Skip to main content

2024-10-03

Filed: WP Engine Inc. v Automattic Inc. and Matthew Charles Mullenweg [pdf]

Reactions

  • WP Engine Inc. has filed a lawsuit against Automattic Inc. and its founder, Matthew Charles Mullenweg, leading to controversy and scrutiny.
  • Mullenweg's disclosure about Heather Brunner's job interview at Automattic and his decision to halt plugin updates for WordPress users, impacting 1.5 million sites, have raised concerns about trust in WordPress infrastructure.
  • Critics have advised Mullenweg to refrain from public comments during the legal proceedings to prevent further complications in the case.

Patent troll Sable pays up, dedicates all its patents to the public

  • Sable IP has settled its lawsuit with Cloudflare, agreeing to pay $225,000 and make its patents public, ending a three-year legal battle over meritless patent claims.
  • Cloudflare's Project Jengo, which crowdsources prior art to combat patent trolls, was instrumental in this victory, awarding over $125,000 to participants.
  • Sable's decision to dedicate its patents to the public prevents future litigation against other companies using these patents.

Reactions

  • Sable, a patent troll, has agreed to pay Cloudflare $225,000 and make its patents public, ending its ability to sue for infringement.
  • This decision follows Cloudflare's successful legal battle, which underscores the high costs and challenges companies face when fighting patent trolls.
  • Cloudflare's victory is significant as it represents a win against patent trolls, who often hold patents without developing products, using them to extract settlements from companies.

Terminal colours are tricky

  • Configuring terminal colors can be difficult due to readability issues and the lack of standardization in the shades of the 16 ANSI colors.- Users can adjust terminal colors through terminal emulator settings or shell scripts, and tools like iTerm2 offer features such as "minimum contrast" to enhance readability.- Synchronizing terminal and Vim themes can prevent color mismatches, with solutions like Base16-shell and base16-vim being popular, though not universally perfect.

Reactions

  • Terminal colors can be difficult to manage due to differences in screen setups and limited support in some consoles, with light themes being more affected than dark themes.- To ensure compatibility with basic consoles, use fallback themes when using tools like fd or exa, and customize terminal emulator color schemes for better readability.- Avoid command-line interface (CLI) tools that override user color preferences with 8bit or 24bit colors; instead, use ANSI colors for consistency and adhere to accessibility guidelines for color contrast.

What excessive screen time does to the adult brain

  • Excessive screen time, defined as more than two hours daily outside of work, can negatively impact adult brain health, causing issues like eye strain, neck pain, and mental health problems.- Studies indicate that it may lead to thinning of the cerebral cortex, reduced gray matter volume, hindered sleep, and increased risk of brain-related diseases such as dementia.- Experts advise minimizing screen time, particularly in the morning, and suggest engaging in activities like exercise, social interaction, and stress management to promote brain health.

Reactions

  • Excessive screen time, particularly in the morning, is suggested to negatively affect adult brain function, though this claim is debated.
  • There is ongoing discussion about whether the content viewed or the medium of screens is more harmful, with recommendations to balance screen usage.
  • The general consensus emphasizes being mindful of screen time to potentially enhance focus, productivity, and mental health.

Canvas is a new way to write and code with ChatGPT

Reactions

  • Canvas is a new feature in ChatGPT designed for writing and coding, aiming to rival Claude's capabilities, offering dynamic interaction with code and text.
  • Users have mixed reactions, with excitement over interface improvements and concerns about OpenAI's ethical practices and focus on consumer products.
  • The gradual rollout of Canvas has sparked discussions on its integration into existing tools and its potential for tasks like code refactoring.

What happens to ".io" TLD after UK gives back the Chagos Islands?

Reactions

  • The future of the ".io" top-level domain (TLD) is uncertain following the UK's decision to return the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, as the British Indian Ocean Territories will no longer exist.- Despite this, the ".io" domain might continue due to its popularity, similar to the persistence of the ".su" domain after the dissolution of the USSR.- Users with ".io" domains should stay informed about potential changes, as the domain's operation might transfer to Mauritius or be reclassified, with ICANN's policy suggesting a possible phase-out but allowing for exceptions.

Image Editing with Gaussian Splatting

  • Researchers from Poland and the UK have developed MiraGe, a novel image editing system that uses Gaussian Splatting to convert 2D image parts into 3D space for manipulation.
  • Unlike generative AI models such as Adobe's Firefly, MiraGe employs Gaussian Mesh Splatting (GaMeS) instead of Latent Diffusion Models, enabling detailed and flexible edits by interpreting images as CGI meshes.
  • MiraGe integrates with Blender and uses external physics engines for realistic transformations, outperforming previous methods in image quality tests, and its full code is accessible on GitHub.

Reactions

  • Gaussian splatting is being investigated for its potential in creative photography and photogrammetry, providing a distinctive visual style without generating actual 3D models.- The technique can work with a single viewpoint by incorporating additional data, allowing for innovative 2D image manipulations and possibly becoming a mainstream tool in camera technology.- There is ongoing debate about its role compared to generative AI, with some advocating for its use as a tool to enhance artistic creativity rather than replace artists.

Why my apps will soon be gone from the Google Play Store

  • The developer's apps will be removed from the Google Play Store due to stricter publishing requirements, such as needing a D-U-N-S number and official documents.
  • These new requirements are challenging for independent developers, leading the developer to let their Play Store account expire.
  • The developer is particularly disappointed about the removal of Papageno, a project they hope to revisit as a web app.

