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ILLUMINATING THE MYSTERIES—AND WONDERS—ALL AROUND US EVERY DAY IN THIS SECTION How Moths Weather Rain A New Loo for Astronauts Volcanic Lightning The Craft of Clock Repair I’VE BEEN PUTTING MY PASSPORT to good use lately. I use it as a coaster and to level wobbly table legs. It makes an excellent cat toy. Welcome to the pandemic of disappointments. Canceled trips, or ones never planned lest they be canceled. Family reunions, study-abroad years, lazy beach vacations. Poof. Gone. Obliterated by a tiny virus and the long list of countries where United States passports are not welcome. It is not natural for us to be this sedentary. Travel is in our genes. For most of the time our species has existed, “we’ve lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers moving about in small bands of 150 or fewer people,” writes Christopher…

I TOOK THIS PHOTOGRAPH through the window of an abandoned home in a village in western Uganda. As I watched, one wild chimpanzee entered the yard, then another. Though they stared hard at the windows, I knew they couldn’t see me behind the mirrored glass—and I was glad. During past fieldwork, I’d been around scores of wild chimpanzees and shadowed them at close range. Yet until this photo assignment in 2017, I had never tried to hide from chimps. I had never even imagined writing such a sentence. That was before I met the Semata family and saw firsthand how depleted land and forest, and scarce food and crops, can unleash competition between primates, those inside houses and those outside. FOR AS LONG AS I CAN remember, I’ve felt at home in the…

「老兵聽到炮彈飛過去的聲音，就知道事情不太對了……。」 台大急診室主治醫師石富元經歷過二○○三年SARS（嚴重急性呼吸道症候群）疫情的災難，十八年後，老兵竟然又遇到同樣嚴峻的狀況。五月十四日開始，台灣新冠肺炎（COVID-19）疫情猛爆惡化，從十五日的一八○個本土病例到十八日的二四○個本土病例，社區感染擴大，過去的太平好日子，忽然不見了。待過沙場的，嗅覺總是特別靈光，石富元苦笑，「兩、三周前，我就一直跟朋友說，能取消聚餐就盡量取消。」 疫情爆發後一年多的時間，「台灣馬照跑，舞照跳。」 但身處防疫第一線，石富元清楚知道病人不見得會一五一十交代自己的暴露史，再看到華航機師、諾富特飯店事件、宜蘭遊藝場病例，他已經嗅到，「風險明顯在堆高。」 風險積累著，而且現在它們凝結成巨大的壓力球，破空而來。 亞東醫院驚天96小時的啟示 台灣防疫進入新階段 亞東醫院五月十七日爆出九名院內感染個案，「院內感染」聽起來很不祥，也勾起人們對SARS疫情期間，和平醫院封院的恐怖回憶。人在火線上的亞東醫院副院長邱冠明，談起院內感染的始末，「疫情慢慢悶著，到了上週，所有狀況都變得有感……。」…

Bordeaux gives go-ahead for new grapes Six ‘new’ grape varieties that could help Bordeaux châteaux fight climate change have been provisionally approved for use, as St-Emilion wineries join forces to build an anti-hail defence system (below). France’s national appellation body, INAO, approved six varieties proposed for use by producers of Bordeaux AP and Supérieur wines. It’s potentially a major move, although the reality of adapting to climate change is extremely complex. Touriga Nacional is among four red wine varieties on the list, and it needs little introduction to Port lovers and fans of Portuguese wine in general. The other three are Castets, Arinarnoa and Marselan, the last of which is a crossing between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache Noir and has enjoyed success in China in recent years. Two white wine varieties, Alvarinho and Liliorila,…

THE HUMAN BODY HAS EVOLVED to shed heat in two main ways: Blood vessels swell, carrying heat to the skin so it can radiate away, and sweat erupts onto the skin, cooling it by evaporation. When those mechanisms fail, we die. It sounds straightforward; it’s actually a complex, cascading collapse. As a heatstroke victim’s internal temperature rises, the heart and lungs work ever harder to keep dilated vessels full. A point comes when the heart cannot keep up. Blood pressure drops, inducing dizziness, stumbling, and the slurring of speech. Salt levels decline and muscles cramp. Confused, even delirious, many victims don’t realize they need immediate help. With blood rushing to overheated skin, organs receive less flow, triggering a range of reactions that break down cells. Some victims succumb with an internal temperature…

Services: they’re so hot right now. Apple beat its self-stated goal of doubling Services revenue in 2020 with time to spare, and the company has not only recently announced that it has launched a new service, Apple Fitness+, but also finally elected to offer a competitively priced bundle of its many services to consumers. With all of that said, there are some elements of Apple’s services that are still a bit lackluster, and more than a few of them are parts of the very systems on which the company and its users rely. In the same way that you might want to look to patching a foundation before worrying about painting the walls, there are a few places where Apple might want to shore up its fundamentals before launching into something new. PAY…

CHINA: He saw COVID policy appeal to ‘the greater good’ as family size limits once did. Boarding a flight to China from Europe, where I live, I usually feel excited. But heading out on an assignment last year, passing a phalanx of airport crews in PPE gear, I felt some dread. The jet cabin had become an air lock, separating a then largely COVID-free China from the rest of the world it deemed contagious. In 2022, as I set out to spend five weeks shooting this issue’s “Eight Billion” story, China’s strict “COVID zero” rules allowed the government to lock down cities and isolate anyone infected. As a result, my flight to Beijing was diverted to Xian, a far less strategic city 750 miles away, where I started my 10-day isolation in a…

SOMETIMES THE BEST IMAGES are not the ones we plan for. Back in 2003 I was a marine biologist studying kelp forests for my Ph.D., but really I was rushing headlong into becoming a photographer. I’d become convinced that I could make a bigger difference in conservation with images than with research. So instead of revising thesis chapters, I began spending most of my time making pictures. Increasingly those photographs were of great white sharks, a newfound obsession fueled by my friendship with biologist Michael Scholl of the White Shark Trust. Great whites were big, bold, charismatic—and in dire need of an image makeover. One summer day Michael alerted me to a puzzlingly large number of sharks near South Africa’s southern tip: nearly a dozen great whites concentrated along a one-mile stretch…

Macs are undergoing a big change. Apple is switching its internal architecture from one that uses Intel CPUs, third-party graphics processors, and other parts, to the company’s own “system on a chip.” The first Apple silicon SoC for Macs is called the M1. It’s a big step for Apple and the Mac. But what does it mean for you? In this article, we cover what Apple’s system on a chip means to the user, how it affects what software you can use, and answer other frequently asked questions. WHAT IS THE ‘APPLE SILICON’ M1 SYSTEM ON A CHIP? “Apple silicon” refers to the chips Apple makes. In the Mac, they replace the Intel processors they have used for the past 14 years, and will eventually also replace the AMD graphics processors in higher-end…

落地窗內，多位身著綠色制服的華為門市人員，正忙著回應顧客對購置手機的需求；落地窗外，餐廳與手搖飲料店滿溢著排隊的人流。離開落地窗，沿著這條中國知名的步行街往東走，一路上，熙來攘往的當地行人與觀光客摩肩接踵，搭配歡鬧喧譁的交談聲，一切乍看明朗而美好……。過去三年，因為疫情導致的經濟陰影似乎已快速淡去，眼前，是一片欣欣向榮的消費復甦景象。 時間，四月中，地點，是上海的指標商圈南京路。 據上海復旦大學消費市場大數據實驗室統計顯示，今年二月，上海全市線下消費總額年增率○．八％，全市餐飲業和住宿業消費達到二○一九年一月統計以來的最高水準。 另一方面，衡量服務業表現的中國非製造業採購經理人指數（PMI），在三月分來到五十八．二，創下一一年五月以來新高；至於服務業PMI分項指標，則達到五十六．九，亦寫下一二年三月以來紀錄。 「大家，都被關太久了。」談及這股由「報復性消費」帶起的中國復甦動能，在上海擔任汽車業務銷售的雲芳（化名）向《今周刊》表示。…

