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The 7 biggest announcements from Apple’s Peek Performance event | Apple announced a new version of the iPhone SE, a new desktop Mac, an external monitor, and more at its Peek Performance event. The new iPhone SE, which will launch on March 18, has 5G and will start at $429. Apple's new 27-inch 5K Studio Display costs $1,599 and can reach up to 600 nits of brightness. The display will support P3 wide color and work with macOS's TrueTone feature. The Mac Studio is similar to a Mac Mini but aimed at creative professionals. Customers will be able to choose between an M1 Max version starting at $1,999 or an M1 Ultra version starting at $3,999. More details about the announcements from the event are available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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From seawater to drinking water, with the push of a button | MIT researchers have developed a portable desalination unit that can remove particles and salts to generate drinking water. The water it produces exceeds World Health Organization quality guidelines. Weighing less than 10 kilograms, the device requires less power to operate than a cell phone charger. Using electrical power lowers its maintenance requirements, allowing the device to be deployed in remote and severely resource-limited areas. The machine can produce 0.3 liters of water per hour using 20 watts of power per liter. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Great Barrier Reef to be restored by 'coral IVF' | Rising sea temperatures due to climate change have been killing off the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists in Australia are attempting to restore the Great Barrier Reef by using in-vitro fertilization style techniques on coral. They're taking millions of eggs and sperm from the annual coral spawning, then putting them in these floating pools for about a week until the larvae are ready, then reintroducing these larvae to the most damaged parts of the reef. Coral spawning happens once a year and began earlier this week for about a 48-72 hour period. Professor Harrison, one of the project leaders, says the project is "the largest larval restoration project that's ever been attempted not only on the Great Barrier Reef but anywhere in the world". | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Elon Musk Will Send Your Photo Into Space If You Can Convince a Friend to Buy a Tesla | Tesla has a new referral program, where if you convince a friend to buy a Tesla, they will blast a laser-etched photo of your choice into space, presumably on a SpaceX rocket. If you refer a second friend, you can get a wall connector with Elon Musk's signature, or a children-sized drivable Model S. There are even better perks all the way up to five referrals, where you get a week with a Tesla Electric Semi truck for free. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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SpaceX successfully catches both fairing halves for the first time on its latest launch | SpaceX has managed to catch both halves of the fairing used on one of its Falcon 9 rocket launches for the first time. The fairing is the two-piece protective cover that surrounds the cargo on the launch vehicle. SpaceX uses two ships equipped with special nets to catch the pieces as they fall. The company can save as much as $6 million per launch by recovering and reusing the fairing halves. The ships need to be positioned correctly to recover the fairing pieces as they fall to the ground without a guidance system. The fairing recovery system could be adapted to also catch Crew Dragon capsules. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Apple and Amazon Cut a Deal that Upended the Mac resale Market (11 minute read) | On January 4, a deal between Apple and Amazon went into effect where only the largest companies and specially authorized providers were allowed to sell Apple products. Sellers logged onto the platform that morning to find that all their listings had disappeared. Small businesses without brick and mortar stores are completely barred from doing any business on Amazon, as to qualify as an authorized reseller, a business is required to have a physical store. Apple resellers are now forced to move to other platforms to sell their stock. In the past, Apple has been against people’s right to repair their own devices and this move echos that sentiment in that it attempts to block third parties from repairing and reselling hardware. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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What you need to know about Amazon Sidewalk | Amazon Sidewalk is Amazon's local networking system that extends smart homes into smart neighborhoods. The technology uses various communication protocols to create a mesh network across the neighborhood so that everyone in the area can achieve better connectivity. For example, the network can ensure that a security camera has adequate connectivity even if it is far from the home Wi-Fi router. While the network can be used to access the web, it has very limited bandwidth. There are some security concerns with Sidewalk, including the extra data that it sends to Amazon. Users can disable Sidewalk, but doing so will opt out all their devices from the neighborhood network. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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This microbe no longer needs to eat food to grow, thanks to a bit of genetic engineering | Synthetic biologists have engineered a bacterium that builds its cells by absorbing carbon dioxide. The microbes could eventually be engineered to turn carbon dioxide into medicines and other high-value compounds. Scientists could not engineer bacteria that could photosynthesize, as the process is too complex. Instead, the bacteria were given the ability to eat formate and transform it into ATP. The energy from the ATP is then used to activate enzymes that convert carbon dioxide into sugars and other organic molecules. Initially, the bacteria still preferred their natural metabolism, but after placing the bacteria in environments that heavily restricted their diet, the bacteria eventually evolved the ability to be autotrophic. A total of 11 new genetic mutations were observed in the evolved bacteria. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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A New Battery-Free System Gives Devices an 'Infinite Lifetime' | BFree is a system that allows devices to smoothly operate any time power is available. It uses a power-failure resistant version of Python and energy-harvesting hardware. Anyone can use the system to make their own sustainable electronics. Last year, the researchers behind the technology unveiled a Game Boy powered by the kinetic energy of button presses. The project hopes to reduce the number of dead batteries that end up as e-waste. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Notes (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains the personal notes for various computer science topics gathered by darshanime over three years. The author comments that many of the notes are not organized ‘nicely’. Topics include computing systems, architecture, various programming languages and modules, machine learning, and app deployment. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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This is the highest-resolution photo of the sun ever taken | The highest-resolution ever image of the sun, taken by the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Maui, has been released. Astronomers built the DKIST to make precise measurements of the sun's magnetic field throughout the corona in order to find out why the corona is millions of degrees hotter than the sun's surface. It can observe structures on the sun as small as 18.5 miles. The telescope is still under construction, and in the next six months, it will have the capability to record temperature, velocity, and solar structures. DKIST has one of the world's most complex solar-adaptive optic systems. It uses deformable mirrors that adjust 2,000 times per second to offset distortions caused by Earth's atmosphere. A swimming pool of ice and 7.5 miles of pipe-distributed coolant is used to cool down the telescope during operation. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Confirmed: A duck named Ripper learned how to say, “You bloody fool!“ | Researchers have confirmed that recordings of musk ducks producing vocalizations made in 1987 and 2000 were indeed a form of mimicry. The recordings were the first example of musk ducks being able to mimic sounds. Vocal-production learning is when animals make vocalizations that deviate sharply from what is typical of the species or imitate the sounds of other species. The phenomenon has been observed in a handful of other species. Musk ducks may be able to demonstrate advanced vocal learning at a level comparable to songbirds and parrots, likely representing a case of independent evolution. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Meet Face ID and Touch ID for the Web (14 minute read) | Face ID and Touch ID is now available for the web, allowing web apps to authenticate users without cumbersome passwords. Multi-factor authentication will likely replace sole-factor password authentication in the future. This article discusses how to implement Face ID and Touch ID into your web app. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Volvo's 360c concept car is a fully autonomous bedroom on wheels | Volvo envisions its new autonomous concept car as serving four use cases: a mobile bedroom that will replace red-eye flights, a productivity booster for a daily commute, a living room, and an entertainment space. The concept car makes room for a pullout bed by removing the steering wheel and dashboard entirely. Folding up the bed and pulling out the slideout coffee table instantly turns the car into a workspace. There's a 2 minute demo video inside that's pretty cool. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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A Chinese AI startup is tracking lost dogs using their nose prints | Megvii is a Chinese AI startup that supplies facial recognition software for the Chinese government’s surveillance program. It has released an app that is able to recognize dogs by their nose prints, which are unique, just like our fingerprints. Owners are required to take photos of their dog’s snouts from multiple angles to register. Megvii claims that it has a 95 percent accuracy rate and that the app has reunited 15,000 lost pets with their owners. Due to Megvii’s relationship with the Chinese government, the app may also be used to track owners to make sure that they keep their pets controlled and clean in public areas. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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IBM and Samsung say their new chip design could lead to week-long battery life on phones | IBM and Samsung have discovered a way to stack transistors vertically on a chip, allowing for electric currents to flow up and down the stack of transistors instead of side-to-side as with current chips. As chip designers run out of ways to add more chips in one place, it only makes sense to start stacking them upwards. The new Vertical Transport Field Effect Transistors design could result in cell phones with batteries that could go for over a week without being charged. It could also mean less energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining and more powerful IoT devices. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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This Conversation Between A Passenger And An Airline Should Absolutely Terrify You | A passenger boarded a flight without having to provide any ticket information or identification, using only a face scan at the gates, and this prompted a conversation on Twitter about how this was possible. It appears that JetBlue Airways is using a system that scans customer’s faces and matches them against a database owned by the Department of Homeland Security. They claim that none of the information is stored on their side. Customers can opt out of the experience, but their photos will still be linked with bookings in the system. People are concerned with the use of facial recognition technology in this way as boarding a flight may eventually become cause for a law enforcement search. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Unlike sex, VR is crazy better when you do it underwater | Virtual Reality may be best experienced underwater. An underwater VR experience at the Sundance Film Festival this week called Spaced Out takes its inspiration from the moon. It uses audio from the Apollo 11 mission combined with a collage of images of various moon motifs from pop culture to create a dream-like experience. The mammalian diving response is triggered when people are submerged in cool or cold water. This response causes lower heart-rate and the blood vessels in the extremities to constrict. It also appears to be able to reliably stop VR users from getting nauseous. Being underwater also helps block out distracting sounds, creating a very immersive experience. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Screen time is higher for the elderly than younger people, new data reports | A study into how much time people spend on their screens found that the elderly spend more time on average than younger people in front of screens. Americans aged 65 and over spend nearly 10 hours per day in front of screens, which is 33 percent more than people aged between 18 to 34. More than three-quarters of people over 65 now use the internet, but most of the screen time for the elderly is in front of the TV. 11 million elderly Americans live alone, and an increasing number of elderly people do not have adult children to rely on. The lack of human interaction has resulted in an increase in feelings of isolation. Watching TV may be a way to suppress feelings of isolation and replace social interaction. | 4Miscellaneous
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Apple launches vintage repair pilot program to fix aging iPhones, MacBooks and more | Apple is launching a new "Repair Vintage Apple Products Pilot" that will repair older Apple products. Currently the program will let you get repairs on the iPhone 5, 2012 Macbook Air, and 2011 iMac. They'll eventually add support for the iPhone 4s, 2012 Macbook Pro, and 2012 Mac Pro. All repairs are contingent on part availability. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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What to expect at CES 2019 | At next week's Consumer Electronic Show (CES), a number of futuristic devices will be unveiled, including 8k TVs, foldable screens on phones, tablets, and TVs, virtual assistants including Alexa Auto, Amazon's in-car virtual assistant, smart home gadgets like fridges, ovens, and even toilets, autonomous cars, and 5G devices. Should be fun! | 4Miscellaneous
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Facebook CEO may have known of questionable privacy practices: WSJ | Facebook has been under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission for inappropriate handling of customers’ private information. It has fully complied with the investigation so far and has provided tens of thousands of documents, emails, and files. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that people who were familiar with the case have discovered emails which prove that Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg was involved in the problematic privacy practices of the company. Facebook has previously stated that they are prepared to pay a fine of up to $5 billion in order to settle the case with regulators. | 4Miscellaneous
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Twitter CEO pushes out top execs, freezes hiring | Twitter's consumer product leader Kayvon Beykpour and general manager of revenue Bruce Falck have been asked to leave the company. Jay Sullivan will take over as both the head of product and interim head of revenue. Twitter had goals to deliver big growth in audience and revenue but it did not hit its milestones. The company is also pausing most hiring and backfills except for business-critical roles. It will pull back on non-labor costs to ensure it is being responsible and efficient. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Tesla owners are going to be able to remotely view what their Autopilot cameras can see | Tesla owners will be able to see through their Autopilot cameras in the new update that is likely to be pushed out around the holidays. Sentry Mode is an integrated surveillance system that uses the Autopilot cameras around the car. Several vandals that have been caught on camera have turned themselves in after their Sentry Mode videos went viral. Owners have to plug in a storage device inside their Tesla to activate Sentry Mode features. Everything is handled through the Tesla app. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Tilck (GitHub Repo) | Tilck (Tiny Linux Compatible Kernel) is an educational monolithic x86 kernel designed to be the perfect playground for playing in kernel mode while being able to compare how the same usermode bits run on the Linux kernel. It is Linux-compatible at the binary level and can run mainstream Linux programs. Screenshots and more details about how Tilck works are available in the repository. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Facebook reportedly developing its own cryptocurrency for use in WhatsApp | Facebook is launching its own cryptocurrency to allow WhatsApp users to transfer money. It will be a stablecoin (a cryptocurrency pegged to a real world asset, in this case the US dollar), and the primary focus to begin with will be sending remittances to India. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Google's balloon internet is coming to Kenya in 2019 | Google's Project Loon is a project designed to launch balloons into the stratosphere to bring internet to remote or rural areas where cell towers aren't economical. A Loon spokesperson says "It's easiest to think of them as floating cellphone towers. Loon works with mobile network operators to extend their networks to unconnected or under-connected communities." Loon will be launching balloons in Kenya in 2019 to provide service to Kenyans in rural and mountainous regions. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Windows code-execution zeroday is under active exploit, Microsoft warns | Microsoft has warned users that attackers are actively exploiting a Windows zero-day vulnerability that can execute malicious code on fully updated systems. The security flaw exists in the Adobe Type Manager Library, consisting of two code-execution flaws that can be triggered by the improper handling of maliciously crafted fonts. Until a patch is available, Microsoft recommends that users disable the Preview Pane and Details Pane in Windows Explorer, disable the WebClient service, and rename ATMFD.DLL or disable it from the registry. Users should also be wary of suspicious requests to view untrusted documents and install a patch once it becomes available. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Tesla Model 3 Spoofed off the highway – Regulus Navigation System Hack Causes Car to Turn On Its Own | The navigation systems of the Tesla Model 3 and Model S were tested with the aim of exposing potential flaws within the software. The Model S was found to be less susceptible to GPS spoofing attacks as it used different navigation software to the Model 3. Tesla’s Model 3 uses Navigation on Autopilot, which can suggest and make lane changes with driver supervision. The requirement for driver confirmations on lane changes can be waived. As the Model 3 depends heavily on GNSS reliability, GPS spoofing resulted in the navigation system behaving erratically. Tesla responded to information about the potential vulnerability by pointing out that this was a general problem with GNSS-based GPS systems, and that they plan to implement features to minimize the issue. According to security experts, attackers can potentially take over the GPS system of any autonomous driving vehicle and alter its route. | 4Miscellaneous
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The Mini-LED Is the Future of Big Displays | Mini-LED lights deliver a serious boost to contrast and dark-scene performance. While OLED displays are the benchmark against which other displays are judged by, they are expensive and have issues with brightness and image retention. Mini-LED screens are thicker, but this will likely not hold the technology back. OLED is still great for small devices, but Mini-LED will likely dominate larger, brighter displays in the future. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Notch will sell you insurance in case your Instagram gets hacked | Notch is selling Instagram account insurance starting at $8 a month. The company will pay a calculated amount to its customers for every day that they are locked out of their accounts after a hack. It will use a number of metrics to craft its policies. Notch will only cover hacks, and customers must have multi-factor authentication turned on. The insurance will not cover bans or suspensions. | 4Miscellaneous
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New bill would ban autoplay videos and endless scrolling | A new bill called the Social Media Addiction Reduction Technology Act, or the SMART Act, will ban features that keep users on platforms longer, targeting the tech industry's addictive designs. Big tech has designed many products using psychological tricks that make it difficult to look away. The new bill will also make it unlawful for tech companies to use deceptive designs to manipulate users into opting into services. Companies may be required to implement tools for tracking how much time users are spending on different apps and websites if the bill becomes law. | 4Miscellaneous
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Google abandons FLoC, introduces Topics API to replace tracking cookies | Topics is Google's new method of showing advertisers which ads to serve to users. Its previous replacement for third-party cookies was heavily criticized and many browsers have refused to use it. The new Topics API identifies five user interests based on recent web activity and stores the information on the user's device for up to three weeks. Browsers will be able to view the topics and serve relevant ads to users without all the privacy concerns that cookies present. There is no information on when developer trials for Topics in Chrome will begin. Google has promised to replace third-party cookies in Chrome by 2023. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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PostgresML (GitHub Repo) | PostgresML is an end-to-end machine learning system that can train models and make online predictions using only SQL. It allows anyone with a basic understanding of SQL to build, deploy, and maintain machine learning models in production. PostgresML features a wide range of training models and model and data versioning. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Google releasing location data to help track lockdown movement amid coronavirus | Google will release anonymized global location data from 131 countries and regions around the world to help public health officials track movements during coronavirus lockdowns around the world. Officials will be able to track movement trends over time by geography across different categories of places. The data is gathered from Google Maps and other Google services. No personal data is included. There was a 12 percent increase in the number of tracked individuals remaining in their homes between Feb 16 and March 29. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Qubits Can Be as Safe as Bits, Researchers Show | Storing information in qubits is difficult as quantum computers are subject to all sorts of atomic-scale errors. A new preprint posted by researchers from Moscow State University details a theoretical method to protect quantum information from errors just as well as classical information is protected. Quantum computers still have a long way to go before they will become truly useful, but the new method will maintain performance even as the number of qubits scales up. This article discusses the history of the research leading to the development of the new method. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Next Web Browser (Github Repo) | Next is an open source Lisp-based keyboard-oriented extensible web-browser designed for power users. The goal is to enable power users to be more productive by allowing fast tab switching and fast navigation without having to use a mouse. I can see how this could get big, a web browser is probably most people's most used application so it makes sense to invest some time in getting fast with it (like how people invest time learning text editors like vim/emacs). It's still pretty early stage and is missing some key stuff like adblock, but it's definitely something to keep an eye on (and a cool project for Lisp fans!). | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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How To Contribute To Open-Source Projects As A Beginner | This article explains how to make contributions to open source projects. It steps the developer through each step, from forking the repository and cloning the project, to committing the changes and opening pull requests. It is important to read the code of conduct and contribution guidelines before contributing to a project. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Microsoft Mesh aims to bring holographic virtual collaboration to all | Microsoft Mesh is Microsoft's ambitious new attempt at unifying holographic virtual collaboration across multiple devices. With Mesh, users can meet in virtual spaces, share holograms, and create shared experiences, even if they are physically separated. Mesh can stream high-quality models from the cloud, allowing designers and engineers to collaborate with the same assets from anywhere in the world. It features cross-platform compatibility, so users can join meetings even without a VR headset. A 2-minute video from Microsoft about Mesh is available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Jellyfish Keep Attacking Nuclear Power Plants | The Torness nuclear power plant in Scotland has a continuing problem with jellyfish clogging up its intake pipes. Like many other seaside power plants, it uses seawater to prevent overheating. While there are measures in place to prevent aquatic life from entering the pipes, they are no match for the sheer number of jellyfish that appear during jellyfish blooms. A drone company will fly surveillance drones over the area as part of an early warning system to allow the plant to adjust its water-cooling systems to protect both electricity generation and the environment. | 4Miscellaneous
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Hi, Robot: Japan's android pets ease virus isolation | Robots that have pet-like characters have seen huge demand in Japan as people seek solace during isolation. A range of robots are available that can chat to their owners and perform other functions, like acting as an answering machine. The robots do not come cheap, with some models going for over $2,500. Images of a few companion robots are available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Snap launches Story Studio, a standalone video editing app for mobile | Story Studio is a new video editing app from Snap that is designed to give creators more precise editing control over vertical videos and allow them to add elements like text, audio, and AR lenses. Videos can be downloaded and shared without watermarks on any platform. Snap has paid out more than $250 million to 12,000 creators on its Spotlight platform since its launch. Story Studio is only available to iOS users in the US, UK, and Canada. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Google Play crackdown makes Amazon, Barnes & Noble pull digital purchases | Google is finally enforcing its rules for using Google Play billing. The rules have always existed, but Google didn't start enforcing it until March 31. Google gave developers more than six months warning about its intentions to start enforcing the rules. Digital stores now have to sell digital items through Google Play or risk being removed from the store. Some companies, such as Netflix and Spotify, have made deals with Google to continue to allow direct purchases. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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AMD-Powered Frontier Supercomputer Breaks the Exascale Barrier, Now Fastest in the World | The AMD-powered Frontier supercomputer is the first officially recognized exascale supercomputer in the world. It ranks first on the Top500 list of the world's fastest supercomputers and is faster than the next seven supercomputers on the list combined. Frontier also ranks as the fastest AI system on the planet. It runs on the most power-efficient supercomputing architecture in the world. More details, including benchmark results and pictures of the supercomputer, are available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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The World's First Programmable Organism (12 minute read) | Xenobots are living robots that can be programmed. Their bodies are designed by an evolutionary computer algorithm. Xenobots are made up of living embryonic frog cells, which are carefully placed into molds designed by the algorithm. These simple organisms have no brains and their behaviors are determined by the shape of their bodies. The creatures show proto-cognitive capacities, preferences, capabilities, and IQ. This creates an ethical dilemma, as scientists don't know when a cluster of cells becomes a living creature. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Redis Queue (GitHub Repo) | Redis Queue is a Python library for queueing jobs and processing them in the background with workers. It is designed to be easy to integrate. Installation and usage instructions are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Researchers become their own lab rats with DIY coronavirus vaccine | The Rapid Deployment Vaccine Collaborative (Radvac) is a group of researchers in Boston who have mixed their own coronavirus vaccine and tested it on themselves. Members claim that the vaccine's simple formulation means that it is probably safe. They believe that as long as they do not promote the use of the vaccine and do not mass produce it, the FDA will not shut down the project. Moderna and Pfizer kicked off two massive clinical trials recently, recruiting 30,000 volunteers each to test the effectiveness and safety of their vaccines. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tesla's Autopilot Can Be Tricked in Just a Split Second Through This Method | Researchers have found a way to trick Tesla's autopilot. This was achieved by flashing split-second 'phantom' images of speed limits or stop signs. The images only need to appear for 0.42 seconds for Tesla's autopilot to respond to them, which means that the drivers wouldn't even know what had happened. It is possible to hack into billboards to affect Tesla vehicles without leaving any traces. While autopilot wasn't designed for Teslas to drive entirely autonomously, people have been using it without paying attention to the road. This inattention from drivers has resulted in accidents. A 2-minute video demonstrating the hack is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Successfully Merging the Work of 1000+ Developers | Shopify changes 40 times a day. It uses a trunk-based development workflow and around 400 commits to master are merged daily. There are many challenges with collaborating with a large team of over 1,000 developers. To solve these issues, Shopify upgraded its Merge Queue tool so it integrates with GitHub, runs continuous integration (CI) before merging to master, removes pull requests that failed CI, and maximizes deployment throughput of pull requests. Masters must always be passing CI, stay close to production, and emergency merges must be fast. By upgrading its tools and integrating these rules, Shopify was able to overcome their issues with scaling. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Mysterious galaxy without dark matter puzzles astronomers | Dark matter is an invisible force that is theorized to be causing the universe to expand faster than normal calculations can account for. Experts have theorized that if it is real, it must be ubiquitous, but a team of astronomers say that they have found six galaxies that appear to have either very little or no dark matter. The researchers found the movements of gas in these galaxies were perfectly explainable by normal matter alone. If the team is correct, it is strong evidence proving that not every galaxy holds the elusive force. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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This colorful printed patch makes you pretty much invisible to AI | Adversarial examples are patterns that are able to fool AI systems. A team of engineers from Belgium created and printed colorful patterns that were able to successfully fool an AI that detected people. The engineers only had to wear the image and they became essentially invisible to the computer. While these patterns only worked on one specific type of AI, it is possible that other patterns can be found and used to effectively disguise people from other systems. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Can COVID-19 Genes Integrate With Human DNA? More Evidence Says Yes | Some people who have had Covid-19 in the past still test positive on a polymerase chain reaction test even though they show no evidence of Covid-19 replication in their systems. A team of scientists believes that Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, can reverse integrate into human chromosomes, a process that is common for viruses. Recent experiments have strengthened the case for reverse-integration of Covid-19 RNA genes into human DNA. The studies have been widely criticized and there is still debate about whether reverse-integration occurs. | 4Miscellaneous
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How many robots does it take to run a grocery store? (5 minute video) | A grocery packing warehouse in the southeast of London is completely run by machines. The facility was custom-built to make the system as efficient as possible. It is the size of seven football fields and houses thousands of machines all controlled by a central artificial intelligence system. The robots move at a top speed of around 14 kilometers an hour, passing within 5 millimeters of each other when they move around. Watch the video to see how each part of the warehouse operates. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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EA is reportedly seeking a sale or a merger | Electronic Arts is actively looking for a buyer or another company willing to merge with it. It has held talks with Disney, Apple, Amazon, ESPN, Comcast, and other potential buyers or partners. Comcast was the closest to closing a deal, but the agreement fell through within the last month. Electronic Arts has been trying to find a sale or merger since Microsoft announced that it was buying Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion. | 4Miscellaneous
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Get your data to work for you. Join us for .conf22! (Sponsor) | Get your data to work for you. Join us for .conf22! . Keeping systems running? Blocking attacks? Optimizing apps? You’re in the business of innovation. Learn how to unlock your data and deliver new ideas with Splunk. Join us in Las Vegas: June 13 - 16 | Virtual AMER: June 14 - 15 | Virtual APAC & EMEA: June 15 - 16. Register today. | 0Sponsor
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Worldle Is Like Wordle, but for Geography | Worldle, a spinoff of the popular game Wordle, moves the puzzle from the dictionary to the atlas. Players have six tries to guess the name of a country from its outline. It shows colored clues on how close geographically players are to the right nation. The game can also show the distance in kilometers or miles from the player's guess to the actual location. Worldle gained more than 500,000 players on its first day of release on Sunday. | 4Miscellaneous
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Venmo to launch its first credit card in 2020 | Venmo has announced its plans to launch a credit card. It will partner with Synchrony, the company behind PayPal's Extras Mastercard and Cashback Mastercard. Synchrony is behind around 100 other cards in total and has financed more than $140 billion in sales with 80.3 million active accounts. Venmo has yet to become profitable, despite its widespread adoption. The new card will be launched to US Venmo users in the second half of 2020. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Scientists Say New Treatment Lets Alopecia Patients Regrow Hair | A common arthritis medication appears to help alopecia patients regrow their hair. Data from medical trials clearly show how effective the treatment is. There is no current FDA-approved treatment for alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes rapid loss of hair. The treatment could become available soon. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Apple announces new 13-inch MacBook Pro with Magic Keyboard | Apple has announced a new 13-inch MacBook Pro featuring a Magic Keyboard and optional Intel 10th Gen processors. Starting at $1,299, the base model comes with 256GB of storage and 8GB RAM. It can be upgraded to 32GB of ram and 4TB of storage. The new Macbook Pro is now available to order on Apple's website and will arrive in select stores and retailers later this week. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Cinder (GitHub Repo) | Cinder is Instagram's internal performance-oriented production version of CPython 3.8. It features bytecode inline caching, eager evaluation of coroutines, a method-at-a-time JIT, and an experimental bytecode compiler. The code was made public as some of its work might be beneficial to those working on CPython. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Tech Lead Expectations for Engineering Projects (20 minute read) | This document contains a guide on being an engineering lead. It describes what the role consists of and what the expectations are. The main responsibilities for an engineering lead are to set up a framework for collaboration, manage risks, communicate project status to stakeholders, help the team focus and delegate tasks, and motivate the team. A version of this project was used by a team of software engineers at Uber in Amsterdam. Users are free to request to make changes to the document. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Feast Your Eyes Upon the World's First 3D-Printed Steel Bridge | The world's first 3D-printed steel bridge debuted in Amsterdam last month. The almost 40-foot-long bridge was built by Dutch company MX3D for pedestrians and cyclists. Four robots with welding torches were used to 3D-print the structure out of 10,000 pounds of steel. Computer simulations were used to check the bridge's ability to withstand daily foot traffic and damaging weather forces. The bridge is monitored with a system of over a dozen sensors that report data on the bridge's movement, vibration, temperature, strain, and displacement to look for trends that might suggest modifications are in order. A video showing the bridge being installed is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Watch this wooden knife cut effortlessly through juicy, medium-well-done steak | Researchers from the University of Maryland have created wood materials 23 times harder than typical woods. They created a wooden knife and wooden nails using the material and found that the performance of both matched or exceeded that of their steel counterparts. The wooden nails were as sharp as commercial steel nails but with the added bonus of being rust-resistant. All of the main raw materials used to create the hardened wood are abundant and low cost. A short video showing a wooden knife cutting through a steak is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Newly leaked video shows a UFO disappear into the water (2 minute video) | The Pentagon has confirmed and released footage of a UFO disappearing into the sea. It is still investigating the incident. The findings from the investigation will be presented to Congress in June. Footage of other UFOs is included in the video. | 4Miscellaneous
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Netflix fights new streaming rivals with Samsung partnership | Samsung announced a deal with Netflix at its Unpacked event last week that will bring special Netflix original show content to its Galaxy smartphones. The bonus content will include behind-the-scenes footage, companion stories, and other bonus content, with most of it filmed with a Samsung Galaxy S20. Netflix will be more deeply integrated with Samsung devices. Users will be able to launch Netflix via Bixby and view recommendations on Samsung Daily. Netflix subscriber growth has stagnated in the US. Most of its competitors already have integrations with mobile devices or partnerships that allow them to distribute their service to millions. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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New Eye Drops Improve Aging Vision Without Glasses. Here's How They Work | Vuity is an eye drop that was approved by the US FDA in late 2021 for treating presbyopia. Presbyopia is a common condition that makes the eyes unable to focus on close objects. It typically begins when people are in their 40s. The drops work by causing the pupils to get smaller, making it so that the light entering the eye is better concentrated onto the retina. They can cause issues with seeing in low-lighting conditions, but for some people, it could be a great alternative to glasses or surgery. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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In Cell Studies, Seaweed Extract Outperforms Remdesivir in Blocking COVID-19 Virus | Heparin, an extract from edible seaweeds, outperformed remdesivir in tests of effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2. The spike protein on the surface of SARS-CoV-2 can lock onto a decoy molecule with a similar fit, neutralizing the virus. Heparin has been effective in trapping other viruses, including dengue, Zika, and influenza A. The treatment could potentially be made into a nasal spray that neutralizes the virus before it has a chance to infect the body. | 4Miscellaneous
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Tailwind CSS: From Side-Project Byproduct to Multi-Million Dollar Business (11 minute read) | In 2015, Adam Wathan had an idea for a site where companies could share interesting links with their team and then outsiders could subscribe to see what teams were reading. Digest was born, and while the project was sidelined, the files from the project were used in many of Wathan's other projects. As Wathan worked on other things, he noticed that there was a need for a CSS framework that prioritized utilities rather than components. Eventually, Wathan decided to open-source his framework, which became Tailwind. Tailwind is a utility-first CSS framework for rapidly building custom designs. It was released in February 2020 and has almost generated $2m in revenue with 10 million total installs. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Enrich Time Series Data with Data from PostgreSQL (Sponsor) | In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the Flux query language to enrich time series data stored in InfluxDB time series database by combining it with metadata stored in a relational database. Learn more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Truffle (GitHub Repo) | Truffle is a development environment, testing framework, and asset pipeline for Ethereum. It features built-in smart contract compilation, linking, deployment, binary management, and more. A default set of contracts are included for developers to quickly test and build custom contracts. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Anatomy of an internet shutdown (16 minute read) | In late 2018, the people of Sudan started protests which eventually resulted in the country's ruler blocking social media in the country. Eventually, the protests led to violence and a real internet shutdown. Citizens remained at home during the blackout as they had no way of knowing which locations were safe without internet access. One citizen took his cellular provider to court, saying that the lack of internet access was a breach of his service contract, and the court switched mobile internet back on, but only for him. Internet shutdowns are new and a rare occurrence and legal systems have not developed processes to handle these scenarios. Services are also run by people, and some of these people disagreed with the government and helped reconnect citizens as a form of protest. Five days after the blackout began, landline access was restored as the government realized the need for communications. Despite the internet block, the people of Sudan were able to organize the biggest demonstration in the history of Sudan. As a result, the government was removed and the internet was restored. | 4Miscellaneous
