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by Justine Calma on (#6Q1CC)
An inside view of a bedroom during the media visit of Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Village on July 2nd, 2024, in Paris, France. | Photo by Aurelien Meunier / Getty Images Now that the Paris Olympics are over, the temporary air conditioning units shipped in for athletes are poised to have a second - and hopefully third - life.There was a good amount of drama around these units. Planners initially didn't include them in their design for competitors' housing, opting instead for more energy-efficient options. Moreover, AC just hasn't been as necessary in cooler climates until lately and is still relatively uncommon in homes across Europe. But heatwaves pose big risks for athletes, many of whom decided to supply their own mobile units to stay cool.There was a good amount of drama around these unitsThousands of them were reportedly ordered for the Olympic Village, where more than 14,000 athletes stayed... Continue reading...
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The Verge
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
| Feed | http://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml |
| Updated | 2025-04-22 00:03 |
by Sean Hollister on (#6Q1A1)
Google design director Claude Zellweger holds up a Pixel 9 series phone in a form-fitting case. It's the first time we've designed the phone and case hand in hand," he says. | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge There's one thing about the just-announced Google Pixel 9 that's hard to convey in photos - its camera bar is prominent. Bigger than ever before. It's roughly as thick as two US quarters stacked together - nearly a third as thick as the entire rest of the phone. It's so big even the vanilla Pixel 9 is now roughly as thick as a Pro" iPhone, with a far more prominent camera module.A modern and unapologetic approach"I've never felt a bump quite like it, but I don't hate it! I argued in 2022 that Google's camera bar was a good thing: the first major smartphone design element that's truly Google's own. In an era when most everyone's phone is a simple rounded rectangle, it's a playful way to stand out, giving the phone a cute robot face.I... Continue reading...
by Umar Shakir on (#6Q17D)
This has to have really thin components and batteries - but there's plenty of space to spread it out. | Photo: Whylab / Weibo Spy photos of a thin triple-folding phone held by consumer group CEO Yu Chengdong have surfaced again. The images were posted by Weibo user Whylab on Thursday, reports Android Authority.The device looks as if could get as thin as current single-hinged foldables like the Samsung Galaxy Fold 6 when held like a regular smartphone (of course, there's still a camera bump). Based on earlier rumors, Android Authority notes the device could unfold to a 10-inch tablet mode that is slightly bigger than other eight-inch foldables and launch as soon as next month.A picture posted last week of Chengdong using the device unfolded on a plane showed creases in the tablet screen, with a small front-facing camera on the top of the left side.
by Brandon Widder on (#6Q17E)
Unlike last-gen models that relied on the slower Qi standard, Anker's latest MagGo stand offers MagSafe speeds without MagSafe pricing. | Image: Anker Of all the features Apple has introduced to the iPhone over the last several years, few have been as convenient in my day-to-day life as StandBy mode. This docking mode is fantastic if you want to use your phone as a clock or ad hoc smart display - that is, assuming you own the right desk accessory. Fortunately, Anker's latest 2-in-1 MagGo Wireless Charger is available for $39.99 ($10 off) from Amazon with an on-page coupon or from Anker with offer code WSCPV22GRTOZ.Like previous models, Anker's newest charging stand isn't particularly flashy. The sleek 2-in-1 contraption features a magnetic charging pad on the top for juicing MagSafe-compatible iPhones and a slower charging pad on the bottom for supplying a pair of wireless earbuds... Continue reading...
