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Spark vs. DuckDB vs. Polars: Benchmarking Performance for Small to Medium Workloads

2024-12-15

Spark vs. DuckDB vs. Polars: Benchmarking Performance for Small to Medium Workloads

This article benchmarks Spark, DuckDB, and Polars, comparing their performance, cost, and development ease on 10GB and 100GB datasets. Results show that for large datasets and ETL tasks, Spark remains dominant due to its distributed computing capabilities and mature ecosystem. DuckDB and Polars excel at interactive querying and data exploration on smaller datasets. The author recommends a strategic mix-and-match approach, using Spark for ETL, DuckDB for interactive queries, and Polars for niche scenarios, tailoring engine choice to specific needs.

(milescole.dev)

Development data processing engines benchmark

Mastering Ruby Debugging: From puts to Professional Tools

2024-12-13

Mastering Ruby Debugging: From puts to Professional Tools

This JetBrains RubyMine blog post delves into various approaches to debugging Ruby code, ranging from basic `puts` statements to interactive consoles (IRB and Pry) and powerful debuggers (byebug, debug, and the RubyMine debugger). Using a real-world bug example, it highlights the strengths and weaknesses of each tool, guiding developers in selecting the most appropriate debugger for improved efficiency. The article emphasizes that effective debugging isn't just about fixing errors; it's about gaining a fundamental understanding of the code to write more robust Ruby applications.

(blog.jetbrains.com)

Development Ruby debugging debugging tools

Study: Video Games May Boost Kids' IQ

2024-12-16

Study: Video Games May Boost Kids' IQ

A study of nearly 10,000 US children aged 9-10 revealed that kids who spent more time playing video games scored higher on IQ tests. Researchers controlled for genetics and socioeconomic background, finding that increased gaming correlated with better scores in reading comprehension, visual-spatial processing, and cognitive tasks, resulting in a 2.5-point IQ boost on average. While the study focused on US children and didn't differentiate game types, it offers valuable insights, challenging the long-held belief that gaming harms children. Further research is needed to establish causality and explore other contributing factors.

(www.sciencealert.com)

AI video games children's IQ cognitive abilities

Brisk: A Cross-Platform C++20 GUI Framework for High-Performance Rendering

2024-12-18

Brisk: A Cross-Platform C++20 GUI Framework for High-Performance Rendering

Brisk is a modern, cross-platform C++20 GUI framework built for creating responsive, high-performance applications with ease. Leveraging an MVVM architecture and reactive capabilities, Brisk boasts scalable GPU-accelerated rendering, making it ideal for graphics-intensive projects. It supports multiple backends (D3D11, D3D12, Vulkan, OpenGL, Metal, WebGPU) and features declarative GUI, stylesheets, and full Unicode support. Currently under active development, contributions are welcome.

(github.com)

Development GUI Framework GPU Acceleration

In Praise of the 100-Page Idea: A Case for Brevity in Nonfiction

2024-12-22

Tracy Durnell argues for the value of concise nonfiction books, specifically those around 100 pages long. She finds these shorter works ideal for exploring a single, impactful idea without excessive detail, fitting modern readers' shorter attention spans. Durnell highlights several examples of excellent books in this length, contrasting them with longer works that she believes often dilute their core ideas through padding. She champions the efficiency of a focused approach, emphasizing the benefits of connecting multiple concise ideas to build a broader understanding over consuming lengthy, highly-detailed tomes.

(tracydurnell.com)

Misc reading books writing

Ethereum On-Chain Upgrade Signaling EIP: Community Consensus Drives Upgrades

2024-12-22

Ethereum On-Chain Upgrade Signaling EIP: Community Consensus Drives Upgrades

This proposal introduces an on-chain mechanism allowing Ethereum clients to signal their readiness for protocol upgrades by embedding a "vote" indicator in the extraData field of newly mined blocks. Future fork activation blocks only occur if enough blocks within a specified window signal "for" the upgrade. This shifts upgrade decisions from the Ethereum Foundation to network participants, enhancing decentralization and mitigating centralization risks. The proposal also addresses trademark concerns and potential security vulnerabilities.

