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Google Kills Cloud Support for 1st and 2nd Gen Nest Thermostats: Smart Home Reliability Crisis?

2025-09-06

Google Kills Cloud Support for 1st and 2nd Gen Nest Thermostats: Smart Home Reliability Crisis?

Google's announcement to end cloud support for its 1st and 2nd generation Nest thermostats has sparked concerns among users. While the thermostats will continue to function locally, control via the Nest or Home apps, and integration with smart home platforms like Hubitat, will be lost. Many users face the prospect of replacing numerous thermostats. Alternatives suggested include locally controlled Zigbee/Z-wave thermostats or Ecobee thermostats (used with Home Assistant) for improved reliability and future compatibility. However, even newer Nest models with Matter support have limited functionality, raising questions about the long-term reliability of smart home devices and prompting a wider discussion on planned obsolescence.

(community.hubitat.com)

Hardware Cloud Dependency Nest thermostat device compatibility

compile_flagz: Boosting C/C++ IDE Support in Zig Build Systems

2025-09-13

Zig's build system offers powerful cross-compilation capabilities for C/C++ projects, but editor support often lags due to missing include paths. compile_flagz addresses this by generating a `compile_flags.txt` file, a standard format used by language servers like clangd. This file provides the necessary compilation settings, enabling features like code completion and error highlighting. The author details its usage and implementation, showcasing its effectiveness in a game decompilation project (ROLLER). A quick start guide is also provided.

(simonhartcher.com)

Development

Robinhood's Secret Weapon: 50% AI-Generated Code

2025-07-18

Robinhood's Secret Weapon: 50% AI-Generated Code

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev revealed that nearly all of the company's engineers are essentially 'vibe coders,' relying heavily on AI code editors. He estimates that around 50% of Robinhood's new code is AI-generated, surpassing Microsoft and Google's previously reported 30%. The increasing sophistication of AI code editors makes distinguishing between human and AI-written code difficult. This AI adoption has significantly improved Robinhood's efficiency and cost control, impacting teams across the board, from software engineering to customer support. Robinhood's stock price is up over 177% this year, fueled by its expanding crypto ventures, new product launches, and active retail investor base.

(www.businessinsider.com)

Tech

Skype to Retire in May 2025, Transitioning to Microsoft Teams

2025-05-06

Skype to Retire in May 2025, Transitioning to Microsoft Teams

Microsoft announced that it will shut down Skype in May 2025, migrating users to its modern communication and collaboration platform, Microsoft Teams. This move aims to streamline free consumer communication services and better adapt to user needs. Existing Skype users can choose to migrate to Teams for free, with all chats and contacts automatically imported; or they can export their data. Teams offers core features similar to Skype, with added advanced features such as meeting hosting and community building. This transition will be phased to ensure users can stay connected during the transition.

(www.microsoft.com)

Tech Communication Software

Is Crypto a CIA Plot for Global Domination?

2025-08-16

Is Crypto a CIA Plot for Global Domination?

This article explores theories surrounding Bitcoin's origins and its alleged ties to the CIA. The pseudonym of Bitcoin's creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, translated from Japanese, curiously resembles "Central Intelligence," fueling speculation about CIA involvement. The piece examines why intelligence agencies might be interested in cryptocurrencies – their pseudonymous nature allows for discreet fundraising, but also raises concerns about potential "backdoors" built into systems for surveillance. The article discusses the implications of cryptocurrencies for financial systems and national interests, and the challenges governments face in regulating and harnessing crypto's potential benefits while mitigating its risks.

(wisewolfmedia.substack.com)

Tech conspiracy

NGINX Now Natively Supports ACME: Streamlining SSL Certificate Management

2025-08-14

NGINX announces native support for the ACME protocol, introducing a new module (ngx_http_acme_module) for requesting, installing, and renewing certificates directly within the NGINX configuration. This eliminates the need for external tools like Certbot, simplifying SSL/TLS certificate management, reducing manual errors, and improving security by shrinking the attack surface. ACME's automated workflow is enhanced by NGINX's native integration, boosting efficiency and reliability for modern web infrastructures.

(blog.nginx.org)

Development

AI-Powered Turtle Artist in ROS Sim

2025-05-31

AI-Powered Turtle Artist in ROS Sim

turtlesim_agent is an AI agent that transforms the classic ROS turtlesim simulator into a creative canvas driven by natural language. Leveraging LangChain, it interprets text instructions and translates them into visual drawings, turning the simulated turtle into a digital artist. Users describe shapes or drawing intentions in plain English; the AI reasons through the instructions and executes them using turtlesim's motion commands. This project explores how large language models interact with external environments to exhibit creative behavior.

