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Subverting Tradition: A South-Up Map Challenges Geographic Conventions

2025-09-18

Subverting Tradition: A South-Up Map Challenges Geographic Conventions

A south-up map challenges the established norms of mapmaking, prompting reflection on geographical conventions. Unlike traditional north-up maps, this map places the South Pole at the top, altering our perception of geographical orientation. The article explores the cultural and historical context of map orientation choices and their impact on how we understand the world, highlighting that map orientation is not fixed but rather a product of human choice.

(www.maps.com)

Misc

CoverDrop: Secure Messaging for Newsreader Apps

2025-06-09

CoverDrop: Secure Messaging for Newsreader Apps

CoverDrop is a secure messaging system enabling confidential communication between users of news organizations' mobile apps and journalists, without leaving a trace. It comprises four key components: a module integrated into the news app, a cloud-based API, the CoverNode (securely hosted services), and a journalist desktop application. CoverDrop uses 'cover messages' to make secure communication indistinguishable from regular app usage, providing strong plausible deniability. The system's architecture, detailed in a white paper, is designed to protect source anonymity and message integrity. The project is open-source and includes comprehensive documentation.

(github.com)

Tech secure communication messaging system

Zuckerberg's Crazy Idea: Resetting Facebook Friendships

2025-04-15

Zuckerberg's Crazy Idea: Resetting Facebook Friendships

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg proposed a "crazy" plan in 2022 to reset all Facebook users' friend connections. This plan was revealed during an antitrust trial. Fearing Facebook's declining cultural relevance, Zuckerberg suggested wiping all users' friend lists, forcing them to rebuild their networks. This sparked internal debate and ultimately wasn't implemented. The incident highlights Facebook's evolution into a broader content discovery and entertainment platform, and the antitrust lawsuit against Meta alleging it maintained its monopoly by acquiring Instagram and WhatsApp.

(www.businessinsider.com)

Tech

Canada Re-evaluates F-35 Contract Amidst Strained US Relations

2025-03-16

Canada Re-evaluates F-35 Contract Amidst Strained US Relations

Canadian Defense Minister Bill Blair announced a review of Canada's contract with Lockheed Martin for the purchase of F-35 fighter jets. This comes amidst rising tensions between Ottawa and Washington, following Portugal's similar reconsideration of the F-35 purchase. Canada initially planned to buy 88 jets for C$19 billion, but Blair stated Prime Minister Trudeau has directed an examination of alternatives, including potential assembly in Canada. The decision is linked to concerns over President Trump's protectionist trade policies and strained US-Canada relations.

(www.businessinsider.com)

Tech Defense

It's Time to Delete Some Tests

2025-08-30

For decades, the importance of testing has been emphasized, yet developers have developed a misguided belief that 'deleting tests is blasphemy'. This article argues that the purpose of tests is to increase confidence, but failing, redundant, slow, or outdated tests actually decrease confidence. Flaky tests waste time, while overly numerous tests reduce efficiency. The author suggests that to improve efficiency and confidence, tests that decrease rather than increase confidence should be deleted, and new tests should be written for new requirements.

(andre.arko.net)

Development

Online Circle Image Cropper: No Downloads, No Hassle

2025-05-31

Online Circle Image Cropper: No Downloads, No Hassle

This online tool effortlessly crops images into perfect circles or other shapes. It's free, works on all devices, and requires no downloads. Simply upload your image, adjust the circular frame, and download a PNG with a transparent background—ideal for profile pictures, designs, and presentations. Your images are processed in your browser and never stored, ensuring your privacy.

(circlecropimage.io)

Design image cropping circle avatar

Mipmapping Alpha-Tested Textures: A Clever SDF-Based Solution

2025-01-17

Mipmapping Alpha-Tested Textures: A Clever SDF-Based Solution

A game developer encountered issues with mipmapping alpha-tested textures used for foliage rendering. Mipmaps caused textures to disappear or distort at a distance. The article explores various solutions, including adjusting alpha values and using Signed Distance Fields (SDFs). Ultimately, a combined approach using premultiplied alpha, max downsampling of SDFs, and averaging premultiplied colors proved effective, preserving texture shape while avoiding artifacts and improving visual quality.

