1. Social engineering takeovers of open source projects
Total comment counts : 54
Summary
The OpenJS Foundation and Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF) are warning open source maintainers about social engineering takeover attempts after intercepting a similar incident to the recent XZ Utils backdoor. The OpenJS Foundation received suspicious emails requesting them to update a JavaScript project and designate the sender as a new maintainer. The Foundation recognized a similar pattern in two other projects and reported the concerns to respective leaders and cybersecurity agencies. The organizations emphasize the need for maintainers to be cautious of social engineering attacks and to be aware of early threat patterns. They also offer practical guidance from cybersecurity experts and suggest sharing suspicious activity to help other communities stay vigilant. The article highlights the importance of trust and the difficulty in programmatically detecting or protecting against social engineering attacks. The OpenJS Foundation, along with organizations like the Linux Foundation, aims to support maintainers and improve the overall security posture of open source projects. They highlight the need for resources and international coordination to address this issue effectively. Funding initiatives like Alpha-Omega and the Sovereign Tech Fund are investing in critical open source projects to enhance security.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author, a maintainer of an open source project, admits to being more skeptical of pull requests (PRs) from new contributors. They silently question the motives of new contributors and wonder if there could be any hidden malicious intentions. This added suspicion is considered when reviewing code for the project.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article argues that singling out issues in Open Source projects is unfair. It suggests that app developers have long dealt with unsolicited messages from shady individuals wanting to buy their applications. The article also mentions that the “xz thing” (presumably a reference to a specific incident) was clever but highlights the caution developers have regarding trusting random contributors. It further mentions the precautionary measures in place in projects like Debian and the introduction of “pull requests” in Open Source projects to address issues with unrestricted access.
2. Remnants of a legendary typeface have been rescued from the Thames
Total comment counts : 23
Summary
The article describes a website that is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. It mentions that certain actions like submitting specific words or phrases, a SQL command, or malformed data can trigger a block. It suggests that users email the site owner with details about what they were doing when the block occurred, along with the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of the page. The article also mentions that the website’s performance and security are managed by Cloudflare.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the font called Doves, which is visually appealing despite its complexity. It also mentions an unauthorized variant of Doves called Mebinac, which handles modern punctuation in a more conventional way. The article suggests using these fonts in daily reading applications such as RSS readers or mail apps. It includes a link to access Mebinac.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article mentions several links to discussions about the Doves Press typeface. These discussions took place in 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2019, and include comments from various users.
3. Deep Reinforcement Learning: Zero to Hero
Total comment counts : 13
Summary
This article is about a practical introductory course on deep reinforcement learning algorithms. The course aims to teach participants how to write algorithms like DQN, SAC, and PPO from scratch, as well as understand the theory behind them. The course also focuses on training an AI to play Atari games and land on the Moon. The article provides instructions on setting up the environment, including installing Miniconda and Visual Studio Code, as well as installing dependencies and accessing code examples. Additionally, the article mentions that there are YouTube videos available for a more detailed and step-by-step coding experience.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author created a series of Python notebooks on Deep Reinforcement Learning with a focus on a pedagogical approach. The notebooks cover various algorithms and provide theory and coding exercises. The author also plans to create YouTube videos on the topic. The resources used for this project are listed in the article.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the lack of practical resources available for addressing issues that arise in the implementation of certain techniques. It emphasizes the need for guidance on what to do when things go wrong, such as when actions get stuck at maximum or when exploration does not occur despite attempts at off-policy training. The author expresses a desire for more resources that address specific issues beyond generic advice of tweaking things until they work.
