Lord Rayleigh estimated the size of a single molecule using a simple experiment with oil, water, and a pen, inspired by Benjamin Franklin's observations from the 1770s.
Rayleigh's calculation of an oil molecule's length (1.63 nanometers) was remarkably close to modern measurements (1.67 nanometers), demonstrating the power of basic scientific methods.
This historical experiment underscores how straightforward techniques can lead to significant scientific discoveries, as detailed in Charles Tanford's book, "Ben Franklin Stilled the Waves."
In 1870, Lord Rayleigh estimated the size of molecules by spreading oil on water and calculating the film's thickness, assuming it formed a single molecular layer.
This method was inspired by Benjamin Franklin's earlier observations.
Historical scientific achievements like Roemer's 1676 speed of light estimation and Millikan's oil-drop experiment to measure the electron's charge demonstrate how simple observations can lead to significant scientific insights.
Winamp, a multimedia player launched in 1997, is now open-source, allowing the community to modernize its code.
Building the Winamp desktop client requires Visual Studio 2019 and Intel IPP v6.1.1.035, with two main build options: using a script or within the Visual Studio IDE.
Dependencies include libvpx, libmpg123, OpenSSL, DirectX 9 SDK, Microsoft ATLMFC lib fix, and Intel IPP, each requiring specific modifications and unpacking steps.
Winamp Legacy player source code has been released on GitHub with restrictions, including no distribution of modified versions, no forking, and only official maintainers can distribute modifications.
These restrictions conflict with GitHub's Terms of Service, which permits forking of public repositories, leading to debates about the interpretation of "forking."
The release is considered "source available" rather than truly open source, resulting in mixed reactions from the tech community.
A startup has fine-tuned the LLaMA3.1 405B model on 8xAMD MI300x GPUs using JAX instead of PyTorch, achieving notable performance improvements.
They open-sourced their code and shared sharding techniques, highlighting JAX's ability to compile ML model code to hardware-independent HLO graphs optimized by the XLA compiler.
This approach allows seamless execution of the same code on both Google TPUs and AMD GPUs, addressing challenges companies face with PyTorch's deep ties to the NVIDIA ecosystem.
A startup has successfully fine-tuned Llama 405B on AMD GPUs using JAX instead of the more common PyTorch, leveraging JAX's advanced sharding APIs for improved performance.
JAX's hardware-independent HLO graphs, optimized by the XLA compiler, enabled the same code to run on both Google TPUs and AMD GPUs without modifications, addressing a common challenge with PyTorch's deep integration with NVIDIA hardware.
The startup has open-sourced their code and is seeking feedback on their approach and vision for AI infrastructure on non-NVIDIA hardware.
The iPhone 16 Pro now offers storage expansion from 128GB to 1TB, sparking interest among tech enthusiasts and modders.
The video showcases the technical skill required to replace the NAND chip, highlighting the precision and stability needed for such modifications.
Discussions revolve around whether using higher-grade NAND chips could improve performance and endurance, and the aesthetic and design quality of Apple's hardware.
WP Engine issued a "cease and desist" letter to Automattic, accusing CEO Matt Mullenweg of defamation and extortion over statements made in a keynote speech.
Mullenweg allegedly claimed WP Engine exploits the WordPress ecosystem and misuses the "WP" trademark, demanding $40 million to avoid further negative publicity.
The incident underscores ongoing tensions regarding contributions to WordPress development and trademark usage, dividing the community's opinions on both parties' practices.
A developer has released a collection of old shareware games and unfinished projects from the early Macintosh era on GitHub, under the name Soft Dorothy Software.
The disk images can be used with 68K or PPC Mac emulators like Basilisk II, Sheepshaver, or MiniVMac, allowing users to explore these nostalgic pieces of software history.
This release offers a unique glimpse into the game development process of the past, showcasing both completed and abandoned projects, and highlighting the iterative nature of game design.
The article "Move Fast and Abandon Things" emphasizes the importance of quickly prototyping and abandoning unpromising projects to foster innovation.
The author suggests that Universal Basic Income (UBI) could enable more people to pursue creative endeavors without financial constraints, sparking a debate among commenters about its impact on mental health and creativity.
The discussion also highlights the balance between finishing projects and the benefits of focusing on smaller, manageable tasks to avoid the pitfalls of abandoning projects too hastily.
Maker Pipe offers a system of steel pipe connectors designed to turn EMT Conduit into an affordable and versatile building platform, requiring only simple hand tools for assembly.
The connectors are made of durable steel, ensuring strength and reliability for various DIY projects, from furniture to custom shelving.
Customer testimonials highlight the product's ease of use, affordability, and adaptability for a wide range of creative and practical applications.
Maker Pipe offers structural pipe fittings for DIY builders, emphasizing their Make Pipe Minis for prototyping, which can be 3D printed using downloadable STL files.
