TLDR 2022-05-02

Pixel Watch ⌚, Airbnb work anywhere 🏠, gamer flavored soda 🥤

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Big Tech & Startups

Airbnb announces it won’t dock employees’ pay if they go remote (3 minute read)

Airbnb will allow the vast majority of its employees to work remotely without having to take a pay cut if they move away from the company's offices. The company had its most productive period over the last two years while working remotely. Employees will be able to live and work in over 170 countries for up to 90 days a year in each location. There will be regular team gatherings for employees to meet and connect. Airbnb plans to release two major products a year.

Pixel Watch is powered by a 300mAh battery and offers cellular connectivity (3 minute read)

The Pixel Watch will have a 300mAh battery. There have been three models leaked so far. Cellular connectivity will be offered on at least one model. The watch could be powered by Samsung Exynos, the same chip as the Galaxy Watch 4, which has a 247mAh battery that lasts between 24 to 40 hours, depending on the model size.
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Science & Futuristic Technology

Long-awaited accelerator ready to explore origins of elements (7 minute read)

The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) at Michigan State University can create rare isotopes of elements. It can potentially produce hundreds of isotopes that have never been synthesized before. FRIB started construction in 2014 and cost $942 million. The facility will hold its official inauguration today. FRIB will allow scientists to discover how many neutrons can be added to a nucleus and how this changes the interactions inside the nucleus.

A Quantum of Sensing—Atomic Scale Bolsters New Sensor Boom (9 minute read)

Quantum sensors use the fragility of quantum effects to achieve extraordinary sensitivity to the slightest disturbances in the environment. They could be used to study brain conditions, reveal hidden underground features, detect Covid-19 in seconds with just a few hundred strands of viral DNA, navigate underground and underwater without GPS, and more. This article discusses the many possible applications of quantum sensors and the current state of projects in the field.
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Programming, Design & Data Science

DFlex (GitHub Repo)

DFlex is a drag-and-drop library for all JavaScript frameworks for manipulating DOM elements. It can traverse DOM without calling the browser API, transform elements instead of reordering the DOM tree, animate movements, target DOM nodes individually, and more. DFlex is the only library on the internet so far that manipulates DOM instead of reconstructing it. A live demo is available on its website.

Wireit (GitHub Repo)

Wireit makes npm scripts smarter and more efficient. It automatically runs dependencies between npm scripts in parallel, watches and re-runs scripts on changes, caches output locally and remotely on GitHub actions for free, and it works with single packages, npm workspaces, and other monorepos. Wireit is still in alpha.
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Miscellaneous

Tasting Coca-Cola’s first “gamer” flavor—and the history of game-and-soda tie-ins (12 minute read)

Coca-Cola has released a gamer flavor called Coca-Cola Byte. The drink launch was paired with a Fortnite 'creator island' zone made by an advertising agency. It has a fruity flavor similar to Coca-Cola's Creations line of limited-time sodas launched earlier this year. This article discusses the new drink and Coca-Cola's history with games and game advertising.

Europe Starts Its Own Social Networks (2 minute read)

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has announced that it will publicly pilot its own social networks. EU Voice will be a way for European institutions and agencies to communicate. It will be based on Mastodon, an open-source alternative to Twitter. EU Video will be an alternative to YouTube based on PeerTube, an open-source platform. The EDPS already has Instagram and Spotify alternatives. There are no advertisements or user profiling on the platforms.
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