This weekly review records technology content worth sharing, published every Friday.
This magazine is open-source[1], and submissions are welcome contributions[2]. The weekly also has a “Who is Hiring”[3] service that publishes programmer job information. For collaborative promotions, please contact via email[4] ([email protected][5]).
Cover Image
The 40th Weifang International Kite Festival will open on April 15, with unique kites floating in the sky. (via[6])
This Week’s Topic: Recommended Domestic Single Board Computers
A few days ago, while purchasing equipment, I accidentally glanced at the Raspberry Pi and was shocked by the price.
Some readers may not be familiar with what a Raspberry Pi is, so let me explain briefly.
It is a circuit board that integrates a CPU, memory, and various IO interfaces, essentially functioning as a small computer. After purchasing it, you install the system yourself, and it can be used as a home computer or server.
These types of products that integrate computer hosts into a circuit board are collectively referred to as single-board computers.
Single-board computers come in various sizes, and the Raspberry Pi belongs to the micro single-board computer category, which used to be very inexpensive.
In June 2019, the Raspberry Pi 4B was released, with an official price of $35 (2G memory) to $55 (8G memory). This means that at that time, the most expensive model was around 400 RMB.
During the pandemic, prices continued to rise. Last February, I bought an 8G memory Raspberry Pi 4B for 800 RMB, which I thought was too expensive at the time.
Can you guess how much it costs now?
As of April 2023, the 8G model is around 1400 RMB, while the 2G model is around 900 RMB.
Can you imagine? A circuit board that went into production four years ago has not only not depreciated but has actually increased in price by two to three times! It seems we need to change our mindset; electronic products can also retain and appreciate in value…
In my opinion, at this price point, there is no need to consider the Raspberry Pi anymore; it is no longer worth it. There are many cheaper and more powerful alternatives on the market.
I recommend domestic single-board computers. In the past, domestic products imitating the Raspberry Pi were generally low-end and crude, referred to as “shanzhai boards.” However, things are completely different now.
In recent years, domestic single-board computers have made great strides, not only are they well-made and fully functional, but they also have many innovative designs and beautiful appearances, truly considered premium products. Take a look at the products below; do they catch your eye?
Don’t underestimate these single-board computers; despite their small size, they are not weak in functionality and can handle general tasks. They are cheap, portable, energy-efficient, and have good expandability. Of course, graphic performance and computing power are limited, so tasks with high computational loads are not suitable.
I have purchased a few over time and have been very satisfied. Many foreign programmers on YouTube have also bought them and rave about them, highly recommending them.
The current state of domestic single-board computers is that the hardware is satisfactory, but the main drawback lies in the software. Their technical documentation, supporting software, development tools, and community ecology are relatively lacking, and there is a significant gap compared to foreign products.
Here, I want to specifically mention the RK3588 chip from Rockchip. It is an ARM architecture CPU, and since Huawei was sanctioned by the US, it is probably the strongest ARM chip designed domestically, with performance reportedly between Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 and 865.
Many of the latest domestic single-board computers are equipped with this chip. I suggest everyone pay more attention to it because its performance is strong enough, it has a large memory, and many interfaces, allowing for various applications, such as being used as an Android desktop computer.
Compared to it, the Raspberry Pi has no cost-effectiveness; it is two to three times more powerful, offers more interfaces, and is one-third cheaper.
In summary, the competitiveness of domestic single-board computers is very strong. I believe manufacturers, consumers, and the government should work hard to support this type of product, forming a flagship industry that occupies the international market and promotes the overall improvement of China’s software and hardware levels.
How to Improve Risk Resistance
Last week, Mr. Sun Mingzhan[7] contacted me from Guangzhou, and they are going to hold an event again.
This is the sixth year since I met him. He left a Fortune 500 insurance company to start a business, opening a third-party family asset planning consulting service company, specializing in family asset planning consulting and financial education.
At that time, he saw my weekly review and wanted to cooperate, thinking that the programmer community greatly needs these services. Every year when they hold events, they come to the weekly review to announce it, and in the blink of an eye, it has been six years.
Their event is purely a consulting event, free of charge, one-on-one answering everyone’s questions related to financial management and insurance, promising not to sell any products. The purpose of the event is to popularize knowledge on family protection planning, educational planning, and retirement planning, promoting their brand.
