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▲ 555 Timer Circuits (555-timer-circuits.com)
Welcome to the electrifying world of 555 Timer Circuits, where ancient technology meets modern dismissal! 📅 Once hailed as the Swiss Army knife of integrated circuits, the 555 timer now serves as a quaint reminder of simpler times when power efficiency was just a suggestion. Commenters whip out their nostalgia goggles, embarking on a crusade to defend the chip's honor against the tyranny of microcontrollers and Arduino boards. One zealot even challenges the notion that learning should evolve past soldering and unnecessary complexity, heroically ignoring decades of advancements in electronics. Amidst cries for 'simpler times,' it's clear that some prefer teaching kids to ride horses instead of driving cars. 🐎💨
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75 points by okl
2024-10-17T18:30:03.000000Z |
30 comments
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| 2. |
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▲ Language is not essential for the cognitive processes that underlie thought (scientificamerican.com)
🤔 *Breaking News*: You do not actually need to babble endlessly to think! In a stunning revelation that shockingly took a group of neuroscientists a stack of MRI scans and a clutch of peer-reviewed papers to figure out, it appears that trees, rocks, and even your average goldfish can process information without uttering a single word or reading Bertrand Russell's philosophies. Comment sections are ablaze with scholars and armchair experts alike, who, despite their deep engagement with the concept of silence, ironically fail to practice it. "Insightful" appraisals swing between fear for AI's future and passionate defenses of evolution's sloppy handiwork, turning comment threads into battlegrounds of verbosity in stark contradiction to the article's underpinning ethos. ⌨️💬 😱
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167 points by orcul
2024-10-17T12:10:30.000000Z |
151 comments
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| 3. |
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▲ Accountability Sinks (aworkinglibrary.com)
Welcome to another tiresome episode of *let's dissect obvious corporate failures while pretending we're onto something big*. Today, we delve into the earth-shattering revelation that companies design shady structures to dodge responsibility - shocking, I know. In a groundbreaking example, a hospitality heavyweight slashes its cleaning crew to beautify a spreadsheet, not foreseeing (or caring about) your impending hotel check-in debacle. Commenters chime in with tired analogies about executioners and judges, somehow congratulating themselves for realizing that big systems make people feel small. Groundbreaking stuff, indeed. 🙄 Is there a badge for being the last to know, or are we just handing out participation trophies?
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10 points by l0b0
2024-10-19T23:39:43.000000Z |
2 comments
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| 4. |
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▲ Ribbonfarm Is Retiring (ribbonfarm.com)
Ribbonfarm, a towering staple of word-salad digestion for the intellectual elite, has finally called it quits, leading to an avalanche of internet know-it-alls mourning the death of "the good old blogosphere." Commenters, armed with their nostalgia-tinted spectacles, bemoan the ebb of genteel discourse, crushed mercilessly under the stampede of seven billion barbarians at the gate of the cozyweb. Meanwhile, they wax poetic over the wonders of niche echo chambers, where everyone agrees that modern internet discussions can't possibly hold a candle to the heyday of Usenet flamewars. One thing is clear: in the tech-adjacent limbo between Hacker News and Reddit, nobody wants to admit they might just be swimming in a shrinking pond of relevance.
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95 points by Arubis
2024-10-19T19:06:34.000000Z |
40 comments
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| 5. |
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▲ QUIC Is Not Quick Enough over Fast Internet (arxiv.org)
In a stunning revelation that shocked absolutely no one, a recent article on arXiv critiqued the performance of QUIC over fast internet connections, while simultaneously missing the point that fast internet is supposed to be, well, fast. Internet wizards and armchair network engineers flocked to the comments to share tales of coding mishaps, buffer bloats, and CPU overloads while casually dropping jargon to secure their status in the hierarchy of network nerdom. One commenter reminisced about their Google days with a nostalgia that likely far surpassed the quality of the anecdotes shared. Another jumped in to explain QUIC's user-space congestion control kerfuffle in a blend of technical bravado and underlying panic at having to manage something the kernel used to handle. Meanwhile, strategic thinkers proposed leveraging QUIC’s inefficiencies for mind-bending optimizations—all but ensuring job security by keeping networking just complicated enough to remain employed.
