Internal disagreements over the direction of the Apple car led the effort to sputter for years before it was canceled this week.

Behind Apple’s Doomed Car Project: False Starts and Wrong Turns - The New York Times

With the first round of funding, the city plans to rebuild part of Grand Avenue and undertake dozens more improvements to parks.

Here are the first projects St. Paul's new sales tax will pay for - Axios Twin Cities

The Army Corps has proposed a rule change that could dramatically transform what projects it funds to protect flood-prone places like Norfolk

A proposed Army Corps change could affect hundreds of billions in federal funding • Virginia Mercury

The Centennial Authority is discussing the planned renovations for PNC Arena, despite not having an architect.

PNC Arena Renovation | PNC Arena's planned renovation project still without an architect; seeks to add 100,000 square feet - ABC11 Raleigh-Durham

After more than three years of permitting and construction, Reid (Sam) Dunn&#x27;s mixed-use Stone Bank condominium project is a largely tenanted new mini-neighborhood in downtown Vineyard Haven.

The Vineyard Gazette - Martha's Vineyard News | Almost Dunn: Stone Bank Project Moves Forward

City engineer says the State Street project ultimately will improve traffic and safety,...

New Haven's State Street project to improve safety, official says

Apple dumped more than $10 billion into its failed car project over the last decade because it couldn&#x27;t decide what to build.

Apple Spent More Than $10 Billion On Its Failed Car Project

Project Titan had little direction, planning, or reason to exist.

The Apple Car Project Was Always Doomed

Project A is the operational VC that provides its ventures with capital, an extensive network and exclusive access to a wide range of operational expertise

Project A

With Gatsby being a Static Site Generator, adding functionality that uses browser globals can break the Node.js build step. This is the case for Firebase Analytics, so adding it to a Gatsby project can be a little tricky. In this article, I’ll show you how to add Firebase Analytics to a Gatsby project the correct way. Dependencies We will be adding three dependencies to our project to get Firebase Analytics up and running, , and . When writing this article on March 31, 2022, only supports version of the plugin. dotenv firebase gatsby-plugin-firebase gatsby-plugin-firebase 8.x.x firebase Using Yarn: yarn add dotenv firebase@8.10.0 gatsby-plugin-firebase Using NPM: npm install dotenv firebase@8.10.0 gatsby-plugin-firebase Firebase Setup Head over to and create a new project if you haven’t already. Make sure you enable Analytics. console.firebase.google.com Next up, add Firebase as a web app. Once the app is set up, you can head over to the project’s settings to see the Firebase web configuration. You will need these values for the next step. Gatsby Setup We start by creating the file where we will be storing our environment variables. Remember to add this file to if you don’t want your variables to be tracked by git. .env .gitignore The should look like the following: .env GATSBY_FIREBASE_API_KEY=...
GATSBY_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN=...
GATSBY_FIREBASE_DATABASE_URL=...
GATSBY_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID=...
GATSBY_FIREBASE_STORAGE_BUCKET=...
GATSBY_FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID=...
GATSBY_FIREBASE_APP_ID=...
GATSBY_FIREBASE_MEASUREMENT_ID=... In your file: gatsby-config.js require("dotenv").config();

module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    ...otherPlugins,
    {
      resolve: "gatsby-plugin-firebase",
      options: {
        features: {
          auth: false,
          database: false,
          firestore: false,
          storage: false,
          messaging: false,
          functions: false,
          performance: false,
          analytics: true,
        },
        credentials: {
          apiKey: process.env.GATSBY_FIREBASE_API_KEY,
          authDomain: process.env.GATSBY_FIREBASE_AUTH_DOMAIN,
          databaseURL: process.env.GATSBY_FIREBASE_DATABASE_URL,
          projectId: process.env.GATSBY_FIREBASE_PROJECT_ID,
          storageBucket: process.env.GATSBY_FIREBASE_STORAGE_BUCKET,
          messagingSenderId: process.env.GATSBY_FIREBASE_MESSAGING_SENDER_ID,
          appId: process.env.GATSBY_FIREBASE_APP_ID,
          measurementId: process.env.GATSBY_FIREBASE_MEASUREMENT_ID,
        },
      },
    },
  ],
}; Next up, add the following import to both and : gatsby-browser.js gatsby-ssr.js import "firebase/analytics"; Usage Now that your Firebase Analytics is properly set up, you can start using it. This is an example of how you can track a page visit: import React, { useEffect } from "react";
import firebase from "gatsby-plugin-firebase";

const Home = () => {
  useEffect(() => {
    if (!firebase) {
      return;
    }

    firebase.analytics().logEvent("visited_homepage");
  }, [firebase]);

  return (
    <section>
      <h1>Hello, Firebase!</h1>
    </section>
  );
};

export default Home; When you run your website, you should now see requests being sent to and : firebase.googleapis.com google-analytics.com If the requests do not fail you have set everything up correctly! If you head back to you should be able to check out the real-time analytics. console.firebase.google.com Restricting the API Key It is a good idea to restrict your API key so that analytic requests can only be sent from a domain you own. To do this, head over to the Google Cloud Platform console at . Select your project and navigate to the . Add an HTTP referrers restriction to match the URL of your website. console.cloud.google.com API Credentials page You should now have Firebase Analytics set up on your Gatsby project! Thanks for checking out this article; any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Adding Firebase Analytics to a Gatsby Project: A Beginner's Guide

