Tags: web-review, gpt, history, email, ai, distributed, java, 3d, wikipedia, api, optimization, foss, social-media, databases, mathematics, uuid, c++, multithreading, product-management, tech, project-management, rust, management, search, ethics, leadership, unix, interviews, business, ssh, learning, safety, performance, knowledge, facebook, physics, google, oauth, licensing, tests, compiler, craftsmanship, memory, profiling, machine-learning, web, shader, simulation, decision-making, design, python, criticism, embedded, system, programming, economics, technical-debt, elf, fediverse, object-oriented, version-control, lego, security, metrics, git
Let’s go for my web review for the week 2023-51.
Tags: tech, foss, licensing, ethics
A bit of an older article I’m bumping into again. It lays out fairly well the current limits and issues with Free Software as it is defined today. I’m unconvinced it can be solved via licenses but the debate needs to happen… I feel that somehow it’s too much ignored.
https://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/52907.html
Tags: tech, facebook, fediverse, social-media
Looks like Meta is moving forward with more ActivityPub compatibility for Threads. This raises real questions about what they genuinely want to implement and what they’ll abandon along the way.
https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/15/24003435/adam-mosseri-threads-fediverse-plans
Tags: tech, facebook, fediverse, social-media
As Threads being connected to the Fediverse might turn into a reality, this article becomes all the more important. The question of this connection being even desirable is an important one.
https://www.viennawriter.net/blog/the-fediverse-meta-and-the-tolerance-paradox-en/
Tags: tech, web, search, ai, gpt, criticism, knowledge
When SEO and generated content meet… this isn’t pretty. The amount of good content on the web reduced in the past decade, it looks like we’re happily crossing another threshold in mediocrity.
https://infosec.exchange/@bhawthorne/111601578642616056
Tags: tech, ai, gpt, knowledge, wikipedia
The actual dangers of generative AI. Once the web is flooded with generated content, what will happen to knowledge representation and verifiability?
Tags: tech, ai, machine-learning, gpt, social-media, criticism
Here we are… We’re really close to crossing into this territory where any fiction can disguise itself for reality. The problem is that we’ll literally be drowning in such content. The social impacts can’t be underestimated.
Tags: tech, economics, business, ai, gpt
That’s a very good question. What will be left once all the hype is gone? Not all bubbles leaving something behind… we can hope this one will.
https://locusmag.com/2023/12/commentary-cory-doctorow-what-kind-of-bubble-is-ai/
Tags: tech, google, oauth, security
Interesting finding. This shows a potential issue in how identities are verified by providers.
https://trufflesecurity.com/blog/google-oauth-is-broken-sort-of/
Tags: tech, security, email
New technique for SMTP smuggling… vulnerable servers then allow to spoof while still passing DMARC checks properly. Check your providers and server configuration.
https://sec-consult.com/blog/detail/smtp-smuggling-spoofing-e-mails-worldwide/
Tags: tech, ssh, security
Interesting new attack on the SSH protocol. This is hard to achieve outside of the LAN though.
Tags: tech, version-control, git, history
Back to the history of VCS, anyone still remember and used SCCS? Well, I did use it…
https://osshistory.org/p/the-world-before-git
Tags: tech, ai, machine-learning, gpt
Interesting inference engine. The design is clever with an hybrid CPU-GPU approach to limit the memory demand on the GPU and the amount of data transfers. The results are very interesting, especially surprising if the apparently very limited impact on the accuracy.
https://ipads.se.sjtu.edu.cn/_media/publications/powerinfer-20231219.pdf
Tags: tech, ai, machine-learning, gpt, optimization
Interesting technique to speed up the generation of large language models.
https://sites.google.com/view/medusa-llm
Tags: tech, programming, object-oriented, compiler
Nice state of the art view on how dynamic dispatch is implemented in several languages. Does a good way showing the trade-offs involved.
https://lukasatkinson.de/2018/interface-dispatch/
Tags: tech, databases, distributed
An exploration of how databases work from first principles, going all the way to distributed nodes etc. Good list of topics to explore further.
https://tontinton.com/posts/database-fundementals/
Tags: tech, databases, uuid
It might not be as clear cut as sometimes assumed. With the right index UUIDv4 can still do as key in databases.
https://lu.sagebl.eu/notes/maybe-we-dont-need-uuidv7/
Tags: tech, multithreading, performance, python
This is unsurprisingly highly depend on the actual code, not only on the hardware.
https://pythonspeed.com/articles/cpu-thread-pool-size/
Tags: tech, profiling, optimization
Or why using a profiler is not as easy as it sounds. This requires quite some experience and the ability to tap in other information not present in the profile.
https://blog.nelhage.com/post/profilers-seeing-the-invisible/
before main() starts Tags: tech, elf, unix, system
Ever wondered how ELF and ld.so work? This is a good primer on the topic with a few OpenBSD specifics.
https://2023.eurobsdcon.org/slides/eurobsdcon2023-janne_johansson-ELF-binaries.pdf
Tags: tech, api, safety, c++
This is an easy mistake to make. I’d say the API isn’t helping there either, there’s an improvement to find in Cap’n’proto to make it safer.
https://blog.dureuill.net/articles/recurring-lifetime/
Tags: tech, memory, safety, rust, c++, java, python
Very interesting musing about undefined behaviors and language constraints. This is a bit Rust focused for obvious reasons but is also looking at what other languages have been doing.
https://steveklabnik.com/writing/memory-safety-is-a-red-herring
Tags: tech, c++, learning, interviews
An old post, but very much true… People who really know C++ have stared the abyss in the eye, and you can tell.
http://lbrandy.com/blog/2010/03/never-trust-a-programmer-who-says-he-knows-c/
Tags: tech, shader, 3d, simulation, physics, mathematics
Wonder how to implement such real-time simulations? This is a good summary of all the math involved. Also comes with code snippets and demos.
https://andrewkchan.dev/posts/fire.html
Tags: tech, tests, embedded
Interesting story about using unit tests by someone who thought it was a waste of time… until, they helped uncover a bug which was widespread. Also it was in an embedded context which comes with its own challenges.
https://mental-reverb.com/blog.php?id=42
Tags: tech, programming, craftsmanship
This is a good set of advices for beginners. I especially like the ones about best practices, trying different things and why it makes sense to be conservative tech wise.
https://buttondown.email/hillelwayne/archive/advice-for-new-software-devs-whove-read-all-those/
Tags: tech, technical-debt
This is indeed a more complex topic than it sounds. When someone complains about “technical debt” always inquire what it really means to them, what this is about, what are the symptoms.
https://www.foxhound.systems/blog/technical-debt-is-not-real/
Tags: tech, technical-debt, product-management, project-management, metrics
Good approach for tackling it indeed. The crux of the issue is really measuring the tech debt since it’s still a fuzzy concept and we have no good metrics for it.
https://jacobian.org/2023/dec/20/tech-debt/
Tags: management, leadership, decision-making
This is an impressive piece about decision making and leadership. I love the approach: seeking to get the decision out of the person instead of deciding for them.
https://randsinrepose.com/archives/ask-questions-repeat-the-hard-parts-and-listen/
Tags: lego, design
Fascinating article explaining how some Lego sets are designed.
https://www.theverge.com/c/23991049/lego-ideas-polaroid-onestep-behind-the-scenes-price
Bye for now!