1. Show HN: We Made The World’s Smallest and Cheapest Network Switch
Total comment counts : 42
Summary
The mrxSwitch is a small and affordable networking switch that is fully open-source. It uses external magnetics, a high-performance unmanaged switch IC, and 1.25mm pitch Fast Ethernet connectors. The switch steps down an input voltage to its operating voltage of 3.3V and has minimal noise with full termination for all center taps and calculated differential pairs. It utilizes magnetic transformers and chokes to comply with the IEEE 802.3 standard. The mrxSwitch V2 is the smallest networking switch in the world and is suitable for various applications, including embedded systems, consumer electronics, and space-constrained networking projects.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article talks about the author’s experience designing rocket avionics and their frustration with the high cost of a BotBlox switch. They proposed designing their own Ethernet switch, but their idea was vetoed. The author then expresses their appreciation for a $6.9 Ethernet switch from JLCPCB, which they believe improves the affordability of such products. The article includes links to the author’s project and the BotBlox switch.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author is asking if linear voltage regulators work by wasting voltage difference until reaching the target voltage, and if this causes them to generate heat. They calculate that at a 12V input, the regulator may dissipate up to 6.96W of heat onto the board, depending on downstream current draw. The author wonders if the board feels cool enough to touch.
2. What You Get After Running an SSH Honeypot for 30 Days
Total comment counts : 42
Summary
The article discusses an SSH honeypot and the various attacks it detects. It mentions the use of default usernames and a script called ./oinasf that is used to probe vulnerabilities and gather information. It also discusses a miner that creates a cron job to delete files and add an ssh key. It identifies this script as part of the Gafgyt Malware, which targets IoT devices and Linux-based systems. The article suggests the need for robust defenses against these types of attacks.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author of the article explains that they self-host a non-critical mail server and noticed a constant flow of illegitimate traffic hitting random ports. To address this, they set up scripts to detect activity on ports that aren’t open and block the corresponding IP addresses. During their analysis, they discovered untrustworthy networks belonging to internet security companies that flood the entire IPv4 space with daily scans. Blocking these networks significantly reduced the unwanted traffic on their open service ports. The author provides network lists and scripts for their setup, acknowledging the limitations of blocking IP addresses but believing it can reduce the load on subsequent layers of security.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author accidentally left password logins enabled on their server and noticed thousands of failed login attempts originating from China. They express frustration with the individuals who constantly scan port 22 and attempt to guess passwords for nonexistent usernames. They compare these individuals to ants and themselves to a gardener.
3. SimCity in the web browser using WebAssembly and OpenGL
Total comment counts : 13
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article explains the enjoyment of porting old games to the web, as they are smaller in size than modern web pages, load quickly, and perform well. The author specifically mentions porting Quake 3 and provides a link to access it.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The individual is not a gamer, but recalls playing SimCity as a child. They question if gameplay has changed in the last 25 years or if their browser is not functioning properly. They notice that the game does not seem to allow them to build cities themselves, unlike their previous experience with SimCity. They wonder if there is a way for players to actively participate in the game.
