Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge The Department of Justice's list of solutions for fixing Google's illegal antitrust behavior and restoring competition in the search engine market started with forcing the company to sell Chrome, and late Friday night, Google responded with a list of its own (included below).Instead of breaking off Chrome, Android, or Google Play as the DOJ's filing considers, Google's proposed fixes aim at the payments it makes to companies like Apple and Mozilla for exclusive, prioritized placement of its services, its licensing deals with companies that make Android phones, and contracts with wireless carriers. They don't address a DOJ suggestion about possibly forcing Google to share its valuable search data with other companies to help their products catch up.According to Google's lawyers, the ruling pointed to arrangements with Apple and Mozilla for their browsers, the companies that make Android phones, and wireless carriers. Google regulatory VP Lee-Anne Mulholland writes on the company blog, This was a decision about our search distribution contracts, so our proposed remedies are directed to that.For three years, its proposal would block Google from signing deals that link licenses for Chrome, Search, and its Android app store, Google Play, with placement or preinstallation of its other apps, including Chrome, Google Assistant, or the Gemini AI assistant.It would also still allow Google to pay for default search placement in browsers but allow for multiple deals across different platforms or browsing modes and require the ability to revisit the deals at least once a year.While the company still plans to appeal Judge Amit Mehta's ruling that said, Google is a monopolist, and it has acted as one to maintain its monopoly," first, it says it will submit a revised proposal on March 7th, ahead of a two-week trial over the issue in April.
Image: Josh King / OhSnap When 19-year-old Josh King suggested he would single-handedly redefine mobile gaming with his 3D-printed gamepad, drawing a direct line from himself to Steve Jobs, I have to admit I thought it was a bit much!But it's no longer just a 3D-printed controller. OhSnap, the company behind the excellent magnetic PopSocket alternatives I showed you in October, is now officially turning his design into the coolest looking gamepad attachment I've ever seen for a phone:It's no taller or wider than an iPhone, so it should slide into a pocket. It's got a MagSafe pattern of magnets to attach it to your magnetic ring device. You don't have to remove it to use your phone like a phone, because the whole gamepad retracts underneath, a little like the slide-out keyboard phones (or PlayStation Phones) of old - and now, it's mounted on a spring-loaded arm that pops out at the push of a button and also slightly angles your device towards your face. Video by Josh King / OhSnap The OhSnap Mcon's hinge in action. OhSnap even found room for a pair of Nintendo Switch-esque analog sticks, with drift-resistant Hall effect sensors, and pair of fold-out grips so you can (theoretically) hold it more like a full-size gamepad. The sticks are clickable buttons, and it's got a full set of shoulder buttons and triggers as well. Image: OhSnap An illustration with the grips unfolded. Two months ago, Retro Game Corps came away impressed with a prototype, and it seems King has been very busy since then. As he explains on YouTube, he initially tried to start his own company around the gamepad, even attracted a few investors, manufactured some boards and was working toward injection molding, before he started running out of money and reached out to OhSnap about a partnership. Image: OhSnap It'll be available in black and white at launch, though King says they're working on different mix and match colorful parts so you can style it. Speaking of money, we don't have any idea how much it'll cost, particularly at retail - OhSnap is planning to launch a Kickstarter on January 2nd to raise funds. It's taking signups here for now.I should be getting my own hands on a prototype next month at CES 2025 in Las Vegas, and I'll let you know how it feels.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge NSO Group, the organization behind the Pegasus spyware, has been found liable in a lawsuit brought by Meta's WhatsApp over attacks on about 1,400 devices, as reported by The Record.WhatsApp originally filed the suit in 2019, and investigations have found that Pegasus has been used to hack phones belonging to groups like activists, journalists, and government officials.NSO Group is liable for charges of violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, violation of the California Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, and breach of contract, according to today's ruling. A trial will now move forward only on the issue of damages." The spyware maker has argued that it isn't liable because Pegasus was operated by clients investigating crimes and cases of national security but the judge rejected those arguments, which could establish a precedent for other companies in the same business.This ruling is a huge win for privacy," Will Cathcart, the head of WhatsApp, says in a Threads post. We spent five years presenting our case because we firmly believe that spyware companies could not hide behind immunity or avoid accountability for their unlawful actions. Surveillance companies should be on notice that illegal spying will not be tolerated."NSO Group didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A federal jury in Delaware determined on Friday that Qualcomm didn't breach its agreement with Arm through its 2021 acquisition of Nuvia, a startup founded by three former Apple engineers. As reported earlier by Bloomberg and Reuters, the decision stems from a two-year-long legal battle that accused Qualcomm of misusing the chip designs Arm licensed to Nuvia before its acquisition.Despite delivering a win for Qualcomm, the jury couldn't determine whether Nuvia breached its agreement with Arm, meaning the case can be tried again. I don't think either side had a clear victory or would have had a clear victory if this case is tried again," US District Court Judge Maryellen Noreika said, according to Reuters.Qualcomm bought Nuvia for $1.4 billion to bolster the company's lineup of next-generation chips, like the Snapdragon X chips inside current Copilot Plus laptops. Still, testimony during the trial revealed that Qualcomm's internal documents also showed the company projected it could save as much as $1.4 billion every year on payments to Arm. Split decision In 2022, Arm ignited a legal battle after Qualcomm continued to pay its existing royalty fees to Arm, which were allegedly much lower than what Nuvia was paying. After the two failed to come to an agreement, Arm argued the designs licensed to Nuvia were no longer valid, and that Qualcomm should destroy the technology created with them.During an interview on Decoder this week, Arm CEO Rene Haas couldn't share much about the trial, but said, The principles as to why we filed the claim are unchanged."The jury ultimately sided with Qualcomm after viewing Arm's internal documents that estimate Arm could've lost $50 million in revenue as a result of Nuvia's acquisition, according to Reuters. This week, Nuvia co-founder Gerard Williams also testified that the startup only used one percent or less" of Arm technology in its finished technology, Reuters reported.The jury has vindicated Qualcomm's right to innovate and affirmed that all the Qualcomm products at issue in the case are protected by Qualcomm's contract with ARM," Ann Chaplin, Qualcomm's general counsel and corporate secretary, said in an emailed statement to The Verge. We will continue to develop performance-leading, world class products that benefit consumers worldwide, with our incredible Oryon ARM-compliant custom CPUs."The Verge reached out to Arm with a request for comment but didn't immediately hear back.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge From basic and affordable to premium and ultra-customizable, these are the best controllers we've tested for Xbox. And they work with PCs, too. Read the full story at The Verge.
Illustration: Beatrice Sala The US government has charged a dual Russian and Israeli national with allegedly building and maintaining LockBit's malware code, while receiving over $230,000 in cryptocurrency for his work. The 51-year-old Rostislav Panev was arrested in Israel pending extradition to the US, making him the third member of the LockBit ransomware group in custody.Authorities previously arrested other alleged members of the LockBit group, including Mikhail Vasiliev and Ruslan Magomedovich Astamirov, both of whom have pleaded guilty to various charges, including conspiracy to commit computer fraud.Authorities are still searching for Lockbit's alleged ringleader, Dmitry Khoroshev, with a reward worth up to $10 million. The DOJ claimed in May that Khoroshev alone allegedly received at least $100 million in disbursements of digital currency through his developer shares of LockBit ransom payments," based on a 20 percent share of ransom payments extorted by affiliates who used the group's software.As outlined in the complaint, Panev is accused of working as a developer for LockBit since the group first formed in 2019, helping to wage ransomware attacks on hundreds of entities around the globe, including hospitals, businesses, government agencies, and more.Law enforcement linked Panev to LockBit after finding login credentials on his computer for a dark web repository housing multiple versions of the LockBit builder," which is the tool that allowed members to generate custom builds of the LockBit ransomware malware for particular victims."Panev allegedly admitted to writing and maintaining LockBit's malware code in interviews with the Israeli police. Some of the code he's said to have created can disable Windows Defender antivirus software, run malware on multiple computers on a network, and print LockBit's ransom note on all the printers in a victim's network. Panev claimed he didn't realize he was involved in illegal activity at first, according to the complaint.
