* Originally in: Dovenet TechTalk

Apple has reportedly ended work on its electric car project.

From TLDR 2024-02-28

AFTER A DECADE OF STOPS AND STARTS, APPLE KILLS ITS ELECTRIC CAR
PROJECT (2 MINUTE READ) [6]

Apple has reportedly ended work on its electric car project. It will
shift some of the staff to work on generative AI projects while laying
off others. Project Titan, which had been in development for 10 years,
was originally going to be a car with a luxurious limo-like interior
and robust self-driving capabilities. Its ambitions were scaled back
after multiple changes in direction and leadership. The project faced
high startup costs and a difficult regulatory environment, making it
hard for the company to find the profit margins it hoped for.

KLARNA SAYS ITS AI ASSISTANT DOES THE WORK OF 700 PEOPLE AFTER IT
LAID OFF 700 PEOPLE (4 MINUTE READ) [17]

Klarna has released data that demonstrates AI's ability to handle
customer communications, make shoppers happier, and drive better
financial results.

META MIGHT DEMO A PAIR OF `TRUE' AR SMART GLASSES LATER IN 2024
(3 MINUTE READ) [7]

Meta may reveal a pair of augmented reality smart glasses at its Meta
Connect event later this year. Orion will be a 'true' AR device. There
is a lot of internal pressure at the company to produce a high-quality
demo. Company insiders are now experimenting with advanced prototypes.
The glasses likely won't be available to the public until 2027.

IT TURNS OUT THAT ODYSSEUS LANDED ON THE MOON WITHOUT ANY ALTIMETRY
DATA (5 MINUTE READ) [8]

Intuitive Machines believes that its mission to land on the Moon was
a complete success, despite Odysseus toppling over after touching
down. The moon lander's range finders were discovered to be inoperable
a couple of hours before it was due to attempt to land on the Moon, so
the company rewrote its software to take advantage of three telescopes
on a NASA payload for altimetry purposes. While the patch mostly
worked, Odysseus' onboard flight computer was unable to process the
data in real time - its last accurate altitude reading was more than
12 minutes before touchdown. This forced the lander to rely on optical
data, resulting in it coming down much faster than planned.

VARDA'S DRUG-COOKING WINNEBAGO WILL BE REMEMBERED AS A SPACE
PIONEER (6 MINUTE READ) [9]

Varda's Winnebago series is designed to bring pharmaceutical research specimens back to Earth for laboratory analysis and eventual
commercial exploitation. The company's business plan involves
producing pharmaceuticals and other goods in low-Earth orbit inside an automated laboratory for a fraction of the cost of a human space
flight mission. Some goods benefit from being produced in a
microgravity environment. The success of the mission may mean that the
FAA will see the same increase in demand for reentry licenses that it
has seen for launch licenses.

WENDY'S WILL EXPERIMENT WITH DYNAMIC SURGE PRICING FOR FOOD IN 2025
(2 MINUTE READ) [12]

Wendy's will start testing dynamic pricing and AI menu features in
2025. Dynamic pricing means that prices for food items will
automatically change throughout the day depending on demand. The
company will invest approximately $20 million to install digital menus
capable of displaying real-time variable prices across all of its company-operated locations in the US. Dynamic pricing is a common
business practice for several industries, but its application in the
fast-food sector is largely untested.

THE MARKET ALWAYS WINS (8 MINUTE READ) [20]

Either you have something people want or you don't - you can't beat
the market.

Links:
------
[6] https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/02/after-a-decade-of-stops-and-starts-apple-kills-its-electric-car-project/?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

[7] https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/27/24084909/meta-orion-ar-smart-glasses-rumor?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

[8] https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/it-turns-out-that-odysseus-landed-on-the-moon-without-any-altimetry-data/?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

[9] https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/vardas-drug-cooking-winnebago-will-be-remembered-as-a-space-pioneer/?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

[12] https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/02/wendys-plans-ai-powered-menu-to-change-food-prices-based-on-demand-weather/?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

[17] https://www.fastcompany.com/91039401/klarna-ai-virtual-assistant-does-the-work-of-700-humans-after-layoffs?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

[20] https://swizec.com/blog/the-market-always-wins/#tam-is-not-fixed?utm_source=tldrnewsletter

--- https://tldr.tech/tech?ref=6061602

$$
--- SBBSecho 3.14-Linux
* Origin: capitolcityonline.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/HTTP (1:2320/105)