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DivestOS Mobile Ends 10-Year Run, Developer Announces End of Updates

2024-12-27

DivestOS, a privacy-focused mobile operating system, announced the end of its updates on its tenth anniversary. The project, boasting over 7,000 git commits, achieved significant success, but due to sustainability concerns, developer Tavi has decided to cease maintenance. DivestOS and its apps will receive no further updates, and Hypatia and Carrion will no longer receive database updates. Non-mobile Divested projects (e.g., Brace, D-WRT) will continue to be maintained. Thank you to all users, contributors, and donors for your support.

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(divestos.org)
Development mobile OS end of updates

Houseplant: Streamlining ClickHouse Database Migrations

2024-12-27

Houseplant is a command-line tool designed to simplify ClickHouse database migration management. It allows developers to write migrations in a user-friendly YAML format, making them easy to read and maintain. Simple commands like `houseplant init`, `houseplant generate`, and `houseplant migrate` enable initialization, migration generation, execution, and rollback. Houseplant supports various environment configurations and offers an intuitive command-line interface for seamless ClickHouse schema management.

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(houseplant.readthedocs.io)
Development Database Migrations

Hackers Face Lawsuit After Exposing Polish Train Manufacturer's Manipulation

2024-12-27

The Chaos Computer Club (CCC) is raising funds for three hackers who revealed at the 37C3 conference how Polish rail vehicle manufacturer Newag manipulated its trains to be repairable only in its own workshops. Newag reacted with a 90s-style aggressive lawsuit, pursuing both criminal and civil charges. The legal costs have already reached €30,000. The CCC is calling for donations to cover legal and other expenses. The hackers' research did not involve any illegal replacement of train components. The CCC believes Newag's lawsuit aims to prevent future publications about these 'illegal instructions,' emphasizing that only the content teams decide who speaks at the congress. The 38C3 congress will continue reporting on this case.

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(www.ccc.de)
Tech hackers railways

Parker Solar Probe Makes History with Closest-Ever Approach to the Sun

2024-12-27

NASA's Parker Solar Probe made history on Christmas Eve, achieving an unprecedented close approach to the Sun at a distance of 3.8 million miles. After its close encounter on December 24th, the probe successfully sent a beacon signal back to Earth on December 26th, confirming its good health. This close-up study provides invaluable data for scientists to unravel mysteries surrounding the Sun, including how solar material is heated to millions of degrees, the origin of the solar wind, and the acceleration of energetic particles. Detailed telemetry data is expected on January 1st.

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(blogs.nasa.gov)
Tech Sun Space Exploration

Insights into the Structure of Neural Embeddings

2024-12-27
Insights into the Structure of Neural Embeddings

This article explores the structure of embeddings (latent spaces) produced by deep neural networks. Several key hypotheses are summarized: the Manifold Hypothesis (high-dimensional data lies in a low-dimensional manifold); Hierarchical Organization (features organize hierarchically across layers); Linear Hypothesis (neural networks represent features as linear directions in their activation space); Superposition Hypothesis (neural nets represent more independent features than a layer has neurons); Universality Hypothesis (circuits reappear across different models for the same data); Adversarial Vulnerability (small input changes cause large embedding shifts); and Neural Collapse (after training, class features cluster tightly around their means). These hypotheses collectively illuminate the complexity and potential limitations of deep neural network embeddings.

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(seanpedersen.github.io)
AI embeddings

J.G.A. Pocock's 'The Machiavellian Moment': A History of Political Contention

2024-12-27
J.G.A. Pocock's 'The Machiavellian Moment': A History of Political Contention

This article explores the impact of J.G.A. Pocock's influential work, 'The Machiavellian Moment,' on historiography and political thought. Pocock challenged the purely liberal interpretation of the American founding myth, arguing for the enduring presence of classical republicanism, sparking intense debate. This controversy extended beyond differing historical interpretations, touching upon the core of American national identity. Pocock's central argument posits the inherent political nature of historical narratives and the crucial role of historians in shaping political identities, highlighting the inevitable political contestation surrounding historical interpretations.

