1. Block YouTube ads on AppleTV by decrypting and stripping ads from Profobuf
Total comment counts : 49
Summary
The article discusses the author’s experience setting up a network router to block malicious ads, tracking, clickbait, and other unwanted content. The author details their process of setting up pfSense, a firewall and router platform, on dedicated hardware. They also mention using pfBlockerNG, a package for pfSense that blocks ads and malicious content. The author describes their efforts to create separate networks for different types of devices and to configure firewall rules to ensure that all traffic goes through the DNS server. Additionally, they provide instructions on how to configure pfBlockerNG to block specific types of content.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a hack where the author exploits a flaw in the Protobuf (Protocol Buffers) system to remove ads by changing one byte. However, the author finds some statements about Protobuf to be odd. The author argues that the “flaw” is actually a core design feature of Protobuf that allows for extensibility. Additionally, the author questions the claim that Protobuf encoding is computationally expensive to decode, stating that it is actually intended to be efficient to decode. The author suggests alternative approaches to the hack that would be less error-prone. Finally, the author clarifies that while decoding and re-encoding a message can result in different bytes due to the non-deterministic order of object fields, it is unlikely to affect the behavior of the receiver, such as the YouTube app.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author shares their experience of intercepting their own internet traffic to remove ads and modify web pages using tools like The Proxomitron. They mention that this practice can sometimes lead to being flagged as a bot by services like CloudFlare, but there are ways to bypass this. The author also implies that remote attestation can be detrimental to user freedom.
2. If you’re interested in eye-tracking, I’m interested in funding you
Total comment counts : 66
Summary
The article states that JavaScript is disabled in the browser and instructs the reader to enable it or switch to a supported browser to continue using Twitter. The article also provides information about the Help Center, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and the ads information. The copyright is owned by X Corp and the article was written in 2023.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The authors and their partners have been developing and selling multi-camera arrays for eye tracking and measuring physiological features. Their customers include university research groups, a human factors group in Lockheed, and recently the US Air Force. They installed an array in a hypobaric chamber at Wright-Patterson to perform gaze tracking for pilots under hypoxic conditions. They offer accurate eye and face tracking, minimal calibration, pupil response measurement for fatigue, and customization options for different clients. While they have considered medical applications such as ALS, they are focused on the military niche for generating cash flow due to budget limitations.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article mentions that Senseye, a company, has been working on eye tracking technology for a while. They initially collaborated with the US Air Force to improve pilot training, specifically addressing issues like fatigue. However, they have faced difficulties in securing funding for their eye tracking projects. As a result, they had to pivot towards screening for PTSD, which is still an important area of focus. The author offers to connect the reader with the founder of Senseye if desired.
3. Happy 25th Birthday to Bugzilla
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
Bugzilla, a bug tracking system, is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Originally written in TCL by Terry Weissman for use at mozilla.org, it was ported to Perl to allow for more contributions. However, Bugzilla faced challenges when it came to accepting donations until the formation of Zarro Boogs Corporation, a non-profit revenue-generating entity. The corporation is separate from the Mozilla Foundation but has licensed the Bugzilla trademark. Bugzilla is planning releases for different versions, including 4.4, 5.0.4.1, 5.2, 5.1.3, and the Harmony branch, which will become Bugzilla 6. Bugzilla is also seeking contributions and aims to have Bugzilla 6 in beta or release candidate stage by the end of November.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author shares a personal story about their experience with Bugzilla during their time at The Ohio State University. They mention using Bugzilla for tasks related to Perl programming and engaging with Bugzilla’s mailing lists and IRC. As a result of their work on Bugzilla, they were offered a job to manage Bugzilla at Mindspeed until the company’s collapse and acquisition. The author concludes by expressing their fond memories of working with Bugzilla.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses dissatisfaction with Bugzilla because it was “clunky.” However, after being forced to switch to Github and Gitlab, they miss features such as sorting on multiple columns and the ability to select which columns to display. They also miss interfaces that don’t use JavaScript and don’t interfere with their work.
4. Ubus (OpenWrt micro bus architecture)
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
The article discusses a project called ubus, which provides inter-process communication between different daemons and applications in OpenWrt. Ubus consists of a daemon, library, and helper tools. The ubusd daemon allows daemons to register themselves and send messages using Unix sockets and TLV messages. The libubus library simplifies development for software using ubus. The ubus command line tool allows interaction with the ubusd server, and it supports JSON format for procedures and responses. The article also mentions the uhttpd plugin for ubus calls using HTTP protocol and provides examples of using ubus over HTTP. It explains how to configure access control for ubus sessions and provides examples of ACL configurations. The article concludes with a list of common projects and the namespaces, paths, and procedures they provide in ubus.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author expresses frustration with debugging issues on OpenWRT derivatives and wishes that the inventors of Unix had never added forms of inter-process communication (IPC) other than pipes. They criticize the complex system of stateful daemons notifying each other with numerous race conditions and no debugging capabilities. The use of shell scripts parsing JSON messages is seen as a sign of unreliable systems.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author shares a personal story about coding a prototype for an interprocess communication (IPC) system for a DTV software company back in 2009. They created a crude equivalent of protobuf, not knowing about JSON or standard dbus at the time. Despite being a rookie, the author managed to provide the performance needed for DTV metadata. They express joy in seeing such projects still thriving and realizing the importance of discovery in solving problems. The author also reflects on the current state of computing, feeling that most issues have been solved and that we are now primarily connecting existing libraries and modules instead of building new things.
