Hacker News
1Cloudflare Global Network experiencing issues
- Cloudflare experienced a major service degradation on November 18, 2025, affecting multiple services including Access, Bot Management, CDN, Dashboard, Firewall, Network, WARP, and Workers. The incident began around 11:48 UTC with intermittent service impacts. A fix was implemented by 14:42 UTC and the incident was fully resolved by 19:28 UTC after monitoring confirmed normal operations.
Technical workarounds and API solutions
Users shared Cloudflare API commands to disable proxy settings during the outage, discussed alternative authentication methods, and explored workarounds like using WARP VPN to access sites. Many expressed frustration at being unable to access dashboards to make changes.Centralization concerns and infrastructure risks
Extensive discussion about the dangers of internet centralization around AWS and Cloudflare, with users debating self-hosting vs cloud services, DDoS protection needs, and the trade-offs between convenience and resilience in modern web architecture.Developer relief and blame attribution
Multiple developers shared stories of initially thinking they caused outages with their own configuration changes, expressing relief when realizing it was Cloudflare's fault. Discussion included the psychological aspects of blame and the advantage of being down alongside major services.
2Gemini 3
- Google has announced Gemini 3, a new AI model for developers. The announcement includes links to a blog post about Gemini 3 for developers and access to AI Studio where users can interact with the Gemini 3 Pro preview model through a chat interface.
Performance benchmarking and evaluation
Users share mixed results testing Gemini 3 on custom benchmarks. Some find it excels at complex tasks like Project Euler problems and XML parsing, while others report failures on basic Python tasks, highlighting the importance of personalized evaluation over standard benchmarks.Code generation capabilities
Gemini 3 demonstrates impressive coding abilities, generating working web apps from legacy XML, creating analog clocks, SVG animations, and 3D models. Users note improvements in spatial understanding and speed, though code quality varies between elegant and over-engineered solutions.Multimodal performance
Discussion centers on Gemini 3's audio and image processing abilities. Users report significant improvements in speaker labeling for meeting transcripts, though image recognition still struggles with counting objects like dog legs or fingers in manipulated photos.
3Rebecca Heineman has died
- Game developer Rebecca Heineman died at age 62 after being diagnosed with aggressive cancer last month. She was a pioneering figure in gaming, becoming the first formally recognized US video game champion by winning a Space Invaders tournament in 1980, and later worked on 67 games including Bard's Tale and Wasteland. Heineman was also an advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in tech and was married to fellow industry legend Jennell Jaquays, who died in 2024.
Technical accomplishments
Discussion highlights Rebecca's exceptional programming skills, particularly writing her own string library in ARM assembly for Doom 3DO port, creating the cross-platform Burgerlib framework, and innovative techniques like polygon rendering on SNES hardware at 60fps.Personal remembrances
Community members share personal encounters with Rebecca, describing her as kind, humorous, and generous. Stories include meeting her at gaming conventions, watching her livestreams, and appreciation for her humble approach despite legendary status.Healthcare and financial concerns
Comments express shock at the rapid progression from diagnosis to death within a month, concerns about a legendary developer needing GoFundMe for medical expenses, and broader criticism of US healthcare costs and game industry compensation.
4Windows 11 adds AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders
- Microsoft is introducing "Agent Workspace" to Windows 11, an experimental feature that allows AI agents to run in separate desktop sessions with access to user folders like Documents and Desktop. These AI agents can perform tasks autonomously in the background while users continue normal activities, though the feature may impact performance and raises security concerns.
Microsoft's aggressive AI integration
Users express frustration with Microsoft forcing AI features everywhere, including Copilot buttons in basic apps like Notepad. Many see this as Microsoft prioritizing AI hype over user needs, with concerns about lack of opt-out options and the company's partnership with OpenAI.Privacy and data security concerns
Discussion centers on fears that AI agents will access personal files and send data to Microsoft servers without proper consent. Users worry about sensitive documents being analyzed and used for training, with many questioning Microsoft's trustworthiness as a data steward.Migration away from Windows
Many users report successfully switching to Linux distributions like Mint, citing better performance, more control, and freedom from unwanted features. The discussion highlights how modern Linux has become viable for daily desktop use, especially for users frustrated with Windows' direction.
5Nearly all UK drivers say headlights are too bright
- A UK government study found 97% of drivers are regularly dazzled by oncoming vehicle headlights, with 96% saying most headlights are too bright. The research shows LED lights emit more blue light that human eyes struggle with at night, leading 33% of drivers to reduce nighttime driving. New safety measures will be included in the government's upcoming Road Safety Strategy.
Bright interior lighting affecting night vision
Modern cars have excessively bright screens and white interior lighting that prevent drivers' eyes from adjusting to darkness, making them need brighter headlights. Older cars had dim, adjustable green gauges that preserved night vision better.Tesla headlights frequently misadjusted
Tesla Model 3s are major offenders with factory headlight settings too high, causing owners to get flashed frequently. Many Tesla owners adjust their headlights down 2-3 clicks to resolve the issue, but user-accessible adjustment menus lead to poor calibration.Need for stricter regulations and enforcement
Current brightness regulations are inadequate or poorly enforced. Solutions include limiting maximum brightness, restricting headlight height, mandating proper aiming, and regular inspections. The problem is worsening rapidly and requires legislative action.
