1. Monodraw
Total comment counts : 43
Summary
Monodraw is a text-based art creation tool that allows users to create diagrams, flow charts, and other visual representations using plain text. It supports exporting as images and offers features like entity-relationship diagrams, text banners, custom fonts, line tools, shapes, and alignment guides. Monodraw also includes a command-line interface and is designed specifically for macOS. Users can provide feedback via email or Twitter. The system requirements include macOS 11 Big Sur or later.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article praises Monodraw for its simplicity and lack of distractions compared to other apps that offer more features and style options. Despite its simplicity, Monodraw still provides enough functionality, including the use of anchors. The author even created a demo/tutorial showcasing Monodraw’s anchors.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article praises a tool called ASCII for its versatility and ability to create graphics in unexpected places. The author has used ASCII for documentation purposes and finds it helpful.
2. Self-Retrieval: Building an information retrieval system with one LLM
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
The article introduces arXivLabs, a framework that enables collaborators to create and share new features on the arXiv website. Both individuals and organizations aligned with the values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy are involved with arXivLabs. The arXiv platform is committed to these principles and only collaborates with partners who share the same values. The article also mentions the option to receive status updates for arXiv via email or Slack.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a method for generating accurate quotes using a trie-based constrained decoding algorithm. The algorithm uses a prefix tree (trie) to limit the target vocabulary and ensure that the generated tokens are within the given corpus. Stop words are removed from the initial tokens to improve the semantic representation of the trie.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the training of an LLM (Language Model) on a corpus. The author points out that while this approach may lead to improved performance compared to using pre-trained embeddings, it is not suitable for corpora that change frequently. The author mentions the RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) approach, which aims to address the challenge of incorporating up-to-date information into an LLM that cannot be directly trained on changing data.
3. Piano on Paper
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
This article discusses a project called “Piano on Paper” that aims to create a unique piano experience. Currently, it only supports two fingers, but support for more fingers and a highly trainable model is planned. The project requires setting up a webcam at a specific angle, height, and distance, as well as using strong lighting for better performance. The goal of the project is to provide access to piano and instruments for those who cannot afford them.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the idea of creating a minimalist mechanical unit that incorporates the finest grand piano action, similar to the Fazioli pianos. The author suggests that this unit should only consist of the action, the pedals, a few sensors, and fast USB-C connections. They mention the Kawai Novus series, which has a decent action and left pedal, but is connected to a full furniture and has imperfect sound synthesis and vibrations. The author believes that with modern powerful GPUs, it should be possible to achieve near-perfect sound and easy customization to individual preferences.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article seems to be a bit rough, but it is a start. The author mentions that this type of content is what they enjoy reading on HN (Hacker News).
4. A simple dice game shines a bit of light on the psychology of regret
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
The article discusses the psychology of regret and how it influences decision-making. It uses a simple game involving dice and cups to illustrate the concept. The majority of people do not switch their cup choice, even when given the opportunity, due to the endowment effect and the fear of regret. The article also explores how the value of potential gain affects people’s willingness to switch their choice. The experiments suggest that regret aversion makes things feel around three times worse. The author concludes by reflecting on the advice to stick with one’s first instinct and the importance of minimizing regret.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article questions the validity of the “two cup experiment” because they couldn’t find any studies supporting its results. They express skepticism about switching choices after an initial decision, stating that they would switch only if offered a higher reward. However, they mention that if they didn’t trust the experimenter, they wouldn’t switch at all and may even require a higher reward to switch. The author suggests that the lack of trust in the experiment may have influenced participants’ decision-making. They draw a parallel between the experiment and the street hustle game, 3 card monte, suggesting that participants were primed to distrust the process.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article questions the commonly given advice of sticking with your first instinct when taking multiple choice exams. The author argues that while this advice may make people feel better if their original choice was correct, it does not necessarily increase the chances of getting the correct answer. The author suggests that if you have some knowledge of the subject, it is logical to believe that your first guess is more likely to be correct. They also acknowledge that some tests may have deceptive distractors, but overall, trusting your gut instinct in multiple choice tests can be beneficial.
5. TimeLapze: Open-source screen recorder
Total comment counts : 20
Summary
The article is about a menu bar application called TimeLapze that allows users to create color-accurate screen and camera timelapses on MacOS without large file sizes. The app is open-source and recommends installation through Homebrew cask. However, the app is not signed, so there may be a scary warning from Apple about malware. To use the app, users can download it from the releases page and move the file into the Applications directory. For local development, users can clone and open the repository in XCode. There is also information on how to contribute to the project. The article mentions that Apple’s screen recorder may have issues with color accuracy, making TimeLapze a better option for color-sensitive work.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article explains that there is a new open-source menu bar application that allows users to create screen and camera timelapses. This application aims to avoid creating excessively large file sizes. The article suggests that this information should have been included in the title.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article mentions the release date of a software, which was on November 8, 2023. The author states that they were unable to make it work on their Mac (M1 Max). They highlight two issues they encountered: first, a short recording resulted in a file of zero bytes, and second, when recording a gaming session on Geforce Now, it caused their system to crash and reboot. The author suggests that while the software may not have been intended for gaming, it should not be crashing the entire system. They also express interest in finding an alternative tool to OBS for recording programming sessions and ask if anyone knows of one.
