Curated Commons // Edition 74
Thank you for subscribing and welcome to the 74th edition of Curated Commons. Do consider sharing the newsletter on your social networks if you like it! Let’s dive right in ($ indicates potential paywall).
J&J is going bankrupt. Well, almost.
Lawyers are evil. Companies being sued are creating new shell subsidiaries, putting on the legal liabilities on them, and then are taking the subsidiary to bankruptcy courts! - Read here ($)
There’s hope yet for a clean energy future
Some great progress by scientists on nuclear fusion. There’s hope yet. - Read here
The shady part of ‘reputation management’ companies
Very good read on how some companies use legal threats to take down content for, usually, shady characters with money who want the Internet to forgot the stuff they did! - Read here
On a related note, worth remembering that they are firms out there that have weaponized takedown notices on YouTube - for a fee!
How to convert physical art to NFT
Or something like that!
A bored security guard at an art gallery draws eyes on faceless figures on first day at job. Gets fired. Should sell them as NFTs now - Read here
Goldfish that drive
Neat little piece that shows how fish, even goldfish, are really smart! Love these science experiments! - Read here ($)
Keep that mask on, folks!
Worrying study from a pretty large sample that even if COVID is gone, it’s gonna leave it footprint on the planet for a long time! - Read here
“In the post-COVID era, COVID might become the highest risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes,” greater than well-documented risks such as smoking and obesity
Don’t you hurry into metaverse ‘events’
Samsung tried one. And it ended up bad. - Read here
While at it, good read on making food and consuming it on…The Sims, one of the best-selling video games - Read here ($)
The semi ecosystem
Lots of talk on the semiconductor industry in recent months. Good summary of how the industry is structured. - Read here
In 2001 there were 17 companies making the most advanced chips. Today there are only two – Samsung in Korea and TSMC in Taiwan.
Oil prices are increasing. Are algorithms to blame?
Where there are anomalies, algorithms, self-executing one, aren’t too far behind. Are robo-traders to blame for the rising oil prices? - Read here ($)
Have data, will monetize!
A non-profit suicide hotline created a for-profit subsidiary to sell sentiment analytics-driven products based on ‘scrubbed’ data from the hotline. Vice calls its Silicon Valleyfication, but to me, it is just plain greed. - Read here
New hubs for counterfeit products - Facebook/Instagram
How things change. Ebay used to be the OG for counterfeit goods. Then came Amazon with its marketplace, and now they are all over social media. - Read here
Climate tech is here, and so are the investments
Sequoia’s Michael Moritz and Kleiner Perkins’s John Doerr — who last invested together in Google — have now invested in a new climate tech startup. Might not say much of the startup, but says a lot of the sector - Read here ($)
Digital transformation is a pipe dream, in many corners
Can't make this up! A £1.5 Bn merger is held up because...the firm can't find enough paper to send a printed communication to all its shareholders...which is apparently mandated by UK regulations. - Read here ($)
Science is amazing
A paralyzed man with a severed spinal cord has been able to walk again, thanks to an implant! - Read here
Saying you want to be a tech company and being one are two things
Every company wants to be a tech company. But that’s easier said than done. Nowhere is this more painfully visible than in the automotive sector. New entrants might not have the scaling and manufacturing chops, but they sure set the pace on user experience, and that’s driven by software. - Read here ($)
On a related note, a new right to repair law in some states in the US now has automakers disabling bunch of features in new cars they sell there - Read here
Inflation, not for the uber rich
Chanel’s classic Flap Bag saw three price hikes last year. From $5,200 to $8,200. - Read here ($)
Can AI disrupt ‘super-tasters’?
By this time you should know that the answer to any such questions is usually no. But hey, the question still works wonders! Interesting read on how AI is having a go at tasters that hone the flavor of most manufactured food. Also discovered, the head-taster at Tetley Tea has their taste buds insured for £1mn! - Read here ($)
More interesting reads:
“The road to instant deliveries is paved with broken bones” - Read here
A successful startup is an incumbent in the making - Read here
Good visual story on electric cars in the US - Read here
Crypto, but for helping thieves drop bread crumbs all the way back home - Read here ($)
ARM is in no-one’s arms still. Too valuable to be bought out bye any one company! - Read here
For the geek in you - you can run a PalmOS emulator on your iPhone as a web app! - Read here
Good Q&A on lessons from Second Life for Meta - Read here ($)
How can tech help Dubai fight desertification? - Read here
Lovely little story on a Taiwanese octogenarian couple who are all the rage on Instagram for posing in leftover clothes at their laundry - Read here
Are we in true financialization hell with web3? - Read here ($)
Interesting data analysis on decline of English, using Spotify - Read here ($)
And the question of whether or not we are in a simulation has finally been answered. Sort of.
Stay safe, and happy reading! And if you liked the newsletter, thank you, and maybe consider sharing it? My DMs on Twitter are always open for any feedback.