TLDR 2024-07-08

other in-demand frameworks

* How automation tools like Vanta [4] can get you there faster and with much less hassle

3 PM EST

GOOGLE CONSIDERED BLOCKING SAFARI USERS FROM ACCESSING ITS NEW AI FEATURES, REPORT SAYS

Convincing iOS users to use Google's own apps instead of Safari has been a challenge for Google. Google hired former Instagram and Yahoo executive Robby Stein to oversee the push from Safari. The company reportedly considered limiting its AI Overviews feature to its own apps, excluding Safari users, but ultimately decided against the move.

APPLE GREEN LIGHTS EPIC GAMES STORE IN RAPID REVERSAL

Apple has given approval for the Epic Games store for iOS in the EU. Epic's submission was rejected twice previously. The latest decision was reversed just hours after reports started circulating about it. Apple objected to Epic's inclusion of a download button and related copy and has asked the company to fix the buttons in a future submission of the app. Epic still has a lot of work before its app store will be ready - it plans to bring the store to iOS in the next couple of months.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD

ErythroMer is an experimental blood substitute developed by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. It is made from recycled human hemoglobin wrapped in a membrane to mimic a tiny cell. ErythroMer comes as a freeze-dried powder that remains usable for years. It can be reconstituted by simply mixing it with saline. ErythroMer should be safe for any blood type as its membrane doesn't include the red blood cell surface proteins that cause mismatches. It is still in preclinical testing, but it is possible that ErythroMer could be more durable and versatile than real blood.

THE WORLD'S FIRST ANODE-FREE SODIUM SOLID-STATE BATTERY

The Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion has created the world's first anode-free sodium solid-state battery. The battery brings the reality of inexpensive, fast-charging, high-capacity batteries for electric vehicles and grid storage closer than ever. It has an architecture with stable cycling for several hundred cycles and is more affordable and environmentally friendly to produce than lithium batteries. Sodium, common in ocean water and soda ash mining, is an inherently more environmentally friendly battery material.

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PONGO

Pongo is Mongo on Postgres with strong consistency benefits. It treats PostgreSQL as a document database with JSONB support, adding significant performance and storage efficiency. Pongo takes the MongoDB API and translates it to native PostgreSQL queries. Using JSONB means that data is preparsed, allowing faster read and write operations. JSONB retains the flexibility of storing semi-structured data while allowing users to take advantage of PostgreSQL's robust querying capabilities.

DUCKDB COMMUNITY EXTENSIONS

DuckDB has a new extension mechanism that allows users to register new functions, support new file formats and compression methods, handle new network protocols, and more. Extensions can be published via the DuckDB Community Extensions repository. The repository makes it easier for users to install extensions using a simple syntax. Extension developers can use the repository to avoid the burdens of compilation and distribution.

A NEW AGE OF MATERIALS IS DAWNING, FOR EVERYTHING FROM SMARTPHONES TO MISSILES

Composite materials have the advantage of being lighter than the metal parts they typically replace while being just as strong and requiring fewer resources to make. The labor-intensive nature of their manufacturing has made them expensive and limited their application to a handful of areas. New manufacturing techniques that can churn out composite parts quickly and cheaply are changing the field. This article takes a look at emerging composites technologies and the materials and products they are creating.

HERE'S HOW QUALCOMM'S NEW LAPTOP CHIPS REALLY STACK UP TO APPLE, INTEL, AND AMD

Microsoft's 12-year-long attempt at making Windows on Arm happen is starting to pay off. Qualcomm's Snapdragon X Elite and X Plus chips are turning Windows on Arm into a viable platform. While the chips don't outright beat Apple's M3 chip in every benchmark, this is the closest Microsoft has been able to compete so far with MacBooks in price, performance, and battery life. Microsoft's new lineup could make Intel and AMD scramble to catch up.

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SOMETHING HAPPENS TO EVERYONE

You or someone you love will inevitably go through a tragic situation at some point - knowing this reminds us that suffering is a universal human experience, not a personal failing or unique misfortune.

HOW AND WHY WE BUILT OUR STARTUP AROUND SMALL TEAMS

Small teams enable a startup to scale while retaining the culture and speed of an early-stage startup.

NEW AI TRAINING TECHNIQUE IS DRASTICALLY FASTER, SAYS GOOGLE

Google's DeepMind researchers have developed a new AI training method that significantly reduces the computation resources and time needed to do the work.

I'M FUNDING LADYBIRD BECAUSE I CAN'T FUND FIREFOX

An open web requires a healthy system of several competing browsers where each has enough market share that no one vendor has de facto control over web standards.

WHY HAVEN'T BIOLOGISTS CURED CANCER?

There are signs that feedback loops are getting slower and fewer in number in medicine and upcoming regulations may mean that the US will spend less on drug development.

SYNCHRONIZATION IS BAD FOR SCALE

Synchronization locks create synchronization points, which are typically bad for scaling horizontally.