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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6CJ9S)
Image: SAG-AFTRA Ahead of SAG-AFTRA's current labor contract with the AMPTP expiring on June 30th, hundreds of the union's members have signed an open letter to leadership warning that they are more than ready to strike if a new deal properly addressing all of their concerns isn't hammered out.Earlier this week, SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher and national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland posted a curious video update in which they said that they couldn't provide any real details about the union's negotiations with the AMPTP for confidentiality reasons.SAG-AFTRA's members already voted in favor of authorizing a strike earlier this month. But the latest update from the union's leadership raised red flags that over 300 actors, including... Continue reading...
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The Verge - All Posts
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
| Feed | http://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml |
| Updated | 2024-11-26 12:15 |
by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6CJ9T)
Nintendo's remake of the classic Nintendo 64 controller is available for $49.99. | Image: Nintendo Nintendo Switch Online subscribers have another fresh chance to buy one of the biggest nostalgia trips of a controller. The reissued Nintendo 64 controller for the Switch is back on sale on Nintendo's site for $49.99. These drops don't come very frequently and, on recent occasions, have still been selling out within hours of becoming available, so it's best to move fast if you want one for yourself. Though, if you want the purchase to qualify for free shipping, you'll also want to add an inexpensive item to reach Nintendo's $50 threshold.The major caveat here is that Nintendo limits sales of the controller to paying Switch Online members, meaning you have to subscribe to one of its plans (starting at $3.99 per month, or $19.99 per... Continue reading...
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by Chris Welch on (#6CJ9V)
The Shop tab is rolling out today both in the US and globally. | Image: Google Free ad-supported streaming TV is the burgeoning new trend that everyone's getting in on, and we've all got our favorite shows on Netflix and other services, but what about those times when you just want to spontaneously rent or, dare I suggest, buy a movie? If you've got a TV or streaming box that runs Google's Android TV platform, those archaic rentals and digital purchases are about to get a little more convenient - and easier to find. Starting today, Android TV is adding a Shop tab to the main navigation that will appear alongside Search, Home, Discover, and Apps.The shop tab lets you explore movies to buy or rent and make purchases directly on your Android TV," Google wrote in a blog post. So whether you are searching for a new... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6CJ9W)
Final Fantasy VII Remake. | Image: Square Enix As part of its big wave of acquisitions, Microsoft considered adding Square Enix, the publisher behind the Final Fantasy series, to its Xbox portfolio. The news comes from internal documents released as part of the FTC v. Microsoft hearings, which previously revealed that Microsoft had considered other big names like Sega and Bungie.According to the documents, Microsoft had a number of reasons for being interested in Square Enix. Part of it was to bolster Xbox's historically scant presence in Asian markets. There was another obvious reason: to add more content to drive growth of Xbox Game Pass through new blockbuster Square Enix releases as well as the company's extensive back catalog.A more surprising reason for the potential... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CJ72)
LG has released its $99 Smart Cam. | Image: LG Electronics LG Electronics announced today it's releasing a webcam for its TVs called the LG Smart Cam (VC23GA). It's a $99 1080p camera with dual microphones, a physical privacy shutter, and support for webOS's multi-view feature, which shows two apps in a split-screen view on the TV. The webcam is supported on any TV running webOS 22 or webOS 23.LG is pitching this camera as a way to do videoconferencing at home using the webOS RemoteMeeting app, LG's web-based videoconferencing service. On the fitness side, it's compatible with Exercite, which uses the webcam to analyze your movements and give you live feedback, and Flexit, a fitness platform with one-on-one wellness and exercise coaching. There's also a K-pop dance app called Home Dance by 1M,... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6CJ4P)
Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images FTC v. Microsoft day three was all about Sony's objection to the Activision Blizzard deal, its bet against Game Pass, and a cloudy future. Continue reading...
