[User] Zoom will remove time limits for family meetings during Thanksgiving for all of its users. Normally, video conferences are limited to 40 minutes unless users pay a $15 per month fee. The limit will lift from midnight ET on November 26 through to 6 am ET on November 27. Zoom now services 300 million daily video meetings and the company estimates it will do 3 trillion video meeting minutes this year.

[Assistant] Zoom Thanksgiving gift: Company announces no time limits on family video get-togethers for holiday


[User] Framework has released a new version of its ultra-repairable, upgradeable laptop. It features a 12th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 chip, a more rigid top cover, and Wi-Fi 6E support. The new laptop's parts are completely backward-compatible with first-generation devices. Customers who purchased the first version of the laptop can upgrade their device without having to buy a new one.

[Assistant] Framework’s new laptop means the promise of modular gadgets might be coming true


[User] Tesla has unveiled its long-rumored refresh for its Model S sedan. It has a new front bumper, a tweaked rear diffuser, and new 19- and 21-inch wheel designs. The exterior trim is now finished black, but the paint color palette remains the same. It has a new steering wheel that looks like something out of a Star Wars movie, with the turn signals, lights, and other features being controlled by touch buttons. The interior features a large 17-inch central screen, which is basically a gaming computer with 10 teraflops of processing power. More details, along with images of the vehicle, are available in the article.

[Assistant] Tesla Model S refreshed with a radically redesigned interior and 520-mile range


[User] Oxipit has received regulatory clearance in the EU for its artificial intelligence tool that can read chest X-rays without oversight from a radiologist. ChestLink scans chest X-rays and sends scans with potential problems to radiologists for review. The EU certification only signals that the tool meets safety standards. Oxipit plans to obtain FDA clearance in the US, which will require the company to prove its effectiveness as well.

[Assistant] First autonomous X-ray-analyzing AI is cleared in the EU


[User] Netflix has suddenly discontinued AirPlay support with little explanation. Apple has partnered with most of the major TV brands to allow AirPlay 2 to send video directly to TVs without an Apple TV, and Netflix claims that it can’t deliver its service due to restrictions in the AirPlay 2 software stopping Netflix from identifying the type of TV it would be displayed on. Netflix denied that this was a business competition play against Apple. They have also recently declined to be part of Apple TV+, preferring to stay a competitor.

[Assistant] Netflix confirms it killed AirPlay support, won’t let you beam shows to Apple TVs anymore


[User] A one-minute video from an Israeli startup shows electric vehicles that are basically just giant skateboards. Any sort of seating or storage arrangement can be installed onto the flat base to create almost any form imaginable. Traditional car manufacturing fixes a vehicle's floor plan from its earliest moments on the assembly line, whereas these vehicles can be altered at any time. The video is available in the article.

[Assistant] Car design is about to change forever. This video encapsulates how


[User] This Twitter thread links to a video that shows how Nvidia Canvas creates landscapes with AI brushes.

[Assistant] If DALL-E doesn’t draw exactly what you want, you can draw it yourself with AI brushes


[User] Workers in China are often illegally forced to work long hours. 996.ICU refers to the 9 am to 9 pm, six days a week work schedule which causes workers to end up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Microsoft and GitHub workers have released a public statement in this repository regarding their support for the 996.ICU movement, which is already being censored by companies like Tencent and Alibaba. People can support the 996.ICU movement by going to the original repository and ‘starring’ it.

[Assistant] Microsoft and GitHub Workers Support 996.ICU


[User] This Twitter thread highlights some of the features of Rust 1.63.0.

[Assistant] Just moments ago, @rustlang 1.63.0 was released!


[User] re:Post is a new community-driven question and answer service designed to help AWS customers remove technical roadblocks. The service replaces the original AWS Forums. Community members can earn reputation points by providing accepted answers and reviewing answers from other users. Content on re:Post can be accessed without signing in, but a profile will be required for posting and interacting with others.

[Assistant] AWS launches re:Post, a new community-driven Q&A service


[User] Spotify Greenroom is now available on iOS and Android in 135 markets around the world. Greenroom is an app that allows users to join or host live audio rooms. It features a live text chat that the host can turn on or off at any time. Hosts can save sessions and edit them to become podcasts. The app is based on Locker Room, a sports-focused audio app that Spotify acquired in March. Live audio sessions will be recorded by Spotify as part of a moderation process. There are plans for monetization options for creators in the future.

[Assistant] Spotify launches its live audio app and Clubhouse rival, Spotify Greenroom


[User] Apple hit a 23% market share in China in Q4, 2021, thanks to the success of the iPhone 13. The new iPhone was a success due to its lower starting price at its release, its camera, and 5G features. Apple's main competitor, Huawei, has experienced declining sales due to ongoing US sanctions. The Chinese smartphone market as a whole shrank for 2021, continuing its downward trend for the fourth consecutive year.

[Assistant] iPhone took top slot in China in holiday quarter, with highest ever market share


[User] notebookJS is a Python library that enables the integration of Python and JavaScript with a single line of code. It takes care of all the boilerplate code for visualization in notebooks, automatically loads JavaScript libraries from the web, and supports code split in multiple JS and CSS files. notebookJS currently does not support JavaScript ES6 modules.

[Assistant] Introducing notebookJS


[User] A lab-created microbe with fully redesigned DNA was created by scientists in Cambridge. The modified Escherichia coli (E coli) bacteria contained a genetic code that had been trimmed by scientists to remove superfluous information. More than 18,000 edits were made to the genetic code, resulting in a bacteria that was longer and grew more slowly than normal. This research could pave the way to create more virus-resistant organisms. Bacteria such as E coli are used to create medicines such as insulin, and entire production lines are wiped out if a virus is somehow introduced to the environment.

[Assistant] Cambridge scientists create world’s first living organism with fully redesigned DNA


[User] 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.

[Assistant] Hactivists say they hacked Belarus rail system to stop Russian military buildup


[User] Electric Vehicle charging is a hassle, causing one-fifth of all EV buyers to go back to gas vehicles. Researchers at Cornell University have developed a technology that can charge vehicles on the road while in motion. The technology can be installed on highways, creating charging lanes so that there would be no need to stop to charge or fuel up. It will be a while before the technology will be seen on roads, if ever. Toyota is working with the research team to use the system to charge electric forklifts.

[Assistant] Researchers Have Developed A Way To Wirelessly Charge Vehicles On The Road


[User] Baidu has released its first quantum computer, Qian Shi, and an all-platform quantum hardware-software integration solution, Liang Xi. Qian Shi can integrate hardware, software, and many applications. It offers a stable quantum computing service to the public with 10 qubits of power. Liang Xi provides access to various quantum chips via mobile app, PC, and cloud. It will allow users to create quantum algorithms and use quantum computing power without developing their own quantum technology.

[Assistant] Quantum computing on smartphones: Baidu's new release opens a new era


[User] This tutorial is a walkthrough of an experiment where an IoT advocate pushed time series data to InfluxDB with a MQTT publisher and Kafka producer to understand the core mechanics behind each.Learn how he did it and which solution he found more powerful.

[Assistant] MQTT vs Kafka to build an IoT architecture


[User] With over 20 million downloads, Directus is the world's first Open Data Platform for instantly turning any SQL database into an API and beautiful no-code app. Recently introduced Flows make it fast and easy to add custom event-driven data processing and workflow automation. Try Directus for free with your GitHub account

[Assistant] SQL database ⇒ API ⇒ No-code app, with open-source Directus


[User] Loon is a company owned by Alphabet which makes high-altitude balloons that can provide mobile internet. The company has signed a commercial agreement with Internet Para Todos Perú to provide internet to parts of the Amazon rainforest starting in 2020. It will initially provide service to an area where nearly 200,000 people live. Peru will be the first country in Latin America to use high-altitude balloons to provide internet connectivity on a sustained, non-emergency basis. Loon has two other commercial contracts, one with Telkom Kenya and one with Telesat, a Canadian satellite company.

[Assistant] Alphabet’s Loon balloons will provide internet to remote parts of the Amazon next year


[User] Researchers at DeepMind and the CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security have proposed an AI system capable of reverse-engineering the black-box functions of programs written in Karel. Karel was chosen as it uses structures that make reverse-engineering applications more difficult. Given access only to the inputs and outputs of an application, the system was able to eventually create a functionally equivalent copy of the original program with a 78% success rate.

[Assistant] Researchers propose AI system that reverse-engineers black box apps


[User] The problem affects Model 3s built between 2017 and 2022, Model Ys built between 2020 and 2021, and Models S and X built between 2021 and 2022.

[Assistant] Tesla issues recall for 1.1 million EVs due to power window problem


[User] Beta test the new HLS Live Stream Latency metric in Mux Data for free! Understand the live streaming experience, and find opportunities to improve. Learn more.

[Assistant] How live is your stream? Measure latency at scale with Mux Data


[User] From Clubhouse to Robinhood, industry-leading companies use Transcend to automate their privacy requests fulfillment, enforce consent across LDU, GPC and other Do Not Sell signals, and power a living data map. Privacy at the data layer, made easy. Learn more.

[Assistant] See how top tech companies automate their privacy


[User] GitHub code scanning is a GitHub-native approach to find security vulnerabilities before they reach production. The feature has been in testing since May and is now generally available. It integrates with GitHub Actions or your existing CI/CD environment to maximize flexibility for your team. Code is scanned as it is created, ensuring vulnerabilities never make it to production in the first place. Code scanning is powered by CodeQL and it is built on the open SARIF standard so developers can extend its functionality. It is free for public repositories now, and available through Advanced Security for GitHub Enterprise customers.

[Assistant] Code scanning is now available


[User] The Crypto Theses is a report that covers key trends, people, companies, and projects to watch across the crypto landscape, with predictions for 2022. It includes sections on Bitcoin, American crypto policy, market infrastructure, NFTs, Web 3, DeFi, DAOs, Ethereum, and more. The report was created by employees of Messari, a crypto market intelligence platform that provides data and research products and services.

[Assistant] Crypto Theses for 2022


[User] Group Session is a new feature on Spotify that will allow two or more Premium users in the same space to share control over the music being played. Participants will be able to control what is playing and also contribute to a collaborative playlist for the group. Spotify already offers the ability to build collaborative playlists with friends and Premium Family plan members have a personalized playlist called Family Mix. However, neither of these features allows users to collaborate in real-time, unlike Group Session. The feature will be available soon to all Premium users worldwide.

[Assistant] Spotify officially launches a shared-queue feature called Group Session


[User] Swift Algorithms is a package of sequence and collection algorithms along with their related types. It features combinations/permutations, mutating algorithms, combining collections, subsetting operations, and other useful operations.

[Assistant] Swift Algorithms


[User] This website provides near real-time satellite images. Users can adjust the time, search for locations, and view recent images of storms, wildfires, property, and more. The data is gathered from a variety of international sources.

[Assistant] Zoom Earth


[User] Gaming is no longer just a hobby. Games can be used to learn to sharpen skills in a more entertaining way. This article contains 10 coding games that can help you level up your programming skills. The games cover various programming languages and there is even a game that helps you learn VIM.

[Assistant] 10 Best Coding Games to Advance Your Programming Skills


[User] Google Lens now lets users ask questions about photos. Multisearch allows users to start searches with an image and then add text to modify the search. While the tool can perform many types of searches, its best results are for shopping queries. Google Lens multisearch is now available in beta for users in the US on Android and iOS.

[Assistant] Google Lens 'multisearch' lets you ask questions about photos, now in beta on Android and iOS


[User] Yik Yak, an anonymous messaging app that was shut down in 2017, is back in the iOS App Store for people in the US. The app lets people connect with others anonymously within a five-mile radius. It doesn't allow users to post personal information or engage in antisocial behaviors. There were previous reports of widespread bullying and harassment on the app, which the developers seemed to be aware of. Square bought some of the app's intellectual property after it shut down in 2017, but it is not yet clear who is behind the new version.

[Assistant] Anonymous chat app Yik Yak is back from the dead


[User] The Spring Native beta is now available. It supports compiling Spring applications into native images. Spring applications can now be deployed as a standalone executable without needing a JVM installation.

[Assistant] Announcing Spring Native Beta!


[User] The final text for the EU's Copyright Directive has been completed and will be voted on sometime in March or April. There had been disputes over the wording of the directive, specifically in Articles 11 and 13, which define the controversial ‘link tax’ and ‘upload filter’. Under the directive, content distributors such as YouTube are required to proactively scan user content for copyright infringement, and content aggregators may be liable for charges and fees if they reprint content from the original articles.

[Assistant] After a brief rebellion, the EU link tax and upload filter will move to a final vote


[User] Kids are growing up alongside social media, and some are just finding out how much of their lives are already on the internet. Parents have been sharing their kids lives on the internet since social media has existed, and the effects of that are now being revealed. Many teens are discovering that their entire lives have already been documented on the internet, without consent, when they google themselves. This has caused mixed reactions, with some teenagers feeling that it was a breach of trust with their parents, while others are pleased with the fact that they are ‘famous’ on the internet.

[Assistant] When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online


[User] Israel's Defense Ministry has created a laser that can intercept rockets and antitank guided missiles. It is based on a precision laser beam that can be focused on long-range targets and overcome atmospheric disturbances such as clouds and dust storms. Several high-energy electric laser beams are connected into one strong beam using an advanced algorithm. High-energy lasers are able to be used continually at a low cost. The weapon can be used as long as there is electricity. Israel's Defense Ministry has launched three programs that will use the laser system on the ground, on a maneuverable platform-mounted system, and in the air. There will be several trials of the weapon throughout the year, and if it is effective, it will be deployed to the Gaza border area.

[Assistant] Israel unveils breakthrough laser to intercept missiles, aerial threats


[User] Proteus is a new non-cuttable material created from ceramic spheres arranged in a cellular aluminum structure. With only 15% steel density, Proteus can resist cutting tools such as angle grinders or drills. Its design was inspired by grapefruit skin and mollusk shells. The material is designed to be harder to cut when damaged. It is equally effective against water jet cutters.

[Assistant] First 'Non-Cuttable' Material in the World: Proteus


[User] Many ships have wrecked along the Thunder Bay, off Michigan's northeastern coast, and some of these ships are still intact, despite being underwater for a long time. Divers flock to Shipwreck Alley each year, and last spring, they were joined by an autonomous boat named BEN. BEN was developed by researchers to make underwater maps. Mapping the ocean requires the use of boats, which usually means maintaining a crew, so our oceans have largely remained unmapped. An autonomous ship would be able to cheaply and efficiently collect data compared to a crewed vessel. BEN is equipped with sonar, radar, cameras, LIDAR, and GPS systems.

[Assistant] The drone boat of ‘Shipwreck Alley’


[User] Clocking into work every day can result in a vague sense of dissatisfaction when the work doesn't seem meaningful. This article discusses four different ways to ignite motivation for work. It talks about making time to be curious, viewing work from a CEO's perspective, framing one's career as a series of questions, and trying new things. Anything can be interesting if you ask the right questions, and this article presents techniques for finding the right questions to ask.

[Assistant] How to feel engaged at work: a software engineer's guide


[User] WeChat has temporarily suspended registrations for new users in China while it upgrades its security technology to align with all relevant laws and regulations. The upgrade is expected to finish in early August. It is unclear what specific law WeChat is trying to comply with. Chinese regulators have cracked down on tech firms recently. Analysts believe that the Chinese government is concerned about the growing influence of tech firms and data privacy.

[Assistant] Tencent’s WeChat suspends new user registration in China to comply with ‘relevant laws and regulations’


[User] Psyche 16 is an asteroid that could be worth $700 quintillion. Scientists have recently confirmed that the asteroid is at least 20 percent metal by studying the polarized light bouncing off its surface. Psyche 16 doesn't emit the kind of polarized light that a highly metallic body should. NASA plans to send a probe to the asteroid in 2022 to collect measurements of its gravity and potential electromagnetic fields, as well as determine whether the asteroid is the core of a planet-sized object.

[Assistant] NASA to Study a $700 Quintillion ‘Goldmine’ Asteroid


[User] A hacker broke into one of LastPass' developer's accounts and gained access to proprietary data.

[Assistant] LastPass source code, blueprints stolen by intruder


[User] Affiliates of Francisco Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation have bought LogMeIn for $4.3 billion in an all-cash deal. LogMeIn had a yearly high of $96.87 and a low of $62.02. CEO of LogMeIn Bill Wagner is optimistic that the partnership will help the company going forward. LogMeIn bought Jive Communications in 2018 and GoToMeeting in 2016 in order to have a stronger hold on the unified communications market. The deal with Francisco and Evergreen is expected to close in 2020. As part of the deal, LogMeIn has 45 days to try to find a buyer that will offer a better price.

[Assistant] LogMeIn agrees to be acquired by Francisco Partners and Evergreen for $4.3B


[User] See how top tech companies automate their privacy From Clubhouse to Robinhood, industry-leading companies use Transcend to automate their privacy requests fulfillment, enforce consent across LDU, GPC and other Do Not Sell signals, and power a living data map. Privacy at the data layer, made easy. Learn more.

[Assistant] See how top tech companies automate their privacy


[User] This Twitter thread links to Explain Jargon, a tool built on GPT-3 that can convert any scientific jargon into plain English.

[Assistant] Found a tool that converts any scientific jargon to plain English built on GPT-3


[User] 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.

[Assistant] Go read this story of tech workers who secretly work multiple remote jobs


[User] The Ukrainian government is asking for volunteers from the country's hacker underground. Volunteers will be divided into defensive units, to help protect critical infrastructure, and offensive units, to spy on Russian troops. Requests began to appear on hacker forums after Russian forces started attacking cities across Ukraine. The posts were made on behalf of a Defense Ministry official. A new piece of destructive software was discovered circulating around Ukraine on Wednesday, but Russia has denied involvement.

[Assistant] Ukraine Calls on Hacker Underground to Defend Against Russia


[User] A case of the coronavirus that originated in Wuhan, China, has been reported in a patient in Seattle, Washington. The patient is clinically healthy but under observation. Despite the report, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention believes that the threat to the US remains low. The virus is currently known as 2019-nCoV, and it has killed around six people. Experts are concerned about the virus’s similarities to SARS. Enhanced health screenings have been put in place at some airports for passengers who flew from or through Wuhan. Coronaviruses are common in animals and can evolve into forms that can be passed to and infect humans. The World Health Organization identified a wholesale food market in Wuhan as the possible source of the virus. China has admitted that there has been at least one confirmed case where the virus passed directly from one person to another.

[Assistant] The US has its first case of the new Wuhan coronavirus


[User] Physicists have found evidence that anyons exist. Anyons are particle-like objects that were first predicted by theorists in the early 1980s. They only exist in two dimensions under certain circumstances. When anyons move around each other, their collective quantum state shifts, and it might require three to five or more revolutions before they return to their original state. This property makes them appealing for fields such as quantum computing. Anyons represent a whole 'kingdom' of particles with many varieties that can be studied and potentially harnessed in the future.

[Assistant] Physicists Prove Anyons Exist, a Third Type of Particle in the Universe


[User] A Tesla Model 3 has driven straight into an overturned truck on a highway in Taiwan. Video of the accident is available in the article, showing the Model 3 crashing right into the roof of the truck trailer. It appears that Tesla's Autopilot system didn't detect the large rectangular object in front of it in broad daylight and clear weather conditions. Detecting immobile objects for emergency automatic braking systems and autonomous vehicles is difficult. The systems could likely be improved with the use of LiDAR, a technology that Elon Musk famously rejected. Despite Tesla's Autopilot capabilities, drivers are still required to pay attention to the road when operating the vehicle.

[Assistant] Tesla Model 3 Drives Straight Into Overturned Truck In What Seems To Be Autopilot Failure


[User] A fully autonomous ship called the Mayflower will attempt a 3,220-mile journey from Plymouth in England to Plymouth in Massachusetts on the 400-year anniversary of the first Mayflower trip. It is equipped with solar panels as well as diesel and wind turbines. The Mayflower will conduct research during the trip with three research pods developed by researchers at the University of Plymouth. These pods will run experiments relating to maritime cybersecurity, sea mammal monitoring, and ocean-borne microplastics. The technical support for research and navigation on board the Mayflower was provided by IBM. The Mayflower will use IBM's PowerAI vision technology, backed by its Power Systems servers, to utilize deep learning models in order to avoid obstacles and hazards at sea.

[Assistant] Autonomous ‘Mayflower’ research ship will use IBM AI tech to cross the Atlantic in 2020


[User] The Solar Desalination Skylight stores the sun's energy during the day to light homes at night. It also distills seawater into drinking water, allowing the owners of the skylight to use a tap at the base to pour water. The leftover brine from the process is used to generate an electrical charge to power a diffused light. The design is cheap and solves two key issues faced by the inhabitants of shantytowns. It is one of six finalists of the Lexus Design Award 2021.

[Assistant] Clean-Energy, No-Cost Skylight Makes Seawater Drinkable


[User] Rolls-Royce is planning to build up to 16 mini-nuclear plants in the UK. The project will create 6,000 new jobs over the next five years. It is expected to receive at least £200m funding from the government as part of a long-delayed green plan for economic recovery. Nuclear is essential if the UK is to meet its target of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050, but all of the UK's seven nuclear reactor sites are due to go offline by 2035. Small Modular Reactors can be assembled into larger plants, lowering the costs of building a nuclear power station. As well as providing the country with low-carbon electricity, the concept may become an export industry.

[Assistant] Rolls-Royce plans 16 mini-nuclear plants for UK


[User] BlockAdBlock is a script that detects ad-blockers and disables website access until the ad-blocker is disabled. By searching through its version history using the Wayback Machine, it is possible to figure out how it was developed and how it works. BlockAdBlock's basic architecture consisted of a bait, a check to see if the ad-blocker blocked the bait, and then a function that created the overlay. Improvements in the code implemented different strategies of detecting ads, such as checking the page to see if target ads had loaded. As BlockAdBlock improved, ad-blockers also improved, creating a need for BlockAdBlock to be more creative in its methods. In the end, it is much harder to block ad-blockers than it is to block ads due to how web technologies work.

[Assistant] How an anti ad-blocker works: Reverse-engineering BlockAdBlock


[User] Instead of spending your day in back-to-back meetings, try a new kind of face time where you never need to repeat yourself and it's easy to be yourself.A 3 minute recorded Loom video could replace your next 30 minute meeting.Get Loom For Free.

[Assistant] Loom Is Async Video For Work


[User] GrubHub, DoorDash, Postmates, and UberEats were sued for allegedly exploiting their dominance in restaurant meal deliveries to impose fees that ultimately increased menu prices. US Antitrust law requires restaurants to charge delivery customers and dine-in customers at the same price. Many restaurants have opted to charge everyone higher prices as a result of the fees imposed on them when using delivery services.

[Assistant] Grubhub, DoorDash, Postmates, Uber Eats are sued over restaurant prices amid pandemic


[User] Uber has tentatively agreed to pay out 11 cents per mile driven for Uber to 160,000 drivers in nine states who have been seeking to be classified as employees instead of independent contractors in order to get compensated for expenses like gas and vehicle maintenance. They also complained that Uber wouldn't allow them to take tips (Uber introduced this functionality in June of 2017, collecting $600 million in tips in just one year). The settlement is tentative based on getting enough drivers to sign the agreement.

[Assistant] Uber reaches tentative settlement with drivers arbitrating over employment status and expense reimbursement


[User] Mark Zuckerberg sees augmented reality glasses as a holy grail device that will redefine our relationship with technology. Meta is working on a first-generation device for release in 2024, with a more advanced design already planned for 2026. The devices will likely be priced higher than the company's Quest headsets as the materials will cost multiple thousands of dollars. Meta is aiming the first version at early adopters and developers, and it is not expecting high sales. More details about Meta's upcoming AR device are available in the article.

[Assistant] Mark Zuckerberg’s augmented reality


[User] There are dozens of habitats around the globe that host simulations on what it would be like to live on Mars. These simulations run anywhere from two weeks to a full year while the inhabitants conduct experiments and figure out how normal humans can live and work on another planet. Some programs are open to people with no background in science, engineering, or astronaut training. This article describes a few of these habitats and what it is like living in them. Pictures and a video showing what it is like inside a Mars simulation project are available.

[Assistant] Inside the Experiment to Create Mars on Earth


[User] This article talks about the development process for Difftastic. Difftastic is a structural diff tool that compares files based on their syntax. The article covers how Difftastic was built, realizations the developer had while building it, the issues encountered when building the tool and how they were overcome, and the future of the tool.

[Assistant] Difftastic, the Fantastic Diff


[User] Microsoft will exclusively license GPT-3 from OpenAI. GPT-3 can unlock a lot of commercial and creative potential, with the possibilities only limited by the ideas and scenarios that can be imagined. The details of the licensing agreement are still unclear, but OpenAI will continue to offer GPT-3 and its other models via its Azure-hosted API. OpenAI has been experimenting with safeguards against the misuse of GPT-3 at the API level. This includes filters that can pick up antisemitic content while still allowing neutral content regarding Judaism.

[Assistant] Microsoft gets exclusive license for OpenAI’s GPT-3 language model


[User] This repository contains ideas for making CPython faster and benchmark results for faster implementations of CPython.

[Assistant] Faster CPython Ideas


[User] The UK army has acquired 30 small drones capable of spying on targets 2 km (1.25 miles) away. Called "Bugs", the drones weigh 196 grams and have a 40-minute battery life. The Bugs can fly in strong winds, delivering vital tactical intelligence even in the toughest weather. The information from drone surveillance can sometimes be misleading, with many cases in the past where the ground situation has been very different from what was reported, resulting in civilian casualties.

[Assistant] New UK Army 'Bug' Drones Can Spy on Targets 1.25 Miles Away


[User] Chinese researchers are testing modified cars that can magnetically levitate over a stretch of specially modified highway. The researchers modified a roughly five mile stretch of highway and added an array of permanent magnets to the floor of eight vehicles for the test. The cars could reach a velocity of 143 miles per hour on the track. A link to a short video from the test is available in the article.

[Assistant] Chinese Researchers Test Cars That Hover Over Road Using Magnets


[User] Unidentified hackers were able to siphon funds from merchant accounts over six months on Amazon last year. The attack targeted about 100 accounts and transferred cash from loans and sales from merchant accounts into their own bank accounts at Barclays and Prepay Technologies. Amazon issued around $1 billion in loans in 2018, and it is unclear how much the hackers stole.

[Assistant] Amazon hit by extensive fraud with hackers siphoning merchant funds


[User] Kings of Leon's new album will be released in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT). There will be three types of tokens with different perks, such as front-row seats for life or audiovisual art. The smart contracts and tokens were developed by YellowHeart. The album will be available on all the usual platforms, but the NFT versions with perks will only be available on YellowHeart. 18 unique golden ticket NFTs with special perks will be minted and auctioned as part of the release. The value of the NFTs is expected to increase over time.

[Assistant] Kings of Leon Will Be the First Band to Release an Album as an NFT


[User] Owl is a system for the distribution of large data objects to hosts in Meta's private cloud.

[Assistant] Owl: Distributing content at Meta scale


[User] Burning Man is usually held in late August inside Nevada's Black Rock Desert, but this year, the organization is looking to create a virtual experience using a network of small indie teams willing to donate their own time. The event will involve eight projects, or experiences, each taking a different approach to recreating the virtual festival. Each experience will be accessible on both mobile and desktop. It is unclear how the event will be monetized as each virtual experience will use different technology.

[Assistant] Digitizing Burning Man


[User] A part of the Unix philosophy is to write programs that handle text streams, as text is a universal interface. Early software developers noted the power of composable tools that operate on and modify streams of text. AI is starting to be able to process and understand text. These advances are opening up opportunities for entrepreneurs and engineers. This article looks at how the technology is being applied and some of the companies currently using large language models as their core engines.

[Assistant] Text Is the Universal Interface


[User] More independent repair shops will be able to buy genuine iPhone parts and tools under Apple's new repair rules. Repair technicians will be able to purchase parts after undergoing a free Apple training course. Only parts and tools for the most common out-of-warranty iPhone repairs will be available, so customers will still have to go to an authorized service provider for more complicated repairs. The costs of the parts have not yet been disclosed. However, leaked documents show a battery cost of $16-$33 and a screen that costs more than Apple's screen repair service. These parts come with a guarantee of quality but may result in higher repair costs as independent stores can set their own prices. More devices are now being locked down by manufacturers, with Apple being particularly aggressive by making their devices require specific tools or authorized parts. Apple has lobbied against right to repair bills in the past, and while it is starting to open up its repair system, it is still positioning itself to be the center of control and profit.

[Assistant] Apple will let more independent repair shops buy ‘genuine’ iPhone parts


[User] Xsolla laid off roughly one-third of its workforce after an algorithm employed by the company decided that they were unengaged and unproductive employees. The company had increased its revenue by 80 percent last year, but growth has slowed down in the last six months. Xsolla decided to cut its salary budget using the algorithm, which analyzes employee's work activities. The CEO has blamed reduced productivity on remote work and has defended the use of the algorithm. Xsolla promised to help find new jobs for the laid-off workers.

[Assistant] Xsolla lays off 150 after an algorithm ruled staff 'unengaged and unproductive'


[User] Coral reef systems are suffering due to acidification across the globe. Many fish depend on these reefs to provide shelter from predators. A team from the University of Delaware printed 3D models of coral based on 50 iPhone images taken from all angles. When tested, fish showed no preference between real coral and 3D models of coral.

[Assistant] 3D-printed coral reef condos get 2 fins up from fish


[User] Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) help programmers carry out useful tasks like managing audio, video, graphics, and other objects on a webpage. This page lists out 10 web APIs and discusses how to use them with examples. Web APIs are still not standardized, so levels of support between browsers can vary. It is suggested that developers implement a fallback if a certain web API is not supported. A link to the source code and the Web API DemoLab is provided near the beginning of the article.

[Assistant] 10 lesser-known Web APIs you may want to use


[User] Waymo just announced that it hit 10 million miles in real world testing of its self-driving cars. However, the company also uses a simulator to drive 10 million test miles per day, for situations where it would be too dangerous to do real world testing (for example, in the simulator they can test their software in scenarios where pedestrians suddenly jump out at the car). To explore more corner cases, Waymo uses "fuzzing" a technique where they rerun scenarios but add random variations each time, to see if these variations cause things to break or cars to crash. The company also has 400 people in Phoenix, Arizona using completely driverless taxis for their daily drives.

[Assistant] Intelligent Machines Waymo's cars drive 10 million miles a day in a perilous virtual world


[User] A time crystal is a phase of matter where an object cycles between states without consuming energy, similar to a perpetual motion machine. Researchers have been trying to create one ever since they were first described in 2015. A group of physicists from various universities, in collaboration with researchers at Google, have used Google's quantum computer to demonstrate a genuine time crystal. Quantum computers can simulate particles of any imaginable quantum system, so they are particularly suited for this task.

[Assistant] Eternal Change for No Energy: A Time Crystal Finally Made Real


[User] Astroforge is a Y Combinator startup that is aiming to mine its first asteroid by the end of the decade. The founders claim to have developed a novel method for refining materials in space that requires a high-rated vacuum and zero gravity. Astroforge will target smaller asteroids that likely won't have a gravitational field. It has an agreement with SpaceX for a spot on an upcoming rideshare mission to demonstrate its technology. The space mining market is predicted to grow to $4.2 billion by the end of the decade.

[Assistant] An asteroid mining startup will soon launch on a SpaceX rideshare mission


[User] 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.

[Assistant] Computer Vision


[User] The UK government has backed a scheme that will research how to make autonomous systems safe and trustworthy for public use. The research program will last five years and cost $43.54 million. It is hoped that care robots can be developed to be used in places such as hospitals and care homes alongside human professionals, performing tasks such as helping people up after a fall, making sure medication is taken, and delivering meals. Research will be carried out to make sure the robots are protected against cyber-attacks and able to demonstrate traits such as respect, equality, and fairness. Other sectors where a lack of public trust is a key challenge may also benefit from the deployment of robots. Assistive robots can enable people to maintain their independence for as long as possible.

[Assistant] 'Care robots' for the elderly could be developed in the UK after government funding


[User] AI-based agents were placed into a simple game of hide-and-seek, and after millions of training rounds, they created six distinct strategies and counterstrategies to play the game. The goal of the exercise was to see if simple rules and multi-agent competition can eventually lead to intelligent behavior. Agents were required to work together to manipulate the environment for a majority of scenarios. The hiders eventually developed solutions, which the seekers then had to overcome, leading to increasingly complex strategies from both teams. These behaviors were not explicitly incentivized and the agents' only goal was to win the game. The agents were trained using reinforcement learning, an algorithm inspired by how animals learn.

[Assistant] Multi-Agent Hide and Seek


[User] Xcode Cloud is a continuous integration and developer service built into the Xcode app.

[Assistant] Xcode Cloud Subscriptions Now Available for Developers


[User] The long-awaited 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros powered by the M1X processor are expected to be released in the next several weeks. Apple will likely hold a virtual event sometime in October to announce the new MacBook Pros. The new laptops will feature high-end M1 chips, MagSafe magnetic charging, miniLED screens, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and no Touch Bar. They will have a new flat-edged design similar to in the latest iMac, iPad Pro, and iPhone 12 designs. New AirPods, iPad minis, and entry-level iPads are also expected to be announced this fall.

[Assistant] Report: M1X MacBook Pros to hit shelves in ‘the next several weeks’


[User] John Foley's resignation is immediately effective and Hisao Kushi will leave the company on October 3.

[Assistant] Peloton co-founders resign amid company shakeup


[User] The US Department of Defense had planned for a scenario involving a rebellion that used bitcoin to undermine and evade 'the establishment'. In the scenario, people born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s used cyberattacks to steal money and convert it to bitcoin. The Defense Force also wargamed scenarios involving Islamist militants and anti-capitalist extremists. Florida Republican Representative Matt Gaetz recently called for the government to freeze the money of demonstrators in an effort to quell political dissent. Bitcoin has received more interest recently due to the coronavirus pandemic, unprecedented levels of government borrowing, and the capacity for its use in censorship resistance.

[Assistant] Pentagon Documents Reveal The U.S. Has Planned For A Bitcoin Rebellion


[User] One of the most uncomfortable aspects of AI technology is that we do not understand how the algorithms that we end up with work. While we know that the technology works and we are starting to depend on their use, it is still a mystery as to how these decisions are being made. A group of researchers are now arguing that AI behavior should be studied similar to humans and other animals by using empirical observation and experimentation. The interactions and effects of humans living and interacting with AI should be studied as we are moving into an age where we are becoming a giant human-machine system.

[Assistant] AI researchers want to study AI the same way social scientists study humans


[User] Instagram and WhatsApp will start displaying 'from Facebook' in their app names, similar to Facebook's own Workplace app and the Oculus app. The aim of the change is to make it clearer that these services are part of Facebook. The separation between the apps and Facebook have benefitted the apps in the past, with Instagram and WhatsApp usage increasing as Facebook's popularity dropped. Facebook is currently under antitrust scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission, which is investigating whether Facebook's acquisitions were made with the goal of squashing the competition.

[Assistant] Instagram and WhatsApp will add ‘from Facebook’ to their names


[User] Malware attributed to North Korean state actors has been discovered on the administrative network of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in India. The company admitted the discovery a day after it denied that any attack would affect the plant's control systems. Malware was discovered on a computer used for administrative purposes, which is isolated from the critical internal network. Other nuclear plants may be affected by the malware as well. It is possible that the attacks may constitute an act of war due to the business of some of the targets. The malware has previously been used in widespread attacks against financial and research centers. It appears to be an espionage and reconnaissance tool. While it did not have direct access to nuclear power control networks, it could have be used to gather the information necessary to access those networks.

[Assistant] Indian nuclear power plant’s network was hacked, officials confirm


[User] Uber is launching a $14.99/month ($24.99/month in Los Angeles only) subscription service that gives riders discounted fares on Uber rides that will also not be subject to surge pricing. The fares will be based on historical data and will reduce fares by up to 15%. The service, called Ride Pass, is available in Los Angeles, Austin, Orlando, Denver, and Miami. The Los Angeles version of Ride Pass also includes free bike and scooter access.

[Assistant] Uber introduces an Amazon Prime-style monthly subscription service


[User] The goal of an engineering interview is to ask questions that surface understanding of engineering culture and attitude. It is difficult to assess technical ability through programming quizzes or by reviewing code, so an interview should judge the engineer’s mastery of software process and communication. Asking questions related to a candidate’s problem-solving strategies, how a candidate sees their work, and how they would build their ideal team reveals important information about a candidate. Additional interview questions, as well as discussions on why they are effective, are in the article.

[Assistant] How To Interview Engineers When You're Not Technical - Part II


[User] The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is moving to force a Chinese firm to relinquish control of the dating app Grindr because of national security concerns. The acquisition of Grindr began around three years ago, but recent changes to the scope of national security threats have caused CFIUS to take a closer look at the company. Grindr has been criticized for its sharing of users’ personal information in the past. Several US senators requested the review of the sale, stating that Grindr’s ownership by a Chinese company could put US officials at risk of being blackmailed for their sexual preferences or history.

[Assistant] Grindr Is Owned by a Chinese Firm, and the U.S. Is Trying to Force It to Sell


[User] So this is a Q&A with the guy who created Gmail. He left Intel because one day he thought "Man I am so tired. I need to go home and take a nap," but then he got home and realized "I'm not tired anymore". Working Intel was draining. He joined Google early. Larry Page got tired of different groups setting their own priorities, so he organized engineers onto specific projects. Paul was told "we want you to build an email something." So he built Gmail. He hates the big company vibe. An engineer at his Microsoft internship told him "Make sure they don't stick you off in a corner working on something unimportant." This is great advice. He ended up leaving Google because he went on paternity leave, he came back to realize he was getting the same draining Intel feeling, but this time at Google. He believes that the key to being a good engineer is "Doing it. Showing up seems to be the secret to getting good at most things." He doesn't recommend that all good engineers quit working at big tech companies to work at startups. "If getting paid less and working more is unappealing to you, then I would recommend staying where you are!" When interviewing at a company, make sure to choose one where interviewers ask smart questions. If they ask dumb trivia like "name the seven layers of the OSI stack", run the other way. People aren't happy because we've created a world where it's hard for people to be happy, and it's easy to sell people solutions for unhappiness.

[Assistant] Gmail Creator and YC Partner Paul Buchheit on Joining Google, How to Become a Great Engineer and Happiness


[User] Japanese researchers have developed a method for separating sperm bearing 'X' chromosomes from sperm containing 'Y' chromosomes, which allowed them to produce litters of the chosen sex in mice studies. The chemical trigger used in the study causes sperm with the 'X' chromosome to slow down. When the scientists implanted the faster sperm, it produced litters that were 90 percent male, and when the slower sperm was used, it created litters that were 81 percent female. The technique has been used successfully in cattle and pigs. Farmers have been attempting sex skewing in livestock for a while now, but current methods are laborious, expensive, and can damage the sperm. The new technique appears to not affect the health of the sperm. If the technique can be applied to humans, it has the potential for unpredictable and disruptive social consequences.

[Assistant] Scientists unlock secrets of gender within sperm for first time in major breakthrough


[User] California-based nonprofit Earth Species Project (ESP) wants to use machine learning to translate animal communication into something humans can understand. The project aims to help humans understand as many species as possible. It will include non-verbal communication. ESP has made some progress, with an algorithm that can tell which individual in a group of animals is speaking and an algorithm that can generate mimicked animal calls.

[Assistant] Ambitious Researchers Want to Use AI to Talk to All Animals


[User] Wyze has confirmed that a server leak exposed the details of roughly 2.4 million smart device customers. An internal database was accidentally exposed online. Wyze was testing new methods to measure business metrics when a test database had its security protocols removed. The leak was discovered by a cyber-security consulting firm who only gave Wyze 14 minutes to fix the issue before going public with their findings. Leaked details include email addresses, device identifier data, and Alexa connection tokens. The security firm accused Wyze of exposing internal API tokens, sending data to Chinese servers, and collecting health information from users. Wyze has denied these accusations but noted that health data from 140 users was collected as part of a beta-test for a new smart scale product. As a response to the leak, Wyze has forced all users to log out from their devices and reset all API tokens.

[Assistant] IoT vendor Wyze confirms server leak


[User] Elon Musk addressed Twitter employees on a video call on Thursday. He spoke about his goals for the company, free speech, possible layoffs, his bias towards in-person work, and why he loves Twitter. The majority of reactions on Twitter's Slack messaging board were negative. Many employees are worried about the reduced focus on content moderation, inclusion, and diversity measures.

[Assistant] Here’s what Elon Musk just told Twitter employees


[User] Tristan O’Tierney, co-founder of Square Inc passed away on February 23 after experiencing kidney failure and cardiac arrest, most likely related to his addictions. There is no official public diagnosis. O’Tierney, a former engineer at Yahoo and Apple, was hired to develop Square’s original mobile payment app in 2009, where he stayed until 2013. O’Tierney publicly announced in 2017 that he was struggling with addiction.

[Assistant] Square Inc. Co-Founder Tristan O’Tierney Dies at 35


[User] Microsoft was working on a secret pocketable Surface device powered by a custom Windows OS before turning to Android for its Surface Duo. Andromeda OS had a lock screen that could act as a giant canvas to take notes, a home screen that worked as another inking canvas, gesture support, and a few other features that ended up in Windows 11. Microsoft was also working on a larger dual-screen device powered by Windows 10X, but that project was canceled along with Windows 10X. A 15-minute video showing Andromeda OS running on a Lumia 950 is available in the article.

[Assistant] Leak reveals Microsoft’s canceled Windows OS for dual-screen devices


[User] Scientists have created a new membrane that, if scalable, could eventually generate an estimated 2.6 terawatts every year. The membrane is able to use the mixing of salt and freshwater to generate energy. When saltwater mixes with fresh water, the movement of ions generates electricity. The first attempts at creating the membrane in 2013 failed as the scientists could not create the required materials, even though their experiments showed that the theory was correct. A new technique has now allowed for the creation of the material. The scientists are continuing to develop the technology as they believe that the new membrane is not yet at its maximum potential.

[Assistant] Rivers could generate thousands of nuclear power plants worth of energy, thanks to a new ‘blue’ membrane


[User] Billionaire Terry Gou, the founder and now former chairman of Foxconn, will be running for the role of president of Taiwan if he is successful in the primaries for the Kuomintang opposition party. According to Gou, the sea goddess Mazu came to him in a dream encouraging him to promote peace across the Taiwan Strait. If successful, he poses a significant threat to the current president, who is battling low approval ratings. Gou’s relationships with China and the US may prove to be a significant factor in improving Taiwan’s relationships with both countries.

[Assistant] Foxconn boss Terry Gou is running for president of Taiwan


[User] Join our new 3 part webinar series and see how a data-driven approach can prevent zero-day events and provide a 342% ROI!

[Assistant] Cloud Security Webinar Series: From Frustration to Automation


[User] Blue Origin launched the fourteenth test flight of its New Shepard rocket booster and capsule on January 14. There were no passengers on board, but the capsule can carry up to six people. The mission aimed to test a number of astronaut communication and safety alert systems. New Shepard is designed to carry people to an altitude of more than 340,000 feet and spend as much as 10 minutes in zero gravity before returning to Earth. Jeff Bezos personally funds Blue Origin's development, selling Amazon stock to fund the space company.

[Assistant] Watch Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin test fly the latest upgrades to its space tourism rocket New Shepard


[User] NASA is attempting to knock a small asteroid off course in October 2022, in order to test whether we will be able to protect Earth from a future asteroid impact if we need to. The asteroid, Didymoon, is about 150 meters wide. NASA will launch a 500kg spacecraft at the asteroid and attempt to hit it to alter its course.

[Assistant] NASA will attempt to knock an asteroid out of orbit for the first time in 2022


[User] Stable Diffusion has only been out for around a month, but there have already been many applications created with it. This Twitter thread presents a huge list of applications built with Stable Diffusion. It includes many image and video demonstrations of the technology.

[Assistant] Stable Diffusion is only 30 days old


[User] The US Air Force's Boeing-built X-37B space plane has broken its previous record for time spent in space at 719 days and counting. It was launched with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on September 2017. The plane's mission is classified, but it involves spending time in space and conducting experiments that can be returned to and examined on Earth. It is completely autonomous, with no crew on board, and it can land itself horizontally on a runway. The X-37 program began at NASA in 1999, after which it was transferred to DARPA, and finally to the US Air Force in 2004. It has flown four times, with a total of 2,085 days in space.

[Assistant] Experimental US Air Force space plane breaks previous record for orbital spaceflight


[User] Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. unveiled its first passenger capsule, the Quintero One. It's essentially a super futuristic looking train type thing, it's 105 feet long, weighs 5 tons, and has no windows. It is designed to go up to 750 miles per hour.

[Assistant] First Hyperloop Passenger Capsule Unveiled


[User] Google Research is a branch of Google that focuses on technological breakthroughs. The Interaction Lab was created to make wearables and interface technology. It has developed several technologies such as sunglasses that can project holographic icons, a smartwatch with analog hands, temporary tattoos that can turn your body into a touchpad, and more. Google has been attempting to put a wearable to market for years. Wearable devices can collect personal data on users beyond what data mining on mobile devices can produce. This article takes a look at a few of Google's many experimental products, providing a video and explanation of each invention.

[Assistant] Google's quiet experiments may lead to smart tattoos, holographic glasses


[User] Researchers from the Biorobotics Laboratory at Seoul National University have created a smartphone case with robotic legs. The case adds 16mm to one end of the phone and the retractable legs can carry a weight of up to 300 grams. At the moment the case is only able to walk in one direction, but the design can be improved to include sensors and other modifications. A one-minute video is available showing the robot case in action.

[Assistant] This Case Gives Your Phone Robotic Legs So It Can Crawl to a Wireless Charging Pad


[User] A user asks whether one-person SaaS apps are profitable as they are looking for inspiration for a side project. Top commenters have successful SaaS businesses that earn over $30,000 a month, and these threads have many users asking for further details and tips on how to build a business. The commenters who have these businesses all mention that it is a full-time job, and not their side projects. They also mention that it takes some time before their business took off. It is recommended that SaaS providers cater to businesses rather than individuals, as it becomes much more profitable.

[Assistant] Ask HN: One-person SaaS apps that are profitable?


[User] A hotel chain in Japan uses robots that perform tasks that human employees usually do, for example, check-in guests, showing guests their rooms, and assist with other requirements. The hotels use facial recognition to unlock doors. A few months ago, a security researcher discovered a vulnerability on the robots that allowed easy access to stream video and audio from the robots. The researcher notified the hotel group about the vulnerability but received no reply, so he made the hack public. After the hack was revealed, the hotel group apologized for the vulnerability and patched the software.

[Assistant] Japanese hotel chain sorry that hackers may have watched guests through bedside robots


[User] The National Basketball Association has suspended all games until further notice after a player on the Utah Jazz team tested positive for COVID-19. Two games were postponed last-minute, with stadiums already packed with fans. The NBA has considered switching to playing games in empty arenas. Rudy Gobert, the player who tested positive for COVID-19, had made light of the outbreak earlier in the week, touching all the microphones and recording equipment in the media room during a press conference.

