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Showing posts from 2020

Yes to Masks. No to Parties. 2021 Will Be a Lot Like 2020

Sorry, folks: Thanks to Covid, next year won’t be much more fun than this one, at least until enough vaccines arrive. https://bit.ly/383AFzv

Timnit Gebru’s Exit From Google Exposes a Crisis in AI

The situation has made clear that the field needs to change. Here’s where to start, according to a current and a former Googler. https://bit.ly/3o5J7nn

After 2020, Live Events Might Not Look the Same. Good!

This year radically changed what live events—at least those that weren’t canceled—look like. It also taught organizers some lessons. https://bit.ly/2KP2wdW

The Most Dangerous People on the Internet in 2020

This year saw plenty of destructive hacking and disinformation campaigns—but amid a pandemic and a historic election, the consequences have never been graver. https://bit.ly/2L7omt3

How My Record Player Helped Me Feel the Music

If streaming can’t cure your stay-at-home blues, a spinning platter just might do the trick. https://bit.ly/3n0t9JY

30 Years Since the Human Genome Project Began, What’s Next?

Eric Green, head of the nation’s top genomics research institute, looks back on how far the field has come and shares his bold vision for the future. https://bit.ly/38QuJsG

In a Pandemic, Medical Illustrators Made Science Accessible

With lots of research, arrows, and an inviting color palette, artists helped transform complex research into useful information. https://bit.ly/3rAzuiP

Yet Another Year of Venture Capital Being Really White

After a year of protests against racial inequality and industry vows to do better, Black founders are still getting left out of Silicon Valley’s financial engine. https://bit.ly/3pBu2tZ

Hamlet 2000 Has Never Made More Sense

Michael Almereyda’s future-minded Shakespeare adaptation (with a WIRED cameo) is 20 years old. Now it feels like an eerie premonition. https://bit.ly/38Nk8Pc

2020 Was a Breakout Year for Crispr

Between glimpses of a medical cure and winning science’s shiniest prize, this proved to the gene-editing technology’s biggest year yet. https://bit.ly/3hnGQRQ

The Error of Fighting a Public Health War With Medical Weapons

It was a mistake that cost 300,000 lives. https://bit.ly/3rthWVP

How Your Digital Trails Wind Up in the Police’s Hands

Phone calls. Web searches. Location tracks. Smart speaker requests. They’ve become crucial tools for law enforcement, while users often are unaware. https://bit.ly/2WQ0oFd

Better Than Nothing: A Look at Content Moderation in 2020

The pandemic and the election forced social media platforms to police false information like never before—but we have no clue if that solved anything. https://bit.ly/2Jnvtgh

The Worst Hacks of 2020, a Surreal Pandemic Year

From ransomware schemes to supply chain attacks, this year melded classic hacks with extraordinary circumstances. https://bit.ly/2JlnQH8

Put Your Gift Cards to Use With These After-Christmas Sales

Got some new cash to spend? Some of our favorite gadgets and gizmos we've tested and recommend are still discounted. https://bit.ly/2WNPAY5

How to Set Up Your New Apple Watch

Welcome to your wearable. https://bit.ly/3hrtAfi

How to Set Up Your New TV

You got a new TV! Brag much? https://bit.ly/3hiQchT

How to Set Up Your Nest Thermostat

The future is here, and it's atmospherically superior. https://bit.ly/3nR2YXq

Why HDR Looks Too Dark on Your TV, and How to Fix It

Wait, isn’t that fancy new TV supposed to deliver bright, beautiful images? If yours is a little dimmer than expected, we can help. https://bit.ly/38uM36w

Can Disaster Movies Survive a Pandemic?

Two new disaster movies, Greenland and Songbird, came out this month. Whether they succeed or not may change the genre’s fate. https://bit.ly/2WKs0LU

The Master Guide to Setting Up All Your New Devices

If you were just gifted a new phone, smartwatch, or home entertainment device, here's what to do with it. https://bit.ly/3nQVweG

Here’s a Plan to Stop the Coronavirus From Mutating

Prioritize people who are immunocompromised for early vaccination. https://bit.ly/3aC5hKd

All the Gear We Fell In Love With During 2020

From turntables to smart water bottles, here are the things that brought the WIRED gear team irrational delight in this most atypical year. https://bit.ly/2WIkotf

What AlphaGo Can Teach Us About How People Learn

David Silver of DeepMind, who helped create the program that defeated a Go champion, thinks rewards are central to how machines—and humans—acquire knowledge. https://bit.ly/2KU7Qw8

Amazon’s Fourth-Gen Echo Looks—and Sounds—Even Better

Thanks to a rounded design and improved drivers, the company’s newest smart speaker outshines the competition. https://bit.ly/3nJIiAF

2020 Shows the Danger of a Decapitated Cyber Regime

Trump's White House has long been AWOL on cybersecurity. That lack of oversight almost seemed to be working—until the SolarWinds hack. https://bit.ly/3aCnt6d

