MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by simonw | 2025-10-23 22:02:29+00:00
I don't understand, what am I missing?

I love learning about software. That's why I'm leaning so heavily on LLMs these days - they let me learn so much faster, and let me dig into whole new areas that previously I would never have considered experimenting with.

Just this week LLMs helped me figure out how to run Perl inside WebAssembly in a browser... and then how to compile 25-year-old C code to run in WebAssembly in the browser too. https://simonwillison.net/2025/Oct/22/sloccount-in-webassemb...

If I'd done this without LLMs I might have learned more of the underlying details... but realistically I wouldn't have done this at all, because my interest in Perl and C in WebAssembly is not strong enough to justify investing more than a few hours of effort.
by brookst | 2025-10-23 22:02:33+00:00
I'm pretty deep in this stuff and I find memory super useful.

For instance, I can ask "what windshield wipers should I buy" and Claude (and ChatGPT and others) will remember where I live, what winter's like, the make, model, and year of my car, and give me a part number.

Sure, there's more control in re-typing those details every single time. But there is also value in not having to.
by kbolino | 2025-10-23 22:02:53+00:00
I largely agree that PCs have caught up feature-wise, but because they took longer to get there, I still have a couple crappy USB-C ports on PCs that are otherwise fine.

The problem with the 2 USB-C ports on modern PC laptops is that one of them pretty much has to be reserved for the charger, whereas the MBP has a MagSafe port that you can charge with instead. So it really only feels like you have one USB-C port and the other ports are just there as a consolation. That might work out to roughly equal, but I don't think it leaves the Mac off worse. I don't hate the dongles so much though.

It wouldn't have hurt to have some USB-A and HDMI on the MBP--the Minis can pull it off, so clearly the hardware is capable--but more (Thunderbolt) USB-C would still be the best option IMO. USB-A (definitely) and HDMI (probably) will eventually be relics someday, even if they are here for a little while longer.
by rbartelme | 2025-10-23 22:02:59+00:00
> Meet MemMachine, an open-source memory layer for advanced AI agents. It enables AI-powered applications to learn, store, and recall data and preferences from past sessions to enrich future interactions. MemMachine's memory layer persists across multiple sessions, agents, and large language models, building a sophisticated, evolving user profile. It transforms AI chatbots into personalized, context-aware AI assistants designed to understand and respond with better precision and depth.

This seems really interesting for local LLM experimentation.
by mike2872 | 2025-10-23 22:03:00+00:00
That was also one of the papers I read early in my project. Really fascinating stuff. The use cases for Wi-Fi sensing are vast. Motion and presence sensing is only scratching the surface. My goal is for TOMMY to follow this technology and make it accessible to everyone, especially in the smart home space.

Your garden/wildlife management use case is very interesting. Way more creative than typical smart home automation. The real-time detection should help with that camera lag issue you mentioned, and the through-wall sensing could monitor areas that are hard to place cameras.

Please create a thread in the Discord channel about this use case. I think it's really interesting and other users might have good ideas for your setup. Would love to see how it works out for you!

No apologies needed for the wall of text. This is exactly the kind of creative applications I was hoping people would think of.
by JumpCrisscross | 2025-10-23 22:03:07+00:00
> inform me how my state's citizen referendums are bad?

Straw man. Nobody claimed this.

> nordic countries have vastly more direct democracies and don't have the problems you insist

What are you referring to? “Finland has traditionally relied on the representative form of government, with very limited experience of the deployment of the referendum in national decision-making” [1]. And while Sweden and Norway have referenda, neither has binding referenda on demand or even a requirement for referendum to amend the constitution [2].

> if you cannot make your argument without california, you do not have an argument

California features the largest and most powerful direct-democratic institution, its referenda, in America. It’s going to come up when we discuss direct democracy.

That said, I have no idea how you reach my comment and conclude that California is not only the only argument I make against direct democracy, but even essential to it.

> california's shitty government predates democrat control

Are you mixing up direct democracy and rule by Democrats, the party?

