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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6BFKZ)
AMD’s AI-capable MI300 data center APU is set to arrive sometime later this year. | Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images Microsoft has allegedly teamed up with AMD to help bolster the chipmaker’s expansion into artificial intelligence processors. According to a report by Bloomberg, Microsoft is providing engineering resources to support AMD’s developments as the two companies join forces to compete against Nvidia, which controls an estimated 80 percent market share in the AI processor market.In turn, Bloomberg’s sources also claim that AMD is helping Microsoft to develop its own in-house AI chips, codenamed Athena. Several hundred employees from Microsoft’s silicon division are reportedly working on the project and the company has apparently already sunk around $2 billion into its development. Microsoft spokesperson Frank Shaw has, however, denied that... Continue reading…
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The Verge - All Posts
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
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| Updated | 2024-11-26 14:00 |
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6BFJB)
ChatGPT isn’t out of the EU’s data privacy woods just yet. | Illustration: The Verge The European Union’s fight with ChatGPT is a glance into what’s to come for AI services. Continue reading…
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by Brandon Widder on (#5AADW)
Like Amazon’s Echo speakers, its various smart displays come in a range of sizes. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Amazon’s current Echo lineup offers a broad selection of smart speakers and displays that can fit just about anywhere in your home. Whether you want to place a voice assistant in your living room, replace the bulletin board in your office, or pick up a touchscreen-enabled device to showcase recipes in the kitchen, there's an Echo device for just about every occasion and use case.Regardless of why you might want one, there’s always a way to save on Echo devices, from the last-gen Dot to the wall-mounted Echo Show 15. Even when they’re selling at full price, for instance, Amazon offers a 25 percent discount when you trade in select devices, meaning there are still other ways to save money when none of the models are on sale.Below,... Continue reading…
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by Justine Calma on (#6BF4H)
A rendering of what a large “direct ocean capture” plant from Captura could look like. | Image: Caltech An audacious new effort to pull carbon dioxide out of the Pacific Ocean as a way to fight climate change is being backed by fossil fuel giants and Big Tech. But the nascent technology, called “direct ocean capture” (DOC), still has a long way to go to prove that it works — and that it won’t cause any new problems.Caltech researchers founded the startup Captura, which just announced a new project today. Captura was founded in 2021 and won a $1 million award from Elon Musk’s XPrize competition the following year. Now, with funding from the US’s biggest gas utility, Captura’s setting up its biggest pilot project yet at the Port of Los Angeles.The idea is that filtering CO2 out of seawater will allow oceans to soak up more of the... Continue reading…
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by Chris Welch on (#6BF2P)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Apple surpassed Wall Street expectations and said it had reached an all-time high in services revenue and set a new March quarter record for iPhone revenue in a report on its second quarter earnings on Thursday. The numbers show continued demand for the iPhone 14 lineup even as substantial upgrades (including USB-C connectivity) approach this fall. But Apple’s other divisions, including Mac and iPad, were down year over year.“We are pleased to report an all-time record in services and a March quarter record for iPhone despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, and to have our installed base of active devices reach an all-time high,” CEO Tim Cook said in the company’s earnings release. He told CNBC in an interview that, unlike... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6BF10)
This is the company that Pluto TV’s co-founder is reportedly working on. | Image: Telly The co-founder of Pluto TV, Ilya Pozin, wants to give away free ad-supported TVs — yes, you read that right. That’s according to a report from Janko Roettgers in his Lowpass newsletter, who says the free television set will come with a second, built-in screen dedicated solely to ads and a soundbar.Instead of profiting from TV sales, Roettgers reports Pozin’s new company, called Teevee Corporation, would make money off of the ads that appear on TV’s secondary screen. The idea isn’t as ridiculous as it sounds, as Vizio, for example, already makes far more money from ads and commissions than it does from selling TVs.Sources tell Roettgers that the built-in screen would be about the same height as a smartphone and stretch across the... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6BEZ0)
