No summary available.

No summary available.

No summary available.

Reviving Classic Unix Games: A 20-Year Journey Through Software Archaeology

This article recounts a two-decade effort to revive "Conquer," a multiplayer strategy game originally posted on USENET in 1987. The game allowed players to manage nations in a fantasy world, but by 2006, its source code was at risk of being lost due to unclear licensing.

Key Points:

1. Initial Discovery: "Conquer" was introduced by Edward Barlow in 1987, gaining popularity among university students in the 90s.

2. The Quest for Permission: In 2006, the author aimed to relicense the game under the GPL for preservation. This involved finding the original creators, which proved challenging due to outdated contact information.

3. Finding the Creators: After years of searching, the author successfully contacted both Barlow and co-creator Adam Bryant, who agreed to the new licensing.

4. New Developments: In 2025, interest in reviving a rewritten version of the game emerged, and Bryant agreed to license this version under GPL as well.

5. Additional Contributors: The author also tracked down other contributors, including MaF, who had created essential tools for the game, but faced challenges finding others, like Richard Caley, who had passed away.

6. Modernization Efforts: The author learned modern packaging techniques and used tools like Melange to update the game's distribution methods.

7. Significance of Preservation: The revival of "Conquer" illustrates the importance of preserving computing history and the community aspect of open-source projects.

8. Lessons Learned: The journey emphasizes the need for clear documentation, licensing, and community engagement in software development.

The revived versions of "Conquer" are now available with modern packaging, serving as a case study in software preservation and the evolution of development practices.

To log into your account, enter your username and password. If you forgot your password, you can recover it by providing your email address, and a password reset link will be sent to you. Additionally, the text mentions Montana becoming the first state to establish a 'Right to Compute' law, indicating a significant legal development in computing rights.

Email Verification Protocol Summary

The Email Verification Protocol allows web applications to verify a user's email address without sending an email or requiring the user to leave the page. This process helps confirm that the user controls the email they provide, improving user experience and privacy.

Key Points:

1. Verification Methods:

   • Email Link/Code: Users receive an email link or code to verify their address, which can lead to user drop-off due to the extra steps involved.
   • Social Login: Users can log in using services like Google or Apple, which confirm their email, but this requires prior setup and user consent.

2. How It Works:

   • Users enter their email into a form.
   • The browser communicates with an email issuer (a trusted service) using authentication cookies to verify the email without sending an email.
   • The issuer generates a token confirming the email is verified.
   • The web application receives this token and can trust that the email is valid.

3. Token Types:

   • SD-JWT+KB: This is a special token that consists of two parts: an issuance token containing the user's email and a key binding token that ensures the token's integrity.

4. User Experience:

   • When users focus on the email input field, the browser suggests previously used verified emails, making it easier for users to select their email.

5. Process Steps:

   • Email Request: User navigates to a site and requests a nonce (a unique identifier for the session).
   • Email Selection: User selects an email from suggestions or types it in.
   • Token Request: The browser looks up the email domain to find the issuer and requests a verification token.
   • Token Issuance: The issuer verifies the request and issues the SD-JWT.
   • Token Presentation: The browser verifies the token and creates an SD-JWT+KB.
   • Token Verification: The web application verifies the received token.

6. Privacy Considerations:

   • The email domain does not learn which applications users are verifying their emails for, enhancing user privacy.

7. Future Alternatives:

   • Considerations for improving user experience include using a JavaScript API for email input and passkey authentication for logging in.

This protocol aims to streamline email verification, making it easier and safer for users while safeguarding their privacy.

The report discusses a Google Summer of Code 2025 project focused on improving sandboxing capabilities in the NetBSD operating system. Currently, NetBSD lacks robust sandboxing techniques, relying on a basic method called chroot, which is not secure. The project aims to implement a mechanism similar to Linux namespaces, which can isolate system resources for applications.

Key points include:

• Project Goals: Introduce Linux-like namespaces to NetBSD for better isolation of applications.

• Namespace Types: The project focuses on two types of namespaces:

  • UTS namespace: Allows applications to have their own hostname and domain name without affecting the system.
  • MNT namespace: Enables different mount points for filesystems, allowing users to mount/unmount without impacting the overall system.

• Implementation: The project involves adapting the NetBSD kernel to support these namespaces, using existing kernel architecture to manage credentials and access.

• Current Status: The UTS namespace is implemented, while the MNT namespace is still in progress. The work can be found on GitHub.

• Future Work: Plans to implement additional namespaces, such as PID and user namespaces, which would enhance process isolation and permissions.

• Challenges: Differences between Linux and NetBSD complicate the implementation, requiring extensive research and adaptation of kernel behaviors.

Overall, this project aims to enhance NetBSD's security and usability by introducing modern sandboxing techniques.

Summary of Zensical Announcement

Zensical is a new static site generator created by the Material for MkDocs team, aimed at simplifying the building of documentation sites. It improves upon the limitations of MkDocs, which has become outdated and unmaintained. Zensical is designed for modern workflows and supports large documentation projects while maintaining high performance.

Key features of Zensical include:

• Compatibility: It can read existing MkDocs configurations with minimal changes, ensuring a smooth transition for users.
• Speed: Zensical offers faster rebuild times (4-5 times faster) and a new search engine called Disco, which enhances search capabilities.
• Modern Design: It features a new design that is more adaptable and professional.
• Open Source: Zensical is fully open-source under the MIT license, allowing for free use, including commercial applications.

Zensical also introduces a professional offering called Zensical Spark, which provides support for organizations and allows users to influence its development. The team is committed to evolving Zensical based on user feedback and has plans to implement new features, including a module system for customization and an improved Markdown processing tool.

The transition from Material for MkDocs to Zensical is essential due to the risks associated with the unmaintained MkDocs. The team plans to support Material for MkDocs for at least the next year while encouraging users to migrate to Zensical. For more information, users can subscribe to a newsletter or reach out for support.

Welcome to iammarkzuckerg.com, the website of Mark S. Zuckerberg, a bankruptcy attorney in Indiana. This Mark Zuckerberg is not the famous tech billionaire, but rather someone who helps people with financial issues.

Key Points:

• Mark S. Zuckerberg assists individuals in achieving a fresh financial start.
• He provides personalized legal advice and answers local legal questions.
• He regularly receives confused emails and calls intended for the Facebook founder.

Interesting Facts:

• He shares a name with the Facebook creator but not his wealth.
• He often gets mistaken for the tech mogul, leading to numerous complications, such as being sued for mistaken identity and having his social media accounts disabled multiple times.
• He receives many friend requests and tech support calls meant for the other Zuckerberg, along with unsolicited packages and complaints about Facebook.

In summary, this Mark Zuckerberg is a dedicated attorney focused on bankruptcy law, not a tech billionaire, and deals with the challenges of sharing a name with a famous figure.

Summary of the Ironclad Operating System Kernel

Ironclad is a partially verified, real-time UNIX-like operating system kernel designed for general and embedded use. It is open-source, written in SPARK and Ada, and has a fully free software license.

Key Features:

• Open Source: Ironclad is free to use, modify, and distribute, with no proprietary components.
• Formal Verification: It uses SPARK to ensure the system's correctness and security, especially in areas like cryptography and access control.
• Portability: It can be run on various platforms and is easy to adapt to new ones due to its reliance on the GNU toolchain.
• Compatibility: Ironclad supports a POSIX interface, making it easier to develop and port applications.

Support for Ironclad: The project is funded through donations and grants, ensuring it remains free for everyone. It receives support from NGI Zero Core, backed by the European Commission's Next Generation Internet program.

In summary, Ironclad is a secure, flexible, and open-source operating system kernel suitable for various applications, supported by community contributions.

The text discusses two contrasting ideas about the internet: "dead internet theory" and "alive internet theory."

• Dead Internet Theory suggests that bots will outnumber real people online.
• Alive Internet Theory counters this by asserting that the internet is still filled with real people who connect, help each other, and share experiences, even amid disagreements.

