NASA and IBM Open Source Lunar Mapping Tools
NASA and IBM have released an open-source AI model trained on a large collection of lunar observations to help scientists analyze the Moon at scale. “The NASA-IBM Lunar Foundation Model gives scientists a foundation to explore the Moon at scale, connecting observations across instruments, revealing patterns that are difficult to see in isolation, and providing an open platform the gl … ⌘ Read more
Male Fruit Fly Brain Trained to Play Doom
Last week, Google announced that it managed to produce a detailed 3D reconstruction of an adult male fruit fly’s brain and central nervous system. A few days later a software engineer at Coinbase said the fly brain was being trained to play the original Doom. “Each Doom frame stimulates sensory neurons,” says Alex Wormuth. “Neural activity is mapped to game controls. Damage triggers a stimu … ⌘ Read more
Why Google Told Drivers to Drive a Longer Way On Purpose
“A team at Google’s research arm used Google Maps to reroute a small portion of drivers in 10 U.S. cities,” reports SFGate — including San Francisco and Los Angeles.
“Through their experiment, which was published in the journal Nature Cities in June, the researchers sought to evenly spread traffic down more corridors as the drivers head to similar destinations, … ⌘ Read more
UN Votes To Encourage Map Projections More Accurately Reflecting the True Size of Continents
The United Nations has an announcement. “The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to encourage governments, schools and tech companies worldwide to stop using maps that make Africa look far smaller than it really is.”
By 164 votes to one, Member States on Friday endorsed a resolution … ⌘ Read more
MapQuest’s App Surges to No. 1 In Navigation After Refusing to Rename Lake Ontario
MapQuest’s refusal to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America” has sent its app surging up the charts, making it the No. 1 navigation app in the U.S. and driving “hundreds of thousands” of new downloads. In contrast, Google Maps announced on Saturday that it was complying with the Trump administration’s name change. … ⌘ Read more
Google Maps Renamed Lake Ontario to ‘Lake America’ - But Only for U.S. Users
It’s already happened — at least on Google Maps.
Google’s online maps reflect name changes in official government sources, Google posted Saturday. So when the U.S. Geographic Names Information System formally changed the name for “Lake Ontario” to “Lake America,” Google also renamed it “Lake America” — for visitors from the U … ⌘ Read more
Apple Maps Now Has Ads
Apple has begun rolling out ads in Apple Maps, with sponsored businesses appearing at the top of search results and in the “suggested places” section for users in the U.S. and Canada. Apple says the ads can be based on approximate location, search terms, or the area of the map being viewed, but are not tied to users’ Apple Accounts and personal data remains on-device. 9to5Mac reports: Ads appear just like every other business l … ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.3 Device Mapper Sees Many Fixes, Including Code Cleanups By Claude Opus
The Linux Device Mapper “DKM” framework for mapping block devices to higher-level virtual block devices doesn’t see any major new features for Linux 7.3 but there are many bug fixes, including code clean-ups carried out by AI… ⌘ Read more
IOmap Improvement For Linux 7.3 Takes EXT4 & XFS Performance Further
As part of the VFS pull requests now merged to the Linux 7.3 development kernel was an improvement to the IOmap framework used by various file-systems for mapping logical file byte offsets in memory to their physical locations on storage. With the now-merged code, this modern block mapping framework is allowing better performance at least for the EXT4 file-system… ⌘ Read more
Bipartisan ‘Uprising’ Against Flock Cameras: a Larger Fight Against Big Tech and Surveillance?
Politico notes that over 20 local jurisdictions in America “either stopped using Flock cameras or began the process of doing so in July, according to a tracker maintained by DeFlock, an activist group that has been mapping the company. It’s the highest amount in a single month since they began … ⌘ Read more
Oh man wow 😮 Problem 9 was quite hard 😱 I had to build two new functions in the Mu stdlib for computing combinations and permutations, but then the combinations of range(1000) for triples such as a + b == c is enormous! So i had to write iterator versions of these to do lazy evaluation. Anyway solution follows:
#!/usr/bin/env mu
// Special Pythagorean Triplet
import "iter"
fn usage() {
print("Usage:", args()[0], "<n>")
}
fn sqr(x) { x * x }
fn main() {
if len(args()) < 2 {
usage()
exit(1)
}
n := must(int(args()[1]))
print("n:", n)
// For a < b < c and a + b + c == n, both a and b are strictly less
// than n/2. Generate only (a,b) combinations and derive c directly. This
// keeps the search lazy and reduces n=1000 from C(999,3) = 165,668,499
// candidate triples to C(499,2) = 124,251 candidate pairs.
