When Apple gave out its annual App Store Awards last year, the overarching theme was obvious: In one way or another, a high percentage of them helped us get through one of the weirdest, most stressful years most of us have ever experienced. (Exhibit A: The iPad app of the year was Zoom, a fact that felt virtually preordained.) The pandemic is still with us, but this year’s App Store Awards are back to a more traditional, eclectic mix of products. Here’s Apple’s list in its e
Fun fact about me: I love, love, love working from home. It is, quite simply, the best. That’s one man’s opinion, though. You might also love it, hate it, or fall somewhere in the middle. Whatever the case, if you find yourself working from home on a regular basis, you absolutely, positively must add these four free apps to your remote-work setup. Block background noise with Krisp You’re on a Zoom call with your boss. The dog is barking. The baby is crying. Your anxiety leve
I came across a fascinating story from someone we’ll call John. We’ll call him that because it’s his name and he told me I can use his real name. John is a fan of LEGO and of Star Wars. I can relate. We have four children and have an entire playroom at our home mostly dedicated to the LEGO constructions our children have built over the past few years. Many of them are Star Wars themed, though not quite like this. When John found the Mos Eisley Cantin
Mobile chip kingpin Qualcomm and the gaming hardware maker Razer are betting that a new wave of faster and more powerful dedicated handheld gaming devices will soon be the objects of gamers’ desire. The two companies worked together to build a prototype version of such a device, which is powered by a new Qualcomm system-on-a-chip called the Snapdragon G3x, which was designed specifically for dedicated mobile gaming devices. The companies announced the new prototype device and th
A dozen pedigreed horses make their way down a racetrack as a crowd erupts in a low roar. Super Sal, a frisky colt, takes the early lead and looks like he might run away with it. But as the pack stampedes through the 500-meter mark and starts to thin out, a mare named Fascoo begins to pull ahead. Wait! Here comes Ghost Hunter, a shimmering, khaki-colored steed. The horses’ rhythmic clip-clopping grows louder. Ghost Hunter whips through the finish line first, beating Super Sal by a fractio
Last week, the world was shaken by news of a worrisome new coronavirus variant called Omicron. By Monday, President Joe Biden assured Americans, “This variant is a cause for concern, not a cause for panic.” Public health experts say it will take weeks to get the full picture of how this virus mutation is affecting human health, but in the meantime there are steps we can take to mitigate our risk of infection. Since the World Health Organization labeled the Omicron a variant of conc
Lots of people talk about deleting their social media accounts. I actually did it. Deleting Facebook and Instagram made me social media app-less, aside from LinkedIn, which I don’t tend to doomscroll on anyway. I’d been considering the idea for months, and I’m honestly not sure what pushed me to do it. I only intended to try it for a week to see how things went. But here we are, three weeks later, and I still haven’t re-installed either app—and don’t pla
The Fairphone 4 is an Android smartphone that begs to be dismantled. Peel off the back cover with your fingernail, and you’ll find colorful patterns and shapes around the interior along with a slogan: “Yours to open. Yours to keep.” Look closer, and you’ll see that each component is held down with only small Phillips screws, facilitating simple repairs. Fairphone says it will cover those components with a five-year warranty and provide basic software updates through 2
Ah, the underappreciated computer mouse. Even in the age of trackpads and touchscreens, it remains one of the most important tools in your work repertoire. Whether you’re looking for a new mouse to replace your daily driver or something for a more specific function, here’s a shortlist of great options. Some ground rules: I chose wireless mice that are compatible across major operating systems. Some ship with an optional wireless connector that plugs into a USB port, but all of
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is stepping down, the company announced Monday. The massive vacancy that move creates will be filled by Twitter’s chief technology officer Parag Agrawal. Who? Parag Agrawal. Though his profile hasn’t exactly been high, Agrawal has been a key lieutenant of Dorsey’s for years. Here are a few things to know about Twitter’s new chief.
- He’s a Twitter veteran. Agrawal has spent most of his career at Twitter. He joined the company in 20