TLDR 2025-08-27
Starship 10 π, Google's nano banana π, uv for Ruby π¨βπ»Β Β
SpaceX's Giant Mars Rocket Completes Nearly Flawless Test Flight (8 minute read)
SpaceX's Starship made it all the way up to space and back down to Earth during its 10th test flight. The test appeared to achieve all of SpaceX's test objectives and puts SpaceX back on track after several failed attempts. Some problems did occur during the tests, including the shutdown of one of the booster's 33 engines, the rear flaps used for controlling the vehicle being partially burned through, and the explosion of a part of the aft portion of the spacecraft. Elon Musk recently said that SpaceX's goal of launching the first Starships to Mars (without any people aboard) by 2026 is still achievable.
Google improves Gemini AI image editing with βnano bananaβ model (3 minute read)
Nano banana is a model from Google DeepMind that allows users to modify images with prompts. The model has unrivaled consistency across edits as it can remember details. It can also merge multiple images, combining them to generate new scenes. The new image editing abilities are now available in the Gemini app. The model will roll out soon in the Gemini API, AI Studio, and Vertex AI for developers.
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Science & Futuristic Technology
A Pill to Fight Obesity Is on the Verge of Approval (4 minute read)
Eli Lilly has just released positive Phase III trial results for its experimental oral GLP-1 drug, orforglipron. People taking the drug experienced substantial improvements in weight loss and blood sugar control compared to those taking a placebo. It appeared to be as safe and tolerable as other existing GLP-1 drugs. The company now plans to apply for approval from the Food and Drug Administration, with a decision expected next year.
China's Guowang megaconstellation is more than another version of Starlink (15 minute read)
There's mounting evidence that China's Guowang megaconstellation may give Chinese military forces a tactical edge in any future armed conflict in the Western Pacific. The megaconstellation is managed by a secretive company called China SatNet, established by the Chinese government in 2021. The network consists of satellites manufactured by multiple companies launched on several types of rockets. The launch pace of Guowang satellites has approached that of Starlink's in recent weeks. Guowang's satellites have higher altitude limits than Starlink satellites, so fewer units are required for global coverage.
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Programming, Design & Data Science
How ThreatSpike added up to $75K in pipeline per campaign with TLDR Newsletter ads (Sponsor)
ThreatSpike ditched underperforming channels like Google and LinkedIn for TLDR. The results?
- Consistent $25K to $75K in pipeline per campaign
- High-intent leads from enterprise companies with 30K+ employees
- Direct reach to decision-makers actively looking for solutions
We break down ThreatSpike's exact strategy, share their results, and reveal the ads that drove performance.
Read the ThreatSpike case study.
Convenient 'Copy as cURL': explicit, executable, editable request replays (15 minute read)
The network tab of a browser's developer tools shows a list of requests. The dev tools UI provides a 'Copy as cURL' functionality for users to extract an executable 'replay' of the request that can be easily edited. This makes communicating and debugging issues with HTTP requests much easier. Just be careful about sharing any data that might have confidential information in it, like authentication tokens or session cookies.
rv, a new kind of Ruby management tool (5 minute read)
rv is a dependency manager for Ruby written in Rust. It manages both Ruby versions and gems at once, so developers can run whatever they want to run without having to worry about the environment being correct. rv brings all the tricks and innovations of cargo, npm, and uv into a tool for Ruby. It can currently auto-switch between installed Ruby versions in zsh and install precompiled Ruby 3.4.x on macOS and Ubuntu in one second flat.
Reports Of AI Not Progressing Or Offering Mundane Utility Are Often Greatly Exaggerated (26 minute read)
There have been many claims that AI isn't progressing or that it won't create much value due to the results of a recent study. It is still early days - companies have only really had enough time to look for ways to integrate AI into existing structures. The timeline to the largest visible-in-GDP gains will take a while to show up. Future AIs will not abide by current standard economic rules.
There Is Now Clearer Evidence AI Is Wrecking Young Americans' Job Prospects (7 minute read)
New research by Stanford University economists shows that AI is profoundly limiting some young Americans' employment prospects. Fields where generative AI tools can most easily automate tasks, such as software development, are being affected the most. However, employment in fields where AI can help people in their work rather than replace them is improving. More about the study, which has yet to be peer reviewed or published, is available in the article.
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