Published: 2026-01-18 | Origin: /r/programming

Spotify has revamped its Shuffle feature in response to user feedback regarding its perceived randomness. Traditionally, the Shuffle function relied on a standard randomization method, but listeners often felt that the output was repetitive and didn’t reflect true variety. Recognizing that statistical randomness doesn't always equate to user perception, Spotify introduced a new approach called "Fewer Repeats." This system generates multiple random sequences of a playlist, scores them based on the freshness of songs by taking into account how recently they've been played, and

Published: 2026-01-18 | Origin: /r/programming

The content emphasizes the decline of MySQL as an open-source project under Oracle's management and advocates for switching to MariaDB for those who value open-source software. By January 2026, the rate of git commits to MySQL has significantly decreased, raising concerns about its viability. The piece reflects on Oracle's acquisition of MySQL in 2009, which was accompanied by promises to maintain its open-source nature—promises that have not been fulfilled. Development is largely closed off, with minimal community

Published: 2026-01-18 | Origin: Hacker News

Lopado­temacho­selacho­galeo­kranio­leipsano­drim­hypo­trimmato­silphio­karabo­melito­katakechy­meno­kichl­epi­kossypho­phatto­perister­alektryon­opto­kephallio­kigklo­peleio­lagoio­siraio­baphe­tragano­pterygon is a fictional

Published: 2026-01-18 | Origin: Hacker News

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Published: 2026-01-18 | Origin: /r/programming

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Published: 2026-01-18 | Origin: Hacker News

Last October, the launch of Claude for Life Sciences marked the introduction of enhanced tools and abilities aimed at improving scientific collaboration. Following this, significant investments have been made to enhance Claude's capabilities in scientific work, demonstrated by the Opus 4.5 model which shows improved performance in areas such as figure interpretation, computational biology, and protein understanding. These improvements stem from collaborations with academic and industry researchers and showcase a commitment to leveraging AI for scientific progress. The AI for Science program has facilitated partnerships by providing

Published: 2026-01-18 | Origin: Hacker News

In Isaac Asimov's short story "Profession," the protagonist, George Platen, expresses his excitement about the upcoming Olympics on May 1st. He is clearly enthusiastic, yearning for a connection with his roommate, Hali Omani, who remains indifferent to the event. Hali, a composed individual from Nigeria, calmly acknowledges George’s excitement but emphasizes that the date holds no significance for him. As the conversation unfolds, George reflects on his feelings and growing impatience with Hali's alo

Published: 2026-01-18 | Origin: Hacker News

The article discusses the trend of dark mode in user interface design, particularly following its introduction in iOS 13, and highlights a lack of research from Nielsen Norman Group (NN/g) on its usability. The author examines academic literature to assess the potential benefits of dark mode for users with normal vision. Key terms such as "contrast polarity" are defined, emphasizing that dark mode typically emits less light compared to light mode, which may help with battery life. The piece also explains how the human pupil reacts

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The author reflects on their experience of buying vintage knives at flea markets from 2005 to 2008. Initially, they had specific sellers they relied on but often searched for knives among other vendors, who typically dismissed culinary knives as low-value items, focusing instead on military, pocket, and hunting knives. Over time, perceptions shifted, and the value of culinary knives, particularly Sabatier brands, surged after they were recognized as desirable items online. This led to a decline in the availability of good

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: Hacker News

Kip is an experimental programming language inspired by Turkish grammatical cases, which are incorporated into its type system. The project aims to merge linguistics and type theory for educational purposes, rather than for production use. Kip allows for a flexible argument ordering based on the explicit marking of grammatical relationships in Turkish. It supports defining algebraic data types, using type variables for generics, and offers features like pattern matching and named constants. Tutorials are available in both Turkish and English. Users can explore Kip after building it

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: /r/programming

Freenet is a decentralized platform designed for creating censorship-resistant services, utilizing a peer-to-peer network that operates without central servers. Applications are compiled to WebAssembly and consist of three main components: a Contract (which maintains shared state across the network), a Delegate (which handles private data on the user's device), and a UI (the web interface). This tutorial guides users in creating a web UI, container, and backend contract while also detailing local building and serving from a Freenet node. An

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: /r/programming

Frigatebird is a columnar SQL database designed with a push-based query execution model. It employs morsel-driven parallelism, allowing queries to be compiled into pipelines where operations push data through channels for efficient parallel execution across workers. Notably, an ORDER BY clause is required when creating a table. The database stores data in a columnar format, with each column in a separate file, and uses LZ4 compression for storage optimization. For detailed documentation, users are directed to the documentation directory,

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: /r/programming

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Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: /r/programming

The author reflects on the complexities of designing a key value store, particularly in interview settings. They appreciate the ambiguity of the question as it allows for various perspectives and problem-solving approaches. However, they note that many people struggle with the foundational aspects, especially in understanding system requirements, which complicates design iterations. The author emphasizes the importance of grasping customer needs, suggesting that effective questioning can lead to clearer requirements, akin to a binary search. They advocate for candidates to understand the business rationale behind a system

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: /r/programming

The content discusses the common frustrations engineers face when their proposals are delayed or rejected by higher-level decision-makers. The author, a CTO, acknowledges these challenges and offers practical advice for engineers to effectively communicate their ideas. Key points include understanding user needs, recognizing what executives need and the pressures they face, and identifying the company's key stakeholders such as the board and customers. The author encourages engineers to engage with their executive teams by asking strategic questions that show their interest in the business, helping to foster better communication and

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: /r/programming

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Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The article by Stephan Schwab discusses the persistent cycle in software development where business leaders hope to simplify the process, reducing the need for specialized developers, yet this ambition often results in frustration. The history of software development, from the Apollo program's mission-critical software created by Margaret Hamilton to the introduction of COBOL in the late 1960s, illustrates this ongoing struggle. Initially, COBOL aimed to allow business analysts to write their programs without needing specialized training, but it ultimately required trained programmers due to

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: Hacker News

arXivLabs is a platform for collaborators to create and share new features on the arXiv website. Participants, both individuals and organizations, align with arXiv's core values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv seeks partnerships that uphold these principles. If you have a project idea that could benefit the arXiv community, you can find more information about arXivLabs. The content also mentions the operational status of arXiv.

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: /r/programming

This content provides a detailed comparison of three solutions for exposing a PostgreSQL database as a REST API: NpgsqlRest, PostgREST, and Supabase. - **NpgsqlRest** is a standalone executable that connects directly to PostgreSQL, requiring no additional infrastructure. It is easy to deploy and offers high performance, processing 2.2 times more requests and with lower latency than its competitors, even under heavy loads. - **PostgREST** operates similarly with a single binary model,

Published: 2026-01-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The author has created an interactive image-to-ASCII renderer, emphasizing sharp edges in the output. They highlighted the effectiveness of this renderer using a rotating cube example that showcases clear contours when switching to a "split" view. The tool is also capable of rendering static images, such as an ASCII representation of Saturn, with added contrast through a cel shading-like effect to enhance the separation between different colored areas. The author notes the importance of sharp edges in ASCII art, criticizing other ASCII renderings for their blurry