1. How does a screen work?
Total comment counts : 24
Summary
Dan Hollick’s article explores the evolution of digital displays, highlighting their critical yet often overlooked role in computing history. From early electron guns to modern tiny electric crystals, the development of display technology has significantly enhanced user interaction with computers. The piece emphasizes how these advancements have paved the way for more sophisticated digital experiences.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article critiques an assertion that modern displays refresh the entire screen simultaneously. It clarifies that most displays, including LCDs and OLEDs, typically refresh line by line, top to bottom and left to right, rather than globally. This can be demonstrated using a smartphone to record the screen at a slow frame rate, which will show the scanning refresh method. The refresh direction may vary based on display type, but the predominant method is scanning, not simultaneous illumination.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article highlights the impressive features of a website, particularly praising its initial diagram and interactive zoom function, which is likened to the enjoyment of bubble wrap. The ruler tool on the side, enhanced by sound effects, adds to the positive experience. Overall, it describes the page as one of the best visited and notes that the landing page (makingsoftware.com) continues to offer valuable content.
2. GLP-1s are breaking life insurance
Total comment counts : 50
Summary
The author reflects on attending the HLTH conference in Amsterdam and discusses insights into the impact of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs on life insurance underwriting. They highlight how these drugs significantly improve key health metrics, potentially misleading insurers about a policyholder’s true risk. This “mortality slippage” has increased dramatically, mispricing one in six policies. Insurers are adjusting their assessment techniques to better gauge weight changes influenced by medications, but these solutions are temporary. There is potential for insurers to strategically partner with GLP-1 providers to improve long-term health outcomes and reduce costs.
Top 1 Comment Summary
In Norway, people commonly stop using GLP-1 agonists for reasons including the desire to enjoy food, medication hassle, concerns about long-term effects, cost, and personal preferences like dislike for needles. The author, a clinical psychologist, believes quitting is often misguided due to the significant weight loss benefits versus potential severe side effects. There’s a suggestion that those reluctant to remain on medication may have underlying psychological issues related to overeating, possibly impacting their long-term health and longevity. The analysis is speculative and not deeply researched.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Obesity is linked to various health issues like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. The author proposes that health insurance companies might find it more cost-effective to subsidize or provide free GLP-1 medications for obesity, similar to how they cover flu shots annually to reduce hospitalizations.
3. The upcoming GPT-3 moment for RL
Total comment counts : 29
Summary
Matthew Barnett and colleagues propose that reinforcement learning (RL) is poised for a significant breakthrough, akin to GPT-3’s impact on language models. Current RL methods heavily rely on pre-training and fine-tuning, limiting generalization. They advocate for massive-scale training across various environments to enhance few-shot adaptability. This shift requires extensive resources, with estimates suggesting around 10,000 years of model-facing task-time. They introduce “replication training,” where AI replicates existing software features, providing objective evaluation criteria. This approach leverages abundant online software data but faces challenges in test creation and complexity management.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article critiques the hype around a “GPT-3 moment,” suggesting recent advancements in reinforcement learning (RL) are incremental rather than revolutionary, as they won’t replace large language model (LLM) pretraining. While the idea that massive-scale RL could enhance generalization is plausible, the concept of “replication training”—learning by copying existing software—could provide valuable training data. However, a key uncertainty remains whether skills gained from this process will extend to other reasoning tasks; if they don’t, the effort may be futile.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the potential of hindsight learning from chat logs to improve AI responses in messy real-world tasks. By analyzing user interactions over time, AI can gain valuable feedback on the effectiveness of its suggestions. This iterative process helps generate preference scores for reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF) while safeguarding user privacy. The author introduces the concept of the “human-AI experience flywheel,” emphasizing that meaningful validation arises from actual usage by users, with OpenAI’s large user base generating significant interaction data.
