Ello, a social network that aimed to be an ad-free alternative to Facebook, has suddenly shut down, leaving users disappointed.
Despite its initial commitment to privacy and user data protection, Ello faced challenges in maintaining its values while seeking funding for growth and monetization.
Changes in ownership and management, along with financial difficulties, ultimately led to the abrupt closure of the platform without giving users a chance to preserve their content.
The article and comment thread cover various topics related to social networking platforms, including funding models, monetization challenges, and the impact of venture capital.
Examples of both successful (Ello, Mastodon) and failed (Bluesky) platforms are discussed, providing real-world context.
The discussions delve into the importance of user growth, founder control, and maintaining principles in business ventures, while exploring the risks and challenges of different funding and monetization methods. The negative influence of outside investors and the difficulties of building successful social networks are also acknowledged. Overall, the conversations shed light on the complexities and uncertainties surrounding the sustainability and financial models of social media platforms.
The GOV.UK Notify team successfully migrated their PostgreSQL database with minimal downtime using AWS Database Migration Service (DMS).
The migration process involved setting up the DMS instance, creating the target database, performing a full data load, and implementing ongoing replication.
The migration resulted in only 11 seconds of downtime, exceeding their target of less than 5 minutes. The team plans to migrate their apps to AWS Elastic Container Service (ECS) in the future.
The discussion covers topics such as AWS RDS Blue-Green Deployments and limitations of database downgrades for database migration.
Challenges with database migration frameworks and issues with AWS Data Migration Service (DMS) are also discussed.
The discussion also touches on government cloud services, data security and sovereignty concerns, and the pros and cons of outsourcing IT services to foreign companies, particularly in the public sector.
Hans Reiser, the creator of ReiserFS V3 and Reiser4, apologizes for the delay in his response to a letter and proposes using OCR technologies to improve response times.
Reiser requests advice on where to send the letter and information on Reiser5, as well as other file systems and compression methods.
He introduces himself as being in prison for the murder of his wife in 2006, expresses remorse for his crime, and provides a detailed apology and history of ReiserFS V3 and V4, highlighting technical issues and stating that ReiserFS 4 is a more sustainable option.
The article discusses the downfall of Hans Reiser, the creator of the ReiserFS file system, who was convicted of premeditated murder and hiding his wife's body.
It explores Reiser's behavior and the opinions of those who knew him, offering insight into his character and actions.
The conversation delves into deeper topics such as personal redemption, the concept of evil, and the reliability of ReiserFS, offering readers a thought-provoking analysis of the case.
Dave Mills, a prominent figure in the early days of the Internet, has died peacefully.
He made significant contributions to various aspects of Internet technology, including the Network Time Protocol, Fuzzball routers, the INARG taskforce, COMSAT Labs, and the University of Delaware.
Dave Mills, the original architect of Network Time Protocol (NTP), passed away, leaving behind a significant impact on the development of synchronized time in computer systems and the internet.
His pioneering work on NTP established the groundwork for modern timing systems.
The tech community mourns the loss of Mills and expresses gratitude for his invaluable contributions to the field.
Legalizing single-stair multifamily buildings could potentially increase housing construction and address affordability concerns in the US.
The article delves into the history and impact of egress regulations on design and affordability.
Reforming building codes to allow for single-stair buildings up to six stories is advocated by the Center for Building in North America as a way to achieve more efficient and affordable housing designs.
The article and comments section discuss the impact of housing regulations on housing costs and affordability.
The conversation emphasizes the need to reevaluate and reduce regulations to address the housing crisis.
Topics covered include the effectiveness of zoning laws, housing density and affordability, fire safety regulations in buildings, use of wood in construction, balancing safety and practicality in regulations, and the role of regulations in addressing discrimination.
The conversation concludes with a comparison of fire safety regulations and statistics among different countries.
The discussions center around the use of OpenAI's models and raise concerns about the legality and ethics of violating OpenAI's terms of service.
Participants debate the limitations and potential risks of using the models and discuss the value and potential consequences of different approaches to utilizing AI.
The conversations also touch on copyright violations, enforceability of terms of service, data quality and transparency concerns, the use of synthetic data, and potential legal actions against OpenAI, highlighting the complexities and ethical considerations involved in utilizing AI models and enforcing terms and conditions.
The article addresses the issue of surveillance capitalism and proposes alternative strategies to combat it.
It examines the limitations of paid subscriptions and highlights the effectiveness of self-hosting for preventing surveillance capitalism.
Self-hosting may have scalability challenges and require technical expertise. The article also discusses the concept of end-to-end encryption (E2EE) but notes its drawbacks and emphasizes the need for a holistic approach.
This discussion explores various topics surrounding privacy, data security, and surveillance capitalism.
Solutions and alternatives for protecting personal information, such as decentralized server systems and encryption, are suggested.
The conversation also highlights concerns about data collection, inaccuracies in profiling, and the impact of surveillance capitalism on personal freedoms, emphasizing the importance of privacy and the need for regulation in data practices.
The author, a former Google employee, reflects on the company's early culture of prioritizing employee well-being and discusses Google's unique approach to reorganization by transferring employees instead of laying them off.
