Monthly Archives: October 2022

Verizon’s new prepaid plans are cheaper — but not really

It’s basic wireless plan ABC’s: Always Be Confusing. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Yesterday, Verizon announced new prepaid phone plans with lower prices — but thanks to some clever shuffling of plan discounts, they’re not actually getting any cheaper. While the published prices on its unlimited and 15GB prepaid plans are indeed…

Fake Joe Rogan interviews fake Steve Jobs in an AI-powered podcast

Enlarge / Which Steve Jobs is the real one? (credit: Ars Technica) A voice synthesis company based in Dubai published a fictional podcast interview between Joe Rogan and Steve Jobs using realistic voices digitally cloned from both men. It takes place during the “first episode” of a purported podcast series called “Podcast.ai,” created by Play.ht,…

Myth, busted: Formation of Namibia’s fairy circles isn’t due to termites

Enlarge / Drone image of car driving through the NamibRand Nature Reserve, one of the fairy-circle regions in Namibia. (credit: Stephan Getzin) So-called “fairy circles” are bare, reddish-hued circular patches notably found in the Namibian grasslands and northwestern Australia. Scientists have long debated whether these unusual patterns are due to termites or to an ecological version of…

This beautiful jay holds together a unique Western ecosystem

The pinyon jay is considered a “keystone species.”. NPS This article was originally featured on Undark. A nasal, laughing bird call echoed through the Ortiz Mountains in northern New Mexico this September. A couple of pinyon jays chattered loudly as they flew over the piñon pine and juniper woodlands that sweep across the foothills. “They have really fun…

Forecast eCommerce trends predicted for Amazon will beat expectations in 2021

Pandemic-driven demand for ecommerce accelerated sales growth for every product category. And Amazon generates more than one-quarter of US ecommerce sales for every category other than auto/parts. Do you work in the Ecommerce and Retail industry? Get business insights on the latest tech innovations, market trends, and your competitors with data-driven research. Amazon’s US ecommerce…