Cautionary tale: The sound of existential crisis
Sonos isn’t the first company to damage its reputation with a single big mistake, but it’s certainly one of the more notable examples in recent years. The…
Author: The Smart Reader Staff
Briefs and quick reads selected and edited by The Smart Reader's editorial team.
What are you spending on your sweetie?
Some of you will spend less on your sweetie pie this Valentine’s Day, but for many the day of love still gets the financial gravy. Though the economy is…
Yes, your phone is listening to you
Apple has agreed to a $95 million settlement on a lawsuit alleging that Apple used its digital assistant, Siri, to listen to users. A judge must approve…
Killer squirrels
An abundance of voles in California park apparently brought out the beast in ground squirrels. In the summer of 2024, students taking part in a research…
Better remove those contact lenses
Doctors in the U.K. were prepping a woman for routine cataract surgery when they discovered something odd under the woman’s right upper eyelid. A contact…
Googly eyes adorn sculptures
Some wag in Bend, Oregon, is focused on eyes, googly eyes to be exact, and he or she (or a group?) is sticking them on public sculptures. Bend is a…
If AI develops feelings, do we have to care?
The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution raises questions that used to exist only in science fiction. Will AI replace artists and writers? Is it any…
We’re all sick of subscriptions
Fourteen years ago, anyone could buy Windows or Adobe Photoshop. Though the one-time fees could be steep (Photoshop started at $699 in 2010), users owned…
The fate of the duct-taped banana
In 1498, Michelangelo Buonarroti was paid 450 ducats, about $70,000, to carve the figure of the grieving Virgin Mary and her Son out of Carrara marble. In…
Daisy just wants to talk. And talk.
Daisy and Fluffy just don’t understand and that is good news for people and bad news for scammers. A mobile-phone company in the UK called 02 has created…