hngrok

Bose is open-sourcing its old smart speakers instead of bricking them from theverge.com
482 by rayrey 1h ago | | |

Article: 4 min

Bose has decided to open-source the API documentation for its SoundTouch smart speakers, extending their usability beyond February 18th, 2026, when cloud support was originally set to end. This move allows users to continue using their devices with local controls and various streaming options, while also enabling them to create custom tools to fill in any gaps left by the lack of cloud services.

This move by Bose could inspire other companies to adopt more user-friendly practices when discontinuing products or services, potentially leading to better customer retention and satisfaction in the tech industry.

Bose's user-friendly move in response to cloud service discontinuation
Users can continue using their smart speakers with local control features
Opportunity for community-driven innovation through open-source API documentation

Quality:
The article provides clear and factual information about the event, with a balanced tone that acknowledges both disappointment and appreciation.

Discussion (76): 14 min

The comment thread discusses Bose's commendable approach to end-of-life management for their smart speakers, including the provision of open-source API documentation and updates to retain functionality without cloud services. Users appreciate the avoidance of 'bricking' devices and the positive impact on the used market. There is a desire for source code availability and a suggestion that such practices should be made into law.

Counterarguments:

Lack of source code for the devices limits what users can do with them beyond basic functionality.
Making EoL practices into law could lead to dark patterns where companies keep products 'on life support' at high costs.

Technology Consumer Electronics, Smart Home

The Jeff Dean Facts from github.com/LRitzdorf
141 by ravenical 3h ago | | |

Article: 18 min

This article presents a collection of humorous 'Jeff Dean facts' that exaggerate Google's Jeff Dean's coding abilities and influence on technology.

List of jokes about Jeff Dean's programming prowess
References to various sources

Quality:
The content is subjective and relies on humor, which may not be universally appreciated.

Discussion (59): 13 min

The comment thread discusses various Jeff Dean facts, his influence in the tech industry, humor related to him, and a controversial incident involving his handling of Google's AI ethics team. The sentiment is neutral, with opinions praising his contributions and acknowledging humor about him, while also addressing concerns regarding racism and impact on colleagues.

Jeff Dean is highly respected in the tech industry
Humor about Jeff Dean is appreciated by many

Counterarguments:

Some find humor about Jeff Dean to be mocking or racist
There is a concern over the impact on Sanjay Ghemawat's reputation

Humor

An Honest Review of Go from benraz.dev
18 by benrazdev 49m ago | |

Article: 22 min

An honest review of the Go programming language, highlighting its strengths in concurrency and type system, while discussing areas for improvement such as enums, immutability, and error handling.

Go's design decisions may influence other programming languages and developers' preferences for concurrency models and error handling techniques.

Channels and Goroutines as first-class features for concurrency
Simple type system with struct embedding instead of complex inheritance trees
Condensed syntax for better ergonomics
Lack of enums, leading to the use of constants in a less convenient way
Immutability issue with compile-time constant variables and lack of function-based alternatives
Error handling using error type, criticized for not being useful or easily parseable

Quality:
The review provides a balanced view of the language's strengths and weaknesses, with clear examples to support each point.

Discussion (9):

The comment thread discusses various opinions on the display issues in browsers, specifically Safari and Firefox, with some users mentioning Go's unique concurrency model and standard library as its strengths. Error handling is highlighted as a weakness by one user.

Safari, Firefox display issues

Programming Language Review

Lights and Shadows (2020) from ciechanow.ski
169 by kg 5d ago | | |

Article: 49 min

The article provides an in-depth explanation of light's effects on matte surfaces, including concepts like power, position, angles, solid angles, surface vision, radiance, reflections, shadows, color, and bounces. It uses interactive demonstrations to illustrate these principles.

Light is a visible portion of electromagnetic radiation.
The human visual system has a non-linear response to the power of incoming light.
Reflected and blocked light play significant roles in creating various effects.
Cosine factor affects how light hits surfaces.
Inverse square law explains the distribution of light intensity with distance.
Solid angles help understand the perceived size and brightness of objects.
Lambertian surfaces emit light uniformly around them.
Color is a combination of different wavelengths.
Bounces create complex lighting effects in scenes.

Quality:
The article provides clear, detailed explanations with interactive demonstrations to enhance understanding.

Discussion (21):

The comment thread discusses the appreciation for interactive 'text books' or explorable explanations, with users sharing resources and expressing excitement about new articles. There's also a discussion on the inverse-square law in photography, highlighting its non-intuitive nature and providing links to further information.

Science ,Physics

Project Patchouli: Open-source electromagnetic drawing tablet hardware from patchouli.readthedocs.io
343 by ffin 11h ago | | |

Article: 2 min

Project Patchouli is an open-source initiative that focuses on creating hardware for electromagnetic resistance (EMR) drawing tablets. It includes a coil array, RF front end, and digital signal processing algorithms compatible with various commercial pens. The project also provides comprehensive documentation of EMR technology, including mechanisms, circuit implementation, signal processing, and pen protocols.

Enables more accessible and customizable drawing tablet hardware for artists and hobbyists, potentially reducing costs and increasing innovation in the tech industry.

Active development project
Sponsored by NLnet Foundation NGI Zero Core Fund

Quality:
The article provides clear and factual information about the project, with no apparent bias or promotional content.

Discussion (37): 11 min

The comment thread discusses an open-source electronics project, with positive feedback on its creator, video quality, and technical aspects. The community appreciates the project's documentation style and encourages others to explore similar resources.

The project is well-received and appreciated by the community.
The video introduction provides a great explanation of the technology.

Open Source Hardware Development, Software Development

Show HN: DeepDream for Video with Temporal Consistency from github.com/jeremicna
27 by fruitbarrel 3h ago | | |

Article: 10 min

This article introduces a fork of neural-dream, called deepdream-video-pytorch, which applies DeepDream to videos with temporal consistency using optical flow estimation and occlusion masking.

The implementation of temporal consistency in DeepDream for videos could lead to more realistic and visually appealing video content, potentially influencing the fields of entertainment, advertising, and media production.

Fork of neural-dream with PyTorch implementation
New CLI (video_dream.py) using RAFT Optical Flow
Automatic occlusion masking to prevent artifacts

Discussion (11): 5 min

The comment thread discusses an innovative PyTorch DeepDream implementation that adds video support with temporal consistency, offering a smooth and flexible experience. Users appreciate its customization options and express excitement about the potential for diverse content creation through AI in film production. There is also a debate on the impact of AI-generated elements on audience perception and concerns about uniformity versus diversity in AI-generated films.

The implementation adds value and innovation
Temporal consistency in video output is appreciated
Customization options for personal style transfer are desired

Counterarguments:

AI may add unintentional elements, affecting audience perception
Concerns about diversity and uniformity in film styles

Computer Vision Deep Learning, Video Processing

A closer look at a BGP anomaly in Venezuela from blog.cloudflare.com
277 by ChrisArchitect 9h ago | | |

Article: 20 min

The article discusses a BGP anomaly in Venezuela, focusing on route leaks involving AS8048 (CANTV), the state-run ISP. It explains what BGP and route leaks are, analyzes the observed leak pattern, and suggests that it might be due to poor technical practices rather than malicious intent.

The article highlights the importance of proper routing policies and practices in maintaining a secure BGP system, which can prevent potential security threats and ensure reliable internet connectivity.

Explains the concept of BGP and route leaks.
Analyzes a specific route leak event involving AS8048.
Discusses possible causes, suggesting technical issues rather than malfeasance.

Discussion (133): 33 min

The comment thread discusses BGP anomalies during the Venezuela blackout, Cloudflare's analysis of these anomalies, and the intertwined relationship between US companies and government. Opinions vary on whether this intertwining implies a loss of trust in US entities or if there is evidence to suggest wrongdoing by the US. Technical discussions focus on network routing protocols and internet infrastructure management.

Counterarguments:

No evidence of US involvement or wrongdoing

Internet Networking

Open Infrastructure Map from openinframap.org
300 by efskap 12h ago | | |

Article:

The article provides advice on how to prevent malware infections when using personal or shared networks.

Run an anti-virus scan on your device
Ask the network administrator to run a scan across the network

Discussion (66): 16 min

The discussion revolves around the implications and benefits of publicly available infrastructure data, with participants debating its security risks and potential misuse by hostile groups. The conversation also touches on various applications of such data in fields like climate change modeling and intelligence gathering.

Open infrastructure data can be beneficial for various purposes like modeling climate change effects on power outages
There is a risk that open infrastructure data could be used by hostile groups to attack critical facilities

Counterarguments:

Open infrastructure data can help governments and organizations prepare for potential threats or attacks
Security by obscurity is not effective, as it's easy to find important infrastructure through other means

Internet Security

Kernel bugs hide for 2 years on average. Some hide for 20 from pebblebed.com
235 by kmavm 14h ago | | |

Article: 37 min

An in-depth study of Linux kernel bugs reveals that the average bug lives for about 2.1 years before discovery, with some subsystems experiencing longer latency times. The research also introduces a tool capable of catching 92% of historical bugs at commit time and discusses the implications of these findings on software development practices.

This research highlights the importance of continuous monitoring, testing, and improvement in software development practices to ensure timely detection and resolution of security vulnerabilities. It also emphasizes the role of machine learning tools like VulnBERT in enhancing bug detection capabilities.

Average bug lifetime is 2.1 years
CAN bus drivers and SCTP networking have longer latency times
Refcount leak in ethtool sat for 20.7 years

Quality:
The article provides detailed analysis and data-driven insights without personal biases.

Discussion (114): 25 min

The discussion revolves around the complexities and challenges in software development, particularly focusing on bugs in operating system kernels. It highlights the benefits of Rust for preventing memory safety issues but acknowledges its limitations in addressing other types of bugs like logic errors and hardware assumptions. The conversation also delves into the role of formal verification methods and explores trends such as language comparisons and bug lifetimes across different subsystems.

Rust offers benefits in preventing memory safety issues but may not address all types of bugs
Large software systems have long-lived bugs due to various reasons

Counterarguments:

Rust may not solve all race conditions or logic errors due to the complexity of concurrent state machines and hardware interactions
The presence of long-lived bugs does not necessarily indicate poor quality but could be a result of low severity, low priority, or infrequent triggering conditions

Software Development Linux Kernel Security, Bug Detection Tools

Japanese electronics store pleads for old PCs amid ongoing hardware shortage from tomshardware.com
27 by speckx 1h ago | | |

Article: 7 min

A major Japanese electronics store, Sofmap Gaming in Akihabara, is urgently requesting customers to sell their old PC gear due to ongoing hardware shortages.

Old PCs being snapped up by consumers, potentially affecting the market for vintage computers

Sofmap Gaming in Akihabara is pleading with customers to sell their old PCs.
The store is experiencing a lack of stock, particularly gaming PCs.
High prices are offered for used PCs.

Quality:
The article provides factual information and does not contain any personal opinions or biases.

Discussion (13):

The comment thread discusses various opinions on hardware prices, AI's impact on demand, and potential solutions for better resource utilization. It includes a mix of factual statements and subjective views, with some instances of sarcasm.

supporting better utilization of existing resources

Counterarguments:

favoring re-use of old hardware for potential software optimizations
anticipating users adapting to delays due to hardware constraints

Business Retail, Electronics