1. 4K4D: Real-Time 4D View Synthesis at 4K Resolution
Total comment counts : 27
Summary
This article discusses a paper that proposes a method for high-fidelity and real-time view synthesis of dynamic 3D scenes at 4K resolution. The method introduces a 4D point cloud representation called 4K4D, which supports hardware rasterization and improves rendering speed. The representation is built on a 4D feature grid that allows for robust optimization. The paper also introduces a hybrid appearance model that enhances rendering quality while maintaining efficiency. A differentiable depth peeling algorithm is developed to learn the proposed model from RGB videos. Experimental results demonstrate that the representation can be rendered at high FPS rates and achieves state-of-the-art rendering quality.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the potential effects of new technology on society. It suggests that pornography may utilize the technology, allowing for more personalized interactions with performers. The article also considers the application of this technology in reconstructing crime scenes or accidents using CCTV footage. Wedding videos could be another popular use, as it would allow viewers to watch from different angles. Additionally, the article mentions the possibility of reworking movies, such as the first Avengers film, to be viewed from multiple viewpoints. The author concludes by speculating that this technology will likely be incorporated into future devices such as the Pixel 18 Pro.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the use of cutting-edge technology for concerts and basketball games. It speculates about the possibility of rewinding and rewatching these events from different camera angles, and suggests that although this may not be feasible currently, it showcases the potential of the technology. The article also mentions the future possibility of real-time application of this technology.
2. What is the Demoscene? An interview
Total comment counts : 40
Summary
In this article, Filipe Cruz, a long-time member of the demoscene community, discusses what the demoscene is and how it has evolved over the years. The demoscene is a subculture of digital art and is focused on showcasing audiovisual presentations called demos. It originated from the game piracy scene of the late 80s and early 90s and has grown into an international community that regularly releases new demoscene productions and organizes demoparties. The demoscene is driven by a combination of artistic expression and pushing the limitations of computer hardware. Demo creators often work in teams, but there are also individual artists in the demoscene. Demoscene productions are typically shared at demoparties, where competitions are held to showcase the best demos. The demoscene has recently been recognized as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in some countries. Filipe Cruz runs a YouTube channel dedicated to demoscene culture, where he shares information, highlights, and discussions about the demoscene. For those interested in getting involved in the demoscene, Filipe recommends his guidebook, “Teach Yourself Demoscene in 14 Days,” as well as other online resources and demoscene events listed on platforms like Demozoo and Demoparty.net.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author reflects on their experience in the demo scene, a community of programmers who create real-time audiovisual presentations. They mention being involved in the scene during their high school years and share links to their 1997-era renderer and a demo from 1996. The author continues to work in 3D graphics, contributing to various projects and running a computer graphics company for the past 20 years. They provide links to their contributions and company websites.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author discusses their experience with creating demos in the demoscene in the 2000s. They initially felt that the skills they were acquiring were only applicable to game development, which they were not interested in. However, they were surprised to find that their skills came in handy when working on a WebGL demo for Google. The author provides links to their website, the Google WebGL demo, the Three.js website, and a list of demos.
3. Psytrance Guide
Total comment counts : 63
Summary
This article is a comprehensive guide to different subgenres of Psytrance music. It provides a description and examples of each subgenre, including Uptempo Psy, Psy-Trance, Progressive Psy, Minimal Psy, Tribal Psy, The Offbeat Psy, Psychedelic Techno, Psy Tech-Trance, Psybreaks, Commercial Psy, Goa Trance, Nitzhonot, Full-on, Night Full-on, Dark Psy, Forest Psy, Hi-Tech, Suomi, Psychill, and Chillout. The guide also includes links to Spotify playlists for each subgenre and information about the author.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article discusses a Psytrance Guide that was shared on Hacker News. The guide received positive feedback with 465 points and 210 comments.
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The characteristic sound of psy-x is the synth bass line, which can be created using any subtractive synth. The sound is achieved by starting with a single saw, adding a lowpass filter, and modulating the cutoff of the filter by an envelope with a short attack, quick decay, and low or zero sustain. Alternatively, a stepper or LFO synced to 16th notes can be used. Sidechain compression with the kick is also employed to create a pumping sound. These techniques create the deep vibe of a psy track that resonates in the club at 2am. Beyond the basics, more advanced tracks may modulate the decay of the filter envelope with note velocity, add velocity curves to create dynamics, or employ other effects like reverb, FM synthesis, overdrive, or frequency shift. Despite its simplicity, the synth bass line can be driven to create unique and unusual sounds.
