GoKawiil
Tech News
A technical walkthrough demonstrates how C++26 introduces built-in 'contracts' syntax, letting developers express function preconditions directly in a function's signature using pre(...), rather than relying on assert() calls buried inside the implementation. The example shows a get_value function checking that an index is within a vector's bounds, with the condition visible in both declaration and definition.
A systems researcher shares an in-progress investigation into building a compositional theory of self-stabilization, using a TLA+ model of a retry storm to study how distributed components' guarantees can break down under large shocks. Finding no recent progress on composing self-stabilizing systems since early-2000s layered stabilization work, they turned to a 2017 control theory paper by Kim, Arcak and Seshia on parametric assume-guarantee contracts, which offers a way to reason about circular dependencies between components without stabilization layering.
A venture called San Francisco Onion Futures Company is selling private, transferable contracts for future delivery of yellow onions, priced between $3 and $12 per onion for delivery up to six months ahead. Payments are processed via Stripe, and buyers in San Francisco, Toronto, Seattle, and Chicago receive physical onion delivery arranged in the first week of the contract month.
A new analysis finds Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet collected roughly $28 billion in federal contracts between 2018 and 2022, with the five largest tech contracts from 2019-2022 carrying combined ceilings of at least $53 billion. Separately, venture capital poured nearly $100 billion into defense tech startups from 2021 to 2023, a 40 percent jump over the prior seven years combined.
Secure Justice, an Oakland-based anti-surveillance group, reports that 214 cities and counties have dropped Flock Safety license-plate camera contracts since 2021, with 90 cancellations in August 2026 alone—four times July's total. Communities citing surveillance overreach, data-sharing concerns, cost, and police misuse are ending deals at roughly three per day over the past month. Flock disputes the significance, saying new partnerships have outpaced cancellations 10 to 1 in 2026.
US district judge Rita Lin ruled that the Pentagon's February designation of Anthropic as a national security risk was unconstitutional retaliation, vacating defense secretary Pete Hegseth's order and lifting sanctions imposed by nine federal agencies. The ruling does not force the Pentagon to use Anthropic's Claude models, but it removes the legal barriers that had blocked contractors from doing business with the company.
A financial disclosure shows President Trump bought as much as $50,000 in SpaceX shares on June 23, two weeks after the company's IPO. The purchase came after shares had already dropped from highs above $200 to the mid-$150s, and by Monday's close the stock had fallen further to its $135 IPO price, potentially leaving Trump's stake at a loss.