Skip to main content

2024-09-04

ReMarkable Paper Pro

Reactions

  • Users express dissatisfaction with the reMarkable 2, citing slow software updates and poor handling of hardware issues, leading some to switch to competitors like Supernote and Boox.
  • The reMarkable 2's focus on keyboard input has frustrated users who primarily use it for handwriting, with many updates reportedly degrading the pen experience.
  • Alternatives like the Boox Note Air 2 Plus and Supernote A5X are praised for their better software support, additional features, and overall user experience.

Ilya Sutskever's SSI Inc raises $1B

Reactions

  • Ilya Sutskever's SSI Inc has raised $1 billion, sparking discussions on the feasibility and business plans of AI investments.
  • The investment aims to develop superintelligence, with some speculating it could revolutionize fields like pharmaceuticals, potentially curing diseases and achieving a $2 trillion valuation.
  • Skepticism exists about the timeline and practicality of achieving superintelligence, with comparisons to historical tech investments and the Manhattan Project.

State of S3 – Your Laptop is no Laptop anymore – a personal Rant

  • The article discusses the transition from S3 standby to S0 "modern standby" in modern laptops, highlighting significant issues with the new standard.
  • S0ix, intended to provide better energy savings, often fails, causing overheating and battery drain, affecting both Linux and Windows users.
  • The author suggests consumers express disapproval by choosing laptops that still support the traditional S3 standby mode.

Reactions

  • Modern standby (S0) is replacing traditional sleep (S3) in laptops, leading to issues such as overheating and battery drain.
  • Users criticize manufacturers for dropping S3 support, making laptops unreliable in sleep mode and sharing workarounds and frustrations.
  • The discussion highlights the impact of modern standby on battery life, security, and user experience, with some suggesting switching to MacBooks for better sleep functionality.

Mondragon as the new city-state

  • Mondragon Corporation, the world's largest group of worker cooperatives, operates like a federated nation-state with 84 cooperatives, earning €11 billion last year and employing over 70,500 workers.
  • Founded in 1956 in the Basque Country, Mondragon's democratic structure allows workers to vote on leadership and profit allocation, contributing to higher incomes and equality in the region.
  • The cooperative model ensures job security by relocating workers within the network during economic downturns and supports worker education and entrepreneurship, offering a successful alternative to traditional capitalism.

Reactions

  • Mondragon's cooperative model originated from Basque solidarity and Franco's oppression, but some co-ops like Fagor have failed, raising questions about its effectiveness.
  • Critics argue that Mondragon's political nature and patronage networks may hinder its success, and comparisons to Italian cooperatives suggest less centralized models might be more effective.
  • The growing interest in alternatives to capitalism, including tech co-ops, highlights challenges such as attracting talent and maintaining democratic governance.

Interviewing Tim Sweeney and Neal Stephenson

  • Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, and Neal Stephenson, author of "Snow Crash," discussed their definitions and visions of the Metaverse, emphasizing its growth and future potential.
  • Sweeney and Stephenson agreed that while VR goggles are not essential for the Metaverse, better hardware will enhance user experiences, and immersive games like Fortnite and Roblox are thriving.
  • The interview covered various topics, including blockchain technology, AI ethics, and the future of Fortnite, highlighting the evolving landscape of real-time 3D gaming and the importance of ethical AI use.

Reactions

  • Tim Sweeney and Neal Stephenson were interviewed, sparking discussions about Stephenson's extensive body of work and his perceived fatigue with discussing his older book, "Snow Crash."
  • The conversation highlighted the evolving concept of the Metaverse, emphasizing user-generated 3D worlds where people interact through avatars, with examples like Roblox and Fortnite.
  • An open-source Metaverse project called Substrata was mentioned, featuring a single main world filled with user-generated content and optional use of Ethereum NFTs for land trading.

Llms.txt

  • Jeremy Howard proposes a standardized /llms.txt file to provide essential information in a format easily accessible by large language models (LLMs).
  • The /llms.txt file, written in markdown, would be located at the root of a website and include structured sections like project name, summary, detailed information, and links.
  • This proposal aims to complement existing standards like robots.txt and sitemap.xml, enhancing LLMs' ability to process website content effectively.

Reactions

  • The proposal of a new file, llms.txt, aims to help language models (LLMs) better understand website content, sparking debate on llmstxt.org.
  • Concerns include prioritizing machine usability over human user experience and the potential for manipulation or redundancy with existing metadata solutions.
  • Discussions also highlight the importance of standardized paths like /.well-known/ and the broader implications of making web content more accessible to LLMs, including potential misuse and balancing human and machine needs.

Judge stops FTC from enforcing ban on non-compete agreements

  • A recent court decision has reinstated non-compete agreements, reversing the FTC's ban and limiting job mobility and salary growth for employees.
  • District Court Judge Ada Brown ruled that the FTC overstepped its authority, emphasizing that only Congress or states can regulate non-compete clauses.
  • The decision reflects a conservative shift limiting federal agency powers, influenced by the Supreme Court's recent Loper Bright decision, which restricts agency power and leaves policy interpretation to judges.

Reactions

  • A judge has halted the FTC's enforcement of a ban on non-compete agreements, igniting a debate on their necessity and potential abuse outside high-level executive roles.
  • Critics argue that Congress, not executive agencies, should legislate on non-competes, highlighting concerns about the balance of power between the executive branch and the judiciary.
  • The ruling has raised significant questions about the appropriate mechanisms for regulating employment practices and the role of different branches of government in such decisions.

Dynamicland 2024

Reactions

  • Dynamicland 2024, led by Bret Victor, aims to revolutionize computing by making programs physical objects, enhancing accessibility and collaboration.
  • The project is currently confined to specific spaces and is not open-source, but similar systems are available for experimentation.
  • The ultimate goal is to make computing as intuitive and integrated into daily life as electric light.

The Insecurity of Debian

  • In June 2023, Red Hat altered the distribution of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) source code, sparking controversy and uncertainty for downstream rebuilds like Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and Oracle Linux.
  • The open-source community criticized Red Hat's decision, with some considering a switch to Debian, despite Debian's less comprehensive security measures compared to Red Hat's SELinux.
  • SELinux, used by Red Hat, offers robust security with default policies and Multi-Category Security (MCS) labels, whereas Debian's AppArmor is simpler but less comprehensive and relies on user-implemented policies.

Reactions

  • The discussion compares the security of Debian and Red Hat, focusing on SELinux and AppArmor.
  • SELinux, used by Red Hat, is often disabled by users due to its complexity, despite its security advantages, while Debian's AppArmor is considered less restrictive and easier to use.
  • The debate highlights the balance between security and usability, with some users preferring Debian for its flexibility and others favoring Red Hat for its robust security measures.

Small asteroid to hit Earth's atmosphere today

  • A small asteroid, 2024 RW1, struck Earth's atmosphere over Lao-Lu, Cagayan, Philippines, on September 4, 2024, creating a green fireball with no reported damage.
  • The asteroid was discovered just eight hours before impact by Jacqueline Fazekas at the Catalina Sky Survey, marking the ninth time an asteroid was detected before hitting Earth.
  • The event underscores advancements in planetary defense, with monitoring by the European Space Agency and NASA's Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and highlights community engagement with many Filipinos capturing and sharing footage.

Reactions

  • A small asteroid is expected to enter Earth's atmosphere today, but it is harmless and will likely burn up, creating a fireball.
  • NASA's NEO Surveyor project and other telescopes like Vera Rubin LSST are set to significantly increase asteroid detection rates in the coming years.
  • This event marks only the ninth time an asteroid has been discovered before impacting Earth, highlighting improvements in detection capabilities.

