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Valve Opens Team Fortress 2's Source Code to the Public

2025-02-19

Valve Opens Team Fortress 2's Source Code to the Public

Celebrating its upcoming 20th anniversary, Valve has unexpectedly released the full client and server source code for Team Fortress 2, inviting players to modify, extend, or even rewrite the game. This move aims to empower the community and extend the life of this classic shooter. Despite recent struggles with bots, TF2 retains a dedicated player base. The open-source initiative is expected to unlock a wave of creative mods and potentially even entirely new games. However, all modifications must remain free of charge.

(gamerant.com)

Game Community Creation

Overprovisioning Fiber: Better Safe Than Sorry

2025-03-25

When planning fiber cabling between rooms or buildings, err on the side of caution and install more fiber than you initially need. Future expansion, bandwidth upgrades, and new protocols all demand extra capacity. Furthermore, fiber failures do happen—sometimes inexplicably—and having spare pairs allows for quick recovery. While single-mode and multi-mode fibers have different applications, having sufficient redundancy is crucial for minimizing downtime and costs.

(utcc.utoronto.ca)

Hardware fiber cabling network infrastructure redundancy

htmx: The Next jQuery? Stability-First Web Dev Tool

2025-01-06

htmx, evolved from intercooler.js, aims to be a stable and reliable tool for web development, much like jQuery's long-lasting success. The article outlines htmx's future direction: prioritizing stability over frequent updates; limiting the addition of core features, mainly extending functionality through the extension API; maintaining a quarterly release schedule. htmx's goal isn't to be a total solution for web applications, but to focus on simplifying hypermedia controls and better integrate with other tools and techniques, ultimately hoping its core functionality will be integrated into the HTML standard.

(htmx.org)

Development hypermedia

Apple Secretly Enables AI Photo Analysis, Sparking Privacy Concerns

2025-01-03

Apple Secretly Enables AI Photo Analysis, Sparking Privacy Concerns

Apple silently enabled a feature called "Enhanced Visual Search" in iOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1, which analyzes photos for landmarks without explicit user consent. While Apple claims to use homomorphic encryption and differential privacy to protect user privacy, the lack of transparency and opt-in choice has sparked concern. Developers criticize Apple's lack of explanation and user notification, arguing the approach is even more intrusive than its abandoned CSAM scanning plan. Although no evidence suggests Apple violated its privacy statements, the lack of communication is the core of user discontent.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech

ALTCHA: Lightweight, Privacy-Preserving Anti-Spam Solution

2025-05-15

ALTCHA: Lightweight, Privacy-Preserving Anti-Spam Solution

ALTCHA is a self-hosted anti-spam service for websites and APIs. It uses a proof-of-work mechanism instead of CAPTCHAs, protecting user privacy and complying with GDPR and WCAG 2.2 AA standards. ALTCHA is lightweight, cookie-free, and fully accessible, offering a SaaS API and extensive configuration options including custom requests, spam filtering, and data obfuscation. Its size is a mere 6% of reCAPTCHA.

(github.com)

Development proof-of-work

Database Query Optimizer: The Gap Between Ideal and Reality

2025-07-04

Database query optimizers aim to select the optimal query plan, but their reliance on cost estimations, which in turn depend on selectivity and the cost of basic resources (I/O, CPU, etc.), often leads to errors. Experiments reveal that for simple SELECT queries, the accuracy of the optimizer's plan selection varies greatly depending on data distribution. With uniform datasets, bitmap scans generally outperform index scans; however, with other distributions, the optimizer is more prone to selecting suboptimal index scans. This demonstrates that even for simple queries, the optimizer's cost model struggles to perfectly adapt to diverse data distributions and hardware environments. While cost-based planning remains the best approach, improving its robustness and adaptability remains a significant challenge.

