1. Pragtical: Practical and pragmatic code editor
Total comment counts : 26
Summary
Pragtical is a code editor that is practical and pragmatic, requiring only 30MB of RAM and 5MB of disk space. It runs well on various devices without performance issues. The editor offers features like syntax highlighting, multiple cursors, command palette, and more. Users can also add additional features through plugins, including LSP (Language Server Protocol). Pragtical allows for extension through Lua and its C API, with documentation available for various parts of the editor. It is built on SDL, C, and Lua, making it compatible with Windows, Linux, and macOS, with easy porting to other systems. Users can configure settings, color theme, keybindings, and installed plugins using a graphical settings manager. Pragtical is licensed under the MIT license and does not collect telemetry or data.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author reflects on the issue of software bloat in various code editors, such as Emacs and Visual Studio. They mention that while some editors claim to be lightweight, their actual memory usage can increase significantly when extensions or plugins are installed. They provide examples of Visual Studio becoming slower with the installation of ReSharper and Visual Studio Code consuming a large amount of RAM and startup time when loaded with numerous extensions. The author also criticizes the approach of including all desired extensions in a shared Devcontainer, as it forces everyone on the team to have those extensions installed. They conclude by suggesting that the problem of bloat might lie with users adding too many plugins rather than the editors themselves.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The writer discusses the benefits and challenges of writing extensions for different text editors. They express that writing extensions in Lua for OBS is simple and productive. They also explain that they have stuck to Sublime because extending it with Python is easy and compatible with all platforms. However, they express frustration with Rust extensions and VSCode’s inconsistent and undocumented JavaScript API. They conclude by stating that they will continue to monitor the situation.
2. Let’s Write a Reverb (2021)
Total comment counts : 16
Summary
This article discusses a clean and flexible approach to designing a high-quality reverb using a feedback-delay network (FDN) structure. The author highlights the advantages of the FDN approach, which allows for a decent-sounding reverb with low CPU usage. The article explores the concept of a feedback loop, where the input signal is sent through a delay and then fed back into the delay input, creating a series of echoes. The article also introduces a multi-channel version of the loop, where each channel is delayed by a different amount to produce a complex and diverse reverb sound. To further enhance the complexity, the article suggests including a mixing matrix inside the feedback loop. The use of an orthogonal matrix is recommended, as it maintains the energy balance between the input and output channels. By introducing cross-mixing, the echoes become more frequent, resulting in a chaotic and reverb-like effect. The article cautions against excessive inter-channel mixing, as it can lead to cohesive tails and may require careful tuning. The goal is to design a feedback loop that produces a diffuse and long-lasting reverb effect.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article mentioned is about pitch shift and is recommended by Signalsmith Audio. The user also shares a link to a previous post, as well as some projects related to reverb implementation in Rust. Additionally, they provide a link to play around with the project and recommend checking out reverb patches in Pure Data by Tom Erbe.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author, Signalsmith, is pleased to answer any questions about the article but does not provide a summary.
3. Lenticular Clock
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
The article discusses the creation of a clock that uses lenticular animations to display the time. The author ordered sheets with different numbers of lenses per inch (LPI) and found that a 20 LPI sheet was best for displaying animations. They used software to generate calibration sheets and interlaced images, and printed the images on self-adhesive transparent foil. The author then attached the foil to the back of the lenticular sheet and cut it to size. They also 3D printed holders for the lenticular sheets and assembled the clock housing. The code for the clock was written in the Arduino IDE and allows for synchronization with NTP to display the accurate time.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s love for lenticulars and their current project of writing lenticular software. The author also provides a link to their lenticular math art.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is about a digital sundial called “mojoptix-001.” Unfortunately, the link provided cannot be accessed to provide further information.
4. ‘Rare species’ not seen in the area for 50 years spotted on Arizona trail camera
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
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Top 1 Comment Summary
The article mentions the absence of a video from a trail camera. However, the user later found the video at a provided link.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the incredible abilities of a wild animal that is both stealthy and elusive. It emphasizes the skills required for the animal to survive in its environment without tools or GPS. The animal is likened to a real-world superhero due to its impressive adaptability and resourcefulness. High-tech infrared cameras are needed to observe this creature.
5. Music recommendation system using transformer models
Total comment counts : 31
Summary
The article discusses a music recommendation ranking system developed by Google Research using Transformer models. The system aims to understand user preferences based on their actions and context. It takes into account factors such as user history, user context, and relevance of actions to provide personalized music recommendations. The use of Transformers allows for better processing of the sequence of user actions, making the recommendation system more effective. The system has three key stages: item retrieval, item ranking, and filtering. It incorporates user history without explicitly identifying valuable information and helps steer recommendations towards the user’s current needs.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author expresses dissatisfaction with current music recommendation systems, such as Apple Music and Spotify, and prefers a more interactive and user-driven experience similar to YouTube’s recommendation tab. They highlight the website cosine.club as a closest match to their ideal branching system, which uses vector embeddings to find similar songs. The author suggests that companies should invest more in research for user-driven systems rather than relying on auto-generated lists.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the limitations of recommendation systems that do not consider the actual content of what they are recommending, such as music, books, or movies. It questions whether track embedding vectors, which are used in recommendation systems, contain content-derived information or are solely based on metadata. The author expresses doubt about the ability of recommendation systems to provide meaningful results without “awareness” of the content. The analogy of a deaf DJ using charts data to make decisions is used to explain the limitations of such systems.
