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Voxel Slugs on a Cube: An Interactive Animation

2025-01-20

Voxel Slugs on a Cube: An Interactive Animation

Artist Japhy Riddle created a captivating animation featuring three colored slugs navigating the edges of an invisible cube, never quite touching. Inspired by this, developer Matt Sephton built an interactive version using Love2D, allowing users to manipulate cube parameters and slug behavior. This interactive version not only replicates the charm of the original but expands its possibilities, such as increasing the number of slugs. Users can download and explore the possibilities themselves.

(blog.gingerbeardman.com)

Game gamedev

NO FAKES Act: A Censorship Nightmare in the Making

2025-06-24

Intended to combat misinformation and defamation from generative AI, the NO FAKES Act has morphed into a potential internet-altering censorship machine. Initially aiming to address AI-generated “replicas” with broad new intellectual property rights, the bill’s approach backfired. The updated version mandates a sweeping censorship infrastructure, requiring platforms to remove content, filter tools, and even unmask users based on mere allegations. This threatens free speech, innovation, and could be weaponized against dissent. The Act empowers rights-holders, stifles competition, and risks excessive censorship.

(www.eff.org)

Tech

Mathematicians Discover New Way to Count Prime Numbers

2024-12-13

Mathematicians Discover New Way to Count Prime Numbers

Mathematicians Ben Green and Mehtaab Sawhney have proven there are infinitely many prime numbers of the form p² + 4q², where p and q are also primes. Their proof ingeniously utilizes Gowers norms, a tool from a different area of mathematics, demonstrating its surprising power in prime number counting. This breakthrough deepens our understanding of prime number distribution and opens new avenues for future research.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

2

Mathematics prime numbers number theory Gowers norms

Leadership Power Tools: SQL, Statistics, and Data-Driven Decisions

2024-12-18

Leadership Power Tools: SQL, Statistics, and Data-Driven Decisions

This article explores how engineering leaders can leverage SQL and statistical methods for data-driven decision-making. The author points out that many engineering leaders are uncomfortable extracting and interpreting data, recommending learning SQL (e.g., using DuckDB) and statistical tools. The article covers summary statistics, distributions, confidence intervals, and Bayesian reasoning, demonstrating how to calculate confidence intervals by analyzing Firefox bug tracking data, using Monte Carlo simulations for project time estimation, and applying Bayesian inference to update project completion probabilities. The article emphasizes the importance of data analysis skills for engineering leaders, enabling more precise predictions and decisions.

(matt.blwt.io)

Development engineering leadership

Google's Honest (and Uncommon) Take on Pixel's Water Resistance

2025-08-22

Google's Honest (and Uncommon) Take on Pixel's Water Resistance

Google's advertising materials surprisingly admit that no phone is truly waterproof or dustproof. While Pixel phones may boast an IP68 rating upon leaving the factory, this protection degrades over time due to wear, damage, or drops; liquid damage voids the warranty. This unusual transparency highlights the often-blurred line between marketing and reality in the mobile industry.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech phone waterproofing Google Pixel marketing transparency

Trump's Executive Order Aims to Dismantle the Department of Education

2025-03-21

Trump's Executive Order Aims to Dismantle the Department of Education

President Trump signed an executive order seeking to close the U.S. Department of Education, transferring authority to states and local communities. This controversial move has drawn criticism for potentially harming vulnerable students and lowering education quality, while supporters argue it will increase efficiency. The order's legality is questionable, requiring Congressional approval for the department's closure. Significant layoffs have already begun at the Department of Education, amidst widespread opposition.

(www.npr.org)

Misc

Beta Release: SSB Firmware for QMX/QMX+ Transceivers

2025-03-21

QRP Labs releases a beta version of SSB firmware for its QMX/QMX+ transceivers. This firmware utilizes polar modulation and boasts a rich feature set including audio equalization, microphone AGC, compression, and digital pre-distortion. The release includes comprehensive instructions and testing procedures, along with a microphone test tool and a calibration tool to optimize SSB performance. The article details the underlying polar modulation technique and explains the firmware's features and known issues.

(qrp-labs.com)

Hardware

Making My Debug Build 100x Faster: SIMD and Dedicated Silicon to the Rescue

2025-02-18

While developing a C-based torrent application, the author encountered a slow debug build startup time (20-30 seconds). This was mainly due to the program's startup verification of SHA1 hash values for each downloaded file piece, significantly slowed by Address Sanitizer in debug mode. The article explores several optimization techniques, including using SIMD instructions and the CPU's dedicated SHA acceleration hardware. Ultimately, using Intel's SHA extension instruction set reduced startup time to 866.9 milliseconds, achieving a 100x performance improvement. The article details the implementation and performance comparison of various optimization approaches, discussing compiler optimization and the impact of disk I/O.

