Devin Coldewey
Writer & Photographer
The Latest from Devin Coldewey
FCC denies Starlink’s application for $885M subsidy
The FCC has rejected the application of Starlink to provide broadband to rural America at a cost of $885 million over 10 years, nullifying a tentative approval back in 2020. The agency said SpaceX, an
Facebook helps cops prosecute 17-year-old for abortion
Meta provided user information to police in Nebraska that led directly to the prosecution of a 17-year-old girl for alleged crimes relating to an abortion, court documents show. The company could have
Muon Space plans a ‘turnkey solution’ for custom Earth observation satellites
Plenty of companies want to operate in space, but few have or need the expertise to do so. They want an eye in the sky but not a satellite company. Muon Space is one of several startups looking to put
That message from ‘Twitter Support’ is almost certainly fake
Users on Twitter have been receiving messages purporting to be from “Twitter Support” urging them to act quickly to avoid suspension, often even from users with a blue check. But these are
Google’s ‘quantum supremacy’ usurped by researchers using ordinary supercomputer
Back in 2019, Google proudly announced they had achieved what quantum computing researchers had sought for years: proof that the esoteric technique could outperform traditional ones. But this demonstr
Meta’s threat report highlights clumsy attempt to manipulate Ukraine discourse
Meta’s quarterly “Adversarial Threat Report” paints a somewhat depressing picture of the once feared global troll ecosystem: A number of outfits “relatively low in sophisticati
8 uncommon keyboards to spice up your typing
With the shift to working from home becoming permanent for many, it’s important to upgrade more than just your desk chair. A good keyboard is not only more pleasant to work on but can help you a
Writer’s GPT-powered CoWrite handles content ‘drudgery’ and leaves creativity to humans
Writer is an AI-powered tool for checking and guiding content creators in organizations where voice and branding are essential. Its new feature CoWrite does that writing itself — but don’t wor
After 50 years pioneering satellite imagery, NASA’s Landsat is ready for 50 more
NASA’s Landsat satellites have consistently made history in Earth observation since the project’s first launch in 1972, with this year marking 50 years of innovation and science. Its influ
Shinkei Systems’ AI-guided fish harvesting is more humane and less wasteful
Fresh fish isn’t really that fresh — even straight off the boat. The way they’re caught and killed is not only inhumane but detrimental to the resulting meat. There’s a far superio
Instagram gets worse with dark patterns lifted from TikTok
I, of all people, got a fresh new user interface in Instagram the other day. Although the company has not rolled it out to all users yet, the changes seem in line with its intention to move away from
Review: Framework’s latest modular laptop is one I could stick with for years
Framework has been expanding its footprint in the laptop scene over the last few years, and we felt it was time to give one of their modular laptops a look. This latest generation is good enough that
T-Mobile will pay out $350M to customers in data breach settlement
If you were one of the nearly 77 million people affected by last year’s T-Mobile breach, you may have a few bucks coming your way. The company has just announced the terms of a settlement in a c
Harmonizing human-robot interactions for a ‘new and weird’ world of work
Robots have always found it a challenge to work with people and vice versa. Two people on the cutting edge of improving that relationship joined us for TC Sessions: Robotics to talk about the present
Robotics and AI are going from cage to stage
A lot of promising companies come out of work by researchers at universities, or even grad students who have struck on some new innovation. But the transition from tech-focused research group to produ
UC Berkeley shows off accelerated learning that puts robots on their feet in minutes
Robots relying on AI to learn a new task generally require a laborious and repetitious training process. University of California, Berkeley researchers are attempting to simplify and shorten that with
Persephone puts poop to work to explore and heal your gut microbiome
What goes on in that gastrointestinal tract of yours? Well, we have a general idea, but evidence is mounting that the gut and the microbes that live there play an important role in a huge variety of h
Perceptron: AI that solves math problems, translates 200 languages and draws kangaroos
Research in the field of machine learning and AI, now a key technology in practically every industry and company, is far too voluminous for anyone to read it all. This column, Perceptron, aims to coll
FCC hands down $116M robocall fine, but begs for the power to hammer perps itself
Robocalls and other automated scams are an everyday occurrence for millions of Americans. But while stricter rules are coming and the FCC is about to hit one robocaller’s operation with a $116 m
Manifold Bio’s molecular ‘barcodes’ could break through pharma’s in vivo bottleneck
In the creation of a new drug, there comes a point where you have to finally put the molecule in a real creature — one at a time — and see if it actually does what you think it does. Manifold Bio&