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C++: Zero-cost static initialization

Zero-cost statics in C++ "Усердие все превозмогает!" К. Прутков, Мысли и афоризмы, I, 84 In C and C++ a static variable can be defined in a function scope: int foo() { static int counter = 1; printf("foo() has been called %i times. ", counter++); ... } Technically, this defines counter as an object of static storage duration that is allocated not within the function activation frame (which is typically on the stack, but can be on the heap for a coroutine), but as a global object. This is o

Topics: foo int mov rbp static

When to make LODs: Understanding model costs

When to make LODs Jason Booth 3 min read · Dec 26, 2021 -- Listen Share Understanding model costs I’m always amazed at how often I hear people talk about “poly counts” in modern rendering, as if that’s even a thing. But lore has a way of sticking around forever, far past its point of being useful. And quite frankly, I’m constantly seeing artwork created in substandard ways because of this lore. First, the cost of rendering something doesn’t really have much relation to how many polygons it ha

Zig's New Writer

Zig's new Writer As you might have heard, Zig's Io namespace is being reworked. Eventually, this will mean the re-introduction of async. As a first step though, the Writer and Reader interfaces and some of the related code have been revamped. This post is written based on a mid-July 2025 development release of Zig. It doesn't apply to Zig 0.14.x (or any previous version) and is likely to be outdated as more of the Io namespace is reworked. Not long ago, I wrote a blog post which tried to expl

Topics: drain file io std writer

Meta says it won’t sign Europe AI agreement, calling it an overreach

Meta Platforms declined to sign the European Union's artificial intelligence code of practice because it is an overreach that will "stunt" companies, according to global affairs chief Joel Kaplan. "Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI," Kaplan wrote in a post Friday on LinkedIn. "This code introduces a number of legal uncertainties for model developers, as well as measures which go far beyond the scope of the AI Act." Last week, the European Commission, the executive body of the EU, pub

My Self-Hosting Setup

My Ultimate Self-hosting Setup “The circle is now complete. When I left you, I was but the learner, now I am the master (of this setup anyway)." I’ve spent a few years trying different approaches for self-hosting, such as using multiple Docker compose files or Ansible. I’ve done some neat things (such as setting up Pi-Hole with Docker and Traefik), but I never really committed to any approach. I wanted to find something that was “perfect” and that meant I spent a lot of time tinkering and rece

Why your website should be under 14kB in size

Why your website should be under 14kB in size Why your website should be under 14kB in size Having a smaller website makes it load faster — that's not surprising. What is surprising is that a 14kB page can load much faster than a 15kB page — maybe 612ms faster — while the difference between a 15kB and a 16kB page is trivial. This is because of the TCP slow start algorithm. This article will cover what that is, how it works, and why you should care. But first we'll quickly go over some of the

‘Ice Cubes in a Volcano’: Scientists Baffled by Mysterious Clouds in Center of the Milky Way

In the center of our galaxy, gigantic, balloon-like structures of high-energy radiation extend thousands of light-years above and below the Milky Way’s plane. Known as the Fermi bubbles, the massive lobes may have been the result of a violent outburst in our galaxy’s recent past. A new discovery of cold hydrogen clouds embedded inside the bubbles adds another level of mystery to the objects, suggesting they’re only a few million years old—practically brand-new, by cosmic standards. Using the Na

Is Climate Change an Existential Threat?

If a 60-mile-wide (100-kilometer-wide) asteroid slammed into Earth tomorrow, it would render the planet inhospitable to nearly all life forms, save for the hardiest extremophiles. This mass extinction event would wipe humanity off the face of the Earth—there would be no survivors. To some experts, this is the true definition of an “existential threat.” Traditionalists will say this term describes a risk that endangers the very existence of something—in this case, the human species. In recent ye

How to Watch Australia vs. British & Irish Lions From Anywhere: Stream 1st Test Rugby Union for Free

After weeks of build up, the British & Irish Lions Test series down under finally gets underway on Saturday as Andy Farrell's men take on Australia at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Below, we'll outline the best live TV streaming services to use to watch this match as it happens, wherever you are in the world, and how to use a VPN if the game isn't available where you are. After an opening-game defeat against Argentina, the Lions have gone on to win five matches in a row against Super Rugby and

NOBS Toothpaste Tablets: What Dentists Say About Its Main Ingredient

The NOBS (No Bad Stuff) toothpaste tablets are going viral thanks to their main ingredient of nano-hydroxyapatite, a fluoride-free alternative. As health concerns around fluoride and its presence in public drinking water continue to swirl, nano-hydroxyapatite toothpastes are becoming increasingly popular. You've likely seen them on store shelves or in ads from companies like Boka and Davids, marketed as fluoride-free alternatives for your toothbrush that claim to whiten teeth, repair enamel and

