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In Memoriam: Noah Gibbs, a Ruby Titan

2025-01-03

The Ruby community mourns the loss of Noah Gibbs, a true giant in the field. This heartfelt tribute recounts the author's collaboration with Noah, from online interactions to working side-by-side on projects like Scarpe. Noah wasn't just a brilliant engineer; he was a passionate mentor, generously sharing his expertise and inspiring countless others. His contributions to Scarpe, including significant code and design, are a testament to his dedication. While his passing is a profound loss, his legacy of mentorship and innovative spirit will continue to inspire the community.

(blog.schwad.org)

Development In Memoriam

Federal Data Vanishing: Civil Society Steps Up to Save the Day

2025-02-13

Federal Data Vanishing: Civil Society Steps Up to Save the Day

Hundreds of federal datasets and government websites have mysteriously disappeared or been drastically altered since the start of the Trump administration. Responding to this crisis, civil society organizations are taking action. Harvard's Library Innovation Lab recently released 16 terabytes of archived data.gov, a complete copy of the platform's former holdings. On February 13th at 3 PM Eastern, MuckRock will host an event featuring the Internet Archive and the Harvard Law School Library Innovation Lab, discussing at-risk data, how to access rescued data, and how to contribute to preservation efforts.

(www.muckrock.com)

Tech government data

Roe AI: Revolutionizing Data Warehousing, Seeking Founding Engineer

2025-02-06

Roe AI: Revolutionizing Data Warehousing, Seeking Founding Engineer

Roe AI, backed by Gradient Ventures and Y Combinator, is building the next-generation data warehouse aiming to be the last data warehouse you'll ever need. They're looking for a founding engineer to develop their core SQL engine, multi-modal AI data engines, and multi-modal RAG system. The ideal candidate will have experience with generative AI, front-end and back-end development, and strong computer science fundamentals. Excellent benefits and a hybrid work arrangement are offered.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Startup Data Warehouse

The Fight Over Copyright in Open Source: Who Controls Your Code?

2025-01-04

This essay delves into the complexities of copyright ownership in Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Traditionally, many FOSS projects assign copyrights to non-profits, but this practice has become controversial. The author argues that most FOSS contributors' copyrights are actually owned by their employers, weakening the protection afforded by copyleft licenses. Shifting away from centralized copyright assignment could leave corporations in control, potentially hindering GPL enforcement. The article urges FOSS contributors to carefully consider copyright ownership, suggesting proactive measures to protect their rights and uphold the interests of the open-source community, preventing copyleft from becoming ineffective.

(sfconservancy.org)

Development

OpenAI Releases Realtime Embedded SDK for Microcontrollers

2024-12-20

OpenAI Releases Realtime Embedded SDK for Microcontrollers

OpenAI has released the openai-realtime-embedded-sdk, enabling developers to utilize its Realtime API on microcontrollers such as the ESP32. Supporting Linux and ESP32S3, the SDK allows for testing on Linux without physical hardware. After installing protobufc, setting the target platform, and configuring WiFi and OpenAI API keys, developers can build and deploy applications. This expands OpenAI's AI capabilities to embedded devices, opening doors for innovative IoT and edge computing applications.

(github.com)

AI Realtime API Embedded SDK

JRuby Meets JBang: A Hacky but Powerful Combination

2024-12-22

During the Christmas holidays, the author experimented with combining JRuby and JBang to leverage the performance of the JVM and the productivity of Ruby. While JBang doesn't officially support JRuby, a clever workaround using JBang's dependency management and Java's ProcessBuilder was employed. The result? A functional JRuby application incorporating Javalin, JDBI, SLF4J, and ruby-jwt, achieving CRUD operations on a SQLite database with JWT authentication. This hack demonstrates the potential of combining JRuby with Java ecosystem libraries, with performance validated via Apache Benchmark.

(rockyj-blogs.web.app)

Development

Razer to Refund Customers for Falsely Advertised N95 Masks

2025-01-16

Razer to Refund Customers for Falsely Advertised N95 Masks

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is issuing refunds to over 6,700 customers who purchased Razer's Zephyr mask, which was falsely advertised as meeting N95 standards. Razer, which launched the RGB-lit mask in 2021, never submitted it for certification. The FTC secured a settlement of over $1 million, with refunds now being distributed via check and PayPal. While Razer disputes the FTC's allegations, the refunds are being issued nonetheless.

