1. We might want to regularly keep track of how important each server is

Total comment counts : 23

Summary

The article discusses a machine room air conditioning failure that resulted in power outages to keep the temperature down. The author suggests the need for documentation to keep track of important machines and their dependencies, which would help in times of limited cooling or power. The author acknowledges that writing documentation requires effort and ongoing maintenance but believes it can provide valuable information about the environment and dependencies. The article concludes by mentioning the potential difficulties of machine room archaeology, and the author expresses doubts about whether this documentation will actually be implemented.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The article discusses a catastrophic air conditioning failure in a colocated data center, which led to problems in cooling the servers. The author shares their own experience with a similar situation before they switched to AWS. They describe the makeshift solutions they had to use to keep the servers cool, such as fans balanced on random boxes and cardboard ducting. The author also highlights the challenges they faced in determining which servers were critical and where they were located in the racks. They had to rely on outdated information and photos from the colocation staff to make decisions. The article concludes with the author expressing gratitude for avoiding a major outage but also mentioning a sense of nostalgia for the days when they had to handle such physical challenges.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The article points out that while Kubernetes is often criticized for its complexity, it excels in scenarios where machines need to be replaced without causing disruptions. It states that as long as there are enough machines to maintain cluster health, Kubernetes can seamlessly migrate workloads as needed. However, the article also acknowledges that storage remains a challenge, suggesting that network-attached storage (NAS) may be crucial in marking certain machines as important.

2. Companies embracing SMS for account logins should be blamed for SIM-swap attacks

Total comment counts : 46

Summary

The article criticizes companies that continue to use SMS for password resets and account logins, despite the prevalence of SIM-swap attacks. The author argues that companies should not allow customers to log in via SMS or use SMS for password resetting, and instead provide more secure options such as Authy or Google Authenticator. The author highlights the insecurity of SMS and compares it to sending a postcard through the mail. The article also criticizes carriers for their poor security measures and suggests that the industry needs to abandon SMS-based authentication. The author expresses frustration with companies that prioritize convenience over customer security and calls for stronger measures to protect against SIM-swap attacks.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The author of the article expresses frustration with the new trend of receiving unwanted SMS messages instead of using TOTP codes, which could be automatically filled by password managers. The author now has to constantly use their phone and potentially pay for international roaming or set up SMS forwarding even when it is unnecessary. They suggest that instead of sharing their phone number with every company, an alternative solution could be linking the authenticator app to SMS.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The article argues that using SMS for any significant action on an account is a bad idea for several reasons. These reasons include the risk of phones being lost or stolen, people moving to different countries, SMS attacks, phone numbers being reused, and users having to maintain paid phone plans. The writer strongly emphasizes not tying accounts to phone numbers.

3. Better Call GPT: Comparing large language models against lawyers [pdf]

Total comment counts : 31

Summary

The article discusses arXivLabs, a framework that enables collaboration for the development and sharing of new features on the arXiv website. This collaborative platform is open to both individuals and organizations that align with arXiv’s values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is dedicated to these values and collaborates only with partners who uphold them. The article also mentions the opportunity for individuals to propose projects that would benefit the arXiv community through arXivLabs. Additionally, it provides information on how to receive status notifications via email or Slack.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The author of the article runs a startup that focuses on generating legal contracts using templates created by lawyers. They have used GPT analysis to allow laypersons to interact and ask questions about the contracts they are receiving. The author found that GPT is better at analyzing contracts than generating them, which aligns with the findings of a referenced paper. The author also tried multiple AI document review startups but found that they were not effective when asked specific questions. GPT does not have legal liability for providing incorrect answers, making it useful for individuals who research on their own. The author believes that having better boilerplate contracts readily available would be more beneficial for most people instead of generating unique contracts using GPT. They faced challenges in finding lawyers willing to write contracts for templates because it could potentially impact their future income. GPT did not perform well in answering a wide range of questions, indicating that lawyers will still have a job in the near future.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The author discusses the use of language models, specifically GPT-4, for building a deep contract analysis tool for insurance requirements. The focus is on creating human-in-the-loop tools that provide decision support rather than automation, with transparency and citations playing a crucial role in building trust. The author also highlights the importance of tuning the models for precision to avoid false positives and hallucinations in legal use cases.

