1 year ago
116 This is today's variation of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a regular dose of what's going connected successful the satellite of technology.
These companies privation to tackle nutrient discarded with microbes
Some radical mightiness look successful a market store’s dumpster and spot garbage. But others are starting to spot dollar signs.
New facilities are popping up successful the US to assistance tackle nutrient discarded utilizing a process called anaerobic digestion, which uses microbes to interruption down integrated materials. Divert, a institution moving to code nutrient waste, announced contiguous that it’s received a $1 cardinal backing statement to assistance physique and deploy this technology.
It’s conscionable 1 of a fig of companies focussed connected turning 1 person’s array scraps into different person’s energy—with the upside of a clime benefit. Read the afloat story.
—Casey Crownhart
Why the accent astir Chinese apps successful the US is overblown
If you instrumentality a look astatine app stores successful the US close now, you mightiness beryllium amazed to find they are dominated by Chinese programs.
On Monday, the 3 astir downloaded escaped apps connected Apple’s App Store were Temu, TikTok, and CapCut (a TikTok video editor); the aforesaid illustration successful the Google Play Store was led by Temu, TikTok, and Shein. All 4 programs are made by Chinese societal media oregon e-commerce companies.
It’s wide that Chinese-made apps are having a infinitesimal successful the US, which is peculiarly absorbing fixed however governments crossed the satellite are presently trying to ace down connected TikTok usage connected unit devices. The aforesaid attraction could easy beryllium applied to different Chinese apps.
But portion determination are existent concerns astir these apps’ privateness protocols, astir of the anxiousness astir having Chinese apps connected our phones is overblown and politicized. Read the afloat story.
—Zeyi Yang
Zeyi’s communicative is from China Report, his play newsletter giving you the wrong way connected each things China. Sign up to person it successful your inbox each Tuesday.
The victor of our TR10 poll
Every year, we prime the 10 breakthrough technologies that substance the astir close now. We asked you to ballot for our honorary 11th technology, and hydrogen planes came retired connected top!
If you’d similar to find retired more, you’re successful luck. Quickly motion up for today’s variation of The Spark, our play clime and vigor newsletter, and get a peculiar connected the hydrogen level manufacture delivered consecutive to your inbox.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the net to find you today’s astir fun/important/scary/fascinating stories astir technology.
1 The contention for US chips subsidies is underway
Lucky recipients volition beryllium required to stock their excess profits, though. (WSJ $)
+ A ransomware onslaught connected a spot supplier is causing weeks of delays. (FT $)
2 Investors are throwing currency astatine generative AI companies
However, not each of them volition beryllium runaway successes. (Economist $)
+ Generative AI is changing everything. But what’s near erstwhile the hype is gone? (MIT Technology Review)
3 Elon Musk has ruined Twitter’s situation response
Glitches and misinformation person breached its quality to relay captious information messages during disasters. (The Atlantic $)
+ Outages are connected the rise, too. (NYT $)
+ Twitter’s caller convulsive code argumentation is inconsistent, to accidental the least. (Insider $)
+ We’re witnessing the encephalon decease of Twitter. (MIT Technology Review)
4 FTX’s cofounder has pleaded blameworthy to fraud and conspiracy
Nishad Singh allegedly helped Sam Bankman-Fried to backdate fiscal transactions. (BBC)
+ The archetypal crypto king is readying a comeback. (NY Mag $)
5 The heavy oversea EV metallic mining concern is booming
But experts fearfulness it’ll bash irreparable harm to the seafloor. (Wired $)+ India wants to commencement mining for lithium successful the world’s astir militarized region. (Slate $)
6 Inside the outer hack that sparked an industry-wide wakeup call
The machines and networks that powerfulness them are remarkably vulnerable. (Bloomberg $)
7 Los Angeles’ lodging strategy discriminates against radical of color
Black and Latino applicants are receiving little assistance than their achromatic counterparts. (The Markup)
+ AI has exacerbated radical bias successful housing. Could it assistance destruct it instead? (MIT Technology Review)
8 Beware of Tinder robbers
Men successful Brazil are progressively suspicious of their anxious matches. (Rest of World)
9 How to store atomic discarded safely
Boreholes heavy wrong the world are 1 option, but they tin lone store truthful much. (Ars Technica)+ Finding homes for the discarded that volition (probably) outlive humanity. (MIT Technology Review)
10 TikTok’s landlords don’t attraction if you hatred them 💰
They’re making excessively overmuch wealth done #influencing. (Motherboard)
Quote of the day
“We're not penning blank checks to immoderate institution that asks.”
—Gina Raimondo, US Commerce Secretary, lays down the instrumentality for semiconductor companies hoping for a portion of authorities subsidies, Reuters reports.
The pandemic created a “perfect storm” for Black women astatine hazard of home violence
September 2022Starr Davis was smitten erstwhile she met a handsome alien successful March 2020. He was charming and persistent; but their whirlwind romance took a large crook erstwhile she fell pregnant.
He became physically abusive a fewer weeks aft she moved successful with him. He forbade her from mounting ft outside, saying it was to support her and their unborn kid from covid. With nary friends oregon adjacent household adjacent for support, she suffered successful silence.
Covid seems to person made things worse for galore women experiencing unit astatine home. Anti-domestic-violence advocates constituent to melodramatic increases successful calls to shelters and enactment groups, and galore attraction workers accidental this summation successful home unit seems to person disproportionately affected Black women similar Davis. Read the afloat story.
—Chandra Thomas Whitfield
We tin inactive person bully things
A spot for comfort, amusive and distraction successful these weird times. (Got immoderate ideas? Drop maine a line oregon tweet 'em astatine me.)
+ Every azygous 1 of these pints looks bully to me.
+ I stake that you look bully connected the dancefloor—and truthful bash these guys.
+ Now that we cognize the forthcoming 4th play of Succession volition beryllium its last, let's instrumentality a look backmost implicit immoderate of its top quotes.
+ Some indispensable proposal connected however to person a Really, Really Good Bath.
+ This fun Twitter account collates Medieval art’s astir bizarre creatures.
