Over the years, Rumen has been part of the national team of Bulgaria in informatics. He is seventh in the Hall of Fame of the IOI (International Olympiad in Informatics) – an outstanding achievement for the country. Rumen is a long-time participant in the international programming competition CodeIT, in 2012 he is a winner, and in the 2020/2021 season he gives a special lecture as an IT guru at the final of the competition.

Rumen Hristov was also elected in Forbes 30 Under 30 in the United States for his work on remote health monitoring.

Rumen tells DevStyleR more about the challenges he faces in the vast technological world. He also reveals what are the qualities needed for success not only in competitions and Olympiads, but also in life. He also shares with us his enjoyable experiences in one of the oldest competitions in the world – CodeIT and what it feels like to be part of the Forbes 30 under 30 in the US. You will read all this and many more interesting topics in our interview.

You are 7th in the Hall of Fame of the International Olympiad in Informatics (IOI). What are the qualities that make up a successful IT competitor?

Competitions in Informatics were an extremely important part for me and opened many doors in my life. Thanks to them, I was able to meet different people, learn new things, visit many countries, and they were the main reason I was accepted into MIT.

Although in the last 7-8 years I have not participated in any competitions, I can still distinguish many of the qualities I have learned from them. They made me a better programmer, taught me to think creatively and quickly. The Olympiads in Informatics developed my competitive spirit and taught me to motivate myself to always look for improvement in me.

In 2012 you are the winner at CodeIT, and in 2020/2021 you are again part of the competition, this time as an IT guru. Tell us about your experiences as a competitor and then as a guru.

Being an IT guru was an amazing experience. I was always happy when I had the opportunity to go back and be able to help the competitors, because I too had received a lot of help when I was on the other side of things.

The President of Bulgaria attended the award ceremony, as in most years and this fact always distinguishes CodeIT.

What is your message to CodeIT competitors?

Continue to look for every challenge and participate in as many competitions as possible, especially in school years. Then, unfortunately the race time decreases, so you should take advantage as much as possible when it’s time for that.

You complete your bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Together with prof. Dina Katabi you’re working on building an IoT system for a wireless sensor device. What inspired you to start working on such a project?

My goal was to work on an innovative project that is practical to become a community product. Professor Katabi’s group is working on wireless technologies and when I first appeared in the lab, it was in the initial steps on the project that became our company: Emerald Innovations.

The road was very difficult, and we had to solve many technical problems, as well as find the right business plan. After a few years at the university, we made sure that there was a business interest in what we do and for 3-4 years we have been working fully on our company.

You are part of the Forbes 30 under 30 list in the US for your work on remote health monitoring. How does it feel to prove yourself and be recognized in one of the most developed technological countries and what is the formula of success?

The formula of success is always focused on difficult problems. I knew that Professor Katabi’s group was one of those who worked the most hours at MIT and often spent late nights in the laboratory. This is what motivated me to work on this project and subsequently had its advantages and brought several awards.

What advice would you give to those who are just entering the tech world?

The technological world is a special field. Things change often, and people must adapt quickly. Success is often associated with spending many hours in front of a screen, so it is advisable to combine it with frequent hours without screens.

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Dusko Obradovic: A united IT Community in the Balkans – a Mission for Life
The CodeIT 2024 Team for the Competition and the Journey into the World of Programming

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The project is a collaboration of the Open Source Security Foundation (OpenSSF), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T).

“Vulnerabilities in software are a key risk in cybersecurity, with known exploits being a primary path for bad actors to inflict a range of harms. By leveraging SBOMs as key elements of software security, we can mitigate the risk to the software supply chain and respond to new risks faster, and more efficiently,” said Allan Friedman, senior advisor and strategist at CISA.

Protobom allows companies to read data from software specifications (SBOMs), create their own SBOMs, and translate SBOMs into a variety of standard formats.

According to OpenSSF, there are many SBOM formats and schemas, which can be challenging for companies. The goal of the new project is to provide “a format-neutral data layer on top of standards that allows applications to work seamlessly with any kind of SBOM.”

“Protobom is a step towards greater efficiency and interoperability by translating across the widely used formats so that tools and organizations can focus on what’s important. It is a positive solution that helps shape a more transparent software-driven world”, Allan Friedman added.

