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Need to design, automate, and monitor critical business processes? (Sponsor). Boost productivity with a tool that integrates seamlessly with your current tech stack and is optimized for scalability, resiliency, high-performance throughput, and low latency. Camunda Platform: The Universal Process Orchestrator. Try free now.
Optical brain-like chip processes almost 2 billion images per second . Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have developed an optical chip that can process almost two billion images per second. The device uses a neural network that processes information as light. It uses optical wires as its neurons, with each layer specializing in a particular type of classification. The device's speed comes from its ability to process information as light. The team will now work on scaling up the chip and adapting it to process other types of data. An example of the type of image that the chip was tasked with classifying is available in the article.
Facebook’s Data Deals Are Under Criminal Investigation . An investigation into data deals struck between Facebook and some of the world’s biggest technology companies is underway, with at least two major smart-phone makers recently being subpoenaed by a grand jury in New York. These data deals let companies see users’ information, including friends and contact information, sometimes without consent. The partnerships with these tech companies may violate an agreement between Facebook and the FTC formed in 2011 after allegations the company had shared data in ways that deceived consumers. The Cambridge-Analytica investigation is still underway, with an employee being questioned as recently as February.
Luna Programming Language (GitHub Repo). Luna allows developers to design, prototype, develop, and refactor any application by linking visual elements together. Developers are able to collaborate with a team, interactively fine-tune parameters, inspect the results, and visually profile performance in real-time. This repository contains the code for the compiler core. A link to the full visual Luna Studio repository is available.
'Electronic nose' could smell breath to warn about higher risk of oesophageal cancer . Barrett's esophagus is a condition that can lead to cancer of the esophagus. 9,000 new cases of esophageal cancer are diagnosed every year in the UK. There are often no symptoms associated with Barrett's esophagus. The diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus is usually done via an endoscopy, which can be expensive and invasive. Researchers have developed a new electronic nose that can analyze a patient's breath and produce a diagnosis. The device is easy to use and it can potentially reduce the number of cases of esophageal cancer as doctors will be able to start early interventions. Further tests of the device will still be needed before it will be available for doctors, but researchers aim to put it to market within two to three years.
PRESENTA Lib (GitHub Repo). PRESENTA Lib is a JavaScript library for building web presentations from config objects. It focuses on letting people work on content while allowing customizations. Full documentation is linked.
Boston Dynamics is open-sourcing its robot tech to help hospitals fight coronavirus . Boston Dynamics' Spot robot is being used for telemedicine, allowing health workers to communicate with patients remotely. This applications' hardware and software design is being open-sourced for developers and robot-makers to develop solutions for fighting the coronavirus. Boston Dynamics is also exploring ways to measure body temperature, respiratory rate, pulse rate, and oxygen saturation remotely via Spot. A disinfectant technology may be mounted on the back of Spot later in the project to remotely sanitize patients and surfaces.
How do vaccinated people spread Delta? What the science says . The Delta strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is more likely than other variants to spread through vaccinated people. Data from Covid-19 tests show that vaccinated people who are infected with Delta SARS-CoV-2 can carry as much virus in their noses as unvaccinated people. The findings highlight the importance of protective measures to reduce transmission. Researchers stress that the Covid-19 vaccines are protective against serious illness and death. The Delta strain is more infectious and affects people slightly longer than other strains. However, some studies show that vaccinated people might remain infectious for a shorter period.
China’s food delivery giant Meituan hits $100B valuation amid pandemic . Meituan is a Hong Kong-listed food delivery firm. The company has recently reached a valuation of over $100 billion. Nationwide lockdowns increased the need for food delivery, but customers tightened their budgets, resulting in a net loss for the company. The daily number of transactions has dropped 18.2%, but the average value per order has jumped up by 14.4%, as more families have started ordering meals. A large number of premium restaurants opened up to food delivery services during the pandemic, and they will likely continue to bring in revenue after restrictions are lifted.
What happens when ... Kubernetes edition! (35 minute read). Kubernetes handles the deployment of workloads across infrastructure using user-friendly APIs. Most of what it is doing is hidden from the user. This article details what happens 'under the hood' in Kubernetes after you enter in the command to deploy nginx to a cluster. It aims to help readers understand what Kubernetes actually does in order to fully understand the value it offers.
MangoDB (GitHub Repo). MangoDB is a proxy that converts MongoDB wire protocol queries to SQL and uses PostgreSQL as a database engine. It is an open-source alternative to MongoDB as MongoDB has changed its license to make it unusable for many open source and commercial projects. MangoDB will be compatible with MongoDB drivers and will work as a drop-in replacement for MongoDB in many cases. It is still in a very early stage of development.
Vision-based AI drones outfly world-class human pilots . A trio of champion drone racers recently faced off against vision-based AI drones in a race and lost. The drones used onboard vision systems and their own computers to fly. They did not have the aid of motion-capture systems or off-board computers. Motion capture systems can provide near-perfect state estimation, making a race between humans and AI completely unfair. Several drone racing clips are available in the article.
Differential Privacy (GitHub Repo). This repository contains a library of algorithms that can be used to produce statistics over numeric data sets that contain private or sensitive information. It can compute the count, sum, mean, variance, standard deviation, and provide order statistics. The algorithms are suitable for research, experimental, or production use cases.
