Hacker News: Ask HN

Ask HN: Would you buy a Bambu Lab for microchips?

dylansuttonc — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 17:47:32 +0000

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49146623

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

Graduate in 2036 as a AI engineer is it worth?

eapyk — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 16:31:56 +0000

I just need to know am i doing good or not for my future

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145976

Points: 1

# Comments: 4

Ask HN: What free browser tools do you use daily?

tooly_work — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 15:49:57 +0000

Curious what browser-based tools people actually keep in their workflow.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145646

Points: 1

# Comments: 1

Ask HN: Will Stripe Buy PayPal?

cyanregiment — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 15:34:58 +0000

It was announced a while ago now, but I haven't heard anything since.

Does PayPal become more valuable if a competitor offers to buy them? Or less?

Will it happen?

If it does happen, would the PayPal developer API and Braintree stay, or would we all be migrating Venmo and PayPal payments over to Stripe?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145548

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Ask HN: What cloud agents do you use?

mopatches — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 15:03:13 +0000

I want something like the agent sidepanel in VS Code/Cursor that runs in the cloud, not on my laptop. I want to choose the model, chat with it on my way into work or from the couch, and get a PR when it's done.

Cursor Cloud Agents works the best, but I think the rest of the Cursor product sucks. Claude Code Web seems abandoned, GitHub Copilot is buggy and regularly cannot see its own chat history, and products like Devin are so focused on token and model indirection that I don't trust the cost-per-task.

Someone has to have good cloud agents. What are you all using?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49145307

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Ask HN: Is discovery channel using AI?

adamtaylor_13 — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 13:47:02 +0000

My family and I have been watching discovery's shark week, and I could swear that many of the B rolls we've been watching are AI generated.

can anyone confirm? That seems... surprising to me.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49144673

Points: 2

# Comments: 1

Ask HN: When will the AI version of 911 happen?

dfps — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 12:57:12 +0000

Whether the government/other 'friendly' entities were behind, coordinated, or were oblivious to the 911 attacks, they enjoyed what 911 allowed them to do (be completely free of the limits of the Constitution on their treatment of everyone) to not want to do it again.

It lasted 25 years, which might be surprising, that Americans would give up their American-ness for that long, but they were 'patriotic' enough to accept just a single approval by Congress of a super-Unconstitutional muddy Act on a long-term basis.

It seems the authority of the Act is waning now.

The new model is AI. The threat of escaped or rouge AIs, the use by citizens of AI. A new 911-like thing would likely be in the shape of some AI event as appalling as 911.

When?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49144182

Points: 3

# Comments: 3

See in yourself. Then, evolve at sleek.silisleek.com

silisleek — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 12:45:47 +0000

Just see yourself. What have you achieved in your life? Just a good paying job that helps you? Haha! Looks good for you, but not to humanity. You're selfish. Even if you don't know, you are selfish. If you weren't selfish, you'd done great things and inventions for humanity that helps every one GROW. You can become a genius, you can be great, unless you're out of a system meant only to keep you down. Remember that para or story or poem in school told to you that how beautiful simple life is. It just looks beautiful but it isn't unless you've got a good thing that keeps you in a sea of stress. You can, you just need to use your knowledge somewhere it is meant to. And the thing is, you aren't. Why? Why aren't you using that powerful and efficient brain into something that is meant for it. Do some great inventions. Be great. Not getting a verified tag on social media and posting how much you've earned. And, you've earned that, not made that. You don't have to be selfish, you just have to make humanity selfish for itself so that it can fight back disasters, survive them and grow combined. Now. Launch it out. You cannot do it, You have to do it. And with all of these reasons, we built sleek, just for someone like you. sleek.silisleek.com

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49144070

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Best way to avoid bloat and AI – selfcontaining OS

bialamusic — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 11:47:09 +0000

I wanted an OS that I could truly own. Most modern systems have become server-controlled clients, bloated with dependencies (Gtk4/Qt/Rust/Wayland) and centralized source control on GitHub. If you cannot audit the dependency tree and Big Corp controls the source, it is no longer real open source.

I built OneManBSD to address this. It is an OpenBSD-based system built on a single 2012 ThinkPad L430.

Project Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wHaoQhXOYY Project Page: https://bialamusic.com/onemanBSD/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49143571

Points: 11

# Comments: 1

Ask HN: What's Your BHAG?

sudo_cowsay — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 11:31:02 +0000

Just wondering, what is everyone's Big Hairy Audacious Goal?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49143456

Points: 5

# Comments: 5

What is the downside of coaching that I may not be seeing yet?

ikut3hva — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 10:58:23 +0000

Hi everyone!

TL;DR: I genuinely enjoy every coaching session I run, and I believe my mentees find them incredibly valuable. However, I’m still curious about one thing: what is the downside of coaching that I may not be seeing yet?

As an experienced software engineer (still working full-time), I started mentoring to share my own experiences—the good, the bad, and the challenges people may face in a professional environment. More importantly, I help people improve their presence within their organizations so that their work and contributions become more visible.

I genuinely love every coaching session, and I’m grateful to all of my mentees for openly sharing their stories and challenges.

