About: blatcho

A prototype heat pump that uses water and sound to cool is three times as efficient as previous comparable designs

Today’s protests in Iran have been cited as the biggest threat the Islamic Republic has faced since it seized power in 1979. Ignited over the regime’s mandatory veiling of women and the recent death of Mahsa Amini while in morality police custody, the uprising is rooted in the Iranian people’s long struggle for freedom, says […]

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But lagging technology can make them a weak link.

A conversation with Georgetown’s Ella Washington about how to make real progress on diversity, equity and inclusion.

A Swedish electric bike is helping Mozambique’s park rangers protect game and reducing the need for fossil fuel infrastructure in Africa’s remotest areas.

The UK grime rapper transformed #Merky into a music label, a book imprint, and advocacy campaigns—something that may be impossible in the new Twitter era.

Catherine Shu / TechCrunch: Singapore-based Osome, a “super app” for corporate services, raised a $25M Series B, after a $16M Series A in June 2021, and says it serves 11K+ companies  —  Osome is a financial admin platform that helps business owners with administrative tasks like payroll, accounting and tax reporting.

Joshua Oliver / Financial Times: Filing: US bank Silvergate acknowledges processing wire transfers for traders on Alameda, saying it conducted “extensive due diligence” on FTX and Alameda  —  Federal Reserve-regulated company says it performed ‘significant due diligence’ on FTX and Alameda Research

Drew FitzGerald / Wall Street Journal: Verizon replaces consumer unit chief Manon Brouillette, who joined in July 2021, with CEO Hans Vestberg; Verizon stock is down 29% in 2022  —  Consumer division leader Manon Brouillette departs after less than a year amid weak wireless subscriber growth  —  Verizon Communications Inc. VZ …

Fentanyl-related substances have a bad reputation, but they could also save lives. In the US, a legislative battle to expedite research is heating up.

Emergency responders rely on the platform to share and collect lifesaving information. Looser moderation puts that in peril.

Headphone jacks might be endangered, but they’re not gone. Here are some of our favorite smartphones that still let you plug in.

Rachael Levy / Reuters: Sources: the US Department of Agriculture is probing Neuralink for potential animal welfare violations after complaints that its animal testing is being rushed  —  Elon Musk’s Neuralink, a medical device company, is under federal investigation for potential animal-welfare violations amid …

Sam Altman / @sama: Sam Altman says ChatGPT crossed 1M users since it launched less than a week ago  —  ChatGPT launched on wednesday. today it crossed 1 million users!

Paul Thurrott / Thurrott: Google’s latest Pixel drop brings VPN by Google and Clear Calling to Pixel 7 and 7 Pro, automatic speaker labels in the Recorder app to Pixel 6 and up, and more  —  Google today announced the latest Pixel drop, which brings new features to Pixel phones, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Buds.

A technique that uses nanoscale structures to reproduce colour has been employed to make copies of famous paintings, and could also help fight counterfeiting

The noise of a construction site often annoys the people living and working nearby. But at MIT, it can lead to creativity and innovation. Such was the case with the creation of the new well-being graduate resident advisor (WGRA) role at MacGregor House. With the construction of a new apartment in the residence hall, heads-of-house […]

The School of Science has announced that 10 of its faculty members have been appointed to named professorships. The faculty members selected for these positions receive additional support to pursue their research and develop their careers. Camilla Cattania has been named a Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric […]

Former co-hosts Sarah, Nicole, and Emily join the Amys to talk through insights from this season.

Fifty percent of jobs will require new skill sets in the next five years, according to the World Economic Forum.

It costs five times more to win a new customer than to retain a current one.

Simon Sharwood / The Register: Rackspace confirms a “security incident” impacted its hosted Microsoft Exchange services, leading to an “extended outage”; customers complain of poor support  —  Warns recovery could take several days and pledges better support after customer complaints

Dan Milmo / The Guardian: Survey of 8,000 young people in nine European countries finds 34% have pirated content, 27% reported trolling someone, 22% reported inciting violence, and more  —  EU-funded survey of people aged 16-19 finds one in four have trolled someone – while UK least ‘cyberdeviant’ of nine countries

Ankush Khardori / New York Magazine: Unlike Bernie Madoff, SBF has not confessed to any criminal conduct, arguing FTX’s collapse was purely sloppiness, meaning a US prosecution could take some time  —  On December 11, 2008, Bernie Madoff was arrested and criminally charged with one of the biggest financial frauds in history …

From the Move to the Beam, we’ve tested nearly every speaker from the venerable brand. We like them all—but here are the best picks to fit your lifestyle.

The most unlikely of music formats is staging a return. Part novelty and part nostalgia, here’s how to dive in.

This weatherproof camera is mounted inside a bird feeder—but its AI identification system needs work.