Lyft test program offers drivers more rides in exchange for 10% pay cut . Lyft released a new feature for drivers in September called priority mode, which gives drivers more rides for 10% less pay. The ride-hailing industry has been hit hard by the pandemic, with many people around the world sheltered in place with nowhere to go. Many drivers have voiced their complaints online, but the company says that the program was expanded due to the positive feedback it received.
Ask HN: What do you automate in your life and work? (Hacker News Thread). As developers, it is quite easy to write your own programs to make your life easier. It is possible to automate many areas of your life, for example, a tool such as Home Assistant can be used to send custom notifications about the state of your home, turn on/off appliances/lights at certain times of day, monitor and control temperatures, send emails, and much more. Users have automated parts of their life such as dating (automatically swiping on Tinder), entire businesses (fulfillment processes, emails, inquiries), workflows (repetitive blocks of typing, processes, etc), and even shopping for groceries. This thread is full of anecdotes on ways developers have automated parts of their lives to increase efficiency and decrease effort.
Newly leaked video shows a UFO disappear into the water (2 minute video). The Pentagon has confirmed and released footage of a UFO disappearing into the sea. It is still investigating the incident. The findings from the investigation will be presented to Congress in June. Footage of other UFOs is included in the video.
Target announces launch of its curated, third-party marketplace, Target+ . Target will begin to offer products from third parties, similar to Walmart and Amazon, except that the products available will be carefully curated to avoid controversy and to ensure quality. Sellers will have to be approached by Target in order to sell items on Target+ as there is no public application process. Target and Walmart’s recent announcements that they will carry third-party products may hurt Amazon as their brick-and-mortar presence is much higher than Amazon’s.
AWS costs every programmer should know . When considering architecture for projects that require scale, it is handy to know the costs of the hardware that is required in order to arrive at the optimal project design. The costs of running an Elastic Compute Unit on all the different types of instances and storage levels on Amazon Web Services are compared across on-demand and reserved prices. Each ECU represents one core or CPU, rather than one instance. Some companies receive discounts from AWS, which may make a significant difference in costs.
Starbucks and Amazon are opening cashierless coffee shop in Manhattan. Take a look inside . Starbucks and Amazon have opened up a pick-up cafe in midtown Manhattan that uses Amazon's cashierless technology. The cafes are designed to attract busy consumers who want to make quick purchases. Two more locations are set to open over the next year. The cafe stocks a variety of food options and items commonly found in convenience store checkout lines in addition to the Starbucks menu. It is open till 10 pm on weekdays and 9 pm on weekends.
Amazon's sprawling grocery business has become an 'expensive hobby' with a cloudy future (12 minute read). Despite spending billions on developing services and technologies to become a grocery market giant, Amazon is still just a niche player in the industry. Its delivery services have failed to stand out in a crowded field and its Go automated convenience stores have been deprioritized. The technology Amazon implemented in its stores was novel, but it didn't add any value to the shopping experience. Groceries were not a big topic on Amazon's fourth-quarter results call earlier this month.
Amazon's Bezos Launches $2 Billion Fund to Help the Homeless . Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has created a $2 billion fund called the Day One Fund to help homeless families and create a network of nonprofit preschools in low-income communities. It will fund existing nonprofits and issue annual awards to organizations doing "compassionate, needle-moving work" to shelter families. It will also operate a network of high-quality, full-scholarship Montessori-inspired preschools. Bezos wrote in a Tweet: "We’ll use the same set of principles that have driven Amazon. Most important among those will be genuine, intense customer obsession. The child will be the customer." The fund will borrow its vision statement from Seattle charity St. Mary's Place: no child sleeps outside.
Bose is closing all of its retail stores in North America, Europe, Japan, and Australia . Bose will be exiting the North American, European, Japanese, and Australian markets over the next few months, closing 119 stores and laying off hundreds of employees. It opened its first retail store in 1993, and its product line has since grown beyond noise-canceling headphones to include smart speakers, sunglasses that double as earbuds, and more. Bose's retail stores were a place where customers could try out its products, but the needs of customers have changed and Bose is adjusting its strategy accordingly. Employees that are being laid off will be offered outplacement assistance and severance.
Scientists Successfully Turn Breast Cancer Cells Into Fat to Stop Them From Spreading . Researchers have used a combination of two drugs that are already FDA approved to turn breast cancer cells into fat cells. Cancer sometimes uses a process called epithelial to mesenchymal transition, and its opposite, mesenchymal to epithelial transition, to spread throughout the body. The process is normally used for the healing or growth of organs. Trametinib is a drug that increases the transition process of cells, and Rosiglitazone, in combination with Trametinib, helps stem cells convert into fat cells. The combination of the drugs convert human breast cancer cells permanently into fat cells in mice studies. As both drugs are already FDA approved, it should be easier to get the treatment into clinical trials for humans.
NASA’s Curiosity rover has captured amazing images of clouds on Mars . NASA's Curiosity rover has captured images of clouds on Mars. Clouds are rare in the thin atmosphere of the planet. They usually form at the planet's equator during its coldest months. Some clouds hover about 37 miles above the planet's surface and are made out of water ice, while other higher-altitude clouds are likely made of carbon dioxide. The images are available in the article.
Reddit’s first live show is a Photoshop competition . Reddit and Adobe have teamed up to stream a comedy competition series called PsBattles Live. The show will stream on the r/PsBattlesLive subreddit every day this week. It will feature Photoshop edits made by the community and commentary from a panel of comedians. Users who participate will earn points, community rewards, and internet glory. The launch of the show marks the 10th anniversary of the r/photoshopbattles subreddit.
ipfs-deploy (GitHub Repo). ipfs-deploy is designed to make it as easy as possible to deploy a static website to IPFS. It can be run without installation with npx. Users can deploy quickly to a service that doesn’t require signup using the default settings, or users can specify which services they wish to deploy to. At the moment, ipfs-deploy can be used with Infura.io, Pinata.cloud, and Cloudflare DNS.
You Don't Know Gif - An analysis of a gif file and some weird gif features (17 minute read). GIF is an animated file format that is popular for sharing short animated snippets. It was created in 1987 by Compuserve and was not originally intended as an animation platform. This article breaks down a GIF file to explore the format's hidden features, such as its ability to take user input, comment extensions, resolution limits, and more. Additional resources on learning how to parse GIFs are available.
script (GitHub Repo). script is a Go library that does tasks that shell scripts are good at, such as reading files, executing subprocesses, counting lines, matching strings, and more. Developers can write administration programs in Go easily and they will work as if running in the command line. A list of available commands is listed, and a deeper explanation into how script works is available.
Rematch (Website). Rematch builds on Redux by reducing boilerplate and enforcing best practices. It doesn't require any configuration and it supports built-in side effects, React Devtools, TypeScript, hot-reloading, and much more. Rematch is extendable with plugins, with many plugins available out of the box. Examples are available.
Here are all the new Marvel, Star Wars, and other projects Disney announced at its investor day . Disney made a long list of announcements at its 2020 Investor day that included updates on its streaming services and projects. This article contains a list of updates from the event. It includes a list of movie and TV show releases from Marvel, Lucasfilm, Disney Animation, and Pixar, as well as some other franchises. Disney Plus will increase to $7.99 per month in March, with a bundle including Disney Plus, ESPN Plus, and ad-free Hulu available for $18.99. Star will be Disney's international replacement for Hulu, launching in certain European countries, Canada, and New Zealand on February 23, and Japan and South Korea later in 2021.
applied-ml (GitHub Repo). This repository contains a collection of curated papers, articles, and blogs on data science and machine learning in production. It could help you figure out how to implement your ML project by learning how other organizations did it. A wide range of topics are covered, including data quality, classification, regression, computer vision, team structure, and information extraction.
A Highway to Smell: How Scientists Used Light to Incept Smell in Mice . Scientists at New York University, in collaboration with a team in Roverto, Italy, were able to make genetically modified mice smell artificial scents by activating special light-sensitive olfactory neurons with light. Individual smells are processed by receptors and then passed to specific regions of the brain for processing. To understand or replicate a smell, scientists had to figure out the essential bits of data that were being transmitted from the nose to the brain. Using a special tool that can send out different combinations of light, the scientists could generate different combinations of smells for the mice. The mice in the study were trained to perform an action when they detected a specific smell.
After Russia was accused of using memes and viral images to influence elections, Facebook will now fact-check pictures and videos . Facebook will now be fact checking pictures and videos in addition to its existing article fact checking. This is in response to Russia's 2016 election meddling, which was largely driven by visual memes. Facebook users can flag photos or images for review.
NASA’s ‘Armageddon’-style asteroid deflection mission takes off in November . The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will be a practical test of our ability to change the trajectory of an asteroid. It involves sending a pair of satellites out to a pair of asteroids known as the Didymos binary. One satellite will crash into an asteroid at nearly 15,000 miles per hour to change its speed by a fraction of a percent, enough to affect its orbit measurably. The other satellite will attempt to fly by and capture the moment of impact. DART is scheduled to launch on November 23 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9.
Japan to Have Blockchain-Based Stock Exchange in 2022 . SBI Holdings and the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) have partnered together to build the Osaka Digital Exchange (ODE), a blockchain-based stock exchange to compete against the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The exchange will allow investors to trade digital securities using blockchain technology. SBI and SMFG will set up the ODE in March. The exchange will start trading digital securities in 2023.
Interview questions about python (GitHub Repo). When preparing for an interview, it's best to know what kind of questions you might be facing. This repository has an extensive list of potential python interview questions, along with the best answers to these questions as well. There are many code examples, and anyone can contribute and help expand the list.
