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Machine vision can create Harry Potter–style photos for muggles | A University of Washington student has created software called Photo Wake-Up that can take a person in a photograph and use machine learning to infer a 3D body pose from a 2 image. Then they can animate this 3D image in a way that makes the picture look alive (like the pictures in Harry Potter). There's a 5 minute Youtube video in the article, it's actually pretty incredible how good it is. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Exclusive: Apple testing new external display with a dedicated A13 chip and Neural Engine | Apple is developing a new display under the codename J327. The display will have a dedicated A13 chip and Neural Engine. Neural Engine will accelerate machine learning tasks. The display using its own CPU/GPU will help Macs deliver high-resolution graphics without using the resources of the computer's internal chip. The launch plans for the display are unknown. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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BudgetML (GitHub Repo) | BudgetML allows data practitioners to quickly deploy an ML inference service in less than 10 lines of code. It features automatic FastAPI server endpoint generation, fully interactive docs, built-in SSL certificate generation, 99% uptime using cheap preemptible instances, and complete OAuth2 secured endpoints. Using BudgetML results in significant cost savings. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Brython (Website) | Brython allows web developers to use Python 3 code instead of Javascript to code pages. It supports Python 3 syntax and many modules of the CPython distribution. Brython includes libraries to interact with DOM elements, events, and existing Javascript libraries. It supports the latest specs of HTML5/CSS3 and can use CSS Frameworks. A gallery of examples is linked on the page. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Gibraltar poised to become first cryptocurrency hub | Gibraltar is reviewing a proposal for blockchain firm Valereum to acquire the Gibraltar Stock Exchange. The purchase will allow the territory to serve as a platform to trade cryptocurrency alongside more traditional bonds. If allowed, the territory could become a center for the cryptocurrency market. However, loose regulations may result in potential diplomatic sanctions. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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DALL-E vs Midjourney | This Twitter thread contains over 10 comparisons between images generated by DALL-E and Midjourney, two AI image generators. Each comparison uses the same text prompt. Midjourney tends to be more contextually creative and good with textures, while DALL-E deals better with very clearly instructed scenes. | 4Miscellaneous
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Google Duo video chat is now available on the web | Google Duo now works on Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, but Microsoft Edge appears to not be supported. Users can make phone calls directly from their browser to other users who are registered with the Google Duo service. The video chat service has proven to be popular and has outlived Google Allo, which was launched alongside it. OnePlus has announced deep integration of Google Duo in its phones. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Playroom (GitHub Repo) | Playroom allows developers to simultaneously design across a variety of themes and screen sizes. Developers can iterate designs, create quick mockups and interactive prototypes, evaluate the flexibility of their design system, and share their work simply by copying the URL. It is powered by JSX and works with any component library. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Skaffold (GitHub Repo) | Skaffold is a command-line tool for the continuous development of Kubernetes applications. Application source code can be iterated locally and deployed to local or remote Kubernetes clusters. Skaffold handles the workflow for building, pushing, and deploying applications while providing building blocks and describe customizations for a CI/CD pipeline. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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JP Morgan is rolling out the first US bank-backed cryptocurrency to transform payments business | The first cryptocurrency created by a US bank is JP Morgan’s JPM Coin. The bank has created the cryptocurrency in order to create instant wire transactions, instant securities transactions, and to replace actual dollars held in subsidiaries across the world. Using blockchain technology will allow the bank to quickly transfer value anywhere in the world in a secure manner. A JPM Coin will be worth exactly a dollar, and initially will only be available for use by its larger clients. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Snap reveals U.S. subpoenas on IPO disclosures | Snap is being investigated by the DOJ and SEC because shareholders are suing the company for misleading the public about how much competition from Instagram had affected their growth prior to their IPO. The lawsuit also says that Snap misrepresented its use of notifications and other growth hacks to pump up usage numbers prior to IPO. Snap says that the lawsuit is "meritless" and that its pre-IPO disclosures were "accurate and complete." | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Telegram faces DDoS attack in China… again | The popular encrypted chat service Telegram has been hit with a Distributed Denial of Service attack again. Citizens of Hong Kong have recently taken to the streets to protest an unpopular law that would expand the power that China has in Hong Kong over its judicial system. A DDoS attack is when a server is overrun with nonsense requests so that legitimate users are unable to use the service. This is not the first time Telegram has been attacked by China during times of civil unrest. Four years ago, China attempted to shut down Telegram during a crackdown on human rights lawyers in the country. Citizens have admitted that they use Telegram specifically to avoid surveillance by the government. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Scientists Have Measured a Perceptual Ability Called 'O'. How Good Is Yours? | 'O' is the general ability for object recognition. | 4Miscellaneous
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Click Here to Kill (34 minute read) | Darknet markets for assassinations allow people to anonymously order killings online. A serialized essay called 'Assassination Politics' written in 1995 details a system where people could anonymously pledge money towards a bounty for killing someone, and another party could 'predict' a death and collect the pool. The implication was that the best way to predict a death was to cause it yourself. The invention of Bitcoin and the dark web made this system possible. Many 'murder marketplaces' have popped up on the darknet, but most turn out to be scams. As the technology is relatively new, law enforcement agencies have some difficulties investigating cases. Many people who had been named as potential targets on these sites were unaware of their predicament, even if law enforcement knew their names were on a list. Some cases of suicide have been linked to these websites, and people have been arrested for ordering murders online. | 4Miscellaneous
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Rex (GitHub Repo) | Rex is a project to train an open-source 3D printed quadruped robot. It aims to train the robot to learn domestic and generic tasks using simulations and then transfer the knowledge onto a real robot without any other manual tuning. This repository contains different OpenAI Gym Environments used to train Rex, the Rex URDF model, the learning agent, and some scripts to start the training session and visualize the learned Control Policies. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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MVP.css (GitHub Site) | MVP.css is a minimalist stylesheet for HTML elements. It styles root HTML elements so that developers don't need to learn any CSS frameworks or use any naming conventions. MVP.css is designed to look good on all browsers and devices. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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A Guide to Production Level Deep Learning (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains engineering guidelines for building production-level deep learning systems which can be deployed in real-world applications. It goes through each module, recommended toolset, and framework, as well as best practices from practitioners that fit each component. A graphical overview of different components in a production level deep learning system is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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SpaceX reveals Starlink Premium service, new all-weather antenna | SpaceX will start offering a Starlink Premium service package as early as Q2 2022. The new package will include significantly improved performance and an extra-rugged user terminal. The Premium dish's extra-rugged features could make it an option for users in extremely hot or cold environments. The Starlink Premium dish will cost $2500 and it will cost $500 per month for the Premium subscription, which gives users speeds of up to 500 Mbps and 24/7 prioritized support. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Behold the Beefless ‘Impossible Whopper’ | Impossible Foods’ vegetarian patties will soon be available at Burger King, after a trial period at 59 stores in the St Louis area. This will be the largest rollout of the Impossible Foods patty so far, doubling the number of locations where the vegetarian alternative is available. During testing, Burger King's Chief Marketing Officer said that customers and staff were unable to tell the difference between the real and fake meats. Impossible Foods uses a soy extract to produce heme, an ingredient they claim is essential to creating the taste of meat. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Apple blocks Google from running its internal iOS apps | Apple has blocked Google’s internal iOS apps as a result of a breach of Apple’s developer enterprise program terms. Google had been using enterprise certificates to distribute its apps to consumers, despite only being authorized for internal use. Apple is working closely with Google to restore their services. Facebook had the same issue yesterday but has already had their access restored. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Artificial neurons connect to biological ones to control living plants | Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have created artificial organic neurons and synapses that can integrate with natural biological systems. The artificial neurons operate with the same ion signals as biological neurons, making them compatible. Repeated activation of synapses strengthens the neurons, making them more effective over time. The artificial neurons are biodegradable and harmless to both plants and animals. The researchers demonstrated the system by using it to control the jaws of a Venus flytrap. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders supports video game workers unions | Bernie Sanders has tweeted in support of video game worker unions. In the tweet, he specifically names the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and Game Workers Unite, two organizations that have been helping game workers work together. Many developers in the video game industry are overworked and subject to a lot of mandatory, sometimes unpaid, overtime. Many stories of unhealthy workplace cultures have recently surfaced, as developers are fired even if their companies are big or make record profits. Sanders’ platform involves tackling many social issues. It is rare for a politician to focus on the video game industry on an issue unrelated to video game violence. | 4Miscellaneous
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Lightweight armor material made of nanotube mats outperforms Kevlar | Engineers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have forged a new type of ultralight armor called a nanofiber mat. The new form of armor is made with carbon nanotubes, tiny cylinders of carbon a single atom thick. The carbon nanotubes form hydrogen bonds when mixed with the right ratio of Kevlar nanofibers, resulting in a dramatic leap in performance. The novel material can protect against high-speed impacts better than Kevlar fabric while being much lighter. It could potentially be used to protect spacecraft from high-speed space debris. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Gamedev.js Weekly (Newsletter) | A cool newsletter about game development sent out every Friday by Andrzej Mazur of Enclave Games. Definitely worth a look for anyone interested in video games! | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Copper (GitHub Repo) | Copper is a Go toolkit for building web apps. It ships the frontend and backend in a single binary. Copper includes a command-line interface, lint, dev server, config management, and more. It also has packages for authentication, pub/sub, queues, emails, and WebSockets. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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NASA announces SpaceX crewed flight June 2019 | NASA has announced that it will be sending the first manned flight with a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station in June 2019. They will also be sending a similar manned flight in a Boeing rocket in August 2019. The crews will be using new lighter space suits designed by SpaceX and Boeing. These flights are considered tests, and astronauts will only be at the ISS for a couple of weeks. If all goes well NASA will be sending astronauts regularly for 6 months at a time. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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State Lawmaker Explains Wyoming’s Newly Passed DAO LLC Law | Wyoming will recognize Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) as limited liability corporations (LLCs) effective July 1. DAOs are online collectives of investors that rely on Ethereum's smart-contract technology to make shared decisions. LLCs are entities that combine the characteristics of a corporation with those of a partnership or sole proprietorship. The law makes the process of a DAO becoming an LLC easier and cheaper. It protects DAOs from being sued as general partnerships and makes the rights of DAOs enforceable in court. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Today’s Firefox Blocks Third-Party Tracking Cookies and Cryptomining by Default | A new update for Firefox on desktop and Android will block third-party tracking cookies and crypto miners by default. Enhanced Tracking Protection will be turned on by default for users as part of the 'Standard' setting in Firefox. Currently, only 20 percent of Firefox users use Enhanced Tracking Protection. The feature stops companies from forming a user profile based on tracking behavior across websites, which is often done without peoples' knowledge or consent. A view of the companies which have been blocked from tracking is available in the settings. Some websites have built-in crypto miners that mine cryptocurrencies for the site while the user is browsing. Firefox's new update will include a default option to block these scripts from working. | 4Miscellaneous
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EventNative (GitHub Repo) | EventNative is an event collection service. It can capture events generated by an application and stream to any Data Warehouse. EventNative can capture events stopped by AdBlock, push data to multiple destinations at once, determine location from a user's IP address, and more. A demo page is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Coinbase files to go public confidentially and we’re hyped | Coinbase has filed to go public, likely debuting in early 2021. It is unknown whether Coinbase will pursue a traditional IPO or a direct listing. Coinbase has raised extensive capital while private, and while there has been some reporting about its historical growth, there is little information about its profits and operations. Cryptocurrencies have seen a recent surge of interest. Coinbase lost dozens of employees in 2020 after its CEO declared that the company would not participate in political matters not directly tied to the company's mission. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Virgin Galactic debuts design of future Mach 3 high-speed aircraft, signs deal with Rolls-Royce | Virgin Galactic has revealed initial designs for its commercial passenger airplane that is designed to fly at speeds above Mach 3. It also announced a partnership with Rolls-Royce, one of the world's leading aircraft engine makers. The plane will be able to fly above 60,000 feet, carrying between nine to 19 people per flight. Images of the design are available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Microsoft surprises with new foldable Surface Duo phone running Android | Microsoft has announced a new foldable Surface Duo phone that runs Android. It resembles the dual-screen Surface Neo, except that its displays are smaller. Each display is 5.6 inches and can rotate 360 degrees, allowing it to unfold into an 8.3-inch tablet mode. The displays can run different apps at the same time, or one of the displays can be used as a keyboard or game controller. Some details on the phone are unknown, such as whether the device will have a rear camera. The device will be out during the holidays in 2020. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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UAE Used Cyber Super-Weapon to Spy on iPhones of Foes | A team of ex-US government operatives working for the UAE used an iPhone exploit called ‘Karma’ to hack into the iPhones of activists, diplomats, and rival foreign leaders. The exploit is initiated when the attacker sends the target a special text message. Photos, emails, text messages, and location information were stolen using this exploit. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Earth just had the hottest month since humans have kept track | July was the hottest month humans have ever recorded. The three previous hottest months happened in 2016, 2019, and 2020, a strong indicator of climate change. Climate change is linked to more extreme weather. The planet has seen a rise in extreme heat events since the 1950s. Some regions have been affected worse than others. The heatwave that took place in late June would have been virtually impossible without climate change. More temperature records are likely to fall if greenhouse emissions continue to grow. | 4Miscellaneous
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Google performed the first quantum simulation of a chemical reaction | Google simulated a simple chemical reaction on its Sycamore quantum computer. Sycamore achieved quantum supremacy in 2019 after completing a calculation that would have taken an impractical amount of time to complete on a classical computer. Quantum simulations could potentially be used to develop new chemicals. A picture of a quantum computer from Google's Lab in California is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Scoop: Facebook establishing a venture arm to invest in startups | Facebook is starting a new multimillion-dollar investment fund aimed at startups. It recently filled the position of 'head of investments' in its New Product Experimentation team. Investing in startups could help the company catch the next big social app before it becomes big. Acquiring small startups before they become successful would help Facebook avoid being accused of buying out rivals. It is unknown how large the fund will be. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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The US Army's New Goggles Let Troops See Through Solid Walls | The US army is developing Integrated Augmented Vision System (IAVS) goggles for infantry forces. The goggles will enable soldiers to check around corners, see in the dark, and see maps and other data on the goggles' lenses. Soldiers inside armored vehicles will be able to see through the walls of the vehicle using feeds from the cameras outside. The IAVS goggles are designed to perform like the heads-up displays used in fighter jets. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Match.com connected daters to fake accounts to boost subscriptions, US regulators say | The Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Match.com alleging that the company connected non-paying users to fake accounts in order to get them to subscribe to the service. Non-paying users can't view or respond to messages, but are notified if they received a message. Many users would pay Match.com to view a received message only to find that the account that had sent the message was banned, or was soon to be banned. When users complained and requested refunds, Match.com denied any wrongdoing. The FTC found 499,691 new subscriptions that were linked to fraudulent communications between June 2016 and May 2018. Paid customers would have their messages reviewed for fraud before being notified, but non-paying customers were notified of every message, regardless of authenticity. The lawsuit also alleges that Match.com did not fulfill its promises to customers for a free six-month subscription if they weren't successful in using its service, and that the company purposefully made canceling the service incredibly difficult. | 4Miscellaneous