(github.com)

AI

Go Error Handling Best Practices: Avoiding Sentinel and Error Types

2025-06-03

This post explores three strategies for error handling in Go: sentinel errors, error types, and opaque errors. The author argues that sentinel errors and error types lead to code coupling and are not recommended. The best practice is opaque error handling, checking error behavior via interface assertions only when necessary. Use the `github.com/pkg/errors` package to elegantly handle and log errors, avoiding duplicate handling and information loss.

(dave.cheney.net)

Development

Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Loses Appeal, Fraud Convictions Upheld

2025-02-25

Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes Loses Appeal, Fraud Convictions Upheld

A federal appeals court upheld the fraud convictions of Elizabeth Holmes, founder of the failed blood-testing company Theranos, and her business partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Holmes's 11-year sentence and Balwani's 13-year sentence remain in effect. The court found that Holmes and Balwani made misleading statements to investors, portraying Theranos' technology as more advanced than it was. While they can still appeal to a larger panel or the Supreme Court, this ruling represents a significant setback.

(www.msnbc.com)

Startup

UK Watchdog Probes Apple and Google's Mobile Empires

2025-01-23

UK Watchdog Probes Apple and Google's Mobile Empires

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched investigations into Apple and Google's mobile ecosystems, marking the first use of its new digital market powers. The CMA will examine whether Apple and Google are abusing their dominant market positions, including practices like pre-installing their own apps and imposing unfair app store terms. This move aims to protect consumers and businesses from unfair practices by Big Tech. Both Apple and Google stated they would cooperate with the regulator.

(apnews.com)

Tech tech regulation Apple Google

US Water Consumption: A Deep Dive

2025-08-22

US Water Consumption: A Deep Dive

While US water is abundant and cheap, rising demand in the arid Southwest and from water-intensive industries like data centers is shifting this reality. This article analyzes the US's daily water consumption of 322 billion gallons, covering power generation, irrigation, industry, and domestic use. While thermoelectric power plants consume vast amounts, most is non-consumptive; irrigation's consumptive use is significant and difficult to reuse; data center water use, though relatively small now, is rapidly growing. The key takeaway: Careful interpretation of water use data is crucial, distinguishing between consumptive and non-consumptive uses.

(www.construction-physics.com)

Tech water consumption

Hacker News: The NSA Selector – A Eurorack Module That Turns Network Traffic into Audio

2025-05-20

Hacker News: The NSA Selector – A Eurorack Module That Turns Network Traffic into Audio

The NSA Selector is a Eurorack module that converts network traffic into audio. It does this by listening to the preamble of network packets (like Ethernet frames) without any protocol conversion. You can hear uncompressed image pixels, network game data, or even activity from remote desktop protocols. While not HiFi quality, the unique method of “listening” is intriguing. The module works with various data sources, such as online games, IoT devices, and remote desktop protocols. Users can even write their own code and control network tools like ping, netcat, and socat via MIDI, opening up many possibilities. Disable encryption for even more interesting results.

(github.com)

Hardware Network Audio

Millions of Streams, Fake Bands: The Rise of AI-Generated Music

2025-06-16

Millions of Streams, Fake Bands: The Rise of AI-Generated Music

YouTube is flooded with AI-generated music, with some fictional bands boasting millions of views. Concubanas, a fictitious Cuban band, has amassed 1.3 million views for its album "Rumba Congo," a fusion of Cuban and Congolese styles. However, the authenticity of this music is sparking debate. Some feel deceived by the lack of human connection and genuine artistry, while others appreciate the technological feat. Currently, platforms like Spotify lack clear policies on labeling AI-generated music, while YouTube mandates disclosure in video descriptions, but enforcement is inconsistent. Experts urge increased transparency and clear labeling to avoid user confusion and protect creators' rights. The lack of transparency raises questions about the future of music consumption and the potential for listener frustration.

(english.elpais.com)

Tech

Ryanair Faces GDPR Complaint Over Mandatory Face Scans

2024-12-19

Ryanair Faces GDPR Complaint Over Mandatory Face Scans

The privacy advocacy group noyb filed a GDPR complaint against Ryanair for forcing users to create accounts and undergo invasive biometric verification, including face scans, during the booking process. This practice, allegedly aimed at preventing online travel agencies from bulk purchasing tickets, violates GDPR principles of data minimization, purpose limitation, and consent. Ryanair is accused of prioritizing competitive advantage over user privacy.

