Top stories

adocomplete about 8 hours ago

Claude Sonnet 4.6

https://www.anthropic.com/claude-sonnet-4-6-system-card [pdf]

https://x.com/claudeai/status/2023817132581208353 [video]

anthropic.com
855 754
Summary
chaseadam17 about 9 hours ago

Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

13 years ago, we launched Watsi.org with a Show HN [1].

For nearly a year, this community drove so much traffic that we couldn’t list patients fast enough. Then pg saw us on HN, wrote us our first big check, and accepted us as the first YC nonprofit (W13). The next few years were a whirlwind.

I was a young, naive founder with just enough experience to know I wanted Watsi to be more efficient, transparent, and innovative than most nonprofits. We spent 24/7 talking to users and coding. We did things that don’t scale. We tried our best to be walking, talking pg essays.

Over the years we learned that product/market fit is different for nonprofits. Not many people wake up and think, "I'd love to donate to a nonprofit today" with the same oomph that they think, "I'd love a coffee" or "I'd like to make more money."

No matter how much effort we put into fundraising, donations grew linearly, while requests for care grew exponentially. I felt caught in the middle. After investing everything I had, I eventually burned out and transitioned to the board.

I made a classic founder mistake and intertwined my self-worth with Watsi's success. I believed that if I could somehow help every patient, I was a good person, but if I let down some patients, which became inevitable, I was a bad person.

This was exacerbated by seeing our for-profit YC batch mates raise massive rounds. I felt like a failure for not scaling Watsi faster, but eventually we accepted reality and set Watsi on more of a slow, steady, and sustainable trajectory.

Now that I have perspective, I'm incredibly proud of what the org has accomplished and grateful to everyone who has done a tour of duty to support us. Watsi donors have donated over $20M to fund 33,241 surgeries, and we have a good shot of helping patients for a long time to come.

In a world of fast growth and fast crashes, here's a huge thank you to the HN users who have stuck by Watsi, or any other important cause, even when it's not on the front page. I believe it embodies the best of humanity. Thanks HN!

[1] http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4424081

421 54
BarraCUDA Open-source CUDA compiler targeting AMD GPUs
rurban about 5 hours ago

BarraCUDA Open-source CUDA compiler targeting AMD GPUs

github.com
135 47
moWerk about 7 hours ago

Show HN: AsteroidOS 2.0 – Nobody asked, we shipped anyway

Hi HN, After roughly 8 years of silently rolling 1.1 nightlies, we finally tagged a proper stable 2.0 release. We built this because wrist-sized Linux is genuinely fun to hack on, and because a handful of us think it's worth keeping capable hardware alive long after manufacturers move on. Smartwatches don't really get old — the silicon is basically the same as it was a decade ago. We just keep making it useful for us.

No usage stats, no tracking, no illusions of mass adoption. The only real signal we get is the occasional person who appears in our Matrix chat going "hey, it booted on my watch from 2014 and now it's usable again" — and that's plenty.

Privacy is non-negotiable: zero telemetry, no cloud, full local control. Longevity is the other half: we refuse to let good hardware become e-waste just because support ended. On the learning side, it's been one of the best playgrounds: instant feedback on your wrist makes QML/Qt, JavaScript watchfaces and embedded Linux feel tangible. The community is small and kind — perfect for people who want to learn open-source dev without gatekeeping.

Technically we're still pragmatic: libhybris + older kernels on most devices since it just works, but we've already mainlined rinato (Samsung Gear 2) and sparrow (ASUS ZenWatch 2) — rinato even boots with a usable UI. That's the direction we're pushing toward.

Repo: https://github.com/AsteroidOS Install images & docs: https://asteroidos.org 2.0 demo video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6FiQz0yACc Announcement post: https://asteroidos.org/news/2-0-release/

Questions, port requests, mentoring offers, criticism, weird ideas — all welcome. We do this because shaping a tiny, open wearable UX and infrastructure is oddly satisfying, and because Linux on the wrist still feels like a playground worth playing in.