(lisyarus.github.io)

Game texture rendering mipmap

ESP32 Bluetooth Controller 'Backdoor': A False Alarm?

2025-03-11

Recent concerns have emerged regarding a potential "backdoor" or "undocumented features" in the ESP32 Bluetooth controller. Espressif has responded, stating that the so-called "undocumented HCI commands" are solely for debugging purposes and do not pose a security threat. These commands assist in debugging (e.g., read/write RAM, memory-mapped flash read, send/receive packets), and don't play an active role in standard Bluetooth host stack (like NimBLE or Bluedroid) HCI communication. In ESP32, the controller and host run on the same MCU, communicating via a virtual HCI layer. Any code accessing this layer must execute on the ESP32 with full privileges. Therefore, unless the application itself has vulnerabilities, these undocumented commands cannot be exploited. Espressif will provide a software patch to remove access to these debug commands and will document all vendor-specific HCI commands for greater transparency.

(developer.espressif.com)

Hardware Bluetooth Security

Streamline Your Mac Setup: Brewfile, defaults, and Zsh Plugins for Efficiency

2025-04-25

Streamline Your Mac Setup: Brewfile, defaults, and Zsh Plugins for Efficiency

Tired of the tedious app installation and manual configuration on your new MacBook? This post shares how to use Brewfile to batch install command-line utilities, apps, and fonts, and leverage the macOS defaults command-line tool to customize system settings. The author also recommends 5 efficient Zsh plugins and helpful aliases, aiming to create bash scripts for automated configuration and eliminating repetitive tasks. This is a must-read for Mac users seeking efficiency.

(catalins.tech)

Development macOS setup

Improving the APT Solver: Elegantly Handling the Removal of Manually Installed Packages

2025-05-27

This post details improvements to an APT package manager solver. Initially, manually installed packages were treated as fixed facts, while automatically installed packages were optional unit clauses. However, allowing the removal of manually installed packages broke the solver; it could unnecessarily remove them. The author solves this by initially assuming all optional clauses, then iteratively unwinding these assumptions during the solving process. This approach, while not globally optimal, proves effective in practice for dependency resolution, avoiding the exponential complexity of a global search.

(blog.jak-linux.org)

Development

The Silent Death of Human Creativity: An AI Future

2025-05-07

The Silent Death of Human Creativity: An AI Future

This speculative fiction piece portrays a future dominated by advanced AI. Initially crude, AI art rapidly evolves, surpassing human artists in quality. Companies adopt AI for efficiency, leading to widespread artist unemployment and a decline in human artistic creation. Artists' efforts to protect their work from AI data scraping ironically resulted in AI models lacking understanding of human art. 'Art' becomes synonymous with AI-generated imagery, and human creativity fades in a comfortable, AI-driven world.

(vale.rocks)

AI creative extinction

Beating the Odds: A 20-Year Cancer Battle and the Medical Advancements That Made It Possible

2025-06-09

Beating the Odds: A 20-Year Cancer Battle and the Medical Advancements That Made It Possible

In 2003, Jon Gluck, 38, was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and given 18 months to live. Over two decades later, he's still here, chronicling his experience in a new book. His survival, coupled with a one-third decrease in the US age-adjusted cancer death rate since 1991, showcases a turning tide in the war on cancer. This progress is attributed to breakthroughs like autologous stem-cell harvesting and CAR-T therapy, alongside anti-smoking policies, vaccinations, and improved early screening. While challenges remain, the future of cancer treatment is brighter, offering renewed hope for patients.

