Steve Yegge is highly impressed with Claude Code, a new coding assistant. He finds it significantly better than GitHub Copilot, praising its superior reasoning abilities, ability to follow complex instructions, and aptitude for refactoring. He highlights its proficiency in Python but notes its current weakness with JavaScript. Yegge believes Claude Code represents a leap forward in AI coding assistance and predicts it will transform programming practices.
This YouTube video showcases a Toshiba BW-2112, a Japanese typewriter from the 1980s. The video demonstrates the typewriter's various functions, including typing in Japanese using katakana and hiragana, as well as English letters and numbers. The presenter highlights the machine's unique features like the half-space key, margin settings, and correction capabilities. They also demonstrate changing the ribbon and the overall operation of the typewriter, emphasizing its compact and portable design.
HN users generally enjoyed the video showcasing the Toshiba BW-2112 typewriter, praising its design, sound, and the creator's obvious enthusiasm. Several commenters reminisced about using typewriters, highlighting the satisfying tactile experience and the focus they demanded. Some discussed the typewriter's specific features, like the unique key spacing and the half-space key. A few users expressed interest in finding a similar model, and others shared links to resources for typewriter enthusiasts. One compelling comment thread debated the practicality of using vintage typewriters today, considering factors like maintenance, ribbon availability, and the lack of editing capabilities.
The Portland Mercury article argues that Poison Idea, despite their volatile history and lack of mainstream recognition, are the greatest hardcore band of all time. The band's aggressive sound, confrontational lyrics reflecting their bleak Portland surroundings, and relentless touring cemented their influence on countless bands. Frontman Jerry A.'s outsized personality and struggles with addiction, while contributing to the band's instability, also added to their legend. The piece positions Poison Idea not just as a vital part of Portland's music scene, but as a crucial act in hardcore's evolution, inspiring generations with their raw power and uncompromising vision.
HN commenters discuss Portland's hardcore punk scene and Poison Idea's influence. Some debate the band's status as the "greatest of all time," with some suggesting other influential bands like Black Flag and Minor Threat. Others reminisce about seeing Poison Idea live, recalling their intense performances and Jerry A.'s powerful stage presence. Several commenters also touch upon the darker aspects of the band and the Portland scene, including drug use and violence, while acknowledging the band's significant contribution to hardcore punk. A few share personal anecdotes about encounters with band members and reflect on the evolution of the hardcore scene.
Common Lisp saw continued, albeit slow and steady, progress in 2023-2024. Key developments include improved tooling, notably with the rise of the CLPM build system and continued refinement of Roswell. Libraries like FFI, CFFI, and Bordeaux Threads saw improvements, along with advancements in web development frameworks like CLOG and Woo. The community remains active, albeit small, with ongoing efforts in areas like documentation and learning resources. While no groundbreaking shifts occurred, the ecosystem continues to mature, providing a stable and powerful platform for its dedicated user base.
Several commenters on Hacker News appreciated the overview of Common Lisp's recent developments and the author's personal experience. Some highlighted the value of CL's stability and the ongoing work improving its ecosystem, particularly around areas like web development. Others discussed the language's strengths, such as its powerful macro system and interactive development environment, while acknowledging its steeper learning curve compared to more mainstream options. The continued interest and slow but steady progress of Common Lisp were seen as positive signs. One commenter expressed excitement about upcoming web framework improvements, while others shared their own positive experiences with using CL for specific projects.
Signal's cryptography is generally well-regarded, using established and vetted protocols like X3DH and Double Ratchet for secure messaging. The blog post author reviewed Signal's implementation and found it largely sound, praising the clarity of the documentation and the overall design. While some minor theoretical improvements were suggested, like using a more modern key derivation function (HKDF over SHA-256) and potentially exploring post-quantum cryptography for future-proofing, the author concludes that Signal's current cryptographic choices are robust and secure, offering strong confidentiality and integrity protections for users.
Hacker News users discussed the Signal cryptography review, mostly agreeing with the author's points. Several highlighted the importance of Signal's Double Ratchet algorithm and the trade-offs involved in achieving strong security while maintaining usability. Some questioned the practicality of certain theoretical attacks, emphasizing the difficulty of exploiting them in the real world. Others discussed the value of formal verification efforts and the overall robustness of Signal's protocol design despite minor potential vulnerabilities. The conversation also touched upon the importance of accessible security audits and the challenges of maintaining privacy in messaging apps.
