Hacker News
1XSLT RIP
- Google plans to deprecate and remove XSLT by 2027, their second attempt after trying in 2013. The content claims Google hates XML and RSS to control media and legislation, alleging they paid Mozilla and Apple billions for support. It urges users to fight back by promoting XSLT usage.
Technical implementation and alternatives
Discussion of the site's clever use of XML with XSLT stylesheets to distinguish browser support, polyfills as alternatives, and technical approaches like server-side transformation vs client-side processing for static sites.Google's browser dominance and web standards control
Concerns about Google dictating web standards through Chrome's market position, comparisons to historical browser competition, and broader antitrust issues around tech monopolies controlling web technologies.XSLT's utility and decline
Debate over XSLT's value for RSS feed styling and static sites versus its complexity, maintenance burden, security issues with libxslt, and the broader failure of XML technologies despite their theoretical advantages.
2Work after work: Notes from an unemployed new grad watching the job market break
- A recent computer science graduate reflects on being unemployed despite following all the traditional career advice, arguing that automation and AI are fundamentally reshaping the job market by eliminating entry-level positions and creating a "white collar recession" where new graduates compete not just with other humans but with increasingly sophisticated technology that can perform the same work at lower costs.
Resume quality and formatting
Debate over whether the author's CV is too verbose and essay-like versus appropriately detailed. Some argue it needs 70% reduction for modern attention spans, while others defend its thoroughness. Discussion includes ATS optimization vs human readability.H1B visas and immigration impact
Frustration over continued H1B hiring despite domestic graduate unemployment. Commenters question how companies claim talent shortages while new grads struggle. Discussion of Trump's proposed $100k visa fees and offshore hiring trends.Job market expectations vs reality
Generational divide on job market difficulty. Older workers recall competitive markets post-dotcom crash, while acknowledging current challenges are different. Debate over whether recent grads had unrealistic expectations from the 2015-2022 boom period.
3Unexpected things that are people
- The content explores how non-human entities have been granted legal personhood beyond corporations. Ships have limited legal rights mainly to be held liable for damages, with ancient salvage laws allowing rescue rewards. New Zealand granted the Whanganui River full legal personhood in 2017 with custodians and funding after Maori claims. Hindu deities in India are juristic persons who can own property through guardians, stemming from British colonial law addressing temple wealth ownership disputes.
Legal abstractions and corporate personhood
Discussion centers on why legal systems need abstractions like corporate personhood to function practically. Participants debate the necessity of treating corporations as legal entities for contracts, property ownership, and litigation, while noting the limitations (corporations can't be imprisoned). Some argue for criminal liability of executives, others defend the system as necessary legal fiction despite its imperfections.Environmental and indigenous rights through personhood
Debate over extending legal personhood to natural entities like rivers and whales for protection purposes. Participants discuss whether people who oppose corporate personhood would logically support environmental personhood, with mixed reactions. Examples include Polynesian groups granting whales personhood and various jurisdictions recognizing rivers as legal entities.Maritime law and property rights
Technical discussion about "in rem" jurisdiction where courts can act against property directly without needing jurisdiction over owners. Participants clarify that ships aren't treated as "people" but rather subject to specific maritime legal procedures, leading to amusing case names like "United States v. 422 Casks of Wine."
4Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (Nov 2025)
- The content consists of two brief questions asking about current work and new ideas being considered. There is insufficient meaningful content to provide a substantive summary.
Daily puzzle games and web-based gaming
Multiple developers shared creative puzzle games including TiledWords (crossword-inspired tile placement), a Pokémon GO-style birding game, and discussions about game mechanics, user experience improvements, and social sharing features like Wordle's viral elements.Local-first and privacy-focused applications
Several projects emphasized client-side data processing including a personal finance app using double-entry accounting with local SQLite storage, an invoice generator working entirely in-browser, and AI inference platforms for running models on personal hardware.AI-powered development and creative tools
Discussions covered AI-enabled projects ranging from multilingual children's storybooks and language learning tools to a catalog of 200+ AI-created applications including swim lap counters, video conferencing apps, and CUDA-based ray tracers.
5Tabloid: The Clickbait Headline Programming Language
- Tabloid is a programming language that uses clickbait-style headlines as its syntax. The webpage requires JavaScript to be enabled to demonstrate or use the language, suggesting it's an interactive programming environment that runs in the browser.
Clickbait-style language features
Users creatively suggest additional clickbait keywords and syntax for the language, including error messages like "YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN LINE ${line_number}" and operators like "CONSIDERED HARMFUL" for negation.Code examples and programming humor
A user shares a working Collatz conjecture implementation in Tabloid syntax, demonstrating how the ridiculous keywords can actually make programming more entertaining while maintaining functionality.Language popularity and community reception
Discussion shows the language has been popular on Hacker News multiple times (2020, 2024) and users express appreciation for this "refreshingly ridiculous" and "perfect amount of stupid" programming language.
