Ephemerality Is a Lie
On the internet, as with most of life, you can’t count on things lasting forever. Websites close down, servers get turned off, the wrong button gets hit and years of work is erased. But just as you can’t depend on anything persisting, you can’t count on everything disappearing, either. Those photos of you looking ridiculous…
Nike's New Self-Lacing Basketball Shoe Is Actually Smart
"I'm gonna offer you a fist bump," Tinker Hatfield says, holding out his gloved right hand. He took a tumble off a motorized longboard days before, and while a collegiate pole-vaulting career and a lifetime of skiing taught the 66-year-old how to fall, the remote control in his paw stopped him from tucking his thumb…
The New Toy Story 4 Trailer Will Delight You
Happy Post-Super Bowl day, sports fans! (And happy Just Monday to everyone else!) Here we are for another dose of The Monitor, WIRED's look at all that's new and news in the world of pop culture, from hot new trailers to Netflix deals. Today: Toy Story 4 gets a Big Game spot, Captain Marvel drops…
A Sneak Peek at Nike's New Jordans
If you want to feel old, forget the fact that WIRED is 25, and realize that Nike designed the first Air Jordan in 1984, for NBA star Michael Jordan. Thirty-four years later, the original red, black and white high tops have spawned their own sneaker subculture. This morning, at the WIRED25 festival in San Francisco,…
Apex Legends Is a Surprising Threat to Fortnite's Dominance
The battle royale field is nothing if not crowded. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite dominate the conversation, but beyond them lies a bevy of games, big and small, that all compete for player's minds and controller-wielding time. There's Call of Duty Black Ops 4's Black Out mode, and an upcoming battle royale entry from Battlefield V;…
Cheat Sheet: What's the Deal With Location-Based VR
Sorry, skeptics: Virtual reality is growing faster than you thought it would. You’re just looking in the wrong place. Millions of people are leaving their homes for the visceral experience of location-based VR, which has become a billion-dollar business. What It Is Location-based entertainment encompasses theme parks, arcades, entertainment centers like Dave & Buster’s, and…
A Woman Is Helming Doctor Who, and the World Has Not Collapsed
When BBC revealed, back in July 2017 that Doctor Who star Peter Capaldi would be handing over the TARDIS to Jodie Whittaker, network executives expected some backlash. Resistance to a "new" Doctor is as much a part of the British sci-fi series' brand as sonic screwdrivers and Daleks. And they certainly anticipated that the decision…
Porny Presidential Fanfic Isn't Just Kinky—It's Political
Internet Rule 34: If it exists, there’s porn of it. Yes, even President Donald Trump. Punch his name into a fanfiction site search bar, and you'll find yourself awash in NSFW alternate universes. A small and relatively inoffensive sampling (all these links will bring you to far more explicit erotica, so click at your own…
At Sundance, Virtual Reality Filmmakers Are Evolving Beyond VR
It was bound to happen. When you work with the folks in the room who always want to be the first to take a risk, the first to play in a new sandbox, they're never going to be the ones to stay in their lanes. And when you talk to the first filmmakers who took…
Ninja Made More Streaming Apex Legends Than You Make All Year
Happy Friday and welcome once again to another installment of Replay. What's happening in games this week? Well, for one, someone paid Ninja serious bank to stream Apex Legends. For another, there's some worrisome news about the next title from the developers behind Yakuza. Also, Dragon's Dogma is coming to Netflix. Let's go! Ninja Got…