top 20 hacker news stories for 2026-05-17

Mozilla to UK regulators: VPNs are essential privacy and security tools

https://blog.mozilla.org/netpolicy/2026/05/15/mozilla-to-uk-regulators-vpns-are-essential-privacy-and-security-tools-and-should-not-be-undermined/

2 months ago

808 upvotes – 354 comments

I don't think AI will make your processes go faster

https://frederickvanbrabant.com/blog/2026-05-15-i-dont-think-ai-will-make-your-processes-go-faster/

2 months ago

679 upvotes – 451 comments

Security researcher says Microsoft built a Bitlocker backdoor, releases exploit

https://www.techspot.com/news/112410-security-researcher-microsoft-secretly-built-backdoor-bitlocker-releases.html

2 months ago

593 upvotes – 263 comments

AI is a technology not a product

https://daringfireball.net/2026/05/ai_is_technology_not_a_product

2 months ago

478 upvotes – 209 comments

Native all the way, until you need text

https://justsitandgrin.im/posts/native-all-the-way-until-you-need-text/

2 months ago

452 upvotes – 306 comments

I turned a $80 RK3562 Android tablet into a Debian Linux workstation

https://github.com/tech4bot/rk3562deb

2 months ago

★ 353CMIT
448 upvotes – 237 comments

Show HN: Semble – Code search for agents that uses 98% fewer tokens than grep

https://github.com/MinishLab/semble

2 months ago

★ 4.2kPythonMIT
444 upvotes – 151 comments

Americans Are Smashing Flock Cameras

https://stateofsurveillance.org/news/flock-cameras-destroyed-nationwide-ice-backlash-2026/

2 months ago

443 upvotes – 323 comments

GenCAD

https://gencad.github.io/

2 months ago

440 upvotes – 127 comments

Every AI Subscription Is a Ticking Time Bomb for Enterprise

https://www.thestateofbrand.com/news/ai-subscription-time-bomb

2 months ago

420 upvotes – 401 comments

Apple Silicon costs more than OpenRouter

https://www.williamangel.net/blog/2026/05/17/offline-llm-energy-use.html

2 months ago

355 upvotes – 300 comments

WHO Declares Ebola Outbreak a Global Health Emergency

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/17/world/africa/ebola-congo-uganda-who-public-health-emergency.html

2 months ago

327 upvotes – 226 comments

Tesla Solar Roof is on life support as it pivot to panels

https://electrek.co/2026/05/14/tesla-solar-roof-promise-vs-reality-pivot-panels/

2 months ago

327 upvotes – 351 comments

I Found Ultra-Pure Quantum Crystals in an Abandoned Mine in the Atacama Desert

https://medium.com/@breid.at/ultra-pure-quantum-crystals-from-an-abandoned-mine-in-a-mysterious-desert-93cc87d12314

2 months ago

287 upvotes – 119 comments

WriteUp: 16 Bytes of x86 that turn Matrix rain into sound

https://hellmood.111mb.de//wake_up_16b_writeup.html

2 months ago

258 upvotes – 33 comments

Hosting a website on an 8-bit microcontroller

https://maurycyz.com/projects/mcusite/

2 months ago

252 upvotes – 23 comments

Two EA-18 fighter jets collide at Mountain Home airshow, pilots ejected safely

https://idahonews.com/news/local/two-f-18-fighter-jets-have-crashed-during-an-airshow-at-mountain-home-air-force-base

2 months ago

245 upvotes – 252 comments

CUDA Books

https://github.com/alternbits/awesome-cuda-books

2 months ago

★ 818MIT
242 upvotes – 60 comments

Ten Signs of Fascism. America has all of them

https://rutgerbregman.substack.com/p/10-signs-of-fascism-america-has-all

2 months ago

231 upvotes – 109 comments

Polypad

https://polypad.amplify.com/

2 months ago

225 upvotes – 24 comments
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