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A march supporting California’s billionaires didn’t exactly draw a huge crowd on Saturday — the San Francisco Chronicle counted around three dozen attendees, along with another dozen tongue-in-cheek counter-protesters. To be fair, organizer Derik Kauffman had predicted attendance of only “a few dozen” beforehand. But the “March for Billionaires” has drawn outsized attention on social media because it’s such an incongruous idea, and according to Mission Local, journalists nearly outnumbered demonstrators at the event itself, where marchers carried signs with messages like “We ❤️ You Jeffrey Bezos” and “It’s very difficult to write a nuanced argument on a sign.” The…
If you’ve done any wireless earbuds shopping lately, you’ve likely noticed a new design category cropping up everywhere. They’re called open earbuds (or open-ear buds, depending on the brand), and just about every audio brand has a pair (or three). They come in a slew of styles, but most either loop around your ears like older Beats buds, or clip on like funky-futuristic earrings. Whatever the style, they’re designed to deliver satisfying sound while keeping your ear canals open to the sounds of the world around you.Open earbuds are a natural fit for staying aware during outdoor activities like jogging,…
Every year, the Super Bowl airs at least one ad that makes people uncomfortable—like, squirm-in-your-chair uncomfortable. Sometimes, these ads are genuine flops, like Nationwide’s notorious “dead boy ad.” Other times, viewers squirm because the advertiser actually wants them to (see “Perfect Match,” below.) It’s up for debate how well either tactic works.But most of the time, cringe is organic: some stuff is just plain embarrassing for viewers. On Super Bowl Sunday, those spots become a fine opportunity to refill the onion dip or do a bathroom run. Oh wait, that was a cringe ad, too. Breaking news from Febreze: farts…
The Winter Olympic Games have begun, and once again the sport of curling is set to draw in scores of new converts.Although dominated by Sweden, Canada, Switzerland, and Scotland, many eyes during the 2026 Winter Olympics will be on the team from host country Italy thanks to Stefania Constantini and Amos Mosaner, the reigning Olympic and world curling champions in mixed doubles.Regardless of which country takes home the gold, the real attention during the Olympics this year might be on the cool gadgets curlers use. Somewhat similar to a game of shuffleboard played with brooms and stones, curling has seen…
Last month, photos circulated on gossip sites like TMZ and MailOnline of actor William Shatner eating a bowl of Raisin Bran in his car and clutching the cereal box as if it were his most prized possession. The bizarre paparazzi shots had some observers scratching their heads, until Raisin Bran pulled back the curtain: Shatner’s cereal-obsessive behavior was just a setup for the brand’s Super Bowl campaign. It’s a strategy we’ve seen before. Two years ago, CeraVe pulled the same trick with “Michael CeraVe.” Over a few weeks in January 2024, actor Michael Cera was spotted toting bottles of CeraVe lotion around…
I had low expectations for the rather generic Comulytic Note Pro, but it surprised me as not only the most useful all-around notetaker on available but also the cheapest after you consider the cost of a premium subscription.The slim device, at 28 grams, is small enough to fit in a wallet or attach unobtrusively with the included magnetic ring to the back of your handset (note: it requires a special USB dongle to charge). The 64 GB of storage space and a 45-hour battery life aren’t massive, but both should be more than enough to handle a full week of…
Other Earbuds We LikeEvery month seems to bring new sets of earbuds with longer battery life, new features, and more compact designs. As such, we can’t list everything we like. But if you’re still hunting, here are some other recommendations.Nothing Ear (a) for $59: It has taken a lot for me to recommend a pair of ostensible AirPods Pro clones as the best earbuds for most people, but that speaks to just how much I actually like the Nothing Ear (a). These stylish little yellow earbuds come in a sleek, clear charging case, and they have excellent sound and decent…
To be a viable alternative to our GADA Tudor, the value collection has to include a travel-time watch. We looked at Farer’s 36-mm Lander IV, with its preppy color scheme and distinctive character, but ultimately we went for another cult favorite from the affordable end of the Swatch Group stable.The Mido Ocean Star Decompression Worldtimer costs $5 less than the Farer, at $1,490, and brings its own eye-catching dial to the table, as well as a 200-meter water resistance rating and a version of the same 80-hour movement as in the Hamilton. Perhaps the clincher was the world-time bezel, which…
