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2023-06-14

Llama.cpp: Full CUDA GPU Acceleration

  • This PR adds GPU acceleration for ggml tensors, improving performance for long generations and prompt processing.
  • Performance numbers show significant speedup on RTX 3090 for prompt processing and token generation.
  • The PR includes the addition of CUDA kernels and plans for fixing memory leaks, improving performance for lower-end GPUs, and general code cleanup.

Industry Reactions

  • Llama.cpp is a non-Python machine learning software that offers an alternative to the Python ML ecosystem.
  • Users find it appealing due to the simplicity of running C/C++ programs without complex dependency management.
  • Llama.cpp is popular for its resource efficiency, ease of installation, and usage compared to other ML libraries.

Comic Mono

  • 'Comic Mono' is a legible monospace font that is a fork of Shannon Miwa's 'Comic Shanns' font.
  • It has been adjusted to have exactly the same width for all glyphs and the metrics have been adjusted to display better alongside system fonts.
  • A bold version of the font has been created using FontForge's Embolden operation.

Industry Reactions

  • Comic Mono is a font that is being discussed on Hacker News.
  • Many commenters agree that it is an improvement over Comic Sans, with straightened letterforms and improved kerning.
  • Some commenters mention that Comic Sans was actually designed to help children with dyslexia, which changed their perception of the font.

BBEdit: Where Respect Is Due

  • BBEdit is a text and code editor that has been around since 1989 and is popular among developers, scientists, web designers, and writers.
  • The creator of BBEdit, Rich Siegel, started developing it because he needed an editor that could handle large files over 32 KB.
  • BBEdit has evolved over the years with numerous technical transformations and has been used for various projects such as creating novels, analyzing DNA sequences, and even controlling unmanned aerial vehicles.
  • The success of BBEdit can be attributed to its focus on the user's needs and productivity, rather than just giving them what they ask for.
  • The software has a long-standing reputation for being highly respected and beloved among its users.

Industry Reactions

  • BBEdit is a long-standing and beloved text editor for Mac, known for its clean UI and introduction to regular expressions.
  • BBEdit has a dedicated and loyal user base, with users appreciating its productivity focus, search-and-replace capabilities, and customizability.
  • BBEdit's recent release, version 14, introduces new features and improvements.

AWS us-east-1 down- The latest AWS outage in the us-east-1 region has caused widespread disruptions for websites and services.

  • Some major websites like Reddit, Twitch, and Slack were affected by the outage.
  • The outage lasted for several hours, impacting the functioning of these sites and causing frustration for users.

Industry Reactions

  • AWS us-east-1 is experiencing an outage, causing increased error rates and latency.
  • Users are frustrated with AWS reporting outage updates in UTC instead of their local time.
  • Users propose workarounds like using a different region or deploying in multiple regions to mitigate the impact of outages in us-east-1.

Cormac McCarthy has died

  • Cormac McCarthy, a reclusive and acclaimed writer known for his dark and violent novels, has passed away at the age of 89.
  • McCarthy's novels, such as "All the Pretty Horses," "The Road," and "No Country for Old Men," explore grim and violent worlds.
  • His works have received both critical acclaim and criticism, with some praising his use of language and others finding his novels portentous and lacking in female representation.
  • Several of McCarthy's novels have been adapted into successful films, including "No Country for Old Men," which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2008.
  • He is considered one of the major American novelists of his time, alongside writers like Philip Roth, Don DeLillo, and Thomas Pynchon.
  • McCarthy's writing style evolved over the years, with his early novels characterized by tangles and influences from William Faulkner, while his later works were more austere and Hemingway-esque.
  • Despite his success, McCarthy maintained a reclusive lifestyle and rarely granted interviews or made public appearances.
  • He leaves behind a body of work that continues to captivate readers with its powerful and sometimes controversial themes.

Industry Reactions

  • Cormac McCarthy, acclaimed author of novels such as "The Road" and "Blood Meridian," has passed away.
  • McCarthy is regarded as one of the giants of American literature and was known for his brutal yet beautiful writing style.
  • His works often explore themes of violence, morality, and the human condition, drawing from a variety of genres such as Western and post-apocalyptic fiction.

McDonald's just dropped a brand new Game Boy game

  • McDonald's has released a brand new Game Boy Color game called Grimace's Birthday.
  • The game was developed by Gumpy Function, a developer known for their homebrew Game Boy games.
  • Grimace's Birthday is a platforming game where players control Grimace and skateboard through different levels to find his friends for his birthday party.
  • The game has cool graphics and simple but effective gameplay.
  • It can be played for free on web browsers and ROMs of the game are available for download online.
  • McDonald's released the game as part of the celebration of Grimace's fictional birthday.
  • This release is surprising and exciting for retro gaming enthusiasts and fans of McDonald's.
  • It is unclear if McDonald's intended to keep the game exclusive to their website, but it was quickly shared online.
  • Supporting McDonald's by ordering food may encourage them to continue creating retro gaming projects like this.

Industry Reactions

  • McDonald's has released a new Game Boy game called "Grimace's Birthday" using GB Studio.
  • The game can be played online using a Game Boy emulator on the grimacesbirthday.com website.
  • The game has sparked nostalgia and interest among readers, showcasing the development of retro games and the active Game Boy homebrew community.

