Jake Seliger, a writer on Hacker News, shared a heartfelt farewell as he enters hospice care, expressing gratitude for the community's support.
Surrounded by his wife and brother, Jake reflected on the inevitability of endings, quoting Gandalf from "Lord of the Rings."
Many users responded with messages of sympathy, admiration, and thanks, sharing personal stories and expressing how Jake's writings have impacted their lives.
European users are encouraged to sign an official EU petition aimed at preventing the discontinuation of games, which is considered more effective than Change.org petitions.
Critics argue the petition may not lead to practical changes due to its broad scope and lack of specific consumer protection measures, such as maintaining games in a "playable state" and enforceability of EULA/ToS agreements.
There is ongoing debate on whether regulation or market solutions are better for providing clearer information on game purchases and consumer rights.
The post aims to demystify database engines, specifically focusing on PostgreSQL, a popular database among developers.
It explains how PostgreSQL stores data on disk, detailing the structure and purpose of various directories and files within the data directory.
Key concepts such as Multiversion Concurrency Control (MVCC), heap storage, and the use of the pageinspect extension for inspecting data storage are discussed to help understand and optimize database performance.
The post delves into how PostgreSQL stores data on disk, providing a detailed explanation of the internal mechanisms, including page storage and TOAST (The Oversized-Attribute Storage Technique).
It highlights the importance of understanding PostgreSQL's Write-Ahead Logging (WAL) and logical decoding, which are crucial for data recovery and replication.
The discussion includes comparisons with other database systems like MySQL's InnoDB and mentions alternative storage formats like Apache Arrow and Parquet, which are relevant for data analytics and storage optimization.
The author reflects on their evolving programming practices from 2015 to 2024, highlighting a shift from heavy reliance on tests and version control to a more minimalist approach.
In 2024, the author deleted all tests and reworked their text editor without version control, resulting in a better program and challenging their previous beliefs about software development.
The author now advocates for building software with few dependencies and no auto-updates, using tools like types, abstractions, tests, and versions sparingly to avoid tech debt and complexity.
In 2024, a programmer shared their experience of abandoning tests and version control, claiming it improved their program.
They argued that tests reveal bugs but don't ensure their absence, and version control can keep one attached to the past, though this approach may not suit larger teams or complex projects.
The discussion underscores the balance between traditional practices and personal productivity, with opinions divided on the necessity of tests and version control.
Brick Technology's new video showcases powerful Lego machines designed to topple tall Lego towers, emphasizing science, engineering, and the iterative process of trial and error.
The video highlights the application of these principles to any creative endeavor, making complex engineering concepts accessible and engaging.
The rapid progression from concept to execution in the video may inspire viewers to experiment with Lego Technic and Mindstorms kits themselves.
The post discusses building Lego machines designed to destroy tall Lego towers, highlighting the creativity and engineering skills involved.
It mentions various YouTube channels and creators, such as Akiyuki and Yoshihito Isogawa, known for their intricate Lego contraptions and contributions to the Lego community.
The discussion also touches on the environmental impact of plastic toys, with some users suggesting alternatives like wooden construction toys, despite their higher cost.
Age is a modern, secure file encryption tool and Go library, featuring small explicit keys, no configuration options, and UNIX-style composability.
It supports various installation methods across multiple operating systems, including Homebrew, MacPorts, and package managers for Linux distributions and Windows.
Age supports hardware PIV tokens like YubiKeys, passphrase-protected files, SSH keys, and even encrypting to a GitHub user, making it versatile for different encryption needs.
Age is a modern, secure file encryption tool and Go library, praised for its simplicity and composability.
Users compare Age to established tools like GPG/PGP and jq, discussing its potential as a Unix standard.
While Age is appreciated for its ease of use and modern cryptographic practices, some users note it lacks features like signing, and alternatives like Kryptor are mentioned for additional security features.
Andy Warhol’s lost digital art created on the Amiga 1000 in 1985 has resurfaced after 39 years and is now for sale.
The discovery includes a famous portrait of Debbie Harry and highlights Warhol's experimentation with digital techniques, despite his struggles with computer use.
This reemergence underscores the advanced graphics capabilities of the Amiga 1000 and marks a significant moment in the intersection of art and technology.
Apple Intelligence beta mistakenly flagged a phishing email as "Priority," raising concerns about the reliability of AI in email filtering.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of AI systems to errors, which can potentially increase the risk of users falling for phishing scams.
