Open Release of Grok-1 (1 m=
inute read)
xAI has released the weights and archit=
ecture for Grok-1. Grok-1 is a Mixture-of-Experts model with 314 billion pa=
rameters. The released model is a raw base model checkpoint from the Grok-1=
pretraining phase, which means that it is not fine-tuned for any specific =
application. It was trained from scratch by xAI using a custom training sta=
ck.
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Two New AirPods 4 Models Ex=
pected to Launch in September or October (1 minute read)
The fourth generation of AirPods is set=
to begin production in May. They will likely be released in September or O=
ctober. The upcoming AirPods are expected to feature a new design with bett=
er fit, improved sound quality, and an updated charging case with a USB-C p=
ort. The higher-end models will also feature active noise cancellation and =
a speaker in the charging case for Find My location tracking. New AirPods P=
ros are not expected to launch until next year at the earliest, but current=
models may get a new hearing aid mode with iOS 18.
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Science & Futuristic Technology
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VR Headsets Are Approaching=
the Eye=E2=80=99s Resolution Limits (5 minute read)
Extremely high pixel density is key for=
the next generation of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality headsets. Mor=
e pixels means more life-like visuals and smaller, more compact displays. B=
uilding displays at this scale leads to unique technical hurdles that the i=
ndustry is still learning to leap. This article looks at technological deve=
lopments in the space, the specific challenges the industry is trying to ov=
ercome, and current solutions for these challenges.
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Tick-killing pill shows pro=
mising results in human trial (5 minute read)
Tarsus Pharmaceuticals is developing a =
pill that could provide protection against Lyme disease for several weeks a=
t a time. An early-stage trial has shown that it can kill ticks on people f=
or up to 30 days after 24 hours of ingestion. The drug only kills the ticks=
, rather than the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. It may also protect ag=
ainst other tick-borne diseases.
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Programming, Design & Data Science
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Ask HN: If you've used GPT-=
4-Turbo and Claude Opus, which do you prefer? (Hacker News Thread)
This Hacker News thread compares GPT-4-=
Turbo, the default model in ChatGPT Plus, to Claude Opus, Anthropic's compe=
ting model. Most developers seem to prefer Claude as it is apparently bette=
r at coding and engineering work. Its writing style also seems to be prefer=
red, but part of that is due to the recognizability of GPT-4-Turbo's style.=
OpenAI's app functionalities, like its code interpreter and ability to sea=
rch the internet, are still big reasons to continue using ChatGPT Plus.
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pg_hint_plan (GitHub Repo)<=
/strong>
pg_hint_plan allows developers to tweak=
PostgreSQL execution plans using hints in SQL comments. Planners estimate =
the costs of each possible execution plan for a SQL statement then execute =
the plan with the lowest cost. While PostgreSQL's planner does its best to =
select the best execution plan using its cost-based optimizer, which uses d=
ata statistics rather than static rules, it is far from perfect as it doesn=
't count some data properties. pg_hint_plan has hints to control scan metho=
ds, join methods, join order, behavior on join, row number correction, para=
llel query configuration, and more.
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After Thursday=E2=80=99s fl=
ight, Starship is already the most revolutionary rocket ever built (6 minut=
e read)
SpaceX's cameras recorded unprecedented=
views of atmospheric heating acting on Starship for a couple of minutes du=
ring Starship's descent on its third test. These views were possible thanks=
to Starlink terminals on the ship sending signals to satellites in low-Ear=
th orbit, which were then sent back to Earth. The low-Earth orbit satellite=
s were in space thanks to SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket, which conducte=
d its first land-based landing days before Christmas in 2015. This article =
looks at the achievements that made Starship possible and takes a peek at t=
he future of the project. The video of Starship reentering the atmosphere i=
s available in the article.
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Stubborn Visionaries & =
Pigheaded Fools (6 minute read)
Both success through perseverance and f=
ailure through obstinance are convenient rationalizations. It is impossible=
to know the future for anything. Understanding this frees you to make deci=
sions more easily, with less second-guessing in the moment and less guilt a=
fterwards. You can not know whether you're in a winning or losing scenario,=
so the best you can do is to find out which one you are in as quickly as p=
ossible. This article presents some guiding questions to help you figure ou=
t which path you're on.
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The vacation town that live=
stream shopping built (6 minute read)
Xishuangbanna, a tropical town in China=
near the border with Myanmar and Laos, has seen a surge in property sales =
despite a nationwide downturn in the real estate market due to livestreamer=
s showing off the city's homes and the beauty of the landscape surrounding =
it.
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LLM inference speed of ligh=
t (13 minute read)
Using theoretical speed of light modeli=
ng as grounding is really important for problems where the amount of comput=
ation and memory access is known a priori as it helps validate the quality =
of implementations and predict the impact of architectural changes.
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