1. AnandTech Farewell
Total comment counts : 102
Summary
The article announces that AnandTech, a website dedicated to covering computing hardware, will be shutting down after 27 years of operation. The author reflects on the changes in technology and publishing over the years and expresses gratitude to the editors who have contributed to AnandTech’s success. Although the website will no longer publish new articles, its existing content will remain accessible, and the forums will continue to be active. The author suggests that readers can turn to Tom’s Hardware, a related publication, for continued coverage of technology news.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the author’s belief in avoiding sensationalism, link baiting, and shallow reporting in order to provide high-quality content to inform and educate readers. It mentions the appreciation for finding a news outlet that is not reliant on social media or blog posts, with a comparison to Tom’s Hardware. The article concludes with a farewell.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses sadness over the closure of a website called Anandtech, which they helped develop using Cold Fusion and Oracle as the backend. They also mention having hosted Anandtech on their hosting company for a few years, highlighting the significance and personal memories associated with it.
2. Rearchiving 2M hours of digital radio, a comprehensive process
Total comment counts : 10
Summary
The National Library is undergoing a major overhaul of its bit-repository, replacing it with a modern digital preservation system called DPS (Digital Preservation Services). The transition is expected to take a couple of years and involves re-archiving over 14 Petabytes of digitized and legally deposited historical material. This includes 2.2 million hours of digital radio, equivalent to 2.5 million files and a total of 1 Petabyte of data. The old MP3 files are being replaced with new MP4 playback files. The re-archiving process began in 2023 and was completed by June 2024. The National Library’s ability to preserve and make digital radio material accessible for future generations has greatly improved with this new system.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses two projects aimed at digitizing a large amount of analog audio and video content. The author was responsible for building a database to select the tapes for digitization and manage their destruction. One of the main challenges faced was finding working 1-inch analog video machines, as the required part is scarce and no longer manufactured. The complexity of the project was further increased by the existence of multiple versions of various quality and programs being spread across multiple tapes. Additionally, tapes often contained bonus material or fragments of other content due to their reuse to save money.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The Norwegian National Library is responsible for archiving and preserving all publicly published or broadcast material in Norway. It is similar to the U.S. Library of Congress.
3. Marketing to Engineers (2001)
Total comment counts : 44
Summary
The article discusses key insights on how to effectively advertise and sell products to engineers. The main points are as follows:
Engineers have a low opinion of advertising and advertising people. To appeal to them, marketing materials should be informational, professional, and avoid sounding like typical advertising.
Engineers do not respond well to a consumer approach. They prefer straightforward, low-key, and professional communication that addresses them as knowledgeable professionals in search of engineering solutions.
The engineer’s buying decision is more logical than emotional. They carefully weigh facts, make comparisons, and make purchases based on what product best meets their requirements.
Engineers want to know the features and specifications of a product, not just the benefits. Performance characteristics, technical specifications, and other technical details are important to them.
Engineers appreciate jargon. Using technical language and jargon shows that you speak their language and can enhance communication with them.
Overall, the article emphasizes the importance of clarity, professionalism, and technical information when advertising and selling products to engineers.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Engineers are not deterred by jargon and, in fact, they appreciate it. Jargon in the engineering field serves the purpose of conveying precise meaning that common words cannot. For example, using specific terms such as “API” and “container images” provides more valuable information than using generic terms like “product” or “software.” Engineers consider specific details crucial when evaluating products.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article argues against the notion that engineers do not make purchases based on emotions. It states that engineers have their own set of emotions that influence their buying decisions, such as the desire for intellectual respect, risk aversion, professional pride, peer validation, and cognitive bias. These emotions may not align with those of typical consumers, but they are still influential in engineers’ decision-making process. The article suggests that effective marketing to engineers should acknowledge these emotional drivers while also providing the technical information necessary to justify their decisions.
