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PyPI's Warehouse: 81% Faster Test Suite with Simple Optimizations

2025-05-12

PyPI's Warehouse: 81% Faster Test Suite with Simple Optimizations

Trail of Bits dramatically improved the performance of PyPI's Warehouse test suite, reducing execution time from 163 seconds to 30 seconds while increasing the test count from 3,900 to over 4,700. This 81% improvement was achieved through several key optimizations: parallelizing test execution with pytest-xdist, leveraging Python 3.12's sys.monitoring for efficient coverage instrumentation, optimizing test discovery, and eliminating unnecessary imports. These techniques are readily applicable to many Python projects struggling with slow test suites, offering significant performance gains at minimal cost.

(blog.trailofbits.com)

Development Testing Optimization

Decentralized CVE Allocation: Introducing GCVE

2025-04-16

GCVE (Global CVE allocation system) offers a decentralized approach to vulnerability identification and numbering. It improves flexibility and scalability for participants while maintaining compatibility with the traditional CVE system. Key to GCVE is the introduction of GCVE Numbering Authorities (GNAs), independent entities capable of allocating identifiers without a centralized system or rigid policies.

(gcve.eu)

Tech

Integer Reciprocals with Pandigital Reptends

2025-04-24

This article investigates the existence of integers whose reciprocals have a decimal representation with a recurring block of digits containing all ten decimal digits. It's shown that such integers exist (e.g., 72728). The article extends this to other bases, proving no such integers exist for odd bases. Computer searches have ruled out some even bases, but the general problem remains open. The exploration delves into number theory and group theory, providing a theoretical framework for solving this intriguing mathematical puzzle.

(www.gregegan.net)

Misc

You Commit Three Felonies a Day: The Absurdity of US Law

2025-04-20

Harvey Silverglate's book, "Three Felonies a Day," argues that Americans unknowingly commit federal felonies daily. Modern federal criminal laws are numerous, vague, and grant prosecutors immense power. The case of Qwest CEO Joseph P. Nacchio, imprisoned for insider trading after refusing an NSA wiretapping request, exemplifies this. The article highlights the abuse of power and the use of legal ambiguity to suppress dissent, threatening the integrity of American democracy.

(kottke.org)

Misc government power

Google Boosts Developer Productivity with Hybrid Semantic ML Code Completion

2025-05-15

Google Boosts Developer Productivity with Hybrid Semantic ML Code Completion

Google researchers have developed a novel Transformer-based hybrid semantic machine learning code completion system that combines machine learning (ML) and rule-based semantic engines (SEs) to significantly improve developer productivity. The system integrates ML and SEs in three ways: 1) re-ranking SE's single-token suggestions using ML; 2) applying single and multi-line completions using ML and checking correctness with the SE; and 3) using single and multi-line continuation by ML of single-token semantic suggestions. A three-month study with 10,000+ Google internal developers showed a 6% reduction in coding iteration time with single-line ML completion. Currently, over 3% of new code is generated from accepting ML completion suggestions. The system supports eight programming languages and incorporates semantic checks to ensure code correctness, significantly boosting developer trust and efficiency.

(research.google)

Development

The TikTokification of Tech: Faster, or Just Out of Control?

2025-04-11

Tech giants like Netflix and Spotify were once 'faster horses,' offering simple, user-friendly services. However, they're increasingly mimicking TikTok, shifting to algorithm-driven 'infinite channel' models that sacrifice user control and clear content libraries. The author nostalgically laments the simplicity of the past, noting this 'TikTokification' trend spreading to YouTube, LinkedIn, and even Substack, prompting reflection on user experience and the direction of innovation.

(rakhim.exotext.com)

Tech tech trends algorithm recommendation

Base Editing Offers New Hope for Treating CAG and GAA Repeat Expansion Disorders

2025-05-29

Base Editing Offers New Hope for Treating CAG and GAA Repeat Expansion Disorders

This study investigates the potential of cytosine base editors (CBEs) and adenine base editors (ABEs) to treat repeat expansion disorders such as Huntington's disease (HD) and Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA). Researchers designed editors targeting CAG and GAA repeats and demonstrated their effectiveness in in vitro and in vivo experiments. CBEs significantly reduced CAG repeat expansion, even promoting contraction, in a mouse model of HD. ABEs stabilized GAA repeats and increased FXN gene expression in a mouse model of FRDA. While off-target effects exist, the findings highlight the significant potential of these base editors for treating repeat expansion disorders.

