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NearlyFreeSpeech.NET: A DIY Hosting Service for Geeks

2025-01-11

NearlyFreeSpeech.NET is a do-it-yourself web hosting service designed for experienced webmasters and highly self-motivated individuals. It operates on a pay-for-what-you-use model, meaning you only pay for the resources you consume. While lacking in personal technical support, it offers extensive documentation and community support, making it a cost-effective option for those comfortable managing their own websites. Services include web hosting, DNS hosting, and domain registration, with support for various programming languages and databases.

(www.nearlyfreespeech.net)

Development web hosting pay-for-what-you-use

Evolution of the Micro Journal: A Distraction-Free Writing Device

2025-02-24

Evolution of the Micro Journal: A Distraction-Free Writing Device

Un Kyu Lee's Micro Journal is a fascinating evolution of distraction-free writing devices. Starting with a Raspberry Pi and a mechanical keyboard, the project iterated through several versions, each addressing different needs and design challenges. From the foldable Rev.2.ReVamp to the Cherry MX hot-swappable Rev.6, each Micro Journal iteration improves on portability, customization, and the overall writing experience. Rev.7 offers a traditional keyboard layout, while Rev.5 allows connection to a wide range of mechanical keyboards. The story showcases the maker spirit and a relentless pursuit of the perfect writing experience, attracting significant media attention along the way.

(github.com)

Hardware mechanical keyboard writing device

Waymo's Autonomous Vehicles Outperform Human Drivers in Safety

2024-12-20

Analyzing 25.3 million autonomous miles of Waymo's data, using third-party auto liability insurance claims, a study reveals that Waymo's Automated Driving System (ADS) significantly outperforms both the general driving population and a benchmark of latest-generation human-driven vehicles (2018-2021 models). The ADS showed an 88% reduction in property damage claims and a 92% reduction in bodily injury claims compared to the general population, and an 86% and 90% reduction respectively compared to the latest-generation HDV benchmark. This validates ADS safety at scale and provides a new methodology for ongoing evaluation, impacting transportation safety policies, insurance risk assessments, and public acceptance of autonomous vehicles.

(waymo.com)

AI Autonomous Vehicles Safety Performance

Vertical AI's Bitter Pill: The Rise of Horizontal AI

2025-01-21

This post explores the competition between vertical AI applications (AI optimized for specific domains) and horizontal AI applications (more general-purpose, scalable AI). Using personal experience and Hamilton Helmer's Seven Powers framework, the author argues that as model performance improves, vertical AI applications struggle to maintain a competitive edge. Except for a rare few possessing exclusive and essential resources, most vertical AI applications will eventually be overtaken by superior horizontal AI. Horizontal AI, akin to a remote coworker, is easily integrated, cheaper, and continuously improves performance through model advancements. The author uses their AcademicGPT project as a case study, showing how a vertical AI application was surpassed by more general horizontal AI models.

(lukaspetersson.com)

AI vertical AI horizontal AI

Ted Chiang: Beyond Hard Sci-Fi, a Philosophical Deep Dive

2025-08-19

Ted Chiang: Beyond Hard Sci-Fi, a Philosophical Deep Dive

This review delves into the unique writing style of acclaimed science fiction author Ted Chiang. He transcends the typical 'hard' vs. 'soft' sci-fi dichotomy, crafting universes with internally consistent scientific laws that serve as vehicles for exploring profound philosophical questions and human relationships. Chiang uses science not as mere backdrop, but as a central driver of the narrative. For instance, in 'Story of Your Life,' the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis (language shaping thought) becomes key to understanding alien intelligence. The review praises Chiang's masterful portrayal of compatibilism (reconciling free will and determinism) while pointing out his relative weakness in depicting society's interaction with technology and a lack of diversity in his philosophical explorations.

