Volcanic eruption led to the Black Death, new research suggests
3 by giuliomagnifico | 0 comments on Hacker News.
Friday, 5 December 2025
Thursday, 4 December 2025
Wednesday, 3 December 2025
Tuesday, 2 December 2025
Monday, 1 December 2025
Sunday, 30 November 2025
Saturday, 29 November 2025
Friday, 28 November 2025
Thursday, 27 November 2025
Wednesday, 26 November 2025
Tuesday, 25 November 2025
Monday, 24 November 2025
Sunday, 23 November 2025
Saturday, 22 November 2025
Friday, 21 November 2025
Thursday, 20 November 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Awesome J2ME
Show HN: Awesome J2ME
7 by catstor | 4 comments on Hacker News.
An awesome list about Java platform Micro edition(J2ME). Documentation, academic papers, tutorials, communities, IDEs, SDKs, emulators, apps, video games. J2ME is a Java specification designed for old keypad phones and PDAs. MIDP, which is built upon CLDC, is used to create Midlets, which have `.jad` or `.jar` extension, and run on platforms like old keypad phones, Symbian and PDAs. MIDP is supported till Java ME SDK 3.4.
7 by catstor | 4 comments on Hacker News.
An awesome list about Java platform Micro edition(J2ME). Documentation, academic papers, tutorials, communities, IDEs, SDKs, emulators, apps, video games. J2ME is a Java specification designed for old keypad phones and PDAs. MIDP, which is built upon CLDC, is used to create Midlets, which have `.jad` or `.jar` extension, and run on platforms like old keypad phones, Symbian and PDAs. MIDP is supported till Java ME SDK 3.4.
Wednesday, 19 November 2025
Tuesday, 18 November 2025
Monday, 17 November 2025
Sunday, 16 November 2025
Saturday, 15 November 2025
Friday, 14 November 2025
Thursday, 13 November 2025
Wednesday, 12 November 2025
Tuesday, 11 November 2025
Monday, 10 November 2025
Sunday, 9 November 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Ask HN: How would u setup a child's first Linux computer?
Ask HN: How would u setup a child's first Linux computer?
26 by evolve2k | 23 comments on Hacker News.
As a tech parent I think one of the best things I did for both my son and daughter was for their first computer to help them to build and setup their own Linux computer (It was Ubuntu back then but they’ve both moved themselves to Arch these days). We went together and bought a second hand desktop (exciting the people selling to us also) and when I got home I pulled out the Ram, HD and CD drive and set them aside; and then together with a screwdriver we “built the computer” over a few days. In windows when a child goes searching the web for a “movie maker for windows” they are going to be in a world of hurt either finding expensive commercial options or super scammy sites promising the world. By comparison on Linux if they search the local “app store” they’ll find stacks and stacks of free, useful, open licensed software. My kids loved the power, freedom and later unexpected community this bought them. Now my friend wants the same for their daughter who is 8 years old. I’m planning to do the same and go with her parents and her and buy a second hand desktop together and then put Linux on it. My question is where would you go from there? What suggestions do you have? What to install? Any mini “curriculums” or ideas? Would love to hear your ideas and experiences. Linux with free and open software is the goal and focus.
26 by evolve2k | 23 comments on Hacker News.
As a tech parent I think one of the best things I did for both my son and daughter was for their first computer to help them to build and setup their own Linux computer (It was Ubuntu back then but they’ve both moved themselves to Arch these days). We went together and bought a second hand desktop (exciting the people selling to us also) and when I got home I pulled out the Ram, HD and CD drive and set them aside; and then together with a screwdriver we “built the computer” over a few days. In windows when a child goes searching the web for a “movie maker for windows” they are going to be in a world of hurt either finding expensive commercial options or super scammy sites promising the world. By comparison on Linux if they search the local “app store” they’ll find stacks and stacks of free, useful, open licensed software. My kids loved the power, freedom and later unexpected community this bought them. Now my friend wants the same for their daughter who is 8 years old. I’m planning to do the same and go with her parents and her and buy a second hand desktop together and then put Linux on it. My question is where would you go from there? What suggestions do you have? What to install? Any mini “curriculums” or ideas? Would love to hear your ideas and experiences. Linux with free and open software is the goal and focus.
