I can’t get over the run of health technology we’ve seen popping up.
Here’s the latest out of Japan, where Nikkei has published a story on Kubota Pharmaceutical’s “smart glasses” that “banish” nearsightedness, or myopia.
Here are the key parts of Nikkei’s reporting:
That’s not really enough information to be excited but the company did release a statement back on December 16th, in English [PDF], that detailed a little behind the device and the tech progress being made.
📸 Today’s OnePlus 9 leaks: A teardown of the OnePlus Camera app code has revealed work-in-progress features including moon mode, starburst mode, and focus peaking (yes peaking, not peeking) (Android Authority).
🔭 And, on the hardware side of the OnePlus 9 camera, tipsters are suggesting the OnePlus 9 won’t go for an extended zoom camera such as the periscope camera (with 10x zoom) we’ve seen from Samsung in the Galaxy S21 (Android Authority).
🤖 Google is working on MicroDroid, a stripped-down version of Android for virtual machines, probably for security? (XDA).
🤔 Also, a version of Android 10 was ported to a multi-core RISC-V SoC — another step on the way to royalty-free, open-source RISC-V devices with ultra-low power consumption. We’re a long way off running a Samsung smartphone with a big RISC-V CPU core, but the stage could be set, especially in China where US sanctions keep getting in the way (The Register).
🕔 A report says Tesla is partnering with Samsung on new 5nm chip for its self-driving ambitions, report says (Electrek).
🍎 Apple announced a hardware executive shuffle: moving long-time VP of Hardware Engineering, Dan Riccio, to work “on a new project”, and installing John Ternus as the new lead. So, what’s Riccio working on? “I’m looking forward to doing what I love most — focusing all my time and energy at Apple on creating something new and wonderful that I couldn’t be more excited about,” he said. Something big? Apple Car? Apple AR/VR? Or something else completely. I’d just like a really, really good printer, if that’s not too much to ask? More seriously, Riccio isn’t being gently shown the door — it seems Apple needs a hardware guru with nothing else to focus on but hardware (Apple).
🐤 Twitter debuts Birdwatch, a kind of crowdsourced moderation/fact-checking function, which allows “select” users to flag and add notes about tweets they think are misleading or false (TechCrunch).
👮♂️ Amazon unveils new Guard Plus subscription for $5 per month: it’s an upgrade to Alexa Guard, a free service that enables Alexa to listen for signs of danger while you’re away, and mimic smart light usage through the day. Now, a 24/7 service can act on a hunch and call emergency services. Launches in the US “this fall” (The Verge).
📈 In 2020, electricity generated from renewable sources surpassed fossil fuels in the EU for the first time, up to 38% of all electricity, up 3.4%. Coal fell almost the same amount as wind and solar picked up, while nuclear still accounts for around 25% (Ember/Agora Energiewende).
📈 The excellent Matt Levine on GameStop and r/WSB: The GameStop game never stops, including the most bizarre O’Hare anecdote (Bloomberg).
🔫 Nerf’s new blasters curve their foam shots around corners(The Verge).
🦎 A 98-million-year-old dinosaur unearthed in Argentina could be the largest land animal ever (Smithsonian).
🤔 “What do you love doing, but hate succeeding in?” (r/askreddit). Good answer: “There is always a moment towards the end of a video game where you have to decide to finish the main mission, beat the final boss, and lose interest.”
Hey look, it’s the rise and fall of civilizations!
Reddit user nrgapple posted this to r/dataisbeautiful: “An app I made for visualizing country borders throughout history (2000 BC – 1994),” and it’s published here, making use of a github repo full of geographical and historical country bounds.
All the best,
Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor