What's Tech?
Enjoy the archives of this retired, award-winning series from Christopher Thomas Plante and The Verge that explained technology bit by bit. The series finale aired December 6th, 2016, shortly before Chris re-joined Polygon as its executive editor. For more on what’s happening now (and next) in technology and gadgets, listen and subscribe to The Vergecast.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 24 minutes
- Episodes
- 88
- Years Active
- 2015 - 2016
How a computer the size of a credit card is changing education — and GameBoy emulators
For longer than I would like to admit, I thought Raspberry Pi was a dessert. I'm not proud of that. Fortunately, I eventually learned what Raspberry Pi actually is, and though it's not nearly as tast…
00:15:59 |
Tue 07 Jun 2016
How people play Nintendo games on a computer, and why that's probably illegal
Whether or not you've used a video game emulator yourself — and if you have, it's okay, I'm not gonna snitch — it's impossible to deny their prevalence. Since the age of modern computing, people have…
00:19:20 |
Tue 31 May 2016
What are graphics cards, and why do you want one?
Graphics cards! So hot right now. Whether it's the slow realization that jumping on board with the 2016 VR revolution requires a tricked-out gaming rig you'd never previously have dreamed of stashing…
00:28:03 |
Tue 24 May 2016
Everything you wanted to know about Drake, but were too afraid to ask
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Drake is a former child actor, current pop star, and the secular god of memes — even if he denounces that last label. Born Aubrey Drake Graham, the Canadian celeb…
00:27:21 |
Tue 17 May 2016
Why movie theaters should and shouldn't be afraid of VOD
A couple weeks ago, my friend and colleague Bryan Bishop visited Las Vegas for a flashy conference called CinemaCon, where movie studios and theater owners discuss the future of the film industry — a…
00:28:09 |
Tue 10 May 2016
Why the future of video games may be free-to-play
If you own a smartphone or have a Facebook account, odds are you've played a free-to-play game. Maybe you grew crops in Farmville or scrimmaged in Clash of Clans. If you're anything like me, one of t…
00:19:52 |
Tue 03 May 2016
What is a gadget blog, anyway?
This week, The Verge launched a gadget blog. It's called Circuit Breaker, and you can read about its origin and purpose in The New York Times. Paul Miller, the editor of Circuit Breaker, has spoken a…
00:19:05 |
Thu 28 Apr 2016
Why bots are the new big thing, and what that means for ordering pizza
2016 is shaping up to be the year of the bot. Late last month, Microsoft made a big bet on tools that will help developers create artificial intelligence software meant to improve the lives of humans…
00:32:07 |
Tue 19 Apr 2016
Why artificial intelligence is more important than ever and how it will change our lives
For nearly 60 episodes, one question has persisted through What's Tech: what is happening in the ending of Steven Spielberg's 2001 sci-fi film A.I. Artificial Intelligence? To settle the question onc…
00:29:30 |
Tue 12 Apr 2016
What is Slack, why is everybody using it, and will it destroy my work-life balance?
I love Slack, the mega-popular corporate-friendly chat client. I love it so much that I desperately want to delete it from my phone, because I can't help but check its messages every hour of every da…
00:21:13 |
Tue 05 Apr 2016
Wrestlemania: why you should watch, even if pro wrestling isn't your thing
This Sunday the WWE will host the Super Bowl of professional wrestling. Wrestlemania will takeover the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas, which has a maximum capacity of 105,000. If things go as the WWE …
00:23:07 |
Tue 29 Mar 2016
Everything you need to know about the Hyperloop, a potential transportation game-changer
In 2013, billionaire eccentric inventor Elon Musk announced an idea called the Hyperloop: a super-fast, low-friction transportation system that looked like the prom photo for a subway tunnel and a bu…
00:22:34 |
Tue 15 Mar 2016
Dota 2: an explainer for newcomers and the confused family of addicts
A $3 million vide game tournament is happening right now in Shanghai, China, pitting 16 of the best Dota 2 teams against each other. But what, pray tell, does any of that mean?
Dota 2 is an immensely…
00:26:21 |
Fri 04 Mar 2016
Before the driverless car, there was the PRT
My colleague Adi Robertson, I recently learned, is a fan of oddball transportation. On our work trip to the Sundance Film Festival, she gleefully introduced me to the funicular, a small and nicely fu…
00:17:11 |
Tue 01 Mar 2016
Encryption: what is it exactly, and who is right about it?
Normally we publish What's Tech on Tuesday morning, but we couldn't hold next week's episode until then. A federal court has requested Apple help the FBI gain access to the contents of an iPhone that…
00:35:03 |
Thu 18 Feb 2016
Reusable rockets could send you to space — eventually
Coverage of SpaceX and Blue Origin, the two private companies pursuing the reusable rocket, is near inescapable. Maybe you watched a launch on our site, or saw one of the not-quite-landings in a Face…
00:31:33 |
Tue 16 Feb 2016
It's time to give film cameras a second chance
I am perpetually envious of my friend and colleague Sam Byford. He lives in Tokyo, and has access to new Hatsune Miku vinyls, Nintendo 3DS limited editions, and Sega arcades. His is the technological…
00:26:45 |
Tue 09 Feb 2016
The Super Bowl: how to sound like an expert
Super Bowl 50 approaches with the reliability of the morning sun, and yet, you still have so many questions. There are the obvious questions, which I can answer here.
What teams are in the Super Bowl…
00:24:22 |
Tue 02 Feb 2016
Spotify, Apple Music, and Tidal: which service is right for you?
I've used Spotify for a few years, but I'm curious if I should make a switch to one of the dozen and change alternate music streaming services. Apple Music has free concerts, I'm told, and Tidal has …
00:19:37 |
Tue 26 Jan 2016
What is Sundance?
[Apologies, the original file uploaded incorrectly. This is the complete episode.]
My options at the movies this week include a 1980s Dublin-set rock musical, a dark comedy that hinges on a lap dog, …
00:28:02 |
Tue 19 Jan 2016
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