4. With PowerPC, Windows CE and the WiiN-Pad Slate, Everyone’s a WiiN-Er
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
The article discusses a rare and unusual device called the Data General WiiN-PAD, which was one of the last computing devices produced by Data General before it was bought out by EMC in 1999. The device runs on the PowerPC CPU, which was not commonly used for Windows CE devices. The article also explores the history of Data General, from its founding in 1968 to its struggles in the 1980s. The author plans to program the WiiN-PAD and discusses what happened to Data General after its acquisition by EMC.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the presence of a MPC821 device in a PowerQUICC line, which is typically used for offloading communication tasks and supporting telco protocols. The author speculates that the MPC821 and MPC860 may be the same hardware with different firmware that allows for LCD interface. However, the PowerQUICC with LCD interface is more suitable for a desktop phone with a large LCD, rather than a tablet. The article also mentions the use of PowerQUICC in Cisco routers in the early 2000s.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses sadness about the missed opportunity to own the Sharp Mobilon TriPad PV-6000. They also mention their frustration with the stylus on their Samsung Galaxy Book 12, which had limited functionality after a software update. The author plans to purchase a Raspberry Pi 5 and a Wacom One 13 with touch functionality, hoping it will work well and allow them to avoid constantly adapting to new software updates.
5. MIT abandons requirement of DEI statements for hiring and promotions
Total comment counts : 65
Summary
The article discusses MIT’s decision to eliminate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements for faculty hiring and promotions. MIT President Sally Kornbluth quietly banned the use of these statements across all departments, following a private faculty poll that revealed two-thirds of professors disliking them. The article presents this as a positive development, suggesting that the elimination of DEI statements is a step towards restoring sanity and merit-based evaluations in academia.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the use of Hacker News (HN) for ideological battles and emphasizes the importance of maintaining thoughtful and substantive conversations. It urges users to adhere to the site guidelines, which state that comments should become more thoughtful and substantive as a topic becomes more divisive. The article provides a link to the site guidelines for reference.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the article is questioning the need for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) statements, expressing their skepticism and comparing them to the dystopian novel “1984”. They are seeking someone who can defend DEI statements with a coherent argument or provide an online resource that does so. They mention that their research only yielded articles on how to write DEI statements, without questioning their value.
6. Drug resistant bacteria found on ISS mutating to become functionally distinct
Total comment counts : 14
Summary
A new scientific paper funded by NASA’s Ames Space Biology grant studied strains of a multi-drug resistant bacterial species called Enterobacter bugandensis that were isolated from the International Space Station (ISS). The study found that under stress, the strains isolated from the ISS mutated and became genetically and functionally distinct from their Earth counterparts. These ISS strains were able to persist and coexist with other microorganisms in the extreme environment of the space station. The research provides insights into microbial dynamics in extreme environments and opens doors for effective preventive measures for astronaut health. The study was published in the journal Microbiome.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Long periods in zero gravity have negative effects on astronauts’ immune systems, leading to skin rashes and respiratory symptoms. The presence of new bacteria in closed environments with immune-compromised individuals can be life-threatening. Pneumonia in space has the potential to be deadly, as gravity is necessary for clearing the lungs. Postural drainage positions can help keep the lungs clear, preventing astronauts from drowning in their own fluids. This issue could hinder long-range manned missions for NASA.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the idea of comparing the evolution of organisms in space and on Earth to understand the effects of stressors on adaptations. The author believes that studying this can provide insights into the evolutionary process and is important for our future as a multiplanetary species. The link provided leads to the research paper on this topic.
7. A High-Level Technical Overview of Homomorphic Encryption
Total comment counts : 13
Summary
The article discusses fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) and provides an overview of the field. FHE allows running programs directly on encrypted data without decrypting it. The article explains the concept of homomorphic encryption and how it enables computation on encrypted data. It mentions that FHE has limitations, such as slow performance compared to unencrypted programs, constraints on optimizations, and increased data size. The article aims to provide a technical but accessible explanation of FHE and its current state and direction.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the use of the double-CRT (Chinese Remainder Theorem) in the context of RNS encoding. It clarifies that the term “double-CRT” refers to the storage and computation of polynomials, rather than the RNS encoding itself. The article explains how the polynomial Φm(X) can be decomposed into products X − ζi, similar to how the integer modulus Q is decomposed into primes. It also mentions that the double-CRT can be implemented as a DFT (Discrete Fourier Transform). The article includes a link to the original paper for further reference.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article explains that in a Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) program, it is not possible to write a program that uses fewer instructions than the worst-case input. This is because doing so would reveal information about the input, which contradicts the security of the cryptography. Instead, an FHE program must compute all branches of if-statements eagerly, and then use a select statement to decide which result should be used. The select statement allows for value selection without revealing the actual value, even in encrypted form.
