CATEGORIES

Steve Wozniak's New Startup Melds Blockchain and Green Tech

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has a new company that’s promising energy industry innovation through a virtual currency called “WOZX.” We know, it sounds weird. But Wozniak is hoping the new startup, called Efforce, will help stop climate change by promoting “green” energy-efficient technologies.

Heading Back to the Office: An Employee's Guide

Many businesses are preparing to transition employees back to offices, either to alleviate the stress of isolation or simply to stay afloat financially. Whatever the reason, keeping employees safe means employers must overcome a variety of hurdles, including adhering to new health and safety regulations that will likely include all-new considerations such as contact tracing and keeping employees properly distanced using space management tools.

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO HEALTH & FITNESS TECH - THE WFH (WORKOUT FROM HOME) EDITION

If the new year has you motivated to drop your quarantine 15 or take steps to boost your immunity amid the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no shortage of smart health and fitness technologies that can help you meet your goal.

Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat ST75: Versatile and Affordable

Smart thermostats make it easy to control your home’s heating and cooling system from just about anywhere, and the Sensi Touch Smart Thermostat ST75 is no different. But in addition to phone and voice control, it offers a responsive color touch-screen control panel. Easy on the eyes and simple to install, the ST75 is a bit more expensive than our Editors’ Choice winner for affordable thermostats, the Nest Thermostat ($129.99). That said, the Sensi model adds support for Apple’s HomeKit and Samsung’s SmartThings home automation platforms, as well as native Siri voice control, making it an excellent alternative to the Nest Thermostat for those who use any of those systems.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold: The Future's Not Quite Here Yet

It’s somewhat surprising that the world’s first foldable-screen PC is a ThinkPad. When foldable screens debuted on phones last year, they were expensive gimmicks with questionable durability. ThinkPads are mostly expensive laptops, to be sure, but they’re legendary for being the opposite of gimmicky and flimsy. Fortunately, the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold has the benefit of years of testing and research, and, at least as far as physical design is concerned, this Windows tablet mostly lives up to its ThinkPad name.

Roku Ultra (2020): Feature-Filled Media Hub

Roku’s 2020 model of the Ultra media streamer is an iterative update to the line. The previous Ultra was already a powerful, feature-filled media hub, so the fact that the new model simply adds Dolby Vision support and faster processing isn’t a letdown. The Ultra can stream 4K HDR content, supports loads of apps and services, and its remote includes a headphone jack for privately listening to whatever you’re watching. It remains a top pick among high-end media streaming devices, but at $99.99, it feels a bit pricey compared with some other new models.

JBL Go 3: RIch Audio, Low Price

JBL makes lots of large, powerful Bluetooth speakers, but the Go 3 isn’t one of them. At $39.95, the Go 3 is about as portable (and affordable) as it gets—it’ll fit in any backpack or tote without issue. It’s also fully waterproof, making it ideal for outdoor use. There certainly isn’t any powerful bass depth coming out of a speaker this size, but the Go 3 does its best to muster some rich low-end presence at higher volumes. It could have longer battery life, but for the price, this a very solid value.

Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 (9310): Best Premium Convertible

With cutting-edge components and a sleek, sturdy chassis available in multiple color options and screen resolutions, the late-2020 reboot of Dell’s XPS 13 2-in-1 sets the bar for premium convertible notebooks. Intel’s latest “Tiger Lake” CPU and graphics options make the XPS 13 2-in-1 a top performer in its class. The battery life is impressive, as well. The starting configuration is a bit underpowered, but the premium for the wellequipped version reviewed here is reasonable. The system snags our Editors’ Choice award for best premium 2-in-1.

The Covid-19 Manhattan Project

Never have so many researchers trained their minds on a single problem in so brief a time. Science will never be the same.

Secrets Of The Most Productive People – Florian Krammer

“Science is not a job. It’s somewhere between a hobby and a passion.”

waste watchers

YOU CAN TURN FOOD SCRAPS INTO FERTILIZER IN ALMOST ANY CONTAINER. THESE BINS USE THEIR OWN METHODS TO ENCOURAGE THE PROCESS, BUT BOTH KEEP BUGS AND STINK AT BAY.

why can't i forget how to ride a bike?

