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THE DAILY INDEX

Technology, AI, software, security, crypto and business

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

GOOGLE IS FINALLY BUILDING ITS OWN DEX: FIRST LOOK AT ANDROID'S DESKTOP MODE

Google is developing its own Samsung DeX-like desktop mode for Android. Samsung DeX is a software feature that emulates a desktop UI that presents a desktop-like interface, allowing users to launch multiple apps in floating windows and control everything with a keyboard and mouse. The feature is still unfinished and almost certainly won't launch by the release of Android 16. This article presents a preview of the new desktop mode.

TRUMP'S CRYPTO DINNERS IN RAISE POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

President Trump announced a “Crypto & AI Innovation Dinner” hosted by MAGA Inc., following a previously planned gala for top $TRUMP memecoin holders. The events coincided with a 50% surge in $TRUMP trading and revelations that Trump Organization insiders control 80% of the token's supply, earning $325 million in fees since January. Trump denied any personal profit, framing crypto as a counter to China and downplaying the token's price. Legal experts are split, with some raising ethical concerns and others deeming the events legally permissible.

APPS LIKE KINDLE ARE ALREADY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF COURT-MANDATED IOS APP STORE CHANGES

Amazon's Kindle app for iPhones and iPads wouldn't actually let anyone buy books in the app, until yesterday. The iOS app still doesn't allow books to be purchased directly in the app, but users can search Amazon's virtual bookstore inside the app and tap a new button that automatically pops them over to Amazon's website. Apple plans to appeal the ruling to allow third-party developers to use alternate payment processors in their apps - if successful, it could create new potential PR headaches for Apple as the company would then be taking away something from developers and users rather than preserving the status quo.

FAA GREEN-LIGHTS STARSHIP LAUNCHES EVERY OTHER WEEK FROM STARBASE

The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to allow SpaceX to substantially increase the number of annual launches from its Starbase launch site in South Texas. SpaceX will now be able to conduct up to 25 Starship launches and landings during a calendar year. It will be required to undertake dozens of actions to mitigate environmental impacts. The company has yet to announce a firm date for its ninth Starship flight test.

THE COMPANY WITH THE WORLD'S LARGEST AIRCRAFT NOW HAS A HYPERSONIC ROCKET PLANE

Stratolaunch's Talon-A2 reusable hypersonic rocket plane has already carried multiple experiments and delivered payloads. The company is aiming for monthly flights by the end of the year and eventually wants to ramp up to weekly flights. The Pentagon has spent about $12 billion on hypersonic weapons development and testing since 2018 - none of the weapons are operational yet. China's first hypersonic weapon became operational in 2019, and Russia's government claimed it deployed a hypersonic weapon in the same year. The Pentagon's hunger for hypersonic weapons will likely fund Stratolaunch for some time to come.

GOOGLE'S GEMINI 2.5 PRO UPDATE MAKES THE AI MODEL EVEN BETTER AT CODING

Google has released early access to a version of Gemini 2.5 Pro with significantly improved coding capabilities. The model is reportedly better at coding tasks such as building interactive web apps, code transformation, code editing, and creating agentic workflows. It was scheduled to debut at Google I/O, but Google released it early in response to positive feedback. The updated Gemini 2.5 Pro is placed at the top of the WebDev Arena Leaderboard and scored 84.8% on the VideoMME benchmark.

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