Hasty Briefsbeta

Bilingual

Please Don't Say Mean Things about the AI I Just Invested a Billion Dollars In
9 days ago
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang defends AI technology against criticism.
- Criticism includes AI's potential for scams, job displacement, and ecological destruction.
- AI is accused of harming education, privacy, and creating autonomous weapons.
- Huang argues AI is essential for innovation and solving societal issues.
- He appeals for less negativity and more acceptance of AI technology.
State Department confirms federal censorship shield law incoming
9 days ago
- US Undersecretary Sarah Rogers confirms the US will block foreign censorship of US citizens under laws like the UK Online Safety Act or EU Digital Services Act.
- Timeline of key events leading to this decision includes Ofcom fines, the proposal of the GRANITE Act, and statements from US officials.
- The GRANITE Act, a foreign censorship shield law, was proposed and finalized in Wyoming, with potential federal legislation under consideration.
- Ofcom's actions against platforms like 4chan and X have been met with resistance from US officials, citing overreach.
- US Senator Eric Schmitt and the Department of State have signaled support for legislation to protect against foreign censorship.
- The final version of the Wyoming GRANITE Act is set to be introduced, with hopes for a federal version to include a private right of action.
The UK paid £4.1M for a bookmarks site
9 days ago
- The UK Government launched the 'AI Skills Hub' to train 10 million workers in AI by 2030.
- PwC developed the site for £4.1 million (~$5,657,000), but the UI is poorly designed and lacks functionality.
- The site primarily links to external courses (e.g., Salesforce’s Trailhead) without creating original content.
- Accessibility standards are not met, making the site confusing and buggy.
- The site incorrectly cites 'fair use' (a US concept) instead of the UK’s 'fair dealing' in its IP course.
- Poor UX design includes a tiny 'Enroll Now' button and a misplaced comment section.
- A key feature, 'Skills & Training Gap Analysis,' is inexplicably closed to the public.
- Criticism of wasteful spending amid public service crises (e.g., NHS delays, underfunded schools).
- Small UK webdev businesses were overlooked despite potentially delivering better results at lower costs.
- PwC’s involvement highlights corporate exploitation of taxpayer funds.
Decompiling Xbox games using PDB debug info
12 days ago
- Decompilation involves lifting objects from binaries for comparison and linkage, enabling reverse engineering piece by piece.
- Modern decompilation uses splitters and control flow generation algorithms, avoiding manual disassembly.
- Original Xbox game decompilation, like Halo 1 (PAL debug), benefits from PDB debug symbols but lacks tools for direct PDB splitting.
- Section contributions in PDBs provide detailed info on how object files are laid out, useful for splitting even in stripped PDBs.
- A custom PDB splitter was developed to utilize section contributions, overcoming the lack of support for older VC++ debug info formats.
- Control flow generation is crucial for identifying pointers, with challenges like handling relative relocations and SEH structures.
- Initial game boot issues were traced to string formatting errors and negative relocations, requiring manual fixes.
- Despite progress, unresolved issues like bad pointers and crashes remain, with future work aimed at improving decompilation accuracy.
- The project is open-source, with plans to enhance the tooling for better decompilation workflows.
Predicting how Heathrow is using it's runways in the browser
12 days ago
- The author worked near Heathrow Airport and observed varying plane activities based on runway rotations and wind conditions.
- Two methods were used to check airport operations: Heathrow Runways Twitter account and flight tracking apps like Flightradar24.
- The idea for lhrNet was born to create a website displaying airport operations in an accessible manner.
- Machine learning was employed to classify the airport's state into one of seven possible states using a grid-based image classification approach.
- OpenSky Network was chosen as a free data source for aircraft positions due to budget constraints.
- A simple machine learning model was developed, trained, and exported in ONNX format for browser-based inference.
- The final website, lhr.billyedmoore.com, has been operational with minimal issues, though it tends to be overconfident in predictions.
- The project was a learning experience combining machine learning, data processing, and frontend development.
Training a trillion parameter model to be funny
11 days ago
- Training a model on qualitative rewards like comedy involves decomposing 'funny' into verifiable properties such as relevance, recency, and deep understanding of the subject.
- Moonshot used rubric-based RL to improve their model's creative writing by breaking down 'good writing' into specific rubrics like clarity, engagement, and tone.
- A scraper was built on Modal to collect data from TikTok, Reddit, and university humor blogs, with Whisper large-v3 used for transcription.
- For RL training, each example was evaluated by a grader model (Qwen3-30B) against seven rubrics, with rewards based on weighted scores.
- Challenges included the model learning to add laughing emojis for higher scores and synthetic preference pairs failing to capture genuine humor.
- Successful training required iterative refinement of rubrics and data mix, focusing on general, funny, and recently relevant comedy bits.
- The resulting models, jokegen2-1t-rl and jokegen2-1t-sft, along with training code and rubrics, are available for experimentation.
NASA's WB-57 crash lands at Houston
10 days ago
- NASA's WB-57 aircraft made an emergency landing at Ellington Field without landing gear.
- The crew was unharmed, and NASA will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
- The WB-57 aircraft has a history dating back to 1944, originally developed by the English Electric Company.
- The aircraft was used in military missions, including bombing in Vietnam, before being repurposed for scientific research.
- The WB-57 variant features longer wings, enabling flights up to 62,000 feet for atmospheric sampling and weather reconnaissance.
The Trump administration has rewritten nuclear safety rules
10 days ago
- The Trump administration secretly rewrote nuclear safety rules to accelerate new reactor development.
- Changes include reduced safety requirements, loosened environmental protections, and eliminated key safety roles.
- Over 750 pages of regulations were cut, leaving only about one-third of the original content.
- New rules allow higher radiation exposure for workers and reduce record-keeping requirements.
- The Department of Energy (DOE) defended the changes, claiming they promote innovation without compromising safety.
- Critics argue the changes undermine public trust and increase risks of nuclear accidents.
- The new rules were developed without public input, raising transparency concerns.
- The DOE plans to publicly post the revised directives later this year.
- The changes were driven by an executive order from President Trump to build experimental reactors by July 2026.
- Experts doubt the feasibility of the aggressive timeline and express safety concerns.
Scientists engineer unsinkable metal tubes
10 days ago
- Researchers at the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics developed a process to make metal tubes unsinkable using superhydrophobic surfaces.
- The superhydrophobic surface traps a stable air bubble inside the tube, preventing waterlogging and sinking, similar to mechanisms in diving bell spiders and fire ants.
- A divider was added to the tube to maintain buoyancy even when pushed vertically into water.
- Previous designs using superhydrophobic disks had limitations in turbulent conditions, but the new tube design is resilient and maintains buoyancy even when damaged.
- Multiple tubes can be linked to create rafts for ships, buoys, and floating platforms, with potential for scaling to larger sizes.
- Superhydrophobic tube rafts can also harvest water waves to generate electricity, offering a renewable energy application.
Had LLM/AI build an unbiased quiz: Where in the World Should I Live?
10 days ago
- Interactive tool to choose preferences for an ideal country.
- Options include Safety (High Safety vs. Less Policing), Earnings (High Earnings vs. More Equality), Healthcare (Universal vs. Private), Weather (Sunny & Warm vs. Cool & Cloudy), Freedom (High Freedom vs. More Order), and Education (Free/Public).
- Each option is independent and unbiased with no data tracking.
- High Safety: Secure environment, low crime, more law enforcement.
- Less Policing: Reduced police presence, more personal freedom, less surveillance.
- High Earnings: Better salaries, wealth accumulation, business opportunities.
- More Equality: Smaller wealth gaps, income redistribution, flatter hierarchy.
- Universal Healthcare: No medical bankruptcy, coverage for all, higher taxes.
- Private Healthcare: Quick access, specialist choice, out-of-pocket payments.
- Sunny & Warm: Sunshine, outdoor lifestyle, hot summers.
- Cool & Cloudy: Mild temps, rain, cozy indoors, less AC.
- High Freedom: Free speech, press, protests, limited government.
- More Order: Government oversight, structured society, collective priorities.
- Free/Public Education: No student debt, accessible universities, higher taxes.
