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Recovering from Accidental Deletion of /lib on Linux

2025-03-22

This post details how to recover a Linux system after accidentally deleting the crucial `/lib` directory. The author explores several methods, from leveraging existing tools like a static busybox to creating and transferring a minimal, statically compiled C program to replace essential files. The step-by-step guide covers techniques using bash built-ins and network transfers, providing a solution to avoid reinstalling the OS.

(tinyhack.com)

Development system recovery troubleshooting

600 Million Years of Shared Stress Response in Algae and Plants

2025-03-24

600 Million Years of Shared Stress Response in Algae and Plants

A University of Göttingen-led study reveals a surprising shared stress response network between algae and plants dating back 600 million years. Researchers compared gene expression and compound production in moss and two types of algae under environmental stress, identifying a common gene regulatory network. This discovery sheds light on key mechanisms of plant adaptation to land and offers new insights into plant evolution.

(phys.org)

Tech plant evolution environmental stress gene regulation

Boston Dynamics' Atlas Robot Shows Off Insane Parkour Skills

2025-03-21

Boston Dynamics' Atlas Robot Shows Off Insane Parkour Skills

Boston Dynamics has released new footage of its Atlas robot showcasing incredible agility and dexterity. Atlas effortlessly runs, flips, cartwheels, and even breakdances, surpassing the capabilities of other humanoids focused on practical tasks. While companies like Tesla prioritize functional robots, Atlas demonstrates advancements in AI and motor control, hinting at a future where robots seamlessly navigate complex environments. This impressive display highlights the rapid progress in humanoid robotics, suggesting a future where human-robot interaction will become increasingly common.

(newatlas.com)

Tech

AlexNet Source Code Released: The Dawn of the Deep Learning Revolution

2025-03-25

AlexNet Source Code Released: The Dawn of the Deep Learning Revolution

In 2012, Alex Krizhevsky, Ilya Sutskever, and Geoffrey Hinton's AlexNet demonstrated, for the first time, the massive potential of deep neural networks for image recognition, ushering in the era of deep learning. Recently, the source code for AlexNet was open-sourced, a collaboration between the Computer History Museum and Google. AlexNet's success stemmed from its scale—a large convolutional neural network trained using immense computing power and the ImageNet dataset, overcoming previous limitations of deep learning. This breakthrough fueled decades of innovation in AI, leading to companies like OpenAI and applications like ChatGPT, transforming the world.

(www.zdnet.com)

AI

Gemini 2.5 Pro: An AI That Knows Its Limits

2025-03-26

Gemini 2.5 Pro: An AI That Knows Its Limits

The author attempted to get Gemini 2.5 Pro to recreate the famous 90s synthesizer, ReBirth RB-338. Surprisingly, instead of attempting the impossible, Gemini 2.5 Pro assessed the task's difficulty and explained its infeasibility, demonstrating powerful reasoning capabilities. The author negotiated a simpler, yet functional synthesizer. This showcases AI's progress towards understanding its limitations and making rational judgments.

(everything.intellectronica.net)

AI

Pi Pico Rx: A Minimalist Software Defined Radio

2025-03-26

This article details the Pi Pico Rx, a remarkably simple software-defined radio (SDR) receiver built around a Raspberry Pi Pico. Using only a few components – a Pico, an analog switch, and an op-amp – it covers LW, MW, and SW bands, receiving signals from across the globe. The Pi Pico Rx cleverly utilizes the RP2040's PIO feature for quadrature oscillator generation and employs unique IQ sampling and DSP algorithms to demodulate AM, FM, SSB, and CW. Further features include an OLED display, spectrum scope, 512 programmable memory channels, headphone/speaker output, making it a functional and accessible DIY project.

(101-things.readthedocs.io)

Hardware DIY Electronics

Mastering Delphi 5: A 25-Year Retrospective

2025-03-24

Marco Cantu has released a free, annotated 2025 edition of his classic 'Mastering Delphi 5'. The 1139-page book features 475 footnotes and dozens of new screenshots comparing the old and new IDE and application UIs. While some code doesn't compile, most programs still run, a testament to Delphi's enduring legacy. This gift to the community celebrates Delphi's 30th anniversary and offers a nostalgic journey through its history.

