Apple's hardware can finally go toe to toe with some of the best PCs. The company is now aiming to make another attempt at becoming a gaming powerhouse. Its previous attempt in 1999 did not go so well. Now, Apple has larger and more capable teams with plenty of resources, and the company is used to playing the long game. This article looks at Apple's history with gaming, its hardware developments in recent years, and the company's push to make its systems more game-friendly.
2023.12.29·inverse.com·20 min read·TLDR Amazon plans to produce hydrogen fuel at its fulfillment centers. It has partnered with hydrogen company Plug Power to install an electrolyzer at a fulfillment center in Aurora, Colorado. The electrolyzer, which uses electricity to split water molecules to produce hydrogen, has the capacity to fuel up to 400 hydrogen fuel cell-powered forklifts. Amazon says that hydrogen is an important tool in its efforts to decarbonize its operations by 2040.
2023.12.29·theverge.com·3 min read·TLDR JAC Motors is launching an electric vehicle with a sodium-ion battery through its Yiwei brand. Sodium-ion batteries have lower density than lithium-ion batteries, but their lower cost, more abundant supplies, and superior cold-weather performance make them viable for mass EV adoption. The Yiwei EV will have a 252 km range with a 25 kWh capacity. Deliveries of the vehicle will begin in January.
2023.12.29·engadget.com·2 min read·TLDR Researchers have been able to lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels using a vaccine based on a non-infectious virus particle that targets a protein known to have an important relationship to LDLs. LDLs can cause dangerous blockages in the arteries, reducing oxygen flow to the heart or causing blood clots that can lead to a stroke. The vaccine was able to reduce the bad cholesterol by up to 30% in animal models. It will still be a while before the technology can be used in humans, but it promises a solution that would be more affordable than current options and last around a year per dose.
2023.12.29·sciencealert.com·2 min read·TLDR Apache Hudi manages the storage of large analytical data sets on distributed file systems. It allows users to atomically publish data with rollback support, snapshot isolation between writer and queries, manage file sizes and layouts using statistics, and more. Hudi supports snapshot, incremental, and read-optimized queries.
2023.12.29·github.com·GitHub repository·TLDR This collection showcases the most impactful prompts of the year across various domains. It covers domains such as job hunting, essay and research, language learning, code generation, mental health, music, marketing, and much more. The complete collection can be accessed through a CSV file. Each prompt includes a backlink to its original author.
2023.12.29·github.com·GitHub repository·TLDR This post by Vitalik Buterin takes a look at the core values of the crypto movement and how they have changed. Crypto isn't just about creating isolated tools and games - it's about building holistically toward a more free and open society and economy where the technological, social, and economic parts fit into each other. web3 had a similar vision to build a set of technology that could together form the base layer of a more open internet stack. Unfortunately, these visions have faded somewhat into the background.
2023.12.29·vitalik.eth.limo·21 min read·TLDR Apple and medical device maker Masimo have been entrenched in a legal battle over a single feature on the Apple Watch for over three years. Masimo had sued a startup on similar grounds in 2018 and won. Both cases involved employees who helped the companies develop similar technologies. The International Trade Commission's US import on Apple's watches was quickly paused on appeal. The US Customs and Border Protection will make a decision on January 12 on whether the changes Apple made to the watches are significant enough to avoid a patent dispute.
2023.12.29·theverge.com·3 min read·TLDR Developers shouldn't 'support' features by telling the user 'no' - they should either support the feature, guide the user toward a better solution, or do nothing.
2023.12.29·bvisness.me·5 min read·TLDR Xiaomi’s SU7 sedan, slated to roll out in China next year, runs Xiaomi’s HyperOS, a new architecture from Xiaomi that's supposed to be dynamic enough to power phones, smart home systems, and cars.
2023.12.29·techcrunch.com·3 min read·TLDR The next generation of Surface devices will come with Intel and Arm-based neural processing unit options.
2023.12.29·theverge.com·2 min read·TLDR Google's Hypercomputer is the company's take on a modular supercomputer with a healthy dose of its homegrown TPU v5p AI accelerators.
2023.12.29·hpcwire.com·11 min read·TLDR Netflix's top rivals lost more than $5 billion in 2024 from the streaming services they built to compete with it.
2023.12.29·arstechnica.com·3 min read·TLDR The specialist programmer will continue to dominate over the journalist who's just telling the computer to write the code.
2023.12.29·twitter.com·3 min read·TLDR Tesla is already preparing to produce the 2024 refresh Model Y at Gigafactory Shanghai, with mass production expected to start by mid-2024. The refresh will have significant changes compared to the updated units released in October 2023. The new Model Y will have more noticeable changes to the exterior and interior to compete with new electric car units to be released in China next year. It is expected to feature a new wheel design with ambient lighting.
