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Two Slice: A 2px High, Surprisingly Readable Font

2025-09-14

Two Slice is a font that's only 2 pixels tall, yet surprisingly readable! It includes uppercase and lowercase letters (with slight variations), numbers (of sorts), and some punctuation. You can probably read this, even if you wish you couldn't. It's especially readable at smaller sizes. The font is licensed under CC BY-SA, allowing commercial use with attribution.

(joefatula.com)

Design

Amazon Kills Commingling: AI-Powered Assistant and a Brand-First Approach

2025-09-21

Amazon announced at its annual Accelerate seller conference the end of its controversial "commingling" program, a move met with enthusiastic applause from sellers. This program, which pooled identical items from different sellers, had allowed counterfeit and expired goods to be mixed with legitimate ones, harming brand reputations. Amazon cited diminishing efficiency gains from commingling due to its improved logistics network, and the $600 million annual cost to brands for re-labeling. This decision reflects Amazon's stronger commitment to brand protection and direct partnerships, as seen in its renewed relationship with Nike. Alongside this, Amazon launched an AI-powered seller assistant to optimize operations and resolve issues. While the AI assistant garnered attention, the termination of commingling resonated most strongly with sellers, signifying a more brand-friendly Amazon marketplace.

(www.modernretail.co)

Tech Commingling Brand Protection

Starina: A Microkernel OS with a Hypervisor-as-a-Library Approach

2025-05-20

Starina: A Microkernel OS with a Hypervisor-as-a-Library Approach

This post introduces an innovative approach to Linux compatibility in the Starina operating system: integrating the virtual machine monitor (VMM) as a library within applications. Unlike traditional standalone VMMs, Starina's `starina_linux::Command` API lets developers run Linux programs similarly to `std::process::Command`, interacting with the VM via a virtual file system (virtio_fs). This design simplifies development and has the potential to achieve faster startup times than native Linux. Currently, basic file I/O is supported; future work includes adding networking, persistent storage, and enhanced containerization.

(seiya.me)

Development microkernel

The Long Fight Against Non-Consensual Pornography: One Woman's Battle and the Tech Industry's Response

2025-02-21

The Long Fight Against Non-Consensual Pornography: One Woman's Battle and the Tech Industry's Response

A woman's struggle against the non-consensual distribution of her intimate images highlights the slow response and cumbersome processes of tech companies like Microsoft in removing such content. The victim faced a four-year ordeal, navigating bureaucratic hurdles and challenging relationships with victim support groups. She was forced to develop her own AI tool to detect and remove the images and push for US legislation requiring websites to remove non-consensual explicit images within 48 hours. While initially shelved, the bill finally passed the Senate, offering a glimmer of hope but also exposing the shortcomings of tech companies in addressing online sexual abuse.

(www.wired.com)

AI Online Sexual Abuse

From PhoneNet to G.hn: A History of Home Networking

2025-02-13

From PhoneNet to G.hn: A History of Home Networking

This article traces the evolution of home networking technologies from PhoneNet in the 1980s to G.hn today. PhoneNet, using phone lines for low-speed AppleTalk networks, pioneered home networking. HomePNA followed, leveraging pulse position modulation and QAM to increase speeds and attempting centralized networking in multi-unit dwellings. Finally, G.hn emerged as a more versatile standard, supporting phone lines, coaxial cables, powerlines, and fiber, finding widespread use in set-top boxes. While WiFi's rise has diminished reliance on these technologies, they remain relevant in embedded systems and ISP infrastructure.

(computer.rip)

Tech home networking network technology

Munich 2025: A Repeat of History?

2025-02-18

Munich 2025: A Repeat of History?

As American and Russian negotiators meet in Munich for a major security conference in 2025, the author draws parallels to the 1938 Munich Agreement. Using the 1938 invasion of Czechoslovakia as a cautionary tale, the piece highlights the dangers of appeasement. The author argues that the current Russo-Ukrainian War mirrors the situation then, with Putin's denial of Ukraine's legitimacy echoing Hitler's denial of Czechoslovakia's. The article contrasts scenarios of Czechoslovakian and Ukrainian resistance versus hypothetical surrender. Ukraine's resistance, the author contends, prevented a wider war and slowed nuclear proliferation. Criticizing the Trump administration's appeasement of Russia, the author warns this approach will lead to longer and bloodier conflict. Ultimately, the author warns that appeasing Putin risks a world war.

