MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by samuelknight | 2025-11-14 15:47:39+00:00
LLM 'neurons' are not single input/single output functions. Most 'neurons' are Mat-Vec computations that combine the products of dozens or hundreds of prior weights.

In our lane the only important question to ask is, "Of what value are the tokens these models output?" not "How closely can we emulate an organic bran?"

Regarding the article, I disagree with the thesis that AGI research is a waste. AGI is the moonshot goal. It's what motivated the fairly expensive experiment that produced the GPT models, and we can look at all sorts of other hairbrained goals that ended up making revolutionary changes.
Show HN: TalkiTo – enabling voice and Slack for Claude Code and Codex CLI
by robbomacrae | 2025-11-14 15:47:51+00:00
Hey everyone, here is an open source project I've been working on to add voice input/output to terminal based coding agents.

One thing about the new terminal coding agents I really like is being able to multi-task but right now it's a bit like a Tesla on autopilot needing your hands still on the wheel. You need to be checking often if your input is required or if it's going off the rails. To be able to go fully hands free I wanted to add TTS and ASR. Then I added slack and WhatsApp hooks to TalkiTo as well.

It's fully open source with a BYOK philosophy and it's configured to work with any of the major ASR/TTS providers. It also supports local whisper and kokoro/kittentts if you want a decent free/private option.

It works by wrapping the coding agent and capturing the input/output. It does have an MCP server running but thats mainly for configuration - I found that using MCP to speak or listen was too slow. The upshot of the MCP server is you can type (or say) "talkito disable ASR" or "talkito change tts to kokoro".

Here is a demo video I made here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf8jFt0smqs

I like to think of it as similar to SuperWhisper but with TTS, the focus on coding agents and configurability.

Really curious to get feedback.

Thanks!
by tracker1 | 2025-11-14 15:47:52+00:00
Gemini in Chrome reminds me of the over the top actions that MS has made with Edge to the point I just stopped using Edge though I really liked it from relatively early on. They just jumped the shark and now Google is heading down that same path rapidly.

I want to choose the extensions that go into my browser. I don't even use the browser's credential manager, and I've gotten to a point where I'm just not sure anything is actually getting better.

I will say that the Gemini answers at the top of Google searches are hit or miss, and I do appreciate that they're there. That said, I'm a bit mixed as the actual search results beyond that seem to be getting worse overall. I don't know if it's my own bias, but when the Gemini answer is insufficient, it feels like the search results are just plain off from what I'm looking for.
by magicalist | 2025-11-14 15:47:57+00:00
> I will go meta into what you posted here: That people are classifying themselves as "AI skeptics"

The comment you're replying to is calling other people AI skeptics.

Your advice has some fine parts to it (and simonw's comment is innocuous in its use of the term), but if we're really going meta, you seem to be engaging in the tribal conflict you're decrying by lecturing an imaginary person rather than the actual context of what you're responding to.
by vunderba | 2025-11-14 15:48:48+00:00
Nice. The hydra icon reminds me of an old prank website I made back in the early 2000s - around the IE6 era.

<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>The Hydra</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY onUnload="window.open('hydra.html','','scrollbar=no,resizable=no,innerHeight=482,innerWidth=482') window.open('hydra.html','','scrollbar=no,resizable=no,innerHeight=482,innerWidth=482')"> <IMG SRC="hydra.gif" align=center> </BODY> </HTML>
by shawnz | 2025-11-14 15:48:49+00:00
Here are some of the things that make Firefox the best browser for me:

- An extension system more powerful than Chrome's, which supports for example rich adblockers that can block ads on Youtube. Also, it works on mobile, too

- Many sophisticated productivity, privacy, and tab management features such as vertical tabs, tab groups, container tabs, split tabs, etc. And now it also has easy-to-use profiles and PWA support just like Chrome

- A sync system which is ALWAYS end-to-end encrypted, and doesn't leak your browsing data or saved credentials if you configure it wrong, like Google's does, and it of course works on mobile too

- And yes, LLM-assisted summarization, translation, tab grouping, etc, most of which works entirely offline with local LLMs and no cloud interation, although there are some cloud enabled features as well
by JohnFen | 2025-11-14 15:49:03+00:00
The thing that I consider extremely misleading about it is that it appears to be making the case the you basically have to be at least somewhat privileged in order to be a successful entrepreneur. Perhaps I'm misreading it, but after reading it again, I can't see another way of interpreting it.