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Instagram hides likes count in international test 'to remove pressure' | Instagram is hiding the number of likes on posts in several countries in order to remove pressure on users. Users in Canada, Japan, Australia, and other countries will no longer see a tally of likes on their posts but will still be able to see lists of people who have liked a post by clicking into it. Studies have shown that social media platforms can affect mental health and that the instant feedback from likes can affect people's level of self-esteem. The number of likes on a post can also be a valuable measure of popularity and value for a business on Instagram. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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'We Have Extra FDA-Approved Ventilators,' Says Elon Musk, Announcing Free Worldwide Delivery | Elon Musk has announced that Tesla has received FDA approval for its ventilators. Musk plans to offer ventilators worldwide at no cost, including shipping. The ventilators will be shipped within Tesla delivery regions as long as they will be used immediately. It is unknown how many ventilators Tesla will be able to offer or how it will assign priority to requests. Governments have asked aerospace companies and automakers around the world to manufacture ventilators and other medical equipment to fight the coronavirus outbreak. Ford will be producing 50,000 ventilators in the next 100 days and then 30,000 per month as needed for coronavirus patient treatment. Musk donated 1,200 ventilators to Californian hospitals last week. | 4Miscellaneous
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bentoctl (GitHub Repo) | bentoctl is a command-line tool built on top of BentoML for deploying machine-learning models to cloud platforms. It supports major cloud providers like AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. bentoctl is optimized for CI/CD workflow and it is extensible with custom operators. A list of supported cloud platforms is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Gifrun (Website) | Create high-quality GIFs without watermarks from almost any video hosting platform. Users can search for videos through YouTube or paste a link to be converted. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple’s Prime equivalent “Apple One” will launch in October | Apple One is Apple's all-in-one subscription bundle that will launch in October alongside the company's new 2020 lineup of iPhones. It will be part of iOS 14, though it isn't available in the iOS 14 beta. There will be multiple tiers, with Apple's new workout video subscription service landing in the highest-end tier. The bundles will be geared towards families and will integrate with existing Family Sharing features. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Facebook’s dating app will let you list your secret crushes | Facebook’s new dating app, which is currently only in a testing phase in a few select countries, has a new feature which will let users list up to nine ‘secret crushes’ from their friends list. If one of their friends also lists them as a secret crush, Facebook will send a notification to both users and match them. Facebook Dating usually avoids listing friends as potential matches. While there seems to be no method of monetization during its testing phase, there is big money in the dating app marketplace. Analysts predict that the dating app industry could be worth $12 billion by 2020. The Match Group, who owns Tinder, OkCupid, Match.com, and many other dating sites, brought in $1.7 billion last year from memberships, advertising, and premium features. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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SpaceX flies its Starship rocket to 40,000 feet, just misses the landing in explosive finale | SpaceX's Starship prototype SN8 achieved a major milestone by flying to a height of around 40,000 feet. After reaching its peak, the Starship oriented into a horizontal position to glide back to Earth. Its engines re-ignited as the rocket approached the ground, reorienting itself to a vertical orientation for the descent. The landing was a little rough, resulting in an explosion that engulfed the rocket. Despite this, the test was deemed successful, as the test flight resulted in a ton of valuable data for SpaceX. SpaceX already has two more prototypes ready to go for follow-up tests. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Ask HN: How can I quickly trim my AWS bill? (Hacker News Thread) | As a company grows, so does its costs, especially when they involve several GPU-intensive ML models. One strategy to reduce costs by up to 90% is by using spot instances. Companies do not always need to use GPU instances and it is worth experimenting with other systems. Optimizing the model itself can also bring significant cost reductions, even if each change is only slightly more efficient. Alternatively, investing in owning the server equipment itself can lead to huge savings over time. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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First US Space Force recruitment video wants you to find your purpose off the planet | The US Space Force has posted its first recruitment video on Twitter. The video features rockets, mission control-type rooms, and US Space Force members in spacesuits. Established in 2019, the US Space Force will be operational by mid-2021. Its responsibilities include developing military space professionals, acquiring military space systems, and maturing the military doctrine for space power. There has been an avalanche of applicants. A link to the video is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Git Alias (GitHub Repo) | GitAlias is a collection of git version control alias settings with short aliases such as s for status, command aliases such as chart and churn, and lookup aliases such as whois and whatis. This repository contains a collection of GitAlias commands, sorted into sections such as workflow aliases, tooling aliases, and convenience aliases. An index of all the aliases in alphabetical order is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Spark Learning Guide (GitHub Repo) | Apache Spark is a cluster computing platform that can schedule, distribute, and monitor applications across many worker machines or a computing cluster. This repository contains a comprehensive guide on Spark with information gathered from multiple sources. It can be used as a guide to learn Spark or as reference material. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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What Chimpanzees Know About Giving Medicine | The chimpanzees of the Rekambo community in Gabon, West Africa, have been observed applying insects to their open wounds and the wounds of other community members. No other animal, apart from humans, has ever been seen treating the wounds of others. Self-medication with plant material is common, but the use of insects to treat wounds is unique. It is unknown which insects were used, or whether the treatment is effective. The behavior may be evidence that chimpanzees can display prosocial behaviors. | 4Miscellaneous
