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zgluck

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The reason communications with the Voyager 1/2 twin probes have lasted for like 45 years:

Voyager 2 is equipped with three Multihundred-Watt radioisotope thermoelectric generators (MHW RTG). Each RTG includes 24 pressed plutonium oxide spheres, and provided enough heat to generate approximately 157 W of electrical power at launch.

Vim Boss 3 years ago

So the result of me writing this was that John Gruber was added as the BDFL of Markdown. Creator, sure, BDFL, that's a stretch.

Found this one while browsing the catalog. Cool.

https://github.com/nasa/astrobee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk-1j3sXTqA

Three NASA Astrobee free-flying robots have been operating inside the International Space Station (ISS) since 2019. This astrobee repository contains source code for the Astrobee Robot Software, consisting of the flight software that runs onboard the Astrobee robots, a software simulator, and supporting tools, primarily written in C++.

Vim Boss 3 years ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benevolent_dictator_for_life has a list of BDFLs. Bram is the first BDFL in that list who has passed away. We're in for a generational shift the coming decade(s). It makes sense to prepare - that is how you preserve a legacy, and the community.

I've been impressed with how Bram's passing has been handled by his family and friends with respect to his legacy and the future of vim.

Sounds hopeful to me - in contexts where the architects somehow only want to design buildings people don't really like, for reasons.

Downfall Attacks 3 years ago

Corresponding AWS notice:

https://aws.amazon.com/security/security-bulletins/AWS-2023-...

AWS customers’ data and instances are not affected by this issue, and no customer action is required. AWS has designed and implemented its infrastructure with protections against this class of issues. Amazon EC2 instances, including Lambda, Fargate, and other AWS-managed compute and container services protect customer data against GDS through microcode and software based mitigations.

Hardware companies often find it very hard to competently build software.

They tend to lack appreciation/understanding of software in the first place (hardware-first thinking) leading to underinvestments.

It's also hard for them to identify great software people - at all levels, starting from the CEO/board.

I think... both for Finland and Sweden: We wanted to stand out internationally. And there were lots of clever people in the right places early on. And there was money to spend on that exciting new stuff, after the first few early press rounds.

But since this on top of HN I hope someone who actually knows will show up soon. :)