Tech ado Labs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“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

You're probably using it to chat with friends, but if you're not using it to stream, play games, and chat with friends too, it's time to start. https://bit.ly/38erBXj

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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