The Daily Index — Monday, March 17, 2025 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

APPLE'S SIRI CHIEF CALLS AI DELAYS UGLY AND EMBARRASSING, PROMISES FIXES

Robby Walker, the executive overseeing Apple's Siri revamp, said that the delays to key features have been ugly and embarrassing and that the decision to publicly promote the technology before it was ready made matters worse. It is unknown when the enhancements will actually launch, but they aren't expected until next year at the earliest. These features were a key selling point of the iPhone 16 line, which otherwise lacked major changes. Apple reportedly doesn't plan to immediately fire any top executives over the AI crisis, but the company is poised to make management adjustments.

bloomberg.com · 6 min

TLDR AI

GOOGLE ASSISTANT IS REPLACED BY GEMINI

Google Assistant is transitioning into Gemini, a more personalized and AI-driven assistant designed to integrate with apps and services while leveraging generative AI.

blog.google · 3 min

TLDR Web Dev

GOING DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE OF GIT'S NEW BUNDLE-URI

Git's new `bundle-uri` feature is designed to speed up clones by using a pre-calculated seed file from a CDN, which is great for reducing server load on Git forges and internal Git servers. Initially, using a CDN-hosted bundle didn't improve clone times as expected. After investigation, it was discovered that Git only copies local branch references from the bundle, causing it to re-download many objects. A small code change to copy all references (including tags and remote references) improved clone times.

blog.gitbutler.com · 11 min

TLDR InfoSec

CLICKFIX: HOW TO INFECT YOUR PC IN THREE EASY STEPS

The "ClickFix" scheme tricks users into downloading password-stealing malware disguised as CAPTCHA verification. Users press Windows+R, CTRL+V, and Enter, which activates the download through mshta.exe. Organizations can prevent this by disabling the run command for the Windows+R shortcut.

krebsonsecurity.com · 3 min

TLDR Crypto

TELEGRAM FOUNDER PAVEL DUROV GIVEN PERMISSION TO LEAVE FRANCE

Pavel Durov, founder of Telegram, has been granted permission to leave France and relocate to Dubai amid ongoing legal issues related to allegations of facilitating illicit transactions Telegram. His departure has reignited debates over jurisdiction and privacy.

cointelegraph.com · 3 min

TLDR

SPACEX CAPSULE DOCKS AS ASTRONAUTS PREPARE RETURN AFTER NINE MONTHS

Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who were only supposed to be on the International Space Station for eight days, will begin their journey back to Earth later this week. A SpaceX capsule carrying a new crew has docked at the ISS. There will be a two-day handover period after which the old crew will begin their journey - there could be a small further delay due to weather conditions. The astronauts have consistently said that they have been happy to be on board the space station.

bbc.com · 5 min

TLDR

ATHENA LANDED IN A DARK CRATER WHERE THE TEMPERATURE WAS MINUS 280° F

Intuitive Machines' Athena spacecraft's altimeter failed during landing last week, causing it to misjudge its altitude and land in a small shadowed crater after toppling over and rotating once or twice. This caused regolith to be blown up into the solar panels, which meant the panels weren't able to provide the lander sufficient power to survive. The lander was able to accomplish some of its objectives as mission operators decided to operate as robustly as possible for 13 hours to get as much data as they could. Despite the bad landing, the mission was largely a success - Athena flew smoothly, the company validated the spacecraft's methane-based propulsion system, and it also proved that its communications technology can be used as part of the lunar data relay network that NASA has contracted with Intuitive Machines to develop.

arstechnica.com · 5 min

TLDR

IN S3 SIMPLICITY IS TABLE STAKES

The past year has seen some really interesting feature launches for S3 that remove limits and make S3 simpler. A lot of work has gone into the properties that make S3 simple - the S3 team considers themselves successful only when these things can be taken for granted as that means they aren't distractions. All of the most popular features on S3 have been in direct response to requests from S3 customers - this article looks at how the S3 team has evolved its product in response to the huge range of things that builders do today while keeping it simple so that developers can work with data and not have to think about anything else.

allthingsdistributed.com · 25 min

TLDR

HOW I'VE RUN MAJOR PROJECTS

Excellent project management is an extremely high-leverage skill - organizing a ton of moving parts with complex, non-obvious interdependencies and hard schedule constraints is a huge job and can save weeks of delays if done right. Project management requires focused time for organization. A detailed plan for victory is important because whether or not the plan is being achieved is the best way to figure out how well or badly things are going. Getting complete information can often be the hardest part of the project. It's important to overcommunicate so everyone knows what else is going on to make correct decisions. Delegate when the project gets too big - sometimes it's impossible to track every detail by yourself.

benkuhn.net · 24 min