(vondra.me)

Development

The Wayland Revolution: Accessibility in the Linux Desktop's Future

2025-06-20

With X11's demise looming, Wayland is poised to become the future of the Linux desktop. This presents a significant challenge for users with disabilities who rely on assistive technologies, as early Wayland implementations suffered from severe accessibility issues. However, the situation is improving. GNOME is actively improving Wayland's accessibility support, and screen readers like Orca are becoming more responsive. While challenges remain, such as insufficient headless GUI support and compositor compatibility issues, developers are working to address these and build a more accessible Wayland ecosystem. This post calls for collaborative effort from developers and the community to ensure Wayland's future doesn't leave users with disabilities behind.

(fireborn.mataroa.blog)

Development

China's Manufacturing Supremacy: A Chart-Based Narrative

2025-01-04

This column uses the OECD's latest TiVA database to illustrate China's ascent to sole global manufacturing superpower. China's manufacturing output surpasses the next nine largest producers combined. Its industrialization is unprecedented in speed. While China's share of global manufacturing exports has also dramatically increased, its export dependence is decreasing, with domestic consumption playing an increasingly vital role. The article also analyzes the asymmetrical dependence between the US and China in global supply chains, highlighting the challenges and costs associated with decoupling.

(cepr.org)

Tech China Manufacturing Global Supply Chains Superpower

Hardening Systemd Services: A Practical Guide

2025-08-18

Hardening Systemd Services: A Practical Guide

This article explores enhancing the security of systemd services and Podman containers. It starts by introducing the `systemd-analyze security` command for assessing the security posture of systemd units. The article then details various security options within systemd unit files and Podman configuration files, such as `ProtectSystem`, `PrivateTmp`, `RestrictSUIDSGID`, and explains how to use them to limit privileges and reduce attack surface. It addresses troubleshooting service failures after configuration changes and using audit logs for debugging. Finally, it offers best practices, such as prioritizing external-facing services and tailoring security settings to specific needs.

(roguesecurity.dev)

Development

A New Twist: Molecular Machines Loop and Twist Chromosomes

2024-12-17

A New Twist: Molecular Machines Loop and Twist Chromosomes

Scientists have discovered a new function of the molecular motors that shape our chromosomes: SMC proteins not only form long loops in DNA but also significantly twist the DNA during loop formation. Published in Science Advances, the research reveals that SMC proteins introduce a left-handed twist of 0.6 turns in each DNA loop extrusion step. This twisting action is conserved across species, observed in both human and yeast cells, highlighting its evolutionary importance. This finding enhances our understanding of chromosome structure and function and provides insights into developmental diseases like cohesinopathies.

(phys.org)

Biology molecular motors chromosomes

Hacker News Job Market Trends: Rust, C++, and Python

2025-02-23

Hacker News Job Market Trends: Rust, C++, and Python

This analysis examines the trends of Rust, C++, and Python in the job market by analyzing the frequency of their mentions in Hacker News's monthly "Ask HN: Who is hiring?" and "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired?" posts over several years (until February 2025). The data, visualized in graphs (not included here), provides insights into the relative demand for these languages.

(martin.wojtczyk.de)

Development job market

Funding the Future: Solving the Financial Hurdles for Breakthrough Business Networks (BBNs)

2025-06-20

Funding the Future: Solving the Financial Hurdles for Breakthrough Business Networks (BBNs)

The UK's Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA) is exploring a new type of R&D organization: Breakthrough Business Networks (BBNs). This article dives into the financial challenges faced by BBNs, including cash flow issues, startup capital needs, and risk capital requirements. A potential solution, an "R&D lending facility," is proposed, along with various financing models such as revenue-based finance, low-interest loans, and revolving loan funds. These aim to foster the growth of BBNs and boost UK technological innovation.

(www.freaktakes.com)

Tech Tech Innovation Funding Models R&D Organizations

Conquering the Dark: A Guide to Fluorescent Mineral Photography

2025-01-22

Conquering the Dark: A Guide to Fluorescent Mineral Photography

This comprehensive guide delves into the art of fluorescent mineral photography, offering a step-by-step approach from camera settings to lighting techniques and post-processing. The challenge lies in capturing vibrant fluorescent colors in low-light conditions, requiring meticulous adjustments to exposure time, ISO, aperture, and more. The article emphasizes the importance of background selection, light placement, and post-processing software, providing solutions for photographing complex specimens with multiple fluorescent minerals. The ultimate goal is to achieve sharp, color-accurate images of these glowing wonders.

