Astral announces itself as a new company that seeks to make the Python ecosystem more productive by developing high-performance developer tools, starting with Ruff.
Ruff is an extremely fast Python linter written in Rust, and is 10-100 times faster than existing Python tools.
Ruff is an open-source project that is licensed permissively and is curated by hundreds of contributors to power impactful projects across open source.
Ruff's superior performance in running linters can be tested by introducing errors to deliberately check for functionality.
Ruff is a new, fast Python linter built on Rust that can replace multiple tools
Ruff's creator, Charlie Marsh, has a strong product vision and is skilled in Python and Rust
Ruff currently focuses on linting, but will get more autoformatting capabilities
Users hope Ruff will be exposed as a Python module or API in the future for streamlined usage
Python toolchain tools like Ruff and Astral are essential for users who use Python as a glue language in various contexts
Python's popularity lies in its utility/scripting capabilities but has drawbacks such as the lack of a standard package manager and dependency resolution
Ruff is seen as a faster alternative to Python for linting and performs well on large codebases
Critics question the need for a new linter and Ruff's potential for profitability
Supporters suggest potential monetization through supply-chain security and managed builds
Ruff would have to compete with existing linters like Flake8 and pylint
Users have mixed opinions on Python's readability and ability to prevent production mistakes
Astral's first tool is Ruff, but it remains to be seen what other tools they will develop.
The Clock project is a new way of representing time that has been designed to make time feel more natural and personal.
The project aims to make it easier for people to manage their time and to help them feel more in control of their lives.
The Clock is a simple, analog clock that uses color to represent time.
The clock face is divided into 24 slices, one for each hour of the day, and the colors change throughout the day to reflect the changing time.
The Clock is designed to be used on a smartphone or tablet and can be used as a screensaver, background wallpaper, or as a stand-alone app.
The project is the brainchild of Daniel Cooper, a former journalist and now a product designer, who wanted to create a new way of thinking about time.
The Clock has been in development for over a year and is now available for download.
The Clock is free to use, but there are premium features available for purchase, such as the ability to set reminders or to customize the clock face.
Some people have criticized the Clock for being too simplistic or not functional enough, but many others have praised it for its innovative approach to time.
Oimo.IO is a clock that displays a countdown of seconds through blocks that get destroyed every second
Users hypothesize that the clock causes anxiety due to its rapidly changing nature and the feeling of time passing
Similar examples of interactive projects that evoke different emotional responses include an airport clock and an online program called society.htm
The Clock Man statue at Paddington station, London, where every minute appears manually drawn onto the clock face by an actor inside is also referenced
Link to a website featuring interactive demos using physics, including a water scene, cloth, and jelly
The demos are technically impressive but require dedication and motivation
The clock demo on the website features a jumping animation every 10 seconds and can induce anxiety in viewers
Some users express interest in a physical version of the clock
Commenters debate the necessity of more descriptive titles for posts
The clock's enigmatic name is seen as intentional by some
Some commenters express a desire for more information before clicking on a link.
Software firms across US facing tax bills that threaten survival
Software startups are facing huge income tax bills, rising up to 400%, due to a change in US tax law related to research and development costs.
The failure of lawmakers to extend a vital tax provision has made businesses amortise costs over five years, causing overwhelming cash flow and profit losses for software firms.
Small software firms across the US are being threatened by massive tax bills that could make their business model untenable and force them to seek expensive loans or investors.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of last year, designed to limit deductions for executive bonuses, has led to the deduction of research and development expenses for software firms.
A grassroots social media campaign is calling for the change to be fixed, but some executives are considering corporation overseas as a worst-case scenario.
US software firms face a new tax law that will force them to amortize R&D expenses over five years, which is an existential threat to some businesses.
There are debates about the US Senate's structure and use of filibusters, which leads to discussions about minority rule, representation, and the legislative process.
The US government's intervention in ending slavery in industrialized countries often leads to negative outcomes.
A new tax law hits small businesses, including software firms, that accept grant funding with up to 30% in taxes, hurting them disproportionately.
There is confusion and debate over whether software development should be considered R&D for tax purposes, affecting salaries for software engineers.
US tech companies face new regulations that limit their ability to write off R&D work for tax purposes, potentially discouraging investment in cutting-edge technology.