(ethereum-magicians.org)

Development Ethereum Protocol Upgrade Decentralization

SiYuan: A Privacy-First, Self-Hosted Personal Knowledge Management System

2024-12-26

SiYuan: A Privacy-First, Self-Hosted Personal Knowledge Management System

SiYuan is a privacy-first, self-hosted, fully open-source personal knowledge management software written in TypeScript and Go. It boasts features like fine-grained block-level referencing, Markdown WYSIWYG editing, custom attributes, SQL query embedding, web clipping, and PDF annotation link export. Available via app stores (App Store, Google Play, F-Droid) and Docker, SiYuan offers a powerful yet user-friendly experience. Most features are free for both personal and commercial use.

(github.com)

Development knowledge management

Programmer Focus Indicator: The Birth of FlowLight

2024-12-15

Inspired by a research paper on the impact of work interruptions, programmer Shae Erisson DIYed a system called FlowLight to indicate whether a programmer is in a focused "flow" state. The system monitors idle time in the Emacs editor; when the programmer is inactive for a period, an Adafruit MagTag board's LED changes color (green for idle, red for busy). Erisson also wrote an HTTP server in CircuitPython to remotely control the LED color and display status. While the system has room for improvement, such as more granular idle time monitoring and a more visually appealing display, it effectively helps programmers avoid interruptions and improve productivity.

(www.scannedinavian.com)

Development programmer focus flow

HyperEssays: An Ongoing Digital Project for Montaigne's Essays

2024-12-22

HyperEssays: An Ongoing Digital Project for Montaigne's Essays

HyperEssays is a project dedicated to creating a modern and accessible online edition of Michel de Montaigne's Essays. The website hosts four editions of the Essays, including the original French, early modern English translations, and a modern English translation, which are continuously updated and improved. The project aims to provide readers with a convenient reading experience and rich interpretive resources, including annotations, indexes, and downloadable PDFs.

(hyperessays.net)

Misc Montaigne Essays

SVC16: The Simplest Virtual Computer Challenges Programmers

2024-12-15

SVC16: The Simplest Virtual Computer Challenges Programmers

SVC16 is a minimalist 16-bit virtual computer designed for ultimate simplicity. It features no CPU registers, performing all operations within a single memory chunk. The instruction set is extremely streamlined, lacking bells and whistles like sound or variable screen size. Programmers are challenged to write machine code and compilers themselves, creating amazing feats with the simplest of tools. The project provides an emulator to run user-created programs and even games. This is a perfect project for learning low-level computer principles and honing programming skills.

(github.com)

Development virtual computer 16-bit programming challenge

K8s Cleaner: Optimize Your Kubernetes Clusters

2024-12-18

K8s Cleaner is a Kubernetes cluster cleanup tool designed for administrators. It efficiently identifies and removes unused resources to boost cluster performance and reduce operational costs. Supporting all resource types, including CRDs, it offers pre-defined rules and customizable options (time-based, label-based, or custom Lua scripts). Notifications are sent via Slack, Email, and more, while a dry-run mode prevents accidental changes. K8s Cleaner streamlines Kubernetes resource management.

(sveltos.projectsveltos.io)

Development Cluster Cleanup Resource Management

A Million-Dollar Surprise: De Gaulle's Hidden Collection Found

2024-12-17

A Million-Dollar Surprise: De Gaulle's Hidden Collection Found

A forgotten trove of Charles de Gaulle's personal letters, speeches, and manuscripts has been discovered in a safe, set to be auctioned for over $1 million. The collection, found in a bank vault belonging to his son, includes the handwritten manuscript of his famous 1940 speech calling for French resistance against the Nazis, correspondence with Winston Churchill, early short stories, and personal notebooks offering insights into his intellectual development. This unexpected discovery unveils a fascinating glimpse into the life and thoughts of the iconic French leader, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Anne de Gaulle Foundation.