Saturday, 8 November 2025
Friday, 7 November 2025
Thursday, 6 November 2025
Wednesday, 5 November 2025
Tuesday, 4 November 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Yourshoesmells.com – Find the most smelly boulder gym
Show HN: Yourshoesmells.com – Find the most smelly boulder gym
7 by boshenz | 4 comments on Hacker News.
A crowdsourced map for ranking Boulder gym stinkiness and difficulty. Get a detailed view of the gym. “Is there toprope in the gym?” “Any training boards?”
7 by boshenz | 4 comments on Hacker News.
A crowdsourced map for ranking Boulder gym stinkiness and difficulty. Get a detailed view of the gym. “Is there toprope in the gym?” “Any training boards?”
Monday, 3 November 2025
Sunday, 2 November 2025
Saturday, 1 November 2025
Friday, 31 October 2025
Thursday, 30 October 2025
Wednesday, 29 October 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Learn German with Games
Show HN: Learn German with Games
8 by predictand | 1 comments on Hacker News.
I just started learning German, and it has been a frustrating experience, to say the least. There are so many seemingly arbitrary rules that make pattern recognition very difficult. Therefore, I have been looking for ways to make memorization a bit easier and fun. So, I came up with a bunch of games to make learning German a bit more engaging. Hope you find it useful as well!
8 by predictand | 1 comments on Hacker News.
I just started learning German, and it has been a frustrating experience, to say the least. There are so many seemingly arbitrary rules that make pattern recognition very difficult. Therefore, I have been looking for ways to make memorization a bit easier and fun. So, I came up with a bunch of games to make learning German a bit more engaging. Hope you find it useful as well!
Tuesday, 28 October 2025
Monday, 27 October 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Microsoft needs to open up more about its OpenAI dealings
Microsoft needs to open up more about its OpenAI dealings
64 by zerosizedweasle | 33 comments on Hacker News.
64 by zerosizedweasle | 33 comments on Hacker News.
New top story on Hacker News: Don't Forget These Tags to Make HTML Work Like You Expect
Don't Forget These Tags to Make HTML Work Like You Expect
4 by FromTheArchives | 1 comments on Hacker News.
4 by FromTheArchives | 1 comments on Hacker News.
Sunday, 26 October 2025
Saturday, 25 October 2025
Friday, 24 October 2025
Thursday, 23 October 2025
Wednesday, 22 October 2025
Tuesday, 21 October 2025
Monday, 20 October 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Playwright Skill for Claude Code – Less context than playwright-MCP
Show HN: Playwright Skill for Claude Code – Less context than playwright-MCP
3 by syntax-sherlock | 0 comments on Hacker News.
I got tired of playwright-mcp eating through Claude's 200K token limit, so I built this using the new Claude Skills system. Built it with Claude Code itself. Instead of sending accessibility tree snapshots on every action, Claude just writes Playwright code and runs it. You get back screenshots and console output. That's it. 314 lines of instructions vs a persistent MCP server. Full API docs only load if Claude needs them. Same browser automation, way less overhead. Works as a Claude Code plugin or manual install. Token limit issue: https://ift.tt/sWJ9Lgt Claude Skills docs: https://ift.tt/fhMdUFJ
3 by syntax-sherlock | 0 comments on Hacker News.
I got tired of playwright-mcp eating through Claude's 200K token limit, so I built this using the new Claude Skills system. Built it with Claude Code itself. Instead of sending accessibility tree snapshots on every action, Claude just writes Playwright code and runs it. You get back screenshots and console output. That's it. 314 lines of instructions vs a persistent MCP server. Full API docs only load if Claude needs them. Same browser automation, way less overhead. Works as a Claude Code plugin or manual install. Token limit issue: https://ift.tt/sWJ9Lgt Claude Skills docs: https://ift.tt/fhMdUFJ
Sunday, 19 October 2025
Saturday, 18 October 2025
Friday, 17 October 2025
New top story on Hacker News: How does one build large front end apps without using a framework like React?
How does one build large front end apps without using a framework like React?
13 by thepianodan | 15 comments on Hacker News.
