TLDR 2021-10-13

Coinbase plans to launch a marketplace that lets users mint, collect, and trade NFTs. NFTs are unique digital assets designed to represent ownership of online items. The NFT market boomed this year, topping $10 billion in transaction volume in the third quarter. Coinbase NFT will have social features and tap into the creator economy. It will allow Coinbase to build a new revenue stream to lessen the company's heavy reliance on exchange fees.

Apple will be holding its Unleashed event on October 18 at 10 am Pacific Time at the Steve Jobs Theater on the Apple Park campus in Cupertino. It will be a digital-only event. Rumors suggest that the 14 and 16-inch MacBook Pros will receive a new design with thinner bezels and larger displays, an M1X chip, and support for up to 32GB of RAM. The new laptops will have MagSafe connectivity, an HDMI port, an SD card slot, and a standard function row of keys instead of a Touch Bar. Apple will stream the event on its website, YouTube, and the Apple TV app.

Unusual signals have been detected coming from the direction of the center of the Milky Way. The radio waves fit no currently understood pattern of variable radio source, suggesting that it comes from a new class of stellar object. It has a very high polarization, with its light oscillating in only one direction that rotates with time. The brightness of the object varies dramatically and the signal switches on and off seemingly at random. Scientists hope to learn more about the object when the transcontinental Square Kilometer Array radio telescope comes online sometime in the next decade.

Blue Origin is set to launch William Shatner into space at around 9:30 am ET. Shatner is set to become the oldest person to go to space at 90 years old. The mission was scheduled for October 12, but it was pushed back due to forecasted high winds. Three other people will be on the mission. The livestream is set to begin at around 8:30 am ET. A link to the stream is available in the article.

This article teaches the reader how to create a CSS typewriter effect that reveals text gradually as if it is being typed. Adding typewriter effects can help engage readers and keep them interested in reading further. The effect is best used on small portions of non-critical text. Practical examples of use cases are provided.

YoHa is a general purpose hand tracking engine. It can detect specific hand poses so that developers can build applications with meaningful interactions. YoHa is currently in beta and only available for the web.

Spotify recently gave all its Anchor creators the ability to make polls and Q&As and is testing interactive ads. Other platforms are also trying different ways to allow podcast listeners to interact with content. Podcasting apps in China are surprisingly interactive, with listeners being allowed to build listening circles and discussion groups. The challenge with interactive audio is that listeners are usually not using their devices. Being able to interact with podcasters and a community helps increase the chances of listeners returning.

In China, gangs of middle-aged and older women regularly go to local parks and sporting grounds to dance in unison to loud music. This tradition is frequently blamed for disturbing the peace in often high-density residential areas. Many citizens are too scared to confront the women. A remote stun gun-style device that can disable speakers from 50 meters away has gone viral online this week. The device has been reportedly used to disable the speakers used by the dancers, causing the music to stop without direct confrontation. A video of people dancing in a public square in China is available in the article.