8. X.org on NetBSD – The State of Things
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
This article discusses the state of X11 on NetBSD and highlights the differences in how it is implemented compared to other distributions. NetBSD ships X11 as an optional monolithic package, meaning every driver is included on every system. This can sometimes require fine-tuning to ensure the correct drivers are loaded on the correct hardware. NetBSD’s “xsrc” repository serves as a fork of X.Org that regularly pulls from upstream, allowing X development to happen as part of NetBSD. NetBSD also uses its own build system based on BSD makefiles, not X.Org’s GNU autotools. The article mentions several NetBSD-exclusive drivers, including xf86-input-ws, which supports various pointing devices, and several accelerated drivers for SPARC and PowerPC hardware. It also mentions the retention of Nvidia’s open source graphics driver for platforms with embedded Nvidia chips. The article suggests areas for improvement in NetBSD’s X integration, such as better support for X clients and streamlining spell checking in the X text editor, xedit. It also suggests evaluating the inclusion of all programs from historical X.Org distributions and addressing the lack of a scalable cursor theme and high-resolution fonts for Japanese. Finally, the article mentions the absence of a screen locking program for X in NetBSD’s default installation.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article briefly mentions the popularity of NetBSD in Japan and seeks an explanation for its popularity in that country.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the article expresses their hope that Wayland does not replace X as the main display server. Their main reason for this is the ease of running graphical applications over a network using X. They mention that they currently use a FreeBSD desktop with virtualized Linux, OpenBSD, and Windows systems, and they have not found a way to easily run applications as if they were on the host system with Wayland.
9. Show HN: A free site to explore and discover 6k plants
Total comment counts : 32
Summary
error
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article expresses frustration at the lack of options to specify their location when trying to buy plants. They mention that all the sites they clicked on were only for American customers. The author suggests that even a note indicating that the sites are for USA only would have been appreciated. They also express annoyance at how Americans often ignore the rest of the world and treat them as if they don’t exist.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the existence of a subculture around certain varieties of house plants, similar to the subculture surrounding sneakers. These plants can be expensive, have a network of trading, and some are associated with high status. The article mentions that the site it is about does not appear to be related to this subculture.
10. A company is building a giant compressed-air battery in the Australian outback
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
Hydrostor, a Toronto-based company, is developing long-duration energy storage systems that store energy underground in the form of compressed air. The company’s CEO, Curtis VanWalleghem, emphasizes the simplicity of the system, which uses existing equipment from the oil and gas industry. Long-duration storage is crucial for filling gaps in electricity generation from intermittent renewables like wind and solar. Hydrostor’s first large-scale project, the Silver City Energy Storage Centre in Australia, is expected to begin construction by the end of 2024. The company is also planning the Willow Rock Energy Storage Center in California. Hydrostor’s technology has already been proven through a small plant in Ontario. The long-term viability of the technology will depend on its cost compared to other storage options.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article explains that compressed air does not actually store energy, but rather stores negative entropy. It discusses a facility that separates and stores the heat of compression, which is then used to reheat the compressed air at discharge time. The energy is stored in a thermal store. However, the article mentions that there are other methods, such as pumped thermal storage, that can achieve similar results without using compressed air. The author also mentions that Google/Alphabet has a group called Malta that explores this concept of pumped thermal storage, which has no geographical limitations. The article notes that while highly compressed air can store some energy due to intermolecular repulsion, this effect should be minimal in this particular system.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author is questioning the advantage of using compressed air in a water storage system, known as pumped hydro, and suggests that using only water may be a safer and simpler alternative. The author suggests that if the lower reservoir is underground, using water alone would require the generator systems to also be located underground, posing potential hazards. On the other hand, using compressed air allows for a passive below-ground system. The author seeks clarification on the advantages of using compressed air instead of water alone.