For years, I’ve assumed that most people don’t need third-party antivirus tools and have passed this suggestion along to others. After all, Microsoft’s Windows Security suite, also known as Windows Defender or Microsoft Defender, provides built-in virus protection for your PC, and it’s free. I’ve been using it for years, and the last time I can recall having virus problems on my PC was well over a decade ago. And yet, looking around for confirmation of this long-held belief quickly turns up an alternate universe, full of experts who insist that everyone should be paying for antivirus software. This advice comes not just from the companies that sell antivirus suites, but from reputable sites that perform antivirus software reviews (PCWorld included). On top of that, nearly every laptop I’ve reviewed for PCWorld…

摘自 LE FIGARO 清晨5點在冰島西南部的凱夫拉維克機場（Keflavík Airport），天色尚暗，空氣潮濕。一股強烈陣風，讓我們這架來自波士頓的航班，在降落時驚險萬狀。連我這種不信神的人，都開始祈求上蒼保佑。 不過完全沒有必要。冰島航空的機師泰然自若地應付著這個生死瞬間。在他們眼裡，這種強勁、狂暴的側風充其量只是返鄉時司空見慣的歡迎場面。 一個小時後，天還是沒亮，我慶幸自己抵抗誘惑，在機上的最後3小時滴酒未沾。冰島當地對酒駕的規定非常嚴格，而我正開著一輛租來的車，要到50公里外的雷克雅維克（Reykjavík）。我不免心想，在破曉前的一片漆黑中落地，又有「北歐黑色」風格電影一般的雨瀑相伴，這對2021年8月這趟遺世之旅，是再完美不過的開場了。 人在旅途往往充滿期待。冰島曾是丹麥的屬地，離冰島最近的陸塊是地圖上一片白色的格陵蘭。這個亞北極圈內的島國地廣人疏（居民數376,000人），堪稱人類最偏遠的居住地。因其地理位置，加上與歐盟的緊密關係，冰島有如歐洲的露台。我不知道自己會在這裡有什麼樣的發現。…

It’s not often that a major new Apple product could be fairly, and completely, reviewed in a single tweet. This may come as close as any review ever has: “It’s a Series 6 with a slightly bigger display and faster charging” is far less than 250 characters. But it feels like a stretch to find other things to say about the Series 7. This could be the least-significant yearly update to the Apple Watch ever, and while that in no way makes it bad (this is still the best smartwatch around), it’s hard not to be disappointed. A BIGGER DISPLAY The star of the Series 7 is the display. It’s about 20 percent larger than in the Series 6. Most of this increase in size comes from thinner bezels, but the case is…

Another year, another new version of iOS. Some of the big new features in iOS 15, released on September 20, will totally change the way you use your iPhone. But like all new iOS releases, iOS 15 also comes with a bunch of tiny changes—little hidden features and tweaks that you won’t even notice if you don’t know where to look. Sometimes it’s those little changes that make all the difference. Once discovered, you’ll wonder how you got along without them! Here are ten of our favorite little, hidden, you-might-miss-them features of iOS 15. 1. TRANSLATE ANYWHERE With iOS 15, you can translate text just about anywhere, in almost any app where you can select text. Just tap and hold on a block of text to show the text selection window, and then drag…

Steve Jobs’ impact was so significant that it’s difficult to find the words to describe his influence on business, technology, and society, even 10 years after his death. It’s hard to narrow down the products released under his watch to a list of just five. But we tried anyway. Here’s our list of the most memorable products released during Steve Jobs’ tenure with Apple. Also note that Apple has posted a film, Celebrating Steve, to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Jobs’ death. 1. APPLE II Everyone remembers the Mac (see item two on this list), but the Apple II was the first product that really got Apple going as a business. The first mass-produced computer by the company in 1977, the Apple II (pictured) succeeded the Apple I, which was not a…

The public beta of macOS Monterey, released by Apple in early July, doesn’t look surprisingly new. Exceptions include Safari, which gets a dynamically resizing tab bar and other conveniences, and FaceTime, which gets a background-blurring portrait mode and screen-sharing features. As you get more familiar with Monterey, however, you’ll find improvements and conveniences everywhere and may wonder how you managed without them. This is because Apple’s annual updates to the Mac operating system tend to have a regular rhythm. Massive updates arrive on even-numbered years: Big Sur, for example, the 2020 update to macOS that was also the first version that ran on Apple Silicon hardware. Updates in odd-numbered years, such as Monterey, look more or less like the previous version but come with under-the-hood improvements that may do more for…

Darren Clark lives in Michigan, where he used to receive dismal internet speeds ranging from 2.5Mbps to 3.5Mbps. The DSL internet was so bad that he’d have to drive his family elsewhere to find faster broadband and finish software and game downloads. “Many times, we ended up going to McDonald’s or out to the local Meijer grocery store for internet access,” he told PCMag. But in recent days, Clark’s home internet is getting speeds between 10Mbps and 100Mbps. The reason? He’s among the first people to try out Starlink’s Best Effort tier, the latest offering from SpaceX’s satellite internet service. “I have to say, Starlink Best Effort is a lifesaver for me and my family,” he said. “My kids are amazed that a 1GB download can finish in a couple of minutes instead…

I NEVER IMAGINED I would appear in a Mount Everest photo—but here I am (at left) wrapped in a down suit and oxygen mask, 400 feet below the summit. This may sound like an unlikely admission for a professional climber who’s spent the past two decades pursuing summits all over the world. Many consider a selfie from the highest point on the planet to be the ultimate trophy. To get it, more than a few people have risked everything—including life savings and relationships—and, tragically, many have died on the descent, with their precious images still locked in their cameras. But over the years, the idea of an expedition to Everest repelled me. The mountain came to represent the opposite of everything that I loved and respected about climbing. The first mountain I attempted…

“It’s none of my business who gets the vaccine.” When President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, he inherited former President Donald Trump’s plan for the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The two men agree on little. Yet, Biden honored the agreement. In fact, Biden has supported reducing troops on the ground for years, advising President Barack Obama to limit involvement there back in 2009, even as Obama’s generals were recommending an increased American presence, as discussed in this excerpt from award-winning, former BBC journalist David Loyn’s new book, The Long War: The Inside Story of America and Afghanistan since 9/11 (St. Martin’s Press, September 21). In the wake of the U.S.’ unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan and the country’s swift fall to the Taliban, Loyn and his work offer an…

Rating Windows 11’s latest feature update, officially known as the Windows 11 2022 Update (22H2), means acknowledging that many of its most useful features are somewhat hidden. Dig in and you’ll be rewarded, but most of the 2022 update’s more obvious new features won’t blow you away initially. Windows 11 2022 Update is not a return to the glory days of Windows 10. Then, splashy product launches heralded new, important additions to the operating system, like Disney teasing new Marvel characters into its cinematic universe. Windows 11 22H2 takes a subtler approach, updating the File Explorer, and adding a new Snap Layouts bar, Start menu folders, Live Captions, Voice Access, and more. There are now thousands of Android apps from Amazon, as well as something called Smart App Control. Microsoft is also…