(linch.substack.com)

Tech Ted Chiang

CSS Gap Decorations: A New Way to Style Separators

2025-03-20

CSS Gap Decorations: A New Way to Style Separators

Drawing separator lines is common in web design, but existing CSS methods (like borders and pseudo-elements) have limitations, especially with Flexbox and Grid layouts. This article introduces the CSS gap decorations proposal, offering more control over separator styles in grids and flexboxes, including length, color, and position, even across multiple rows and columns. The proposal is seeking developer feedback to refine its functionality.

(blogs.windows.com)

Development Grid Layout

NYC Pinball Masters: A Game of Life and Writing

2025-02-11

NYC Pinball Masters: A Game of Life and Writing

This article recounts the story of two top pinball players in 1970s New York City: J. Anthony Lukas, a writer, and Tom Buckley. Lukas uses pinball as a metaphor for life and a tool to overcome writer's block. Their intense pinball match showcases their incredible skills and explores themes of risk, challenge, and finding breakthroughs in adversity. The narrative blends skillful gameplay descriptions with profound reflections on the human experience.

(pinballnirvana.com)

Misc profile

IRC Driven: Reviving IRC as a Social Platform

2025-01-13

IRC Driven is a modern IRC indexing site and search engine aiming to revive IRC and transform it into a social platform. It offers network and channel indexing, user profile creation, and channel pages based on network channel lists. The site has undergone multiple rewrites and recent improvements include resolving API issues, bringing back channel bots. The site is also seeking volunteers to help with development to further enhance user experience.

(www.ircdriven.com)

Development social platform indexing engine

Home Batteries vs. Gas Generators: The Backup Power Showdown

2025-03-23

Home Batteries vs. Gas Generators: The Backup Power Showdown

With rising grid outage risks, home batteries and gas generators are top choices for backup power. Gas generators offer a lower upfront cost, but higher long-term running and fuel costs, plus noise and carbon monoxide risks. Home batteries, especially paired with solar, have higher initial investment but benefit from tax credits, lower operating costs, and quieter, cleaner operation. Batteries last about 10 years, generators 20+, but require maintenance. Ultimately, home batteries win on flexible installation, quiet operation, and ease of maintenance, making them a more convenient backup power solution.

(pv-magazine-usa.com)

Hardware home energy storage backup power

Optimizing League of Legends Builds with Linear Programming: A Kai'Sa Case Study

2025-01-26

A League of Legends player used linear programming to optimize item builds for the champion Kai'Sa. By defining an objective function (minimizing total gold cost) and constraints (meeting stat requirements for Kai'Sa's ability evolutions and inventory limits), the player, using Rust and a linear programming solver, found the optimal build. The article also details fetching item data from Riot's Data Dragon API and considers practical in-game factors like item components and movement speed, leading to refined strategies.

(versary.town)

Game Linear Programming Game Optimization League of Legends

Topological Sort Algorithm Variant: Efficiently Handling Dependencies

2025-04-03

Topological Sort Algorithm Variant: Efficiently Handling Dependencies

This article presents an improved topological sorting algorithm based on Kahn's algorithm, but it treats nodes as sets instead of individual nodes. The algorithm iteratively finds the root sets of the graph, removes them, and repeats until the graph is empty. The order of the removed root sets forms a topological order, and nodes within the same root set are independent and can be processed in parallel. The algorithm can also detect cycles and return a partial topological ordering instead of completely aborting.

(github.com)

Development topological sort graph algorithm

Tesla's Australian Sales Plummet: Stockpiles, Price Wars, and Damaged Brand Image

2025-03-29

A large stockpile of unsold Tesla Model Ys in a Perth parking lot highlights the brand's struggles in Australia. Increased competition, price wars, and Elon Musk's political activities have all contributed to declining sales. Dealers are slashing prices to clear inventory, hurting previous buyers and damaging customer trust. Inadequate charging infrastructure in Australia further exacerbates the issue, pushing consumers towards hybrid vehicles.

