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Fuyu-8B: A multimodal architecture for AI agents
We’re open-sourcing Fuyu-8B - a small version of the multimodal model that powers our product.
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Retool Database
Get a free Postgres DB with the speed + convenience of a spreadsheet. No setup required. Get started today.
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Matrices and Graph
The single most undervalued fact of linear algebra: matrices are graphs, and graphs are matrices
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Theseus DHT Protocol (2018)
A distributed hash table with unusually strong security properties
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RFC 9420 a.k.a. Messaging Layer Security
Messaging Layer Security has been published. MLS is the first standardized, fully specified, freely accessible end-to-end encryption protocol.
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Fantastic Learning Resources
People sometimes ask me: Alex, how do I learn X?. This article is a compilation of advice I usually give. This is things that worked for me rather than the most awesome things on earth. I do consider every item on the list to be fantastic though, and I am forever grateful to people putting these resources together.
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Setenv Is Not Thread Safe and C Doesn't Want to Fix It
You can't safely use the C setenv() or unsetenv() functions in a program that uses threads. Those functions modify global state, and can cause other threads calling getenv() to crash. This also causes crashes in other languages that use those C standard library functions, such as Go's os.Setenv ( Go issue ) and Rust's…
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I don’t want a new phone, but I’m probably buying one
I don’t want a new phone, but I’m probably buying one.
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Update to Kagi Search Pricing
UPDATE: This blog post is old and does not reflect current plans or pricing. You can find current plans and prices here . --- It has been a while since our last update, and we have...
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What's wrong with enterprise Linux
An examination of what is wrong with the Enterprise Linux model and a recommendation for a middle ground.
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Deploying key transparency at WhatsApp
WhatsApp has launched a new cryptographic security feature to automatically verify a secured connection based on key transparency. The feature requires no additional actions or steps from users an…
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The Curse of Docker
I'm heading to Las Vegas for re:invent soon, perhaps the most boring type of industry extravaganza there could be. In that spirit, I thought I would write something quick and oddly professional: I'm going to complain about Docker.
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The Placeholder Girlfriend
It became real when I saw the list. When I saw the rubric.
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Tor is not just for anonymity (2022)
Tech, Pets, and Vettes
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Farms that create habitat key to food security and biodiversity
Diversified farming is an important complement to forest protections for reversing tropical biodiversity declines.
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Cloudflare mitigates record-breaking 71M request-per-second DDoS attack
This was a weekend of record-breaking DDoS attacks. Over the weekend, Cloudflare detected and mitigated dozens of hyper-volumetric DDoS attacks. The majority of attacks peaked in the ballpark of 50-70 million requests per second (rps) with the largest exceeding 71 million rps
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Hurl, a terrible (but cute) idea for a language
Sometimes we have ideas that are bad but demand to enter reality. A few months ago, while chatting with a friend, we toyed around with the idea of a language where the only control flow you get is error handling. This idea embedded itself in my brain and wouldn't let me go, so I kept just talking about it until two…
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TKey is a RISC-V computer in a USB-C case, that can run security applications
Introduction # The Tillitis TKey is a small computer in a USB stick form factor that can run small device applications that are loaded onto it. The purpose of the TKey is to be a secure environment for applications that provide some kind of security function. Some examples of such security functions are: Time-based…
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The truth is always made of details
If you were instructed to draw a leaf, you might draw a green, vaguely eye-shaped thing with a stem. But when you study a real leaf, say an elm leaf, it’s got much more g...
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Go 1.20 Cryptography
A lot of new cryptography is landing in Go 1.20, including the new crypto/ecdh package and math/big-less RSA and ECDSA backends!
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Scammers can exploit email forwarding flaws to impersonate high-profile domains
Sending an email with a forged address is easier than previously thought, due to flaws in the process that allows email forwarding, according to a research team led by computer scientists at the University of California San Diego.
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My Problem with the Four-Document Model
Two universal facts about user documentation: Documentation is really important. We are really bad at writing it. We don’t have good theories on what makes for useful documentation. That is except for the four document model, or Diátaxis.1 I’m glad that people use it. I’m also a little frustrated that people use it…
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Celebrating the first NES Tetris game crash
Blue Scuti made history, breaking NES Tetris in a way that was previously only theoretical. Here is a glimpse into the what, who, and how.
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CLI tools for working with ChatGPT and other LLMs
I’ve been building out a small suite of command-line tools for working with ChatGPT, GPT-4 and potentially other language models in the future. The three tools I’ve built so far …
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Data diffs: Algorithms for explaining what changed in a dataset (2022)
tl;dr: part 1 explains what an explanation algorithm is, and part 2 describes an open source SQL data differ.
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Microsoft consumes Activision; and a plea
The gavel has fallen; the cup has been stomped; pick your metaphor. Microsoft has succeeded in its almost-two-year quest to gobble up Activision. The peculiar side effect in my corner of the world is that Microsoft now owns the dusty remains ...
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The beauty of finished software
Let me introduce you to WordStar 4.0, a popular word processor from the early 80s. WordStar 4.0 As old as it seems, George R.R. Martin used it to write “A Song of Ice and Fire”. Why would someone use such an old piece of software to write over 5,000 pages? I love how he puts it: It does everything I want a word…
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Two types of software engineers
One assumes it's easy because it's a non-technical problem, the other assumes that's why it's hard