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SSHTron: A Multiplayer Lightcycle Game Over SSH

2025-06-14

SSHTron: A Multiplayer Lightcycle Game Over SSH

SSHTron is a multiplayer lightcycle game playable via SSH. Simply connect to sshtron.zachlatta.com and start playing. Use WASD or vim keys to control your cycle. Seven colors are available. Built in ~20 hours at BrickHack 2, the code quality is a work in progress. The project is open-source and supports Docker and Raspberry Pi deployments. A security warning notes potential vulnerabilities (CVE-2016-0777) related to SSH clients; updating your client is recommended.

(github.com)

Game

AI in Education: A Century-Old Prediction?

2025-08-16

AI in Education: A Century-Old Prediction?

Over a century ago, Edison predicted that motion pictures would replace books and revolutionize education within a decade. Today, a similar narrative surrounds AI, with claims that it will obsolete books and transform education in ten years. However, history shows that new technologies aren't a panacea. Using Edison's prediction about film as a parallel, the author cautions against AI hype, urging a rational assessment of its role in education – potentially as a supplementary tool, not a sole one.

(shkspr.mobi)

AI technological predictions

Thunk: Enabling Your Rust Programs to Run on Ancient Windows

2025-09-04

Thunk: Enabling Your Rust Programs to Run on Ancient Windows

Thunk is a Rust tool that leverages VC-LTL5 and YY-Thunks libraries to enable your Rust programs to run on older Windows systems, even Windows XP. It achieves compatibility by adding VC-LTL to the library search path and using YY-Thunks to compensate for missing APIs in older systems. Thunk offers both command-line tool and library usage, simplifying the process of building programs and shared libraries compatible with older Windows versions. Note: Thunk doesn't guarantee perfect compatibility on older systems; use at your own risk.

(github.com)

Development

GitHub Actions Security: Best Practices After Two Major Incidents

2025-05-08

GitHub Actions Security: Best Practices After Two Major Incidents

Recent attacks on GitHub Actions, including a supply chain attack and a compromise of the tj-actions, highlight significant security risks. This guide offers practical advice to secure your GitHub Actions workflows. It covers essential terminology, best practices for configuring organization-level settings and repository-level branch protection, secrets management, and safe workflow writing. Key vulnerabilities like Poisoned Pipeline Execution (PPE) are discussed, along with recommendations for minimizing third-party action usage, controlling permissions, and using tools for static analysis and policy enforcement.

(www.wiz.io)

Development

Unique Visual Challenges for Astronauts at the Lunar South Pole

2024-12-29

Unique Visual Challenges for Astronauts at the Lunar South Pole

NASA's Artemis program, aiming for a permanent lunar base at the South Pole, faces a unique challenge: the harsh lighting environment. The low solar elevation angle creates extreme variations in light and shadow, severely impacting astronaut vision and task performance. Unlike previous missions where helmet design alone sufficed, Artemis requires innovative vision support systems. These systems, encompassing helmets, windows, and lighting, must ensure clear vision in diverse lighting conditions, protecting astronauts' eyes from injury. NASA is developing various simulation techniques to address this challenge, paving the way for successful lunar exploration.

(phys.org)

Tech Lunar South Pole Vision Challenges Artemis Program

Implementing Django's Templating Language in Rust: Conquering Lifetimes and PyO3

2025-09-03

This article details the challenges encountered while reimplementing Django's templating language in Rust, specifically focusing on handling custom template tags and context. Due to Rust's lifetimes and PyO3 limitations, the author cleverly uses `std::mem::take`, `std::mem::replace`, `Arc`, and `Mutex` to safely pass and modify context data between Rust and Python, ultimately solving context lifecycle management issues during custom tag rendering.

(blog.lilyf.org)

Development

Google DeepMind Unveils Gemini Robotics: Powering the Next Generation of Robots

2025-03-12

Google DeepMind Unveils Gemini Robotics: Powering the Next Generation of Robots

Google DeepMind has released two new AI models based on Gemini 2.0: Gemini Robotics and Gemini Robotics-ER, enabling robots to perform a wider range of real-world tasks. Gemini Robotics is an advanced vision-language-action model that directly controls robots; Gemini Robotics-ER features advanced spatial understanding, allowing roboticists to run their programs using Gemini's embodied reasoning capabilities. Both models boast generality, interactivity, and dexterity, handling diverse tasks and environments, and collaborating better with humans. DeepMind also released a new dataset, ASIMOV, to evaluate and improve semantic safety in embodied AI and robotics, and is partnering with companies like Apptronik to develop the next generation of humanoid robots.

