Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The 555 timer is a versatile integrated circuit used to create various electronic circuits. This information will explain how the 555 timer functions and provide instructions for building several circuits that utilize it.

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

JavaScript's setTimeout function can break after approximately 25 days due to its use of a 32-bit signed integer to represent timeouts, which limits the maximum delay to about 2.1 billion milliseconds. When attempting to set a timeout beyond this limit, unexpected behavior occurs, such as functions executing immediately for overly long delays. To address this issue, the author created a module called setBigTimeout, which can handle longer delays by chaining smaller timeouts together. While the solution appears to work

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

JSON Patch is a standardized format defined in RFC 6902 used to describe modifications to JSON documents. It was developed to provide a simple and efficient method for applying partial updates to resources, especially in web APIs over HTTP. Although the HTTP methods PUT and POST were initially employed for updates, they often transmitted unnecessary large data for minor modifications. The PATCH method addressed this by allowing partial updates, but lacked a standardized patch format. JSON Patch resolves this issue by offering a clear way to indicate changes, which enhances

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

In October 2024, Russell Samora reported on a remarkable moment in the World Crokinole Championship semifinals where players Connor Reinman and Jason Slater both achieved perfect rounds, each scoring eight consecutive open 20s by flicking their discs into a small hole on the board. Crokinole, originating from southern Ontario, is a tabletop game combining elements of shuffleboard and curling, where players aim to score points by landing discs in specific scoring areas. The game, which has gained popularity

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: /r/programming

Virtualization technology has enabled compute workloads to run as virtual machines (VMs) since the advent of cloud computing. With advancements in hardware and software, VMs have operated smoothly due to progress in hypervisors. Confidential computing enhances VM security in the cloud, but it introduces a trust boundary that limits the hypervisor's capability to provide typical virtualization services. As a result, customers using confidential VMs have been required to update their operating systems frequently. Microsoft has introduced a solution with a "paravis

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

On October 17, 2024, NotebookLM, powered by Gemini 1.5, announced new features aimed at enhancing user experience. Users can now customize "Audio Overviews" by providing specific instructions to AI hosts about their focus and expertise level, enabling a more tailored audio experience while working within the tool. Additionally, a new version called NotebookLM Business will soon be available through Google Workspace, offering advanced features for businesses, universities, and organizations, with a focus on data privacy and security

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: /r/programming

The content emphasizes the importance of unit tests as a form of documentation in code. It highlights three key reasons why unit tests are effective documentation tools: 1. **Code Behavior Explanation**: Unit tests validate the functionality of code and provide clear explanations of how it works. 2. **Synchronization with Code**: Unlike traditional documentation, unit tests remain up-to-date with code changes, ensuring they reflect the current behavior of the code. 3. **Edge Case Coverage**: Unit tests can document edge cases

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses various aspects of entrepreneurship, particularly focusing on options available for individuals looking to establish businesses in the U.S. or Germany. It highlights the International Entrepreneur Rule as a potential avenue if one can raise $350,000 from U.S. investors, while also noting potential challenges and processing times for this option. Additionally, there is mention of wanting to strategically establish a company in Germany and inquiries about opportunities post-batch of a program, with considerations for being based in either the U.S. or

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: /r/programming

Craig Kerstiens announced the release of pg_parquet, an open-source Postgres extension that allows users to read and write Parquet files directly from Postgres, both locally and on S3. Parquet is a columnar file format known for efficient data compression, making it suitable for sharing and analytics, particularly in data lakes. pg_parquet facilitates seamless integration of Parquet with Postgres, eliminating the need for additional data pipelines. The extension enhances the Postgres copy command, enabling efficient data

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: /r/programming

Lorin Hochstein discusses the concepts of liveness and safety properties in software and complex systems, using the analogy of traffic lights and elevators. Liveness asserts that a positive outcome will eventually occur, exemplified by a traffic light turning green; if it never does, the system violates this property. Safety ensures that a negative outcome does not happen, as illustrated by preventing both directions of traffic lights from being green at the same time. Hochstein plans to create a simple model of an elevator system using

