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OpenJazz: Open-Source Revival of a Classic Platformer

2025-01-27

OpenJazz is a free, open-source remake of the classic PC platformer, Jazz Jackrabbit. Originally released in 1994 by Epic MegaGames, Jazz Jackrabbit's fast-paced gameplay earned it accolades. OpenJazz, started in 2005, allows players to enjoy the game across Windows and Linux, overcoming the limitations of outdated DOS systems. A multiplayer version was even released in 2009, breathing new life into this beloved title.

(alister.eu)

Game open-source game

Non-invasive Analysis Unveils Secrets of the Alexander Mosaic

2025-01-27

Non-invasive Analysis Unveils Secrets of the Alexander Mosaic

This PLOS ONE study employed non-invasive analytical techniques to thoroughly investigate the world-renowned Alexander Mosaic. Researchers used portable microscopy, infrared thermography, multispectral imaging, portable X-ray fluorescence, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy to characterize the mosaic's constituent materials, mineral components, and old protective materials. Findings revealed the geological origins of ten colors used in the mosaic and provided crucial scientific insights for its restoration. The research highlights the immense potential of non-destructive analysis in cultural heritage preservation.

(journals.plos.org)

Tech non-destructive analysis Alexander Mosaic

Shunpo: A Minimalist Bash Tool for Faster Directory Navigation

2025-01-27

Shunpo: A Minimalist Bash Tool for Faster Directory Navigation

Shunpo is a minimalist bash tool designed to speed up directory navigation in your terminal. It provides a simple bookmark system, allowing you to jump to frequently used directories with minimal keystrokes. Perfect for users who constantly use commands like `cd`, `pushd`, or `popd`, Shunpo lets you easily bookmark, remove, and list directories. Installation is simple: just run `install.sh`.

(github.com)

Development Bash tool directory navigation

Perplexity AI's TikTok Bid: US Government Could Get 50% Stake

2025-01-27

Perplexity AI's TikTok Bid: US Government Could Get 50% Stake

AI startup Perplexity AI has proposed a new deal to merge with TikTok's US operations, giving the US government up to a 50% stake in the resulting entity. This revised proposal, submitted after a previous offer was ignored, aims to circumvent the impending TikTok ban. The US government's stake, acquired after an IPO exceeding $300 billion, would be non-voting, with no board representation. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, wouldn't need to fully divest but would cede “full US board control” and relinquish TikTok's proprietary algorithm. The plan echoes former Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's suggestion of diluting Chinese ownership to comply with US law. Several investors are reportedly interested in TikTok, and President Trump anticipates a deal within 30 days.

(apnews.com)

Tech US Government

Kansas TB Outbreak: Largest in US History

2025-01-27

Kansas TB Outbreak: Largest in US History

Kansas is experiencing the largest tuberculosis (TB) outbreak in US history. As of January 17th, 66 active cases and 79 latent infections have been reported, primarily in the Kansas City metro area. While the outbreak is ongoing, health officials stress the risk to the general public is low. Active measures are underway to control the spread, including collaboration with the CDC and treatment for patients. After 10 days of medication and three negative sputum tests, active cases are generally no longer contagious.

(www.cjonline.com)

Tech Tuberculosis Outbreak Kansas

DIY AirTags: Introducing OpenHaystack

2025-01-27

DIY AirTags: Introducing OpenHaystack

OpenHaystack is an open-source framework enabling you to build your own Bluetooth trackers leveraging Apple's Find My network. By reverse-engineering Apple's system, it cleverly uses Bluetooth broadcasts, public-key cryptography, and Apple's central database for location tracking. The project provides a macOS application and firmware, supporting various Bluetooth devices like BBC micro:bit and ESP32. While limitations exist, it offers a creative solution for personal item tracking.

