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'Longevity gene' responsible for more efficient DNA repair . A gene that is responsible for more efficient DNA repair has been discovered. SIRT6 produces proteins that are able to aid in repairing the inevitable DNA breaks that occur due to age. It was found that mice with more copies of the gene lived longer and aged slower. Longer-living rodents such as naked mole rats and beavers with different versions of the gene produced higher quality gene-repairing proteins. The next step in this research is to study animals with longer life-spans than humans to see if it is possible to prevent age-related diseases in people. |
BioNTech mRNA Cancer Treatment Moved To Human Trials After Huge Success In Mice . BioNTech has been testing the use of mRNA vaccines against cancer. Animal trials have shown great promise, so the technology is now in human trials to see if they can bring the same success. Cytokines are proteins with anti-tumor effects. Research has shown that they can shrink tumors and even eradicate them, but they have a short half-life, and high levels of cytokines in the body results in adverse effects. The experimental vaccines encode cytokines directly into the tumors, creating them in large quantities without adverse effects. |
Google launches new tool to help cities stay cool . Google has released a tool that maps out where trees are needed most. Cities warm up in areas around buildings, and an easy way to cool these areas down is to plant more trees. Google's Tree Canopy Lab uses aerial imagery and AI to locate every tree in a city. The data is then plotted on a map along with additional data on population density and area temperatures. When tested in Los Angeles, the Tree Canopy Lab found that more than half of residents lived in places where trees shaded less than 10 percent of the neighborhood. Los Angeles has faced more and more intense heat waves over the last 50 years. The city has now set a goal of planting 90,000 trees across the city by 2021. |
gotify/server (GitHub Repo). gotify/server is a self-hosted server for sending and receiving messages in real time. While there are plenty of free and commercial push services available, they are not open-source, self-hosted, or customizable. Server admins are able to manage users, clients, and applications, and create and install plugins. Users can access the server through a web-UI or Android app. |
Beyond Meat and KFC partner to test fried plant-based ‘chicken’ . KFC customers at one Atlanta location on August 27 will receive a free sample of fried plant-based nuggets and boneless wings when they purchase something on that day. Beyond Meat and KFC are testing the product with customers before broader testing or a potential national rollout. Many fast-food chains have tested and implemented plant-based food options recently, including Burger King, Subway, Carl's Jr., and White Castle. Beyond Meat also sells plant-based meat products in grocery stores. Its main competitor, Impossible Foods, has just had its key ingredient approved for consumption by the FDA. |
Qualcomm To Launch Its Own Premium Snapdragon Branded Phones That Will Raise The Bar . Qualcomm is looking to enter into the smartphone market, partnering with ASUS to manufacture and distribute smartphones globally. It intends to create ultra-premium Snapdragon Android phones. ASUS already produces its own line of gaming smartphones. While Qualcomm chips are found in the majority of Android smartphones sold in the US, the company doesn't have direct sales channels with carriers, so it will be interesting to see how Qualcomm intends to market their devices. The official announcement is expected during the Snapdragon Tech Summit in December. |
'Black neutron star' discovery changes astronomy . Black neutron stars are astronomical objects that are more massive than collapsed stars but have less mass than black holes. They were previously thought to be impossible, but an international team of scientists has recently observed one in space, meaning that ideas on how neutron stars and black holes form will need to be rethought. It was observed colliding with a black hole using gravitational wave detectors based in the US and Italy. |
Microsoft tests Super-Duper Secure Mode for Edge . Super Duper Secure Mode is a new feature being tested by Microsoft's Edge Vulnerability Research team. It makes Edge more secure without negatively impacting performance by removing Just-In-Time compilation from the V8 processing pipeline, reducing the attack surface that can be used to hack into Edge systems. JITs exist to optimize JavaScript performance, but Microsoft's researchers did not see much of a change in performance by disabling it. Disabling the JIT would mean less frequent security updates and fewer emergency patches for users. |
Microsoft to permanently close all of its retail stores . Microsoft has announced plans to permanently close all of its store locations, except for four locations that will be 'reimagined' as experience centers that no longer sell products. No layoffs will result from the decision. Many retail store associates shifted to remote work or moved to corporate facilities after the stores closed for lockdown. Microsoft had originally planned to close its stores next year, but the pandemic has moved the schedule forward. |
Awesome Personal Blogs (GitHub Repo). This repository contains links to personal blogs written by people in tech. From automation to web development, these blogs contain a ton of information to keep you up to date on the latest developments in technology. As well as providing technical information, the blogs also tell a story of the personal and professional development of the writers, with many writers posting thoughts and reflections on their careers. |
Pope Ponders Universal Basic Income as World Economy Withers . Pope Francis advocated for a form of universal basic income in a letter from the Vatican City on Sunday. As the world faces great anxiety and hardship, it might be time to acknowledge the hardships being felt by people everywhere. Markets around the world have been heavily affected by the coronavirus pandemic and millions of people are now feeling the significant economic strain. The Pope expressed hope that this event will lessen the idolatry of money. |
Botnet that hid for 18 months boasted some of the coolest tradecraft ever . A botnet group called UNC3524 has spent the past 18 months breaking into networks with unusual stealth. It uses a unique backdoor that runs on devices that don't support antivirus or endpoint detection. The backdoor uses file names and creation dates similar to legitimate files on the infected device and favors common Windows programming interfaces and tools over custom code. It also used an unusual method to connect to attacker-controlled infrastructure. Details about the botnet are available in the article. |
