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GNU Make's New --shuffle Mode: Uncovering Hidden Bugs in Parallel Builds

2024-12-16

For eleven years, elusive bugs plagued parallel builds in GNU Make. Inspired by this, a new `--shuffle` mode was developed to randomly reorder Makefile targets, simulating non-deterministic build order. This effectively revealed hidden bugs in over 30 packages, including gcc, vim, and ghc. Now part of GNU Make 4.4, this mode is accessible via `make --shuffle` or the `GNUMAKEFLAGS=--shuffle` environment variable. This powerful feature helps developers identify and resolve parallel build issues, highlighting the continuous improvement of software development tools.

(trofi.github.io)

Development parallel build bug fixing

US Successfully Tests Unarmed Minuteman III ICBM

2025-02-19

US Successfully Tests Unarmed Minuteman III ICBM

The U.S. Air Force Global Strike Command successfully launched an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) as part of a routine test. The test, conducted from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, verified the safety, security, reliability, and effectiveness of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Data collected will inform future improvements to the Minuteman III and the development of the next-generation Sentinel ICBM. The test involved multiple government agencies and Air Force bases, reaffirming the U.S. commitment to maintaining a credible nuclear deterrent.

(www.stratcom.mil)

Tech nuclear deterrence missile test Minuteman III

RTX 5090 Shows Early Promise in Llama.cpp AI Benchmarks

2025-03-10

Following CUDA, OpenCL, and OptiX benchmark testing of the RTX 5090, reader interest prompted an investigation into its AI performance, specifically with Llama.cpp. Initial benchmarks comparing the RTX 5090, RTX 40-series, and RTX 30-series cards using Llama.cpp (with Llama 3.1 and Mistral 7B models) show significant performance gains for the RTX 5090 in text generation and prompt processing. Further, more in-depth benchmarks will follow based on reader interest.

(www.phoronix.com)

AI AI Performance

Distributed Database Replication using SWIM and BadgerDB

2025-05-14

Distributed Database Replication using SWIM and BadgerDB

This article details a distributed database replication scheme leveraging the SWIM protocol and BadgerDB's incremental backup feature. Using Hashicorp's memberlist package and its TCP Push/Pull mechanism, nodes periodically compute their local state and send it to other nodes. Remote nodes merge the remote state with their local state, triggering the replication process. Node state is defined as the set of last known versions of other nodes. Upon receiving state, a node sends HTTP requests to the remote node, concurrently syncing incremental backups of auth, config, and log databases, thus achieving actual replication.

(david-delassus.medium.com)

Development replication SWIM protocol

Action!: A Retro IDE for the Atari 8-bit

2025-09-05

Action!: A Retro IDE for the Atari 8-bit

This article revisits Action!, a compiled language for the Atari 8-bit computer. Created by Clinton Parker, Action! was optimized for the 6502 CPU and featured an integrated development environment (IDE) including a monitor, compiler, text editor, and debugger—a rarity for 8-bit systems. While less advanced than C or Pascal, its speed, innovative editor (with features like scrolling and split-screen), and tight integration made it stand out. The author recounts their experience acquiring and using Action!, discussing its limitations and how add-ons like Action! RunTime and Action! ToolKit partially addressed them. Action! primarily saw use in hobbyist and magazine software.

(www.goto10retro.com)

Development

Analyzing Disk I/O Bottlenecks in GitHub CI Pipelines

2025-03-28

Analyzing Disk I/O Bottlenecks in GitHub CI Pipelines

This article investigates often-overlooked disk I/O bottlenecks in GitHub CI pipelines. Using tools like iostat and fio, the author monitors and tests disk performance across different runners, discovering bandwidth limitations on the default ubuntu-22.04 runner that hinder dependency installation. The analysis delves into the impact of cache download, extraction, and numerous small file writes on disk I/O. The article recommends using fio for benchmarking and comparing runner disk performance, ultimately highlighting Depot's upcoming Ultra Runner, promising significant improvements in disk I/O performance.

(depot.dev)

Development Disk I/O

Centralized Authorization: The Next Shared Platform?

2025-03-22

Centralized Authorization: The Next Shared Platform?

