MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
Ask HN: Do you believe aliens are visiting Earth?
by keepamovin | 2025-12-01 18:35:00+00:00
So there's nuance here. Let's define "Aliens" as "non human sentiences". Personally, I think ET hypothesis is valid. Maybe you feel UT (ultra-terrestrial) hypothesis makes more sesne. Or "ED" ( extra-dimensional, as opposed to "from another planet/galaxy").

Facts: there's abundance of testimony that would secure conviction in court regarding abductions, encounters (of variosu "kinds"), and "multi-sensor data".

Truth is, it goes back centuries, before we could concievably have "RE'd" (reverse-engineered) anything similar. So there has to be something external to our current human civilization (not so surprising, how can you explain how megalithic 100-ton bricks structures were build by "primitives").

Yes, this is "provocative" (perhaps) for some on HN. That's the point. not adversarial, but simply to "provoke" a thought - rather, a question - "what is" the nature of reality? The existence of a "higher"/superior/more technological sentient intelligence interacting with us and our planet is a natural pairing with that question.

Belief is important. Because, your personal experience constitutes, for others, a belief. And that's much of the "evidence" we have.

Trend seems clear in gestalt: disclsoure is coming. So I ask here to take the pulse of this "intellectual/technical/curious/secular" (corase categroties) community. Do you believe this is real? If so, why? If not, why not?

If we were to get "DISCLOSURE" (ie, the "government authroity" of a "respect country" stating unequivocally that the reality of "alien" contact is true) woudl your ontology/worldview be "shattered" or "robust", or "otehr"?

*why so many "airquotes"? I recognize the plurality of meanings and layers of baggage associated with different terms. THe air-quotes are simply a glib nod to such multiplicity. Take as such, s'il vous plais.

Basically this post is to serve as a historical marker for taking the temperature of a significant collective in the "pre-disclosure" era. So this is your chance to record your official viewpoint, before it all comes down. What you say?

I am very interested.
by Razengan | 2025-12-01 18:35:09+00:00
IINA on Mac, free & open source, has been perfect for everything for years:

https://github.com/iina/iina

While traveling I was so pissed with the Apple TV player's performance on less-than-lightspeed internet connections, I ragecancelled my subscription and just yo ho ho'ed the last couple episodes of Severance
by Aman_Kalwar | 2025-12-01 18:35:16+00:00
Hi HN, We’ve just launched Elaric AI Beta, a tool that generates complete mobile app UI in clean HTML/CSS from natural language prompts. Most tools generate fragments or components. Elaric tries to generate full multi-screen UI flows, including: Mobile-first responsive layouts Clean, readable HTML/CSS (no unnecessary frameworks) Component-level CSS (no inline clutter) Navigation + multi-page structure Light/dark UI variants Edit-anything mode Export options Our goal is to help developers go from idea → working UI in minutes, without writing boilerplate. We are a small team from Nepal, and this is our first public beta. We know there will be rough edges, and we’d appreciate feedback from this community — especially around UI structure, code quality, and prompts.
by cpeterson42 | 2025-12-01 18:35:25+00:00
Thunder Compute, YC S24 | https://www.thundercompute.com | In-person in San Francisco

Hiring 4 full-time Software Engineers for low-level C++ systems work (HFT skillset), reporting to the CTO, team ex-Citadel, ex-Aquatic, ex-Bain

We're a cloud provider using GPU virtualization software to arbitrage GPU prices.

To our customers, we are a direct substitute for Runpod, Lambda, Coreweave, etc. with a simple UX and low prices.

Our advantage is we have spent 3 years bringing research technology to market which lets us use each GPU more efficiently than competitors. We can buy GPU compute, make it more efficient, and resell it at 60%+ profit margins.

We recently closed ~$4.5M of funding to triple our team size with a focus on recruiting the world's best low-level talent.

If you're cracked at building C++ systems software, on noncompete and bored, or looking to do something more meaningful than creating liquidity (you can tell most of our team is from HFT), reach out.

To apply: email met at carl@thundercompute.com and mention HN. I read every email.
by ahmedm24 | 2025-12-01 18:35:27+00:00
Hey HN, I’m the solo dev behind LogiCart.