Deep tech startups in sectors such as space, semiconductors, and biotech take far longer to mature than conventional ventures. Because of that India is adjusting its startup rules, and mobilizing public capital, hoping to help more of them make it to commercial products. This week, the Indian government updated its startup framework, doubling the period for which deep tech companies are treated as startups to 20 years and raising the revenue threshold for startup-specific tax, grant, and regulatory benefits to ₹3 billion (about $33.12 million), from ₹1 billion (around $11.04 million) previously. The change aims to align policy timelines with…
The Super Bowl is happening in Silicon Valley this Sunday, and the Patriots-Seahawks game at Levi’s Stadium is going to be packed with tech money. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan is expected to be there. Apple’s Tim Cook, too. (He has become a Super Bowl fixture since Apple Music began sponsoring the halftime show several years ago.) Longtime VC Venky Ganesan from Menlo Ventures gave the New York Times a quote about the whole thing, saying the Super Bowl in the Bay Area is “tech billionaires who got picked last in gym class paying $50,000 to pretend they’re friends with the…
Save more money. That was the most popular New Year’s resolution in 2025 and the second most popular in 2026, according to Statista.There’s a difference between making a resolution and acting on it, however. Get on your path to better financial health by taking care of some routine personal finance tasks. Right now at the beginning of the year—after the holiday crunch and before tax season, when you’re planning your annual travel and expenses—is a great time to do it.1. Start BudgetingIf you already budget your money, the beginning of a new year is a great time to review last…
Modern biotech has the tools to edit genes and design drugs, yet thousands of rare diseases remain untreated. According to executives from Insilico Medicine and GenEditBio, the missing ingredient for years has been finding enough smart people to continue the work. AI, they say, is becoming the force multiplier that lets scientists take on problems the industry has long left untouched. Speaking this week at Web Summit Qatar, Insilico’s president, Alex Aliper, laid out his company’s aim to develop “pharmaceutical superintelligence.” Insilico recently launched its “MMAI Gym” that aims to train generalist large language models, like ChatGPT and Gemini, to…
In an update on its blog, Valve says its goal is still to ship the Steam Frame, Steam Controller, and Steam Machine in the “first half of the year.” But it also indicates that specifics around pricing and launch dates are in flux, saying that “limited availability and growing prices” on storage and memory are forcing Valve to “revisit” these issues. That sounds a lot like price increases, something that nearly every PC manufacturer has already warned about in new products coming in 2026. Companies like Dell and HP are doing everything they can to secure supply, including working with…
Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks announced Friday that he has joined prediction market Kalshi as a shareholder, making him the first NBA player to invest directly in the company. “The internet is full of opinions. I decided it was time to make some of my own,” said the two-time NBA MVP in a social media post. “Today, I’m joining Kalshi as a shareholder. We all on Kalshi now.” The announcement has not gone over well on social media. On Reddit, for example, one user described it as “literally a conflict of interest,” while another described Kalshi as “cancerous” and…
An analysis by WIRED this week found that ICE and CBP’s face recognition app Mobile Fortify, which is being used to identify people across the United States, isn’t actually designed to verify who people are and was only approved for Department of Homeland Security use by relaxing some of the agency’s own privacy rules.WIRED took a close look at highly militarized ICE and CBP units that use extreme tactics typically seen only in active combat. Two agents involved in the shooting deaths of US citizens in Minneapolis are reportedly members of these paramilitary units. And a new report from the…
Ad-verification firm Integral Ad Science is one of 16 media credibility and news rating organizations being investigated by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over alleged advertiser boycotts of right-wing media, according to a lawsuit concerning the probe. The detail appeared in Feb. 2 amendments to a lawsuit filed in a federal court against the FTC from the nonprofit research group Global Disinformation Index (GDI)—another organization being investigated.In June, under the leadership of Andrew Ferguson, a Trump appointee, the FTC launched an investigation into purported collusion among media credibility groups to boycott conservative media platforms and publishers. As part of that probe,…