Hacker News
1Tell HN: Announcing tomhow as a public moderator
- Tom Howard, a longtime HN community member and YC W09 alumnus, is joining as a new HN moderator alongside dang. Having been involved with HN for nearly two decades, Tom will now post as 'tomhow' and brings his experience of fostering meaningful discussions and sharing insights about technology and startups.
Welcome and appreciation
Community members warmly welcome Tom as new moderator and express gratitude for HN's high-quality moderation, noting how the site has remained a valuable tech discussion platform due to careful stewardshipPronunciation jokes
Playful discussion about pronouncing the moderator usernames "tomhow" and "dang", with many users surprised to learn "dang" is actually "Dan G." and suggesting various pronunciations for "tomhow"Moderation insights
Discussion about HN's moderation system, including speculation about other secret moderators, karma-based privileges, and how community members contribute to moderation through voting and flagging
2Why F#?
- The article discusses the author's return to .NET development after 15 years, focusing on their exploration of F#, a functional programming language. It highlights F#'s features, history, syntax, and similarities to OCaml, while emphasizing its user-friendly approach and Microsoft's growing investment in the language's development.
Build system and tooling
Discussion about F#'s build system compared to other languages like Rust. Some argue F#'s adoption is limited by inferior tooling, while others defend .NET's build system and note VS Code/Rider support.F# vs other languages
Comparison of F# to Haskell, OCaml, Scala and C#. Users praise F#'s pragmatic approach to functional programming and .NET ecosystem access, while noting challenges with Haskell's purity and OCaml's ecosystem.Language features and syntax
Discussion of F#'s functional features, LINQ integration, pipeline operators and type providers. Debate about whether C#'s evolving feature set is reducing F#'s advantages.
3Animals Made from 13 Circles (2016)
- A discussion thread from 2016-2025 features comments praising Dori's circle-based animal illustrations. Viewers request wallpapers, inquire about purchasing prints, and ask about the design technique. Dori confirms prints are available for $20 and later shares a tutorial link explaining how to create similar circle-based animal illustrations in Illustrator.
Drawing techniques and process
Discussion of how artists approach creating images from circles, starting with basic shapes and curves. Several mentioned learning to draw by starting with circles and other geometric forms, with examples from art classes and tutorials.Historical examples and references
References to Von Neumann's elephant curve-fitting, Twitter's logo design using circles, and Schmidhuber's 1990s work. Discussion of plagiarism claims around neural network pioneers.Creative constraints in design
Commentary on how limitations like using only circles can lead to more interesting art and architecture. Examples shared of logo designs and personal work created under such constraints.
4CERN scientists find evidence of quantum entanglement in sheep
- In a playful April Fool's article, CERN describes finding quantum entanglement in sheep who graze on their grounds. While sheep do help maintain CERN's grasslands, the story humorously connects their synchronized flocking behavior to quantum physics principles, complete with sheep-themed puns and fictional research details.
Quantum physics sheep joke
Discussion plays with quantum physics concepts by applying them humorously to sheep behavior, including fermions, tickle entanglement, and Bell's theorem, with commenters building on the joke with physics puns and terminology.April fools reactions
Mixed reactions to April Fools content, with some appreciating the scientific humor while others expressing fatigue. Several note how long it took them to realize it was a joke, and some praise CERN's execution.
5Porting Tailscale to Plan 9
- The article explains how Tailscale successfully ported their software to Plan 9 operating system, initially as an April Fools' joke that turned into a real working implementation. The team faced various technical challenges, including compiler issues and kernel modifications, but ultimately achieved a functioning port with help from experienced developers, particularly Russ Cox.
Plan 9 enterprise potential
Discussion of Plan 9's potential for enterprise use, particularly its native containerization, distributed computing model, and simpler syscall API as an alternative to complex modern cloud stacks like KubernetesWeb browsers in Plan 9
Debate about implementing browsers in Plan 9, with users noting Plan 9's philosophy of human-scale computing contrasts with modern browsers' complexity and corporate-scale requirementsTechnical implementation
Discussion of how Tailscale integration works with Plan 9's distributed systems, VPN capabilities, and network configurations, including comparisons to traditional Unix-like systems
6RIP Val Kilmer: Real Genius .. the Film Nerd Culture Deserves (2015)
- The article examines how Real Genius, a 1980s film about brilliant students at Pacific Tech, stands apart from typical college movies by portraying geeks authentically and avoiding common stereotypes. The film focuses on the rivalry between genius students and their quest to prevent their laser project from being misused by the CIA.
