Solar power has begun to transform the world’s energy system (newyorker.com | comments) In recent years, solar power has significantly reshaped the global energy landscape, moving beyond previous limitations. Bill McKibben highlights this transformation, indicating that advancements in solar technology and increased adoption are driving a shift toward more sustainable energy systems.

• Nice article explaining solar energy policy. I think the article still doesn't address the mismatch between solar energy production and consumption, which needs to be filled by storage mechanisms. Also would have been nice to have a critical look at how the Chinese were able to corner the Solar market via state sponsored means.

Would You Like an IDOR With That? Leaking 64m McDonald's Job Applications (ian.sh | comments) A significant vulnerability has been identified in McDonald's job application processing system, which utilizes an AI chatbot named Olivia. This flaw could potentially expose over 64 million job applications, including personal data like names, email addresses, and test results. The breach highlights pressing security risks in handling sensitive applicant information.

• > We immediately began disclosure of this issue once we realized the potential impact. Unfortunately, no disclosure contacts were publicly available and we had to resort to emailing random people. The Paradox.ai security page just says that we do not have to worry about security! Amazing.

Archaeologists unveil 3,500-year-old city in Peru (bbc.co.uk | comments) Archaeologists have uncovered Peñico, a 3,500-year-old city in northern Peru, believed to have functioned as a crucial trading hub. This site linked ancient Pacific coast communities with those in the Andes and the Amazon, shedding light on the intricate trade networks of prehistoric civilizations in the region.

• Is there something new unveiled that was missed in translation? The quoted researchers Shady and Machacuay doen't seem to have any new publications about Peñico listed in Google Scholar. Eight years of research at the site unearthed 18 structures, including ceremonial temples and residential complexes.

X Chief Says She Is Leaving the Social Media Platform (nytimes.com | comments) Linda Yaccarino, who was appointed CEO of X (formerly Twitter) by Elon Musk in 2023, has announced her departure from the social media platform. During her tenure, she faced various challenges associated with the company's direction under Musk's ownership.

• I would gladly pretend to be CEO for the kind of pay she got. Blame it all on me, I'll take the money and go retire in Hawaii.
• X has been nothing short of an exercise in brand destruction. However, despite all the drama, it still stands, it still exists, and it remains relevant.

IKEA ditches Zigbee for Thread going all in on Matter smart homes (theverge.com | comments) IKEA plans to enhance its smart home offerings by abandoning Zigbee and fully adopting the Matter standard. Starting January, the company will launch over 20 Matter-over-Thread smart devices, including lights and sensors that promote interoperability with products from other brands. IKEA's new Dirigera hub will also support Matter compatibility.

• My IKEA was missing a lot of Trådfri assortment when I visited this week. I started to have doubts if they had abandoned the home automation niche. Now when I am searching their site, much is gone. But I guess they are clearing the inventory for a Threads relaunch

SUSE launches new European digital sovereignty service to meet surging demand (zdnet.com | comments) SUSE has introduced a new digital sovereignty service in Europe, aiming to address the growing demand for secure data management and compliance in the region. This initiative focuses on ensuring companies can effectively manage their data and comply with regulations while maintaining control over their digital environments.

• good luck to suse, hopefully denmark will be first to migrate to linux and stay there unlike other countries (germany i am looking at you). other than that i don't really believe owning EU data is the battle we can win with more regulations. I bet in 10 years nothing will change, maybe a few more grants, a few more laws..

Helm local code execution via a malicious chart (github.com/helm | comments) Recent findings reveal that Helm, a package manager for Kubernetes, is vulnerable to local code execution through malicious chart manipulation. This security flaw can allow attackers to execute unauthorized commands. Developers and system administrators using Helm should take immediate precautions and update their systems accordingly.

• What is the attack scenario here? Where are the security boundaries? How does the attacker gets their repository with a symlink in it to the victim? Is Helm typically run as a privileged user? How would this work? And why doesn't the vulnerability description give answers to these questions?

A Typology of Canadianisms (ubc.ca | comments) The 'A Typology of Canadianisms' section in the Dictionary of Canadianisms on Historical Principles (DCHP-3) categorizes Canadian English terms into six types, including words unique to Canada, those preserved from other English dialects, and terms with culturally significant meanings. This classification aids in understanding Canadian English's unique vocabulary.

• As a Canadian who married an American and now lived in the US, I was surprised how many things I say are Canadianisms without me having realized. There have been a lot of (minor) miscommunications because I didn't realize I was saying something only Canadians understand. Like when I told her that my parents' hydro had been out all day.

Where can I see Hokusai's Great Wave today? (greatwavetoday.com | comments) The Great Wave, a famous artwork by Hokusai, is currently on display at various locations, including the Musei Civici in Treviso and the Musée d’histoire in Nantes, with exhibitions extending into 2025. The page also lists additional venues featuring the artwork and those where it is not currently on view.

• I was wondering how it can be displayed in 2 museums simultaneously and it's because there is around 100 prints of it
• The cover for Applications of Digital Signal Processing to Audio and Acoustics I'm (mis)remembering it was on a math textbook of some kind, perhaps a 90's era high school AP calculus BC text.

Evolution Mail Users Easily Trackable (grepular.com | comments) The privacy feature of Evolution Mail's 'Load Remote Content' is ineffective, allowing tracking via HTML email tags. Even with remote content disabled, DNS requests reveal the reader's IP address, compromising privacy. Previous bug reports regarding similar issues have been closed without resolution. Users concerned about privacy are advised to uninstall the client.

• Evolution lets you default to the plain text version of an email, even if it contains an HTML version [0], so if you have that setting enabled (which I do, and strongly recommend), it should hopefully reduce the impact of this issue. [0] Edit > Preferences > Mail Preferences > HTML Messages > HTML Mode = Show plain text if present

Why LLMs Can't Write Q/Kdb+: Writing Code Right-to-Left (medium.com/gabiteodoru | comments) Despite utilizing immediate feedback loops with the q-MCP server, large language models (LLMs) face substantial challenges coding in q/kdb+, a language designed for query processing. The author explores these obstacles, suggesting potential improvements that could enhance LLM performance in this unique coding environment.

• Another example of this is Claude placing unnecessary imports when writing Python, because it's hedge-importing modules that it suspects it might need later.
• Seems like it could easily be training data set size as well. I'd love to see some quantification of errors in q/kdb+ (or hebrew) vs. languages of similar size that are left-to-right.

Systemd has been a complete, utter, unmitigated success (tjll.net | comments) Tyler Langlois reflects on the evolution and reception of systemd since its controversial introduction in 2013. Initially resistant, Langlois now argues that systemd successfully addresses issues like process management and service dependencies, thus proving its worth as a successor to traditional init systems.

• Does anyone actually use journald? The last time I tried(2 years ago?) it didn't even work with any log management software (like cloudwatch for example). You had to either use some (often abandoned) third party tool or defeat the purpose by just reconfiguring everything to dump a text log to a file.

Astro is a return to the fundamentals of the web (websmith.studio | comments) Astro, a web framework launched in 2021, is designed specifically for content-driven sites, emphasizing a 'zero JavaScript by default' approach. Its 'Island Architecture' allows static HTML with selective JavaScript activation for interactive elements, leading to faster load times—up to 40% compared to traditional frameworks. This boosts search rankings and user engagement.

• Next.js hydrates only client components - so effectively it's doing island architecture. And it's react end to end. How's that different from Astro? Stating things like "Components without the complexity" doesn't really mean anything unless you do some comparisons?

Most RESTful APIs aren't really RESTful (florian-kraemer.net | comments) Roy T. Fielding's original dissertation on Representational State Transfer (REST) establishes it as a crucial framework for designing scalable web services. Fielding criticizes the misuse of REST in APIs that ignore key principles, especially the importance of hypermedia in guiding state transitions, often conflated with CRUD operations.