Darkness Visible, Finally: Astronomers Capture First Ever Image of a Black Hole . Astronomers have captured the first-ever image of a black hole, located in Messier 87, a galaxy around 55 million light-years away. The black hole is several billion times the size of our Sun and the picture shows it releasing a jet of energy 5,000 light-years into space. A telescope as big as Earth, combining data from radio telescopes located across the planet, was used to create the image. The data obtained was too large to transmit over the internet and needed to be physically transported by hard drives. From the image, scientists were able to calculate the size of the black hole. Observations of the black hole in Messier 87 will continue and the data will be used to confirm theories and hypotheses regarding black holes
Google is kicking ‘sugar dating’ apps out of the Play Store . Google has announced a series of policy changes that will take place from September 1. Apps that relate to compensated sexual relationships will be removed from the Play Store. Apps that promote sexual services are already banned, but many apps get around these rules by claiming that they are only providing dating services for wealthy men. Google will delete developer accounts if they remain inactive for a year, with exceptions for accounts that have apps with over a thousand installs or recent in-app purchases. Developers will be notified multiple times before their accounts are removed.
TikTok tests letting US users to apply for jobs with video resumes . TikTok is expanding into job recruitment with a pilot program that allows people in the US to apply for jobs by uploading videos to the platform using the #TikTokResumes hashtag. Approximately three dozen companies are taking part in the pilot. Applicants have until July 31 to apply for the first set of jobs. A link to TikTok's dedicated resumes website is available in the article.
This Pixel 5 Leak Shows Google Is Trying To Make The World's Ugliest Phone . An image of the Google Pixel 5 has leaked. It features a huge camera module that is not flush with the rest of the device. There are three cameras on the back and a flash in the center. The third camera is likely an ultrawide camera. From the front, the Pixel 5 looks very similar to the Pixel 4, but the top is a little bit thinner. It is likely the image leaked is one of many prototypes, so it might not be the final design that will be released in October. The picture is available in the article.
Tesla reportedly doesn’t have enough desks after Musk threatens to fire remote employees . Employees returning to work at Tesla's Fremont facility came back to a lack of parking spots, no desk to sit at, and crappy Wi-Fi.
AR goggles: FORM is sorta like Google Glass, but for swimming . Major tech companies such as Google have been working on augmented reality glasses for years with little commercial success. Many startups have entered into the AR market, which is predicted to be worth almost $200 billion worldwide by 2020. On Tuesday, FORM released a pair of AR swim goggles that uses artificial intelligence to track metrics. For $199, users can view metrics such as calories burned, distance traveled, split times, stroke rate, and more, all within the swimmer’s line of sight. The goggles can also display different information depending on the state of the user, for example, while swimming, after turns, and during rest. An accompanying app will be released in August when the goggles are shipped internationally. Other companies have also developed AR wearables targeted at running and bicycling.
How Does One Get Hired by a Top Cybercrime Gang? . The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced the arrest of a 55-year old Latvian woman who allegedly worked as a programmer for Trickbot. Trickbot has infected millions of computers and installed ransomware on many systems. The woman did not cover her tracks very well and her personal information was easily obtained by authorities. Trickbot's hiring model allows the gang to recruit a steady stream of developers cheaply and covertly. However, each new recruit increases the risk of investigators infiltrating the group. Ransomware attacks are nearly all instigated by ransomware affiliate groups, who are constantly recruiting new members.
Standing up for developers: youtube-dl is back . youtube-dl has been reinstated on GitHub after it was taken down due to a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) request. GitHub is legally required to comply with the DMCA and has to take down code if requested even if it has a multitude of non-infringing uses. youtube-dl allegedly circumvented measures to prevent access or copying of copyright material. The section that it infringed on was created in the late 1990s and hasn't been updated to reflect changes in modern technology. GitHub reviewed the request and reinstated the code and will now review its other takedown claims to ensure that they have been handled properly. It has also established a $1 million developer defense fund to help developers fight against unwarranted takedowns. GitHub will continue to petition the government to improve the law.
Layoffs hit Q&A startup Quora . Quora is laying off its staff in its Bay Area and New York offices. CEO Adam D'Angelo stated that the layoffs were necessary in order to focus on scaling the organization in a financially responsible way. D'Angelo did not reveal how many employees will be affected by the decision. Quora had around 200 employees last year when it was valued at $2 billion.
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learning (GitHub Repo). This repository contains a large collection of resources for learning data science. The resources include courses, books, papers, articles, and videos. They are grouped by specific skills, such as implementing models in PyTorch, framing ML problems, or manipulating data in spreadsheets.
Facebook’s next hardware launch will be its Ray-Ban ‘smart glasses’ . Facebook's next product release will be its Ray-Ban smart glasses. The glasses will not have an integrated display and are not classified as an augmented reality device. Mark Zuckerberg said on a call that the glasses will be able to do some 'pretty neat things', but did not expand on what the glasses' capabilities will be. The glasses will likely have to be paired to a smartphone app. Ads continue to be an important part of Facebook's strategy.
10 Best Coding Games to Advance Your Programming Skills . 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.
Bitcoin set to become legal payment in Brazil . A cryptocurrency regulation bill is expected to be presented to the Plenary of the Chamber of Deputies in Brazil within the next few days. If the bill passes voting this week, Bitcoin will become legal tender in Brazil. The bill has widespread government support and agreements have already been made with the Central Bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil for its recognition as a currency of daily use. Brazil’s Federal Deputy hopes that other countries will copy Brazil's regulatory model.
Introducing GitHub Global Campus . The GitHub Global Campus is a home for all of GitHub's current and future student programs. It provides students with the ability to connect with local Campus Experts, explore and claim offers for free industry tools, attend events, rewatch Campus TV episodes, and more. A link for students to apply for the GitHub Student Developer Pack is available.
Nasa Hack Exposes Data on Space Agency's Servers . Hackers have obtained social security numbers and other personally identifiable information from NASA employees between July 2006 and October 2018. No mission critical data was exposed, and it's still unknown who was behind the hack. This is the third breach of NASA since 2011.
Autonomous Ravn X Drone to Launch Satellites From Airport Runways . Aevum's Ravn X is an 80 foot long, 18 foot tall autonomous rocket-launching aircraft. With a 60-foot wingspan, the aircraft flies as high as 60,000 feet before its two-stage, liquid-fueled rocket payload detaches and races into orbit. While SpaceX is set to dominate the large payload market, there is still a market for smaller rockets that deliver faster, cheaper launches. Ravn X can launch as fast as every 180 minutes, fly around weather to avoid launch delays, and only requires a crew of six to operate. Aevum has yet to launch Ravn X into space, but it plans to make an attempt next year.
Photos: The Culture Of Whales . Humpback whales frequently and mysteriously change their songs. Songs can go for up to 20-minutes. They are passed on perfectly to other whales across the entire pacific. This article contains a series of images by National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry. It includes images of nursing sperm and humpback whales, belugas playing in the shallows, and orcas teaching their pups how to hunt.
SpaceX announces first “free flyer” human spaceflight . SpaceX will fly its first all-civilian mission as early as the fourth quarter this year. The Inspiration4 mission was funded by Jared Isaacman, a tech entrepreneur who will serve as commander on the mission. Isaacman intends to use the mission to spread goodwill back on Earth. He will donate $100 million to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, raffling off one of the four seats on the mission to a US citizen who donates at least $10 to the hospital. The crew will need to undergo training before the mission. It is the second announced commercial mission for SpaceX's Crew Dragon.
Microsoft Japan’s experiment with 3-day weekend boosts worker productivity by 40 percent . Japan routinely scores low when it comes to employee satisfaction in the developed world. Microsoft Japan started its Work-Life Choice Challenge Summer 2019 project to attempt to address this problem. For the month of August, employees at Microsoft Japan had every Friday off, an extra day of vacation that did not come at the expense of any other vacation time. The extra day off resulted in employees taking 25.4 percent fewer days off and productivity rising by almost 40 percent. Most of the increase in productivity was attributed to a change in how meetings were held. Many meetings were cut, shortened, or changed to virtual meetings. Employees reacted well to the four-day workweek trial and Microsoft plans to repeat it again next summer.
How I got access to 25+ Teslas around the world. By accident. And curiosity (18 minute read). This article details how a security researcher managed to remotely access more than 25 Teslas around the world. While the researcher didn't have access to steering, accelerator, brakes, or other driving safety-critical features, they were able to disable Sentry Mode, unlock doors, open windows, and start Keyless Driving. The exploit involved a vulnerability in TeslaMate, a self-hosted data logger for Teslas. A patch has been released to fix the issue so Tesla owners are advised to update their software.
Photino (Website). Photino is a lightweight framework for building native, cross-platform desktop applications. It allows developers to use WebUI in native applications instead of learning platform-specific UI technologies. A 6-minute quick start video is available.
Researchers from Columbia University use 3D printing to grow human hair follicles . Researchers from Columbia University have established a method for growing human hair in a dish using 3D printing without the need for implantation into human skin. The method uses a 3D printed mold and may open up potential avenues for hair restoration surgery to more people. Previous research has been successful in growing mouse and rat hair in labs, but these techniques were not effective at growing human hair. The new technique involves recreating the environment in which human hair usually grows by using a 3D printed model implanted with keratin-producing cells. 3D printers are now being used to create many different materials, for example, food, wood, and advanced medicines.
Just a few questions about this gamer bed . Bauhutte, a Japanese retailer that sells furniture aimed at gamers, has released an 'ultimate gaming bed' that features an elevated headboard, desk, snack shelves, tablet holder, and more. It costs around $1,048. The bed is only single-sized and comes in red and black colors. Using the bed may impact sleep hygiene.
Klara (GitHub Repo). Klara is a static analysis tool for automatic test case generation that features a powerful ast level inference system. It works on ast level and it doesn't execute user code in any way. Klara can operate on both Python 2 and 3 source code. Examples are available.
Modular optical computer chip allows stackable swappable functions . Engineers at MIT have developed a modular computer chip with components that can communicate using flashes of light. Its layer components can be stacked or swapped to build chips to perform specific functions or for upgrades. They have unlimited expandability depending on the combination of layers. The technology could enable easily upgradeable electronics and reduce electronic waste.
The world’s smallest motor . The world's smallest motor is constructed from just 16 atoms. Created with an acetylene rotor base, the motor can operate with 99% directional stability at temperatures below 17 degrees above absolute zero. The Swiss scientists behind the project are still working on understanding the processes involved in the molecular machine. A 40-second video is available that shows a video of the motor working along with a computer simulation of the motor.
How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project? (Hacker News Thread). Lots of sound advice for getting over the fear of shipping a project here, from breaking things down into smaller subtasks to utilizing your own existential dread.
