Amazon is planning to launch a new section on its site dedicated to low-priced fashion and lifestyle items. The new storefront will allow Chinese sellers to ship directly to US consumers, with items arriving within nine to 11 days. It is an aggressive attempt to fend off competition from Temu and Shein, who have expanded their presence in the US in recent years. Amazon will start accepting products for the storefront this fall. The company has yet to announce when it intends to debut the storefront.
NASA has awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to build a vehicle to deorbit the International Space Station after its retirement in 2030. The vehicle will effectively destroy the ISS by pushing the station into reentry from orbit. It is unknown whether the vehicle's design will be based on one of SpaceX's existing spacecraft. NASA intends to replace the ISS with private space stations.
Toys “R” Us partnered with ad agency Native Foreign to create a brand film using OpenAI's text-to-video tool Sora. The film uses AI-generated video clips to tell the story of the company's founder. Sora, which was introduced in February, is still not yet available to the public. The video required quite a bit of human post-production work to put together, showing that Sora is not yet a turnkey solution for instantly usable clips. The video, as well as behind-the-scenes footage showing how it was made, is available in the article.
Two teams of scientists have published three papers that offer a detailed description of the brain's waste-removal system. Their research suggests that during sleep, slow electrical waves push fluid from around cells deep in the brain to its surface, where it is absorbed into the bloodstream through a sophisticated interface. There is growing evidence that the brain's waste-removal system is impaired in Alzheimer's disease - the new findings could help researchers figure out how to restore the system.
Polyfill.io is being used to infect websites with malware. Websites running any JavaScript code from the domain are advised to remove it immediately. The site previously offered code that added functionality to older browsers. A Chinese organization bought the domain earlier this year. Some popular CDN providers have created mirrors of the domain so sites can continue to use it without having to load the malicious code.
Figma has announced a major UI redesign, new generative AI tools, and a built-in slide show functionality. The UI redesign includes a new toolbar, rounded corners, and 200 new icons. The new generative AI tools allow users to quickly get started with a design. Figma Slides is a Google Slides-like feature that allows users to build and share presentations inside the app. It has interactive features for audience members and allows designers to present app prototypes right from the deck. Figma Slides is free while the feature is still beta - it will eventually become a paid feature once officially launched.
Software defaults define the experience for everyone out of the box. Most customers buy something they just want to work - configuration is a drag, not a desire. A company's stock product represents how the company thinks about its product, its customers, and the experience it imagines is the best one. Developers should be careful about the default paths that they choose.
Many businesses think that AI can help them, but they are uncertain about how. Wonky consultants help businesses figure out how generative AI can help them. The management consulting industry in the US is expected to collect $392.2 billion in sales this year. The work that consultants are enlisted to do varies from business to business and the results have been mixed. Many businesses have shut down AI-powered projects after experiencing too many issues, such as the AI giving incorrect information to customers.
Google is collecting facial data from its interior security cameras at one of its sites in Kirkland, Washington, to help identify people who may pose a security risk to its people, products, or locations.