Search the archive

FACEBOOK SNOOPED ON USERS’ SNAPCHAT TRAFFIC IN SECRET PROJECT, DOCUMENTS REVEAL

Facebook had a secret project that intercepted and decrypted Snapchat network traffic to understand user behavior and help Facebook compete with Snapchat.

THOUGHTS ON APPLE VISION PRO

A review of the Apple Vision Pro from the developer who built the largest open-source projects for both of Apple's AR frameworks: ARKit and RealityKit.

A NATIVE VERSION OF CHROME ARRIVES FOR ARM-BASED WINDOWS PCS

Chrome users with Windows machines powered by Arm-based processors will have access to a much faster native browser starting this week.

ROBINHOOD LAUNCHES 3% CASH BACK CREDIT CARD

The Robinhood Gold Card, which offers 3% cash back on all categories, doesn't have any annual fees but will require a Robinhood Gold membership, which costs $5 per month or $50 annually.

ASK HN: WHAT NON-AI PRODUCTS ARE YOU WORKING ON? (HACKER NEWS THREAD)

Projects discussed in this thread include a synthetic DNA assembly company, a Christian app and tool discovery and distribution platform, and a trading terminal tailored to scalping traders, prop firms, and brokerages.

ELON MUSK SAYS ALL PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS WILL GAIN ACCESS TO AI CHATBOT GROK THIS WEEK

Elon Musk announced that xAI’s Grok chatbot, previously exclusive to Premium+ subscribers, will soon be available to all Premium subscribers on X.

OPENAI’S CHATBOT STORE IS FILLING UP WITH SPAM

OpenAI's GPT Store has become a mix of innovative tools and questionable content, including potentially copyright-infringing GPTs and bots promoting academic dishonesty.

APPLE’S BIG WWDC 2024 ANNOUNCEMENT MAY BE AN AI APP STORE

Apple is planning to enhance its AI offerings at WWDC 2024, potentially introducing an AI App Store where consumers can access AI apps from various vendors.

ULTRASOUND IMAGE CLARITY

RDSTN is a new network that enhances ultrasound images through arbitrary-scale super-resolution, addressing the trade-off between image quality and field-of-view.

TEXT-BASED PERSON RETRIEVAL

UFineBench is a new benchmark in text-based person retrieval. It uses detailed descriptions to help AI better understand and find people in images.

IMPROVED OBJECT SEGMENTATION

SegRefiner, a new model-agnostic solution, improves object mask quality in various segmentation tasks by interpreting refinement as a data generation process. It refines coarse masks pixel-by-pixel using a discrete diffusion process, enhancing segmentation and boundary metrics.

CODEL

Fully autonomous AI Agent that can perform complicated tasks and projects using terminal, browser, and editor.

EFFICIENT SPATIOTEMPORAL FORECASTING

VMRNN cell is a new architecture that combines Vision Mamba blocks and LSTM for enhanced spatiotemporal forecasting.

DETR ENHANCES OBJECT DETECTION

This project introduces Salience DETR, which leverages hierarchical salience filtering to refine query selection in object detection, offering a balance between computational efficiency and accuracy.

MATHEMATICIANS USE AI TO IDENTIFY EMERGING COVID-19 VARIANTS

University of Manchester mathematicians have developed an AI tool, CLASSIX, to rapidly identify emerging COVID-19 variants from genetic data, potentially streamlining the tracking of viral evolution and aiding in proactive responses like tailored vaccine development. The method, which is computationally less demanding than traditional phylogenetic analysis, processed 5.7 million sequences in 1-2 days on a standard laptop, demonstrating its efficiency in managing large-scale genomic data. The research signifies a step towards quicker, resource-efficient identification of significant pathogen strains.

TRENDS IN SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY & AI IN DRUG DISCOVERY IN 2024

2024 is set to be a monumental year for AI in drug discovery, marking considerable advancements in synthetic biology. This article highlights key trends, including generative AI's influence on science and the synthesis of modular biological components. AI's integration with synthetic biology is accelerating the drug discovery process, as demonstrated by Insilico Medicine's AI-powered candidate's progression to Phase II clinical trials.

LLMS HAVE SPECIAL INTELLIGENCE, NOT GENERAL, AND THAT'S PLENTY

Anthropic's new AI model Claude-3 surpasses the average human IQ and outperforms other models, including GPT-4, in advanced cognitive tasks. Despite this achievement, Claude-3 still struggles with basic challenges like puzzles that humans find easy. LLMs may possess a 'Special Intelligence' rather than human-like general intelligence. They could be reflecting our knowledge back to us in innovative ways.

Install the Kit CLI

IOS 18 REPORTEDLY WON’T FEATURE APPLE’S OWN CHATGPT-LIKE CHATBOT

Apple will reportedly not debut its own generative AI chatbot in its next major software updates, including iOS 18, but is discussing potential generative AI partnerships with companies like Google, OpenAI, and Baidu while planning to enhance various apps with generative AI features for user assistance.

ARC (PRODUCT)

AI-powered remote jobs marketplace to hire software developers from around the world.

AI SAAS COMPANIES WILL BE MORE PROFITABLE

AI software companies might initially have higher expenses, but their profitability could surpass traditional SaaS companies due to AI's deflationary effects across marketing, sales, operations, and software development.

CRYPTO EXCHANGE KUCOIN VIOLATED ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING LAWS, U.S. CHARGES

US federal prosecutors have charged crypto exchange KuCoin and its founders with the alleged violation of anti-money laundering laws. The exchange reportedly operated in the US without running an anti-money laundering program or registering with US government entities. It is said to be involved in the money transmission business with over 30 million customers.

CRYPTO GAME ‘MUNCHABLES’ ON BLAST EXPLOITED FOR $63M

Ethereum L2 game Munchables experienced a $62 million exploit as a result of a North Korean developer being hired by the Munchables team. While some are requesting that the Blast team intervene, others are arguing that this should not be done as it goes against the principles of decentralized networks.

SOLANA WELCOMES CIRCLE’S CROSS-CHAIN TRANSFER PROTOCOL

Circle is partnering with Solana to introduce its cross-chain transfer protocol to the ecosystem. Circle’s CCTP enables the secure trading of USDC between various blockchains using a native mint and burn process. This move will enable Solana developers to natively swap USDC tokens from Ethereum and other EVM-compatible ecosystems. Various Solana ecosystem participants will support CCTP right away and more are expected to follow.

BITVM 2: PERMISSIONLESS VERIFICATION ON BITCOIN

BitVM 2 was recently launched and aims to enable any party to verify blockchain operations. In its original format, BitVM's validation process could only be done by previously identified verifiers, a limitation now overcome in BitVM 2. This opens the functionality to any party at runtime, increasing the trust and efficiency of the system. Despite these improvements, the protocol still needs a minimum of one honest operator to function properly.

GUIDE TO THE CRYPTO JOB MARKET

As the crypto landscape has heated up so has the job market. This thread explains how potential candidates can better position themselves by showing proof of their abilities and strategizing their first week to six months on the job. Building a personal brand within the crypto space via engaging with communities and creating impactful content is also crucial to creating opportunities for yourself.

TOKENOMICS: AN APPROACH TO EVALUATING TOKENS

This report offers insights into identifying projects with promising fundamentals. Focusing on key tokenomics elements, it suggests understanding the reasons for a token's existence, their function, and how they generate value for holders. Evaluating demand and supply mechanics, token allocation, liquidity, and mastering analytical tools are also crucial for long-term investment strategies. It is important to not fall for simplistic marketing - consider how token features support protocol growth and create tangible value.

MEMES ARE FROM THE FUTURE. MEV ARE THE ECHOES OF THE PAST

Bitcoin was the first real memecoin, its narrative buoyed by skepticism of central banking and institutional trust erosion. However, the memecoin space has evolved to encompass thousands of other coins, boosted by shifting crypto trends and attention economics. Solana recently illustrated this with its high density of rapidly growing memecoins. However, this has led to challenges with Solana's blockspace allocation, transaction inclusion, and a rise in 'MEV' or Maximum Extractable Value. Bitcoin now looks set to experience its own MEV surge driven by an influx of memecoin-driven activities. This highlights a need for deeper discussion on managing such complexities in the broader non-EVM ecosystem.

HOW TO PROPERLY EXPRESS MARKET VIEWS VIA BETS IN CRYPTO

This thread advises investors on making successful bets in crypto, both in terms of direction and sizing. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the intrinsic risks of each investment, matching wagers to market views, and considering the potential of various crypto assets and underlying infrastructures. The thread cautions against 'index' crypto plays, suggesting they offer limited upside, and instead recommends that investors simply purchase Bitcoin and Ethereum for crypto exposure.

CFTC CALLS ETH A COMMODITY IN KUCOIN COMPLAINT

The CFTC’s complaint against KuCoin for illegal commodity transactions and failing to register refers to both Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities.