Driven by curiosity and a penchant for the unusual, the author sampled Honda's rodent-repelling tape, designed to deter critters from chewing car wiring. The tape, infused with capsaicin, delivered a potent, lingering burn that surprised and impressed. Despite the intensity, the author found the experience oddly enjoyable, appreciating the unique flavor and comparing it favorably to spicy candies. Ultimately, they declared their willingness to taste the tape again, emphasizing its effectiveness and unusual culinary appeal.
Hacker News users generally found the article amusing and intriguing. Several commenters discussed their own experiences with rodent problems and various repellents, with some suggesting alternative methods like peppermint oil or Irish Spring soap. Some expressed skepticism about the tape's effectiveness, questioning whether the capsaicin would deter rodents in the long run or simply cause them to chew elsewhere. A few users were concerned about the potential harm to pets, while others joked about the author's dedication to investigative journalism. The most compelling comments offered alternative solutions based on personal experience or questioned the logic of the tape's design, wondering if it would truly solve the underlying rodent problem.
Orson Welles's "Chimes at Midnight" (1966), finally receiving a 4K restoration in 2024 from Janus Films, is a masterful adaptation of Shakespeare's Falstaff plays, focusing on the complex relationship between the aging knight and Prince Hal. The film portrays Falstaff not just as a comedic figure but also a tragic one, grappling with his own mortality and the prince's inevitable rejection. This restoration, supervised by Orson Welles expert and longtime champion Peter Bogdanovich, represents the fulfillment of Welles’s own wishes for the film's presentation and will allow audiences to experience this often-overlooked masterpiece in its intended form.
Hacker News users discussed the seeming paradox of Chimes at Midnight, a small, independent magazine achieving significant cultural impact despite its limited readership. Commenters praised the magazine's high production quality, unique content, and focus on in-depth exploration of niche topics. Some highlighted the power of physical objects and the tactile experience they offer in a digital world. Others drew parallels to the early days of the internet and the close-knit communities that formed around shared interests, suggesting Chimes at Midnight taps into a similar dynamic. The potential for small, focused publications to thrive in the current media landscape was a recurring theme, with several commenters noting the importance of catering to a specific, passionate audience rather than chasing mass appeal. A few expressed skepticism about the long-term viability of the magazine's business model, but the overall sentiment was one of admiration and cautious optimism.
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https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43307809
Hacker News users discussing their experience with Claude Code generally found it impressive. Several commenters praised its ability to handle complex instructions and multi-turn conversations, with some even claiming it surpasses GPT-4 in certain areas like code generation and maintaining context. Others highlighted its strong reasoning abilities and fewer hallucinations compared to other LLMs. However, some users expressed caution, pointing out potential limitations in specific domains like math and the lack of access for most users. The cost of Claude Pro was also a topic of discussion, with some debating its value compared to GPT-4. Overall, the sentiment leaned towards optimism about Claude's potential while acknowledging its current limitations and accessibility issues.
The Hacker News post "I've been using Claude Code for a couple of days" (linking to a 2011 tweet about an internal Google coding tool) sparked a discussion thread with several insightful comments. Many commenters noted the historical context of the tweet, highlighting that it originated in 2011 and referred to an internal Google tool, not the more recently released Anthropic Claude.
Several commenters expressed a sense of nostalgia, remembering the internal Google tool fondly and reminiscing about its capabilities. They pointed out features like its code search, documentation integration, and refactoring capabilities. One commenter mentioned how valuable such a tool is internally at Google, enabling developers to easily navigate and understand the company's massive codebase. They also expressed a wish for similar tools to be publicly available.
A recurring theme in the comments was the difficulty of building and maintaining such comprehensive code analysis and assistance tools. Commenters discussed the challenges of scaling these tools to handle the complexity of real-world codebases and the ongoing effort required to keep them up-to-date with evolving languages and frameworks.
Some users discussed the various attempts to create similar tools outside of Google, acknowledging both successful projects and those that have fallen short. They mentioned tools like Kythe, which aims to provide a standardized platform for code analysis, and other open-source efforts aimed at replicating some of the functionality of internal Google tools.
The discussion also touched upon the importance of code intelligence tools for developer productivity and how they can significantly reduce the cognitive load associated with navigating large and complex codebases. Commenters speculated on why more tools of this caliber haven't emerged publicly, suggesting factors like the high development cost and the challenge of effectively monetizing such tools. There was also a discussion on how companies often keep these kinds of powerful internal tools proprietary to maintain a competitive advantage.
Finally, some users drew parallels between the capabilities described in the tweet and more recent advancements in AI-powered coding assistants, like GitHub Copilot and the aforementioned Anthropic Claude, highlighting the progress made in this domain over the past decade. They wondered how these tools compared to Google's internal tools and expressed hope for even more powerful and accessible code intelligence tools in the future.