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Ecosia and Qwant Team Up to Build a European Search Index

2025-03-09

Ecosia and Qwant Team Up to Build a European Search Index

Ecosia and Qwant have announced a partnership to create the "European Search Perspective," an independent European search index. This marks a significant step in both companies' pursuit of technological autonomy and data sovereignty. The new index database, initially supporting French and German searches, is slated for launch in 2025 and will provide a foundation for future AI technologies. This initiative aims to enhance the transparency and security of search results and reduce reliance on major tech companies like Google and Bing, ultimately creating a more free environment for green tech development.

(blog.ecosia.org)

Tech tech independence

1862 Exposed MCP Servers: A Security Vulnerability Unveiled

2025-07-18

1862 Exposed MCP Servers: A Security Vulnerability Unveiled

Knostic's research team discovered 1,862 internet-exposed MCP servers lacking proper security measures. These servers, identified using Shodan and custom Python tools, allowed unauthenticated access to internal tool listings. The findings highlight the technology's early adoption stage and significant security risks, with many servers exhibiting instability and vulnerabilities. The researchers emphasize the need to address these security concerns, suggesting proactive security measures before widespread exploitation.

(www.knostic.ai)

Tech

AI is Killing the Web: A Human Author's Plea

2025-07-27

AI is Killing the Web: A Human Author's Plea

Two articles in *The Economist* highlight how AI-powered answer engines are destroying the web's business model. Search engines now provide AI-generated answers instead of linking to web pages, reducing the incentive for creating original content and leading to declining web quality. The author uses personal experiences to illustrate issues like AI plagiarism and inaccurate content, calling for a rejection of AI-generated content to preserve originality and authenticity on the web. The author concludes by using a unique owl emoji to mark their articles as purely human-created.

(eclecticlight.co)

Tech web content originality

xlskubectl: Manage Your Kubernetes Cluster with a Spreadsheet?

2025-03-13

xlskubectl: Manage Your Kubernetes Cluster with a Spreadsheet?

xlskubectl is a project that boldly integrates Google Spreadsheet with Kubernetes! You can now administer your cluster from the same spreadsheet you use to track expenses. Leveraging the incremental update capabilities of the Kubernetes API and the scripting capabilities of Google Spreadsheet, this seemingly crazy connection has been achieved. While the authors are seeking funding to take the project to the next level, it's an impressive feat that prompts reflection on alternatives to YAML files.

(github.com)

Development

GPU Kill: Cross-Platform GPU Management CLI

2025-09-21

GPU Kill: Cross-Platform GPU Management CLI

GPU Kill is a command-line tool for managing GPUs across NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, and Apple Silicon systems. Easily monitor, control, and secure your GPU infrastructure. Features include real-time GPU usage monitoring, killing stuck processes, detecting crypto miners and suspicious activity, enforcing policies to prevent resource abuse, a web dashboard for cluster monitoring, remote management of GPUs across multiple servers, and AI assistant integration. Supports Linux, macOS, and Windows. Simple command-line interface and a web dashboard provide user-friendly management.

(github.com)

Development GPU management

Lawyers Sanctioned for Using ChatGPT's 'Hallucinations' in Court Filings

2025-07-26

Lawyers Sanctioned for Using ChatGPT's 'Hallucinations' in Court Filings

Three lawyers from Butler Snow, a high-priced firm defending Alabama's prison system, were sanctioned by a federal judge for using ChatGPT to generate court filings containing fabricated case citations. The judge called the AI-generated citations 'completely made up' and 'recklessness in the extreme'. The lawyers, who have received over $40 million in state payments since 2020, were removed from the case and the matter referred to the Alabama State Bar for potential disciplinary action. This incident highlights the risks of using AI without proper verification in legal proceedings.

(apnews.com)

Misc Legal Malpractice

Picostrap 5: Blazing-Fast Bootstrap 5 WordPress Starter Theme

2025-05-07

Picostrap 5: Blazing-Fast Bootstrap 5 WordPress Starter Theme

Picostrap 5 is a lightning-fast WordPress starter theme built on Bootstrap 5. It seamlessly integrates SASS with the WordPress Customizer, letting you tweak Bootstrap's styling directly from your WordPress dashboard. A built-in browser-based SASS compiler ensures instant CSS updates. Features include an AI-powered color palette generator, live style guide preview, extensive customization options, and togglable features like disabling Gutenberg and adding a back-to-top button. It's WooCommerce, LiveCanvas, and WindPress friendly, and performance-optimized.

(github.com)

Development WordPress Theme

DeepMind's AlphaEvolve: Evolving AI Algorithms to Solve Math Problems and Improve Chip Design

2025-05-14

DeepMind's AlphaEvolve: Evolving AI Algorithms to Solve Math Problems and Improve Chip Design

Google DeepMind's AlphaEvolve system, combining the creativity of a large language model (LLM) with algorithmic filtering, has achieved breakthroughs in mathematics and computer science. It has not only solved open mathematical problems but also been applied to DeepMind's own challenges, such as improving the design of its next-generation AI chips, Tensor Processing Units, and optimizing Google's global computing resource utilization, saving 0.7% of resources. Unlike previous AI systems tailored for specific tasks, AlphaEvolve is a general-purpose system capable of handling larger code and more complex algorithms, even outperforming the previously specialized AlphaTensor system in matrix multiplication calculations.

(www.nature.com)

AI

PhD Thesis: A Farcical Academic Misadventure

2025-04-29

A PhD student recounts a series of absurd and bizarre experiences during his doctoral studies in engineering science. From an absent advisor and lack of research equipment to plagiarism in academic papers, he witnesses the dark side of academia. Ultimately, he completes his studies in an almost farcical manner and escapes the stifling academic environment. This humorous account exposes some problems within academia, prompting reflection on academic integrity and the research environment.

(mihaiolteanu.me)

Development academic corruption PhD life research struggles

Record-Breaking Heat Expected for Next Five Years, Warns WMO

2025-05-28

Record-Breaking Heat Expected for Next Five Years, Warns WMO

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UK Met Office predict an 80% chance of breaking annual temperature records for the next five years. This increased global mean temperature translates to a higher likelihood of extreme weather events: stronger hurricanes, heavier rainfall, and more severe droughts, leading to increased loss of life. There's an 86% chance that one of the next five years will exceed the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement, and a 70% chance the five-year average will surpass it. The projections also indicate a possibility, however slight, of reaching the more alarming 2°C threshold before the end of the decade. This warming trend accelerates Arctic ice melt and sea-level rise.

(apnews.com)

Tech

Replacing Restic's REST Server with Nginx for Backups

2025-06-08

The author cleverly uses Nginx to replace Restic's REST server backup solution, creating two Nginx virtual hosts: append-only and admin. The append-only host prevents data deletion, while the admin host allows management operations. The configuration uses Nginx's DAV and LUA modules, employing several tricks to handle HTTP methods and response codes, and using regexes to modify the autoindex's JSON output. While the approach is somewhat hacky, it's effective and efficient. The author also discusses security concerns and mentions plans to simplify the configuration in the future.

(www.grepular.com)

Development

Kraken Foils North Korean Hacker's Job Application

2025-05-10

Kraken Foils North Korean Hacker's Job Application

Kraken, a US-based cryptocurrency exchange, uncovered a North Korean operative masquerading as "Steven Smith" who applied for a software engineering position. Smith fabricated a resume with impressive credentials, including a prestigious university degree and extensive experience. Suspicions arose during the interview process where Smith demonstrated a profound lack of knowledge about basic American culture and even his supposed place of residence. This incident highlights a growing threat of North Korean hackers infiltrating foreign companies to steal funds, funding their weapons programs through multiple jobs and internal access. The incident underscores the importance of robust cybersecurity measures and thorough background checks.

(www.yahoo.com)

Tech

WinBoat: Run Windows Apps Seamlessly on Linux

2025-09-02

WinBoat: Run Windows Apps Seamlessly on Linux

WinBoat, currently in beta, lets you run Windows apps on your Linux penguin with seamless integration. Boasting a sleek interface and automated installation, it allows you to run almost any Windows application as native OS-level windows within your Linux environment. Access the full Windows desktop or integrate individual apps into your workflow. File sharing between Windows and Linux is also simplified. While requiring specific system resources (RAM, CPU, storage, KVM, Docker, FreeRDP), WinBoat offers a compelling solution for cross-platform compatibility. Contributions and feedback are welcome!

(github.com)

Development

In Memoriam Wirth: A Plea for Lean Software in the Age of Bloatware

2025-05-07

In Memoriam Wirth: A Plea for Lean Software in the Age of Bloatware

This post commemorates computing pioneer Niklaus Wirth and echoes his 1995 call for 'lean software.' Today, software has ballooned to millions of lines of code, relying on thousands of external libraries, resulting in rampant security vulnerabilities. The author argues this isn't accidental but a consequence of economic incentives, citing the Apple iMessage vulnerability as an example of the security risks of excessive complexity. The EU is introducing regulations to address this, and the author's Trifecta project, a functional image-sharing application written in just 1600 lines of code, demonstrates the feasibility of lean software, reflecting on the over-reliance and security risks in modern software development.

