TLDR 2021-10-20

Facebook is rolling out its Novi wallet in the US and Guatemala in a pilot program. Users will be able to purchase Paxos Dollar (USDP) using Novi, with Novi depositing its funds with Coinbase. Facebook continues to support its own stablecoin, Diem, and will integrate it into Novi once it receives regulatory approval. Novi and Diem were announced back in June 2019 under different names. The scope of the project has changed since the original announcements due to regulatory backlash.

Google has finally revealed its Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro phones. Both phones will feature Google's Tensor processor, a 50-megapixel camera, and an ultra-wide camera. The Pro has a telephoto camera that upgrades the selfie camera with a wider lens and higher resolution. The Tensor processor is competitive with Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon processors, but with added machine learning capabilities. Pixel owners will be able to quickly access Snapchat's camera using a special button on the back of the device. A Pixel Pass service is available that will allow people to purchase a Pixel device along with some Google subscription services for a monthly plan cost. More announcements are available in the article.

American designer and entrepreneur Joe Doucet has created a wind turbine wall that can be installed in cities to generate power. The prototype wall is made up of wind turbine generators attached to vertical rods with square panels. It can be scaled up to cover entire buildings. Most wind farms are in the ocean due to their size and the availability of wind, but there are still high winds available in the cities that can be used. A 30-second video of the prototype wall is available in the article.

A white dwarf has been observed flickering on and off, an event that has never been seen in other white dwarfs. The white dwarf was feeding off of an orbiting companion star. Researchers believe that something may have interfered with its fuel supply, causing reconfigurations of the white dwarf's surface magnetic field that shifted the star's brightness. The researchers hope that the observation will help them learn more about how objects such as black holes and white dwarfs feed on colossal amounts of surrounding materials from nearby stars.

This repository outlines a proposal for adding a useful pipe operator for JavaScript. Pipe operators have the convenience and ease of method chaining with the wide applicability of expression nesting when performing consecutive operations on values in JavaScript. This proposal favors Hack-style pipe operators as they are based on the concept of expression.

This tutorial will teach you how to mint your own NFTs. It is beginner-friendly and does not require any prior knowledge of the Ethereum network or smart contracts. The tutorial is part of a series that teaches readers how to build fully functional web apps for selling their own NFTs.

Sony's new project, 'One Day, 2050', envisions the future and how humans will be living in Tokyo in 2050. Global sea levels are rising at an alarming rate. Without land to live on, people may have to consider floating housing options. Sony has proposed floating pods that will allow people to live on the ocean. They have movement and power generating capabilities and can form hive-like structures that share resources when connected. A video showing how the pods would get around and combine together is available in the article.

YouTube plans to host a week-long live shopping event starting on November 15. The event will allow viewers to shop for products, unlock limited-time offers, and engage with creators and other viewers. YouTube has been testing livestream shopping as part of a larger initiative around integrated shopping on the platform. Several YouTube creators have successfully launched products on livestreams. TikTok and Facebook also have shopping features and live shopping.