MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by abalone | 2026-02-04 09:02:35+00:00
There are plenty of legit concerns here about e.g. the launch externalities which are actually greater than the launch costs themselves, i.e. climate impact to future generations.

However one flaw in this critique is that is only looks at the cost of ground-based solar panels and not their overall scalability. That is, manufacturing cost is far from the only factor. There is also the need for real estate in areas with good sun exposure that also have sufficient fresh water supply for cleaning.

When we really consider the challenges of deploying orders of magnitude more terrestrial solar, it really requires a more detailed and specific critique of the orbital vision. Positive includes near continuous solar exposure (in certain orbits) and no water requirements.

Much has been said of cooling but remember, there is a lot of literal space between the satellites for radiative cooling fins. It is envisioned they would network via optical links, and each mini satellite would be roughly on the order of a desktop GPU (not a whole data center rack). The vision is predicated on leveraging a ton of space for lots of mini satellites on the order of a Dell desktop tower. The terrestrial areas that are really cold are also not that great for solar exposure.

Personally I don't know how it will play out but the core concern I have about making these kinds of absolutist predictions is they make weak assumptions about the sustainable scalability of terrestrial power. And that is definitely the case here in that it only looks at the manufacturing cost of solar.
by palata | 2026-02-04 09:02:42+00:00
> So also things like helping kids with their homework or giving people courses in your hackerspace, repaircafes, reading with others can fall into that.

I'm guessing it doesn't count if you are being helped to help kids or give courses, does it? So not only it depends on what it is, it also depends on how it is done.

Open source in itself is not charitable, and many people get paid to contribute to open source projects.

My point is that I agree that some open source projects can count as volunteering, just like some masonry work. But I wouldn't say that "open source" should count as volunteering, just like for masonry.
by spacedcowboy | 2026-02-04 09:03:22+00:00
Mm. On the Studio, my desktop switching is pretty quick - 17 frames from tapping the ctrl/arrow. I have an M4 Max which is actually 1 frame faster at 16 frames (though measurement-error probably accounts for that).

In either case that's less than 1/3 of a second. It's nowhere near what you're seeing. I'd be tempted to take the machine to an Apple Store and say "this is broken, please fix it".
by athrowaway3z | 2026-02-04 09:03:37+00:00
You're defending X/Grok as if it's a public social platform.

It is a privately controlled public-facing group chat. Being a chat-medium does not grant you the same rights as being a person. France isn't America.

If a company operates to the detriment and against the values of a nation, e.g. not paying their taxes or littering in the environment, the nation will ask them to change their behavior.

If there is a conspiracy of contempt, at some point things escalate.
by luke5441 | 2026-02-04 09:03:52+00:00
X is making it pretty clear that it is "Grok" posting those images and not the user. It is a separate posting that comes from an official account named "Grok". X has full control over what the official "Grok" account posts.

There is no functionality for the users to review and approve "Grok" responses to their tweets.
by Cthulhu_ | 2026-02-04 09:04:11+00:00
Counterpoint (more devil's advocate), I'd argue it's better than an LLM writes something (e.g. the solution or thinking through of a problem) than nothing at all.

Counterpoint to my own counterpoint, will anyone actually (want to) read it?

counterpoint to the third degree, to loop it back around, an LLM might and I'd even argue an LLM is better at reading and ingesting long text (I'm thinking architectural documentation etc) than humans are. Speaking for myself, I struggle to read attentively through e.g. a document, I quickly lose interest and scan read or just focus on what I need instead.
by cladopa | 2026-02-04 09:04:17+00:00
I believe the article is wrong in so many ways.

If you think too much you get into dead ends and you start having circular thoughts, like when you are lost in the desert and you realise you are in the same place again after two hours as you have made a great circle(because one of your legs is dominant over the other).

The thinker needs feedback on the real world. It needs constant testing of hypothesis on reality or else you are dealing with ideology, not critical thinking. It needs other people and confrontation of ideas so the ideas stay fresh and strong and do not stagnate in isolation and personal biases.

That was the most frustrating thing before AI, a thinker could think very fast, but was limited in testing by the ability to build. Usually she had to delegate it to people that were better builders, or else she had to be builder herself, doing what she hates all the time.
by aylmao | 2026-02-04 09:05:26+00:00
> their insistence on using a GUI instead of a basic JSON manifest just compounds it

I think this is a big part of the problem. Apple owns the IDE and the programming languages; in theory this should lead to a great experience. In practice, because they insist you only use their languages with their ide, and their ide with their languages, it leads to lousy tool design.

Features that would be best implemented as part of the compiler suite are instead be implemented in the GUI. File formats that could be simplified live on, because everyone is using GUIs in the IDE to edit them anyway.

