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Buzzfeed to take over online news site HuffPost | Buzzfeed is taking over HuffPost, with seller Verizon Media becoming a minority shareholder in Buzzfeed as part of the deal. The two companies will create new revenue opportunities by joining together for advertising and sharing content. HuffPost, formerly Huffington Post, was founded in 2005 as a site for liberal bloggers. Digital firms have been struggling against tech giants such as Facebook and Google. In recent years, Buzzfeed has shed staff, closed some of its newsrooms, and slashed staff pay. HuffPost is expected to remain a standalone brand, but Buzzfeed has declined to comment on the possibility of job losses. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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HQ Trivia and Vine co-founder Colin Kroll found dead of suspected overdose | Colin Kroll, the 35-year-old co-founder and CEO of the HQ Trivia app and co-founder of Vine, was found dead of a drug overdose. The HQ Trivia app broadcast a ceremony for him yesterday, and his co-founder Rus Yusupov will likely take over as CEO. | 4Miscellaneous
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Is Sergey Brin really building the world's biggest aircraft? Here's everything we know | Google co-founder Sergey Brin loves airships, and he has been working on building a giant sky yacht. He wants to use the airship for humanitarian aid. Airships can land and deliver goods almost anywhere. They are also zero-emission alternatives to airplanes. Airships are faster and have fewer emissions than cargo ships. Brin's airship will be about 650 feet long and cost as much as $150 million to construct. It will run on hydrogen. | 4Miscellaneous
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Exclusive Q&A: Neuralink’s Quest to Beat the Speed of Type (17 minute read) | Neuralink is a fully implantable brain-machine interface that uses super-thin threads that can snake through brain tissue to pick up signals. The company has demonstrated its technology in pigs and monkeys. This article features an interview with the head of Neuralink's brain signals team, Joseph O’Doherty. The interview covers Neuralink's goals, the hardware and software used, what the team is working on now, and the limitations of the technology. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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MLOps Primer (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains resources for keeping up with the latest in the world of MLOps. | 4Miscellaneous
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The LinkBuds are Sony’s strangest earbuds in years — and surprisingly good | Sony’s new LinkBuds are an open-style earbud with a unique and comfortable style, fantastic voice call performance, and a transparency mode to keep wearers aware of their surroundings. The battery lasts around 5.5 hours with an additional 12 hours through case recharges. They are made using recycled materials, giving them a speckled look out of the factory. The earbuds come in black or white and weigh around four grams each. This article contains a review of the earbuds and features many photos. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Computer Vision (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains examples and best practice guidelines for building computer vision systems. It uses existing state-of-the-art libraries to teach students about computer vision algorithms, neural architectures, and operationalizing these systems. Examples are provided as Jupyter notebooks and common utility functions, using PyTorch as the underlying deep learning library. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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My First Year as a Freelance AI Engineer (12 minute read) | Most people aren't suited to being a freelancer due to the work environment, the high quality requirements, and the job uncertainty. It is possible to be paid well, especially in the right market. Most clients are found through networking. There is a lot of freedom with being a freelancer, but this requires being good at time management. It is a viable career path to be a freelance AI Engineer, as long as you understand the risks and requirements. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Meta introduces Slack-like shortcuts to Messenger | Meta has introduced new shortcuts to its Messenger platform. Users on iOS and Android can use @everyone and @silent from today. @everyone will notify everyone in a group chat and @silent will let users send messages without sending a notification. Meta is planning to add many more shortcuts later this year. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Slack partners with Amazon to take on Microsoft Teams | Slack and Amazon have entered into a multi-year agreement that will mean that all Amazon employees will start using Slack. Slack will migrate its voice and video calling features over to Amazon Chime and will commit to using Amazon's cloud services for its storage, compute, database, security, analytics, machine learning, and future collaboration features. It is unlikely Slack will move to other cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure or Google Cloud in the foreseeable future. Integration with Amazon Chime will vastly improve Slack's voice and video conferencing features. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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DuckDuckGo opens its privacy-centric Mac browser to beta testers | DuckDuckGo has revealed a desktop browser that features a tracker blocker, email protection, and a button that closes all tabs and wipes browser data with a single click. The browser's Smarter Encryption feature will help users use HTTPS more often. It can automatically clear cookie consent pop ups while rejecting as much tracking as possible. The browser is currently only available on Mac in an invite-only beta. More information about the browser and instuctions on how to join the beta are available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Japan successfully tests flying car which hovers steadily for a minute | A flying car unveiled by NEC at a facility in the city of Abiko was able to hover steadily for about a minute using its four propellors during two brief demonstrations. Japan aims to be using flying cars by 2030 to connect islands in the Mie resort area. Dubai is also aggressively pursuing the technology. Flying cars are defined as aircraft which are electric, or hybrid electric, with driverless capabilities and the ability to take off and land vertically. They are also known as EVtol, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Compared to helicopters, they are less expensive to maintain, produce less noise, and don't require trained pilots. Uber is also launching a similar technology called Uber Air, starting demonstrator flights in 2020 and commercial operations in 2023. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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'Glowing' Tardigrade Shows High Resistance to Lethal Levels of UV Radiation | Tardigrades are microscopic animals with incredible resilience against radiation, dehydration, the cold, and even the vacuum of space. There are around 1,300 known species of tardigrades, which are found all around the planet. A newly discovered species of tardigrade features a natural fluorescence that creates a blue glow under ultraviolet light. The light shields the tardigrades from levels of UV radiation that are known to be lethal. The scientists were successful in transferring the ability to other species of tardigrades. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Open Source Awards (Website) | The 6th annual UK Open Source Awards are here, you can nominate individuals and organizations to recognize their contribution to open source. There are five awards: Individual, Company, Public Sector, Diversity, and Student. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Epic’s new MetaHuman tool lets you craft realistic faces inside a browser | Epic Games has announced a new browser-based tool that can craft highly realistic human faces. MetaHuman Creator can be used with modern motion capture and animation techniques. It can create photorealistic humans in minutes, equipped with unique hairstyles and clothing. Epic has not announced a specific release date, but it will be released this year. Two one-minute videos released by Epic to showcase the technology are available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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These tree-planting drones are firing seed missiles to restore the world’s forests | A start-up that builds tree-planting drones is working with an organization in Myanmar to plant trees in an area that is roughly 350,000 hectares. The drones fire biodegradable pods filled with germinated seeds and nutrients into the ground after assessing an area for suitability. While the drones are efficient, they still require human control. Locals are being trained to pilot the drones, as well as other technical skills, and the community is learning different types of farming and agriculture. Researchers have recently estimated that there is room to plant another 1.2 trillion trees in the world, enough to process more carbon each year than humans emit. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Building a Feedforward Neural Network from Scratch in Python (18 minute read) | A feedforward neural network, also known as a Multi-layered Network of Neurons, is a network of models where information only travels forward through input nodes and output nodes. Traditional models such as the Perceptron are limited to linear functions. Multilayered-Network of Neurons are able to handle the complex decision boundary between inputs and outputs. This article is a guide on how to build and test a simple neuron network from scratch. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Papers With Code (Directory) | Papers With Code is a website that contains links to free resources on Machine Learning, including papers, code, and evaluation tables. Anyone can contribute to the database and to the project. The site is organized so users can look for the most cutting edge research straight away, or they can browse by specific topics. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Joint Apple and Goldman Sachs credit card launching later this year, enables special features with Wallet app | Apple will be launching a credit card later this year which will have features integrated with the Apple Wallet app on the iPhone. Partnered with Goldman Sachs, the new credit card will use the Mastercard network and is rumored to give users at least a 2% cashback when purchasing Apple products. The Apple Wallet app has been redesigned in the iOS 12.2 beta, including changes to help users monitor their expenses in order to encourage better spending habits. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Tesla is tracking badging and emailing those that don't show up at least 4/5 days | Tesla employees that don't show up at least 16 days per month are being directed to email their bosses with an explanation. | 4Miscellaneous
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Uncanny Music Box (Web Tool) | Happy Halloween folks! This is an AI based tool by MIT's media lab trained on thousands of soundtracks from cult horror movies in order to create new spooky music. You can use sliders to add in your own sound effects as well. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Exclusive: Here’s a first look at some more upcoming features in Android 12 (12 minute read) | The first Android 12 developer preview was released nearly two months ago. An unreleased build was recently leaked, containing new code and features not previously seen in the public developer previews. This article covers some of the changes, including videos and screenshots where available. The new changes include improvements to scrolling screenshots, new emojis, enhanced notification permissions, and much more. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Fresh (Website) | Fresh is a web framework built for speed, reliability, and simplicity. It features just-in-time rendering, island based client hydration, zero runtime overhead, no build step or configuration, and TypeScript support. The framework is still undergoing frequent core functionality changes so it shouldn't be used for production yet. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Singapore Shows What Serious Urban Farming Looks Like | Singapore imports almost 90 percent of its food. In 2019, Singapore launched its 30 by 30 initiative with the aim of producing 30 percent of its nutritional needs locally by 2030. When the project started, the city had 220 farms, meeting 14 percent of its demand for leafy vegetables, 26 percent for eggs, and 10 percent for fish. 30 by 30 is increasing its demand for tech-based solutions due to the limited land in Singapore. This article explores some of Singapore's farms and their solutions to increasing food production. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Brain implants, AI, and a speech synthesizer have turned brain activity into robot words | A team of scientists has used neural networks to synthesize speech from brain activity. Patients who had special implants to monitor epilepsy listened to words as artificial neural networks monitored their brain activity. The network was able to synthesize understandable words from just the brain activity 75% of the time. This research may soon allow paralyzed people to communicate. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Fyne (GitHub Repo) | Fyne is a UI toolkit and app API written in Go. It uses OpenGL to provide cross-platform graphics. Fyne is built entirely using vector graphics, so it will scale to any size, and developers can switch between two default themes, light and dark. There are examples of Fyne available in a separate repository. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Moon (GitHub Repo) | Moon is a JavaScript library for creating functional user interfaces. It features a small file size, blazing-fast view rendering, a purely functional driver-based design, and an intuitive and consistent API. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Venice holds back the water for first time in 1,200 years | People who live in Venice experience regular flooding caused by high tides. The city recently installed flood barriers that would prevent this. These barriers were trialed in July, during good weather, but the trials didn't involve raising all 78 gates that have been installed around the city. During high tide, the gates rise to form a dam, stopping the sea from flooding the city. The frequency and severity of extreme high tides have been increasing in the city in recent years, with businesses struggling to recover after repeated flooding. The barriers went up against a 135-centimeter high tide on October 3, protecting the city against flooding. It was a historic day for the city as the barriers were declared a success. | 4Miscellaneous