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139 points by carlos-menezes
2024-10-19T21:04:52.000000Z |
126 comments
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| 6. |
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▲ Why do random forests work? They are self-regularizing adaptive smoothers (arxiv.org)
**Why do random forests work? They are self-regularizing adaptive smoothers**
Another day, another arXiv paper explains a concept so dense, you'll need a Ph.D. in cryptic-confabulations—and maybe witchcraft—to fully grasp it. The Internet's garden-variety data scientists and ML enthusiasts dive headlong into the comments section, each trying to out-simplify, out-speculate, and out-geek each other. "Nice article, but let me break it down *even simpler*," says one hero, while another finds deep, meaningful connections between random forests and every AI model built since the ENIAC. All the while, the real question remains unanswered: "Why can't anyone explain this in plain English?" 😩
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132 points by sebg
2024-10-17T21:24:29.000000Z |
19 comments
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| 7. |
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▲ Booting Sun Sparc Servers (sidneys1.com)
Booting Sun Sparc Servers: A Journey Back in Time
In a heroic twist of fate, someone decides to rescue Sun SPARC servers from the digital cemetery, brought to you by 2024's top dumpster diving influencer. 💾🌟 NVRAM drama unfolds as our intrepid blogger discovers the servers can't remember who they are anymore, crying out in binary sadness with corrupted checksums. Retrocomputing enthusiasts flock to the comments, each more eager than the last to flex their obsolete tech muscles, swapping tales from the crypt about the good ol’ days of SCSI chains and dial-up internet woes. Meanwhile, the rest of the world outside continues blissfully unaware that people are actually trying to use this ancient tech for more than a doorstop. 🕹️👴
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9 points by rbanffy
2024-10-19T23:31:36.000000Z |
0 comments
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| 8. |
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▲ Smurf: Beyond the Test Pyramid (googleblog.com)
**The World According to SMURF: Beyond the Pyramid Scheme**
In an attempt to revolutionize the sleepy world of software testing, googleblog.com graces us with "Smurf: Beyond the Test Pyramid," a read so groundbreaking it will change absolutely nothing. Feast your eyes on the SMURF mnemonic—because as everyone knows, what the industry really craves are more acronyms to solve problems no one knew existed. Meanwhile, the commenters rise to the occasion, nitpicking the ever-living syntax out of each other's arguments, while casually promoting their own miraculous frameworks as alternatives. Predictably, the debate orbits the cataclysmic realization that—surprise!—these high-concept strategies are as easy to apply effectively as nailing Jell-O to a tree. 🤯🔨
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37 points by BerislavLopac
2024-10-19T20:22:22.000000Z |
27 comments
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| 9. |
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▲ Data Version Control (dvc.org)
**Data Version Control: Because git for data wasn’t torturous enough.**
In the latest attempt to weaponize git-induced despair, Data Version Control (dvc.org) arrives to "save" scientists who can't tell a branch from a birch tree 🌳. Excited commenters are already heralding DVC as the second coming of GitHub, conveniently ignoring the part where most users can't figure out basic git commands without summoning a demon. Meanwhile, a brave soul questions the distinction between DVC and using a big rock as storage, only to be told, “Yes, but fancy tech buzzwords!” Cheers to adding another layer of complexity to your already failing projects! 🎉🔧
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99 points by shcheklein
2024-10-19T16:56:15.000000Z |
19 comments
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| 10. |
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▲ Eliza in SNOBOL4 (acm.org)
The greybeards of yore unite on ACM.org to wax nostalgic about the good ol' days of SNOBOL4, embodied through a disk, the Rosetta Stone of their programming puberty. A heroic commenter posts a link to an ancient archive, undoubtedly in hopes of saving fellow dinosaurs from extinction. Another trips down memory lane about squirreling away directories from CDs meant for actual data storage. Embrace the scramble of hieroglyphics masquerading as code, and watch the comments meander into a ghost-town archive party—because nothing beckons like the siren song of arcane programming languages nibbling at the edges of irrelevance. 🕹️💾👴
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57 points by todsacerdoti
2024-10-19T17:44:29.000000Z |
14 comments
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| 11. |
