Alvaro Lopez Ortega / 2026-04-17 Briefing

Created Sat, 18 Apr 2026 01:41:30 +0000 Modified Wed, 03 Jun 2026 19:57:49 +0000
6513 Words

Computer science history was marked by the rediscovery of Dennis Ritchie’s lost thesis. In security, Trail of Bits outperformed Google’s quantum cryptanalysis benchmarks by exploiting vulnerabilities in their Rust prover code. Meanwhile, Ubuntu 24.10 dailies are testing an experimental AppArmor-based permission prompting feature, and developers have launched ezli.me, a lightweight, Rust-built URL shortener.

πŸ€– AI & Robotics

zmx - run local code agents on remote machines

The v0.5.0 release of zmx, a zero-config CLI tool for managing terminal processes, introduces new features for executing commands, writing files, and monitoring sessions. These updates enable local AI code agents to perform tasks and transfer files across remote environments, such as SSH, containers, and Kubernetes.

Ready for the revolution

The author examines the tension between the immense practical benefits of generative AI and its profound ethical, legal, and economic drawbacks. They critique the tech industry’s evolution into a form of “toxic capitalism” that threatens professional livelihoods through the use of unauthorized data.

Collaborative Autoresearch on a Peer-to-Peer Network

A new peer-to-peer network has been established to facilitate collaborative Autoresearch-style experiments. Within this network, agents conduct experiments and publish signed results, allowing peers to build upon the work by reproducing findings on their own hardware.

Tesla tells HW3 owner to ‘be patient’ after 7 years of waiting for FSD

A Dutch Tesla owner has launched a collective legal claim representing 3,000 HW3 vehicle owners across 29 countries over unfulfilled Full Self-Driving promises. The lawsuit follows Tesla’s failure to provide software updates for older hardware and its dismissive response to inquiries regarding necessary hardware upgrades.

We reproduced Anthropic’s Mythos findings with public models

Researchers have successfully reproduced several of Anthropic’s Mythos vulnerability research findings using public models such as GPT-5.4 and Claude Opus 4.6. The study suggests that because these capabilities are already widely accessible, security defenders should focus on improving the validation and remediation of AI-generated findings rather than attempting to restrict model access.

Scan your website to see how ready it is for AI agents

A new tool allows users to scan their websites to evaluate compatibility with AI agents across five key categories, including discoverability, accessibility, and commerce. The tool checks various emerging standards and provides actionable instructions for developers to improve their site’s agent-readiness.

Anthropic Negotiates US Government AI Access

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei is meeting with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles to discuss providing the U.S. government access to the company’s “Mythos” AI model. The meeting aims to resolve a legal and political dispute with the Pentagon regarding the model’s potential use for national security and cybersecurity.

Opus 4.7 is horrible at writing

A user has reported a significant decline in writing quality when switching from Opus 4.6 to Opus 4.7. The individual described the newer version as sloppy and imprecise while working on their Master’s thesis.

SPICE simulation β†’ oscilloscope β†’ verification with Claude Code

MCP servers have been developed for oscilloscopes and SPICE simulators to enable Claude Code to bridge the gap between simulation and real hardware. This integration allows for closed-loop verification between simulated models and physical measurements.

Ex-DeepMind/OpenAI start-up Recursive Superintelligence raises $500M+ for self-teaching AI

Recursive Superintelligence, a four-month-old startup founded by former DeepMind and OpenAI engineers, has raised over $500 million to develop self-teaching AI. The funding round, which includes participation from Nvidia and Google’s venture arm, has brought the company’s valuation to $4 billion.

Sora researcher Bill Peebles and OpenAI enterprise CTO Srinivas Narayanan are leaving OpenAI

Key OpenAI leaders Kevin Weil, Bill Peebles, and Srinivas Narayanan are departing as the company shifts its focus from experimental research to enterprise AI. These exits follow the shutdown of the Sora video tool and the consolidation of the OpenAI for Science group into other research teams.

Figma stock falls 6.84% after Anthropic launches Claude Design

Anthropic has launched Claude Design, a new dedicated app powered by the Claude Opus 4.7 model that uses text prompts to generate website designs and UI prototypes. The announcement led to a decline in the share prices of design competitors Figma and Adobe.

