The hottest Substack posts of awesomekling

And their main takeaways

Fuzzing Ladybird with tools from Google Project Zero

517 HN points • 16 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Security Web Development Software Testing Open Source
  1. Using tools like Domato from Google Project Zero can stress test software and reveal potential security issues.
  2. Implementations in software can be prone to issues like null pointer dereferences, especially when assumptions about the DOM structure are not validated.
  3. Finding and fixing bugs, whether real bugs or spec bugs, is essential to improving software stability and ensuring it can handle unexpected inputs.

Making myself uncomfortable again

377 implied HN points • 07 Apr 23
🎨 Art & Illustration Personal Growth Writing YouTube Programming Creativity
  1. After overcoming drug addiction, the author started documenting his progress through YouTube videos, which led to a supportive community.
  2. The author successfully transitioned from video content creation to writing as a new challenge, aiming to improve his skills in English and thinking.
  3. By facing discomfort and embracing new challenges, the author continues to grow and evolve personally and professionally.

Welcoming Shopify as a Ladybird sponsor

246 HN points • 28 Jun 23
🕹 Technology Innovation Open Source Web Development
  1. Shopify has become the first corporate sponsor of the Ladybird browser project with a generous $100,000 USD donation.
  2. The Ladybird browser project aims to reintroduce diversity into the browser market by creating an independent browser from scratch, free of 3rd party code.
  3. The support from Shopify signifies a significant vote of confidence in the Ladybird project and its team.
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15 Minutes Every Day

125 implied HN points • 03 Apr 23
🏥 Health & Wellness
  1. Consider allocating a small amount of time each day to clean your home, like 15 minutes after breakfast.
  2. Start with easy tasks like organizing, then move on to cleaning tasks like scrubbing cabinets and washing floors.
  3. By making cleaning a daily routine, it becomes easier to maintain a clean and organized home.

Ladybird: A new cross-platform browser project

188 implied HN points • 12 Sep 22
  1. The Ladybird browser project is based on the LibWeb and LibJS engines from the SerenityOS project.
  2. Ladybird aims to be a cross-platform browser with a unique architecture written in C++.
  3. Development is ongoing to improve Ladybird's compatibility with modern websites and encourage community contribution.

How I make a living working on SerenityOS

125 implied HN points • 29 Oct 22
  1. The main income sources for working on SerenityOS are individual sponsorships and donations, accounting for about $3520/month.
  2. Secondary income comes from YouTube through ads, channel memberships, and super chats, totaling around $315/month.
  3. Tertiary income is from selling SerenityOS-related merchandise, bringing in about $101/month.

I quit my job to focus on SerenityOS full time

157 implied HN points • 28 May 21
  1. The author quit their job to focus on developing SerenityOS full time.
  2. They started the project out of personal interest and as a therapeutic activity.
  3. The project has grown into a vibrant open source community with generous support from donations.

Memory safety for SerenityOS

62 implied HN points • 19 May 22
  1. SerenityOS is transitioning to a new language for memory safety.
  2. A new language called Jakt is being developed for SerenityOS.
  3. Jakt achieves memory safety through techniques like automatic reference counting and runtime bounds checking.

Smarter C/C++ inlining with __attribute__((flatten))

94 implied HN points • 27 Apr 20
  1. Inlining hot functions in C/C++ can boost performance by removing function call overhead.
  2. Using `__attribute__((flatten))` in C/C++ can selectively inline callees into a function, optimizing performance.
  3. Inlining can increase program size, affect cache locality, and build times, so careful consideration is needed to balance benefits and drawbacks.

Running Ladybird with foreign GUI toolkits

3 HN points • 25 Apr 23
🕹 Technology
  1. The Ladybird web browser aims to feel native on every platform it runs on by running with foreign GUI toolkits.
  2. Ladybird started as a Qt wrapper but faced challenges with event loops from different GUI toolkits.
  3. Instead of patching calls to different libraries, Ladybird implemented pluggable event loop backends for easier integration with other platforms.

Resizing the Mac App Store: a tale of regret & redemption

3 HN points • 19 Apr 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Performance optimization
  1. Performance optimization involves investigating and addressing subsystems like layout, style recalculation, and JavaScript execution.
  2. Efforts to optimize can lead to useful general optimizations, not just specific to the initial use case.
  3. Facing challenges and learning from failures can lead to growth and eventual success in overcoming technical hurdles.