(www.vox.com)

Tech cancer treatment medical advancements CAR-T therapy

Pale Blue Dot: Insignificance and Grandeur in the Cosmos

2025-04-28

Pale Blue Dot: Insignificance and Grandeur in the Cosmos

In 1990, Voyager 1 captured the iconic "Pale Blue Dot" image, showcasing Earth's insignificance in the vastness of space. This sparked reflection on humanity's existential meaning, contrasting with the awe-inspiring "Earthrise" photo from Apollo 8 in 1968. "Pale Blue Dot" evokes both wonder and a sense of cosmic insignificance, echoing Pascal's terror of the infinite silent spaces. The article explores the origins of this feeling, examining philosophical perspectives (like Pascal's ideas) and cognitive limitations of human perception. Ultimately, it argues that while Earth appears insignificant on a cosmic scale, the discovery of other conscious life in the universe could redefine its meaning.

(aeon.co)

Misc Perception

arXivLabs: Community Collaboration on Experimental Projects

2025-09-23

arXivLabs is a framework enabling collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on the website. Individuals and organizations involved embrace arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners who share them. Got an idea for a project that benefits the arXiv community? Learn more about arXivLabs.

(arxiv.org)

Development

Wikipedia Searches Reveal Three Distinct Styles of Curiosity

2025-01-11

Wikipedia Searches Reveal Three Distinct Styles of Curiosity

A new study analyzing Wikipedia search data reveals three distinct styles of human curiosity: the busybody, the hunter, and the dancer. Busybodies zigzag through numerous, often unrelated topics; hunters focus on a smaller set of closely related articles; and dancers connect disparate topics to synthesize new ideas. The research also found that people in countries with higher education levels and greater gender equality tend to browse like busybodies, while those in other countries lean towards a hunter approach. This interdisciplinary study, integrating topology, psychology, and cognitive science, offers novel insights into human behavior.

(www.scientificamerican.com)

Tech curiosity network science

The Genesis of Linux: From As and Bs to Mars

2025-03-02

This article is a fascinating firsthand account of Linux's creation by early contributor Lars Wirzenius. It begins in 1991 with Linus Torvalds, using a 386 PC with a meager 4MB of RAM, writing a simple multitasking program that displayed alternating streams of 'A's and 'B's on the screen – the genesis of the Linux kernel. With the help of Wirzenius, Linus refined the kernel and released it online. Through key events like the famous debate with Andrew Tanenbaum, the adoption of the GPL license, and the porting of the X11 system, Linux evolved from a hobby project into a global operating system powering billions of devices from Earth to Mars.

(lwn.net)

Tech

The Tech Industry's Job-Hopping Culture: A Reflection

2025-04-24

The Tech Industry's Job-Hopping Culture: A Reflection

A recruiter reflects on the prevalent job-hopping culture in the tech industry, contrasting it with their father's 30-year tenure at a single company. Instead of chasing the next 'better opportunity,' the author argues for focusing on employers who offer fair compensation, a positive work environment, financial stability, and a willingness to embrace innovation. Only then can recruiters be truly transparent and honest, attracting top talent.

(www.talentstuff.com)

Startup job hopping

150 Years of the Metre: From French Revolution to Laser Light

2025-05-23

150 Years of the Metre: From French Revolution to Laser Light

The 1875 Metre Convention standardized measurement, ending inconsistent units across countries. Initially defined as one ten-millionth of the distance from the North Pole to the equator through Paris, the metre's definition has evolved with scientific advancements. Early definitions relied on platinum-iridium bars, then krypton-86 light wavelengths. Today, it's defined by the speed of light, enabling precise measurements like the Moon's gradual recession from Earth. Despite global adoption, remnants of imperial units persist in various contexts, highlighting the ongoing challenges of standardization.

(www.abc.net.au)

Tech Metric System Measurement

Anthropic Cuts Off Windsurf's Access to Claude AI Models Amidst OpenAI Acquisition Rumors

2025-06-05

Anthropic Cuts Off Windsurf's Access to Claude AI Models Amidst OpenAI Acquisition Rumors

Anthropic co-founder and Chief Science Officer Jared Kaplan announced that his company has cut Windsurf's direct access to its Claude AI models, largely due to rumors that OpenAI, its biggest competitor, is acquiring the AI coding assistant. Kaplan explained that this move prioritizes customers committed to long-term partnerships with Anthropic. While currently computing-constrained, Anthropic is expanding its capacity with Amazon and plans to significantly increase model availability in the coming months. Concurrently, Anthropic is focusing on developing its own agent-based coding products like Claude Code instead of AI chatbots, believing agent-based AI holds more long-term potential.

