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HUMAN ANCESTORS NEARLY WENT EXTINCT 900,000 YEARS AGO

The population of breeding individuals was reduced to just 1,280, implying that our ancestors lived in a very localized area during that period.

VIDEOS

'Copy Video Frames' allows users to capture high-quality, non-overlayed frames from source videos.

OPENAI RAGES AT REPORT THAT GOOGLE'S NEW AI CRUSHES GPT-4

The report basically said that Google's products will completely surpass OpenAI's by the end of the year.

OPENAI REPORTEDLY NEARS $1 BILLION IN ANNUAL SALES

OpenAI is reportedly on track to generate more than $1 billion in revenue over the next 12 months. The company is estimated to be currently generating more than $80 million per month in revenue. It generated $28 million for all of last year. The higher-than-expected revenue estimates raise questions about the accuracy of OpenAI's most recent valuation of around $28 billion. OpenAI's launch of an enterprise version of ChatGPT will further boost revenue.

GOOGLE PIXEL 8: ALL OF THE LEAKS AND RUMORS SO FAR

It looks like Google is gearing up for its October hardware event. This page contains a collection of articles with leaked information about the upcoming line of Pixel phones. The Pixel launch event is set for October 4. Updates to the devices include a revamped camera app UI, Audio Magic Eraser, and a way to sharpen blurry videos. It appears that the first leaks about the device were from Google itself.

NEW GPU POWER CONNECTOR ELIMINATES CABLES, DELIVERS MORE THAN 600W

A new customized HPCE power connection standard aimed at delivering supplementary GPU power through the motherboard has been unveiled. It can deliver more than 600W of power to the graphics card. There is no stated upper limit, but the documentation for the standard stresses the necessity of delivering more than 600W of power to support future graphics cards. The standard likely won't experience reliability issues as the design is a modification of an existing standard used heavily in the server industry.

LAUNCH EXPLAINS

SpaceX's success in landing and reusing the first stage of its Falcon 9 rockets has led to significant savings in time and money. Recovery of the second stage was determined to be unfeasible, so it started focusing on recovering and refurbishing the rocket's payload fairings. SpaceX uses a simple system to recover the fairings, which are rapidly refurbished and ready for additional launches within weeks. SpaceX now has more fairings than it has space to store them.

Microsoft has announced plans to discontinue Visual Studio for Mac after August 2024. The company will redirect its resources to optimize Visual Studio and VS Code for cross-platform development. Microsoft will provide Visual Studio for Mac with security updates and platform update compatibility for the next 12 months. It will also provide runtimes, workload updates, and unofficial rudimentary support for .NET 8 in Visual Studio for Mac.

GOING BEYOND THE MAP: INTRODUCING ENVIRONMENT APIS

Google is expanding what developers can do with its Maps Platform, allowing them to build experiences that pave the way for a sustainable future. It has introduced a new suite of Environment APIs to help developers build sustainability tools, share actionable insights, and encourage people to adapt to new environmental realities. The Solar API helps solar companies address solar viability and design, while the Air Quality and Pollen APIs help companies better understand climate and environmental changes.

WE ANALYZED MILLIONS OF CHATGPT USER SESSIONS

This article discusses data around OpenAI and ChatGPT traffic. OpenAI traffic has declined around 29% since May. Around 29% of ChatGPT prompts are related to programming, while education accounted for around 10% of all use cases. Other use cases include writing assistance, content creation, and creative ideation. Charts showing data on how people use ChatGPT are available.

A tweet about how numerous talented people who have worked years at a FAANG company don't have much to show for it recently went viral. It sparked a discussion about whether it is possible to make an impact in Big Tech. This article presents three strategies for making an impact in any company no matter what size. It covers what Big Tech engineers actually work on and the pros and cons of working in Big Tech vs startups. It is possible to make an impact anywhere.

COMPRESS

Compress is a tool for automatically creating typing shortcuts from a corpus of your own writing.

UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPACT’

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has warned staff of salary freezes and cuts to the bonus budget.

HOW TO PASS A CODING INTERVIEW WITH ME

A guide on passing coding interviews from someone who has given more than 400 coding interviews over the last decade.

KDASH

KDash is a simple and fast dashboard for Kubernetes that features node metrics, resource watching, custom resource definitions, streamed container logs, dark/light themes, and more.

VPN RELATIONSHIP MAP

This page contains a map that shows the relationship between VPN companies, their corporate owners, and paid affiliates who profit from reviewing them positively.

MACCARONE

Maccarone allows developers to mark sections of Python programs for AI to take ownership of.

APPLE ANNOUNCES THE IPHONE 15 LAUNCH EVENT

Apple has sent out invitations for an event on September 12 at 1 PM ET. The company is expected to announce the iPhone 15 lineup and new Apple Watches at the event. The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus will likely feature the Dynamic Island and a USB-C port. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are rumored to feature titanium frames, thinner bezels, big camera improvements, and a USB-C port. Apple will reportedly introduce the Apple Watch Series 9 smartwatches and a new version of the Apple Watch Ultra.

AND WORK APPS

Google is adding artificial intelligence enhancements to Gmail and other productivity apps. Duet AI will be available in the first half of next year. It will cost large businesses $30 per month per user. The fee will be on top of what companies are already paying for Google's productivity suite. Companies will be able to join free trials before committing to the subscription. The technology is currently being tested by over 1,000 customers.

FREQUENTLY

Virgin Galactic will conduct its next commercial space flight as early as September 8. Galactic 3 will carry three passengers who bought their tickets back in the early 2000s. If on schedule, it will be Virgin Galactic's fourth space flight in four months. This article features an interview with the company's Chief of Operations and president, Mike Moses, where he explains the long downtime after Sir Richard Branson's flight in 2021 and how Virgin Galactic reached a monthly flight cadence.

VIEW

Scientists have created a genetically altered version of the hummingbird bobtail squid using CRISPR technology. The squids are almost transparent unless light hits them at the right angle. These squids offer researchers a new way to study animals. They may be especially interesting to brain scientists. The team that created the squids is working to create more of the animals for other researchers.

COST LIMIT FOR AWS

This repository contains a library of Amazon Cloud Development Kit constructs for deploying cost-aware, self-limiting resources. It helps developers set spending limits on AWS by disabling resources using non-destructive operations when budgets are hit. The library can be used to prevent large cloud bills due to mistakes in application code, misunderstanding of pricing models, or malicious activities.

STRINGZILLA

StringZilla is a library for fast string sort, search, split, and shuffle. It can handle long strings and multi-gigabyte files in Python and C. StringZilla uses a simple heuristic and hyper-scalar code to achieve ludicrous speed (4.5 GB/s on IoT devices).

REPORTS OF THE PC'S DEATH ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED, SAYS IDC

Analysts estimate that the PC market will return to growth in 2024. PC shipments are forecast to grow 3.7% year-on-year. 2023 will likely be the year with the greatest annual decline in consumer PC shipments ever. The introduction of AI and the uncertainty surrounding the future of remote work are likely causing people to delay purchases. Windows 10 is set to retire in 2025, which will likely trigger some sales.

THE CONTRARIAN STRATEGY OF OPENAI

OpenAI did many things differently than what Sam Altman would have advised for YC startups. It launched a solution in search of a problem with a capital-intensive business behind a login wall without any social, sharing, or other viral features. It took the company 4.5 years to launch its first commercial product. OpenAI fundraises through complicated financial structures. Altman is considering deleting his blog as he feels bad about the advice that he gave back when he was running YC.

EFFICIENCY

Sierra Forest will have 240% better performance per watt than Intel's current generation data center chips.

OBSERVE

Observe enables continuous monitoring of WebAssembly code as it executes within a runtime.

30X CHEAPER

Llama-2-70b is almost as strong at factuality as GPT-4 and considerably better than gpt-3.5-turbo.

GOOGLE MADE A WATERMARK FOR AI IMAGES THAT YOU CAN’T EDIT OUT

SynthID generates watermarks that are imperceptible to the human eye and robust to various transformations but easily caught by a dedicated AI detection tool.

MEASURING DEVELOPER PRODUCTIVITY? A RESPONSE TO MCKINSEY

This two-part article takes a look at whether it's possible to measure developer productivity and how attempting to measure developer productivity may be damaging to the engineering culture at companies.

ELON MUSK DEMONSTRATES TESLA FSD 12 IN A LIVE STREAM ON X

Tesla's Full Self-Driving (FSD) V12 will not be a beta version. The company rolled out FSD Beta v11.4.7 earlier this week. Tesla has been criticized for not being able to demonstrate FSD for several years now, despite Elon Musk's claims about the software back in 2016. Musk recently live-streamed himself driving his personal Tesla Model S using FSD V12 on the streets of California. A recording of the full live stream is available in the article.

ZUCK SAYS HE CAN TYPE 100WPM INSIDE A VR HEADSET

Mark Zuckerberg claims that Meta's new VR keyboard is capable of 120WPM speeds. The software is able to turn any flat surface into a virtual keyboard. Meta achieved 73WPM typing speed with its 'surface touch typing' software in 2020. The new virtual keyboard appears to require a QR-code-like symbol as a positional anchor. A video of Zuckerberg typing on the keyboard is available in the article.

