TLDR 2020-09-24

Tesla suffered a complete network outage earlier. Its internal systems were down and customer connectivity features were not accessible. Staff were not able to process deliveries and orders during the outage. Starting from 11:00 AM EDT, customers could not connect to their cars using the mobile app. The Tesla webpage was returning an error beyond the main page. Tesla's energy products were also affected. The outage appeared to be global. Owners could still access and use their cars despite the connectivity issues. This isn't the first system-wide outage at Tesla, but occurrences are rare.

Twitter is now experimenting with letting people record and send voice messages through direct messages. Brazil will be the first country to test the feature. Voice messages will have a 20-second time limit. Twitter received significant criticism over its audio tweets feature due to the company's failure to factor in accessibility into its design.

Researchers in China have designed a type of tiny wind turbine that can scavenge wind energy from small breezes, like those generated by walking. It is made of two plastic strips in a tube that flutter or clap together when there is airflow. It generates electricity through a phenomenon called the triboelectric effect. The device can generate power using a breeze as gentle as 1.6 m/s. It performs best when the wind velocity is between 4 to 8 m/s. With a high wind-to-energy conversion efficiency of 3.23%, the team hopes the device can bring wind power to areas where traditional wind turbines can't reach. Videos of the device are available in the article.

A 'Sonification' project from NASA's Chandra X-ray Center translates telescope data into sound, letting us hear some of the most recognizable features in the sky. Many images of the cosmos are composite images of different elements or types of light to make it easier to visualize structures. The project produced three sonifications, each created with slightly different techniques and producing different sounds and qualities. A 3-minute video is available in the article that plays a sample of the sonifications.

Pizzly provides a simple and fast way to integrate an API into an app. It provides developers with a dashboard, an auth service, a proxy, a JS library, and its own API to help with their API integrations. Pizzly supports more than 50 APIs out-of-the-box, including Gmail, GitHub, Google Sheets, Zoom, Trello, Reddit, and more.

This site contains 136 open-source icons that can be used in a wide range of digital products. The icons can be downloaded as SVG or the code can be copied from the site. Users can download all the icons at once, search for specific icons, or browse through all the icons.

The giant Gundam at Japan's Port of Yokohama is nearing completion. At 60-feet tall, the giant robot can walk, kneel, make hand gestures, and more. The robot weighs about 25 tons. It was supposed to debut on October 1, but the opening date has been pushed back due to the pandemic. There are a few photos and videos in the article showing footage of the giant Gundam.

Jeff Bezos' first nonprofit preschool will be based in Des Moines, Washington, and will open for in-person classes on October 19. The school will follow coronavirus safety measures outlined by state officials and the CDC. Enrollment is currently underway. Bezos will be opening a network of nonprofit preschools which will be overseen by his philanthropic Day One Fund. It is unknown how many schools Bezos plans to open. The schools will be built in low-income communities and will offer underserved children access to free programs. Bezos launched the Day One Fund in 2018 with a $2 billion commitment. Its goal was to launch preschools and to help homeless families.