AI Summarized Hacker News
Front-page articles summarized hourly.
Federal agencies have terminated all research funding to Harvard, totaling $450 million across eight agencies, as part of efforts related to antisemitism accusations and campus issues. Previous cuts of $2.2 billion from NIH and other agencies have already impacted Harvard. The government claims Harvard has failed to address antisemitism and discrimination adequately, leading to the cessation of all federal research support. Harvard has filed a lawsuit challenging these cuts.
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The "streaming vs. batch" dichotomy is misleading; many systems combine both. Streaming often involves batching for efficiency, while the core distinction lies between "push" (real-time data pushes) and "pull" (periodic queries). Streaming provides real-time data views, but with increased complexity. Often, systems use a hybrid approach, batching for backfill or cost-saving, and streaming for immediacy. The choice depends on specific use cases and testing.
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FreeBASIC is a free, open-source BASIC compiler supporting QuickBASIC compatibility, procedural, object-oriented, and meta-programming paradigms. It runs on Windows, DOS, and Linux, producing console and GUI applications, with support for C libraries and partial C++ support. Originally aimed as a QuickBASIC alternative, it now offers enhanced features, more data types, modern APIs, and cross-platform development tools.
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A rare 256 KB Japanese Macintosh Plus ROM containing kanji fonts was found, documented but previously unconfirmed. The author retrieved and dumped the ROM from Japanese motherboards, confirmed its authenticity, and tested it in emulators. Using this ROM speeds up startup time and frees RAM compared to Western versions. The project involved hardware modifications and contributed to emulation compatibility, revealing an undocumented aspect of the Macintosh Plus.
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IBM researcher and advisor Dick Garwin, who advised U.S. presidents and contributed to inventions like MRI, laser printers, and touchscreens, passed away at 97. A physicist from age 21, he helped design the first hydrogen bomb and held numerous patents. Garwin was recognized with awards including the Presidential Medal of Science and Freedom. His work significantly impacted science and technology.
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A new bike-mounted proximity sensor, ProxiCycle, helps map safe cycling routes by detecting vehicles passing within 1 meter. Developed at the University of Washington, it transmits data to a smartphone app to identify dangerous areas based on close-passing incidents. In tests with Seattle cyclists over two months, it more accurately identified hazardous streets than traditional reports. The device aims to encourage safe cycling, especially for novices, by providing objective safety data.
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SpaceX's Starship could revolutionize warfighting by enabling rapid global deployment of large military forces within an hour, drastically reducing logistics time and transforming military strategy, moving beyond traditional frontlines to strategic targets.
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Roget’s Thesaurus is a categorically organized collection of words based on ideas rather than alphabetically, making it a unique tool for exploring language and ideas. Its structure resembles a library, emphasizing relationships between concepts, and it offers deeper insight into language organization. The author suggests using it for idea development, not just word substitution, and highlights its historical significance and design differences from modern editions.
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Wacom drawing tablets track and exfiltrate data, including application usage and user identifiers, via Google Analytics. The author investigated traffic, confirmed data collection, and criticized privacy violations. Wacom's privacy policy is ambiguous and doesn't explicitly disclose this tracking. The author advises disabling the "Wacom Experience Program" and questions the legitimacy of such data collection, highlighting privacy concerns. Wacom appears to have temporarily stopped and then resumed this tracking, possibly due to technical issues.
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A C++ simulation of Joseph Weizenbaum's 1966 ELIZA chatbot, which uses pattern matching scripts to mimic understanding and reflects user input. It is a console application that loads script files and responds accordingly, demonstrating early AI chatbots and Turing completeness. The repository includes instructions for building and running the program.
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A Lufthansa Airbus A321 flew on autopilot for 10 minutes after the co-pilot fainted while the captain was in the bathroom. The aircraft remained stable, and the captain later regained access using an emergency code. The incident was investigated, but no details were publicly disclosed.
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NASA’s Perseverance rover detected the first visible-light green aurora on Mars, caused by solar energetic particles during a solar storm in March 2024. This confirms auroras are visible from the planet’s surface and offers new insights for future human explorers. Coordinated efforts from multiple missions and real-time space weather analysis enabled capturing this rare phenomenon. The discovery enhances understanding of Martian atmospheric processes and prepares for future crewed missions.
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A developer used AR glasses, a foldable keyboard, and a Linux chroot environment on Android for two weeks, demonstrating portable, outdoors-capable computing. The setup, costing around $636, allowed coding, browsing, and work in various locations, offering freedom from traditional laptops. While technical challenges exist, improvements in hardware and Linux support suggest a promising future for ultra-mobile development.
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A conceptual programming language called Mystical inspired by magical circles, structured around rings representing data structures, with embedded sigils and text. It visualizes PostScript code as intricate circular diagrams, using rings for arrays and dictionaries, sigils for operators, and custom symbols for names. Designed primarily as a visual notation for PostScript rather than an executable language, it emphasizes aesthetics, symbol design, and layout, with potential applicability to other operator-based languages like Forth. It includes functions for rendering and composing these mystical diagrams.
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A security researcher revealed that O2 UK's VoLTE implementation exposes detailed signaling data, including IMSI, IMEI, and precise cell tower location, enabling trivial geolocation of callers. These headers are accessible to call recipients and potentially to malicious actors, risking user privacy. Despite reports to O2, no fix has been implemented, and they lack clear disclosure channels. The article underscores the need for O2 to remove these headers to protect customer privacy.
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