MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by yummypaint | 2025-09-18 07:07:12+00:00
Garbage software still makes lots of money. Sometimes more than good software, and certainly more than the best software. Just look at the windows vs Linux ecosystem for a simple task like screen recording with decent compression. Open source tools are superior, but can be harder to even find on windows due to the poorer signal/noise ratio from all the terrible for profit/enshittification software. Some graphics drivers have dashboards that do screen recording, but that is not a universal solution.

The most viable free options on windows seem to be sketchy cloud stuff designed to be inconvenient enough to upsell you. On Linux it's either built in already or trivial to install something that records locally and doesn't rug pull the user demanding money.
by komali2 | 2025-09-18 07:08:02+00:00
The USA is also an authoritarian State, it just has better marketing.

I live in Taiwan. I'm no fan of the CPC. But if you zoom out a bit, it's kinda hard to distinguish the two beyond Americans winning global cultural victory (CPC propaganda is still goofy and obvious).

Point at tiananmem square, an atrocious massacre of their own citizenry. The USA has done this - it has locked its citizens in concentration camps, supported their enslavement and recaptured the ones that managed to free themselves, bombed wealthy neighborhoods of the wrong race, had soldiers fire upon striking workers and peaceful protesters. America just has no Tank Man photo and much more subtle media relations - ostensibly free media but in reality controlled through the mutual interests of the billionaire owners of the media conglomerates and the multi millionaire politicians.

The CPC did a genocide in Xinjiang. They were very good at information control here, it's almost impossible to find even an image from the inside of one of their concentration camps. The USA funded a genocide in Palestine, but it can maintain a sort of non culpability. At any point in time the USA can turn on its Israeli allies, and my cynical expectation is that when the government becomes flagrantly fascist enough they'll just blame the Jews and call it done. But, until now, they've maintained an extraordinarily effective marketing campaign propping up Israel as a bastion of freedom and democracy in a demonic environment,values it's managed to market across the entire world that isn't the PRC or cuba or Venezuela, to where people in other countries will say "I can do what I want, it's a free country" even in countries where that really isn't the case e.g. for speech in the UK for example. In actuality it's a more racialized pitch - the Israelis are more credibly white, the Muslims are, well, Muslims. Or Brown. Whichever. But they have this massive marketing apparatus (decades of film and TV) smoothing over these racialized concepts into "freedom and democracy vs savagery and chaos," whereas the CPC with their racialized version just had Han and Normal vs Muslim and Kinda Weird (maybe dangerous!). A much more despicable pitch on the surface which is why they didn't get away with a televised genocide the way America and Israel got away with decades of apartheid against Palestine.

Anyway in summary if we take a look at all the bad the CPC vs the USA have done in their lifetimes, idk man at best the scales at balanced, worse case I think America has been worse for the world overall. I would be curious if people that disagree would be willing to do so with the context of American imperialism in mind - interfering in south America and the middle East for example. Is it still better than a country that has one imperialist action (Tibet) and a genocide under its belt?
by thefz | 2025-09-18 07:08:12+00:00
Even less is needed to generate danger: I found myself checking my phone twice during a car trip because when listening to music through the USB-C to Jack dongle, it believes I am blasting music at full volume through my ears and decides to cut off the volume to 10% after 20 minutes.

Don't, and I mean DON'T decide things for the user.
by anthk | 2025-09-18 07:08:56+00:00
Yep. We millenials spent decades talking about free and libre protocols (and software) and kids today love another walled garden against another one... good luck with that.

Inb4 "IRC sucks"... Jabber/XMPP exists since late 00's (at least ready enough compared to the first versions) and there are pretty fine clients for every OS.
by AuryGlenz | 2025-09-18 07:09:21+00:00
One man’s gimmick is another’s useful device.

I don’t use my iPad much…or didn’t, until I had a toddler and long car rides. I either used my phone or my PC, or a projector for movies. The iPad didn’t really fit in there.