European and Swedish software companies allow salaries to be fully deductible/partly capitalized, which is causing controversy over the treatment of salaries as capital expenses.
The FASB ASU-2021-05 accounting rule will force US firms to amortize R&D expenses over five years, causing critics to fear stifled growth, misled investors, and impeded innovation.
Proponents argue that the rule benefits transparency and makes it easier for investors to evaluate companies' long-term value.
This change primarily affects software/SaaS companies that create intellectual property in-house, and lack outside funding.
Operating losses can be carried forward and used for 20 years, and companies should have anticipated the implications since the provision dates back to 2017.
The law incentivizes growing R&D teams quickly and consistently.
Making friends as an adult can be challenging due to a lack of organic social environments that promote continuous unplanned interaction and shared vulnerability.
Intentionality is key to forming new friendships, and assuming people already like you can help build confidence.
Regular planned interactions and group events are more sustainable for building a community of friends than individual friendships.
Overcoming covert avoidance, such as being on your phone and not engaging with people, is essential to make connections.
Men may have more trouble making friends due to societal expectations and fear of being perceived as gay, while people with a history of loneliness may be more likely to assume rejection in social situations.
It is important to continue to put yourself out there, even after negative experiences, as there are likely more people who want to be your friend than you think.
The article discusses tips for building sustainable friendships in adulthood through group hangouts and shared activities.
Proximity when eating is a consistent way to form friendships, such as through communal living spaces or regular meetups at the same pub or park.
Group fitness classes or running clubs helped people overcome loneliness and make new friends with the shared adversity of exercise strengthening social bonds.
Tech professionals discuss group activities for meeting new people and making friends, including Hash House Harriers, Parkrun, and church events.
Difficulty finding groups that align with interests or schedule, but personal anecdotes and suggestions for starting a group are shared.
Introversion vs. extroversion, feelings about having/not having friends, and recommendations for books on psychology are also discussed.
Making friends as an adult or as an immigrant can be challenging, but shared-interest clubs, sports teams, and volunteer work are good ways to make new friends.
The comments highlight the importance of social connections and the negative health effects of loneliness.
Marginalia: DIY search engine that focuses on non-commercial content
Marginalia is an independent DIY search engine that focuses on non-commercial content and custom-built software.
All crawling and indexing are done in-house, and the project is open source, hosted on a single PC in Sweden with solid specs.
Marginalia is favored for finding small, old and obscure websites, and currently serving about 25 queries/minute.
A recipe filter has been added to the algorithm selector, and a simple public API is now available.
Marginalia has received a NLnet grant, and its index has reached 100,000,000 documents.
Marginalia Goed Open Source, and celebrate its first anniversary with a search engine that favors text-heavy sites and punishes modern web design.
Marginalia was praised for a search engine designed to surprise you and finding sites you perhaps weren't aware of in favor of the sort of sites you probably already knew existed.
Marginalia is a search engine that prioritizes non-commercial content using a custom index built in Java.
The creator emphasizes that cloud services wouldn't be able to handle the amount of work Marginalia handles.
Users appreciate Marginalia for finding blog posts, tutorials, comparisons, and hobby projects without fake articles.
Marginalia plays a crucial role in Internet discovery, helping readers find interesting articles.
Marginalia recently received an NLnet grant and allows users to donate to support the search engine.
The search engine prioritizes ad-less search and remains popular among users.
Marginalia's design also prioritizes non-list documents over those that consist mostly of lists or tabular data.
Marginalia's creator acknowledged the need for better contrast and positioning of search results and hopes to expand to more languages in the future.
Some users express frustration with Google's lack of clear labeling for paywalled articles.
A tech journalist provides details about the scanning and indexing process used for their personal search engine, including crawler design and website rankings.
Xu Hao, Head of Technology in China for Thoughtworks, uses ChatGPT to generate self-testing code using "generated knowledge" and "chain of thought prompting" techniques.
The LLM is prompted to generate a master plan that follows the desired architecture pattern before coding, and then the plan is refined, and a task list is generated to implement the feature.
The post discusses writing tests for the encapsulated view model interface using the React Testing Library and the Vitest framework with example tests and implementations.
