<rss version="2.0" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"><channel><title>Hacker News: initramfs</title><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=initramfs</link><description>Hacker News RSS</description><docs>https://hnrss.org/</docs><generator>hnrss v2.1.1</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 00:05:00 +0000</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://hnrss.org/user?id=initramfs" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"></atom:link><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "Why older tech is sometimes safer from hackers"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Forgot about that. I intially thought you were referring to CloudFlare Captcha's, which Google and Firefox are partnering with: <a href="https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318891/20260623/cloudflare-chrome-firefox-plan-replace-captchas-cryptographic-tokens.htm" rel="nofollow">https://www.techtimes.com/articles/318891/20260623/cloudflar...</a><p>It's remarkable how much more time one has to wait just to access the same level of information (Cookie Policy, EULAs, etc).<p>Even with "lighter" weight HTTP Firewall utilities such as Anubis (<a href="https://github.com/techaroHQ/anubis" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/techaroHQ/anubis</a>), the average user has to pay for other's (DDoSers) misdeeds. Now no one can visit a site without a firewall unless it's static and rate-limited by IP address to avoid crashing a small home server. Some impressive LMDBs might be able to serve up to 100,000 requests per second on a lightweight PC, but then again they could still be knocked offline from a super resourceful organization. I like not putting all my eggs in one basket.<p>A similar bug could happen with something like Cloudflare- the computer serving up the firewall could have a bug, and it's not programmed to fall back on serving the site without the gatekeeping. If the site is prominent enough, it might routinely face DoS attacks which prevents it from being used. But if it's an uneventful day, it could still manage a lower-tech firewall and still be functional.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 21:27:53 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49426070</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49426070</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49426070</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "MS Paint and Photos inivisibly watermark even locally generated output with GUID"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>No, I wasn't suggesting that. I was saying that if there was digital art (human made) aesthetically significant that a curator would want to display it in a museum, Microsoft's GUID supplied to a data collection agency would make it possible to retrieve if ever/whenever that data were declassified (assuming it isn't purged)<p>It's possible a very bad curator with a terrible taste in art might select slop to display, but I was refering to "fine art" or at least finer art that is digital.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:05:56 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49424436</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49424436</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49424436</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "Why older tech is sometimes safer from hackers"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Right,  the sub-headline "security through antiquity" is a nod to both the oft-repeated "security through obscurity," while pointing out the fact that antiquity is sometimes underutilized or undervalued as a security mechanism (even if not tamperproof). Cyber defenses are thus best multi-pronged, which offers the best protection- by maximizing the amount of time an intruder would need to spend to determine what system it is using.<p>About your second comment- newer systems CAN be less secure, but not always. But even if they are, falling back on things like eLoran are important.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 17:20:22 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49423026</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49423026</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49423026</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[eInk Error Diffusion Dithering – The best of 2 worlds [video]]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paPTPjFJ5dw">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paPTPjFJ5dw</a></p>
<p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49422240">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49422240</a></p>
<p>Points: 8</p>
<p># Comments: 3</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:30:47 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paPTPjFJ5dw</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49422240</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49422240</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "MS Paint and Photos inivisibly watermark even locally generated output with GUID"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Thanks Microsoft, for adding my signature so I won't have to claim authorship when it ends up in a museum in 200 years, and the NSA archives are declassified for art historians filing a FOIA in 2226, who find out, "yep, it was from his PC."</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:11:55 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421886</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421886</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421886</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "MS Paint and Photos inivisibly watermark even locally generated output with GUID"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I guess it shouldn't be surprising if an application called "paint.net" can determined if AI was used when connected to the internet. (I have used Paint.net more than a decade ago).</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 24 Aug 2026 16:09:21 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421835</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421835</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49421835</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "I should have loved biology (2020)"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>One of the motivating reasons I majored in Biology my sophomore year was that the Vatican was took centuries in accepting the heliocentric theory, and I thought if they got evolution wrong too, then there might be more work to do.<p>But then I realized that a lot of biologists are religious, and it didn't have to be an antagonistic competition.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Fri, 21 Aug 2026 01:04:53 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49382405</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49382405</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49382405</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[On-chip solar power source for self-powered smart microsensors.Bulk CMOS process]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Article URL: <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s44172-025-00358-w">https://www.nature.com/articles/s44172-025-00358-w</a></p>
