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Elixir and Rust: A High-Performance PDF Parser

2025-01-29

Elixir and Rust: A High-Performance PDF Parser

This article demonstrates building a high-performance PDF parser in Elixir using Rust and NIFs. The author highlights Elixir's limitations in handling low-level tasks like PDF parsing, making Rust's speed and safety a perfect complement. Using the Rustler library, the author seamlessly integrates Rust-based PDF parsing code into an Elixir project, creating a user-friendly PDF upload and parsing interface with LiveView. The article details the implementation, covering dependency management, NIF function writing, data handling, and deployment strategies. Optimization techniques, such as using DirtyCpu scheduling to avoid blocking, are also shared.

(www.chriis.dev)

Development

Google Maps Labels US as 'Sensitive Country' Amidst Gulf of Mexico Name Change

2025-02-01

Google Maps Labels US as 'Sensitive Country' Amidst Gulf of Mexico Name Change

Google Maps has reclassified the United States as a 'sensitive country,' a designation shared with nations like China and Russia, following its confirmation of renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. This move, prompted by Trump's executive order, has sparked debate, highlighting the impact of political shifts on tech companies' operations and perceptions of the US globally. The reclassification raises concerns about the changing global perception of the United States under Trump's presidency.

(www.themarysue.com)

Tech Political Impact

WordPress Founder Deactivates Accounts of Contributors Planning a Fork

2025-01-11

WordPress Founder Deactivates Accounts of Contributors Planning a Fork

WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg deactivated the accounts of several WordPress.org community members involved in efforts to create a fork of the open-source project. The conflict stemmed from a dispute with WP Engine, a commercial hosting company criticized for insufficient community contribution. Following this, key community figures like Joost de Valk (Yoast) and Karim Marucchi (Crowd Favorite) expressed concerns about WordPress governance, hinting at a potential fork. Mullenweg, ostensibly to support their independent efforts, deactivated their accounts and others, sparking controversy.

(techcrunch.com)

Development Community Governance

Website Load Failure: JavaScript or Browser Issue

2025-01-31

An error occurred while loading the website, indicating that JavaScript is disabled or there are network issues, browser extensions, or browser settings problems. It is recommended to check your network connection, disable any ad blockers, or try using a different browser.

(pypi.org)

Misc

Nvidia and MediaTek Team Up to Bring a New Generation of Linux PCs

2025-01-12

Nvidia and MediaTek Team Up to Bring a New Generation of Linux PCs

Nvidia and MediaTek have partnered to launch Project DIGITS, a personal AI computer powered by the Grace Blackwell superchip and running a customized Ubuntu Linux distribution. Priced at $3000, this powerful machine boasts impressive AI capabilities. However, Nvidia plans to release more affordable versions, potentially around $1000, targeting mainstream users. This move signifies Nvidia's entry into the desktop CPU market and an attempt to bridge the gap between Linux and Windows users via WSL. This offers users high-performance PCs natively supporting Linux, particularly advantageous on ARM architecture.

(www.zdnet.com)

Tech MediaTek

US Teens' Trust in Big Tech Plummets

2025-01-30

US Teens' Trust in Big Tech Plummets

A new report from Common Sense Media reveals a significant decline in trust among US teens toward major tech companies like Google, Apple, Meta, TikTok, and Microsoft. The survey found low levels of trust regarding these companies' concern for teen well-being, ethical decision-making, and data privacy. This distrust is linked to several tech scandals over the years, including government mass data collection, the Cambridge Analytica scandal, and Meta whistleblower leaks. Teens also express skepticism about these companies' responsible use of AI, with many believing AI exacerbates online misinformation and impacts the accuracy of online information. The report calls for increased AI privacy safeguards and transparency, suggesting AI-generated content should be labeled and watermarked.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech teens tech trust

The Cult of Nan Shepherd: A Posthumous Rise

2025-01-21

The Cult of Nan Shepherd: A Posthumous Rise

This article explores the fascinating posthumous rise of Scottish writer Nan Shepherd. Through personal anecdotes, letters, and a backdrop of societal shifts in Aberdeenshire, the author traces Shepherd's journey from relatively unknown author to celebrated nature writer. The piece contrasts Shepherd's unique teaching style with the later, almost cult-like, appreciation of her work, particularly *The Living Mountain*, highlighting the complexities of legacy and the evolving interpretations of her life and writing. The author also reflects on the tension between Shepherd's personal life and the romanticized image now associated with her.