(snyder.substack.com)

Misc Russo-Ukrainian War historical parallels

Wetlands: A Lightweight Python Library for Managing Conda Environments

2025-05-28

Wetlands is a lightweight Python library designed to simplify Conda environment management. It creates Conda environments on demand, installs dependencies, and executes arbitrary code within them, preventing dependency conflicts. Ideal for plugin systems or integrating external modules, Wetlands uses either pixi or micromamba for fast and efficient Conda environment handling. A simple API allows developers to create, launch, import modules, execute functions, and cleanly exit environments, making dependency management in Python projects easier and more efficient.

(arthursw.github.io)

Development

vet: Securely Run Remote Scripts

2025-07-25

vet: Securely Run Remote Scripts

Vet is a command-line tool designed to safely execute `curl | bash` commands, mitigating risks from malicious scripts or network errors. It downloads the script to a temporary location, compares version differences, uses `shellcheck` for code analysis, and prompts for user confirmation before execution. Installation is recommended via Homebrew, with manual steps also provided. Vet emphasizes security and rejects blind trust; even its own installation process follows this principle.

(github.com)

Development

Invariants: A Powerful Tool for Writing Correct Code

2025-01-12

This article explores the concept of 'invariants' in programming and their applications. Starting with a small example—writing a binary search variation that computes the insertion point—the author demonstrates how defining and maintaining invariants leads to correct code. Invariants, the article explains, are properties that hold true throughout a system's dynamic evolution, simplifying reasoning by avoiding the complexities of considering numerous execution paths. Examples from projects like Cargo, rust-analyzer, and TigerBeetle illustrate the benefits of using invariants in large systems, such as improved maintainability and performance. The author concludes by summarizing the importance of invariants in both small-scale and large-scale programming, highlighting their value in writing correct and efficient code.

(matklad.github.io)

Development programming techniques

MIT's Tiny Robot Insect: A Leap Towards Robotic Pollination

2025-01-21

MIT's Tiny Robot Insect: A Leap Towards Robotic Pollination

MIT researchers have unveiled a groundbreaking robot insect designed for artificial pollination, potentially revolutionizing indoor farming. Weighing less than a gram, this agile robot mimics the flapping flight of a real insect, achieving unprecedented flight times of nearly 17 minutes – a 100-fold improvement over previous models. The vision is a multi-level indoor farm maximizing yield and minimizing environmental impact, with swarms of these robots performing synchronized pollination missions. While still needing improvements in speed and endurance compared to bees, this advance marks a significant step towards sustainable, high-yield agriculture.

(thedebrief.org)

Tech robotic insect artificial pollination indoor farming

Breathing Patterns: A Unique Biometric Identifier?

2025-06-17

Breathing Patterns: A Unique Biometric Identifier?

A new study suggests that a person's breathing pattern, much like fingerprints, could be unique. Researchers tracked the breathing of 97 healthy individuals for 24 hours and found they could identify participants with high accuracy based solely on their breathing patterns. These patterns also correlated with BMI and signs of depression and anxiety, suggesting breathing analysis could be a powerful diagnostic tool. The study indicates that it may be possible to 'read the mind through the nose'.

(www.nature.com)

Tech breathing patterns

Running a Full Linux Desktop Inside a Docker Container: A Challenging Experiment

2025-08-23

Running a Full Linux Desktop Inside a Docker Container: A Challenging Experiment

The author attempts to run a full-fledged Linux desktop environment inside a Docker container, challenging the conventional use of Docker. After an initial failed attempt to build a custom image from scratch, the author switches to a pre-built image from Docker Hub and successfully runs an XFCE desktop environment. While encountering issues such as GPU rendering problems and Flatpak compatibility, the author ultimately achieves running a complete Linux desktop in a browser. Furthermore, the author explores solutions like Webtop and Kasm Workspaces, discovering unexpected advantages such as remote desktop access, enabling access to a high-performance desktop from a low-powered device.

