Instagram Finally Lets You Tweak Your Algorithm
Instagram is launching a new feature that lets users tell the algorithm what they want to see more or less of. It’s a small but significant step toward user control, led by VP of Product Tessa Lyons.
Category: Data
NASA’s MAVEN Mars Orbiter Goes Silent
NASA has lost contact with the MAVEN Mars orbiter, a key spacecraft for science and rover communications. The silence began on December 6th, and teams are investigating the anomaly. This comes as the mission’s funding was slated for termination.
Reddit’s Rough Week: Two Days of Outages and Counting
Reddit users faced widespread outages on December 9th, with over 22,000 reports on Downdetector. This follows a major global outage the day before, on December 8th, affecting the website, app, and servers. It’s part of a troubling trend of major platform failures this year.
This Implantable Sensor Runs on Bacteria, No Batteries Needed
Researchers have created a new type of implantable biosensor that uses genetically modified bacteria as its power and detection source. The device wirelessly transmits data as the bacteria degrade a tiny magnesium antenna, requiring no external batteries.
A Fintech Breach Shows Why Third-Party Risk Is So Scary
A single breach at a mid-tier fintech vendor, Marquis Software Solutions, has exposed data from over 780,000 individuals. The incident highlights the massive “blast radius” a single point of failure can create across the financial sector.
A 500-Acre Data Center Campus Gets Green Light in Nevada
A massive new data center campus is moving forward in Nevada. The Lyon County Board of Commissioners has approved rezoning 505 acres of agricultural land for the ‘Monarch Data Center’ project, spearheaded by developer Copia Power.
The Grid’s Secret Weapon: Turning Big Power Users into Assets
The electric grid is under unprecedented strain from AI, bitcoin, and industrial electrification. A new approach treats these massive power users not as problems, but as flexible assets that can be dialed up or down to keep the grid stable. It’s a fundamental shift in how we manage capacity.
Bcachefs Gets Its Biggest Update in Two Years
The Bcachefs file system has just received its most substantial update in roughly two years. The new “reconcile” feature fundamentally changes how the system manages data replication and options, automating tasks that previously required manual commands.
700Credit Data Breach Puts Car Buyers’ SSNs at Risk
A data breach at credit verification firm 700Credit exposed names, addresses, and Social Security numbers. The FTC has accepted a novel consolidated breach filing to spare thousands of dealerships, but state-level notification headaches remain.
Zeus Data Centers Breaks Ground on 70MW Osaka Facility
SC Zeus Data Centers has broken ground on its first Japanese facility, Zeus OSA1, in Osaka. The 13,955 sqm campus will offer 70MW of IT load and support high-density liquid cooling. This marks the real estate firm’s major entry into the APAC data center market.