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Ex-Google CEO Eric Schmidt is working to launch a university that would rival Stanford and MIT and funnel tech workers into government work | The US Digital Service Academy is a federal initiative to train a new generation of tech workers for the government. It is set to rival Stanford and MIT. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt will lead the project. The school will offer degrees for digital skills such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence has voted unanimously to recommend the university to Congress. | 4Miscellaneous
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Pricewise (Firefox Extension) | Firefox has launched an open beta for Pricewise, their price-tracking browser extension. You can add products to your watch list and it will give you a notification when the price drops. The extension currently works on Amazon, Best Buy, Home Depot, eBay, and Walmart, and Mozilla plans on adding more stores in the future. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Defensive CSS (Website) | This site contains practical CSS and design tips for building future-proof user interfaces. | 4Miscellaneous
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Arbitrary image stylization using TensorFlow.js (Open Source) | Okay, this is an incredibly cool open source tool that lets you select or upload a picture, then turn it into a certain style of image in the click of a button using deep learning (for example you can turn a picture of yourself into an oil painting). The full TensorFlow code is included in the linked Github Repo. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Scientists Create Immature Human Eggs From Stem Cells | A team of Japanese scientists turned human blood cells into stem cells, which they then transformed into very immature human eggs. This is huge, because being able to create human eggs means that theoretically, babies someday could be made from the blood, hair or skin cells of children, grandmothers, even deceased people. People could even potentially make babies from cells stolen from celebrities, such as skin cells left behind on a soda can. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Enrich Time Series Data with Data from PostgreSQL (Sponsor) | In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the Flux query language to enrich time series data stored in InfluxDB time series database by combining it with metadata stored in a relational database. Learn more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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End to Aids in sight as huge study finds drugs stop HIV transmission | A large scale study has found that antiretroviral drugs which suppressed HIV infections in patients also prevented the virus from spreading to other people. This means that if everyone with HIV went under the same treatment, the virus could possibly be eradicated. The study tracked almost 1,000 male couples where one party was infected with HIV, and while 15 patients contracted the virus, it was through contact with partners that were not involved in the study. In 2017, around 40 million people were infected with HIV worldwide, with around 21.7 million of these people being on antiretroviral treatments. Many people with HIV remain undiagnosed due to lack of access to care and the fear or stigma around contracting the virus. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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A second CRISPR pregnancy is already under way, claims Chinese scientist | News broke earlier this week that Chinese scientist He Jankui had used CRISPR to gene edit babies to be resistant to HIV. Now, He says that a second CRISPR pregnancy is on the way. He stands by what he's done saying "They need this protection. An HIV vaccine is not available." He also notes that the parents had given "informed consent", and he personally paid for the entire process, except for some sequencing costs that were covered by startup funding at his university, the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Coding for SSDs – Part 6: A Summary – What every programmer should know about solid-state drives | This article is part of a six-part series on coding for SSDs. The series covers in detail the architecture of SSDs and how they work. This part summarizes the whole series. It covers the basics of SSDs and all of the recommended access patterns on how reads and writes should be implemented to get the best performance out of solid-state drives. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Netflix makes more than 30 episodes of its shows free on YouTube | Netflix has released more than 30 episodes of its factual entertainment shoes onto YouTube in order to support educators. Altogether, there is over 20 hours of content. The shows include Our Planet, Explained, and 13th. A link to the playlist is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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In 2020, Some Americans Will Vote On Their Phones. Is That The Future? | The US is experimenting with Internet voting as a means to increase turnout. While there are some concerns, advocates claim that the project is necessary as the current voting system is outdated. Each state has the freedom to choose how voting is conducted, including choosing what voting technologies are used. Some states have been experimenting with voting apps for overseas and military voters. The main concern for online voting is security. Voting technology is usually owned by private companies and kept secret, and this lack of transparency may decrease trust in the voting process. The difficulty of the current voting system has been blamed for low voter turnout. Mobile phone voting will encourage more people to vote, and also help those who can't physically vote. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Python overtakes Java to become second-most popular language on GitHub after JavaScript | GitHub's annual State of the Octoverse report shows that Python is now the second-most popular language in GitHub's repositories. While Dart and Rust were the fastest growing languages, Python growth was still up by 151 percent. 10 million new GitHub accounts were created in 2019, with most new developers coming from Asia. Python's growth is linked to the increasing interest in data and machine learning. GitHub was acquired by Microsoft last year. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Google will reportedly use its own chip in the Pixel 6 | Google may debut its first System on a Chip (SoC) in its Pixel phones slated to launch this fall. It has been working with Samsung to develop its Whitechapel chipset, which is reported to be an SoC for phones and Chromebooks. Other phone producers have already made or are appearing to shift to their own chipsets. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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SolarWinds hackers have a whole bag of new tricks for mass compromise attacks (12 minute read) | Almost exactly a year ago, researchers discovered a Kremlin-backed hacking campaign that compromised SolarWinds' servers in what was one of the worst data breaches in modern history. The group that performed the attack, dubbed 'Nobelium' by Microsoft, has since become more brazen and adept at hacking large numbers of targets in a single stroke. A recent report from security firm Mandiant details Nobelium's numerous feats and a few mistakes made by the group. This article covers the highlights of the report, including details on the group's tactics and innovations. A link to the full report is available. | 4Miscellaneous
