Innovation

A few weeks ago, the U.S. government outlined a plan to replace its fleet of cars and trucks with electric vehicles assembled in the U.S., part of a new “Buy America” initiative. Using the government’s purchasing power to buy zero-emissions vehicles would help speed the transition away from gasoline-powered cars and ultimately lead to 1 million new jobs in the American automobile industry.

In November, Apple took the computer world by surprise, launching a new RISC-based computer chip, dubbed “Apple Silicon,” that set new performance and compatibility standards. Using the same microprocessor architecture Apple developed for the iPhone, the M1 MacBook and MacBook Air run cool and boast long battery life, all very desirable computer features.

For years, consumer electronics companies have been pursuing the holy grail of home entertainment, the ability to provide music and video without the encumbrances of wires or tethers. It’s still largely a dream, of course, as long as we have to connect gear to AC or mains wires for electric power, but advances are progressing in the right direction.

Several startups are working on innovative technology that offers simple and inexpensive paper-strip Covid-19 tests that can be used at home by consumers, much like a pregnancy test.