(github.com)

Development bluetooth tracking

Lessons Learned From Archiving 8,000 Family Slides

2025-01-27

Lessons Learned From Archiving 8,000 Family Slides

The author recounts the year-long project of digitizing and archiving over 8,000 family slides, inherited after her parents' passing. This unexpectedly emotional journey offered insights into her parents' lives and provided valuable lessons in family photography. Key takeaways include focusing on capturing interactions and daily life rather than just tourist snapshots, adding descriptive labels and location data, and improving photo quality through basic photography knowledge. The project highlights the importance of family photos not only as a legacy but also as a powerful tool for preserving cherished memories.

(estherschindler.medium.com)

Misc family photos photography tips memory preservation

Rest of World Photo Contest: Tech's Global Impact

2025-01-26

Rest of World Photo Contest: Tech's Global Impact

Rest of World's photography contest received 227 entries from over 45 countries, showcasing how technology transforms lives globally. Winning photos depicted diverse scenarios: biometric scans of migrants at the US-Mexico border, online learning in rural India, and solar-powered communities in Mongolia. The images highlight technology's integration into daily life, revealing both opportunities and challenges across various cultures and contexts. They tell compelling stories of tech's impact on local communities.

(restofworld.org)

Tech technology photography global tech humanitarian tech

Astronomers Push for Global Ban on Ground-Visible Space Advertising

2025-01-26

Astronomers Push for Global Ban on Ground-Visible Space Advertising

The American Astronomical Society (AAS) is urging a global ban on space advertising visible from Earth, citing interference with ground-based astronomy. While the U.S. has a decades-old ban, concerns exist that other nations might launch such advertisements. The AAS calls for an international convention or treaty to prohibit this 'obtrusive space advertising,' citing the potential commercial allure. Past proposals involved satellites reflecting sunlight to display logos, but no such campaigns are currently underway. The AAS is pushing the U.S. delegation to the UN's Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) to advocate for this ban.

(spacenews.com)

Tech space advertising

YC Startup Hyperbound Hiring Full-Cycle Account Executive in SF

2025-01-26

YC Startup Hyperbound Hiring Full-Cycle Account Executive in SF

Hyperbound, a YC S23 startup based in San Francisco, is hiring a Full-Cycle Account Executive with a salary of $260K-$300K + bonuses and equity. They've created sales-tech to scale sales training for large enterprise teams, growing from $0 to $1M in under 11 months. The ideal candidate will have significant B2B sales experience, be comfortable self-sourcing leads, and excel in closing large mid-market and enterprise deals. This is a full-time, on-site role in San Francisco.

(www.ycombinator.com)

Startup

Automating Giant 3D Prints with a Python Jigsaw Generator

2025-01-26

Automating Giant 3D Prints with a Python Jigsaw Generator

This article details the creation of an automated system using Python and OpenSCAD to split large 3D printing models into smaller, printable parts. The system generates parts with dovetail joints for easy assembly. The author meticulously outlines the geometric derivation of the dovetail profile, overcomes OpenSCAD performance limitations and non-manifold mesh issues, ultimately succeeding in printing a large speaker model. This showcases a compelling example of 3D printing, parametric design, and automated workflows, highlighting the ingenuity in overcoming technical hurdles for efficient 3D printing production.

(calbryant.uk)

Hardware parametric design

The One and Only Supersonic Concorde Photo

2025-01-26

The One and Only Supersonic Concorde Photo

This article recounts the incredible story behind the only known photograph of a Concorde flying at supersonic speed. In April 1985, a Royal Air Force Tornado jet rendezvoused with a Concorde over the Irish Sea, briefly matching its Mach 2 speed to capture the iconic image before fuel constraints forced a separation. The feat required precise coordination and multiple attempts, as the Tornado could only sustain supersonic flight for a few minutes. The article also explores the Concorde's legacy as the fastest commercial airliner in history, its technological marvels, and its eventual retirement.

(petapixel.com)

Tech Concorde Supersonic Flight Photography

Brazil Halts Sam Altman's Iris Scan Project

2025-01-26

Brazil Halts Sam Altman's Iris Scan Project

Tools for Humanity, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has been banned in Brazil from offering cryptocurrency incentives for iris scans. Brazil's National Data Protection Authority (ANPD) argues this practice interferes with individuals' free will, impacting their autonomous decision-making regarding biometric data. This highlights growing global concerns about the collection and privacy of biometric data.

