By: Aaron Sankin We’ve all been there: very politely asking the internet for a video of a cat engaging in some wacky antics. And then … the internet pauses, seeming to consider the request. What’s the problem here? It might be you (sorry). It might be the infrastructure you’re working with. It might be your internet provider. Let’s explore some causes and solutions together. What is a “good” internet speed? Step one is to conduct a so-called speed test. Jonathan Schwantes, senior policy counsel
Almost 400 years ago, in The Assayer, Galileo wrote: “Philosophy is written in this grand book, the universe … [But the book] is written in the language of mathematics.” He was much more than an astronomer, and this can almost be thought of as the first writing on the scientific method. We do not know who first started applying mathematics to scientific study, but it is plausible that it was the Babylonians, who used it to discover the pattern underlying eclipses, nearly 3,000 years ago. But it
Technology has advanced tremendously in the last few years and is only going to continue to compound. If you’ve ever heard of Moore’s Law, this is the idea that technology’s complexity doubles every year. Just imagine what that means for the next few years. But those who keep up to date with new technological advancements will be rewarded with new tools to experiment, play, and, of course, earn more clients and revenue. One industry which has experienced a major tech boom is engineering and cons
Did you know Michael Schlein, President and CEO at Accion, is speaking at TNW Conference this summer? Check out the full list of speakers here. The challenges facing the world’s most vulnerable people seem to keep mounting. Our uneven global recovery from the pandemic is worsening inequality and widening divides. For the first time in decades, poverty and hunger are on the rise. And as the war in Ukraine shuts down ten percent of our global wheat supply, hunger is projected to dramatically worse
Solid-state batteries offer a promising alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries. To put it simply, they promise lower cost, more power, longer range, faster charging times, and improved safety over their currently in-house cousins. For this reason, more and more automakers are betting on solid-state, seeing them as the next big breakthrough in EV battery technology. But we have a question: how close are we to seeing them in the real world? And what are auto companies doing to make it h
Meta is exploring new ways to monetize the metaverse amid dwindling profits and user numbers at the company. Two emerging revenue streams have been revealed in the last week: selling virtual goods and digital currency. The digital assets sales are being tested in Horizon Worlds, Meta’s free VR platform, the company announced on Monday. The initial trials will allow a “handful of creators,” to sell virtual items and effects, such as fashion accessories or VIP access to virtual worlds. “The abilit
Anytime you use a video teleconferencing app, you’re sending your audio data to the company hosting the services. And, according to a new study, that means all of your audio data. This includes voice and background noise whether you’re broadcasting or muted. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison investigated “many popular apps” to determine the extent that video conferencing apps capture data while users employ the in-software ‘mute’ button. According to a university press release,
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Organizations’ failure to properly manage the servers they lease from cloud service providers can allow attackers to receive private data, research my colleagues and I conducted has shown. Cloud computing allows businesses to lease servers the same way they lease office space. It’s easier for companies to build and maintain mobile apps and websites when they don’t have to worry about owning and managing servers. But
When choosing a new job, you’re not just looking for the perfect role. You also need to consider what kind of company you want to work for. Do you want to work for a social enterprise with an inspiring mission? Do you see yourself thriving in a company that’s fully remote? And probably the most important question is, do you want to work at a startup or join a corporation? You may be wondering if the size of a company is really that important. If you’re only working with people in your team, does
Since the invention of Bitcoin in 2009 the global cryptocurrency market has grown from nothing to a value of around US$2 trillion. From a price of US$1 in 2011, Bitcoin rose to an all-time high of more than US$63,000 in April 2021, and now hovers around the US$42,000 mark. Large fluctuations in cryptocurrency prices are common, which makes them a highly speculative investment. What kind of people are willing to take the risk, and what motivates them? We conducted a survey to find out. In particu