You Might Not Need tmux
After 7+ years using tmux daily, erock critiques tmux’s complexity, overhead, and compatibility issues with modern terminal features like graphics protocols.
Terminal multiplexer developer kovid argues multiplexers add complexity by translating escape codes in hackish ways, limiting ecosystem progress.
Common tmux issues: color rendering errors if TERM is misconfigured, confusing scrollback buffers, buggy mouse selection in splits, and no support for experimental protocols (e.g., kitty graphics).
Explores simpler Unix-style session managers (dtach, abduco, shpool) that do one thing well: session persistence without virtual multiplexing.
Using shpool with tailored SSH and Neovim Lua scripts, combined with native window managers (sway, foot), delivers a minimal workflow with native scrollback and notifications, though with bugs like broken terminal state on reattach and lack of multiplayer support.
The article challenges traditional reliance on tmux, promoting Unix philosophy-driven tools that better integrate with modern terminal capabilities.
Draw a Fish! Interactive CNN Evaluation
Users draw fish attempts online, evaluated by a convolutional neural network (CNN) that scores fish-likeness with surprising accuracy.
The playful AI interaction uncovers subtle drawing errors and flags inappropriate sketches, fostering creative iteration and humor.
Community commentary highlights technical charm, moderation challenges, and usability insights—like children’s difficulties with orientation mirroring.
Server-side moderation ensures content safety, while client-side interpolation risks are mitigated through sanitization.
The platform combines AI, art, and human-computer interaction into a lighthearted experiment on machine learning’s practical quirks and community engagement.
Google updates goo.gl URL shortener policy
Google reverses its full shutdown plan for goo.gl URLs, now deactivating only inactive links starting late 2024 while preserving active links beyond August 25, 2025.
Users clicking inactive links see warnings advising migration to alternative shorteners.
The decision balances infrastructure cost-saving with preserving critical legacy links deeply embedded in content across the web.
Community debates highlight product management challenges running legacy services, security concerns from shortened URLs, and the fragility of internet link ecosystems.
The update underscores tensions between maintaining digital continuity and evolving platform priorities in large tech companies.
Hannah Cairo’s Disproof of Mizohata-Takeuchi Conjecture
At 17, homeschooling prodigy Hannah Cairo disproved the 40-year-old Mizohata-Takeuchi conjecture, a central problem in harmonic analysis and Fourier restriction theory.
Self-taught through accelerated learning and pandemic-era math circles, Cairo turned a course warm-up problem into a full research breakthrough by demonstrating counterexamples where wave energy concentrates in fractal patterns forbidden by the conjecture.
The math community reacted with astonishment, recognizing the significance of this elegant, counterintuitive result that reshapes future research directions.
Despite academic hurdles from unconventional credentials, Cairo starts her PhD at U Maryland, evidencing both profound talent and systemic challenges for young gifted mathematicians.
The story bridges deep technical content with reflections on educational isolation, perseverance, and the nature of mathematical discovery.
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