9 great reads from CNET this week
How a squiggle changed the course of astrophysics, what a Trump reelection would mean for tech and why Amazon Luna can succeed where Google Stadia failed.
Amazon grabbed the tech spotlight this week, surprising us at its fall product event with a new Luna cloud gaming service. It also showed off updates to its smart home brands, including a Ring flying robot camera and spherical Echo speakers.
Meanwhile, the nation mourned the loss of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Her death has spurred a contentious political battle over the filling of her seat as the presidential election quickly approaches. Also memorialized this week were the now more than 200,000 Americans who have died of COVID-19. Globally, almost a million people have died from the disease caused by the coronavirus.
Here are the week's stories you don't want to miss:
The mother of pulsars: Jocelyn Bell Burnell and the squiggle that changed science
While working on her Ph.D., Bell Burnell analyzed over three miles of chart paper of radio signals from the stars. A great discovery was hiding in the ink.
What a Trump reelection would mean for the tech world
Issues like the pandemic and the Supreme Court hog the election spotlight, but the tech industry faces massive changes if Trump gets a second term.
A year after the Area 51 alien 'raid,' one small town is still cleaning up the mess
Alienstock may be a distant memory, but memes take a long time to die in the desert.
Coronavirus lockdowns made Alexa vital, and Amazon knows it
Amazon introduces a bunch of new gadgets and services to help with videoconferencing, streaming and home security.
Election tech: How crisis and change shaped every tool we use to vote
Voting this year may be hard, but it's not the first time the US has run an election during an emergency.
With Xbox Series X, Bethesda and Game Pass, Microsoft is playing a different game
Sony's and Microsoft's paths are beginning to diverge.
How aesthetic home screens became a trend
Apple's latest iOS update lets your imagination go wild, but making a digital space your own goes way back.
Why Amazon Luna can succeed where Google Stadia failed
Luna has a decent shot at success, but it needs to do things differently.
Two decades of mountain bike evolution got me riding again
Full suspension, 29-inch wheels and disc brakes have revolutionized fat-tire bikes.
