Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. If you want to experience a metaverse, buy NFTs, or trade in cryptocurrency, it’s essential to have a wallet that’s easy to create and use. MetaMask is a pretty popular choice these days. It’s free to use, and is available as a desktop browser extension and a mobile app. You can sign up to create a wallet to store your digital assets in just a few seconds, and
While waiting to board a plane on a recent trip out of town, an airline staff member asked me to momentarily take off my face mask to allow the facial recognition technology to check me in to expedite my boarding process. I was taken aback by the bluntness of the request — I did not want to take my mask off in such a crowded space and I had not given permission to have my face scanned. While this encounter felt like an invasion of my privacy, it also got me thinking about other biometric recogni
During the past few years, there’s been a flurry of electrified classic vehicle unveilings from newly launched independent firms, such as Lunaz, Electric Classic Cars, and Electrogenic, as well as an array from automotive giants. The latest carmaker that’s putting an electric motor into a classic model is Mini. Meet the Mini Recharged The idea was born when the brand showcased a one-off classic Mini Electric at the New York Autoshow back in 2018. According to the company, the reactions were so
A report by Protocol today claimed that Google is working on a new ‘Chromecast HD’ with a remote and the Google TV platform. It’s expected to be the first model to support the AV1 codec. Yes, the company just launched a new Chromecast in late 2020, but this rumored one has a trick up its sleeve: it’s almost certainly going to be dirt cheap — likely around the $30 price range, and perhaps even less. It’s also going to be just 1080p, which might seem weird in 2022. But from where I’m standing, a s
NASA is best known for exploring space, but the agency’s technology is also touching down on Earth. A new book, called Spinoff 2022, shines the spotlight on the products that have emerged from NASA’s research. They include an air purifier that’s on tech for growing plants in space; blankets crafted from a substance that NASA created to chill rocket fuel; and underwear for race car drivers that uses material originally developed for spacesuits. Credit: Credit: SITKA GearTech developed for insulat
Most electric vertical take-off and landing (EVTOL) aircraft owe their design to futuristic flying robots and insects. But there’s a more humble kind of flying innovation — the flying aircar. As the name suggests, these shape-shifting machines go from road cars to flying in the sky in minutes with only the need for a short landing strip. Overnight they were in the news, with an announcement from Klein Vision that their AirCar flying car had received a Certificate of Airworthiness from the Slovak
Toward the end of 2021, I was one of the countless tech workers who left one job and took another. The process surprised me in a number of ways. I needed to update my priors about a few things, and by writing this, maybe I’ll update yours, too. First, I thought it would be easy. My reasoning was as follows: I know how hard it is to hire great developers I know I’m a good developer… Everyone’s desperate to fill roles… So it should be a walk in the park. It turns out it wasn’t. It wasn’t radically
As the number of EVs on the streets grows, so does the number of electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) needed to juice them up — and along with them the number of the internet-connected managing systems within those stations. These management systems offer an array of valuable capabilities like remote monitoring, scheduling, and user billing. However, they come with a significant drawback: as with virtually every device connected to the internet, they’re prone to cyberattacks. An EV chargin
We have accepted the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in complex processes — from health care to our daily use of social media — often without critical investigation, until it is too late. The use of AI is inescapable in our modern society, and it may perpetuate discrimination without its users being aware of any prejudice. When health-care providers rely on biased technology, there are real and harmful impacts. This became clear recently when a study showed that pulse oximeters — which measu
In her ode to the big apple, Alicia Keys said, ‘if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere.’ Only to sing a verse later, ‘someone sleeps tonight with a hunger that’s more than an empty fridge.’ The song is 12 years old, but the message is current. Major cities like New York, London, and Hong Kong have become symbolic of ‘making it’. The wins are big, the falls are crushing. Innovation thrives, and so does inequality. This polarity has caused chaos for young people. Armed with expensive educat