I had a mind-blown-moment when I learnt that Obsidian was built without any frontend JS framework. ( https://ift.tt/HX1Tmpl ) The benefits, I can see. JS frameworks move really quickly, and when we're working on a large, long-term project, it sucks when big breaking changes are introduced after only a couple of years. Sticking to slow-moving web standards (which are quite mature by now) increases the longevity of a project. And the stability also means that more time is spent on delivering features, rather than on fixing compatibility issues. There is also the benefit of independence. The project's success is not tied to the framework's success. And it also makes the project more secure, from supply chain attacks and such. Because there is no "abstraction layer" of a framework, you also have greater control over your project, and can make performance optimizations at a lower level. I feel not using a framework can even make us a better developer. Because we know more of what's going on. There are benefits to using frameworks too, I'm not here to challenge that. But this alternative of using none... it seems rarely talked about. I want to learn more about building large (preferably web-based) software projects with few dependencies. Do you have any suggestions on how to learn more about it? Are there any open source projects you know which are built this way? It needs to be large, complex, app-like, and browser based. I'm more interested in the frontend side. Thank you!
13 by thepianodan | 15 comments on Hacker News.
I had a mind-blown-moment when I learnt that Obsidian was built without any frontend JS framework. ( https://ift.tt/HX1Tmpl ) The benefits, I can see. JS frameworks move really quickly, and when we're working on a large, long-term project, it sucks when big breaking changes are introduced after only a couple of years. Sticking to slow-moving web standards (which are quite mature by now) increases the longevity of a project. And the stability also means that more time is spent on delivering features, rather than on fixing compatibility issues. There is also the benefit of independence. The project's success is not tied to the framework's success. And it also makes the project more secure, from supply chain attacks and such. Because there is no "abstraction layer" of a framework, you also have greater control over your project, and can make performance optimizations at a lower level. I feel not using a framework can even make us a better developer. Because we know more of what's going on. There are benefits to using frameworks too, I'm not here to challenge that. But this alternative of using none... it seems rarely talked about. I want to learn more about building large (preferably web-based) software projects with few dependencies. Do you have any suggestions on how to learn more about it? Are there any open source projects you know which are built this way? It needs to be large, complex, app-like, and browser based. I'm more interested in the frontend side. Thank you!
Thursday, 16 October 2025
Wednesday, 15 October 2025
Tuesday, 14 October 2025
Monday, 13 October 2025
Sunday, 12 October 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: I made an esoteric programming language that's read like a spellbook
Show HN: I made an esoteric programming language that's read like a spellbook
25 by sirbread | 1 comments on Hacker News.
i made an esoteric programming language which i call spellscript. every program is a "spell" written in a "grimoire," and you have to use keywords like summon, enchant, inscribe, and conjure. it's literally read like a spellbook because the syntax consists of all natural language, and newlines are optional. your code can now be an essay, like everybody wants! for example, if you want to print something, you'd write: `begin the grimoire. inscribe whispers of "hello, world!". close the grimoire.` it has variables, dynamic typing, arrays, functions, conditionals, loops, string manipulation, array manipulation, type conversion, and user input, among other (listed in the docs!) but why? i wanted to see how far you could push natural language syntax while still being parseable. most esolangs are intentionally obtuse (BF, Malbolge), but i wanted something that's weird but readable, like you're reading instructions from a spellbook, which makes it incredibly easy to read and understand. like an anti-esolang? hmm... github: https://ift.tt/0vyWSZ2 docs: https://ift.tt/N8vLxEK...
25 by sirbread | 1 comments on Hacker News.
i made an esoteric programming language which i call spellscript. every program is a "spell" written in a "grimoire," and you have to use keywords like summon, enchant, inscribe, and conjure. it's literally read like a spellbook because the syntax consists of all natural language, and newlines are optional. your code can now be an essay, like everybody wants! for example, if you want to print something, you'd write: `begin the grimoire. inscribe whispers of "hello, world!". close the grimoire.` it has variables, dynamic typing, arrays, functions, conditionals, loops, string manipulation, array manipulation, type conversion, and user input, among other (listed in the docs!) but why? i wanted to see how far you could push natural language syntax while still being parseable. most esolangs are intentionally obtuse (BF, Malbolge), but i wanted something that's weird but readable, like you're reading instructions from a spellbook, which makes it incredibly easy to read and understand. like an anti-esolang? hmm... github: https://ift.tt/0vyWSZ2 docs: https://ift.tt/N8vLxEK...