‘The esteem he was held in from every corner of the wine world was total’ Sarah Kemp There are a few moments in your life you remember with utter clarity – the night I met Steven Spurrier at the Wine and Spirit Trade Ball is one. I had just come off the dance floor with Bollew Broadbent, Michael’s son, when we bumped into the ever elegantly dressed Steven. On enquiring how he was, he told me without the slightest embarrassment that he had just been fired by Mohamed Al-Fayed of Harrods. Steven’s transgression was that he had got a huge amount of publicity about his appointment, and Al-Fayed was furious that Steven was more talked about than Harrods. Al Fayed’s loss was Decanter’s gain – I immediately asked him to come and…

Caveats to buying local I note with interest Professor Hartley’s proposed contribution to offset the negative aspects of climate change – only buying wine from his own continent, Europe (‘Letters’, December 2021 issue). I admire his intentions, but has he researched the origin of the bottles in which his European wines are contained? Were he to do so, would he not find that the majority originate in China and have to be shipped halfway around the planet? Many New World wines are shipped by tanker in flexitanks and bottled in the UK, so it’s not necessarily the wine that is at fault. His focus may be better directed to considering more climate-friendly, alternative packaging for the wine itself (canned wine, for example). Sterl Greenhalgh, Windsor, UK Calling out price rises I was delighted to…

BORN AND RAISED in Los Angeles’s Chinatown, Glenn SooHoo has witnessed the growth, decline, and revitalization of his neighborhood for 50 years. In the past year and a half, this enclave—and others like it across North America—has been in crisis, buffeted by the twin traumas of xenophobia and a public health emergency. “The virus is hampering business and the tourist industry,” says SooHoo, owner of Phoenix Imports. “The virus didn’t have anything to do with Chinatown, but [with] it being associated as an Asian thing by [then President Donald Trump], people just got that phobia about it.” As historic Chinatowns struggle during the pandemic, it’s worth looking at why residents—and visitors—flocked to them in the first place. Chinatowns have been in the United States for more than 170 years. The first one, in…

IN THIS SECTION Woodpeckers and Fire Moonlit Rope Walk Artworks From Snares History in Their Words ILLUMINATING THE MYSTERIES—AND WONDERS—ALL AROUND US EVERY DAY AT A NEWS CONFERENCE in mid-August of last year, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, announced that there were 367 “known” wildfires burning in the state. “I say ‘known’ fires,” Newsom said, “but the prospect of that number going up is very real.” A couple of days later the number did, in fact, increase, to 560. A few weeks after that, many of the blazes were still burning, and one—the Doe fire, north of Santa Rosa—had grown into the largest conflagration in California history. The smoke from the state was so bad that it veiled the sun in New England. By the time most of California’s flames had been put…

In September, Apple announced the new A15 processor in a peculiar way: by comparing its new chip to the Android competition, rather than the A14 that powered last year’s generation of iPhones. We were all left to try to infer the speed of the A15 based on Apple’s claims, wondering if the company was obscuring the performance improvements in the A15 because they weren’t particularly impressive. Recently things have gotten a lot clearer with the first reviews of the iPhone 13 and iPhone 13 Pro, as well as a look at what the iPad mini has to offer. Now we’ve got the cold, hard facts about the A15—and it’s more complicated and interesting than I guessed last week. The net result? Apple is making one chip but using it in three…

她七歲時，星期日下午在鄉間偶爾說了一句話，這段故事就此開始。「我長大了，要有個農場。」我和她爸爸一笑置之，不以為意。 大約一年後，我們從佛羅里達回家途中，在喬治亞一家骯髒的路邊茶室歇息，她再次說出決心——聽來令人頗感不安。艾比的鼻子翹得高高的，對茶室的骯髒破爛露出鄙夷的神情，她伸出來的紅辮子與那張雀斑點點的臉成直角。 「你的雞不好吃嗎？」我問。 「我還沒嘗呢，」她漠然說，「我正在想我長大了，我的農場旁邊要設個乾乾淨淨的茶室。是一根根圓木頭搭的，有花格子布窗帘。侍女的帽花邊漿得筆挺，要是她們遲到，我就打她們耳光。」 我嚇得倒吸一口涼氣，得罪了那老闆，我匆匆瞥他一眼，便把艾比趕到汽車那邊去。 這時我心裡模模糊糊地感覺有點不安，為想沖淡我們這八歲女兒念念不忘要有個農場的不健全心理，便買了一匹純血母馬給她，寄養在康乃狄格州一家氣息甘香撲鼻，收拾得整整齊齊的馬房裡。 這個辦法真靈——不過只靈了大約一個星期。後來有一天，她帶着興師問罪的神情，把馬牽到我面前，大聲叫嚷：「您瞧這馬的蹄子！蹄鐵簡直要掉了！要是我們有個農場……」…

HOW TO… Decant Most Decanter readers will be planning on opening something special for the Christmas festivities, whether it’s that expensive bottle of Bordeaux or Burgundy (see our Christmas guide to vintages, p44), or your favourite vintage Port. But what are the main reasons for using a decanter and what are the key things to remember? The decision on whether to use a decanter will be very much down to individual enthusiasts – there really are no right or wrong answers when thinking about decanting. However, one thing is always worth bearing in mind – you cannot magically ‘age’ a wine by decanting it before drinking. When you decant, what you are doing is exposing the wine to oxygen, which starts to have an effect on many of the complex compounds within…

The Apple rumor mill has been churning lately with reports that Apple is readying a new consumer laptop that’s thinner than the MacBook Air, available in various colors, and possibly equipped with the next generation of Apple silicon. Of course, it could very well be an update to the MacBook Air, but it seems to me that Apple is likely taking another crack at replacing its iconic notebook. Apple has tried to replace the MacBook Air before—a disastrous attempt that ended up with the cancellation of both of its potential replacements and the revival of the Air. If Apple is indeed trying again, will this time be different? Will Apple’s customers, who appear to adore the MacBook Air, follow the company’s lead? It all depends on how Apple approaches the transition—and…

A half-dozen companies are potentially ready to spend $80 billion for C-Band, a new set of airwaves that promise to fix the perilous state of American 5G, at an FCC auction. That’s a vast amount of money, and it shows how important C-Band is. But what is C-Band, and what does it mean for 5G? Do you need a C-Band phone? Is C-Band a new frequency? Should you be scared of C-Band? I can explain. RECOVERING THE SATELLITES According to wireless testing firm Rohde and Schwarz, the C-band is all frequencies between 4GHz and 8GHz. When US wireless geeks talk about C-Band, though, they’re talking about 3.7GHz to 4.2GHz—and specifically, in this case, the range from 3.7GHz to 3.98GHz. This frequency had been used for satellite TV since the 1970s, but as C-Band…

A RIVER USED TO MEANDER through my Left Bank neighborhood in Paris. From the southern city limit that’s now Parc Kellermann in the 13th arrondissement, the Bièvre fed mills and tanneries before its confluence with the Seine in the 5th arrondissement. But by the early 20th century, the Bièvre had become so odoriferous and polluted that it had been buried underground, its water diverted into the sewers. Although the Seine evokes romance, the Bièvre is largely unknown to the millions of travelers who visit the French capital every year. But many Parisians have harbored a long-standing dream of resurrecting a river that, to them, has taken on mythic status. This dream is now close to becoming a reality. In recent years, sections of the river have been reopened in upstream suburbs,…

ONE AFTERNOON in September 2018, six years after the work accident that destroyed his left forearm and hand in an industrial conveyor belt, a North Carolina man named Brandon Prestwood stood in front of his wife with an expression on his face that was so complicated, so suffused with nervous anticipation, that he looked torn between laughter and tears. In the little group gathered around the Prestwoods, someone held up a cell phone to record the curious tableau: the pretty woman with long hair and glasses, the bearded guy with a white elbow-to-fingertips prosthetic, and the wiring running from a tabletop electrical device up under the guy’s shirt and into his shoulder. Right through the skin, that is, so that Prestwood—his body, not his prosthetic—was, for the moment, literally plugged in.…