The Problem: Keyword search fails for complex, multi-item projects. If I want to "build a backyard rink" or "draft-proof my house," I usually end up with 15 tabs open, manually piecing together a shopping list from forums and reviews.

The Solution: I built an intent-based search engine. instead of matching keywords, it converts user prompts into vector embeddings to map broad goals (intents) to specific product clusters.

The Stack:

Backend: node.js/TypeScript

Search: pgvector for semantic similarity (PostgreSQL)

LLM: Orchestrates the "logic" of the project plan and validates compatibility.

The "Microsoft" Context: I actually launched this 24 hours before Microsoft Copilot released their "Shopping Agent." While I can't compete with them on generic "buy a laptop" queries, I’m pivoting to go deep on complex DIY/Hardware projects where context matters more than reach.

Current Status: Currently indexing Amazon (US/CA) with every search. My internal prototype worked perfectly with Canadian Tire (local hardware inventory is much better for DIY than Amazon), and I'm working on deep-linking that next to build better carts.

I’d love feedback on the result relevance. Roast my MVP.
by lm28469 | 2025-12-01 18:35:29+00:00
Last week I gave antigravity a try, with the latest models and all, it generated subpar code that did the job very quickly for sure, but no one would have ever accepted this code in a PR, it took me 10x more time to clean it up than to have gemini shit it out.

The only thing I learned is that 90% of devs are code monkeys with very low expectations which basically amount to "it compiles and seems to work then it's good enough for me"
by 201984 | 2025-12-01 18:36:05+00:00
It's to break dependencies for register renaming. If you have an instruction like

mov w5, w6 // move low 32 bits of register 6 into low 32 bits of register 5

This instruction only depends on the value of register 6. If instead it of zeroing the upper half it left it unchanged, then it would depend on w6 and also the previous value of register 5. That would constrain the renamer and consequently out-of-order execution.
by phantasmish | 2025-12-01 18:36:20+00:00
What’s tough for me is figuring out where people are realizing significant improvements from this.

If you have to set up good tests [edit: and gather/generate good test data!] and get the spec hammered out in detail and well-described in writing, plus all the ancillary stuff like access to any systems you need, sign-offs from stakeholders… dude that’s more than 90% of the work, I’d say. I mean fuck, lots of places just skip half that and figure it out in the code as they go.

How’s this meaningfully speeding things up?
by msabalau | 2025-12-01 18:36:22+00:00
We can see what consumers do. The Gemini app is second most downloaded app for the iPhone, right behind OpenAI. Apple is certainly not trying to "distort the picture" as you evidently wish to believe that Google is doing.

That's hardly an indication that actual "non-technical" consumers don't care, or that there is any sort of barrier to either using both apps or using whichever is better at the moment, or whichever is more helpful in generating the meme of the moment.

If it were actually true that OpenAI was "plenty good enough" for 99% of questions that people have, and that "there is no reason to switch" then OpenAI could just stop training new models, which is absurdly expensive. They aren't doing that, because they sensibly believe that having better models matters to consumers.
by bangaladore | 2025-12-01 18:36:27+00:00
> Kernel anticheat is not really effective because it can be circumvented on the hardware level, for example using direct memory access with a second computer and screen to show the hidden game state.

Incorrect. DMA (direct memory access) is and can be prevented [1] and detected [2].

[1] https://www.faceit.com/en/news/faceit-rollout-of-tpm-secure-...

[2] https://community.osr.com/t/detecting-pcie-dma-based-cheatin...
Show HN: We Built a Small LLM Comparison Page and Accidentally a Platform
by sistillisteph | 2025-12-01 18:36:58+00:00
My cofounder and I built a quick site comparing LLMs. It was basically “what model is good at what.” It was fun and useful, and a fun side project. But feedback pushed us into A/B testing models in production.

So we built Fallom (homage to Asimov), a platform where you can compare how multiple models perform on your own evals or production data. You can easily see cost and performance differences and know if it’s worth switching models.

