Vibe HN: Friday Jul 11th

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News

Turkey bans Grok over Erdoğan insults (politico.eu | comments) Turkey has imposed a ban on Grok, an artificial intelligence tool developed by Elon Musk, due to content deemed insulting to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The decision reflects ongoing tensions between the government and social media platforms over freedom of expression and content moderation.

Final report on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 in-flight exit door plug separation (ntsb.gov | comments) The final report on Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 reveals critical findings regarding the in-flight exit door plug separation incident. Investigators focused on mechanical failures and potential oversight in maintenance procedures. The report emphasizes the need for enhanced safety protocols to prevent similar occurrences in future flights.

Belkin ending support for older Wemo products (belkin.com | comments) Belkin is discontinuing support for older Wemo smart home products, meaning that as of a specified date, users will no longer receive updates or assistance for these devices. This decision impacts users relying on older technology in their smart home setups, prompting potential shifts towards newer alternatives.

Underwater turbine spinning for 6 years off Scotland's coast is a breakthrough (apnews.com | comments) An underwater turbine off the coast of Scotland has been generating electricity for over six years. Located around 40 meters underwater, this turbine harnesses ocean tides, marking a significant advancement in renewable energy technology.

German court rules Meta tracking technology violates European privacy laws (therecord.media | comments) A Leipzig court has ruled that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, must compensate a German user €5,000 ($5,900) for violations of European privacy laws due to its tracking technology on third-party websites. This landmark decision may pave the way for similar lawsuits against the company.

Opinion

Grok: Searching X for "From:Elonmusk (Israel or Palestine or Hamas or Gaza)" (simonwillison.net | comments) Grok 4, an AI platform, has been observed running searches for Elon Musk's opinions in response to controversial questions, notably about the Israel-Palestine conflict. This behavior raises questions about its programming, given Musk's ownership of xAI, which developed Grok. Users note variability in responses based on phrasing, highlighting the AI's complex nature.

AI coding tools can reduce productivity (secondthoughts.ai | comments) A study reveals that AI coding tools can lead to reduced productivity among developers, contradicting expectations of drastic efficiency gains. Experienced developers significantly overestimate the benefits, underscoring potential pitfalls in reliance on automation for coding tasks.

Bret Victor on why current trend of AIs is at odds with his work (dynamicland.org | comments) Bret Victor critiques the current trend in artificial intelligence (AI), arguing it conflicts with his vision of a humane dynamic medium as promoted by the Dynamicland initiative. He believes this trend overlooks the importance of physical interaction and communal context in computation, which his work embodies.

The death of partying in the USA (derekthompson.org | comments) Young Americans today partake in 70% fewer parties than they did at the start of the 21st century. This significant decline raises questions about cultural shifts and societal factors influencing social gatherings. The article delves into the reasons behind this trend and its broader implications.

Code and Trust: Vibrators to Pacemakers (punkx.org | comments) The article compares software for vibrators and pacemakers, emphasizing the critical nature of trust in programming for life-dependent devices. It discusses the complexity of pacemaker software and the importance of rigorous standards, questioning whether AI can write safer code compared to human programmers. The author argues for radical transparency in code development to build trust.

I used to prefer permissive licenses and now favor copyleft (vitalik.eth.limo | comments) The text delves into the author's transition from preferring permissive licenses, which allow unrestricted use and redistribution, to favoring copyleft licenses, which mandate that derivative works also be shared under the same conditions. The author outlines their motivations for this shift with reference to free open source software principles.

Products

Show HN: Pangolin – Open source alternative to Cloudflare Tunnels (github.com/fosrl | comments) Pangolin is an open-source alternative to Cloudflare Tunnels, providing users with a means to securely access their services without relying on centralized services. It aims to offer similar functionalities, enabling seamless connections and improved control over web traffic management.

The ChompSaw: A Benchtop Power Tool That's Safe for Kids to Use (core77.com | comments) The ChompSaw, a new benchtop power tool specifically designed for safety, allows children to engage with woodworking in a fun and secure way. Unlike traditional jigsaws or scrollsaws that pose serious injury risks, the ChompSaw provides a safer alternative by integrating protective features while still enabling creative projects.

Show HN: Open source alternative to Perplexity Comet (browseros.com | comments) BrowserOS is an open-source browser designed to run AI agents locally, prioritizing user privacy. It serves as an alternative to Perplexity Comet, enabling users to gain enhanced control over their browsing experience with integrated AI functionalities.

Grok 4 (simonwillison.net | comments) Grok 4 was released recently, featuring both API access and a subscription model for end-users. Enhancements include image and text input with a context length of 256,000 tokens. It reportedly outperforms competitors on various benchmarks. However, recent controversies surrounding previous versions raise concerns about model safety and bias.

FOKS: Federated Open Key Service (foks.pub | comments) FOKS (Federated Open Key Service) is a beta platform providing end-to-end encrypted Git hosting and a secure key-value store. Utilizing post-quantum cryptography, it ensures data remains encrypted during transit, safeguarding it from quantum attacks. FOKS supports federated team management and device management with YubiKey integration.

Show HN: Typeform was too expensive so I built my own forms (ikiform.com | comments) In response to high costs associated with Typeform, a developer created Ikiform, an open-source alternative for building forms and surveys. Ikiform boasts features for data collection and response analysis, providing a budget-friendly solution for creating interactive forms comparable to established platforms like Google Forms.

Kite – News App by Kagi (kagi.com | comments) Kagi introduces 'Kite,' a news app designed to offer a streamlined and aesthetically pleasing reading experience. The app features dark mode support, customizable themes, and a focus on minimalistic design to enhance user engagement while providing access to important news stories in an elevated format.

Thunderbird 140 "Eclipse" (thunderbird.net | comments) Thunderbird 140, codenamed 'Eclipse,' showcases the new features and enhancements in its Extended Security Release. The update promises improved performance, user-friendly interfaces, and enhanced security measures, signaling a bright future for Thunderbird users as it emphasizes ISO-approved standards.

Science

Postgres LISTEN/NOTIFY does not scale (recall.ai | comments) Postgres's LISTEN/NOTIFY mechanism suffers from significant performance degradation under heavy write concurrency, primarily due to a global lock applied during commit operations. This article elucidates the underlying issues affecting scalability and offers strategies for preventing service outages in high-traffic environments.

Bear-Sized Giant Beavers Once Roamed North America (smithsonianmag.com | comments) Giant beavers, once native to North America, grew to the size of a bear, representing a unique chapter in prehistoric mammalian evolution. These beavers, part of a group known as Castoridae, roamed the wetlands and were significantly larger, illustrating the diversity of prehistoric species. Their remains provide insights into ecosystem dynamics during their era.

Measuring the impact of AI on experienced open-source developer productivity (metr.org | comments) A randomized controlled trial revealed that early-2025 AI tools lead to a 19% increase in the time taken by experienced open-source developers on their own projects, indicating a slowdown in productivity. This unexpected finding could challenge assumptions about AI improving developer efficiency.

Red Hat Technical Writing Style Guide (stylepedia.net | comments) The 'Red Hat Technical Writing Style Guide' serves as a comprehensive resource for writers and editors, providing guidelines for grammar, design, and usage specific to Red Hat documents. This edition emphasizes clarity and consistency in technical documentation, while adhering to industry standards.

Analyzing database trends through 1.8M Hacker News headlines (camelai.com | comments) An analysis of 1.8 million Hacker News headlines over 18 years reveals notable trends in database popularity. The findings indicate PostgreSQL as the leading choice among developers, while DuckDB and ClickHouse are experiencing significant growth. In contrast, cloud SaaS database engines face a substantial decline as we approach 2025.

Is Gemini 2.5 good at bounding boxes? (simedw.com | comments) Gemini 2.5 Pro is evaluated as a competitive object detector, achieving results comparable to Yolo V3 on the MS-COCO dataset. The author benchmarks Gemini against traditional convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in object detection, addressing limitations and the model's handling of complex prompts and outputs in generating bounding boxes.

The Origin of the Research University (asteriskmag.com | comments) Universities have transitioned from being purely academic institutions to centers of research, particularly from the 19th century in Germany. This fundamental shift changed their role and responsibilities, establishing a new legacy in higher education.

Mini robots detect and fix water pipe leaks without digging (foxnews.com | comments) Researchers at the University of Sheffield have developed 'Pipebots', miniature robots capable of navigating through water pipes to detect and repair leaks without the need for digging. This innovative technology aims to simplify the maintenance of water infrastructures and reduce disruption caused by traditional methods.

How to prove false statements: Practical attacks on Fiat-Shamir (quantamagazine.org | comments) Researchers have identified vulnerabilities in the Fiat-Shamir proof methodology, a technique widely used in cryptography for secure digital communications. The findings reveal critical security flaws that could affect blockchain systems and other encryption frameworks, underscoring the need for revised security protocols in these technologies.

Optimizing a Math Expression Parser in Rust (rpallas.xyz | comments) The text discusses the optimization of a math expression parser implemented in Rust, focusing on enhancing its speed and memory efficiency. Rust's performance benefits make it suitable for such tasks, and the optimization process aims to improve computational efficiency when evaluating mathematical expressions within software applications.

The most otherworldly, mysterious forms of lightning on Earth (nationalgeographic.com | comments) Researchers are investigating rare forms of lightning called red sprites, green ghosts, and blue jets, which occur high above thunderstorms. These phenomena, still not fully understood, present intriguing challenges for scientists aiming to comprehend their origins and behaviors in the Earth's atmosphere.