Saturday, 11 October 2025
Friday, 10 October 2025
Thursday, 9 October 2025
Wednesday, 8 October 2025
Tuesday, 7 October 2025
Monday, 6 October 2025
Sunday, 5 October 2025
Saturday, 4 October 2025
Friday, 3 October 2025
Thursday, 2 October 2025
Wednesday, 1 October 2025
Tuesday, 30 September 2025
Monday, 29 September 2025
Sunday, 28 September 2025
Saturday, 27 September 2025
Friday, 26 September 2025
Thursday, 25 September 2025
Wednesday, 24 September 2025
Tuesday, 23 September 2025
Monday, 22 September 2025
Sunday, 21 September 2025
Saturday, 20 September 2025
Friday, 19 September 2025
Thursday, 18 September 2025
Wednesday, 17 September 2025
Tuesday, 16 September 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Ask HN: Generalists, when do you say "I know enough" about any particular topic?
Ask HN: Generalists, when do you say "I know enough" about any particular topic?
3 by AbstractH24 | 4 comments on Hacker News.
The idea is generalists know a lot about everything and when to pass it off to a subject matter expert. In 2025, with everything in tech changing by the minute, I’m realizing I need to set boundaries about how deep I go on any particular topic. But I’m unsure how. Particularly if I don’t want to get left behind as things continue to evolve. Curious how other folks approach this?
3 by AbstractH24 | 4 comments on Hacker News.
The idea is generalists know a lot about everything and when to pass it off to a subject matter expert. In 2025, with everything in tech changing by the minute, I’m realizing I need to set boundaries about how deep I go on any particular topic. But I’m unsure how. Particularly if I don’t want to get left behind as things continue to evolve. Curious how other folks approach this?
New top story on Hacker News: Self Propagating NPM Malware Compromises over 40 Packages
Self Propagating NPM Malware Compromises over 40 Packages
108 by jamesberthoty | 93 comments on Hacker News.
108 by jamesberthoty | 93 comments on Hacker News.
Monday, 15 September 2025
Sunday, 14 September 2025
Saturday, 13 September 2025
Friday, 12 September 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: I made a generative online drum machine with ClojureScript
Show HN: I made a generative online drum machine with ClojureScript
5 by chr15m | 2 comments on Hacker News.
After two years of development, I'm super excited to release Beat Maker! This is my take on what I hope is the best free, web-based drum machine. My goal was to build something that was not only fun and easy to use for beginners but also powerful enough for serious producers. I did extensive research on existing drum machines, analyzed their UX, and tried to build something that adds something new. It's a nearly 100% client-side app, written in ClojureScript, and is a PWA so you can install it to your home screen for an app-like experience. Besides the standard grid editor, Beat Maker has some unique features that I think HN readers might find interesting: - Procedural sample generation. One annoying thing about writing beats is searching through folders full of samples. I wanted to improve this and so I added the ability to generate new samples with a single click, giving you an infinite supply of unique drum samples. * Generative beat creation. If you're looking for inspiration, Beat Maker can generate entire patterns for you as a starting point. You can then edit and tweak the beat to your liking. Great for solving the "blank canvas" problem and giving you something good to start from. * Advanced export options. This is where it really shines for producers. You can export your work as: * A standard WAV loop * Individual stems (ZIP) * A MIDI file * A ZIP file of all your samples as WAVs * A SoundFont (.sf2) drum kit from your generated samples * An Impulse Tracker (.it) file for use in trackers like Renoise, OpenMPT or a Polyend * Pocket Operator/Volca sync. It can output a sync signal on the left audio channel to sync with these hardware devices for perfect timing. * Per-Note FX. You can add effects like volume slides, repeats, and start volume changes to individual notes for more complex drum phrases incorporating flam and roll. As an old school tracker guy, I'm particularly excited about the Impulse Tracker export mode. I was surprised to discover how many DAWs (including hardware like Polyend) can import this format. Of course, you can also pull up Impulse Tracker on DOSBox, or the more modern re-implementation, Schismtracker for that retro experience. By the way, the beat generator feature is not trained on any artists or anything like that. It's an algorithm I built from scratch myself. The audio engine is built on a declarative audio graph (using `virtual-audio-graph`), inspired by React's virtual DOM, which makes managing the Web Audio API much cleaner. If you're building web based audio apps I highly recommend checking out this library. I'd love for you to try it out and let me know what you think. Feedback (and the inevitable bug reports) most welcome! Thank you! P.S. Also, here's a video summary: https://youtu.be/qVmEn9z3H24
5 by chr15m | 2 comments on Hacker News.
