Dictionary compression reshapes web delivery & Encrypted RCS finally crosses platforms - Tech News (Feb 24, 2026)

Today's topics: Dictionary compression reshapes web delivery - HTTP dictionary compression via RFC 9842 and Zstandard/Brotli dictionaries can slash repeat-visit payloads—tests cite up to 90% smaller JavaScript than Brotli, with Chrome 130+ leading support. Encrypted RCS finally crosses platforms - Apple and Google are testing end-to-end encrypted RCS between iPhone and Android under the GSMA Universal Profile, bringing lock-icon encryption to cross-platform chats in iOS 26.4 beta and Google Messages beta. Meta’s massive AMD chip bet - Meta signed a five-year, $60B purchase agreement for AMD AI hardware and took a 10% stake, signaling a major shift toward inference-optimized accelerators like MI450 and multi-vendor compute strategy. Model distillation, data, and security - Anthropic alleges Chinese startups used 24,000 fraudulent accounts to generate 16M Claude conversations for distillation, raising terms-of-service, safety-guardrail, and national security concerns around model copying. AI coding era: quality and juniors - Microsoft leaders warn AI agents can boost seniors but slow juniors, while Simon Willison pushes red/green TDD as an agent prompt; the shared theme is verification, tests, and mentorship to avoid brittle code. Robots, Mars autonomy, and navigation - China showcased more capable humanoid robots amid booming shipments, while NASA gave Perseverance a Mars ‘GPS-like’ localization upgrade—both point to faster autonomy, but with real-world robustness still a question. Geothermal’s scale test and economics - Geothermal companies are diverging: EGS drilling gains may plateau while closed-loop systems target district heating economics; scalability hinges on rigs, capex, water losses, and siting near transmission or data centers. Gene editing precision and FDA pathway - Researchers reduced base-editing bystander mutations by over 80% using linker redesigns, as the FDA detailed a ‘plausible mechanism pathway’ for bespoke ultra-rare genetic medicines—promising, but still bounded and early. Export controls and tech geopolitics - China imposed export restrictions on Japanese entities tied to military capability, and Washington launched a Peace Corps-style Tech Corps to promote US AI abroad—highlighting the tightening tech-and-supply-chain contest. 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