• We collectively glazed over Roy Fielding's dissertation, didn't really see the point, liked the sound of the word "REST" and used it to describe whatever we wanted to do with http / json. Sorry, Roy, but you can keep HATEOAS - no one is going to take that from you.

Phrase origin: Why do we "call" functions? (quuxplusone.github.io | comments) An exploration of why programmers use the term 'call' when referring to functions unveils various analogies, likening it to calling a friend or summoning a servant. The term likely originates from the library context where programmers 'call' for subroutines akin to requesting books. Historical citations are provided to illustrate its etymology.

• Somewhat less frequently, I also hear "invoke" or "execute", which is more verbose but also more generic. Incidentally, I find strange misuses of "call" ("calling a command", "calling a button") one of the more grating phrases used by ESL CS students.

Show HN: MCP server for searching and downloading documents from Anna's Archive (github.com/iosifache | comments) The MCP server is designed for efficient searching and downloading of documents from Anna's Archive, enhancing access to various files and materials. It offers users tools to streamline the retrieval process, facilitating easier document management for those exploring archival resources.

• Edit: Would you accept a PR to override the search and download endpoint hostnames with env vars? For someone who has their own copy and ES index, it might be helpful to support overriding the public endpoint hostnames (/internal/anna/anna.go#L22-L23).

Show HN: Petrichor – a free, open-source, offline music player for macOS (github.com/kushalpandya | comments) Petrichor is a free, open-source music player designed specifically for macOS, offering an offline experience. It aims to provide users with an alternative to online streaming services while ensuring simplicity and user-friendliness.

• Congrats for Petrichor, really impressive work! I love the clean, modern UI. I’m currently using Swinsian (still solid in many ways), but Petrichor feels like a breath of fresh air, especially for those of us who still care about local libraries. I truly hope you’ll bring this to iOS. Thanks

White Noise – secure and private messenger (whitenoise.chat | comments) White Noise is a secure and private messenger that offers end-to-end encryption, enabling users to communicate without phone numbers or emails, thus allowing for anonymity. The platform employs strong cryptography, is built on open standards like the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol, and supports a decentralized network structure, enhancing privacy and scalability.

• Looks super interesting. I am waiting for the App Store release since TestFlight is full. I like the idea of not requiring a phone number - the only thing makes Signal lose some points in my eyes... well, I guess if the company goes down that might be another reason for open protocols over apps.

Show HN: FlopperZiro – A DIY open-source Flipper Zero clone (github.com/lraton | comments) FlopperZiro is an open-source hardware project that aims to replicate the Flipper Zero, a versatile multi-tool for pentesters and hardware hackers. This DIY clone features modifications that enhance its capabilities, providing users with a customizable platform for experimenting with security tools and protocols.

• The LilyGo T-Embed CC1100 has similar hardware capabilities of the FlipperZero plus WiFi/bluetooth and runs the Bruce Pentest firmware all for under half the price of the flipper. The Bruce firmware works well on it but is not as polished as the flipper zero but both hardware and software are open source and easily modded.

Jank Programming Language (jank-lang.org | comments) Jank is a new general-purpose programming language that integrates features from Clojure, LLVM (a compiler infrastructure), and C++ to provide a native runtime and seamless interoperability with C++. It focuses on an interactive and value-oriented programming approach, appealing to developers seeking flexibility in their coding environments.

• I am once again calling for someone to make something that's "basically clojure" but with whitespace instead of parens. Parens don't matter, but giving values names causing indentation is something I simply cannot abide as a terminal intermediary value name giving person. EDIT: oh and also something with "proper" multiline comments. Thanks!

Ruby 3.4 frozen string literals: What Rails developers need to know (prateekcodes.dev | comments) Ruby 3.4 introduces frozen string literals as the default, a significant change impacting Rails developers. This update aims to improve performance and manage deprecation warnings in Rails applications. Developers must understand these changes to ensure smooth upgrades and optimize their applications effectively.

• TIL that Ruby has mutable strings, and (until the announced change) even had them mutable by default (and the change only affects literal strings; non-literal strings are still mutable). Python has always only ever had immutable strings.
• The amount of misconceptions in this thread about mutable strings...

Zorin OS (zorin.com | comments) Zorin OS presents an alternative to Windows and macOS, focusing on speed, security, and ease of use. It features customizable desktop layouts to resemble familiar operating systems, ensuring a smooth transition for new users. The system is designed to enhance performance, making it suitable for both modern and older hardware.

• “Bundled with alternatives to over $5,000 of professional software” That sounds spammy and misleading to me. I’m assuming they’re just including open source alternatives and assuming the same value as commercial offerings.
• Without Pro, I cannot choose macOS style interface at all? I think that looks the best.

7-Zip for Windows can now use more than 64 CPU threads for compression (7-zip.org | comments) The latest update to 7-Zip for Windows introduces significant enhancements including support for over 64 CPU threads during compression, a 15-40% speed increase for bzip2 compression, and improved capabilities for handling various archive types. Additional features include new hash checksum calculations and bug fixes.

• I worry that 7-Zip is going to lose relevance because lack of zstd support. zlib's performance is intolerable for large files and zlib-ng's SIMD implementation only helps here a bit. Which is a shame, because 7-Zip is a pretty amazing container format, especially with its encryption and file splitting capabilities.

RapidRAW: A non-destructive and GPU-accelerated RAW image editor (github.com/cybertimon | comments) RapidRAW is an innovative image editor designed for non-destructive editing of RAW image files, utilizing GPU acceleration to enhance performance. This allows for efficient handling of high-resolution images without compromising the original data, making it a valuable tool for photographers and graphic designers.

• I'm glad there are an abundance of visual overviews in the readme. Too many readmes about GUI programs lack them (or they'll point to a site which still lacks a clear indication of how it behaves). That said, they're all GIFs and each ~10-22MB. Making loading the readme larger than the program size itself. Embedding some video would be snappier.

Nuclear Waste Reprocessing Gains Momentum in the U.S. (ieee.org | comments) A recent US $40 million funding initiative is accelerating advancements in nuclear waste reprocessing technology. Innovations like transmutation and advancements with particle accelerators are gaining traction amid increasing governmental support.

• I'm confused the article sometimes talks sometimes about transmutation, that is turning problematic isotopes into ones with shorter half life and theoretically gaining energy in the process, and sometimes about reprocessing, taking spent fuel and essentially recycling to get usable fuel again.

ESIM Security (security-explorations.com | comments) eSIM security is a topic gaining traction as mobile devices increasingly rely on embedded SIM technology for authentication and connectivity. The security mechanisms inherent in eSIMs must be robust to protect user data and prevent tampering or unauthorized access. A detailed review of security measures and vulnerabilities related to eSIMs is needed to ensure their safe implementation.

• That was a pleasure to read: I'm just a layman, I know basically jack-shit about GSM/eSIM technologies, yet the article is written so well and provides enough details that I could understand what they wrote.
• $30k is a pittance for the quality of this work

Dynamical origin of Theia, the last giant impactor on Earth (arxiv.org | comments) This study uses dynamical simulations to model the formation of terrestrial planets, focusing on Theia, the Moon-forming impactor. It evaluates cosmochemical theories regarding Earth’s mass accretion from carbonaceous material and other bodies. The results align with several constraints, providing insights into the nature of Theia and its significance in Earth's formation process.

• The last giant impactor so far.
• The moon has 1.2% the mass of earth, so earth still got embiggened

Is the doc bot docs, or not? (robinsloan.com | comments) The primary text seems to be an HTML document (with an incomplete body) relating to a website post titled 'Is the doc bot docs, or not?'. It includes metadata, styles, and other structural elements typical of web pages, giving little insight into the actual content or argument of the post.

• We're going to see increasingly more of these, and it's going to cause a big scandal at one point, that pops the current AI bubble. It's really obvious that you can't use non-deterministic systems this way but companies are hellbent on doing it anyway. This is why I won't take a role to implement "AI" in an existing product.