I use my Quest 3 often. I can see why someone would have his opinion.
by seszett | 2025-09-18 07:10:04+00:00
Interesting, I suppose it can work because male hymenopterans (ants, bees and wasps) are haploid, so the queen doesn't need two copies of the "foreign" genes to produce a male of the other species but just one copy, the one that she coincidentally got from a male from this foreign species. So the female can produce a male from another species without worrying about incompatibility with her own genes (apart from mitochondria).

However it does mean that the male clone has to develop directly from a sperm cell from its father (and the mitochondria from the ant queen) rather than an ovum, or am I wrong?
by pmontra | 2025-09-18 07:10:05+00:00
I sort phones by size and weight and I pick the smallest and lightest. No Apple devices, but that's my thing.

I consider acceptable a price of about 100 Euro per year of security updates. I prefer 300 Euro and 3 years to 600 and 6 years, not because of the money but because of the extra time I give myself to break the phone. A 300 Euro phone is still very good and fast.

I'm currently on a Samsung A40 which is past the end of its updates but everything newer is larger and weights significantly more, except some S2x phone from Samsung which still weights more (why?) but at least it's not much larger.

Previously I had a Sony Xperia Compact (I can't remember the exact model) which was a little too tick but it had the right size, if it had no bezel like more recent phones, and a Samsung S2 which had the best size (if it had no bezel) and perfect weight.
by cHaOs667 | 2025-09-18 07:10:07+00:00
Depending on the XML structure and the servers RAM - it can already happen while you approach 80-100 MB file sizes. And to be fair, in the Enterprise context, you are quite often not in a position to decide how big the export of another system is. But yes, back in 2010 we built preprocessing systems that checked XMLs and split them up in smaller chunks if they exceeded a certain size.
9 Years Solo: Building Complex AI Competition in a Game Management SIM
by binogure | 2025-09-18 07:10:31+00:00
After 9+ years of solo development, I just shipped what might be the most technically challenging update to my game management simulator, City Game Studio.

*The Technical Challenge:* v1.24.0 introduces AI competitors that create their own gaming consoles with full market dynamics. This isn't scripted behavior - it's emergent competition where AI entities: - Analyze market conditions to determine optimal console timing - Calculate component costs vs performance ratios - Compete for market share with dynamic pricing strategies - Execute M&A decisions based on company valuations - Snowball their growth through strategic acquisitions

*Tech Stack & Constraints:* - Built entirely in Godot Engine 2.1 (yes, ancient but stable) - Custom scripting language (GDScript) - not the most performant choice - Single-threaded architecture handling 16,000+ potential employees - Real-time economic simulation with 50+ years of gaming history data - Save files now use compression (new saves load 4x faster)

*Performance Solutions:* The biggest challenge was optimization. When players manage dozens of simultaneous projects with thousands of employees, the game would crawl. Solution: - Built custom benchmarking tools for GDScript performance profiling - Text rendering optimized by 40% through better caching - Threaded save/load operations - Pagination systems for large datasets

*Business Model Learnings:* - Started as side project in 2016, launched on Steam 2019 - $19.99 price point, quarterly major updates - DRM-free approach (moving away from Steam-only) - Community-driven development via Discord feedback loops - No VC, no team - just sustainable solo dev income

*AI Architecture:* Instead of hardcoded difficulty scaling, competitors now use economic models: ``` if (marketShare < threshold && cashFlow > consoleCost) { generateConsoleSpecs(targetMarket, availableTech, competitorAnalysis); calculateOptimalPricing(productionCosts, marketDemand); executeMarketingStrategy(budget, targetDemographics); } ```

*Unexpected Outcomes:* Players report AI competitors creating consoles that historically dominate markets differently than reality. The Wataggi 2600 analog sometimes gets dethroned by AI-generated consoles in the 80s. Emergent behavior we didn't explicitly program.

*Solo Dev Sustainability:* Revenue allows full-time development without external funding. Key metrics: quarterly update cycle maintains engagement, community feedback drives feature priority, open-source toolchain keeps costs minimal.

Next challenge: City Game Studio 2 with modern engine architecture and multiplayer competition.

*Demo/Source:* Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/726840/City_Game_Studio_Your_Game_Dev_Adventure_Begins/ *65% OFF starting September 17th for one week* - good timing to test the new competitive AI systems.