One day, after finishing a session, I asked myself:

If what I’m doing is genuinely valuable for both my mentees and myself, what are the downsides of coaching that I might not be able to foresee at this stage?

At the moment, coaching feels like a second hobby that also happens to generate some extra income on top of my full-time job. I imagine things would be very different if I decided to become a full-time coach.

A few facts for context:

* I’ve conducted 32 coaching sessions over the past 7 months. * My retention rate has remained consistently between 82% and 83% since my first session. * I mainly coach in three areas: * CV review * Story bank development * Behavioral interviews * I usually charge $12–20 Euro per session, although I often adjust the price depending on each mentee’s circumstances.

I’m genuinely interested in hearing from people who coach professionally or have made coaching their full-time career.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49143243

Points: 3

# Comments: 0

Ask HN: Am I the only one getting so many cursor ads?

alexander2002 — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 09:35:53 +0000

Its the same cast sitting on a table yapping or some genz building some random robot slop

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49142728

Points: 3

# Comments: 2

Ask HN: When will ChatGPT Voice be able to control my phone?

spapas82 — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 08:49:55 +0000

I am using ChatGPT voice on my phone and it's great. It even understands greek (my language).

But it's jailed inside the phone. Why? Why can't it control my phone? Is it technical? I don't think so.

Is it security? I'll be happy to give OpenAI the keys to my phone if I had this feature.

Can somebodhy explain to me why this isn't implemented yet?

If people from OpenAI are reading this, implement it now and get my money!!!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49142464

Points: 2

# Comments: 5

A daily estimation game where the crowd's answer fights an AI

holdthelineworl — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 08:49:22 +0000

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49142461

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

What if we learned languages like we acquired our first?

Salim_wariz — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 07:47:34 +0000

When we learn our mother tongue-language, we don't use dictionaries. We learn words in context, tied to an object, a situation, or a feeling. Memory relies heavily on these rich associations, but most language tools strip all of that away. This is something that frustrated me personally when i wanted to learn english and get better at it, so I built "Nattly" to help me learn English the same way native english speakers acquire it.

Instead of isolated lists, Nattly ties vocabulary to specific scenarios and images, backed by spaced repetition. The goal is to practice recall based on context rather than just recognizing direct translations.

Direct retrieval vs Recognition:

The exposure gap is staggering. Children of native spaeker parents get thousands of hours of language exposure before they can speak, while adult learners may get just 15–30 hours a year.

So I built a *Radio* feature in Nattly that generates everyday scenarios: The narrator plays the role of an image depiction of the scene taking place and occasionally explains difficult words directly in L2, helping learners build direct L2 associations rather than constantly translating through their native language L1. Over time, this exposure will strengthen pathways for direct retrieval in L2.

I'd love to hear your feedback on "Nattly". Do you find words easier to remember when attached to a story or situation?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49142084

Points: 6

# Comments: 6

Ask HN: How do you make people notice the cameras watching them?

bogomil — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 07:11:41 +0000

We made a free, remixable postcard project about noticing the surveillance cameras that blend into everyday life, mapping where they are, and encouraging people to respond creatively to their presence through art, messages, documentation, or other interventions. We have almost no budget, and outreach to similar organizations has led nowhere. What would you try next to get more people to discover it, participate, remix it, and spread it?

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49141898

Points: 3

# Comments: 3

Created a network that combines Hacker News and geniuses at one place

silisleek — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 06:39:08 +0000

Just as in the title. Use sleek at sleek.silisleek.com.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49141738

Points: 2

# Comments: 4

ask HN: How do I run Android 15 on a system with Andr 12 vendors?

KinetiNode — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 06:36:20 +0000

Hi HN, I'm trying to Flash a new OS onto my old smartphone that was provided by my college.. I removed the MDM softwares that come pre installed using adb so im good to go but there are some problems im facing ,

I want to use a higher android version (currently on android 12) , my device is fully VNDK compliant and supports project treble. Since there is no actual custom ROM for my specific device i need to use GSIs (generic suystem images) I found one GSI (CrDroid GSI) that should work fully.. According to AOSP and project treble any version of android should work on my device even if the system vendor is stuck with android 12. But practically you can only go like 2 versions ahead before things start breaking. i want to use android 15 but its ourt of reach. Ive asked several AIs for this too and they just say "Deal with it" , I mean not wrong but is there any work around?? (If you want to know HOW GSIs does this then im more than happy to explain in comments)

Thanks!

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49141723

Points: 3

# Comments: 2

Jc Zig

jczig — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 06:34:48 +0000

Explore

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49141713

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Strangers pretrained a language model with HF PRs and a cron job

somevyn — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 04:42:50 +0000

Last week a few of us pretrained a 15M-parameter language model from scratch — past its Chinchilla-optimal token budget — with no cluster, no server, and no budget. The training coordinator is a GitHub Actions cron job. The gradients are pull requests. By the end, someone we'd never met had joined and trained 23M tokens of it. github.com/commonsense-ai/coop — Model + card · huggingface.co/commonsense-ai/tinystories-15m — Gradient inbox — Leaderboard

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49141174

Points: 1

# Comments: 0