2023.12.28·teslarati.com·2 min read·TLDR Researchers have discovered an attack that backdoored possibly thousands of iPhones over four years. Many of the affected phones belonged to Moscow-based security firm Kaspersky. The attackers were able to achieve an unprecedented level of access by exploiting a vulnerability in an undocumented hardware feature that few people know of. It is still unknown how they became aware of the feature. The exploit was delivered through iMessage texts which installed malware without requiring the receiver to take any action. Apple has patched the exploit, which also affected Macs, iPods, iPads, Apple TVs, and Apple Watches.
2023.12.28·arstechnica.com·8 min read·TLDR Scientists have discovered a new class of antibiotics for drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria using AI. The discovery could be a turning point in the fight against antibiotic resistance. Deep learning is increasingly being applied in drug discovery to accelerate the process. The model was able to predict the activity and toxicity of the new compound.
2023.12.28·euronews.com·3 min read·TLDR Glucose-responsive insulin, or 'smart' insulin, is a form of insulin that provides control of blood glucose levels over a longer period of time than normal insulin. A recent study reported that a single injection of a smart insulin system was able to regulate blood glucose levels in diabetic mice and minipigs for a week. The system mimics the body's natural process, releasing insulin in response to glucose. Research into smart insulin is still in its early stages, but the study demonstrated that it could be a viable research subject heading forward.
2023.12.28·arstechnica.com·3 min read·TLDR Fontimize is a Python library for subsetting fonts. It can cut the size of font files by around 95%, resulting in saved bandwidth. Fontimize's Magic Method generates new versions of fonts with only the glyphs needed to render the specific website. It features a flexible API and command-line utility that allows users to customize output locations, use specific font files, change verbosity, return information about what characters were found and what fonts were generated, and more.
2023.12.28·daveon.design·32 min read·TLDR Tbmk is a commands bookmark for the terminal. It allows users to search, add, edit, and delete commands. Tbmk has been tested on Linux bash and zsh. A video demo is available.
2023.12.28·github.com·GitHub repository·TLDR This article contains an exchange with OpenAI following the filing of a CCPA request. The aim of the filing was to see how large language models might comply with privacy regulations like the CCPA and GDPR when it comes to their training data sets. While OpenAI never really settled the original CCPA request, the exchange illuminated its approach to privacy and training data. It appears OpenAI is currently using the hallucination excuse to handle privacy requests, and while they are releasing products at a truly impressive pace, it doesn't seem that legal and support are keeping up.
2023.12.28·dbreunig.com·12 min read·TLDR Big Tech companies have vastly outspent venture capital firms with generative AI startup investments this year. Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are responsible for two-thirds of the $27 billion raised by AI startups in 2023. Building and training generative AI tools is expensive and requires immense computing power, so startups have preferred to partner with Big Tech companies that can provide infrastructure and funds. This has rapidly pushed up the valuations of private startups, making it harder for VCs to invest in the most cutting-edge companies.
2023.12.28·arstechnica.com·2 min read·TLDR The Post-Open Source movement aims to ensure companies pay a fair amount for the benefits they receive while individuals and non-profits still have access to software for free.
2023.12.28·theregister.com·11 min read·TLDR The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has instituted a pause on the Apple Watch import ban - it will hear the company's case as early as January 15.
2023.12.28·techcrunch.com·2 min read·TLDR Chisel (Constructing Hardware in a Scala Embedded Language) is an open-source hardware description language used to describe digital electronics and circuits at the register-transfer level that facilitates advanced circuit generation and design reuse for both ASIC and FPGA digital logic designs.
2023.12.28·github.com·GitHub repository·TLDR A thread showing the prompts used to create a short film using Midjourney for the images and Pika to generate the video.
2023.12.28·twitter.com·2 min read·TLDR Many big features that previously required external tools to use are now native to CSS.
A lot of things went right this year - a record number of countries eliminated diseases, Malaria vaccines started arriving in Africa, solar became the fastest-growing energy technology in history, and more - but almost none of it made it to the news.
2023.12.28·futurecrunch.com·32 min read·TLDR Apple is banned from selling the Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 in the US. The Biden administration had 60 days to grant a reprieve from the ban, but it refused to do so. Apple strongly disagrees with the decision and it is taking all measures to return the devices to customers as soon as possible, including filing an appeal against the ruling from the US International Trade Commission. The company had preemptively halted sales of the devices from its website on December 21 and in physical stores from December 24.
2023.12.27·arstechnica.com·2 min read·TLDR Microsoft has launched a dedicated Copilot app for Android. It offers access to Copilot without the need for the Bing mobile app. Copilot has access to OpenAI's latest GPT-4 model and image generation through DALL-E 3. There's no indication yet of an iOS version, but it is likely to be right around the corner.
2023.12.27·theverge.com·2 min read·TLDR Flow batteries use two chemical solutions containing ions that react to push electrons through a circuit. They beat lithium batteries in performance and safety and they scale up more easily. Conventional flow battery packs have very low energy density and are bulky, making them impractical. A new type of energy-dense fluid has been created that has enabled new types of flow batteries that appear to beat lithium-ion batteries for use in EVs and larger systems. Nanoelectrofuel is reusable, fireproof, and easy to clean in case of a spill, making it an attractive alternative to lithium or petrol.
