At the start of this year, it seemed like everybody was reminiscing about the year 2016. In January alone, Spotify saw a 790 percent increase in 2016-themed playlists. People were declaring that the 2026 vibe would match the feel-good vibes of 2016.
Tech
Gen Z is obsessing over 2016 songs, fashion and more. Why???
The only problem is that the experience of living through 2016 was far different from what Gen Z in particular remembers.
Daysia Tolentino is the journalist behind the newsletter Yap Year, where she’s been chronicling online affinity for the 2010s for almost a year now. Gen Z tends to blend all of the years together causing them to hype up the fun cultural parts and ignore the international and political turmoil that marked 2016. Tolentino says 2016 nostalgia might actually be a sign that young people are ready to break out of these cycles of nostalgia and reach for something new.
Tolentino spoke with Today, Explained host Astead Herndon about how 2016 has stuck with us and what our nostalgia for that time might reveal.
There’s much more in the full podcast, so listen to Today, Explained wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Pandora, and Spotify.
Where did this 2016 trend start?
It’s been building up since last year, especially on TikTok. People have been slowly bringing back 2016 trends, whether that’s the mannequin challenge with the Black Beatles song, or pink wall aesthetics, and these really warm, hazy Instagram filters. When we entered the New Year in 2026, there were a lot of TikToks saying that 2026 was going to be like 2016.
I was curious about that. What does that even mean? I don’t actually think people know what that means at all. Then, a couple weeks ago, you see a lot of people on Instagram, especially peak Instagram influencers, posting themselves at their peak in 2016, which inspired everybody to post their own 2016 photos.
In your newsletter, you’ve tried to define what the 2016 mood board is. Can you explain that for me? When we’re thinking 2016 vibes, what do we mean?
When I look at 2016, I see makeup gurus on YouTube blow up at this time, and the makeup at the time is extremely maximalist. It’s very full glam, full beat, very matte, very colorful, some neon wigs at this time. You have the King Kylie of it all.
2016 was such a pivotal moment in internet culture. I think that is when we started to really enter this influencer era in full force. Prior to that, we had creators, but we didn’t have as much of this monetization infrastructure to make everything online an ad essentially. People were posting whatever they wanted to post.
It was the year that social media companies started pushing your news feed toward an engagement-based algorithm versus a friends-only chronological feed. In 2016, you see this flip toward influencer culture and this more put together easily consumable image and vibe to everything, and that trickles down into the culture of Instagram, so then people start posting as if they’re influencers themselves.
Even if you are a teenager like me at the time, if I look at my own Instagram, I could see my own posts mimicking influencers, becoming more polished, and becoming more aesthetic. I think people have missed that a lot, although I think people romanticize 2016 and forget a lot about what that year is actually like.
What do you think this says about 2026?
The entire 2020s so far, people on TikTok, especially young people, have been romanticizing the 2010s. I think, in general, people associate the 2010s with a sense of optimism, especially post-2012. Young people have grown up in such a tumultuous time with the pandemic, the economy, with politics and the world in general. It feels really hopeless at times, so people are looking back to that time that literally looked so sunny, and positive, and wonderful, and low stakes. I think it’s really easy for people to become really fixated on this time period, even if that wasn’t the actual reality, right?
Why do you think people are only cherry picking the good parts of 2016?
It was one of the last years in which we engaged in a monoculture together, and we had shared pieces of culture that we could remember. We could all remember “Closer” being on the radio like 24/7 at the time. I think a lot of people romanticized 2016, because it is the last time they remember unification in any way. It feels like the last kind of moment of normalcy before this decade of turmoil.
As much as there was so much change and disruption happening in 2016, whether that’s Donald Trump, whether that’s Brexit, or even the rise of Bernie Sanders, there were so many people who were so excited about that. I think there was a feeling of disruption that could be mistaken for general optimism. Then, this hope for something different to come that began in 2016 did not materialize in maybe the ways that people wanted them to. But I think a lot of people can remember that feeling and the shared culture that we all had that nobody really is able to share in these days.
I’m 32. I can’t imagine me 10 years ago thinking that the best years were behind me and not in front of me. Am I just being old, or does some of this feel like a generation that’s been raised on remakes and sequels looking back instead of looking forward?
