SpaceX has launched its first batch of six Starlink satellites designed to enable direct-to-cell internet service from space. The satellites will provide global access to texting, calling, and browsing anywhere in the world without special hardware or firmware. They have a modem that acts as a cellphone tower in space, eliminating dead zones with network integration. Partner providers will include T-Mobile in the US, Rogers in Canada, and Optus in Australia.
Foldables emerged as a differentiator in the premium smartphone market in 2023. Apple ended the year with a 71% share of the premium smartphone market due to competition from Huawei and Samsung. While global smartphone sales have been down, the premium segment is set to grow 6% year-on-year. Consumers are willing to spend more to get a higher quality device that will last longer and promotions, sales, and financing options make the devices accessible to a larger market.
NASA's Juno spacecraft flew within 930 miles of the surface of Io, the fourth largest moon in the Solar System, on Saturday. Io is a dense and dry moon that is extremely geologically active, making it an object of great interest to astronomers and planetary scientists. The data collected from the flyby will help scientists determine how Io's volcanoes erupt and how its activity is connected to Jupiter's magnetosphere. A link to a gallery of images from the flyby is available in the article.
A handful of companies will be deploying their humanoid robots in commercial pilot projects this year. This article looks at the current state of humanoid robots and whether they're ready for work. Humanoid robots are able to replace human workers doing robotic jobs, freeing them to be able to work in other more valuable positions. The pilot tests this year will determine whether their potential will translate into a fundamental shift in how repetitive labor is done.
Large language models (LLMs) are great for programming work, but using them requires practice. Communicating poorly is a great limitation. Many programmers communicate poorly despite being very capable in their field. Asking LLMs the right questions is a fundamental skill that can be improved with practice.
This blog post extracts some of the insights from 'The Purely Functional Software Deployment Model' by Eelco Dolstra into short-form content to inspire others to read the full text. The book is an often recommended resource for learning about Nix, a powerful and flexible package manager for Linux and other Unix-like systems. It is still remarkably relevant given its age. A significant portion of the book is philosophical rather than technical.
Fees, delays, and existential risks of crypto exchanges have led most of the investing public to remain on the sidelines with Bitcoin. However, the widely expected approval of numerous bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) in the coming days could change all that. ETFs are one of the world's most popular ways to invest. An ETF would make investing in bitcoin easy and relatively more safe. A bitcoin ETF could, in theory, push the price of bitcoin even higher over the coming weeks, months, and years.
Apple is facing a series of regulatory decisions by US and EU authorities that will determine its future. If Google loses its antitrust trial, it could be forced to stop making regular payments to Apple worth an estimated quarter of the annual revenues earned by Apple's services arm. Apple and other tech giants are being forced to change their app store policies to allow sideloading of apps. Both of these changes will have large impacts on Apple's revenue.
Reflections and advice from someone who has worked in both a zombie startup, where nothing was happening, and a startup that had to deal with a rapid 20x growth in paying users.
Get the most important tech, science, & coding news in a free daily email. Read by +1,250,000 software engineers and tech workers.