मुख्य कंटेंट तक स्किप करें

2023-05-27

Evidence that the shingles vaccine prevents a good chunk of dementia cases

  • The shingles vaccine has been found to have a protective effect against dementia, particularly Alzheimer's disease.
  • The study analyzed electronic health records and found that getting vaccinated reduces the chances of a dementia diagnosis by a fifth over a seven-year follow-up period.
  • The study also found that the vaccine has no effect on other common causes of morbidity or mortality, and that it has a stronger protective effect on women compared to men. Further research is needed to determine the exact effect size and optimal population groups and time interval for vaccination, as well as to understand how the vaccine prevents or delays dementia.

Industry Reactions

  • The shingles vaccine may decrease the risk of developing dementia.
  • Herpes viruses, including HSV1/2, may cause Alzheimer's, with the APOE4 genome making it worse.
  • Ongoing research is exploring new approaches, such as mRNA vaccines, to address disease and viruses.

Amazon Backs Out of Climate Pledge, Deletes Shipment Zero Initiative Blogpost

  • Amazon has backed out of its Shipment Zero initiative, which aimed for 50% of its shipments to be net-zero carbon by 2030.
  • The company will instead roll this goal into its broader Climate Pledge to become carbon-neutral by 2040.
  • Amazon has deleted the original Shipment Zero blog post, but an archived version is available.

Industry Reactions

  • Amazon has backed out of its Climate Pledge and removed the Shipment Zero initiative.
  • Some customers have canceled Prime subscriptions due to the change.
  • Debate exists over the effectiveness of individual actions in promoting change, and the usefulness of carbon offsetting and biofuels in reducing emissions.

Paper Airplane Designs

  • 'Paper Airplane Designs' is a website that teaches people how to make paper airplanes with easy to follow folding instructions, video tutorials and printable folding plans.
  • The website offers a database of over 48 paper airplane designs categorized based on their level of difficulty, type, and purpose, including acrobatic, decorative, and distance flyers.
  • The website also includes expert tips & tricks, articles on various topics, and activities & experiments for paper airplane enthusiasts to explore and enjoy.

Industry Reactions

  • A website has a collection of paper airplane designs, with filters for type and difficulty
  • Users discuss the effectiveness of the designs and suggest other designs that should be included
  • Some users share personal stories and memories of paper airplanes, and others reference past posts about paper airplane designs on Hacker News

htmx

  • htmx is a tool that allows users to access AJAX, CSS Transitions, WebSockets and Server Sent Events directly in HTML, making it easy to build modern user interfaces.
  • It is small, dependency-free, extendable, IE11 compatible, and reduces code base sizes by 67% compared to react.
  • The tool removes arbitrary constraints on HTTP requests and replaces intercooler.js as its successor. You can start with just one line of code and support htmx's development through Github sponsors.

Industry Reactions

  • HTMX is a library that substitutes a DOM element with the HTML response acquired from an on-click HTTP request instead of redirecting to a new page, simplifying hypermedia development modalities and allowing backend teams to work with preferred languages.
  • Some developers criticize the complexity of JavaScript and challenges of maintaining complex web apps, while others discuss the benefits of having some structure and organization in the form of API endpoints, one-way data flow, and reusable components.
  • HTMX is gaining popularity due to its ease of use and ability to create dynamic web applications without extensive knowledge of JavaScript or other complex frameworks, but may not serve as a long-term solution for more complex use cases.

0AD, an open source historical RTS in development for 22 years

  • The next alpha of 0 A.D., an open-source historical RTS game, will have an experimental Vulkan graphical interface.
  • The Vulkan backend can be tested by downloading the development version of the game.
  • Users can report bugs related to the Vulkan backend on the game's forums.

Industry Reactions

  • 0AD is an open-source historical RTS game that has been in development for over a decade and gained popularity due to its similarity to Age of Empires II.
  • The game's pathfinding algorithm has been praised for its naturalistic and immersive experience, which is crucial to the player experience in RTS games.
  • The free and open-source nature of 0AD and similar games like Pokemon Showdown adds to their appeal for players seeking original and untainted content.

