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Automated summaries of top Hacker News stories written by a large language model.
ASCII Theater
ASCII Theater is a unique website that allows users to stream free text-based movies in their terminal. To start streaming, users need to open their terminal application and paste a specific code provided on the website. Today's screening is Barbie PG-13, and the movie will start playing once the code is entered. To stop playing, users can simply close the terminal application or press "q". The website provides step-by-step guides for both Windows and Mac users on how to access the ASCII Theater.
Music Labels 'Gramophone' Copyright Lawsuit Comes Too Late, Internet Archive Say
The Internet Archive, a non-profit organization known for its archiving projects, is facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit from major music labels including Capitol, Sony, and UMG. The labels are suing the Internet Archive for copyright infringement over its 'Great 78 Project,' which aims to preserve and digitize obsolete gramophone records. The Internet Archive argues that the project falls under fair use and is important for preserving cultural history. Additionally, the Internet Archive has filed a motion to dismiss, claiming that the labels failed to take timely action following a cease and desist letter. The lawsuit will determine whether the project can continue under U.S. copyright law.
Boeing has withdrawn its request for an exemption on the 737-MAX
Boeing has withdrawn its request for an exemption on the 737-MAX, specifically relating to the engine inlet de-icing system on the 737-7 variant. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) acknowledged a potentially catastrophic flaw in the system, but Boeing argued that the chances of failure were unlikely and that providing pilots with a warning to turn off the system in certain circumstances would be sufficient. However, the FAA sent out a bulletin stating that leaving the engine anti-ice system on for more than five minutes could result in engine detachment and cabin penetration. The withdrawal of the exemption request means that Boeing must find a solution and get it certified before launching the 737-7 into passenger service.
For 26 Years, Toforest Johnson Has Been on Death Row for Crime He Did Not Commit
Toforest Johnson has spent the past 26 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. This shocking case highlights the flaws in our justice system and the devastating consequences of wrongful convictions. Despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence, Johnson has been denied a fair trial and continues to fight for justice. The controversy lies in the fact that the district attorney has acknowledged the need for a new trial, yet the courts have failed to act accordingly. This case serves as a reminder of the importance of upholding the principles of justice and ensuring that innocent individuals are not unjustly punished.
Elon Musk cannot keep Tesla pay package worth more than $55B, judge rules
A Delaware judge has ruled that Elon Musk is not entitled to a compensation package awarded by Tesla's board of directors that could have been worth over $55 billion. The ruling comes after a shareholder lawsuit accused Musk and the directors of breaching their duties to the company and unjustly enriching Musk. The shareholder's lawyers argued that the compensation package should be voided because it was the result of sham negotiations and misleading disclosures. Defense attorneys argued that the pay plan was fairly negotiated and approved by shareholders. The judge determined that the process leading to the approval of Musk's compensation plan was flawed and ordered it to be rescinded. The ruling is seen as unprecedented and significant.
Intel's Humbling
The article discusses Intel's struggles and challenges under the leadership of various CEOs, including Brian Krzanich and current CEO Pat Gelsinger. It highlights Intel's failure to invest in the future and adapt to market changes, leading to a decline in stock prices. However, Gelsinger is now working to transform Intel into a foundry that serves external customers and regain competitiveness in the semiconductor industry. The article also mentions Intel's progress in developing advanced processes, such as the 18A process, which incorporates gate-all-around and backside power delivery. Additionally, Intel has formed a partnership with United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) to expand its chip manufacturing business. (Summary based on 54% of story text.)
Malware campaign using Ars Technica had novel attack to fly under the radar
Security firm Mandiant has reported a malware campaign that used a unique attack chain to avoid detection. The campaign involved uploading a benign image of a pizza to a third-party website and linking it to a URL on the "about" page of a registered user on Ars Technica. The URL contained a string of characters that appeared random but were actually a payload. The campaign also targeted Vimeo, where a benign video with a malicious string in the description was uploaded. The malware used a technique called Base 64 encoding to generate the strings. Mandiant researchers described the attack as novel and hard to detect.