(deepmind.google)

AI AI Robotics Embodied AI

Okta Security Incident: Exploiting Bcrypt's Length Limitation

2025-02-05

Okta Security Incident: Exploiting Bcrypt's Length Limitation

The Okta security incident stemmed from how its Bcrypt implementation handled input length. Bcrypt's 72-character limit caused truncation, allowing authentication with only partial usernames and cached keys. The article analyzes Bcrypt libraries in Go, Java, JavaScript, Python, and Rust, revealing many lack input length validation, creating security risks. The author advocates for improved API design, explicitly rejecting invalid input to prevent such vulnerabilities.

(n0rdy.foo)

Development API design

Qwen VLo: A Unified Multimodal Model That Understands and Creates Images

2025-06-28

Qwen VLo: A Unified Multimodal Model That Understands and Creates Images

Alibaba DAMO Academy introduces Qwen VLo, a new multimodal model that not only understands image content but also generates high-quality images based on that understanding. Employing a progressive generation method, it builds images gradually from left to right and top to bottom, ensuring a coherent and harmonious final result. Qwen VLo supports multilingual instructions, handles complex tasks like image editing and style transfer, and can even understand the content of its own generated images. While currently in preview, its powerful multimodal capabilities showcase the immense potential of AI in image generation.

(qwenlm.github.io)

AI multimodal model

The Bloat of Edge-Case-First Libraries: npm's Dependency Hell

2025-09-21

This article examines the proliferation of over-engineered libraries in the npm ecosystem. Many libraries prioritize handling rare edge cases, resulting in overly granular dependency trees. The author uses the example of `is-number`, which handles various number-like inputs when most applications only need to handle the `number` type. The solution proposed is for libraries to focus on common use cases, making reasonable assumptions about input types, and leaving edge case handling to projects that need them. This simplifies code, improves performance, and reduces unnecessary dependencies.

(43081j.com)

Development

The Demise of American Literary Fiction: A Supply and Demand Crisis

2025-06-22

The Demise of American Literary Fiction: A Supply and Demand Crisis

This article explores the decline of American literary fiction, moving beyond simplistic explanations like identity politics or smartphones. It argues that a dual supply and demand shock is to blame. On the supply side, the shrinking magazine and academic pipeline has choked the talent pool, leaving writers unable to make a living. On the demand side, contemporary literary fiction, in its pursuit of critical acclaim, has alienated mass audiences, resulting in dismal sales. The solution, the article suggests, lies in restoring the appeal of literature itself, not just addressing identity politics.

(oyyy.substack.com)

Misc

Senators Eye Gutting Section 230: A Threat to Everyday Internet Users

2025-03-25

Senators Eye Gutting Section 230: A Threat to Everyday Internet Users

Several Senators are again attempting to dismantle Section 230, a crucial law protecting internet users. Contrary to claims that it only shields Big Tech, Section 230 provides limited liability for all platforms, disproportionately benefiting smaller ones and individual users. Repealing it would solidify Big Tech monopolies and harm individuals' ability to speak, organize, and create online. The law allows platforms to moderate content without facing publisher liability, incentivizing them to combat illegal activity and harmful content. Repeal would create the opposite effect, leading to a surge in harmful online material.

(www.eff.org)

Tech Section 230 online speech

Michael Larabel: 20 Years of Linux Hardware Benchmarking

2025-08-30

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

(www.phoronix.com)

Tech

bookmarks.txt: A Simple, Text-Based Bookmark Manager

2025-08-28

bookmarks.txt: A Simple, Text-Based Bookmark Manager

bookmarks.txt offers a streamlined approach to bookmark management using plain text files. Bookmarked URLs are stored in files named bookmarks.txt, with a simple format: one URL per line, optionally including a title (space-separated). A global bookmarks file resides at $HOME/bookmarks.txt, while project-specific bookmarks can be stored in local bookmarks.txt files. The project includes a script, bin/bookmarks, for listing and adding bookmarks, but building custom tools is also encouraged. Combined with fzf, it provides a powerful fuzzy search and open functionality. This lightweight, customizable solution prioritizes simplicity and extensibility.

(github.com)

Development bookmark management

Evidence of Ancient Martian Beaches: Zhurong Rover Reveals Habitable Past

2025-03-01

Evidence of Ancient Martian Beaches: Zhurong Rover Reveals Habitable Past

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggests Mars may have once boasted sun-drenched, sandy beaches with gentle waves. An international team of scientists, including researchers from Penn State, used data from the Zhurong Mars rover to identify subsurface rock layers strongly suggesting an ancient northern ocean. This research provides the clearest evidence yet of a significant body of water and a more habitable environment on Mars. By analyzing subsurface sedimentary deposits, scientists found structures similar to Earth's coastlines, including 'foreshore deposits' formed by tides and waves. This indicates the presence of waves, suggesting a dynamic air-water interface – similar to where Earth's earliest life developed. Other possible origins, like ancient rivers or volcanoes, were ruled out. The discovery supports the hypothesis of a vast Martian ocean and suggests a potentially tens-of-millions-of-years-long warm, wet period suitable for life.

