🔋 Google’s nuclear leap, password-free future, Amazon’s tech shift
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, October 15. Today we are covering:
Google orders small modular nuclear reactors for its data centers
The War on Passwords Is One Step Closer to Being Over
Amazon bets on selling cashierless technology to retailers after pulling it from most U.S. stores
The Morning After: Our verdict on the Meta Quest 3S
US Weighs Capping Exports of AI Chips From Nvidia and AMD to Some Countries
YouTube rolling out new miniplayer, fine-tunable playback speed, sleep timer, and more
Let’s dive in
Google orders small modular nuclear reactors for its data centers
By Malcolm Moore via Financial Times
Google has ordered six to seven small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) from Kairos Power to supply low-carbon electricity to its data centers, marking the first tech company to commission nuclear power plants.
The reactors, with a total capacity of 500 megawatts, are part of a larger effort by Google to integrate nuclear energy into its clean energy strategy, with plans for the first commercial reactor to be online by 2030.
Kairos Power is pioneering a new reactor design using molten fluoride salt and TRISO fuel, and has received significant government backing, including $300 million from the U.S. Department of Energy.
𝕏: V interesting & important - Google to buy 6-7 small modular reactors to power data centres. Particularly significant that these aren't the standard light water reactors - liquid salt cooled "1st approval for a new type of reactor in USA for half a century" - Richard Jones (@RichardALJones)
The War on Passwords Is One Step Closer to Being Over
By Lily Hay Newman via WIRED
The FIDO Alliance is advancing password-free authentication with passkeys, introducing a new Credential Exchange Protocol (CXP) for easier portability across platforms and ecosystems.
Passkey Central, a new resource hub, aims to assist developers and organizations with implementing passkeys by offering guides, metrics, and other tools.
The adoption of passkeys is growing, with major tech companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft involved, and portability concerns being addressed to reduce vendor lock-in.
𝕏: "passkeys can make a real difference both for the digital security of individual people and for internet security overall. “There are a lot of vulnerable systems out there. ... You need to make it a lot harder for bad actors to defeat password schemes. You need to make everything more secure and passkeys is part of that.” - craig newmark (@craignewmark)
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Amazon bets on selling cashierless technology to retailers after pulling it from most U.S. stores
By Annie Palmer via CNBC
Amazon is shifting focus from using its Just Walk Out cashierless technology in its own stores to selling it to third-party retailers, despite removing the system from most U.S. Fresh and Whole Foods locations.
The technology, which requires cameras and sensors, remains costly to scale in large formats, but Amazon has secured deals with over 200 third-party stores and aims to double that number this year.
Amazon is following a similar strategy as with AWS, moving Just Walk Out to its cloud division to help retailers integrate the system and ease concerns about data privacy.
YouTube rolling out new miniplayer, fine-tunable playback speed, sleep timer, and more
By Abner Li via 9to5Google
YouTube is rolling out a new miniplayer for Android and iOS, allowing users to resize and move the picture-in-picture window, along with easier controls for play/pause and rewinding.
A Sleep Timer and fine-tunable playback speed are being added, offering customizable increments for all users, while collaborative playlists and custom thumbnails are coming to both YouTube and YouTube Music.
YouTube badges are being introduced to recognize milestones, such as being a top listener on YouTube Music or a paid member on a creator’s channel.
The Morning After: Our verdict on the Meta Quest 3S
By Mat Smith via Engadget
Meta Quest 3S is a more affordable version of the Quest 3, priced at $300, offering improved processing power and mixed reality features, though it has lower-res screens and cheaper lenses.
The Quest 3S supports Xbox titles and can connect to a PC for VR games like Half-Life: Alyx, maintaining a balance between cost-cutting and functionality.
With 128GB of storage, the Quest 3S offers similar controllers and environmental tracking as the Quest 3, but trims down on some premium features to keep the price accessible.
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