Alive internet theory is presented as a digital experience that showcases millions of human-created artifacts from the Internet Archive. Users can explore a variety of content—images, videos, songs, and texts—reflecting genuine human expression. This experience highlights the difference between humans and machines and prompts reflection on what it means to be human in today's web.

The experience can be accessed on desktop and mobile, offering new content with each visit.

On November 9, 2025, OpenAI released a new model called GPT-5-Codex-Mini, which is a smaller and cheaper version of GPT-5-Codex. It is only accessible through the Codex CLI tool and a VS Code extension, with API access expected soon. The author decided to reverse engineer the Codex CLI to prompt the new model directly.

The Codex CLI is written in Rust, and the author cloned its source code to modify it. They wanted to add a new command, "codex prompt," which would allow users to send prompts directly to the OpenAI API using the same authentication as Codex. Although reverse engineering the API felt a bit sneaky, the author believed the open-source nature of Codex CLI justified their actions.

After several iterations of coding, debugging, and testing, the author successfully built the new command. They tested it by prompting the model to generate an SVG of a pelican riding a bicycle. Various attempts produced mixed results, but ultimately the author was able to get the model to function as intended.

They also added a debug option to see the API requests and responses. The final output showed how the API worked and confirmed that it required specific instructions to function correctly.

In conclusion, the author was able to create a new feature in the Codex CLI that allowed direct interaction with the GPT-5-Codex-Mini model, although the results in generating a pelican SVG were not satisfactory.

Summary of KeePassXC’s Code Quality Control Announcement

KeePassXC, an open-source project focused on security, has a strong code quality control process to ensure the safety of its application. Recently, they updated their contribution policy to address the use of Generative AI in coding. They clarified that if a significant portion of a code submission is created using AI, it must be disclosed in the pull request.

The code contribution process involves five maintainers who review and test all submissions. Code is only merged after thorough review and testing. AI is used in two ways: as an additional tool to help reviewers catch errors and to assist in creating simple pull requests. However, no AI-generated code is accepted without human review, and complex tasks are not handled by AI.

KeePassXC encourages transparency regarding AI use in contributions and has set up a system to label AI-assisted pull requests. They have not seen an influx of low-quality submissions and remain committed to maintaining high standards. The team has extensive experience and assures users that they will not integrate any AI features into the application.

Users are encouraged to engage with the team and provide feedback, as KeePassXC values open communication and continuous improvement.

The author faced a pigeon problem on their balcony, where the birds frequently left droppings. After researching various methods to deter pigeons, they found that most common solutions, like plastic decoys and ultrasonic sounds, were ineffective. They considered options like getting a cat or installing spikes but found them impractical.

Instead, the author devised a high-tech solution: a Wi-Fi-enabled water gun that could spray pigeons remotely. They used an old iPhone as a camera to detect pigeon movements, coupled with a microcontroller to control the water gun. The system uses a Python script with OpenCV for image analysis, detecting movement to trigger the water gun.

To connect the water gun to the internet, the author built a small server that relays commands. Despite initial successes in scaring away pigeons, the birds eventually returned. The author remains hopeful and plans to continue improving their setup, enjoying the challenge of the project.

The Neoliner Origin, the largest cargo sailboat in the world, successfully completed its first transatlantic journey on October 30, 2025. The 136-meter ship faced challenges when one of its sails was damaged in a storm, forcing it to use its auxiliary motor and remaining sail. It first stopped in Saint Pierre and Miquelon before reaching Baltimore, where it delivered various goods, including vehicles and machinery.

The ship aims to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions—by 80 to 90%—compared to traditional diesel cargo ships. Neoline's CEO emphasized the importance of balancing industrial needs with environmental responsibility, noting that wind propulsion is a free and eco-friendly energy source. The Neoliner Origin can carry up to 5,300 tonnes of cargo and is set to make monthly trips between Europe and North America, operating at a cruising speed of about 11 knots.

Summary of "How to get the GOT address from a PLT stub using gdb"

This guide explains how to find the address of a function from a shared library (like puts) when using dynamic linking and lazy binding in a program compiled with GCC.

Key Concepts:

1. Dynamic Linking: Instead of including all code in the binary, it links to shared libraries at runtime.
2. PLT Stub: A small piece of code that acts as a placeholder for the function call (e.g., puts).
3. GOT (Global Offset Table): Holds the address of the function that will be executed.

Process Overview:

• Initially, the PLT stub jumps to a placeholder in the GOT. When the function is first called, the dynamic linker updates this placeholder with the actual address of the function in the shared library.
• On subsequent calls, the program jumps directly to the real function address, skipping the dynamic linker.

Steps to Analyze with gdb:

1. Compile a simple program that calls puts.
2. Use gdb to set breakpoints and examine the program.
3. Disassemble the main function to locate the PLT stub for puts.
4. Check the initial and updated addresses in the GOT before and after the first call to puts.

Outcome: After the first call, the GOT entry for puts changes to point directly to the function's address in the shared library, allowing for efficient direct calls in future executions.

This process helps in understanding how dynamic linking and lazy binding work in compiled programs.

This project is based on the ONCE idea from 37signals. I followed the same process and have successfully sold some copies, and the testimonials are genuine.

Trusted powers high-traffic websites, including eBay.com, ensuring they run smoothly and efficiently.

The author, a tech-savvy parent, shares their positive experience of helping their children build their own Linux computer. They purchased a second-hand desktop and, together with their kids, assembled it over a few days. The author highlights the benefits of using Linux, noting that it offers a variety of free and useful software compared to the challenges of finding software on Windows.

Now, a friend wants to provide a similar experience for their 8-year-old daughter. The author plans to help them buy a second-hand desktop and install Linux. They are seeking suggestions for software to install and ideas for teaching the child about Linux and open-source software.

Summary of Forth's Relevance and eForth Development

Forth, a programming language known for its efficiency, has become less popular compared to C due to C's wider adoption and support. However, there is potential to revitalize interest in Forth, especially among C programmers, by highlighting its productivity benefits.

eForth Overview:

• eForth aims to simplify Forth, making it more accessible for learners and developers.
• It is implemented entirely in C/C++ and supports multiple platforms, moving away from assembly language to reduce barriers for newcomers.
• Key changes include:
  • The dictionary is now an array of words, improving the ease of word searching and execution.
  • Stacks and parameter fields are also implemented as arrays, enhancing clarity.
  • Advanced features like multi-threading and message passing were introduced to support modern programming needs.

Development Approach:

• The focus is on core concepts, omitting some complex Forth features to streamline understanding.
• A thread pool and built-in multi-threading support have been added, allowing efficient use of multi-core processors.
• The inner and outer interpreters handle word execution and compilation, respectively, utilizing a straightforward approach to managing code execution.

Getting Started with eForth:

• Users can download eForth from GitHub and follow instructions for building it across various platforms, including Linux, Windows, and embedded systems like ESP32.
• The implementation provides a foundation for experimenting with Forth concepts and can serve as an educational tool.

Performance and Features:

• eForth has been benchmarked against traditional Forth implementations, showing competitive performance, especially with its multi-threading capabilities.
• Attention has been paid to memory management and implementation efficiency, seeking to reduce overhead.

In conclusion, eForth presents a modern take on Forth, making it easier to learn and use while retaining its powerful capabilities. By promoting eForth, there is a chance to reignite interest in Forth programming in today's tech landscape.

Summary: Ruby's Million-to-One Memory Bug

On November 3, 2025, developer Maciej Mensfeld encountered a puzzling error in a Ruby application called Karafka, where a method call on a String object resulted in a crash. This error seemed impossible to reproduce, as it was tied to a memory issue in the FFI (Foreign Function Interface) library, specifically versions before 1.17.0.

Key Points:

1. The Error: Users reported 2,700 identical errors stating "undefined method 'default' for an instance of String." This indicated a serious memory mix-up where an internal Hash (used by FFI) was replaced by a String in memory.

