1. Google is already pushing WEI into Chromium
Total comment counts : 117
Summary
This article consists of various comments expressing dissatisfaction and anger towards Google’s proposal for Web Environment Integrity (WEI), which aims to prevent the hiding or spoofing of fingerprinting techniques on websites. Users are calling out Google for being greedy, betraying the principles of an open internet, and urging others to boycott Google’s services and switch to alternative platforms like Firefox. The comments also suggest the development of WEI blockers and criticize Google’s growing monopoly.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses Vivaldi’s overview of Google’s new dangerous web environment integrity specification. The author found Vivaldi’s overview to be a good primer on the situation.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article argues that Mozilla should call for Google’s removal from the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) due to their implementation of Web Environment Integrity. The author believes that if Google can unilaterally change the basic principles of the web, then the W3C is already useless. The article also criticizes Google for ignoring existing proposals and presenting their own in a shady way. The author calls on Mozilla to take real action as a defender of the web’s ideals and sees Google’s actions as a fundamental attack on what makes the web different from closed ecosystems.
2. Guide to running Llama 2 locally
Total comment counts : 27
Summary
The article discusses different methods for running Llama 2, a language model, locally on various devices. It mentions three open-source tools: Llama.cpp, Ollama, and MLC LLM. Llama.cpp is a C/C++ port of Llama that allows running Llama 2 locally on Macs, Linux, and Windows. Ollama is a macOS app that supports Llama 2 and allows running and interacting with the model through a command-line interface. MLC LLM is an open-source project that enables running language models locally on devices like iOS and Android. The article provides information on how to install and use these tools on different devices and platforms.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article provides instructions on how to build a Windows version of a program called Llama. The steps involve installing the CUDA toolkit for Nvidia GPU users, downloading the model, cloning a GitHub repository, setting up the build environment using CMake, and running the main executable with certain parameters. The article also includes a PowerShell function that allows users to run prompts with the program more easily.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article mentions a live coding stream where the author demonstrates how to fine-tune a Llama 2 model using PEFT/Lora on a Google Colab A100 GPU. The process includes discussing fundamentals like RLHF and Lora. The author states that with quantization and parameter efficient fine-tuning, the model only took up 13GB on a single GPU. The article provides a link to the live coding stream for those interested in more details.
3. Treemaps are awesome
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
The article discusses the use of treemaps as a visualization tool for exploring and summarizing hierarchical and heterogeneous data. Treemaps are described as a space-filling visualization that can be used to represent data in a way that uses all available pixels. The article explains the process of constructing a treemap and suggests various techniques for improving the representation of data, such as using colors to indicate data types, adding spacing to show grouping, and drawing lines between parent and child elements. The article also compares treemaps to other visualization options, such as pprint, data browsers, and schemas. Suggestions for further improvements in treemap design and functionality are also provided.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a codebase visualization tool called Code Atlas that uses Voronoi treemaps, which have a non-rectangular layout. The tool allows users to navigate the map by zooming through double-clicks, as smaller cells in deep codebases can be challenging to target accurately with a cursor. It also mentions that Code Atlas is available as a Github Action for generating treemaps during CI.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses their dislike for tree maps as they find it difficult to see the intended tree structure. Although some tree maps may be visually appealing, this is true for most visualizations. The author especially dislikes when tree maps are used to represent the logical connection of something like a CPU, as it does not accurately depict the connection. They also criticize the use of a combination of tree and heat maps, as they believe it fails to provide any useful information that a simple ordered list couldn’t convey.
4. When did people stop being drunk all the time?
Total comment counts : 47
Summary
error
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the decrease in alcohol consumption among modern people compared to previous generations, specifically mentioning a past practice in France where children would drink wine at school. The author attributes this change to various factors including advancements in scientific knowledge about the effects of alcohol, increased awareness of its negative consequences, and the implementation of prevention and repression measures for drinking and driving. Other influencing factors mentioned include improved hygiene standards, the transition to a service-based society where physical labor is reduced, and the emergence of other drugs as well as seemingly innocent substances like sugar, television shows, and social media.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article discusses the author’s personal experience growing up with alcoholic parents and how it influenced their decision to abstain from drinking. The author also reflects on the contrast between their own experience and the behavior of the framers of the Constitution, who drank heavily during the 1787 summer. The author finds it fascinating to observe these two extremes in behavior.
5. Mark Watson’s Lisp books
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
error
Top 1 Comment Summary
This text expresses enthusiasm for the programming language Lisp and encourages others to download and explore its repository.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is not provided in the question. However, the link provided leads to a user profile on Hacker News for a person named Mark Watson.
6. Sinead O’Connor has died
Total comment counts : 52
Summary
Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has passed away at the age of 56, according to a statement from her family. O’Connor was known for her powerful voice and her hit song “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which earned her three Grammy nominations. She also made headlines for her activism, including tearing up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on live television as a protest. In recent years, O’Connor had spoken publicly about her mental health struggles and her conversion to Islam. She is survived by her three children. Tributes have poured in from fellow musicians and public figures.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author grew up in Poland during the time when there was a strong cult-like following for Pope John Paul II. Despite being raised in an atheist family, the author learned about their great-uncle being sexually assaulted by a priest. The author found validation in a Saturday Night Live performance that helped them navigate their surroundings outside of home. Although the author now has a better understanding of the issues within the Catholic Church, they remain grateful for the small act of solidarity, even if it was not directly aimed at them.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article expresses deep sadness regarding the passing of a singer. It highlights the singer’s powerful vocals and emotional performances. The author particularly mentions the singer’s rendition of Pink Floyd’s “Mother” in 1990, performed live with other musicians, as an expression of her vulnerable soul. The article also provides audio and video links to the performance.
7. Unpacking Google’s Web Environment Integrity specification
Total comment counts : 39
Summary
The article discusses a new proposal by Google called the Web Environment Integrity spec, which Vivaldi browser believes poses a major threat to the open web. The spec aims to provide websites with an API that determines whether the browser and platform being used are trusted by an authoritative third party. Google’s involvement in this raises concerns about impartiality, as it could potentially favor its own platforms. Furthermore, there are questions about how the spec will ensure that real people are interacting with websites and what restrictions it may impose on extensions and browser modifications. The article warns that if implemented, this spec could harm the open web and negatively impact smaller vendors. It calls for vigilance, legislation, and reducing Google’s market share to maintain an even playing field and protect the openness of the web.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article criticizes Google’s “safetynet” feature for Android, arguing that it does not increase security as claimed. The feature locks out third-party up-to-date and secure ROMs, while allowing insecure manufacturer-provided ROMs to pass, causing a vendor lock-in. This prevents advanced users from improving their security without purchasing additional hardware. The author calls for more attention to be given to this issue to counter the claim that this kind of attestation benefits users.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the question of whether a browser can refuse to implement a contentious feature. It states that in this particular case, it is not that simple, as browsers that choose not to implement the feature would not be trusted and websites using the feature could reject users from those browsers. The article also mentions that Google has ways to drive adoption of these features by websites. It emphasizes that as a software creator, it is up to you to decide what is best for your customers, and if the only hope of not implementing the feature is relying on the EU to take action against Google, it suggests a lack of willingness to take a strong stance independently.
8. Mold 2.0
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
The article discusses the release of Mold 2.0.0, a high-speed linker, and the change in license from AGPL to MIT. The purpose of this change is to expand the user base of the linker. The decision to change the license was made after attempts to monetize the product through a dual-licensing scheme did not meet expectations. The article also mentions the availability of updates in this release and encourages readers to become GitHub sponsors if they are happy with the license change.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article discusses their efforts to speed up project builds, with a focus on the bottleneck caused by linking. They have found that their system has unused power due to the linker, and they are planning to give building with mold another try.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the mentioned article is amazed at how quickly the person being discussed responds to requests. The author also mentions that they are unsure about the competitiveness of “mold” compared to “lld,” especially when considering ThinLTO, which may render the advantages of “mold” insignificant.
9. Google vs. the Open Web
Total comment counts : 29
Summary
The article discusses Google’s proposed “Web Environment Integrity” (WEI), which would allow websites to select which devices (browsers) they are displayed on and refuse service to others. The author argues that this proposal goes against the principles of the open web and is primarily a solution to Google’s advertising problem. The author also raises concerns about the exclusion of marginalized groups and the potential for abuse by websites. They argue that this proposal would turn the web into an appliance and undermine its generative nature. The article mentions reactions from the community, including opposition from Mozilla. The author concludes by pointing out the need for both short-term technological considerations and long-term regulation to protect marginalized groups and preserve the open web.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the ease of excluding bots, which can usually be identified by their user agent string. While it is possible for bots to fake this string, it is unlikely that they generate such a significant number of impressions for Google to take action against them. The author questions the seriousness of the situation.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author suggests that instead of expressing frustration towards a particular corporation, it might be more effective to write to competition authorities to address the potential negative impacts on competition caused by a proposal.
10. Expo – Open-source platform for making universal apps for Android, iOS, and web
Total comment counts : 40
Summary
The article is about Expo, an open-source platform for creating universal native apps using React. Expo supports Android, iOS, and web platforms, allowing developers to build apps with React and JavaScript. The article mentions Expo Application Services (EAS), a platform that provides hosted services integrated with Expo open-source tools. It also provides links to the Expo Community Guidelines, official documentation, contributing guide, frequently asked questions, and information about the Expo team members. The Expo source code is available under the MIT license.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author used to maintain Detox for iOS when they were at Wix from 2017 to 2021. They explain that they dropped support for Expo for technical and “political” reasons. They found that users who reported issues with their Expo apps often had little technical understanding of the complex environment stack. The Expo layer added complexity and bugs, and users had limited ability to fix anything without ejecting their project from the Expo ecosystem. The React Native layer also had bugs. When users reported bugs to the Expo team, they received unhelpful comments and often saw no reaction. Ultimately, the author and their team decided that the hassle was not worth the low-quality user benefit and chose to drop support for Expo.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s experience with cross-platform frameworks for mobile development. They conclude that these frameworks are usually a bad idea because the user experience is inferior to native apps and there are compromises to achieve cross-platform functionality. The author suggests two alternatives: creating a progressive web app for cross-platform compatibility or using native UI with shared business logic using languages like Rust, Go, or Kotlin Multiplatform. They mention that native UI has improved and are comparable to web development tools like React.