2023.12.27·spectrum.ieee.org·10 min read·TLDR Moderna and Merck are developing an mRNA-based cancer vaccine for people who have had high-risk melanomas removed. It works by instructing the body to make proteins found only on cancer cells to prepare the immune system to quickly identify and attack any new cancer cells bearing them, preventing recurrence. An ongoing phase 2b study found that people who received treatment with the therapy along with an FDA-approved cancer treatment were 49% less likely to experience recurrence or death a median of three years after treatment compared to people who only received the FDA-approved cancer treatment. The vaccine could be launched under accelerated approval in some countries by 2025.
2023.12.27·freethink.com·4 min read·TLDR Wedges is a React UI library built with the Wedges Design System, Radix primitives, and Tailwind CSS. It provides a range of pre-built, customizable components that are easy to use and integrate into React projects. Wedges has full TypeScript support.
2023.12.27·github.com·GitHub repository·TLDR Core abstractions can last a long time. Reforming is better than replacing as changing things is risky and there is a lot of code that can't be replaced all at once. This article presents concrete new interfaces that could be part of a Unix reform project. It covers null namespaces, spawning processes, file systems, networking, and more.
2023.12.27·github.com·17 min read·TLDR There was never any job security in startups - the last few years were a mirage. No one should expect to make these kinds of salaries without any risk or sacrifice. Changes in supply and demand in the job market don't reflect changes in an individual's value or skill. There's always the choice to take a safer and easier route.
2023.12.27·manassaloi.com·2 min read·TLDR Everyone's secrets are at risk of exposure - quantum computers may make current encryption methods useless as soon as 2025. A global effort is currently underway to gather data to decrypt with quantum machines when it becomes possible. There is also a scramble to protect critical data with post-quantum cryptography. Besides cracking codes, quantum computing also promises to deliver breakthroughs in science, armaments, and industry.
2023.12.27·reuters.com·20 min read·TLDR Software engineering salaries come from one of 3 budgets: sales/marketing, research and development, and maintenance.
2023.12.27·swizec.com·3 min read·TLDR Japan is preparing regulations that would require tech giants to allow outside app stores and payments on their mobile operating systems.
2023.12.27·asia.nikkei.com·2 min read·TLDR Systems builders are responding to more power-dense parts by using more liquid cooling.
2023.12.27·theregister.com·3 min read·TLDR Generative AI models aren't engineered objects - we're constantly finding out new things about them.
2023.12.27·aninternetreference.substack.com·4 min read·TLDR Remote work is more common for higher-paid roles, roles that require more experience, full-time work, and roles that require more education.
If scaling is successful in getting better and more general performance from large language models, then we should expect powerful AIs before 2040, but if it doesn't, then the path to artificial general intelligence seems much longer and more intractable.
2023.12.27·dwarkeshpatel.com·23 min read·TLDR Researchers from Apple and Cornell University quietly released an open-source multimodal LLM in October. Ferret is a system that can refer and ground anything anywhere at any granularity in an image. The model can examine a region drawn on an image, determine the elements within it that are of use to a user in a query, identify the elements, draw a bounding box around the detected elements, and answer questions about the elements. Ferret's release shows that Apple is starting to be more open with its AI work.
2023.12.26·appleinsider.com·2 min read·TLDR Humane will start shipping orders of its AI Pin device based on the date of purchase starting in Match. The AI Pin can respond to user queries using a range of AI services without forcing users to look at a screen. It features a projection system that can display things for users to interact with on their hands. Prices for the AI Pin start at $699 and it requires a $24 per month subscription for a phone number and cellular data.
2023.12.26·theverge.com·1 min read·TLDR A small but vocal set of prominent skeptics in and around the emerging quantum computing industry say that the quantum computer revolution is still further off and more limited than many have been led to believe. Quantum computers have been touted as a solution to a wide range of problems and some of the more ambitious timelines have suggested that these machines could be impacting real-world problems in just a handful of years. However, there's growing pushback against these expectations as more is discovered about quantum computing.
2023.12.26·spectrum.ieee.org·6 min read·TLDR Uniqlo has developed a new self-checkout technology that uses RFID chips to transmit product details and prices when shoppers are in scanning range. Customers just have to drop off their goods into a basket and the checkout machine will list the goods prices on a screen that tells them what to pay. The process takes around 30 seconds and has been highly popular with customers. The technology has been deployed at several locations, including the chain's New York shop on Fifth Avenue.
This post presents a long and wide-ranging survey of different ways to make large language models go faster. The list is not completely exhaustive, but it can be used as a jumping point to learn more about interesting topics. It includes links to relevant papers and blog posts where possible.