The fear is that the sudden spread of Covid through a new population with relatively little prior exposure to the virus will lead to the emergence of a new “supervariant”—one that has the potential to change the face of the pandemic like the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron forms of the virus did before. But whether… Continue reading What China’s Covid Crisis Means for the Rest of the World
Author: Wired Magazine
10 Browser Add-Ons to Make Downloading Videos Easy
Maybe you want to save an image or a video clip from the web through your browser because it’ll make a great wallpaper or you want to include it in a video you’re making. In most cases (especially when it comes to pictures) you can simply right-click on the file and choose “save image as,”… Continue reading 10 Browser Add-Ons to Make Downloading Videos Easy
How Your Brain Distinguishes Memories From Perceptions
Memory and perception seem like entirely distinct experiences, and neuroscientists used to be confident that the brain produced them differently, too. But in the 1990s, neuroimaging studies revealed that parts of the brain that were thought to be active only during sensory perception are also active during the recall of memories. “It started to raise… Continue reading How Your Brain Distinguishes Memories From Perceptions
The Best Cars, Rides, and Auto Tech of CES 2023
Proof, if it were needed, of just how much of CES has become an auto show landed at the 2023 opening keynote, which was hosted by BMW and featured its color-changing i Vision Dee concept. Sidekicks wheeled out onto the stage included Herbie, KITT, and, yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Once the show itself got underway, legacy… Continue reading The Best Cars, Rides, and Auto Tech of CES 2023
New Details Emerge About Apple’s Mixed-Reality Headset
If you’re into virtual reality, you were probably focused on the news coming out of CES this week. There was no shortage of new augmented reality glasses and virtual reality headsets. But the biggest AR-VR news came from a company that very deliberately did not announce it at CES. More leaks emerged this week about Apple’s… Continue reading New Details Emerge About Apple’s Mixed-Reality Headset
Twitter Promised Them Severance. They Got Nothing
Shortly after taking over Twitter, Elon Musk laid off around 50 percent of the company’s staff. On the same day, he tweeted that all those laid off would receive three months of severance pay. But, after two months of waiting for the company to say what kind of severance and benefits will be available, several former Twitter… Continue reading Twitter Promised Them Severance. They Got Nothing
No One Will Escape the FTX Fallout
Genesis Global Trading, one of crypto’s oldest and most storied institutions, is in dire straits. In November, in the wake of the implosion of the crypto exchange FTX, the company’s lending unit was forced to freeze customer withdrawals—never a good sign. Almost two months later, Genesis is reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy. Although Genesis has… Continue reading No One Will Escape the FTX Fallout
Twitter Data Leak: What the Exposure of 200 Million User Emails Means for You
After reports at the end of 2022 that hackers were selling data stolen from 400 million Twitter users, researchers now say that a widely circulated trove of email addresses linked to about 200 million users is likely a refined version of the larger trove with duplicate entries removed. The social network has not yet commented… Continue reading Twitter Data Leak: What the Exposure of 200 Million User Emails Means for You
Algorithms Need Management Training, Too
The European Union is expected to finalize the Platform Work Directive, its new legislation to regulate digital labor platforms, this month. This is the first law proposed at the European Union level to explicitly regulate “algorithmic management”: the use of automated monitoring, evaluation, and decision-making systems to make or inform decisions including recruitment, hiring, assigning tasks,… Continue reading Algorithms Need Management Training, Too
Turla, a Russian Espionage Group, Piggybacked on Other Hackers’ USB Infections
The Russian cyberespionage group known as Turla became infamous in 2008 as the hackers behind agent.btz, a virulent piece of malware that spread through US Department of Defense systems, gaining widespread access via infected USB drives plugged in by unsuspecting Pentagon staffers. Now, 15 years later, the same group appears to be trying a new… Continue reading Turla, a Russian Espionage Group, Piggybacked on Other Hackers’ USB Infections