Microsoft launches Xbox Game Pass Ultimate with PC and Xbox games for $14.99 per month . The Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription is out of beta and is now available to everybody for $14.99 per month. Gamers will be able to access Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass for both Xbox and PC with the subscription. Separately, the Xbox Live Gold, Xbox Game Pass for Xbox, and Xbox Game Pass for PC are $9.99 each. A special introductory offer of $1 for the first month is available for the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. |
Triton is the world’s most murderous malware, and it’s spreading . Triton was discovered in a petrochemical plant in Saudi Arabia in 2017, after a couple of incidents where the safety systems in the plant were triggered and caused shutdowns. The malware targets the safety systems of the plant, granting attackers remote control over the systems. Fortunately, no damage was done, but such an attack could have caused the release of toxic gases or created explosions, putting people’s lives at risk. This is the first time that a cyber attack was deliberately designed to endanger human beings, and there is evidence that the hacker group that built the malware is looking for new targets. |
NASA announces SpaceX crewed flight June 2019 . NASA has announced that it will be sending the first manned flight with a SpaceX rocket to the International Space Station in June 2019. They will also be sending a similar manned flight in a Boeing rocket in August 2019. The crews will be using new lighter space suits designed by SpaceX and Boeing. These flights are considered tests, and astronauts will only be at the ISS for a couple of weeks. If all goes well NASA will be sending astronauts regularly for 6 months at a time. |
system-design-resources (GitHub Repo). This repository contains a collection of resources for System Design. Categories include video processing, intra-service messaging, service mesh, practical system design, rate limiting, API design, caching, and much more. |
Artificial Intelligence is Helping Old Video Games Look Likes New . AI upscaling is the name of the technique where AI is used to convert low-quality images into higher quality images. It is able to produce drastically improved graphics and has been used to make older, lower resolution games look new. Creating the right algorithm takes time and effort, but a single modder is able to upgrade the graphics in a game within a few weeks of work. AI Upscaling uses Generative Adversarial Networks to train algorithms to tell the difference between low-quality and high-quality images. The generated images are not perfect, and many require post-processing. |
Salesforce is buying data visualization company Tableau for $15.7B in all-stock deal . Salesforce will buy Tableau, a data analytics platform, for $15.7 billion in an all-stock deal. At the close of trading on Friday, Tableau was valued at $10.79 billion, according to Google Finance. Trading has stopped for the stock due to the announcement. The purchase of Tableau will allow Salesforce to extend its engagement and data intelligence for customers. Data analytics is becoming an area that all major tech companies are starting to focus on. Google has recently purchased Looker, another data analytics company. Tableau will continue to operate independently under its own brand and with its current leadership team. |
Walmart’s unannounced cloud gaming service detailed in confidential Epic emails . Project Storm is Walmart's attempt at a cloud gaming service. It is unclear if it will ever launch. Back in 2019, Walmart pitched the service to Epic Games to get Fortnite on board. Epic co-founder Mark Rein reported a positive experience when trying out a demo of the service on an Android phone. Epic ended up partnering with Nvidia to launch Fortnite on GeForce Now, which is currently the only way to play the game on iOS. |
What's it like as a Senior Engineer? . Problems become more ambiguous as you get more experienced. As a senior engineer, most of your work goes into research rather than programming, and this includes talking to many people until you get the information you need. It can take some digging to get to clients' real needs. Solutions can sometimes have downsides and you will need to learn how to balance the tradeoffs. Skills like risk management, learning to fail, and receiving feedback become important for development. Working at a higher level involves getting people to agree with you. It all comes down to learning from your experiences, so you need to take opportunities as they show up and look for feedback at the end of projects. |
'Radically new' wing from NASA and MIT automatically changes shape . A new type of wing created by NASA and MIT is made from hundreds of small identical pieces. This design allows the wing to change shape using motors and cables. Different maneuvers require different wing shapes, and modern wings are usually a compromise. The new wing design can respond to changes in aerodynamic loading by changing shape, making the wing perform more optimally. Researchers aim to apply this technology to other structures, such as turbines, bridges, and space antennas. |
What’s a five-letter word for “acquire”? NYT buys Wordle for “low 7 figures” . The New York Times has announced that it will purchase Wordle for a number in the low seven figures. It will remain free to play and no changes will be made to its gameplay. Current players' win records and streaks will be retained. While NYT has many free games that can be played without signing in or registering, some games require a subscription to play a full version or for more features. |
Telegram ‘Premium’ subscription is showing up in beta builds of the app . Beta testers for Telegram's iOS app have discovered new features that are only accessible through a subscription to Telegram Premium. The subscription will likely involve adding features like premium stickers, reactions, and other features for business teams or power users. It will also likely remove ads for subscribers. The free parts of Telegram will continue to be free. Telegram only needs a small percentage of its users to subscribe in order to become the break-even business it wants to be. |
Apple’s board of directors reportedly tried out its upcoming AR / VR headset . A mixed reality headset capable of both augmented and virtual reality has been presented to Apple's board of directors. Apple engineers are now developing an operating system for the device called Reality OS, or rOS. The device will feature AirPods Max-like fabric mesh and a headband that looks almost like an Apple Watch loop. It will be powered by an M1-class chip. The device is not likely to be ready for an announcement at WWDC next month. |