An interview with Dario Amodei, who says the negative narrative around AI is dominant because the…

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei suggests that the prevalence of negative narratives surrounding AI is due to the industry’s failure to fully deliver its promised benefits. In an interview, he also discusses the “Claude Mythos,” repercussions from a Pentagon dispute, and his message for the super-rich.

Physical Intelligence’s Ο€0.7 shows unexpected robot generalization on untrained tasks

Robotics startup Physical Intelligence has introduced $\pi$0.7, a new model capable of performing unfamiliar tasks by recombining previously learned skills. While the model currently requires step-by-step verbal coaching to execute new instructions, its ability to synthesize fragmented knowledge represents a significant step toward creating a general-purpose robot brain.

Q&A: Ronan Farrow on his Sam Altman profile, OpenAI board drama, and enterprise shift

In a recent episode of the Decoder podcast, Nilay Patel interviews investigative reporter Ronan Farrow about his extensive New Yorker profile of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The conversation explores the details of the deep-dive report, including the 2023 OpenAI board controversy and concerns regarding Altman’s trustworthiness.

Anthropic mocks up Claude Design to draft fancy new pink slips for marketing teams

Anthropic has launched Claude Design, a research preview service that enables users to create visual assets like prototypes and marketing materials through conversational prompting. The tool allows for the integration of custom design systems and supports various export formats, aiming to make visual production more accessible to non-designers.

Attention data hoarders: Alexa loses its Plex appeal as voice feature gets canned

Plex will discontinue its Alexa skill on June 15, 2026, due to low usage and shifting company priorities. While voice control via Amazon smart speakers will no longer be available, Plex apps and web interfaces will continue to function normally.

Would you like fries with that terminal?

A Jack in the Box drive-through screen in Santa Rosa, California, recently displayed an Ubuntu Linux desktop instead of an order confirmation. The glitch, likely caused by an interrupted software update, occurred amid a period of declining revenue and restaurant count for the fast-food chain.

πŸ”’ Security & Privacy

AppArmor’s experimental permissions prompting

Ubuntu 24.10 dailies are introducing an experimental permissions prompting feature that leverages AppArmor to provide fine-grained access control for applications. The system utilizes a new prompting client and a centralized desktop security center to allow users to manage specific file and directory permissions.

Practical Antiforgery in Software Design

The article proposes “antiforgery” as a specific discipline in software design focused on making replication both difficult and detectable. It distinguishes between technical antiforgery, which uses advanced technology to prevent forgery, and practical antiforgery, which utilizes user interfaces to make authenticity obvious to observers.

Breakthrough in Quantum Cryptanalysis

Trail of Bits has released a zero-knowledge proof that outperforms Google’s quantum cryptanalysis benchmarks by exploiting memory safety and logic vulnerabilities in Google’s Rust prover code. Google has since patched these flaws, leaving their original scientific claims unaffected.

HTTP desync in Discord’s media proxy: Spying on a whole platform

An HTTP desync vulnerability in Discord’s media proxy allowed attackers to intercept real-time attachment links across the entire platform. By exploiting connection pooling and injecting headers into upstream requests, the flaw enabled unauthorized monitoring of media from both public servers and private direct messages.

Encrypting an external device with LUKS

This guide explains how to encrypt an external USB drive using LUKS on Linux systems to protect sensitive data. It covers the process of formatting a device with LUKS2, creating a filesystem, and implementing a keyfile for automatic decryption on trusted machines.

Your Computer Isn’t Yours

Recent macOS updates transmit unique identifiers of running applications to Apple, enabling the tracking of user activity and location via IP addresses. These unencrypted communications are potentially accessible to third parties and government agencies, and new system APIs make it increasingly difficult for users to block this activity using firewalls or VPNs.

The N.Y.P.D. Is Teaching America How to Track Everyone Every Day Forever

The NYPD has invested over $3 billion in digital surveillance tools to create vast, unregulated databases that track the movements and social interactions of New York City residents. This large-scale monitoring has drawn criticism for potentially eroding fundamental civil liberties and disproportionately impacting marginalized communities.

Even “cat readme.txt” is not safe

A vulnerability in iTerm2’s SSH integration feature allows for arbitrary code execution by exploiting how the terminal handles specific escape sequences. Maliciously crafted terminal output, such as the contents of a file read via the cat command, can impersonate the iTerm2 “conductor” protocol to trigger unauthorized commands.

PanicLock – Close your MacBook lid disable TouchID –> password unlock

PanicLock is a macOS menu bar utility that allows users to instantly disable Touch ID and lock their screens via a single click, a hotkey, or by closing the laptop lid. The tool is designed to enhance privacy by forcing password-only authentication, protecting users against potential compelled biometric unlocks.

Congress extends controversial surveillance powers for 10 days

Congress has voted to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) on a stop-gap basis until April 30. The short-term extension follows the failure of longer-term renewal proposals due to ongoing legislative debates over privacy protections for Americans’ communications.

Ban the sale of precise geolocation

A Citizen Lab report warns that the Webloc tool, used by various U.S. law enforcement agencies, poses significant privacy and national security risks. The software provides access to the precise geolocation data of hundreds of millions of mobile devices, enabling granular tracking and the linking of anonymous identifiers to social media accounts. Consequently, the article argues for a ban or stricter legislative oversight on the sale of such highly detailed location data.

Atlassian is changing how we use customer data on August 17, 2026

Atlassian will update its use of metadata and in-app data to enhance AI capabilities starting August 17, 2026. To ensure privacy and security, new data contribution settings will roll out beginning April 16, 2026, allowing administrators to control how their organization’s data is used.

Dubai police arrest Emirates flight attendant after stalking his private WhatsApp chat

An Emirates flight attendant has been detained in Dubai for over a month after authorities allegedly used electronic surveillance to intercept a private WhatsApp photo shared with colleagues. The individual faces charges under UAE cybercrime laws related to state security and public order after sharing an image of smoke from a recent incident.

European Commission turns up the heat on Meta over WhatsApp AI restrictions

The European Commission has ordered Meta to stop charging third-party companies for offering AI chatbot services via WhatsApp, alleging that these fees abuse the company’s dominant market position. The directive aims to ensure fair competition in the emerging AI assistant market by preventing Meta from blocking competitors through subscription fees.

Hackers dodging security tools by dropping secret QEMU virtual machines inside Windows

Hackers are using the QEMU virtualizer to run hidden Linux virtual machines on Windows systems to bypass security tools like Windows Defender. This technique allows threat actors to execute malicious toolkits for activities such as credential theft and ransomware deployment while remaining nearly invisible to host-based monitoring.

Cybercrime goes plug and play with voice fraud-as-a-service platform

The newly discovered ATHR toolkit enables fraudsters to run automated, large-scale phone scams by combining phishing emails with AI-generated voice agents to steal credentials for major services. Because these attacks use phone numbers instead of malicious links, they are uniquely difficult for conventional security tools to detect.

Opsec oopsie: Dutch navy frigate location outed by mailing it a Bluetooth tracker

A Dutch journalist tracked the HNLMS Evertsen frigate’s movement from Crete toward Cyprus by mailing a Bluetooth tracker hidden inside a postcard. In response to this security lapse, the Dutch Ministry of Defence is updating its mail policies and banning greeting cards that contain batteries.

Locked-out iPhone user tells The Reg that Apple is scrambling to fix character flaw passcode bug

Apple is working to fix an iOS 26 bug that has locked some users out of their iPhones by removing necessary characters from the Czech keyboard. The issue was identified through a student’s social media post and is expected to be resolved in an upcoming major software update.

πŸ’» Systems & Infrastructure

Developers have introduced ezli.me, a lightweight URL shortening service built with Rust to run efficiently on K3s clusters. The service utilizes in-memory caching and batched PostgreSQL updates to ensure rapid redirects while minimizing database load.

Why is IPv6 so complicated?

IPv6 is more complex than IPv4 because simply expanding the address size would cause existing IPv4 systems to discard the packets, necessitating a new protocol version. Beyond addressing address exhaustion, the development of IPv6 was intended to incorporate advanced functionalities and resolve broader Internet layer scaling issues.

30 Years of HPC: Rapid Hardware Advances, Slow Language Adoption

A retrospective on 30 years of High-Performance Computing (HPC) highlights a million-fold increase in performance and massive growth in core counts between 1995 and 2025. Despite these significant hardware advancements, the author observes that the adoption of new programming languages has not kept pace with technological progress.

Florist: Scripts to generate immutable Gentoo images

Florist is a customizable tool composed primarily of shell scripts used to generate immutable A/B Gentoo erofs images. It utilizes dependencies such as systemd ukify and erofs-utils to build stage4 images and can optionally create delta updates.

Healthchecks.io Adopts Self-hosted Object Storage

Healthchecks.io has migrated its S3-compatible object storage from managed providers such as AWS, OVHcloud, and UpCloud to a self-hosted solution using Versity S3 Gateway and a Btrfs filesystem. This transition aims to improve performance and reliability while reducing the costs and operational complexity associated with managed services.

500 Lines or Less: A Python Interpreter Written in Python

Byterun is a Python interpreter implemented in Python that mimics the structure of CPython to serve as an educational tool. Written in fewer than 500 lines of code, the project is capable of executing simple Python programs and helps developers understand the mechanics of interpreters.

Demystifying assemblers

Developer Brian Robert Callahan plans to create a Zilog Z80 assembler using the simpler Intel 8080 assembly language. Written in the D programming language, the project aims to provide a practical, hands-on learning experience by prioritizing functional implementation over complex theory.

How to Host a Blog on a Subdirectory Instead of a Subdomain

This guide explains how transitioning a blog from a subdomain to a subdirectory can boost SEO and organic traffic by consolidating website authority. While the configuration process via Cloudflare is more complex and time-consuming, the transition can lead to significantly higher search engine rankings.

NeoGeo AES+: SNK announces reissue of retro console without emulation

SNK and Plaion have announced the NeoGeo AES+, a hardware-based reissue of the classic console that uses ASICs to replicate original behavior instead of software emulation. The system features 1080p HDMI support, compatibility with original cartridges, and is scheduled for release on November 12, 2026.

Smol machines – subsecond coldstart, portable virtual machines

smolvm is a command-line tool designed to run isolated Linux virtual machines on macOS and Linux with sub-second startup times. It enables users to sandbox untrusted code, create portable executables, and maintain persistent development environments.

Spending 3 months coding by hand

The author is undertaking a three-month coding retreat at the Recurse Center in Brooklyn to focus on programming without the assistance of AI. By avoiding coding agents, the author aims to deepen their understanding of computer science fundamentals and avoid the learning gaps that occur when AI makes assumptions during the development process.

The Gregorio project – GPL tools for typesetting Gregorian chant

The Gregorio project offers a suite of free, GPLv3-licensed tools, including gabc notation and GregorioTeX, for typesetting Gregorian chant scores. When used with a TeX installation, these tools enable users to produce high-quality musical engravings.

IETF draft-meow-mrrp-00

The April 2026 IETF Internet-Draft “draft-meow-mrrp-00” consists almost entirely of repetitive “meow” placeholders and standard technical boilerplate. The document is scheduled to expire on October 18, 2026.

Crystal 1.20.0 Is Released

Crystal 1.20.0 has been released, introducing the new @ [TargetFeature] annotation for CPU-specific optimizations and a new API for spawning sub-processes. The update also features a preview of an io_uring-based event loop and includes security fixes to prevent HTTP request smuggling.

SteamOS ARM64 Reaches Nintendo Switch in First Experiment

An experimental setup has successfully run the Steam client on a Nintendo Switch using ARM64 architecture on Ubuntu. While the interface is functional, launching games remains difficult due to hardware limitations and issues with translation layers like Proton. This milestone demonstrates the potential for Valve’s ARM64-compatible stack to operate on hardware beyond the Steam Deck.

Compatibility Is a Feature

Compatibility must be treated as a core architectural feature to ensure system stability during production changes like partial rollouts. A robust design allows various versions, data structures, and consumers to coexist safely, preventing system brittleness and complicated rollbacks.

FIM – Linux framebuffer image viewer

FIM, also known as Fbi IMproved, is a universal image viewer for the Linux framebuffer. The program is designed based on GNU/Linux concepts.

New NTFS File-System Driver Submitted for Linux 7.1

A new, overhauled NTFS file-system driver has been submitted for the Linux 7.1 kernel, promising improved performance and stability over the existing NTFS3 driver. Developed by Namjae Jeon, the update includes over 36,000 lines of code and is currently awaiting a final decision from Linus Torvalds regarding its merger.

SynMax: 40% of 2026 US data centers face 3+ month delays, including Microsoft/OpenAI (FT)

Approximately 40% of US data centers scheduled for completion in 2026 are facing delays of more than three months. Major sites for companies including Microsoft and OpenAI are among those expected to be set back.

Intel eases reliance on TSMC with ‘Merica-made Core Series 3 processors

Intel has launched new budget-oriented Core Series 3 processors manufactured at its US-based facilities using the Intel 18A process node. These streamlined chips are designed for use in laptops and low-power edge computing devices as the company seeks to reduce its reliance on TSMC.