(www.nature.com)

AI Huntington's disease Friedreich's ataxia

Meta's Llama and the EU AI Act: A Convenient Coincidence?

2025-04-20

Meta's Llama and the EU AI Act: A Convenient Coincidence?

Meta's labeling of its Llama models as "open source" is questionable, as its license doesn't fully comply with the Open Source Definition. A theory suggests this is due to the EU AI Act's special rules for open-source models, bypassing OSI compliance. Analyzing the Act with Gemini 2.5 Flash, the author found exemptions for models allowing users to run, copy, distribute, study, change, and improve software and data, even with attribution requirements. This supports the theory that Meta strategically uses the "open source" label, although this practice predates the EU AI Act.

(simonwillison.net)

AI

Open Source Firewalls Need Open Source Firmware: A Coreboot Upgrade Story

2025-05-20

Open Source Firewalls Need Open Source Firmware: A Coreboot Upgrade Story

A computer security enthusiast and open-source advocate details their journey upgrading their firewall's firmware to Coreboot. Starting with a cheap Chinese firewall running pfSense, they realized the underlying proprietary BIOS presented a significant security vulnerability. Despite reinstalling the OS, the BIOS remained a potential attack vector. The author upgraded to a ProtectLI firewall with pre-installed Coreboot and even successfully flashed a more recent Coreboot version (A12) onto an older appliance originally running A02, significantly improving its security. The author strongly advocates for Coreboot on all firewall appliances for enhanced security, acknowledging the difficulty of installation for less technically proficient users.

(hagensieker.com)

Tech

Verizon and AT&T Achieve Satellite Video Call Milestones

2025-02-24

Verizon and AT&T Achieve Satellite Video Call Milestones

Verizon and AT&T have each announced breakthroughs in cellphone-to-satellite video calling, partnering with AST SpaceMobile. Verizon completed its first video call from a phone to a satellite, while AT&T achieved the same using satellites destined for its commercial network. This sets up a competitive landscape against T-Mobile's SpaceX/Starlink satellite-to-cell service, which began public beta testing for satellite messaging earlier this month. AT&T and Verizon claim T-Mobile and SpaceX's offering will harm their networks. Both companies used AST's five BlueBird satellites launched last September for their tests.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech video calling

Cats Can Smell the Difference: How Feline Olfaction Distinguishes Between Humans

2025-05-30

Cats Can Smell the Difference: How Feline Olfaction Distinguishes Between Humans

A new study reveals that domestic cats utilize olfaction to differentiate between familiar (owners) and unfamiliar humans. Cats spent significantly longer sniffing the scent of an unknown person, displaying nostril use lateralization similar to other animals responding to novel scents. The study also found correlations between feline personality traits and sniffing behavior, but no association with the strength of the cat-owner bond. This research illuminates the complexity of feline olfactory social cognition, offering new insights into cat-human interactions.

(journals.plos.org)

AI cats olfaction social cognition

AT&T Pulls 5G Home Internet from NY Over Affordable Broadband Law

2025-01-17

AT&T has ceased offering its 5G home internet service in New York State in response to a new law mandating affordable broadband plans for low-income residents. The Affordable Broadband Act, implemented after a lengthy legal battle, requires ISPs to offer $15/25Mbps or $20/200Mbps plans to eligible households. AT&T argues the price regulations make further investment in the state uneconomical. Existing customers will have a 45-day grace period. This decision highlights the ongoing tension between telecom companies' profitability and the need for accessible broadband access.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech New York

