TLDR 2020-06-10

Apple will be announcing the beginning of its transition from Intel-based Macs to ARM-based ones at its Worldwide Developers Conference on June 22. Developers will likely have ample time to adjust to the change, similar to when Apple transitioned from PowerPC processors to Intel ones in 2006. ARM Macs will continue to run macOS. The new chips are more power-efficient and show sizable improvements compared to Intel chips in graphics and AI performance. All Macs will eventually transition to the new chips, but it will likely take some time. The move will probably not drastically affect Intel's bottom line.

Facebook researchers have developed a neural transcompiler that can convert code from one high-level programming language into another, unsupervised. Migrating a codebase takes expertise in both languages, a lot of time, and is often expensive. Transcoder can translate between C++, Java, and Python. It was trained on over 2.8 million open source repositories on GitHub. Many of the mistakes generated by the model were minor.

Scientists were able to use light and bio-ink to print a human ear-like structure under the skin of mice without a single surgical cut. Digital light processing-based 3D bioprinting is a process where cell-containing bio-ink is injected into injured tissue and then stimulated with patterns of light. The light activates the cells in the bio-ink. Depending on the cell type, this technique can be used to repair damaged spinal cords, nerve fibers, or blood vessels. Using near-infrared light, this technique opens up the possibility of performing 3D tissue engineering without the need for surgery, directly inside the patient. It may be possible to create implants without the risk of infection. The technique can also be used to heal severe wounds.

Vintage Racer is a loitering munition, more commonly referred to as a suicide drone, that can fly at hypersonic speeds. It is currently being tested by the US Army after being developed by the Pentagon over the last few years. Advanced maneuvering hypersonic weapons can survive air defenses well due to their speed, flight trajectories, and high degrees of maneuverability. Explanations, videos, and infographics on other weaponry developed by the US Military are available in the article.

Axiom can set up a cloud hacking box with just a single command. It is designed so hackers can quickly set up multiple instances for short-term use. Users just need to run axiom-init and it will create a new DigitalOcean instance in under two minutes containing reconnaissance tools, an OpenVPN server, and more.

Some tools can make coding much easier and help developers become more productive. Examples can include version control, flame graphs, regex, vim, and bash. This thread contains many lists of developer tools, as well as explanations for why these tools are effective productivity enhancers.

Nikola Motor, a publicly-traded Arizonan startup, will open reservations for its hydrogen fuel cell electric pickup truck later this month. The Badger has 906 horsepower and 980 pound-feet of torque. It will be able to travel 300 miles on a single charge, with upgrades that can double the range. Nikola Motor designed the Badger to compete with the Ford F-150 and Tesla Cybertruck. The company doesn't have a factory and hasn't produced any products yet. It will begin construction on a factory this summer. Nikola Motor is currently valued at $28.63 billion.

Honda has confirmed that a cyberattack has brought parts of its global operations to a standstill. Its customer and financial services are currently unavailable due to the attack. Honda likely fell victim to the Snake ransomware, a file-encrypting malware that holds data hostage until its victim pays a ransom in cryptocurrency. Honda expects its factories and plants to be brought back online soon.