Judge strikes down Elon Musk's multi-billion-dollar pay package
A Delaware state court judge has invalidated the 2018 pay package that made Elon Musk one of the wealthiest individuals globally. The court ruled that Musk and the Tesla board failed to prove that the compensation plan was fair. The stock options Musk received as part of the package are currently worth $51 billion. The case was argued in Delaware, where Tesla is incorporated. Shareholders who brought the suit claimed that the stock options were excessive and that the board members were not independent enough to protect shareholders' interests. Musk and the Tesla board argued that the pay package was approved by a shareholder vote and that the company's market value had significantly increased since then. The decision can be appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court.
Judge rules Tesla pay package that made Elon Musk the richest person unfair
A Delaware judge has ruled that Elon Musk's 2018 compensation package, which helped him become the world's richest person, was unfair and should be undone. The $56 billion package granted Musk stock options in Tesla as it achieved specific performance targets. Shareholders sued Musk, claiming that the process leading to the package was improper. The judge determined that the approval process was flawed, citing Musk's close ties with individuals representing the company. Musk responded to the ruling on social media, advising against incorporating companies in Delaware. The judge stated that Tesla needed to prove the fairness of its compensation package, but failed to do so.
Foundations – modular Rust library, designed for prod-grade distributed systems
Foundations is an open-source modular Rust library developed by Cloudflare for building distributed, production-grade systems. It aims to simplify the complexities of deploying services on remote servers by providing solutions for observability, configuration, security, and more. The library offers features such as telemetry (logging, tracing, and metrics), simplified setup and configuration, and memory profiling. It also includes a built-in telemetry server endpoint for handling health checks, metric collection, and memory profiling requests. Foundations is designed to be modular and user-friendly, allowing teams to adopt individual components at their own pace. (Summary based on 64% of story text.)
Show HN: Sankofa – Browser extension to semantically search your history
Sankofa is a browser extension developed by Vectara that allows users to semantically search their browsing history. This innovative tool was created by Dr. Amr Awadallah, the co-founder and CEO of Vectara. Dr. Awadallah has an impressive background, having previously served as the VP of Developer Relations for Google Cloud and co-founded Cloudera, a company focused on big data analytics. Sankofa aims to make it easier for users to find specific information from their browsing history by using semantic search techniques. This extension is a unique and clever solution to a common problem faced by internet users.
Nearly six million US women became pregnant from rape during lifetime
According to research conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 6 million women in the United States have become pregnant as a result of rape, sexual coercion, or both. This means that approximately 1 in 20 American women have experienced a pregnancy from sexual violence during their lifetime. The study also found that a significant number of these victims also reported sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and injuries. The researchers emphasize the need for a comprehensive public health approach to prevent sexual violence and ensure access to services for survivors. Some evidence-based prevention strategies include strengthening economic opportunities, promoting healthy relationships, and screening for violence exposure during healthcare encounters.
Judge voids Elon Musk's $50B compensation package in Tesla
A Delaware judge has voided Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package as CEO of Tesla, ruling that the company's board of directors failed to ensure that the compensation plan was fair. The decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by a shareholder in the electric automaker. Tesla's share price dropped about 3% in after-hours trading following the news. Musk's pay package, granted in 2018, made him a centi-billionaire and the richest person on the planet. The judge has ordered the parties to confer on a form of final order to bring the matter to a conclusion. Musk tweeted, "Never incorporate your company in the state of Delaware."
Elon Musk's $55B Tesla Pay Package Voided by Judge
A judge has ruled that Elon Musk's $55 billion pay package from Tesla is void. The package was approved by shareholders in 2018 and was tied to ambitious performance targets for the company. However, a shareholder lawsuit claimed that the targets were unattainable and that Musk's compensation was excessive. The judge agreed, stating that the package was "unreasonably generous" and did not align with the best interests of Tesla and its shareholders. This ruling is a blow to Musk, who has already faced controversy over his compensation in the past.
Ask HN: What is a 2024-2030 moat for AI
The author of this post on news.ycombinator.com is seeking advice on what could be a strong competitive advantage, or "moat," for AI companies in the next 6 years, particularly in the Generative AI space. They mention examples such as AI forecasting, virtual assistants, and computer vision. Looking ahead to 2024-2030, the author is interested in identifying moats that can benefit small teams of 1-3 people.
