Hacker NewsFriday, June 27

Mathematicians have successfully created a unique tetrahedron that can only balance on one face, proving a decades-old conjecture by John Conway. The team constructed a physical model using carbon fiber and tungsten carbide, demonstrating precise engineering to achieve this seemingly simple but challenging geometric feat.

In 1982, when Lisa software managers began tracking engineers' progress by lines of code written weekly, star developer Bill Atkinson challenged this metric. After optimizing Quickdraw with a faster algorithm that reduced the code by 2,000 lines, he reported "-2000" on his form, leading managers to stop requesting reports from him.

The QEMU project declines any contributions containing AI-generated content due to legal uncertainties surrounding copyright and licensing of AI outputs. This includes tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Llama. Exceptions may be granted if contributors can prove clear licensing status.

In a heartfelt letter to his former student Koichi Mano, physicist Richard Feynman encourages him not to undervalue seemingly humble research problems, explaining that worthwhile scientific work is any that can be solved and contributes to human knowledge, regardless of its perceived grandeur.

SteamOS outperformed Windows in frame rates across multiple games on tested hardware, with only Borderlands 3 showing similar performance. While updated Asus drivers improved Windows performance, SteamOS still maintained better frame rates thanks to efficient Proton translation and reduced system overhead.

AlphaGenome is a new AI tool that predicts how DNA mutations impact biological processes. The model can analyze long DNA sequences and predict molecular properties, helping scientists understand genome function and disease biology. It's being made available via API for non-commercial research to advance scientific discoveries and treatment development.

Puerto Rico faces ongoing power challenges, but the town of Adjuntas found success with microgrids and solar power during blackouts. While federal funding shifts from solar to grid infrastructure, private solar installations continue to grow, and innovative projects like Casa Pueblo's orchestrated microgrids demonstrate resilient energy solutions.

Let's Encrypt is preparing to issue certificates for IP address SANs in their production environment, initially only available under the 'shortlived' profile with 6-day validity periods and limited to an allowlist. They're seeking community feedback on test certificates before public launch, though no timeline or allowlist requests are being accepted yet.

Claude introduces the ability to create and share interactive AI-powered apps directly in its platform. Users can develop applications using Claude's API, where costs are charged to end users while developers host for free. Early users have built games, learning tools, data analysis apps, and writing assistants.

This article explains how to read data from a passport's NFC chip using Linux software, specifically focusing on pypassport. It details the process of accessing passport information, including working with cancelled passports, recreating the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ), and extracting biometric data. The article discusses security aspects, potential brute-force attempts, and provides practical code examples for reading passport data while explaining various data groups stored in the passport chip.