Hasty Briefsbeta

Bilingual

Trump is showing Beijing how to seize Taiwan
4 hours ago
- President Trump has ordered military strikes in various regions targeting drug-smuggling and terrorist groups.
- Trump has escalated actions against Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba, aiming for political and humanitarian impacts.
- China observes Trump's strategies, seeing them as potential models for actions towards Taiwan.
- Modern societies rely heavily on critical systems like energy, which underpins all other infrastructures.
- Countries dependent on imported fuel for electricity are vulnerable to disruptions affecting social stability.
Proof Theory and Logic Programming
13 hours ago
- Proof Theory and Logic Programming explores computation as proof search, linking program execution to systematic proof searches in classical, intuitionistic, and linear logics.
- The book uses sequent calculus and focused proofs to analyze logic programs, emphasizing higher-order quantification and practical applications like security protocols and operational semantics.
- It offers a declarative understanding of programming, where logic formulas serve as programs and execution as proof search, moving beyond operational descriptions.
- Different logics (classical, intuitionistic, linear, first-order, higher-order) are examined for their influence on logic programming language design and expressiveness.
- Focused proof systems provide structured approaches to proof search, aiding in the operational semantics analysis of logic programs.
- The book includes exercises, examples, and case studies, making it suitable for students, educators, and researchers.
- Praised for its rigorous yet accessible treatment, the book is ideal for graduate courses and serves as a reference for logic-based programming languages.
- Endorsements highlight its clarity, comprehensive coverage, and practical relevance, making it a valuable resource for novices and experts alike.
- Available in hardcopy and electronic versions, with a 20% discount until December 2026, and a pre-publication PDF is accessible for comments.
Scenes from the Death of the Pax Americana
7 hours ago
- Danish forces prepared to blow up runways in Greenland to prevent a U.S. seizure attempt.
- Trump's controversial remark to Japan's Prime Minister about not informing allies before attacking Iran, referencing Pearl Harbor.
- Pete Hegseth disputes media portrayal of the conflict as a 'quagmire' or 'forever war'.
- Observation that Trump aspires to a hereditary despotism similar to the House of Saud.
I ran a 5-day experiment to see how fast Google reshapes your ad profile
5 hours ago
- Google builds algorithmic profiles based on user browsing habits, which influence ads and recommendations.
- A 5-day experiment with three Google accounts showed profiles can be reshaped quickly with deliberate browsing.
- Two active accounts (Fisherman and Fitness Guy) saw significant changes in interests, while the control account remained unchanged.
- Google's ad profile is dynamic, adding and removing interests based on recent activity, not just accumulating them.
- YouTube recommendations also shifted dramatically for active accounts, aligning with their browsing personas.
- The control account's profile stayed static, proving changes in active accounts were due to browsing behavior.
- Google's profiling is responsive; even one session can add multiple interests to a profile.
- The experiment highlights the malleability of algorithmic identities and the potential to reshape them deliberately.
- A tool called MirrorMask is being developed to help users control their algorithmic profiles by simulating different browsing personas.
Non-trivial error in physics paper found via Lean
8 hours ago
- A 2006 paper by Maniatis et al. on the stability of the two Higgs doublet model (2HDM) potential was widely cited.
- Formalization into an interactive theorem prover (using Mathlib and PhysLib) revealed an error in the 2006 paper, invalidating its main theorem.
- This is the first non-trivial error in a physics paper found through formalization.
- The discovery raises concerns about the validity of other physics papers under formal scrutiny.
A Visual Guide to Attention Variants in Modern LLMs
7 hours ago
- The article provides a visual guide to various attention variants used in modern Large Language Models (LLMs), including Multi-Head Attention (MHA), Grouped-Query Attention (GQA), Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA), Sliding Window Attention (SWA), DeepSeek Sparse Attention (DSA), Gated Attention, and Hybrid Attention.
- Multi-Head Attention (MHA) is the standard transformer mechanism where several self-attention heads run in parallel to build a richer representation of the input.
- Grouped-Query Attention (GQA) reduces KV-cache memory by sharing key-value projections among query heads, making it a popular choice for efficient inference.
- Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA) compresses KV-cache representations to save memory, offering better modeling performance at large scales compared to GQA.
- Sliding Window Attention (SWA) limits attention to a fixed local window of tokens, reducing memory and compute costs for long-context inference.
- DeepSeek Sparse Attention (DSA) uses a learned sparse pattern to select relevant past tokens, differing from SWA's fixed window approach.
- Gated Attention modifies full-attention blocks with stability-oriented changes, often used in hybrid architectures.
- Hybrid Attention combines cheaper linear or state-space sequence modules with occasional full-attention layers for long-context efficiency, as seen in models like Qwen3-Next and Kimi Linear.
- The article concludes that hybrid architectures are promising for long-context efficiency but are still novel and less optimized for inference compared to classic setups like GQA.
A Coherent Vision for the Future of Version Control
4 hours ago
- Manyana is a project proposing a new vision for version control using CRDTs (Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types).
- CRDTs ensure merges never fail and provide eventual consistency, with the same result regardless of merge order.
- Conflict presentation in Manyana is more informative, showing what changes were made by whom, rather than opaque blobs.
- Line ordering becomes permanent in CRDTs, preventing issues when conflicting sections are kept but resolved in different orders.
- Conflicts are flagged when changes touch each other but never block the merge, making them informative rather than blocking.
- History is stored in the structure (a weave), eliminating the need for common ancestor traversal during merges.
- Rebase in Manyana preserves full history while replaying commits onto a new base, avoiding issues with fictional histories.
- Manyana is currently a demo (470 lines of Python) focusing on individual files, not a full version control system.
- The project demonstrates that CRDT-based version control can solve hard UX problems better than current tools.
- The code is public domain, with a full design document in the README.
I Hate: Programming Wayland Applications
4 hours ago
- X11 and Wayland are the primary choices for programming graphical applications on Linux.
- X11, released in 1984, follows a client-server model, while Wayland, released in 2008, is designed for modern computational environments.
- Wayland is considered more secure and modern compared to X11, with features like XWayland for running X11 applications.
- Developing with Wayland is complex, with a steep learning curve and many initialization steps required for basic functionality.
- Wayland's protocol is object-oriented, leading to a fragmented and difficult-to-navigate development experience.
- Setting up a simple window in Wayland involves numerous callbacks and steps, making it less straightforward than X11 or Win32.
- Wayland lacks some functionalities like primary monitor concept and standardized desktop state retrieval.
- Clipboard handling, hotplugging devices, and setting mouse cursors are problematic in Wayland.
- Despite its challenges, Wayland is seen as the future of Linux desktops, with improvements and extensions being developed.
Channel 4's Dirty Business is a clarion call to nationalise the water industry
5 hours ago
- Heather Maughan, an 8-year-old girl, died in 1999 after contracting E. coli O157 from sewage-polluted seawater in Dawlish Warren, Devon.
- The privatized water industry, established in 1989, has led to record sewage pollution, £60bn in debt, and £78bn in shareholder dividends.
- Surfers Against Sewage campaigned against sewage dumping, leading to improvements via the EU urban wastewater directive, but rivers remain polluted.
- Activists like Peter Hammond and Ash Smith exposed Thames Water's illegal sewage dumping and financial mismanagement, pushing for public control.
- The UK government continues to rely on private investors, despite calls for renationalization to end profit-driven water mismanagement.
We keep finding the raw material of DNA in asteroids–what's it telling us?
6 hours ago
- A paper announced the discovery of all four DNA bases on an asteroid, but this finding is not new as similar results date back to 2011.
- The new study is significant for solving a previous mystery: earlier studies failed to detect these bases in the Ryugu asteroid despite their presence in other samples.
- The research provides insights into how these DNA bases formed on asteroids, which is crucial for understanding the origins of life's raw materials on Earth.
- DNA and RNA share a similar structure, including a backbone made of alternating sugars and phosphates, with bases attached to the sugars.
- The four bases (A, T, C, G in DNA; A, U, C, G in RNA) give nucleic acids their genetic identity, and their order carries genetic information.