[1] https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-24796-7_...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Referendums_by_country
by munk-a | 2025-10-23 22:03:15+00:00
I think a congressional pardon power to allow national leniency on previously accepted sentences that are now viewed as unjust might be worth holding onto. It being such a casual presidential power has made it ripe for corruption for a long time but I would weigh that with civil rights era pardons for sham trials - I think we do still need a national sanity check relief valve for local injustices.

And the dysfunction of congress probably works in our favor here since pardons should be exceptional - not routine. A routine pardon is just a demonstration of the justice department failing at a systemic level.
by reaperducer | 2025-10-23 22:03:41+00:00
The kid was arrested, stripped searched, and held for 24 hours without access to their parents or counsel. They ultimately had to spend time in probation, a full mental health evaluation, and go to an alternative school for a period of time.

All he wanted was a Pepsi. Just one Pepsi. And they wouldn't give it to him.
by int_19h | 2025-10-23 22:03:55+00:00
They weren't "relatively rarely seen". If you have seen a Word document, chances are good that it had em-dashes in it simply because it would often autocorrect to that. In the Apple ecosystem, this sort of autocorrect is provided by the OS itself, so it extends to a lot more content produced.

I'm pretty sure that all the comments about how it was "rarely seen" are because people weren't paying attention to them before in the way they do now.

In any case, to dismiss something as AI slap based solely on this one thing is both lazy and rude, and should be treated as such.
by JKCalhoun | 2025-10-23 22:03:59+00:00
I'm not sure I'd praise Jobs in that regard. I kind of think Apple UI went down beginning with putting a "progress bar" in the URL text field of Safari.

That was when the design team began what I call the "one-off UI design" rather than use the same language across all apps.

Never mind the round mouse before that and the blind USB ports on the back of the newer iMacs (hate that scritchity sound of stainless steel on anodized aluminum as I try to fumble around with the USB connector trying to find the opening).
by latexr | 2025-10-23 22:04:27+00:00
I played MTG on and off for decades, and the Final Fantasy pre-release was one of the best experiences I’ve had in the community. I met several people who had played MTG and stopped but went back for that set because they loved FF. Plus, it fits. For fans of both franchises, seeing how they ported mechanics was itself part of the fun. Sure, maybe a Spongebob set is weird, but FF felt like a labor of love in many areas.

Also, it became the best selling set of all time even before it was out. Which isn’t an indicator of quality, for sure, but it does show Wizards understands something about their market.
by Ninjinka | 2025-10-23 22:04:40+00:00
Calling this 3D is a stretch, it does not make things appear like they're coming out of the screen. That requires having a way to show something different to each eye, something not possible with a standard display.

I did see a demo of 3D without glasses on a full monitor that DID make it look like it was coming out of the screen at CES, it requires a $3000 monitor though: https://www.3dgamemarket.net/content/32-4k-glasses-free-3d-g...

Also the 3DS obviously.
by Forgeties79 | 2025-10-23 22:04:43+00:00
This comes across as an unnecessary oversimplification in service of handwaving away a valid concern about AI and its already-observed, expanding impact on our society. At the very least you should explain what you mean exactly.

Alcoholism can also be a symptom of a larger issue. Should we not at least discuss alcohol’s effects and what access looks like when deciding the solution?
by dlukdsza | 2025-10-23 22:04:45+00:00
I'm validating whether developers actually want this or if it's just me:

Problem: I know personal branding helps career growth, but I have 500+ LinkedIn connections and zero posts. Writing "content" feels performative and time-consuming.

Proposed solution: Daily push notifications with quick prompts ("What are you working on?"). Answer in one line. AI transforms weekly check-ins into platform-specific posts (LinkedIn, X, Mastodon, YouTube). You review/edit before posting.

Target: Developers who know they should build a brand but hate "content creation"

Pricing hypothesis: $29/mo for unlimited AI-generated posts

Before I build this: - Would you actually use daily check-ins for brand building? - Is $29/mo reasonable for this? - What would make you NOT use this?

Landing page: https://devcue.io/

Validation survey: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdwOiLmEKVxmoSuqu0e...

Planning to kill the project if <20 people say they'd pay. Build if 50+ would pay.

Brutally honest feedback needed.*
by dfxm12 | 2025-10-23 22:05:03+00:00
This is already happening, and don't forget the government shutdown which will cause these folks to lose a lot of much needed benefits, all while Trump is tearing down the White House to build his now $300MM ballroom, all while house Republicans refuse to go to work while still collecting a paycheck. One thing is clear, Republicans, maga or not, hold all levels of power federally and it is clear that they are going out of their way to leave working Americans behind.

There are a elections coming up in a few weeks, maybe we'll get an idea of where the wind is blowing, especially in NJ and VA.
by smsm42 | 2025-10-23 22:05:31+00:00
No, that would only work after getting really high. You know, when somebody asks "why this thing is such and such?" and you answer "why things are at all? Maybe it's all just our imagination, dude! Maybe nothing makes sense and we are living in a simulation! Dude, just feel you mind expanding!"

But if we lay off the bong for a bit and think soberly, then no, knowing that certain economic process is not sustainable and will eventually collapse, but not being able to profit from it is not the same as saying every bubble would pop at the heat death of the universe, billions years for now. It's so not the same that the very comparison should be immediately perceived as absurd.
by dragonwriter | 2025-10-23 22:05:37+00:00
> Pardons only enable presidents to direct their goons to operate outside of the rule of law without repercussions.

It is clear that they don't only do that, as that has not been their principal (or even a common) use for most of the history of the pardon power.

It is equally clear, however, that they do allow that; the check on that, like on most discretionary Presidential powers, is the Congressional power of impeachment; obviously, that is not a meaningful constraint when the Congress and the President are aligned on abuses, but the entire point of having separately elected bodies is to make it less likely that things that the public would see as abuses are supported by both political branches simultaneously. (Obviously, the fact that one whole house of Congress and 1/3 of the other are elected at the same time as the President, and that the weighting of the electoral college for the President are a blend of the apportionment to the House and Senate makes those elections less independent than one might want, even before considering the way the electoral structure contributors to partisan duopoly, though.)
by hex4def6 | 2025-10-23 22:05:56+00:00
For ungrounded / 2-prong outlet devices, yeah.

It's often noticeable if you have a point contact of metal against your skin; sharp edge / screw / speaker grill, etc. Once you have decent coupling between your body and the laptop, you won't feel the tingle / zap.

They're called Y-caps if you want to delve deeper into them and their use in power supplies.
by bn-l | 2025-10-23 22:06:31+00:00
Chatgpt-5:

Oof—-gotcha here’s how I’d handle that

Clutch choice—-here’s a few refinements

Sweet—-let me just…

Ok, here’s the receipts

I love your passion! Let’s try to keep it civil ok?

(Thinking) the user still appears annoyed

—————————————-

I think this annoys them also and yet they can’t change it? Or are they not dogfooding?
by kbolino | 2025-10-23 22:06:53+00:00
Damn, you're right. I have an M1 Mac Mini and both ports are Thunderbolt. I recall, and Wikipedia corroborates, that the M2 Mac Mini could come with either two or four ports, but all were Thunderbolt. Now though, the M4 ones, besides getting an awful facelift, also seem to have sacrificed one Thunderbolt port (and both USB-A ports?!) to "gain" two non-Thunderbolt USB-C ports. What a terrible trade IMO.
by Wowfunhappy | 2025-10-23 22:07:02+00:00
The 3DS is different, it's using a lenticular screen so your eyes actually see different images! The eye tracking allows it to work even if the position of your eyes changes (ie because you moved your head).

Presumably developers could have combined this with parallax head tracking for an even stronger effect when you move your head (or the console), but as far as I know no one did.
by taeric | 2025-10-23 22:08:23+00:00
If you are getting 10k steps a day in, I'm assuming that is already 3-400 calories right there?

I should be clear. It isn't that I don't think 500 is enough to make a difference. I legit didn't know if it was a lot of extra calories to burn.

I've been walking my kids from the bus stop lately, and my exercise thing is convinced I'm getting about 600 calories in from that. (To be clear, I run to the bus stop, and then walk them back. Two trips, due to different drop off times.) I assumed I also need to do other work on top of that.
by cryptonector | 2025-10-23 22:08:24+00:00
IMPLICIT tagging is used in PKIX (and other protocols) whenever a context or application tag is needed to disambiguate due to either a) OPTIONAL members, b) members that were inserted as if the SEQUENCEs/SETs were extensible, or c) CHOICEs. The reason for IMPLICIT tagging instead of EXPLICIT is simply to optimize on space: if you use EXPLICIT you add a constructed tag-length in front of the value that already has a tag and length, but if you use IMPLICIT then you merely _replace_ the tag of the value, thus with IMPLICIT you save the bytes for one tag and one length.

Kerberos uses EXPLICIT tagging, and it uses context tags for every SEQUENCE member, so these extra tags and lengths add up, but yeah, dumpasn1 on a Kerberos PDU (if you have the plaintext of it) is more usable than on a PKIX value.
by gregsadetsky | 2025-10-23 22:08:41+00:00
This is very random, but as a teenager, I participated in monthly C programming contests that were run by the MacTech magazine.

One of the contests was specifically to program an algorithm to play a game called "Dots and Boxes".

My own entry was actually a port of ... the JavaScript code on this very page (that I'm posting here)..!

http://preserve.mactech.com/articles/mactech/Vol.17/17.09/Se...

I also remember playing this game a lot in high school with pen and paper. It's super fun. Cheers
by SHOwnsYou | 2025-10-23 22:08:54+00:00
Hello,

There is no where to look. This is a fraudulent scheme. There is no way this works in any capacity when coupled with fractional reserve banking to increase the capital amount.

Th core of the idea that could maybe work is allow individual citizens to invest into a SWF and get some kind of priority as an early investor. This could allow some alignment of incentives.

But it's not real. A bigger problem emerges. Investors expect returns (especially if you offered favorable terms to jump start the fund), making it not really sovereign anymore. It comes under the whims of investors, which will all be proportionally high earners. Leaving the bottom earners poorer relatively.

Then you need to consider how it's managed, which investments are made, how are investment decisions made in terms of preferred vendors, vendor a vs vendor b. Becomes a nightmare logistically and really just becomes a target for corporate raiders via regulatory capture or even just kickbacks and hush money.

All of this just becomes redistribution with questionable chances for returns with high risks of fraud due to, among other items listed above, extreme moral hazard of the borrowers.
by dragonwriter | 2025-10-23 22:09:01+00:00
> If we can't figure out how to get a Congress that most people believe in then I worry that is the beginning of the end for this government.

We know, from comparative study of existing representative democracies, how to do that better (have an electoral system for the legislative branch that provides results that are substnantially more proportional than under the current system); what we don’t have is a practical way to get from where we are to where we need to be given the construction of the electoral systems in the states and nationally and the politicians and interests that has entrenched and the Constitutional amendment process.
by scrps | 2025-10-23 22:09:10+00:00
I had convos with cops about swatting, the good ones aren't happy to go kick down someone's door who isn't about to harm someone but feel they can't chance making a fatally wrong call when it isn't swatting, also they have procedures to follow and if they don't the outcome is on them personally and potentially legally.

As for bad cops they look for any reason to go act like aggro billy badasses.
by rbartelme | 2025-10-23 22:09:38+00:00
Countable is a relative term in microbiology. I like that the author stuck to the phrase "countable colonies", since colony forming units are not really "countable as cells".

Allan Konopka does a good deep dive into "The Great Plate Count Anomaly" here: https://thinkmicrobe.substack.com/p/the-great-plate-count-an...
by krapp | 2025-10-23 22:09:44+00:00
Americans are killed by police all the time, and by other Americans. We've already decided as a society that we don't care enough to take the problem seriously. Gun violence, both public and from the state, is accepted as unavoidable and defended as a necessary price to pay to live in a free society[0]. Having a computer call the shots wouldn't actually make much of a difference.