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The article "You Don’t Need Words to Think" by Gary Stix explores the relationship between language and thought, questioning whether language is essential for cognitive processes. While philosopher Bertrand Russell argued that language is necessary for certain thoughts, the article highlights that many animals demonstrate advanced problem-solving abilities without words, suggesting that high-level cognition can exist independently of language. Neuroscientist Evelina Fedorenko's research at MIT investigates these questions, indicating that our brain's cognitive regions can generate thoughts that don

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: /r/programming

Tolgee is a developer and translator-friendly web-based localization platform, positioned as an open-source alternative to tools like Crowdin, Phrase, or Lokalise. It emphasizes the importance of user feedback and encourages community participation, especially through events like Hacktoberfest 2024, where participants can earn swag based on their contributions. Tolgee simplifies the localization process by allowing direct in-app translations without the need to modify large code files, and it features in-context translating, even in production environments. Users can

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: /r/programming

The content emphasizes the importance of user feedback and highlights OpenVMM, a cross-platform Virtual Machine Monitor written in Rust. It directs users to documentation for running, building, and using OpenVMM, which is accessible through the OpenVMM Guide. Contributions to the project are welcomed, but contributors must agree to a Contributor License Agreement (CLA). A CLA bot will provide necessary instructions during the pull request process. The project adheres to Microsoft's Open Source Code of Conduct and provides guidelines regarding the use of

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

The ongoing conflict between Automattic and WP Engine is detrimental to the WordPress community. Automattic's CEO, Matt Mullenweg, is leveraging his control over the WordPress.org infrastructure to undermine WP Engine and silence dissent among contributors. He has created a hostile fork of a WP Engine plugin that is replacing the original through automatic updates. Initially, there were hopes that the dispute would be resolved without impacting the community, but these hopes were dashed when WP Engine filed a 62-page lawsuit against

Published: 2024-10-17 | Origin: Hacker News

Tattoos have diverse meanings across cultures, serving as both sacred symbols and marks of rebellion. In Japan, the tradition of irezumi involves intricate body art, often linked to the yakuza, which can cover large areas of the body. Dr. Fukushi Masaichi, a Japanese pathologist, viewed these tattoos not as criminal marks but as valuable specimens for scientific study. Born in 1878, he pursued medical education in Japan and Germany, contributing to pathology and founding the Japanese Path

Published: 2024-10-16 | Origin: /r/programming

In Leslie Lamport's "Specifying Systems," he emphasizes the importance of being cautious about successful outcomes in model checking, particularly regarding liveness and safety properties. A model checker that doesn't find violations may indicate that there are hidden issues in the software. Lamport introduces the principle of "Be Suspicious of Success" (BSOS), asserting that it's crucial for code to work for the right reasons, not just any reason, to avoid unexpected failures down the line. Verification methods such as testing and model

Published: 2024-10-16 | Origin: /r/programming

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

Published: 2024-10-16 | Origin: Hacker News

The content discusses the "kalmangrad" Python package, which is designed to calculate automated, smooth N'th order derivatives of non-uniformly sampled time series data using Bayesian filtering techniques. This approach addresses the common challenge of estimating derivatives from noisy data, which traditional numerical differentiation methods often amplify, leading to inaccuracies. Kalmangrad provides a robust alternative for fields like signal processing, control systems, and data analysis. The package is built on the bayesfilter framework and includes a main

Published: 2024-10-16 | Origin: Hacker News

The content emphasizes the importance of user feedback and outlines a benchmarking project related to Qualcomm's AI capabilities on Windows PCs. Qualcomm's Arm-based Surface tablets, marketed as AI PCs due to their efficient machine learning performance, have prompted the authors to port their app to this platform. However, performance benchmarks reveal that they achieved only 1.3% of Qualcomm's claimed 45 Teraops/s for the NPU. The authors are seeking suggestions for reducing latency and expect software improvements in the future, as

Published: 2024-10-16 | Origin: /r/programming

The article discusses the challenges of implementing a permissions layer in software applications, particularly for Software as a Service (SaaS) companies. Initially, developers often prioritize achieving product-market fit and delivering core business value, leading them to overlook access control systems. The authors, from Cerbos, share their experiences across various industries, highlighting that managing user permissions has consistently been a time-consuming and complex task. Typically, development starts with basic access rights for users and admins, but as the product scales and grows