Dear insert website name, Please stop asking me to your mobile app. I don’t want want to use it. I don’t care if you think your app is the bees-knees. If I wanted to use your app, I’d go to the app store and download said app. But I didn’t do that. Instead, I’m writing this letter to make my stance clear: I prefer to access your service within the comfort of a browser, thank-you-very-much. It’s fine to tell me to download your app the first time I visit your page, or even send me a reminder no
Numerous reputable news sites and media personalities have spent the past couple of weeks alleging that the current year is “2022.” How can they be so sure? Here at Neural we believe in science. And the presence of evidence isn’t necessarily evidence that we’re present. That’s why we’re not willing to concede that it’s 2022 yet. What if the world really did end on 21 December 2012? The fact that you’re reading this makes it a bit hard to accept, but we think we can make a pretty strong argument.
A viral game that’s inspired copious clones has exposed the complexities of copyrighting apps — and the shamelessness of greedy imitators. Wordle has attracted more than 2 million daily players since its launch in November. The puzzles challenge you to guess a five-letter word, but you can only play one of them a day — an appealing constraint in an era of ruthlessly addictive games. Another of its charms is that Wordle’s creator, Josh Wardle, made the browser-based game free. That good deed was
The music industry is changing. Revenue from recorded music sales has been evolving for over a decade through streaming, and the trend shows no sign of reversing. Although as a macro trend the accessibility of streaming is positive, it offers a revenue pool that is less accessible to undiscovered, underground, and niche artists without a full-scale team behind them. This problem is not unique to the music industry; it is symptomatic of a more significant trend towards disintermediation, in which
I don’t know what to believe anymore. After the MacBook Pro was launched with a notch, it appeared that Apple was doubling down on the design feature. Effectively, the notch was now an integral part of Apple’s brand identity. But that might actually be wrong. They lied to us. According to recent leaks, it looks as though the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro range will do away with the notch and replace it with a “pill-shaped” cut out. If you’re asking what the hell that would look like, here’s a useful gu
Lithium-ion batteries have transformed the EV industry, but they don’t come without their disadvantages. You know, like the fact they sometimes cause EVs to burst into flames and explode. LA startup Nanotech Energy claims to have found a way to eliminate this concern once and for all: a fireproof, graphene-based lithium-ion battery. And if this battery can do what it’s promised, we’re talking about a true game changer. Nanotech Energy’s proprietary battery (Credit: Nanotech Energy) What is graph
Update (January 13, 2022): Dropbox has finally released a native version for Apple’s ARM-based Macs and MacBooks. This version will have better performance than Intel-based software running on an emulator. You can download it here. Given their performance and power, it’s natural to be lured by Apple’s new lineup of ARM-based MacBooks. I made the switch to the M1-powered Air earlier this year, so I wouldn’t be surprised if many of you might be eyeing the Pro with the M1X processor — despite the n
Astronomers are increasingly drawing back the curtains on black holes. In the past few years, we have finally captured actual photos of these fearsome creatures and measured the gravitational waves – ripples in spacetime – that they create when colliding. But there’s still a lot we don’t know about black holes. One of the biggest enigmas is exactly how they form in the first place. My colleagues and I now believe we have observed this process, providing some of the best indications yet of exactl
There’s no doubt that for most folks on the internet, search is synonymous with Google. However, there’s a small yet growing audience that wants a privacy-first search experience with little or no ads. That’s where Neeva comes in. This new search engine from ex-Googlers, Sridhar Ramaswamy and Vivek Raghunathan, guarantees two things: an ad-free experience and advanced features for all its customers. What’s on offer? The company launched last year with a subscription-only model. This cost $4.95 p
January 12th is one of the most important days of the year. That’s right, it’s the birthday of Jeff Bezos. While ingrates mark the milestone by insolently asking the entrepreneur to stop union-busting, we want to celebrate the joyous occasion with a song: Bo Burnham’s “Bezos I.” The lyrics tell the touching tale of Jeffrey’s selfless mission to become a tech oligarch. The track was a highlight of Burnham’s Netflix special, Inside, but its legacy didn’t end there. In the months after the show’s r