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  • Eco-brutalism: when angular concrete meets the wonder of nature

    6 hours ago
    • Olivia Broome curates photos on @brutalistplants combining concrete shapes with nature
    • Eco-brutalism and tropical modernism aesthetics are highlighted
    • Pairing brutalist architecture with plants softens its harshness
    • Book 'Brutalist Plants' features global buildings harmonizing with greenery
    • Movement promotes filling modern urban spaces with plants and nature

  • This USB flash drive can only store 8KB of data, but will last you 200 years

    6 hours ago
    • The Blaustahl USB flash drive has a capacity of 8KB but can last for 200 years
    • It uses FRAM technology and a Raspberry Pi RP2040 microcontroller
    • The device is designed for long-term text storage and secure applications
    • FRAM technology offers high endurance, low power consumption, and data retention for 200 years
    • The Blaustahl includes 4MB of NOR flash, a USB Type-A male port, and a blue LED
    • Future firmware updates are expected to include encryption features for enhanced security
    • The device's firmware, schematics, and enclosure design files are accessible on GitHub

  • Linux 6.10 Will Print the Number of Populated Memory Slots at Boot Time

    6 hours ago
    • This site is supported by advertisements for over 19 years
    • Linux 6.10 DMI updates aim to stop decoding broken entries
    • Linux 6.10 will display the number of populated memory slots at boot time
    • The dmesg output will show 'DMI: Memory slots populated' with the number of slots
    • Memory topology information can be calculated via dmidecode utility
    • There is an alternative way to access Linux memory information without root privileges
    • Linux 6.10 DMI updates include an informational message and two fixes

  • Spam, junk slop? The latest wave of AI behind the 'zombie internet'

    a day ago
    • Slop is AI-generated content uploaded on the web without any interactivity or usefulness to the users
    • Its purpose is to create the illusion of human-made content, generate advertising revenue, and divert search engine attention
    • Slop is comparable to spam, as it floods the internet with low-quality content, making it harder for users to find what they are actually looking for
    • Slop can be harmful when it spreads false information or dangerous advice, like an AI-generated travel article suggesting a food bank as a tourist attraction in Ottawa
    • Both text and image-based slop are proliferating on various platforms, posing challenges to social networks like Facebook
    • There is a growing concern in the social media industry about the need to distinguish between AI-generated content and human-created content
    • Tackling the issue of slop is becoming a challenge as major tech companies like Google are incorporating AI-generated answers in search results

  • Uber Migrates 1T Records from DynamoDB to LedgerStore to Save $6M Annually

    7 hours ago
    • Uber migrated payment transaction data from DynamoDB and blob storage to the new data store LedgerStore for cost savings and simplified architecture
    • LedgerStore provides verifiable data completeness and correctness guarantees for financial transaction data at Uber
    • LedgerStore supports strongly and eventually consistent indexes, uses two-phase commit for the former, and leverages materialized views for the latter
    • To offload older ledger data, LedgerStore uses time-range indexes and supports index lifecycle management
    • Unique challenges faced during migration include shadow and offline validation, dynamic rate control, and a conservative rollout approach
    • The migration to LedgerStore was successful, resulting in significant cost savings estimated at over $6 million per year

  • British engineering giant Arup revealed as $25M deepfake scam victim

    8 hours ago
    • Arup, a British multinational design and engineering company, fell victim to a deepfake scam in which an employee in Hong Kong paid $25 million to fraudsters.
    • The company notified Hong Kong police in January about the incident involving fake voices and images.
    • The employee was duped into attending a video call with deepfake recreations of the company's chief financial officer and other staff.
    • Despite the scam, Arup's financial stability and operations were not compromised.
    • Deepfake technology is becoming more sophisticated, posing a growing threat to businesses worldwide.
    • Arup's global chief information officer highlighted the increasing number and sophistication of attacks like invoice fraud, phishing scams, and deepfakes.
    • Authorities are concerned about the potential nefarious uses of deepfake technology and are urging vigilance.
    • Arup's East Asia regional chairman emphasized the need for awareness and alertness in identifying techniques used by scammers.