The Echo Popis a tiny speaker with Alexa-enabled smarts, and is currently down to its best price. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Believe it or not, we're now just a few days away from Christmas. Don't panic if you've yet to start your holiday shopping, though! While it might be too late to order some of the gifts on your holiday wish list, plenty of other great presents will arrive in time.. if you know where to look.After doing some digging at various retailers, we've found a bunch of gadgets and goods you'll still be able to tuck under the tree if you order them soon enough. They encompass a wide range of categories, too, from noise-canceling earbuds and fitness trackers to smart lights, e-readers, and smart speakers. Best of all, a bunch of them are currently on sale, so you can save some money while you're at it.However, keep in mind that Amazon purchases are not likely to arrive on time unless you've signed up for a Prime membership. Don't worry, though, because there are plenty of other retailers - including Best Buy, Target, and Walmart - that will ship your gift in time without requiring you to sign up for a premium subscription.Headphones, earbuds, and speakers
Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images As people scramble for last-minute gifts and late-year bargains, everyone is double-checking their lists and figuring out the fastest way to get their purchases. Thankfully, many retailers are offering generous shipping policies for their products, with some offering free two-day shipping or even same-day delivery if you pay extra. And just in case the gift you choose isn't quite right, many retailers are also offering extended return policies so your giftee can get something more to their liking.For your convenience, we've collected the current holiday shipping cutoff windows for items that can still arrive by Christmas. We've also checked the latest return policies for several major retailers below, highlighting which will give you a little more time to place that order or start a return. Hopefully, knowing more about how much leeway you have will help lessen that inevitable holiday angst (fingers crossed).AmazonShipping: Same-day delivery is not available on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. However, Prime members can get free same-day delivery on select products in qualifying ZIP codes through December 24th, provided they meet the minimum threshold" (which varies by location) of eligible items in their cart. One-Day Delivery with no minimum purchase amount required is also available to Prime members for qualifying products through December 23rd, while Two-Day Delivery is available through December 22nd. Non-Prime buyers will find shipping options on the order page of each specific product.Returns: During the holidays, most items purchased between November 1st and December 31st can be returned until January 31st, 2025. Apple products, however, must be returned by January 15th, 2025. Note that this policy applies to both Prime and non-Prime buyers. Apple Store Beijing Apple Shipping: Apple offers free delivery of in-stock items by Christmas Eve if you order by 9PM ET on December 21st, though engraved items won't ship in time by Christmas. Apple also offers two-hour delivery for an added fee from local stores in most metro areas, or you can opt to pick up purchases yourself by visiting your local Apple Store.Returns: Except for T-Mobile- and Verizon-financed iPhones, all products purchased online between November 8th and December 25th can be returned through January 8th, 2025. Purchases made after December 25th are subject to the usual terms and conditions, and must be returned within 14 calendar days of your initial purchase date. Target Shipping: Target offers free two-day shipping on many orders if you spend $35 or more or use your Target RedCard. Select purchases made by December 23rd at 1PM ET will arrive before Christmas. You may also be able to take advantage of same-day shipping or in-store pickup on December 24th. Same-day delivery costs $9.99 per order, but it's included with a Target Circle 360 membership ($10.99 a month or $99 a year). Your mileage may vary for same-day delivery availability based on the item and your location.Returns: Target allows electronics and entertainment items (excluding Apple products) purchased from November 7th through December 24th to be returned as late as January 24th, 2025, for a full refund. Mobile phones and Apple products (including Beats products) purchased during the same window must be returned by January 8th, 2025. Target's standard return policy applies for most other items, with a generous 90-day window for third-party products and up to a year for Target-branded products with a receipt. Walmart Shipping: For eligible orders of $35 or more, Walmart provides free next-day delivery in eligible ZIP codes, free two-day delivery, or free standard shipping. However, be aware you must order your gifts by 12:30PM local time on December 23rd to get them in time for Christmas. Walmart Plus subscribers also get free next-day and two-day shipping with no order minimum.Same-day delivery and pickup is available on December 24th for orders made by 12PM local time. If you're willing to pay a $10 Express Delivery fee and order by 4PM local time, Walmart will also deliver your packages in less than two hours on Christmas Eve. Walmart Plus subscribers may be exempt from paying this fee, however, as members get one Express Delivery for free during the month of December.Returns: Most items purchased between October 1st and December 31st may be returned until January 31st, 2025. Some exceptions, like phones, may apply.B&HShipping: During the holidays, B&H offers free two-day and next-day shipping on select items, including discounted products. Most other products are eligible for free standard shipping (that's one to seven business days), and free expedited shipping (one to three business days) is generally available for items over $49.Returns: B&H allows purchases bought after November 3rd through December 31st to be returned or exchanged through January 30th, 2025 (with the usual exceptions of non-returnable items such as computers or TVs whose packaging has been opened). Photo by Umar Shakir Best Buy Shipping: Best Buy is offering free next-day and two-day shipping on qualifying orders for My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total members. Non-members, meanwhile, can get free next-day shipping on qualifying orders totaling $35 or more.If you're ordering a gift for Christmas, Best Buy's extended holiday shipping window gives you until 11:30AM ET on December 23rd if you want your gift to ship for free and arrive before December 25th. You can also get free same-day delivery by 7PM on December 24th if you place an order by 12PM local time. The cutoff for placing curbside or in-store pickup orders is 5PM local time through December 24th. Stores will close at 7PM that day.Returns: Purchases made November 1st through December 31st can be returned through January 14th, 2025. This doesn't include items that come with a third-party contract, such as phones, cellular tablets, and wearables (which have a 14-day return period), or holiday products, such as tree decorations and major appliances, which have a 15-day return window. My Best Buy Plus and My Best Buy Total members also have until January 14th, 2025, to return any purchases made between October 24th and November 16th; otherwise, there's a 60-day return window for purchases made on November 17th or later.Costco Shipping: At Costco, shipping fees depend on the product and the shipping method, though in many cases, shipping is free. The wholesale retailer also offers a variety of delivery options, including white glove" service for larger appliances. You can get your gift in time for Christmas without paying for shipping when you place a qualifying order by 5:59PM ET on December 20th. Same-day delivery is also available on some items via Costco's partnership with Instacart.Returns: Costco generally has an open return policy, except for electronics such as TVs and computers, which have a 90-day return window. There are other exceptions, though, which are listed on its return page. Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge GameStop Shipping: GameStop currently offers free shipping on orders over $35. It also offers same-day delivery in certain locations if you order from your local store at least three hours before closing.Returns: Products purchased between November 17th and December 24th can be returned until January 18th, 2025. The package must be unopened, however, and certain items like trading cards, clearance items, and seasonal products can't be returned.Dell Shipping: Most of Dell's products come with free standard shipping (no minimum purchase necessary), and some gifts may ship for free in time for Christmas if you place your order by December 21st. The delivery window can vary based on your order, but Dell does offer expedited shipping options as well as a delivery date estimate based on the zip code you provide at checkout. Orders placed by December 23rd with qualifying express delivery windows should arrive before December 25th.Returns: Dell offers a 30-day return policy with some exceptions; a restocking fee of up to 15 percent may be charged.DJI Shipping: DJI offers free shipping on purchases of $149 or more. Otherwise, shipping fees are specified on the order form. Shipment times can vary for each product depending on availability.Returns: DJI offers returns within 14 days of receiving the purchase, provided it remains in like-new condition or suffers from some type of manufacturing defect.Google Shipping: All standard orders qualify for free shipping with no minimum. Just note that this applies to the lowest-cost shipping available, which may not be the fastest.Returns: Google will accept returns through January 15th, 2025, for all purchases made between November 21st and December 31st. Standard return dates for products purchased within that window that extend beyond January 15th will be eligible for the later return date. All purchases made after January 1st, 2025, are subject to the standard return policy, which allows you to return most items up to 15 days after receipt (or 14 days for AT&T phones). However, Nest Thermostats and Verizon contract phones have an extended, 30-day return window.HPShipping: For many items, standard (three- to six-day) shipping is free. You can get ready-to-ship gifts in time for Christmas with free express shipping if you place an order by 3AM ET on December 21st. Orders placed by December 23rd can still arrive by Christmas, though you'll have to pay extra for priority shipping. HP will not ship or deliver items on Christmas, Thanksgiving, or New Year's Day.Returns: Items purchased between December 1st and December 25th can be returned until January 15th, 2025, or 30 days after delivery, whichever is later. There are exceptions, however, and select items may be subject to a restocking fee of up to 15 percent. Returns totaling more than $250 may also require additional review before your return request is approved.Microsoft Shipping: Most products sold through the online Microsoft Store include free two- to three-day shipping with express shipping available for an additional fee. To receive your gifts by Christmas Eve, however, you'll have to place your order by 2PM ET on December 23rd.Returns: You can return most physical products purchased online from the Microsoft Store within 60 days of receiving the product, provided they're in like-new condition. The item must also be in its original packaging with all parts, manuals, and anything else that was originally sent with the product included. Items exempt from this policy include digital gift cards and gift cards for services and subscriptions, as well as select hardware (including the HoloLens 2). Newegg Shipping: Many of Newegg's items come with free shipping and are delivered within one to five business days; for details, check the individual product page. If you want your gifts to arrive in time for Christmas, you'll have to place your order by 12PM local time on December 23rd and opt for next-day delivery.Returns: Qualifying items purchased between October 7th and December 31st can be returned or replaced until January 31st, 2025.Sam's Club Shipping: According to the Sam's Club FAQ, the shipping cost for most items varies based on the item's size, weight, shipping method, and delivery address. Plus Members get free shipping on many online items, and same-day delivery or curbside pickup is available for free if you're a Plus member ($110 a year) and place a qualifying order totaling $50 or more by 1PM local time. Club members ($50 a year) can pay $12 for same-day or next-day shipping, or get free curbside pickup on orders of $50 or more.Returns: Sam's Club has no specified return period; some return periods may be stated for specific products. For example, electronics and major appliances have a 90-day return window, while phones are subject to a 14-day return policy.Sonos Shipping: Sonos offers free shipping on all of its products, with in-stock items typically shipping the same day if they're purchased by 11AM local time. If you want to receive your items by Christmas, though, you'll likely have to pay extra for two-day or express shipping.Returns: Sonos gives you 30 days to return a purchase and even offers free return shipping. However, you must have bought the product directly from Sonos and the return must be initiated within 30 days of receiving your purchase. The product must also include the original packaging and be in new or as-new condition to be eligible.Update, December 20th: Updated the shipping deadlines and return policies as they pertain to the 2024 holiday season.
