News Nug
For Ada Lovelace Day: why her 1843 table is the first computer program

Published: 2024-10-08 | Origin: /r/programming

The author reflects on Ada Lovelace's 1843 program, which is often recognized as the first computer program, and shares their experience of running it on modern hardware. They emphasize that determining "firsts" in innovation depends heavily on the definitions used and that innovation is typically a collaborative and gradual process rather than a sudden event. The author, a lifelong programmer, aims to focus on the program itself rather than just the hardware aspects. They note that Lovelace's work was intrinsically linked

The costs of the i386 to x86-64 upgrade

Published: 2024-10-08 | Origin: /r/programming

The author discusses the evolution of computer architecture, particularly focusing on the transformation from 8-bit to 64-bit processors and the resulting increase in accessible memory. While modern programs are more advanced, the question arises whether they truly need a 64-bit address space and if this growth has improved performance. The piece introduces the concept of code density, which measures the number of machine instructions required to perform a given action. For instance, incrementing a variable can be executed in one instruction on a complex instruction

An illustrated proof of the CAP theorem (2018)

Published: 2024-10-08 | Origin: Hacker News

The CAP Theorem is a key principle in distributed systems, asserting that such systems can only maintain two of the following three properties: consistency, availability, and partition tolerance. This summary introduces Gilbert and Lynch's formal specification of the theorem, explaining the meanings of these properties in simple terms using a basic distributed system with two servers, $G_1$ and $G_2$, that manage a shared variable. - **Consistent**: In a consistent system, after a client writes a value to

Video Surveillance with YOLO+llava

Published: 2024-10-08 | Origin: Hacker News

The content describes a video surveillance system utilizing OpenCV, YOLO, and LLAVA technologies. It features a CCTV viewer that connects to high-resolution RTSP streams, processes video frames in real-time, and uses YOLO for object detection, assigning IDs based on detected object's characteristics. The system includes a background thread for continuous object tagging with an LLM server. It processes frames at a resolution of 640x480 with an average interference time of 20ms using an older GTX 1060 graphics

A Photo of the Moon

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: Hacker News

Failed to fetch content - HTTP Status - 403

Ruby 3.4.0 preview2 Released

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/ruby

Ruby 3.4.0-preview2 has been released with several notable updates: 1. The default parser has switched from parse.y to Prism. 2. String literals will now emit a deprecation warning when mutated unless they have a `frozen_string_literal` comment. This can be managed through command-line options. 3. Keyword splatting with `nil` is now supported, treating `nil` like an empty hash while not invoking conversion methods. 4. Block and keyword arguments are no longer

Best-ever engineering performance may not last for the next iteration — on regression towards the mean

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/programming

The author reflects on completing their last half-marathon of the year and an uplifting moment when a fellow runner encouraged them just before the finish. Although it felt like a magical boost of energy, the author considers the possibility that it was actually due to their heart rate returning to a manageable level after a brief rest. This concept ties into the statistical principle of regression toward the mean, where extreme values in measurements tend to normalize upon retesting. The author also announces an upcoming interactive workshop focused on improving communication skills

Is the attack helicopter dead?

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: Hacker News

The ongoing conflict in Ukraine, particularly since Russia's invasion in 2022, has raised questions about the viability of attack helicopters on the battlefield. Despite their high cost and complexity, these helicopters have suffered significant losses, highlighting their vulnerability, especially when faced with effective small uncrewed aircraft targeting armor. In the early stages of the invasion, many doubted Ukraine's ability to resist, but the destruction of Russian helicopters, such as the Kamov, provided a morale boost to Ukrainian forces. Reports indicate

Wigle.net: All the networks, found by everyone

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: Hacker News

WiGLE values your privacy and allows you to request the removal of your access point records from their database by emailing WiGLE-admin[at]WiGLE.net, including the BSSID (MAC) in your request. For questions or suggestions, you can also reach them via IRC at WiGLE.net:6667. The content is copyrighted from 2001 to 2024 by bobzilla, arkasha, and uhtu.

