Retired Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders died in a plane crash near the San Juan Islands, Washington, on June 7, 2024, while piloting his vintage Air Force T-34 Mentor.
Anders was part of the historic Apollo 8 mission, which captured the iconic "Earthrise" photo, and had a distinguished career in both the Air Force Reserves and as chairman and CEO of General Dynamics.
He is survived by his wife, six children, and 13 grandchildren, and was also the founder of the Anders Foundation and the Heritage Flight Museum.
Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders, known for the iconic "Earthrise" photo, was involved in a plane crash in Washington, sparking discussions on various topics.
Key points include the cultural impact of the "Earthrise" photo, the balance between pursuing passions and safety, and the FAA's BasicMed program, which allows older pilots to fly with less frequent medical exams.
The debate also covers the regulation of public spaces, age-related restrictions on activities like flying, and the relative dangers of flying versus driving.
David Anderson's blog post from June 5, 2024, addresses misconceptions about Unix process IDs (PIDs) and user IDs (UIDs), particularly the role of PID 0.
Contrary to popular belief, PID 0 is hidden from userspace and is responsible for kernel initialization, scheduling, and power management, not virtual memory management as some sources claim.
Anderson provides historical context and details the Linux kernel's initialization process, emphasizing the complexities of process and thread identification and the distinction between kernel and userspace PIDs.
The discussion examines how overconfidence in online comments can influence AI language models and stresses the importance of skepticism towards confident statements.
It covers technical topics like the role of PID 0 in operating systems, memory management, and process scheduling, highlighting the need for authoritative verification.
Additional topics include challenges in editing Wikipedia, user interface preferences such as dark mode, and technical details about the POSIX kill function.
MIT's 6.1810: Operating System Engineering course utilizes xv6, a Unix-like teaching OS developed in 2006 and ported to RISC-V.
The course covers system calls, page tables, traps, copy-on-write, multithreading, network drivers, locks, file systems, and mmap through various labs.
The latest xv6 source and text are available on GitHub, and the course page was last updated on August 16, 2023.
The discussion highlights Xv6, a Unix-like OS from MIT, for its effectiveness in teaching operating system fundamentals.
It explores the development of the Windows NT kernel, influenced by VMS, and debates monolithic versus microkernel designs.
The thread also mentions alternative OS designs like SerenityOS, Redox, and educational tools such as PintOS, XINU, and Ultibo for Raspberry Pi, emphasizing the evolution and educational aspects of OS design.
The article "The Backrooms of the Internet Archive" by Jason Scott delves into the origins and cultural impact of the "Backrooms" image, an eerie photograph that became an internet legend.
The image, which gained a backstory in 2019 about a vast, unsettling space, inspired creative content like subreddits, videos, and games focused on liminal spaces.
The mystery of the image's origin was recently solved: it was taken in 2002 during renovations at a former furniture store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine playing a key role in preserving its history.
Hacker News users are debating the origins of "The Backrooms" image, initially thought to be posted on a message board and possibly sourced from the Internet Archive.
The discovery process included extensive searches through 4chan archives and metadata analysis, leading to a 2011 Twitter post confirmed by the Wayback Machine.
The discussion highlights broader issues of digital preservation and the transient nature of online content.
Radon, a former Replit intern, shared his experience of being legally threatened by Replit to take down his open-source project, Riju, which runs code in 216 programming languages.
Despite initial compliance, Replit later allowed Riju to be reinstated after public attention and an apology from Replit's CEO, who still claimed Riju was an unethical clone.
The incident highlights tensions between open-source ideals and corporate actions, with Radon disputing Replit's accusations and emphasizing Riju's non-commercial nature and use of public information.
A former Replit intern claims Replit used legal threats to shut down their open-source project, viewed as a competitor by Replit.
The incident has sparked debate on non-compete agreements, intellectual property (IP) rights, and the ethics of using knowledge from a previous employer to create similar products.
The discussion also critiques the CEO's aggressive response and highlights broader issues like the high costs of legal disputes and the role of social media in addressing corporate threats.
The blog post delves into the history and mechanics of a 1970s electromechanical version of Duck Hunt by Nintendo, which used a projector and a light gun.
The author shares their experience with the game, highlighting difficulties in shooting the ducks, likely due to a dead flash-bulb in the gun.
The post ends with a request for assistance in locating a replacement bulb to make the game functional again.
A Hacker News discussion revealed that many were unaware a second player could control the duck in the NES game Duck Hunt using a standard controller, as stated in the game manual.
The conversation evoked nostalgia about renting games, troubleshooting old electronics, and the decline of point-and-shoot games, while also discussing modern alternatives like VR headsets and the Sinden light gun.
Cultural observations were made about toy guns in Japan versus the U.S., highlighting Japan's low gun ownership and homicide rates, suggesting broader societal issues beyond gun availability in the U.S.
In August 2023, the author examined water infrastructure at Antarctic research stations, specifically McMurdo Station and the South Pole Station.
McMurdo Station uses insulated pipes and heat trace cabling to access and treat liquid seawater, while the South Pole Station employs the "Rodwell" system to melt snow and create an underground lake for water extraction.