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(aeon.co)
Misc Political Thought American Founding

Massive Volkswagen Data Breach Exposes Location Data of 800,000 EVs

2024-12-27
Massive Volkswagen Data Breach Exposes Location Data of 800,000 EVs

A massive data breach affecting over 800,000 Volkswagen electric vehicles has exposed sensitive user information, including precise GPS location data and personal contact details. The data, stored on an unsecured Amazon Cloud server, was accessible to anyone with basic technical skills. The breach, discovered by a whistleblower and reported by Der Spiegel, highlights significant security flaws at Volkswagen's software subsidiary, Cariad. While Cariad claims to have quickly addressed the vulnerability and that no unauthorized third-party access occurred, the incident raises serious concerns about data security in the automotive industry and the potential for misuse of exposed location and personal information. The breach impacted both individual users and institutional entities, including police forces.

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(cyberinsider.com)
Tech automotive

Unix Time and a Modest Proposal

2024-12-27

This article delves into the discrepancy between Unix time (the number of seconds since January 1, 1970) and the actual time due to the Earth's slowing rotation and slight variations in its orbit. Leap seconds were introduced to address this, but their complexities lead to a plan to discontinue them by 2035. The author proposes a novel solution: periodically adjusting Earth's orbit to maintain synchronization between the solar year and the average Gregorian calendar year, thereby eliminating the need for leap seconds.

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(www.johndcook.com)
Tech Unix time Earth's orbit

OpenAI Whistleblower's Death Questioned, Second Autopsy Ordered

2024-12-27
OpenAI Whistleblower's Death Questioned, Second Autopsy Ordered

The death of former OpenAI researcher Suchir Balaji, found dead in his San Francisco apartment, has been ruled a suicide. However, Balaji's parents are contesting this conclusion, commissioning a second independent autopsy. Balaji had recently become a whistleblower, publicly accusing OpenAI of using copyrighted material to train ChatGPT. His parents claim he showed no signs of suicidal tendencies and was optimistic about the future, planning to establish a non-profit focused on machine learning. The case has sparked public speculation and calls for a thorough investigation.

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(sfist.com)
Tech Suicide Copyright Dispute

WordPress Co-founder's Christmas Eve Joke Sparks Community Outrage

2024-12-27
WordPress Co-founder's Christmas Eve Joke Sparks Community Outrage

On Christmas Eve, Matt Mullenweg, co-founder of WordPress, stirred up controversy on Reddit by asking for suggestions on what "drama" he should create in 2025 for WordPress. The post, suggesting changes like altering release naming conventions or design, was met with significant backlash from the community. Many felt the post was disrespectful and urged him to focus on resolving ongoing legal issues and restoring community stability. Mullenweg responded that he was merely aiming to spark creativity and hinted at future developments in Gutenberg. The controversy highlights concerns within the WordPress community regarding leadership and the future direction of the platform.

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(wptavern.com)
Development community controversy

Arbital Shuts Down: The End of an AI Safety Research Organization

2024-12-27

Arbital, an organization focused on AI safety research, recently announced its closure. This news sent shockwaves through the AI safety community. Known for its rigorous research and forward-thinking perspectives, Arbital's closure represents a significant loss to the field. While Arbital hasn't publicly disclosed the reasons for its closure, industry insiders speculate it may be related to funding issues or a shift in research direction. Arbital's closure serves as a reminder of the many challenges facing AI safety research, requiring more resources and sustained effort.

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(arbital.com)
AI Artificial intelligence research

A Programmer's Lesson: Always Bundle a Proposal with a Complaint

2024-12-27
A Programmer's Lesson: Always Bundle a Proposal with a Complaint

In 1988 at Apple, a young, cocky engineer, Kent Beck, was summoned to Jean-Louis Gassée's office after sending an email complaining about a company decision. Instead of anger, Gassée challenged Beck to consider his perspective and rewrite the email as a proposal for a solution. This experience taught Beck three valuable lessons: most problems aren't as big as they seem; always include a solution with a complaint; and effective communication requires empathy. This anecdote highlights crucial workplace communication skills and the importance of understanding different viewpoints.

