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Mushroom learns to crawl after being given robot body (2024)

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses advancements in robotics through the development of a biohybrid robot that uses living fungi for control and environmental sensing. This robot, created by a team from Cornell University and Florence University, utilizes electrical signals from an edible mushroom called king trumpet, marking a potential new era in robotics that incorporates living systems. Research associate Anand Mishra emphasizes the robot's capability to respond to various inputs like touch, light, and heat, suggesting its adaptability in unpredictable environments. Additionally, The Independent highlights its commitment to

Optimizing Range Queries in PostgreSQL: From Composite Indexes to GiST

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: /r/programming

Stackademic is a learning platform aimed at providing free coding education to programmers, developers, coders, and engineers. The content discusses the challenges of implementing efficient data type and index strategies for quick look-ups of active experiments in software applications, particularly when dealing with various app builds and versions. It emphasizes the importance of choosing the right indexing approach in SQL to optimize performance, highlighting that without indexes, the database must scan the full table, leading to slower response times.

The 60-Second Wait: How I Spent Months Solving the Ruby’s Most Annoying Gem Installation Problem

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: /r/ruby

The content discusses the frustrations Ruby developers face when using the rdkafka gem, which integrates Apache Kafka into Ruby applications. The gem is notorious for its slow installation, often taking 60 to 90 seconds and causing developers to experience delays in project setup. The author, a maintainer of the Karafka ecosystem, highlights the significant time wasted on these repetitive compilations and the common issues that arise, such as missing build tools and dependency conflicts. With rdkafka being downloaded over a million times monthly

Simulating hand-drawn motion with SVG filters

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The author reflects on an ARTE documentary about Neapolitan pizza, particularly appreciating the animated illustrations that accompanied the recipe. These illustrations, despite being static, feature a "jitter" effect that makes them appear to move slightly. This effect, known as "boiling" or line boil, is achieved by drawing the same frame multiple times with slight variations in position and rotation, creating the illusion of movement. The technique enhances the visual experience by making static images feel more dynamic. The author also observes

Bundler: Bundler v2.7: last release before Bundler 4

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: /r/ruby

Bundler is set to release a major update, Bundler 4, in late 2025, skipping Bundler 3 to align its versioning with RubyGems 4. The current release, Bundler 2.7, introduces a simulate_version configuration that allows users to experience Bundler 4’s forthcoming features and breaking changes, encouraging feedback for refinement. Additionally, Bundler 2.7 includes various improvements. More details about Bundler 4 changes and how to enable its

How to Run an Arduino for Years on a Battery

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The article from Makecademy, dated June 17, 2021, discusses DIY home automation with open-source hardware, specifically focusing on optimizing Arduino projects for battery power. While typical Arduino setups are powered via USB, the article emphasizes the need for autonomous systems, like a wireless motion detector, that operate on batteries without quickly depleting them. To achieve this, the article recommends building a minimal Arduino system using essential components, particularly the ATMega328 microcontroller with the Arduino bootloader.

Show HN: Linux CLI tool to provide mutex locks for long running bash ops

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: Hacker News

WaitLock is a portable UNIX/POSIX command-line tool designed to provide mutex and semaphore functionality for shell scripts, allowing synchronized access to resources across multiple processes. It features automatic cleanup in the event of process termination and uses binary lock files for its functionality. The tool addresses issues like permission errors, stale locks, and high contention. It is released under the MIT License and adheres to UNIX philosophy principles, taking inspiration from existing tools such as flock, lockfile, and sem. WaitLock's documentation

If you don't know how to code, don't vibe code

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: /r/programming

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Why use Enum instead of boolean for method parameters?

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: /r/programming

The content discusses the challenges of using "magic booleans" in Java code, which can lead to confusion about their meaning when trying to maintain or read code. The author emphasizes the importance of using enums instead of boolean values for clearer code. By using enums, the intent becomes self-documenting, errors can be caught at compile time, and the code is easier to understand and maintain. The piece also introduces CodeRabbit, a tool that helps developers identify bad practices, including the use of boole

Original Xbox Hacks: The A20 CPU Gate (2021)

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: Hacker News

In November 2021, the original Xbox celebrated its 20th anniversary. The console was noted for its numerous vulnerabilities stemming from both software and hardware, alongside its affordable price, contributing to its popularity. This post focuses on a specific flaw known as the A20, based on research by The Xbox Linux Project and Michael Steil, who is recognized in the community as "mist." The discussion begins with a historical overview of older CPUs, specifically the Intel 8088, produced from 1978

