Grammarly’s ‘expert review’ is just missing the actual experts

Grammarly's new 'Expert Review' feature claims to offer writing suggestions from famous authors and journalists without their involvement or permission, raising questions about the authenticity of its expert feedback. Grammarly states the references are based on publicly available works and do not imply endorsement, leading critics to argue the feature lacks genuine expert input.

Why the Ratio Four Series Two Is What I Use to Test New Coffees

Matthew Korfhage, WIRED's lead coffee writer, explains his preference for the Ratio Four Series Two drip coffee maker due to its ability to produce a rich, full-bodied, and consistent cup that reveals the nuanced flavors of coffee beans without requiring complex adjustments. He highlights the machine's suitability for small batches and its brewing process that mimics pour-over, making it his go-to device for testing new coffees.

Does Apple‘s M5 Max Really “Destroy” a 96-Core Threadripper?

A Tom's Hardware article claims the 18-core Apple M5 Max outperforms a 96-core Ryzen Threadripper based on Geekbench 6 multi-core scores, but this comparison is criticized due to Geekbench 6's poor scaling on high-core-count CPUs, making the benchmark results unreliable.

$3T Blind Spot: US nonprofits

U.S. nonprofits handle $3 trillion annually, more than the GDP of the UK, yet they face significantly less financial disclosure than public companies, leading to donor mistrust and accountability issues. Despite public IRS 990 filings, the reporting system is outdated, lacks transparency, and contributes to a 'nonprofit starvation cycle' where overhead is underreported and impact is poorly tracked.

Ask HN: Would you use a job board where every listing is verified?

A user expresses skepticism about the value of verified job listings, arguing that the main challenge in 2023 is the high volume of applicants for generic developer roles, making it difficult to stand out. They emphasize the importance of specialized skills and networking over relying on job boards, sharing their personal experience of securing offers primarily through connections rather than random applications.

The Day NY Publishing Lost Its Soul

The New York publishing industry has become stagnant due to consolidation and risk-averse strategies focused on blockbuster sales, leading to the decline of midlist authors and a homogenized literary culture. Independent publishers, bookstores, and readers are now crucial for preserving diverse and bold literature outside the control of the Big Five publishers.

LLM Writing Tropes.md

The article catalogs common AI writing tropes and patterns that tend to make AI-generated text feel unnatural, repetitive, or overly ornate, providing specific examples and advising users to add this catalog to AI prompts to help avoid these stylistic pitfalls.

Hunting for elusive "ghost elephants"

Conservationist Steve Boyes, featured in Werner Herzog's documentary 'Ghost Elephants,' has been searching for a newly identified, genetically distinct species of elephants in the remote Angolan Highlands. The film explores the cultural significance of these elephants, local conservation efforts, and the challenges of protecting the species in their inaccessible habitat.

Effort to prevent government officials from engaging in prediction markets

Senators Jeff Merkley and Amy Klobuchar introduced the End Prediction Market Corruption Act to ban high-level government officials from trading on prediction markets using non-public information, aiming to prevent insider trading and maintain public trust. The bill is supported by several senators and ethics organizations and seeks to strengthen oversight and ethical standards for elected officials.

OpenAI robotics lead Caitlin Kalinowski quits in response to Pentagon deal

Caitlin Kalinowski, OpenAI's robotics lead, resigned in protest of the company's Pentagon deal, citing concerns over insufficient safeguards against domestic surveillance and autonomous weapons. The agreement has sparked controversy, leading to increased ChatGPT uninstalls and a surge in competitor Anthropic's app popularity.

CasNum

CasNum is a library that implements arbitrary precision arithmetic using classical compass and straightedge constructions, enabling arithmetic and logical operations geometrically. It includes integration with a Game Boy emulator where all ALU opcodes are executed through these geometric methods, demonstrating a novel approach to computation with practical examples like RSA and running games such as Pokémon Red.

Autoresearch: Agents researching on single-GPU nanochat training automatically

The autoresearch project enables autonomous AI agents to iteratively improve a small LLM training setup on a single NVIDIA GPU by modifying training code and evaluating results within fixed 5-minute experiments. This approach automates research cycles, allowing rapid experimentation and optimization without human intervention on the core training script.

