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WIRED
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Jan 15, 2019 • 4min

Why Seattle Built—Then Buried—a Key Part of Its New Tunnel

Friday nights are usually a time for celebration—the end of the work week and the start of something far better. In Seattle though, this Friday marked the transition into a terrible time, one city officials are calling the period of maximum constraint. At 10 pm, the SR 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct—damaged in a 2001 earthquake and temporarily reinforced—officially closed, for good. Over the next three weeks, traffic-fearing Seattleites will stay home, flee town, or at least carpool.
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Jan 14, 2019 • 5min

A Third of Americans Use Ride-Hail. Uber and Lyft Need More

Have you been inside an Uber? How about a Lyft, or another ride-hailing service? If the answer is duh, rethink your sense of superiority. Because you’re in the minority. According to a new poll conducted by the Pew Research Center, just 36 percent of American adults say they have used ride-hailing services. Sixty-one percent say they have heard of the services but hadn’t taken a ride. The remaining 3 percent said they hadn’t heard of them at all.
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Jan 11, 2019 • 7min

It’s Easier Than Ever to Log Your Kid’s Data—But Should You?

The minute I walked onto the showroom floor at CES, one of the world’s largest consumer trade technology shows, a spokesperson for Philips’ Pregnancy+ app accosted me. “Would you like to experience what it’s like to be a pregnant woman?” he asked. “I already have,” I told him, but it was too late. Before I knew it, I was standing on a platform with a pair of headphones guided over my ears.
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Jan 10, 2019 • 6min

After Trump's Speech, Twitter Fact-Checks the Fact-Checkers

If President Trump's tenure in office has any lasting impact on the jobs market, it might just be his ability to keep fact-checkers gainfully employed. Going back to the election debates in 2016, diligent researchers at nearly every major news outlet have made it their business to find the truth (and fiction) in the claims Trump makes. (It's truly hard to keep up, he just says so many things.
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Jan 9, 2019 • 3min

Wired’s Most Interesting Thing in Tech 1/9/19

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Jan 9, 2019 • 8min

The Tricky Business of Making Ride-Hail Work for Kids

It’s a few minutes shy of six on a Friday, and Gabriel strolls into the misty San Francisco evening. Seeing his ride, he walks past his ninth-grade classmates loitering around their prep school’s entrance, waiting for a parent or babysitter to shuttle them home. He approaches the van parked at the curb with the bright pink kangaroo pasted on its side, slides open the door, and jumps into the back seat. As Gabriel buckles in, Ariana Garcia begins her last ride of the day.
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Jan 8, 2019 • 3min

Wired’s Most Interesting Thing in Tech 1/8/19

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Jan 8, 2019 • 6min

Sci-Fi Writers Are Grappling With a Post-Trump Reality

At the 2018 Worldcon, fantasy author N.K. Jemisin became the first person to ever win three consecutive Hugo awards for Best Novel. Given that level of success, science fiction editor John Joseph Adams felt she’d be the perfect guest editor for the latest edition of his anthology series The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy.
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Jan 7, 2019 • 4min

The Samsung Space Monitor Liberates Your Desk

Attempts to reinvent the humble monitor have in recent years seen mixed results. Some are curved, some are huge, some are huge and curved, and, well, you get the idea. But Samsung’s latest design suggests an alternative: A monitor that dazzles by demanding less of your space rather than more. That’s not because the aptly named Space Monitor is tiny. It comes in 27-inch and 32-inch sizes, the latter of which offers full 4K resolution and costs $500.
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Jan 4, 2019 • 5min

Tesla's $7,500 Tax Credit Goes Poof, But Buyers May Benefit

Tesla has built its business on being a pioneer. It was the first automaker to produce electric cars that were fast, fun, and desirable, with battery ranges measured in hundreds instead of dozens of miles. Now, it’s pushing into another new, less welcoming, frontier. Elon Musk's company just became the first automaker to lose access to the full $7,500 federal tax credit designed to spur the adoption of electric cars. As of January 1, its customers only qualify for a $3,750 credit.

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