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FoundersGrid (Weekly Newsletter) | FoundersGrid is a bi-weekly newsletter that includes a curated list of stories in tech, actionable business guides, and discounts on new tools and products. Sort of like a weekly version of TLDR! | 4Miscellaneous
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AI Expert Roadmap (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains a set of flow charts showing different career paths and the technologies required to enter into those fields. The charts were designed for people interested in becoming experts in data science, machine learning, or artificial intelligence. A link to an interactive version with additional resources is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Animals Can Count and Use Zero. How Far Does Their Number Sense Go? (14 minute read) | Practically every animal ever studied can distinguish between different numbers of objects in a set or sounds in a sequence. This ability seems to be a general ability that has evolved multiple times throughout the animal kingdom. Researchers are uncovering increasingly complex numerical abilities in animals, with some displaying the capacity to grasp the quantitative concept of zero, a concept that very young children sometimes struggle with. Researchers are now trying to pin down the genetic mechanisms underlying numerical ability and have identified genes that seem to be associated with a math learning disability in humans. | 4Miscellaneous
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Motion One (Website) | Motion One is an animation library built on the Web Animations API. It is small and responsive, using hardware-accelerated animations where possible. Motion One features keyframes, timelines, paths, and more. A quick start guide is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Japan is building a 60-foot-tall, walking Gundam robot | The construction of a 60-foot-tall walking Gundam robot will start in Yokohama in October this year. Gundam first aired in 1979, leaving an indelible mark on Japanese culture and the world of animation. Sales of Gundam miniature figurines approached half a billion back in 2015. This is the fourth full-size Gundam attraction that designer Masaki Kawahara has worked on. The robot will weigh around 25 tons and have 24 degrees of motion. Building the robot will stretch the limits of common motor, materials, and actuator technologies. It will be developed using the open-source Robot Operating System and Gazebo simulation software. A full-scale virtual copy of the robot will be released so that aspiring programmers can play with it and develop their own actions and poses. The seven-minute press conference announcement video is linked at the bottom of the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Tesla's Virtual Power Plant rescues grid after coal peaker fails, and it's only 2% finished | Tesla is building a Virtual Power Plant in South Australia. It is made of solar-powered, Powerwall-equipped homes. There are currently 900 homes forming the Virtual Power Plant, which is about 2 percent of Tesla's goal of 50,000 homes. In October, Queensland's Kogan Creek coal power station failed and Tesla's Virtual Power Plant stepped in, detecting the failure and providing power from its Powerwall batteries. There are three phases of development for the Virtual Power Plant, and it appears that the project is about to move into its final phase. Once the Virtual Power Plant is complete, it should deliver 250 MW of solar energy and store 650 MWh of backup energy for the region. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Microsoft to add 'Kids Mode' to Chromium-based Edge browser | Kids Mode is a new option inside the daily Microsoft Edge Canary builds that includes new themes and child-friendly content. It also includes security and privacy features like tracking prevention, InPrivate mode, and Bing Safe Search. Closing Kids Mode or changing its settings will require a device password. A Microsoft Account is not required to activate Kids Mode. The feature was launched on February 16 and it should be available to the Dev Channel branch relatively soon. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Life Advice from NYC Chess Hustlers (13 minute read) | New York's Washington Square Park has hosted many chess hustlers for more than 80 years. Some have made up to $1,700 of tax-free money in a day. The hustlers make money by playing against challengers or by giving lessons. This article features interviews with three chess players from the park where they talk about chess, how they make money playing the game, and life. | 4Miscellaneous
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MIT develops tiny ‘walking’ motor that helps more complex robots self-assemble | The future of robots is more likely to consist of tiny robot swarms rather than robots like Wall-E. A new ambulatory motor developed at MIT consists of little more than a magnet and a coil with some structural parts, but when combined together with many of the same motors, it can create many different types of machines that can carry out specific tasks. The goal of the project is to find a way to make these motors self assemble into larger structures, resulting in an extremely versatile type of robot. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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VimCharm: Approximating PyCharm on vim | VimCharm is a vim configuration file that transforms vim into an approximation of PyCharm. It can be used as a command-line replacement for PyCharm on remote machines. VimCharm features autocomplete, PyCharm shortcuts, syntax and linter errors, and more. The article discusses how VimCharm was made. A link to the complete configuration file is provided. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Ultra (GitHub Repo) | Ultra is a web-app framework that leans into browser-native features while supporting JSX and TypeScript. It features support for React 18, tests, and more. It doesn't support dynamic imports or recursive requests. A demo app is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Facebook fends off new anti-monopoly questions after UK email release | The UK Parliament released 250 pages of Facebook documents that it had seized. The documents show that when Twitter's Vine video service tried to make a "Find Your Friends" feature, a Facebook exec sent Mark Zuckerberg an email asking if they could just shut off Vine's access. Zuckerberg replied "Yup, go for it", instantly killing off Vine's feature. The documents show that Facebook keeps "a small list of strategic competitors" and limits their access to Facebook data. "Any usage beyond that specified is not permitted without Mark level sign off." Several senators have expressed their concern, and there is increasing pressure for the FTC to take a look at what could be anticompetitive behavior from Facebook. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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A single memory is stored across many connected brain regions | Scientists from MIT have discovered evidence that the mammalian brain stores single memories across a widely distributed, functionally connected complex spanning many brain regions. Storing memories across many regions could make them more efficient and resilient. It could allow brains to remember events even if a few regions are impaired. The findings imply that targeting memory cells in undamaged regions of the brain could restore memory function in some cases of memory impairment. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Ask HN: What Have You Learned at Google as a Software Engineer? (Hacker News Thread) | Working at Google means you have many amazing tools at your disposal to help your productivity, but the organization and management can result in frustration. It is impossible to escape the politics of the workplace, and at Google, developers are very competitive. Co-workers are usually quite intelligent, and continual skill development is important and encouraged. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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GoDaddy Employees Used in Attacks on Multiple Cryptocurrency Services | A recent attack on several cryptocurrency trading platforms involved scams that targeted employees at GoDaddy. The fraudsters tricked employees into allowing them to assume control over at least half a dozen domain names. This allowed the attackers to change DNS records and take control of internal email accounts. GoDaddy has not disclosed how its employees were tricked into making unauthorized changes. There has been an increase in large corporations being targeted in voice phishing scams as more employees have been working remotely due to the pandemic. A list of security recommendations from the FBI/CISA advisory to mitigate the threat from voice phishing attacks is provided at the end of the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Searching the web for < $1000 / month | QuickWit was founded with the aim of creating a new type of full-text search engine that would be 10 times more cost-efficient on very large data sets. This article follows the QuickWit team as they create a solution that is entirely stateless, cost-efficient, and easy to operate. The resulting engine costs less than $1,000 per month to run, with room to lower costs even further. The engine will be open-sourced in the next few months. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Robot pole dancers to debut at French nightclub | SC-Club, a nightclub in Nantes, France, will soon feature two robot pole dancers wearing high heels with CCTV cameras for their heads as part of its fifth-anniversary celebrations next week. The bots have their metal parts covered with parts obtained from mannequins. Giles Walker, the creator of the robots, came up with the concept a decade ago and has toured and loaned out the robots over the past few years. The dancers at the venue do not feel that their new coworkers pose any threat to their jobs. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Metarank (GitHub Repo) | Metarank is a machine learning tool that personalizes product listings, articles, recommendations, and search results to boost sales. It can be integrated into apps without any machine learning expertise. A demo is available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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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. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Uber sues California over the gig-worker law. Now what? | Ride-hailing and delivery drivers from Uber and Postmates are suing the state of California over a law that is set to take effect today. AB 5 introduces a test for determining when a worker must be classified as an employee and therefore be entitled to minimum wage and benefits. This law has severe implications for the business models of companies that rely on contractors. The lawsuit is an attempt to get lawmakers to rethink the law to create a better solution. Some workers want to remain classified as independent contractors due to the schedule flexibility it provides them. Experts believe that it is likely the lawsuit will be unsuccessful. Workers from many industries are affected by this law, including truck drivers, freelance journalists, and musicians. Some of these groups have also filed lawsuits. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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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. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Mint: A new language designed for building single page applications (13 minute read) | Mint is a new language designed for single page app development. It offers a set of language-level features that is impossible to replicate in JavaScript without using an assortment of libraries. Mint's executable is around 34mb and it covers most use cases without external dependencies. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Newly Designed 'Smart' Insulin Could Majorly Improve Type 1 Diabetes Treatment | Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body's immune system destroys the cells that are responsible for regulating insulin levels in the blood. Diabetics can control the condition by injecting insulin, but it can be difficult to balance the right amount of insulin in the body. Scientists from the School of Medicine at Indiana University have redesigned the insulin molecule so it only activates in the presence of a simple carbohydrate, opening up a way for removing much of the guesswork in treating diabetes. It is still only a proof of concept, but similar approaches have been shown to be effective in rat studies. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tinder Will Let You Swipe Around the Globe for Free While Social Distancing | Tinder will allow users to change their location for free until April 30. The feature is usually reserved for paid members, but the company is enabling it in order to make self-quarantining more bearable for its users. Users can change their location through the app's settings. Other dating apps and sites have started implementing virtual and video dating services. Mixer events have now moved to online chat rooms. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Eavesdropping on the Brain with 10,000 Electrodes (11 minute read) | Neuropixels is a device that can record activity from firing neurons inside the brain. The device has the potential to deliver faster insights into a wide range of behaviors and enable better treatments for brain disorders. This article discusses the development of the device. Developing Neuropixels was challenging as engineers needed to place electrodes directly in contact with neurons anywhere in the brain, which is a soft and easily damaged organ. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Tsunami (GitHub Repo) | Tsunami is a general network security scanner for detecting high severity vulnerabilities with confidence. It relies heavily on its plugin system, with all publicly available plugins hosted in a separate linked repository. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Microsoft announces Azure Quantum, a cloud quantum computing service | Microsoft has announced plans to release an open cloud quantum computer service in private preview. It has open-sourced its Quantum Development Kit and Q# compilers and simulators. Microsoft has partnered with the startup IonQ to enable developers to use Microsoft products with quantum computers. IonQ uses an approach to quantum computing that focuses on trapping ions. Microsoft Azure Quantum will be launched in the coming months. Other companies such as Rigetti and D-Wave Systems also offer quantum computing on the cloud. IBM has plans to eventually make its 53-qubit computer available on the cloud. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Remember the Uber self-driving car that killed a woman crossing the street? The AI had no clue about jaywalkers | The first recorded death by a fully autonomous vehicle happened in March 2018, when a self-driving Uber car hit and killed a jaywalking pedestrian. An investigation into the accident found that the code didn't recognize the person as a pedestrian as they did not cross at an obvious designated crossing. The car had detected their presence, but it ignored them, classifying the person as a non-threatening object. At the time of the accident, the vehicle had a human driver at the wheel, but the driver was looking away from the road moments before the accident. The National Safety Transportation Board is set to hold a public meeting on November 19 to determine the probable cause of the collision. Uber will continue to improve the overall safety of their system by training it in scenarios that involve jaywalking, hard braking, and unprotected turns. | 4Miscellaneous
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Tech workers face a 'burnout crisis' unless employers act now | A study of IT professionals in 33 countries has found that two out of five workers are at high risk of burnout. Almost half of workers facing high levels of burnout are considering quitting their company in the next six months. The burnout is being caused by longer hours, more demanding workloads, and conflicts in work-life balance. Burnout can result in less productivity, high staff turnover, and damage to the company's reputation. It can also make organizations more vulnerable to cyberattacks. | 4Miscellaneous
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Summer camps use facial recognition so parents can watch from home (11 minute read) | Facial recognition software is a concern for privacy advocates due to its ability to identify people from a distance without their knowledge or consent, a power which has the potential to be abused by authorities. Some cities have banned the use of the technology by public officials and police. However, many citizens enjoy the benefits of facial recognition technology in their daily lives. Many summer camps are now using the technology to help parents keep an eye on their children when the children themselves don't have access to their phones. The children are usually unaware that they are being monitored. This technology has helped relieve separation anxiety from parents and also allows them to feel like they are not missing out on an important time in their children's lives. There are currently no laws to regulate facial recognition software, but the Federal Trade Commission is considering rules that would designate kids' faces as personal information, protected under federal law. | 4Miscellaneous
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Jeff Bezos’ space company is pressuring employees to launch a tourist rocket during the pandemic | Senior leadership at Blue Origin is pressuring workers to conduct a test launch of the company's New Shepard rocket during the current pandemic. The rocket is designed to take wealthy tourists into space. Employees fear that traveling to the test sites might expose them to the novel coronavirus or spread the virus to others. Blue Origin originally planned the test launch for April 10, but new self-quarantine rules mean that the company has to delay the test, and it is still deciding on a new launch date. Employees feel that New Shepard is not a critical vehicle and that it doesn't need to be tested at this time. | 4Miscellaneous
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Huawei is bringing its search app to replace Google’s search engine | Since the US government has stopped Huawei from using Google’s services, Huawei has been forced to replace these apps. Huawei Mobile Services provides official services such as Mobile Cloud, AppGallery, Video, Themes, ScreenMagazine, and more. The most difficult function to replicate is Google’s search engine, but Huawei is working to develop Huawei Search to provide search functionality. The app will soon be available on all Huawei and Honor phones via AppGallery, and new models will have it pre-installed by default. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Prehistoric "eagle shark" combined traits of sharks and rays | Aquilolamna milarcae, also known as the eagle shark, was the ancestor of both the whale shark and the manta ray. The 93 million-year-old remains of the ancient shark were unearthed in Mexico in 2012. It was recently determined to be a new species. The specimen was likely an adolescent. It was 1.65 meters long, with a 1.9-meter wingspan. A 3-minute video that shows images of the shark and its fossils is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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forgit (GitHub Repo) | forgit is a tool designed to help people use git more efficiently. It provides a UI and makes many of git's functions interactive. Screenshots are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Scientists Used Dopamine to Seamlessly Merge Artificial and Biological Neurons | Scientists have been able to connect an artificial neuron with a biological one, getting them to communicate with dopamine. Previous attempts at hybrid neural circuits only focused on electrical computing. Chemical computing would bring brain-machine interfaces closer to reality. It is theoretically possible to use these neuromorphic chips as replacement parts for damaged brains. The chips demonstrated the ability to learn. A lot more research is still required before the technology can be used for any practical applications. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Verbum (GitHub Repo) | Verbum is a flexible text editor for React. | 4Miscellaneous
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The Mac Studio’s removable SSD is reportedly blocked by Apple on a software level | Apple's new Mac Studio has removable SSD storage. However, it can't be upgraded due to a software-level block. It is the only M1-powered computer where storage isn't soldered onto the mainboard. Apple sells user-installable SSDs for the 2019 Mac Pro. A video showing how to access the inside of a Mac Studio is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Virgin Hyperloop Shows off the Future: Mass Transport in Floating Magnetic Pods | Virgin Hyperloop is developing its technology at a site in the desert just north of Las Vegas. Its passenger pods travel at up to 750 miles an hour through vacuum tunnels using magnetic levitation. The system is able to react to turbulence and cancel it out. Each pod can seat 28 passengers and can be customized to carry other cargo over both long and short distances. The first commercial operations will begin as early as 2027 in India and Saudi Arabia. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Some Assembly Required (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains a short but approachable introduction to assembly. | 4Miscellaneous