Lauren Goode / Wired: An interview with Max Levchin on Affirm, the US CFPB’s inquiry into BNPL services, problems with credit cards, the current economic environment, and more  —  The PayPal cofounder on why his “buy now, pay later” company Affirm is a healthier way to borrow, what caused the techlash, and Elon Musk’s Twitter.

Joshua Oliver / Financial Times: In an interview, SBF admits involvement in Alameda’s largest uses of funds: spending $3B to buy out Binance’s stake in FTX and pouring $4B into venture capital  —  Exchange’s former CEO says he was close to key decisions at nominally separate trading firm  —  Speaking from his bed in Nassau […]

Joe Rossignol / MacRumors: Kuo: mass shipments of Apple’s AR/VR headset may be delayed until H2 2023, from previously estimated Q2 2023, due to “software-related issues”  —  Mass shipments of Apple’s long-rumored AR/VR headset may be delayed until the second half of 2023 due to unspecified “software-related issues …

This sleek-looking and smooth-typing Das Keyboard MacTigr works flawlessly with Apple computers.

Joanna Glasner / Crunchbase News: Autonomous trucking software company Embark lost ~98% of its market value, or ~$5B, since going public a year ago via a SPAC merger, amid a sector-wide downturn  —  Out of all the beaten-down public companies in the autonomous driving space, Embark Technology stands out as a conspicuously terrible stock market […]

Matt Von Hippel / Quanta Magazine: A look at FORM, a 1980s software used for the hardest particle physics problems, as it risks obsolescence while being maintained almost entirely by a retiree  —  Maintenance of the software that’s used for the hardest physics calculations rests almost entirely with a retiree.

Ingrid Lunden / TechCrunch: Boston- and London-based Zoe, a nutrition and health tracking app, raised £25M led by Accomplice at a £209M valuation, after closing a £48M Series B in May 2021  —  Zoe, a startup founded by doctors and researchers out of London and Boston, made its name during the pandemic …

Tackle stubborn stains, ground-in grime, and pesky pet hair with one of these WIRED-tested washers.

Plus: Apple’s mixed-reality headset creeps toward actual reality, and a stronger type of Gorilla Glass is coming to phone screens.

Plus: ICE accidentally doxes asylum seekers, Google fails to uphold a post-Roe promise, and LastPass suffers the second breach this year.

Wall Street Journal: A look at virtual currencies like Roblox’s Robux, which have become many kids’ preferred way to be paid for chores or receive an allowance  —  Virtual currencies have become many families’ preferred way to pay allowance.  And Roblox’s currency is king.  —  Like many parents …

Patrick McGee / Financial Times: Tim Cook was able to placate Elon Musk within two days, but the chaos at Foxconn’s “iPhone City” may become the greatest test of Cook’s diplomatic skills yet  —  Apple chief placates Elon Musk but faces bigger questions over iPhone supply chain  —  Tim Cook was already battling …

Jacob Kastrenakes / The Verge: Elon Musk thinks the “Twitter Files” show that Twitter staff nefariously helped Joe Biden, but all they show is a team debating a difficult moderation decision  —  Free-speech crusader Elon Musk isn’t happy with Twitter’s years-old decision to suppress a news story …

Messages show Twitter’s past leaders struggling with a tough moderation call with political overtones. Musk is now on the hook for such decisions himself.

Forget what you’ve heard—sexual lubricants are a nightstand essential.

Samriddhi Sakunia / Rest of World: Elections in India’s Gujarat have become a WhatsApp spam war, as the main political parties push content across thousands of groups to influence voters  —  10,000 volunteers, 50,000 WhatsApp groups, and the intense fight to “control people’s feed” in Gujarat.  —  • AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT, INDIA

Bill Gifford / Bloomberg: A profile of Duolingo, which has almost 15M DAUs, up 51% YoY, and 3.7M paying subscribers, as it expects its 2022 revenue to surpass $365M, up 45% from 2021  —  After dinner on Aug. 23—a date he will never forget—Tobi Fondse pulled out his phone to do his daily Duolingo.

Wall Street Journal: A look at Apple’s efforts to reduce dependence on Foxconn; sources: Apple wants other suppliers in China, Vietnam, and India to actively plan product assembly  —  Burned by Covid lockdowns and worker protests at Foxconn plants, the iPhone maker is looking to diversify the supply chain that has powered its growth

A group of quality assurance workers in New York just won legal recognition of its union—a second milestone for organizing efforts within the gaming industry.

Device manufacturers use “platform certificates” to verify an app’s authenticity, making them particularly dangerous in the wrong hands.

If you think “bass” equals “excitement,” then this is for you. But the fact that this high-end French audio brand is no longer bonkers does not bode well.

Aidan Ryan / The Information: Sources: ex-FTX US President Brett Harrison is raising money for a startup to build crypto trading software for big investors, seeking $6M at a $60M valuation  —  Brett Harrison, the former president of FTX’s U.S. arm, is trying to raise money for a new crypto startup focused …