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Summary:

The authors have developed a new megakernel for tensor-parallel inference using the Llama-70B model on NVIDIA H100 GPUs. This megakernel is designed to maximize throughput by overlapping different GPU operations—like computation, memory access, and communication—simultaneously. When integrated into the Tokasaurus inference engine, it achieves over 22% higher throughput compared to the SGLang framework.

Key features of the megakernel include:

• It combines different types of operations into a single instruction set, allowing efficient use of GPU resources.
• It employs an instruction-and-interpreter model that enables fine-grained control over tasks, reducing idle times during processing.
• The design allows for overlapping tasks within individual streaming multiprocessors (SMs), across multiple SMs, and even among different GPUs.

The authors also benchmarked their megakernel against existing systems, showing significant performance improvements. They acknowledge that there is still room for further optimization and plan to develop a more general megakernel instruction set in the future to simplify the process of creating high-performance kernels.

Overall, their research highlights the potential of megakernels in enhancing the efficiency of large model inference tasks.

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For over 16 years, people learn to succeed in school by studying hard and earning good grades. However, the workplace operates differently than expected. As individuals rise in their careers, they realize that success is not solely based on merit, despite organizations claiming to value it.

The reality is that workplaces are influenced by flawed psychology, imperfect decisions, and competing interests, which can lead to frustration for high performers. Here are some key insights:

• Blame ignorance, not bad intent: Many workplace issues stem from stupidity or poor incentives, not malice. Understanding this helps maintain a positive mindset.
• Organizations are not true meritocracies: Performance matters, but often factors like timing, perception, and relationships play a larger role in career advancement.
• Perception is as important as performance: How others view your work can be just as crucial as the work itself.
• Avoid fighting for "objective fairness": Instead, focus on positioning your contributions effectively.
• Be aware of differing standards: Your expectations may not align with those of others in the organization.
• As you advance, challenges may become more complex.

This guide emphasizes the importance of recognizing the subjective aspects of organizational life to navigate your career more successfully and with less frustration.

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Bernard Arnault, the owner of LVMH and Europe's richest man, has criticized a proposed wealth tax in France that targets fortunes over €100 million. He claims this 2% tax could cost him more than €1 billion and would harm the French economy. Arnault argues that the tax, suggested by economist Gabriel Zucman, aims to undermine the liberal economy, which he believes is beneficial for everyone. The proposal has gained attention amid France's political struggles and budget cuts. Zucman believes the tax could raise up to €20 billion for the government, while some economists warn it might only bring in €5 billion if wealthy individuals leave France. Arnault, who has significant investments in luxury brands, expressed disbelief that French political leaders would support such a measure, calling it an attack on the economy.

In recent developments, a group of 39 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) is pressing EU officials for explanations about taxpayer money being funneled to spyware companies. Investigations have shown that countries like Italy, Greece, Hungary, and Spain have used millions of euros in EU funds to support firms involved in controversial surveillance practices. These companies, such as Intellexa and Cy4Gate, have been linked to the illegal monitoring of journalists and activists.

The MEPs expressed concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability in how these funds are managed, especially given recent scandals in several EU nations. They highlighted the need for a review of how EU subsidies are allocated, asking for detailed records of funds given to spyware companies since 2015 and a commitment to exclude such companies from future funding.

The push for accountability is backed by organizations like Amnesty International, which has documented the human rights abuses facilitated by spyware. Activists are calling for a ban on commercial spyware, arguing that its use contradicts fundamental rights.

Overall, the situation raises serious questions about the EU's funding practices and its responsibility in addressing the risks posed by spyware technologies.

The paper discusses the F3 project, which introduces a new open-source data file format designed for modern data analytics. Here are the key points:

1. Background: Existing columnar formats like Parquet and ORC were developed over a decade ago and have become inadequate for current data analysis needs. They struggle to adapt to changes in hardware performance and data usage patterns, leading to inefficiencies.

2. F3 Overview: The Future-proof File Format (F3) aims to address these issues by focusing on interoperability, extensibility, and efficiency. It allows developers to easily add new encoding methods without needing to create new file formats whenever technology evolves.

3. File Structure: F3 files consist of both data and metadata, with embedded WebAssembly (Wasm) binaries for data decoding. This design ensures compatibility across different platforms and versions without requiring upgrades to libraries.

4. Key Features:

   • Modular Design: F3 separates the physical layout of data from logical organization, allowing more flexible data management.
   • Efficient Metadata Handling: Metadata is structured to minimize overhead when accessing specific columns, improving speed and reducing complexity.
   • Flexible Encoding: F3 allows different encoding methods to be applied based on the data type, optimizing storage and access.

5. Performance Evaluation: Early tests show that F3's design can achieve performance levels comparable to existing formats while also being easier to extend and adapt to new requirements.

In conclusion, F3 presents a modern approach to data file formatting that addresses the limitations of current formats, aiming to support the evolving landscape of data analytics effectively.

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Starting January 2026, Gmail will stop supporting two features: Gmailify and POP.

Gmailify allowed users to access special features like spam protection and better organization for third-party email accounts. After the change, these features will no longer be available for these accounts.

POP is a method for downloading emails from third-party accounts, but this will also be discontinued. Users will not be able to check emails from other accounts using POP in Gmail.

What you can do:

• You can still read and send emails from other accounts through the Gmail app using IMAP, which is supported.
• To keep receiving messages from other accounts, you need to enable IMAP access with your email provider.

You won't lose any emails that you've already imported into Gmail, and you can still add and use other email accounts, like Yahoo! and Outlook, in the Gmail app.

For more help, check the related resources on how to add another email account or get Gmail features for your accounts.

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James Hampton's artwork, The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations' Millennium General Assembly, is a significant piece at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Created between 1950 and 1964, it consists of around 180 elements made from discarded materials, covered in gold and silver foil. Hampton, a janitor in Washington, D.C., spent 14 years assembling this piece, inspired by his visions, and it features the words "Fear Not" prominently.

Curator Leslie Umberger highlights its beauty and humility, noting that the work is made from everyday objects and has a personal touch, like crowns that could fit a person's head. Hampton's identity as a self-taught Black artist during the Civil Rights movement adds deeper significance to the work, which reflects his life and experiences.

Although Hampton passed away before completing his project, his creation was recognized posthumously and became a beloved part of the museum's collection. The artwork represents a testament to vision and creativity, encapsulated in a motto Hampton displayed: "Where there is no vision, the people perish."

Pong Wars Summary

Pong Wars is a simple game representing the battle between day and night, good and evil. It is created using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS, all in one file (index.html). You can run the game by using the command npx serve and opening the provided link.

The game is inspired by an earlier idea and features a color palette designed by Alex Cristache. Feedback and contributions are welcomed, especially if you can improve the game's code, particularly collision detection or randomness.

If you have created your own version of Pong Wars, you can share it by submitting a pull request. There are many alternate versions of the game listed, which include different programming languages and platforms, such as Python, C++, Java, and more.

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Summary of Immich v2.0.0 Stable Release Announcement

The Immich team is excited to announce the stable release of version 2.0.0 after a long journey of about 1,337 days, which included 271 releases and significant community support. Key highlights include:

• Stable Release: The new version indicates that many technical issues have been resolved, making it easier to maintain and update the software.
• Physical Release: To celebrate, a nostalgic physical version of Immich is available on a bootable disk, along with a new merch store featuring retro designs.
• Future Plans: The team plans to enhance the software with new features like better sharing, group management, and backup services, while continuing to gather user feedback.
• Community Engagement: A Q&A livestream is scheduled for October 2, 2025, to discuss this release and answer questions.

Users are encouraged to maintain their backup practices, as data safety remains crucial. Overall, the team expresses gratitude for the community's support and looks forward to continued development.

Meta is set to use conversations from its AI services, like Meta AI on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger, to create personalized ads starting December 16, 2025. This means that if you talk about a topic, like hiking, Meta may show you related content or advertisements.

A notification about this change will begin on October 7, 2025, but users in the EU, UK, and South Korea will not be affected for now. There is no option to opt-out of this feature. Meta claims it will not personalize ads based on sensitive topics like religion, race, or health, allowing users to potentially avoid personalization by discussing such topics.

Meta's primary focus on AI appears to be to enhance its advertising strategy, which accounts for 98% of its revenue. Critics are concerned that this could reduce transparency in advertising practices and complicate tracking ad effectiveness.

