Hacker News
1I bought Friendster for $30k – Here's what I'm doing with it
- A domain investor bought the expired friendster.com domain for $7,456 and later sold it for $20k in Bitcoin plus a revenue-generating domain to someone who rebuilt Friendster as a social network requiring users to physically tap phones together to connect as friends, promoting real-world meetings over online interactions.
Domain valuation and trading
Discussion about whether a domain generating $9k/year in ad revenue was fairly valued at $10k in a trade deal. Comments debate proper valuation methods, with some suggesting 20-40x monthly revenue multiples, while others question revenue sustainability and costs.Phone tapping feature concerns
Mixed reactions to the app's requirement to physically tap phones to connect. Some praise it as a killer feature ensuring real connections, while others worry about practicality for distant friends and the "fading connections" mechanic affecting deceased contacts.App store policies and platform control
Criticism of Apple rejecting the app for being "too niche" under Guideline 4.2, sparking debate about mobile platform regulation. Users argue tech giants shouldn't control what apps people can install on devices they own.
2AI should elevate your thinking, not replace it
- Software engineering is splitting into two groups as AI becomes prevalent: those who use AI to eliminate drudgery while focusing on high-value work like problem-framing and decision-making, versus those who use AI to avoid thinking by copying AI output without understanding. The future belongs to engineers who delegate mechanical tasks to AI while retaining ownership of reasoning and judgment. Early-career engineers risk undermining their development by using AI to skip the struggle that builds foundational skills. Organizations must distinguish between engineers who use AI to accelerate understanding versus those who simulate competence, as the latter creates risks including degraded knowledge environments and weaker technical judgment across teams.
Learning through struggle vs AI dependency
Engineers develop expertise by writing code and struggling through problems. AI removes this essential learning process, creating a contradiction where juniors can't build skills if manual coding becomes "outdated." The fundamental challenge is how to maintain the experience-building process that creates senior engineers.AI-assisted vs AI-generated work
Discussion of two approaches: using AI as a tool while maintaining ownership and understanding of code, versus treating AI as an abstraction layer. The former preserves learning and responsibility, while the latter creates technical debt and skill atrophy when developers can't debug their own AI-generated code.Quality and authenticity concerns
Debate over whether the original blog post was AI-written, raising questions about the difference between AI-assisted writing versus coding. Concerns about AI detection tools, writing quality degradation, and the irony of using AI to argue against AI dependency in professional work.
3Microsoft and OpenAI end their exclusive and revenue-sharing deal
- Microsoft is ending its revenue-sharing agreement with OpenAI, marking a significant shift in their AI partnership. This change represents the next phase of their collaboration as both companies evolve their relationship in the competitive artificial intelligence market.
Google's competitive advantage in AI infrastructure
Discussion centers on Google potentially being the biggest winner due to widespread TPU adoption by AI labs (except OpenAI), Apple's strong inference platform, and Google Cloud being positioned to resell models from all major AI labs while competitors cannot.Microsoft-OpenAI partnership restructuring
Users debate why Microsoft accepted terms seemingly favorable to OpenAI, with theories including compute constraints, protecting their investment, and OpenAI's threat of antitrust claims. The deal gives OpenAI more freedom while Microsoft retains significant ownership.AI model commoditization and competitive landscape
Participants discuss how models like DeepSeek v4 offer comparable performance at much lower costs, suggesting AI capabilities are becoming commoditized with no sustainable moats, challenging the dominance of expensive frontier models.
4GitHub Copilot is moving to usage-based billing
- GitHub Copilot is transitioning to usage-based billing on June 1, 2026, replacing premium request units with AI Credits based on token consumption. Plan prices remain unchanged, with Pro at $10/month and Enterprise at $39/month including equivalent monthly credits. The change addresses unsustainable costs from increased AI usage.
Massive price increases disguised as unchanged pricing
Users criticize GitHub's claim that "plan prices aren't changing" when model multipliers jumped dramatically (Sonnet 4.6 from 1x to 9x, Opus to 27x). Many compare it to getting less value for same price, like renting a Porsche but receiving a Honda, with some seeing 50x+ effective cost increases.End of subsidized AI inference era
Discussion centers on how the "ZIRP era" of heavily subsidized AI services is ending. Users note similar price tightening across providers (Anthropic, Z.AI) and expect the money-burning phase to conclude as companies shift from user acquisition to profitability.Migration to alternative providers
Many users plan to cancel Copilot and switch to OpenRouter, direct APIs, or other providers offering better value. The consensus is that GitHub's pricing now matches or exceeds competitors without providing additional benefits, making the switch economically sensible.
5Sawe becomes first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race
- Two Adidas-sponsored athletes, Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha, have broken the sub-2 hour marathon barrier at the 2026 London Marathon, achieving a historic milestone in distance running that has long been considered one of sport's ultimate challenges.
