TLDR 2025-07-29
Meta's smartwatch β, Microsoft's AI browser π, AI eats the internet π`
Meta might be making another smartwatch, and it still has a camera (2 minute read)
Meta is reportedly working on a smart watch designed to complement both the company's smart glasses and Quest headsets. The device will be able to see the world around the user through built-in cameras. Meta planned to launch a similar pair of smartwatches in 2022. More information about the project is likely to be revealed during the company's annual developer conference, Meta Connect, set to kick off on September 17.
Microsoft Edge is now an AI browser with launch of βCopilot Mode' (5 minute read)
Microsoft Edge's new Copilot Mode allows users to browse the web while being assisted by AI. The AI can understand what the user is researching, predict what they want to do, and then take action on their behalf. It is still considered an experimental feature and is opt-in by default. The feature is currently free for any Mac or PC user with access to Copilot.
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Science & Futuristic Technology
This Was Supposed to Be the Year China Started Catching Up With SpaceX (9 minute read)
China's two biggest satellite internet networks have deployed less than 1% of their planned satellites. One of the reasons for this slow pace is China's lack of a reliable, reusable launcher. SpaceX's partly reusable Falcon 9 rocket has propelled the company far ahead of its competitors. While Starlink is intended for civilian use, it has become essential for communications in war zones.
Electric Air Taxi Flies From One Airport To Another Airport (3 minute read)
A full-scale, piloted winged tilt-rotor eVTOL designed for commercial service flew from one airport to another for the first time ever earlier this month. Vertical Aerospace's vehicle flew 17 miles, during which it reached speeds of 115 miles per hour and an altitude of 1,800 feet. The prototype has a fixed-wing configuration with eight propellers. It was designed to accommodate one pilot and four passengers or cargo and travel a maximum range of 100 miles. Video of the flight is available in the article.
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Programming, Design & Data Science
Smaller, Smarter Models: Meet Mellum from JetBrains & Hugging Face (Sponsor)
Six Principles for Production AI Agents (9 minute read)
Building effective AI agents is about system design and proper software engineering. Focus on clear instructions, lean context management, robust tool interfaces, and automated validation loops. Look for missing tools, unclear prompts, or insufficient context when debugging agents. Put error analysis first in the development process - let models help understand where the agent failed, then systematically address those failure modes. The goal isn't to create perfect agents but to make reliable and recoverable ones that fail gracefully and can be improved iteratively.
Google's Linux Terminal plays a big part in turning Android into a true desktop OS (5 minute read)
Google released a Linux Terminal app earlier this year, but only recently published documentation for it. The app is aimed at letting developers build Android apps directly on Android devices and will eventually allow users to run full-fledged graphical Linux apps and games. This could eventually transform Android into a first-class desktop platform that rivals macOS and Windows. The app currently doesn't support ARM-based CPUs.
AI is eating the Internet (13 minute read)
Internet advertising gave us free content and services, and a mostly open Internet. That is now collapsing with the advent of AI. Content has now become training data for AI, unleashing a whole new wave of crawlers on the web that often offer nothing in return. AI companies repurpose the content they ingest and serve it directly to users without sending them to the original source, breaking the ad-based structure of the Internet. Content creators are rapidly fencing off their gardens, putting up paywalls and anti-bot measures so aggressive that users are having trouble accessing sites. Humans are retreating to more intimate corners of the web, naturally gravitating to spaces where real identity and authenticity are ensured.
Why I'm Giving Up My Design TitleβAnd What That Says About The Future of Design (20 minute read)
The future will be increasingly augmented by AI. Designers need to be closer to the development of the technology to help shape the systems that will define how tomorrow's software is built. The industry needs builders who understand agentic flows, designers who can reason about trust boundaries and token windows, and researchers who can make complex systems usable without dumbing them down to a chat interface. Designers today have the tools to change the world with their ideas.
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