5. Prisoners of Google Android development
Total comment counts : 47
Summary
The article describes a real-life case study of the challenges faced when developing Android apps. The author was tasked with updating a legacy app to target a higher API level set by Google. Despite minimal changes, the update caused crashes on the newest Android version. The author attempted to roll back the update but was unable to do so due to restrictions in the Android ecosystem. They had to fix the crashes and release a new version quickly. The app went through a prolonged review process by Google, causing frustration for the author. The article concludes by suggesting a move back to open web standards to regain control over app development.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article received an email that affected them both personally and professionally. Personally, they had to update 16 different open-source transit apps, which took a lot of time and effort due to issues with the plugins. They would prefer users to access the apps through the website, but most users still go to the Play Store. Professionally, the author’s company is also facing challenges because they have a legacy app that needs to be updated to meet Google’s requirements. This update will require a significant amount of time and resources, even though the app will be removed from the store at the end of the year.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author agrees with the challenges of Android development but points out two major mistakes made. Firstly, the author didn’t test the app on the latest version of Android, which is crucial. Secondly, they released the app to 100% of the user base on Google Play, instead of doing a staged rollout. Experienced Android developers know the importance of testing on the latest version and gradually rolling out releases.
6. The rise of pity marketing
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
I apologize, but I am unable to access and summarize specific web pages or articles. Is there any specific information or topic you would like me to help with?
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the phenomenon of people seeking support from the internet due to the lack of strong kinship bonds in modern society. It suggests that although some individuals may exploit this system, many genuinely rely on it as a substitute for traditional social support. The article questions the judgment placed on this behavior and suggests that it is a natural response given the circumstances.
7. Overthewire.org
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
The OverTheWire community offers wargames that teach and test security concepts. Each game has its own page with information on how to connect using SSH, which is located in the top left corner of the page. The community also offers chat support for any problems, questions, or suggestions. It’s important to note that each game uses a different SSH port.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the association between OTW (Off The Wall) and the “smash the stack” concept. It emphasizes the importance of the accompanying IRC channels and the valuable learning experiences one could acquire from experts like Jduck and spender. However, it mentions that these communities are now mostly inactive, existing in a state of stagnation. The games within the community, however, remain updated.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article lists a few helpful resources for learning and improving skills in Linux. These include a website called Linux Survival, a subreddit called Linux Upskill Challenge, and a GitHub repository with interactive exercises for commands like grep, sed, and awk.
8. WTFPython: Exploring and understanding Python through surprising snippets
Total comment counts : 14
Summary
The article discusses various surprising and lesser-known features of the Python programming language. It covers topics such as the walrus operator, comparison chaining, object identity, dictionary keys, class inheritance, generator expressions, mutable tuples, exception handling, circular references, and the int() function. It explains these concepts with code snippets, providing explanations and outputs for each example. The article aims to educate readers about these features and deepen their understanding of Python internals.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article provides links to previous discussions on the topic, with information about their points, dates, and comment counts.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a python library called difflib and specifically focuses on the autojunk parameter of the SequenceMatcher class. The author explains that by default, the class starts classifying characters as junk once the parameter is more than 200 characters long. This can cause issues when trying to match longer input. The author recommends setting autojunk=False in the constructor to avoid this behavior. They also mention that it seems the library was originally designed for a specific application and the autojunk parameter was added later, leading to confusion for users. The article provides a link to the official documentation for further reference.
9. Ancient culture torched its own homes every 60 years
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
The Cucuteni-Trypillia culture, which existed between 5500 and 2750 BC in present-day Romania, Moldova, and Ukraine, was an advanced and significant society. They cultivated crops, built large structures, and used copper for tools and jewelry. However, their settlements were repeatedly burned to the ground every 60 to 80 years, a phenomenon known as the “burned house horizon.” Several theories have been proposed to explain this, including deliberate burning for symbolic reasons, reinforcement of structures, or making space for new buildings. Recent experiments involving burning replica structures have shown that intentional burning was likely, and the amount of fuel required suggests that these ancient cultures had impressive logistical capabilities.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the presence of ancient vitrified forts in Scotland where rocks were partially melted using fire. The reason behind this process remains unknown. The article also mentions Scottish myths linking the origin of Scots to Scythia, an area similar to the one covered by the map in question.
Top 2 Comment Summary
In Japanese culture, buildings were traditionally torn down and rebuilt periodically, even including culturally and historically significant buildings. The Japanese don’t consider these rebuilt buildings as new in terms of continuity. For example, a temple can still be considered hundreds of years old, despite being torn down and rebuilt multiple times. This approach preserves the craftsmanship required to build these structures, unlike in Western culture where preservationists often have to reconstruct forgotten techniques.
10. Portable OpenBSD vi for Unix systems
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
The article discusses OpenVi, which is a portable and enhanced implementation of the Berkeley vi/ex text editor. OpenVi is a fork of the vi/ex editor included with OpenBSD and is compatible with various UNIX-like operating systems. The article provides information on the platforms and compilers supported by OpenVi, as well as instructions for installation on specific systems like AIX, NetBSD, illumos, and Oracle Solaris. It also mentions that OpenVi is available to Linux and macOS users through the Homebrew package manager. The article concludes by mentioning that the version number of OpenVi is based on the corresponding OpenBSD release and provides an example of how to display the version information.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article mentions unofficial efforts to bring OpenBSD software to other systems, such as ports of OpenBSD ksh and doas. The author expresses a desire for these ports to be catalogued in an “awesome list.” They also mention the possibility of a portable OpenBSD cron that has features like random ranges with steps and -s, which could potentially replace systemd timers on Linux. The author adds a note mentioning the inclusion of doas ports.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a question about the handling of UTF-8 characters in a specific software. The author mentions previous issues with the software splitting characters and asks if it has been corrected. The author later realizes that the software does not support Unicode, UTF-8, or wide character display, but mentions that multibyte support is planned for the future.