LLM Decision-Making Biases: A Serious Issue

2025-05-23

LLM Decision-Making Biases: A Serious Issue

Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly used in sensitive domains like hiring, healthcare, and law, but their inherent biases in decision-making processes are a serious concern. Research reveals that LLM outputs are susceptible to prompt engineering, question phrasing, and label design, exhibiting cognitive biases similar to humans, such as positional bias, framing effects, and anchoring bias. The article uses experimental data to demonstrate these biases and proposes mitigation strategies, including neutralizing labels, varying order, validating prompts, optimizing scoring mechanics, adopting more robust ranking methodologies, designing and stress-testing classification schemas, strategically vetting and diversifying model portfolios, using temperature and repetitions to address variance, not systematic bias, critically evaluating human baselines, and approaching consensus/ensembles with caution. Ultimately, the article emphasizes the crucial need to understand and mitigate LLM biases in high-stakes applications to ensure fair and reliable decisions.

(www.cip.org)

AI AI Bias Decision Bias

FSF's 40th Anniversary Auction: Bid on Pieces of Free Software History!

2025-03-17

To celebrate its 40th anniversary, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) is hosting an online auction featuring 25 pieces of historic free software memorabilia. The auction is split into a silent online auction (March 17-21 on the LibrePlanet wiki) and a live auction (March 23). Items include vintage computers, plushies, original artwork promoting free software, and awards received by the FSF and its founder. All proceeds support the FSF's continued work. The live auction features six particularly significant items, including the original GNU head logo, the Norbert Wiener Award, and artwork from the GCC manual. These artifacts represent milestones in the free software movement.

(www.fsf.org)

Tech

snapDOM: Blazing Fast, High-Fidelity DOM Capture

2025-04-27

snapDOM: Blazing Fast, High-Fidelity DOM Capture

snapDOM is a high-fidelity DOM capture tool developed for Zumly, a framework for smooth zoom-based view transitions. It converts any HTML element into a scalable SVG image, preserving styles, fonts, backgrounds, shadow DOM, and pseudo-elements. Benchmarks show snapDOM dramatically outperforms competitors like modern-screenshot and html2canvas, especially with larger DOM structures. It's lightweight, dependency-free, and offers exports to SVG, PNG, JPG, WebP, and canvas. Ideal for capturing full-page views, modals, and complex layouts.

(github.com)

Development DOM capture

arXivLabs: Experimental Projects with Community Collaborators

2025-04-18

arXivLabs is a framework enabling collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on the website. Individuals and organizations involved uphold arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only partners with those who share them. Have an idea to enhance the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

The Angel and the Devil on My Shoulders: A Programmer's Dilemma

2025-04-27

A programmer recounts their internal struggle between the angel advocating for coding for fun and the devil urging pursuit of wealth and success. From childhood fascination with computer games to a college degree, their coding journey has always involved learning and exploration. However, influenced by the 'hustle' culture, they're often tempted by the allure of startups, torn between passion and profit. Ultimately, they realize the key is balancing both, avoiding burnout, and discerning when to heed the devil's advice for sustainable growth.

(www.zachbellay.com)

Development

ClickHouse Raises $350M Series C to Fuel AI-Native Applications

2025-05-29

ClickHouse Raises $350M Series C to Fuel AI-Native Applications

Real-time analytics database ClickHouse announced a $350 million Series C funding round, bringing its total funding to over $650 million. This investment will fuel product development, global expansion, and partnerships supporting the next wave of AI-native applications. ClickHouse's high-performance, columnar storage engine enables interactive analytical queries on massive datasets with minimal latency, powering AI/ML applications, real-time analytics, cloud data warehousing, and observability workloads. Boasting over 300% year-over-year growth and serving 2,000+ customers including Anthropic, Tesla, and Mercado Libre, ClickHouse addresses the challenge of building real-time data platforms for the AI era, positioning itself as the default engine for next-generation intelligent data products.

(clickhouse.com)

Tech

Recursive Prompts: Implementing Recursion with LLMs

2025-04-20

Recursive Prompts: Implementing Recursion with LLMs

This article explores a novel approach to implementing recursion using Large Language Models (LLMs). By crafting a recursive prompt that iteratively updates its own internal state, the author demonstrates how an LLM can generate a sequence of prompts converging towards a solution, mirroring the behavior of recursive functions in code. The article uses the Fibonacci sequence as an example, showcasing how recursive prompting can perform calculations. It also discusses challenges like handling inaccuracies in the LLM's output and leveraging the LLM's existing knowledge base, drawing parallels to how humans perform mental arithmetic using memorized algebraic and atomic rules. The work is connected to related research like ReAct and ACT-R, and addresses strategies for mitigating errors in LLM-generated results.