(spectrum.ieee.org)

Development Lean Software

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

Onramp Compiler Successfully Compiles DOOM from Scratch

2024-12-31

After two years of development, a programmer has successfully compiled the classic game DOOM using a self-bootstrapping compiler called Onramp. Starting from a simple virtual machine written in x86_64 assembly, Onramp gradually built an assembler, C compiler, and other tools, ultimately compiling and running DOOM. While performance is currently limited, Onramp demonstrates impressive self-hosting capabilities and cross-platform potential. Its long-term goal is to enable compilation and execution of code on any architecture, even those of alien civilizations, preserving our cultural and computing heritage for the distant future.

(ludocode.com)

Development self-hosting

Gouach's Infinite Battery: Cracking Bosch Encryption and Reimagining E-bike Power

2025-08-21

Gouach's Infinite Battery: Cracking Bosch Encryption and Reimagining E-bike Power

After overcoming initial setbacks, Gouach developed the IP67-rated Infinite Battery, securing over $3.7 million in funding through Indiegogo and venture capital. This modular battery pack boasts compatibility with various e-bikes, notably conquering the challenge of encrypted communication with Bosch mid-drive motors. EU backers are slated to receive their kits in June, with US deliveries and an open online store to follow. Gouach's innovative approach, treating e-bike batteries as modular components rather than monolithic units, signifies a potential paradigm shift in the industry.

(arstechnica.com)

Hardware e-bike

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

Mechanical NAND Gate: A Breakthrough in Molecular Mechanical Computing

2025-04-30

This paper presents an ingenious method for constructing a NAND gate using mechanical forces. By controlling the truth values of inputs A and B, 'pushers' are guided through a series of locked pathways. Only when A and B satisfy the NAND gate logic does the clock signal pass, thus performing the logical operation. This physics-based computation opens new possibilities in molecular mechanical computing and provides new avenues for further research. A 20-minute overview video by one of the authors is also available for those wanting to learn more.

(tennysontbardwell.com)

Tech molecular mechanical computing NAND gate

Breaking the Sorting Barrier: A New Algorithm Speeds Up Shortest-Path Finding

2025-08-07

Breaking the Sorting Barrier: A New Algorithm Speeds Up Shortest-Path Finding

For decades, a classic problem in computer science—finding the shortest path from a specific starting point in a network to every other point—has been limited by a 'sorting barrier'. Recently, Ran Duan and his team at Tsinghua University have broken this barrier, devising a new algorithm that surpasses all sorting-based algorithms in speed. The algorithm cleverly uses clustering strategies and the Bellman-Ford algorithm, avoiding point-by-point sorting and achieving significant performance improvements, opening a new chapter in shortest-path problem research.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

Development shortest path sorting barrier

Vibe Coding: Hype vs. Reality

2025-03-22

Vibe Coding: Hype vs. Reality

The recent social media trend of "Vibe Coding," which relies on Large Language Models (LLMs) to generate code, is criticized in this article. While LLM agents like Cursor can quickly produce code prototypes, the author argues this is merely the surface of Vibe Coding. In reality, LLMs struggle with complex projects, lack attention to detail, and are unsuitable for production software development. The author uses personal experiences and examples to illustrate the limitations of LLM agents, such as making elementary mistakes, handling multiple contexts poorly, and lacking long-term memory. Although LLMs can improve development efficiency, they cannot fully replace human developers, especially in scenarios requiring high reliability and security. The author concludes that Vibe Coding might quickly build prototypes, but reliable software still needs experienced programmers.

(cendyne.dev)

Development

The Deathbed Fallacy: Why Your Dying Self Shouldn't Dictate Your Life Now

2025-05-10

This article challenges the common belief that deathbed regrets offer sound life advice. The author argues that the perspective of someone facing death isn't a reliable guide for current life choices. Deathbed perspectives are not representative of life as a whole, lack future context, and may misinterpret past selves. Furthermore, the challenges faced by different generations vary significantly. Instead of relying on deathbed regrets, the author suggests focusing on happiness research, emphasizing factors like stable income, relationships, experiences, and self-acceptance.

(www.hjorthjort.xyz)

Misc life planning

Pornhub Blocked in France, Proton VPN Sees 10x Registration Spike

2025-06-07

Pornhub Blocked in France, Proton VPN Sees 10x Registration Spike

Following Pornhub's blocking of French users due to a new age-verification law, VPN service Proton VPN saw a 1000% increase in registrations within 30 minutes. This surge surpasses the growth seen when TikTok was briefly banned in the US. A Proton VPN spokesperson noted that while their initial aim was to assist users in countries with online censorship, this demonstrates VPN's use in bypassing regional restrictions. The article discusses the controversies surrounding age-verification laws, highlighting potential privacy and free speech concerns, and suggests more effective technical solutions for controlling children's access to adult content.

