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- Ambient Computing's Future 🖥️ , iPhone 15 Fixes 📱 , and AI's Deepfake Dilemma 🤖
Ambient Computing's Future 🖥️ , iPhone 15 Fixes 📱 , and AI's Deepfake Dilemma 🤖
10/2/2023
Tech News 📡
Humane, a startup founded by former Apple employees Bethany Bongiorno and Imran Chaudhri, is on a mission to redefine the future of computing. The company envisions an "ambient computing" experience, driven by artificial intelligence, that is personal, contextual, and doesn't rely on screens. Chaudhri, who played a significant role in designing the original iPhone's interface, emphasized the importance of trust and privacy in this new paradigm. Humane aims to create a world where surroundings become the interface, eliminating the need for displays. The company plans to unveil its first product, which is speculated to involve screen-free ambient computing hardware, in Spring 2023.
Apple has responded to concerns about the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro overheating, clarifying that the issue is not related to the phone's hardware design. Notably, apps like Instagram, Uber, and the game Asphalt 9 have been identified as potential culprits causing the devices to run hotter than usual. Apple has assured users that there's no safety risk associated with the thermal issues. Factors such as using USB-C power adapters with more than 20W charging and background processing after phone restoration can also contribute to the warmth. Apple promises a fix in the upcoming iOS 17.1 update, emphasizing that it won't throttle the device's performance.
Tesla has introduced an updated version of the Model Y in China, featuring design enhancements and improved performance, all while retaining its original starting price. This announcement follows the recent launch of the revamped "Highland" Model 3 in China and Europe. The updated Model Y boasts a quicker 0–100km/h acceleration time, new wheel designs, and an ambient LED lighting strip on the dashboard, mirroring the refreshed Model 3. The vehicle's starting price remains at 263,900 yuan (approximately $37,000), with the long-range version priced at 299,900 yuan (around $42,000) and the high-performance variant at 349,900 yuan (about $49,000). As of now, Tesla has not introduced these updates in the US market.
Trending Startups📱
Colors AI introduces a next-generation customer intelligence platform that automates the collection, consolidation, and categorization of customer feedback, enabling businesses to prioritize product development effectively. The platform emphasizes the importance of understanding customer segments and offers insights by categorizing feedback, identifying distinct cohorts, and measuring their potential impact on business metrics. With the promise of delivering high-quality results faster, Colors AI processes every conversation to extract valuable insights. The platform integrates seamlessly with various customer-facing tools like Zendesk, Slack, Gong, Hubspot, and more, providing a comprehensive view of customer feedback and its impact on revenue.
Secureframe offers a comprehensive platform designed to help businesses achieve and maintain compliance with rigorous security and privacy standards. The platform emphasizes the importance of building trust and unlocking growth by using automation and AI to simplify tasks like evidence collection, continuous monitoring, and risk management. Secureframe provides end-to-end compliance solutions, catering to standards such as SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, PCI DSS, GDPR, and more. With features like automated evidence collection, readiness reports, and AI-powered capabilities, the platform aims to save businesses time and effort. Additionally, Secureframe offers unrivaled support with guidance from over 30 in-house compliance experts and former auditors.
Moon FM presents itself as a versatile podcast player tailored for podcast enthusiasts. It boasts a modern, feature-rich audio podcast player wrapped in a straightforward and intuitive interface. The app stands out for its cross-platform compatibility, ensuring a consistent user experience on Android, iOS, Mac, and PC. One of its notable features is the self-hosted sync service, allowing real-time synchronization across multiple devices, including the desktop app. Users can effortlessly transition to Moon FM with the OPML import feature, and the app also offers functionalities like dark mode, sleep timer, and an equalizer (exclusive to desktop). Additionally, Moon FM supports Android Auto and Car Play, variable speed playback, and easy navigation controls like fast forward and rewind.