4. I’m blocking connections from AWS to my on-prem services
Total comment counts : 21
Summary
The article discusses the fragmented state of the internet due to the dominance of large cloud providers and bulletproof infrastructure. It mentions the history of internet access, from its early days as a private network for government, military, and research institutions to its expansion as public access was allowed. However, the access had to be strictly non-commercial, meaning no commercial traffic could transit the backbone of the internet. Despite this, the article explains how the internet eventually became commercialized, with ISPs providing services like email and web servers. The monetization of the internet led to a dieoff in the early 2000s, with surviving models focusing on advertising and selling user behavioral data. The article also touches on the current use of AI in training models through the collection and analysis of vast amounts of accessible content.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses how major cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft, and Google, all publish machine-readable lists of their IP address ranges. These lists can be used by users to identify and monitor the IP addresses associated with these cloud providers. The article includes links to the IP address ranges published by each of these providers.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the article discusses their experience with the rapid attacks on their internet infrastructure. They recently announced a subnet for an anycast setup, and immediately noticed a surge in port scan activity on all IP addresses within that range. The author believes that this indiscriminate scanning for open ports is a common practice. They express shock at the number of people who openly expose internal web services to the internet, recommending the use of an additional layer of protection such as a VPN. The author themselves only exposes SSH through a single bastion host and plans to add a VPN layer in the future.
5. SDL3 new GPU API merged
Total comment counts : 14
Summary
The article discusses the development of the MoonWorks project, which aims to be a successor to XNA. The project includes a graphics component called Refresh, which targets modern APIs like Vulkan. Refresh currently supports Vulkan and the PS5 graphics API, with D3D11 support coming soon. The article also mentions a shader system and the use of a shaderbuild.py script for offline shader building. The API follows a modern-style rendering approach and includes binding, render, and compute dispatch calls. The author asks for support and clarifies certain aspects of the proposal. They also mention the possibility of combining their branch with another in the future.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article states that SDL3, a software development library, is still in preview but the new GPU API has been merged into the main branch. This GPU API is significant because it allows developers to write graphics code and shaders once and have it work across different platforms, including consoles. Previously, achieving this level of cross-platform compatibility required Unity, Unreal, or a custom solution. There is another cross-platform graphics stack called WebGPU/WGSL, but it does not have console backends. It is also mentioned that the SDL3 GPU API currently does not seem to support WebGPU as a backend.
Top 2 Comment Summary
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6. Visit Bletchley Park
Total comment counts : 14
Summary
The article is about Bletchley Park, which is open daily for visitors. Tickets can be booked online or purchased on-site. Bletchley Park is of historical importance, as it played a vital role in Allied victory during World War Two and is the birthplace of modern computing. Visitors can explore the site, enjoy hands-on displays and interactives, and discover surprising stories. There are permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as food and drink options available. The article also mentions various ways to support Bletchley Park, such as becoming a Friend, sponsoring a brick, or volunteering. The site offers learning opportunities for pupils and has a Roll of Honour for those who worked in signals intelligence during the war. Overall, the article provides information on planning a visit to Bletchley Park and highlights its historical significance.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article suggests that if you are interested in historical buildings and day-to-day life at Bletchley Park, you should visit there. However, if you are more interested in the technical and cryptological aspects, it is recommended to visit the lesser-known National Museum of Computing at the same site. The author shares their experience of spending too much time at Bletchley Park and not having enough time for the Museum of Computing. They recommend starting at the Museum of Computing and then visiting the few buildings at Bletchley Park that have exhibits on cryptography, if there is enough time.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author praises Bletchley Park, noting that they visited in the early 2000s when it was just a few huts and a country house. They returned in 2024 to find full exhibitions, including one that explores the history and workings of the Bombe. The author admits to not knowing about Lorenz/Tunny, which added another layer to their knowledge of the work at Bletchley. Additionally, the author mentions that visiting Bletchley and then watching the movie “The Imitation Game” gives a sense of a rushed medical drama from Mitchell and Webb, providing a link to a YouTube video for reference.
