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2023-10-10

John Riccitiello steps down as CEO of Unity

  • John Riccitiello has stepped down as CEO of Unity Technologies amidst pricing controversy, with James M. Whitehurst stepping in as interim CEO and president.
  • Despite leadership changes, Unity stands firm on its previous financial projections for the third quarter. Roelof Botha has taken the role of chairman.
  • Unity plans to begin the search for a permanent CEO soon, while Riccitiello will continue to provide advisory role through the transition.

Reactions

  • John Riccitiello has resigned as CEO of Unity, and James M. Whitehurst, special advisor at Silver Lake, one of Unity's largest stakeholders, is the interim successor.
  • The change has triggered dialogue on various changes, including corporate strategies, Unity's controversial pricing adjustments, and how future leadership could influence these aspects.
  • Also in topic is Unity's future, its relationship with indie developers, and the prospect of alternative game engines coming into the spotlight.

Firefox tooltip bug fixed after 22 years

  • Firefox has an ongoing bug issue where tooltips persist even when the browser is not in use, which has been reported to irritate several users.
  • Despite being known for roughly two decades and having multiple reports, the bug issue has not yet been resolved.
  • Various solutions have been considered and discussed, but the bug continues to persist across different Firefox versions and operating systems.

Reactions

  • After 22 years, a bug in Firefox causing tooltips to persist has been remedied, emphasizing the difficulties of software complexity and distributed bug fixing.
  • Users' discussions around this issue spotlight their exasperation with the bug and the possible solutions, and they even share their experiences with similar issues in other software.
  • The successful fix inspires optimism for rectifying other enduring bugs in Firefox and raises the potential future impact of AI in problem-solving for such long-standing issues.

Google mitigated the largest DDoS attack to date, peaking above 398M rps

  • Google successfully thwarted the largest distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack to date, peaking at 398 million requests per second (rps) using a novel technique named HTTP/2 Rapid Reset.
  • Targeting major infrastructure providers, including Google's services and infrastructure, Google's global load-balancing and DDoS mitigation infrastructure played a significant role in defence, additionally collaborating with industry partners for a comprehensive understanding and development of countermeasures.
  • The identified vulnerability has been labelled CVE-2023-44487, with advice to organizations operating HTTP-based workloads to apply patches or verify their servers' vulnerability. Google Cloud offers DDoS protection via Cloud Armor and recommends adopting additional security measures such as custom security policies and rate limiting rules.

Reactions

  • The talks are centered around the problem of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and the requirement for effective safeguards and accountability.
  • Various strategies like blocking specific IP addresses or enforcing robust authentication measures were mentioned, while discussing the challenges and constraints of current mitigation techniques.
  • ISP's role, companies like Google, and issues concerning privacy, abuse, and effects on bona fide users were highlighted. It was mutually agreed upon reengineering the internet and introducing better security methods to counter DDoS attacks.

ECC RAM on AMD Ryzen 7000 Desktop CPUs

  • The article investigates the lack of built-in support for ECC (Error Correcting Code) RAM in AMD (Advanced Micro Devices) Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs (Central Processing Units).
  • The author confirms that ECC RAM is operable on an ASRock motherboard with an updated UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), based on a user's claim and their replication of the process.
  • The article furnishes instructions for checking if ECC is enabled on a Linux system using the ryzen_smu driver, underscoring the benefits of ECC RAM for dependability and the involvement of the Linux kernel in reporting ECC status.

Reactions

  • The piece focuses on the presence and performance of ECC (Error-Correcting Code) RAM on AMD Ryzen CPUs, noting experiences on specific motherboards and stressing its importance for reliable computing.
  • It addresses varying levels of ECC support across different hardware platforms and the advantages and practical consequences of using ECC DIMM (Dual In-line Memory Module).
  • While some argue its importance for data integrity and error detection and correction, others question its relevance and possible downsides, signaling diverse opinions on the need and benefits of ECC.

Medieval staircases were not built going clockwise for the defender's advantage

  • The assertion that medieval staircases were primarily clockwise for defense purposes is a myth with no supporting evidence from medieval sources.
  • This misconception could have stemmed from a theory introduced by Sir Theodore Andrea Cook in the 19th century, but it doesn't align with an understanding of medieval combat and the practicality of fighting on spiral staircases.
  • The direction of these staircases was probably influenced by factors like architectural functionality, customs, and space availability, rather than strategic considerations.

