CSS-only x86 computer demo & Firefox Sanitizer API vs XSS - Hacker News (Feb 24, 2026)

Today's topics: CSS-only x86 computer demo - A surprising browser experiment: x86CSS emulates an 8086-class CPU using CSS rules, running GCC-produced 8086 machine code with JavaScript optional. Keywords: CSS-only emulator, 8086, Chromium, gcc-ia16, opcode coverage. Firefox Sanitizer API vs XSS - Mozilla ships the standardized Sanitizer API in Firefox 148 to reduce cross-site scripting by making safe HTML insertion the default via setHTML(). Keywords: XSS, Sanitizer API, setHTML, CSP, Trusted Types. Age verification vs privacy trap - An IEEE Spectrum piece argues strict underage social-media enforcement drives invasive identity checks, biometrics, and long-term data retention—creating an 'age-verification trap.' Keywords: age verification, privacy, biometrics, ID checks, data minimization. ENVeil encrypted .env secrets - ENVeil is a Rust tool that keeps real secrets out of .env files by storing encrypted values under .enveil/ and injecting them at runtime with AES-256-GCM and Argon2id. Keywords: Rust, secrets management, .env, encryption, AI assistants. Diode web circuit simulator - Diode pitches a full electronics workbench in the browser: draw schematics online, drop in common components, and simulate without local installs. Keywords: circuit design, schematic editor, browser simulation, 555 timer, LEDs. turbopuffer object-storage job queue - turbopuffer rebuilt its indexing notification queue around a single object-storage file plus a stateless broker, cutting tail latency ~10× while keeping FIFO and at-least-once delivery. Keywords: distributed queue, object storage, CAS, group commit, heartbeats. Coreboot on ThinkPad X270 - A developer ported Coreboot/Libreboot to a ThinkPad X270 fast—after SPI flashing adventures, a missing capacitor, and a tricky PCIe CLKREQ mapping that broke NVMe and Wi‑Fi. Keywords: coreboot, libreboot, SPI flash, RP2040, CLKREQ. λProlog and ELPI in 2025 - The λProlog ecosystem remains active, with ELPI in OCaml (and Coq-ELPI) plus Teyjus and Makam, showcasing higher-order logic programming and HOAS. Keywords: λProlog, ELPI, higher-order unification, HOAS, Coq. Missing Semester tools, Tao study - MIT’s Missing Semester IAP 2026 teaches practical dev tools—shell, editors, Git, debugging, packaging, and AI-augmented workflows—while a 1984 case study documents Terence Tao’s early learning patterns. Keywords: Missing Semester, developer tools, agentic coding, education, Terence Tao. https://www.withdiode.com/ https://www.lix.polytechnique.fr/Labo/Dale.Miller/lProlog/ https://hacks.mozilla.org/2026/02/goodbye-innerhtml-hello-sethtml-stronger-xss-protection-in-firefox-148/ https://gwern.net/doc/iq/high/smpy/1984-clements.pdf https://turbopuffer.com/blog/object-storage-queue https://missing.csail.mit.edu/ https://github.com/GreatScott/enveil https://dork.dev/posts/2026-02-20-ported-coreboot/ https://lyra.horse/x86css/ https://spectrum.ieee.org/age-verification