2. Investigation: Mensfeld traced the issue to the FFI's handling of memory. It turned out that FFI did not properly inform Ruby’s garbage collector (GC) about references to certain Ruby objects. This oversight allowed the GC to free a Hash while a pointer still pointed to that memory location, which could then be reused for a different object type (like a String).

3. Cause: The bug required precise conditions to trigger:

   • Transient struct classes that went out of scope.
   • Natural GC timing that allowed a Hash to be freed and a String to be allocated in its place.
   • Multi-threaded execution increasing memory churn.

4. Reproduction: Mensfeld developed a test that simulated the conditions under which the bug could occur. After extensive testing, he successfully reproduced the error, confirming the original hypothesis.

5. Fix: The issue was resolved in FFI version 1.17.0, which added the necessary write barriers to prevent the GC from freeing objects still in use. Developers running FFI versions below 1.17.0 were advised to upgrade to eliminate the risk of this bug.

6. Conclusion: This incident highlighted the importance of memory management in programming, particularly in languages like Ruby that rely on garbage collection. It also underscored how rare bugs can become frequent in high-restart environments, stressing the need for vigilance and proper updates.

In summary, the bug exemplifies a rare but critical issue in Ruby's memory management that could lead to significant application failures if not addressed.

No summary available.

The paper discusses the challenges in measuring and evaluating AI models. It highlights that current methods are often insufficient and may not accurately reflect the models' true performance. The authors propose new approaches to improve measurement practices, aiming for better reliability and understanding of AI systems. The focus is on making evaluations clearer and more effective to enhance AI development.

Quad: Software-Defined Radio Tile Overview

• Size: 13 cm
• Price: $49 - $99 (to be determined)

Description:
The Quad is a 4-antenna software-defined radio (SDR) tile. It can be used alone or as part of larger setups. It works well with Raspberry Pi systems and supports software like GNU Radio and Python/C++.

Key Features:

• Frequency Range: 4.9 to 6.0 GHz (C-band)
• Bandwidth: 40 MHz per antenna
• Transmission Power: 1W per antenna
• Receiver Noise Figure: ~1.2 dB
• Polarization: Right-hand circular for transmission, left-hand circular for reception
• Clock Stability: MEMS TCXO with ~1.4 ps jitter
• FPGA: Lattice ECP5 with less than 1 ms latency
• Power Requirement: 12V DC, approximately 25W peak

Standalone Applications:

• General-purpose 4×4 MIMO SDR
• Fox-hunting and direction finding
• RF exploration
• Open Wi-Fi router
• Open 4G/5G base station
• Drone HD links and robotics communication

The text discusses the fierce competition between Airbus and Boeing in the commercial aviation industry, highlighting key events and strategies that led to Airbus's success.

1. Recent Incident: An Alaska Airlines flight experienced a terrifying incident due to a missing bolt in the exit door, but no fatalities occurred. This contrasts with past Boeing 737 MAX crashes that killed 346 people due to a faulty system.

2. Airbus vs. Boeing: While Boeing has faced lawsuits and scrutiny, Airbus has maintained a lower profile and has been more successful in the market.

3. Airbus's Formation: Airbus was created in the 1970s through collaboration among European governments to compete with American aerospace dominance. The consortium focused on customer needs and efficient design, which set it apart from other failed European industrial projects.

4. Customer-Centric Approach: Airbus prioritized understanding customer demands, leading to innovations like the A300, which was designed based on market research. This aircraft became popular for its fuel efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

5. Technological Advances: The A320, introduced in 1988, was notable for its digital fly-by-wire controls and safety features, further establishing Airbus’s reputation in the industry.

6. Challenges and Market Dynamics: Despite its successes, the airline industry remains challenging due to high costs and low profit margins. Airbus’s strategies have been successful, but the volatile nature of airline businesses makes consistent profitability difficult.

7. Conclusion: Airbus’s journey provides insights into effective industrial strategy, particularly the importance of customer focus and adaptability. However, the unique nature of the aerospace industry means its success may not easily translate to other sectors.

Summary of Project Zero Update (November 3, 2025)

The Project Zero team at Google has discovered vulnerabilities in the Pixel kernel related to memory addressing.

Key findings include:

1. KASLR Vulnerability: Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR), a security measure to prevent exploitation, is ineffective on Pixel devices. The team found that the kernel's linear mapping, which translates physical memory addresses to virtual addresses, is not randomized as expected. This allows attackers to predict memory addresses more easily.

2. Static Memory Addressing: On Pixel phones, the kernel is always loaded at the same physical address, making it easier to calculate virtual addresses for kernel data structures. This predictability can be exploited without the need for KASLR.

3. Kernel Data Access: The lack of randomization means attackers can read and write to kernel memory more easily, which could facilitate various types of exploits.

4. Impact on Other Devices: Even on devices where physical addresses are randomized, the non-randomization of the linear mapping still poses security risks, as attackers can manipulate physical memory allocations to target specific kernel virtual addresses.

5. Call to Action: The Project Zero team has reported these issues to the Linux kernel and Google, but both entities consider the current setup intentional. They advocate for improvements in kernel security measures, such as randomizing memory addresses, to enhance overall protection against attacks.

In conclusion, the findings highlight significant vulnerabilities in the Android kernel's memory management that could simplify exploitation for attackers, underscoring the need for better security practices.

The text is about a project called "aiola/drax-v1," which focuses on Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). It was last updated 26 days ago and has 32 contributions and 3 comments.

Summary:

Tabloid is a unique programming language designed to mimic clickbait headlines. It's Turing complete, meaning it can perform any computation that a traditional programming language can. Here are some key features:

1. Function Declaration: Functions are declared using "DISCOVER HOW TO... WITH".
2. Output: All printed text is in uppercase and ends with an exclamation mark, starting with "YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS".
3. No Loops: Instead of traditional loops, Tabloid uses recursion.
4. Returning Values: To return a value from a function, you write "SHOCKING DEVELOPMENT!".
5. Program End: Every program must conclude with "PLEASE LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE".

Tabloid supports basic data types like numbers, strings, and booleans. It has a JavaScript interpreter and also runs in Racket. The creator previously made another programming language called Ink, which is more conventional. Overall, Tabloid is a fun and engaging way to write programs using a playful style.

This book explores the history and design of programming languages, focusing on control structures, which are the tools that help manage how programs run. It starts with early programming concepts like "goto" statements and structured programming from the 1960s. The book then examines advanced features in imperative languages, such as generators and coroutines, and looks at functional languages through continuations and algebraic effects.

The book is divided into four main parts:

1. Control Structures for Imperative Languages: Discusses early programming languages, structured programming, non-local control, and control inversion.
2. Control Operators for Functional Languages: Covers functional programming, continuations, and control operators.
3. From Exceptions to Algebraic Effects: Explains exceptions, effect handlers, monads, and algebraic effects.
4. Reasoning About Control and Effects: Focuses on type and effect systems, Hoare logic, and separation logic.

The book includes code samples in various programming languages, and is set to be published by Cambridge University Press.

No summary available.

On November 9, 2025, a user was working on a project and asked ChatGPT about the fastest local language model (LLM). They noticed that ChatGPT seemed to know they were in Czechia, which surprised them because they believed ChatGPT shouldn't have access to that information. After checking, they confirmed it was based on their IP geolocation.

The user found discussions about this topic online but noted that ChatGPT denied having access to geolocation data and insisted it only knows what users share in the chat. The user speculated that the system might include a "location tag" linked to their IP address in the conversation. They shared a link to their saved chat for reference.

No summary available.

The author created Sparktype, a user-friendly content management system (CMS) for building static websites. Inspired by the difficulty of teaching a non-technical friend to manage a Jekyll site, Sparktype aims to simplify the process, similar to platforms like Substack or Medium.

Key features include:

• Creation of pages, image resizing, menu management, and tagging.
• Content is stored in plain Markdown and JSON, ensuring easy portability without vendor lock-in.
• Sites can be exported as zip files or published via GitHub or Netlify.

