tuning. Even 70B parameter models, with optimization, run smoothly on high-end consumer GPUs. This marks the arrival of the small model era, opening up possibilities for startups, developers, and enterprises.

(jigsawstack.com)

AI small models model optimization

Algorithmic Authority: The Silent Manipulation of Social Media

2025-04-24

Social media platforms' recommendation algorithms subtly shape what people see. Influential users can manipulate these algorithms through simple interactions (like muting) to reduce the visibility of others, creating a form of 'shadowbanning'. Conversely, high-reach user interactions amplify content visibility, creating artificial popularity. This mechanism isn't fraud, but a form of algorithmic manipulation of public opinion, manufacturing 'consensus' that ultimately impacts voting, consumption, and protest behavior. The article reveals how this covert algorithmic manipulation distorts information and points out that true influence lies in subtle guidance, not blunt control.

(rook2root.co)

Tech information manipulation

$8M+ Annual Funding: Unraveling the Brain's Sensorimotor Integration

2025-04-26

$8M+ Annual Funding: Unraveling the Brain's Sensorimotor Integration

The Simons Collaboration on Ecological Neuroscience (SCENE) launches with over $8 million in annual funding to investigate how the brain efficiently integrates sensory and motor information. This interdisciplinary project, uniting leading neuroscientists and machine learning experts, leverages principles of ecological psychology, focusing on how the brain encodes affordances – opportunities for action in the environment. Research will span multiple species, from rodents and bats to humans, aiming to uncover fundamental principles of cognition and bridge gaps in our understanding of the brain.

(www.simonsfoundation.org)

Tech Brain Cognition

Google's Gemini App Integrates Real-Time AP News Feed

2025-01-15

Google's Gemini App Integrates Real-Time AP News Feed

Google announced that its Gemini app will integrate a real-time news feed from the Associated Press (AP) to enhance the timeliness of search results. This builds on Google's long-standing partnership with AP, leveraging AI to improve products and services. The AP will provide real-time data, helping Gemini users access the latest information. Google also highlighted its collaborations with news organizations worldwide and its commitment to exploring AI's role in journalism, supporting journalists and the news ecosystem.

(blog.google)

Tech Associated Press

Particle Life Simulation in the Browser: A WebGPU Power Play

2025-05-26

Particle Life Simulation in the Browser: A WebGPU Power Play

This article details a browser-based particle life simulation powered by WebGPU. The simulation uses a non-physical model with asymmetric inter-particle forces, creating life-like behavior. The author explains the model, WebGPU implementation, spatial hashing optimization for performance, and rendering techniques, including a parallel prefix sum algorithm for efficient binning. The result is a visually stunning simulation capable of generating diverse and interesting life forms, with options for custom rules and sharing.

(lisyarus.github.io)

Development Particle Simulation

Rails in 2025: Lago's Case for Sticking with the Familiar

2025-08-20

Rails in 2025: Lago's Case for Sticking with the Familiar

Lago shares its experience building its API with Ruby on Rails. Despite the rise of Python, Go, and JS, they've stuck with Rails, prioritizing its speed in delivering a product. They address scalability concerns, arguing it's an architectural and operational issue, not a framework limitation. With proper design and optimization, Rails handles millions of API requests. The article also acknowledges Rails' weaknesses—performance, concurrency, and 'magic'—and how they use Go and Rust to compensate. Ultimately, they argue that language choice depends on quickly delivering a great product, and Rails fits the bill for their team.

(www.getlago.com)

Development

PowerPoint's Genesis: A 1980s Startup Saga

2025-05-21

PowerPoint's Genesis: A 1980s Startup Saga

This is the second installment of Robert Gaskins's recollections on the development of PowerPoint. He recounts the challenges of building a software startup in the 1980s, negotiating with Microsoft, and the difficulties of working without the internet. High marketing costs, lengthy software delivery cycles, and the immaturity of Windows significantly delayed development. Gaskins shares their struggles and how PowerPoint eventually became the industry standard, highlighting the fierce competition with rivals. The narrative starkly contrasts the 1980s startup environment with today's.

(blog.zamzar.com)

Startup

Playing Pokémon FireRed with GPT-4: An AI Adventure

2025-02-26

Playing Pokémon FireRed with GPT-4: An AI Adventure

This project details an attempt to get GPT-4 to autonomously play Pokémon FireRed using RetroArch. The author implemented methods for reading game memory, using OCR for text recognition, and creating a game memory database to allow the AI to explore, battle, and interact with NPCs. However, programmatic input control proved a major hurdle; RetroArch's UDP input system was unreliable, and keyboard-based input required window focus, limiting automation. Despite this, the project showcases the potential of AI in gaming and provides valuable insights into future LLM applications in this field.

(github.com)

Game

Google's Kodak Moment: Missing the ChatGPT Revolution

2025-07-23

OpenAI's 2023 launch of ChatGPT represents a potential 'Kodak moment' for Google. Despite pioneering research and vast data resources underlying ChatGPT's technology, Google missed the opportunity to launch a history-making product. Its ad-based business model faces stiff competition from Meta, and losing search traffic to ChatGPT would force a desperate fight for screen-time against rivals like TikTok, Netflix, and game studios. Google's weakness in audio and its failure to commercialize its AR advantage further highlight its strategic shortcomings. Short-term stock pressures incentivize Google's leadership to prioritize immediate profits over a potentially necessary, albeit painful, long-term restructuring. This shortsightedness could ultimately lead to the company's downfall.

(tompccs.github.io)

Tech

Sharing Is Scaring: The Unexpected Link Between Cloud File Sharing and Programming Language Semantics

2025-09-03

Users frequently struggle with cloud file-sharing applications. This study argues that these difficulties stem not just from poor interfaces, but also from a fundamental misunderstanding of the underlying semantics of actions like linking, attaching, downloading, and editing—mirroring challenges in grasping programming concepts such as aliasing, copying, and mutation. A user study reveals widespread misconceptions by mapping known programming-education misunderstandings onto similar file-sharing tasks. The researchers also developed a formal semantics of cloud file-sharing operations, providing a foundation for improved mental models, educational tools, and automated assistance. This formalization can support applications like trace checking and workflow synthesis.

(cs.brown.edu)

Development programming language semantics

Turning Complaints into Contributions: A Leader's Guide

2025-09-08

Turning Complaints into Contributions: A Leader's Guide

Persistent complaining in teams impacts morale and productivity. This article explores the psychology behind complaints, including reinforcement, learned helplessness, locus of control, cognitive biases, and the need for belonging. Instead of suppressing or fixing complaints, leaders are urged to use inquiry to involve team members in solutions. Practical tools like reframing complaints, small group discussions, complaint harvesting, and meeting rituals are suggested to transform negative energy into constructive action. The focus is on shifting from blame to ownership and fostering a culture of contribution.

(andiroberts.com)

Development

UML Diagrams Deconstruct Evans' DDD Cargo Shipping Example

2025-04-18

UML Diagrams Deconstruct Evans' DDD Cargo Shipping Example

This project visualizes the DDD cargo shipping example from Eric Evans' book using UML diagrams. Generated from the dddsample-core GitHub project, these diagrams – including class, sequence, object, and communication diagrams – illuminate the system's architecture and behavior, showcasing the interplay between components and the structure of the domain model. A directed graph, created with Astah Professional, further clarifies relationships between elements. This resource provides a practical, visual understanding of DDD principles in action.

(github.com)

Development Cargo Shipping System

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