pairs := iter.combinations(iter.range(1, n / 2), 2)
triples := iter.map(pairs, fn(xs) {
a := xs[0]
b := xs[1]
return [a, b, n - a - b]
})
// Enforce b < c; a < b is already guaranteed by combinations over an
// increasing range, and a + b + c == n holds by construction.
triples = iter.filter(triples, fn(xs) {
return xs[1] < xs[2]
})
// Euler 9 has one answer for n=1000. find() stops the entire upstream
// iterator chain as soon as the first Pythagorean triple is found.
answer := iter.find(triples, fn(xs) {
return sqr(xs[0]) + sqr(xs[1]) == sqr(xs[2])
})
print(answer)
if answer != nil {
print(answer[0] * answer[1] * answer[2])
}
}
main()
It is such a nice feeling that Mu is such a capable little language 😅 And I decided to write code code in Mu by hand 🤚 haha 🤣 and start solving Project Euler problems, like Problem 8 which works out to be a nice elegant solution in Mu:
#!/usr/bin/env mu
// Largest Product in a Series
import "fp"
import "sys"
fn usage() {
print("Usage: cat |", args()[0], "<n>")
}
fn products(xs) {
return fp.reduce(xs, 1, fn(x, y) {
if y == nil {
return x
}
return x * y
})
}
fn main() {
if len(args()) < 2 {
usage()
exit(1)
}
s := must(sys.read_all(0))
if len(s) == 0 {
usage()
exit(1)
}
n := must(int(args()[1]))
r := fp.max(fp.map(fp.sliding(fp.map(s, int), n), products))
print(r)
}
main()
Scientists Turn Starlink Into a Giant Scanner For Earth’s Upper Atmosphere
alternative_right shares a report from ScienceDaily: Researchers have found a clever new way to map a part of Earth’s upper atmosphere that is notoriously difficult to observe. Using orbital data from roughly 1,200 Starlink satellites, they reconstructed changes in atmospheric density about 500 kilometers above Earth. [… … ⌘ Read more
Scientists Create Largest 2D Map of the Universe
After 13 years of observations and data processing, astronomers have released the largest two-dimensional map of the universe ever assembled, “offering a sweeping new view of nearly 4 billion celestial objects across roughly three-quarters of the sky,” reports Space.com. From the report: The new map, created by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Su … ⌘ Read more
Taxi Drivers Rarely Die of Alzheimer’s
An anonymous reader shares a report from The Conversation, written by Hatim Sharif, a civil and environmental engineer who has “spent more than two decades staring at maps” and spatial data. Sharif finds one connection especially fascinating: the link between spatial reasoning and why taxi drivers seem to have lower rates of Alzheimer’s. From the report: Taxi and ambulance drivers are less likel … ⌘ Read more
Return to Castle Wolfenstein RealRTCW brings PS2 maps to the Cursed Sands DLC
Cursed Sands brought over the previously console-exclusive prologue to PC back in May, and now it has expanded to include the PS2 maps as well.
Read the full article on [GamingOnLinux](https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2026/08/return-to-castle-wolfenstein-realrtcw-brings-ps2-maps-to-the- … ⌘ Read more
Quake Celebrates 30th Anniversary: New Official Episode With New Maps and Mechanics
To celebrate Quake’s 30th anniversary, Bethesda released “a brutal new episode” — a new campaign chapter titled Dawn of the Machine “delivering ferocious combat, labyrinthine level design, and nightmarish realms that twist reality beyond recognition…”
Face deadly new twists on familiar foes, including the … ⌘ Read more
Group of Teen Hikers Relied on Google Maps. It Was a Disaster.
“When a group of teenagers set out to hike British Columbia’s famed Howe Sound Crest Trail in early July, Google Maps suggested the trek would take about five hours,” reports SFGate.
“Instead, the hike stretched deep into the night, leaving the group exhausted, dehydrated, injured and in need of a helicopter rescue…”
Although the approximately 18-m … ⌘ Read more
Commodore’s Callback 8020 Is a $499 Flip Phone That Blocks Social Media and Browsers
Commodore has unveiled the Callback 8020, a $499 Sailfish OS flip phone that runs most Android apps but deliberately blocks social media, browsers, email, and workplace apps to discourage doomscrolling. The “not dumb dumbphone” still supports messaging, music, maps, ridesharing, hotspots, a removable battery … ⌘ Read more
Linux 7.2 Optimization Shows +5% IOPS For EXT4 & XFS After Moving Around Two Lines Of Code
In addition to the surprising impact of /proc/filesystems read optimizations for Linux 7.2, another one of the VFS pull requests for this next kernel version is delivering some nice improvements for EXT4 and XFS around IOmap, the framework that maps file data offsets in memory to their physical locations on storage… ⌘ Read more
Will Meta’s $14 Billion Bet on AI Ever Pay Off?