Systemd’s Nuts and Bolts - A Visual Guide to Systemd

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: /r/programming

The content is an introduction to a deep dive into systemd, specifically aimed at intermediate and advanced Linux users and sysadmins. It highlights the importance of D-Bus (Desktop Bus), which is a crucial yet often overlooked component of systemd, serving as a high-level IPC (Inter-Process Communication) mechanism. The guide focuses on understanding systemd from its internals first before reaching the user interface, promising rewarding insights for those who persevere. However, readers needing quick familiarity with systemd are

“Reading Rainbow” was created to combat summer reading slumps

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: Hacker News

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I was wrong about robots.txt

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The author of the article discusses their experience with modifying their robots.txt file to prevent crawlers from accessing their website, resulting in unintended consequences. After implementing the change, they noticed that LinkedIn posts no longer displayed article previews and that engagement from connections decreased. Initially confused about the issue, the author discovered through LinkedIn Post Inspector that the new robots.txt directive blocked LinkedIn's bot from scraping their web pages. This prevented access to necessary meta tags for generating link previews, specifically Open Graph meta tags,

Perfume reviews

Published: 2025-07-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses the exploration of various "avant-garde" perfumes through samplers, sharing personal preferences regarding which scents were appealing and which were not. Ultimately, the author decided to purchase two perfumes: Acqua di Sale and Kyoto Incense.

Software is Never Done: Embracing Constant Evolution and Change will Result in a Better System

Published: 2025-07-16 | Origin: /r/programming

The content discusses the dynamic nature of software engineering, emphasizing that software systems are constantly evolving rather than being static entities. Unlike a bicycle, which can be maintained with minimal changes, software requires ongoing updates to meet changing user expectations and usage patterns. For instance, the transition from desktop to mobile has necessitated major overhauls in many software projects. As software developers embrace the concept of continual evolution, they adopt different design principles. Instead of rigid linkages, they favor creating APIs with well-defined contracts

Show HN: A 'Choose Your Own Adventure' written in Emacs Org Mode

Published: 2025-07-16 | Origin: Hacker News

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RailsConf inspired me to build something new

Published: 2025-07-16 | Origin: /r/ruby

Joe Masilotti, known as "The Hotwire Native guy," shares insights from the last RailsConf, a significant event for the Ruby community. The conference, held in Philadelphia, attracted over 800 attendees, energizing Masilotti to embark on new projects. He conducted a well-attended workshop on Hotwire Native and gathered valuable insights from various talks. Notably, Alicia Rojas clarified the distinction between authentication and authorization, while Edy Silva's presentation inspired Masilotti to achieve offline

I want an iPhone Mini-sized Android phone (2022)

Published: 2025-07-16 | Origin: Hacker News

Eric Migicovsky, an enthusiast for small phones, has launched the Small Android Phone project, aiming to pressure manufacturers like Google and Samsung to create premium devices with screens smaller than 6 inches. He expresses frustration over the lack of options in this category, especially since Sony discontinued its Xperia Compact line. Migicovsky is rallying fellow small phone fans to join the cause, emphasizing the need for at least 50,000 committed buyers to persuade a manufacturer to produce such a phone. He outlines important

RailsConf 2025 Takeaways: It’s fun to have fun

Published: 2025-07-16 | Origin: /r/ruby

The author of the blog post attended RailsConf 2025, describing it as a significant career highlight filled with learning and networking opportunities. A key highlight was meeting DHH, who emphasized the importance of simplicity and developer happiness in web development, specifically within the Rails framework. DHH pointed out that while JavaScript and CSS have become simpler, there's an over-reliance on cloud services and slow build times in infrastructure. He praised the Rails tool Kamal for facilitating easier deployments. The second day featured

How AI Vibe Coding Is Destroying Junior Developers' Careers

Published: 2025-07-16 | Origin: /r/programming

The tech industry is seeing a significant downturn in 2025, with over 94,000 layoffs impacting 150 companies. Junior developers are particularly affected, as job openings for software developers in the U.S. have plummeted by more than 70%. In response, many new developers are turning to a concept called "vibe coding," which involves using AI to create applications without requiring traditional coding skills. This trend leads to a generation of developers who lack foundational coding knowledge, relying on AI for