Reed Albergotti
@ReedAlbergotti
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Tech editor @semafor. co-author of Wheelmen, retired hockey player, Minnesotan. I like riding bikes. Signal: Reed.03 https://t.co/tFfxAECpLa
San Francisco, CA
Joined October 2008
Scoop: @OpenAI has hired about 1K contractors over the past six months around the world, and about 400 of them are programmers who are teaching its models, in granular detail, how to code. w/@lmatsakis
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Craig Federighi, Apple's own senior vice president of software engineering, just swore under oath that security on Mac computers is unacceptably poor and regularly exploited by malware. Quite surprising to hear coming from one of Apple's own top officials.
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Scoop: Apple has dropped its lawsuit against Corellium, which was scheduled to go to trial and was being closely watched by a security industry that feared it would have a chilling effect on research tools used to make software safer.
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Facebook knowingly permitted false information to remain to be published on its site, for fear of a backlash from conservatives.
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I'm writing a newsletter. You'll get @semafor's hottest tech scoops that take you inside the most intriguing companies in the world and help you understand the captivating characters shaping our future, plus a lot more. Sign up for Semafor Tech here š
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I spoke with Sundar amid a week of crazy news for Google. I think the company is more interesting than ever.
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Thread: 1/12 The big scoop in this article with @nakashimae is we finally know all the details on how the FBI unlocked the iPhone belonging to a terrorist in the San Bernardino attacks in 2016. But itās even more interesting
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@SaraGonzalesTX I hope these heroes are recognized and the identity of the shooter is never known.
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Please read this article about Cher Scarlett, who is leading a worker uprising from inside Apple. Itās a story about a fascinating and very resilient person, but itās also about the changes happening right now in tech and the headwinds against the change
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Hereās the new Microsoft-OpenAI dynamic as best I can tell. Microsoft has exclusive rights to use OpenAI models. OpenAI canāt train any new models without Microsoft. OpenAI could go to Amazon or Google and ask them to train new models, but theyād get sued by Microsoft and they . .
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This just in: @CorelliumHQ wins its copyright battle against Apple, a pretty surprising defeat in what was a very David v Goliath battle.
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Scoop: Microsoft has an internal Minecraft demo where, instead of manually mining/building, etc., you can describe your vision to an AI (like a ChatGPT prompt) and watch your creation come to life. More details here.
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Elon Musk didn't adhere to SEC rules when he bought Twitter. On paper, that made him $156 million. He's unlikely to face any consequences because the rules aren't that big of a deal for someone who can afford to pay a six-figure fine.
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Scoop: Sundar Pichai addressed the company tonight about the Gemini debacle, calling the responses unacceptable and vowing structural changes to how the company rolls out future products. Full story here:
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SCOOP: The White House is cracking down on China with potentially multiple executive orders that it wants to get out before the midterms. Semafor hasn't launched yet but this one wouldn't hold, so check it out here
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Cydia, created by @saurik, was the "app store" before the App Store and it led to a lot of innovation on the iPhone. Apple crushed Cydia's business and more or less stopped "jailbreaking." It's all being revisited in a new lawsuit filed today.
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@micsolana A lot of what lawyers do is negotiation that isnāt really about the law. How does an AI convince a client not to take certain risk, or know which provisions added by a counterparty are ok and which ones are worth fighting, even if it risks a delay of the deal, etc?.
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Iāve got a new job and Iām so excited about it. Iāll be joining the indefatigable @semaforben at @semafor and leading tech coverage for the yet-to-launch publication. What does Semafor mean, you ask? 1/5.
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The last four years at @theinformation have been so wonderful and what @Jessicalessin has built is one of the singular accomplishments in journalism. I'm excited to join The Washington Post, but I will truly miss my amazing colleagues here.
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Obviously, this is an attempt to explain why iOS should not be "opened up." But still there was a time when a key marketing point for Macs was that they are safe and viruses are exceedingly rare. Now, we hear their security is "unacceptable" to the company that makes them.
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Of course, Apple is making Macs more like iOS, so Apple knocking its own security on Macs could be an attempt to further "lock down" Macs, pushing out competition.
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Apple is starting to promote its new advertising offerings. This will no doubt raise a lot of eyebrows in the ad tech world. Apple effectively cleared the way when it implemented new privacy policies last year. Good scoop from @kifleswing
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Getting a 10/10 here makes not having a guest room so worth it.