Space balloon company offers first look at luxury cabins . Space Perspective plans to lift luxury cabins into the upper atmosphere with giant balloons by the end of 2024. The company has sold more than 600 tickets at $125,000 each so far for the experience. The luxury cabins will feature Wi-Fi connectivity and a drinks bar. The balloons will reach altitudes of 20 miles. Guests won't need to complete any special training. Renderings of the luxury cabins are available in the article. |
JavaScript Performance in the Wild 2020 (14 minute read). This article analyzes the top 1 million pages on the web to find out what makes the web slow. A scripted web browser was used to browse to the root page of the top 1 million domains and log render times, request counts, repaints, JavaScript errors, libraries used, and other data. The analysis provided support for several optimization tricks, such as making as few requests as possible, using HTTP2 or greater, and avoiding render blocking requests and using async where possible. JQuery is the most popular library, but the data says it significantly slows down performance. |
Microsoft's Chromium-based Edge browser rolls out through Windows Update . 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. |
France passes tax on tech giants despite US threats . France has approved a three percent digital services tax for any digital company that generates more than €750m of revenue if €25m of the revenue is generated in France. The law will be retroactively applied from early 2019 and will generate an estimated €400m this year. While the US has threatened to impose tariffs in retaliation, France argues that these companies have a large presence in their country and benefit by not paying little or no tax, as most profits are claimed in the home country. The EU has previously proposed a similar tax but there were objections to the law. France will rescind the new laws if an international agreement is made in regards to taxing digital services, and hopes that the US will be incentivized to participate in talks. |
One of the World's Most Powerful Supercomputers Uses Light Instead of Electric Current . France's Jean Zay supercomputer is the first HPC to have a photonic coprocessor, meaning it transmits and processes information using light. The breakthrough was made through a collaboration by LightOn, GENCI, and IDRIS. The technology will be offered to select users of the Jean Zay research community over the next few months. The fastest supercomputer in June last year was Japan's Fugaku supercomputer. |
Uber says it will start delivering fast food by drone in San Diego this summer . Uber will begin fast food deliveries using drones in San Diego later this year, pending approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The drone deliveries will not be made directly to customers’ houses. Instead, deliveries will be sent to ‘designated safe landing zones’. Uber couriers will then take the package from the landing zone and deliver it to the customer. Costs for drone delivery will be about the same as regular fees, but deliveries will be much faster. Uber predicts that drone deliveries will be so common in 10 years time that fast food restaurants will redesign their kitchens around them. |
Eight big takeaways from CES 2020 . CES is over, and while there doesn't seem to be a clear 'Next Big Thing', there is an abundance of new ideas. TV makers are continuing to look for the next expensive thing to encourage consumers to upgrade. Rolling TVs, 8K, and radical bezel-less or ultra-thin designs were common at CES. While foldable screens still seem to be a while away, flexible screen technology has improved significantly. The battle between AMD and Intel seems to be ramping up, with both companies striving to create hardware for new form factors. Many companies presented concept designs at CES, but most didn't seem to have a firm purpose or direction. Smaller companies are feeling the pressure from large companies like Google, and some lawsuits were filed just hours after CES opened. Sex technology is becoming less taboo at the show. AI, 8K, and 5G are becoming more normalized and less worshipped as a technology. |
Building electronic devices via chemical reactions . Almost all demonstrations of atomically small machines are essentially assembled by hand. A team of scientists has successfully used a chemical reaction to bind two atomically thin materials, graphene and molybdenum disulfide, potentially paving the way for mass production. The bridge molecule can be used to alter graphene's behavior in different ways. Details about the technique are available in the article. |
Plant-based burger battle heats up as culinary rivals roll out new products . Two plant-based burger companies, Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, are set to launch the next versions of their burgers. While both burgers are plant-based, their formulas are quite different. Beyond Meats’ burger is based on pea and mung bean protein, whereas Impossible Foods’ burger using a soy-based protein. Previously, Beyond Meat had mainly targeted grocery stores while Impossible Foods targeted restaurants, but both companies now aim to compete directly with each other for customer loyalty. |
Elon Musk reveals updated design for future SpaceX Mars rocket . Elon Musk gave an update on SpaceX's Big Falcon Rocket (BFR), which will be able to take up to 100 tons of payload all the way to Mars. It can also be used to send the Big Falcon Spaceship (BFS), which can hold up to 100 passengers comfortably, to Mars. Musk thinks the BFR could make its first flight to Mars in 2022, and the first manned trip to Mars could happen as early as 2024. There are diagrams of the rockets inside. |
Ubuntu market-share is in a nosedive . Ubuntu came out in 2004 and became the most popular Linux distribution in less than 12 months. It has remained popular throughout the years, but its popularity has started to wane. Gamers and other users have moved to platforms like Arch and Manjaro. The drop in popularity may give the Ubuntu team the motivation it needs to make significant changes to its system to make it more appealing to the users they are losing. |
Message Platform Slack Moves Ahead Amid Direct Listing Plans . The popular messaging platform, Slack, filed with US regulators to go public without disclosing the details of its share-sale plans. Slack plans to sell its shares directly to investors without an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The estimated value of the company is more than $7 billion. While it is rare for a company to forgo an IPO, other companies such as Spotify have successfully gone public through this route. |
A CCTV Company Is Paying Remote Workers in India to Yell at Armed Robbers . Live Eye Surveillance is a surveillance camera system that lets a remote human operator intervene whenever they see something suspicious. The operators can speak through store speakers to interact with people in the store. Live Eye's system has caused some concern with workers, especially as it could potentially make dangerous situations worse. A link to a 2-minute sample video from Live Eye demonstrating the system is available in the article. |
What part of the developer experience is hardest for companies to get right? . 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. |
BrainNet is The World's First Non-Invasive Brain-to-Brain Interface . Researchers have created the world's first non-invasive brain-to-brain interface called BrainNet. It uses EEG to record brain signals and transcranial magnetic stimulation to deliver information to the brain. In an experiment, one person sees a game of Tetris and decides whether to keep or rotate the block. They then send this information through BrainNet to a second person who can't see the game screen, who must then decide whether to turn the block or keep it in position. The players were able to play the game with 81.3% accuracy. The researchers believe that this technology could eventually be used to create a '"social network" of connected brains.' |
MySpace Says It Lost Years Of User-Uploaded Music . Since 2003, people have used Myspace as a platform for uploading and sharing their music. As one of the most popular sites in 2006, it had helped launch the music careers of stars such as Lily Allen, the Arctic Monkeys, and Kate Nash. Since 2018, users have been finding that they could not access older music from the social media site. It has recently been revealed that due to a server migration, all photos, videos, and audio files uploaded before 2016 were lost and is no longer available. While MySpace claims it lost the files in an accident, skeptics say that the real reason was due to the cost and effort of migrating and hosting a large amount of old data and that the claims of incompetence were just for PR. |
Spotify Teams Up With Ancestry to Create DNA-Curated Playlists . Spotify is partnering with Ancestry.com to create playlists based a user's DNA. Anybody who has taken one of Ancestry.com's home DNA tests can now link their account to Spotify, and Spotify will generate a playlist based on your own tastes and music that is popular or culturally significant from your ancestral homelands. |
Elon Musk Raises More Questions About Twitter's Approach, Which Could Lead to a Big Shake-Up . Elon Musk made a series of tweets on Saturday night, raising questions about the platform and the future of the company. He noted that the most popular accounts on Twitter are not very active and that bots were skewing Twitter's active user numbers. Musk suggested that Twitter Blue subscribers should get an authentication checkmark and be excluded from seeing ads. He also suggested that Twitter's home base be converted to a homeless shelter. More about Twitter's past, its current state, and what the future may be like for the company, is available in the article. |
How Amazon automatically tracks and fires warehouse workers for ‘productivity’ . Around 300 full-time employees, an estimated 10% of the workforce, were fired from a warehouse in Baltimore between August 2017 and September 2018. A former worker disputed their termination, claiming that they were fired for participating in legally protected activity. In response, Amazon produced a report detailing its productivity measuring processes and termination rates. Amazon measures productivity in their warehouses using an automated tracking system, which categorizes employees according to productivity rates and suggests retraining or termination if an employee fails to meet requirements. Employees have criticized the system, claiming that it is too robotic and doesn’t take human factors into account. A redacted version of the report is available to read. |
Amazon ‘destroyed the retail industry across the US’ says Treasury Secretary Mnuchin . According to the US Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, Amazon has destroyed the retail industry across the United States and should be investigated alongside other tech giants in the broad antitrust review that the Justice Department recently announced. The DOJ will be investigating big tech companies to see whether online platforms have reduced competition, stifled innovation, or otherwise harmed consumers. Amazon responded to Mnuchin's comments by pointing out that Amazon represents less than four percent of US retail sales and that 90 percent of retail sales still occur in brick-and-mortar stores. |
Earth Microbes Can Survive on the Surface of Mars, Study Suggests . A team of scientists launched a box containing four types of bacteria and fungus into the stratosphere to expose them to several hours of Mars-like conditions. The experiment found that some species of fungi could be resistant to the Martian surface if accidentally delivered by spacecraft missions. This finding has implications for human Mars missions, as mission planners will have to figure out a way to prevent organisms in our microbiomes from spreading into the Martian environment. |
Meta goes into lockdown (10 minute read). Meta has started pulling talks at its summits due to risks of leaks. The company had always adhered to an open culture, but leaks have become an increasing problem in recent years. Meta recently rolled out a new Integrity Umbrella system designed to thwart leakers by limiting access to private Workplace groups. Employees who need access to a group can request it through a specific form. Employees at Meta claim that isolating company discussions will harm users in the long run. |
2020 Startup Themes . It is easier than ever for entrepreneurs to develop and pitch new products. As giants like Facebook and Google become more profit-driven, lowering the quality of user experience as a result, the field is ripe for competitors to join the market. Software development is becoming simpler and more easily accessible, and new types of software will need to be developed as the industry evolves. Some software has already been banned in countries due to political reasons, and this is likely to become a larger issue in the future. Privacy is an increasingly growing sector, but adoption is still slow. AI is on the rise, and it is beginning to be able to complete more and more complicated tasks. Radio technology is becoming cheaper and more accessible, with new types of detection technology currently being developed. The office is changing, with remote teams becoming common. More startups are focusing on the environment and redesigning industries to become sustainable. |
Icons 8 Ouch (Free Illustrations). This is a set of free illustrations neatly categorized for web developers. The categories are things like page not found, no comments, payment processed, as well as topics like education, relationships, and medicine. |