6Samsung Family Hub for 2025 Update Elevates the Smart Home Ecosystem
- Samsung is rolling out software updates for Family Hub refrigerators in October 2025, featuring improved AI food recognition for 37 fresh items and 50 packaged foods, new Voice ID capabilities with Bixby for personalized experiences, enhanced security through Knox Matrix, and a refreshed interface design.
Samsung TV intrusive terms and conditions popups
Users frustrated with Samsung TVs repeatedly blocking 20% of screen with terms updates during movies. Discussion centers on avoiding internet connectivity for smart TVs, using external streaming devices instead, and Samsung's poor software quality and random bugs.Samsung refrigerator ads and privacy concerns
Samsung adding "curated advertisements" to Family Hub refrigerators via software update, marketed as "elevating smart home ecosystem." Users express outrage over ads on expensive appliances and skepticism about Samsung's claims of no personal data collection.Samsung product quality and reliability issues
Widespread complaints about Samsung appliance failures including refrigerant leaks, warranty claim difficulties, and poor build quality. Users share experiences of Samsung devices breaking shortly after purchase despite premium pricing.
7LLMs are steroids for your Dunning-Kruger
- The author argues that ChatGPT and similar AI models function more as "confidence engines" than knowledge engines, making users feel certain about information that may be incorrect. Drawing on Bertrand Russell's observation about stupidity and confidence, they note how LLMs amplify both good and bad thinking while being highly addictive. Despite viewing the underlying technology as relatively boring statistical inference, the author finds the societal impact fascinating, as language-based AI represents a major shift that will affect education, work, and society at large.
LLMs as confidence engines vs knowledge sources
Users debate whether LLMs make them feel smarter or dumber. Some feel like using a "crutch" and less confident in LLM-derived knowledge, while others become overconfident. The discussion explores how LLMs function more as "confidence engines" than reliable knowledge sources.Gell-Mann amnesia effect with LLMs
Multiple users reference how LLMs seem authoritative and convincing until you encounter topics you actually know well, revealing their inaccuracies. This parallels the Gell-Mann amnesia effect where people notice errors in familiar domains but trust the same source in unfamiliar areas.Historical parallels with Wikipedia and internet adoption
Discussion compares current LLM skepticism to past concerns about Wikipedia reliability and internet misinformation. Some argue these technologies improve over time and gain acceptance, while others worry about premature trust in unreliable AI systems.
8Drilling down on Uncle Sam's proposed TP-Link ban
- The U.S. government is reportedly preparing to ban TP-Link networking equipment sales due to national security concerns over the company's alleged ties to China. TP-Link, which holds about 30-50% of the consumer router market, denies these claims and says it operates independently from Chinese oversight. The company's products are popular due to low costs but have been linked to cyberattacks by Chinese hacking groups. While TP-Link's competitors also source components from China and face similar vulnerabilities, the ban highlights broader concerns about router security and the need for proper device configuration and firmware updates.
TP-Link product quality and firmware support
Users defend TP-Link's reliability, citing continued firmware updates years after purchase across multiple router models. Many praise their price-to-performance ratio and adequate security features for home use, contrasting with criticism about security vulnerabilities and comparing favorably to competitors like D-Link and Netgear.US-China tech competition and security concerns
Discussion centers on whether bans are legitimate security measures or protectionist policies. Users debate the existence of Chinese backdoors versus US surveillance capabilities, questioning the consistency of applying security standards and comparing treatment of Chinese versus American tech companies.Security vulnerabilities in consumer networking hardware
Commenters argue that poor firmware security is an industry-wide problem, not specific to Chinese manufacturers. They point to vulnerabilities in US companies like Cisco and Microsoft, suggesting that improving software building codes would be more effective than targeting specific countries' products.
9The Manuscripts of Edsger W. Dijkstra
- This website archives over 1,000 technical manuscripts by computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra, known as "EWDs," which he circulated to colleagues for four decades. The collection includes his influential work on algorithms, programming languages, and distributed systems, along with indexes, transcripts, and related materials about his contributions to computing science.
Natural language programming criticism
Discussion centers on Dijkstra's essay criticizing natural language programming approaches. Participants debate whether modern LLMs represent a form of natural language compilation, while others argue for symbolic notation over verbose syntax in programming languages.Array indexing debate
Extended debate over Dijkstra's advocacy for 0-based indexing vs 1-based systems. Participants discuss mathematical foundations, hardware origins, and practical considerations like ordinal vs cardinal numbering for different use cases.Dijkstra's writing style and relevance
Comments on Dijkstra's continued relevance despite strong opinions and sometimes abrasive tone. Participants share favorite quotes and papers while noting his closed-minded approach to certain topics and his emphasis on elegance in programming.