Naveen Rao, VP of AI at Databricks. | Naveen Rao / The Verge For my last issue of the year, I'm focusing on the AI talent war, which is a theme I've been covering since this newsletter launched almost two years ago. And keep reading for the latest from inside Google and Meta this week.But first, I need your questions for a mailbag issue I'm planning for my first issue of 2025. You can submit questions via this form or leave them in the comments.It's like looking for LeBron James"This week, Databricks announced the largest known funding round for any private tech company in history. The AI enterprise firm is in the final stretch of raising $10 billion, almost all of which is going to go to buying back vested employee stock.How companies approach compensation is often undercovered in the tech industry, even though the strategies play a crucial role in determining which company gets ahead faster. Nowhere is this dynamic as intense as the war for AI talent, as I've covered before.To better understand what's driving the state of play going into 2025, this week I spoke with Naveen Rao, VP of AI at Databricks. Rao is one of my favorite people to talk to about the AI industry. He's deeply technical but also business-minded, having... Read the full story at The Verge.
Sanwa Supply's new USB-C cable's design solves a common point of cable failure. | Image: Sanwa Supply Japanese accessory maker Sanwa Supply has released a new 240W USB-C cable with a flexible design that could help prevent damage, as spotted by Tom's Hardware. The USB-C connectors on either end of the cable can rotate 360 degrees and bend from side-to-side up to 180 degrees, reducing strain on ports and minimizing bending that could eventually cause wires inside to break.The company sells a lot of its peripherals through Amazon in the US and Japan, but the new flexible USB-C cable doesn't appear to be available there yet. For the time being you'll need to try to import it from Sanwa Supply's own online store where it's available in two lengths: one meter for 2,580 (around $16.53) or 1.8 meters for 2,780 (around $17.80). Image: Sanwa Supply The flexible cable can potentially be used in places where other USB-C cable won't fit. Although there are still very few devices that can actually charge at 240W speeds, Sanwa's new cable could help future-proof your charging kit. However, data transfers with the cable are limited to USB 2.0 speeds and will max out at 480mbps. That's much slower than the 40Gbps transfer speeds offered by other 240W USB-C cables.It's not an ideal solution for those frequently copying mountains of data, but if you've got USB ports located in tight spots, or want more freedom of movement when using your smartphone while it's plugged in, this could be a solution.
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is taking a tougher stance on clickbait, saying it will remove content with titles or thumbnails that promise viewers something that the video doesn't deliver," as spotted earlier by TechCrunch. This change will slowly" roll out in India first, according to YouTube's blog post, but will expand to more countries" in the coming months," YouTube spokesperson Jack Malon says in a statement to The Verge.YouTube says the policy will combat egregious" clickbait that misleads viewers, with a particular focus on videos related to breaking news" or current events." The company's examples of egregious clickbait include a video with the title the president resigned!" that doesn't actually address a resignation or a top political news" thumbnail attached to a video with no news content.As the policy rolls out in India, YouTube will remove content that violates the rules without giving a strike to creators, at least at first. And as we continue to educate creators, our enforcement efforts will prioritize new video uploads moving forward," YouTube says.
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge For the last day of ship-mas, OpenAI previewed a new set of frontier reasoning" models dubbed o3 and o3-mini. The Verge first reported that a new reasoning model would be coming during this event.The company isn't releasing these models today (and admits final results may evolve with more post-training). However, OpenAI is accepting applications from the research community to test these systems ahead of public release (which it has yet to set a date for). OpenAI launched o1 (codenamed Strawberry) in September and is jumping straight to o3, skipping o2 to avoid confusion (or trademark conflicts) with the British telecom company called O2.The term reasoning has become a common buzzword in the AI industry lately, but it basically means the machine breaks down instructions into smaller tasks that can produce stronger outcomes. These models often show the work for how it got to an answer, rather than just giving a final answer without explanation.According to the company, o3 surpasses previous performance records across the board. It beats its predecessor in coding tests (called SWE-Bench Verified) by 22.8 percent and outscores OpenAI's Chief Scientist in competitive programming. The model nearly aced one of the hardest math competitions (called AIME 2024), missing one question, and achieved 87.7 percent on a benchmark for expert-level science problems (called GPQA Diamond). On the toughest math and reasoning challenges that usually stump AI, o3 solved 25.2 percent of problems (where no other model exceeds 2 percent). OpenAI OpenAI claims o3 performs better than its other reasoning models in coding benchmarks. The company also announced new research on deliberative alignment, which requires the AI model to process safety decisions step-by-step. So, instead of just giving yes/no rules to the AI model, this paradigm requires it to actively reason about whether a user's request fits OpenAI's safety policies. The company claims that when it tested this on o1, it was much better at following safety guidelines than previous models, including GPT-4.
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced a new voluntary national framework for the evaluation and oversight" of autonomous vehicles, a bureaucratic first step that could eventually open the floodgates for fully driverless cars. But there's a twist: the agency wants self-driving car companies to cough up more data.The proposed rules were first announced last year as the ADS-Equipped Vehicle Safety, Transparency and Evaluation Program, also known as AV STEP. This program would allow the agency to authorize the sale and commercialization of more vehicles without traditional controls, like pedals and steering wheels, without hitting the annual cap on the number of exemptions to safety requirements. NHTSA is promising an exemption pathway that is tailored for ADS-equipped vehicles," suggesting a less onerous, time-consuming process for the release of fully driverless vehicles.In exchange, the agency is requesting more data from the companies that operate driverless cars, arguing that greater transparency is needed to foster public trust in the technology.AV STEP would provide a valuable national framework at a pivotal time in the development of [automated driving system] technology. Safe, transparent, and responsible development is critical for this technology to be trusted by the public and reach its full potential. This proposal lays the foundation for those goals and supports NHTSA's safety mission," NHTSA Chief Counsel Adam Raviv said in a press release. We encourage everyone to comment on our proposed program.By kick-starting the rulemaking process, the Biden administration is giving a pretty big end-of-the-year holiday gift to the companies that have been laboring for decades on autonomous vehicle technology without any national regulatory framework to guide them.The federal government has largely taken a back seat to in regulating autonomous vehicles, leaving states to develop their own rulebooks for safe deployment. Legislation that would dramatically increase the number of AVs on the road has been stalled in Congress for over seven years, with lawmakers at odds over a range of issues, including safety, liability, and the right number of exemptions from federal motor vehicle safety standards.The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards is the government's official checklist for everything a car needs before it can be sold to customers, including steering wheels, pedals, and sideview mirrors. Driverless cars typically don't need these controls, forcing companies to request exemptions to safety rules from the federal government before they can put their vehicles on the road.Safety regulators keep a tight grip on these exemptionsBut safety regulators keep a tight grip on these exemptions. There is a cap of 2,500 exemptions that each company is allowed to request. And to date, only one company, Nuro, has received an FMVSS exemption for its low-speed delivery robots that aren't large enough for human passengers. General Motors tried for two years to get an exemption for its driverless Cruise vehicles before eventually giving up. (Earlier this month, GM said it would stop funding Cruise.)Whether AV STEP survives into the next Trump administration, though, is an open question. For one, the incoming president is reportedly looking to quash a Biden-era transparency rule that requires companies operating vehicles with driver assist, as well as self-driving cars, to report crashes and injuries to the federal government. Scrapping the crash reporting rule would greatly benefit Tesla, which to date, has reported the highest number of crashes. And Tesla CEO Elon Musk is a close advisor and donor to Trump.The fact that NHTSA is choosing to highlight the enhanced transparency" under AV STEP could lead some to conclude that this rule is dead on arrival. After all, Trump is currently trying to kill the only transparency rule currently on the books for self-driving cars. Still, Musk is also lobbying Trump to ease restrictions on fully autonomous vehicles in advance of Tesla's plans to produce its own robotaxi in 2026. So anything's possible.Safety advocates are calling the notice of proposed rulemaking premature" and unnecessary. In a statement, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety President Cathy Chase notes that the proposal is oddly timed, coming after the auto industry said it was lobbying NHTSA to scrap a new rule requiring automatic emergency braking in new vehicles by 2029.With the auto industry vociferously stating it is not feasible to comply with parts of the AEB rule with widely used braking technologies in five years, allowing far more complex technology to control more driving functionalities without meeting minimum safety standards is incongruous at best and potentially deadly at worst," Chase said.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has filed a lawsuit against Zelle and three banks that own it - Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase - claiming they failed to protect consumers from widespread fraud." Zelle is a payment network designed to compete with payment platforms like Venmo and Cash App, but the CFPB says the banks rushed" it to market, enabling fraud that's cost consumers more than $870 million since it launched in 2017.The lawsuit cites Zelle's designs and features, including a limited" identity verification process that involves assigning a token" to a user's email address or mobile phone number that they can use to verify their account with a one-time passcode. This setup makes it easier for scammers to take over accounts, as well as hide their own identities or pretend to be other institutions, the CFPB alleges. CFPB complaint Some of the problems the CFPB cites in Zelle's design. One of the most common Zelle scams involves bad actors impersonating a financial institution or a federal agency, who then trick customers into sending them money. After facing pressure from the CFPB, the banks backing Zelle started issuing refunds to victims of this type of scam last year. This latest lawsuit follows other CFPB actions to tighten regulation around digital wallet apps and payment networks.The CFPB accuses Zelle and the banking trio of failing to track and quickly stop criminals on the platform, as they allegedly didn't relay information about known fraudulent transactions with other institutions in the payment network. It also alleges Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo didn't properly address the risk of fraud despite the hundreds of thousands" of complaints they received.Zelle pushed back on the lawsuit in a statement published on Friday. The CFPB's attacks on Zelle are legally and factually flawed, and the timing of this lawsuit appears to be driven by political factors unrelated to Zelle," Zelle spokesperson Jane Khodos said. The CFPB's misguided attacks will embolden criminals, cost consumers more in fees, stifle small businesses and make it harder for thousands of community banks and credit unions to compete."The CFPB is asking the court to stop Zelle's parent company, Early Warning Services, and the banks from violating consumer protection laws, and compensate users, among other penalties.
