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Byzantine Generals Problem

Byzantine Generals Problem

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Fun CS problem: Byzantine General’s Problem also called the interactive consistency problem.

The Byzantine general’s problem considers a number of generals who are attacking a fortress. The generals must decide as a group whether to attack or retreat; some may prefer to attack, while others prefer to retreat. The important thing is that all generals agree on a common decision, for a half-hearted attack by a few generals would become a rout, and would be worse than either a coordinated attack or a coordinated retreat. The problem is complicated further by the generals being physically separated and having to send their votes via messengers who may fail to deliver votes or may forge false votes.

Windows Sandbox with GPU acceleration

Windows Sandbox with GPU acceleration

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Windows Sandbox is a great way to make a very quick Windows sandbox separated from the rest of your system if you want to run programs you might not fully trust but not set up a full VM or Docker container.

Using a GPU with the sandbox is easy, but requires you create a text file and put the following code in it. When done, save the text file as a *.wsb file and then click it so that config is used when running the sandbox.

<Configuration>
<vGpu>Enable</vGpu>
</Configuration>
Network breakthrough: Amazon flat random networks

Network breakthrough: Amazon flat random networks

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A 2026 report by Wired shared that Amazon supposedly has developed a new kind of flat network architecture. It’s kind of a holy grail idea that people have tried before, but never been able to pull off well. This new architecture supposedly allows them to use 69% fewer routers and switches, and 40% less power at the massive Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers. Yet provide 33% better throughput.

The core of the breakthrough is called resilient network graphs, or RNG. It’s a way to use random cable connections to make a network more efficient. It’s counter-intuitive, but researchers have long thought a more distributed or even random physical networking connectivity architecture would be faster and remove many bottlenecks often found in strict tree or ring hierarchies.
What finally makes it possible are two key innovations. On the hardware side is a device called a ShuffleBox, which randomizes physical cable connections between network components to make the network structure more efficient. It pairs that hardware with routing software called Spraypoint, a custom traffic-routing algorithm specifically designed to work within the RNG design. 

EVE Online Carbon engine open sourced

EVE Online Carbon engine open sourced

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Fenris Creations (Formerly known as CCP Games until May 2026) announced today that Carbon, their cross-platform game engine framework behind EVE Online (and EVE Frontier) is now completely open source.

The full code release includes lots of different modules like Destiny, Carbon’s physics simulation and pathfinding technology, and Trinity, Carbon’s graphics module. There’s also networking, UI, audio, resource management, scripting, scheduling and many more. It’s an amazing body of work for people to learn from.

The purpose of releasing it according to Ben Hunter, Senior Development Director?

“Carbon was built for a very specific purpose: to support living virtual worlds that can endure for decades. It has carried EVE Online through more than 20 years of continuous operation, from everyday player activity to some of the largest battles in videogame history. Open sourcing Carbon is about making that foundation visible, understandable, and useful to others. It is a commitment to transparency, longevity, and the belief that the next generation of persistent worlds will be stronger when more people can study, challenge, and build on the technology beneath them.”

Game industry is changing and embracing AI slowly

Game industry is changing and embracing AI slowly

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2026 Unity Game Development Report reports a lot of things many already know. The game industry – after massive hiring during Covid when people had nothing to do but play games – is now going through one of the worst layoff periods since the video game collapse of the 1980’s. This is causing major shifts in how and what game development teams are building. The report tells us the practical effects.

  • The majority of developers making their games with Unity (62%) use AI tools for coding assistance, with the second most popular use, writing and narrative design, at 44%. Only 5% of those surveyed responded with “I do not use AI.”
    • This is in line with GDC’s State of the Game Industry report
    • Larger teams are the ones adopting AI tools into their workflow at the highest rate with “79% of polled devs with over 150 team members say that AI tools have helped them improve efficiency.”

The activist elements of the game development industry have been staunchly anti-AI. As the survey shows, however, it’s probably already a losing position. This is especially true in the hyper-competitive environment that is game development where speed is critical.

It’s not just game developers. I recently read the lament of one seasoned programmer that interviewed really well at nVidia until they got to a set of AI experience questions. The tone changed when he said he didn’t use AI and had little experience coding with it. He went further and said he’d prefer not to use it. He didn’t get the offer and was complaining on the forum as to why that mattered since he was an excellent coder with over a decade of experience. An nVidia employee responded and said it clearly: the poster wouldn’t be successful at nvidia. Reason? Because everyone else would be coding circles around him. You simply cannot write the volume that is expected from you without it. Sticking your head in the sand and just doing everything by hand means you’ll soon be driving 40 on the freeway when everyone else is driving by at 65.

AI models that could only churn out slop 12 months ago started getting ‘good enough’ for testing and other menial tasks about 6 months ago. Now, in mid 2026, they’re good enough to create entire software stacks.

As a software engineer myself, the reality is it’s not a question of if you are using AI or not. If you are not, you simply cannot keep up with those that have learned how to use AI. AI has it’s problems, but it’s also a profound force multiplier.

Are jobs being lost to AI – almost certainly. But it doesn’t have to be the end of your career. What it does mean is you have to learn to use the tools and demonstrate you are more proficient than your competition at generating quality output.

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