(www.lrb.co.uk)

Misc Scottish Literature

Ford Mach-E Outsells Gas-Powered Mustang for the First Time

2025-01-11

Ford Mach-E Outsells Gas-Powered Mustang for the First Time

In 2024, Ford's electric Mustang Mach-E outsold its gas-powered counterpart for the first time, solidifying its position as a top-selling EV in the US. All of Ford's EV models achieved record sales in 2024, showing double-digit growth. The Mach-E's strong performance, with 16,119 units sold in Q4 and 51,745 for the full year, places it as the second best-selling electric SUV in the US, only behind the Tesla Model Y. Meanwhile, sales of the gas-powered Mustang declined by 9.5% to just over 48,600 units. This significant milestone highlights the increasing consumer preference for electric vehicles and the rapid growth of the EV market.

(electrek.co)

Tech Ford

Meta's War Rooms: Dissecting DeepSeek's Low-Cost AI Threat

2025-01-27

Meta has established four war rooms to analyze the technology behind DeepSeek, a Chinese open-source large language model. DeepSeek's ability to compete with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Meta's own offerings, using significantly lower costs and less powerful chips, has sparked concern. The analysis focuses on DeepSeek's cost reduction techniques and the data it utilizes. DeepSeek's emergence is causing significant ripples in the AI infrastructure investment landscape and impacting tech stocks.

(markets.businessinsider.com)

Tech AI Competition

CERN Engineer Locks 1950s Pendulum Clock to Atomic Clock for Unprecedented Accuracy

2025-01-04

A CERN engineer acquired a vintage Elektročas HH3 pendulum clock from the 1950s, boasting an accuracy of 0.1 seconds per day. To push the limits further, he embarked on a project to synchronize it with CERN's cesium atomic clock. The innovative solution involved a Chain Controlled Oscillator (CCO) which subtly alters the pendulum's center of gravity, controlled by a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) to maintain synchronization. Tests demonstrated remarkable improvement in accuracy, even detecting the perturbation caused by the recent Turkey earthquake. This project showcases a blend of meticulous engineering, ingenious innovation, and a quest for extreme precision.

(dvaluch.web.cern.ch)

Tech precision engineering atomic clock phase locked loop

/etc/glob: The Untold Story of Early Unix Shell Globbing

2025-01-13

This article delves into the history and function of `/etc/glob` in early Unix systems. Before the V7 Bourne Shell, Unix shell globbing wasn't handled by the shell itself but delegated to the external program `/etc/glob`. `/etc/glob` received the command and arguments, expanded wildcards, and then executed the command. The article details how `/etc/glob` worked across different Unix versions, including handling escaped characters and the rationale behind using an external program—likely due to resource constraints in early systems.

(utcc.utoronto.ca)

Development Unix history Globbing

Goodbye Distributed Coordination: How Restate Simplifies Distributed Apps with a Single Log

2025-01-24

Goodbye Distributed Coordination: How Restate Simplifies Distributed Apps with a Single Log

Building resilient distributed applications remains a significant challenge. Developers often spend considerable time addressing failover strategies, retries, race conditions, and other complexities. This article introduces Restate, a novel approach that simplifies development by avoiding distributed coordination. The core idea is to treat all systems (message queues, databases, locking services, etc.) as a single log. Every operation is recorded in this log, and retries automatically read previous operation records, preventing inconsistencies and race conditions. Restate is an open-source project based on this principle, simplifying the development and maintenance of distributed applications and improving system reliability.

(restate.dev)

Development log

Leaked: Microsoft's Scrapped Dynamic Wallpapers for Windows 11

2025-01-03

Leaked: Microsoft's Scrapped Dynamic Wallpapers for Windows 11

Former Microsoft designer Sergey Kisselev revealed designs for dynamic wallpapers intended for Windows 11. These wallpapers, featuring various animations and still images, were designed to complement the centered Start Menu and Taskbar, primarily targeting educational users. However, the feature never shipped, suggesting cancellation or postponement. While early hints appeared in Insider builds, it didn't make it into the 23H2 release, and its future remains uncertain.

(www.windowscentral.com)

Tech dynamic wallpapers

Troubled Accounting Startup Bench Acquired After Sudden Shutdown

2024-12-30

Troubled Accounting Startup Bench Acquired After Sudden Shutdown

Bench, the VC-backed accounting startup that abruptly shut down last week, locking thousands of customers out of their accounts, has been acquired by Employer.com for an undisclosed price. Employer.com, a San Francisco-based HR tech company focusing on payroll and onboarding, will revive Bench's platform. Customers will be able to transfer their data or continue service under the new ownership. The previous recommendation for customers to file for a six-month extension with the IRS is no longer necessary if they choose to stay with the service.

(techcrunch.com)

Startup startup acquisition accounting HR tech

DIY AirTags: Introducing OpenHaystack

2025-01-27

DIY AirTags: Introducing OpenHaystack

OpenHaystack is an open-source framework enabling you to build your own Bluetooth trackers leveraging Apple's Find My network. By reverse-engineering Apple's system, it cleverly uses Bluetooth broadcasts, public-key cryptography, and Apple's central database for location tracking. The project provides a macOS application and firmware, supporting various Bluetooth devices like BBC micro:bit and ESP32. While limitations exist, it offers a creative solution for personal item tracking.

