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We're Tom and Ryan and we teamed up to build an algorithm with Rust and SIMD to exhaustively search for the longest line of sight on the planet. We can confirm that a previously speculated view between Pik Dankova in Kyrgyzstan and the Hindu Kush in China is indeed the longest, at 530km.

We go into all the details at https://alltheviews.world

And there's an interactive map with over 1 billion longest lines, covering the whole world at https://map.alltheviews.world Just click on any point and it'll load its longest line of sight.

Some of you may remember Tom's post[1] from a few months ago about how to efficiently pack visibility tiles for computing the entire planet. Well now it's done. The compute run itself took 100s of AMD Turin cores, 100s of GBs of RAM, a few TBs of disk and 2 days of constant runtime on multiple machines.

If you are interested in the technical details, Ryan and I have written extensively about the algorithm and pipeline that got us here:

* Tom's blog post: https://tombh.co.uk/longest-line-of-sight

* Ryan's technical breakdown: https://ryan.berge.rs/posts/total-viewshed-algorithm

This was a labor of love and we hope it inspires you both technically and naturally, to get you out seeing some of these vast views for yourselves!

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45485227

The article explores the art of designing roads in video games, highlighting the importance of creating realistic and visually appealing road systems that enhance the overall gaming experience. It discusses various techniques and considerations developers employ to craft convincing road networks that seamlessly integrate with the game world.

https://x.com/mitchellh/status/2020252149117313349

https://nitter.net/mitchellh/status/2020252149117313349

https://github.com/ghostty-org/ghostty/pull/10559

The article explores the ongoing debate between science and magic, examining the historical tensions and the potential for reconciliation between these two seemingly opposing worldviews. It delves into the evolution of scientific thinking and the persistent influence of magical beliefs, highlighting the complex interplay between the rational and the supernatural.

The article discusses the creation of a Cistercian font, a specialized font based on the handwritten script used by Cistercian monks in the Middle Ages. The font is designed to faithfully recreate the distinctive characters and layout of the original Cistercian manuscripts.

Odd Lots Books is an online bookstore offering a diverse selection of new and used books across various genres. The website provides a user-friendly platform for customers to browse, purchase, and receive their orders conveniently.

The article discusses the Matrix Element secure chat application, which aims to provide end-to-end encrypted communication and decentralized data storage, offering an alternative to centralized messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Signal.

I built a desktop Mars colony survival game called Underhill, in homage to Kim Stanley Robinson's Mars trilogy. Land on Mars, build solar panels and greenhouses, and try not to pass out during dust storms. Eventually your colonists split into factions: Greens who want to terraform and Reds who want to preserve Mars.

There’s Chill Mode for players that just want to build & hang, and Conflict Mode that introduces the Red v. Green factions. Reds sabotage, the terrain slowly turns green as the world gets more terraformed.

Feedback welcome, especially on performance and gameplay!

What are you working on? Any new ideas that you're thinking about?

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a significant Roman industrial hub along the banks of the River Wear in Durham, England. The site reveals evidence of large-scale production and trade activities, providing valuable insights into the economic and industrial development of the region during the Roman era.

The article discusses the discovery of malware hidden in Google search results, highlighting the ongoing threat of malicious actors exploiting popular online platforms to distribute harmful software to unsuspecting users.

This technical note discusses the design and construction of a simple and inexpensive receiver for the 13-centimeter amateur radio band. It provides details on the circuit design, components, and construction considerations for building this receiver.

The article discusses the availability of the RH1 firmware, a custom firmware for the Raspberry Pi 4 that aims to improve system performance and stability. The article provides details on the features and benefits of the RH1 firmware, as well as instructions on how to download and install it.

The article discusses the concept of adversarial reasoning, which involves understanding and anticipating the behavior and decision-making processes of adversaries in order to gain strategic advantages. It explores how this approach can be applied in various domains, including cybersecurity, military strategy, and business decision-making.

The article explores the concept of the 'Little Bool of Doom', a common programming pitfall where a boolean variable can lead to unintended consequences if not handled carefully. It discusses the importance of understanding boolean logic and provides practical advice on how to avoid this programming trap.

The article details the process of reverse engineering the PROM (Programmable Read-Only Memory) for the SGI O2 computer, providing insights into the system's inner workings and the author's technical journey in understanding and documenting this legacy hardware.

The article discusses GitHub Actions, a powerful workflow automation tool that allows developers to create custom software development workflows directly within their GitHub repositories. It covers the key features and benefits of GitHub Actions, making it easier for developers to build, test, and deploy their code.

This article discusses a vulnerability in Roundcube, a popular webmail client, where an attacker could bypass the remote image loading restrictions using SVG's `<feImage>` element. The vulnerability could potentially allow the attacker to read sensitive information from the victim's device.

This article explores the impact of AI on the ease and difficulty of various tasks, noting that AI can make simple tasks easier but may also increase the complexity of more challenging problems, thereby making the 'hard part harder'.

The article discusses setting up a BGP routing process on a FreeBSD system using the FRR (Frrouting) software, as well as configuring GRE tunnels and policy routing to manage network traffic.

Our team lives in Slack, but we don’t have access to the Slack MCP and couldn’t find anything out there that worked for us, so we coded our own agent-slack CLI

  * Can paste in Slack URLs
  * Token efficient
  * Zero-config (auto auth if you use Slack Desktop)

MIT License

The article discusses the challenges of software development in the era of microservices and distributed systems, highlighting the importance of observability and monitoring to ensure the reliability and resilience of complex applications.

Toma, a startup founded by Y Combinator, is seeking a Founding Engineer to help build AI-powered products. The role involves designing and developing cutting-edge AI systems that will drive the company's innovative solutions.

The article discusses a Windows version of the game Grand Theft Auto, titled 'Grand Theft Auto: Ready2Play.' It provides information about the game's features, availability, and compatibility.

The article discusses the history and evolution of the term 'Easter Egg' in the context of software and digital media, tracing its origins and providing examples of its usage across various platforms and industries.

This article compares the CCC (C Compilers Collection) and GCC (GNU Compiler Collection) compilers, discussing their features, performance, and suitability for different use cases. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of each compiler to help readers choose the most appropriate one for their software development needs.