Web Features
The Interplanetary File System: How you’ll store files in the future
The Interplanetary File System is a radical new file storage protocol that could potentially lead to a tectonic shift in how information is stored on the web.
Power plants on other planets: How we’ll generate electricity on Mars
The first Mars explorers will need electricity to survive -- but how do you generate power on a dusty planet where solar energy is in short supply?
Artificial atmospheres: How we’ll build a base with breathable air on Mars
How will we make oxygen on Mars? To get the scoop, we spoke with experts from NASA and MIT who are building a plan to make it happen.
Silicon Valley is racing to build an audio-only internet, and I hope it succeeds
I used audio-based apps like Clubhouse as my main source of media for a week, and now I'm convinced they're the future of the internet.
The Navy wants you to hack into its systems. But of course, there’s a catch
Hacking into the U.S. Navy's computer systems is a surefire way to get yourself in trouble -- unless you do it during this upcoming hackathon.
Harvesting hydration: How future settlers will create and collect water on Mars
Mars looks like a dry, inhospitable desert. So where will explorers get water from? We spoke to three experts to find out.
NFTs and the explosive rebirth of artificial scarcity
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are booming right now. Why? Because unlike most digital items, they're artificially limited. Here's why that changes everything.
Astroagriculture: How we’ll grow crops on Mars
If we ever hope to keep astronauts alive on Mars for a long-term visit, we'll need to figure out how to grow crops in Martian soil. Is such a thing possible?
Facebook’s new image-recognition A.I. is trained on 1 billion Instagram photos
Facebook has developed a powerful new image-recognition A.I. that's trained on over a billion public Instagram images. It could be a game changer
Summon this amazing Twitter bot to colorize your black-and-white photos
Colorizing black-and-white photos used to require hours of skilled work from a trained human, but this A.I. powered Twitter bot can make it happen in seconds.
Moore’s law is reaching its limits. Could graphene circuits help?
The number of transistors that chipmakers can pack into an integrated circuit is reaching the upper limit of what's possible. Wrinkled graphene could fix that.
Google has an ingenious plan to kill cookies — but there’s one big drawback
Cookies are a privacy nightmare for all of us, but Google's plan to eradicate them could cause just as many problems as it solves.
Why the Jezero Crater is the most exciting place on Mars
Why is NASA landing a multibillion dollar Mars rover in Jezero Crater? What makes this tiny pockmark on the Red Planet so interesting?
The future of Facebook is Instagram
As Facebook itself slowly declines, Facebook Inc. is seemingly shifting its focus to Instagram and using the platform to test new ideas and approaches.
7 minutes of terror: A breakdown of Perseverance’s insane Mars landing sequence
NASA's incredible multipart landing sequence for the Perseverance rover involves a parachute, a jetpack, and a contraption called a skycrane.
Inside job: Why Zoombombing isn’t as random as you might think
A recent study suggests that most zoombombing is carried out by insiders, not necessarily by nefarious outsiders looking to stir up trouble.
TikTok users are exposing realities of gig work, and Big Tech can’t stop them
Gig economy platforms like Uber, Instacart, and Postmates spend millions of dollars every year circumventing bad press. But they can't stop TikTok users.
Lab-grown wood? Sounds crazy, but it could be a game-changer for the planet
Growing wood in a lab might sound silly, but if we can figure out how to do it at scale, it could help cut back on deforestation in a big way.
Filter bubbles are ruining the internet. This algorithm pops them
Social media algorithms, which tend to expose users to things they'll like, have made the internet more insular and divided. Here's how It might be fixed.
Raging celebs, impromptu weddings, and more of our best CES war stories
Hors d'oeuvres with B-list celebs, food poisoning, and midnight benders. In a town renowned for excess, CES always brings out the craziest experiences.
CES award winners: Where are they now?
Before CES 2021, let’s take a look back at the gear we’ve highlighted from the last decade to see when we picked the marvels … and when we’ve missed the magic.
Why are we going to the moon again? NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren explains
NASA has plans to send astronauts to the moon again. But why? What's the goal? We spoke with astronaut Kjell Lindgren to get a breakdown.
2020 was full of giant leaps for mankind’s return to crewed space missions
In 2020, humanity laid the foundation for an exciting new era. Thanks to these breakthroughs and major milestones, manned space travel is set for a comeback.
