The Daily Index — Thursday, November 2, 2023 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

HERE’S A RARE LOOK AT GOOGLE’S MOST LUCRATIVE SEARCH QUERIES

Google only shows ads on about 20% of queries. One of the company's most closely guarded secrets - which search terms make the most money - was revealed during the company’s antitrust trial this week. While the list only shows data for a week in September 2018, it's the first time anything like this has been revealed before. The top 20 queries from that list are available in the article. The top three queries by revenue were ‘iPhone 8’, ‘iPhone 8 Plus’, and ‘auto insurance’.

theverge.com · 3 min

TLDR AI

STABILITY AI TEASES RELEASE OF 3D GENERATION, SKY REPLACEMENT, AND MORE

3D asset generation in the .obj format is the next big innovation for creatives working with AI. Stability AI is working to make that a possibility. This article is light on details, but it is exciting to see what is around the corner.

stability.ai · 3 min

TLDR Web Dev

HOW TO (AND HOW NOT TO) DESIGN REST APIS

Designing REST APIs using best practices can improve their usability. This guide goes over multiple tips and examples of how to do so, such as using plural nouns for collections in URLs, avoiding unnecessary path segments, and refraining from adding extensions like ".json" to URLs. It also recommends not returning arrays as top-level responses, avoiding map structures in JSON responses, using strings for all identifiers, and more.

github.com · 11 min

TLDR Crypto

COINBASE CRYPTO FUTURES FOR RETAIL US TRADERS GOES LIVE, INCLUDES 'NANO' BITCOIN TRADING

Coinbase has launched a service allowing eligible retail customers in the US to trade crypto futures. This offer includes "nano" bitcoin contracts and will be delivered through Coinbase Financial Markets. Although there are amplified risks with futures trading, it allows users to hedge their risk and diversify their portfolios. The futures contracts will be settled in USD.

theblock.co · 2 min

TLDR Design

AN INSIDE LOOK AT FOUR DESIGN DETAILS IN OUR NEW PIXEL DEVICES

Part of the design for the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro includes the introduction of a new blue shade called Bay, a striking hue that came from a color strategy developed during the pandemic. The matte back is back and it gives the devices a subtle grip and silky feel and is great at preventing fingerprints. The Pixel 8 and 8 Pro are also less boxy than their predecessors, with thinner bezels to reveal more of the glass display.

blog.google · 5 min

TLDR

APPLE KEEPS EXPLORING (AND SCRAPPING) NEW WAYS TO DETECT USERS’ HEALTH

A new report shows how far Apple wants to go into healthcare and explains why it hasn't gotten there yet. The company’s ambitions have been slowed in parts by concerns that mistakes in the field of healthcare could tarnish its public perception. Another obstacle has been getting FDA approval for its technologies. This article details some of the health features that Apple has considered releasing over the years.

theverge.com · 4 min

TLDR

AFTER DECADES OF DREAMS, A COMMERCIAL SPACEPLANE IS ALMOST READY TO FLY

The Dream Chaser spaceplane is almost ready to fly. The plane's foldable wings and fuselage are covered in ceramic tiles to shield the spacecraft from the heat of atmospheric reentry. It will be the first commercial spaceplane capable of orbital flight. The ride back down to Earth will be at no more than 1.5 Gs. Each spaceplane is designed for a minimum of 15 flights. It will be able to haul up to 12,000 pounds into space and bring back about 4,000 pounds of cargo.

arstechnica.com · 20 min

TLDR

WHAT CAUSES FAINTING? SCIENTISTS FINALLY HAVE AN ANSWER

40% of people faint at least once in their lifetime. Researchers have discovered a neural pathway that connects the heart to the brain stem that, when activated in mice, causes them to become immobile almost immediately. This pathway may hold the key to understanding fainting. Further study of the pathway could inspire new treatment approaches for fainting due to cardiac causes.

nature.com · 4 min

TLDR

NEW AWS SERVICE LETS CUSTOMERS RENT NVIDIA GPUS FOR QUICK AI PROJECTS

Amazon Web Services has launched Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) Capacity Blocks for ML. The service allows customers to buy access to Nvidia GPUs for a defined amount of time. Customers will be able to reserve and schedule GPU instances for future dates for just the amount of time required. The price to access these resources will vary depending on supply and demand.

techcrunch.com · 3 min