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Learn electricity and electronics fundamentals without taking a formal course Published: 2025-04-05 | Origin: Hacker News "Teach Yourself Electricity and Electronics, Seventh Edition" is an updated guide that provides essential knowledge of electricity and electronics without the need for a formal course. Written by experienced instructors, it offers clear explanations and step-by-step lessons, backed by detailed illustrations and practical examples. The new edition emphasizes modern electronics, particularly Integrated Circuits and practical design. Additionally, it includes online quizzes to help readers assess their understanding and identify areas for further study. The book supports Simon Monk's work through an accompanying website. |
The blissful Zen of a good side project Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: Hacker News The author reflects on a recent evening where, after a long period of feeling unmotivated and uninspired, he chose to work on a new project rather than play video games. He realizes that it has been over a year since he seriously engaged with any personal projects, having instead been consuming entertainment without creating anything. This lack of creativity appeared to stem from feelings of depression or burnout, leaving him uninspired and struggling to find motivation. Eventually, he felt a tipping point where the diminishing enjoyment from gaming |
Investigating MacPaint's Source Code Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/programming MacPaint is a monochromatic raster image painting program that debuted alongside the Apple Macintosh in 1984, showcasing mouse-driven controls, tool palettes, and integration with other applications. It embodies early Macintosh branding that focused on user-friendliness and artistic appeal. An analysis of its source code reveals effective buffer management and allocation of bucket filling algorithms that optimize performance despite the limitations of the Motorola 68k platform. The study also notes both strengths and weaknesses in the code's style and architecture, affecting its adaptability |
On JavaScript's Weirdness Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/programming The article discusses some lesser-known quirks of JavaScript that can lead to confusion and unexpected behavior, particularly in relation to scope and function calls. While many programmers criticize JavaScript for issues like loose equality (e.g., '0' == 0), the author emphasizes that modern toolchains, such as linters, help mitigate such problems. However, more complex issues lurk beneath the surface, especially concerning how JavaScript handles variable scope and function calls, particularly with the `eval` function. |
The Best Refactoring You've Never Heard Of Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/programming The content expresses appreciation for an article that connects various programming concepts and ties together interests from the past. The author mentions a background in programming language research and the relevance of the article's content to their work, particularly in graph theory. They inquire about a specific notation in the article and reflect on what they have learned from influential figures like Brooks, Ritchie, and Thompson. The author introduces themselves as Jimmy, a professional who helps software engineers improve code quality and has a Ph.D. from MIT focused on |
Nvidia adds native Python support to CUDA Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/programming The content welcomes readers to TNS, promising to deliver top news from Monday to Friday and encourages them to check their inbox for a confirmation email to adjust preferences and join groups. It also suggests following TNS on social media and highlights featured stories. In a significant update in 2024, Python has surpassed JavaScript as the most popular programming language, as reported by GitHub's open source survey. NVIDIA has announced native Python support in its CUDA toolkit, allowing developers to use Python for GPU computing without |
Microsoft has released their own Agent mode so they've blocked VSCode-derived editors (like Cursor) from using MS extensions Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/programming The message indicates that the C/C++ extension is restricted to certain Microsoft products, including Microsoft Visual Studio, Visual Studio for Mac, Visual Studio Code, Azure DevOps, and Team Foundation Server. It raises a concern about the potential new limitation that may prevent VSCode extensions from being usable on Cursor. The sender is asking for clarification on whether this restriction is a recent development. |
An interactive-speed Linux computer made of only 3 8-pin chips Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: Hacker News The author has been exploring minimal computers capable of running Linux and has decided to create a simple, easy-to-assemble kit computer using only 8-pin chips. They reflect on the past when it was possible to build a functional computer at home, contrasting it with today’s complex systems that require extensive power and resources. Their goal is to design a kit that meets modern computing needs while maintaining simplicity. The target specifications include: the ability to run Debian Linux, at least 8MB of RAM, |
The End of Sierra as We Knew It, Part 1: The Acquisition Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: Hacker News In early 1996, Sierra On-Line, having just achieved significant success with the game Phantasmagoria and reported impressive revenues and profits, announced a surprising merger with CUC International, a lesser-known technology and services company. This merger, valued at approximately $1.06 billion, raised questions among gamers about CUC's identity and purpose, leading to confusion about its operations. Key to understanding CUC was its CEO, Walter Forbes, a businessman distinct from the affluent Forbes family. The |
Understanding Machine Learning: From Theory to Algorithms Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: Hacker News Of course! Please provide the content you would like summarized, and I'll be happy to help. |
