Tag: GitHub

  • M4 Developer Bypasses Apple AI Restrictions

    M4 Developer Bypasses Apple AI Restrictions

    Key Takeaway

    – M4 Neural Engine is locked to inference by default; developer bypassed restrictions to unlock 15.8 TFLOPS for training
    – Custom Model Intermediate Language built from scratch, bypassing Apple’s official tools like CoreML and Metal
    – Workaround uses system RAM instead of NAND flash to maintain speed during intensive training
    – Special execute command respawns stuck processes to prevent crashes during backpropagation
    – Breakthrough proves M4 hardware is fully capable of local AI training despite Apple’s limitations

    Apple’s M4 Neural Engine Unlocked

    Apple’s M4 processors pack a massive amount of AI computing power, but the company has historically kept the hardware tightly locked down. By default, the Neural Engine inside the M4 is restricted entirely to inference. This means developers can only use it to run pre-trained AI models rather than actually training new ones from scratch.

    Hidden Performance Revealed

    How ever, a developer has managed to bypass these strict software limitations, fully reverse-engineering the chip to unlock 15.8 TFLOPS of hidden AI crunching power. The breakthrough comes from a researcher known as 0x0SojalSec, who recently shared code on GitHub detailing how they tapped into the true potential of the M4. What makes this achievement particularly impressive is that it was done completly outside of Apple’s official development ecosystem.

    Custom Software Solution

    Because Apple does not grant the necessary permission levels to communicate directly with the Neural Engine for these advanced tasks, the developer had to figure out a way to work without using standard tools like CoreML, Metal, or even relying on the graphics processing unit. To pull this off, they built a custom Model Intermediate Language from the ground up. This custom software successfully bridged the gap, allowing for full backpropagation and transformer training directly on the Apple Neural Engine.

    Stability Workarounds

    Since the hardware is heavily restricted by design, the developer also had to use some very clever workarounds to keep the system stable. For example, if a process gets stuck during the intensive training phase, the custom language uses a specific execute command to essencially respawn the process. This allows the system to refresh its current state and pick the machine learning right back up without crashing the entire program.

    Memory Optimization

    Speed was also a major factor in getting this heavy workload to run effectively. To ensure the training operated as smoothly as possible, the developer configured the process to write everything entirely to the system RAM. By actively avoiding the much slower NAND flash storage, the entire operation remained increadibly fast. For anyone using an M4 equipped Mac or iPad, this fascinating workaround proves that the silicon is more than capable of handling heavy duty AI training workloads, even if Apple officially prefers to keep those specific capabilities locked away.

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  • New Steam Machine Leak Hints at Imminent Launch

    Key Takeaway

    – Valve’s backend reveals a “Welcome to Steam Machine” onboarding process, suggesting final preparations.
    – Multilingual Steam Machine content on GitHub fuels speculation of a near-term global launch.
    – Reddit community is highly optimistic, with some predicting a release within days to weeks.
    – Valve’s official silence tempers excitement; all details remain unconfirmed speculation.
    – Recent Steam Deck OLED price hike raises concerns that the Steam Machine may be pricier than expected.

    New Steam Machine Hints Spark Excitement

    After entries related to the “Welcome to Steam Machine” introduction were discovered in Valve’s backend at the end of May, many in the community began speculating about a June launch. The excitement is not based solely on the fact that the onboarding process looks like a final stage of preparation. As previously reported, similar leaks appeared shortly before the Steam Controller’s release. A new discovery has now added further fuel to the speculation: the Steam Machine Welcome Tour has surfaced on GitHub in multiple languages. This suggests Valve might be finalising there work.

    Community Reacts With Optimism on Reddit

    The reaction on Reddit has been highly optimistic. Thread creator u/SnooDoughnuts8734 summed up the mood with the words: “Everything is ready, let’s go.” For many users, the fact that the Steam Machine introduction is now available in several languages suggests that Valve has entered the final preparation phase and is getting ready for a worldwide launch. Users also seem confident that a release is imminent, with some speculating about a launch “tomorrow” or “within the next two weeks” – either way, very soon. Its a exciting time for fans.

    Valve’s Silence and Price Concerns

    What tempers the excitement is Valve’s continued silence on official Steam Machine details. For now, everything remains pure speculation. That said, only a few days separated the official Steam Controller announcement from its market launch, so a similarly short timeline cannot be ruled out. The biggest source of skepticism at the moment is the price. Following the recent Steam Deck OLED price increase (available on Amazon for $1,420), many users now believe that the Steam Machine could be significantly more expensive than originally expected. People are wondering if it will be worth the high cost.

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  • 1-Man Online Rave: Multiplayer, No Login, No Ads

    1-Man Online Rave: Multiplayer, No Login, No Ads

    Key Takeaway

    – Hallucinate is a massively multiplayer online rave with no accounts, passwords, or ads.
    – It uses a client-authoritative architecture to smoothly sync hundreds of players without overloading the server.
    – The project went viral on Hacker News and Reddit but crashed under traffic, then was patched live by its creator.
    – Full source code is on GitHub under an MIT license, with open contributions welcomed.
    – The creator responded to bugs and feature requests in real time, accepting pull requests for improvements.

    A Rave That Broke the Internet

    A small website went viral on Sunday (May 31) and briefly brought a corner of the internet together on a shared dance floor — before the server buckled under the crowd. Hallucinate, at hallucinate.site, is exactly what it sounds like: a massively multiplayer online rave. When you open the site, you’re dropped into a low-poly 3D club, surrounded by real users dancing to a looping DJ set sourcing videos from YouTube. There’s no account, no password, and no ads involved.