(techcrunch.com)

AI

Container Tools: Automating Minimal Debian Container Image Builds

2025-04-11

Container Tools: Automating Minimal Debian Container Image Builds

Container Tools is a project automating the creation of minimal Debian-based root filesystems using debootstrap. It supports customization with specific packages and configurations, and integrates security scanning for containerized environments. Easily extensible to other distros and projects, it addresses the bloat, network inefficiency, and slow iteration times of traditional Dockerfile builds. It creates lightweight, efficient container images by streamlining the build process, including only necessary components. Pre-built images with Java, Kafka, and more are available. The final output is a .tar file importable and runnable via `docker import`.

(github.com)

Development container images automated build

Pickaxe: A TypeScript Library for Building Scalable AI Agents

2025-06-23

Pickaxe: A TypeScript Library for Building Scalable AI Agents

Pickaxe is a lightweight TypeScript library for building fault-tolerant and scalable AI agents. It handles the complexities of durable execution, queueing, and scheduling, letting you focus on core business logic. It's not a framework; everything is a function, making integration with existing codebases easy. Agents can call tools, other agents, or any functions you define. Built on Hatchet's durable task queue, Pickaxe ensures fault tolerance and recoverability, automatically resuming execution even after machine failures. It supports distributed deployment across various container platforms and offers configuration options for retries, rate limiting, concurrency control, and more.

(github.com)

Development

Android's Ethernet Adapter Mystery: A Stupid Regex

2025-06-08

Android's Ethernet Adapter Mystery: A Stupid Regex

This post details the author's frustrating attempt to use a USB Ethernet adapter on their Android phone. The investigation revealed the problem wasn't driver support, but rather Android's `EthernetTracker` service using a regex `eth\d` to match Ethernet interface names. CDC Ethernet adapters create interfaces named `usbX`, resulting in non-recognition. The author meticulously documents the debugging process, including obtaining kernel configuration and analyzing Android source code. The root cause? A simple, restrictive regex. The post showcases impressive problem-solving skills but also highlights a potential flaw in Android's design.

(jordemort.dev)

Development USB Ethernet Kernel Debugging

20-Year-Old Botnet Taking Down Thousands of Routers Crushed

2025-05-10

20-Year-Old Botnet Taking Down Thousands of Routers Crushed

Law enforcement agencies have dismantled a massive botnet that operated for two decades, infecting thousands of routers worldwide and creating two residential proxy networks: Anyproxy and 5socks. Four individuals from Russia and Kazakhstan were indicted for their roles in operating and profiting from these illegal services, raking in over $46 million. The botnet exploited vulnerabilities in outdated routers, providing anonymity for various cybercrimes including ad fraud and DDoS attacks. The takedown, a joint operation involving the US, Netherlands, Thailand and others, highlights the growing global cooperation in combating cybercrime.

(www.bleepingcomputer.com)

Tech

Writing an ASUS ACPI WMI Driver for OpenBSD Fan Control

2025-05-11

The author details their journey of writing an ASUS ACPI WMI driver for OpenBSD to control their laptop's fan speed. The process involved overcoming challenges with ACPI and WMI byte order, utilizing acpidump and iasl to analyze system ACPI code, and finally achieving fan speed control. The author compares the driver development approaches in Linux and FreeBSD, highlighting OpenBSD's convenient code organization.

(flak.tedunangst.com)

Development Driver Development

Crypto Billionaire Rides Blue Origin to Space

2025-08-04

Crypto Billionaire Rides Blue Origin to Space

On August 3rd, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin launched its New Shepard vehicle on mission NS-34, carrying crypto billionaire Justin Sun and five others to space. Sun, who anonymously won a $28 million auction for a seat in 2021, donated the proceeds to space-focused charities. The diverse crew included a real estate investor, a businessman, a journalist, and entrepreneurs from various countries. The 10-12 minute flight took them above the Kármán line, offering a brief experience of weightlessness.

