Web Review, Week 2024-28
Let’s go for my web review for the week 2024-28.
Take action to stop chat control now!
Tags: tech, politics, law, privacy
It’s time to push European governments to abandon this nonsense.
https://www.patrick-breyer.de/en/take-action-to-stop-chat-control-now/
VLMs are Blind
Tags: tech, ai, machine-learning, gpt, computer-vision
Those brand new models keep failing at surprisingly simple tasks.
https://vlmsareblind.github.io/
Universal Code Execution by Chaining Messages in Browser Extensions
Tags: tech, browser, security
This is a concerning finding. One can escape from the browser to the system with such chaining.
https://spaceraccoon.dev/universal-code-execution-browser-extensions/
Let’s talk about supply chain attacks and backdoored dependencies
Tags: tech, security, supply-chain, dependencies
Good tour of all the way dependencies might get compromised in your supply chain. Getting this easy to detect is needed.
https://kerkour.com/supply-chain-attacks-and-backdoored-dependencies
Ubuntu Security Updates Are a Confusing Mess | Grey Lumpy Dinosaur
Tags: tech, ubuntu, security
The title is a bit pushing it. Still, I didn’t realize some of the fine prints of the Ubuntu support schemes.
https://gld.mcphail.uk/posts/ubuntu-security-updates-are-a-confusing-mess/
An Empirical Study of Rust-for-Linux: The Success, Dissatisfaction, and Compromise | USENIX
Tags: tech, linux, kernel, rust
It’s nice to have a balanced view on the matter. It’s not just roses and rainbows. This gives a good overview of the current limitations and where Rust can give most benefits in the kernel.
https://www.usenix.org/conference/atc24/presentation/li-hongyu
A new way to develop on Linux
Tags: tech, linux, system, systemd
Interesting approach to test system changes. Especially welcome on immutable systems.
https://www.codethink.co.uk/articles/2024/A-new-way-to-develop-on-Linux/
nmbl: we don’t need a bootloader
Tags: tech, linux, uefi, boot, system
Looks like GRUB days as the standard bootloader are counted. Booting straight using the Linux kernel could bring interesting benefits. Probably not doable on every hardware platform though.
https://fizuxchyk.wordpress.com/2024/06/13/nmbl-we-dont-need-a-bootloader/
Towards Idempotent Rebuilds?
Tags: tech, linux, packaging
An interesting puzzle to pursue. Is it possible to rebuild exactly the same binary distribution packages?
https://blog.josefsson.org/2024/07/10/towards-idempotent-rebuilds/
Binary Search Tree with SIMD
Tags: tech, simd, performance
Another interesting algorithm to handle using SIMD.
https://clement-jean.github.io/simd_binary_search_tree/
Making Python Less Random — Andrew Healey
Tags: tech, linux, system
It’s really a good reminder of how powerful ptrace is. You can nicely intercept and change the behavior of syscalls with it.
https://healeycodes.com/making-python-less-random
Cryptomator: end-to-end encrypt files in any cloud
Tags: tech, cloud, storage, cryptography, security, tools
Looks like a nice tool indeed. Might be handy.
https://www.andreagrandi.it/posts/cryptomator-end-to-end-encrypt-files-in-cloud/
Dirty writes – Surfing Complexity
Tags: tech, databases
A simple explanation about dirty writes during database transactions.
https://surfingcomplexity.blog/2024/07/05/dirty-writes/
PostgreSQL and UUID as primary key
Tags: tech, databases, uuid, performance
Forced to use UUID as primary key in a table? Then make sure to use them properly to not kill the performance more than necessary. Ideally use something else though.
https://maciejwalkowiak.com/blog/postgres-uuid-primary-key/
Unravelling attribute access in Python
Tags: tech, programming, python
Ever wondered how attributes work in Python under the hood? Here is how.
https://snarky.ca/unravelling-attribute-access-in-python/
Making an iterator out of a function | mathspp
Tags: tech, programming, python
An interesting Python construct to make iterators based on a simple function.
https://mathspp.com/blog/til/making-an-iterator-out-of-a-function
State of Text Rendering 2024
Tags: tech, gui, fonts
Very long read but will be an essential resource to have a fine understanding of text rendering in its current form.
the software crisis
Tags: tech, quality, craftsmanship, engineering, complexity, history
Interesting musing about the “software crisis” which was declared in the late 60s. We’re coping with it by piling levels of abstractions but clearly we’re still not out of it. Our craft still needs to grow.
https://wryl.tech/log/2024/the-software-crisis.html
Standups: Individual → Teammate - by Kent Beck
Tags: tech, team, organization, agile
Good reminder that teams are made out of people. It’s good to look at the daily standups less as a technical management tool and more as a need to get into the work.
https://tidyfirst.substack.com/p/standups-individual-teammate
Bye for now!