Google Contractors Are Unionizing With a Steel Workers Union . Contract workers at Google's office in Pittsburgh have joined forces with the Pittsburgh Association of Technical Professions to ask the National Labor Relations Board for a vote on union representation. The workers at HCL America Inc. work side-by-side with Google employees with far less compensation and few perks. Tech companies such as Google, Uber, and Lyft have been criticized by employees as their classifications for temps, vendors, and contractors allow companies to abdicate their responsibilities to the majority of their workforce. Once the NLRB determines whether the cards and signatures qualify, a representation election will be scheduled, which is when individual workers can vote for or against being represented by the union. |
Inside Facebook's suicide algorithm: Here's how the company uses artificial intelligence to predict your mental state from your posts . Facebook's suicide algorithm scans every post on Facebook to create a suicide risk score for each user. They pass high scores to law enforcement. Facebook points out that they have caused numerous successful interventions but many advocacy groups are worried about false positives. They also worry about Facebook's history of being hacked; if Facebook leaks your mental health score it could potentially be Googled by future employers etc. Facebook says they do not classify the information they make as sensitive health information, and while they delete low scores after 30 days, they did not respond when asked how long higher suicide risk scores would be stored. The EU has already banned Facebook's suicide algorithm under their GDPR law. |
The JavaScript Developer's Reading List (GitHub Repo). There is a lot of material out there for learning JavaScript and this can be a bit overwhelming. This repository contains a curated list of web development and JavaScript books and articles that have been recommended by developers. The owner of the repository is mainly focused on using React, GraphQL, and JavaScript, as it is the stack they are most familiar with. |
Nreal Air AR specs bring TV to your sunglasses . The Nreal Air is a pair of augmented reality glasses with a micro-OLED display. The lightweight glasses are designed for watching videos on YouTube and other streaming apps. While they look like sunglasses, Nreal claims they're optimized for both indoor and outdoor wear. They can cast a 90 Hz virtual display measuring up to 201 inches diagonally when viewed from 6 meters away. The Nreal Air will be available in China, Japan, and South Korea in December. Nreal has plans to launch the glasses in the US and likely the EU. |
USS Portland Fires Laser Weapon, Downs Drone in First At-Sea Test . The USS Portland recently shot down a drone with a laser weapon during a test of one of the Navy's high-energy laser weapon systems. The Navy is currently developing and testing a portfolio of laser weapons, some of which are more powerful than the one mounted on Portland. Portland's laser is expected to ultimately become a 150-kilowatt laser weapon. The development of the laser required advances in spectral beam combining, a technique that takes many lasers of different wavelengths and combines them into a more powerful beam. A 14-second video of the weapons test is available. |
Taking Back Our Privacy (40 minute read). Signal was launched in 2014 by Moxie Marlinspike. The end-to-end encrypted messaging service has grown largely since then, with bursts of growth corresponding to periods of social and political upheaval. Signal is able to bring a sense of normalcy to the internet, allowing people to share their thoughts with their friends without having the conversation analyzed for data. This article details a meeting with Marlinspike and discusses the rise of Signal and its future. |
The Surface Duo, Microsoft’s first-ever Android phone, is $1,400 . The Surface Duo is now available for pre-order and will ship on September 10. Microsoft will sell the dual-screen phone unlocked for $1,399. AT&T will also stock the device. It will come with two 5.6-inch OLED panels, a Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB ram, 128 or 256GB of storage, a 3577mAh battery, one 11MP camera, a single speaker, a USB-C port, and support for Surface pen input. A 2-minute video from Microsoft is available in the article. |
Floating Drone Captures First-Ever Footage From Inside A Hurricane At Sea . The Saildrone Explorer SD 1045 is an uncrewed surface vehicle developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the company Saildrone. It recently captured footage from inside a Category 4 hurricane from the ocean surface. The NOAA will use the collected data to improve forecast models and better predict when and how hurricanes undergo rapid intensification. The footage is available in the article. |
Meet the creature that eats its own brain . The sea squirt belongs to a group of undersea animals called tunicates. Tunicates are saclike filter-feeders that live on plankton and organic matter. While they are squishy, they are part of the phylum chordata as they have many of the anatomical features of vertebrate animals in their larval stage. Sea squirts come in many shapes and sizes. They hatch into tadpole-like larvae that can swim for a short time. After they settle, they begin absorbing all the tadpole-like parts, including its brain, and becomes its adult form. There are many pictures of sea squirts available in the article. |
Scientists Engineer Gorgeous Glowing Plants That Shine Bright Their Entire Life Cycle . Scientists have genetically engineered a plant with a visible glow that lasts for the duration of the plant's life cycle. The modified tobacco plants don't need to be fed with chemicals to maintain luminescence. A timelapse video of the plants growing is available in the articles. The scientists used the DNA of bioluminescent fungi to create the plants. Younger parts of the plants glow most brightly, with the flowers glowing brightest. The plants do not emit enough light to read by, but enough to be clearly visible. |
Here’s how the FBI managed to get into the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone . After the San Bernardino shooting, the FBI asked Apple to help unlock the shooter's phone. Apple attempted to help but refused to create a tool to bypass the passcode system as that would permanently decrease the security of its phones. The FBI then partnered with an Australian IT firm, who exploited a flaw in some code written by Mozilla to gain full control over the main processor and run their own code. They then ran software that allowed them to guess every passcode combination. In the end, the FBI didn't get any useful information from the phone. |
about SwiftUI (GitHub Repo). There are many docs, examples, videos, and tutorials on SwiftUI and this repository aims to gather all of the material to create a central source of information for SwiftUI. SwiftUI allows developers to easily build user interfaces across all of Apple’s devices using a simple set of tools and APIs. Developers are welcome to contribute to the list. |