I recently spoke with Matan Almakis, the Head of Project at . In our conversation, we discussed the challenges of transparency in systems, balancing privacy and compliance, and ensuring ethical governance in a decentralized ecosystem. We also touch on the future of the crypto industry and what it will look like in the next five to ten years. I hope you enjoy it. Data Ownership Protocol blockchain Hello Matan. It’s great to have you for this conversation. Let’s begin with your origin story. Thanks for inviting me. I’m stoked to share my story and talk about all the cutting-edge work we’re doing at Data Ownership Protocol (DOP). My professional journey began in the blockchain space around 2021. At the time, I was a researcher at Lamina, Israel’s first IoT-focused Layer-1 blockchain. You could say this was also when I truly explored my knack to drive growth for pioneering blockchain startups and help them reach their full potential. As someone with a B.A. Degree in Social Sciences and Sociology, I’m always looking to solve real-world problems through whatever I do. And then, I did an M.A. in Organizational Development and Consulting, which gave me the skill set to build companies. By combining the two, I could embark on a journey to build startups that solve problems for the masses, as we’re doing at DOP. I’ve been with them since July this year. It’s great to be a part of something big, something so visionary. We’re transforming data ownership completely, and that’ll impact many lives in many different scenarios. And part of my job role is to make sure this happens the way it’s supposed to. Okay. So, transparency is often hailed as a USP for crypto and web3 protocols—it’s pretty much the holy grail for many. But resonating with Vitalik, among others, you point out the problems of over-transparency. Can you please elaborate on that? Sure. That’s a great question. First of all, transparency has its merits. The on-chain visibility that blockchain systems enable is indeed groundbreaking in many ways. It prevents black boxes, for instance. Plus, you can avoid manipulations or, for that matter, trace criminals. The Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan case is an example here. But from a privacy and autonomy perspective, transparency is a two-way sword. Because anyone can watch your on-chain activities, even with ‘ ’ identities, digital privacy effectively goes for a complete toss. pseudonymous More so, with advanced analytics and sleuthing tools available in the market now. Joining the dots to link users and transactions, despite using privacy solutions like ZCash or Tornado Cash, has become pretty easy nowadays. Above all, as Vitalik highlighted in a recent research paper, existing on-chain privacy mechanisms are often in conflict with emerging compliance obligations. This compels users to play a zero-sum game: all or nothing. You either reveal everything or don’t use blockchain-based systems at all. That’s not done. Compliance and privacy can very well work together—we have proof. To continue that point, how are you solving the compliance-privacy conflict, and what does it mean for end-users? We’re pioneering user-controlled selective disclosures for on-chain data. That’s basically turning Vitalik’s theoretical vision into a practical solution for the mass market. Moreover, it’s about taking crypto privacy to the next paradigm, i.e., data ownership. Contrary to existing privacy solutions, DOP will help end-users access full data control, zero-knowledge KYC, and customized data disclosure. DOP users can also participate in the ecosystem’s development, building on top of our open-source framework. DOP is a way to empower crypto users by enabling them to only disclose as much information as they deem fit. For example, while paying a merchant, you can only show what coins you hold in your wallet without revealing the exact balance or past transaction details. Because your transactions aren’t altogether exposed to the public, you face lower risks of front running, social pressure, phishing scams, extortion, data scraping, etc. But the best part is that this doesn’t hurt compliance. Counterparties can verify whether the coins they’re receiving came from any known exploit or sanctioned entity. We can achieve this using ‘association sets’ and advanced zero-knowledge cryptography. It’s thus a win-win situation where we serve both ends: privacy and compliance. No conflict. No harm. Dealing with user data is tricky terrain where you have to ensure you are meeting ethical standards. How do you ensure that? Centralized control over the process of creating association sets and storing data are two of the biggest ethical concerns in our domain. We’re addressing both from the very beginning. DOP is committed to adopting decentralized frameworks to build a fully self-governing ecosystem where the community has the final say. We will further establish a DOP DAO to nominate a rotating committee of node operators, algorithmically, to monitor the platform for risks. Maintaining a shared blacklist of prohibited wallets will be a key responsibility of this committee. External entities and users can also flag concerning activities, submitting proposals, and investigation requests via dedicated channels. Finally, DOP will implement a token-based governance mechanism to let the community participate in the decision-making process. This crowd-sourced approach will ensure that DOP mitigates threats and risks without any centralized points of failure or control. You couldn’t have built something like this without facing technical challenges, could you? Please tell us about the major ones and how you’ve overcome them. Of course not. We faced not one but many challenges. Balancing privacy and compliance—the very basis of our solution—is a massive challenge in itself. No one has ever done that before, really. At least not at scale. But we found a way to make this possible with ECDSA hashing and zk-SNARKs, among other elements. Anyone interested in the details can read our white paper. We also had to ensure seamless cross-platform interoperability so that DOP is relevant across the board. Restricting users to a proprietary wallet would have been restrictive. Multi-wallet compatibility was thus a must-have for flexibility, familiarity, accessibility, and, most importantly, a rich user experience. That’s why we embedded universal compatibility into DOP’s technical architecture, making the protocol future-proof. Before parting, where do you see the crypto industry in the next five-ten years, and how does DOP fit into this roadmap? Crypto is still in its early days, and there’s a long road ahead. But despite all the noise naysayers create, especially when something negative happens on the fringes, this is the best time to be bullish. I see a very bright future—something altogether different from what we’re used to, something user-centric. And I say this with such conviction because the tools and systems we need for such a future are already coming around. From robust proof systems to data ownership solutions like DOP, most of the core stack will be ready in the next five to ten years. That’s when crypto and blockchain-based systems will become what the Internet is today, minus the flaws and faults. As for DOP, we’re super excited now that our technology is ready. We’ve recently deployed the Testnet for the public to get a glimpse of what’s coming. Starting off with Phase I—Private Transactions—this is the beginning of a revolution. The Testnet phase will be live till Q1 2024. We invite users and developers to explore the protocol, check for bugs, and provide feedback about the experience in general. We’re testing features that’ll be live on the Mainnet as well, so you get a complete picture from the get-go. Plus, to incentivize testers and early adopters, we’re distributing 1% of DOP’s total supply as testnet tokens. This will have a 2-year vesting period with monthly claims, which each unique tester will receive based on their wallet and IP address. There’ll be no double counting. We’ve worked hard to ensure a fair game. Happy testing. Happy building.