(www.howtogeek.com)

Development

Disruptive AI: Code-Free AI App Creation for Everyone

2025-01-06

Imagine creating your own AI application without any programming knowledge! This is no longer a dream. A groundbreaking technology has emerged, making building AI models as easy as building with blocks. Simply drag, drop, and click to design powerful AI applications, drastically lowering the barrier to entry for AI development and enabling more people to participate in the AI innovation wave. This technology heralds the arrival of a democratized AI application era.

(www.gatesnotes.com)

AI low-code

Algospeak: How Social Media Is Reshaping Language

2025-07-28

Algospeak: How Social Media Is Reshaping Language

Adam Aleksic's new book, *Algospeak*, explores how social media algorithms are transforming language. Algorithms fuel the creation and spread of new words, slang, and grammatical rules, like "rizz," "aura," and "-pilled." While the author views this "algospeak" as showcasing human adaptability and ingenuity, he also highlights potential downsides, including power imbalances and cultural homogenization – such as the mainstreaming of online subculture slang and appropriation of African American Vernacular English (AAVE). The review also touches on the algorithm's impact on the attention economy and culture, and the potential negative consequences for reading and literature.

(lareviewofbooks.org)

Tech

Musk's Efficiency Push: Replacing Thousands of Employees with a Chatbot

2025-03-09

Musk's Efficiency Push: Replacing Thousands of Employees with a Chatbot

Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency is undertaking what experts call the largest job cut in American history, attempting to fill the resulting void with a proprietary chatbot called GSAi. Deployed to 1,500 employees at the US General Services Administration (GSA), GSAi is intended to handle "general" tasks like drafting emails and summarizing text. However, employee feedback suggests the chatbot is limited, performing at the level of an intern and producing "generic and guessable answers." Notably, GSAi was in development before Musk's involvement, with other government agencies exploring similar chatbot projects that were shelved due to technical issues. The rushed deployment of GSAi raises questions about its effectiveness and the value of the skills of the employees who were laid off.

(gizmodo.com)

Tech

Reddit's 20-Year Rise: From Humble Beginnings to a $28 Billion Valuation

2025-05-13

Reddit's 20-Year Rise: From Humble Beginnings to a $28 Billion Valuation

Reddit, now valued at $28 billion, started as an idea from two University of Virginia graduates, Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian. Inspired by Digg and Slashdot, they created a platform based on user voting and discussion, quickly differentiating itself through unique subreddits. After overcoming early challenges like faking activity, competing with Digg, a Condé Nast acquisition, and infrastructure issues, Reddit exploded in popularity with the introduction of AMAs (Ask Me Anything) and subreddits. Despite facing content moderation and business model struggles, Reddit successfully went public, achieving profitability through advertising, premium memberships, and AI tools (like AI-powered moderation and search). It now sells content access to OpenAI and Google. Today, it's the ninth most popular website globally, influencing various sectors, yet its founders remain committed to its core value of 'real people, real opinions'.

(www.zdnet.com)

Tech Internet History

New Underwater Footage Raises Sabotage Suspicions Against Yi Peng 3

2024-12-19

New Underwater Footage Raises Sabotage Suspicions Against Yi Peng 3

New underwater footage obtained by TV2 reveals drag marks on the seabed near Læsø, Denmark, coinciding with the unusual maneuvers of the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3 ten days before the Baltic Sea cable breaks. The footage shows a distinct mark aligning with the Yi Peng 3's path on November 7th, when the ship inexplicably slowed down significantly while passing over the cables. Experts are questioning this unusual behavior for a commercial vessel, citing suspicions of sabotage against three Danish-Swedish underwater cables. The ongoing investigation involves Danish, Swedish, and German naval vessels monitoring the Yi Peng 3, which remains anchored in the Kattegat. Authorities remain tight-lipped, prompting independent investigations by TV2 and its partners.

(scandasia.com)

Tech Underwater Cable Sabotage Yi Peng 3 China

ts_zip: Text Compression with Large Language Models

2024-12-30

Fabrice Bellard's new tool, ts_zip, leverages the RWKV 169M v4 language model to achieve significantly higher text compression ratios than traditional methods. While requiring a GPU and 4GB RAM, and slower than conventional compressors (up to 1 MB/s on an RTX 4090), ts_zip demonstrates impressive compression on English and other languages, including source code. Compression ratio is measured in bits per byte (bpb), with results showing superior performance to xz on datasets like enwik8 and enwik9. Deterministic model evaluation ensures consistent decompression across different hardware and software configurations.

