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NETFLIX, HUNGRY FOR MORE GROWTH, SIGNALS MORE PRICE HIKES

Netflix plans to eliminate the cheapest ad-free plan available to users.

BREAKING FREE FROM DRM: THE STORY OF HACKING MY AIR PURIFIER

A guide on breaking the DRM controls on a Xiaomi 4 Pro air purifier.

SPOTIFY PLANS TO LAUNCH IN-APP PURCHASES, IF APPLE GETS OUT OF THE WAY

How Apple decides to comply with the EU's Digital Markets Act will decide whether Spotify implements in-app payment functionality that will allow users to upgrade their subscriptions or buy audiobooks with a tap.

NVIDIA’S RTX GPUS CAN NOW UPGRADE SDR CONTENT TO HDR USING AI

Nvidia's RTX Video HDR feature uses AI to convert SDR color space video to HDR - it requires an HDR10-compatible monitor with HDR enabled in Windows.

THE ENCHIPPENING

The exponential improvements in tech in the 21st century can be explained by improvements in semiconductor fabrication.

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HOW DESIGN DROVE $10M IN PREORDERS FOR RABBIT R1 AI HARDWARE

The Rabbit R1 is a bright orange walkie-talkie for AI. It features one big button that users push to talk, a chunky scroll wheel to browse the screen, and a rotating camera with its own privacy door. At $199, the device can be programmed to control apps and websites. This article tells the story of how Rabbit and Teenage Engineering collaborated to create what may be the most successful AI hardware launch to date.

THE PIXEL 9 LEAKS ARE ALREADY HERE

Pictures of what appears to be Google's Pixel 9 Pro flagship have been leaked. They show a device with completely flat edges and a redesigned camera bar. The Pixel 9 Pro features a three-camera setup inside an oval-shaped island, similar to the Pixel Fold. It appears to be slightly smaller than the Pixel 8 Pro with a 6.5-inch display. The SIM card slot now appears to be on the bottom of the device alongside the USB-C port. Google typically releases its Pixel phones every fall.

THE START-UPS MAKING ROBOTS A REALITY

This article presents a list of cutting-edge robotics startups and labs that Bill Gates is excited about. The last year has seen advancements in artificial intelligence that have resulted in programs that can create, calculate, process, understand, decide, recognize patterns, and learn in ways that resemble how humans learn. However, many robots still struggle to perform basic human tasks that require dexterity, mobility, and cognition. The applications for robots are almost limitless. While there will be issues with robots taking people's jobs, it's less likely that robots will replace jobs that people love and more likely that they'll be doing work people don't want to do.

CAN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES BE CURED? SCIENTISTS SEE HOPE AT LAST

Scientists are on the cusp of developing therapies to restore immune tolerance in conditions such as diabetes, lupus, and multiple sclerosis. Tolerance refers to the immune system's ability to ignore antigens that belong to the body while appropriately attacking those that don't. Current therapies for these diseases don't always work, and even when they do, the improvement is often modest. Results from studies are starting to show that it is possible to create curative treatments for these diseases. This article looks at several approaches that scientists are looking at to make those treatments a reality.

TYPESPEC

TypeSpec is a language for describing cloud service APIs and generating other API description languages, client and service code, documentation, and other assets. It provides highly extensible core language primitives that can describe API shapes common among REST, OpenAPI, GraphQL, gRPC, and other protocols. TypeSpec can create reusable patterns that establish guardrails for API designers and make it easy to follow best practices. A playground is available for trying TypeSpec without installing anything.

INTRODUCTION TO BETTER CODE PRACTICES (BOOK)

This book aims to help developers kick-start their journey to more efficient and error-free coding. It shares essential insights and best practices in web development. The book addresses common challenges, simplifies best practices, and teaches developers how to create readable, maintainable, and scalable code. The tips contained within will help developers collaborate with each other and become more efficient.

