Leaders of twenty internet service providers were feted by the president in the Rose Garden Monday for agreeing to raise broadband speeds and lower prices for low-income Americans. “This is a great example of how the public sector and the private sector can work together to solve serious problems,” Biden said after asking the honchos from the big ISPs to stand up and take a bow. But, as you might expect when AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast are involved, the truth is in the details. The
As the country continues to struggle with a mental health crisis that’s only been exacerbated by the pandemic, electronic health-record startup Osmind has a rare sliver of good news: The San Francisco-based company announced on Tuesday a $40 million Series B round, which it says will allow for more hiring and critical product improvements. Osmind provides software to chart and update patient information and documents, with a focus on mental health. “Right now, what’s happeni
This article was published in partnership with New York Focus, a nonprofit newsroom covering state and local politics in the Empire State. Sign up for their newsletter here. Last month, the day after a gunman opened fire on a crowded Brooklyn subway, New York City Mayor Eric Adams went on Good Morning America to talk about his plans for improving transit security. His big idea, which he had first floated in January, involved installing artificial intelligence-driven weapons detectors in the subw
Elon Musk’s accepted bid to purchase Twitter has triggered a lot of debate about what it means for the future of the social media platform, which plays an important role in determining the news and information many people–especially Americans—are exposed to. Musk has said he wants to make Twitter an arena for free speech. It’s not clear what that will mean, and his statements have fueled speculation among both supporters and detractors. As a corporation
Facebook is taking a vacuum cleaner to one of your larger breadcrumb trails on the social network: Starting later this summer, it will whoosh away the location histories of its users. Facebook parent Meta Platforms broke this significant news in a weirdly quiet way, notifying users via in-app prompts and emails but not making public announcements. A message sent to one Facebook user led with news of the imminent shutdown of features that rely on its background location tracking: Nearby Friends (
When San Francisco cybersecurity company HackerOne got serious about its written communications, its concerns went far beyond pesky split infinitives. For example, much of its messaging is aimed at hackers—not online criminals, but the kinds of ethical geeks who bristle at the use of the term “hacker” to describe the bad guys. To make sure it didn’t inadvertently tick off this critical audience through any sloppy phrasing or poor word choices, the company gave more th
At the Regional Perinatal Center in Kharkiv, Ukraine, women give birth in a newly made labor room set up in the hospital’s basement, sheltered from air raids. But not all children are able to shelter there. Premature babies require lifesaving equipment like incubators, which are housed aboveground in the children’s intensive care unit and cannot be moved. To provide these babies with critical care, nurses stay with them in that room aboveground, even during bombings. Soon, though,
Outer space continues to get more and more dangerous and more “congested, contested, and competitive” than at any point in history. In 1976, for example, only about 750 satellites were in orbit around the earth; as of January 5 this year, there were 12,480, with tens of thousands more expected in the years to come. SpaceX alone has been granted licenses to launch 12,000 more Starlink satellites over the next five years as part of its megaconstellation efforts. Other companies and c
This article is republished with permission from Wonder Tools, a newsletter that helps you discover the most useful sites and apps. Subscribe here. Hello! In this post I’m sharing resources to help you stay focused and get more done:
5 simple tools to help you focus on what matters to you. 2 plug-ins to block social media distractions. Some excellent recent books on how and why to avoid time-sucking distractions.
Self Control Download this free, open-source Mac app. Then pick a list of
If you’re running Google’s Chrome web browser—or a Chrome-infused browser such as Microsoft Edge—there’s a nearly endless supply of helpful add-ins to bolster your browsing experience. Some are bad, some are good; some are simple, some are complex. And then there’s a handful of extensions that are a Goldilocks-style just-right mix of utility and simplicity. Here are four of my favorites, each of which does one thing and does it really well. Dark Reader: