1. Google made me ruin a perfectly good website (2023)
Total comment counts : 54
Summary
I’m sorry, but it seems that the article you are referring to is mentioned within a banner. Can you please provide the main content of the article or give more details?
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author and their friend created a website about the Nurburgring to provide helpful information for visitors. They were then approached by a rental company who found their content valuable and preferred their calendar over the official one. They were consistently getting visitors and positive feedback. However, in March, Google’s algorithm update caused their website to be removed from search results, resulting in an 80% drop in visitors and halted growth. The author expresses frustration with Google’s control over the internet.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article discusses how the use of inbound links as a quality signal for website importance has been negatively impacted. In the past, having more people linking to your site indicated its significance, but now it has become extremely difficult to obtain any legitimate inbound links. This is due to the fact that people no longer create web pages or websites, instead relying on platforms like Twitter and Facebook to share information. These platforms tag the links as “nofollow/ugc,” which means they do not count towards search engine optimization (SEO). As a result, the primary link signal is now from link farms and paid media. The article emphasizes that if you do not engage in shady tactics, your site will not appear in search results, effectively reducing your influence and visibility. The author suggests that we have lost our ability to influence search results due to our own choices.
2. Burn After Wearing
Total comment counts : 13
Summary
This article tells the story of Ángela Astudillo, a law student and co-founder of the textile recycling advocacy nonprofit Dress Desert, who witnesses a massive fire at the second-largest clothes pile in the world located in the Atacama Desert in Chile. The fire destroys a mountain of discarded clothing, consisting of 11,000 to 59,000 tons of fabric, which had been accumulating for more than two decades. The article highlights the environmental impact of the non-biodegradable synthetic fibers used in modern clothes and the lack of rain in the region exacerbating the problem. The fire, captured in a drone photo in 2021, gained international attention.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the issue of wasted clothing and materials. It references a previous investigation by ABC (US) about bag recycling, where many bags were being sent to incinerators, landfills, or secretly shipped to Indonesia and Malaysia for supposed recycling.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses recognizing expensive clothes that the individual saw in malls but couldn’t afford.
3. Let’s Embed a Go Program into the Linux Kernel (2023)
Total comment counts : 11
Summary
This article discusses a lesser-known feature of the Linux kernel that allows user-space programs to be embedded directly into the kernel image and executed from there. This feature is useful in cases where the kernel needs to run helper programs. Typically, programs are launched from the file system using the execve() system call, but this approach requires the program to be installed and loadable. However, in certain situations where the root file system is attached using network storage, this can become problematic if the network connection is unavailable. To address this issue, the article presents an alternative mechanism where a user space program is embedded into the kernel image itself, eliminating the need for file system access. The article provides an example of embedding a Go program into the kernel and explains how to use the User Mode Driver API to execute the embedded program. The API also establishes a communication pipe between the program and the kernel for efficient communication.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the Usermode Driver API in Linux, which allows drivers to delegate work to userspace. This feature can be used with or without access to a working filesystem. The author mentions that this capability was previously dismissed in a discussion about in-kernel codecs.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the relationship between the initrd and the loading of programs and modules before the filesystem becomes available. The initrd’s purpose is described as embedding these programs and modules in an image that is loaded with the kernel.
4. How to improve the RISC-V specification
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
The article discusses the RISC-V specification and its strengths and weaknesses. The specification consists of several parts, including two PDF documents that describe the architecture, test suites to check processor implementation, a simulator for comparison, and a formal specification model. However, the specification is not in a healthy state due to imprecise language, lack of configurability, and disconnection between the different artifacts. The author suggests improving the specification by including parts of the formal specification in the PDF documents and capturing the architecture in easily readable and manipulable formats like JSON or XML. This would make it easier for developers to create consistent code and support architecture extensions.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the weakness of the RISC-V specification document and the need for improvements. The author highlights issues such as inconsistencies and the lack of a clear technical editor. They also mention the difficulty of creating a specification that is independent of any implementation and the need for a team with technical knowledge and accurate technical English. The author agrees that a better specification would be valuable and expresses hope for its future development.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author discusses their experience working with Sail, a language for specifying computer architectures. They mention that there is already a way to extract functions into asciidoc, which works well. They also mention that while liquid types may be confusing at first, they are mostly used for utility function definitions and not in most of the code. The author praises Sail as a fantastic language that helps avoid bugs. However, they point out two actual problems with the RISC-V spec: the abundance of undefined/implementation defined behavior and the lack of configurability in the RISC-V Sail model. The author agrees with the criticism of the spec’s imprecise language.
5. Japan’s Moon lander makes it through another lunar night
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The JAXA mission is going well and there is excitement about the additional scientific information they will obtain. The article mentions the limited downlink time they have for transmitting the large amount of data they have collected.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a documentary about the ongoing Voyager missions, highlighting the tactic of turning off instrument heaters to save power while still hoping for useful data. It is mentioned that scientists often design these instruments to be more robust than expected.
6. Zilog Z80 CPU – Modern, free and open source silicon clone
Total comment counts : 11
Summary
This article discusses the development of an open-source replacement for the Zilog Z80, an 8-bit CPU that has recently been announced as end-of-life. The goal is to create a silicon-proven, pin-compatible alternative to the classic Z80. The Free and Open Source Silicon (FOSS) Z80 project plans to fabricate the first iteration of the chip in June 2024, using the OpenROAD flow and the FOSS 130 nm Skywater PDK. The project utilizes the Tiny Tapeout infrastructure to reduce the cost of chip fabrication. The implementation is based on Guy Hutchison’s TV80 Verilog core. The article provides an image of the GDSII integrated circuit layout for FOSS Z80, which was created using an automatic place-and-route flow. The article also mentions the Tiny Tapeout educational project, which aims to make chip manufacturing more accessible.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the impressive work being done by Tiny Tapeout, which allows makers and students to have their own chip designs manufactured at a low cost. The tools provided by Tiny Tapeout are also commendable, with the capability to fit the Z80 on a tiny 0.064mm2 area. The article also mentions the appreciation for an alternative to official chips now that they are no longer being manufactured. Finally, the author expresses a desire for a specific packaging design for the chip.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article states that the 6502 processor and its derivatives are still being manufactured by one of its original creators. As a result, the development of an equivalent processor in the world of the Z80 is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
7. The Princeton Companion to Applied Mathematics
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
The summarization provided contains publication details about a book on applied mathematics, including the editors and the publisher. It also mentions the inclusion of specific articles in another publication. The summary concludes with an invitation to subscribe to a blog via email.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article is a math enthusiast who purchased a book, expecting it to be a fun read. However, they found that the articles in the book were too advanced and not suitable for someone who is new to the field. The author was surprised by this, considering they know the editor’s work and have a good math background. In the end, they realize that not every book is a perfect fit for every reader.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is about a book called The Princeton Companion to Applied Mathematics, which is a companion to the Princeton Companion to Mathematics. The new volume focuses on applied math and was edited by Nick Higham, a well-regarded applied mathematician who passed away recently.
8. Crafting Interpreters: 640 Pages in 15 Months
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
The author has announced the completion of their book, “Crafting Interpreters,” on programming languages. The book is available in print, e-book, and PDF versions. The author discusses the journey of completing the book and the challenges faced along the way, including rewriting the build system in Dart. The new build system is faster and allows for better control over Markdown processing. Overall, the author is happy with the final product and believes readers will find it useful.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author started working through the book “Crafting Interpreters” in 2017 and found that it demystified the concepts of tokenizers, lexers, parsers, and interpreters for them. They credit the author, Nystrom, for his brilliant writing. The author started writing the second interpreter in Rust but was unable to finish it. They recently found out that the book has been turned into a physical book and although it may not be their preferred way of learning, they are tempted to buy it to have it and support the author.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article provides a link to purchase a book and a link to a free online version. The author recommends purchasing the book for its well-designed physical copy, which includes hand-drawn illustrations and excellent writing. The article suggests that the book is superior to most technical books.
9. TfL’s simple pop-up message led to a significant drop in paper ticket sales
Total comment counts : 23
Summary
Transport for London (TfL) has intentionally reduced the sale of paper tickets by encouraging customers to use contactless payments instead. This change was implemented last September and resulted in a significant drop in paper ticket sales. TfL added pop-up messages on ticket machines to suggest using contactless cards instead of paper tickets for single or return journeys. This not only aligns with TfL’s goal of reducing paper ticket sales but also allows customers to pay cheaper fares. The change has reduced queues at ticket machines and is expected to encourage more frequent use of public transport.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author discusses their experience with using paper tickets and contactless payment methods for transportation in London. They mention receiving a paper ticket for free during the Olympic Games in 2012, but otherwise primarily using an Oyster card. They also comment on the convenience and seamlessness of using Google or Apple Pay for contactless tapping in and out of public transportation. The author finds this system impressive and believes it should be expanded to other cities in the UK.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses a message stating that passengers can use a card reader instead of buying a ticket to travel. The machine used, called the Passenger Operated Machine (POM), does not display all ticket options since not all destinations accept contactless PAYG tickets. This suggests that there are three payment methods available: contactless credit/debit card, contactless PAYG ticket, and paper/magnetic stripe ticket. If a passenger uses a contactless PAYG ticket to enter but finds it is not accepted at their destination, it is unclear what happens.
10. How I stopped worrying and loved Makefiles
Total comment counts : 31
Summary
The article discusses the use of the GNU Make tool in the context of software compilation and project management. The author provides two examples of how Make can be utilized: one for refreshing Postfix’s map files and another for managing dependencies in Python projects. The article highlights the benefits of using Make for automating tasks and ensuring the proper execution of commands. The author also mentions alternative tools like Ansible, Poetry, and Pipenv, but emphasizes the simplicity and usefulness of Make in specific scenarios.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article recommends using the ‘just’ cli tool as a replacement for Make in order to collect small steps or scripts. The tool is praised for having easier syntax and being efficient.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article talks about the use of self-documenting targets in Makefiles. It suggests that if you use Makefiles as a top-level build wrapper, you might find it helpful to have targets that document themselves. The article provides a link for more information on how to achieve this.