WIRED founder Kevin Kelly explains why progress often looks like dystopia to the untrained eye.
Imagine that tomorrow, the world magically got 1% better. Nobody would notice. But if the world got 1% better every year, the “compounding” effect would be very noticeable — in the same way that compounding grows a bank account.
When technology solves a problem, it creates new problems. The solution is not less technology but better technology.
Kevin Kelly of WIRED magazine calls this incremental progress toward a better world “protopia.” Protopia is a direction, not a destiny.
Amazon has 118+ private label brands, some that carry the Amazon name and others cleverly disguised without it. And it’s been accused of using its data prowess to make nearly identical versions of bestselling brand-name items, like Peak Design’s Everyday Sling Bag.
Amazon says it’s continuing to invest in its popular brands, despite rumors its scaling back on private label to appease regulators. Amazon may be pushing the boundaries of what’s acceptable in private labeling, there’s nothing illegal about copying brand-name products. It’s a business practice that, in some capacity, is widely used by most major retailers.
Here’s how private labels work, and why experts say the high margin products like AmazonBasics batteries are going nowhere.
The Chinese government cracked down on Jack Ma, Alibaba, Ant Financial, Tencent and pretty much every Chinese internet company you might have heard of, wiping out trillions of dollars in value. Here’s why.
Go behind the scenes with the Red Team, the elite hackers dedicated to attacking Google’s own network. They sneak into buildings, launch phishing campaigns, and distribute malware across the company. Countless crucial protections have been created in response to the Red Team’s relentless assault on Google’s products.
Meet the internet’s fire department, the elite team that answers the call when chaos ignites online.
When Google’s Detection and Response Team discovers an attacker, they have to be swift and precise. In 2021, they identified unusual network activity, dropped in, isolated the attacker, and booted them off the network – extinguishing a digital fire before it could cause any damage.
Watchguards. Lookouts. Sentries. When faced with threats, there have always been those who look out to protect the rest. But who looks out for the threats lurking online?
Equipped with custom Google Search algorithms and a digital library of the most malicious exploits, the Threat Analysis Group has helped stop some of the most insidious and consequential threats to Google, its users, and the internet at large. Their deep understanding of attackers helps keep billions of users safe.
What happens when a country attacks a company? In 2009, Google found out and cybersecurity was never the same again.
An inside look at the historic attack where Google’s network was breached by a foreign government trying to access the Gmail accounts of human rights activists. In the wake of the breach, Google revolutionized its approach to security – overhauling everything and developing highly specialized teams of elite experts to stay ahead of the ever-evolving threat landscape.
The Sondors Metacycle is a $5000 electric motorcycle. It’s a funky highway-capable commuter and the ideal use of electric power. But can the motorbike live up to its own spec sheet?
Elon Musk tweeted that Starlink satellite internet service is now available in Ukraine. What does that really mean? Why is it important? And if it’s a big new thing that the internet is in space then… where was it before? In this video, I dive deep into how your internet gets to you right now, why Elon Musk wants to put it in space, and why it all matters.
We’re in the middle of the Internet Space Race. It’s not just Elon with Starlink and SpaceX, it’s also Jeff Bezos with Project Kuiper… oh and don’t forget Richard Branson with OneWeb. Why do all these billionaires want to put your internet in space? So much so that they’re willing to put millions of dollars on the line, weather geomagnetic storms, and launch thousands of satellites into orbit, all in an attempt to change the way millions of people get their (your!) internet.
But this is more than just a fight between billionaires. It’s a fight for the future of the internet. It’s an effort to get connected the billions of people who still, in 2022, don’t have access to high speed internet – or can’t afford the cost given the way it’s being provided today.
This is a story about ambition, connection, and a WHOLE LOT of crazy cool engineering.
You’ve been hearing about F1 too, right? Formula 1 is skyrocketing in popularity in the US, driven in part by the Netflix series Drive To Survive. In this video, we’ll break down exactly what you need to know to keep up with this crazy, expensive sport everyone’s suddenly obsessed with. But we’ll also take a deeper look at the big (HUGE*!) question here, which is: Why do this? Why pour so much money, so many bright minds, so much technological effort into F1… into entertainment? The answer is in what we get in return. Formula 1 is much more than a car race. It’s a space program, for the road.
