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Far From Random: Three Mistakes From Dart/Flutter's Weak PRNG Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/programming The content discusses the vulnerabilities stemming from the use of predictable sources of randomness in the Dart/Flutter ecosystem. Several popular projects have been affected by this issue, which is common among many open-source projects. Flutter, a framework that enables the development of interactive applications across mobile, web, and desktop platforms using a single codebase, leverages Dart and its virtual machine (Dart VM) for executing code. The Dart VM includes libraries for various operations, including generating randomness. However, inconsistencies in these |
Man ran 700 miles to make 'insanely impressive' art on GPS fitness app Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News Failed to fetch content - HTTP Error - Net::ReadTimeout with #<TCPSocket:(closed)> |
QEMU with VirtIO GPU Vulkan Support Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News The recent release of QEMU includes the Venus patches, enabling VirtIO-GPU to support Vulkan through Venus encapsulation, marking progress towards full Vulkan support. An outdated blog post from Collabora in 2021 discussed enabling 3D acceleration for Vulkan applications in QEMU using the experimental Vulkan driver. The updated guide includes installing the necessary drivers for your graphics card and verifying your setup with Vulkan tools. If your distribution lacks an updated version of QEMU, you may need to build it from source, |
Mysterious New Jersey drone sightings prompt call for 'state of emergency' Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News The recent sightings of mysterious drone clusters in New Jersey and the northeastern US have led to calls for a limited state of emergency. New Jersey Republican state senator Jon Bramnick has urged a ban on all drones until the situation is clarified, citing public concern over the unexplained phenomena. The issue gained traction in mid-November, initially surfacing on social media but now involving state and federal authorities. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy held a briefing with the US homeland security secretary and local officials, reassuring that there is |
FP For The Working Programmer: Why Is null Bad? Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/programming The author discusses the dangers of null values in programming, highlighting how languages like C/C++ can lead to hard-to-trace bugs when accessing null pointers. Java improves on this by failing immediately when a null pointer is accessed, which aids debugging. However, the problem remains that traditional type systems do not differentiate between present and absent values due to the ubiquitous nature of null. Newer languages such as Scala introduce an Option type, which explicitly represents a value that may or may not exist—either as Some |
Review of Mullvad VPN Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News X41 conducted a white box penetration test on the Mullvad VPN Application, which included access to the source code and the creation of a threat model. The test faced challenges due to the application’s complexity, as it operates on multiple platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS) and undergoes regular audits. Despite Mullvad’s efforts, new vulnerabilities were discovered, indicating that ongoing security measures are essential for complex products. The team's findings revealed that many issues stemmed from interactions with |
Implementing Rust-like traits for C++ 20 (with no runtime overhead) Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/programming The content discusses a C++ header-only library called "rusty.hpp," which seeks to emulate Rust's borrow checker and memory ownership system, inspired by Rust's design principles. The library aims to provide a minimal, lightweight, and powerful solution for integrating Rust-like features into C++ projects. "Rusty.hpp" allows C++ developers to experiment with Rust workflows while remaining in a C++ environment, although there are limitations compared to Rust, such as compile-time borrow checking being redirected to exceptions in |
The GPU is not always faster Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/programming The blog shares interesting experiences from the author's life and will be updated regularly with new topics. The author invites readers to revisit and also provides contact information for work inquiries. |
FCC opens entire 6 GHz band to low power device operations Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced new regulations allowing very low power (VLP) devices to operate across the entire 6 GHz band. This shift opens up 1,200 megahertz of spectrum for unlicensed use, enhancing applications such as wearable technologies and augmented reality, thereby improving learning, healthcare, and entertainment. The new rules permit VLP devices to operate in specific frequency ranges (U-NII-6 and U-NII-8) with technical protections to avoid interference with |
OnlyFans models are using AI impersonators to keep up with their DMs Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News Concerns about AI taking jobs are heightened as we see some job displacement, even in niche areas like OnlyFans chatters. Chatters are gig workers paid to engage in conversations on behalf of popular OnlyFans creators, providing a personal touch that enhances fan relationships. However, as the demand for managing a high volume of messages grows, creators increasingly outsource these conversations. Historically, chatters were primarily from countries with lower wage expectations, but now AI-generated chatters are emerging as replacements. Startups, like |
