The grueling, 630-mile road race where the only fuel is sunlight
The grueling, 630-mile road race where the only fuel is sunlight

On July 19th, dozens of teams of high school students will begin a five-day, 630-mile road race from Fort Worth to Fort Stockton in Texas. But this is not your typical contest. The students design and build the cars themselves, using off-the-shelf parts and 3D printed materials. The winner is the team that accumulates the […]

The Guardian’s Carter Sherman fondly remembers being terrified by Ocarina of Time
The Guardian’s Carter Sherman fondly remembers being terrified by Ocarina of Time

Carter Sherman has been covering sex, gender, and the complex personal and national politics that accompany them for years. She was a senior reporter for Vice and has written for Elle, Ms. magazine, and Los Angeles magazine as well. Along the way, she’s garnered a Scripps Howard Award, a National Press Club Journalism Award, and […]

Google is better than Apple at playing the AI regulations game
Google is better than Apple at playing the AI regulations game

Today, the European Union ordered Google to give its AI rivals greater access to Android, the open-source operating system that powers billions of devices worldwide. The demand is hardly surprising. It may look like a defeat on paper for Google, which has spent years resisting exactly this kind of access, but it is a regulatory […]

OnePlus never had a chance in the US
OnePlus never had a chance in the US

Twelve years after the launch of the OnePlus One, OnePlus announced today that it has exited the United States. It’s bittersweet, as the brand has been on a comeback tour of sorts with its excellent OnePlus 15 and widely praised (though still too expensive) OnePlus Open. The writing has been on the wall for a […]

Enshittification
Enshittification

Bryan, a food broker from Michigan, wasn’t sure if he’d be able to make it to urgent care in time. He started feeling off on Thursday, and by Saturday, he was having to use the bathroom every 15 to 30 minutes. “It’s no joke about the explosive diarrhea,” Bryan, who asked that his last name […]

Netflix tries to recapture Stranger Things magic with nostalgic re-release
Netflix tries to recapture Stranger Things magic with nostalgic re-release

Netflix just can’t let Stranger Things go. Since the final episode aired on New Year’s Eve there’s been a behind-the-scenes documentary, an animated series that expands the story, and now, on the 10th anniversary of the show’s original release, Netflix has released a new version of the show’s first season. The episodes have all been […]

The tiniest MMO
The tiniest MMO

At its peak, around 12 million people subscribed to World of Warcraft so that they could explore the realm of Azeroth together. The audience for PointlessQuest is quite a bit smaller. On launch day, the game hit a peak of 15 concurrent players… and no, that sentence isn’t missing a word. Then again, basically everything […]

The PS6 sure sounds like a handheld
The PS6 sure sounds like a handheld

The video game industry is in turmoil. Microsoft and Sony are starting to pivot to their next consoles, but it’s not looking great: Prices are soaring, Sony is killing the video game disc, and Microsoft is jettisoning studios ahead of the transition. What could entice people to pay? On the Xbox front, we genuinely can’t […]

Sam Altman didn’t need another lawsuit
Sam Altman didn’t need another lawsuit

OpenAI has spent the better part of the year involved in lawsuit after lawsuit, including one from the world’s richest man. But last Friday, the company was hit with one of the highest-profile legal actions yet – from Apple. OpenAI’s expensive hardware bet is what’s on the line. Apple’s lawsuit against OpenAI, filed in Northern […]

EverQuest’s biggest fans are leading its revival
EverQuest’s biggest fans are leading its revival

Live-service games and the companies that run them are in big trouble. Games and their developers are getting shut down and gutted, and publishers’ huge promises are dubious. Meanwhile, EverQuest, one of the original live-service games, is thundering back more than 25 years later. EverQuest Legends is currently in preorder beta with an upcoming release […]