SpiceDB (GitHub Repo). SpiceDB is a Zanzibar-inspired database that stores, computes, and validates application permissions. It features expressive APIs, a schema language with a playground dev environment, a powerful graph engine, pluggable storage, and more. SpiceDB allows developers to iterate quickly and test designs before altering any application code.
Snapchat becomes the mobile HBO with 12 daily scripted Original shows . Snapchat is producing a dozen TV shows with top producers like the people who produce Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Friday Night Lights. The Discover tab will soon have a special section called "shows". The shows will be monetized with a few 6-second unskippable ads in each show. Snap believes that the original content could help them differentiate from Instagram and Facebook. The article contains a list of names and descriptions of the original shows.
DARPA’s AlphaDogfight Tests AI Pilot’s Combat Chops . DARPA's AlphaDogfight Trials is a simulated aerial dual that will pit AI F-16 pilots against each other and then against a human pilot to determine the viability of relying on machines in aerial combat. The three-day virtual games will feature eight teams, each using a different methodology to build their algorithms. Using divergent methods will help researchers identify the performance of different algorithms, further understand how different areas of AI work, and identify future areas of research. The guest list is full, with around 5,000 people on the waiting list to view the event.
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Meta’s Andrew Bosworth on moving Facebook to the metaverse (32 minute read). Andrew Bosworth has been with Facebook for 15 years, leading its Reality Labs division and soon to become the chief technology officer of Meta. His work involves leading the company's long-term plans on building the metaverse. This article contains a transcript of an interview with Bosworth, covering topics such as the new Meta name, how content moderation will work in the metaverse, AR and VR hardware, and some of the controversy surrounding the Facebook Papers. The full audio of the interview is available.
Dangerous viruses 'hitchhike' on microplastics to survive in freshwater . A team of researchers proved that viruses can survive and remain contagious by attaching themselves to plastics in water. Microplastics are everywhere, including in our food, drinking water, and air. They are able to shield themselves from damaging elements such as UV light by attaching to microplastic surfaces. The discovery questions the impact on human health that microplastics have.
The Turing Test is obsolete. It’s time to build a new barometer for AI . The Turing Test is now obsolete and shouldn't be used as the ultimate test for useful AI. Computers were significantly slower when Alan Turing first laid out his thesis. The goal of conversational AI, to make a machine that could converse with humans in a manner indistinguishable from other humans, doesn’t take into account how technology has improved. AI should augment human intelligence and improve our daily lives. To make an AI sound more human would require limiting it.
Match Group details plans for a dating ‘metaverse,’ Tinder’s virtual goods-based economy . Tinder will expand to include exclusive, shared, and live experiences and a virtual goods-based economy. It also has plans for a dating metaverse and avatar-based virtual experiences. The virtual economy will use Tinder Coins, which have already been tested in several markets. Tinder Coins will be available globally next year for users to make in-app purchases and later for use in a virtual goods and trading ecosystem. Users will be able to gift virtual goods or collect them for their profiles.
Wood can easily be turned transparent to make energy-saving windows . Transparent wood is usually created by removing a structural component of the wood called lignin. A team of researchers has come up with a method of creating transparent wood by modifying the lignin without removing it completely. The technique produces wood that allows more than 90 percent of light to pass through it and is 50 times stronger than wood with the lignin removed. It is lighter and stronger than glass, and it could be potentially used to make a see-through house.
Researchers boost human mental function with brain stimulation . A team of scientists created a system that targets a brain region with small amounts of electrical energy to improve mental function. It is the first time that scientists have been able to reliably enhance a specific human mental function linked to mental illness. The system could provide a new approach to treating mental illness, where instead of suppressing symptoms, patients can use tools to take control of their own minds. Clinical trials are set to begin soon.
Google Interview Problems: Ratio Finder (26 minute read). This article is part of a series that discusses interview questions that have been asked at Google in the past, with the other articles discussing dynamic programming, matrix exponentiation, and query synonymity. Interview questions should be designed so employers can make a decision of whether a candidate is worth hiring. The Ratio Finder question was chosen because it was a little easier, but still showed the candidates' strengths and weaknesses. Candidates were asked to design a system to convert between two units, for example, hands to light-years. While many will start thinking of a solution to the problem, strong candidates would think about how the program could fail. The success of the candidates depends on their ability to plan forward for potential problems, how complete the solution is, and what ideas they have to improve the code design.
Boeing capsule launches to wrong orbit, skips space station . Boeing's new Starliner capsule missed its target and ended up in the wrong orbit. NASA has canceled the Starliner's docking with the International Space Station. The Starliner will return to its landing site in the New Mexico desert on Sunday. Officials have confirmed the safety of the capsule. The problem was caused by the Starliner's mission clock. No harm would have been caused to any crew if the Starliner had passengers on board. This was a major setback for Boeing, who has been trying to catch up with SpaceX. SpaceX is about to launch a crewed test of its Dragon capsule. Boeing may have to push back the planned dates for its crewed test flights. It has been nearly nine years since NASA has launched astronauts from the US.
