Venkatesh-Prasad Ranganath

Given the recent geopolitical and economic rifts between USA and EU and Canada, I wonder "how will the EU nations and Canada respond if USA were to request help in the latest middle east conflict (like in the 2000s)?" Let's hope we don't have to answer this question🤞

A great overview of the evolution of #container technology via #Docker. It also provides a quick peek into the various technology bits that enable containers work.

If you want to learn more about how containers work, then consider starting with wizardzines.com/zines/contai... by @b0rk.jvns.ca.

Tests Are The New Moat | Daniel Saewitz As AI becomes better at cloning people's open source work, what ends up becoming most valuable are software contracts, tests, and API surface area. This clashes the incentives of clearly defining your...

As "cloning" software becomes easier with LLM-based SE (which works better with oracles, e.g., tests), can tests serve as the new moat? They can but only until we figure out efficient ways to generate effective tests.

saewitz.com/tests-are-th...

#oss #softwaredevelopment #LLM

You can. Just turn off the computer for a weekend 😛 Jokes aside, struggles to connect devices and Internet seems to be the bane of life with computers.

Chip-processing method could assist cryptography schemes to keep data secure A new fabrication technique enables two chips to share a unique “fingerprint,” allowing one to authenticate the other without the need to store secret key information on a third-party server, eliminat...

Neat idea that leverage randomness in natural phenomena -- randomness in a tear -- to improve security.

#technology #security

news.mit.edu/2026/chip-pr...

Let's pause and think a bit. Do consumers want electronics (e.g., TVs, game consoles, mobile phones) or #AI? The answer and, hence, the action is obvious. Focus on what works and helps consumers and then pursue AI development.

#technology #electronics

YouTube video by Avie Sheck Mom & I Cover Creep By Radiohead (she is a classical Indian singer 🕉️)

This duet cover of Radiohead's "Creep", between a son and his Shastriya Sangeet classically trained mother, is the mash-up I didn't know how much I needed in my life. Totally spontaneous sobbing may have taken place.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZoH...

Also, it touches upon the following interesting topics.

1. Computer scientist is a toolsmith.
2. Hitching #research to be driven by someone's problem and their terms.
3. Effects of TV (think #socialmedia today) on society.

2/2

The computer scientist as toolsmith II | Communications of the ACM

"The Computer Scientist as Toolsmith II" by Frederick P. Brooks, Jr., is pertinent in today's tech world as it argues for intelligence amplifying systems instead of mind-mimicking/replacing systems (current #AI).

dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/...

#science #engineering

1/2

HP’s laptop subscriptions are a great deal — for HP From the company that brought you subscription-locked ink cartridges

Cloud == Rent someone's computer and use it remotely.
??? == rent someone's computer and use it locally.

I wonder about the target market (and its size) for this business model.

#laptop #subscription

www.theverge.com/report/87833...

Despite hearing ads industry experts talk about ads and mindshare (i.e., "fast car" suggests Lamborghini and not Fiat, which makes sense) , I do not think it is true of modern day ads market when ads are ineffective in grabbing mindshare.

My take: Having a spec helps be more effective with LLMs, and TDD starts with tests, which are a widely understood sort of spec. Also, LLMs building an impl that fits tests can be perceived as TDD. Of course, we may be picking up the bath tub (TDD) to pick up the baby (spec).

Two questions popped into my head as I read the skeet.

1) Does a chip shortage extend the (resale) value of chips?

2) Is the tech sector (tired aka run out of new ideas and) turning towards rent seeking?

India orders social media platforms to take down deepfakes faster | TechCrunch India’s new rules take effect February 20, tightening deepfake oversight and shrinking takedown windows to as little as two hours.

"mandating the labeling and traceability of synthetic audio and visual content, while also slashing compliance timelines for platforms, including a three-hour deadline for official takedown orders and a two-hour window for certain urgent user complaints."

#privacy

techcrunch.com/2026/02/10/i...

Field Notes from a Senior Living Center On confidence, confusion, and the quiet cost of bad design

Great article about usability issues in tech. These issues are amplified when the tech industry purposes the wider use of new technology (e.g., passwords to passkeys) without considering how to bring every user along.

#usability #technology

open.substack.com/pub/beccasel...

Finally, @bsky.app gets drafts 🎉🎉

#bluesky

Intensification as in the increase in amount of work done per minute is good; of course, this raises the question about compensation: trade time for money vs trade units of work for money.

First Proof To assess the ability of current AI systems to correctly answer research-level mathematics questions, we share a set of ten math questions which have arisen naturally in the research process of the au...

Ten math problems with proofs known the authors. Proofs are encrypted until Feb 13. For all problems, authors claim both AI-based literature searches and zero-shot attempts at proofs failed. If you want to take a crack, you have until next Friday (2/13)!

In how many parts? (:

Out of curiosity, does this 15m number include users of Windows 11 which includes CoPilot by default? Or did these 15m users explicitly subscribe/pay for Copilot? Thanks in advance!

Owning a $5M data center Data centers are cool, everyone should have one.

Nice write-up from Comma.ai about how to run a #datacenter 👏
More details on the following would have been good.
1) How they produce their own power?
2) Why their compute loads/patterns and data don't need redundancy?

blog.comma.ai/datacenter/

#cloud #computing #engineering #hardware

If the agent was trained on C compiler code, then it is good improvement in applying past knowledge 👍 If it was trained on compiler code but not C compiler code, then 👏 If it was not trained on any compiler code, then 🤯

Of course, the amount of human interventions is also a key factor.

Equivalent to one of the MAGS going bust.

How hard is it to secure PII data that should be part of a very small fraction of user journeys (specifically, in case of non-material services such as media services)?

#security #software

Also, instead of "selling it", they would be beating the customers away with high priced subscriptions because they would be struggling hard to service the demand.

An alternative and affordable model/system to provide/get healthcare in the US as the insurance costs balloon. Very similar to the (prevalent) model/system that works pretty well in India.

#healthcare #medicine #health #insurance

"He said the company .... had not been meeting readers’ needs." -- @washingtonpost.com needs to read its #bluesky post about the looming partial shutdown to learn why it is not meeting its user's needs. It is about the basics:
1) report facts and
2) don't mix opinions and facts.

@washingtonpost.com please use basic editorial oversight on your social media posts. Messing up the direction of dependence will erode confidence in readers.

Copilot everywhere? Not for long. Microsoft dialing it back on Windows 11 People familiar with Microsoft's plans say that the company moving to streamline or remove certain Copilot integrations across in-box apps like Notepad and Paint in 2026, after pushback from users.

"The company is shifting away from ‘AI everywhere’ and toward features that actually make sense for Windows users." 🤦‍♂️

www.windowscentral.com/microsoft/wi...

Vimeo Lays Off 'Most' of Its Staff, Allegedly Includes 'the Entire Video Team' Employees reported major job cuts this week, just months after the video hosting site was bought by Bending Spoons.

Sometimes recently posted an article about the company Bending Spoons and I mentioned how it messed up Evernote. And, today, I stumble in this news 🤦

gizmodo.com/vimeo-lays-o...