Yeah, that is something I’m concerned about frequently. I’m 27; I shouldn’t be like, “Being 17 was the best years of my life.” It is too obsessed with looking back, because you are unable to imagine a better future forward. That is always really concerning. That is always an indication that there’s a loss of hope,
But, I think that this year, it seems like the energy from people online is about creating something new, and introducing friction, and moving forward from this constant need for escapism that the internet has provided us for the past 10 years. I have seen that rise alongside this nostalgia that has been so widely publicized and widely talked about.
I think people are ready for new things. I think people are ready to move on from constant escapism that the internet and social media brings, including constant nostalgia.
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CarPlay could soon support more than just Siri, as Apple explores wider access for third-party voice tools.
Apple may open CarPlay to third-party AI assistants
It looks as though Apple is gearing up to allow third-party chatbots on CarPlay. This would allow users to query voice-enabled chatbots directly through the CarPlay interface.
Until now, Apple has kept voice assistants off CarPlay, save for its first-party assistant, Siri. However, with the slow rollout of the new, more personal Siri, Apple may feel the pressure to give its users options.
Continue Reading on AppleInsider | Discuss on our Forums
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Intel confirms GPU development is heating up with internal builds and top hires aiming to aggressively challenge Nvidia’s dominance
- Intel is returning to GPUs to challenge Nvidia’s market leadership directly
- The company plans to produce GPUs internally for tighter manufacturing control
- Eric Demers joins Intel from Qualcomm as a key technical figure in GPU development
Intel chief executive Lip-Bu Tan has publicly confirmed internal work on graphics hardware remains active, directly addressing questions about whether the company intends to stay involved in that segment.
Speaking during the recent Cisco AI Summit, Tan said upcoming products will be built internally and that Intel’s manufacturing arm will also support production at scale.
When asked if Intel is going to build GPUs, Tan said, “I just hired the chief GPU architect, and he’s very good. I’m very delighted he joined me, and it takes some persuasion.”
Hiring decisions point to renewed technical focus
Tan’s comments makes clear Intel is deliberately expanding beyond its traditional CPU focus to challenge Nvidia in the GPU market.
The company does not intend to rely solely on external suppliers for these chips, and it wants tighter control over development and manufacturing.
As part of its efforts to produce GPUs, Intel recently hired Eric Demers, recruited from Qualcomm after more than a decade there.
While Demers is a central technical figure in the renewed graphics effort, broader oversight reportedly lies with data center executive Kevork Kechichian, who joined during a restructuring.
The addition of experienced leadership signals Intel’s seriousness about entering high-performance GPU markets, where Nvidia currently dominates both consumer and AI-focused workloads.
These appointments suggest that the company is trying to rebuild internal capability rather than simply rebrand older designs.
Analysts note that Intel’s approach could influence Nvidia’s strategy, especially as AI tools and accelerators continue to drive demand for specialized graphics hardware.
Intel’s renewed GPU push highlights the stakes in the market for AI and gaming accelerators, areas where Nvidia has maintained a strong lead.
GPUs are now central to both gaming and AI workloads, and Intel’s in-house effort positions it to compete directly in this high-margin segment.
By combining GPU development with internal manufacturing and leveraging its CPU ecosystem, Intel could offer integrated platforms attractive to enterprise and AI-focused customers.
While results are uncertain, Tan’s hiring choices suggest a sustained, deliberate push rather than a short-term experiment.
Investors and competitors are watching closely, as Intel’s entry may pressure Nvidia on pricing, product cycles, and ecosystem dominance.
Although Intel intends to be a long-term player in the GPU market, execution and performance will determine whether these plans alter competitive dynamics or remain a technical demonstration.
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Carbon removal startup Terradot is acquiring competitor Eion, the two companies announced today. The sale was driven largely by big investors like sovereign wealth funds, which want to work with companies that can handle large contracts. Eion was simply too small, Eion CEO Anastasia Pavlovic Hans told The Wall Street Journal.
Both companies spread pulverized rocks on farm fields to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Known as enhanced rock weathering (EWR), it speeds up a natural process and has the potential to be a low-cost way to remove carbon, but it requires large and distributed operations. The spread between what EWR companies would like to charge and what buyers would like to pay remains wide, according to a survey by CDR.fyi.