4. We’ve already seen category 6 hurricanes – scientists want to make it official

Total comment counts : 18

Summary

Scientists are proposing the addition of a sixth category to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale due to the increasing intensity of tropical cyclones caused by climate change. The current scale, which ranks storms from tropical depression to category 5 hurricane, may not fully capture the risk posed by the most intense storms. The proposed sixth category would encompass storms with winds greater than 192 miles per hour. The authors of the study provide evidence from past storms, analysis of maximum potential intensity, and future modeling to support the creation of this new category. However, some experts argue that communication should focus on the individual hazards associated with hurricanes rather than the category of the storm. The decision to add a sixth category would require further discussion and input from various stakeholders. The intention behind the proposal is to raise awareness about the increasing risks of climate change and ensure effective communication about all hurricane-related dangers.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The article expresses skepticism towards a research paper that claims tropical cyclones are becoming more intense. The author argues that there is little correlation between the most intense cyclones listed on Wikipedia and the passage of time. They also criticize the manipulation of data in the study, including subtracting wind speeds measured before 1973 and using simulations that do not accurately represent current conditions. While the author believes that cyclones may indeed be increasing in intensity and impacting new areas, they find this particular paper unconvincing and suggest that the data was manipulated to fit the desired conclusion.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The article raises questions about the effectiveness of the Saffir-Simpson scale as a communication tool for hurricanes. It suggests that the scale, which categorizes hurricanes based on wind speeds, does not adequately account for potential damage from storm surges and flooding. The article also mentions the need to emphasize the concept of rapid intensification and warming waters when communicating about hurricanes, rather than just relying on category numbers. It proposes the idea of updating the Saffir-Simpson scale to better incorporate potential and assessed damage, similar to the way the Fujita Scale for tornadoes was updated in 2007. The article provides examples of situations where residents were caught off guard by the rapid intensification of hurricanes. It concludes by discussing the differences in damage that can occur based on infrastructure types in different regions, despite being warned with the same category number.

5. “Bookfind of the century” sells for $2.23M

Total comment counts : 8

Summary

The article discusses the discovery of a well-used second edition of Andreas Vesalius’ De humani corporis fabrica, which was purchased by a retired Canadian doctor in 2007. The book, known for its extensive latin annotations, is considered one of the most influential in history. Vesalius’ work revolutionized anatomy and medicine, challenging previous teachings and paving the way for modern human anatomy. The discovery of the book’s annotations as the rewriting of Vesalius himself led to the realization that it contained the autograph notes of the renowned physician. This discovery has great significance as very few examples of Vesalius’ handwriting have survived. The doctor who bought the book confirmed the authenticity and the book recently fetched $2,228,000 in an auction.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The article discusses the author’s work with the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam, which is a rare book library focusing on esoteric philosophy. The library is also known as “The Embassy of the Free Mind.” The author describes the library’s main attraction, a bronze statue of Marisilio Ficino, a prominent figure during the Renaissance. Ficino was hired by the Medici family to translate Greek texts into Latin, including works by Plato and the Hermetica. The author mentions Ficino’s book “De Mysteriis,” which was published in 1497 and remains untranslated. The book contains Ficino’s own philosophy on pleasure, called “De Voluptate.” Inspired by this book, the author has started collecting rare books on early science and philosophical magic. They mention a few examples, such as dellaporta’s “natural magic,” “mathematical magic” by one of the founders of the Royal Society, “arithmology” by Athenaus Kircher, and “Secrets of Nature” by Anton von Leeuwenhoek. The author expresses their interest in using AI to make these books more accessible and understandable, particularly in relation to the themes of consciousness, magic, intelligence, and mathematics.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The author of the article expresses their interest in estate sales and their hope of finding valuable treasures, particularly books. They mention that many rich homes at estate sales either have few books or a selection that doesn’t pique their interest. The author then shares their biggest find so far: four volumes of a six-volume set of Scribner’s Sun Rise Edition of Hemingway’s work, which they purchased for $10 each. They provide a link to the books on an online marketplace.

6. The little SSH that sometimes couldn’t (2012)

Total comment counts : 12

Summary

The article discusses an interesting bug hunt related to ssh connections. The author experienced issues with ssh not working properly, specifically with log file transfers between data centers in London and Montreal. At first, it was thought to be a network issue, but after investigating further, it was determined that packet loss was not the main problem. The author noticed a pattern where file transfers either succeeded quickly or hung and timed out. After conducting tests, the author discovered that by decreasing the MTU (maximum transmission unit) value to 576, the ssh connection hang issue was resolved. However, since these were public web servers, permanently setting the MTU to 576 was not feasible. The article concludes with the observation that packet fragmentation or reassembly may be the root cause of the problem, although no evidence of fragmentation was found.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The article recounts instances where email and two different encryption protocols (FTPS and HTTPS) were unable to function properly due to underlying network device issues, such as broken ASIC in a core router/switch.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The article discusses an incident where the release of Red Hat Linux was delayed due to problems with an unreliable ethernet switch. The switch was found to be corrupting packets and modifying the CRC and checksum, causing certain stress tests over NFS to fail unpredictably. This situation reveals that hardware developers do not always design for the level of reliability that customers expect.

