MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by bluGill | 2025-08-18 14:56:20+00:00
In particular there is no way you can predict when a backhoe will take our your power line. (Even if they call to get lines located - sometimes the mark is in the wrong spot, though most are they didn't call in the first place). There are lots of other ways the power can go down suddenly and nothing you can do about it except have some other redundancy.
by nathan_compton | 2025-08-18 14:56:46+00:00
I think one reason for this is that LLMs are sort of maximally if accidentally designed to fuck up our brains. Despite all the advancements in the last five years I see them as still, fundamentally, text transformation machines which have only very limited sort of intelligence. Yet because nothing in history has been able to generate language except humans, most of us are not prepared to make rational judgements about their capabilities and those of us that may be also often fail to do so.

The fact that we live in an era where tech people have been so investor pilled that overstating the capabilities of technology is basically second nature does not help.
by A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 | 2025-08-18 14:57:15+00:00
This. Our company rolled out 'internal' AI ( in quotes, because its a wrapper on chatgpt with some mild regulatory checks on output ). We were officially asked to use it for tasks wherever possible. And during training sessions, my question about privacy ( as users clearly are not following basic hygiene for attached file ) was not just dismissed, but ignored.

I am not a luddite. I see great potential in this tech, but holy mackarel will there be price to pay.
by larve | 2025-08-18 14:57:16+00:00
codeact is a really interesting area to explore. I expanded upon the JS platform I started sketching out in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3oJqan2Gv8 . LLMs know a million APIs out of the box and have no trouble picking more up through context, yet struggle once you give them a few tools. In fact just enabling a single tool definition "degrades" the vibes of the model.

Give them an eval() with a couple of useful libraries (say, treesitter), and they are able not only to use it well, but to write their own "tools" (functions) and save massively on tokens.

They also allow you to build "ephemeral" apps, because who wants to wait for tokens to stream and a LLM to interpret the result when you could do most tasks with a normal UI, only jumping into the LLM when fuzziness is required.

Most of my work on this is sadly private right now, but here's a few repos github.com/go-go-golems/jesus https://github.com/go-go-golems/go-go-goja that are the foundation.
by zahlman | 2025-08-18 14:57:29+00:00
You are not "pointing at" the moon; you are putting it somewhere it does not belong, and then getting defensive when people complain about the effect on the local change in gravity as if you can't understand why people would object to that.

I am tossing the ball off the field because this field is intended for a different sport entirely, and there is already a game in progress.
by XorNot | 2025-08-18 14:58:29+00:00
Yes there's nothing stopping you, but economically a given kW battery installation stores about 4 hours of power.

There's 4 to 6 hours of peak renewable energy per day.

If you add more batteries, you increase power and energy at the same time and ratio: so for any practical home battery system you're cycling the cells daily, which means you your power for charging must match.

If you put more batteries on one inverter, then you're scaling a lot of other costs (BMS, bus bars and space) but you'll never actually be able to utilize that capacity - it'll sit idle most of the time because you can't get it in and out of the cells fast enough.
by meesles | 2025-08-18 14:58:52+00:00
This is what people did before web apps. Package a binary and ship it to customers.

Problems with the approach: * Customers still ask you why stuff doesn't work, except now it's their hardware * Observability is not as strong on self-hosted solutions * There is no true universal binary, so no matter what you have to put constraints up (only runs on windows, mac, etc.) * Updates are way harder

Browsers are built to browse the web, trying to remove the web out of browser apps seems illogical
by Bender | 2025-08-18 14:59:03+00:00
At least in the data-centers I helped manage the inverters were in-line running 100% duty-cycle, meaning frequency sync is not required as there is no bypass. The servers never see the raw commercial power. Data-centers in the US are indeed 3-phase. FWIW the big Cats did have controllers that would maintain sync even when commercial power was gone but we did not need it. There wasn't even a way to physically merge commercial and generator power. ATS inputs and outputs were a binary choice.

I know what you mean though, the generators I worked with in the military had a manual frequency sync that required slowly turning a dial and watching light bulbs that got brighter with frequency offset. Very old equipment for Mystic Star, post-WWII era equipment. 50's to 90's
by yojo | 2025-08-18 14:59:27+00:00
My in-laws all love their reading glasses with a split-bridge joined by magnets, and a built-in loop around the back. I think it’s these: https://cliceyewear.com/

If you don’t mind the aesthetics (though I personally can’t get past them), they solve the same problem as your string in an integrated way. Plus they rest more like a necklace, since it doesn’t require as long of a loop.
by bluGill | 2025-08-18 14:59:32+00:00
Not only will a data center of a generator, they will test it regularly and if it doesn't work get it fixed.

The power company has a long list of who has backup power. I know of one factory where the generator was installed in the 1920s on a boiler from the 1880's - it is horribly inefficient, but the power company still gives the owners incentive to keep it working because for 4x the normal cost of power and 12 hours notice that generator can run the entire town it is in, which they do every 5 years when things really go wrong with the grid.
by vonneumannstan | 2025-08-18 14:59:37+00:00
>Doing it by cannibalizing how well basic "play radio/start time/read from audible" worked for the longest time, everything they do that causes friction there is frustrating, to the extreme.

Theres absolutely no reason why plugging in an LLM would break any of those features but asking generic questions would be 100x better than "Searching the web for a shitty Quora or Alexa answers question."
by RHSeeger | 2025-08-18 14:59:38+00:00
> Conceivably federal law could be updated to remove those regulations and Texas would absolutely connect to the interstate grid at that point.

That, of course, ignores the fact that those regulations are in place for a reason. Texas refuses to play by the rules, and the impact of that is that they don't get help when it's important. It is unfortunate, but a direct consequence of the choices they made.
by _verandaguy | 2025-08-18 14:59:51+00:00
> We live in the digital age, so almost everything depends on data

Data that I can't consume if my house is browned out and my router doesn't work (on top of heating/cooling, lights, and other basic living-related services that are less essential than the almighty ONT).

> As in all mechanical devices, generators have a tendency to either break down(Let's not forget about associated switching gear.) or become subject to maintenance cut backs instituted my buffoons in management

Famously, power infrastructure relies on no moving parts whatsoever since the abolition of contactors, relays, rotors (but not stators), turbines (both water and wind), and control rod actuators, though even before abolition, none of these devices needed any maintenance.

> We cannot depend on human errors, we can depend on the electric grid, if properly handled and maintained

The electric grid, which famously has no human or mechanical errors like line sag or weirdly-designed interconnects or poorly-timed load shedding.

> Depending on generators just adds another link in the failure chain.

Weird way to frame a redundancy layer, but sure.

> Texas is the perfect example of how not to run an electrical grid by not allowing other states to assist in an emergency.

Again, weird way to frame this. You're actually technically right about this, but the redundancy offered through a better-integrated interconnect goes both ways, rather than just externalizing weaknesses in TX's own interconnect design.
by troupo | 2025-08-18 15:00:05+00:00
Granted, I've only used it for a bit while in the Netherlands, and it was accurate to the block and to the minute.

And every time when people would mention weather they would open the app to see if rain is coming in their particular location.

I think it's due to peculiarity of Dutch weather: you could have rain literally 100 meters away from you, but not where you're standing. So usual "weather in the general region of where you are" are probably wildly inaccurate
Show HN: Llamafiles – browser-based file tools (no server client-side)
by GoAhmedBen | 2025-08-18 15:00:13+00:00
Hi HN,

I built Llamafiles, a growing suite of browser-based file tools. Everything runs entirely on the client side. no server, no uploads, and nothing leaves your browser.

Why I made it:

- I wanted simple, private tools without worrying about uploading files to random servers.

- Most converters and editors rely on backends, which can be slow or insecure.

What it does right now:

- A set of basic file utilities (all in-browser).

- Lightweight and accessible.

- No tracking, no accounts, no dependencies.

What’s next:

- I’ll keep adding new tools.

- The UI still needs a lot of polish, but I launched anyway to get real-world feedback.

