2023-04-13

Semaphore: A Full-Body Keyboard

Original. Semaphore is a full-body keyboard that uses OpenCV and MediaPipe's Pose detection to detect body landmarks from video input, calculate relative differences, and translate them into keys and commands sent via keyboard. The primary input is to "type" letters, digits, and symbols via flag semaphore by extending both arms at various angles, with other modifier gestures included for functions such as shift, backspace, and arrow keys. It runs on the latest MacOS and can be accessed through the terminal with the use of a custom keyboard library.

Discussion Service. A keyboard system called Semaphore, which uses physical gestures, has received positive feedback from Discussion Service users and has implications for remote workers who want to combine physical exercise and programming. Users discuss combining Semaphore with stenography, musical notes, yoga exercises, and programming, and some point out the potential for increased efficiency through the addition of features like an autocomplete.

GPT-4-powered web searches for developers

Original. The website 'phind.com' is currently inaccessible, as it is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks that may have been triggered by certain actions, such as submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command, or malformed data. To resolve this, users can email the site owner and include details of what they were doing when the block occurred and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of the page.

Discussion Service. Phind.com's GPT-4-powered search engine offers precise coding answers and detailed explanations through custom filters, and revenue-sharing models have been explored for content producers, although there are concerns over modeling costs; users have praised the service for its clear information, efficiency, and valuable supplementary information, although some query accuracy issues have been noted. Some users have criticized GPT-4's ability to solve problems and have questioned its accuracy and relevance, but the Phind team has responded by releasing a new version with an Expert mode feature.

Replacing my best friends with an LLM trained on 500k group chat messages

Original. An LLM was trained on Izzy Miller's uncensored college-era group chat messages, resulting in better conversations with his best friends. The dataset consisted of 500k messages, and Miller sessionized it for easier modeling. The resulting model generated entire conversations, capturing the contextual essence of the group chat, and the article explains how to convert LLaMA weights into a format compatible with the Transformers library using Python coding, including the importance of proper disk space provisioning.

Discussion Service. Some Discussion Service users express concern about the ethical implications of creating digital copies of individuals using personal data, while others argue that existing laws and moral/social pressure still apply. Critics warn of potential nefarious applications of LLM technology by autocratic regimes or for profit-driven purposes. Divisive debates over AI technology have emerged with concerns about its untested impact on privacy and hyper-skepticism around its effectiveness. There is controversy surrounding the use of AI chatbots and their potential to replace human connections, as well as ethical concerns about text-completion tools that allow the creation of digital simulations of lost loved ones.

NPR quits Twitter after being labeled as 'state-affiliated media'

Original. NPR halted their Twitter activity after Twitter labeled them as "state-affiliated media," a label NPR believes is inaccurate and misleading. This decision protects NPR's credibility and ensures they can produce journalism without negativity. Elon Musk admitted he might have gotten it wrong with the label and may change it to "publicly funded.".

Discussion Service. NPR faced criticism and ultimately quit Twitter after being labeled as "state-affiliated media" due to government funding, leading to a debate on the criteria for such labeling and whether it accurately characterizes NPR as a news organization with editorial independence. Some Discussion Service users suggest that other companies, including Elon Musk's firms, fall under this category due to government funding. The comments also highlight the complex relationship between media outlets, funding sources, and editorial independence, with some accusing NPR of left-leaning bias and others defending its transparency and independence.

Mass layoffs and absentee bosses create a morale crisis at Meta

Original. Morale is down at Facebook's parent company, Meta, due to mass layoffs and absentee bosses causing concern among the workers. The company's direction is also being questioned by employees.

Discussion Service. Experts discuss varying opinions on the future of cutting-edge technologies like generative AI, VR, and cryptocurrency. While some advocate for specific use cases of generative AI and advancements in generative media, concerns are raised about its potential to automate middle-class jobs and the accuracy of generative AI models. Companies are looking to generative AI to help speed up the AR/VR technology market, and the success of Meta Labs' devices is contrasted with the uncertain success of Apple's headset. The crypto industry is viewed as an affinity scam by some, but Bitcoin is still viewed differently by others.