(www.gamespot.com)

Tech Razer N95 Mask FTC Settlement

Revolutionary Idea: Applying Magit Principles to the jj Version Control System

2024-12-13

The author proposes a novel approach: applying the Magit version control interface from Emacs (which uses text files as its UI) to the nascent jj version control ecosystem. The article points out that Magit's text-based UI offers efficiency and portability. By leveraging the LSP protocol, a Magit-like experience can be implemented in various editors, avoiding redundant development. The author envisions generating specific text files (such as .jj/status.jj) and utilizing LSP features like semantic tokens, folding ranges, and goto definition to achieve Magit-like version control operations. The ultimate goal is to create a cross-platform, efficient user interface for jj version control.

(matklad.github.io)

Development

ELIZAGEN: Unveiling the History of the First Chatbot, ELIZA

2024-12-26

ELIZAGEN: Unveiling the History of the First Chatbot, ELIZA

ELIZAGEN.org is a comprehensive online resource dedicated to preserving and exploring the history of ELIZA, the world's first chatbot. The site houses various implementations of ELIZA across different programming languages (including the original MAD-SLIP, Lisp, and BASIC versions), along with historical documents, original code, experimental records, and papers. ELIZAGEN showcases ELIZA's evolution across platforms, from PDP-10s to modern web browsers. It offers a fascinating look into the origins, development, and impact of ELIZA, highlighting its lasting influence on AI and computer culture.

(sites.google.com)

AI chatbot AI history

Hooklistener: Visual Webhook Debugging & Testing Tool

2024-12-17

Hooklistener: Visual Webhook Debugging & Testing Tool

Hooklistener is an online tool for visualizing, debugging, and testing webhooks. It offers real-time payload inspection, local testing capabilities, custom scheduling, actionable alerts, and team collaboration features. Users can easily set up endpoints, receive and analyze webhooks, and automate workflows with scheduled tasks. Hooklistener provides free and paid plans to cater to various needs, empowering developers to manage and debug webhooks more efficiently.

(www.hooklistener.com)

Development Debugging Testing

Wayland vs X11 Input Latency: Hard Numbers

2025-01-26

The author quantitatively compared input latency between Wayland and X11 using a 240 FPS phone camera to record mouse movements. Results showed Wayland had roughly 6.5ms more average latency than X11, approximately one screen refresh cycle. While the experiment had limitations, the results suggest a clear latency difference, potentially explaining the perceived lag experienced by some users.

(mort.coffee)

Tech input latency

60 Years of Space Mission Patches: A Visual History

2025-01-05

60 Years of Space Mission Patches: A Visual History

This article explores the evolution of space mission patches over six decades, showcasing iconic designs from the Soviet Union, NASA, and SpaceX. It highlights the Gemini 5 mission patch as an example of how astronauts infused personal meaning into their designs. The article contrasts the styles of different agencies: NASA patches often include crew names, while NRO patches are enigmatic and humorous, and ESA patches blend European culture and scientific spirit. These patches are not just memorabilia; they encapsulate the history, technology, and human element of space exploration.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech space mission patches space history

A Journey Through Time: The History of Infographics

2024-12-23

A Journey Through Time: The History of Infographics

The history of infographics is far richer and longer than many realize. It's not a modern invention, but a continuous thread weaving through centuries. From prehistoric cave paintings to medieval maps and Renaissance scientific illustrations, humanity has consistently sought more intuitive ways to present information. The 'chart craze' of the 18th century propelled infographics to new heights, becoming powerful tools for social science research. Today, with technological advancements, infographics are more vibrant and deeply integrated into our lives. This journey reflects humanity's ongoing exploration of information understanding and expression.

(history.infowetrust.com)

Design infographics history

Geometry Clipmaps: Simple Terrain Rendering with Level of Detail

2024-12-12

This blog post details geometry clipmaps, a technique for rendering vast terrains in real-time. It leverages a mesh with varying tessellation density—finer near the camera, coarser further away—to achieve level of detail. The author meticulously explains implementation details, including mesh generation, rendering procedures, handling seams, and efficient heightmap storage. Mesh alignment is crucial, preventing shimmering artifacts. While complex, the technique shines for its simplicity, avoiding computationally expensive algorithms while maintaining high-quality terrain rendering.

(mikejsavage.co.uk)

Game terrain rendering geometry clipmaps

Quick Start with TideCloak: Secure React App in 10 Minutes

2024-12-19

Quick Start with TideCloak: Secure React App in 10 Minutes

TideCloak is an easy-to-use identity and access management system based on Keycloak and secured by Tide's Cybersecurity Fabric. This guide shows you how to build a secure single-page React application with TideCloak in under 10 minutes. First, install Docker and NPM, then run the TideCloak-Dev Docker container. After activating a free developer license, create your React project, install dependencies, and run the application. Users can log in, register, and view customized content based on predefined roles, all managed by TideCloak and secured by Tide's Cybersecurity Fabric.