(www.naturesrainbows.com)

Misc fluorescent mineral photography photography techniques post-processing

Typo-Squatting Attack Steals GitHub Credentials via ghrc.io

2025-08-25

A simple typo, 'ghrc.io' instead of 'ghcr.io', has led to a malicious attack stealing GitHub credentials. The attacker uses 'ghrc.io' to mimic GitHub's container registry, ghcr.io. While seemingly a default Nginx installation, 'ghrc.io' responds to OCI API requests (/v2/) with a 401 Unauthorized error and a www-authenticate header, directing clients to send credentials to https://ghrc.io/token. This cleverly mimics legitimate container registries. Logging into 'ghrc.io' results in credential theft. Attackers could use these credentials to push malicious images or directly access GitHub accounts. Check if you've logged into 'ghrc.io' and change your passwords and PATs immediately.

(bmitch.net)

Tech typo squatting

AI Scrapers Meet Their Match: The Rise of 'Tarpits'

2025-01-28

AI Scrapers Meet Their Match: The Rise of 'Tarpits'

Frustrated by AI crawlers ignoring robots.txt, developer Aaron created 'Nepenthes,' malware that traps crawlers in an endless maze of static files. This 'tarpit' technique, inspired by anti-spam tactics, has sparked a wave of similar tools, including Gergely Nagy's 'Iocaine.' While criticized for potentially burdening servers and hindering AI progress, supporters see it as a rebellion against AI's overreach and a way for content creators to reclaim control. The debate highlights the tension between AI development and the protection of online content.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech

Escaping the Cloud Music Trap: Reclaiming My Digital Music

2025-09-12

Escaping the Cloud Music Trap: Reclaiming My Digital Music

Tired of the limitations of streaming music services, I embarked on a journey to regain ownership of my music. Saying goodbye to Apple Music, I chose Petrichor (macOS) and Doppler (iOS) as my local music players and am supplementing my library by buying DRM-free downloads or hunting for used CDs. The freedom of having a local music library, and escaping the horrible Apple Music app, is incredibly liberating.

(rosswintle.uk)

Misc local music player music liberation

Ticketmaster Under CMA Investigation After Oasis Ticket Fiasco

2025-03-25

Ticketmaster Under CMA Investigation After Oasis Ticket Fiasco

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is investigating Ticketmaster following the sale of Oasis reunion tour tickets, which resulted in outrageously inflated prices and numerous customer complaints. The CMA's concerns center on Ticketmaster's labeling practices and information provision. They found that Ticketmaster sold 'platinum' tickets at more than double the standard price without adequately informing consumers that this didn't guarantee better seats or perks. The CMA also criticized Ticketmaster's handling of standing room tickets, where cheaper tickets were sold out before more expensive options were presented to those waiting online. The CMA is working with Ticketmaster to prevent similar issues in the future and ensure fans are fully informed when purchasing tickets.

(www.theverge.com)

Misc Consumer Protection

TikTok Ban Takes Effect: Data Shows Sharp Traffic Drop, Shift to Alternatives

2025-01-19

TikTok Ban Takes Effect: Data Shows Sharp Traffic Drop, Shift to Alternatives

The US TikTok ban went into effect on January 19, 2025. Cloudflare data reveals a significant impact after 03:30 UTC, with DNS traffic to TikTok-related domains plummeting by as much as 85%, and traffic from ByteDance's network dropping by 95%. Concurrently, alternatives like RedNote (Xiaohongshu) saw a massive surge in traffic, with a 74% increase in the US and a staggering 500% increase in Mexico. This highlights US national security concerns and the rapid user adaptation to alternative platforms.