- It is hypothesized that before life evolved, the order of bases in RNA molecules influenced the chemical reactions they could catalyze.
Apple's intentional crippling of Mobile Safari continues
6 hours ago
- Chrome 145 Android supports a wide range of features including Shortcuts, Protocol Handling, File Handling, Contact Picker, Face Detection, Vibration, Element Capture, Background Sync, Background Fetch, Bluetooth, NFC, Network Info, Installation, Offline Support, Notifications, Web Push, View Transitions, Geolocation, Media Capture, Compression Streams, Authentication, Web Share, Virtual Keyboard, Barcode Detection, Audio Recording, Media Session, Storage, Payment, Wake Lock, Motion, Speech Synthesis, and Multi Touch.
- Mobile Safari 26.4 iOS + iPadOS supports fewer features compared to Chrome, including Offline Support, View Transitions, Geolocation, Media Capture, Picture-in-Picture, Compression Streams, Authentication, Web Share, Virtual Keyboard, Audio Recording, Media Session, Storage, Payment, Wake Lock, Motion, Speech Synthesis, and Multi Touch.
- AR/VR, File System, Audio Session, Screen Capturing, Orientation, and Speech Recognition are not supported or partially supported in both browsers.
- Picture-in-Picture is supported in Mobile Safari but not in Chrome 145 Android.
iBook Clamshell
4 hours ago
- The iBook Clamshell was produced by Apple from September 1999 to May 2001.
- It came in five colors and several configurations.
- Known for its distinctive design and reliable hardware, it still has many fans.
- The website was started in 2006 in German, with English content added later.
- It offers comprehensive information and tips for maintaining the iBook Clamshell.
Freestyle Linked Lists Tricks
9 hours ago
- Linked lists are fundamental data structures with flexible allocation behavior.
- Demonstrated with a key/value string collection (environment variables) in linked list form.
- Simple linked list implementation using a stack-like approach (LIFO).
- Double-pointer technique for maintaining original order (FIFO).
- Enhanced linked list with hash trie for faster log-time look-ups.
- Multi-map capability allowing traversal of all matches in source order.
- Index table (MSI hash table) for constant-time look-ups on static lists.
- Techniques allow starting with simple linked lists and adding features as needed.
- Suitable for embedded systems and tiny WebAssembly programs due to no runtime support requirement.
The IBM scientist who rewrote the rules of information just won a Turing Award
7 hours ago
- Gilles Brassard met Charles H. Bennett in 1979, leading to a collaboration on quantum cryptography.
- Bennett proposed a method for unbreakable encryption based on quantum physics, now essential in the quantum age.
- Bennett and Brassard were awarded the 2025 A.M. Turing Award for their contributions to quantum computing.
- Quantum information cannot be copied, making it inherently secure against eavesdropping.
- The BB84 protocol, developed in 1984, allows secure key exchange using single photons.
- Peter Shor's 1994 algorithm showed quantum computers could break classical encryption, increasing the urgency for quantum cryptography.
- Bennett built the first quantum cryptography machine in 1989, demonstrating practical applications.
- Quantum teleportation, introduced in 1993, transfers quantum states using entanglement.
- IBM continues to build on Bennett's foundational work in quantum computing and security.
Show HN: Crack – Turn your MacBook into a squeaky door
5 hours ago
- Turn your MacBook into a squeaky door with every lid movement triggering a creak.
- Requires macOS 13.0 or later and Apple Silicon.
- Free and open-source application with no tracking or telemetry.
- Features include real-time sound generation like haunted door cracks, cat meows, alien whispers, and more.
- Reads the built-in AppleHID lid sensor at 60fps for precise movement detection.
- Playback speed adjusts based on lid velocity for varied sound effects.
- Minimalist design with a tiny menu bar icon for toggling and adjustments.
- Lightweight at under 1 MB with near-zero CPU usage.
- Built natively in Swift with AVAudioEngine and MIT licensed.
- Signed and notarized by Apple for security.
Revise – An AI Editor for Documents
5 hours ago
- Choose between the latest AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI.