The discussion emphasizes the need for skepticism and vigilance when relying on AI for critical tasks, as AI is not infallible and can make significant mistakes.
Intel Core 13th and 14th Gen desktop processors have been experiencing instability issues, potentially due to physical degradation, with some failure rates reported as high as 50%.
Intel plans to release a microcode patch by mid-August to prevent further degradation, though it won't reverse existing damage.
Puget Systems has experienced fewer issues due to their conservative power management approach and plans to validate Intel's update, extend warranties, and upgrade affected customers if necessary.
Puget Systems reports a 2-4% failure rate in Intel CPUs, which some users consider high, with failures often linked to overclocking or specific models like the AMD Ryzen 5950x.
Intel's recent CPU issues are attributed to manufacturing errors, and aggressive motherboard settings may worsen the problem.
Data indicates higher CPU failure rates in data centers and during summer months, emphasizing the complexity of diagnosing failures and the influence of overclocking and environmental factors.
Scholars have uncovered new fragments of works by the ancient Greek playwright Euripides, which is a significant discovery in the field of Classics.
Additionally, the upper half of a colossal statue of Pharaoh Ramesses II was discovered at Hermopolis Magna, adding to the excitement in archaeological circles.
The discovery has sparked discussions and enthusiasm among scholars and enthusiasts, highlighting the ongoing interest and importance of ancient texts and artifacts.
Cortex A73 addresses power and thermal issues in Arm’s early 64-bit cores, focusing on efficiency and the smartphone CPU market.
A unique out-of-order retirement mechanism allows the CPU to calculate results without waiting for instruction execution confirmation, preserving the illusion of in-order execution.
The A73 can handle 50 in-flight loads but only 11 in-flight stores after an unresolved branch, showing a regression from A72, yet it achieves competitive performance at lower power by balancing IPC (Instructions Per Cycle) and clock speed.
The discussion revolves around the Cortex A73's reordering capacity and various CPU architecture concepts, including register allocation and out-of-order (OoO) execution.
Key points include the idea of integrating Arithmetic Logic Units (ALUs) with registers to reduce read/write port needs, and the challenges of register renaming and operand forwarding in modern CPUs.
The conversation also touches on alternative architectures like the Mill architecture and Processing in Memory, highlighting ongoing innovations and debates in CPU design.
A software engineer named Hazel managed to keep nearly 7,500 tabs open in Firefox for two years, showcasing the browser's capability to handle extensive tab usage.
Despite initial issues, Hazel restored her tabs using Firefox's profile cache, with the session file being only around 70MB, indicating minimal memory impact.
Mozilla confirmed that having many tabs open consumes "practically no memory" and announced upcoming tab management tools expected later in 2024, enhancing user experience.
A Firefox user maintained 7,500 open tabs for two years, using them as a form of history and bookmarks, highlighting a common practice among users.
Browsers have adapted by unloading inactive tabs to manage memory usage, and extensions like "Tab Session Manager" and "OneTab" assist in managing large numbers of tabs.
There is a suggestion to merge tabs, history, bookmarks, and tab groups into a single feature to streamline user experience and improve efficiency.
Japan's Nikkei index had its worst day since the 1987 Black Monday crash, plummeting 12.4% and wiping out all gains for the year.
The yen surged to its highest level against the dollar since January, while the Topix index dropped 12.23%, and major trading houses like Mitsubishi and Mitsui faced significant losses.
South Korea's Kospi and Kosdaq also experienced sharp declines, falling 8.77% and 11.3%, respectively, triggering circuit breakers; investors are closely watching upcoming trade data from China and Taiwan, and central bank decisions from Australia and India.
Japan stocks dropped by up to 7% as part of a broader sell-off in Asian markets, influenced by the Bank of Japan's recent 0.25% interest rate hike.
The rate hike has led to a stronger yen, negatively affecting Japanese exporters and contributing to market instability.
The situation has prompted debates about a potential shift in Japan's economic policies, focusing more on public well-being rather than corporate profits.
Japan's Nikkei experienced its largest single-day drop since 1987, driven by weak U.S. economic data and a rate hike by the Bank of Japan.
The sell-off in stocks led to a rise in the yen, affecting the carry trade and causing investor concerns about market volatility and economic instability.
While some investors view this as a buying opportunity, others are worried about the broader implications for global markets.