Last year, I wrote this piece about all the CES gadgets I NEEDED. Foolishly, I thought I’d visit the mega-show (or any other events) in 2022. But here I am, sitting in my home, and facing another lockdown. Now I’ll be spending more time indoors, there’s only one thing that’ll soothe me: gadgets. So here’s a list of all the cool shit at CES 2022 that really want (but don’t really need). Kohler’s PerfectFill Last year, one of the costliest items on my list was a $16,000 bathtub from Kohler. This y
Google didn’t present anything physically at this year’s CES, but instead opted to kick off 2022 with a ton of announcements related to new features for Android, Chromebooks, and smart devices to make your life easier. What I like the most from this bit of news is how wireless audio devices will become far less cumbersome to connect and use. If you’re in the Apple ecosystem, everything is fine and dandy: your AirPods are paired in one tap, and switching between iPhone and Mac as an audio source
2022 is shaping up to be the best year to buy a new laptop in recent memory. Although marketing departments would like you to think that each yearly product launch brings massive upgrades, the truth is that obvious performance jumps only arrive a few times a decade, and it’s even rarer for these performance gains to coincide among several manufacturers. But if product announcements at CES 2022 and other recent events are anything to go by, this year is shaping up to have some of the most interes
The vast majority of alternative cryptocurrencies (also known as altcoins) are either pyramid schemes, scams, or both. That’s not to say cryptocurrency itself is a con. Blockchain and decentralized cryptofinance technologies are, in my opinion, crucial for the future. They provide insurance against government and social tyranny in an ever-changing and dangerous world. Unfortunately, most shitcoins (and shit-tokens) are marketing schemes meant to create value out of nothing and then divide that “
Google and Apple are the best of frenemies. While the tech giants threaten “thermonuclear wars” over smartphone conflicts, they also quietly declare ceasefires for good causes — and big profits. A prominent example of these truces is on the search battlefield. Google pays Apple big bucks to remain the default search engine on iOS devices — $8 billion to $12 billion a year, according to the US Justice Department. A new lawsuit has shone the spotlight on this mutual-defense treaty. The antitrust c
The pandemic has been marked by brief periods of shortage worldwide (remember the great toilet paper rush of 2020?). We’ve temporarily run out of everything from gym equipment to condoms and even aluminum cans, and now a lumber shortage has hit close to home, raising concern among DIY enthusiasts and potential house owners around the world. The scarcity of lumber brought prices to an all-time high of $1,686 per thousand board feet in May, a 400 percent peak from pre-pandemic levels when prices s
Fundraising appeals are part of everyday life, both online and off. Requests for financial donations arrive by snail mail, email, social media and text messages. Cashiers at chain stores and supermarkets ask if you want to chip in for charitable causes. If you’re in the U.S., you might also be getting nearly constant texts asking you to contribute to political campaigns. In my book “How We Give Now,” I explore how acts of giving extend beyond donating money to nonprofits, including an interestin
Update (January 5, 2022): Following the news about a research study proving that psilocybin can be safely administered in small doses for treating mental health issues, we decided to resurface this story that was first published in October 2020. New research from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London shows that psilocybin – a psychedelic drug isolated from the Psilocybe mushroom – can be safely administered at doses of either 10mg or 25mg. Accor
At CES 2022, Sony made its ambitions clear: it’s going to launch its own EVs. In 2020, Sony took everyone by surprise when it showcased a fully baked concept EV, the Vision-S sedan. At this point, nobody knew whether it was seriously considering this move, or just testing the waters. The Sony Vision-S 01. (Credit: Sony) At the time, Sony partnered up with various automotive companies for the creation of the Vision-S sedan, road-tested the vehicle, and released a series of videos (here, here, and
When you think CES, you might be picturing cool gadgets, smart home appliances, and fancy cars (well, if there are any that haven’t pulled out). And you’d be right. Kinda. Because one of the most exciting things on offer is John Deere’s very first autonomous tractor. You read that right. An autonomous tractor. This is a version of Deere’s 8R vehicle and includes a TruSet™-enabled chisel plow, GPS guidance system, and far, far more. This isn’t totally off-piste for John Deere, as it has been test