Reactions

  • The dialogue revolves around the controversial subject of the clockwise direction of medieval castle staircases, with some supporting it as a strategic defensive move while others contradicting it.
  • Determining factors like accommodating right-handed fighters and space constraints may have influenced the staircase direction, but more research is necessary for a comprehensive understanding.
  • The conversation extends to areas such as siege tactics, castle architecture, and historical events. However, there is a discernible lack of incontrovertible evidence and diverse perspectives to support one or another viewpoint.

Fair coins tend to land on the same side they started

  • A research project gathered data from 350,757 coin flips to verify a physics model of human coin tossing.
  • The findings demonstrate that when an individual flips a regular coin, it usually lands on the same side it began.
  • The experiment further validated that when a fair coin is flipped with the initial side up randomly determined, there's an equal chance of the coin landing on heads or tails.

Reactions

  • The discussion delves into a bias observed in coin flipping, its contributing factors like hand movements, and various strategies to achieve faire results.
  • Simulations to understand probabilities, the use of coin pairs, and other techniques are proposed to minimize this bias. The use of computer-generated random functions for fairness is also suggested.
  • A study revealing a bias towards the starting side of the coin is cited, with reminders on its implications for other experiments and how empirical studies can help gain better insights.

DSLinux – Linux for the Nintendo DS

  • The DSLinux project has achieved a milestone of porting the Linux operating system to the Nintendo DS and DS Lite, and it's compatible with certain NDS emulators.
  • While there are no contemporary active developers, new contributors are being invited to join, with abundant documentation available on the project's wiki for guidance.
  • Despite inactive DSLinux forums, mailing lists and an SVN (Subversion) repository are there for further communication and online version control of code and resources.

Reactions

  • DSLinux is a unique project aimed at enabling Linux to operate on the Nintendo DS handheld console, overcoming the device's memory limitations by utilizing homebrew cartridges with increased RAM capacity.
  • The project necessitated innovation, as illustrated by the developers' creation of a patched compiler to effectively write to the cartridge port.
  • The initiative has sparked interest and debate within the homebrew community, where enthusiasts share their experiences of running Linux on diverse devices and contemplate DSLinux's wider implications and potential applications.

Video streaming at scale with Kubernetes and RabbitMQ

  • The article tackles the difficulties encountered in video streaming and details how to structure infrastructure to manage the load effectively.
  • Key topics discussed include Kubernetes, RabbitMQ, and load balancers, with a particular focus on video upload, processing, and playback. Concepts such as Kubernetes auto-scaling and cost-saving with preemptible nodes are also addressed.
  • The author wraps up by stressing the importance of a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to enhance video playback and caching.

Reactions

  • The article touches upon the intricacies of video streaming, including managing myriad formats and languages, copyright constraints, and the complexities of ad placement and linear streaming.
  • The discussion involves the use of pre-existing solutions or open-source asset catalog management tools, suggests on-prem hardware for video encoding over locking into AWS, and explores potential use of Kubernetes in a company's framework.
  • Video optimization and security solutions such as Gumlet and Mux are mentioned during the dialogue, even though no in-depth exploration of advanced scaling approaches or MPEG-DASH is provided in the principal text.

Bare-metal Rust in Android

  • Google's Android Rust Team has rewritten the firmware for the Android Virtualization Framework in Rust to enhance security and safety on Android devices, effectively mitigating vulnerabilities often linked with memory-unsafe languages such as C.
  • The team actively contributed to the Rust community by fixing bugs, enhancing existing crates, and creating new ones, while revealing ongoing challenges with shared memory, raw pointers, and lack of tools for encapsulation and abstractions for critical sections.
  • Despite Rust resulting in a larger binary size as compared to C, through careful optimization and avoiding unnecessary dependencies, it can provide comparable results; however, specific architectural support still remains limited.

Reactions

  • The discourse focuses on applying the Rust programming language in Android development, commenting on its aptness for low-level programming and compatibility with C.
  • Rust's potential in app development is discussed due to its capabilities in eliminating data races. However, it's compared and contrasted with other languages such as C and Java.
  • The conversation also includes the limitations and challenges of using Rust, such as its compatibility issues with Android's UI framework and memory consumption, reach, and runtime performance trade-offs.

DNS record "hn.algolia.com" was gone

  • DNS for Developers module 3 offers 10 lessons on operational DNS, teaching how to find DNS records and understand authoritative and local DNS servers.
  • The provided DNS records for hn.algolia.com include A records with IPv4 addresses, but no AAAA, CNAME, TXT, NS, or MX records are found.
  • DNS lookup tools recommended in the module include reverse IP lookup, DNS checker, website to IP lookup, CNAME lookup, and TXT lookup. The module also provides additional resources like a learning center, a blog, and contact information.

