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Over the past year-plus of pandemic living, the need for broadband has become an inescapable truth. But broadband access isn’t cheap, and for some people, there’s been a hard choice to make: spend limited income to go online for work or school, or to get other essentials, like groceries and other basic supplies.
CNET’s Shara Tibken and Maggie Reardon dug into that “affordability crisis” — who’s struggling, what’s available to them, what hurdles they face, and how some companies, governments and others are working to make broadband cheaper and more accessible.
That story is among the many in-depth features and thought-provoking commentaries that appeared on CNET this week. So here you go. These are the stories you don’t want to miss:
Broadband costs too much for some people. Fixing that won’t be easy
The US digital divide isn’t just due to lack of service. In many cases, the lack of affordable options is the real problem.
Robert Rodriguez/CNET
UFOs are real. That doesn’t mean we’ve been visited by aliens
Commentary: The Pentagon’s UFO videos have us excited about extraterrestrials but don’t expect to meet aliens anytime soon.
This still shows the unidentified object tracked by a Navy pilot in 2015 in the “Gimbal” video.
Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET
The show must go online: How performance was reinvented for the pandemic
A new era of digital performance has arrived. Let’s hope it’s here to stay.
National Theatre
How I moved from roller skates to electric skates
The Segway Drift W1 Electric Skates look intimidating, but it only takes some practice to start loving them.
Where Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces fall short
Good luck trying to participate in live audio chats if you have hearing loss. But improvements are in the works.
Getty Images
How do we reemerge after a year of isolation and anxiety? Sherry Turkle has advice
The MIT professor sees the beginning of a rebirth and an acute need for greater empathy.
Scott Stein/CNET
Europe’s last dictator has a YouTube problem
Commentary: Roman Protasevich criticized Belarus’ regime through YouTube and Telegram — until the country’s president forced down a plane to silence him.
Nur Photo/Getty
The coronavirus origin story and the lab leak debate need a hard reset
Commentary: Chatter about the origins of COVID-19 has ramped up, as calls for investigation into the lab leak theory grow louder.
Getty
Friends: The Reunion drags in spots, but is mostly a poignant homecoming
Review: At almost two hours, the special is longer than it needs to be. But hard-core fans of the sitcom will find lots to love about hanging out with these pals again.
HBO Max
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