1. Text editing on mobile: the invisible problem
Total comment counts : 123
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the challenges of typing on mobile devices and the preference for using laptops for messaging applications. The author mentions experiencing frustration with mobile keyboards, leading to a higher rate of errors in texts. Many individuals opt to send messages with typos, no capitalization, and fewer words when using mobile keyboards. The article highlights that phones are primarily used for consuming news and media, as well as taking photos, rather than for long-form text input. The popularity of iPad covers with built-in keyboards is noted as an indication of the keyboard limitations on larger devices. The author questions why there are no similar options for iPhones and ponders whether the stylus, which is sold for iPads, works with iPhones. The article concludes by stating that Apple seems to accept the limitations of mobile keyboards and suggests that Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, would not approve of an iPhone with a stylus. The author also mentions previous phones that had hardware keyboards, such as Nokia and Blackberry devices, and expresses a desire for a pocket laptop with a slide-out keyboard.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the issue of touch screens being a bad interface for productivity. The author argues that touch screens lack the precision and variety of actions provided by a mouse and keyboard. The author is skeptical of any software solutions and believes the problem lies with the hardware itself.
2. Platform that enables Windows driver development in Rust
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
The article discusses a repository of Rust crates that allow developers to develop Windows Drivers in Rust. The intention is to support both WDM and WDF driver development models, including support for all versions of WDF included in WDK 22H2 and newer. The article mentions that the project is still in early stages of development and is not recommended for commercial use yet. It encourages community experimentation, suggestions, and discussions. The article also provides instructions on how to use the repository and outlines the current limitations and supported configurations.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Unfortunately, I am unable to access the content of the article. Can you provide a brief description or key points from the article for me to summarize?
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses Mark Russinovich, who is currently the CEO of Microsoft, and his background prior to joining the company. Russinovich previously owned a software tools and NT kernel consulting company, where Microsoft engineers would go to learn about NT kernel development. He is also known for discovering Sony’s DRM rootkit, Symantec’s rootkit-like file protection, and catching Best Buy pirating ERD Commander. The author mentions regretting deleting their LinkedIn profile in 2014, as they had connections with people in Silicon Valley, including Mark. They reflect on the freedom and agility that comes with being relatively unknown, referencing a reggae song by Desmond Dekker.
3. SpamChannel: Spoofing emails from 2M domains and virtually becoming Satan [pdf]
Total comment counts : 22
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is broken and advises focusing on DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) instead. It mentions that although slide 54 claims DKIM and DMARC do not protect against a specific attack, this is not entirely true. The article explains that by setting up DKIM for all delegated senders, a DMARC p=reject policy can be safely enabled. At this point, the article suggests opting out of SPF for third-party senders by using the ‘?’ modifier in SPF. This allows MailChannels to have a neutral SPF stance while DKIM is used for authentication. The article acknowledges that this solution is not perfect but emphasizes that email will never be completely reliable or secure.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is a video link to a talk given at DEF CON 31. The talk discusses the topic of spoofing emails from two million domains and virtually becoming Satan. The video can be watched on YouTube or using VLC player if the video format doesn’t work in Firefox.
4. Www which WASM works
Total comment counts : 15
Summary
The article discusses the struggles that the author faced in getting the libjxl library built for WebAssembly (WASM) using different runtime environments such as wazero, wasmer-go, and wasmtime-go. These environments presented various errors and challenges, such as invalid byte limits, missing imports, and the need to enable threads for shared memories. The author also attempted to run the libjxl wasm demo in a web browser but encountered issues with the site builder and lack of a web server. Despite the difficulties, the author eventually managed to create a prototype that could decode jxl files and convert them into JPEG images.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the use of emscripten and WASI (WebAssembly System Interface) to run WebAssembly (WASM) modules. It explains that emscripten typically outputs a WASM file along with a JavaScript file that sets up the runtime, and using the WASM file alone can cause problems. The author suggests that using a WASM module built specifically for WASI would be more appropriate, as it defines a common runtime for WASM modules. Additionally, the author mentions an option in emscripten called STANDALONE_WASM that allows the use of WASI instead of the emscripten runtime.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a common problem in the early stages of the space, where teams struggle to understand why something works in one place but not in another. It mentions the tool Extism, which aims to simplify this complexity and suggests using it instead of lower-level runtimes for a better experience with WebAssembly. The article provides a link to Extism on GitHub.
5. Hedy Lamarr (2018)
Total comment counts : 15
Summary
Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-American actress and inventor who made significant contributions to the development of WiFi, GPS, and Bluetooth communication systems. Despite being known for her beauty and acting career, Lamarr’s inventive genius was often overlooked. She was born into a well-to-do Jewish family in Vienna and showed an early interest in machines, taking them apart and reassembling them at a young age. Lamarr’s marriage to an Austrian munitions dealer was unhappy and she eventually escaped to London, where she met Louis B. Mayer and was introduced to Hollywood. In Hollywood, she was inspired by businessman and pilot Howard Hughes to pursue her inventing talents. She collaborated with composer George Antheil and together they developed a communication system using “frequency hopping,” but the military rejected their invention. Lamarr’s patent expired before she could see any financial gain. It was not until her later years that Lamarr received recognition for her invention, and she was posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014. Lamarr is now known as “the mother of WiFi” and her contributions to wireless technology are highly regarded.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a submission titled “An Austrian-American actress/inventor pioneered basis for WiFi, GPS, & Bluetooth” that violates the guidelines of the website HN (Hacker News) by using an overly editorialized title. The guidelines state that original titles should be used unless they are misleading or linkbait. The author urges submitters to refrain from skewing the discussion in unhelpful ways and suggests that if one wants to highlight the important aspects of an article, it should be done through comments rather than through the submission title.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is about a book called “Hedy’s Folly” by Richard Rhodes, which details the life and accomplishments of Hedy Lamar, including her patent work. The author of the article also mentions that Rhodes previously wrote “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” and praises his ability to reveal the intricacies of historical events that shape the world today.
