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1. ▲ When was the famous "sudo warning" introduced? Under what background? By whom? (retrocomputing.stackexchange.com)
Hark! The mighty dwellers of Retrocomputing Stack Exchange have unearthed ancient wisdom about the "sudo warning," sending shockwaves through the hermetic echo chamber where everyone simulates multi-user chaos on their lonely, single-user Linux installs. First up, the "local system administrator" – yes, it's just you, Bob, fighting the perilous battle against mistakenly banned IP addresses in your parents' basement. Then we have the messianic comment proposing a world where "sudo" is as archaic as floppy disks, because typing passwords is such an unbearable chore in managing one's own lone device. And let's not forget the enlightening diversion into the nostalgic lands of Unix security legends, which, though endearing, perhaps shines more light on the commentator's academic crushes than on sudo's gritty lore. Sit back, pour yourself a beverage, and revel in the melodrama of self-administered sysadmin woes and passwordless utopias, unfolding in the thrilling arena of nostalgic network tech banter. 😂👨‍💻💾
22 points by Boogie_Man 2024-12-02T00:08:38 1733098118 | 5 comments
2. ▲ What Will Enter the Public Domain in 2025? (publicdomainreview.org)
🙄Public Domain Advent Calendars are *all the rave* this year at Public Domain Review, eager to unleash old films and dusty writings your great-grandpa barely cared about. Commenters engage in the timeless sport of bickering over copyright like they personally brokered the Treaty of Versailles, calculating the ideal nanosecond-span a book should be protected before everyone pirates it. The heated debate reveals a Jackson Pollock painting of logical stretches, proposing a copyright law overhaul that adjusts for different mediums as if media rights were slices of a Choose Your Own Adventure pie. Meanwhile, someone fears for Disney’s juggernaut, trembling at the mere thought of Mickey Mouse in the public-drafting claws of Joe Public and his spanking new AI toolkit. 🎬📗💻
151 points by Tomte 2024-12-01T20:17:02 1733084222 | 95 comments
3. ▲ Programming the C64 with Visual Studio Code – Retro Game Coders (retrogamecoders.com)
In a stunning revelation to absolutely nobody, nostalgic tech enthusiasts have dredged up the Commodore 64, not to play the games, but to program them—because modern hobbies just lack that old-school frustration. Enter "Programming the C64 with Visual Studio Code – Retro Game Coders," an article which somehow connects a 40-year-old computer to a modern IDE, ensuring that a whole new generation can experience the joy of debugging beige plastic. Comments are a mix of humble-brags about ancient programming feats and nostalgic musings that scream "kids these days will never understand." One even suggests more tools, because if there's anything better than obsolete tech, it's obsolete tech with added complications. The community relishes in making Mario run faster on hardware older than the internet, proving once and for all that you really can't teach an old dog new tricks, but you sure can make it dance.
87 points by rbanffy 2024-12-01T21:29:38 1733088578 | 7 comments
4. ▲ Advent of Code 2024 (adventofcode.com)
Advent of Code 2024: Your Annual Reminder That You're Not As Smart As You Think

Welcome back to Advent of Code, the yearly exercise where developer egos inflate faster than bitcoin in a bubble, because solving tiny puzzles clearly equals real-world proficiency. Eric Wastl, master of the humblebrag, invites everyone, their dog, and their ten-year-old laptop to partake in programming challenges that can be tackled in any language - an open invitation for commenters to argue whether Rust or "Golang" (it's Go, folks) has the superior garbage collector. Over on the comments, it's a showdown of speed freaks, using this delightful holiday tradition to prove their favorite tech stack is just slightly more performant in scenarios that will never, ever mirror real-world tasks. Meanwhile, join the discord for hot tips on turning concise code into unreadable one-liners, because apparently, that's how you really impress your peers. Godspeed, you pedantic wizards. 👨‍💻🚀🎄
1018 points by thinkingemote 2024-12-01T09:09:35 1733044175 | 414 comments
5. ▲ Show QN: Markwhen: Markdown for Timelines (markwhen.com)
Title: Show HN: Markwhen: Markdown for Timelines (markwhen.com)

