Archive

Russia's neighbor has developed a plan for countering misinformation. Can it be exported to the rest of the world?

How do people working in tech feel about side projects? We spoke to four Glitch employees to find out.

Looking at the “future of work” with a team that’s been living it for two decades.

Is it possible to out-eat the price you pay for a buffet? How do these places make money? We looked at the dollars and cents behind the meat and potatoes.

An Avast antivirus subsidiary sells 'Every search. Every click. Every buy. On every site.' Its clients have included Home Depot, Google, Microsoft, Pepsi, and McKinsey.

Intuit’s Mint personal-finance service wants me to know it’s sorry. Again. “We’re sorry!” its investments page bleats when I try to view my mutual funds’…

Inside Spotify’s emotional surveillance-driven quest for total ad domination.

The opening presentation from the New Adventures conference held in Nottingham in January 2019.

Abstract. Through examining a case study of a major fluids modelling code, this paper charts two key properties of software as a material for building models. Scientific software development is characterized by piecemeal growth, and as a code expands, it begins to manifest frustrating properties that provide an important axis of motivation in the laboratory. The first such feature is a tendency towards brittleness. The second is an accumulation of supporting technologies that sometimes cause scientists to express a frustration with the bureaucracy of highly regulated working practices. Both these features are important conditions for the pursuit of research through simulation.

Instagram people did not seem mean or clever. They were earnest and sincere. They drank green smoothies and went on hikes, sought personal bests, good health, peace of mind, and oneness with the universe. They believed every day was a beautiful day to be alive. Leaving Twitter for Instagram was like moving to Los Angeles, only cheaper.

Increasingly popular in the last couple of years, I think 2020 is going to be the year of “no code”: the movement that say you can write business logic and even entire applications without having the training of a software developer. I empathise with people doing this, and I think some of the “no code” tools are great. But I also thing it’s wrong at heart.

A little-known start-up helps law enforcement match photos of unknown people to their online images — and “might lead to a dystopian future or something,” a backer says.

Throughout history, and today, the most successful people are good at more than just one thing

Bob of the Easy Method Driving School has spent his entire life teaching his students how to drive -- and there's nothing he loves to do more

Max Bense and Gustav Metzger’s Art Defied Computing’s Military Origins

Thread Reader helps you read and share the best of Twitter Threads

The construction industry is wasteful and creates huge CO2 emissions. But what if new buildings had to be adapted and resused or built only with materials already available?

They’ve been linked to road rage, pathological gambling, and complicated acts of fraud. It turns out many ordinary medications don’t just affect our bodies – they affect our brains.

Let clean code guide you. Then let it go.

Digitization promises to make medical care easier and more efficient. But are screens coming between doctors and patients?

Magic is real. Discovered in the 1970s, magic is now a bona fide field of engineering. There's magic in heavy industry and magic in your home. It's what's next after electricity. Student mage Laura Ferno has designs on the future: her mother died trying to reach space using m...

The Kingstons, the polygamists that Big Love toned down to make them believeable for TV. Also featuring Turkish and Russian costars. Terminology note: when I refer to the established Chu...

The online magazine deleted a glowing story about Facebook after questions were raised about whether it was an ad.

Casey Reas, Joshua Davis, Ben Fry, Helena Sarin, and Sougwen Chung have pioneered the use of new software programs in generative art.

Isaac Asimov loved large numbers. He was born a century ago this month, and when he died, in 1992, he was both the most famous science fiction writer in the ...

Reducing the number of cars reduced the number of traffic fatalities.

The Data Detox Kit: everyday steps you can take to control your digital privacy, security, and wellbeing in ways that feel right to you.

Frank Chimero’s Personal Website