All posts tagged: Choose

T-Mobile vs. Verizon: Is It Time to Choose a New Carrier?

T-Mobile vs. Verizon: Is It Time to Choose a New Carrier?

Published by skeptic

If you’re looking to switch carriers or change your current phone plan, you’re probably looking at prices first. But that’s just the start, because perks such as hotspot data when you need to connect and streaming services when you want to relax also come into play. Here, we’re looking at two of the biggest cellular companies in the US: T-Mobile and Verizon. These two aren’t the only carriers, of course, but being among the biggest players means you’re likely looking at them first before checking out smaller providers or prepaid options (many of which are owned by T-Mobile, Verizon and the third major company, AT&T). It’s not lost on me that you might be reading this because you were affected by Verizon’s widespread and lengthy outage in January. While every carrier suffers from service outages, that one was especially impactful, and the causes were never revealed. T-Mobile Last year, T-Mobile nabbed the title of Best Mobile Network in the US by Ookla, and it wrapped the calendar by being named the best carrier for network quality by J.D. …

New AI tool predicts how cells choose their identity

New AI tool predicts how cells choose their identity

Published by Jenni Sidey

A cell on its way to becoming skin pigment, blood, or nerve does not make that shift alone. It responds to a dense web of molecular instructions, some pushing forward, others holding it back. Biologists have gotten much better at tracing where cells are headed. Pinning down which regulators actually steer those choices has been much tougher. That is the problem a new model called RegVelo set out to solve. Published in bioRxiv, the framework combines two areas of single-cell biology that have often been treated separately: tracking how cells move through development, and mapping the gene regulatory networks that shape that movement. Instead of only estimating a cell’s likely direction of change, RegVelo also tries to identify the underlying interactions among genes that drive that change. “For a long time, cellular dynamics and gene regulation have largely been modeled separately,” said Prof. Fabian J. Theis, co-senior author of the study, director of the Computational Health Center at Helmholtz Munich, and professor at the Technical University of Munich. “RegVelo brings those pieces together, allowing us …

Ousting Keir Starmer is harder than it looks – party rules mean he can choose to keep fighting

Ousting Keir Starmer is harder than it looks – party rules mean he can choose to keep fighting

Published by Sam Flores

Between 2016 and 2024 the UK saw four changes of prime minister by way of a party leadership contest. In that time, even casual observers became familiar with the dramatic process that the Conservative Party uses to topple one leader and select another. Secret letters to the 1922 Committee, the dramatic confidence votes, and then two selected in a dog-eat-dog process to face the final vote by members. What may be about to happen in the Labour Party will be different in important respects. If the Conservative Party is historically a body with its head in parliament and limbs extended into the country, Labour is more like a mountain with only its peak protruding into the parliamentary arena. Even today, Labour has a deep institutional culture and a set of rules that anchor the legitimacy of the leader in the broader party membership as much as in parliament. In the past, Labour’s systems for selecting its leader were as complex as the structure of the party itself. Rules were repeatedly redrawn in factional conflicts between …

Eco-friendly toilet papers are trendy, but which you choose matters

Eco-friendly toilet papers are trendy, but which you choose matters

Published by Sam Flores

Toilet paper, a product that is used for a few seconds before being disposed of forever, is typically made with trees, energy-intensive manufacturing processes and chemicals that can pollute the environment. Experts say more consumers are seeking toilet paper made from recycled content or sustainable materials, but it can be hard to know what to look for. Sustainable toilet paper often costs more but can have significant environmental benefits. According to the Environmental Paper Network, a coalition of nonprofits, more than 1 billion gallons of water and 1.6 million trees could be saved if every American used one roll of toilet paper made from recycled content instead of a roll made from forest fibers. Here are some recommendations for buying sustainable toilet paper or reducing overall toilet paper use. Toilet paper made from recycled fibers North American toilet paper has traditionally been made from fibers from trees in Canada and eucalyptus plantations in Brazil. Pulp made from the trees is bleached to create a bright white color, but the chlorine that’s often used can hurt …

When women choose non-monogamy: ‘It’s an opportunity for more integration’ | Relationships

When women choose non-monogamy: ‘It’s an opportunity for more integration’ | Relationships

Published by Sam Flores

It’s late afternoon, and Lucy texts her husband’s girlfriend. The sound of cartoons plays somewhere in the living room, and she absentmindedly wipes a smear of jam off the countertop. A few minutes earlier, Lucy’s phone buzzes with a school email: a parent-teacher event for Thursday evening. She’s been attending these events alone, but pauses this time. She wants her husband, Oliver, there. When she glances at the shared Google Calendar, she notices that Thursday is already accounted for. Oliver has a date with Cecilia. Lucy opens WhatsApp. She doesn’t text her husband. She texts Cecilia. Cecilia replies quickly: they can find another night. A few minutes later, the color-coordinated shared calendar updates. Later, Cecilia described it simply: “The organizing aspect is very gendered.” In the group chat between the two couples, she said, the messages tend to come from her and Lucy – scheduling, adjusting, confirming. The men, she noted, rarely initiate these exchanges. When asked about this dynamic, Oliver put it more bluntly. “I’ll be the first to admit that there’s a disproportionate …

Apple Shares Jump On Report Next iOS Will Allow Users To Choose Rival AI Models

Apple Shares Jump On Report Next iOS Will Allow Users To Choose Rival AI Models

Published by Jenni Sidey

Having appeared to be behind the game on its AI offerings for months, Apple will reportedly allow users choose from a range of outside artificial intelligence services to power features across its software, building on a strategy to turn its devices into a comprehensive AI platform. Bloomberg reports that, according to people with knowledge of the matter, Users will be able to select from multiple third-party AI models for tasks like generating and editing text and images, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The change is slated for iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 this fall, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. The iOS update will let users choose from AI model providers that opt in by adding support through their App Store apps. So far, Apple has been testing integrations internally with at least Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Anthropic PBC, according to the people with knowledge of the matter. Inside iOS 27, Apple refers to the capability as “Extensions.” It lets users select which AI …

Can We Still Choose Our Path to the Hybrid Future?

Can We Still Choose Our Path to the Hybrid Future?

Published by Jenni Sidey

The hybrid future is often described as a destination. It may be more useful to describe it as a threshold. We are moving into a world in which artificial intelligence is woven into ordinary life: inside work, care, education, writing, medicine, governance, and the private architecture of thought itself. That is why the idea of the Hybrid Tipping Zone matters. It names the moment when AI stops being a tool we occasionally consult and becomes part of the setting in which human judgment is formed. That shift carries promise and pressure. A society that delegates more of its cognitive labor to machines may gain speed, convenience, and reach. It may also grow less practiced in the slower capacities that make freedom possible: attention, discernment, memory, restraint, and the will to act without assistance. This is where the deeper question begins. What kind of humans will shape the systems that increasingly shape us? We cannot expect the technology of tomorrow to be better than the humans of today. In engineering language, the phrase is garbage in, …

She didn’t choose basketball. Now, she’s Singapore’s first professional 3×3 female player

She didn’t choose basketball. Now, she’s Singapore’s first professional 3×3 female player

Published by Sam Flores

Upon graduating from junior college, she was keenly interested in Nanyang Technological University’s sport science programme. Her first application in 2020 failed, but after taking a gap year, her second try the next year was successful. All the while, basketball continued to chart its own course for her. While working part-time at a cafe during her gap year, she had a chance encounter with her former primary school basketball coach, Ms Esther Quek, the chief executive officer of basketball academy Jumpshot Singapore. At the time, Ms Quek, a former Singapore national women’s basketball player, was in the process of restructuring her academy’s women’s team from the traditional 5v5 format to a 3×3 squad.  They arranged to meet for a proper catch-up – and this was where Ms Quek introduced Ms Tan to the new game format and planted the idea in her mind of going professional. A CALLING TO 3X3 BASKETBALL THAT CHANGED HER GAME Compared to regular basketball, the urbanised 3×3 version is faster-paced, with shorter games.  Originally known as streetball or street basketball, …

We’ve tested hundreds of running shoes. How to choose the right pair for you

We’ve tested hundreds of running shoes. How to choose the right pair for you

Published by Sam Flores

If you’ve been running for a while, you might be thinking about signing up for a marathon or shorter-distance event. Or, maybe you’re newer to the sport but want to sign up for a race to keep you motivated. Mounsey says there is no singular answer to what the ‘best’ shoe is for an event, explaining that “runners train and race in different types of shoes, prioritising comfort and cushioning for daily mileage and then switching to a race day shoe for propulsion and speed.” Newkey-Burden awarded the New Balance FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5 his best pair overall, and said these are the ones he’ll be wearing to run the London Marathon this year. He says these feel “cushioned and smooth” on my longer runs. “For shorter park runs the acceleration was equally evident. New Balance describes the SuperComp Elite v5 as a shoe for ‘podium ambition’. For me, these near‑flawless trainers deserve a gold medal of their own.” Another pair he shouted out for marathon training is the Ena Athletics Proto Runner 1, “Whatever …

‘Apex’ review: This is why women choose the bear

‘Apex’ review: This is why women choose the bear

Published by skeptic

Would you rather be stuck in the woods with a man or a bear? Posed to women on TikTok in 2024, this seemingly simple hypothetical question ignited a firestorm across social media. Video after video showed women choosing the bear, speaking up against rape culture and speculating how a man alone in the woods could be up to no good, while a bear in the woods is less suspicious. Others were outraged by the idea that a random man might seem more a threat to a woman than a wild animal. And now, the new Netflix movie Apex seems certain to reignite this debate. To be clear, there is no bear in Apex. (Sorry for the spoiler?) Charlize Theron stars as Sasha, a physically strong and resilient rock climber, who takes her thrill-seeking to the Australian wilderness, where she aims to kayak down white rapids alone. However, her plan for reflective solitude is interrupted when she crosses paths with Ben (Taron Egerton), who seems friendly at first, but soon proves to be the deadliest threat …