Here are today’s 3 verified tech & science stories, covering Tech & Apps and Science & Space.
Table of Contents
Every item below links to its original source.
The TLDR
- Tech & Apps: How to record audio on your iPhone without opening the Camera app
- Science & Space: Oak Ridge National Lab releases a new tool for mapping how people move throughout the day
Tech & Apps
How to record audio on your iPhone without opening the Camera app
You don’t need video just to capture a meeting, song idea, or voice memo — Apple’s built-in Voice Memos app handles it directly, with options for mono, stereo, or spatial recording plus an “Enhance Recording” tool to cut background noise, according to Engadget. The app also auto-transcribes recordings and can sync across your Apple devices through iCloud.
How long your old cassette tapes will actually last
If you’ve still got a box of cassette tapes, Engadget notes they typically last around 30 years under good conditions, but poor storage can cut that down to as little as five. Keeping tapes at 59–73°F with 25–55% humidity, away from sunlight and magnets, is the biggest factor — playing them occasionally and rewinding fully also helps keep the tape from sticking.
Science & Space
Oak Ridge National Lab releases a new tool for mapping how people move throughout the day
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has released LandScan Mosaic, a new global population dataset that models how individual buildings are used and occupied over a 24-hour period rather than just estimating a static population count, according to Phys.org. Built on ORNL’s existing LandScan Global dataset, Mosaic adds building-level detail and uncertainty estimates that the lab says can help with disaster response, humanitarian aid, and infrastructure planning.
Explore more: stopping Google from training Gemini on your photos, ChatGPT vs Gemini for trip planning.
Make Your Digital Life Better
More practical tech how-tos, tool picks, and guides to upgrade your everyday digital life. More on GTWebs.
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Photo: Imagen 2 via Gemini; prompted by Adi Robertson / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.