TL;DR summary of stories on the internet
The author enjoys searching Twitter for companies to give quick pentests, often finding vulnerabilities this way. While looking into a16z, they discovered sensitive AWS credentials exposed in the code of their portfolio management tool, potentially compromising their database, AWS, Salesforce, and more. Despite the serious flaw, a16z did not reward the author with a bug […]
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Cigarette butts are a huge problem, with over 4 trillion tossed onto the ground each year. A team of roboticists from the Italian Institute of Technology has designed a quadrupedal robot named VERO to tackle this issue. VERO autonomously locates and collects cigarette butts using its feet, prioritizing stability on uneven surfaces. Initial testing shows […]
The recent warez mega dump has unearthed NetWare 3.0, also known as NetWare 386, released by Novell in 1989. This 32-bit network operating system required a 386 processor and utilized NetWare Loadable Modules for simpler installation and maintenance compared to its predecessor, NetWare 2.x. Despite being limited in its features and lacking NLM support initially, […]
The author reflects on their experience programming in GW-BASIC on an IBM PC clone running MS-DOS, highlighting the simplicity and effectiveness of the language. They provide examples of basic programming principles, such as loops and conditional statements, and demonstrate how to draw windows using ASCII characters. The author defends BASIC against criticism from Edsger Dijkstra, […]
Typst is a powerful markup-based typesetting system similar to LaTeX but with a simpler learning curve. It features built-in markup for formatting, flexible functions, a scripting system, math typesetting, and more. Users can customize page properties, headings, and math equations through code-like syntax. The system allows for defining variables, functions, and even scripting within documents. […]
Many believe that tackling super difficult problems is the best way to improve math skills, but this might not be the case. Research shows that beginners learn best through direct instruction, not open-ended challenges. The key to progress is acquiring foundational skills through deliberate practice, whereby one works just beyond their current abilities making small […]
Automerge is a library that promotes building local-first software by allowing collaborative applications to automatically merge data changes without a central server. This Conflict-Free Replicated Data Type (CRDT) is network-agnostic, meaning it can work across various network protocols or even through emailing files. The portability of Automerge, implemented in JavaScript and Rust, with FFI bindings […]
In the world of guitar playing, tablatures offer a simplified way to learn songs without reading traditional sheet music. But what if you could create your own tablature player from scratch? Enter Ruxguitar, a Rust-based project that allows you to parse binary tablature files, draw the tablature on a custom UI using the Iced library, […]
In 2023, Search.gov powered one third of federal government domains, providing free, effective, and simple search engine capabilities for over 2,000 websites. The report details what the public was searching for on these sites. Designed specifically for government use, Search.gov offers secure, compliant, and highly configurable search options without requiring developers. With hands-on customer service […]
The web content explores the evolution of language and NLP models, focusing on the shift from encoder models like BERT to the new era of large language models (LLMs). The author delves into the intricacies of encoder-decoders, decoder-only models, and PrefixLMs, highlighting their similarities and differences. They discuss the pros and cons of different model […]