(economictimes.indiatimes.com)

Tech biometric data

DeepSeek R1: Chain-of-Thought Reasoning Model, Free and API Access

2025-01-26

DeepSeek R1: Chain-of-Thought Reasoning Model, Free and API Access

DeepSeek R1 is a new model and service that exposes chain-of-thought reasoning to the user. You can try it for free at chat.deepseek.com, or via an API at platform.deepseek.com (currently significantly cheaper than OpenAI). Alternatively, click 'Judge Me' to see what the model thinks about your user agent, browser capabilities, and IP location headers. If you dare.

(www.jasonthorsness.com)

AI chain-of-thought

First Fatal Crash Involving a Driverless Car

2025-01-26

First Fatal Crash Involving a Driverless Car

A multi-vehicle crash in San Francisco marks the first fatal collision in the U.S. involving a fully autonomous vehicle with no one behind the wheel. While a Waymo self-driving car was involved, it wasn't at fault; a speeding vehicle hit a line of stopped cars, resulting in one human fatality and the death of a dog. Despite Waymo's claim of superior safety records compared to human drivers, based on millions of miles driven, the incident raises serious questions about the safety of autonomous vehicles and will likely trigger further scrutiny of the technology.

(www.nbcbayarea.com)

Tech fatal accident autonomous vehicle safety

Quiet Quitting: A Symptom of Workplace Imbalance

2025-01-26

Quiet Quitting: A Symptom of Workplace Imbalance

The recent surge in 'quiet quitting' and 'soft quitting' isn't about laziness; it's a response to unfair compensation, excessive workloads, and a lack of work-life balance. Employees aren't necessarily uncaring, but seek alignment between work and personal well-being. The article argues that businesses must address employee needs through fair pay, flexible arrangements, and meaningful work to avoid massive economic losses from disengagement. Fostering a culture of curiosity and collaboration is key to creating a more effective and engaging workplace.

(www.forbes.com)

Startup quiet quitting

Why I Hate Docker and Podman

2025-01-26

A seasoned developer voiced strong displeasure with Docker and Podman in a blog post. He cited multiple instances where Docker installation broke his network configuration, a poorly designed command-line interface, and difficult-to-learn usage. The Dockerfile language is considered ad-hoc and poorly designed, the documentation unhelpful and hard to navigate. Docker Hub suffers from malware and licensing issues, and container images are stored in a hidden location that consumes excessive disk space. While Podman offers some implementation improvements, its user experience remains as unpleasant as Docker's. The author ultimately prefers virtual machines, acknowledging their slower startup, but valuing their easier comprehension and better predictability and control.

(blog.liw.fi)

Development containers

Elon Musk's Roadster Mistaken for Asteroid

2025-01-26

Elon Musk's Roadster Mistaken for Asteroid

An amateur astronomer discovered a near-Earth object that turned out to be Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster, launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in 2018. This highlights a growing lack of transparency in deep space, as increasing numbers of spacecraft and rocket debris create confusion with asteroids, wasting observational resources and potentially skewing statistical analyses of hazardous asteroids. The Minor Planet Center is collaborating with JPL to improve identification systems to better differentiate between artificial and natural objects.

(www.astronomy.com)

Tech asteroid tesla roadster deep space exploration

AI Models Are Now Surprisingly Good Historians

2025-01-26

AI Models Are Now Surprisingly Good Historians

Leading AI models are demonstrating remarkable capabilities in historical research. Three case studies showcase GPT-4o, o1, and Claude Sonnet 3.5's prowess in transcribing and translating early modern Italian texts, analyzing an 18th-century Mexican medical manuscript, and generating novel historical interpretations. While limitations remain, such as occasional factual inaccuracies, their potential in streamlining research, synthesizing information, and suggesting new research avenues is undeniable. This heralds a transformative shift in how historical research is conducted.

