TLDR 2020-02-10

Snapchat's Snap Kit allows developers to integrate Snapchat features into their apps. Hoop, a Tinder-like app developed on Snap Kit, quickly saw 2.5 million downloads after its launch. The app allows users to find new Snapchat friends with a swiping system. Users are limited in the number of people they can swipe through a 'diamond' currency system. Credits can be earned by engaging with the app. Users over 18 will not be able to see users who are under 18, and vice versa. By opening Snapchat up to developers, a Snapchat account could become a must-have for anyone who wants to use the next generation of apps.

Tesla remotely disabled the driver assistance features from a Model S after it was sold to a customer by a third-party dealer. The dealer had purchased the vehicle directly from Tesla at an auction. Tesla claims that the customer didn't pay for the features so therefore they aren't eligible to use them. The features were enabled when the dealer bought the car and the customer purchased the car under the assumption the features would be included. Tesla says that the customer will have to pay $8,000 to turn the features back on. This incident raises hard questions about the problems that over-the-air updates can cause.

Eric Marques recently pleaded guilty for running a hosting service that served drug markets, money-laundering operations, hacking groups, and millions of images of child abuse. Freedom Hosting ran sites on the dark web and Marques ran his operation behind many layers of anonymity. Marques was using the Tor network, a technology that was designed to provide complete anonymity. In early August 2013, users noticed unknown Javascript code running on websites hosted on Freedom Hosting. Hours later, all of the sites went down simultaneously. The code targeted a Firefox vulnerability that could unmask Tor users, but the technicalities are still a mystery. There is a formal system for reporting vulnerabilities and deciding whether an issue should be shared. The FBI would not reveal exactly how Marques' anonymity was broken, a decision that could have wide-ranging cybersecurity implications.

The ESA and NASA are launching a spaceship towards the sun to study its poles in order to better predict how it behaves. Until now, all vehicles sent to the Sun have orbited around its equator. Solar Orbit will gather data on the Sun's strange 11-year cycle, where it alternates between times of intense activity and times of quiet. During the transition between cycles, the Sun's magnetic field completely switches direction and the poles flip and trade places. Solar maximum describes a period during which sunspots dominate the Sun's surface, and solar minimum is a period when the Sun's surface is relatively sunspot-free. The sunspot cycle coincides with the amount of energy the Sun emits. Solar Orbiter is protected by a heat shield that can withstand temperatures of more than 1,100 degrees Fahrenheit. It is set to launch late Sunday night from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

Fiber is an Expressjs-inspired web framework designed for fast development with zero memory allocation. It is built on top of Fasthttp and features robust routing, extreme performance, a low memory footprint, middleware support, and more. Examples of how to use Fiber and performance benchmark statistics are available.

Technical debt is used to describe software design choices that turn out to be suboptimal, no longer valid, or just plain wrong. All aspects of development can suffer from technical debt, such as architecture, documentation, tests, and domain models. It can cause problems in the future with maintaining and upgrading code, but it can also help developers quickly build inexpensive tests. Managing technical debt is key to making sure it doesn't affect your business negatively. This may involve making the debt visible, constantly reevaluating decisions, making compromises, and communicating priorities clearly. It's always best to try to convert intangibles into numbers that others can understand.

Bill Gates has ordered the world's first hydrogen-powered superyacht for around $644 million. The Aqua ship will be a 110meter luxury vessel featuring an infinity pool, helipad, spa, and gym. It will be completely powered by liquid hydrogen, which means that it will generate water as a byproduct of the electricity that powers the ship. A diesel back-up will be on the boat as hydrogen refueling stations are scarce. The boat will be able to accommodate 14 guests and 31 crew members. It is unlikely to set sail until 2024. Gates regularly rents superyachts but has not previously owned one. He has a strong interest in alternative fuels and has pledged to donate most of his $118 billion fortune to good causes.

Google's free food is a well-known perk. The tech company started to introduce healthy food over the past five years. Google's campaign didn't just focus on changing the food, but how food was presented as well. Its goal was to make the healthy choice the easy and preferred choice. The project resulted in people eating more healthy and sustainable foods while avoiding unhealthy choices. Google's strategy shows that how much people stick with virtuous patterns of behavior has less to do with the logical reasons for why they should do things, and more to do with how enjoyable that virtuous thing is to do.