🪅 Heap Heap Hurray Ed. #105

May your coffee be strong and your Monday be short.

#IndianFilmmaker - Ram Gopal Varma or RGV, the director behind hit movies like Rangeela and Sarkar is going AI-only for music in his future projects! He thinks it's the way forward, and honestly, it's not hard to see why - no more last-minute deadline changes, no more costly production... just effortless AI tunes! Sounds like a game-changer to us!

#BookMyShowCrash - BookMyShow, the ticketing platform crashed. Fanatics attributed it to the opening of bookings for the Telugu movie Devara, but turns out it was because of the mad rush to book tickets for Coldplay’s concert!

#YouTubePremium - YouTube Premium service prices have been increased in over 10 countries. The price for subscriptions has increased by up to 55% in some countries. Google has sent emails to YouTube Premium customers in the countries saying increasing the prices will allow it to "continue to deliver great service"

#Disney - Friendship ended with Slack. My new best friend is Microsoft Teams. Well, at least for Disney. They just got hacked and someone snatched over 1TB of super secretive stuff from their internal chat channels! Now they're ditching Slack and moving to a new platform. Can't blame 'em, right?

Physics Wallah Secures $210 Million Series B Funding
Physics Wallah is an Indian edtech startup that began as a YouTube channel in 2016, helping students access quality education. It has now raised over $310 million, valuing the company at $2.8 billion. The funding will help the startup expand its reach and explore inorganic growth opportunities.

Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) Ready To Blast Off
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch their new rocket, capable of hauling 30 metric tons of payload into low-Earth orbit, with a first stage powered by nine engines and a second stage with a single methane-fueled engine. The rocket is designed for vertical landing and is expected to support national and commercial missions, including crew launches to the Indian space station.

Xbox Ambassadors Program To Retire After 13 Years
Microsoft is retiring the Xbox Ambassadors program in just a few weeks. The goal was to give knowledgeable Xbox gamers and fans a way to help others by answering support questions in forums or by hosting game sessions. Microsoft says it has plans to expand both its Rewards with Xbox and Xbox Research program.

Apple Releasing Public Betas Of iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, And MaxOS Sequoia 15.1
They include upcoming Apple Intelligence features like text rewriting tools, the glowy new Siri design, a “Clean Up” tool to remove objects from your photos.

Playstation Turns 30: Sony Announces Limited-edition Retro Consoles And Samplers
Sony is releasing limited-edition versions of the PS5 and PS5 Pro with gray plastic shells and multicolored PlayStation logos. The retro-inspired modern consoles will be released on November 21 and will be available for preorder starting September 26 from Sony's direct[dot]playstation[dot]com site.

Microsoft Windows Launches Extension Performance Detector to Identify Browser Slows

YouTube Additions to AI-powered tools for creating content, including ability to generate six-second shorts clips and backgrounds using text prompts.

Google Passkeys now available on Google Password Manager for desktop devices, enabling password-less login with biometrics, just like Apple’s own passkey feature.

Java JDK 23 released

Conform | A type-safe form validation library utilizing web fundamentals to progressively enhance HTML Forms with full support for server frameworks like Remix and Next.js.

Ts Remove Unused | Remove unused code from your TypeScript project

ZStandard Tuning And Dictionary Support Explained
Discord explains how they optimized their websocket implementation

The Art Of Receiving Feedback
Many of us struggle to receive feedback, but it's a crucial skill for career growth and strong relationships. According to a Harvard Business Review survey, most managers are afraid of giving feedback to their direct reports. If we're not comfortable receiving feedback, it creates a cycle of fear and can lead to missed opportunities for growth. By learning to receive feedback effectively, you'll gain valuable insights, build stronger relationships, and become a more effective leader and manager.

Variable Fonts: Unlocking Typography's Full Potential
High-quality fonts often come with a full bag of goodies, it will be unwise to not use what the type designer gifted (or sold) to us. OpenType features can contain alternative glyphs, alternative numbers, ligatures and just a lot of variable fonts.