八月八日下午，一座深綠龐然山頭緩緩駛入台北港。長四百公尺的長範輪（Ever Ace），容量近兩萬四千TEU（二十呎櫃），不僅是長榮有史以來自造最大、更是全世界最大貨櫃船之一。 當大家看到長榮招牌的沉穩綠色，依然會想起二○一六年過世的長榮集團創辦人張榮發。 「我一生最熱愛的就是海洋，船就像我的孩子，」長榮五十週年紀念冊，以這句張榮發的話做開場。 如今他的二○二艘孩子們，服務遍布一一八國，撐起全球五．六%運力，是全球第七大航商。 一九五六年，當美國企業家麥克連目送全球第一艘貨櫃船離開紐澤西港，容量僅有五十八個三三呎櫃。如今長範輪是它的二五○倍。 長榮：延續張榮發精神，進入大船時代 長範輪，宣示長榮進入大船時代。 二十一世紀的第一個十年，由於國際貿易高速成長，全球航商大整併、爭相造大船，但張榮發對此態度保留。過往長榮自造最大船只到七千TEU，「再大的，總裁認為用租的就好，」一位前員工說。 但長榮卻在一八、一九年，全球航運業低迷時，下單訂造二十六艘船，這兩年交船，正好賺到了疫後機會財。長榮去年交了十六艘新船，新增十五萬TEU運力。…

昨晚，我跟供應商談價錢，談到半夜兩點！」一位國際筆電大廠台灣分公司的採購人員一臉苦惱：「談到半夜，對方開的價錢還是很硬。」 他負責筆電各類線材的採購，近來銅價大漲，上游供應商給他的線材報價已經跟著調高，「以前，拗一下，上游會願意砍價，這一次，對方毫不鬆口。」他坦言，隨著各種零配件價格攀高，公司內部也開始有調漲產品售價的討論 早自今年一月，美國十年期公債殖利率就開始反映通膨預期一路向上，現在看來，這片烏雲的黑影不但沒有散去，反倒像是從金融市場一路擴散，慢慢地，迫近一般民生消費。 這一片黑壓壓的通膨烏雲有多沉重？場景回到美國，五月十二日，美國勞工部公布了四月分的消費者物價指數（CPI），年增率達四．二％，遠高於三月分的二．六％與市場預估的三．六％，寫下二○○八年九月以來新高。 若考慮去年同期因為封城導致的「低基期」效應，改以月增幅來看，四月CPI月增○．八％，不僅高於三月的○．六％，亦遠超出市場預估的○．二％，創下近十三年最大增幅；若扣除波動較大的「食品」與「能源」品項，月增率更是創一九八一年以來紀錄。一連串的「意料之外」，讓隔日美股開盤各類指數同步重挫。…

Before we start, I have a confession: It’s been about 10 years since I bought a MacBook. I’ve used plenty of them over the years through work and on loan from Apple, including the latest M1 MacBook Pro, but the last time I actually owned a MacBook was the 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display in 2012. So when I saw a recent deal on the entry-level 14-inch MacBook Pro at Costco, it was too good to pass up. Even though I had read the reviews, I didn’t expect all that much to be different between the M1 MacBook Pro and the M1 Pro MacBook Pro—a little faster, a little bigger, a little newer. But I was pleasantly surprised. The 14-inch MacBook Pro is a whole new machine that’s far more…

「在這兩場『 會議』過後， 將正式開啟『他』使用權力的元年……。」在視訊畫面的另一端，於英國倫敦的居所內，一名留著俐落平頭、眼神靈動，講話帶點中國北方口音的男子，在面對《今周刊》詢問時，略微沉思了一下。 隨後，他吐出的話語，字句堅決而篤定。 這位男子，名叫沈棟，是出生於上海、在香港長大的中國連續創業家。事實上，沈棟的身分不僅是位「單純」的中國企業家，曾任北京政協委員與北京清華大學名譽受託人的他，另一個近年更廣為人知的身分，是中共前總理溫家寶夫人張培莉多年的商業夥伴。換言之，他曾是中共高層的「圈內人」。 至於沈棟口中的「兩場會議」，是目前正於北京舉行、分別在三月四日和五日開幕的第十四屆「中國人民政治協商會議」以及「全國人民代表大會」。而沈棟口中的「他」，是中國國家主席暨中共中央總書記習近平。 俗稱「兩會」的中國人民政治協商會議以及全國人民代表大會，普遍被認為是中國政府每年最重要的兩場會議。尤其適逢領導換屆，在兩會中，除了將確認一系列部會首長、政協委員等領導職位的任命外，也將公布攸關未來五年中國整體發展的政治與經濟政策訊息。…

2012年7月，我和伴侶凱文、兩名朋友戴蒙和莉安娜在育空河上划獨木舟漂流結束，毫髮無損地上岸後，準備慶祝我們從北方荒野安全歸來。然而經歷了反常的雷暴並與熊不期而遇之後，我們萬萬沒有想到這次旅途最讓人焦慮不安的，反而是回家的這段車程。 我們把撞變形的獨木舟划進道森市，準備買下一班開往白馬市的巴士車票，因為要搭乘黎明時分飛往多倫多的航班，而從道森市到白馬市的車程是6小時，所以時間很緊湊，不能出任何差池。 但我們並未意識到這個星期巴士停駛了，所以當下只有兩個選擇擺在我們面前：（1）在道森市天長地久地住下去，或者（2）找一個有一輛大車的人，裝得下我們4個人和所有的裝備，而且這個人馬上就可前往白馬市。遊客服務中心的櫃檯人員察覺到我們不斷上升的焦灼感，前前後後打了不下⋯ ⋯ 欸唷，2,000通電話，最後大聲宣布： 「我大概找到人了！」 一輛老掉牙、已經褪色的米白廂型車，嘎嚓嘎嚓爬過來，從駕駛座上下來、咧著嘴笑的是史丹。他的年紀在60開外，身材瘦高，繫著螢光黃吊褲帶，頂著一頭卷曲的銀髮。他自我介紹是專業生日小丑， 並笑說他的車子最近不太靈光，還驚詫克朗代克公路竟然如此偏僻，…

九月中，一張標著「Foxtron」黑色電動車的偷拍照片，突然出現在PTT論壇上，讓原本排在一個月後「鴻海科技日」亮相的祕密武器，提早曝光。Foxtron是鴻華先進的英文名，是鴻海與裕隆的合資公司。 「Foxtron的牌子都拍出來了，我們想否認也否認不了，」坐在土城總部接受《天下》專訪，鴻海集團董事長劉揚偉語氣雖然懊惱，「但車長得還不錯吧!」話鋒一轉，他嘴角藏不住笑意反問。 一改之前代工廠隱姓埋名的遊戲規則，在矽谷創業，二○一九年接任鴻海董事長的劉揚偉，二○年起，仿效蘋果等科技大廠舉辦科技日。以鴻海之名，一方面展現技術軍火，一方面設定時間死線，加速鴻海內部與關係企業的轉型速度。 今年，他將在鴻海科技日展示兩台轎車、一台電動巴士。「去年科技日，我承諾組聯盟造車，今年就要讓外界看到成果。」他設定節奏，未來每年科技日，都將是前一年承諾的驗收日。 破除「守成」董事長印象變身總司令，從代工霸主變未來車共主 電動車是劉揚偉一生懸命的戰場。從創辦人郭台銘手上接下董事長的棒子，外界認為小郭台銘五歲、現年六十五歲卻看起來比實際年齡年輕的劉揚偉，只會扮演一名強人羽翼下，「守成」的董事長。…

The day has finally arrived: Microsoft has killed off Internet Explorer. Or has it? The answer to that is: well, sort of. Microsoft has said for years that it plans to replace the venerable Internet Explorer browser in favor of a more secure option: Microsoft Edge. Today, Internet Explorer 11 ends support for most users, which means the browser won’t receive any additional support or patches going forward. If Internet Explorer is discovered to be vulnerable to malware, for example, you’re on your own. But who will be affected by Microsoft’s decision, and what can you do about it? We have the answers below. Here’s the big picture: For years, Microsoft has maintained Internet Explorer alongside Microsoft Edge. But just as in the tale of the three pigs, some of the pigs…

The other shoe has finally dropped. A year after the release of the first M1 Macs ushered in the Apple silicon era for the Mac, Apple has addressed how it plans to serve the needs of users for whom iPad-level performance, impressive though it might be, just isn’t enough. With the October announcement of the M1 Pro and M1 Max, Apple has connected the dots and revealed two new chips that propel the MacBook Pro to new heights. Two connected dots make a straight line–and that line points to the future of the Mac. Here’s a look at what might be coming next. PUSHING THE PRO It seems obvious that the M1 Pro and M1 Max chips are destined for computers beyond the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros. Even though they’ve been engineered…

The Wi-Fi Alliance, a group of Wi-Fi platform vendors that work with the FCC and electronics manufacturers to set standards for Wi-Fi technology, announced the Wi-Fi 6E designation in 2020 for any IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) products that support 6GHz wireless spectrum. Essentially, this means Wi-Fi 6E enables faster speeds and lower latencies than Wi-Fi 6 and earlier iterations. WI-FI 6 VS. WI-FI 6E When the IEEE 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) standard was first announced, it was limited by law to a wireless spectrum that only covered the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands. Now, in a 2.4GHz band, you really have only three non-overlapping channels—and that bandwidth is shared by you, your family members, and your neighbors. If you’ve ever had problems staying connected to a Zoom call or had the latest episode of The…

鐵鏽之城（Rust Belt city），是曾有輝煌重工業，如今卻失去活力的城市。在台灣，指的是高雄。曾經的世界第三大港，現在迎來歷史契機。《天下》獨家取得規劃報告，已荒廢多年、嚴重土壤污染的兩百公頃煉油廠，預計在兩年後，蓋出兩座十二吋晶圓廠。 台積進駐，可望成為港都轉型升級、擺脫低薪的最後一片拼圖。董事長劉德音原本斷言，近期不會投資高雄，為什麼不到一年就急轉彎？晶片大缺貨、百年大旱、加上政治人物的野心與效率，讓高雄人的夢想成真。 就像美國的「鐵鏽之城」匹茲堡，成功翻身為AI、機器人新聚落；北高雄也即將脫胎換骨，二十公里廊道，將有數萬名科技新貴，乘著捷運在四座高科技園區穿梭。新竹、台中、台南之後，終於，輪到高雄了。 二○二○年九月二十三日，國際半導體展論壇開始前，主講者台積董事長劉德音一臉嚴肅地現身，並罕見地主動在入口附近站定位。 「董事長有些話想跟大家說清楚，」現場人員小聲地說。 媒體立刻蜂擁而上，在他身邊圍得水洩不通。 「最近報紙上在講，台積未來在哪邊建廠、要不要去高雄？」劉德音開門見山，「報紙寫成我們要去，所以我們會跟政府，及各個管理局解釋清楚。」…

Over the years, I’ve used iPhones of all sizes. My first smartphone was the original 3.5-inch iPhone, and I’ve carried every size screen at some point—the 4-inch iPhone 5s, the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s, the 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus, the 5.8-inch iPhone X, the 6.1-inch iPhone 11, and most recently, the 5.4-inch iPhone 12 mini. So when the iPhone 13 launched, I naturally ordered the one missing from that list: the 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max. That’s a full 1.3 inches bigger than the iPhone 12 mini I’ve been using for the past 11 months, so it definitely took some getting used to. But along with the size and the weight—both not insignificant hurdles to overcome—I’ve learned some surprising things about the differences between Apple’s smallest and biggest iPhones. PHONES REALLY CAN LAST…

Microsoft has published its hardware requirements for Windows 11, adding strict new security requirements for its next operating system. Here’s what you’ll need to run Windows 11 when Microsoft releases it in the fall. Microsoft will release Windows 11 by holiday 2021, so you’ll have ample time to prepare. Microsoft is working with PC makers to develop Windows 11–ready PCs, and you may be able to upgrade to Windows 11 for free with your existing PC—provided it meets the minimum hardware requirements. Fortunately, if your PC doesn’t meet those requirements, you’ll have several years to replace it, as Windows 10 will be supported until 2025. New Windows 11 PCs will also ship this fall. We’ve updated this story to note that Microsoft has published a multipage document listing the detailed hardware requirements…

Fifteen years ago, on January 9, 2007, I sat on the floor of a Las Vegas Convention Center entryway and pondered the iPhone. While I was running around the Consumer Electronics Show looking at the latest LG Chocolate, Steve Jobs was over at Macworld changing the world. I’d been covering smartphones for three years by then, and they were complex gadgets for road warriors. With the iPhone, Apple simplified the smartphone and made it a must-have for everyone. This wasn’t solely about Steve Jobs’ brilliance. He struck when several other technologies were becoming available—3G for the mobile web and capacitive touch screens for finger-friendly interfaces. And he worked without the legacy-software hangovers that Microsoft, Nokia, and Palm all struggled through from the first generation of proto-smartphones. The iPhone has made a huge number…

An imposing front door on a leafy red-brick Chelsea square slowly opens. “Please come in,” says a young woman, leading me up antique stone stairs framed by heavy velvet curtains to a landing where a tall, astral beauty, all limbs and silver hair braids, stretches out a bejewelled hand to elegantly shake mine. Kristen McMenamy, 56, iconic 1990s model, adored by the kings of photography from Avedon and Lindbergh to Teller and Meisel, ushers one of the two dogs at her feet into an adjacent room and shuts the door. “Come,” she says, as we all – Larry, the other dog, a sleek blonde German Shepherd, the girl and I – follow her down the corridor. She suddenly stops. “Oh, I nearly forgot,” she says, gesturing towards the other woman in…

If there’s a single disappointment in the release of Apple’s first wave of M1 Macs, it’s the lackluster launch of iOS apps running inside of macOS. What should be an amazing unification of Apple’s platforms and a massive expansion of the Mac software base is, instead…kind of a non-event. Running iOS apps on the Mac can be a little weird, it’s true. But it can sometimes be good. Unfortunately, a lot of interesting iOS apps just aren’t available at all, because their developers have removed them from the Mac side of the iOS App Store. It’s not a great situation. It needs to get better. Here are some ways that might happen. WHAT DEVELOPERS CAN DO Though iOS app developers with the Apple silicon Developer Transition Kit could build their iOS apps for Mac…