California-based Terradot’s operations are centered on Brazil, where the company works with basalt as its mineral of choice, while Eion works in the U.S. and uses olivine. Terradot’s investor list includes Gigascale Capital, Google, Kleiner Perkins, and Microsoft, while Eion’s investors include AgFunder, Mercator Partners, and Overture.
Wicked: For Good is the second half of Universal Pictures’s epic tale about the witches of Oz and how their relationship has soured since the events of the first movie. The sequel, which debuted at the top of the global box office, is the biggest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation.
Get ready to relive the magic as Wicked: For Good is coming to streaming.
The movie picks up with Glinda (Ariana Grande) as the leader of Emerald City. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), now known as The Wicked Witch of the West, has been ostracized and forced into exile. Thanks to the arrival of a mysterious girl from Kansas, the two must face their past in order to save their present.
The movie was directed by Jon M. Chu and also stars Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum. Wicked: For Good bonus features include director commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes and a full-length sing-along version of the movie.
Read on to find out when Wicked: For Good will hit streaming, along with more information on how a VPN can improve your viewing experience.
Read more: Here Are the Ways You Can Get Peacock Premium for Free
When to watch Wicked: For Good on Peacock
Viewers in the US can start watching the celebrated musical on Peacock starting Friday, March 20.
There are two Peacock plans to choose from. The cheaper Peacock Premium costs $11 a month or $110 a year and includes ads. Peacock Premium Plus and costs $17 a month or $170 a year. This tier includes downloads, your live local NBC station and is mostly ad-free.
How to watch Wicked: For Good with a VPN
If you’re traveling abroad and want to keep up with your favorite shows, a VPN can enhance your privacy and security when streaming. It encrypts your traffic and prevents your internet service provider from throttling your speeds. It can be helpful when connecting to public Wi-Fi networks while traveling, adding an extra layer of protection for your devices and logins.
VPNs are legal in many countries, including the US and Canada, and can be used for legitimate purposes such as improving online privacy and security. However, some streaming services may have policies restricting VPN use to access region-specific content. If you’re considering a VPN for streaming, check the platform’s terms of service to ensure compliance.
ExpressVPN is our best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN. The service is compatible with a variety of devices. It typically costs $13 a month but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100, you will get four months free and save 70%. Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
If you choose to use a VPN, follow the provider’s installation instructions to ensure you’re connected securely and in compliance with applicable laws and service agreements. Some streaming platforms may block access when a VPN is detected, so verifying if your streaming subscription allows VPN usage is crucial.
A candidate vaccine that fights a suite of coronaviruses including COVID-19 and related, deadly respiratory diseases is starting human clinical testing in Australia. The vaccine was developed using technology from the University of Washington’s Institute for Protein Design.
South Korean pharmaceutical company SK bioscience is leading the trial for the new coronavirus vaccine, called GBP511. SK bioscience previously partnered with UW researchers on a COVID-19 vaccine that received regulatory approval.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations has provided the GBP511 program with approximately $65 million in funding.
Unlike most vaccines that target a single virus or strain, GBP511 aims to protect against multiple coronaviruses at once.
“GBP511 is the first vaccine to reach human testing that is intended to protect against multiple strains of the virus that causes COVID-19 as well as related coronaviruses with the potential to spark dangerous outbreaks,” Neil King, associate professor of biochemistry at UW Medicine, said in a statement.
King, who is deputy director of the Institute for Protein Design, co-invented the self-assembling nanoparticle technology that was used to generate the vaccine. The institute is on the cutting edge of AI-assisted protein innovation and perhaps best known as the home of David Baker, a 2024 Nobel Prize winner in chemistry.
The new vaccine recognizes sarbecoviruses, a subgroup of coronaviruses that include the virus that causes COVID-19, as well as those responsible for other major disease outbreaks: the original SARS-CoV-1 virus that caused widespread illness in the early 2000s and MERS-CoV, which caused outbreaks primarily in the Middle East. The family also includes viruses found in animals such as camels and bats, some of which have already infected humans and others that potentially could.
The vaccine features pieces of four different coronaviruses attached to a computer-designed nanoparticle, triggering an immune response to a variety of invaders.
