The Trump administration pressured Apple CEO Tim Cook to use Intel’s chip fabs, securing a tariff exemption after Apple pledged billions in U.S. investment. Activist investor Elliott built a large stake in CCC Intelligent Solutions, a $3.5B car insurance software provider exploring a sale. Irish datacenters now consume 23% of the country’s electricity, with consumption rising 10% despite grid restrictions. A U.S.-backed medical glove factory in Virginia, funded with $123M, has failed after four years, highlighting reshoring challenges. Meanwhile, security experts warn that storing JWTs in localStorage leaves tokens vulnerable to XSS theft; httpOnly cookies are recommended instead.
🛠️ Software Development & Tools
Madame Semver Will See You Now
A developer visits Madame Semver, who uses tarot-like cards and a crystal ball to predict a series of open-source maintenance headaches, including a costly pull request, a mistaken package publication, security reports conflating bugs with documented behavior, and a helpful contributor who eventually asks for repository keys. The fortune also foretells future forks, a deprecated function being recommended for years, and automated enthusiasm. The developer pays the minimum fee and is told to return for the next major version.
- Madame Semver Will See You Now — nesbitt.io
I converted an Android app to a webpage
The author criticizes the Travelbound app for forcing users to install it to view itinerary details, which could have been a simple webpage, and for including tracking and advertisements. They reverse-engineered the app’s API to extract JSON data and built a Ruby script that generates an accessible HTML page, bypassing the app’s unwanted features.
- I converted an Android app to a webpage — danq.me
Your code is fast – if you’re lucky
Modern compilers, particularly Clang, can optimize loops using branch-free instructions when the appropriate programming style is applied. The article presents a branchless Quicksort implementation in a header file, which uses sorting networks for small subarrays (up to 12 elements) to eliminate branches.
- Your code is fast – if you’re lucky — tiki.li
What’s the best way to do authentication in modern applications
Storing authentication tokens like JWTs in localStorage is risky because any JavaScript, including from third-party scripts or XSS attacks, can access and steal them. The article advocates for more secure alternatives, such as httpOnly cookies, to prevent token theft from XSS vulnerabilities.
I’ve been building this alone for months. Roast it before I lose any more time
A developer shared a project they built alone for months on the PeakD platform, asking the community to critique it before they invest further time. The post includes platform navigation elements but no detailed description of the project itself.
FreeCAD in the Browser
FreeCAD, a large parametric 3D CAD application, has been ported to run in a browser via WebAssembly using Qt for WebAssembly with JSPI, completing the port in roughly four days. The resulting single 196 MB module includes OCCT, Coin3D, CPython, PySide6, and other dependencies, requiring a Chromium-based browser (Chrome/Edge 137+) and an initial ~96 MB compressed download that is cached afterward.
- FreeCAD in the Browser — magik.net
💼 Tech Business & Policy
Trump admin heavy-handedly aided Intel pushing local expansion and pressuring Apple to use its fabs
The Trump administration pressured Apple CEO Tim Cook to use Intel’s manufacturing plants for chip production, part of a broader intervention to support the struggling chipmaker. Apple secured a tariff exemption after pledging billions in U.S. investment, while officials also pushed Intel to expand domestic capacity.
- Trump admin heavy-handedly aided Intel pushing local expansion and pressuring Apple to use its fabs — wsj.com
Activist investor Elliott builds large stake in CCC, which is exploring sale; market cap ~$3.5B
Elliott Investment Management has acquired a significant stake in CCC Intelligent Solutions Holdings, a car insurance software provider with a market cap of approximately $3.5 billion that is exploring a potential sale. The investment is being led by Elliott’s private equity division, though the exact size of the stake remains undisclosed.
- Activist investor Elliott builds large stake in CCC, which is exploring sale; market cap ~$3.5B — bloomberg.com
⚡ Infrastructure & Networking
Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country’s electricity
Irish datacenters now consume 23% of the country’s electricity, with consumption rising another 10% despite restrictions on most new grid connections around Dublin.
- Irish datacenters now guzzle 23% of the country’s electricity — theregister.com
Networking and the Internet, from First Principles
The internet enables instant global communication by converting data into radio waves, electrical pulses, and light signals through undersea cables, with no central control or single company owning the infrastructure. It relies on a patchwork of protocols like packet switching and TCP, each developed over decades to solve specific problems, creating a system that is reliable despite its decentralized, uncoordinated nature.
- Networking and the Internet, from First Principles — fazamhd.com
💊 Health & Biotech
Almost $1B Later, the US Still Can’t Make a Medical Glove
A US government-backed factory in Virginia, funded with $123 million to produce a key ingredient for medical gloves, has failed after more than four years and may soon be sold for parts. The project aimed to revive domestic manufacturing of nitrile gloves but underscores the challenges of reshoring production.
- Almost $1B Later, the US Still Can’t Make a Medical Glove — bloomberg.com
Frog bacterium wiped out cancer tumors in mice with a single dose
A single intravenous dose of Ewingella americana, a bacterium from Japanese tree frog intestines, completely eliminated colorectal tumors in mice by directly attacking cancer cells and stimulating an immune response. The bacteria accumulated specifically in tumors due to low-oxygen conditions and were rapidly cleared from healthy tissues. The findings, published in Gut Microbes, provide a proof of concept for a new bacterial cancer therapy, though results are limited to mice.
- Frog bacterium wiped out cancer tumors in mice with a single dose — sciencedaily.com
🕰️ Retro & History
The vintage beauty of Soviet control rooms (2018)
A collection of vintage Soviet control rooms, including the Chernobyl Reactor 4 control room, showcases the aesthetic of large buttons and analog dials from the era before widespread computer use. The photos highlight the nostalgic, pre-digital design of these control panels.
- The vintage beauty of Soviet control rooms (2018) — designyoutrust.com