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SpaceX Starlink public beta begins | SpaceX has started to send email invitations to Starlink's public beta. The service will cost users $99 per month plus a one-time fee of $499 for the user terminal, mounting tripod, and router. The "Better Than Nothing" beta will feature speeds of between 50Mbps to 150Mbps and latency from 20ms to 40ms. SpaceX expects that the service will improve dramatically as more satellites are launched. There are no data caps. A mobile app is available to help users set up and manage their service. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Study: Solitary electric eels sometimes hunt in groups with synchronized zaps | Scientists have observed groups of electric eels hunting in groups. The eels were previously thought to be solitary predators. Hunting in groups is rare in fish, with only nine other species known for the behavior. Electric eels produce electric discharges via three pairs of abdominal organs. A single eel can produce up to 860 volts of electricity, enough to power 100 light bulbs. A 16-second video showing a pack of electric eels hunting together is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Samsung Patents Phone Display That Projects Star Wars-Like Holograms | Samsung has patented a new holographic device that will project high quality 3D images into the air R2D2 style without you having to look at it from a specific angle. The light beams are reflected by a series of micro-lens arrays that supposedly cause the light to focus into a 3D image in mid-air. File this one in the I'll believe it when I see it category. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Awesome Hacker Search Engines (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains a list of search engines that are useful for penetration testing, vulnerability assessments, red team operations, and bug bounties. It includes categories for exploits, mail addresses, threat intelligence, web history, and much more. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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React Native Universal Monorepo (GitHub Repo) | This monorepo uses Yarn workspaces and TypeScript to support a modular React Native project. It isolates JavaScript app code from platform configurations by using different workspaces. The repository can be used as a boilerplate or as a guide to creating the setup from scratch. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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There's a Reliable Way to Trigger Lucid Dreams, Scientists Have Found | A common Alzheimer's drug used to treat memory decline may promote lucid dreaming. In a study of 121 participants who had experience in lucid dreaming, those who took the drug were able to enter the dream state at a significantly higher rate than those who took a placebo. The method could help scientists finally conduct proper research on lucid dreaming. The safety of the technique still hasn't been fully researched. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Hi, Robot: Japan's android pets ease virus isolation | Robots that have pet-like characters have seen huge demand in Japan as people seek solace during isolation. A range of robots are available that can chat to their owners and perform other functions, like acting as an answering machine. The robots do not come cheap, with some models going for over $2,500. Images of a few companion robots are available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Gmail’s next big redesign starts rolling out next week | Google is rolling out its integrated view Gmail redesign next week. The new design adds Google Chat and Google Meet into Gmail. It will add a new navigation panel on the left side of the page for users to jump between Gmail, Google Chat, Spaces, and Google Meet. The rollout will begin by letting people opt-in to the changes, but the interface will become the standard by the end of Q2 2022. A screenshot showing some of the new changes is available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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OpenAI’s API Now Available with No Waitlist | OpenAI’s API is now available to developers in supported countries. The waitlist for GPT-3 has been removed thanks to new safeguards. There is now a free content filter to help developers mitigate abuse, and OpenAI will review applications before they go live, monitor for misuse, and support developers as their product scales. OpenAI has updated its Content Guidelines to clarify what kind of content its API can generate. More use cases will be allowed over time as the system is improved. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Mobile First Animation in React (GitHub Repo) | This repository contains the source code for Alexandra Holachek's presentation on mobile animation at React Conf 2019. It contains interactive slides for the talk as well as live demos. The code was only developed as a demonstration and is not production-ready UI code. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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First Fully Automated Indoor Farm Being Built In Ohio | 80 Acres Farms plans to construct an automated indoor farm in a suburb of Cincinnati. The farm will produce leafy greens, microgreens, kale and herbs for retailers such as Whole Foods. The indoor farm will include artificial intelligence, robotics, sensors and other tools to monitor the produce around the clock. The farm will use vertical farming to stack crops vertically on top of one another to save space, and a closed loop hydroponic delivery system to recycle water so it will use 95% less water than traditional farms. Because the environment is fully controlled and light is provided through energy-efficient LED lights, the farm will be able to produce food 365 days a year. This is a proof of concept so humans will be involved on a limited basis, but if it is successful, 80 Acres Farms plans to expand across the country and potentially the world. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Solito (GitHub Repo) | Solito is a library dedicated to unifying React Native with Next.js. It allows for sharing navigation code across platforms. Solito also contains a set of patterns and examples for building cross-platform apps with React Native and Next.js. Examples are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Scientists developed a clever way to detect Deepfakes by analyzing light reflections in the eyes | A new AI tool developed by computer scientists from the University of Buffalo can spot Deepfake images by looking at the light reflected in the eyes. It was 94% effective at detecting Deepfake images in tests on portrait-style photos. The corneas of the eyes reflect patterns when illuminated by light. Deepfake generators typically fail to capture this reflection accurately. The method only works on clear portrait images with a good source of lighting. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Some AI Systems May Be Impossible to Compute | There are fundamental theoretical limits to how stable and accurate AI systems can be. While there is mathematical proof that stable and accurate neural networks exist for a wide variety of problems, there may be no algorithms that can successfully compute them. There are limitations to what computers can achieve that can not be overcome with more data, computing power, or time. Knowledge about these limits could inspire more research. The limits imply the existence of a classification theory for describing neural networks that can be computed by algorithms. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Facebook names a new CTO with a major focus on hardware | Facebook has promoted Andrew Bosworth, the current head of its hardware division, to the role of chief technology officer. The current CTO Mike Schroepfer will become a senior fellow next year. Bosworth will continue to lead Facebook Reality Labs while also assuming responsibility for Facebook's broader software engineering and artificial intelligence efforts. Facebook is still relatively new to selling hardware, but it has significantly ramped up its efforts in recent years under Bosworth's watch. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Halley Game Engine (GitHub Repo) | Halley is a lightweight game engine written in C++ designed to create high performance, easy to maintain, cross-platform games. It has been tested on Windows 10 Professional 64-bit, Mac OS 10.9.6, and Ubuntu 16.04. Full documentation is not yet available for the engine. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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ninja: a simple way to do builds | ninja is an extremely simple build system. This article describes how to use ninja to quickly convert SVGs into PDFs. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Glow (GitHub Repo) | Glow allows you to render markdown on the command-line. It can be installed using your favorite package manager. An example of its output is available on the repository. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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What Ecstasy Does to Octopuses | Johns Hopkins neuroscientist Gül Dölen studies how the cells and chemicals in animal brains influence animals' social lives. Octopus brains have completely different architectures, "more similar to a snail" than ours says Dölen. They created an experiment to test the effect of MDMA (ecstasy) on octopuses. They had a tank with three chambers, put a toy in the far left chamber, put an octopus in the far right chamber, and put the test subject octopus in the middle chamber. They were testing how much time the subject spent with its fellow octopus as opposed to the toy. All five octopuses doused with MDMA spent much more time with their fellow octopus than they did when not on ecstasy. Dölen says they also behaved abnormally, "When they had MDMA, they had this very relaxed posture. They floated around, they wrapped their arms around the chamber, and they interacted with the other octopus in a much more fluid and generous way. They even exposed their [underside], where their mouth is, which is not something octopuses usually do." We last shared a common ancestor with them around 800 million years ago, and their brains have evolved independently from ours since then, but evidently we still share a few extreme similarities! | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Pixel 4 gets automatic robocall screening, improved location accuracy, and more | Google has released a feature drop for Pixel devices, a more substantial update that contains helpful and fun features on top of the normal monthly updates to improve performance and security. Pixel 4's Call Screen feature is now able to detect robocalls and automatically hang up. Duo's camera has been updated so that it auto-frames faces (including automatically adjusting zoom if another person joins in-frame), and a new portrait filter is able to blur the background during calls. Users can also use a version of the new portrait filter in Google Photos. Google Maps has improved accuracy, and the new Google Assistant will be released in the UK, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, and Australia. The new assistant is able to work offline and processes speech at almost zero latency. All new Pixel phones will receive an update to memory management that will allow them to run multiple apps more efficiently at the same time. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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SpaceX is launching a NASA spacecraft that will crash into an asteroid | NASA launched its Double Asteroid Redirection Test on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early this morning. The mission aims to hit the smaller of a pair of two asteroids at a speed of about 15,000 miles per hour with the 610-kilogram spacecraft to see how the impact changes the asteroid's trajectory. It will take 10 months to reach the asteroid, which is not a current threat to the planet. A small cube satellite will be deployed before impact to take photos of the event. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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TikTok is racing to stop the spread of a gruesome video | A video showing a man shooting himself with a gun has been circulating on TikTok. The clip was originally streamed on other social media sites, but it is harder for users to avoid videos on TikTok's platform. Users on the site have posted videos warning their followers about the video. TikTok has systems that automatically flag clips that violate its policies and are banning accounts that are repeatedly trying to upload the clip. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Mysterious 'Robin Hood' hackers donating stolen money | A group of hackers has donated stolen money to charities, claiming that they want to make the world a better place. Children International has stated it will not keep the money and The Water Project has yet to release a statement about the donations. The donations were made through The Giving Block, a service that helps non-profits receive donations in cryptocurrencies. The Giving Block is working to trace the funds and determine if they came from stolen sources. It claims that the funds will be easier to trace as the donations were made using cryptocurrency. No identity information is required when donating to The Giving Block. The donations raise moral and legal issues. | 4Miscellaneous