(noyb.eu)

Misc biometrics

Global Operation Takes Down 27 DDoS-for-Hire Sites

2024-12-17

Global Operation Takes Down 27 DDoS-for-Hire Sites

Europol coordinated a 15-country operation, PowerOFF, shutting down 27 major DDoS-for-hire platforms ('booters' and 'stressers'). These platforms enabled cybercriminals and hacktivists to flood targets with illegal traffic, crippling websites and online services. The operation disrupted attacks targeting US government agencies, including the Department of Justice and FBI. While a significant victory, experts caution that criminals will adapt, necessitating ongoing efforts to combat DDoS attacks.

(www.scworld.com)

Tech DDoS attacks international cooperation

Importing Chinese Electric Mini-Excavators: A First-Hand Account

2025-02-04

Importing Chinese Electric Mini-Excavators: A First-Hand Account

A blogger recounts his experience importing a shipment of Chinese-made electric mini-excavators. Initially seeking affordable electric options for his parents' Florida property, he found a lack of suitable machines in the US market. He turned to China, sourced machines, and made improvements to suit North American users. His small business now ships these excavators across the US. The article details the import process, from ordering and shipping to inspection, comparing the excavator's price and performance to competitors, highlighting its eco-friendly, economical, and convenient aspects.

(electrek.co)

Hardware electric excavator China manufacturing import

MUMPS: The Unsung Hero of Healthcare Databases

2025-06-13

MUMPS, a programming language born in the 1960s, was initially developed to manage patient medical records at Massachusetts General Hospital. Its unique integrated database capabilities have made it the dominant database for health information systems and electronic health records in the US, serving over 78% of patients. The history of MUMPS is a story of innovation and adaptation, from its early versions on PDP-7 to today's open-source implementations and commercial products. It has witnessed the rapid evolution of computing technology and continues to provide critical support for the healthcare industry.

(en.wikipedia.org)

Development healthcare IT

Boccaccio: A Life Unveiled Through Literary Self-Portraits

2025-07-08

Boccaccio: A Life Unveiled Through Literary Self-Portraits

This biography reconstructs the life of Giovanni Boccaccio by meticulously examining the autobiographical elements woven throughout his literary works. The author delves into the interplay between Boccaccio's writings and his personal experiences, revealing a complex personality marked by sensitivity, irritability, and a yearning for recognition coupled with profound insecurity. While the biography sometimes relies too heavily on Boccaccio's self-portraits, potentially compromising its rigor, it nonetheless offers valuable insights into the life and times of this influential Renaissance author.

(literaryreview.co.uk)

Misc Boccaccio

Hyper: A Standards-First React Alternative (Developer Preview)

2025-05-09

Hyper: A Standards-First React Alternative (Developer Preview)

Hyper is a standards-first markup language for building UIs, offering a clean syntax for creating complex interfaces. Unlike React's monolithic architecture, Hyper prioritizes separating logic, structure, and styling, returning to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript standards. This results in simpler, more scalable, and maintainable UIs. The article compares Hyper and React in building simple and complex components, highlighting Hyper's decoupled design system. Future plans include full-stack applications and generative UIs, challenging React's dominance by focusing on simplicity and web standards.

(nuejs.org)

Development

xlwings Lite: Revolutionizing Excel Automation with Python

2025-04-04

xlwings Lite is a free and easy-to-install Excel add-in that brings the power of Python to Excel automation and custom function creation in a privacy-first, secure, and developer-friendly way. No Python installation is required; it runs on Windows, macOS, and Excel for the web, supporting Microsoft 365 and recent perpetual versions like Office 2024. Create custom functions, run automation scripts, access the Excel object model, install third-party libraries (like pandas, Polars), and access web APIs. All code runs locally, delivering lightning-fast performance and complete privacy; users can even self-host to eliminate Microsoft telemetry.

(lite.xlwings.org)

Development

AI's 'Human' Side: Turns Out, It's WEIRD (and American)

2025-09-19

AI's 'Human' Side: Turns Out, It's WEIRD (and American)

Harvard researchers challenge the common depiction of AI mirroring human psychology. They argue that the 'human' benchmark used often refers to WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) populations, particularly Americans. Their study reveals that AI models like ChatGPT perform less accurately in simulating values as cultural distance from the USA increases. In countries like Libya and Pakistan, the AI's results are barely better than chance. This highlights a significant cultural bias in AI, suggesting it's not truly 'human-like', but rather 'Americanized'.

(strat7.com)

AI

Unearthing MIT's Lost CP/M Archive: A Retro Tech Treasure Trove

2025-09-14

Unearthing MIT's Lost CP/M Archive: A Retro Tech Treasure Trove

This repository unveils a treasure trove of CP/M operating system software and code from MIT's Macsyma Consortium, dating back to 1979-1984. Originally hosted on the MIT-MC computer and shared via ARPANET, then later moved to SIMTEL20, this archive contains 221 files extracted from 24 tape images. It offers a fascinating glimpse into early software development and is a valuable resource for researchers and retro computing enthusiasts.

