Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Tech

Scientists at Tufts University have developed a new weight-loss drug that's twice as effective and has fewer side effects compared to Ozempic. The experimental medication targets four hormones - GLP-1, GIP, glucagon, and peptide YY - to manage appetite and blood sugar levels, offering up to 30% long-lasting weight loss with reduced nausea and muscle loss.

A software developer shares their 18-month journey building RekoSearch, a SaaS platform allowing users to semantically search media files with natural language queries. Despite initial struggles with technical challenges, the platform now features advanced search capabilities and filtering, built on overcoming scalability, security, performance, cost, and niche implementation problems to improve its functionality over time.

New Mexico has become the first state to offer universal child care, starting November 1. The initiative aims to provide financial relief and quality early childhood education to all families, regardless of income. Families with incomes below 400% of federal poverty level already benefit from no-cost care since 2019, expanding coverage nationwide.

Swift's use of actors is particularly relevant in concurrency scenarios where value types are suitable for non-shared data and reference types offer sharing capabilities but come with limitations. Actors provide a solution that models concurrent behavior using the type system, guiding their use cases, such as handling non-Sendable state requiring atomic mutations.

Robusta offers cloud-native solutions to improve Prometheus alerts and remediation processes, reducing incident risk and outages through innovation and efficiency. The company's features include multi-cluster operations, auto-alerts, change tracking, cost savings, and Kubernetes monitoring, with a free trial demo available; the page also highlights its SOC 2 compliance and social media presence.

Apple has unveiled its new iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max models with a bold cosmic orange color option and aluminum unibody design. The devices boast improved cameras, including 48-megapixel rear cameras and 18-megapixel front cameras, as well as advanced features like ProRes RAW capture and Genlock support, starting pre-orders on Friday September 19.

AT&T has received FCC approval to shut down its copper-based DSL and phone services in 10% of its service footprint, marking a significant step towards modernizing its infrastructure. The move is part of AT&T's network modernization strategy, transitioning customers to fiber optic networks and 5G by the end of 2029.

I'd love to help break down complex tech topics into easy-to-understand stories that'll make you excited about what's happening in technology. I can provide answers to your burning questions, offer a fresh perspective on the latest trends and innovations, or share my genuine enthusiasm for their possibilities and potential impact on our world.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has instructed all employees to start using ChatGPT as part of their daily work, citing its benefits in improving healthcare, business, and government operations. Employees are advised to be skeptical of the tool's answers and consider original sources, amidst controversy over HHS's handling of science policies.

The author warns of AI agents controlling laptops without strict security boundaries, citing a lack of separation between applications. They propose two solutions: cloud environments or virtual machines to isolate AI agents, and integrating AI with browsers that enforce boundaries, finding the latter more plausible due to its potential for better isolation.

Ford is recalling approximately 1.5 million US vehicles due to a rearview camera issue that may cause a blank or distorted image on the center display screen while reversing. The affected models include Lincoln Navigator and F-550 SD, manufactured between 2015 and 2019, with no reported injuries but 18 accidents attributed to the camera problem.

American tech giants like IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Microsoft sold surveillance software to China's government, which used it to build a massive surveillance network in Xinjiang province, monitoring millions of people. The technology enabled the Chinese government to track individuals considered suspicious, raising human rights concerns and fueling criticism of these companies' complicity.

Google's experimental Carbon language, an "experimental successor to C++," is expected to reach its MVP in late 2026 and full version 1.0 by 2028. Development has been hindered by behind-the-scenes drama, egos, and technical challenges, with purists pushing for a Rust-inspired design versus pragmatists advocating for a quicker release.