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by Verge Staff on (#6CJ4Q)
Technology craves a narrative but often has a short memory for history. As a publication that contributes to that - The Verge lives in the news cycle, after all - we wanted to praise the form of writing that lasts: the book. How else do we move forward if we can't remember the past? So we set out with the audacious goal to define the best books about tech out there.We were less interested in works that are supposedly influential and more in ones that have endured, with ideas that are still relevant today, stories that have captured something essential about technology, and writing that's made us stand up in our seats. These books don't project a single vision of what tech is but continue to challenge what it can be.We imposed a few... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6CJ4R)
Image: OnLeaks via SmartPrix After OnePlus confirmed that it's launching a foldable phone earlier this year, now we finally have some information about what to expect. A set of leaked specs provided to MySmartPrice by OnLeaks reveals that the device, which may be called the OnePlus V Fold, could come with an impressive 7.8-inch inner display.That's larger than the 7.6-inch inner screens on both the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4 and the Google Pixel Fold, but it still doesn't beat the China-exclusive Xiaomi Mix Fold 2, which comes with an 8-inch inner display.Both the OnePlus V Fold's 6.3-inch outer display and the larger inside screen are expected to have OLED panels with 2K resolution and 120Hz refresh rates. The leak hints at the addition of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8... Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6CJ4S)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok is readying an online shop for US customers, according to a report from Semafor.The storefront would live inside the TikTok app under an e-commerce tab. An array of curated items as well as products listed for sale through TikTok Shop, its existing in-app shopping feature, would be for sale. The feature could launch as soon as next month.TikTok has been trying to make online shopping happen in the US for a while. The current TikTok Shop feature allows brands to sell products in the app - though rollout has reportedly been slow as the company faces threats by lawmakers of a ban due to alleged national security risks. The company has also tried to launch live shopping via streaming video in the US, but it's been slow to catch on... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CJ4T)
Image: 1Password After years of having to manage 1Password user accounts on the web alone, the company is finally bringing family account management to the app itself. Beginning Tuesday, administrators (otherwise known as Family Organizers") can manage the user accounts connected to a 1Password Family membership from the company's macOS, Windows, Linux, and Android apps instead of having to log in to the website, the company announced in a blog post. The new feature will be coming to the company's iOS app later this week."Administrators can now invite new members or guests to a 1Password Family account by navigating to the Manage Accounts section within the app menu. These users can monitor the status of the invitations they send out, with options to... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6CJ4V)
Photo by Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images It's surprisingly easy for someone to mess with the makeup of Earth's atmosphere, regardless of the consequences that could have for our planet. Now, as part of its plans to address security risks posed by climate change, the European Union is calling for talks on a potential international framework on how to treat deliberately atmosphere-altering technologies, AKA geoengineering.The idea with geoengineering is to deploy new technologies that might be able to cool the planet down. The tactic that's caused the most uproar lately is called solar geoengineering, which are basically attempts to manipulate the planet's ability to reflect sunlight back into space.The issue is that scientists aren't quite sure how much good that would do or... Continue reading...
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by Brandon Widder on (#6CJ2E)
Sony's latest flagship headphones tout a new design while retaining the superb noise cancellation for which the series is known. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Whether you fully intend to celebrate our nation's independence this weekend or skip it entirely, that doesn't change the fact the Fourth of July remains one of the best times of the year to pick up a smorgasbord of discounted tech. Unsurprisingly, a number of retailers have launched a selection of early sales in the run-up to the holiday - including eBay, which is giving shoppers a chance to save 20 on select gadgets when they use promo code SAVE4JULY4TH at checkout.There are pages upon pages of eligible products - I should know, I combed through 15 of them - but one of the better deals that's still available is for Sony's WH-1000XM5s, which are going for $318.40 (about $82 off) on eBay via Electronic Express. The XM5s continue to be... Continue reading...
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by Victoria Song on (#6CJ0P)
Something about visualizing intervals in a virtual landscape makes hard workouts easier. | Image: Peloton I hate treadmills.I understand their usefulness and why a person might want one. But for me, they're a last resort, only to be used when weather conditions make outdoor exercise unsafe. I've tried so many times over the years, but treadmill running is so boring. It doesn't matter if it's a high-tech treadmill with scenic runs, incredible engineering, or a selection of streaming apps - I can't help but feel like a hamster on a wheel. So I'm as shocked as anyone that I enjoyed playing a demo level of Lanebreak on the Peloton Tread.Lanebreak starts rolling out to Peloton treadmills today, but the game itself isn't new. It's an in-app video game that Peloton launched for its bikes last year. It's essentially what you'd get if you mashed... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CJ0Q)
GM hasn't provided a price or release date for any of its new Ultium Home products. | Image: GM Energy GM Energy - the energy company created by GM to sell batteries, charging equipment, solar panels, and software to residential and commercial customers - just announced its first batch of energy management products that will be available under its residential business unit, Ultium Home. Three distinct product bundles will be available at launch: two are designed to take advantage of the bidirectional charging capabilities of certain GM EVs, while a third doesn't require an electric GM vehicle at all.Compatible GM EVs equipped with the company's bidirectional V2H (vehicle-to-home) charging tech lets homeowners use their parked vehicle as a backup energy source that can power their homes during outages. For them, there are two Ultium Home... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CJ0R)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is improving Windows 11's support for the new passkey standard that aims to replace passwords with a more secure and convenient way of logging in. A recent Insider Preview Build (23486) now lets you use Windows Hello natively to create and sign in to supported applications and websites using passkeys, where you'll be asked to prove your identity using a PIN, fingerprint, or face scan.According to Microsoft, you can set up the feature by going to a website that's added passkey support, creating a passkey in its settings, and then logging out to get the option to sign in with the new security method. On Edge or Chrome, the option to sign in with a passkey should be under the Windows Hello or external security key" option.... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6CHZ0)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge DoorDash is making a big change to the way couriers get paid. In an announcement on Wednesday, DoorDash says it will start giving couriers the ability to earn hourly rates on top of tips.With the update, couriers will now see the option to earn by time," which offers a guaranteed hourly minimum rate for the time they spend on making deliveries. According to DoorDash, the clock starts as soon as a courier accepts an order and ends when it's dropped off. Image: DoorDash DoorDash couriers will be able to choose the earn by time' option. That marks a big shift from the way things are currently set up, which has couriers earning a base pay based on various factors about an order, like time, distance, and... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CHXQ)
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge The European Parliament and Council of the EU have reached a provisional agreement on a new Data Act that aims to regulate how consumer and corporate data can be used and accessed in the bloc. The agreement was welcomed by EU industry chief Thierry Breton, who called it a milestone in reshaping the digital space" that will create a thriving [EU] data economy that is innovative & open - on our conditions."In short, the legislation aims to give end users in the EU more control over the data generated when using connected devices, Reuters notes. As a press release from the European Commission (which proposed the act last year) explains, this includes letting users access the data generated by smart objects, machines, and devices, and... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6CHW8)
Where Valve makes just one accessory for its Steam Deck, Jsaux makes dozens, with some answering pretty niche needs. A Chinese accessory maker with an alphabet-soup name struck while the iron was hot. Now, it wants to be the next Anker. Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CHV5)
Image: HMD HMD's Nokia G42 is the company's latest smartphone designed to be easy for users to repair from spare parts and kits sold in partnership with iFixit. The purple version of the device with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage is going on sale in the UK from today for 199 (around $255), and will be available in Europe for 249. There'll also be a model with 4GB of RAM sold in select European markets for around 229, but there's no sign of either model coming to the US for now.Like the Nokia G22 announced earlier this year, HMD is focusing on making four key components easy to replace if they break or wear out over time: the phone's battery, screen, charging port, and back cover. HMD plans to make spare parts available from iFixit for five... Continue reading...
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by Thomas Ricker on (#6CHR0)
Belt drive, removable battery, smooth automatic shifting, and built to be serviced anywhere. This Dutch e-bike checks all the boxes. Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CHKY)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google is laying off employees at Waze, CNBC reported on Tuesday. The company is moving Waze over to Google's ads system, and that change will mean cuts at Waze in sales, marketing, operations and analytics," Chris Phillips, VP and GM of Google's Geo unit, wrote in an email seen by the publication. Phillips' email didn't indicate the number of jobs that would be cut at Waze, which has more than 500 staffers, according to CNBC.Waze confirmed the layoffs in a statement to The Verge. Google remains deeply committed to growing Waze's unique brand, its beloved app and its thriving community of volunteers and users," Caroline Bourdeau, Waze's head of PR, said in the statement. In order to create a better, more seamless long term... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6CHHB)
This is a Google prototype, but is it the one Google killed? | Image: Google Last January, we revealed Google was building an AR headset, too - Project Iris" would be the company's bet against the then-yet-to-be-announced headgear from Meta and Apple. But now that its rivals have been revealed, Google is reportedly pulling the plug on glasses-shaped AR: Insider is reporting that Google has shelved its plans for Project Iris, citing three people familiar with the matter."Remember Google's fancy translation glasses from last year's Google I/O that we called vaporware? If true, this report would mean those glasses are no more. It would also likely mean the versions with transcription and navigation features, which Google said it would test in public beginning last July, are also no longer in the works.A... Continue reading...
