Are we alone in the Universe? Billions of dollars are being spent trying to answer that simple question. The implications of finding evidence for life beyond Earth are staggering. The “before and…
Month: February 2022
I’m praying that the new AirPods Max won’t have touch controls
They say it’s a person’s flaws we fall in love with. That explains how I feel about the AirPods Max then. Apple’s over-ear headphones are one of the more intriguing products the…
Cryptocurrency-funded DAOs running charities isn’t as bad as it sounds
Cryptocurrency is becoming a more familiar way to pay for things. One option is as part of a crowd, through a decentralized autonomous organization. In this relatively new kind of group, also…
Devs are mad at Apple’s ‘reduction’ in Dutch App Store fees — and rightly so
Apple has finally explained how it will allow Dutch dating apps to use alternative payment systems. The headline is this: Apple will take a 27% commission from these purchases — down from the…
The US tech scene is becoming decentralized — the time is ripe for new startup cities
It’s no big secret that the US tech hubs of yore – San Francisco, New York, and Silicon Valley – have been facing increasingly stiff competition over the past decade when it…
Can you imagine a world without Facebook and Instagram?
Meta made a chilling statement in its annual report: Facebook and Instagram may shut down in Europe if the company isn’t able to store and process data from the union’s users on…
Can black holes become white holes?
Can black holes become white holes? – Remy, age 9, Wangaratta, Victoria Hi Remy! Thank you for this great question. The short answer, unfortunately, is no. White holes are really just something…
Astronomers discovered a new asteroid sharing Earth’s orbit – here’s why it matters
Research has shown that the Earth trails an asteroid barely a kilometer across in its orbit about the Sun – only the second such body to have ever been spotted. It goes…
How to disable the in-app browser on the Gmail app for Android
Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. If you were asked to name the…
We need to decouple AI from human brains and biases
In the summer of 1956, 10 scientists met at Dartmouth College and invented artificial intelligence. Researchers from fields like mathematics, engineering, psychology, economics, and political science got together to find out whether…