OpenSSF also explained that by integrating Protobom into applications that link SBOM and vulnerability information, organizations will be able to more quickly access the necessary patches and mitigations to keep their software supply chains safe.

According to Omhar Arasaratnam, General Manager of OpenSSF Protobom will enable organizations to proactively manage the risk of their open source dependencies.

“While SAS Viya is the foundation of the SAS software ecosystem, the company is evolving its portfolio with innovative products to meet diverse user needs”, saidKathy Lange, Research Director for AI Software, IDC.

He adds that new offerings such as SAS Viya Workbench aim to boost productivity, improve efficiency and “build trust among AI developers”.

Viya Workbench allows developers and modellers to work in the language of their choice. Initially they will have a choice between SAS and Python, with R expected to be available by the end of 2024. Viya Workbench offers two development environment options – Jupyter Notebook/JupyterLab and Visual Studio Code.

The use of SAS analytic procedures (PROCs) and Python native APIs within Viya Workbench accelerates the development of high-performance AI models. Additionally, custom Python libraries can significantly improve speed and performance with minimal changes to a developer’s existing Python program.

Viya Workbench is a flexible, scalable, and efficient development environment that can be terminated with minimal IT support. The dedicated analytics environment features custom CPU/GPU compute power to meet project needs.

“The many challenges developers face aren’t just minor annoyances – they are obstacles that prevent questions from being answered and work from getting done”, said Jared Peterson, Senior Vice President of Engineering, SAS.

Viya Workbench will initially be available through the Amazon AWS Marketplace in the second quarter. Additional supported cloud service providers and a software-as-a-service deployment option are expected to be available in the future.

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The project is led by the Linux Foundation’s LF AI and Data organization, which focuses on platform initiatives related to artificial intelligence and data.

LF AI and Data executive director Ibrahim Hadadt states in a press release that OPEA is expected to pave the way for the release of “fortified,” “scalable” generative AI systems that “leverage the best open source innovations from across the ecosystem.”

Other project members include Intel, IBM-owned Red Hat, Hugging Face, Domino Data Lab, MariaDB and VMware.

When asked what these companies can build together, Haddad hinted at several possibilities, such as “optimized” support for AI toolchains and compilers that allow AI workloads to run on different hardware components, as well as “heterogeneous” pipelines for generating augmented data (RAG). RAG is gaining popularity in enterprise applications of generative AI.

RAG models reference this external information – which can be in the form of proprietary company data, a public database, or some combination of the two – before generating a response or performing a task.

OPEA members say they are very interested in creating a toolkit for enterprise generative AI.

Although each of the companies has a different focus – Cloudera focuses on the cloud AI ecosystem, Domino offers generative AI applications for businesses, and VMware handles the infrastructure for AI – all have shown interest in AI development and have launched products and partnerships in this area.

However, the question of truly working together on developing compatible AI tools within OPEA remains open. Although companies may have different interests and strategies, collaboration is possible, especially if they have a common point that rests on the development of AI technologies.

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1. Hive

Through this application, you can create a to-do list, record deadlines, and assign tasks to people who are in your workspace.
This application is suitable for you whether you work in person or from home, as well as in a hybrid form.

Hive’s Kanban feature lets you put tasks on a visual board. You can see what their execution status is. Your calendar shows what tasks you have set for the day.

What else does Hive offer?

•  Ability to track set goals
•  An AI writing tool that serves to generate content
•  Create a project plan
•  Create tasks from notes in notes
•  Workflow automation tools

2. Todoist

Todoist is the simplest application for recording daily tasks. It is suitable for recording tasks that need to be performed regularly and are frequently repeated.

The application is available from various platforms. Its interface is extremely easy to use. Karma is a built-in system in Todoist that tracks your progress and gives you points for completing your tasks.

3 . Google Keep

This is a Google list making app. It is suitable for recording the products you need for purchase.
Google Keep will come in handy if you need a free app to send you reminders. It is a place to keep basic daily notes. Not suitable for work.

4. Remember The Milk

This application is also intended for use in the everyday sphere, not in the work sphere. It is available on many platforms and is a great option for busy people who need household reminders.

Through it you can create lists of your daily tasks. You can also create tags to priority tasks. In addition, Remember the Milk allows you to create sub-tasks to your main ones.

5. Way of Life

This platform is suitable if you want to give up an old habit and replace it with a new and more useful one. The app is suitable if you have recurring weekly tasks as it allows you to see what progress you have made.

