That is at this time’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a every day dose of what’s occurring on the planet of know-how.
How the search to sort Chinese language on a QWERTY keyboard created autocomplete
—That is an excerpt from The Chinese language Laptop: A World Historical past of the Info Age by Thomas S. Mullaney, printed on Could 28 by The MIT Press. It has been flippantly edited.
When a younger Chinese language man sat down at his QWERTY keyboard in 2013 and rattled off an enigmatic string of letters and numbers, his forty-four keystrokes marked the primary steps in a course of referred to as “enter” or shuru.
Shuru is the act of getting Chinese language characters to seem on a pc monitor or different digital gadget utilizing a QWERTY keyboard or trackpad.
The younger man, Huang Zhenyu, was considered one of round 60 contestants within the 2013 Nationwide Chinese language Characters Typing Competitors. His keyboard didn’t allow him to enter these characters immediately, nevertheless, and so he entered the quasi-gibberish string of letters and numbers as an alternative: ymiw2klt4pwyy1wdy6…
However Zhenyu’s prizewinning efficiency wasn’t solely noteworthy for his spectacular typing pace—one of many quickest ever recorded. It was additionally premised on the identical type of “further steps” as the primary Chinese language laptop in historical past that led to the invention of autocompletion. Learn the remainder of the excerpt right here.
In the event you’re occupied with tech in China, why not take a look at a few of our China reporter Zeyi Yang’s current reporting (and subscribe to his weekly e-newsletter China Report!)
+ GPT-4o’s Chinese language token-training information is polluted by spam and porn web sites. The issue, which is probably going on account of insufficient information cleansing, may result in hallucinations, poor efficiency, and misuse. Learn the total story.
+ Why Hong Kong is concentrating on Western Large Tech firms in its ban of a well-liked protest music.
+ Deepfakes of your lifeless family members are a booming Chinese language enterprise. Individuals are looking for assist from AI-generated avatars to course of their grief after a member of the family passes away. Learn the total story.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the web to seek out you at this time’s most enjoyable/vital/scary/fascinating tales about know-how.
1 Election officers need to pre-bunk dangerous on-line campaigns
It’s a bid to stop political hoaxes from ever getting off the bottom. (WP $)
+ Pretend information verification instruments are failing in India. (Remainder of World)
+ Three know-how traits shaping 2024’s elections. (MIT Know-how Overview)
2 OpenAI has began coaching the successor to GPT-4
Simply weeks after it revealed an up to date model, GPT-4o. (NYT $)
+ OpenAI’s new GPT-4o lets individuals work together utilizing voice or video in the identical mannequin. (MIT Know-how Overview)
3 China is bolstering its nationwide semiconductor fund
To the tune of $48 billion. (WSJ $)
+ It’s the third spherical of the nation’s native chip funding program. (FT $)
+ What’s subsequent in chips. (MIT Know-how Overview)
4 Nuclear crops are extraordinarily costly to construct
The US must discover ways to reduce prices with out chopping corners. (The Atlantic $)
+ Easy methods to reopen a nuclear energy plant. (MIT Know-how Overview)
5 Laser programs might be the perfect line of protection towards army drones
The Pentagon is investing in BlueHalo’s AI-powered laser know-how. (Insider $)
+ The US army can also be pumping cash into Palmer Luckey’s Anduril. (Wired $)
+ Contained in the messy ethics of creating conflict with machines. (MIT Know-how Overview)
6 Klarna’s advertising campaigns are the product of generative AI
The fintech agency claims the know-how will reserve it $10 million a yr. (Reuters)
7 The US has an EV charging downside
Would-be automotive patrons are nonetheless nervous about investing in EVs. (Wired $)
+ Micro-EVs may provide one answer. (Ars Technica)
+ Toyota has unveiled new engines suitable with different fuels. (Reuters)
8 Good luck betting on something that’s not sports activities within the US
The result of a serious election, for instance. (Vox)
+ How cellular cash supercharged Kenya’s sports activities betting dependancy. (MIT Know-how Overview)
9 Perfectionist dad and mom are Facetuning their kids
It goes with out saying: don’t do that. (NY Magazine $)
10 Why a film model of The Sims by no means acquired off the bottom
The beloved online game would make for a severely bizarre cinema spectacle. (The Guardian)
Quote of the day
“As soon as materialism begins spreading, it will possibly have a nasty affect on youngsters.”
—Chinese language state media Beijing Information explains why China has began cracking down on luxurious influencers recognized for his or her ostentatious shows of wealth, the Monetary Occasions reviews.
The massive story
Recapturing early web whimsy with HTML
Web sites weren’t at all times slick digital experiences.
There was a time when browsing the online concerned opening tabs that performed music towards your will and sifting via partitions of textual content on a coloured background. Within the 2000s, earlier than Squarespace and social media, web sites have been manifestations of individuality—constructed from scratch utilizing HTML, by customers who had some information of code.
Scattered throughout the online are communities of programmers working to revive this seemingly outdated strategy. And the motion is something however a superficial enchantment to retro aesthetics—it’s about celebrating the human contact in digital experiences. Learn the total story.
—Tiffany Ng
We will nonetheless have good issues
A spot for consolation, enjoyable and distraction to brighten up your day. (Bought any concepts? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Take pleasure in this potted historical past of why we are saying okay, and the place it got here from.
+ There’s something very humorous about Elton John calling The Lion King’s Timon and Pumbaa “the rat and the pig.”
+ The very best of British press images is at all times value a peruse.
+ I had no concept that Sisqo’s Thong Music used an Eleanor Rigby pattern.
