🪅 Heap Heap Hurray Ed. #248

Rise and shine, it's Thursday - the weekend is in sight!

Nothing to gossip about this time!

…Though not exactly tech news gossip, Trump has paused the tariffs for 90 days, causing the markets to rebound. So… will Apple and Nintendo Switch rush to import more of their gadgets to USA before the tariffs come back? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Swiggy Launches Maxxsaver Feature
Swiggy is India's largest food delivery company. They've just launched a new feature called Maxxsaver on their Instamart platform, offering automatic discounts on purchases of ₹999 or more, making everyday shopping more affordable and rewarding.

Jio Financial Services Launches Digital Loans Against Mutual Funds And Shares
Jio Financial Services, Mukesh Ambani's financial arm, has announced the launch of digital loans against mutual funds and shares. The company aims to tap into India’s growing retail investor base and establish its presence in the country's competitive fintech landscape. The service will allow users to avail instant loans by pledging their mutual fund units or shares.

Google Unveils Ironwood, 7th Gen TPU For Agentic AI
Google just announced Ironwood, a powerful AI processor that'll enable more autonomous AI capabilities, allowing AI to gather data & generate outputs on its own.

Instagram - Added "Locked Reels" feature that allows creators to hide content behind secret codes and hints.

Microsoft 365 - New icon designs for Outlook, OneDrive, Excel, PowerPoint, and other productivity apps with more vibrant colors, gradients, and 3D-like elements.

Google Maps Platform - Integration of new datasets into BigQuery for easier access to Imagery Insights, Roads Management Insights, and Places Insights data.

Reddit Answers - Integration with Google Cloud's Vertex AI Search to improve search relevance and provide more accurate summaries from existing posts and comments.

Adobe Creative Cloud - Added 1,500 new fonts, including Helvetica, Gotham, and Avenir, to the font library at no extra cost, offering expanded language support and reducing missing font notifications.

Firebase Studio - Introduces a cloud-based agentic development environment powered by Gemini, offering a native experience with access to over 60 pre-built templates, App Prototyping agent, and integration with Genkit and Project IDX.

Zoox - That’s the name of Amazon’s self driving cars. Begins testing robotaxis in Los Angeles with manual fleet deployment and plans to launch paid rides in Las Vegas and San Francisco later this year.

Understanding Distributed Architectures | Unmesh Joshi - The speaker discusses the application of design patterns in software development. He emphasizes how recognizing and implementing these patterns can enhance code maintainability and scalability. The presentation includes practical examples and case studies to illustrate the effectiveness of this approach

Scaling Agents For GenAI Products | Anju Kambadur - ​In a recent presentation at the AI Engineer Summit 2025 in New York, Anju Kambadur, Bloomberg's Head of AI Engineering, shared insights into the company's AI strategies and implementations. He discussed the integration of AI technologies within Bloomberg's operations, emphasizing challenges faced and solutions developed. The talk provided a comprehensive overview of AI's role in enhancing financial data services.

Engineering Golang Powered Notification Systems | Ankita Kamat - ​In the Conf42 Golang 2025 talk titled "Engineering Golang-Powered Notification Systems," Ankita Kamat discusses building efficient notification systems using Go. She explores strategies for minimizing latency and enhancing scalability in such systems. The presentation includes practical insights into leveraging Go's features to optimize performance and reliability in notification delivery. ​

Manim: Bringing Complex Concepts To Life Through Animation
Learn how Manim, an open-source Python library, helps create smooth and dynamic animations to explain complex ideas in math, coding, and design, making it easier to understand and visualize concepts like variables, sine waves, and more.

Github Actions Security
GitHub Actions allows specifying a custom shell executable on the $PATH, which can lead to unexpected behavior and potential security risks. This flexibility enables using alternative shells, but also raises concerns about file writes and execution.

Microsoft's Deceptive Pricing Tactics
Microsoft's price hike on 365 Family subscription caught a long-time subscriber off guard, with no mention of price change in initial email. Aggressive push for Copilot AI adoption hides cheaper renewal options, only accessible by attempting to cancel subscription.