The creator built a project to share their experiences and those of friends with autism. It aims to illustrate concepts like masking, decision fatigue, and burnout in everyday life. The focus is not on defining autism but on helping others understand these challenges. They have received positive feedback about topics like resilience and medication and plan to continue improving the project. The goal is for people to gain insights into why someone with autism might struggle in certain situations. The creator appreciates everyone who has engaged with the project and provided feedback.

A 25-year-old Argentine named Alejo "Shishi" Warles, who operated a popular pirate sports streaming site called Al Ángulo TV, was arrested on August 20 during a crackdown supported by LaLiga. After spending three days in custody, he was released on bail and quickly got a new job with the esports team 9z Globant.

Warles’ arrest drew attention not only from authorities but also from friends and family who raised funds for his defense. His lawyer described the situation as a "David versus Goliath" case, highlighting Warles’ lack of a criminal record and his living situation with his grandparents.

While in jail, Warles shared a cell with serious criminals but reported that they treated him kindly. After his release, he regained control of his social media accounts, which had gained followers during his arrest, and stated he would continue working online but not return to running pirate sites.

Although authorities seized his electronic devices and cryptocurrency, Warles claimed he had only $263 in his crypto wallet and denied any significant illegal profits. Despite his controversial past, 9z Globant believes he can contribute positively to their team, stating they hired him for his potential, not his previous activities with Al Ángulo TV.

Summary: Building a 30 Petabyte Data Storage Cluster

A team in San Francisco created a massive 30 petabyte storage cluster for under $500,000 to support their machine learning projects, which involve processing 90 million hours of video data. Storing this amount of data on AWS would cost about $12 million annually, so they opted for a local colocation center, reducing costs to approximately $354,000 per year.

Key Reasons for Building In-House:

• The team doesn't need the high reliability of cloud services since losing some data won't significantly affect their training models.
• Most companies overpay for storage because they use less than a petabyte, so their unique needs made in-house storage more cost-effective.

Cost Breakdown:

• Monthly expenses for internet and electricity total $17,500.
• One-time costs for hardware like hard drives and installation amounted to $426,500.
• Overall, their monthly costs are about $29,500, significantly lower than alternatives like AWS.

Setup Process:

• The team organized a "hard drive stacking party" to quickly set up the hardware, completing the installation in 36 hours.
• They used simple software to manage data storage, avoiding complex systems to reduce debugging time.

Lessons Learned:

• Locating the datacenter close to their office improved team productivity.
• Simplicity in design and setup saved time and effort.
• They faced challenges, such as tedious installation processes and networking issues, but overall, the project was successful and cost-effective.

Advice for Others:

• For those looking to replicate this setup, they suggest specific hardware configurations and emphasize the importance of planning for networking and power needs.

The team aims to continue their work in advancing machine learning technologies and is open to collaboration and hiring new talent.

The article by Noah Brier discusses Claude Code, a powerful tool that combines a Unix command interface with filesystem access, making it a robust system for coding and note-taking. Claude Code allows users to create and manage notes in a simple way, utilizing plain text files stored on their computers, which enhances its compatibility with AI tools.

Brier highlights that Claude Code stands out due to its Unix-based design, which encourages simplicity and functionality. This design allows AI models to effectively use tools by "piping" outputs from one command to the input of another, making the interaction seamless. Unlike other AI models, Claude Code has the ability to store information and maintain context across different sessions, enabling it to function more like a memory-equipped assistant.

He also mentions his own setup that integrates Claude Code with Obsidian for note-taking, which has evolved into a more advanced tool called "Claudesidian." This tool allows for easy updates and merging of changes, adhering to the Unix philosophy of creating simple, composable tools.

Brier emphasizes that the combination of filesystem access and Unix commands provides a solid foundation for building reliable AI systems. He encourages developers to adopt these principles when creating their own AI tools, suggesting that doing so will lead to more effective and user-friendly applications. In summary, Claude Code is presented as a groundbreaking approach to utilizing AI for coding and note-taking, emphasizing simplicity and functionality.

Summary:

Nicolas Bustamante discusses the decline of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) in AI and search, claiming that advancements in context windows and agent-based architectures signal a shift towards a new search paradigm.

Key points include:

1. RAG's Origin and Challenges: RAG emerged to tackle the limitations of AI models like GPT-3.5, which could only process a limited amount of text at once. It retrieves relevant document fragments to help LLMs summarize information, but this approach struggles with long documents and complex structures.

2. Issues with Document Chunking: Breaking long documents into smaller chunks often leads to fragmented information, making it difficult to retrieve comprehensive insights. This can obscure critical data and connections within financial reports.

3. Hybrid Search Solutions: Combining traditional keyword search (BM25) with semantic search (embeddings) improves retrieval accuracy but adds complexity and cost. Each step in the retrieval process can introduce errors, complicating the infrastructure.

4. Emergence of Agentic Search: New AI models, like Claude Code, use direct filesystem searches rather than RAG. This allows for quick, context-rich exploration of documents without the overhead of chunking and embedding.

5. The Context Revolution: Advances in context windows (up to millions of tokens) enable AI to process entire documents, shifting the focus from retrieval to intelligent navigation of information. This new approach emphasizes understanding relationships and context rather than just finding similar text.

The conclusion is that as AI evolves, the future will favor systems that can navigate complex documents holistically, moving beyond the limitations of RAG.

Summary of Keyhive Background

As local-first applications evolve, their focus on collaboration has broadened. These applications must manage data access differently for personal use versus team projects, ensuring sensitive information remains private. Traditional access control often relies on a central server, but Keyhive aims to create a secure local-first authentication system similar to popular apps like Google Docs and GitHub.

Keyhive addresses the challenge of access control in local-first environments, where everyone has direct access to all data. It emphasizes clear rules for collaboration and access, avoiding confusion in document sharing. Current local-first apps often use "security through obscurity," which can lead to vulnerabilities if document IDs are shared mistakenly.

To improve access control without needing constant internet connection, Keyhive wants a system that combines the benefits of existing methods—self-certification, server power, and decentralized user control—while allowing updates even when offline. The team acknowledges the foundational work of other projects to help develop this innovative access control system.

Summary of edge264:

edge264 is a lightweight software decoder designed for H.264/AVC video format that aims for high performance. It is still under development and will include plugins for GStreamer and VLC in the future.

Key Features:

• Supports various profiles, including Progressive High and MVC 3D, with resolutions up to 8K UHD.
• Outputs 8-bit 4:2:0 planar YUV format.
• Supports multi-threading for decoding slices and frames.
• Offers advanced memory management and long-term reference frames.

Supported Platforms:

• Windows (x86, x64)
• Linux (x86, x64, ARM64)
• Mac OS (x64)

Compilation:

• Written in C, it can be compiled using GNU GCC or LLVM Clang.
• Uses optional SDL2 for display capabilities.
• Offers various compilation options for tuning performance and enabling features.

Testing:

• Includes an automated test program to decode video files and verify outputs against expected results.
• A wide range of tests are planned to ensure reliability and support for various scenarios.

Programming Techniques:

• Utilizes modern programming techniques to enhance performance and reduce code size.
• Emphasizes a minimalistic API and includes optimizations for multi-architecture SIMD programming.

Future Development:

• Focused on stress testing, error recovery, and integration with popular media frameworks.
• Plans to expand support for additional features and optimizations.

This decoder serves as a platform to explore new programming methods while providing a functional and efficient tool for handling H.264 video streams.

Summary: Optimizing C Loops on the 68000

Damien Ciabrini explores optimizing a simple clear_screen function in C for the Neo Geo's 68000 processor. He aims to generate efficient assembly code to enhance performance during a project with the ngdevkit.

Key Points:

1. Understanding Neo Geo Graphics:

   • The Neo Geo uses Video RAM (VRAM) to manage graphics, which cannot be accessed directly by the 68000 CPU.
   • VRAM is organized into tiles, and clearing the screen involves writing specific data to VRAM.

2. Initial Implementation:

   • A basic implementation in C sets up GPU registers and uses a loop to write tile data to VRAM, but initial compilation without optimizations results in inefficient assembly code.

3. Compiler Optimizations:

   • Enabling compiler optimizations (-O2 and -fomit-frame-pointer) significantly improves the assembly output, reducing stack usage and unnecessary operations.

4. Further Enhancements:

   • By using temporary address registers and treating VRAM access as non-constant symbols, the assembly code is further refined, reducing instruction size and improving execution speed.

