What HN Was Talking About on April 5, 2026: Build a GPU From Logic Gates, Microsoft's Copilot Sprawl, and 8 More Top Stories

On April 5, 2026, Hacker News saw a hardware simulator game about building a GPU from scratch explode to the top spot with 670 upvotes, signaling a hunger for deep technical projects among this community of coders, founders, and engineers. Meanwhile, a trenchant investigation into Microsoft's brand sprawl—asking exactly how many products carry the 'Copilot' name—ignited a massive 289-comment debate, proving that HN readers love to critique corporate naming chaos. The daily ranking of top-voted stories on Hacker News measures what the tech literate elite find worth their attention, making it a reliable barometer for emerging ideas, controversies, and genuine curiosity. Notable too: a German eIDAS implementation requiring Apple or Google accounts sparked 114 comments on digital sovereignty, while a practical open-source alternative to Screen Studio (a popular macOS screen recorder) climbed to third. This snapshot captures how the community balances whimsical builds, open-source tools, and sharp policy critique. The methodology pulls the 10 stories with the highest raw upvote score submitted within the preceding 24 hours, filtered for quality and relevance.