After two years of development, I'm super excited to release Beat Maker! This is my take on what I hope is the best free, web-based drum machine. My goal was to build something that was not only fun and easy to use for beginners but also powerful enough for serious producers. I did extensive research on existing drum machines, analyzed their UX, and tried to build something that adds something new. It's a nearly 100% client-side app, written in ClojureScript, and is a PWA so you can install it to your home screen for an app-like experience. Besides the standard grid editor, Beat Maker has some unique features that I think HN readers might find interesting: - Procedural sample generation. One annoying thing about writing beats is searching through folders full of samples. I wanted to improve this and so I added the ability to generate new samples with a single click, giving you an infinite supply of unique drum samples. * Generative beat creation. If you're looking for inspiration, Beat Maker can generate entire patterns for you as a starting point. You can then edit and tweak the beat to your liking. Great for solving the "blank canvas" problem and giving you something good to start from. * Advanced export options. This is where it really shines for producers. You can export your work as: * A standard WAV loop * Individual stems (ZIP) * A MIDI file * A ZIP file of all your samples as WAVs * A SoundFont (.sf2) drum kit from your generated samples * An Impulse Tracker (.it) file for use in trackers like Renoise, OpenMPT or a Polyend * Pocket Operator/Volca sync. It can output a sync signal on the left audio channel to sync with these hardware devices for perfect timing. * Per-Note FX. You can add effects like volume slides, repeats, and start volume changes to individual notes for more complex drum phrases incorporating flam and roll. As an old school tracker guy, I'm particularly excited about the Impulse Tracker export mode. I was surprised to discover how many DAWs (including hardware like Polyend) can import this format. Of course, you can also pull up Impulse Tracker on DOSBox, or the more modern re-implementation, Schismtracker for that retro experience. By the way, the beat generator feature is not trained on any artists or anything like that. It's an algorithm I built from scratch myself. The audio engine is built on a declarative audio graph (using `virtual-audio-graph`), inspired by React's virtual DOM, which makes managing the Web Audio API much cleaner. If you're building web based audio apps I highly recommend checking out this library. I'd love for you to try it out and let me know what you think. Feedback (and the inevitable bug reports) most welcome! Thank you! P.S. Also, here's a video summary: https://youtu.be/qVmEn9z3H24
Thursday, 11 September 2025
Wednesday, 10 September 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Made for People, Not Cars: Reclaiming European Cities
Made for People, Not Cars: Reclaiming European Cities
117 by robtherobber | 35 comments on Hacker News.
117 by robtherobber | 35 comments on Hacker News.
New top story on Hacker News: My Workflow Is 70% AI, 20% Copy-Paste, 10% Panic. What's Yours?
My Workflow Is 70% AI, 20% Copy-Paste, 10% Panic. What's Yours?
13 by jamessmithe | 21 comments on Hacker News.
Being an analyst I need to research about the market and work accordingly. With the help of ChatGPT, perplexity and Gemini, I get done 70% of my research work. The rest of the 30% is just pure brainstorming. Then if I need some graphics then I use Canva for designing them. I get the images from them. Sometimes, I create ppts too using it. If I need any videos then i usually use tool like fliki, Lunabloom Ai or invideo to generate video. These tools give me good quality AI generated videos. Then nowadays, AI is also available on social medias. It makes the job easier for me. So basically, Most of my work is completed by AI. The one thing I need to do properly is to give them proper instructions. How do you go about it?
13 by jamessmithe | 21 comments on Hacker News.
Being an analyst I need to research about the market and work accordingly. With the help of ChatGPT, perplexity and Gemini, I get done 70% of my research work. The rest of the 30% is just pure brainstorming. Then if I need some graphics then I use Canva for designing them. I get the images from them. Sometimes, I create ppts too using it. If I need any videos then i usually use tool like fliki, Lunabloom Ai or invideo to generate video. These tools give me good quality AI generated videos. Then nowadays, AI is also available on social medias. It makes the job easier for me. So basically, Most of my work is completed by AI. The one thing I need to do properly is to give them proper instructions. How do you go about it?
Tuesday, 9 September 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Nepal Prime Minister Resigns. Parliament / Ministires set on Fire.
Nepal Prime Minister Resigns. Parliament / Ministires set on Fire.
28 by njsubedi | 2 comments on Hacker News.