<p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49367544">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49367544</a></p>
<p>Points: 3</p>
<p># Comments: 0</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 21:39:27 +0000</pubDate><link>https://www.nature.com/articles/s44172-025-00358-w</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49367544</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49367544</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A joke domain purchase turned in geopolitical warfare"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Right, it's a small little intro that goes a long way.<p>I checked the habhub website and found this blurb:
"habhub is the home of high altitude ballooning tools developed by UKHAS, and the SondeHub team. The habitat database was retired in 2022, replaced by the SondeHub database and tracker."<p>This intro was also quite helpful, which I found on the Sondehub github page:<p><a href="https://github.com/projecthorus/sondehub-amateur-tracker/wiki/Guide-for-HabHub-Users#what-is-sondehub" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/projecthorus/sondehub-amateur-tracker/wik...</a><p>"SondeHub started out in 2019 as a database and mapping system for tracking meteorological radiosondes. It's hosted in Amazon Web Services, so it is scalable and reliable (though does cost more to run...). SondeHub is run by a small team lead by x, y and is currently funded through Patreon Sponsors and a grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications. SondeHub handles many millions of radiosonde telemetry packets a day, with telemetry contributed by over 700 unique receiver stations."<p>I didn't include the names because it wasn't the purpose of the comment, just a nice way to introduce the story.<p>I understand that the habhhub shutdown is part of the story that they later reveal, and now folded into/adapted into Sondehub:<p>"HabHub, the Habitat database, and associated utilities have been hosted on a server donated by Nevis (name) since 2011. However, due to ongoing issues with server maintenance and rising power prices, continued hosting has become untenable. In addition to this, the software behind the Habitat servers has become extremely difficult to maintain, and a very large amount of work would be required to port it to a more modern operating system."</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:42:08 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49364686</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49364686</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49364686</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A joke domain purchase turned in geopolitical warfare"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I've only read the first few paragraphs but I've noticed a narrative issue. I might be the only person to have this peeve, but when introducing a story to non technical and even technical readers, it's always clearer to introduce which website is not theirs and which website is theirs. It's written in a 3rd person perspective that doesn't take ownership of the websites.<p>"Only Melbourne and Adelaide radiosondes (the transmitter on weather balloons) were being tracked on a website called Habhub - high altitude ballooning hub."<p>Ok, I can infer that habhub probably isn't the speaker's website.<p>"A query parameter could be added to the URL to remove the filter and on 12th of May 2018 sondehub.org registered with a single purpose - a URL redirect to Habhub with a radiosonde specific filter."<p>Ok, I can infer sondehub was set up by a jokey duo or group of weather balloon hobbyists.<p>But it's really annoying reading and doubting this because I'm not 100% sure that the speaker is actually the domain creator of sondehub.<p>You can say "we registered sondehub" or "I registered sondehub.org." Poor journalists use this passive voice sometimes. "Something happened. A source said..." Unless you're protecting a source, you can say who said what, and what caused something to happen.<p>So I stopped reading, and wrote this comment.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Wed, 19 Aug 2026 17:05:14 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49364185</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49364185</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49364185</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A third world engineer responds to “RISC-V: They should have known better”"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>I had the same thought too months ago. In fact, I speculated the i840 GPU could also be integrated. Might the i915 GPU (GMA 900) also be ready for patent expiration?? <a href="https://inavoyage.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-nm10-chipset-backporting-to-pentium.html" rel="nofollow">https://inavoyage.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-nm10-chipset-back...</a> although, the Sandy Bridge process would be ideal in terms of efficient iGPU integration.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 20:45:59 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49337391</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49337391</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49337391</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A third world engineer responds to “RISC-V: They should have known better”"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p><a href="https://wafer.space" rel="nofollow">https://wafer.space</a> allows chips but I think tinytapeout became what efabless was doing:
<a href="https://chipfoundry.io/" rel="nofollow">https://chipfoundry.io/</a><p>Also Hitachi's SH-2 & SH-4 patents expired in 2016, so J-core picked up where they left off: <a href="https://j-core.org/" rel="nofollow">https://j-core.org/</a><p>MIPS also went open source around 2018: <a href="https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-hardware/mips-joins-risc-v-as-second-open-source-alternative-to-arm" rel="nofollow">https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/data-center-hardware/mip...</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 14:10:53 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49331277</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49331277</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49331277</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A 3rd World Embedded Engineer Responds to "RISC-V They Should Have Known Better""]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Thanks for supplying the chain of licensure!</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 21:06:28 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323679</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323679</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323679</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A third world engineer responds to “RISC-V: They should have known better”"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>There have been some PowerISA implementations, <a href="https://libre-soc.org/openpower/" rel="nofollow">https://libre-soc.org/openpower/</a>