Any questions related to insurance, children’s education, or future retirement planning can be freely consulted with professional advisors at that time, such as whether to buy medical insurance, how to understand “exemption clauses,” how to plan for future retirement savings, etc.
This year’s event theme is “How to Improve Risk Resistance”. They will provide some targeted suggestions on how to prevent financial risks, aiming to preserve and increase asset value as much as possible.
Everyone can search for the personal public account “Sun Mingzhan” on WeChat or visit the official website[8] to learn more. There are many contents, including insurance popular science articles and the introduction of their own brand “Pu Lan” (see image above).
Their company is quite formal, developing well, with hundreds of employees, and has also obtained B-round investment, creating its own consulting software engine.
During the event, in addition to answering questions, financial advisors will also conduct family financial analysis based on each person’s situation, point out risks, and design a family financial security plan for you, including the configuration of savings, investments, insurance, and other financial products, balancing the needs for risk resistance and retirement.
Everyone is welcome to participate. Scan the QR code below on WeChat, or click this link[9] to register. The first 100 participants can receive a copy of the “Family Financial Handbook”.
Technology Trends
1、Climate Change and Home Runs[10]
A study by American meteorologists found that since 2010, star hitters in Major League Baseball can hit 50 more home runs each year.
Meteorologists believe this is related to global warming. As temperatures rise, air molecules move faster, reducing air density, which decreases air resistance, allowing the ball to fly farther.
Calculations show that for every 1-degree Celsius increase in temperature, the likelihood of a home run increases by 1%. By extension, many track and field events will also be influenced by climate change, leading to improved performance.
2、Simulated Mars Module[11]
NASA is recruiting four volunteers to participate in a simulated Mars module experiment starting this June.
These four individuals will live in a simulated Mars module for a year to understand what resources are essential for human survival on Mars.
The simulated module is 3D clay printed, and it is expected that this method will be used to build houses on Mars.
They will also try to arrange the external environment to resemble Mars, with red soil outside.
The internal area of the simulated module is 150 square meters, including four single-occupancy dormitories, a shared bathroom, a workspace, a medical area, and a rest area.
To make it as realistic as possible, their communication with the outside world will have a 22-minute delay, which is the time it takes for radio signals to travel from Earth to Mars. Besides scientific experiments, they will also need to cultivate tomatoes and leafy vegetables themselves.
3、Camera Measures Blood Pressure[12]
Researchers from Australia and Iraq have developed a camera-based blood pressure measurement method that requires no physical contact.
This technology captures a person up close for 10 seconds and extracts heart signals from two areas on the forehead, using algorithms to calculate blood pressure.
Researchers claim the accuracy can reach 90%. However, this accuracy is questionable, as smartwatches still cannot accurately measure blood pressure today, let alone a camera that does not contact the body.
4、Ultra-Thin Solar Cells[13]
MIT has invented ultra-thin solar cells that are as thin as paper and weigh only 100 grams per square meter.
Traditional glass solar panels weigh up to 10.7 kilograms per square meter, which is 100 times heavier than these ultra-thin panels. They are thin and light, and can be made into a blanket to lay on rooftops, greatly reducing installation costs.
Moreover, they can be used in places where solar panels were previously impossible to install, such as sails, drone wings, tents, and even stuck to glass windows, which is particularly useful in outdoor situations that require weight-bearing.
5、Museum Therapy[14]
Modern people face immense pressure, and many suffer from depression and anxiety. To help these patients, Belgian doctors have come up with a new “museum therapy”.
Doctors ask patients to visit museums in Brussels with friends or family.
The idea is that the causes of depression and anxiety are partly related to a lack of outdoor and social activities.
Patients step out of their rooms and engage in outdoor activities with loved ones, visiting quiet, relaxing museums filled with strangers, which helps restore a calm mindset.
Articles
1、AI Applications of Chinese Creators[15] (Chinese)
A report from China News Weekly introduces domestic creators using AI to write novels, create illustrations, and compose music.