10 Years of WASM: A Retrospective
10 days ago
- WebAssembly (Wasm) was first conceptualized in 2015 and became a W3C standard in 2019, now widely used in applications like Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop, and game engines.
- The development of Wasm was influenced by earlier technologies like asm.js and Google's Native Client (NaCl), with key contributions from engineers across Mozilla, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
- Wasm's design emphasizes a 'trusted call stack' allowing seamless integration with JavaScript, a decision that proved foundational for its success.
- The name 'WebAssembly' was chosen to reflect its web origins and asm.js heritage, despite initial concerns about its broader applicability beyond the web.
- Wasm's rapid standardization and adoption were driven by collaboration among major browser vendors, with all four major browsers supporting it by the end of 2017.
- The expansion of Wasm beyond the browser led to the development of WASI (WebAssembly System Interface) and the Component Model, enabling secure interoperability across different languages and systems.
- Future applications of Wasm include embedded systems, AI-generated code sandboxing, and potential innovations in cloud-native execution environments.
- Wasm's journey from a web compilation target to a ubiquitous technology highlights its potential to redefine computing paradigms in the next decade.
I Started Identifying Corporate Devices in My Software
10 days ago
- Corporate device identification was implemented in komorebi v0.1.39 on 12/10/2025.
- The feature was explained in the README for non-corporate users enrolled in MDM.
- v0.1.39 saw around 17k downloads, consistent with previous releases.
- 26 new annual Individual Commercial Use License (ICUL) purchases were made post-v0.1.39, representing over 20% of total active ICUL subscriptions.
- Overrides were added for 43 users with educational or BYOD MDM-enrolled devices.
- Many users discovered their devices were enrolled in BYOD MDM without their knowledge.
- Feedback from users has been unanimously supportive.
- The maintainer has made enough money from the project to cover rent for the first time since 2020.
- Future plans include improving overrides for students, releasing komorebi for Mac with corporate device identification, and exploring post-open source licensing.
Tesla profit tanked 46% in 2025
10 days ago
- Tesla's profit fell 46% in 2025 compared to the prior year.
- CEO Elon Musk assumed a role in the Trump administration, and federal EV subsidies were killed by Congress, impacting sales.
- Tesla reported $3.8 billion in profit in 2025, its lowest in years, with car sales revenue down 11% year-over-year.
- The company shipped 1.63 million cars globally in 2025, marking the second consecutive year of declining sales.
- Tesla beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates, boosting shares in after-market trading.
- The company is shifting focus from hardware to AI, investing $2 billion in Elon Musk's xAI startup.
- Revenue from solar and energy storage grew 25%, while services revenue (including FSD software) rose 18%.
- Tesla Semi and Cybercab are expected to enter production in the first half of this year.
- Tesla is piloting lithium refinery production in Texas and developing new in-house inference chips for autonomy and robotics.
- The third-generation Optimus robot is set to be revealed in Q1 this year.
IBM Mainframe Business Jumps 67%
10 days ago
- IBM announced strong fourth-quarter 2025 results with revenue of $19.7 billion, up 12% year-over-year.
- Software revenue grew by 14%, Infrastructure by 21%, and Consulting by 3%.
- IBM's generative AI book of business exceeded $12.5 billion.
- Full-year 2025 revenue reached $67.5 billion, up 8%, with free cash flow of $14.7 billion.
- For 2026, IBM expects constant currency revenue growth of over 5% and a $1 billion increase in free cash flow.
- Segment highlights: Software ($9.0B, +14%), Consulting ($5.3B, +3%), Infrastructure ($5.1B, +21%).
- IBM returned $1.6 billion to shareholders via dividends in Q4 2025.
- The company ended Q4 with $14.5 billion in cash and marketable securities, while debt rose to $61.3 billion.
How to turn 'sfo-jfk' into a suitable photo
10 days ago
- The article discusses how to turn a freeform query like 'sfo-jfk' into a beautiful image for an AI travel planning app.
- The solution involves using LLMs for understanding queries, traditional software engineering, and human curation of photos.
- The problem is broken down into three parts: turning a query into a 'place', building a database of places to pictures, and creating a system to fetch the right picture.