Slack GPT will eventually provide conversation summaries with a single click. | Image: Slack With Slack GPT, natively integrated AI features are being developed for Slack that could help boost productivity without disrupting how users already interact with the platform. Some examples include directing the tone and length of messages composed directly in Slack and even attending Huddles on your behalf, summarizing them along with any unread messages you may have missed.Introduced at the Salesforce World Tour event on Thursday, Slack GPT is a new generative AI experience that has three main focus points: the aforementioned natively integrated AI features, customizable automated workflows, and a dedicated Einstein GPT app for Slack. It’s going to be a while before any of these features are available to everyday Slack users, but... Continue reading…
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by David Nield on (#6BEZ2)
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge One of the reasons to choose an Android phone over an iPhone is the flexibility you get in terms of customization — and there’s really no better example of that than third-party Android launchers.If you’ve never come across the term before, a launcher revamps the homescreen of your Android phone. We’re not just talking about a different wallpaper: launchers give you control over icons, colors, menus, and just about every screen handled by the Android operating system. These tools let you manage everything from the number of shortcuts on the homescreen to the way your notifications work; they also give you much more control over how your phone’s interface looks.Say, for example, you want oversized app drawer icons or icons that are all... Continue reading…
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6BEZ3)
Concept art of the Going Merry. | Image: Netflix While we haven’t even seen any footage from Netflix’s upcoming live-action adaptation of One Piece yet, earlier this year, the streamer announced that it intended for the series to debut sometime in 2023. That could still happen, but a new update from Eiichiro Oda makes it sound like there’s a chance we might be waiting a little longer than expected, which is a bit tricky considering that Netflix’s One Piece doesn’t even have a firm premiere date yet.In a lengthy update shared to Netflix’s Geeked Twitter account today, Oda opened up about what it’s been like working with Tomorrow Studios and Netflix on One Piece and how, even though everyone involved in the new series “understand each of the characters,” they also “come from very... Continue reading…
by Monica Chin on (#6BEZ4)
Are you a Platinum person or a Graphite person? | Image: Dell Dell has refreshed what might be its boldest and funkiest laptop, the XPS 13 Plus. The new model looks quite similar to the product released last year; the flat keyboard, LED function row, and invisible haptic touchpad remain. But inside, the new model is powered by Intel’s 13th Gen Core processors — specifically, from what I can see on Dell’s website, the Core i7-1360P.Honestly, the processor is probably what most needed changing. The XPS 13 Plus I reviewed in 2022 was a nice-looking, well-built machine with a great screen, but it was hot and loud with subpar battery life. Those are big issues for a thin and light laptop, but they’re also issues that a better processor could potentially fix. Image: Dell You... Continue reading…
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by Richard Lawler on (#6AX9F)
Illustration: The Verge From the Pixel 7A to the rumored Pixel foldable, here’s what we’re expecting out of Google’s hardware division in May and beyond. Continue reading…
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by Richard Lawler on (#6BET4)
Google Pixel Fold | Image: Google The rumors are true: next week, Google will introduce its first foldable phone, the Pixel Fold, during the Google I/O 2023 event.Google hasn’t revealed any specs for the device, but a brief teaser video shows off a full-size outer display on a phone that opens up similarly to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold devices. The camera bar on the back is similar to other Pixel devices but doesn’t stick out as prominently, reflecting what we’ve seen in leaked marketing materials and even a hands-on video.CNBC reported in April that the Pixel Fold would be a 5.8-inch phone that folds out into a 7.6-inch tablet. It’ll reportedly include a Google Tensor G2 processor, weigh 10 ounces, and have “the most durable hinge on a foldable,” along with a price... Continue reading…
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by Monica Chin on (#6BET5)