Hetzner Introduces ARM64 Cloud Servers

Original. German hosting and cloud provider Hetzner has launched four new Hetzner Cloud servers based on Arm64 technology, marking the company's first use of the processors. The servers offer up to 16 vCPUs and combine with up to 32 GB of ECC RAM and up to 320 GB of NVMe SSD-based storage. The new line of servers starts at a price of € 3.79 ($4.54) per month, and has hourly billing options that will lower costs for customers.

Discussion Service. Hetzner has released ARM64 cloud servers that are less expensive and outperform AWS. Cloud infrastructure has mixed opinions, as some argue for reliability and scalability while others find simpler setups more reliable and cost-effective. Hetzner's offering fills a gap for those who want to run Docker without configuring all the services, but it may not be suitable for security-conscious companies due to weaker physical access control. Some have reported account bans due to Hetzner's strict fraud policy, and there are questions about the sustainability of low pricing in Europe due to high energy costs.

New NASA Director Swears Oath on Carl Sagan's 'Pale Blue Dot' Instead of Bible

Original. Makenzie Lystrup, the newly appointed director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, has taken an unconventional oath using Carl Sagan's 1994 book "Pale Blue Dot" instead of the Bible. The astronomer's book was inspired by the famous Pale Blue Dot photograph of Earth taken in 1990 by the Voyager 1 space probe, and Lystrup claims to be "keenly focused on growing the next generation of innovators." Goddard Space Flight Center's workforce consists of 10,000 employees, both civil servants and contractors, and the center is responsible for executing a $4 billion portfolio.

Discussion Service. The new NASA director sworn in on Carl Sagan's "Pale Blue Dot," sparking a debate on the effectiveness of oaths, the significance of sacred texts, personal values versus religious texts, and the true meaning of personal responsibility. Some argue that swearing on a book that represents one's values is more appropriate, while others find it necessary to have a representation of a deity as a guarantor for the oath. Swearing in has ritualistic roles and has been used to shape societies and history, but ultimately, the article contains no new or exciting information for experts in the field.

Intel Foundry Services and Arm announce collaboration on SoC design

Original. Intel Foundry Services (IFS) and Arm have agreed to a multigeneration collaboration to enable the development of low-power compute system-on-chips (SoCs) for mobile devices and other industries. The collaboration will see the combination of Arm's secure and energy-efficient processors with IFS's manufacturing footprint that includes US- and EU-based capacity, delivering new breakthrough transistor technologies for improved power and performance on the Intel 18A process. This collaboration will enable a more balanced global supply chain for foundry customers working in mobile SoC design on Arm-based CPU cores.

Discussion Service. Intel Foundry Services collaborates with Arm to design SoCs, facing competition from TSMC with a history of collaboration with Arm. Discussion Service users discuss the pros and cons of the Mac Studio and compare it with other PC options, with critiques of the Mac's limitations for gaming and CAD software. The article and comments cover alternatives for IOT devices and manufacturing, Intel's 2nm node production, and speculation about Intel's ability to deliver on their promises while also acknowledging the importance of power consumption, price, and wireless capability in the development of IOT devices.

EVE Online player uses obscure rule to pull off biggest heist in game history

Original. An EVE Online player has conducted the largest heist in game history by exploiting the "shares mechanic," resulting in a haul of over $22,300 in real money. This involved taking control of Event Horizon Expeditionaries using a clean account, transferring shares, and stripping the corporate wallet of 130 billion ISK and multiple ships, estimating the total value of the haul to be 2.23 trillion ISK. The shares system is potentially too easy to exploit, according to a 2014 Reddit thread, and this strategy has been tested before.

Discussion Service. A player orchestrated a successful heist in EVE Online, raising questions around its corporate mechanics and the game's exploitation risks. The heist was seen as cool and a highlight of the game, but some criticize the game's financial focus and mechanics, including its in-game currency's value and its corporate voting system.

Virtual Threads Arrive in JDK 21, Ushering a New Era of Concurrency

Original. N/A.

Discussion Service. JDK 21's virtual threads reduce physical threads for concurrency and simplification of io-intensive applications, but debates on memory management arise. Java is compared to Go, and frameworks such as Spring, Spring Boot, and Quarkus provide alternatives to Ruby on Rails, while the debate on Java versus Go considers performance, observability, soundness of type systems, and interop. The article reflects on the niche JVM category and how different implementations can affect user experience, with comparisons to C# and JetBrains Rider mentioned.