- A 'place' is defined with a name and type (city/region/country), and the LLM maps queries to these places.
- Photos are sourced from Unsplash, with a manual selection process to ensure quality.
- For places not in the database, geolocation is used to find the nearest mapped location.
- The system has some flaws, such as gaps in coverage for less common destinations and subjective photo selection.
- The project highlights the importance of combining AI, software engineering, and human curation for tasteful results.
Jellyfin LLM/"AI" Development Policy
10 days ago
- Jellyfin emphasizes code quality, focusing on readability, simplicity, and conciseness.
- LLM output is prohibited in direct communications like issues, pull requests, and forum posts.
- Exceptions are made for LLM-assisted translations if noted and original language is provided.
- LLM code contributions must be concise, focused, and uphold formatting and quality standards.
- Contributors must review and explain LLM-generated code changes in their own words.
- Changes must be tested, build correctly, and handle review feedback appropriately.
- Features or refactors require in-depth understanding and must follow development policies.
- Reviewers have final discretion to reject PRs that are over-complex or poorly structured.
- LLM-developed community projects must be marked as such and respect licenses and attributions.
- Moderators will not engage in 'LLM police' activities but enforce blatant rule violations.
Show HN: ModifyWithAI v2 – Add chat-based agents to your app
10 days ago
- AI assistant takes action in your app beyond answering questions.
- Executes multi-step workflows like checking balances and initiating transfers with visibility.
- Requires user approval for sensitive actions such as money transfers or data deletion.
- Generates persistent UI elements like buttons and widgets for personalized interfaces.
- Searches documentation to answer user questions, reducing support tickets.
South Carolina tops Texas measles outbreak record–with no end in sight
10 days ago
- South Carolina's measles outbreak reaches 789 cases, surpassing Texas's 2025 record of 762 cases.
- The US is at risk of losing its measles elimination status due to continuous spread.
- 2026 is on track to be another record year for measles cases in the US.
- South Carolina's outbreak has accelerated rapidly, jumping from 218 cases on December 28 to 789 on January 27.
- The CDC reports 416 national cases since the start of 2026, but the count is outdated.
- Measles cases in 2026 have been reported in 13 states, with a large outbreak at the Utah-Arizona border.
- Collectively, the affected states have reported 457 cases, including 66 in 2026.
AI Is Not Inevitable
10 days ago
- Jacques Ellul's concept of 'technique' is about reducing activity to efficient means for a defined end, dominant in modernity.
- Ellul believed technique was inevitable and all-consuming, contrasting with arts and crafts movements that focus on craftsmanship.
- Andrew Feenberg offers a hopeful view that technology can be democratized by injecting human values, unlike Ellul's fatalism.
- Historical example: 19th-century factory efficiency was tempered by unions and laws enforcing child labor laws and safety standards.
- Feenberg suggests three ways to push back against 'technique': redefining efficiency, subversive rationalization, and integrating primary and secondary instrumentalization.
- Redefining efficiency: Donald Knuth's literate programming prioritizes human understanding over speed, a model Feenberg would apply to AI.
- Subversive rationalization: Users repurposed France's Minitel from bureaucratic efficiency to a social communication tool, showing how to misuse technology creatively.
- Primary vs. secondary instrumentalization: Feenberg advocates integrating social, aesthetic, and ethical contexts into technical designs to overcome 'technique.'
- Rejecting nostalgia and 'software arts and crafts' alone is insufficient; embedding human values into technology is key to shaping the future.
Scientist who helped eradicate smallpox dies at age 89
10 days ago
- William Foege, a key figure in eradicating smallpox, has died at age 89.
- He led the CDC’s Smallpox Eradication Program in the 1970s, contributing to the disease's eradication by 1980.
- Foege was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 for his contributions to public health.
- He was a strong advocate for vaccines and worked on polio eradication efforts.
- Foege co-founded the Task Force for Global Health and was a senior adviser at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- In 2025, he and other former CDC directors criticized health policies under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Colleagues remember him as an inspirational leader who reinvigorated public health efforts globally.

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About Login

Bilingual

Please Don't Say Mean Things about the AI I Just Invested a Billion Dollars In
9 days ago
- Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang defends AI technology against criticism.
