Hacker News
1Potatoes in the Mail
- The U.S. Postal Service shares an interesting fact that potatoes can be mailed without packaging, similar to coconuts. By simply writing addresses directly on the potato and paying appropriate postage, it can be shipped. The document also lists numerous USPS trademarks and provides information about content reproduction rights.
Postal stamps
Discussion of using old postage stamps purchased at 60-75% face value, Forever stamps, and collectors' value. Debate about whether pre-WW2 stamps have more value and strategies for using vintage stamps for current mailings.Unusual mailed items
Stories of mailing coconuts, bricks, potatoes, banana, helium balloons and other unconventional items. Includes discussion of weight limits, postal worker reactions, and successful/failed delivery attempts.Moving by mail
Experiences of people relocating across country by shipping belongings through postal service, including using USPS flat rate boxes, Canadian monotainers, and historical services like Amtrak freight shipping.
2Kagi Assistant is now available to all users
- Kagi Assistant, previously exclusive to Ultimate subscribers, is now available across all plans at no extra cost. The AI-powered tool helps users explore web content while prioritizing privacy and human needs, offering access to various language models and customizable features. The rollout begins in the USA and completes globally by Sunday.
Search usage and pricing
Discussion around Kagi's search pricing tiers, with users debating if $5/month for 300 searches is enough vs $10 for unlimited. Some argue current pricing reflects true costs without ad subsidies, while others want more flexible limits.Assistant feature rollout
Phased rollout of Kagi Assistant starting in US, with discussions comparing it to Perplexity and other AI tools. Users debate fair use policies, token limits and transparency around usage tracking.Accessibility and zoom issues
Users report problems with zoom being disabled on mobile, impacting accessibility. Firefox workarounds discussed. Kagi employee acknowledged issue and implemented fix.
3Jellyfin as a Spotify alternative
- The author describes their journey to replace Spotify, trying various music players like Winamp, VLC, and a custom solution before discovering Jellyfin, a self-hosted media server. After setting up Jellyfin on a mini PC, they found it to be the perfect solution for accessing their music library from any device, even offline.
Streaming features vs self-hosting
Discussion of trade-offs between streaming services' recommendation algorithms and self-hosted solutions, with many noting Spotify/YouTube's declining recommendation quality while others defend streaming's discovery features.Self-hosting setup experiences
Users share experiences setting up home media servers, discussing costs vs subscriptions, hardware requirements, and various software solutions like Jellyfin, Navidrome and Emby, with emphasis on ease of setup and maintenance.Music acquisition challenges
Debate around difficulties of building a self-hosted music library, including high costs of purchasing music, availability issues, and various legal/questionable methods of obtaining content to replace streaming services.
4Intuit, Owner of TurboTax, Wins Battle Against America's Taxpayers
- The IRS is discontinuing its free tax filing program Direct File, following intense lobbying efforts by Intuit, maker of TurboTax. After spending millions on lobbying and contributing $1 million to Trump's inauguration, Intuit successfully fought against government-provided free tax filing, forcing Americans to continue using expensive tax preparation software.
Free alternative tax services
Strong support for FreeTaxUSA as a TurboTax alternative, with users praising its transparency, low cost ($15 for state filing), and better interface. CashApp Taxes also recommended as completely free option.Manual tax filing
Debate over merits of filing taxes by hand - some advocate for learning process and independence, while others argue time investment (10-15 hours) isn't worth it when affordable alternatives exist.Corporate lobbying
Discussion of Intuit's lobbying ($240k in Q1 2025) to kill Direct File program, with debate over whether companies pursuing legal lobbying is "evil" or just rational business behavior.
5“Most promising signs yet” of alien life on a planet beyond our Solar System
- Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected potential signs of life-indicating chemicals in the atmosphere of exoplanet K2-18b, located 124 lightyears away. The discovery of dimethyl sulfide and dimethyl disulfide, chemicals typically produced by marine organisms on Earth, marks a significant step in the search for extraterrestrial life.
Scientific rigor and sensationalism
Debate over whether the findings are being oversensationalized by media vs actual scientific evidence. Scientists note "tentative hints" while media headlines suggest definitive alien life discovery.Life probability in universe
Discussion of likelihood of extraterrestrial life, with some arguing Earth can't be unique given universe size, while others note statistical limitations of N=1 sample and dangers of anthropocentric assumptions.Technical detection capabilities
Conversation about remarkable achievement of detecting chemical signatures 124 light years away, while debating reliability of spectroscopic evidence and alternative explanations for detected compounds.
