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typed-ffmpeg: A Modern Pythonic FFmpeg Interface

2025-05-29

typed-ffmpeg: A Modern Pythonic FFmpeg Interface

typed-ffmpeg provides a modern, Pythonic interface to FFmpeg, offering extensive support for complex filters with detailed typing and documentation. Built with the Python standard library, it simplifies filter graph construction, boasts IDE auto-completion, and includes JSON serialization of filter graphs, automatic FFmpeg validation, and graph visualization. Future development includes broader FFmpeg version support and expanded filter coverage. This project, initially inspired by GPT-3, ultimately leveraged traditional code generation techniques, significantly aided by GitHub Copilot.

(github.com)

Development

Run C# Code Directly Without Project Files: .NET 10 Preview 4

2025-05-29

Run C# Code Directly Without Project Files: .NET 10 Preview 4

.NET 10 Preview 4 introduces a game-changing feature: you can now run C# files directly using `dotnet run app.cs`—no project file or scaffolding needed! This significantly lowers the barrier to entry for C#, making it ideal for learning, prototyping, or quick scripts. Leverage powerful file-level directives like `#:package`, `#:sdk`, and `#:property` to manage NuGet packages, SDKs, and MSBuild properties directly within your .cs file, all while maintaining compatibility with existing MSBuild concepts. Even as your script grows into a full application, seamless conversion to a project-based app is supported. This streamlined workflow simplifies the C# development experience, making it incredibly approachable and convenient for CLI utilities, automation scripts, and more.

(devblogs.microsoft.com)

Development file-based apps

LexisNexis Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Info of Over 364,000 Individuals

2025-05-29

LexisNexis Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Info of Over 364,000 Individuals

LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a data broker, suffered a data breach affecting over 364,000 individuals. A hacker accessed a third-party platform used for software development on December 25, 2024, stealing sensitive data including names, birthdates, addresses, Social Security numbers, and driver's license numbers. The breach highlights ongoing concerns about data security and the lack of stringent regulations on data brokers. This incident follows previous controversies surrounding LexisNexis's data sharing practices and the recent Trump administration decision to scrap regulations restricting the sale of personal information by data brokers.

(techcrunch.com)

Tech data broker

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the HTAP Database

2025-05-29

The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of the HTAP Database

This blog post chronicles the journey of the HTAP (Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing) database. From the 1970s, when a single database handled all transactions and analytics, to the 1980s' workload isolation, the 1990s' storage architecture split, and the 2010s' rise of NewSQL and cloud data warehouses, HTAP databases held great promise. However, challenges such as the difficulty of replacing existing OLTP systems, the fact that most workloads don't need distributed OLTP, cloud-native architectures favoring shared-disk over shared-nothing, and misaligned team incentives, led to HTAP's failure to gain widespread adoption. Today, the data stack is shifting towards modular lakehouse architectures, achieving HTAP functionality through composition rather than consolidation of databases. This marks the demise of HTAP databases as a standalone database, but its spirit lives on in the lakehouse architecture.

(www.mooncake.dev)

Development

Terraria and Celeste in the Browser: An Impossible Feat

2025-05-29

This article details the author's and their team's thrilling journey of porting the C# games Terraria and Celeste to WebAssembly. They overcame numerous challenges, including decompilation, integrating WebAssembly with native C++ components, limitations in .NET runtime's support for multithreading and cryptographic algorithms, and compatibility issues with FNA and FMOD engines. Ultimately, they not only successfully ran the games but also implemented the Everest mod loader and enabled online multiplayer, a true technical marvel.

(velzie.rip)

Game

Handover: Future-Proofing Your Organization Against Knowledge Loss

2025-05-29

With 20% of employees changing roles annually, institutional knowledge loss is a significant risk. Handover addresses this by providing a platform not just for managing unexpected departures, but also for proactively capturing knowledge during regular workflows. By integrating knowledge capture into monthly check-ins, quarterly reviews, or annual planning, organizations build a structured, searchable knowledge base. This proactive approach mitigates disruptions and costs associated with unplanned departures, ensuring business continuity and future-proofing the organization.