Image: Asus The 2023 model of Asus’ ROG Zephyrus G14 is now available for purchase. The release, first announced in January, brings a 504-zone Mini LED screen, Nvidia’s Advanced Optimus feature, and AMD’s Zen 4 CPU architecture to the bestselling gaming line.The new G14 can be purchased at Best Buy or on Asus’ website for a purported starting price of $1,429.99. I’m not seeing a model for this price available on Asus’ store, however, but I have found several models currently selling at Best Buy. It appears that the $1,429.99 model includes an Nvidia RTX 4050, a Ryzen 7 7735HS, 16GB of DDR5 memory, and 512GB of storage. I’m not going to recommend most people buy that model (the combination of the low-powered RTX 4050 and limited storage is not great... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6BET6)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Hulu is adding a few new channels to its live TV lineup. That includes the local PBS stations that are available across the country, PBS Kids, and the Magnolia Network.Hulu says local PBS channels and PBS Kids will start streaming on its Live TV subscription in “the coming months,” which includes shows like American Experience, Antiques Roadshow, Frontline, and Nature. While PBS first brought its local channels to YouTube TV in 2019 and later started airing them on DirecTV Stream, the broadcasting company also offers local stations available to stream from its website.Meanwhile, the Magnolia Network, a home-improvement-focused channel, will join Hulu’s live TV lineup on May 25th. This channel airs shows like Fixer Upper, Beach Cottage... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6BEQD)
Image: Meta WhatsApp is officially announcing and rolling out a series of new features designed to improve the messaging app’s polls and give you more options when it comes to captions. It says these options are rolling out globally now and will be available to “everyone” in the coming weeks.First up, polls, a feature WhatsApp originally launched last year. Currently, polls are multiple-choice by default. That’s great for when you’re asking people to list all the dates they’re free (which is what I mainly see them used for) but less so when you want everyone to pick just one option each. So now there’s an “Allow multiple answers” toggle when creating a poll for this purpose.Other neat additions to the polls feature includes a new search option to... Continue reading…
by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6BEQF)
Even the big-boy Lego UCS Millennium Falcon is on sale. Though it’s still expensive. And massive. And massively expensive. | Image: Wicked Brick According to the calendar, it’s Star Wars Day. You know, the day that just happens to sound like you’re telling someone “May the Force be with you” if you don’t say the date like a normal person and just call it May 4th. But since this has become a small bedrock of a nerd holiday, that means there are often various promotions and deals to take advantage of. Of course, not all of them are good deals (some are downright scruffy-looking), but we’re collecting some worthwhile ones here — ranging from video games and somewhat-relevant tech stuff to a whole bunch of officially licensed Lego.May the deals be with you.One of the hottest deals for Star Wars Day is on the buzzy new action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, revisiting... Continue reading…
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by Shannon Liao on (#6BEQE)
AI was a hot topic at the 2023 Game Developers Conference. | Image: GDC The early days of AI in game development have been full of questions and murky answers. Continue reading…
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by Umar Shakir on (#6BEQG)
Going beyond “What’s the weather like?” | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Amazon is looking to add new AI chatbot technology to Alexa, reports Insider based on leaked documents. The voice assistant needs reanimation in a world now seemingly infatuated with generative AI like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard.One example in the document describes Alexa generating a bedtime story after an eight-year-old asks it to tell a story about a “cat and a moon.” And in true ChatGPT-style, it makes up a whole story about “Mittens, the first cat to ever go to the moon.” It also describes the use of an Echo Show camera that sees the child holding an Olaf toy, so it incorporates the character into the story.Disney is just one of several partnership opportunities that Amazon is imagining alongside Lego and others.Amazon... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6BEQH)
Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images The Boring Company, Elon Musk’s mostly unreliable tunnel digging venture, has won the approval to expand its “Vegas Loop” system to — wait for it — 69 stations. Nice? Not really.The tunnel system is Musk’s supposedly futuristic idea to alleviate road traffic by shifting some of that bumper-to-bumper traffic underground. The expansion, approved by the Clark County Commissioners, allows The Boring Company to construct 25 miles of additional tunnels for a total of 65 miles and 18 additional stations.The original vision for the Vegas Loop was 51 stations and 29 miles of tunnels — so this represents a pretty big vote of confidence in Musk’s idea of an underground network of Teslas whizzing through tunnels that are only slightly larger... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6BEQJ)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It’s been a rough couple of weeks for Xbox that’s had fans questioning the state of Microsoft’s console gaming business. First, there was news of a 30 percent drop in Xbox hardware revenue, followed by the CMA’s decision to block Microsoft’s giant $68.7 billion Activision Blizzard acquisition, and topped off by Redfall launching earlier this week to a very lukewarm reception.When you combine all of this with a quiet year of Xbox releases in 2022, Xbox fans are wondering when Microsoft is going to deliver a slew of triple-A games like we saw with the Xbox 360 generation.“We’re not in the business of out console-ing Sony or out console-ing Nintendo,” says Xbox chief Phil Spencer in an interview with Kinda Funny Games. Spencer said s... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#6BEMT)
It’s got a rower and a treadmill, guys. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Peloton isn’t keen on the fact people mostly think of it as that bike company, which is why CEO Barry McCarthy says the company will “relaunch its brand” later this month so that more people are aware that it does other things, too. Part of that is relaunching the Peloton app with a new tiered subscription structure.There’s no information on the pricing just yet, but on today’s Q3 2023 earnings call, CFO Liz Coddington said the “app tiers will have different amounts of content variances” depending on the price. Only users who have bought Peloton hardware and pay for All-Access membership will get everything Peloton has to offer.McCarthy also noted on the call that unaided awareness for the Row is at 4 percent, while the Guide, its... Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6BEMV)
Case-Mate’s translucent and colorful USB-C chargers start at just $15.40 today. | Image: Case-Mate If you’re hunting for a graduation gift that’s both playful and practical, Case-Mate’s Fuel USB-C Charger is a good option. The portable charger delivers 30 watts of power so your giftee can quickly power up their smartphone, tablet, or even Nintendo Switch. It does that while looking good to boot, boasting a unique translucent body reminiscent of old iMacs available in a variety of fun colors. Best of all, starting at just $15.40 ($14.59 off) in lime green at Amazon, it’s affordable, so you can buy Mom one, too, for Mother’s Day — or just for yourself. We won’t judge!If you were thinking about buying Google’s latest Pixel 7 only because the Pixel 7 Pro costs $300 more, you might want to think again. Right now, they’re a lot closer in... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6BEJB)
Image: Apple Apple Arcade is getting 20 new games, and that includes the exclusive launch of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle roguelike.The game, called TMNT Splintered Fate, is a top-down co-op roguelike that has Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael fighting their way through enemies as they search for Master Splinter, who’s gone missing. You can team up with friends or go it alone as you traverse New York City while enlisting help from other characters like April, Metalhead, Casey Jones, and more along the way.
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6BEJC)
While Paramount and Hasbro’s live-action Transformers movies have always been fanservice-focused visual triumphs, they’ve been consistently held back by the studio’s erroneous belief that people line up for these things wanting to see regular human people become friends with robots. Though that has never and will never be the case, one detail from the latest trailer for Transformers: Rise of the Beasts — which features at least two human protagonists — suggests that Paramount’s been thinking about how to address this issue. And their solution’s a wild one.Human / Cybertronian partnerships were a big part of the Transformers franchise long before Michael Bay got his hands on it, and Shia LaBeouf’s character Sam Witwitcky in Bay’s first... Continue reading…
by Jon Porter on (#6BEG3)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Uber is announcing a new integration with Alexa today that’ll allow you to track your Uber Eats orders via Amazon’s voice assistant in the US. Amazon says the feature will provide updates about the status of an order from when it’s being prepared right through to when Uber’s driver arrives with your food. You have the option of having Alexa proactively announce each stage of the order process or light up its notification light so you can ask for the update yourself.Now if you’re thinking “Hang on, I thought you’d been able to do this for years?” then I don’t blame you! Uber announced support for hailing a ride via Alexa way back in 2016 (we even made a Verge video about it at the time), and last year, it added the ability to order Uber... Continue reading…