(github.com)

AI Recursion

Chicago Sun-Times Uses AI to Generate Fake Summer Reading List, Sparking Outrage

2025-05-20

Chicago Sun-Times Uses AI to Generate Fake Summer Reading List, Sparking Outrage

The Chicago Sun-Times published a fake summer reading list generated by AI in its summer supplement, causing widespread controversy. The list featured real authors but fictional book titles, drawing criticism from writers and readers alike. While the publisher explained that the supplement was generic national content and resources were limited after staff reductions, readers expressed dissatisfaction, viewing it as deceptive to subscribers and demanding accountability. This incident highlights the risks and ethical concerns of AI in news publishing, and the struggles faced by media outlets under resource constraints.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech media ethics

World's Smallest Injectable, Light-Controlled Pacemaker Developed

2025-04-08

World's Smallest Injectable, Light-Controlled Pacemaker Developed

Scientists have developed the world's tiniest temporary pacemaker—smaller than a grain of rice, injectable, light-controlled, and bioresorbable. This breakthrough aims to help children with congenital heart defects and adults recovering from heart surgery. Unlike traditional pacemakers, it eliminates the need for invasive implantation and removal, avoiding risks like the internal bleeding that contributed to Neil Armstrong's death in 2012. Successfully tested in animals and human tissue, human trials are expected in 2-3 years. Future applications could extend to nerve regeneration, wound healing, and smart implants.

(www.sciencealert.com)

Tech implantable devices pacemaker

US Renewable Energy Milestone: Solar and Wind Surpass Coal

2025-04-21

US Renewable Energy Milestone: Solar and Wind Surpass Coal

A milestone has been reached in the US power sector: solar and wind power generation have surpassed coal for the first time, jointly accounting for 17% of the US electricity mix. Over the past decade, solar power generation has increased more than ninefold, reaching 9.2%, and is projected to account for over half of new US generating capacity in 2025. This shift marks a significant transformation in the US energy landscape, showcasing the unstoppable rise of clean energy.

(ember-energy.org)

Tech wind power

The Rise and Fall (and Possible Rise Again?) of the US Machine Tool Industry

2025-04-08

The Rise and Fall (and Possible Rise Again?) of the US Machine Tool Industry

The US machine tool industry, once a global leader, experienced a dramatic decline in the early 1980s due to a confluence of factors: plummeting domestic demand, slow response to market volatility, Japanese dominance in CNC technology and manufacturing processes, and a strong dollar. The industry's failure to rebound stemmed from deeper issues: insufficient large firms, difficulty securing capital, a skills gap, and weak technology transfer. A RAND study suggests a three-pronged government approach—fostering cooperative networks, investing in manufacturing infrastructure, and streamlining export processes—to potentially revive the sector.

(www.rand.org)

Tech machine tools manufacturing global competition

Sublinear-Space Zero-Knowledge Proofs: A Breakthrough

2025-09-24

Sublinear-Space Zero-Knowledge Proofs: A Breakthrough

Researchers have developed SSZKP, a sublinear-space zero-knowledge proof system with a Rust implementation using KZG/BN254. It achieves O(√T) memory usage for a trace of length T, employing blocked IFFTs and streaming accumulators. SSZKP uses standard KZG commitments without buffering entire polynomials, offering a highly efficient approach for building scalable zk systems. The project includes complete prover and verifier CLI tools and end-to-end test scripts.

(github.com)

Development

Coinbase Data Breach Sparks Fears of Kidnappings and Deaths

2025-05-20

Coinbase Data Breach Sparks Fears of Kidnappings and Deaths

TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington claims that a recent Coinbase data breach, exposing sensitive user data like addresses and balances, will lead to deaths due to a surge in kidnapping attempts targeting high-net-worth crypto holders. Arrington calls for a re-evaluation of KYC regulations and imprisonment for executives failing to protect customer data. Former Coinbase CTO Balaji Srinivasan counters that the problem stems from government-mandated KYC data collection. The incident highlights serious security and privacy concerns in the crypto space and sparks debate over the merits of KYC.