(www.handover.ai)

Startup knowledge base

Microsoft Unveils Windows Update Orchestration and Enterprise Backup

2025-05-29

Microsoft Unveils Windows Update Orchestration and Enterprise Backup

Microsoft has released a private preview of a Windows 11 update orchestration platform designed to streamline app updates, providing centralized scheduling and troubleshooting. Developers can register update logic via WinRT APIs and PowerShell, supporting MSIX/APPX and Win32 apps. Concurrently, a limited public preview of Windows Backup for Organizations is available, allowing backup and restore of Windows 10 and 11 device settings, easing enterprise migrations to Windows 11 and mitigating malware threats. However, the service has specific device and environment requirements.

(www.theregister.com)

Development Windows Updates App Updates Enterprise Backup

Realistic Grass Rendering: From Principles to Godot Implementation

2025-05-29

This is the first part of a multi-part series on realistic grass rendering. It begins by exploring the visual properties of real grass, such as its shininess, translucency, and self-shadowing. Several methods for simulating grass in real-time 3D graphics are then introduced, including texturing, normal mapping, and using billboards and full geometry for grass blades. The article concludes by noting that modern GPUs can handle full-geometry grass rendering and previews the next installment, which will detail how to implement full-geometry grass in Godot.

(hexaquo.at)

Development

Discord Beta Tests New In-App Currency: Discord Orbs

2025-05-29

Discord Beta Tests New In-App Currency: Discord Orbs

Discord is beta testing "Discord Orbs," a new in-app currency redeemable for digital items. Users earn Orbs by completing promotional Quests, which involve interacting with advertiser content. Orbs can be spent on items in the Discord Shop or exchanged for exclusives like badges or Discord Nitro trials. The rollout is initially limited to a small number of users globally. Previously, Quest rewards were handled by publishers; Orbs offer an alternative.

(www.theverge.com)

Game in-app currency rewards

MMBasic on Raspberry Pi Pico: A Powerful Embedded BASIC System

2025-05-29

PicoMite firmware brings a complete operating system to the Raspberry Pi Pico and Pico 2, featuring a Microsoft BASIC-compatible interpreter and extensive hardware support, including touch-sensitive LCD panels, SD cards, WiFi/internet, and much more. Using MMBasic, you can easily acquire data from various sensors via I2C or SPI protocols, save data to an SD card, display information on color LCD screens, measure voltages, detect digital inputs, and drive output pins to control lights, relays, etc. PicoMite firmware is entirely free to download and use, offering multiple versions for different applications such as embedded controllers, standalone computers, and WiFi/internet-connected controllers. Its ease of use and rapid development cycle make it ideal for IoT and embedded systems development.

(geoffg.net)

Development

Massive Data Breach Exposes 184 Million Login Credentials

2025-05-28

Massive Data Breach Exposes 184 Million Login Credentials

Security researcher Jeremiah Fowler uncovered a massive exposed Elastic database containing 184 million records, including login credentials for Apple, Facebook, Google, and accounts linked to numerous governments. The database lacked any identifying information about its owner or origin, highlighting the sheer scale and scope of the breach. A sample revealed compromised accounts across various platforms like Facebook, Google, Instagram, and Roblox, along with government .gov email addresses. Fowler reported the breach to the hosting provider, World Host Group, resulting in swift closure of access. This incident underscores the severe risks of carelessly compiling sensitive data, potentially leading to future cybersecurity catastrophes.

(www.wired.com)

Tech

Unlocking Ruby Ractor Performance: Eliminating Class Variable Contention

2025-05-28

This post delves into a performance bottleneck in Ruby's Ractors when dealing with class instance variables. The global interpreter lock causes significant performance degradation when multiple Ractors concurrently access these variables. The author meticulously analyzes the underlying implementation of class instance variables and proposes a solution using object delegation to eliminate lock contention, resulting in a nearly threefold performance improvement in microbenchmarks. This solution also unexpectedly fixes a bug and performance regression introduced by the new Namespace feature.

