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Suborbital space tourism finally arrives | FCC prepares to run public C-band auction | The big four in the U.S. launch industry — United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, Blue Origin and Northrop Grumman — hope to be one of two providers that will receive five-year contracts later this year to launch national security payloads starting in 2022. | China’s launch rate stays high | The International Space Station is the largest ever crewed object in space.

 
Apple Music Classical gets more personal with...
If you’re an Apple Music Classical user, there are some exciting updates to share. In the latest app update (version 2.2), three notable improvements have been made to help you discover the music you already love and explore new titles you will likely enjoy based on your listening habits. The first change is the introduction of all-new listening guides. These guides offer detailed written context and explanations for various parts of a musical work in real-time. They function similarly...

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The future of smartphone cameras might lie...
With each generation, phone cameras tend to get a little bit better, a little bit clearer, and, unfortunately, a little bit bigger — but Huawei’s latest patent could offer a solution. The manufacturer filed a patent for a new type of periscope camera lens system that does away with the traditional method of using mirrors and instead opts for an extended lens. If you aren’t familiar, this style of camera lens system lets the photographer move the lens forward...

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OnePlus’ MagSafe battery is slim, light and...
OnePlus has launched its own MagSafe battery called the OnePlus Slim Magnetic Power Bank. It has a 5,000mAh capacity and can attach magnetically to the back of phones to provide wireless charging. It also has a USB connector, so it can also be used for wired charging, while it’s an impressive 9mm thick and 120g (4.2oz). OnePlus wrapped it in aluminum, while there’s an LED indicator so you can see how much charge remains in the battery. Recommended Videos...

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Google Gemini’s image toolset might add important...
Google Gemini is constantly enhancing its features. One area that may see improvements soon is the ability to import images. Currently, Gemini allows users to import only one image or file at a time when providing context for search queries. If users try to add another file, they are prompted to replace the existing one instead of being able to upload multiple files. According to Android Authority, Google is working on an upgrade to this functionality. Soon, users might...

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Fleeing Hong Kong Wasn’t Enough
Finn Lau thought he had escaped China’s reach when he got to London. He’d come from Hong Kong, where Chinese authorities were rapidly consolidating control. An extensive protest movement had sprung up in response, which Lau was helping to lead. But he fled after local officials arrested him at a pro-democracy demonstration in 2020. Months later, while he was walking down a quiet street in London, three masked men jumped him and beat him unconscious. Now 31, Lau still...

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The Download: creating “spare” human bodies, and...
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Ethically sourced “spare” human bodies could revolutionize medicine Many challenges in medicine stem, in large part, from a common root cause: a severe shortage of ethically-sourced human bodies. There might be a way to get out of this moral and scientific deadlock. Recent advances in biotechnology now provide a pathway to producing living human bodies without the...

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The Hollow Men
Listen–1.0x+ 0:008:39 Listen to more stories on hark In George Orwell’s 1984, at the climax of Hate Week, Oceania is suddenly no longer at war with Eurasia, but instead is at war with Eastasia, and always has been. The pivot comes with no explanation or even announcement. During a public harangue, a Party orator is handed a scrap of paper and redirects his vitriol “mid-sentence, not only without a pause, but without even breaking the syntax.” Republican politicians in...

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How to… delete your 23andMe data
This story was originally published in October 2024. In March 2025, 23andMe filed for bankruptcy and announced its plans to “facilitate a sale process to maximize the value of its business.” MIT Technology Review’s How To series helps you get things done.  Things aren’t looking good for 23andMe. The consumer DNA testing company recently parted ways with all its board members but CEO Anne Wojcicki over her plans to take the company private. It’s also still dealing with the fallout of...

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Why Everyone Thinks Their Government Has Failed
Incumbency was once a powerful electoral advantage: A sitting leader could cement bonds with constituents and donors that translated into support at the ballot box. But last year, wielding power was evidently a drag on leaders’ popularity, for reasons apparently not rooted in the specifics of the politics of their countries. In 2024, incumbent parties and their candidates lost ground virtually everywhere, whether they were right-wing or left-wing, moderate or radical, competent or incompetent, rich or poor. Voters all...

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Why the world is looking to ditch...
A few weeks ago, when I was at the digital rights conference RightsCon in Taiwan, I watched in real time as civil society organizations from around the world, including the US, grappled with the loss of one of the biggest funders of global digital rights work: the United States government. As I wrote in my dispatch, the Trump administration’s shocking, rapid gutting of the US government (and its push into what some prominent political scientists call “competitive authoritarianism”) also...

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Ethically sourced “spare” human bodies could revolutionize...
Why do we hear about medical breakthroughs in mice, but rarely see them translate into cures for human disease? Why do so few drugs that enter clinical trials receive regulatory approval? And why is the waiting list for organ transplantation so long? These challenges stem in large part from a common root cause: a severe shortage of ethically sourced human bodies.  It may be disturbing to characterize human bodies in such commodifying terms, but the unavoidable reality is that...

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How to Enter the US With Your...
When Ryan Lackey has traveled to countries like Russia or China, he has taken certain precautions: Instead of his usual gear, the Seattle-based security researcher and chief security officer of a cryptocurrency insurance firm brings a locked-down Chromebook and an iPhone that’s set up to sync with a separate, nonsensitive Apple account. He wipes both before every trip and loads only the minimum data he’ll need. Lackey has gone so far as to keep separate travel sets for each...

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Using Starlink Wi-Fi in the White House...
As the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) continues to rampage through the United States federal government, essentially guided by Elon Musk, the group has also been upending traditional IT boundaries—evaluating digital systems and allegedly accessing personally identifiable information as well as data that has typically been off-limits to those without specific training. Last week, The New York Times reported that the White House is adding Musk-owned SpaceX’s Starlink Wi-Fi “to improve Wi-Fi connectivity on the complex,” according...

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The Download: the dangers of AI agents,...
This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. Why handing over total control to AI agents would be a huge mistake —Margaret Mitchell, Avijit Ghosh, Sasha Luccioni, Giada Pistilli all work for Hugging Face, an open source AI company. AI agents have set the tech industry abuzz. Unlike chatbots, these groundbreaking new systems can navigate multiple applications to execute complex tasks, like scheduling meetings or...

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Why handing over total control to AI...
AI agents have set the tech industry abuzz. Unlike chatbots, these groundbreaking new systems operate outside of a chat window, navigating multiple applications to execute complex tasks, like scheduling meetings or shopping online, in response to simple user commands. As agents are developed to become more capable, a crucial question emerges: How much control are we willing to surrender, and at what cost?  New frameworks and functionalities for AI agents are announced almost weekly, and companies promote the technology...

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