Reactions

  • The DNS record for "hn.algolia.com" was unintentionally removed, leading to downtime for Hacker News' search function.
  • Algolia's team is rectifying the issue and has apologized for any inconvenience caused.
  • The update that led to this situation was meant to tackle tech-stack and UI issues, and although some users questioned its necessity, it was clarified that the reasons may not be readily apparent to end users.

Make your own pyramid salt crystals

  • The article offers a detailed tutorial on creating pyramid salt crystals at home with table salt, illustrating the author's findings that adding alum to the salt solution yielded a purer salt taste.
  • Variables like temperature, humidity, and impurities were found to influence the size and shape of the crystals, while magnesium sulfate may potentially affect crystal size.
  • Although the experiments partially reflected a previously published study, the author documented these findings and promised more guides on crystal growth for subscribers.

Reactions

  • The article explains the process of creating pyramid salt crystals, including where to source necessary ingredients.
  • It delves into related subjects such as the application of alum in water.
  • The article also explores the prospect of cultivating pyramid-shaped bismuth crystals.

Linux ate my RAM (2009)

  • The article clarifies that Linux utilises unused memory for disk caching, which may falsely indicate low memory but doesn't hamper running applications.
  • The disk caching enhances system performance and doesn't steal memory from applications, debunking misconceptions about memory usage.
  • The piece advises against disabling disk caching given its benefits to applications while offering ways to accurately assess available memory and identify low memory symptoms.

Reactions

  • The conversation centers around multiple elements of memory management in Linux systems such as transforming empty memory into caches and buffers' costs, and the Out-of-Memory (OOM) killer's conduct.
  • It also puts emphasis on the absence of RAM compression, incorporating swap and RAM compression, the subsequent effects on system performance, and rectifying misconceptions surrounding unused RAM.
  • Participants share personal experiences, propose solutions and enhancements, and engage in discourse on the difficulties and hurdles regarding Linux's memory management.

Stop EU Chat Control

  • The initiative seeks to halt the European Commission's implementation of "chat control," aimed at curbing child abuse and grooming, arguing it violates fundamental rights and privacy.
  • The initiative claims chat control generates false results, strains authorities which might hinder investigation achievements, infringes on the Charter of Fundamental Rights, and damages encryption infrastructure.
  • They propose other means for child protection, encourage reaching out to local MEPs to express disagreement, provide AI-generated email templates for effective communication, and promote signing a petition to apply more pressure on lawmakers.

Reactions

  • The debate focuses on technology regulation and control within the EU, entailing topics such as surveillance technology effectiveness and limitations, and the influence of regulations on data collection and privacy.
  • The post also mentions internet balkanization and the potential repercussions of cultural and moral norms being incorporated into critical infrastructure.
  • The consensus is a need for better regulation and a more profound understanding of issues associated with technology.

Simulation Islands

  • This article underlines the significance of island management within physics engines, particularly focusing on Box2D.
  • The post compares various methods and accentuates the advantages of using persistent islands.
  • It also explores the issues in executing parallel algorithms and shares the author's intention to enhance Box2D, stressing the vitality of determinism and performance in physics simulations.

Reactions

  • The conversation is centered around Box2D, a widely utilized physics simulation engine in the gaming development sphere.
  • Some users appreciate the creator's hard work on Box2D and hope for financial gain for the creator, and Jolt physics is mentioned as another admirable independent project.
  • There is also discussion on a deterministic parallel algorithm for union find and limitations of causality through propagation speed, emphasizing the active development and excitement about Box2D's resurgence.

LLMs can't self-correct in reasoning tasks, DeepMind study finds

  • A recent study by Google DeepMind and the University of Illinois challenged the current understanding of self-correction in large language models (LLMs), revealing they often struggle to refine their answers without external feedback.
  • The study suggests self-correction in LLMs is more effective when they can utilize external sources like human feedback or a knowledge base; without such, their performance significantly drops.
  • The research also stresses the significance of well-designed initial prompts for LLMs and the cautious application of self-correction to enhance their accuracy and reliability, especially in tasks like altering the LLM's stylistic output or ensuring safer responses.

Reactions

  • The discussions focus on the limitations of Language Models (LLMs) in emulating human intelligence, questioning whether they truly understand or reason.
  • The importance of defining terminologies to avoid LLMs hype is stressed, emphasizing the gap between human cognition and artificial intelligence.
  • The call for further research and clearer understanding underpins the concept, implying the complexity of AI systems and the notable differences from human cognition.