Hacker News: ktallett

New comment by ktallett in "Amazon Luna Will No Longer Allow Owners to Buy Games, Access Game Stores"

ktallett — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 22:24:02 +0000

This makes it far less useful than it was. I wouldn't have supported Amazon if I could avoid it but I would have considered it to play games of GOG remotely. I assume Amazon just aren't making enough money with other stores on the platform.

New comment by ktallett in "Volunteers turn a fan's recordings of 10K concerts into an online treasure trove"

ktallett — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 11:05:15 +0000

Some fantastic albums here. Clearly dedicated to his craft of recording. There are still a few quality bootleg bloggers out there that give me hope the web can still be special and enjoyable.

New comment by ktallett in "A new trick brings stability to quantum operations"

ktallett — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:23:40 +0000

It will be very challenging to implement their system off this paper as there are many key experimental details missing. I won't get into my hatred of this but open methodology is sorely needed in QC and it really hampers speed of development across the whole sector. As you say you will run into limitations eventually but again hard to judge where those limitations are.

New comment by ktallett in "Team from ETH Zurich make high quality quantum swap gate using a geometric phase"

ktallett — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:24:21 +0000

There are so many steps in quantum computing but there is nothing of note to suggest that we can get anywhere near building a device that outperforms HPC's at this stage.

New comment by ktallett in "Protected quantum gates using qubit doublons in dynamical optical lattices"

ktallett — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 14:20:14 +0000

I am of the view the 17000 is simply referring to once they had the system set in the final stage they are happy with. They ran 17000 qubits through it over the course of testing and it led to a fidelity of 99%. Which is useful as fidelity is important, although this still isn't accurate enough, but it is no where near programmable general quantum computer.

New comment by ktallett in "Show HN: Is Hormuz open yet?"

ktallett — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 22:03:32 +0000

Not the first time they couldn't keep to a ceasefire for even a day, let alone 24 hours. Exactly the same as what happened with Palestine last year as well.

New comment by ktallett in "Computational Physics (2nd Edition)"

ktallett — Sun, 05 Apr 2026 18:29:27 +0000

I did a few courses across academic years that were based around this book and it's very handy skills to learn. Whilst perhaps not in the moment, it's a good introduction to implementing functions and equations, before you lead on to the next steps of specific functions and methods of analysis alongside hpc with parallelization.

New comment by ktallett in "Why mathematicians are boycotting their biggest conference"

ktallett — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 23:15:39 +0000

Huh? This is primarily because travelling to the US is not worth the risk right now.

New comment by ktallett in "He suddenly couldn't speak in space. NASA astronaut says his medical scare remai"

ktallett — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 11:56:35 +0000

Not to be ageist but is this not a slight risk from using astronauts who are older in age due to their important experience. It does feel as if we need to find a route to fast track at least some of the crew if we are to expand a program to far more expeditions.

New comment by ktallett in "Len Deighton, spy novelist and author of The Ipcress File, dies aged 97"

ktallett — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 21:08:49 +0000

His books have often kept me company on long flights, so this is very sad. A great author that never sold out whilst always being a real page turner.

New comment by ktallett in "MacBook Air with M5"

ktallett — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:38:23 +0000

It doesn't feel as sturdy, but I have actually had less issues with it in the same amount of time, and each one I have been able to fix myself cheapily and easily. The Macbook does feel sturdy, but it is deceptive as one issue means the whole laptop is almost needing to be replaced which is not strong in reality.

New comment by ktallett in "Hisense TVs add unskippable startup ads before live TV"

ktallett — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 13:35:37 +0000

Another brand I will not buy. What has become of so many companies selling out? Apple, Lenovo, Hisense, and so on.

New comment by ktallett in "MacBook Air with M5"

ktallett — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 21:58:20 +0000

Primitive in what sense though? As I have had one for longer than my Macbook lasted in the same situation, plus it is upgradeable as and when I choose. I loved apple of old, and the classic apple that was the framework of it's time regarding upgradeability, has long gone.

New comment by ktallett in "Is particle physics dead, dying, or just hard?"

ktallett — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:17:12 +0000

Is it more that even the most dedicated and passionate researchers have to frame their interests in a way that will get funding? Particle Physics right now is not the thing those with the cash will fund right now. AI and QC is the focus.

New comment by ktallett in "Uber Found Liable in Rape by Driver, Setting Stage for Cases"

ktallett — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 18:36:50 +0000

Drivers are only independent contractors due to poor employment policy from Uber. They work for Uber, therefore Uber do have a duty of care to the users of their service. Now some may say that they only provide the platform similar to Silkroad, however the key difference is that the drivers are representing Uber, in Silkroad's case the sellers were not representing silkroad.

If Uber wish to be seperate from those drivers, they need to provide the customer the chance to choose the driver, and have an appropriate review system.

New comment by ktallett in "Iran's internet blackout may become permanent, with access for elites only"

ktallett — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 13:44:41 +0000

As in the total opposite meaning?

New comment by ktallett in "Vibe coding kills open source"

ktallett — Mon, 26 Jan 2026 13:44:00 +0000

I think vibe coding would greatly struggle with large open source projects unless your planning was exceptional and your comments on optimal coding style was exceptional, however...... For those small open source tools that many of us use daily and find invaluable, I actually think vibe coding is ideal for that. It can make a functional version quickly and you can iterate and improve it, and feel no loss for making it free to use.

I was very sceptical but I will admit I think vibe coding has a place in society, just what it is yet is still to be determined. It can't help most for sure but it can help some in some situations.

New comment by ktallett in "Zotero 8"

ktallett — Sat, 24 Jan 2026 11:55:22 +0000

I'm delighted it's now become available on ARM as I now can have it on my lab computer (Pi) and the Pocket Reform that I use day to day. I still need to come up with an optimal folder system for it though.

New comment by ktallett in "3D printing my laptop ergonomic setup"

ktallett — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 18:45:27 +0000

It depends what you are creating but for all I do Openscad (3d printed components in the lab) is very usable.

New comment by ktallett in "IKEA for Software"

ktallett — Sat, 17 Jan 2026 13:36:18 +0000

That isn't ikea for software. That is as if Ikea only made chairs, and primarily focused on one type of chair, like wingbacks.