“A year after spending over $14 billion to bring in Alexandr Wang and a group of his top Scale AI engineers to revamp its artificial intelligence efforts, Meta is at least back on the map in AI,” reports CNBC, “though it’s still far behind OpenAI, Anthropic and Google in the market.”
Wang’s big accomplishment was the delivery of the Muse Spark AI model in April, marking Meta’s firs … ⌘ Read more
US senator attacks Trump
Georgia senator Jon Ossoff has put himself on the map recently with a blistering speech about the US president. ⌘ Read more
US senator attacks Trump
Georgia senator Jon Ossoff has put himself on the map recently with a blistering speech about the US president. ⌘ Read more
Young, telegenic and tough on Trump, could Ossoff be the new Obama?
The 39-year-old senator from Georgia has put himself on the map this month with a blistering speech about US President Donald Trump, corruption and the future of America’s democracy. ⌘ Read more
Pokemon Go Data Was Used To Help Train AI Systems Being Developed For Military Drones
Pokemon Go players’ optional location scans reportedly helped train Niantic Spatial’s visual positioning system, which uses camera imagery and 3D maps to navigate when GPS is unavailable or jammed. According to DroneXL, that technology is now being paired with Vantor’s drone navigation software for milita … ⌘ Read more
The map that exposes Sydney’s bloody two-year gang war
Data compiled by the Herald reveals the shocking pattern of shootings, firebombings and underworld violence that has scarred the city. ⌘ Read more
(g+) Russian Politics: How the FSB cut Russia off from the internet
Shutdowns have made one of the world’s most online nations resort to cash, paper maps and pet cams ( Russland, Internet)
Human migration has surged since 2000 – these maps reveal where people are going
Article URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01796-y
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48488901
Points: 7
# Comments: 2 ⌘ Read more
Mapping Every Flock License Plate Reader Near US World Cup Stadiums
Most US World Cup stadiums are surrounded by surveillance cameras. Want to know if you’re being watched on your way to a match? These maps will help you. ⌘ Read more
The untapped potential of New Zealand’s $1b fibre sector
The almost billion-dollar New Zealand fibre industry has “untapped potential”, according to new research.
The Future of Fibre Aotearoa research maps NZ’s diverse fibre types together as a connected sector for the first time. ⌘ Read more
Fedora 45 Considering Use Of PURL Metadata For Uniquely Identifying Software Packages
One of the Fedora 45 change proposals under consideration at the moment is making adding PURL “Package-URL” to Fedora’s package metadata for simplifying the mapping between upstream projects and Fedora packages… ⌘ Read more
[$] LWN.net Weekly Edition for May 28, 2026
Inside this week’s LWN.net Weekly Edition:
Front: Dirk and Linus talk; BPF and GCC; private memory modes; BPF page-cache policies; major page faults; LLM kernel review; tiered-memory support; transparent huge pages; page mappings; Model Openness Tool.
Briefs: Stenberg security stress; GTK PDF problems; Morton 2004 keynote; OpenBSD 7.9; Bambu’s AGPLv3 violations; Quotes; …
[Announcements](https://lwn.net/Ar … ⌘ Read more
Declassified CIA Cartography Maps from the 1980s
Article URL: https://brilliantmaps.com/cia-maps-1980s/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48294831
Points: 6
# Comments: 0 ⌘ Read more
[$] Further progress toward removing the page map count
The mapcount field was created to track the number of mappings
(page-table entries) that refer to the given page. Among other things, a
mapcount of zero means that the page has no references and can be
reclaimed. Maintaining mapcount has become increasingly
challenging and expensive as the memory-management system has grown in
complexity, so Hildenbrand has been looking for ways to get rid of it.
This session was, he said, maybe one of the last times he will have to
bring … ⌘ Read more
Waymo Takes Its Self-Driving Cars to Virginia
The company is mapping Alexandria and, soon, Arlington—right across from the power center of Washington, DC. ⌘ Read more
C64 Basic: Game Map Overhead “Camera View”
Article URL: https://retrogamecoders.com/overhead-camera-view/
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48279842
Points: 6
# Comments: 0 ⌘ Read more
Polsia raised $30M; source map: fake ARR, dead users, god-mode over your company
Article URL: https://zero-arr.vercel.app
Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48252194
Points: 10
# Comments: 3 ⌘ Read more
I should have changed the key binding from Print to Shift+Print a long time ago to launch import and upload the screenshot to my server. I was constantly hitting that stupid key on accident when I actually wanted to press [AltGr].
