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2023-07-26

The first room-temperature ambient-pressure superconductor?​

  • Scientists have potentially discovered the first room-temperature ambient-pressure superconductor.
  • This could revolutionize the field of electricity and energy transmission.
  • Further research is needed to confirm and understand the implications of this discovery.

Industry Reactions​

  • Researchers claim to have discovered the first room-temperature ambient-pressure superconductor, which could be a significant breakthrough if confirmed.
  • The material used in the experiment, LK-99, exhibited levitation when a magnet was placed above it.
  • The potential implications of this discovery include the development of room-temperature superconducting power lines, more efficient motors, power systems, and sensors.

Got called to a professor's office after a complaint his SPARC4 was running slow​

  • A professor's SPARC4 computer was running slow, and it was discovered that the slowness was caused by a prank where a grad student ran a program called xroach, resulting in a black square filled with multiplying roaches under the professor's window.
  • The roaches continued to multiply under the professor's window because he never moved it, causing them to eventually consume so much RAM that it affected the computer's performance.
  • This incident showcases the potential consequences of running unauthorized programs on a computer and highlights the importance of maintaining cybersecurity and being cautious of pranks or malicious actions.

Industry Reactions​

  • Tech support workers share humorous stories of nurses and other individuals struggling with computer issues.
  • The conversation highlights the flaws and quirks of computer systems in various industries.
  • Users share personal stories of pranks and tricks played on computer systems, showcasing the mischievous side of tech culture.

Mozilla Standards Positions Opposes Web Integrity API​

  • Mozilla opposes the Web Environment Integrity API proposal because it goes against their principles and vision for the web.
  • The proposal aims to restrict user choices and has potential negative effects on the openness of the web ecosystem.
  • The use cases listed in the proposal may hinder existing uses of the web, such as assistive technologies and search engine spiders.

Industry Reactions​

  • Mozilla opposes the proposed Web Integrity API, which could potentially enable websites to restrict user behavior and control their devices.
  • The attack described in the post involves manufacturing a device with a keypair controlled by an attacker's software, which is already being used against Android and iOS smartphone users.
  • The ongoing conversation around privacy and advertising in the tech industry raises concerns about user privacy and control, with calls for more transparency and accountability in the online advertising industry.

At this company, we are family​

  • The letter is about a family discussing the current economic conditions and making difficult decisions, including terminating one of their family members (Timmy).
  • The family is offering Timmy a severance package and the option to purchase family health insurance for the rest of the year.
  • Timmy's (former) sister will schedule an exit interview with him to gather feedback for improvement.

Industry Reactions​

  • Some companies claim to be like a family but fail to deliver on this promise, leading to negative experiences for employees.
  • The use of the "family" metaphor in the workplace can sometimes indicate potential exploitation or manipulative tactics.
  • It is important for individuals to find a company that values and respects its employees, rather than relying on the idea of a "family" as a manipulative tactic.

Invoice Dragon – An open source app to create PDF invoices​

  • Invoice Dragon is an open source app that allows you to create PDF invoices and receipts quickly and easily.
  • It is a free tool, so you don't have to worry about paying for it.
  • Invoice Dragon was developed by someone named Lani.

Industry Reactions​

  • 'Invoice Dragon' is an open-source app for generating PDF invoices.
  • It has a simple and user-friendly interface for creating professional-looking invoices.
  • Some users mentioned that while the app generates PDF invoices effectively, the more complex tasks of tracking invoices and integrating with accounting tools are the real challenges in invoicing.

Apple already shipped attestation on the web, and we barely noticed​

  • Apple has already implemented a system called Private Access Tokens on their devices, which limit access to features and sites based on whether the client is approved by a trusted issuer.
  • Private Access Tokens are used to verify the legitimacy of a device without disclosing the user's identity, primarily for removing captchas.
  • While this system raises concerns about competition, innovation, and user control over their own devices, its impact is currently limited due to Safari's smaller market share compared to Chrome.

Industry Reactions​

  • Apple implemented attestation on the web last year, focusing on CAPTCHA reduction and improving the browsing experience for Apple users.
  • The implementation of attestation could potentially lead to a split between authority-sanctioned content and decentralized communities, resulting in a forked internet.
  • There are concerns over the implications of attestation for Linux devices, potential industry-controlled distros, and limited consumer choice.

Guide to running Llama 2 locally​

  • A comprehensive guide to running Llama 2 locally, a new language model that does not require an internet connection.
  • Three open-source tools are available to run Llama 2 locally: Llama.cpp for Mac, Windows, and Linux, Ollama for Mac, and MLC LLM for iOS and Android.
  • These tools provide easy installation steps and instructions to run Llama 2 and engage in conversations with the model.

Industry Reactions​

  • The guide explains how to run Llama 2 locally using Windows Terminal with Powershell.
  • It provides step-by-step instructions for building and running Llama 2 on a Windows machine.
  • The guide includes additional tips, such as setting up a powershell function for easy prompts.

Note: The comments digress from the main points of the article, so they are not included in the summary.

OpenAI shuts down its AI Classifier due to poor accuracy​

  • The post does not contain any meaningful content or vital information.

Industry Reactions​

  • OpenAI has shut down its AI Classifier tool due to poor accuracy in detecting AI-generated text.
  • Distinguishing between AI-generated and human-written text is challenging, especially for short sentences, and current detection methods have limitations.
  • The impact of AI on education and assessment, including concerns about cheating and the need for alternative evaluation strategies, is a growing concern.

PRQL: Pipelined Relational Query Language​

  • PRQL is a modern language that can be used as a replacement for SQL, with support for variables and functions.
  • It forms a logical pipeline of transformations and can be used with any database that uses SQL.
  • PRQL is actively being developed and is suitable for simple queries, but still has some bugs and missing features.

Industry Reactions​

  • PRQL is a new query language designed to be a better alternative to SQL for data manipulation.
  • It provides a more intuitive and familiar syntax for working with data transformation pipelines.
  • PRQL generates clean and straightforward SQL queries, making it easier to store, inspect, and optimize them.

Remote work on Who is hiring? – 69% jobs in 2023 are remote​

  • The percentage of remote work positions on HackerNews has been steadily increasing since 2018, with a significant surge observed in 2021.
  • The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the adoption of remote work globally and contributed to the increased preference for remote work within the tech industry.
  • React, Python, and Java are the most popular programming languages for remote job listings on HackerNews.

Industry Reactions​

  • Remote work is on the rise, with 69% of jobs projected to be remote in 2023.
  • Companies are facing challenges with fake applicants for remote engineering roles, leading to concerns about security breaches and low-quality outsourcing.
  • The job market for software engineers has become more competitive, requiring job seekers to be more persistent and creative in their search.