1. Zenbleed
Total comment counts : 31
Summary
The article discusses a vulnerability discovered by Tavis Ormandy from Google Information Security. The vulnerability affects all Zen 2 class processors and allows attackers to spy on operations, such as strlen, memcpy, and strcmp, that use vector registers. The vulnerability is triggered by utilizing the XMM Register Merge Optimization, a register rename, and a mispredicted vzeroupper instruction. By exploiting this vulnerability, an attacker can monitor encryption keys and passwords as users log in. The article also mentions a software workaround and a microcode update released by AMD to address the vulnerability.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a new exploit that highlights the limitations of running something in a virtual machine (VM) and assumes it is safe. The exploit is considered a no-breakout massive exploit that is simple to execute and offers significant advantages. The article also notes that fixing one bug related to CPU vulnerabilities does not mean there are no other similar vulnerabilities waiting to be discovered. It provides a list of CPU vulnerabilities found in recent years.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a timeline of events related to a CPU vulnerability. Here are the key points:
- On May 9, 2023, an anomalous result is generated in a component of the CPU validation pipeline.
- By May 12, the issue is successfully isolated and reproduced.
- On May 14, the severity and scope of the issue are understood.
- A status report is drafted and shared with AMD PSIRT on May 15.
- On May 17, AMD acknowledges the report and confirms they can reproduce the issue.
- A reliable PoC (Proof of Concept) is developed and shared with AMD on May 17.
- Major kernel and hypervisor vendors are notified on May 19.
- A beta microcode update for Rome is received from AMD on May 23.
- The update is confirmed to fix the issue on May 24.
- On May 30, AMD informs the researchers that they have sent a security notice to partners.
- A meeting with AMD to discuss the status and details takes place on June 12.
- Unexpectedly, patches are published by AMD on July 20 before the agreed embargo date.
- On July 21, in light of the public disclosure, major distributions are privately notified to prepare updated firmware packages.
- Public disclosure occurs on July 24.
2. Debian riscv64
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
The article announces that Debian riscv64 is now an official architecture after many years of effort. However, this milestone is just the beginning, as the port will still need to be rebootstrapped and bugs will need to be fixed. The process will take several months and the architecture will eventually be released with Trixie. The article expresses gratitude to everyone who contributed to this milestone, including individuals, Debian teams, and various organizations and companies such as MIT CSAIL, Sifive, and RISC-V International.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses how Debian, an open source operating system, now has riscv64-linux builds of Zig enabled with every CI run. This development is expected to benefit more users in the near future.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the availability of NetBSD for the RISC-V architecture and the importance of having a full Debian suite to encourage adoption. It highlights the need for open hardware to support the open source development ecosystem. The author argues that fully open systems are ideal, but acknowledges the value of copy protection and binary blobs for learning purposes. The article emphasizes the complementary nature of hands-on learning and having access to comprehensive documentation. It also suggests that open standards will lead to future chip designs, broader software options, and the evolution of computers into fully autonomous systems. The author concludes by stating that “the nerds won” and that computers have become a skilled labor, expressing a sense of pride.
3. The “three things” exercise for getting things out of talks (2011)
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
The article discusses a method called “Three Things” that can help individuals get more out of talks and seminars. The goal is to identify three key points or takeaways from the talk and write them down on a sheet of paper or index card. These “things” can be definitions, theorems, examples, questions, or anything specific that stood out during the talk. The author suggests reviewing these three things later and cutting down to the most important ones. The article emphasizes that even if the talk was challenging, getting at least three small things out of it makes it a successful experience. The method can be especially useful for graduate students or those in the early years of attending seminars. The author recommends sharing these three things with others and engaging in follow-up discussions.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the difficulty of learning from research-level math talks, as the material can be extremely complicated. The advice is aimed at graduate students who often struggle to derive any practical or meaningful information from these talks.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses their appreciation for the abundance of knowledge available on YouTube, highlighting features such as the ability to rewind, adjust playback speed, and copy information from transcripts. They argue that being ’late’ is not a concern in this context. They suggest that a combination of informative videos and a helpful chat community is sufficient for learning mathematics and computer science subjects up to a certain level, eliminating the need for attending university lectures.
4. U.S. Senate bill crafted with DEA targets end-to-end encryption
Total comment counts : 32
Summary
error
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author suggests implementing “the dog shall not bark up the wrong tree” laws, which would prevent organizations from using their resources to influence laws that govern their own conduct. The author believes that while these organizations may have expertise on the issue, they should only present raw data without sensitive information and should not engage in lobbying for their own advantage.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is about a senator named Roger Marshall from Kansas who has sponsored a bill. The bill has both Republican and Democratic cosponsors, including Senators Jeanne Shaheen, Richard Durbin, Chuck Grassley, Amy Klobuchar, and Todd Young. The author encourages readers to contact their senators to express their opposition to the bill, stating that Senate staff take such feedback into account.
5. Twitter has officially changed its logo to ‘X’
Total comment counts : 199
Summary
Twitter has changed its official logo from the iconic bird to an ‘X’, following a suggestion by Elon Musk. Musk tweeted that x.com now redirects to twitter.com and referred to the new logo as “interim.” He also hinted that the company may bid farewell to the Twitter brand and gradually remove the bird symbol altogether. Musk, who has a fondness for the letter ‘X,’ previously founded X.com (which became PayPal), SpaceX, and X.ai. Twitter’s CEO Linda Yaccarino mentioned that the future of the platform lies in features centered around audio, video, messaging, payment/banking, and becoming a global marketplace. This logo change comes after Musk briefly changed the logo to the Doge meme earlier this year.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author expresses ambivalence towards the Elon Musk era at Twitter but becomes angry and disappointed at the recent decision to change the platform’s name. They believe Twitter has had a strong brand that has achieved significant success, highlighted by the inclusion of the verb “Tweet” in everyday language. However, the author finds it foolish to discard this brand identity for the sake of Elon Musk using a domain he has owned since 1999.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is highlighting the need to update a page called “The Brand Toolkit” on Twitter’s website. The page currently contains information about Twitter’s logo and how it should be used according to their branding guidelines. The author suggests that the page needs to be updated.