Different implementations using or not using redux-mock-store are shown.
Interacting with LLMs like a junior partner and starting them with architectural guidelines is essential for the best results.
The post provides useful resources on prompting techniques and highlights the importance of constructing prompts correctly for the best results when using LLMs.
Language Model (LLM) prompts for programming can provide useful boilerplate and break down complex projects, but they can also be limited by token limits and the risk of hallucinating or forgetting previous tasks.
Users recommend starting a new prompt chain for each different thought process and avoiding irrelevant questions to stay on track.
GPT-4 shows significant improvement over its predecessor, GPT-3, and Copilot is seen as a better tool for code development than ChatGPT.
Prompt-based coding can save time and be easy if you have domain knowledge, but it can be a difficult learning curve if you do not know how to code.
AI tools are rapidly improving, but they aren't drop-in replacements for human developers or commercial artists, and there are concerns about ethics and potential job losses.
ChatGPT's success depends largely on the quality of its prompts, and there are concerns about how it handles data privacy and accuracy.
Programming techniques from the past are discussed, and there is a promise of AI to help rapidly prototype innovative tools.
The post offers insight into how AI can assist programmers in their work, and users are excited about the potential but skeptical about overreliance.
Living close to close friends, not just family, can make people happier according to a recent article in The Atlantic.
Studies show that friends living within a mile of each other are 25% more likely to feel happy.
Many people are far from their friends because of career choices and finding affordable housing.
Some sociologists argue that friendship is not prioritized compared to career, family, and partnership in North America, contributing to lack of friend proximity.
US millennials have the lowest level of geographic mobility in 50 years due to economic instability, limited housing options, and job scarcity.
The high cost of living in densely populated areas also makes it challenging to build close proximity friendships.
Hostile policies on issues such as reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ rights further exacerbate mobility limitations.
Societal norms prioritize familial support over friendship, preventing people from seeking help from close friends outside of their family unit.
These roadblocks must be addressed to facilitate closer friendships.
Users discuss the relationship between socialization and suburban sprawl in American cities compared to European towns designed in circles.
European cities tend to have more mixed-use zoning and walkable neighborhoods compared to American cities with limited public transport options and basic services at a greater distance.
Walkable communities are beneficial for physical and social health.
People debate living in small towns versus larger cities, with factors such as proximity to amenities, ease of transportation, and level of privacy being considered.
Higher building density allows for more efficient use of space and convenient access to resources in general.
The comments discuss the importance of public space as a critical resource for social interaction and community-building, with limited access to green spaces in the US due to urban sprawl and restrictive park regulations.
There is a debate about the safety of transportation options and the cost of using ride-sharing services, which may discourage some people from going out and socializing.
Living in a city can be advantageous for shorter distances to friends while suburbs can be friendlier for socializing and making friends more easily.
Factors such as private spaces, poor zoning policies, car-centric zoning, distrust, and loss of community have been identified as contributing to the issue of people interacting less with their neighbors and its impact on mental well-being.
There is a discussion about the division between rural towns and big cities, with debates about access to resources, diversity, and the role of urbanism in providing accessibility to tools and space for hobbies.
Firefox may soon reject Cookie prompts automatically
Firefox, a popular web browser, is considering an update that would automatically reject cookie prompts.
Cookie prompts are those pop-up windows asking users to accept or decline a website's use of cookies, which are small data files stored on a user's computer.
The update would improve user experience by eliminating the need to repeatedly interact with cookie prompts.
However, the update may have implications for website owners who rely on cookies for tracking user data.
The potential update is still under review and may not be implemented in the final version of Firefox.
Firefox is introducing a new feature to reject third-party tracking cookies.
Cookie prompts prevent users from having the option to reject cookies, which is necessary for consent parity.
The use of cookie pop-ups is a pattern invented by the industry to collect data without consent.
Regulations need to be implemented to prevent the industry from using dark patterns to maximize profits.
Developers discuss the ongoing debate surrounding cookies and privacy legislation, with some suggesting blocking third-party cookies as a solution.
GDPR requires user consent for tracking activities, but some suggest the burden should be on website owners to declare their use of cookies.
A potential solution is to mandate browser handling of standardized cookie descriptions to prevent dark UI patterns.
