Congress moves to reject bulk of White House's proposed NASA cuts (arstechnica.com | comments) Congress is rejecting most of the proposed budget cuts to NASA suggested by the White House. Lawmakers are expected to push for continued funding to support ongoing and future space exploration efforts.

• It's refreshing that given everything else happening, Congress is still at least functional at this level. Should be noted that many of NASA's programs are situated in predominantly conservative areas of the country. Brings lots of jobs and resources to the local economies.

Mira Murati’s AI startup Thinking Machines valued at $12B in early-stage funding (reuters.com | comments) Mira Murati's AI startup, Thinking Machines, has garnered a substantial valuation of $12 billion following a $2 billion funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). Launched just in February 2023, the company has yet to produce revenue or products. This achievement highlights Murati's talent for attracting investment in a competitive tech environment.

• Wouldn't overlook this company, they manage to bring over a good deal of top talent from OpenAI including John Schulman
• Does anybody know what they are building yet?
• Well, if you have to pay $200 million to a top AI engineer, $2B is a very short runway for a startup.

SCP-055 is an "antimeme" – it erases itself from memory when observed (wikidot.com | comments) SCP-055 is a fictional entity within the SCP Foundation universe, described as an 'antimeme' that erases itself from the memory of anyone who observes it. The concept highlights intriguing ideas about perception, memory, and the nature of reality, making it a unique and thought-provoking element in SCP fiction.

• The book "There is no antimemetics division" is about the team fighting an SCP antimeme. It's a really fun read and a bit of a mindf*. I strongly recommend it.
• This is the 452nd time this has been posted on HackerNews. If you look for the older posts, you won't find them – and their authors have been erased from this dimension.

VHS, VCDs, and Laserdiscs in Southeast Asia (rubenerd.com | comments) In Southeast Asia, VCDs and Laserdiscs surpassed VHS in popularity, partially due to issues of mould caused by the tropical climate. Local video formats were more available and affordable, while optical formats like Laserdiscs became favored for rentals. Unique cultural practices shaped media consumption in Singapore and beyond.

• > It’s wild to me to think people can simply move overseas and interstate now and watch the same intertube programming, but that’s a different post. This is still not easy without piracy, at least for liveTV.
• Funnily enough, the article spent a paragraph explaining the initialism and acronym, only to refer to VCD as an acronym later.

I Solved the Century-Old Mystery of a Miraculous Shipwreck Survivor (thewalrus.ca | comments) A century-old mystery is unraveled regarding a shipwreck survivor from the Empress of Ireland disaster, where it was claimed a young man swam over six kilometers to safety. The article delves into the details that suggest this narrative doesn't fully add up, raising questions about the event's circumstances and the survivor's true journey.

• He was picked up by a lifeboat. There is no mystery; he had made clear himself multiple times that this is how he was rescued.
• If you liked this story, you might like the game Return of the Obra Dinn, which is kinda just this but for ~60 different people on a fictional ship.

What Was Cyberpunk? In Memoriam: 1980-2020 (2020) (insertcredit.com | comments) The text provides a nostalgic overview of the cyberpunk genre, tracing its origins from the 1980s through its evolution and cultural significance. The writer reflects on their personal experiences with sci-fi literature, particularly in light of the release of 'Cyberpunk 2077', offering insights into the genre's impact and transformation.

• Part I is sort of OK, although it has the tone of those who argue over sub-genres of techno music. Part II is mostly a standard anti-Facebook screed. Nothing new here.
• Cyberpunk is a fiction probe into computer people, adopted as a pet. As long as computers exist, there will be fiction about them and people that work with them. Call it whatever you want, it doesn't matter.
• Gibson branched off into post-capitalistic visions with the Jackpot trilogy. It (the socio-economic theme, at least) is not on the uptake by new generations of readers or sci-fi authors A pity. Glad to have any enthusiast disagree!

Where's Firefox going next? (connect.mozilla.org | comments) Mozilla invites users to share their feedback on the future direction of Firefox. It highlights recent feature implementations like tab groups and vertical tabs, emphasizing that user input significantly shapes product development. This initiative seeks to further develop Firefox based on community suggestions.

• Firefox should focus on privacy, keeping extensions viable, and implementing standards, so they don't get swamped by competition. No one really cares about a majority of the UX sugar, IMO. I personally find the LLM context menu useful and reading mode awesome, but these are not features that by themselves would drive me to use the browser.