5. Loop Optimization:

   • The 68000 assembly supports a more efficient dbra instruction for loops. The C code is adjusted to better match this structure, leading to even more optimized assembly output.

6. Final Optimizations:

   • The final assembly code utilized indexed memory access for VRAM registers, streamlining the code further and achieving the best performance.

7. Conclusion:

   • The process demonstrates that while C can be used effectively instead of assembly for retro hardware, understanding the execution platform and compiler optimizations is crucial for achieving high performance.
   • The journey highlights the importance of balancing simplicity and efficiency in programming for hardware with limited resources.

Overall, this exploration shows how with the right techniques and understanding, C can yield assembly code that meets the high-performance needs of retro gaming hardware.

In the essay "Why Today’s Humanoids Won’t Learn Dexterity," Rodney Brooks argues that despite significant financial investments in humanoid robots, they will not achieve the dexterity needed to perform tasks like humans. He explains that researchers have struggled with robotic manipulation for over 65 years, and current methods, including end-to-end learning from video demonstrations, fail to capture the complexity of human touch and dexterity.

Key points from the essay include:

1. Historical Challenges: Humanoid robots have been in development for decades, but achieving human-like manipulation remains elusive. Most robots today use basic grippers, lacking the dexterity of human hands.

2. Hype vs. Reality: Companies like Tesla and Figure have created hype around humanoid robots being able to take over human jobs, but Brooks believes this is unrealistic in the near future. Current humanoid robots are not safe for close interaction with humans, particularly when walking.

3. Limitations of Learning Methods: Current training methods for robots rely heavily on visual data and lack the necessary touch feedback that is crucial for dexterity. Brooks argues that human dexterity involves complex sensory feedback that robots do not replicate.

4. Future of Humanoids: Brooks predicts that humanoid robots will evolve into more specialized forms that may not resemble humans closely. He suggests that many investments will be wasted on trying to achieve performance levels that current technology cannot support.

Overall, Brooks emphasizes that significant research is needed to understand the role of touch in dexterity before humanoid robots can effectively perform tasks like humans.

Here are the key points from the text:

• When posting job openings, clearly state the job location (REMOTE for remote work, ONSITE if not).
• Only individuals from the hiring company should post, not recruiters or job boards. One post per company is allowed, and companies that are not well-known should describe their business.
• Posts should be made only if there is an active job opening, and the poster must be willing to respond to applicants.
• Comments on job posts should avoid complaints and stay on topic.
• Interested readers should only email if they genuinely want the job.
• For job searching, various resources and links are provided for finding opportunities.
• Additional threads for job seekers and freelancers are mentioned for further exploration.

The OpenTSLM White Paper introduces Time Series Language Models (TSLMs), which are designed to handle time-series data like vital signs, prices, and machine logs. Unlike traditional models, TSLMs can reason about time-series data and provide insights in natural language.

Key achievements include:

• Improved accuracy in sleep staging (4.4 times) and activity recognition (6 times), while being 200 times smaller than previous models.
• Enhanced ECG interpretation (2 times accuracy) with the ability to process both ECG signals and text together, validated by cardiologists.

This model allows for the simultaneous processing of different time-series streams and offers clear explanations.

The project is a collaboration among several prestigious institutions and companies, highlighting a new direction for AI that focuses on temporal intelligence, which can advance areas like healthcare, robotics, and human-AI interaction.

Tactility is an operating system designed for the ESP32 microcontroller. It allows users to launch apps and configure their devices. You can use one of the supported devices or set up drivers for your own hardware.

A recent study has found that autism should not be considered a single condition with one cause. Researchers discovered that children diagnosed with autism before the age of six have a different genetic profile compared to those diagnosed later, typically after age ten. Early-diagnosed children often show stable behavioral difficulties, particularly with social interactions, while those diagnosed later tend to face increasing challenges during adolescence, along with higher risks of mental health issues like depression.

The study, which analyzed genetic data from over 45,000 autistic individuals in Europe and the US, suggests that autism encompasses multiple conditions rather than a single disorder. Despite this, researchers do not recommend splitting autism into separate diagnostic categories, as many individuals may not fit neatly into these groups.

The findings indicate that early-diagnosed individuals are more likely to have difficulties with walking and interpreting social cues, while later-diagnosed individuals may experience worsening symptoms as they grow older. This research emphasizes the need to recognize the diversity within autism and suggests that more subgroups may be identified in the future.

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Summary of Unite Real Time Operating System

Unite is a small, multitasking operating system modeled after QNX, designed for i386 32-bit protected mode. In Unite, everything operates as a process, including drivers and file systems, which supports using network resources easily.

The creator began developing Unite in the early 90s, motivated by the unavailability of a 386 version of QNX. After years of work, he improved it into a functioning system with tools and a window manager.

The project was dormant for about 30 years until the creator decided to revive it in 2025, using modern development tools like virtual machines to simplify the process. Unite is a microkernel OS, allowing easy modification of user-mode programs.

After two weeks of revival efforts, the system was booted using VirtualBox, although some components like networking and COM ports are still not functional. Unite has a text-based interface and includes basic utilities, a C and C++ compiler, and a minimal file system.

Users can install it via a torrent link, and instructions for running it on VirtualBox or QEMU are provided. However, it is important to note that Unite is not secure for internet usage and is primarily a 32-bit system.

The creator encourages others to contribute to the project, as he will not manage it further. The core OS code is in the public domain, while other components are under their original licenses. Key contributors and inspirations for the project are acknowledged.

Overall, Unite offers a unique platform for experimentation and development in a retro operating system environment.

Summary of "Nibble Stew" by Jussi Pakkanen

Jussi Pakkanen discusses the challenges of using C++ modules, particularly the need for globally unique module names. This requirement arises because different libraries can have the same name, leading to conflicts and broken code when linked together in an executable. He emphasizes that this is not just a suggestion but a technical necessity dictated by the compiler's rules.

Pakkanen describes the traditional setup where projects consist of a single source tree with multiple libraries and how converting these to modules can complicate the build process. He notes that while the dream is to have modules work seamlessly as before, the reality is that name clashes can result in severe issues.

He suggests that if developers accept the need for unique module names, the process can become simpler. A recommended approach includes organizing all modules in a single directory, eliminating complex mapping, and allowing for straightforward imports.

In conclusion, Pakkanen urges developers to either adapt to these realities for a simpler, more reliable system or continue with a complicated, unreliable approach.

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The amphion/Emilia-Dataset is a collection of data that was last updated on February 28. It contains 54.8 million entries and has been viewed 70.6 thousand times, with 379 comments.

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Channing Allen is the co-founder of Indie Hackers, a platform that shares stories, business ideas, and revenue details from successful online business founders. Indie Hackers began in 2016 and was acquired by Stripe in 2017. In 2023, Channing and his co-founder separated Indie Hackers from Stripe to operate as an independent business again.

JackTrip is a system that lets multiple computers stream high-quality audio over the Internet for music performances. It can handle many audio channels, depending on the computer and network capabilities. JackTrip works on various operating systems, including Linux, macOS, Windows, and FreeBSD, allowing different systems to connect with each other. For more information and instructions, visit https://jacktrip.github.io/jacktrip/. If you find any security issues, please report them to [email protected].

Summary of Glide: A Customizable Web Browser

Glide is a new web browser based on Firefox, designed for users who want a highly customizable and keyboard-focused experience. Here are the key points:

• Customizability: Glide allows users to create their own configurations using TypeScript, enabling complete control over the browser's functionality without the restrictions typically found in web extensions.

• Key Mapping: Users can set custom key mappings to perform various tasks. For example, a key combination can clone a GitHub repository and open it in an editor.

• Modes: Glide features different modes, similar to (neo)vim, which change key mappings based on user interaction. This helps prevent interference while typing.

• Navigation: The browser supports a "hint mode" that allows for keyboard navigation of links and buttons on web pages.

• User-Friendly Features: Some favorite features include a fuzzy tab finder, easy navigation between tabs, and a reminder interface for key mappings.

• Early Alpha Stage: Glide is still in early development, meaning some features may be missing, but it aims to provide extensive control and customization for users.

Overall, Glide is tailored for those who prefer keyboard navigation and want a browser that can be extensively modified to fit their needs. Users can download it for macOS and Linux, but it is not yet available in package repositories for Linux users.

Summary: Stop Avoiding Politics

Many engineers dislike politics, viewing it as a negative aspect of the workplace. However, politics is simply how people interact and make decisions in organizations. Ignoring politics can lead to poor decisions because key voices are left out of discussions.

Good politics involves building relationships, understanding stakeholders' motivations, and effectively communicating technical ideas to non-technical people. Successful engineers recognize the importance of influence and organizational dynamics, which helps them advocate for their ideas and projects.

Instead of dismissing politics, engineers should embrace it to ensure their voices are heard. This means:

• Building relationships ahead of time.
• Understanding what motivates others, especially decision-makers.
• Communicating effectively with management about priorities.
• Creating win-win situations where collaboration benefits everyone.
• Being visible and sharing achievements.

Ultimately, ignoring politics allows bad politics to prevail, leading to missed opportunities and poor organizational outcomes. Embracing and mastering political skills is essential for engineers to succeed.

Summary of Natural Transformations in Category Theory

Introduction to Natural Transformations: Natural transformations are morphisms between functors, crucial for understanding concepts like category equality in category theory. They serve as a bridge to more advanced ideas.

Categories and Equivalence: To define natural transformations, it's important to grasp what equivalent categories are. Two categories can be considered equivalent if their structures align, despite potential differences in objects.

Philosophical Background: Historically, thinkers like Parmenides and Heraclitus debated the nature of reality, focusing on objects versus processes. In category theory, the emphasis shifts from objects to the relationships (morphisms) between them.

Isomorphism Invariance: In category theory, isomorphisms (structures that can be transformed into each other without loss) are significant. However, categorical isomorphisms don’t capture category equality comprehensively, leading to the concept of equivalence, which is isomorphism invariant.

Defining Equivalence: Two categories are equivalent if there exist functors linking them in a way that maintains structural integrity. This involves examining the morphisms within categories, extending the idea of isomorphism to equivalence.

Natural Transformations: These are defined as families of morphisms that map objects from one functor to another while respecting the structure (commutativity of diagrams). Natural transformations can be seen as morphisms between morphisms.

Functor Isomorphisms: Natural isomorphisms are special cases of natural transformations where each component is an isomorphism.

Applications in Programming: In programming, natural transformations correspond to polymorphic functions. For example, a function transforming values into lists exemplifies this concept.

Composing Natural Transformations: Natural transformations can be composed both horizontally and vertically, with specific rules governing these operations. They can also extend transformations using identity morphisms.

Categories of Functors: Natural transformations form a category where functors are objects and transformations are morphisms, highlighting their intricate relationships.

This summary captures the essence of the original text, focusing on key concepts while simplifying language for clarity.

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Only post if you are personally seeking work—no agencies or recruiters allowed. Readers should email these addresses only for job discussions. You can find job postings at wantstobehired.com.

Jane Goodall, a pioneering British ethologist and primatologist, has passed away at the age of 91 from natural causes in California. She is best known for her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees in Tanzania, which revealed that they use tools, hunt for food, and display complex emotions similar to humans. Goodall's work challenged long-held beliefs about the uniqueness of human behavior and helped to revolutionize the field of primatology.

Born in London in 1934, Goodall had a lifelong passion for nature, which led her to Africa in 1957. She began studying chimpanzees at Gombe Stream National Park in 1960 and made significant discoveries that earned her recognition as a leading scientist. Goodall was also a strong advocate for chimpanzee conservation and founded the Jane Goodall Institute to support their habitat preservation and research.

Throughout her life, Goodall traveled extensively to speak about environmental issues and the importance of protecting wildlife. She received numerous accolades for her contributions to science and conservation and inspired many women to pursue careers in primatology. Goodall's legacy includes her efforts to improve the understanding and treatment of chimpanzees and her commitment to sustainable development.

She continued her activism well into her 80s, emphasizing the impact of individual choices on the environment. Goodall's compassionate approach and dedication to animal rights have left a lasting impact on both science and conservation efforts worldwide.

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Summary:

Elon Musk has recently intensified his criticism of Wikipedia, joining other right-wing figures in a campaign against the platform. Musk's complaints started with personal grievances about how he is portrayed on the site, leading him to label it "Wokepedia" and encourage his millions of followers to stop donating to the Wikimedia Foundation, which supports Wikipedia.

Musk's attacks mirror a larger trend among the American right, where there is growing frustration with platforms that resist control over information. Critics, including Musk, often misrepresent Wikipedia's budget and its initiatives aimed at improving reliability and inclusivity, framing them as wasteful spending on "wokeness." In reality, the funding supports programs that enhance Wikipedia's credibility by addressing biases and combating misinformation.

Musk's involvement also reflects a broader right-wing strategy of attacking sources of information that do not align with their views. This includes accusations of bias against Wikipedia, despite its commitment to neutrality and factual accuracy. Wikipedia's decentralized editing model and transparency make it resistant to manipulation, which is likely why Musk and others find it frustrating.

The article highlights that while Wikipedia faces challenges, its independence is crucial for maintaining access to reliable information, especially as other platforms succumb to pressure from powerful figures. The response to Musk's criticisms indicates a deep-seated concern about controlling narratives in an age where misinformation is rampant.

In his blog post, Professor Michael Roberto discusses a study by Richard Nisbett and Takahiko Masuda that highlights how cultural differences affect perception and decision-making. The study involved showing an image called the Michigan Fish Test to American and Japanese participants. Americans tended to focus on the large fish, viewing them as the main subjects, while Japanese participants took a more holistic approach, considering the entire environment and its influence on the scene.

The findings suggest that Americans, who are more individualistic, see individuals as the primary agents of influence, while the Japanese, who have a collectivist orientation, emphasize the context and interactions among elements. This reflects broader cultural narratives about how people perceive control and their place in the world.

Greg Kroah-Hartman, a Linux kernel maintainer, addresses concerns about the European Union's Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) affecting open source developers. Initially, there were fears that the CRA could impose heavy liabilities on developers, but Kroah-Hartman believes the final version is beneficial.

Key points include:

1. Legal Separation: The CRA distinguishes between commercial entities and individual developers. Hobbyist developers can publish software with minimal requirements, mainly needing to provide a contact for security issues.

2. Documentation Requirements: Companies that produce software with digital elements must create a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM), manage vulnerabilities, and be transparent about their security practices. This helps ensure open source dependencies are acknowledged.

3. Global Impact: The CRA applies not just in the EU but also to any software accessible in the EU, affecting companies worldwide.

4. Increased Demand for Open Source: Kroah-Hartman predicts the CRA will actually boost the use of open source software, as it allows companies more control over their code compared to proprietary solutions.

5. Encouragement for Best Practices: Developers are urged to adopt security best practices now, as resources for compliance will be made available in the future.

Overall, Kroah-Hartman reassures developers that the CRA is designed to improve the open source environment rather than hinder it.

No summary available.

The person is having trouble using wkhtmltopdf for creating PDFs and is looking for alternative tools that others might be using, such as Canva or similar options.

The website is checking your browser for security. If you own the website, there’s an option to resolve the issue.

The text provides links to a video and a system card related to OpenAI's Sora-2. The video can be found on YouTube, while the system card offers detailed information about Sora-2.

Tinker is a new API launched by Daniel Hillis and Brian Silverman that allows researchers and developers to fine-tune language models easily. It simplifies the process of customizing models while managing complex training tasks on its own infrastructure.

Key features of Tinker include:

• Ability to fine-tune both large and small models with a simple code change.
• Managed service that handles scheduling and resource allocation, so users can focus on their experiments without worrying about technical details.
• Use of LoRA technology to reduce costs by sharing computing resources among multiple training runs.
• An open-source library called the Tinker Cookbook, providing modern implementations of common methods for working with the API.

Tinker is currently in private beta and has already been used by research groups at Princeton, Stanford, Berkeley, and Redwood Research for various advanced projects. It will be free to start, with paid usage options coming soon.

Interested users can sign up for a waitlist to access Tinker, and organizations can reach out for more information. The team is excited to see the innovative work that users will create with Tinker!

LatentCSI is a new method for creating images of physical environments using WiFi signals. It uses a lightweight neural network to convert WiFi data into a form that a pretrained model (called a latent diffusion model, or LDM) can work with. This method is simpler and less computationally demanding than older techniques like GANs.

LatentCSI processes the data to generate high-quality images while avoiding some complex steps typically needed in image creation. The method was tested on two datasets, including one collected with standard WiFi devices. Results show that LatentCSI is more efficient and produces better quality images than similar methods, and it also allows for control over the image generation using text prompts.

