Hi there! Hope you're having a splendid week thus far.
Turns out the past 18 months of us looking at ourselves through video calls has had potentially irreversible effects on our self-image. Aptly coined 'Zoom Dysmorphia' is a thing and it's here to stay - not just in our virtual, but also in our real lives.
We've got some good reads for you so let's jump right in.
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How the biggest companies broke design trends to succeed 📈
From our very own Canvs Editorial, this piece looks at how the most innovative companies based out of Silicon Valley, the likes of Apple, Facebook, Google & Gojek, broke the design trends to succeed.
UPI Credit: A No-Man's-Land For Lending In Digital India 💰
Some fintech firms have been offering credit via Unified Payments Interface, allowing customers to borrow instantly by just scanning a QR code. While the facility is fast gaining acceptance, UPI credit operates in a regulatory grey area.
Hard sells and ‘toxic’ targets: How Byju’s fuels its meteoric rise 😈
Former salespeople say the company pushes its products on parents who can’t afford them. The company also made it hard for people to get refunds, meaning that they’d get to the end of the 15-day free trial and be unable to opt out.
Schemer or Naïf? Elizabeth Holmes Is Going to Trial 💉
The trial for the founder of Theranos, the once high-flying blood testing start-up, will cap a saga of Silicon Valley hubris, ambition and deception.
India's shift away from open democracy and a free press, a headache for Silicon Valley 🤦♂️
The world’s second-largest internet market is just too big and too important to ignore. But companies are also unlikely to acquiescence entirely.
People are hiring out their faces to become deepfake-style marketing clones 🎭
AI-powered characters based on real people can star in thousands of videos and say anything, in any language and in the process, make money.
The $150 Million Machine Keeping Moore’s Law Alive 🖥️
ASML’s next-generation extreme ultraviolet lithography machines achieve previously unattainable levels of precision, which means chips can keep shrinking for years to come.
Why are links blue? Who decided to make them blue? When was this decision made, and how has this decision made such a lasting impact?
Open-Source Insulin: Biohackers Aiming For Distributed Production 🧬
A look at how insulin is made on a commercial scale, in the context of a growing movement of biohackers looking to build a more distributed system of insulin production. The goal is to make insulin affordable.
Hans Zimmer on Digital Composition 🎶
The Oscar-winning composer and producer explains his sampling process and why you don’t need to record an entire orchestra to get good sounds.
Massive: The evolution of software behind Lord of the Rings, GoT and Marvel's Avengers-Endgame ⚔️
Massive creates computer-generated armies using artificial intelligence to simulate realistic battles at tremendous scales. It's an evolutionary story spanning 20 years and some great projects to boast about.
Honorary mentions
Luminate aims to make hair loss from chemotherapy a thing of the past ⛑️
The myth of the Rolls-Royce logo 🚘
China Is Developing an 'Ultra-Large' $2.3 Million Megaship That Is Miles Long 🚀
And that's the lot! Thanks for checking out what we had to share with you this week, we shall catch up with you next Wednesday. Incase you aren't subscribed to the newsletter, you could subscribe to it here
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