Physicists Claim They've Found Even More Evidence of a New Force of Nature . The four known fundamental forces in our Universe are gravity, electromagnetism, and two nuclear interactions. Physicists may have observed a fifth physical force emerging from a helium atom. If its existence is confirmed, it could help scientists solve the dark matter problem. The force was first discovered after an anomaly was observed in the way beryllium-8 emits light as it decays. The direction that the energy moved was inconsistent with the law of conservation of energy. In order for this to be possible, a new kind of fundamental boson had to be involved. While the particle still hasn't been observed, experiments have shown that it is very likely it exists. The latest study has yet to be peer-reviewed, and many experiments will still need to be conducted to confirm the existence of X17.
5 traps to avoid when working at a big company . This Twitter thread discusses five traps to avoid when working at a big company. Avoid being someone's lieutenant as they will never let you excel past them. Focus on building internal and transferable expertise. Don't fall for perks as they don't cost the company anything. Switching jobs can be much more profitable than staying at a company, even as a top performer. You should be recognized for 70% of the work you do and any less means you are being taken for granted and underpaid.
Uber will now deactivate riders with below average ratings . Uber drivers have always had to keep a rating above 4.6 in order to continue driving for the service. Riders will now need to keep an above average rating as well, otherwise, they risk being banned from using Uber. Uber has been experimenting with ways for drivers to give riders feedback for years, for example, giving drivers the opportunity to leave additional comments about the rider, which would trigger a warning for the rider if they had too many negative interactions. A list of bannable offenses is documented in Uber’s community guidelines. Last month, the app was updated to give riders the confidence that their driver has been properly vetted for safety.
The baseline for web development in 2022 (21 minute read). Microsoft dropped support for Internet Explorer in 2021. After this, many other companies started dropping support for the browser. For years, Internet Explorer was the support baseline for many tools. Now that it is gone, the new baseline is low-spec Android devices for performance, Safari for Web Standards, and 4G for networks. This article discusses the support baseline for modern web development, exploring the state of technology to find the best way to optimize website performance.
tiptap (GitHub Repo). tiptap is a renderless and extendable rich text editor for Vue.js. It was built from Prosemirror, a toolkit for building text editors used by companies such as the New York Times. Developers have almost full control over the markup and styling. Data can be stored as a raw HTML string or in a JSON serializable representation.
SETI neural networks spot dozens of new mysterious signals emanating from distant galaxy . SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has a new AI system which helped them discover 72 "fast radio bursts" from a mysteriously noisy galaxy 3 billion miles away by looking through their previously gathered data. The radio bursts show no pattern (at least no pattern longer than 10 milliseconds), but it is possible that a hyper-advanced civilization could cram communications into very short bursts. One fast radio burst, FRB 121102, is particularly interesting, because it is the only stellar object known to give off the signals regularly, and so is the target of continued observation.
JSONAPI.CO (Website). JSONAPI.CO is a service that provides a range of free hosted APIs. Categories include Users, Products (Amazon), and Images (Instagram). All HTTP methods are supported and the service provides proper HTTP status codes with every API.
Scientists devise 'Trojan horse' approach to kill cancer cells without using drugs . A research team at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore has killed cancer cells in mice using a new approach that turns a nanoparticle into a 'Trojan horse'. The researchers coated a silica nanoparticle with L-phenylalanine, an amino acid that cancer cells rely on. When cancer cells absorb the compound, they self-destruct. The technique was used in lab tests with mice to kill cancer cells effectively while remaining harmless to healthy cells. Further research will refine the design and chemistry of the nanoparticle to make it more precise in targeting specific cancer types and achieving higher therapeutic efficacy.
Inside Google’s Rebooted Robotics Program . After Andy Rubin left Google in 2014, Google’s robotic’s program, nicknamed ‘Replicant’ at the time, had been stagnant. In the last few years, Google has rebooted its program, and the new effort is called ‘Robotics at Google’. Robotics at Google is made up of many of the same members of Rubin’s team, and it focuses on applying machine learning to robotics. They have developed robots in the lab that can learn to move and sort objects on their own, which may interest companies such as Amazon, as while these tasks seem simple they are actually quite hard to program manually. While Google has not yet announced its strategy on how it plans to commercialize their research, it is clear that the aim of the development of these robots is to automate more jobs.
The New iPad Pro’s LiDAR Sensor Changes the Augmented Reality Game . The new iPad Pro's LiDAR scanner makes augmented reality a lot more accurate and stable. It allows the iPad to obtain a precise map of its surroundings, enabling developers to create immersive AR experiences. Developers who use ARKit will automatically get the benefits of the newly improved hardware. Hopefully, innovative apps that take advantage of this technology will be created as more developers learn how to use the technology. The iPad Pro also has new sensors, cameras, and processors, making it a powerful multi-purpose device.
Meet Starlab: Private space station planned to fly in 2027 . Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin are planning to build a free-flying private space station in low Earth orbit by 2027. Starlab will be a tourist destination as well as a research and manufacturing hub. It will feature a habitat module with 12,000 cubic feet of internal volume, a power and propulsion element, a laboratory setup, and a large external robotic arm to service payloads and cargo. NASA wants commercial stations to pick up the slack from the ISS as the outpost is due to be retired near the end of the decade.