(github.com)

Development Identity Management

Internet Folklore: From Printer Fails to National Security Breaches

2025-01-14

This collection compiles hilarious internet anecdotes, ranging from OpenOffice's Tuesday printing woes to a national security breach caused by Windows Sound Recorder, a 25-year-old font's resurgence, and various bizarre hardware malfunctions and software bugs. These stories highlight the humorous side of the tech world and reflect the often comical challenges faced by programmers and users alike.

(dbrgn.ch)

Misc internet folklore programmer stories tech humor

The Future of Dashboard Design?

2024-12-23

The Future of Dashboard Design?

This article explores the shortcomings of current dashboard design. The author points out that existing dashboards are often poorly designed and fail to effectively utilize the human visual system to process large amounts of information. The article reviews cognitive systems engineering research from the 80s and 90s on dashboard design, such as ecological interface design and visual momentum, and notes the current industry's lack of focus on improving dashboard design. The author calls for greater attention to dashboard design, to better integrate query functions and improve information processing efficiency.

(surfingcomplexity.blog)

Development dashboard design observability user interface

Campsite Open Source: A Monorepo Deep Dive

2025-01-14

Campsite Open Source: A Monorepo Deep Dive

The Campsite open-source project is a large monorepo containing the entire codebase for their application. While no longer actively maintained, it's a valuable resource for learning how Campsite works and forking for non-commercial projects. The project relies on numerous services, including S3, Pusher, Imgix, 100ms, and OpenAI, requiring extensive configuration for local setup. Detailed instructions are provided for local development, covering environment variable setup, service integration, and running the web app, marketing site, Storybook, and desktop app.

(github.com)

Development local development

Developer Automates Job Application Process, Sends 250 Applications in 20 Minutes

2024-12-28

Developer Automates Job Application Process, Sends 250 Applications in 20 Minutes

Tired of the repetitive job hunt, a developer built an automated system that sent out 250 job applications in just 20 minutes—and landed a job offer before even finishing the project! The system uses Python scripts and large language models (LLMs) to scrape job postings, parse data, and generate personalized cover letters. It also includes email sending and tracking features to avoid spam filters. This is part one; part two details the system's refinement and improvements.

(blog.daviddodda.com)

Development job search

Sherlock Project: Hunt Down Social Media Accounts Across 400+ Networks

2024-12-25

The Sherlock Project is a powerful tool allowing users to search for social media accounts across 400+ networks using only a username. It's easy to get started with simple installation and usage instructions, and supports a wide range of sites. Community contributions are welcome, enabling users to add new sites and improve functionality.

(sherlockproject.xyz)

Development social media search account search Sherlock Project

OpenAI Bot Crushes Small E-commerce Site

2025-01-10

OpenAI Bot Crushes Small E-commerce Site

Triplegangers, a seven-person e-commerce company, had its website crippled by OpenAI's GPTBot in a DDoS-like attack. GPTBot relentlessly scraped images and descriptions of over 65,000 products, causing the site to crash and incurring significant AWS charges. Triplegangers discovered their robots.txt file was improperly configured, failing to effectively block GPTBot. While OpenAI claims to respect robots.txt, its bot didn't immediately respond to the updated file. This incident highlights the potential risks of AI data scraping for small businesses and OpenAI's delayed opt-out tool.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech AI data scraping DDoS attack

AI Models Are Now Surprisingly Good Historians

2025-01-26

AI Models Are Now Surprisingly Good Historians

Leading AI models are demonstrating remarkable capabilities in historical research. Three case studies showcase GPT-4o, o1, and Claude Sonnet 3.5's prowess in transcribing and translating early modern Italian texts, analyzing an 18th-century Mexican medical manuscript, and generating novel historical interpretations. While limitations remain, such as occasional factual inaccuracies, their potential in streamlining research, synthesizing information, and suggesting new research avenues is undeniable. This heralds a transformative shift in how historical research is conducted.