THE TREMENDOUS YET TROUBLED STATE OF GAMING IN 2024

2023 looked like one of the gaming industry's greatest-ever years to players and outside observers. There were many top-title releases, and hardware developments offered substantial improvements to the gaming experience. However, the year was brutal for those working in the industry. A record number of employees in the industry were laid off in 2023, and these layoffs have continued in 2024. Video game revenues are falling and development costs have grown considerably.

ASK HN: THOSE MAKING $500/MONTH ON SIDE PROJECTS IN 2024 – SHOW AND TELL (HACKER NEWS THREAD)

Developers share their side projects making more than $500 per month in this Hacker News thread. Links to yearly threads on the same theme going back to 2020 are available in the original post. The projects include a grounded adapter to stop Apple devices from slightly buzzing when plugged in, a GUI app for Kubernetes, and a template marketplace.

NEW MIT CSAIL STUDY SUGGESTS THAT AI WON’T STEAL AS MANY JOBS AS EXPECTED

A study from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory looked at how feasible it is that AI will perform certain roles and how likely businesses are to actually replace workers with AI tech - it found that most jobs being identified as at risk of AI displacement can't currently be automated economically.

APPLE CAR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING SCALED DOWN, LAUNCH PLANNED FOR 2028

Apple is now said to be focusing on driver-assistance features that are closer to how Tesla vehicles operate - its autonomous driving system will have steering and brake/acceleration support, but drivers will still remain in control of the car and must pay attention on the road.

BREX CUTS 20% OF STAFF AMID REPORTS OF STALLED GROWTH, HIGH BURN

Brex, which was once valued at $12.3 billion, is laying off about 282 staff today as the company is now emphasizing long-term thinking and ownership over short-term gains.

CSS-ONLY FLUID MODULAR TYPE SCALES

A modular scale is a mathematical rule that can be used to create intentional and harmonious typography sizing.

EBAY TO ELIMINATE ABOUT 1,000 JOBS, OR 9% OF FULL-TIME WORKFORCE

eBay recently paid a $3 million criminal penalty as part of a settlement related to a cyberstalking and harassment campaign conducted by a group of former employees.

NETFLIX IS TURNING INTO CABLE TV

Securing the rights to content might mean that Netflix subscribers may see another price hike in the future, whether they like that content or not.

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VISION PRO SALES ESTIMATED AT 160K TO 180K OVER FIRST THREE DAYS

Analysts are estimating that Apple Vision Pro sales were between 160,000 to 180,000 units over the first three days. The estimate is over 40% of the 400,000 units Apple is expecting to sell in the first year. The estimate is based on pre-order inventory and shipping times. Apple likely didn't have enough stock on hand to meet initial demand, but demand and supply now appear to be balanced.

WHY ELON MUSK NEEDS MRBEAST

MrBeast posted a video to X last week with the explicit goal of seeing how much ad revenue a video on the platform would make. The video made $260,000 with more than 150 million views. While the video performed well, MrBeast noted that advertisers bought ads to run specifically on his video, earning him a higher rate. There were also multiple reports that X was quietly boosting the video to viewers, artificially inflating the view count.

DISNEY OFFERS AN ELEGANT SOLUTION TO VR’S MOVEMENT PROBLEM

Disney's HoloTile is a system composed of hundreds of small round tiles, each serving as a kind of mini omnidirectional treadmill. The tiles work together to prevent users from walking off the HoloTile. Users can walk on the HoloTile in any direction they want and it will automatically do whatever it needs to keep them on the floor. It supports multiple people walking independently. The technology will likely become part of a Disney Parks VR experience. Video of the HoloTile in action is available in the article.

WORLD'S LARGEST NUCLEAR REACTOR, CAPABLE OF PROVIDING UNLIMITED FOREVER ENERGY, IN MAKING

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is a fusion reactor that may one day provide the Earth with unlimited energy. The project started in 2005. Fusion reactions occur when two small particles collide, forming a heavier atom and producing a significant amount of energy without creating radioactive waste. If successful, ITER will be arguably the most complex machine ever designed.