4. OpenCut: The open-source CapCut alternative
Total comment counts : 35
Summary
The article emphasizes the importance of user feedback and provides instructions for setting up an open-source CapCut alternative. It outlines the necessary installations, database setup, configuration of environment variables, and running the development server. Users are cautioned about rapid changes in development and encouraged to wait for stabilization before contributing. It also acknowledges Vercel’s support for open-source software and directs contributors to a guide for setup and development. The project is licensed under MIT.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author expresses concern about a discussion style used by the Cluely team, questioning whether it’s a recent trend or has been ongoing. They hope this style does not gain further popularity.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The reviewer expresses skepticism about a project based on its lack of transparency, noting its high number of GitHub stars but absence of screenshots on various platforms. They highlight that the official webpage only features a wait-list and unrelated Twitter content. While they hope for the project’s success, they feel it currently lacks sufficient evidence to support its credibility.
5. Zig’s New Async I/O
Total comment counts : 31
Summary
Zig’s 2026 roadmap introduces a new I/O interface, enabling users to define their own I/O implementations, akin to how allocations are handled. This change facilitates concurrency and potential parallelism in I/O operations. The article highlights code examples demonstrating the benefits of this new approach, including support for cancellation. Zig’s standard library will provide basic and advanced I/O implementations, including those that utilize event loops or io_uring for asynchronous operations. These enhancements aim to optimize performance while maintaining simplicity. The implementation will initially support x86_64 Linux, with plans for further platform compatibility.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article critiques the claim that Zig has completely addressed the “function coloring” problem. It discusses five key rules from the “What color is your function?” article, highlighting that while Zig has improved function handling, issues remain, such as the need for context when calling functions (IO vs. non-IO) and restrictions on function calls. The author argues that the essence of function coloring, related to context dependency, persists in Zig, despite its abstraction advantages over Rust. Thus, they conclude that the coloring problem is not fully resolved in Zig.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The article discusses the concept of “sans io,” previously addressed in the context of Rust programming. It provides links to further resources, including a blog post and documentation. Additionally, it references a discussion thread on Hacker News that engages with this topic.
6. Lost Chapter of Automate the Boring Stuff: Audio, Video, and Webcams in Python
Total comment counts : 12
Summary
The third edition of “Automate the Boring Stuff with Python” is now available, featuring updated content and new chapters. Among them is a rough draft chapter on “Working with Audio, Video, and Webcams,” now shared online. This 26-page chapter teaches how to control multimedia hardware via Python, using tools like VLC Media Player and libraries such as OpenCV, sounddevice, and wavio. It covers basics like file formats and aspect ratios, aiming to help users automate tasks like editing large numbers of multimedia files or accessing a laptop’s webcam for various processes.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The playsound library has been effectively abandoned, lacking updates for over four years, and its latest version is nonfunctional. Although a workaround exists by downgrading to version 1.2.2, it presents its own issues. Other Python multimedia libraries, such as SoundFile, librosa, and pydub, also show limited development and unsatisfactory performance. While pydub can read various formats using ffmpeg, it remains unmaintained and has significant performance concerns. Users seeking audio solutions in Python face challenges due to the lack of active library development.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author shares their experience after an introductory programming course, expressing confusion about the transition from learning a language to writing a program. A particular book clarified this gap for them, making everything understandable. They express gratitude for its impact on their life and plan to explore new content from the book.
7. A technical look at Iran’s internet shutdowns
Total comment counts : 17
Summary
Iran’s response to mass protests includes cutting internet access, but the country has developed a National Information Network (NIN) to maintain essential domestic services. The system allows authorities to block international platforms while keeping local services operational. This is backed by the Iranian Great Firewall (IRGFW), which filters and monitors traffic. Despite its strict control, the filtering system has vulnerabilities, such as outdated IP information that allows access to proxies. Tools like Pingtunnel can tunnel data through allowed ICMP packets, and some citizens use Starlink for independent satellite internet access, sharing it via encrypted connections.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article expresses a desire for more detail about the “National Information Network,” speculating it may involve a system of national DNS servers. It suggests we are witnessing the decline of an open, global Internet, predicting that only major players will be able to afford to reach mass audiences online, leading to a lack of diverse content. As a result, the author feels compelled to minimize their reliance on the Internet and technology, stating that basic apps and connections with known individuals suffice for daily life.
