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2023-05-14

HP disables customers' printers if they use ink cartridges from cheaper rivals​

  • HP has issued a firmware update that disables the printers of customers using non-HP ink cartridges, sparking outrage among customers who feel "cheated."
  • The new terms prevent customers from using any cartridges other than those fitted with an HP chip, which are often more expensive, and the printer will refuse to print if non-HP ink is used.
  • HP claims the update is to reduce the risk of malware attacks and to maintain the integrity of their printing systems, but customers have flooded social media with complaints saying they feel "cheated" and that they are being denied their right to choose cheaper alternatives.

Industry Reactions​

  • The company has updated firmware for almost 100 printer models, but some users claim to have successfully used cartridges from alternative brands.
  • There is criticism of HP's business practices, with suggestions of fines, regulation, boycotts, and accountability for CEOs and boards of directors. Alternative printer brands such as Brother, Canon, and Xerox are recommended.

TikTok Owner Had 'Backdoor' for CCP Access to US Data, Lawsuit Alleges​

  • A lawsuit alleges that TikTok owner ByteDance built a "backdoor channel" in its code that allowed Chinese Communist Party members access to user data hosted in the US.
  • The Chinese Communist Party unit, known as the "Committee", had special powers to monitor ByteDance's business activities, demote unfavorable content, and even use a "death switch" to turn off certain apps.
  • The lawsuit alleges that the "Committee" continued to have access to US user data after ByteDance walled off access for individual engineers in China.

Industry Reactions​

  • Social media has the power to manipulate users' behavior and thoughts, making regulatory limits on data collection and education on propaganda necessary to address the issue.
  • Discussion on Hacker News covers outlawing marketing, propaganda, and censorship, emphasizing awareness and critical thinking when consuming media.
  • TikTok's algorithm can be used for targeted propaganda and influencing political opinions, raising concerns over data privacy and national security.
  • Lawsuit highlights the need for stronger data protection and transparent algorithms in social media companies.
  • Complexity and challenges of protecting individual privacy and national security in the age of globalized technology are also highlighted.

Prompt injection explained, with video, slides, and a transcript​

  • Prompt injection is a serious security vulnerability for any application built on top of language models
  • Proposed solutions using AI-based filtering may not work due to the unpredictable nature of language models and the need for 100% reliability in security
  • A potential solution suggested by Simon Willison is the dual language model pattern, which involves building two different LLMs - a privileged one that is only exposed to trusted data and a quarantined one that is expected to go rogue. It is a fiddly solution but is currently the best option.

Industry Reactions​

  • Research is underway to find ways to defend against prompt injection attacks, but caution needs to be taken when using LLMs for critical applications beyond content generation.
  • Possible solutions to mitigate prompt injection include using separate LLMs with different privileges, developing a deterministic language model, and being careful with metadata and filenames in creating sandboxed AI applications.

Intel One Mono Typeface​

  • Intel One Mono is an accessible and expressive monospaced font designed for developers to reduce fatigue, eyestrain and minimize coding errors.
  • It covers a wide range of over 200 languages and includes four weights — Light, Regular, Medium, and Bold — with matching italics, available for free with an open-source font license.
  • It is recommended to use these fonts at 7 points and larger in print, 9 pixels and larger on screen.

Industry Reactions​

  • Users share examples of alternative monospace fonts like JetBrains Mono, Terminus, and IBM Plex Mono.
  • IBM has released a new monospace font designed for people with visual impairments, featuring larger dots and readable characters. Some users comment on the odd-looking "" characters.

RNA repair mechanism discovered in humans​

  • An interdisciplinary research team from the University of Konstanz has discovered the first human RNA ligase, C12orf29, which links RNA strands using adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
  • The ligase is involved in a previously hidden human RNA repair mechanism that protects against oxidative cellular stress.
  • The research team used CRISPR/Cas gene scissors to generate a line of human kidney cells to compare knockout and normal kidney cells under varying experimental conditions.

Industry Reactions​

  • Skeptics argue that the title is misleading, lacking direct evidence of RNA repair beyond conjecture
  • Discovery of the protein sheds more light on how to improve human health and cellular function

How we hack Hacker News and consistently hit the front page​

  • The post explains how the authors consistently hit the front page of Hacker News.
  • They discovered that the best way to get featured is to create newsworthy or investigative content that provides value to Discussion Service users.
  • They have a three-step strategy called the "War Room" which involves staying on top of news, investigating it, and adding perspective to the news item.

Industry Reactions​

  • There is a debate on the ethics of "gaming the system" and accusations of shilling in the comments section.
  • The post emphasizes the importance of providing value to the community by sharing interesting articles and adding commentary.

GitHub Copilot Leaked Prompt​

  • GitHub Copilot Chat's prompt was leaked through a prompt-injection attack.
  • The leaked prompt violates one of the Copilot rules not to leak the algorithm.
  • It is recommended to not try and avoid prompt leaks as it can lead to embarrassment when they inevitably happen.

Industry Reactions​

  • The title of the article should include "Chat" to be accurate.
  • Y Combinator is recruiting for Summer 2023.

Ligatures in programming fonts: hell no (2019)​

  • Ligatures in programming fonts are problematic because they can misrepresent the meaning of code or cause confusion among readers.
  • Ligatures are special characters in a font that combine two or more troublesome characters into one, but they can easily be confused with existing Unicode symbols.
  • Every character in programming code has a special semantic role to play, so any kind of "prettifying" that makes one character look like another, including ligatures, leads to a swamp of despair.

Industry Reactions​

  • Recommendations for fonts that support ligatures and Unicode more broadly.
  • Concerns about confusion among audiences unfamiliar with ligatures, particularly in presentations or exported code snippets.

Hundreds of millions of stars turned into a map of GitHub projects​

  • This post is too short to provide any meaningful content
  • This website is best experienced by visiting the website directly.
  • Please visit the website to read the article.

Industry Reactions​

  • Another user expresses their love for the classification aspect of the visualization and shares a link to a similar visualization for Reddit.
  • A user asks for clarification on what it means when a repository shows 5-6 links to specific projects, to which the creator explains it is due to high similarities inferred from stargazers.

Note: These points were chosen as they represent the most significant takeaways from the comments in relation to the visualization.

Rails Cheat Sheet​

  • Rails has been around for over 18 years and remains popular among developers.
  • Its focus on developer happiness and productivity optimizes for a productive experience.
  • Resources such as Rails Guides, Rails API, and Ruby Docs are crucial for getting started with building Rails applications.

Industry Reactions​

  • Some express frustration with the lack of accessible educational materials for learning Rails.
  • Commenters have mixed opinions on Rails, with some valuing its stability and productivity, while others have concerns about its future and limitations.