Welcome to The Compiler, a daily curation of tech news.

Watch Duty, a free nonprofit wildfire tracking app, has become critical during the LA wildfires. With 1.5 million downloads in two days, it's outpacing government alert systems. Why it matters: Watch Duty's focus on speed, accuracy, and a simple UI (no ads or engagement metrics) is a masterclass in crisis tech design. The kicker? It's all running on a shoestring budget, proving sometimes the best tech solutions don't need VC funding or growth hacking – just solving a real problem really well.

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Blue Origin is finally ready to launch its massive New Glenn rocket. After years of "Old Space" jokes, Bezos might have the last laugh. New Glenn's large cargo capacity could give SpaceX's Falcon Heavy a run for its money. The real story? This launch is crucial for Amazon's Project Kuiper. Bezos is playing 4D chess – using one company to bootstrap another's attempt at satellite internet domination. Your move, Musk.

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Honda and Nissan are talking $50 billion merger. On the surface, it looks like panic over China's EV dominance. Dig deeper, and it's a smart play. Honda gets Nissan's SUV expertise and extra factory capacity. Nissan gets Honda's hybrid tech. Both pool resources for software development. The real winners? Engineers working on EV and autonomous tech – your job security just got a major boost.

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• Amazon kills Prime "Try Before You Buy" clothing service. Translation: Their AI-powered size recommendations got good enough to make it obsolete. Read more
• Dbrand creates a case for the unannounced Nintendo Switch 2. Either they have insider info, or they're making an expensive guess. Read more
• Nintendo confirms Switch 2 backwards compatibility. Your massive Zelda: BOTW save file lives to see another day. Read more

If AI can now write code better than most humans, does that mean we're training our future replacements... or finally freeing developers to work on the truly creative stuff?

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