Solving the Hard Problems: A Conversation with Matan Almakis, the Head of Project at DOP

Ever since influencer marketing appeared as a strong marketing tool, it is common to hear something like "Influencer marketing doesn't work — no one is clicking on the link I provided." Even at the beginning of the 21st century… But before you claim influencer marketing is a scam that doesn't work, just consider the thought that maybe the problem is not in influencer marketing. Mostly, the reason is much simpler: . Besides, often, traffic from YouTube counts as organic; that's why projects may think that influencers don't perform well. typical integrations, 0 creative decisions, or just boring activities that can't make people interested in what you do Want to boost the efficiency of influencers? We took a look at our experience of working with influencers and listed the best advice in this article. Read it, and implement the advice. Get Shared Activities With Crypto Influencers Any shared activities with influencers can impact many people and get them interested in a project. It's an easy way to make a buzz and get more attention to what you do. For example, you can offer the audience: 📌Trading tournament with an influencer 📌Session with additional interactive 📌Live stream: founder of the project with an influencer 📌 PR-oriented activities Besides a trading tournament, consider a personal influencer's draw as an ambassador of the project. In a way, it is also a tournament. Among gifts could be early access to a project or a project's assets. Establish a Referral/Affiliate Program Consult with the influencers about the terms of the referral program so he/she can make a profit despite the state of the market. Meanwhile, an influencer may offer many bonuses to the audience: Fixed bonus for registration Influencers would share a part of their trading income during the stream Bloggers can adjust how much money they get on commissions Speaking of bonuses: bloggers can offer something really unique for using the link he/she provided. For example, promo codes and access to something special within a project. Allocation of Tokens or Other Assets for Projects Allocation is often perceived by influencers as a sign that projects don't want to pay in stables. In order to change it, make the whole thing interesting not only for influencers but also for the community. 📌 — A good relationship with influencers starts with many points, one of which is financially beneficial terms. Structured it in a way that the influencers find attractive and rewarding. Profitable terms for allocation 📌 — The importance of considering not only the interests of the influencers but also the broader community is hard to overrate. So, don't. When making allocations, it is crucial to create a balance that benefits both the influencers involved and the wider community that follows or interacts with them. Allocation for both influencers and community 📌 — Influencers who are part of a DAO should also be considered for allocation. DAOs are organizations that operate through smart contracts on the blockchain, and they often have their own influencers or contributors. Allocation for DAO influencers 📌 —  Instead of relying solely on one approach, it may be a good decision to incorporate elements of both allocation and traditional payment models. Allocation+classic models of payment 📌 — Influencers can contribute their expertise and insights beyond just promoting or endorsing products or services. Invite an influencer to be an advisor By involving influencers as advisors, projects can benefit from their knowledge and perspectives in shaping strategies or making decisions. Getting an Influencer Into a Project More Actively There is a very simple formula you should remember:  the audience of an influencer really loves an influencer. If he/she is deeply involved with your project, the audience will love the project, too. So, you are starting to get it, right? — An influencer can share their expertise, insights, or opinions related to your project with their audience, which can generate interest and trust among their followers. 📌Public advising — having the influencer actively participate in discussions and conversations related to your project's community could be a great way to spice the audience up. 📌The influencer is actively involved in talks about the community — The influencer collaborates with the customer support team to assist the audience in resolving any issues they may encounter. 📌 Influencer works together with customer support The influencer can provide personalized assistance, offer solutions, or act as a mediator between the project and its users, which enhances the overall customer experience. Summary While many projects still consider influencer marketing a scam because it "doesn't work", you can use all these tips to power up your crypto efforts and get the results you want or don't even expect. Anywhere you can involve an influencer, do it. In the end, here’s a final piece of advice: If, for some reason, you can't implement these tips — all of them or just one — make sure . Also, of your product when crafting a CTA for an influencer. If you don't know any of these — get to know them. you shape a "clickable" CTA use triggers and activators And remember: Influencer integrations will have value when there is a value in your product. That's it!

Proven Techniques to Foster Crypto Influencers Efficiently and Make your Project a Winner

