Vision is one of the best product names in Apple's history. It describes the product and its aspiration as a use case and makes a critique on the sort of society that Apple wants to build. Apple's mixed reality headset will ship in early 2024 with a price tag of $3,499. This article describes what it is like using the headset. It covers the setup experience, user interface, use cases, issues with the device, and more.
iOS 17 will allow iMessage users to edit text and send iMessage-quality videos in group chats even if there are Android users in the group chat. Group messages will display properly in threads for Android users. Android users will not be able to see edited messages. iOS 17 is scheduled to launch in September.
A Reddit user recently posted a series of artistic QR codes created using Stable Diffusion. The art is in the style of anime and Asian art and the QR codes can be read by smartphone camera apps. The Reddit user apparently trained several custom Stable Diffusion ControlNet models and then fed QR codes into the image generator while using a technique to maintain the QR code's data positioning. Examples of QR codes generated with this technique are available in the article.
Researchers have discovered a new method for helping aging hair regrow in mice. Hair follicle stem cells get stiff as they age, making it harder for them to grow hair. They are more likely to produce hair if the stem cells are softened. The researchers were able to soften the stem cells by boosting the production of a tiny RNA. This enhanced hair growth in both young and old mice. The mice started to grow hair within 10 days.
Spruce CSS is a lightweight CSS design system and framework. It is Sass-based and it takes advantage of Sass members and modules. Spruce uses just a few classic utility classes and it is themable. Developers can choose to use only tools from Spruce without the generated styles.
ggml is a Tensor library for machine learning. It features 16-bit float support, integer quantization, automatic differentiation, Apple Silicon optimization, and more. ggml doesn't require any third-party dependencies. It can be used to efficiently run Whisper, GPT-2, and GPT-J inference on the CPU.
AI will not destroy the world, but in fact, may save it. AI is the application of mathematics and software code to teach computers how to understand, synthesize, and generate knowledge in ways similar to how people do it. It can make everything we care about better by profoundly augmenting human intelligence. AI augmentation of human intelligence has already started. Restrictions, regulations, and laws target dramatic public statements about the dangers of AI, but these concerns may be inflated and could result in the slowing down of technology that could be enormously beneficial to our welfare.
This article looks at Apple Vision Pro's user interface and computing paradigm. visionOS is organized around apps, similar to iOS. The interface allows wearers to use 2D iPad app UIs on a large spatial display. Users control the device by looking at items and then 'clicking' on them with their fingers. Apple has positioned the device as a spatial computing device. This new paradigm gives users more space to use the apps they currently use. It is yet to be seen whether developers will embrace the paradigm to create new use cases.
The US SEC has sued Coinbase, alleging that the exchange has violated laws since at least 2019 by failing to register both its cryptocurrency trading platform and its crypto asset-staking program.
Sequoia will split into Sequoia Capital representing the US and Europe, HongShan in China, and Peak XV Partners in India and Southeast Asia by no later than March 2024.