  • The digital notepad box – a DIY e-ink project

    21 hours ago
    • Digital notepad project using E-Ink display and ESPHome for DIY enthusiasts
    • Use cases include home automation dashboard, weather station, and task scheduler
    • Hardware components needed: Waveshare 2.9inch e-ink panel, ESP32 microcontroller, USB power supply
    • Software stack includes ESPHome and Home Assistant for data integration and display customization
    • E-Ink technology for low power consumption and easy visibility
    • Various DIY projects with e-ink displays for different applications
    • Customizable display with temperature, power consumption, weather data, and more
    • Setting up hardware, obtaining data, displaying icons and text, and main display logic explained
    • Pixel coordinate system starts at x=0, y=0
    • Rendering lines of text and icons to display data about the solar system and electricity production/consumption
    • Adapting ESPHome for e-paper display requires familiarizing with documentation
    • Trial and error needed for configuring display and positioning data elements
    • Different font and icon sizes based on display resolution
    • Using icons for weather conditions and line graphs for sensor data history
    • Flashing configured firmware to ESP32 driver card using ESPHome add-on in Home Assistant
    • Building an e-ink display with ESPHome is rewarding and versatile for various projects
    • Notepad box with display brings satisfaction and connection to home automation system
    • Exploring ideas for further displays and projects with additional e-ink display

  • What's Up with Mastodon and "Referer" Headers?

    a day ago
    • Mastodon does not send HTTP Referer headers for outgoing links via the web app
    • CEO/Lead developer of Mastodon approved a pull request adding noreferrer keyword for links
    • Security concerns around the Referer header led to the addition of noreferrer and noopener keywords in the rel attribute
    • Users can still track links back to a Mastodon instance but with limited information
    • Adding UTM parameters for links can help track Mastodon traffic in detail
    • The term 'Referer' is a spelling mistake that has been locked into the specification since 1996

  • Iran's President Raisi killed in helicopter crash, state media confirms

    12 hours ago
    • Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and eight others died in a helicopter crash.
    • Leaders from various countries expressed condolences for the victims.
    • Leaders highlighted the contributions of President Raisi to bilateral relationships.
    • Flags will fly at half mast and days of mourning will be observed in honor of the deceased.
    • Various countries expressed solidarity with Iran during this difficult time.

  • Puzzle made by the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for the university quest

    19 hours ago
    • The puzzle Sleuth was part of the Melbourne University Puzzle Hunt 2005 competition
    • The puzzle involves a dark castle setting with 7 people speaking different languages trying to solve a crime
    • A connection is made to the board game Cluedo, where players solve a murder case involving different suspects, rooms, and weapons
    • Participants deciphered clues based on dialogue in different languages corresponding to Cluedo elements
    • Focus on characters, rooms, and weapons of the game revealed vital information for solving the case
    • The host suspects someone is lying about what happened
    • The characters' nationalities and their relationships have been revealed
    • The relationships between characters, weapons, and rooms have been analyzed
    • Miss Scarlett is identified as the liar who committed the murder
    • The reliable information about the murder has been deduced

  • Digital ID laws pass Australian parliament after fresh $288M funding

    15 hours ago
    • Digital ID laws have passed in the Australian parliament to enhance privacy protections and reduce oversharing of personal information
    • The bill has received significant financial commitment, with $288.1 million earmarked for the digital ID scheme
    • The scheme aims to modernize identity verification, bridging the gap in various sectors beyond federal interactions
    • Benefits include reducing processing times and enhancing access to services
    • The implementation will be in phases, with state governments and private businesses gaining access over time
    • Concerns about potential fragmentation in the digital identity landscape have been raised by the opposition
    • The bills are expected to receive Royal Assent soon, with regulation by ACCC and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner

  • Two students find security bug that could let millions do laundry for free

    13 hours ago
    • Two University of California students found a vulnerability in internet-connected washing machines from CSC ServiceWorks
    • The vulnerability allowed them to remotely operate the machines without payment and update a laundry account with millions of dollars
    • CSC ServiceWorks operates over a million laundry and vending machines in multiple countries
    • Despite reporting the vulnerability, the company did not respond to the students initially but later rectified the issue
    • The students discovered that the company has a published list of commands that can connect to all of its network-connected laundry machines
    • This incident highlights the ongoing security concerns with the internet of things and the importance of timely response to reported vulnerabilities

  • Steve Wozniak: When I die these are the moments I want to remember

    a day ago
    • Steve Wozniak values memories of jokes, laughter, and fun moments with family and friends over financial success
    • He believes happiness comes from smiles and enjoying simple pleasures like family, music, and comedy
    • Wozniak was expelled from the University of Colorado Boulder for hacking before co-founding Apple with Steve Jobs
    • Arthur C. Brooks explains happiness as a direction, not a destination, emphasizing inner contentment over external milestones
    • Being grateful for loved ones and maintaining a positive mindset can help overcome life's challenges

  • As clicks dry up for news sites, could Apple's news app be a lifeline?

