Meta is cutting back on hiring as slow growth and macroeconomic headwinds push the company to downgrade its economic outlook. 
TLDR

Daily Update 2022-07-04

Add scheduling functionality to your web app using the Bryntum JavaScript component suite (Sponsor)

The Bryntum component suite lets you easily integrate project planning and resource scheduling widgets into your app. Our Gantt chart, Calendar, Scheduler, Grid, and Kanban board, are all compatible with leading JS frameworks including React, Angular & Vue! Our widgets are trusted by thousands, including Netflix, Samsung, and Intel. Learn more.
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Big Tech & Startups


Mark Zuckerberg warns staff Facebook will be ‘turning up the heat’ to weed out underperformers (3 minute read)

Meta is cutting back on hiring as slow growth and macroeconomic headwinds push the company to downgrade its economic outlook. It will hire 30% fewer engineers this year than planned. The company will also start weeding out staff who are unable to meet certain KPIs. Meta ended the first quarter of 2022 with 28% more full-time employees than it had a year earlier. It started a hiring freeze in May as user growth and ad revenue started decreasing.
Meta warns employees of ‘serious times’ in internal memo listing key product bets (6 minute read)

An internal memo at Meta outlines the company's priorities and challenges to its business going forward. Privacy changes are affecting Meta's ad business. Meta will deepen its investments in metaverse products, AI, messaging, Reels, monetization, and meeting new privacy requirements. Its teams will have to prioritize more ruthlessly without the help of new staff or budgets. A full copy of the memo is available in the article.
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Science & Futuristic Technology


Methane converted into methanol at room temperature – just add light (3 minute read)

Researchers have developed a new technique to convert methane to methanol by using a metal-organic framework (MOF) as a catalyst. The technique involves mixing methane and oxygen into water and then pumping it through the MOF catalyst. Exposing the catalyst to sunlight triggers a reaction that converts the gas into liquid methanol, which can be easily extracted and converted into valuable products. The technique could reduce methane emissions and the environmental footprint of methanol production.
The first CRISPR gene-editing drug is coming—possibly as soon as next year (4 minute read)

The first CRISPR gene-editing drug, Exa-cel, could be on the market by 2023. Exa-cel can help patients with beta thalassemia and sickle cell disease. The drug was found to be extremely effective in tests, providing long-term benefits for most patients. There are now around 20 cell and gene therapies approved by the FDA, but none are based on CRISPR technology.
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Programming, Design & Data Science


Copper (GitHub Repo)

Copper is a Go toolkit for building web apps. It ships the frontend and backend in a single binary. Copper includes a command-line interface, lint, dev server, config management, and more. It also has packages for authentication, pub/sub, queues, emails, and WebSockets.
Virgil (GitHub Repo)

Virgil is a programming language designed for fast, dependency-free programs. It can produce standalone native executables, WebAssembly modules, and JARs for the JVM. Virgil is a statically-typed language that features classes, functions, tuples, type parameters, and algebraic data types.
Enrich Time Series Data with Data from PostgreSQL (Sponsor)

In this tutorial, you will learn how to use the Flux query language to enrich time series data stored in InfluxDB time series database by combining it with metadata stored in a relational database. Learn more.
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Miscellaneous


The GPU shortage is over (6 minute read)

This article looks at GPU prices in different markets, the factors that are affecting these prices, and whether it is worth buying a GPU in the current market. Graphics cards have been difficult to obtain for almost two years. They are now back on shelves, and reseller prices have hit MSRP. One of the reasons for the price drop is that the chips on these GPUs are now two years old. Many crypto miners are selling their used cards due to the crash.
I sold my startup 2 years ago, this is what I would do today (4 minute read)

This Twitter thread contains advice for startup owners about setting up a business. Many things should be done from a tax and estate planning perspective that aren't usually taught. The thread covers how to structure a startup and how to structure an estate.

Quick Links


Scientists produce renewable jet fuel from common soil bacteria (4 minute read)

Researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory successfully harvested alternative jet fuel from bacteria commonly found in soil.
The new wave of React state management (14 minute read)

This post discusses the core problems that global state management libraries need to solve.
Baldness discovery paints molecule as potent stimulator of new hair growth (2 minute read)

A signaling molecule was found to be critical to new hair growth.
Chess Engines: A Zero to One (30 minute read)

A guide on how to build a chess engine from scratch.
Heazy (Website)

Heazy lets users create unique vector assets within seconds.

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