Innovation
The 92-year-old who changed the world
A textbook inspired Morris Chang to create a company that is now a $US500 billion juggernaut and part of our everyday lives. It also put him at the centre of a technological cold war between the US and China.
- by Paul Mozur and John Liu
Latest
The ‘Singularity’ is here: Technology nears a tipping point
With the rise of artificial intelligence, it seems the long-promised virtual paradise is finally at hand. But there’s a dark twist.
- by David Streitfeld
Opinion
Virtual reality
Apple’s cautious step into a brave new world
Apple has launched a new “mixed reality” headset that could eventually be a platform for the long-awaited mass take-up of virtual and augmented reality technologies.
- by Stephen Bartholomeusz
Elon Musk’s brain implant company wins US approval for trials in humans
The Neuralink implant company wants to help restore vision and mobility to people by linking brains to computers.
The keg party that leaves you green – but not hungover
Latte milk from a keg: why didn’t someone think of that sooner? Here, four innovations from the food world.
- by Dani Valent
Why China could dominate the next big advance in batteries
China is positioning itself to command the next big innovation in rechargeable batteries: replacing lithium with sodium, a far cheaper and more abundant material.
- by Keith Bradsher
Opinion
It’s time for Mark Zuckerberg to bury his dreams of the metaverse
The billions of dollars invested on the virtual world is increasingly looking like an example of corporate hubris.
- by Matthew Lynn
Apple is divided over blockbuster new product
As Apple prepares to introduce its long-awaited augmented reality headset in June, enthusiasm at the company has given way to scepticism.
- by Tripp Mickle and Brian X. Chen
‘No orbit’: 3D-printed reusable rocket debut ends in failure
The start-up wanted to put the Terran into a 200-kilometre-high orbit for several days before having it plunge through the atmosphere.
- by Marcia Dunn
Opinion
Technology & democracy
Under Joe Biden, Uncle Sam is disrupting Silicon Valley
Economic growth this decade could be driven less by Silicon Valley values and more by the values of the Biden administration.
- by Conor Sen
‘We don’t have any privacy anymore’, says inventor of the mobile phone
Martin Cooper frets like everybody else about his invention’s impacts on society — from the loss of privacy to the risk of internet addiction to the rapid spread of harmful content, especially among kids.
- by Kelvin Chan