startups, like any other type of startup, can encounter marketing challenges that lead to failure or suboptimal results. In this article, I gathered the most popular Web3 startups’ failures in marketing and explained how to avoid them. Web3 I recommend this text to the founders, CEOs, and COOs of the Web3 projects. I wish you a pleasant reading, and I hope it will be helpful for you. Without further ado, I’m ready to share the top failures/mistakes in promoting the Web3 projects. Total Denial of the Need for Marketing Most founders have a background in development and engineering, so they may believe in the "power of code" and don’t realize the need for marketing. Indeed, a well-functioning product without marketing is better than a fake project everyone knows about. But if you have a good idea with a purpose, you have to turn your "mountain of code" into a business. It takes marketing and brand activity, partnerships, and collaborations. So, let your project become technically robust, recognizable, and attractive for investment. While community-building and technical documentation are essential, neglecting traditional marketing channels (content marketing, social media, and PR) can limit the project's reach. These channels can help attract a broader audience beyond the Web3 community. Even if you’re creating the “most unique technology in the world”, there will come a time when your technology ceases to amaze and it becomes difficult to interest people. Any product needs to be marketed. Most blockchain startups suffer because of a lack of business and marketing expertise. Think about this when you want to say that marketing/branding is not needed because you are good at coding and memes. Lack of Value Proposition and Differentiation The Web3 space is competitive, and startups must differentiate themselves from competitors through a clear , a new thoughtful business model or memorable design and tone of voice. Failure to showcase what makes the project unique can result in obscurity. Value Proposition Also, failure to clearly communicate the value and purpose of the Web3 project can hinder marketing efforts. If potential users and investors don't understand the project's significance or how it addresses specific pain points, they may not be motivated to get involved. To create your Value Proposition and Brand Positioning, you have to answer these questions: ✅ What pain do you solve for clients? ✅ How do your products differ from competitors' products? ✅ What impact do you want to have in the world? ✅ How would you like to be remembered? ✅ Why should people follow your project? Read the complete list of questions to help you build a brand "Brand Strategy for a Web3 Startup - Raise Your Value and Visibility in the Web3 Space". Lack of Market Research and UX Understanding your Value for the users, developers, and partners can't be done without learning their needs and habits. So, the following common failure is ignoring research and interviews with potential clients. Some Web3 founders think they are representatives of the target audience. In most cases, this is not true. You must read about your users, use specific data analytics tools (off-chain and on-chain), and think about your project's User Experience. Web3 startups sometimes focus excessively on the technical aspects of their projects and neglect the User Experience. A confusing or poorly designed interface can deter users, no matter how innovative the underlying technology is. To build a smooth UX, you must learn from your users and find people (Product Designers, UX/UI designers) who can create an understandable interface for many, not only tech nerds. Ignoring the Founder/CEO's Personal Brand — I’m sure you know all these names, or almost all. They use their names to strengthen the brands of the products they have created and/or are developing. Vitalik Buterin, Mark Cuban, Stani Kulechov, CZ, Alex Glukhovsky, David Hoffman, Sandy Carter and Aya Miyaguchi If you are a founder, you must be the public face of your company. You have to be an Ambassador. People trust people, not corporations. In personal brand building, one of the critical points is Positioning. It works for both product branding and personal branding. In simple words, your Positioning is a phrase or description under your photo on LinkedIn or X (Twitter). Brand Positioning helps others choose YOU and YOUR PRODUCT, not someone else. To create your positioning, imagine yourself at a business party where, in addition to cocktails and music, people are interested in the professional achievements of others and try to find business partners. Precise and accurate Positioning will help you interest people and become a welcome interlocutor to whom you won't want to say goodbye quickly. So, how would you introduce yourself and your project to get people interested at this Web3 party? The Wrong Time Timing can be critical in the fast-moving world of Web3. Launching a project or marketing campaign at the wrong time, such as during a bear market or when a competing project gains traction, can lead to failure. I see the unsuccessful work of the launchpads during the down trade. Despite this tendency, many projects try to launch their tokens with big hopes. I remember 2021 when many people wanted to create their NFT collections - no matter which and how. I gave consulting services to the guys planning to create their NFT collections, and some of them tried to do this because it was hype and "everything could be sold". No, not everything. You have to understand the current market status and propose what is valuable. Overemphasis on Hype Some Web3 startups may fall into the trap of overhyping their projects without delivering on promises. Exaggerated claims can lead to disappointment and skepticism, damaging the project's reputation. Some startups may prioritize short-term token price increases over long-term sustainability and utility. This can lead to a focus on speculative trading rather than the development and adoption of the technology. I can say that projects created only for hype and quick buck fade just as quickly, causing many questions. Too much hype in the DeFi or crypto industry raises suspicions and indicates an insufficient market understanding by users/investors. This can lead to financial and reputational losses both on the part of the project and on the part of the clients. Do you remember the hype surrounding Terra (Luna/USD)? And you know how it all ended. Neglect of the Mission and Strategic Vision Therefore, the following point I want to highlight is the neglect of the mission and long-term vision of the project, including in terms of marketing. Some founders see marketing and branding as disparate tools, so they hire people who work with their hands rather than think strategically. That is why you can see projects with a content writer who creates SEO-optimized texts for a blog on topics that are irrelevant to the project. Some projects can't decide on a brand design and endlessly rework it because they do it randomly and not based on a clear strategy and vision of the brand. I advise you to develop strategic thinking and surround yourself with people who can plan several steps and understand the cause-and-effect relationships between actions and results. Conclusion Successful marketing for Web3 startups requires a combination of technical expertise, community building, strategic partnerships, regulatory compliance, and effective communication. Avoiding the pitfalls mentioned above and adopting a balanced marketing strategy can contribute to the success of a Web3 project. In order to build a successful product, you need to work with all aspects - technical, user experience, marketing and branding. Share this article with your colleagues and Web3 founders thinking about marketing their projects but don’t know how to start. About the Author My name is . I’m a Strategic Brand Marketer and Growth Expert helping blockchain-based projects gain awareness and trust among users and developers. Daria Volkova Previously, I created two comprehensive tutorials about You can read them if you’re about to start your Web3 journey. and Go-to-Market Strategy Tactics in launching Web3 projects in 2023. In this article, “marketing” means all  activities to increase knowledge about the project, including audiences of users, developers, private investors, and VC funds. When I talk about the marketing of technical projects built on the blockchain, I don't mean annoying banner ads or radio spots. My article and approach focus on activities to increase knowledge and loyalty to the brand, build a community, and work with content marketing and DevRel. Follow me on social media if you like my thoughts: , , and LinkedIn Twitter . YouTube Also published . here

Avoid marketing fails and make your Web3 project attractive to users, devs and VCs