The author is also developing cross-platform apps for more publishing options and a CLI client that works outside of the web interface. While still in early development with some bugs, feedback is welcomed from users.

No summary available.

No summary available.

This text discusses the development of WARP, Cloudflare's mobile-first security and performance app, which functions like a high-performance VPN. The author explains the challenges faced in securely managing user data from millions of mobile clients using Linux's networking features.

Key points include:

1. Networking Basics: WARP uses a Layer 3 VPN model, allowing internet access through VPN servers. It operates by encapsulating private network IP packets into public packets addressed to the VPN server.

2. NAT (Network Address Translation): A router translates private IP addresses to public ones, enabling devices on local networks to access the internet. Linux can be configured to perform this routing using tools like Netfilter.

3. Conntrack: This Linux feature tracks active connections and supports NAT by ensuring unique port numbers for each connection, which is essential due to the limited number of available ports.

4. Packet Marking: WARP marks packets to manage firewall policies and routing more efficiently. This allows for easier updates to rules without changing multiple configurations.

5. Scalability Challenges: The initial WARP setup required a unique IPv4 address for each server, which is not sustainable due to IPv4 address exhaustion. Future solutions may involve IP sharing to reduce costs and complexity.

The post hints at upcoming developments and encourages interested engineers to explore career opportunities at Cloudflare.

No summary available.

Summary of Grok Models and Pricing

Models Overview:

• Grok has released its latest model, grok-4-fast, which is designed for efficient reasoning.
• Key features include:
  • Context Window: Up to 2,000,000 tokens
  • Fast Function Calling: Lightning fast processing at low costs
  • Structured Outputs: Provides organized results

Model Pricing:

• Pricing is based on the model and the number of tokens used:
  • grok-code-fast-125: $0.20 per million tokens
  • grok-4-fast-reasoning: $0.50 per million tokens
  • Image generation: $0.07 per image

Changes for Grok 3 Users:

• Grok 4 is a reasoning model; it does not support non-reasoning modes or certain parameters from Grok 3.

Tools Pricing:

• Tool usage is free until November 21, 2025, but costs apply for token usage and specific server-side tools.
• Examples:
  • Web Search: $10 per 1,000 calls
  • Code Execution: $10 per 1,000 calls

Live Search Pricing:

• Costs $25 per 1,000 sources requested, with each source counted in the total.

Documents Search Pricing:

• Costs $2.50 for every 1,000 requests.

Additional Information:

• Grok models do not have access to real-time data unless using the Live Search function.
• There are no restrictions on the order of conversation roles in chat models.
• Models support various input types, including text and images.

Billing and Availability:

• Model access may vary by location and account type. Check the xAI Console for the latest updates.

Context Window:

• The context window limits the total tokens that can be processed in a single request. Reusing prompts can save costs through cached tokens.

No summary available.

I cannot access external links, but if you provide the main points or details from the study, I can help you summarize it!

No summary available.

PingStalker is a macOS utility created by a developer to monitor and analyze local area networks (LAN) and wireless networks (WLAN). The tool combines various network discovery and monitoring features into a user-friendly graphical interface (GUI), addressing limitations of command-line tools.

Key features of PingStalker include:

• It performs scans (ARP, ICMP, mDNS, and DNS) to identify devices on the network, displaying their IP addresses, MAC addresses, vendors, and open ports.
• It continuously tracks selected hosts to show latency issues and missed pings.
• It detects VLANs to inform users if their Mac is connected to a tagged interface.
• It captures important live network traffic events for real-time monitoring.
• It decodes mDNS traffic into an easy-to-understand format.
• It includes a custom database that links MAC addresses to company logos for easier identification.

PingStalker is built using Swift and employs low-level network protocols for efficiency. The developer is seeking feedback from users and builders of network diagnostic tools to improve the utility further.

For more information and screenshots, visit: https://pingstalker.com. The developer is open to answering technical questions related to the tool.

In early November 2025, domains linked to the Aisuru botnet, which consists of hacked Internet of Things (IoT) devices, overtook major companies like Amazon, Apple, Google, and Microsoft in Cloudflare's ranking of the most requested websites. Cloudflare responded by removing these Aisuru domains from the list, as the botnet was manipulating rankings while also attacking Cloudflare’s DNS service.

Aisuru has quickly grown since its launch in 2024 and can launch massive DDoS attacks. The botnet previously directed infected devices to use Google’s DNS servers, but recently switched to Cloudflare's DNS. This change led to Aisuru domains appearing prominently in Cloudflare's rankings, causing concern about the botnet's influence.

Experts noted that Cloudflare's ranking system is based on DNS query volume, which can be skewed by automated requests from botnets. Critics argue that this undermines the trustworthiness of the rankings, as they should primarily reflect human usage, not automated traffic. Cloudflare has started partially redacting Aisuru domain names from its lists and is working on improving its ranking algorithm.

The majority of DNS queries to these Aisuru domains come from the U.S., and many domains are registered under the .su top-level domain, often associated with cybercrime. Experts suggest that monitoring and potentially blocking access to .su domains could help detect and mitigate botnet activity.

A mathematician recently experienced a shift in their research process. While working on a proof, they found a statement that seemed true and could be helpful. Instead of proving it themselves, they asked an AI, GPT-5, for help and received a proof in about 20 seconds. The proof included a lemma they weren't familiar with, but they verified that it was valid. They noted that using AI greatly speeds up their research while still requiring human oversight.

Summary of "Debugging BeagleBoard USB Boot with a Sniffer: Fixing omap_loader on Modern PCs"

Doug Brown shares his experience working with the old OMAP3530 BeagleBoard from 2008, focusing on getting its USB boot feature to work on modern computers. He discovered a bug in the UART driver and decided to explore USB booting for fun. He found that existing resources were scarce due to the age of the device.

Key points include:

• The omap_loader utility, a tool for booting the BeagleBoard via USB, was created to improve upon older tools. Brown found it challenging to gather information on USB booting due to outdated links and resources.

• He encountered issues while trying to boot using modern computers, particularly those with USB 3.0 ports, which caused errors in data transfer. Older computers without USB 3.0 worked fine.

• To troubleshoot, Brown used a USB sniffer and discovered that the timing of data transfers was crucial. He implemented delays in the code, which resolved issues with data being sent too quickly and reading from the bootloader before it was ready.

• He also faced problems with newer USB host controllers that got confused during the communication process, leading to timeouts and unresponsive behavior.

• Ultimately, with the help of specific delays, he successfully got the omap_loader to work on modern machines, allowing the BeagleBoard to load U-Boot and potentially a Linux kernel.

• Brown’s findings also became relevant for reviving older Nest thermostats that use similar OMAP processors, leading him to contribute his improvements to the omap_loader project.

In conclusion, Brown's side project of booting an old BeagleBoard unexpectedly assisted in projects related to Nest thermostats, highlighting the interconnectedness of technology and troubleshooting.

Cekura is rapidly expanding and is creating a new Customer Success team. They are looking for people who enjoy driving results, supporting customers, and developing new strategies. The company has recently experienced significant growth, matching their October numbers in just the first week of November. There are job openings in their San Francisco and Bengaluru offices. Join them to help shape the future of agent delivery.

Summary of writerdeckOS:

writerdeckOS is a specialized operating system that transforms laptops and some Chromebooks (with 64-bit Intel/AMD processors) into a device focused solely on writing. It eliminates distractions by disabling internet access, apps, games, and social media, allowing users to concentrate on writing without interruptions.

Key Features:

• Distraction-Free: No internet, notifications, or complex formatting.
• Lightweight: Designed to turn older or inexpensive laptops into dedicated writing machines.
• Text Editor: Uses the Tilde Text Editor, which is simple and customizable.

Installation Instructions:

1. Download and create a bootable USB with the writerdeckOS ISO.
2. Boot the laptop from the USB and follow the installation prompts (this will erase all existing data).
3. First-time users log in with username "author" and password "password."