ROCKET

SpaceX has completed a second hot fire test of its Super Heavy booster. All 33 Raptor engines ignited during the test and all but 2 ran for the full six-second duration. SpaceX still needs to receive launch approval from the FAA before it can begin its second test flight of the Starship rocket. It is possible that the launch could take place as soon as two or three weeks from now, but further delays are probable.

THE FIRST OBSERVATION OF NEUTRINOS AT CERN'S LARGE HADRON COLLIDER

Physicists have managed to observe neutrinos inside a particle accelerator for the first time. While neutrinos are produced abundantly inside particle accelerators, they have so far been difficult to observe due to their very weak interactions with other particles. The neutrinos observed in the study had the highest energy ever recorded in a laboratory environment. The research could pave the way for in-depth studies of the properties of neutrinos and aid in the search for other elusive particles.

KUBEBLOCKS

KubeBlocks is a Kubernetes operator that manages relational, NoSQL, vector, and streaming databases on the cloud and on-premise. It is designed for production purposes. KubeBlocks integrates popular database engines and provides rich management functions along with declarative APIs on various infrastructures. It simplifies operations like upgrading, scaling, monitoring, back up, and restore.

DLIGHT

DLight is a developer-focused UI rendering library. It features an API designed to be intuitive and user-friendly. DLight can be used for both simple and complex websites. It enhances code performance at compile time and makes code execution speed as close to vanilla JavaScript as possible even with limited optimization knowledge. DLight is only 4KB.

THE END OF THE GOOGLEVERSE

Google search has reshaped the web into a place for robots. The emergence of AI is a threat to Google's existence. A growing number of users are complaining about the quality of Google's search results. Google's position as the largely invisible force that determines the ebb and flow of online content is being seriously challenged for the first time in two decades. This article looks at Google's past, the company's role in shaping the web, and how things are changing.

POWER LAWS HAVE MORE POWER THAN YOU THINK

The internet both fragments and concentrates attention. Networks are subject to powerful feedback loops. Algorithms can boost or dampen social signals. This results in a distribution of consumption where there are a few massive hits but a lot of randomness in the middle. While this means that there will likely always be big hits, the cost of producing one is increasing.

GOING TO WORK OUT’

Leaked messages suggest that Amazon may force a 'voluntary resignation' on employees who refuse to relocate to in-person hubs where their teams work.

NVIDIA ON THE MOUNTAINTOP

Nvidia has set new company records for revenue and the surging interest in artificial intelligence looks like it will continue to propell the business forward.

CHANGING MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GITHUB COPILOT

Developers need to find balance when using tools and not let the tools control them and their interactions with them.

Apple and Microsoft pay the least for entry-level engineers on average and promotions can take longer to achieve at Amazon.

BUSINESSES

ChatGPT Enterprise offers unlimited access to GPT-4 at faster speeds, extended context windows, encryption, and group account management features.

A.I. BRINGS THE ROBOT WINGMAN TO AERIAL COMBAT

The Air Force's XQ-58A Valkyrie aircraft, which is run by artificial intelligence and powered by a rocket engine, can fly a distance equal to the width of China and carry missiles capable of hitting targets far beyond its visual range.

WITH BIGGER TRACKPAD

Apple is planning a major update to the iPad Pro for next year. The new iPad Pros will have slightly larger OLED displays and a revamped Magic Keyboard. They will feature M3 chips. The new Magic Keyboard will have a larger trackpad to make the iPad Pro more like a laptop. Apple will release the new iPad Pro in the spring or summer of next year. No updates to the devices are planned between now and then.

IN LA

Tesla has won permit approval for its Diner and Drive-In Movie Supercharger in Los Angeles. The site will house 32 Supercharger stalls, a restaurant, rooftop seating, and two movie theater screens. It was originally going to be built in Santa Monica. A copy of the approval documents is available in the article.

IBM’S AI CHIP MAY FIND USE IN GENERATIVE AI

IBM's latest AI chip is more than a dozen times as energy efficient as conventional microchips on automated transcription tasks. It is capable of 12.4 trillion operations per second per watt. When tested on speech recognition tasks, the chip was able to perform as accurately as neural networks run on conventional hardware while completing the job seven times as fast and up to 14 more efficiently. The chip can support transformers and may be beneficial for many types of AI systems.

WE ARE NOT EMPTY

There are no empty spaces within an atom. The empty atom picture often shown in popular science is incorrect. It is unclear who created the myth, but it was popularized in Carl Sagan's Cosmos TV series. This essay explains why the idea of an empty atom is wrong by carefully interpreting quantum theory.