Performance can be noted via a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ function based on the application’s color coding. Way of Life presents graphs that report your activities.

The app also has a reminder function. A journal section can be used to add additional notes to the task.

6. nTask

nTask is an app that can combine recording tasks from both your personal and professional life. It is suitable for task and project management.

Through it you can add other users that you can add to different tasks. The app is available on many platforms and is easy to use.

App Features:

• Team management
• risk management
• meeting management
• bug tracking

7. Microsoft To Do

The cloud system that the application has allows you to access it anywhere and anytime. Microsoft To Do is easy to use. Through it, you can create your tasks by importance, in alphabetical order, and you can also sort them by due date.

The application allows tasks to be shared with your relatives, friends or colleagues. It can connect to Microsoft Outlook.
Microsoft To Do software is available for all mobile devices. Your lists will be permanently accessible over the Internet. Also, the app is completely free if you have a Microsoft account.

8. TickTick

The application can be used on several platforms. It is available for both computers and mobile devices.
TickTick is characterized by the frugal features:

• Making smart lists
•  Calendar
•  Access to a comprehensive overview of all tasks both daily and monthly
• Kanban visual board

9. Any.do

This app is suitable for both individual and team task setting.
The application software allows managing both daily tasks and creating batch tasks for workflows.

Through the application, you can add other users to the lists of tasks prepared by you. Additionally, the app enables you to assign tasks as well as create a general chat in real time.

10. OmniFocus

This application allows you to quickly save the tasks that remain in the tracking system, and you do not have to remember them. OmniFocus works with the GTD methodology to accomplish tasks.

It is a powerful tool with various customizable features. The app is currently only available for Apple devices. It can be synced with your computer or mobile device.

The project will highlight the importance of advanced data centres that can meet the demands of cutting-edge artificial intelligence applications. The expansion of the partnership between the two companies marks a significant step towards unlocking the true potential of artificial intelligence.

The plan is to have the supercomputer up and running by 2028, with initial information that it will be deployed in the US. The project is part of a multi-phase initiative with a horizon of six years. It is divided into five phases, with Stargate representing the final stage. Microsoft is currently developing a smaller supercomputer for OpenAI that will be released in 2026.

A significant amount of investment is also being devoted to the creation of Stargate and the provision of artificial intelligence chips, which are essential to the supercomputer’s functionality.

Stargate is poised to become a transformative leap in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

According to insiders, there is a high probability that the cost of creating the supercomputer will be over $115 billion, which is significantly more than Microsoft’s capital expenditure on infrastructure last year.

The partnership between Microsoft and OpenAI is a strategic move to maintain its leadership in AI innovation. By investing in the development of Stargate and collaborating with industry stakeholders, Microsoft seeks to push the boundaries of AI’s capabilities and pave the way for transformative advancements in a variety of fields.

A group of technology companies, including Intel, Google, Arm, Qualcomm and Samsung, created the Unified Accelerator Fund (UXL) alliance, through which they will work together to remove the advantages that NVIDIA has as a dominant player in the artificial intelligence market, reports The Verge.

The alliance will undertake the mission of developing an open-source software package that will allow AI professionals to break away from NVIDIA’s technology. Additionally, the code that developers create will be able to function on any machine with any chip.

The Unified Acceleration Foundation is still in the design phase, but is expected to begin operations by the beginning of the second half of the year. UXL currently supports the OneAPI open standard. It was created by the Intel company.

Members of the alliance believe that it will remove restrictions on developers using specific programming languages, code sets and any other tools intended to bind developers to the use of certain architectures. For example – NVIDIA’s CUDA platform, which strives for this.

After focusing entirely on making chips for AI models like the H100, the company reached $2 trillion in market capitalization last month. This secured NVIDIA’s top spot among chip makers. The company is also planning to release new AI models soon – H200 GPU.

The chips that NVIDIA manufactures require developers to use the CUDA architecture, which supersedes all other chip manufacturers’ architectures by leaps and bounds. Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, also shared that 4 million developers use CUDA.

However, technology companies are not giving up and continue to try to create alternative architectures of their own to displace the dominant one in the market.

For now, the creators of UXL intend to support NVIDIA hardware and code. Initially, the project will aim to develop options for AI applications.

