Zig Devlog: Self-Hosted x86 Back End Is Now Default in Debug Mode (ziglang.org | comments) Zig's latest devlog announces that its self-hosted x86 backend is now the default in debug mode for x86_64 targets, enhancing robustness over LLVM's backend. This switch improves compilation speed significantly, reducing build times from 75 seconds to 20 seconds for larger projects, while allowing users to try the latest changes in the current master branch.

• This is already such a huge achievement, yet as the devlog notes, there is plenty more to come! The idea of a compiler modifying only the parts of a binary that it needs to during compilation is simultaneously refreshing and totally wild, yet now squarely within reach of the Zig project. Exciting times ahead.

Poison everywhere: No output from your MCP server is safe (cyberark.com | comments) The Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open-source standard from Anthropic, raises concerns about security vulnerabilities in server outputs. It highlights risks where outputs from MCP servers can be compromised, impacting developers' ability to ensure secure and reliable functionality when integrating real-world operations.

• This is true for any code you install from a third party. Control your own MCP Server, your own supply chain, and this isn't an issue. Ensure it's mapped into your risk matrix when evaluating MCP services before implementing them in your organisation.

Panjandrum: The 'giant firework' built to break Hitler's Atlantic Wall (bbc.com | comments) Amidst the preparations for D-Day, the Allies considered an unconventional tactic to breach Hitler's fortified Atlantic Wall: a project called Panjandrum, likened to a 'giant firework.' This unique device aimed to create a breakthrough in formidable German defenses, showcasing innovative military engineering during World War II.

• Panjandrum: Fraa Orolo’s pejorative term for a high-ranking official of the Sæcular Power.
• Nevil Shute is worth a read. Best known for On The Beach, probably, but I enjoyed Round the Bend more.

FAA to eliminate floppy disks used in air traffic control systems (tomshardware.com | comments) The FAA plans to phase out the use of floppy disks in air traffic control systems, a move aimed at modernizing outdated technology critical for aviation safety. During a presentation to the House Appropriations Committee, the acting FAA administrator outlined a comprehensive upgrade strategy that also targets the discontinuation of Windows 95.

• As of the early 2000s, ATC was still using vacuum tubes. In fact, the FAA was the single biggest buyer of vacuum tubes in the world at the time, almost all of them sourced from former Soviet bloc countries. I think they've all been replaced by now, but I can't say that with 100% certainty.

Omnimax (computer.rip | comments) The author reflects on their experience working for a location-based entertainment company during COVID, focusing on the MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. The Sphere features a dome theater with advanced projection technology, which the author argues is not innovative but a continuation of older dome theater designs. They explore the history of dome theaters and the development of planetarium projectors, noting the challenges these venues face in adapting to modern programming needs and audience expectations.

• I spent a great deal of time at Reuben H. Fleet as a kid growing up in San Diego, playing in the science museum and watching whatever Omnimax movie was on. Didn't matter what it was, they were almost always great eye candy. Even saw, later, a Pink Floyd-themed laser light show projected on the dome. Never failed to impress.

I used AI-powered calorie counting apps, and they were even worse than expected (lifehacker.com | comments) AI-powered calorie counting apps are marketed for their efficiency, allowing users to simply snap a photo of their meal for an instant calorie count. However, users may find themselves investing significant time in correcting ingredient misidentifications, adjusting portion sizes, and doubting the app's accuracy, revealing their shortcomings.

• I like how in the article the author includes the instructions for Cal AI: - Include a reference object (like a coin or your hand) for scale And then the screenshots show just a pictures of bowls of food with no reference objects at all. Honestly curious if that would have improved the author's experience.

Building supercomputers for autocrats probably isn't good for democracy (helentoner.substack.com | comments) The deployment of supercomputers in authoritarian regimes raises serious concerns regarding democratic values. The article critiques the ethical implications of these technologies, particularly focusing on their potential to enhance state control and suppress dissent, questioning if such advancements serve the public good.

• I agree directionally with this but it drives me nuts how much special pleading there is about what high-profile companies like OpenAI do, vs. what low-profile industry giants like Cisco and Oracle have been doing for a whole generation. The analysis can't credibly start and end with what OpenAI is doing.

Why Android can't use CDC Ethernet (2023) (jordemort.dev | comments) Android's inability to utilize CDC Ethernet stems from the mismatch in interface naming conventions, as its EthernetTracker only recognizes 'ethX' while CDC Ethernet drivers use 'usbX'. Though USB Ethernet support exists, successful adapter connections depend largely on chipset compatibility, often obtained through anecdotal user experiences.