- Work side-by-side with an AI agent in the same interface.
- Pilot program timeline discrepancies noted in an investor update.
- Subscription revenue contradictions: flat pricing vs. growth from price increases.
- Proofread, revise, and convert PDFs into rich text using multi-modal LLMs.
- Lock picking is easy and based on exploiting mechanical defects.
- Practice is essential to master lock picking skills.
- Revise tool learns user preferences over time for efficiency.
Convincing Is Not Persuading
6 hours ago
- Engineers often create technically sound proposals that fail to gain traction because they focus on convincing rather than persuading.
- Convincing relies on logical arguments aimed at a universal audience, while persuading targets specific audiences with their unique fears, incentives, and histories.
- Pascal's distinction between geometric (logical) and subtle (context-aware) minds highlights that engineers are often trained only in the former, neglecting the latter's importance in decision-making.
- Effective technical decision-makers understand that correctness is necessary but not sufficient; they must also read and address the particular audience's needs and emotions.
- Rhetoric's three dimensions—logic, speaker credibility, and audience emotion—are essential for persuasion, yet engineers often prioritize logic alone.
- Authority can enforce compliance, but only persuasion can inspire commitment, which is crucial for successful implementation of changes.
- Being right is just the starting point; moving people to act requires understanding and addressing their specific concerns and motivations.
Nintendo's not-AI, not-a-game toy
5 hours ago
- Nintendo released a $35 Talking Flower desk toy on March 12, inspired by Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
- The toy has no internet, AI, or microphone, and offers minimal utility beyond a clock and temperature sensor.
- Critics praise it as an 'anti-smart-device' that avoids data collection and cloud processing.
- Some reviewers found the novelty wears off quickly, calling it a 'pricey paperweight' with limited phrases.
- The flower's design is intentionally weird and annoying, appealing to those who appreciate its character.
- Nintendo's strategy of creating quirky, low-tech products continues to spark debate and interest.
- The Talking Flower has divided opinions, with some loving its charm and others finding it irritating.
Building an FPGA 3dfx Voodoo with Modern RTL Tools
5 hours ago
- The article discusses building an FPGA reimplementation of the 3dfx Voodoo 1 using modern RTL tools like SpinalHDL.
- The Voodoo 1's complexity comes from its fixed-function hardware, which includes various rendering behaviors like texture sampling, mipmapping, and depth testing.
- The author highlights two key abstractions that made the project manageable: representing the Voodoo's register semantics in SpinalHDL and debugging using netlist-aware waveform queries in conetrace.
- The Voodoo's register interface is deeply pipelined, requiring careful handling of register writes to avoid subtle corruption.
- Voodoo registers are categorized into four types (FIFO, FIFO + Stall, Direct, Float) based on their behavior, which is architectural and not just software-facing.
- SpinalHDL's `RegIf` abstraction allows encoding Voodoo-specific register semantics directly in the HDL, making the design more manageable.
- Debugging involved tracing failing pixels through the rasterizer using conetrace, revealing a stack of small hardware-accuracy mismatches rather than a single catastrophic bug.
- Modern RTL tools like SpinalHDL and conetrace help manage complexity by allowing architectural intent to be encoded directly and enabling more efficient debugging.
The Dude
6 hours ago
- The Big Lebowski introduced the word 'dude' into the author's vocabulary during college.
- The film's humor stems from characters behaving as if they're in an epic movie despite their incompetence.
- The plot involves a kidnapping, ransom, and various eccentric characters but remains intentionally unresolved.
- Characters like Walter, The Big Lebowski, and Maude seem to belong to different genres, adding to the film's charm.
- The Dude stands out by being passive and real, contrasting with other characters who perform roles.
- Male characters in the film are portrayed as failing versions of their idealized selves.
- The story begins with a small disruption—a ruined rug—that symbolizes larger personal chaos.
- Recurring themes of castration and failing masculinity highlight the fragility of male identity.
- The film grows sadder with age, reflecting on human frailty and the absurdity of life.
- The Big Lebowski resonates because it mirrors the unresolved and ridiculous aspects of real life.