> The article does indeed talk about the things you claimed it didn't talk about.

Not entirely. It's not talking about entrepreneurs who start with nothing. No job, no nothing. There's a lot more of those than people think.

> The issue (1) may be geared towards the moneyed class, but nonetheless (2) is broader.

That's fair. I perhaps leaned a bit too far over my skis here.

> The fact that you remain unconvinced doesn't mean the article is extremely misleading.

The fact that I remain unconvinced means that I don't think the reference counters my opinion that the article is extremely misleading.

I'll admit that, like everybody, I am reading this through the lens of my own experiences and worldview, but this read to me like essentially a propaganda piece intended to discourage people who aren't part of a particular class from even trying to start their own business. That's what rubs me the wrong way about it.
by doublerabbit | 2025-11-14 15:49:29+00:00
Same. I have the index, plus special eyesight amendment lenses accessory that I had to fork out on. grudge #1.

The second, offline games are cool but with only 2MB ADSL, I can't enjoy anything online with them. It's like waiting for a custom map to download on CS:S when I was on 56k. Only to join just as the server changes the level.
by abathur | 2025-11-14 15:49:45+00:00
Agriculture feeds people, Simon.

It's fair to be critical of how the ag industry uses that water, but a significant fraction of that activity is effectively essential.

If you're going to minimize people's concern like this, at least compare it to discretionary uses we could ~live without.

The data's about 20 years old, but for example https://www.usga.org/content/dam/usga/pdf/Water%20Resource%2... suggests we were using over 2b gallons a day to water golf courses.
by hvb2 | 2025-11-14 15:49:50+00:00
The tech is way underpriced right now. It's basically a subsidized market right now, with the money flowing in coming from the private sector.

The problem here is that it remains to be seen who is willing to pay for the service once it's priced at cost or even with a margin. And based on valuations of AI companies one would expect a huge margin.
by markbao | 2025-11-14 15:50:48+00:00
Most of the loudest critics - and, I’ve found, many commenters on HN - are entirely out of touch with the majority of technology users. To think that nobody wants these features isn’t based on what we see in the real world, which shows a billion users using ChatGPT every month. That, plus the fact that AI browsers already exist and have users, indicates that the argument is more “I don’t like AI and everyone else should agree” rather than “the data shows that nobody likes AI”.

Those critics then straw-man by saying the AI will take up a ton of resources in your browser (it could be as simple as a text box) or collect your data secretively (what company wants to deal with that PR fallout?).
by vbezhenar | 2025-11-14 15:51:26+00:00
I'm extensively using ChatGPT Web UI. I don't use it much but I see value in Claude Code CLI. I've used Copilot in the past, recently I stopped using it, but I can see the value.

Other than that, I don't think I'd be happy to see AI anywhere else. I pretty much don't want no AI in my operating system, browser.
by tracker1 | 2025-11-14 15:51:40+00:00
I was an insider user of Windows for close to a decade, really stuck with it through WSL's development... But the first time I saw internet ads on my start menu search result was kind of it for me, I switched my default boot to Linux and really haven't looked back. I don't really need Windows for my workflows, and though I'm using Windows for my current job, I'm at a point I'd rather not be.

Windows as an OS really kind of peaked around Windows 7 IMO... though I do like the previews on the taskbar, that's about the only advancement since that I appreciate at all... besides WSL2(g) that is. I used to joke that Windows was my favorite Linux distro, now I just don't want it near me. Even my SO would rather be off of it.
Show HN: A website to compare team activity on GitHub
by AlexClickHouse | 2025-11-14 15:51:44+00:00
Initially, I wanted to create a single report to motivate managers to look at GitHub issues. It didn't help (yet), but I got hooked and added more selectors and features to this report, making it a full-featured website, where you can compare different types of activity on different repositories, find the key team members and their contribution patterns, etc.