• I'm working on an embedded system right now that has two CDC ethernet devices. One shows up as ethX and the other shows up as usbX. Maybe it's because one is CDC EEM and the other is CDC ECM? But I don't think this is generally true for all CDC ethernet.

Startup Equity 101 (quarter--mile.com | comments) The text introduces 'Startup Equity 101', a discussion aimed at demystifying equity stakes in startups, suggesting that money should not dominate our thoughts. It hints at personal insights but lacks detailed content due to the truncated text provided.

• Just something I’ve seen lately at all of the startups I’ve worked at… The founders, early investors, etc., will cash out way before you do and you will not have the same ability to sell as they did. I’ve seen it tear companies apart. YMMV
• I've concluded that options are a scam after owning them in many companies. It's never amounted to anything

My first attempt at iOS app development (mgx.me | comments) In just a week, I transitioned from having no knowledge of Swift, Apple's programming language for iOS development, to creating a functional iOS app on both my Mac and a test device. This rapid learning experience showcases the accessibility of app development for beginners.

• With the recent Expo SDK 53 update that introduced a slew of breaking changes, I've been contemplating switching my app to native. I could perhaps vibe code features on both android and iOS and ship features as fast as crossplatform react native devs.

Why not use DNS over HTTPS (DoH)? (bsdhowto.ch | comments) DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is presented as a method to protect DNS queries via encryption but is critiqued as a way to centralize query visibility to a single provider, potentially compromising privacy. The author suggests that while DNS modernization is crucial, alternative solutions like DNS over TLS may offer better security without unnecessary complexity.

• DoH is problematic in other ways too. Due to recent browser problems I was giving Brave a shot. It's an interesting browser, but it has DoH enabled in a way that seemingly cannot be entirely disabled. It can be frustrating to not be able to interact with a lot of services because the browser is disregarding my local policy on my system.

The last six months in LLMs, illustrated by pelicans on bicycles (simonwillison.net | comments) At the AI Engineer World’s Fair in San Francisco, Simon Willison discussed the rapid advancements in large language models (LLMs) over the past six months, highlighting over 30 significant models. He humorously illustrated evaluations using the creative prompt of generating an SVG image of a pelican on a bicycle, emphasizing the challenges these models face.

• My biggest gripe is that he's comparing probabilistic models (LLMs) by a single sample. You wouldn't compare different random number generators by taking one sample from each and then concluding that generator 5 generates the highest numbers... Would be nicer to run the comparison with 10 images (or more) for each LLM and then average.

Maintaining an Android app in Google Play Store is a lot of work (ashishb.net | comments) Maintaining an Android app requires significant effort, as highlighted by a hobby developer's experiences with the challenges presented by programming language incompatibilities, especially between Java and Kotlin. Issues such as breaking changes to libraries like ExoPlayer and Google's Auth library further complicate maintenance, explaining a noted 47% decline in apps on the Google Play Store.

• I've given up on my hobby apps. The coding side is easy; the bureaucracy of the app store makes in completely not worth it unless you're a company.
• This is the exact reason why my app is not available on the play store anymore, combined with the fact that google wants to publish my address even though I'm NOT a trader in the EU

Louis Rossmann: We've started a foundation to bring back ownership [video] (youtube.com | comments) Louis Rossmann announces the establishment of a foundation aimed at restoring consumer ownership rights, focusing on electronics repair and advocacy for right-to-repair legislation. The initiative seeks to empower users by ensuring access to repair resources and defending against restrictive corporate practices.

• I've applied to multiple offerings from these folks and never hear back.

Field Notes from Shipping Real Code with Claude (diwank.space | comments) The post delves into AI-assisted software development, specifically focusing on practical strategies that enhance productivity while mitigating risks. It offers insights on how developers can effectively utilize tools like Claude to ship code efficiently, advocating for maintaining rigorous coding practices, even with AI's involvement.

• I finally decided few days ago to try this Claude Code thing in my personal project. It's depressingly efficient. And damn expensive - I used over 10 dollars in one day. But I'm afraid it is inevitable - I will have to pay tax to AI overlords just to be able to keep my job.

