Techmeme
October 15, 2024, 5:55 AM

Top News

Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
Ward Christensen, co-inventor of the computer bulletin board system (BBS), a foundational technology of the internet age, died at age 78 on October 11  —  On Friday, Ward Christensen, co-inventor of the computer bulletin board system (BBS), died at age 78 in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.
Jennifer Hiller / Wall Street Journal:
Google signs an deal to buy nuclear energy generated from multiple small modular reactors developed by US-based Kairos Power, targeting 500 MW by 2035  —  Startup Kairos Power plans to build small reactors to help supply electricity to the tech company's data centers, in a first-of-its-kind deal in the U.S.
Matt Mullenweg:
Matt Mullenweg responds to DHH's claim that “Automattic is doing open source dirty”, pointing out Rails' own trademark policy and taking some jabs at 37signals  —  I'll just remind everyone at the start that this is a respectful debate, and DHH and I tried to get on a call but couldn't because we were both traveling.
Lily Hay Newman / Wired:
The FIDO Alliance debuts Credential Exchange Protocol, a specification to make passkeys portable across systems, and Passkey Central, a developer resource site  —  “Passkeys,” the secure authentication mechanism built to replace passwords, are getting more portable and easier for organizations …
Juby Babu / Reuters:
Sebastien Bubeck, Microsoft's VP of GenAI research who is known for his work on its Phi small language models, is joining OpenAI to “further his work” on AGI  —  Microsoft (MSFT.O) on Monday said that its vice president of GenAI research, Sebastien Bubeck, is leaving the company to join ChatGPT-maker OpenAI.
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Adobe launches its AI video model Firefly Video Model in public beta in Premiere Pro, including letting users extend footage and generate video from prompts  —  Adobe is making the jump into generative AI video.  The company's Firefly Video Model, which has been teased since earlier this year …
Jeremy Gray / PetaPixel:
Jess Weatherbed / The Verge:
Kali Hays / Fortune:
Analysis: since ChatGPT's launch about two years ago, the US DOD has awarded ~$670M in contracts to ~323 companies for AI projects, up 20% from 2021 and 2022  —  Robert Skinner, The Department of Defense chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, testifying in March 2024 before House Armed Services Subcommittee.
Tim Bradshaw / Financial Times:
UK podcaster Harry Stebbings' 20VC raised a $400M fund for early stage startups, one of Europe's biggest venture funds; the podcast recently hosted Sam Altman  —  British firm 20VC pulls in $400mn to invest in early stage tech start-ups  —  A venture firm founded by 28-year-old British …
Bloomberg:
Sources: Tether talked to several commodities trading firms about lending to them, as it hopes to face fewer regulatory restrictions than traditional lenders  —  - Commodity traders rely on credit lines to finance shipments  — Tether CEO says any commodities work ‘in early stages’

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More News

Asif Iqbal Shaik / SamMobile:

Earlier Picks

Devindra Hardawar / Engadget:
Tom Warren / The Verge:
Financial Times: