Wi-Fi is everywhere and we can’t really do without it. But the current-gen Wi-Fi standard is limited to data transfer between devices, and with every new iteration, we just see better speeds and throughput. For IEEE — the body that overlooks formations of networking-related protocols like ethernet — the challenge is to enhance the standard’s capabilities beyond data transfer. The aim of this upcoming protocol is to enable devices like phones and laptops to sense things in the environment — like
Apple’s object-tracking AirTags have been rife with controversy since their launch, particularly around the unfortunate fact that they make good tools for thieves and stalkers. It is therefore my sad duty to inform you that one of the security measures Apple has implemented for the AirTags is already being circumvented. Long story short: people are modifying AirTags to have the internal speaker — which can serve as a warning for those being stacked — disabled. Long story long: for those of you w
If you’re a Twitter user, you’ll know that when scrolling through your home feed, in between posts from accounts you follow, you’ll sometimes see tweets tagged “you might like”. In other words, Twitter is recommending content to you that it deems may appeal to you. This is done using an algorithm based on your past activity on the platform, such as the tweets that you have liked or engaged with. It may also be based on your preferences on your profile, where you have indicated topics you would l
For most of us, the idea of getting a city to dismantle a historic bridge is ludicrous, but for the Big Dog Boss Man Jeff Bezos? Don’t make him laugh. Let’s backtrack: Jeff Bezos of Amazon fame is having a custom yacht built. Known as Y721, it’s set to become the world’s largest sailing yacht, reaching 127m tall when fully, uh, erect. It’s being made by a company called Oceanco in Rotterdam — but here’s where the Bald King has bumped into a problem: the Koningshaven bridge. Even with the central
There’s no way around it: work is changing. However, regardless of what hundreds of uninformed articles will argue on the matter, working itself is not going away anytime soon, however worthy of our time that discussion may be. Work is, in fact, ever-changing, ever-evolving, always progressively, never at once, as we create new problems just as fast as we solve old ones. Case in point: technology has allowed us to “invent” the Gig Economy, which has led to the creation of an entirely new industr
When you’re thinking of switching one music streaming service to another, you don’t want to ruin your library. All of us want to migrate all our albums, songs, and playlists, and we want to carry over our meticulous curation to the new app. With that in mind, I’ve tested a bunch of apps that help you migrate your preferences and curated playlists from one streaming music service to another. Before you get started, it’s worth noting that none of these tools will transfer the songs you’ve uploaded
You might be irritated by the sight of toppled escooters on the sidewalk or people riding them with a beer in hand (hallo, Berlin), there’s a bigger problem afoot — how they sound, or rather, don’t. Escooter motors are silent, making it difficult for blind and partially sighted people to detect when a vehicle is approaching. But now, they are being given their very own sound. This week, the University of College London’s specialist Person-Environment-Activity Research Laboratory (PEARL), joined
As someone who has never owned an iPhone and generally does his best to avoid people who do (kinda sorta kidding), I remember being mystified when I’d receive a cryptic message from a friend telling me they “Loved” a text message I’d just sent. Gee, thanks for letting me know. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize that this was just the way iOS reactions to text messages show up on Android. Reactions from iPhones as they appear on Android. After all these years, it seems Google has s
Cyborgs are usually depicted as human-machine hybrids in popular fiction. They’ll either be robots with human brains or people who’ve had some of their limbs replaced with machine parts. That’s pretty cool. But, let’s be honest: those are your grandparent’s cyborgs. Ours are better. In the modern world, the idea of putting a computer chip in your brain isn’t far-fetched at all. And robotic limbs are quickly becoming a reality. But neither of these cybernetic solutions are intended to augment hea
In case you’ve been living in a house made of cotton wool that exists under a rock, you’ll have heard about the debacle between Joe Rogan, Neil Young, and Spotify. And, in these troubling times, I’d like to share a message of solidarity and hope. Here it is: everyone sucks. Some people more than others, certainly, but it’s still all of them. The people all suck. Anyone involved? Sucks. By proxy, that means I also suck, but I’m not willing to submit my mind to this level of scrutiny just yet. Bef