War prediction markets are a national-security threat

Polymarket, a prediction market platform, has seen suspiciously well-timed bets on imminent military attacks such as the U.S. strikes on Iran and Venezuela, raising concerns about insider trading and national security risks. The anonymity and cryptocurrency-based nature of these markets make it difficult to regulate or detect illicit activity, potentially allowing adversaries to gain advance knowledge of military operations or manipulate market perceptions.

PopSockets founder David Barnett talks about building a viral business

David Barnett, founder of PopSockets, shared insights on building his viral phone accessory business from scratch, overcoming manufacturing challenges, avoiding traditional venture capital, and the importance of leadership focused on people. He discussed key moments such as product adjustments that boosted retail success, a dispute with Amazon, and his decision to step down as CEO.

Sony appears to be testing dynamic pricing on PlayStation games

Sony is testing dynamic pricing on its PlayStation digital game store by offering different discounts to select users in over 150 games across 68 regions, though the US is not currently included. The pricing experiment involves A/B testing with discounts ranging from 5% to 17.5%, which may cause customer dissatisfaction despite focusing on lowering prices for some users.

OpenAI delays ChatGPT’s ‘adult mode’ again

OpenAI has postponed the launch of ChatGPT's 'adult mode,' a feature intended to provide verified adult users access to erotica and other adult content, citing a need to prioritize improvements to the core chatbot experience. The delay follows a previous postponement and reflects the company's focus on enhancing intelligence, personality, and proactivity in ChatGPT.

Verification debt: the hidden cost of AI-generated code

The article discusses the rise of AI-generated code and the emerging challenge of 'verification debt,' where rapid code production outpaces thorough validation, shifting the bottleneck to human review and decision-making. Despite improvements in AI tools and integrations, ensuring code correctness and alignment with user needs remains a critical human responsibility.

Time’s running out to get a free gift card when you preorder a new MacBook

Preorders for Apple's new MacBooks and Samsung's Galaxy S26 phones, launching March 11th, come with free gift cards at retailers like Best Buy and Amazon, with values ranging from $25 to $200. Additionally, Google’s Pixel 10A launched with a $100 gift card offer valid through March 11th.

SigNoz (YC W21, open source Datadog) Is Hiring across roles

SigNoz, an open source alternative to Datadog and a Y Combinator W21 company, is currently hiring for multiple roles.

The Banality of Surveillance

The article explores the pervasive and banal nature of digital surveillance, highlighting how vast amounts of user data are routinely collected and stored in cumbersome formats that deter casual analysis but can be exploited by AI to reveal detailed personal information. It discusses the breakdown of privacy protections as AI lowers the barrier to mining and combining disparate data sources, with government agencies and private companies alike able to access and analyze this data at scale.

A Decade of Docker Containers

Apple’s cheap laptop looks like a winner

Apple has launched the MacBook Neo, a budget-friendly laptop priced at $599, featuring fun colors and sufficient power aimed at first-time MacBook users. The article also highlights other tech news including OpenAI's GPT-5.4 model, Formula 1 streaming on Apple TV, and new gaming and software updates.

Vizio accounts are becoming Walmart accounts

Walmart, after acquiring Vizio in 2024, is phasing out Vizio accounts by requiring new Vizio TV buyers to sign in with or create a Walmart account, with options to merge or delete existing Vizio accounts. Data from deleted accounts can be requested within 30 days before it becomes unavailable, and account merging will later extend to existing TV owners.

The Millisecond That Could Change Cancer Treatment

The French company Theryq and CERN are collaborating to develop FLASH radiotherapy, a novel cancer treatment delivering ultrahigh-dose radiation in less than a tenth of a second, which significantly reduces damage to healthy tissue while effectively targeting tumors. This technique, emerging from fundamental physics research and advanced accelerator technology, has the potential to transform cancer treatment by enabling stronger, faster, and more precise radiation therapy with fewer side effects.