Source code: https://github.com/ClickHouse/velocity

(I recommend checking commit messages - I saved every single prompt as a commit)
by wilkommen | 2025-11-14 15:51:50+00:00
In the short term, it may be unrealistic (as you illustrate in your story) to try to successfully navigate the increasingly fragmented, fragile, and overly complex technological world we have created without genAI's assistance. But in the medium to long term, I have a hard time seeing how a world that's so complex that we can't navigate it without genAI can survive. Someday our cars will once again have to be simple enough that people of average intelligence can understand and fix them. I believe that a society that relies so much on expertise (even for everyday things) that even the experts can't manage without genAI is too fragile to last long. It can't withstand shocks.
by embedding-shape | 2025-11-14 15:51:56+00:00
I don't know exactly what the website was, but if it's just HTML, CSS, some JS and some images, why would you ever host that on a "pay per visit/bandwidth" platform like AWS? Not only is AWS traffic extra expensive compared to pretty much any alternative, paying for bandwidth in that manner never made much sense to me. Even shared hosting like we did early 00s would have been a better solution for hosting a typical website than using AWS.
by benatkin | 2025-11-14 15:52:30+00:00
Amen. Friends don't let friends use Firefox in the manner prescribed by Mozilla in its current state. It's horrid.

I have LibreWolf and Chrome installed, but not Firefox, and I like part of Firefox in spite of, not because of, the rest of Mozilla. I'd be interested in Ladybird except they threaten to use Swift.
Ask HN: Is Computer Science still a good choice?
by speedylight | 2025-11-14 15:52:35+00:00
I’ve been asking myself this question a lot lately because I’m pursuing a CS degree but I’ve been second guessing my decision because all I ever hear about now is people either getting laid off or new graduates having a hard time landing entry level roles, never mind the AI of it all not that I believe it is a feasible replacement for actual programmers but at the same time it’s hard to tell if it has the potential to be that later on. I’m still a couple years shy of graduation but it doesn’t seem like enough time for things to improve if ever.
by floren | 2025-11-14 15:52:45+00:00
I've seen the pattern again and again: I'll finally be able to write once I acquire <foo>. I'll paste something I wrote on a previous similar topic:

[Regarding the devices] The various iterations all look quite attractive, and the final one especially looks kind of like if an Apple IIc and a computer from Brazil had a baby – in a good way! I congratulate the creator on producing so much real hardware and not just renders; I’ve designed and made hardware and it’s hard as hell!

But I’ve also written a pretty good bit (not just code documentation and emails but fiction, short stories), and it’s also hard as hell, and like a lot of people who want to write things I’ve dabbled with all sorts of instruments that I’m convinced will finally be the trick to make the words come out good.

I’ve used legal pads, and composition books, and spiral notebooks, and grid paper notepads.

I’ve written with pencils, and ballpoints, and fountain pens, and dip pens with a whole variety of nibs and inks (admittedly that was mostly just for fun).

I’ve written in Acme on Plan 9, in Emacs and Vi on Linux, in Google Docs on a cheap Chromebook, and in BBEdit on a Mac SE/30. I’ve also used a mechanical typewriter, a Selectric electric typewriter, and an AlphaSmart Neo 2.

So I say the following from experience:

* Writing is difficult to do well, regardless of how you’re getting the words down.

* It’s easy to distract yourself, regardless of how you’re getting the words down.

* One of the easiest ways to accomplish #2 is by dreaming about the next perfect writing tool that will really make your writing sing just as soon as you muster up the courage to click “Buy”.

* Once you get your latest writing toy^H^H^Htool, it’s easier to write blog posts about it than to write the things you actually want to write but are deep down too timid to try.

In summary, I applaud Unkyu for making these, and I don’t think they’re likely to help you write better.
by ticulatedspline | 2025-11-14 15:52:46+00:00
Dunnow, reads fine to me, also seems we now have a #nothingisreal problem now where everything is AI. Given that LLMS were trained on pre-existing writing it follows that people commonly write like that.

overall I think things have gotten better. I noticed maybe 3 years before chatGPT hit the scene that I would frequent on a page that definitely didn't seem written by a native English speaker. The writing was just weird. I see less of that former style now.