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Airbus reveals hydrogen ‘plane pods’ concept | Airbus is developing a hydrogen-fueled airliner to potentially unlock the prospect of zero-emission air travel by 2035. It has revealed three concept aircraft: a propeller-driven regional aircraft, a short-to-medium-haul airliner, and a radical ‘blended-wing’ aircraft. The company will continue to create concepts, choosing one of the concepts to focus on by 2025. One of the concepts uses a pod configuration, with pods that contain everything needed to lift the aircraft. The pods are designed so that they can be assembled, installed, removed, and disassembled quickly to provide an elegant solution to refueling issues. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tesla Model Y SUV will be unveiled March 14th | Tesla will unveil its Model Y SUV at their LA design studio on Sunday. The SUV will share 75% of its parts with the Model 3 and will be about 10% bigger and 10% more expensive, with a slightly smaller range. Test rides will be available on the day, suggesting that there will be a few pre-production prototypes present at the event. Further details have not been released, except for a black and white silhouette image of the Model Y and a statement that it won’t have the “Falcon Wing” doors that the Model X has. Elon Musk has also announced that their new Supercharger 3 electric car charging station will be revealed later this week, with a charging rate of 350 kW or more. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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CRISPR Study Is First to Change DNA in Participants | Researchers from the OHSU Casey Eye Institute have broken new ground in science by altering DNA in a living human. The procedure, based on CRISPR technology, is designed to repair mutations in a gene that causes retinal dystrophy. Abnormal DNA is removed from the cells with the mutation, offering sight to people with a form of previously untreatable blindness. The technique could lead to the development of procedures that can help to correct other genetic disorders. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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k6 (GitHub Repo) | k6 is a modern load testing tool that provides a clean scripting API, local and cloud execution, and flexible configuration. A GIF demo is available. k6 features scripting in ES6 JS, TLS, flexible metrics storage and visualization, and more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple added a secret button to your iPhone, and you may not have even noticed | Apple implemented a feature called Back Tap in the iOS 14 release that adds a new hardware button to the iPhone. Back Tap turns the entire back of the iPhone into a touch-sensitive button that can trigger specific functions. Its settings can be modified inside the Accessibility menu. Back Tap can be integrated with Shortcuts, so it can do almost anything you can imagine. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Ethereal Tower with 99 Floating Islands Designed For Shenzhen, China | Sou Fujimoto Architects' submission for the New City Center Landmark competition is a massive floating tower designed for the bay of Shenzhen's Qianhaiwan district. The proposed tower is made up of a collection of towers joined together and stands at 880-feet tall. It will be mostly made of steel, carbon fiber, Kevlar Rope, and concrete. The core will be kept together using outlying tension cables made to resemble water flowing down to the bay. Pictures of the design are available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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A floating city in the Maldives begins to take shape | Property developer Dutch Docklands and the Government of the Maldives are building a floating city in the Indian Ocean. Just 10 minutes by boat from the Maldivian capital, the city will be big enough to house 20,000 people. It will have 5,000 floating units including houses, restaurants, shops, and schools. Residents will start moving into the city in early 2024. Almost the entire country could be submerged by the end of the century due to climate change. | 4Miscellaneous
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Human 'microevolution' sees more people born without wisdom teeth and an extra artery | Australian researchers have concluded that humans are still evolving and have changed quickly over the last 250 years. The study was carried out by tracking the rate of retainment of different body parts throughout generations. It found that more people now have an extra artery that increases blood supply to the hands, smaller jaws, and extra bones in their legs and feet. | 4Miscellaneous
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Google app 10.61 preps ‘Smart Screenshots’ with Lens | The latest beta of the Google app has a new 'Smart Screenshots' feature, bookmarking for Google Podcasts, a tutorial on how to launch Assistant with gesture navigation, the ability to switch between keyboard and voice for assistant preferred input, and face unlock for verifying assistant payments. Smart Screenshots allows users to search screenshots with Google Lens. Lens integration has been implemented in many Google apps, like Chrome. Users will have to sign up for Google app's beta program to install the app. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Iran says 'smart satellite-controlled machine gun' killed top nuclear scientist | According to Iranian authorities, last month's killing of Iran's top nuclear scientist was carried out remotely by Israel with artificial intelligence and a machine gun equipped with a satellite-controlled smart system. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the killing. The killing has exposed security gaps and the Islamic Republic may be vulnerable to further attacks. 13 shots were fired at the scientist. However, his wife was uninjured, despite sitting only 25 centimeters away. Five Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed inside Iran in targeted attacks since 2010. | 4Miscellaneous
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Nebullvm (GitHub Repo) | Nebullvm is a library that creates optimized versions of AI models that can run up to 20 times faster. It identifies the best way to execute models on specific hardware without impacting the accuracy of the model. The library allows developers to benefit from deep learning compilers without having to spend time installing, testing, and debugging. Benchmark results are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Facebook buys game studio BigBox VR | Facebook has acquired BigBox VR, the game studio that made Population: One, a popular Fortnite adaptation in virtual reality. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Many of the developers from Oculus Studios are still building titles for Valve's Steam store, but non-Facebook VR platforms seem to be shrinking. The Oculus Quest 2 has outsold all of Facebook's previous devices combined in its first few months. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Spotify wants to know where you live and will be checking in | Spotify will start collecting user addresses in an effort to detect fraud and abuse of its Premium Family program. Priced at $15 a month, Spotify's Premium Family plan allows up to six users to share one account, as long as they all live at the same address. In August, Spotify updated its terms and conditions to require location data from Premium Family subscribers. Spotify had tested collecting GPS data from customers previously, but customers complained. Experts are concerned about how Spotify will access and handle location information, as location data can be very sensitive private information. Spotify claims that it only uses location information for verification. The data is encrypted and can be edited by the plan owner as needed. It is unknown how often Spotify will be checking users' locations. | 4Miscellaneous
