TLDR 2021-02-01

Apple's Sundance purchase 🎥, biohybrid noses 👃, space hotels 🏨

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Big Tech & Startups

Apple just paid a record $25 million to buy a Sundance movie (2 minute read)

Apple paid roughly $25 million for a movie at the Sundance Film Festival, the largest deal ever at the event. The purchase was made after a bidding war with Amazon. Children of Deaf Adults could prove to be a critical success. While Apple TV+ has won awards, it has so far been shut out of some of the biggest prizes, including the Golden Globes and Oscars. A major award could help Apple TV+ compete in the market.

Xiaomi's remote wireless charging powers up your phone from across the room (1 minute read)

Xiaomi has unveiled a 'true' wireless charger that can recharge devices from several meters away. Mi Air Charge Technology is a 5W charging system that sends millimeter wide waves to devices using the 144 antennas in its base station. Devices receive the waves using a 14-antenna array. Xiaomi says that it will eventually be able to charge multiple devices at once.
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Science & Futuristic Technology

Driverless robotaxis are now available for public rides in China (2 minute read)

AutoX is the first company in China to offer public rides in autonomous vehicles without safety drivers. Customers will need to sign up for the pilot program and use membership credits to book a ride in one of AutoX's modified Chrysler Pacificas. AutoX has stress-tested its vehicles for several months. A 10-minute long video is available that shows the robotaxis' ability to handle real-world conditions.

Scientists Made a Biohybrid Nose Using Cells From Mosquitoes (6 minute read)

Scientists at the University of Tokyo have created an artificial nose using mosquito odor receptors. The team placed the mosquito receptors on a chip and monitored the setup with a computer. Using the sensors, the scientists could detect odors with unprecedented sensitivity. The technology was able to detect a chemical often found in cancer patients' breath with over 90 percent accuracy. The team hopes to eventually use their bionic nose as a way to detect the early stages of diseases.
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Programming, Design & Data Science

wifi-password (GitHub Repo)

wifi-password is a tool for fetching Wi-Fi passwords and generating QR codes for phones to easily connect to a network. It works on macOS, Linux, and Windows.

TeaVM (Website)

TeaVM is a compiler for Java bytecode that outputs JavaScript and WebAssembly that runs in a browser. It doesn't require source code, only compiled class files. TeaVM can compile Kotlin and Scala.
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Miscellaneous

Company of NASA Stars Building Orbital Space Hotel With Artificial Gravity (7 minute read)

The Orbital Assembly Corporation is a large-scale space construction firm that plans to build a habitable space hotel in low-Earth orbit. Investors can now co-own the project at $0.25 per share. The space station will generate artificial gravity by spinning. It will be built in stages, with some assembly in space using robots. The station will have 24 habitation modules and space hotel guests may go on spacewalks. A one hour video from the First Assembly virtual event is available in the article.

First Ever 3D Printed House for Sale Listed on Zillow for $299,000 USD (3 minute read)

SQ4D is the first company to publicly list a 3D printed house for sale. Its list price is $299,000, while the average list price in the neighborhood is $394,000. SQ4D is offering a 50-year limited warranty on the build. The house is 1,500 sqft, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. A link to the listing, as well as several videos showing the building process and the house itself, is available in the article.
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