Lumiere: A Space-Time Diffusion Model for Video Generation
Lumiere is a groundbreaking space-time diffusion model for video generation. This model combines the power of diffusion models with the concept of space-time transformations to generate realistic and diverse videos. Unlike traditional video generation methods that rely on frame-by-frame generation, Lumiere generates videos by modeling the dynamics of the entire video sequence. This allows for more coherent and natural-looking videos. The model is trained on a large dataset of videos and can generate high-quality videos with various styles and themes. Lumiere has the potential to revolutionize the field of video generation and open up new possibilities for creative applications.
The Youth Mental Health Crisis Is International Part 4: Europe
The fourth post in a series on the international youth mental health crisis explores the situation in Europe. The post highlights a surprising pattern within Europe that sheds light on the causes of the crisis. The post acknowledges that there are skeptics who argue against the existence of an international crisis, but the author argues that the evidence supports the presence of a crisis, particularly for girls. The post also examines the impact of wealth, individualism, and religiosity on mental health trends in Europe. The findings show that girls in wealthier and more individualistic countries experienced a significant increase in psychological distress after 2010. Additionally, a decline in religious life was found to be a significant factor in regional variation in youth mental health. (Summary based on 37% of story text.)
Court of Chancery Opinion: Richard Tornetta vs. Elon Musk
In this Court of Chancery opinion, the plaintiff, Richard Tornetta, alleges that Tesla's directors breached their fiduciary duties by awarding Elon Musk a performance-based equity-compensation plan. The plan offers Musk the opportunity to secure 12 tranches of options, each representing 1% of Tesla's outstanding shares. The plan is the largest potential compensation opportunity ever observed in public markets. The court finds that the compensation plan is subject to review under the entire fairness standard and that the defendants failed to prove its fairness. The court also determines that Musk controlled Tesla and that the stockholder vote on the plan was not fully informed. (Summary based on 2% of story text.)
Judge Voids Musk's $56B Tesla Pay, Citing 'Deeply Flawed' Award Process
A judge has voided the $56 billion pay package awarded to Elon Musk by Tesla's board, stating that the award process was "deeply flawed." Tesla shareholders sued to void the compensation plan, claiming it breached the board's fiduciary duty. The judge concluded that the board failed to prove the plan was fair and that there was no well-functioning committee of independent directors. The ruling caused Tesla shares to fall in after-hours trading. Musk responded by posting a statement on his social network, X, advising against incorporating a company in Delaware. The proposed pay package was nearly four times Tesla's company-wide earnings for the last full year.
USCIS Announces Strengthened Integrity Measures for H-1B Program
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has announced new measures to strengthen the integrity of the H-1B program and reduce the potential for fraud. These measures include a beneficiary-centric selection process for registrations, requiring valid passport information for each beneficiary, and clarifying requirements for employment start dates. USCIS also announced the launch of an online filing option for H-1B petitions. The new measures aim to make the H-1B selection process more equitable and streamline application processes. The USCIS Director, Ur M. Jaddou, stated that these improvements will bolster integrity and curtail fraud. The initial registration period for the FY 2025 H-1B cap will open on March 6, 2024.
Show HN: Privacy-first cross platform spreadsheet pipeline app
Tablesmith is a privacy-first cross platform spreadsheet pipeline app that offers a unique and clever solution for streamlining workflows. With its reusable and shareable automated pipeline feature, users can create customized pipelines for data processing, analysis, and reporting. This eliminates the need for manual and repetitive tasks, allowing users to focus on more important matters. Tablesmith prioritizes privacy, ensuring that sensitive data is protected throughout the entire process. It's a game-changer for those looking to increase efficiency and simplicity in their work.
Jetbrains still shoehorning in AI upsell, swept user concerns under the rug
The article discusses the controversy surrounding Jetbrains and their use of AI upsell tactics. Users have expressed concerns about the company's push to upsell AI features, claiming that it is being forced upon them and not meeting their needs. Jetbrains has been accused of ignoring these concerns and sweeping them under the rug. The article highlights the frustration of users who feel that their feedback is being disregarded. It also mentions that Jetbrains' approach to upselling AI features is unique and surprising, as it goes against the expectations of their user base.
