דלג לתוכן הראשי

2023-07-25

Zenbleed

  • A vulnerability named Zenbleed was discovered that affects all Zen 2 class processors, including AMD Ryzen and EPYC processors.
  • This vulnerability can be exploited to spy on operations like strlen, memcpy, and strcmp happening on a system, allowing access to sensitive information like encryption keys and passwords.
  • AMD has released a microcode update to fix the vulnerability, and a software workaround is available if the update cannot be applied.

Industry Reactions

  • Zenbleed is a security vulnerability that affects AMD Ryzen processors, specifically those in the Zen 2 architecture.
  • It allows attackers to leak sensitive information from the CPU's register file, even when running in a protected environment like a virtual machine.
  • AMD has released microcode updates to address the issue, but ongoing vigilance and collaboration between software and hardware are necessary to address vulnerabilities.

Attention Is Off By One

  • The attention formula, a crucial equation in modern AI, contains an off-by-one error that is affecting the compressibility and deployability of Transformer models.
  • The off-by-one error is caused by the softmax function in the attention mechanism, which is assigning disproportionately high weights to non-semantic tokens, making compression difficult.
  • The proposed solution to this error is a simple tweak to the softmax function, called softmax1, which adds one to the denominator and allows attention heads to "keep their yaps shut." This tweak is expected to resolve the outlier feedback loop and improve model quantization.

Industry Reactions

  • The author proposes a modification to the Softmax function called the "quiet softmax" that allows attention heads in transformer models to ignore certain tokens.
  • This modification can lead to more compact models and better performance in tasks such as quantization and memory usage.
  • Further testing and experimentation are needed to assess the effectiveness of this modification.

Google's nightmare "Web Integrity API" wants a DRM gatekeeper for the web

  • Google is proposing a new web standard called the "Web Integrity API" that aims to verify the trustworthiness of a user's browser and prevent cheating and unauthorized modifications.
  • The proposed API takes inspiration from existing attestation signals used by Apple and Android to ensure the integrity and security of their platforms.
  • The goal of the Web Integrity API is to provide useful data to advertisers, stop social network bots, enforce intellectual property rights, prevent cheating in web games, and enhance the security of financial transactions.

Industry Reactions

  • Google's proposed Web Integrity API could act as a DRM gatekeeper for the web, potentially impacting streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.
  • The API raises concerns about privacy erosion and consolidated power in the hands of a few technology companies, particularly Google.
  • Critics argue that the implementation of the Web Integrity API may lead to limited web scraping abilities and discrimination against certain users.

Twitter has officially changed its logo to 'X'

  • Twitter has officially changed its logo from the iconic bird to an 'X' after Elon Musk announced the change over the weekend.
  • Musk hinted that there might be more logo changes in the future as he referred to the 'X' logo as an "interim" logo.
  • Musk also mentioned that Twitter will eventually bid farewell to the Twitter brand and gradually remove all the bird references.

Industry Reactions

  • Twitter has changed its logo to the letter 'X', which has generated interest among tech-savvy individuals due to Elon Musk's involvement and the potential impact on the platform's image.
  • Some people are angry and disappointed about the rebranding, questioning the value of discarding a recognizable brand like Twitter.
  • Elon Musk's track record of success with companies like PayPal, SpaceX, Tesla, and The Boring Company has led to anticipation for his next venture.

I spent 2 years building a personal finance simulator

  • ProjectionLab is a personal finance simulator that allows users to build financial plans and analyze different scenarios for their future.
  • It helps users define their financial goals, gauge their chance of success, and reduce anxiety around their finances.
  • The simulator does not link to users' real financial accounts and offers various data persistence options for privacy.

Industry Reactions

  • ProjectionLab is a personal finance planning tool that offers advanced features beyond standard retirement calculators, allowing users to create financial plans and visualize cash flow, tax analytics, and more.
  • The tool has recently undergone a major redesign and now offers self-hosting for Lifetime users, and it has received positive feedback for its UI, functionality, and ability to model various scenarios.
  • Users have requested additional features such as API access, Google Drive sync, and more educational content, and there are discussions about the pricing structure and security measures of the app.

40 years ago yesterday Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel mid-flight

  • Air Canada Flight 143, also known as the "Gimli Glider," made headlines in 1983 when it ran out of fuel mid-flight.
  • The flight crew encountered several mechanical issues, including faulty fuel gauges, prior to takeoff.
  • Captain Bob Pearson and First Officer Maurice Quintal successfully performed a dead-stick landing at an abandoned airstrip in Gimli, Manitoba, saving all 69 passengers and crew members on board.

