Places and Things

Barefoot Dreams and the Conquest of Cozy How one $180 microfiber blanket and its spinoffs came to to swaddle a nation. The first time Amanda John glimpsed a Barefoot Dreams blanket, she was watching “Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Continue Reading . . . https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/style/barefoot-drerams.html

Spectators From Overseas Are Barred From Tokyo Olympics The move, announced Saturday, is a significant concession to the realities of the pandemic, even as organizers remain determined to hold the Games this summer. Continue Reading . . . https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/20/world/asia/tokyo-olympics-spectators.html

Legal questions linger as governments and companies keep pushing into space The Perseverance rover’s landing on Mars is still fresh in people’s memories, privately-owned companies are ferrying people and supplies into orbit, and NASA continues to work on “the most powerful rocket” it has ever built. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/new-laws-needed-for-space-mining-exploration-sxsw-2021-194711581.html

Barnes & Noble teamed up with Lenovo for its new 10-inch Nook tablet It's been almost three years since Barnes & Noble debuted a Nook tablet, and there have been a lot of speculations that the company is discontinuing its tablets since then. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/barnes-noble-10-inch-nook-tablet-lenovo-april-release-130-130011971.html

The OnePlus Watch gets an early reveal ahead of March 23rd announcement OnePlus’ long-awaited first smartwatch has made its first appearance ahead of the company’s upcoming March 23rd launch event, which is feeling increasingly irrelevant as almost every piece of news about its new product lineup trickles online in bits and pieces. Continue Reading . . . https://www.theverge.com/2021/3/19/22339768/oneplus-watch-image-reveal-design-leak-smartwatch-wearable

DuckDuckGo shames Google for ‘spying’ on iPhone users Apple rolled out two major privacy features in iOS 14. The new app privacy labels tell users just how much data an app can collect about them. Then there’s the app tracking transparency (ATT) feature that forces developers to ask for permission to track iPhone and iPad users. Continue Reading . . . https://bgr.com/2021/03/18/ios-14-privacy-features-duckduckgo-vs-google-spying/

Stella McCartney shows off the world's first clothes made from mushroom leather Stella McCartney is today showing off its first set of clothes made from a new form of artificial leather; Mylo’s Unleather, a mycelium leather created by startup Bolt Threads. Continue Reading . . . https://www.engadget.com/stella-mccartney-bolt-threads-mylo-unleather-mushrooms-sustainability-environment-high-fashion-150054154.html