The preexisting conditions of the coronavirus pandemic

PLUS: How to build a vintage audio system, a knocked out voter registration site, and the best landline phones. View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions 10.18.20   ALGORITHMS Computer Scientists Break the 'Traveling Salesperson' Record BY ERICA KLARREICH Finally, there's a better way to find approximate solutions to the notorious optimization problem, often used to test the limits of efficient computation.   RETRO TECH How to Build a Vintage Audio System That Will Last Forever BY PARKER HALL Want stellar sound that will last a lifetime? Here's what to consider when building a "new-to-me" system.   RETRO TECH MiniDiscs Helped Me Keep in Touch With My Brother, a World Away BY MICHAEL CALORE Mailing each other packages of tiny discs filled with music kept us connected.   PUBLIC HEALTH The Preexisting Conditions of the Coronavirus Pandemic BY ADAM ROGERS An enormous new data set peers into the health of the world's population before 2020—and how the coronavirus turned that into a global disaster.   OK, FIIIIIIIIIIINE Want Some Eco-Friendly Tips? A New Study Says No, You Don't BY KATE YODER Nagging, giving unsolicited advice, and "ecopiety" are out. But there are better ways to get people to adopt green habits.   SECURITY ROUNDUP A Cut Cable Knocked Out Virginia's Voter Registration Site BY BRIAN BARRETT Plus: Barnes and Noble got hacked, Zoom adds real end-to-end encryption, and more of the week's top security news.   CORONAVIRUS UPDATE Covid Vaccine Trials Are Halted, US Cases Rise, and More BY EVE SNEIDER Catch up on the most important updates from this week.   RETRO TECH Ring Ring! Our Favorite Landline Phones Are Calling BY MEDEA GIORDANO Smartphones have made our lives easier, but let's face it: Telephones used to be so much cooler.   PODCASTS This Book Will Change How You See Game of Thrones BY GEEK'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY James Hibberd's Fire Cannot Kill a Dragon draws on more than 50 new interviews with the cast and crew.     This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or Manage your newsletter subscriptions