(github.com)

Development bluetooth tracking

Meta's Nick Clegg Departs After Seven Years

2025-01-02

Meta's Nick Clegg Departs After Seven Years

Nick Clegg, Meta's President of Global Affairs and former British Deputy Prime Minister, is leaving the company after seven years. His departure follows a period marked by significant policy decisions, including the handling of Donald Trump's account and navigating the evolving relationship between big tech and regulators. He'll be replaced by Joel Kaplan, a veteran policy executive with strong ties to the Republican party. Clegg's exit signifies a shift in the dynamics between tech giants and societal pressures.

(www.engadget.com)

Tech Policy

IGNITE: The First All-IGS Art Pack Released!

2025-01-05

IGNITE: The First All-IGS Art Pack Released!

Mistigris art group and Break Into Chat have released IGNITE, the first-ever art pack entirely in the IGS (Instant Graphics and Sound) format. IGS is an obscure graphics protocol for BBSes, and IGNITE is a tribute to its creator, Larry Mears. The pack includes static images and animations on diverse themes and features a web-based IGS drawing tool, JoshDraw, created by the author. IGNITE supports Atari ST and is available in various compatible formats.

(breakintochat.com)

Game art pack

Vestigial Ear Muscles Activate During Effortful Listening

2025-01-31

Vestigial Ear Muscles Activate During Effortful Listening

A new study reveals that human auricular muscles, once used to move our ears, reactivate during challenging listening tasks. Scientists used electromyography to measure muscle activity while participants listened to audiobooks with competing sounds. The results showed increased activity in the superior auricular muscles when hearing was difficult, suggesting these vestigial muscles may play a role in attentional mechanisms. While the muscle movements are minuscule and likely don't improve hearing, their activation could serve as an objective measure of listening effort.

(www.frontiersin.org)

Tech hearing auricular muscles

FOSDEM 2025: A Glimpse into the Open Source Mobile Track

2025-01-31

FOSDEM, a free software developer event in Brussels, Belgium (February 1st & 2nd, 2025), will feature a dedicated 'FOSS on Mobile' track. This half-day session (February 1st, 2:55 PM - 7:00 PM) will host numerous talks on open-source mobile development. Beyond the talks, numerous project booths offer opportunities for networking and collaboration. A casual meetup is planned for Sunday, February 2nd at 2:00 PM. Don't miss the chance to connect with fellow developers and grab some stickers!

(linmob.net)

Development

POTUS Tracker: Executive Orders, Schedule, and Legislation

2025-01-28

POTUS Tracker is a website tracking US presidential executive orders, schedule, and signed legislation. It offers mobile notifications and experienced significant downtime on January 28th due to server overload, but has since been upgraded thanks to donations. The site is owned and operated by Luke Wines, with portions of the President's schedule provided by Roll Call and legislation information from Congress.gov.

(potustracker.us)

Misc Tracker Presidential Schedule

How McKinsey Destroyed the American Middle Class

2024-12-29

How McKinsey Destroyed the American Middle Class

This article examines the impact of management consulting firms like McKinsey on the decline of the American middle class. The author argues that McKinsey, by promoting shareholder primacy and implementing strategies aimed at streamlining corporate structures and eliminating middle management (such as 'reengineering' and 'overhead value analysis'), led to massive layoffs, a decline in middle management and blue-collar jobs, weakened unions, and ultimately exacerbated economic inequality and the destruction of the American middle class. The author concludes that this 'technocratic management' approach fails to address structural inequalities and instead widens the gap between elites and the general population.

(www.theatlantic.com)

Startup Middle Class Economic Inequality

OMG! Nearly All Binary Searches and Mergesorts Are Broken

2025-01-11

OMG! Nearly All Binary Searches and Mergesorts Are Broken

Google software engineer Joshua Bloch revealed a nearly two-decade-old bug lurking in binary search algorithms, found in both the JDK and Jon Bentley's 'Programming Pearls'! The bug stems from the line `int mid = (low + high) / 2;`, causing integer overflow and array index out-of-bounds exceptions when the sum of `low` and `high` exceeds the maximum positive integer value. This bug only manifests with massive datasets, making it particularly dangerous in today's big data world. The article explores various fixes and emphasizes that bugs can persist even with rigorous testing and proofs, urging programmers to remain cautious and humble.

