Moxie Marlinspike, Signal’s founder, has announced he’s stepping down as the CEO of the company. In a blog post, he said that he’s now “very comfortable replacing myself as CEO based on the team we have”. While the company hunts for the new CEO, WhatsApp co-founder, and Signal Foundation board member, Brian Acton will take an interim role. Signal founder Moxie Marlinspike (credit: Wikimedia Commons) In this story, we’ll trace Signal’s journey to the present day, and the road ahead as it looks t
Don’t look now – but we are currently experiencing a rash of stories about a forthcoming global catastrophe. But in a change from reports of pandemics and climate change, this global catastrophe is produced by the impact of a giant asteroid. Or comet. Or both. This may feel extra ominous given the events in the recent Netflix film “Don’t Look Up”, in which the Earth is threatened by a “planet killer” asteroid. But how worried should we really be – and what would happen if such a body actually hi
As with any new innovation, it takes some time before the incumbents in the sector fully adopt change. The same is true for crypto. Just a few years ago, early adopters hit the headlines, with young, tech savvy, amateur investors becoming rich overnight. Today, with the influx of easy-to-use crypto trading apps and, even the adoption of the digital currencies by governments, it’s now on the cusp of mainstream adoption. Surprisingly, although some traditional investors have been experimenting wit
OnePlus’ flagship phone is one of the most anticipated devices for Android fans every year, given the company’s track record of delivering lots of bang for your buck. Every year, the company seems to slide more into straight-up premium territory, but on the whole OnePlus devices tend to offer solid value. This year’s OnePlus 10 Pro is particularly interesting, as it marks the first major phone from the company since it officially merged with Oppo (OnePlus has always been an Oppo sub-brand, but n
Every year, PC makers flock to CES to show off their latest hardware. Well, except the last couple of years, where the pandemic has made the event a more subdued, semi-virtual affair (the idea of attending a traditional, stuffed-like-sardines CES show floor is basically nightmare material in the age of coronavirus). Still, PC makers announced some cool stuff, and our list below showcases some of our favorite PC hardware from the event. Dell XPS 13 Plus The Dell XPS 13 Plus was definitely one of
The problem with reality is that it tends to insist upon itself. Scientists have long pondered whether we might actually live in a simulation. But that doesn’t change our experience. If we’re in the Matrix, it’s a very convincing lie. Which brings us to the obvious question: is it even possible for humans to “live” inside of a computer simulation? One way to answer that would be to build one of our own. If we could successfully trick a human brain into thinking a computer-generated reality was a
Google Maps wears many hats. While mere civilians use the app for navigation, location information, or, err stalking people, cops tap the app to find criminals. You may be surprised to learn that law enforcement officials in the US routinely mine Google’s location data in criminal investigations. The tactic has sparked fears of privacy violations and false arrests, but it’s also led to a range of arrests. Here are five of the criminals caught on Google Maps. 1. A convicted kidnapper A 2017 kidna
The metaverse is coming. Like all technological innovation, it brings new opportunities and new risks. The metaverse is an immersive virtual reality version of the internet where people can interact with digital objects and digital representations of themselves and others, and can move more or less freely from one virtual environment to another. It can also involve augmented reality, a blending of virtual and physical realities, both by representing people and objects from the physical world in
Cities are trying to get people out of their cars, especially for short commutes. While ebikes and escooters get plenty of exposure in efforts to get people out of their cars. There’s another form of transport you might not have given much thought — commuting by eskateboard. But while many flipped up their boards for good in adulthood, there’s a huge movement of skateboarding alive and well — and it’s gone electric. That’s right, electric-powered skateboards where you don’t need to use your fo
While EVs are less likely to catch fire than cars with internal combustion engines, when they do, it’s worse. Much worse. The culprit? Their lithium-ion batteries. To better understand why lithium-ion batteries can sometimes be hazardous, let’s first refresh how they work. A li-ion battery comprises of four key elements: a positive electrode (the cathode), a negative electrode (the anode), an electrolyte, and a separator. The structure of a lithium-ion battery (Credit: Jianan Zhang et al) The el