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The DOE Announces El Capitan, World's New Fastest Supercomputer Will Hit 1.5 ExaFLOPS | El Capitan is a new exaFLOP-scale supercomputer that is planned to be operational by 2023. It will be faster than the current top 100 supercomputers in the world, able to complete 1.5 quintillion calculations per second. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, it will be able to conduct 3D simulations at an unprecedented scale and speed at resolutions that are impossible with existing supercomputers. Cray has been awarded a $600 million contract to build the system with its Shasta architecture, Slingshot interconnect, and software platform. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Quantum Computing Breakthrough: Scientists Sent the First 'Landline' Message | Researchers at the University of Chicago sent entangled qubit states through a communication cable linking one quantum network node to another. The entire transfer process only took one billionth of a second. This extremely short burst of time was necessary for sending entangled quantum states without losing too much information. The system also amplified qubit entanglement. The study lays down critical groundwork for future quantum communication networks. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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First-ever artificial neuron could let us repair brain injuries with silicon | Scientists have created a 'solid-state neuron' that accurately models the behavior of biological nerve cells. It can be plugged directly into biological neural circuits to repair damage or disease. One of the challenges in building an artificial neuron is emulating a real neuron's non-linear responses. Scientists collected data from two types of rat neurons in order to build a model that emulated how neurons responded to stimuli from other nerves. The chip is roughly 0.1 millimeters in diameter and it only uses 140 nanoWatts of power, making it practical for long-term applications inside the body. Potential applications for the technology include repairing defective circuits that cause conditions like heart failure or sleep apnea, replacing damaged nerves caused by spinal injuries, or helping connect robotic limbs to people's nervous systems. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tsunami (GitHub Repo) | Tsunami is a general network security scanner for detecting high severity vulnerabilities with confidence. It relies heavily on its plugin system, with all publicly available plugins hosted in a separate linked repository. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Elon Musk offers to buy Twitter in takeover attempt | Elon Musk has made an offer to buy 100% of Twitter for $54.20 per share in cash. The offer values Twitter at around $43 billion. Musk believes that Twitter must go private for it to change. He will reconsider his position as a shareholder if the offer is not accepted. The Twitter board met to discuss the offer but it is unclear if a decision has been reached. A copy of the offer letter sent by Musk to Twitter is available at the end of the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Facebook shareholder revolt gets bloody: Powerless investors vote overwhelmingly to oust Mark Zuckerberg as chairman | Around 68 percent of ordinary investors, those who are not part of the management or board, voted to oust Mark Zuckerberg as chairman of Facebook during the annual shareholders meeting last week. Shareholders are concerned with the direction of the company and the handling of recent scandals. An independent chairman may benefit the company and hold Zuckerberg and his team accountable for their actions. Shareholders also voted to scrap Facebook’s dual-class share structure, where Class B shareholders have 10 times as much voting power as Class A shareholders. As Zuckerberg owns more than 75% of Class B stocks, earning him 60% of the voting power in Facebook, the proposal to oust him as chairman was dismissed. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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On Apple's Piss-Poor Documentation (10 minute read) | Apple provides developers with tools, many of which are fairly straightforward to use. However, sometimes developers run into problems that require documentation, and that's when they find out how bad Apple's documentation is. There could be many reasons as to why Apple might have bad documentation, but it is definitely a problem that should be fixed. | 4Miscellaneous
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Amplication (GitHub Repo) | Amplication is a development tool that helps Node.js developers create quality applications without having to spend time on repetitive coding tasks. It auto-generates fully functional apps based on TypeScript and Node.js. Amplication helps developers build applications with visually managed data models, role-based access control, auto-generated source code, and more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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New Spring-Loaded Screw Turns Drywall Into Sound-Absorbing Panels | The Sound Screw is a new type of spring-loaded screw that can reduce sound transmission through drywall by up to nine decibels. Drywall is flexible and can easily transmit sounds. The screws add a slight gap that allows the spring to expand and compress, dampening the energy of sound waves hitting the walls. It is a more economical alternative to other sound-proofing methods. The creator is still looking for manufacturers to put the Sound Screw into mass production. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Backstage (GitHub Repo) | Backstage is an open platform for building developer portals. It allows engineers to ship code without having to think about their toolset. Tools, services, and features can be added via plugins. This allows the engineering team to add value without other teams having to learn how to use and support new tools. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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React Native Universal Monorepo (GitHub Repo) | This monorepo uses Yarn workspaces and TypeScript to support a modular React Native project. It isolates JavaScript app code from platform configurations by using different workspaces. The repository can be used as a boilerplate or as a guide to creating the setup from scratch. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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NuScale’s small nuclear reactor is first to get US safety approval | Small modular reactor designs could mean safer, cheaper, and easier to install nuclear facilities. The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved its first small modular reactor design. A two-minute video is available in the article that explores NuScale's design. The basic design is conventional and uses a passive cooling system. It has passive features that ensure that the plant shutdowns safely and remains safe under emergency conditions. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Divjoy (Website) | Divjoy is a free web-based tool to create a React codebase. Developers can select their desired stacks, choose a template, and edit the website using a drag-and-drop visual editor, and Divjoy will serve up the code to be exported. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Leon (GitHub Repo) | Leon is an open-source personal assistant that can be installed on a private server. Users can use the development kit to create their own custom modules, and the modules can be shared with other users. Leon uses AI concepts and can be run completely offline if required for privacy reasons. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Japan debuts new bullet train that can run during an earthquake | The N700S is a new record-breaking bullet train that can transport passengers to safety in the event of an earthquake. It can go up to 360 kilometers per hour but will be capped at 285 kilometers per hour during operation. The design is similar to previous versions of the train but with more focus on comfort and safety. It was entered into service on July 1 on the Tokaido Shinkansen line, which links Tokyo Station to Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Zaplib (GitHub Repo) | Zaplib is a library for speeding up web applications using Rust and WebAssembly. It allows developers to write high-performance code in Rust alongside existing JavaScript code. Zaplib is designed to be incrementally adoptable, so components can be ported over to Rust one at a time. Demos are available in the docs. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple will bring Live Captions to the iPhone, iPad, and Mac and more gesture control on Apple Watch | Apple has announced a new wave of accessibility features as part of its recognition of this week's Global Accessibility Awareness Day. The features include Live Captions, Assistive Touch gesture recognition controls for the Apple Watch, enhancements to the VoiceOver screen reader app, a Detection Mode for Magnifier in iOS, and much more. Apple stores will offer live sessions to help people learn more about the features and an Accessibility Assistant shortcut rolling out this week will recommend specific features for users on Mac and Apple Watch based on their preferences. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Airglow Under the Milky Way - Earth Timelapse from the International Space Station (1 minute video) | Airglow is the faint emission of light by a planetary atmosphere. In this timelapse from the International Space Station, the phenomenon can be seen causing the night sky to never be completely dark. The video features an amazing view of the Milky Way. | 4Miscellaneous