Try it here: https://llamafiles.com
by mikeyouse | 2025-08-18 15:00:15+00:00
I couldn’t believe how pervasive their recommendations are. We’ve got a little one and he recently developed a plane obsession so I try and watch a few YouTube videos of float planes or biplanes before bed when he’s restless and demanding ‘vrrooom’. You literally can’t use shorts to do it (which they make nearly Impossible to avoid by putting them at the top of the search results and then interspersing them with the normal videos) because after 3 or 4 plane videos they start playing some maga bro science diet video or some AI voiceover video game trash.

I can’t believe how little moral responsibility the employees and management at these companies feel.
Show HN: Catjam a VSCode extension that grooves with your typing speed
by DuckWichTrust | 2025-08-18 15:01:15+00:00
Hey HN,

I recently released a fun vscode extension called *Cat Jam*. it displays the iconic "catjam" meme next to your project and syncs its groove to your typing speed!

Features: - *Real-time typing metrics*: Choose from WPM (words per minute), KPM (keystrokes per minute), or NCS (net coding speed). - *Animated catjam*: Watch the cat jam more enthusiastically as you type faster. - *Customizable*: Pick how speed is calculated and optionally show your backspace ratio. - *Fully tested*: Unit, integration, and end-to-end tests were generated using Claude 4 (an AI assistant). (I just munched chips while it wrote tests—hilarious horror-movie vibes.)

getting started: 1. install *Cat Jam* from the vscode marketplace. 2. open a project and find the *Cat Jam* panel in the explorer sidebar. 3. Start typing—and enjoy!

why build this? i got inspired by a Spicetify extension that syncs a cat jam with music beats. That got me thinking—what if we synced it with typing speed? Turns out VS Code lacks engaging typing-speed tools, so I mashed them together into something both fun and useful.

curious to hear your thoughts: is this the kind of quirky extension you'd leave running? What tweaks or additions would make it more compelling?

check it out: Cat Jam on the vscode marketplace
by saurik | 2025-08-18 15:01:28+00:00
> > Why couldn’t my watch and glasses be everything I need?

> https://www.apple.com/watch/

(I am mostly going to comment on the Watch issue, as I have one.)

Apple makes a watch, yes. But is it an AI watch? Will they manage to make it become one? Intel made all kinds of chips. Intel's chips even could be used for mobile devices... only, Intel never (even still, to today) made a great mobile chip.

I have an Apple Watch--and AirPods Pro, which connect directly to it--with a cellular plan. I already found how few things I can do with my Watch kind of pathetic, given that I would think the vast majority of the things I want to do could be done with a device like my watch; but, in a world with AI, where voice mode finally becomes compelling enough to be willing to use, it just feels insane.

I mean, I can't even get access to YouTube Music on just my watch. I can use Apple's Music--so you know this hardware is capable of doing it--but a lot of the content I listen to (which isn't even always "Music": you can also access podcasts) is on YouTube. Somehow, the Apple Watch version of YouTube access requires me to have my phone nearby?! I can't imagine Google wanted that: I think that's a limitation of the application model (which is notoriously limited). If I could access YouTube Music on my watch, I would've barely ever needed my iPhone around.

But like, now, I spend a lot of time using ChatGPT, and I really like its advanced voice mode... it is a new reason to use my iPhone, but is a feature that would clearly be amazing with just the watch: hell... I can even use it to browse the web? With a tiny bit of work, I could have a voice interface for everything I do (aka, the dream of Siri long gone past).

But, I can't even access the thing that already works great, today, with just my watch. What's the deal? Is it that OpenAI really doesn't want me to do that? These two companies have a partnership over a bunch of things--my ChatGPT account credentials are even something embedded into my iPhone settings--so I'd think Apple would be hungry for this to happen, and should've asked them, thrown it in as a term, or even done the work of integrating it for them (as they have in the past for Google's services).

This feels to me like Apple has a way they intend me to use the watch, and "you don't need to ever have your phone with you" is not something they want to achieve: if they add functionality that allows the Watch to replace an iPhone, they might lose some usage of iPhones, and that probably sounds terrifying (in the same way they seem adamant that an iPad can't ever truly compete with a MacBook, even if it is only like two trivial features away).
by jpadkins | 2025-08-18 15:01:49+00:00
> Chat is a horrible way to interact with computers

Chat is like the command line, but with easier syntax. This makes it usable by an order of magnitude more people.