(www.space.com)

Tech

Domesday Book: Not Just Taxes, But 11th-Century Big Data?

2025-07-10

Domesday Book: Not Just Taxes, But 11th-Century Big Data?

New research challenges long-held assumptions about William the Conqueror's Domesday Book. Using the earliest surviving manuscript, Exon Domesday, researchers argue the survey wasn't simply about maximizing taxes, but a sophisticated exercise in governmental control—an 11th-century form of big data. The study reveals how William's administration gathered vast economic and territorial data across England in under seven months, processing it with astonishing speed and clarity. The team also proposes a likely identity for the principal scribe, potentially Gerard, William's chancellor. This innovative approach, using only pen, parchment, and human interaction, highlights the ingenuity of the Domesday creators and its significance as a remarkable feat of administrative innovation.

(www.ox.ac.uk)

Misc governance

Mass Resignation at Journal of Human Evolution: AI, Fees, and Editorial Independence at Stake

2024-12-31

Mass Resignation at Journal of Human Evolution: AI, Fees, and Editorial Independence at Stake

The entire editorial board of Elsevier's Journal of Human Evolution (JHE) resigned en masse, sparking outrage in the academic community. Their protest centers on Elsevier's changes over the past decade, including cuts to editorial resources, the uninformed introduction of AI in the editorial process leading to numerous errors, and exorbitant author fees, all undermining the journal's editorial independence and inclusivity. This is the 20th mass resignation from a science journal since 2023, highlighting the controversies surrounding evolving business models in scientific publishing.

(arstechnica.com)

Tech scientific publishing editorial independence

Dive into Greek Mythology: The Theoi Project

2025-02-27

The Theoi Project is a comprehensive, free online resource dedicated to Greek mythology. It offers detailed profiles of gods, spirits, creatures, and heroes, each with encyclopedic summaries, quotes from ancient texts, and illustrations from classical art. Beyond individual entries, the site boasts a classical texts library, family trees of the gods, a bestiary, and a gallery of over 1200 images from ancient Greek and Roman art.

(www.theoi.com)

Misc Greek Mythology Online Resource Ancient Art

Donkey Kong's Broken Ladder Glitch: Luck and Skill Combine for a New Kill Screen

2025-02-08

Donkey Kong's Broken Ladder Glitch: Luck and Skill Combine for a New Kill Screen

The 'broken ladder' glitch in the classic arcade game Donkey Kong, long thought impossible to exploit, has been conquered. Player Kosmic, using an emulator and a hefty dose of luck, utilized the glitch to not only complete the game but discover a new, true kill screen at level 22-6. The glitch exploits a random delay in Donkey Kong's barrel throwing, giving Mario precious extra frames. This achievement highlights the game's intricate mechanics and underscores the crucial role of both skill and chance in overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges.

(arstechnica.com)

Game game glitch luck

Air Force Tests Subscale Blended-Wing Body Jet, Poised for 2027 Debut

2025-01-06

Air Force Tests Subscale Blended-Wing Body Jet, Poised for 2027 Debut

The US Air Force is flight-testing a subscale model of its Blended-Wing Body (BWB) demonstrator, using the data to refine the full-scale aircraft's control software and configuration. The subscale model, nicknamed "Pathfinder," boasts a 23-foot wingspan—one-eighth the size of the planned full-scale aircraft. The BWB design promises a 30 percent reduction in fuel burn and potential applications in future Air Force and commercial airlifters and cargo aircraft. The full-scale aircraft is slated for a September 2027 first flight, informing analysis for the Next-Generation Air Refueling System (NGAS) and other future mobility concepts.

(www.airandspaceforces.com)

Tech Blended Wing Body Flight Test Fuel Efficiency

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