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(tidyfirst.substack.com)
Development workplace communication proposal empathy

Boeing 777 Model Crafted from Manila Folders

2024-12-27
Boeing 777 Model Crafted from Manila Folders

Luca Iaconi-Stewart spent years painstakingly creating a 1:60 scale model of a Boeing 777-300ER airliner, using only manila folders. The project, born from a high school architecture class, showcases his mastery of paper's versatility. From initial simple designs to an incredibly detailed final product, he utilized Adobe Illustrator to design intricate parts, then meticulously cut, assembled, and glued them together. This stunning creation involved extensive research, design, printing, and assembly, demonstrating incredible craftsmanship and attention to detail.

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(www.lucaiaconistewart.com)
Design model making airplane model

PQConnect: A New Layer of Internet Security Against Quantum Attacks

2024-12-27

PQConnect is an easy-to-install layer of internet security that allows you to immediately address the threat of quantum attacks on your computer without waiting for application upgrades. It automatically applies end-to-end post-quantum cryptography between computers running PQConnect, adding cryptographic protection to unencrypted applications, working with existing pre-quantum applications to add post-quantum protection, and adding a second application-independent layer of defense to applications with application-specific post-quantum protection. Unlike VPNs, which only protect traffic between your computer and VPN proxies, PQConnect automatically detects and transparently encrypts traffic to servers supporting PQConnect. System administrators can easily configure server names to announce PQConnect support. Separate installation instructions are provided for users and system administrators.

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(www.pqconnect.net)
Tech post-quantum cryptography internet security quantum attacks

GitHub Repo Visualization Tool: GitDiagram

2024-12-27
GitHub Repo Visualization Tool: GitDiagram

GitDiagram is a powerful tool that transforms any GitHub repository into an interactive diagram for quick and intuitive project visualization. Simply replace 'hub' with 'diagram' in any GitHub URL to generate the diagram. It supports popular frameworks like FastAPI, Streamlit, and Flask, making it easy for developers to use.

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(gitdiagram.com)
Development

An Evidence-Based Approach to Goal Setting and Behavior Change

2024-12-27
An Evidence-Based Approach to Goal Setting and Behavior Change

New Year's resolutions often fail? This article explores evidence-based strategies for goal setting and behavior change. Studies show that success rates for New Year's resolutions aren't as low as often perceived. The key is leveraging the "fresh start effect" and combining it with goal hierarchy setting (superordinate, intermediate, and subordinate goals), approach vs. avoidance goals, process vs. outcome goals, mastery vs. performance goals, flexible vs. rigid restraint, and implementing intention strategies. The article also details how tools like MacroFactor can support goal setting and behavior change.

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(www.strongerbyscience.com)
Misc goal setting behavior change New Year's resolutions

Archimedes, Vitruvius, and Leonardo: The Odometer Connection

2024-12-27
Archimedes, Vitruvius, and Leonardo: The Odometer Connection

A 2019 multimedia exhibition in Fano, Italy, celebrated the strong links between Vitruvius and Leonardo on the 500th anniversary of Leonardo's death. The authors created an interactive animation of several machines, providing visitors with an immersive experience of the studies of these great scholars. This also spurred a review of the odometer's history and an examination of Leonardo's redesign of Vitruvius' concept. While some questions remain, the research led them back to another great scientist of the past: Archimedes of Syracuse.

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(www.scirp.org)
Tech odometer Vitruvius Leonardo da Vinci

The Demise of the Paper Passport: The Rise of Digital Travel Documents

2024-12-27
The Demise of the Paper Passport: The Rise of Digital Travel Documents

The paper passport is on its way out, thanks to the rise of facial recognition technology and smartphones. Airports and governments worldwide are actively testing and deploying passport-free travel systems, leveraging facial recognition and digital identity verification to streamline the travel process. While this improves efficiency and reduces airport wait times, concerns about data privacy and security, such as data breaches and increased surveillance, are also being raised. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is pushing for the adoption of Digital Travel Credentials (DTCs), which digitize passport information stored on a phone and cryptographically link it to the physical passport. Despite challenges like 'look-alike fraud' and system failures, the trend towards digital travel documents is irreversible; your face may soon be your new passport.