Best Chest Strap Heart-Rate Monitors for Your 2025 Workouts, Fitness Expert-Approved

Why we like it: The Polar H10 is ideal for outdoor activities. You'll need to download the Polar Beat app to get the most out of it. The app is available for both iOS and Android and uses Bluetooth and ANT Plus connectivity to pair with different devices. The Polar H10 can connect to two Bluetooth devices at once, so you can connect it to both your smartwatch and a compatible piece of fitness equipment, like some treadmills or exercise bikes. The heart-rate monitor is easy to clip on and adjust

Best iPhone in 2025: Here's Which Apple Phone You Should Buy

Phone makers promise varying lengths of long-term software and security support, ranging from just one year to as many as seven. These updates not only ensure you get many of the latest features, but also keep your phone secure. Phone cameras have gotten better over the past five years. But don’t be fooled by how many cameras a phone has. More is not necessarily better. Phones are big in general, with the smallest ones having a 6.1-inch screen and larger models topping out at 6.8 inches. That

Gear News of the Week: Chrome OS Will Merge With Android and Sony Surprises With a New Camera

It's been speculated on. It's been rumored. It's been hoped for. And according to an interview with TechRadar, it's happening. Android ecosystem president Sameer Samat says Google plans to combine Chrome OS and Android “into a single platform.” Google has kept its phone and tablet operating systems distinct from its laptop platform. There has been plenty of crossover over the years—the biggest being the introduction of Android apps to Chromebooks back in 2016—but they have always coexisted. Wit

Automakers Are Canceling Plans for New EVs. Here’s a List of What’s Been Killed So Far

The year 2025 is only half over. But for some of global automakers’ most ambitious electric vehicle projects, the In Memoriam segment is already shaping up to be a sad one. Major manufacturers including Honda, Stellantis, and Nissan publicly backed off plans to build and sell battery-electric vehicles, joining others who have made similar admissions in the past two years. Vehicle program cancellations aren’t the sign of a thriving industry. Traditional automakers work on five- to seven-year pro

China’s Salt Typhoon Hackers Breached the US National Guard for Nearly a Year

After reporting last week that the “raw” Jeffrey Epstein prison video posted by the FBI was likely modified in at least some ways (though there is no evidence that the footage was deceptively manipulated), WIRED reported on Tuesday that metadata analysis of the video shows approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds were removed from one of two stitched-together clips. The United States Department of Homeland Security is facing controversy over DNA samples taken from approximately 133,000 migrant ch

Astronomer CEO Andy Byron placed on leave after viral Coldplay kiss cam video

PERTH, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 18: Chris Martin of Coldplay performs on stage at Optus Stadium on November 18, 2023 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images) Astronomer, a provider of open-source technologies that was hardly known until this week, said on Friday that CEO Andy Byron has been placed on leave after he was shown on video at a Coldplay concert in an intimate embrace with the company's head of human relations. The company said in an emailed statement that co-founder and pr

Meta says it won't sign the EU's AI code of practice

Meta said on Friday that it won't sign the European Union's new AI code of practice. The guidelines provide a framework for the EU's AI Act, which regulates companies operating in the European Union. The EU's code of practice is voluntary, so Meta was under no legal obligation to sign it. Yet Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, made a point to publicly knock the guidelines on Friday. He described the code as "over-reach." "Europe is heading down the wrong path on AI," Kaplan post

Topics: act ai code european meta

Replication of Quantum Factorisation Records with a VIC-20, an Abacus, and a Dog

Paper 2025/1237 Replication of Quantum Factorisation Records with an 8-bit Home Computer, an Abacus, and a Dog Peter Gutmann , University of Auckland Stephan Neuhaus , Zurich University of Applied Sciences Abstract This paper presents implementations that match and, where possible, exceed current quantum factorisation records using a VIC-20 8-bit home computer from 1981, an abacus, and a dog. We hope that this work will inspire future efforts to match any further quantum factorisation recor

Cats as Horror Movie Villains

Do people like watching cats because of neoteny? I doubt it, because adult cats don’t look at all like babies. But then why do we have this odd fascination with every ordinary action of a cat and treating them as instances of a Platonic Cat? I speculate that there may be an evolutionary psychology reason: cats in Africa prey on primates to a degree I suspect few people appreciate, and this seems to have been true for millions of years, making them our apex predator. So perhaps we are still sligh