Usage Tips:

• Always save your work (Ctrl+S) as there is no autosave.
• To turn on/off, use the laptop's power button.
• Basic file system navigation uses common Bash commands.

Advanced Options:

• Developer mode allows for more customization, including changing the keyboard layout and using different text editors.
• Options to connect to the internet and sync files with cloud services are available, but primarily for advanced users.

Support: For help, users can contact the developer or join the writerdeckOS subreddit for community discussions.

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Summary of Heart Disease Prevention and Advocacy

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, affecting not just older adults but also younger individuals, with 25% of heart attacks happening in those under 55. Many people may not realize they have heart disease until it’s too late. However, heart disease can be prevented with the right knowledge and proactive measures.

1. Awareness: Understanding heart disease, particularly atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD), is crucial. This condition involves plaque buildup in arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes. Risk factors include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, and obesity.

2. Self-Advocacy: It's important to be your own advocate in the healthcare system. Many primary care physicians focus on treating sickness rather than preventing it, so patients must take charge of their heart health by requesting specific tests and treatments.

3. Preventative Measures:

   • Testing: Key tests include expanded lipid panels to check biomarkers like ApoB, triglycerides, and Lp(a), as well as imaging tests like CT or CTA scans to detect plaque in arteries.
   • Lifestyle Changes: Adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle is essential. This includes regular exercise, a balanced diet (preferably Mediterranean), maintaining a healthy weight, not smoking, and managing stress.

4. Medication: If necessary, medications like statins can help manage cholesterol levels and reduce heart disease risk. It's important to discuss these options with a healthcare provider.

5. Getting Help: Patients should feel empowered to ask for the necessary tests and treatments from their doctors. A sample script is provided for patients to request expanded testing and imaging.

6. Final Thoughts: Preventing heart disease is achievable with the right knowledge and proactive steps. Patients are encouraged to share this information and advocate for their heart health, ultimately aiming to avoid becoming another statistic of heart disease-related deaths.

The text outlines a proposal for a new algebraic language designed for manipulating symbolic expressions, created by John McCarthy. Here are the key points:

1. Purpose: The language aims to improve how symbolic manipulations are performed, offering a more convenient alternative to existing programming languages.

2. Applications:

   • It can manipulate sentences in formal languages for theorem proving.
   • It simplifies mathematical processes like algebraic simplification, differentiation, and integration.
   • It is suitable for writing compilers and heuristic programs.

3. Features:

   • Expressions are represented as lists, with each element occupying a computer word that includes a pointer to the next element.
   • The language supports recursion and conditional expressions, allowing complex operations to be defined simply.
   • It uses algebraic notation, which helps in chaining procedures without naming intermediate results.

4. Data Types:

   • Several types of quantities are defined, including propositional quantities (true/false values), locational quantities (addresses in the program), and functional quantities (which can be parameters of subroutines).

5. Statements:

   • The language includes arithmetic statements, control transfer statements, subroutine calls, and declarative sentences that manage properties of symbols.

6. List Structure: The language uses a list structure for data representation, where sequences correspond to list structures in memory.

Overall, this new algebraic language aims to enhance the efficiency and flexibility of programming symbolic manipulations while being user-friendly.

Summary of Immutable Software Deployments Using ZFS Jails on FreeBSD

This article explains how to use FreeBSD's ZFS snapshots and jails for immutable software deployments. By creating a new jail from a ZFS snapshot for each release, you can achieve instant rollbacks, zero downtime during upgrades, and a consistent environment.

Key Steps:

1. Prerequisites: Use FreeBSD 14+ with ZFS enabled. Install Caddy for TLS, reverse proxy, and health checks.

2. Architecture: Caddy acts as a reverse proxy, routing to healthy jails that are created from ZFS snapshots.

3. Server Configuration:

   • Set up a loopback network for the jails.
   • Enable jails and configure ZFS datasets for jail storage.

4. Base Image Creation: Download and prepare a FreeBSD base image template, then create a ZFS snapshot for cloning new jails.

5. Creating a New Jail: Assign an IP address, clone the base image, and configure the jail with a unique name based on the Git commit SHA.

6. Service Setup: Deploy a simple Go application inside the jail and create a service to manage it.

7. Caddy Configuration: Set up Caddy to manage traffic to the jails, including health checks.

8. Deploying New Jails: Repeat the process to create and switch to new jails as needed, updating Caddy to route to the latest jail.

Conclusion:

This method allows for seamless upgrades and restores, making it easier to manage software deployments with reliability and efficiency. Enjoy the benefits of immutable infrastructure!

The website has strange and unattractive fonts that are either too small or too large, bad color choices, and confusing navigation. This makes it hard to view their previous work, which often looks unusual and artistic.

Mozilla is adding AI features to Firefox without asking users, leading to complaints about high CPU and RAM usage. Users cannot easily disable these features through the Firefox interface; instead, they must adjust hidden settings in configuration files. Even after disabling certain features, users still see options related to AI chatbots.

To help users disable these AI features, several settings can be added to a preferences file. For non-technical users, switching to a different browser might be the easiest solution, especially since Firefox's market share is very small compared to competitors like Chrome and Safari.

The current global browser market shares as of September 2025 are:

• Chrome: 71.77%
• Safari: 13.9%
• Edge: 4.67%
• Firefox: 2.17%

Users can find scripts on GitHub to automate the process of disabling these features in Firefox profiles.

Classical state-machine replication protocols like Paxos use a single leader to order commands, which can lead to failures and delays if that leader goes down or if clients are far away from it. To address these issues, Egalitarian Paxos was created, allowing all replicas to work together to order commands without a single leader. This method can handle multiple process failures while still maintaining throughput and allows commands to be executed quickly if certain conditions are met.

However, Egalitarian Paxos is complex, has unclear specifications, and has bugs. This paper introduces EPaxos*, a simpler and more reliable version of Egalitarian Paxos. The main improvement is a straightforward failure-recovery process that has been rigorously proven to work correctly. EPaxos* also expands on Egalitarian Paxos to efficiently manage a wider range of failure scenarios.

Summary of "Humanity’s Endgame"

In "Humanity’s Endgame," risk expert Luke Kemp argues that modern society is on the brink of collapse, drawing parallels from history. He begins with two ancient artifacts in the British Museum that symbolize the violent origins of state power—skeletons from Jebel Sahaba, which show evidence of early mass violence, and the Palette of Narmer, depicting the violent unification of Egypt.

Kemp's book, "Goliath’s Curse," examines how societies rise and fall, proposing that hierarchical and exploitative systems, which he likens to the biblical giant Goliath, are inherently vulnerable. He challenges the idea that civilization has always progressed, instead suggesting that the complexity of modern states often leads to their downfall.

Kemp identifies common traits in historical state failures, such as inequality, dominance hierarchies, and the concentration of power. He argues that societal collapse, while catastrophic for elites, can sometimes benefit the general population, as seen in historical examples where people's lives improved after the fall of oppressive regimes.

Today, Kemp warns that our globalized society faces unprecedented risks from technological advances, climate change, and political instability. He critiques the current power structures, suggesting that many leaders embody harmful traits, which perpetuates inequality and violence.

To avert disaster, Kemp advocates for a shift toward open democracy, where decision-making involves diverse public input, and calls for accountability from corporations and governments for their social and environmental impacts. He concludes with a moral imperative for individuals to act with integrity, warning that without significant change, society may face dire consequences.

Leta, our search proxy, will be shut down on November 27, 2025. Its main advantage was providing privacy for users by pooling and caching search requests. However, due to changes in the search industry, Leta is expected to become less effective. Users can achieve similar privacy by using a VPN and a privacy-focused browser. Therefore, we will discontinue Leta and focus on improving VPNs and browser privacy through our own efforts and partnerships.

