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“Databricks Introduces LakeFlow: Empowering Clients to Develop Seamless Data Pipelines”

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With LakeFlow, Databricks users will soon be able to build their data pipelines and ingest data from databases like MySQL, Postgres, SQL Server and Oracle, as well as enterprise applications like Salesforce, Dynamics, Sharepoint, Workday, NetSuite and Google Analytics. In a way, getting data into a data warehouse or data lake should indeed be table stakes because the real value creation happens down the line. The first is LakeFlow Connect, which provides the connectors between the different data sources and the Databricks service. It’s fully integrated with Databricks’ Unity Data Catalog data governance solution and relies in part of technology from Arcion. Databricks is rolling out the LakeFlow service in phases.

“State Your Success: Restate Secures $7M in Funding for Revolutionary Workflows-As-Code Solution”

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The promise of Restate is that it is so fast and lightweight that it will allow developers to use it where traditional workflow systems would’ve been too slow and resource-intensive. The open-source platform Temporal, for example, offers a somewhat similar feature set, though the Restate team would likely argue that its system is faster and more lightweight. Virtually every modern application today consists of chains of workflows that are handled by a distributed set of services that have to reliably talk to each other. He believes this will make the service usable in situations where you’d not classically use a workflow engine — think e-commerce shopping carts, for example. “[Restate] does the classical workflows code things, just on an extremely lightweight foundation — and it goes a little further than just standard workflow use cases.

“Much-Awaited Addition: Apple Watch Includes Long-Demanded Feature”

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This week at WWDC 2024, that prize went to Apple Intelligence. It’s something that I’ve been requesting from Apple for several years, fueled by my own health struggles and the fact that I’ve somehow managed to contract COVID four times so far. The ability to pause your activity rings is a minor feature update for most, but for those of us who obsess about such things to an unhealthy degree, it’s the best Apple Watch update in years. There are several options for pausing: You can do it for one day, by day of the week or for entire months at a time. Once entered, this will be the goal for that day of the week until it’s changed again.

“Reviving Robotaxis: GM Grants $850M to Cruise for Houston Relaunch”

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Patrick Morrisey, VP of corporate communications at GM, told TechCrunch that the reduction in spending is still in effect, despite today’s capital infusion. In total, Cruise has already raised over $15 billion, per Crunchbase data. In October, a Cruise robotaxi ran over and dragged a pedestrian 20 feet in San Francisco. The pedestrian had initially been hit by a human-driven car and landed in the path of a Cruise robotaxi. In other states where AV companies don’t need to acquire permits, Cruise is already making a comeback.

Unveiling the Enigma: Investigating a Presumed Data Broker’s Security Breach

National Public Data Mystery Breach
But confirming the source of the alleged data theft has proven inconclusive, such is the nature of the data broker industry, which gobbles up individuals’ personal data from disparate sources with little to no quality control. But this alleged breach of a data broker appears to be an outlier, in part because some of the data appears genuine and some already verified. The proliferation and commoditization of personal data across the data broker industry also makes it more challenging to identify the source of data leaks. And even if this particular data breach remains unsolved, it shows once more that the data broker industry is out of control and poses real privacy issues to ordinary people. We couldn’t definitively solve the mystery of this data breach, but there was enough there to detail our verification efforts.

Apple and Google’s Gemini: A Collaboration in the Works

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Following a keynote presentation at WWDC 2024 that both introduced Apple Intelligence and confirmed a partnership that brings GPT access to Siri through an deal with OpenAI, SVP Craig Federighi confirmed plans to work with additional third-party models. The first example given by the executive was one the companies with which Apple was exploring a partnership. “We’re looking forward to doing integrations with other models, including Google Gemini, for instance, in the future,” Federighi said during a post-keynote conversation. Apple says users will be able to access the system without having to sign up for an account or paying for premium services. “Now you can do it right through Siri, without going through another tool,” the Apple executive said.

“The Unforgettable Week in TechCrunch Space”

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Hello and welcome back to TechCrunch Space. In the same seven-day period, we watched Boeing’s Starliner launch astronauts to space for the first time, and then we got to watch those two astronauts dock with the International Space Station. And we also got to see SpaceX launch Starship for the fourth time ever — and then bring it back home. I think I’m not alone in thinking that some of the most spectacular images in the history of rocketry were generated during that flight. Of course, the mission isn’t over yet: After around a week aboard the station, the two astronauts will re-board Starliner and use it to get back home.

Siri Gets a Fresh Look Thanks to Apple’s Makeover

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Siri got a makeover at Apple’s WWDC 2024 in Cupertino, courtesy of the tech giant’s overarching generative AI push this year. Siri is now more natural, more relevant and more personal — and it has new look, including a revamped icon. Siri will also have the ability to take action in and across apps, so you can ask Siri to “make this photo pop” and then “add this photo” to another app. That’s thanks to the new App Intents API, which allows devs to let Siri take actions in their apps, and the upgraded Siri’s awareness of personal context including messages, calendar events, files and photos. Apple gave the example of Siri finding a photo of your license, extracting your ID number and entering it into a web form for you.

“Enhance Your Virtual Presence: Apple’s Innovative Use of AI-Generated Bitmoji”

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An “Apple Intelligence” (AI)-powered feature coming in iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to create AI images of people they’re messaging with — a feature that works something like an AI-upgraded Bitmoji. Image Credits: AppleFor example, Apple showed off making an AI Bitmoji of a friend celebrating their birthday with an image that included cake, balloons and flowers. The Genmoji can be used as a sticker for reacting to messages with a Tapback or inline with your messages, Apple said. Apple Intelligence will also suggest concepts related to your messages conversation, but all this takes place on the device, according to Apple. Also at WWDC 2024, Apple announced updates to Siri and introduced macOS Sequoia.

Apple Implements ChatGPT into its Apps, Featuring Siri

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Apple is bringing ChatGPT, OpenAI’s AI-powered chatbot experience, to Siri and other first-party apps and capabilities across its operating systems. You can include photos with the questions you ask ChatGPT via Siri, or ask questions related to your docs or PDFs. Apple’s also integrated ChatGPT into system-wide writing tools like Writing Tools, which lets you create content with ChatGPT — including images — or ask an initial idea and send it to ChatGPT to get a revision or variation back. ChatGPT integrations will arrive on iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia later this year, Apple says, and will be free without the need to create a ChatGPT or OpenAI account. Subscribers to one of OpenAI’s ChatGPT premium plans will be able to access paid features within Siri and Apple’s other apps with ChatGPT integrations.