A webpage displays a confetti animation and prompts the user to enable JavaScript to run the application. This is a common UX design that playfully reminds users to take necessary action.
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Whonix is a Linux-based virtual machine operating system designed for maximum internet privacy and anonymity. It achieves this by routing all internet traffic through the Tor network and implementing multi-layered security measures, including browser fingerprinting protection, keystroke cloaking, and strict access controls, to protect users from tracking and malware. Whonix's design philosophy is 'all Tor,' and it offers features like anonymous web server hosting and Live Mode to ensure user security and anonymity online.
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OpenLDK is a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler and runtime environment for Java, implemented entirely in Common Lisp. It bridges the gap between Java and Common Lisp by incrementally translating Java bytecode into Lisp, then compiling it into native machine code. This unique approach allows seamless mapping of Java classes to Common Lisp Object System (CLOS) classes, enabling effortless integration between Java and Common Lisp codebases. While not designed for high performance, OpenLDK offers a practical solution for integrating Java libraries into a Lisp workflow. Currently, it primarily supports Linux and SBCL, and is a work in progress with many features yet to be implemented, such as support for class files beyond Java 8 and bytecode verification.
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Ruby Video Talks is a website that aggregates information on Ruby developer conferences worldwide. From major events like RubyConf 2024 (70 talks) and Rails World 2024 (46 talks) to smaller regional meetups, the site provides a comprehensive calendar. It highlights key speakers like Matz and offers search functionality by date, location, and topic, making it easy to find relevant events. Upcoming conferences in 2025, such as Balkan Ruby and Friendly.rb, are also listed, promising even more opportunities for the Ruby community.
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DOT • STUDIO partnered with the Security Force Monitor (SFM) to build "Under Whose Command," a platform leveraging cutting-edge technology to precisely trace Myanmar's complex military command chains. Employing sophisticated data modeling (EAV and Datalog databases) and precise handling of time and location, the platform overcomes the challenges of dynamic and overlapping command structures, providing journalists, courts, and researchers with a powerful tool for accountability. The project successfully integrated existing research workflows with new technologies, resulting in a user-friendly and sustainably maintained public platform.
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Researchers at UCSF are using AI and cutting-edge neuroimaging technologies to build a 'silicon brain' that mimics human brain activity. By integrating data from various brain scanning techniques (like fMRI and neuropixel probes), along with text, speech, and behavioral data, they're creating an artificial neural network that replicates human brain activity patterns. This research promises to revolutionize brain-computer interfaces, enabling devices that restore speech or movement without extensive calibration and opening new avenues for diagnosing and treating neuropsychiatric disorders. Ethical considerations, such as data privacy and potential misuse, are also being addressed.
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Researchers introduce SGD-SaI, a novel optimizer improving stochastic gradient descent. SGD-SaI addresses training imbalances by scaling learning rates at initialization for different parameter groups based on their gradient signal-to-noise ratios. Significantly more memory-efficient than AdamW, SGD-SaI matches or surpasses AdamW's performance across various Transformer-based tasks, including ImageNet classification and LLM pretraining. Its robustness and practicality are demonstrated across diverse applications, making it a compelling alternative.
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ast-grep is an Abstract Syntax Tree (AST)-based code search tool designed for ease of use, expressiveness, and precision. This blog post delves into the design space of code search queries, categorizing them into informal queries, formal queries based on existing programming languages, formal queries using custom languages, and hybrid queries. Each type's strengths and weaknesses are analyzed. ast-grep employs a hybrid approach, allowing users to write queries using familiar programming language syntax and offering more powerful expressiveness through YAML configuration files or a programmatic API for precise code search.
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Two independent studies from the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) reveal that patients with type 2 diabetes treated with Ozempic have a significantly higher risk of developing non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), a condition causing severe and permanent vision loss. These large-scale studies, based on Danish registries, found Ozempic more than doubles the risk of NAION. Researchers recommend doctors and patients discuss the benefits and risks of Ozempic, suggesting treatment cessation if NAION is detected in one eye.
