Arc Notes Weekly #97: Accounting
This week, GitLab cuts backups from 48h to 41m, Twitter’s DMs aren’t as secure as they seem, and Stanford’s Tokasaurus boosts LLM speed. Plus, rethink common misconceptions in aviation software.
This week, uncover how GitLab slashed backup times from 48 hours to 41 minutes, why even secure-looking DMs aren’t safe on Twitter, and how a Stanford-built LLM engine is redefining inference speed. Plus, explore misconceptions in aviation software.
Sponsor Spotlight: Smarter Monetization for SaaS Tired of hard-coding pricing logic? Schematic makes entitlements a first-class primitive, so you can stop burying access rules in brittle conditionals and let the product teams take control.
Enjoy this week's round-up!
— Mahdi Yusuf (@myusuf3) or LinkedIn
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Articles
Rethink Your Shell History: A New Approach
Explore the debate between keeping a detailed shell history versus curating it for efficiency. Discover a nifty zsh function that helps you prune unnecessary commands and keep your history file clean!Why I'm Taking a Break from genAI Discussions
The author shares their frustration with the relentless genAI discourse, admitting defeat in trying to make sense of it and deciding to step back. They explore the overwhelming nature of genAI discussions, the aesthetic displeasure of interacting with AI, and the broader implications on critical thinking and industry practices. It's a candid reflection on the exhaustion of engaging with a topic that feels both inescapable and unsolvable.GitLab Slashes Repo Backup Time from 48 Hours to 41 Minutes
Discover how GitLab tackled a 15-year-old Git function bottleneck, transforming backup times from 48 hours to just 41 minutes! This breakthrough not only enhances efficiency but also supports more robust backup strategies, reducing risk and costs.Schematic: Modern Monetization Without the Hacks
Most SaaS products bury pricing logic deep in brittle conditionals — making it painful to evolve plans, manage trials, or run sales. Schematic fixes that by making entitlements a first-class primitive. Developers stop hard-coding access rules and start using entitlements.check() instead. Product and GTM teams take over from there, owning monetization without shipping code.
No more brittle logic. Just clean, flexible monetization.
Why AI Skeptics Are Missing the Point
In a candid take, Thomas Ptacek argues that AI skeptics are underestimating the impact of LLMs on software development, likening their skepticism to dismissing the internet in its early days. He highlights how LLMs can handle tedious coding tasks, freeing developers to focus on more meaningful work, and challenges the notion that AI-generated code is inherently inferior.Common Misconceptions Programmers Have About Aviation
Think aviation data is straightforward? Think again! Discover the surprising falsehoods programmers often believe about flights, airports, and airlines, and how these misconceptions can lead to unexpected challenges in aviation software development.Twitter's New Encrypted DMs: Still Not Secure Enough
Despite Twitter's recent launch of "XChat" with new encryption, the platform's DMs remain vulnerable, lacking forward secrecy and relying on a PIN system that can be easily compromised. The article suggests using Signal for truly secure messaging.Discover the Joy of Self-Hosting and Tech Independence
From setting up a home server to embracing open-source tools, learn how taking control of your tech can lead to greater independence and joy!Mastering DNS: A Simple Guide to Understanding the Basics
Dive into the world of DNS and discover how this essential system maps domain names to IP addresses, making the internet function smoothly. This article breaks down the complexities of DNS architecture, records, and servers, offering a clear and engaging explanation that even ChatGPT might envy!Projects
tokasaurus
Discover Tokasaurus, Stanford's latest LLM inference engine designed to handle high-throughput workloads with ease. This innovative tool outperforms existing engines by up to 3x, thanks to its dynamic prefix identification and async tensor parallelism. Dive into the details and see how Tokasaurus is setting new benchmarks in AI efficiency!hyperdx
Discover HyperDX, an open source observability platform that combines session replays, logs, metrics, traces, and errors, all powered by Clickhouse and OpenTelemetry, to help you resolve production issues faster than ever!
Why My Search Engine Fails Compared to Elasticsearch
Join the author in their humbling journey of creating a search engine that pales in comparison to Elasticsearch. Discover the technical intricacies and why real search engines like Elasticsearch are so efficient, while my side project, SearchArray, struggles with performance and relevance.