四月二十六日，星宇航空創辦人張國煒親自執飛，台北洛杉磯的首航。 這是重要性不亞於三年前開航的飛行任務。 飛向北美天空，意味著星宇從區域走向國際。猶如四十年前，張國煒的父親張榮發獨排眾議，大膽開出橫跨太平洋與大西洋的雙向環球航線，讓長榮海運由亞洲船公司變成世界第一。 「他們（父子）DNA是一樣的，都很有魄力、很有魅力，」長榮集團出身、前中菲行執行長林天送評論。 北美首航，轉動了星宇最關鍵的中轉客商模。這位台灣唯一、世界少數同時擁有機師和維修證照的航空公司董事長，要驗證自己「從王子變成King（國王）」，只能贏不能輸的不可能任務。 首航倒數前兩天，星宇航空的營運大腦，張國煒與執行長翟健華所在的內湖總部十六樓，透明辦公室一目了然，從主管房內到開放空間的討論區，沒有一張會議桌是空的，都處於作戰模式。就連秘書遞送文件也都急如風、甚至小跑步。 競爭對手不是兩位老大哥 當年， 看好亞洲成為世界工廠，張榮發大膽擴張海運版圖，捉住趨勢破浪。而張國煒眼中的航空市場，「台灣的地理位置這麼好，如果你善用它，台灣市場無限大，真的太大了，」張國煒左右手，翟健華提高音調分析。…

JOHN FORD WANTED a whale’s-eye view. One summer day in 1978 a pod of killer whales raced toward a pebbled beach on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island. The young biologist was waiting in a wet suit and snorkel. The ghostly black-and-white procession steamed in like a team of U-boats, low and fast. Ford pressed on his face mask and slipped into the sea. In waters barely 10 feet deep, the creatures slowed and rolled to their sides. Bodies partially submerged, the fans at the end of their tails—their flukes—wagging, the whales began to twist and shimmy. One by one, each scuffed its side and belly on the stones, like grizzlies scratching against the pines. Ford, age 66, has now studied killer whales, the largest dolphin and from the branch of the Cetacean…

BY AIR THE GRAVITY PROBLEM The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, has funded Explorer Davide Monteleone’s work about how transportation affects the environment. A FACT AND A FIGURE KEEP POPPING to mind as I talk with aviation experts about whether commercial flight can ever go green. The fact is this: Everything you can think of that’s spurring a green revolution on the ground will be of little help in the sky anytime soon. Solar panels, wind turbines, electric engines, high-storage batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, magnetic levitation—they are all, bluntly put, useless at present when it comes to the technological challenge of launching a few hundred people into the stratosphere and carrying them thousands of miles. Here’s the figure: More than 80 percent of humanity has…

The launch of the Mac Studio (see page 54) was a big moment for Apple. Following years of preparation, that launch marked an important milestone in the Mac’s journey. Apple exec John Ternus’ declaration that the M1 chip family is complete marks the end of the first Apple silicon product cycle. But the wheel keeps turning. The first cycle answered numerous questions we had less than two years ago—but many more remain. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, this is only the end of the beginning. MYSTERIES REVEALED Before the Apple silicon transition was announced in June 2020, there were many questions about how it might work. Many of us had concerns that Apple’s processors, designed for the iPhone and then beefed up for the iPad, would not be able to handle the needs of…

Intel’s Alder Lake processor is starting to become available in PC laptops and that means one thing: benchmarks! Macworld’s sister publication, PCWorld, posted a review of one of the first laptops with the Core i9-12900HK processor, code-named Alder Lake, and it inevitably got us thinking about Apple’s M1 Pro and Max. To be clear, PCWorld didn’t include Apple silicon in its review—they are reviewing Windows-based laptops and comparing Alder Lake to its predecessor and a new 8-core Ryzen 9 5900HX CPU. Many of the benchmark programs PCWorld used aren’t even available on the Mac or do not have native M1 versions, but PCWorld did run Geekbench and Cinebench, two benchmarks Macworld also uses. And we learned a lot from them. First, let’s check out the specifications for the laptops: 14-inch MacBook Pro M1…

我們是美國，沒有什麼事情是我們無法一起做到的！」美國時間七月四日晚間，美國總統拜登在白宮南草坪舉辦的國慶日園遊會上，用這段話，為將近十五分鐘的致詞作結。 這場約千人出席的「派對」，相較於七月一日在北京天安門廣場舉行的中共建黨百年慶祝大典，規格顯得迷你；拜登著重美國如何逐漸擺脫疫情陰霾的談話，也明顯少了中共總書記習近平一番警告外來勢力恐將「頭破血流」的霸氣。 兩大強權，一周內的兩場慶典，東方巨龍的聲勢更為浩大，但華裔美籍的中國研究專家裴敏欣在中共建黨百年大典隔天撰文評論，對中國而言，「拜登，可能是更可怕的敵人。」理由是：「不同於川普以侮辱、威脅和關稅疏遠盟友，拜登修復了美國的聯盟，成功形塑一條相對團結的抗中戰線。」 六月，當台灣社會聚焦於新冠疫情，太平洋另一端的拜登政府則是連續出手，從最外顯的地緣政治，到5G戰、科技戰、金融戰，都像是在這一個月內完成了關鍵布陣，上任至今許多曖昧或決斷的背後意義，也似乎在此一個月間豁然開朗，攸關全球政經格局的「拜登規則」瞬間清晰──如同裴敏欣的解讀，這是一套「比川普更兇狠」的對中戰略。…

ON A CLOUDLESS SPRING DAY in southern Mexico, I follow four cavers over a hill studded with pine trees, down 49 dirt steps, and across a grassy field. We approach a towering rock face on the side of a mountain so enormous that it’s difficult to take in all at once. But what drew me here, along with 69 world-class cavers from nine countries, lies at its base. Beyond a gash that cuts low across the rock face is Sistema Cheve—a cave with the potential to be the deepest on Earth. As the geologic cathedral comes into full view, I hear a quiet expletive escape Corey Hackley, the caver just ahead of me. This is his fifth year exploring Cheve, and its grandeur still fills him with awe. “The scale of this…

海運價格持續飛漲，全球貨櫃業進入國力競賽的關鍵時刻，台灣航運三雄的真正實力，在股票市場過度炒作的投機風下，卻被模糊了焦點。 長榮海運由張國華家族主導，睥睨台灣航空、海運界多年；陽明海運則有最大股東官股護體，唯有近洋海運龍頭萬海航運，資歷最久，外界最為陌生。 今年五十五歲的陳柏廷，超過一半人生都投入海運，面對航運業大爆發，這位低調神祕的海王子首度發出感言，砥礪員工，更在這波航運業史上最瘋狂的景氣中，安不忘危地擘畫萬海轉骨變身的下一步。 萬海航運去年整年賺了一一三億元，是前年的三倍多，是大前年的整整十倍。今年光是第一季就大賺了一四六億元，剛剛好等於過去二年的獲利加總。今年，法人預估一口氣要賺超過過去十年的獲利加總。 面對這突如其來的獲利大爆發，讓航運股一躍成為今年上半年台股最吸睛的男主角，外界當然更好奇，身處旋風核心的航運業老闆，是不是更喜不自勝、甚至得意忘形？…

THE SALWEEN RIVER, known as the Nu in China, is one of the last great free-flowing rivers in Asia. Nearly two decades ago China announced it would dam the Nu. Multiple ethnic groups live in this part of southwestern China, which is called Three Parallel Rivers for the Nu, the Jinsha (Yangtze), and the Lancang (Mekong) Rivers that flow through it and has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site for its rich biodiversity. In 2008 I traveled there to tell the story of this remote region before it was permanently altered. I found that there was very little bottomland along the Nu. Villages hid high above the steep walls of the river’s gorge; a road clung to one side. Few bridges spanned the river. I saw locals crossing by zip…

Tasting is both simple and highly complex. A child can do it (I’m not talking about wine, obviously), and yet it’s a vast subject whose intricacies could fill many books. So how do you go about getting the most out of your wine glass? I’ve talked to some of the world’s best tasters to discuss the tactics that they use when assessing, or just enjoying, a wine. Professional athletes are keenly aware of what affects their form. Wine tasters – especially those on the buying and writing side of the fence – are more likely to promote the myth of the infallible palate (theirs, naturally). Happily, that conversation is now changing as we learn more about our olfactory and taste systems. ➢ ‘The wine taster’s instrument is not only the nose but…

