hackernews

1. Brazil’s government-run payments system has become dominant Total comment counts : 48 Summary In November 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil launched Pix, a digital payment system designed for safety and ease of use. Users can transfer money using a recipient’s national ID number, phone number, or QR code. By 2024, Pix became Brazil’s dominant payment method, surpassing cash and card transactions, with the number of transactions skyrocketing from 9 billion in 2021 to 63 billion in 2024, involving 26 trillion reais (approximately $4....

1. A startup doesn’t need to be a unicorn Total comment counts : 41 Summary Matt, a first-time entrepreneur and founder of Vizzly, shares insights from his experience in the startup world in his first post on Substack. After selling Vizzly to WPP in under three years and going through Y-Combinator, he reflects on fundraising and startup success. He critiques the prevalent narratives in B2B SaaS—either the venture capital (VC) path, which encourages aggressive scaling and significant fundraising, or the bootstrapper approach, which promotes sustainable growth without outside investment....

1. Apple’s Darwin OS and XNU Kernel Deep Dive Total comment counts : 20 Summary The article discusses the evolution of Apple’s Darwin operating system, which serves as the foundation for macOS, iOS, and other Apple platforms. At its core is the XNU kernel, humorously named “X is Not Unix,” which is a hybrid of the Mach microkernel and BSD Unix components. This design combines the modularity of microkernels with the stability of Unix, facilitating performance and flexibility....

1. The blissful Zen of a good side project Total comment counts : 48 Summary The article reflects on the author’s personal journey of rediscovering creativity after a long period of stagnation. After months of consuming video games without fulfillment, the author realized they had neglected their own creative projects, leading to a feeling of depression or burnout. Motivated by a desire for change, they decided to start a new project, diving into a SvelteKit project, and found joy in the process of creation itself—transforming a blank screen into something tangible....

1. Microsoft’s original source code Total comment counts : 37 Summary The provided text appears to be a reference to an error or a URL link, but it does not contain any article content or information to summarize. Please provide the actual text or main points you’d like summarized. Top 1 Comment Summary The article discusses the enjoyment found in reading the comments within the GW-BASIC source code. It highlights two specific comments that exhibit humor and a light-hearted tone regarding programming challenges....

1. I maintain a 17 year old ThinkPad Total comment counts : 140 Summary Nassim Nicholas Taleb differentiates between fragile and robust systems, introducing the concept of antifragile systems as well. In the context of laptops, he compares an older IBM/Lenovo Thinkpad with a newer MacBook. The Thinkpad, despite its age, remains functional and user-friendly due to its durable design, modular components, and compatibility with various operating systems. Its open ecosystem supports easy repairs and upgrades, aligning with Taleb’s Lindy Effect, which suggests older, non-perishable items have a greater chance of longevity....

1. Stop syncing everything Total comment counts : 33 Summary The article introduces Graft, an open-source transactional storage engine designed to facilitate lazy, partial replication with strong consistency and scalability, specifically targeting edge environments. Graft aims to combine the simplicity of physical replication with the efficiency of logical replication, addressing challenges faced when syncing data across clients and servers. The author, motivated by the limitations he encountered while developing SQLSync, created Graft to provide a more suitable solution for edge scenarios where clients operate under constraints like unreliable networks and resource limitations....

1. Go Optimization Guide Total comment counts : 19 Summary The Go App Optimization Guide is a series of technical articles designed to help developers enhance the performance of their Go applications. It covers various aspects including building high-throughput APIs, microservices, and distributed systems. Although Go offers fewer performance tuning options compared to languages like C++ or Rust, it still provides effective methods for optimizing applications, focusing on memory reuse, allocation control, networking, and concurrency patterns....

1. The demoscene as a UNESCO heritage in Sweden Total comment counts : 17 Summary The article discusses the recognition of the demoscene as a national UNESCO heritage in Sweden, following an application submitted by the author and Ziphoid. This initiative is part of a broader effort to establish the demoscene as a global UNESCO heritage under the Art of Coding initiative, which highlights the demoscene’s significance as one of the oldest creative digital subcultures....

1. Everyone knows all the apps on your phone Total comment counts : 53 Summary The article discusses the changes in Android’s app visibility policy introduced with Android 11 in 2022, which limits apps’ abilities to detect other installed apps on users’ devices without permission. Developers can only access this information if it is essential to their app’s functionality and must declare the accessed apps in their manifest files. The author investigates a variety of Indian apps, specifically focusing on Swiggy and Zepto, to see how they comply with this policy....