Summary: The Ofcom Files, Part 2

In this follow-up to The Ofcom Files, attorney Preston Byrne discusses his involvement in defending U.S. websites against the UK's Online Safety Act (OSA), particularly focusing on the controversial site "Sanctioned Suicide" (SaSu). Byrne represents these websites pro bono, aiming to protect their First Amendment rights from UK censorship attempts.

The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, has targeted SaSu, alleging that it circumvented a geo-block meant to prevent UK users from accessing the site. However, Byrne claims the block is functioning properly, suggesting that Ofcom's allegations are based on misunderstandings or misleading information from third parties.

Byrne argues that Ofcom’s actions reflect a broader strategy to target unpopular websites to justify the OSA, which, if it fails to eliminate these sites, risks undermining the entire regulatory framework. He emphasizes that every U.S. website, no matter how controversial, deserves defense against foreign censorship.

He warns that if the UK succeeds in imposing its rules on American sites, it could set a dangerous precedent for online free speech. Byrne calls for U.S. government intervention to protect American citizens' rights and urges the enactment of a censorship shield law to prevent such overreach.

Overall, the article highlights the ongoing conflict between U.S. free speech rights and UK internet regulations, stressing the importance of defending constitutional protections against foreign attempts at censorship.

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This document is a set of notes for a course on the computational complexity of air travel planning, aimed at individuals with an undergraduate background in computer science. The primary focus is to explain why air travel planning is a challenging problem.

Key Points:

1. Air Travel Complexity: The document introduces the complexities involved in planning air travel, including searching for flights, prices, and seat availability.
2. Role of ITA Software: ITA Software develops search engines used by various airlines and travel websites to help users find flight options.
3. Query Process: When a traveler wants to book a flight, they submit a query to a search engine that checks flight databases for available options. This data is provided by airlines and is frequently updated.
4. Flight Network: There are over 4,000 airports in the network, with approximately 30 million scheduled flights each year. Most flights are concentrated in major airports due to a hub-and-spoke system.
5. Path Planning Challenges: Finding all possible flight combinations for a round trip is impractical due to the exponential growth of options with increased flight duration or connections.
6. Price Complexity: Pricing in air travel is very complicated, with fares subject to numerous rules. The relationship between flight options and prices makes planning difficult, as prices depend on the entire flight history rather than just the current position in the itinerary.

Overall, the document discusses the significant challenges and complexities involved in air travel planning, especially concerning pricing and route selection.

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Cerebras has upgraded to GLM 4.6, a top coding model that generates code quickly at over 1,000 tokens per second. It's recognized as one of the best models for coding tasks, excelling in tool calling and web development.

You can use Cerebras Code Pro with any AI-compatible editor, such as Cline and RooCode, by simply entering your API key.

There are three access tiers:

1. Free: Limited access to GLM 4.6 for trying out basic features.
2. Pro ($50): Enhanced access with more tokens for serious projects, suitable for independent developers.
3. Max ($200): Comprehensive access for heavy coding needs, allowing for extensive workflows and integrations.

Overall, Cerebras provides efficient AI coding support to streamline development.

Summary of Valdi

Valdi is a cross-platform UI framework used by Snap for 8 years, currently in beta as it needs more testing in the open-source community. It allows developers to create user interfaces using TypeScript, which compiles to native views on iOS, Android, and macOS without using web views or JavaScript bridges.

Key Features:

• True Native Performance: Compiles TypeScript components into native views, offering faster performance with features like:

  • Automatic view recycling
  • Independent component rendering
  • An optimized layout engine
  • Viewport-aware rendering for efficient scrolling

• Speedy Developer Experience:

  • Instant hot reload for quick changes
  • Full debugging support in VSCode
  • Familiar TypeScript syntax

• Flexible Integration:

  • Easily embed Valdi in existing apps or use native views within Valdi.
  • Supports writing performance-critical code in native languages like C++ or Swift.

• Deep Native Integration:

  • Automatic code generation for type-safe bindings between TypeScript and native code.
  • Direct access to native APIs.

Proven Use: Valdi powers essential features in Snap's apps, supporting animations, real-time rendering, and complex gestures.

Additional Features:

• Flexbox layout system
• Multi-threading support
• Built-in testing framework
• Bazel integration for efficient builds

For support, there is a Discord community, and contributions are welcomed under the MIT License.

The article discusses how Apple, under Tim Cook, is straying from the customer-focused principles established by Steve Jobs. Jobs prioritized a pure and enjoyable user experience, refusing to compromise it for profit, as shown by his rejection of advertising in Apple’s software. In contrast, recent developments indicate that Apple plans to introduce ads in services like Apple Maps, which many believe degrades the customer experience.

The author argues that this shift reflects a broader change in Apple’s values, where profit is prioritized over the user experience. The article highlights that without strong leadership to maintain these core values, they can fade away over time. Overall, the piece expresses disappointment that Apple, once revered for its commitment to quality, is sacrificing that for financial gain.

Big Tech platforms, like YouTube and Facebook, often penalize users for sharing Linux and homelab content without clear explanations. Recently, a tech YouTuber named Rich from CyberCPU Tech had his entire channel threatened after YouTube removed two of his videos. The first video, about installing Windows 11 with a local account, was taken down for supposedly encouraging dangerous activities. A follow-up video on bypassing hardware requirements was also removed. Rich appealed both decisions, but they were denied quickly.

Initially, Rich thought automated moderation was to blame, but later wondered if Microsoft influenced the takedowns. Eventually, YouTube restored the videos, admitting its initial actions were not solely automated. This raises concerns about how well content moderation systems can distinguish between safe and harmful content. The incident underscores the need for human oversight in moderation, as automated systems often misclassify harmless tutorials while letting real spam slip through.

Summary of "Angel Investors, A Field Guide"

The author shares insights from their experience working with angel investors while founding their company, Akita. Key points include:

1. Importance of Angel Investors: The right angel investors can provide crucial support, mentorship, and connections for new founders. The author had notable investors like Jason Hong and Kevin Durant who significantly impacted their journey.

2. Initial Funding: The author's first investment was a SAFE from mentor Jason Hong, which gave them the financial runway to focus on fundraising.

3. Strategic Angels vs. Vanity Angels: Strategic angels contribute expertise and networks, while vanity angels are often celebrities who may not be actively involved. It’s beneficial to have strategic angels who can help with introductions and advice.

4. Leveraging Relationships: Founders should build relationships with their investors by keeping them informed and asking for specific help. Monthly updates can keep investors engaged and willing to assist.

5. Role of Institutional Investors: Unlike VCs, angel investors can help introduce founders to other potential investors without competing for ownership in the company.

6. Personal Insights on Angel Investing: The author also shares their perspective as an angel investor, emphasizing the importance of being excited about the companies they invest in and the problems they solve.

7. Final Advice: Choosing the right angel investors is crucial, as they can significantly influence a startup’s success. Founders should aim to create meaningful connections and leverage the support of their investors effectively.

Overall, the text emphasizes the significant role angel investors play in the startup ecosystem and provides practical advice for new founders on how to engage with them.

Friendly Attributes Pattern Summary

The Friendly Attributes Pattern simplifies how subscription plans are created in a Rails application using Stripe. Initially, creating plans required a lot of repetitive code, which was bulky and hard to read. The author streamlined this process by introducing a new syntax that allows for a more concise and readable way to define plans.

Key Improvements:

• Conciseness: The new approach reduces the amount of code needed to define plans, making it easier to read and manage.
• Intuitive Structure: The new format resembles a pricing page layout, with intervals and plan names clearly organized.
• Flexible Usage: The system allows for various input types, making it easy to work with in different contexts, such as tests or the Rails console.

Implementation:

• Conversion: The Friendly Attributes system converts different data structures (like arrays and hashes) into standard key-value pairs for attributes.
• Types: It uses specific types to interpret values correctly, such as integers for amounts and symbols for plan names.
• Mixing: It can work alongside standard attributes without losing compatibility.

