Last year, Xiaomi managed to grab the second spot in the global smartphone market by pushing Apple to third. A seriously impressive feat, even though it was just for one quarter. The company sells a ton of phones priced under $300 worldwide, and that has helped it get ahead in the volume game. But it hasn’t earned its stripes in the flagship device arena. Perhaps that’s why it has included almost every top-end feature you can think of in its latest Xiaomi 12 Pro phone. I’ve been using it for the
For the past several decades, psychedelics have been widely stigmatized as dangerous illegal drugs. But a recent surge of academic research into their use to treat psychiatric conditions is spurring a recent shift in public opinion. Psychedelics are psychotropic drugs: substances that affect your mental state. Other types of psychotropics include antidepressants and anti-anxiety medications. Psychedelics and other types of hallucinogens, however, are unique in their ability to temporarily induce
In a huge milestone, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has finally been aligned to produce the first unified image of a single star. Most traditional telescopes these days (like the one you might have in your backyard) have a single primary mirror that collects distant light from stars. But the JWST has 18 mirrors! These had to be aligned extremely precisely to capture the image NASA released today. This gif shows several intermediary images of stars used for the crucial JWST mirror alignmen
Microsoft often tests new features with its Windows Insider builds. While these are often a sign of good things to come, other times, they need to be nipped right in the bud. Case in point: this week, Microsoft pushed a test to Windows 11 Insiders that placed ads for other Microsoft products directly in the File Explorer, as spotted by Florian Beaubois on Twitter. Some people will go mad if Microsoft starts adding ads in explorer. pic.twitter.com/rusnyrYyX2 — Florian (@flobo09) March 12, 2022 Mi
Mounting evidence suggests the western United States is now in its worst megadrought in at least 1,200 years. Groundwater supplies are being overpumped in many places, and the dryness, wildfires and shrinking water supplies are making climate change personal for millions of people. As an engineer, I have been working with colleagues on a way to both protect water supplies and boost renewable energy to protect the climate. We call it the solar-canal solution, and it’s about to be tested in Califo
Last year, Michelin and Goodyear released their first tires designed exclusively for electric vehicles. Now, another big player is joining the game: Pirelli has announced its own special EV tire, the P Zero All Season Plus Elect. Pirelli’s P Zero All Season Plus Elect. Image: Pirelli But why do EVs need special tires at all? First off, it’s about the weight. Because of the battery, EVs generally weigh more than traditional gas guzzlers. Then comes another characteristic EV drivers know and love:
The inevitable is happening. Last night at SXSW, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed NFTs are coming to Instagram soon. The Meta head didn’t spill any details about how this would work, but he said they’re coming in the near future: I’m not ready to kind of announce exactly what that’s going to be today. But over the next several months, the ability to bring some of your NFTs in, [and] hopefully, over time, be able to mint things within that environment. This isn’t the first time we’re hearing about it. L
Scientists at NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory recently uncovered a twinkling little star that might hold the key to several of the universe’s deepest mysteries. Called a pulsar for its twinkle, the star’s scant the size of a large city. What makes it special is, as NASA describes it, the fact that it’s apparently spewing a “gargantuan stream of matter and antimatter” into our galaxy. Annihilation Here’s where we run into problems. Matter and antimatter don’t get along. When, for example, a quar
Welcome to TNW Basics, a collection of tips, guides, and advice on how to easily get the most out of your gadgets, apps, and other stuff. Photography can be a perilous hobby — just ask Jeff Bezos. The Amazon kingpin had to tell the world about his “below-the-belt selfies” to avoid an alleged blackmail by the National Enquirer. While you may not have beef with a sleazy tabloid or a love of dick pics, there’s a high chance that you’ve got some sensitive photos of your own. Perhaps you have an emb
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll know that the supply chain has been in a world of pain over the last few years. This has been caused by COVID shipping delays, bottlenecks at the ports, and significant lags in truck delivery. And one of the biggest pain points is a shortage of long-haul truck drivers. And now, transportation companies are developing tech-driven approaches that not only solve problems that have been plaguing the industry for decades, but also turn trucking itself