The Daily Index — Wednesday, May 14, 2025 · TLDR Index

Across today’s newsletters

Today’s Index

TLDR

APPLE TO SUPPORT BRAIN-IMPLANT CONTROL OF ITS DEVICES

Apple is taking early steps to enable people to control their devices with brain-computer interfaces. It is working on a new standard with Synchron, a company that makes a stent-like device that is implanted in a vein on top of the brain's motor cortex to read brain signals. Early testers have been able to use the technology to control iPhones, iPads, and Vision Pro headsets. Synchron's device has been tested in 10 people since 2019.

links.tldrnewsletter.com · 3 min

TLDR AI

TIKTOK AI ALIVE

TikTok has launched AI Alive, a new feature that animates static images within Stories. It uses intelligent editing tools to turn photos into short-form videos with dynamic effects.

newsroom.tiktok.com · 2 min

TLDR Web Dev

THE HEIGHT ENIGMA IN CSS

Percentage-based heights in CSS can be confusing and often don't work as expected. The core issue is a circular dependency: a child element trying to define its height based on its parent's height, while the parent's height depends on its children. To resolve this, the parent element either needs an explicit, "knowable" height set using units like `rem` or pixels, or the height of the root HTML element must be set to 100% of the viewport.

joshwcomeau.com · 20 min

TLDR InfoSec

UPDATE VMWARE TOOLS: HACKERS CAN TAMPER WITH VIRTUAL MACHINES

Hackers can exploit a vulnerability in VMware Tools to tamper with virtual machines. Broadcom has released patches to fix the issue, which affects Windows and Linux versions 12.x.x and 11.x.x. Users are urged to apply the fixed version 12.5.2 to secure their virtual machines.

links.tldrnewsletter.com · 1 min

TLDR Crypto

ROBINHOOD TO ACQUIRE CANADIAN CRYPTO PLATFORM WONDERFI FOR $179 MILLION

Robinhood is acquiring Canadian crypto firm WonderFi for approximately $179 million in an all-cash deal, offering a 41% premium over WonderFi's last closing price. The acquisition aims to expand Robinhood's international footprint and deepen its presence in the cryptocurrency market.

links.tldrnewsletter.com · 3 min

TLDR

AFTER BACK-TO-BACK FAILURES, SPACEX TESTS ITS FIXES ON THE NEXT STARSHIP

SpaceX's Starship has completed a long duration six-engine static fire and is undergoing final preparations for its ninth flight test. The company hasn't yet officially announced a target launch date, but there are signs the launch might happen as soon as next Wednesday. If everything goes to plan, Starship will enter space and fly halfway around the world, reentering in a controlled splashdown in the Indian Ocean. SpaceX will try to catch the Super Heavy booster again. The company was aiming for as many as 25 Starship test flights this year, but it will now likely fall short of that number.

arstechnica.com · 6 min

TLDR

FLEXIBLE BRAIN IMPLANT TAKES MAJOR LEAP FORWARD

Brain-computer interfaces are systems that allow direct communication between the brain and external machines. Precision Neuroscience has a device thin enough that it can be implanted into the motor cortex of the brain through an incision less than 1 millimeter wide. The device has been cleared by the FDA for commercial use in patients for up to 30 days. The approval will allow Precision to collect a lot more brain data, which will help the company develop the algorithms it needs to translate users' thoughts into commands for machines. Precision plans to start clinical trials for a fully implanted system in 2026.

freethink.com · 11 min

TLDR

TESLA SHARES VIDEO OF ITS OPTIMUS ROBOT CATCHING UP TO COMPETITION

Tesla's Optimus humanoid robot looks like it's catching up to the competition. CEO Elon Musk has been telling shareholders that the robot is a multi-trillion-dollar opportunity for the company. Tesla is already using robots in its factories. The company has released a new video showing an Optimus prototype dancing. The video is available in the article along with videos of another humanoid robot from Unitree, a competitor.

electrek.co · 3 min

TLDR

TAKING OUT THE TRASH: GARBAGE COLLECTION OF OBJECT STORAGE AT MASSIVE SCALE

A common problem when working with distributed systems on top of object storage is figuring out how to remove files from object storage that had been logically deleted either due to data expiry or compaction. This post looks at how to solve this problem using a delayed queue, async reconciliation, or both. It also looks at obvious ways to solve the problem that don't work well in practice, like bucket policies and synchronous deletion. The solution presented in the post is highly scalable, cheap, and easy to reason about.

warpstream.com · 16 min