Microsoft and Infragistics are collaborating on Blazor through free, open-source components, new .NET 11 analyzers, and developer tooling.

The post Blazor Welcomes Open-Source Contributions from Infragistics appeared first on .NET Blog.

GPT-6.1 Terra

In the case of GPT-6.1 Terra, OpenAI went with visual reasoning and computer use:

We’re introducing GPT-6.1 Terra, a fast, efficient model that combines detailed visual reasoning and precise computer use alongside clearer, more natural writing. A significant step up from GPT‑5.6 Terra, it excels at the communication and computer-based tasks that fill the workday, from drafting proposals and interpreting technical drawings to filling out forms and editing videos.

Terra sits in the same position as Sonnet in the Anthropic model collection - not the cheapest or the most expensive, making it harder to decide when to use it.

Computer use is a good example of a task that benefits from a less expensive model, since you might put it to work on automated, repetitive tasks.

OpenAI's Ted Sanders provided some useful advice in a comment on Hacker News:

In the case of GPT-6.1 Terra, I'd say Terra is probably better than Astra and Sol at technical communication, similar on vision and computer use (but much faster!), and a bit worse on most other things. For API developers, it's a nice midrange option if you want something cheaper than Sol but a lot smarter than Luna (especially for vision / computer use / communication). For subscribers, it's not a bombshell release - if you're hitting usage limits, maybe it helps you go a bit further, and if you want clearer communication or faster computer use, it can be a nice option to select.

Here are the pelicans for the different reasoning levels. This pelican for "max" cost 11.3161 cents and took 4 minutes and 11 seconds:

Here's a new comparison grid showing pelicans for every reasoning level of OpenAI's current frontier lineup: GPT-6 Astra, GPT-6.1 Sol, GPT-6.1 Terra, and GPT-6 Luna.

GPT-6.1 Terra is priced at $1/million input tokens and $5/million output - almost half the price of GPT-5.6 Terra and GPT-6.1 Sol, and around 10x the price of GPT-6 Luna.

Via Hacker News

Tags: ai, openai, generative-ai, llms, llm-pricing, pelican-riding-a-bicycle, llm-release, gpt

Learn how the new dotnetup tool helps macOS and Linux developers install, manage, and update user-local .NET SDKs and runtimes.

The post Introducing dotnetup: A toolchain manager for .NET appeared first on .NET Blog.

AI is mass decompiling games. That's both awesome and scary.

I like how this piece captures both the positives and the negatives of this new development:

Most people already realized the scary part by now. If AI can decompile games and software, then the entire tech industry is about to explode. Anybody can decompile other software and use it any way they'd like, and nobody can stop them. Companies can steal from competitors. Your paid game or app can be open-sourced against your will. This isn't exclusive to old video games, we can apply this to any software. [...]

This is also a big win for preservation. Old games can be ported, modified, enhanced, and made much more easily accessible than before. [...[

With console makers going all in on digital and games becoming entirely unplayable due to servers shutting down, this is fantastic news. We could own software we bought regardless of what the company thinks.

Via Hacker News

Tags: computer-history, game-design, ai, webassembly, generative-ai, llms, ai-ethics, coding-agents

Building a slide template starts with three foundational choices — colours, fonts and layouts. Sumeet Gayathri Moghe covers the basics of color theory and how to build a reusable palette, the essentials of typography, including serif, sans-serif, handwritten and monospace fonts, plus the finer points of kerning and leading, and why a near-blank layout might serve you better than the prescribed layouts that ship with your slideware.

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