In May 2008, the recently formed Marvel Studios released its first film—and changed the face of modern cinema. Iron Man wasn’t even the highest-grossing superhero film of the year (Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight took that crown), but it was a kernel that has exploded into an all-consuming entertainment juggernaut. Nearly 15 years later, the...

At the end of September, Righetti reported assets of $212 million and a net loss of $49 million for the year to date. The SPAC deal was originally expected to $458 million, pushing Rigetti’s valuation up to about $1.5 billion, but after some investors left, it raised slightly more than half the amount expected. Quantum...

While Decentraland is one of the most popular blockchain-based virtual worlds, it is far from the only one of its kind: Somnium Space, SuperWorld, and Sandbox are all variations on the same theme. Some have offered built-in rental features for years. One virtual landlord, Chris Bell, who owns one of the largest land portfolios at...

At 4 in the morning One morning last October, animal rights activist Raven Dearbrook was sitting on a bed in a cheap East Los Angeles hotel watching a live video feed on her phone. She hardly slept that night, waking up every hour or two to check on transmissions from three pinhole infrared cameras she...

Ted Shepherd, a climatologist at the University of Reading in the UK, knows what it’s like to arrive at a ski resort and find that the snow is somewhere else. This Christmas he went to Switzerland with his wife and her family. “She always loves to ski, but we couldn’t, really,” he says, recalling one...

Five years later original HomePod, Apple finally felt it was time to release a successor. The second-generation HomePod breathes new life into the company’s smart home aspirations, bringing a new processor and improved sound quality, plus a temperature and humidity sensor, easier smart home automation, and support for Matter, a standard that aims to make...

If you are browsing In our guide to the best sex toys, you’ll find a few products from Lelo, but let’s be honest, they can be quite pricey. That’s why the Lelo 20th Anniversary Sale caught my attention. Not ton Huge discounts, but there are some great items, including some of our favorites, and some...

Medieval monks were in many ways the original power users of LinkedIn. Earnest and capable of self-promotion, they loved to read and share inspiring stories of other early Christians who showed remarkable dedication to their work. There was Sarah, who lived near the river, never once looking in her direction, such was her devotion to...

The Amazon was smitten with extraordinarily strong safety link by federal investigators in the US today. The findings appear to confirm what some employees at the company have long argued: that the online retail giant’s warehouses and fulfillment centers are designed for speed to exceed safety, often leading to lower back injuries and other musculoskeletal...

Reid last week Vilen, an elite gamer using the descriptor”Chicago” in rocket league, the popular vehicular soccer game, is facing a strange and unsettling new adversary. At first, the player appeared to be a rookie, hesitantly and clumsily moving the rocket vehicle. They then caught and perfectly balanced the ball on the hood of their...