2、How to Rent a GPU on AWS (Chinese)
Playing with AI models requires significant computing power and funding, usually necessitating renting GPUs from cloud service providers. The author shares the detailed process of renting GPUs on AWS. (@cocomany[16] submission)
3、Usage of Intl.Segmenter for Word Segmentation[17] (English)
Intl.Segmenter is a built-in API in browsers that supports word segmentation in various languages (including Chinese). This article introduces its simple usage.
4、Lessons from Five Years as an Independent Developer[18] (English)
Five years ago, the author quit to become an independent developer, and this article reviews his three lessons.
5、Performance Comparison of Bun vs Node[19] (English)
Bun is an emerging JavaScript server runtime environment that aims to be compatible with Node.js APIs but is faster than the latter. The author compares the performance differences between the two.
6、The Value of a One-Person Newsletter Worth Millions of Dollars[20] (English)
There is a TLDR Newsletter in the US that sends news via email daily. It is run by one person and generates over $5 million a year; this article explains how he does it.
7、Why I Chose an Unstable Sorting Algorithm[21] (English)
The author, a former member of the V8 engine team responsible for sorting algorithms, explains why he chose an unstable sorting algorithm for V8, meaning the order of sorted members may differ from the original order.
However, the standard changed later, and it has now become a stable sorting algorithm.
8、Firefox Automatically Removes Cookie Banners[22] (English)
Many foreign websites have cookie banners that ask users whether to accept cookies, which are very annoying. The latest version of the Firefox browser has added a feature to automatically remove these banners.
Tools
1、Nango[23]
An open-source[24] web service that automatically retrieves and manages various OAuth authentication tokens, which can be self-hosted.
2、Docker Rollout[25]
This tool allows for updating a service in Docker Compose without downtime. The principle is to create two instances simultaneously, replacing the unupdated instance with the updated one.
3、Web LLM[26]
This software runs LLM models in the browser using the WebGPU API, allowing for offline operation without model limitations.
Of course, it cannot be used to train large models, and its performance will certainly not match that of ChatGPT, but it can run in the browser, greatly lowering the barrier to self-hosting LLMs, and is particularly suitable for some offline tasks (like document summarization). For more details, see this review[27].
4、OpenAI API Application[28]
Node.js application built using Express to connect to the OpenAI API for chat. The code is open-source. This is the frontend code, and there is also backend code[29]. (@KiritoCheng[30] submission)
5、Animated Drawings[31]
This tool uses AI models to turn hand-drawn character sketches into animations.
6、Scrutiny[32]
A tool for real-time monitoring the health status of hard drives using S.M.A.R.T, installed via Docker, with a built-in web UI.
7、Browsertunnel[33]
This software can send user information back to the server through DNS requests made by the webpage. Note that this is not an HTTP request but uses DNS queries to send additional information. This method of user monitoring is hard to detect and difficult to prevent.
8、Upbase[34]
A web application that combines project management, scheduling, chat, and documentation functions into one, aiming to be a one-stop tool for team collaboration.
9、Bot Aquarium[35]
A virtual machine running on a Linux system, characterized by being entirely controlled by OpenAI.
You describe the task you want the virtual machine to accomplish, and it sends that description to OpenAI, then automatically executes the returned commands. Once the virtual machine produces results (like errors), it automatically submits the results back to OpenAI, repeating this process until the task is completed.
10、Autodoc[36]
Uses LLM models to automatically generate code documentation. The author’s idea is to integrate it into continuous builds, so that every time code changes, the documentation is automatically updated.
11、SceneXplain[37]
Users upload an image, and it provides a detailed text description of the image, claiming to perform better than other models.
Resources
1、Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (JavaScript Edition)[38]
This is the official JavaScript version of the classic book “SICP” (Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs), and it is the official version from MIT, available for free reading. See the introduction[39].
2、WebGPU Fundamentals[40]
This website provides an English tutorial on WebGPU development knowledge.
3、GPT Unicorn[41]
This website has GPT-4 draw a unicorn (in SVG format) every day, recording the evolution of the model.
You can see that even for the same model dealing with the same problem, the results returned each day are different; the image above is the result from April 13.
4、Vercel AI Playground[42]
Vercel has set up an AI experimental page where users can conveniently select different models and compare their generation results.
5、Playlist Genius[43]
Describe the music you want to listen to, and this website will automatically generate a Spotify playlist.