 although libre project had a major setback a few years ago:<p><a href="https://lists.libre-soc.org/pipermail/libre-soc-dev/2024-September/006548.html" rel="nofollow">https://lists.libre-soc.org/pipermail/libre-soc-dev/2024-Sep...</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 20:26:43 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323340</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323340</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323340</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A third world engineer responds to “RISC-V: They should have known better”"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>True, and the only reason I'm partial to x86 and even some older ARMv cores is that there is a huge existing software ecosystem already available, reducing the need to develop new bootloaders and ports, as coding hours aren't free. CISC cores are treated as if they are a dirty word, but are more versatile for covering various applications.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:56:45 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323096</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323096</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49323096</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A third world engineer responds to “RISC-V: They should have known better”"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Thanks for that information! I have been interested in getting x86 produced in smaller nanometer (e.g. <32nm). My project: <a href="https://ei2030.github.io/FemtoTX/#about" rel="nofollow">https://ei2030.github.io/FemtoTX/#about</a><p>Edit: It also appears Nvidia might also have an x86 license: <a href="https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/uli-m6117c/" rel="nofollow">https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/drivers/uli-m6117c/</a><p>Also,
<a href="https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/intel-licenses-atom-class-x86-cores-to-startup-firm-reportedly-sharing-rtl-enabling-customer-to-build-its-own-custom-processors-based-on-x86-general-purpose-cores" rel="nofollow">https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/intel-licens...</a> (Caveat: The startup is acquainted with the Intel CEO, so it's rare for them to grant the x86 license to non-buddies.)<p>"Intel provided Rosaic access to an unknown Atom-class core, which enables the company to build its own custom processors based on x86 general-purpose cores, according to the report. The renowned chipmaker plans to ship Rosaic register-transfer level (RTL) code  for the Atom processor core, which will let the startup build its custom system-on-chip (SoC) both at Intel Foundry and elsewhere."<p>What's interesting is that a startup with limited funds would most likely seek a 32-bit x86 license if a) they don't need more than 4GB of RAM, and b), if they don't want to pay AMD for the 64 bit license add-on. :)</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:26:27 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49322875</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49322875</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49322875</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "A third world engineer responds to “RISC-V: They should have known better”"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>"Now price the same journey on the other side, forget x86-64 and that duopoly, patent minefield, with multi-thousand dollar debug probes; we'll take a look at ARM."<p>The 386 and 486 patent should have expired more than 20 years ago. No one tried to open source it. <a href="https://github.com/EI2030/Low-power-E-Paper-OS/blob/master/060101.pdf" rel="nofollow">https://github.com/EI2030/Low-power-E-Paper-OS/blob/master/0...</a> There were many companies that had clones in the early 90s, and I wonder whether any of them still have the rights to manufacture them.<p>" That is a better reason than elegance. and I want to tell Mr Grinberg, that the word priviledge he tosses around in his article also extends beyond the ISA depending on where you are in the world."<p>Grinberg is an emigre from Ukraine, which isn't the most privileged place in the world. In fact his research articles go deeper than the average software developer in Silicon Valley.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sun, 16 Aug 2026 19:20:32 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49322827</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49322827</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49322827</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "YouTube Dumps Cache Between Ads, Quality Toggling and Wastes Cellular Bandwidth"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Accompanying YouTube video (embedded video either still processing, or unplayable): <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kZtKSJwCzo" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kZtKSJwCzo</a></p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 18:00:17 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49312748</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49312748</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49312748</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[YouTube Dumps Cache Between Ads, Quality Toggling and Wastes Cellular Bandwidth]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Article URL: <a href="https://inavoyage.blogspot.com/2026/08/youtube-dumps-cache-between-ads-quality.html">https://inavoyage.blogspot.com/2026/08/youtube-dumps-cache-between-ads-quality.html</a></p>
<p>Comments URL: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49312747">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49312747</a></p>
<p>Points: 12</p>
<p># Comments: 1</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 18:00:17 +0000</pubDate><link>https://inavoyage.blogspot.com/2026/08/youtube-dumps-cache-between-ads-quality.html</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49312747</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49312747</guid></item><item><title><![CDATA[New comment by initramfs in "2027 memory capacity is reportedly sold out"]]></title><description><![CDATA[
<p>Though I am sure with enough time, someone can find a reason to need ECC.</p>
]]></description><pubDate>Sat, 08 Aug 2026 15:02:26 +0000</pubDate><link>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49222494</link><dc:creator>initramfs</dc:creator><comments>https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49222494</comments><guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49222494</guid></item></channel></rss>