Personal connections through the internet
Story of a fan emailing Real Genius computer graphics creator Robert Woodhead in 1986, receiving a kind reply, and reconnecting 40 years later to plan meeting for coffee, highlighting the internet's ability to foster connections.Real Genius's impact on viewers
Discussion of how the film influenced viewers' ethics in tech, questioning authority, and career choices. Many relate to its message about considering social consequences of technology and not blindly serving malevolent powers.Memorable quotes and scenes
Fans share and reminisce about favorite dialogue and moments from the film, demonstrating its lasting cultural impact and humor resonance, particularly around its portrayal of academic and scientific life.
7DEDA – Tracking Dots Extraction, Decoding and Anonymisation Toolkit
- DEDA is a toolkit for tracking, extracting, decoding, and anonymizing printer tracking dots found in color laser printouts. It helps users identify hidden printer information, decode tracking patterns, and provides tools to prevent tracking through document anonymization features available via both GUI and command-line interfaces.
DARPA shredder challenge
Team used printer tracking dots to reconstruct shredded documents and win DARPA challenge by identifying paper fragments through color copier yellow dot patterns, demonstrating practical forensic application.Printer tracking mechanisms
Discussion of yellow tracking dots in printers, their forensic implications, possibility of spoofing, and debate around privacy concerns. Used for anti-counterfeiting and document tracing by law enforcement.Anonymous printing
Methods to avoid printer tracking for protest materials, including using cash-bought printers offline, print shops, or alternative methods like silkscreening. References to historical samizdat practices.
8The case against conversational interfaces
- This essay explores the limitations of conversational interfaces, arguing that natural language is not the optimal way to interact with computers due to its slower data transfer speed compared to shortcuts and GUI elements. It suggests AI should augment rather than replace existing interfaces.
Voice UI limitations
Voice interfaces are inefficient for precise control and multitasking. Examples like driving a car by voice or ordering Uber show how voice commands can be more cumbersome than visual/tactile interfaces.Natural vs specialized interfaces
Debate between using natural language vs purpose-built interfaces. While natural language allows for ambiguity and inference, specialized interfaces (keyboard/mouse) are faster and more precise for most tasks.Screen interaction
Discussion about humans' deep connection to screens and visual interfaces, including early exposure to technology and whether voice/wearable computing can replace screen-based interaction that we've become accustomed to.
9Waltz's team set up at least 20 Signal group chats for crises across the world
Government misbehavior
Discussion of how the administration will continue problematic behavior until faced with real consequences, with debate about what constitutes effective negative stimulus and Democrats' inability to counterSignal security
Debate about whether Signal's use by government officials makes it more secure from backdoors, with conflicting views on if this helps civilian privacy or enables illegal record deletionClassified information handling
Discussion of officials' claims about not using Signal for classified info, despite evidence to contrary, and broader issues around proper handling of sensitive government communications
10Netflix’s Media Production Suite
- Netflix has developed the Media Production Suite (MPS), a cloud-based solution to streamline film and TV production workflows globally. The suite aims to solve challenges in media management, eliminate non-creative tasks, and enable worldwide collaboration, helping productions focus on creative storytelling rather than technical logistics.
Netflix engineering blog criticism
Discussion of how Netflix's engineering posts are more about brand promotion than practical value, with debate about whether this is justified given their scale and technical achievementsEarly digital film challenges
Historical perspective on digital cinematography's early days, focusing on storage/backup challenges and pioneering films like Collateral and Russian Ark that pushed technical boundariesProduction tool access
Debate about Netflix's automated production tools, their impact on creative output, and whether standardization for scale compromises artistic quality in film/TV production