Fixes that should be prioritized in the IDE get punted because the IDE is not competing with any other IDE, it's the only way to develop the language, people will use it anyway, etc.
by larodi | 2026-02-04 09:06:53+00:00
> It sounds like you are very far removed from ERP and business systems in general.

am I really? it sounds so many people in big ERP service providers are oblivious of the tide rising that will wash them away, because you know what - most of these companies are super pricey, super slow, very messy and tend to fail large-scale projects that cost millions? I've seen this happen personally, and I have personally, as a sole player implemented ERPs with custom inhouse software.

Trust me brother, I know ERPs very well and seen hundreds of high-profile fakers that have zero knowledge of E/R, Business Architecture, and integrations, that still believe they can get away with nonsense.

Hope you're not one of them.
by gethly | 2026-02-04 09:06:55+00:00
I just checked, I'm on version 8.8.8. With TinyWall firewall, it has no access to the internet without my explicit say so. This is why constantly trying to be on the bleeding edge of last updates will more likely bite you in the ass than leave your system/program open to attack with some unpatched vulnerability. Look at Windows 11 updates lately. I bet most users would be gladly behind with their updates right now.
by mapcars | 2026-02-04 09:07:12+00:00
You can construe what you want, but I don't put my political (or any other views) into unrelated posts and try to conceal/justify it later.

My point is not about the views - its still free internet and most of us live in free speech countries - its about putting it out there while being fully aware that many people will read the news post about a popular language and then talking how its not a political statement.
by ProllyInfamous | 2026-02-04 09:07:55+00:00
>after adjusting for inflation

"Lies, damn lies, statistics."

In 1970 1 oz of gold was ~$35 (by statute); today gold is $5,100; a few years ago it was well under two thousand dollarydoos.

Almost everybody is broke. A better way to look at this is to realize that 2025 was the highest year of spending by the Top [whatever-percentage] of consumers. The US fiat dollar's superior global position is waning, and this'll rot all economies & classes.

We're literally watching the final steps of "Trickle Down Economics" — where the wealth falls up [first slowly, then fast]. Add in some thinking machines — and it's just 21st century "slavery... with extra steps" (–R&M)
by charcircuit | 2026-02-04 09:08:02+00:00
Most optimizations are making sure you do not do work that is unnecessary or that you use the hardware effectively. The standard techniques are all you need 99% of the time you are doing performance work. The hard part about performance is dedicating the time towards it and not letting it regress as you scale the team. With AI you can have agents constantly profiling the codebase identifying and optimizing hotspots as they get introduced.
by Aerolfos | 2026-02-04 09:08:08+00:00
If anything, considering this + limited satellite lifetime, it almost looks like a ploy to deal with the current issue of warehouses full of GPUs and the questions about overbuild with just the currently actively installed GPUs (which is a fraction of the total that Nvidia has promised to deliver within a year or two).

Just shoot it into space where it's all inaccessible and will burn out within 5 years, forcing a continuous replacement scheme and steady contracts with Nvidia and the like to deliver the next generation at the exact same scale, forever
by Cthulhu_ | 2026-02-04 09:08:25+00:00
Not yet, anyway; I do trust LLMs for writing snippets or features at this point, but I don't trust them for setting up new applications, technology choices, architectures, etc.

The other day people were talking about metrics, the amount of lines of code people vs LLMs could output in any given time, or the lines of code in an LLM assisted application - using LOC as a metric for productivity.

But would an LLM ever suggest using a utility or library, or re-architecture an application, over writing their own code?

I've got a fairly simple application, renders a table (and in future some charts) with metrics. At the moment all that is done "by hand", last features were stuff like filtering and sorting the data. But that kind of thing can also be done by a "data table" library. Or the whole application can be thrown out in favor of a workbook (one of those data analysis tools, I'm not at home in that are at all). That'd save hundreds of lines of code + maintenance burden.
High Performance Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) Hosting
by John_rdpextra | 2026-02-04 09:08:28+00:00
A Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS) is a premium hosting solution designed for users who require dedicated resources, high performance, and complete control over their server environment. Unlike shared hosting or basic VPS solutions, a VDS allocates dedicated CPU cores, RAM, and storage exclusively to your server, ensuring consistent speed, stability, and reliability even during heavy workloads or high traffic. This makes it an excellent choice for business websites, enterprise applications, databases, eCommerce platforms, and resource-intensive projects that demand uninterrupted performance.
by mschild | 2026-02-04 09:08:41+00:00
Workday is not an ERP? Beyond that, they're effectively replacing major stacks of traditional SaaS tools with in-house ones. Considering the scale and complexity of what Klarna does and the regulations it has to follow across many different markts, I'd say its a valid concern. Now, I don't think SAP etc are going anywhere, especially in traditional businesses where most of the company is reliant on it, but it seems there is a way to do it.

