Facebook has decided it needs to be more like TikTok and is going to "start heavily recommending posts regardless of where they come from". More algorithms baby, yeeeehawww! Realising this will probably alienate an already weary audience, they've added a "Feeds" tab to the Android and iOS app that "contains recent posts from friends, groups, Facebook Pages, and favorites, with no Suggested For You posts in sight". They're also "partnering with the Messenger team to enable an integrated inbox for more people on Facebook". Unrelated, but Mark Zuckerberg and his cronies have to give long depositions about Facebook's role in that Cambridge Analytica bullshit as part of a class action lawsuit that's been dragging on for years. The leaked video will be fun to watch.
The Southern District of New York (shout out to my boy Chuck Rhoades) has indicted Ishan Wahni a former product manager at Coinbase, along with his brother and a friend, with "wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud in connection with a scheme to commit insider trading in cryptocurrency assets by using confidential Coinbase information about which crypto assets were scheduled to be listed on Coinbase's exchanges". When a new coin or whatever gets listed on Coinbase, it gains legitimacy and has a massive boost in its price. Ishan would use his inside knowledge of future coin listings on Coinbase to buy up before the news was public. They made a cheeky US$1.5m all up. Classical fraud, so clean and simple really, beginner level shit.
Amazon dipped into the piggy bank and spent US$3.9b to buy One Medical. They appear to be a large nationwide GP & allied health chain with a subscription (of course there's a subscription, US healthcare!). Pay $199/yr on top of your existing health insurance and get access to doctor stuff. Amazon now owns it, deepening its tentacles into the health sector. Amazon's press release says "we think health care is high on the list of experiences that need reinvention" and One Medical's "human-centered and technology-powered approach to health care" will "improve the quality of the experience and give people back valuable time in their days". Sounds terrifying when Amazon says it.
Ever wondered what's inside the dome on top of Google's street view cars? This Trek View post from 2019 goes into some detail. There's a differential GPS setup and wheel mounted odometers to get precise location info. Laser range scanners "for recording the actual dimensions of the space being photographed". LIDAR scanners "to capture 3D depth information" and "additional positional information", plus the obvious air quality sensors and wi-fi hardware to collect network info.
Here's five interesting discussions over on The Sizzle's paid subscriber forum for you to enjoy over the weekend. If you are not a paid subscriber but want to get involved, visit https://thesizzle.com.au/payme to get onboard.
📻 A Foul Form - Thee Oh Sees, Osees
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The Sizzle is created on Wathaurong land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.