4. The Architecture Behind a One-Person Tech Startup (2021)
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
The article discusses the setup used to run a one-person Software as a Service (SaaS) company. The author explains their infrastructure, including load balancing, cron job monitoring, payments, and subscriptions. They clarify that their company is self-funded and operates at a slow pace. The author uses Kubernetes on AWS but mentions that these tools may not be suitable for everyone. They go on to explain that they started with a Django app on a single VPS but eventually switched to a more complex setup using Postgres, ClickHouse, Redis, Celery, and a custom event queue, all running on a managed Kubernetes cluster. The author emphasizes that although their setup may sound complicated, they spend very little time managing the infrastructure and most of their time is focused on developing features and growing the business. They also mention that their infrastructure is shared across multiple projects, which helps keep costs down and allows for easy experimentation. The article then briefly mentions how traffic is routed to the cluster using Cloudflare and an AWS Network Load Balancer.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The best technology stack for starting a startup is one that you already know and don’t have to learn. It’s important not to overwhelm yourself with learning a new tech stack while also managing other aspects of starting a company. Your users prioritize a working product, so choose a stack that allows you to develop quickly. If necessary, you can refactor and migrate to a better stack later, although this is rarely needed. The author personally deployed to Elastic Beanstalk and used Mongo because they were already familiar with these technologies. They also chose not to use React initially, but this decision may vary for different individuals. Ultimately, it’s best to build your app on the technology you are comfortable with.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author, who primarily works with Python and runs a Django app, questions whether Python, auto scaling, and cloud computing change the requirements for businesses and profit margins. They mention the overhead of running many pods of gunicorn for their app, especially with small VMs. They have heard stories of companies struggling with Django stacks and wonder if high profit margins are necessary to support Python’s slower performance, framework, and deployment model. The author contemplates whether it’s worth investing time in Python compared to a faster language like Go, which allows for deploying a static binary and utilizing multiple CPU cores. They also mention that Kubernetes may be less appealing for a one-process architecture, suggesting that smaller systems would benefit more from using systemd units.
5. Making my first embedded Linux system
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
This article documents the author’s journey in building their first Linux system on a custom PCB. The author discusses various aspects of designing an embedded Linux system, including the schematic, power supply, decoupling capacitors, connectors, and routing the PCB. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding basic electrical engineering concepts and encourages readers to have some intuition around resistors, capacitors, and inductors. The article also highlights the differences between using off-the-shelf PCBs like Raspberry Pi and creating custom PCBs for microcontrollers. The author shares their experience in programming the board and explains the process of powering on a chip and loading code onto it. While acknowledging that their design may have rookie mistakes, the author’s prototype successfully boots and runs Linux, offering encouragement to others interested in doing the same.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article discusses various comments and observations about a certain board. Some points include the choice of flash storage in bits rather than bytes, the possibility of reworking the board to swap the flash, the lack of mention of impedance in differential routing, the potential benefit of adding an SD card connector, the smart workaround to load directly into DDR, the less-than-ideal use of LDO to decrease voltage for a core rail, and the commendation for using a simple SoC (system on a chip) in order to avoid challenges associated with more advanced parts. The overall assessment of the article is positive.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is about SPI flash size. It mentions that the size is usually given in Mbit, with 16Mbit being equivalent to 2MB. To get a 16MB flash size, one would need a 128Mbit flash. The article encourages continuing to experiment and tinker.
6. Ernest Shackleton’s Last Ship, Quest, Discovered Off the Coast of Canada
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
Researchers have located the wreck of the ship Quest, which was used by famed explorer Ernest Shackleton after his death in 1922. The ship sank in 1962 off the northeast coast of Canada due to thick sea ice. The wreck was found 1,280 feet below the surface of the northwest Atlantic Ocean, sitting on its keel with a broken mast nearby. The discovery follows the previous finding of Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, on the Antarctic sea floor two years ago. Shackleton and his crew famously survived a harrowing ordeal after the Endurance sank in 1915.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the finding of the wreckage of a ship called Shackleton, which was named after the famous south polar explorer. The ship was used for different purposes until it sank off the coast of Canada in 1962, though the crew all survived. The article clarifies that Shackleton had died of a heart attack in his cabin in 1922 during his fourth expedition, and was not on board the ship when it sank.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the remarkable achievements of explorer Ernest Shackleton. While he did not reach the South Pole, he accomplished incredible feats that are unlikely to be repeated. Shackleton and five of his crew members crossed the southern ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia in an open lifeboat, covering a distance of 1500km in just 16 days. This journey remains unparalleled. Additionally, Shackleton traversed South Georgia on foot with inadequate equipment, a difficult task even today. The article emphasizes that his ocean crossing is seen as almost certain suicide, with no one willing to replicate it. The author recommends reading the book about the expedition for further information.
