The Daily Index — Wednesday, July 3, 2024 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

PHIL SCHILLER TO JOIN OPENAI BOARD IN ‘OBSERVER' ROLE FOLLOWING APPLE'S CHATGPT DEAL

Apple Fellow Phil Schiller has been selected for an observer role on the OpenAI board. He will be able to observe board meetings but will not have any voting power. This will allow Apple to gain insights into how decisions are made at OpenAI. The arrangement will take effect later this year - details of the situation could still change.

9to5mac.com · 2 min

TLDR AI

AMAZON BEEFS UP AI DEVELOPMENT

Amazon is enhancing its AI capabilities by hiring top talent from AI startup Adept and licensing its technology.

cnbc.com · 2 min

TLDR Web Dev

OPTIMIZING JAVASCRIPT FOR FUN AND FOR PROFIT

Optimizing JavaScript code for performance often involves trade-offs with readability. Careful benchmarking is necessary to identify bottlenecks and measure improvements. Common optimization techniques include avoiding string comparisons and different object shapes, minimizing the use of array and object methods, reducing indirection, and optimizing memory access patterns. Using eval() strategically and understanding the nuances of string manipulation can lead to better performance.

romgrk.com · 28 min

TLDR InfoSec

REGRESSHION: REMOTE UNAUTHENTICATED CODE EXECUTION VULNERABILITY IN OPENSSH SERVER

A vulnerability from 2006 has been reintroduced in OpenSSH. This vulnerability is caused by a signal handler race condition and could allow for unauthenticated remote code execution as root on glibc-based Linux systems. Qualys identified over 14 million potentially vulnerable internet-facing SSH servers and recommends immediate patching to prevent exploitation.

blog.qualys.com · 6 min

TLDR Crypto

ROBINHOOD CRYPTO NOW AVAILABLE IN ALL 50 U.S. STATES

Robinhood Crypto has expanded its availability to all U.S. states, including Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, giving users across all territories the ability to trade 15 different crypto assets (e.g., BTC, ETH, etc.). This expansion was facilitated by regulatory adaptations (e.g., the Hawai'i-specific MTL license is no longer required) and additional licensing. Robinhood is now well positioned to be ahead or already ahead of U.S.-based competitors like Coinbase and Kraken in terms of geographical availability.

decrypt.co · 2 min

TLDR

SPACEX WANTS TO LAUNCH UP TO 120 TIMES A YEAR FROM FLORIDA — AND COMPETITORS AREN'T HAPPY ABOUT IT

Several agencies are now preparing impact statements for SpaceX's Starship launch plans. SpaceX plans to launch its Starship mega-rocket up to 44 times per year from NASA's Kennedy Space Center and up to 76 times per year from the Space Launch Complex at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Elon Musk aims to eventually launch Starship multiple times per day, with each launch delivering hundreds of tons of cargo to low Earth orbit or beyond. Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance have expressed concerns that SpaceX's high flight rate will have effects on other launch providers with infrastructure at Kennedy and Cape Canaveral.

techcrunch.com · 5 min

TLDR

CHANGING A SINGLE GENE GAVE MICE SUPERCHARGED HEARING

University of Michigan researchers have created mice with supercharged hearing abilities by dialing up the expression of a nerve growth gene called neurotrophin-3 (Ntf3). Previous research has shown that increasing Ntf3 expression can improve hearing in middle-aged mice and help recover some hearing in mice with damaged inner ears. The treatment works by increasing the number of connections between hair cells in the ear's cochlea and the brain. The researchers believe the treatment could potentially work in humans.

sciencealert.com · 4 min

TLDR

WHY ARE JAPANESE DEVELOPERS NOT UNDERGOING MASS LAYOFFS?

Japan seems immune to many of the layoffs and trends seen abroad. Employee protections play a major factor in ensuring this stability for employees. Layoffs are incredibly difficult to implement under Japanese employment law. Companies need to be under severe financial difficulty and at risk of insolvency and they have to have exhausted all other cost-saving measures. There are also cultural factors - reducing their workforce can reflect poorly on a company's reputation with the public and prospective future employees.

gamesindustry.biz · 14 min

TLDR

EARTH'S MYSTERIOUS, DEEP-DWELLING MICROBES WE'RE ONLY STARTING TO UNDERSTAND

This article looks into the history of the research into subterranean life and how it has changed the way scientists see life and the planet. Earth's crust is teeming with subterranean life that scientists are just starting to begin to understand. These microbes may closely resemble some of the earliest single-celled organisms that ever existed. They make up an estimated 10 to 20 percent of the biomass on Earth.

nytimes.com · 37 min