The Daily Index — Friday, August 16, 2024 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

GOOGLE'S AI SEARCH GIVES SITES DIRE CHOICE: SHARE DATA OR DIE

The tool Google uses to sift through web content to come up with AI answers is the same one that keeps track of web pages for search results. Sites that block Google's AI bot may not show up in search. Publishers either have to choose to offer up their content for use by AI models, which could make their sites obsolete, or disappear from Google search, a top source of traffic. Google has signaled to publishers it is not interested in negotiating data-sharing deals and media companies have little leverage in the situation.

bloomberg.com · 12 min

TLDR AI

NOUSE HERMES 3

Nous Research has released its flagship model. Trained on top of Llama 3, the model has strong performance and a great personality like many of the company's original models.

nousresearch.com · 5 min

TLDR Web Dev

REAL-TIME MOUSE POINTERS

Canva's collaboration team implemented real-time mouse pointers to make its whiteboard product better. Initially, they utilized a backend-centric architecture using WebSockets and Redis, which scaled to support hundreds of thousands of simultaneous users, but had limitations in update rate. Recognizing these limitations, the team migrated to a WebRTC-based architecture, which allowed direct peer-to-peer communication between clients, reducing latency and improving scalability.

canva.dev · 18 min

TLDR InfoSec

MACOS STEALER POSING AS LOOM IS SPREADING VIA GOOGLE ADS

Moonlock Labs has uncovered a new AMOS stealer variant that spreads by masquerading as the Loom screen recorder on Google Ads. In addition to usual infostealer malware capabilities, this new variant contains the capability to clone and swap legitimate apps such as a crypto wallet to wipe victims' wallets. This variant also includes files that suggest that it is targeting gamers.

moonlock.com · 6 min

TLDR Crypto

APPLE OPENS NFC TECH FOR 3RD-PARTY USE; TAP TO USDC COMING

Apple recently opened NFC chip access on iPhones to 3rd party app developers, allowing various wallet apps, including Web3 and crypto wallets, to use NFC for transactions and enabling developers to create user experiences where consumers can pay with USDC, potentially transforming direct merchant payments using blockchain technology. This development is significant as it expands payment possibilities beyond Apple Pay, allowing for various applications like USDC transactions, NFTs for tickets, and other digital assets to utilize tap-to-pay functionality on iPhones.

threadreaderapp.com · 2 min

TLDR

STARLINK COMPETITOR AST SOARS AFTER CONFIRMING SATELLITE LAUNCH

AST SpaceMobile's market value closed at a record high of more than $8 billion after the satellite communication company confirmed an early September window for its inaugural commercial launch of a network in low-Earth orbit. The company is working with AT&T, Verizon, and other partners to provide wireless service from space to regular consumer smartphones. AST plans to use a SpaceX rocket to send its first five commercial satellites to orbit.

bloomberg.com · 3 min

TLDR

A.L.S. STOLE HIS VOICE. A.I. RETRIEVED IT

A patient suffering from ALS received a surgical implant last July that connected his brain to a computer, allowing him to speak with the assistance of an AI-powered voice. The implant is able to recognize the words the patient is trying to speak and produce sounds that come close to matching his true voice. It has significantly improved the patient's life, allowing him to communicate with loved ones and express his needs to carers. It is unclear whether the implant would have the same effect on more severely paralyzed people - the patient's speech had deteriorated, but not disappeared.

links.tldrnewsletter.com · 14 min

TLDR

NASA AND ROCKET LAB AIM TO PROVE WE CAN GO TO MARS FOR 1/10 THE PRICE

Two Rocket Lab-made spacecraft are almost ready to head to Mars. Their mission will be to study the interaction between solar winds and the Martian atmosphere. The mission is set to launch no earlier than October on the first launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. Getting to Mars has historically been very expensive - Rocket Lab's system is two orders of magnitude cheaper than everything else. This article details how Rocket Lab designed the spacecraft.

techcrunch.com · 6 min

TLDR

FONT WITH BUILT-IN SYNTAX HIGHLIGHTING

This blog discusses how to implement syntax highlighting within a font. Using a font instead of a framework for syntax highlighting allows for an easier installation process and fewer dependencies. It also makes pages load faster, can work everywhere, and doesn't require maintenance or updating. While this method is not a direct replacement for more robust syntax highlighting libraries, it works well enough for simple needs.

blog.glyphdrawing.club · 14 min