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by Amrita Khalid on (#6CHHC)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge This is Hot Pod, The Verge's newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more.Hope everyone is gearing up for the dog days of summer. Today's issue includes a Q&A I did with Chris Morrow, the newly hired head of audio at Plan B - the production company founded by Brad Pitt that has produced films like Women Talking, Blonde, The Big Short, and many others.The now over 20-year-old Hollywood production powerhouse has undergone a few recent changes. Last year, Pitt sold 60 percent of Plan B to French media conglomerate Mediawan in a deal that is estimated to be worth hundreds of millions. The acquisition is a part of Mediawan's strategy to expand to English-speaking markets and acquire more IP, of which audio is... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6CHG7)
David Corenswet in The Politician. | Netflix It remains to be seen what all James Gunn's Superman: Legacy will bring to the big screen that Warner Bros. Discovery's previous Superman films didn't, but we now know who'll be playing the titular Man of Steel and his journalistically minded better half.Deadline reports that David Corenswet (The Politician, Pearl) and Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Blacklist) have been cast as Clark Kent / Superman and Lois Lane after a lengthy auditioning process that culminated in multiple actors signing test deals set to expire within business weeks so as to avoid SAG-AFTRA's potential upcoming strike. Brosnahan and Corenswet's casting doesn't tell us all that much about Superman: Legacy aside from some of the names we're going to... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6CHE6)
Image: OpenAI The ChatGPT app on iOS now lets paid users access information surfaced by Microsoft's Bing. In the app's most recent update, OpenAI says subscribers who pay for its $20 per month ChatGPT Plus plan receive up-to-date information from the web.Microsoft, which made a multibillion-dollar investment into OpenAI earlier this year, announced Bing would become the default search engine for ChatGPT during its Build event in May.The integration is already available as a beta to Plus users in the ChatGPT web app, which knows when and how to browse the internet to answer questions about recent topics and events." The free version of ChatGPT, on the other hand, is only capable of surfacing information up to the year 2021.To enable web browsing... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CHE8)
Image: Caltech Caltech has a new RC car-sized robot that can change its shape to drive, fly, and walk to meet the needs of the moment. In its press release, the university compares the M4 - short for Multi-Modal Mobility Morphobot, which sounds like a rejected pitch for a '90s kids' show - to a Transformer, and it's not too far from the truth.The robot is packed with electronics, motors, and a small computer that lets it decide what form it should take to get around. The team that made it gave the M4 large wheels that can, in seconds, swing up to become something more akin to a drone's rotors and fly. It can also use its rotors to help it up a steep slope while the back wheels drive it forward from the ground, as described in a paper in Nature... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6CHBP)
A still from Secret Invasion's opening credits sequence. | Image: Marvel Studios Secret Invasion's AI-generated opening credits aren't Marvel's best, but they do feel like a very telling sign of where the studio and the larger entertainment industry are at right now. Continue reading...
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by Verge Staff on (#6CHBQ)
Photo by Micah Singleton / The Verge Summer is finally here, and we're hoping that we can, at least for a few days, take a breath (at least, as much of a breath as possible with wildfires blanketing Canada and the US with smoke), step out into the sunshine (hopefully, not too much, what with climate change and all), and enjoy a nice, restful vacation (assuming you're not attacked by a drug-crazed bear).Sorry. It's been that kind of year.In fact, because the year has been so... interesting, we asked the staff of The Verge to talk about what type of gear they plan to use to slow down and enjoy their summer. Hopefully, you'll be able to put aside some time to relax and take a break as well.Hats and packsA super sun hatEmma Roth, news writerDoing yard work in the summer... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CHBR)
Imagine this, but in a TV show. | Image: Innersloth Among Us, the popular social deduction game, is being adapted into an animated series at CBS Studios, according to a report from Variety.Here's the general idea of what you can expect from the show, from Variety - it sounds like, well, an adaptation of the video game:
by Umar Shakir on (#6CH9B)
Volvo's upcoming EX30 will initially use an adapter to support Tesla's Superchargers. | Image: Volvo Volvo is the latest automaker, and the first one from Europe, to announce support for Tesla's electric vehicle charging standard known as the North American Charging Standard," or NACS.According to the announcement, this arrangement is similar to the ones Tesla recently reached with several other car manufacturers. Volvo owners will get access to 12,000 Tesla Supercharger stations, and Volvo EVs will be manufactured with a NACS port starting in 2025.
