About 200,000 Korean children have been adopted internationally since the end of the Korean War in 1953. Most were taken in by American families, but some were raised in Europe, Australia, and other nations. As those children have become adults, many have struggled with questions of identity and belonging... and many have come together in online communities and … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 13: Someone is wrong on the internet! (Snopes editor Brooke Binkowski on fake news & real journalism)
In the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election in the United States, we heard a lot about "fake news" and its proliferation on social media, where millions of people get much of their news... and where many people like, share, or just scan through a sea of made-up headlines and news stories that can be tough to distinguish from factual reporting. We've heard even more … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 12: Superbook turns your smartphone into a laptop
Smartphones are useful for a lot of things. You can read the news, watch videos, play games, keep up on your email, and even write a novel on a smartphone. Oh yeah, you can also make phone calls and send text messages. But sometimes you want a larger screen, a bigger keyboard, or some of the other features you get from a laptop or desktop computer. Today most of us … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 11: FreeDOS keeps classic computing alive, decades after MS-DOS is retired
A generation of computer users grew up using Microsoft DOS in the 80s and 90s, but Microsoft started to phase out the operating system with the launch of Windows 95. Decades later, there are still people playing DOS-based games and even corporations using DOS-based software. Writer George R.R. Martin famously said in 2014 that he was still using a DOS-based word processor to … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 10: BLOCKS modular smartwatch
Dozens of smartwatches have hit the market in the past few years. Apple has one. Samsung has half a dozen. Pebble has a few. And companies ranging from Motorola to TAG Heuer have gotten in the action. The idea is to put an internet-connected device on your wrist that looks as good as a traditional watch, but which can also show your smartphone notifications and in some … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 9: Funeral for an Atom (processor)
Intel's Atom processors have been powering low-cost computers since 2008. The first models were used in netbooks, but these days you can find Atom chips in Chromebooks, Windows and Android tablets, tiny desktop computers, and even a handful of smartphones. But Intel never really made much headway in the smartphone space, where companies like Apple and Samsung typically … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 8: Designing the DragonBox Pyra handheld computer
The DragonBox Pyra has a 5 inch screen and a dual-core ARM-based processor. But it's not a smartphone. In fact, this handheld computer looks more like a cross between a tiny laptop and a Nintendo DS game system. It has a physical keyboard, a bunch of storage and input/output options, dedicated buttons for playing games, and Debian Linux software which allows you to play … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 7: Are chatbots the new apps?
Are chatbots the new apps? A lot of developers seem to think so. Facebook and Microsoft have both rolled out tools that make it easy for coders to create bots that you can chat with on Facebook Messenger, Skype, and other platforms including plain old SMS text messaging. I wanted to get a better sense of what chatbots are, what they can do, and why we should use them. So for … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 6: Vivaldi is a web browser for power users
Vivaldi is a new web browser that's aimed squarely at power users. Like to open 25 browser tabs at a time? Vivaldi has tools that makes it easier to manage your tabs and move from one to the next. Want to save notes and screenshots while you surf the web? There's a tool for that. Like to use mouse gestures or keyboard shortcuts? There are a ton of those. Vivaldi … [Read more...]
LPX Episode 5: Building a fair(er) phone
Most people probably don't spend a lot of time thinking about the materials used to build their phones, or the workers who put the hardware together. But Amsterdam-based Fairphone is trying to change that... by selling phones made with conflict-free minerals from Africa and by setting up a Worker Welfare fund for factory workers in China. Even if you don't care about those … [Read more...]