1. PumpkinOS, a Re-Implementation of PalmOS
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
PumpkinOS is a re-implementation of PalmOS that runs on modern architectures. It is not an emulator and does not require a PalmOS ROM. It can run m68K PalmOS applications and includes applications such as Launcher, Preferences, Command, AddressBook, MemoPad, ToDoList, and DateBook. The source code for these applications were adapted from PalmOS SDks. PumpkinOS is licensed under GPL v3 and needs to be built from source. It can be built using MSYS2 on 64-bits Windows or using gcc, binutils, make, and git on 64-bit Linux-based OS. It is also possible to build PumpkinOS on Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). After successful or unsuccessful runs, a pumpkin.log file will be generated. Drag & Drop functionality is implemented on the Windows version to install PalmOS PRC files, while on Linux they need to be manually copied to the designated directory. PumpkinOS can be debugged with gdb on Windows, Linux, and WSL.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article reflects on feeling old after visiting the Computer History Museum and seeing a Palm Pilot displayed as a piece of history. They express the sentiment that it feels unfair to see objects from their own lifetime treated as artifacts from a long-gone era.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the PumpkinOS project, which is commended for its effort to be compatible with system calls used by Palm OS applications. The author reminisces about the peculiar memory management of the Palm OS, where large data needed to be stored in a special memory block that could be rearranged by the operating system. The author also mentions their personal experience of creating games for Palm OS and their excitement for the next version of the OS that would provide better development tools. The author concludes by admitting that while things are easier now with modern UI frameworks, they still miss the unique aspects of the Palm OS.
2. How much faster are the Gnome 46 terminals?
Total comment counts : 35
Summary
The article discusses the performance improvements made to the Virtual Terminal library (VTE) in various GNOME terminal emulators. It focuses on measuring input latency as a tangible metric for gauging performance. The author describes using a hardware input latency tester consisting of a light sensor and Teensy board to measure the end-to-end input latency. They explain the process of how the tester works and the data analysis involved. The article concludes by presenting an example latency plot and discussing its implications.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article discusses changes made to a tested setup that have resulted in a smaller input median latency than an Apple IIe computer from 1983. However, there are some important caveats to consider. The benchmark used a bare-bones environment called “raw Mutter” instead of GNOME Shell, which is the default configuration. Additionally, the measurement did not include keyboard latency, which can be significant. The author wishes that the article had measured the true end-to-end numbers for the default configuration. The article acknowledges the differences between the tested setup and the Apple IIe, such as hardware acceleration and Unicode support. Overall, the article praises the work of the GNOME team but emphasizes the need to address unanswered questions.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the placement of the photo sensor halfway through the monitor and highlights that this can affect the accuracy of refresh rate measurements. It explains that placing the sensor at the top of the screen can result in faster measurements, while placing it at the bottom can lead to slower measurements. The author suggests that this information should be mentioned when discussing details and thresholds for measurements. Additionally, they note that stating one monitor is slower than another may be subjective and dependent on individual setups and settings. They advise checking for any monitor enhancements or graphics card settings that could introduce latency without warning.
3. Phytomining – Extracting Minerals via Plants
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is providing up to $10 million in funding to explore phytomining, a process using plants to extract nickel from soil. This initiative aims to establish a competitive domestic nickel supply chain, reduce the need for imports, and supplement traditional mining methods. The effort is part of President Biden’s agenda to strengthen critical materials supply chains, enhance economic and national security, and meet the growing demand for clean energy materials. Nickel, a critical material in clean energy technologies, will be the first target for phytomining validation in the United States due to the abundance of nickel hyperaccumulation plants. The project seeks to develop cost-effective and low-carbon extraction approaches and encourage partnerships between various sectors. The ultimate goal is to catalyze phytomining for other critical minerals as well.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the possibility of using plants to enrich uranium. The idea is based on a patent and a paper that describe certain algae having a preference for one isotope of uranium over another. It is unclear whether this concept has been successfully replicated or not.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article discusses the potential of using plants to extract nickel from soil, which could be a more efficient and environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional mining methods. The article explains that plants have the ability to accumulate high levels of nickel in their ash when grown in soil with high nickel content. This process is said to be more enriching and have fewer impurities compared to mining nickel from rocks. Though it is still in the early stages of development, this concept shows promising potential.
