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2023-06-07

Reddit's plan to kill third-party apps sparks widespread protests

  • Reddit's plan to impose API fees on third-party apps has sparked protests and backlash from users, with hundreds of subreddits planning to go dark for 48 hours on June 12.
  • Third-party apps face high API pricing that many developers say is far above what other sites charge, potentially forcing them to shut down.
  • Reddit's official app is generally considered inferior to third-party options, and the API terms also require blocking ads in third-party apps and exclude adult content, which are major draws for the site.

Industry Reactions

  • Reddit is accused of artificially boosting engagement on localized versions of subreddits, which critics say aligns with its strategy to steer users towards the official app and pump perceived value ahead of going public.
  • Users suggest implementing a funding model similar to Discord and Twitch, allowing users to pay for upgrades to subreddits and using a portion of the money to fund moderation.
  • The post discusses Reddit's mobile app and website, with users expressing dissatisfaction with the lack of priority given to fixing issues and criticism of the company's priorities.

GGML – AI at the Edge

  • GGML is a tensor library for machine learning that enables large models and high performance on regular hardware, and is optimized for Apple Silicon architecture.
  • It supports 16-bit float and integer quantization, has built-in optimization algorithms, and offers web support via WebAssembly and WASM SIMD.
  • It includes two projects, whisper.cpp for speech-to-text and llama.cpp for language modeling inference, both of which demonstrate efficient performance on Apple Silicon hardware.

Industry Reactions

  • GGML, a library for running machine learning models on CPUs, has received significant financial backing from VCs and allows for efficient computation on commodity hardware.
  • Concerns have been raised about the open core business model and potential misalignment of interests between companies and the community.
  • Willow and Home Assistant are alternatives to GGML for local command detection and speech recognition, and benchmarking is needed to compare different options.

US SEC sues Coinbase, one day after suing Binance

  • The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency platform Coinbase, accusing it of operating as a middleman on crypto transactions and evading disclosure requirements meant to protect investors.
  • The lawsuit follows a similar one against Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, accusing them and their CEO of operating a "web of deception."
  • If the SEC prevails in either of the cases, it could assert its jurisdiction over the crypto industry, which has largely operated outside regulation and transform the market.

Industry Reactions

  • The SEC has filed a lawsuit against Coinbase for trading unregistered securities and not meeting legal standards.
  • The issue revolves around whether specific cryptocurrencies meet the definition of securities or financial instruments.
  • The SEC provides no guidance on what is or isn't a security, leaving companies without a clear path to legal compliance.

Preparing for the Incoming Computer Shopper Tsunami

  • Computer history expert Jason Scott has acquired nearly 200 issues of Computer Shopper, a popular magazine from the 1980s and 1990s that served as a 'bible' of hardware and software.
  • Scott is scanning the issues, which will result in at least 100,000 pages being scanned, and sending them to Gaming Alexandria for post-processing to create more readable versions.
  • Researchers aim to analyze computing history and find interesting information and trends from the preserved magazines, encouraging readers to help spread the word about donations of missing issues.

Industry Reactions

  • The Internet Archive's Computer Shopper collection is praised for preserving the legacy of the popular technology magazine.
  • Commenters reminisce about the old days of paging through the magazine to pick out computer parts and find local bulletin board systems.
  • Readers discuss the value of digitizing historical computer magazines, specifically Computer Shopper, for valuable information on historical PC pricing and hardware availability.

OpenGL 3.1 on Asahi Linux

  • Asahi Linux has upgraded its graphics drivers from OpenGL 2.1 to OpenGL 3.1, and increased OpenGL ES 2.0 support to OpenGL ES 3.0. This means better quality rendering and more functioning applications.
  • However, the drivers are experimental and not yet conformant to the OpenGL or OpenGL ES specifications, so users may encounter bugs.
  • Highlights of the upgrades include multiple render targets, multisampling, transform feedback, and texture buffer objects. Specifically, multisampling is an efficient way to reduce aliasing caused by jagged diagonal edges due to rendering at insufficient resolution. It creates multiple samples for each pixel and averages them to create a regular image. However, Apple's AGX GPU requires a unique approach to sample shading, and blending can regress performance when blending and multisampling are enabled but sample shading is not.

Industry Reactions

  • Asahi Linux has released an update with various features, including base support for M2 Pro/Max/Ultra SoCs and a new firmware-based battery charge control method.
  • Users of Apple hardware are grateful for the freedom to run Linux on it, but some debate the sustainability of Asahi and whether it's worth buying a Mac just to run it.
  • Asahi Linux has made significant progress, but there are still limitations and incompatibilities with GPU drivers that can impact performance.

Octopuses, crabs and lobsters recognised as sentient beings under UK law (2021)

  • Octopuses, crabs, and lobsters have been recognised as sentient beings under UK law.
  • This means that the government has recognised that these animals are capable of feeling pain and suffering, and must be treated accordingly.
  • The new law also bans the sale and distribution of live crustaceans for human consumption, including lobsters, crabs, and crayfish.

Industry Reactions

  • The UK has recognized octopuses, crabs & lobsters as sentient beings under the new environmental measure, which aims to improve animal welfare, particularly for invertebrates.
  • The new law prohibits certain practices such as live boiling without stunning, live sale of decapod crustaceans to untrained handlers, and declawing.
  • The new classification could eventually lead to reducing the suffering of all animals, although some are skeptical about banning live crustaceans for consumption or improving meat industry practices.

Reddit permanently bans account of user advocating Lemmy migration

  • Reddit has permanently banned a user's account for supporting Lemmy and censoring their posts.
  • The user was moderating several subs and had spent countless hours improving communities that helped Reddit thrive, but all their hard work was taken away by Reddit suddenly.
  • The incident highlights the disadvantages of relying on a centralized platform like Reddit, and the benefits of using a decentralized alternative like Lemmy, which allows individuals to host their own instance or join another one if they get censored.

Industry Reactions

  • Reddit banned a user for advocating migration to privacy-centric social media platform Lemmy, which sparked a discussion on the benefits and drawbacks of a federated and server-maintained social media platform that competes with established sites like Reddit.
  • Some users suggest Mastodon as an alternative to Reddit but criticize its difficulty to use and lack of moderation.
  • Users are discussing the limitations and scalability issues of Lemmy as a federated open-source alternative to Reddit, with concerns about its ability to handle spikes in traffic.

Apple Vision

  • Apple has announced a new mixed reality headset called Apple Vision, to be released in early 2024 for $3,499.
  • The device is experientially a VR device but uses its 12 cameras to achieve AR, providing a high-quality immersive experience with low time delay.
  • The Apple Vision Pro has potential for productivity and work, but may face a challenge of producing content and lack of social connections.

Industry Reactions

  • Apple has launched a new VR/AR headset called Apple Vision with 12 cameras, handheld gesture recognition control, and a focus on live experiences, gaming, and productivity.
  • The headset may have potential use cases for education, streaming, decorating, and relaxation, but some critics worry about loneliness and the high cost of $3,500.
  • Mixed opinions on the device include excitement for entertainment and healthcare potential, concerns about privacy, the history of porn in driving technological innovation, and practical issues like ergonomic design and motion sickness.

US urged to reveal UFO evidence after claim that it has intact alien vehicles

  • A former US intelligence official, David Grusch, has claimed that the US government possesses "intact and partially intact" alien vehicles but is illegally withholding information about them from Congress.
  • Grusch alleged that he faced government retaliation after providing classified information about these vehicles to Congress, which led to his retirement in April.
  • Current US intelligence official, Jonathan Grey, confirmed the existence of "exotic materials" but did not specify the location of these vehicles and materials.

Industry Reactions

  • Former government official claims US has recovered a crashed alien spaceship and studied its technology in secret- Skepticism, conspiracy theories, and hearsay surround the possibility of extraterrestrial life- Recent information releases from the military offer no concrete evidence of the existence of extraterrestrial life or visitation

Nvidia releases new AI chip with 480GB CPU RAM, 96GB GPU RAM

  • Nvidia has released a new AI chip called "Grace Hopper Superchip" designed for large-scale AI and High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications.
  • The chip boasts 480 GB of CPU RAM and 96GB GPU RAM, making it one of the fastest chips in the market for AI and HPC tasks.
  • The chip is named after American computer scientist Grace Hopper, who was instrumental in the development of early computers and programming languages.

Industry Reactions

  • Nvidia has released a new AI chip with 480GB CPU RAM and 96GB GPU RAM that is being lauded as a supercomputer.
  • There are discussions about the possibility of a shift from GPUs to ASICs for ML workloads, but the limitations of ASICs make GPUs a safer bet.
  • Nvidia's new Grace Hopper superchip combines CPU and GPU, has 72 Neoverse V2 Armv9 cores, and is designed for AI, HPC, and gaming applications.