(www.smithsonianmag.com)

Misc Charles de Gaulle Auction Historical Documents

Gazzetta: A New Mastodon News Reader

2024-12-21

Gazzetta is a revolutionary news reader designed specifically for Mastodon. Unlike other Mastodon clients that prioritize the social network experience, Gazzetta functions more like an RSS reader for the platform. It provides a separate interface, allowing users to focus solely on reading news and links. Features include following servers and accounts to see trending links, full-text search, integration with Safari's view controller, bookmark management, link exporting, and extensive customization options such as font styles, hiding thumbnails, and filtering links by domain, keyword, or language.

(primatology.xyz)

Development News Reader

Librebooting a ThinkPad T480: A Challenging Open-Source Journey

2024-12-13

This blog post details the author's experience librebooting a ThinkPad T480, a process fraught with challenges. From updating the BIOS and backing up the original firmware, to using a Raspberry Pi Pico W and SOIC-8 clip to read and write the BIOS chip, and finally compiling the Libreboot firmware (encountering numerous compilation errors and seeking help from the IRC community), the author documents the entire process. The post also shares post-libreboot experiences, including performance improvements, hardware compatibility issues, and troubleshooting tips, along with recommendations for screen, RAM, and storage upgrades.

(ezntek.com)

1

Hardware Open-Source Firmware

Trinity Desktop Environment R14.1.3 Released: Lightweight, Efficient, and Ideal for Older Hardware

2024-12-13

The Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) project team has released version R14.1.3, a lightweight, free desktop environment designed for users who prefer a lean and efficient experience. This release supports various Linux distributions, BSD, and DilOS, boasts low system requirements, making it ideal for older hardware. R14.1.3 includes numerous improvements, such as XDG Desktop Portal API integration, a new touchpad settings module, new themes and color schemes, and support for various applications and programming languages like Python 3.13. The project encourages donations to support its continued development.

(www.trinitydesktop.org)

Development Trinity Desktop Environment Lightweight Desktop Environment

Gentrace Raises $8M Series A to Revolutionize LLM Evaluation for AI Teams

2024-12-12

Gentrace Raises $8M Series A to Revolutionize LLM Evaluation for AI Teams

Gentrace, an LLM evaluation platform, announced an $8 million Series A funding round. Addressing challenges like siloed evaluation processes and poor team collaboration, Gentrace offers a collaborative testing environment. Teams can test directly through a user-friendly interface, eliminating the need for isolated evaluation code. Supporting model, code, and human evaluations, Gentrace provides experiment management, reporting, and debugging tools for efficient LLM development. Success stories from Webflow, Multiverse, and Quizlet highlight significant improvements in testing efficiency (e.g., a 40x increase).

(gentrace.ai)

AI LLM evaluation AI development team collaboration

The 100-Page-a-Day Reading Strategy: A Habit for Life

2024-12-21

The 100-Page-a-Day Reading Strategy: A Habit for Life

Matthew Walther, editor of *The Lamp* magazine, shares his "100-pages-a-day reading strategy." It's not a rigid plan, but a cultivated habit designed to combat the distractions of modern life and reclaim the joy of reading. Walther breaks his day into several reading slots, utilizing even fragmented time. He emphasizes diversifying reading material, balancing heavy and light books, and always carrying a book. The ultimate goal is establishing a reading habit, not strictly adhering to a page count.

(thelampmagazine.com)

Misc reading strategy reading habit effective reading

Mammoths Were a Staple Food Source for Ancient Americans

2024-12-14

Mammoths Were a Staple Food Source for Ancient Americans

New research reveals that mammoths and other large animals were a primary food source for ancient Americans. Using stable isotope analysis, scientists modeled the diet of the mother of an infant found at a 13,000-year-old Clovis burial site in Montana. Results showed that approximately 40% of her diet consisted of mammoth, with other large animals like elk and bison making up the remainder. Small mammals played a minimal role. This supports the hypothesis that Clovis people specialized in hunting large game, explaining their rapid expansion across North and South America. The study also highlights the researchers' collaboration and respect for Indigenous communities and their heritage.

