Good morning! This is your daily ☕️ Techpresso.
In today's Techpresso:
🍎 iPhone 16 demand so weak that employees can already buy it on discount
🧬 Scientists store human genome on crystal which can last billions of years
🪖 Palmer Luckey partners with Microsoft to turn US soldiers into Starship Troopers
🎮 Nintendo sues Palworld for patent infringement
🛒 Amazon debuts an AI assistant for sellers, Project Amelia
🫠 YouTube confirms pause screens will now display ads
🎁 + 6 other news you might like
🔮 + 4 handpicked research papers and tools
🍎 iPhone 16 demand so weak that employees can already buy it on discountLINK
Apple employees are already allowed to buy the iPhone 16 at a discount, which usually occurs weeks after a new iPhone release, indicating weaker early demand for the iPhone 16.
In its debut weekend, Apple sold about 37 million iPhone 16 units, which is a nearly 13% decrease from the previous year's initial iPhone 15 sales.
Demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series has been lower than anticipated, partly due to the delayed release of Apple Intelligence features, which are not available at launch.
🧬 Scientists store human genome on crystal which can last billions of yearsLINK
Scientists at the University of Southampton have successfully stored the entire human genome sequence onto a virtually indestructible 5D optical memory crystal no larger than a penny.
These 5D memory crystals, created using ultra-fast lasers to inscribe data within "nanostructured voids" in silica, promise unprecedented data density and can endure temperatures of up to 1,000°C, cosmic radiation, and immense physical impacts.
Researchers aim for these eternal crystals to preserve genetic blueprints for future reconstruction of organisms, potentially aiding in the revival of endangered species or even humans long after extinction events.
🪖 Palmer Luckey partners with Microsoft to turn US soldiers into Starship TroopersLINK
Palmer Luckey's Anduril Industries is collaborating with Microsoft to integrate Lattice software into mixed-reality headsets used by the US Army, enhancing the IVAS system.
The partnership allows the HoloLens-based goggles to provide real-time data from drones and defense systems to soldiers, improving their situational awareness on the battlefield.
Luckey compares the new IVAS project to the headsets in "Starship Troopers," aiming to significantly enhance soldiers' sensory perception and lethality with ongoing improvements expected from Microsoft.
🎮 Nintendo sues Palworld for patent infringementLINK
Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, the developers of the Pokémon-inspired game Palworld, seeking an injunction and damages for multiple alleged patent violations.
The lawsuit was filed in the Tokyo District Court and aims to protect the intellectual property rights that Nintendo has diligently established over the years, according to an official statement from the company.
Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe stated in January that Palworld had undergone legal reviews and had no intention of infringing on other companies' intellectual property, despite the many surface similarities between Palworld and Pokémon.
🛒 Amazon debuts an AI assistant for sellers, Project AmeliaLINK
Amazon is launching Amelia, an AI assistant, in beta for select U.S. third-party sellers to help resolve account issues and access sales and inventory data.
Amelia is described as an "all-in-one, generative-AI based selling expert" and will be accessible via Seller Central, Amazon's platform for merchants.
Amazon is banking on Amelia's generative AI capabilities to swiftly address and resolve account troubles for third-party sellers, bypassing traditional support channels.
🫠 YouTube confirms pause screens will now display adsLINK
YouTube has widely rolled out pause ads, allowing advertisers to target viewers who pause videos, confirming strong responses from both advertisers and viewers.
Initially piloted in 2023, pause ads have proven lucrative for Google, leading to their broader deployment across the platform.
YouTube claims pause ads provide a “less interruptive” experience, but normal ad frequency will not be reduced; this follows a trend seen in Hulu, AT&T, and Sling TV.
Other news you might like
X is temporarily back online for some people in Brazil.LINK
Alibaba unveils over 100 AI models to rival Microsoft, OpenAI.LINK
FBI and partners disrupt 200,000-device botnet linked to Chinese hackers.LINK
EU warns Apple to open iOS to rival technologies.LINK
Mark Zuckerberg calls Meta the ‘opposite of Apple’ and questions its product strategy.LINK
YouTube announces AI features from Google DeepMind for Shorts creators.LINK
Latest research and tools
Accounting System GAAP and IFRS: an advanced accounting system compliant with GAAP and IFRS standards, suitable for various organizational sizes and types, featuring a forward-only double-entry method, relational database, and customizable implementation for transaction-specific user actions.LINK
Chili: a Rust port of the Spice library that offers a method for low-overhead parallel computing, ideal for cases with many small computations and unknown quantities of remaining tasks, demonstrated by summing values in a binary tree.LINK
J2ME-Loader: an emulator that allows Android devices to run most 2D and 3D Java games, offering features like a virtual keyboard, game-specific settings, and scaling options.LINK
Sidekick: a CLI tool designed to simplify self-hosting applications on a VPS by enabling users to deploy any app with just two commands, supporting domain connection and automatic SSL certificate setup.LINK
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