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Showing posts from July, 2022

Step Away From Screens With the 20 Best Family Board Games

From monsters to kittens to strategy games, these sets will liven things up on nights when everyone is tired of screens. https://bit.ly/3zmO81D

Apple Just Patched 37 iPhone Security Bugs

Plus: A Google Chrome patch licks the DevilsTongue spyware, Android’s kernel gets a tune-up, and Microsoft fixes 84 flaws. https://bit.ly/3SbN5dJ

You Pay More When Companies Get Hacked

Plus: Google delays the end of cookies (again), EU officials were targeted with Pegasus spyware, and more of the top security news. https://bit.ly/3ziVHqm

Goodbye to the BMW i3—an Icon of the 21st Century

A seminal EV has come to the end of its life. Yet it’s never looked better, or more relevant. https://bit.ly/3oCGfjX

Big Tech Can’t Stop Obsessing Over Apple and TikTok

Earnings season was dominated by two companies—both existential threats to their competition. https://bit.ly/3OKvu9y

The Gray Man Doesn’t Need a Cinematic Universe

But Netflix needs franchises—so here we are. https://bit.ly/3cEqbLB

The Case for Making Public Transit Free Everywhere

From Spain to Germany and Luxembourg to Estonia, more and more countries are experimenting with fare-free transportation. https://bit.ly/3ziT8UZ

The CHIPS Act Passes Congress to Boost US Semiconductor Production

The $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act wants to jumpstart the domestic semiconductor industry, starting with manufacturing. https://bit.ly/3BprmJ5

This Stamp-Sized Ultrasound Patch Can Image Internal Organs

Getting a scan usually means a visit to a doctor and some giant equipment. What if that gear was wearable? https://bit.ly/3Jdq9qk

Quell the Heat With Our Favorite Window Air Conditioners

These WIRED-tested AC units have been lodged into our windows and cooling our homes for months, if not years. https://bit.ly/3vmeWht

The Big Business of Burying Carbon

The porous rock beneath the Gulf Coast launched the petroleum age. Now entrepreneurs want to turn it into a gigantic sponge for storing CO2. https://bit.ly/3bfUacn

Meta Puts the Metaverse Even Further Out of Reach

The company is raising the prices of its VR headsets by $100, creating another potential barrier to mass adoption of the technology. https://bit.ly/3OGsT0x

Juul Nears Its Last Gasp—After It Hooked a Generation on Vaping

The startup used regulatory loopholes and marketing to make nicotine cool. Now the FDA threatens to shut the company down, but new rivals are taking over. https://bit.ly/3uCWWiq

Humans Have Always Been Wrong About Humans

'The Dawn of Everything' fundamentally shifted my view of … everything. I had to meet one of the minds behind its world-tilting revelations. https://bit.ly/3AAiVui

The Best Noise-Canceling Headphones to Escape Reality

Whether you prefer over-ears or earbuds, our favorite picks will add some serenity to your day. https://bit.ly/3nT8CtO

‘Clean Slate’ Justice Laws Offer a Second Chance—Only to Some

States are trying to automate criminal record clearance. But what if they end up amplifying racial disparities? https://bit.ly/3yUN3PL

How to Earn More Than $50 in Amazon Credits Ahead of Prime Day

Most of these promotions require you to spend some money, but they’re a relatively easy way to redeem some extra cash. https://bit.ly/3yW9Hr8

Chinese Police Exposed 1B People's Data in Unprecedented Leak

Plus: A duplicitous bug bounty scheme, the iPhone's new “lockdown mode,” and more of the week's top security news. https://bit.ly/3uBmkFb

Leaks Give a Peek at Upcoming Apple and Samsung Watches

Apple gets a maximum security mode, Twitter tests two-person tweets, and TikTok slows down its Shop plans. https://bit.ly/3RqAC5E

Arvies Imagines a World Ruled by Fetuses

Adam-Troy Castro's short story remains one of the author's best, even years later. https://bit.ly/3RpIbcv

How Hemingway Gradually—Then Suddenly—Defined the Zeitgeist

Plus: Early attempts at writing fiction online, the many sequels to Hackers, and Canada’s pessimism. https://bit.ly/3ytVbVS

Could Your Old Poop Cure You of Future Diseases?

Fecal transplants can fix gut diseases, but finding the right donor stool is tricky. The solution, some scientists believe, is to keep a store of your own. https://bit.ly/3O6zYaB

It’s Time for Fans to Watch Superheroes Like They Read Them

Thor: Love and Thunder is out Friday; Ms. Marvel wraps up on Disney+ next week. Instead of feeling overwhelmed, it’s time to pick faves and stick with them. https://bit.ly/3Iq2OBj

Cruise's Robot Car Outages Are Jamming Up San Francisco

In a series of incidents, the GM subsidiary lost contact with its autonomous vehicles, leaving them frozen in traffic and trapping human drivers. https://bit.ly/3IvFJNO

Europe's Big Tech Law Is Approved. Now Comes the Hard Part

Enforcing the sweeping Digital Services Act will be an uphill climb—and the Commission is not yet equipped for it. https://bit.ly/3uyugqM