[Assistant] NBA suspends season as player tests positive for coronavirus


[User] Meta researchers have developed an AI model that can decode speech from noninvasive recordings of brain activity. Noninvasive recordings are noisy and can vary greatly, so machine learning was used to help 'clean up' the noise. The model is only focused on decoding perceived speech for now. The research could lead to new ways to communicate and control technology.

[Assistant] Meta AI researchers develop ways to read speech from people’s brains


[User] Many artists are worried that they will be out of a job soon. This Hacker News thread contains a discussion of how automation is affecting jobs. Automation has created new jobs for some industries, but it has also completely replaced humans in others. Advances in image-generating AI will likely put some creatives out of a job.

[Assistant] Ask HN: What am I supposed to do after I’m “disrupted”? Work in video and CG


[User] Studies have shown that the APOE gene may be related to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Those with type 4 of the gene are extremely likely to be affected, while those who carry type 2 are at significantly less risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. A gene therapy which floods the brain with the type 2 APOE gene will be tested in humans, and scientists hope that it will slow down or reverse the effects of Alzheimer’s disease in affected patients. While this may not cure existing patients, the study may pave the way for people who carry the type 4 APOE gene to start receiving preventative treatment.

[Assistant] Doctors plan to test a gene therapy that could prevent Alzheimer’s disease


[User] Programming Digest is a weekly newsletter that curates interesting posts from engineering blogs as well as opinion pieces on programming.

[Assistant] Programming Digest


[User] Elon Musk is expected to serve as temporary Twitter CEO for a few months after the completion of his takeover. Musk has secured approximately $7.14 billion in equity commitments from investors to buy Twitter. Twitter recently hit 229 million monetizable daily active users. Musk told investors that he felt Twitter's earnings were too low and that he would make the company a magnet for talent.

[Assistant] Elon Musk expected to serve as temporary Twitter CEO after deal closes


[User] Wildfires have already burned a record 2.3 million acres across California this year. The strong winds that followed record-breaking heat over Labor Day weekend have caused the fire situation to get even worse. There is so much smoke over San Francisco that its sky has turned an eerie orange color. The Bay Area's National Weather Service has asked locals to help report on the weather as the event is beyond the scope of its models. Images taken by a drone above the city are available in the article.

[Assistant] The sky is on fire in San Francisco, and we flew a drone through it


[User] Every moment, companies are tracking the movements of millions of mobile phones and storing them in gigantic data files. One of these files holds more than 50 billion location pings from more than 12 million Americans over several months between 2016 and 2017. People who have access to this data can see every place that an individual has been. The dataset discussed in the article is just a small sample of what is collected. This kind of precise, always-on human tracking gives governments and corporations huge amounts of power, and it is perfectly legal to collect and sell all this information. The data is only policed through internal company policies and the decency of individual employees. People are placing blind faith in companies who claim that the data they collect is secure and only shared with vetted partners. Even if companies are acting with the highest moral standards, data can be stolen.

[Assistant] Twelve Million Phones, One Dataset, Zero Privacy


[User] Snap has acquired NextMind, a neurotech startup that created a headband that lets wearers control computer input with their thoughts. It plans to incorporate the technology into future versions of its Spectacles AR glasses. NextMind will discontinue its $400 headband developer kit. A video explaining NextMind's approach to developing a brain-computer interface is available in the article.

[Assistant] Snap buys brain-computer interface startup for future AR glasses


[User] In anticipation of a second wave of coronavirus cases, China has announced plans to rapidly test all 11 million residents of Wuhan in just 10 days. A small cluster outbreak of six cases was reported over the weekend, after a month without new infections. All six patients come from the same residential compound. Five of them are asymptomatic. The tests are free and the residents report that they seem to be voluntary. The program will cost the city an estimated 1 billion yuan (~$141 million).

[Assistant] China Wants to Test All 11 Million Wuhan Residents for Coronavirus—in 10 Days


[User] Google Play Store's new Data Safety section is switching to an honor system. The previous system created lists of app permissions automatically by scanning apps. Developers are now responsible for making complete and accurate declarations in their app listings. If Google becomes aware of any discrepancies between app behavior and the declaration, it may take appropriate action.

[Assistant] Google Play hides app permissions in favor of developer-written descriptions


[User] Prior to the printing press, books were handwritten by scribes and people who could not afford them probably would not have been able to read them, leaving a lot of space for powerful gatekeepers to exploit the common people. Many texts would have been altered while they were copied by scribes. After printed text started being distributed, the gatekeeping powers shifted toward those who printed texts, as they had the power to change the words and meanings of the text printed. The internet introduced the ability to view a wide range of information and platforms to distribute information. Now, anybody could write anything they wanted, whether it was true or not. Companies can moderate their platforms and control the narrative. Some platforms are moderated heavily, while others are almost completely free, allowing users to say whatever they want. Tech companies are starting to recognize the power they possess and some are beginning to push for regulations on what should be allowed on the internet.

[Assistant] The Dark Side of Techno-Utopianism


[User] Apple has officially acquired Shazam, the popular song identification app. The $400 million deal was announced near the end of last year but was just now completed. Apple has announced that Shazam will now be ad free for all users. Shazam has over 1 billion downloads and is used by 20 million users per day.

[Assistant] Apple acquires Shazam, offering more ways to discover and enjoy music


[User] Research focused on an immunosuppressive agent found that it has anti-aging effects in worms, fruit flies, and mice. Rapamycin has been shown to extend the life of fruit flies if the drug is administered for a short period in the first few days of their lives. Mice experiments show that rapamycin has potential anti-aging effects if given to mice for a short period between the age of three to six months. Human studies will be difficult as it will take a very long time for results to be seen.

[Assistant] The key to anti-aging drugs could be taking them briefly while young


[User] The first public betas of iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and tvOS 14 are now available. People interested in signing up for Apple's public beta testing program can do so via the Apple website. The new iOS features support for widgets on the home screen, picture-in-picture, App Library, and more. Testers should expect performance and stability issues when running the beta. The full version should be released in the fall.

[Assistant] Apple releasing iOS 14 public beta today with redesigned home screen, widgets, more


[User] Okay, this video is actually from 2017 and has 15 million views so some of you might have seen it already, but I just came across it and it's incredible. This guy walks around Huaqiangbei, China and builds his own iPhone out of spare parts being sold by random replacement part shops.

[Assistant] How I Made My Own iPhone


[User] Apple is reportedly developing an Apple Studio Display with 7K resolution. It is unclear if the display will be a successor to the Pro Display XDR or if it will be a higher-resolution option in the same range. The display could feature a built-in A13 processor. No pricing details have been reported, but it will likely be less than the Pro Display XDR's $4,999 price tag.

[Assistant] Apple developing new 'Apple Studio Display' with 7K resolution


[User] Apple is allegedly talking to two major Chinese battery makers about supplying batteries for its electric vehicle. One of Apple's conditions for the potential suppliers is that they will need to build manufacturing sites in the US. The manufacturers are reluctant to build a US factory due to tensions between China and the US. Apple has lost several top managers in its EV project. It is still actively recruiting new hires. Apple is apparently aiming to release the Apple Car in 2024.

[Assistant] Apple in talks with Chinese battery makers for Apple Car


[User] 'O' is the general ability for object recognition.

[Assistant] Scientists Have Measured a Perceptual Ability Called 'O'. How Good Is Yours?


[User] Apple's new 16-inch MacBook Pro has launched at a starting price of $2,399. It has new processors, better speakers, and a larger screen. Apple has gone back to scissor switches for its keyboards. The new MacBook Pro is excluded from Apple's extended keyboard repair program. Apple has redesigned the thermal system in the new laptops. Users can spec their machines up to 64GB of RAM and 8TB of SSD storage. The battery is supposed to be able to handle 11 hours of wireless web. A new 6-speaker sound system uses two force canceling woofers to allow for more bass with less distortion. It uses a three-microphone array that is supposed to have sound on par with USB-powered podcasting mics. Despite the larger screen, the laptop size is almost identical to the 2015 15-inch MacBook Pro. It has only four Thunderbolt 3 ports and a headphone jack.

[Assistant] Apple’s 16-inch MacBook Pro is here, and it has a good keyboard


[User] Using imaging from Maxar, Google, and NASA, this article shows us views from 300 miles above Earth to help us see how our technological advances could put us at risk in the decades to come. This article displays before and after photos of areas to show how things have changed in the last decade. Apple's campus is now the shape of the dial on the original iPods. Thirteen of the largest buildings in the world were completed in Dubai during the past decade. China's influence has grown in the world, especially in the South China Sea. The levels of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere have risen, and three of the five most expensive weather and climate disasters in US history occurred in 2017. California's most destructive fire was the Camp Fire in 2018, burning nearly 14,000 homes and killing 85 people. Our planet's glaciers continue to melt away, losing up to 390 billion tons of ice and snow each year. Fukushima's nuclear plant disaster in 2011 killed one worker and cost nearly $120 billion.

[Assistant] A decade of change from 300 miles above


[User] A bundle package from Disney including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ will be available from the 12th of November for $12.99 a month. The pricing is cheaper than or on par with competitor streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. While Disney plans to launch Disney+ internationally, details have yet to be released. The bundle may not be available for an international audience due to licensing issues. Disney is still in talks with distributors for where Disney+ will be available, but it is likely to be at least available through Apple and Amazon.