Nice book setup. Well framed. The largest fronds ever seen on Room Rater for the 10/10. @ReedAlbergotti
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Even if Twitter grossly underestimates the number of bots on its platform, a judge wouldn't let Elon Musk slip out his merger agreement as a result. That doesn't stop Musk from using it as a negotiating tactic. Twitter doesn't want a lengthy legal battle
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12/12 If there is a market for iOS exploits, Apple should win. Itās worth $2.25 trillion and has enough cash to outspend nearly anyone on paying for security exploits. It can hire whoever it wants. This isn't just about money or protecting iPhone customers. It's also about power.
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scoop: @Replit becomes a unicorn, thanks to fresh funding from @a16z, @khoslaventures, @coatuemgmt and others. It's added >2 million developers in a month, making it a fast-growing competitor to GitHub. @semafor
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There's an irony in Elon Musk's criticism of OpenAI and its decision to become a for profit company: He bailed (along with his money) after his desire to take control of OpenAI was rebuffed. At the same time, costs were skyrocketing after transformer .
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The team at @theinformation is really hitting on all cylinders. very impressive @Jessicalessin.
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Desperately searching for a GPU to train your AI model? You might find one . on the blockchain. New from me:
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Scoop with @lizrhoffman: With a $10 billion investment, Microsoft could soon double down ( tenfold down?) on OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT and other mind blowing AI tools. Microsoft would also get 75% of all OpenAI profits for a time.
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This from @Jessicalessin. Couldn't agree more. Avoid confirmation bias. Be dispassionate. Be fair. The goal for journalists should be impact, not social media followers.
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On the day of Apple's testimony in front of the senate, when Apple said it does everything in its power to stop scams on the App Store, we found about 2% of the top 1k grossing apps were tricking consumers and taking their money. (thread)
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@JimmyOrr @BullandBaird of all the crazy stuff I've read on twitter, for some reason this comment made me squirm the most.
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New: Sam Altman was raising a new venture fund right before he was fired. It was focused on hard tech. Unclear whether this had anything to do with his ouster
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I looked into the genesis story of Alameda research, and it's fascinating. If there wasn't an organized Effective Altruism movement, there never would have been an Alameda. The juicy details of how it came together. w/@lizrhoffman
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The Altman firing is a truly unique turning point in business history. We may have just witnessed a small group of tech founders essentially blow up a company, forgoing hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars because they are concerned about where the tech may lead.
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Earlier this months, ā¦@Post_AGā© and I investigated a Covid ventilator contract overseen by the White House. Now a House subcommittee has opened up an investigation, requesting documents and communications with former Trump administration staffers
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Interesting blog post by famous Apple thinker @gruber on a story I wrote about how Apple uses the power and data of the App Store to replicate the best ideas of developers. Here's my article and here's Gruber's post:
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Apple tried to water down the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would hold companies accountable for slave labor in their supply chains
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This comes just days after uproar in the security research community over Apple's decision to create photo scanning software that will look for child pornography on iPhones.
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@lulumeservey I agree and I also thought it was smart to add the part about everyone making their own, individual choices. It's not an us v them proclamation. It's just a post about her own view.
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Last week, Apple's Craig Federighi said independent security researchers could examine iPhones to verify Apple's claims on CSAM scanning. It's ironic that @CorelliumHQ, a company Apple has tried to destroy, is to first to take him up on that offer
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Twitter just became a platform where everyone has to be very careful about what they Tweet.
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Another reporter is banned from Twitter, this time after asking @elonmusk for what appears to be comment on an article. This doesn't seem to be related to ElonJet or doxxing.
I reached out to Elon for comment for a story @DrewHarwell and I are working on. Hereās what I tweeted (below), @ElonMusk banned me for it lmaoo
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interesting scoop: @perplexity_ai , even before it came under fire in the Forbes controversy, was planning an ad rev share program for publishers. In the past, getting ad revenue meant someone had to click on an article. Here, the substance of the article needs to match the.
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Apple's been criticized by congress and developers for its strict control of the App Store and its defense has revolved around one fundamental truth that most people believe: The App Store is safe because Apple tightly controls it. (It's 2021 and this is my first thread ever).
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5/12 Later, Apple tried unsuccessfully to acquire Corellium, a company Wang co-founded. If you can't hire them or acquire them, you can always sue. Thatās what Apple did to Corellium, claiming a copyright violation. Apple nearly outed Azimuth's role in the unlock in that lawsuit.
