Hacker News
1First, make me care
- Writing advice suggesting that nonfiction should begin with compelling hooks rather than background information. The author recommends finding the most interesting anomaly or question about your topic and leading with that to capture readers' attention, then providing necessary background once you've earned their interest.
TikTok's attention economy
Discussion about how TikTok creates a "brute-force attack on human psychology" where creators must constantly evolve hooks to capture attention. Debate over whether successful accounts stick to one formula or need constant innovation, with examples of creators becoming trapped by their viral content.Writing for engagement vs authenticity
Debate between writing to grab reader attention versus writing for oneself. Some argue that "making readers care" creates artificial sales tactics, while others contend that effective communication requires considering your audience and competing for attention.Gwern's writing style critique
Critical analysis of Gwern's writing approach, with some finding it overwhelming with hyperlinks and lacking personality, while others defend it as information-dense and well-researched. Discussion touches on different reader preferences and writing purposes.
2After two years of vibecoding, I'm back to writing by hand
- A developer describes their journey with AI coding, starting impressed with simple tasks but becoming disillusioned when tackling complex projects. Despite detailed specifications, AI produces code that looks good individually but creates structural "slop" when viewed as a whole system. The author concludes they're faster and more accurate coding manually than relying on AI for serious development work.
Learning fundamentals through manual coding
CS teachers warn AI prevents students from learning basics, comparing it to using forklifts instead of weightlifting. Students gain theoretical knowledge but can't explain code they didn't write, creating a gap between memorization and understanding.Code quality and architectural concerns
Developers report mixed experiences with AI-generated code. While it handles simple tasks well, complex projects suffer from structural issues, repetitive code, and lack of coherent architecture when using purely AI-driven approaches.Effective AI-assisted development strategies
Experienced developers emphasize maintaining control over specifications and architecture while using AI for implementation. Success requires iterative feedback, proper test suites, and treating AI as a capable junior developer rather than autonomous agent.
3France Aiming to Replace Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc.
- Le ministère français de l'Économie (Bercy) veut remplacer Zoom, Google Meet et Microsoft Teams par une solution souveraine d'ici 2027. Cette décision semble logique dans le contexte géopolitique actuel, même si changer les habitudes des utilisateurs représente un défi.
US market dependency and geopolitical risk
Discussion centers on how US tech companies rely on large homogeneous markets (US, EU) for growth, but current US administration's hostile policies toward allies are forcing EU/Canada to seek alternatives, potentially kneecapping US tech expansion and creating opportunities for European competitors.European tech sovereignty initiatives
France's "La suite numérique" represents broader EU efforts to build domestic alternatives to US platforms like Teams, Google Meet. Includes tools like Visio (video conferencing), Tchap (messaging), and other productivity apps specifically designed for government/public sector use.Challenges of platform migration and market competition
Debate over whether government mandates or market forces drive successful platform adoption. Historical examples show mixed results, but current geopolitical tensions may provide unprecedented motivation for organizations to accept "good enough" alternatives to reduce US dependency.
4Television is 100 years old today
- Television celebrates its 100th anniversary today, born above an Italian cafe in Soho. John Logie Baird, a Scottish engineer, gave the first public demonstration to journalists on January 26, 1926 at 22 Frith Street using mechanical spinning discs and improvised equipment. Though his system was later superseded by electronic television, Baird's pioneering work launched one of the 20th century's most transformative inventions.
Early television memories and technology
Discussion of personal memories from early TV viewing, including a 4-year-old's recollection of watching Soviet Estonian broadcasts in 1957. Contributors share stories of first TV encounters and debate the permanence of childhood memories vs "childhood amnesia."CRT technology nostalgia
Fascination with CRT displays as "steampunk technology" - analog, dangerous, and mind-blowing. Discussion covers technical aspects like real-time image generation, environmental concerns from lead content, and comparisons to modern displays.Television's societal impact
Debate over TV's role in society, from shared cultural experiences of appointment viewing to fragmented modern streaming. Discussion includes concerns about TV's hypnotic effects, loss of communal experiences, and arguments for eliminating television entirely.
5Qwen3-Max-Thinking
- Qwen3-Max-Thinking is a new flagship reasoning model that achieves performance comparable to leading AI models like GPT-5.2-Thinking and Claude-Opus-4.5 across 19 benchmarks. It features adaptive tool-use capabilities including search, memory, and code interpreter functions, plus advanced test-time scaling techniques that improve reasoning performance. The model is available through Qwen Chat and API access via Alibaba Cloud.
Censorship in chinese AI models
Discussion centers on Qwen3-Max's censorship of politically sensitive topics like Tiananmen Square protests and Taiwan independence. Users debate whether this censorship differs from Western AI safety measures, with some arguing it's government-mandated political control versus content moderation for harmful material.Model performance and benchmarking
Users question the value of AI benchmarks when models use expensive "reasoning" techniques that consume more tokens for better results. Discussion includes concerns about whether benchmark improvements represent genuine advances or just "spend more to get more" approaches.Pricing and accessibility
Users discuss Qwen3-Max pricing differences between mainland China and international markets, noting significantly cheaper domestic rates. Speculation includes government subsidies, lower energy costs, and strategic market positioning as potential explanations.