(mashable.com)

Tech Online Censorship

The Soul of a New Machine: A Timeless Tale of Engineering

2025-04-05

The Soul of a New Machine: A Timeless Tale of Engineering

Tracy Kidder's 'The Soul of a New Machine' recounts the intense race against time at Data General in the late 1970s to develop the Eclipse MV/8000, a rival to DEC's VAX. Kidder immerses the reader in the 'rebel' engineering team's struggles, showcasing their dedication and clashing personalities as they push the boundaries of what was possible. This gripping narrative offers a compelling look at the human cost of technological innovation and remains surprisingly relevant decades later.

(thechipletter.substack.com)

Tech

Org-Supertag: Supercharging Org-mode's Tag System

2025-01-03

Org-Supertag: Supercharging Org-mode's Tag System

Org-Supertag is an Emacs Org-mode plugin that enhances Org-mode's tagging capabilities, allowing tags to not only assign attributes to nodes but also directly manipulate them for more flexible knowledge management. Inspired by Tana, it's non-intrusive and coexists seamlessly with Org-mode's existing features. It introduces 'super tags' defining node structure and behavior, supporting field and behavior systems for structured properties and automated actions. Its query system allows unified searching across nodes, tags, and fields, with multiple export options.

(github.com)

Development Knowledge Management

Atlanta Fed's GDPNow: A Real-Time GDP Growth Forecasting Model

2025-03-03

Atlanta Fed's GDPNow: A Real-Time GDP Growth Forecasting Model

The Atlanta Fed's GDPNow model, while not an official forecast, provides real-time projections of US GDP growth. It mimics the BEA's estimation methods, aggregating forecasts from 13 GDP subcomponents. Utilizing publicly available data and econometric techniques, GDPNow updates multiple times a weekday, generally becoming more accurate closer to the official release, but still subject to error. The model's code isn't publicly shared, but its methodology and data sources are detailed in a Fed working paper and compared against other GDP forecasting models.

(www.atlantafed.org)

Tech GDP forecasting Atlanta Fed

China Aims for Commercial Nuclear Fusion Power by 2050

2025-03-05

China Aims for Commercial Nuclear Fusion Power by 2050

China National Nuclear Corp. (CNNC) aims to commercialize nuclear fusion technology for emissions-free power generation by 2050. Operating an experimental device known as the ‘artificial sun’, CNNC projects its first commercial power generation project to begin around 2050, following a demonstration phase starting circa 2045. This ambitious goal reflects China's significant push in nuclear fusion, a near-limitless clean energy source. CNNC has established China Fusion Corp. and secured substantial investment for advanced tokamak devices. Additionally, CNNC plans to scale up production of its domestically designed nuclear fission reactors and small modular reactors over the next five years. China is poised to become the world's largest reactor fleet operator by 2030, driven by its ambitious climate goals.

(finance.yahoo.com)

Tech

NSF Freezes Grants Amidst Trump's DEI Crackdown

2025-02-01

NSF Freezes Grants Amidst Trump's DEI Crackdown

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has frozen all grant payments following executive orders from the Trump administration, sending shockwaves through the US scientific community. The freeze affects both existing grants and new applications, leaving scientists unable to pay bills or continue their research. The orders target NSF's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, conflicting with Congressional mandates for broader participation in science. NSF is reviewing billions of dollars in existing grants for DEI-related activities, a process criticized as wasteful and potentially damaging to US science in the long term. The situation highlights a clash between the administration's policies and the needs of researchers.

(www.npr.org)

Tech Grant Freeze Trump Administration

Extended Information Filter: Teaching AI Agents Smarter Guessing

2025-01-29

Extended Information Filter: Teaching AI Agents Smarter Guessing

This article explores the Extended Information Filter (EIF), an advanced algorithm for handling uncertainty in nonlinear systems. EIF leverages Gaussian distributions, using information matrices and vectors instead of means and covariances to represent uncertainty, leading to efficiency gains when dealing with large, sparse systems. Compared to the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), EIF offers superior numerical stability, especially with sparse information matrices. The article details Gaussian distributions, information matrices, information vectors, Kalman filters, information filters, and the workings of EIF, comparing their advantages and disadvantages. Ultimately, it highlights EIF's role in building reasoning agents capable of handling noisy sensor data in real-world applications like autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots.

(jdsemrau.substack.com)

AI Extended Information Filter Gaussian Filtering

Google's First-Gen Nest Thermostats to Lose Support in 2025

2025-04-26

Google's First-Gen Nest Thermostats to Lose Support in 2025

Google announced that its first and second-generation Nest Learning Thermostats will lose support in October 2025, disabling most connected features. While a discount is offered to North American users for an upgrade, European users will receive no upgrade path, and Google's sole European model is also being discontinued. These devices, launched starting in 2011, will still function as basic thermostats, but will lose connectivity to the Google Home app and Assistant.

(arstechnica.com)

Hardware Thermostat

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