TLDR 2021-03-05

Project Wolverine is a device from Alphabet's X division that lets the user isolate audio to focus on a specific source. It has been in development since before 2018. The technology has gone through several form factors, with some versions covering the entire side of the ear. Project Wolverine may still fail, but it's operational enough to demo to some decision-makers.

Square is acquiring Tidal for $297 million in cash and stock. Tidal will operate independently alongside Square's other ventures. Square will use Tidal to help find new ways for artists to support their work. The company has given sellers of all sizes business and wants to do the same for artists. Tidal has struggled to compete against Spotify, and it has been behind on payments to rights holders since 2020. Jay-Z will join Square's board of directors as part of the deal.

Kings of Leon's new album will be released in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT). There will be three types of tokens with different perks, such as front-row seats for life or audiovisual art. The smart contracts and tokens were developed by YellowHeart. The album will be available on all the usual platforms, but the NFT versions with perks will only be available on YellowHeart. 18 unique golden ticket NFTs with special perks will be minted and auctioned as part of the release. The value of the NFTs is expected to increase over time.

Bionaut Labs has unveiled tiny remote-controlled devices designed to travel through the human body to deliver medicine where it is needed the most. The robots are smaller than a millimeter and have few moving parts. They can navigate through tissues and go where surgeons cannot. The Bionauts work like miniature screws, pushing their way through the body while being guided by magnetic fields generated outside the body. Once they are in the body, the Bionauts can't turn. So far, they have shown great promise as a new targeted treatment modality for severe brain disorders.

Gaming is no longer just a hobby. Games can be used to learn to sharpen skills in a more entertaining way. This article contains 10 coding games that can help you level up your programming skills. The games cover various programming languages and there is even a game that helps you learn VIM.

Checked C adds static and dynamic checking to C so that programmers can write more secure and reliable C programs. This repository contains sample code, the extension specification, and test code. Links to resources are available.

In 2005, the Troll Research Station in Antarctica opened a 3000-meter blue ice runway, allowing people to get to the station without weeks of travel. Construction of the runway took two years. A laser cutter was used to level the blue ice near the station. Preparing the runway for flights is a two-week process. The runway moves a few meters each year as it sits on a glacier. Fuel is sent to Troll once a year. Pictures of the airfield are available in the article.

Some users of high-end prosthetics find the devices much less useful than the media coverage around the technology would have you think. A majority of upper-limb prostheses users report very negative experiences, with rejection rates as high as 44 percent. The devices are usually heavy and difficult to control. They are also expensive, and most insurance policies will not cover them. Becoming a cyborg is not accessible by many, but right now, it isn't a practical option anyway.