- Criticism includes AI's potential for scams, job displacement, and ecological destruction.
- AI is accused of harming education, privacy, and creating autonomous weapons.
- Huang argues AI is essential for innovation and solving societal issues.
- He appeals for less negativity and more acceptance of AI technology.
State Department confirms federal censorship shield law incoming
9 days ago
- US Undersecretary Sarah Rogers confirms the US will block foreign censorship of US citizens under laws like the UK Online Safety Act or EU Digital Services Act.
- Timeline of key events leading to this decision includes Ofcom fines, the proposal of the GRANITE Act, and statements from US officials.
- The GRANITE Act, a foreign censorship shield law, was proposed and finalized in Wyoming, with potential federal legislation under consideration.
- Ofcom's actions against platforms like 4chan and X have been met with resistance from US officials, citing overreach.
- US Senator Eric Schmitt and the Department of State have signaled support for legislation to protect against foreign censorship.
- The final version of the Wyoming GRANITE Act is set to be introduced, with hopes for a federal version to include a private right of action.
The UK paid £4.1M for a bookmarks site
9 days ago
- The UK Government launched the 'AI Skills Hub' to train 10 million workers in AI by 2030.
- PwC developed the site for £4.1 million (~$5,657,000), but the UI is poorly designed and lacks functionality.
- The site primarily links to external courses (e.g., Salesforce’s Trailhead) without creating original content.
- Accessibility standards are not met, making the site confusing and buggy.
- The site incorrectly cites 'fair use' (a US concept) instead of the UK’s 'fair dealing' in its IP course.
- Poor UX design includes a tiny 'Enroll Now' button and a misplaced comment section.
- A key feature, 'Skills & Training Gap Analysis,' is inexplicably closed to the public.
- Criticism of wasteful spending amid public service crises (e.g., NHS delays, underfunded schools).
- Small UK webdev businesses were overlooked despite potentially delivering better results at lower costs.
- PwC’s involvement highlights corporate exploitation of taxpayer funds.
Decompiling Xbox games using PDB debug info
12 days ago
- Decompilation involves lifting objects from binaries for comparison and linkage, enabling reverse engineering piece by piece.
- Modern decompilation uses splitters and control flow generation algorithms, avoiding manual disassembly.
- Original Xbox game decompilation, like Halo 1 (PAL debug), benefits from PDB debug symbols but lacks tools for direct PDB splitting.
- Section contributions in PDBs provide detailed info on how object files are laid out, useful for splitting even in stripped PDBs.
- A custom PDB splitter was developed to utilize section contributions, overcoming the lack of support for older VC++ debug info formats.
- Control flow generation is crucial for identifying pointers, with challenges like handling relative relocations and SEH structures.
- Initial game boot issues were traced to string formatting errors and negative relocations, requiring manual fixes.
- Despite progress, unresolved issues like bad pointers and crashes remain, with future work aimed at improving decompilation accuracy.
- The project is open-source, with plans to enhance the tooling for better decompilation workflows.
Predicting how Heathrow is using it's runways in the browser
12 days ago
- The author worked near Heathrow Airport and observed varying plane activities based on runway rotations and wind conditions.
- Two methods were used to check airport operations: Heathrow Runways Twitter account and flight tracking apps like Flightradar24.
- The idea for lhrNet was born to create a website displaying airport operations in an accessible manner.
- Machine learning was employed to classify the airport's state into one of seven possible states using a grid-based image classification approach.
- OpenSky Network was chosen as a free data source for aircraft positions due to budget constraints.
- A simple machine learning model was developed, trained, and exported in ONNX format for browser-based inference.
- The final website, lhr.billyedmoore.com, has been operational with minimal issues, though it tends to be overconfident in predictions.
- The project was a learning experience combining machine learning, data processing, and frontend development.
Training a trillion parameter model to be funny
11 days ago
- Training a model on qualitative rewards like comedy involves decomposing 'funny' into verifiable properties such as relevance, recency, and deep understanding of the subject.
- Moonshot used rubric-based RL to improve their model's creative writing by breaking down 'good writing' into specific rubrics like clarity, engagement, and tone.