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How Flat Earthers Nearly Derailed a Space Photo Book | A photographer, Benedict Redgrove, started a passion project to photograph space artifacts for a self-published book and exhibit, even getting NASA's permission and help after nearly five years. Redgrove required additional funding for the project, so he placed a series of ads on Facebook and Instagram in order to promote his Kickstarter campaign. Soon after the ads were accepted, they were flagged and removed by an algorithm. Despite attempting to filter out conspiracy theorists, lunar landing deniers, and flat earthers, the ad received many comments and reactions from these groups, causing the algorithm to flag his advertisements as misleading and resulting in high negative feedback. Facebook has acknowledged that the ads had been officially approved, but declined to comment on what had gone wrong. | 4Miscellaneous
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See the $135 million underwater lab designed by Fabien Cousteau and Yves Béhar | Proteus is the name of an underwater lab that ocean researcher Fabien Cousteau wants to construct so researchers can come from across the globe to study the ocean for long periods at a time. At sixty feet underwater, the challenge of building an underwater lab is similar to the challenge of crafting the International Space Station. The project is estimated to cost $135 million, but Cousteau argues that the lab would provide valuable data that would be otherwise impossible with land-based ocean research. Renders of Cousteau's vision for Proteus are available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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What interesting bugs have you fixed recently? (Lobste.rs Thread) | Some bugs can be hard to figure out, especially because the problem might not be where you think it should be. Many things can go wrong during testing, for example, developers might forget to swap out testing and production data sets. Small bugs in the early stages of processing may cause bigger problems down the line. Users might also provide inputs that developers never expected. Software engineering and other kinds of engineering follow similar troubleshooting processes. One needs to reproduce the problem, isolate every possible thing that can go wrong, check each issue one by one, and sometimes, get a little lucky. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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The First Human Images by the World's First Total-body Scanner Are Here | Researchers at UC Davis have created a medical imaging scanner called EXPLORER, which captures 3D pictures/videos of the entire human body. It's 40 times faster than a PET scan and uses 40 times less radiation. You can rotate them around and see all of the organs inside. There's a 10-second video inside that shows a sample scan, it's actually pretty incredible. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Lumen (GitHub Repo) | Lumen is a compiler and runtime for BEAM languages. Instead of using a virtual machine that operates on bytecode, it compiles the code so it can be run natively as a static executable. Compatible platforms can run BEAM applications with no extra tools or special considerations during builds. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple says apps must offer a way to delete your account starting in early 2022 | Apple has announced a requirement for developers who let users create accounts on their apps to have to offer people a way to delete their accounts in apps too. Developers will have until January 31 to include the option. The rules only require developers to allow users to initiate deletion of their accounts, so apps can still direct users to a website or chat before users can actually close their accounts. App Store pages on the newest Apple platforms in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US now have a Report a Problem button for reporting app issues directly to Apple. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Arbitrary image stylization using TensorFlow.js (Open Source) | Okay, this is an incredibly cool open source tool that lets you select or upload a picture, then turn it into a certain style of image in the click of a button using deep learning (for example you can turn a picture of yourself into an oil painting). The full TensorFlow code is included in the linked Github Repo. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Brain implant allows mind control of computers in first human trials | The Stentrode device is an implant that has the potential to treat a wide range of neurological conditions using electrical stimulation. It is implanted through a keyhole incision in the neck, where it can monitor electrical signals coming from the brain and also stimulate brain regions that correspond with particular muscle movements. In its first human trials, the Stentrode brought about significant quality-of-life improvements for two Australian men living with motor neurone disease. A two-minute video showing one of the patients talking about their experience with the Stentrode is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Background Matting (GitHub Repo) | Background Matting is a project that uses deep learning to turn any background into a green screen with just a handheld camera. It requires an additional photo of the background without the subject at the time of capture. Example videos and images are available. There is a 5 minute video comparing this method with other matting methods. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple becomes first U.S. company to reach $3 trillion market cap | Apple hit a market cap of $3 trillion during intraday trading on Monday. It was the first publicly traded US company to hit a $1 trillion market cap in 2018. Apple showed annual growth across all of its product categories in its fourth-quarter earnings. Investors remain bullish, with many predicting more growth in the near future. Apple's peers aren't far behind, with Microsoft worth about $2.5 trillion, Google about $2 trillion, and Amazon around $1.75 trillion. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Gmail can schedule messages to send them at a better time | Gmail is now 15 years old, and the email service has learned new tricks for its birthday. Users can now delay sending emails and schedule them for better times. Another new feature is called Smart Compose, and it uses AI to recognize your usual greetings and predict email body text. While Smart Compose has been rolling out since March, Google has now confirmed it is now available for all Android devices and that it works in English, French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish. iOS support is coming soon. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Motorola returns to flagship phones with the Edge Plus | Motorola has revealed its new Edge Plus flagship phone at $999. It features a 6.7-inch FHD+ OLED panel, a Snapdragon 865 processor, 5G support, a 90Hz refresh rate, 12GB RAM, 256GB internal storage, a 5,000mAh battery, and a headphone jack. The Edge Plus has a triple rear camera system with a 108-megapixel sensor and other advanced camera features. A regular Motorola Edge will also be released with the same base design but with lower specs. The Edge Plus will be exclusive to Verizon in the US for its entire lifespan. The regular Motorola Edge will be sold more broadly but will be released later in the year. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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101 GitHub Repos - Absolute List Of Useful Repos (12 minute read) | This page contains a list of 101 GitHub repos that could be useful or interesting. The list is presented without categories and in no particular order. It covers a range of topics, with a slight bias towards JavaScript. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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HTTP/3 is Fast | HTTP/3 is here and it provides major improvements to web performance. It uses a new transport protocol called QUIC that allows clients to create a series of stateful streams over UDP. This article provides an explanation of the new protocol along with benchmark results comparing site load speeds in various countries. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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MalwareSourceCode (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains a collection of malware source code for a variety of platforms in an array of different programming languages. Malware samples are available for download. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Wasmino = WASM + Arduino | Wasmino is an Arduino core that can compile your Arduino sketch to WebAssembly and run it in a browser. It has only been tested on Windows and Linux, but it will probably work for macOS. A 64-bit system is required due to some of its dependencies. The Arduino IDE is required. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Having ‘Null’ as a license plate is about as much of a nightmare as you’d expect | Joseph Tartaro, a security researcher, registered a personalized number plate back in 2016 with the word 'Null'. In 2018, he paid a $35 fine, which associated his details to the value in the database. In programming 'Null' is a special text string that tells the system that a value is empty or undefined. After his details were associated with the value, he started to receive every fine where traffic cops didn't enter a license number when writing a ticket. The DMV voided these tickets once Tartaro reported them. However, the tickets continue to be issued to his name. He is unable to renew his license until all fines are paid and changing his numberplate may look like he is avoiding existing tickets, which may cause more problems. | 4Miscellaneous
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Amazon drivers are reportedly competing against each other to snag new orders by hanging smartphones in trees outside Whole Foods stores | Amazon contract drivers are hanging phones on trees outside Amazon delivery stations and Whole Foods stores to get first dibs on accepting new orders. According to the drivers, Amazon's system chooses drivers based on who is closest to the pickup location. Competition has increased in the gig economy due to a steep drop in business. Drivers have complained to Amazon, but Amazon says that the system doesn't work in the way that the drivers had described and that waiting closer to the pickup location wouldn't increase one's chances of receiving an order. | 4Miscellaneous
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First hands on the new Twitter API | Twitter has released version 2 of its API, promoting its support for bot developers, businesses, academic researchers, students, and makers. The developer portal has been fully rebranded, with a design that is more welcoming for newcomers. It still uses OAuth 1.0a for authentication and is mostly a REST API. Applications have a quota of 500,000 tweets per month. Only six endpoints are currently available, but there are still many features on the roadmap. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Scientists reactivate cells from 28,000-year-old woolly mammoth | A team of Japanese and Russian scientists have ‘reawakened’ cells from a 28,000-year-old wooly mammoth nicknamed 'Yuka’. Nucleus-like structures were taken from Yuka and implanted into mouse oocytes, and then these cells were observed using live-cell imaging techniques. Traces of biological activity were observed, and while the cells were not able to divide, scientists were able to induce the cells to undergo spindle assembly, an activity that proceeds cell division. While scientists are still very far away from cloning a woolly mammoth, the study marks a significant step in bringing mammoths back from the dead. There is an 11 second video available showing the cell activity. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Simplenetes (GitHub Repo) | Simplenetes is a simplified version of Kubernetes that has fewer moving parts. It supports multiple replicas of pods, load-balancers, internal proxies, CI/CD pipelines, Letsencrypt certificates, health checks, and more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Google Brain, Intel, and UC Berkeley train robotic surgery AI with videos | Motion2Vec is an AI model created by researchers from Google Brain, Intel AI Lab, and UC Berkeley that is capable of learning how to do robotic surgery. It was trained with surgery videos from John Hopkins University and Intuitive Surgery, Inc. A two-minute video is available in the article that contains an overview of Motion2Vec as well as a demonstration of the model performing a suture. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Google has enlisted NASA to help it prove quantum supremacy within months | Quantum supremacy is the idea that a sufficiently powerful quantum computer will be able to perform certain calculations that current supercomputers can't. Proving it could eventually lead to breaking currently unbreakable codes, enhancing AI, improving weather forecasts, and modeling complex molecular interactions. Google's quantum computing head, physicist John Martinis, believes that Google's new 72-qubit quantum chip Bristlecone will be capable of achieving quantum supremacy. Google is partnering with NASA to test this out, pitting Bristlecone against NASA's most powerful supercomputer Pleiades. Google and NASA signed a five year partnership in July that will give NASA access to Google's quantum computing resources over the next five years in exchange for helping test and improve Google's quantum computers, and running comparisons against traditional supercomputers. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Call for retraction of 400 scientific papers amid fears organs came from Chinese prisoners | An investigation into organ studies from China has resulted in over 400 scientific papers identified as non-compliant with the ethical standards required by medical journals. Organ transplants used in these studies may not have been consented to by the donors. There are large discrepancies in the rate of transplants between official government statistics (10,000 transplants per year) and hospital statistics (60,000-100,000 transplants a year). These discrepancies may be due to organ harvesting from executed prisoners. | 4Miscellaneous