(www.uaf.edu)

AI mammoths Clovis people ancient diet

Unveiling the Deep Connection Between Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Loss Functions

2024-12-15

Unveiling the Deep Connection Between Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Loss Functions

This article delves into the intrinsic relationship between Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and commonly used loss functions. Starting with the fundamentals of MLE, the author meticulously explains its close connection to KL divergence. The article then uses Mean Squared Error (MSE) and Cross-Entropy as examples, demonstrating how these functions are naturally derived from MLE rather than being arbitrarily chosen. By assuming data distributions (e.g., Gaussian for linear regression, Bernoulli for logistic regression), maximizing the likelihood function via MLE directly leads to MSE and Cross-Entropy loss functions. This provides a clear path to understanding the theoretical underpinnings of loss functions, moving beyond mere intuition.

(rish-01.github.io)

AI Maximum Likelihood Estimation Loss Functions

Middle Schooler Discovers New Compound in Goose Poop

2024-12-12

Middle Schooler Discovers New Compound in Goose Poop

A middle school student, participating in a research program with a local university, discovered a novel compound, orfamide N, in a goose poop sample collected from a park. While not responsible for the initial observed antibiotic activity of the bacteria, orfamide N inhibited the growth of human melanoma and ovarian cancer cells in lab tests. This research demonstrates the success of combining educational outreach with natural product discovery, highlighting the importance of university-community partnerships. The project provided invaluable hands-on experience for the student, showcasing the potential of young scientists.

(phys.org)

Tech scientific discovery middle school research new compound

Linear Algebra Powers Interactive Diagramming Editor

2024-12-17

Linear Algebra Powers Interactive Diagramming Editor

Ivan Shubin, in developing his interactive diagramming editor Schemio, cleverly used matrix operations from linear algebra to solve a series of challenging problems. Initially, Schemio only supported simple shape creation and manipulation. However, when a hierarchical structure was introduced, coordinate transformations became complex. The author initially used a recursive approach but encountered issues with scaling and pivot points. Ultimately, Shubin leveraged matrices to represent transformations (translation, rotation, scaling), using matrix multiplication for coordinate conversion and ingeniously employing matrix inversion to solve the world-to-local coordinate conversion problem. Furthermore, matrix operations addressed the precise adjustment of an object's position and rotation when moving within the hierarchy, preventing unexpected jumps. Schemio's source code is open-source and available on GitHub.

(medium.com)

Development linear algebra matrix operations interactive diagramming editor

C++: A Resurgence of Programming Fun

2024-12-23

C++: A Resurgence of Programming Fun

The author reflects on over a decade of programming, lamenting that languages like JavaScript, Python, and Ruby failed to recapture the joy he felt coding as a child. Recently, while developing a roguelike game using C++, he rediscovered that programming fun. He argues that C++ was once notorious for the overuse of template metaprogramming, but since C++11, the standards committee's efforts have revitalized the language. Additions like auto type inference, nullptr, and range-based for loops have significantly improved developer experience and efficiency. Modern C++ is powerful, boasting rich libraries and tools, yet avoids the negative aspects of excessive popularity. The relatively pure community allows developers to focus on creation, which is the essence of programming enjoyment.

(learncodethehardway.com)

Development

Quick Start with TideCloak: Secure React App in 10 Minutes

2024-12-19

Quick Start with TideCloak: Secure React App in 10 Minutes

TideCloak is an easy-to-use identity and access management system based on Keycloak and secured by Tide's Cybersecurity Fabric. This guide shows you how to build a secure single-page React application with TideCloak in under 10 minutes. First, install Docker and NPM, then run the TideCloak-Dev Docker container. After activating a free developer license, create your React project, install dependencies, and run the application. Users can log in, register, and view customized content based on predefined roles, all managed by TideCloak and secured by Tide's Cybersecurity Fabric.

(github.com)

Development Identity Management

Network Security Breakthrough: Trapping Intruders in a 'Network from Hell'

2024-12-17

Network Security Breakthrough: Trapping Intruders in a 'Network from Hell'

Researchers at the University of Oulu's SensorFu team have developed a novel network security defense system inspired by the LaBrea tarpit technique. The system intercepts ARP requests and delays SYN-ACK responses, creating a multitude of virtual devices on the network to confuse intruders. This forces attackers to waste significant time identifying real devices, providing administrators with crucial time to patch vulnerabilities. Tests showed the system extends scan times to hours, drastically reducing attack success rates. Lightweight, efficient, and easy to deploy, this system offers robust network protection for organizations of all sizes.