Terradot's pilot program in Brazil involves spreading crushed basalt over farmland. | Image: Terradot To try to counteract the impact their pollution has on the climate, Google and other big companies have bought into a plan to trap carbon dioxide using rocks. They recently announced multimillion dollar deals with a Sheryl Sandberg-backed startup called Terradot.Google, H&M Group, and Salesforce are among a gaggle of companies that collectively agreed to pay Terradot $27 million to remove 90,000 tons carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The deals were brokered by Frontier, a carbon removal initiative led by Stripe, Google, Shopify, and McKinsey Sustainability.Separately, Google announced its own deal to purchase an additional 200,000 tons of carbon removal from Terradot. Both companies declined to say how much that deal is worth. If the cost is similar to the Frontier agreement - roughly $300 per ton of CO2 captured - it could add up to $60 million, although Google says it expects the price to come down over time for this larger deal.It's a big deal."Google says it's the biggest purchase yet of carbon removal through enhanced rock weathering (ERW), the strategy Terradot uses to try to slow climate change. It's a relatively low-tech tactic for taking carbon dioxide out of... Read the full story at The Verge.
Image: Netflix In Squid Game, schoolyard games are turned into nightmares, as players compete to survive and - if they're lucky - earn a massive cash prize. But in Unleashed, a new mobile spinoff that's part of the streamer's fledgling gaming efforts, those games are fun. It's a strange experience that sands off much of the appeal of Squid Game in service of making a multiplayer party game.Unleashed is sort of like Fall Guys but in a Squid Game wrapper. You compete against 31 other players across three random games pulled from the show, like red light, green light" or racing across a bridge made of glass. Slowly other players die off, and by the end one wins a whole bunch of money.Aesthetically, the game mostly follows the show. There are a bunch of characters to play as - some pulled from the show, others new for the game - and even though there's a cartoon aesthetic, things still get bloody, with players being shot for breaking the rules or crushed under some obstacle. There are the familiar green track suits and masked guards.But the connections to the show are really only surface level. There's no story element, so if you haven't watched the show, you'd have no idea the kind of personal anguish many of the characters are going through.In fact, many of the elements that make Unleashed a pretty fun mobile game are also what keep it from being a good adaptation of what Squid Game is all about. In order to reduce frustration, most of the games have respawning. So even if you fail at red light, green light" and get shot by a guard, it's not game over. It simply slows you down in a race to be one of a pre-determined number of players to cross the finish line and move on.Similarly, the games can all be completed in a few minutes. This is great for playing short sessions on the go; being stuck in a 30 minute multiplayer match on your phone typically sucks. But when you put elements like the short run time and respawning together it, completely erases any of the tension that's so core to Squid Game's appeal.And despite having no in-app purchases - Unleashed is completely free for Netflix subscribers and, for a limited time, non-subscribers - it's still structured like a typical free-to-play game. You earn cash from winning matches and completing various goals, which is used to unlock new characters, costumes, and emotes. Every time I log on I'm greeted with a jarring number of pop-ups and notifications letting me know I just unlocked a zombie costume or that there's a Christmas-themed event going on. Just this morning I was gifted a twerking emote.Yes, now I can make Kang Sae-byeok, whose death was one of the most tragic moments of season 1, twerk in the middle of a deadly obstacle course.Unleashed isn't a bad game. In many ways, it's a clever reinterpretation of online party games for mobile. But, like most of Netflix's expansions of the Squid Game universe, it also completely misses the point of the show. It's sort of like what Fortnite is to the original movie Battle Royale: a playful, colorful take on a brutal, piercing story.Fortnite largely avoided the tonal dissonance by creating a cartoon-ish, multiversal world that is far away from an island full of kids killing their classmates. Unleashed, on the other hand, is another part of Squid Game - one that doesn't seem to understand why the series exists.
The iPhone 14 and 14 Plus lack USB-C ports. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Starting December 28th, all new phones sold in the European Union must have USB-C. And while that deadline is still about a week away, Apple has begun pulling the iPhone SE, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus - the last models with Apple's proprietary lightning port - from its Swiss online store.The removal was first spotted by MacRumors, based on a report earlier this month from French publication iGeneration. The Verge has since confirmed that the Swiss online Apple Store will state that any configuration of the iPhone SE, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Plus is currently unavailable" if you try to put it in your cart. However, other online Apple Stores in EU countries, such as France and Spain, currently still have the phones in stock. Screenshot: Apple The Swiss online Apple Store says the iPhone 14 is currently unavailable. Given the December 28th deadline, Apple's other EU stores will soon follow suit. That said, it's unclear why Apple decided to pull stock from Switzerland a week early or if it will do the same with other countries. We've reached out to Apple for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.The EU regulation is also why Apple finally switched over the USB-C for the iPhone 15 in 2023. As for the iPhone SE, a fourth-gen model is rumored for early 2025 with USB-C and other upgrades like an OLED display.
Image: The Verge Google Fiber is changing up its internet plans in Huntsville, Alabama and Nashville, Tennessee. The new Core 1 Gig, Home 3 Gig, and Edge 8 Gig plans appear to have launched last month and streamline the company's existing options, as spotted earlier by 9to5Google.These options replace the 1 Gig, 2 Gig, 5 Gig, and 8 Gig plans currently available in other supported cities. Like the existing 1 Gig plan, Google Fiber's new Core 1 Gig option costs $70 / month with symmetrical 1 gigabit per second upload and download speeds. It comes with GFiber's Multi-Gig Wi-Fi 6E Router and supports up to one mesh extender. Screenshot: Google The $100 / month Home 3 Gig plan sits between the $100 / month 2 Gig and $125 / month 5 Gig options, offering up to 3-gig speeds, a GFiber Multi-Gig Wi-Fi 6E router, up to two mesh extenders, along with priority room optimization that brings additional wired connectivity to the rooms that matter most." Subscribers can also add an internet battery backup for an extra $10 per month, which offers up to two hours of full-bandwidth uptime, with no internet slow downs" in case a power outage knocks out your router or fiber jack.Lastly, Google's $150 / month 8 Gig Edge always-on" plan comes with upload and download speeds of up to 8 gigabits per second, the same GFiber Wi-Fi 6E router, and up to two mesh extenders. It also offers up to 5,000 square feet of coverage, priority room optimization, an included internet backup battery, and a 25 percent refund if your internet goes down for over 45 minutes.It's not clear whether Google will bring these plans to more cities, and the company didn't immediately respond to The Verge's request for more information. Since Google Fiber's inception in 2010, the company has been gradually expanding its fiber footprint across the US while achieving faster speeds. Google rolled out a 20-gig Wi-Fi 7 plan in select cities last year.
The 14-inch MacBook Pro looks just as nicely as it performs. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge In recent years, base MacBook Pro models have felt like an automatic skip. It made more sense to pay just a few hundred more for upgrades that truly justify the Pro" moniker, or save money by stepping down to a MacBook Air without many sacrifices. But that's changed as of the M4 model. With the base MacBook Pro with M4 matching its all-time low price of $1,399 ($200 off) at Amazon and B&H Photo right now, it's quite possibly the best value of any MacBook available.The 10-core M4 chipset has a decent speed advantage over the 8-core M3 inside last year's MacBook Pro, of course. Apple claims its CPU has the strongest single-threaded performance of anything out there, not to mention a neural engine that's two times faster than the M3's. Our benchmarking certainly corroborates that it's faster, although depending on what you're doing on the laptop, you may not notice much difference. But what really sets the 2024 model apart is its starting allotment of 16GB of RAM, which is double that offered by previous generations. That helps with the Apple Intelligence features seeding into macOS Sequoia and also makes it suitable for heavier tasks than most average workloads require.The M4 MacBook Pro also picked up a third Thunderbolt 4 port this cycle, plus an upgraded 1080p webcam that has a taller field-of-view for the new Desk View feature. Those are all very good advantages for the money, and you should only feel compelled to step up further if you have stronger needs such as heavy 4K or 8K video editing, photo editing, programming, or other intensive tasks.Read our Apple MacBook Pro M4 review.More fun Friday deals
Image: Alex Parkin/ The Verge We started making this video with one question in mind: What makes iPhone repair so difficult?" And immediately the answer was: a lot.I've never repaired a phone before, so I was particularly nervous that the first one I was opening was an iPhone. This wasn't just because I didn't want to destroy a phone with a mistake but also because I was somewhat familiar with Apple's reputation with repairability. However, I wanted to test out a new repair feature Apple introduced recently with iOS 18 called repair assistant" to see if it fixes a years-long practice of Apple's that makes iPhones incredibly difficult to repair.Before iOS 18, replacing components of an iPhone like the display or battery without going through Apple's repair channels would reduce the functionality of the device because iPhones are programmed to recognize when parts are swapped out. This is because of a design choice called parts pairing."Apple uses parts pairing to assign serial numbers to parts inside a device and tie those parts to the logic board. This means you can't replace any of these parts on your own or at a repair shop without having a way to pair a new part's serial number to the device. If a... Read the full story at The Verge.
