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Dillo Browser: 25 Years of History, a Resurrection Story

2024-12-16

The Dillo web browser, born in 1999, has weathered 25 years of development. It has stalled several times but persevered. Initially led by Jorge Arellano Cid, it went through major GTK and FLTK phases, with key developers changing hands and the project experiencing ups and downs. In 2024, Rodrigo Arias Mallo took over, and with community help, released version 3.1.1, bringing this veteran browser back into the spotlight. Dillo's story exemplifies the spirit of open source and is a legendary tale of technological legacy and innovation.

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(dillo-browser.github.io)
Development open-source browser

Headlight Brightness Wars: A Reddit-Fueled Battle Over Tech and Safety

2024-12-17

The issue of excessively bright car headlights, particularly those using LEDs, has become increasingly contentious. The subreddit r/FuckYourHeadlights serves as a central hub for frustrated drivers, led by a front-end developer and a mechanical engineer. They're using data, research, and advocacy to pressure automakers and regulators to address the problem. The core argument revolves around auto manufacturers exploiting loopholes in outdated safety regulations to create excessively bright headlights while still meeting minimum standards. The debate centers on balancing brightness, visibility, and glare-related safety risks. While a solution remains elusive, this Reddit-fueled campaign has sparked a crucial conversation about automotive lighting technology and its unintended consequences.

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(www.theringer.com)
Tech LED headlights automotive safety

CHICKEN Scheme's New Compiler: CRUNCH – A Statically Typed Scheme Compiler

2024-12-17

This article introduces CRUNCH, a new compiler for a statically typed subset of the Scheme programming language. Built on top of the CHICKEN Scheme system, it compiles Scheme code into portable C99 code. CRUNCH aims to provide a high-performance, lightweight Scheme compiler, addressing shortcomings in existing Scheme systems regarding performance and portability. It's particularly well-suited for game development, virtual machine creation, and embedded systems programming. While CRUNCH has limitations in supported Scheme features, it achieves efficient code generation through type inference and various optimizations, seamlessly integrating with the CHICKEN Scheme ecosystem.

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(www.more-magic.net)
Development Statically Typed

Microsoft to Delete Passwords for 1 Billion Users, Promoting Passkeys

2024-12-17

In response to a surge in cyberattacks, Microsoft announced plans to delete passwords for a billion users and aggressively promote the more secure passkeys. With password attacks nearly doubling year-over-year, Microsoft blocks 7,000 attacks per second. Passkeys, leveraging biometrics or PINs, offer superior security and convenience compared to traditional passwords. Microsoft is actively pushing users towards passkey adoption, aiming for a passwordless and more secure future.

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(www.forbes.com)
Tech cybersecurity passwords passkeys

Design Tokens: The Key to Scalable and Consistent UI Architectures

2024-12-18

This article explores the role of design tokens in modern UI architecture. By representing design decisions as data, design tokens serve as a single source of truth, enabling automated code generation across platforms for faster updates and improved design consistency. It details the layered organization of design tokens (option, decision, and component tokens), automated distribution processes, and how to choose the appropriate number of layers and token scope. Finally, it discusses when design tokens are appropriate and their limitations, helping readers determine their suitability for their projects.

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(martinfowler.com)
Design design tokens UI architecture automated design

ChatGPT's Name Filters Spark Controversy

2024-12-12

The AI chatbot ChatGPT has sparked controversy due to its built-in name filters. These filters prevent users from mentioning certain names, such as Brian Hood, Jonathan Turley, and Jonathan Zittrain, causing chat interruptions. The reason for filtering these names stems from previous instances where ChatGPT incorrectly generated information about these individuals, leading to legal disputes. While OpenAI claims the filtering of "David Mayer" was a glitch, the incident highlights the challenges LLMs face in handling sensitive information and the potential problems hard-coded filters can create.

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(arstechnica.com)
AI name filters

Valhalla: Java's Epic Refactor Nears Completion

2024-12-17

After a decade-long journey, Project Valhalla, Java's ambitious refactor, is nearing completion. Aiming to bridge the gap between classes and primitives, Valhalla introduces value classes that offer the coding convenience of classes with the performance of primitives, resulting in a flat and compact memory layout. At Devoxx 2024, Java Language Architect Brian Goetz provided a comprehensive update, highlighting key features such as value classes, null-restricted types, enhanced definite assignment analysis, and strict initialization.

