Hacker News
1Inside CECOT – 60 Minutes [video]
Corporate influence on journalism
Discussion centers on Larry Ellison's use of wealth to influence media coverage, with debate over whether this represents state capitalism versus free market dynamics. Comments criticize the Trump administration's crony capitalism and regulatory capture.Editorial decisions and censorship
Users heavily criticize Bari Weiss's rationale for killing the CECOT story, calling her explanations dishonest attempts to provide government cover. Many see this as partisan censorship rather than legitimate editorial concerns.Content preservation and distribution
Community mobilizes to preserve the censored 60 Minutes segment through torrents and archive links, with users sharing magnet links and seeding files to prevent suppression of the story.
2Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves
- The content appears to reference a leak involving Flock cameras that potentially enables stalking behavior, with an archive link and YouTube video titled "This Flock Camera Leak is like Netflix For Stalkers" provided as sources.
Surveillance state concerns and constitutional violations
Discussion centers on mass surveillance capabilities bypassing due process, with comparisons to China's surveillance system. Users express alarm over warrantless data access, ICE collaboration, and the fundamental privacy violations inherent in collecting this data regardless of security vulnerabilities.Security vulnerabilities and systemic access control failures
Technical discussion reveals Flock cameras aggregate data from multiple sources into searchable networks accessible across jurisdictions. Major concerns about inadequate RBAC implementation at national scale, with examples of abuse by law enforcement for stalking and unauthorized tracking.Corporate responsibility and regulatory capture
Criticism of Flock's YC backing and CEO responses defending surveillance as beneficial versus Chinese systems. Discussion includes calls for legal action against vendors, concerns about revolving door between civil servants and Flock lobbyists, and debate over technical vs. political solutions.
3Fabrice Bellard Releases MicroQuickJS
- MicroQuickJS is a lightweight JavaScript engine designed for embedded systems that runs JavaScript programs with as little as 10 kB of RAM and requires about 100 kB of ROM. It supports a subset of JavaScript similar to ES5 with stricter rules to prevent error-prone constructs, uses a tracing garbage collector for memory efficiency, and can compile programs to persistent bytecode for storage in ROM.
Lua vs JavaScript for embedded scripting
Redis creator discusses why they chose Lua over JavaScript in 2010, citing implementation requirements. Community debates Lua's syntax choices, with defenders highlighting tail call optimization and compiler-friendly features, while critics argue its departures from familiar syntax create unnecessary friction for newcomers.Fabrice Bellard's legendary programming achievements
Discussion celebrates Bellard's extraordinary productivity and impact through FFmpeg, QEMU, QuickJS, TCC, and JSLinux. Comments praise his methodology of writing complete programs with minimal dependencies, though some note the difficulty of replicating his approach for less brilliant programmers.Embedded JavaScript engines and applications
Users explore MicroQuickJS's potential for programming ESP32/Arduino boards and compare it to existing solutions like Espruino, Elk, and DeviceScript. Discussion covers memory requirements, ES5 limitations, and practical applications including yt-dlp JavaScript challenges.
4Meta is using the Linux scheduler designed for Valve's Steam Deck on its servers
- Meta discovered that SCX-LAVD, a Linux scheduler originally developed by Igalia for Valve's Steam Deck gaming handheld, works surprisingly well on their large server infrastructure. They presented at Linux Plumbers Conference about adapting this gaming-focused scheduler as their default fleet scheduler across various server configurations.
Valve's impact on Linux ecosystem
Valve is driving Linux forward through gaming needs, funding Proton/Wine improvements, HDR/VRR support, and scheduler optimizations that benefit other industries like Meta's servers. Gaming development pushes hardware/software optimization boundaries.Meta's adoption of gaming scheduler
Meta successfully uses SCX-LAVD scheduler (originally designed for Steam Deck gaming) on their large servers, demonstrating cross-pollination between gaming and enterprise workloads for latency-sensitive applications.Valve's contracting strategy
Valve maintains a small core team (~350-400 people) and contracts specialized work to firms like Igalia rather than hiring internally, proving effective for focused development on non-core competencies.
5Claude Code gets native LSP support
- This content details version updates for Claude Code, a development tool that integrates Claude AI with coding environments. Recent updates include Language Server Protocol support for code intelligence, terminal setup for various terminals, syntax highlighting controls, and Claude in Chrome browser control. The tool offers features like file references, MCP server integration, session management, plugin marketplace, and VS Code extension support. Updates focus on improving user experience with better search functionality, keyboard shortcuts, performance optimizations, and bug fixes across different platforms.
Jetbrains criticism and ai integration
Users criticize JetBrains for failing to integrate their powerful refactoring tools with AI systems, missing opportunities to make their platform transformational. Many feel JetBrains is losing ground to VS Code and newer tools, with some long-time subscribers canceling after years of loyalty.Lsp support in claude code
Discussion of new LSP plugin functionality in Claude Code, including how to enable it via "/plugin" command and install language servers. Users share mixed experiences with setup and functionality, noting the feature appears undercooked but promising.Cli vs ide preferences
Debate over CLI-based coding agents versus IDE-based solutions. CLI advocates appreciate the flexibility and natural orchestration feel, while others question why people avoid GUIs when IDEs already provide many features that CLI tools are now adding.