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Abandoned No Longer, Novel Uses for Mines and Quarries | Humans have been digging into the ground for millennia, and when the materials from these quarries are depleted, they often end up abandoned. Quarries are usually located near cities, which makes them ideal spots for redevelopment. This article looks at 12 of the most interesting abandoned quarry redevelopment projects around the world. | 4Miscellaneous
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Spotify’s offering first-time premium users three months free until June 30th | New Spotify users will now get three free months of Spotify Premium if they sign up before June 30. Returning users who canceled their plans before April 14 will be able to sign up for $9.99 for three months. Spotify's most recent earnings report stated that its ad-supported revenues fell short of its forecast. April 14 was the date by which most people had canceled their premium subscriptions, presumably to recoup lost money because of the pandemic. One in six people who canceled in the US cited COVID-19 as a reason and a majority planned to renew their accounts once their economic situation improves. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Zag (GitHub Repo) | Zag is a JavaScript API that implements common component patterns using the state machine methodology. It can be used to build UI components in React, Solid, or Vue without worrying about the logic. Zag can adapt components to multiple frameworks with a focus on accessibility. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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NASA’s Ingenuity—the First Ever Off-World Helicopter—Is Set for a ‘Wright Brothers Moment’ on Mars | NASA's Perseverance rover will be carrying a four-pound helicopter in its belly. Named Ingenuity, it will attempt up to five powered flights on Mars. The first flight will replicate test flights previously conducted on Earth. After that, Ingenuity will start testing its limits, eventually flying up to 150 feet away on its final test. Each trip will last about 90 seconds from takeoff to landing, which is the maximum time available due to Ingenuity's battery capacity. Mars' atmosphere is less than 1 percent the density of Earth's atmosphere, so Ingenuity's blades have to spin 10 times faster than helicopters on Earth to create an upward lift. It will take a whole Martian day to recharge between flights. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Responder (Open Source) | This is a Python web server framework by Kenneth Reitz (the author of the excellent Python requests library). It comes with a lot of nice stuff out of the box like GraphQL support, SPA support, and built in OpenAPI schema generation. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Production company aims to film space reality TV show, with the winner flying to orbit | Space Hero Inc is a production company that plans to produce a reality TV show competition where the prize is a trip to the International Space Station. It is working with aerospace company Axiom Space to help broker the trip for the winner. Contestants around the world will train for space travel and then the winner will receive a 10-day trip to the space station. The trip will be televised from launch to return. Axiom hasn't selected a launch provider for the mission yet. Both SpaceX and Boeing's vehicles are possible candidates. NASA is planning to fly Tom Cruise to the space station to film a movie. It also plans to begin filming ads on the ISS in the next few months. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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NASA's new planet-hunting spacecraft TESS has found its third distant world | NASA's TESS satellite has found a planet orbiting a small star just 53 light years away. The TESS satellite is the successor to the old Kepler satellite which also discovered planets, TESS is slightly different in that it looks specifically for close-by planets so we can examine them, measure their mass, and determine what is in their atmosphere. The newly discovered planet has a temperature of 300 degress Fahrenheit, is gaseous, and is roughly 23 times the size of Earth. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Social distancing in 100 square feet: Hong Kong's cage homes are almost impossible to self-isolate in | Hong Kong's 'cage homes' are rooms that are often smaller than 100 square feet, with space only for a bed and some clothes. Bathrooms are mostly communal and there are usually no kitchens. Rooms are usually divided by makeshift or removable walls. It is difficult to practice social distancing. Nine in 10 people in Hong Kong live in an area smaller than 70 square meters, and yet they pay some of the highest rent and property prices in the world. As many public places are closed due to the pandemic, people who live in cage homes are suffering as they have nowhere to escape their tiny spaces. Landlords are quick to kick out tenants who are unable to pay rent, despite job losses. Hong Kong has recorded fewer than 1,050 infections and 4 deaths from COVID-19 since January. | 4Miscellaneous
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A new Google Assistant feature, ‘Hold for Me,’ waits on hold so you don’t have to | 'Hold for Me' is a new feature for Pixel phones that lets users put down their phones while they are on hold and get an alert for when the call has resumed. Pixel device owners can activate the feature by pressing a button after they have been placed on hold. A message will be displayed on the phone that says 'Don't hang up'. The user can return to the call at any time and a message will let the user know if there is still music playing on the line. The feature will come with Pixel 5 devices and will be rolled out to older-generation Pixel devices in the next Pixel feature drop. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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parca (GitHub Repo) | parca provides continuous profiling of CPU and memory usage over time, down to the line number. It can automatically discover targets from Kubernetes or systemd with very low overhead. parca uses open standards and features optimized storage and querying. It can help organizations save money, improve performance, and understand incidents. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Using Wi-Fi to "see" behind closed doors is easier than anyone thought | Wifi fills the world with a constant background field of radio signals. Researchers have now figured out how to use this to track the locations of people inside their own homes from the outside using just a smartphone. First they locate the Wifi transmitter by measuring the change in the signal strength as they walk around outside the target building or room. Once they know that, they can use the fact that the Wifi signal should be constant unless disturbed by movement from people inside a home, and each movement changes the signal in slightly different ways to track the people inside the home. These researchers can tell when you are typing, opening a door, or walking around from outside your home using just their Nexus 6 phone. If there are two Wifi transmitters in your home, the accuracy increases from 92.6% to over 99%. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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The 5 biggest announcements from Apple’s March event | Apple has announced its new suite of subscription services, with a focus on an advertisement-free experience and user privacy. All data regarding a customer’s viewing history will remain on the user's device and not shared with Apple or advertisers. Apple News Plus will open up a range of magazines and news subscriptions for $9.99, including family sharing, and is available now. The Apple Arcade gaming subscription service will let subscribers play a range of games across all of Apple's devices and will be available later this year at a yet to be disclosed price. Apple TV users will be able to subscribe to their preferred channels directly through Apple TV Channels, and Apple plans to bring original content to their devices through Apple TV Plus, however, there are not many details about this service besides a list of celebrities having signed on to create content for the platform. Finally, Apple has released a credit card with cash back benefits that will be stored in Apple Wallet, with the option of users obtaining a physical card if required. A seven minute video is available with the main highlights of Apple's keynote. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Vite (Website) | Vite is a build tool that provides a faster and leaner development experience for modern web projects. It consists of a dev server with rich feature enhancements over native ES modules and a build command that bundles code with Rollup. Vite is highly extensible via its Plugin API and JavaScript API. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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YouTuber Simone Giertz transformed a Tesla Model 3 into a pickup truck | Tired of waiting for Tesla to release its new Tesla pickup truck, YouTuber Simone Giertz decided to make her own by transforming her Model 3. After a year of planning and designing, a team of mechanics and DIY car modifiers helped Giertz to build the truck, all while being filmed. Elon Musk has been hyping up the Tesla pickup truck for several years, promising that it won’t look anything like other trucks on the market. Giertz says she performed the stunt to celebrate Musk’s products, as a Tesla pickup truck would truly be her dream car. The final video, pictures of the finished truck, and a link to a fake truck commercial produced by Giertz are available. | 4Miscellaneous
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Intel’s strategy for outflanking Arm takes shape with bet on RISC-V | Intel has announced a $1 billion innovation fund that will bet on a couple of key technologies, including RISC-V, an open-source instruction set that shows promise in low-power and embedded systems. Arm may have the smartphone market, but simple, small, and low-power chips will be needed in everything from cars to smart light bulbs. RISC-V supplier Andes Technology shipped more than 3 billion RISC-V chips in the last year. Nvidia recently announced its intention to purchase Arm, but the sale was blocked by regulators. Arm may be in the process of filing for an IPO. | 4Miscellaneous
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Photos: The Culture Of Whales | Humpback whales frequently and mysteriously change their songs. Songs can go for up to 20-minutes. They are passed on perfectly to other whales across the entire pacific. This article contains a series of images by National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry. It includes images of nursing sperm and humpback whales, belugas playing in the shallows, and orcas teaching their pups how to hunt. | 4Miscellaneous
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Pglet (GitHub Repo) | Pglet is a web UI framework for backend developers. It supports Python, Bash, PowerShell, and Node.js. Other languages can easily be added. Pglet can be used to build web apps without knowing any HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. Tutorials are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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UltraRAM Breakthrough Brings New Memory and Storage Tech to Silicon | UltraRAM is a memory technology that combines the non-volatility of a data storage memory with the speed, energy efficiency, and endurance of working memory. It can be used as both RAM and storage on devices. Scientists from Lancaster University in the UK have made a breakthrough in the mass production of the technology. The technology could help push forward the popular trend towards in-memory processing. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Drone swarms can now fly autonomously through thick forest | Scientists from Zhejiang University in China have tested swarms of drones that can autonomously navigate through complex environments. The drones can fly through dense bamboo forests while avoiding other drones. There are many applications for autonomous drone swarms, such as mapping areas that humans can't reach during disasters or lifting and delivering heavy objects. There are also military applications. The technology will likely be deployed in real-life work within a few years. A video of the drones flying through a bamboo forest is available. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Github Stale Bots: A False Economy | A stale bot is a type of bot that locks stale issues on GitHub. It may seem useful, but it causes problems when issues are closed too early. Teams can end up missing issues, and if an issue is locked, then users just end up creating duplicate issues. The best repos allow users to contribute to older issues, as this creates a better user experience, and it prevents issues from being needlessly duplicated. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Seeing Theory (Website) | Seeing Theory is a visual introduction to probability and statistics. It covers basic probability, compound probability, probability distributions, frequentist interference, bayesian interference, and regression analysis. Each chapter contains interactive exercises to help visualize and understand the information. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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New mRNA anti-tick vaccine may protect from more than just Lyme disease | A novel mRNA-based vaccine is being developed to help people resist tick bites. Animal tests showed that the vaccine helped immune systems recognize tick bites, resulting in parasites being dislodged before they could transmit any disease. Tick bites can transmit over a dozen diseases, so it makes sense to target ticks directly. It will still be years before human trials will begin, as scientists are still trying to figure out why the vaccine works in some animals and not others. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Apple plans to let you pay for gas using CarPlay | Apple has begun working with partners to let users pay for gas directly inside the CarPlay infotainment platform. | 4Miscellaneous