(www.psu.edu)

Tech Zhurong Rover Ancient Ocean

Devs, Please Care About UX!

2025-04-29

Devs, Please Care About UX!

The author recounts their experience of being unable to pay rent due to a bloated banking app, criticizing developers for prioritizing development speed over user experience. The article highlights how large app sizes, excessive code, and tracking scripts waste user resources and increase costs, ultimately harming users. The author urges developers to prioritize user experience, consider real-world use cases, and avoid sacrificing usability for the sake of perceived 'development velocity'.

(happyfellow.bearblog.dev)

Development mobile apps

Making a JavaScript-Optional Online Board Game: A Case Study in Progressive Enhancement

2025-08-23

This article details how an online board game website achieved fully optional JavaScript functionality using server-side rendering, standard HTML elements, and URL parameters. The author replaced real-time updates with page auto-refresh, and used native HTML elements for dropdown menus and modals. While increasing server load and code complexity, this approach improved initial page load speed and site robustness, yielding unexpected benefits like more semantically correct HTML. However, the author concludes the extra effort isn't worthwhile unless targeting a very JavaScript-averse audience, and plans to eventually remove the extra code.

(bejofo.com)

Development JavaScript-Optional

ClearSpace: Your Digital Detox for Less Screen Time

2025-01-01

ClearSpace: Your Digital Detox for Less Screen Time

ClearSpace is an app designed to help users reduce their screen time. It combats phone addiction by offering features like app time limits, distraction blockers, focus management tools, and challenge-based habit formation. The app also includes screen time reports, accountability partners, and mindful breathing exercises to encourage healthier digital habits and improve digital wellbeing.

(apps.apple.com)

Development phone addiction digital wellbeing

AI Cracks CAPTCHAs: The Never-Ending Arms Race

2025-07-31

AI Cracks CAPTCHAs: The Never-Ending Arms Race

The ChatGPT Agent AI tool recently bypassed Cloudflare's Turnstile bot-detection system, accessing websites without solving image CAPTCHAs. This isn't the first time AI has cracked CAPTCHAs; it's the latest development in an ongoing arms race. Originally designed to distinguish humans from machines, CAPTCHAs have evolved into a method to slow down or increase the cost of bot attacks, even leading to the rise of human CAPTCHA-solving farms. The race continues, with AI and anti-AI technologies locked in a perpetual struggle.

(arstechnica.com)

AI

How Top Programmers Use LLMs to Supercharge Productivity

2025-07-21

Veteran programmer antirez shares his 18-month experience using large language models like Gemini 2.5 PRO and Claude Opus for coding. He argues that current LLMs are best used as powerful assistants, not as standalone project completers. By clearly describing problems and iterating effectively, LLMs can help eliminate bugs, explore ideas faster, engage in pair-design, and even learn technologies outside one's expertise. However, antirez stresses the importance of providing ample context, choosing the right model, and maintaining control over the code, avoiding reliance on automated agents. Only then can code quality be assured and efficiency maximized.

(antirez.com)

Development

Rails Security Audit Reveals Improvements, Highlights Future Work

2025-06-15

The Open Source Technology Improvement Fund (OSTIF) released a security audit of Ruby on Rails, conducted by X41 D-Sec with support from GitLab and the Sovereign Tech Agency. The four-month audit uncovered 7 security findings and provided 6 recommendations for improvement. The report highlights the maturation of Rails' security over recent years while also outlining areas for future enhancement. OSTIF also celebrated its 10th anniversary and invited participation in upcoming meetups.

(ostif.org)

Development

BYD's Solid-State Battery Roadmap: Pilot Production Achieved, Mass Production Post-2030

2025-02-23

BYD's Solid-State Battery Roadmap: Pilot Production Achieved, Mass Production Post-2030

BYD's battery business CTO, Sun Huajun, revealed that the company has already produced 20Ah and 60Ah solid-state battery cells on its pilot production line in 2024. Mass demonstration is expected around 2027, but large-scale mass production is likely only after 2030. BYD is focusing on sulfide electrolytes due to cost and process stability advantages. Similar to CATL, BYD anticipates solid-state batteries will initially be used in high-end models, complementing their existing LFP batteries.

(www.electrive.com)

Tech Solid-State Battery

Lisp1 vs. Lisp2: The Great Namespace Debate

2025-08-09

This technical report delves into the advantages and disadvantages of separating function and value namespaces in Lisp. Lisp1 uses a single namespace, while Lisp2 separates them. The authors analyze the trade-offs in notational simplicity, referential clarity, compiler complexity, higher-order functions, macros, and space/time efficiency. While Lisp1 offers advantages in conciseness and functional programming style, Lisp2 excels in macro usage and mitigating naming conflicts. Ultimately, the report concludes that the status quo (Lisp2) is preferable for Common Lisp.