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(inside.java)
Development Value Classes

Adélie Linux 1.0-BETA6 Released: Enhanced Compatibility and Richer Features

2024-12-16

Adélie Linux has released its 1.0-BETA6, supporting 32-bit and 64-bit ARM, POWER, and x86 architectures, spanning smartphones, game consoles, and supercomputers. This release boasts over 35 new packages, updates to GCC 13, LLVM 18, Rust 1.80, and Linux kernel 6.6 LTS, along with improved GRUB and Wayland support. Numerous bugs have been squashed, and the user experience has been enhanced. While some known issues remain, the Adélie team is actively working on solutions and welcomes bug reports and feedback.

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(blog.adelielinux.org)
Development Linux distribution

AI Unlocks the Paint Chemistry of Berlin Wall Murals

2024-12-16

Italian scientists used a neural network to analyze spectral data from handheld Raman spectroscopy devices, revealing the paint chemistry secrets of Berlin Wall murals. This research not only sheds light on the materials and techniques used in these historically significant artworks but also provides new technological approaches for preserving street art. By analyzing paint chips from wall fragments and combining Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and optical fiber reflectance spectroscopy, along with a custom-built AI algorithm called SAPNet, researchers precisely identified the pigment composition, including titanium white and up to 75 percent other pigments. This breakthrough demonstrates the significant potential of AI in cultural heritage preservation.

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(arstechnica.com)
AI Cultural Heritage Preservation Raman Spectroscopy

GitHub Project Map: Visualizing 400,000+ Projects

2024-12-15

Developer Anvaka created an interactive map visualizing over 400,000 GitHub projects using publicly available data. The project uses Jaccard similarity to calculate relationships between projects and the Leiden algorithm for clustering. The result is a visually stunning representation of the GitHub ecosystem, allowing users to search and explore connections between projects, revealing its complexity and richness.

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(github.com)
Development project relationships

Google's New Load Balancer, PReQuaL: Beyond CPU Load Balancing

2024-12-16

Google Research presented PReQuaL (Probing to Reduce Queuing and Latency), a novel load balancer, at NSDI 2024. Unlike traditional CPU load balancing, PReQuaL actively probes server latency and active requests to select servers, dramatically reducing tail latency, error rates, and resource consumption in systems like YouTube. Deployed in YouTube for over a year, PReQuaL has significantly improved system utilization. This innovative approach challenges conventional wisdom and offers a new paradigm for high-performance distributed systems.

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(www.usenix.org)
Development load balancing

nCompass: Revolutionizing AI Inference Cost

2024-12-16

nCompass Technologies has developed innovative AI inference serving software that reduces the cost of serving AI models at scale by up to 50%. By utilizing custom AI inference software and a hardware-aware request scheduler with Kubernetes autoscaling, nCompass maintains high-quality service on fewer GPUs, resulting in up to a 4x improvement in response time and significantly reduced GPU infrastructure costs. Users access open-source models via API with no rate limits and receive a $100 signup credit. On-premises solutions are also available for businesses demanding cost-effectiveness and responsiveness.

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(www.ncompass.tech)
AI AI inference cost optimization

MIT Study Unveils Why Laws Are Written in Incomprehensible Legalese

2024-12-17

A new study from MIT cognitive scientists reveals why legal documents are notoriously difficult to understand. Contrary to the belief that complexity stems from iterative edits, the research suggests that convoluted legalese serves to convey authority, akin to a 'magic spell'. Experiments showed that even non-lawyers instinctively use complex language structures when writing laws. This finding could inspire lawmakers to simplify legal language for better public comprehension.

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(news.mit.edu)
AI Legal Language Cognitive Science

Running NetBSD on a Vintage ThinkPad 380Z: A Retro Computing Adventure

2024-12-17

The author acquired a 1998 IBM ThinkPad 380Z and embarked on a journey to install an operating system on it. After trying several options, NetBSD proved to be the best choice due to its excellent performance, hardware support, and stability. The article details the process of upgrading the hard drive, connecting to the network, installing NetBSD, and configuring various software components, including the X Window System, WireGuard, and a terminal emulator. The author successfully transformed this vintage ThinkPad into a functional machine suitable for lightweight programming, note-taking, and other tasks.