Images
1、Restoration of Glass Artifacts in Beirut[44]
On August 4, 2020, a chemical hazard explosion occurred at the port of Beirut, Lebanon.
The museum in the city was affected by the explosion, and a display case near the window was shattered, scattering fragments of 74 glass vessels and windows all over the floor.
Staff collected and organized all the fragments with unimaginable patience, trying to restore the artifacts.
Due to the high difficulty, these fragments were eventually sent to the British Museum in London for expert restoration.
Here are four restored articles. A total of 26 items have been restored so far, with another 46 waiting for restoration.
2、Drones Restore Ancient Architecture[45]
A group of Dutch artists used drones to “restore” ancient architecture to its original appearance.
Excerpts
1、Open vs. Closed Research[46]
The following is an excerpt from a famous speech by American computer scientist Richard Hamming, “You and Your Research”[47].
Scientists at Bell Labs all have their own offices.
I noticed that if you close the door to your office, you will accomplish more work today and tomorrow, and your efficiency will be higher than most people.
However, ten years later, for some reason, you are not very clear about which problems are worth solving; the importance of all your hard work becomes irrelevant.
Those who work with their doors open may be disturbed in various ways, but they occasionally get clues about what the world is and what might be important.
I believe there is a strong correlation between those who work with their doors open and those who ultimately do important things.
Although those who work with their doors closed often work harder, they somehow seem to go wrong, not in big ways, but enough to miss out on great honors.
Remarks
1、
If a person uses the C language, it is often not because they chose the C language, but because the C language chose them.
If you are developing an operating system, compiler, or hardware driver, you have no choice but to use the C language.
— “1x Developer’s Rule of Thumb”[48]
2、
One drawback of working at large IT companies is that most of the knowledge you gain in your work (about 90%) is completely useless for your next job.
It is all specific knowledge about how a large organization operates, involving internal tools and business concepts that do not exist elsewhere.
— “1x Developer’s Rule of Thumb”[49]
3、
Scientists are interested in real things, while businessmen are interested in useful things.
— “There is no truth in business, only knowledge”[50]
4、
Although my job is a software engineer, I have always tried to engage more with mathematics in my work so that I won’t be categorized as just a software engineer for the rest of my career. Financial and mathematical problems interest me more than user experience.
— “My Internship Experiences at Pixar, Google, and Two Sigma”[51]
5、
Every day, I am exposed to 250 ads and countless entertainment choices, most of which are funded by companies that want to sell me something.
This is how the world influences me. I am a writer, and my novels heavily utilize these popular elements, which is not much different from how novelists a hundred years ago wrote about walking in gardens and fetching water from rivers.
— David Foster Wallace[52], American novelist
This Week in History
How to Survive a Pandemic, Layoffs, and War (2022 #204)
Predictions of the Information Society in 1982 (2021 #154)
Uses of Speech Synthesis (2020 #104)
Activities with the Best Scalability (2019 #54)
Acknowledgments
The weekly review is deeply grateful for the support of the new generation of domestic knowledge management and collaboration platform FlowUs[53].
FlowUS[54] = Documents + Spreadsheets + Cloud Storage. You can use it to write documents, create homepages, manage data, store files, and more.
Each issue of the weekly review is also published on the FlowUs Column[55], and everyone is welcome to open their own column and homepage there.