Users complain that UK Azure is having capacity problems

Microsoft Azure is experiencing significant capacity shortages in its UK South and West regions, preventing users from deploying new virtual machines and Kubernetes clusters. While some users have been advised to migrate workloads to other regions like Sweden, such moves pose serious data sovereignty and regulatory compliance risks for many organizations.

Microsoft closes book on rogue Windows Server 2025 upgrades

Microsoft has officially marked the issue of unauthorized Windows Server 2025 upgrades as “resolved” with the release of cumulative update KB5082063. However, this new update has introduced a separate problem that causes certain domain controllers to experience continuous boot loops due to LSASS crashes.

Support tech caught by ‘Technician Aura’: the bug that only hides when you’re watching

A technician investigating recurring payment terminal failures at a gardening shop was unable to identify the issue while actively monitoring the system. The problem was eventually traced to electromagnetic interference caused by a cashier’s mobile phone ringing near the terminal.

IOWN Global Forum targets datacenter interconnects to scatter AI infrastructure

The IOWN Global Forum is prioritizing datacenter interconnects using all-photonic network technology to support distributed AI infrastructure and the growth of “neocloud” providers. This initiative aims to enable low-latency applications, such as remote GPU access and sovereign AI, by providing high-speed connections across geographically dispersed facilities.

Cisco Wi-Fi boxes are filling their disks with 5MB of undeletable data every day

Over 230 Cisco Wi-Fi access point models are accumulating 5MB of undeletable daily log data, which can exhaust onboard flash memory. This buildup prevents critical software updates and risks causing device bootloops, prompting Cisco to issue an advisory with remediation instructions.

🏒 Tech Industry & Society

tangled newsletter 01 β€” hello

Tangled, a social coding platform that recently raised €3.8M in seed funding, has introduced several updates, including repository search, enhanced PR reviews, and a new repository indexer called knotmirror. Future development goals for the platform include implementing VM-based CI and achieving full AT Protocol compliance.

What are you doing this weekend?

This post invites individuals to share their upcoming weekend plans or seek feedback and assistance. It also emphasizes that it is perfectly acceptable to have no plans at all.

Folk Computer

The Folk Computer project provides software, guides, and long-form notes, such as “Towards a folk computer.” The project also features various media coverage and offers community engagement opportunities via Discord.

Sam Altman Is Dangerously Disconnected from Reality

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was recently targeted in two acts of violence, including a Molotov cocktail thrown at his home. Altman suggested the attacks may have been motivated by a recent critical article in the New Yorker, amid a broader backlash against AI technology.

Finding underpriced deals across secondary markets

Graby AI employs AI-powered tools to locate underpriced, high-demand designer items across global second-hand marketplaces. The platform helps users maximize profitability by analyzing profit margins, comparing listings to historical sales data, and recommending the most effective marketplaces for reselling.

Tesla Cybertruck sales inflated: SpaceX bought 1,279 units

New registration data reveals that Elon Musk’s companies, primarily SpaceX, accounted for 19% of all US Cybertruck registrations in Q4 2025. Without these inter-company purchases, Cybertruck registrations would have fallen 51% year-over-year, suggesting that Tesla’s sales figures are being significantly bolstered by Musk’s other ventures.

Gen Z is 10 times more accepting of violence against speakers than Boomers

Research from FIRE’s National Speech Index shows that Gen Z is nearly ten times more likely to accept physical violence to stop speakers than Baby Boomers. This trend is primarily driven by a generational divide rather than political ideology, though young liberals are notably more supportive of punishing offensive speakers than older liberals.

Airline adds bunk beds for economy travelers but bans snacks, smells and cuddles

Air New Zealand is introducing “Skynest” sleep pods on its Auckland to New York route, allowing economy and premium economy passengers to book four-hour stints in triple-tier bunk beds. To ensure comfort in the shared space, the airline has implemented strict etiquette rules prohibiting snacking, strong perfumes, and bedsharing.

Oil prices plunge as Iran says Strait of Hormuz ‘open’ during ceasefire

Oil prices plummeted after Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be open to commercial shipping for the duration of the current ceasefire. While U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed the news, international maritime organizations are still verifying the safety of the waterway due to ongoing risks.

