The website iFixit has long been known for its electronics repair kits and for its very public stance that repair manuals should be accessible to everyone. That’s one of the foundational arguments of the broader right-to-repair movement, which lobbies that regular consumers should be able to repair the products they’ve purchased—everything from smartphones to washing…
DetailsThis morning, Microsoft kicks off the first-ever virtual iteration of Build, its annual conference for the developers who make software for the company’s platforms. As in years past, Microsoft will detail updates to its sprawling suite of software: improvements to Windows; expansions of the Azure cloud-computing platform; and enhancements to Teams, the office productivity tool…
DetailsIf you can rely on humanity to do anything consistently, it’s to spew more and more CO 2 into the atmosphere. Even after the world’s nations signed the Paris Agreement in 2016, each setting their own targets to rein in emissions—India, for instance, pledging to cut theirs by a third by 2030—still they tick up…
DetailsCarrie Fisher had a psychedelic-induced encounter with a talking acorn. Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann recalls the time he dropped too much acid and his cymbals began melting mid-set, forcing him to leave the stage. Ben Stiller admits he only dropped acid once and had such a bad trip that he called his parents, Jerry…
DetailsAmazon enters the crowded games industry in full force Wednesday with its release of Crucible, the first big-budget PC game to come from Amazon Game Studios. Crucible is a promising mainstream introduction for the eight-year-old studio, which until now has had a large question mark hanging over its head.Crucible is a third-person team shooter that…
DetailsThe magnitude of the Covid-19 pandemic will largely depend on how quickly safe and effective vaccines and treatments can be developed and tested. Many assume a widely available vaccine is years away, if ever. Others believe that a 12- to 18-month development cycle is a given. Our best bet to reduce even that record-breaking timeline…
DetailsI’ve been testing a lot of budget phones lately. You’d think my favorites would come from established brands like Samsung and Motorola, right? Not quite. The phones I’ve really enjoyed using come from a brand you may not associate with mobile devices: TCL, a company better known in the US for making affordable televisions.TCL has…
DetailsThis story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.As the US approaches another scorching summer, the power grid will be tested once again. Energy use typically spikes during heat waves due to the massive amount of electricity required by widespread air-conditioning. This extra demand is met by so-called peaker plants,…
DetailsImage: Steph “FerociouslySteph” LoehrLast week, Twitch announced a new Safety Advisory Council intended to provide input on some of Twitch’s most pernicious issues, including work-life balance, safety and moderation, and protection of marginalized groups. The council is made up of social media experts as well as a small handful of streamers. One of those streamers,…
DetailsThe Last of Us Part II is just a month away now, with the long-awaited PlayStation 4 sequel due to finally arrive on June 19, 2020. To celebrate the home stretch, Naughty Dog has today announced that an official emoji for the game is being added on Twitter.If you use the hashtag “#TheLastofUsPartII”, your tweets…
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