(End)
References
[1] Open Source: https://github.com/ruanyf/weekly[2] Contributions: https://github.com/ruanyf/weekly/issues[3] “Who is Hiring”: https://github.com/ruanyf/weekly/issues/3022[4] Contact via Email: mailto:[email protected][5] [email protected]: mailto:[email protected][6] via: http://www.news.cn/photo/2023-04/15/c_1129526643_2.htm[7] Mr. Sun Mingzhan: https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%AD%99%E6%98%8E%E5%B1%95/55347274[8] Official Website: https://www.trussan.com/[9] This Link: https://media.trussan.com/index.php?s=/planClick/bp/aW1wb3J0aWQ9MjA5NjUmcG9zaXRpb249MQ%3D%3D[10] Climate Change and Home Runs: https://thehill.com/changing-america/sustainability/climate-change/3938917-goner-climate-change-helping-batters-hit-more-home-runs-study/[11] Simulated Mars Module: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/apr/12/nasa-texas-humans-prepare-mars[12] Camera Measures Blood Pressure: https://petapixel.com/2022/12/07/researchers-develop-way-to-measure-blood-pressure-using-a-camera-and-ai/[13] Ultra-Thin Solar Cells: https://spectrum.ieee.org/thin-film-solar-panels[14] Museum Therapy: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/17/museums-on-prescription-brussels-tests-cultural-visits-to-treat-anxiety[15] AI Applications of Chinese Creators: https://finance.sina.com.cn/tech/internet/2023-04-14/doc-imyqirfn0665866.shtml[16] @cocomany: https://github.com/ruanyf/weekly/issues/3054[17] Usage of Intl.Segmenter for Word Segmentation: https://www.stefanjudis.com/today-i-learned/how-to-split-javascript-strings-with-intl-segmenter/[18] Lessons from Five Years as an Independent Developer: https://allisonseboldt.com/5-years-of-indie-hacking/[19] Performance Comparison of Bun vs Node: https://grifel.dev/bun-dev-experience/[20] The Value of a One-Person Newsletter Worth Millions of Dollars: https://growthinreverse.com/tldr/[21] Why I Chose an Unstable Sorting Algorithm: https://medium.com/@erik_68861/sorting-algorithms-that-dont-hate-you-165ba313bbc2[22] Firefox Automatically Removes Cookie Banners: https://www.ghacks.net/2023/04/17/firefox-may-interact-with-cookie-prompts-automatically-soon/[23] Nango: https://www.nango.dev/[24] Open Source: https://github.com/NangoHQ/nango[25] Docker Rollout: https://github.com/Wowu/docker-rollout[26] Web LLM: https://mlc.ai/web-llm/[27] Review: https://simonwillison.net/2023/Apr/16/web-llm/[28] OpenAI API Application: https://github.com/KiritoCheng/openai-public[29] Backend Code: https://github.com/KiritoCheng/openai-server[30] @KiritoCheng: https://github.com/ruanyf/weekly/issues/3055[31] Animated Drawings: https://github.com/facebookresearch/AnimatedDrawings[32] Scrutiny: https://github.com/AnalogJ/scrutiny[33] Browsertunnel: https://github.com/veggiedefender/browsertunnel[34] Upbase: https://upbase.io/[35] Bot Aquarium: https://github.com/fafrd/aquarium[36] Autodoc: https://github.com/context-labs/autodoc[37] SceneXplain: https://scenex.jina.ai/[38] Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (JavaScript Edition): https://sourceacademy.org/sicpjs/index[39] Introduction: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262543231/structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs/[40] WebGPU Fundamentals: https://webgpufundamentals.org/[41] GPT Unicorn: https://gpt-unicorn.adamkdean.co.uk/[42] Vercel AI Playground: https://play.vercel.ai/[43] Playlist Genius: https://www.playlistgeniusai.com/[44] Restoration of Glass Artifacts in Beirut: https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/conserving-beiruts-shattered-glass[45] Drones Restore Ancient Architecture: https://www.timeout.com/news/these-incredible-drone-displays-show-what-unfinished-buildings-could-look-like-103122[46] Open vs. Closed Research: https://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/YouAndYourResearch.html[47] “You and Your Research”: https://www.ruanyifeng.com/blog/2016/04/you-and-your-research.html[48] “1x Developer’s Rule of Thumb”: https://muldoon.cloud/programming/2020/04/17/programming-rules-thumb.html[49] “1x Developer’s Rule of Thumb”: https://muldoon.cloud/programming/2020/04/17/programming-rules-thumb.html[50] “There is no truth in business, only knowledge”: https://commoncog.com/no-truth-in-business-only-knowledge/[51] “My Internship Experiences at Pixar, Google, and Two Sigma”: https://evjang.com/2015/08/17/internship-experiences.html[52] David Foster Wallace: https://www.salon.com/1996/03/09/wallace_5/[53] FlowUs: https://flowus.cn?promotionChannel=GW_RYF_01[54] FlowUS: https://flowus.cn?promotionChannel=GW_RYF_01[55] FlowUs Column: https://ruanyf-weekly.flowus.cn/?code=FLOWUS&promotionChannel=WX_RYF_00