Industry Reactions

  • 40 years ago, Air Canada Flight 143 ran out of fuel mid-flight and made a successful emergency landing, highlighting the importance of safety procedures.
  • The incident was caused by mistakes in fuel weight conversion and failure to observe safety regulations, leading to changes in Air Canada's procedures.
  • The story has drawn interest due to the remarkable landing and the lessons learned from the incident.

Have attention spans been declining?

  • The author investigates whether individual attention spans have been declining over the past two decades, prompted by the curiosity about the potential harm of the internet on cognitive performance.
  • Little direct work has been done on this topic, despite its wide appeal, but the author finds that individual attention spans might indeed have been declining.
  • Attention spans are important for knowledge work, and if they are decreasing, it could negatively impact productivity on complex tasks.

Industry Reactions

  • There is a debate about whether attention spans are declining due to the abundance of content and distractions, with some arguing that shorter formats can be more efficient for communication and learning, while others worry about a lack of focus and inability to maintain attention.
  • The rise of short-form content and constant distractions from mobile devices may be contributing to shorter attention spans, sparking interest among tech-savvy individuals.
  • The decline in attention spans is influenced by the abundance of easily accessible content, demand for instant gratification, increase in entertainment options, and the ability to quickly determine what deserves attention.

U.S. Senate bill crafted with DEA targets end-to-end encryption

  • A Senate bill called the Cooper Davis Act aims to require social media companies and online services to report drug activity on their platforms to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
  • Privacy advocates argue that this bill threatens end-to-end encryption services and turns companies into de facto drug enforcement agents.
  • The bill's provision of holding companies accountable for conduct they don't report if they "deliberately blind" themselves to violations is particularly controversial.

Industry Reactions

  • The U.S. Senate is proposing a bill targeting end-to-end encryption, sparking discussion about the implications of such legislation.
  • The conversation highlights the need for comprehensive approaches to drug policy and the potential consequences of continued prohibition.
  • The importance of protecting individual rights and the potential dangers of a surveillance state are emphasized.

Inkscape 1.3

  • Inkscape has released version 1.3, which focuses on improving performance and organizing work efficiently.
  • The new version includes features such as the Shape Builder tool, Document Resources dialog, and Font collections, which help users organize their work more effectively.
  • There are also improvements to existing features, such as the Layers and Objects dialog and Persistent snap bar, making it easier for users to navigate and adjust settings.

Industry Reactions

  • Inkscape 1.3 has made significant improvements to address user frustrations and enhance the user interface (UI) and user experience (UX).
  • New features include improved node deletion behavior, enhanced color palette customization, easier lasso selection, and multithreaded rendering for faster performance.
  • The release also introduces better font selection, improved patterns, and experimental OpenGL backend for stability and performance.
  • Users are excited about these updates and are looking forward to using the new release.
  • Some users have voiced concerns about the UI and UX, but others appreciate the free and open-source nature of Inkscape.
  • The release also brings advancements in PDF import, page margins, and bleed, as well as other valuable features like the shape builder tool, which have been highly requested.
  • Users appreciate Inkscape's precise alignment capabilities and its usefulness in print workflows.
  • Several users mention the need for improved documentation and resources for learning Inkscape.
  • Some users compare Inkscape to other professional graphic design software like Adobe Illustrator and Affinity Designer, noting the absence of GPU acceleration in Inkscape.
  • The improvements in Mac usability and performance, as well as the increase in development, have been positively acknowledged.
  • Users recommend Inkscape for editing SVG exports from other design software like Figma.
  • Overall, Inkscape is praised as a powerful and versatile design tool, although some users express frustration with specific features like the calligraphy pen and edge extrusion capabilities.

Unicode Character "𝕏" (U+1D54F)

  • The post discusses a specific Unicode character called "𝕏" (U+1D54F) and provides details about its name, Unicode version, block, plane, script, category, bidirectional class, combining class, and mirroring properties.
  • The character belongs to the Mathematical Alphanumeric Symbols block in the Supplementary Multilingual Plane of Unicode.
  • The post mentions the UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32 encodings for the character and provides a decomposition of the character into other related characters.

Industry Reactions

  • The Unicode character "𝕏" (U+1D54F) is being supported in various font types and is commonly used in mathematical notation.
  • The character is useful in functional programming and represents a function when used in uppercase.
  • The real sticking point with these characters is the handling of UTF-16 on Windows platforms.