6Google Antigravity
- The content only contains two URLs - one for Google Antigravity blog and one for a YouTube video - without any actual text, article content, or descriptions to summarize.
Vscode fork proliferation
Discussion about the trend of AI IDE tools being VSCode forks rather than extensions or original applications. Users debate why companies choose forking over building extensions, with Microsoft's API limitations being cited as a key reason.Credit limits and monetization issues
Users experiencing immediate quota exhaustion despite "generous limits" promises. Many hit credit limits within minutes of use with no clear path to pay for continued access, leading to frustration with Google's typical product launch issues.Agent management vs traditional coding
Debate over the value proposition of becoming "managers of agents" rather than writing code directly. Mixed reactions to whether this represents progress or a dystopian future where developers lose connection to actual implementation.
7Core Devices keeps stealing our work
- Rebble, the community group that has maintained Pebble smartwatch services for nearly a decade, is ending its partnership with Core Devices due to disagreements over data ownership. Core demanded unrestricted access to Rebble's app store data and violated agreements by scraping their servers. Rebble is asking the community to decide whether to legally protect their work or allow Core to use it freely, as they fear Core could create a walled garden and abandon the community like the original Pebble company did.
Open source vs proprietary approach
A former Pebble developer argues that any non-open source development of the Pebble ecosystem is a "dick move" and advocates for fully FOSS solutions. Others debate the balance between commercial viability and community openness, with some supporting Eric's business approach.Data scraping controversy
Core Devices allegedly scraped Rebble's servers for app store data without permission after negotiations broke down. Many users view this as "seriously uncool" behavior that violates trust, though some await Eric's side of the story before final judgment.Customer loyalty and preorder cancellations
Multiple users threaten to cancel their Core Devices preorders unless the dispute with Rebble is resolved fairly. The technical Pebble community sees this conflict as concerning given their values around openness and community collaboration.
8Azure hit by 15 Tbps DDoS attack using 500k IP addresses
- Microsoft Azure successfully defended against a record-breaking 15 Tbps DDoS attack, demonstrating the platform's robust security capabilities and infrastructure resilience. The attack represents one of the largest distributed denial-of-service attacks ever recorded, showcasing Azure's ability to protect cloud services from massive cyber threats.
Gaming DDoS motivations
Users discussed why attackers target gaming servers, citing reasons like revenge after being banned, competitive advantage in tournaments, market manipulation, extortion attempts, and taking down rival servers. Examples included attacks on Final Fantasy XIV and competitive esports events.ISP responsibility for compromised devices
Discussion focused on whether ISPs should notify customers about infected routers/cameras and block traffic from compromised devices. Users compared approaches like the Netherlands' quarantine system versus US ISPs' reluctance due to support costs and customer complaints.International law enforcement challenges
Participants debated the lack of effective international cybercrime enforcement, citing issues like national sovereignty, political resistance, state-sponsored attacks from countries like Russia/China, and the technical complexity of tracking distributed attackers across borders.
9How Quake.exe got its TCP/IP stack
- Released in 1996, Quake needed to work on both DOS and Windows 95 during the operating system transition. id Software created a single executable that could run on both platforms using djgpp compiler and DPMI technology. Under DOS, TCP/IP multiplayer was nearly impossible due to lack of networking stack, but Windows 95 provided built-in TCP/IP support. A special q95.bat script allowed DOS Quake to access Windows 95's Winsock TCP/IP stack through Mpath Interactive's "Chunnel" technology, enabling internet multiplayer gaming.
DJGPP and DOS development tools
Discussion about DJGPP, DPMI, and DOS development tools from the 1990s. Users shared nostalgic memories of using these tools, including DJ Delorie's contributions to porting GCC to DOS, and how id Software worked with DJGPP engineers to optimize Quake's performance.90s gaming networking and multiplayer
Conversation about the evolution of multiplayer gaming from simple modem connections in the 90s to today's complex NAT traversal requirements. Users reminisced about direct dial-up gaming and discussed how modern networking makes peer-to-peer gaming more difficult.Hardware hacking and soldering memories
Users shared stories of learning to solder as children to create null modem cables, parallel port sound cards, and other DIY hardware solutions for gaming and computing in the pre-internet era.
10Do not put your site behind Cloudflare if you don't need to
DDoS protection necessity
Users debate whether small sites need DDoS protection. Some argue cheap DDoS-as-a-service makes any site vulnerable and hosts will drop attacked customers. Others contend personal sites don't need enterprise security strategies and occasional downtime is acceptable.Cloudflare centralization concerns
Discussion around internet centralization as more sites rely on Cloudflare. Critics worry about creating a single point of failure for the web and reducing diversity. Supporters argue the benefits outweigh centralization risks for most users.Cost-benefit analysis
Users weigh Cloudflare's advantages (free protection, performance, bot filtering) against downsides (outages, complexity). Many prefer delegating infrastructure concerns to a billion-dollar company rather than self-managing.