- Will's Weekly Roundup
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- Will's Weekly Roundup
Will's Weekly Roundup is a weekly newsletter of curated tech, business, AI, and startup news (and what I'm thinking about).
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Headlines
The tech and business headlines you missed (or need to see again)...
Masters - The merch tent at the Masters will do about $70 million in merch sales in one week. That's $10 million a day, $1 million an hour, $16,000 a minute, and $277 every second. LINK
Easter - Easter spending is expected to hit a record $24B. LINK
Murder - Tech executive Bob Lee, founder of Cash App, was found dead after an apparent stabbing attack in San Francisco. LINK
McJobless - McDonald’s has temporarily shut down its US offices this week, asking employees to work from home so they can deliver layoff and restructuring decisions virtually. LINK
Tesla - Tesla posted record Q1 deliveries yet missed estimates. LINK
Bitcoin - Bitcoin and the tech-heavy Nasdaq were among the best-performing assets of Q1. LINK
Google - Google will cut down on fitness classes, stationary, and the frequency of laptop replacements as part of a 'multi-year' savings plan. LINK
Jobs - Here’s a list of the hottest job markets in the US. LINK
Missiles - US Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $4.5B missiles contract. LINK
Adobe - Adobe's new AI tool Firefly lets you type text to edit images. LINK
Frank - Charlie Javice, the founder of college financial-planning platform startup ‘Frank’, has been criminally charged with fraud for duping JPMorgan to the tune of $175 million. LINK
Gold - Gold prices jumped to a 13-month high and closed above $2,000 for the first time since March 2022 following the latest job openings data. LINK
Canada - Canada’s Toronto-Dominion Bank is the most shorted major global bank — with $3.7B in bets against its stock (3.3% of its total shares). LINK
Coal - Coal capacity increased by 1% worldwide last year despite global promises to phase down use. LINK
Pickleball - Big chains like Subway and Walmart are looking to capitalize on the pickleball craze. Here’s what they’re doing. LINK
FaZe - One of the world's largest and most successful esports and entertainment organizations FaZe Clan reported a $53.2 million loss for 2022. LINK
Salaries - Here are the salaries you need to live comfortably in 15 major US cities. LINK
Watchlist
Startups and companies I’m keeping an eye on…
Capable - Italian startup Capable has designed a line of knitted garments that protect you from facial recognition software and AI cameras without the need to cover your face. LINK
Oxos - Handheld X-rays machines now exist. Oxos is one company making them. LINK
Sepura - Sepura is creating an innovative garbage disposal device that seamlessly feeds waste into a compost bin, promoting sustainable living by effectively reducing household waste. LINK
Ori Living - Oril Living is revolutionizing apartment living with its innovative motorized closets, desks, and beds that expand and move electronically, providing extra space when needed and saving valuable square footage when not in use. LINK
Outmost Gear - Outmost Gear is the Craigslist for buying and selling vetted outdoor gear. LINK
Ideas
Some ideas I'm thinking about...
Software is the New Oil - In 2021, India exported more in software ($133 billion) than Saudi Arabia did in oil ($113 billion), and the disparity is only growing larger. LINK
Crypto Guys - Self-proclaimed “Crypto Guys” are all renaming themselves “AI Guys” on Twitter. LINK
Forbes 30 Under 30 - There’s a 68% chance there's another Forbes 30 under 30 member will be arrested for fraud before 2025, according to one source. LINK
Quantum Computers - Many people mistakenly believe that quantum computers are simply upgraded versions of our current computers with greater size and speed. This is a misconception, as quantum computers are an entirely distinct type of computing technology. Unlike traditional computers that systematically explore all possible solutions to a problem, quantum computers extract patterns from vast amounts of data and use these patterns to arrive at a solution. LINK
Treadmill Desks - An office building in Amsterdam is turning one of its rooms into a giant treadmill to replace treadmill desks. LINK
The Uber Test - If your taxi or Uber driver starts talking about a certain topic, you can assume with a high degree of certainty that the topic is officially mainstream. For example, if your driver starts talking to you about ChatGPT, you know the era of AI is here. LINK
iPhone Keyboards - Your iPhone keyboard changes in size as you type. For example, if you type the letter T, there’s a high probability that you're going to type H next because THE is a common word. What happens is that the H key stays the same physical size on the screen to your eye, but the hit/tap region for the letter key grows. Here’s a TikTok demonstrating this. LINK
Perfect Tuesday Test - The Perfect Tuesday Test is a fun way to imagine and plan for your ideal future by picturing your ideal Tuesday and all the things you'd be doing, who you'd be with, and where you'd be. LINK
AI
ChatGPT and AI news, tools, tips, and tricks…
Italy Bans ChatGPT - ChatGPT is now banned in Italy over data privacy concerns. LINK
Photomath x ChatGPT - QuizardAI is an app that combines the camera scanning quality of Photomath with the universal problem-solving capabilities of ChatGPT. LINK
GPT Accuracy Improvement - GPT-4 becomes 30% more accurate when asked to critique itself. LINK
ChatGPT for PDFs - HumataAI is a website that lets you ask ChatGPT questions on information from a PDF. LINK
Super Prompts - The quality of ChatGPT's responses depends on the quality of the prompts it receives. This website enhances your prompts into 'super prompts' to yield the best possible outputs. LINK
Human Hands - AI art struggles to generate images involving human hands. Here’s why. LINK
Picks
Articles and videos worth a read/watch...
“He who submits a resume has already lost” LINK
“Quantum computers, explained” LINK
“Good conversations have lots of doorknobs” LINK
“The counterintuitive reasons why startups fail” LINK
Visuals
Top US Banks by Uninsured Deposits
Layoffs announced between July 1, 2022 and March 23, 2023 sized by the number of workers laid off.
Home prices have outpaced incomes.
Outside Interest
Some interesting non-business or tech-related things…
Ukraine & TikTok - A Tiktok data center has purchased all the available electricity supply, leaving a factory that produces shells for Ukraine unable to obtain additional power. LINK
Kanye - This guy made a Kanye song without Kanye using AI. Music is forever changed. LINK
FBI - FBI and global agencies shut down Genesis Market, a hacker marketplace for buying stolen credentials, in "Operation Cookie Monster." 120 arrests were made, 59k users were identified, and 80 million account credentials were stolen before the site's takedown. LINK
Pizza - This website will randomly deliver 2 pizzas to your house for $19.99/month. LINK
Chipotle doppelganger - A TikTok went viral of a woman who was told she has a “Chipotle doppelganger” while using the Chipotle apple. This could be an interesting fun feature for other food apps to add. LINK
Champagne Shooter - This attachment for a champagne bottle enables you to spray it like a water gun, adding a playful and unique twist to your celebrations. LINK
Allergies - Giving babies peanut butter can reduce the risk of developing peanut allergies by 77%, according to a study. LINK
Google Maps - You can blur your house on Google Maps. LINK
Canada v US Immigration - Canada let in a million immigrants last year. The equivalent for the US would be 9 million. Public opinion of immigration is very positive and broadly supported. How? Canada is selective about who it admits, with eligibility criteria that value higher education and skilled work. LINK
Paris eScooters - Paris has had enough of people just ditching their Lime scooters in front of the Arc de Triomphe. In a referendum, the city voted to ban all scooter rental companies from the city. LINK
Color & Language - Not all languages have the same basic color categories, and it’s fascinating. What does that mean exactly? This TikTok explains it in 70 seconds. LINK
Quotes
"In the end, the business of life is the acquisition of memories. So what are you waiting for?” ― Bill Perkins
"People do not decide their futures. They decide their habits, and their habits decide their futures." ― F.M. Alexander
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