MurphyA/hacker-news huggingface dataset:
by boringg | 2026-03-04 17:41:08+00:00
I get that - but also solar should be cheap. If we lower the cost of power we knock off a lot of the bad externalities of power production and allow people to be more inventive with their power use.

Agreed - a lot of the inverters do some real BS moves around data management clearly a way to extract more value in a subscription mode. Its mind numbingly frustrating.
by NortySpock | 2026-03-04 17:41:22+00:00
I managed to get qwen2.5-coder:14B working under ollama on an Nvidia 2080 Ti with 11GB of VRAM, using ollama cli, outputting what looks like 200 words-per-minute to my eye

It has been useful for education ("What does this Elixir code do? <Paste file> ..... <general explanation> "then What this line mean?")

as well as getting a few basic tests written when I'm unfamiliar with the syntax. ("In Elixir Phoenix, given <subject under test, paste entire module file> and <test helper module, paste entire file> and <existing tests, pasted in, used both for context and as examples> , what is one additional test you would write?")

This is useful in that I get a single test I can review, run, paste in, and I'm not using any quota. Generally I have to fix it, but that's just a matter of reading the actual test and throwing the test failure output to the LLM to propose a fix. Some human judgement is required but once I got going adding a test took 10 minutes despite being relatively unfamiliar with Elixir Phoenix .

It's a nice loop, I'm in the loop, and I'm learning Elixir and contributing a useful feature that has tests.
by akshay2603 | 2026-03-04 17:41:30+00:00
Spicy response but nevertheless, thank you for taking the time.

You are right that I can't understand code. But what I can do is identify the right problem, and identify the right solution to solve that problem. Coding agents are GREAT enough now to complete the last leg of solution -> code implementation.

It helps that my PRs are small, typically frontend heavy, I can test all I want, and almost all of them get merged without any major comments. If this is happening , then surely we can agree that no one is cleaning up my mess or I am not generating something that is not net positive.

I have zero worries about being pushed out - all of this is barely 5% of my work time ++ weekends, happening out of interest (and the other reasons I mentioned) and not because I have to.

And sure, I could invest in learning the craft. But this is exactly that from my pov. I am sitting in terminal, I am asking Claude to explain what changes it is making, thoroughly testing everything to ensure nothing breaks. Just because I am not typing the actual code doesn't mean I am not putting an earnest effort.
by karmakaze | 2026-03-04 17:42:00+00:00
We don't have a Qwen3.5-Coder to compare with, but there is a chart comparing Qwen3.5 to Qwen3 including Qwen3-Next[0].

[0] https://www.reddit.com/r/LocalLLaMA/comments/1rivckt/visuali...
by vincent-manis | 2026-03-04 17:42:25+00:00
With all due respect to Wirth, P-Code did not originate in a vacuum. Martin Richards's BCPL compiler, dating from the late 1960s, targeted a hypothetical OCode machine. Furthermore, although there were backends for this that generated good machine code on popular computers of the time, Richards also had a backend that generated a severely reduced instruction set, which he called Intcode. You could write an assembler and interpreter for Intcode in a few hundred lines of Fortran (I did), which meant you could have a slow BCPL implementation on a new machine in a day or so's work, and then you could write a better backend in BCPL.

I have never been able to determine whether Wirth knew of this work, but, given that Richards's 1969 BCPL paper described OCode, I suspect he was aware of it, and that it influenced his design of the Pascal-P compiler. (I am not sure when Intcode appeared, but it was present when I obtained the BCPL compiler in 1972, a year before the Pascal-P release.)
by cptskippy | 2026-03-04 17:42:44+00:00
Who pays for the laptop when the school bully pours water on a kid's backpack? Or a kid has their bag in a seat and someone sits on it accidentally?

What happens when a kid's laptop is broken, regardless of the reason, and the family is unable to afford to repair it? Are we going to run into a similar situation that we had when kids couldn't pay for school lunch? Do teachers write "pay for a new laptop" in sharpie on the kid's arm for the parent?

