fergie (u/fergie) - Readit News

fergie commented on I ported JustHTML from Python to JavaScript with Codex CLI and GPT-5.2 in hours simonwillison.net/2025/De... · Posted by u/pbowyer

cxr · 14 hours ago

Few know that Firefox's HTML5 parser was originally written in Java, and only afterward semi-mechanically translated (pre-LLMs) to the dialect of C++ used in the Gecko codebase.

This blog post isn't really about HTML parsers, however. The JustHTML port described in this blog post was a worthwhile exercise as a demonstration on its own.

Even so, I suspect that for this particular application, it would have been more productive/valuable to port the Java codebase to TypeScript rather than using the already vibe coded JustHTML as a starting point. Most of the value of what is demonstrated by JustHTML's existence in either form comes from Stenström's initial work.

fergie · 3 hours ago

Surely for debugging and auditing it's always better to write libs in JavaScript? Also, given that much of TypeScripts utilty is for improving the developer experience- is it still as relevant for machine-generated code?

fergie commented on Pricing Changes for GitHub Actions resources.github.com/acti... · Posted by u/kevin-david

Someone1234 · 17 hours ago

I really enjoy how they list the price PER MINUTE to make it sound like this isn't absurdly expensive. A lot of people leave their self-hosted runners running 24/7 because, after all, they're self-hosted.

This is $2.88/day, $86.4/month, $1051.2/year. For them to do essentially nothing.

Most notably, this is the same price as their hosted "Linux 1-core" on a per-minute basis. Meaning they're charging you the same for running it yourself, as you'd pay for them to host it for you...

fergie · 4 hours ago

> A lot of people leave their self-hosted runners running 24/7

Don't they generally only kick in when you push or merge?

fergie commented on Mozilla appoints new CEO Anthony Enzor-Demeo blog.mozilla.org/en/mozil... · Posted by u/recvonline

keeda · 18 hours ago

Everyone is reacting negatively to the focus on AI, but does Mozilla really have a choice? This is going to be a rehash of the same dynamic that has happened in all the browser wars: Leading browser introduces new feature, websites and extensions start using that feature, runner-up browsers have no choice but to introduce that feature or further lose marketshare.

Chrome and Edge have already integrated LLM capabilities natively, and webpages and extensions will soon start using them widely:

- https://developer.chrome.com/docs/ai/built-in

- https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/2025/05/19/introducing-t...

Soon you will have pages that are "Best viewed in Chrome / Edge" and eventually these APIs will be standardized. Only a small but passionate minority of users will run a non-AI browser. I don't think that's the niche Firefox wants to be in.

I agree that Mozilla should take the charge on being THE privacy-focused browser, but they can also do so in the AI age. As an example, provide a sandbox and security features that prevent your prompts and any conversations with the AI from being exfiltrated for "analytics." Because you know that is coming.

fergie · 7 hours ago

I think youre mixing up two seperate concerns: functionality and standards. It seems to me that there could absolutely be a "dumb browser" that sticks to (and develops) web standards and is also relatively popular

fergie commented on JSDoc is TypeScript culi.bearblog.dev/jsdoc-i... · Posted by u/culi

prisenco · 3 days ago

I'm a fan of anything that allows me to build with javascript that doesn't require a build step.

Modern HTML/CSS with Web Components and JSDoc is underrated. Not for everyone but should be more in the running for a modern frontend stack than it is.

fergie · 2 days ago

> Modern HTML/CSS with Web Components and JSDoc is underrated.

I've been a front end developer for 25 years. This is also my opinion.

fergie commented on If AI replaces workers, should it also pay taxes? english.elpais.com/techno... · Posted by u/PaulHoule

fergie · 2 days ago

This article is actually a veiled, but sensible argument for less income tax and more wealth tax.

fergie commented on Unreal Tournament 2004 is back old.reddit.com/r/unrealto... · Posted by u/keithoffer

fergie · 13 days ago

Such a good game- very ahead of its time, great look and feel. Weird that it was allowed to wither and die.

fergie commented on RCE Vulnerability in React and Next.js github.com/vercel/next.js... · Posted by u/rayhaanj

fergie · 13 days ago

Is there some sort of example exploit somewhere?

fergie commented on Everyone in Seattle hates AI jonready.com/blog/posts/e... · Posted by u/mips_avatar

fergie · 13 days ago

I did some contract work for Microsoft a few years ago (2011-2013). It was striking how much pressure was put on you to dogfood Microsoft stuff at the expense of basically everything. I can only imagine what it must be like at the moment.

fergie commented on Bureau of Meteorology's new boss asked to examine $96M bill for website redesign abc.net.au/news/2025-11-2... · Posted by u/OuterVale

fergie · 23 days ago

> "It is unbelievable a private consultancy was paid $78 million to redesign the website," Mr Littleproud said.

This is the crux of the issue. If you have outsourced software engineering competency, yet one of your core missions is maintaining a large pile of software, then this is the inevitable result.