6. Show HN: Srcbook – A TypeScript notebook for rapid prototyping
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
This article discusses the features and usage of Srcbook, a TypeScript and JavaScript notebook for rapid prototyping. It provides instructions on how to install and run Srcbook, as well as how to update and remove it. The article mentions that Srcbook collects behavioral analytics to improve the application, but assures that no Personal Identifiable Information (PII) is gathered. The code for Srcbook is open source, allowing users to verify its integrity. Additionally, the article suggests disabling tracking by setting SRCBOOK_DISABLE_ANALYTICS=true in the environment.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article praises the ongoing development of a particular project and mentions the author’s own experience with a similar project from nearly ten years ago. The author provides a link to their previous project on GitHub and expresses their admiration for the improvements made in recent years.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article suggests that individuals concerned about analytics can disable it by changing the default setting to false. Alternatively, they can turn it off in the settings, although this may give telemetry ample time to activate. The article provides a link for more information.
7. Sourcegraph went dark
Total comment counts : 26
Summary
The author of the article talks about their experience working at Sourcegraph and how the company’s decision to make their repository private has affected their ability to access and reference their work. They express disappointment over the loss of accessibility to their work and the broken links that resulted from the repository becoming private. The author explains their efforts to preserve their work by forking the repository and finding ways to retain access to the commits and pull requests. They also mention utilizing their own tools to automate the process of updating the references in their forked repository.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The CEO of Sourcegraph announced that they have made their main internal codebase private in order to focus on building a great code search/intelligence product for their customers. However, they still provide a popular public code search at sourcegraph.com/search, which is the same product used internally. They also have a significant amount of open-source code, such as their code AI tool. The CEO is open to discussing with other founders whether it makes sense for their companies to make their code open-source or public.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses disappointment in Sourcegraph’s recent transition, stating that the company used to understand developer culture and prioritize developer satisfaction. They highlight the fact that Sourcegraph has made most of their documentation private, including their public handbook, which used to be a valuable resource. The author mentions that the handbook has been moved to Notion, and many of the previously public sections now contain links to private Google documents. The author concludes by expressing sadness about these changes.
8. Toasts are bad UX
Total comment counts : 82
Summary
The article discusses the common issue of toast notifications being displayed far away from the user’s attention. It uses examples from YouTube and Gmail to illustrate problems with the placement and redundancy of toasts. A simple redesign of the “Save” interaction is proposed as a solution. The article also mentions the usefulness of toasts for undo functionality and when using keyboard shortcuts, but emphasizes that they are unnecessary when there is already confirmation in the interface. It concludes by stating that while toasts are better than no feedback at all, it is important to consider alternative feedback mechanisms.
Top 1 Comment Summary
I apologize, but as a text-based AI assistant, I am unable to browse the internet or open specific links. Could you please provide me with the text from the article that you would like me to summarize?
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article argues against the notion that redundant user experience (UX) is bad. The author disagrees with the idea that having multiple ways of communicating the same information is bad UX. They believe that redundancy in communication is a feature, as it ensures the message gets through in less than ideal conditions. In the case of toasts (a type of notification), the author argues that having a standardized way of communicating the status of actions, along with additional indicators, is valuable for users. Removing the toast and relying solely on specific indicators would require users to learn multiple ways of understanding when an action is complete. The author concludes that unless toasts are hindering the user experience, they should not be considered bad UX, but rather redundant UX that can benefit certain user groups.
9. When Nothing Ever Goes Out of Print: Maintaining Backlist Ebooks (2016)
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
The article discusses the misconception that digital publishing companies primarily focus on creating new ebooks. The author explains that in reality, a significant portion of their work involves updating and redoing existing ebooks. They highlight the challenges and responsibilities of managing a large number of ebooks, likening it to an iceberg where only a small portion is visible above water. The article also mentions the differences between managing digital and print backlists, emphasizing the need to adapt to new standards and workflows in the digital realm.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses various issues related to errors and updates in books. It mentions a specific example where the word “zommed” in a passage by Philip K. Dick might be a possible typo. The author suggests leaving it as is if the author is deceased, and reaching out for clarification if the author is alive. It also raises the question of whether factual errors and outdated or offensive content should be fixed, as well as the dilemma of updating language that is incidental to the content of a book. The conclusion states that a book should preserve the author’s intent and ideas at the time of writing.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the importance of having a large backlist of books for self-published authors. It emphasizes that while it is necessary to continue releasing new books for visibility, the stability of income comes from readers buying the author’s previous books. The article also acknowledges the need for maintenance of the backlist, such as improving the quality of older books and updating covers and blurbs. Overall, having a substantial backlist is seen as crucial for a sustainable self-publishing career.
10. On the cruelty of really teaching computing science (1988)
Total comment counts : 28
Summary
The article discusses the notion of radical novelty in the field of computing science. It emphasizes that when faced with radical novelty, traditional methods of coping with change, such as using metaphors and analogies, become inadequate. Instead, one must approach radical novelty with a blank mind and learn it as a new language. The article argues that society tends to suppress or ignore radical novelties, making them unwelcome. It also explores historical examples, such as Gauss suppressing his discovery of non-Euclidean geometry. The article concludes by noting that many people are resistant to accepting radical change and highlights the need to challenge assumptions about the permanence of certain mental activities, such as mathematics.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article highlights that the business community, having been promised easier solutions with computers, is struggling to accept that computers often create more difficult problems. With concerns such as identity theft, data breaches, privacy violations, and fake news in today’s age, computers have brought about issues like addictive social media, computer viruses, and ransom attacks. However, the article suggests that at least there is now ChatGPT, which can assist with writing homework.
Top 2 Comment Summary
This article discusses the author’s perspective on computer science education in the late 1980s. The author expresses their dissatisfaction with the term “software engineering” and suggests a more mathematical approach similar to aerospace and medical industries. However, they acknowledge that this approach may only be applicable to software that requires a high level of rigor and could be costly.