Last year, we introduced ChartDB OSS, an open-source tool that creates ER diagrams from databases without needing direct access. Now, we are launching the ChartDB Agent, which allows you to design databases or make changes using simple language. With it, you can:

• Create schemas by describing them in plain English
• Use AI to brainstorm new tables, columns, and relationships
• Visually edit diagrams (ERD)
• Easily export SQL scripts

You can try it out at chartdb.io/ai without signing up, or you can sign up to use it with your own database. We welcome your feedback!

Summary of fossabot Announcement

Today, FOSSA introduced fossabot, an AI agent designed to help manage software dependency updates. It automates the process of researching new versions, assessing their impact on applications, and adapting code when necessary. Currently in public preview, fossabot focuses on the JavaScript and TypeScript ecosystems.

Key Points:

1. Need for fossabot: Businesses face challenges with "dependency churn" (rapid changes) and "update stagnation" (delays in updates). Traditional tools for managing dependency updates are inadequate, often only performing minimal fixes instead of comprehensive upgrades.

2. How fossabot works: It can handle complex updates that typically require senior engineers by balancing risks and rewards, understanding potential breaking changes, and adapting code accordingly.

3. Advantages: fossabot leverages advanced analysis to determine the impact of updates specific to each codebase, ensuring smarter decision-making. It continuously researches and evaluates dependencies, overcoming limitations faced by human engineers.

4. Transition from Internal Tool to Public Tool: Originally an internal tool that proved valuable to FOSSA's engineers, fossabot is now available for public use, offering $15 in free monthly usage credits for users.

5. Accuracy and Reliability: fossabot is built on a foundation of accuracy, consistency, and correctness, continuously evaluating its performance against established standards.

6. Future Plans: The tool will eventually support other programming ecosystems beyond JavaScript and TypeScript. Users can install it as a GitHub app to streamline their dependency update processes.

Overall, fossabot aims to simplify and enhance the dependency management experience for developers, helping them keep their applications up to date more efficiently.

Summary of Rostiger's Uxn Zine16X08

Rostiger's Uxn Zine16X08 introduces Uxntal, a programming language for the Uxn virtual machine. Uxntal is designed to work with a unique stack-based assembly format, where operations are performed in the order they are written (Last In, First Out).

Key Concepts:

• Stack Operations: Uxntal uses two stacks: the working stack and the return stack, each with 256 bytes. Operations manipulate these stacks directly.
• Hexadecimal Numbers: Uxntal uses hexadecimal for numbers, which can take some time to get used to.
• Labels and Addresses: Labels (e.g., @label) are used for organizing code, while different addressing modes (like literal and raw) are used to reference memory.
• Opcodes: There are 32 standard opcodes for performing various functions, including arithmetic and logic operations.
• Macros: Macros allow the definition of reusable code segments that are expanded inline when used.
• Comments: Comments can be added for clarity and can be nested.
• Memory Structure: Uxntal programs have 64KB of memory, with special sections for stacks and device communication.
• Devices: Uxn can interact with up to 16 devices, each having specific ports for I/O operations.

Example Program: The introduction includes a simple program that prints "Hello World!" by iterating through characters stored at a specific memory address.

Utilities: Several tools are available for development, including assemblers, formatters, optimizers, and disassemblers.

Overall, Uxntal provides a unique and structured way to program within the Uxn environment, emphasizing stack manipulation and efficient memory management.

The author, who conducts research in underfunded areas like physics and biosecurity, tested the effectiveness of their DIY air purifier, the Corsi-Rosenthal box, against natural ventilation and a commercial model, the Levoit 400s. They aimed to measure the Clean Air Delivery Rate (CADR), which indicates how much polluted air is filtered in an hour.

To conduct the test, they generated PM2.5 pollution by frying kale and then either opened a window or turned on their air purifier at maximum setting. They recorded the air quality using a monitor and found that their DIY purifier had a CADR of 550 m³/h, outperforming the commercial model's claimed 400 m³/h.

However, the author noted that measuring CADR is complex and can be misleading. They highlighted the importance of room mixing, measurement accuracy, and the type of pollutants in testing purifiers. They plan to improve their testing methods and compare their DIY model with commercial purifiers in future experiments.

The author prefers using Google Sheets because it often provides the simplest solution to problems they encounter at work. After nine months in a rapidly changing business environment, they found that many complex projects could have been efficiently handled with Google Sheets instead.

For example, they spent two months developing an admin panel for tracking cargo, which was used only twice, while a Google Sheet could have done the job. They also wasted three weeks creating a quote system, only to later realize they could have used a Google Sheet with a competitor's tax breakdown. Additionally, they spent two months researching a CRM but discovered Google Sheets had a built-in CRM template.

The author emphasizes that while Google Sheets isn't always the best solution, it often helps in situations where the full scope of a problem isn't clear. They advocate starting with simple solutions to avoid unnecessary time and effort, then iterating as needed once the problem is better understood. However, they caution that this approach works best when the problem's scope is unknown and encourage others to consider their specific situations before investing time in complex projects.

Field Station: Dinosaurs, a theme park in New Jersey, is closing on November 9 and is selling its dinosaur models on Facebook Marketplace. Prices range from around $500 to nearly $3,000, with options like a 52-foot Spinosaurus for $2,900 and a Hadrosaurus with eggs for $2,450. Buyers must handle the removal and transport of the dinosaurs.

The park, which started in 2012, relocated in 2016 due to construction of a new high school. Despite appearing on a reality show to seek help, it couldn't stay open. Visitors can still enjoy special events before closing, including a “Jurassic Petting Zoo” on September 27-28 and “Dinosaurs After Dark” events from October 3-25, featuring fun activities and a spooky tour. There’s also a “Dogs & Dinos” day on October 13 where guests can bring their pets.

The text appears to be a list of buttons and checkboxes related to a user interface, likely for managing cookie consent options. The main components include:

• A back button
• A button to filter cookie lists
• Checkboxes for consent and legitimate interest
• Options to clear selections, apply changes, or cancel actions

Overall, it seems to be a simple layout for managing cookie preferences.

No summary available.

The Alpine Linux Technical Steering Committee (TSC) has announced a major change to the filesystem structure. In the future, the directories /lib, /bin, and /sbin will become symbolic links to their counterparts in /usr, and all packages will be installed under /usr paths. Currently, /usr/bin and /usr/sbin will remain separate, but this could change based on updates to the Filesystem Hierarchy Standard (FHS).

Transition Timeline:

1. Preparation Phase: Final preparations will be completed, and future installations will be /usr-merged.
2. Alpine Linux 3.23 Release: New installations will be /usr-merged. Existing users can upgrade without mandatory merging, but migration is encouraged.
3. End of Support for 3.22: After reaching end-of-life, non-/usr-merged systems will no longer be supported. Future releases (3.26 or 3.27) will require /usr-merge.

Migration Steps:

• Users with diskless systems using apkovl files don’t need to make changes.
• For existing installations, users should:
  1. Update their system.
  2. Install the merging script.
  3. Run a dry run to check for errors.
  4. Execute the merge if the dry run is successful.
  5. Remove the merging script afterward.

Impact on Users: Most users will not notice significant changes, as symbolic links will maintain compatibility. However, some users may face issues if they heavily use specific commands or have manually installed files in /lib, /bin, or /sbin.

Reasons for the Change:

• The merge is expected to reduce maintenance and simplify the packaging process.
• It aligns Alpine with most Linux distributions, which typically use a /usr-merged setup.
• It also helps better separate user data from system data.

FAQs:

• The split between /usr and other directories was historically for recovery purposes, which is less relevant now due to modern boot methods.
• The merge simplifies the hierarchy by consolidating installation locations for executables and libraries.

Summary of SplashFlag - Building an IoT Swimming Notification Device

The author created an IoT device called SplashFlag to notify neighbors when their kids are swimming, inviting them to join without the need for planning or messages. Here are the key points from the project:

• Concept: The initial idea was to use a physical flag to signal swimming sessions, but it was impractical. Instead, the SplashFlag device uses technology to send notifications.

• Key Features:

  • Servo Flag: A small flag on the device raises when a message is received, signaling that swimming is happening.
  • Clear/Reset Button: Allows parents to clear the notification discreetly.
  • LCD Display: Shows messages about swimming and system status.
  • Captive Portal: Enables easy WiFi setup for users without sharing credentials.
  • Over-the-Air Updates: Allows remote firmware updates for the device.
  • Web App: A simple interface to send messages to the device, accessible via a secure connection.
  • MQTT Messaging: Efficiently transmits messages to devices without constant polling.
  • Debugging Functionality: Specific features for development and troubleshooting.