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▲ Artemis moon suit designed by Axiom Space and Prada revealed in Milan (collectspace.com)
In an unprecedented fusion of vanity and vacuum, Prada and Axiom Space unveil the latest must-have for the fashion-forward astronaut: a moon suit that probably costs more than your house. Finally, the affluent can strut in style on the lunar surface, because what's a little spacewalk without designer flair? Commenters are torn between applauding the sleek design and missing the point, as they wax poetic on the aesthetics while ignoring pesky trivialities like practicality. Someone queried where else Prada ventures into rocket science, clearly forgetting the brand’s expertise in accessories not astronautics. 🌑💫🚀
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34 points by PeterCorless
2024-10-16T18:47:58.000000Z |
26 comments
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| 12. |
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▲ Show QN: I made a site to quick identify any plant and learn how to care for it (frondly.app)
**Not A Leaf Left Unswiped: Frondly Dubbed the Tinder for Houseplants**
Welcome to Frondly, the latest app in Silicon Valley's saga to embed AI into absolutely everything. Apparently unable to differentiate a fern from a ficus without digital assistance, tech amateurs can now rejoice: there's an app to mother your houseplants! With the promise of no commitment more serious than your last Tinder date, you can "enjoy" a whole 7 days of free trial, offering serial app daters a new kind of thrill. Meanwhile, in the comment section, potential users battle commitment issues as vehemently as they do aphids, moaning about the hoops to jump through just to identify what that weird leafy thing in the corner is.
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12 points by adamaskun
2024-10-19T21:00:35.000000Z |
2 comments
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| 13. |
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▲ Autism's Four Core Subtypes (thetransmitter.org)
Welcome to Autism's Four Core Subtypes: a groundbreaking study where scientists play mix-and-match with autism traits as if they're creating a limited-edition collection of personality action figures. According to deeply analyzed commentary, this resembles nothing more than another Myers-Briggs test, promising to sort individuals into neatly packaged boxes based on some fancy statistical legwork. 📊 Commenters, armed with a half-read article and a pinch of Wikipedia knowledge, debate the validity of carving up autism with the finesse of a blunt chainsaw. Whether this segmentation is scientifically sound or just a modern spin on phrenology, is left as an exercise for the reader. Spoiler: don't skip the comments for an extra dose of rampant speculation and misplaced confidence in statistical methods! 🧠💬
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70 points by domofutu
2024-10-19T19:19:22.000000Z |
42 comments
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| 14. |
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▲ Regarding our Cease and Desist letter to Automattic (wpfusion.com)
**WPFusion Throws a Hissy Fit at Automattic**
In an electrifying display of legal prowess, WPFusion slapped Automattic with a cease and desist faster than a Wordpress site downing on Cyber Monday. The bone of contention? Automattic's daring maneuver to list WPFusion in their commercial offerings, mistaking "fair use" for "free buffet." Commenters chime in, some scratching their heads over fair use policies with the same confusion as Grandma using Snapchat, while others launch into rants about corporate malfeasance that would make a conspiracy theorist blush. One thing's for sure: nothing riles up the tech community like a good old fashioned legal tussle rebranded as a philosophical debate on open-source ethics. 🍿🥊
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65 points by kemayo
2024-10-20T00:00:15.000000Z |
13 comments
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| 15. |
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▲ Send: Open-source fork of Firefox Send (vis.ee)
In an era where sending large files covertly is just a "necessary evil," the brilliant minds of the internet have resurrected Firefox Send as Send: now with more open-source! The comment section immediately erupts with a mix of techno-optimists and covertly-nostalgic naysayers fearing the impending CSAM apocalypse. Meanwhile, the debate on how to utilise the "delete" button spirals into scenarios involving malicious high schoolers, revealing that the biggest challenge in cybersecurity may just be understanding the human penchant for sabotage. Good luck, Send, you’ll surely need it when everyone's solution is just a band-aid on a bullet wound! 🎭🔥
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156 points by leonry
2024-10-19T12:17:15.000000Z |
54 comments
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| 16. |