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But what if the App Store is not safe? What if anonymous criminals can create apps, get them approved, and then change them into elaborate phishing scams without Apple knowing? In fact, they can, as this article details.
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Scoop from me and @lizrhoffman Twitter wants to raise more money at $44 billion valuation. Emails went out last night, of all nights.
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9/12 The reason Apple believes Corellium is dangerous is that it allows researchers to examine that impenetrable wall Apple thinks can keep hackers out. Of course, examining the wall is also the only way to find flaws to fix.
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Another astonishing fact in this article: Sam Altman owns no equity in OpenAI. Imagine founding a $30 billion company and basically doing it for free. This isn't a mistake. He felt the company's mission was not about making money.
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A bit of courtroom drama this morning as Apple CEO Tim Cook takes the stand in the Epic v Apple trial. Because Covid, the public can actually listen to it live. But if you just want to read the important updates, we'll be posting them live here.
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@KFILE Shame on you, Politico, for not pointing out that Hamas has never had a female at the helm.
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New: The Apple Store in Manhattan could be the first one to make its union effort official. Organizers there have been working on this for months and say theyāve already endured union busting tactics from Apple
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Acquiring Twitter is going to turn out to be a big financial win for Elon Musk. As a loss leader, it helps his empire immensely. But X is more relevant than ever and could easily regain value if it continues on its trajectory. More in today's @semafor tech:.
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My first official story for @semafor unearths a tragic accident at SpaceX, but the whole point is to celebrate the unsung heroes of the industry - the technicians who sometimes put their lives on the line to build the rockets.
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Today marks the first tech newsletter with @katyanna_q, who just joined us. I'm so excited to work with her. I met her soon after Semafor launched at a tech dinner. I think ChatGPT had just launched and everyone was pretty clueless, honestly, about AI. Katynna knew so much and I.
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Lyft and Uber are hitting the public markets essentially telling investors that the financials make sense when self-driving cars exist. So ride share stock prices are really a proxy for whether investors think that technology is possible.
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All have their own models anyway. Why muddle the IP waters? So OpenAI is stuck with Microsoft. But any time OpenAI trains a new model using Microsoftās compute, theyāll be giving Sam Altman and Greg Brockman valuable information that they can use to help build internally . .
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Microsoft is highlighting a pretty interesting use case right now for Bing with GPT: Travel recommendations. "create an itinerary for a 5 day trip to Mexico City for me and my family" and Bing creates an itinerary instantly.
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My small part in the Pegasus Project, which shows just how widespread hacking of human rights workers, journalists and politicians has become, thanks to NSO Group tech. Many victims had iPhones, which are meant to be secure. Here's why they're not (Thread)
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We just had the biggest moment of the Epic v Apple trial, with U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers grilling Tim Cook on its lack of competition. It was brutal.
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. @Semafor is in the market for a new technology reporter. Media startups with staying power are rare, but this is one of them. I joined @theinformation as employee #10. Semafor has the same kind of feel to me, but at global scale.
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FYI, thereās been a security breach at Las Vegas airport. The entire airport is on lockdown and the TSA is sending passengers who just arrived back to their planes and locking the doors. Anybody know what happened?.
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@lulumeservey There's truth in what you're saying. Probably would have gotten negative coverage no matter what. But I think the event did go a little bit too far beyond what's possible today and the stock market reflected that sentiment. I still love the ambition, though.
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This is a formal request to expense the $7 Verge paywall.
In last night's @semafor media newsletter, I wrote about two changes this week at Vox Media: NYMag is launching an app and the Verge is rolling out a $7/month paywall
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@zachklein True of basically any city in the world. People who live in NYC would hate it if the tourists invaded the real parts.
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@ZoeSchiffer Iāll second what Patrick said. Iāve never received an email quite like that. It must be discouraging. Youāre doing great work and I hope you are able to brush it aside. I know that can be difficult.
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Scoop: OpenAI is building a mobile app for ChatGPT. And it's getting ready to launch GPT-4, which is not just smarter (more human sounding and detailed), but is faster, too, suggesting some real innovation on Microsoft's cloud.
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OpenAI's new CEO Emmett Shear seems to have a profile more aligned with the OpenAI board and its top researcher. And that raises all kinds of questions about the future of the company/nonprofit. w/@lmatsakis
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Configured my new Mac Pro with all the best components and added a new Apple monitor. The more expensive version is still "coming soon."