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Lab-Grown Brain Experiment Reverses The Effects of Autism-Linked Gene | Scientists have used two different gene therapy strategies to reverse the effects of a gene known to cause Pitt Hopkins syndrome. Pitt Hopkins syndrome is a complex condition classed in the autism spectrum that presents with a range of severities. It stems from a mutation in a gene called transcription factor 4 (TCF4). TCF4 is important to brain development, but scientists know little about its mechanisms. The research was conducted on organoids and it will be a long while before the technique can be tested on real brains. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Amazon unveils its HQ2 and double helix-inspired building in Arlington, Virginia | Amazon's HQ2 project will be based in Arlington, Virginia. It will include 2.8 million square feet of office space spread across three 22-story buildings. A fourth structure called the Helix will feature a walkable path design inspired by the double-helix structure of DNA. It will include multiple alternate work environments with plant life native to the region. The Helix will be open to the public for tours several weekends a month. A rendering of Amazon's second headquarters is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Google employees are becoming unhappy with pay, promotions and execution, survey results show | Google's annual employee survey shows that a growing number of staff are unhappy with their pay packages and their employer's ability to act quickly when needed. Employees indicated that they were pleased with Google's ability to deliver on its mission and values. Almost all employees agree that the company's products are helpful to people in their everyday lives. More details on the survey results are available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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JsQuery (GitHub Repo) | JsQuery is a PostgreSQL extension that adds a json query language with GIN indexing support. It features a way to search in nested objects and arrays and more comparison operators with indexes support. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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For the first time ever, travelers can join an expedition to the deepest spot in the oceans | The Challenger Deep is believed to be the deepest point in the world's oceans at a depth of 10,928 meters. A travel company and an undersea diving company have teamed up to offer paid spots to join an expedition to dive to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. Until now, only seven people on Earth have visited Challenger Deep. Only three spots are available and they are offered on a first-come, first-serve basis at $750,000 each. The mission will take approximately eight days, with the divers spending up to four hours on the seafloor. No official date has been set for the mission yet. The submarine has been outfitted with comforts such as a 'Sky Bar' and a gym. No formal pre-departure training will be required. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Gmail’s big merger with Google Chat, Meet, and Docs launches for everyone | Google is bringing Google Chat and Gmail's merger with Google Chat, Google Docs, and Google Meet to consumer accounts. The features were rolled out to paid Google Workspace accounts last August. The new Gmail UI has a segmented sidebar with Google apps on it. Users can open Google Docs files inside Gmail through links in Google Chat. Google Hangouts users will be upgraded to Google Chat at some point, after which Hangouts will finally shut down. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Microsoft previews free Visual Studio Code for the Web | Visual Studio Code for the Web is a free web-based code editor that can be used to view code and make and commit lightweight changes. While the desktop version is also free and much more capable, the web version is convenient and can be used on more devices. VS Code for the Web can be converted to GitHub Codespaces instances for when a full remote environment is required. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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SQLGlot (GitHub Repo) | SQLGlot is a Python SQL parser and transpiler. It can read, write, and translate a wide variety of SQL dialects. SQLGlot is fast and customizable. Examples are available. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Samsung takes a stab at its own immersive metaverse store | Samsung 837X is an immersive metaverse experience that will be open in Decentraland for a limited time. It will allow guests to experience the physical Samsung 837 building in New York. Guests can complete quests with rewards like NFT badges and limited-supply wearables. There will be a mixed reality live dance party with Gamma Vibes. Samsung plans to bring Samsung 837X to more metaverses, with different experiences. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Ashes of Star Trek’s Scotty smuggled on to International Space Station | Richard Garriot allegedly brought actor James Doohan's ashes with him during his trip to the International Space Station in 2008. Doohan, who passed away in 2005, played Montgomery "Scotty" Scott on Star Trek. The actor's son contacted Garriot prior to his trip, and despite there not being enough time to go through the official processes needed to bring objects aboard the flight, Garriot hid the ashes in some photos and then later hid one of the photos inside the floor of the station's Columbus module. A separate sample of the actor's ashes was launched on a SpaceX rocket in 2012. | 4Miscellaneous
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Silicon Valley from anywhere (Sponsor) | Dreamed of working for cutting-edge startups from Silicon Valley but don't want to live there? Now you don’t have to! Lemon.io allows you to work for world-changing companies from anywhere with competitive salaries. Apply today! | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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SEC settles charges with Tesla's Elon Musk, will remain as CEO but relinquish chairman role and pay stiff fine | The SEC has settled its fraud suit against Elon Musk for his tweet stating that he had "funding secured" to take Tesla private at $420 a share. The terms of the settlement stipulate that Musk must pay a civil penalty of $20 million and give up his role as chairman of the board for at least three years. Additionally, the SEC imposed a $20 million fine on Tesla itself, which will also be expected to appoint two new independent directors to the board, and institute sweeping governance changes. The settlement is still subject to court approval. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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Listen Later (Web Tool) | This is a nifty tool that lets you take Youtube videos and convert them into audio podcasts. Then it publishes this audio to a podcast RSS feed and gives you the URL, so you can subscribe to the audio feed from your podcast player. It's a really creative way to listen to Youtube videos on the go. Also, no sign up required, which I'm always a huge fan of! | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Scientists Just Cured the Coronavirus With Inhalable Nanobodies | A new therapy called the Pittsburgh inhalable Nanobody 21 might be able to prevent and treat Covid-19. The treatment involves inhaling a vapor cloud of nanobody-based material. It uses single-domain antibody fragments, which are cheaper to produce than monoclonal antibodies. The treatment has so far only been shown to be effective in hamsters. If successful in humans, it could lead to a massive increase in our ability to rapidly inoculate populations from the virus and its variants. | 4Miscellaneous
