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McKinsey to Pay $650 Million in Opioid Settlement, But Executives Avoid Charges

2024-12-14

McKinsey to Pay $650 Million in Opioid Settlement, But Executives Avoid Charges

Global consulting giant McKinsey & Company agreed to pay $650 million to settle a federal probe into its role in boosting opioid sales. While McKinsey admitted its strategies led to unsafe and unnecessary opioid prescriptions, and a former senior partner pleaded guilty to destroying documents, other executives escaped criminal charges. This highlights the ongoing issue of large corporations paying hefty fines for their role in the opioid crisis while their top executives rarely face consequences, raising concerns about corporate accountability.

(www.npr.org)

Misc opioid crisis McKinsey corporate accountability

LeCun: LLMs Will Be Obsolete in Five Years

2025-04-05

LeCun: LLMs Will Be Obsolete in Five Years

Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist, predicts that large language models (LLMs) will be largely obsolete within five years. He argues that current LLMs lack understanding of the physical world, operating as specialized tools in a simple, discrete space (language). LeCun and his team are developing an alternative approach called JEPA, which aims to create representations of the physical world from visual input, enabling true reasoning and planning capabilities surpassing LLMs. He envisions AI transforming society by augmenting human intelligence, not replacing it, and refutes claims of AI posing an existential risk.

(www.newsweek.com)

AI

Ambiguous Definition of 'Sun-like Star' Hinders Exoplanet Research

2025-04-09

This article discusses the ambiguous definition of 'sun-like star' in astronomy and its impact on exoplanet research. The author points out that the term 'sun-like star' has different meanings in different papers, sometimes referring to G-class stars, sometimes extending to FGK-class stars, or even encompassing all stars on the main sequence. This ambiguity leads to public misunderstanding of exoplanet research and may affect research funding. The author calls on astronomers to clearly define the concept of 'sun-like star' when communicating with the public to avoid misinterpretations.

(www.centauri-dreams.org)

Tech sun-like stars scientific definitions

California's Net Neutrality Law Survives Federal Ruling

2025-01-06

California's Net Neutrality Law Survives Federal Ruling

Despite the overturning of the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) attempt to regulate broadband internet service, state laws in California, New York, and elsewhere remain intact. This week's ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals striking down the FCC's open internet rules has little bearing on state laws enacted during the years-long tug-of-war over the government's power to regulate internet service providers. Experts suggest this ruling, along with other decisions and the Supreme Court's stance on a separate New York case, has effectively solidified state regulators' efforts to fill the void. California boasts one of the nation's strongest net neutrality laws, signed into law in 2018, preventing anti-competitive practices deemed harmful to consumers. The law has survived legal challenges and prompted changes in how internet service providers offer plans and services.

(www.yahoo.com)

Tech Net Neutrality State Laws

Windsurf's $2.4B Acqui-hire: A Warning Sign for the AI Boom?

2025-08-09

Windsurf's $2.4B Acqui-hire: A Warning Sign for the AI Boom?

Windsurf, a SaaS company achieving a record-breaking $82M ARR in eight months, was acquired for a pittance. This article dissects the reasons: exorbitant API costs led to massive losses, revealing the company was essentially a VC-funded AI talent incubator. Google acquired its core team for $2.4B, leaving the business itself virtually abandoned. This highlights the fierce competition for AI talent and the fragility of some business models. The author warns that similar risks threaten many AI companies; not all will get Windsurf's lucky 'sell your homework' escape hatch.

(ethanding.substack.com)

Startup VC Funding

Over-the-Counter Statins: A Simple, Life-Saving Policy Change

2025-05-17

Over-the-Counter Statins: A Simple, Life-Saving Policy Change

An open letter advocates for reclassifying low-dose statins (like atorvastatin 10mg or rosuvastatin 5mg) from prescription-only to over-the-counter medication. The author argues this would dramatically improve cardiovascular prevention, citing extensive evidence of statins' safety and efficacy. The letter suggests guidelines designating low-dose statins as safe and effective for primary prevention, potentially incorporating an initial pharmacist-screened sale, then removing that requirement after post-market data confirms safety and efficacy. This policy change could prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes annually with minimal risk.