Probably the biggest new trend I notice is this very prominent "Conclusion" block that seems to show up now.

Honestly I'd love to see some data on it. I suspect a lot of "that's LLM slop" isn't and others isn't noticed and lots of LLM tropes were rife within online content long before LLMs but we're now hypersensitive to certain things since they're overused by LLMs.
Show HN: A desktop tool for Kubernetes and GitOps (Flux/Argo) in one view
by kunobi | 2025-11-14 15:52:47+00:00
We’ve been building a desktop app that shows Kubernetes resources together with Flux or Argo reconciliation state in one place. The goal is to reduce the amount of tool switching needed when checking what’s running, what’s in sync, or why something drifted.

The app runs locally and talks directly to the Kubernetes API server. It reads the information Flux or Argo publish and surfaces it alongside the workloads on each cluster. It’s focused on visibility: workloads with context, sync status, drift indicators, recent revisions, and Helm history.

Right now it supports browsing resources, viewing Flux or Argo state, inspecting diffs, and working across multiple clusters without juggling kubeconfigs. There’s also a small local environment included for testing GitOps flows if you don’t want to connect a production cluster.

It’s still in beta and a bit rough. We’re sharing it to get feedback from people who work with Flux, Argo, or multi-cluster setups and have opinions about where the current workflows feel heavier than they should.
Ask HN: What's your solution to tech addiction?
by asim | 2025-11-14 15:52:49+00:00
Seems like most tech right now is focused on driving engagement, profit, etc through addictive behaviours. I guess that's not news to anyone. Doomscrolling, swiping, etc. Anyone have some good alternatives. I decided to build something for myself to combat it, but wondered what other people are doing.
by AnonHP | 2025-11-14 15:52:53+00:00
Unfortunately there’s no winning for Mozilla.

Whether you like it or not, and regardless of your view on the current state of “AI” and where it’s headed, the undeniable fact is that “AI” has been and is in the zeitgeist now and will continue to be for at least another year or two. If Mozilla Firefox does not show anything on something like this, the general public and the general tech writers (not as invested in Firefox) would write it off further. If Mozilla Firefox does something like this, then the diehard fans will be up in arms about what they see as distractions (and to be frank, Mozilla has had more than a few over the years).

What matters is if Mozilla listens to feedback from a diverse audience instead of being swayed by any specific group. It’s not easy. I’d rather Mozilla try something and goof up or fail instead of just being left behind due to inaction.
by philipallstar | 2025-11-14 15:52:55+00:00
> All companies push an agenda all the time, and their agenda always is: market dominance, profitability, monopoly and rent extraction, rinse and repeat into other markets, power maximization for their owners and executives.

I'll bear that in mind the next time I'm getting a haircut. How do you think Bob's Barbers is going to achieve all of that?
Show HN: A 1600 Page Data Structures Book with 130 Problems for Interviews
by shhabmlkawy | 2025-11-14 15:53:30+00:00
Hi everyone,

I’ve just finished writing a 1600-page data structures book that contains 130 fully original academic-style problems, each with complete solutions, proofs, amortized analysis, diagrams, and detailed explanations.

The book is designed for:

university-level advanced data structures learning

self-study for engineers

technical interview preparation (many problems are structured like interview challenges)

deep understanding of heaps, trees, union-find, RMQ, hashing, string structures, and more

I also included two new data structures that I designed myself — the Layered Summary Heap (LSH) and the Triple-L Heap — with step-by-step explanations and use cases.

I would appreciate feedback from the Hacker News community on:

clarity and structure

difficulty level

and whether such a long-form problem book is useful for interviews and self-study

Book link: https://leanpub.com/masteringdatastructures Happy to answer any questions or share sample chapters.
by troyvit | 2025-11-14 15:53:44+00:00
I think that's the point. The GP post basically said, "Gamers can't be messed with." A child post gave a ton of examples of how gamers are messed with, and this comment helps cement that. It does beg the question as to why Steam isn't as evil as it could be but does choose to be as evil as they are. To me (a very casual gamer) they do seem like the least evil.