Top 2 Comment Summary
WireGuard, while initially seen as less detectable due to its use of UDP and small handshake size, is currently being identified and suppressed. A fork called AmneziaWG offers improved detection resistance. However, managing WireGuard can be challenging, and popular platforms like Tailscale and Netbird do not yet support it. Key issues on this topic have been raised in GitHub discussions.
8. Let me pay for Firefox
Total comment counts : 93
Summary
A long-time Mozilla supporter argues for Mozilla to charge for Firefox, believing it essential to avoid reliance on ad revenue, which leads to negative consequences, as seen with other companies. The author emphasizes that charging for open-source software is compatible with software freedom, citing the Free Software Foundation. They propose offering a paid version of Firefox with no sponsored content, telemetry, or ads, while maintaining the option for users to access a free version. The author suggests this model could attract users back to Firefox and fund its development directly.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The author expresses disappointment in the Mozilla Foundation, doubting its financial decisions and fearing donations may be wasted on campaigns or executive bonuses. Instead, they desire a faster Firefox and have chosen to support Floorp, a Firefox fork, as it appears more dedicated to improving browser performance.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The author expresses willingness to pay for Firefox, but not to Mozilla Corporation, citing concerns about the allocation of funds. They prefer their contributions to support developers and development operations rather than increasing the CEO’s salary.
9. Reading Neuromancer for the first time in 2025
Total comment counts : 66
Summary
The author reflects on discovering William Gibson’s “Neuromancer” after joining The Verge in 2016, despite being familiar with its influential cyberpunk themes. Aiming to read more science fiction, the author tackled “Neuromancer” first, navigating its dense jargon and innovative language. The novel, a cornerstone of the cyberpunk genre, is described as a gritty, futuristic narrative that feels familiar due to its extensive influence on subsequent works. While challenging, the author emphasizes the importance of careful reading to appreciate its originality, which has since permeated modern sci-fi culture.
Top 1 Comment Summary
In 1993, while in high school in Greece, the author received a copy of “Neuromancer” from a classmate, sparking a profound connection with the book. Unlike previous sci-fi reads, this novel became a comforting favorite during a stressful year of exams, leading to over 100 re-reads and even memorization of its text. The author continues to revisit the book regularly, finding it retains its magic. They went on to study Computer Science and married the girl who introduced them to the book, though they later divorced after 29 years but remain friends.
Top 2 Comment Summary
Gibson revealed his surprising lack of technical knowledge when writing “Neuromancer,” stating he didn’t even know computers had disc drives and had never owned one until recently. His first experience with an Apple II, which made an unexpected noise, shattered the mystique he had romanticized about computers. Instead of a futuristic device, he found a mechanical contraption reminiscent of an old record player, which made the technology feel less enchanting for him. His initial ignorance allowed for a more imaginative perception of computers.
10. C3 solved memory lifetimes with scopes
Total comment counts : 26
Summary
The article discusses the C3 Temp allocator, a new default memory management tool that combines garbage collection ease with manual control. It utilizes memory allocation regions or arenas to enhance performance and simplify code by automatically resetting memory when it goes out of scope, preventing leaks. The Temp allocator is efficient for managing memory, particularly in known lifetimes, and automates cleanup for nested scopes. This approach reduces common issues like memory leaks and management complexity, making dynamic memory handling easier, especially in low-latency systems. Overall, the C3 Temp allocator is presented as a powerful memory management solution.
Top 1 Comment Summary
The article discusses misconceptions about Rust’s slow compile times, often attributed to its borrow checker. However, the borrow checker’s linear time complexity only contributes minimally to overall compile durations. The real causes of slow compilation are other language features that prioritize performance over speed, the complexity of the rustc codebase, and the need for significant resources for potential improvements, which have not been allocated.
Top 2 Comment Summary
The borrow checker primarily ensures that memory isn’t accessed after destruction and prevents mutations of constants needed by others. Its core benefits focus on managing relationships between objects with varying lifetimes and allocations within a program. Lexically scoped lifetimes do not effectively address these concerns.