6. Icon Buddy – 100K+ Open Source SVG Icons, Fully Customizable
Total comment counts : 22
Summary
This article provides a comprehensive list of various icon collections that are available for download. It includes information about the number of icons in each collection and the different formats in which they are available, such as SVG, PNG, WEBP, and more. The article also mentions that a powerful API will be launched soon, and encourages readers to sign up for updates. The article ends with a random mention of “Basketball duotone,” which seems unrelated to the rest of the content.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The Noun Project is a website that offers a collection of 5 million icons with clearer licensing.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the desire to be able to view the license and author information for icons. The author mentions that currently, it is not possible to do so when discovering icons through the search all icons feature. The author is unsure if there is another way to access this information.
7. Death Metal English (2013)
Total comment counts : 28
Summary
The article discusses the use of a writing style called “Death Metal English” in the lyrics of death metal bands, particularly focusing on the band Vastum. Death Metal English is characterized by the use of big, polysyllabic words, excessive adjectives, prepositional phrases, passive voice, archaic or pseudo-Biblical verbiage, grandiloquent metaphor, and illogical or meaningless sentences. The author suggests that Death Metal English is used to make death metal lyrics sound more brutal and to add a certain aesthetic to the genre. Various death metal bands are mentioned as examples of using this writing style effectively. The article also provides humorous examples of how normal English phrases can be transformed into Death Metal English.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article highlights the various musical projects and talents of Doug Moore, who is known as the vocalist for extreme death metal band Pyrrhon. He is also a part of other bands such as Glorious Depravity, Scarcity, and Weeping Sores. The article also mentions that Doug is a software engineer working for a fitness tech startup called Proteus Motion. The author expresses their admiration for Doug’s skills and considers themselves fortunate to be his friend and collaborator.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article presents the concept of “Death Metal English” by comparing a normal sentence, “You have to mow the lawn,” with an exaggerated version in the style of death metal lyrics. The exaggerated version emphasizes violent imagery and invokes a sense of power. The author expresses an interest in listening to an album of such lyrics while mowing the lawn.
8. Show HN: My Pen Plotting Journey
Total comment counts : 28
Summary
error
Top 1 Comment Summary
The individual is seeking clarification on the differences between using a pen plotter or a regular printer to print art and drawings. They express uncertainty due to not having access to either of these devices.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article explains how to use a Raspberry Pi to wirelessly operate the Axidraw, a machine that can create art. The tutorial provides instructions on setting up the Raspberry Pi to control the Axidraw without the need for a direct laptop connection.
9. Why Frames Tilt Forward (2015)
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
The author of the article discusses the problem of tilted picture frames and explores the reasons behind this issue. They explain that frames tilt forward due to the wire being attached to the back of the frame, with the center of mass in front of that point. The author goes on to provide explanations and diagrams to illustrate this phenomenon. They also provide recommendations for hanging frames to reduce forward tilt, such as using two hooks and 45-degree wire angles. Additionally, the author offers a calculator to estimate the forward tilt of your own frame.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article describes a funny sentence: “Most people in the Northern Hemisphere hang their pictures on a wall.” The author thinks that the sentence is amusing because it may not apply to people below the equator. They mention that people often write funny and quirky things, and express gratitude for the existence of archive.org, which preserves such humor for future generations.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article explains that a professionally hung painting is typically attached to a dedicated wall mount, not with wires. However, cable mounts are easier to reposition. The author shares a personal experience of visiting a museum in Malaysia and using a cigarette packet to raise the lower edge of a painting in order to take a photograph. Surprisingly, when the author returned a year later, they discovered that the cigarette packet was still there.
10. Teach your LLM to answer with facts, not fiction
Total comment counts : 23
Summary
Large Language Models (LLMs) are advanced AI systems that can answer questions, but they may provide inaccurate responses on unfamiliar topics, a phenomenon known as hallucination. To improve the accuracy of LLMs, it is recommended to provide facts and definitions related to the question. Adding supporting documents and using vector searches can also help retrieve relevant information. Vector SQL, an extended version of SQL, is a powerful tool for constructing complex search queries in LLMs. By integrating vector searches with SQL, users can improve the performance of LLMs on complex topics. The article provides examples and tips for designing prompts and using vector SQL effectively. The use of external knowledge and vector SQL can help reduce hallucination and enhance the performance of LLMs.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses how facts aren’t always as clear-cut as people think, using various examples such as questions about fictional character evolutions and Santa’s reindeer. It mentions that humans often present things that are not true as facts, and this can also be reflected in text generated by language models trained on human writings. The article highlights that there are reputable sources that present conflicting information about historical figures like Abraham Lincoln. It further explains the challenge faced by language models when trying to predict the next word in a text, as they do not know whether to draw from reliable sources or fictional ones. As a result, the generated text can be a mixture of various sources.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is described as an essential guide for understanding life in a complex universe. It claims to be definitively inaccurate when it is incorrect, placing the blame on reality for any major discrepancies. An example is given where the Guide provided misleading information about an alien planet, resulting in deaths. The editors defended themselves by arguing that the incorrect version of the information was more aesthetically pleasing and blamed life for not being beautiful or true.