The Horrifically Dystopian World of Software Engineering Interviews (12 minute read). After receiving an offer for a phone interview from a giant search and advertising company, Jared Nelson quickly found that the interview experience was not what he expected. Nelson found that the interviewer did not know he didn't have experience with microservices, a prerequisite for the position he was applying for. A few other reasons the interview did not go well included Nelson not being enough of a team player, not understanding algorithms deeply enough (even though good knowledge might not make you a better programmer), and the work culture of measuring people's attributes rather than getting to know who they are. Despite knowing how to code, Nelson didn't know how to play the corporate game and this caused him to fail in his interview for his dream job.
APISIX (GitHub Repo). APISIX is a cloud-native microservices API gateway based on OpenResty and etcd. It is able to handle traffic to the API service and also between services. APISIX provides dynamic load balancing, authentication, rate limiting, and other plugins.
We have our first look at images from Amazon’s new Wheel of Time series . Amazon's long-awaited TV adaptation of Robert Jordan's bestselling Wheel of Time series will debut on Amazon Prime this November. The series features a large cast and it will focus on Moiraine, a member of an all-woman organization called the Aes Sedai. The series is expected to closely follow the overall narrative arc of the first book. Amazon has already renewed Wheel of Time for a second season. Promotional images for the series are available in the article.
Otto (GitHub Repo). Otto is an intelligent chat application that can help machine learning engineers implement an idea with minimal domain knowledge. It received a third-place prize at the 2020 Facebook AI Challenge hackathon series. It features a beginner-friendly design, powerful machine learning tools, and an educational experience. A link to a working version is available
This is Sony’s Spatial Reality Display, and you can buy one for $5,000 in November . Sony's Spatial Reality Display is a holographic display that features a 15.6-inch 4K screen, a camera, a speaker system, and the ability to place digital objects and designs into a 3D space. It uses a combination of a high-speed face- and eye-tracking camera, real-time algorithms, and lenticular lenses that provide a clearer image than any previous holographic display. Sony has released an SDK for both Unreal and Unity. A 3-minute video is available that shows the display, but it is difficult to see the effect on a screen.
America’s first CRISPR trial is still nearly 100% effective 3 years on . Follow-up results from one of the longest-running human trials using CRISPR technology suggest that the treatment is both safe and effective up to three years after treatment. The trial, which started in 2019, focused on treating two rare blood diseases. It demonstrated 100% success. The treatment has been given a Fast Track designation by the FDA and could be authorized for public use in early 2023.
Former ADT employee admits he watched customers have sex for years through their cameras . A former ADT technician has pleaded guilty to accessing customers' home video feeds thousands of times over four and a half years. He did this by simply adding himself to the accounts, which let him watch the feeds at will. There were 220 victims, whose accounts were accessed on 9,600 occasions. The technician took note of which homes had attractive women and targeted those accounts. He was caught when a customer reported a suspicious email on their ADT Pulse account.
Facebook Messenger is getting a built-in bill splitting feature . Facebook Messenger is testing a built-in bill splitting feature in the US. Users can ask for money inside a group chat and see who has paid their portion of the request. A new Group Effects feature has been added that will let people on Messenger and Instagram video calls use the same augmented reality effects together. Meta also recently introduced new emoji with sound called Soundmoji. A screenshot showing how the bill splitting feature works is available in the article.
World’s First Floating City to Save Maldives From Rising Sea Levels . The Maldives Floating City (MFC) will be the world's first truly floating island city. It is designed to help the country mitigate the effects of climate change and rising sea levels. Some studies predict that low-lying islands, such as the Maldives, could become uninhabitable by 2050. The MFC will have homes, stores, hospitals, schools, and more. It will start construction in 2022. Renderings of the city design are available in the article.
Android Developer Roadmap 2019 (GitHub Repo). This repository contains a roadmap for developers to follow if they're beginning to learn Android development in 2019. The flowchart covers all the essentials for developers, according to the Android community. This list is not comprehensive as there are too many topics to cover, so developers are encouraged to look deeper into each section on their own.
Apple cancels AirPower product, citing inability to meet its high standards for hardware . Apple has canceled the AirPower product due to engineering issues. While developing AirPower, engineers ran into problems such as overheating and were not able to complete a design that was up to Apple's standards. Apple has a habit of announcing products before the final designs are complete but its engineers are usually able to fulfill their promises even if there are delays. It is very rare that Apple will completely cancel a product and this was unexpected as AirPower is featured on the boxes of the newly released AirPods.
mlcourse.ai – Open Machine Learning Course (GitHub Repo). mlcourse.ai is a machine learning course that aims to balance theory and practice. There are several Kaggle Inclass competitions held during the course. The final session is between September 2 and November 24, and participants can join at any time before the end of the session.
Netflix scoops up Canadian visual effects company Scanline . Netflix has bought Scanline, a major player in the special effects industry. Scanline has worked on several large productions, such as Game of Thrones, Godzilla vs. King Kong, and Justice League, as well as its own original productions. Netflix is set to spend $17 billion this year making and licensing films and TV shows. It will continue to use other VFX studios for its shows. The company announced last week that it plans to double the size of its base at Shepperton Studios.