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uv, a lightning-fast Python package and project manager written in Rust, replaces pip, pip-tools, pipx, poetry, pyenv, twine, and virtualenv. Boasting a 10-100x speed improvement, uv offers project management, tool management, Python version management, script support, and a pip-compatible interface. Features like global caching and workspace support streamline workflows. From project creation and dependency management to running scripts and building distributables, uv provides efficient and convenient solutions for all your Python development needs.
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PuzzleZilla is a new online platform allowing users to create custom jigsaw puzzles from any image uploaded from their device or the internet. The site offers a wide variety of pre-categorized puzzles, including cars, babies, cities, animals, flowers, nature, girls, landscapes, dinosaurs, castles, movies, anime, cats, dogs, paintings, food, and fantasy themes. Users can easily create and play their puzzles online.
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Columbia University researchers have developed revolutionary all-optical nanoscale force sensors capable of measuring forces with unprecedented sensitivity and dynamic range. These sensors utilize the photon-avalanche effect, enabling remote, light-based force detection without physical connections. Applications span robotics, cellular biophysics, medicine, and even space exploration. This breakthrough promises to transform force sensing technology, opening up new possibilities for measurements in previously inaccessible environments.
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Amnesty International's report reveals Serbia's use of surveillance technology and digital repression to control and suppress civil society. The report details widespread use of spyware, including NSO Group's Pegasus and a newly disclosed domestically-produced Android spyware, NoviSpy, along with Cellebrite's UFED tools against environmental activists and protest leaders. This constitutes a serious human rights violation and attack on freedom of expression.
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After years of searching, a blogger has successfully recovered and compiled photos and videos from Tasmania's LAN parties between the 1990s and the early 2000s. A total of 1584 photos and 2 videos document the early days of online gaming culture and technological advancements. This valuable archive is now publicly available on archive.org.
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42 is a comprehensive general-purpose simulation of spacecraft attitude and orbit dynamics, primarily used to support the design and validation of attitude control systems throughout their lifecycle, from concept studies to integration and test. It accurately models multi-body spacecraft attitude dynamics (rigid and/or flexible bodies), and both two-body and three-body orbital flight regimes, simulating environments from low Earth orbit to throughout the solar system. 42 simulates multiple spacecraft concurrently, facilitating studies of rendezvous, proximity operations, and precision formation flying. It also features spacecraft attitude visualization.
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President Trump issued an executive order temporarily halting enforcement of the TikTok ban for 75 days. This move aims to prevent penalties against American companies like Apple and Google for working with TikTok, but its legal standing is questionable. The ban stemmed from a law demanding TikTok divest from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, and Trump's action effectively circumvents this legislation. While the reprieve may offer temporary relief, the decision carries significant legal and political risks, with massive fines still a possibility and its effectiveness highly debated.
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Beej's Guide to Git offers a comprehensive tutorial available in various PDF and HTML formats. The author humbly acknowledges potential errors and welcomes corrections. Multiple paper sizes and printing options (one-sided, two-sided, color, black and white) are provided for convenient printing. Translators and contributors are invited to clone the GitHub repository for collaboration.
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This article explores the challenge of storing digital data for 100 years. From the invention of IBM's first hard drive-equipped computer, RAMAC, to the prevalence of cloud storage today, the author analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of various storage methods, including hard drives, cloud storage, removable media, and physical imprinting or printing. The article highlights the threats to long-term data preservation, such as physical damage to hardware, software updates, institutional changes, and market fluctuations. Ultimately, the author argues that the key to century-scale digital storage lies in establishing a culture that values maintenance and preservation, requiring a collective effort from all sectors of society to combat the erosion of time and safeguard humanity's digital heritage.
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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.
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This interactive science simulation lets learners explore groundwater movement. By adjusting permeability parameters, they observe how water flows through different layers, track a water droplet's path, and learn about aquifer formation. Users can also drill wells, experiencing sustainable versus unsustainable water extraction to understand groundwater resource management. This game is part of the "Will there be enough fresh water?" lesson.
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This week's Python news includes the release of Microsoft's Markitdown (a tool for converting files to Markdown), PDFMathTranslate (a scientific paper translation tool), and docling (a document preparation tool). Additionally, PEP 768 proposes adding a safe external debugger interface to CPython for real-time debugging. A heated discussion erupted regarding the complexities of Conda package management, analyzing its issues such as version conflicts, virtual environment management, and interactions with pip and setuptools. Finally, Markdown usage sparked a debate highlighting compatibility problems due to differences between various Markdown parsers.
