1. Jokes and Humour in the Public Android API
Total comment counts : 22
Summary
The article discusses humorous elements in the Android API, specifically methods and constants that serve as easter eggs for developers. Notable examples include isUserAMonkey(), which helps safeguard actions during app stress-testing by the UI Exerciser Monkey. The teleportation method humorously references Goat Simulator, initially detecting goats but later returning false to protect privacy. Additionally, there’s a device policy in Marshmallow (API 23) that restricts users from having “fun,” and a method in Oreo (API 26) that opens a YouTube video of “The Final Countdown.” Overall, these playful additions reflect Android’s quirky development history.
Top 1 Comment Summary
At Facebook, the practice of marking dangerous or deprecated tokens with _DO_NOT_USE_OR_YOU_WILL_BE_FIRED was a humorous norm. However, during the pandemic, when many new employees joined remotely, this approach and other practices led to feelings of fear and uncertainty. The company struggled with effectively onboarding remote employees and fostering a sense of belonging within the culture during that period.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article highlights the author’s favorite humorous function in the Android source code, android.os.Handler.runWithScissors(), although it is notably not part of the public API. A link to the source code is provided for reference.
2. Start your own Internet Resiliency Club
Total comment counts : 50
Summary
Europe is poised for more frequent and severe internet disruptions due to geopolitical tensions and climate change. Governments are slow to act on necessary infrastructure improvements, but volunteer-led Internet Resiliency Clubs can aid in recovery using low-power LoRa radios and open-source software. Valerie Aurora, motivated by concerns from her new home in Amsterdam, highlights the need for these clubs after witnessing Ukraine’s network resilience efforts during war. The clubs provide a means for experts to restore communications independently of centralized systems, addressing imminent threats to connectivity and enhancing community preparedness.
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The author finds Meshtastic unsuitable for offline use, highlighting its heavy reliance on the internet for setup and operation. Firmware flashing requires the web-based “Web Flasher,” and essential tools need internet access via PlatformIO. While clients are available online, the boards only host a web app when connected to Wi-Fi. Documentation is online, with no offline options provided, making it difficult for users to prepare in advance. Overall, the author expresses concern that Meshtastic is not equipped for emergency situations without internet access.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author’s experience testing Meshtastic in a well-covered European city was disappointing, highlighting issues with slow performance, poor message replies, and a cluttered public chat. The mesh struggles with scalability, particularly beyond 100 nodes. The author concludes that relying on Meshtastic for emergencies is unwise and suggests that public Wi-Fi mesh networks, powered by easily accessible, energy-efficient routers, would be more effective, despite potential failures during blackouts.
3. Why SSL was renamed to TLS in late 90s (2014)
Total comment counts : 28
Summary
In the mid-90s, the competitive browser war between Netscape and Microsoft led to significant developments in online security protocols. Netscape initially developed the flawed SSL protocol, releasing SSL 2, which had cryptographic issues. In response, Microsoft created the PCT protocol based on SSL 2. To avoid a standards fork, representatives from both companies, facilitated by Consensus Development, negotiated to standardize the protocol through the IETF, resulting in SSL 3.0’s refinement and the renaming to TLS 1.0 (SSL 3.1). This collaboration shifted ownership to an open standard despite their fierce rivalry.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article explains the evolution of SSL and TLS protocols, highlighting the confusion caused by version numbering. SSLv2 had significant issues, while SSLv3 was largely a new protocol. TLS 1.0 is closely related to SSLv3, and TLS 1.1 made minor adjustments. TLS 1.2 introduced support for modern cryptography, improving upon TLS 1.1. TLS 1.3 is mostly a new protocol, reusing some components from TLS 1.2. Each protocol allows for automatic version negotiation, enabling clients and servers to upgrade independently without losing connectivity.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author reflects on Microsoft’s dominance in the tech landscape during its earlier years, noting its efforts to suppress open-source web technologies until the 2010s. They argue that Microsoft successfully hindered the development of Java Applets, JavaScript, and CSS. The author shares a personal experience of resisting corporate pressure to support Internet Explorer and instead backing Mozilla 3.0 for their enterprise JavaScript tools, which proved beneficial as Firefox was later adopted by Fortune 500 companies.