ENTITY FORMATION FRAMES: SPIN UP AN ON-CHAIN LLC

GRAYSCALE LEGAL OFFICER ON ETH ETFS

Despite perceived SEC disengagement, the precedent set by Bitcoin ETF approvals and similar issues suggests Ethereum ETFs should also be approved for consistency and investor access.

THOUGHTS ON INSCRIPTIONS

Inscriptions revolutionize content and data publishing by offering a permanent, accessible platform for content without the need for technical knowledge.

DISNEY PLUS HAS A NEW HULU-IFIED LOGO

Disney Plus has updated its logo and splash screen with a new teal/seafoam color to signify its upcoming merger with Hulu and enhance its distinctiveness among competitors. The redesign has stirred nostalgia among fans who cherished the old logo, which was a homage to Disney's Cinderella castle and embodied elements of Disney magic.

CANVA ACQUIRES AFFINITY TO BECOME A PLAYER IN PROFESSIONAL PHOTO EDITING

Canva, an Australian design company, has acquired U.K.-based creative tools company Affinity for an estimated $380 million. Canva aims to expand its user base to include professional designers. The acquisition aligns Canva with Affinity's culture and offers advanced capabilities to compete with Adobe, adding 3 million users and 90 employees to Canva's portfolio.

ADOBE’S NEW GENSTUDIO PLATFORM IS AN AI FACTORY FOR ADVERTISERS

GenStudio serves as a centralized hub for promotional campaigns, providing brand kits, copy guidance, and preapproved assets alongside other generative AI-powered tools that can generate backgrounds and ensure the overall tone remains on-brand. It also shows users which attributes, generated assets, and campaigns are performing best, which can be used to direct AI prompts for other campaigns.

DESIGNERS, CHARGE MORE $$$ TO HELP YOURSELF AND YOUR CLIENTS

Designers who want to grow must be comfortable with losing the wrong type of clients who demand cheap and low-quality designs and start charging more. This way, they’ll attract clients who value design value quality, are easier to work with, and pay premium fees.

CONVENTION OVER CREATIVITY? THE UPS AND DOWNS OF UX DESIGN

UX Design is not devoid of creativity, it’s merely constrained to time, space, and place. Designers must carefully select moments to deviate and experiment or take advantage of nexus points like technological change and novel interfaces.

TEN CORE PRODUCT DESIGN PRINCIPLES

In product design principles, you describe the most important goals a product or service should achieve for users and use them to frame decisions. This article describes ten principles when designing your next product, from simplicity and consistency to sustainability and ethical considerations.

EXPLORE THE BEST DESIGN SYSTEMS

A curated collection of over 140 design systems that includes corresponding Figma libraries GitHub code implementations.

CARD BUDDY

Organize a story using draggable index cards.

TEXT-TO-WEBSITE BUILDER

Create a full-fledged multipage website from a single prompt.

BUILD AN ADVANCED FIGMA PROTOTYPE FROM SCRATCH

In just 30 minutes, learn the skills to create advanced prototypes efficiently with live demonstrations and gain insights from design leaders like Ridd from Figma Academy. This webinar, which focuses on practical prototyping techniques and essential product thinking, is part of Maven Learning's short lessons scheduled between March 28 and April 19.

3 ESSENTIAL DESIGN TRENDS, APRIL 2024

'UX Unicorns' refers to unique and emerging design elements that enhance user experience. Black-and-white imagery is making a comeback, creating a classic and purposeful feel when used in conjunction with brand and design storytelling, and bright color palettes, including pink and purple, are returning to various design projects, adding freshness and happiness.

APPLE’S NEXT PENCIL MAY WORK WITH THE VISION PRO HEADSET

According to recent rumors, a Vision Pro-compatible Apple Pencil could launch alongside new iPads soon. Reports say that users wearing the headset will be able to use apps such as Freeform and Pixelmator to draw using the Pencil on a flat surface.

LITTLE TROOP CHANNELS 70S RETROFUTURISM FOR A NEW HOME STORAGE BRAND

Cliik's branding, developed by Little Troop, blends decades of references – predominantly 1970s retrofuturism, but with a touch of 60s modernism and even 80s Lego advertising sprinkled in.

LOUIS VUITTON’S NEW BOOK IS AN ILLUSTRATED ATLAS OF PERFUME

Taking you behind the scenes of the perfume-making process, Louis Vuitton: A Perfume Atlas offers a rare glimpse into the art and science of scent.