Reactions

  • The author highlights the challenges developers face in keeping apps on the Google Play Store due to Google's stringent update and API compliance requirements.- There is frustration over the constant need for updates and the risk of app removal if requirements are not met, particularly affecting indie developers.- The discussion includes comparisons with other platforms like iOS and Windows, and suggests alternative distribution methods such as F-Droid or web apps, emphasizing the broader impact of app store policies on developers.

In Mexico’s underwater caves, a glimpse of artifacts, fossils and human remains

  • The underwater caves of the Yucatán Peninsula, accessible through cenotes, are significant for their archaeological and paleontological remains, including Maya artifacts and fossils of extinct megafauna.
  • These caves offer insights into early human life, the Great American Biotic Interchange, and may help solve mysteries regarding the extinction of large mammals.
  • Collaboration between cave explorers and scientists is essential for uncovering the historical and scientific secrets preserved within these caves.

Reactions

  • Mexico's underwater caves in the Yucatan peninsula contain artifacts, fossils, and human remains, providing insights into ancient human species and extinct animals like giant ground sloths.
  • Cave diving in these cenotes is popular but dangerous without proper training, highlighting a shortage of trained cave explorers in archaeology.
  • The development of underwater archaeology and potential use of small cave exploration robots could aid in exploring these hard-to-reach sites, which also hold cultural significance as the Mayans considered cenotes gateways to the underworld.

Flyon UI – Tailwind Components Library

  • FlyonUI is an open-source library providing over 78 free Tailwind CSS components, templates, and examples, designed to streamline development workflows.- It is compatible with popular frameworks such as React and Vue, supports unlimited themes including dark mode, and integrates features from DaisyUI and PrelineJS.- FlyonUI is free to use indefinitely, encourages community contributions, and can be installed via npm with the command npm i -D flyonui@latest.

Reactions

  • Flyon UI is a Tailwind Components Library known for integrating third-party plugins such as fullcalendar and WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors, enhancing its functionality.
  • It builds on DaisyUI by incorporating Preline’s JavaScript plugins, providing headless, unstyled components, though there are concerns about Preline's dual licensing.
  • Users have noted some drawbacks, including cumbersome HTML inside JSON for configuration, insufficient color contrast, and a need for improved Svelte support, yet it remains praised for its innovative design.

Anatomy of an internet argument

Reactions

  • The article highlights that in internet arguments, the most significant impact is often on the uninvolved observers rather than the direct participants.
  • It suggests that platforms like Twitter may prioritize engagement through conflict over rational discourse, complicating good faith discussions.
  • The discussion underscores that many online debates focus on power dynamics or belief reinforcement rather than truth-seeking.

France's oldest treasure hunt has been solved

  • The Golden Owl, a treasure from a 31-year-long hunt initiated by the book "Sur la trace de la Chouette d'Or," has been found as of March 10, 2024.
  • The hunt, started in 1993 by Max Valentin and Michel Becker, involved solving 11 clues to locate a buried owl statuette.
  • The site provides resources such as forums, maps, and theories, along with additional hints and controversies from Michel Becker, to assist treasure hunters.

Reactions

  • France's oldest treasure hunt, "On the Trail of the Golden Owl," has been solved, with Michel Becker discovering a rusty iron bird instead of the original bronze owl at the treasure's location.
  • The golden owl was intentionally never buried to maintain its cleanliness and to ensure the solver would announce their success.
  • Despite controversies surrounding Michel Becker's management since 2021, the hunt persisted, drawing parallels to other famous treasure hunts like Masquerade and the Forrest Fenn treasure.

EU: Definition of "potential terrorists" opens door to broad information-sharing

  • Statewatch, an organization monitoring civil liberties in Europe, highlights concerns over the EU's new definition of "potential terrorists," which allows for broader information-sharing.
  • This expanded definition could label asylum seekers, refugees, and climate activists as security threats, raising privacy and democratic oversight concerns.
  • The EU's increased intelligence-sharing and surveillance efforts may have significant implications for human rights and democracy.

Reactions

  • The EU's definition of "potential terrorists" is causing concern due to its implications for broad information-sharing, which may affect political dissent and privacy.
  • Critics worry that this definition could be misused to target political opponents, raising fears of authoritarianism and the delicate balance between security and freedom.
  • The debate draws parallels with the US's no-fly list, questioning the criteria for identifying threats and reflecting broader concerns about government overreach and the erosion of democratic processes.

Serving 70B-Scale LLMs Efficiently on Low-Resource Edge Devices [pdf]

  • The paper "TPI-LLM" addresses the challenge of running large language models (LLMs) on low-resource edge devices, focusing on privacy and efficiency.- TPI-LLM, a tensor parallel inference system, is proposed to enhance performance by keeping data local and using a sliding window memory scheduler, which reduces memory usage and improves latency.- The system shows significant improvements in time-to-first-token and token latency, with the code available online for further exploration.

Reactions

  • The paper explores running 70 billion parameter-scale Large Language Models (LLMs) on low-resource edge devices by optimizing memory and bandwidth through innovative scheduling techniques.
  • It suggests the possibility of distributed inference across multiple edge devices, though current hardware constraints result in slow processing times (26-29 seconds per token).
  • The approach could enable large models to run on smaller GPUs, potentially democratizing access to powerful models, but significant hardware and bandwidth are still required for optimal performance.

Gamma radiation is produced in large tropical thunderstorms

Reactions

  • Gamma radiation is generated in large tropical thunderstorms, akin to x-rays produced by unrolling scotch tape in a vacuum, due to the movement of charged particles creating strong electric fields.
  • Media comparisons, such as likening these electric fields to AA batteries, can be misleading and oversimplify the scientific phenomena.
  • The discussion highlights the potential impact of gamma radiation on biodiversity and the difficulties posed by using non-standard units in scientific communication.