[Assistant] Disney announces $12.99 bundle for Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+


[User] If you’re working with sensor data, this virtual session is for you: Brian Gilmore, Director of IoT and Emerging Technologies at InfluxData, will present the basics of time series data and apps + a platform overview (InfluxDB, Telegraf, Flux) + practical examples of collecting data at the edge using IoT protocols such as MQTT.Register for the live session (free)

[Assistant] How to analyze IoT sensor data with InfluxDB - best practices and examples


[User] The ability to correctly communicate an idea or concept in a way that others can understand is by far the most important skill to have as someone working in a software-based small business. Programmers have developed their own jargon to communicate with each other which people outside of the programming world might not understand. The simplest explanation that includes the most important information is usually the best. Using jargon to try to demonstrate intelligence and superiority is usually the wrong way to go about conveying an idea. Being respectful to others goes a long way in getting them to want to understand you. Practicing pitching ideas to non-technical friends can help you receive useful feedback. Techniques like analogies, anecdotes, and metaphors are great tools for getting ideas across. It's ok to admit when you don't know something, and it is often better than losing respect for getting something wrong, as long as you take the initiative to self-educate.

[Assistant] Words Are Hard - An Essay on Communicating With Non-Programmers


[User] SpaceX has launched 60 of its Starlink broadband satellites into the sky, creating a chain of satellites that could be observed by enthusiasts in a number of locations around the world. Some astronomers have expressed concern that the brightness from the satellites will interfere with observations of the night sky, especially when all 11,000 satellites are deployed. Elon Musk has confirmed that the satellites will be dark when the stars are visible.

[Assistant] Sightings of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites spark awe — and astronomical angst


[User] This Twitter thread links to the clearest image of Jupiter ever taken.

[Assistant] The Clearest Image of Jupiter ever taken!


[User] While Google shut down Project Loon earlier this year, some of the technology remained in development. Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) links can create a 20Gbps broadband link from two points that have a clear line of sight. Project Taara is setting up FSOC links in several places around the world to test the technology. It recently set up a link to connect a service across the Congo river and transmitted nearly 700TB of data in 20 days. The link had a 99.9 percent availability, even with haze, light rain, birds, and other obstacles. Project Taara aims to provide an indistinguishable experience between FSOC and fixed fiber connections.

[Assistant] Alphabet’s Project Taara laser tech beamed 700TB of data across nearly 5km


[User] A research team has demonstrated that humans are able to adapt to an extra robotic thumb, effectively executing complex and dexterous tasks with them. The Third Thumb is a 3D-printed device that is controlled with pressure sensors equipped on the wearer's feet. In the study, participants were trained to use the robotic thumb for five days for two to six hours every day. Eventually, the participants were able to perform tasks with the thumb even when distracted. The study shows the potential for body augmentation to allow people to gain extra abilities.

[Assistant] Scientists Just Proved the Human Brain Can Support an Extra Body Part


[User] Posits are a different way of representing numbers. A team of researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid have developed a processor core that implements the posits standard. The processor core shows a four order of magnitude increase in accuracy for basic computational tasks compared to computing using standard floating-point numbers. Posits' strengths make them perfect for deep neural network computations. Computing using posits could speed up training, but this has not yet been confirmed.

[Assistant] Posits, a New Kind of Number, Improves the Math of AI


[User] Spotify Wrapped 2018 is a fun site put out by Spotify that lets you sign in with your Spotify account and relive the music you've listened to the past year. Full disclosure, you're reading a newsletter by someone who "started 2018 by listening to One In A Million by Hannah Montana".

[Assistant] Spotify Wrapped 2018


[User] Footage of hundreds of Tesla cars receiving their over-the-air updates at the same time was captured at a logistics center recently. In the video, the cars’ emergency lights flash as they receive the update. The update was pushed using a standard LTE connection. Tesla can improve basically everything in its cars through these updates. The 38-second video is available in the article.

[Assistant] Mass Over-The-Air Update Of Tesla Cars Captured On Video


[User] NASA has canceled its first attempt to launch the Space Launch System rocket. The next available launch window is on September 2. The launch was canceled due to an engine bleed issue that meant that one of its four main engines couldn't be properly chilled ahead of ignition. The launch attempt may be pushed back until at least October if there is work required on one of the engines.

[Assistant] NASA scrubs first SLS launch attempt due to engine issue


[User] Concrete is a technology that humans have used for 5,000 years to construct buildings. Astronauts have successfully mixed cement aboard the International Space Station inside a microgravity environment, opening up possibilities for building structures in space. The space cement had a more uniform density than cement mixed on Earth due to the lack of strong gravity, but the lack of gravity also created larger air pockets as well. The uniform density increased the strength of the cement, while the air pockets weakened it. It has yet to be confirmed whether the space cement is stronger than Earth cement. Concrete is a good choice for building in space as it is an excellent insulator and radiation shield, is sturdy, and can be molded into any shape or structure. The ingredients to make concrete can also be easily harvested from any planet with rocks and dust.

[Assistant] Astronauts mix cement on ISS, pave way for future space colonies


[User] Deep Nostalgia is an AI-powered service offered by online genealogy company MyHeritage that creates moving portraits from still photos. It uses pre-recorded driver videos of facial movements and applies them to user-uploaded photos. The company created the service so its users could upload photos of deceased loved ones and see them come to life again. Twitter users recently discovered the service and have used it to bring other things to life, such as ancient statues. Examples of Deep Nostalgia generated portraits are available in the article.

[Assistant] New AI ‘Deep Nostalgia’ brings old photos, including very old ones, to life


[User] TikTok Pulse is a new program that will give creators a share of revenue. TikTok hasn't said how many creators it will accept into the program, but creators will need at least 100,000 followers to be eligible. The program will launch in the US in June. TikTok's Creator Fund pays users based on the popularity of their videos, but creators say the payouts from the program can be small and inconsistent.

[Assistant] TikTok will start to share ad revenue with creators


[User] A town near Morocco's sunny Atlantic coast is Africa's first completely solar-powered village. Id Mjahdi is being pitched as a blueprint for how to power remote villages. Africa currently produces less than one percent of the world's solar energy. Morocco is aiming to increase its use of renewable energy to 52 percent by 2030. The project to outfit Id Mjahdi with solar power has resulted in clean water and more time for the villagers, which means they are able to produce more work and spend more time on education. These mini-grids can be maintained by the villagers, so the project can be scaled and replicated in other villages. There are 800 villages without electricity in Morocco alone, and the World Bank estimates that 650 million people worldwide will still lack access to electricity in 2030.

[Assistant] Africa's 'first fully solar-powered village' wants to be a model for a renewable future


[User] Apple and Google have released their exposure notification API to the public. The exposure notification system is designed to notify individuals of potential exposure to people who have been confirmed to have COVID-19 while preserving privacy. Apple and Google will not be releasing their own apps - public health agencies will need to create their own apps to make use of the API. Health agencies are free to define what constitutes potential exposure in terms of exposed time and distance, and they can modify other parameters to their own standards. Apps that seek geolocation information permissions from users will not be able to use the API. Apple and Google may integrate the API as a system-level feature in a later update, but that strategy is still under revision.

[Assistant] Apple and Google launch exposure notification API, enabling public health authorities to release apps


[User] Researchers at the University of Chicago sent entangled qubit states through a communication cable linking one quantum network node to another. The entire transfer process only took one billionth of a second. This extremely short burst of time was necessary for sending entangled quantum states without losing too much information. The system also amplified qubit entanglement. The study lays down critical groundwork for future quantum communication networks.

[Assistant] Quantum Computing Breakthrough: Scientists Sent the First 'Landline' Message


[User] The LAN was a magical place to learn about computers. You could do things that would be unthinkable on today’s internet: permission-less file sharing, experimental servers with no security, shared software where one machine could easily bring down the network.In this classic blog post by Tailscale Co-founder David Crawshaw, he recalls the childhood magic of the local area network — including his non-programmer father building business software for 486 computers, and why the same would be much harder to do today.Can we have a 90’s LAN-like experience again, along with the best parts of the 21st century internet? Tailscale thinks we can.

[Assistant] Remembering the LAN


[User] A SpaceX Starship rocket prototype has exploded during a pressure test. It was the second to explode in four months. Founder Elon Musk has laughed off the incident, saying that it was fine. A video of the incident is available in the article. SpaceX is working to reach Earth orbit with a Starship prototype within six months, and with human passengers by next year. It plans to use Starship for planetary commercial flights.

[Assistant] SpaceX Starship prototype explodes in test again


[User] China has blocked Bing, even though Bing already censors results in China. It's part of a wider crackdown on internet freedoms by the Communist Party, as they've blocked Instagram and WhatsApp in recent years in addition to Twitter, Facebook, and Google. Bing was one of the last holes in the Great Firewall, and was the last resort for people looking for an alternative to Baidu.

[Assistant] China Appears to Block Microsoft's Bing, Despite Company's Own Censorship


[User] Microsoft Edge was first released in 2015 to replace Internet Explorer. Last year, Microsoft rebuilt the browser with Google's Chromium framework. The complete version is now available as part of Windows Update. It features improved compatibility with websites, better performance, and the ability to run extensions.

[Assistant] Microsoft's Chromium-based Edge browser rolls out through Windows Update


[User] Diffusion Bee is a Stable Diffusion GUI App for M1 Macs.

[Assistant] Diffusion Bee


[User] Amazon Honeycode is a fully managed low-code/no-code development tool with a web-based, drag-and-drop interface builder. Developers can build applications for up to 20 users for free. Honeycode provides a set of templates for common use cases, for example, to-do list applications, customer trackers, survey schedules, and inventory management. It provides users with a spreadsheet view as its core data interface and users work with standard spreadsheet-style formulas. The service currently only runs in the AWS US West region but it will be rolled out to other regions soon.

[Assistant] AWS launches Amazon Honeycode, a no-code mobile and web app builder


[User] Github just announced a first party integration with Jira, which should be nifty for people who use both services. I know there are a lot of people who have hacked together solutions to do this, hopefully this integration will solve that pain point.