4. Show HN: I open-sourced the in-memory PostgreSQL I built at work for E2E tests
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
The article discusses a tool called “pgmock,” which is an in-memory PostgreSQL mock server that is used for unit and E2E tests. It runs within WebAssembly on both Node.js and the browser, and requires no external dependencies. The article provides instructions on how to run pgmock in a browser and explains that it provides a configuration object for use with node-postgres. It also mentions that pgmock supports browser environments and provides a more performant and lightweight alternative called “pglite” for running a database in the browser. The article outlines two approaches to running Postgres in WebAssembly and explains that pgmock currently uses the approach of emulating the Postgres server in an x86 emulator. The article concludes by mentioning that pgmock differs from previous projects by providing full feature-compatibility within the JavaScript runtime without depending on a network proxy for communication.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author has developed an in-memory version of Postgres that has feature parity with production databases. The unique aspect of this version is that it does not require any external processes or proxies. It can be run on platforms that support WASM, such as Node.js and browsers. Creating a new database with mock data is as simple as creating a JavaScript object. Although similar to pglite, this version is different in that it runs on native WASM directly, making it faster and more lightweight. However, it only supports single-user mode and a select few extensions, which limits connectivity with normal Postgres clients. The author also suggests that the platform could potentially run any Docker image on WebAssembly platforms.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author is questioning why it is not practical to run Postgres with its files on a ramdisk. They mention that the setup can apparently be created, updated, and destroyed by tests in a browser/Node environment. The author admits they might not understand the advantages over a more traditional development setup and asks for someone to explain when and how this would be better.
5. Programming with DOS Debugger (2003)
Total comment counts : 14
Summary
The article describes how to use the DEBUG.EXE debugger program in MS-DOS and Windows 98 to work with assembly language instructions and machine code. It provides step-by-step instructions on assembling two minimal programs: one that prints a single character and another that prints a string. The article also explains how to create a separate input file with all the debugger commands and assembly language instructions to assemble a program without losing the source code.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article explains that the debugger program available with MS-DOS or Windows 98 allows for rudimentary assembly language programming without needing additional tools. PC magazines in the 80s and 90s took advantage of this feature by publishing source code listings that could be typed into the debugger to create small but useful utilities. This was a time when advanced users knew programming and often became full-time developers, in contrast to the present when many developers have limited understanding of their environment.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article describes the author’s experience using DEBUG, a command-line debugging tool, to manipulate disk blocks and load/save files from memory. They created batch files and DEBUG commands to load disk blocks in segments, save them with individual filenames, and create a zip archive. They also developed a utility in C for decoding attachments before certain email clients had that capability. The utility used an assembly language loader code to decode UUENCODED data and save it as a file. This allowed the author to send encoded binary files in emails to recipients without advanced email clients, who could use DEBUG to decode and save the files.
6. Wreck of Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ discovered in Antarctic depths (2022)
Total comment counts : 13
Summary
A team of researchers has discovered the wreck of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance vessel on the Antarctic sea floor, putting an end to a century-old maritime mystery. The shipwreck, resting almost two miles beneath the waters of the Weddell Sea, was captured in stunning photographs and video using submersibles. The wreck, which is protected as a historic site, will remain undisturbed. The Endurance sank in 1915 after becoming trapped in the pack ice, but Shackleton and his crew famously survived and were rescued in 1917. The discovery of the well-preserved wreck was hailed as a historic achievement, revealing the intact ship and the visible letters of its name on the stern.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article is about the author’s partner’s great uncle, Perce (Blackborow), who was part of a crew. He is famously seen in pictures with Mrs Chippy, the ship’s cat, sitting on his shoulder. Perce started as a stowaway but eventually became a steward. He suffered frostbite and lost several toes during the journey. Upon returning home, he declared that he would never leave Newport again, and it seems he kept his word.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article highlights how some tech executives draw irrelevant analogies between their projects and the Endurance expedition, believing that completing mundane tasks is similar to the struggle of survival.
7. Diffoscope – In-depth comparison of files, archives, and directories
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
The article discusses a software tool called “diffoscope” that is used for comparing files, archives, and directories. The tool can unpack and transform various binary formats into more human-readable forms in order to compare them. It can compare different types of files such as tarballs, ISO images, and PDFs. The tool supports a wide range of file formats including Android APK files, bzip2 archives, GIF images, Java class files, PDF documents, PNG images, XML files, ZIP archives, and many more. Diffoscope also has a fallback on hexdump comparison and uses fuzzy-matching to handle renamings. The tool can be installed via pip or docker and is developed as part of the “Reproducible Builds” effort.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author discusses their experience using diffoscope while working on Othernet, a project that required Over-The-Air updates of firmware. They faced challenges due to a slow and unreliable satellite link. By using diffoscope, they were able to make the firmware have deterministic and minimal-diff builds, resulting in smaller update sizes. The author iteratively worked on building the firmware, using diffoscope to identify file changes and fix them where possible. Ultimately, they were able to reduce OTA update sizes to around 20-50KB, despite starting with a compressed firmware image of 30MB.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a web interface called try.diffoscope.org that allows users to try a certain feature without any setup.
