In the beginning, coronavirus denialism was easy. When widespread American deaths were still confined to the rising slopes of epidemiological models, skeptics could dismiss them as alarmist predictions. That included the nation’s most prominent coronavirus truther: “Just stay calm,” Donald Trump said on March 10, “it will go away.” Two months later, as the official…
DetailsA popular smart-home hub is suddenly a lot less popular with its users after making a surprise announcement that customers will have to start paying a monthly subscription fee next week or lose access altogether. ARS TECHNICAThis story originally appeared on Ars Technica, a trusted source for technology news, tech policy analysis, reviews, and more.…
DetailsHello again. America may be restarting, but this newsletter has never stopped. And it’ll keep coming, because I’m still not leaving the house. For now, this weekly column is free for everyone to access. Soon, only WIRED subscribers will get Plaintext as a newsletter. You’ll get to keep reading it in your inbox by subscribing…
DetailsIf an ebike’s motor is powerful enough to haul 300 pounds of unwieldy person, metal, and cargo up a steep hill, it’s quiet, the assistance feels natural, and it allows for a huge variety of cadence and torque variations over different terrain, then congrats! You’re probably using a Bosch drive system (and you likely spent…
DetailsThe solar system isn’t big enough for Harold White—but it’s a start. The 54-year-old physicist has devoted his career to researching advanced propulsion concepts that he hopes may carry humans to the outer solar system and eventually into the uncharted wilderness of interstellar space. Conventional rocket engines are too slow to cover these vast distances…
DetailsUnited States federal guidelines for social distancing expired last week, though there’s no indication of consensus over when and to what extent policies should be relaxed around the nation. White House coronavirus coordinator Deborah Birx had said just the previous weekend that social distancing measures would “be with us through the summer.” Though the current…
DetailsThe LEAP spine (Leveraging Elastic instabilities for Amplified Performance), developed by Dr. Jie Yin, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at North Carolina State University, draws heavily on the cheetah’s natural flexibility. Normally, soft robots locomote across solid surfaces while keeping all four feet firmly on the ground. Unfortunately this severely limits their speed…
Details13.3M Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Sign in Like this video? Sign in to make your opinion count. Sign in Don’t like this video? Sign in to make your opinion count. Sign in Published on May 8, 2020In today’s Fix: Xbox Series X responds to…
DetailsThis story was originally published 2020/04/06 1:33am PDTon Apr 6, 2020 and last updated 2020/05/08 4:31pm PDTMay 8, 2020. While zoos the world over remain closed, there’s still a way you can gawk at the majestic beauty of tigers, lions, cheetahs, and goats (?) from the comfort of your own living room. With Google’s 3D…
DetailsWhen Google sibling Sidewalk Labs announced in 2017 a $50 million investment into a project to redevelop a portion of Toronto’s waterfront, it seemed almost too good to be true. Someday soon, Sidewalk Labs promised, Torontonians would live and work in a 12-acre former industrial site in skyscrapers made from timber—a cheaper and more sustainable…
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