Category
Technology
16 articles
The first computer virus was called Brain
In 1986, two brothers in Lahore wrote Brain, the first PC virus. It destroyed nothing: it guarded their software and left their name, address and phone.
NFC: The Invisible Tech in Cards, Phones and Passports
NFC powers contactless payments, transit cards and passports with a tap. Here is how near field communication works and where this invisible tech came from.
RISC-V: the free chip that could be hardware's Linux
RISC-V is the open, royalty-free chip architecture challenging ARM and x86. What it is, why it's growing so fast, and where you already use it without knowing.
How USB-C works and why one cable charges fast
All USB-C cables look the same, but they aren't: we explain the e-marker chip and why one charges at 240W while another barely reaches 15W.
ESP32 vs Arduino vs Raspberry Pi Pico: which to choose
A clear comparison of the ESP32, Arduino and Raspberry Pi Pico: how they differ, which one fits your project and what each board actually costs.
ESP32 from scratch: which board to buy and what to build
A beginner's guide to the ESP32: which board to buy for your project, how the S3, C3 and C6 models differ, and what you can actually build with each.
The QR code story: from Toyota to the restaurant menu
The QR code was born in 1994 to track car parts at Toyota. Thirty years later it took over restaurant menus. This is its unlikely history.
Avatar: From a God's Descent to Your Profile Picture
The word avatar comes from Sanskrit and named the earthly incarnation of a Hindu god. That is how it travelled from Vishnu to your profile picture online.
Spam: The First Junk Email in History
On May 3rd, 1978, a salesman sent the first unsolicited mass email to 400 people. That we call it “spam” is the fault of a can of ham.
The Programmers Who Gave Away Empires
Torvalds, Bellard, Hipp: they wrote the software the modern world runs on, it was worth trillions, and they chose to give it away for free.
The Man Who Has Edited a Third of Wikipedia
Steven Pruitt has made nearly 7 million Wikipedia edits without earning a cent. The story of the most generous obsession on the internet.
Isaac Peral's 1888 Electric Submarine (and Its Sad End)
In 1888, Isaac Peral built an electric submarine that sailed underwater and fired torpedoes, yet Spain buried this future in paperwork.
Project Huemul: the secret Argentine experiment that promised to master nuclear fusion
How a physicist convinced Perón he could tame nuclear fusion on a Patagonian island, and how a young Balseiro exposed the spectacular fraud.
Why I Think an Internet Blackout Is Coming Soon
The day the internet forgets its own name, the roads will still exist but no one will reach them: why a DNS blackout may be closer than you think.
I'm Obsessed with a Song That Doesn't Exist! …Or Does It?
I fell in love with a Paul McCartney song in English, until I discovered it never existed and AI had written every note of it.
How Apple's AirTag ACTUALLY Works
Apple's AirTag doesn't transmit over long distances like many believe; here's how it really finds lost items using BLE and a vast Find My network.