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WTF Python (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains Python code snippets that have surprising behaviors. It aims to explain what is happening under the hood for some of the lesser-known features of Python. A Google Colab interactive version is available where you can run the code examples in-browser. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Reddit hires bankers and lawyers as it aims for $15bn IPO | Reddit is hiring investment bankers and lawyers to prepare for an initial public offering. The company was valued at $10 billion last month. Reddit has not yet indicated when the IPO will begin. The site had roughly 52 million daily active users and over 100,000 communities in October last year. It gained millions of new users earlier in the year due to the GameStop trading frenzy. Reddit makes most of its money through advertising, reporting $100 million in advertising revenue in the second quarter. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Building the world's brightest X-ray laser | The Linac Coherent Light Source II (LCLS-II) will be the second world-class X-ray laser at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. It will be capable of firing up to 1 million light pulses per second, with beams 10,000 times brighter than its predecessor. The beams are run through a series of alternating magnets to produce X-rays, which are then used to create molecular movies. LCLS-II will allow scientists to answer questions regarding energy transfer, possibly leading to the improvement of technologies like solar power. A video that shows what it is like inside the more than 2-mile long tunnel that houses LCLS-II is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Google Chrome Hidden Features Every Developer Should Know | Chrome Dev Tools is one of the most used tools among web developers, but many developers are unaware of some of its best features. This article explores five features in Chrome Dev Tools: CSS Overview, CSP Violations, New Font Editor Tools, Dual Screen Mode, and Full Accessibility Tree View. It explains what each feature does and how to enable them. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to Online Anonymity (Website) | The Hitchhiker's Guide to Online Anonymity is an introduction to various online tracking techniques, online ID verification techniques, and creating and maintaining anonymous online identities. It is not sponsored or endorsed by any commercial or government entity. Links to online and PDF versions of the guide are available. | 4Miscellaneous
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New AI fake text generator may be too dangerous to release, say creators | OpenAI, a research company backed by Elon Musk, has produced a new AI fake text generator which is so impressive that the company has declined to release a full report on its capabilities for fear of misuse. The AI, GPT2, is able to generate plausible text that matches the style and subject of its inputs, without the common quirks of other previous AI systems such as forgetting what it is writing about midway through paragraphs or creating mangled sentences. For example, it is currently able to generate an infinite number of positive (or negative) reviews for products. There are examples of its outputs in the article, and a video demonstrating a version of the AI. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Amazon’s Home Surveillance Company Is Putting Suspected Petty Thieves in its Advertisements | Amazon’s Home Surveillance Company, Ring, is using footage captured by its doorbell cameras in its Facebook ads, asking users to identify a suspected criminal and contact police with any information about the individual. The video clearly shows the person’s face from two different angles and accuses the person of breaking into a vehicle at Mountain View, California. Ring has worked with law enforcement previously, but this ad was not requested on behalf of the Mountain View Police Department. The woman is only suspected of a crime and is still innocent in the eyes of the law until proven guilty. This advertisement may set a dangerous precedent where people may turn to the internet for justice rather than through normal law-enforcement avenues. | 4Miscellaneous
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Mercedes-Benz gets world’s first approval for automated driving system | Mercedes-Benz's Drive Pilot self-driving system has gained regulatory approval from Germany's Federal Motor Transport Authority. The level-3 system will debut next year. Drive Pilot uses a combination of radar, cameras, LIDAR, microphones, a moisture sensor, and high-accuracy GNSS to provide true automated driving. It can handle unexpected traffic situations and take evasive action if necessary. Drive Pilot will be limited to premapped, geofenced, closed-access highways at speeds of up to 37 mph. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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NVIDIA Neural Modules: NeMo (GitHub Repo) | NeMo is a framework-agnostic toolkit for building AI applications powered by Neural Modules. Researchers can define and build new speech and NLP networks easily using applications built with NeMo. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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QuantumScape’s New Solid-State Battery Is Twice as Energy-Dense as Lithium-Ion | QuantumScape's solid-state lithium metal battery can charge to 80 percent capacity in just 15 minutes, has nearly double the energy density of top commercial lithium-ion cells, retains more than 80 percent of its capacity after 800 cycles, and doesn't set on fire. The increased energy density makes it possible to create electric vehicles with similar ranges as gasoline-powered ones. It may even be possible to use the batteries to power electric aircraft. QuantumScape has more than $1 billion in funds to take the technology through to production, with $300 million from Volkswagen, who plans to start using the batteries in its cars by 2025. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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What to expect at WWDC 2022: iOS 16, M2, and more (10 minute read) | Apple's annual World Wide Developer Conference starts today with a keynote at 10 AM. It will be the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic that there will be a significant in-person audience for the event. The next major release of iOS is expected to be the star of the show for this year's WWDC. Other announcements expected at the event involve iPad OS 16, macOS 13, watchOS 9, tvOS 15, rOS and AR/VR, the MacBook Air and other M2 Macs, and the Mac Pro. Details about the rumored announcements are available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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