If I only could map a key binding to slap these damn ThinkPad T15 keyboard layout designers at Lenovo remotely in the face. Seriously, who in their right mind puts Print (in German Druck) between AltGr and Ctrl at the bottom row to begin with?! Exactly. Nobody. What a horrible location.
Steam Controller Mapping Merged To SDL Library
A few days ago the widely-used SDL library added support for the new Steam Controller without depending upon the Steam client. Now another improvement for the new Steam Controller has been merged to this widely-used library for cross-platform games/apps with software/hardware abstractions… ⌘ Read more
[$] Keeping COWs in context (a.k.a. anonymous reverse mapping)
The kernel’s reverse-mapping machinery is charged with locating the
page-table entries that refer to a given page in memory. The reverse
mapping of anonymous pages is handled differently than for file-backed
pages. The kernel’s implementation of reverse mapping for anonymous pages
is, according to Lorenzo Stoakes in his proposal
for a memory-management-track session at the 2026 [Linux Storage,\
… ⌘ Read more
[$] LWN.net Weekly Edition for May 14, 2026
Inside this week’s LWN.net Weekly Edition:
Front: Fedora AI; Forgejo “carrot” disclosure; memory-management maintainership; huge THPs; mshare; 64KB base pages; DAMON; direct map.
Briefs: Dirty Frag; Fragnesia; Mythos and curl; killswitch; Debian reproducible builds; KDE investment; Quotes …
Announcements: Newsletters, conferences, security updates, patches, and more. ⌘ Read more
[$] Managing pages outside of the direct map
When Brendan Jackman proposed
a session for the 2026 Linux Storage,\
Filesystem, Memory Management, and BPF Summit, his topic was “a
pagetable library for the kernel”. During the actual
memory-management-track session, though, he stated that the idea had
“fizzled” and he was going to cover related topics instead. What
resulted was a session on ways to efficiently mana … ⌘ Read more
10 People Called Police to Report Bigfoot Sighting in Ohio
CNN reports on a “sudden surge of claimed sightings” of “unidentified figures averaging 8 feet tall in wooded areas” along Ohio’s Mahoning River.
“And it stopped just as quickly as it started,” says Jeremiah Byron, host of the Bigfoot Society Podcast, which collected and mapped the reports …. Byron doesn’t take every report at face value, making sure he t … ⌘ Read more
Mexico City Is Sinking. A Powerful NASA Satellite Just Exposed How Fast
A new NASA map shows how the sinking of Mexico City is uneven, with areas registering up to 2 centimeters per month. ⌘ Read more
Zest Maps Is the AI-Powered ‘Spiritual Successor to Foursquare’
This new app tracks every time you swipe your card at a cool restaurant—and tells all your friends. ⌘ Read more
495 turns and about ~4hrs alter I won! 🙌 Small map, 2-players, myself and an AI player. 😅
– It took forever to beach the island the AI player was on and get enough Galley’s and Swordsmen just to push back and eventually slowly destroy all enemy units and capture all cities! 🤣
Tim Cook Calls Apple Maps Launch His ‘First Really Big Mistake’ as CEO
In a recent town hall meeting reported by Bloomberg (paywalled), Apple CEO Tim Cook named the troubled 2012 launch of Apple Maps as his “first really big mistake” in the role. “The product wasn’t ready, and we thought it was because we were testing more of local kind of stuff,” Cook told staff. MacRumors reports: Reflecting on the deba … ⌘ Read more
GNOME’s Maps, Graphs, RustConn & Other App Improvements
For pairing nicely with the GNOME 50 desktop release last month, a number of GNOME-associated apps have been seeing new features and refinements… ⌘ Read more
@prologic@twtxt.net Awwwwwwww! I love these stripes, very cool!
Oh, I bet these inclines are no joke. I also know one about 200 meters long terribly steep dirt path up a hill around here. Climbing that is super exhausting. I just looked it up on a map. And it’s just ~17° or ~30% incline. Okay, that’s absolutely nothing compared to your adventure. :-D
But you got your exercises for the day then. Which will make for an even greater sleep tonight. ;-)
FreeBSD Laptop Project Hopes To Port Newer Linux Graphics Drivers This Year
Developers working on the FreeBSD laptop initiative to make the FreeBSD operating system more suitable for running on modern laptop hardware have drafted their road-map of further action items they hope to accomplish in 2026… ⌘ Read more