Users compare Maker Pipe to other systems like 80/20 and Kee Klamp, discussing the pros and cons of each, and suggest alternatives like EMT conduit, black pipe, unistrut, or extruded aluminum for more robust projects.
The discussion includes the practicality, availability, and quality of materials and fittings for various DIY projects.
In the mid-1990s, a conservation project in Costa Rica used 12,000 tonnes of waste orange peel to transform a barren pasture into a lush forest.
The project, led by Princeton researchers, was halted due to a lawsuit but rediscovered in 2013, revealing a dense jungle with richer soil and diverse tree species.
The success of this project, published in Restoration Ecology, suggests potential for similar conservation efforts, though the exact mechanisms remain unclear.
In 2017, 12,000 metric tons of orange peels were dumped on degraded land in Costa Rica, leading to a lawsuit and a Supreme Court ruling against the project.
After 15 years, studies revealed the land had transformed into a lush, biodiverse area, sparking debates on the ethics and legality of using organic waste for environmental rehabilitation.
The case underscored the potential benefits of organic waste in ecosystem restoration, despite facing initial legal and corporate obstacles.
The discussion revolves around colocation (colo) services, which involve hosting servers in a third-party data center rather than at home.
Users are sharing various colo options and deals, including discounts and personal experiences with different providers.
The conversation highlights the pros and cons of colocation versus home hosting, such as reliability, cost, and technical challenges like CGNAT (Carrier-Grade Network Address Translation).
Telegram will now share a user's phone number and IP address with authorities if they are criminal suspects, as per its updated privacy policy.
This policy change follows the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who was charged with enabling illegal activity on the platform.
Telegram will include these disclosures in its quarterly transparency reports and is using AI to remove problematic content, alongside changes to its moderation policies.
Tracy Profiler is a high-resolution, real-time profiler designed for games and other applications, supporting both CPU and GPU profiling across multiple languages and graphics APIs.
It offers extensive features, including memory allocation tracking, lock profiling, context switch monitoring, and automatic screenshot attribution to frames.
The tool's capabilities and updates are showcased in various releases and presentations, including CppCon 2023, with comprehensive documentation and Windows x64 binaries available.
Tracy is a free, real-time frame profiler with nanosecond resolution available on GitHub, praised for its extensive features and performance.
Unlike automatic sampling profilers, Tracy requires adding macros to the codebase, with each macro introducing about 50 nanoseconds of overhead.
Users appreciate Tracy's detailed stats window and often combine it with other profilers for comprehensive analysis, despite some setup difficulties and challenges with GPU applications.
The iPhone 16's macro photography improvements might be attributed more to software enhancements rather than hardware changes.
This suggests that Apple is focusing on software algorithms to enhance photo quality, potentially offering better macro shots without needing significant hardware upgrades.
The emphasis on software could mean that existing iPhone models might also benefit from similar improvements through software updates.
Halide, a popular camera app, was rejected from the App Store for not explaining why it takes photos, highlighting a common issue developers face with app store reviews.
Developers have experienced similar frustrations with the Play Store, including rejections for non-existent issues and the need to add data-protection policies to gain approval.
The situation underscores the complexities and inconsistencies in app store review processes, prompting calls for clearer guidelines and more transparent policies, despite arguments that strict reviews are necessary for user protection.
Ken Shirriff's blog post explores ferroelectric RAM (FRAM), a nonvolatile memory technology known for its durability and rapid writing capabilities.
Despite its advantages, FRAM's high manufacturing costs and complexity have limited its use to niche applications, with Ramtron's 1999 FRAM chip as a case study.
The blog details the history, structure, and operation of FRAM, noting that while promising, its widespread adoption has been hindered, and Ramtron was eventually acquired by Cypress Semiconductor.
Texas Instruments has integrated FRAM (Ferroelectric RAM) into some microcontrollers, which retains data without power, unlike flash memory.
FRAM is pin and function compatible with other non-volatile memory types like NVRAM and EEPROM, and is cost-effective in small capacities.
Despite destructive reads requiring rewrites, FRAM's fast write speed and high endurance make it popular in industrial control systems and as a replacement for battery-backed SRAM in devices like game consoles.
Scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a method to enhance T cells, the body's primary defense against cancer, by providing them with additional mitochondria from bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs).
These enhanced T cells, termed Mito+, showed improved tumor penetration and significantly reduced tumor size in mice, with 75% of treated mice surviving a 60-day study.
This breakthrough, published in the journal Cell, suggests a potential new approach to boost patients' immune cells for more effective cancer treatment.
Researchers discovered that supplementing T cells with extra mitochondria can improve their cancer-fighting capabilities.
The study raises questions about the evolutionary balance of mitochondria in cells, as an excess can lead to problems like reactive oxygen species or cell death.
These findings could pave the way for new cancer treatments, although the precise mechanisms and broader implications are still under investigation.