- A scraper was built on Modal to collect data from TikTok, Reddit, and university humor blogs, with Whisper large-v3 used for transcription.
- For RL training, each example was evaluated by a grader model (Qwen3-30B) against seven rubrics, with rewards based on weighted scores.
- Challenges included the model learning to add laughing emojis for higher scores and synthetic preference pairs failing to capture genuine humor.
- Successful training required iterative refinement of rubrics and data mix, focusing on general, funny, and recently relevant comedy bits.
- The resulting models, jokegen2-1t-rl and jokegen2-1t-sft, along with training code and rubrics, are available for experimentation.
NASA's WB-57 crash lands at Houston
10 days ago
- NASA's WB-57 aircraft made an emergency landing at Ellington Field without landing gear.
- The crew was unharmed, and NASA will conduct a thorough investigation into the incident.
- The WB-57 aircraft has a history dating back to 1944, originally developed by the English Electric Company.
- The aircraft was used in military missions, including bombing in Vietnam, before being repurposed for scientific research.
- The WB-57 variant features longer wings, enabling flights up to 62,000 feet for atmospheric sampling and weather reconnaissance.
The Trump administration has rewritten nuclear safety rules
10 days ago
- The Trump administration secretly rewrote nuclear safety rules to accelerate new reactor development.
- Changes include reduced safety requirements, loosened environmental protections, and eliminated key safety roles.
- Over 750 pages of regulations were cut, leaving only about one-third of the original content.
- New rules allow higher radiation exposure for workers and reduce record-keeping requirements.
- The Department of Energy (DOE) defended the changes, claiming they promote innovation without compromising safety.
- Critics argue the changes undermine public trust and increase risks of nuclear accidents.
- The new rules were developed without public input, raising transparency concerns.
- The DOE plans to publicly post the revised directives later this year.
- The changes were driven by an executive order from President Trump to build experimental reactors by July 2026.
- Experts doubt the feasibility of the aggressive timeline and express safety concerns.
Scientists engineer unsinkable metal tubes
10 days ago
- Researchers at the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics developed a process to make metal tubes unsinkable using superhydrophobic surfaces.
- The superhydrophobic surface traps a stable air bubble inside the tube, preventing waterlogging and sinking, similar to mechanisms in diving bell spiders and fire ants.
- A divider was added to the tube to maintain buoyancy even when pushed vertically into water.
- Previous designs using superhydrophobic disks had limitations in turbulent conditions, but the new tube design is resilient and maintains buoyancy even when damaged.
- Multiple tubes can be linked to create rafts for ships, buoys, and floating platforms, with potential for scaling to larger sizes.
- Superhydrophobic tube rafts can also harvest water waves to generate electricity, offering a renewable energy application.
Had LLM/AI build an unbiased quiz: Where in the World Should I Live?
10 days ago
- Interactive tool to choose preferences for an ideal country.
- Options include Safety (High Safety vs. Less Policing), Earnings (High Earnings vs. More Equality), Healthcare (Universal vs. Private), Weather (Sunny & Warm vs. Cool & Cloudy), Freedom (High Freedom vs. More Order), and Education (Free/Public).
- Each option is independent and unbiased with no data tracking.
- High Safety: Secure environment, low crime, more law enforcement.
- Less Policing: Reduced police presence, more personal freedom, less surveillance.
- High Earnings: Better salaries, wealth accumulation, business opportunities.
- More Equality: Smaller wealth gaps, income redistribution, flatter hierarchy.
- Universal Healthcare: No medical bankruptcy, coverage for all, higher taxes.
- Private Healthcare: Quick access, specialist choice, out-of-pocket payments.
- Sunny & Warm: Sunshine, outdoor lifestyle, hot summers.
- Cool & Cloudy: Mild temps, rain, cozy indoors, less AC.
- High Freedom: Free speech, press, protests, limited government.
- More Order: Government oversight, structured society, collective priorities.
- Free/Public Education: No student debt, accessible universities, higher taxes.
10 Years of WASM: A Retrospective
10 days ago
- WebAssembly (Wasm) was first conceptualized in 2015 and became a W3C standard in 2019, now widely used in applications like Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop, and game engines.