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by Callum Booth on (#6Q17F)
It's been a while, old friend. | Photo by Callum Booth / The Verge Is this the tipping point that causes third-party iOS app stores to take off? Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6Q14N)
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge At Google's gadget launch this week, it took almost half an hour before Google actually talked about its new gadgets. There's a lot to be excited about inside the new Pixel 9 lineup and the Pixel Watch 3, but Google's event made its true priorities clear. AI matters more to Google than Pixel, more than Android, more than just about anything.On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk about all of Google's AI announcements, and what they might mean for how you use your devices going forward. Is this a paradigm shift? Since so much of Google's focus is on the Pixel's camera, we also talk about the ongoing what is a photo" apocalypse, and whether what we're capturing is even photos anymore.After that, Nilay tells us about his adventures... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6Q14P)
Image: Verity Ikea has launched an upgrade to its stock-counting drone system - and now it's coming to the US, too. The Swedish furniture chain announced that the autonomous drones will soon operate alongside workers in its Perryville, Maryland, distribution center, where Ikea started installation this summer.The Verity-branded drones also come with a new AI-powered system that allows them to fly around warehouses 24/7. That means they'll now operate alongside human workers, helping to count inventory as well as identify if something's in the wrong spot. Previously, the drones only flew during nonoperational hours. Image: Ikea Parag Parekh, the chief digital officer for Ikea retail, says in the press release that flights are... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Liszewski on (#6Q14Q)
Kids just learning to ride a scooter can use a power assist mode that doesn't require them to master the throttle controller. | Image: Segway Segway's new Ninebot eKickScooter C2 Lite is targeted at kids who have not yet mastered operating a throttle control and nervous parents who want to limit the top speed for a young rider who's still learning.Designed for kids between six and 10 years old and who are under 110 pounds, the eKickScooter C2 Lite has a smaller frame that's easier and safer for children to operate than a larger scooter designed for adults. The eKickScooter C2 Lite also offers three different speed modes designed to match a child's riding proficiency:
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6Q126)
Image: The Verge AT&T and Verizon have taken issue with SpaceX and T-Mobile's upcoming direct-to-cell satellite offering, arguing that SpaceX's implementation will harm their respective mobile broadband networks. Filings that urge the Federal Communications Commission to reject SpaceX's request to waive out-of-band emission limits were submitted by AT&T and Verizon this week, joining similar opposition from satellite companies EchoStar and Omnispace.T-Mobile announced the SpaceX partnership in 2022, pledging to eradicate dead zones by allowing mobile phones to connect to Starlink satellites. SpaceX is now seeking a ninefold increase" to current power flux-density limits for out-of-band emissions to enact the Supplemental Coverage from Space (SCS)... Continue reading...
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by Nilay Patel on (#6Q128)
Mark Jessamy Photography / Value Electronics Crowning the King of TV' is no small task. Continue reading...
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by Georgina Torbet on (#6Q127)
Image: The Verge Getting to Mars will be easy. It's the whole living there' part that we haven't figured out. Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6Q129)
Promotional art for Fortnite's Absolute Doom" season. | Image: Epic Games Fortnite is finally back on iOS, just over four years after Apple booted it from the iOS App Store - but it's only available in the EU. The game is launching today on both a new iPhone version of the Epic Games Store and through AltStore PAL, another third-party app store. The Epic Games Store is also launching today for Android users worldwide.The launch follows years of litigation between Epic and Apple, as well as regulatory changes ushered in by the EU's Digital Markets Act, which forced Apple to allow alternate app stores. Epic plans to eventually bring its games to Aptoide's iOS store in the EU and the ONE Store on Android and says in a blog post that we look forward to bringing our games to other stores around the world."We're... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6Q101)
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The San Francisco City Attorney's office is suing 16 of the most frequently visited AI-powered undressing" websites, often used to create nude deepfakes of women and girls without their consent. The landmark lawsuit, announced at a press conference by City Attorney David Chiu, says that the targeted websites were collectively visited over 200 million times in the first six months of 2024 alone.The offending websites allow users to upload images of real, fully clothed people, which are then digitally undressed" with AI tools that simulate nudity. One of these websites, which wasn't identified within the complaint, reportedly advertises: Imagine wasting time taking her out on dates, when you can just use [the redacted website] to get... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6Q102)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is working on a new Workspaces features for its PowerToys suite of Windows add-ons that will launch a collection of apps and automatically arrange and snap them into a custom layout on your monitor.PowerToys Workspaces will let you create app layouts that can be saved to a shortcut that you use to automatically launch all your apps and place them on your screens. It supports multiple monitors, and you can create multiple app layouts for different tasks. Image: Microsoft The new PowerToys Workspaces feature in action. The goal of app layouts is really to allow you as a developer to get into your workspaces and your workflows easier with just one click, and get your desktop all set up with just one... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6Q0Y5)
