At its peak, the Androscoggin paper mill in Jay, Maine, a rural town about 67 miles northwest of Portland, employed about 1,500 people – until a pulp digester exploded in 2020, forcing the mill to close permanently. In 2023, the 1.4 million-square-foot facility was purchased through a joint venture by JGT2 Redevelopment and a number […]
The vast majority of the world’s data – emails, financial transactions, the internet – is carried by fiber optic cables that run along the ocean floor and converge at a few narrow choke points. Periodically, policymakers will release reports noting that this arrangement seems risky, but these routes are the shortest, often in use since […]
In late April, Palantir – the software company that, in recent years, has perhaps become best known for its defense industry contracts and work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement – announced that it would be adding new products to its merch store. The latest offering was a cotton chore coat. At $239 and in bright […]
A baby’s eyes peer directly into the camera lens. A kid with a striped shirt looks up, then away. A boy in a policeman’s costume, a gold star on his chest. A messy bedroom that reminds me of my own daughters, with an unmade bunk bed, a little girl’s hat and headband, and Hello Kitty […]
Substack, the once buzzy newsletter platform, is losing a new swath of writers to rival platforms most people haven’t heard of. Just last month, The Ankler, one of Substack’s most popular publications, left for a platform that gives it more control over its site. Others who have departed Substack within the past year voiced similar […]
When OpenAI was busy experimenting with AI-powered gaming bots, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were in the early days of forming an AI partnership. Court documents from the ongoing Musk v. Altman trial have provided a rare look at the communications between Microsoft’s top executives about investing in OpenAI and fears […]
It’s been a real good news / bad news week for Nintendo. Out of nowhere on Wednesday, the company announced a lush remake of Star Fox 64, jolting the dormant franchise to life and helping to fill out a relatively sparse lineup for the Switch 2 for the rest of the year. But then on […]
Smart lighting company Nanoleaf has been unusually quiet recently. While competitors such as Govee and Philips Hue have been pumping out new products and innovative features at an impressive pace, Nanoleaf has launched just a handful of smart lighting products in the last two years. There’s a reason for this lull – the company has […]
The week leading up to Thanksgiving 2023 was the AI industry’s biggest soap opera moment. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was abruptly ousted from his role at the ChatGPT-maker. The explanation? That Altman was “not consistently candid in his communications with the board.” Now, via witness testimony and trial exhibits in Musk v. Altman, the public […]
I’m lying in the dirt. It’s coming for me. Then, with a lurch, it’s climbing up my chest. If Andreas Makris doesn’t stop the 200-pound robot lawn mower in time, it could drag its blades across my body. Makris certainly can’t reach over and hit the emergency stop button – he’s nearly 6,000 miles away, […]