(gaultier.github.io)

Development

Cloudflare's AI Labyrinth: Outsmarting AI Data Scrapers

2025-03-22

Cloudflare's AI Labyrinth: Outsmarting AI Data Scrapers

Cloudflare, a web infrastructure provider, unveiled "AI Labyrinth," a new feature designed to combat unauthorized AI data scraping. Instead of blocking bots outright, this innovative system lures them down a rabbit hole of realistic yet irrelevant AI-generated content, wasting their computational resources. This approach cleverly sidesteps the limitations of simple blocking, which can inadvertently alert scrapers to their detection. The generated content, based on real scientific facts, avoids misinformation, and is kept invisible to human users. This represents a significant advancement in bot mitigation strategies, showcasing a smarter, next-generation honeypot approach.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech data scraping

AI Boom Creates Hard Drive Shortage

2025-09-16

AI Boom Creates Hard Drive Shortage

The rise of generative AI has created a surge in demand for nearline hard drives, but hard drive manufacturers haven't kept up, leading to a severe shortage. Western Digital has announced price increases across its entire hard drive portfolio, with lead times exceeding a year. This price increase is also impacting the SSD market, with enterprise-grade SSDs likely to see price hikes. While manufacturers are developing more economical nearline SSDs, the storage crunch is expected to continue in the short term, making now a potentially good time for consumers to purchase storage.

(www.tomshardware.com)

Tech

Sci-Fi Author Buys Abandoned Church for $75,000, Turns It Into Office Space

2025-03-14

Sci-Fi Author Buys Abandoned Church for $75,000, Turns It Into Office Space

Sci-fi author John Scalzi purchased a defunct Methodist church for a surprisingly low $75,000 and transformed it into office space and a multi-purpose venue. The 1919 building had been abandoned due to declining congregation numbers. The Scalzis weren't motivated by religious reasons; instead, they needed space for their growing company, Scalzi Enterprises, and to accommodate future employees. After two years of renovations, the church boasts a new roof, wiring, flooring, and HVAC system, as well as a library and spaces for events. Scalzi plans to host community events there, making it a hub for local life.

(whatever.scalzi.com)

Startup renovation

Unprecedented Freshwater Loss on Earth's Continents

2025-08-04

Unprecedented Freshwater Loss on Earth's Continents

A new study using over two decades of satellite observations reveals unprecedented freshwater loss across Earth's continents since 2002, driven by climate change, unsustainable groundwater use, and extreme droughts. Four continental-scale 'mega-drying' regions, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, are emerging, posing severe threats to water security, agriculture, sea-level rise, and global stability. The research shows that 68% of land water loss comes from groundwater, exceeding the contribution from glaciers and ice caps to sea-level rise. The study calls for urgent action to slow and reverse groundwater depletion, protect remaining freshwater resources, and adapt to growing water scarcity and coastal flooding risks.

(news.asu.edu)

Tech water crisis

Sesame's CSM: Near-Human Speech, But Still in the Valley

2025-03-05

Sesame's CSM: Near-Human Speech, But Still in the Valley

A video showcasing Sesame's new speech model, CSM, has gone viral. Built on Meta's Llama architecture, the model generates remarkably realistic conversations, blurring the line between human and AI. Using a single-stage, multimodal transformer, it jointly processes text and audio, unlike traditional two-stage methods. While blind tests show near-human quality for isolated speech, conversational context reveals a preference for real human voices. Sesame co-founder Brendan Iribe acknowledges ongoing challenges with tone, pacing, and interruptions, admitting the model is still under development but expressing optimism for the future.

(arstechnica.com)

AI AI speech

Starlink Undercuts Major ISPs in Parts of Africa

2025-01-10

Starlink Undercuts Major ISPs in Parts of Africa

SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service is winning a price war in parts of Africa. In at least five African countries, Starlink's monthly subscription is cheaper than leading fixed-line internet providers. While the upfront cost of Starlink hardware needs to be considered, its low monthly fee and high-speed, reliable connectivity, especially in remote areas, make it a more attractive option. This has forced local operators to lower prices and invest in their own satellite networks. However, Starlink's rapid expansion has also raised concerns about monopolies and job displacement.