Technology and equipment advances
Discussion centers on revolutionary improvements in running technology - super lightweight Adidas shoes with carbon plates, advanced nutrition allowing 90-120g carbs/hour absorption, and Maurten's hydrogel technology. Some debate whether these advances constitute unfair advantages.Historic performance achievements
Three runners broke the previous world record in one race, with two going sub-2 hours. Yomif Kejelcha's 1:59:41 debut marathon performance particularly noted as he set a world record but didn't win, highlighting the extraordinary nature of this competition.Scientific training methods
Runners now use sophisticated fueling strategies, gut training protocols, computer-optimized pacing, and real-time measurement devices. Discussion includes comparisons to cycling's high-carb intake methods and debate about PED usage in elite athletics.
6Self-updating screenshots
- The author built an automated screenshot system for their help center documentation that captures screenshots directly from the running application using Markdown comments with special instructions. The system uses headless Chrome to navigate pages, click elements, and capture specific UI components, automatically updating all screenshots whenever the interface changes. This eliminates the tedious manual process of keeping documentation screenshots current.
Automated screenshot generation tools
Discussion of various approaches for programmatically generating screenshots, including Nix derivations, mobile emulators, Fastlane for app stores, and CLI-based solutions. Users share techniques for handling light/dark themes and multilingual screenshots.Technical implementation challenges
Multiple users report mobile display issues with code blocks not scrolling properly, and concerns about documentation becoming outdated when screenshots auto-update but accompanying text remains stale.Screenshot restrictions and user control
Discussion about OS behavior during screenshots, Android apps blocking screenshots for security reasons, and user frustration with applications preventing screenshot capture of their own screens.
74TB of voice samples just stolen from 40k AI contractors at Mercor
- In April 2026, hackers stole 4TB of voice samples from 40,000 AI contractors at Mercor, combining clean voice recordings with government IDs. This enables attackers to create high-quality voice clones for bank fraud, romance scams, and workplace impersonation. Victims should rotate voiceprints, set verbal codewords with family, and use forensic tools to detect suspicious audio claiming to be from known contacts.
Biometric security vulnerabilities
Discussion centers on how biometrics like voice recordings cannot be "rotated" like passwords once compromised. Users highlight that voices aren't unique enough to be secure identifiers, and banking systems pushing biometric authentication create permanent security risks when breached.Data collection practices and consent
Users criticize how companies like Mercor collected unnecessary voice recordings and ID scans through buried consent terms in contracts. The principle of "Datensparsamkeit" (data minimization) is emphasized - companies should only collect data they actually need.Practical implications of voice+ID theft
The combination of leaked voice samples with ID documents creates a "deepfake-ready kit" enabling banking fraud, insurance scams, and convincing impersonation attacks. Current detection methods struggle against sophisticated voice synthesis technology.
8Men who stare at walls
- The author discovered a focus routine from Simple Lucas involving avoiding screens while working and staring at a wall for 5-10 minutes when mentally drained. This "wall staring" technique, combined with unfocused vision and mind blanking, effectively restored focus and productivity. Though difficult like exercise, it breaks the cycle of information overload and caffeine-fueled brain fog that many experience daily.
Smartphones stealing "disattention"
Discussion centers on how smartphones eliminate moments of mental downtime and wandering, with users identifying this as "default mode thinking" or "boredom" - essential for creativity and stress reduction.Wall staring as meditation
Extensive debate on whether staring at walls constitutes meditation, with references to Zen practices like shikantaza, different meditation techniques, and the relationship between focused attention and mindfulness training.Need for mental breaks and quiet time
Users share experiences about the importance of unplugged activities like walks without phones, driving in silence, and allowing the brain quiet time to process and restore focus naturally.
9Pgbackrest is no longer being maintained
- pgBackRest, a reliable PostgreSQL backup and restore solution, is no longer being maintained after 13 years of development. The maintainer decided to stop working on the project due to inability to secure sponsorship or a suitable position to continue development, despite the project's comprehensive features including parallel backup/restore, compression, multiple repositories, and cloud storage support.
Sustainability of open source projects
pgBackRest's maintainer stopped development after 13 years due to lack of funding following Crunchy Data's acquisition. Discussion centers on OSS funding challenges, with users lamenting the loss while being questioned about their own contributions. Some suggest tiered licensing based on company revenue.Alternative backup solutions for PostgreSQL
Users discuss replacement tools including WAL-G, Barman, and databasus. Comparisons focus on features like streaming PITR, cloud storage support, and ease of setup. Some share positive experiences with alternatives, while others note pgBackRest's unique advantages.Corporate responsibility and user entitlement
Debate over whether users expressing sadness about the project's end have a right to complain without having contributed financially or through code. Discussion touches on the difficulty of getting corporate approval for OSS donations despite heavy usage.
10EU Age Control: The trojan horse for digital IDs
Digital ID as trojan horse for surveillance
Users debate whether age verification is a stepping stone to mandatory digital tracking. Some argue it's explicitly stated policy, others warn of slippery slope to total surveillance and social credit systems.Technical implementation challenges
Discussion focuses on cryptographic approaches, with debates over BBS+ vs rotating signatures, hardware security modules, and replay attack vulnerabilities in the proposed system.Government control vs privacy trade-offs
Users split on whether digital IDs are inevitable progress requiring legal protections, or dangerous tools for authoritarianism that should be resisted entirely.