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scoop: @Replit is launching a new Teams feature for collaborative software development, and its first "AI agent" will auto-correct coding errors in milliseconds. Story here:
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Sam Bankman-Fried was trying to acquire Twitter at the same time Musk was building up a position. Why? And why was a philosopher involved in brokering a deal to invest $100 million of SBF's money in Musk's bid. Great scoop by @lizrhoffman
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Apple's closed off culture has really hurt its ability to run a successful bug bounty program, which requires more openness and transparency. And that's not good for the security of Apple products.
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News: Andreessen Horowitz is the investor behind Andy Rubin's new startup. @pmarca is on the board. It's interesting to try news in this format, where the story can also be kind of a discussion. I'd welcome thoughts, opinion, criticism on it.
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Iām at ā¦@Replitā© developer day and they just announced theyāre open sourcing a new AI model trained on its data. Pretty interesting!
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8/12 The iPhone may be the most secure consumer product ever. As a result, ironically, we know very little about how many exploits exist for the iPhone and who is using them. We find out about zero-day exploits for iOS regularly. How many are out there that aren't reported?.
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New: Apple retail stores, where employees struggle to make a living wage, could soon be union shops. I talked to organizers of two stores that are close to filing. Others are earlier in the process. This would have been unthinkable just a couple years ago
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Based on the demo I'm watching, Bing just became the best search engine by a mile. Of course, we know Google is working on a competitor. As @satyanadella said earlier, "The race starts today.".
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@micsolana Yeah, that's definitely true. I think AI will replace some legal work (Which could actually be good for lawyers because it will allow them to take on more clients). But I think there are just certain tasks lawyers do that we'll never entrust to computers.
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And the board of OpenAIās main goal is essentially to keep this technology out of the hands of Sam Altman. So if youāre OpenAI, the best move here is to just keep new developments to yourself and not pass them on to Microsoft. But now youāre back to being sort a ā¦.
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@andymstone Thank you for your comments. The first six paragraphs of the article describe 1) False information on the platform. 2) Concern of a conservative backlash. 3) The decision to leave "most" of the false information on the platform.
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Bottom line: Apple might have restrictions on mobile software distribution and it might collect big commissions. But when it comes to safety, the App Store is a lot more like the open internet than the company likes to admit. The assertion that control = safety is simply false.
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Scoop: Axios HQ has acquired Mixing Board, founded by Sean Garrett, who set up the first comms team at Twitter
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loved this Q&A from @lizrhoffman with Igor Jablokov in today's @semafor Business newsletter. He's full of very colorful analogies:
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3/12 One surprising reveal: After the San Bernardino unlock, Apple tried to hire David Wang, the hacker at Azimuth security who wrote the exploit that unlocked the iPhone. Apple says it didnāt know Azimuth was behind the unlock at the time.
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The vultures have landed, seeking to capitalize on cash-strapped startups. from @lizrhoffman and me
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The latest Apple ad fail (a hydraulic press smashing beloved cultural artifacts and suggesting they can somehow be substituted with a tablet) is the second example in a year of a company appearing to fall out of touch with its customers. The other one that comes to mind is.
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Muskās tweet about the Pelosi hammer attack is probably the most expensive tweet in the history of twitter. As @semaforben reports, digging out of the hole Musk created with advertisers is gonna be a long slog.
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Bornstein is now questioning Tim Cook about Apple's targeted advertising business that uses its customers app search history and usage data to show ads. Cook says he's not familiar with that.
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10/12 So what are we really talking about here? Making iOS more secure or making it appear to be impenetrable?.
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A fish called Gemmy and how it saved @cmwdotme. A story Iāve wanted to tell for a long time.
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Fascinated by this story. @natfriedman came up with a $250k prize to decipher these ancient texts, destroyed by Mount Vesuvius and found in Julius Caesar's brother-in-law's villa.
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This is a research project inside Microsoft and there are no immediate plans to make this a part of the consumer Minecraft experience. But itās interesting to think about how AI might change gaming and to know these are ideas companies are mulling. Thatās the point of the article.
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I recently 'discovered' the work of Philip Agre, and I found myself wondering why his name is not more known in the tech industry. It's decades old now, but helped me better understand a lot of the debates we're now having about tech and society.
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