The group of tech companies that make up the alliance is looking to collaborate with other powerhouses like Microsoft and Amazon to make sure the solutions they provide can be built into any chip or hardware.

Researchers in China are helping 17 million blind people by creating guide dogs controlled by artificial intelligence, GIZMOCHINA shares. The project, developed by scientists at the Polytechnic University of China, provides functions such as accompanying and navigation.

The guide dog, controlled by artificial intelligence, is trained to understand the commands given to it. The attendant can also conduct conversations. It facilitates the daily life of visually impaired people by guiding them through the streets, helping them get into elevators or enter different buildings.

“Smart guide dogs using the language model can offer them more convenient and safe navigation, effectively improving their quality of life,” said Sun Zhe, an associate professor at the university.

Compared to the regular guide dogs we are used to, training AI guides is much cheaper. In addition, AI guide dogs can be created faster than regular dogs.

The project to create AI companions is still in the early stages of development, but according to China, it is possible that AI guide dogs will become widely available very soon.

The collaboration between the Polytechnic University of China and China Telecom Artificial Intelligence Research Institute accelerates the implementation of the project aimed at supporting the daily life of visually impaired people.

20 Years Ago, 19-Year-Old Mark Zuckerberg Created TheFacebook, and So It All Began…

Twenty years ago, a 19-year-old boy named Mark Zuckerberg, standing in his college dorm room, launched the website thefacebook.com (“TheFacebook”) with his roommates for the first time.

Today, 20 years later, the social network created at Harvard by the then-unknown Mark is a dominant company that has grown into a technology giant whose owner’s net worth is over $160 billion.

The name Facebook was inspired by a student handbook that was distributed at universities at the start of the 2004 academic year, known as the “face book”.

The social network, created at Harvard, is taking over not only college campuses, but the entire world.

The Beginning

The idea for Facebook came out of one of Zuckerberg’s previous projects called Facemash, a website that rates the faces of Harvard undergraduate women.

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A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck)

In order to get the photos used on the site, Zuckerberg logged into the university’s security system and copied the photos from the students’ books without permission. This forced the university to shut down the platform within days of its launch and led to disciplinary action against Zuckerberg.

However, just a few months later, Zuckerberg and his roommates launched a new networking site that allows Harvard students to connect with their fellow students using their “.edu” email address.

The social network became a real hit and in a short time managed to gain popularity on other US university campuses.

Within a year, the platform reached one million users, and in August 2005 it was renamed “facebook.com”.

Millions of users in just a few years

By the end of 2006, anyone over the age of 13 who has access to the Internet can join. The number of users jumped from 12 million in 2006 to 50 million in 2007, doubling to 100 million by the end of 2008.

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A post shared by Mark Zuckerberg (@zuck)

In 2012, Facebook reached one billion users and the company was valued at $104 billion. It was then that Facebook made its initial public offering (IPO) at $38 per share, raising $16 billion. Since that point, the platform’s market share has grown nearly 12-fold to about $474 at Friday’s close.

On Oct. 29, 2021. Zuckerberg rebranded Facebook, Inc. to Meta Platforms, Inc. The company owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads and WhatsApp, among other products and services.

Who uses Facebook the most?

According to Datareportal, an online reference library, among global Facebook users, those aged 65 and older (5.6%) outnumber those aged 13-17 (4.8%).

The largest group of Facebook users, at just under a third (29.9%) of all users, is aged 25-34.

Today, Facebook has more than 3 billion users.

Happy Birthday, Facebook!

This is to the benefit of savvy users as it makes it possible to run tasks in a longer timeframe without worrying that the terminal will be down for updates.

Visual updates

One of the visual updates in this release is the addition of more line types that can be displayed. Users will now be able to display colored, dashed, dotted, or double lines.

But that’s not all. The company has also added updates to the way search results are displayed in Windows Terminal. For example, when searching for text in it, the results will now be highlighted.

Windows Terminal also got several usability updates, such as that the AtlasEngine rendering engine is now enabled by default, the “Canary” ZIP distribution defaults to portable mode, readability of settings disclaimers is improved, and more.

And for those of you who prefer a more vintage experience, the console host in the Canary channel of the Windows Insider Program now ships with features, bug fixes and updates equivalent to the version that comes with Windows Terminal 1.19.

You can see the full list of updates on the Microsoft blog here.