LEARNING TO PEDAL IS NO EASY FEAT.

the go-anywhere machine

GOODS

the little rovers that could

MATT KEUNEKE, MARS EXPLORATION ROVER MISSION OPERATIONS MANAGER AT NASA

sweat suit

YOUR MUSCLES DESERVE BETTER THAN YOUR RATTY OLD WORKOUT GEAR. DECK YOURSELF OUT IN THE RIGHT DUDS AND YOU’LL UPGRADE BOTH YOUR PERFORMANCE AND YOUR STYLE.

somethings run in the family

HUGOZEBERG, RESEARCHER AT THE MAX PLANCK INSTITUTE FOR EVOLUTIONARY ANTHROPOLOGY

sitting pretty

ICON

listening to trees

MARIANO MORALES, ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTIST AT THE ARGENTINIAN INSTITUTE OF SNOW SCIENCE, GLACIOLOGY, AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

home stretch

A HARD WORKOUT SHOULDN’T LEAVE YOU WITH LINGERING PAIN. THE RIGHT RECOVERY TOOLS WILL HELP INCREASE BLOOD FLOW AND FIGHT FATIGUE TO SOOTHE YOUR ACHES.

Behind The Cover

Butterflies may seem delicate, but they are surprisingly tough.

Tales From the Field – A cold one on mars

Kellie Gerardi, bioastronautics researcher at the International Institute for Austronautical Science

They Might Be Giants

A photographer-and-ecologist team are on a mission to document the forests’ mightiest members.

Droplet Stoppers

Covid-19 made face masks a crucial part of every outfit, and we’re likely to don them in the future when we feel ill. Fortunately, there’s a style for every need.

Boston Dynamics' Spot Robodog Finds Work on a BP Oil Rig

Boston Dynamics’ four-legged canine-inspired Spot is by no means an old dog, but that doesn’t mean it can’t learn new tricks. The 55-pound robot, unveiled in 2016, has boarded BP’s Mad Dog oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, where it will master tasks including reading gauges, finding corrosion, mapping the facility, and sniffing out methane, according to Reuters.

CAN THIS AI HELP SMOKERS QUIT?

While COVID-19 remains an occupying force in our world, and a viable vaccine is still out of reach, dealing with the pandemic comes down to mitigating health risks while coping with stress. If you’re a smoker, that’s going to be tough on both accounts. This isn’t the Mad Men era; everyone knows the risks of tobacco use, but cessation of addictive substances isn’t easy.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla (for PC): Another Winner

The Assassin’s Creed series has taken us to numerous historical settings since its 2007 debut, including Ancient Greece, Renaissance Italy, and Revolutionary War-era America. The newest installment, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, details the Viking invasion of 9th Century England from the perspective of history’s most notorious raiders. Though Valhalla doesn’t introduce anything wholly new to the series, it’s an excellent PC game that follows in the footsteps of its equally exceptional predecessors, Origins and Odyssey.

Microsoft Xbox Series X: An Impressive Console

The newest Xboxes are here, packing plenty of power into boxier frames than ever. Microsoft’s entries into the latest console generation are the Xbox Series X, reviewed here, and the Xbox Series S ($299).

2020's Most Common Passwords Are Laughably Insecure

Chances are that if a password is easy for you to remember, a hacker can easily crack it. And despite years (and years) of tech companies warning consumers to use hard-to-crack passwords, plus two-factor authentication, people are still using laughably insecure codes.

THE BEST PRODUCTS OF 2020

It’s been a weird year.

Virtual Movie Night: How to Watch Netflix With Friends Using Teleparty

Many of us are facing a long winter indoors, thanks to the ongoing pandemic. And though we have video streaming to distract us, watching shows and movies is more fun with friends. You could get everyone on Zoom and press play at the same time, but there’s an easier way: Teleparty (formerly known as Netflix Party).