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Rackmounting the Unrackmountable: A HiFi DIY Adventure

2025-03-03

Rackmounting the Unrackmountable: A HiFi DIY Adventure

This article chronicles the author's journey to build a custom 2U rack unit for their HiFi system, integrating a DAC, input selector, and streaming device. Using OpenSCAD for design and CNC turret punching for fabrication, they encountered challenges with curve precision in the DXF output, solved by using FreeCAD. Initial attempts with a HiFiBerry hat proved unreliable, leading to a switch to a Wiim Pro. The project highlights the joys and challenges of DIY, resulting in a functional and aesthetically pleasing unit. Code is available on Github.

(calbryant.uk)

Hardware Rack Mounting

Visualizing the YC Company Landscape

2024-12-26

Mike Alche has created a visualization tool showcasing the Y Combinator (YC) company landscape. This interactive tool provides a clear overview of the industries represented, investment relationships, and growth trajectories of YC-backed companies. Its intuitive design and clear charts offer a unique perspective on the YC ecosystem, revealing connections and trends among startups. This is a valuable resource for entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone interested in the tech industry.

(yc-map.vercel.app)

Startup Startups

Unprecedented Drop in Teen Drug Use Continues to Surprise Experts

2024-12-20

Unprecedented Drop in Teen Drug Use Continues to Surprise Experts

A new study reveals a continued and unexpected drop in teen drug use in 2024, reaching historic lows. The decline, which began during the COVID-19 pandemic, has not reversed despite the lifting of restrictions. Rates of alcohol, marijuana, and nicotine use among 8th, 10th, and 12th graders have all plummeted. Researchers are now investigating the contributing factors to this unprecedented trend and planning interventions to maintain these low rates.

(arstechnica.com)

Health teen drug use pandemic impact

Million-Dollar Prize for Open-Source AI Coding Competition

2024-12-16

Andy Konwinski launched the K Prize, a $1 million competition to advance open-source AI coding capabilities. The competition uses a revamped version of the SWE-bench benchmark, eliminating test set contamination for a more accurate assessment of AI models' real-world coding skills. Inspired by the Netflix Prize, Konwinski believes the competition will spur AI research and attract top talent globally.

(andykonwinski.com)

AI AI competition open-source

Rapid Game Prototyping with LÖVE

2024-12-31

A programmer, aiming to complete a full game in 2025, built chess and card game prototypes using the LÖVE2D framework in Lua. LÖVE's simple yet powerful API allowed for complex UI interactions with minimal code, further accelerated by LLM-assisted code generation. The author found LÖVE ideal for prototyping, especially UI, but noted the need for improvements in hot reloading and logic separation for larger projects. The plan is to use LÖVE to develop a basic game MVP.

(healeycodes.com)

Game game prototyping

Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre: A Lightweight OS Committed to Freedom and Long-Term Support

2024-12-15

Hyperbola GNU/Linux-libre is a community-driven operating system project aiming to provide a fully free, stable, secure, simple, and lightweight long-term support distribution. It leverages Arch Linux's package management and Debian's security patches, adhering to the GNU Free System Distribution Guidelines. Supporting i686 and x86_64 architectures, Hyperbola plans to release a BSD-based system, HyperbolaBSD. Recent news includes continued support for 32-bit systems, discontinuation of Debian patchsets beyond version 12, and concerns expressed regarding the Free Software Foundation's statement on machine learning.

(www.hyperbola.info)

Development Operating System Free Software

Decompilation's Resurgence: A Look Back at 2024

2025-01-30

2024 marked a significant resurgence in decompilation research. Academic publications from that year comprised nearly 30% of all top-tier publications ever in the field. This post summarizes the academic and ideological advancements in decompilation during 2024. A surge in academic papers occurred, with four focusing on defining 'good' decompilation and four exploring AI's role, including symbol prediction and code simplification. Nearly all papers included open-source implementations, fostering industry adoption. The year also saw a tour by decompilation pioneer Dr. Cristina Cifuentes and a prominent expert panel at Recon 2024, further driving the field forward.

(mahaloz.re)

Development decompilation

Concurrent Cycle Collection: Garbage-Collected Smart Pointers in Rust for Scheme

2024-12-13

This article details the implementation of a concurrent cycle collector in Rust for garbage-collected smart pointers (Gc) within a Scheme interpreter. Gc functions similarly to Arc>, supporting interior mutability, cloning, and sending across threads. The article thoroughly explains the implementation of Gc, including thread-safe interior mutability using semaphores and read/write locks, and the implementation details of concurrent cycle collection based on the Bacon and Rajan algorithm. This includes the Trace trait, cycle detection, and mechanisms for handling concurrent modifications.

(maplant.com)

Development Garbage Collection Concurrency

SVDQuant: 3x Speedup on Blackwell GPUs with NVFP4

2025-02-22

MIT researchers have developed SVDQuant, a novel 4-bit quantization paradigm that leverages a low-rank branch to absorb outliers, resulting in significant performance gains on NVIDIA's Blackwell GPU architecture. Using the NVFP4 format, SVDQuant achieves better image quality than INT4 and is 3x faster than BF16, with a 3.5x reduction in memory usage. The research is open-sourced and includes an interactive demo.

(hanlab.mit.edu)

AI AI acceleration quantization

Programmer Focus Indicator: The Birth of FlowLight

2024-12-15

Inspired by a research paper on the impact of work interruptions, programmer Shae Erisson DIYed a system called FlowLight to indicate whether a programmer is in a focused "flow" state. The system monitors idle time in the Emacs editor; when the programmer is inactive for a period, an Adafruit MagTag board's LED changes color (green for idle, red for busy). Erisson also wrote an HTTP server in CircuitPython to remotely control the LED color and display status. While the system has room for improvement, such as more granular idle time monitoring and a more visually appealing display, it effectively helps programmers avoid interruptions and improve productivity.

(www.scannedinavian.com)

Development programmer focus flow

From Zero to Profit: The Three-Year Journey of a Photo Encryption App (Part 1)

2025-02-12

From Zero to Profit: The Three-Year Journey of a Photo Encryption App (Part 1)

This article chronicles the three-year journey of building SafeSpace, an iOS photo encryption app. From initial optimism to multiple App Store rejections, massive losses from paid advertising, and finally achieving profitability through a strategic pivot, the author details the struggles and triumphs. The narrative covers the learning curve of SwiftUI, the stringent App Store review process, and the difficulties of independent app marketing. A strategic shift in product focus and market positioning ultimately led to success, but the story doesn't end there; an Apple account investigation presents a new challenge.

(safespace.is)

Startup

Tokyo Unveils 3D Digital Twin Viewer: Real-time Data for Urban Management

2024-12-26

Tokyo Unveils 3D Digital Twin Viewer: Real-time Data for Urban Management

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government launched a beta version of its 'See Tokyo in 3D' digital twin platform. Built using the TerriaJS framework, this 3D viewer integrates real-time data such as traffic, river levels, and shelter information, offering a comprehensive view of Tokyo. The platform aids urban planning and management by providing a clear visualization of city operations. Data conversion tools are also provided to promote the use of CityJSON in Japan's developer community, with parts of the source code being open-sourced.

(info.tokyo-digitaltwin.metro.tokyo.lg.jp)

Tech Digital Twin 3D Modeling City Data Visualization Urban Management

ISS Over-Sterilization: A Microbial Ecosystem Approach to Space Travel

2025-03-05

ISS Over-Sterilization: A Microbial Ecosystem Approach to Space Travel

New research suggests that the International Space Station's (ISS) excessive sterilization may be counterproductive. Researchers found that continuous disinfection leads to a loss of microbial diversity, potentially harming astronaut health. They propose future spacecraft designs consider microbial spread, using isolated modules to control contamination. A more forward-thinking approach involves introducing beneficial microbes, even creating self-sustaining ecosystems with plants, pollinators, and animals. This research offers new insights into life support systems for future deep space missions.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech space microbiology

LLMs and Humans Exhibit Bias: A TTS Voice Attractiveness Ranking Experiment

2025-03-10

Last year, the author used LLMs to rank Hacker News users and discovered a bias where the models consistently favored the first user mentioned in the prompt. This year, a new experiment ranking TTS voice attractiveness revealed a similar bias in human participants, who favored voices presented on the right side of the screen. This reinforces the author's previous findings and highlights the importance of sample size and randomization when using both AI and human judgments to mitigate bias.

(wilsoniumite.com)

AI human bias TTS voices

The Enigma of HMAS Sydney's Disappearance

2025-02-23

The Enigma of HMAS Sydney's Disappearance

The loss of HMAS Sydney (II), a pride of the Australian navy, in late 1941 off Western Australia remains a mystery. After a Mediterranean tour, it encountered a ship claiming to be a Dutch freighter, which was actually the German raider HSK Kormoran. The ensuing battle resulted in the disappearance of HMAS Sydney and all hands, a tragic event that continues to puzzle historians and naval enthusiasts.