Average new UK electric car price is now lower than petrol vehicles

For the first time in the UK, the average price of a new electric car has fallen below that of petrol models, according to data from Autotrader. This shift, driven by increased competition and manufacturer discounts, removes a significant upfront cost barrier to the transition toward zero-emission vehicles.

How Silicon Valley Is Turning Scientists into Exploited Gig Workers

Silicon Valley leaders, including Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen, are working to redirect federal research funding from public universities and institutions, such as the National Science Foundation, toward private industry. This movement seeks to dismantle the very public science infrastructure that historically provided the foundational research for the tech sector’s most significant technological breakthroughs.

Big Tech Lobbying for Data Center Secrecy

US tech companies have successfully lobbied the EU to include secrecy provisions in regulations that classify the individual environmental impacts of data centers as confidential. This prevents researchers and the public from scrutinizing the energy and pollution footprints of expanding AI-driven infrastructure, potentially violating international transparency obligations.

How to make buffet breakfasts less wasteful

All-you-can-eat breakfasts can result in up to twice as much food waste as menu-based ordering. This excess waste presents both environmental concerns and increased financial costs for hotels.

‘Middle Class’ Actors Are Getting ‘Squeezed Out’ of Hollywood

Actor Kirk Acevedo highlights the increasing economic difficulties facing middle-class Hollywood actors, noting that many are being “squeezed out” of the industry since the pandemic. He attributes this trend to heightened competition from film stars transitioning to television and the struggle to cover living expenses after accounting for taxes and professional fees.

MAGA Indians Went All in on Trump. Many Right-Wingers Can’t Stand Them

During a recent event at Montana State University, Vivek Ramaswamy faced questioning from students regarding whether his Hindu faith and Indian heritage are compatible with American leadership. The incident highlights a growing trend of anti-Indian sentiment and xenophobia within certain segments of the Republican base.

Hospital Held Woman for Months Against Her Will. SCOTUS to decide if she can sue

The Supreme Court will determine whether a woman can sue a Baltimore hospital in federal court following her months-long involuntary detention and forced medication. The case focuses on whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine prevents federal courts from reviewing a state court consent order that remains subject to further review within the state court system.

White House: Wiles-Amodei meeting ‘productive and constructive’; Bessent also joined (Axios)

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei met to discuss potential government engagement with Anthropic’s new Mythos Preview AI model. The meeting, described as “productive and constructive,” signals a possible thaw in relations despite an ongoing legal dispute with the Pentagon, which has labeled the company a “supply chain risk.”

Deep dive: Dwarkesh Patel’s Jensen Huang interview on Nvidia’s moat, China chip sales & reactions

Zvi Mowshowitz provides a detailed breakdown of Dwarkesh Patel’s interview with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, examining the company’s competitive moat and chip allocation strategies. The analysis also explores Huang’s views on AI hardware architectures and his comments regarding Anthropic’s use of alternative processors.

Meta paid Broadcom $2.3B; Broadcom CEO Hock Tan to leave Meta board

Dylan Patel, founder of the AI research firm SemiAnalysis, has gained significant influence in Silicon Valley through his intensive scrutiny of companies like Nvidia. His detailed investigations into chip products and production delays have established him as a prominent figure in the semiconductor industry.

China fines food delivery apps, including Alibaba and Meituan, $528M, largest fine since 2015

Chinese regulators have fined major food delivery platforms, including Alibaba, Meituan, and PDD Holdings, a combined $528 million for failing to filter unqualified merchants. This penalty marks the largest ever issued to the sector since the 2015 amendment to China’s food safety law.

Uber to pay ~€270M for 4.5% more stake in Delivery Hero, bringing total to ~7%

Uber has agreed to pay approximately €270 million to acquire an additional 4.5% stake in Delivery Hero from Prosus. This transaction will increase Uber’s total stake in the German food delivery group to roughly 7%. The move follows Prosus’s decision to reduce its holdings due to EU competition concerns.

China agencies probe Meta’s $2B Manus deal, sparking tech sector fears

Multiple Chinese agencies are investigating a $2 billion deal between Meta and Manus, examining the agreement’s potentially “conspiratorial” nature. Some officials have expressed concern that these aggressive regulatory measures could send a chilling signal to the broader technology sector.

SpaceX moves employee share sale date from May to April

SpaceX has moved up the scheduled vesting date for employee shares from May to April, with some shares becoming eligible for sale as early as next week. This acceleration aims to address staff concerns regarding stock availability ahead of a potential IPO targeting a valuation of more than $2 trillion.