(decrypt.co)

Tech Crypto Security

Multimodal AI Image Generation: A Visual Revolution Begins

2025-04-08

Multimodal AI Image Generation: A Visual Revolution Begins

Google and OpenAI's recent release of multimodal image generation capabilities marks a revolution in AI image generation. Unlike previous methods that sent text prompts to separate image generation tools, multimodal models directly control the image creation process, building images token by token, much like LLMs generate text. This allows AI to generate more precise and impressive images, and iterate based on user feedback. The article showcases the powerful capabilities of multimodal models through various examples, such as generating infographics, modifying image details, and even creating virtual product advertisements. However, it also highlights challenges, including copyright and ethical concerns, as well as potential misuse like deepfakes. Ultimately, the author believes multimodal AI will profoundly change the landscape of visual creation, and we need to carefully consider how to guide this transformation to ensure its healthy development.

(www.oneusefulthing.org)

AI multimodal models

OpenWISP: Connecting Communities Globally with Open-Source Networking

2025-02-05

OpenWISP: Connecting Communities Globally with Open-Source Networking

OpenWISP, a trusted open-source networking solution, boasts deployments in over 195 countries, exceeding 20,000 installations and serving 40+ commercial clients. It plays a vital role in connecting communities, fostering digital inclusion, and providing efficient solutions for thousands of active hotspots and daily users. Network administrators, municipalities, and universities worldwide rely on OpenWISP for its simplicity, adaptability, and enhanced connectivity.

(openwisp.org)

Development open-source networking community connectivity digital inclusion

Open-Source EV Conversion VCU: Rise of the ZombieVerter

2025-05-09

The ZombieVerter is an open-source vehicle control unit (VCU) designed for EV conversions using salvaged parts. Facing the challenge of inconsistent control and communication protocols across different EV manufacturers, the ZombieVerter offers a versatile solution. With numerous inputs/outputs, control logic, and a web interface for configuration and data logging, it supports components from vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Features include charger control, motor control, heater control, and more, making it a powerful and customizable tool for EV conversion projects.

(openinverter.org)

Hardware EV conversion vehicle control unit

Thai Pro-Democracy Movement Targeted by State-Sponsored Online Harassment Campaign

2025-04-21

Thai Pro-Democracy Movement Targeted by State-Sponsored Online Harassment Campaign

A Citizen Lab report exposes a sustained, coordinated social media harassment and doxxing campaign, codenamed "JUICYJAM," targeting Thailand's pro-democracy movement since at least August 2020. The operation used fake personas across multiple platforms (primarily X and Facebook) to dox protesters, harass them, and incite reports to the police. A leak of confidential documents in March 2025 revealed the Royal Thai Armed Forces and/or Royal Thai Police as the perpetrators. JUICYJAM's high engagement demonstrates a successful state-sponsored influence operation, part of a broader network of judicial harassment and suppression posing a significant threat to civil society. The report highlights the inadequacy of social media platforms in addressing such coordinated, harmful campaigns.

(citizenlab.ca)

Tech digital authoritarianism doxxing thailand

Legacy Post Office Software Leads to Miscarriages of Justice; Victims Seek Redress

2025-04-06

Legacy Post Office Software Leads to Miscarriages of Justice; Victims Seek Redress

Following the Post Office Horizon scandal, older software systems, Capture and Ecco+, are now implicated in further miscarriages of justice. Numerous former subpostmasters were wrongly convicted based on flawed data from these systems. The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) is urging affected individuals to come forward. 97 former subpostmasters have already contacted the SCCRC, with 64 having their convictions overturned. A new independent group, Scottish Postmasters for Justice and Redress, has also been formed to support victims. This highlights the potential for legacy systems to cause significant social harm and underscores the need for redress for those wrongly accused.

(www.computerweekly.com)

Misc miscarriages of justice software flaws

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