1. Jellyfin: Free software media system
Total comment counts : 52
Summary
Jellyfin is a free, open-source media system that enables users to control and stream their media from a dedicated server to multiple end-user devices via various apps. It is an alternative to proprietary systems such as Emby and Plex. Jellyfin is based on the .NET Core framework, offering full cross-platform support. The development team provides transparent, free software and open community involvement. The backend code for Jellyfin’s server is available on GitHub, and the system can be set up using the command line or an IDE such as Visual Studio.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article is a list of previous discussions on the website Hacker News about Jellyfin, an open-source media server software that is an alternative to Plex. The discussions range from people talking about using it for their home media library to technical updates regarding the software’s release.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author switched from Plex to Jellyfin due to Jellyfin being open source and having AMD/VA-API transcoding support. They like the server capabilities of Jellyfin more and have started using Infuse on their Apple TV instead of Swiftfin because it does not have a license for Dolby Audio formats. The development cycle for Jellyfin looks healthy, unlike Plex which seems to have stagnated, and the next generation Jellyfin Web UI (Jellyfin Vue) looks promising. Jellyfin is also accommodating with file names and metadata.
2. Sennheiser HD 555 to HD 595 Mod
Total comment counts : 32
Summary
The article explains how to turn a less expensive pair of headphones into a more expensive model, with the help of a simple modification. By removing an extra piece of foam inside the cheaper headphones, the frequency response of the device changes slightly, resulting in a flatter curve similar to the more expensive model. Manufacturers often use the same product molds and parts to create multiple models at different price points, sometimes “crippling” a high-end product by removing certain features, rather than designing a completely new item.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The HD595 and HD555 headphone models could have different drivers, with the HD595 having selected and matched ones while the HD555 gets the rejects. This is a common practice.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article exposes that the only physical difference between the expensive and cheaper Sennheiser headphones is an additional foam piece that blocks about 50% of the outside-facing vents. The author finds it outrageous that the company charges $350 for a product that is not significantly different from a $200 one. Therefore, they hope that consumers will pay attention and spend their money elsewhere.
3. A single line of code made a 24-core server slower than a laptop (2021)
Total comment counts : 25
Summary
The author developed a Cassandra benchmarking tool called Latte, but found that as he added more workload definition capabilities, it ran slower on a multi-processor machine than on his laptop. Using a profiler, he discovered that there was no bottleneck in the code, but suspected that shared state was the problem. He found the issue in the shared reference counters themselves that kept a count of the number of times the Akka actor system needed to create new instances of the benchmark actors, and determined that atomically increasing or decreasing shared atomic counters slowed down performance due to the cost of maintaining the shared state.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The blog post discusses the author’s interest in parallelizing code with the easiest way being to shard data per thread, treating a multithreaded or multimachine architecture as a tree rather than a graph. They worked on parallelizing the A* graph search algorithm in program synthesis and found that for 16 processes it took 35 seconds, while for 3 processes it took 21 seconds, implying the need to redesign the approach. The author mentions Amdahl’s law in the context of parallelizing and how single-threaded programs are often more performative than multithreaded/multimachine distributed machines, but they don’t scale. They also provide a link to a whitepaper on scalability and the cost of it.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the limitations of atomics in scaling, which is common knowledge. Specifically, on the armv8 platform without atomic extensions, atomics do not work well because there is no equivalent to “lock; xadd”, which could cause an atomic increment to potentially become an infinite loop.
4. Scientists create contained ball of turbulence in a tank
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
Scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered a way to create contained turbulence in a tank of water by keeping it from touching the container walls and stirrer. This breaks the rules of an often-quoted open question in physics since it allows them to manipulate the energy, helicity, and impulse of the turbulence more precisely using lasers and multiple fast cameras. The researchers anticipate that this breakthrough will unlock new avenues of study for better understanding real-world turbulence, which physicists have been struggling to observe and develop a satisfying description of for years.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses how a great method of data visualization can improve one’s ability to reason about a problem by utilizing the perspective and input from other minds, and highlights a particular experiment that received an award for its impressive visualization. The article includes a link for further information.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The University of Chicago scientists have found a way to create contained turbulence in a tank of water by using a ring of jets that blow loops around until an isolated “ball” of turbulence forms and lingers, which has been compared to the fictional technique of Rasengan.
5. I have received a $100k sponsorship for Ladybird browser
Total comment counts : 23
Summary
The article informs the reader that JavaScript is disabled in their browser and advises them to either enable JavaScript or switch to a supported browser in order to continue using Twitter. The article also provides links to their Help Center for further assistance and their terms of service, privacy policy, cookie policy, and imprint. Lastly, the article lists the year and name of the company.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The writer is excited and provides a link to a presentation about Ladybird at a recent Web Engines Hackfest in Spain. The link leads to a YouTube video about Ladybird which the writer recommends watching for more information.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article talks about the Ladybird browser, which has been built from scratch and is easy to install and build. The author installed it on openSUSE and found it to be a simple process. However, they are disappointed that the Ladybird community only interacts through Discord, as they prefer to use open-source communication tools. The author hopes that Ladybird thrives.