(blog.marcocantu.com)

Development Retrospective

Functional Programming: The Art of Folding the Problem Space

2025-03-21

This article explores the differences between functional programming (using Haskell as an example) and imperative programming when solving complex problems. Imperative programming can easily lead to code bloat, like drawing a straight line on paper, while functional programming is like folding the paper, cleverly "folding" the problem space, reducing dimensionality, and ultimately achieving the goal with concise code. The article uses the author's practical experience to illustrate how functional programming builds small modules and combines them to create rich ecosystems, and how to use features like monads to achieve elegant code combinations, ultimately avoiding the common code bloat and maintainability issues of imperative programming.

(jerf.org)

Development code design

Quad9: A Non-Profit DNS Provider Seeks Donations

2025-03-25

Quad9: A Non-Profit DNS Provider Seeks Donations

Quad9, a non-profit organization, relies on grants and partnerships to operate. Using Quad9 can prevent ransomware attacks, protect your bank account, and stop your computer from being used in illicit criminal activities. These protections, and millions of other interventions, directly save you, your business, and the companies you rely on (like banks and e-commerce firms) money. We hope this understanding inspires you to donate to Quad9, individually or through corporate sponsorship.

(www.quad9.net)

Tech non-profit

GitHub Actions Security Risk: The Mutable Tag Vulnerability

2025-03-25

GitHub Actions Security Risk: The Mutable Tag Vulnerability

A recent attack on the tj-actions/changed-files GitHub Action highlighted a security vulnerability. By modifying a mutable Git tag, attackers could inject malicious code and leak secrets from build logs, which are public for public repositories. The author shares a shell script to audit used GitHub Actions, emphasizing the importance of using immutable commit IDs for security. The script analyzes workflow YAML files to identify and count actions, prioritizing those from large organizations or self-written scripts over less trustworthy ones. The author advocates for prioritizing actions from large organizations and writing custom scripts when possible.

(alexwlchan.net)

Development

Ant Group Cuts AI Training Costs by 20% Using Chinese Chips

2025-03-25

Ant Group Cuts AI Training Costs by 20% Using Chinese Chips

Ant Group, backed by Jack Ma, has developed AI model training techniques using domestically produced semiconductors from Alibaba and Huawei, achieving cost reductions of 20%. While still utilizing Nvidia chips, Ant primarily relies on AMD and Chinese alternatives for its latest models, mirroring similar results to Nvidia's H800. This highlights China's efforts to reduce reliance on high-end Nvidia chips. Ant's newly developed language models, Ling-Plus and Ling-Lite, even outperformed Meta's Llama in some benchmarks. These models, intended for healthcare and finance applications, signify a significant advancement in cost-effective AI development in China.

(au.finance.yahoo.com)

AI domestic chips cost reduction

China Tightens Facial Recognition Rules, Taiwan Infrastructure Targeted in Cyberattacks

2025-03-24

China Tightens Facial Recognition Rules, Taiwan Infrastructure Targeted in Cyberattacks

China has issued new regulations prohibiting the use of facial recognition technology without consent and restricting its use in public places. Simultaneously, critical infrastructure in Taiwan has been targeted by a suspected China-backed hacking group. Elsewhere, Zoho won India's government-backed web browser competition, while X is suing the Indian government over content takedown laws. Japan's new cybersecurity bill, which allows for offensive cyber operations, is facing privacy concerns. Finally, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute reports being targeted by Chinese online harassment.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech

Nobel Prize Winners: A Data-Driven Look at Scientific Concentration and Dispersion

2025-03-26

Nobel Prize Winners: A Data-Driven Look at Scientific Concentration and Dispersion

This analysis examines data on Nobel Prize winners in Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine from 1915 to 2016, revealing a concentration of scientific achievements. A small number of countries, primarily the US, UK, and Germany, and elite universities like Harvard and Cambridge, dominate Nobel Prize wins. However, a long tail effect is also observed, with many other countries and institutions contributing. Furthermore, the average age of laureates and the time lag between completing prize-winning work and receiving the award are increasing, potentially indicating a slowdown in groundbreaking discoveries or inherent delays in the Nobel Prize selection process.