Also don't knock those zip files purchased off of itch.io. Sometimes it's good to visit a cottage industry to see what's passing under the radar of the big guys.
by weard_beard | 2025-11-14 15:53:53+00:00
Corollary: My income from living a well meaning life is not sufficient to have children. Having children while working for a non-profit in 2025 means living in precarity. While my individual choices have a negligible impact on the direction of the world or society at large, my low income would actively stunt my children and any hope that they might have the resources, support, influence, or opportunity to bring about systemic change.

Also, I refuse to consider any type of violence in my organizing even though that is precisely the escalation in tactics and extremism that the "evil" parts of the world have moved to.

I am prey. Please eat me.

If you do not fight the system the way I want I will pout and die faster in response. Because suicide is the ultimate form of control and emotional manipulation and that's all I really care about.
by RansomStark | 2025-11-14 15:54:10+00:00
My mistake, I left a step out. Use openwebui with ollama. Openwebui is compatible with the firefox sidebar.

So grab ollama and your prefered model, install openwebui.

Then open about:config

And set browser.ml.chat.provider to your local openwebui instance

Google suggests the you might also need to set browser.ml.chat.hideLocalhost to false. But i dont remember having to do that
by Bender | 2025-11-14 15:54:33+00:00
I saw them try to read some static files I posted here but they were instantly blocked by a combination of nftables and nginx.

bzcat *mirror*access*bz2 | grep -c " 200 " 283 bzcat *mirror*access*bz2 | grep -c " 444 " 3607

That's what made it past nftables TCP MSS and TCP window rules. The 200's were members of HN. The 444's were bots.

Does Gitlab front-end with Nginx or Haproxy?
by rollcat | 2025-11-14 15:54:52+00:00
As an occasional enjoyer of OS X 10.5 on PowerPC, I can recommend... iTunes. It is actually really decent, as is most of Jobs-era stuff.

I don't have anything to play FLAC or Vorbis, but the machine has more urgent problems... <https://www.rollc.at/posts/2024-07-02-tibook/>
by FloorEgg | 2025-11-14 15:55:12+00:00
I don't buy this.

I've been building startups for 15 years, volunteered at two accelerators, angel invested and networked a lot. Anecdotally, the majority of the founders that I have gotten to know and lasted more than a year (actually building product and selling it) are middle class, comfortable being frugal, and don't act privileged at all. The few that I know for a fact come from exceptional money do act privileged, kind of egocentric and wasted a lot of money on things that were performative.

I don't doubt lots of people from money go into entrepreneurship, and I'm sure some of them are successful, but from my experience privilege in this way often seems like a disadvantage. The vast majority of success I've seen comes from middle class.

It's anecdotal, but it's in the dozens.

It's very possible to bootstrap a successful business with very little resources. What matters is that you can empathize with people well and at scale and then solve problems pragmatically. Test your hypothesis constantly and don't be afraid of being wrong. Success doesn't come from money spent on good ideas, it comes from understanding other people's actual wants and then focusing on serving what is important and unsatisfied and creating practical economic feedback loops. It involves schlepping, hard work, sacrifice and resourcefulness. Timing matters a lot for startups (technology has developed enough to actually satisfy customers). Seed capital is optional if the founders learn how to build the company themselves. The vast majority of seed capital is wasted, and people from money waste more.
by tgsovlerkhgsel | 2025-11-14 15:55:55+00:00
I would love AI in the browser, as long as it is offered, not aggressively pushed in my face, is privacy friendly (i.e. ideally client side but at the very least I need to understand what is sent off the device, how it is used, and it should only be sent when I actively trigger the feature).

In particular I'd also love agentic AI so I can quickly automate tasks on shitty web sites that can't be reasonably automated otherwise.

But even a free, no-signup "summarize this wall of text" would be useful.

I think the adoption of AI browsers shows that there are people who find value in this, and I think a lot more people would be interested if it wasn't getting relentlessly forced on them at every corner, making them refuse it out of principle.