Forking is Beautiful (1 minute read)
FreeWP is a fork of WordPress started by a former WordPress community member. The last decent fork attempt for WordPress was ClassicPress in 2018, which started over disagreements about Gutenberg being integrated into core. WordPress itself started as a fork of the b2/cafelog project. Matt Mullenweg, co-creator of WordPress, strongly encourages anyone who disagrees with the direction WordPress is headed in to join the FreeWP fork.
Generative AI's Act o1 (22 minute read)
Research in AI is progressing from 'thinking fast' to 'thinking slow', unlocking a new cohort of agentic applications. The focus is now shifting to the development and scaling of the reasoning layer, which could endow AI systems with deliberate reasoning, problem-solving, and cognitive operations at inference time that go beyond rapid pattern matching. This essay explores how the consolidation of the foundational LLM layer has set the stage for the race to scale higher-order reasoning and agentic capabilities, and discusses a new generation of killer apps with novel cognitive architectures and user interfaces.
WordPress.org's latest move involves taking control of a WP Engine plugin (1 minute read)
WordPress.org has taken over the Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) plugin, a popular WP Engine plugin. It claims the move was intended to remove commercial upsells and fix a security problem. WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg claims that the move was related to WP Engine's recently-filed lawsuit against him and Automattic. Those who aren't WP Engine, Flywheel, or ACF Pro customers will need to go to the ACF site and download the genuine 6.3.8 version to keep getting updates.
Scientists found a way to make sound travel in only one direction (4 minute read)
Waves tend to flow equally in both directions. This can cause interference, garbling signals or reducing efficiency. Researchers at ETH Zurich have figured out how to direct sound waves so that they only travel forward without weakening the sound's strength. This feat could have vast implications for future technologies, from communications systems to radar.
Google Backs New Nuclear Plants to Power AI (4 minute read)
Big Tech companies are increasingly investing into nuclear power. Google has committed to buying power generated by seven nuclear-power reactors to be built by Kairos Power. The project aims to add 500 megawatts of nuclear power starting at the end of the decade. The project site (or sites) have yet to be determined. Google will have its data centers somewhere near the reactors, but it hasn't been determined whether they will receive power directly from the plants or from the grid.
Amazon has signed an agreement with Dominion Energy to explore the development of a small modular nuclear reactor near Dominion's existing North Anna nuclear power station. Google and Microsoft have announced similar plans. Tech companies are increasingly buying into nuclear power to fuel the growing demands of data centers. Nuclear power will also help these companies reach net-zero carbon emissions.
OpenAI has revealed the meta-prompt for its new o1 model family to help developers improve and fine-tune their products. Meta-prompts are used to instruct models to create good prompts based on user task descriptions or to improve existing prompts. This article looks at both OpenAI and Anthropic's approaches and compares them. The companies are using very different engines and their prompts reveal a lot about how each company thinks and what they expect from their products. OpenAI conceptualizes ChatGPT as a powerful computational tool while Anthropic envisions Claude as a friendly, human-like assistant.
Adobe's AI video model is here, and it's already inside Premiere Pro (4 minute read)
Adobe's Firefly Video Model has launched across a handful of new tools.
SpaceX tells FCC it has a plan to make Starlink about 10 times faster (4 minute read)
SpaceX has submitted an application to the US Federal Communications Commission seeking approval for changes to Starlink that will enable gigabit-per-second broadband service. The changes include lowering the altitude of satellites to increase the potential maximum number of orbital planes and satellites per plane. SpaceX plans to send 29,988 or less second-generation satellites into orbit - the FCC has so far approved 7,500 Gen2 satellites. To obtain approval for the changes, SpaceX will have to demonstrate that the changes won't negatively affect other spectrum users and satellite operators.
The internet's homepage (24 minute read)
Digg was something like the homepage of the internet in its early days. The best and most popular stuff made it to the homepage, which was seen by tens of millions of people every month. The site featured voting mechanisms and a commenting system, which were brand-new concepts when it launched. This article contains an interview with Digg's creator, Kevin Rose, where he talks about why he built the site the way he did, the legacy of some of the tools he helped create, the death of the homepage and the rise of the news feed, and what happens when a company goes from a fun idea to a potential cash cow. Rose believes that there's a case for Digg to make a comeback, but only in a very different corporate form.
The AI has spawned a crypto worth $150 million.
Uber considered potential acquisition of Seattle travel giant Expedia (1 minute read)
Uber may be exploring a potential bid for Expedia Group. The company has approached advisers about a deal. Its interest is at a very early stage. Uber's CEO was Expedia's CEO from 2005 to 2017 and remains on the company's board. Expedia declined to comment on the deal.