8. Show HN: Beyond text splitting – improved file parsing for LLMs
Total comment counts : 14
Summary
The article discusses the concept of chunking complex documents for AI applications. It highlights the limitations of open-source libraries in handling complex documents and introduces Open Parse as a solution. Open Parse is a visually-driven library that effectively chunks and analyzes document layouts. It offers features like markdown support, high-precision table extraction, extensibility, and an intuitive interface. The article also provides instructions on dealing with PDFs and enabling OCR support. It mentions the optional feature of parsing content from tables using deep learning models. The article concludes by providing links to sample notebooks and the Open Parse repository.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the limitations of correct chunking in improving accuracy when searching for information. It states that while chunking can enhance performance when the search phrase is accurate, it fails to consider situations where the search itself is incorrect or requires further evaluation. The complexity is further increased when dealing with non-tokens, made-up words, or foreign languages. The author suggests that using multiple variations of the search phrase and running multiple search strategies could potentially improve performance, but acknowledges that this approach is currently expensive and slow. As someone who has developed a RAG platform, the author finds these challenges familiar.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is recommending the use of a tool called surya, which is an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) tool that is more accurate than tesseract. It also performs layout analysis and text detection. The article states that surya’s OCR is slower on CPU but faster than tesseract on GPU. The author suggests that surya can be used as a replacement for pymupdf, tesseract, and some layout heuristics. The author encourages further discussion on the tool and provides contact information.
9. Greaseweazle
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
This article provides an overview of the Greaseweazle (GW) software and its various models. It highlights the advantage of using the Greaseweazle workflow, which allows users to save and duplicate DOS or CP/M disks using modern equipment and only requiring old disk drives. The article mentions the different versions of the GW software, with version 1.5 being the latest. It also describes the setup of the drives and their connection using the Shugart-BUS or daisy chaining method. The article compares the ease of software installation on Windows 10 for Greaseweazle and KryoFlux, highlighting that Greaseweazle is easier to install. It also mentions the availability of two Windows GUIs for Greaseweazle and discusses the flexibility and speed of using the “FluxMyFluffyFloppy” GUI. The article concludes by noting that Greaseweazle can handle both the crossed IBM floppy cable with twist and the daisy chain cable, while KryoFlux can only handle two drives using the modern IBM PC cable scheme.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article describes how the author helped a local shop with old documents stored on a Mac floppy. Despite the years since using a Mac with a floppy drive, the author attempted to assist by checking if the floppies were in a DOS/Windows format, but they were not. However, the author was able to create a floppy image using a Greaseweazle device. They then discovered a Mac emulator on the web that allowed them to read the floppy image using MS Word 5 for Mac. Ultimately, the documents were successfully exported to RTF format.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article questions the need for Greaseweazle, a project that aims to extract data from floppy disks. The author doesn’t understand why it is preferred over a regular USB floppy drive. However, they do acknowledge that Greaseweazle has a cool name.
10. When a black hole and a neutron star merge
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics have observed a mysterious signal, called GW230529, originating from the merger of a neutron star with a lightweight black hole. This marks the first object to fall into the “lower mass gap” that separates the heaviest neutron stars from the lightest black holes. The discovery increases the expectation that more such events will be observed in the future with electromagnetic waves. The researchers improved the detectors’ sensitivity and utilized improved waveform models during the observing run. The exact location of the merger could not be determined due to the limited data from a single detector.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses that the LIGO facility in Eastern Washington offers free tours of the facility, both inside and outside. The trip is described as memorable and includes a lecture beforehand. The author highly recommends visiting the facility.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author is wondering if neutron stars, black holes, and regular stars in the 3 solar mass range have different curves in spacetime. They use the example of a ball on cellophane to explain the gravity well caused by massive objects. They question how a black hole can bend space enough for not even light to escape if it has a similar mass to other objects. They also ponder the possibility of other unidentified objects, wondering why black holes are chosen over neutron stars. The author clarifies that this is not a criticism of the article, but rather a curiosity. They find the article to be a fascinating read about science.