A child's educational environment is a lot more chaotic, violent, and uncontrolled compared to an office environment. If you're issuing my child a $600 laptop and making me responsible for any damages, guess what's going to be kept at home in a secure location?

Making a child responsible for securing a laptop in an insecure environment isn't accountability, it's just a form of imprisonment.
by smugglerFlynn | 2026-03-04 17:42:55+00:00
> as long as there are relatively good options of apps that do have privacy (and I think there are)

Once you have enormous network effect like TikTok has, you don't really have any free selection of alternative apps. You are free to use one, but you will be the only sad user over there.

Regulations are needed that would force large platforms like TikTok and Instagram to enable federation, opening them up to actual competition. This way platforms would be able to compete on monetisation and usability, instead of competing on locking in their precious users more strictly.
by dartharva | 2026-03-04 17:43:35+00:00
The experience I have had with Thinkpads, both current-gen and old during my childhood, did not warm me up to the line. They are not particularly better in feel, thermals and screen quality against its cheaper alternatives including those from Lenovo themselves. The only good thing was its keyboard, but then most Lenovo laptops in general have good keyboards. Its popular acclaim is weird to me.
by bigyabai | 2026-03-04 17:43:46+00:00
I'm getting ~30 tok/s on the A3B model with my 3070 Ti and 32k context.

> Do you feel you could replace the frontier models with it for everyday coding? Would/will you?

Probably not yet, but it's really good at composing shell commands. For scripting or one-liner generation, the A3B is really good. The web development skills are markedly better than Qwen's prior models in this parameter range, too.
by hypeatei | 2026-03-04 17:44:45+00:00
Well, yes, this is being used in corporate environments but the end user and the system admin aren't on the same page necessarily. Domain blocking doesn't make much sense in my opinion and should be a thing of the past. You already lack admin rights so what is a block on e.g. mullvad.net actually doing other than stopping someone from reading their blog? They can't install the VPN software.

Defense in layers makes sense, but domain blocking was never a "layer" if a hostile actor can just buy a new domain that's not on your blocklist.

I think it'd be good if ECH became more widespread so that we can get away from these antiquated control techniques that just result in frustration with no security benefits.
by solarkraft | 2026-03-04 17:44:49+00:00
I personally do this and I can imagine a world in which it is popular with privacy/sovereignty enthusiasts. I have doubts that this share of people will be significant enough for many companies to cater their products to this model - but if anyone will, it will be Apple - and it would yield them a few extra Mac Studio sales and likely make much more profit than selling the same service.
by SpicyLemonZest | 2026-03-04 17:44:53+00:00
I do see a large number of people getting affected by this. Character.AI reportedly has 20 million MAU with an average usage of 75 minutes per day (https://www.wired.com/story/character-ai-ceo-chatbots-entert...), and does not as far as I can tell have any use case other than boundary-degrading roleplay.

Medical data is reported on a substantial lag in the US, so right now we have no idea of the suicide rate last year, but I would falsifiably predict it's going to be elevated because of stories like those of Mr. Gavalas.
by MarcelOlsz | 2026-03-04 17:44:53+00:00
I also kind of respect it, it bothers me endlessly when everything isn't perfect and this guy just threw caution to the wind. Jokes on me as I'm working for him now. But it's not like anything that predates AI, I couldn't write this type of slop if I tried lol. Zero formatting, linting, or anything. Just straight goulash.
by xtracto | 2026-03-04 17:45:07+00:00
I was recently in the lookout for a new laptop. I wanted something BEEFFY! Specs wise but 13 inch at most.

I literally couldn't find anything on the PC side. I wanted an x86 because I prefer Linux Mint as my OS (didn't care about windows) , but it was impossible to find a good laptop with good GPU , more than 64gb ram and decent build materials (ive got a thinpad and the platic build is just terrible. The screen bends when pulling it to open the laptop).

So, if settled for a 128gb ram M4 max Macbookpro. It has been pretty solid so far. I'm a power user, so the RAM is used quite a lot (one of the reasons I wanted x86/Linux was to avoid virtualization overhead in docker/podman).