AI 🤖
IconGen offers an innovative solution for those seeking to create unique icons with the help of artificial intelligence. The platform provides a user-friendly interface that simplifies the icon creation process, ensuring both beginners and experienced designers can craft the perfect icon for their needs. With a focus on speed and efficiency, IconGen ensures users don't have to wait long to generate and download their desired icons. The platform operates on a transparent credits-based model, allowing users to pay only for what they use. Additionally, IconGen features 12 design prompts, giving users a plethora of design options to ensure their icons align with their project's aesthetic. User testimonials highlight the platform's ease of use and the value it adds to their projects.
Eva introduces a revolutionary approach to journaling by leveraging the power of conversational AI. Users can engage in nightly dialogues with Eva, transforming their daily experiences into insightful personal narratives. Beyond just capturing moments, Eva crafts evolving stories that promote self-awareness and personal growth. The platform offers smart recommendations by deeply analyzing users' journaling patterns, ensuring that insights are tailored and relevant. A standout feature is the ability for users to craft a unique AI voice, allowing Eva to resonate with their individual essence. Dylan, the creator from Washington D.C., envisioned Eva as a solution to his challenges with long-term memory, aiming to redefine the modern journaling experience by merging technology with personal introspection.
Tom Hanks took to Instagram to caution his followers about a computer-generated video that uses an AI version of him to promote a dental plan. The actor clarified that he has no association with the said promotional video. Hanks has expressed concerns about the rise of AI and deepfake technologies in the past. In a discussion on "The Adam Buxton Podcast," he mentioned the potential of AI to recreate performances posthumously, emphasizing the challenges it poses both artistically and legally. Hanks elaborated on the ongoing discussions among guilds, agencies, and legal firms regarding the intellectual property rights of an individual's face and voice. He pondered on the ability of audiences to distinguish between real and AI-generated content and whether they would even care about the distinction.
Coding & Development 🖥️
Python is set to release its stable version 3.12, bringing a slew of new features and improvements. Among the notable changes are enhanced error messages, significant performance upgrades, and the introduction of Immortal objects and sub interpreters. The update also brings modifications to F strings, changes related to types and type annotations, and the removal of certain modules. Python 3.12 has made strides in type implementations, with the standard library modules now being suggested as part of error messages to aid developers in troubleshooting. A significant addition is the introduction of sub interpreters, each having its own Global Interpreter Lock, which can potentially boost the performance of Python programs, especially those designed for multi-core processors. The pathlib module now includes a walk method for directory tree exploration, and Python 3.12 also introduces the ability to monitor various events using instrumentation, proving beneficial for debugging and performance tuning.
ShipFast offers a comprehensive NextJS boilerplate designed to accelerate the development process for startups. The platform provides all the essential tools and integrations required to transform an idea into a production-ready web app in just minutes. From handling payments with Stripe to sending transactional emails via Mailgun, ShipFast ensures that developers can focus on building their core product without getting bogged down by repetitive setup tasks. The boilerplate also includes SEO tags, MongoDB schema, Google Oauth, Magic Links, and a variety of UI components and animations. Marc, the creator, shares his journey of shipping 16 startups in 2 years and how ShipFast was born out of the need to eliminate repetitive tasks and speed up the development process. The platform is backed by positive testimonials from indie makers who have benefited from its efficiency and time-saving features.
Float UI offers a vast collection of beautifully designed, responsive UI components and website templates optimized for React and Vue frameworks, all built using the popular Tailwind CSS. The platform emphasizes web design best practices, ensuring that the components are not only aesthetically pleasing but also fully responsive and accessible. Float UI supports both LTR and RTL directions, catering to a global audience. Additionally, the platform provides professional website templates for various projects, built on top of React, Next.js, and soon, Vue. While Float UI offers many of its components and templates for free, they also have premium packages that grant lifetime access, free updates, and the ability to use them in unlimited projects. The platform's mission is to simplify the process of building UI components, making it easier for developers to create stunning websites and web apps.
Miscellaneous 🌀️
Apple has acknowledged the overheating concerns related to the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. The company plans to roll out an update to iOS 17 to address a specific bug that may be contributing to the reported overheating issue. Apple remains committed to ensuring the best user experience for its customers and is actively working on a solution to rectify the problem. Users are advised to keep their devices updated to benefit from the latest fixes and improvements.
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