(www.alexkesin.com)

Tech Healthcare Policy Statins

Intentionally Slowing Down Programs: A Surprising Boost to Developer Tool Accuracy

2025-08-27

Intentionally Slowing Down Programs: A Surprising Boost to Developer Tool Accuracy

Most research on programming language performance focuses on speeding up programs, but a new study explores the benefits of intentionally slowing them down. By inserting NOP or MOV instructions into program basic blocks, researchers achieved fine-grained control over program execution, leading to more precise race condition detection, speedup simulation, and profiler accuracy assessment. Experiments on an Intel Core i5-10600 showed that NOP and MOV instructions are best suited for this purpose, opening new avenues for future advanced developer tooling.

(stefan-marr.de)

Development profilers

Unreal Engine's Multiplayer Overhead: A Memory Optimization Surprise

2025-04-08

Unreal Engine's Multiplayer Overhead: A Memory Optimization Surprise

An Unreal Engine developer, while using a memory layout visualizer, unexpectedly discovered that certain data structures added for multiplayer support in Unreal Engine are redundant in single-player games. These structures consume a significant amount of memory; for example, custom structs used for replicating component attachments and actor movement occupy 120 and 216 bytes respectively. By commenting out these unused variables and related code in single-player mode, a memory saving of approximately 392 bytes per actor was achieved. While not significant for most projects, this optimization could yield considerable savings (potentially up to 100MB) for projects with a high number of actors (e.g., over 100,000).

(larstofus.com)

Development

Kyber: Hiring a Technical Account Manager for its AI-Powered Document Platform

2025-06-13

Kyber: Hiring a Technical Account Manager for its AI-Powered Document Platform

Kyber is hiring a Technical Account Manager to drive customer success for its AI-native enterprise document platform. Kyber's platform helps insurance companies consolidate 80% of their templates, reduce drafting time by 65%, and compress communication cycles by 5x. The company has seen 20x revenue growth and achieved profitability in the last 8 months, and has established strategic partnerships with industry leaders like Guidewire, Snapsheet, and PCMS. The role requires experience with enterprise SaaS products, excellent communication skills, and strong problem-solving abilities.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Startup

Dissecting the Apple Silicon Mac Boot Process: From Boot ROM to Userspace

2025-09-03

Dissecting the Apple Silicon Mac Boot Process: From Boot ROM to Userspace

This article delves into the boot process of an Apple Silicon Mac. Starting from the Boot ROM, it traces the sequence through the Low-Level Bootloader (LLB) and iBoot, kernel startup, system clock adjustments, and finally, the unlocking of the data volume to enter userspace. Using a Mac mini M4 Pro log as an example, the article details each phase, highlighting the lower log frequency and kernel-centric entries before data volume unlock, contrasting with the significantly higher frequency and reduced kernel contribution afterwards. This process reveals insights into Apple Silicon Mac's security mechanisms and boot efficiency.

(eclecticlight.co)

Hardware Mac boot process

macOS 26 Might Drop Support for Older Macs

2025-05-29

macOS 26 Might Drop Support for Older Macs

Apple's upcoming macOS 26, slated for release on June 9th at WWDC, may not support older Mac models. Internal builds suggest that macOS 26 will primarily support 2019 and later MacBook Pros, M1 and later MacBook Airs, and other newer Macs. This means users of older machines like the 2018 MacBook Pro and 2017 iMac Pro may miss out on the new UI and AI enhancements. While the final version number and name remain uncertain, Apple will unveil macOS 26 at WWDC 2025.

