Subj : 2024's top apps ¨, T-Mobile Starlink beta ¨, AI-proofing dev careers ¨¨ To : tldr@synchro.net From : TLDR Date : Tue Dec 17 2024 11:36:07 --hPPodJLM Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Apple has released a list of top apps and games for 2024. Temu was the mo= st downloaded free app in the US App Store. TikTok made the list at No.= 3=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0= =E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2= =A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C= =C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80= =8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0= =E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80= =8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0= =E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2= =A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C= =C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80= =8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0=E2=80=8C=C2=A0= =E2=80=8C=C2=A0 Sign Up [1] |Advertise [2]|View Online [3]=20 = =09=09TLDR =09=09TOGETHER WITH [Bland.ai] [4] TLDR 2024-12-17 = PUT YOUR SALES/CS CALLS ON AUTOPILOT AND WATCH CONVERSIONS SOAR WITH = BLAND'S AI AGENT (SPONSOR) [4]=20 What if your phones were manned by a = dedicated Sales Department for a fraction of the cost of a salaried emplo= yee? How about Customer Support that never sleeps? Operations staff that = never make mistakes? With Bland's AI phone agent [4], it's that easy. = All you need to do is: =09* Tell Bland your use case. =09* Choos= e a voice + language. =09* Teach it like an employee in quick steps. = =09* Have your Bland agents book meetings =F0=9F=93=85, transfer calls = =F0=9F=93=9E, update CRM =F0=9F=AB=B1 + take phone payments =F0=9F=92= =B5. Sounds crazy? Give it a call yourself [4]. TLDR readers get = access to an even more intelligent version here... [5] =F0=9F=93= =B1=20 BIG TECH & STARTUPS TEMU IS THE MOST DOWNLOADED APP ON THE = US APP STORE IN 2024 (2 MINUTE READ) [6]=20 Apple has released a list= of top apps and games for 2024. Temu was the most downloaded free app in= the US App Store. TikTok made the list at No. 3 behind Threads. ChatGPT = made the list at No. 4 - it didn't make the top 10 last year. The full li= sts can be found on the App Store's Today page.=20 T-MOBILE USERS CAN= TRY STARLINK-ENABLED PHONE SERVICE FOR FREE DURING BETA (3 MINUTE READ) = [7]=20 T-Mobile has open registration for the beta of its T-Mobile Star= link service, which will enable text messaging via satellites in dead zon= es not covered by cell towers. The service uses Starlink's low-Earth or= bit satellites to provide coverage. SpaceX has so far launched over 300 s= atellites with direct-to-cell capabilities. The beta will begin in early = 2025. It will be open to all T-Mobile postpaid customers for free, but ca= pacity is limited.=20 =F0=9F=9A=80=20 SCIENCE & FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY= EUROPE'S STARLINK COMPETITOR IS GO (2 MINUTE READ) [8]=20 The EU= 's IRIS2 constellation is expected to come online by 2030. The Starlink c= ompetitor will provide secure connectivity to Europe and bring high-speed= internet to dead zones. SpaceRISE, a consortium led by European satellit= e network operators and supported by European satcom subcontractors, has = been given a 12-year concession contract to develop, deploy, and operate = the IRIS2 constellation. The EU's partnership with SpaceRISE is intended = to demonstrate the power of public-private collaboration in driving innov= ation and delivering tangible benefits to all Europeans.=20 SAMSUNG'S= PREMIUM LASER TV BECOMES WORLD'S FIRST CERTIFIED 8K PROJECTOR (3 MINUTE = READ) [9]=20 Samsung's yet-to-be-launched The Premiere 8K projector is = the industry's first recipient of the 8K Association's new certification= and logo. The projector excelled across all key categories. There aren= 't many details available about the upcoming premium ultra-short-throw pr= ojector, but Samsung has released a few official images. Samsung will lik= ely reveal more details, including pricing and availability, at CES 2025.