Entertainment tasks lend themselves well to GUI type interfaces. Information retrieval and manipulation tasks will probably be better with chat type interfaces. Command and control are also better with chat or voice (beyond the 4-6 most common controls that can be displayed on a GUI).
by Sophira | 2025-08-18 15:01:50+00:00
There are also things like Oobabooga's text-generation-webui[0] which can present a similar interface to ChatGPT for local models.

I've had great success in running Qwen3-8B-GGUF[1] on my RTX 2070 SUPER (8GB VRAM) using Oobabooga (everyone just calls it via the author's name, it's much catchier) so this is definitely doable on consumer hardware. Specifically, I run the Q4_K_M model as Oobabooga loads all of its layers into the GPU by default, making it nice and snappy. (Testing has shown that I can actually load up to the Q6_K model before some layers have to be loaded into the CPU, but I have to manually specify that all those layers should be loaded into the GPU, as opposed to leaving it auto-determined.)

It does obviously hallucinate more often than ChatGPT does, so care should be taken. That said, it's really nice to have something local.

There's a subreddit for running text gen models locally that people might be interested in: https://www.reddit.com/r/LocalLlama

[0] https://github.com/oobabooga/text-generation-webui

[1] https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen3-8B-GGUF
by charcircuit | 2025-08-18 15:03:58+00:00
>Why are you carrying water for Google of all corporations?

Because if I don't do it, who will?

>that monopolies are good as long as their stranglehold produces some positive side effects

Chrome is not a monopoly as it compete against the apps I previously provided.

>they're trying to push hostile changes like Web Environment Integrity and Manifest V3 that take even more power away from their users.

The changes are not hostile. Their goal is to improve the web.

>and the one company that has most of those (Apple)

Apple has all of them.
by felipeccastro | 2025-08-18 15:04:07+00:00
It's not just small typos, it's the ability to explore apis, the standard library, go to definition, quickly catch any error at the location it happens, not having to memorize large models and their field names, the list goes on.

I can work without an LSP, but when I'm searching for a new language that would be used by a team (including Junior devs) it's hard to justify something missing the basics of good DX. I haven't tried it with Cursor though, it might be less of a dealbreaker at this point.
by jqpabc123 | 2025-08-18 15:04:31+00:00
Manufacturing is increasingly done by robots.

This is true in China as well as the USA.

Example: Hyundai has an auto assembly plant in Mobile Alabama that builds new cars using less than 20 hours of human labor per car.

Tariffs are nothing but a huge new consumption tax. Tax increases rarely lead to job creation and consumers pay the price for it.
by JohnFen | 2025-08-18 15:04:34+00:00
The phishing training in my workplace is so odious, and the consequences for failing a test are high enough, that it's led to everyone just ignoring all unexpected communications. Better to ignore it all than to risk making a mistake. Even emails from known coworkers (the phish test often spoofs as your coworkers) tend to be ignored until the coworker confirms they sent it.

This is great for security (the most secure communication is communication that doesn't happen), but now the suits are wondering why it is that nobody is reading or responding to company emails anymore.
Show HN: Audio Enhancer – a free web tool to clean up voice recordings
by tanchaowen84 | 2025-08-18 15:04:43+00:00
I kept bumping into the same frustration: basic tasks like voice cleaning, enhancement, or even voice recording often require paywalled SaaS tools. It just didn’t feel fair for such simple features. So I decided to build a free alternative myself.

That’s how *Audio Enhancer* came to life. It’s completely free, no login required—just open the page, upload your clip, and instantly get back a clearer, cleaner version powered by the open-source DeepFilterNet‑V3 model. No catches.

In my testing, it consistently matched—or even outperformed—many paid SaaS options. That was a pleasant surprise, and I’m hoping it’ll help anyone stuck paying for basic audio fixes.