Would love feedback from anyone who’s built internal model testing pipelines. We learned a lot the hard way and are still learning.
by jurgenkesker | 2025-12-01 18:37:15+00:00
I indeed really liked Ruby because of it's expresiveness, it being totally OO, the lovely readable and writeable syntax.

But yeah, that was 20 years ago. These days I find Kotlin to be the perfect fit for my projects, because of the static typing and its ergonomic syntax. I just don't feel confident about Ruby projects when they start growing. But, I still love the language, although mostly for small things.
by WhyOhWhyQ | 2025-12-01 18:37:17+00:00
Another anecdote. I've got a personal benchmark that I try out on these systems every time there's a new release. It is an academic math question which could be understood by an undergraduate, and which seems easy enough to solve if I were just to hammer it out over a few weeks. My prompt includes a big list of mistakes it is likely to fall into and which it should avoid. The models haven't ever made any useful progress on this question. They usually spin their wheels for a while and then output one of the errors I said to avoid.

My hit/miss rate with using these models for academic questions is low, but non-trivial. I've definitely learned new math because of using them, but it's really just an indulgence because they make stuff up so frequently.
by bee_rider | 2025-12-01 18:37:18+00:00
This is something matchmaking games totally miss which keeps them from being truly competitive in the way sports or old games were: a competitive community. You need other players with known identities to compare yourself against on a consistent basis.

Of course, classic competitive institutions had problems as well (“he’s very competitive” is not necessarily a nice description of a person!), but they seemed more enjoyable that this matchmaking stuff.
by palmotea | 2025-12-01 18:37:23+00:00
> You think google is actually bleeding money on AI? they are funding it all with cash flow and still have monster margins.

They can still be "bleeding money on AI" if they're making enough in other areas to make up for the loss.

The question is: "Are LLMs profitable to train and host?" OpenAI, being a pure LLM company, will go bankrupt if the answer is no. The equivalent for Google is to cut its losses and discontinue the product. Maybe Gemini will have the same fate as Google+.
by tenacious_tuna | 2025-12-01 18:37:30+00:00
I was talking to a friend of mine about a related topic when he quipped that he realized he started disliking therapy when he realized they effectively were just teaching him coping strategies for an economic system that is inherently amoral.

> So practically speaking, the options are follow the market or find a different line of work if you don’t like the way the market is going.

You're correct in this, but I think it's worth making the explicit statement that that's also true because we live in a system of amoral resource allocation.

Yes, this is a forum centered on startups, so there's a certain economic bias at play, but on the subject of morality I think there's a fair case to be made that it's reasonable to want to oppose an inherently unjust system and to be frustrated that doing so makes survival difficult.

We shouldn't have to choose between principles and food on the table.
by jjk166 | 2025-12-01 18:37:38+00:00
Hare's theory predicts that there would need to be a cold snap at just the right time, and lo and behold there was. Probability isn't an issue if the only reason you are considering the probability is because the event already happened. Indeed the low probability of such an event transpiring goes a long way towards explaining why the discovery was not made earlier.

Root-Bernstein's theory makes no such testable predictions, and it solves the issue of an incomplete record on September 3rd with incomplete or inaccurate records elsewhere. It seems to me extremely plausible that fleming did not record the results of a botched, uncontrolled experiment but still recognized it as an indicator of something interesting that warranted follow-up. If I were in his position I would preserve the random dish for comparison to the more rigorous follow up experiment. I certainly don't put any stock into the argument that if the story had gone as Root-Bernstein describes it would have been too circuitous for scientific publishing, if anything it would be much more harmonious with standard scientific writing than the chance observation story.
by arthurfirst | 2025-12-01 18:37:40+00:00
Moral arguments are a luxury of thinkers and only a small percentage of people can be reasoned with that way anyways. You can manipulate on morals but not reason in most cases.

Agreed that you cannot be in a toxic situation and not have it affect you -- so if THAT is the case -- by all means exit asap.

