In 1989 a computer scientist argued that more functionality in software actually lowers usability and practicality — leading to the counterintuitive proposition that "worse is better". But is that still true? Python's original creator Guido van Rossum addressed the question last month in a lightning talk at the annual Python Language Summit 2025. Guido started by recounting earlier periods of Python development from 35 years ago, where he used UNIX "almost exclusively" and thus "Python was greatly influenced by UNIX's 'worse is better' philosophy"... "The fact that [Python] wasn't perfect encouraged many people to start contributing. All of the code was straightforward, there were no thoughts of optimization... These early contributors also now had a stake in the language; [Python] was also their baby"... Guido contrasted early development to how Python is developed now: "features that take years to produce from teams of software developers paid by big tech companies. The static type system requires an academic-level understanding of esoteric type system features." And this isn't just Python the language, "third-party projects like numpy are maintained by folks who are paid full-time to do so.... Now we have a huge community, but very few people, relatively speaking, are contributing meaningfully." Guido asked whether the expectation for Python contributors going forward would be that "you had to write a perfect PEP or create a perfect prototype that can be turned into production-ready code?" Guido pined for the "old days" where feature development could skip performance or feature-completion to get something into the hands of the community to "start kicking the tires". "Do we have to abandon 'worse is better' as a philosophy and try to make everything as perfect as possible?" Guido thought doing so "would be a shame", but that he "wasn't sure how to change it", acknowledging that core developers wouldn't want to create features and then break users with future releases. Guido referenced David Hewitt's PyO3 talk about Rust and Python, and that development "was using worse is better," where there is a core feature set that works, and plenty of work to be done and open questions. "That sounds a lot more fun than working on core CPython", Guido paused, "...not that I'd ever personally learn Rust. Maybe I should give it a try after," which garnered laughter from core developers. "Maybe we should do more of that: allowing contributors in the community to have a stake and care". Read more of this story at Slashdot.

It went quite well, to be honest

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May 31, 2025Ravie LakshmananVulnerability / Linux Two information disclosure flaws have been identified in apport and systemd-coredump, the core dump handlers in Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Fedora, according to the Qualys Threat Research Unit (TRU). Tracked as CVE-2025-5054 and CVE-2025-4598, both vulnerabilities are race condition bugs that could enable a local attacker to obtain access to access sensitive information. Tools like Apport and systemd-coredump are designed to handle crash reporting and core dumps in Linux systems. "These race conditions allow a local attacker to exploit a SUID program and gain read access to the resulting core dump," Saeed Abbasi, manager of product at Qualys TRU, said. A brief description of the two flaws is below - CVE-2025-5054 (CVSS score: 4.7) - A race condition in Canonical apport package up to and including 2.32.0 that allows a local attacker to leak sensitive information via PID-reuse by leveraging namespaces CVE-2025-4598 (CVSS score: 4.7) - A race condition in systemd-coredump that allows an attacker to force a SUID process to crash and replace it with a non-SUID binary to access the original's privileged process coredump, allowing the attacker to read sensitive data, such as /etc/shadow content, loaded by the original process SUID, short for Set User ID, is a special file permission that allows a user to execute a program with the privileges of its owner, rather than their own permissions. "When analyzing application crashes, apport attempts to detect if the crashing process was running inside a container before performing consistency checks on it," Canonical's Octavio Galland said. "This means that if a local attacker manages to induce a crash in a privileged process and quickly replaces it with another one with the same process ID that resides inside a mount and pid namespace, apport will attempt to forward the core dump (which might contain sensitive information belonging to the original, privileged process) into the namespace." Red Hat said CVE-2025-4598 has been rated Moderate in severity owing to the high complexity in pulling an exploit for the vulnerability, noting that the attacker has to first the race condition and be in possession of an unprivileged local account. As mitigations, Red Hat said users can run the command "echo 0 > /proc/sys/fs/suid_dumpable" as a root user to disable the ability of a system to generate a core dump for SUID binaries. The "/proc/sys/fs/suid_dumpable" parameter essentially controls whether SUID programs can produce core dumps on the crash. By setting it to zero, it disables core dumps for all SUID programs and prevents them from being analyzed in the event of a crash. "While this mitigates this vulnerability while it's not possible to update the systemd package, it disables the capability of analyzing crashes for such binaries," Red Hat said. Similar advisories have been issued by Amazon Linux, Debian, and Gentoo. It's worth noting that Debian systems aren't susceptible to CVE-2025-4598 by default, since they don't include any core dump handler unless the systemd-coredump package is manually installed. CVE-2025-4598 does not affect Ubuntu releases. Qualys has also developed proof-of-concept (PoC) code for both vulnerabilities, demonstrating how a local attacker can exploit the coredump of a crashed unix_chkpwd process, which is used to verify the validity of a user's password, to obtain password hashes from the /etc/shadow file. Canonical, in an alert of its own, said the impact of CVE-2025-5054 is restricted to the confidentiality of the memory space of invoked SUID executables and that the PoC exploit can leak hashed user passwords has limited real-world impact. "The exploitation of vulnerabilities in Apport and systemd-coredump can severely compromise the confidentiality at high risk, as attackers could extract sensitive data, like passwords, encryption keys, or customer information from core dumps," Abbasi said. "The fallout includes operational downtime, reputational damage, and potential non-compliance with regulations. To mitigate these multifaceted risks effectively, enterprises should adopt proactive security measures by prioritizing patches and mitigations, enforcing robust monitoring, and tightening access controls." Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter  and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post. SHARE    