Layoffs push down scores on Glassdoor – how companies respond

  • Tech companies are asking staff to post positive reviews on Glassdoor to balance out negative ones, and they can also flag negative reviews for removal.
  • Glassdoor does not notify users when their reviews are removed or provide reasons why; a moderation log could make the process clearer.
  • Be cautious when viewing Glassdoor reviews, as fake 5-star reviews can be purchased for $10-25 each. Check for context and consider the potential for fake reviews.

Industry Reactions

  • Glassdoor reviews can be subjective and may not reflect specific programs or managers; it's important to look for trends and assess broader policies when evaluating a company's culture.
  • Discussion on the trustworthiness of Glassdoor reviews, with some claiming companies can manipulate reviews using money or its "premier program," and suggestions for creating a worker-owned Glassdoor competitor.
  • Concerns over fake or manipulated reviews, with proposed solutions including review verification, like-for-like ratings systems, and recency filters.

Tesla Model Y overtakes Corolla to be world's best-selling car in 2023

  • The Tesla Model Y electric crossover has become the best-selling car in the world, selling 267,200 units in the first quarter of 2023.
  • This milestone has been achieved ahead of Tesla boss Elon Musk's predictions before the car was even launched.
  • The Model Y has been hugely popular in Australia, selling over 14,000 units, and continuing to rise in sales despite higher starting prices than other EVs.

Industry Reactions

  • Tesla Model Y surpassed Corolla to become the best-selling car worldwide in 2023
  • Hacker News commenters discuss various aspects of EVs, including range, efficiency, build quality, and competition
  • Maintenance costs for Tesla vehicles are high, but the total cost of ownership may be lower due to lower maintenance needs and savings over its lifespan. EVs offer lower maintenance costs but may require costly battery replacements.

Times New Bastard

  • Times New Bastard is a modified version of Times New Roman where every seventh letter is sans serif.
  • It is based on Nimbus Roman No. 9 L and Nimbus Sans fonts and is available for download.
  • It can be used on the web with ligatures and optimizing legibility or in Microsoft Office by turning on ligatures.

Industry Reactions

  • A font called Times New Bastard is causing mixed reactions among Hacker News readers
  • Some find it fascinating for its unique look, while others find it overdone and unnecessary
  • Discussion also touches upon the use of Comic Sans, x-height of font families, and related projects like Hellvetica

Mozilla stops Firefox fullscreen VPN ads after user outrage

  • Firefox users have been complaining about intrusive full-screen ads promoting Mozilla VPN that disable web browser functionality and cause unresponsiveness.
  • Mozilla faced criticism for the aggressive advertising method that contradicted their respect for user choice and people-first experience values.
  • After the user outrage, Mozilla issued an apology and turned off the fullscreen VPN ads, and users can also disable the VPN ad by following a quick solution or using ad blockers like AdGuard.

Industry Reactions

  • Mozilla has stopped displaying full-screen VPN ads on Firefox due to user outrage and negative impact on user experience.
  • Users criticize Mozilla for recent experimental promotions of its VPN service and question its non-profit status.
  • Some users switch to alternative browsers such as Brave or Vivaldi due to disappointment with Mozilla's recent direction and management.

There oughta be a bullet time video booth

  • An expert journalist created a memorable DIY video booth with a bullet time effect using an array of cameras for a wedding.
  • A newer version of the DIY video booth used a Raspberry Pi Pico, wireless Bluetooth push buttons, and video lights, controlled using Python code and gphoto2.
  • The bullet time effect created fantastic footage but can be technically challenging and not suitable for a wedding event without proper preparation.

Industry Reactions

  • Hacker News discusses quality and affordability of DSLR and growing popularity of mirrorless cameras
  • Tips for using old cameras as webcams and for creating bullet time effects with rotating platforms or camera arrays
  • Reddit post shares innovative DIY bullet-time photo booth using DSLR cameras, PVC pipes, and custom-written code