(restofworld.org)

Tech African internet

Netflix's Brief Apple TV Integration: A Bug, Not a Feature

2025-02-16

Netflix's Brief Apple TV Integration: A Bug, Not a Feature

Netflix's temporary appearance in the Apple TV app, including watchlist and 'continue watching' features, caused brief excitement. However, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed it was a mistake, and the functionality has been reverted. Netflix has consistently refused to integrate its content with Apple's or Google's aggregation efforts, highlighting its independent approach. While the temporary integration showed potential, Netflix remains committed to users accessing its content solely through its own app.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech

Broadcom Data Breach After Ransomware Attack on ADP Partner

2025-05-16

Broadcom Data Breach After Ransomware Attack on ADP Partner

A ransomware attack on Business Systems House (BSH), a Middle Eastern business partner of payroll company ADP, resulted in a data breach affecting Broadcom employees. The El Dorado ransomware group claimed responsibility, publishing stolen data online. Broadcom has notified affected current and former staff, advising them to take security precautions. The incident highlights supply chain security risks and the growing threat of ransomware attacks. ADP states its systems were unaffected and assisted BSH in investigation and remediation.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech

Netflix Tests AI-Powered Ads to Boost Cheaper Subscription Tier

2025-05-15

Netflix Tests AI-Powered Ads to Boost Cheaper Subscription Tier

Netflix is experimenting with different ad formats, including interactive mid-roll and pause ads powered by generative AI, to make its cheaper subscription tier more attractive. These ads will start rolling out in 2026. The ad-supported plan, launched in November 2022, now boasts 94 million subscribers, representing a significant portion of Netflix's total subscriber base of 300 million and a substantial growth since its launch. Half of new subscribers are opting for the ad-supported $8 plan instead of ad-free options.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

NASA's Webb Telescope Faces Crippling Budget Cuts

2025-02-21

NASA's Webb Telescope Faces Crippling Budget Cuts

The $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), halfway through its primary mission, is facing potential budget cuts of up to 20%. Despite unprecedented demand for JWST observation time, NASA's budget constraints necessitate cuts impacting proposal review, data analysis, observatory efficiency, and anomaly resolution. The success of JWST relies on robust scientific community engagement and public outreach, making these cuts a significant threat to future research.

(www.space.com)

Tech budget cuts

Sony Xperia: Small but Significant

2025-08-08

Sony Xperia: Small but Significant

Despite holding a minuscule share of the global smartphone market and facing uncertainty about its future, Sony maintains that its Xperia brand is “very important” and will continue to be nurtured. Sony CFO Lin Tao recently reiterated this commitment, acknowledging Xperia's place within a crucial business segment. While Sony has scaled back its presence in the US market, lost ground in Japan and Europe, and even ceased manufacturing its own devices, it insists on continuing its smartphone efforts. The company emphasizes the broader significance of communication technology within Sony's long-term strategy, extending beyond smartphones themselves.

(9to5google.com)

Tech

3D Kakeya Conjecture Cracked: A Towering Achievement in Harmonic Analysis

2025-03-15

3D Kakeya Conjecture Cracked: A Towering Achievement in Harmonic Analysis

Mathematicians Wang and Zahl have solved the long-standing three-dimensional Kakeya conjecture, a problem deeply connected to the Fourier transform. Their proof is likened to building a 'tower of dreams,' resolving a series of interconnected problems in harmonic analysis. Their ingenious method, akin to perfecting a perpetual motion machine, iteratively improved bounds until reaching the three-dimensional solution. This breakthrough opens doors to tackling higher-dimensional problems and marks a significant advancement in the field.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

Tech Harmonic Analysis

Yoke: Infrastructure as Code, for Real

2025-03-03

Yoke: Infrastructure as Code, for Real

Tired of tools like Terraform only offering configuration, not code? Yoke lets you write infrastructure definitions in Go or Rust, compiles them to WebAssembly, and generates Kubernetes manifests. This avoids the security risks of runtime dependencies. Air Traffic Control, a Kubernetes operator, enables declarative infrastructure management, simplifying deployment. The author demonstrates how Yoke, using Custom Resource Definitions (CRDs), streamlines application deployment and explains its WebAssembly-based security sandbox.

(xeiaso.net)

Development infrastructure as code

Graphene Interconnects Could Rescue Moore's Law

2024-12-14

Graphene Interconnects Could Rescue Moore's Law

Destination 2D, a California-based startup, claims to have solved two longstanding challenges in integrating graphene into chip manufacturing: high-temperature deposition and low charge carrier density. They've developed a technique to deposit graphene interconnects at 300°C, compatible with traditional CMOS processes. Furthermore, using intercalation doping, they've achieved graphene current densities 100 times that of copper. This technology promises to extend Moore's Law and support future generations of semiconductor technology.

