Pixel Vault banks $100 million in funding to chase an NFT media empire

Plus: Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarter, and more...

Good morning. Is not too late to ask about how was January for you right? What changes are you looking forward to making in February? If you’re feeling brave, hit reply and let’s talk in the inbox!

In today’s edition:

• Pixel Vault banks $100 million in funding to chase an NFT media empire

• Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarter

• North Korea Hacked Him. So He Took Down Its Internet

• Beijing's Assault on Apple Daily Is a Hong Kong Cautionary Tale

• DeepMind says its new AI coding engine is as good as an average human programmer 

— Jose Montes de Oca

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Today’s pick

Pixel Vault banks $100 million in funding to chase an NFT media empire

(Lucas Matney via TechCrunch)

TechCrunch @TechCrunch

Pixel Vault banks $100 million in funding to build an NFT media empire tcrn.ch/3IZ4e4Y by @lucasmtny

tcrn.chPixel Vault banks $100 million in funding to chase an NFT media empire – TechCrunchThe world of NFTs is bizarre, confounding and exhilarating. Detractors see a space full of capital-obsessed hucksters who want to choke all of the lasting value from popular culture, while boosters see a new technological revolution that can transform how value from online media is actually created…

Facebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarter

(Alex Heath via The Verge)

Alex Heath @alexeheath

Confirmed that last quarter was the first-ever sequential decline in global Facebook daily users. It is loosing relevance with teens and spending $$$ on metaverse stuff that won’t pay off for awhile

theverge.comFacebook lost daily users for the first time ever last quarterA metaverse pivot isn’t going to fix the social network’s main problems: slowing user and ad growth

North Korea Hacked Him. So He Took Down Its Internet

(Andy Greenberg via WIRED)

Andy Greenberg @a_greenberg

For weeks, observers of North Korea have noted that the country's internet seemed to be under attack, with all its websites down at times. This wasn't the work of US Cyber Command. It was a single hacker getting even after NK spies targeted him last year.

wired.comNorth Korea Hacked Him. So He Took Down Its InternetDisappointed with the lack of US response to the Hermit Kingdom’s attacks against US security researchers, one hacker took matters into his own hands.

Beijing's Assault on Apple Daily Is a Hong Kong Cautionary Tale

(Iain Marlow via Bloomberg)

Iain Marlow @iainmarlow

How Beijing’s takedown of a pro-democracy newspaper is silencing a financial capital. My deep dive on the demise of Hong Kong's Apple Daily is this week's cover story for @BW. bloomberg.com/features/2022-…

DeepMind says its new AI coding engine is as good as an average human programmer

(James Vincent via The Verge)

James Vincent @jjvincent

we usually think of AI as posing the biggest threat to white-collar work, but there's reason to think we'll replace programmers quicker than steelworkers. here's one piece of evidence for that hypothesis: DeepMind has unveiled a new automated AI coder

theverge.comDeepMind says its new AI coding engine is as good as an average human programmerDeepMind teaches AI to code.

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