TL;DR summary of stories on the internet
The article explores Google’s dominance in the browser market, focusing on how Google Chrome plays a crucial role in solidifying the company’s power in various markets. Despite Google presenting Chrome as a neutral platform, the authors argue that it actually helps Google strengthen its position in online advertising, publishing, and the browser market. They delve […]
Read more »
Exciting news! Beeper has been acquired by Automattic, marking the start of a new chapter in our quest to create the ultimate chat app. Beeper offers a universal chat app for 14 different networks, with a special mention of their iMessage-on-Android app, Beeper Mini. With over 115,000 users and having been in beta until recently, […]
The author discusses the 50th anniversary of Ethernet, highlighting the impactful work of computer scientists Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs. During the 1980s, various LAN technologies competed, including token ring and token bus. A potential solution to Ethernet’s limited performance emerged in the form of a learning bridge, developed by an engineer named Mark. The […]
Minibone is a user-friendly library for implementing end-to-end encryption in applications, protecting sensitive data stored with only user access. It uses AES-GCM-256 encryption, HKDF-SHA-256 for key derivation, and PBKDF2-SHA-256 for password-based key derivation to enhance security. Its threat model ensures confidentiality and integrity even if providers or communication channels are compromised, but does not guarantee […]
On August 12, learn about the fascinating history of the golfball typewriter. IBM’s Selectric, though hailed as revolutionary, was not as groundbreaking as the company claimed. The true pioneers like Blickensderfer, Hammond, and Crandall were forgotten in IBM’s narrative. Beattie’s invention of the Selectric’s single element printer, while significant, drew inspiration from earlier designers like […]
A family’s story of resilience during the Japanese American incarceration period is highlighted through the art of bird pin carving. The grandfather of the author, known as jichan, found solace in creating intricate bird pins while confined in a camp in the Arizona desert. These pins, made from scrap materials and inspired by nature, became […]
In the city of Uji, Kyoto, efforts are being made to revive Asahien, one of the seven famed tea farms of the past, using plants discovered on the grounds of a city temple. A group of locals, led by Matsubayashi Toshiyuki, are working with native Kyoto varieties of tea plants to bring back the flavors […]
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) will host the “Riding into History” event on April 20, offering the public a final ride on the original 1970s-era futuristic railcars on a 24-mile journey to Fremont, Calif. The farewell ceremony will begin at MacArthur station in Oakland at 1 p.m., with two 10-car trains using original cars. BART […]
The article delves into the abstraction behind a modern Hello World program, focusing on one written in C. It explains the process of converting the code into machine code that the computer’s processor can run and explores the details of the machine code generated by the compiler. The program calls the `puts()` function instead of […]
The demand for Open Large Language Models (LLMs) is surging as the world rushes to deploy safe and effective AI models. The Allen Institute for AI (AI2) has released OLMo 7B, a top-notch large language model with pre-training data and code. This initiative aims to promote understanding of AI creation and foster innovation in generative […]