(spectrum.ieee.org)

Hardware graphene Moore's Law semiconductors

Building a High-Performance, Reliable Storage Solution with LVM Cache and RAID 1

2025-07-27

This article details how to build a fast and reliable storage solution using Linux Logical Volume Manager (LVM) caching for a RAID 1 array. The author faced a challenge needing massive storage where only a small portion of the data is frequently accessed, making traditional SSD+HDD setups inefficient. The article walks through creating an LVM cache volume, setting up RAID 1 on HDDs for redundancy, and compares alternative caching solutions like bcache and EnhanceIO. The author successfully implemented an SSD-cached RAID 1 HDD array, dramatically improving access speeds while ensuring data safety.

(quantum5.ca)

Development Storage Caching

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

Control Your Sex Toys with LLMs: A First Look at buttplug-mcp

2025-05-30

Control Your Sex Toys with LLMs: A First Look at buttplug-mcp

buttplug-mcp is an MCP server allowing LLM programs like Claude Desktop to query and control your sex toys. Created as a quick, fun, educational project on April Fool's Day, it's currently unstable with connection handling issues, but demonstrates the ability to control vibration strength via LLM commands. The project is open-source, supports multiple platforms, and offers Homebrew installation. While imperfect, it's a fascinating experimental project showcasing the potential of LLM integration with IoT devices.

(github.com)

Misc sex toys

Building a Game Boy Cartridge from Scratch: A Deep Dive into Hardware and Software

2025-07-23

Allison Parrish's multi-year journey to build a Game Boy cartridge from scratch is documented in this comprehensive article. It details the inner workings of Game Boy cartridges, explaining concepts like memory mapping, Memory Bank Controllers (MBCs), chip select, and buses. The article dives deep into the specifics of various MBCs, particularly the MBC5, and addresses challenges like using flash memory instead of ROM and resolving conflicts between flash and MBC protocols. Hardware aspects such as battery-backed SRAM persistence and voltage conversion are also explored. This in-depth technical guide is perfect for anyone interested in Game Boy hardware and software development.

(abc.decontextualize.com)

Development

Tokenization Problem Proven NP-Complete, Doubling Data Compression Challenges

2024-12-22

A paper published on arXiv proves the NP-completeness of two variants of tokenization, defined as the problem of compressing a dataset to at most δ symbols by either finding a vocabulary directly (direct tokenization) or selecting a sequence of merge operations (bottom-up tokenization). This finding has significant implications for data compression and natural language processing, highlighting the immense challenge of efficiently solving the tokenization problem for large-scale datasets.

(arxiv.org)

Development NP-complete tokenization data compression

PostgreSQL 18 Beta: Asynchronous I/O Revolutionizes Performance

2025-05-07

PostgreSQL 18 Beta 1 introduces highly anticipated asynchronous I/O (AIO), marking a significant leap in I/O handling. AIO dramatically improves performance, especially in cloud environments with high latency, by allowing the database to issue multiple read requests concurrently. Currently limited to reads (writes may be added later), AIO utilizes a new `io_method` configuration parameter offering synchronous, I/O worker, and `io_uring` modes. `io_uring`, on compatible Linux kernels, delivers the best performance. Benchmarks on AWS show 2-3x read performance improvements for read-heavy workloads. However, AIO changes performance monitoring; `EXPLAIN ANALYZE` I/O timing may be less precise, requiring the new `pg_aios` view for detailed analysis.

(pganalyze.com)

Development

Meta's Executive Bonus Bonanza: Massive Raises After Layoffs Spark Outrage

2025-02-22

Meta's Executive Bonus Bonanza: Massive Raises After Layoffs Spark Outrage

Meta has significantly increased executive bonuses to 200% of base salary, following recent layoffs affecting 3,700 employees. While Meta justifies the move by claiming it aligns with industry compensation, the timing, shortly after reducing stock options for remaining staff, has fueled criticism. This comes as CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a massive $60 billion investment in AI infrastructure for 2025, potentially explaining the increased executive compensation but raising questions about its long-term success.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech Executive Bonuses

Essential Document Templates for High-Performing Teams

2025-05-09

Essential Document Templates for High-Performing Teams

This article presents a collection of essential document templates designed to foster effective teamwork. These templates cover decision documentation, retrospectives, strategic planning, project tracking, problem investigations, one-on-one reports, all-hands meeting slides, and role clarification. The goal is to improve team cohesion, refine processes, and clarify responsibilities, ultimately boosting team efficiency and collaboration. These templates are practical tools beneficial for teams of all sizes and project scopes.

(www.templatesbypaul.com)

Development document templates

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