To be a better programmer, write little proofs in your head (the-nerve-blog.ghost.io | comments) Programming skill can be enhanced by mentally sketching proofs while coding, according to Matthew Prast. This technique allows developers to verify that their code will accomplish its intended tasks and can lead to quicker and more accurate coding.

• I'd also add mutability and immutability to the list of properties. Keeping as much state as possible immutable doesn't just help with multithreading, it will also greatly reduce the headache when trying to understand the possible states of a program.

What caused the 'baby boom'? What would it take to have another? (derekthompson.org | comments) Governments globally are investing in cash incentives to boost fertility rates, drawing comparisons to the historical 'baby boom.' This period was significantly influenced not only by economic factors but also advancements in science and technology, suggesting that future increases in birth rates may require similar multifaceted approaches.

• Idk if it's ADD or just being poor for so long. I can't imagine taking care of someone (a child) for 18 years. My life is so unstable. So I probably won't have children. I think about it but yeah. It's crazy to remember how stable your life was to get through 12 years of school/maybe college.

Reflections on OpenAI (calv.info | comments) A former OpenAI employee shares insights into the company's rapidly evolving culture and organizational structure, emphasizing its meritocratic and bottoms-up approach to innovation. With significant growth from 1,000 to over 3,000 employees, challenges in communication and management have emerged, alongside a unique reliance on Slack for all interactions.

• I’m at a point my life and career where I’d never entertain working those hours. Missed basketball games, seeing kids come home from school, etc. I do think when I first started out, and had no kiddos, maybe some crazy sprints like that would’ve been exhilarating. No chance now though

Most (ly Dead) Influential Programming Languages (2020) (hillelwayne.com | comments) The text critiques a recent list of the most significant programming languages, labeling it 'preposterous' for excluding influential languages like ALGOL and Smalltalk while naming Go as most significant. It advocates for recognizing the historical importance of 'mostly dead' languages and introduces concepts for assessing programming language influence, emphasizing citations and cognates.

• Interesting read, and would have been good to see the author’s definition of ‘mostly dead’. Some are still used widely in niche areas like COBOL for banking. If a language itself isn’t receiving any updates nor are new packages being developed by users, is it mostly dead?

Literalism plaguing today’s movies (newyorker.com | comments) Contemporary films like 'Anora' and 'The Substance' suffer from excessive literalism, leading to a lack of depth in storytelling due to over-explained themes and meanings. Critics argue this trend detracts from the cinematic experience, favoring overt signposting over subtlety and nuance.

• I wonder how much of the problem is the massive influx of streaming platform money to occupy talented directors, writers, and other people who make films. Why risk a Hollywood release when you can get prepaid for your work?
• Somewhere in the 2000s a lot was lost, after all the best selling movies at the time were literally children's tales.

LLM Inevitabilism (tomrenner.com | comments) Engaging in debates with skilled opponents can disrupt your confidence, as arguments pivot unexpectedly. A successful debater shared a key strategy: frame the discussion in your favor to maintain control. The experience highlights the psychological challenges of debate, influencing one's ability to articulate and defend positions effectively.

• Earlier today I was scrolling at the “work at a startup” posts. Seems like everyone is doing LLM stuff. We are back at the “uber for X” but now it is “ChatGPT for X”. I get it, but I’ve never felt more uninspired looking at what yc startups are working on today. For the first time they all feel incredibly generic

Plasma Bigscreen rises from the dead with a better UI (neowin.net | comments) KDE's Plasma Bigscreen, an alternative for Android TV, has been revitalized with a significant user interface overhaul, enhancing usability throughout its features. This marks a notable improvement for the project, which has been inactive, now promising a better experience for users seeking smart TV solutions.

• So is this something that is run on an external computer, using the TV for the display, or something else?
• This is great news. I am currently using regular Plasma on a mini pc with my TV, but it would be great having an optimized interface. That being said, without apps also being optimized, it would not be that significant of an improvement.

Claude for Financial Services (anthropic.com | comments) Anthropic has launched 'Claude,' a robust solution designed specifically for financial services, aiming to transform market analysis and investment decision-making for finance professionals. This platform integrates advanced tools to enhance research capabilities and streamline analytical processes.

