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Real VT102 Emulation with MAME

Published: 2025-11-04 | Origin: Hacker News

The author, a software developer, discusses the significance of terminal emulators like iTerm2, PuTTY, and GNOME Terminal, which interpret text and formatting for display on screens. While commonly referred to as "terminals," these tools are actually "terminal emulators" that mimic older hardware terminals, primarily the xterm, which emulates the DEC VT102 terminal. The VT100 was the most popular model developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) and set a standard for compatibility in subsequent models

An individual can change an organization

Published: 2025-11-04 | Origin: Hacker News

The author reflects on a significant lesson learned from Drew DeVault at Linode a decade ago. Despite being one of the youngest developers, Drew passionately advocated for thoughtful architecture and coding decisions in a culture that often prioritized expediency. His ability to persuasively challenge the status quo led to a transformation within the engineering organization, demonstrating that one doesn't need to wait for seniority to enact meaningful change. Key takeaways include valuing debate, being prepared with facts, being persistent in advocating for change, and

My Truck Desk

Published: 2025-11-04 | Origin: Hacker News

After an eight-week break, the narrator returns to work and discovers that their old F-150 truck is no longer available, having been sent to the scrapyard after its engine failed. Despite its poor condition, the truck had served as the narrator's makeshift office, dubbed the "Truck Desk®." After catching a ride to the work site, the narrator joins the crew in dismantling a heat exchanger, reflecting on the camaraderie among the workers who share equal pay and responsibilities. As they drive

RSpec shared examples unmasked

Published: 2025-11-04 | Origin: /r/ruby

The content critiques advice from Better Specs on using RSpec's shared examples feature to make test code DRY (Don't Repeat Yourself). The author questions whether making test code DRY is beneficial, highlighting the confusion caused by the examples provided by Better Specs. The examples demonstrate both "good" and "bad" testing approaches, but the author finds them technically and pedagogically flawed. They argue against the notion that reducing redundancy in test code is inherently good and suggest the need for a deeper understanding of shared examples

When stick figures fought

Published: 2025-11-04 | Origin: Hacker News

The latest edition of the Animation Obsessive newsletter features two main topics: an exploration of the Xiao Xiao Flash series and various animation newsbits. The newsletter recently celebrated surpassing 60,000 subscribers, expressing gratitude to its audience. The content discusses the significant impact of Flash animation on the internet before the rise of platforms like YouTube and TikTok. Flash allowed for easy creation and sharing of animations and games, leading to a boom in amateur animation. This was particularly influential in China, where it

Things you can do with diodes

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: Hacker News

The diode, often overlooked in electronics education, is overshadowed by components like resistors, capacitors, and especially transistors. While extensive discussions focus on other circuit components, the diode is frequently only recognized in relation to more exotic types like the Gunn and tunnel diodes, which aren't commonly encountered. This article seeks to honor the standard diode and addresses its foundational aspects. Silicon, in its pure form, is a poor conductor due to a lack of long-lasting mobile charge carriers. However, its

A friendly tour of process memory on Linux

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: Hacker News

The content provides an overview of how memory management works in Linux on x86-64 systems, explaining the illusion of a continuous block of memory utilized by programs. In reality, this memory is managed using a paged approach. Key points include: 1. **Virtual vs. Physical Memory**: Programs see a virtual view of memory that doesn't match the actual physical layout of RAM, which is made up of scattered frames. 2. **Page Tables**: The system uses a page table to map virtual

Guideline has been acquired by Gusto

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: Hacker News

Guideline has been acquired by Gusto, a leader in payroll, benefits, and HR solutions for small businesses. This partnership aims to provide a more integrated experience for payroll and 401(k) services, making retirement savings simpler and more accessible. Current services will remain unchanged, and no action is required from participants regarding their existing 401(k) setups. Benefits of the acquisition include seamless management of payroll and 401(k) accounts through Gusto credentials and ongoing development of new tools for easier account management

AI's Dial-Up Era

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: Hacker News

In 1995, the internet was in its infancy, marked by slow loading times and cautious user adoption. Only about 2,000 websites existed, primarily consisting of text and simple images. Many people were hesitant to trust online transactions, leading to skepticism about the internet's long-term viability. Optimists envisioned transformative changes, such as digital commerce surpassing physical retail, while pessimists dismissed it as a passing trend. Today, a similar divide exists regarding Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some fear that AI

40 years on, Former Nintendo employees reveal what it took to launch the NES

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: Hacker News

At the recent Portland Retro Gaming Expo, a panel celebrated the 40th anniversary of the U.S. launch of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), addressing the market challenges of the time, design considerations, and the console's lasting impact. Hosted by Frank Cifaldi of the Video Game History Foundation, the panel featured three former Nintendo of America employees: former VP of Sales Bruce Lowry, former marketing manager Gail Tilden, and former designer Lance Barr. Their discussion, lasting about an hour and