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(luke8086.dev)
Misc

Hugging Face Spaces Launches ZeroGPU: Dynamic GPU Allocation for Enhanced AI Model Efficiency

2024-12-15

Hugging Face Spaces has introduced ZeroGPU, a shared infrastructure that dynamically allocates NVIDIA A100 GPUs to optimize GPU usage for AI models and demos. ZeroGPU offers free GPU access, multi-GPU support, and lowers the barrier to entry for deploying AI models. Users simply select ZeroGPU hardware when creating a Gradio Space and use the `@spaces.GPU` decorator for GPU-dependent functions. ZeroGPU is compatible with PyTorch and optimized for Hugging Face's transformers and diffusers libraries, but currently only works with the Gradio SDK. Personal accounts (PRO users) can create up to 10 ZeroGPU Spaces, while organization accounts (Enterprise Hub) can create up to 50.

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(huggingface.co)
AI GPU allocation

A Decade-Old Fileserver's Second Life: Cost-Effective Storage Solution

2024-12-17

A company is still running a production machine, a fileserver over a decade old. While outdated, with a BMC requiring Java for KVM-over-IP, its 16 disk bays and 10G Ethernet ports make it ideal for repurposing. Used as a bring-your-own-disk low-cost storage server, it fulfills the need for high-capacity, low-performance storage despite its age and limited RAM. This highlights the value of reusing old hardware when requirements align.

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(utcc.utoronto.ca)
Tech server reuse storage solution hardware cost

Microsoft Open Sources Multilspy: Simplifying Language Server Client Development

2024-12-17

Microsoft has open-sourced Multilspy, a Python library designed to simplify building applications around language servers. Supporting Java, Rust, C#, and Python, Multilspy automates downloading server binaries, setup/teardown, and provides a simple API. It interacts with language servers to obtain static analysis results like code completion, symbol definitions, and references—crucial for AI-assisted code generation techniques such as Monitor-Guided Decoding.

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(github.com)
Development language server Python library AI-assisted code generation

XFCE 4.20 Released: Experimental Wayland Support and Numerous Improvements

2024-12-15

After nearly two years of development, XFCE 4.20 has been officially released! This version focuses on preparing the codebase for Wayland, now offering experimental Wayland support for most components, though it's still in its early stages and recommended for advanced users. XFCE 4.20 also boasts numerous new features, bug fixes, and improvements, including improved icon scaling, a performance-enhanced icon view, and an upgraded Thunar file manager. Importantly, Wayland support is incomplete, with some components and features yet to be ported.

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(alexxcons.github.io)
Development Desktop Environment

Nokia 5110 Resurrection: Bringing a 2G Legend into the 4G Era

2024-12-16

The author fondly remembers their childhood Nokia 5110 and embarks on a project to transform it into a 4G phone. The plan centers around replacing the original 2G module with a SIM7600SA 4G module. Surprisingly, the 5110's simple design makes the conversion easier than anticipated; the original buttons, display, and interfaces can be reused. The author details their progress and plans to share the new circuit board design in a subsequent post, breathing new life into this classic phone.

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(opsbros.com)
Hardware Nokia 5110 4G upgrade retro phone

AI Visualization: Similar City Road Networks

2024-12-15

The website similar-cities uses AI to visualize the relationships between cities by comparing the similarities of their road networks. It employs a unique 'drunkard's walk' algorithm, calculating the similarity of random paths within the road networks to assess structural similarity. Data is sourced from OpenStreetMap, encompassing roughly 2500 cities. The project is open-source, providing detailed algorithm explanations and code, and welcomes more city data for improved accuracy.

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(github.com)
AI Visualization Road Networks

Stanford Report Warns of Mirror Bacteria Feasibility and Risks

2024-12-17

A Stanford University technical report details the feasibility of creating 'mirror bacteria' and their potential risks. Mirror bacteria, with all chiral molecules (proteins, nucleic acids, and metabolites) replaced by their mirror images, cannot evolve naturally but are becoming increasingly synthesizable. Immune systems and predation rely on chiral molecule interactions, meaning mirror bacteria could evade detection and control, potentially spreading unchecked and posing serious threats to humans, animals, plants, and the environment. The report comprehensively assesses synthesis, biosecurity, human health impacts, medical countermeasures, and ecological consequences, urging attention to this potential biosecurity risk.

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(purl.stanford.edu)
AI biosecurity

HDMI 2.2 to Debut at CES 2025 with Higher Resolutions and Refresh Rates

2024-12-14

The HDMI Forum will unveil the new HDMI 2.2 standard at CES 2025 in January. This next-generation standard promises higher bandwidths, resolutions (potentially including 8K at 120Hz and beyond), and refresh rates. The timing coincides with anticipated releases from Nvidia (RTX 50-series) and AMD (Radeon RX 8000-series), suggesting compatibility. A new cable may be required to fully utilize the advancements. This upgrade is poised to significantly enhance consumer experiences with ultra-high-definition media and gaming.

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(www.tomshardware.com)
Hardware

A Software Engineer's CAD and 3D Printing Journey: An Overengineered Webcam Raiser

2024-12-16

A seasoned software engineer, tired of the virtual world of coding, yearned to create in the real world. He acquired a Bambu Lab X1C 3D printer and quickly mastered 3D printing. He then started learning Fusion 360 CAD software, surprisingly finding its constraint concepts similar to iOS UI constraints, and parametric CAD design echoing functional programming. His first project: an overengineered webcam raiser to solve the issue of the webcam obstructing his screen. This project not only provided him with the joy of 3D printing and CAD design but also a deep understanding of the manufacturing, material, and other details that need to be considered during the design phase.

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(fangpenlin.com)
Development 3D printing CAD design Software engineering

Hacking Physics with a Napkin

2024-12-14

This article explores unconventional approaches to solving physics problems using simple estimation and dimensional analysis. The author demonstrates the power of these methods by calculating the speed of falling raindrops, the length of the E. coli genome, and the mass of a proton, among other examples. The article suggests this napkin-based approach can greatly enhance physics education and learning. Further techniques like Fermi estimation and random walks are introduced and applied to problems like estimating the E. coli genome length and determining the optimal speed for walking or running in the rain, showcasing their practicality.

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(hapax.github.io)
Misc dimensional analysis Fermi estimation

Principles of Educational Programming Language Design: Why the Lack of Consensus?

2024-12-16

This paper explores the evolution of principles in educational programming language design over several decades. While the work of Wirth and others emphasized principles like simplicity and modularity, disagreement persists among educators regarding suitable languages for novice programmers. The article analyzes how the interpretation of these principles shifts in the context of current technologies and why a common, globally used educational programming language hasn't emerged. The authors discuss the relative merits of pedagogical versus industry languages and argue that each generation of learners needs its own language.

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(infedu.vu.lt)
Development programming education language design educational technology

NVIDIA Meshtron: High-Fidelity 3D Mesh Generation at Scale

2024-12-16

NVIDIA researchers have developed Meshtron, a novel model capable of generating high-quality 3D meshes at unprecedented scale and fidelity. Employing an autoregressive architecture and sliding window attention, Meshtron represents meshes as a sequence of tokens and utilizes an Hourglass Transformer architecture to efficiently address the scalability and efficiency challenges of existing methods in generating complex 3D models. Generating meshes with artist-like detail, Meshtron offers strong controllability with inputs such as point clouds, face count, and creativity level, paving the way for more realistic 3D asset generation in animation, gaming, and virtual environments.

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(developer.nvidia.com)
AI

TSMC Unveils Nanosheet Transistors: A New Era for Chips

2024-12-15

TSMC showcased its next-generation N2 (2-nanometer) process at the IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting, marking its first foray into nanosheet transistors. Compared to its N3 process, N2 boasts up to a 15 percent speed increase, 30 percent better energy efficiency, and a 15 percent density boost. This new architecture offers greater flexibility, allowing for the creation of nanosheets with varying widths on the same chip, optimizing performance for different logic units, especially SRAM. Intel's research further validated the scalability of nanosheet architecture, demonstrating a high-performing 6-nanometer gate-length transistor, pointing the way towards continued advancement in chip technology and suggesting a potential extension of Moore's Law.

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(spectrum.ieee.org)
Hardware TSMC Nanosheet Transistors 2nm Process

U2 Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. Reveals Dyscalculia Diagnosis

2024-12-16

U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. has publicly revealed for the first time that he has dyscalculia, a learning disability that affects mathematical abilities. He shared that he struggles with basic counting and addition, describing the act of counting musical bars as 'like climbing Everest.' This candid admission offers insight into learning disabilities and showcases the musician's remarkable achievements despite facing significant challenges.

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(www.thetimes.com)
Misc Dyscalculia Learning Disability

Coder's Million-Dollar Mistake: A Bug with a Dramatic Twist

2024-12-16

Trey, a programmer working for a 3G telecom startup, wrote an automated payment testing program intended for small test transactions. Three bugs in the code, however, caused the program to credit his test account with $100 every five minutes. A lack of liveness check meant that when one gateway failed, the program continued running for hours, accumulating a substantial sum. The next morning, Trey faced questioning from the security team until his department head explained the situation, but the test account balance was reset to zero.

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(www.theregister.com)
Development programmer error automated payments
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