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by David Pierce on (#6BEG2)
Mozilla is jumping on the Mastodon train but taking a very different approach. | Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images If you want to be a member of Mozilla.Social, Mozilla’s new Mastodon instance, you’re not allowed to harass other users. You’re also not allowed to use derogatory language about gender, sex, sexual orientation, race, age, ability, or any other “physical, social or cultural attributes or classifications.” You can’t spread misinformation and disinformation, either. Or impersonate someone. Some of these are normal policies, some are unusually heavy-handed, and they’re all hard to litigate. But Mozilla’s stance is pretty simple and extremely unusual in the social media universe: if it’s debatable, it’s gone.“We’re not going to advertise that we’re some kind of neutral platform,” says Steve Teixeira, Mozilla’s chief product officer. He says... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#6BEG1)
A new UI is coming to town when the Galaxy Watch 6 launches later this year. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge It’s been relatively quiet on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 rumor front, but we finally have some idea of what to expect. Today, Samsung announced that the watch will launch with One UI 5 Watch, a new version of the skin it runs over Google’s Wear OS 3 platform. The update will include several refinements to existing features like sleep tracking and emergency SOS while also introducing personalized heart rate zones.It’s been a little over a year since Samsung first rehauled its sleep tracking features, which have generally lagged behind the competition. In the forthcoming update, Samsung says users will now see a more prominent sleep score, and that it’ll be viewable on the wrist. Those who participate in its chronotype-based Sleep... Continue reading…
by Jess Weatherbed on (#6BEDP)
Some of the 27 mental health apps tested by Mozilla last year have improved. Most, however, have not. | Image: Mozilla / *Privacy Not Included. An investigation into mental health apps has revealed that many of the most popular services are failing to protect the privacy and security of their users. Following up on a report from last year’s Privacy Not Included guide, researchers at Mozilla found that apps designed for sensitive issues like therapy and mental health conditions are still collecting large amounts of personal data under questionable or deceptive privacy policies.The team re-reviewed 27 of the mental health, meditation, and prayer apps featured in the previous year’s study, including Calm, Youper, and Headspace, in addition to five new apps requested by the public. Of those 32 total apps, 22 were slapped with a “privacy not included” warning label, something... Continue reading…
by Jon Porter on (#6BEDQ)
The Motorola Edge 40 in blue. | Image: Motorola Exactly one month after announcing the Edge 40 Pro, Motorola is introducing a more affordable, non-Pro variant called the Motorola Edge 40. It’s available from today in Europe for €599.99 (£529.99, around $664), €300 less than the €899.99 (around $995) Edge 40 Pro. Motorola’s press release doesn’t mention a US release for the Edge 40, but given the Edge 40 Pro was announced for the US market just two days ago as the Motorola Edge Plus (2023) it feels like there’s a chance of its non-Pro sibling following a similar path.As you’d expect, the Edge 40 features slightly downgraded specs across the board compared to the Pro. Its 1080p OLED screen is slightly smaller at 6.55 inches versus 6.67 inches, and it’s also got a lower 144Hz refresh... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6BEDR)
Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Waymo is dramatically expanding its robotaxi service areas in Phoenix and San Francisco as it seeks to gain new customers, generate more revenue, and make a convincing argument that self-driving cars are more than just an expensive fad.In Phoenix, the company’s autonomous Jaguar I-PACE vehicles will now cover a total of 180 square miles, or roughly twice the size of its current map and four times the size of the area that the company served when it first launched its ride-hailing operation in 2020.Waymo’s two distinct service areas, Downtown Phoenix and the East Valley communities of Tempe, Gilbert, Mesa, and Chandler, will be connected for the first time. And the company’s robotaxis will also now serve the town of Scottsdale, known... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6BEA3)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Microsoft is testing new updates to its Photos app for Windows 11, including a Spot Fix tool for fixing up blemishes in photographs and a new slideshow feature. Windows 11 testers in the Canary and Dev Channels can get access to these new features immediately and they should be available to all Windows 11 users in the coming months.The new slideshow experience lets you view your photos in a slideshow format with the usual animations and transitions and cheesy soundtracks. “This was a top feature request we received from the community since launching the new Photos app in Windows 11 last Fall,” says Yvonne Hsieh, a principal product manager for Windows Photos. Image: Microsoft The new slideshow feature in Photos... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6BEA4)
Recent unofficial renders of what the Galaxy Z Flip 5 could look like. | Image: OnLeaks / MediaPeanut Ice Universe, an anonymous Twitter account with a good track record of leaking details about unannounced smartphones, says Samsung’s upcoming Z Flip 5 will have a 3.4-inch cover screen with a resolution of 720 x 748. This isn’t the first time Ice has predicted that 3.4-inch secondary display, but it’s the first time we’ve seen a specific resolution listed. It’s a big increase over the 1.9-inch 260 x 512 cover display on the Z Flip 4.The leak comes a few short days after OnLeaks and MediaPeanut published a series of unofficial renders of the upcoming handset based on leaked specs, while also claiming the phone will have a 3.4-inch cover display. Meanwhile, OnLeaks expects the size of the internal display to remain unchanged at 6.7... Continue reading…
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by Makena Kelly on (#6BEA5)
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images The White House announced more funding and policy guidance for developing responsible artificial intelligence ahead of a Biden administration meeting with top industry executives.The actions include a $140 million investment from the National Science Foundation to launch seven new National AI Research (NAIR) Institutes, increasing the total number of AI-dedicated facilities to 25 nationwide. Google, Microsoft, Nvidia, OpenAI and other companies have also agreed to allow their language models to be publicly evaluated during this year’s Def Con. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also said that it would be publishing draft rules this summer for how the federal government should use AI technology.“These steps build on the... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6BE7X)
Illustration: The Verge Microsoft is making its Bing GPT-4 chatbot available to everyone today, no more waitlist necessary. All you need to do is sign in to the new Bing or Edge with your Microsoft account, and you’ll now access the open preview version that’s powered by GPT-4. Microsoft is also massively upgrading Bing Chat with lots of new features and even plug-in support.This open preview launch comes nearly two months after Microsoft experimented with removing the waitlist for its new Bing Chat feature. The chatbot originally launched in a private preview in February, and Microsoft has been gradually opening it up ever since. Image: Microsoft Chat history in Bing Chat. Microsoft is now adding more smart features to Bing Chat,... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6BE7W)
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is revealing a big upgrade for its Bing chatbot today that adds image and video answers, restaurant bookings, chat history, and some smarter Microsoft Edge integration. These new features also coincide with Microsoft making Bing Chat available for anyone to try, moving from private to public preview.Perhaps the biggest addition is a new Actions feature in Bing Chat and Edge. You’ll now be able to use Microsoft’s Bing AI to complete tasks without having to navigate back and forth between sites. So if a search result recommends a restaurant, it can then find a reservation time that works for you and help you book it all in the chat interface. Image: Microsoft Bing Actions can book you a restaurant table.... Continue reading…
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by Makena Kelly on (#6BDNB)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge On Wednesday, the Federal Trade Commission proposed sweeping changes to how Meta operates, accusing the company of violating a suite of child privacy protections, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).In a press release, the agency alleged that Meta violated a 2020 privacy order it had reached with the agency to resolve its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The proposal cites instances in which the company misled parents on the extent of their abilities to control who their children communicate with over services like Messenger Kids and misrepresented the access the company grants third-party app developers to private user data.“Facebook has repeatedly violated its privacy promises,” said Samuel Levine,... Continue reading…
