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Tech Interview Handbook (GitHub Website) | The Tech Interview Handbook is designed to prepare developers for job interviews with practice questions, cheatsheets, and tips. Many engineers have landed jobs with the help of the handbook at organizations such as Google, Amazon, Uber, and Facebook. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Aspect Ratio is Great | This article discusses how to use the aspect-ratio property in CSS. Prior to the aspect-ratio property being added to CSS a year ago, developers had to write some pretty ugly CSS to get elements to conform to an aspect ratio. The aspect-ratio property makes it simple and it doesn't require learning a lot of other CSS to use. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Kickstarter will not voluntarily recognize its employee union | Kickstarter will not voluntarily recognize Kickstarter United, its employee-created union, but are opting instead for a National Labor Relations Board election. CEO Aziz Hasan wrote in an email that a union would hurt the company and that the company recognizes the needs of its employees. A union would significantly change the way the company operates, and Hasan was concerned that employees were being pressured by their managers to form opinions regarding the union effort. | 4Miscellaneous
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SpaceX launches Starship “hopper” on dramatic test flight | SpaceX's Starship 'hopper' is a sub-scale version of the Starship's propulsion system. It uses the Raptor engine, which burns cryogenic methane with liquid oxygen. The hopper completed a one-minute flight at a test facility in Texas, rising up to its FAA-approved 492-foot altitude before moving sideways and descending on a nearby landing pad. The new two-stage booster-Starship system will eventually replace the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets as well as the Cargo and Crew Dragon capsules. It consists of a Super Heavy Rocket and a winged Starship. Starship is designed to deliver satellites into space at a lower cost than the current Falcon vehicles. Elon Musk's goal is to launch a cargo mission to Mars in 2022 and a crewed flight as early as 2024. There is a video showing the hopper’s test launch. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Google Stream is what Stadia should have been from the start | Google Stream is a backend cloud gaming technology that Google is pitching to businesses. Instead of putting effort into getting more games on Stadia, Google is getting companies to use Google Stream to release rebranded products. The service could eventually also be used for other applications like 3D modeling. Stadia's biggest problems were its limited game library and Google's lack of commitment to the platform. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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k6 (GitHub Repo) | k6 is a modern load testing tool that provides a clean scripting API, local and cloud execution, and flexible configuration. A GIF demo is available. k6 features scripting in ES6 JS, TLS, flexible metrics storage and visualization, and more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Peanut (GitHub Repo) | Peanut is a tool for deploying databases and services for development and testing pipelines. It features a REST API, an admin dashboard, and a command-line tool. Peanut supports MySQL, Redis, PostgreSQL, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, and many more services. Screenshots are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Facebook's activist shareholders are making another dramatic bid to oust Mark Zuckerberg and abolish the firm's share structure | Facebook will hold its annual shareholder meeting on May 30 and has confirmed the investor proposals that will be voted on during the event. There are eight proposals to be voted on, including one that makes the case for Mark Zuckerberg to be removed as chairman and replaced with an independent executive. Zuckerberg has more than 50% of the voting power at Facebook, so changes are unlikely, but that is why shareholders are submitting the proposal in the first place. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Dinosaur Unearthed in Argentina Could Be Largest Land Animal Ever | Paleontologists in Argentina have found a skeleton that might have come from a dinosaur that was more than 120 feet long. It may have been the largest land animal ever. The excavation started in 2012 with a hulking set of 24 vertebrae and bits of the pelvis and pectoral girdle. It is likely a type of long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur called a titanosaur. The specimen is around 98 million years old. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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automl-gs (GitHub Repo) | automl-gs allows citizen data scientists and engineers without a deep statistical background to automatically generate deep learning models and native Python code pipelines that can be integrated into any prediction workflow. Users only need to input a CSV data file and automl-gs will output a folder with the generated models and files. It can currently use both Tensorflow and XGBoost frameworks, with more frameworks planned to be implemented in the future. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Why senior engineers get nothing done | The life of a new team member and the life of a senior engineer can be very different. Newer team members tend to code for longer and attend fewer meetings than senior engineers | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple Developing a Whole New Kind of MacBook Air | Apple is working on a new high-end MacBook Air. It will feature two USB-C ports and a more powerful Apple silicon chip. The new chip will be a direct successor to Apple's M1 chip. It will have more graphics cores and run faster. The new MacBook Air will be available in a range of colors. There are some other physical design changes, but the biggest change will be the loss of its tapered design. The MacBook Air could launch in the second half of this year at the earliest, or in 2022. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Google Pay team reportedly in major upheaval after botched app revamp | Google Pay's recent revamp was a disaster, with a difficult transition period for customers to a service with less features. The app transition was also frustrating for employees, with dozens of employees and executives leaving the Google Payments team in recent months. Google had wanted to update Google Pay to be more in line with the version the company had built for India. The service only had a 3 percent market share for NFC mobile payments. Google plans to open a full banking service in partnership with Citibank. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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SSH Bastion Hosts Explained (Sponsor) | SSH bastion hosts are an indispensable part of the modern security stack for infrastructure access. Learn how to keep hackers out of your infrastructure with this quick guide. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Leaked Emails Show Crime App Citizen Is Testing On-Demand Security Force | Citizen is an app where users can report incidents in their neighborhoods to alert other nearby users. The app is planning to add a feature where users can summon private security workers. Citizen has been actively testing the program and users have reported fast response times. Citizen also offers Protect, a service that assigns digital bodyguards to monitor people when they are walking alone. Some experts have criticized Citizen, saying that the app leads people to report incidents that aren't crimes. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Alphabet’s Loon balloons provide their first commercial internet service in Kenya | Loon has launched its first commercial service in Kenya. Alphabet's fleet of around 35 floating balloons will provide 4G LTE service to Telkom Kenya subscribers within a 50,000 square kilometer region across western and central areas of the country. Loon has been testing its balloons in Kenya for several months now, connecting 35,000 unique users to the internet. The balloons fly at roughly 20 km above the ground, analyzing the weather to ride around on stratospheric winds. They stay in the air for over 100 days before returning to earth. The balloons were designed to supplement existing connectivity options rather than to replace them. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tesla launches Solarglass (Solar Roof V3) | Tesla has launched Solarglass, the third version of its Solar Roof tiles. Starting at $34,000, the new tiles are now cheaper and more appealing than a concrete tile roof with solar panels. The launch of Tesla's Solar Roof Tiles has been much slower than expected, with limited installations and delayed volume production. Production was delayed in order to make changes that would make the tiles cheaper and more durable. Tesla's Gigafactory 2 in Buffalo will be able to produce 1,000 roofs per week. The biggest difference with Solarglass is the ease of installation. Installation time has been reduced to only five to seven days. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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This Japanese hotel room costs $1 a night. The catch? You have to livestream your stay | A hotel in the Japanese city of Fukuoka allows guests to have the option of paying around $1 per night if they agree to have their entire stay live-streamed. The stream is video-only, so guests will have privacy in their conversations or phone calls. Guests can turn the lights off, and the bathroom area is out of camera range. There have been four guests who have taken up the offer so far, and the hotel's YouTube channel has now passed 1,000 subscribers. The channel will be monetized once it accumulates more than 4,000 view hours. When the room is vacant or not streaming, the owner will post a live stream of himself working in the office. Fukuoka is one of CNN Travel's must-visit destinations for 2019. The city is known for its incredible food. | 4Miscellaneous
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Brain implant and signal decoder have done the impossible and reversed paralysis | Scientists at Battelle Memorial Institute have developed a brain implant that was able to restore both movement and touch in a patient with paralysis caused by a brain injury. The patient that received the implant was able to do things like swipe a credit card and play Guitar Hero again. The device is able to tap into faint brain signals for touch and then amplify these signals. It also reads brain activity and translates signals into movements. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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AP Taps Chainlink to Provide Untamperable News Data | The Associated Press has announced a partnership with Chainlink Labs to provide news and data secured by blockchain technology. AP will start using Chainlink smart contracts to cryptographically sign data to verify that it comes from the company. Chainlink is a decentralized oracle network built on Ethereum that provides real-world data to smart contracts. AP is a collective of more than 1,300 newspapers and broadcasters. Its governing structure is similar to that of DAOs, despite being founded in 1846. | 4Miscellaneous
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First U.S. coronavirus death confirmed in Washington state | The first death in the US from coronavirus was a man in his 50s with chronic underlying conditions. Two new cases in Washington state have recently been announced, with the cases linked to a long-term care facility. One of the new confirmed cases is a healthcare worker. Out of 108 residents and 180 staff at the healthcare facility, 27 residents and 25 staff members have symptoms of the virus. Testing is underway as public health officials rush to contain the outbreak. The recent patterns of cases in the US indicate that the disease is likely circulating within the population. COVID-19 has spread to 57 countries, infecting more than 85,000 people and killing more than 2,900. There have been 66 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the US. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Amazon Web Services adds macOS on bare metal to EC2 | Amazon Web Services has partnered with Apple to bring macOS to the cloud. mac1.metal instances are Intel-based Mac mini systems, each with a Core i7-8700B 6c/12t CPU, 32GB RAM, and 10Gbps network interface. The instances rely on Elastic Block Storage rather than local storage. mac1.metal systems can be spun up and down almost as rapidly as virtual systems. Every instance is provisioned with an SSH keypair and the default image includes all of the normal desktop-oriented macOS components, such as VNC. Customers can build and deploy their own custom MacOS images using AMI. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Kaolin (GitHub Repo) | Kaolin is a PyTorch library for accelerating 3D deep learning research. It provides efficient implementations of differentiable 3D modules for use in deep learning systems. Kaolin can load and preprocess several popular 3D data sets which can be manipulated, mitigating the need to write boilerplate code. It supports an array of loss functions and evaluation metrics and can provide visualization functionality to render the 3D results. A curated model zoo comprising of many state-of-the-art 3D deep learning architectures is provided to serve as a starting point for future research endeavors. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Rivian’s R1S: An electric SUV for those with an adventurous lifestyle | This article describes an experience with one of Rivian's new electric trucks. | 4Miscellaneous