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Bilingual

Trump is showing Beijing how to seize Taiwan
4 hours ago
- President Trump has ordered military strikes in various regions targeting drug-smuggling and terrorist groups.
- Trump has escalated actions against Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba, aiming for political and humanitarian impacts.
- China observes Trump's strategies, seeing them as potential models for actions towards Taiwan.
- Modern societies rely heavily on critical systems like energy, which underpins all other infrastructures.
- Countries dependent on imported fuel for electricity are vulnerable to disruptions affecting social stability.
Proof Theory and Logic Programming
13 hours ago
- Proof Theory and Logic Programming explores computation as proof search, linking program execution to systematic proof searches in classical, intuitionistic, and linear logics.
- The book uses sequent calculus and focused proofs to analyze logic programs, emphasizing higher-order quantification and practical applications like security protocols and operational semantics.
- It offers a declarative understanding of programming, where logic formulas serve as programs and execution as proof search, moving beyond operational descriptions.
- Different logics (classical, intuitionistic, linear, first-order, higher-order) are examined for their influence on logic programming language design and expressiveness.
- Focused proof systems provide structured approaches to proof search, aiding in the operational semantics analysis of logic programs.
- The book includes exercises, examples, and case studies, making it suitable for students, educators, and researchers.
- Praised for its rigorous yet accessible treatment, the book is ideal for graduate courses and serves as a reference for logic-based programming languages.
- Endorsements highlight its clarity, comprehensive coverage, and practical relevance, making it a valuable resource for novices and experts alike.
- Available in hardcopy and electronic versions, with a 20% discount until December 2026, and a pre-publication PDF is accessible for comments.
Scenes from the Death of the Pax Americana
7 hours ago
- Danish forces prepared to blow up runways in Greenland to prevent a U.S. seizure attempt.
- Trump's controversial remark to Japan's Prime Minister about not informing allies before attacking Iran, referencing Pearl Harbor.
- Pete Hegseth disputes media portrayal of the conflict as a 'quagmire' or 'forever war'.
- Observation that Trump aspires to a hereditary despotism similar to the House of Saud.
I ran a 5-day experiment to see how fast Google reshapes your ad profile
5 hours ago
- Google builds algorithmic profiles based on user browsing habits, which influence ads and recommendations.
- A 5-day experiment with three Google accounts showed profiles can be reshaped quickly with deliberate browsing.
- Two active accounts (Fisherman and Fitness Guy) saw significant changes in interests, while the control account remained unchanged.
- Google's ad profile is dynamic, adding and removing interests based on recent activity, not just accumulating them.
- YouTube recommendations also shifted dramatically for active accounts, aligning with their browsing personas.
- The control account's profile stayed static, proving changes in active accounts were due to browsing behavior.
- Google's profiling is responsive; even one session can add multiple interests to a profile.
- The experiment highlights the malleability of algorithmic identities and the potential to reshape them deliberately.
- A tool called MirrorMask is being developed to help users control their algorithmic profiles by simulating different browsing personas.
Non-trivial error in physics paper found via Lean
8 hours ago
- A 2006 paper by Maniatis et al. on the stability of the two Higgs doublet model (2HDM) potential was widely cited.
- Formalization into an interactive theorem prover (using Mathlib and PhysLib) revealed an error in the 2006 paper, invalidating its main theorem.
- This is the first non-trivial error in a physics paper found through formalization.
- The discovery raises concerns about the validity of other physics papers under formal scrutiny.
A Visual Guide to Attention Variants in Modern LLMs
7 hours ago
- The article provides a visual guide to various attention variants used in modern Large Language Models (LLMs), including Multi-Head Attention (MHA), Grouped-Query Attention (GQA), Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA), Sliding Window Attention (SWA), DeepSeek Sparse Attention (DSA), Gated Attention, and Hybrid Attention.
- Multi-Head Attention (MHA) is the standard transformer mechanism where several self-attention heads run in parallel to build a richer representation of the input.
- Grouped-Query Attention (GQA) reduces KV-cache memory by sharing key-value projections among query heads, making it a popular choice for efficient inference.
- Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA) compresses KV-cache representations to save memory, offering better modeling performance at large scales compared to GQA.
- Sliding Window Attention (SWA) limits attention to a fixed local window of tokens, reducing memory and compute costs for long-context inference.
- DeepSeek Sparse Attention (DSA) uses a learned sparse pattern to select relevant past tokens, differing from SWA's fixed window approach.
- Gated Attention modifies full-attention blocks with stability-oriented changes, often used in hybrid architectures.
- Hybrid Attention combines cheaper linear or state-space sequence modules with occasional full-attention layers for long-context efficiency, as seen in models like Qwen3-Next and Kimi Linear.
- The article concludes that hybrid architectures are promising for long-context efficiency but are still novel and less optimized for inference compared to classic setups like GQA.
A Coherent Vision for the Future of Version Control
4 hours ago
- Manyana is a project proposing a new vision for version control using CRDTs (Conflict-Free Replicated Data Types).
- CRDTs ensure merges never fail and provide eventual consistency, with the same result regardless of merge order.
- Conflict presentation in Manyana is more informative, showing what changes were made by whom, rather than opaque blobs.
- Line ordering becomes permanent in CRDTs, preventing issues when conflicting sections are kept but resolved in different orders.
- Conflicts are flagged when changes touch each other but never block the merge, making them informative rather than blocking.
- History is stored in the structure (a weave), eliminating the need for common ancestor traversal during merges.
- Rebase in Manyana preserves full history while replaying commits onto a new base, avoiding issues with fictional histories.
- Manyana is currently a demo (470 lines of Python) focusing on individual files, not a full version control system.
- The project demonstrates that CRDT-based version control can solve hard UX problems better than current tools.
- The code is public domain, with a full design document in the README.
I Hate: Programming Wayland Applications
4 hours ago
- X11 and Wayland are the primary choices for programming graphical applications on Linux.
- X11, released in 1984, follows a client-server model, while Wayland, released in 2008, is designed for modern computational environments.
- Wayland is considered more secure and modern compared to X11, with features like XWayland for running X11 applications.
- Developing with Wayland is complex, with a steep learning curve and many initialization steps required for basic functionality.
- Wayland's protocol is object-oriented, leading to a fragmented and difficult-to-navigate development experience.
- Setting up a simple window in Wayland involves numerous callbacks and steps, making it less straightforward than X11 or Win32.
- Wayland lacks some functionalities like primary monitor concept and standardized desktop state retrieval.
- Clipboard handling, hotplugging devices, and setting mouse cursors are problematic in Wayland.
- Despite its challenges, Wayland is seen as the future of Linux desktops, with improvements and extensions being developed.
Channel 4's Dirty Business is a clarion call to nationalise the water industry
5 hours ago
- Heather Maughan, an 8-year-old girl, died in 1999 after contracting E. coli O157 from sewage-polluted seawater in Dawlish Warren, Devon.
- The privatized water industry, established in 1989, has led to record sewage pollution, £60bn in debt, and £78bn in shareholder dividends.
- Surfers Against Sewage campaigned against sewage dumping, leading to improvements via the EU urban wastewater directive, but rivers remain polluted.
- Activists like Peter Hammond and Ash Smith exposed Thames Water's illegal sewage dumping and financial mismanagement, pushing for public control.
- The UK government continues to rely on private investors, despite calls for renationalization to end profit-driven water mismanagement.
We keep finding the raw material of DNA in asteroids–what's it telling us?
6 hours ago
- A paper announced the discovery of all four DNA bases on an asteroid, but this finding is not new as similar results date back to 2011.
- The new study is significant for solving a previous mystery: earlier studies failed to detect these bases in the Ryugu asteroid despite their presence in other samples.
- The research provides insights into how these DNA bases formed on asteroids, which is crucial for understanding the origins of life's raw materials on Earth.
- DNA and RNA share a similar structure, including a backbone made of alternating sugars and phosphates, with bases attached to the sugars.
- The four bases (A, T, C, G in DNA; A, U, C, G in RNA) give nucleic acids their genetic identity, and their order carries genetic information.
- It is hypothesized that before life evolved, the order of bases in RNA molecules influenced the chemical reactions they could catalyze.
Apple's intentional crippling of Mobile Safari continues
6 hours ago
- Chrome 145 Android supports a wide range of features including Shortcuts, Protocol Handling, File Handling, Contact Picker, Face Detection, Vibration, Element Capture, Background Sync, Background Fetch, Bluetooth, NFC, Network Info, Installation, Offline Support, Notifications, Web Push, View Transitions, Geolocation, Media Capture, Compression Streams, Authentication, Web Share, Virtual Keyboard, Barcode Detection, Audio Recording, Media Session, Storage, Payment, Wake Lock, Motion, Speech Synthesis, and Multi Touch.
- Mobile Safari 26.4 iOS + iPadOS supports fewer features compared to Chrome, including Offline Support, View Transitions, Geolocation, Media Capture, Picture-in-Picture, Compression Streams, Authentication, Web Share, Virtual Keyboard, Audio Recording, Media Session, Storage, Payment, Wake Lock, Motion, Speech Synthesis, and Multi Touch.
- AR/VR, File System, Audio Session, Screen Capturing, Orientation, and Speech Recognition are not supported or partially supported in both browsers.
- Picture-in-Picture is supported in Mobile Safari but not in Chrome 145 Android.
iBook Clamshell
4 hours ago
- The iBook Clamshell was produced by Apple from September 1999 to May 2001.
- It came in five colors and several configurations.
- Known for its distinctive design and reliable hardware, it still has many fans.
- The website was started in 2006 in German, with English content added later.
- It offers comprehensive information and tips for maintaining the iBook Clamshell.
Freestyle Linked Lists Tricks
9 hours ago
- Linked lists are fundamental data structures with flexible allocation behavior.
- Demonstrated with a key/value string collection (environment variables) in linked list form.
- Simple linked list implementation using a stack-like approach (LIFO).
- Double-pointer technique for maintaining original order (FIFO).
- Enhanced linked list with hash trie for faster log-time look-ups.
- Multi-map capability allowing traversal of all matches in source order.
- Index table (MSI hash table) for constant-time look-ups on static lists.
- Techniques allow starting with simple linked lists and adding features as needed.
- Suitable for embedded systems and tiny WebAssembly programs due to no runtime support requirement.
The IBM scientist who rewrote the rules of information just won a Turing Award
7 hours ago
- Gilles Brassard met Charles H. Bennett in 1979, leading to a collaboration on quantum cryptography.
- Bennett proposed a method for unbreakable encryption based on quantum physics, now essential in the quantum age.
- Bennett and Brassard were awarded the 2025 A.M. Turing Award for their contributions to quantum computing.
- Quantum information cannot be copied, making it inherently secure against eavesdropping.
- The BB84 protocol, developed in 1984, allows secure key exchange using single photons.
- Peter Shor's 1994 algorithm showed quantum computers could break classical encryption, increasing the urgency for quantum cryptography.
- Bennett built the first quantum cryptography machine in 1989, demonstrating practical applications.
- Quantum teleportation, introduced in 1993, transfers quantum states using entanglement.
- IBM continues to build on Bennett's foundational work in quantum computing and security.
Show HN: Crack – Turn your MacBook into a squeaky door
5 hours ago
- Turn your MacBook into a squeaky door with every lid movement triggering a creak.
- Requires macOS 13.0 or later and Apple Silicon.
- Free and open-source application with no tracking or telemetry.
- Features include real-time sound generation like haunted door cracks, cat meows, alien whispers, and more.
- Reads the built-in AppleHID lid sensor at 60fps for precise movement detection.
- Playback speed adjusts based on lid velocity for varied sound effects.
- Minimalist design with a tiny menu bar icon for toggling and adjustments.
- Lightweight at under 1 MB with near-zero CPU usage.
- Built natively in Swift with AVAudioEngine and MIT licensed.
- Signed and notarized by Apple for security.
Revise – An AI Editor for Documents
5 hours ago
- Choose between the latest AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI.