4. Twin – A Textmode WINdow Environment
Total comment counts : 7
Summary
Twin is a text-based windowing environment designed for embedded or remote systems, functioning as both an X11 terminal and a text-mode VNC server. It supports various architectures, including Linux and Mac OS X. Version 0.9.0 features mouse support, a window manager, and the ability to attach/detach displays. Twin is available under GPL for the server and clients, and LGPL for libraries. Users can find documentation on installation, configuration, and features, as well as development resources, on its GitHub page. Detailed instructions for compiling Twin are also provided.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article notes the ongoing existence of a project that began in 1993, currently at version 0.9.0. It highlights the amusing aspect that such a long-standing project still hasn’t reached a higher version, serving as a reminder that version numbers do not always reflect stability.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article reflects on the nostalgia of older multitasking systems like DESQview and IBM TopView, suggesting that revisiting these concepts could yield exciting new possibilities with today’s advanced technology. With innovations like 4K monitors, fast networks, and multi-core processors, the author believes there is potential for groundbreaking developments in computing.
5. Childhood leukemia: how a deadly cancer became treatable
Total comment counts : 25
Summary
Childhood leukemia, once a grim diagnosis with a mere 10% survival rate, has seen significant improvements since the 1970s, with around 85% of children in North America and Europe now surviving five years post-diagnosis. The main types are acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with ALL showing remarkable progress—94% survival at five years as of the 2010s. Factors contributing to this positive trend include advances in treatment and ongoing clinical trials. Leukemia remains the most common childhood cancer, marking about 25% of cases, yet survival outcomes continue to improve significantly.
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The author shares a personal account of their son’s battle with B-ALL (RUNX1), diagnosed in 2020. Celebrating Father’s Day, they note their son is now well and completed treatment over two years ago. He participated in a Children’s Oncology Group study with a treatment modification for boys due to prior beliefs about cancer in the testes, which are now deemed unfounded. The author emphasizes their luck in having the best outcomes at every stage, and mentions they have shared insights on this experience previously on HN.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author reflects on their father’s career as a Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist, which began in the late 60s. He believed in improving cure rates through research and clinical care, remaining positive despite the challenges of losing patients. His optimism was rooted in trends in science and medicine, illustrating his commitment to a hopeful future in healthcare.
6. Is gravity just entropy rising? Long-shot idea gets another look
Total comment counts : 18
Summary
Isaac Newton was never satisfied with his law of universal gravitation, prompting him to explore mechanical models of gravity. Albert Einstein later explained gravity as a distortion of space-time through general relativity, which also presents unresolved issues. Recently, physicist Daniel Carney’s “entropic gravity” model suggests gravity results from thermal interactions among unseen particles, echoing earlier mechanical ideas. Although a minority view, it is experimentally testable. Furthermore, parallels between heat physics and black holes hint that space-time may emerge from fundamental microscopic components, supported by approaches like the holographic principle.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Entropic gravity is a theory likened to the “brazil nut effect,” where larger objects rise to the top when shaken. This occurs because larger nuts move slower relative to smaller ones, creating space beneath them filled by smaller nuts. Similarly, entropic gravity suggests that two massive objects attract each other due to a lower density region in their middle, resulting in fewer particles impacting them. The concept relies on assumptions about particle density, which can be challenging to justify. This effect is observable in everyday scenarios, such as shaking granular materials to separate sizes.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Entropic gravity presents an intriguing framework, appealing to physicists who hope a fundamental theory of everything is rooted in microscopic quantum mechanics, with gravity emerging as an “accounting error.” However, skepticism arises due to numerous assumptions underlying these theories, making it difficult to fully trust claims linking them to Einstein’s field equations.
7. DARPA program sets distance record for power beaming
Total comment counts : 11
Summary
The POWER program in New Mexico achieved significant milestones in optical power transmission, delivering over 800 watts across 8.6 kilometers, surpassing previous records. The tests, crucial for military energy needs, showed the potential for rapid power beaming using a new compact receiver technology. With results confirming over 20% efficiency at shorter distances, the program aims to advance long-distance power transmission. DARPA plans a Phase 2 Industry Day on May 29, 2025, to engage partners in further developing this technology, following successful preliminary testing that challenges the limits of power beaming.