This article explores the benefits and challenges of centralized authorization systems. Traditionally, authorization is decentralized across applications, leading to inefficiencies and management difficulties. A centralized system offers standardization, cost reduction, and improved compliance, but requires addressing expressiveness, performance, isolation, and integration challenges. The article discusses how open-source (Topaz) and commercial (Aserto) platforms overcome these hurdles, enabling efficient, secure, and manageable enterprise-level authorization.

(www.aserto.com)

Development centralized authorization

ChatGPT Hallucinates Non-Existent Rails Syntax

2025-03-01

A programmer sought help from ChatGPT for dynamically preloading associations in Rails. ChatGPT confidently suggested invalid syntax – a syntax the programmer himself had proposed (and dismissed) two years prior on a Rails forum. This humorous incident highlights how even powerful LLMs can 'hallucinate' when dealing with niche topics and insufficient context, behaving much like a junior developer blindly copying and pasting code.

(bengarcia.dev)

Development

Kennedy's Appointment of Anti-Vaccine Advocate Sparks Outrage

2025-04-13

Kennedy's Appointment of Anti-Vaccine Advocate Sparks Outrage

Vanderbilt researchers Jeremy Jacobs and Garrett Booth strongly criticized Kennedy's appointment of notorious anti-vaccine advocate David Geier to lead a federal study on immunizations and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Geier and his father have a history of promoting the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. The researchers argue this appointment compromises scientific integrity, erodes public trust, and platforms unreliable information, calling it a 'dangerous concession to pseudoscience.' They urge a defense of evidence-based medicine and call for public institutions and academic leaders to demonstrate courage and clarity in rejecting the normalization of misinformation and safeguarding public health.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech anti-vaccine pseudoscience

FastVLM: Blazing Fast Vision Encoding for Vision Language Models

2025-05-13

FastVLM: Blazing Fast Vision Encoding for Vision Language Models

FastVLM introduces a novel hybrid vision encoder, dramatically reducing encoding time and token output for high-resolution images. Even the smallest variant boasts an 85x faster Time-to-First-Token (TTFT) and a 3.4x smaller vision encoder than LLaVA-OneVision-0.5B. Larger variants, paired with Qwen2-7B LLM, outperform recent models like Cambrian-1-8B, achieving a 7.9x faster TTFT. A demo iOS app showcases its mobile performance. The project provides detailed instructions for inference and supports Apple Silicon and Apple devices.

(github.com)

AI Vision Language Model Efficient Encoding Image Recognition

Life on a Submarine: From NUB to Submariner

2025-08-11

Life on a Submarine: From NUB to Submariner

This article details the life of sailors aboard a US Navy submarine, focusing on the experiences of new recruits. New crew members, dubbed "Non-Useful Bodies" (NUBs), undergo a rigorous four-phase training program to become qualified submariners. This training covers all submarine systems and emergency procedures. Upon completion, they earn their "dolphins" and are categorized into "Nukes" (nuclear powerplant crew) and "Coners" (the rest of the crew), each with unique roles and personalities. The author vividly portrays the diverse characters and responsibilities of various crew positions, highlighting the challenging yet cohesive nature of submarine life.

(www.twz.com)

Misc Submarine

Cache-Aware Programming in Python: A Surprisingly Significant Performance Difference

2025-04-05

This post investigates the impact of cache-aware programming on Python performance through experiments. Results show that random access to list elements in Python is consistently slower than sequential access, especially when data size exceeds CPU cache. This suggests that even in interpreted environments, cache-aware programming can improve Python program performance. Experiments also compare the performance difference between native Python lists and NumPy arrays, showing NumPy arrays have a significant performance advantage due to their more compact memory layout.

(lukasatkinson.de)

Development Python performance cache-aware programming

East Asian Emissions Reductions and their Impact on Global Warming: RAMIP Simulation Results

2025-07-14

East Asian Emissions Reductions and their Impact on Global Warming: RAMIP Simulation Results

A new study uses RAMIP simulations to quantify the impact of recent East Asian air pollution emission reductions on climate change. The study finds that a 20 Tg/year reduction in East Asian SO2 emissions led to a 0.07 ± 0.05 °C increase in global mean surface temperature and significant warming in the North Pacific. Simulation results match MODIS observations of aerosol optical depth changes, suggesting that RAMIP effectively captures the impact of real-world reductions. The study also notes that other factors, such as increased methane concentrations and shipping emission reductions, likely contributed to global warming, but East Asian emission reductions played a significant role in the accelerated rate of global warming over the past decade.