6. Infinite Photorealistic Worlds Using Procedural Generation
Total comment counts : 23
Summary
The article cannot be accessed because the user does not have permission. If the user thinks this is a mistake, they can visit a website for more information on how to restore access. The message was updated on December 18, 2019.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses procedural generation, which has been used by the demoscene for decades with much fewer computing resources than what is currently being used. The writer believes that everyone has a lot to learn from the demoscene in this regard and shares examples of memorable demos from 2000 and 2009.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article reports that the quality of the maps generated by a tool for generating video game environment assets is good and can provide ground truth for training. However, the tool is slow and CPU-bound, making it unsuitable for applications with user interaction. The .blend files generated by the tool are unoptimized, making it difficult to edit them on a laptop. The best use case for the tool is to generate a full image set for training, where it can run for a week on a cluster. The article advises against hyping the tool like No Man’s Sky and notes that there is no easy way to control the tool with an LLM.
7. Imaginary problems are the root of bad software
Total comment counts : 51
Summary
The author of the article suggests that one of the main causes of bad software is imaginary problems. These problems arise when communication breaks down between the client and development team, and people try to create interesting problems to solve rather than focusing on the real issues at hand. Sometimes, these imaginary problems become an essential part of a company’s culture, where the focus is on finding complex solutions rather than simplified ones. The author argues that this issue is not limited to software development but can occur in other departments in a company. Ultimately, imaginary problems take attention away from solving the actual problem and can lead to subpar software.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article argues that the incentive system in the software industry is at fault. Designs, codebases, product features, and team size are rewarded over more conventional approaches, leading to the production of more solutions than needed. Until incentives are aligned with actual needs, the industry will continue to solve imaginary problems.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article argues that imaginary problems are more enjoyable than real ones for developers and smart people, and that they often focus on the distant future (such as reaching 1M users), which is unlikely to happen. Instead, they should focus on finishing and marketing their current project in order to make progress towards their goals.
8. Measuring blood pressure for less than a dollar using a phone
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
The University of California, San Diego has developed a device called BPClip that can take blood pressure readings like a traditional cuff but is attached to a smartphone and costs 80 cents. The BPClip prototype consists of a plastic clip with a spring mechanism that allows the user to compress their finger and two light channels. One directs a flashlight at their finger and the other directs the reflected light to the smartphone camera for image processing. The device relies on simple physics, with blood absorbing light and the app providing data processing and guidance for users.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a new feature being added to the Apple Watch that allows users to measure their blood pressure through their fingers. However, a comment on the article points out that measuring blood pressure in the fingers may not be consistent with translating it to a brachial artery blood pressure, which is closest to the aortic valve. Additionally, the lower blood pressure in the fingers and various external factors can influence peripheral blood pressure, making it even more unpredictable when farther away from the heart.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The writer misses the SpO2 sensor on their old S5 phone, which stopped working a few years ago when the S Health app removed the feature.
9. Modern CSS for Dynamic Component-Based Architecture
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
The article discusses how modern CSS has evolved and improved with feature parity between browsers at an all-time high, and efforts being made to continue releasing features consistently and synchronously among evergreen browsers. The article also introduces modern project architecture, emphasizing theming, responsive layouts, and component design. Furthermore, it explains how to use new CSS features to improve code organization and dig into layout techniques such as grid and container queries, with real-world examples of context-aware components that use cutting-edge CSS techniques. The author also discusses how to use nesting and cascade layers to manage CSS cascade layers, which allows authors more control over specificity and order of appearance. Finally, the article concludes with recommendations for three features that should be used when starting a new project: custom properties (CSS variables), nesting, and cascade layers.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the challenges of keeping up with the updates to CSS since the introduction of display: flex. The author suggests that adding namespaces and modules to the syntax could help developers better manage the increasing complexity of web applications. The article also provides an example of a CSS grid layout.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is recommending a good resource with useful examples for incorporating new ideas. However, for a foundation of building things from first principles, the author recommends a different website called every-layout.dev.
10. The Rot Economy
Total comment counts : 34
Summary
The author criticizes the modern business mindset that prioritizes growth at any cost, regardless of sustainability or long-term benefits. He argues that companies like Meta and Google prioritize shareholder value and revenue growth over creativity, innovation, and ethical practices. With a focus only on growth metrics, companies are not punished for poor planning, mismanagement, or lack of innovation. The author also describes how venture capitalists can create businesses that appear valuable but aren’t truly of value. This culture of growth-mongering leads to vast oscillations of hiring and firing, and the author argues that it ultimately hurts the companies themselves, the people they employ, and society at large.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests that when an economy reaches a mono-duo-poly stage, it begins to resemble planned economics with rare goods, long queues, no choice, bad products, and ineffective leadership. The author compares this phase to the USSR’s economy and criticizes the focus on virtual wealth and the slide back into feudalism. The article also mentions market-libertarians defending practices like shredding perfectly fine goods in warehouses.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article suggests that the issues related to capital accumulation, such as dumb investment decisions or failed projects, are expected and have occurred throughout history. Intelligent investment decisions take longer to show results, while unintelligent ones fail quickly, which can make the economy look worse.