Smallest Pacemaker Is the Size of a Rice Grain Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: Hacker News Scientists have developed a tiny, temporary pacemaker that is smaller than a grain of rice and can be injected and controlled by light, dissolving when no longer needed. Although human testing is still years away, this wireless device represents a "transformative breakthrough" in medicine. It aims to assist children with congenital heart defects and adults recovering from heart surgery by eliminating the need for invasive surgery associated with traditional temporary pacemakers. The new pacemaker, measuring just one millimeter thick and 3.5 mill |
Rust Vision Survey 2025: Help us create a vision for Rust's future Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/programming Rust is celebrating its 10th anniversary and is launching an initiative to create a Rust Vision RFC, aimed at reviewing its current state and future direction. The RFC will assess Rust's success in empowering users to build reliable software and identify areas for improvement. Rather than detailing specific designs or features, the RFC will provide higher-level recommendations and understand users' needs across various domains. To gather data for this effort, a survey is being conducted to connect with a broad range of stakeholders. The goal is to produce |
Heroku SSL Revisited (2025 Edition) Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/ruby In the previous publication "Cloudflare + Heroku SSL / Certificates Explained," the authors addressed how SSL functions with reverse-proxy CDN like Cloudflare and how to configure it with Heroku. They initially advised against using Heroku's automatic SSL management via Let’s Encrypt, even though it technically works well. This hesitation stemmed from the understanding of the differences between the 'Full' and 'Full (Strict)' SSL modes offered by Cloudflare. The 'Full' mode allows any SSL certificate from |
must-understand, with_default_isolation_level, Rails World CFP and more! Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/ruby "This Week in Rails" for April 4, 2025, is a newsletter that shares updates and news related to the Ruby on Rails framework. It is distributed using the HEY email platform. |
We asked camera companies why their RAW formats are all different and confusing Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: Hacker News The article discusses the existence of a universal open-source RAW format, DNG (Digital Negative), which was introduced by Adobe in 2004 to promote easier compatibility across different camera systems. Despite its availability, only a few camera manufacturers have adopted DNG, with most continuing to use their proprietary formats like Canon's CR3, Nikon's NEF, and Sony's ARW. This reliance on proprietary formats leads to compatibility issues for photo editing software, which must adapt to each file type. While some |
Single-writer Database Architecture: How SQLite Shaped Bugsink's Transaction Model Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/programming Bugsink utilizes a single-writer architecture to maintain consistent and predictable database states, leveraging SQLite’s concurrency model with a global lock for writes and snapshot isolation for reads. This approach is well-suited for Bugsink's use case of event processing. As a self-hosted error tracker, Bugsink is designed for simplicity in operation and maintenance, enabling a single developer to manage it effectively in a competitive landscape. The transaction model emphasizes stability, ensuring no edge cases or locking errors occur, while maintaining data |
Four years of running a SaaS in a competitive market Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/programming Max Rozen discusses his experiences developing the OnlineOrNot software, which he began in 2021 to provide a better alternative to existing tools. He notes that while many competitors have emerged and failed over the years, his goal was to create a sustainable, self-funded business that prioritizes user experience over shareholder profits. Rozen maintains a full-time job to support this vision and has consistently published articles documenting his journey, reflecting on his business lessons over time. He emphasizes the importance of making consistent daily efforts |
Cursor-based querying with Rails Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: /r/ruby The use of LIMIT and OFFSET pagination in SQL can lead to performance issues when OFFSET values are high, as the database must scan through all preceding records before returning results. This method is often employed as a temporary fix for slow queries, especially when large data sets are involved, but it becomes inefficient as OFFSET increases. To address these performance problems, the postgresql_cursor gem can be used, which leverages PostgreSQL cursors to iterate through query results without loading all data at once. This gem allows for |
Lessons from open source in the Mexican government Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: Hacker News LWN.net relies on subscriptions to sustain its content. The piece discusses the challenges and experiences of Federico González Waite, who has worked with the Mexican government to promote open-source software (FOSS). Speaking at SCALE 22x in Pasadena, California, he detailed his efforts to transition away from proprietary software, despite governmental resistance. González Waite, who held high-level positions including CTO for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, played a significant role in projects like the development of Mexico's electronic passport using open |
What's in that bright red fire retardant? No one will say, so we had it tested Published: 2025-04-04 | Origin: Hacker News LAist, part of Southern California Public Radio, reported on the use of fire retardants during the Palisades Fire, which started on January 7 and lasted about three weeks. Firefighting aircraft made over 280 drops of fire retardant across 20 square miles to combat the flames. Collaborating with researchers at USC, LAist tested samples of the retardant and found toxic heavy metals, such as lead and arsenic, which can harm the environment and adversely affect human and wildlife health |