Month: February 2025

Code Smell 290 – Refused Bequest

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When you ignore your inheritance, you will have trouble with your parents TL;DR: Subclasses should honor ALL their parent’s contract. Problems 😔 Wrong abstraction Subclassification for code reuse Misleading hierarchy Unused or overridden methods Unnecessary complexity Liskov Principle Violation Maintenanabiilty YoYo Hierachies Concrete classes subclassified Solutions 😃 Favor composition over inheritance Don’t subclassify for code … Read more

Reddit hints at expanded AI-powered search

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Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said the online forum site plans to launch an upgraded search experience in 2025 designed to help users navigate the social network and be able to answer “subjective hard, [and] interesting questions.” The company plans to achieve this by integrating Reddit Answers — a feature that allows visitors to ask questions … Read more

VC industry reacts to Trump nominating a16z’s Brian Quintenz for regulatory role

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Brian Quintenz, who leads policy for Andreessen Horowitz’s crypto team, announced on Wednesday that he’s being tapped to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), according to his X post. And many in the VC industry appear to be thrilled about it. The CFTC regulates the trading of commodity futures, options, and swaps, otherwise known … Read more

OpenAI pledges that its models won’t censor viewpoints

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OpenAI is making clear that its AI models won’t shy away from sensitive topics, and will refrain from making assertions that might “shut out some viewpoints.” In an updated version of its Model Spec, a collection of high-level rules that indirectly govern OpenAI’s models, OpenAI says that its models “must never attempt to steer the user in … Read more

Robinhood’s Big Earnings Beat Could Bode Well for Coinbase

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Popular trading platform Robinhood (HOOD) beat its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue estimates, which could have positive read-through for peer Coinbase (COIN). Robinhood said its fourth-quarter revenue rose 115% from the previous year to $1.01 billion, beating Wall Street analysts’ estimate of $945.8 million, according to FactSet data. Its transaction-based revenue rose 200% from the previous … Read more

Cypherpunks Write Code: Suelette Dreyfus & Free Speech

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Cypherpunks are privacy activists who advocate for freedom of speech and apply cryptographic tools to protect our data or funds —in the case of those who work with cryptocurrencies and related endeavors. For instance, Satoshi Nakamoto is, of course, a cypherpunk, and also is the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange. Closer to the latter, we also … Read more

Popcorn brand distances itself from DOGE employee ‘Big Balls’ after backlash

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Popcorn brand LesserEvil is the latest group caught up in the chaos of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s whirlwind of action over the past couple of weeks. The company recently sent a cryptic email to customers after the brand owner’s connection to a DOGE staffer became public. LesserEvil CEO Charles Coristine is reportedly the … Read more

Elizabeth Holmes says from prison she’s ‘committed’ to ‘making healthcare solutions available to everyone’

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People magazine has landed the first interview with Elizabeth Holmes since she reported to prison in 2023, and the convicted Theranos founder says she is still working on “research and inventions” in the healthcare space. “I remain completely committed to my dream of making affordable healthcare solutions available to everyone,” she told the magazine. Holmes, … Read more