15-inch MacBook Air 💻, next-gen AI mind reading 🤖, cool personal tech projects 👨‍💻

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Big Tech & Startups

Apple to Announce 15-Inch MacBook Air at WWDC (1 minute read)

Apple is planning to announce a 15-inch MacBook Air at its WWDC conference on June 5. The 15-inch MacBook Air will be powered by the standard M2 chip and there will be multiple GPU configurations. There are no rumored design changes to the laptop except for the larger display size. Apple will also announce iOS 17, macOS 14, watchOS 10, tvOS 17, and an AR/VR headset at the event.

‘Godfather of AI’ quits Google with regrets and fears about his life’s work (2 minute read)

Geoffrey Hinton, one of the 'Godfathers of AI', has quit his job at Google to speak freely about the risks of AI. He says that a part of him regrets his life's work. Hinton's work directly led to the development of technologies like ChatGPT and Google Bard. He claims that competition with new AI technologies will be impossible to stop and result in a world with so much misinformation that people won't be able to tell what is true anymore. The technology could also eliminate jobs, and possibly humanity itself, as it starts learning to write and run its own code.

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Science & Futuristic Technology

Scientists develop A.I. system focused on turning peoples' thoughts into text (2 minute read)

Semantic decoders are AI systems that can translate people's brain activity into streams of text. They can be used to benefit patients who have lost their ability to physically communicate. Researchers at the University Of Texas have developed a semantic decoder system using a transformer model. It doesn't require any surgical implants and it can produce text that closely or precisely matches the intended meaning of words around half the time. The decoder still can't be used outside of a lab setting as it requires an fMRI scanner, but the researchers believe that they could eventually make a more portable system.

Timber! The World’s First Wooden Transistor (3 minute read)

A collaboration of researchers through the Wallenberg Wood Science Center have created the world's first wooden transistor. It is three centimeters across and switches at less than one hertz. The transistor works by electrochemically modulating conductivity within conducting channels inside the wood's pores with the help of a penetrating electrolyte. It could be used for specialized applications, including biodegradable computing and implanting into living plant material.

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Programming, Design & Data Science

EVA (GitHub Repo)

EVA is an AI-relational database system for building simpler and faster AI-powered applications. It can operate on both structured and unstructured data using deep learning models. EVA accelerates AI pipelines by 10-100x. It comes with a wide range of models for analyzing unstructured data.

Teletrace (GitHub Repo)

Teletrace is a distributed tracing system that helps developers monitor and troubleshoot complex distributed systems. It can be easily deployed and scaled. Teletrace supports multiple storage options.

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Miscellaneous

Ask HN: Most interesting tech you built for just yourself? (Hacker News Thread)

This Hacker News thread contains examples of projects that developers built for themselves. There are many pages of interesting comments - the top comment links to the other pages for easy access. Examples include a dementia support system for a family, automated systems to take pictures of trains as they pass, and an automated hydroponic grow tent.

How to up Your Zoom Game, According to a Huge New Study (16 minute read)

A new study has figured out how fast and loud people should talk on Zoom. People rated as 'good conversationalists' were those who talked faster, louder, and more intensely. Good talkers varied their decibel levels more than the bad talkers did. Those rated as good conversationalists appeared to engage more. Data from the study is still being analyzed.

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Quick Links

AI isn’t the app, it’s the UI (10 minute read)

AI can be used to deliver human intentions to traditional algorithmic APIs.

Two core Unix-like utilities, sudo and su, are getting rewrites in Rust (2 minute read)

The rewrite is part of a wider effort to replace older critical infrastructure pieces with memory-safe counterparts.

Vercel Offers Postgres, Redis Options for Frontend Developers (6 minute read)

Vercel has added a new suite of serverless storage options and new security and editing features.

First Republic seized by California regulator, JPMorgan to assume all deposits (2 minute read)

The FDIC has accepted JPMorgan's bid for First Republic.

The Kingdom Of Bhutan Has Been Quietly Mining Bitcoin For Years (17 minute read)

Bhutan has been using electricity from its hydroelectric plants to mine bitcoin since it was worth $5,000.

Apple uses iOS and macOS Rapid Security Response feature for the first time (2 minute read)

Rapid Security Response is a feature that enables quicker and more frequent security patches for Apple's newest operating systems.

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Key phrases

automated hydroponic grow tent Wallenberg Wood Science Center multiple GPU configurations larger display size living plant material multiple storage options Hacker News Thread AIrelational database system distributed tracing system dementia support system faster AIpowered applications top comment links First Wooden Transistor deep learning models complex distributed systems Huge New Study semantic decoder system new AI technologies

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