Capita won disastrous UK pensions gig after acing performance checks

Capita won a Β£239 million contract to manage the UK’s Civil Service Pension Scheme after successfully passing rigorous technical and commercial assessments. However, the subsequent service rollout has been plagued by portal glitches and a massive case backlog, leading to significant payment delays for thousands of retirees.

πŸ”¬ Science & Computing History

Simplified Fil-C Model

Fil-C is a memory-safe implementation of C/C++ that transforms unsafe code by pairing pointers with AllocationRecord metadata for automated bounds checking. The system employs an automated source code rewrite and utilizes a garbage collector to manage the lifecycle and tracking of these accompanying records.

The lost thesis of Dennis Ritchie

The long-lost thesis of Dennis Ritchie, the co-creator of the C programming language and Unix, has been rediscovered. This discovery provides new insights into the early academic work of one of the most influential figures in computer science history.

A history of teapots and UNIX

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Breakthrough takes big step toward safe, reversible male contraception

Researchers at Cornell University have demonstrated a proof-of-principle for a nonhormonal male contraceptive by using a small molecule inhibitor to temporarily disrupt sperm production in mice. The study showed that targeting a specific stage of meiosis is both safe and reversible, as the mice regained full fertility and produced healthy offspring after treatment ended.

All 12 moonwalkers had “lunar hay fever” from dust smelling like gunpowder

The abrasive nature of lunar dust caused all 12 Apollo astronauts to experience respiratory irritation known as “lunar hay fever.” To prepare for future missions, the European Space Agency is conducting research using simulated lunar soil to assess potential long-term health risks, such as damage to lung and brain cells.

Random musings: 80s hardware, cyberdecks

The author reflects on the loss of personality and diversity in modern computing compared to the unique hardware landscape of the 1980s. To recapture this sense of individuality, they intend to design and build a custom cyberdeck.

NASA Force

NASA Force is a new hiring initiative, developed in partnership with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, to recruit early- to mid-career technical talent for mission-critical roles. The program offers focused term appointments to support NASA’s priorities in space exploration, aeronautics, and advanced technology development.

Iceye Open Data

ICEYE provides an open data platform that allows users to browse and download SAR imagery without registration or a paywall. The company also offers specialized solutions for disaster intelligence, space-based ISR, and monitoring the impacts of natural catastrophes.

Isaac Asimov: The Last Question

In 2061, two technicians tending to the supercomputer Multivac debate whether Earth’s transition to solar energy provides a truly infinite power supply. While humanity has successfully harnessed solar power to replace coal and uranium, the men question if this resource will persist indefinitely or eventually deplete alongside the sun.

Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in the same photo (2010)

Researchers have identified a rare 1865 photograph capturing a young Theodore Roosevelt and his brother watching Abraham Lincoln’s funeral procession from a window. Additionally, the National Archives discovered the first known image of Lincoln at the Gettysburg podium shortly before his famous address.

Ada, Its Design, and the Language That Built the Languages

Created by the US Department of Defense in the late 1970s, the Ada programming language was designed to address fragmentation and interoperability issues among hundreds of existing languages. Although often criticized as verbose, Ada pioneered advanced safety and concurrency features that modern languages like Rust and Go are now independently adopting.

Human Accelerated Region 1

Human Accelerated Region 1 (HAR1) is a segment of chromosome 20 that has undergone significant evolutionary changes in humans. The region contains two overlapping long non-coding RNA genes and is primarily active during human brain development.

Global warming is making the strongest hurricanes stronger

Human-caused global warming is intensifying the world’s most powerful tropical cyclones by providing more heat energy from warming oceans. Recent studies show an increase in the frequency of Category 5 storms and higher wind speeds, which can lead to exponentially greater destruction.

Solitaire simulator for finding the best strategy: Current record is 8.590%

A Java-based Solitaire simulator has achieved a winning record of 8.590% by optimizing move sequencing through large-scale simulations. The software allows for repeatable gameplay testing using specific seeds to identify the most effective strategies.

NASA gets the ball rolling on its part in Europe’s jinxed Mars rover mission

NASA has approved the implementation of its contributions to the European Space Agency’s Rosalind Franklin Mars rover mission, providing critical hardware and launch services. The mission is currently targeted for a launch no earlier than late 2028 to search for evidence of past life on Mars.