(resobscura.substack.com)

AI historical research

Enshittification: It's Not Venture Capital's Fault, It's the Lack of Constraints

2025-01-26

Cory Doctorow's article delves into the reasons behind the degradation of social media platforms, arguing it's not simply due to venture capitalists' pursuit of profit maximization. The article posits that 'enshittification' stems from user lock-in (high switching costs and collective action problems), and a lack of market competition, government regulation, and labor constraints. The solution, Doctorow suggests, lies in breaking user lock-in, increasing regulation and competition, rather than simply rejecting capitalism. The article also analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of emerging platforms Mastodon and Bluesky, advocating for technical solutions (like the Free Our Feeds project) to enhance Bluesky's resilience and lower switching costs for users.

(pluralistic.net)

Tech platform degradation

Another Baltic Sea Undersea Cable Severed; Latvia Deploys Warship

2025-01-26

Another Baltic Sea Undersea Cable Severed; Latvia Deploys Warship

Another undersea data cable, this time connecting Sweden and Latvia, has been cut in the Baltic Sea, prompting Latvia to dispatch a warship. Officials from both countries suspect external factors caused the damage. The incident follows a series of similar events in recent months, raising concerns about potential sabotage and increasing geopolitical tensions in the region. A suspect vessel has been identified, headed towards Russia. The damage disrupts data transmission, but alternative routes have been established, minimizing impact on end-users.

(www.france24.com)

Tech

Nvidia's Valuation: A Looming Bubble?

2025-01-26

Nvidia's Valuation: A Looming Bubble?

A former hedge fund analyst and current AI developer expresses concerns about Nvidia's stock valuation. While AI is booming and Nvidia enjoys a GPU monopoly, its high valuation faces multiple threats: a new "inference compute" scaling law suggests lower-than-expected compute demand; innovative chip architectures from Cerebras and Groq circumvent Nvidia's interconnect advantage; major tech companies are developing custom silicon, eroding Nvidia's market share; new software frameworks reduce CUDA dependency; and DeepSeek's efficient model training drastically cuts compute costs. These factors combined could lead to lower revenue growth and margins for Nvidia, making its current high valuation unsustainable.

(youtubetranscriptoptimizer.com)

Tech

Two Bites of Data Science in K: Shorthand & Cricket Stats

2025-01-26

This post presents two data analysis examples using the K programming language. The first involves developing a shorthand writing system, analyzing the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary to determine the most common consonant clusters following 'r' and 'l' in English to optimize shorthand symbol design. The second analyzes cricket test match data to identify bowlers with the best bowling averages, and further, which bowlers possess the best average amongst those with equal or greater numbers of wickets taken. Both demonstrate K's power in data manipulation and analysis, showcasing its real-world applicability.

(blog.zdsmith.com)

Development K programming language cricket data

ACK for Cray X-MP: A Retrocomputing Triumph

2025-01-26

ACK for Cray X-MP: A Retrocomputing Triumph

This project is a fork of the Amsterdam Compiler Kit (ACK) that supports the Cray X-MP supercomputer and COS operating system. It disables other platforms by commenting out references in the LUA build scripts. Successfully building and running on macOS and Linux requires installing bison, flex, gcc, gmake, and lua. Crucially, it also needs the tools from the COS-Tools GitHub repository (a cross-assembler, linker, and library manager for the Cray X-MP). After building, cross-compilers generate executables for the Cray X-MP and COS. The README details compiling a program, uploading via FTP to a NOS 2.8.7 system, then using the Cray Station interface to transfer and run it on the Cray X-MP, finally showing how to view the results. A fascinating blend of retrocomputing and modern software engineering.

