[Best Arnold Schwarzenegger voice] “If it sees, we can improve it.” Scientists give mice infrared vision, turning them into tiny Predators – CNET
Source: CNet

Finextra Research:

Revolut CFO Peter O’Higgins resigns this week in wake of allegations made against Revolut of allowing money laundering, and using dodgy hiring practices  —  The CFO of Revolut has resigned as the fintech unicorn makes headlines for all the wrong reasons, with allegations surface over serious lapses …

Take note HBO. Twitter will choose who sits on the Iron Throne in season 8. Kanye, Walter White sit on Iron Throne in remixed Game of Thrones posters – CNET
Source: CNet

Microcontrollers are wonderfully useful things, but programming them can be a little daunting if you’re used to the simplicity of compiling for regular PCs. Over time though, this has become easier. Communities have strayed away from assembly code and created higher-level languages such as Micropython, to allow these devices to be programmed in a more accessible manner. Unfortunately, Micropython has historically lacked a decent high-level GUI library. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case, with [amirgon] porting LittlevGL to the platform.

Putting a GUI into a project with a screen seems simple, until one actually gets down to brass tacks. A simple button can consist of a background color, text, and a symbol – and that’s not even considering the use of shading or other visual effects. Having a library to handle the grunt work can massively cut down development time.

LittlevGL is programmed in C, but this effort has made it possible to integrate it with Micropython code. It’s all object-oriented, and thus works well in the broader Python framework. [amirgon] notes that it’s particularly good for quick development, due to Python’s ability to run code without a slow compiling step.

There are other approaches to this problem, too – with MyOpenLab being a particularly versatile example.

LittlevGL Brings GUI Tools to Micropython
Source: HackADay

Disney’s new Star Wars theme park experience will open this year. Here’s what we know. Inside Star Wars land: New food, rides, and gear details revealed – CNET
Source: CNet

Feature could improve the health and civility of conversation on the site. Twitter testing feature that will let you hide replies to your tweets – CNET
Source: CNet

Natasha Lomas / TechCrunch:

LinkedIn suspends emails to connections when a European member has been mentioned in the news, after algorithm mixes up identities  —  LinkedIn has been forced to ‘pause’ a feature in Europe in which the platform emails members’ connections when they’ve been ‘mentioned in the news’.

Season 8 has just begun, and there have been some big changes to your favorite battle royale island. Fortnite season 8: Everything you need to know – CNET
Source: CNet

Jon Russell / TechCrunch:

Thailand’s government passes cybersecurity bill that has been criticized for vagueness and the potential to give the government sweeping access to user data  —  Thailand’s government passed a controversial cybersecurity bill today that has been criticized for vagueness and the potential to enable sweeping access internet user data.

The robot apocalypse just got more adorable. MIT's backflipping Mini Cheetah robot is too cute to fear – CNET
Source: CNet

Robert Hof / SiliconANGLE:

Dell reports Q4 revenue of $23.84B, up 9% YoY, in its first quarter as a newly public company, but a net loss of $287M, up from $133M in 2018  —  In its first quarter as a newly public company, Dell Technologies Inc. today reported marginally better-than-expected quarterly revenue growth but a higher-than-expected net loss.

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Twitter says in the coming months it will test a Hide Tweet feature that allows users to hide replies to their tweets that others can view through a menu option  —  Twitter has confirmed it’s developing a new “Hide Tweet” option, but has yet to provide detail about its launch plans for the feature.

Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:

Tesla says it is shifting all sales globally to online, resulting in some store closures and layoffs but allowing vehicle prices to be lowered by ~6% on average  —  Tesla is moving all of its sales online, a dramatic shift in its sales strategy that will result in the closure of stores …

Josh Constine / TechCrunch:

In letter to Sen. Warner, Facebook says teens were ~18% of users of its Research app over its lifetime; Facebook had said publicly that teens were less than 5%  —  Facebook has changed its story after initially trying to downplay how it targeted teens with its Research program …

Jem Aswad / Variety:

RIAA: US revenue for recorded music grew 12% in 2018 to $9.8B largely due to a 30% surge in streaming revenue; subscriptions to services like Spotify topped 50M  —  The U.S. music industry posted its third consecutive year of double-digit growth, according to the RIAA’s year-end revenue report issued today.

We love to see projects revisited, especially when new materials or methods make it worth giving the first design another go around. This twin-turbine vacuum-powered Dremel tool is a perfect example of what better tools can do for a build.

You may recall [JohnnyQ90]’s first attempt at a vacuum powered rotary tool. That incarnation, very similar in design to the current work, was entirely 3D-printed, and caused no little controversy in the comments about the wisdom of spinning anything made on an FDM printer at 43,000 RPM. Despite the naysaying, [Johnny] appears to have survived his own creation. But the turbo-tool did have its limitations, including somewhat anemic torque. This version, machined rather than printed and made almost completely from aluminum, seems to have solved that problem, perhaps thanks to the increased mass of the rotating parts. The twin rotors and the stator were milled with a 5-axis CNC machine, which has been a great addition to [JohnnyQ90]’s shop. The turbine shaft, looking like something from a miniature jet engine, was meticulously balanced using magnets mounted in the headstock and tailstock of a lathe. The video below shows the build and a few tests; we’re not big fans of the ergonomics of holding the tool on the end of that bulky hose, but it sure seems to work well. And that sound!

We first noticed [JohnnyQ90] when he machined aluminum from soda cans to make a mini Tesla turbine. His builds have come a long way since then, and we look forward to what he’ll come up with next.

Vacuum-Powered Rotary Tool Redux, This Time Machined
Source: HackADay

Elon Musk’s tweets earlier in the week had sparked an industry-wide guessing game over the electric automaker’s big surprise. Elon Musk’s long-promised ,000 Model 3 has finally arrived, Tesla says
Source: Washington Post Tech

A lot happened at Mobile World Congress 2019, but here’s the stuff you actually need to pay attention to. MWC 2019: The 7 most important developments – CNET
Source: CNet

Elon Musk’s entry-level Tesla offers an estimated 220 miles of range. The ,000 Tesla Model 3 is finally available to order – Roadshow
Source: CNet

Tesla is shutting down the bulk of its retail operations in favor of moving to an online-only sales methodology. Tesla to close retail stores, only sell cars online – Roadshow
Source: CNet

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and local business leaders are asking Amazon to come back. New York makes its pitch — again — for Amazon's HQ2 – CNET
Source: CNet

The governor of New York has called Jeff Bezos and other Amazon executives to persuade them to resurrect their plan to build a campus in Long Island City. Cuomo Speaks With Bezos, Furiously Trying to Win Back Amazon
Source: NY Times Tech

J. David Goodman / New York Times:

Sources: Gov. Cuomo has talked with Amazon execs, including Bezos, to try to lure Amazon back to NYC; a full-page ad coming Friday in the NYT will urge the same  —  [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]  —  Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who was staggered …

Insight analyst Lizzie Dunmore today published an analysis of Twitter interactions on the topic of AI between the general public, the media, and the 18 most influential AI influencers. Dunmore, who works for Onalytica, looked at a year’s worth of tweets from 3,000 influencers and 1,000 news media outlets to figure out who the most influential AI tweeters tweeting on Twitter ’twere (that’s bad grammar; good poetic license). She also determined what impact their interactions (likes and retweets) had on the top media outlets publishing AI stories. Furthermore, she even revealed whether the media outlets or the individual influencers had…

This story continues at The Next Web

Or just read more coverage about: Twitter

Here’s who has the most juice in Twitter’s AI influencer community
Source: The Next Web

The lower-priced offering comes as sales appear to slow and follows a reduction in the federal tax credit for the company’s electric vehicles. Tesla Offers a ,000 Model 3, as Elon Musk Long Promised
Source: NY Times Tech