*Try Audio Enhancer here:* https://voice-clone.org/tools/audio-enhancer

The same site also hosts *Voice Clone* on the homepage. I built this tool because re-recording video voiceovers after small script tweaks was driving me nuts. With Voice Clone, you type in text and get it spoken in your own voice. Because it involves compute costs, it’s behind a login and is paid—but I offer a generous daily free quota for hobby users to keep it accessible.

*Voice Clone (homepage):* https://voice-clone.org

This tool started from personal frustration, and I truly believe it can be helpful to others. I’m continuously planning to add more audio-related features to the site, and will keep improving it over time. I’d love to hear what you think about it and how you'd like it to evolve.
by mdaniel | 2025-08-18 15:04:55+00:00
This whole thread is starting to read like some kind of misguided practical joke. I also recognize that it may seem like this is directed toward you, but I'm not shooting the messenger I'm just anchoring my reply under this new information. Sorry about that.

But, ok, let's continue in good faith

scenario 1: they don't want to uncork the .warc files because it will potentially leak the means and methods of the Archive Warrior or its usages

scenario 2: they don't want to expose the target of the redirects because it will feed the boundaries of the ravenous AI slurp machines

If it's scenario 1, then CSV exists and allows mapping from the 00aa11 codes to the "location:" header, no means and methods necessary

If it's scenario 2, then what the hell were they expecting to happen? Embargo the .warc until the AI hype blows over so their great grand children can read about how the Internet was back in the day? I guess the real question is "archive for whom?" because right now unless they have a back-channel way to feed the Wayback Machine's boundary using the .warc files, and thus it secretly populates the Wayback without wholesale feeding the AI boundary, this whole thing is just mysterious
by bryanhogan | 2025-08-18 15:04:55+00:00
For Instagram I've been using DFinstagram on my Android which removes most features, except chatting and viewing profiles. Also using Firefox with the IGPlus extension which blocks reels. But these make Instagram not feel as smooth or misses some features related to chatting, wish something that has this but still blocks algorithmic suggestions and ads existed.

For YouTube Revanced is very nice, but I also just removed my account, which helped me decrease the amount I spend on YouTube.
by bluGill | 2025-08-18 15:05:04+00:00
Again, that doesn't matter because everyone knows the grid isn't 99% reliable. They just pull the big power switch to the whole building and watch all the backup systems work. If anything fails it was broke already and they fix/replace it. Because this happens often they have confidence that most systems will work - even where it doesn't computers fail unexpectedly anyway and so they have redundancy of computers anyway (and if it is really important redundancy of a data center in a different state/country)

Synchronizing generators is a thing, but it isn't useful for this situation since they need to be able to handle the sudden without warning power loss where generators cannot be synchronized anyway.
by taeric | 2025-08-18 15:05:06+00:00
In principle, I agree with you. In practice, it keeps getting worse.

I also don't typically ask generic questions. Ever, that I can remember.

Again, I don't want to dislike the idea. If people are really getting value from it, I would like them to continue to do so. But it seems to be a more expensive way to service use cases that were working just fine.
by kingblade | 2025-08-18 15:05:48+00:00
Created by Kingblade Games, Tally is a mix between the logic of puzzles like Sudoku and the bite-sized virality of Wordle. In Tally your goal is to clear the entire board by creating groups that sum up to 10. There is only one valid solution, and players have to eliminate their way, one group at a time, until they tally all the numbers.

New puzzle every day.
by wildzzz | 2025-08-18 15:05:50+00:00
Before AI video was good enough, I'd always see collaboration videos where some nurse or doctor would be smiling and pointing to a video talking about some snake oil cure. While many were just a random person wearing scrubs, some were actual doctors that have social media accounts. The real doctor had made a video giving their approval to sound medical advice (especially for stuff like skincare) but that video was modified with snake oil advice pasted over the original clip.
by notavalleyman | 2025-08-18 15:05:53+00:00
When King Offa of England's Mercia decided to mint some coins, the coins which came to everyone's minds were the islamic dinars.

That's why his coins were identical to Dinars, with OFFA REX next to the islamic shahada.

https://artofthemiddleages.com/files/original/e5a8cb4eadae18...

https://www.islamic-awareness.org/history/islam/coins/dinar1