[Assistant] Github Jira Integration


[User] What’s Observability and Why does it matter? Angry tweets are a fact of life if you run a business – but what if you could find problems before your customers do? Observability is the secret sauce to knowing what’s happening in your product from start to finish, in real-time. Learn more about Observability in the award-winning Beginner’s Guide to Observability from Splunk. Download for free.

[Assistant] What’s Observability and Why does it matter?


[User] MIT's media lab is creating an online game that will start at 11pm ET on Halloween. The game, BeeMe, is about an evil AI called Zookd that has accidentally been released. The audience will collectively control an actor (a person who follows the commands of the audience voting online) in order to stop the AI. The whole thing will be streamed live.

[Assistant] MIT is giving you control of a real person on Halloween in a dystopian game that sounds like an episode of 'Black Mirror'


[User] The Postgres 15 beta 2 was recently released. This article looks at an improvement to UNIQUE constraints on columns with NULL values. Users are now able to create constraints and indexes using UNIQUE NULLS NOT DISTINCT. The new feature adds an additional level of quality control to Postgres.

[Assistant] Postgres 15 improves UNIQUE and NULL


[User] iOS 16 is now available to download as a free over-the-air update. The update is compatible with the iPhone 8 and up and the second-generation iPhone SE. It includes a range of customization options, core app changes, and other features. This article takes a look at some of the changes, including the lock screen updates, new Siri features, and changes to the iMessage app.

[Assistant] iOS 16 with customizable Lock Screens, Unsend Messages, & More now available


[User] Engineers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a system of microrobots that can change shape to form bristles or floss and release antimicrobials to kill bad bacteria. The system is made up of iron oxide nanoparticles that can be controlled using magnetic fields. The iron oxide activates hydrogen peroxide, which produces free radicals that kill bacteria and biofilms. The system could allow people with reduced motor skills to still take care of their oral health.

[Assistant] Tiny shapeshifting robots brush and floss your teeth, kill bacteria


[User] SpaceX rolled out its Booster 7 prototype of the Super Heavy rocket to its launch site on Thursday. It was lifted using the chopsticks on the launch tower and placed on its launch mount. The booster will go through pressure testing and potentially a static fire test in the coming days or weeks. Elon Musk has been pushing for an orbital launch attempt in July.

[Assistant] SpaceX moves a massive rocket with 33 engines to its launch pad for tests


[User] A new algae-powered bioreactor, called the Photobioreactor, is being tested on the International Space Station for its feasibility to be used in long-duration space missions. It is designed so astronauts on long-term missions will not need additional supplies to be delivered to them during these missions. The Photobioreactor will convert the carbon dioxide released by astronauts into oxygen and edible biomass through photosynthesis. It arrived on the ISS on the SpaceX Dragon cargo ship on May 6.

[Assistant] Algae 'Bioreactor' on Space Station Could Make Oxygen, Food for Astronauts


[User] A Wigner crystal is a honeycomb arrangement of electrons formed by slowing down electrons until they are significantly affected by the repulsion between their negative charges. The pattern is an arrangement that minimizes their total energy. A team of scientists has managed to image a Wigner crystal by adding a layer of graphene on top of the crystal and using a scanning tunneling microscope. The same graphene-based technique will enable STM studies of other interesting physical phenomena. An image of a Wigner crystal is available in the article.

[Assistant] This is what a solid made of electrons looks like


[User] macOS Big Sur allows developers to customize the appearances of notifications. It is possible to embed a whole game inside of a push notification by following the instructions from the developer article on customizing iOS app notifications, with some small changes. This tweet shows an example where the developer put a playable version of Flappy Bird into a notification.

[Assistant] Did you know you can put a whole game inside of a push notification


[User] New search and rescue robots will eliminate several on-the-job risks for first responders. These robots will aid humans while reducing risks, protecting first responders from unnecessary harm and allowing more lives to be saved. Drones are being used by firefighters to provide invaluable information such as the smoke direction and layout of fires. A firefighting robot called Colossus features a powerful water cannon and can carry up to 1,200 pounds. It helped put out the Notre Dame Cathedral fire earlier this year. Snake and spider-like robots are being developed for search-and-rescue missions which require searching through rubble and other difficult terrains. These technologies are being hindered by a lack of funding and public support.

[Assistant] These Search and Rescue Robots Could Save Your Life


[User] Thread is a wireless protocol developed specifically for IoT devices. It is designed to make them work faster, fail less, use less power, and communicate with each other more seamlessly. Thread devices can form a mesh network with upwards of 250 devices. Thread will be the protocol that Matter will use for low-bandwidth devices when it arrives later this year. Many more details about Thread are available in the article.

[Assistant] Thread is Matter’s secret sauce for a better smart home


[User] In this article, Protocol interviews developers to find out what part of the developer experience is hardest for companies to get right. Companies are often lacking in tools, documentation, and communication. Not getting these things right slows down development. The best companies work to create environments that help developers build products.

[Assistant] What part of the developer experience is hardest for companies to get right?


[User] Nokia has been awarded a $14.1 million contract to deploy a cellular network on the moon. The company will build a 4G/LTE network that will be eventually transitioned to 5G. NASA has said the network will extend to spacecraft. The network will be designed to withstand extreme temperatures, radiation, and the vacuum of space. It will provide more reliable communication at greater distances on the lunar surface compared to current technologies.

[Assistant] Nokia wins NASA contract to put a 4G network on the moon


[User] A white dwarf has been observed flickering on and off, an event that has never been seen in other white dwarfs. The white dwarf was feeding off of an orbiting companion star. Researchers believe that something may have interfered with its fuel supply, causing reconfigurations of the white dwarf's surface magnetic field that shifted the star's brightness. The researchers hope that the observation will help them learn more about how objects such as black holes and white dwarfs feed on colossal amounts of surrounding materials from nearby stars.

[Assistant] A White Dwarf Was Observed 'Switching On and Off' for the First Time


[User] A remote attack discovered last year allowed hackers to take over a Tesla's infotainment system by exploiting two vulnerabilities in the internet connection manager. The attack allowed hackers to perform any task that a regular user could from the system. It could be mounted on a drone, allowing hackers to unlock vehicles from up to 100 meters away without any user interaction. Tesla patched the issue with an update pushed out in October.

[Assistant] Tesla Car Hacked Remotely From Drone via Zero-Click Exploit


[User] Google announced their 6 degrees of freedom VR controller a few months ago. Now, the first videos and reviews of the controller in action are out. The field of vision is surprisingly wide, and tracking is about as good as Windows VR headsets. Battery life isn't great. There's a short 30 second video in the article of the controllers in action in the article.

[Assistant] Google Daydream 6DOF controller videos: The first wave hits


[User] The Central Bank of Nigeria sent a notice on February 5 warning the public about the dangers and risks of cryptocurrencies. Two days later, the bank clarified that it had not imposed any new restrictions on the technology, as there were already existing restrictions on financial institutions. Cryptocurrencies have soared in popularity in the country over the last few years. There have been conflicting views in the government about how cryptocurrencies should be regulated.

[Assistant] Nigeria can’t decide what to do about the rise and rise of cryptocurrency


[User] Robinhood will launch a beta version of its cryptocurrency wallet next month. The program will be available for tens of thousands of waitlisted users. More than 1.6 million people signed up for the waitlist. Robinhood users are currently only able to withdraw their cryptocurrency investments as cash balances, but this will change with the introduction of the crypto wallet. There is no set date for when the final version of the wallet will be available to the general public.

[Assistant] Robinhood Crypto Wallet Beta to Launch in January


[User] Oscilla Power plans to power coastal cities using only waves.

[Assistant] This Startup Is Building Generators That Can Power Up to 500 Homes Using Only Ocean Waves


[User] GM's self-driving subsidiary Cruise recently presented a roadmap for how the company will build autonomous vehicles that will be safer and more scalable than any human-driven vehicle. The company's plan includes technology for generating large-scale maps of cities, software that transforms real events into editable simulations, a system called Morpheus that can generate simulations based on specific locations, custom silicon chips developed in-house, and more. More details about the technology are available in the article.

[Assistant] Cruise lays out its plan for ‘how’ it will make robotaxis a reality


[User] Researchers from Australia have discovered a plant that covers a total area of 200km2. The researchers took samples of seagrass shoots from the area and examined genetic markers and found that it was all a single plant. It is estimated to be around 4,500 years old. The giant seagrass meadow appears to be extremely resilient. It can survive in an environment that would be typically highly stressful for most plants.

[Assistant] World's largest plant: 112-mile-long seagrass found off Australian coast


[User] Many websites depend on users viewing ads on their pages to generate revenue. Google has been adding more information into its search results to provide convenient information for users, but this means that the sites where the information comes from lose viewers. Genius, a lyrics website, inserted different types of apostrophes into their lyrics in a pattern that spelled out ‘Red Handed’ in Morse code. Using this method, they found their content displayed in the Google search results, proving that Google was using their data and taking viewers away from their site. Genius found more than 100 examples of theft by Google, who claims that its data comes from licensed partners.

[Assistant] Genius said it used morse code to catch Google stealing lyrics


[User] Craigslist launched in 1995 and it has continued to connect strangers through its free platform over the years even as rivals emerged with advanced features and slick interfaces. The platform has all but refused to modernize and it still upholds its unmistakable '90s look and feel. This article features an interview with Craigslist's founder, Craig Newmark. Newmark stepped down as CEO of Craigslist in 2000 and he currently works on philanthropy full time.

[Assistant] Here's Why Craigslist Still Looks the Same After 25+ Years