Yes, Cyberpunk 2077 Is Buggy. But Mostly, It Has No Heart

People misunderstand why I dislike the game. It's not the bugs—it’s that everyone in it sucks. https://bit.ly/3nKgADV

Super Last-Minute Gift Ideas—and Excuses—for Procrastinators

If your Christmas tree is missing a present, or you can't celebrate IRL, these gifts will keep you on the nice list. https://bit.ly/2WBXbJ9

25 of the Best Longreads of 2020

It was a brutal year. Take a breath and enjoy some of our favorite in-depth stories. https://bit.ly/2KKUmTu

Apple Fitness+ Is Either Right on Time or Much Too Late

Apple invites users to sweat along with prerecorded classes on its new streaming workout platform—but the experience lags behind the competition. https://bit.ly/2KKG6KD

Pet Prosthetics Get a Boost From 3D Printing

New modeling software is helping animal health experts develop more customizable prosthetics for pets with missing limbs. Still, not all legs are created equal. https://bit.ly/3azsv3s

2020: The Year of Cancel(l)ed Culture

This year, monoculture floundered, but microculture flourished. Everyone found a niche—and learned what they could live without. https://bit.ly/3rhGwsA

This Was Supposed to Be the Year of the Female Movie Hero

From Wonder Woman 1984 to Black Widow, heroines were going to bust the box office in 2020. Then, they didn't. https://bit.ly/38sTCL7

I Took a Zoom Cooking Class With a Roman Chef. It Was Awesome

In a Covid-inspired pivot, chefs around the world are offering interactive cooking classes online that help groups of disparate strangers learn some new tricks. https://bit.ly/2KklWXK

Facial Hair Is Biologically Useless. Why Do Humans Have It?

Pubes protect you; head hair keeps you warm. But beards and mustaches seem to exist for mainly ornamental reasons. https://bit.ly/3auXqy6

15 Gifts for PlayStation Lovers

Or for yourself, because we all deserve a little treat. https://bit.ly/38po8p5

How to Understand the Russia Hack Fallout

Not all SolarWinds victims are created equal. https://bit.ly/34p8sRq

The Into the Impossible Podcast Honors Arthur C. Clarke

Physicist Brian Keating, codirector of the Arthur C. Clarke Center for the Human Imagination, started the show to continue the center's mission of bringing together the world's top thinkers. https://bit.ly/37woniH

Google’s Antitrust Cases: A Guide for the Perplexed

The company is facing multiple lawsuits from the Department of Justice and three dozen states. Here’s what you need to know. https://bit.ly/3nzgO0r

The Future of Work: ‘ars longa’ by Tade Thompson

“It’s all well and good for an android to take a position and shut down motor functions. There’s no art in that. I want the old ways. That’s why I’m on Earth.” https://bit.ly/3amDdKH

Airlines’ Pandemic-Driven Cargo Business Will Keep Flying

As Covid-19 shut down air travel, the industry quickly pivoted to hauling more stuff. It won’t be pivoting away anytime soon. https://bit.ly/2LFxFAu

How Restaurants Retooled for Takeout—and Survival

Chefs tinkered with food chemistry, while dining apps reengineered logistics. Those changes will endure even after the pandemic is over. https://bit.ly/37x8vNf

Texas Accuses Google and Facebook of an Illegal Conspiracy

A new antitrust case against Google alleges that the two companies made a deal to reduce competition in online advertising. https://bit.ly/3p2qVv6

Russia’s Hacking Frenzy Is a Reckoning

Despite years of warning, the US still has no good answer for the sort of “supply chain” attack that let Russia run wild. https://bit.ly/37qacvy

24 Gifts We Love From BIPOC-Owned Businesses

These household gifts are perfect for anyone on your list. https://bit.ly/2K9XVCO

The First Americans Are Being Vaccinated. Now, the Hard Part

State and local officials are scrambling to figure out how to inoculate millions—after health care workers and the elderly—against the novel coronavirus. https://bit.ly/2Kdtfk7

How Cyberpunk 2077 Sold a Promise—and Rigged the System

Video game companies are increasingly putting restrictions on what reviewers can show, widening the gap between expectations and reality. https://bit.ly/388WE75

The Zodiac Killer's Cipher Is Finally Cracked After 51 Years

Amateur and professional cryptographers, including those at the FBI, had been trying to decode the infamous serial killer's message to the media for decades. https://bit.ly/3af8pLB

Why Do Many Self-Driving Cars Look Like Toasters on Wheels?

Without any need for steering wheels or pedals, the cubes give passengers room to maneuver inside. The latest entrant, from Zoox, can hold 4. https://bit.ly/3oR2occ

The Steampunk Rover Concept That Could Help Explore Venus

50 years after the first spacecraft touched down on our super hot neighbor (and promptly died), NASA has a plan for a tougher mechanical lander. https://bit.ly/2KpfUFd