- Work side-by-side with an AI agent in the same interface.
- Pilot program timeline discrepancies noted in an investor update.
- Subscription revenue contradictions: flat pricing vs. growth from price increases.
- Proofread, revise, and convert PDFs into rich text using multi-modal LLMs.
- Lock picking is easy and based on exploiting mechanical defects.
- Practice is essential to master lock picking skills.
- Revise tool learns user preferences over time for efficiency.
Convincing Is Not Persuading
6 hours ago
- Engineers often create technically sound proposals that fail to gain traction because they focus on convincing rather than persuading.
- Convincing relies on logical arguments aimed at a universal audience, while persuading targets specific audiences with their unique fears, incentives, and histories.
- Pascal's distinction between geometric (logical) and subtle (context-aware) minds highlights that engineers are often trained only in the former, neglecting the latter's importance in decision-making.
- Effective technical decision-makers understand that correctness is necessary but not sufficient; they must also read and address the particular audience's needs and emotions.
- Rhetoric's three dimensions—logic, speaker credibility, and audience emotion—are essential for persuasion, yet engineers often prioritize logic alone.
- Authority can enforce compliance, but only persuasion can inspire commitment, which is crucial for successful implementation of changes.
- Being right is just the starting point; moving people to act requires understanding and addressing their specific concerns and motivations.
Nintendo's not-AI, not-a-game toy
5 hours ago
- Nintendo released a $35 Talking Flower desk toy on March 12, inspired by Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
- The toy has no internet, AI, or microphone, and offers minimal utility beyond a clock and temperature sensor.
- Critics praise it as an 'anti-smart-device' that avoids data collection and cloud processing.
- Some reviewers found the novelty wears off quickly, calling it a 'pricey paperweight' with limited phrases.
- The flower's design is intentionally weird and annoying, appealing to those who appreciate its character.
- Nintendo's strategy of creating quirky, low-tech products continues to spark debate and interest.
- The Talking Flower has divided opinions, with some loving its charm and others finding it irritating.
Building an FPGA 3dfx Voodoo with Modern RTL Tools
5 hours ago
- The article discusses building an FPGA reimplementation of the 3dfx Voodoo 1 using modern RTL tools like SpinalHDL.
- The Voodoo 1's complexity comes from its fixed-function hardware, which includes various rendering behaviors like texture sampling, mipmapping, and depth testing.
- The author highlights two key abstractions that made the project manageable: representing the Voodoo's register semantics in SpinalHDL and debugging using netlist-aware waveform queries in conetrace.
- The Voodoo's register interface is deeply pipelined, requiring careful handling of register writes to avoid subtle corruption.
- Voodoo registers are categorized into four types (FIFO, FIFO + Stall, Direct, Float) based on their behavior, which is architectural and not just software-facing.
- SpinalHDL's `RegIf` abstraction allows encoding Voodoo-specific register semantics directly in the HDL, making the design more manageable.
- Debugging involved tracing failing pixels through the rasterizer using conetrace, revealing a stack of small hardware-accuracy mismatches rather than a single catastrophic bug.
- Modern RTL tools like SpinalHDL and conetrace help manage complexity by allowing architectural intent to be encoded directly and enabling more efficient debugging.
The Dude
6 hours ago
- The Big Lebowski introduced the word 'dude' into the author's vocabulary during college.
- The film's humor stems from characters behaving as if they're in an epic movie despite their incompetence.
- The plot involves a kidnapping, ransom, and various eccentric characters but remains intentionally unresolved.
- Characters like Walter, The Big Lebowski, and Maude seem to belong to different genres, adding to the film's charm.
- The Dude stands out by being passive and real, contrasting with other characters who perform roles.
- Male characters in the film are portrayed as failing versions of their idealized selves.
- The story begins with a small disruption—a ruined rug—that symbolizes larger personal chaos.
- Recurring themes of castration and failing masculinity highlight the fragility of male identity.
- The film grows sadder with age, reflecting on human frailty and the absurdity of life.
- The Big Lebowski resonates because it mirrors the unresolved and ridiculous aspects of real life.

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