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996.ICU (GitHub Repo) | 996.ICU refers to a phrase in China regarding the work culture, where if you work the ‘996’ work schedule, you’ll risk ending up in the Intensive Care Unit. This repository is a project by Chinese developers to protest the 9am-9pm, 6 days a week work schedule. Developers can ‘star’ the repository to show solidarity with their international colleagues in improving their work conditions. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Which Computational Universe Do We Live In? | There are five possible computational worlds that we could be living in. Each world has different implications for whether secure cryptography truly exists. A truly secure encryption method requires a computational problem that is hard enough to create a provably insurmountable barrier for adversaries. Scientists recently discovered a new problem that could help determine which world we are living in. A description of each world and its implications for cryptography is available. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Cash (GitHub Repo) | Cash is a small jQuery alternative for modern browsers that provides jQuery-style syntax for manipulating the DOM. It is much smaller in size compared to jQuery and other alternatives. Size comparisons and usage examples are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Zuckerberg Plans to Integrate WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger | Facebook will be combining the infrastructure for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger. They will still be available as different apps, but their backends will be unified, with end to end encryption. This new infrastructure will support 2.6 billion users. Marc Rotenberg of the Electronic Privacy Information Center calls this change "a terrible outcome for internet users." Facebook wants to have this done by the end of the year or early 2020. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Go read this story of tech workers who secretly work multiple remote jobs | Some tech workers have started to earn two full-time paychecks while working remotely, without letting either employer know about the other. The workers have to balance the two jobs, sometimes using paid time off to juggle the occasional big project. Many do not work more than 40 hours a week at both jobs combined. The workers are unapologetic, as they are taking advantage of a system that they feel has taken advantage of them. | 4Miscellaneous
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Upgrade your memory with a surgically implanted chip! | Over the last five years, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has been experimenting with devices intended to restore the memory-generation capacity of people with traumatic brain injuries. This resulted in a device that monitors the brain’s electrical activity and provides a boost whenever signals are too weak to form memories. Studies showed that memory retention improved as much as 37 percent in the patients who used the device. The device was only tested on epileptic patients who already had electrodes implanted in their brains to monitor seizures. As the device requires brain surgery in order to be used, it is unlikely that it will be on the consumer market any time soon. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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James Webb telescope: how it could uncover some of the universe’s best-kept secrets | The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is set to launch on December 25, if everything goes according to plan. It took more than a decade and $10 billion to build the telescope, which is now fueled and ready at Europe's spaceport in French Guiana. The JWST will be able to see much more than the Hubble Space Telescope, which has now operated for more than 30 years. Astronomers from around the world will be able to apply to use the JWST to support their research. One of the telescope's main tasks will be to study the atmospheres of exoplanets to see if they are suitable for life. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Get started with Go and InfluxDB for time series data (Sponsor) | This technical tutorial will walk you through how to use the InfluxDB Go client library. Get code snippets and follow the steps to create a database connection, then store and query time series data. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Netflix brings spatial audio to its lineup of original series and movies | Netflix has partnered with Sennheiser to bring spatial audio to its original programming for all devices. The feature will start rolling out today. It was previously only available on specific Apple devices. Spatial audio will be automatically enabled when using stereo audio. Users can search for shows with the feature by typing 'spatial audio' into the search bar. | 4Miscellaneous
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CRISPR gene editing in human embryos wreaks chromosomal mayhem | A series of experiments has revealed how large, unwanted changes to the genome can occur when CRISPR-Cas9 is used to modify human embryos. The studies showed that these unwanted changes occurred to target sites, not just in the surrounding areas. These changes are the result of the DNA-repair processes used by gene-editing tools. The results of these studies are likely to inform the ongoing debate over whether scientists should edit human embryos to prevent genetic diseases. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Scientists Grow Bigger Monkey Brains Using Human Genes, Replicating Evolution | Scientists from Germany and Japan recently published a study detailing an experiment where they inserted a specific human gene into monkey fetuses to make their brains bigger. The insertion of the gene resulted in folding of the brain, an increase in the size of the monkeys' neocortex, an increase in the number of cells that produce neurons, and an increase in the number of upper-layer neurons. Due to ethical reasons, the fetuses were removed through C-section after 100 days of growth. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Researchers explore using light to levitate discs in the mesosphere | Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have levitated thin discs in conditions that mimic the atmosphere high above the Earth's surface using laser light. The mesosphere is a part of the atmosphere at approximately 50 to 80 kilometers above the surface, and the ability to send sensors into that range would allow for monitoring airflow and could improve weather predictions. Those altitudes are too thin for airplanes to fly and too thick for satellites and rockets to make long-duration flights. The levitation is caused by heat created as the laser makes contact with the discs. A video explaining the experiment is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Startup Markets, Summer 2022 Edition | Predictions for the next 3-18 months in the startup financing and employment environment. | 4Miscellaneous
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Dazzling drone display during Olympic Opening Ceremony (2 minute video) | This video shows the drone display during the Olympic Opening Ceremony. The display was made up of 1,800 drones. It morphs into various shapes before creating a vision of the globe in 3D. | 4Miscellaneous