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by Andrew Webster on (#6CH9C)
Image: Apple No, this isn't another Mario Bros. Movie situation - this time, Apple has put up the entire first episode of its post-apocalyptic drama Silo on Twitter so anyone can watch for free. The move comes the same week that the series is set to air its season 1 finale, and not long after season 2 was officially confirmed.You can watch it right here:
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by Jay Peters on (#6CH9D)
Image: Google Google is refreshing the way the Android robot logo and wordmark look, as reported by 9to5Google - and you may have already spotted one of those updates.Perhaps the more obvious redesign is coming to the Android robot head, which is starting to appear in 3D in official Google marketing materials. Google used a bunch of versions of the 3D head in its Google I/O 2023 keynote, and the company appears willing to show them in different colors and textures instead of just the standard Android green. 9to5Google's article has a gallery of a few other examples, including the 3D Android robot heads at CES and in Google ads. Image: Google I kind of love the magenta robot. But it's not just the Android head that's... Continue reading...
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by Chris Welch on (#6CH7C)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge It was inevitable that despite their hefty $549 price, Apple's AirPods Max headphones would eventually start to miss out on the company's latest software enhancements. Headphones are basically computers now and have evolved into their own platform, so just like with any iPhone or Mac, Apple's ecosystem tricks and new features increasingly require more powerful silicon and revamped components.We started to see the swan song for the two-and-a-half-years-old AirPods Max earlier this month at WWDC when Apple announced several new features coming this fall that, in nearly all cases, will exclusively apply to the second-generation AirPods Pro - and no other models. The headlining feature is called Adaptive Audio," a new sound mode that... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CH7E)
Futurama will be back on July 24th. | Image: Hulu Sweet mama, it's Futurama! Hulu finally announced it: Futurama will return for its 11th season on July 24th, 2023, giving us the chance to check back in with Bender, Fry, Leela, and the rest of the Planet Express crew.Unfortunately, we aren't getting all of the 20 episodes promised when the season was announced in February last year. Hulu didn't say why that is, but we can speculate. The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike is a possibility, and we've asked Hulu about that; we'll update if we receive an answer.Anyway, here's a teaser:And now, a full trailer:The new Futurama series will be available for streaming every Monday over its 10-episode run, and Hulu says it'll hit series tropes like Fry and Leela's romance, Nibbler's... Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6CH7F)
Image: BioWare The Star Wars MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic is changing development studios. In a developer blog on the BioWare website, BioWare general manager Greg McKay wrote that while EA will remain the game's publisher, active development will move from BioWare to Broadsword - the studio known for its work on Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot.Players will continue to enjoy the SWTOR they know and love," McKay wrote. There are also exciting new features planned that the team is not quite ready to talk about yet, but suffice it to say that players can expect improvements and new content into the future."SWTOR's studio move was long rumored. Earlier this month, IGN reported that EA and Broadsword signed a letter of intent indicating that S... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CH5B)
You can now preorder the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror & Lightstrip Kit for TVs that the company showcased at CES 2023. | Image: Nanoleaf Nanoleaf has unveiled a batch of new, addressable smart lighting and gaming products designed to jazz up your home entertainment experience, including an integration with Overwolf gaming software, the 4D Screen Mirror & Lightstrip Kit, and an expansion to the Ultra Black line of lighting panels. Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Hexagons were announced during the company's annual Nanoleaf Live event on Tuesday and are available to preorder today from the Nanoleaf webstore.A nine-piece Smarter Kit is priced at $219.99, while a three-pack expansion is available for $69.99. As the name suggests, these are effectively an all-black version of the company's iconic interconnecting hexagonal LED panels (albeit slightly dimmer if previous Ultra Black... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6CH5C)
SAE support forTesla's charger could mean stations like this will only need one kind of plug soon. | Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge The standards organization known as SAE International is announcing support for Tesla's EV North American Charging Standard" or NACS port. SAE's adoption will make it easier for electric vehicle charging station manufacturers and operators to implement the port while also making charging for EV owners more consistent and reliable. Tesla's formerly proprietary charging port was opened up last year in a bid to become the de facto EV standard in the US.The US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation has worked with Tesla and the SAE in an effort to expedite the Tesla plug as a standard to improve the country's charging infrastructure.
by Ash Parrish on (#6CH5D)
Image: Nintendo Do you have 100 friends? If not, time to find some to play Everybody 1-2-Switch!Way back in 2017, the Nintendo Switch launched with 1-2-Switch, a party game that showed off the capabilities of the then-new Joy-Cons. Despite selling a million copies in its first month, 1-2-Switch was largely forgotten mostly because the Switch also launched with a little game you might have heard of called The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.Now, 1-2-Switch is back with a sequel, Everybody 1-2-Switch, that may actually have a little bit more staying power than its predecessor (despite once again launching within the same window as yet another Zelda game, lol).Everybody 1-2-Switch features more super simple mini-games that might remind people of... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6CH5E)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Paramount Plus is raising the price of its ad-supported plan today. Instead of $4.99 per month, the service's essential plan will now cost $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year.The price increase comes as Paramount Plus simplifies its subscription options with its new Paramount Plus with Showtime tier. Before this change, Paramount Plus had two separate ad-free premium plans: one without Showtime for $9.99 per month and another with Showtime for $11.99 per month. The new Paramount Plus with Showtime tier replaces the $9.99 per month plan, leaving the service with just two subscription options.Unlike Paramount Plus with Showtime, the service's ad-supported essential plan comes only with access to content from Paramount Plus, including... Continue reading...
by Andrew Webster on (#6CH2Q)
Image: Universal The video game adaptations just won't stop, and now they're getting pretty spooky. Case in point: we just got a new trailer for Universal's Five Nights at Freddy's movie. Just like the games, the movie is an animatronic nightmare about possessed mascots at a pizza place. The movie version stars The Hunger Games' Josh Hutcherson as a security guard struggling to deal with this reality. (If the premise sounds familiar, it might be because of the conceptually similar Nicolas Cage film Willy's Wonderland from 2021.)It's directed by Emma Tammi, with Blumhouse - the horror imprint behind recent releases like The Black Phone and M3gan - producing. Five Nights at Freddy's joins a frankly ridiculous number of video game adaptations in the works... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CH2R)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Apple has become the latest operator of an encrypted messaging service to raise concerns about the UK's Online Safety Bill, BBC News reports. End-to-end encryption is a critical capability that protects the privacy of journalists, human rights activists, and diplomats. It also helps everyday citizens defend themselves from surveillance, identity theft, fraud, and data breaches," a statement reads. The Online Safety Bill poses a serious threat to this protection, and could put UK citizens at greater risk."With its statement, Apple joins the likes of WhatsApp and Signal in opposing a provision that would allow communications regulator Ofcom to call on tech companies to use accredited technology" to identify child sexual abuse content... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6CH2S)
The Go 3's Action Pod" allows for a remote live view while detached or longer battery life while magnetically docked. The Go 3 is Insta360's latest pill-shaped action camera, and it's got a neat trick - the camera's detachable case now includes a flip-up screen for a live view of what you're recording.Instead of relying on a smartphone to see what you record (or estimate your composition), the Go 3's case gives a real-time live view whether the camera is inserted or remote. Like the previous Go 2, the case also charges the camera, extending its battery life from 45 minutes on a single charge to 170 minutes. Though, the capabilities of the Go 3's case and other refinements also mean it costs more than its previous model, with the base 32GB configuration available now for $379.99 (the Go 2 cost $299.99 at launch).An $80 price increase over its... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6CH2T)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta is launching a suite of new parental controls for both Instagram and Messenger, the company announced on Tuesday. The new tools give parents the ability to see how much time their child is spending on Messenger, as well as gain more insight into how well their teen really knows the people they're following on Instagram (and who follows them).The company says parents and guardians can now check into their child's Messenger contacts list, along with their privacy and safety settings from the Meta Family Center. Parents will also get notified if their child reports someone on the app - so long as their teen enabled that setting, in addition to seeing who can and can't message them. Image: Meta On Instagram,... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CH2V)