Privacy policies and cookie prompts often do not adequately inform users of privacy-impacting decisions.
Users are frustrated with constant cookie consent pop-ups and suggest more stringent regulations for Big Tech's user tracking practices.
Brave browser has been focusing on privacy and security for a while, but some commenters are wondering why it's not more popular among infosec-focused people.
Microsoft plugging more ads into Windows 11 Start Menu
Microsoft is adding more ads into the Windows 11 Start Menu, prompting mixed reactions from users.
These ads, or notifications, about Microsoft products and services have been in development for months and were rolled out to some users in March.
The latest Windows 11 Insider Preview Build features new treatments for local user accounts to promote the benefits of signing in with a Microsoft account, such as easier device backup, personalized security settings, data access from anywhere, and free Microsoft 365.
Some users on Reddit express dissatisfaction with the ads, calling it a "trick" and an inconvenience, while others see it as a necessary alternative to a subscription model for Windows.
The opinions are not universally negative, as some users point out that such ads have been present in Windows 8 and 10 and are inevitable in the industry.
Microsoft is seeking feedback from users through the Dev Channel and online forums.
Microsoft is planning to add more ads to Windows 11's Start Menu to promote signing in with a Microsoft account, which has been criticized by users who prefer using a local account.
Commenters argue that companies should respect users' choice and allow them to say "no" to ads and other unwanted features.
The need for user consent and informed choices is emphasized, and regulation may be necessary to prevent abusive business practices.
Users express frustration with pre-installed bloatware, forced consent to services, and other intrusive features on Windows 11, MacOS, and Apple devices.
Linux operating systems are praised for better UX and performance, and some users recommend Ubuntu and Kubuntu specifically as alternatives.
Some users criticize the degradation of hardware and software quality by companies prioritizing profit over product quality.
Why do ships use "port" and "starboard" instead of "left" and "right?"
Ships use "port" and "starboard" instead of "left" and "right" to avoid confusion, as they refer to fixed locations on a vessel.
Port and starboard never change, making them unambiguous references that are independent of a mariner's orientation.
When looking forward, port refers to the left side and starboard to the right side.
In the early days of boating, boats were controlled using a steering oar placed over or through the right side of the stern, leading to the right side becoming known as the steering side or "starboard."
As boats grew, tying them up on the side opposite the oar became easier, and this side became known as "larboard" or the "loading side," but was later replaced with "port" due to confusion with "starboard."
The use of "port" and "starboard" is still prevalent in nautical terminology today.
The maritime industry uses "port" and "starboard" instead of "left" and "right" to avoid ambiguity.
Medical industry uses "port" and "starboard" to describe patients' left and right sides, respectively, when inside the body.
Many sailing terms have become part of everyday English vernacular, demonstrating the importance of the industry to civilization.
There is a debate regarding the importance of standard image orientation in medical imaging to ensure patient safety in non-standard organ cases.
The article discusses various professions' vocabulary that explains complex orientation and location systems, such as the automotive industry using "driver side" and "passenger side."
The discussion centers around different terms used in various industries to describe directions, with a focus on nautical terminology.
Participants discussed the use of "port" and "starboard" instead of "left" and "right" on ferry boats, emphasizing the importance of consistency and origins of the terms.
The post explains that "port" and "starboard" create a new set of coordinates relative to the vessel, making it more intuitive and unambiguous, with "starboard" referring to the steering side and "port" to the docked side.
The discussion highlights the nuanced differences in language and definitions between countries and professions.
Tailscale introduces new pricing and plans, expanding its free plan to three users and implementing usage-based billing for monthly paid plans.
The changes aim to reduce friction between 1 user and 2+ users and make the two growth curves the same shape.
The new pricing plans offer more free nodes and fewer arbitrary limits, ensuring customers only pay for what they actively use.
Tailscale claims that its usage-based billing incentivizes them to help customers succeed, resulting in a 20% discount compared to the old fixed annual charge.
Existing annual, custom, and enterprise subscriptions are unaffected, and users can still opt for annual billing or prepaid credits.
Users can also protect their monthly bill by implementing access control lists or user approval features.
