The Daily Index — Monday, June 26, 2023 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

AMAZON'S VISION: AN AI MODEL FOR EVERYTHING

Amazon's long-term strategy is to create a single point of entry for businesses to tap into both open-source and closed-source generative AI models. Matt Wood, vice president of product for Amazon Web Services, is leading Amazon's response to the AI war. This article features an interview with Wood where he discusses how Amazon views the AI market, the company's approach to winning the AI battle between the tech giants, the future of the internet, and more.

semafor.com · 7 min

TLDR Web Dev

UNEXPECTED DOWNSIDES OF UUID KEYS IN POSTGRESQL

UUIDs are commonly used as keys in PostgreSQL databases. However, UUID’s come with their own downsides. The most important of these downsides is a loss of temporal locality. The trouble with picking random values is that they lose any correlation between the order of inserts and the order of IDs. This can lead to a loss of performance.

cybertec-postgresql.com · 5 min

TLDR Crypto

IMF SAYS BANNING CRYPTO ASSETS MAY NOT BE EFFECTIVE LONG-TERM

In an about-face from earlier this year, the IMF is now suggesting that banning crypto assets might not be an effective long-term risk management strategy for countries. Instead, the IMF recommends focusing on addressing the factors driving crypto demand, enhancing transparency, and recording crypto transactions in national statistics. The institution believes that countries should mitigate risks while leveraging the potential benefits of technological innovation associated with crypto assets. This stance contrasts with the IMF's previous position, which considered the possibility of imposing outright bans on crypto.

theblock.co · 2 min

TLDR Founders

RISKY BUSINESS: VENTURE SCALE VS. VENTURE RISK

Venture Capitalist Bryce Roberts examines the relationship between the scale of a venture and the associated risks, with a focus on how much capital is required to sustain it.

bryce.medium.com · 6 min

TLDR

DEVELOPMENT WITH LARGER THAN 30-INCH SCREEN

Apple will launch an Apple Watch Series 9 and a second-generation Apple Watch Ultra alongside the iPhone 15 lineup this fall. Updates to the Mac lineup are not expected until later this year or early 2024. Apple is working on a new 24-inch iMac and a new iMac with a screen larger than 30 inches. The iPad Pro and iPad Air will see updates in 2024. The third-generation AirPods Pro, a new Apple TV, and other smart home products are currently in early development.

9to5mac.com · 1 min

TLDR

ROCKET

Elon Musk says that SpaceX needs another six weeks or so to finish implementing over a thousand changes to its Super Heavy/Starship rocket and launch pad before it will be ready for a second attempt to reach orbit. SpaceX will also need FAA clearance for the launch. The modifications include using hot staging for the stage separation system, redesigning the Raptor's hot gas manifold, and a stronger launch pad that will allow the rocket to take off at a higher throttle setting. The Super Heavy/Starship program has so far cost SpaceX over $2 billion and investment could approach $3 billion by the end of the year.

cbsnews.com · 5 min

TLDR

HAS XBOX REALLY LOST THE CONSOLE WARS?

Phil Spencer recently took the stand during the FTC v. Microsoft hearing to discuss Microsoft losing the console wars, competition with Sony, and Xbox's struggle to compete. Spencer's promises that Microsoft won't pull Call of Duty from PlayStation resulted in some testy exchanges with FTC's lawyer. A representative from Google also appeared at the hearing to talk about Stadia. This article takes a look at these testimonies and examines the arguments that the companies make.

theverge.com · 15 min

TLDR

OPENAI PPUS: HOW OPENAI'S UNIQUE EQUITY COMPENSATION WORKS

OpenAI's capped profit model means that the company will be able to generate more value than it would owe investors. Its employees receive a base salary and equity in Profit Participation Units (PPUs). This article explains how OpenAI's PPUs work, how OpenAI distributes them, and other benefits that OpenAI offers to employees. A link to a compensation benchmarking tool for employers is available near the end of the article.

levels.fyi · 10 min

TLDR

AI

Open source licenses, which are based on copyright law, are not a good fit for large language model models and datasets so they must be updated in ways that will make sense.

theregister.com · 4 min