(medium.com)

Development intrusion detection proactive defense

ScyllaDB Shifts to Source-Available License for its Database

2024-12-19

ScyllaDB Shifts to Source-Available License for its Database

ScyllaDB announced it's transitioning its flagship product, ScyllaDB Enterprise, from closed-source to a source-available license, offering a free tier with full enterprise capabilities. This simplifies their dual release stream, providing greater community value. The future involves a single release stream, consolidating core features for improved performance and efficiency; examples include 30X faster node addition/removal via file-based streaming and workload prioritization for balancing multiple workloads on a single cluster. While potentially unpopular with some open-source users, ScyllaDB believes this change benefits the company and accelerates progress on roadmap milestones like Raft for data, optimized tablet elasticity, and tiered (S3) storage.

(www.scylladb.com)

Development Source-Available License Open-Source Database

Git Project Deadlocked Over Rust Integration

2024-12-13

The Git project is embroiled in a heated debate over the integration of the Rust programming language. Proponents argue that Rust's memory safety and ease of refactoring would enhance Git's security and developer experience. However, opponents express concerns that Rust integration could compromise support for niche platforms like NonStop, potentially hindering Git's long-term viability. NonStop's prevalence in the financial sector, its reliance on Git, and the lack of a Rust compiler for the platform complicate the issue. The discussion ultimately reached no resolution, leaving the Git project grappling with a critical decision between maintaining broad platform support and improving security and developer experience.

(lwn.net)

Development Platform Support

Proxmox Datacenter Manager Alpha Release Announced

2024-12-19

Proxmox has released an alpha preview of its Datacenter Manager. This software centralizes management of all nodes and clusters, offering basic features like virtual machine migration without requiring a cluster network. Developed entirely in Rust, from the backend API to the new frontend, it boasts a modern web UI for improved speed and compatibility. This alpha release aims to gather user feedback, test core features, and foster collaboration. While some features are incomplete and bugs are expected, it's already capable of managing thousands of remotes and virtual machines.

(forum.proxmox.com)

Development Datacenter Management Alpha Release

GitHub Project ted: A Turing Machine-based File Editor

2024-12-18

GitHub Project ted: A Turing Machine-based File Editor

ted is a command-line tool written in Go that allows users to edit files according to the rules of a provided Turing machine. Inspired by the author's need to process log files, ted uses state machines to precisely extract the desired information. It supports various operations, including regular expression matching, sed command execution, variable assignment, capture and output control, and offers features such as multi-line capture, regex capture groups, and file head/tail movement.

(github.com)

Development Turing Machine File Editing State Machine

Microsoft Unveils Phi-4: A Small Language Model Excelling in Complex Reasoning

2024-12-15

Microsoft Unveils Phi-4: A Small Language Model Excelling in Complex Reasoning

Microsoft has introduced Phi-4, a new 14-billion parameter small language model (SLM) that outperforms larger models in complex reasoning tasks, particularly in mathematics, surpassing even Gemini Pro 1.5 on math competition problems. This achievement is attributed to high-quality synthetic and organic datasets and post-training innovations. Currently available on Azure AI Foundry under an MSRLA, Phi-4 will launch on Hugging Face next week. Microsoft emphasizes its commitment to responsible AI development, integrating robust safety features into Phi-4's design and deployment.

(techcommunity.microsoft.com)

AI small language model complex reasoning

Northern Giant Hornet Eradicated from the United States

2024-12-23

The Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the eradication of the northern giant hornet (Vespa mandarinia) from Washington state and the US after three years without confirmed detections. This success is attributed to a multi-year collaborative effort involving state and federal agencies, community members, and the public, who played a crucial role in reporting sightings. The hornets posed a significant threat to honeybees, other pollinators, and agriculture, and their eradication protects the US ecosystem and agricultural industry. While eradicated, vigilance continues to prevent reintroduction.

(agr.wa.gov)

Misc Northern Giant Hornet invasive species eradication

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