This Week I Learned - Week #18 2024

This Week I Learned - 

* IBM has bought HashiCorp. HashiCorp Cloud Platform (the hosted Terraform, Vault, etc that HC manages themselves, their nominal secret sauce) runs on AWS today.

* Venture capital firm Sequoia estimated that the AI industry spent USD50 billion on Nvidia chips used for training advanced AI models last year. But, in return brought home only USD3 billion in revenue – a concerning cost-to-profit ratio. - ET

Teachable Machine is a web-based tool that makes creating machine learning models fast, easy, and accessible to everyone. The first version of Teachable Machine from 2017 can be used if you just want to quickly demo how machine learning works and don’t need to save anything.

Google Family Link is a parental controls app that helps you keep your family safer online. If you're a parent, you can find your child's Android device location in Family Link once device location sharing is turned on.

Sticker Mule's Trace tool can erase backgrounds from photos for free.

* An early access preview of ScyllaDB in Action is available as a free download. 

* The Union Home Ministry has asked all States and government departments to avoid procuring CCTVs, its allied solution, and hardware from suppliers who have a "history of security and data breaches". The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-hi) has flagged "vulnerabilities" in some foreign firms' CCTV equipment. These are Chinese firms Hikvision, Milesight and Dahua; and Germany-headquartered Mobotix, ABUS and Bosch. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeiTY) has urged States to procure cameras made in India, or equipment (that was certified in accordance with norms set by the Bureau of Indian Standards).

* If you do a SIP of Rs.5,000 in a mutual fund that charges 2% per year, over 25 years you will shell out about Rs.19 lakh in fund management fees. The same amount invested in the NPS will cost you only Rs.1 lakh over 25 years, assuming the maximum 0.09% fund management charge of the NPS. We have assumed compounded annual returns of 9% in this calculation. - ET

* ITR forms for FY 2023 have been released on 1st April. As TDS, TCS data comes in by 31st May and Form 16 in early June, Mint recommends waiting till 15th June to file tax returns. 

* AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of the Covishield vaccine, has acknowledged the extremely rare occurrence of Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS). TTS involves thrombosis, which is the formation of blood clots, and thrombocytopenia, which is a decrease in platelet levels. Platelets are crucial for preventing bleeding; hence, individuals with low platelet counts may experience bleeding easily, leading to internal clotting. Thrombocytopenia can also result from a dengue virus infection. 

* A stun grenade, also known as a flash grenade, flashbang, thunderflash, or sound bomb, is a less-lethal explosive device used to temporarily disorient an enemy's senses. Upon detonation, a stun grenade produces a blinding flash of light and an extremely loud "bang". They are used to create diversions to support high risk entries in police work.

Outtake is a scene, sequence, or song filmed or recorded for a film, programme, or record album but not included in the final version. If an actor forgets his lines, for example, that scene will probably end up as an outtake.  

* Mar-a-Lago, a luxurious resort and National Historic Landmark in Palm Beach, Florida, has been owned by former U.S. President Donald Trump since 1985. Originally built between 1924 and 1927 by businesswoman and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post, the property features a 126-room, 62,500 sq ft mansion on 17 acres of land. Post bequeathed the property to the National Park Service in 1973, hoping it could be used for state visits or as a Winter White House. However, due to high maintenance costs and security concerns, Congress returned the property to the Post Foundation in 1981. Trump acquired Mar-a-Lago in 1985, initially using it as a residence before converting it into the exclusive Mar-a-Lago Club in 1994. The Trump family currently maintains private quarters in a separate area of the house and grounds.

* Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887-1973) was a prominent American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist known as the wealthiest woman in the U.S. during her lifetime. As the daughter of C. W. Post and owner of General Foods Corporation, she inherited the Postum Cereal Company in 1914 and transformed it into a thriving business empire. A fictionalized version of Merriweather Post was played by Amy Schumer in the 2024 Netflix film Unfrosted written by Jerry Seinfeld.

* The Hindu Balinese tradition of metatah, or tooth-filing, is a significant rite of passage. According to Balinese belief, canine teeth are seen as an animal-like characteristic, and it is thought that individuals with unfiled canine teeth may be barred from entering heaven due to a potential mix-up with animals.

* Temperatures in Hyderabad are significantly higher than last year

* "Innovation requires experimentation, experimentation includes failures, and failures will lead to tangents which will lead to successes" - Bill Shander

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