7. Time-Memory Trade-Offs Sound the Death Knell for GPRS and GSM
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
The International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing research in the field of cryptology.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article discusses a passive attack that could potentially affect long phone calls that have been previously recorded. While this may not be a concern for most individuals, it is important to note that interception for decryption purposes has been revealed in past situations, such as the Snowden files.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article explains that the European Train Control System (ETCS) relies on GSM-R, a modified version of GSM with additional features, for its operation. The author notes that snooping on this traffic may appear harmless, but the security of ETCS is gradually deteriorating.
8. Micrograd.jl
Total comment counts : 5
Summary
This article is the first part of a series on automatic differentiation in Julia. It provides an overview of automatic differentiation and defines explicit chain rules. The aim of the series is to create a minimal automatic differentiation package in Julia based on Zygote.jl. The article mentions the importance of Flux.jl, ChainRules.jl, and Zygote.jl in the Julia automatic differentiation ecosystem. It also explains the use of the rrule function in ChainRules.jl, which returns the output of the forward pass and a function for calculating the backward pass. The article concludes by mentioning the topics that will be covered in future parts of the series.
Top 1 Comment Summary
This article discusses the emergence of a new Julia AD-package, despite the existence of several other AD-packages in the past. It mentions that while Julia needs a stable and high-performance AD-engine, it is relatively easy to create a minimal AD-package. The article also mentions some of the AD-package names, such as ReverseDiff.jl, ForwardDiff.jl, Zygote.jl, Enzyme.jl, Tangent.jl, and Diffractor.jl.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author of the article did not mention ForwardDiff.jl and Zygote.jl, which are widely used in Julia’s automatic differentiation field. However, the tutorial was still well-received and appreciated as it provided valuable Julia content.
9. Pie doesn’t need to be original unless you claim it so
Total comment counts : 19
Summary
The article discusses the mismatch in values that often occurs in creative software projects when someone shares their work and the first reaction is to ask how it’s different from other similar projects. The author compares this reaction to someone questioning the uniqueness of a homemade peach pie, highlighting that baking a pie is a creative act and not about efficiently reaching a goal. The article further explores the difference in values between personal projects and academic research, and the importance of situating work in context. The author suggests that clearly setting goals upfront can help avoid confusion in giving feedback and asks for understanding the creator’s goals before providing criticism.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of originality in creative works, using the analogy of a pie recipe. It suggests that while a pie recipe may not necessarily be original, it still holds value. However, the article argues that the question of originality becomes more relevant when a slight change is made to the scenario, such as writing a new peach pie recipe that is similar to an existing one. It states that it is not unreasonable for someone to question the uniqueness of a creative work and highlight similarities to existing works.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the importance of standing out and offering something unique or superior in a competitive market. It highlights the need for differentiation when selling products in a supermarket, as compared to baking for personal consumption.
10. DuckDuckGo for Mac is now open source
Total comment counts : 9
Summary
The article discusses the growth and development of DuckDuckGo, a search engine committed to raising the standard of trust online. They are actively seeking senior software engineers to join their distributed team. The article also provides technical instructions for building and running the DuckDuckGo macOS Browser. Additionally, the company has made updates to remove terminology with racial connotations and provides resources for users to provide feedback or ask questions. The DuckDuckGo browser is distributed under the Apache 2.0 license.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author is complaining that 99% of the search results on DuckDuckGo (DDG) are spam generated by artificial intelligence (AI). They express frustration that searching for anything on DDG only yields countless pages of AI-generated “Table of Contents” questions and answers. The author compares this situation to the dominance of recipe blogs on the internet but considers it worse because they can no longer find reliable answers.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article is expressing confusion about the term “search engine for Mac” since Ddg is a web search engine. The author also points out that the linked page provides information about job opportunities and installation instructions, but it does not explain what the project is.