(research.google)

Development algorithm bug binary search mergesort

Deep Earth Life: More Diverse Than We Thought

2025-01-20

Deep Earth Life: More Diverse Than We Thought

New research is reshaping our understanding of life's distribution on Earth. Scientists have discovered that the diversity of microbes deep beneath the surface rivals, and sometimes surpasses, that of rainforests and coral reefs. These microbes thrive in extremely low-energy environments, flourishing even at depths where energy supply is far lower than for surface organisms. Researchers suggest subsurface ecosystems may host more than half of all microbial cells. This finding not only deepens our understanding of Earth's life forms but also offers new perspectives on the search for extraterrestrial life.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech deep life microbial diversity

Bird Buddy Unveils 'Wonder' Insect-Watching Camera

2025-01-10

Bird Buddy Unveils 'Wonder' Insect-Watching Camera

The creators of Bird Buddy, a camera-equipped bird feeder, have launched a new line of products under the 'Wonder' brand, designed for observing insects, birds, and other wildlife. The Petal camera captures photos and videos, using AI-powered 'Nature Intelligence' to identify various natural events. Paired with Wonder Blocks, which create habitats for wildlife, the system aims to bring nature closer. Both will be available via Kickstarter in Spring 2025.

(www.macrumors.com)

Tech smart camera nature observation

Rust SQLite Parser: Adding CREATE TABLE Support

2025-02-04

Rust SQLite Parser: Adding CREATE TABLE Support

This post details extending a Rust-based SQLite parser to handle CREATE TABLE statements. By parsing the database schema table, the program extracts table names, root page numbers, and column names and types. The article explains lexical analysis, parsing, and abstract syntax tree (AST) construction, showing how extracted metadata is stored in the database structure, resulting in a more complete SQLite parser.

(blog.sylver.dev)

Development

Go Error Handling Syntax Sugar Proposal: A Trade-off Between Brevity and Clarity

2025-01-28

Go Error Handling Syntax Sugar Proposal: A Trade-off Between Brevity and Clarity

The Go community is debating a new error handling syntax proposal aimed at reducing boilerplate code. The proposal introduces a new '?' operator to handle function return errors more concisely while preserving readability. The proposal has sparked extensive community discussion, primarily focusing on whether the new syntax is clear enough and if it might encourage developers to neglect error handling. Some argue it efficiently reduces boilerplate, improving readability; others worry the new syntax is too implicit, potentially leading to harder-to-debug errors.

(github.com)

Development syntax sugar

Using `uv` as Your Shebang for Efficient Python Scripting

2025-01-28

Using `uv` as Your Shebang for Efficient Python Scripting

Rob Allen shares his experience using `#!/usr/bin/env -S uv run --script` as a shebang line for his Python scripts. This approach leverages the `uv` tool to manage script dependencies, allowing direct execution from the command line without needing to set up virtual environments, etc., improving script convenience and executability. The author creates many automation scripts in his ~/bin directory and simplifies their execution using this method.

(akrabat.com)

Development scripting

A Pixel Parable: Behind the Scenes at Lucasfilm Games

2025-01-08

A Pixel Parable: Behind the Scenes at Lucasfilm Games

This article recounts the journey of Mark, an illustrator with no prior gaming experience, at Lucasfilm Games. Through sheer luck and talent, he transforms from a computer novice into a key member of the studio, ultimately impacting the gaming industry with his unique pixel-handling techniques. The narrative is full of dramatic twists and turns, showcasing the hardships and creativity of early game development, and the blossoming of individual talent under restrictive conditions.

(olano.dev)

Game Pixel Art

Top 7 Robotics Breakthroughs of 2024

2024-12-31

Top 7 Robotics Breakthroughs of 2024

2024 witnessed unprecedented advancements in robotics. Figure's $675 million Series B funding, valuing the company at $2.6 billion, propelled humanoid robot development. Boston Dynamics unveiled its new all-electric Atlas robot, paving the way for commercial applications. Nvidia invested in GR00T, aiming to develop a general-purpose foundation model for humanoid robots, addressing the challenge of practical, safe, and reliable robot deployment. The article also explores advancements in robot autonomy versus teleoperation, and the application of robotic metalworking in aerospace. Finally, it recounts the successful mission of the Mars Ingenuity helicopter and the development of its successor.

(spectrum.ieee.org)

AI Humanoid Robots

LA Wildfires: Experts Reveal Overlooked Truths

2025-01-12

LA Wildfires: Experts Reveal Overlooked Truths

The recent devastating wildfires in Los Angeles highlight a critical issue, according to fire experts Jack Cohen and Stephen Pyne. They argue that the scale of destruction was preventable due to societal misunderstandings about fire. The traditional focus on the "wildland-urban interface" overlooks the primary role of wind-carried embers in igniting urban fires. They propose shifting from fire suppression to preventing community ignition points through home hardening, landscaping, and community brush clearance. Drawing parallels to post-Chicago fire planning, they emphasize strengthening urban resilience rather than solely relying on firefighting during extreme conditions.

(www.latimes.com)

Tech urban fires disaster prevention

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