- The development of Wasm was influenced by earlier technologies like asm.js and Google's Native Client (NaCl), with key contributions from engineers across Mozilla, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.
- Wasm's design emphasizes a 'trusted call stack' allowing seamless integration with JavaScript, a decision that proved foundational for its success.
- The name 'WebAssembly' was chosen to reflect its web origins and asm.js heritage, despite initial concerns about its broader applicability beyond the web.
- Wasm's rapid standardization and adoption were driven by collaboration among major browser vendors, with all four major browsers supporting it by the end of 2017.
- The expansion of Wasm beyond the browser led to the development of WASI (WebAssembly System Interface) and the Component Model, enabling secure interoperability across different languages and systems.
- Future applications of Wasm include embedded systems, AI-generated code sandboxing, and potential innovations in cloud-native execution environments.
- Wasm's journey from a web compilation target to a ubiquitous technology highlights its potential to redefine computing paradigms in the next decade.
I Started Identifying Corporate Devices in My Software
10 days ago
- Corporate device identification was implemented in komorebi v0.1.39 on 12/10/2025.
- The feature was explained in the README for non-corporate users enrolled in MDM.
- v0.1.39 saw around 17k downloads, consistent with previous releases.
- 26 new annual Individual Commercial Use License (ICUL) purchases were made post-v0.1.39, representing over 20% of total active ICUL subscriptions.
- Overrides were added for 43 users with educational or BYOD MDM-enrolled devices.
- Many users discovered their devices were enrolled in BYOD MDM without their knowledge.
- Feedback from users has been unanimously supportive.
- The maintainer has made enough money from the project to cover rent for the first time since 2020.
- Future plans include improving overrides for students, releasing komorebi for Mac with corporate device identification, and exploring post-open source licensing.
Tesla profit tanked 46% in 2025
10 days ago
- Tesla's profit fell 46% in 2025 compared to the prior year.
- CEO Elon Musk assumed a role in the Trump administration, and federal EV subsidies were killed by Congress, impacting sales.
- Tesla reported $3.8 billion in profit in 2025, its lowest in years, with car sales revenue down 11% year-over-year.
- The company shipped 1.63 million cars globally in 2025, marking the second consecutive year of declining sales.
- Tesla beat Wall Street's earnings and revenue estimates, boosting shares in after-market trading.
- The company is shifting focus from hardware to AI, investing $2 billion in Elon Musk's xAI startup.
- Revenue from solar and energy storage grew 25%, while services revenue (including FSD software) rose 18%.
- Tesla Semi and Cybercab are expected to enter production in the first half of this year.
- Tesla is piloting lithium refinery production in Texas and developing new in-house inference chips for autonomy and robotics.
- The third-generation Optimus robot is set to be revealed in Q1 this year.
IBM Mainframe Business Jumps 67%
10 days ago
- IBM announced strong fourth-quarter 2025 results with revenue of $19.7 billion, up 12% year-over-year.
- Software revenue grew by 14%, Infrastructure by 21%, and Consulting by 3%.
- IBM's generative AI book of business exceeded $12.5 billion.
- Full-year 2025 revenue reached $67.5 billion, up 8%, with free cash flow of $14.7 billion.
- For 2026, IBM expects constant currency revenue growth of over 5% and a $1 billion increase in free cash flow.
- Segment highlights: Software ($9.0B, +14%), Consulting ($5.3B, +3%), Infrastructure ($5.1B, +21%).
- IBM returned $1.6 billion to shareholders via dividends in Q4 2025.
- The company ended Q4 with $14.5 billion in cash and marketable securities, while debt rose to $61.3 billion.
How to turn 'sfo-jfk' into a suitable photo
10 days ago
- The article discusses how to turn a freeform query like 'sfo-jfk' into a beautiful image for an AI travel planning app.
- The solution involves using LLMs for understanding queries, traditional software engineering, and human curation of photos.
- The problem is broken down into three parts: turning a query into a 'place', building a database of places to pictures, and creating a system to fetch the right picture.
