1. Cloning a Laptop over NVMe TCP
Total comment counts : 36
Summary
The author of the article purchased a new laptop and wanted to avoid the hassle of setting it up from scratch. Their colleague suggested copying the entire disk from the old laptop to the new one. The author explains the steps they took to accomplish this, which involved exposing the disk using NVME over TCP, connecting it over the network, and performing a full disk copy using the dd command. They encountered some challenges, such as relying on WiFi for the transfer and adjusting the partition table and file system on the new laptop. However, after resizing the LUKS container and BTRFS file system, they were able to successfully boot into the new laptop with everything working fine. The author concludes that this process saved them time and allowed them to quickly adjust to their new laptop.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article discusses using NVMe/TCP for data transfer and concludes that using a simple netcat command is more efficient than the complex commands associated with NVMe/TCP. They provide an example of using netcat for data transfer between a source and destination laptop. They also mention that adding gzip/gunzip or lz4/unlz4 compression can significantly speed up the operation. The author highlights that they prefer this method for imaging a PC over the network. They also mention that the Linux kernel module nvme-tcp is more suitable for remote filesystem access. The author provides some additional details and notes about the use of dd and netcat.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the introduction of NVMe-over-TCP (NVMoTCP) to Linux, thanks to the efforts of AWS, Annapurna, Nitro, and Lightbits. NVMoTCP is a standard ratified by the NVM Express consortium, and it allows for NVMe storage to be accessed over TCP/IP networks. It originated from a code base submitted by Lightbits. The article provides links to further information on this topic.
2. Show HN: I made a free animator. Think Adobe Illustrator but for animation
Total comment counts : 64
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The author used to work on Macromedia Flash projects and finds a new product similar to Flash. They wonder why nobody has created a new product in this space, possibly due to Flash’s decline. The author believes there are still many useful applications for web animations, even if they are not as extensive as in the past.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article mentions that the features and editor of a certain tool resemble Flash, which is seen as a positive thing. It acknowledges that Flash was a great vector animation tool and expresses excitement about exploring the new tool further.
3. Simpson’s paradox
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
Simpson’s paradox is a phenomenon in statistics where a trend appears in separate groups of data, but disappears or reverses when the groups are combined. The paradox is commonly observed in social and medical sciences and can lead to misleading results if causal interpretations are given to frequency data. The paradox can be resolved by appropriately addressing confounding variables and causal relations in statistical modeling. The phenomenon was first described by Edward H. Simpson in 1951, but similar effects were mentioned earlier by statisticians Karl Pearson and Udny Yule. The paradox is also known as Simpson’s reversal, the Yule-Simpson effect, the amalgamation paradox, or the reversal paradox. One well-known example of Simpson’s paradox is a study of gender bias in graduate school admissions at UC Berkeley. The admission figures initially showed a bias in favor of men, but when considering department information, it was revealed that women tended to apply to more competitive departments with lower rates of admission, while men applied to less competitive departments with higher rates of admission. When the data were pooled and corrected, a small but statistically significant bias in favor of women was found. Another example involves a medical study comparing the success rates of two treatments for kidney stones. The paradox arises because the size of the stones is a confounding variable that affects the results. Treatment A appears more effective for both small and large stones when considered separately, but treatment B appears more effective when considering both sizes together due to its higher frequency of use in small stone cases, which are easier to treat. Simpson’s paradox can also be observed in professional baseball batting averages, where one player may have a higher batting average than another player each year, but a lower batting average when considering all the years. This can occur when there are large differences in the number of at-bats between the years.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author recounts a personal experience where their marketing team claimed that their marketing cost of goods sold had been declining across every product category. However, at the end of the year, it was discovered that the cost of goods sold had actually doubled. Upon investigation, it was found that while the marketing spend on each individual product category had decreased, the overall mix of product categories had changed significantly, with one category experiencing substantial growth. This resulted in the aggregate marketing costs percentage increasing, despite improvements in every category. The author had to explain the Yule Simpson paradox to the accountants to clarify the situation.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of Simpson’s paradox and quotes mathematician Jordan Ellenberg who argues that it is misnamed. Ellenberg suggests that Simpson’s paradox is not a contradiction but rather two different ways of interpreting the same data. He emphasizes the importance of considering both the parts and the whole simultaneously. The article highlights the significance of this approach in the context of various scientific discoveries made by Epicureans centuries ago. It concludes by emphasizing the relevance of this analytical method in data analysis.
4. Breaking down tasks
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
This article discusses the process of breaking down tasks in software projects. The author starts by explaining that the previous articles in the series assume a clearly defined task list, but in this case, the manager needs help with the initial step of breaking down a project. The author then uses an example of building a personal streak tracker to illustrate the process. They start by creating a visual mockup and then break down the task into constituent pieces. The author acknowledges that there may still be uncertainty and further breaks down the tasks to add more detail. They conclude by summarizing the interactive process of breaking down tasks and defining key terms.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author acknowledges that they, like everyone else, often fail to follow through with their planned steps and encounter boredom in their work. They find that the initial creative effort is the most enjoyable part, and wish to distribute creativity and boredom more evenly. The author speculates that these issues may be connected to ADHD.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the importance of change in a work context and how maintenance tasks may require more effort in understanding what constitutes a meaningful change. The author suggests that breaking down tasks is a difficult process that can evoke emotions of avoidance and despair. The general advice provided is to keep breaking tasks down until there is a 90% or higher certainty of success.
5. Is Cosine-Similarity of Embeddings Really About Similarity?
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
The article introduces arXivLabs, a framework that enables collaboration and development of new features for the arXiv website. It emphasizes the commitment to openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. The article also invites individuals and organizations to propose projects that would benefit the arXiv community. Additionally, it mentions the availability of status notifications through email or Slack.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article argues that distance measures are dependent on the metric they implement and that if we believe in the manifold hypothesis, these metrics should be local. It points out that using an ordinary dot product to compare straight lines on a map of the globe is a mistake because the lines are not actually straight and do not account for the curvature of the manifold. The article compares this error to the fallacy of believing in a flat Earth.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the article argues that taking cosine similarity between two features in a learned embedding can lead to arbitrary and non-unique results. The author questions whether uniqueness was ever guaranteed, considering that cosine similarity is a distance metric. They suggest that it is reasonable to assume that two features can be equidistant to the ideal solution of a linear system of equations. The author is unsure if they are missing something.
6. OpenAI – transformer debugger release
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
The article discusses Transformer Debugger (TDB), a tool developed by OpenAI’s Superalignment team. TDB is designed to investigate specific behaviors of small language models. It combines interpretability techniques with sparse autoencoders, allowing users to explore model behaviors without writing code. TDB can be utilized to answer questions about why certain tokens are outputted or why attention heads focus on specific tokens. The tool identifies components that contribute to these behaviors and offers explanations of what causes them to activate. It also helps users discover circuits by tracing connections between components. The article provides installation instructions for using TDB and offers videos demonstrating how it can be used to investigate object identification in GPT-2 small models.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests that Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI may lead to more information being released by the organization. While the article believes Musk’s arguments are flawed, it does acknowledge that the lawsuit raises concerns about OpenAI’s non-profit status and its level of non-profit activities.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the use of “ruff” and “black” in the same project. It provides a link to a GitHub repository where more information can be found.
7. Apple announces ability to download apps directly from websites in EU
Total comment counts : 85
Summary
Apple has announced three changes for developers in the European Union (EU). Firstly, third-party app stores can now offer apps exclusively from their own catalog. Secondly, developers can design their in-app promotions, discounts, and deals when directing users to complete transactions on their websites. Apple’s templates are now optional. Lastly, developers will soon be able to distribute apps directly from their websites, provided they meet Apple’s criteria and comply with ongoing requirements. These changes are part of Apple’s compliance plan for the Digital Markets Act in the EU. They will be available via a software update later in the spring.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a link related to Apple’s developer news. The link is provided through the website “news.ycombinator.com”.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses alternative app marketplaces and how they differ from traditional marketplaces. It mentions that some marketplaces offer apps exclusively from the marketplace’s developer. The article also highlights web distribution as a way for authorized developers to distribute their iOS apps directly to EU users from their own website. The author concludes that Apple’s ultimate goal is to prevent competition and maintain their app store monopoly, contrary to their claims of focusing on security.
8. Bees and chimps can also pass on their skills
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a study where researchers trained two chimpanzees to solve a puzzle, and these two chimpanzees later demonstrated the solution to other chimpanzees. After two months, 14 out of 64 “naive” chimpanzees were able to learn the puzzle. This shows that humans tend to overestimate their abilities compared to other animals. The article also mentions that humans can learn various skills from YouTube videos.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This comment expresses fascination about how bees, despite having simple hardware, are capable of doing something amazing, unlike chimps. The individual finds bees to be very cool creatures.
9. Stealing Part of a Production Language Model
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
The article talks about the introduction of arXivLabs, a framework that enables collaborators to create and share new features for the arXiv website. This framework is embraced by both individuals and organizations that align with the values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. The article emphasizes that arXiv is committed to these values and only collaborates with partners who uphold them. It also encourages readers to learn more about arXivLabs if they have ideas for projects that would benefit the arXiv community. Additionally, the article mentions that users can receive status notifications for arXiv via email or Slack.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a technique called “stealing the last layer” that targets certain production models with specific API features. The author suggests that the title and abstract of the article should have provided more specific information about which APIs can be targeted for this technique.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The person is unsure but questions if the topic discussed in the article is about reverse engineering rather than stealing.
10. See ‘horned’ comet 12P/Pons-Brooks in the night sky
Total comment counts : 1
Summary
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks is set to arrive at perihelion on April 21 and has been exhibiting sudden flare-ups in brightness. To catch sight of this comet, you will need binoculars or a telescope and a sky map. It is named after two renowned comet hunters, Jean-Louis Pons and William R. Brooks. Pons discovered it in 1812, describing it as a shapeless object that later became visible to the naked eye. Brooks rediscovered the comet in 1883 and it was realized that it was the same comet discovered by Pons. Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks has an orbital period of approximately 71 years and is considered a “Halley-type” comet. It displayed favorable apparitions in 1883-1884 and has a history of sudden flare-ups in brightness. There is evidence that ancient records of bright comets may have been referring to 12P/Pons-Brooks.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article expresses disappointment that a certain phenomenon will not be visible during the eclipse, contrary to what was previously thought.