Happy to answer technical questions about solo game dev challenges or AI behavior design!
by Ekaros | 2025-09-18 07:10:32+00:00
What is the opposite of dull? Exiting?

I do not want my browser to be exiting. I do not want for it to change every week. Say moving buttons to different places. Changing how address bar operates. Maybe trying new short cut keys...

Same goes for most useful software. I actually do want them to be dull. And do their job and not get in between and make my day more interesting by having to fight against it.
Is there demand for a managed web automation and monitoring service?
by TheOneEye | 2025-09-18 07:10:32+00:00
I’m exploring an idea and would appreciate feedback.

Many businesses still spend hours on repetitive tasks like:

Manually checking tender portals

Monitoring competitor websites for updates

Tracking bids or opportunities across portals

I’m considering building a fully managed web automation + monitoring service to handle these tasks automatically.

My questions:

Does this pain feel real to you (or companies you know)?

How do you/your org handle it today?

Would you pay for such a service, or is it a “nice-to-have”?

I’m still in validation phase, so I’m not trying to sell anything here — just want honest feedback before going further.
by bkettle | 2025-09-18 07:11:23+00:00
Hm. To me it is indeed the big bad tech companies at fault for implementing _obviously_ user-hostile functionality (mandatory suggested posts, for example) that exploit human nature to keep people engaged, even if people prefer not to. The existence and widespread use of screen time limits on phones seems like strong evidence that tech companies have built something nefarious here. And to me, it’s clear that they have done so intentionally to drive profit.
by mrroryflint | 2025-09-18 07:11:36+00:00
I am fairly indifferent to Slack - I have to use it for work.

But our experiences seem so vastly different: - UI is, with the exception of large media, snappy and pretty native feeling - no jumps (that I can recall)

The mobile app is okayish though its offline indication and notifications are a bit frustrating.

What machine are you running it on?
by jaccola | 2025-09-18 07:12:54+00:00
Why are Ray-Ban doing this, is Meta paying them a boatload?

I'm not negative on the Meta glasses, I think a device like this is the future, even still this hurts Ray-Bans reputation in my eyes.

It's like if Rolex made a smart watch, the tech just doesn't mesh well with a "luxury" brand.
by WastedCucumber | 2025-09-18 07:14:57+00:00
This is a funny but ineffective strawman° argument. On the other hand, it's given me inspiration for a test - an AI is conscious when it responds to a tricky question with "Brother stop annoying me, why you got all these dumb questions, what's your problem? I got shit to do, man. How'd you even get this number?"

° Actually I'm not sure if this is really a strawman, but it sure seems fallacious when (1) the creators/promoters of AI are equated with divinity and (2) the mistakes of humans are equated with the failings of LLM's, without qualification or citation.
Show HN: A recursive calendar for 0.1x engineers
by eltonlin | 2025-09-18 07:15:00+00:00
Hi, I'm Elton, a 0.1x engineer. I've been working on a calendar for 3 years (which I use myself to ruin my life), and it could ruin yours too. You can play with the demos without logging in: https://actions-life-git-dev-intentions.vercel.app/

Features: - infinitely nesting to-dos: so you never get things done - habit icons: so your calendar looks like a kid's playground - timelines as first-class-citizens: good for visualizing goals you'll never achieve

Looking for honest feedback.
by jillesvangurp | 2025-09-18 07:15:09+00:00
There's a lot of pressure on the CUDA ecosystem at this point:

- most of the trillion dollar companies have their own chips with AI features (Apple, Google, MS, Amazon, etc.). Gpus and AI training are among their biggest incentives. They are super motivated to not donate major chunks of their revenue to nvidia.

- Mac users don't generally use nvidia anymore with their mac hardware and the apple's CPUs are a popular platform for doing stuff with AI.

- AMD, Intel and other manufacturers want in on the action

- The Chinese and others are facing export restrictions for Nvidia's GPUs.

- Platforms like mojo (a natively compiled python with some additional language features for AI) and others are getting traction.

- A lot of the popular AI libraries support things other than Nvidia at this point.