(appleinsider.com)

Tech system compatibility

Elm Property-Based Testing: Ensuring Coverage of Interesting Cases

2025-05-02

This article demonstrates how to use Test.Distribution in Elm to ensure property-based tests cover interesting cases. The author uses a queue implementation example to show how Test.reportDistribution generates distribution reports of test data and how Test.expectDistribution enforces expected distributions. This allows developers to more precisely control test coverage, preventing important test cases from being missed due to uneven data distribution. The article also mentions Fuzz.examples and Fuzz.labelExamples functions, which help developers better understand and debug test data.

(martin.janiczek.cz)

Development

Revolutionizing Kernel Programming with eBPF: A Hands-on Tutorial

2025-08-31

Revolutionizing Kernel Programming with eBPF: A Hands-on Tutorial

eBPF is a revolutionary technology that lets you run sandboxed programs within the Linux kernel without modifying the kernel source code. This tutorial uses a simple firewall example to demonstrate how to monitor and block traffic from a specific IP address using eBPF. The guide includes Python and C code examples, showing how to leverage eBPF's efficiency and capabilities for network monitoring and security. Learn how to build a packet counter and firewall using eBPF today!

(journal.hexmos.com)

Development kernel programming

PNG Rises From the Ashes: A 20-Year Hiatus Ends

2025-06-25

After a two-decade slumber, the PNG image format is back with a bang! This update brings native HDR support, official recognition of APNG animations, support for Exif metadata, and general cleanup and improvements to the specification. This resurgence is fueled by collaborative efforts from tech giants like W3C, Adobe, and Apple, and driven by the need for HDR capabilities. Major browsers and software such as Chrome and Safari already support the new spec, with future improvements focusing on compression algorithms and parallel encoding/decoding.

(www.programmax.net)

Tech image format

My Used 2023 Nissan Leaf: A Budget EV Experience

2025-09-05

In 2025, the author bought a used 2023 Nissan Leaf, his first 'new' car in 15 years. The article details his decision-making process, weighing the Leaf's affordability and practicality against competitors like Tesla. He highlights the Leaf's advantages, such as one-pedal driving, peppy torque, and lower maintenance, but also its drawbacks: inconsistent charging infrastructure, lack of standardization, and some design quirks. Ultimately, the author finds the Leaf suitable for his short-commute needs, but concludes that EVs still face significant price and infrastructure barriers for most car owners.

(www.jeffgeerling.com)

Tech Nissan Leaf Used Car

Public/Protected/Private: A Redundant OOP Feature?

2025-06-19

This article challenges the necessity of access modifiers (public, protected, private) in object-oriented programming. The author argues that interfaces and inheritance combined can achieve the same functionality without the need for an extra mechanism. The existence of access modifiers might stem from an oversight in the design of Simula, leading to redundant functionality. For cleaner code, the author suggests avoiding access modifiers and advocates for composition over inheritance.

(catern.com)

Development Access Modifiers

Pompey's Theatre: A Monument to Power and the Dawn of Roman Entertainment

2025-03-10

In 55 BC, Pompey the Great inaugurated Rome's first permanent theatre, a lavish spectacle marking the city's burgeoning entertainment culture. The massive structure, seating 15,000, wasn't merely a building; it was a testament to Pompey's military achievements and political prowess. Its grand opening featured gladiatorial combats, elaborate plays (including a lavish production of Clytemnestra, subtly echoing Pompey's own triumphs), and displays of his vast wealth. While seemingly generous, Pompey's theatre served as a powerful tool for political control, a prime example of 'bread and circuses'. Its significance extended beyond Pompey's lifetime, becoming the site of Caesar's assassination in 44 BC.

(www.historytoday.com)

Misc Pompey theatre

RL's GPT-3 Moment: The Rise of Replication Training

2025-07-13

RL's GPT-3 Moment: The Rise of Replication Training

This article predicts a forthcoming 'GPT-3 moment' for reinforcement learning (RL), involving massive-scale training across thousands of diverse environments to achieve strong few-shot, task-agnostic abilities. This requires unprecedented scale and diversity in training environments, potentially equivalent to tens of thousands of years of 'model-facing task time'. The authors propose a new paradigm, 'replication training,' where AIs duplicate existing software products or features to create large-scale, automatically scoreable training tasks. While challenges exist, this approach offers a clear path to scaling RL, potentially enabling AIs to complete entire software projects autonomously.

(www.mechanize.work)

AI Replication Training

Evertop: An Ultra Low-Power, Ultra Long-Battery Life Solar PC

2025-04-21

Evertop: An Ultra Low-Power, Ultra Long-Battery Life Solar PC

Evertop is a portable PC emulating an IBM XT with an 80186 processor and 1MB RAM, running DOS, Minix, and Windows 3.0. Its low-power microcontroller, e-ink display, dual 10,000mAh batteries, and power-saving features enable hundreds to thousands of hours of use on a single charge. A built-in solar panel ensures indefinite off-grid operation. It boasts a full array of peripherals including a keyboard, PS/2 ports, various graphics and audio support, serial ports, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and LoRa radio. Charging is versatile, with options for solar, DC input, and micro-USB, allowing simultaneous charging from multiple sources. A minimized version, Evertop Min, is also available.

(github.com)

Hardware

Apache Kvrocks: A Distributed NoSQL Database Compatible with Redis

2025-01-23

Apache Kvrocks is a distributed key-value NoSQL database that utilizes RocksDB as its storage engine and boasts compatibility with the Redis protocol. Key features include namespaces (similar to Redis SELECT but with per-namespace tokens), asynchronous replication (using binlog-like mechanisms), high availability (supporting Redis Sentinel for failover), and a centralized cluster management accessible via any Redis cluster client.

(kvrocks.apache.org)

Tech

Windows 10 System Settings Secretly Phoning Home?

2025-06-07

A blogger discovered that simply viewing the Windows 10 System Settings triggers DNS queries and data transmission to bing.com and cxcs.microsoft.net. Using Nir Sofer's DNSLookupView and TcpLogView, the blogger confirmed that Windows 10 secretly collects user data in the background. The article explores various methods to block this behavior, including modifying router DNS settings, using tools like Pi-hole or NextDNS, and modifying the hosts file. The author ultimately recommends network-wide blocking of www.bing.com and lists other Microsoft domains worth blocking.

(www.michaelhorowitz.com)

Tech Windows 10 Privacy

AI Revolutionizes Physics: From LIGO to Novel Quantum Entanglement Experiments

2025-07-22

AI Revolutionizes Physics: From LIGO to Novel Quantum Entanglement Experiments

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing physics research. This article details AI's application in enhancing LIGO's sensitivity, discovering symmetries in Einstein's relativity from Large Hadron Collider data, and even finding a new equation for dark matter clumping. Most impressively, AI-designed quantum entanglement experiments, surpassing previous designs in simplicity and efficiency, have been successfully validated in China, showcasing AI's immense potential in experimental design and data analysis.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

Tech

Debugging Views: A Programmer's Time Saver

2025-08-21

Programmer Sophie encountered a bug in the Unison project, requiring complex SQL queries to track down the issue. The author introduces a solution: creating database views to streamline the debugging process. Pre-defined views join multiple tables, presenting data in a more readable format, eliminating the need to repeatedly write complex JOIN statements for each debugging session. While this approach might slightly impact performance on specific queries, it significantly improves debugging efficiency and saves development time.

(chrispenner.ca)

Development

Webb Telescope: Asteroid's Odds of Hitting the Moon Rise to 4%

2025-04-08

Webb Telescope: Asteroid's Odds of Hitting the Moon Rise to 4%

An asteroid that was briefly feared to hit Earth now has a nearly 4% chance of impacting the moon, according to new data from the James Webb Space Telescope. The asteroid, roughly the size of a 15-story building, had a previously calculated 3.1% chance of hitting Earth, a record high. While the threat to Earth has been eliminated, scientists are excited about the potential lunar impact, as it offers a valuable opportunity to gather data for planetary defense. Webb's observations also revealed unique physical properties of the asteroid.