“The beauty of this approach is that by presenting the immune system with multiple related antigens at once, we can train it to recognize features that are conserved across the entire sarbecovirus family,” said David Veesler, a professor of biochemistry at UW Medicine who led the preclinical studies.
The international Phase 1/2 trial launched its enrollments last month and aims to include approximately 368 healthy adults in Perth, Western Australia. Results from the study examining the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness are expected by 2028.
Elon Musk has merged SpaceX and xAI, creating what might be the blueprint for a new Silicon Valley power structure. With his $800 billion net worth already rivaling historic conglomerate GE’s peak market cap, and Musk being vocal about his view that “tech victory is decided by velocity of innovation,” the question isn’t whether a personal conglomerate can be built, but rather how far Musk himself is going to take it.
Watch as Equity dives into this new era of the “everything” business, whether we’ll see others like Sam Altman follow suit, and more of the week’s headlines.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
Harbor Freight has hit the ground running in 2026, debuting a selection of products that aren’t power tools, including smartphone-compatible OBD II code readers and foldable welding tables. It’s not just introducing new offerings for 2026, though; it’s also expanding color options for several of its U.S. General tool boxes and cabinets, with purple the latest addition to the lineup.
U.S. General is one of Harbor Freight’s in-house brands and focuses primarily on tool storage solutions. In late 2025, Harbor Freight announced it was adding three colors to the list of exterior color options for U.S. General products: purple, slate gray, and green. Green and gray arrived first, with purple now the newest shade customers can choose from at the time of writing. Many of U.S. General’s third-generation of tool chests, such as its triple-bank roll cab, work center hutch, and 22-inch end locker, are all now available in purple.
Certain attachments and accessories, such as folding side trays for U.S. General carts, also come in purple. This helps those opting for the new color to keep their tool setup looking uniform. However, many U.S. General accessories, like its Magnetic Power Strip and Magnetic Glove/Tissue Dispenser, are not currently sold in purple as of early February 2026.
Harbor Freight likely has another new color on the horizon
Another U.S. General product that is now available in purple is the Snap-On-esque Mini Steel Toolbox. Originally perceived by many as a gimmick, the store’s compact, 10-pound toolbox eventually became a very popular item, due in part to its simple functionality and sub-$20 price tag.
Like other U.S. General products, the Mini Steel Toolbox comes in black, red, and blue, as well as the newer green, slate gray, and purple colors. However, Harbor Freight is capitalizing on the Mini Toolbox’s virality by asking followers to vote on the next color option for the product. In August 2025, the retailer announced a seventh color would be added in 2026, with voters able to choose from light pink, hot pink, yellow, or orange.
Harbor Freight provided mock-ups for the vote, but it wouldn’t be hard to imagine what the Mini Toolbox would look like in either orange or yellow anyway. That’s because a lot of other equipment from the brand, like the U.S. General Series 3 72 x 22-inch Triple-Bank Roll Cab, already comes in yellow and orange, as well as white, and that’s in addition to the six colors currently available for the Mini Toolbox. Thankfully, cost needn’t be a factor when deciding which color is right for you, as the price remains the same for these U.S. General products regardless of color.
Disney+ subscribers in some European countries have lost access to advanced HDR features like Dolby Vision and HDR10+, TechRadar and FlatpanelsHD report. The issue was first spotted by German Disney+ subscribers on Reddit, but currently also impacts subscribers in Portugal, Poland, France and the Netherlands, according to FlatpanelsHD.
“Dolby Vision support for content on Disney+ is currently unavailable in several European countries due to technical challenges,” Disney said in a statement. “We are actively working to restore access to Dolby Vision and will provide an update as soon as possible. 4K UHD and HDR support remain available on supported devices.”
If the issue is in fact a technical one, it seems like it could be around for the long-term. Disney has removed any reference to Dolby Vision from its Disney+ video quality support page in Germany. As of now, the company lists HDR10 as its default HDR format, despite Dolby Vision support being a feature of Disney+ for several years now.
