How fast is a macOS VM, and how small could it be?
How fast is a macOS VM, and how small could it be? In my review of macOS virtualisation on Apple silicon, I quoted performance figures that were obtained some time ago, and didn’t consider minimum specifications for a usable VM. Given current interest in running a VM on a MacBook Neo, I thought it would be worth examining these afresh, from macOS Tahoe.
Why does it take so long to release black fan versions?
Noctua explains why their chromax.black fan versions take longer to launch: changing a fan color at their precision level is like repainting a carbon-fibre F1 part, not a wooden fence. Black pigment (carbon black) alters melt viscosity, cooling, and crystallization in injection moulding, requiring entirely new tooling and tuning iterations after the standard version is already in stable production.
Why are there both TMP and TEMP environment variables? (2015)
An Old New Thing post explaining why Windows has both TMP and TEMP environment variables. The short answer: TEMP was introduced by early Windows as a per-user temp directory, while TMP was the original MS-DOS variable. Modern Windows sets both to the same path for backward compatibility, but legacy apps still check them independently.
Show HN: DAC – open-source dashboard as code tool for agents and humans
DAC is a Dashboard-as-Code tool for defining, validating, and serving dashboards from YAML and TSX. It features dynamic charts, built-in AI agent integration via Codex, supports major databases like Postgres and Snowflake, and includes a built-in semantic layer that generates SQL from metric definitions.
Show HN: Mljar Studio – local AI data analyst that saves analysis as notebooks
Private AI for Data Work MLJAR Studio is your fully private AI Data Analyst and Machine Learning Engineer that runs 100% locally on your computer. Talk to your data in natural language, automatically build machine learning models, and generate actionable insights.No cloud. * Talk to your data using natural language * Let AI run machine learning experiments for you * Keep everything **100% local and secure.** Users & Companies Teams in academia and industry build with MLJAR From research labs...
Show HN: Browser-based light pollution simulator using real photometric data
A browser-based light pollution simulator that uses real photometric data from the IESNA database to visualize skyglow and darkness preservation. Built with WebAssembly for interactive analysis, it lets you explore how different lighting configurations affect night skies with actual measured data rather than theoretical models.
Ti-84 Evo
Texas Instruments unveiled the TI-84 Evo, a major overhaul of their flagship graphing calculator. It features a 3x faster processor, 50% more graphing area, a USB-C port, and a simplified keypad layout with smarter menus designed to reduce clutter and make commands easier to discover.
Show HN: Filling PDF forms with AI using client-side tool calling
SimplePDF Copilot is a browser-based tool that uses client-side AI tool calling to automatically fill PDF forms. It processes documents locally while only sending chat messages to the AI provider, supporting forms like the IRS W-9 with natural language instructions for filling out fields.
Dotcl: Common Lisp Implementation on .NET
Dotcl is a Common Lisp implementation running on .NET. Lisp source is compiled to CIL and runs on the .NET JIT, so the same Lisp image works across Windows, macOS, and Linux on both x86-64 and ARM64. It broadly conforms to the ANSI Common Lisp standard.
Show HN: Piruetas – A self-hosted diary app I built for my girlfriend
Piruetas is a self-hosted diary application designed for simplicity and intimacy. It focuses on minimalism — no social features, no noise — just a clean space for personal journaling. You can share entries with specific people via a single link, making it useful for couples or close relationships.