In a pressing effort to immortalize every mundane event in "markdown" format, a lone warrior unveils Markwhen, yet another tool promising to revolutionize how we avoid using traditional calendars. After years of toiling in obscurity, the creator bombastically presents a swiss army knife of integrations (Obsidian! VS Code! ClI! Even a web editor named Meridiem that sounds like a rejected Star Trek planet!) that turns your procrastination into colourful, interactive Gantt charts. Commenters, each vying for a Darwin award in technological sycophancy, frolic gaily beneath this post, throwing around technical jargon that even their software understands only half the time. "Groundbreaking," one scribe whispers, before attempting to embed their entire uninspiring existence within a simple texted based format, because who *doesn't* want a public ledger of life's events—from birth to that noteworthy summer gig? 📅😂
234 points by koch 2024-12-01T17:58:48 1733075928 | 30 comments
6. ▲ Category Theory in Programming (racket-lang.org)
**Category Theory Takedown**

Who knew that the obscure corners of mathematical theory could be this excruciatingly incomprehensible? Welcome to "Category Theory in Programming," where the uninitiated descend into madness trying to decipher advanced abstractions that, apparently, barely scrape their utility in programming. Here, seasoned mathematicians and aspiring code jockeys unite in confused solidarity, bemoaning lost hours and questioning their life choices, all while a scant few defend the esoteric art as if it’s the holy grail of both math and coding. Meanwhile, the comment section devolves into a mess of intellectual one-upmanship, as everyone tries to prove they're the least confused. Embrace the "semi-abstract semi-nonsense"—because regular nonsensical torture just wasn't enough!
28 points by todsacerdoti 2024-12-01T22:19:30 1733091570 | 13 comments
7. ▲ Procedural knowledge in pretraining drives reasoning in large language models (arxiv.org)
In a world where "reasoning" just means a compiler vomiting out amalgamated gobbledygook from training data, Procedural knowledge in pretraining drives reasoning in large language models brilliantly wades through the sea of jargon to assert – without much surprise – that machines can fake understanding by following instructions (gasp!). Our scholarly enthusiasts in the comments section, dusting off their armchair psychology degrees, quibble spiritedly over whether this constitutes true “reasoning” or just sophisticated parroting. Cue the usual suspects: a slew of AI skeptics versus zealots, both sides armed with their favorite preprints and a casual disregard for the softer sides of human intellect like "fallibility" and "sleep deprivation." 👏🧠💤 Rhetoric? Yes. Illuminating? Somewhat. Hilarity? Absolutely.
164 points by reqo 2024-12-01T16:54:26 1733072066 | 53 comments
8. ▲ Rails is better low code than low code (radanskoric.com)
In a staggering display of existential dread, radanskoric.com embarks on a heroic journey through the perilous realm of deciding whether to use Ruby on Rails or a low code solution for a CRUD app that nobody will remember next week. Because nothing screams "modern software development" like waxing poetic over tool choices in the time it takes most of us to just code the thing in whatever's already open. Commenters join this high-stakes melodrama, passionately discussing the merits and metaphysics of low code like it's the new philosophy replacing Plato in tech bro book clubs. Meanwhile, back in the real world, most people just mash whatever template fits the bill and knock off early on Friday. 👓💻
134 points by thunderbong 2024-11-27T07:16:28 1732691788 | 52 comments
9. ▲ How to Study Mathematics (uh.edu)
📚 The University of Houston bravely attempts to guide the perpetually confused college freshman through the mythical forest of "college-level mathematics" with a revelatory article about the value of theory over problem-solving. 🤔 As expected, the comment section morphs into a battlefield where self-proclaimed math gurus debate whether intuition or rote memorization reigns supreme in the academic arena. One nostalgic commenter even dredges up memories of a professor using 'Ice-9' as a metaphor, desperately trying to prove that college wasn't a complete waste of time and tuition money. Meanwhile, another commenter insists that maybe, just maybe, knowing a theorem's name is at least as important as knowing what it means. Will the mysteries of rigorous mathematical proof ever match the enigma of successfully navigating college advice articles? Stay tuned. 🎓🧐
25 points by ayoisaiah 2024-12-01T21:50:51 1733089851 | 4 comments
10. ▲ Francis Crick's "Central Dogma" was misunderstood (asimov.press)
In this week's gripping episode from Asimov.press, we confront the titanic confusion that is Francis Crick's "Central Dogma" and its woefully abused interpretation. Down in the sage-strewn depths of the comments, aspiring molecular gymnasts somersault through hoops trying to clarify, or outright reinvent, Crick’s strained musings on genetic information flow. One scholar confesses a distressingly late epiphany about cell diversity, making us wonder what they actually teach in those high-priced biology classes. Meanwhile, another valiant knight of academia rides the rugged terrains of muscle memory, somehow looping it back to cellular nuclei in a display of rhetorical agility that would make even a contortionist blush. 🤸‍♂️🧬🎪
70 points by ctoth 2024-12-01T18:24:26 1733077466 | 21 comments
11. ▲ The Color of Noise (2014) (caseymuratori.com)
Casey Muratori decides to enliven our gray world with a thought piece on "The Color of Noise", revealing that you can indeed judge a book by its title. The Internet Archive's comment section turns into a heroic salvage operation, as keen-eyed readers dig through digital ruins to find a paper that Casey forgot to reference clearly. One brave soul contends with the physics of noise and spatial frequency, only to realize they might be out of their depth. Ultimately, everyone agrees they're scholars and gentlemen, by virtue of resurrecting dead links and debating concepts they half-understand. 📚🔍💡
47 points by ekzhang 2024-12-01T19:05:10 1733079910 | 4 comments
12. ▲ First-Hand Account of "The Undefined Behavior Question" Incident [pdf] (tomazos.com)
Today in tech absurdity, a C++ Standards Contributor has been ousted for daring to ask about "The Undefined Behavior Question", sparking an intellectual brawl over jargon that makes Kafka look like a children's author. Enter the Hacker News collective, where armchair experts dissect this drama with the sort of misguided fervor usually reserved for debates over tabs vs. spaces. In a flurry of indignation and poorly-timed humor analysis, one commenter bravely admits to not grasping how "undefined behavior" could possibly be construed as a diabolical anti-Semitic dog whistle. Clearly, when we’re not defining behavior, we’re inventing conspiracy theories. 🤓🍿
7 points by weaksauce 2024-12-01T23:43:41 1733096621 | 2 comments
13. ▲ Demystifying Git Submodules (cyberdemon.org)