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EU Approves Landmark Legislation to Regulate Apple and Other Big Tech Firms | The rules will target 'gatekeepers', large companies that own platforms with large numbers of users in an entrenched and durable position. | 4Miscellaneous
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Hactivists say they hacked Belarus rail system to stop Russian military buildup | A group of hacktivists called the Cyber Partisans have infected the network of Belarus' state-run railroad system with ransomware. The group will return Belarus Railway's systems to normal if the government releases 50 political prisoners and promises to prevent Russian troops from entering Belarus to use its ground for the attacks on Ukraine. Russia has been sending military equipment and personnel into Belarus using rail. The hack has disrupted ticketing, scheduling, and freight trains. Screenshots from Belarus Railway's private network are available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Dura (GitHub Repo) | Dura snapshots changes in a repository automatically so that developers can revert their code back to any time. It is a background process and will watch for changes every five seconds or so. Dura is still in the prototype phase, so there may be stability issues. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple’s new M1 Max MacBook Pro may get a virtual turbo button for High Power Mode | The upcoming macOS Monterey will feature a High Power Mode in the new 16-inch M1 Max MacBook Pros. High Power Mode will optimize performance to better support resource-intensive tasks. The feature will not work with any other M1 devices, even though the 14-inch MacBook Pro can use the same chip. It is unknown whether the feature will unlock additional performance or if it is required for the kind of results that Apple has claimed. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Apple promises ‘white glove experiences’ for its most helpful community members | Apple is rewarding the most active and helpful members of its support forums with its New Community Plus program, which will offer members access to exclusive perks and experiences. Only a small group of people will be added to the program every year. There aren't many details about what the Community Plus program will give members. The program could be similar to Microsoft's Most Valuable Professional award program, which has rewarded its members with trips, subscriptions, and free training materials. | 4Miscellaneous
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Apple's Tim Cook makes blistering attack on the 'data industrial complex' | Without naming any names, Tim Cook warned that our personal data has been "weaponized against us with military efficiency" by the "data-industrial complex". He explicitly called for federal regulation, saying that Apple would fully support "comprehensive, federal privacy law." He argues for a four pronged approach: data minimization (companies should de-personalize or simply not collect personal data wherever possible), transparency (users should know what is being collected), right to access (users should always be able to get a copy of what data a company has on them), and right to security. Cook also addressed the tension between respecting privacy and getting the data needed to improve AI, saying "For artificial intelligence to be truly smart it must respect human values — including privacy. If we get this wrong, the dangers are profound. We can achieve both great artificial intelligence and great privacy standards. It is not only a possibility — it is a responsibility." | 1Big Tech & Startups
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ImHex (GitHub Repo) | ImHex is a Hex editor for people who value their eyesight. It features byte patching, patch management, string search, data importing and exporting, a disassembler that supports many architectures, and much more. Screenshots are available in the repository. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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MiDispositivoMIDI V3 (GitHub Repo) | MiDispositivoMIDI is an open source MIDI controller based on Arduino, created by BanaNut Electronics. As it works with the well-known MIDI protocol, it can be plugged into any digital audio workstation and work without additional software. The code is fully customizable, and users can build the device from scratch using the schematics and code that is available on the repository. Fully built devices are also available for purchase. The device has a modular design, so users can expand the number of buttons on the device by attaching additional units without much modification to the code. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Amazon drivers may soon build the furniture you purchase | Amazon is considering adding a new service that would have drivers build the furniture that they deliver. It will introduce the service in Virginia and at least two other markets. Most other companies in the furniture business already offer building services. Amazon has already been criticized for its labor practices, and the new service would add more labor to complete an already difficult job. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Pinterest has a new CEO, who has one job: to build the internet’s shopping mall | Pinterest's new CEO Bill Ready will help the platform develop into a place for users to shop brands from around the web. Ready has a track record of being ahead of the game in e-commerce. Pinterest has hundreds of millions of users but it isn't growing fast or making much money. It could be a major player in digital commerce. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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How do painkillers kill pain? It’s about meeting the pain where it’s at | There are multiple pathways that signal pain and there is redundancy to these pathways. | 4Miscellaneous
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The Oculus Quest is getting controller-free hand tracking this week | Native hand tracking will be rolling out to the Oculus Quest starting this week. It will be available as an experimental feature in software version v12. There won't be much support for hand tracking at launch, with only the Library, Store, Browser, and TV apps supported for now. A developer toolset for hand tracking will be released to app makers next week. Oculus developed hand tracking using new techniques in deep learning and model-based tracking and it can perform more precise and realistic tracking of individual movements compared to using Touch controllers. The feature opens the door for the next wave of games and apps that will be able to support hand and fine-tuned finger gestures, as well as provide Oculus a running start against competing VR platforms that still rely on controllers. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Apple is putting iTunes on Samsung TVs | Apple is partnering with Samsung to allow Samsung's 2018 and 2019 TVs to access and play your iTunes movie and TV library directly. The new iTunes Movies and TV Shows app is the first time Apple has allowed third party devices outside of Windows to access iTunes. AirPlay 2 will also allow videos, photos, music, and podcasts to be streamed from Apple devices directly to Samsung TVs. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Subsets and Splits