About: blatcho

Not every transition must be a caterpillar into a butterfly, or a solitary trek through terror and pain. The natural world has other models of transformation.

The phenomenon threatens local drinking water, and scientists think climate change may be the culprit.

Jenni Reid / CNBC: A look at ABBA Voyage, the hit London concert performed by 3D digital avatars of the band created from motion capture, as its producers plan a global expansion  —  – ABBA Voyage, which sees digital avatars of the four-piece Swedish band ‘perform’ a 90-minute concert created from motion capture …

Ernesto Van der Sar / TorrentFreak: Leaked screener copies of big movies tend to surface at year’s end, but didn’t in 2022, probably due to more security, streaming, and shorter release windows  —  Screeners are advance copies of recent movies that are generally sent out to critics and awards voters for review.

Lily Hay Newman / Wired: A look at 2022’s worst breaches, leaks, ransomware attacks, state-sponsored hacking campaigns, and digital takeovers, including at least two Twilio breaches  —  The year was marked by sinister new twists on cybersecurity classics, including phishing, breaches, and ransomware attacks.

Plus: Patches for Apple iOS 16, Google Chrome, Windows 10, and more.

Do “anti-hangover” supplements really work? With the sterling help of a UK rugby team, we raised a glass or five to find out.

Supply chains are clogged and driving is getting more dangerous. 2023’s autonomous vehicles could help fix both.

Ari Levy / CNBC: Ernst & Young: US tech IPO deal proceeds plummeted 94%, from $155.8B in 2021 to $8.6B in 2022; FactSet: no tech IPO raised $1B in 2022, compared to 15 in 2021  —  – IPO deal proceeds plummeted 94% in 2022, according to Ernst & Young’s IPO report published in mid-December.

Wall Street Journal: Predictions for 2023: competition for Meta’s metaverse, Apple’s AR/VR headset debut, generative AI integration into products, continuing crypto gloom, and more  —  Our tech columnists look ahead to an Apple headset, Netflix password crackdowns, the next DALL-E and more  —  Big layoffs at Meta, Amazon, Snap and others?

Brian Merchant / The Atlantic: Meta’s dramatic implosion, Elon Musk’s Twitter train wreck, and Amazon’s labor uprising show that 2022 was not just a disastrous year, but a reckoning for tech  —  The companies that define our digital lives have hit a wall.  —  The dramatic, multidimensional implosion of Meta …

From stray cats to low-rent vampire hunters, this year’s best games were all about the fun of failure.

Whether you want to run a marathon or learn to play the guitar, here’s how to set yourself up for success.

Any multifactor authentication adds protection, but a physical token is the best bet when it really counts.

Sandali Handagama / CoinDesk: Italy’s parliament approves a 26% tax on gains of €2,000+ from crypto trading per tax period and offers incentives for declaring crypto profits for tax purposes  —  Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s new bill also includes an incentive for those declaring crypto for tax purposes.

Kashmir Hill / New York Times: Google changes its appeals process for CSAM-flagged accounts; content deemed exploitative will still be removed and reported but users can plead their innocence  —  People who upload images of children that Google flags as potentially illegal will be able to provide more context to appeal bans.

Wall Street Journal: Source: Sam Bankman-Fried will likely plead not guilty to fraud and other charges at a January 3 hearing; SBF returns to Twitter to deny he moved Alameda funds  —  Created with sketchtool.  —  FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is likely to plead not guilty to eight counts of fraud at a hearing next […]

Ten picks from one of HBR’s most popular newsletters.

Reuters: Bahamas’ Securities Commission says it is holding FTX assets worth $3.5B on a temporary basis and plans to deliver them to customers and creditors who own them  —  The Securities Commission of the Bahamas said on Thursday that it is holding FTX assets worth $3.5 billion based on market pricing …

Reuters: Canada’s competition tribunal approves Rogers’ $14.77B bid to acquire Shaw, saying the deal is “not likely to prevent or lessen competition substantially”  —  Canada’s competition tribunal approved on Thursday Rogers Communications Inc’s (RCIb.TO) C$20 billion ($14.77 billion) …

Sam Schechner / Wall Street Journal: Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft plan to connect data centers to heating systems in Europe; Meta began in 2020 in Denmark, and Google is assessing its opportunities  —  Rising energy prices and new regulations contribute to an increase in projects  —  With an energy crisis hitting Europe …

The European Union is set to create the world’s first broad standards for regulating or banning certain uses of artificial intelligence in 2023

The Wi-Fi 6The Wi-Fi 6E successor is creeping closer, and it promises to significantly boost the speed and stability of your wireless connections.

Schools adapted to remote learning, but students also got used to seeking easy answers instead of real understanding.