6US Government threatens Harvard with foreign student ban
- The US government threatens to ban Harvard from enrolling foreign students after the university refused to comply with Trump administration's demands regarding antisemitism measures. Harvard faces funding freeze and potential tax exemption removal, while maintaining its stance on institutional independence.
Foreign students and universities
Discussion about impact of potential foreign student visa bans on US universities, Harvard's resistance, implications for international education, and whether universities should establish overseas campuses.Content moderation on HN
Debate about flagging and moderation practices on Hacker News, particularly around political content, with users discussing the balance between maintaining site quality and allowing important discussions.Political implications
Analysis of broader political context, examining US leadership decline, erosion of democratic norms, and tension between coastal elites and rural populations driving political polarization.
7Defold: cross-platform game engine
- Defold is a high-performance cross-platform game engine offering a comprehensive suite of development tools with no setup required. It supports multiple platforms including PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, mobile, and desktop, featuring Lua scripting, visual editing, and cloud build capabilities. The engine is actively maintained with monthly releases and proven success in game development.
Source-available licensing
Discussion of Defold's fair licensing approach that allows proprietary game development while preventing engine commercialization, with debate on benefits vs traditional open source licenses like GPLEngine comparisons
Comparison of Defold to other game engines like Godot, Unity, and MonoGame, focusing on capabilities, platforms supported, and development focus (2D vs 3D)Lua scripting
Debate about Lua as the primary scripting language, with some developers preferring C# but others noting successful large-scale Lua projects and its embedded scripting advantages
8Discord's face scanning age checks 'start of a bigger shift'
- Discord is testing facial scanning for age verification in the UK and Australia amid new online safety laws requiring robust age checks for platforms with adult content. The system will require either face scans or ID uploads when users encounter sensitive content, though privacy advocates express concerns about potential risks and effectiveness.
Privacy and surveillance concerns
Discussion focuses on how age verification requirements are primarily about data collection and surveillance rather than protecting minors, with concerns about biometric data retention and government access to personal information.Age verification effectiveness
Debate around technical and practical challenges of age verification systems, including accuracy issues with facial recognition, problems distinguishing borderline ages, and ease of circumvention by determined users.Parental vs governmental control
Arguments about whether protecting children online should be primarily parents' responsibility vs government regulation, with discussion of filtering tools and content restrictions.
9Deafening Silence from the Cybersecurity Industry
- Chris Krebs, former CISA Director who was fired after declaring the 2020 election secure, faces new challenges from a Trump executive order investigating him and discouraging federal contracts with his employer. The cybersecurity industry's silence on this retaliation against a truth-teller raises concerns about defending democratic principles.
People's apathy and inaction
Discussion of how many Americans are apathetic or treat events like reality TV, only caring about financial impacts. Debate about whether this stems from ignorance, media manipulation, or genuine support for current policies.Executive power concerns
Concerns about expanding executive authority, with debate about whether executive orders have become de facto laws. Discussion of Congress's abdication of power and how this enables potential authoritarianism.Cybersecurity industry silence
Debate about whether cybersecurity experts are truly silent or just not being heard. Some argue they're speaking out but being ignored, while others suggest companies are staying quiet to protect business interests.
10Show HN: I made a Doom-like game fit inside a QR code
- The Backdooms is an innovative project that compresses the entire DOOM-inspired game into a scannable QR code, allowing players to instantly play in their web browser without downloads or internet connection. The game combines elements from DOOM 1993 and The Backrooms, showcasing breakthrough compression techniques for web applications.
Mobile compatibility issues
Discussion around problems accessing the game on mobile devices, particularly iOS/Safari, and suggestions to add screenshots/GIFs to show gameplay. Also touched on technical reasons why QR scanning fails on some devices.Technical optimization
Community members helping improve the code by trimming HTML and suggesting optimizations, which led to freed up space for new features like touchscreen support and enemy mechanics.QR code security concerns
Discussions about potential security risks of running code directly from QR codes and broader implications for malware delivery, though some noted it's no different from visiting regular websites.