- A 'place' is defined with a name and type (city/region/country), and the LLM maps queries to these places.
- Photos are sourced from Unsplash, with a manual selection process to ensure quality.
- For places not in the database, geolocation is used to find the nearest mapped location.
- The system has some flaws, such as gaps in coverage for less common destinations and subjective photo selection.
- The project highlights the importance of combining AI, software engineering, and human curation for tasteful results.
Jellyfin LLM/"AI" Development Policy
10 days ago
- Jellyfin emphasizes code quality, focusing on readability, simplicity, and conciseness.
- LLM output is prohibited in direct communications like issues, pull requests, and forum posts.
- Exceptions are made for LLM-assisted translations if noted and original language is provided.
- LLM code contributions must be concise, focused, and uphold formatting and quality standards.
- Contributors must review and explain LLM-generated code changes in their own words.
- Changes must be tested, build correctly, and handle review feedback appropriately.
- Features or refactors require in-depth understanding and must follow development policies.
- Reviewers have final discretion to reject PRs that are over-complex or poorly structured.
- LLM-developed community projects must be marked as such and respect licenses and attributions.
- Moderators will not engage in 'LLM police' activities but enforce blatant rule violations.
Show HN: ModifyWithAI v2 – Add chat-based agents to your app
10 days ago
- AI assistant takes action in your app beyond answering questions.
- Executes multi-step workflows like checking balances and initiating transfers with visibility.
- Requires user approval for sensitive actions such as money transfers or data deletion.
- Generates persistent UI elements like buttons and widgets for personalized interfaces.
- Searches documentation to answer user questions, reducing support tickets.
South Carolina tops Texas measles outbreak record–with no end in sight
10 days ago
- South Carolina's measles outbreak reaches 789 cases, surpassing Texas's 2025 record of 762 cases.
- The US is at risk of losing its measles elimination status due to continuous spread.
- 2026 is on track to be another record year for measles cases in the US.
- South Carolina's outbreak has accelerated rapidly, jumping from 218 cases on December 28 to 789 on January 27.
- The CDC reports 416 national cases since the start of 2026, but the count is outdated.
- Measles cases in 2026 have been reported in 13 states, with a large outbreak at the Utah-Arizona border.
- Collectively, the affected states have reported 457 cases, including 66 in 2026.
AI Is Not Inevitable
10 days ago
- Jacques Ellul's concept of 'technique' is about reducing activity to efficient means for a defined end, dominant in modernity.
- Ellul believed technique was inevitable and all-consuming, contrasting with arts and crafts movements that focus on craftsmanship.
- Andrew Feenberg offers a hopeful view that technology can be democratized by injecting human values, unlike Ellul's fatalism.
- Historical example: 19th-century factory efficiency was tempered by unions and laws enforcing child labor laws and safety standards.
- Feenberg suggests three ways to push back against 'technique': redefining efficiency, subversive rationalization, and integrating primary and secondary instrumentalization.
- Redefining efficiency: Donald Knuth's literate programming prioritizes human understanding over speed, a model Feenberg would apply to AI.
- Subversive rationalization: Users repurposed France's Minitel from bureaucratic efficiency to a social communication tool, showing how to misuse technology creatively.
- Primary vs. secondary instrumentalization: Feenberg advocates integrating social, aesthetic, and ethical contexts into technical designs to overcome 'technique.'
- Rejecting nostalgia and 'software arts and crafts' alone is insufficient; embedding human values into technology is key to shaping the future.
Scientist who helped eradicate smallpox dies at age 89
10 days ago
- William Foege, a key figure in eradicating smallpox, has died at age 89.
- He led the CDC’s Smallpox Eradication Program in the 1970s, contributing to the disease's eradication by 1980.
- Foege was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012 for his contributions to public health.
- He was a strong advocate for vaccines and worked on polio eradication efforts.
- Foege co-founded the Task Force for Global Health and was a senior adviser at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- In 2025, he and other former CDC directors criticized health policies under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
- Colleagues remember him as an inspirational leader who reinvigorated public health efforts globally.

Hasty Briefsbeta

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AI Is Not Inevitable

Scientist who helped eradicate smallpox dies at age 89