(byroot.github.io)

Development

Cyberpunk 2 Enters Pre-Production, Witcher 3 Hits 60 Million Sales

2025-05-28

Cyberpunk 2 Enters Pre-Production, Witcher 3 Hits 60 Million Sales

CD Projekt Red (CDPR) announced in its latest earnings report that the sequel to Cyberpunk 2077, tentatively titled "Cyberpunk 2," has moved from the conceptual phase into pre-production. 96 developers are currently working on the title, which has the codename "Project Orion." While a release date is not yet available, the company stated it would launch "in due time." Meanwhile, the Cyberpunk 2077 expansion, Phantom Liberty, has sold over 10 million copies and will be a Nintendo Switch 2 launch title on June 5th. CDPR also celebrated the 10th anniversary of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, announcing sales exceeding 60 million copies.

(www.theverge.com)

Game

Chess's Ancient Origins: From Four-Player Chaturanga to Modern Chess

2025-05-28

By the 7th Century CE, people in India were playing chaturanga, a game featuring pieces representing infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots, commanded by a king, mirroring the armies of the time. The different moves of these pieces distinguished chaturanga from other war games and are the ancestors of modern chess pieces. Chaturanga spread to Persia, evolving into shatranj, which eventually reached Europe and developed into modern chess. Early chaturanga was a four-player game with dice, significantly different from modern chess. However, it shared the 8x8 board and ultimately evolved into two-player versions like buddhidyūta.

(chesshistory.github.io)

Game chess history chaturanga shatranj

Cyberattacks Fuel Explosive Growth in Cyber Insurance Market

2025-05-28

Cyberattacks Fuel Explosive Growth in Cyber Insurance Market

A recent surge in high-profile cyberattacks is creating a lucrative opportunity for insurers like Munich Re and Chubb. The market is booming, driven by AI-powered attacks that are becoming more frequent and devastating. Munich Re projects the global cyber insurance market to reach $16.3 billion in 2025, up from $15.3 billion in 2024. Global premiums are expected to more than double to roughly $30 billion by 2030, growing at over 10% annually.

(www.bloomberg.com)

Tech cyber insurance

US Slams Europe's Digital Services Act, Restricts Visas Over Censorship Concerns

2025-05-28

US Slams Europe's Digital Services Act, Restricts Visas Over Censorship Concerns

The US State Department has launched a fresh attack on Europe and other countries' attempts to regulate digital platforms. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions for foreign nationals involved in censoring protected speech within the US. This move is widely seen as a response to Europe's Digital Services Act (DSA), aimed at improving online safety. The US argues the DSA could be used to silence dissent and infringes on US sovereignty and free speech. The policy's enforcement remains unclear.

(www.theverge.com)

Tech Digital Services Act

arXivLabs: Community Collaboration on arXiv Features

2025-05-28

arXivLabs is a platform enabling developers and researchers to build and share new arXiv features directly on the arXiv website. Participants, individuals and organizations alike, embrace arXiv's values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only partners with those who share them. Got an idea to enhance the arXiv community? Explore arXivLabs!

(arxiv.org)

Development

Apple's iOS 26: A Year-Based Naming Revolution?

2025-05-28

Apple's iOS 26: A Year-Based Naming Revolution?

Apple is reportedly overhauling its software update naming scheme. Instead of iOS 19, this year's update will be called iOS 26, reflecting a new year-based strategy that will also affect macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and visionOS. Bloomberg reports this change aims to improve branding consistency and reduce confusion for users and developers. The move coincides with rumored major redesigns across Apple's platforms, aiming for design and naming unification. While initially jarring, the change promises long-term clarity in version numbering across Apple's ecosystem.

(9to5mac.com)

Tech iOS 26

Beyond Cat Brains: Exploring the Limits of Cognition with Larger Brains

2025-05-28

Beyond Cat Brains: Exploring the Limits of Cognition with Larger Brains

This article explores the relationship between brain size and cognitive abilities, particularly what new cognitive capabilities might emerge when brain size far exceeds that of humans. Starting from recent advances in neural networks and large language models, and incorporating knowledge from computational theory and neuroscience, the author analyzes how brains process vast amounts of sensory data and make decisions. The article argues that brains exploit "pockets of reducibility" within computational irreducibility to navigate the world, and larger brains might be able to harness more such pockets, leading to stronger abstraction capabilities and richer language. Ultimately, the article explores the possibility of minds beyond human comprehension and the potential heights AI might reach.