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This article details the author's journey in tackling escalating error handling issues in a growing Go project. Initially, the simple approach to error handling devolved into chaos with confusing logs and untraceable errors. To solve this, a new error handling framework was designed and implemented. This framework employs a centralized, structured system using namespace codes to make errors meaningful and traceable. The core is a centralized declaration of error codes; each service layer returns only its own namespace codes, enriched with context information. The article thoroughly explains the design decisions, implementation, lessons learned, and migration strategy, offering valuable practical experience.
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The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration has released a new analysis of the supermassive black hole at the center of Messier 87 (M87*), combining observations from 2017 and 2018. The study confirms that M87*'s black hole rotational axis points away from Earth and highlights the significant role of turbulence within the accretion disk in explaining the observed shift in the ring's brightness peak. Using a vastly expanded simulation image library, the team confirmed the counter-clockwise 30-degree shift of the brightest region of the ring between 2017 and 2018. This research represents a major step forward in understanding the complex dynamics of black hole environments.
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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.
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Researchers at the University of Oulu's SensorFu team have developed a novel network security defense system inspired by the LaBrea tarpit technique. The system intercepts ARP requests and delays SYN-ACK responses, creating a multitude of virtual devices on the network to confuse intruders. This forces attackers to waste significant time identifying real devices, providing administrators with crucial time to patch vulnerabilities. Tests showed the system extends scan times to hours, drastically reducing attack success rates. Lightweight, efficient, and easy to deploy, this system offers robust network protection for organizations of all sizes.
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The LLVM project has released an exciting GPU C library enabling developers to run libc and libm functions directly on the GPU within C/C++ code. The library supports two main modes: as a supplementary library for offloading languages like OpenMP, CUDA, or HIP; and by directly compiling C/C++ code for the GPU. The article details how to use both modes, including compilation options, linking, and specific builds for AMD and NVIDIA GPUs. This library allows developers to leverage the parallel processing power of GPUs, significantly improving performance without needing deep knowledge of complex GPU programming models.
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This article provides a comprehensive guide to decoding METAR (Aviation Routine Weather Report), TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast), and pilot reports. METARs, issued hourly, provide real-time airfield weather conditions; SPECI reports are issued for significant changes. TAFs are issued every few hours and updated as needed. The article meticulously explains the codes and abbreviations within these reports, covering wind, visibility, weather phenomena, cloud cover, temperature, and altimeter settings, with examples and interpretations. Mastering these decoding skills is crucial for pilots to understand their flight environment and ensure safety.
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Stripe recently experienced an unexpected spike in DNS errors. This post details how they used tools like Unbound, tcpdump, and iptables to track down the root cause. The investigation revealed that a Hadoop job analyzing network logs was performing numerous reverse DNS lookups (PTR records), leading to traffic amplification due to retries exceeding the AWS VPC resolver's limits. Stripe resolved the issue by adjusting Unbound forwarding configurations to distribute the load across individual Hadoop hosts. The case highlights the importance of robust monitoring, multi-faceted troubleshooting, and strategies for handling traffic surges in high-availability systems.
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Bertie Sheldrake, grandson of a London pickle manufacturer, converted to Islam, changing his name to Khalid. He became a prominent figure in the British Muslim community, founding journals and ultimately accepting the kingship of the short-lived Islamic Republic of East Turkestan in Xinjiang. This incredible journey, from ordinary London life to a faraway kingdom and back to obscurity, adds a fascinating chapter to the history of 20th-century British Islam.
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A retrospective on a 1995 Usenet post by Gordon Letwin, Microsoft's lead architect on the OS/2 project, reveals the true reason for OS/2's failure. It wasn't the lack of native applications, but IBM's commitment to designing OS/2 for 286 machines already sold, missing the opportunity to embrace the 386 processor and its potential. This allowed Windows 3.0 to rise and dominate the market. The article argues that IBM's adherence to customer promises, while seemingly responsible, ultimately led to OS/2's downfall and profoundly impacted the direction of modern software, such as the ever-increasing size of programs.
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