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Tech news you can use, in two minutes or less: Prince Harry is decidedly not here for Fortnite Like any soon-to-be-parent, Prince Harry is developing thoughts on parenting. And he's got some extreme ones when it comes to Fortnite. The prince said that the iconic video game is "more addictive than drugs or alcohol" and that not only should parents ban their kids from playing it, but it should be banned from the entire UK. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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In 2014, Google radically rethought how email should work. The ideas it introduced through its then new Inbox app—reminders! snoozing! bundles!—have since been absorbed into Gmail prime. At the time, though, bringing those features to the most popular email service on the planet served a surprisingly important purpose: helping people outside the power-user set expect more. Now Inbox is dead. You’ve had plenty of time to prepare yourself for this moment. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If you’re inclined to puns, you might say medical samples are the lifeblood of hospital systems. But if you actually work with them, you know they’re more of a headache. Because the same road traffic that keeps you from getting home keeps the couriers charged with moving these tissue and blood samples, collected by the millions daily and often in urgent need of analysis, from completing their missions. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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Tech news you can use, in two minutes or less: Pour one out for Apple's AirPower project Apple's AirPower, the company's infamous promise of a wireless charging option, is officially dead. Apple unveiled the project in 2017 to much applause, but balked when it came to giving an actual release date. Finally they've killed the project after concluding that it would "not achieve our high standards." Guess this one didn't "Just Work. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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Wes Locher recently published the book Braving Britannia, about the seminal MMO Ultima Online, which he played obsessively for five years. Unlike most videogame books, which focus on game design or gameplay strategies, Braving Britannia is an oral history, collecting fond reminiscences from dozens of players. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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Even in the middle of the day, the 50-mile trip from San Francisco to San Jose is a pain. Like a toddler, Bay Area driving toggles between slumber (rush-hour slogs) and frenzy (passing-happy speeding). It’s enough to make one eager for the day when robots rule the roads. And it’s more than enough to make me envy Evan Livingston, who doesn’t have to show up in person this meeting, held in a Lincoln MKZ sedan roaming downtown San Jose. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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Look, we get it. If you saw the news at all over the weekend, you probably saw something about Special Counsel Robert Mueller finally turning over the findings of his 675-day Russia investigation. Entertainment news likely fell by the wayside. But that's why The Monitor is here: To fulfill your pop culture cravings. So, what'd you miss? Well, writer-director Jordan Peele's Us did very well for itself. Also, one of the Jonas Brothers knows how Game of Thrones ends. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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Volvo has had it up to här with drivers. The Swedish carmaker has spent decades building a reputation based on safety (and low-key luxury), but humanity’s taste for speeding, distraction, and impaired driving remains a threat no airbag, semi-autonomous system or moose-detection system can neutralize. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The trick to pronouncing presidential candidate and South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg's last name is to keep your lips almost totally puckered through all three syllables. At least, that's the only way I'm able to do it. If I can get my lips halfway between a pout and a whistle, and say it in one quick exhale, I can get it. Bood-eh-jedge, bood-eh-jedge, bood-eh-jedge. I learned this a few days ago from watching video after YouTube video of Buttigieg saying his own name. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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In the five days since Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed a few minutes after taking off from Addis Ababa, killing all 157 people aboard, regulators around the world have grounded the Boeing 737 MAX 8. That’s a reaction to the fact that the circumstances of this disaster match those of Lion Air Flight 610, another 737 MAX 8, which crashed into the Java Sea in October, killing all 189 occupants. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

The day was young and full of promise, electrified by the moon in Sagittarius. An astrologer named Aliza texted me that I was on the cusp of a new cycle. It was time to tantalize my “Venusian sensibilities.” Power emoji: 💆 I had found Aliza while beta-testing a new app, called Sanctuary. The app, designed to be the “Talkspace for astrology,” offers free daily horoscopes and, with a $20 monthly subscription, astrological readings on demand. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

I live in Portland, Oregon, a city in which notifying your host of your eating restrictions is just good manners. Maybe you too have friends who are vegan, vegetarian, or gluten-free. Or lactose-intolerant, paleo, or perhaps adhering to my toddler’s diet, which is best described as “pepperoni.” In this fraught environment, pizza has saved our social life. Pizzas are customizable and dough is cheap to make. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." As an advocate, organizer, and campaigner for preschool access, tax fairness, plastic pollution and other causes for the last 14 years, I’ve heard this saying many times. You tell it to your volunteers when it looks like your movement has hit a wall or when it looks like your opposition has the upper hand, and you want to show your teammates that many people have faced obstacles before, and overcome them. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ben Bova is the author of over a hundred science fiction books, and also served as editor for the legendary magazines Analog and Omni. In his short story “Bloodless Victory,” which appears in his recent collection New Frontiers, he depicts a future in which dueling makes a comeback thanks to sophisticated virtual reality technology. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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In the earliest days of the new scooter sharing wave, when a new, Uber veteran-run company called Bird showed in southern California, working in the industry felt a bit like stumbling into the O.K. Corral. High school students scrapped for their chance to charge or fix scooters for between $10 and $20 a pop. “Mechanics” broke handlebars and wheels en masse, so they would be paid to patch them up. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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If there's one line, one quote, that will endure from Captain Marvel, it'll likely be this one from Carol Danvers herself: "What happens when I'm finally set free?" It's rhetorical. Danvers says this as she's coming to realize the true awesomeness of her powers. For years, she's had her past hidden from her, been gaslighted into believing she needed to rein in her powers to be a better warrior for the Kree. This was not true. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