Apollo's Christian Selig explains his fight with Reddit – and why users revolted

  • Reddit recently announced new terms for its API, which allows developers of third-party apps to access Reddit's data.
  • Christian Selig, the developer of the popular Reddit client app Apollo, calculated that he would have to pay Reddit $20 million a year to keep his app running under the new terms.
  • Many users and developers felt that these new terms were unfair and protested by participating in a subreddit blackout. They believe that Reddit is trying to eliminate third-party Reddit apps.
  • Selig had hoped that Reddit would change its mind or find a compromise, but the company has been resistant to negotiation.
  • Selig is planning to shut down Apollo on June 30th unless there are changes made to the API pricing.
  • The situation has sparked a larger discussion about the future of third-party apps on Reddit and the need for better communication between Reddit and its users.
  • There is a possibility that users may migrate to alternative platforms, such as Lemmy or Kbin, which offer decentralized alternatives to Reddit. However, the transition may be challenging for some users.
  • Selig is prepared to shut down Apollo if a resolution is not reached with Reddit. He believes that it is unlikely that Reddit will meet him halfway on the issue.
  • Despite the challenges, Selig remains hopeful that there could be a positive outcome and that he can continue working on Apollo. However, the ball is in Reddit's court, and they have not been responsive to his attempts to communicate.

Industry Reactions

  • Reddit faced backlash and user revolt over changes to their API pricing for third-party app developers.
  • Many users and developers believe the changes were an attempt to kill off third-party apps and promote Reddit's own app.
  • The future of third-party apps and the old Reddit platform is uncertain, sparking concerns among users and developers.

Rewriting the Ruby parser

  • Shopify has developed a new Ruby parser called YARP that can parse Ruby files in various codebases and gems.
  • The motivation behind developing YARP is to address long-standing issues with the current CRuby parser, such as maintainability, error tolerance, portability, and performance.
  • YARP aims to improve maintainability by providing better documentation, making it easier to read, understand, contribute to, change, and test the code.
  • Error tolerance is important because it allows the parser to continue parsing a program even if it encounters syntax errors, providing more accurate metadata and improving developer productivity.
  • The portability of YARP allows it to be used outside of the CRuby codebase and enables the development of standardized tooling that can be used across different Ruby implementations.
  • Performance improvements are being worked on, and initial results show that YARP can parse a large number of Ruby files in a relatively short time with minimal memory usage.
  • YARP will be integrated into various Ruby runtimes and tools, such as JRuby and TruffleRuby, and will be shipped as a library with Ruby 3.3.
  • The development of YARP has already attracted contributions from many developers, leading to a stronger and more collaborative community.
  • The future path for YARP includes further improving error tolerance, enhancing performance, expanding compatibility with existing tools, and merging it into the CRuby repository.

Industry Reactions

  • The Ruby parser is being rewritten to improve performance and address longstanding issues.
  • The improvements to the parser will benefit development tools like Solargraph and Rubocop.
  • The work on the parser is part of an ongoing effort to maintain and improve the Ruby language and ecosystem.

Reddit subs with millions of followers plan to extend the blackout indefinitely

  • Moderators of many popular Reddit communities are extending the blackout indefinitely to protest Reddit's expensive API pricing changes. This means that these subreddits will remain private or restricted for an unknown period.
  • Despite some concessions made by Reddit, moderators feel that their core concerns have not been addressed and they are demanding more action from Reddit.
  • Over 300 subreddits, including popular ones like r/aww, r/music, and r/videos, have committed to an indefinite blackout, showing the widespread support for the cause.

Industry Reactions

  • Several subreddits are extending their blackout indefinitely in protest against recent changes by Reddit.
  • The blackout aims to pressure Reddit to address issues such as API pricing and third-party app policies.
  • Reddit's lack of transparency and communication regarding these changes is frustrating users and moderators.

Private equity is buying everything from vet offices to tech conglomerates

  • Private equity is the process of buying companies, making changes, and selling them for a profit.
  • Private equity firms have expanded into various industries, from nursing homes to tech, reshaping how businesses operate.
  • The private equity business model can have negative consequences, including job cuts, increased debt, and lack of accountability when things go wrong.

Industry Reactions

  • Private equity firms are acquiring a wide range of businesses, including veterinary offices and tech companies.
  • Many young professionals are attracted to careers in private equity due to the perceived prestige.
  • Private equity firms often rely on administrative assistance and middle management to acquire labor at a lower cost.
  • Competition for partnership in private equity is intense, with professionals striving to prove their worth.
  • The acquisition of businesses by private equity can result in job cuts, changes in culture, and decreased service quality.
  • The private equity industry is complex and controversial, with varying experiences for companies and employees.
  • Private equity firms use risky financial techniques and high levels of debt, which can lead to financial distress and bankruptcy for acquired companies.
  • Private equity buyouts can result in job losses, reduced quality, and higher prices for consumers.
  • The private equity model prioritizes short-term financial gains over long-term sustainability.
  • Private equity firms have connections to political figures and make large campaign contributions.
  • Critics argue for greater transparency and regulation to protect stakeholders and prevent abuses.