Bloom filters are good for search that does not scale

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/programming

The blog post from 2013 discusses using Bloom filters for a space-efficient full-text search index, particularly for a small number of documents. Each document's words are encoded into a Bloom filter, allowing for quick queries by checking these filters. However, with a query time complexity of O(number-of-documents), this method is not suitable for large corpuses. The author proposes ways to scale the technique but ultimately argues against it, citing concerns about query performance. The major advantage of the Bloom filter index

Architectural debt is not just technical debt

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/programming

The author shares their experiences with architectural and code debt as a developer and later as an enterprise architect. They distinguish between code debt—temporary solutions that are never resolved—and architectural debt, which involves structural decisions that can cause significant long-term issues. The author highlights their current focus on the interaction and integration of numerous applications, especially in environments with many third-party SaaS applications, instead of just the software's functionality. They stress that effective enterprise architecture transcends technical aspects, as both business and strategic architectural debts

Conway's Law & the Communication Structure Problem • Michael Nygard & Charles Humble • GOTO 2025

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/programming

Sure! Please provide the content you would like me to summarize.

I lost my commits in Git and then I discovered about git reflog

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/programming

Stackademic is a platform aimed at providing free coding education to programmers, developers, coders, and engineers. The content describes a personal experience with Git, where the author encountered a situation where Git's HEAD pointer was redirected to an older commit instead of the latest branch. This led to a situation where new commits were created without a branch association, making them temporarily accessible until Git's garbage collector removed them.

Microsoft's hiring shift: Fewer generalists, more AI-driven roles

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/programming

After a year of layoffs affecting over 15,000 employees due to restructuring around artificial intelligence, Microsoft is shifting its approach to hiring. CEO Satya Nadella announced plans to expand the workforce, which has stagnated at around 228,000, but emphasized that future growth will be more strategic and AI-focused. Instead of hiring in bulk as in the past, Microsoft aims for a more efficient and impactful approach by integrating AI into every aspect of work. This includes the expectation for employees to adapt their

Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2025)

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: Hacker News

The content provides guidelines for job postings on a specific platform, stipulating that only representatives from hiring companies can post, with no recruiting firms or job boards allowed. Each company is limited to one post and must clarify their operations if they are not well-known. Posters must be actively hiring and willing to respond to applicants, while commenters are advised not to complain about job listings. Job seekers are directed to various resources for job searching. Additionally, two companies are actively hiring: 1. **SPREAD**

RubyLLM 1.9.0 just landed and it's huge. 🎁

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/ruby

The content discusses updates and improvements in a software tool, emphasizing the importance of user feedback. Key points include: - A major release enhancing tool definitions to resemble Ruby syntax, utilizing Anthropic prompt caching throughout, and simplifying audio transcription. - Introduction of the RubyLLM::Schema DSL, which accommodates full JSON Schema for tool parameters, including nested structures. - A specific helper for Anthropic Prompt Caching is provided, and users upgrading from version 1.8.x are advised to run a command for

When Your Hash Becomes a String: Hunting Ruby's Million-to-One Memory Bug

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/ruby

The author recounts a troubling incident involving an overwhelming number of identical error reports related to the Ruby gem Karafka, specifically an issue where the method `#default` was unexpectedly called on a String. This incident raised concerns as it hinted at a deeper problem within the Foreign Function Interface (FFI) used in the gem. Upon investigation, the author identified that versions of FFI below 1.17.0 lack proper write barriers, which can lead to Ruby's garbage collector freeing internal Hash

How to Get Meaningful Feedback on Your Design Document

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/programming

In the article, Michael Lynch discusses the importance of effective design reviews for software projects. He emphasizes the need for careful preparation of design documents and outlines several strategies to facilitate constructive feedback from teammates while preventing prolonged discussions. Lynch notes that design reviews are crucial for identifying flaws and simplifying systems early, which can save time and costs in the long run. He stresses the collaborative nature of design reviews in aligning team efforts and avoiding miscommunications. Additionally, he highlights the necessity of providing clear context and avoiding jargon to ensure

Failover Requests

Published: 2025-11-03 | Origin: /r/ruby

The content provides a curated list of resources focused on learning about technology, infrastructure, hardware, and software. This includes non-instructional videos, software articles, and tutorials. It also encourages engagement and support from viewers. Additionally, there are mentions of topics such as failover requests and quality Ruby screencasts. Overall, it invites interaction and discussion on tech-related topics.