• Why is Anthropic focusing on vertical solutions? Shouldn't they just be trying to be the best horizontal platform everyone builds on top of?
• This is gonna be painful at first then might be cool...but you sure as hell know someone's gonna lose some money.

The FIPS 140-3 Go Cryptographic Module (go.dev | comments) The Go programming language has introduced a built-in mode that complies with FIPS 140-3, a U.S. government standard for cryptographic modules. This enhancement aims to aid developers in ensuring the security of their applications when handling sensitive data, facilitating compliance with certain regulatory requirements.

• Congrats, Filippo!
• I think this was in MS Go before, right?
• Does the use of the library in your application still require the application itself to be FIPS validated? This just makes it a little easier to go through full, validated NIST compliance, right?.

Helix Editor 25.07 (helix-editor.com | comments) The Helix Editor 25.07 release introduces significant updates, including a revamped core component and numerous new features contributed by 195 developers. Key enhancements are a new file explorer for better directory navigation, document color support via Language Server Protocol (LSP), command mode improvements, and an overhaul of Tree-sitter integration.

• Love Helix. Congrats. Good looking default theme. Sensible defaults. Literally install and use, no configuration needed. Well I haven't replaced my IDE with it , but set alias of vi to it and made it as $EDITOR for all quick cli edits. So now whenever I need to do quick debugging edits in k9s, it calls for Helix.

Show HN: Shoggoth Mini – A soft tentacle robot powered by GPT-4o and RL (matthieulc.com | comments) Matthieu Le Cauchois unveils Shoggoth Mini, a soft tentacle robot developed to explore the intersection of robotics and expressiveness. Leveraging ideas from paper ELEGNT and the SpiRobs robot, he details the evolution of Shoggoth Mini, its unique design inspired by a quirky accident, and insights gained during its iterative development to enhance its expressiveness.

• Get 4, Doc Oc Also was thinking of Oogie Boogie Tim Burton
• This is so sick. I agree that it’s a little lame that we have all these AI capabilities right now, robotics improving, and all we can think of making is humanoid robots. Like I want a spider/squid hybrid robot running around my house

Show HN: We made our own inference engine for Apple Silicon (github.com/trymirai | comments) An innovative inference engine tailored for Apple Silicon has been developed, aiming to optimize performance and efficiency for specific applications. The project highlights the capabilities of the new chip architecture while offering potential enhancements in processing speed and resource management unique to Apple's silicon.

• I just spun up a AWS EC2 g6.xlarge instance to do some llm work. The GPU is NVIDIA L4 24GB and costs $0.8048/per hour. Starting to think about switching to an Apple mac2-m2.metal instance for $0.878/ per hour. Big question is the Mac instance only has 24GB of unified memory.

Apple's MLX adding CUDA support (github.com/ml-explore | comments) Apple's MLX (Machine Learning Toolbox) now includes support for NVIDIA's CUDA (Compute Unified Device Architecture), enhancing its compatibility with GPU programming. This addition will enable developers to leverage CUDA for accelerated computing and more efficient machine learning workflows on Apple devices.

• So to make sure I understand, this would mean: 1. Programs built against MLX -> Can take advantage of CUDA-enabled chips but not: 2. CUDA programs -> Can now run on Apple Silicon. Because the #2 would be a copyright violation (specifically with respect to NVidia's famous moat). Is this correct?

Show HN: I built this to talk Danish to my girlfriend – works with any language (menerdu.vercel.app | comments) A new tool, 'Mener du', has been developed to facilitate language learning through real conversations. It uses AI to provide instant corrections and context-aware feedback, enabling users to write in their target language and receive prompts for improvement. This tool aims to assist users in mastering languages more effectively.

• It doesn't seem to work with "any language", as claimed. It cannot process Chinese writing (nor can it process pinyin). "Error processing your text", is the message. Though it's certainly possible the volume of traffic has overwhelmed things and it would work under normal circumstances?

Show HN: VS Code extension to edit the filesystem like a text buffer (github.com/ahrm | comments) A new Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension enables users to edit the filesystem directly as if it were a text buffer. This tool simplifies file manipulation, making development processes more efficient by allowing seamless inline edits, which can enhance productivity for software engineers working with complex projects.

• "Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power" - some Emacs user, probably
• Is it possible to make an extension like that for Zed?
• When I was a student about 10 years ago there was a custom shell that works like this and even had an extension for sublime, but for the life of me I cannot remember its name.

Dog Walk: Blender Studio's official game project (blenderstudio.itch.io | comments) Blender Studio has announced its new game project 'Dog Walk,' where players take on the role of a large dog exploring a beautifully crafted winter forest alongside a child. The game is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and has received positive feedback, boasting an aggregate rating of 4.8 out of 5 based on 13 ratings.

• Protip: you need to pull the kid when his trying to pull VLC out of the river ice. I was sitting there for a half minute watching him doing it without realizing I'm part of the action. But what do I know? His not asking for help and I'm just a dog.
• Very cool, I wish there was a web version though! I have no idea how difficult it would be to port.

Show HN: Bedrock – An 8-bit computing system for running programs anywhere (benbridle.com | comments) Bedrock is an 8-bit computing system designed for simplicity and portability, allowing programs to run on various devices through a universal emulator. With only 32 instructions, it facilitates effortless programming, making it accessible to users regardless of prior experience. Demos showcase applications like pixel art and a microwave-style clock.

• There's Open Firmware, which runs on a portable Forth interpreter. That was supposed to be a standard for board setup code. But proprietary systems won out. It was too open.
• Fun stuff Ben! Nicely done. I'm building a simple terminal that talks over a SPI port or IIC port and this looks like it would be a fun demo to run on it.

GPUHammer: Rowhammer attacks on GPU memories are practical (gpuhammer.com | comments) The research introduces GPUHammer, demonstrating Rowhammer attacks on GDDR6 memory in NVIDIA A6000 GPUs, revealing that it allows malicious users to induce bit flips affecting shared data integrity. These attacks compromise machine learning model accuracy, degrading performance drastically. Enabling Error Correction Codes could mitigate the risks, albeit with noted performance slowdowns.

• HW noob here, anyone here has insight on how an issue like this passes EM simulation during development? I understand that modern chips are way too complex for full formal verification, but I'd have thought memory modules would be so highly structurally regular that it might be possible there despite it.

Encrypting files with passkeys and age (filippo.io | comments) The text outlines how the Typage library implements file encryption using passkeys through the WebAuthn API, enabling symmetric encryption. It introduces techniques for utilizing the PRF extension to derive encryption keys and describes the structure of the age file encryption format, including a specific stanza for encrypting file keys.

• I follow Filippo for years and he's doing amazing job for crypto and golang communities. Excited to see your bikes adventures too. If it wasn't for you who knows, maybe golang wasn't that popular in the fields where cryptography matters. keep up, Filippo!

NIST Ion Clock Sets New Record for Most Accurate Clock in the World (nist.gov | comments) The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed an ion-based clock that has achieved unprecedented accuracy, becoming the most precise clock globally. This clock utilizes the oscillations of ions for timekeeping, demonstrating a potential for redefining standards in time measurement.

• Pedant here! > NIST researchers have made the most accurate atomic clock to date — one that can measure time down to the 19th decimal place. That's precision, not accuracy.
• It’s about time.
• Someone call Hodinkee to write about this.
• Imagine trying to set your oven and microwave clock to line up with it precisely after they reset from a power outage

The JPEG XL Image Coding History, Features, Coding Tools, Design Rationale (arxiv.org | comments) JPEG XL is an advanced image coding system, designed to surpass JPEG, PNG, and GIF by offering state-of-the-art compression and lossless JPEG recompression. This comprehensive overview discusses its historical development, coding features, and design rationale, positioning JPEG XL as a universal codec for modern imaging needs.

• JPEG XL had so much going for it. Kinda sad it was killed off just like that.

Context Rot: How increasing input tokens impacts LLM performance (trychroma.com | comments) Research on Large Language Models (LLMs) reveals that model performance deteriorates as input lengths increase. Contrary to the assumption of uniform processing, results from 18 models, including GPT-4.1 and Claude 4, show increasing unreliability with longer contexts, indicating 'context rot' impacts how effectively these models handle information.

• Anecdotally, my experience has been that the longer a conversation goes on in Cursor about a new feature or code change, the worse the output gets. The best results seem to be from clear, explicit instructions and plan up front for a discrete change or feature, with the relevant files to edit dragged into the context prompt.