(writings.stephenwolfram.com)

AI Computational Theory

Collatz's Ant and Landscape Similarity: The Mystery of Beta

2025-05-28

This post explores the similarity of landscapes generated by Collatz's ant trajectories. By analyzing stopping time (τ), maximum Euclidean distance (α), the step at which the maximum distance is reached (β), and the final distance (γ), the author finds that stopping time is not a decisive factor in landscape similarity. While maximum distance (α) is related to landscape scale, it's insufficient to distinguish different landscapes. However, the step at which the maximum distance is reached (β) appears to be an indicator for distinguishing different landscapes, but the underlying mechanism requires further investigation. The article presents multiple examples showing the complex relationship between β and landscape shape and poses some unsolved mysteries, such as why, when the maximum distance (α) is different, β is sometimes the same and sometimes different? This provides a new perspective on the study of the Collatz conjecture.

(gbragafibra.github.io)

Misc

Multithreading Super Mario Bros. on an NES Emulator: A Surprisingly Simple Feat

2025-05-28

Multithreading Super Mario Bros. on an NES Emulator: A Surprisingly Simple Feat

The author implemented multithreading in Super Mario Bros. on an NES emulator (FCEUX) using a Lua plugin, without modifying the emulator's core code. By leveraging the emulator's save state functionality, different game states were treated as separate threads. Synchronization primitives like mutexes and condition variables were implemented using specific in-game areas, allowing users to interact with threading concepts directly. For example, multiple Mario instances can play concurrently, but only one can enter a pipe at a time. This project demonstrates not only creativity but also provides a clear and engaging explanation of multithreading, highlighting the importance of understanding fundamental computer science concepts.

(prettygoodblog.com)

Development

Google Photos' 10th Anniversary: A Major Redesign with AI-Powered Editing

2025-05-28

Google Photos' 10th Anniversary: A Major Redesign with AI-Powered Editing

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Google Photos unveils a redesigned photo editor boasting AI-powered features. The update includes an AI Enhance tool, Auto Frame for background improvements, and smart suggestions tailored to specific image areas. A new fullscreen viewer and QR code album sharing are also added. The redesigned editor will roll out to Android devices next month, with iOS following later this year. Google Photos boasts over 1.5 billion monthly users and over 9 trillion stored photos and videos.

(9to5google.com)

Tech Photo Editing

The Navy's Dry Spell and the Unexpected Rise of Ice Cream

2025-05-28

The Navy's Dry Spell and the Unexpected Rise of Ice Cream

In 1914, the US Navy issued General Order 99, banning alcohol onboard ships and bases. This mirrored the nationwide Prohibition of 1920. Surprisingly, Prohibition spurred the ice cream industry's growth, with breweries switching to ice cream and soda production. During WWII, the Navy even built a massive ice cream barge to boost morale, producing and distributing gallons of ice cream. Ice cream became a unique reward system; rescuing downed pilots meant a huge ice cream payout for the rescuing vessel, creating a memorable wartime tradition.

(www.oldsaltblog.com)

Misc Prohibition Ice Cream

Undecidability: The Programmer's Pandora's Box

2025-05-28

Undecidability: The Programmer's Pandora's Box

This article provides a clear explanation of the concept of "undecidability" in computer science. Using accessible language and concrete examples (like determining if a number is the sum of two primes), the author explains decision problems and the role of Turing machines. The key takeaway is that undecidability doesn't mean it's impossible to tell if a program will halt, but rather that there's no universal algorithm to determine the halting behavior of all programs. This makes many problems (such as verifying program properties) require significant effort and may be unsolvable, highlighting the necessity of fields like formal verification and program analysis.

