Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator
By @jihadjihadAnimals Made from 13 Circles (2016)
By @simonpureHow Google built its Gemini robotics models
By @msfiShow HN: Mermaid Chart VS Code Plugin: Mermaid.js Diagrams in Visual Studio Code
By @protonbobSailing from Berkeley to Hawaii in a 19ft Sailboat
Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator
Tom Howard has officially become a moderator for Hacker News, transitioning from the username tomhoward to tomhow. He aims to enhance user experience while maintaining the community's ethos of curiosity and engagement.
Animals Made from 13 Circles (2016)
Dori the Giant created 13 animal designs from 13 circles, inspired by the Twitter logo. Prints start at $20, and she plans to share a tutorial on creating similar designs.
How Google built its Gemini robotics models
Google DeepMind has launched Gemini Robotics models that enhance robots' capabilities to learn complex tasks, focusing on embodied reasoning for effective interaction, promoting adaptability for future applications in various industries.
Show HN: Mermaid Chart VS Code Plugin: Mermaid.js Diagrams in Visual Studio Code
The Mermaid Chart VS Code Plugin enables developers to create and edit diagrams in Visual Studio Code, offering features like real-time rendering, Markdown integration, offline editing, and AI-generated diagrams.
Sailing from Berkeley to Hawaii in a 19ft Sailboat
Bill Teplow sailed 2,142 nautical miles from Berkeley to Hilo in 24 days on his modified West Wight Potter 19 sailboat, Chubby, experiencing smooth sailing and ensuring safety throughout the journey.
Porting Tailscale to Plan 9
Tailscale has ported its service to the Plan 9 operating system, overcoming challenges like limited Go support and runtime crashes, while implementing userspace networking and Tailscale SSH for secure access.
Show HN: A Chrome extension to give you back control over short-form videos
ReelControl is a Chrome extension that restores playback controls to social media videos, helping users manage viewing time effectively. It is open-source and enhances user experience on platforms like YouTube Shorts.
A 6-Hour Time-Stretched Version of Brian Eno's Music for Airports
A YouTube user has created a 6-hour time-stretched version of Brian Eno's "Music for Airports," enhancing its calming effects and promoting interest in ambient music for public spaces.
Coffea stenophylla: A forgotten bean that could save coffee from extinction
Botanist Aaron Davis is seeking Coffea stenophylla, a rare coffee species that may enhance climate resilience. Its rediscovery could aid coffee production amid climate change threats to existing species.
Stop syncing everything
Graft is an open-source transactional storage engine that enables lazy, partial replication for efficient data synchronization, supporting offline-first applications and strong consistency through Serializable Snapshot Isolation, with future enhancements planned.
Scientists uncover key mechanism in evolution: Whole-genome duplication drives
Scientists at Georgia Tech discovered that whole-genome duplication (WGD) in "snowflake" yeast can remain stable over thousands of generations, providing advantages for multicellularity and reshaping understanding of evolution.
Generate autounattend.xml files for Windows 10/11
The service generates autounattend.xml files for unattended installations of Windows 10 and 11, allowing users to customize language and keyboard settings, and facilitating clean installations via Windows PE.
Glubux's Powerwall (2016)
Glubux has powered his home for eight years using over 1,000 recycled laptop batteries and 24 solar panels, creating a self-sufficient energy source free from major issues and replacements.
Launch HN: ASim (YC S21) – Mobile app that generates mobile apps
aSim is a mobile app that enables users to create shareable apps from their phones, simplifying development with various APIs, and is currently free while encouraging user feedback for improvements.
Electron band structure in germanium, my ass (2001)
The author expresses frustration with their germanium experiment, criticizing lab equipment and literature. Results contradicted expected temperature-resistivity relationships, leading to chaotic data and a humorous regret over choosing physics over computer science.
Bletchley code breaker Betty Webb dies aged 101
Betty Webb, a Bletchley Park code breaker during WWII, passed away at 101. She contributed to decoding messages, received France's Légion d'Honneur, and celebrated her 100th birthday at Bletchley Park.
Systems Correctness Practices at AWS: Leveraging Formal and Semi-Formal Methods
AWS emphasizes systems correctness for reliable services, utilizing TLA+ and the P programming language for formal methods. Lightweight testing, fault injection, and Cedar language enhance efficiency and security.
Circuit Tracing: Revealing Computational Graphs in Language Models (Anthropic)
The paper presents a method called circuit tracing to enhance understanding of language models, using attribution graphs to visualize feature interactions, validated through case studies, while noting limitations and future research potential.
Show HN: Nue – Apps lighter than a React button
Nue is a lightweight web framework utilizing modern standards, featuring a Rust engine for large datasets, promoting a model-first approach, and simplifying design for developers, currently in active development.
The April Fools joke that might have got me fired
A university programmer changed printer messages to "INSERT 5 CENTS" as an April Fools' prank, causing chaos and requiring urgent retractions, but ultimately it became a legendary campus joke.