What is Bending Spoons? The little-known firm behind Vimeo’s sweeping layoffs
Bending Spoons remains largely unknown, even as its portfolio of products has served more than a billion people.
Trusting your phone to Abxylute’s mobile controller requires a big leap of faith
As a retro gaming fan, I was thrilled when Apple opened its App Store to emulators in 2024, but I’ve yet to find a controller that makes me want to fully embrace retro gaming on my phone. Clamp-on controllers like the Backbone Pro are a bit too bulky, and I don’t want to prop my […]
Why won’t anyone stop ICE from masking?
Americans do not like masked secret police. There is really no other way to put it. The reasons why are manifold: accountability, trust in law enforcement, and just plain overall vibes. More concretely, not being able to tell who’s a cop and who’s not is dangerous. An assassin masquerading as law enforcement killed Minnesota legislator […]
Sony’s first clip earbuds don’t quite hit the mark
The Sony LinkBuds Clip are the company’s first clip earbuds. They follow the innovative donut-hole LinkBuds and LinkBuds Open and, like their predecessors, allow you to listen to music or podcasts, make phone calls, or be active outdoors while still maintaining awareness of your surroundings. The clip design has become more popular over the past […]
The great e-bike crackdown has begun
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the e-bike movement, follow Andrew J. Hawkins. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started Last week, I did something I don’t typically do, which […]
The day of the second killing
Steven Garcia, as told to Gaby Del Valle: I was in the middle of a frozen lake when I got the notification from the Minnesota Star Tribune that there had been a shooting. I was on assignment at a pond hockey event, and someone who was supposed to play later that evening said he probably […]
Microsoft handed the government encryption keys for customer data
The FBI went to Microsoft last year with a warrant, asking them to hand over keys to unlock encrypted data stored on three laptops as part of an investigation into potential fraud involving the COVID unemployment assistance program in Guam – and Microsoft complied. Typically, companies resist handing over encryption keys to authorities. Most famously, […]
Tech CEOs boast and bicker about AI at Davos
There were times at this week’s meeting of the World Economic Forum when Davos seemed transformed into a high-powered tech conference.