TLDR 2024-10-01

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FIRST LOOK AT GOOGLE PIXEL 9A WITH STUNNING 5K RENDERS

The new design of the Pixel 9a has been leaked ahead of its expected launch in the Spring. The biggest change appears to be the camera bar, which is now nearly flush with the back of the device. The Pixel 9a will launch with Android 15 and seven years of updates. The specs will likely be very similar to the Pixel 8a.

THE ART OF THE OPENAI DEAL

OpenAI's upcoming investment round includes a term where the company has two years to convert to a for-profit business or the funding will convert into debt. While convertible notes are common, this is essentially the opposite. This could be a very real problem for the company in a couple of years if it is neither a for-profit nor insanely profitable.

AI BOTS NOW BEAT 100% OF THOSE TRAFFIC-IMAGE CAPTCHAS

Locally run bots using specially trained image-recognition models can achieve a 100% success rate when challenged with Google's ReCAPTCHA v2. Google has been phasing out the system in favor of a new 'invisible' system that analyzes user interactions. However, it is still used by millions of websites. Details about how the system works are available in the article.

AI'S THIRST FOR ENERGY HAS ANOTHER NUCLEAR PLANT COMING ONLINE

Holtec Palisades has received a $1.52 billion loan from the Department of Energy to restore a nuclear power plant in Michigan. The plant ceased operations in 2022, but will be brought back online as early as 2025. It will add about 600 jobs to the area. Holtec had originally bought the plant to dismantle it, but changed course due to renewed interest in nuclear power from data center providers.

TIPS FOR BUILDING AND DEPLOYING ROBOTS

Use other people's supply chain scale wherever possible. Using existing infrastructure makes deploying robots easier. New infrastructure made for humans tends to also be useful for robots. Deployed robots live in a sea of real-world data - this can be used for various things, for example, training learning algorithms or to create synchronized networks so robots know what is happening in the world.

QRFRAME

qrframe is a code-based QR code generator. It can create QR codes with customized data in many different styles. Many examples of generated codes are available.

Y COMBINATOR TRADED PRESTIGE FOR GROWTH

Reputation and prestige are everything. The reason Harvard doesn't accept a higher percentage of applicants isn't because it can't scale, but because it chooses not to. Its success lies in exclusivity. Y Combinator is trading its reputation capital for money - it now looks like it is willing to fund just about anything, which means that the accelerator isn't doing any real due diligence and doesn't care about its existing portfolio companies. It is no longer an exclusive club that signals legitimacy.

EPIC GAMES SUES GOOGLE, SAMSUNG OVER ALLEGED APP-STORE SCHEME

Epic is suing Google and Samsung, claiming that the tech giants colluded to place onerous restrictions on app stores. The lawsuit alleges that Google and Samsung made it too difficult for consumers to download app stores from outside software developers by making a feature called Auto Blocker active by default on Samsung's newest smartphones. The feature prevents users from downloading alternative app stores. Turning off the feature and installing a third-party app store requires 21 steps. The friction has caused 50% of users trying to install the Epic Games Store on Android to give up before they've gotten it installed.

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DIRECTV AGREES TO BUY SATELLITE RIVAL DISH (AND ITS DEBT) FOR ONE DOLLAR

DirecTV will take on $9.75 billion of Dish debt if the deal is completed.

WHY YOUR RAILS-LIKE FRAMEWORK IS NOT WIDELY USED

This article discusses what makes a modern Rails-like framework successful.

PRODUCT HUNT ISN'T DYING – IT'S BECOME GENTRIFIED

Small-time makers have been priced out by those with deep pockets.

IN FEAR OF MORE USER PROTESTS, REDDIT ANNOUNCES CONTROVERSIAL POLICY CHANGE

Moderators now need Reddit's permission to change subreddits to private or not-safe-for-work.

OPENAI AND ANTHROPIC REVENUE BREAKDOWN

OpenAI is five times larger than Anthropic - OpenAI is much more dominant on the consumer side, with the two being closer on the API side.

WHAT COMES AFTER?

Legislators should ensure that AI developers make sure outputs are safe, understand the technology better, and be minimally restrictive.