TLDR 2021-03-01

Breakthrough malaria vaccine 🦟, Apple stores in Target 🍏, robot pets 🤖

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Big Tech & Startups

Facebook’s new app Bars will let you rap over premade beats (3 minute read)

Bars is a new iOS app from Facebook's New Product Experimentation group. It lets users post and share videos of them rapping over beats provided by the app. There are different levels in the app, with an auto-rhyme dictionary for beginners, and a Freestyle mode for more advanced rappers. The app is still in a closed beta. It is unlikely to make an appearance on the Android Play Store.

See the tiny new Apple stores inside Target (1 minute read)

Apple and Target have teamed up to put Tiny Apple stores inside Targets. There are currently 17 Tiny Apple stores nationwide, with many more planned. The employees at these kiosks will have special product training, but it doesn't look like the kiosks offer any sort of technical support. Apple is also getting a special section on Target's website and app. A picture of one of the Tiny Apple stores is available in the article.
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Science & Futuristic Technology

Solar cars: Driving on sunshine (9 minute read)

Aptera Motors is rolling out the first mass-produced solar car this year. The three-wheeled vehicle is covered in 34 square feet of solar cells, which can provide enough energy to drive about 40 miles on a clear day. It still has to undergo safety tests before the company can begin distribution. The solar vehicle can go from 0 to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds and hit top speeds of 110 mph. An image gallery of the vehicle is available in the article.

First vaccine to fully immunize against malaria builds on pandemic-driven RNA tech (4 minute read)

Malaria researchers have invented a promising blueprint for a vaccine with properties similar to the novel RNA-based vaccine for Covid-19. Making a vaccine for the disease has been challenging due to a protein produced by its associated parasite. The new vaccine design allows the body to produce T-cells even when the protein is present. It has not been tested yet on humans, but studies have demonstrated high levels of protection in mice.
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Programming, Design & Data Science

Venom Bot (GitHub Repo)

Venom Bot is a system for creating WhatsApp bots. It can send text, images, video, audio, and docs, and interact with other WhatsApp functions. Venom supports sentence recognition based on artificial intelligence and all types of design architecture for WhatsApp.

Awesome CTO (GitHub Repo)

This repository has a list of resources for Chief Technology Officers, with an emphasis on startups and hyper-growth companies. Topics include hiring, management, architecture, technology, marketing, and more.
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Miscellaneous

New AI ‘Deep Nostalgia’ brings old photos, including very old ones, to life (3 minute read)

Deep Nostalgia is an AI-powered service offered by online genealogy company MyHeritage that creates moving portraits from still photos. It uses pre-recorded driver videos of facial movements and applies them to user-uploaded photos. The company created the service so its users could upload photos of deceased loved ones and see them come to life again. Twitter users recently discovered the service and have used it to bring other things to life, such as ancient statues. Examples of Deep Nostalgia generated portraits are available in the article.

Hi, Robot: Japan's android pets ease virus isolation (3 minute read)

Robots that have pet-like characters have seen huge demand in Japan as people seek solace during isolation. A range of robots are available that can chat to their owners and perform other functions, like acting as an answering machine. The robots do not come cheap, with some models going for over $2,500. Images of a few companion robots are available in the article.
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