Hell, it wouldn't even move the needle on racial bias much because LLMs have already shown themselves to be prejudiced against minorities due to the stereotypes in their training data.

[0]Even though no other free society has to pay that price but whatever.
by JumpCrisscross | 2025-10-23 22:10:01+00:00
> pardon power has been so abused these past few administrations that it's clear there should be constitutional changes in the pardon power, either congressional review, or strip it altogether

Strip it. I also started on the line of Congressional review (or pardons only activating on the consent of the Senate). But I concluded the entire power is out of place.

If the courts overreach, address it through legislation. Congress can annul sentences through law, no special pardon power needed. If a law is unfair or being applied unfairly, moreover, it should be fixed comprehensively.

There isn’t a place for one-man pardons in a republic. Even the imperium-obsessed Romans didn’t give their dictators, much less consuls, automatic pardon power. Caesar had to get special legislation to overrule the law.

Biden abused pardon power. So has Trump. Both parties have good reason for passing an amendment through the Congress. This is probably in my top 3 Constitutional amendment we need in our time. (Multi-member Congressional seats, popular election of the President and changing “the executive Power shall be vested in a President” to “the President shall execute the laws of the United States.”)
by mrtksn | 2025-10-23 22:10:49+00:00
Congrats to the Sky app developers, so OpenAI believes that the future is in computer assistants?

I don't buy this, it doesn't make sense to me that tools and interfaces made for human comfort and consumption is the right place to plug the AI to automate our lives.

IMHO the computing is ripe for a re-do with everything already being enshitified and putting another lay to cover all the shit we are in isn't going to help anybody.
by gpm | 2025-10-23 22:10:55+00:00
It... doesn't though: https://uutils.github.io/coreutils/docs/test_coverage.html

Neither this issue, which doesn't appear to be a bug at all but merely an unimplemented feature, nor the fact that uutils doesn't (yet) pass the entire testsuite, seem to me to at all be an indictment of the uutils project, merely a sign that it is incomplete. Which is hardly surprising when I get the impression it's primarily been a hobby project for a bunch of different developers. It does make me wonder about the wisdom of Ubuntu moving to it.
by daxfohl | 2025-10-23 22:11:18+00:00
Yeah, kind of. Though it seems like humans do some post-analysis on the reasoning and kind of "root cause" the path to the result. Fine tuning on the raw thought output seems like it could capture a ton of unnecessary noise. I don't know if it would be able to capture the "aha" moment and encode that alone in a way that makes sense.
by dragonwriter | 2025-10-23 22:11:28+00:00
> The power to pardon needs to be removed all together. All it does is show that the President overrides the department of justice.

The Department of Justice is subordinate to the President as part of the executive branch with or without the pardon power; if you want something other than "the President overrides the Department of Justice" as a matter of Constitutional law rather than an intermittently-observed convention of restraint (which Trump absolutely has not observed outside of the pardon power), you need a fundamental reformation of the Constitutional structure of government, far beyond the elimination of the pardon power.
by gbacon | 2025-10-23 22:12:34+00:00
Casually flinging vague accusations of fascism or of having sympathies with a particular historical socialist workers party contribute zero to the sides understanding one another. Words have meanings. Which specific people are forwarding which specific fascist positions?

I see a significant asymmetry in the sides’ understandings of one another. The right are typically able to articulate the left’s views reasonably well, but the left operates with caricatures — the aforementioned irresponsible accusations included.

We’re barely a month past Charlie Kirk being gunned down in cold blood on a college campus, and not a hit carried out by any sort of right winger. The piece’s handwringing over radicalization on the right comes across as the left failing to understand the other side and refusing to look in a mirror. Radicalization on the left is an enormous problem.
by JumpCrisscross | 2025-10-23 22:12:57+00:00
> constitutional convention is more of a best case scenario

Constitutional Convention is the abort button. It means giving a group of people basically limitless power to amend our Constitution, which in practice, means to do anything to the law. If we called one today, with most states in Republican hands [1], we’d be essentially handing complete control of our government—over and above the Constitution—to the GOP.

[1] https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/state-partisan...