The Google app 17.4 beta contains strings about a 'Get tasks done with
Gemini' feature. The control is also referred to as 'screen automation'
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TLDR 2026-02-04
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Most AI code review tools analyze the diff. Sometimes the file,
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📱
BIG TECH & STARTUPS
GEMINI ‘SCREEN AUTOMATION' WILL PLACE ORDERS, BOOK RIDES FOR YOU ON
ANDROID (2 MINUTE READ) [5]
The Google app 17.4 beta contains strings about a 'Get tasks done
with Gemini' feature. The control is also referred to as 'screen
automation'. Google has been working on letting Gemini control Android
phones for a while. The feature will only work in certain apps.
IN SURPRISING MOVE, HP CEO STEPS DOWN TO LEAD PAYPAL (2 MINUTE READ)
[6]
HP CEO Enrique Lores will replace PayPal's previous CEO, Alex Chriss,
starting March 1. Lores has served on the PayPal board for nearly five
years and as Board Chair since July 2024. HP was reportedly blindsided
by the decision, which was only communicated to the company's board in
recent weeks. Lores worked at HP for 36 years, joining the company as
an engineering intern. HP has named board member Bruce Broussard as
interim CEO.
🚀
SCIENCE & FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY
DATA CENTERS IN SPACE MAKES NO SENSE (2 MINUTE READ) [7]
Data centers in space face massive challenges such as radiation,
cooling, latency, and launch costs. There are other fundamental issues
that make them unfeasible: competing in the market would require
launching hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of satellites into
space, and satellites can't be upgraded at scale. Data centers in
space only make sense if they are cost-effective relative to normal
data centers. The idea makes less and less sense with every
improvement in normal energy production.
AV RIDESHARE FLEET SIZING: WHY THE OPTIMUM IS JUST SHY OF PEAK (11
MINUTE READ) [8]
The optimal fleet size for automatic vehicles is not peak demand, but
it's also not average. The economic optimum is 98-99% demand coverage
for most operators. Oversizing fleets destroys pricing power faster
than it increases utilization. AV unit economics only work with
aggressive off-peak price differentiation.
💻
PROGRAMMING, DESIGN & DATA SCIENCE
TLDR IS HIRING A SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER, APPLIED AI ($200K-$300K,
FULLY REMOTE) [9]
As the first engineer on TLDR's new Applied AI team, you'll build AI
agents and composable Claude Skills to let non-technical teammates
create their own AI workflows. Learn more [10].
ANTHROPIC PERFORMANCE TEAM TAKE-HOME FOR DUMMIES (44 MINUTE READ)
[11]
Anthropic used to give prospective performance engineering candidates
a notoriously difficult take-home exam designed to assess technical
ability and judgment under time pressure. This practice was retired
after Claude Opus 4.5 scored higher than any candidate ever after just
two hours of work. The company has released the assignment publicly
along with a post detailing its design principles. This post breaks
down the challenge from start to finish and explains everything from
scratch.
APPLE'S XCODE NOW SUPPORTS THE CLAUDE AGENT SDK (2 MINUTE READ) [12]
Xcode 26.3 introduces a native integration with the Claude Agent SDK. Developers now have the full power of Claude Code directly in Xcode
without having to leave the IDE. Claude can work autonomously on
sophisticated, long-running tasks. The integration supports visual
verification with Previews, reasoning across projects, autonomous task execution, and interfacing through the Model Context Protocol. Xcode
26.3 is now available as a release candidate for all members of the
Apple Developer Program.
🎁
MISCELLANEOUS
LESSONS LEARNED SHIPPING 500 UNITS OF MY FIRST HARDWARE PRODUCT (12
MINUTE READ) [13]
Simon Berens left his job as a software engineer in January 2025 to
launch a hardware product, Brighter: the world's brightest lamp.
Berens had no prior experience in hardware and was counting on being
able to pick it up quickly with the help of other engineers. This
article takes a look at the challenges Berens had to overcome, like
making the lamp in the first place, tariffs, and manufacturing issues,
and details the lessons that he learned along the way.
SAM ALTMAN REVEALS WHY OPENAI IS POISED TO MAKE THE BIGGEST BUSINESS
BETS EVER (23 MINUTE READ) [14]
Sam Altman has a tendency to race ahead with ideas that excite him.
While it is a tentpole of his success, it has gotten him in trouble in
the past. Altman's itch to release products quickly is informed by his
study of Xerox PARC, a legendary Silicon Valley research lab known for inventing the modern graphical user interface, laser printers, and the
computer mouse, yet failing to commercialize any of them. Altman's
reputation for shiny object syndrome can be harmful - OpenAI has been criticized in the past for releasing products without proper safety
testing and for shipping features that prioritize engagement over
psychological well-being.
⚡
QUICK LINKS
TLDR IS HIRING A CURATOR FOR TLDR IT! (TLDR CURATOR, ~5 HRS/WEEK)
We are launching a brand new newsletter covering IT and enterprise
tech.
If you are an IT leader interested in writing for us, please send your
resume or LinkedIn to
itcurator@tldr.tech!
VC-BACKED STARTUPS ARE LOW STATUS (17 MINUTE READ) [15]
When institutions start to lose their soul, the people inside them
start to care about different things.
MICROSOFT'S PIVOTAL AI PRODUCT IS RUNNING INTO BIG PROBLEMS (11
MINUTE READ) [16]
Only a small proportion of subscribers to Microsoft's enterprise
suite use Copilot, and the percentage of people who favor it over
other tools has decreased in recent months.
THREAT OF NEW AI TOOLS WIPES $300 BILLION OFF SOFTWARE AND DATA
STOCKS (4 MINUTE READ) [17]
Anthropic's announcement that it would add new legal tools to its
Co-work assistant resulted in shares of some companies that provide
legal tools or research databases falling sharply.
THREE LENSES ON COORDINATION (13 MINUTE READ) [18]
Staying within spec is easy if more information helps rule out
possible futures, otherwise, the system will need help.
SOVEREIGNTY GAPS (8 MINUTE READ) [19]
Sovereignty Gaps are situations where the central structures of
society require a function they cannot perform, requiring new actors
to perform it on their behalf.
DISNEY NAMES PARKS CHIEF D'AMARO AS NEW CEO, SUCCEEDING IGER (5
MINUTE READ) [20]
Josh D'Amaro, who has spent 28 years at Disney, mostly working in the theme-parks business, will succeed Bob Iger to become Disney's new
chief executive officer starting on March 18.
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