AWESOME BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEWS

This repository contains tips and resources to help people prepare for behavioral interviews. It covers general tips, questions that you may be asked, and questions you can ask the interviewer. Each interview question comes with prepared answers.

MACHINE LEARNING ENGINEERING OPEN BOOK

The Machine Learning Engineering Open Book is an open collection of methodologies to help with the successful training of large language models and multi-modal models. The material is suitable for LLM/VLM training engineers and operators. It contains lots of scripts and copy-n-paste commands to enable readers to quickly address their needs. The book covers key hardware components, performance, operation, development, and much more.

I THINK WE CAN ALL AGREE THAT GPT-4 COMPLETES MANY TASKS AT HUMAN-LEVEL PROFICIENCY

While GPT-4 is proficient in many tasks, it is also imperfect in odd ways. For example, it can speak all languages, but barely do math. As AI becomes more competent, the technology will have an increasingly large impact on the world. This post lists several ways AI could impact the world and asks some important questions about how these impacts will change the world. The areas affected by AI include markets, real estate, energy, data centers, nations, inflation, and geopolitics.

A PRIMER ON DOPAMINE

Dopamine does not generate pleasurable feelings. It's the other way around - pleasurable feelings generate dopamine. The neural circuits that lead us to like things are separate from the circuits that generate wanting. It is easy to confuse 'liking' and 'wanting'. The brain is a prediction machine for rewards, and dopamine represents errors in predicting rewards. When bets by the brain are resolved, dopamine serves as a signal for whether the outcome was better or worse than expected and how much better or worse the outcome was than expected. The higher the surprise, the higher the reward prediction error - resulting in higher activity of dopamine neurons.

GOOGLE LAYS OFF “DOZENS” FROM X LABS, WANTS PROJECTS TO SEEK OUTSIDE FUNDING

The X Lab, Alphabet's 'moonshot' experimental group, is part of the company's 'Other Bets' group, which burns through a billion dollars every quarter.

AN RNG THAT RUNS IN YOUR BRAIN

This post presents a system for generating 'random enough' numbers in your head within half a minute.

HOW WE BUILT A FAIR MULTI-TENANT QUEUING SYSTEM

GOOGLE AND AT&T INVEST IN STARLINK RIVAL FOR SATELLITE-TO-SMARTPHONE SERVICE

AST SpaceMobile, which already had Vodafone as an investor, announced Google and AT&T's funding along with a $100 million public offering of its stock on the same day.

12 MODERN CSS ONE-LINE UPGRADES

This article presents 12 CSS properties to start incorporating to reduce technical debt, remove JavaScript, and score easy wins for user experience.

THE APPLE VISION PRO’S MISSING APPS

The Apple Vision Pro could change how media is consumed in the future - its success depends on its apps, but there aren't many developers who are particularly motivated to build experiences for the platform.

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NOW OPENAI CEO SAM ALTMAN WANTS BILLIONS FOR AI CHIP FABS

OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman is reportedly seeking billions in capital to build out a network of AI chip fabs. The project would fund the construction and operation of chip factories around the world to support the growing demand for neural network accelerators. It aims to build enough assembly lines to ensure there is enough supply of AI processors to meet demand. Altman has previously expressed concerns that there aren't enough processors to go around.

SAMSUNG’S SMART RING MIGHT SIGNAL THE START OF A NEW WEARABLE ERA

Samsung ended its Unpacked event with a tease of its Galaxy Ring. There were few details given onstage besides a flashy reel of a sparkly ring with a few visible sensors on the inside of the band. A Samsung spokesperson said that the ring was designed to empower people to manage their health by providing consistent and accurate tracking data. The rings will reportedly come in three finishes and in sizes up to 13 and will be available later this year.

ALPHAFOLD FOUND THOUSANDS OF POSSIBLE PSYCHEDELICS. WILL ITS PREDICTIONS HELP DRUG DISCOVERY?

Researchers have used AlphaFold, a protein-structure-prediction tool, to identify hundreds of thousands of potential new psychedelics. The predictions show that AlphaFold can be used for fast drug discovery, a process that can take years using conventional methods. While some scientists are skeptical of the potential of the technology to change the field of drug discovery, there is evidence that the tool has strong potential to help scientists find new drugs. Isomorphic Labs, DeepMind's drug-discovery spin-off, recently announced deals worth up to $2.9 billion to hunt for drugs using machine-learning tools such as AlphaFold.

NASA REVEALS INCREDIBLE X-59: A UNIQUE, EXPERIMENTAL SUPERSONIC JET

NASA's X-59 is a supersonic aircraft designed to minimize the sonic boom it creates when it crosses the speed of sound. It can fly at 1.4 times the speed of sound. The project, a joint effort with Lockheed Martin, aims to revolutionize air travel by producing a new generation of commercial jets that can travel faster than the speed of sound. A picture of the research aircraft is available in the article.

TART

Tart is a virtualization toolset for building, running, and managing macOS and Linux virtual machines on Apple Silicon. It uses Apple's own Virtualization.Framework for near-native performance. Tart can push/pull virtual machines from any OCI-compatible container registry. It easily integrates with any CI system.

THE BUN SHELL

The Bun Shell is a new experimental embedded language and interpreter in Bun that allows developers to run cross-platform shell scripts in JavaScript and TypeScript. It allows developers to use JavaScript variables in shell scripts. All template variables are escaped for security. The Bun Shell works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is designed as a drop-in replacement for simple shell scripts.

THE VISION PRO’S FIRST KILLER APP IS THE WEB, WHETHER APPLE LIKES IT OR NOT

It's increasingly clear that the early success of the Vision Pro will depend on Safari. The open web is Apple's best chance at making its headset a winner - developers aren't exactly jumping to build new apps for Apple's new platform so far. This could be a big win for the future of the internet as developers will spend more time on web apps. Apple recently added more features to Safari and there are platform-specific features for Safari on visionOS. Apple may have to let go of some of its App Store control to help the Vision Pro get off to a good start.

HOW I’M (RE)LEARNING MATH AS AN ADULT

Math Academy is a platform that focuses on helping kids learn math, with tools built-in for parents to help their kids be successful. It covers math from middle school through university graduate level and the courses are fully accredited. Adults who haven't done much math since grad school can use the platform to gain a much better understanding of stats and probability, linear algebra, and calculus. The lessons are self-paced and interactive, with most lessons around 10 minutes long, making it easy to squeeze in sessions within a busy life.

JAPAN BECOMES THE FIFTH NATION TO LAND A SPACECRAFT ON THE MOON

Japan's Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) made a successful landing quite close to its target on the Moon on Friday - a power system problem threatens to cut short its mission.

EXPO SDK 50

Expo SDK 50 includes React Native 0.83 and introduces Expo Dev Tools Plugins, new and improved SQLite and Camera APIs, and much more.

THE SERENDIPITY MACHINE

This guide shows new X users how to onboard onto and use the platform, with many tips for how to use X to learn, make friends, and meet people in your niche.

MY HOT TAKE: GOOGLE DOES NOT HAVE ONE SINGLE VISIONARY LEADER

Google has not launched a single successful executive-driven thing in years - the company relies on its employees to come up with the cool stuff, but it has been rolling layoffs throughout the company for the past year.

WE'VE FINALLY PUT OUT A DETAILED IEEE/ACM PAPER ON GOOGLE'S MULTI-YEAR EFFORT TO EASE THE BURDEN OF CODE REVIEW WITH ML

Large language models make great demos, but it's hard to trust them for complex tasks - Google engineers resolve 7.5% of all code review comments with an ML-suggested edit.

THE CONSCIOUSNESS WARS: CAN SCIENTISTS EVER AGREE ON HOW THE MIND WORKS?

Understanding consciousness could help doctors diagnose awareness in people who are unresponsive and help researchers know what it would take for machines to become conscious.