News Nug
The Code-Only Agent

Published: 2026-01-19 | Origin: Hacker News

Rijnard van Tonder discusses the complexities of building agents in the tech ecosystem, which often involves navigating numerous tools and concepts. He proposes a simplified approach where the agent operates with a single powerful tool: the ability to execute code. Instead of using traditional command line tools like `bash`, `ls`, or `grep`, the agent only executes code, reshaping the interaction from questioning which tools will be used to focusing on the code generated and executed by the agent. This method emphasizes a Code-

UTF-8 why specify length in the first byte?

Published: 2026-01-19 | Origin: /r/programming

Of course! Please provide the content you'd like me to summarize.

At least 21 killed in Spain after crash involving high-speed trains

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

At least 21 people have died and many others have been injured in a train collision in southern Spain, marking the country's worst rail accident in over a decade. The incident occurred when a Madrid-bound train derailed, crossed into the opposite tracks, and collided with an oncoming train in Adamuz, near Córdoba. Approximately 400 passengers and staff were on board both trains, with at least 24 people reported as seriously injured, including four children. Spanish Transport Minister Óscar Puente called the

Dead Internet Theory

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

The author reflects on their experience browsing HackerNews, a platform they appreciate for its focus on technology and minimal political discussion. They enjoy seeing open-source projects shared, despite recognizing the fear and vulnerability associated with "shipping" such work. However, they noticed a thread where users questioned the validity of an open-source project, speculating that it might be AI-generated due to discrepancies in the commit timeline and coding style. The author believes it's important for developers to disclose any use of AI in their projects, especially

Flux 2 Klein pure C inference

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

The content discusses the development of a pure C inference model for image generation called FLUX.2-klein-4B by Black Forest Labs. It highlights that the program can generate images from text prompts or other images and operates without external dependencies, apart from the C standard library, with optional MPS and BLAS acceleration. The project, initiated by Salvatore over a weekend, is notable for being an open-source effort where he did not write any code himself. Instead, he utilized Claude Code for

Gaussian Splatting – A$AP Rocky "Helicopter" music video

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

A$AP Rocky's recent music video for "Helicopter" features an innovative use of volumetric performance capture, creating dynamic visuals that evoke the energy of early MTV. The project, led by director Dan Strait and involving teams from Evercoast, Grin Machine (CG Supervisor Chris Rutledge), and WildCapture, aimed to push creative boundaries in post-production through this technology. Rather than using traditional filming techniques, the decision to implement volumetric capture was driven by a desire for radical flexibility in

Too many kid photos and the Apple Vision Framework

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

The author reflects on neglecting their Photos library for nearly twenty years, during which they amassed a large number of photos, particularly of their child riding a camel in Morocco. They grapple with storage issues on their aging Intel MacBook, considering expensive upgrades but ultimately deciding to reduce their photo library size. Attempts to use existing photo management apps were unsuccessful—most only detected exact duplicates or lumped together images from the same time period, ignoring the subtleties of similar images. Frustrated, the author

Community City Guide is a decentralized, open-source travel directory built entirely on GitHub.

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

The Community City Guide is a decentralized, open-source travel directory developed entirely on GitHub, utilizing an "IssueOps" method for crowd-sourcing and curating recommendations for places to "Eat" and "See." The directory is structured with guide data stored in Markdown files, and there are no traditional databases or servers involved, relying solely on GitHub Actions. Users can browse data for all countries, and contributions are managed through a detailed guidelines document. Feedback from the community is taken seriously, and there

Agent Psychosis: Are We Going Insane?

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

The content discusses the flexibility of using "Polecats" without specific conditions like the Refinery or certain personnel, suggesting alternative methods for task management through merging work directly with the Mayor. It shifts focus to the challenges of coding addiction, highlighting how it affects collaboration on projects—specifically the decline in the quality of contributions such as issue reports and pull requests. The author expresses concern over individuals developing unhealthy attachments to AI and fostering communities that enable this behavior. They draw a parallel to the concept of "d

The 7 deadly sins of software engineers productivity

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

Engineers often feel fatigued not from coding too much, but from battling unproductive friction in their workflow. Productivity should focus on effectively solving complex problems, rather than simply doing tasks quickly or increasing volume. Many invisible habits drain mental energy before coding even begins, leading to decision fatigue. Key issues include context switching caused by frequent notifications and interruptions, which impede deep focus and reduce overall productivity. Additionally, adding more developers to a project can paradoxically slow it down. To improve productivity, it's important to

Democracy doesn't reward effort. It rewards memes. (From an experiment letting GitHub reactions decide what ships).

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

OpenChaos, a community-driven GitHub repository, recently merged its first community pull request (PR) and is experimenting with a unique system where anyone can submit PRs, which are then voted on by the community using GitHub reactions. The PR with the most votes gets merged, and the rules can be modified as needed. During the latest round, there were more than 40 open PRs, but some older ones were not visible on the leaderboard due to a bug in GitHub's API,

A Social Filesystem

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

The content included a date, January 18, 2026, and started with a question about "files," suggesting a discussion or context related to digital files or documents. However, the rest of the text appears to be an excerpt of coded or formatted font data (possibly CSS for web design), which is not coherent text. Therefore, the notable points are the date and the reference to files, but the exact content or message is unclear due to technical formatting.

Shuffle: Making Random Feel More Human | Spotify Engineering

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

MySQL’s popularity as ranked by DB-Engines started to tank hard, a trend that will likely accelerate in 2026.

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

Lopado­temacho­selacho­galeo­kranio­leipsano­drim­hypo­trimmato­silphio­karab

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

Lopado­temacho­selacho­galeo­kranio­leipsano­drim­hypo­trimmato­silphio­karabo­melito­katakechy­meno­kichl­epi­kossypho­phatto­perister­alektryon­opto­kephallio­kigklo­peleio­lagoio­siraio­baphe­tragano­pterygon is a fictional

Erdos 281 solved with ChatGPT 5.2 Pro

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

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jQuery 4.0 released

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

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How scientists are using Claude to accelerate research and discovery

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

Profession by Isaac Asimov

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

Dark Mode vs. Light Mode: Which Is Better?

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