Python 3.13 released

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/programming

The article "What’s New In Python 3.13" by Adam Turner and Thomas Wouters highlights the new features and changes introduced in Python 3.13, released on October 7, 2024. Key updates include: - A new interactive interpreter for enhanced user experience. - Experimental support for free-threaded mode (PEP 703). - Introduction of a Just-In-Time (JIT) compiler (PEP 744). - Improved error messages with color-highlighted trace

Rust is rolling off the Volvo assembly line

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/programming

Julius Gustavsson, a software architect at Volvo since 2019, plays a crucial role in the development of the low-power electronic control unit (ECU) for their vehicles. This ECU manages power consumption by ensuring that systems are turned off when the car is not in use, avoiding battery drain. Although the ECU was not actively developed when Julius joined, he recognized the potential for using Rust programming language to replace existing C and C++ code. The use of Rust was feasible as the ECU

What's New in Ruby on Rails 8

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/ruby

On October 7, 2024, the first beta of Rails 8 was released, showcasing a range of new features, bug fixes, and enhancements that build on Rails 7.2. Notable updates include the integration of Kamal 2 for straightforward deployments, the introduction of Propshaft as the new default asset pipeline, and significant ActiveRecord improvements. Rails 8 also enhances SQLite integration, making it more suitable for production use. Kamal 2 simplifies application deployment by allowing users to

Can you get root with only a cigarette lighter?

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: Hacker News

David Buchanan explores the concept of fault injection as a technique for exploiting vulnerabilities in systems when conventional software bugs are absent. Fault injection involves introducing intentional faults through various means, such as power glitching and electromagnetic pulses, often requiring specialized and costly equipment. However, Buchanan highlights low-budget alternatives, such as using a piezo-electric BBQ igniter for electromagnetic fault injection (EMFI). With the upcoming release of the Nintendo Switch 2 and the lack of software bugs available to exploit, he revisits his interest

An e-waste dumping ground

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: Hacker News

Failed to fetch content - HTTP Error - Net::ReadTimeout with #<TCPSocket:(closed)>

Short Ruby Newsletter - edition 108

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/ruby

Lucian Ghinda's newsletter has migrated from Substack to Beehiiv, retaining the same domain. As a result, there may be temporary glitches during this transition. The old Substack newsletter is still accessible but marked as private. The unsubscribe process has changed, and a video has been provided for guidance. The contact email is currently [email protected] but will later be updated to [email protected] Recent updates in the Ruby community include: - Landon Gray's preview launch of

Day Rates

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: Hacker News

A year ago, the author transitioned from charging project fees to day rates, which they describe as a transformative experience. Previously, they struggled with project rates and were influenced by Sanctuary Computer's ideas on value pricing. Although value pricing has gained popularity, the author never felt comfortable with it and found difficulties with project-based pricing. Switching to time-based quoting has alleviated some of the issues they faced, making management simpler and reducing friction. While acknowledging common objections to time-based pricing, they have found the

Running multiple apps on a single server with Kamal 2

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/ruby

Kamal 2 introduces a highly requested feature that allows users to run multiple applications simultaneously on a single server. While Kamal remains an application-centric deployment tool, the new version facilitates shared server configurations without altering individual application settings. The key enhancement is the Kamal Proxy, which manages multiple app deployments, ensuring seamless service transitions and routing traffic based on specified host domains. Additionally, the proxy can request automatic SSL/TLS certificates via Let’s Encrypt. To illustrate its use, configurations for three different applications

Kamal 2

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/ruby

The content provides a curated collection of episodes designed to aid in learning about technology, infrastructure, hardware, and software, which are non-instructional. It includes videos and articles focused on software and tutorials. Additionally, it encourages engagement and communication for discussions or questions. The mention of "Kamal 2" and "Quality Ruby Screencasts" suggests a focus on high-quality educational materials related to Ruby programming.

Authorization at scale with Google Zanzibar

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/programming

The overview discusses Google Zanzibar, a sophisticated authorization system designed by Google to manage complex access needs across its diverse ecosystem of applications. Known for its distributed and scalable architecture, Zanzibar enables developers to implement fine-grained Relationship-Based Access Control (ReBAC) by modeling permissions as graph data. This system addresses significant authorization challenges, particularly in environments where a singular identity system serves multiple applications, such as B2B and B2C platforms. The blog elaborates on the advantages and disadvantages of Zanzibar, guiding readers

6 years with Gleam

Published: 2024-10-07 | Origin: /r/programming

The author has been contributing to Gleam since 2018 and appreciates its functional programming foundations and type safety, referring to it as a "friendly language for building type-safe systems that scale." They were introduced to Elixir and the BEAM in 2014, which led to job opportunities and involvement in the Elixir community, where they met Louis, Gleam's creator. In 2020, the author co-founded a startup, using Elixir for web framework parts and Gleam for core