(www.nature.com)

Tech RAMIP Simulations

iPhone SE 3 transplanted into a Nokia Lumia 1020

2025-02-17

iPhone SE 3 transplanted into a Nokia Lumia 1020

A Reddit user has achieved the incredible feat of transplanting an iPhone SE 3's internals into a Nokia Lumia 1020's chassis. Remarkably, the project retains core components like the 12MP camera, Taptic Engine, and Touch ID sensor. Even 5G connectivity and the Lumia's iconic camera shutter button are functional. While the headphone jack is absent, the project cleverly upgrades to a Lightning port, relocating the Touch ID to the rear. It's a testament to ingenuity and a fascinating blend of nostalgia and modern technology.

(9to5mac.com)

Hardware

Lead-208 Nucleus: Not So Spherical After All

2025-02-23

Lead-208 Nucleus: Not So Spherical After All

An international collaboration has overturned the long-held belief that the lead-208 (²⁰⁸Pb) atomic nucleus is perfectly spherical. Using high-precision experiments, researchers found it's slightly elongated, resembling a rugby ball. This challenges fundamental assumptions about nuclear structure and has significant implications for understanding the formation of heavy elements in the universe. The discovery involved bombarding lead atoms with high-speed particles and analyzing the resulting gamma-ray fingerprints. Theoretical physicists are now re-evaluating models of atomic nuclei, suggesting a more complex structure than previously thought.

(phys.org)

Tech atomic nucleus shape lead-208

RIP Skype: Microsoft Officially Kills Off Its Legacy Messaging App

2025-02-28

RIP Skype: Microsoft Officially Kills Off Its Legacy Messaging App

After two decades, Microsoft is finally pulling the plug on Skype in May. Users are being urged to migrate to Microsoft Teams for their communication needs. While Skype has received updates over the years, the writing has been on the wall since the launch of Teams, Microsoft's collaboration platform designed to compete with Slack. This move solidifies Microsoft's commitment to Teams as its primary communication service.

(www.xda-developers.com)

Tech

The RNA World: Solving Life's Chicken-or-Egg Problem

2025-01-16

The RNA World: Solving Life's Chicken-or-Egg Problem

The 'chicken or the egg' dilemma of life's origin—the interdependence of DNA and proteins—has long puzzled scientists. New research suggests RNA may have played both roles. Early life may have consisted solely of RNA, capable of both storing genetic information and catalyzing chemical reactions, enabling self-replication. This 'RNA world' hypothesis resolves the paradox, offering insights into how life emerged from simple chemistry. Further research focuses on early Earth environments—soda lakes or impact crater lakes—that could have fostered RNA and other building blocks, providing more clues to unlock the mystery of life's origin.

(nautil.us)

Tech RNA world biochemistry

ElevenLabs Unveils Conversational AI 2.0: More Natural, Intelligent Voice Interactions

2025-06-01

ElevenLabs Unveils Conversational AI 2.0: More Natural, Intelligent Voice Interactions

ElevenLabs has released Conversational AI 2.0, a significant upgrade to its platform. Version 2.0 focuses on creating more natural conversational flow, using an advanced turn-taking model to understand the rhythm of human dialogue and reduce unnatural pauses. It also features integrated multilingual detection and response, enabling seamless multilingual conversations without manual configuration. Furthermore, 2.0 integrates Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), allowing the AI to access and incorporate information from external knowledge bases for accurate and timely responses. Multimodal interaction (text and voice) is also supported. Finally, the platform prioritizes enterprise-grade security and compliance, including HIPAA compliance and optional EU data residency.

