Good morning! This is your daily ☕️ Techpresso.
On this day, 121 years ago, the cable ship Silvertown embarked on a historic journey from San Francisco to lay the first transpacific telegraph cable, culminating in its arrival in Honolulu on January 1, 1903, with public messaging commencing on January 5.
Here's the latest tech news from the last 24 hours:
🎓 Elon Musk wants to open a university
🖼️ Midjourney to launch a new platform for AI image generation
🔬 Intel entering the 'AI PC' era with new chips
🚀 SpaceX blasts FCC as it refuses to reinstate Starlink’s $886 million grant
🌍 Threads launches for nearly half a billion more users in Europe
🛠️ Trains were designed to break down after third-party repairs, hackers find
🎓 Elon Musk wants to open a universityLINK
Elon Musk aims to create a university in Austin, Texas, focusing on STEM education and offering hands-on learning experiences.
The university, part of a broader educational initiative, is set to provide instruction by seasoned faculty and seek accreditation.
Musk's educational plans also include opening STEM-focused K-12 schools, with potential for a Montessori-style institution within a planned town in Texas.
🖼️ Midjourney to launch a new platform for AI image generationLINK
Midjourney, a leading AI image generation service, has launched an alpha version of its website, allowing direct image creation for select users.
The new web interface offers a simpler user experience with visual settings adjustments and a gallery of past image generations.
Access to the alpha site is currently restricted to users who have created over 10,000 images on Midjourney, but it will expand to more users soon.
🔬 Intel entering the 'AI PC' era with new chipsLINK
Intel unveils its new Core Ultra processors (part of the Meteor Lake lineup), enhancing power efficiency and performance with chiplets and integrated AI capabilities.
The Core Ultra 9 185H is Intel's leading model featuring up to 16 cores, dedicated low power sections, built-in Arc GPU, and support for AI-enhanced tasks.
Various laptop manufacturers including MSI, Asus, Lenovo, and Acer are releasing new models with Intel's Core Ultra chips, offering advanced specs, with availability now and through 2024.
🚀 SpaceX blasts FCC as it refuses to reinstate Starlink’s $886 million grantLINK
SpaceX is upset because the FCC has denied their appeal to recover a $886 million broadband grant for Starlink services in rural areas.
The FCC cited Starlink's technological limitations and capacity constraints as reasons for rejecting their application.
Despite the setback, SpaceX insists that Starlink is the best, and possibly the only, immediate option to connect rural and remote Americans to high-speed internet.
🌍 Threads launches for nearly half a billion more users in EuropeLINK
Meta's Twitter alternative, Threads, is now available for users in the European Union, expanding its reach beyond the initial launch in the US and over 100 other countries.
European Union users can browse Threads without a profile but require an Instagram account to post or interact with content.
The delayed EU launch of Threads is attributed to challenges complying with the new Digital Markets Act, which aims to prevent Big Tech companies from abusing their market power.
🛠️ Trains were designed to break down after third-party repairs, hackers findLINK
Hackers from Dragon Sector found an undocumented unlock code that fixed mysterious train issues in Poland.
Their investigation revealed intentional software interference by the train manufacturer, Newag, causing trains to fail.
This discovery shed light on right-to-repair issues affecting Polish railroad operations and train availability.
Other news you might like
Dropbox's AI features, enabled by default, share user files with OpenAI for language model interactions, stirring privacy concerns.LINK
Netflix starts bi-annual comprehensive reports on viewership with initial data showing 100 billion hours viewed, highlighting transparency to better relations in Hollywood.LINK
Cruise cuts 24% of its workforce, mostly non-engineering roles, after a pedestrian incident and aims to focus on fewer markets and platforms.LINK
Google's AI search tool may threaten news publishers like The Atlantic by directly answering queries, potentially cutting site traffic by 75%.LINK
Xbox Cloud Gaming is now available on Meta’s Quest VR headsets.LINK
Ex-Facebook diversity leader admits to wire fraud, stealing over $4 million via fake vendors and kickbacks for personal gain.LINK
Mark Zuckerberg is creating a high-security compound in Hawaii, rumored to include a luxury techno-sanctuary, with extensive privacy measures and self-sufficiency features.LINK
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