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The article expresses concern about the dangers of a wild laser beam in public spaces, highlighting the risk of accidental exposure that could severely injure or kill individuals. It warns that reflective objects entering the beam could blind people within a large radius. The author suggests that protective measures, such as pipes or fiber optics, are necessary to safeguard the public from the hazards posed by the laser.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the challenges of sending power beams through the atmosphere. Jaffe highlights that sending beams vertically is easier due to reduced atmospheric resistance. The PRAD experiment aims to test under maximum atmospheric effects, conducted in the White Sands desert, New Mexico, at high elevation. A critique suggests that testing in Florida on a hot, humid day would enhance the experiment’s relevancy.
8. Chemical knowledge and reasoning of large language models vs. chemist expertise
Total comment counts : 9
Summary
Large language models (LLMs) have shown remarkable capabilities in chemistry, outperforming some human chemists in various tasks. However, they struggle with basic tasks and often display overconfidence in their predictions. The article introduces ChemBench, an automated framework designed to evaluate the chemical reasoning of LLMs through 2,700 curated question-and-answer pairs. While LLMs have great potential for assisting chemists, concerns arise regarding their use for harmful applications. The findings underscore the need for further research into LLMs’ safety and capabilities and suggest adaptations in chemistry education and evaluation methods.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses the limitations of large language models (LLMs) in chemistry, highlighting that practical experience and intuition of chemists differ significantly from their academic training. While mastering a new subfield takes time, productive researchers develop a nuanced understanding based on sensory experiences and mental models. For instance, interpreting color changes in experiments is crucial but often overlooked when assessing knowledge through rote memory. The author suggests that instead of asking LLMs about basic concepts, we should present them with complex, context-based questions to gauge their understanding of real-world chemistry.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Large Language Models (LLMs) possess extensive knowledge in computer science, covering many programming languages, including obscure ones. They learn more quickly due to their ability to process vast amounts of information. However, while LLMs have broad knowledge, it is often shallow compared to a human expert’s deep understanding in specific areas. Thus, human programmers specializing in their field currently outperform LLMs in coding tasks.
9. Real-time CO2 monitoring without batteries or external power
Total comment counts : 6
Summary
KAIST announced on June 9th the development of a self-powered wireless CO2 monitoring system, created by a team led by Professor Kyeongha Kwon in collaboration with Professor Hanjun Ryu’s team at Chung-Ang University. This system utilizes an Inertia-driven Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG) to harvest vibrational energy from industrial sources, enabling periodic CO2 measurements without batteries. Achieving stable power production of 0.5 mW, it supports wireless transmission of data. This innovation addresses critical environmental monitoring needs and could pave the way for future self-powered monitoring platforms. The findings were published in the journal “Nano Energy.”
Top 1 Comment Summary
The new system features an “Inertia-driven Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG)” that converts vibrations from industrial equipment or pipelines into electricity. It operates with vibration amplitudes of 20-4000 ㎛ and frequencies of 0-300 Hz, allowing for periodic CO2 concentration measurements and wireless transmission without batteries.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the idea of a passive chemical indicator that changes color based on CO2 levels, similar to the bicarbonate indicator. This concept aims to provide a visual representation of carbon dioxide concentration.
10. Working on databases from prison
Total comment counts : 39
Summary
In June 2025, a software engineer announced joining Turso from prison, highlighting an inspiring journey. He overcame a troubled past involving substance abuse by enrolling in a prison college program that reignited his passion for programming. After contributing to a startup, he became involved in Project Limbo, aiming to rewrite SQLite. Despite the challenges of incarceration, he dedicated significant time to coding and open-source projects, ultimately gaining recognition in the tech community. His story serves as a testament to perseverance and the transformative power of hard work and opportunity.
Top 1 Comment Summary
Maine’s remote work program for prisoners offers a promising solution to reduce recidivism by providing real job opportunities that can be continued after release. This support helps alleviate post-release desperation, which often leads to negative behavior. While there are risks of exploitation, effective management of the program could transform it into a hopeful initiative, giving inmates purpose and a pathway to success after incarceration.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Preston Thorpe, 25, was sentenced to 15 to 30 years in New Hampshire State Prison for possessing and intending to distribute 30 grams of U-47700, a synthetic opioid classified as a Schedule I drug. U-47700, illegal in the U.S. since November 14, 2016, can be deadly even in small doses. Police discovered the drug in Thorpe’s Manchester apartment in December 2016, highlighting the need for prisons worldwide to adopt similar measures against opioid-related offenses.