什麼也沒有。昨夜剛下的新雪，白得像樺樹皮，只有我自己的足印在遍撒的雪上交織。樹林裡沒有拍翅的鳥影，空中也全無鳥聲。 到這種季節，有陽光也很微弱， 隔著白茫茫的雲層，有氣無力，不帶來一絲暖意。幾乎一個禮拜了， 在威斯康辛州我的木屋這一帶，氣溫始終不超過零度。水銀像是畫在寒暑表底部一般。我跺腳取暖，再細聽有什麼生命的消息，一面竟感到全身一陣寒顫。唯一的聲響來自空禿的枝頭，像牙齒在打哆嗦。 乎不怎麼照顧。森林簡直像一幅粗略的蝕刻板畫─荒涼、死寂、暗淡。雪片像降落傘一般降在屋前的草地，12月間這樣的景色曾令你感動，現在只意味著你得把汽車的擋風玻璃刮一下了。含蓄的美景還是有的─白雪點綴松樹枝梢，雪地反映淺藍的月色。但是冬深如此，你所尋找的與其說是美景，不如說是有什麼徵兆暗示春天未被遺忘。 但徵兆不易尋找。從前大家認為：每到冬天造化索性來個大掃除，像是為殘年送終。好待春天帶來新生的奇蹟。從前大家以為老鼠是從破布堆裡自然復活：青蛙和烏龜爬出池塘，是靠春雨的魔力生長：而禽類要變成其他動物才能挨過冰封的季節。…

SWALLOWED BY THE EMPTY BLACK NIGHT, Mingma Gyalje Sherpa tried to focus the shaky orb of his headlamp on his next few steps, but the cold overwhelmed his thoughts. Clad in a bulky down suit, with another down jacket underneath, plus two layers of long underwear and breathing bottled oxygen, he should have been OK. But in all the peaks he’d summited, all the blizzards and frigid gales he’d weathered, he’d never felt temperatures quite like this—a piercing, otherworldly cold. He could sense his body shutting down. His left side bore the brunt of a stout wind, with each gust sending icy tendrils slicing through everything he wore. But his right foot was especially worrisome. It had tingled, then burned, and finally ebbed into numbness, a precursor to serious frostbite. That,…

Google is far and away the most popular search engine—but sometimes it can feel more like Big Brother and less like a friendly assistant. Indeed, for those concerned about privacy, Google can overstep some boundaries by collecting your personal data and serving you ads based on what it collects. Google does allow you to disable some personalization and tracking settings, but it’s ultimately up to the user to change them. Enter DuckDuckGo, a privacy-focused search engine with its own desktop extension and mobile browser app. DuckDuckGo touts itself as the anti-Google, promising not to track or collect your data from the start. It offers a clean interface and familiar layout, and provides many of the features you’ve come to expect from a search engine—but without those invasive data trackers. (If privacy…

After months—if not years—of fevered theorizing over Apple’s chip roadmap for the Mac, this year’s Worldwide Developers Conference at last gave us a tantalizing peek at the successor to the blockbuster M1, released a little over a year and a half ago. We learned a bit more about the M2 this week when the first round of reviews landed (see page 46). The 13-inch MacBook Pro is identical to the M1 model on the outside, but the inside is completely different, thanks to Apple’s latest chip. Benchmarks show a nice speed boost of around 20 percent, a significant jump in graphics performance, and a very good improvement over the already speedy M1. But, far more excitingly, now that we’ve got a second data point to work with, we can start to extrapolate…

IN AN OBSCURE ALLEYWAY near Lisbon’s Alcântara neighborhood, the Fábrica Sant’Anna has been producing azulejos—the Portuguese word for wall tiles—roughly the same way since the workshop’s founding in 1741. At long tables scattered with pots of myriad colors, artisans paint angels and flowers, graceful swirls and bold lines, onto gleaming white ceramic squares. But if Sant’Anna’s buzzing factory has become something of a pilgrimage site for visitors to the Portuguese capital, seeing azulejos in Lisbon requires no effort at all. You’d have to walk the streets with your eyes closed to miss them. Throughout Portugal, azulejos are an inextricable part of the landscape. But like the tropical trees of Lisbon, brought to the city from faraway lands centuries ago, azulejos are particularly representative of Portuguese identity precisely because they’re so tied to…

摘自THE GLOBE AND MAIL 去年春天，第一次封城初期，每天探視年邁母親的責任落在我的肩上。我不需要進辦公室工作又是獨居， 社交接觸更有限，所以能確保她的安全。 哥哥嫂嫂則負責每週幫母親採買食物（他們會把東西放在側門旁邊），以及每月一次的剪髮（她端坐在後院正中央那張老舊發灰的白色草坪椅上）。 母親今年88歲，獨居在退休後與父親一起搬入的家裡。 父親大約在12年前過世。他們即將迎來結婚半世紀的日子，他卻病倒了。 當然，我母親還算幸運，兩個兒子和三個孫兒都住在附近，我和哥哥也幸好能看望她，但是看望她時情形會是怎樣，我心裡也沒底。我和母親很早就體認到「彼此個性不合」，即使我已近花甲之年，我們之間仍然會因歧異而產生矛盾。她看重紀律與秩序，我則喜歡隨興而為。能言善辯是我們的共通之處， 但是彼此以言相對時，卻也如刀光劍影。 剛開始，我故意將探訪安排在她每天下午在衛星電視上觀看希臘遊戲節目的時段。用這種方式破冰果然管用：很快地，我們就一起支持同一位參賽者，或是評比各位主持人的魅力。 母親很驚嘆地發現，…

Even before Apple’s M1 Pro and M1 Max MacBooks hit the market, rumblings of future Apple silicon were already hitting the wire. Dubbed the M2, this chip is the likely successor to the M1 that powers the MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and the 24-inch iMac. According to reports, it will arrive in the first half of 2022. And look at the calendar—here we are in 2022. So if you’re wondering whether you should wait for the M2 instead of investing in an M1 MacBook Air or M1 Pro MacBook Pro, we’re here to help. M1, M1 PRO, AND M1 MAX Apple’s first three Mac chips are all built on the same architecture but they’re quite (see below). M1 SPECS Here’s how the different M1 chips compare. As you can see the chips are…

I AM GLIDING ON ICE, inhaling the crisp April air of Greenland’s high Arctic, accompanied by the rhythmic whooshing of sled dogs. I kneel on the back of a sled, making photographs of Inughuit hunter Qumangaapik “Quma” Qvist and his dog team. (That’s me holding the camera, above.) I’m on the quintessential National Geographic assignment, dogsledding across roughly 30 miles of sea ice in search of the unicorn of the sea: the narwhal. Week after week, we’ve been coming out on the sea ice of Inglefield Fjord, seeking a path to where ice meets water. After five weeks, when we finally come up on a small area of open water, Quma tests the ice with a heavy pole. It’s mushy, but underneath the softness lies dependable ice—our lives depend on that ice…

Napa Valley and Bordeaux at tipping point on global warming? Fresh concerns about a climate ‘tipping point’ for Napa Valley and Bordeaux red wines have been raised by scientists, after analysing temperature and grape data. Writing in the Oeno One journal, researchers said climate data showed a significant increase in average growing season temperatures in both Napa and Bordeaux, particularly since the 1980s. So far the warmer conditions have generally contributed to better average wine quality, noted the authors, from the University of Bordeaux’s ISVV Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin and UC Davis. However, analysis on five vintages of California Cabernet Sauvignon found that higher sugar levels in grapes could lead to loss of colour. Higher temperatures can also increase grapes’ sugar content during ripening. The authors concluded:…