(buttondown.com)

Development

Japanese Police Bust Massive 'Fast Film' Website, 5 Arrested

2025-05-28

Japanese Police Bust Massive 'Fast Film' Website, 5 Arrested

Miyagi Prefectural Police in Japan recently dismantled an illegal website that replicated and published movie plots, arresting five individuals involved, including a company executive, employees, and writers. The website, without authorization, transcribed the full plots, dialogue, scenes, and other content from multiple popular films, including Godzilla Minus One and Shin Kamen Rider, along with related images, to generate advertising revenue. Police investigations revealed the site contained detailed information from over 8000 films, representing a serious copyright infringement. The case highlights the need to combat 'fast film' websites and encourages increased public awareness of copyright issues.

(coda-cj.jp)

Tech fast film movie piracy

Retro Handheld Battery Life: The Evercade's 4-Hour Runtime Sparks a Debate

2025-05-28

Retro Handheld Battery Life: The Evercade's 4-Hour Runtime Sparks a Debate

While reviewing the Evercade handheld console, the author discovered its meager four-hour battery life, a stark contrast to the original Game Boy's impressive 20-hour runtime. The article analyzes the battery life of various Nintendo handhelds throughout the years, highlighting the decline in battery life despite significant performance improvements in modern devices. The author explores factors like operating systems and processors, using examples like the Nokia 3310 to illustrate the difference in battery longevity across eras. Ultimately, the author questions whether high performance justifies sacrificing battery life.

(brainbaking.com)

Hardware handheld battery life hardware performance

Rethinking Parenthood: Village Raising vs. Nuclear Family

2025-05-28

Rethinking Parenthood: Village Raising vs. Nuclear Family

In many Western societies, raising children is viewed as a massive sacrifice, often involving sleep deprivation, limited social life, and neglected hobbies. This article challenges that perspective by highlighting examples of communities where raising children is a shared, joyful endeavor. Several case studies showcase how co-housing and eco-villages offer support networks that alleviate parental stress, fostering better-adjusted children and happier parents. The author argues for a shift away from the isolated nuclear family model, suggesting that communal child-rearing is a more sustainable and fulfilling approach.

(supernuclear.substack.com)

Misc community parenting cohousing childcare

LLM Shibboleths: The Secret to Unlocking AI Coding Assistants

2025-05-28

The effectiveness of Large Language Model (LLM)-powered coding assistants hinges on how you ask questions. This essay argues that experienced engineers use specific "shibboleths"—technical jargon and phrasing—to guide the AI towards high-quality code, while novices, lacking this specialized vocabulary, often receive inefficient or incorrect results. The author uses personal anecdotes to illustrate how to adapt prompting strategies based on skill level, offering tips to improve AI coding assistant efficiency. The core message emphasizes the importance of discerning and guiding AI-generated code in the age of AI.

(www.moderndescartes.com)

Development

Hugging Face Hosts New 685B Parameter DeepSeek LLM

2025-05-28

Hugging Face Hosts New 685B Parameter DeepSeek LLM

A new large language model, DeepSeek-R1-0528, boasting a massive 685 billion parameters, has been released on Hugging Face. The model is available in Safetensors format and supports tensor types including BF16, F8_E4M3, and F32. Currently, no inference providers have deployed the model, but its Hugging Face page provides details such as model card, files, and versions.

(huggingface.co)

AI

Record-Breaking Heat Expected for Next Five Years, Warns WMO

2025-05-28

Record-Breaking Heat Expected for Next Five Years, Warns WMO

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UK Met Office predict an 80% chance of breaking annual temperature records for the next five years. This increased global mean temperature translates to a higher likelihood of extreme weather events: stronger hurricanes, heavier rainfall, and more severe droughts, leading to increased loss of life. There's an 86% chance that one of the next five years will exceed the 1.5°C threshold set by the Paris Agreement, and a 70% chance the five-year average will surpass it. The projections also indicate a possibility, however slight, of reaching the more alarming 2°C threshold before the end of the decade. This warming trend accelerates Arctic ice melt and sea-level rise.

(apnews.com)

Tech

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