= =20 =F0=9F=92=BB=20 PROGRAMMING, DESIGN & DATA SCIENCE = =E2=9C=82=EF=B8=8F CUT YOUR QA CYCLES DOWN FROM HOURS TO MINUTES (SPONSOR) = [10]=20 If slow QA processes bottleneck you or your software engineerin= g team and you're releasing slower because of it =E2=80=94 you need to ch= eck out QA Wolf. QA Wolf's [10] AI-native approach gets engineering = teams to 80% automated end-to-end test coverage [10] and helps them ship = 5x faster by reducing QA cycles from hours to minutes. The result? W= ith QA Wolf, Drata's team of 80+ engineers [11] achieved 4x more test cas= es and 86% faster QA cycles. Schedule a demo to learn more = =F0=9F=90=BA [10] ASK HN: SWES HOW DO YOU FUTURE-PROOF YOUR CAREER IN= LIGHT OF LLMS? (HACKER NEWS THREAD) [12]=20 Large language models ar= e becoming a part of software engineering. The technology could replace a= lot of engineers, so younger engineers may feel like they need to find a= way to future-proof their careers. The technology is still very new and = can't produce professional code. There's also a lot more to being an engi= neer than coding, so many senior developers feel confident that it will b= e a while until AI can replace software engineers, if ever.=20 CYPHER= NETES (GITHUB REPO) [13]=20 Cyphernetes is a Kubernetes query language.= It uses a mixture of ASCII-art, SQL, and JSON to let developers express = graph operations in an efficient way that is also fun and creative. Cyphe= rnetes allows developers to query and mutate Kubernetes resources in a na= tural way. It works out-of-the-box with CRDs and supports multi-cluster q= ueries.=20 =F0=9F=8E=81=20 MISCELLANEOUS TIKTOK ASKS SUPREME CO= URT TO BLOCK LAW BANNING ITS U.S. OPERATIONS (7 MINUTE READ) [14]=20 = TikTok has asked the Supreme Court to temporarily block the law that woul= d effectively ban it in the US. The company claims the law violated its F= irst Amendment rights and those of its 170 million American users. TikTok= has urged the justices to maintain the status quo while they decide on w= hether to hear an appeal.=20 AMAZON AND THE ENDANGERED FUTURE OF THE MI= DDLE MANAGER (7 MINUTE READ) [15]=20 Amazon is a leading indicator of= a new era of flattening in corporate structure. Its slashing of manager = roles isn't just about cost cutting, but a glimpse into the future of wor= k. Amazon is targeting an increase in the ratio of individual contributor= s to managers by at least 15% by the end of Q1 2025 across all divisions.= It is estimated that the company could cut as many as 14,000 management = positions, which would result in $2 billion to $4 billion in savings.=20 = =E2=9A=A1=20 QUICK LINKS NINTENDO SWITCH 2 DESIGN SEEMINGLY LEA= KED BY CARRYING CASE MAKER =E2=80=94 SIMILAR AESTHETICS BUT WITH A LARGER= SCREEN AND JOY-CONS (3 MINUTE READ) [16]=20 Dbrand has released a fu= ll 3D render of a Nintendo Switch 2 with a version of the Dbrand Killswit= ch carrying case.=20 WORDPRESS FORCES USERS TO AGREE THAT PINEAPPLE IS = GOOD ON PIZZA (3 MINUTE READ) [17]=20 WordPress has added a compulsor= y checkbox on its login page possibly as a response to a decision made by= a federal district judge that granted a preliminary injunction against M= att Mullenweg and Automattic.=20 WAYMO TO BEGIN TESTING IN TOKYO, ITS= FIRST INTERNATIONAL DESTINATION (2 MINUTE READ) [18]=20 Waymo will b= egin testing its robotaxis in Tokyo in early 2025.=20 GOOGLE'S WHISK AI= GENERATOR WILL =E2=80=98REMIX' THE PICTURES YOU PLUG IN (2 MINUTE READ) = [19]=20 Google's Whisk AI generator lets users generate images using ot= her images as prompts instead of requiring a text prompt.=20 BLUESKY = AND DECENTRALIZATION (73 MINUTE READ) [20]=20 A discussion on Bluesky, = decentralization, 'credible exit', and where the technology should go fro= m here.=20 TESLA IS HAVING MAJOR ISSUE WITH ITS SELF-DRIVING COMPUTER I= NSIDE NEW CARS (3 MINUTE READ) [21]=20 A new version of Tesla's HW4 o= nboard self-driving computer is failing, possibly due to a battery short-= circuiting the computer during the camera calibration process.=20 Love= TLDR? Tell your friends and get rewards! Share your referral link be= low with friends to get free TLDR swag!=20 https://refer.tldr.tech/1fd8= 48fa/ [22]=20 =09=09Track your referrals here. 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Apple has = released a list of top apps and games for 2024. Temu was the most downloade= d free app in the US App Store. TikTok made the list at No. 3 =E2=80= =8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80= =8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80= =8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80= =8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80= =8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80= =8C  =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C = =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C = =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C = =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C = =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C = =E2=80=8C =E2=80=8C 