There is a recent news feature in , , stating that: Nature Europe spent €600 million to recreate the human brain in a computer. How did it go? “It took 10 years, around 500 scientists and some €600 million, and now the Human Brain Project — one of the biggest research endeavours ever funded by the European Union — is coming to an end. Its audacious goal was to understand the human brain by modelling it in a computer. During its run, scientists under the umbrella of the Human Brain Project (HBP) have published thousands of papers and made significant strides in neuroscience, such as creating detailed 3D maps of at least 200 brain regions, developing brain implants to treat blindness and using supercomputers to model functions such as memory and consciousness and to advance treatments for various brain conditions.” “The HBP was promised €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) in funds. In the end, it received €607 million, including €406 million from the EU, released over four phases and trickled out to labs that competed for grants at each phase. Meanwhile, large brain projects launched or kicked into high gear elsewhere. The United States and Japan both launched brain projects around the same time as the HBP — the former will continue until 2026 and the latter is hoping to run for a total of 15 years. China’s brain project started in 2021, and Australia’s and South Korea’s projects have both entered their seventh year.” The feature quoted a neurophysicist who said, “A project that lasts over ten years, I would expect it to produce a conceptual breakthrough.” It didn’t. The other ongoing large brain projects don’t seem to have produced any conceptual breakthroughs either; so what might the problem be? Breaking Down the Human Brain The brain is a whole, and it is also in parts. The parts have intricacies that have been studied, but characteristics of parts, forming a whole, hold answers to some of the most confounding problems of modern science, most especially mental illnesses. It was “In each hemisphere of our brain, humans have a primary visual cortex, also known as V1, containing 140 million neurons, with tens of billions of connections between them. And yet human vision involves not just V1, but an entire series of visual cortices — V2, V3, V4, and V5 — doing progressively more complex image processing.” stated that There are different parts of the brain involved in different functions, with millions of neurons and billions of connections. So, how can the brain be understood for its processes across circuits? The two most important elements in any brain center are the electrical and chemical impulses of neurons. It is postulated that these impulses with their features and interactions are the human mind. In the V1, as well as in other circuits, all the electrical and chemical impulses form a loop. There are the features of impulses in these loops and how they interact that can be used to explain observations about the brain conceptually. No loop is isolated; they have inter and intra pathways. Can the Brain Predict? A common description of what the brain is said to do predictive coding, processing, and correcting prediction errors. Some have said the brain is a prediction machine, does controlled hallucination, or gives a best guess. There is no evidence anywhere in neuroscience that the brain has a distinct feature to predict anything. Also, there is no standalone function for prediction. If there isn’t, the brain cannot be said to predict or generate predictions, refuting all the assumptions of predictions. What is observed as predictions can be explained as early-splits or go-before of electrical impulses in a loop, where some proceed earlier than others to interact with chemical impulses in that loop like they had done before, such that if the interaction matches with the input, other behind do nothing different, but if it does not, the others go in the right direction. These splits feature also use old sequences as relay paths as well as prioritization or what sets attention. There is no evidence anywhere in neuroscience that the brain has a distinct feature to predict anything. Also, there is no standalone function for prediction. If there isn’t, the brain cannot be said to predict or generate predictions, refuting all the assumptions of predictions. that some electrical impulses in the same loop leap concurrently, to go first before others follow. This explains what is observed as predictions. It also explains how some things are held in mind, in a moment or what is termed working memory or short-term memory. It is postulated It explains things held in mind when speaking, typing, writing, or signing, since they are held in mind or some go first, then others follow as outputs. In a major depressive disorder, with an intense heaviness resulting in the inability to do anything, it is theorized to be a result of a feature of chemical impulses called a principal spot. There is just one principal spot on the mind, with the most domination, for any loop of chemical impulses that moves there. What represents this is the pull-then-clip of some of the stairs or drifts of chemical impulses, exceeding others across the mind. Stairs or drifts of chemical impulses are the decision points of interactions of impulses in loops. When electrical impulses strike chemical impulses in a loop, they shape how chemical impulses in that loop are rationed or filled to produce experiences, learn something new, or for neuroplasticity. The rationing also separates an emotion from a feeling, a taste from a smell, or the degree of touch. In a sharp pain, for example, the rationing or fills are reversed in a direction that results in the intensity. Something close happens with the principal spot where pull, then clip some of the neighboring loops, drawing as many pre-prioritized interactions and dominating, with outcomes such as being unable to do other things or creating effects that slow down other processes. The stairs or drifts are available at the synaptic clefts. some of the stairs or drifts In the visual cortices — V1, V2, V3, and V4, representations of the sight form of objects are encoded and then retrieved, useful to the interpretation of incoming signals. These cortices, as their own loops, use the features and interactions of impulses, with some differences in stairs or drifts — for chemical and electrical impulses. The loops are also able to connect to others, say for the color red, or the spelling, as well as the hearing of the word at the auditory cortex, or some odor say for a red flower at the olfactory cortex. The drifts in these cortices also allow emotions or feelings possible, per instance. What Makes Smell Different From Sight, or What Makes Touch Different From Taste? It is theorized that some brain centers or circuits have multiple loops of electrical and chemical impulses, whose architecture is different due to the differences in how the brain parts of the brain are packed, contributing to how the drifts or stairs are also different. There are nuclei within brain centers that are responsible for different functions; they can be said to be their own loops, where differences in their structures shape the drifts or stairs, for electrical and chemical impulses. The gyri and sulci of the cerebral cortex are hypothesized to play a significant role in how some of the loops of impulses shape functions. Though the cerebellum has more neurons than the cerebral cortex, it has fewer gyri and sulci, which is proposed to lower the amount of loops. Mammals with a smooth brain have loops of impulses for functions, but fewer than in humans. Animals with larger brains than humans have fewer loops of impulses in certain parts [including the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus], even though they have more neurons, gyri, and sulci. Stairs or drifts often break out, to form new loops to prepare then determine growth stages from birth, then at puberty, pregnancy, and certain aging outcomes. Differences in humans with preferences, voices, behaviors, and so forth could also be a result of the intensity [or extensiveness of drifts] of certain loops of impulses. There are a few stairs or drifts that may fade or lose their contribution to the loop, as some synapses become weaker. There are also stairs or drifts that may influence how long some genes, within neurons, stay turned on or off. Lissencephaly could also be referred to as a problem that does not provide states for the required loops for neurons. Polymicrogyria can be said to distort loops or break them, making some incomplete, such that the drift or stairs of impulses, are unable to do what they should. All drifts or stairs of impulses have the sense of self, or subjective experience. Some of them are shaped in a way that allows for control, intentionality, or free will. For example, it is possible to open and close the eyes, but not possible to open the eyes, focus [or prioritization], and decide not to see what is there. The access to control of the eyes is possible, but the sight, even though subjective, is out of control. This applies to several other processes in the body. Some loops may contribute to this free will outcome. This is a conceptual option to understand what happens in the brain, aside, from seeking intricacies that help but do not tell the full story for answers against mental disorders. Dopamine or serotonin are never final; they are rationed in loops whose measures — in the right proportions — with other neurochemicals result in experiences. It is why medications have side effects as receptors are induced or inhibited, then the rations become affected in other circuits. The HBP and several other ongoing large projects would learn more from neuropeptides, genes, and so forth, but the human brain is operationally loop-driven, with a basis in impulses, their features, and interactions. Feature image source