(github.com)

Tech

Software Rot: Is It the Software or the Environment?

2025-08-06

Software rot is generally attributed to software degradation due to a changing environment. A program from a decade ago might not work with newer libraries due to incompatibility. A better approach focuses on the reliability of the software's dependencies. Building on stable platforms like DOS or NES, with static specifications, avoids constant maintenance. Conversely, software built for constantly evolving platforms like Linux may cease to function after a decade or two, requiring extensive media archaeology to restore.

(permacomputing.net)

Development software rot platform compatibility

Survival Game: Strategy, Betrayal, and Survival

2025-03-29

Survival Game: Strategy, Betrayal, and Survival

The author participated in a survival game called CTG, where players survive by completing challenges and voting. To survive, the author learned from previous players' experiences: staying low-key and avoiding the spotlight. In the game, players displayed various roles: leaders, organizers, data nerds, and so on. By meticulously observing and recording, and actively participating in challenges, the author successfully avoided early elimination. However, on day three, a high-risk collective abstention strategy ended in failure, and suspicion and accusations quickly spread among the players.

(www.wired.com)

Game survival game

Duke Mathematician Awarded National Medal of Science

2025-01-11

Duke Mathematician Awarded National Medal of Science

Ingrid Daubechies, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emerita of Mathematics at Duke University, has been awarded the 2025 National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for scientists and engineers. Her groundbreaking work in signal processing, particularly her contributions to wavelet theory, underpins much of today's image processing technology. Daubechies' research transcends disciplinary boundaries, impacting fields from art restoration to evolutionary biology. A tireless advocate for women in STEM, her award celebrates a remarkable career marked by innovation and impact.

(today.duke.edu)

Tech National Medal of Science Signal Processing Wavelet Theory

arXivLabs: Experimenting with Community Collaboration

2025-06-30

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

(arxiv.org)

Development

The Little Book of Linear Algebra: A Concise Introduction

2025-09-03

The Little Book of Linear Algebra: A Concise Introduction

This concise introduction to linear algebra starts with scalars and vectors, building up to vector addition, scalar multiplication, dot product, norms, and angles. It then delves into matrices, linear systems of equations, linear transformations, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors, illustrating each concept with examples and exercises. The book emphasizes the geometric interpretation of linear algebra and shows its applications in computer graphics, data science, and machine learning.

(github.com)

Development

The Delight of Visual Rhyme: How Patterns in Art Create Pleasure

2025-08-21

The Delight of Visual Rhyme: How Patterns in Art Create Pleasure

This article explores how the interplay of repetition and variation in art creates aesthetic pleasure. Using Gustave Caillebotte's "Paris Street; Rainy Day" as a prime example, the author analyzes the repetition and subtle variations of geometric shapes like triangles and rectangles, and how these patterns trigger visual satisfaction in the brain. The article further examines Lee Friedlander's photograph "Albuquerque, New Mexico," and works by Roni Horn and Ormond Gigli, arguing that the "same-but-different" repetition patterns in various art forms generate visual rhyme, leading to aesthetic enjoyment for the viewer.

(thereader.mitpress.mit.edu)

Design

Metaflow: Streamlining AI/ML System Development

2025-07-17

Metaflow: Streamlining AI/ML System Development

Metaflow, a human-centric framework, empowers scientists and engineers to build and manage real-world AI/ML systems. Scaling to teams of all sizes, it streamlines the entire development lifecycle, from rapid prototyping in notebooks to reliable production deployments. Originally from Netflix and now backed by Outerbounds, Metaflow boosts productivity across diverse projects, from classical statistics to deep learning. Used by thousands at companies like Amazon and Doordash, it unifies code, data, and compute for seamless management. Its simple Python API supports local prototyping, cloud scaling, dependency management, and one-click production deployment.

(github.com)

Development

Microsoft's Sneaky Copilot Price Hike: Opt-Out or Pay Up

2025-02-07

Microsoft's Sneaky Copilot Price Hike: Opt-Out or Pay Up

Microsoft is notifying users of a price increase for their Microsoft 365 Personal subscriptions, attributing it to the inclusion of the AI assistant, Copilot. However, this isn't a simple price adjustment; Microsoft is automatically adding Copilot to subscriptions unless users actively cancel and choose a Copilot-free plan. This has sparked backlash, with accusations of using 'dark patterns' to force users to pay for an unwanted service. While Microsoft offers a cheaper Copilot-less option, the default inclusion of Copilot is drawing criticism.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech Price Hike

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