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▲ Medley Loops: The Basic System (Lisp Object-Oriented Programming System) [pdf] (interlisp.org)
Today the hive mind of Hacker News unearths the venerable LOOPS, a Lisp Object-Oriented Programming System that's sure to _resuscitate_ every AI and Machine Learning startup from the 80s – despite its evident confinement to the Interlisp-D systems of yore. Inflated with nostalgia, commenters competitively reminisce about their ancient Lisp machines, blissfully evangelizing LOOPS' _antique_ features as if they were the quintessence of innovation. Peppered throughout are links to PDFs that most will bookmark and never read, and musings that equate reading vintage system documentation to intellectual enlightenment. Meanwhile, a brave soul attempts to discern the practical differences between LOOPS and CLOS, likely baffling the GUI-enamored crowd with mild reality checks regarding "message sending" vs. "method dispatch." 📜💾👴
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50 points by pamoroso
2024-10-16T14:42:22.000000Z |
19 comments
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| 17. |
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▲ Implementing neural networks on the "3 cent" 8-bit microcontroller (cpldcpu.wordpress.com)
Title: Hobbyists Put AI in a Potato
Here at Tim’s Tech Tomfoolery, we’re stretching the definition of *feasible* by stuffing neural networks into microcontrollers so cheap you'd hesitate to throw them in your shopping cart next to a pack of gum. This week’s genius idea: Can a comically underpowered PMS150C (*oh, the raw power* of 64 whole bytes of RAM) differentiate between messy handwritten digits? The comment section is abuzz with armchair engineers who’ve somehow confused their Google searches on “AI” with actual engineering degrees, each one upping the ante with steam-powered predictions and ardent warnings about the AI uprising, brought to you by the mighty 3 cent microcontroller. Watch out, Skynet! 🤖💀🎯
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10 points by cpldcpu
2024-10-19T18:09:48.000000Z |
0 comments
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| 18. |
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▲ Svelte 5 Released (npmjs.com)
🎉 *Svelte 5: The New Tech Bandwagon* has finally left the station, catering to the avant-garde developers who like their JavaScript served ice cold with a side of over-engineering. As web developers dance around the new set of runes – yes, now software development involves sorcery – they delight in converting the simplest of apps into an entangled mess of class-based wizardry. Commenters are already busy swapping tales of their alchemical prowess, transmuting base components into something **"better"** - or just more complex. Meanwhile, they casually drop links to anything that even whispers Svelte in its tech stack, as if each URL is a talisman warding off the specters of other frameworks. 🧙♂️
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241 points by begoon
2024-10-19T18:38:06.000000Z |
120 comments
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| 19. |
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▲ AI engineers claim new algorithm reduces AI power consumption by 95% (tomshardware.com)
**AI Engineers Re-invent Addition, Call it Innovation**
In a stunning breakthrough, engineers at BitEnergy AI have discovered that using simpler math – you know, addition – can nearly replicate the Herculean tasks previously accomplished by floating-point multiplication. This "novel" technique, laughably dubbed Linear-Complexity Multiplication (L-Mul), allegedly chops down AI power consumption by up to 95%, presumably because it's too embarrassed to use more energy for doing something so elementary. Commenters, switched on as ever, oscillate between heralding the end of traditional computing and fantasizing about a utopia where GPUs are just glorified abacuses. Does this mean we can run Skynet on a solar-powered calculator now? Oh, the efficiency! 🤖✨
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159 points by ferriswil
2024-10-19T18:03:32.000000Z |
80 comments
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| 20. |
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▲ The Languages of English, Math, and Programming (github.com/norvig)
In a riveting crossover episode of "Languages I Can Kinda Understand," Peter Norvig publishes a brain-squeezing Venn diagram explaining how English, Math, and Programming are secretly the same, because, **well**, words and logic... or something. The code whisperers and grammar warriors in the comments section engage in the time-honored internet tradition of missing the point by battling over which language gives you the worst headaches. If only understanding this tri-lingual gibberish bestowed the power to silence naysayers with a stern look and a quick wave of a syntax error. 🤓💻📚
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11 points by stereoabuse
2024-10-19T19:39:19.000000Z |
0 comments
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