(archaeology.org)

Misc naval history wartime mystery HMAS Sydney

GNU Make Standard Library: A Powerful Function Library for Makefiles

2025-02-05

The GNU Make Standard Library (GMSL) is a collection of functions implemented using native GNU Make functionality. It provides list and string manipulation, integer arithmetic, associative arrays, stacks, and debugging facilities. Released under the BSD License, GMSL includes a test suite and offers features like logical operators, list/string manipulation, set operations, integer arithmetic, associative arrays, named stacks, function memoization, and debugging tools. It simplifies complex Makefile creation.

(gmsl.jgc.org)

Development Function Library

Hetzner AX162 Server Reliability Nightmare: A Painful Debugging Journey

2025-02-19

Hetzner AX162 Server Reliability Nightmare: A Painful Debugging Journey

Ubicloud encountered serious reliability issues with Hetzner's new AX162 servers: a 16x higher crash rate than its predecessor, AX161. After months of debugging, they suspected power limiting by Hetzner and motherboard defects as the root causes. Multiple hardware upgrades, especially motherboard replacements, ultimately resolved the issue. This experience taught them the risks of early adoption and led to process improvements, including more thorough vetting and gradual hardware rollouts.

(www.ubicloud.com)

Hardware server reliability

Battery-Free Solar-Powered Fabric Heats Up in the Sun

2025-02-01

Battery-Free Solar-Powered Fabric Heats Up in the Sun

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have developed a new type of fabric that heats up when exposed to sunlight thanks to embedded nanoparticles. This eco-friendly alternative to traditional heated clothing eliminates the need for batteries or external power sources. The fabric changes color to indicate temperature, is highly stretchable and durable, and shows potential applications in cold-weather rescue and pet clothing.

(uwaterloo.ca)

Tech

Lean Design Meets Cybernetics: The User Defines Purpose

2025-02-05

Lean Design Meets Cybernetics: The User Defines Purpose

This article explores design from a cybernetics perspective, drawing on the ideas of theorists like Ashby and Beer. It discusses Ashby's Law of Requisite Variety, highlighting the need for sufficient variety in a system regulator to handle perturbations. The author introduces the "user purpose hypothesis" and the "counteraction hypothesis," arguing that users ultimately determine a device's purpose and seek simplification or complexification based on its perceived complexity. The article also explores Poka-Yoke (error-proofing) in lean principles, the cost of variety in design, and the importance of immediate feedback, using the USB design as a case study balancing cost and user experience. Finally, the author cites Krippendorff, emphasizing that an artifact's meaning isn't inherent but assigned by the user through interaction, urging designers to focus on empowering users rather than designing specific products.

(stream.syscoi.com)

Design Cybernetics

DoorDash to Pay $16.75M to Drivers Over Tip Misuse

2025-02-25

DoorDash to Pay $16.75M to Drivers Over Tip Misuse

DoorDash will pay $16.75 million to over 60,000 drivers in New York after a lawsuit alleging the company misused tips. Between 2017 and 2019, DoorDash allegedly used tips to subsidize its guaranteed minimum wage, keeping the difference. While the company claimed drivers received 100% of tips, the lawsuit argued this was misleading as tips were factored into the base pay. This deceptive practice is finally being addressed, with eligible drivers set to receive compensation.

(gizmodo.com)

Tech Tip Dispute Legal Settlement

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

Website Anti-Scraping: Anubis v1.20.0 Deployed

2025-07-22

This website utilizes Anubis v1.20.0, an anti-scraping system employing a Proof-of-Work (PoW) mechanism similar to Hashcash to combat aggressive web scraping by AI companies. The overhead is negligible for individual users but significantly increases costs for large-scale scrapers. This is a temporary solution; future improvements will incorporate fingerprinting and headless browser detection to refine user identification and reduce the need for the PoW challenge. Ensure JavaScript is enabled in your browser and disable plugins like JShelter which may interfere with Anubis.

(maddie.wtf)

Development

Trump's 'Reciprocal' Tariffs: A Misunderstanding of VAT and its Impact

2025-02-15

Trump's 'Reciprocal' Tariffs: A Misunderstanding of VAT and its Impact

The Trump administration is again floating the idea of "reciprocal" tariffs on foreign countries. This plan, ostensibly a response to foreign tariffs and non-tariff barriers, fundamentally misunderstands the Value Added Tax (VAT). The article argues that equating VAT with tariffs is wrong; VAT is border-adjusted, rebating taxes on exports and imposing them on imports, resulting in a neutral economic effect. The real impediment to US competitiveness is the complex US state sales tax system, with its cascading taxes leading to "tax pyramiding" that increases costs for US businesses. Instead of raising tariffs, the article suggests reforming the US federal tax system, such as implementing full and immediate investment deductions, to boost US manufacturing competitiveness.