(au.news.yahoo.com)

Tech

Literary Review: The Achievements and Limitations of the 20th-Century Novel

2024-12-15

Literary Review: The Achievements and Limitations of the 20th-Century Novel

Edwin Frank's new book, *Stranger Than Fiction: Lives of the Twentieth-Century Novel*, explores the accomplishments of the 20th-century novel. Frank argues that novels, through formal innovations like Kafka's rambling sentences and Stein's repetitions, guide readers to slow down and savor the nuances of language. He praises novelists' efforts in expressing collective experiences, particularly the horrors of war and the awakening of self-awareness, but also points out the book's Eurocentric perspective, its insufficient attention to novels from other cultural backgrounds, and its somewhat superficial exploration of war and self-awareness.

(thebaffler.com)

Misc 20th-century novel literary review self-awareness

A Decade of Side Projects: Lessons Learned

2025-05-19

Since 2009, a developer has been building side projects, some sold, some still online, and some defunct. His key takeaway: build what you enjoy and stick with familiar tech stacks (WordPress, Laravel, React, etc.). Don't get bogged down in framework choices; users care about the project, not the underlying tech.

(naeemnur.com)

Development

My Home Assistant Journey in 2025

2025-01-24

My Home Assistant Journey in 2025

This blog post details the author's seven-year journey with Home Assistant, starting from a simple setup with IKEA smart bulbs in a small apartment to a sprawling smart home with over 100 devices. The core of the post focuses on using Home Assistant's Adaptive Lighting for sophisticated light control and leveraging an AI coding assistant, Cursor, to streamline YAML configuration and debugging. The author shares optimized Adaptive Lighting configurations for various IKEA bulb types and outlines plans to integrate smart radiator valves for more precise room temperature control.

(vpetersson.com)

Development

Windows 11: Still a Waste of Time?

2025-02-04

A tech writer revisited Windows 11 and found it still lacking. File Explorer remains slow, Settings are inferior to Control Panel, and hardware requirements are unnecessarily stringent. The author criticizes Microsoft's insistence on TPM 2.0, arguing it's irrelevant for home users and contradicts Microsoft's own security narrative. While recent updates were relatively smooth, Explorer's sluggishness, poor UI design, and the ability for apps to override privacy settings persist. The conclusion? Windows 11 remains largely useless, its market share shrinking in favor of Windows 10.

(www.dedoimedo.com)

Tech

BCX: Free and Open Source BASIC to C/C++ Translator

2025-03-21

BCX is a free and open-source BASIC to C/C++ translator that converts your BASIC source code into highly efficient C/C++ code. Supporting numerous compilers and boasting a comprehensive help file and sample programs, it's beginner-friendly. Written entirely in BCX BASIC itself, it translates over 38,000 lines of code in under a second on a modest i7 system, highlighting its speed. Ideal for those learning C/C++ or seeking a quick way to build Windows desktop applications.

(bcxbasiccoders.com)

Development

ISO 8583: The Secret Language of Credit Cards

2024-12-18

ISO 8583: The Secret Language of Credit Cards

Every time you tap your card or pay online, you're interacting with the ISO 8583 protocol. This 1987 standard defines the format of real-time transaction messages between banking networks. It includes core fields like message type indicators, bitmaps, and data elements, but networks vary in their extensions and serialization, leading to compatibility challenges. This article delves into the complexities of ISO 8583's structure, field encoding, nested message handling, and demonstrates building a robust ISO 8583 parser to handle network variations and error scenarios.

(increase.com)

Development credit card payments data parsing

CodeWeaver: Visualize Your Codebase Structure

2025-02-14

CodeWeaver is a command-line tool that transforms your codebase into an easily navigable Markdown document. It recursively scans a directory, generating a structured representation of your project's file hierarchy and embedding each file's content within code blocks. This simplifies codebase sharing, documentation, and integration with AI/ML code analysis tools. It features path filtering, optional path logging, and a simple command-line interface. Installation: Use Go: `go install github.com/tesserato/CodeWeaver@latest` or download a pre-built executable.

(tesserato.web.app)

Development code documentation

60% Faster Substring Search in Zig using SIMD

2025-08-11

60% Faster Substring Search in Zig using SIMD

This article details how the author achieved a ~60% speedup in substring search within the Zig programming language using SIMD instructions. A SIMD-friendly algorithm was implemented, extracting the first and last characters of the target substring and leveraging SIMD parallel comparisons to significantly reduce memory accesses. Benchmarks show an 80% reduction in CPU cycles and substantial speed improvements, especially with large texts. While gains are less significant with smaller texts, the potential of SIMD is clearly demonstrated. The article also explores performance variations with different character selections and SIMD instruction sets (AVX2, AVX-512), and discusses why this optimization wasn't integrated into Zig's standard library.

(aarol.dev)

Development Substring Search

FDA Approves Novel Analgesic, Challenging Opioid Dominance?

2025-02-01

FDA Approves Novel Analgesic, Challenging Opioid Dominance?

The FDA has approved Vertex Pharmaceuticals' Journavx, a new pain medication designed to eliminate the risks of addiction and overdose associated with opioids. Journavx works differently than opioids, blocking proteins that trigger pain signals before they reach the brain. Trials showed it was more effective than a placebo, but not significantly better than a common opioid-acetaminophen combination. Despite its high cost ($15.50 per pill), its non-opioid mechanism and potential offer a significant step in combating the opioid crisis. However, disappointing results in later-stage trials for chronic pain cast uncertainty on its future.

(apnews.com)

Tech new painkiller opioids FDA approval

DeepSeek Ecosystem Explodes: A Flourishing Landscape of AI Apps

2025-02-25

DeepSeek Ecosystem Explodes: A Flourishing Landscape of AI Apps

A vibrant ecosystem of AI applications is blossoming around the powerful DeepSeek large language model. From the desktop smart assistant DeepChat to the cross-platform Chatbox and Coco AI, and specialized tools like PapersGPT and Video Subtitle Master, numerous applications leverage DeepSeek's capabilities for multi-round conversations, file uploads, knowledge base searches, code generation, translation, and more. Integrations with platforms like WeChat, Zotero, and Laravel, along with specialized tools for producers, investors, and researchers, highlight DeepSeek's immense potential and the thriving ecosystem it has spawned.

(github.com)

AI

Reverse Engineering Stunts: SuperSight Mod Development Log (Part I)

2025-08-17

Alberto Marnetto details his journey creating SuperSight, a graphical enhancement mod for the classic racing game Stunts. The article chronicles his reverse engineering process, leveraging the community-driven Restunts project (containing partially disassembled code and C-language ports) to understand the game's rendering engine. Initial attempts to modify graphics settings via the in-game menu proved difficult due to the game's lack of option saving. By analyzing Restunts' code, he pinpointed the variable controlling graphical detail. He then implemented simple enhancements like altering the field of view, encountering and documenting minor glitches. This successful proof of concept paves the way for further improvements detailed in future parts.

(marnetto.net)

Game

Command-line Tool: OSGInt – A Powerful GitHub User Information Retriever

2025-03-24

Command-line Tool: OSGInt – A Powerful GitHub User Information Retriever

OSGInt is a powerful command-line tool that retrieves GitHub user information using either a username or email address. It fetches basic details like username, avatar, bio, and digs deeper to uncover email addresses and GPG keys. OSGInt uses multiple methods, including analyzing public commits, GPG keys, and the GitHub user API. Inspired by the Zen project, it's under active development, with features like spoofing commits to get email addresses in the works.