If it's perceived ethical conflict the only one you need to worry about is the golden rule -- and I do not mean 'he who has the gold makes the rules' I mean the real one. If that conflicts with what you are doing then also probably make an exit -- but many do not care trust me... They would take everything from you and feel justified as long as they are told (just told) it's the right thing. They never ask themselves. They do not really think for themselves. This is most people. Sadly.
by ocdtrekkie | 2025-12-01 18:38:17+00:00
I agree there's already a significant proxy risk with Mozilla (though Mozilla does consider many Google web proposals harmful today), but that is also no less true today, and in fact, today that means Google holds two votes not one.

I would again agree Microsoft and Apple will heavily endorse their own interests, Microsoft much more so in terms of enterprise requirements and Apple much more so in terms of privacy-concerned consumers. The advertising firm influence will be significantly dimished and that is a darn shame.
by elseleigh | 2025-12-01 18:38:25+00:00
I have a 2017 Dell XPS13 that's been hammered as a developer laptop and is still going great guns. It's on its third battery, and I've just replaced the screen. I bought a newer one in 2022 and sold it again a couple of months later because, although it had a faster processor and more RAM, it felt flimsier.

I'm also currently upgrading a refurbed Lenovo X270 for my granddaughter who's starting high school, and I am thoroughly impressed. Newer Lenovos are slimmer and slicker, but this thing will still be trucking after the cockroach apocalypse.
by mandevil | 2025-12-01 18:38:46+00:00
Best take on serendipty versus effort in the history of science is, naturally enough, from Monty Python:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1Hu0f_ti9EQ

Text from http://montypython.50webs.com/scripts/Series_3/99.htm

"Presenter[John Cleese]: Penguins, yes, penguins. What relevance do penguins have to the furtherance of medical science? Well, strangely enough quite a lot, a major breakthrough, maybe. It was from such an unlikely beginning as an unwanted fungus accidentally growing on a sterile plate that Sir Alexander Fleming gave the world penicillin. James Watt watched an ordinary household kettle boiling and conceived the potentiality of steam power. Would Albert Einstein ever have hit upon the theory of relativity if he hadn't been clever? All these tremendous leaps forward have been taken in the dark. Would Rutherford ever have split the atom if he hadn't tried? Could Marconi have invented the radio if he hadn't by pure chance spent years working at the problem? Are these amazing breakthroughs ever achieved except by years and years of unremitting study? Of course not. What I said earlier about accidental discoveries must have been wrong. "
by monocasa | 2025-12-01 18:39:01+00:00
Yeah, the reason for that is that it's expensive in PPA for the size of an L1 cache to exceed number of ways times page size. The jump to 48kB was also a jump to 12 way set associative.

As an aside, zen 1 did actually have a 64kB (and only 4 way!) L1I cache, but changed to the page size times way count restriction with zen 2, reducing the L1 size by half.

You can also see this on the apple side, where their giant 192kB caches L1I are 12 ways with a 16kB page size.
by sidibe | 2025-12-01 18:39:20+00:00
I have pretty negative feelings about all this stuff and how the future will be but also have to admit it's crazy how good it is at so many things I would have considered safe a few years ago before chatgpt.

There are a couple really disingenuous bloggers out there who have big audiences themselves and are "experts" for others audiences who really push hard this narrative that AI is a joke and will never progress by where it is today, it is actually completely useless and just a scam. This is comforting for those of us that worry more than are excited about AI so some eat it up while barely trying it for themselves
by jlund-molfese | 2025-12-01 18:39:30+00:00
Vestwell | Senior Software Engineer | HYBRID - NYC; Austin; King of Prussia, PA | https://www.vestwell.com/careers/7510610003 | $145K - $160K base + bonus & equity

I'm the hiring manager for this role. Please see the job description for details, but I'm looking for someone who is, or is able to become, proficient in backend development for a public nest.js API suite using TypeScript. We don't have any hard requirements like a CS degree or prior nest.js experience, but candidates do have to complete a TypeScript coding challenge. It's a real-world problem, no leetcode. In total, our interview process is only 3 rounds, and we move pretty quickly. We want someone who has systems design experience and good technical leadership skills. You also have to be self-motivated. We use a pull rather than push process, so work isn't assigned to people, and you have to be good at working efficiently without many hard deadlines or micromanagement.

Happy to answer any questions here! If you'd like to apply, please email shane.vierra [at] vestwell [dot] com with your resume.
by smaudet | 2025-12-01 18:39:44+00:00
> phrases like "major company"

Right here. And I think you're not quite getting it if you have to refer to "go on the internet and tell lies"...

Sure plenty of people might be on "social media" and have some idea that people fib, but they aren't necessarily generally "surfing the internet".

To them, saying "the internet tells lies" is comparable to saying "well sometimes, at the grocery store, you buy poison instead of food", and yes, it can happen, but they aren't expecting to need a mass spectrometer and a full lab team to test for food safety... to you know, separate the snake oil grocers from the "good" food vendors.
by nedervino | 2025-12-01 18:39:48+00:00
Stellar (https://stellarcs.ai) | Founding Software Engineers | Amsterdam, the Netherlands | Full-time | No Visa Sponsorship

Stellar is building the go-to AI voice agent platform for customer support, enabling incredibly human-like customer service over the phone. We're a young and rapidly growing startup that has already proven traction, with a number of well-known companies among our initial customers.

To see some of our AI voice agents in action, see https://www.stellarcs.ai/demo-showcase

We're looking for founding software engineers to help us scale Stellar's platform globally. As one of the first members of our engineering team, you’ll play a key role in Stellar's journey and have the opportunity to help shape our architecture, engineering culture and product and engineering roadmap.

Tech stack: Go, Node.js, Typescript, React, Next.js, Encore Cloud, GCP

What you’ll do:

- Build performant APIs and backend services in Go and Typescript (Node.js)

- Develop Stellar's frontend in React, TypeScript and NextJS, to allow companies to effectively design, test, deploy and monitor their AI voice agents

- Design a scalable, fault-tolerant system architecture that can handle large volumes of concurrent real-time audio conversations & agent interactions while maintaining low latency

- Work on Stellar's AI agent framework, at the intersection of software engineering and AI engineering

- Design and implement a platform that meets enterprise standards in terms of security, compliance, resilience and data privacy

- Build API integrations with external systems to enhance the capabilities of Stellar's agents

- Help shape the early engineering culture as one of the first hires of a young and growing tech startup

Why join: you'll be joining at a pivotal time in our growth, in a role with a high degree of ownership and strong growth potential. Join a small but talented team, coming from high growth startups and scale-ups such Framer, MessageBird and Adyen.

More details about the role here: https://www.stellarcs.ai/careers/software-engineer

Apply: Send us an email at info@stellarcs.ai, and mention you came from HN. Note that we do not provide visa sponsorship, and will only proceed with candidates who are able to work from our office in Amsterdam (~4 days in-office per week)
by abnercoimbre | 2025-12-01 18:40:13+00:00
The notable thing is this author wrote the Mastering Vim book:

> Yeah, piracy isn’t legal, yada-yada. But if $30 is too much right now and your library doesn’t have a copy to spare - I won’t blame you for torrenting it. Here’s my full permission, I hope you enjoy the result of my sweat, tears, and deadline anxiety.
by reactordev | 2025-12-01 18:40:15+00:00
In all of those cases, all of that 401k money is freely available to use. They would be dead if it wasn’t for the fact they saved and had it. How hard is this to understand? It’s designed to trap your money on purpose so you save it because you’ll end up spending it and not having the resources for your health in the end.

Besides, once you have a healthy 401k, you’ll realize there’s things you can do with it in the short term. Like borrow for a down payment. Use it for hospital bills. Funerals. Hardship withdrawals. Even a Roth has this. Saving vs spending will always be the story of the grasshopper and the ants.
by pirates | 2025-12-01 18:40:19+00:00
As good as the image tracing has gotten over the years, using the stock image trace function is never going to be as good as re-tracing the image yourself with the pen tool to get the exact curves and lines correct. Do it once (or twice or three times if you want a couple slightly different wreath shapes), then either make the shape a brush or use the blend/steps tool to create as many repeats as you want. Or option/alt drag to make a copy and build it yourself.

That will cut down on the finicky stuff and give you a better result in the end.