(www.construction-physics.com)

Tech

Large Soda Lakes: A Phosphorus-Rich Cradle of Life?

2025-03-25

Large Soda Lakes: A Phosphorus-Rich Cradle of Life?

Phosphorus, essential for life, is relatively scarce on Earth's surface. New research suggests large, endorheic soda lakes may have provided early life with sufficient phosphorus. These lakes lose water only through evaporation, leading to phosphorus enrichment. Mono Lake in California serves as an example, its high phosphorus concentration supporting diverse organisms. Contrary to Darwin's speculation, large soda lakes, with their consistently high phosphorus levels, may have been more conducive to the chemical reactions necessary for life's origin.

(ethz.ch)

Tech soda lakes

Germany Updates US Travel Advice After Citizens' Detainment

2025-03-21

Germany Updates US Travel Advice After Citizens' Detainment

The German foreign ministry updated its travel advice for the US after three German citizens were denied entry and detained. The updated advice warns that even with an ESTA, entry isn't guaranteed, and minor visa overstays or false information can lead to arrest and deportation. While the ministry insists it's not a travel warning, the cases – including a US green card holder who was subjected to harsh interrogation and detention – highlight potential risks. One detainee, a tattoo artist, was held for over six weeks and allegedly placed in solitary confinement. The incidents serve as a cautionary tale for German travelers to the US, emphasizing the importance of accurate information and adherence to visa regulations.

(www.euronews.com)

Tech US entry travel advice visa

Low-Tech Magazine's Compressed Book Edition: A Sustainable Publishing Experiment

2025-03-23

Low-Tech Magazine's Compressed Book Edition: A Sustainable Publishing Experiment

Low-tech Magazine, known for its low-energy website, has released a 'compressed' edition of its book series. This single volume condenses three previous books, reducing paper consumption and carbon emissions by nearly two-thirds through smaller fonts, images, and a two-column layout. The article compares the environmental impact of online and print reading, revealing that while the website's server footprint is low, reader device energy use is significant. The compressed edition lowers costs and tree usage, though recycled paper is explored as an ideal but practically limited solution. Ultimately, content compression, rather than paper choice alone, offers the greatest resource reduction.

(solar.lowtechmagazine.com)

Misc sustainable publishing

The Nucleus: A Metabolic Compartment Rewriting Cell Fate

2025-03-23

The Nucleus: A Metabolic Compartment Rewriting Cell Fate

A groundbreaking study reveals the cell nucleus as a unique metabolic compartment, distinct from other cellular regions, playing a pivotal role in gene expression and cell fate. Researchers discovered that metabolic enzymes within the nucleus dynamically regulate epigenetic marks, such as histone acetylation, which change based on nutrient availability. In early embryonic development, nuclear metabolic activity is crucial for cell differentiation, while metabolites like alpha-ketoglutarate are key players in both stem cell differentiation and cancer suppression. This discovery opens exciting avenues for cancer therapy, suggesting the possibility of manipulating cellular metabolism to alter cell fate and treat diseases stemming from abnormal cell differentiation.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

Tech nuclear metabolism cancer therapy

Improved Crosscoder Unveils Secrets of LLM Fine-tuning

2025-03-23

Improved Crosscoder Unveils Secrets of LLM Fine-tuning

Researchers introduce a novel method, the 'tied crosscoder,' for comparing the base and fine-tuned chat models of large language models (LLMs). Unlike traditional crosscoders, the tied crosscoder allows the same latent factors to fire at different times for the base and chat models, leading to more effective identification of novel features in the chat model. Experiments demonstrate this approach provides clearer explanations of how chat behavior emerges from base model capabilities and yields more monosemantic latents. This research offers new insights into the fine-tuning process of LLMs and guides future model improvements.

