Good Morning! PostgreSQL has been named Database Management System of the Year 2023 for the fourth time, while the Department of Justice intensifies its antitrust case against Apple's App Store policies. This comes as PyPy transitions its repository and issue tracker to GitHub in an effort to boost open source collaboration.

— Forrest Knight & Meghanadh Vasireddy

PostgreSQL is DBMS 2023

PostgreSQL has been named the Database Management System (DBMS) of the Year 2023. This marks the fourth time PostgreSQL has received this prestigious title, having previously won three times between 2017 and 2020.

The DBMS of the Year award is determined by subtracting the popularity scores of January of the previous year from the latest scores of January of the current year. The DBMS that manages to increase its popularity the most during the year is declared the winner.

PostgreSQL, also known as Postgres, has been around for almost 35 years. Over this period, it has evolved significantly, and its continued success is a testament to its adaptability and the robustness of its features.

The open-source DBMS has seen a surge in popularity, with an increasing number of major companies adopting it. It operates on all major operating systems and boasts a very active community of users who contribute to its development.

The award is a significant achievement for PostgreSQL, especially considering the competitive landscape of the DBMS market. It reflects the growing recognition of PostgreSQL's capabilities and its increasing adoption in the industry. This award is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the PostgreSQL community and its commitment to continuous improvement and innovation.

Read More Here

Government is Crushing Apple’s App Store

The Department of Justice's antitrust unit, under the leadership of Jonathan Kanter, is intensifying its case against Apple's App Store policies. The investigation is now "firing on all cylinders," according to Kanter. For years, regulators, businesses, and enforcers have sought to dismantle Apple’s tightly integrated iOS ecosystem. Despite Apple’s staunch defense, recent developments indicate a potential shift.

In a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple acknowledged the necessity of adapting its App Store in compliance with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which imposes a March deadline on tech companies for legal adjustments. Under the Digital Markets Act, Apple will be forced to allow third-party app stores to be “sideloaded” on its devices.

Microsoft is already making preparations to launch its own third-party mobile app store on iOS and Android after the EU’s law comes into effect. The introduction of sideloading raises concerns about the impact on the App Store’s revenue model. Apple’s App Store commission fees globally amount to an estimated $6 billion to $7 billion each quarter, according to Sensor Tower estimates.

Google’s Play Store is also under scrutiny following its loss to Epic Games in a landmark trial in California in December. While Epic Games faced setbacks in a lower court judgement against Apple in 2021, a California judge’s injunction against restrictive App Store rules – upheld by an appeals court – indicates potential shifts in the regulatory landscape. The US Supreme Court is set to review the case next.

Read More Here

PyPy has moved to Git, GitHub

PyPy, the high-performance implementation of Python, has made a significant move by shifting its primary repository and issue tracker to GitHub. This marks a transition from its previous version control system, Mercurial.

The decision to move to GitHub was influenced by various factors. Despite the PyPy team's preference for Mercurial due to its named branch model and user interface, they acknowledged GitHub's strong association with open source. GitHub's prominence and collaboration tools were considered more conducive for the project's development, prompting the migration.

This shift is expected to reduce barriers for new contributors, streamline development, and enhance the project's visibility. Contributors can now easily fork the repository and submit pull requests, aligning with common developer workflows.

Read More Here

+1500 HuggingFace API Tokens were exposed

Lasso Security has discovered that over 1,500 Hugging Face API tokens were left exposed, potentially putting millions of users of Meta-Llama, Bloom, and Pythia at risk. Hugging Face, a key platform for developers working on large language models (LLMs), had these tokens exposed on its platform and GitHub.

The exposed tokens could have allowed attackers to access data, poison training data, or even launch supply chain attacks. Supply chain attacks target weaker links in an organization's supply chain, exploiting the trust between entities to infiltrate systems.

The exposed tokens offered full access to major projects like Meta's Llama 2, and the accounts of major organizations like Meta, Microsoft, Google, and VMware were among those potentially compromised. An attacker with write privileges could replace existing models with malicious ones, steal user data, or spread manipulated information.

The exposure of these tokens underscores the importance of securing supply chains in AI and machine learning. It also highlights the need for organizations to understand their data and its sensitivity, establish robust cybersecurity policies, and continually scan for exposed API tokens. Hugging Face has invalidated all detected tokens and is working with platforms like GitHub to prevent valid tokens from being exposed.

Read More Here

Youtube Spotlight

I Built a 24/7 AI Livestream Where 2 AIs Debate

Lewis details the process of creating an automated 24/7 livestream where viewers can suggest topics for two AI characters to debate. He explains the technical aspects involved in setting up the livestream, including AI chat models, data gathering, voice generation, script writing, and implementing viewer interaction through Twitch and WebSocket.

Was this forwarded to you? Sign Up Here