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by Umar Shakir on (#6BDX7)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The security team at Meta is acknowledging broad occurrences of fake ChatGPT malware that exists to hack user accounts and take over business pages.In the company’s new Q1 security report, Meta shares that malware operators and spammers are following trends and high-engagement topics that get people’s attention. Of course, the biggest tech trend right now is AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Bing, and Bard, so tricking users into trying a fake version is now in fashion — sorry, crypto.Meta security analysts have found about 10 forms of malware posing as AI chatbot-related tools like ChatGPT since March. Some of these exist as web browser extensions and toolbars (classic) — even being available through unnamed official web stores. The W... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6BDVH)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Discord is taking away the four-digit tag that it puts after its usernames as it looks to make it “easier to connect” with other users. As noted in a post on Discord’s blog, this change will force most users to change their usernames, as Discord will no longer have the four-number tag that distinguishes one person with the same username from another.Instead of having a four-number discriminator appended to your username, you will now have a unique alphanumeric username with the “@” symbol in front of it. You’ll also get to choose a non-unique display name that can include special characters, spaces, emoji, and non-Latin characters, making the platform a lot more like other mainstream social networks, such as Twitter and Instagram. It... Continue reading…
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by Mia Sato on (#6BDQR)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok’s second creator fund is opening up to more users starting today.First announced in February, the program has been invite-only until now. Called the Creativity Program, the fund is meant to pay popular users for their content, but only if they meet certain requirements. The wider availability now aligns with the original TikTok creator fund, which promised to pay out $1 billion over three years to creators on the app.The Creativity Fund requirements suggest a slight shift in TikTok’s priorities. Most notably, creators need to be making videos longer than a minute in order to be eligible to earn money through the fund. Users also need to have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 authentic views on their videos in the last 30... Continue reading…
by Andrew Marino on (#6BDQS)
Illustration by William Joel In the height of the DVD era, director’s commentary was a staple of movie watching. But if you look at any of the streaming services today, almost all fail to include these treasured bonus features.Audio commentaries have been included in physical media since 1984, starting with the Criterion Collection’s release of 1933’s King Kong on laserdisc, with commentary by film historian Ronald Haver detailing anecdotes on the production of the American classic. Commentaries from directors, actors, and production crew were subsequently included in physical packages of thousands of movies, television shows, and even video games for decades since. However, once the industry shifted to streaming, most of those bonus features were left on the... Continue reading…
by Emma Roth on (#6BDK6)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Gmail will start displaying a familiar-looking blue checkmark next to a sender’s name to verify their identity. In a blog post, Google says the feature is supposed to help users figure out whether the email they’ve received is from a legitimate source or a scammer.The verified checkmark builds upon Gmail’s existing Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) feature. This requires companies to authenticate that the brand logo they’re using as their email avatar is supposed to let users know that the logo actually belongs to them. Companies that have already adopted BIMI will automatically receive the checkmark. Image: Google As shown in the image provided by Google, hovering over the checkmark says that “the... Continue reading…
by Sean Hollister on (#6BDK7)
Space Station Babylon 5. | Image: Warner Bros. It’s not clear if the Babylon 5 reboot will ever see the light of day, when you consider how the Writers Guild of America is now on strike and how corporate shuffles had already put its fate in jeopardy. But nine months ago, the creator of the award-winning space drama teased a second secret Babylon 5 project — one that would feature every surviving member of the main cast.Today, the secret has been revealed: it’s a full-length animated movie from Warner Bros. Animation.