Dow Jones’ watchlist of 2.4 million high-risk individuals has leaked . The Dow Jones’ watchlist is used by many financial institutions and government agencies to identify high-risk individuals in order to approve or deny financing, or even shut down bank accounts. An independent security researcher found a copy of the database which was left on a server without a password. The database contained 2.4 million records which included information such as names, addresses, date of births, genders, photographs, and current locations. Each record also had extensive notes regarding the individuals. |
Humans probably can't live longer than 150 years, new research finds . New research from a Singapore-based biotech company explored how well the human body can recover from stress on its systems as it ages and found that the human body loses its ability to recover from stressors at some age between 120 and 150. The research looked at health data for large groups from the US, UK, and Russia. It showed that recovery rate is an important signature of aging. The research could lead to the development of drugs to slow the process and extend healthspan. It explains why current treatments can only improve the average but not the maximum lifespan. |
El Salvador looks to become the world’s first country to adopt bitcoin as legal tender . El Salvador may become the world's first sovereign nation to adopt bitcoin as legal tender. The country recently partnered with digital wallet company Strike to build modern financial infrastructure using bitcoin technology. Roughly 70 percent of people in El Salvador don't have bank accounts or credit cards. More than 20 percent of the country's GDP is from money sent home from migrants. International transfer fees for cash can be more than 10 percent of the total transfer and take days to process. Using bitcoin provides a way to protect the country's developing economy from the potential shocks of fiat currency inflation. |
Web Development In 2020 - A Practical Guide Course List (GitHub Repo). There are tons of technologies available for web developers and the large amount of information out there can be intimidating for newcomers. This list of technologies includes links to the top Udemy courses for each topic, as well as other resources. Alternatives to Udemy are also listed. |
Ask HN: Where can I find remote or quality oriented freelancing work? (Hacker News Thread). As a developer, finding freelance work can be difficult, especially with popular freelancing platforms being flooded with low-quality programmers who place low bids to win projects. While there are many sources and avenues to find employment, the key is to develop sales skills and set yourself apart from the crowd. Employers and companies receive applications all the time, and if an application is generic, it is easy to ignore. Being proactive by creating a portfolio of work and then presenting it correctly will help developers gain more higher-quality jobs than just exploring new job platforms or randomly contacting potential employers. |
Watch: Klein Vision’s Flying Car Prototype Takes to the Skies After Driving the Road . Most flying cars are just small airplanes, but the Klein Vision AirCar is an aircraft that looks and functions like a car. A video is linked in the article that shows the AirCar successfully completing a flight and driving around. It is a road-ready car that can transform into a plane with a touch of a few buttons. The vehicle is powered by a 1.6-liter BMW engine and the startup claims that it has a flying range of 620 miles and can reach a top flying speed of 124 mph. |
Uber is trying to buy Grubhub . Uber has made an offer to buy Grubhub. Grubhub is currently valued at $4.5 billion. Uber Eats has around 20 percent of the delivery app market share while Grubhub has around 30 percent. The ride-sharing business has seen a steep decline in recent months, so Uber investing more into its meal delivery offerings is expected. Absorbing one of its largest competitors will remove a major source of competition for Uber while expanding its operations. |
First Patient Injected With Experimental Cancer-Killing Virus in New Clinical Trial . Human trials for an experimental cancer-killing virus have begun. Vaxinia is a genetically modified virus designed to selectively infect and kill cancer cells while sparing healthy ones. It works by entering cells and duplicating itself until the cell bursts, which results in the immune system being stimulated to attack nearby cancer cells. Vaxinia was effective in preclinical trials and could be a game-changer if it is proven to work in humans. The trial is expected to take two years, so it will be some time before the results are released. |
Twist Biosciences: The DNA API (18 minute read). This article explores the business and science behind Twist Bioscience and the biotech industry. Twist is a DNA manufacturing and software company. The company produces sequences of DNA that cells use to produce molecular products and molecular work. Twist uses a printing technique to produce thousands of DNA sequences at a time on silicon chips with very low error rates. The business has automated its processes, making it an API business and more like a tech company than a manufacturing company. |
Drone swarms can now fly autonomously through thick forest . Scientists from Zhejiang University in China have tested swarms of drones that can autonomously navigate through complex environments. The drones can fly through dense bamboo forests while avoiding other drones. There are many applications for autonomous drone swarms, such as mapping areas that humans can't reach during disasters or lifting and delivering heavy objects. There are also military applications. The technology will likely be deployed in real-life work within a few years. A video of the drones flying through a bamboo forest is available. |
Signal’s New PIN Feature Worries Cybersecurity Experts . Signal has been a favorite of privacy advocates ever since Edward Snowden endorsed the app. One of the reasons the app was highly recommended was because it did not collect much information from users. Signal developers have implemented a new requirement for users to create a PIN to activate an account data recovery feature. The new feature stores users' contacts, profile information, settings, and blocked users list on Signal's servers. Security experts are concerned as it demonstrates that the developers have changed their stance on storing user information. |
Engineers test a powered 'ankle exoskeleton' to make running easier . An ankle exoskeleton is a device that could potentially help people run longer and faster. It could potentially even serve as a new mode of transportation. A team of engineers at Stanford University created a motorized exoskeleton rig that reduces the energy cost of running and boosts speed. Its motors tug on a cable that runs through the back of the rig from the heel to the calf, pulling the foot upwards during the toe-off and extending the ankle at the end of every step. Testers report feeling like they can run forever while using the device. |
Google Voice now lets you decide who goes to voicemail . Google Voice can now be configured to forward calls to a linked phone number or voicemail. The feature can be turned on for groups of contacts and rules can be set to play custom greetings. Mobile app users are currently restricted to only being able to view existing rules and will need to use the website to set new rules. The update indicate that Google plans to continue the service. |
Math to Code (Website). Math to Code is an interactive tutorial to teach engineers how to use Python's NumPy library. It is useful as a quick primer in NumPy syntax. There are 13 sections, each with an explanation of a NumPy function, a small exercise, and the option to show solutions if you become stuck. |
Spotify Car Thing's wait-list signups surpass 2 million people . Spotify recently released new Car Things for purchase. Car Thing is a touchscreen and voice-enabled device that makes Spotify easier to navigate in cars. It was launched as a free, highly limited release in April. Users who were interested in a device had to sign up on a waitlist, which accumulated over 2 million preorders. Car Thing is currently only available to Spotify Premium members in the US. |
How I hacked modern Vending Machines . A hilarious story (with step-by-step code examples!) about how hacker Matteo Pisani hacked his university's smart vending machine (seriously this a vending machine with an app). The article ends with video proof of him using his hack to get a free drink. |
New JavaScript Features ECMAScript 2021 . This article provides an overview of 8 new useful features that are in ECMAScript 2021. It provides a description of each feature along with examples of how to use them. |
Tour from Space: Inside the SpaceX Crew Dragon Spacecraft on Its Way to the Space Station (8 minute video). This video shows Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley giving a tour of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. It begins with Hurley naming the capsule 'Endeavour'. The spacecraft features touch panel interfaces and a button panel. There are two windows and an entry/exit hatch. The astronauts are in zero gravity and demonstrated a zero gravity maneuver. Tremor the plush dinosaur was selected to accompany the astronauts by the astronaut's sons. The astronauts attempted to show the view of the Atlantic ocean from the window, but it was obstructed by a reflection. |
How To Contribute To Open-Source Projects As A Beginner . This article explains how to make contributions to open source projects. It steps the developer through each step, from forking the repository and cloning the project, to committing the changes and opening pull requests. It is important to read the code of conduct and contribution guidelines before contributing to a project. |
IoT vendor Wyze confirms server leak . 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. |
Mark Zuckerberg warns staff Facebook will be ‘turning up the heat’ to weed out underperformers . Meta is cutting back on hiring as slow growth and macroeconomic headwinds push the company to downgrade its economic outlook. It will hire 30% fewer engineers this year than planned. The company will also start weeding out staff who are unable to meet certain KPIs. Meta ended the first quarter of 2022 with 28% more full-time employees than it had a year earlier. It started a hiring freeze in May as user growth and ad revenue started decreasing. |
Stork (GitHub Repo). Stork creates an index file of your content and provides a frontend for searching through the file. It is designed to display the best search results immediately to users as they type. A GIF example is provided. |
Putin could decide for the world on CRISPR babies . A secret summit has been held in Moscow between government health officials to debate a bid by a scientist to create genetically modified babies. The first genetically modified humans were born in China last year as a part of a project to create HIV-resistant humans. Putin's eldest daughter, Maria Vorontsova, was present at the secret summit. Scientists want official rules to be set for gene editing, but it is undecided who should control the genetically modified future. The costs of gene editing are dropping and is currently around $15,500, the cost of a car. There is plenty of potential in the technology, but it can be easily abused. |
Facebook launches Portal TV, a $149 video chat set-top box . Facebook has released a new line of Portal devices, including a device that turns any TV into a video chat device. The $149 Portal TV allows people to watch videos simultaneously while video chatting. A new 8-inch Portal Mini is now available at $129. Older portal devices have dropped in price. Portal devices lack video apps such as Netflix and HBO. When Portal launched, people were unsure about bringing Facebook surveillance technology inside their homes, but so far the response from consumers has been positive. Portal devices display a message on launch that informs users that their voice clips may be reviewed by humans. WhatsApp integration is now available for Portal devices. |
Imagineering in a Box (Website). This course features Disney Imagineers that come from hundreds of career disciplines around the world. It covers the wide range of skills required to create immersive experiences, from characters to ride development, so that the student can learn to design a theme park of their own. |
Hacking the Apple Webcam (11 minute read). This article describes a vulnerability within iCloud Sharing and Safari 15 that allowed hackers to gain unauthorized camera access on Macs. It details how the vulnerability was discovered and how the exploit was developed. The vulnerability demonstrated how a design flaw in one application can enable a variety of other bugs. All issues were patched in early 2022 and the author was awarded a $100,500 bounty. |
This App Will Make You Question 67% of Your Investment Decisions (Sponsor). This App Will Make You Question 67% of Your Investment Decisions . Two-thirds of investors regret impulsive or emotional investment decisions.That’s why over $1 trillion is managed by “quantitative” hedge funds who use algorithms to invest.But unless you are a Python Prince or an Excel Evangelist - the magic of quant investing has been out of reach.Until now…Composer is the first platform that lets you invest in or build quant-strategies, no PhD required.Put the power of quant in your portfolio today.**See important disclaimer |
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Compression (GitHub Docs). This project is a resource for people who want to learn about compression algorithms. While the world focuses on its efforts in making internet speeds faster, the art of lossless compression is becoming lost. There are still some active projects, but compression isn't really mainstream. The benefits of compression are endless, including all the benefits of faster internet speeds but with less cost as it uses existing infrastructure. |