Macs are way more expensive than other laptops, but their level of tech sophistication is miles ahead of anyone.

Now, if only Asahi was more complete.
by andresquez | 2026-03-04 17:45:17+00:00
I see a lot of people complaining that every day there are 100 new frameworks for “agent teams”, prompting styles, workflows, and everyone insists theirs is the best for one reason or another. It reminds me a lot of early software engineering: every team had its own way of doing things, we experimented with tons of methodologies (waterfall, agile, etc.), and over time a few patterns became widely adopted (scrum, PM roles, architects, tickets, rituals). It feels like we’re in that same messy exploration phase right now.

And actually, these tools actually work, , because 99% of people still don’t really know how to prompt agents well and end up doing things like “pls fix this, it’s not working”.

One thing that worked well for us was going back to how a human team would approach it: write a product spec first (expected behavior, constraints, acceptance criteria, etc), use AI to refine that spec, and only then hand it to an opinionated flow of agents that reflect a human team to implement.
The Shortcut No One Talks About in Early Stage Startups
by vibecoder21 | 2026-03-04 17:45:17+00:00
When I first started thinking about building a startup, I assumed the hardest part would be execution. Turns out, the real trap is getting stuck in the idea phase for months. You keep searching for something “original,” scrolling Reddit threads, saving random notes, and convincing yourself the perfect idea will suddenly appear.

That’s basically where I was until I randomly came across StartupIdeasDB on Google. Instead of brainstorming endlessly, it felt like browsing a structured library of real startup opportunities and pain points people are already facing. It immediately changed how I think about ideas.

Rather than trying to invent something from scratch, you can start with patterns that already exist and focus on execution. Honestly, it felt like skipping weeks of idea hunting in one evening. Early-stage founders rarely talk about this shortcut, but it makes the starting line much clearer.

If you’re stuck in idea paralysis, something like StartupIdeasDB can surprisingly break that loop. Sometimes the best startup idea isn’t discovered in a moment of inspiration, it’s found by looking at the right data.
by iamcalledrob | 2026-03-04 17:45:41+00:00
I was unable to reach a business this week who host their email on Office 365. Any email I sent would bounce with:

550 5.7.520 Message blocked because it contains content identified as spam. AS(4810)'

For context, I was replying to an existing and very mundane email thread.

Something is rotten in the state of Outlook
by dragonwriter | 2026-03-04 17:45:42+00:00
> Why do school board super-intendants and administration make more money than teachers themselves?

The more and less cynical explanations (and both play a role, IMO):

(1) Because individuals in those roles have closer relationships to the people that set the salaries than do individual teachers, and

(2) Because otherwise people with experience in education would continue as teachers and not seek roles as superintendents or other administrators (or seek the advanced degrees sought for those roles whose only financial payoff is greater competitiveness for those higher paying roles.)
by alok-g | 2026-03-04 17:45:58+00:00
>> Some human still has to be accountable. Someone has to get fired / go to jail when something screws up.

It does not happen this way there even with just humans presiding. Judgments written by humans there are on an average total garbage.

Edit: Someone wrote a similar comment here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47244909
by lateforwork | 2026-03-04 17:46:09+00:00
Not true.

13-inch Surface Resolution: 1920 x 1280 (178 PPI)

15-inch Surface Resolution: 2496 x 1664 (201 PPI)

See https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/surface/devices/surface-lapt...

Compare that to my Lenovo Yoga 14-inch: 2944 x 1840.
by craftkiller | 2026-03-04 17:46:16+00:00
Are your bluetooth speakers connected over a C-to-C cable or is there any legacy USB in the mix (type-A and/or microusb)? The reason I ask is legacy USB expected 5 volts to be supplied by default, whereas in type-C you have to specifically request any current. So some C-to-A / A-to-C adapters/cables include the resistors to request the current whereas others do not, leading to legacy USB devices not getting power through some adapters/cables.
by Balgair | 2026-03-04 17:46:40+00:00
This kinda gets into the idea of AIs as droids right?

So, you have a code writing droid that is aligned towards writing good clean code that humans can read. Then you have an implementation droid that goes into actually launching and running the code and is aligned with business needs and expenses. And you have a QA droid that stress tests the code and is aligned with the hacker mindset and is just slightly evil, so to speak.

Each droid is working together to make good code, but also are independent and adversarial in the day to day.
by dcder1 | 2026-03-04 17:46:55+00:00
Israel => 2.7 bil dollars per week, that is roughly 0.4 bil per day (from news)
US => 60 mil per day just operations (from news). Likely around 0.1 bil per day, or more.
World => 80 mil barrels oil/day x 10 dollars = 0.8 bil per day (from news), on the increase.

5 days of war generated at least 6.5 bil dollars in cost !!! The majority of which is paid by every human on the planet :-)

The results include the killing of an 86 year old man who had cancer, about 150 school girls, some 40 radical idiots and various by-standers.
by karmakaze | 2026-03-04 17:46:57+00:00
That Surface has 16GB RAM though.

> Your new MacBook Neo.
Just the way you want it[sic].
13-inch MacBook Neo in Indigo
A18 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Apple Intelligence Footnote ※

8GB unified memory
256GB SSD storage
U.S. English Magic Keyboard with Lock Key
20W USB‑C Power Adapter

Two USB-C ports, 3.5 mm headphone jack
Support for one external display

8 GB unified memory is brand-new e-waste today. macOS 26 makes it even worse.
by jppope | 2026-03-04 17:47:15+00:00
The article's point is sound, but its missing a key component. People who build simpler systems are capable of getting more done - the build takes less, the maintenance takes less, etc. So when the engineer choosing simplicity is looking to get promoted they might have 3 or 4 bullet points to their name instead of 1.

Of course, over-simplification is the wrong decision some times, the same as abstraction and complexity is the wrong decision some times...

Your shortcut for promotion is generally building value for the company, but people need to remember that promotions support the business and they aren't free to the company.
by vikramkr | 2026-03-04 17:47:25+00:00
I mean durability is as or more important than repairability and apple products have a reputation for lasting a long time and holding their value. And getting software support etc. In general I think tech nerds underestimate how much people value durability over repairability and how hard it can be to sell repairability. Ive found that "this product is repairable" can be interpreted by people im trying to convince to buy a framework as "this product will need to be repaired and it's going to be your problem." On the other hand Apple's reputation for durability means that buying a used MacBook to save money is a serious and popular option which is by far the most environmentally friendly option compared to any new device, however repairable. The repairability <-> sustainability relationship isn't as straightforward as people suggest in the real world imo
by ncfausti | 2026-03-04 17:47:31+00:00
This is exactly what's needed to get general users off of Windows.

Anecdotal, but whenever my friends/family are looking for a basic laptop I almost always suggest a Lenovo for the price/performance/quality they're looking for in the $400-600 range, even though I myself would never get anything besides a MBP.

I would recommend this to them instead every single time. The build quality of macs are unmatched and now in everyone's price range.
by vimbtw | 2026-03-04 17:47:46+00:00
Yes, iPads (at least at my university) are incredibly common. I would guess they’re at least on-par with paper. So many people swear by Goodnotes because you get all the benefits of handwriting your notes without giving up the niceties of search-ability, auto correct, etc.

I don’t know anyone who uses any other tablet besides an iPad, they’ve basically conquered the market.
by wolttam | 2026-03-04 17:48:12+00:00
When you're tokenizing it does not matter really what you use (how you translate that token to-from a text string), the main thing is the overall number of tokens. XML is particularly amenable to tokenization because it is trivial to represent entire tags as a single token (or a pair of tokens, one for the open tag, one for the close).

It gets a bit muddier with attributes, but you can still capture the core semantics of the tag with a single token. The model will learn that tag's attributes through training on usages of the tag.
by lysace | 2026-03-04 17:48:20+00:00
That is true. One difference is that in the UK/US it has in practice only applied during actual war time. I remember the instant switch in tone of reporting from the BBC the moment war broke out in 2003.

And I have never seen it apply to individuals in UK/US. (Post WW2.)

In China it's all the time. And the control is _so_ much stricter.
by echelon | 2026-03-04 17:48:20+00:00
There isn't enough of a "creepy" push back to these things.

Remember all the "Google Glass is creepers spying on girls" posts from ages ago? That was real human behavior, and it's undoubtably going to happen with these devices at a high incidence rate.

I don't like a social media company enlisting its users to turn every private space into a 24/7 live stream.
Show HN: I improved my handwritten math OCR (now preserves derivations)
by mrajatnath | 2026-03-04 17:48:24+00:00
I built this after almost losing a semester’s worth of handwritten math derivations.

I was taking a Signals and Systems course and filling notebooks with Laplace transforms and long derivations. Before finals I tried digitizing them so I could search my notes.

Everything failed.

Most OCR tools can recognize the characters, but they destroy the structure that makes math readable:

- aligned equations lose alignment
- multi-step derivations collapse into paragraphs
- numbered problems merge together
- tables flatten into plain text

So I built *Axiom*.

Instead of focusing only on transcription accuracy, it focuses on *preserving mathematical structure*.

Upload a photo of handwritten STEM notes and it returns structured Markdown with real LaTeX — keeping aligned equations, derivation steps, and problem blocks intact.

Under the hood it’s basically:

image → vision model → structured Markdown + LaTeX → KaTeX render

Most of the work ended up being in *layout preservation*, not OCR.

https://www.useaxiomnotes.com/app

Happy to answer questions.
by fc417fc802 | 2026-03-04 17:48:31+00:00
GDDR has high bandwidth but limited capacity. Regular RAM is the opposite, leaving typical APUs memory bandwidth starved.

Both types of processor perform much better with linear access. Even for data in the CPU cache you get a noticable speedup.

The primary difference is that GPUs want large contiguous blocks of "threads" to do the same thing (because in reality they aren't actually independent threads).
by calebio | 2026-03-04 17:48:35+00:00
Not a direct answer to your reuqestion re: questionable activity, but for me it's more about ease of access.

A SIM in the U.S. is significantly more difficult to acquire than a SIM in Mexico/many other countries.

E.g.

- Limit on # of SIMs purchased at retailers, low ability to use cash to purchase them, generally always on camera

- SIMs locked up behind the counter at lots of major retailers in the U.S.

- Activation requirements on U.S. networks for prepaid SIMs

Granted, if you're a company you can certainly acquire a lot of SIMs. A lot of questionable activity uses straw purchases, very similar to folks using smurfs to acquire pseudoephedrine in the 2000s.
by godelski | 2026-03-04 17:49:07+00:00
I'm not sure how to answer because I'm not sure which question you're asking.

For infinity, neither can you calculate +/-inf but there also aren't an infinite set of representable numbers on [0,1]. You get more with fp64 and more with fp128 but it's still finite. This is what leads to that thing where you might add numbers and get something like 1.9999999998 (I did not count the number of 9s). Look at how numbers are represented on computers. It uses a system with mantissa and exponents. You'll see there are more representable numbers on [-1,1] than in other ranges. Makes that kind of normalization important when doing math work on computers.

This also causes breakdowns in seemingly ordinary math. Such as adding and multiplying not being associative. It doesn't work with finite precision, which means you don't want fields to with in. This is regardless of the precision level, which is why I made my previous comment.

For real numbers, we're talking about computers. Computers only use a finite subset of the real numbers. I'm not sure why you're bringing them up
by iamnothere | 2026-03-04 17:49:10+00:00
Yes well some of us live in first world countries that are at risk of declining into third world status, where some states DO actually care what sites you visit and would jump at the chance to further restrict traffic.

Rather than “get over” it I think we need to fight. You seem to insist that monitoring/control is a done deal and we only need to argue about the form it takes, but this is not correct. Centralized monitoring/control can be resisted and broken through a combination of political and technical means. While you may not want this, I do. (And many others are being swayed back in my direction as they start to feel the effects of service enshittification, censorship under the guise of “fighting misinformation”, and media consolidation.)