• 3D Printed Case: The design process involved testing prints for fit and making adjustments to accommodate all components. The case includes a snap-fit button housing and was designed with room for assembly.

• Challenges: Some features, like TLS encryption and secure storage of credentials, were not included due to time constraints.

• Conclusion: The author gained confidence in building IoT devices and learned valuable lessons about design and coding. They encourage others to try building their own SplashFlag, with provided instructions and code available on GitHub.

Overall, SplashFlag combines fun with learning, demonstrating how technology can solve everyday problems in a creative way.

The text discusses a journey in functional programming using Haskell, specifically focusing on creating expressions without using advanced type features like Generalized Algebraic Data Types (GADTs) or sum types.

Key points include:

1. Branchless Expressions: The author initially used a complex type definition (CExpr) to create expressions in a branchless way, avoiding certain Haskell extensions.

2. Simplified Approach: A more straightforward method using a product-type (FExpr) is introduced. This approach allows for defining expressions more clearly, although it makes adding new operations more challenging.

3. Expression Definitions: The text provides examples of how to define operations like value assignment (fval), addition (fadd), and equality (feq) using the FExpr structure. These definitions make expressions more readable.

4. Type Classes vs. Data Types: The author explores using type classes to define expressions (SExpr), but encounters challenges with GHC's type constraints. The attempt to create instances for addition and equality fails due to type mismatches.

5. Solution with Type Families: To resolve the issues, the author suggests using Type Families to enforce output types in the SExpr class, allowing for better type management.

6. Extracting Values: The concept of an Extractable class is introduced to help extract values from wrapped types, facilitating the evaluation of expressions.

7. Final Implementation: The text concludes with a working example that maintains the expressiveness of the expressions while allowing for type-level structure. The author reflects on the benefits of using plain data types over type classes in certain situations.

Overall, the discussion emphasizes the balance between readability, flexibility, and type safety in functional programming.

No summary available.

Summary of CDC File Transfer

Overview: CDC File Transfer is a toolset designed for efficiently syncing and streaming files between Windows and Linux systems. It emerged from the challenges faced by game developers at Stadia, who needed to transfer files to remote Linux servers while working from home.

Key Tools:

1. cdc_rsync:

   • Syncs files from Windows to Linux, optimized for existing files.
   • Uses Content Defined Chunking (CDC) to only transfer changed parts of files, making it significantly faster—up to 30 times faster than traditional rsync.
   • It skips copying unchanged files and compresses data for quick transfers.

2. cdc_stream:

   • Streams files and directories from Windows to Linux, working similarly to sshfs.
   • Caches data on the Linux device, so only changed parts are re-streamed, improving access speed.
   • Supports quick file access, with changes reflected almost immediately.

Performance:

• cdc_rsync is about three times faster than traditional rsync when syncing large files.
• cdc_stream offers a 2 to 5 times speedup in accessing games compared to sshfs.

Supported Platforms:

• cdc_rsync works from Windows to Linux, while cdc_stream streams from Windows to Linux but does not support writing back to Windows.

Getting Started:

• Users can download precompiled binaries or build the tools from source.
• Requires SSH and SFTP to be set up for file transfers.
• The tools come with various commands for syncing and streaming files, with options for verbose logging and troubleshooting.

Usage:

• To sync files, use cdc_rsync with appropriate file paths.
• To stream directories, use cdc_stream with start and stop commands.

This toolset aims to streamline the workflow of developers by reducing the time and bandwidth needed for file transfers.

Summary of the Impact of AI on the Labor Market

Key Points:

1. Slow Changes: The shift in job types due to AI isn't as drastic or rapid as some fear; changes were occurring before AI became widespread.
2. Current Employment Trends: Indicators of job automation and AI use show no significant impact on overall employment levels or job loss.
3. Need for Better Data: More comprehensive data is necessary to truly understand AI's effect on jobs.
4. Regular Updates Planned: Ongoing monitoring will help track how AI influences the labor market over time.

Analysis Overview:

• Since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022, there has been public concern about job losses from AI.
• The analysis compares the current labor market changes with previous technological advancements, showing minimal disruption.
• Historically, significant job changes take a long time, often decades, to fully manifest.
• Despite some shifts in job types, these changes mirror past trends and don’t necessarily stem from AI.

Industry Insights:

• Certain sectors (like Information and Financial Services) show more job mix changes, but these trends began before AI's rise.
• The labor market has remained relatively stable, with no major acceleration in job changes due to AI.

Recent Graduates:

• The job market for recent college graduates shows some shifts, but these may not be directly linked to AI, as similar patterns existed before AI's introduction.

AI Exposure and Usage:

• Studies on job exposure to AI tools reveal no major changes in the proportion of workers in high-exposure jobs.
• Current data on AI usage is limited, and while some jobs are more affected, actual usage varies significantly across sectors.

Conclusion:

• Overall, while there is considerable anxiety about AI's impact on jobs, current data suggests stability rather than major disruption. Continued research and data collection are essential to clarify AI's effects on the labor market in the future.

The text explores the relationship between effort and identity, particularly in the context of technology making tasks easier. The author questions what happens to our sense of self and value when things we once labored over become effortless due to advancements like AI.

They share an example of a photographer who lost passion as digital photography made taking pictures easier, reflecting a broader concern that as technology progresses, many people may feel a loss of meaning in their work. The author, who has seen their coding work increasingly done by AI, expresses sadness about the diminishing value of effort in their craft.

While acknowledging that AI can be a useful tool, the author feels conflicted about the impact on personal fulfillment and identity tied to effortful work. They ponder whether people will find new niches that require effort or if they will feel lost and unfulfilled in an increasingly automated world.

Ultimately, the author suggests that effort is essential to deriving value from work and that shifting expectations around work may be necessary to maintain a sense of purpose and fulfillment.

No summary available.

Summary

JetBrains is committed to supporting the PHP community by providing tools like PhpStorm and sponsoring open-source projects. They recently organized PHPverse and made the Laravel Idea plugin free for everyone.

Starting in 2025, JetBrains will sponsor about five new open-source projects each year to diversify their support. This year’s sponsors include:

• Saif Eddin Gmati for his PHP linter and analyzer called Mago.
• Markus Staab for his work on PHPStan, Rector, and PHPUnit.
• Kyrian Obikwelu for exploring AI in PHP.
• Sjon Hortensius for 3v4l.org, a popular online PHP shell.

There’s one sponsorship spot still available, and suggestions are welcomed. JetBrains will continue to support the PHP Foundation but has stopped sponsoring two long-term projects to focus on supporting new ones.

They encourage others to consider sponsoring open-source projects as well to enhance the PHP ecosystem.

In a recent article, Andrew Churchill argues that startups should not focus solely on hiring senior engineers. After interviewing 134 engineers, he found many talented junior engineers who are overlooked by companies. He highlights that smart companies, like Shopify, are capitalizing on this by hiring interns and juniors, who bring energy and a fresh perspective.

Companies often avoid junior engineers for various reasons, believing they need more experience to be productive. However, Churchill contends that many experienced hires don't significantly outperform well-trained juniors. He emphasizes that motivation and character are often more important than years of experience.

To effectively hire juniors, companies should adjust their hiring processes to focus on mindset and problem-solving abilities rather than outdated technical interviews. Key steps in hiring include assessing passion for projects, allowing candidates to use any tools for coding challenges, and evaluating their ability to work with AI.

Once juniors are hired, companies should invest in mentoring and be patient with their learning curve. Tracking their progress and encouraging their contributions is essential for their development. Churchill warns that companies that ignore junior talent are missing out on the opportunity to cultivate future senior engineers, and they risk falling behind as the market evolves.

The text discusses the challenges and complexities associated with the size types feature in the programming language Futhark.

Key Points:

1. Simplicity of Futhark: Futhark was designed to be a simple parallel programming language, with an easy-to-understand semantics, especially for beginners.

2. Size Types: Size types allow functions to specify constraints on the sizes of their parameters. For example, a dot product function requires two vectors of the same size.

3. Challenges with Size Parameters: While size types seem straightforward, they introduce complications, especially when using size parameters as variables in expressions. This can lead to difficulties in determining sizes at runtime, particularly for empty arrays.