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Life's busy enough without wasting time on calls that are trying to scam you or sell to you. Unfortunately, stats from Hiya show that 28 percent of the calls you get are going to be suspected spam or fraud.On an iPhone, you don't have the option to have an AI assistant answer calls for you, as you can on Android - at least not yet. But there are ways to screen calls to some extent and cut down on the number of scammers, sellers, and robots you have to talk to.These guidelines have been written using an iPhone 15 Pro Max running iOS 18.2.Identify incoming calls Screenshot: Apple iOS gives you several options for managing incoming calls. Screenshot: Apple You can choose to silence unknown callers and send them straight to voicemail. A good place to start when it comes to avoiding unwanted calls is to flag calls from numbers that aren't in your contacts list. It's not a perfect way of spotting spam but will catch quite a lot of it.From Settings on your iPhone:
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images To get Nosferatu's nightmarish love triangle right, Robert Eggers looked to Wuthering Heights for inspiration. Though the Dark Universe might be dead, Robert Eggers has crafted something like its spiritual successor with a series of disturbing horror features. The Witch left you wondering how real its demons were, The Lighthouse's tentacled sea creatures were always slithering somewhere just off-screen, and The Northman was a mythologically charged study of people's ability to become monsters and how that transformation can rob someone of their humanity. Those films presented their otherworldly elements as reflections of characters' superstitions and their need to make sense of the worlds around them. But Eggers wants the undead ghoul at the center of his new Nosferatu remake to leave you feeling something much more basic (though not necessarily simple) and carnal.Eggers' Nosferatu is brimming with visual and tonal nods to F.W. Murnau's groundbreaking 1922 silent film. But through his new takes on the vampiric Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgard) and bedeviled housewife Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp), you can feel Eggers tapping into the darkly sexual energy that made Bram Stoker's Dracula such a uniquely transgressive horror novel for the Victorian era. The new Nosferatu is arriving at a time when the idea of getting down and dirty with monsters has come much, much more into fashion - so much so that we've seen entire cinematic franchises built on the concept.Viewed through that lens, it's easy to look at Nosferatu as a story that's trying to speak to this moment in on-screen monster-fucking. But when I recently sat down with Eggers to discuss the movie, he told me that, as much as vampire tales might feel like manifestations of societal anxieties, channeling the zeitgeist wasn't at all his goal. As a lifelong Dracula fan fascinated by the way death and sexual desire define vampire mythos, Eggers knew that he wanted his Nosferatu to be as erotic as it was haunting. But Eggers also wanted his Nosferatu to feel like a decidedly feminist, macabre romance, which is why he took some inspiration from Emily Bronte.It was always clear to me that Nosferatu is a demon lover story, and one of the great demon lover stories of all time is Wuthering Heights, which I returned to a lot while writing this script," Eggers explained. As a character, Heathcliff is an absolute bastard towards Cathy in the novel, and you're always questioning whether he really loves her, or if he just wants to possess and destroy her."Nosferatu leaves you to ponder those same questions as it introduces Ellen, a perceptive woman whose brilliance is being stifled by the social mores of 19th-century Germany. Though Ellen desperately loves her husband Thomas (Nicholas Hoult), he struggles to understand how years of being plagued by strange visions have left her convinced that the embodiment of death is stalking her. It's easier for Thomas and Nosferatu's other male characters like Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) to dismiss Ellen's nightmares as delusions. But whenever Ellen goes to sleep, it is never long before a monstrous presence reaches out to her mind, urging her to let it inside.In Depp's tremulous Ellen, you can see traces of Mina Harker, the sole heroine in Stoker's novel, whose cleverness winds up being instrumental in Dracula's ultimate demise. But Eggers wanted this version of Ellen to feel like a woman who, despite understanding things on a very deep level, doesn't have the language to articulate her experiences." It was also important to him that this story emphasize how men's misogynistic preconceptions of women are a kind of monster in and of themselves.Ellen's husband loves her, but he can't understand these hysteric' and melancholic' feelings she's experiencing, and he's dismissive of her," Eggers said. The only person she really finds a connection with is this monster, and that love triangle is so compelling to me, partially because of how tragic it is." In the same way that Ellen knows that something is out there watching her as it stalks through the shadows, Count Orlok - a long-dead Transylvanian nobleman - can feel that there's something very special about Ellen. Much of the new Nosferatu's unsettling strangeness is crystallized in the pair's unusual psychic connection. It's alarming to see Ellen seize up and convulse in fits as her mind seemingly leaves her body. But there's also an increasingly orgasmic quality to the sound of Ellen's fits that immediately clues you into how, as scary as Orlok is, he also elicits something deeply pleasurable in some of his victims.More so than many other recent vampire stories, Eggers' Nosferatu leans into the fact that creatures like Orlok feast on the blood of the living because they themselves are very dead. Whatever magic it is that's brought Orlok back is impressive, but you would never mistake him for a model with a beating pulse. He's supposed to read as a reanimated corpse; a once-suave and debonaire one, but a corpse all the same.Because Nosferatu is a very horny love story, though, Eggers felt Orlok needed to be at least somewhat sexy in order to sell his raw magnetism and help the audience to know on some level that there's a beautiful man beneath all that makeup."In my mind, Orlok was definitely handsome when he was alive," Eggers said. I wanted him to have strong features, and for there to be a kind of beauty in his brows, cheekbones, and nose because those are the parts of himself that he can show a little bit of in the light to a house guest before they realize that he's actually rotting and falling apart." Nosferatu starts piling the horrors on as Orlok and Ellen's link strengthens. The air is already thick with death and fear as the film introduces Willem Dafoe's Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz and Simon McBurney's Herr Knock. It isn't long before the men start to understand just how endangered all of their lives are because of their proximity to Ellen. But Eggers also wanted Nosferatu's male characters to bring a bit of whimsy to the film, if only to help audiences deal with all the tension and appreciate how monsters can have senses of humor.Some of those scenes with Thomas and Orlok are definitely scary and intense, but they're also moments where Orlok is playing with his food," Eggers explained. When Louise Ford and I were editing those scenes, we would be in stitches at times because of how pithy Orlok is when you really pay attention."
Photo By Joaquin Corchero/Europa Press via Getty Images Netflix's push into live sports has snagged another major event. Today the streamer announced that it has acquired US streaming rights for the FIFA Women's World Cup in both 2027 and 2031. FIFA is calling the deal a landmark announcement for women's football."The 2027 edition of the tournament will take place in Brazil, while the following World Cup doesn't yet have a host nation. The Netflix coverage in the US will include both English- and Spanish-language broadcasts, and the streamer says that it will be creating more coverage in addition to the live matches:
Illustration: The Verge Google is planning to add a new AI Mode" to its search engine, according to a report from The Information. The company will reportedly display an option to switch to AI Mode from the top of the results page, allowing you to access an interface similar to its Gemini AI chatbot.The new AI Mode tab would live on the left side of the All," Images," Videos," and Shopping" tabs, The Information reports. When you receive a response in AI Mode, The Information says Google will display links to related webpages and a search bar below the conversational answer that prompts users to Ask a follow-up...'"This tracks with Android Authority's report from earlier this month, which spotted an AI Mode in a beta version of the Google app. 9to5Google also dug up code suggesting you can use AI Mode to ask questions using your voice. The Verge reached out to Google with a request for comment but didn't immediately hear back.With OpenAI rolling out search in ChatGPT for all users, Google is likely under increased pressure to consolidate search and AI. The company already displays AI search summaries for some queries and recently expanded the feature to dozens of more countries in October.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images In 2024, smart locks got better; in 2025, they're going to be truly great. Read the full story at The Verge.
