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Wildfire drones: Startup Rain is equipping helicopters with software that lets them fly and drop water autonomously. The shorter response time could help catch fires early — before they get out of control. Firefighters can then step in to finish the job (paywall link). Talk about lifesaving.
Tags: drones, software, startup, water
I mentioned last week app maker ByteDance was starting to get banned on some government devices, and you guys and gals hit me with a ton of questions.
Let’s start by taking a step back. ByteDance is the Communist China parent company of TikTok, among other apps. After the U.S. signed the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act” into law in December 2022, ByteDance quickly moved to push and release even more new apps. Sneaky move, for sure.
Today’s cars are basically computers on wheels. The average modern car contains between 1,000 and 1,500 semiconductor chips. For electric vehicles, it’s as many as 3,000 chips. Just like your computer, your vehicle’s features could become outdated and unsupported. How long does your connected car have? Well, it depends.
Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg, sporting a gold chain and Gen Z curly hair, knows everyone’s roasting him online. From being called a lizard to claims he doesn’t blink, he’s ok with it. At 40, he says from his 387-foot mega yacht, if you’re gonna joke, “At least make them good memes.”
After a homebuyer’s law firm was hacked. Now he’s suing them. Richard Bates hired the firm to help him buy a house. Hackers broke into their email and stole enough to trick Bates into wiring them his home payment. Bates says it wouldn’t have happened if his lawyers had basic cybersecurity like 2FA. Well, he’s not wrong.
This is the type of next level thinking we should all have in the age of AI. If something doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t.
In brain volume loss for folks trialing a drug similar to Ozempic. Liraglutide simulates the hormone GLP-1, which regulates appetite and blood sugar. It might be a tool to fight Alzheimer’s, too. Participants saw an 18% slower decline in cognitive function. Promising, right?
In Xbox Series X and S sales since 2023. Sales of Microsoft’s four-year-old console have been on a steady decline since 2022 — a way quicker drop-off than most consoles. For context, the seven-year-old Nintendo Switch still sold 1.96 million consoles in the first quarter this year, double the estimated Xboxes sold.
Are getting laid off at Intel. After reporting $1.6 billion in quarterly losses, Intel is axing 15% of its workforce by the end of this year. So, what the heck is going on? Microsoft and Apple both ditched Intel chips in their newest laptops.
Record ransom, paid to ransomware gang Dark Angels. This fairly new gang goes after some of the largest companies in the world. Once they’ve hacked into a database, they send a ransom note threatening to expose the stolen data on their site, Dunghill Leak. They say they’re “making the world more secure.” I’ll tell you one thing they’re definitely making: A boatload of money.