4. Shape Representation: To address these issues, Futhark requires arrays to carry shape information alongside their elements, so that size parameters can be evaluated correctly even when elements aren’t present.

5. Implementation Difficulties: The need to always know the shape of types creates complexity in the interpreter, leading to numerous bugs. The implementation involves capturing environments with type definitions to evaluate sizes accurately.

6. Ongoing Bugs and Improvements: There have been many bugs (over 230 reported) related to size parameters, and while some parts of the type system are formalized, the interaction with modules remains problematic.

7. Addendum: The text concludes with a discussion on why size parameters aren’t always passed explicitly, highlighting the challenges posed by modules that abstract away size information from the caller.

In summary, while Futhark aims for simplicity, its size types feature has led to significant complexity and ongoing challenges in implementation.

Washi is a traditional Japanese paper that has been handmade for over 1,500 years. It is valued for its beauty, strength, and unique textures, and certain types can last more than 1,000 years if stored properly. Ancient documents made from washi demonstrate its exceptional durability. BBC presenter Paul Carter recently visited Echizen to learn more about the craft of washi paper making.

Imgur, a popular image hosting site with over 130 million users, has stopped its services in the UK after regulators threatened to impose a fine. The UK's Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is investigating Imgur's parent company, MediaLab, over concerns about how they handle children's data. The ICO has indicated that they might issue a monetary penalty following their findings. They emphasized that companies cannot escape responsibility by withdrawing services from the UK. Imgur's decision to exit the UK was described as a commercial choice. The ICO aims to protect children's personal information and will continue its investigation into the matter.

Summary: Electron Apps Causing System Lag on Tahoe

There is a problem with Electron apps causing lag on the Tahoe system. To fix this, users need to update to specific versions of Electron: 36.9.2, 37.6.0, 38.2.0, 39.0.0, or any version above 39.

A script is available to identify apps that haven't been updated. As a temporary solution, users can run the command launchctl setenv CHROME_HEADLESS 1 at system startup. This disables window shadows in Electron apps, making them look less appealing, but it prevents the lag issue.

As of October 1, 2025, many Electron apps are still running outdated versions, including OpenMTP, DaVinci Resolve, Visual Studio Code, and Slack, among others.

Additionally, the author promotes a weather app called Weathergraph, which offers a detailed forecast for iOS and Apple Watch.

Summary of "Pushing the Boundaries of C64 Graphics with NUFLIX"

The text discusses advancements in creating graphics for the Commodore 64 (C64) using a new image format called NUFLIX. This format allows for high-resolution images with more colors than previously possible by leveraging tricks from the hardware.

1. NUFLI Overview: NUFLI (New Underlayed Flexible Line Interpretation) combines a bitmap with more colors than usual and hardware sprites to enhance image quality. It uses techniques like Flexible Line Interpretation (FLI) to achieve this.

2. Challenges with NUFLI: While NUFLI was innovative, it had limitations, particularly in how colors could be changed during image display. The author found ways to improve this process.

3. Introduction of NUFLIX: NUFLIX, created by the author, allows for more flexible color updates in each section of the image. This gives artists more freedom and improves the efficiency of the conversion process from images to C64 graphics.

4. Conversion Process: The process to create NUFLIX images involves analyzing colors, generating a register update table, and optimizing the final output to minimize errors while adhering to the C64's hardware constraints.

5. Improvements with NUFLIX: NUFLIX offers faster conversion times and better artistic control. It also allows artists to see immediate changes in a connected emulator, enhancing the workflow.

6. Future Directions: The author suggests potential further development, including utilizing more C64 hardware features and allowing artists more customization in sprite configurations.

Overall, NUFLIX represents a significant step forward in C64 graphics, providing improved artistic expression and a more efficient workflow.

No summary available.

Summary of "The Prehistory of Computing, Part II" by Oran Looney

In this continuation of the series on computing history, the author discusses the evolution of computing devices starting in the 17th century, highlighting key figures and inventions.

1. Pascal and the Pascaline: Blaise Pascal created the pascaline in 1642, the first mechanical calculator capable of addition and subtraction. A major challenge in building calculators is the "carry" operation, crucial for accurate calculations. Although the pascaline was a breakthrough, it was not very practical for widespread use.

2. Leibniz and the Stepped Reckoner: Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz built the first four-operation calculator, the stepped reckoner, which improved on the carry mechanism. Despite his extensive work and demonstrations, it never gained practical use during his lifetime. However, his concepts influenced future mechanical calculators for centuries.

3. Formal Languages and Logic: Leibniz also contributed to theoretical computer science by envisioning a universal formal language for encoding concepts mathematically. His work laid the groundwork for modern logic systems.

4. Approximation Theory: The text discusses Pafnuty Chebyshev's advancements in approximation theory, which showed that certain mathematical functions could be closely approximated using polynomials. This idea is significant in computing, particularly for evaluating functions efficiently.

5. Babbage and the Difference Engine: Charles Babbage designed the Difference Engine to automate polynomial evaluation using finite differences, a method that simplifies calculations. Although he never completed it, the concept was a precursor to more complex computing machines.

6. Conclusion: Although Babbage's machines were not completed, they set the stage for future developments in computing. The transition to electronic computers marked a major leap in speed and reliability compared to mechanical ones. Modern computing still relies on fundamental concepts like polynomial approximation, much of which has been abstracted into libraries for ease of use.

Overall, the article emphasizes the foundational ideas and devices that shaped the history of computing, illustrating how past innovations continue to influence technology today.

Chronic inflammation is now recognized as a stronger predictor of heart disease than cholesterol, according to new recommendations from the American College of Cardiology (ACC). They advise that everyone should have their inflammation levels measured through a blood test for hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein). This is significant because most heart attack patients often have normal cholesterol levels, indicating that inflammation plays a key role in heart disease risk, especially in those on statins or without traditional risk factors.

Key findings from clinical trials suggest that certain treatments can help reduce inflammation and cardiovascular risk:

• Effective treatments:

  • Statins: Particularly beneficial for those with high hs-CRP levels.
  • Colchicine: Proven to lower recurrent heart events in patients with existing heart disease.
  • Canakinumab: Reduces heart events but is costly and may increase infection risk.
  • Lifestyle changes: Adopting an anti-inflammatory diet, exercising regularly, quitting smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight can lower hs-CRP levels.

• Ineffective treatments: Some anti-inflammatory drugs like methotrexate and corticosteroids have not shown benefits in major studies.

For hs-CRP levels:

• Ideal: Below 1 mg/L
• High risk: Above 3 mg/L

The ACC now recommends universal screening for hs-CRP, which can be done through a simple and affordable blood test. This shift emphasizes the importance of managing inflammation alongside traditional risk factors like cholesterol for better heart health outcomes.

Jennifer Pinsof's blog post, published on September 15, 2025, highlights the findings from the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) campaign, #StopCensoringAbortion. The campaign investigates claims that social media platforms are censoring abortion-related content without legal justification. EFF, along with various allies, has collected nearly 100 examples of such censorship, including posts from individuals, influencers, and organizations.

The analysis revealed that most censored content did not violate the platforms' policies, which allow for educational information about abortion. For instance, a post by health policy strategist Lauren Kahre, discussing the availability of abortion pills, was removed by Meta despite it complying with their guidelines. Meta justified the removal by stating it violated rules against trading prescription drugs, even though their policies permit discussions about legal access to pharmaceuticals.

The blog emphasizes the inconsistency between stated policies and their enforcement, highlighting the need for social media platforms to improve transparency and fairness in moderating abortion-related content. EFF plans to release more blog posts exploring trends in censorship and offering guidance for users. The overall goal is to raise awareness about the importance of sharing accurate abortion information, especially in light of ongoing attacks on reproductive rights. Users affected by censorship are encouraged to share their experiences using the hashtag #StopCensoringAbortion.

The article discusses a serious data loss incident involving ZFS (Zettabyte File System) and its native encryption features. The author shares their experience of nearly losing 8.5 TiB of data due to mistakes made during routine operations. Here are the key points:

1. ZFS Overview: ZFS is known for its data integrity and reliability. However, its native encryption can be complex and risky if not handled carefully.

2. Incident Summary: The author faced data loss while trying to migrate and encrypt datasets between two ZFS pools. The process involved sending snapshots and changing encryption keys, which led to complications when trying to access the encrypted data.

3. Mistakes Made:

   • Changing the encryption key on a dataset without sending an updated snapshot caused backups to become inaccessible.
   • Destroying a dataset before verifying its data was readable on the new location.

4. Debugging the Issue: After realizing the potential data loss, the author researched how ZFS and its encryption worked. They learned about ZFS's copy-on-write nature, checksums, and the importance of transaction groups.

5. Recovering Data: Although the author initially thought recovery would be straightforward, they faced additional hurdles. They had to create a bookmark (a lightweight reference to a snapshot) to facilitate the recovery, which required hacking ZFS to manually create a bookmark with specific parameters.

6. Final Recovery Steps: After several trials, including disabling certain checks in ZFS, the author successfully recovered the data by sending the correct incremental snapshots after fixing the issues with encryption key changes.

7. Lessons Learned:

   • Test backups regularly to catch issues early.
   • Avoid making destructive changes until all verifications are complete.
   • Always send an updated snapshot after changing encryption keys.
   • Create bookmarks before deleting snapshots.

The author concludes by expressing the challenges faced with ZFS native encryption, suggesting that it may be safer to encrypt data at a lower level unless the flexibility of ZFS is necessary.

Summary: Understanding Text Encoding and Character Sets

When working with text on computers, it's essential to understand encodings and character sets. Computers store data as bits (1s and 0s), and encoding translates these bits into human-readable characters. The most common encoding is ASCII, which uses 7 bits to represent 128 characters, including letters, numbers, and some punctuation.

However, ASCII isn't sufficient for all languages, leading to various encoding schemes to accommodate different characters, especially for languages beyond English. For example, UTF-8 is a popular encoding that can represent a wide range of characters, including those from Asian languages, while still being compatible with ASCII.

Unicode is a comprehensive standard that includes a vast array of characters and symbols, allowing for the representation of virtually any written language. It defines code points for characters but needs specific encoding formats (like UTF-8 or UTF-16) to convert these points into bits.

Common issues arise when text appears garbled, often due to misinterpretation of the encoding. To avoid problems, it's crucial to know the encoding of text inputs and outputs and to convert between encodings accurately when necessary.

For PHP developers, while PHP doesn't natively handle Unicode, it can manage UTF-8 text effectively due to its compatibility with ASCII. Developers should be cautious when manipulating strings and use functions that are aware of multi-byte characters.

Overall, in today's computing environment, using Unicode (especially UTF-8) is advisable as it reduces complexities associated with multiple encoding schemes. Understanding and correctly applying these principles will help prevent text encoding issues.

Kagi News Overview

Launch Date: September 30, 2025

What is Kagi News? Kagi News is a daily news service that provides a private and comprehensive review of global news, curated by its community.

The Problem with Traditional News: Many people feel overwhelmed by constant notifications, misleading headlines, and the pressure to check multiple news sources, often leaving them more anxious and less informed.

Our Solution: Kagi News focuses on delivering clear, essential information that respects readers' time and intelligence.

Key Features:

1. Daily Updates: News is published once a day at noon UTC, creating a structured news consumption habit.
2. Quick Briefings: Each briefing takes just five minutes to read, covering all important topics without distractions.
3. Diverse Perspectives: Instead of catering to personal preferences, Kagi News exposes readers to a variety of viewpoints, breaking echo chambers.
4. Privacy Focused: Users' reading habits are not tracked or monetized, ensuring complete privacy.
5. Community-Curated Sources: News sources are openly curated by the community, allowing anyone to contribute or suggest improvements.
6. Customizable Experience: Users can adjust settings to focus on topics that interest them and choose their preferred language for news.
7. Respect for Publishers: Kagi News uses publicly available RSS feeds provided by publishers, respecting their content choices.

Invitation to Try Kagi News: If you're looking for a different news experience that informs without overwhelming, consider trying Kagi News. Available on web, iOS, and Android.

Lennert and Rauf are developing Airweave, an open-source tool that helps AI agents search and retrieve information from various apps and databases using a single API. They have recently launched a managed service and new search features. Airweave addresses challenges faced by businesses, especially in customer service and e-commerce, where finding relevant internal information is crucial.

Airweave connects to different data sources, organizes and indexes the information, and allows agents to perform complex searches. It can run searches based on meaning and keywords simultaneously and provide ranked results with citations. Users have already created various applications with Airweave, such as legal assistants and research tools.

They invite feedback and encourage others to try Airweave.

The text provides a link to a system card for Claude, which likely contains important information about its features and capabilities. The summary should focus on the main aspects of the system, making it clear and easy to understand. However, the specific content of the system card is not included in the text provided, so I can't summarize its key points directly. If you can provide the main details from the system card, I can help you summarize those.

The text mentions a post from September 25, 2025, on bsky.app about an interesting method of spacing. It wraps up a great series of content. For more details, you can visit the link provided: www.oddbird.net/2025/09/23/t…

Asahi Group Holdings, a major Japanese brewery, has halted production at its factories due to a cyberattack that occurred on Monday. The company is currently facing ongoing disruptions and has not provided a timeline for when operations will resume. They reported a "system failure" that affected order processing, shipments, and call center services. Fortunately, there is no confirmed leakage of personal or customer data. Asahi has not clarified whether the attack involved ransomware or any data theft. The investigation is ongoing, and the company is checking the status of all its 30 plants in Japan.

Microsoft has introduced a "bring your Copilot to work" initiative, allowing employees to use their personal Microsoft 365 subscriptions at work for accessing Copilot features, even if their company does not provide it. This move supports "shadow IT," where employees use unapproved software.

According to Microsoft, this approach helps employees utilize AI tools safely while maintaining IT control and protecting company data. Users can sign into Microsoft 365 apps with both personal and work accounts and use Copilot features from their personal subscriptions for work documents.

While IT administrators can manage and restrict the use of personal Copilot accounts, employees should be aware that their interactions may be monitored by their employer. The goal of this initiative is to drive AI adoption in the workplace while ensuring enterprise data security.

FlowSynx Overview

FlowSynx is an open-source, cross-platform workflow orchestration system designed to help developers and organizations create, execute, and manage complex workflows easily. It aims to enhance scalability, maintainability, and operational efficiency while avoiding the constraints of traditional workflow platforms.

Key Features:

1. Modular Architecture: FlowSynx uses a micro-kernel design, allowing users to add or modify plugins without disrupting the system. This makes it highly customizable and easy to maintain.

2. Cross-Platform Compatibility: It runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS, and supports containerized deployment via Docker, making it suitable for modern DevOps environments.

3. Workflow Definition: Workflows are created as Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs) using JSON or a Domain-Specific Language (DSL), supporting features like conditional logic and parallel execution.

4. Command-Line Interface (CLI): A CLI tool is included for managing workflows, debugging, and monitoring.

5. Software Development Kit (SDK): The SDK allows developers to integrate FlowSynx into their applications, manage workflows programmatically, and create dynamic workflows.

6. REST API: FlowSynx provides a well-documented RESTful API for remote access and integration across different platforms.

7. Web-Based Management Console: A user-friendly interface for designing, monitoring, and managing workflows, complete with real-time dashboards.

8. Security Features: Supports various authentication methods and allows for customizable security policies.

9. Logging and Monitoring: Tracks all workflow executions and plugin interactions, providing structured logging and audit trails.

10. Event-Driven Execution: Workflows can be triggered by specific events, enabling real-time automation.

11. Human Approval Integration: Allows for manual approval at certain stages of the workflow, adding a layer of control.

12. Flexible Error Handling: Offers multiple strategies for managing errors during execution, ensuring resilience.

FlowSynx stands out by providing a balance between user-friendly no-code options and the flexibility of full-code capabilities, making it suitable for a variety of industries, including data engineering, healthcare, and finance.

Summary: Can GDPR Help Access BlueSky's Direct Messages?

The article discusses the conflict between the Online Safety Act (OSA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regarding age verification on the social network BlueSky. BlueSky allows users who haven't verified their age to access the platform but limits their ability to receive adult content and direct messages (DMs).

Key points include:

• Users can’t retrieve DMs sent before the age verification rule was implemented, and there’s no way to turn off DMs from previous contacts without age verification.
• BlueSky's privacy policy states that users have the right to access their personal data, including DMs.
• The author sent a Subject Access Request for their DMs and faced delays, taking over two months to receive the data.
• The author suggests that while it might seem possible to exploit GDPR to access DMs without age verification, the situation is complicated and may not effectively undermine online safety measures.

The author concludes by highlighting the inefficiency of BlueSky's response process and plans to request the complete disabling of their inbox.

No summary available.