I let a robot do my manicure at Ulta

I let a robot do my manicure at Ulta

[ad_1] In my suburban Boston Ulta, I’m sitting with my hand in a little box. I’ve been promised that in roughly 30 minutes I’ll have nails that are shaped, buffed, and painted—not by a human, but by an AI-powered robot. It feels like an episode of The Jetsons come to life, but the truth is…

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Marx, Palestine, and the Birth of Modern Terrorism

Marx, Palestine, and the Birth of Modern Terrorism

[ad_1] That a handful of revolutionaries could collect airliners worth millions of dollars and hold Western passengers ransom made it appear the Palestinians had history on their side. They dubbed Dawson’s Field “Revolution Airport.” The French writer Jean Genet, who spent time in Jordan’s Palestinian camps and wrote a book about it, told militants that…

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These historic computing labs teach kids what technology was like before phones, social media, and the cloud

These historic computing labs teach kids what technology was like before phones, social media, and the cloud

[ad_1] In 2021, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee history professor Thomas Haigh began teaching a course on the history of computers.   Haigh, the coauthor of a book on the subject published around that same timenoticed that many classic histories of computing from the 1990s assumed that readers would have firsthand knowledge of technology from around that era—desktop PCs and Macs, early game consoles,…

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How the Muppets continue to make a profit 50 years later

How the Muppets continue to make a profit 50 years later

[ad_1] A variety show that’s still revered for its absurdist, slapstick humor debuted 50 years ago. It starred an irreverent band of characters made of foam and fleece. Long after “The Muppet Show”‘s original 120-episode run ended in 1981, the legend and legacy of Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and other creations concocted by puppeteer…

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6 tech-infused items under $30 to keep you warm this winter

6 tech-infused items under  to keep you warm this winter

[ad_1] February is here. The “New Year, New Me” energy has officially worn off, replaced by a much more realistic “New Year, Same Me, But Freezing” thanks to a very disrespectful wind chill a heating bill that’s starting to look like a phone number. But we live in the future! We have technology! Here are…

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What a “Melania” Cinematographer Hoped to Accomplish

What a “Melania” Cinematographer Hoped to Accomplish

[ad_1] What did you make of the President and Melania? And what’s different about filming a movie in the White House or on Air Force One? Well, the film we were doing was actually a documentary. The organization was highly impressive because, on Inauguration Day, we had something like twelve crews all around town. Once…

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Why Jackie Robinson Testified Against Paul Robeson

Why Jackie Robinson Testified Against Paul Robeson

[ad_1] Six days later, he gives another performance, in Washington, D.C., in Room 226 of the Old House Office Building on Capitol Hill. Senator John Wood, of Ku Klux Klan progeny, then shepherd of the HUAC, had invited him to testify about the “communist infiltration of minority groups,” seemingly evidenced by the interest that Black…

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Every dating app has AI now. Can it help make better matches?

Every dating app has AI now. Can it help make better matches?

[ad_1] A new dating app called Known, which went live earlier today in San Francisco, wants to offer users a dating experience that is far less gamified—and far more enabled by artificial intelligence. The app, which uses voice-based conversations with an AI to match people to prospective romantic partners, is the latest evidence that the…

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These 3 ‘addictive’ social media UX features are on trial

These 3 ‘addictive’ social media UX features are on trial

[ad_1] The world’s biggest tech companies are facing a legal showdown that could fundamentally change the way that social media is designed.  The trial is taking place in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, where jury selection started on January 27. It’s testing out a new legal theory intended to spur greater regulation of social…

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The Brazilian Director Who’s Up for Multiple Oscars

The Brazilian Director Who’s Up for Multiple Oscars

[ad_1] I want to start with Recife, the setting for this film. How does your home town fit into the history of filmmaking in Brazil? A hundred years ago, in the silent era, just before sound came, a small group of filmmakers in Recife collaborated to make thirteen feature-length films. Only six survived. The media…

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