TLDR

Together With 3D"Bland.ai"

TLDR 2024-12-17

Put Your Sales/CS Calls on = Autopilot and Watch Conversions Soar with Bland's AI Agent (Sponsor)

What if your phones were manned by a de= dicated Sales Department for a fraction of the cost of a salaried employee?= How about Customer Support that never sleeps? Operations staff that never = make mistakes?

With Bland's AI phone agen= t, it's that easy. All you need to do is:

  1. Tell Bland your use case.
  2. Choose a voice + language.
  3. Teach it like an employee in quick steps.
  4. Have your Bland agents book meetings =F0=9F=93=85, transfer calls =F0= =9F=93=9E, update CRM =F0=9F=AB=B1 + take phone payments =F0=9F=92=B5.

Sounds crazy? Give it a call yourself.

TLDR readers get access to an even mo= re intelligent version here...

=F0=9F= =93=B1

Big Tech & Startups

Temu is the most downloaded= app on the US App Store in 2024 (2 minute read)

Apple has released a list of top apps a= nd games for 2024. Temu was the most downloaded free app in the US App Stor= e. TikTok made the list at No. 3 behind Threads. ChatGPT made the list at N= o. 4 - it didn't make the top 10 last year. The full lists can be found on = the App Store's Today page.
T-Mobile users can try Star= link-enabled phone service for free during beta (3 minute read)

T-Mobile has open registration for the = beta of its T-Mobile Starlink service, which will enable text messaging via= satellites in dead zones not covered by cell towers. The service uses Star= link's low-Earth orbit satellites to provide coverage. SpaceX has so far la= unched over 300 satellites with direct-to-cell capabilities. The beta will = begin in early 2025. It will be open to all T-Mobile postpaid customers for= free, but capacity is limited.
=F0=9F= =9A=80

Science & Futuristic Technology

Europe's Starlink competito= r is go (2 minute read)

The EU's IRIS2 constellation is expecte= d to come online by 2030. The Starlink competitor will provide secure conne= ctivity to Europe and bring high-speed internet to dead zones. SpaceRISE, a= consortium led by European satellite network operators and supported by Eu= ropean satcom subcontractors, has been given a 12-year concession contract = to develop, deploy, and operate the IRIS2 constellation. The EU's partnersh= ip with SpaceRISE is intended to demonstrate the power of public-private co= llaboration in driving innovation and delivering tangible benefits to all E= uropeans.
Samsung's premium Laser TV = becomes world's first certified 8K projector (3 minute read)

Samsung's yet-to-be-launched The Premie= re 8K projector is the industry's first recipient of the 8K Association's n= ew certification and logo. The projector excelled across all key categories= .. There aren't many details available about the upcoming premium ultra-shor= t-throw projector, but Samsung has released a few official images. Samsung = will likely reveal more details, including pricing and availability, at CES= 2025.
=F0=9F= =92=BB

Programming, Design & Data Science

=E2=9C=82=EF=B8=8F Cut your= QA cycles down from hours to minutes (Sponsor)

If slow QA processes bottleneck you or = your software engineering team and you're releasing slower because of it = =E2=80=94 you need to check out QA Wolf.

QA Wolf's AI-native approach gets engineering= teams to 80% automated end-to-= end test coverage and helps them ship 5x faster by reducing QA c= ycles from hours to minutes.

The result? With QA Wolf, Drata's team of 80+ engineers achieved 4x more= test cases and 86% faster QA cycles.

Schedule a demo to learn mor= e =F0=9F=90=BA

Ask HN: SWEs how do you fut= ure-proof your career in light of LLMs? (Hacker News Thread)

Large language models are becoming a pa= rt of software engineering. The technology could replace a lot of engineers= , so younger engineers may feel like they need to find a way to future-proo= f their careers. The technology is still very new and can't produce profess= ional code. There's also a lot more to being an engineer than coding, so ma= ny senior developers feel confident that it will be a while until AI can re= place software engineers, if ever.
Cyphernetes (GitHub Repo)

Cyphernetes is a Kubernetes query langu= age. It uses a mixture of ASCII-art, SQL, and JSON to let developers expres= s graph operations in an efficient way that is also fun and creative. Cyphe= rnetes allows developers to query and mutate Kubernetes resources in a natu= ral way. It works out-of-the-box with CRDs and supports multi-cluster queri= es.
=F0=9F= =8E=81

Miscellaneous

<= /div>
TikTok Asks Supreme Court t= o Block Law Banning Its U.S. Operations (7 minute read)

TikTok has asked the Supreme Court to t= emporarily block the law that would effectively ban it in the US. The compa= ny claims the law violated its First Amendment rights and those of its 170 = million American users. TikTok has urged the justices to maintain the statu= s quo while they decide on whether to hear an appeal.
Amazon and the endangered f= uture of the middle manager (7 minute read)

Amazon is a leading indicator of a new = era of flattening in corporate structure. Its slashing of manager roles isn= 't just about cost cutting, but a glimpse into the future of work. Amazon i= s targeting an increase in the ratio of individual contributors to managers= by at least 15% by the end of Q1 2025 across all divisions. It is estimate= d that the company could cut as many as 14,000 management positions, which = would result in $2 billion to $4 billion in savings.
=E2=9A= =A1

Quick Links

Nintendo Switch 2 design se= emingly leaked by carrying case maker =E2=80=94 similar aesthetics but with= a larger screen and Joy-Cons (3 minute read)

Dbrand has released a full 3D render of= a Nintendo Switch 2 with a version of the Dbrand Killswitch carrying case.
WordPress Forces Users to A= gree That Pineapple Is Good on Pizza (3 minute read)

WordPress has added a compulsory checkb= ox on its login page possibly as a response to a decision made by a federal= district judge that granted a preliminary injunction against Matt Mullenwe= g and Automattic.
Waymo to begin testing in T= okyo, its first international destination (2 minute read)

Waymo will begin testing its robotaxis = in Tokyo in early 2025.
Google's Whisk AI generator= will =E2=80=98remix' the pictures you plug in (2 minute read)

Google's Whisk AI generator lets users = generate images using other images as prompts instead of requiring a text p= rompt.
Bluesky and Decentralizatio= n (73 minute read)

A discussion on Bluesky, decentralizati= on, 'credible exit', and where the technology should go from here.
Tesla is having major issue= with its self-driving computer inside new cars (3 minute read)

A new version of Tesla's HW4 onboard se= lf-driving computer is failing, possibly due to a battery short-circuiting = the computer during the camera calibration process.

Love TLDR? Tell your friends and get rewards!

Share your referral link below with friends to get free TLDR swag!
https://refer.tldr.tech/1fd848fa/
Trac= k your referrals here.

Want to advertise in TLDR? =F0=9F=93=B0

If your company is interested in reaching an audience of tech executives, d= ecision-makers and engineers, you may want to advertise with us.

If you have any comments or feedback, just respond to this email!

Thanks for reading,
Dan Ni & Stephen Flanders


If you don't want to receive fu= ture editions of TLDR, please unsubscribe = from TLDR or manage all of your TLDR newsletter subscriptions<= /a>.
3D"" --hPPodJLM-- --- þ Synchronet þ Vertrauen þ Home of Synchronet þ [vert/cvs/bbs].synchro.net .