Tracking Copilot vs. Codex vs. Cursor vs. Devin PR Performance (aavetis.github.io | comments) This webpage tracks the performance of various AI coding agents, including GitHub Copilot, OpenAI Codex, Cursor Agents, and Devin. It provides statistics such as total pull requests (PRs), merged PRs, and success rates for each agent, alongside live data queries. A historical chart visualizes performance trends.

• How about Google Jules? also, of course OpenAI Codex would perform well because the tool is heavily tailored to this type of task, whereas Cursor is a more general-purpose (in the programming domain) tool/app.
• Is it me or are there a lot of documentation related PRs? Not a majority, but enough to mask the impact of agent code.

Building an AI server on a budget (informationga.in | comments) This walkthrough provides a guide on constructing an AI server from scratch within a budget of $1,300. It covers selection of hardware components, assembly processes, configuration steps, and performance testing for AI tasks.

• For $100 more you could get a used 3090 with twice as much VRAM. You could also get 4060 Ti which is cheaper than 4070 and it has 16 GB VRAM (although it's less powerfull too, so I guess depends on the use case)
• > 12GB vram waste of effort, why would you go through the trouble of building + blogging for this?

Gaussian integration is cool (rohangautam.github.io | comments) This blog post discusses Gaussian quadrature, focusing on Chebyshev-Gauss quadrature for numerical integration in scenarios lacking exact solutions. It highlights the method's applications in evaluating definite integrals over the interval [-1, 1], showcasing its relevance in various fields, particularly simulations.

• What is Fig. 1 showing? Is it the value of the integral compared with two approximations? Would it not be more interesting to show the error of the approximations instead? Asking for a friend who isn’t computing a lot of integrals.

Cheap yet ultrapure titanium might enable widespread use in industry (2024) (phys.org | comments) Titanium, the ninth most abundant element in the Earth's crust, is rarely utilized in pure form due to high extraction costs. A recent development suggests that reducing these costs could allow manufacturers to leverage titanium's valuable properties more widely, potentially leading to broader industrial applications.

• Surely this is something that will go down in price as energy costs do, regardless of the yttrium approach, correct? With solar getting cheaper and fusion on the horizon, won’t that address the problem as well? I wonder if this intermediary step is necessary if so.

Discovering a JDK Race Condition, and Debugging It in 30 Minutes with Fray (aoli.al | comments) Integration testing for the Fray project revealed a race condition in the Java Development Kit (JDK) that led to a deadlock exception. A scheduled task within a `ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor` was interrupted by a shutdown in another thread, prompting further investigation. It turned out the root issue was a bug in the JDK itself, not in the Fray framework.

• Maybe it is just me, but I can't read the text in the code because the font is nearly white on white.
• Impressive! Can't wait to try Fray out at work.

Knowledge Management in the Age of AI (ericgardner.info | comments) The text discusses knowledge management in relation to artificial intelligence (AI), examining how AI can enhance data organization, retrieval, and sharing in various contexts. It hints at addressing modern challenges in knowledge management.

• AI isn’t quite good enough for organizing your notes yet. However, the biggest issue with our notes is that we make them for us, not another person, so the context is lacking for search.
• Denote with a gptel-make-tool that's able to pull relevant notes and bring it automatically into context is fantastic.

Administering immunotherapy in the morning seems to matter. Why? (owlposting.com | comments) Administering immunotherapy, which can be crucial in treating cancer by enhancing the immune system's ability to fight tumors, appears to have greater efficacy when given in the morning. The timing of treatment can influence patient outcomes, though the reasons behind this difference require further investigation.

• I used to be on a chemo drug and had to take folic acid every day to stop it from doing bad things to me. I had awful ulcers in my mouth from the chemo drug and had been taking the folic acid in the morning. Through forgetfulness I ended up shifting the folic acid to the afternoon and the ulcers went away and never came back.

<Blink> and <Marquee> (2020) (danq.me | comments) The document appears to provide an HTML structure for a webpage titled '<blink> and <marquee>' by Dan Q, complete with metadata and styling rules. It utilizes various CSS properties to style the layout, typography, and interactive elements for a modern web experience, though the content itself is not detailed in the provided text.

• "And the beast shall come forth surrounded by a roiling cloud of vengeance. The house of the unbelievers shall be razed and they shall be scorched to the earth. Their tags shall blink until the end of days." > from The Book of Mozilla, 12:10 (about:mozilla) And now Mozilla is being scorched to the earth. The End.