Study finds Montanans are increasingly OK with wolves
According to a study conducted by the University of Montana's Human Dimensions Lab and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Montanans are becoming more tolerant of wolves. The study, which was conducted in 2012, 2017, and 2023, surveyed 10,000 Montana residents in four categories: the general population, landowners with more than 160 acres of land, wolf hunting license holders, and deer and elk license holders. The results showed that in 2023, 74% of the general population said they were "tolerant" or "very tolerant" of wolves, compared to 50% in 2017 and 41% in 2012. The study also found that a majority of hunters and landowners were tolerant of wolf hunting and trapping. The study highlights the complex views and values people have towards wolves and the importance of understanding stakeholders' attitudes towards wildlife management.
Proton, a fast and lightweight alternative to Apache Flink
Proton is a fast and lightweight streaming SQL engine that serves as an alternative to Apache Flink. It is powered by ClickHouse and allows developers to solve streaming data processing, routing, and analytics challenges from sources like Apache Kafka and Redpanda. Proton can be used to send aggregated data to downstream systems. The project differentiates itself by providing powerful streaming SQL functionalities, optimized performance through SIMD, and being lightweight with no JVM or other dependencies. It is also compatible with Kafka and Redpanda, and extends the functionality of ClickHouse with stream processing. The project offers documentation, a demo video, deployment options, integrations with other systems, and encourages contributions from the community.
The business of check cashing
The article discusses the business of check cashing and its role in the alternative financial world. Check cashing services help individuals at the socioeconomic margins turn payroll and other checks into cash in exchange for a fee. The existence of this industry has been controversial for many years. The article explains the process of check presentment and how it requires an extension of credit from the bank. It also explores the reasons why individuals may choose to use check cashing services instead of traditional banking. The article highlights the different fees associated with cashing different types of checks and provides insight into the endorsement process. Overall, the article provides an informative overview of the check cashing industry and its implications. (Summary based on 41% of story text.)
Agile development is fading in popularity at large enterprises
Agile development methodology, which aims to deliver software faster through iterative and collaborative processes, is facing challenges in large enterprises. Factors such as developer burnout, changing work environments, and the rise of AI are contributing to the fading popularity of agile. While smaller organizations still find value in agile, medium-sized and larger companies are less satisfied and more likely to adopt a hybrid approach that incorporates multiple frameworks. A survey shows that 69% of tech workers use agile, but satisfaction has dropped from 72% to 59% due to resistance to change, lack of leadership participation, and a lack of understanding of agile's benefits. Despite the challenges, agile still offers significant benefits when implemented successfully.
Russian "Enigma" of the XXI Century: Telegram's Connection to the Kremlin
The article discusses the popularity of the messaging app Telegram in Ukraine and raises concerns about its ties to the Kremlin. It draws parallels between the encryption used by the Nazis during World War II and the closed MTProto encryption protocol used by Telegram, suggesting that the Russian government may have access to users' data. The article also highlights the financial ties between Telegram and Russian investors, including individuals under sanctions. It mentions the use of Russian companies for Telegram's network traffic and raises concerns about external interference in Telegram channels in the combat zone. The article concludes by questioning the safety and national security implications of using a Russian information product during a war.
NASA's Webb Depicts Staggering Structure in 19 Nearby Spiral Galaxies
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has released highly detailed images of 19 nearby spiral galaxies as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) program. These images, captured in near- and mid-infrared light, provide new insights into the structure and star formation cycle of these galaxies. The images show clearly defined spiral arms filled with stars, as well as active supermassive black holes and glowing dust. The data collected by Webb adds to the existing data from other telescopes and will support further research on star formation and galaxy evolution.
Learning Universal Predictors
The paper discusses the concept of learning universal predictors, which are algorithms that can predict the future behavior of any computable sequence. The authors propose a new framework for designing such predictors, called the "Prediction Game," which involves a game between the predictor and an adversary. The goal is to design a predictor that can consistently outperform the adversary in predicting the next element of a sequence. The authors provide theoretical analysis and experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of their approach. This research has potential applications in various fields, including artificial intelligence and data analysis.
Paying users/potential to talk to you?
The author of this post on news.ycombinator.com is seeking advice from fellow users about the value of paying potential users to have conversations. They acknowledge the importance of talking to users to gain insights into the problem space and inform product development. However, they express frustration in finding a large enough pool of potential users to engage with. The author proposes the idea of offering a $50 consulting fee for a 30-minute Zoom call as a means to incentivize potential users to participate in these conversations. The controversy lies in whether paying users for their time and insights is a worthwhile investment.