6. Show HN: A talking board game in a 2k program and 128 bytes of RAM
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
The article discusses the creation of a prototype board game that includes audio-based interactions. The author wanted to create an electronic version of a popular French multiplayer board game called “goose,” with special rules and features for each case on the board. The toy is autonomous, running on batteries without the need for an external amplifier. The audio is recorded using the author’s voice, and the game is controlled using an AVR Atmel microcontroller programmed with ArduinoISP. The audio data is stored in a small flash memory chip and played using a simple transistor amplifier. The prototype was built on a breadboard and then soldered onto a prototyping board. The author also designed a small filesystem on the flash memory chip to store and retrieve audio files.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a program with limited resources: a 2k program with 128 bytes of RAM and 4 megabits of flash. The author appreciates the design notes on the filesystem and wants to create something similar without the 4 megabits of flash. They are considering using the LPC-10 on an Atmega328, which has a hardware multiplier unlike the Attiny45 and Attiny2313s they have. The author also wants to find a speaker driver circuit that can eliminate the DC bias from the speaker current provided by the transistor-switch driver. They mention that simply using an AC-coupling capacitor in series with the speaker is not an option because the capacitor charges up to 3 volts and stays there with no way to discharge. The author wonders if grounding the emitter through an inductor or resistor would be a better solution.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article mentions that the project is 11 years old and discusses how things were different back then, such as the availability of different microcontrollers. It also mentions that the project uses a 512k flash.
7. Prolly Trees
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
The article discusses the concept of “Prolly Trees,” a data structure closely related to B-trees and particularly effective as the storage engine for version controlled databases. Prolly Trees approximate B-tree performance on reads and writes while also allowing for efficient computation of differences between versions. The article explains the structure and functionality of Prolly Trees, highlighting their ability to structurally share portions of the tree between versions. The process of building and modifying a Prolly Tree is described, emphasizing the minimal modification and efficient diff calculation achieved through content address comparison. The article concludes by discussing key insertion and deletion operations in Prolly Trees.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the properties of Prolly Trees, which include self-balancing, uniqueness, and fast comparisons. It explains that the original formulation had a long tail of node sizes beyond the target size, but the Dolt formulation solves this issue by using a cumulative distribution function to shape the node size into a normal distribution. However, this new formulation results in the decision to split a node depending on the chunk size so far, which could potentially cascade to the entire right side of the tree. The article suggests mitigating this issue by increasing the target node size or relaxing the target standard deviation of the node sizes.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the use of the rsync/LBFS rolling hashes technique to split tree data into chunks. It mentions that someone named “Jacob Gorm” has implemented this technique in their project called mindcastle.io on GitHub. The article also states that the idea was presented at Usenix Vault 2019 and provides a link to a YouTube video for reference.
8. Sea Kit
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
SEA-KIT’s remotely-controlled Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs) are designed for multiple mission configurations and can work independently or as part of a fleet. These vessels offer faster, cheaper, and lower-risk alternatives to traditional crewed vessels, with reduced carbon emissions. SEA-KIT aims to provide high technology solutions to the maritime and research industries and is committed to sustainability, innovation, reliability, collaboration, agility, and loyalty. They specialize in cutting carbon emissions at sea and have published a case study on uncrewed subsea volcano surveys. SEA-KIT International is an ISO 9001 certified company based in the United Kingdom.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests that as war machinery becomes increasingly automated, it would be possible to simulate wars without the need for human involvement. The author compares this idea to mythical armies that used champions to fight, causing less harm. The main challenge currently is that there are still important physical components, such as logistics and manufacturing, that contribute to winning wars. However, the author raises the possibility that once algorithms become the dominant aspect and physical aspects become less relevant, war could be fully moved to the digital realm.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article discusses the concept of someone having two yachts, with one specifically dedicated to housing a helicopter. The author finds it amusing that someone would go to such lengths to ensure that their main yacht remains aesthetically pleasing without the presence of a helicopter.
9. Working with Tilt/Shift Lenses (2022)
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
This article discusses tilt/shift lenses, which are primarily used for architecture and table top photography. In the past, shift lenses were used to correct for converging vertical lines, but nowadays this can be done in post-processing. However, there is still a benefit to using a shift lens as it retains information in the corners that would be lost when tilting in post. Shift lenses also allow for easy creation of “shift panoramas” and are useful for environmental portraiture. Tilt lenses can modify the plane of sharpness and are commonly used in landscape and architecture photography. The article concludes that the gimmicky effect often associated with tilt/shift lenses is not a sufficient reason to invest in one.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a photography style that the author finds inspiring. They suggest using a 9mm lens for architecture or ultrawide shots, and if autofocus is desired, they mention a new 10mm lens. The author explains why they do not recommend T/S lenses, stating that correcting vignette is time-consuming and that the image quality is not as good. They also mention that T/S lenses are heavier and more cumbersome to use. The author also explains that perspective-correcting a 12mm lens can be challenging, as it can result in cut-off corners and situations where 12mm is not wide enough.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article highlights photographer David Schalliol’s “isolated buildings” series in which he utilizes a tilt shift lens to create parallel lines in the images. The photographs have a striking effect. More information can be found on David Schalliol’s photography website.
10. Anomalous contribution to galactic rotation curves due to stochastic spacetime
Total comment counts : 9
Summary
The article introduces arXivLabs, which is a framework that enables individuals and organizations to develop and share new features for the arXiv website. It emphasizes the importance of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy in the collaboration process. The article also suggests that if anyone has an idea for a project that would benefit the arXiv community, they should explore arXivLabs. Additionally, the article mentions the availability of status notifications through email or slack.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a controversial new theory of gravity that suggests dark matter may not exist. The theory, proposed by physicists at the University of Oxford, challenges the prevailing belief that dark matter is necessary to explain the observations of gravitational effects in the universe. The researchers argue that their theory, which modifies the laws of gravity, can account for these observations without the need for dark matter. However, the theory is still in its early stages and has yet to be tested or widely accepted by the scientific community.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a paper that tries to solve a problem with numerous potential solutions. Without rigorous efforts towards empirical validation, the theories presented are considered speculative. The author finds the size and shape of the possible solutions interesting, suggesting that there may be a large number of theoretical solutions that can fit the cosmological data.