Some files in macOS may not be necessary and can be safely removed from your Mac. Here's how to delete them.How to remove unnecessary files in macOS.macOS is a UNIX-based system at its core, and as such, its filesystem arrangement is more complex than it first appears.This is partly because macOS and the Finder hide parts of the filesystem on disk from users, mostly parts that only macOS needs and which most users never need to be concerned about. Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums

Online Programmer (Python and C++)GameloftSofia Sofia City Province bg2 hours agoApplyJob DescriptionGameloft Sofia studio is looking for an Online Programmer with Python and C++ to join the team.Responsibilities:Contribute to our games’ technology stack, particularly on libraries, frameworks and solutions for C++ games, tools and servers.Coordinate with other tech teams, both in the Studio and outside, to contribute to transversal, cross-game solutions.Program in the relevant languages (C++, Python, Golang);Develop, monitor, evaluate and debug solutions as needed.QualificationsYou have:Strong Software Engineering Skills.Experience in Python Programming and Software EngineeringExperience in C++ Programming and Software EngineeringExperience in Multithreaded and Distributed SystemsWorking experience in both Unix and Windows systems.Able and willing to work and learn new technologies as the need arises.Ability to work in a team.Good communication skills in English.Nice to have:Experience working with network protocols such as TCP, UDPExperience with Backend Technologies (Cloud, K8S)Experience with REST APIsExperience with DjangoExperience with DockerExperience or Interest in Game DevelopmentExperience with GolangExperience with Cross Platform Development (Mac, Xbox, Playstation, Nintendo)Additional InformationWhy Join Gameloft?You want to work in exceptional industry and create games downloaded more than 1 billion times per year.You want to be part of a talented and supportive team of pioneers who have a passion for creating video games.You want to contribute to a vibrant and dynamic atmosphere.You want to join a global company and meet great people around the world.You will work on a permanent contract with competitive remuneration.You are looking for a fun place to work in the heart of the city.Health insurance coverage, Meal vouchersGame rooms, relaxation zone, office massage, bike standStudio location at the heart of the city with easy access to mass transportation.Company DescriptionLeader in the development and publishing of multiplatform games, Gameloft® has established itself as a pioneer in the industry, creating innovative gaming experiences for 25 years. Gameloft creates games for all digital platforms, from mobile to cross-platform titles for PC and consoles. Gameloft operates its own established franchises such as Asphalt®, Dragon Mania Legends, March of Empires, and Dungeon Hunter, and also partners with major rights holders including LEGO®, Universal, Illumination, Hasbro®, Fox Digital Entertainment, Lamborghini®, and Ferrari®. Gameloft distributes its games in over 100 countries and employs 3,000 people worldwide. Every month, 1 billion unique users can be reached by advertisers in Gameloft games with Gameloft for brands, a leading B2B offering dedicated to brands and agencies. Gameloft is a Vivendi company. Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings. Apply