However, the author acknowledges that as Google has grown and encountered financial difficulties, this culture has shifted, resulting in layoffs and a more conventional approach to resource allocation.
The author emphasizes the significance of valuing employees and creating a culture of psychological safety to foster productivity and creativity and suggests that smaller companies may find it easier to maintain a hands-on approach to employee reorganization.
This discussion covers various aspects of Google's culture, management, innovation strategies, employee treatment, and financial growth.
Commenters analyze the challenges of maintaining Google's principles and culture as it grows, as well as its declining performance and innovation.
The conversation also touches on office politics, company culture's impact on morale and productivity, and the importance of valuing employees. It discusses copyright infringement, AI's impact on journalism, and compensating media outlets.
AlphaFold, a protein-structure prediction tool, has identified hundreds of thousands of potential psychedelic molecules that could be used in the development of new antidepressants.
Recent studies have shown that AlphaFold predictions are valuable for drug discovery, but relying solely on predicted structures has limitations, and more detailed experimental models are often required.
Isomorphic Labs, a spin-off of DeepMind, is utilizing AlphaFold in their drug discovery efforts and has secured deals with pharmaceutical companies, indicating the potential of tools like AlphaFold to greatly assist in the search for new drugs.
AlphaFold, an AI system developed by DeepMind, has the potential to revolutionize drug discovery by identifying molecules that bind to the 5HT2A receptor involved in psychedelics.
AlphaFold's models can accurately predict GPCR binding molecules, improving the efficiency of finding selective ligands for GPCRs and aiding research on mental disorders.
The discussion also covers the significance of targeting GPCRs in medicine, concerns about the reliability of AlphaFold's predictions, and potential risks associated with the use of research chemicals.
Children with cancer are being treated with a less toxic drug therapy called blinatumomab, which is an immunotherapy that targets cancer cells while sparing healthy cells.
The treatment involves a thin plastic tube that remains in the patient's arm for several months, delivering the drug continuously.
Blinatumomab has already been approved for use in adults with cancer, and researchers are now exploring its safety and efficacy in children.
The discussions cover a range of topics related to cancer treatment and medical decisions, including new drugs, therapies, benefits, drawbacks, high costs, and ethical considerations.
There is skepticism towards certain medical theories and a desire for more affordable and effective treatments.
The collection provides valuable information for those interested in cancer treatment and making informed medical decisions.
Google Chrome version 121 brings exciting updates for developers using WebGPU technology.
Developers can now utilize WebGPU on Android devices running Android 12 or higher.
Other updates include using DXC for shader compilation on Windows, measuring GPU command execution time, default entry points for shader modules, support for "display-p3" color space, and information on memory heaps.
The Dawn library also receives new features and improvements.
WebGPU is now available on Android, allowing developers to measure GPU command execution time.
Timestamp queries in WebGPU have a quantization of 100 microseconds for security purposes.
WebGPU support varies on different platforms, with Linux and iOS lacking sufficient support.
The discussion includes concerns about survey data accuracy, compatibility with different browsers and operating systems, potential security risks, and limitations of WebGPU compared to other graphics APIs.
Some users praise WebGPU for its convenience and potential, while others mention limitations and ongoing testing on different GPUs.
The discussion covers the use of WebGPU for graphics and computing, potential performance benefits, and the development of web apps as a replacement for native code.
PixiJS is mentioned as a tool for optimized performance, and Unreal Engine 5 has support for WebGPU.
The decline of the US machine tool industry is caused by factors such as conglomerates, globalization, and foreign domination.
The influence of MBAs on manufacturing industries and the preference for overseas equipment is discussed.
The impact of a strong dollar on imports and US manufacturing, as well as the importance of industrial capacity, naval power, and the US dollar as a reserve currency, are debated.
The micro-donation platform 404Service is shutting down after 14 years of operation, expressing gratitude to their community for their support and belief in their mission.
The platform briefly expanded their services this year but made the decision to close both ventures.
The team wishes their community endless creativity, joy, and success in the future.
Flattr, a micropayments platform, is shutting down, raising questions about the viability of micropayments as a creator income source.
The discussion explores the pros and cons of micropayments compared to subscription models and the dominance of advertising as the primary business model.
Other topics include ephemeral websites, the value of paying for content, parasocial relationships, profitability of platforms like Twitch, alternative monetization options, torrent and bandwidth limitations, ad-blocking, and the use of cryptocurrency and AI in micropayments.
The author shares their experience of relearning math as an adult and the motivation behind it, driven by their work with AI products and a desire for a better understanding of large language models.
They found Math Academy, a startup founded by a friend, to be an amazing and effective tool for learning math, emphasizing its convenience, consistency, authenticity, and hands-on approach.
The author recognizes that learning math requires hard work but believes that Math Academy makes it easier and more accessible, setting a long-term goal of understanding LLMs and transformers with consistent learning over several years.
The discussion covers a range of topics related to learning math, including personal experiences and recommended resources.
Individuals share success stories using online platforms like Khan Academy and Math Academy, while others advocate for traditional education methods and textbooks.
The conversation also explores differences in math education between countries, the importance of a strong math foundation, and the role of AI and machine learning in math education.