Flexibility:

Friendly Attributes can handle different input formats, enhancing readability and usability. However, it's important to maintain clarity to avoid overly complex structures.

Use Cases:

While the primary example is in billing, the pattern can be applied in other domains, like managing access permissions in an IoT application. However, it's not recommended for data formats like JSON or YAML, as those are better suited for machine processing.

Conclusion:

The Friendly Attributes Pattern makes coding more enjoyable and efficient in Ruby, focusing on human readability. The author encourages others to try it out and enjoy the benefits.

Varshith has created a project called Valori, which is a vector database built using Python. He developed it because he found existing vector databases either too complex or difficult to modify. Valori aims to be simple, modular, and easy to extend.

Key features include:

• Storing, indexing, and searching high-dimensional vectors.
• Supporting various indexing methods (Flat, HNSW, IVF, LSH, Annoy).
• Offering different storage options (memory, disk, hybrid).
• Providing a complete document processing pipeline (including parsing and embedding).
• Allowing for quantization, persistence, and plugin extensions.
• Fully written in Python and integrated with NumPy, with built-in logging and monitoring.

To install, use the command: pip install valori.

You can find it on GitHub and PyPI. Varshith is seeking feedback on what features users would like to see in vector databases, especially for those working with LLM or RAG systems. He welcomes thoughts on integration preferences and collaboration ideas.

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Summary of the Initial Ideal Customer Profile (IICP) Worksheet

Michael Bernstein’s post discusses how to identify a single buyer persona for effective marketing. The focus is on starting with one persona and offers guidance on how to choose the right one.

Key Points:

1. Importance of One Persona: Initially, you only need one buyer persona to guide your marketing efforts.

2. Choosing Your Persona: Use a worksheet to evaluate potential personas based on three criteria:

   • Product Strength: How well does your product appeal to this persona?
   • Market Size: Is the persona’s market segment appropriate in size?
   • Distribution Strategy: How will you reach and communicate with them authentically?

3. Evaluation Process:

   • Limit your consideration to three distinct personas.
   • Fill out a questionnaire for each persona, potentially involving your team to gather diverse insights.

4. Scoring System: Use a scoring rubric to quantify your confidence in each persona based on Likert scale questions.

5. Recommendation: Choose a persona you know well to ensure effective communication and messaging. Targeting unfamiliar segments may hinder your marketing efforts.

6. Final Steps: After selecting your persona, focus on how to communicate with them through a compelling Value Story.

In summary, the post emphasizes the importance of starting with a well-understood buyer persona and offers a structured approach to identifying and validating that persona for effective marketing.

A significant discovery has been made at the University of Utah: a 1973 tape that may contain the first version of UNIX written in the C programming language. This tape, labeled as UNIX v4 from Bell Labs, was found during a storage cleanup. Only a few remnants of UNIX v4 are known to exist, making this tape potentially unique.

The tape's handwritten label belongs to Jay Lepreau, a former advisor to Professor Robert Ricci, who announced the find. The tape will be sent to the Computer History Museum, where experts will attempt to recover its data, using advanced technology to read the old format.

This discovery is important because UNIX v4 is notable for its early use of the C programming language in its kernel and core utilities. The recovery of this tape could provide valuable insights into the history of operating systems.

Microsoft is emphasizing data sovereignty in Europe amid concerns about the US CLOUD Act, which allows US authorities access to data held by American cloud providers, regardless of where the data is stored. This has raised anxieties among European customers. To address these concerns, Microsoft has introduced new services and features focused on data processing within Europe, particularly for AI applications. By the end of 2025, Microsoft plans to offer in-country processing for its Microsoft 365 Copilot in four countries, with more to follow in 2026.

Microsoft is also expanding its Azure Local service and integrating additional options for organizations to use their own on-premises storage. However, some experts criticize Microsoft's approach, arguing that while it may improve data residency, it does not fully eliminate dependencies on US laws. Other cloud providers like Google and AWS are also responding to similar concerns, but there is ongoing debate about the effectiveness of these measures in truly achieving data sovereignty.

Summary of Local First HTMX

The text discusses the concept of "Local First" web applications and introduces the idea of using HTMX to create a more efficient user experience.

1. Overview of Local First:

   • Local First is a design principle where the user interface (UI) and data are stored locally, allowing for faster interactions without the delays caused by server requests. This makes apps feel more responsive.

2. Comparison with Existing Tools:

   • The author contrasts Local First apps with tools like Jira and GitHub, highlighting how they can be slow due to server-side rendering (SSR) and frequent data loading.

3. Meme Driven Development (MDD):

   • The text shifts to a lighter tone, introducing the idea of Meme Driven Development and discussing HTMX, a framework that simplifies frontend development while maintaining interactivity.

4. HTMX and Local First:

   • HTMX aims to keep frontend development simple but often relies on server-side rendering. The author suggests that using HTMX with a Local First approach can improve performance by running the app code in the browser using WebAssembly (WASM) instead of relying heavily on JavaScript.

5. Architecture Overview:

   • The proposed method involves using a service worker to intercept requests and handle them locally, allowing the app to sync with a server while keeping a local data store for quick access.

The text concludes with a promise to share more details about the implementation in a future post.

Summary of "The Space Sim’s Last Hurrah"

The article discusses the rise and decline of space simulation games, particularly focusing on the 1990s. This genre was popularized by the 1990 game Wing Commander, which introduced a story-driven approach to space combat. The peak of space sims occurred in 1994 with Wing Commander III and TIE Fighter, both of which received critical acclaim and strong sales.

Wing Commander III featured a blend of gameplay and live-action movie elements, including famous actors like Mark Hamill, while TIE Fighter focused more on gameplay. Despite their success, the genre began to wane as tastes shifted toward faster-paced games like first-person shooters and real-time strategy titles.

By the late 1990s, the Wing Commander series struggled with declining sales, leading to Chris Roberts, the creator, leaving the company. Attempts to revive the genre continued but ultimately failed to capture the earlier audience.

Meanwhile, Freespace, developed by Parallax Software, emerged as a noteworthy title. Its sequel, Freespace 2, is often hailed as one of the best space sims for its engaging story and gameplay. Despite its quality, it did not revitalize the genre commercially.

As the new millennium approached, interest in space sims declined, and while a few titles like X-Wing Alliance and Freespace 2 were released, they failed to achieve significant success. The genre was largely abandoned by major publishers, with Freespace 2 marking the end of an era. However, thanks to a dedicated fanbase, the Freespace engine was released for free, leading to new content and a revival of interest in fan-made projects.

In conclusion, the article reflects on the cultural impact and evolution of space sims, noting their peak in the 90s and their eventual decline, while also celebrating the enduring legacy of Freespace 2.

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Joe Masilotti hosts monthly "Hotwire Native Office Hours," where developers can ask questions about building iOS and Android apps using Ruby on Rails and Hotwire Native. In a recent session, he shared a Ruby class he created to check app version numbers but learned about a better built-in alternative called Gem::Version. This class simplifies version comparison and is part of the standard Ruby library, making it a more reliable choice.

Masilotti emphasizes the importance of community in learning and improving skills, as he discovered the new version class through interaction during office hours. He also organizes local "Coffee and Code" sessions in Portland to foster connections among Ruby developers, which he finds beneficial for networking and sharing knowledge.

He encourages others to build community in their areas and invites readers to join the next office hours by subscribing to his newsletter.

Samia Suluhu Hassan was inaugurated as president of Tanzania on November 3rd, but the event felt lacking in confidence despite her claiming to have won 98% of the vote in the October 29th election. The ceremony was suddenly moved from a large stadium in Dar es Salaam to a military ground in Dodoma, and the public was not allowed to attend. Only four other African leaders were present at the event.

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The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is hosting a global online hackathon from November 21 to November 23, 2025, to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Participants can help improve various libre software projects, ranging from bug tracking tools to educational platforms on African writing systems.