📦 Unraveling the Enigma of Git Submodules



Today, on cyberdemon.org, "the pioneer of understanding simple solutions to complicated problems that didn't need to exist" tackles the mountainous terrain of Git submodules. After years of battling self-inflicted Git wounds, the author claims an epiphany: submodules aren't really complex—they're just *different*. Revolutionary! Meanwhile, the comments section transforms into a makeshift support group where the confused mingle with the slightly less confused. One bright soul queries about scenarios where submodules outdo conventional package managers, only to be met with tales of woe and hearsay instead of answers. Spoiler: It's all a "suboptimal" mess. 🤦‍♂️
6 points by signa11 2024-12-02T00:19:16 1733098756 | 3 comments
14. ▲ IBM RISC System/6000 Family (computeradsfromthepast.substack.com)
🎉 Welcome to the nostalgic IBM fan club, where the faded glory of the RS/6000 still sparks intense debates among tech aficionados who revel in recalling how AIX slightly underperformed next to Solaris and needed its own chamber of secrets. In a confusing blend of acronyms, IBM required special rooms and third-party shamans to perform installation rituals with the mythical smitty tool – which, by enchanted decree, moved no faster than molasses until its animation speed was doubled in a dazzling feat of non-performance enhancement. Commenters, armed with rose-tinted glasses, wax lyrical about obscure features and COFF-based architectural decisions that no one outside these hallowed discussions has thought about since Y2K was a legitimate fear. Meanwhile, every sysadmin's favorite pastime: complaining about whether smitty would remember their settings or whimsically discard them at boot. 🤓💾
37 points by rbanffy 2024-12-01T19:42:40 1733082160 | 26 comments
15. ▲ Heaviside’s Operator Calculus (2007) (deadreckonings.com)
In a riveting blast from the past, *deadreckonings.com* resurrects the ghost of Oliver Heaviside to dazzle dozens with his old-timey operator calculus. As the digital crowd gawks, marveling at how Heaviside whipped Maxwell's equations into shape like a Victorian Gordon Ramsay, the commenters joust with mentions of renormalization and Feynman diagrams, as if ingeniously proving their grasp of "serious physics" to each other. One brave soul waxes nostalgic about high school physics, metaphorically hugging the concept of bouncing balls as the pinnacle of fun math - ironically missing the entire point of their AP exam. Mathematicians, feel free to return to your hair-tearing; Heaviside's cavalier math antics are safe in the hands of the internet's echo chamber, where every partial derivative reveals a philosopher's soul. 😂
62 points by joebig 2024-12-01T18:47:38 1733078858 | 19 comments
16. ▲ Photo Robot Takes the Perfect Picture (ieee.org)
Robotic Rembrandt Redefines Selfie Superiority