7. VVVV – A hybrid visual/textual development environment for .NET
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
vvvv is a visual live-programming environment for the .NET ecosystem. It combines metaphors from different programming languages and allows rapid prototyping and final production without writing code. It can compile and run programs on the .NET virtual machine, making them as fast as if they were written in C#. The environment supports multi-threading, hardware devices, and common protocols. Custom nodes can be added using C# without any proprietary code. vvvv has built-in help and support from a community. The article also mentions various interactive installations that use vvvv for different purposes. The article concludes by mentioning the features and protections of vvvv.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the limitations of using a 2D canvas to wire programs together. While this approach works well for certain problems like signal processing and pipelines, it becomes messy and disorganized for general-purpose programs.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the writer’s experience with a powerful and versatile software called Takuma Nakata. The writer states that the tutorials for the software are great and that it is useful for creating cool experimental content. The writer also expresses confusion over the criticism about its licensing and believes that a lifetime license fee of 500 euros is reasonable, especially for commercial use.
8. Simple sabotage for software (2023)
Total comment counts : 27
Summary
The article discusses a book called Simple Sabotage, which was produced by the CIA during World War 2. The book provides advice on how infiltrators can disrupt the productivity of a company. The author finds the advice in the book timeless and even has a section framed and hung up in their office. They discuss how, as a CTO, one can slowly destroy productivity without getting caught. The author also mentions that productivity is a result of a combination of small factors and that even minor cuts can significantly impact overall productivity. The article ends with information about the author’s background and contact details.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the effectiveness of suggested practices by the CIA and highlights skepticism regarding their implementation. It suggests that promoting underqualified individuals into management positions and prioritizing profit over the quality of products can be detrimental to a company’s success. Additionally, it mentions the ease with which a destructive Chief Technology Officer (CTO) can hinder progress by avoiding responsibility, pushing blame onto others, and minimizing the fixing of broken processes. The author also acknowledges the irony that optimizing solely for profit often leads to unprofitability.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The Office of Strategic Services, not the CIA, produced a book called Simple Sabotage during World War 2. The CIA was established in 1947, years after the war ended.
9. Harvard Railroad Economics Exam (1906)
Total comment counts : 9
Summary
The article is not provided. The error message suggests that the requested resource could not be found on the server and the error was generated by Mod_Security.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a test that combines practical knowledge about different types of cars, terminals, and more, with theory and historical information about how other countries’ rail systems worked and why they developed in certain ways. The last question of the test asks students to compare the experience of France and Germany with state railroad operation. It prompts students to analyze the causes that led to state operation, the extent of the lines operated, the results from state operation, and the reasons behind those results.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article highlights how the expectations of Harvard’s Class of 1906 were different from today. They were expected to have knowledge and skills in the real-world economy in America. The article implies that times have changed and these expectations may no longer be the same.
10. NLRB judge declares non-compete clause is an unfair labor practice
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
In a recent decision, Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) Sarah Karpinen ruled in favor of a union organizer who was fired by his employer. The case involved “salting,” where the union organizer was hired by the company to organize his coworkers. The organizer lied about his employment history to get hired and declared his role as a union organizer after being hired. The judge ruled that salting is protected activity, lying about employment history for salting is also protected, and firing someone for salting is unfair labor practice. As a result, the judge ordered the employer to rehire the salt with backpay. Additionally, the General Counsel (GC) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) argued that the employer’s non-compete and coworker non-solicitation clauses were illegal work rules. The judge determined that the non-compete clause was overly broad and would discourage employees from engaging in protected activities. The coworker non-solicitation clause was also deemed illegal as it would dissuade employees from engaging in protected activity and discussing union benefits. This is the first time an ALJ has ruled that these types of clauses violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses a non-solicitation clause and questions whether it is an unfair labor practice. The user also reflects on their own company’s questionable employment practices.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article states that salting, which refers to the practice of employees getting hired at a company to organize a union, is considered a protected activity. It also mentions that lying about employment history to engage in salting is also protected activity. Lastly, firing someone for engaging in salting is regarded as an unfair labor practice.