(elevenlabs.io)

AI voice interaction

Trump Tariffs: Target and Best Buy Warn of Price Hikes

2025-03-05

Trump Tariffs: Target and Best Buy Warn of Price Hikes

Target and Best Buy have warned that President Trump's tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China could lead to higher prices in their stores as early as this week. Target CEO Brian Cornell stated that consumers will "likely see price increases over the next couple of days," citing Mexico as a significant source of winter fruits and vegetables. Best Buy CEO Corie Barry echoed this sentiment, noting that China and Mexico are major sources of their products and that price increases are "highly likely." While the Commerce Secretary hinted at potential compromises with Canada and Mexico, the impact of the tariffs is already being felt, with consumers facing the prospect of paying more for goods.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech price increases

China's Robotics Surge: A Manufacturing Revolution Overtaking the West

2025-03-11

China's Robotics Surge: A Manufacturing Revolution Overtaking the West

A SemiAnalysis report reveals China's rapid ascent in robotics, posing a significant challenge to the US and the West. China's manufacturing prowess, coupled with substantial government support, has led to dominance across the robotics value chain, from components to assembly. Chinese companies are outpacing Western competitors in cost, scale, and iteration speed, particularly in humanoid robots. This isn't just economic competition; it's an existential threat. The US and other Western nations need to act decisively to avoid being sidelined in the coming robotics revolution.

(semianalysis.com)

Tech US-China Competition

Debunking HDR: The Hype vs. Reality

2025-06-14

Debunking HDR: The Hype vs. Reality

This article dives deep into the technical details and artistic implications of HDR (High Dynamic Range) imaging, arguing that it's not always superior to SDR (Standard Dynamic Range). It debunks common HDR misconceptions, such as increased efficiency, wider gamut, and improved artistic expression. The author highlights flaws in HDR conversion processes, arguing that forced automated conversions often damage the artist's intent and degrade image quality. The article emphasizes the relative nature of tonal perception and prioritizes artistic expression over technical specifications. Ultimately, it advocates for making informed choices between HDR and SDR, stressing the importance of the creator's vision.

(yedlin.net)

Design

US Cities Face Looming Fiscal Crisis: Climate Change, Pensions, and Dying Downtowns

2025-02-20

US Cities Face Looming Fiscal Crisis: Climate Change, Pensions, and Dying Downtowns

Many U.S. cities are grappling with a severe fiscal crisis. A confluence of factors, including climate change-induced disasters, long-underfunded public employee pensions, and declining downtown economic activity, is pushing many cities into massive budget deficits. Even large cities like Chicago, Houston, and San Francisco are under serious financial strain. The article explores the history of urban fiscal crises in the U.S. and points out that the current crisis is a result of multiple factors, including climate change, shrinking downtown economies, reduced federal funding, and massive pension and retirement commitments. It stresses the need for frank conversations between city governments and residents to build consensus on the costs and scope of municipal services.

(theconversation.com)

Misc urban fiscal crisis pensions

Cosmo Music Closes After 57 Years: Tech Investments Fail, Store-Closing Sale Underway

2025-03-18

Cosmo Music Closes After 57 Years: Tech Investments Fail, Store-Closing Sale Underway

After 57 years of serving musicians, Canadian music retailer Cosmo Music is closing its doors. Post-COVID challenges and unsuccessful, expensive technology investments led to declining market share, ultimately proving insurmountable. The physical store remains open for a store-closing sale, with the exact closing date yet to be determined. Cosmo Music's e-commerce website is closed, but customers with existing orders will receive refunds or shipments. School music programs, the repair shop, and event A/V production and rentals will be taken over by Long & McQuade.

(cosmomusic.ca)

Startup store closing sale

Critical Vulnerability in YubiKey 5's Secure Element: Key Extraction Achieved

2025-06-15

Critical Vulnerability in YubiKey 5's Secure Element: Key Extraction Achieved

Security researcher Thomas Roche uncovered a critical vulnerability in the Infineon SLE78 secure element used in YubiKey 5. Through side-channel attacks, he successfully extracted the ECDSA secret key. This vulnerability affects multiple versions of Infineon's cryptographic library, impacting security across automotive, medical, industrial control, and avionics sectors. The researcher urges industries to address this vulnerability immediately.

(it4sec.substack.com)

Tech side-channel attack

Recursers on AI: A Pragmatic Approach to LLMs in Programming

2025-07-26

Recursers on AI: A Pragmatic Approach to LLMs in Programming

Recursers, a 6-12 week programming retreat with an integrated recruiting agency, grapples with the impact of AI on programming. Instead of simply embracing or rejecting AI, they surveyed over 3000 alumni to understand the implications of LLMs on their work and learning. Findings revealed significant diversity in how programmers utilize and view AI tools, dependent on experience, project type, and team size. RC emphasizes three key takeaways: working at the edge of one's abilities, maintaining rigor, and learning generously. Ultimately, RC advocates for a pragmatic approach, focusing on the importance of active learning and critical engagement with AI, emphasizing its role as a tool to enhance, not replace, human agency.

(www.recurse.com)

Development

Building Stuff with Claude Code: From Hacker News Ranker to Poster Maker

2025-08-11

The author built several projects using Anthropic's Claude Code, including a Hacker News comment ranker plugin and a minimal Canva replacement – a poster maker. The former aims to filter out irrelevant comments, while the latter provides a simple interface to combine images and text to generate A4 PDFs. The author also leveraged Claude Code for file management and data processing, such as renaming bank statement files and merging them into a CSV. Despite encountering challenges, such as Claude Code's limitations in handling complex UIs and PDF export, the author remains impressed by Claude Code's potential for rapid prototyping and productivity gains.

(dwyer.co.za)

Development

Netflix Accidentally Adds Content to Apple TV App, Then Quickly Removes It

2025-02-14

Netflix Accidentally Adds Content to Apple TV App, Then Quickly Removes It

On Thursday, Netflix accidentally added some of its content to the Apple TV app, sparking online excitement and speculation. However, a Netflix spokesperson confirmed it was an error and the content has since been removed. While briefly available, the content primarily consisted of Netflix originals like Stranger Things and The Crown, but suffered from significant bugs. Features such as incomplete seasons, broken watchlists, and unreliable 'Continue Watching' functionality were reported. The incident is speculated to be a result of an internal test gone public. For now, Netflix content remains exclusive to its own app.

(www.engadget.com)

Tech

HTTP/1.1's Fatal Flaw: Request Smuggling Attacks

2025-08-03

HTTP/1.1's Fatal Flaw: Request Smuggling Attacks

This article exposes a long-standing security vulnerability in the HTTP/1.1 protocol—request smuggling attacks. Attackers can exploit this flaw by cleverly crafting request headers (Content-Length and Transfer-Encoding) to cause the server to misinterpret requests, enabling malicious control of websites and even bypassing security measures to access sensitive resources. This vulnerability still affects a large number of websites, and security expert James Kettle will reveal more attack details and defense methods on August 6th.

(lowendbox.com)

Tech HTTP Protocol Request Smuggling

Seven Deadly Sins of Technical Architecture Diagrams

2025-02-10

Seven Deadly Sins of Technical Architecture Diagrams

This article outlines seven common mistakes to avoid when creating technical architecture diagrams, offering solutions for each. These mistakes include: creating theoretical instead of concrete diagrams; mixing levels of abstraction; including too many overlapping concerns; unlabeled arrows; misleading composition; missing context; and missing accompanying explanatory text. The article stresses the importance of clearly and accurately conveying system information, suggesting the use of multiple diagrams to address information overload, and adding labels and explanatory text to improve the understandability and effectiveness of architecture diagrams.

(www.ilograph.com)

Development architecture design technical diagrams

PostgreSQL 18 Beta: UUIDv7 Makes Database Primary Keys Better

2025-09-21

PostgreSQL 18 Beta: UUIDv7 Makes Database Primary Keys Better

PostgreSQL 18 Beta is out, and its most anticipated feature is native support for UUIDv7. UUIDv7, a timestamp-based UUID variant, solves the sorting and index locality issues inherent in traditional UUIDs used as database primary keys. It offers a compelling combination of globally unique identifiers and temporal ordering, making it ideal for distributed databases needing high performance and scalability. Other performance improvements in PostgreSQL 18 include async I/O and index optimizations.

(www.thenile.dev)

Development

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