The South Pole Station's water system is energy-intensive, utilizing waste heat from a nearby power plant, and includes emergency purification systems and portable solutions for remote work, highlighting the importance of these systems for human survival in Antarctica.
The Hacker News discussion focuses on the complexities of maintaining water infrastructure at the South Pole, emphasizing the energy-intensive process of heating water from subzero temperatures.
Key points include the use of kerosene-based JP8 jet fuel for power, historical shifts from nuclear to diesel power at McMurdo Station, and the environmental impact of waste management.
Commenters are intrigued by the practicalities of living with limited resources, such as taking two-minute showers, and the historical and technical details of the stations' operations.
A user named sdz is integrating a VSA-100 video card into a Dell Precision M4800 laptop, addressing BIOS incompatibilities and using an FPGA and Realtek scaler to convert HDMI to LVDS for the screen.
The project involves significant technical challenges, including motherboard modifications, backlight control, resolution scaling, and overclocking the graphics card, with progress shared through images and videos.
The project has attracted interest and suggestions from the community, with plans to open-source the design, and excitement from users like EriolGaurhoth about the 3Dfx-powered laptop.
A Hacker News discussion explores a hobby project using a 3dfx Voodoo 4 video card in MXM format, emphasizing the niche and vendor-specific nature of MXM cards.
Users highlight the benefits of upgradable laptops like Framework to reduce e-waste and share experiences with upgrading older Apple devices and systems using MXM and PCIe GPUs.
The conversation reflects on 3dfx's impact in the late 90s, its competition with NVIDIA, and includes technical details on GPU upgrades, BIOS hacks, and a 12-layer PCB project, showcasing the evolution of graphics cards and nostalgia for 3dfx's legacy in PC gaming.
A TUI-operated Boeing 737-800 narrowly avoided disaster at Bristol Airport due to a software glitch, with the plane barely clearing the runway and flying over a major road at low altitude.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) found that the pilots manually set insufficient thrust after the autothrottle system disengaged, an issue Boeing was aware of but had not resolved.
This incident adds to a series of recent safety concerns involving Boeing aircraft, with TUI and Boeing cooperating with authorities to address the issue.
A Boeing passenger jet nearly crashed due to a known software bug that caused the autothrottle to disconnect, leading to insufficient thrust for takeoff.
The issue was linked to older thrust lever actuators, with guidance already issued for their replacement, highlighting the importance of monitoring engine performance during takeoff.
Broader concerns are raised about Boeing's safety practices, cost-cutting measures, and management decisions, sparking debates on the balance of responsibility between automation and manual control.
Jason Sachs' blog post delves into the Chebyshev approximation, a technique for efficiently computing functions in resource-constrained embedded systems.
The post contrasts Chebyshev polynomials with Taylor Series, highlighting their efficiency and numerical stability, and provides Python code examples for practical implementation.
Practical applications include fitting Chebyshev polynomials to functions like sine and using them for sensor data estimation, making the technique highly recommended for embedded systems.
Chebyshev approximation is a mathematical technique for efficiently approximating functions, leveraging Fourier transforms and recursive definitions.
Key benefits include computing coefficients in (O(n \log n)) time and performing operations like multiplication and differentiation in (O(n)) time, enhancing the speed of tools like chebfun/chebpy.
Chebyshev methods are versatile, applied in fields such as finance and machine vision, and can sometimes match the accuracy of convolutional neural networks (CNNs).
Debut novels are struggling to gain visibility due to a fragmented media landscape, making it difficult for new authors to build an audience.
Success for debut novels now requires sustained publicity efforts and leveraging social media, with authors often needing to self-promote and hire publicists.
Despite these challenges, literary friendships and community support among writers are growing, aiding debut authors in gaining traction.
Debut authors face significant challenges in a saturated market, struggling with self-promotion on platforms like Hacker News and Reddit due to algorithms and policies that hinder visibility.
The discussion highlights the importance of editors in refining works, the difficulties of marketing on social media, and the impracticality of everyone becoming influencers, leading to power concentration among a few platforms.
Platforms like Royal Road and Goodreads offer alternatives for content discovery and audience building, but the necessity of a strong social media presence and the decline in demand for serious fiction pose additional barriers.
A senior developer hired by the company lacks basic skills due to flaws in the interview process and miscommunication with HR.
The developer struggles with basic tasks, experiences imposter syndrome, and has net-negative productivity, raising concerns about whether to invest in their training or let them go.
The company, despite its focus on personal development and low turnover, is debating the best course of action to address the skill gap without demotivating the employee.
A company hired a senior developer who lacks basic skills due to flawed interviews and miscommunication, leading to low productivity and imposter syndrome.
The company is debating whether to invest in the developer's growth or let them go to maintain team morale and productivity, considering performance improvement plans (PIPs) and possible demotion with salary adjustment.
The discussion emphasizes the importance of promptly addressing underperforming senior hires to prevent long-term issues, suggesting diversified interview questions, take-home problems, intern or apprenticeship programs, and trial days for real-world tasks.