Zig Gets a Big Boost

First up, remember Zig, that programming language? Synadia and TigerBeetle just dropped over half a million bucks ($512k, to be exact) on the Zig Software Foundation. That's a huge boost! People in the comments were comparing it to Rust, with one person saying Zig makes a lot of small choices that push you towards safety and correctness, especially with no hidden allocations. Sounds pretty cool, right?

Grandma and Grandpa Are the Real Screen Addicts

Then there was this Economist article, get this: "Meet the real screen addicts: the elderly." Not teens, not us, but grandma and grandpa! Wild, right? The comments were all over the place, some talking about how a good computer game makes you think just as much as fiction, which is a surprisingly cool take.

React vs. Backbone in 2025

And for some tech nostalgia, there was a "React vs. Backbone in 2025" piece. People were debating React's "magic" versus Backbone's more explicit, verbose style. Someone in the comments said they moved their team from Backbone to Angular years ago but still treasured Backbone because its entire source code could be read and understood by a junior developer – no "magic" involved. That's a strong point for understandability!

California's Battery Power Play

On the real-world front, California's apparently figured out rolling blackouts! They made it through summer without a "Flex Alert" by investing big in battery energy storage. One comment brought up how nuclear power gets so much flak after incidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima, but hydroelectric power, despite some incredibly deadly failures in history, is often considered a "good" source. Interesting perspective on public perception there.

Libera.chat Tells UK Law to Kick Rocks

Okay, this one's a bit serious: Libera.chat, the IRC network, basically told the UK's Online Safety Act to kick rocks, saying they don't have enough links to the UK for it to be applicable. Comments were talking about people losing faith in courts and how much UK infrastructure relies on US companies like AWS and Microsoft, which could be a big issue for sovereignty.

iOS 26 Cleans Up Spyware Indicators

Big security news: Apple's iOS 26 update apparently removed key indicators for Pegasus and Predator spyware. So, hopefully, that makes it harder for those nasty tools to track folks. Comments were debating if it was a C-suite decision or just tech improvements, and how much it costs to develop and maintain these kinds of exploits.

OpenAI's New ID Verification and No Refunds

And get this, OpenAI is now apparently requiring ID verification and won't refund API credits. People are pretty annoyed, some saying they saw this coming. Fraud protection was mentioned as a reason, but also copyright cases they're fighting and EU requirements for age verification since AI can produce adult content.

Oh, and there was a super nerdy but fascinating deep dive into "The Journey Before main()" – like, what actually happens before your C/C++ code even starts running. If you're into that low-level stuff, it was a good read.

Anyway, just wanted to give you the quick download. Talk soon!