What's New

WIRED
undefined
May 30, 2017 • 3min

Need a Memorial Day to Remember? Ice-Bike the Northwest Passage

When I first mount the bicycle—a sturdy Rocky Mountain Blizzard with 4.8-inch-wide tires—and push, I barely move. I grit my teeth, throw my weight onto the pedal, and the bike ekes forward. We power our way along Polar Bear Point among glistening, 6-foot-thick ice caps and sunning ringed seals. After a short time, my legs wobble like jelly. It took five flights to reach the Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge on Canada’s Somerset Island, roughly 500 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 29, 2017 • 2min

Sphero’s New Cars Toy Is the Fanciest RC Car You Ever Did See

In 2015, Sphero convinced you to fork over $200 for a tiny BB-8 that was—even for adults—pretty entertaining. Now it hopes you’ll pay $299 for an app-controlled version of Lightning McQueen, the hero of the Pixar franchise Cars. The toy goes on sale online today, and will hit the shelves of stores like Target and Best Buy on June 15, just before Cars 3 premiers in theaters. Is it cheap? No. But McQueen comes packed with more features than the average action figure. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 26, 2017 • 4min

DJI’s New Palm-Sized Drone Responds To a Wave of Your Hand

Isn’t DJI’s new drone just the cutest little thing? The new DJI Spark is much smaller than other quadcopters on the market; the body is about the size and weight of a can of La Croix. It arrives in mid-June for $500. It shoots HD video, has a 2-axis gimbal stabilizer on the camera, and comes with on-board software that mitigates shake and shutter roll. It tops out at 31 mph and stays aloft for 16 minutes. Not crazy-bonkers specs, but it is just so, so tiny. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 25, 2017 • 4min

Suck at Cooking? Pinterest’s Computer Vision Can Help

The kitchen of the tomorrow is so tantalizing that it seems everyone in tech wants to build it. In a way, it presents a perfect microcosm of how artificial intelligence and ambient computing could change every aspect of your life. Refrigerators that tell you when your eggs go bad. Augmented-reality cooking tips right there on the counter. Recipe recommendations based on your dietary restrictions, seasonal veggies, and that tuna you really ought to use before it turns. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 24, 2017 • 4min

‘Things’ Might Be the Prettiest To-Do List App Ever

Productivity blogs were one of the first corners of the internet that ever felt like home to me. For a certain set of passionate, persnickety writers and readers, there was nothing so fun as debating the merits of Getting Things Done versus The Eisenhower Method. “Eat the frog!” was an inspirational quote, not worrying nonsense. Merlin Mann, Leo Babauta, and Lifehacker were required reading. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 23, 2017 • 5min

I Can Gripe About My Ride-Sharing Company to Passengers, Right?

I work in a casual tech setting and I’m shocked by how much everyone swears. Should I say something? Imagine what it was like to be a Puritan in 1642. You’ve come to America. The landscape is crude and endless; the soundtrack, all hissing insects and howling wolves. “Everything about the place seemed godforsaken,” writes the natural historian Tim Flannery in his book The Eternal Frontier. That lawless emptiness is why you’re here—it means freedom. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 22, 2017 • 7min

The Maligned Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me Is Better—and More Important—Than You Know

When David Lynch’s neo-noir movieTwin Peaks:Fire Walk with Me premiered 25 years ago at Cannes, the audience, famously, booed.That’s not unheard of, but thereaction probably had less to do with the film than its television predecessor:By 1992,Twin Peakshad gone from critical darling to drag. To many, Fire Walk with Me played like a glorified TV movie. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 19, 2017 • 4min

Google Assistant Comes to Your iPhone to Take on Siri

Virtual assistants like Siri, Cortana, and Google Assistant are only good when they’re nearby. The whole appeal of these services—someday, anyway, once they’re past the phase of only being good for setting timers and listening to NPR—is for them to follow you around, carrying all necessary knowledge about your life and your preferences. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 18, 2017 • 5min

HTC’s Squishy New Phone Has All The Things—Even Alexa

Imagine you’re HTC. You were once atop the smartphone heap, making some of the best-designed and most impressive Android devices on the planet. Life was so exciting! Then everyone else kept improving, and you didn’t. Samsung, and Apple, and Xiaomi, and Oppo, and, well, just about everybody passed you by. You’re trying to get back into the game. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices
undefined
May 17, 2017 • 2min

The Eye-Popping 8K Madness of Red Camera’s New Super-Sensor

Insta-celeb glory requires some deliberate setup. Get more shareable results by putting this photo gear into rotation. The number one rule of influencing is Always Be Gramming. Be ready for the shot anywhere, anytime, by stashing your phonecam accessories in this ruggedly handsome leather bag. That way you won’t be fumbling around in your cluttered backpack the next time llamas escape from the zoo. | $149 Your fans want to see your face at the concert, not a blurry silhou­ette. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The AI-powered Podcast Player

Save insights by tapping your headphones, chat with episodes, discover the best highlights - and more!
App store bannerPlay store banner
Get the app