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Amazon will launch a new location-tracking mesh network system later this year | Amazon Sidewalk is a networking and location system that links smart home devices and other Amazon products using Bluetooth Low Energy. It turns devices like smart lights into network bridges, allowing the system to triangulate a device's approximate location based on its contact with other Sidewalk-enabled devices. Sidewalk will be used to help simplify device setup, extend the working range of devices, and help devices stay online and updated. There are some security features to prevent unauthorized users from collecting data. Amazon is actively looking for third-party device partners for the project. A link to a list of Sidewalk-compatible devices is available in the article. | 1Big Tech & Startups
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mRNA breakthrough offers a potential heart attack cure | Researchers from King's College London have developed an mRNA vaccine that reverses damage caused by heart attacks. Cardiac muscle cells are starved of oxygen and can be damaged or killed during a heart attack, leaving scar tissue. The vaccine delivers code that stimulates new heart cells to grow, creating functional muscle rather than a scar. The treatment has been successfully tested with pigs. The researchers hope to begin human clinical trials within two years. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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PM Starter Pack (Website) | The Product Management Starter Pack is a practical action plan on how to break into product management. Product management is one of the most in-demand fields in tech at the moment, but most advice on how to break into the field is quite general and beginners are usually left without an idea of how to start. The guide covers basic skills, how to demonstrate these skills, and advice on how to get into the product management job market. | 3Programming, Design & Data Science
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Assange Indicted Under Espionage Act, Raising First Amendment Issues | Julian Assange has been indicted on 17 counts of violating the Espionage Act for obtaining and publishing secret military and diplomatic documents. The case against Assange could open the door to criminalizing activities which are crucial for American journalists who write about national security matters. Most of the charges against Assange are for obtaining the data, rather than publishing the data. The head of the Justice Department states that they are not targeting journalists for reporting information, but that the methods that Assange used to obtain the information were unlawful. While the Espionage Act could theoretically be used to prosecute journalists who publish secret government information, many legal scholars believe that to do so would violate the First Amendment. | 4Miscellaneous
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This tiny edible sofa was 3D-printed from milk | Scientists at the Singapore University of Technology and Design have developed a method for 3D printing with powdered milk. The process doesn't require the milk to be heated up, preserving its key nutrients. It also doesn't require the additional stabilizers that are usually used in colder methods of 3D printing. The researchers were able to fill the milk objects with syrup and cream. This method could be used to formulate various nutritious foods, particularly for those who have special dietary needs. Images of the 3D printed milk designs are available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Spotify CEO to invest over $1 billion of his own wealth for 'moonshot' bets in Europe | Spotify CEO Daniel Ek will commit 1 billion euros of his own resources to invest in European start-ups. His focus will be on scientific innovation in health, education, machine learning, and biotechnology. Ek states that one of his motivations is his frustration with European tech companies being bought up by US rivals and having European talent leave for the US as a result. Europe is often seen as lagging behind in technology compared to the US and China. Many European tech companies are choosing the US market for their IPOs. | 4Miscellaneous
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Brain implant allows mind control of computers in first human trials | The Stentrode device is an implant that has the potential to treat a wide range of neurological conditions using electrical stimulation. It is implanted through a keyhole incision in the neck, where it can monitor electrical signals coming from the brain and also stimulate brain regions that correspond with particular muscle movements. In its first human trials, the Stentrode brought about significant quality-of-life improvements for two Australian men living with motor neurone disease. A two-minute video showing one of the patients talking about their experience with the Stentrode is available in the article. | 2Science and Futuristic Technology
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Amazon’s Wheel of Time show is finally revealed in its first trailer | Amazon has released the first trailer for The Wheel of Time series. It establishes some of the basic tenets of Robert Jordan's world, with a specific focus on Moiraine Damodred. The trailer shows the five central characters that Moiraine ends up mentoring through the series. Various locations from the story are teased. The trailer is available in the article. | 4Miscellaneous
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Uber to offer boat rides in London as new commuter service | Uber, in partnership with Thames Clippers, will soon offer boat journeys in London. Passengers will receive a QR code boarding pass once they book their trip through the Uber app. The boats will continue to operate on their current set routes, and customers will be able to use existing payment methods to pay for their journeys. The city of London has explored other transport options due to the pandemic. It has invested in its cycling infrastructure and fast-tracked its e-scooter rental trials. | 4Miscellaneous
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How the Entertainment Industry Solved Piracy, Then Made It Popular Again | For the last few decades, the entertainment industry has been fighting piracy by suing and vilifying potential customers or lobbying for copyright laws like DMCA, rather than offering better, cheaper products. The introduction of streaming services saw a drop in piracy as people had an attractive, legal alternative. As more and more streaming services enter the market, consumers are forced to sort through the many different offerings to find the shows that they want to watch. If consumers want to watch shows that are on different platforms, they have to pay for both. This is causing some consumers to return to piracy. Data suggests that piracy is an invisible competitor and a metric of consumer dissatisfaction. | 4Miscellaneous
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