Technology

Anthony Fauci is probably one of the most recognizable faces of the coronavirus pandemic in the US. So when a public health expert needed a way to measure how her students were coping with all of the stresses of 2020, she created a chart to gauge their “level of Fauci.” “We all kind of need something that’s positive, that makes sense to us,” Karen Sautter Errichetti, an assistant professor in public health and community medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, said. She’d noticed that her community of public health and medical professionals was feeling pretty depressed. So to lighten the mood and get the students interested, she and her co-instructor Reece Lyerly start every class with a meme of some sort. Nothing caught on quite like the Fauci meter, which she introduced to her st...

The 28th named storm of an epic Atlantic hurricane season formed yesterday and is barreling toward Central America as Hurricane Eta today. That ties the record with 2005 for the most storms strong enough to earn a name in a single season. This is also the 12th hurricane to form this season, which has only happened three times before, according to Phil Klotzbach, a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University. 2020 has been exceptionally active The World Meteorological Organization ran out of names on its alphabetical list in mid-September, with more than two months left in the 2020 season. That forced the agency to turn to Greek letters for storm names for just the second time in its history. But this is the first time Eta has been used since one...

Music can be said to be the universal language: while our tastes in tunes may differ, there are few people who don’t have their own favorite songs to listen to. New technologies have increased the quality of that music — however, we can’t all afford the types of speakers and headphones that offer the most superior sound. But if you’re a music fan with a strict budget, don’t despair. There are audio devices out there that offer good or even excellent sound without forcing you to take out a loan. The following are reviews of various speakers and headsets (both headphones and earbuds) that will allow you to really enjoy your playlist. Read on, and see if you can’t find something that will fit your needs perfectly. Headphones and earbuds Razer Opus headphonesPhotography by Cameron Faulkner / T...

Some of the most important parts of our country are literally falling apart. Our airports are crumbling. Our buses and rail networks are hemorrhaging riders and falling into disrepair. Many of our bridges are so old they’re eligible for Medicare. And with the global pandemic crisis driving cities into an unprecedented budget crisis, things are likely to get worse before they get better. Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) releases its “Infrastructure Report Card,” which assesses everything from ports and dams to transit, schools, and hazardous waste management. In 2017, the group gave the country a D+, the same grade it delivered in 2013. The US is on track to receive the same grade (or worse) in 2021. Things shouldn’t have gotten this bad. Investing in infrast...

Samsung’s pocket-sized T7 USB-C SSD is steeply discounted at a few retailers. The price cut applies to the 1TB and 2TB models, both of which could make for speedy external add-ons for the PS5 or Xbox Series X / S consoles, in addition to the more obvious use case of connecting it your PC. The 1TB SSD is down to $160 (usually $200). As far as the color options of the T7, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo have them in red, blue, or black. If you want to double the storage to 2TB, that version of the T7 is $250 (usually $370) at Amazon. That’s a particularly good value. I reviewed Samsung’s T7 Touch, a variant that includes a fingerprint sensor for added security. Some real-world benchmarking tasks proved it to be significantly faster at transferring data than its predecessor, the T5. In my...

There’s a new strategy for boosting global action on climate change, and it’s modeled after Cold War-era campaigns aimed at preventing nuclear annihilation. Activists are starting to pick up the language of the nuclear nonproliferation movement. Eventually, they’d like to see a full-scale international treaty that would bring about the end of fossil fuels. The existential threats posed by climate change have a lot in common with the threats posed by nuclear war, experts tell The Verge. Both have the potential to put all of humanity and the entire planet at risk. And neither issue can be tackled without global cooperation. The idea for a fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty publicly launched in September this year at New York City’s Climate Week. It’s still in its early days, but the treaty’...

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced the Raspberry Pi 400, a compact keyboard with an ARM-based computer built in. Just plug it into a TV or monitor using one of its two micro HDMI ports, insert a microSD card, attach a power cord and mouse, and you’ve got yourself a basic computer for day-to-day tasks, coding, or media playback. It’s available starting today as a standalone machine for $70 or in a bundle including a mouse, power supply, microSD card, HDMI cable, and beginner’s guide for $100. The hope is the Pi 400’s form factor, plus these optional bundled items, makes it more approachable and user-friendly. That’s important when you’re selling an affordable computer, and it’s especially important when you’re selling an accessible device to help children learn to code. It looks more...

I have only watched the new episode of The Mandalorian once (so far) but it is so great to have this fun, nerdy show back. I won’t spoil anything but it was A) nice to see The Baby aka Baby Yoda aka my green son, B) nice to see Timothy Olyphant and C) great to see the coolest show on streaming is still very, very cool. Check out the review of the first episode here, and look for weekly Friday recaps of new episodes on The Verge. This week’s trailers include the new season of the other best show on streaming: The Crown. Look I have eclectic tastes, OK? [embedded content] The Crown The sight of Gillian Anderson as Margaret Thatcher was most welcome for this erstwhile X-phile, but also: DIANA! The series will finally catch up to the Charles-Diana marriage this season and introduce Thatcher, a...

A fake letter from Sean Connery to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is making the rounds on social media following the actor’s death on Saturday. Just to reiterate: it’s fake, the product of humor site Scoopertino, which posts satirical articles about Apple and goings-on at its Cupertino (get it that’s the name) headquarters. The typewritten letter dated 1998 purports to show Connery’s outrage over Jobs asking him to appear in an Apple commercial. “I do not sell my soul for Apple or any other company. I have no interest in ‘changing the world’ as you suggest,” it states. “You are a computer salesman, I am fucking JAMES BOND!” But the internet loves things that are too good to be true, and Sunday morning, the “letter” was circulating on Twitter. Jon, I respect your views but please look at the r...

Over the past several months, conservative groups— including associates of President Trump— were often not penalized by Facebook for violating its rules because people at the company worried about the perception of anti-conservative bias, The Washington Post reported. The Post examined posts and ad spending along with internal Facebook documents. It found accounts that included Donald Trump Jr. and a pro-Trump super PAC were shielded from the platform’s most serious enforcement actions. For instance, according to the Post, Facebook removed a strike against Trump Jr. on Instagram — which is owned by Facebook— that would have led to him being labeled a “repeat offender” and could have meant a permanent ban under platform rules. Facebook did not immediately reply to a request for comment from...

Outside of excited Apple executives, no one thought much of Apple TV Plus. Even with $6 billion allocated for content and a roster of talent that included J.J. Abrams, Reese Witherspoon, and Oprah Winfrey, little on Apple TV Plus shined at launch. With the exception of The Morning Show, Apple TV Plus barely managed to enter the conversation, while other new entrants like Disney Plus soared right out the gate. But streaming isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. The anniversary of Apple TV Plus arrives with the platform getting better each month, but it’s still not where Apple needs it to be. It’s impossible to ignore the most obvious flailing that Apple TV Plus is facing: there’s no back catalog to keep people around once they’ve finished watching the 31 TV series and handfuls of movies currentl...

Once you get past the fact that it has no skin, the new robot from Disney Research is an impressive feat of robotics. First reported by Gizmodo, the new robot can imitate human facial movements, specifically blinking and subtle head movements. A sensor in its chest area (covered by a shirt, because the face is unsettling enough, thanks) alerts the robot when to turn and face a person in front of it, and its eye movements shift from direct eye contact to the rapid eye movements known as saccades. It also moves slightly up and down to mimic breathing. [embedded content] The robot was developed by engineers at Disney’s Research division, Walt Disney Imagineering, and robotics researchers from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and the California Institute of Technology. While most h...