(bellard.org)

Development text compression

Beijing Quietly Discourages Use of Nvidia's H20 Chips Despite US Approval

2025-08-13

Beijing Quietly Discourages Use of Nvidia's H20 Chips Despite US Approval

Despite the Trump administration lifting the ban on Nvidia's H20 AI chips to China, Beijing is quietly urging companies, especially government entities, to avoid using them, complicating Nvidia's return to the Chinese market. While not an outright ban, Chinese authorities have sent notices discouraging the use of H20s in government or national security-related work. Although Chinese companies still desire these chips for their AI capabilities, Beijing's move aims to boost domestic chip development and addresses security concerns. This also impacts AMD's AI accelerators, with Chinese chipmaker Cambricon Technologies' stock surging. The situation highlights the complexities of the US-China tech war and the contradictions surrounding the US government's decision to allow H20 exports.

(finance.yahoo.com)

Tech chip war

Babylon's Rebirth: Ancient City Rises From the Ashes

2025-09-14

Babylon's Rebirth: Ancient City Rises From the Ashes

The ancient Mesopotamian city of Babylon, mentioned in the sacred texts of all three Abrahamic faiths, is experiencing a remarkable revival. Two World Monuments Fund (WMF) projects, the restoration of the Temple of Ninmakh and the mitigation of groundwater damage to the Ishtar Gate's retaining wall, are nearing completion. This resurgence coincides with a boom in tourism, with record visitor numbers. Despite years of war, looting, and environmental challenges, Babylon is reclaiming its place as a cultural hub, showcasing the resilience of the Iraqi people and their rich heritage. The successful use of traditional mud-brick techniques in the temple restoration highlights a commitment to preserving authentic methods.

(www.theartnewspaper.com)

Misc Cultural Heritage Iraq

NYC Congestion Pricing: From Hate to Love

2025-06-20

NYC Congestion Pricing: From Hate to Love

New York City speech therapist Maura Ryan initially dreaded the new congestion pricing policy, as she drives across the East River multiple times a day to see patients in Queens and Manhattan. However, since its implementation, her opinion has changed. A journey that once took an hour or more now takes only 15 minutes. Many New Yorkers have echoed her sentiment, shifting from strong opposition to support.

(www.economist.com)

Misc NYC traffic policy shift

Train Photography with Line Scan Cameras: A Deep Dive into Image Processing

2025-08-24

Train Photography with Line Scan Cameras: A Deep Dive into Image Processing

This article details the image processing pipeline used by the author to capture stunning train photographs with a line scan camera. Starting with the principle of operation, the author meticulously walks through each step: region of interest detection, speed estimation, resampling, demosaicing, vertical stripe removal, denoising, and skew correction. The author also shares their experiences using AI for coding, comparing the strengths and weaknesses, and showcases the work of other line scan photographers. This is a fascinating technical journey showcasing perseverance and creativity in the world of technology and image processing.

(daniel.lawrence.lu)

Tech line scan camera AI assisted coding

Silicon Valley's New Legislators: How Tech Oligarchs Reshape the Public Sphere

2025-04-09

Silicon Valley's New Legislators: How Tech Oligarchs Reshape the Public Sphere

This article explores how Silicon Valley's tech elite have transformed from mere technologists into powerful forces shaping political and social change. Leveraging immense wealth, technological authority, and media platforms, they translate personal ideologies into policy, reshaping the public sphere. The article argues that these 'oligarch-intellectuals' not only interpret technological trends but also dictate policy, pushing their political agendas through investment and propaganda. Their actions challenge traditional elite models and expose their internal contradictions and potential risks.

