Hello, new friends!My name is Kate Knibbs, and I’m a senior writer at WIRED covering culture and media. I’ll be your substitute Plaintext guide this week, as my colleague Steven Levy has generously lent me his newsletter. “You can write about anything you want, as long as it doesn’t start with an anecdote that is…
The Monitor is a weekly column devoted to everything happening in the WIRED world of culture, from movies to memes, TV to Twitter.Sarah Cooper used to work at Google. Now, she’s about to work for Netflix. Well, sorta. In the kind of topsy-turvy story that could only happen in 2020, the UX designer turned comedian…
For those feeling lost in this time-bending pandemic summer, consider this frame of reference: the birthing season of the rhesus macaque. At the California National Primate Research Center, the first infants of the year arrived in February, just as the virus took hold in the surrounding area. The births continued through the spring, during which…
Brick-and-mortar stores have had to come up with creative ways to reach customers during the coronavirus pandemic. For beauty retailers, that means connecting with their customers virtually.Brands like Ashley Adams Beauty, Noleen Sliney, and Blushington, which offered in-studio and on-location makeup applications pre-pandemic, are now offering a variety of lessons over Zoom. I tried an…
This week, Microsoft’s dual-screen Surface Duo became available for sale. Like many other folding devices, the Duo has been marketed as a product for busy workers on the go. But now, months into a pandemic where many workers are still sheltering in place (if they’re lucky enough to have a job at all), the appeal…
Evil gloating seldom contains a genuine science lesson. Mad scientists’ climactic rants are usually you-killed-my-daughter personal or science-shaped mumbo jumbo about their unobtanium ray recalibrating the ozone layer. In Netflix’s new superhero movie Project Power, the Big Bad is the inventor of a drug called power, which either gives you temporary superpowers or busts your…
Fortnite creator Epic Games launched a spear at Apple’s gatekept iOS App Store market today with a lawsuit filed in the US District Court of Northern California. The move aligns with the developer’s years-long quest to disrupt digital marketplaces and their associated fees—and comes as Apple has faced increased antitrust scrutiny on Capitol Hill.Alleging that…
The Covid-19 pandemic, and millions of people desperate for scarce protective equipment like masks and Tyvek suits, has presented a bonanza for scammers. Now, according to the US Department of Justice, it seems that even ISIS has gotten in on the game.In a series of civil and criminal complaints and forfeiture notices released today, the…
Apple, Google remove Fortnite from app stores – YouTube
Iron Harvest: Official Saxony Campaign Trailer – YouTube