The next generation of video game characters could be powered by AI, making them more engaging and challenging.

New York Times: Sources detail Elon Musk’s Twitter cost-cutting measures, including closing a data center, reducing training for new staff, and canceling janitorial services  —  Elon Musk has reduced the company to a bare-bones operation, and employees are under a “zero-based budgeting” mandate to justify any spending.

Russell Jacobs / Slate: An obituary for Dark Sky, which changed how people consume weather forecasts but is disparaged by scientists, as Apple plans to kill the iOS app on January 1  —  At the end of this year, Dark Sky—the popular, sleek, sometimes accurate weather app—will go dark, its various components ambiguously incorporated …

Dylan Patel / SemiAnalysis: A look at India’s plan to gain semiconductor manufacturing share, including via a ~$10B incentive program, the Foxconn-Vedanta joint venture’s issues, and more  —  Overview of incentive program, 3 major proposals feasibility  —  With the politicization of the semiconductor industry reaching …

HBR readers reflect on what they’ve learned over the past year — and what they’re expecting in the next one.

The year was marked by sinister new twists on cybersecurity classics, including phishing, breaches, and ransomware attacks.

Forget return-to-office mandates. The most sought-after talent want ultimate flexibility. Their bosses need to get on board.

AI is better at fooling humans than ever—and the consequences will be serious.

Cristina Criddle / Financial Times: OpenSea CEO Devin Finzer acknowledges “some setbacks” since FTX fell, argues NFTs could be “denominated in US dollars”, and says OpenSea has a “healthy runway”  —  Head of leading marketplace responds to digital assets slump following FTX scandal

Muyao Shen / Bloomberg: A look at the US case against Avraham Eisenberg, who claimed his “highly profitable trading strategy” was legal, over allegedly exploiting Mango Markets  —  Criminal charges against a crypto trader who claimed to have walked away with about $50 million worth of digital assets …

MK Manoylov / The Block: CryptoSlam: NFT trading volume fell from $24M+ on December 20 to $12.9M on December 25, down for a second consecutive year; Yuga’s BAYC rallied before Christmas  —  – NFT sales volumes fell in the lead up to Christmas in both 2021 and 2022.  — However, Yuga Labs’s Bored Ape Yacht […]

The password manager’s most recent data breach is so concerning, users need to take immediate steps to protect themselves.

From mobile lenses to shotgun mics, here’s everything you need to assemble a portable, pro-grade photo or video studio.

Apple’s Swift Playgrounds can help young and novice coders get started building applications—with varying degrees of success.

Danny Lewis / Wall Street Journal: Q&A with Christopher Phillips, the VP and GM of Google Geo, which oversees Maps and Waze, on the future of navigation, more visual and immersive maps, and more  —  A more immersive experience is coming to map tools, says Google Geo head Christopher Phillips  —  What’s the weather at […]

Sam Kessler / CoinDesk: A hacker leaks 10K+ API keys belonging to users of crypto trading service 3Commas, which had said its users were “phished”; 3Commas CEO confirms the leaked data  —  The leak comes after 3Commas repeatedly told users that they had been “phished” after widespread hacks.

Jonathan Stempel / Reuters: Court records: SBF is expected to enter a plea before a new judge on January 3; the original judge recused herself because her husband’s law firm advised FTX  —  Sam Bankman-Fried is expected to enter a plea next week to criminal charges he defrauded investors and looted billions of dollars …

Watch and learn.

A trial using the gene-editing tool inside the body hints at treating, or even curing, a rare fatal disease—and is changing a community in the process.

From Andor to Barry, here’s what you should binge now, if you haven’t already.

The Kremlin’s aggression in Ukraine is following a dangerous playbook that began to unfold years ago.

Jaweed Kaleem / Los Angeles Times: A look at Embracer Group, which owns more video game studios than any other company in the world, overseeing 237 games being developed across 132 studios  —  (Video by Jackeline Luna and photo by Jenny Ingemarsson / For The Times)  —  Like so many on-screen action heroes …

Jordan Novet / CNBC: As the Nasdaq closes its worst year since 2008, IBM was a bright spot for tech companies with a $50B+ market cap, rising 6% in 2022, as investors sought safety  —  – IBM is up 6% in 2022, topping every large-cap tech stock.  — The company has bolstered its consulting business […]

Gretchen Morgenson / NBC News: A look at North Dimension, a little-known Alameda Research subsidiary, where the SEC says FTX told customers to wire funds to trade without disclosing the ties  —  Among the 130 or so companies in Sam Bankman-Fried’s sprawling crypto empire, North Dimension Inc. assumed a low profile.

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In 2022, the best albums were the ones that called people back out into the world.