6. The equinox is not when day and night have equal lengths
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
The article discusses the use of a Varnish cache server with the code “cache-hkg17927-HKG 1695600146 1598897194.” It suggests that there may be forbidden details or sensitive information that should not be disclosed.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the work of Phil Plait, also known as the Bad Astronomer, who has been writing online since 1999. The author praises Phil for helping people understand the world and mentions discovering his blog in 2005. The article also includes links to Phil’s website and archive of his blog.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of day and night being of equal length everywhere on earth. It references the tilt of the earth in relation to the sun and points out that this equality does not necessarily mean that each day and night are exactly 12 hours long. The article also touches on the idea that this phenomenon occurs globally and that there is always more daylight than darkness under this particular definition. Additionally, it mentions the interesting fact that the point of equal day and night can occur at various times during the day and not necessarily for a full 24 hours.
7. Fiber in C++: Understanding the Basics
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
The article discusses the concept of fibers, which are a powerful addition to cooperative multitasking. The author explains that fibers are often underappreciated due to a lack of public information about them. The article focuses specifically on fiber basics in the context of C++ programming in the game industry. The author describes how multithreading has become essential in game development, but there are challenges with dependencies and synchronization. The article explains that fibers offer a solution to these challenges by allowing tasks to yield control to each other in a cooperative manner. The article compares fibers to threads and notes that fibers offer more flexibility and are often used in game engines for parallelization. The article also provides a detailed explanation of fiber implementation on x64 and Arm64 architectures. Additionally, the article briefly discusses the interface that the Windows operating system offers for fibers. The author concludes by stating that fibers offer greater power and flexibility in job systems with dependencies. The article includes a link to a GitHub repository with a library for implementing fibers.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of “fiber” and how it is defined. It initially defines fibers as lightweight userspace threads, similar to what is found in Haskell, Go, and recently revived in Java as “virtual threads.” However, later in the article, it mentions Windows API functions that are necessary for using fibers and suggests that fibers are at the operating system level and not managed by applications. The reader is confused by this apparent contradiction and wonders if they are missing something.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses stack-free coroutines and their implementation in C using macros. It mentions Cilk as the fastest stackful coroutine model. The author expresses a preference for the stackful version due to easier debugging and the ability to obtain a proper stack trace. The article also highlights the difference between coroutines and async, stating that coroutines are used for mutual recursion and generators, while async is for “doing something else” during IO waiting. The author suggests that async is overused and should be limited to specific areas where it makes sense.
8. Why scalpers can get tickets
Total comment counts : 51
Summary
The article discusses how ticket scalpers are able to obtain concert tickets, particularly for pop star Olivia Rodrigo’s upcoming tour, despite Ticketmaster’s efforts to prevent scalping. The author explains that scalpers have multiple Ticketmaster accounts, often purchased from a black market, which allows them to enter the lottery for tickets multiple times. They also bypass phone number verification by buying cheap phone numbers for SMS verification. Scalpers benefit from credit card presales and use specialized web browsers that give them an advantage in virtual waiting rooms. The article also addresses the practice of scalpers selling tickets they don’t yet possess, as well as the prevalence of secondary ticketing platforms where fans unknowingly purchase tickets for more than their face value.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article highlights a key point about ticket reselling platforms. It suggests that many tickets are resold on these platforms, allowing resellers to profit by selling tickets twice, ultimately leading to millions of dollars in revenue for platforms like Ticketmaster. The article also argues that if platforms try to restrict reselling, users may switch to another platform. Additionally, it states that scalpers help drive up ticket prices by creating market demand.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses how certain bands have implemented measures to reduce ticket scalping. Wilco made tickets non-transferable by requiring photo ID matching the ticket holder, while Phish uses a lottery system and delivers physical tickets close to the show date. These methods limit scalping opportunities and allow the bands to charge higher prices without seeming unfair. The article suggests that more bands could adopt similar techniques, but claims that Ticketmaster does not prioritize tackling scalping.
9. Show HN: Karektar – Bitmap Font Designer
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article provides feedback on a drawing app called Karektar. They mention that they couldn’t find a way to clear individual pixels after drawing them, and suggest that an “eraser” tool would be helpful. They also mention that the fixed footer text on their phone covers the bottom row of controls, making them inaccessible.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author exported a font and used a website called Fontdrop to preview how it looks with some placeholder text. They had difficulty understanding the purpose of the “Submit” button on the website until Fontdrop informed them that their font was missing capital letters. They then added an uppercase letter to the sample to experiment with the font.
10. A hacker’s guide to language models [video]
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article is excited about a recently uploaded video that aims to provide all the necessary information about LLMs (likely a technical concept). They acknowledge that they may have missed some details and invite feedback for future expansion of the topic into a full course. The author mentions that they won’t be able to answer questions immediately but will review them later. Ethical and policy issues were not covered in the video, as it focused solely on technical aspects.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses gratitude towards Jeremy Howard, referring to his contributions as valuable and worthy of their time on the platform HN.