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by Amrita Khalid on (#6K0JR)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Health insurance provider UnitedHealth has identified Blackcat as the group behind a debilitating cyber attack that has disrupted healthcare providers nationwide, Reuters is reporting. The attack has led to more than a week-long outage of the the United-owned Change Healthcare system, disrupting payments at hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies across the nation.Since Change Healthcare acts as a middleman between healthcare providers and insurance companies, the breach has hindered everyday transactions like electronic pharmacy refills and new insurance claims. The company first identified suspicious activity on its IT systems on February 21st, according to an SEC filing.The breach could last for weeks, UnitedHealth Group Chief... Continue reading...
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The Verge
Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
Feed | http://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml |
Updated | 2025-07-09 02:03 |
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by Chris Welch on (#6K0GF)
The company has always delivered on audio quality, but after stumbling with some bugs and hardware issues on the Momentum True Wireless 3 earbuds, Sennheiser is focusing on the little things - and it shows. Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6K0E6)
Image: Disney The third Tron movie is nearing release. Disney announced that production on Tron: Ares - a follow-up to Tron: Legacy, which itself was a sequel to the 1982 original - began in January and that the plan is for the film to premiere in 2025. As part of the announcement, the first image for the film was also released. It definitely has Tron vibes but also wouldn't be out of place as a skin in a shooter like Destiny or Fortnite.Here's the full thing: Image: Disney According to Disney, the new film is about a highly sophisticated Program, Ares, who is sent from the digital world into the real world on a dangerous mission, marking humankind's first encounter with AI beings." It's being directed by Joachim Ronning, who... Continue reading...
by Amrita Khalid on (#6K0E7)
Google If you've ever opened a new browser tab with no clue what to search for, today's Chrome updates may help.First off, the Google Search box on Chrome will now display suggested queries based on your previous searches before you've started typing. In Google's example, a user who had previously searched for the Korean noodle dish japchae would see images of similar Korean dishes beside the search box under the heading People also search for." Some of the search suggestions will also include images.It's not an entirely new feature. As Search Engine Roundtable points out, Google started testing a People also search for" suggestion bar in 2020.The Verge tested the updated Chrome search suggestions feature. Typing in pesto sandwich... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6K0AY)
Image: MacPaw One of the first third-party app stores on iOS is getting ready to open up in the European Union. The software company MacPaw has announced that it's releasing its Setapp store in beta on Thursday, with an official launch planned for April.Setapp is currently only available on macOS and offers users access to over 240 third-party apps for a $9.99 per month subscription. Some examples of the curated apps available through Setapp include music software n-Track Studio, project planner MindNode, and the productivity app Session.The new app store on iOS will feature a carefully selected assortment of apps, including fan favorites from the Setapp catalog." In addition to productivity and business tools, Setapp on iOS will also offer design... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6K0AZ)
Image: Square Enix Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is an excellent game and an important evolution for the franchise. It mashes together a traditional RPG with a large open world, managing to feel both modern and like it's sticking to its 32-bit roots. What it is not, however, is a good place to get started with the multipart story that is Final Fantasy VII - despite what its creators might say.Prior to Rebirth's launch, creative director and zipper aficionado Tetsuya Nomura talked about how the game was designed in part to be welcoming to newcomers (always a commendable goal). In fact," he said in 2022, new players might even enjoy starting their Final Fantasy VII journey with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth." Meanwhile, on launch day, producer Yoshinori Kitase... Continue reading...
by Brandon Widder on (#6K0B0)
Sony's latest console is still a big boi, even if it is more than 30 percent smaller. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge PlayStation 5 sales have already surpassed 50 million units - a solid figure for a console that has rarely received a substantial price drop since it arrived on the scene more than three years ago. If you have yet to pick up Sony's latest console, however, Best Buy is now offering the new PS5 slim" with a digital copy of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 for $449.99 ($50 off), which marks the first discount we've seen on the bundle.The revised PS5 isn't all that different from Sony's standard disc-based offering. The midcycle refresh is slightly smaller and more refined, and it tackles all the same games as the original models at the same 4K graphical fidelity. The biggest change is the detachable disc drive - which you can easily remove and... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6JTGK)
Image: Square Enix In Rebirth, our heroes get to explore beyond the confines of Midgar. Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6K084)
Image: Square Enix Don't worry, there'll be plenty of wonder and excitement' to embrace as well. Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6K085)
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is starting to roll out a new update to Windows 11 that includes a whole host of improvements and new built-in features. Copilot in Windows 11 is getting more options to control your PC as part of this update, alongside a new Generative Erase option in Photos, Voice Shortcuts for accessibility, improved Snap layouts, changes to the Widgets system, and more.While the Windows 11 update is available starting today, Microsoft says not all features will be enabled straight away. Copilot's new options will start rolling out in late March, enabling new skills like being able to ask the AI chatbot to enable the battery saver mode or to launch accessibility features like Narrator or Magnifier. Copilot will also be able to show... Continue reading...
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6K086)
Image: The Verge Just a couple of weeks after the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) surged with enough support to position it to clear the Senate, the path to new child protections on the internet suddenly looks more complex. Seeing the momentum, other lawmakers and outside groups sense it might be time to promote their own favored solutions, which could snarl KOSA's Senate passage.Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), for example, sees this as an opportune moment for his own Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, which would only allow teens under 18 to use social media with their parents' consent. I imagine there's only going to be one moment for all of the tech bills," Schatz told The Washington Post in a story published Thursday. I imagine that all of these efforts... Continue reading...
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6K04T)
Collage by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Images courtesy of Discotek Physical media might seem like it's on its deathbed, but the anime DVD and Blu-ray industry couldn't be more alive. Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6K04W)
A man squats on cracked, dry ground. Dead, dry fish lay on the ground where a pond used to be. | Photo by Kevin Herbian/NurPhoto via Getty Images There's a 90 percent chance that global average surface temperatures will reach a record high for the year leading up to June 2024, according to new research published today in the journal Scientific Reports. Some places will be more sweltering than others, particularly in parts of Asia. The heat has cascading effects, like raising the risk of drought and wildfire.A weather pattern known as El Nino is to blame. El Nino is part of a natural, cyclical phenomenon, but climate change heightens the stakes by raising baseline temperatures before El Nino swoops in to push the mercury up even higher.We have seen that this type of warming can cause a lot of troubles in the world, so we want to give people a heads up," says Deliang Chen, one... Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6K04V)
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images By the end of January, more than 25,000 Palestinians had been reported killed as a result of Israel's military assault on Gaza. Just a handful of doctors remained at the largest medical facility in the Gaza Strip, where every day, 10 children lost one or both of their legs amid the Israeli military's siege. A weeklong communications blackout - the longest since October 7th - cut off civilians from their families and journalists from the rest of the world.A. wanted to help. With a small group of friends, they set up a GoFundMe campaign with a modest goal of $300. They hoped to donate that money to organizers sending eSIMs, a digital version of a SIM card connecting devices to mobile networks, to Gaza. In the months since October 7th,... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6K04X)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple has expanded its Self Service Repair program to include the MacBook Pro and iMac models powered by its M3 processor. That means users with the company's latest Mac hardware can now access the tools, parts, and repair manuals they need to fix their devices from Apple's self-repair website.Additionally, Apple plans on making its remote diagnostic tool available to customers with M3 Macs starting next month. The tool, which Apple first introduced for M2 Macs and the iPhone 15 late last year, allows users to test devices to ensure optimal part functionality and performance," while also identifying any parts that might need repair.Apple also says it's streamlining the System Configuration process for all Mac models." The change will... Continue reading...
by Christopher Grant on (#6K04Y)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge All you need are NFC stickers, a reader, a MiSTer, and a lot of patience to add a physical touch to ROMs. Continue reading...
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by Nilay Patel on (#6K019)
Image: The Verge Our new Thursday episodes of Decoder are all about deep dives into big topics in the news, and this week, we're continuing our miniseries on one of the biggest topics of all: generative AI.Last week, we took a look at the wave of copyright lawsuits that might eventually grind this whole industry to a halt. Those are basically a coin flip - and the outcomes are off in the distance, as those cases wind their way through the legal system. A bigger problem right now is that AI systems are really good at making just believable enough fake images and audio - and with tools like OpenAI's new Sora, maybe video soon, too.And of course, it's once again a presidential election year here in the US. So today, Verge policy editor Adi Robertson... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6K01A)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has promised to return $1.1 billion to customers as part of a settlement it reached with New York's Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). Gemini will also have to pay $37 million to the NYDFS for significant failures that threatened the safety and soundness of the company."The NYDFS claims Gemini, which is owned by twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, had compliance, management, and internal audit issues" when it came to managing its Earn program. Introduced in 2021, Gemini's Earn program let customers loan their cryptocurrency to the crypto brokerage Genesis Global Capital while receiving interest.
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by Diego Nicolás Argüello on (#6K01B)
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Vjeran Pavic and Getty Images In countries like Argentina, where physical games are exorbitantly expensive, services like Game Pass present a more affordable - but flawed - alternative. Continue reading...
by Kevin Nguyen on (#6K01C)
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images In remembrance of the humblest newsletter service and its brief run nurturing great personal writing on the internet. Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6K01D)
Policymakers are concerned that Chinese vehicle companies like BYD could collect sensitive data from drivers in the US. | Photo by John Keeble / Getty Images The US government is opening an investigation into the potential risks to national security posed by smart car technology produced in China and other countries of concern."The US Commerce Department's probe will focus on connected vehicles" - a broad term that can be applied to any car with internet access - amid concerns that technology like cameras, sensors, and on-board computers could be exploited to collect sensitive data about US citizens and infrastructure.During a call with reporters on Wednesday, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said that the investigation was being launched before Chinese-manufactured vehicles become widespread" across the US.Imagine if there were thousands of Chinese vehicles on American roads that... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6JZYD)
Let me adapt that for you. | Image: Ford Starting today, people who own electric vehicles from Ford can reserve an adapter that will enable them to charge at Tesla's vastly superior Supercharger network.The company is the first to distribute adapters to customers, after announcing last year its plans to adopt Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) connector for its EVs. Other automakers soon followed Ford's lead, leading to a massive shift toward Tesla's standardized version of its proprietary charging system.The adapter, which is manufactured by Tesla and allows EVs equipped with Combined Charging System (CCS 1) outlets to use Tesla's Superchargers, typically retails for $230. But Ford is offering the first adapter to its EV customers free of charge - at least for... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6JZVD)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft has outlined a new Windows API designed to offer a seamless way for game developers to integrate super resolution AI-upscaling features from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel. In a new blog post, program manager Joshua Tucker describes Microsoft's new DirectSR API as the missing link" between games and super resolution technologies, and says it should provide a smoother, more efficient experience that scales across hardware."This API enables multi-vendor SR [super resolution] through a common set of inputs and outputs, allowing a single code path to activate a variety of solutions including Nvidia DLSS Super Resolution, AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution, and Intel XeSS," the post reads. The pitch seems to be that developers will be able... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6JZVE)
An Aiwit" doorbell camera. There are many like it. | Image via Amazon Does your video doorbell look anything like the one in the picture? Perhaps you bought it for cheap at Amazon, Temu, Shein, Sears, or Walmart? Does it use the Aiwit app?Consumer Reports is reporting the security on these cameras is so incredibly lax, anybody could walk up to your house, take over your doorbell, and permanently get access to the still images it captures - even if you take control back.The cameras are sold by a Chinese company called Eken under at least ten different brands, including Aiwit, Andoe, Eken, Fishbot, Gemee, Luckwolf, Rakeblue and Tuck. Consumer Reports says online marketplaces like Amazon sell thousands of them each month. Some of them have even carried the Amazon's Choice badge, its dubious seal of... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6JZSH)
Unofficial renders of what the Z Flip 6 could look like. | Image: OnLeaks / SmartPrix Yesterday was the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, now it's the Z Flip 6's turn to have its alleged design leak in a series of unofficial renders from OnLeaks and SmartPrix ahead of its rumored July unveiling.While the overall form-factor of the device is similar to last year's Z Flip 5, including a 6.7-inch inner folding display and 3.4-inch cover screen, SmartPrix reports that its thickness could increase from 6.9mm to 7.4mm, prompting speculation about what the extra internal space could be used for. The front-running theory comes from a GalaxyClub report from last year, which said the Z Flip 6's battery capacity could increase from 3,700mAh to 4,000mAh. It's a move that could (hopefully) address the so-so battery life we experienced on the... Continue reading...
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by Amrita Khalid on (#6JZJ7)
Illustration: The Verge Spaces, the live audio feature for X, is now letting hosts turn on their video during chat sessions. The platform formerly known as Twitter announced the news on Wednesday as owner / CTO Elon Musk reposted a walkthrough from a user named "Dogedesigner."Spaces users will notice a new option to enable video" when they first create a new Spaces session. Hosts can opt for either their phone's front or back-facing cameras as well as either a landscape or vertical view of their video feed.The Video Spaces are available on the iOS version of the X app, but we haven't seen them available on Android or the web yet. Multiple users reported significant lag while trying out the feature so far.
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by Andrew Webster on (#6JZG8)
William Gibson. | Photo by Elisabetta A. Villa/WireImage Another sci-fi adaptation is making its way to Apple TV Plus. The streamer announced that it's adapting William Gibson's seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer into a 10-episode series. Graham Roland (Lost, Jack Ryan) will serve as showrunner, while JD Dillard (Utopia) will direct the first episode. (Both will also be executive producers on the series.)That's about all we know right now. There are no details on when the series might start streaming or who will star. In a press release, Apple said that the show will follow a damaged, top-rung super-hacker named Case who is thrust into a web of digital espionage and high stakes crime with his partner Molly, a razor-girl assassin with mirrored eyes aiming to pull a heist on a corporate... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6JZDS)
Tubi's new logo and signature shade of turple." | Image: Tubi Tubi knows that people fire up its app just to see what happens to be streaming rather than to search for one specific thing, and the platform is trying to embrace that reality about itself in the form of a playful new brand identity.Today, Tubi began rolling out a new look and feel for its login-free service that's meant to emphasize how the streamer wants viewers falling down rabbit holes as they search through the thousands of films and series it has to offer. That was also the concept behind Tubi's 2023 Super Bowl ad in which people were thrown down literal holes by anthropomorphic rabbits, and while the new branding is nowhere near as unsettling, chief marketing officer Nicole Parlapiano said in a press release that it's meant to... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6JZDT)
Illustration by The Verge Substack writers and readers can now send private one-on-one direct messages to others on the platform, the company announced today. The highly requested feature works similarly to DMs found on social networking apps like X and Instagram, though it is optional and can be disabled.Just as you can from X or Facebook, users can initiate direct messages from a writer's or reader's profile page. You can also start a message via the website's or app's Chat tab. In addition, writers have the option to add a Send a message" button on a post or note. Substack will then notify recipients via the app or email.Only readers and writers you're connected to can send messages directly to your inbox. Other messages will just land in a Requests"... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6JZDV)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok is now taking down all the songs written or co-written by artists signed to Universal Music Group (UMG) as the platform's battle over music rights drags on.We are in the process of carrying out Universal Music Group's requirement to remove all songs that have been written (or co-written) by a songwriter signed to Universal Music Publishing Group, based on information they have provided," TikTok writes in a statement on its website. Their actions not only affect the songwriters and artists that they represent, but now also impact many artists and songwriters not signed to Universal."On Tuesday, Variety reported that TikTok was set to lose even more UMG songs, but it wasn't clear how many would be affected. This will also impact... Continue reading...
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by Emilia David on (#6JZDW)
Illustration: The Verge Three more news organizations have sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging copyright infringement, including the removal of author, title, and other copyright information while training AI models.The Intercept, Raw Story, and AlterNet filed separate lawsuits in the Southern District of New York. All three cases are being litigated by the same law firm.The publications said ChatGPT at least some of the time" reproduces verbatim or nearly verbatim copyright-protected works of journalism without providing author, title, copyright or terms of use information contained in those works." According to the plaintiffs, if ChatGPT trained on material that included copyright information, the chatbot would have learned to communicate that... Continue reading...
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by Quentyn Kennemer on (#6JZAT)
If you own a Pixel smartphone or smartwatch, the Pixel Tablet makes for a great trifecta. | Photo: Dan Seifert / The Verge It's easy to default to iPads and Samsung Galaxy Tabs when shopping for a new tablet, but believe it or not, there are other devices worth your consideration. Take the Google Pixel Tablet, for instance, which is on sale at Amazon and Best Buy in the 256GB configuration for $449 ($150 off) - a record low for the higher storage model. In fact, the current discount makes the larger model cheaper than the $499.99 base model.The Pixel Tablet's 11-inch 16:10 display isn't as comfortable as a 4:3 device for reading or browsing, but it works great as a multimedia consumption device, especially when you attach it to the fabric-wrapped speaker dock that comes with the tablet. The bundled speaker dock sounds pretty good, and playback will... Continue reading...
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by Lauren Feiner on (#6JZAW)
Photo by Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel shared a new proposal Wednesday that would make it harder for domestic abuse survivors to be stalked through their cars' location tracking systems.The notice of proposed rulemaking would kick off a process for the FCC to consider how it can use existing authority to create new protections for domestic abuse survivors. It seeks more information on available connected car services and whether changes to the way the agency implements the Safe Connections Act are necessary to address how those tools could be used for abuse. The agency is expected to take up the issue in the next month.The Safe Connections Act, which was signed into law in late 2022, requires mobile service... Continue reading...
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by Joanna Nelius on (#6JZAX)
Google For anyone who has ever wished for the ability to hand annotate directly on a Google Doc, Google announced on Tuesday it's rolling out a new markup feature for Google Workspace customers, Google Workspace Individual subscribers, and personal Google accounts that will allow users to write directly on a Google Doc with a stylus or their finger. The new feature includes a few standard pen and highlighter colors (black, blue, red, green, yellow), and an eraser. If you don't like any of those colors, you can add your own.There are so many use cases for a feature like this, across age groups, industries, and professional and personal work. Google calls out some good ones in its announcement, especially for educators giving students feedback... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6JZ7J)
Image: Activision Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile is launching worldwide on March 21st, following a limited release over the past year. The free-to-play game will be available on both iOS and Android, with the Verdansk and Rebirth Island maps and shared progression with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone on PC and console.The shared progression means you can earn XP mobile, and this will contribute to your player level and battle pass across mobile, PC, and console. There is shared weapon level progression, too, so you can work on weapon XP while you're mobile and away from your TV or monitor. Image: Activision Warzone Mobile players will be able to experience Verdansk in all its glory. The 120-player... Continue reading...
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by Emilia David on (#6JZ7K)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung says its new, faster microSD cards will help enable on-device AI, allowing people to use more data-heavy AI-related apps.In a press release, the company explains it began sampling its 256GB SD Express microSD card and started mass production of the 1TB microSD card. The 256GB SD Express version will be available later this year, while the 1TB UHS-1 microSD will launch in the third quarter of 2024.Samsung says the 256GB SD Express microSD card can read data up to 800MB/s, 1.4 times faster than SATA SSDs (up to 560 MB/s) and more than four times faster compared to traditional UHS-1 memory cards." But because faster speeds from SD Express cards can hit temperatures of up to 96 degrees Celsius, Samsung introduced dynamic thermal... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6JZ7M)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge In 2017, Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed what the global auto industry had long feared: the tech giant was working on a driverless car.We're focusing on autonomous systems. And clearly, one purpose of autonomous systems are self-driving cars," Cook said in an interview with Bloomberg. And we sort of see it as the mother of all AI projects. It's probably one of the most difficult AI projects actually to work on and so autonomy is something that's incredibly exciting for us, but we'll see where it takes us."Where it took Apple was essentially nowhere. On Tuesday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman confirmed that Apple was scuttling its secretive car project, with most of the team's workers moving over to generative AI initiatives. Others would... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6JZ7N)
Photo by Bruce Bennett / Getty Images In response to reports that Wendy's plan for new digital menu boards that can update throughout the day might increase prices of spicy chicken nuggets and other menu items at busy times, the fast food chain now claims this isn't the case. Instead, Wendy's says its dynamic" pricing model will only result in discounts and value" during the slowest times of the day - leaving other times of the day with higher standard prices unaddressed.Earlier this month, Wendy's CEO Kirk Tanner said the company wants to start testing dynamic pricing in 2025 - a system that would use Wendy's digital menu boards to adjust pricing throughout the day. In terms of comparisons to Uber surge pricing, Wendy's claims this isn't the case and that media reports... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6JZ7P)
Project Music GenAI Control is an early-stage" prototype tool, so it may be some time before Adobe officially launches it. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Adobe's latest generative AI experiment aims to help people create and customize music without any professional audio experience. Announced during the Hot Pod Summit in Brooklyn on Wednesday, Project Music GenAI Control is a new prototype tool that allows users to generate music using text prompts and then edit that audio without jumping over to dedicated editing software.Users start by inputting a text description that will generate music in a specified style, such as happy dance" or sad jazz." Adobe says its integrated editing controls then allow users to customize those results, adjusting any repeating patterns, tempo, intensity, and structure. Sections of music can be remixed, and audio can be generated as a repeating loop for... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6JZ40)
It's me, living my best life. | Image: Honda Honda announced a new extended reality" experience that combines virtual reality with personal mobility devices like the automaker's self-balancing Uni-One wheelchairs. Honda said it will show off its technology at SXSW in Austin, Texas, next month.The aim is to elevate" the VR experience, which is largely stationary and confined to a single space, by combining it with Honda's Segway-like Uni-One mobility device that responds to a user's movements. In this way, Honda can simulate racing through an immersive alien landscape. The device is hands-free, allowing users the freedom to use their upper bodies to enhance the VR experience.The Uni-One can be raised to a high position" seat height of 27.6 inches, where the user is close to... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6JZ41)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge President Joe Biden has issued an executive order authorizing the US attorney general to prevent the large-scale transfer of Americans' personal data to countries of concern." According to the US Department of Justice today, those countries could include China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.The White House says it's targeting data brokers, which it says collect more personal data than ever before - data that includes things like personal health and financial data. The scale can be staggering: in a recent extreme example from a Consumer Reports study, 48,000 companies had sent Facebook data on a single user.Several departments will be required to roll out new protections under the order. The White House writes that the Department of... Continue reading...
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by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6JZ42)
Lifx has a new outdoor line of smart lighting that supports Matter. | Image: Lifx If you've been around the smart home for a while, you'll remember Lifx. One of the first smart lighting companies, Lifx was Philips Hue's main competitor in its heyday, both being known for high-quality products and compatibility with all the major platforms. But over the last few years, the Australian-based company and its Wi-Fi smart bulbs have struggled, almost going out of business in 2022. Now, Lifx is back, and it's promising to be better and brighter than ever.Purchased by US-based Feit Electric early last year, Lifx now has an influx of cash and a robust distribution network to lean on and is ramping up for a big 2024. Two years before the acquisition, we had one product launch; in the next 18 months, we'll be launching 11 to... Continue reading...
by The Verge Staff on (#6JY8J)
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Amelia Holowaty Krales and Getty Images The bright promise of streaming and digital stores has given way to a darker reality: we rarely have ownership over the art we love, and much is getting lost in the process. Only a fraction of movies released over the last century are available on streaming services, while a staggering 90 percent of classic video games are considered critically endangered" by archivists. As these platforms continue to dominate the media landscape, a whole lot of cultural history is being abandoned.In this special issue, The Verge will explore how physical media factors into this and its importance in keeping art alive and accessible. That could mean boutique publishers releasing beautiful special editions of games and movies, foundations dedicated to... Continue reading...
by Sam Byford on (#6JZ43)
The nerd haven isn't what it once was, but its importance is arguably greater than ever. Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6JZ44)
People have been trying to talk to computers for almost as long as they've been building computers. For decades, many in tech have been convinced that this was the trick: if we could figure out a way to talk to our computers the way we talk to other people, and for computers to talk back the same way, it would make those computers easier to understand and operate, more accessible to everyone, and just more fun to use.ChatGPT and the current revolution in AI chatbots is really only the latest version of this trend, which extends all the way back to the 1960s. That's when Joseph Weizenbaum, a professor at MIT, built a chatbot named Eliza. Weizenbaum wrote in an academic journal in 1966 that Eliza makes certain kinds of natural language... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6JZ13)
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images With Christopher Nolan praising the benefits of 4K Blu-ray, is now the time to revisit physical media? Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6JZ14)
Image: Ken Pillonel via YouTube For AirPod Max owners, engineer Ken Pillonel has beaten Apple to the punch by swapping the four-year-old headphones from a Lightning port to USB-C. In a new video posted to YouTube, Pillonel shows how to install his custom printed circuit board (PCB) with USB-C support without drilling any new holes, as well as how he designed it to fit comfortably inside the headset.He's made the board available for purchase on his website for around $45, along with detailed installation instructions - if you feel brave enough to mod the $549 headset, of course. Pillonel also considered adding support for USB-C audio but dropped that idea after finding that you'd need an extra chip to make it happen, which would make the mod more expensive.Pillonel... Continue reading...
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by Barbara Krasnoff on (#5VQ61)
Image: Getty Images When this article was originally written in February 2022, the big Spotify controversy was that artists were abandoning the audio service in protest of the company's contract with podcaster Joe Rogan, and some subscribers were deciding to follow the musicians' example. More recently, the issue that has users irritated is the continued lack of HiFi and the layoffs that have made music discovery even harder.Although Spotify is probably the best-known music service, there are quite a few alternatives available for good music listening. If you're someone who has decided to explore what music services are out there, here's a quick rundown of some of the possibilities. But in the interest of being complete, we will start with Spotify itself.... Continue reading...
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by Barbara Krasnoff on (#5R04B)
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge It can happen all too easily, especially if you've got an Android phone with less than 128GB of storage: one day, you try to install a cool new game or an intriguing new app, and you can't. You've run out of space.Don't panic. If you're not ready to buy a new phone, and your phone doesn't have a handy microSD slot for some extra storage, you can probably still pick up a decent amount of free space with some simple house cleaning. Here are suggestions on how to get back some of that storage.Note: These were tested using a Pixel 6 phone and a Samsung Galaxy S23, both running Android 14. Depending on your phone's make and operating system, your directions may vary slightly.Free up space with a cleaning toolBoth Pixels and Galaxy phones... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6JYYW)
If Justin Bieber can figure out how to leave his phone behind, so can I. | Photo by Bellocqimages / Bauer-Griffin / GC Images It was, of all people, Justin Bieber who first opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about my phone. See, Bieber isn't into phones. He ditched his a while back and became an iPad guy. According to a 2021 Billboard article, he wakes up in the morning, grabs his tablet, and checks in with his management to see what's going on for the day. The idea was to limit who can reach him." This is something you hear a lot from phone-free celebs: they're not trying to disconnect from everyone, but they are trying to get away from that feeling of being tapped constantly on the shoulder by all the calls, texts, and emails.I've been obsessed with celebrity technology usage, or lack thereof, for years. In so many cases, it seems that once you become... Continue reading...
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