That said, plenty of banks still run on mainframes and use COBOL.

https://www.salesforceben.com/klarna-salesforce-workday-part...
by user_7832 | 2026-02-04 09:08:47+00:00
> ~100 lumens per watt is rather poor

Is it, though? Most of the LEDs I've seen are very similar, and lower temp LEDs are slightly less efficient. If it were 60lm/watt I'd be a bit surprised, but 100lm seems pretty typical. Maybe not "well engineered", but average. (Which, with all due respect to the founder, seems the quality of the product.)
by spacedcowboy | 2026-02-04 09:09:30+00:00
My machine has more memory than I generally know what to do with. The mapped-into-memory footprint of Terminal.app right now is ~112MB, for 12 terminal tabs across 4 windows.

In other words, I don't care about the memory use.

I think I commented earlier that there's not that much I use the terminal for during development - mainly git. Keeping a terminal open, mainly hidden, in the bottom-left corner with the tab set to the top-level directory isn't really a burden.
by jtrn | 2026-02-04 09:09:34+00:00
This sentence proves the author has no ability for logical thinking: Data centers in space only make sense if they are cost effective relative to normal data centers.

I too don't think it's currently a sensible solution. But the author completely unable to make a proper case. For instance, just to refute that one claim, there are many reasons to do it in space even at an cost.

Space-based data centers provide an off-world backup that is immune to Earth-specific disasters like earthquakes, floods, fires, or grid collapses.
Servers in orbit are physically isolated from terrestrial threats, making them safe from riots, local warfare, or physical break-ins.

Moving infrastructure to space solves local community disputes by removing the strain on residential power grids and freeing up land for housing or nature.
Space data centers do not deplete Earth’s freshwater supply for cooling, unlike terrestrial centers which consume billions of gallons annually.

Solar panels in orbit can access high-intensity sunlight 24 hours a day without interference from clouds, night, or the atmosphere.

Data stored in space can exist outside of national borders, protecting it from seizure, censorship, or the legal jurisdiction of unstable governments.
Data transmission can be faster in space because light travels roughly 30% faster in a vacuum than it does through fiber optic cables.

Processing data directly in orbit is necessary for satellites and future space stations to avoid the delay and cost of beaming raw data back to Earth
AVATrade's Credibility – A Fintech Perspective on User-Protection Gaps
by ReviewShield | 2026-02-04 09:10:24+00:00
For founders and operators in the fintech space, AvaTrade provides an instructive case study on how multi-entity regulatory structures introduce both operational flexibility and user-experience challenges.

A few observations relevant to YC-style discussions:

1. Regulatory Multiplicity Impacts UX

Operating under several regulators allows broader reach, but creates fragmentation in user protections, disclosure requirements, and product permissions.
This is not inherently negative — it simply increases the complexity of maintaining consistent onboarding transparency.

2. Entity-Assignment Clarity Is Critical

Users often do not notice which entity they are contracting under.
From a product-design perspective, clearer labeling and automated explanations of jurisdiction differences could reduce confusion.

3. Compliance Architecture Drives Perception

Even when a broker is fully compliant, inconsistent documentation or unclear regional disclosures can create user doubt.
This is a problem of communication architecture, not necessarily regulatory weakness.

4. Fintech Lessons

For builders in this space:

Multi-region licensing must be paired with multi-region communication.

Legal variability should be reflected transparently in the product’s onboarding flow.

User trust depends as much on clarity as on regulation itself.

This is not a critique of AvaTrade’s legitimacy; rather, it highlights how regulatory diversity influences UX, trust, and operational expectations across global platforms.
by crimsoneer | 2026-02-04 09:10:40+00:00
So I briefly touched on this in the blog post, but to expand a little... ATProto provides significantly more "batteries included" than ActivityPub in my view - if you use ATProto, it can handle both authentication and identity management, and effectively act as your back-end and CRUD operations (eg, oauth with your PDS, and then write/read from the network for your object creation based on your Lexicon).

ActivityPub, based on my understanding, really doesn't work like that - while you an oauth with your mastodon account, the expectation is you'll be handling identity and back-end bits, and then sharing events across the network (happy to be corrected).

Part of what kicked this off is seeing ATProto's new devrel person at a meetup and finding their vision pretty compelling.

But yes, ActivityPub is more "robust" and decentralised (hence also jankier)

https://andreasthinks.me/posts/octosphere/octosphere.html
by risyachka | 2026-02-04 09:10:49+00:00
You do realize that making software by developer for his wife means for random business is hiring a third party dev to build custom software?

So still, for ransom business much cheaper and better to buy software from SaaS vendor.

In this case it was better ONLY because the client is the wife of the developer.