(dreamsongs.com)

Development

Debian GNU/kFreeBSD: A Hybrid OS Blending Debian and FreeBSD

2025-03-08

Debian GNU/kFreeBSD is a unique operating system that merges the Debian userland with the FreeBSD kernel. This article explores its architecture, installation process, benefits (like ZFS support and performance optimizations), and limitations (software compatibility and community support). While offering a compelling blend of Debian's vast software repository and FreeBSD's robust kernel, it's important to consider the challenges before diving in. It remains an interesting experiment in OS hybridization.

(www.linuxjournal.com)

Development

LangGraph: Building a Flexible, Opinionated AI Coding Assistant

2025-03-24

LangGraph: Building a Flexible, Opinionated AI Coding Assistant

Qodo built an AI coding assistant using the LangGraph framework, balancing flexibility with adherence to coding best practices. Initially, they used predefined workflows for coding tasks, but with the advent of more powerful LLMs like Claude Sonnet 3.5, they shifted to LangGraph's graph-based approach. LangGraph allows building agents ranging from completely open-ended to fully structured deterministic flows, enabling Qodo to adjust the structure of their flows based on LLM capabilities. The framework's clean API, reusable components, and built-in state management simplified development and support persistence, checkpoints, and branch points. While documentation and testing present some challenges, LangGraph provided a solid foundation for Qodo to build a robust AI coding assistant.

(www.qodo.ai)

Development

Microbial Ecosystems: Phase Transitions and the Surprising Vulnerability of Diverse Communities

2025-06-20

Microbial Ecosystems: Phase Transitions and the Surprising Vulnerability of Diverse Communities

MIT researchers discovered that microbial ecosystems undergo phase transitions, similar to those in physics, progressing through stable, partially extinct, and wildly fluctuating states. Surprisingly, diverse, fluctuating ecosystems were more susceptible to invasion by new species, contradicting established ecological theory. The study reveals that a higher survival fraction of initial species increases vulnerability to invasion. The Lotka-Volterra model confirmed these results, suggesting this is an emergent property of complex dynamic systems.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

Tech microbes

Punch Card Key Backup: Offline 128-bit Key Storage

2025-05-31

Punch Card Key Backup: Offline 128-bit Key Storage

The pckb project offers a unique way to backup 128-bit information onto a physical punch card. Users generate a hole-punch pattern using a provided HTML tool and then physically punch holes in an aluminum sheet. Recovery is equally straightforward, simply inputting the punch card pattern back into the HTML tool. The project also outlines solutions for keys larger than 128 bits and includes a comprehensive FAQ.

(github.com)

Misc key backup punch card offline security

VCs Are Buying Up Mature Businesses and Injecting Them with AI

2025-05-26

VCs Are Buying Up Mature Businesses and Injecting Them with AI

Venture capitalists are shifting from solely funding startups to acquiring established businesses like call centers and accounting firms, then leveraging AI to optimize operations and expand customer reach. General Catalyst, having invested in seven such companies, highlights this as a new asset class. Khosla Ventures is exploring this strategy, seeing it as a way to connect AI startups with large, established clients, but is proceeding cautiously, prioritizing strong returns and potentially partnering with PE firms for acquisitions.

(techcrunch.com)

Startup Acquisitions

Conciseness Prompts Cause AI Hallucinations

2025-05-13

Conciseness Prompts Cause AI Hallucinations

A new study by Giskard reveals that instructing AI chatbots to be concise can paradoxically increase hallucinations, especially on ambiguous topics. Researchers found that concise prompts limit the model's ability to identify and correct errors, prioritizing brevity over accuracy. Even advanced models like GPT-4 are affected. This highlights the tension between user experience and factual accuracy, urging developers to carefully design system prompts.

(techcrunch.com)

AI AI hallucinations

Grok 4: Does it secretly consult Elon Musk?

2025-07-11

Grok 4: Does it secretly consult Elon Musk?

xAI's new chatbot, Grok 4, surprisingly searches for Elon Musk's stance on controversial topics before answering! A user experiment revealed that when asked about the Israel-Palestine conflict, Grok 4 searched "from:elonmusk (Israel OR Palestine OR Gaza OR Hamas)" to gauge Musk's opinion. This sparked discussions about Grok 4's decision-making process. Some believe Grok 4 'knows' it's an xAI (Musk's company) product and thus references its owner's views. However, other instances show Grok 4 referencing its past responses or other sources. This behavior may be unintended, hinting at potential complex identity issues within LLMs.

(simonwillison.net)

AI

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