6Fedora Asahi Remix is now working on Apple M3
- Michael Reeves announces that Linux KDE Plasma desktop is now working on Apple M3 chips under Fedora Asahi Remix, expressing excitement about this development and crediting collaborators noopwafel and Shiz for their contributions to making this compatibility possible.
Corporate burnout vs teenage curiosity
Discussion about how talented teenage programmers often lose their passion and curiosity after entering corporate 9-to-5 jobs, with suggestions about achieving financial freedom and avoiding lifestyle inflation traps.M-series chip support challenges
Technical discussion about the difficulty of supporting newer Apple M-series chips due to undocumented hardware changes, lack of Apple cooperation, and new security features like memory integrity enforcement.Current Asahi Linux status and usability
Users sharing experiences with Asahi Linux on M1/M2 chips, discussing donation support, dual-boot capabilities, and the distinction between display acceleration and compute support for AI/ML workloads.
7MapLibre Tile: a modern and efficient vector tile format
- MapLibre has announced MapLibre Tile (MLT), a new vector tile format that succeeds Mapbox Vector Tile (MVT). MLT offers up to 6x better compression and improved decoding performance, with future support planned for 3D coordinates and complex data types. It's now available in MapLibre GL JS and MapLibre Native.
MapLibre Tile format (MLT) adoption and tooling
Discussion of MLT's ~10% compression improvement over MVT, integration with PMTiles, and tool support challenges. Planetiler already supports MLT generation, but Tilemaker doesn't plan support. Conversion tools exist for MVT to MLT transformation.Self-hosting maps infrastructure
Users share experiences with self-hosted mapping solutions using PMTiles, PostGIS, and mod_tile/renderd. Benefits include data control and cost savings for high-DPI print applications, while challenges involve server management and style editing complexity.PMTiles praise and integration
Strong enthusiasm for PMTiles as an innovative solution using range requests for faster tile loading. Discussion covers its format-agnostic nature, existing MLT support via PR, and successful production deployments with various tile types.
8Iran's internet blackout may become permanent, with access for elites only
- Iran has implemented a 16-day communications blackout and is building a permanent "Barracks Internet" system that grants web access only to security-vetted elites while confining 90 million citizens to an intranet. This two-tier system costs the economy over $37 million daily and represents an unprecedented attempt to seal off a connected economy, unlike other authoritarian states that built internet controls before populations went online.
Circumventing internet censorship
Iranian users report intermittent access to some services like HN and Gmail despite ongoing blackouts. Discussion covers VPN bridge configurations, Tor Snowflake proxies, and how the government uses advanced detection to block most circumvention methods, making it increasingly difficult to bypass restrictions.Comparison to other authoritarian internet controls
Users compare Iran's internet blackout to China's Great Firewall, North Korea's isolation, and emerging censorship in Western countries. Discussion includes how other nations might emulate Iran's approach and the effectiveness of different censorship models.Economic and social impact of permanent internet isolation
Debate over whether Iran can sustain a permanent internet blackout given economic consequences. Some argue the regime prioritizes power over prosperity, while others note the productivity losses and need to maintain support from military and ruling class.
9Clawdbot - open source personal AI assistant
- Clawdbot is a personal AI assistant that runs locally on your devices and connects to messaging platforms like WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, and others. It provides voice capabilities, visual workspace features, and multi-channel communication through a gateway control system that keeps your data private while offering fast, always-on AI assistance across all your preferred messaging channels.
Security concerns and risks
Users express serious security concerns about Clawdbot's root access, lack of sandboxing, and potential for prompt injection attacks. Many worry about giving an AI unrestricted system access, with 300+ GitHub security issues reported.High token consumption and costs
Multiple users report extremely high API costs, with one spending $300+ in just 2 days on basic tasks. The tool is criticized for being token-inefficient, burning through expensive API calls quickly.AI assistant "secretary in a box" vision
Users discuss building personal AI assistants that can manage calendars, emails, reminders, and daily tasks. Many want a comprehensive digital secretary that can proactively help with life management and scheduling.
10Google AI Overviews cite YouTube more than any medical site for health queries
- Google's AI Overviews feature cites YouTube more than any medical website when answering health queries, according to research analyzing over 50,000 German searches. YouTube comprised 4.43% of all citations, raising concerns about reliability since anyone can upload content there, including non-medical creators. Researchers warn this shows AI systems prioritize visibility over medical authority, creating structural health information risks rather than isolated incidents.
AI content contamination and quality concerns
Discussion about AI-generated videos being cited by Gemini, creating a feedback loop that contaminates data sources. Users report decreased trust when AI cites AI-generated content, with concerns about "dead internet theory" and the proliferation of low-quality AI videos on YouTube affecting search reliability.YouTube vs traditional medical sources
Debate over AI citing YouTube more than established medical institutions for health queries. While some argue this is misleading since quality medical content exists on YouTube, others worry about unvetted health advice from influencers lacking medical credentials.User experience frustrations with AI overviews
Users complain about AI consistently ignoring preferences (like excluding videos), providing inaccurate information, and prioritizing YouTube content over text-based sources that can be consumed more efficiently.