(taxfoundation.org)

Tech VAT

The Pareto Principle in Action: Why Doing Things Matters

2025-03-05

The Pareto Principle in Action: Why Doing Things Matters

This article explores the Pareto Principle (80/20 rule) across various domains, highlighting how most people passively participate while active agents rise to the top. Using examples from competitive gaming, career advancement, and social interactions, the author demonstrates that even minimal effort can yield significant advantages. The key takeaway is that proactive engagement and intentional learning, rather than passive observation, are crucial for seizing opportunities and achieving self-improvement.

(arealsociety.substack.com)

Misc action

Apple Unveils Most Powerful Mac Ever: Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra

2025-03-05

Apple Unveils Most Powerful Mac Ever: Mac Studio with M4 Max and M3 Ultra

Apple announced the new Mac Studio, its most powerful Mac yet, featuring the M4 Max and the groundbreaking M3 Ultra chip. Boasting up to 512GB of unified memory and a 16TB SSD, this pro desktop delivers unparalleled performance, especially for AI tasks like running LLMs with over 600 billion parameters in memory. The M3 Ultra offers a massive performance leap over previous generations, featuring a 32-core CPU and 80-core GPU. Enhanced connectivity with Thunderbolt 5 and Apple Intelligence, a privacy-focused AI system, round out this powerhouse machine. Available for pre-order now, shipping March 12th.

(www.apple.com)

Hardware

Proton Raises Over $1 Million to Support a Better Internet

2025-01-14

Proton Raises Over $1 Million to Support a Better Internet

Proton's annual charity fundraiser, a raffle for Lifetime Accounts, raised over $1 million, a record-breaking amount, to support organizations fighting for privacy, freedom of expression, and human rights worldwide. This brings the total raised over seven years to over $4 million. The funds will go to 10 organizations chosen by the Proton community, in addition to those supported in previous years. Beyond financial contributions, Proton provides free services in regions with privacy threats, supports open-source projects, and actively combats online censorship. This success highlights the power of community action towards building a better digital future.

(proton.me)

Tech Charity Online Privacy

Secret Passages Unearthed Beneath Milan's Sforza Castle: A Da Vinci Connection?

2025-03-09

Secret Passages Unearthed Beneath Milan's Sforza Castle: A Da Vinci Connection?

Scientists have discovered a hidden network of underground passages beneath Milan's Sforza Castle using non-destructive methods like ground-penetrating radar and laser scanning. The tunnels, hinted at in a Leonardo da Vinci sketch from around 1495 and historical records, likely served as escape routes or defense mechanisms for soldiers. This discovery underscores Da Vinci's military engineering prowess and highlights the importance of preserving cultural heritage. Further investigation revealed additional tunnels and underground chambers, one possibly leading to the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie, potentially built by the Duke of Milan to access his late wife's tomb. Despite significant historical damage, the castle's subsurface structures retain a wealth of historical information, reminding us that history is often hidden in plain sight.

(www.cnn.com)

Tech Sforza Castle Underground Tunnels

Apple Exec Initially Opposed 27% App Store Commission, Court Testimony Reveals

2025-02-25

Apple Exec Initially Opposed 27% App Store Commission, Court Testimony Reveals

Apple Fellow Phil Schiller testified in court that he initially raised concerns about Apple's plan to charge a 27% commission on app purchases made outside the App Store. He argued this presented compliance risks, could create an antagonistic relationship with developers, and required Apple to audit developers. While Apple claims compliance with a 2021 court ruling allowing alternative payment methods, they only reduced the commission by 3%, prompting Epic Games to accuse Apple of “bad-faith” compliance. The case is back in court to determine if Apple violated the original order. Schiller's testimony revealed internal Apple debates on the commission, including analyses of the impact on developers using external links, considering user experience, developer adoption, and financial implications. Ultimately, Apple CEO Tim Cook and other executives decided to proceed with the commission, though with additional discounts for smaller developers.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech

Website Requires JavaScript

2024-12-23

The website displays a message indicating that JavaScript needs to be enabled to run the application. This prompts users to check their browser settings and ensure that JavaScript is enabled to access and use the website's features properly.

(jobs.ashbyhq.com)

Misc

Common Lisp Time Handling: The LOCAL-TIME Solution

2025-01-01

This paper delves into the complexities of time handling in Common Lisp and presents the author's solution: the LOCAL-TIME library. It traces the evolution of human time representation, from imprecise, context-dependent notations to precise scientific ones, highlighting the chaos introduced by political factors like daylight saving time. LOCAL-TIME uses an efficient fixnum-based representation, integrates world timezone data, and handles various time calculations and format conversions, thereby avoiding errors stemming from imprecise time representation—like the infamous Y2K problem.

(naggum.no)

Development Time Handling

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