    How It Blew Up

    The project was shared to Hacker News today by its creator (a developer going by stagas), racking up a decent number of upvotes and comments within hours. A parallel Reddit post on r/InternetIsBeautiful summed it up nicely with the caption: “The internet is healing.” Under the hood, it’s more fun than it looks. Stagas built it with a dead-reckoning, client-authoritative architecture that syncs only key state changes — keeping things smooth across hundreds of players without hammering the server. The full source is on GitHub under an MIT licence, and contributions are openly welcomed.

    Server Meltdown and Live Patching

    The launch didn’t go entirely smoothly, though. Hallucinate got hugged to death by Hacker News traffic within the first hour. The website went down before being patched and restarted in near-real time — all while its creator was simultaneously responding to bug reports, fielding feature requests, and manually banning IP addresses after bad actors hit the open chat. “They keep coming back with different IPs,” stagas wrote, mid-thread. Feature requests kept pouring in anyway: jumping, skin colour options, mobile controls, a live player count. The creator’s response to most of them? “PR will be accepted.”

    Where To Find It

    Hallucinate is live at hallucinate.site. Source code is available at github.com/stagas/hallucinate. Hacker News, Github, r/InternetIsBeautiful.

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  • Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Now Available on Sega Dreamcast

    Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Now Available on Sega Dreamcast

    Key Takeaways

    1. A team has released a beta version of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the Sega Dreamcast.
    2. To create the Dreamcast image file, a retail copy of GTA 3 or GTA: VC is required, along with specific tools available on GitHub.
    3. The gameplay is functional but may have graphical issues and an unstable framerate, typical of beta versions.
    4. The beta includes features like 2x FSAA for smoother edges and a 24-bits-per-pixel frame buffer for enhanced color depth.
    5. Players can access the beta version by visiting the project’s GitHub page.

    We got Grand Theft Auto: Vice City on the Dreamcast before we got GTA 6.

    A team that worked on bringing Grand Theft Auto III (GTA 3) to the Sega Dreamcast released a beta version for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (GTA: VC) not long ago. This beta, shared on GitHub on April 1, can be played on actual hardware.

    Requirements for the Port

    According to the GitHub page, to make the Dreamcast image file, you need a retail copy of either GTA 3 or GTA: VC. It also notes that the PC version of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy can be used to build this file. Additionally, there are two other tools necessary for the image creation, and links to these tools are provided on the GitHub site.

    Gameplay and Performance

    Falco Girgis, one of the developers from the project, shared a brief gameplay video on X. The game is functional, but players might notice odd graphical issues and an unstable framerate. Nevertheless, these types of problems are common in beta versions. The team is actively working to fix these glitches and enhance features.

    Notable Features

    In the beta, you can find a feature for 2x FSAA that helps smooth the edges, along with a rendering option using a 24-bits-per-pixel (bpp) frame buffer that adds “extra depth and vividness to the colors,” as per Girgis’s statement.

    You can explore the beta version of the Dreamcast port for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City by visiting the GitHub page for the project, which is linked in the Sources section below.

    Source:
    Link

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  • Winamp Source Code Released Online Sparks Controversy

    Winamp Source Code Released Online Sparks Controversy

    Back in May, the CEO of Winamp revealed that the source code for this legendary media player would be publicly available on September 24th. With little announcement, the code was released yesterday. However, the licensing model stands in stark contrast to the principles of open-source software. Despite this, some initial forks—which are not permitted under the licensing agreement—have already surfaced online.

    Licensing Conflicts

    During the May announcement, Alexandre Saboundjian, the CEO of Winamp, stated, "Winamp will remain the owner of the software and will decide on the innovations made in the official version." A significant issue arises from a partial contradiction between the Winamp Collaborative License (WCL) Version 1.0 and GitHub’s Terms of Service. This conflict primarily concerns how Winamp plans to manage the distribution of modified versions and forking. According to GitHub’s ToS,

    "By setting your repositories to be viewed publicly, you agree to allow others to view and ‘fork’ your repositories (this means that others may make their own copies of Content from your repositories in repositories they control)."

    Community Reactions

    Moreover, every public page and repository on GitHub grants users of the platform

    "a nonexclusive, worldwide license to use, display, and perform Your Content through the GitHub Service and to reproduce Your Content solely on GitHub as permitted through GitHub’s functionality (for example, through forking)."

    Reactions to Winamp’s licensing model on GitHub have been quite critical, with some users referring to it as "a dogwater license" and "unpaid labor." Discussions are also happening on Reddit, particularly in the r/linux community, where a post titled "The source code to Winamp was released. No Forking allowed, but people forked anyway" captures the sentiment (refer to the Source(s) section for the link).

    Future Considerations

    The unfortunate reality is that while Winamp claims to have "opened the source code," they are offering very limited access and asserting copyright over any community contributions to this code. It is likely that several unofficial forks will gain traction in the coming weeks, forcing Winamp to either revise its licensing model to align with GitHub’s ToS or remove the code from the platform altogether.

    Perhaps the Winamp team should have consulted "GitHub For Dummies" before finalizing the WCL 1.0, but it’s not too late for them to take action. This guide is available on Amazon in Kindle format for $18, with a paperback version priced at $25 for new copies and starting at $19.39 for used ones.

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