7. New viruslike entities found in human gut microbes

Total comment counts : 9

Summary

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Top 1 Comment Summary

The article discusses the wide prevalence of RNA and how it is found in various forms. With improving technology, simpler RNA-based entities are being discovered and it is believed that they are replicated through chemical or biological processes. Considering the vast number of planets in the universe, their age, and limited chemistry, it is hypothesized that similar RNAs might have emerged repeatedly.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The article discusses the discovery of circular RNA sequences through scanning public RNA sequencing datasets. The author asks questions regarding whether these sequences have been experimentally proven to form circles, if they could be the result of reactions in the transcription process, and if they might be ubiquitous but undetectable.

8. How not to bomb your offer negotiation (2016)

Total comment counts : 22

Summary

The article discusses the final four rules on how to negotiate a job offer. It emphasizes that being a good negotiator requires more than just appearing confident and asking for more money. Good negotiators are empathetic and collaborative, thinking creatively about how to fulfill both their needs and the needs of the other party. It also highlights the importance of questioning assumptions and finding creative ways to expand the negotiation’s terrain. The article suggests considering different dimensions of a job negotiation, such as salary, bonuses, benefits, and other perks. It concludes by mentioning that the first decision in negotiation is whether to negotiate over the phone or through email, highlighting the benefits of building a strong relationship through phone conversations.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The article discusses negotiation strategies for salary discussions with corporations. It highlights the importance of not devaluing oneself and the mindset of negotiating with an experienced corporation. However, it mentions that the described outcome may not be realistic in the current job market, especially for those who have recently completed a bootcamp. It also cautions against misrepresenting one’s value to secure a higher offer, as it may lead to being let go in case of downsizing. Additionally, the author raises concerns about the credibility of the person mentioned in the article and provides links to comments and threads discussing the issue.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The article cautions against mentioning one’s nervousness in important phone calls via email as it may reveal incompetence. Instead, it suggests simply stating a preference for discussing such matters via email without any need to disclose feelings of nervousness.

9. Command line interface guidelines (2021)

Total comment counts : 27

Summary

This article is an open-source guide that aims to help people write better command-line programs by updating traditional UNIX principles for the modern day. It discusses the evolution of computers and the decreasing emphasis on command-line access due to corporate interests and the popularity of graphical user interfaces (GUI). However, it highlights the versatility and creative potential of the command line, as well as its stability compared to other parts of the system. The article emphasizes the need to maximize the utility and accessibility of the command line while it still exists. It also explores the changes in command-line programming over time, from a machine-first approach to a human-first approach. The article introduces the best practices and design principles for building command-line programs and provides concrete guidelines and examples. The guide is agnostic about programming languages and tooling and is intended for anyone interested in improving their command-line programming skills.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The article states that while most people today don’t know about or value the command line, there is a growing number of people who are familiar with and use it.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The article suggests adding a “–dry-run” option to tools, which would provide a preview of actions without making any actual changes. This option would be helpful for learning and verifying complex options and fileglobs before committing to irreversible changes.

10. Will satellite megaconstellations weaken earth’s magnetic field?

Total comment counts : 18

Summary

The article discusses the concerns regarding the increasing number of satellites in Earth’s orbit, particularly due to the growth of SpaceX’s Starlink mega-constellation. Environmentalists have raised issues such as light pollution, traffic congestion in low-Earth orbit, and ozone depletion. A new study suggests that mega-constellations could also weaken Earth’s magnetic field. As satellites disintegrate in the atmosphere, they create a layer of electrically charged particles around the planet, which could have detrimental effects on the magnetosphere. The study indicates that the mass of debris from deorbited Starlink satellites is millions of times greater than natural levels of charged particles in Earth’s Van Allen Belts. Researchers have already observed evidence of metal debris from satellites in the stratosphere. The researcher behind the study emphasizes the urgent need for multidisciplinary studies to understand the impact of satellite pollution on the magnetosphere.

Top 1 Comment Summary

The author, a plasma physicist, disagrees with the idea proposed in the article on spaceweatherarchive.com. They point out that the researcher made errors in their understanding of undergraduate physics, plasma physics, and algebra. One example is the researcher’s estimate of the change in Debye length, which should be smaller than what they claimed. The author also questions the focus on aluminum in the upper atmosphere and the concern about aluminum particles shielding the Earth’s magnetic field. They explain that a conductive shell needs long-range conductive paths, which is not the case with a suspended dispersed powder.

Top 2 Comment Summary

The article discusses the mass of conductive particles left behind by re-entry satellites and compares it to the mass of the Van Allen Belts. It questions the disparity in energy levels between the two and provides links for further information.