hackernews

1. Agricultural drones are transforming rice farming in the Mekong River delta Total comment counts : 26 Summary The article discusses how drones are being used in Vietnam’s Mekong River delta region to aid rice farming. Traditionally, farmers would manually plant and fertilize rice fields, but now drones are being used for these tasks. Farmers have the option to buy a drone and operate it themselves or hire pilots to manage the operations....

1. KidPix Total comment counts : 63 Summary error Top 1 Comment Summary The author of the article shares fond memories of using a computer program in the early 90s. They express a minor criticism about the smoothing effect on the pencil and line tools, as it creates a white outline when using the paint bucket. Despite this, they appreciate the program KidPix but long for the classic Nearest Neighbour behavior....

1. Cyber Scarecrow Total comment counts : 64 Summary The article discusses software that operates in the background of a computer to create a perception of being threatening to viruses and malware. It specifically refers to this software being compatible with Windows 10 and 11. Top 1 Comment Summary The article discusses a concept for a fun website but raises concerns about the lack of trust-building elements such as an “about us” section or a GitHub link....

1. FTC sues Adobe for hiding fees and inhibiting cancellations Total comment counts : 65 Summary The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking action against software maker Adobe and two of its executives for deceptive business practices. The FTC alleges that Adobe hid the early termination fee for its subscription plan and made it difficult for consumers to cancel their subscriptions. The complaint states that Adobe pushed customers towards an annual paid monthly subscription plan without adequately disclosing the cancellation fee, which could cost hundreds of dollars....

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....

1. Voyager 1 is back online! NASA spacecraft returns data from all 4 instruments Total comment counts : 26 Summary NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, which experienced technical issues in November 2023, has resumed full science operations. The spacecraft, which is 46 years old and located 15 billion miles away from Earth, lost its ability to communicate effectively but has now fixed the problem. The team identified that the flight data subsystem was causing the issue and implemented a workaround....

1. Land value tax in online games and virtual worlds (2022) Total comment counts : 26 Summary The article discusses the issue of “digital land crisis” in multiplayer games with a “digital land economy”. It highlights that games featuring “land-like assets” often suffer from a scarcity of land, leading to housing crises and speculators hoarding resources. This negatively affects the economy and enjoyment of the game for most players. The article suggests implementing a Land Value Tax (LVT) as a solution to combat land speculation in virtual worlds....

1. How Meta trains large language models at scale Total comment counts : 16 Summary The article discusses the challenges faced in training large language models (LLMs) using AI technology. It highlights the need to rethink software, hardware, and network infrastructure to support generative AI (GenAI) at scale. The article emphasizes the importance of perfecting infrastructure, developing efficient algorithms for scheduling and training, and optimizing hardware configurations. It also discusses the challenges of adapting existing hardware and deploying it in data centers, as well as the need for robust network infrastructure for data transfer....

1. Silicon Valley’s best kept secret: Founder liquidity Total comment counts : 95 Summary The article discusses the disparity in equity and risk between founders and early employees in startup companies. It highlights the common narrative that founders take on greater risks and therefore receive larger equity stakes. However, the article introduces the concept of founder liquidity, where founders sell a portion of their shares during funding rounds to secure personal financial stability....

1. Lynn Conway Has Died Total comment counts : 50 Summary Lynn Ann Conway was an American computer scientist, electrical engineer, and transgender activist. She worked at IBM in the 1960s and made significant contributions to computer processing, including inventing generalized dynamic instruction handling. She also played a crucial role in the Mead-Conway VLSI chip design revolution, which transformed microchip design and led to advancements in electronic design automation and chip production....