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Happy holidays! Tis the season for trimming trees, hanging lights, baking cookies... and spending two weeks at home trying to figure out why you can't get the lights to automatically come on at night, and which of those stupid bulbs is causing all the rest to not work. Truly the most wonderful time of the year.Every year on The Vergecast, we like to get into the holiday spirit by getting deep into the weeds on one of the most important specs, protocols, or systems that we all encounter every day. This year, for our annual Holiday Spec-tacular, we're taking on everyone's favorite kinda-sorta functional smart home protocol: Matter.Matter is supposed to be the thing that makes the smart home work, that allows everything from your lights to your fridge to your vacuum cleaner to seamlessly connect. In reality, it is, well, not that. But it might be on its way! We begin the show with Nilay, David, and The Verge's Jennifer Pattison Tuohy talking about the state of Matter, and where the smart home has made strides - and made mistakes - this year. We also talk about Thread. A lot. More than we expected.After that, the trio competes in a game to see who understands the complicated, overlapping jargon of the Matter universe best. (It's a tight race, but the right person wins in the end.) And finally, Paulus Schoutsen, the creator of Home Assistant and president of the Open Home Foundation, joins the show to talk about what it's like to work with Matter and whether we're ever going to get the smart home of our dreams.This is our last episode of the year - we'll be back with a live episode at CES, and if you're going to be in Vegas we hope you'll come join us! In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday, and may all your smart lights always be the right color.If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started:
Image: Getty A bipartisan group of senators is calling out the auto industry for its hypocritical, profit-driven" opposition to national right-to-repair legislation, while also selling customer data to insurance companies and other third-party interests.In a letter sent to the CEOs of the top automakers, the trio of legislators - Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) - urge them to better protect customer privacy, while also dropping their opposition to state and national right-to-repair efforts.Right-to-repair laws support consumer choice and prevent automakers from using restrictive repair laws to their financial advantage," the senators write. It is clear that the motivation behind automotive companies' avoidance of complying with right-to-repair laws is not due to a concern for consumer security or privacy, but instead a hypocritical, profit-driven reaction."Right-to-repair laws support consumer choice and prevent automakers from using restrictive repair laws to their financial advantage."For years, the right-to-repair movement has largely focused on consumer electronics, like phones and laptops. But lately, the idea that you should get to decide how and where to repair your own products has grown to include cars, especially as more vehicles on the road have essentially become giant computers on wheels.Along with that, automakers have taken to collecting vast amounts of data on their millions of customers, including driving habits, that they then turn around and sell to third-party data brokers. Earlier this year, The New York Times published an investigation into General Motors' practice of providing microdetails about its customers' driving habits, including acceleration, braking, and trip length, to insurance companies - without their consent.Several states have passed right-to-repair laws in recent years, aiming to protect consumers from high prices and unscrupulous practices. In 2020, Massachusetts voters approved a ballot measure to give car owners and independent repair shops greater access to vehicle repair data. But automakers sued to block the law, and four years later, the law remains dormant.2024.12.19 Letter to Automakers Re Right-To-Repair and Data Sharing (Combined) by ahawkins8223 on ScribdThe auto industry claims to support right to repair. And some facts bear this out. For decades, small, independent auto body and repair shops flourished thanks to the idea that car maintenance is universal - that anyone with a socket wrench and some grease can repair or modify their own vehicle.But as cars have become more connected, a lot of that work now relies on data and access to the digital information needed to diagnose and repair vehicles. And right-to-repair advocates, along with independent repair shops, are worried that major automakers are trying to kill their businesses by funneling all the work to their franchised dealerships, which typically cost more than the smaller garages.In the letter, Warren, Merkley, and Hawley demand that automakers drop their fierce opposition" to these right-to-repair laws, calling it hypocritical" and monopolistic.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Bluesky now has a specific tab for mentions in your notifications as part of the app's just-released 1.96 update. With the mentions tab, it's much easier to see your replies or conversations you've been tagged in on the platform.Speaking of replies, update 1.96 lets you easily access settings that let you control how replies on posts appear to you. Replies can be linear, meaning they show up one post after another, or threaded, which means they will appear in indented threads (kind of like how they appear on Reddit). You can also sort replies by newest, oldest, most-liked, hot," and random" (which Bluesky also calls Poster's Roulette").
The Verge A Google Street View image played in role in solving a missing person investigation in Spain, according to reports from the BBC and The New York Times. The image, which can still be seen on Street View, shows what appears to be a person loading a large object into the trunk of a car, as Gizmodo points out. Another image showed someone transporting a large white bundle in a wheelbarrow," the BBC reports.Spanish National Police:
Apple's newest iPad Pro, which features an M4 chip, is on sale starting at $899 right now. | Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge While the best iPad deals usually land during major sale events like Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day, many great iPad deals are attainable outside those times. The day-to-day discounts may come and go like changing winds, but there's often something to be saved, particularly on the more affordable iPads. The most recent iPad Pro and iPad Air are also starting to see substantial price reductions, and you can even save a bit on Apple's new iPad Mini.It's difficult to know where exactly you can find the most notable iPad deals unless you're scouring the major retailers on a daily basis. But that's often what our deal hunters at The Verge are doing each and every day, so let us help you out. Below, we've listed the best deals you can get on each iPad model that is currently available, from the cheapo ninth-gen iPad of 2021 to the latest models equipped with Apple's powerful M2 and M4 chips.The best iPad (2021) dealsAnnounced alongside the iPhone 13 way back in 2021, the ninth-gen iPad is Apple's aging entry-level tablet, one that's still great at carrying out everyday tasks despite having been discontinued. The ninth-gen model originally started at $329 with Wi-Fi and 64GB of storage, which arguably makes the newer 10th-gen model the better deal if you don't need a home button or a headphone jack, as it now starts at $349 and is often on sale for even less.The last-gen iPad has been receiving a steep discount for quite a while, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to find in most configurations. That being said, Amazon and Walmart are selling the 64GB base model with Wi-Fi for $249 ($80 off), which is about $50 shy of its all-time low. As for the step-up 256GB variant, Amazon is selling it in silver for $449 ($30 off), which is $100 more than the lowest price to date.A last-gen model is still worth consideringThe last-gen iPad uses an A13 Bionic processor and a 12MP wide-angle camera with Center Stage, a feature designed to keep you framed up and centered while on video calls. The tablet also carries over a number of features from its predecessor, such as the 10.2-inch display, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor built into the home button, and a smart connector for connecting a smart keyboard.The best iPad (2022) dealsAlthough the newer 10th-gen iPad came out in late 2022, it's still an excellent tablet - one we consider to be the best value for most people (once Apple dropped its price). The latest iPad modernizes the design with a switch to USB-C, uniform bezels with no home button, a side power button with a fingerprint sensor, and a larger display, but it eliminates the 3.5mm headphone jack.In the past, you could often buy Apple's latest entry-level iPad for $349 ($100 off its initial launch price) - which is now the MSRP. Right now, however, the base model with 64GB of storage is on sale at Amazon in select colors for an all-time low of $249.99 ($100 off) when you clip the on-page coupon. You can also find it at Best Buy and Walmart for $279 ($70 off), which is about $30 more than its lowest price to date. Amazon, Best Buy, and Target are also selling the 256GB model with Wi-Fi starting at $429 ($70 off), which is about $20 more than its best price to date.The best iPad Mini (2024) dealsThe new seventh-gen iPad Mini is similar to the outgoing model but comes with faster Wi-Fi and USB-C speeds, support for the Apple Pencil Pro, and a newer A17 Pro processor with 8GB of RAM to support Apple Intelligence. Otherwise, it boasts nearly identical specs and features as the last-gen model, meaning it has an 8.3-inch Liquid Retina display, a USB-C port, and options for 5G. It may not be worth upgrading if you already own a sixth-gen Mini, but newcomers to the category should appreciate the upgrades.The 2024 iPad Mini starts at $499 with 128GB of storage, which was the price for the previous generation's 64GB model. Electing for 256GB of storage brings the price up to $599, and the cellular models start at $649. These are some big numbers for a small iPad, and the larger iPad Air might be worth considering if you prefer your dollar to go further with more screen real estate. But if you want an Apple tablet in the smallest possible form factor, this is where the action is.Right now, you can get the 128GB base configuration with Wi-Fi at Amazon for $479 ($20 off), which is $30 more than its lowest price to date. You can also get the Wi-Fi model with 256GB of storage at Amazon and B&H Photo for $569 ($30 off), its second-best price to date, though Amazon currently does not provide a shipping estimate for the tablet.The best iPad Air (2024) dealsApple just recently launched the 2024 iPad Air, which features several small upgrades. The newer model doesn't feature any groundbreaking changes compared to the 2022 release, but notably, there is now a 13-inch configuration in addition to a base 11-inch model. Apple also added Wi-Fi 6E radios and upgraded the chipset to M2, which enables the hover feature when using Apple's latest styluses. You can use the newer iPad Air with the Apple Pencil Pro and both previous-gen Magic Keyboards, too. The 11-inch iPad Air starts at $599, while the comparable 13-inch model starts at $799.Deals for the 2024 iPad Air started to appear before the latest model even hit store shelves. Right now, you can pick up the 11-inch base model with 128GB of storage and Wi-Fi at Best Buy and Target starting at $499 ($100 off), which is its best price to date. The 13-inch iPad Air with 128GB of storage, meanwhile, is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy and Target for an all-time low of $699 ($100 off).The best iPad Pro (2024) dealsCompared to the latest iPad Air, the 2024 iPad Pro is a far more impressive upgrade. The 11- and 13-inch models start at $999 and $1,299, respectively, and they are the first Apple devices to feature the company's latest M4 chip, which brings moderate performance gains and dedicated hardware for on-device Apple Intelligence processing. The new Pro models can claim other firsts, too, such as being the first iPad models with OLED displays and the lightest Pros yet, which is true for both sizes. They also feature repositioned front-facing cameras that sit along the horizontal edge, which prevent you from looking as though you're staring off into space on a video call.As for deals, the 11-inch iPad Pro with Wi-Fi / 256GB of storage is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo starting at $899 (about $100 off), which is only $2 more than the lowest price to date. The sleek and super-thin 13-inch model, meanwhile, is on sale in its 256GB base configuration at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for $1,099 ($200 off), which is an all-time low price.
The best screens for screen time. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge The bad news: flagship phones cost a small fortune these days. The good news: we can help you pick the right one and get the most for your money. Read the full story at The Verge.