(www.lesswrong.com)

AI crosscoder model fine-tuning

Generative AI Runs on a 20-Year-Old PowerBook G4?!

2025-03-25

Generative AI Runs on a 20-Year-Old PowerBook G4?!

A software engineer successfully ran Meta's Llama 2 large language model on a 2005 PowerBook G4. This vintage laptop, equipped with only a 1.5GHz PowerPC G4 processor and 1GB of RAM, achieved AI inference by porting the open-source llama2.c project and leveraging AltiVec vector extensions. It's a testament to ingenuity and the boundless possibilities of technology.

(www.macrumors.com)

Tech

The Future of Scala: Balancing Safety and Convenience

2025-03-26

The Future of Scala: Balancing Safety and Convenience

While Scala's hype has cooled since the mid-2010s, it maintains a strong community and adoption. This article explores the future direction of Scala, with authors Martin Odersky and Haoyi Li arguing that Scala needs continuous evolution. It must improve usability, enhance the tooling experience, and actively incorporate community feedback while maintaining its safety and convenience. They highlight the need to balance safety and convenience, refine existing features, and lower the barrier to entry for newcomers. The article also addresses challenges within the Scala ecosystem, such as IDE support and build tools, and proposes solutions.

(www.scala-lang.org)

Development

The Truth About Anger: Beyond Retribution, Towards Cooperation

2025-03-22

The Truth About Anger: Beyond Retribution, Towards Cooperation

This essay explores the nature and destructiveness of anger. Starting with Aristotle's definition, the author argues that anger stems from significant damage to something one cares about, coupled with a desire for retribution. However, this desire for payback is deemed irrational, as it fails to restore what was lost. Retribution only makes sense when anger focuses on status rather than justice, a narrow and self-centered perspective. The author advocates a 'transition' from retribution to focusing on the future, resolving issues through cooperation and reason. Nelson Mandela's life serves as a powerful example of this transition's importance in both personal and political life.

(aeon.co)

Misc retribution cooperation

Google Shifts Android Development Inward, Less Transparency Ahead

2025-03-26

Google Shifts Android Development Inward, Less Transparency Ahead

Google is changing how it develops Android. All future development will occur in internal branches, shifting away from the previously more public AOSP model. While the final source code will still be publicly released, the development process itself will be less transparent. This aims to streamline releases and simplify development for both Google and Android device manufacturers. The change impacts developers and OEMs, but Google promises improved efficiency.

(arstechnica.com)

Development

Home Batteries vs. Gas Generators: The Backup Power Showdown

2025-03-23

Home Batteries vs. Gas Generators: The Backup Power Showdown

With rising grid outage risks, home batteries and gas generators are top choices for backup power. Gas generators offer a lower upfront cost, but higher long-term running and fuel costs, plus noise and carbon monoxide risks. Home batteries, especially paired with solar, have higher initial investment but benefit from tax credits, lower operating costs, and quieter, cleaner operation. Batteries last about 10 years, generators 20+, but require maintenance. Ultimately, home batteries win on flexible installation, quiet operation, and ease of maintenance, making them a more convenient backup power solution.

(pv-magazine-usa.com)

Hardware home energy storage backup power

AI Revolutionizes Code Development: A Roundup of Powerful Tools

2025-03-21

From command-line interfaces to visual platforms, AI is transforming software development. This article explores a range of exciting AI-powered coding tools, including terminal-based AI coding assistants (like aider chat, Kwaak, RA.Aid, CodeBuff), advanced headless IDEs (like SWE-Kit), and AI-driven code generation platforms (like v0, Base44, bolt). These tools cover everything from code generation and understanding to complete software building processes, supporting multiple programming languages and frameworks. Whether you're an experienced developer or a coding novice, you'll find tools to boost efficiency and simplify your workflow.

