TLDR

TLDR 2024-03-18

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01GENERAL

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get.incogni.ioSponsor

02BIG TECH & STARTUPS

OPEN RELEASE OF GROK-1

xAI has released the weights and architecture for Grok-1. Grok-1 is a Mixture-of-Experts model with 314 billion parameters. The released model is a raw base model checkpoint from the Grok-1 pretraining phase, which means that it is not fine-tuned for any specific application. It was trained from scratch by xAI using a custom training stack.

x.ai1 min read

TWO NEW AIRPODS 4 MODELS EXPECTED TO LAUNCH IN SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER

The fourth generation of AirPods is set to begin production in May. They will likely be released in September or October. The upcoming AirPods are expected to feature a new design with better fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C port. The higher-end models will also feature active noise cancellation and a speaker in the charging case for Find My location tracking. New AirPods Pros are not expected to launch until next year at the earliest, but current models may get a new hearing aid mode with iOS 18.

macrumors.com1 min read

03SCIENCE & FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY

VR HEADSETS ARE APPROACHING THE EYE’S RESOLUTION LIMITS

Extremely high pixel density is key for the next generation of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality headsets. More pixels means more life-like visuals and smaller, more compact displays. Building displays at this scale leads to unique technical hurdles that the industry is still learning to leap. This article looks at technological developments in the space, the specific challenges the industry is trying to overcome, and current solutions for these challenges.

spectrum.ieee.org5 min read

TICK-KILLING PILL SHOWS PROMISING RESULTS IN HUMAN TRIAL

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is developing a pill that could provide protection against Lyme disease for several weeks at a time. An early-stage trial has shown that it can kill ticks on people for up to 30 days after 24 hours of ingestion. The drug only kills the ticks, rather than the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. It may also protect against other tick-borne diseases.

arstechnica.com5 min read

04PROGRAMMING, DESIGN & DATA SCIENCE

Sponsored

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qawolf.comSponsor

ASK HN: IF YOU'VE USED GPT-4-TURBO AND CLAUDE OPUS, WHICH DO YOU PREFER? (HACKER NEWS THREAD)

This Hacker News thread compares GPT-4-Turbo, the default model in ChatGPT Plus, to Claude Opus, Anthropic's competing model. Most developers seem to prefer Claude as it is apparently better at coding and engineering work. Its writing style also seems to be preferred, but part of that is due to the recognizability of GPT-4-Turbo's style. OpenAI's app functionalities, like its code interpreter and ability to search the internet, are still big reasons to continue using ChatGPT Plus.

news.ycombinator.com

PG_HINT_PLAN

pg_hint_plan allows developers to tweak PostgreSQL execution plans using hints in SQL comments. Planners estimate the costs of each possible execution plan for a SQL statement then execute the plan with the lowest cost. While PostgreSQL's planner does its best to select the best execution plan using its cost-based optimizer, which uses data statistics rather than static rules, it is far from perfect as it doesn't count some data properties. pg_hint_plan has hints to control scan methods, join methods, join order, behavior on join, row number correction, parallel query configuration, and more.

github.comGitHub repository

05MISCELLANEOUS

AFTER THURSDAY’S FLIGHT, STARSHIP IS ALREADY THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY ROCKET EVER BUILT

SpaceX's cameras recorded unprecedented views of atmospheric heating acting on Starship for a couple of minutes during Starship's descent on its third test. These views were possible thanks to Starlink terminals on the ship sending signals to satellites in low-Earth orbit, which were then sent back to Earth. The low-Earth orbit satellites were in space thanks to SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket, which conducted its first land-based landing days before Christmas in 2015. This article looks at the achievements that made Starship possible and takes a peek at the future of the project. The video of Starship reentering the atmosphere is available in the article.

arstechnica.com6 min read

STUBBORN VISIONARIES & PIGHEADED FOOLS

Both success through perseverance and failure through obstinance are convenient rationalizations. It is impossible to know the future for anything. Understanding this frees you to make decisions more easily, with less second-guessing in the moment and less guilt afterwards. You can not know whether you're in a winning or losing scenario, so the best you can do is to find out which one you are in as quickly as possible. This article presents some guiding questions to help you figure out which path you're on.

longform.asmartbear.com6 min read