Amidst protests by Gen-Z against yesterday's inhumane killing of 19 student protesters, the country's capital is on fire. The prime minister of Nepal has resigned, and fleed on an army helicopter - probably abroad. Many other ministers have been evacuated. The parliament building, ministries, and all of the top political parties have been burnt down. Submitted this because yesterday evening there was a post and many of you were concerned for Nepal. Coverage: https://ift.tt/ItzfZF7
28 by njsubedi | 2 comments on Hacker News.
Amidst protests by Gen-Z against yesterday's inhumane killing of 19 student protesters, the country's capital is on fire. The prime minister of Nepal has resigned, and fleed on an army helicopter - probably abroad. Many other ministers have been evacuated. The parliament building, ministries, and all of the top political parties have been burnt down. Submitted this because yesterday evening there was a post and many of you were concerned for Nepal. Coverage: https://ift.tt/ItzfZF7
Monday, 8 September 2025
Sunday, 7 September 2025
Saturday, 6 September 2025
Friday, 5 September 2025
Thursday, 4 September 2025
Wednesday, 3 September 2025
Tuesday, 2 September 2025
Monday, 1 September 2025
Sunday, 31 August 2025
Saturday, 30 August 2025
Friday, 29 August 2025
Thursday, 28 August 2025
Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Tuesday, 26 August 2025
Monday, 25 August 2025
Sunday, 24 August 2025
Saturday, 23 August 2025
Friday, 22 August 2025
Thursday, 21 August 2025
Wednesday, 20 August 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: I've made an easy to extend and flexible JavaScript logger
Show HN: I've made an easy to extend and flexible JavaScript logger
4 by inshinrei | 3 comments on Hacker News.
hi! I've made a logger for JS/TS. It's easily extendable, easy to use and configure. Would like to hear a feedback from you!
4 by inshinrei | 3 comments on Hacker News.
hi! I've made a logger for JS/TS. It's easily extendable, easy to use and configure. Would like to hear a feedback from you!
Tuesday, 19 August 2025
Monday, 18 August 2025
Sunday, 17 August 2025
Saturday, 16 August 2025
Friday, 15 August 2025
Thursday, 14 August 2025
Wednesday, 13 August 2025
Tuesday, 12 August 2025
Monday, 11 August 2025
Sunday, 10 August 2025
Saturday, 9 August 2025
Friday, 8 August 2025
Thursday, 7 August 2025
Wednesday, 6 August 2025
Tuesday, 5 August 2025
Monday, 4 August 2025
Sunday, 3 August 2025
Saturday, 2 August 2025
Friday, 1 August 2025
Thursday, 31 July 2025
Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Tuesday, 29 July 2025
Monday, 28 July 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: I made a tool to generate photomosaics with your pictures
Show HN: I made a tool to generate photomosaics with your pictures
18 by jakemanger | 4 comments on Hacker News.
Hi HN! I wanted to make some photomosaics for an anniversary gift, but I ended up building this tool and turning it into a free website that anyone can use. For those who don’t know, a photomosaic is an image made up of many smaller tile images, arranged in a way that forms a larger, recognisable picture. The best part? Everything runs directly in your browser. No files are uploaded, and there’s no sign-up required.
18 by jakemanger | 4 comments on Hacker News.
Hi HN! I wanted to make some photomosaics for an anniversary gift, but I ended up building this tool and turning it into a free website that anyone can use. For those who don’t know, a photomosaic is an image made up of many smaller tile images, arranged in a way that forms a larger, recognisable picture. The best part? Everything runs directly in your browser. No files are uploaded, and there’s no sign-up required.
Sunday, 27 July 2025
Saturday, 26 July 2025
Friday, 25 July 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Apple Health MCP Server
Show HN: Apple Health MCP Server
5 by _neil | 0 comments on Hacker News.
Hey HN, This is an MCP server to chat with Apple Health data. I built it because I'm working on (yet another) personal trainer tool that keeps track of my workout goals, etc. and does scheduling for me. Part of that is weekly check-ins. I thought pairing those check-ins with sensor data could be useful, so here we are. It seems there isn't a way to automate access to Apple Health data, so this relies on an iOS app that can quickly/easily export key data to CSV. So the process at the moment is to export the data every Sunday before doing a check-in. More steps than I'd like, but in practice isn't a big lift. Under the hood this is mostly a thin wrapper around duckdb. There's a video of it in action here: https://ift.tt/qD76TC1
5 by _neil | 0 comments on Hacker News.