A wise man once said, “Words are trains / for moving past what really has no name.” Many of us spend our days working on these railroads, hammering away on keyboards mechanical and otherwise. But do you have to? Not really; a number of products promise to free you from the tyranny of the keyboard, allowing you to lay words down by speaking, writing with a pen, or using gestures. Some of us, me included, find keyboards frustrating as we get older. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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If I had to describe Devil May Cry 5—and I do, it's my job—I'd call it a guitar riff. You know the type. The big, cheesy run that's trying, so hard, so very earnestly, to be cool. But it has something, some bit of inspiration and wit, that even though trying to be cool is the least cool thing in the world, you still really dig it. You start dancing, a little. Yeah, you say. Yeah, this is cool. This rocks. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Just days after the massive layoffs at Activision Blizzard, the developer of Guild Wars announced this week that it would be letting go dozens of members of its staff. But that doesn't mean all the news in the world of videogames is bad. Fortnite's new season is here, y'all. Also, Pokémon! What else do you need to know? Read on. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Foldable phones like Samsung’s Galaxy Fold and Huwaei’s Mate X are coming, whether you’re ready or not. In fact, they’re coming whether they’re ready or not. The software remains untested or nonexistent. The prices are either astronomical or unannounced. But those potential issues can be fixed on the fly. The real thing you should hold out for? Glass. Yes, glass. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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Like so many women, Meghan Litchfield dreaded shopping for jeans. There were the garden variety complaints: inconsistent sizing between brands, the way back pockets stretched or sagged, the humiliation of walking into a dressing room with half a dozen options only to walk out empty-handed. Even the best candidates were ill-fitting. Most of the time, she’d buy jeans one size up to fit her hips, then ask a tailor take them in at the waist. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

I'm an unabashed fan of LG's OLED TV lineup. I have the fortune of getting to try some of the most lovely televisions in the world, and my favorite is still the OLED. Unfortunately, LG's TVs usually hover between $1,500 and $2,000, with the occasional dip in price during major sale events like the Super Bowl and Black Friday. Today, the price is lower than both of those events, and the lowest I can recall seeing by more than $300. The 55" LG B8 costs $1,100 from Amazon and Walmart right now. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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It's Thursday, which means it's time once again for The Monitor, WIRED's look at all the news coming out of the world of pop culture. What's hot today? Well, Chris Hemsworth is set to play Hulk Hogan, The Wandering Earth is coming to Netflix, and Idris Elba is set to host Saturday Night Live. Pretty steamy, amirite? Thor Will Be Playing Hulk (Hogan) In a casting move that seems almost too perfect, Chris Hemsworth (a.k.a. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Lori Ann Cole and her husband Corey Cole are the creators of the Quest for Glory series of computer games, which were published by Sierra from 1989 to 1998. In 2012 the Coles launched a Kickstarter for Hero U, a spiritual successor to Quest for Glory. Hero U was finally released last year, following a grueling six-year development process. Unfortunately, when it comes to game design, those sorts of delays are unrelentingly common. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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Watching the Hyundai pull into the parking spot, I cringe a bit with the stress that strikes when I feel like I’m holding other people up. The car is wiggling backward and forward, backward and forward, trying to fit into the dead center of the spot, and another driver is stuck, waiting to get by in the tight garage. Once the Hyundai is finally parked, the waiting driver pulls up and stops, window down and eyes wide open. And she’s not annoyed. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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When product designer Bill Stumpf was asked by Herman Miller to develop ergonomic seating for the 1990s workplace, he began by watching people at work. What he saw was pandemonium. Personal computers had freed employees to assume any position. They’d lean forward, squinting at the screen, or kick back, keyboards in their laps. With materials expert Don Chadwick, Stumpf built a chair as flexible as the restless startup worker. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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When you need a moment of zen, reach for these items to turn the break room, or anywhere you can find some free space, into an escape pod. 1. Mavogel Cotton Sleep Eye Mask Need a nap? Block out the midday sun or harsh fluorescents with a sleep mask. This one uses stiffer material between the eyes that forms to the shape of your nose for maximum light-stifling, and the breathable cotton gives you sweat-free shut-eye. $14 2. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

I bought my Fossil Sport Smartwatch over Black Friday weekend, when it was improbably on sale just after it launched. This admittedly has no bearing on how good a smartwatch it is, or whether you should consider buying one of your own. But it might help to know from the start that I’ve worn this watch nearly every day for the past three months. And that I plan to keep on wearing it. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If your vision of the flying future involves whooshing about in an air taxi while chuckling at the car-bound suckers below, Elroy Air is not here to help. But if you dream of a world of smooth logistics, where emergency supplies, firefighting chemicals, and all the crap you order online moves through the world faster and cheaper than ever, then 2019 might be your year. “We’re developing a big cargo drone,” says Elroy CEO Dave Merrill. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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Dimension 404 on Hulu is a science fiction anthology show in the tradition of The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. TV writer Andrea Kail loved the fifth episode, “Bob,” about a (literal) giant brain who works for the National Security Agency. “I thought this was one of the best things I’ve seen in a long time,” Kail says in Episode 347 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Boston-based Tivoli Audio products are known for great sound, but they're also known for their eye-catching looks. Design-oriented speakers are nothing unusual, but Tivoli's vintage-style radios and speakers are particularly irresistible. If you have an Eames Hang-It-All or Emeco chairs, you kinda need a Tivoli Model One sitting on a shelf nearby. Last year, Tivoli attempted to translate its signature style to portable products with a new line called Tivoli Go. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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