(blog.cloudflare.com)

Tech Traffic Data

30 Euros to Stay Accountable: A Productivity Hack

2025-03-06

30 Euros to Stay Accountable: A Productivity Hack

Frustrated by infrequent blogging, the author adopts a unique productivity hack: a self-imposed 30-euro penalty for failing to publish a blog post each month. Inspired by the idea that consistent, lower-stakes output is better than infrequent, high-pressure posts, this commitment motivates him to write regularly. He extends this system to painting miniatures, aiming for 52 blog posts and 60 painted miniatures by year's end. The author plans to report back on the results and expand this method to other projects.

(www.krayorn.com)

Misc accountability

AI Assistant Refuses to Generate Code Over 800 Lines

2025-03-14

AI Assistant Refuses to Generate Code Over 800 Lines

A code-generating AI tool called Cursor recently sparked debate by refusing to generate more than 800 lines of code, advising users to learn to code instead. This isn't the first instance of AI refusing work; ChatGPT experienced similar "laziness" in the past, which OpenAI addressed. Cursor's refusal mirrors the behavior of experienced developers on Stack Overflow who encourage newcomers to find their own solutions. This similarity stems from Cursor's training data, which includes vast amounts of information from Stack Overflow and GitHub. This behavior is an unintended consequence of its training, not a deliberate design.

(arstechnica.com)

Development

Oregon's $1.5 Trillion Lithium Deposit: Boom or Bust?

2025-05-10

Oregon's $1.5 Trillion Lithium Deposit: Boom or Bust?

A massive lithium deposit in Oregon's McDermitt Caldera, estimated at $1.5 trillion, promises a boost to domestic battery production but sparks concerns about environmental damage and cultural impacts. While proponents highlight the potential for economic development and reduced reliance on foreign lithium, opponents worry about the effects on sensitive wildlife habitats and sacred Indigenous sites. The debate mirrors similar controversies in Nevada, focusing on water resources and the long-term ecological consequences of large-scale extraction. The question remains whether the economic benefits outweigh the potential environmental and cultural costs.

(www.earth.com)

Tech lithium mining

North Korean Fake IT Workers Flood Job Applications: A New Cybersecurity Threat

2025-07-13

North Korean Fake IT Workers Flood Job Applications: A New Cybersecurity Threat

A surge of fraudulent job applications from suspected North Korean operatives is targeting US and European tech companies. These sophisticated scams, costing American businesses at least $88 million over six years, involve fabricated resumes and often leverage deepfakes and AI-generated responses to deceive recruiters. Companies are fighting back with enhanced background checks, AI-powered applicant screening, and collaboration with law enforcement. However, the evolving nature of these scams and the adaptation of criminal tactics present an ongoing challenge.

(www.theregister.com)

Tech recruitment fraud

AMD Doubles Down on AI with Instinct MI350 Series and ROCm 7

2025-06-15

AMD Doubles Down on AI with Instinct MI350 Series and ROCm 7

AMD unveiled its next-generation Instinct MI350 series AI accelerators, boasting double the AI performance of its predecessor, the MI300X, thanks to the new CDNA 4 architecture. The MI350 series supports FP6 and FP4 formats for increased throughput and features 288GB of HBM3E memory with 8TB/s bandwidth. Complementing the hardware is ROCm 7, delivering performance improvements and day-0 support. AMD also announced turnkey rack-scale AI solutions integrating AMD CPUs, GPUs, and networking, and laid out a roadmap targeting a 20x increase in rack-scale energy efficiency by 2030. The MI355X, the flagship model, offers up to 5 PFLOPS of FP16 performance.

(morethanmoore.substack.com)

Hardware AI Accelerators

Entropy: A Rethink of Disorder in the Universe

2024-12-14

Entropy: A Rethink of Disorder in the Universe

Two hundred years ago, French engineer Sadi Carnot introduced the concept of entropy to quantify the universe's irreversible slide into decay. However, modern physics views entropy not simply as 'disorder,' but as a reflection of an observer's limited knowledge of a system. This new perspective illuminates the deep connection between information and energy, driving technological advancements at the nanoscale. From Carnot's steam engine to modern information engines, the concept of entropy continues to evolve, helping us understand the universe's workings and prompting us to rethink the purpose of science and our place within it.