4. Google opens Falcon, a reliable low-latency hardware transport, to the ecosystem
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
Google has developed Falcon, a hardware-assisted transport layer, to improve the performance of Ethernet in demanding workloads such as AI/ML training and high-performance computing. Falcon leverages technologies like Carousel, Snap, Swift, PLB, and CSIG to achieve reliability, high performance, and low latency. It incorporates hardware-assisted round-trip time measurements, traffic shaping, fast packet retransmissions, and multipath connections to optimize performance. Falcon is designed to support various upper layer protocols and offers compatibility with Infiniband Verbs RDMA and NVMe ULPs. It aims to modernize Ethernet and meet the networking requirements of an AI-driven future. Falcon has received support from industry partners and will be available in Intel’s IPU E2000 series.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author expresses disappointment that a certain solution is built on top of UDP/IP instead of directly over Ethernet. They have been working with Ethernet devices and find the complexity unnecessary, such as ARP, DHCP, and DNS. They believe that addressing could be done more efficiently at Layer 2, as they already know all the devices on their LAN and their MAC addresses. However, the current setup requires mapping devices to IP addresses and vice versa, which the author finds unsatisfying.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the similarities between the problems being solved with fibre channel (FC) and the attempts to solve them with new technologies. It mentions that FC routes IP as one of its protocols and provides better service guarantees than ethernet. However, FC never gained popularity as an IP transport due to its high cost. The article also mentions NVMEoF on FC as a solution for network performance issues. The author questions why the Open Compute Project (OCP) doesn’t build affordable FC adapters and sell them on the open market.
5. Higher quality random floats
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
The article discusses the challenges and approaches for generating random floating-point values, specifically in the range [0, 1]. It highlights the limitations of the [0, 1) output range and proposes a solution to generate a more desirable range (0, 1] that excludes zero. The author presents a monotonic transform using a uniform integer range to achieve this. The article also explores different variations of the range [0, 1] and suggests improvements to the implementation to save computational resources. The author concludes by providing criteria for evaluating functions that generate uniformly-distributed floating-point values.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the challenge of generating random floating-point numbers within a given range with a proper distribution. The author has created an implementation that accomplishes this, but it does not handle subnormals correctly. The author plans to revisit the issue when they have more time. The link provided leads to the implementation on GitHub.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article explains how random floats are computed in the Zig standard library. It provides a link to the relevant code on GitHub.
6. Hacker leaks millions more 23andMe user records on cybercrime forum
Total comment counts : 43
Summary
The same hacker who previously leaked user data from 23andMe has now released millions of new user records. The hacker, known as Golem, published the dataset on the cybercrime forum BreachForums. Some of the newly leaked data matches known 23andMe user and genetic information. The dataset is said to contain information on people from Great Britain, including wealthy individuals from the US and Western Europe. 23andMe is reviewing the data to determine its legitimacy. The previous data breach occurred on October 6, with hackers using credential stuffing to amass stolen data. 23andMe has urged users to change their passwords and activate multi-factor authentication. It is still unclear how much data was stolen, the hackers’ methods, and their intentions. The incident may have occurred several months ago, as a hacker on another forum advertised 23andMe user data in August, which matched some of the recently leaked records. The full extent of the data leak and the information known by 23andMe remain unknown.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the recent incident involving 23andMe, a genetic testing company, and the blaming of its customers for reusing passwords. The company’s “DNA Relatives” feature, which allows users to see the data of other users with matching genetic data, was also blamed for the incident. The article argues that 23andMe’s blame is an obfuscation of the underlying problems. These problems include insufficient granularity in sharing options within the DNA Relatives program, a limit of seeing only the closest 1500 matches, and the possibility of seeing profiles beyond the 1500 match limit. The article suggests that these issues allowed hackers to collect data on a large number of people in the database with only a few compromised accounts.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author regrets using 23andMe before prioritizing privacy. They no longer trust that the company would delete their data upon request, and they worry that their data may be used for research purposes without their consent. They feel uneasy about the idea of their genetic data being leaked, unlike credit card or shopping data. Additionally, they suspect that they may not have implemented proper password security at the time of using 23andMe.