And even now, if he sells this to other businesses - it will be MUCH cheaper to buy his subscription than homebrew the same version of it - as if it starts selling it he will be adding features and support which requires time (which is money).
by graemep | 2026-02-04 09:11:51+00:00
What is their definition of self made? Zero inherited wealth? I doubt it. People who crossed the threshold? You can do that sitting on investment gains.

CEOs and billionaires are different groups. Those willing to take part in a study are not a random sample. Its a sample sample too. The numbers depend on self reporting.

You are buying into the myth of wealth going to those who create it. Most wealth is accumulated by being on the right end of transfers,and pricing power.
by jack_pp | 2026-02-04 09:11:57+00:00
The footgun cameras had was exposure time.

1826 - The Heliograph - 8+ hours

1839 - The Daguerreotype - 15–30 Mins

1841 - The Calotype - 1–2 Mins

1851 - Wet Plate Collodion - 2–20 Secs

1871 - The Dry Plate - < 1 Second.

So it took 45 years to perfect the process so you could take an instant image. Yet we complain after 4 years of LLMs that they're not good enough.
by abalone | 2026-02-04 09:12:09+00:00
> It makes far more sense to build data centers in the arctic.

What (literally) on earth makes you say this? The arctic has excellent cooling and extremely poor sun exposure. Where would the energy come from?

A satellite in sun-synchronous orbit would have approximately 3-5X more energy generation than a terrestrial solar panel in the arctic. Additionally anything terrestrial needs maintenance for e.g. clearing dust and snow off of the panels (a major concern in deserts which would otherwise seem to be ideal locations).

There are so many more considerations that go into terrestrial generation. This is not to deny the criticism of orbital panels, but rather to encourage a real and apolitical engineering discussion.
by repelsteeltje | 2026-02-04 09:12:11+00:00
I think the heart of the matter is this section in the blog:

> Yes, I blame AI for this.

> I am currently writing much more, and more complicated software than ever, yet I feel I am not growing as an engineer at all. [...] (emphasis added by me)

AI is a force multiplier for accidental complexity in the Brooks sense.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Silver_Bullet)
by aurareturn | 2026-02-04 09:13:24+00:00
Cookie-cutter "but crypto is a scam" comments are well deserved on HN.

Take it as someone who worked in crypto doing on chain analysis.

It's 99.999% scams, rug pulls, insider trading, ponzis, pump and dumps, and insiders stealing customer funds. It's a zero sum game because crypto does not increase productivity. Crypto is also one of the best ways to transfer wealth from the poor to the rich.
by worldsayshi | 2026-02-04 09:13:37+00:00
> There is also the need for real estate in areas with good sun exposure that also have sufficient fresh water supply for cleaning.

Solar panels are 20x more efficient than growing corn for ethanol. Swap out some of those 30 million acres of ethanol corn fields (in the US) and you'll have more energy than you need.

More details here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM
by mike_hearn | 2026-02-04 09:13:46+00:00
But the focus on building giant monolithic datacenters comes from the practicalities of ground based construction. There are huge overheads involved with obtaining permits, grid connections, leveling land, pouring concrete foundations, building roads and increasingly often now, building a power plant on site. So it makes sense to amortize these overheads by building massive facilities, which is why they get so big.

That doesn't mean you need a gigawatt of power before achieving anything useful. For training, maybe, but not for inference which scales horizontally.

With satellites you need an orbital slot and launch time, and I honestly don't know how hard it is to get those, but space is pretty big and the only reasons for denying them would be safety. Once those are obtained done you can make satellite inferencing cubes in a factory and just keep launching them on a cadence.

I also strongly suspect, given some background reading, that radiator tech is very far from optimized. Most stuff we put into space so far just doesn't have big cooling needs, so there wasn't a market for advanced space radiator tech. If now there is, there's probably a lot of low hanging fruit (droplet radiators maybe).
by leoedin | 2026-02-04 09:13:50+00:00
My neighbour has a motion activated flood light. It's annoying. Not annoying enough to risk a feud by telling them though. It also completely ruins any natural habitat for nocturnal animals.

The whole concept of permanently lighting your garden is crazy! Where do you live that you're so worried about people hiding in your yard? Could you not solve that with cameras and an infra-red floodlight?
Human message request: sharing a brief support request about family in crisis
by ForestSeeker | 2026-02-04 09:14:05+00:00
A small family is facing a compound crisis involving unstable housing, ongoing medical needs, food insecurity, and concerns around basic safety after a prolonged period of setbacks. This is not a temporary inconvenience or a lifestyle choice, but a genuine struggle to maintain basic stability while trying to recover. The request here is for visibility and human consideration only. If this message can be shared onward to people or networks that may be able to help, it would make a meaningful difference.