(resobscura.substack.com)

AI historical research

Transformer²: Self-Adaptive LLMs Break New Ground

2025-01-15

Transformer²: Self-Adaptive LLMs Break New Ground

Transformer² is a novel machine learning system that dynamically adjusts its weights for various tasks. Inspired by nature's adaptive mechanisms, like an octopus changing color or the brain rewiring itself, it enables Large Language Models (LLMs) to adapt to new tasks in real-time. Using Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) and Reinforcement Learning (RL), Transformer² decomposes model weights into independent components and learns how to combine them optimally for diverse tasks, including math, coding, reasoning, and visual understanding. Results show Transformer² outperforms traditional static approaches like LoRA in efficiency and task-specific performance, requiring far fewer parameters. This work paves the way for building 'living intelligence' AI systems that continuously learn and evolve.

(sakana.ai)

AI

Parinfer: A Simpler Way to Edit Lisp

2025-01-20

Parinfer is a novel editor mode for Lisp programming languages that simplifies Lisp coding by cleverly linking parentheses and indentation. It tackles the notorious parenthesis problem in Lisp, offering a more intuitive editing experience for both beginners and experts. Parinfer features two modes: Indent Mode and Paren Mode, allowing users to focus on either indentation or parentheses while Parinfer automatically manages the other. It also provides Paredit-like functionality without requiring complex hotkeys. At its core, Parinfer relies on a formal definition of the relationship between parentheses and indentation and employs a smart auto-adjustment mechanism based on this definition.

(shaunlebron.github.io)

Development Code

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

2024-12-16

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

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

(infedu.vu.lt)

Development programming education language design educational technology

Kamal's Killer: Deploying Rails with Dokku

2025-01-21

Kamal's Killer: Deploying Rails with Dokku

Basecamp's Kamal offers a solution for deploying Rails on bare metal, but it's not the easiest tool to use. This article champions a simpler alternative: Dokku – essentially Heroku, self-hosted. The author provides a step-by-step guide to deploying a Rails app using Dokku, covering installation, app creation, database configuration (PostgreSQL), environment variable setup, domain and SSL configuration (with Let's Encrypt), and using a Procfile for web and release processes. A bonus section introduces the Deployless gem, automating the entire deployment process for streamlined efficiency.

(impactahead.com)

Development

Dwarf Fortress Adventure Mode Finally Hits Steam!

2025-01-26

The long-awaited Adventure Mode update for Dwarf Fortress officially launched on January 23rd, available on Steam and Itch.io. This free update transforms the iconic construction and management sim into a turn-based roguelike experience. Players can use custom characters, explore existing worlds from a new perspective, or embark on quests in newly generated ones. Adventure Mode retains Dwarf Fortress's signature world simulation and sandbox elements but emphasizes exploration and questing, offering a challenging and replayable strategic experience.

(gamerant.com)

Game Adventure Mode

Typst vs. TeX: A Comparison of Layout Models and a Look Ahead

2025-02-14

This article explores the differences in layout models between the typesetting engines Typst and TeX. TeX, based on boxes and glue, is flexible but lacks awareness of precise positions; Typst uses a region model, allowing elements to react to their position but sacrificing some flexibility. The author analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of both models and points out that Typst, by introducing a re-layout mechanism, is expected to balance flexibility and optimization, addressing current shortcomings in handling complex layouts (such as wrap-around images and pageable tables).

(laurmaedje.github.io)

Development typesetting engine

cURL and libcurl Drop Hyper Support

2024-12-22

cURL and libcurl Drop Hyper Support

After a four-year experiment, the cURL project has announced it's abandoning the use of the Rust-based Hyper library as an HTTP backend. Despite Hyper's memory safety advantages and support from Let's Encrypt, lack of user demand and developer involvement led to its termination. The cURL team cited the high cost of maintaining the Hyper code and a focus on improving and maintaining the existing codebase. While the experiment failed, cURL gained valuable experience and improved its HTTP handling capabilities.

(daniel.haxx.se)

Development

macOS Kernel Vulnerability CVE-2024-54507: A Ghostly sysctl Overread

2025-01-23

macOS Kernel Vulnerability CVE-2024-54507: A Ghostly sysctl Overread

A security researcher uncovered a fascinating vulnerability (CVE-2024-54507) in the XNU kernel of macOS 15.0. The bug resides within the `sysctl_udp_log_port` function, where an integer type confusion leads to a 4-byte read instead of the expected 2-byte read of a `uint16_t` variable, resulting in a 2-byte out-of-bounds read. An attacker could exploit this to read parts of kernel memory; while the contents depend on linker behavior and system configuration, it could still leak sensitive data. Apple patched this vulnerability in macOS 15.2 and iOS 18.2.

(jprx.io)

Tech kernel vulnerability

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