McDonald’s is acquiring Dynamic Yield to create a more customized drive-thru . In the fast-food chain’s largest acquisition in 20 years, McDonald’s has acquired personalization company Dynamic Yield for a rumored amount of more than $300 million. McDonald’s plans to use the technology developed by Dynamic Yield to build drive-thru menus that are tailored to things such as weather, current restaurant traffic, and trending menu items. The new menus will also offer additional items based on what has been selected. These new menus have already been tested in several locations in the US in 2018 and will be rolled out to other areas in the US in 2019 before moving into international markets. Dynamic Yield will continue to operate as a standalone company and will serve existing and future clients while continuing the development of its personalization technology. |
Tesla acquires ultracapacitor and battery manufacturer for over $200 million . Tesla has reached an agreement with Maxwell, an ultracapacitor and battery component manufacturer, to purchase the company for over $200 million. While Maxwell is best known for its ultracapacitor technologies, Tesla’s acquisition is more likely due to the dry electrode technology that Maxwell has been recently showing off. The dry electrode is a battery technology that is able to significantly boost storage capacity, simplify the manufacturing process, and lower production costs. |
Apple says Qualcomm refused to sell it chips for the latest iPhones . In a testimony to the US Federal Trade Commission, Apple's chief operating officer said that Apple wanted to use Qualcomm modems in the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR, but Qualcomm refused to sell them after Apple sued over their licensing practices. Apple originally wanted to split its modem order between Qualcomm and Intel but had to go with Intel exclusively, which likely delayed Apple in bringing a 5G phone to market as Intel's 5G chips won't be available until 2020. |
Seaborg plans to rapidly mass-produce cheap, floating nuclear reactors . Seaborg Technologies is a startup that is building a type of cheap, portable, flexible, and super-safe nuclear reactor the size of a shipping container. The Compact Molten Salt Reactors are designed to minimize the consequences of accidents. Accidents will probably happen, so the reactors are designed so that even the worst disasters can be managed. Seaborg plans to install the reactors on barges and float them offshore. They will be able to move anywhere on the planet with virtually no site preparation required. |
Countdown to Mars 2020: NASA rover makes final journey before July launch . NASA's Mars 2020 rover has been moved from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California to the NASA Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. It was packed in a large shipping container with the license plate 'HND SGHT'. The rover was carried over 2,300 miles across the country by a pair of Air Force C-17 Globemaster cargo planes. It will start its journey to Mars in July 2020, beginning at the Jezero crater, a potential hotbed of evidence for life on the planet. The Mars Helicopter will accompany the rover to Mars and will be the first to fly on another world. NASA is currently storing the rover in the same processing facility that housed Curiosity. |
A Convolutional Network Enhances Photorealism In GTA V . A team from Intel Labs trained a convolutional network that enhances images using intermediate representations produced by conventional rendering pipelines. The method can be used to enhance computer-generated images to photorealistic quality frame by frame. It can be run at interactive rates. Several video examples are provided in the article. |
The US is charging Huawei with racketeering . The Department of Justice and the FBI have brought 16 charges against Huawei, alleging that the company and a number of its affiliates used confidential agreements with American companies over the past two decades to access trade secrets. Huawei allegedly used the stolen information to fund its own business. It has also been charged in connection with its activities in countries like Iran and North Korea, where it uses code words and carefully selected local partners in order to avoid international sanctions. Huawei claims that the case is an attempt to irrevocably damage its reputation and that it is invalid. |
Tesla Model X hacked with $195 Raspberry Pi based board . A Belgian research group discovered a major security flaw in the keyless entry system of the Tesla Model X. The attack uses a device built from a Raspberry Pi computer with a CAN shield, a modified key fob and ECU from a salvage vehicle, and a LiPo battery. Using the device, the researchers could steal a Tesla Model X in only a few minutes from a distance. The group reported the security flaw to Tesla, who rewarded them with a bug bounty. The issue was fixed in the most recent over-the-air software update. |
Reseter.css (GitHub Repo). Reseter.css resets all premade styles and normalizes the browser's stylesheet, removing most inconsistencies. An example is available in the repository. |
Facebook brings cloud gaming to Apple devices with a web app . Facebook is bringing its cloud gaming service to iOS through a web app. The service allows players to stream graphically intensive games from the cloud. It uses a custom payment system to accept in-game purchases. Facebook is not allowed to use its main app to direct users to a website that uses its own payments technology. Amazon and Microsoft are also using web apps to get around App Store rules. Facebook's cloud gaming service is available in the US and parts of Canada and Mexico. |
All your reaction GIFs now belong to Facebook, as it buys Giphy for $400M . Facebook has bought Giphy in order to integrate the service within Instagram. The deal was valued at around $400 million. Around half of Giphy's traffic comes from Facebook products. Giphy was the first service to make animated images work on Facebook. The deal is likely to attract significant attention from federal regulators. Facebook is currently under investigation for using acquisitions to gather data on competitors. Giphy's platform is used by Facebook's competitors for GIF support. |
Windows code-execution zeroday is under active exploit, Microsoft warns . Microsoft has warned users that attackers are actively exploiting a Windows zero-day vulnerability that can execute malicious code on fully updated systems. The security flaw exists in the Adobe Type Manager Library, consisting of two code-execution flaws that can be triggered by the improper handling of maliciously crafted fonts. Until a patch is available, Microsoft recommends that users disable the Preview Pane and Details Pane in Windows Explorer, disable the WebClient service, and rename ATMFD.DLL or disable it from the registry. Users should also be wary of suspicious requests to view untrusted documents and install a patch once it becomes available. |