You can hear it in your head: the grunt your character makes when hopping a fence or leaping into battle. Its sonic roots trace all the way back to 1973.
As some crypto startups seek to avoid oversight, VCs are passing on board seats to win deals; investors in FTX, which has raised $1.8B+, have no board seats (Miles Kruppa/Financial Times)
Miles Kruppa / Financial Times: As some crypto startups seek to avoid oversight, VCs are passing on board seats to win deals; investors in FTX, which has raised $1.8B+, have no board seats — Founders of digital asset groups seek to avoid investor oversight in new Silicon Valley trend — Jack Lu received eight proposals […]
Brands including Forever 21, DKNY, and Estée Lauder have joined the first Metaverse Fashion Week, which began on Thursday and runs until Sunday in Decentraland (Ann-Marie Alcántara/Wall Street Journal)
Ann-Marie Alcántara / Wall Street Journal: Brands including Forever 21, DKNY, and Estée Lauder have joined the first Metaverse Fashion Week, which began on Thursday and runs until Sunday in Decentraland — Brands including Forever 21, DKNY and Estée Lauder are using the digital event in part to study how consumers will shop in virtual […]
Ukraine will start selling 54 NFTs next week chronicling the war’s first three days to support its army and civilians, replacing a canceled crypto airdrop plan (Adi Robertson/The Verge)
Adi Robertson / The Verge: Ukraine will start selling 54 NFTs next week chronicling the war’s first three days to support its army and civilians, replacing a canceled crypto airdrop plan — Proceeds will go toward Ukraine’s army and civilians — Ukraine’s government is raising funds by selling non-fungible tokens …
Google Fiber Workers Vote to Unionize
Workers at two stores gain collective bargaining rights in a breakthrough for the Alphabet Workers Union.
The Fragile Open Source Ecosystem Isn’t Ready for ‘Protestware’
A recent uptick in disruptions to open source software, including incidents aimed at objecting to Russia’s war in Ukraine, have left the community on edge.
Europe’s Digital Markets Act Takes a Hammer to Big Tech
The EU targets tech giants’ walled gardens with aggressive new rules, but the smaller companies the DMA is meant to help are skeptical it will work.
Ohio-based Triple Whale, an analytics platform for Shopify customers, raises a $27.7M extended Series A led by Elephant VC (FinSMEs)
FinSMEs: Ohio-based Triple Whale, an analytics platform for Shopify customers, raises a $27.7M extended Series A led by Elephant VC — Triple Whale, a Columbus, Ohio – based operating system for Shopify brands, raised $27.7M in an extended Series A funding. — Triple Whale’s latest funding round consists …
The US FCC adds Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom Americas, and China Mobile International USA to its national security threat list, barring them from its USF funds (Reuters)
Reuters: The US FCC adds Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom Americas, and China Mobile International USA to its national security threat list, barring them from its USF funds — The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Friday added Russia’s AO Kaspersky Lab, China Telecom (Americas) Corp (0728.HK) …
A unit of 12 Google Fiber workers in Kansas City, Missouri, becomes the first NLRB-recognized bargaining unit of the Alphabet Workers Union, a branch of the CWA (Lauren Kaori Gurley/VICE)
Lauren Kaori Gurley / VICE: A unit of 12 Google Fiber workers in Kansas City, Missouri, becomes the first NLRB-recognized bargaining unit of the Alphabet Workers Union, a branch of the CWA — “We’re really hoping that we’re the first in a line of dominos.” — Lauren Kaori Gurley — Google Fiber workers in Kansas […]
Proposed EU law could force WhatsApp and iMessage to work together
The European Union is close to agreeing the Digital Markets Act, which would require big tech firms to open up their services to wider competition
Watch a foot-tickling machine discover the most ticklish spot on feet
The TickleFoot device stimulates the most ticklish spots of the human foot – for women it was found to be the centre of the arch, while for men it is slightly closer to the toes
Foot tickling machine could help beat stress by inducing laughter
The TickleFoot device stimulates the most ticklish spots of the human foot. Researchers hope it could help beat stress by inducing uncontrolled laughter
A better way to separate gases
Industrial processes for chemical separations, including natural gas purification and the production of oxygen and nitrogen for medical or industrial uses, are collectively responsible for about 15 percent of the world’s energy use. They also contribute a corresponding amount to the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. Now, researchers at MIT and Stanford University have developed a […]
5 Ways Managers Sabotage the Hiring Process
We all have blind spots. Here’s how to keep them from undermining your recruitment efforts.
Raytheon CEO Gregory Hayes: How Ukraine Has Highlighted Gaps in US Defense Technologies
How does a company that gets two million hack attempts each week think about security?