FAT32 is limited to 32GB in existing versions of Windows. | Image: Tom Warren / The Verge Microsoft is planning to remove the 32GB size limit for FAT32 partitions in Windows 11. While FAT supports volumes up to 2TB, Windows has had a 32GB arbitrary limit in place for nearly 30 years.When formatting disks from the command line using the format command, we've increased the FAT32 size limit from 32GB to 2TB," revealed the Windows team in a blog post on Thursday detailing the latest Windows 11 Canary test build.The limit is only being removed from the format command line right now, so the existing format dialog box will continue to have the FAT32 size limit, unless Microsoft finally decides to update this Windows feature it has forgotten about for decades.The 32GB limit was originally put in place during the development of... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6Q0TK)
After revealing Fortnite's Marvel-themed Absolute Doom" season last weekend, Epic Games is officially kicking off Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 4 by sharing a bunch of details about what you can expect when you drop onto the island in battle royale. Spoiler: there's a lot of Doctor Doom.As already shown, the Absolute Doom battle pass will feature various heroes and villains you can obtain like War Machine, Gwenpool, and, of course, Doctor Doom himself. (Timely!) But the battle royale island will also have Doom-themed locations you can visit like the town of Doomstadt and Castle Doom, where you can find Doom's Arcane Gauntlets to use as weapons. Doom's gauntlets aren't the only Marvel-themed weapons available, though; you'll also be able to... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6Q0S1)
The 2025 Lincoln Navigator Black Label in crystal white. | Image: Lincoln Lincoln is making a big change to the largest vehicle in its lineup by adding a panoramic display across the dashboard. The 2025 Navigator SUV is the automaker's second vehicle to get the Android-based digital dashboard developed by Ford, with its first implementation introduced in the 2024 Lincoln Nautilus.The new Navigator, which is making its debut during Monterey Car Week, takes the Nautilus' Panoramic Display (technically, it's two screens) with the Lincoln Digital Experience and drops it in with a more stylish and open flair and adds contrasting speakers to the sides. Meanwhile, the same continuous curved displays in the Nautilus go pillar to pillar, look more integrated, and its trim lines up with the doors.The Navigator and... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6Q0QD)
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge The popular benchmarking utility Geekbench has launched a new cross-platform tool to evaluate the performance of devices under AI-heavy workloads. Geekbench AI measures a device's CPU, GPU, and NPU (neural processing unit) to determine how well it can handle machine learning applications.Geekbench developer Primate Labs has been working on the software using the name Geekbench ML, which launched in preview in 2021 but shifted the name to AI for reasons that seem obvious. To explore how different hardware responds to different AI-related tasks, it evaluates performance based on both accuracy and speed, with support for different frameworks, including ONNX, CoreML, TensorFlow Lite, and OpenVINO.It delivers three scores, full precision,... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6Q0P1)
Imagen 3 created this image of Google's logo. | Image: Emma Roth / Imagen 3 Google has released the latest version of Imagen 3, its AI text-to-image generator, to users in the US, as spotted by VentureBeat. The tool, which you can access on Google's AI Test Kitchen, is supposed to generate images with better detail, richer lighting, and fewer distracting artifacts" compared to Google's previous models.Google first announced its updated Imagen 3 tool during I/O in May, but it only appears to have made the tool generally available through its Vertex AI platform within the past several days. Some Reddit users started experimenting with Imagen 3 last week, and Google published a research paper on the tool on Tuesday.Like other AI image generators, Imagen 3 can create detailed images based on your prompt. You can... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6Q0M2)
This is a screenshot from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive Edition. We never saw footage of the VR port. | Image: Rockstar Games The Quest version of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which was first announced nearly three years ago, is on hold indefinitely," Meta confirmed to IGN and in a comment on a YouTube video. GTA: San Andreas is on hold indefinitely while we both focus on other projects," the Meta Quest VR account said in response to a comment on a video for Skydance's Behemoth. We look forward to working with our friends at Rockstar in the future."Meta announced the game in October 2021 as part of its Connect conference, saying that it was in development for the Meta Quest 2. Get a new perspective on Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas as you experience (again or for the first time) one of gaming's most iconic open worlds," Meta wrote in a blog... Continue reading...
by Andrew Liszewski on (#6Q0M3)
With the right hardware, you can now connect the Meta Quest to deviceswith HDMI or DisplayPort output. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Meta has released a new app for the Quest 3, 2, and Pro, letting you use the headsets as a screen for consoles, laptops, or any device with video out capabilities. Using the free Meta Quest HDMI Link app does require additional hardware, but it's still a relatively cheap way to repurpose the headset, instead of buying single-purpose video glasses that can cost just as much.In a post shared to the Meta Quest Blog today, the company warns that getting this to work isn't quite as straightforward as using Air Link, which allows the Quest headsets to stream video from a PC over Wi-Fi. Instead of plugging a PS5, Pixel 9, or even a laptop directly into the Quest's USB-C port with a cable, you'll need to add a UVC (USB Video Class) and UAC (USB... Continue reading...