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Amazon launches business selling automated checkout to retailers | Amazon will start selling the technology behind its cashier-less convenience stores to other retailers. Just Walk Out Technology reflects Amazon's strategy of building out internal capabilities and then turning its technologies into lucrative services that others can buy. Unlike Amazon Go stores, customers will have to insert a credit card into a gated turnstile to enter stores. Items picked up by the customer will be automatically added to a virtual shopping cart, and the customer's credit card is billed when the customer leaves the store. It is unknown who will own the shopper data that will be collected. There is no fixed business model or pricing at the moment. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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NASA Bets on a Spacecraft that Can 3-D Print and Self-Assemble in Orbit | NASA has announced a partnership with Made In Space, Inc to test a concept of a spacecraft that can 3D print and self-assemble in space. Archinaut One could be ready as early as 2022. Made In Space made history by creating the first 3D printed object in space in 2014. In 2016, a permanent manufacturing unit was installed in the International Space Station. The new project will require objects larger than the printer to be printed outside the station in space, and then for these objects to be self-assembled. Archinaut One will be launched to low-Earth orbit where it will then attempt to print out two poles which will contain solar arrays that can generate power. If successful, the technique will lower the costs of space exploration significantly as parts can be created in space rather than transported from Earth. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Internet Pi (GitHub Repo) | Internet Pi is a Raspberry Pi configuration tool for internet connectivity. It features internet monitoring, Pi-hole, Shelly Plug monitoring, and Starlink monitoring. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Dolt (GitHub Repo) | Dolt is a SQL database that can be managed just like a git repository. All git commands work exactly the same for Dolt. Users can connect to Dolt like any other MySQL database and use SQL commands to run queries or update the data. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Report: One-third of tech workers admit to working only 3 to 4 hours a day | A recent survey found that, out of the employees from the 42 tech companies who participated, 31% of them were only putting in three to four hours of work a day. The survey did not measure productivity, which can vary widely between people. Some companies are reportedly working their employees harder, but others report significantly less work. The pandemic has not impacted everyone equally. | 4Miscellaneous
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The Founder Dating Playbook – Here’s the Process I Used to Find My Co-Founder (31 minute read) | Finding a good co-founder or partner when starting a new company can be like dating. A testing and evaluation period is required before you can decide that the person is the right partner to enter into a business with. Gloria Lin created a playbook for how to approach this different type of courting process, including a questionnaire designed to probe for compatibility. Finding the right business partner requires time. Hiring a business executive usually takes a few months, so it makes sense to take the same amount of care to find a co-founder. It's important to find someone who complements your strengths and weaknesses. Building a pipeline for finding and qualifying potential co-founders will streamline the process and make it easier to sort through potential candidates. Defining specific boundaries will help you quickly determine who is not suitable as a partner. Once you have found a good partner, it's important to continue building on the relationship, as a co-founding relationship can potentially last years. | 4Miscellaneous
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Soft robot chameleon changes color in real-time to match background | Researchers working at Seoul National University have developed a soft robot chameleon that can change colors to match its background in real time. Its skin contains a liquid ink that changes color with heat, allowing it to display virtually any color. The robot's underbelly has sensors to recognize colors. While it has its obvious military applications, the researchers envision the technology also being used in fashion and art displays. A video of the robot moving and changing colors to match its background is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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A geomagnetic storm may have effectively destroyed 40 SpaceX Starlink satellites | 40 of the 49 Starlink satellites launched on February 3 will be destroyed due to a geomagnetic storm that caused up to 50% higher drag than during previous launches. Starlink tried to save the satellites by flying them edge-on to reduce drag but it was unsuccessful. The satellites will burn up in Earth's atmosphere. Starlink has now launched over 2,000 satellites and plans to launch up to 12,000. A statement from Starlink explaining the incident is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Cool Vendors in Software Engineering: Enhancing Developer Productivity (Sponsor) | Cool Vendors in Software Engineering: Enhancing Developer Productivity . Download the 2022 Gartner Cool Vendor Report to learn how Sourcegraph helps engineers and engineering leaders boost developer productivity while mitigating security risks. Get access to the report and see why Gartner included Sourcegraph among its industry-leading tools. Learn more. | 0Sponsor
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Psychedelic Mushrooms Can Regrow Brain Tissue Lost in Depression | Psilocybin, a drug that is found naturally in some mushrooms, has shown signs of increasing durable connections between neurons in mouse brains. In a study on the effects of the drug in mice, scientists tracked the growth of dendritic spines in living mice and found that the compound increased the density of dendritic spines, enhancing the pathway for information transmission between brain cells. The study suggests that psilocybin may be able to reverse the damage caused by depression and chronic stress. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Apple reportedly wants to launch a self-driving EV in 2025 with a custom chip | Apple has reportedly accelerated its timeline for Project Titan, its secretive autonomous electric car project. It has completed much of the core work in creating a new processor that will power the vehicle. The project aims to create an autonomous car with a spacious interior that does not have a steering wheel. Apple has not decided whether it will sell the cars to individuals or operate a self-driving fleet to compete with other rideshare providers. The vehicle will be compatible with the combined changing system standard. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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JSONAPI.CO (Website) | JSONAPI.CO is a service that provides a range of free hosted APIs. Categories include Users, Products (Amazon), and Images (Instagram). All HTTP methods are supported and the service provides proper HTTP status codes with every API. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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10-minute, $1,800 plunge shows Bitcoin’s volatility | Bitcoin soared 39 percent this week to $13,852, the highest it has been since January 2018. However, it dropped more than $1,800 after it hit its peak, with large swings continuing throughout the week. Large exchanges such as Coinbase experienced system dropouts due to the high volume of traffic they experienced. Facebook’s recent announcement of their Libra cryptocurrency appears to have helped bring attention back to Bitcoin. Many cryptocurrency related companies saw a rise in stock prices this week. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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What is it like working at a company during and after the release of a negatively received game? (Reddit Thread) | A Reddit user was curious to see what game developers experienced during production and subsequent release of a product, with the recent trend of negative press and backlash against several AAA titles. Several answers from game developers talk about similar experiences: game developers are generally aware of the quality of their product and how it will be viewed by the public, however, due to certain restrictions and time limits they might not be able to do anything about it. Directors may make decisions that the developers have no control over, and as issues pile up, they might not have time to fix everything before deadlines. Technical issues and UI/UX problems may take the team by surprise, as they are generally unexpected due to the development environment. | 4Miscellaneous