Neuroscience: The Conceptual Failure of EU’s Human Brain Project and the US BRAIN Initiative

Selecting the appropriate is a critical decision that can significantly impact the success of your software project. With an abundance of options available, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. programming language In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore practical insights, real-world examples, and actionable tips to help you navigate this crucial choice and ensure your project's success. Understanding Project Requirements The first step in choosing the correct programming language is thoroughly understanding your project's requirements. Consider the following factors: Define the scope of your project, including its complexity, size, and intended functionality. A small, simple project might require a different language than a large-scale enterprise application. Project Scope: Evaluate performance requirements for your project. Will it involve heavy computations, real-time processing, or handling massive data sets? Performance: Consider the platforms and environments your application will run on. Different programming languages excel in various operating systems and devices. Platform and Environment: Team Expertise: Assess your team's skills and expertise with different programming languages. Opting for a language your team knows can streamline development and reduce the learning curve. Popular Programming Languages and Their Use Cases Let's delve into some popular programming languages and the scenarios where they shine: Python Use Case: Data analysis, scientific computing, and machine learning projects. Real-World Example: Netflix uses Python for content recommendation algorithms, enhancing user experience. JavaScript Use Case: Front-end web development, interactive web applications. Real-World Example: Facebook relies on JavaScript for its dynamic user interfaces. Java Use Case: Enterprise applications, Android app development. Real-World Example: LinkedIn utilizes Java for its backend services, securely handling millions of users' data. Go (Golang) Use Case: Cloud-native applications, network servers, concurrent programming. Real-World Example: Docker employs Go for its containerization platform, emphasizing efficiency and scalability. C++ Use Case: Performance-critical applications, system-level programming. Real-World Example: Adobe Photoshop is built on C++ to provide high-performance image processing. Evaluating Trade-Offs Each programming language comes with its trade-offs. Consider the following aspects when making your decision: Some languages offer rapid development capabilities, while others might require more time for optimizations. Development Speed: Larger communities often mean better support, libraries, and resources for troubleshooting. Community and Support: Ensure that your chosen language can scale with the growth of your project and user base. Scalability: Examine the language's security features to safeguard your application from vulnerabilities. Security:

Choosing the Right Programming Language for Your Project: A Comprehensive Guide

Elegir el lenguaje de programación adecuado para su proyecto: una guía completa

Choisir le bon langage de programmation pour votre projet : un guide complet

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プロジェクトに適切なプログラミング言語の選択: 包括的なガイド

Escolhendo a linguagem de programação certa para o seu projeto: um guia completo

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为您的项目选择正确的编程语言：综合指南

While "real" hell may or may not exist (no need to get into religious beliefs here), tutorial hell is real. very My definition of tutorial hell goes something like this: Tutorial hell is where you write code that others are explaining to you how to write, but you don't understand how to write it yourself when given a blank slate. At some point, it's time to take the training wheels off and build something . on your own When is it time to build your own project? At , students write their first non-tutorial project after completing the following modules: Boot.dev Learn Python (course) Learn OOP (course) Build a Python CLI (project) Learn Algorithms (course) Learn Data Structures (course) Build a Maze Solver (project) (when they build their first fully custom project) Personal Project 1 Now, keep in mind that Boot.dev students are hands-on-keyboard 100% of the time. I'm not saying you should watch 40 hours of video before building anything, but I saying you should have a solid understanding of coding fundamentals before building your . You should learn those fundamentals by , but it's best if the projects and challenges you're working on are so that you can focus more on learning the and less on figuring out what to build. am own idea writing code guided concepts What's the goal of your first project? Your goal here is to build something that makes money, or even to build something that will make its way onto your resume. not The goal of this project is simply to get you used to the process of building something from scratch. You just need to get some practice breaking down a project into smaller pieces. You need to experience that first breath of fresh air as you emerge from the depths of tutorial hell for the first time. first What are some good requirements for your first project? Try to spend 20-40 hours on this project. Use a programming language you're already familiar with. Commit your code to Git often, and push it up to Github. Create a for your project. It should explain to readers: README.md file What the project is, and what it does How to clone and run it It's okay for (I'd even encourage) you to use third-party libraries! That said, make sure that some of the code that write is doing something interesting. You don't want a razor-thin wrapper around a third-party library to be the only thing you've written. you But what should I build? The whole point of a personal project is that it's . The idea needs to be . Even if the project you build is for now, at least it's . personal yours simple yours Build something that you find interesting. This probably isn't a project that will make its way onto your portfolio or resume, but it's still good to get into the habit of building things that are and . Interesting and useful projects have many benefits: interesting useful They're more fun to work on They have more interesting and difficult problems to solve You (or someone else) might actually use them They're more likely to grab the attention of other people Attention from other people can lead to career opportunities Use a programming language that you're already at least somewhat familiar with. Assuming you haven't been writing a ton of code outside of Boot.dev, your project should probably be a Python program that runs on the command line. That's fine! I want to provide a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing, but don't choose a project from this list without at least putting your own spin on it please A text-based adventure game in the terminal A CLI tool to detect the strength of a password, or to validate it Tic-Tac-Toe in a tkinter GUI A tool that creates ASCII art from an image A command line tool to view Reddit feeds in the terminal A command line tool that parses a CSV file of pokemon data and lets you search for pokemon by name, type, etc. But, but, but... I don't know how to build "X"! Your job as a developer is to build stuff that you've never built before. Don't shy away from an idea because you're not sure where to start. Google it. Ask ChatGPT. Ask the Discord community. You might need to put in an hour of research before starting to decide if your idea is feasible within a 40-hour time frame, but that's fine! constantly Assuming that you'll be doing something you've never done before! You have some fundamentals under your belt. Now it's time to piece it all together and research as you go. You'll need help If you don't get stuck, you probably chose an idea that's way too easy. You're going to get stuck. The trick is developing a skillset for getting . This is a skill that will serve you well (and is absolutely necessary) in your career as a developer. unstuck Get used to Googling Start with Google. Do some research on your idea. See what others have done when building similar projects. See if there are any libraries you can install to make your life easier. Use ChatGPT Talking through your issues with ChatGPT ( debugging) can be a great way to get unstuck. rubber duck Don't have ChatGPT write your code for you! You won't learn that way, and you'll be dreadfully slow if you get stuck in that habit. Instead, use ChatGPT to help you think through your problems, and ask it to try to find bugs in your code or explain code snippets you don't understand. Use it to get back on track, but verify the information it feeds you with other sources. Keep in mind that ChatGPT can be confidently wrong, so don't take its word as law. Use Discord Ask questions in the , especially if you're a current student (but you're welcome either way)! As with all question-asking, provide as much context as you can so that when your fellow students and mentors help they can efficiently provide you with the information you need. Boot.dev Discord server Publish and share Get your project out into the world! Again, the purpose of your personal coding project probably shouldn't be to build something amazing for your resume. That said, I still think you should put enough love into it that you're not ashamed to make it public on your and share it with other devs you know. Get some feedback, ask for code reviews, and you can always iterate on it later and improve it as your skills improve. first-ever GitHub profile Also published . here

Building Your First Coding Project and Avoid Tutorial Hell

One excellent way to build is by scraping the web. It becomes especially relevant when sources like Common Crawl or official APIs fail to meet your project’s requirements (for example, the data isn’t recent enough or Twitter prices you out). However, web scraping comes with its own challenges like and geo-restrictions. This is where our hero — proxies — enter the scene. datasets CAPTCHAs A proxy server is another computer (a server, phone, or even IoT device) that lets you access the web through itself. This way, you get a new IP address from an optionally different location. Proxies are much like VPNs — the difference is that you can use many of them at once instead of just one or two connections. Proxy servers are becoming more and more necessary as websites implement rate limiting and more sophisticated restrictions to prevent automated access. Sometimes, for good reasons, though often it’s to protect their commercial interests or monopolize data. Proxies won’t solve all your problems; but aside from basic hygiene, such as using realistic user-agents, they’re the most effective way to keep your web scraper running. This guide will give you a strong understanding of proxy servers in the context of web scraping. It comes with theoretical knowledge together with some practical data we collected for our annual . proxy market research First things first: you most likely don’t want to use free proxies When web scrapers (the people) encounter a need for proxies, their first impulse is to try out a free proxy list. These lists are publicly available online; most of the proxies in them come from vulnerable or mismanaged servers. One big problem with free proxy lists is that you never know who runs them. The operator may have malicious intentions, which can manifest in ad injection, traffic logging, and other nasty things. This sounds scary, but it’s unlikely to affect you much as a data scientist: you probably won’t configure proxies on the operating system level or use them to access your bank account. A more boring — though realistic — issue is that free proxies are simply unreliable. They rarely stay online for long; the ones that do run are unbearably slow because they have hundreds of tenants; and because they have hundreds of tenants, such proxies very quickly strike themselves out with any relevant website. Not a great tool to work with. For this reason, I strongly recommend paying for a commercial proxy service. Types of proxy servers out there Proxy servers are most often categorized by the IP source. For web scraping purposes, you’ll most likely choose between three types: datacenter, residential, or ISP (also called static residential) proxies. Datacenter proxies These proxies are hosted on servers in data centers. They can be instances of Amazon Cloud Services (AWS) or come from any other cloud hosting provider. IP databases see datacenter proxies as belonging to or ranges. hosting datacenter Datacenter proxies typically run on powerful hardware and internet connection, so you can scrape a lot of data fast. They can be a very efficient choice for targets that don’t monitor IP reputation but struggle with websites that do. Residential proxies These proxies come from the residential devices of real people (hence the name). For example, they can run on a Windows laptop, Android phone, or a smart fridge on Wi-Fi. IP databases classify residential proxies as or connections. landline mobile Residential proxies always come in large pools of addresses from around the world. They’re less predictable than datacenter IPs because they rely on the connection quality and availability of the host device. However, this very feature makes residential proxies very effective with all kinds of websites, as they look like regular visitors. ISP proxies These proxies are hosted on servers in data centers registered under consumer internet service providers like Verizon. This is achieved by signing a contract with an ISP and getting it to announce IPs on its network. Ideally, IP databases should identify such proxies as or connections. Sometimes, though, smaller regional ISPs are still classified as data centers. but landline mobile ISP proxies retain the qualities of datacenter proxies but are able to scrape more effectively due to a better IP reputation. How proxies are sourced and whether they’re legal At this point, you may be thinking, “Woah, wait a minute! Android phones? Sounds awfully like a botnet! Is that even legal?” This is a good question to ask, and it shows that you care. Many don’t. The fact is that there’s a fine line between a commercial proxy server and a botnet. It applies less to datacenter proxies where the supply chain is pretty much clear: a cloud host buys IPs, puts them on a server, and rents the addresses to a proxy provider. But the question of ethics becomes very relevant with residential proxy networks. Without delving too deep into the topic, residential proxies can be sourced in several ways. The most popular method is via SDKs in desktop and mobile applications. gives concrete examples of what that looks like. This video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-Lbgd4BYHI&embedable=true Another way is to exchange traffic directly for a service (such as a free VPN, see BrightVPN) or money (using bandwidth-sharing apps like Honeygain). In any case, the onus falls on the proxy provider to ensure that the IP source is aware of the arrangement and consents to it. You should be able to find information about proxy sourcing and usage approaches on the provider’s website. This significantly reduces the chance that you’ll be using a botnet. Proxy server configurations Proxy servers may have different configurations based on and . tenancy rotation The first criterion describes how many people can use the same proxy server at once. All free proxy lists have potentially hundreds of tenants, while commercial proxy providers impose limits. In the market lingo, or means you’ll use the same proxy server with several other people (often one to four). or means that you alone will use the proxies for all or particular domains. shared semi-shared Private dedicated The ability to choose tenancy is a feature of datacenter and ISP proxies, as providers have full ownership over them. It’s unavailable with residential proxies but also less relevant — residential users have more natural browsing patterns and are less likely to overload websites with requests. The second criterion, rotation, shows whether proxy servers switch automatically. The ones that don’t often come in proxy lists formatted as IP:Port (1). The ones that do take the format of endpoint:port (2): 192.168.0.1:10000 en.proxyprovider.net:10000 The endpoint functions as a gateway to the provider’s proxy pool. It automatically routes your requests through different addresses in the backend. Even when an IP address changes, the endpoint remains the same. Rotating proxies are very convenient for web scraping, as you get access to an effectively infinite number of IPs (thousands to millions). However, such services often charge for traffic expenditure, while static proxy lists tend to offer unlimited traffic. Comparing the different proxy types Let’s compare the discussed proxy types based on their various characteristics. Affordability In the case of rotating proxy networks, residential proxies cost around eight to 10 times more than datacenter addresses and a little less than rotating ISP proxy networks. Static proxy networks usually charge per IP address. Compared to ISP proxies, datacenter proxy servers cost two to three times less, depending on how much you buy. Infrastructure performance Despite routing traffic through unpredictable end-user devices, major residential proxy networks work very well. For web scraping purposes (when the IP rotates with each connection request), they transfer data almost as well as datacenter proxies: We also failed to see a big difference in latency. Below are response times for requests made to the nearest server of a global CDN (the response size is several kilobytes) and Amazon (around 1 MB response size): One area where datacenter and ISP proxies dominate is throughput. They have wider pipes for transferring data. Some residential proxies can be very fast, but you can just as well encounter servers that fail to reach 1 Mbps. There’s much less predictability. IP Uptime Datacenter and ISP proxies can stay up nearly 24/7, going offline only when an outage or maintenance occurs. The uptime of a residential proxy depends on various factors, such as whether it comes from a Windows or Android device. In any case, it’s much shorter and less dependable compared to server-based proxies. We wrote a script that pinged an IP database every 20 seconds to see how often a residential IP address would change. Here are some results: 43 seconds IP #1: Over an hour IP #2: 3 minutes, 33 seconds IP #3: 8 minutes, 31 seconds IP #4: Over an hour IP #5: Scraping effectiveness Datacenter proxies struggle against protected or highly popular websites like Google or social media. This can be somewhat mitigated by choosing dedicated IPs with a cleaner usage history. Sometimes, connecting from a datacenter IP range is enough for websites not to let you in. In such cases, the only recourse is to use a different proxy type. ISP proxies have a better IP reputation by default, so they face less initial scrutiny. However, they still have less realistic browsing patterns compared to a true residential address. Residential proxy servers form large pools, are very diverse, and share browsing history with real people. These qualities make them very hard to distinguish from the website’s broader audience. Location variety Datacenter and ISP proxies are hosted in data centers, and the number of available datacenters is limited. The most frequent location is probably Ashburn, though major providers can get you datacenter IPs from dozens of countries. However, if you need addresses in smaller locales, and especially their non-capital cities, you’ll be out of luck. Residential proxies have no such restrictions — as long as there’s a device and a willing participant, anyone from anywhere can join. Consequently, major providers can offer IPs in all countries with city, ASN, and sometimes even ZIP code targeting. Popularity Based on our survey of major proxy providers, most chose residential proxies as their most popular product. Only two providers specified datacenter proxy servers, and none ISP proxies. Datacenter proxies have been falling off in recent years, as major targets like Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, and others tightened their security systems. ISP proxies have the capacity to take their place, but their uptake is hindered by sourcing difficulties — it’s hard to get reputable ISPs onboard. Recommendations for your projects But enough theory. How can you apply this knowledge to your project? I’ve modeled multiple scenarios with proxy server suggestions. To keep this article free from commercial interests, I won’t mention particular providers. If you’d like some recommendations, we compare major providers (Disclaimer: we’re in an affiliate relationship with most of those companies. However, this has no impact on our market reports.) on our website Scraping websites without advanced protection Scraping a minor news portal, e-commerce website, or even non-Google search engine. Example: Rotating datacenter proxies. You can get access to a pool of 2,000–100,000 rotating IPs for $0.7/GB or less. You won’t have to worry about replacing blocked IPs, and the cost of traffic is low enough for some serious data extraction. Recommendation: Downloading multimedia content Downloading videos off a streaming service or pictures from an image aggregator for archiving purposes. Example: Static datacenter or ISP proxies. They are fast and don’t count traffic expenditure. Go for datacenter proxies when the website allows it and ISP proxies otherwise. Recommendation: Crawling many different websites Searching for brand mentions throughout the web. Example: Static datacenter or ISP proxies. Crawling requires a lot of data, so it’s best to choose a proxy type that doesn’t use traffic as the main metric. Also, even a finite number of IPs will take you far when you switch targets. Recommendation: Scraping large popular targets Extracting job ads from LinkedIn, company information from G2, or hashtagged posts from a social media network. Example: Residential proxies. With an effectively infinite number of IPs, you won’t risk banning out your proxies. In addition, you’ll experience a higher success rate compared to other proxy types. Recommendation: Collecting real-time data Tracking stock price movements. Example: Datacenter proxies if the website allows them; else, ISP proxies**.** Their fast connection speed ensures that you’ll extract data as it appears. Recommendations: Accessing hyper-localized pages Monitoring search engine page positions for localized Google queries. Example: Residential proxies, as they support city-level IP filtering. Recommendation: Conclusion This article gave you a brief introduction to proxy servers for web scraping purposes. After reading it, you should be able to distinguish between the main proxy types, configurations, and which setup would benefit your data science project the most.

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