Tailscale has changed its pricing model and now offers a free plan with almost all features, support for up to three users, and 100 devices on a custom domain
Existing customers can still use Personal Pro, but the billing page now offers alternatives
Customers are only charged for active users with retrospective billing
Users appreciate the company's transparent approach to pricing and customer service
Tailscale has various use cases such as hosting files and services, remote desktop login, testing public IP addresses, backup servers, monitoring personal projects, non-tech-savvy family access, and more
Tailscale simplifies access to devices regardless of how they reach the internet and features like key distribution and SSO integration
Tailscale is an easy way to manage Raspberry Pis used in an IoT project and enables consistent IP addresses and internal services in AWS
Users have used Tailscale for screen sharing, accessing internal servers, remote machine control, LAN extension, and ad-blocking
Users suggest a more affordable pricing tier aimed at personal and family use with moderate user limits, but advanced features
Users debate Tailscale's security risks and suggest alternative options such as Headscale
Tailscale has updated its Personal and Business plans, with the Personal plan now being called Free and offering almost everything Tailscale has for up to 3 users and 100 devices
Tailscale now allows users to sign up with any OIDC-compatible identity provider
Some users compare Tailscale unfavorably to ZeroTier, which has no account requirements
Phyllis Latour was a WWII spy who used knitting to hide coded messages
Leo Marks developed codes for the SOE
Discussions around creative uses of steganography in espionage
Historical context of World War II and its significance for future generations
Commenters provide helpful explanations of the techniques employed by WWII-era spies
Topics such as government transparency, propaganda, and steganography are explored in the comment section
Story of a female secret operative who sold soap to German soldiers during WWII while transmitting info through knitting is highlighted, but one commenter questions its validity as an urban legend
Heroku has been running a second copy of my scheduler instance
MusicButler web-app experienced a bug where tasks were dispatched twice caused by Heroku's celerybeat dyno.
Heroku support was slow to respond, and the issue was resolved when the author renamed the dyno and saw that the old one was still running.
Lessons learned include writing idempotent tasks and avoiding reliance on a scheduler for concurrent execution in infrastructure, and the need for infrastructure maintenance as a solo developer.
The author plans to Dockerize their app for easier migration between providers, moving away from Heroku.
A Heroku-hosted website encountered a potential security vulnerability related to how the website presented its logs, making it difficult to detect.
Heroku was contacted on April 13, and a "zombie instance" is still running as of April 17.
French publisher, Ernest Moret, has been arrested on terrorism charges in London after being questioned about his participation in anti-government protests in France.
Moret was approached by two plainclothes officers at St Pancras station and then questioned for six hours before being arrested for refusing to disclose the passcodes to his phone and computer.
Moret's treatment has been condemned as an attack on the right to demonstrate, and French publishers have drafted a joint letter calling for a protest outside the UK embassy in France and the French Institute in London.
Éditions la Fabrique, his publishing house, is known for publishing radical left authors and the arrest has caused outrage and protests in both the UK and France.
Moret represents the French science fiction novelist Alain Damasio and had arranged more than 40 appointments at the London book fair.
The incident suggests complicity between French and British authorities due to the inappropriate statement made by the police officers and an abuse of anti-terrorism laws.
Many organizations, including Pen International and the National Union of Journalists, have expressed concern about the arrest, and a protest was planned at the French Institute in London to demand Moret's release.
A French publisher was arrested in London for refusing to disclose critical encrypted information, which highlights concerns over self-incrimination, difficulties in proving memory, and police accessing potentially sensitive data.
The UK's law on failing to disclose information raises worries about lifelong police access to smartphones and wrongful convictions, especially since UK officers have been caught sharing inappropriate images.
A discussion thread revolves around politics, constitutional law, tech privacy, news media, and law enforcement, including comparisons between UK Labour and US Democrats, UK legal system, Germany's attitudes towards authoritarianism, law enforcement's ability to search a device, and discussions on self-incrimination.
The Tech Times article questions different laws worldwide regarding password disclosure, referring to the UK's case, and highlights penalties for refusing to surrender passwords vary amid tensions between privacy and law enforcement.
People suggest several ways to protect one's data from potential government searches, such as password attempts, passcodes, or crypto tokens, and discuss possible ways to respond or change laws.