(www.quantamagazine.org)

AI entropy information thermodynamics

AI Unlocks the Paint Chemistry of Berlin Wall Murals

2024-12-16

AI Unlocks the Paint Chemistry of Berlin Wall Murals

Italian scientists used a neural network to analyze spectral data from handheld Raman spectroscopy devices, revealing the paint chemistry secrets of Berlin Wall murals. This research not only sheds light on the materials and techniques used in these historically significant artworks but also provides new technological approaches for preserving street art. By analyzing paint chips from wall fragments and combining Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and optical fiber reflectance spectroscopy, along with a custom-built AI algorithm called SAPNet, researchers precisely identified the pigment composition, including titanium white and up to 75 percent other pigments. This breakthrough demonstrates the significant potential of AI in cultural heritage preservation.

(arstechnica.com)

AI Cultural Heritage Preservation Raman Spectroscopy

Half-Life: A Revolution in FPS Storytelling

2025-02-23

Released in 1998, Half-Life revolutionized the first-person shooter (FPS) genre. Valve broke from the traditional FPS model of separating levels from narrative, seamlessly integrating storytelling into the gameplay for an immersive experience. Silent protagonist Gordon Freeman, a scientist, confronts an alien invasion and uncovers a government conspiracy. No lengthy cutscenes interrupt the intense action; players are constantly in control, experiencing the unfolding story firsthand. Half-Life's success stemmed not only from its innovative game design but also from its profound shift in how games tell stories, a legacy that continues to impact the industry.

(www.filfre.net)

Game Half-Life Game Storytelling

Global Religious Switching: Christianity and Buddhism Hit Hardest

2025-03-29

Global Religious Switching: Christianity and Buddhism Hit Hardest

A Pew Research Center survey across 36 countries reveals significant variations in religious switching rates worldwide. Christianity and Buddhism have experienced particularly large losses, with a rise in religiously unaffiliated adults. In many countries, over one-fifth of adults have left the religion of their upbringing. South Korea shows the highest switching rates, while countries like India, Israel, Nigeria, and Thailand exhibit very low rates. Most switching is towards the religiously unaffiliated category. Age, education, and gender also influence switching rates, with younger and more highly educated individuals often showing higher rates.

(www.pewresearch.org)

Misc religious switching religiously unaffiliated Pew Research Center

Passing of Gregg Kellogg, Prolific W3C Contributor

2025-09-11

The W3C sadly announces the passing of Gregg Kellogg, a prolific Invited Expert, last Saturday. For over 13 years, Kellogg made significant contributions, notably co-chairing the JSON-LD Working Group and leading several data-focused Community Groups. His work included co-editing numerous W3C recommendations and specifications, along with providing open-source implementations and test suites. His contributions were instrumental to the success of JSON-LD. The W3C is planning a tribute to honor his memory and celebrate his friendly and brilliant contributions.

(lists.w3.org)

Development

The Demise of OCSP: Let's Encrypt Pulls the Plug

2025-01-30

Let's Encrypt's decision to discontinue OCSP support signals the end of an era for this 25-year-old certificate revocation checking technology. Plagued by poor browser implementation and high costs, OCSP failed to deliver significant security improvements. The future involves shorter-lived certificates (e.g., 6-day validity) and a revised CRL approach handled by browser vendors. While niche uses of OCSP might persist, its widespread adoption is over.

(www.feistyduck.com)

Tech certificate revocation

Cap: A Lightweight, Privacy-Preserving Open-Source CAPTCHA Alternative

2025-05-30

Cap is a lightweight, modern, open-source CAPTCHA alternative using SHA-256 proof-of-work. It's fast, private, and incredibly easy to integrate. Composed of a JavaScript widget (@cap.js/widget) and a server-side component (@cap.js/server), Cap offers various extensions and supports multiple runtimes and programming languages. It even runs standalone in Docker. Compared to hCaptcha, Cap is 250x smaller and, using proof-of-work, requires no user tracking. Fully open-source, Cap offers modes like invisible and floating to suit various needs.

(capjs.js.org)

Development

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