TLDR Daily Update 2021-01-01

SpaceX will attempt to catch a heavy booster using the launch tower arm used to stabilize it during its pre-takeoff preparations. One of SpaceX's goals with the Super Heavy rocket is to remove its landing legs. By using the launch tower arm, SpaceX can eliminate the landing legs from the Super Heavy design altogether, saving both cost and weight. The Super Heavy booster would also be able to launch again almost immediately.

Microsoft's systems were infiltrated by hackers who could view source code from a number of repositories. The hackers didn't have access to modify any code or systems. Microsoft says the culprit is a very sophisticated nation-state actor. The US government and cybersecurity officials have implicated Russia in the attack. A recent attack on SolarWinds exposed an extensive list of sensitive organizations. Microsoft assumes that adversaries can view its source code, so it doesn't rely on secrecy to keep its products secure.

The basking shark is an endangered species that feeds on zooplankton, tiny creatures found near the surface of the ocean. It was once common off the coast of western Europe. A recent study has found that basking sharks like to travel to areas where there are high densities of zooplankton to feed. This causes hundreds of basking sharks to converge in inshore surface waters on the Scottish west coast, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. More than 80,000 basking sharks were slaughtered for their oily livers in the second half of the 20th century. The study reveals previously unknown behaviors about the sharks to conservationists, allowing them to more effectively protect the species.

The UK army has acquired 30 small drones capable of spying on targets 2 km (1.25 miles) away. Called "Bugs", the drones weigh 196 grams and have a 40-minute battery life. The Bugs can fly in strong winds, delivering vital tactical intelligence even in the toughest weather. The information from drone surveillance can sometimes be misleading, with many cases in the past where the ground situation has been very different from what was reported, resulting in civilian casualties.

Wasmino is an Arduino core that can compile your Arduino sketch to WebAssembly and run it in a browser. It has only been tested on Windows and Linux, but it will probably work for macOS. A 64-bit system is required due to some of its dependencies. The Arduino IDE is required.

Effectively deploying a machine learning model can be more of an art than a science. Most data science projects never make it to production due to failed teamwork. There can be a disconnect between software engineers and data scientists, and bridging this gap is key to ensuring that you have a good model that can actually be put into production. This article covers practices and methods for getting machine learning models into production, bringing up important questions to consider through each step of development.

FarmVille has shut down. Adobe ended support for Flash, which is required for the game to run, on December 31, 2020. Zynga warned players about the shutdown in September, and removed in-app purchases for the game on November 17. The sequels are still available.

Apple recently completed tests for two different folding iPhone designs at the Foxconn factory in China. The first model was a dual-screen model, with two separate display panels connected by a hinge. Despite being two separate panels, the screen looks fairly continuous and seamless. The second prototype was a clamshell foldable, similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip. Apple ordered a large number of Samsung foldable mobile phone displays for testing purposes in 2020. Now that the testing has been completed, Apple will decide which design to continue development with.