    16 hours ago
    • The Daily Beast struggled due to changes in digital publishing landscape
    • Entered partnership with Apple News+ which boosted revenue significantly
    • Apple News+ is a major source of revenue for various publishers
    • Apple News is widely used and has many paying subscribers
    • Publishers benefit from Apple's commissioning of content and promotional efforts
    • Some publishers view Apple News+ as a discovery and revenue stream
    • Apple News raises concerns about direct relationships with readers and revenue sharing percentages
    • Partnership with Apple influences editorial decisions and content strategies
    • Notable absence of the New York Times from Apple News+

  • Why Fact Checking of Claims About Nuclear Power Projects Is Important

    14 hours ago
    • NBC News debunks false claims about NRC approval for a nuclear power plant in Butte, MT
    • AEHI's fraudulent activities involving a non-existent nuclear reactor in Idaho
    • Issues with misinformation spreading, including through startup claims and scholarly studies
    • NRC's No Bozos Rule emphasizing the seriousness required in the nuclear industry

  • Httpx – next-generation HTTP client for Python

    a day ago
    • HTTPX is a fully featured HTTP client for Python 3
    • It provides sync and async APIs, and supports HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2
    • Installation using pip: $ pip install httpx
    • Features of HTTPX include broad requests-compatible API, synchronous interface with async support, HTTP/1.1 and HTTP/2 support, ability to make requests to WSGI or ASGI applications, and more
    • Documentation includes QuickStart, Advanced section, async support section, HTTP/2 section, and Developer Interface
    • Dependencies of HTTPX include httpcore, h11, certifi, idna, sniffio, as well as optional installs like h2, socksio, rich, click, and brotlior
    • Installation requires Python 3.8+

  • Show HN: A VS Code extension to check incompatible CSS

    a day ago
    • CSS Compatibility Checker is a Visual Studio Code extension for identifying CSS compatibility across browsers
    • Provides real-time feedback when hovering over CSS elements in the code
    • Identifies deprecated CSS features
    • Spotlights non-standard and experimental CSS features
    • Supports multiple browsers and versions
    • Seamless integration with Visual Studio Code workflow
    • Version 1.0.2 allows enabling/disabling of browser types for compatibility checks
    • Contribution guidelines for improving the extension

  • It's Time to Believe the AI Hype

    18 hours ago
    • Tech pundits use 'inflection points' to describe moments when new technology transforms opportunities
    • OpenAI announced GPT-4o, a new flagship model with various interaction modes like text, speech, and vision
    • Google unveiled Gemini Pro and Project Astra, advanced AI models that can process visual and aural information
    • Some skeptics argue that the progress of large language models (LLMs) has plateaued and is not as transformational as hyped
    • AI advancements are rapidly progressing, with companies like Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Apple investing heavily in AI research and development
    • Debate around the potential impact of AI on the middle class continues, with contrasting views on the role of AI in empowering or concentrating decision-making power
    • The pace of AI progress is accelerating, with AI predicted to significantly impact various aspects of life in the future

  • Avoidance of sun exposure as a risk factor for major causes of death

    15 hours ago
    • Women with active sun exposure have lower mortality rates compared to those who avoid sun exposure.
    • Active sun exposure is associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and noncancer/non-CVD mortality.
    • Avoidance of sun exposure is a risk factor for death similar to smoking.
    • Life expectancy is reduced by 0.6-2.1 years in those who avoid sun exposure.
    • Longer life expectancy among women with active sun exposure habits is linked to decreased CVD and noncancer/non-CVD mortality.

  • Swift Tooling: Windows Edition

    a day ago
    • Swift code can be written and developed on Windows using Visual Studio Code
    • Developing Swift on Windows is productive and ready for industry use
    • Swift extension for VS Code offers various IDE features like debugging, testing, code navigation, and error reporting
    • Language server protocol enables language-specific editor services in VS Code for Swift
    • Swift ecosystem on Windows includes Swift Package Manager (SPM) and CMake for building and testing code
    • Debugging Swift code on Windows is facilitated by LLDB and PDB files for integration with Windows debugging tools
    • Various tools and plugins like swift-format, swift-inspect, sourcekit-lsp, and WinDbg support Swift development on Windows
    • Declarative API sets like SwiftUI for WinUI projection are being considered for Swift on Windows
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