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Introduction to Apple Silicon (14 minute read) | This article explains how open operating systems interoperate with the Apple Silicon Mac boot ecosystem. Topics include storage, boot flow, security modes, and much more. It is intended for developers and maintainers of Linux, BSD, and other OS distributions and boot-related components. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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How AI will eat UI | While we are all aware that computers will one day take over many jobs, some of us still like to believe that our jobs are somehow immune. Different types of AI exist, some which are designed for specific purposes, and some which are able to learn generalized skills through repetitive training of tasks. Fields such as design require humans to be creative and socially intelligent, understanding users' psychology in order to produce usable products. Tracking users' reactions through clicks and likes is difficult. AR wearables will be able to gather more accurate data about users, including information about heart rate, respiration, pupil size, and eye movement. The extra data will help AI become more effective, helping it adapt to us and our needs. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Airbus' self-flying plane just completed successful taxi, take-off, and landing tests, opening the door for fully autonomous flight | Airbus just completed flight testing for its Autonomous Taxi, Take-off, and Landing project. Over 500 flights were conducted with the new Airbus A350-1000 XWB, with the pilots only lining up the plane with the runway before letting the plane take flight on its own. The program relies heavily on the onboard cameras that are used by pilots to help guide the plane while on the ground. Airbus' success means that fully autonomous flights might soon be possible as autopilot already handles most functions while airborne. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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CRISPR Cures Inherited Disorder in Mice | Researchers have used CRISPR gene editing to eliminate a genetic liver disease in mice. This breakthrough means that CRISPR might be usable in human fetuses even before traditional gene editing (which requires replacing the full gene). CRISPR is very targeted, it's like using find and replace to fix a typo rather than retyping the entire document (like in traditional gene editing). It's worth noting that this study used a new version of CRISPR called base editing, which doesn't require that the DNA be cut like the original CRISPR, leading to less unintended genetic consequences. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tinder Has Become A News Service About Coronavirus, Which Is Not What God Intended | China has put Wuhan on lockdown and has censored much of the information surrounding the area. Some people have found a creative way to get around the block by using Tinder to contact people within the area. Using one of Tinder's premium features, Passport, users can change their location to Wuhan and start talking to people in the city. Tinder is banned in China, but some users are reporting success in chatting with residents and hearing their stories. Users in Wuhan and around the world are receiving warnings from Tinder to take precautions to contain COVID-19. | 4Miscellaneous
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Secret’s founder returns with anti-loneliness app Ikaria | Chrys Bader-Wechseler co-founded Secret in 2013. It closed down two years later after raising $35 million and serving 15 million users. The app allowed people to post without a name or consequences, making them open up, but also causing some bullying. Bader-Wechseler learned from Secret and developed Ikaria, a chat app that creates safe spaces to chat with close friends, family, or people going through similar life challenges. The app will provide a guided experience to help members reflect and discuss what is going on in their hearts and minds. Ikaria plans to develop a customer relationship with users, which could mean a subscription or in-app payments for content. The startup doesn't want to rely on advertising as it would mean that the app wouldn't serve its users properly. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Starting with Michigan, Sidewalk Infrastructure is looking to build roads specifically for autonomous cars | Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners has launched a subsidiary called Cavnue to develop roadways for connected and autonomous vehicles. Cavnue will be working with major car manufacturers and technology startups on standards to develop the physical and digital infrastructure required to move autonomous vehicles out of pilot projects and into the real world. A 40-mile corridor between downtown Detroit and Ann Arbor, Michigan will be developed by Cavnue for autonomous vehicles. The corridor will include 12 Opportunity Zones where communities and small businesses will be able to connect to hubs in the region. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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New data will give insight into Facebook’s influence on elections | Facebook has announced a new set of research projects that will look into the company’s impact on democracy. More than 60 academics will have access to privacy-protected Facebook data through various APIs. Facebook will not be involved in selecting the academics that will be approved for the projects nor will it interfere with the research going forward. The research is important as the use of social media for spreading misinformation, political advertising, and other polarizing messages has been rising and its effects have yet to be quantified. | 4Miscellaneous