Cheers, the AsteroidOS Team

asteroidos.org
270 33
Summary
bb88 about 2 hours ago

Rathbun's Operator

The article explores the experiences and perspectives of a computer programmer named Rathbun, who shares insights about their career journey, the challenges they've faced, and the importance of maintaining a healthy work-life balance in the technology industry.

crabby-rathbun.github.io
34 17
Summary
Advice, not control: the role of Remote Assistance in Waymo's operations
xnx about 1 hour ago

Advice, not control: the role of Remote Assistance in Waymo's operations

This article discusses the role of remote assistance in Waymo's self-driving vehicles, emphasizing that it is not a means for remote control but rather a way to provide support and guidance to the vehicle's onboard autonomy system when needed.

waymo.com
28 12
Summary
todsacerdoti about 9 hours ago

Gentoo on Codeberg

Gentoo has announced that they are transitioning their source code hosting from GitHub to Codeberg, a community-driven, non-profit platform. This move aims to provide a more privacy-focused and ethically aligned hosting solution for the Gentoo project.

gentoo.org
251 80
Summary
todsacerdoti about 9 hours ago

Using go fix to modernize Go code

The article discusses the gofix tool, which is a command-line tool that can automatically update Go code to use the latest language features and standard library changes. It provides details on how to use gofix, its capabilities, and the types of changes it can make to improve the maintainability and modernization of Go codebases.

go.dev
279 63
Summary
I swear the UFO is coming any minute
Ariarule about 4 hours ago

I swear the UFO is coming any minute

The article explores the enduring fascination with unidentified flying objects (UFOs) and the persistent claims of their imminent arrival, despite a lack of conclusive evidence. It examines the psychology behind this phenomenon and the factors that contribute to the perpetuation of UFO sightings and predictions.

experimental-history.com
86 16
Summary
aloknnikhil about 1 hour ago

Google Public CA is down

Google's Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) experienced an incident, resulting in a temporary disruption of services. The issue was quickly identified and resolved, ensuring the continued reliability of Google's PKI services.

status.pki.goog
122 57
Summary
So you want to build a tunnel
crescit_eundo about 9 hours ago

So you want to build a tunnel

The article discusses the process of building a tunnel, including the various challenges and considerations involved, such as geological surveys, regulatory approvals, construction methods, and project management. It provides a comprehensive overview of the key steps and factors that must be taken into account when undertaking a tunnel-building project.

practical.engineering
161 66
Summary
Philpax about 9 hours ago

Async/Await on the GPU

The article discusses the implementation of async/await functionality on the GPU, exploring the challenges and potential benefits of this approach. It highlights how this technology can improve performance and efficiency in GPU-accelerated applications.

vectorware.com
152 46
Summary
GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple
to3k about 16 hours ago

GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple

GrapheneOS is a privacy and security-focused Android operating system that aims to provide a more secure and private alternative to mainstream Android versions. It emphasizes strong security measures, app sandboxing, and user privacy, making it a compelling choice for those concerned about digital privacy and security.

blog.tomaszdunia.pl
1,071 762
Summary
Physicists Make Electrons Flow Like Water
rbanffy 4 days ago

Physicists Make Electrons Flow Like Water

Physicists have discovered a new state of matter where electrons flow like a fluid, exhibiting properties similar to water or other liquids. This finding provides insights into the complex behavior of electrons in certain materials and could have implications for the development of new electronic devices.

quantamagazine.org
74 8
Summary
Structured AI (YC F25) Is Hiring
issygreenslade about 5 hours ago

Structured AI (YC F25) Is Hiring

Structured AI, a YC-backed startup, is seeking a GTM (Go-To-Market) Intern to help with customer acquisition, marketing, and product development. The internship offers hands-on experience in a fast-paced startup environment and the opportunity to contribute to the company's growth.

ycombinator.com
1 0
Summary
tempestn about 2 hours ago

Tesla Robotaxis Reportedly Crashing at a Rate That's 4x Higher Than Humans

According to reports, Tesla's self-driving Robotaxis are crashing at a rate that is four times higher than human-driven vehicles, raising concerns about the safety and reliability of the company's autonomous driving technology.

gizmodo.com
33 10
Summary
Show HN: Pg-typesafe – Strongly typed queries for PostgreSQL and TypeScript
n_e about 8 hours ago

Show HN: Pg-typesafe – Strongly typed queries for PostgreSQL and TypeScript

Throughout my career, I tried many tools to query PostgreSQL, and in the end, concluded that for what I do, the simplest is almost always the best: raw SQL queries.

Until now, I typed the results manually and relied on tests to catch problems. While this is OK in e.g., GoLang, it is quite annoying in TypeScript. First, because of the more powerful type system (it's easier to guess that updated_at is a date than it is to guess whether it's nullable or not), second, because of idiosyncrasies (INT4s are deserialised as JS numbers, but INT8s are deserialised as strings).

So I wrote pg-typesafe, with the goal of it being the less burdensome: you call queries exactly the same way as you would call node-pg, and they are fully typed.

It's very new, but I'm already using it in a large-ish project, where it found several bugs and footguns, and also allowed me to remove many manual type definitions.

github.com
43 18
Summary
cdegroot about 10 hours ago

Show HN: I wrote a technical history book on Lisp

The book page links to a blog post that explains how I got about it (and has a link to sample content), but the TL&DR is that I could not find a lot of books that were on "our" history _and_ were larded with technical details. So I set about writing one, and some five years later I'm happy to share the result. I think it's one of the few "computer history" books that has tons of code, but correct me if I'm wrong (I wrote this both to tell a story and to learn :-)).

My favorite languages are Smalltalk and Lisp, but as an Emacs user, I've been using the latter for much longer and for my current projects, Common Lisp is a better fit, so I call myself "a Lisp-er" these days. If people like what I did, I do have plans to write some more (but probably only after I retire, writing next to a full-time job is heard). Maybe on Smalltalk, maybe on computer networks - two topics close to my heart.

And a shout-out to Dick Gabriel, he contributed some great personal memories about the man who started it all, John McCarthy.

berksoft.ca
157 52
Summary
Assistant to the Regional Manager
NaOH 4 days ago

Assistant to the Regional Manager

The article chronicles the author's journey from a small-town job to a corporate position, highlighting the challenges and lessons learned along the way. It offers insights into navigating workplace politics and personal growth while pursuing career ambitions.

smallpotatoes.paulbloom.net
53 21
Summary
kewonit about 11 hours ago

I converted 2D conventional flight tracking into 3D

The article provides a comprehensive weather forecast for the city of SFO, including detailed information on temperature, precipitation, wind, and other meteorological conditions for the next several days.

aeris.edbn.me
208 42
Summary
acnops about 16 hours ago

Is Show HN dead? No, but it's drowning

The article discusses the demise of Show HN, a popular feature on Hacker News that allowed users to showcase their projects. It explores the reasons behind its decline, including changes in the platform's priorities and the challenges faced by smaller creators in gaining visibility.

arthurcnops.blog
396 339
Summary
Show HN: Box of Rain - Auto-Layouted ASCII Diagrams
switz 3 days ago

Show HN: Box of Rain - Auto-Layouted ASCII Diagrams

Box of Rain is an open-source project that provides a simple, flexible, and extensible system for managing user settings and configurations across different applications and platforms. It aims to simplify the process of managing user preferences and settings, making it easier for developers to build applications with customizable user experiences.

github.com
13 4
Summary
hentrep about 9 hours ago

HackMyClaw

hackmyclaw.com
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samclemens 5 days ago

The Godless Students of London University

The article discusses the establishment of the University of London in the early 19th century, which was seen as a progressive and secular institution in contrast to the religious orientation of Oxford and Cambridge. It highlights the debates and controversies surrounding the new university's curriculum and policies, which aimed to provide education without the requirement of religious tests or affiliation.

historytoday.com
4 0
Summary
'My Words Are Like an Uncontrollable Dog': On Life with Nonfluent Aphasia
anarbadalov about 3 hours ago

'My Words Are Like an Uncontrollable Dog': On Life with Nonfluent Aphasia

The article explores the experience of living with nonfluent aphasia, a language disorder that affects a person's ability to produce spoken language. It discusses the challenges and strategies of communicating with this condition, highlighting the resilience and creativity of individuals living with aphasia.

thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
16 2
Summary
exvi 2 days ago

Old School Telecine, circa 1980s (2017)

The article discusses the history and technical aspects of the old-school telecine system used in the 1980s for transferring film to video. It provides details on the equipment and process involved in this analog video transfer method from the pre-digital era.

liftgammagain.com
5 2
Summary
luu 2 days ago

Contra "Grandmaster-level chess without search" (2024)

The article discusses the growing phenomenon of 'searchless browsing', where users increasingly rely on algorithmic recommendations and personalized feeds rather than direct search queries to discover and consume content online. It explores the implications of this trend for the future of search and content discovery.

cosmo.tardis.ac
27 1
Summary
Vaslo about 1 hour ago

YouTube Is Down

YouTube users are reporting widespread outages, with users unable to access the platform or experiencing issues with playback and loading. The outage appears to be affecting users globally.

downdetector.com
91 26
Summary
thunderbong about 8 hours ago

Discord Rival Gets Overwhelmed by Exodus of Players Fleeing Age-Verification

The article discusses the rise of TeamSpeak, a voice chat app that is gaining popularity as a Discord alternative, particularly due to its age verification feature which allows for stricter moderation of online communities.

kotaku.com
198 103
Summary
gessha about 9 hours ago

Climbing Mount Fuji visualized through milestone stamps

fuji.halfof8.com
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