(www.theideasletter.org)

Tech Tech Oligarchs Public Sphere

OpenAI to Integrate Sora AI Video Generation into ChatGPT

2025-02-28

OpenAI plans to integrate its AI video generation tool, Sora, into its popular chatbot app, ChatGPT. Currently a standalone web app, Sora will be expanded to more platforms with enhanced capabilities. Initially launched separately to maintain ChatGPT's simplicity, future ChatGPT users may be able to directly generate Sora videos, potentially boosting paid subscriptions. OpenAI also plans a Sora-powered image generator and a new version of Sora Turbo, further expanding its AI creative capabilities.

(techcrunch.com)

AI

Git's Large File Killer: The End of Git LFS is Nigh

2025-08-16

Large files have long been a thorn in Git's side. Git LFS, while a solution, introduced new complexities and costs. However, Git itself is gradually addressing this issue. The latest Git releases feature partial clones, offering the same benefits as Git LFS—fast clones and small checkouts—without the need for extra tools or server-side costs. Even more exciting, Git's large object promisors are under development, promising to eventually obsolete Git LFS entirely, making large file management simpler and more efficient. No more large file headaches!

(tylercipriani.com)

Development

Shark-Skin Inspired Laser Etching Creates Antibacterial Cutting Boards

2025-03-11

Shark-Skin Inspired Laser Etching Creates Antibacterial Cutting Boards

Researchers have developed a novel solution to prevent bacterial buildup on food processing surfaces. Inspired by the naturally antimicrobial textures of shark skin and cicada wings, they used lasers to etch micro- and nanoscale textures onto metal surfaces. This prevents bacteria from attaching, effectively eliminating the need for constant cleaning and reducing biofilm formation. The laser texturing technique avoids the use of chemicals, making it a safer and more sustainable alternative. Future work involves machine learning models to optimize the process for industrial applications.

(www.morningagclips.com)

Tech antibacterial materials

arXivLabs: Building New arXiv Features with Community Collaborators

2025-02-09

arXivLabs is a framework that enables developers to collaborate with the arXiv community to build and share new features directly on the arXiv website. Participants must adhere to arXiv's core values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. If you have an idea for a project that will add value to the arXiv community, learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

Anthropic Unveils Clio: Privacy-Preserving Insights into Real-World AI Usage

2024-12-13

Anthropic Unveils Clio: Privacy-Preserving Insights into Real-World AI Usage

Anthropic has developed Clio, an automated analysis tool that provides privacy-preserving insights into real-world large language model usage. Clio analyzes conversations, grouping similar interactions into topic clusters, similar to Google Trends, without compromising user privacy. This allows Anthropic to understand how users employ their Claude model, identify potential misuse like coordinated spam campaigns or unauthorized resale attempts, and improve safety measures. Clio helps reduce false positives and negatives in safety systems, offering valuable data for enhancing AI safety and governance while upholding user privacy.

(www.anthropic.com)

3

AI AI safety privacy preserving

AI Productivity Revolution: Hype or Reality?

2025-05-29

AI Productivity Revolution: Hype or Reality?

Despite the hype surrounding generative AI's productivity revolution from tech leaders and media, economic theory and data cast doubt. While AI holds potential in automating tasks and boosting productivity in some occupations, its impact on overall economic growth may be far less than optimistic forecasts suggest. Studies show current AI yields average labor cost savings of only 27% and affects approximately 4.6% of tasks. This translates to a mere 0.66% TFP growth over ten years, potentially lower considering some tasks' automation difficulties. While AI might not exacerbate inequality, some groups will still be negatively impacted. A cautious optimism regarding AI's potential is warranted, avoiding uncritical techno-optimism and focusing on broader societal impacts.

(www.project-syndicate.org)

AI

Argparse's Mutually Exclusive Group Nesting Limitation: A Frustrating Conundrum

2025-06-14

Python's argparse module, while offering convenient features for handling command-line arguments, including mutually exclusive groups, has a frustrating limitation when it comes to nesting. Consider a program with multiple timeout settings where users can either adjust individual timeouts or disable them entirely. Argparse doesn't support nesting a 'no-timeout' option within a group of individual timeout options, making configuration cumbersome. While you can nest a mutually exclusive group inside a regular group, the reverse isn't supported, and the official documentation explicitly states this limitation. This forces developers to manually check if specific switches were used, adding complexity.

(utcc.utoronto.ca)

Development

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