(phys.org)

Tech webb telescope lunar impact

Five Levels of Configuration Languages: From Simple Strings to Turing Completeness

2025-04-12

This article explores five levels of configuration languages, ranging from simple file strings to full-fledged programming languages. The author argues that choosing the right level is crucial, advocating for the lowest possible level to maintain simplicity and avoid over-engineering. Each level's characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and potential problems (like circular dependencies) are illustrated with real-world examples. The article concludes by recommending a judicious choice for different scenarios, preventing unnecessary complexity.

(beza1e1.tuxen.de)

Development configuration languages

Machine Code: It's Not as Scary as You Think

2025-06-04

The author, initially intimidated by low-level languages after starting with ActionScript, decided to conquer their fear of machine code. Focusing on ARM 64-bit assembly, they demystify the process. The article breaks down the core concepts: instructions, registers, and memory, using examples from both ARM and x86-64 architectures. Machine code instructions are simply numbers, encoded differently depending on the architecture (e.g., ARM's 'add' instruction versus x86's REX and ModR/M prefixes). While intricate, understanding these low-level details significantly boosts programming skills and overcomes the intimidation factor often associated with low-level programming.

(jimmyhmiller.com)

Development

UK Courts Grapple with AI-Generated Fake Cases

2025-06-08

UK Courts Grapple with AI-Generated Fake Cases

Two cases in England have highlighted the misuse of AI by lawyers, leading to the citation of fabricated legal precedents. In one instance, 18 non-existent cases were cited in a £90 million lawsuit; another involved five fake cases in a housing claim. Judges warned that lawyers must verify the accuracy of AI-generated research, or face prosecution for contempt of court, or even, in severe cases, perverting the course of justice, a crime carrying a life sentence. While the lawyers involved were referred to their professional regulators, the incidents underscore the need for regulatory frameworks to address the risks and opportunities of AI in the legal field, ensuring public confidence in the justice system.

(apnews.com)

Misc

Microsoft's Xbox Division Facing Further Layoffs

2025-06-25

Microsoft's Xbox Division Facing Further Layoffs

Microsoft is reportedly planning further layoffs in its Xbox gaming division as early as next week. This follows the 6,000 job cuts in May and will impact the Xbox distribution and sales organizations, potentially affecting operations in some parts of central Europe. The move is part of a broader restructuring effort as Microsoft prepares for its next generation of consoles. These layoffs are the latest in a series of significant cuts in the gaming industry over the past 18 months, following the 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employee layoffs in January 2024 and the closure of several game studios in May 2024.

(www.theverge.com)

Game

Linear Regression and Gradient Descent: From House Pricing to Deep Learning

2025-05-08

Linear Regression and Gradient Descent: From House Pricing to Deep Learning

This article uses house pricing as an example to explain linear regression and gradient descent algorithms in a clear and concise way. Linear regression predicts house prices by finding the best-fitting line, while gradient descent is an iterative algorithm used to find the optimal parameters that minimize the error function. The article compares absolute error and squared error, explaining why squared error is more effective in gradient descent because it ensures the smoothness of the error function, thus avoiding local optima. Finally, the article connects these concepts to deep learning, pointing out that the essence of deep learning is also to minimize error by adjusting parameters.

(briefer.cloud)

AI linear regression

Michael Larabel: 20 Years of Linux Hardware Benchmarking

2025-06-26

Michael Larabel, founder and principal author of Phoronix.com, has been enriching the Linux hardware experience since 2004. He's written over 20,000 articles covering Linux hardware support, performance, graphics drivers, and more. He's also the lead developer behind the Phoronix Test Suite, Phoromatic, and OpenBenchmarking.org – automated benchmarking software crucial to the Linux community.

(www.phoronix.com)

Tech

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