PeerTube mobile app: discover videos while caring for your attention Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News Framasoft has released the first version of the PeerTube Mobile app for Android and iOS, aimed at enabling wider access to video content while protecting user privacy. Despite developing PeerTube for seven years, Framasoft identifies as a not-for-profit organization focused on educating the public about digital issues and promoting digital emancipation rather than operating as a traditional IT company. This initiative was born out of the desire to create an alternative to platforms like YouTube and Twitch, using limited funding and community contributions. |
Ucacher: Speeding up GitHub Actions via syscall instrumentation Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/programming The content discusses **Ucacher**, a tool designed to automate caching and skipping in GitHub Actions through syscall instrumentation. Ucacher eliminates the need for manual configurations and errors associated with traditional CI/CD workflows, which often require developers to manage cache keys and conditional logic manually. By accurately tracking file dependencies, Ucacher skips redundant steps and restores outputs, resulting in a speed increase—specifically, a 2x speedup was observed in tests on the React repository. The post contrasts Ucacher |
Keeping Rails cool: the modern Evil Martians frontend toolkit Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/ruby Irina Nazarova and Travis Turner of Evil Martians discuss their focus on supporting startups using Ruby on Rails, highlighting both the advantages and challenges faced by these teams, particularly in frontend development. They emphasize that while Ruby and Rails enhance productivity and provide a competitive edge, frontend issues remain a significant hurdle. The authors introduce a “silver toolkit” designed to improve frontend productivity, encapsulated in the phrase “Cooling down Hot Wires with Inertia.” This phrase serves as a concise representation of their findings and |
Pricing Intelligence: Is ChatGPT Pro too expensive for developers? Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/programming Steve Jobs referred to computers as a “bicycle for the mind,” highlighting how technology enhances human capabilities. Advanced AI coding assistants like ChatGPT may represent a more sophisticated tool, akin to a "self-driving car for the mind." However, the $200 monthly fee for such tools may seem high for individual developers, many of whom believe current AI capabilities do not justify the cost. Yet, as professionals in various fields adopt AI assistants at similar price points, there is an increasing willingness to pay. The |
Why You Should Consider Using excluding Instead of where.not in ActiveRecord Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/ruby In Ruby on Rails, ActiveRecord helps manage databases, with `where.not` being a traditional method to filter out records based on conditions. However, the newer `excluding` method offers a more efficient alternative for excluding specific columns from queries. While `where.not` can exclude records (e.g., fetching all users except those with a particular email), it doesn't work for column exclusion and can lead to cumbersome queries. On the other hand, `excluding` allows for straightforward exclusion of specific fields, like |
Common Misconceptions about Compilers Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/programming The article discusses common misconceptions about compilers, particularly large-scale general-purpose compilers like LLVM, GCC, and ICX. It clarifies that the perception of compilers performing optimally is misleading; they do not seek to find the perfect program but rather aim to improve upon a simplified version of the original code. The term “optimization” can be misleading, as it implies a pursuit of an ideal solution, which is difficult and time-consuming. The author notes that while compilers target various metrics |
Judge Refuses to Allow Sale of Infowars to The Onion Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News Failed to fetch content - HTTP Status - 403 |
The Case Against Google's Claims of "Quantum Supremacy" Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News The 2019 paper titled "Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor" claimed that Google's Sycamore quantum computer, utilizing 53 qubits and a depth of 20, executed a specific computation in roughly 200 seconds, whereas a classical supercomputer would allegedly take about 10,000 years for the same task. However, there are significant doubts regarding these claims that may stem from methodological errors rather than objective findings. The criticisms are centered around two main points: 1. **Flawed |
DragonRuby Game Toolkit: Research into an AOT compiler for mRuby. Initial machinery has been open sourced under MIT Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: /r/ruby The content discusses a minimalistic ahead-of-time Ruby compiler called Lightstorm, which targets C instead of machine code. It emphasizes the importance of user feedback and provides a link to additional documentation. Lightstorm can significantly improve code execution speed, with an example showing a nearly 30% reduction in execution time for the aobench benchmark. Users can set up the compiler using either a codespace or a devcontainer, with specific instructions for macOS and Ubuntu, including requirements for Ninja, CMake ( |
Electric (Postgres sync engine) beta release Published: 2024-12-11 | Origin: Hacker News The content discusses the release and features of Electric, a Postgres sync engine that allows real-time partial replication of data for local apps. Electric has now entered its BETA phase with version 1.0.0-beta.1, and earlier versions include various enhancements like support for Postgres, shape filtering, JSON, and integration with platforms such as Supabase and Ionic. The development of Electric emphasizes a local-first approach, enabling applications to utilize instant, real-time local data without the need for custom |