6The Illustrated Transformer
- This popular blog post explains the Transformer model architecture in an accessible way, breaking down complex concepts like self-attention into understandable components. It describes how the model uses encoding and decoding components with attention mechanisms to process language, becoming widely referenced in academic courses and inspiring translations into multiple languages. The content has since been expanded into a book.
Understanding transformer architecture vs. practical application
Discussion on whether deep knowledge of transformer internals is necessary for practical LLM work. Some argue it's like understanding wood molecules vs. carpentry - useful but not essential for day-to-day application. Others contend that architectural knowledge helps with advanced troubleshooting and sets top engineers apart.Reinforcement learning's role in modern LLMs
Debate over how reinforcement learning techniques (RLHF, RLVR) have transformed LLM capabilities, particularly in coding and math tasks. Discussion includes whether these are truly "reinforcement learning" or closer to fine-tuning, and how they enable emergent behaviors beyond simple next-token prediction.Educational resources and explanations
Sharing of various transformer learning resources including visualizations, tutorials, and implementation guides. Users recommend different approaches - from interactive visualizations to hands-on coding - noting that multiple explanations help different learning styles.
7It's Always TCP_NODELAY
- TCP_NODELAY should be enabled by default in modern distributed systems because Nagle's algorithm, designed in 1984 to reduce header overhead for single-byte packets, now causes unnecessary latency delays when interacting with delayed ACK features, and most applications today don't send tiny packets anyway.
Nagle algorithm vs. modern networking
Discussion about whether Nagle's algorithm is obsolete due to modern point-to-point Ethernet connections, CSMA/CD being unnecessary, and the algorithm's original design for shared medium networks. Debate over TCP_NODELAY being enabled by default.TCP_NODELAY and delayed ACK interaction
Technical explanation of how Nagle's algorithm interacts with TCP delayed ACK causing 200ms deadlocks, where sender waits for ACK while receiver waits for more data. Most agree TCP_NODELAY should be standard for modern applications.Socket API limitations and flush functionality
Criticism that socket API lacks proper flush function to force immediate transmission, making it difficult to handle mixed-use channels. Discussion of alternatives like TCP_CORK, MSG_MORE, and message-oriented APIs.
8GLM-4.7: Advancing the Coding Capability
- GLM-4.7 is a new AI coding assistant that significantly outperforms its predecessor GLM-4.6 across multiple benchmarks. It excels in multilingual coding, terminal tasks, UI design, tool usage, and complex reasoning. The model features improved thinking capabilities and is available through various platforms and coding agents at competitive pricing.
Local inference challenges
Users debate running large models locally on Mac Studios and other hardware. Key issues include slow performance due to memory constraints, high costs vs. cloud APIs, and the need for significant RAM. Some report 1-2 tokens/sec on high-end hardware.Model performance and benchmarks
Discussion of GLM-4.7's coding capabilities compared to Claude, GPT, and other models. Users report strong performance on SWE-bench (72% vs Claude 3.5's 49%) and good results for math/research tasks, though some question benchmark reliability vs real-world use.Chinese model censorship and bias
Users test the model's responses to politically sensitive questions about Tiananmen Square and peaceful protests. The model refuses to answer with error messages, sparking debate about political bias in Chinese vs Western models.
9Instant database clones with PostgreSQL 18
- PostgreSQL's templating system allows for instant database cloning using the CREATE DATABASE command with templates. PostgreSQL 15 introduced strategy options, and version 18 added file_copy_method=clone which leverages modern filesystem features like XFS reflinks to create near-instantaneous copies without duplicating storage space. This transforms database cloning from a slow, resource-intensive operation into a millisecond process, making it ideal for testing environments and migration scenarios where quick database snapshots are needed.
Instant PostgreSQL database cloning solutions
Discussion of various tools for fast database cloning, including Velo using ZFS snapshots, Neon's branching, and PostgreSQL 18's new features. Users share experiences with different approaches for testing and development workflows.AI-assisted coding controversy
Debate over using AI tools like Claude to build software projects, with some questioning disclosure practices while others defend AI as just another development tool, comparing it to using interns or contractors.PostgreSQL as the dominant SQL database
Discussion of PostgreSQL's strengths and limitations compared to alternatives like MySQL, ClickHouse, and others, covering performance trade-offs, replication features, and use case suitability.
10Ask HN: What are the best engineering blogs with real-world depth?
- The user is seeking high-quality engineering blog posts from tech companies that provide in-depth technical explanations, real implementation details including trade-offs and failures, clear structure, and connections between engineering decisions and business outcomes, asking for recommendations of standout blogs and platforms.
Tech company engineering blogs and RSS feeds
Discussion of major tech company engineering blogs (Facebook, Netflix, Stripe, Uber, etc.) with users sharing RSS feed availability. Some complained about lack of RSS support, while others provided direct feed URLs and aggregators for following multiple blogs.Engineering definition and scope
Mechanical engineer notes how "engineering" on HN typically means software engineering. Discussion explores differences between traditional engineering disciplines and software engineering, including educational backgrounds and professional credentials.Individual technical blogs and resources
Users recommend high-quality individual engineering blogs like Julia Evans (jvns.ca), Armin Ronacher, and Simon Willison, plus resources like Architecture of Open Source Applications book and specialized content aggregators.