Intel Honesty

  • Intel's decline is attributed to its failure to transition to 10nm technology and reluctance to adopt Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, allowing competitors like TSMC and AMD to surpass it.
  • CEO Pat Gelsinger's IDM 2.0 plan aimed to separate manufacturing but keep it under Intel; however, Intel is now considering splitting its product-design and manufacturing businesses.
  • The U.S. may need to support non-Taiwanese manufacturing options, possibly through purchase guarantees, to ensure Intel's viability as a foundry, as the tech world has largely moved on from Intel.

Reactions

  • Intel is facing significant financial challenges, including massive debt repayments and poor stock performance, leading to wage stagnation and difficulty in attracting top talent.
  • The high cost of living in the Bay Area makes Intel less attractive compared to competitors like TSMC in Taiwan, despite higher salaries.
  • Ongoing layoffs and resistance to wage increases are contributing to a downward spiral, with the company potentially needing new leadership and relying on the CHIPS Act and government support for a turnaround.

Faster Integer Programming

  • Victor Reis and Thomas Rothvoss have proven that all integer programs can theoretically be solved much faster than previously guaranteed, building on Daniel Dadush's algorithm.
  • The new proof reduces the minimum time to solve integer linear programs to (log n)O(n), marking a substantial theoretical advancement.
  • Despite the breakthrough, practical implementation remains challenging due to high memory requirements and inefficient subroutines, necessitating further research for real-world applicability.

Reactions

  • Discussion centers on the efficiency and application of integer programming solvers, particularly in industrial-scale problems with millions of variables and constraints.
  • Highlights include the use of tools like FICO Xpress, Gurobi, and CPLEX, with Gurobi noted for its impressive performance and free academic use.
  • The conversation also touches on the challenges of solving mixed-integer programming problems and the potential of open-source solvers like HiGHS.

Howm: Personal Wiki for Emacs

Reactions

  • "Howm" (Handy Own Wiki Mode) is a personal wiki system for Emacs, predating Org-mode and offering unique features like "comefrom links" and syntactic sugar for searches.
  • Users appreciate Howm for its simplicity, self-organizing nature, and compatibility with Org files, making it a preferred choice over newer systems like Org Roam and Denote.
  • The community is actively discussing configurations, workflows, and troubleshooting, indicating a renewed interest and ongoing maintenance of Howm.

Firefox will consider a Rust implementation of JPEG-XL

  • Mozilla is exploring a Rust implementation of JPEG-XL for Firefox to replace the current C++ decoder, which has a large attack surface.
  • Google Research is tasked with developing a safe, performant, and compact Rust decoder to mitigate potential memory safety vulnerabilities.
  • The pull request for this implementation has been reviewed, approved, and merged into the main branch, indicating progress towards potential adoption.

Reactions

  • Firefox is exploring a Rust implementation of JPEG-XL, with Google's support to create a safe, performant, and compatible decoder.
  • There is an existing Rust decoder, jxl-oxide, but it may not be mature or performant enough, prompting discussions on whether to support it or start anew.
  • JPEG-XL offers benefits like better compression, improved quality, and significant bandwidth savings, making it a compelling choice for modern web applications.

OpenAI Pleads It Can't Make Money Without Using Copyrighted Materials for Free

  • OpenAI has requested the British Parliament to permit the use of copyrighted materials for training its AI models, arguing that public domain content is inadequate for developing large language models (LLMs).
  • The company asserts compliance with copyright laws, but faces opposition, including lawsuits from The New York Times and The Authors Guild, which argue that using copyrighted work without compensation harms creators.
  • OpenAI is seeking new partnerships with publishers, but the acceptance of such collaborations is still uncertain.

Reactions

  • OpenAI asserts that using copyrighted materials for free is crucial for training its AI models, sparking debate over the legality and ethics of this practice.
  • Critics argue that OpenAI's expansion relied on legally dubious methods and now faces high business costs, suggesting a focus on sample efficiency and copyright-free data instead.
  • The controversy underscores the ongoing tension between technological innovation and intellectual property rights, with calls for copyright reform and protection of creators' rights.