The Daily Index — Thursday, August 29, 2024 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

SUNK COST

NFTs haven't recovered despite crypto values rising. While they're hanging on, the technology is in troubled waters. OpenSea, once the largest marketplace for NFTs, is facing pending litigation from the SEC, a previous unreported 'matter' with the FTC, inbounds from US and international tax authorities, heightened competition, accusations of gender discrimination, and employee attrition. This article tells the story of the marketplace's rise and fall.

theverge.com · 32 min

TLDR AI

GOOGLE ROLLS OUT GEMS AND IMAGEN 3 TO GEMINI ADVANCED

Google is rolling out its new features, Gems and Imagen 3, to Gemini Advanced subscribers. Gems allows users to create custom versions of Gemini tailored to specific tasks, offering premade options like learning coaches and coding partners, while Imagen 3 is Google's latest image generation model, now available to generate detailed and artistic images.

9to5google.com · 2 min

TLDR Web Dev

🦵 Kick the tires: Build your own instance with Docker Compose

and experience the power firsthand >>

fusionauth.io

TLDR Crypto

OPENSEA GETS 'WELLS NOTICE' FROM SEC, WHICH CALLS NFTS SOLD ON PLATFORM 'SECURITIES'

NFT marketplace OpenSea has received a Wells Notice from the SEC, indicating the regulator's interest in pursuing enforcement action against the company. Considering NFTs as securities significantly expands the SEC's regulatory power in the crypto space. OpenSea's CEO has vowed to fight the notice and pledged $5 million to support NFT creators and developers who may face similar scrutiny.

coindesk.com · 2 min

TLDR Design

THE MOST EXPERIMENTAL LOGO OF THE YEAR WAS GROWN FROM LIVE BACTERIA

Crucible's innovative new logo, designed by Madalena Studio, was grown from live bacteria using natural processes. Developed in a makeshift incubator, the evolving design reflects Crucible's experimental approach to drinks and brand identity. The result features a variety of unique, organic options that capture the brand's dynamic and unconventional nature.

creativebloq.com · 2 min

TLDR

OPENAI REPORTEDLY IN TALKS TO CLOSE A NEW FUNDING ROUND AT $100B+ VALUATION

OpenAI is reportedly in talks to raise funds at a valuation of more than $100 billion, substantially higher than the company's previous $86 billion valuation. Investors include Thrive Capital and Microsoft. The financing will be OpenAI's biggest outside infusion of capital since Microsoft invested nearly $10 billion in January last year. While OpenAI's revenue eclipsed $3.4 billion early this year, the company is on track to lose nearly $5 billion by year end. It has already burned through $8.5 billion on AI training and staffing.

techcrunch.com · 2 min

TLDR

SPARKS ARE FLYING DAY AND NIGHT AS SPACEX PREPS STARSHIP PAD TO CATCH A ROCKET

Workers have been making last-minute upgrades to SpaceX's Starship launch pad in South Texas pretty much every day for the last couple of weeks. If all goes well on the Starship's next test flight, the launch pad's mechanical arms will close together to capture the Super Heavy booster as it descends back to Earth. SpaceX announced that Starship and Super Heavy were ready to fly, pending regulatory approval, on August 8. The FAA is still evaluating SpaceX's proposed flight profile. It is unclear how long approval will take, but the state of the launch pad suggests that the next test is still at least a couple of weeks away.

arstechnica.com · 8 min

TLDR

AI INFERENCE COMPETITION HEATS UP

The competition for AI inference is heating up, particularly in terms of power efficiency. ML Commons has released the results of its latest AI inferencing competition. The round included first-time submissions from teams using AMD Instinct accelerators, the latest Google Trillium accelerators, chips from Untether AI, and Nvidia's new Blackwell chip. This article looks at the results - while Nvidia's chips are still ahead in many categories, chips from other manufacturers are starting to catch up.

spectrum.ieee.org · 6 min

TLDR

PROGRAMMING WITH CHATGPT

Using ChatGPT to code can be a real productivity boost. Instead of reading examples on Stack Overflow and adapting them to their particular case, developers can instantly get code tailored to their specific needs. It can make developers more efficient, but they need to remember that it is still a tool. It is important to always test the code it provides to quickly discover any hallucinations.

henrikwarne.com · 4 min