This just adds to that. Nvidia might have to open up CUDA to stay relevant. They do have a performance advantage. But forcing people to chose, inevitably leads to plenty of choice being available to users. And the more users choose differently the less relevant CUDA becomes.
by AngryData | 2025-09-18 07:16:12+00:00
What kind of problems do people expect to have with lesser models? I have a second hand kit build that I didn't assemble and was cheap years ago and just threw in my car seat one day to bring home, and the worst that happened was the poorly run temp sensor wires drooped and snagged on a print and pulled out. I don't even know what could go wrong or need any "tweaking" other than a drive belt someday failing. I just don't understand how any 3d printer these days could be problematic, the hardware is not really that complicated or under that much stress.
by rmonvfer | 2025-09-18 07:16:13+00:00
In my (totally limited) experience, most non-tech people don’t even know what Meta is. WhatsApp is almost the only messaging platform used where I live (and pretty much everywhere outside the US).

I remember doing Bug Bounty for Meta a while ago and telling some friends and family about it, and I had to repeatedly explain they _are_ Facebook and WhatsApp and Instagram and many other things because they would look at me like I was talking about aliens.
by vladvasiliu | 2025-09-18 07:16:28+00:00
Just wondering, what value do you get out of this? I used to like having a hardcopy of these kinds of things, especially when I used to have a much smaller monitor.

But these subjects evolve so fast, that having a bunch of .deadtrees lying around just become a nuisance.

If all I want is some form of archive to look back on later, a bunch of .md files seems perfect.
by trenchpilgrim | 2025-09-18 07:16:44+00:00
It wasn't for the parts that go boom, it was custom ergonomic parts for a legally purchased, factory made firearm - the bits of the gun that you hold. Those are under less stress, so with the right filament and infill settings it holds up well enough. And when it starts to crack I can print another for $1 instead of buying one for $30-60. Plus I can change the shape and size to fit me better than an off the shelf part.

I had a buddy in high school who did competitive shooting, he did the same thing by carving these parts from wood, now it can be done for a fraction if the cost. Check out Olympic shooting pictures for an idea of the parts I'm talking about.
C++ Committee Prefers Bjarne's Profiles to Baxter's Rustification
by robinsrowe | 2025-09-18 07:18:59+00:00
No surprise, the C++ Committee is still trending toward C++ Profiles. It would have been a huge change had the Committee embraced Baxter's Rustification memory safety proposal. Would mean banning pointers. Making the C++ language much like Rust would deeply break every C++ program in the world.

Article at TheRegister: “Rust-style safety model for C++ 'rejected' as profiles take priority” https://www.theregister.com/2025/09/16/safe_c_proposal_ditched/

[ The C++ standards committee abandoned a detailed proposal to create a rigorously safe subset of the language, according to the proposal's co-author, despite continuing anxiety about memory safety.]

Article at Le Monde (in French): “The C++ standards committee rejected a proposal to create a secure subset of the language. Members prefer to focus on the Profiles framework pushed by C++ creator Bjarne Stroustrup.” https://www.lemondeinformatique.fr/actualites/lire-avec-amp-mongodb-modernise-les-applications-heritees-97888.html

[ "If you mark your code to apply a Profile, some features of the C/C++ language will stop working," he says. There is also a small problem, these guidelines were not integrated into version 26 of C++, but simply into a white paper.

The controversy surrounding the security of C++ opens the door to another solution with the use of another language. The first advocated by several American authorities is Rust, but there is also Google's experimental Carbon project. Unveiled in 2022, it also aims to modernize C++. ]

If Profiles are eventually adopted, it may Balkanize C++ by dividing C++ into safe and unsafe subsets. C++ Profiles won't fix the issue of making C pointers memory safe. A proposal to implement pointer memory safety is TrapC, but for the C language, not C++. Some say make the switch to Rust, but that doesn't solve the safety problems lurking in billions of lines of existing C/C++ code.
by p_l | 2025-09-18 07:19:21+00:00
GC was required part, because it was needed to allow interaction between DOM-side lifetimes and WASM-side lifetimes. You might still need a puny shim to essentially "declare" whatever form you want the DOM API to look like on WASM side (probably utilizing components and WIT in the future) but that shim won't have to do anything other than register the APIs because WASM will be able to take a reference to DOM object and vice versa instead of throwing a copy of data over the wall as it is now.
by blndrt | 2025-09-18 07:19:48+00:00
Great point! However, I’d ask the following: isn't faithfully following nuanced instructions an _agentic capability_ by itself?