by Andrew Webster on (#6BDK8)
Photo: Warner Bros. / Legendary Pictures Following an all-too-brief tease yesterday, the first trailer for Dune: Part Two is here, and most importantly it includes a sandworm — you even get to see Paul Atreides ride the beast. Though it’s nothing fancy.The sequel is an adaptation of the second half of the Dune story, which is not all that surprising since the first film was dubbed Dune: Part One and ended rather abruptly. It also expands the impressive cast with the likes of Christopher Walken, Florence Pugh, Austin Butler, and Léa Seydoux, most of whom get some screen time in the new trailer. They’re joining returning cast members like Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, who thankfully appears to have a much larger role this time around. Denis Villeneuve is returning to direct,... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6BDGD)
Image: Airbnb Airbnb is making a bigger push into Rooms, the option that lets you rent a private room in someone’s home. In a blog post posted on Wednesday, the platform announced that it’s launching a dedicated Rooms category, where it will now provide more details about the host you’re staying with on each listing.On Airbnb’s website and app, you can now select the Rooms tab to see a list of all the available rooms for rent in the location you want to stay. Each listing has a readily available “host passport” in its bottom-left corner with the host’s photo. Clicking into a passport reveals more information about the host, including their ratings, reviews, and how long they’ve hosted on Airbnb as well as any other information they choose to share,... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6BDGE)
Some of you likely do know what this lock icon represents, but most Chrome users apparently don’t. | Image: The Verge The padlock icon indicating website security has appeared in the URL bar of web browsers for so long that it’s practically become part of the furniture at this point — which is exactly why Google is planning to retire it from Chrome later this year. On Tuesday, the search giant announced that the lock will be replaced by a new “tune” icon with the release of Chrome 117 in September as part of a wider Material You-themed redesign of the browser.The reasons for the update go beyond just “prettying” up Chrome: Google claims that in a study it conducted in 2021, only 11 percent of participants actually understood the intended purpose of the lock icon. It first appeared back in the ’90s following Netscape’s introduction of HTTPS, a protocol... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6BDGG)
Pokémon Trading Card Game Live’s launch has been delayed so many times since The Pokémon Company first announced it back in 2021 that it often seemed like the Pokémon TCG Go successor might never see the light of day or make it out of beta. Come this summer, though, that’s all changing.After almost two years of assuring folks that it was dropping “soon,” The Pokémon Company announced today that Pokémon TCG Live for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows will officially launch on June 8th alongside the release of the upcoming Scarlet & Violet—Paldea Evolved card set. Before Paldea Evolved hits physical stores on June 9th, players will be able to buy and play with digital cards from the set through the Pokémon TCG Live app, and those who log on... Continue reading…
by Elizabeth Lopatto on (#6BDGH)
Illustration by Sean Dong for The Verge The venture capital firm was known for hyping its portfolio. But in the era of tech skepticism and rising interest rates, is it still ahead of the curve? Continue reading…
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by Brandon Widder on (#6BDDT)
Microsoft’s official headset offers more bells and whistles than you might expect for the budget-friendly price. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge Gaming headsets can get expensive fast — just look at Turtle Beach’s latest flagship headset if you need a good case in point. Fortunately, budget-friendly wireless options do exist, offering a way for players to achieve more immersive sound quality without draining their bank account. This is especially true now that Microsoft’s Xbox Wireless Headset is seeing a rare $15 discount at Amazon, dropping the affordable headset down to a mere $85.In terms of features, Microsoft’s official Xbox headset offers a lot of bang for your buck. The attractive matte black accessory is compatible with the Xbox Wireless protocol, meaning it works with both Xbox One and Xbox Series X / S consoles, and it even offers Bluetooth support for concurrent... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#6BDDV)
Image: Modus Games The streets are about to get a lot more pixelated: Double Dragon is coming back. Publisher Modus Games announced a revival of the classic side-scrolling beat-’em-up franchise, with development handled by studio Secret Base. The new title is called Double Dragon Gaiden: Rise of the Dragons, and it’s launching on a wide range of platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, PS4, and PS5. It’s expected to launch this summer.Before we get into how it plays, it’s important to note that Rise of the Dragons has a pitch-perfect beat-’em-up premise:
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by Tom Warren on (#6BDDX)
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge After a surprise decision by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) last week, the biggest acquisition in gaming history hangs in the balance. Microsoft’s $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard has been blocked by UK regulators, and EU regulators are due to make a decision in the coming weeks.In Status Update (above), we look back at the history of this deal over the past year, Microsoft and Sony’s battles over Call of Duty, and exactly why regulators are concerned over this giant purchase. The CMA’s decision could be a giant blocker for this giant deal, so what happens next? Microsoft is getting ready to fight, so expect an appeal that will drag on for months and a messy fight with the FTC, too.For now, all eyes... Continue reading…
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