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by Gaby Del Valle on (#6Q0HN)
Illustration: The Verge Some California residents will be able to add their driver's licenses and state IDs to Apple Wallet soon, Apple announced Thursday.Apple's announcement doesn't say when the mobile driver's licenses will be rolled out, just that it will happen this fall" as part of California's mobile driver's license (mDL) pilot. The pilot, which will be limited to 1.5 million participants, will let users traveling through certain terminals at Los Angeles International and San Francisco International airports go through TSA screening without handing over their driver's licenses - or their phones.To enroll, users must scan their driver's license or ID, then scan a photo of their face. People who participate in the pilot program will be able to use... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6Q0HP)
Attendees during a media tour of the Revolution Wind construction hub at the Port of Providence in Providence, Rhode Island, US, on Thursday, June 13, 2024. | Photo: Getty Images Offshore wind energy giant Orsted is pushing back the start date for Revolution Wind, the project it's building off the coasts of Rhode Island and Connecticut.It's a another setback to the Biden administration's hopes of sourcing clean energy from new offshore wind farms that have faced a myriad of challenges since the covid-19 pandemic.Revolution Wind is now expected to start running by 2026 instead of next year, Orsted announced today. The problem lies on land. Orsted's partner on the project, Eversource Energy, is building a substation on a former naval station where lingering soil contamination is apparently going to take longer to clear than expected.Risk is an integrated part of projects."Risk is an integrated part of... Continue reading...
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by Kylie Robison on (#6Q0HQ)
OpenAI It's strange to sit down at my desk and talk to an AI about my life - but that's what I spent my Tuesday doing.I'd gotten access to OpenAI's Advanced Voice Mode, the new ChatGPT feature that sounds strangely like a human. When counting quickly, it'll pretend it's out of breath. It says um" and uh." It laughs. It changes tone when talking about difficult or upbeat topics. After messing around with it, I felt equal parts amazed and uncomfortable. It sounds natural (when it isn't glitching), it responds in seconds, and you're able to interrupt it and ask new things - but do we need chatbots that sound like us?Advanced Voice Mode features several different voice options, and I chose Juniper, a feminine persona reminiscent of the movie H... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6Q0HR)
Sonos' midrange Beam soundbar might not sound as immersive as the Arc, but it's a step up from the built-in speakers on your TV. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge It's been a rough few months for Sonos fans, but there has been at least some good news sprinkled in with the bad. Sonos might be relaunching its old app, for one, and right now, Woot is offering steep cuts on several Sonos products. The ongoing Random Audio" sale includes the Sonos Five speaker and the third-gen Sonos Sub, but if you're looking to upgrade your home theater setup, we'd steer you toward the Sonos Arc and second-gen Sonos Beam. Now until 12:59AM ET on August 22nd, Woot is selling the Beam for $389 ($110 off) and the Arc for $699 ($200 off), both with a 90-day Woot warranty.If you need a refresher, the midrange Sonos Beam is a 26-inch soundbar that's great for those who want to dip their toes into the Sonos ecosystem.... Continue reading...
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by Elizabeth Lopatto on (#6Q0EM)
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images Probably you have already heard that astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Sunita Williams may not be able to leave on the Boeing Starliner that brought them to the International Space Station. I have been thinking about it in quiet moments - when I wake up in the morning, on hikes, in the shower.Those guys popped up there on June 5th, and they were supposed to spend a week on the ISS doing normal astronaut stuff and then go home. But apparently the Boeing Starliner was made about as well as the Boeing 737 Max, and so the astronauts have been on an unplanned vacation in orbit. They might be up there until next February - NASA hasn't made a decision yet.Man, I get antsy waiting for a bus, and these two have been cooling their heels for... Continue reading...