Trying Guix: A Nixer's impressions

Trying Guix: A Nixer's Impressions People occasionally ask me how I think Guix compares to Nix. Let me set the stage: I've been using Nix for many years, have large projects using Nix, used to be very active in the Nix community, and even wrote multiple Nix language interpreters, so I'd say that I'm at least fairly comfortable with Nix. I'm also one of those people who live in Emacs. I'm no stranger to Lisps (although my experience with Scheme is limited) and am very fond of them. It feels nat

Microsoft Will Erase Your Passwords in 2 Weeks: What to Do Now

Microsoft is axing passwords starting in August -- and if you use its Authenticator app, you'll want to be prepared. For years, Microsoft Authenticator has been a go-to for managing multifactor authentication and saved passwords. However, starting next month, it will no longer support passwords and will move to passkeys instead. That means your logins will soon rely more on things like PINs, fingerprint scans or facial recognition. Using a passkey can make your account safer, and it's a move I

New embedding model leaderboard shakeup: Google takes #1 while Alibaba’s open source alternative closes gap

Want smarter insights in your inbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletters to get only what matters to enterprise AI, data, and security leaders. Subscribe Now Google has officially moved its new, high-performance Gemini Embedding model to general availability, currently ranking number one overall on the highly regarded Massive Text Embedding Benchmark (MTEB). The model (gemini-embedding-001) is now a core part of the Gemini API and Vertex AI, enabling developers to build applications such as sema

Roku’s newest streaming sticks are on sale!

These offers are available from Amazon as “limited time deals.” This means the deals should end relatively soon. Streaming Stick HD 2025 The Streaming Stick HD 2025 is for those who don’t need 4K resolutions. If you have a Full HD TV, this one will be more than good enough, as it offers a 1,080p resolution. It’s small at just 3.7 x 0.8 x 0.5 inches, and hides away in the back of your TV. You’ll also get a Roku Voice Remote. While more affordable, it offers all the capabilities of Roku streame

Apple One just keeps getting better, here’s what’s coming next

If you’re at all interested in Apple’s services, Apple One has long been a great option for bundling them together and saving a little money. And over time, new features have continually been added to Apple’s various services. Here are the most recent ways Apple One has gotten better, and a preview of what’s coming next in iOS 26. So far this year, Apple One has benefited most from upgrades to Apple News+. While News+ seemed to struggle in its early days, Apple has steadily expanded it from a

Topics: 26 apple games ios new

MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: Which model makes the most sense to buy in 2025?

MacBooks are great computers, but there’s a number of different varieties to think about. Between last gen hardware and all of the current models available now, it can feel like there’s a lot of options. Today, we’ll be breaking down which MacBook is right for you, depending on your budget and what you need it for. At the most basic level, Apple offers two MacBook models: the MacBook Air, and the MacBook Pro. Both come in smaller and larger sizes (13-inch and 15-inch for MacBook Air, 14-inch an

Topics: chip inch m4 macbook pro

New CrushFTP zero-day exploited in attacks to hijack servers

CrushFTP is warning that threat actors are actively exploiting a zero-day vulnerability tracked as CVE-2025-54309, which allows attackers to gain administrative access via the web interface on vulnerable servers. CrushFTP is an enterprise file transfer server used by organizations to securely share and manage files over FTP, SFTP, HTTP/S, and other protocols. According to CrushFTP, threat actors were first detected exploiting the vulnerability on July 18th at 9AM CST, though it may have begun

Could OpenAI's rumored browser be a Chrome-killer? Here's what I'm expecting

Omer Taha Cetin/Anadolu via Getty Images Sometime soon, perhaps as early as next week, OpenAI will follow up on its release of ChatGPT agent with its AI-enabled web browser. Officially, neither OpenAI nor its usually chatty CEO, Sam Altman, has anything to say about this browser. Unofficially, it's an open secret that the company is working on one to compete not just with the already shipping AI-enabled web browsers, Perplexity Comet, and Dia, but with the 800-pound gorilla of web browsers, Go

I'm Rebelling Against the Algorithm

I'm rebelling against the algorithm 14 Jul, 2025 I grew up on the internet. I'm old enough to remember when my news feeds actually ended. Remember the times before infinite scroll was engineered? I remember when algorithms weren't good enough to keep me in a trance-like state for eternity. Fast forward to today, I experience firsthand the horrible effects of the algorithms. We weren't meant to read the thoughts of 100s of people all at once. It's also not possible to fully check out from soci

Show HN: OrioleDB Beta12 Features and Benchmarks

Since our last public update, OrioleDB has continued to evolve with a series of new releases. These updates refine the core engine, extend functionality, and improve performance across a range of workloads. Together, they move us closer to a beta release and lay the groundwork for broader adoption. OrioleDB is a PostgreSQL storage extension that implements a custom Table Access Method as a drop‑in replacement for the default Heap storage engine. It is designed to address scalability bottlenecks