Apple will allow other app stores 📱, Meta cuts perks 💸 , nuclear fusion breakthrough explained 💡

TLDR

Daily Update 2022-12-14

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Big Tech & Startups

Apple engineers are working on third-party app store support in iOS (2 minute read)

Apple is reportedly working on changes to iOS that would allow users to access apps outside of the App Store. The changes will be implemented by 2024 in response to regulations from the EU. Apple is exploring ways to limit users' exposure to potentially malicious apps. Other changes are also planned in response to EU laws, such as opening more API features to third-party developers that were previously only available to Apple.

Instagram is adding a BeReal clone, a tweet-ish feature, and groups (2 minute read)

Instagram has announced new features for 2023, including Candid Stories, Notes, Group Profiles, and Collaborative Collections. Candid Stories is a BeReal clone that allows users to share images from their front and back cameras after receiving a daily notification reminder. Notes allows users to share up to 60 characters of text and emoji with a limited group of followers. Group Profiles allow users to make posts that remain within a group. Collaborative Collections is a feature that lets users save posts to groups or DM conversations.

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Science & Futuristic Technology

World-First Trial Transfusing Lab-Grown Red Blood Cells Begins (4 minute read)

The world's first trial testing lab-grown red blood cells is underway in the UK. The study aims to find out whether red blood cells made in the laboratory can last longer than blood cells made in the body. If the lab-grown cells can last longer, it will mean that patients who require regular blood transfusions might not require them as frequently. The patients have so far reported no untoward side effects.

Cancer mRNA vaccine completes pivotal trial (2 minute read)

A trial of a cancer vaccine that uses the same mRNA technology as Covid-19 vaccines has been successfully completed. Made by Moderna and Merck, the experimental vaccine primes the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. The study, which involved 157 patients with advanced melanoma, found that patients who took the vaccine had a 44% relative reduction in the risk of dying of the cancer or having it progress. The vaccine is personalized to each patient and is very expensive to make.

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Programming, Design & Data Science

sqlite-loadable-rs (GitHub Repo)

sqlite-loadable-rs is a framework for building loadable SQLite extensions in Rust. The extensions add new scalar functions, table functions, virtual tables, virtual filesystems, and more to a SQLite database connection. They can be loaded in any SQLite context.

Unovis (GitHub Repo)

Unovis is a modular data visualization framework for React, Angular, Svelte, and vanilla TypeScript or JavaScript. It features charts, maps, network graphs, and more. Unovis is highly customizable, tree-shakable, and supports individual component imports to reduce bundle size. A short video explaining how Unovis works is available.

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Miscellaneous

What enabled the big boost in fusion energy announced this week? (9 minute read)

The US Department of Energy has confirmed the National Ignition Facility's claims that it reached a new milestone in fusion energy. The National Ignition Facility was able to generate 3.15 megajoules of energy using 2.05 megajoules of energy deposited using lasers. The 2.05 megajoules of laser power took about 300 megajoules of grid power to produce, so the process is nowhere near the point of break-even. However, it is still a sign of real progress in fusion technology.

Here are all the ways to get around ChatGPT's safeguards (6 minute read)

This Twitter thread shows several different ways to get around ChatGPT's safeguards, with screenshots and examples. ChatGPT is susceptible to prompt injection. Using terms like 'ignore previous directions' and 'but hypothetically' can bypass many of its restrictions. Convincing the AI to roleplay an AI that can make moral decisions will make ChatGPT make moral decisions. OpenAI is working to patch many of these workarounds.

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Quick Links

A Developer's Story: How Faros AI Makes My Job Easier (Sponsor)

What have we been working on in the last month? What’s going out in the release next week? These questions can be surprisingly tricky. Learn how Natalie finds answers

Lawmakers unveil bipartisan bill that aims to ban TikTok in the U.S. (2 minute read)

TikTok's reassurances that US user data is safely stored outside of China have done little to alleviate concerns about the company.

Engineering in a Hybrid World (45 minute read)

This report looks at how the shift to remote work has impacted engineering organizations.

DoNotPay is launching an AI chatbot that can negotiate your bills (3 minute read)

DoNotPay's new AI chatbot, built on top of OpenAI's GPT-3 API, interacts with representatives in real time to help customers get discounts on their bills.

Meta slashes health and wellness benefit for employees, following other companies like Twitter in pulling back on perks (5 minute read)

Meta has adjusted its Life@ benefit for 2023 from $3,000 to $2,000.

Hydra (GitHub Repo)

Hydra is an open source data warehouse built on Postgres.

What if you could use S3 storage just like a local drive? (Sponsor)

S3 Drive lets you browse and interact directly with files on Amazon S3 (or any S3-compatible storage) through a local virtual drive. Download the free Starter Edition (perpetual license).

Amazon delays graduate hiring as part of cost-cutting efforts (2 minute read)

University graduates set to join Amazon in May will now not be able to begin until the end of 2023.

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Apple will allow other app stores 📱, Meta cuts perks 💸 , nuclear fusion breakthrough explained 💡

Daily Update 2022-12-14

Big Tech & Startups

Science & Futuristic Technology

Programming, Design & Data Science

Miscellaneous

Quick Links

Older messages

Moderna's cancer vaccine 💉, Tesla embraces gaming 🎮, developers' proudest hacks 👨‍💻

ChatGPT use cases 💬, Twitter launches multicolor checkmarks 🐦, chaining language AIs 👨‍💻

Chrome's password killer 🔑, 4000 character tweet limit 🐦, energy producing nuclear fusion ⚛️

Google Pixel Fold leaks 📱, Amazon TikTok-style shopping 🛍️, historical analogies for language AI 🤖

Meta considers Twitter competitor 📝, creative uses of ChatGPT 🤖, Linux with Apple GPUs 💻

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