(aicode.danvoronov.com)

Development AI development tools low-code platforms

First High-Def Moon Sunset Photos Captured by Private Lander

2025-03-22

First High-Def Moon Sunset Photos Captured by Private Lander

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lunar lander has captured the first high-definition images of a sunset on the moon, including a shot with Venus in the distance. The first private spacecraft to land upright and complete its entire mission, Blue Ghost collected science data for five hours into the lunar night before succumbing to lack of solar power. One image shows a unique horizon glow, possibly related to a theory about levitating dust proposed decades ago. While the lander's drill didn't reach its planned depth, NASA considers the mission a success. Attempts to reactivate the lander are planned for early April, though success is unlikely.

(phys.org)

Tech Moon Sunset Private Spacecraft

macOS Sonoma's Mysterious Liquid Detection: Debunking the Myth

2025-03-23

macOS Sonoma's Mysterious Liquid Detection: Debunking the Myth

This article investigates a new background process, `liquiddetectiond`, that appeared in macOS Sonoma 14.1. Initially, it was wrongly suspected as an Apple tool to collect user data for warranty denials. However, investigation reveals it actually detects liquids in USB-C ports to prevent corrosion and prolong device life, not for data collection or warranty avoidance. The functionality is only available on select new MacBook and MacBook Pro models, and logs show it operates locally without sending data to Apple.

(eclecticlight.co)

Tech liquid detection background process

argp: A Powerful GNU-Standard Command-Line Argument Parser in Go

2025-03-23

argp: A Powerful GNU-Standard Command-Line Argument Parser in Go

argp is a Go library providing a robust command-line argument parser adhering to GNU standards. It boasts features like built-in help, struct field scanning, support for composite types (arrays, slices, structs), and nested subcommands. argp follows GNU argument rules, handling short and long options, option values, multiple values, and option combinations. It also offers configuration loading, counting, appending, and support for custom data sources, such as MySQL databases. Developers can leverage argp to create powerful command-line tools efficiently.

(github.com)

Development command-line arguments GNU standard

The AI Coding Assistant: An Existential Crisis for Software Engineers?

2025-03-23

The rise of AI coding assistants is fundamentally reshaping the role of software engineers, transitioning them from pure coders to orchestrators and managers of AI systems. This shift has sparked an identity crisis within the software engineering community. The article explores the challenges and opportunities presented by this transformation, highlighting that the core value of a software engineer lies in problem-solving and value creation, not just coding. The future demands stronger communication, systems thinking, and adaptability to thrive in the age of AI.

(annievella.com)

Development

Cocommit: Your Git Commit Copilot

2025-03-26

Cocommit: Your Git Commit Copilot

Cocommit is a command-line tool that uses your chosen LLM to improve your Git commit quality. It analyzes your last commit message and suggests improvements, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. Cocommit supports various LLMs, including OpenAI and Amazon Bedrock's Claude 3.7, abstracting away the underlying models via LangChain. Easy to install and use, it allows customization of the LLM experience, making it a great tool for developers to improve their code style.

(github.com)

Development

Microsoft's Outlook Versions: A User Experience Nightmare?

2025-03-25

Microsoft's Outlook Versions: A User Experience Nightmare?

Microsoft veteran Scott Hanselman recently poked fun at the plethora of Outlook versions on Bluesky, including Outlook (New), Outlook (New), Outlook (Zero Sugar), and more, sparking a heated discussion. This highlights a common problem in Microsoft software: version proliferation. For example, Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams (Personal) often coexist. Microsoft's push for the new Outlook, built on a modern service architecture, lacks many features of the classic version, such as COM add-in support, causing inconvenience for enterprise users. While Microsoft promises support for the Classic version until at least 2029, its forced migration strategy has raised user concerns, mirroring the case of a soft drink company replacing a well-liked product with a 'new' version and renaming the old one 'classic'. Hanselman's humorous commentary reveals the potential pitfalls of having multiple, similarly functioning options, potentially confusing users and negatively impacting user experience.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech

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