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(www.wired.com)
Tech facial recognition digital travel credential passportless travel digital travel

Quantum Teleportation Achieved Over Busy Internet Cables for the First Time

2024-12-27
Quantum Teleportation Achieved Over Busy Internet Cables for the First Time

Northwestern University engineers have achieved a breakthrough by successfully demonstrating quantum teleportation over a fiber optic cable already carrying internet traffic. This discovery, published in Optica, opens the door to integrating quantum communication with existing internet infrastructure, significantly simplifying the requirements for advanced sensing and quantum computing applications. The team cleverly navigated the challenge of entangled photons interfering with dense internet traffic by selecting an optimal wavelength and employing special filters. This successful transmission paves the way for next-generation quantum and classical networks sharing a unified fiber optic infrastructure, promising a future of more accessible quantum technologies.

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(news.northwestern.edu)
Tech quantum teleportation quantum communication fiber optic networks fiber optic network

Metamorphic Rocks: Messengers from Earth's Depths

2024-12-27
Metamorphic Rocks: Messengers from Earth's Depths

This essay explores the incredible journeys of metamorphic rocks. Starting as humble seabed sediments, these rocks are buried deep within the Earth's crust, undergoing intense heat and pressure that transforms them into new mineral forms. Their eventual return to the surface provides invaluable insights into the planet's deep interior. The author vividly describes this transformation as an epic journey, highlighting the importance of metamorphism in plate tectonics and the crucial role of water in the process. The story also contrasts the ease of exploring space with the challenges of accessing Earth's subsurface.

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(aeon.co)
Tech metamorphic rocks Earth science Metamorphic rocks

Invariants: Advances in Computation and Applications

2024-12-27
Invariants: Advances in Computation and Applications

A tutorial paper published in the proceedings of ISSAC 2023 explores the computation and applications of invariants in mathematics. The paper focuses on the interplay between differential and algebraic invariant theories, presenting an algebraic adaptation of the moving frame method from differential geometry to compute a generating set of rational invariants. It also discusses the role of differential invariant signatures in solving equivalence problems in geometry and algebra, and the challenges in designing algorithms based on this concept.

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(arxiv.org)
Development invariants differential geometry

Fake Nintendo Lawyer Terrorizes YouTubers, Exposing YouTube's Copyright Flaws

2024-12-27
Fake Nintendo Lawyer Terrorizes YouTubers, Exposing YouTube's Copyright Flaws

A user impersonating a Nintendo lawyer is terrorizing YouTubers by filing false copyright claims, leading to video takedowns and account suspensions. Using forged emails and documents, the perpetrator successfully bypassed YouTube's verification system, causing significant stress and financial losses for creators. This incident highlights vulnerabilities in YouTube's copyright claim process and the severity of online fraud, raising concerns about platform oversight and the need for improved safeguards.

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(www.theverge.com)
Game YouTube copyright false claims online harassment online fraud copyright protection

Arcan OS: A Revolutionary Approach to Operating System Design

2024-12-27
Arcan OS: A Revolutionary Approach to Operating System Design

Arcan is a single-user, user-facing, networked overlay operating system designed to provide users with complete autonomy over their computing devices. Independent of Linux or BSD kernels, it operates as a 'vagabond' across various ecosystems. Arcan utilizes a shared memory interface (SHMIF) and the A12 network protocol for efficient inter-process communication, employing 'frameservers' to isolate security-sensitive tasks. Its programmable interface ALT, Appl application model, and diverse user interfaces (Console, Durden, Safespaces) create a flexible and powerful system. Arcan aims to counter the network lock-in and security threats posed by large platforms, enhancing user autonomy and security.