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by Gaby Del Valle on (#6Q0EN)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images Most Google Pixel phones sold since September 2017 included software that could be used to surveil or remotely control users' phones, according to a new report from the cybersecurity company iVerify.The vulnerability was discovered after iVerify's endpoint detection and response (EDR) scanner flagged an insecure Android device at Palantir Technologies, an iVerify client. After launching a joint investigation, iVerify, Palantir, and Trail of Bits discovered a hidden Android software package - Showcase.apk - across Google Pixel devices. The data-mining firm Palantir, which sells its surveillance products to governments and private companies, banned Android devices across the company in response.This was very deleterious of trust, to... Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6Q0EP)
Image: Threads Meta is testing a handful of new features on Threads, its X competitor, the company announced today.The new additions range from options that the average Threads user might appreciate to content management tools that feel more directly aimed at brands. Threads, which just passed the one-year mark since its official launch on July 5th, 2023, now has more than 200 million monthly active users, including some celebrities and brand accounts.The most useful new feature, in my opinion, is the ability to have multiple posts saved as drafts. Currently, Threads only allows for one draft - you have to post it or replace it. With the update, users will be able to save up to 100 drafts.Users will also get new ways to customize their Threads... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6Q0EQ)
Image: Activision Call of Duty games have famously giant file sizes, but ahead of the October 25th launch of Black Ops 6, Activision is going to make some changes so that Call of Duty titles don't take up as much space on your hard drive - including separating Warzone from the default download for the annual games.The default separation of Warzone is happening soon: on August 21st, alongside the launch of Season 5 Reloaded. As part of that, when you download an annual Call of Duty game, you'll also be able to opt in to also download Warzone if you want. And if you just want to download Warzone, that will still be an option as well.With Season 5 Reloaded, Activision also says that it is going to rely more on texture streaming, and players will be able... Continue reading...
by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6Q0ER)
The Momentum Sport earbuds come in a few different color options, but the only vibrant hue is olive. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Sennheiser Momentum Sport earbuds are a pretty unique piece of tech, as the noise-canceling buds feature an embedded heart rate tracker for monitoring your performance during runs and exercises. They're also normally on the pricey side at $329.95, but right now, the olive and graphite colors are discounted to a new low of $254.06 (a savings of roughly $76) at Amazon.The Momentum Sport have a somewhat bassy tone that's often found in fitness-focused earbuds (since that oomph-oomph can help keep you going when you're really sweating), but they sound good and offer a secure fit for when you run. They also offer a transparency mode to keep you better attuned to your surroundings and IP55-rated weather resistance that should be able to... Continue reading...
by Ash Parrish on (#6Q0ES)
Image: BioWare BioWare is announcing the release date for Dragon Age: The Veilguard and sharing a new trailer to commemorate the occasion. Players will be able to return to Thedas - the name of the game's world that is simultaneously a clever acronym for The Dragon Age Setting - on October 31st, more than 10 years after the release of the previous game, Dragon Age: Inquisition.Oh man, there's some lore going on in this new trailer. Up until now, fans assumed that Solas, a companion from Inquisition who went rogue during the events of the game's Trespasser DLC, would be the main bad guy. But this trailer confirms a burgeoning community theory that Solas is just a small fry compared to the game's real big baddies - the Elven gods.BioWare announced V... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6Q0ET)
Image: Rivian Rivian is selling a travel kitchen accessory for the first time. This is not the comprehensive campsite device it advertised years ago (but never released) that slid out the side of the company's electric R1T trucks. Instead, this new one is compact and lightweight, designed to sit on a vehicle's tailgate.Simply called the Travel Kitchen, it folds out to span the length of the tailgate and features two induction burners, a cutting board that stows away in an organizer drawer, and a pop-out bar for hanging a towel. The unit needs a three-prong 120V power source with 15A of current to work, which you can get from a Rivian vehicle, campsite power, or an F-150 Lighting, Cybertruck, or other vehicle with capable onboard power or a generator.... Continue reading...
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by Gaby Del Valle on (#6Q0B8)
Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge Antisemitic streamer, Holocaust denier, Charlottesville rally attendee, and January 6th instigator Nick Fuentes disavowed Donald Trump's presidential campaign last week, claiming the America First movement had been hijacked" by consultants, lobbyists, & donors."The news that Fuentes had declared a groyper war" on his preferred presidential candidate has sparked some claims that Trump is losing support among a core part of his constituency: white supremacists. But Fuentes has long been at odds with another subset of the far-right - one that has ascended within the mainstream Republican Party in recent years, culminating in Trump's selection of JD Vance as his running mate.