Hey HN, This is an MCP server to chat with Apple Health data. I built it because I'm working on (yet another) personal trainer tool that keeps track of my workout goals, etc. and does scheduling for me. Part of that is weekly check-ins. I thought pairing those check-ins with sensor data could be useful, so here we are. It seems there isn't a way to automate access to Apple Health data, so this relies on an iOS app that can quickly/easily export key data to CSV. So the process at the moment is to export the data every Sunday before doing a check-in. More steps than I'd like, but in practice isn't a big lift. Under the hood this is mostly a thin wrapper around duckdb. There's a video of it in action here: https://ift.tt/qD76TC1
Thursday, 24 July 2025
Wednesday, 23 July 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Header-only GIF decoder in pure C – no malloc, easy to use
Show HN: Header-only GIF decoder in pure C – no malloc, easy to use
20 by FerkiHN | 16 comments on Hacker News.
I built a lightweight GIF decoder in pure C, ideal for embedded or performance-critical environments. It’s header-only, zero dynamic memory allocations, and fully platform-independent. Supports both static and animated GIFs, with turbo and safe decoding modes. Works great on microcontrollers, IoT devices, and anything with a framebuffer. Would love feedback or ideas where this could be useful. Github: https://ift.tt/KkpMeDY...
20 by FerkiHN | 16 comments on Hacker News.
I built a lightweight GIF decoder in pure C, ideal for embedded or performance-critical environments. It’s header-only, zero dynamic memory allocations, and fully platform-independent. Supports both static and animated GIFs, with turbo and safe decoding modes. Works great on microcontrollers, IoT devices, and anything with a framebuffer. Would love feedback or ideas where this could be useful. Github: https://ift.tt/KkpMeDY...
Tuesday, 22 July 2025
New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: The Magic of Code – book about the wonders and weirdness of computation
Show HN: The Magic of Code – book about the wonders and weirdness of computation
8 by arbesman | 3 comments on Hacker News.
I recently published a book called “The Magic of Code” which is about the delights of the computational world, examining computing as a kind of “humanistic liberal art” that connects to so many topics, from art and biology to philosophy and language. The link I’ve shared is to a page on my book’s website where you can download a pdf of the introduction, to give HN readers a taste of what is inside. Right now there is so much worry and concern around technology that I feel like some people—though not the folks here—have forgotten how much fun that code and computation can also be. So I wanted to rekindle some of that sense of wonder. But, as I’ve written elsewhere, this is also the kind of book I wish I had when I was younger and getting interested in computers. I’ve always enjoyed the kinds of writing that talks about computing but in the context of so many other big ideas, especially ones I’ve explored at various points in my own life, from evolution to simulation. And that’s what I tried to do. But while “The Magic of Code” is certainly for a wide audience, and for people who are unfamiliar with programming and code, I’ve also (hopefully!) designed it to be of interest to those who are more expert in this realm, with lots of rabbit holes and strange ideas to pursue. And if there exists a genre of book to explain to outsiders why you love a topic, this is in that genre, for computing and code. I think the HN community will really enjoy it.
8 by arbesman | 3 comments on Hacker News.
I recently published a book called “The Magic of Code” which is about the delights of the computational world, examining computing as a kind of “humanistic liberal art” that connects to so many topics, from art and biology to philosophy and language. The link I’ve shared is to a page on my book’s website where you can download a pdf of the introduction, to give HN readers a taste of what is inside. Right now there is so much worry and concern around technology that I feel like some people—though not the folks here—have forgotten how much fun that code and computation can also be. So I wanted to rekindle some of that sense of wonder. But, as I’ve written elsewhere, this is also the kind of book I wish I had when I was younger and getting interested in computers. I’ve always enjoyed the kinds of writing that talks about computing but in the context of so many other big ideas, especially ones I’ve explored at various points in my own life, from evolution to simulation. And that’s what I tried to do. But while “The Magic of Code” is certainly for a wide audience, and for people who are unfamiliar with programming and code, I’ve also (hopefully!) designed it to be of interest to those who are more expert in this realm, with lots of rabbit holes and strange ideas to pursue. And if there exists a genre of book to explain to outsiders why you love a topic, this is in that genre, for computing and code. I think the HN community will really enjoy it.
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