Arc Notes Weekly #100: Hundo
This week, how to build a search engine powered by embeddings, how to think about GPUs and code might be more effective than a bunch of MCP servers.
This week, how to build a search engine powered by embeddings, how to think about GPUs and code might be more effective than a bunch of MCP servers.
Enjoy this week's round-up!
— Mahdi Yusuf (@myusuf3) or LinkedIn
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Articles
Mastering SystemD Service Hardening for Enhanced Security
Discover how to fortify your Linux system with SystemD service hardening techniques, reducing the risk of compromise and limiting damage from potential exploits. This guide offers a comprehensive look at security options for SystemD service units and podman quadlets, providing practical steps to enhance your system's security posture.Mastering Podman: Running Docker Compose with BuildKit
Discover how to seamlessly run Docker Compose projects with Podman and enable BuildKit for advanced features! This guide walks you through setting up Podman with Docker Compose CLI, creating a new Docker context, and using a systemd-managed BuildKit service, all while maintaining a rootless and daemonless environment.Building a Search Engine with 3 Billion Neural Embeddings in 2 Months
Dive into the fascinating journey of creating a web search engine from scratch in just two months, leveraging 3 billion neural embeddings to deliver top-quality content. Discover how a cluster of 200 GPUs, hundreds of crawlers, and advanced text embedding models were used to tackle the challenges of modern search engines and provide more relevant, human-like search results.How Experienced Engineers Master Code Reviews
Dive into the minds of seasoned developers as they navigate the complex world of code reviews, using strategic scoping and mental models to ensure quality and efficiency. Discover how leaders can enhance these practices to support scalable and effective reviews!Why You Need AGENTS.md for Your Coding Projects
AGENTS.md is the perfect companion to README.md, offering detailed instructions for coding agents without cluttering your main documentation. Discover how this file can streamline your development process by providing build steps, testing instructions, and more, all in a format that's compatible with a wide range of AI coding tools!Why Modern CI Systems Are Overly Complex and Misguided
Gregory Szorc argues that modern CI systems like GitHub Actions and GitLab Pipelines have become overly complex, essentially turning into build systems themselves. He suggests that CI functionality should be an extension of build systems, reducing redundancy and complexity. Discover why he believes current CI offerings are targeting the wrong abstraction and what the future of CI could look like!Understanding GPUs: A Deep Dive into NVIDIA's Powerhouse
Explore the intricate world of NVIDIA GPUs, from their architecture to their role in large language models, and see how they stack up against TPUs. This chapter offers a detailed look at the components and capabilities of modern GPUs like the H100 and B200, making it a must-read for anyone interested in scaling machine learning models!Projects
ffmpeg 8.0
FFmpeg 8.0 'Huffman' is here, boasting a massive update with new native decoders, Vulkan compute-based codecs, and hardware-accelerated encoding and decoding. This release modernizes FFmpeg's infrastructure and introduces exciting possibilities for non-linear video editing and lossless streaming. Dive into the details and see how these advancements can enhance your multimedia projects!
Why Your MCP Needs Code, Not 30 Tools
Armin Ronacher argues that instead of relying on a multitude of CLI tools, MCPs should focus on using code to enhance functionality. He explores the challenges of CLI tools, such as platform dependency and session management, and suggests using a single MCP server with a Python interpreter to streamline processes and improve efficiency.