Charging has emerged as the primary way people keep their EV batteries full of juice while on the go, but some companies have an alternative in mind that they think could be even quicker than the fastest chargers today: battery swapping. Today, a San Francisco–based startup called Ample demonstrated its new battery-swap system, which it […]
The Download: unlocking Chinese social accounts, and AI voice analysis
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Inside Tencent’s weirdly secretive customer service center —Zeyi Yang When I recently visited China, for the first time since the pandemic, I traveled to Shenzhen in a bid to unlock my 15-year old […]
Inside Tencent’s weirdly secretive customer service center
China Report is MIT Technology Review’s newsletter about technology developments in China. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Tuesday. It’s been a while. I just got back from several weeks in China. It was my first visit since the pandemic, and I noticed some changes: half the cars running on the streets of Shanghai […]
The US worried about vaccine tourists. Now it’s encouraging them.
Like many vaccine tourists, “Alex” doesn’t want you to know his real name. The British expat arrived on a red-eye flight from his home in Nairobi, Kenya, at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport on Friday, May 21, with the intention of staying just a few days—more than enough time, he hoped, to get […]
Startup Phantom Space wants to be the Henry Ford of rockets
Jim Cantrell calls himself “one of the intellectual fathers of the small-launch business.” It’s hard to disagree. When Elon Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, Cantrell became its first vice president of business development. His expertise was critical to the development of the company’s first rocket, the Falcon 1. Cantrell later founded Strategic Space Development (StratSpace), […]
The Best Vinyl Accessories to Jazz Up Your Analog Audio
From record cleaners to slip mats, these extras are for budding enthusiasts and die-hard collectors alike. Powered by WPeMatico
Collective data rights can stop big tech from obliterating privacy
Every person engaged with the networked world constantly creates rivers of data. We do this in ways we are aware of, and ways that we aren’t. Corporations are eager to take advantage. Take, for instance, NumberEight, a startup, that, according to Wired, “helps apps infer user activity based on data from a smartphone’s sensors: whether […]
Florida’s New Social Media Law Will Be Laughed Out of Court
The Stop Social Media Censorship Act almost certainly violates both the US Constitution and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Powered by WPeMatico
Vaccine waitlist Dr. B collected data from millions. But how many did it help?
When Joanie Schaffer heard about Dr. B, a free covid-19 vaccine standby service, she was running out of options. It was early February, and vaccine appointments were scarce, so Schaffer, who was already vaccinated herself, was volunteering her time to help friends, family, and even strangers secure their shots. She had read stories about people […]
Edge computing: Powering the future of manufacturing
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