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by Andrew Liszewski on (#6Q0B9)
Zero Zero Robotics hasn't yet revealed pricing or a ship date for the HoverAir X1 Pro and X1 Pro Max selfie drones. | Image: Zero Zero Robotics One of the shortcomings of the recently reviewed HoverAir X1 selfie drone was that its camera could only capture video at 2.7K/30fps resolutions. Zero Zero Robotics will soon resolve this issue with two upgraded versions of the drone that it's been teasing on its website, as spotted by DIYPhotography.The HoverAir X1 Pro will be able to capture 4K footage at up to 60fps, or 120fps slow motion footage at 1080P, through a half-inch CMOS sensor paired with a 17-millimeter wide-angle lens. The X1 Pro Max further boosts video resolution to 8K at 30fps but can also capture footage at 4K/120fps or 4K/60fps in 10-bit HDR through a 1/1.3-inch sensor and a slightly wider 16-millimeter lens.Zero Zero Robotics hasn't revealed the full details for... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6Q0BA)
Illustration: The Verge As Google brings AI Overviews to six new countries, it's also changing the way the generated summaries display citations. Instead of putting relevant webpages directly in the AI-generated summary, Google is adding a new display to the right of the response that shows cited webpages more prominently.This new format is rolling out today, and it will also show up on mobile when you select the site icons that appear in the top-right corner of the AI Overview. We are using the right-hand-side space to prominently display the links to the AI Overview so that people can navigate to the content that they're interested in," Hema Budaraju, Google's senior director of product management for Search, tells The Verge. Google will continue to display... Continue reading...
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6Q0BB)
TP-Link's Tapo D225 is a good $100 doorbell camera with 24/7 recording and smart alerts for people, packages, and pets - all without a subscription. Continue reading...
by Nilay Patel on (#6Q0BC)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images We've talked a lot on Decoder about various attempts to regulate the internet in the United States and how they all run into the very simple fact that almost everything on the internet is speech, and the First Amendment prohibits most speech regulations in this country. Literally, it says, Congress shall make no law..." and that's why we don't have any laws.But there's a major internet speech regulation currently making its way through Congress, and it has a really good chance of becoming law. It's called KOSPA: the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act, which passed in the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support late last month. You've probably heard of KOSPA's predecessor KOSA, the Kids Online Safety Act - it got bundled up with... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6Q080)
Kanye West Loves Megaupload A dozen years later, New Zealand is extraditing Kim Dotcom to face trial in the US. Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6Q081)
This Snapdragon-powered laptop is a productivity machine, but unless work foots the bill, you can do better. Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6Q05H)
Dotcom has been fighting US extradition for 12 years. | Photo by MICHAEL BRADLEY/AFP via Getty Images Kim Dotcom is being extradited to the United States to face long-standing criminal charges relating to his defunct file-sharing service Megaupload. The order was signed by New Zealand Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith according to Reuters, who said that Mr Dotcom should be surrendered to the US to face trial."As the founder and former CEO of Megaupload, Dotcom (born Kim Schmitz) was accused by US authorities of having cost film studios and record companies over $500 million by enabling users to share pirated content. The German-born Internet mogul moved to New Zealand in 2010, and has been fighting extradition since local police, at the behest of the FBI, raided his Auckland mansion in 2012 over charges of racketeering, money laundering,... Continue reading...
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by Alex Heath on (#6PZTG)
Eric Schmidt. | Photo By Lukas Schulze/Sportsfile for Collision via Getty Images Former Google CEO and chairman Eric Schmidt has made headlines for saying that Google was blindsided by the early the rise of ChatGPT because its employees decided that working from home was more important than winning."The comment was made in front of Stanford students during a recent interview, video of which was removed from the university's YouTube channel after Schmidt's gaffe was widely picked up by the press. I managed to watch most of Schmidt's chat with Stanford's Erik Brynjolfsson before it was taken down, however, and something else he said stands out. (You can still read the full transcript here.)While talking about a future world in which AI agents can do complex tasks on behalf of humans, Schmidt says:
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by Jay Peters on (#6PZTH)
Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge GitHub, the popular code repository and developer platform, has recovered after dealing with some major issues on Wednesday that affected its website and many GitHub services. The company has rolled back changes to its database infrastructure that apparently caused the issues and says that services are now fully operational," according to a 8:26PM ET status message. GitHub was acquired by Microsoft in 2018.When we first published this story, navigating to the main GitHub website showed an error message that said no server is currently available to service your request," but the website was working again soon after. (The error message also featured an image of an angry unicorn.) GitHub's report of the incident also listed problems with... Continue reading...
by Lauren Feiner on (#6PZTJ)
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images On Wednesday, Kamala Harris' campaign page shared a Truth Social post from Donald Trump. In it Trump blamed the complexity of modern day equipment" for making his voice sound somewhat different and strange" during a live interview on X with Elon Musk. But while the Harris campaign shared what looked like a screenshot of the post, they cut off the last line, where Trump explained that he released an actual, and perfect, recording of the conversation."Exactly why the original broadcast sounded so odd is not totally clear - the Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday about what led to the sound quality issues and what tech they used to fix it. But the Harris campaign's post left out key context that Trump had... Continue reading...