How to Make Progress on Your Long-Term Career Goals
Even when you aren’t entirely sure where you want to end up.
This Cheetah Robot Taught Itself How to Sprint in a Weird Way
Researchers got the machine to run nearly 13 feet per second. It ain’t graceful, but this powerful technique is preparing robots for the chaos of the world.
This Waffle Maker Upgrades Your Breakfast (and Every Other Meal)
This appliance is perfect for taking your waffles beyond breakfast.
Labor Unions Face Historic Votes at Amazon
In long-awaited elections, workers in two US warehouses will decide whether they want union representation at the ecommerce company.
Meituan reports Q4 revenue of $7.78B, up 31% YoY, and a net loss of $830M, amid weakening Chinese consumer spending and regulatory pressures (Jane Zhang/Bloomberg)
Jane Zhang / Bloomberg: Meituan reports Q4 revenue of $7.78B, up 31% YoY, and a net loss of $830M, amid weakening Chinese consumer spending and regulatory pressures — Meituan’s revenue slowed for the third straight quarter after weakening Chinese consumer spending and regulatory pressures constrained its online food and travel businesses.
The EU and US announce a preliminary transatlantic data pact bur reveal few details, after the EU declared the previous pact illegal in 2020 (Daniel Michaels/Wall Street Journal)
Daniel Michaels / Wall Street Journal: The EU and US announce a preliminary transatlantic data pact bur reveal few details, after the EU declared the previous pact illegal in 2020 — Agreement could assuage concerns of companies with operations on both sides of the Atlantic — BRUSSELS—The U.S. and the European Union reached …
A look at Lantern, an app backed by the US’ Open Technology Fund that has spent the last two years building a peer-to-peer network to bypass Russian censorship (David Gilbert/VICE)
David Gilbert / VICE: A look at Lantern, an app backed by the US’ Open Technology Fund that has spent the last two years building a peer-to-peer network to bypass Russian censorship — Backed with funding from the U.S. government’s Open Technology Fund, Lantern has spent two years building a peer-to-peer network inside Russia.
Omega and Swatch’s $260 MoonSwatch Looks Out of This World
You read that right, $260. Plus this playful take on the iconic Speedmaster comes in multiple colors and is made from the group’s Bioceramic material.
Motorola’s Edge+ Isn’t Worth the Grand It’ll Cost You
This flagship Android smartphone is ok, but it’s missing some features for it to cost this much.
Leica’s New Camera Puts Skill Back Into Focus
Shooting with Leica’s M11 digital rangefinder underscores how technology has all but removed human ability from the process of taking a picture.
Netflix says it is buying Boss Fight Entertainment, a mobile game developer with 130 employees; it is Netflix’s third studio purchase since last summer (Kellen Browning/New York Times)
Kellen Browning / New York Times: Netflix says it is buying Boss Fight Entertainment, a mobile game developer with 130 employees; it is Netflix’s third studio purchase since last summer — The acquisition is the company’s third since it announced plans to move into video games last summer.
EU lawmakers reach a provisional agreement on the DMA, which will mandate messaging service interoperability, prohibit self-preferencing practices, and more (Samuel Stolton/Politico)
Samuel Stolton / Politico: EU lawmakers reach a provisional agreement on the DMA, which will mandate messaging service interoperability, prohibit self-preferencing practices, and more — The European Union today adopted landmark rules clamping down on anti-competitive abuses by the world’s largest technology platforms …
The DOJ arrest and charge two men with wire fraud and money laundering over a $1.1M NFT rug pull scheme for their collection named “Frosties” (Adi Robertson/The Verge)
Adi Robertson / The Verge: The DOJ arrest and charge two men with wire fraud and money laundering over a $1.1M NFT rug pull scheme for their collection named “Frosties” — They’d already announced a follow-up series — US government prosecutors have charged two men with fraud and money laundering over a cryptocurrency “rug pull” […]
Finally, a robot that can peel a banana without smushing it to bits
A robot trained by machine learning that imitates a human demonstrator can successfully peel a banana without smashing it to smithereens
Watch a robot peel a banana without crushing it into oblivion
Handling soft fruit is challenging for robots, but a machine-learning system was able to conquer the task by imitating how a person does it
Stretchy light-emitting plastic could be used in wearable screens
Existing flexible screens are either too power-hungry, fragile or expensive to be used in most electronic devices, but a new material could enable more practical versions
Study finds neurons that encode the outcomes of actions
When we make complex decisions, we have to take many factors into account. Some choices have a high payoff but carry potential risks; others are lower risk but may have a lower reward associated with them. A new study from MIT sheds light on the part of the brain that helps us make these types […]
Scientists develop the largest, most detailed model of the early universe to date
It all started around 13.8 billion years ago with a big, cosmological “bang” that brought the universe suddenly and spectacularly into existence. Shortly after, the infant universe cooled dramatically and went completely dark. Then, within a couple hundred million years after the Big Bang, the universe woke up, as gravity gathered matter into the first […]
Research: When Praising the Competition Benefits Your Brand
It can boost your image — and your profits.
To Better Support Working Parents, Talk to Them
A guide to the conversations that leaders, managers, and parents need to be having right now.
3 Exercises to Boost Your Team’s Creativity
Move beyond brainstorming.
Master Reveals the Finite Future of Social Thrillers
For Black people and others who are continually at a disadvantage, the genre has a major limitation: It can only imagine what is already painfully obvious.
This Robot Vac Mops Your Floors—and Watches Your Feet
This massive, multimodal cleaning robot is the first vac that’s made mopping my floor anything but a chore.
Online ‘Happiness’ Classes Might Work Better Than You Think
Science of happiness courses are attracting thousands of students. But there’s still a lot to learn about whether these lessons stick.
TikTok creators say a glitch in the registration process for TikTok’s creator fund has prevented sign-ups for weeks; the fund started at $200M in 2020 (Brody Ford/Bloomberg)
Brody Ford / Bloomberg: TikTok creators say a glitch in the registration process for TikTok’s creator fund has prevented sign-ups for weeks; the fund started at $200M in 2020 — Many rising TikTok stars who recently qualified to be paid for their popular videos have been shut out of the registration system …
French startup Weglot, a website translation tool that is compatible with major CMSes and platforms, raises a €45M Series A from Partech (Romain Dillet/TechCrunch)
Romain Dillet / TechCrunch: French startup Weglot, a website translation tool that is compatible with major CMSes and platforms, raises a €45M Series A from Partech — French startup Weglot has closed a $50 million Series A funding round (€45 million) from Partech. The company has built a translation solution for websites.
An inside look at Ukrainian efforts to repel Russian cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, as some worry that early success might be unwound over time (Mehul Srivastava/Financial Times)
Mehul Srivastava / Financial Times: An inside look at Ukrainian efforts to repel Russian cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, as some worry that early success might be unwound over time — As Russian troops massed on the border on January 14, dozens of Ukrainian government websites were defaced with the words “be afraid and wait for […]
Apollo’s Spendy New Escooter Is a City-Friendly Ride
This electric kick scooter is hefty, but it’s comfortable, nimble, and loaded with friendly features.
Scientists Map Yellowstone’s Plumbing With … a Helicopter
For the first time, scientists get a look at what’s going on under the park’s geysers. It may even help them better understand the origin of life on Earth.
Nothing’s Carl Pei Wants to Start a Smartphone Revolution (Again)
The former OnePlus cofounder is back with a flagship-bothering, high-spec budget phone designed to be the most compelling alternative to Apple.
Stephen Wilhite, one of the lead creators of the GIF, has died at 74; Wilhite worked on the GIF while employed by CompuServe in the 1980s (Mitchell Clark/The Verge)
Mitchell Clark / The Verge: Stephen Wilhite, one of the lead creators of the GIF, has died at 74; Wilhite worked on the GIF while employed by CompuServe in the 1980s — It’s pronounced ‘jif’ — Stephen Wilhite, one of the lead inventors of the GIF, died last week from COVID at the age of […]
Instacart will build micro-fulfillment warehouses for grocery retailers to support 15-minute deliveries, launching in the “coming months” starting with Publix (Dave Lee/Financial Times)
Dave Lee / Financial Times: Instacart will build micro-fulfillment warehouses for grocery retailers to support 15-minute deliveries, launching in the “coming months” starting with Publix — Company embarks on ‘new trajectory’ with grocery retailers as it seeks to fend off fierce competition
Google says it will bar ads from appearing next to websites, apps, and YouTube channels that exploit, dismiss, or condone the Russia-Ukraine war (Paresh Dave/Reuters)
Paresh Dave / Reuters: Google says it will bar ads from appearing next to websites, apps, and YouTube channels that exploit, dismiss, or condone the Russia-Ukraine war — Alphabet-owned (GOOGL.O) Google will not help websites, apps and YouTube channels sell ads alongside content that it deems exploits …
Is Russia getting ready to use chemical weapons in Ukraine?
An attack on a Ukrainian chemical plant released toxic ammonia, forcing locals to stay indoors. Analysts suggest Russia may carry out more such attacks as a form of chemical warfare, and could escalate to deploying chemical weapons