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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. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Analysis: Coronavirus has temporarily reduced China’s CO2 emissions by a quarter | The impact of the coronavirus on China's energy demand and emissions is only beginning to be felt, with CO2 emissions dropping significantly during and after the Chinese New Year holiday. Coal use is reporting daily data at a four-year low, oil refinery operating rates in Shandong are at the lowest level since 2015, levels of NO2 air pollution over China are down 36% compared to the same period last year, and domestic flights are down 70% compared to last month. Overall, the virus has contributed to reductions of 15%-40% in output across key industrial sectors, wiping out a quarter or more of the country's CO2 emissions over the past two weeks. Shutdowns of a week or more are not uncommon in China, and the reduction would only really reduce annual figures by around one percent, as emissions catch up rapidly after a shutdown. The only way for the reduced levels could be maintained is if there is less demand from China after restrictions are lifted. Many people and businesses have been affected financially due to the shutdown, and demand may drop significantly as things start to return to the new normal. | 4Miscellaneous
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~8yrs ago (Dec’12) | In the early days of cloud, Google had some of the smartest people in tech working for it, but they still got a lot wrong. Google missed the market through bad timing, its go-to-market strategy, and the way it productized its technology. While Google had the best tech, it had poor documentation and it didn't have a solutions mindset. This thread follows a Google engineer's experience with the company as it navigated these issues, giving an inside look at how Google Cloud became what it is today. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Microsoft hologram speaking Japanese (2 minute video) | In this video, a presenter demonstrates Microsoft's Mixed Reality studio's ability to generate a hologram. The presenter's hologram speaks Japanese to demonstrate a new neural text-to-speech engine that creates speech in a different language using the speaker's voice. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Dev Degree (Website) | Dev Degree is a learning program that combines hands-on developer experience at Shopify with an accredited Computer Science degree. Students will take three university courses on campus each term and spend around 25 hours a week at Shopify over four years. Applicants can choose to attend either Carleton University or York University. The program teaches students development skills and technologies through real-world problems and mentorship from industry leaders. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Laws of UX (Website) | Laws of UX is a collection of 20 maxims and principles for designers to think about when building user interfaces. Each section contains an overview, key takeaways, a poster, a history of the concept, and further reading. The posters on the site are designed to be printable. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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China reportedly found massive amounts of uranium at a depth of 10,000 feet | Nuclear authorities in China have discovered rich uranium deposits at depths of almost 10,000 feet. The discovery could increase the country's total reserves of uranium 10-fold to more than two million tonnes. Uranium was thought to concentrate mainly in shallow, geophysically stable areas, but recent finds by China have been more than 4,920 feet below the surface in regions that have experienced large tectonic movements. A new method for detecting uranium developed by China could help other countries find hidden uranium deposits. | 4Miscellaneous
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Palantir to relocate headquarters from Silicon Valley to Colorado | Palantir Technologies is relocating its headquarters to Denver, Colorado from Palo Alto, California. It is unclear how many of Palantir's employees will be affected by the move. Reasons for the move include the increasing intolerance and monoculture of Silicon Valley and the high housing prices in the area. Palantir announced in early July that it had filed confidentially for a public stock offering. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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AirPods, the world’s most popular wireless headphones, are getting even better | Apple has released its second generation of AirPods, featuring the new Apple-designed H1 chip, which is designed specifically for headphones. The H1 chip allows for 50% more talk time, more seamless switching between devices, and the ability to use 'Hey Siri' voice controls. A new Wireless Charging Case has also been introduced. Customers can purchase the new AirPods with the standard case for $159, or with the new Wireless Charging Case for $199. The Wireless Charging Case can be purchased separately for $79 and is compatible with first generation AirPods. A free engraving service is also available at checkout. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Ex SpaceX Engineers Launch Robotic Pizzeria That Can Make and Bake in 5 Minutes | Stellar Pizza is a new pizza-making robot launched by three ex-SpaceX engineers. The pizzeria can make, bake, and top a pizza in under five minutes. It can fit on the back of a truck and be deployed anywhere. Customers can order from a menu or create their own pizzas. The foodservice industry is currently facing a global shortage of labor that is expected to worsen over the next decade. Automated solutions like Stella Pizza provide a cost-effective way to fill unwanted positions in the food industry. | 4Miscellaneous
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The Windows 11 app store is already more useful after just a week | Some popular apps are starting to appear in the Microsoft Store on Windows 11. The Microsoft Store is changing to include traditional desktop apps. Any app can now be part of the store. Developers are allowed to use their own payment platforms and keep all of the revenue from apps if they choose to do so. The improvement to the store means that Windows users will have an easier time finding trusted installers for their apps. | 4Miscellaneous
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FormKit (Website) | FormKit is a form-authoring framework for Vue developers. It makes building high-quality production-ready forms 10 times faster. FormKit features built-in validation, powerful form generation, theming, Tailwind support, and plugins. Interactive examples are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Wharton's top professor says America should shorten the work day by 2 hours | Adam Grant, a Wharton Business School professor, says that instead of the typical 9-to-5, our work days should end two hours earlier at 3pm. Grant says "We can be as productive and creative in 6 focused hours as in 8 unfocused hours." In an experiment done by a Swedish nursing home, switching to a 6 hour work day improved both productivity and worker health. Grant has previously voiced support for shortening work hours, tweeting "Productivity is less about time management and more about attention management" in response to a successful study about a four day work week. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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MediaPipe (GitHub Repo) | MediaPipe is a framework for building multimodal machine learning pipelines. Using MediaPipe, a machine learning pipeline can be visualized as a graph of modular components. It is mainly used for rapid prototyping of applied machine learning pipelines with inference models and other reusable components. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Sheetson (Website) | Sheetson turns any Google sheet into a JSON API. Users only need to share their document with the service, and then they will be able to access their information through the API. There are currently no restrictions on its use. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Netflix is bringing an audio-only mode to its Android app | Netflix is rolling out an audio-only mode to its Android app users. Users who have the feature will now see a new Video Off button at the top of the full-screen video player. There is a new Audio Only option in settings that lets users choose when they want to default to the mode. Screenshots from the Netflix Android app are available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Podman (GitHub Repo) | Podman is a tool for managing OCI containers and pods. It supports multiple container image formats, with full management of those images and the container lifecycle. Podman can run containers and pods without root or other elevated privileges. It currently only supports running containers on Linux. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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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. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Electron-boilerplate (GitHub Repo) | Electron-boilerplate contains code to kickstart creating an app with Electron. It is fully set up for cross-platform builds, has silent updates, has an app menu that adheres to system UI guidelines, and more. An example of a production app built using this boilerplate is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Introducing Concurrent Mode (Experimental) | Concurrent Mode is a set of new experimental features that help React apps stay responsive and adjust to the user's device capabilities and network speed. It is only available in experimental builds and features are subject to change. In Concurrent Mode, React works on several state updates at the same time in order to make the user experience feel faster and smoother. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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openpilot (GitHub Repo) | openpilot is an open-source driving agent. It is able to perform Adaptive Cruise Control and Lane Keeping Assist System for many selected models of vehicles. openpilot is about on par with Tesla Autopilot and GM Super Cruise. The codebase is designed so developers can quickly build prototypes to test. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Facebook and Instagram roll out personalized ‘Year in Review’ features | Meta is rolling out Year in Review features for both Facebook and Instagram. Facebook users will be able to share a personalized card with highlights from 2021 until the end of December. Instagram users will be able to share a Playback time capsule made up of up to ten stories to their IG Story for several weeks. The review features on both platforms are fully customizable. They will be available to users all around the globe over the next few days. | 4Miscellaneous
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ColossalAI (GitHub Repo) | ColossalAI is a unified deep learning system for large-scale parallel training. It supports data, pipeline, sequence, 1D, 2D, 2.5D, and 3D tensor parallelism and is extensible for new parallelism. ColossalAI provides tools to kickstart distributed training in a few lines. Benchmarking stats are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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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. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Apple will delist App Store apps that haven’t been updated recently | Apple plans to remove apps on its App Store that haven't been recently updated. Developers have 30 days to submit an update for approval. The policy is intended to make it easier for customers to find apps that fit their needs. Apps that are removed from the App Store due to this policy will remain fully functional for users who already have the app installed. Google has also announced similar plans. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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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. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Galaxy S21 Ultra's camera comes with 100x zoom. Here's what photos look like | The Samsung S21 Ultra's camera can achieve a huge 30x zoom. It has four lenses on the back: a standard zoom, an ultrawide lens, a 3x optical zoom, and a 10x optical zoom. The main camera has a 108-megapixel resolution. This article contains a gallery of images shot with the S21 Ultra. While the results at 30x aren't great, the shots taken at 10x optical zoom look good enough to share. The phone was able to take shots that would've been impossible on rival flagship phones. | 4Miscellaneous
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Google abandons FLoC, introduces Topics API to replace tracking cookies | Topics is Google's new method of showing advertisers which ads to serve to users. Its previous replacement for third-party cookies was heavily criticized and many browsers have refused to use it. The new Topics API identifies five user interests based on recent web activity and stores the information on the user's device for up to three weeks. Browsers will be able to view the topics and serve relevant ads to users without all the privacy concerns that cookies present. There is no information on when developer trials for Topics in Chrome will begin. Google has promised to replace third-party cookies in Chrome by 2023. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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electron-extensions (GitHub Repo) | electron-extensions allows users to use Chrome extensions APIs with Electron. All that is required to use the library is to insert a short snippet of code into the main process. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Programming-Idioms (Website) | Programming-Idioms contains a collection of standard methods for coding standard things in several popular programming languages. Developers are encouraged to contribute by submitting implementations in their favorite language. All the information is crowdsourced and free, so there is no guarantee regarding the quality of the implementations as well as the identity of contributors. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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What I Wish I Knew as a Junior Dev – Lessons Learned After 11 Years of Coding | After spending time in any field, everybody wishes there was something that someone more experienced in the field had told them earlier in their journey. Software development can be difficult to learn if you're only learning from one source, so learn from many sources. It is important to consistently practice what you learn because that's the only way to get better. There will always be people you don't like in any field, so it's best to learn to move on. Taking time to master one skill at a time will be more beneficial than trying to learn multiple skills all at once. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Video Emerges Of Marine F-35B Crashing In A Ball Of Fire After Colliding With A KC-130J | Video showing a US Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fight crashing into the ground into a ball of flame after it collided with a KC-130J Hercules tanker-transport was posted on social media recently. The F-35B's pilot was able to eject safely and the crew of the Hercules transport also survived after an emergency landing. Martin-Baker, the company the built the ejection seats used in the F-35B, quickly highlighted on social media that its products have now saved 7,633 lives over the years. A 9-second video showing the crash is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Alternative rocket builder SpinLaunch completes successful first test flight | SpinLaunch is a startup that is developing a launch system that uses kinetic energy as its primary method to get spacecraft to orbit. It recently conducted the successful first test flight of a prototype of its vacuum-sealed centrifuge in New Mexico. The centrifuge accelerates projectiles to high speed and then releases it at many thousands of miles an hour for launch. Using this approach will mean that rockets will need less fuel, resulting in a reduction in the size, complexity, and costs of rockets. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Amazon is launching a new program to donate unsold products, after reports that millions were being destroyed | Amazon is launching a new program called Fulfillment by Amazon Donations. From September 1, unsold or unwanted products that sellers wish to dispose of will be donated to a network of nonprofits and charities. Sellers can opt out of the program if they want. Amazon routinely discards unsold inventory, sending products to landfills instead of to people in need. Amazon charges 50 cents to return unsold inventory to sellers, and 15 cents for disposal. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Ex-Cons Create ‘Instagram for Prisons,’ and Wardens Are Fine With That | Prisoners face a range of problems when communicating with the outside world. Phone calls can be expensive, with a large variance between local and national call rates. Letters are also reviewed thoroughly, and discarded if suspicious. Several new startups are beginning to provide services that lower the costs of phone calls and are able to send standardized packages for letters. Family and friends can now easily take photos from their devices and send them to their loved ones in prisons. Many prisons are embracing the change. | 4Miscellaneous
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The Great Resignation is here. What does that mean for developers? | 4.5 million Americans quit their jobs at the end of November 2021. Resignation rates were highest among those who worked in fields that experienced extreme increases in demand due to the pandemic. Many developers feel burnt out due to an increased workload. The demand for developers has increased as more industries start relying on software. Many people have changed how they see their lives due to the pandemic. This article explores how these factors, among many others, have resulted in the Great Resignation, and how this will affect the labor market. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Hacker's guide to deep-learning side-channel attacks: the theory (25 minute read) | Side-channel attacks are one of the most effective ways to attack secure hardware as they target algorithm implementation rather than the algorithm itself. Implementing algorithms in a way that leaks no information is difficult and requires complex software and hardware countermeasures. This article, the first in a two-part series, goes through the core concepts and setup required to carry out a machine learning-based side-channel attack to recover the AES key used by a TinyAES implementation running on an ARM CPU. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Open Source Stack to Build a Modern Network Monitoring (Sponsor) | Learn how a network automation solution uses Telegraf and InfluxDB to speed up enterprise adoption of network automation, reduce their operational costs, and increase the reliability of their service. Learn more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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A robot named Little Peanut is delivering food to people in quarantine amid the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak | A video filmed in a hotel in Hangzhou, China, shows a robot called Little Peanut moving from door to door carrying food to residents. Multiple robots were used to serve guests on each floor of the 16-story hotel on Monday and Tuesday in order to reduce human contact and prevent the spread of the 2019-nCoV coronavirus. The guests were passengers from a flight to Hangzhou from Singapore. They were quarantined after two passengers were found with a fever. As of Wednesday, the coronavirus has killed 132 people in China and infected nearly 6,000 people worldwide. | 4Miscellaneous
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Alchemy Arrives in a Burst of Light (12 minute read) | Using tailored optical pulses, scientists can reshape the electron clouds of atoms and molecules to give them specific properties. The technique can make almost anything look or act like any other material, for example, it can turn ordinary materials into superconductors. By inducing other forms of transformation, the technique has the potential to create super-powerful optical computers. It could potentially help in studying materials by making certain chemical substances temporarily invisible. The applications of the technique are only limited by how well scientists can control the interactions of light and matter. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Absolute Zero? A New Record Was Set for the Coldest Temperature Ever Recorded | A multi-organizational team of researchers from Germany and France has set a new record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in a lab at 38 picokelvins. While the experiment only lasted two seconds, it achieved much lower temperatures than previous attempts in experiments conducted on the International Space Station. The researchers believe that they can get even closer to absolute zero using the setup. The achievement could have wide-ranging implications for the field of particle physics. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Gimli (Website) | Gimli is a Visual Studio Code extension that enables visual tools for front-end developers. It simplifies the process of creating complex layouts. Gimli works with a range of frameworks and has been tested with React, Wordpress, Bootstrap, VueJS, Angular, and Stencil. There are videos available showing how Gimli can be used. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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"Schrodinger's Bacterium" Could Be a Quantum Biology Milestone | Quantum physics has been verified to work on tiny scales but we aren't sure where the cutoff mark is for the microscopic quantum world and the more intuitive macroscopic world. For example we've never seen a quantum entangled planet or living organism. Until now! Scientists have managed to successfully entangle bacteria with photons, they used bacteria that do photosynthesis, and shot light at them in such a way that the bacteria's photosynthetic systems became entangled with the light. Essentially, certain photons were simultaneously hitting and missing photosynthetic molecules within the bacteria. One of the lead researchers wants to push further, saying "The long-term goals are foundational and fundamental. This is about understanding the nature of reality, and whether quantum effects have a utility in biological functions. At the root of things, everything is quantum." | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Facebook's Infinite Office is a virtual office space for the WFH crowd | Facebook Connect is introducing a new virtual office experience called Infinite Office. Infinite Office makes the work-from-home experience more immersive, transporting the user to a virtual customizable office space. Using the Passthrough mode, users can toggle between a fully immersive experience or one mixed with the real world. Infinite Office will be rolled out as an experimental release for Quest 2 later this winter. Two short demo videos from Facebook showing Infinite Office and Passthrough mode are available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk is reportedly under SEC investigation over Dogecoin tweets | Elon Musk is reportedly under SEC scrutiny again over alleged cryptocurrency manipulation. In 2018, the SEC filed a lawsuit against Musk over a tweet, which resulted in Musk stepping down as Chairman of the board for Tesla. Tesla and Musk also each had to pay $20 million in fines. Musk has been talking a lot about cryptocurrency lately, and his tweets have been very influential over the value of some coins, particularly Dogecoin. | 4Miscellaneous
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New Rocket Mining System Blasts Through Moon Rocks to Reach Ice | Masten Space Systems is a Californian-based startup that is developing a robotic rover system to mine ice on the Moon. The Rocket M rover will extract lunar ice using controlled rocket blasts. It can travel at speeds of up to 2.14 mph and climb 20 percent inclines. The rover can electrolyze stored water for power. Lunar ice can be used for vital resources in future missions. A 5-minute video explaining how the rocket mining system works is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Feast Your Eyes Upon the World's First 3D-Printed Steel Bridge | The world's first 3D-printed steel bridge debuted in Amsterdam last month. The almost 40-foot-long bridge was built by Dutch company MX3D for pedestrians and cyclists. Four robots with welding torches were used to 3D-print the structure out of 10,000 pounds of steel. Computer simulations were used to check the bridge's ability to withstand daily foot traffic and damaging weather forces. The bridge is monitored with a system of over a dozen sensors that report data on the bridge's movement, vibration, temperature, strain, and displacement to look for trends that might suggest modifications are in order. A video showing the bridge being installed is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Tesla is buying computer vision start-up DeepScale in a quest to create truly driverless cars | Tesla is acquiring DeepScale, a computer vision start-up that could help Tesla deliver cars with advanced driver-assistance systems. DeepScale's systems use low-wattage processors to power very accurate computer vision. Its autopilot is good enough to be used in robotaxis. Forrest Iandola, DeepScale's CEO, has recently joined Tesla as a senior machine learning scientist. The acquisition of DeepScale could help fill the talent gap in Tesla's Autopilot division as 11 engineers have recently left the team. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Scientists Built a Particle Accelerator Smaller Than a Human Hair on a Chip | The world's largest particle accelerator is a structure that extends 17 miles long. Scientists have just developed the world's smallest particle accelerator at 30 microns across, which is about half the width of a human hair. The particle accelerator was designed to be installed on a chip and will open up possibilities in materials science, chemistry, and medicine. It is called a dielectric laser accelerator (DLA), and the technology could lead to cheaper and more compact X-ray machines, radiation machines, industrial scanning equipment, and many other devices. The DLA was designed by a computer. It still needs improvement, and it will be a few more years before the DLA will be practical. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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COBOL Programming Course (GitHub Repo) | Common Business-Oriented Language was designed specifically for business use and it is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the world's economy. It continues to distinguish itself from other programming languages due to its inherent ability to handle vast amounts of critical data stored on the largest servers. This repository contains training materials and labs for a beginner’s course on COBOL. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Spotify begins testing its first hardware: a car smart assistant | Spotify will begin public tests of their voice-controlled smart assistant for cars, a device that will help the company learn how people consume audio while they are driving. The ‘Car Thing’ will be available to some premium users for free. It plugs into the car’s 12-volt outlet and connects to devices via Bluetooth. Users activate the device by saying ‘Hey, Spotify’. There are currently no intentions to launch the device more broadly to the public, and the device is only being tested with select people. Spotify states that its focus is on becoming the world’s best audio platform, not on creating hardware. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Proton Player (GitHub Repo) | Proton Player is an HTML5-based streaming music player designed to be used by developers to build their own music players. It is compatible across many devices and browsers. The project is backed by a paid development team with customers. A demo player is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Artificial neurons connect to biological ones to control living plants | Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have created artificial organic neurons and synapses that can integrate with natural biological systems. The artificial neurons operate with the same ion signals as biological neurons, making them compatible. Repeated activation of synapses strengthens the neurons, making them more effective over time. The artificial neurons are biodegradable and harmless to both plants and animals. The researchers demonstrated the system by using it to control the jaws of a Venus flytrap. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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IBM’s new 53-qubit quantum computer is the most powerful machine you can use | IBM will launch its new quantum computer next month. It will be available for researchers and companies to run applications via the cloud. The computer boasts 53 quantum bits. Google has a 72-qubit device, but it is not available for public use. IBM has been promoting quantum computing via the cloud since 2016. Other companies such as Rigetti Computing and D-Wave have also launched quantum computing cloud services. Google's quantum computers are rumored to be almost at the stage where they can perform tasks beyond the reach of the most powerful supercomputers. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Trippy 'Vortex Rings' Inside Magnetic Material Seen for First Time, Says Study | Scientists recently found vortex rings for the first time in a magnetic material. Rings usually form when fluid flows back onto itself after flowing through a constricted space. The study confirms a decades-long prediction, and it could help scientists confirm even more complex theoretical magnetic structures. Unlike rings in fluid, which are constantly in motion and last for a short time, the magnetic ring vortices held still in a static state, vanishing only when the material was heated and exposed to strong magnetic fields. Understanding magnetic vortex rings could lead to the next generation of data storage solutions, neuromorphic engineering, and many other technologies. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Framework’s new laptop means the promise of modular gadgets might be coming true | Framework has released a new version of its ultra-repairable, upgradeable laptop. It features a 12th Gen Intel Core i5 or i7 chip, a more rigid top cover, and Wi-Fi 6E support. The new laptop's parts are completely backward-compatible with first-generation devices. Customers who purchased the first version of the laptop can upgrade their device without having to buy a new one. | 4Miscellaneous
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Apple developing new 15-inch MacBook Air that could come in 2023 | Apple is planning new form factors for the MacBook Air and entry-level iPad for 2023. The 2023 MacBook Air will have a variant with a screen size of around 15-inches and the 13.3-inch MacBook Air will have a slightly larger screen. The entry-level iPad will also upgrade to a slightly larger display. Apple considered releasing a 15-inch MacBook Air in 2008 but instead chose to make a smaller 11-inch model. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Report: TikTok limited the reach of users with visible disabilities | TikTok limits the reach of users who have some visible or obvious form of disability or disfigurement as an attempt to protect users from cyberbullying. Users who have autism, Down syndrome, facial disfigurements, or other disabilities may have their videos restricted to only be shown in their own country and removed from the For You feed. TikTok claims that the restriction on these videos was a temporary measure and that it has since altered its rules. The short-form video service has previously been accused of censoring users who express certain political opinions. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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What is kubectl? (Sponsor) | kubectl is the command-line tool most developers use to interact with the Kubernetes API. Here's how it works, why it's needed, and how you can get started. Learn more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Amazon starting drone deliveries in California town later this year | Amazon's Prime Air drone delivery service will start later this year, pending FAA permission. Lockeford, California will be among the first locations in the US to access the service. The drones will be able to carry five pounds of payload at speeds of up to 50 miles an hour. They are able to detect static and moving objects and automatically change course to safely avoid them. Pictures of Amazon's drones are available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Declaration of Digital Independence | The internet has changed from a group of individuals publishing content to vast digital empires controlling sections of the internet and wielding large amounts of power. These companies that own platforms used by millions of people around the world are able to moderate and control the content that users see, resulting in the manipulation of discussion, misinformation in news, interference with political affairs, and more. The Declaration of Digital Independence is a set of nine principles that lays out strict rules for how data and content on the internet should be handled. Rather than being controlled by large corporations, the internet should be controlled by a decentralized network of individuals. People can sign to show their support for the document. | 4Miscellaneous
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Tom Cruise and Elon Musk's SpaceX are making a movie in space, report says | Tom Cruise and SpaceX are working on a project with NASA to shoot an action film in outer space. No studios are involved with the project at this stage. SpaceX is planning its first-ever launch of astronauts to the International Space Station on May 27. Cruise is known for taking risks while making his films and Elon Musk has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows. | 4Miscellaneous
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Cutestrap Two (Website) | Cutestrap Two is a strong, independent CSS framework that is only 2.7KB when compressed. It uses a simple API and has robust customization options. The website contains examples and instructions on how to use the framework. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Virgin Atlantic Flies World's First Waste-Based Biofuel Commercial Flight | Lanzatech is a company that came up with a gas fermentation process to recycle waste from steel mills into jet fuel. Virgin Atlantic just completed the first flight using this fuel. They are planning to create three UK based plants by 2025 that will create 125 million gallons of jet fuel per year and would save 1 million tons in carbon emissions per year. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Q&A: Here’s How AI Will Change Chip Design | This article contains an interview with Heather Gorr, senior product manager for MathWorks’ MATLAB platform, discussing how AI will change the future of chip design. Engineers and designers are starting to run out of ways to miniaturize transistors and pack as many of them as possible into chips, so they are turning to other approaches to chip design, such as using AI. AI can be used at many levels of chip manufacturing, for example, design and defect detection. It helps solve many problems faster and cheaper, but there are also drawbacks to the tech. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Google’s foldable phone plans include two devices, Android 12.1 release | Google is rumored to be working on two foldable phones and incorporating foldable functionality into an out-of-cycle update to Android. The phones will be similar to Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold devices. Google may launch the phones before the end of the year. The Android update will add an iPad OS-style taskbar to show frequently used and recently used apps. There is no timeline for its release, but it will probably be released with Google's foldable Pixels. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Describe programming in only six words (Twitter thread) | @MIT_CSAIL asks followers to describe programming in six words. A 1-minute video was also posted with MIT researchers attempting to describe their jobs. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Apple secures first states to support digital driver’s licenses, but privacy questions linger | Apple plans to support digital driver's licenses and state IDs in its iOS 15 update expected later this year. So far, only Arizona and Georgia have agreed to accept digital IDs, with six other states expected to follow. The TSA will be the first agency to accept digital IDs, as only a state ID is required for traveling by air within the US. The identity readers that the TSA will use are secure and don't require passengers to hand over or unlock their phones. Apple has been secretive about how it built this technology and what it gets out of it. | 4Miscellaneous
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SpaceX Acquires Swarm, a 'Nano Satellite' Startup for Low-Cost Connectivity | SpaceX is acquiring Swarm, a startup that provides low-cost internet connectivity using small orbiting 'nano satellites'. Swarm has been mainly focused on supplying internet connectivity to IoT devices on farms, oil platforms, and energy grids. It currently has 150 satellites in orbit. The company's satellite technology is designed to relay small packets of data. It is unknown how SpaceX plans to use Swarm's technology in its network. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Impossible Foods to launch meatless pork in U.S., Hong Kong, and Singapore | Impossible Foods' plant-based pork product will be available in the US, Hong Kong, and Singapore in the coming months. It is the company's third commercial launch. The pork alternative is made primarily from soy and provides the same amount of protein as real pork but with no cholesterol, one-third less saturated fat, and far fewer calories. 54 percent of Hong Kong consumers preferred the meatless pork product in a recent blind taste test. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Editor.js (GitHub Repo) | Editor.js is a Block Style editor. It uses plugins to enrich features and users can easily create their own plugins. There are many built-in keyboard shortcuts and custom shortcuts can be added. Examples of how to use Editor.js are available on the repository. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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New Algorithm Removes Underwater Distortions for Clear Colorful Pictures | Light behaves differently in water, which is why photos taken underwater usually come out in hues of green and blue. This effect has been an issue for scientists as it means they aren't able to take accurate pictures of sea life. A new algorithm has been developed that is able to allow pictures to be captured underwater as if they were taken on dry land. Once a distance map has been calculated, the Sea-thru system estimates all the necessary parameters for removing water distortion and restores colors. It is able to work on videos, not just images. Sea-thru only works on images taken under natural light. Future research will extend its abilities so it works with artificial light as that is how the majority of the ocean is explored. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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How NASA's Mars Helicopter Will Reach the Red Planet's Surface | The Mars Helicopter Delivery System was created to help NASA's Ingenuity Mars Helicopter safely navigate the final five inches from the Perseverance rover to the surface of Mars. Ingenuity weighs about four pounds and is packed with technology that makes stowing and deploying it a challenge, especially since powered controlled flight on Mars has never been attempted. Mission engineers decided to store the helicopter in Perseverance's belly. Two months after Perseverance lands, the rover will drop the Mars Helicopter Delivery System onto a suitable location, and six days later, the deployment process will begin. Once a good drop is confirmed, the helicopter will begin recharging its batteries with its solar panel, and then the flight test program will begin. If the technology is successful, the helicopters might be used in future missions to act as scouts, carry payloads, or investigate the environment. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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KubeDB (Open Source) | This is a tool to easily run production grade databases on Kubernetes. It includes monitoring, period backups, restoring from backups, integration with Prometheus, and an easy-to-use CLI. It currently supports Postgres, Elasticsearch, MongoDB, MySQL, Redis, and Memcached. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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A novel lithium-air battery could pave the way for electric passenger planes | Researchers from Japan's National Institute for Materials Science have developed a lithium-air battery with nearly double the energy density of the battery used in a Tesla Model 3. The battery can be charged and discharged at room temperature, making it suitable for use in mobile phones, electric cars, and electric passenger planes. Lithium-air batteries are difficult to manufacture as a considerable fraction of the batteries are comprised of heavy inactive components that do not directly participate in the battery process. The technology has now reached a level where it could make regional electric passenger aircraft feasible. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Handcrafting your own SVG | Software-generated code can be far from optimal. Generated SVGs can result in unorganized code that can be more complex than required. This article analyzes the weaknesses of generated SVG code and then teaches the reader how to customize their own SVG images. Using a code-generation tool is always easier and spending some time to modify the output will yield much better results. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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