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by Allison Johnson on (#6PZTK)
Google's bringing the party" back to the party line with emoji reactions for group calls. | Illustration: The Verge Google's Meet app is getting a few more features designed for calls. Meet, the videocalling app Google rolled Duo into a couple of years ago, is designed to handle both meetings and personal video calls. The update, which will roll out over the coming months, focuses on the personal side. It offers an updated UI and features like in-call messaging - things that have only been available in meetings until now.With this latest update, the call UI will look more like the meeting interface, with call controls becoming more readily available. In-call messaging is now supported so you can share links and rude comments, if you're so inclined, while you're muted. Emoji reactions will also be available in group calls, you'll be able to stack... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6PZR4)
Image: AltStore AltStore PAL, a third-party iOS app store that's available in the EU, is dropping its annual 1.50 (plus tax) subscription after receiving a MegaGrant" from Fortnite developer Epic Games. AltStore originally charged the subscription to help cover Apple's Core Technology Fee (CTF), which is a fee third-party app marketplaces have to pay for each annual app install.Epic uses MegaGrants as a way to sponsor the development of exciting projects that may not otherwise have enough funding to fully realize," the company says. The grants are typically meant for smaller teams using Epic's technologies to bring bold, challenging, and insanely creative dreams to life," but in this case, Epic awarded the grant for innovation in app... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6PZR5)
Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge Logitech is running a 10 percent off sale on its site through August 17th, extending some solid deals to a wide range of its G Gaming PC and console peripherals (with other retailers matching or beating Logitech's pricing). Some notable deals include the G Pro X Superlight 2 gaming mouse and Astro A50 X headset. The former is down to $134.99 ($25 off) in white at Amazon and $139.99 ($20 off) at Best Buy (or $143.99 in all three colors from Logitech), while the latter is discounted to $341.99 ($38 off) at Best Buy, Amazon, and Logitech's online storefront.While we've seen the black version of the Superlight 2 fall a little lower in the past, it doesn't go on sale very often, unlike previous generations. Part of what makes the G Pro X... Continue reading...
by Sean Hollister on (#6PZR6)
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge Judge James Donato just made it crystal clear: Google will pay.Eight months after a federal jury unanimously decided that Google's Android app store is an illegal monopoly in Epic v. Google, Donato held his final hearing on remedies today. While we don't yet know what will happen, he repeatedly shut down any suggestion that Google shouldn't have to open up its store to rival stores, that it'd be too much work or cost too much, or that the proposed remedies go too far.We're going to tear the barriers down, it's just the way it's going to happen," said Donato. The world that exists today is the product of monopolistic conduct. That world is changing." Donato will issue his final ruling in a little over two weeks.While Epic won the... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6PZR7)
Detecting an offside violation can be difficult. | Photo by Dan Istitene / Getty Images The UK's top soccer league is switching up the tech it uses to detect offside violations on the football pitch. The Premier League has contracted with a company called Genius Sports, which will use dozens of iPhones combined with machine-learning models to help game officials make an offside call.Offside violations aren't always clear-cut, especially when players are grouped in a way that blocks officials and even multiple camera angles from seeing enough detail to accurately call them. That's where video assistant referee (VAR) systems usually come in, ostensibly filling in the gaps using cameras and machine learning.Soccer leagues have used VAR systems for years. FIFA, soccer's global league, started officially using machine... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6PZR8)
Image: The Verge Valve has started publicly testing sorting reviews in the Steam store based on how well they help players make purchase decisions about games.
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by Emma Roth on (#6PZR9)
Image: Cath Virginia/ The Verge The Federal Trade Commission has announced a final rule banning companies from creating or selling fake reviews, including AI-generated ones. Once it goes into effect, the FTC can take action against companies that violate the policy.The new rule could help address AI-generated reviews that pop up on sites across the web, including Amazon. Here are the types of deceptive practices the FTC's new rule prohibits: