ShinyShiny snippets: Elon Musk admits running Twitter has been ‘quite painful’
Elon Musk has said running Twitter has been “quite painful” and “a rollercoaster”, in a last-minute interview with the BBC. The multi-billionaire entrepreneur also said that he would sell the company if the right person came along. The interview, aired live from Twitter HQ, also covered the mass lay-offs, misinformation and his work habits. Mr Musk, who also runs car maker Tesla and rocket firm SpaceX, bought Twitter for $44bn (£35.4bn) in October. In the conversation – in which Mr Musk tried to do the interviewing as much as the other way around – Mr Musk defended his running of the company. BBC
Twitter no longer exists as a company after Elon Musk merged it with another entity called X Corp. The move means the app now forms part of Mr Musk’s X Holdings Corp., which has been touted as the future parent company for all of his companies, which include Neuralink, SpaceX, Tesla and The Boring Company. It also potentially signals the next phase of Mr Musk’s plan to turn Twitter into an “everything app”. Independent
Researchers have designed a low-cost, energy-efficient robotic hand that can grasp a range of objects—and not drop them—using just the movement of its wrist and the feeling in its “skin.” Grasping objects of different sizes, shapes and textures is a problem that is easy for a human, but challenging for a robot. Researchers from the University of Cambridge designed a soft, 3D-printed robotic hand that cannot independently move its fingers but can still carry out a range of complex movements. Techxplore
After months of leaks saying Apple will ditch the physical volume and power buttons on this year’s iPhone 15 Pro in favor of fancy solid-state replacements, one of the original sources of the rumor now says it’s not happening. “My latest survey indicates that due to unresolved technical issues before mass production, both high-end iPhone 15 Pro models (Pro & Pro Max) will abandon the closely-watched solid-state button design and revert to the traditional physical button design,” reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a Medium post.
Strava, the activity tracking and social community platform used by more than 100 million people globally, has announced a new in-app integration with Spotify. The integration allows users to easily access music, podcasts and audiobooks from the Strava app while tracking activities. Starting today, users can play, pause, resume, skip and browse Spotify content from the record screen on Strava. With this new integration, users will no longer have to switch between the two apps when adjusting the content that they’re listening to. Tech Crunch
Škoda is developing technology which can display to pedestrians – via the car’s grille – when it’s safe to cross the road, as part of a wider trial scheme looking to make roads safer for children, senior citizens and people with disabilities. The system replaces the Enyaq iV’s backlit Crystal Face grille with a new body featuring LED strip holders. These programmable LEDs can be controlled separately, making it possible to create unique animations. When the car approaches a pedestrian crossing, it can warn those waiting to cross in advance that it has spotted them. Tech Digest