Formula E has signed a streaming deal with Netflix. | Image: ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Streamers are gobbling up major sports deals - YouTube has NFL Sunday Ticket, and Apple has Major League Soccer - so why not Roku? In its first live sports streaming rights get, Roku's signed up to broadcast 11 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship races in the 2024 season. At the same time, five races that will air live on CBS Television Network will be simulcast on Paramount Plus, which can be accessed in the Roku Sports Experience, starting in January.Formula E's current season has about a month left to go. A race this past weekend garnered our attention when the DS Penske team was caught installing an RFID scanner that could collect live data" from all other cars before the day's race began, a move the FIA Stewards said was... Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#6CH0W)
The new see-through Beats Studio buds along with other transparent tech. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Gadget, gaming, and smartphone manufacturers are trading in tired matte and dull metallic designs for transparent exteriors. Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6CH0X)
Henry Cavill in season 3 of The Witcher. | Image: Netflix A trend seems to be brewing over at Netflix. After popularizing the binge-watch concept by releasing all episodes of a show at once, lately, the company has been experimenting with different ways of dropping series. The League of Legends spinoff Arcane, for instance, was turned into a three-week-long event, while Stranger Things 4 was split into two when it debuted last May.Now we have The Witcher season 3: volume one will premiere this week, on June 29th, while the second will hit in July.According to executive producer Steve Gaub, the decision was made in part due to Stranger Things - but it also wasn't the plan from the beginning. Instead, during production, the team realized that The Witcher's third season had a very natural... Continue reading...
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by Nilay Patel on (#6CGY5)
Roblox, the virtual world and game platform, has 66 million daily users who spent 14 billion collective hours on it in just Q1 of 2023. If you have kids, you've probably heard of Roblox. If you haven't heard of it, Roblox CEO David Baszucki wants to change that.One idea? Aging up the kinds of experiences that are allowed on its platform. Roblox recently introduced 17-plus experiences. It wants to add new AI world-building capabilities. It's even partnering with advertisers to roll out more immersive ad experiences.It's been years since the number of adults gaming outnumbered kids - it seems like that's driving a lot of growth for everyone, including Roblox. But these virtual world games seem like they all want to expand to be much... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6CGY6)
Lordstown Motors' Endurance EV pickup. | Image: Lordstown Motors The electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors is filing for bankruptcy and suing Foxconn, one of Apple's top iPhone manufacturers, after a deal between the two companies fell through. In a press release posted on Monday, Lordstown Motors claims Foxconn's fraud and willful and consistent failure to live up to its commercial and financial commitments" led to material damage" to the EV company.Lordstown blames Foxconn for the bankruptcy filing, alleging that the Apple supplier had no intention of living up to its commitments." It also claims Foxconn used its agreements with the company to maliciously and in bad faith destroy Lordstown's business - while leveraging resources gained through the partnership to advance its own business... Continue reading...
by Mia Sato on (#6CGWB)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok is introducing a new way for creators to earn money - or at least take a chance at it.The new monetization feature is similar to creator funds, except they're set up by advertisers: A pool of money is set aside and creators are able to submit content for a chance at being selected by a brand. Creators then earn money from the pool based on metrics like views, clicks, and conversions. The program, called Creative Challenge, is open to users 18 years old and up who have at least 50,000 followers.Videos submitted to the program must be high-quality, well-edited, original content," according to TikTok, meaning spammy low-effort content likely wouldn't cut it. It also means that creators making ads for Creative Challenge are doing... Continue reading...
by Victoria Song on (#6CGWA)
You can also opt to just buy the Core for $245. The smart dock uses your iPhone's cameras to give real-time feedback and workout adjustments. It can also render a 3D full-body composition scan. | Image: Tempo Fitness tech may have figured out cardio, but strength training is still an area where at-home fitness struggles. The Peloton Guide hasn't taken off, Lululemon is floundering a bit with the Mirror, Tonal had a bunch of layoffs, and it's generally easier for city dwellers to go to the gym than store a whole dumbbell rack in their living room. But Tempo is back with a big update to its at-home strength training system, adding full body scans and AI-powered classes that adapt to your performance in real time while providing form feedback.Finally, for the first time, we're able to connect your body and workout to an AI and have them actually talk to each other to optimize your workout in real time," co-founder and CEO Moawia Eldeeb told T... Continue reading...