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nginx ui (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains a UI for Nginx. It is useful for making an application accessible when it is being deployed. Screenshots of the UI are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Walmart Robots To Begin Fulfilling Grocery Orders, Replacing Workers | Robots are being deployed in Walmart stores and they will be tasked with fulfilling online orders. The new robots are able to collect items about 10 times faster than a human worker. Walmart is transitioning into an increasingly automated model, and it is hiring fewer workers as a result. Brick and mortar retail stores are struggling against online-only sites. Walmart offers a service where customers can place orders online and have them delivered to their home or to the store parking lot. This system has issues, such as keeping track of stock, and using robots will significantly improve the service. Walmart already employs a fleet of robots that can scan store shelves three times faster than humans can. Brick and mortar companies have the added cost of maintaining a physical retail space, and so it makes sense that they will try to cut costs in order to remain competitive. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Twitter plans to build a 'decentralized standard' for social networks | CEO of Twitter Jack Dorsey has announced that the company will set up an independent research group to create an open and decentralized standard for social media networks. Centralized solutions are unlikely to be able to scale in the future due to challenges such as large scale content moderation. Blockchain technology can provide a model for decentralizing content hosting, oversight, and even the monetization of social media. A decentralized social network would allow Dorsey and his team to focus on building open recommendation systems that promote healthy conversation. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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A Code-First Intro to Natural Language Processing (GitHub Repo) | This course teaches Natural Language Processing through code. It was originally taught as part of the University of San Francisco's Masters of Science in Data Science program in summer 2019. It uses a ‘top-down’ teaching method as students might learn the material faster through completing exercises, rather than learning about each component first. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Frontend Bootcamp (GitHub Repo) | Frontend Bootcamp is a two-day workshop created by Microsoft that will teach the basics of frontend development through building a working web app. The course is designed to be accessible by anyone but previous experience with programming and web technologies is recommended. The first day will focus on fundamentals such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, and the second day will be on advanced topics such as TypeScript, testing, and state management. The project is still under development. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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How AltStore is building a haven for forbidden iPhone apps | AltStore is an app for installing apps outside of Apple's App Store. It has 300,000 monthly active users, with nearly 6,000 of those users contributing more than $14,500 per month to the app's Patreon. AltStore uses a sideloading method that Apple made available to developers. There are some limitations to the app, but the developer believes that the technical hurdles ensure that sideloading remains the domain of more tech-savvy users. AltStore is adding a 'Trusted Sources' section with apps that the developers have vetted themselves to lessen the risk of users installing malicious code. | 4Miscellaneous
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Apple developing new 15-inch MacBook Air that could come in 2023 | Apple is planning new form factors for the MacBook Air and entry-level iPad for 2023. The 2023 MacBook Air will have a variant with a screen size of around 15-inches and the 13.3-inch MacBook Air will have a slightly larger screen. The entry-level iPad will also upgrade to a slightly larger display. Apple considered releasing a 15-inch MacBook Air in 2008 but instead chose to make a smaller 11-inch model. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Uber Wants to Sell You Train Tickets. And Be Your Bus Service, Too | Uber aims to be the one-stop-shop for car, bike, scooter, bus, and train trips. It has been teaming up with cities and transit agencies in the US, Canada, Britain, and Australia to provide tickets for public transport for people with disabilities, occasionally becoming a substitute for a town's public transportation system with its other services. Some cities are uneasy about Uber's goals as they have already lost many passengers to ride-hailing services, and Uber has been criticized for not sharing rider data that could help agencies plan new transit routes. Ride-hailing services could also increase traffic congestion. Competitor Lyft has also started moving into public transit, with 50 transit partnerships in the US. | 4Miscellaneous
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Awesome MLOps (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains a list of curated references for machine learning operations. Sections include books, papers, articles, software engineering, machine learning, ethics, and more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple is hosting augmented reality art walking tours in major cities | Apple is hosting a project called [AR]T Walk, which aims to make AR more consumer-friendly while also portraying Apple stores as civic centers where communities can come together. [AR]T Walk will take people on a walking tour through various city centers around the globe, making digital art come alive in physical spaces. People in Hong Kong, London, New York, Paris, San Francisco, and Tokyo during mid-August can sign up for the tours online. The tour will last a couple of hours and involve a 1.5-mile walk. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Want to Buy a Ticket to the Space Station? NASA Says Soon You Can | NASA announced on Friday that it will allow private citizens to fly to the International Space Station. However, it is not changing into a space agency. Other private companies will have to organize rocket flights to and from space while paying NASA $35,000 per passenger to sleep in the station’s beds and use its amenities. The consumer price to stay at the station will likely cover these costs and more. In the past, NASA has frowned upon using the ISS as a place for business, but several new changes will allow for private companies to start conducting for-profit ventures on the station. The ISS will not sell space for corporate sponsorships. These business ventures will probably not turn a profit for NASA but will help to cover costs for running the ISS. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Khaby Lame dethrones Charli D’Amelio as the most-followed TikTok creator | Khaby Lame, a 22-year-old from Senegal famous for wordlessly fixing viral life hacks, is now the most followed creator on TikTok. | 4Miscellaneous
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Apple continues expanding into health care by selling a consumer-focused diabetes monitor in stores | Apple stores now sell a glucose monitor that integrates with the iPhone to give customers a way to track their blood sugar through Apple’s Health app. OneDrop is just one example of how Apple is breaking into the health industry. CEO Tim Cook has been seen testing a continuous glucose monitor, even though he is not known to have diabetes. OneDrop consists of a blood glucose meter for taking readings and an app that collects data which integrates with Apple Health. A subscription service is available for customers to receive testing strips. The OneDrop kit is sold at Apple stores for $69.95 and it comes with a free year of coaching from a certified diabetes educator. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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