Heya,
This week in weird and wonderful tech: deep fakes go mainstream, Russia cuts itself off from the internet and casting pears before satellites.
We have a bunch of must-read links from all over the web including tips for deep focus, seventy years of NBA stats in one visualization, Hummers, and a grumpy website that calls out all the annoying things on the internet.
Enjoy,
Chris
Bizarro Devs
📰 From the Newsroom
Did Russia really isolate themselves from the global internet just before Christmas? 🇷🇺
The short answer... Experts are reporting that the tests in December were probably related to firewall testing. However, internet shutdowns have become more common over the past three years and Russia is definitely closest to having its own internet.
How's that? More than five years ago, Russian authorities built a local backup for the Domain Name System (DNS) with the expressed goal of routing 95 percent of internet traffic locally by 2020.
What to say The emergence of a new "internet" does seem more likely given the infrastructure and resources are available to the Russian government.
What not to say Hopefully, this won't stop him from posting his topless pics.
defenseone.com
SpaceX just launched another fleet of satellites. 🛰️
What's the big deal? The race to lead the next generation of wireless technology is space-based. SpaceX has permission to launch 12,000 satellites into orbit as part of its satellite internet strategy.
How many do they have? Just under 180 satellites are already in orbit but another 60 are added every few weeks. Over the next four months, you can still catch a glimpse of the latest additions.
Who else is involved? The usual suspects are all present, Amazon is planning to launch 3,000 satelittes and Apple recently started a satellite division. However, SpaceX have the clear advantage at the moment.
space.com
Deepfakes will complete their growth from awkward tool of fear to must have app item in 2020.
Hasn't that happened already? Kind of. It is easy to be seduced by the humourous side of deep fakery (remember Baby Elon?) but as they get better we might be less amused.
What's the latest? Snapchat is already using "Cameos" in the app which digitally inserts a user's face into a video clip. They recently purchased the startup responsible for the technology, AI Factory, for $166 million. A deep fake feature was also found in TikTok's code, but this has since been removed. All signs point to the commodification of deep fakes in 2020.
techcrunch.com
🕸️ The Cool Side of the Web
Ten Must See Links From Around The Web
- An amazing data visualization of seventy years of the NBA.
- If mansplaining was a car, then it would be a Hummer. How did that car ever become so popular? The full story explained here.
- Music for programming is a site with the best music for intense concentration. It also happens to look great.
- How to run a great all-hands meeting without saying "beer me".
- Stay focused at work using deep work methods.
- What can you expect from Drupal 9?
- Grumpy website is for anything tech that grinds your gears.
- 8MB flash, boots in 6 seconds. A business card that runs Linux.
- Use generative art as placeholders. It even provides eight different styles ranging from art through Commodore 64 art program to Joy Division.
- Use your free time wisely; the most valuable things you can learn in an hour.