Within hours of its splashy Libra announcement last month, Facebook’s cryptocurrency plans had become a political cudgel. Drawing on Facebook’s privacy missteps and a gathering storm over antitrust, lawmakers swiftly demanded the company halt work on Libra while it addressed how it would avoid past mistakes. Those calls didn’t pose an immediate threat. Now, though, […]
Read MoreDepending on who you ask, blockchains are either the most important technological innovation since the internet or a solution looking for a problem. The original blockchain is the decentralized ledger behind the digital currency bitcoin. The ledger consists of linked batches of transactions known as blocks (hence the term blockchain), and an identical copy is […]
Read MoreThe summer is a time for rejuvenation, don’t you think? A time to reflect on what’s important and what can be let go. That applies also to Apple’s laptop line, which on Tuesday got a midsummer refresh. It involves shuffles and spec bumps big and small, but mostly: If you need a MacBook Pro, hope […]
Read MoreSeveral decades into the age of digital media, the ability to leave one’s childhood and adolescent years behind is now imperiled. Although exact numbers are hard to come by, it is evident that a majority of young people with access to mobile phones take and circulate selfies on a daily basis. There is also growing […]
Read MoreAs setups go for studying how people see colors, this one isn’t even the weirdest: a room full of assorted objects, like Lego bricks, strawberries, and ping-pong balls. Bring people into the room and give them a computer. Tell them to use a mouse to adjust the color of a big spot on the screen, […]
Read MoreFour decades after American Airlines invented the frequent flier, loyalty programs have started to spread beyond airlines and into urban travel. Last November, Uber launched Uber Rewards, using perks like vehicle upgrades to woo and keep fickle customers. Uber’s program design nudges riders to take individual instead of shared trips, sparking worries that whatever impact […]
Read MoreThe iPad may be getting impressively close to Everyday Computer territory, but there is still something about the desktop software experience on a Mac that a mobile device can’t replace. (Even more so if the keyboard on your MacBook works!) But mobile software has its benefits—speed, usability, simplicity—so it’s not a surprise to see that […]
Read MoreMore Americans are obtaining passports and going abroad than ever before—and thousands of different travel apps, websites, and services have proliferated to help them on their journeys. Many promise to make the experience of flying cheaper, easier, and less stressful. Want dinner delivered directly to your gate? There’s now an app for that, of course. […]
Read MoreThe pantheon of sports iconography is a gendered institution. There’s Muhammad Ali towering menacingly over a flattened Sonny Liston in 1965. The game-securing touchdown catch by 49er Dwight Clark, his body bent like a crescent moon, from the 1982 NFC Championship bout. Michael Phelps at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in his nail-biting 100-meter butterfly victory. […]
Read MoreCredit where credit is due: Evolution has invented a galaxy of clever adaptations, from fish that swim up sea cucumber butts and eat their gonads, to parasites that mind-control their hosts in wildly complex ways. But it’s never dreamed up ion propulsion, a fantastical new way to power robots by accelerating ions instead of burning […]
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