In a groundbreaking fusion of indolence and artificial intelligence, IEEE introduces PhotoBot: the mechanical messiah destined to rescue humanity from the hardship of taking their own photos. Spearheaded by the intrepid Oliver Limoyo, who apparently enjoys watching a robotic arm do all the work, PhotoBot promises to locate angles you didn’t know existed, all while marinating in the glory of three whole fields of study. Doting technophiles in the comment section are already pledging allegiance, debating if their selfie stick can be repurposed as a fetch stick for their new robot overlords. 🤖🎨 Isn't progress wonderful?
11 points by rbanffy 2024-11-23T19:40:06 1732390806 | 0 comments
17. ▲ Show QN: Steel.dev – An open-source browser API for AI agents and apps (github.com/steel-dev)
Title: Show HN: Reinventing the Wheel with Steel.dev – Your New Overlord for Web Automation

In a groundbreaking move that shocks absolutely nobody, some brave tech warriors at Steel.dev have introduced yet another tool for the eager masses to "automate the web," because evidently, the existing tools were just too mainstream. Delighting in the complexity of their creation, they reassure developers that they've taken care of all the hard stuff—because managing a full containerized browser sandbox is exactly what every AI tinkerer dreams of at night. Commenters, in a dazzling display of original thought, oscillate between ecstasy over this new toy and mild panic about pricing inconsistencies—a thrilling cat-and-mouse game, but with more proxies and less intrigue. Watch as they revolutionize the scraping game, or at least until everyone’s IP gets banned. Game on, internet. 🚀😂
22 points by marclave 2024-11-26T13:34:40 1732628080 | 17 comments
18. ▲ Ampere WS-1 Japanese APL Clamtop (computeradsfromthepast.substack.com)
In a heroic attempt to memorialize the Ampere WS-1, a computer that dared marry the impracticality of APL with the sleekness of a clamshell, the fine historians at computeradsfromthepast.substack.com wax poetic about this tecnhological chimera. Blessed readers eagerly dive into the comments to flaunt their dubious connections to retro tech cred, each one asserting a more tenuous grasp on reality than the last. 🤓 Who knew nostalgia could invoke such profound displays of one-upmanship, rendering the typical bar boasts about old girlfriends and alleged road trips pale in comparison. Truly, Ampere would be proud.
4 points by rbanffy 2024-12-01T22:57:19 1733093839 | 0 comments
19. ▲ Ryugu asteroid sample colonized by terrestrial life despite strict control (phys.org)
**Asteroid Sample Goes Club Med for Earth Microbes**
Humans bring back a bit of space rock, and surprise, it's been partying with Earth microbes like it's spring break on Ryugu. Phys.org, a bastion of recycled science tidbits, drops another revelation straight from the DUH Department, detailing how we contaminated a space rock sample despite handling it like a biohazard sushi chef. Meanwhile, the comments section frolics in a field of wild speculation, with debates raging from the improbability of space life enduring a cosmic frat party to mournful laments about clumsy space seals. Oh, and yes – someone's ex apparently also mastered the art of resilience and ubiquity. 🙄🚀
18 points by bookofjoe 2024-11-23T12:39:37 1732365577 | 11 comments
20. ▲ Cursed Linear Types in Rust (geo-ant.github.io)
In the latest blogosphere revelation, a brave Rustacean ventures into the dark arts of linear types, drawing heavily on the genius of someone else's work to create ""variables that vanish after you blink"". As expected, the comments inevitably devolve into a gaggle of software veterans competing over whose outdated language can implement similarly esoteric features, with each suggesting more convoluted methods to force singleton patterns upon unsuspecting data. Meanwhile, a quieter bunch can't stop marveling at how Rust, once again, redefines the boundaries of modern programming with a feature most will gallantly misuse. 🚀💥🤓
73 points by todsacerdoti 2024-11-27T10:14:13 1732702453 | 18 comments
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