(github.com)

Development COS

Iron Age Society Centered on Women: Ancient Genomes Reveal a Matrilocal Past

2025-01-26

Iron Age Society Centered on Women: Ancient Genomes Reveal a Matrilocal Past

An international team, led by Trinity College Dublin, has unearthed a fascinating glimpse into Britain's Iron Age through ancient DNA. Analysis of over 50 genomes from a Dorset burial site revealed a society structured around female lineage. The study indicates that husbands joined their wives' communities, with land potentially inherited through the maternal line, a system called matrilocality. This pattern wasn't unique to Dorset; similar findings in other Iron Age cemeteries across Britain suggest a widespread phenomenon, challenging traditional views of gender roles and highlighting the significant social and political influence of women in this era. The research published in Nature adds compelling genetic evidence to archaeological observations.

(www.tcd.ie)

Tech Iron Age Ancient DNA Matrilocality

Uppercut: One-Click Access to Xbox Homebrew's Xbins in OS X Tiger

2025-01-26

Uppercut is a nostalgic throwback to the early 2000s, offering one-click access to the Xbins Xbox homebrew FTP server, specifically designed for OS X Tiger (10.4). This eliminates the cumbersome IRC and FTP configurations of the past. Inspired by the modern Xbins connector Pandora, Uppercut recreates the experience of accessing homebrew resources as it might have been in 2005. For modern OS users, Pandora is recommended. The developer also live streams the development process on Twitch.

(uppercut.chadbibler.com)

Game Retro Software Xbox Homebrew

Former Tech CEO Sues Journalist for $25M Over Sealed Arrest Record

2025-01-26

Maury Blackman, a former tech CEO, is suing journalist Jack Poulson for $25 million after Poulson published details of Blackman's sealed 2021 domestic violence arrest. While a judge sealed the record, the information remains accessible online. Blackman argues the publication caused reputational harm and violated California law, while Poulson contends it served the public interest and is defended by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The case highlights the conflict between freedom of the press and individual privacy, particularly concerning sealed records.

(sf.gazetteer.co)

Tech Freedom of the Press Defamation

Qwen2.5-1M: Open-Source LLMs with 1 Million Token Context Length

2025-01-26

Qwen2.5-1M: Open-Source LLMs with 1 Million Token Context Length

The Qwen team released Qwen2.5-1M, open-source large language models supporting up to one million tokens of context length, in 7B and 14B parameter versions. These models significantly outperform their 128K counterparts on long-context tasks, even surpassing GPT-4o-mini in some cases. An open-sourced inference framework based on vLLM, leveraging sparse attention for a 3x to 7x speed boost, is also provided for efficient deployment. Qwen2.5-1M's training employed a progressive approach, incorporating Dual Chunk Attention (DCA) and sparse attention techniques for effective long-context handling.

(qwenlm.github.io)

AI

Orange Intelligence: Open-Source macOS Productivity Tool Surpasses Apple's

2025-01-26

Orange Intelligence: Open-Source macOS Productivity Tool Surpasses Apple's

Orange Intelligence is a powerful, open-source macOS productivity tool designed to overcome the limitations of Apple's built-in intelligence features. Its elegant floating window interface lets users seamlessly capture, process, and replace text across any application. With support for custom Python functions, it integrates seamlessly with LLMs like OpenAI or local LLaMA, enabling the creation of complex agent systems. Built using Python, PyQt6, and Applescript, Orange Intelligence offers extensive customization options, boosting productivity for developers, researchers, and AI enthusiasts.

(github.com)

Development

Alibaba's Qwen 2.5: A 1M Token Context LLM

2025-01-26

Alibaba released a major update to its open-source large language model, Qwen 2.5, boasting a staggering 1 million token context window! This is achieved through a new technique called Dual Chunk Attention. Two models are available on Hugging Face: 7B and 14B parameter versions, both requiring significant VRAM – at least 120GB for the 7B and 320GB for the 14B model. While usable for shorter tasks, Alibaba recommends using their custom vLLM framework. GGUF quantized versions are emerging, offering smaller sizes, but compatibility issues with full context lengths might exist. A blogger attempted running the GGUF version on a Mac using Ollama, encountering some challenges and promising a future update.

(simonwillison.net)

AI Million Token Context

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