7. Qaul – Internet independent wireless mesh communication app
Total comment counts : 9
Summary
The article is about qaul, which is an internet independent wireless mesh communication app. It allows users to communicate peer-to-peer without the need for internet or communication infrastructure. Features include automatically detecting nearby qaul users, broadcasting public messages, creating chat groups, and sending end-to-end encrypted chat messages, images, and files. Communication can be done through local wifi networks or shared wifi networks. Users can also mesh local clouds together via manually added static nodes. The app supports sending messages to everyone connected, end-to-end encrypted chat messages and group chats, and sending files and photos via the chat messenger. It also displays and shows reachable users and allows sending messages to users who are not currently connected. The app is available in multiple languages and can be easily translated to new ones.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests the possibility of mobile phones directly exchanging 4G/5G signals with each other, eliminating the need for conventional antennas and networks. Mobile phones could serve as peer-to-peer network nodes, offering robustness and decentralization, especially in urban areas with high population density. This system would allow smartphones to cover distances between 2 to 4 miles and provide reliable connectivity.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses two approaches to solving the distributed denial of service (DDoS) problem in mesh networks. The first approach involves centralized device management, where each device is granted permission by a central authority. The second approach is vulnerable to DDoS attacks, where rogue devices can overwhelm the network.
8. Commercially available chairs in Star Trek
Total comment counts : 37
Summary
The article provides a comprehensive list of chairs that appeared in various Star Trek productions. The chairs mentioned include both off-the-shelf models and design classics. The article also includes a section for unidentified chairs and a list of reused props.
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The article discusses the author’s favorite pastime of spotting objects from the present in futuristic Sci-Fi films. They provide two examples: Luke’s home in Star Wars IV featuring Tupperware and Ripley drinking from a Tupperware mug in Alien.
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The article discusses the differences in lighting between old and new shows. The old shows had various types of lighting, ranging from Halloween-like to task light setups, while the new shows tend to have a more modern aesthetic, resembling a web developer’s or Twitch streamer’s setup with wall-mounted spotlights and RGB rim lights.
9. The Long Boom: A History of the Future, 1980–2020 (1997)
Total comment counts : 13
Summary
The article discusses the possibility of a global economic boom and a transformation of the world into a global civilization. It highlights the key developments that have occurred since the 1980s, including the rise of personal computers, the internet, biotechnology, nanotechnology, and alternative energy. These technologies are predicted to contribute to sustained economic growth and improvements in various sectors such as healthcare and agriculture. The article also emphasizes the importance of an optimistic vision for the future in inspiring positive change and overcoming challenges.
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The article discusses various topics, including the sustained global economic boom, the advancements in artificial intelligence inspired by biological neurons, the lack of progress in reaching Mars, the diminishing focus on nanotechnology, and the risks associated with China and Russia. It also mentions conflicting views on Britain’s role in Europe.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of “The Long Boom” and compares it to the a16z manifesto. The author finds “The Long Boom” to be a more well-written and consistent vision, without self-serving elements.
10. USB-C head-to-head comparison
Total comment counts : 33
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article speculates about why USB-C cables have all 24 pins, even though not all of them are connected. It suggests that the extra pins may help the plug fit securely in its socket, or that it may be cheaper to maintain one design for cables produced by the same factory. The article also explains that manufacturers often buy connectors, PCBs, cables, and plastic moldings from different vendors, and then assemble them together. This assembly process can be relatively simple and may involve a small warehouse and a few workers. Additionally, the article mentions that most off-the-shelf USB-C connectors have all their pins populated because pins are inexpensive, and it only makes sense to request custom connectors with missing pins when producing a large volume.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the need for USB-C cables that are properly tested, labeled, and available in the market. The author mentions their own experience with a USB-C cable from a Kickstarter campaign, where they had to test and label each new cable they bought. They note that most cables on shopping websites are USB 2.0 and finding cables with power delivery pins is difficult. The author suggests that it should be mandatory for these cables to be accurately specified and labeled.