Image: HBO The first season of Dune: Prophecy is about to wrap up - but there's more on the way. Ahead of the finale on December 22nd, HBO has confirmed than the prequel series has been renewed for a second season.The show premiered in November, and takes place 10,000 years before the events of the Dune movies from Denis Villeneuve. It stars Emily Watson and Olivia Williams as two Harkonnen sisters who form the galaxy-defining sect known as the Bene Gesserit.If you just know the Harkonnens from the movies, they're these monstrous villains who are very clearly the bad guys," showrunner Alison Schapker told The Verge about the series. But that's not where they started off, and this kind of story gave us a chance to complicate that understanding and dig into what made them that way."There's no word on when to expect season 2, but it's also not the only Dune project on the way: Dune 3 is in the works, as is a survival game set on Arrakkis.
Illustration: The Verge Google Keep is being upgraded to a system app on Android 16 devices, joining the ranks of other Android apps that provide essential services like calling and messaging, reports Android Police.Google's free note-taking app appears as a system app on the latest Android 16 beta, Android 16 Developer Preview 2. Anyone upgrading to this OS version will no longer be able to uninstall the app unless they have root access.Google integrated Keep with its Tasks feature in April after last year's upgrades broke a trend of ignoring its note-taking app. Yet all of a sudden, it's apparently considered a core feature vital to Android's operating system, like Google's Phone, Contacts, and Google Play Store apps.Google has yet to explain the change, but this suggests the company could be planning on upgrading Google Keep with more powerful features so it'll play a more central role in Android 16. It's possible Google could be planning on integrating it with other core Android features, for example.
The Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition is the first hardware from the open-source smart home platform that's designed for voice control. | Image: Nabu Casa There's a new voice assistant in town, and this one can work locally in your home without phoning home to its corporate overloads. This week, the popular hobbyist smart home platform Home Assistant officially launched its first voice assistant hardware - Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition.Built for the open-source smart home platform, Voice PE costs $59 and brings a locally controlled, privacy-focused voice assistant to Home Assistant in a plug-and-play package. Once connected to Home Assistant, you can use voice to control any connected device, with commands such as Turn on the living room lights," Lock all the doors," Create a timer for 5 minutes," and many more.While Home Assistant users have been able to control their smart homes with voice using either Home Assistant's Assist on less capable third-party hardware or through the cloud by connecting to third-party services like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, this is the first dedicated Home Assistant voice hardware product.Voice PE is the culmination of Home Assistant's Year of the Voice, an effort from Nabu Casa, the organization behind Home Assistant, to let users control their homes locally, privately, and in their own language. It currently supports over 50 languages, compared to eight for Alexa and 20 for Google Assistant. Image: Nabu Casa The Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition. The Voice PE is a small white box, about the size of your palm, with dual microphones and an audio processor. An internal speaker lets you hear the assistant, but you can also connect a speaker to it via a 3.5 mm headphone jack for better-quality media playback.Out of the box, you can talk to Assist with the wake words Okay Nabu," Hey Jarvis," or Hey Mycroft."A colored LED ring on top of the Voice PE indicates when the assistant is listening. It surrounds a rotary dial and a physical button, which is used for setup and to talk to the voice assistant without using the wake word. The button can also be customized to do whatever you want (because this is Home Assistant). A physical mute switch is on the side, and the device is powered by USB-C (charger and cable not included). There's also a Grove port where you can add sensors and other accessories.Speaking of wake words, out of the box, you can talk to Assist with the wake words Okay Nabu," Hey Jarvis," or Hey Mycroft." If you want to get fancy, you can program a custom wake word.The assistant can run locally in your home without an internet connection on Home Assistant hardware (such as the Home Assistant Green hub), or it can use the Home Assistant cloud. According to Nabu Casa, the latter is faster and supports more languages. The company says your data is not stored on the cloud nor used for training.For those who don't like the idea of always-listening microphones in their home from companies such as Amazon and Google, but who still want the convenience of controlling their home with their voice, the potential here is huge. But it may be a while until Voice PE is ready to replace your Echo or Nest smart speaker.The Verge's Callie Wright, a Home Assistant superuser, has been testing the Voice PE for a few weeks. While they are impressed with its capabilities (although it had some trouble understanding them when there was background noise), they aren't quite ready to kick Alexa to the curb. I think Amazon's Alexa is still worth the privacy tradeoffs for me just because there are key things for me that Voice PE can't pull off," they say. But the progress Home Assistant has made in its Year of the Voice has been incredible, and I'm more hopeful than ever that that future is coming."While the intention is to surpass Big Tech voice assistants," Paulus Schoutsen, founder of Home Assistant, recognizes it's not there yet. Hence, Voice is launching as a Preview Edition. For some, the current capabilities of our voice assistant will be all they need, especially those who just want to set timers, manage their shopping list, and control their most used devices," says Schoutsen. For others, we understand they want to ask their voice assistant to make whale sounds or to tell them how tall Taylor Swift is - our voice assistant doesn't do those things... yet."In the meantime, if you want more features, Voice PE can connect to supported AI models, such as ChatGPT or Gemini, to fully replace Assist or use it as a fallback for commands it doesn't understand. But for many smart home users, there will be plenty of value in a simple, inexpensive device that lets you turn your lights on and off, start a timer, and execute other useful commands with your voice without relying on an internet connection.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Thousands of delivery drivers who work for Amazon third-party contractors are now on strike, The New York Times reports. The workers are striking after Amazon's repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain with the thousands of Amazon workers who organized with the Teamsters," according to a Teamsters press release.Workers are picketing at Amazon warehouses from Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco, Southern California, and Skokie, Ill., with other Amazon Teamsters prepared to join them," the Teamsters say. Teamsters local unions are also putting up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide."The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Amazon earlier this year, saying that Amazon and one of its third-party contractors are joint employers of delivery drivers and that it has a legal duty to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters Union," per another Teamsters press release.Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel shared the following statement with New York City's WPIX and with The Verge:
Image: The Verge In what seems to be a battle between Threads and Bluesky for the hearts and minds of ex-Twitterers, Threads has been adding some interesting new features. The latest is the ability to share photos and videos without including the original post - in other words, without quote posting. (There's a similar feature in X for videos.)There has been some initial pushback on it. A photographer on Threads complained that there will be a small watermark-like credit on the photo, but there won't be a link back to your account."Curious, I tried out the new feature, went to see if there was indeed no link back to the original post, and followed bryanhansel's instructions for turning it off. Here's what happened, and how you can use and adjust Threads' new feature. (All of these instructions have been followed using the mobile app.)To share images alone
Illustration: The Verge Google has introduced a new AI reasoning" model capable of answering complex questions while also providing a rundown of its thoughts," as reported earlier by TechCrunch. The model, called Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, is still experimental and will likely compete with OpenAI's o1 reasoning model.In a post on X, Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean says the model is trained to use thoughts to strengthen its reasoning," and also benefits from the speed that comes along with the faster Gemini Flash 2.0 model. The demo shared by Dean shows how Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking goes about answering a physics problem by thinking" through a series of steps before offering a solution.
8BitDo's new Mini Wired Xbox controller is smaller and lighter than its Ultimate C gamepad. | Image: 8BitDo 8BitDo has announced an alternate version of its Ultimate C wired Xbox controller that's 20 percent smaller and 10 percent lighter while still featuring full-sized triggers, joysticks, and buttons.Although the new 8BitDo Ultimate Mini is designed for kids and teens, it will also appeal to any gamer with smaller hands who struggles with the size and weight of standard controllers. At 189.6 grams it's lighter than the 287-gram Xbox Series S and X controllers (including batteries) and weighs less than half of The Duke," the 550-gram wired controllers the original Xbox shipped with. It's available now in the US through Amazon for $34.99, as well as 8BitDo's online store. Image: 8BitDo The joysticks and buttons on the Ultimate Mini are all closer to each other, but the same size as on a standard Xbox controller. The Ultimate Mini features the same layout as larger Xbox controllers but with action buttons, the directional pad, and its drift-resistant magnetic Hall effect joysticks all positioned closer together. There are also Hall effect triggers on the back, along with a pair of slightly smaller shoulder buttons. Image: 8BitDo A ring of LEDs surrounding each joystick offers different interactive lighting modes. It comes with a white, pink, or green translucent shell, which makes a ring of LEDs surrounding each joystick glow more prominently. Called the Fire Ring, there are different lighting modes that react to various button presses with flashes, cycle through different colors, or follow the direction each joystick is being pushed.The 8BitDo Ultimate Mini is compatible with the Xbox One, Xbox Series S and X, and PCs running Windows 10 or 11. There's no wireless connectivity which helps keep the controller lightweight without batteries inside. But parents with kids who are prone to rage-quitting games and throwing their controllers may want to think twice about a gamepad that's physically tethered to a console with no breakaway connector.
Image: Paramount Variety is reporting that Paramount Pictures is planning to extend the Sonic The Hedgehog trilogy by yet another movie. Sonic The Hedgehog 4 has been greenlit with a target release window of spring 2027.The news comes mere hours before Sonic The Hedgehog 3 releases in theaters on Friday December 19th. The movie once again stars Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O'Shaughnessey and Idris Elba as his friends Tails and Knuckles, with Jim Carey returning as their nemesis Dr. Ivo Robotnik. Sonic 3 will also feature the arrival of Keanu Reeves playing Sonic's on-again off-again enemy-turned-friend Shadow The Hedgehog.With Sonic 3 anticipating tidy profits as North America prepares for the Christmas / New Year's moviegoing season, developing a fourth movie makes sense. There are several rogue characters from the Sonic universe aiming for their silver screen debut. (See what I did there?) Neither Variety nor Paramount Pictures have confirmed any plot details or who might get their Sonic movie debut. We'll probably get a hint though, in the post-credits for Sonic 3.
Image: Evan Blass (X) The future of gaming handhelds is coming to CES 25 and you have a front row seat!" the email in my inbox exclaims.Let me translate: it looks like Lenovo just tacitly confirmed it will announce its first SteamOS handheld in Las Vegas on or before January 7th, 2025. We're expecting it to be the Steam button equipped Legion Go S that leaker Evan Blass revealed last week.Why do I say that? The January 7th event, titled Lenovo Legion x AMD: The Future of Gaming Handhelds," will feature a special guest: Valve SteamOS and Steam Deck co-designer Pierre-Loup Griffais. Lenovo and AMD are calling him Valve's Chief Design Architect" for purposes of this event.(Most Valve employees are simply considered designers internally, since they fluidly switch between teams and tasks; I believe Griffais once told me he prefers the same, but it's true he's also been one of the few public faces of SteamOS and the Steam Deck. It's a fascinating company.)Griffais won't be the only intriguing choice of panelist on stage: Jason Ronald, Microsoft VP of Xbox Gaming Devices and Ecosystem will also be in attendance. He's now being introduced as Microsoft's VP of Next Generation."We exclusively shared with you last week that Lenovo will revamp its larger, seemingly Windows-based Legion Go with detachable controllers, too. And we're also expecting Lenovo to hedge its bets with a Windows version of the smaller Legion Go S based on those same leaks. It's a reasonable bet some, if not all of these devices will come with AMD's yet-to-be-detailed Z2 Extreme chips. Image via Evan Blass A leaked image of Lenovo's bigger Legion Go, now with seemingly more ergonomic grips and possibly an OLED panel. Here's the full description of the event:
Illustration by William Joel / The Verge The best laptops for you, from ultraportables to gaming machines, MacBooks to Chromebooks. Read the full story at The Verge.
You can get the full Elite Series 2 experience for a price that's only $15 more than the Core package. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge With the holiday season in full effect, you can expect a fresh stream of Christmas noobs entering your multiplayer lobbies. If you're on an Xbox or PC and looking to keep the pressure on during ruthless initiation rites, the Xbox Elite Series 2 Wireless Gaming Controller can help maximize your effectiveness. It's usually a pricey spend at $179.99, but you can get the full kit with its extra back buttons, analog stick toppers, D-pads, and wireless charging dock for just $124 ($56 off) at Amazon and Walmart right now, which is a new record low price.For comparison's sake, the Elite Series 2 Core includes none of those extras, save for the tool that lets you adjust the analog stick's tension. The Core is appropriately cheaper as a result and starts around $94.99 ($45 off) at Best Buy, Target, and Amazon right now. While you can buy the components separately for $59.99, the two combined turn out to be more expensive than buying the full Elite Series 2 package. That said, it's a viable way to get the full experience with the Core's exclusive red, blue, and white color options.The Elite Series 2 - usable on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows - offers the most customizability of any first-party pro-style controller and is still one of the most configurable options from any brand. In addition to hot-swappable D-pads and four removable back buttons, you can swap the analog stick tops and adjust their tension. The triggers support three different stop levels. You'll also get extensive software-based button remapping through Xbox and Windows, but you can't make changes on the controller itself. And the controller doesn't use removable batteries like the official standard controllers, meaning you can't swap in a fresh set if their capacity shrinks over time. But Microsoft says it'll last up to 40 hours before you need to recharge, and you have convenient charging options between its USB-C cable and the included dock.Read our Xbox Elite Series 2 review.A few more deals
Illustration: The Verge You don't have to spend a fortune to have a robot clean your floors. Here's our pick of the most cost-effective bots you can buy right now. Read the full story at The Verge.
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images The Federal Aviation Administration banned drones from flying over critical New Jersey infrastructure" in the wake of thousands of drone sightings for which there seem to be very few satisfying answers. The ban will last until January 17th and will block unauthorized drone activity in 22 areas due to special security reasons," according to ABC7NY.Under the FAA's temporary flight restriction, drones can't operate within one nautical mile, from the ground up to an altitude of 400 feet, in the affected airspace. A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) on the FAA's website says the government may use deadly force" against unmanned aircraft in restricted areas if it poses an imminent security threat," while the pilot may be intercepted, detained and interviewed" by law enforcement.During a background call last week, an FAA official said the agency issued its first temporary flight restrictions over Morris County, New Jersey, and the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster in late November. This latest ban covers a much wider swath of the state, including major hubs like Jersey City, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Harrison, and Camden.For weeks, millions of people in the New York City metro area have traded concerns and conspiracy theories about the mysterious drones zipping through the skies. Despite sightings popping up even outside of New Jersey, government officials have little information to share on the situation.A joint statement from the FAA, FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense maintains that the drones don't appear to present a national security or public safety risk," while attributing some sightings to lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones."Still, lawmakers are pushing for answers - and possibly even legislation that will make it easier to track and monitor drone activity.
Image: Evan Blass Lenovo showed off a laptop concept with a rollable display last year, and in 2025, it might release one that you can actually buy. Leaker Evan Blass just shared images of what he says is a sixth-generation Lenovo ThinkBook Plus, and based on two of the images, it has a display that extends upward to reveal more display underneath.It seems pretty similar to the concept from 2023, which also extended upward to show more screen. In these images from Blass, Lenovo is showing how the extended screen can be used for multitasking, such as by watching a YouTube video in the lower half of the screen or having a document on hand under a PowerPoint presentation. Image: Evan Blass Image: Evan Blass Blass' leak doesn't include any specs, so we don't yet know many important details about this rumored laptop. But if it's real, and it does debut at CES, it could be one of the most interesting products at the show.Here's a video of the 2023 concept:We're fairly confident Blass knows what he's talking about when he says it'll debut at CES in January; not only does Blass have a very long track record of accurate leaks, he tends to leak products shortly before they're announced, and appears to have a bead on Lenovo in particular right now.Last week, we exclusively shared Blass's images of a new revamped Lenovo Legion Go handheld, as well as a Lenovo Legion Go S that might wind up being the company's first SteamOS handheld.
Photo by Jason Henry / AFP via Getty Images Waymo's autonomous vehicles cause less property damage and fewer bodily injuries when they crash than human-driven vehicles, according to a study that relies on an analysis of insurance data.The study is the product of the collaboration between Waymo and insurer Swiss Re, which analyzed liability claims related to collisions from 25.3 million fully autonomous miles driven by Waymo in four cities: Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Austin. They then compared those miles to human driver baselines, which are based on Swiss Re's data from over 500,000 claims and over 200 billion miles traveled.25.3 million fully autonomous milesThey found that the performance of Waymo's vehicles was safer than that of humans, with an 88 percent reduction in property damage claims and a 92 percent reduction in bodily injury claims. Across 25.3 million miles, Waymo was involved in nine property damage claims and two bodily injury claims. The average human driving a similar distance would be expected to have 78 property damage and 26 bodily injury claims, the company says.Waymo's vehicles also performed better when compared to new vehicles equipped with all the latest safety tech, including automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, and blind spot detection. When compared to this group, Waymo's autonomous driving system showed an 86 percent reduction in property damage claims and a 90 percent reduction in bodily injury claims. The last time Waymo did a comparison with Swiss Re's liability data, it only had 3.8 million fully autonomous miles in California and Arizona. Now, it has a much bigger dataset, with 25.3 million miles. The company recently announced that it had driven 4 million miles in 2024 alone.Waymo says it has submitted its latest comparisons with Swiss Re's insurance data to a scientific journal for publication.The data is important because there is still a fierce debate about the safety of driverless cars. Companies like Waymo and others say driverless cars are necessary as an antidote to the crisis of traffic fatalities, of which there are around 40,000 a year in the US. They point out that driverless cars never get drunk, tired, or distracted and are able to avoid the human errors that so often lead to crashes and deaths.But there is a lack of certainty around the safety of driverless vehicles, mainly because there are far fewer AVs on the road than human-driven vehicles and, thus, less data from which to draw conclusions. Humans drive close to 100 million miles between fatal crashes, so we're likely to need hundreds of millions of miles from autonomous vehicles before we can start to make more meaningful comparisons about safety.Many urbanists and safety advocates say the real solution is actually fewer cars altogether as well as communities that are designed to support more car-free transportation, like bikes, public transportation, and walking.Waymo is part of a rapidly dwindling number of companies that's convinced that autonomous vehicles will play a key role in reducing crashes and improving safety. And it's one of the few willing to publicize its own collisions in order to make that case.
The AMD Strix Point CPU in the Zephyrus G16 gives this gaming laptop a battery life boost over the Intel version. Unfortunately, the price is also boosted. Read the full story at The Verge.
The puppet influencers are coming...in 2025. | Image: The Verge / Adam Mosseri Instagram is planning to introduce a generative AI editing feature next year that will allow users to change nearly any aspect of your videos." The tech is powered by Meta's Movie Gen AI model according to a teaser posted by Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and aims to provide creators with more tools to help transform their content and bring their ideas to life without extensive video editing or manipulation skills.Mosseri says the feature can make adjustments using a simple text prompt." The announcement video includes previews of early research AI models that change Mosseri's outfit, background environments, and even his overall appearance - in one scene transforming him into a felt puppet. Other changes are more subtle, such as adding new objects to the existing background or a gold chain around Mosseri's neck without altering the rest of his clothing.