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(arcan-fe.com)
Development autonomy

Lucid Dreaming: A New Science for Treating Insomnia and Nightmares

2024-12-27
Lucid Dreaming: A New Science for Treating Insomnia and Nightmares

Scientists are exploring the potential of inducing lucid dreams to treat insomnia and nightmares. Lucid dreaming, the state of being aware that you're dreaming while asleep, can be learned through training, allowing control over dream content and even communication with the waking world. Researchers are using neuroimaging and wearable devices to understand brain activity during lucid dreams and to induce them via external stimuli, aiming to improve sleep quality and reduce nightmares. This research offers promising new avenues for treating sleep disorders and mental health issues.

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(www.scientificamerican.com)
AI lucid dreaming insomnia nightmares

Is Current AI a Dead End?

2024-12-27
Is Current AI a Dead End?

Professor Eerke Boiten of De Montfort University Leicester argues that current AI systems based on large neural networks, such as ChatGPT, are unsuitable for critical applications due to their inherent complexity and unpredictability. These systems lack manageability, transparency, and accountability; their behavior is emergent rather than compositional, making effective verification and error correction difficult. Boiten suggests that the current direction of AI development may be a dead end, advocating for compositional neural networks or hybrid approaches combining symbolic reasoning to build more reliable AI systems.

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(www.bcs.org)
AI AI Safety neural networks

Web3 Insider Confesses: I Barely Use Web3

2024-12-27
Web3 Insider Confesses: I Barely Use Web3

A Web3 veteran since 2018 confesses to rarely using crypto, highlighting the industry's stagnation. Despite billions invested, Web3 products fail to meet the needs of non-crypto users, largely offering volatility and online entertainment. The author reflects on the industry's focus on developer tools over consumer products, noting the shortcomings of traditional finance—high fees, inefficiency—without driving mass crypto adoption. Personal concerns about compliance, wallet management, time constraints, and risk aversion lead him to prioritize simpler investment strategies. He suggests Web3 might be better suited for a future generation.

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(research.auditless.com)
Development cryptocurrency industry development

GitHub Project: Daily Dutch Vocabulary Email Automation

2024-12-27
GitHub Project: Daily Dutch Vocabulary Email Automation

This GitHub project automates the daily delivery of an email containing three C1-level Dutch words, their English translations, and example sentences. The author created this project due to a lack of suitable learning tools, leveraging ChatGPT for word suggestions and AWS services (including Lambda, DynamoDB, and SES) for automation. The project architecture is straightforward but offers room for improvement, such as refactoring the Python code for better performance.

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(github.com)
Development automation dutch learning

YC-backed Harper Seeks Founding AI Engineer to Disrupt the $100B+ Insurance Market

2024-12-27
YC-backed Harper Seeks Founding AI Engineer to Disrupt the $100B+ Insurance Market

Harper, a Y Combinator-backed AI-native commercial insurance brokerage, is seeking a Founding AI Engineer. The company aims to revolutionize the $100B+ Excess & Surplus (E&S) insurance market using AI, automating weeks-long processes into instant ones. The ideal candidate possesses deep experience with the modern AI/ML stack, thrives in rapid iteration, and understands AI safety and reliability. Harper offers competitive compensation and significant equity, targeting engineers eager to build and own a revolutionary product, not just maximize salary.

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(www.ycombinator.com)
AI Insurtech

Building AI Products: A Backend Architecture Deep Dive

2024-12-27

This article details the journey of an AI team building an AI-powered Chief of Staff for engineering leaders. Initially using simple inference pipelines, they transitioned to a multi-agent system as the application grew. The author explains agent design principles, differences from microservices, and object-oriented implementation. Memory management, including CQRS and event sourcing, and handling natural language events are discussed. Scaling to 10,000 users involved sharding, asynchronous programming, LLM call optimization, and migration to Temporal.

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(philcalcado.com)
AI AI Architecture Agent Systems Backend Development
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