It's Not Too Late to Save the Metaverse

There’s an opportunity to build joyful communities in VR. Just protect individual rights—and keep out the crypto. https://bit.ly/3OPG3cl

The Danger of License Plate Readers in Post-Roe America

Known as ALPRs, this surveillance tech is pervasive across the US—and could soon be used by police and anti-abortion groups alike. https://bit.ly/3RgAh5j

Apple’s Lockdown Mode Aims to Counter Spyware Threats

Starting with iOS 16, people who are at risk of being targeted with spyware will have some much-needed help. https://bit.ly/3OQktEF

14 Early Amazon Prime Day Deals on Google Hardware

If you prefer Google Assistant and the Nest ecosystem, there's a discount here for you. https://bit.ly/3uvceWm

Our Favorite Paper Planners for Crossing Tasks Off Your List

Digital tools are not always superior. Here are the good old-fashioned notebooks our team uses to keep on track. https://bit.ly/3usLRR1

The Infamous 1972 Report That Warned of Civilization's Collapse

The Limits to Growth argued that rampant pollution and resource extraction were pushing Earth to the brink. How does it hold up 50 years later? https://bit.ly/3P7rXTz

Autonomous Drones Could Soon Run the UK’s Energy Grid

The National Grid is testing computer-manned drones that can save millions in maintenance work. https://bit.ly/3NKu4eM

Crypto’s Free Rein May Be Coming to a Close

Lawmakers in the US and Europe are considering ways to regulate crypto and crack down on money-laundering and other illicit activities. https://bit.ly/3nC7daS

Transport Apps Promised to Eliminate Friction. But at What Cost?

Cities of the future will likely be even more segregated by income, hostile to pedestrians, and designed to line the pockets of tech giants. https://bit.ly/3P47grv

The Best Barefoot Shoes for Walking or Running

Our favorite zero-drop, minimalist footwear will let you feel the ground beneath your feet. https://bit.ly/3bFRJQg

Instagram Keeps Showing Me Children’s Tragedies

After I became a parent, my social media feeds filled up with videos of kids who are sick or have died. Why couldn’t I look away? https://bit.ly/3yFWpyM

Why Can’t a Magnet-Propelled Truck Actually Work?

The internet thinks it has discovered the secret to fuel-free perpetual motion. Physics knows better. https://bit.ly/3adXXGN

Scientists Are Trying to Grow Crops in the Dark

Powering plant growth with solar panels instead of photosynthesis could be a more efficient way of using the Sun’s energy for food. But it’s not all good news. https://bit.ly/3IcLAHu

The Worst Hacks and Breaches of 2022 So Far

From cryptocurrency thefts to intrusions into telecom giants, state-backed attackers have had a field day in the year’s first half. https://bit.ly/3I9Qntn

The Surface Laptop Go 2 Offers Style on a Budget

Microsoft’s updated midrange model is a top-tier student pick and cheaper MacBook alternative, but its battery leaves much to be desired. https://bit.ly/3NP04yI

Gorillas’ Retreat Signals a Reckoning for Delivery Apps

Quick-delivery empires are crumbling across Europe as investors put an emphasis on profits. https://bit.ly/3NOZYHm

The Best Webcams for Looking Brighter and Better

Zoom into peoples' offices and living rooms with the best version of your on-camera self. https://bit.ly/3OHGPYO

Secrets of the Moon’s Permanent Shadows Are Coming to Light

Robots will venture into the sunless depths of lunar craters to find ancient water ice, while studies find hints about how water arrives on rocky worlds. https://bit.ly/3yNgseR

Citizen Sleeper's Creator Was Inspired by Our Modern Dystopia

Gareth Damian Martin sat down with WIRED to explain the "passive cruelty" of corporate culture and the game's visceral economic fears. https://bit.ly/3yBqTSm

What, Exactly, Is the Metaverse Standards Forum Creating?

No one will agree on what the metaverse is. But that's not stopping a coalition of big names in tech from designing the tools needed to build it. https://bit.ly/3yDNbTx

Robocalls Are (Finally) Being Shaken Up

Plus: Insta-delete your Instagram account, TikTok is eyeing your wallet, and Google makes it easier to switch from iOS. https://bit.ly/3yC4unX

How to Shop Like a Pro on Amazon Prime Day

The big sale event is notoriously full of lackluster deals. Here's how to cut through the clutter to find the real gems. https://bit.ly/3AlyJAN

The Best Samsung Galaxy S22 Cases and Accessories

Deck out your new phone with wallet cases, kickstands, wireless chargers, and charging adapters. https://bit.ly/3Af6uUx

‘Doom RPG,’ the Weirdest Official Doom Game, Is Now Playable on Windows

GEC.inc, a small Costa-Rica based collective, has freed the surprisingly fun turn-based ‘Doom RPG’ from a pre-iPhone world. https://bit.ly/3nuY8QS

What’s Going on With RadioShack’s Twitter Feed?

It's a sign of the times: the off-kilter '90s nostalgia that's also bringing back Rage Against the Machine’s “Killing in the Name.” https://bit.ly/3bLloI1