Anyone can join, regardless of technical skill. There are tasks for all experience levels, including documentation and software coding. Participants can register individually or as teams of up to four. Registration is free, but donations are encouraged.

Prizes will be awarded for new contributors, diverse teams, and impactful contributions. Participants will receive certificates for their work. Only contributions made during the hackathon dates will qualify for awards.

Companies can sponsor the event for visibility, and volunteers are needed to help moderate.

For more information and to register, visit the FSF website. Use the hashtag #HackFSF40 to spread the word!

BoringSSL and nghttp2 match certain fingerprints (JA3N, JA4, and JA4_R). They support HTTP/2 and async/await, and can be used with Cloudflare-protected sites. This project started as a learning experience, not as a competitor to curl_cffi, but it has become functional.

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The Farmers' Almanac is announcing its final edition, which will be published in 2026, after over 200 years of operation. The staff expresses gratitude to its readers and supporters, reflecting on the impact the Almanac has had on many lives. They encourage readers to continue the traditions associated with the Almanac, such as planting by moon phases and sharing memories with future generations. While the publication will no longer be available, its spirit will live on in the memories of its readers. Copies of the last edition can still be found online and in stores until the end of 2025.

Myna is a new monospace font designed to enhance your coding experience by treating symbols equally with letters and numbers. It aims to fix common issues found in other fonts, like misaligned symbols and confusing characters. Here are the main features of Myna:

• Symbol-First Design: Focuses on making ASCII symbols clear, which are widely used in programming.
• Near-Perfect Alignment: Ensures that multi-character symbols align properly.
• Balanced Weight: Symbols are visually balanced with text.
• Minimalist Forms: Uses simple geometric shapes for punctuation.
• Clear Distinction: Differentiates between similar looking characters like 1, l, I, | and 0, O, o.
• Language-Aware Design: Tailored for various programming languages with appropriate symbols.

Currently, Myna is available in a single weight without ligatures, but future updates may add more features based on user interest.

You can install Myna on Linux, macOS, and Windows using simple commands or by downloading the font. It is released under the SIL Open Font License. The font has evolved from a customized version of Source Code Pro and incorporates designs from several other popular fonts.

The creator invites feedback and suggestions for improvements or new features via GitHub.

The author, Thomas Ptacek, discusses the importance of engaging with LLM (Large Language Model) agents, comparing the understanding of some computing concepts to boiling water—easy to grasp but hard to truly comprehend without hands-on experience. He emphasizes that whether one likes LLMs or not, it's crucial to understand them, suggesting that creating an agent can be a straightforward and enlightening experience.

Ptacek shares a simple code example to demonstrate how easy it is to build an LLM agent using OpenAI's API. He explains that an agent functions by maintaining a context of previous interactions, allowing for multi-turn conversations, and introduces the concept of tools that can enhance the agent's capabilities.

He challenges the perception that current agents are merely toys, arguing that they can be expanded with more tools and can be adapted to different programming languages. He also critiques the misconception surrounding MCP (Model Control Protocol), stating that it isn't essential to building effective agents.

Moreover, Ptacek introduces the idea of "Context Engineering," a programming challenge related to managing the limited token space in LLMs, which is crucial for maintaining coherent and effective conversations. He concludes by encouraging readers to experiment with building their own agents, asserting that practical experience is vital for truly understanding the technology.

The author expresses a strong appreciation for the programming language OCaml, feeling it is underappreciated despite its advantages. They highlight their journey in programming, starting with functional programming and Haskell, which improved their problem-solving skills but also presented challenges like complexity and slow compile times.

After exploring Go, which emphasized simplicity and performance but had its own drawbacks, the author identified key features they value in programming languages, such as fast compile times, strong static guarantees, and good documentation.

OCaml stands out for the author because it meets many of these criteria: it offers strong static guarantees, fast compile times, a simpler runtime, and excellent documentation. While acknowledging some outdated features, they conclude that OCaml strikes a great balance between simplicity and expressiveness, making it a language they truly love.

OtterLang is a new experimental scripting language that aims to combine the readability of Python with the performance and safety of Rust. It compiles to native binaries using LLVM. The language allows for quick builds and easy integration with Rust libraries without needing extra code for bindings. Currently, OtterLang is in the early stages of development, with ongoing changes to the compiler and runtime. The creator invites people to star the project on GitHub and contribute to its development.

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Summary: QR Code Size and Case Sensitivity

A recent post by John explains how changing the case of text affects the size of QR codes. When creating a QR code from the sentence "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," using mixed case results in a larger QR code compared to using all upper case.

In Python, the mixed case text is treated as binary data, while the upper case version is interpreted as alphanumeric data, which uses fewer bits per character. This means the upper case QR code requires about 30% fewer pixels, reducing the grid size from 33x33 to 29x29.

The post also discusses the impact of different encoding methods on QR code size, highlighting that Bech32 encoding, which uses a lower case alphabet converted to upper case for QR codes, needs fewer pixels than Base58 encoding due to its monocase nature.

Overall, the use of upper case text leads to more efficient QR codes.

On November 8, American retirees in France saw a significant development when the French Assemblée Nationale approved a proposal to require foreign retirees to make a "minimum contribution" to the social security system after living in France for three months. The proposal, backed by various political parties, passed with a vote of 176 in favor and 79 against.

Public Accounts Minister Amélie de Montchalin stated that the government is seriously considering this issue but limited the scope of the measure to retirees from G20 countries, despite attempts by the far-right party to include all foreign nationals.

Initially, the amendment targeted American retirees with a specific long-stay visa, who currently benefit from French social security without contributing. The proposal aims to address a €23 billion deficit in the social security budget and promote fairness in the system, as French citizens pay monthly contributions to access healthcare. The proponent of the amendment, MP François Gernigon, emphasized that national solidarity should be mutual.

Denmark's government plans to ban social media access for children under 15 to protect them from harmful online content. Parents may allow access from age 13 after an assessment. The initiative is part of a broader effort to address rising concerns about children's exposure to violence and self-harm online.

Danish Minister for Digitalization, Caroline Stage, highlighted that 94% of children under 13 have social media profiles, with many under 10 also participating. The proposed ban would be one of the strictest in Europe, following Australia's recent legislation which set the minimum age at 16.

The enforcement details remain unclear, but Denmark aims to develop an age-verification app to ensure compliance from tech companies. Stage emphasized that the goal is not to exclude children from digital experiences but to protect them from harmful content.

Many social media platforms already restrict access for those under 13, but enforcement of these rules has been inconsistent. TikTok and Meta have stated their commitment to safety features for young users. Denmark's initiative reflects a growing trend among governments to find ways to limit children's exposure to harmful online influences.

Summary:

Apple's "notarisation" process for mobile apps is being criticized for limiting software freedom for developers and users, contradicting the goals of the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA). The DMA aims to reduce the power of tech giants like Apple and promote user choice and device neutrality. However, Apple is accused of maintaining strict control over app distribution by blocking the installation of third-party software and alternative app stores.

A recent complaint by civil-society organizations highlights that Apple's notarisation requires all apps to be approved by Apple, which restricts developers and keeps users dependent on Apple's ecosystem. This process involves high costs and conditions, making it difficult for non-profit and smaller developers to create or offer apps outside of Apple's control.

The complaint calls for the European Commission to enforce the DMA rules, allowing for more freedom in software distribution and supporting decentralized app curation models, which could enhance security and user choice. It argues that Apple's current practices undermine the DMA's objectives and limit software freedom, urging regulators to recognize these issues as a violation of user rights and competition principles.

JSLegendDev is creating a small RPG game using JavaScript and the KAPLAY game library. He has encountered performance issues, especially during battles, but others don't seem to have the same problems. He is seeking feedback from his audience and has provided a link to an unfinished version of the game for Windows, Mac, and Linux. He encourages players to test it and share their gameplay experiences. Additionally, he mentioned his previous posts about making web games playable offline and creating PS2 games in JavaScript. If you're interested in updates about his project, he invites you to subscribe to his Substack.