四月底，全台灣商用不動產最聚焦的話題，就是高鐵台中站正對面的超級大案──總開發面積十五．八三公頃，未來將規畫打造的「超級娛樂購物城」，於四月二十八日開標。這塊地上權七十年的商業用地，預計投資金額超過一五○億元，市場傳出包括國泰人壽、富邦人壽、南山人壽、新光三越、微風廣場等全台A咖聚集，都已磨刀霍霍準備投標。 「台中消費力太旺盛了，商用不動產熱到燙手，我上周曾在一天內，接到五個台中案子的委託，其中有商場評估、設計、市場調查等。過去一個月，我們有超過一半的時間都待在台中，這是從業以來沒有見過的情景。」房市專家瑞普萊坊市場研究暨顧問部總監黃舒衛表示。 商用不動產交易火熱 娛樂商場拔地而起A咖搶標高鐵購物城…

BY LAND PAGE 43 BY AIR PAGE 64 The National Geographic Society, committed to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, has funded Explorer David Guttenfelder’s storytelling about the human condition since 2014. BY LAND THE BIG BET ON CLEAN CARS AT VOLKSWAGEN’S ASSEMBLY PLANT in Chattanooga, Tennessee, car bodies soar high above the concrete floor on conveyors, like seats on a slow-moving carnival ride. Every 73 seconds one gets lowered onto a power train, and soon body and chassis begin rising together. As I watch, workers in roller chairs carrying pistol-shaped power wrenches glide beneath a Passat sailing by at chest height. They fasten rock guards and skid plates to the undercarriage before holstering their tools to await the next car. Across 3.4 million square feet, about 3,800 workers and 1,500 robots move in…

In the late 18th century, theorist Jeremy Bentham created the perfect prison. With cells laid out in a circle around a central guard tower, all the prisoners could be observed by a single guard—or, importantly, would assume they were being observed. He called it the “Panopticon,” but it’s best known (thanks largely to Michel Foucault) as a metaphor for the power of the surveillance state. In 2013, roughly 230 years after Bentham’s conceptual prison, a series of leaks eventually attributed to Edward Snowden blew the lid off the National Security Agency’s mass wiretap and intercept program. Shock, confusion, and anger followed. The furor led to the bizarre sight of the NSA head as a keynote speaker at the Black Hat security conference and the shuttering of the program. We all slept…

IN THEORY WHY ROOKIE CEOs OUTPERFORM Experienced executives rely too much on old playbooks. WHEN SEEKING THE best CEO candidate, boards might begin with lofty goals. But directors recognize that a botched succession could hurt their reputations (not to mention their shareholders), so in many cases they end up focusing not only on the upside potential of a candidate but also on the downside risk, asking: Who is the safest choice? Who is least likely to fail? And their answer is often the candidate with prior experience in the top job. In fact, the share of newly hired CEOs who previously held the role has quadrupled since 1997 and now stands at 16%. In most endeavors, experience is a good thing. But new research from the executive recruiting and leadership advisory firm Spencer Stuart…

If you’ve looked into how much storage space to keep unused on an SSD, you likely came across recommendations ranging from 0 to 50 percent and may be frustrated about how to sort out the right number. When you have a 1TB or 2TB drive, keeping even 20 percent (200GB or 400GB) unused might seem both wasteful and costly. For most consumer uses and even many professional ones, you can err on the low side of empty storage, down to even filling a drive up to what you might have thought was 100 percent full, depending on how you use the SSD now and plan to in the future. You may decide after reading this column not to worry about free space at all or opt to keep empty nearly 30…

一隻看不見、摸不到的病毒，顛覆全球七十八億人口的生活。 空蕩蕩的街道、渺無人煙的海灘，猶如電影《二十八週毀滅倒數：全球封閉》。對台灣而言，這些曾經虛幻的場景，如今卻全部都化為真實的日常。 二○○八年的金融海嘯，世界各國體認到過去追求經濟發展，忽視分配而出現反省聲浪；二○二○年的新冠病毒，卻讓狂飆下的高風險社會現了形。 「後疫情時代，中產階級充分感受到生活一夕之間逆轉，」台大社工系教授古允文說，當政府或社會沒有妥善的安全制度，人民只好透過搶保單來抵禦風險。 然而，世上沒有任何一張保單，可以保障我們所有幸福安康。病毒再強大，台灣終需從眼前的挫敗中再起，此時需要的是趁機重新省思過去經濟發展模式，以及在新生疫病和氣候變遷的催化下，打造給予人民美好生活、創造永續幸福的新模式。 為檢視台灣在各面向的發展狀況，《天下雜誌》依據OECD（經濟合作暨發展組織）從二○一一年起公布的「美好生活指數」（Better Life Index），進行二○二一「天下幸福生活指數」調查，以攸關人們生活和福祉的十一項領域，涵括二十四個主、客觀指標，全方位評比，並比照OECD四十個主要會員國和伙伴國家排名。（表1）…

“It’s a strange responsibility to have this many viewers.” » P.33 IT SOUNDS LIKE ONE OF THOSE TOO-GOOD-to-be true propositions: Buy an item online, shell out just a fraction of the price at checkout and pay the remainder in installments over time, typically at no extra cost. As online shopping has soared during the pandemic, the popularity of these new payment programs, known as buy now, pay later (BNPL) plans, has skyrocketed as well. Last year alone, Americans spent $20.8 billion through these services, with purchases overall up 230 percent since the start of 2020, according to a study by Accenture commissioned by Afterpay, one of the leading players in the field. Traditionally offered just for online spending by financial tech companies like Affirm, Klarna and PayPay Credit in addition to Afterpay,…

An independently wealthy Republican President is tossed out of office after a single term amid massive economic hardship and fears of political violence. There are rumors he was under surveillance or about to be arrested. Relentless, bitter, appalled at his Democratic successor, he stews in his elegant midtown Manhattan suite, plotting his next move. Except it was not Trump Tower but the Waldorf-Astoria, and the ex-President was Herbert Hoover. But in this case, history neither repeats itself nor rhymes. Hoover not only respected the presidency, he honored it in his postpresidency. When Franklin Roosevelt announced a bank holiday immediately after his Inauguration, Hoover declared he should “receive the wholehearted support of every citizen.” A decade later, when 100 million people in Europe were at risk of starving, Harry Truman enlisted Hoover’s…

Odds are good that if you have a desktop computer, you spend a lot of time sitting at your desk, either for business or for pleasure. So why shouldn’t your desk be as comfy and efficient as possible? While upgrading your computer can often take serious dough (especially these days), you can spend a lot less to improve your workstation itself in some surprising ways. Here are ten ways to improve your workstation for under $100, presented in no particular order. Most of these cost less than $50, and many are under $25! 1. A FANCY DESK MAT No matter what kind of mouse you use or what kind of desk you use it on, you need something in between to protect both of them. A $10 mousepad will do just fine, though…

#72 NEST THERMOSTAT E Google’s more affordable smart Nest thermostat couldn’t be any easier to set up or operate. And once it’s installed, it’ll start saving you money on your energy bills right away, adjusting your heating schedules so you’re only warming up rooms when you need to. What’s more, the accompanying app is almost as well designed as the thermostat itself. £199, store.google.com #73 RING INDOOR CAM The Ring Indoor Cam will keep a careful eye on your property and possessions for not much money at all – and as it comes from an Amazon-owned company, it of course works perfectly with Alexa and the Echo smart speakers. There’s 1080p HD video here, two-way audio, and a polished mobile app that lets you tune into the live feed at any time. £49, ring.com #74 BELKIN…