Unfortunately, it was far from straightforward, reflecting just how volatile the NFT market is these days, and reinforcing his belief that money is weird now. Read the full story.
The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 The risk of starvation is growing sharply in poorer countries
Much of the world is on the brink of an economic crisis, thanks to a combination of the pandemic’s aftermath plus the war in Ukraine, and rising inflation. (NYT $)
2 Elon Musk is hell bent on paying less for Twitter
And he’s happy to use spam bots as a convenient excuse. (Bloomberg $)
3 Data from period tracking apps is on sale
And could be used to identify specific users considering abortions. (Motherboard)
+ Abortion has been legal for the majority of America’s existence. (Wired $)
+ Overturning Roe v Wade will make navigating the unexpected extremely dangerous for women. (Slate $)
4 Apple’s mixed-reality headset program is in turmoil
Technical challenges and leadership clashes mean it’s unlikely to see the light of day before next year. (The Information $)
5 The internet’s hatred of Amber Heard is rooted in misogyny
Many Johnny Depp supporters are more invested in attacking her than defending him. (The Atlantic $)
+ Cruel TikToks and memes mocking her testimony are hard to avoid on social media. (Wired $)
6 Crypto’s celebrity champions have gone very quiet
Because pushing digital currencies in the middle of a market meltdown is bad business. (NYT $)
+ If you’ve bought crypto in the past year, you’ve probably lost money. (New Yorker $)
+ Comedian Seth Green’s NFTs were stolen in a common phishing scam. (Motherboard)
7 Chinese sellers are abandoning Amazon
Reaching wider audiences has come with a hefty price tag, and they’ve had enough. (Rest of World)
8 The deepfake industry still has a major pornography problem
Despite its efforts to distance itself from vile, non-consensual videos, they’re still easily accessible. (Motherboard)
+ Deepfake porn is ruining women’s lives. (TR)
9 China has leapfrogged the US in the race to supercomputer supremacy
But experts want more collaboration, rather than competition, between the two. (FT $)
10 VHS tapes are reaching new generations of viewers online 📼
Amateur archivists are digitizing and streaming decades-old programs. (Input)
Quote of the day
“The message is clear: if you see something you need to report it.”
—Scott Bray, a US intelligence official, tells a Congress briefing on UFOs that pilots need to feel free to report strange sightings without stigma, according to Quartz.
We can still have nice things
A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet ’em at me.)
+ Watching videos of dominoes falling (or in this case, CGI lipsticks) never gets old.
+ The award for the worst pun of recent memory goes to Metallica for calling their new whiskey Rye The Lightning.
+ Now that we know what the black hole at the center of our galaxy looks like, let’s show the Milky Way itself some love.
+ Long suspected, now confirmed—cats know each others’ names, and probably yours, too.
+ How Donna Summer’s disco anthem I Feel Love gave birth to new wave.
+ I fell down a Wikipedia wormhole learning about how a knight visiting every square on a chessboard is called a knight’s tour.
+ The most complete Deinonychus skeleton ever found, which served as inspiration for Jurassic Park’s velociraptors, has sold at auction for a whopping $12 million.