(github.com)

Development user information retrieval

NIH Grant Freeze Throws Biomedical Research into Limbo

2025-02-22

NIH Grant Freeze Throws Biomedical Research into Limbo

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has halted consideration of new grant applications, freezing roughly $1.5 billion in funding for about 16,000 research projects. This freeze, stemming from the Trump administration's blocking of new notices in the Federal Register, has sparked widespread concern within the scientific community. While the administration claims the pause is for review, suspicions linger that it's an attempt to circumvent a court order blocking a previous, broader funding freeze. The situation, coupled with previous staff cuts and funding caps, casts a shadow of uncertainty over the future of biomedical research in the US, raising fears of disruption and potential restructuring of the NIH.

(www.npr.org)

Tech biomedical research

38C3 Chaos Communication Congress: A Digital Celebration

2024-12-25

From December 27th to 30th, 2021, the 38th Chaos Communication Congress (38C3) took place in Hamburg, Germany. The event featured a wide range of activities including talks, self-organized sessions, lightning talks, and more. Information was disseminated through the official website, event blog, and digital map. Volunteer registration, an information desk, and accessibility support were also provided to foster an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere.

(events.ccc.de)

Misc Tech Conference Digital Community

Why North England Remains Economically Depressed: A Historical Perspective

2025-01-25

This article delves into the deep-seated reasons behind North England's economic underperformance, arguing it's not simply an economic issue but a consequence of historical power structures and political decisions. From the Norman Conquest to the Thatcher era, power has been concentrated in the South, leading to chronic underinvestment and resource disparities in the North. The author highlights the South's consistent neglect and preferential treatment, coupled with a lack of regional power balance, as crucial factors in the North's economic stagnation. Despite this bleak picture, the article expresses optimism about the North's future, suggesting that reforming power structures and resource allocation is key to reversing the trend.

(tomforth.co.uk)

Startup UK Economy Regional Development Centralization of Power

The 1955 Le Mans Disaster: A Day of Speed and Death

2024-12-14

The 1955 Le Mans Disaster: A Day of Speed and Death

The 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans ended in tragedy when a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR, driven by Pierre Levegh, crashed into the spectators after colliding with a slower car. Mike Hawthorn's reckless pit maneuver triggered the chain of events, leading to over 80 deaths and numerous injuries. The disaster, a shocking display of the sport's inadequate safety standards, prompted sweeping changes in motorsport safety regulations and marked a turning point in the history of racing.

(www.essesmag.com)

Game Le Mans 24 Hours racing accident motorsport safety

Trump's Tariff War: Canada and Mexico's Oil Industry Takes a Hit

2025-02-17

Trump's Tariff War: Canada and Mexico's Oil Industry Takes a Hit

The Trump administration's imposition of hefty tariffs on Canadian and Mexican oil products has sparked widespread concern. This move could lead to a 10% increase in gasoline prices in the U.S. Midwest and severely impact Canadian and Mexican oil exports. Experts point out the high dependence of the U.S. on Canadian heavy crude oil, with limited substitutes, meaning tariffs will directly translate to higher consumer prices. Mexico may redirect its oil exports to Asian and European markets. This event highlights the tense relationship between the U.S. and its major trading partners, and the impact of tariff policies on the global energy market.

(oilprice.com)

Tech oil tariffs energy market

Chinese AI Chatbot DeepSeek Censors Tank Man Photo, Shakes Up US Markets

2025-02-02

Chinese AI Chatbot DeepSeek Censors Tank Man Photo, Shakes Up US Markets

The Chinese AI chatbot DeepSeek has sparked controversy by refusing to answer questions about the iconic 1989 Tiananmen Square "Tank Man" photo. The chatbot abruptly cuts off discussions about the image and other sensitive topics related to China, while providing detailed responses about world leaders like the UK's Prime Minister. Simultaneously, DeepSeek's powerful image generation capabilities (Janus-Pro-7B) and surprisingly low development cost (reportedly just $6 million) have sent shockwaves through US markets, causing a record 17% drop in Nvidia stock and prompting concern from US tech giants and politicians.

(petapixel.com)

AI AI Censorship Tiananmen Square

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