FlatpanelsHD writes that the real issue might be legal, rather than technological. A company called InterDigital won an injunction in a German court against Disney in November 2025 because it violated at least one of the company’s patents on streaming video technology. The injunction specifically requires Disney to stop violating InterDigital’s patent on “a method for dynamically overlaying a first video stream with a second video stream comprising, for example, subtitles.” It’s not entirely clear how that plays into the company offering Dolby Vision and HDR10+ in Europe, but it would explain why subscribers in Germany were some of the first people to notice Dolby Vision’s absence.
Engadget has contacted Disney for more information about Disney+’s missing HDR support and whether InterDigital’s injunction played a role. We’ll update this article if we hear back.
Mentions of Dolby Vision and HDR10+ were also stripped out of the US version of Disney+’s video quality support page. InterDigital hasn’t won an injunction in the US, but the company is pursuing a patent case against Disney in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. That doesn’t necessarily mean Dolby Vision support will be taken from US subscribers next, but it does suggest there’s more happening here than just technical challenges.
Drone technology has prompted military forces around the world to innovate defensive techniques as remote-controlled war machines get more capable, and affordable. Ukraine says its new mini-drone can go as fast as some hypercars and is using WWII-era prop planes to take out Russian attack drones. A joint U.S. military task force published new guidelines to defend the country from drones in January, and the nation’s Marine Corps has a new 3D-printed drone that was designed by and built entirely by Marines. It’s the Marines’ first 3D-printed drone to be greenlit under the National Defense Authorizing Act, or NDAA. It’s also cleared anti-spyware checks to get flight clearance from NAVAIR, the US Navy command responsible for managing naval equipment. The Marines are a separate branch from the Navy with its own wing in the Pentagon, but the two forces were joined as sister services in 1834 by Congress and President Andrew Jackson.
The Hanx is intended to be a “one-way attack” drone that deploys its weapons payload in a way that destroys the craft. This precludes the need for a return flight that an enemy could track, which has U.S. military commanders more than curious. In December 2025 the The Marines tested their first ship-launched one-way drone. The HANX is also modular, and when not tasked with delivering explosive payloads it could be outfitted for surveillance or logistics support. The Marines will also be able to produce spare parts for and repair damaged or malfunctioning HANX drones quickly. Instead of waiting for purchase orders to go through and a contractor to make and deliver parts, all the Marines need to fix a Hanx are digital blueprints and a 3D printer. It’s the very same reason aircraft carriers are now using 3D-printed parts.
Who designed the Hanx drone?
The Marine Corps has a Lego club and the COVID-19 pandemic partially to thank for its new drone. Sgt. Henry David Volpe joined a Lego robotics club in middle school, and in an interview on the Marine Corps website he credited his family with inspiring his love for technology. “Both my parents are engineers, so I feel like I’ve always had that encouragement to tinker and experiment with things,” he said. Volpe started working as an auto mechanic while studying to be one in college, but the COVID pandemic made it hard for him do both simultaneously. He joined the Marines with the 2nd Maintenance Battalion, where he learned about the Expeditionary Force Innovation Campus at Camp Lejeune that worked with 3D printing and robotics. As he recalls, “I immediately went over to the innovation campus, shook hands with the master sergeant, and said, ‘I want to work over here, I’ve got experience with this.’”
Volpe’s problem solving skills (he was quickly able to repair a broken 3D printer at the facility) impressed Matthew Pine, the officer in charge of the campus. Pine and Volpe observed an Army drone project at Fort Campbell during a visit there. Volpe recalls being impressed, “but what I saw was a big price tag. I knew I could make something far cheaper without sacrificing too many features.” Pine assembled a team of Marines to bring Volpe’s vision to the workshop, and they were able to produce a prototype in just 90 days. The name “Hanx” comes from Volpe’s nickname Hank, but he deflects credit for creating it. “This was only possible because of the collaboration with the team around me,”he explained. “I designed it, but I didn’t work on it alone.”
Kris Marszalek, the co-founder and CEO of cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com, has paid $70 million for the domain AI.com — the highest price ever publicly disclosed for a website name, according to the deal’s broker Larry Fischer of GetYourDomain.com.
The entire sum was paid in cryptocurrency to an undisclosed seller. Marszalek plans to debut the site during a Super Bowl ad this weekend, offering a personal “AI agent” that lets consumers send messages, use apps and trade stocks. The previous domain sale record was nearly $50 million for Carinsurance.com, per GoDaddy.
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