If a model only performs well once the rules are clarified, that’s still revealing something important about its agency: it’s brittle when policies are ambiguous, but much stronger when they’re structured.

I agree with you that there’s a fine line between genuinely helping the model 'understand' the task and just 'teaching to the test'.

That said, Tau² is framed as a very specific use case — and we showed it can be solved more reliably. At the end of the day, that means we now have an agent built on a cheaper, faster model that still performs its job with higher reliability.
by throw310822 | 2025-09-18 07:19:57+00:00
Do you really expect you can defend Israel with this kind of lawyering and be taken seriously? "Well akshually a ceasefire line...". For god's sake. Let's not even get into who has violated the supposed ceasefire first, or on the legality of settling your population outside of its line, violated or not (spoiler: illegal in any case). Settlements have been declared illegal many times during the decades, most recently this year by the ICJ, and Israel has known this perfectly well since the start.
by Bukhmanizer | 2025-09-18 07:20:01+00:00
I understand just fine. There is no objective descriptor of a person. The engineering manager probably thinks he’s a perfect candidate.

> In your case, "everyone knows he can't code", so he doesn't have stellar reputation

Yes that’s what we figured out after he got hired. He obviously didn’t have a reputation within our org before he got hired. All we had to go off was the engineering managers opinion.

Are you guys really shocked that given the freedom to, people would rather hire their friends and people they know would do them favours rather than the “objectively best candidate for the job”?

By overweighting network and reputation all you are doing is turning every career into a political game.
by mrweasel | 2025-09-18 07:21:12+00:00
A few years ago people could not stop talking about how great Slack was. Much better than HipChat, Google Chat, Teams, IRC. I've used all of them, Slack was never better. As much as I dislike Google Chat (or whatever they call it), Slack is worse, only beaten by Teams as the absolute worst.

But Slack was hyped, it was the new shinny. Put all your stuff in Slack it's great. Question that logic and you where told that you just didn't get it. I still don't, it's the single worst piece of software that I'm forced to use.

The business model was always as rocky as everything else coming out of San Francisco/Silicon Valley area in the past 15 years. Why are people surprised?

IRC is fine, for most things. It's free, decentralized, bots are easy to write and you can run your own servers.
by fho | 2025-09-18 07:21:18+00:00
Second this, if you have the time to assemble everything that is.

On the plus side your Voron won't become obsolete as you can just upgrade it to the next version.

I just upgraded my Voron 2.1 to have direct drive. Having build everything myself in the first place, the decision was easy.

Meanwhile we have a Bambu X1 at work and some of the time I just have no idea why it does not work.
by rkomorn | 2025-09-18 07:21:34+00:00
I've had to accept that people are just very different when it comes to this.

I'm someone who rarely ever wakes up with an alarm (usually I wake up before it and turn it off). I never snooze an alarm either. Alarm goes off, I get up, even if it's hours earlier than usual.

Clearly there are people who simply can't actually do this, for whatever reason.

For me, the "opposite" holds. The only times I've ever gotten up past 7am regularly are when I had jobs that had shifts that ended past midnight.

Otherwise I absolutely cannot stay awake past 10pm consistently.

As habits, staying up late for me appears as impossible as getting up early is for my wife.
by Vinnl | 2025-09-18 07:22:01+00:00
Possibly I'm a horrible conversation partner, but even today already it happens with some regularity that someone is checking their phone while I'm in a conversation with them. It's even more common in group conversations.

And tacking on some personal experience, I've also noticed when I'm meeting over Zoom (i.e. with the rest of the internet within arm's reach), I get distracted way more easily than when meeting in real life. Sure, maybe not all those meetings are super important to me, but I'm not sure if the world would be a worse place if that wasn't possible.