My Institute for the Future colleague Lyn Jeffery is a brilliant cultural anthropologist who has been spending extended periods in China for twenty years. Now, she and Jason Li, a former IFTF intern and engineering/education/design student at Brown University, have launched Virtual China, a blog exploring "virtual experiences and environments in and about China." It's an eye-opening window onto the "other" Internet and online culture in China. Link
Virtual China blog
Would you spend $650,000 to ride a transforming mecha?
Hey! Do you have $650,000 to spend? Not interested in pissing away that cash on feeding a school full of kids lunch for a few years or helping a couple… READ THE REST
Upcycle your old smart speaker with a new brain
The world is absolutely filthy with Google Home Minis. The wee smart speakers made their debut back in 2017 and were inexpensive enough to be given away by telecoms, banks… READ THE REST
France summons Musk for X criminal charges
Sam Schechner reports in The Wall Street Journal that French prosecutors have summoned Elon Musk to Paris to face preliminary criminal charges as part of their investigation into X. The… READ THE REST
If you're paying a la carte for AI models, this $60 lifetime pass gets you ChatGPT, Claude & more
Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post. TL;DR: ChatPlayground AI lets you compare GPT, Claude, Gemini, and more side-by-side in one tab—and lifetime access is… READ THE REST
Imagine never seeing a website hosting renewal email again after paying $149.99 once
Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post. TL;DR: Most web hosts treat your website like a subscription. PawnHoster's King Plan would rather take your money once… READ THE REST
This HP EliteBook delivers business-class performance for $400
Disclosure: Boing Boing earns a commission on purchases made through links in this post. TL;DR: This HP EliteBook comes with a range of professional features you can depend on and software… READ THE REST
