by Jon Porter on (#6B056)
Imgur founder Alan Schaaf at Web Summit 2018. | Photo by Diarmuid Greene /Web Summit via Getty Images Popular image hosting platform Imgur is done with hosting pornography. In a blog post published this week, the company says it has a new terms of service coming into effect on May 15th and that, as a result, it’ll be removing “nudity, pornography, & sexually explicit content” from its platform as well as “old, unused, and inactive content that is not tied to a user account.”“You will need to download/save any images that you wish to save if they no longer adhere to these Terms,” Imgur wrote in its blog post. “Most notably, this would include explicit/pornographic content.”The blog post doesn’t offer much detail about how Imgur is defining “old, unused, and inactive content.” Depending on the definition, this could cover a huge portion... Continue reading…
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Updated | 2024-11-26 17:30 |
by David Pierce on (#6B005)
Illustration by Hugo Herrera for The Verge The tech industry is abuzz about a new standard for social networking that is more open, more user-centric, and potentially more powerful than Twitter and Facebook. But we’ve been here before. Continue reading…
by Emma Roth on (#6B006)
Screenshot: SpaceX SpaceX’s integrated Starship spacecraft successfully took off from its launchpad in Boca Chica, Texas, on Thursday but didn’t manage to fully complete its test flight. The spacecraft spun out of control before bursting into a ball of flames about four minutes into its flight, cutting the test short.In a statement on Twitter, SpaceX said, “Starship experienced a rapid unscheduled disassembly before stage separation.” During today’s 90-minute test flight, Starship was supposed to reach an altitude of about 150 miles during a journey around the globe before splashing down into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. SpaceX scrubbed its first test flight attempt on April 17th due to a “frozen” pressurant valve.After the launch, Elon Musk tweeted... Continue reading…
by Andrew Webster on (#6B007)
Image: Toge Productions The original Coffee Talk was a game about, well, coffee and talking. Set in an alternate version of Seattle, one where harpies, elves, vampires, and werewolves were as common as humans, it put players in the role of a barista at a late-night cafe. You had regulars who would chat about their problems, ask for their favorite drinks, and you mostly listened and offered advice. The sequel — dubbed Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly — doesn’t change much. And that’s exactly what makes it so endearing.The second episode picks up a few years after the original (you’ll definitely want to play the first before the sequel) and takes place in the same coffee shop in the same perpetually raining version of Seattle. The game is structured as a series... Continue reading…
by Jess Weatherbed on (#6B008)
Image: Adobe Adobe is launching a new feature for its Illustrator graphic design software that allows users to quickly adjust the color scheme of vector-based images through generative AI. Users can upload their own Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files to Illustrator’s Vector Recoloring tool to generate different colors and palette variations within seconds, either by typing out a text description or selecting from a list of sample prompts.Illustrator Vector Recoloring — which Adobe claims is the first-ever generative AI-powered vector recoloring tool to hit the market — is being introduced as the next phase of Adobe Firefly, a suite of creative generative AI models that the company recently released into public beta. The Vector Recoloring feature... Continue reading…
by Sean Hollister on (#6AZX0)
Image: Acer For years, Acer’s definition of a “compact juggernaut” still took up 18 liters of space — and still looked like a traditional tower PC. But today, the company’s announcing a low-slung SFF gaming desktop that fits the most powerful PC gaming parts into an unusual 15.4-liter chassis.The Acer Predator Orion X doesn’t look like any desktop the company’s sold before, and not just because the company’s backing away from its “this literal alien will eat you” vibe in favor of something a little more Evangelion. It’s also because the PC has three distinct zones for each of its major component clusters, with items accessible by pulling those “Zone 02,” “Zone 03,” and “Zone 01” lever-latches you can see on the front. Image: Acer... Continue reading…
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by Alex Cranz on (#6AZX1)
It’s a bong. There are lasers. I could not be clearer about what this is. Continue reading…
by Andrew Webster on (#6ABPW)
Starfield. | Image: Bethesda Softworks E3 isn’t happening, but the news isn’t stopping. Continue reading…
by Andrew Webster on (#6AZX3)
Alone in the Dark. | Image: THQ Nordic Even without E3, the summer lineup of gaming livestreams continues to get packed. The latest company to announce an event is THQ Nordic, which will be airing a “digital showcase” on August 11th at 3PM ET. The company says the event will include news and brand-new announcements as well as details on upcoming games in its lineup such as Alone in the Dark, Outcast 2, and Trine 5. You’ll be able to check it out on YouTube, Twitch, and Steam.E3 is officially off the table this year, with the annual summer showcase canceled and its future looking murky. But already, a number of events have popped up to fill in the gap. In addition to THQ Nordic’s newly announced event, there’s Summer Game Fest on June 8th, a Microsoft showcase (including a... Continue reading…
by Jon Porter on (#6AZV2)
AUO’s 49-inch 360Hz 5K gaming monitor. | Image: AUO AU Optronics’ latest monitor panels include components that seemingly tick all the boxes for premium gaming displays. One is 49 inches corner to corner, has an ultrawide aspect ratio of 32:9, a “5K” resolution, and a refresh rate of 360Hz. It’s being shown off at the Touch Taiwan display trade show this week alongside a 540Hz panel that AUO claims is the highest refresh rate available on a gaming display.Although AUO isn’t a household name in the world of gaming monitors, TFTCentral notes that it’s one of the industry’s major panel suppliers alongside LG Display. Although you’re unlikely to be buying an AUO-branded display anytime soon, the company’s announcements matter because they represent the kinds of components that’ll be... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6AZV4)
Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta’s Oversight Board — an independent panel the social media giant selected to deliberate its content decisions — has published a report that supports content moderation actions taken by Meta at the height of the covid pandemic. The board is also recommending a number of changes to its misinformation policy while highlighting the company’s failure to assess the impact its social media platforms had on public health and human rights.Meta is being urged by the board to commission an impact assessment with a focus on how design features like Facebook’s News Feed recommendation algorithms can amplify dangerous health-related misinformation. This includes publicly releasing any prior research that the company has conducted into the matter.... Continue reading…
by Monica Chin on (#6AZV3)
Watching IMAX content, as one does. | Image: HP HP has revealed the details of this year’s additions to its midrange (and generally quite good value) Envy line. This year, the company is all in on webcams, fan blades, and... IMAX?Yeah, I’m not quite sure either. HP claims that its new HP Envy x360 15 (well, 15.6 inches, to be precise), available later this month for a starting price of $949.99, is the first “IMAX Enhanced certified PC.” IMAX Enhanced is a home theater certification program that’s been kicking around for a few years, but it’s generally applied to, like, TVs and projectors and stuff. Now, it’s on a laptop I guess! Image: HP See? IMAX. In the flesh. Similar to something like Intel’s Evo program, devices that want IMAX Enhanced certification... Continue reading…
by Jess Weatherbed on (#6AW49)
Image: SpaceX SpaceX second attempt at the first test flight of its integrated Starship spacecraft and Super Heavy booster is happening Thursday morning. Known collectively as “Starship,” it’s the tallest rocket ever built, standing at 394 feet tall (120 meters) — about 90 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty. It’s also the most powerful launch vehicle ever developed, with the Super Heavy booster fitted with 33 of SpaceX’s powerful Raptor engines — the most engines ever featured in a first-stage rocket booster.Starship is integral to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk’s vision of eventually sending a crew of people to Mars. It supersedes the company’s Falcon 9 rocket — currently the world’s most frequently launched rocket — capable of carrying more cargo and a... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AZQX)
Image: Voicemod Voicemod, a popular voice changer and soundboard, is now available on macOS. Voicemod is widely used by streamers, gamers, and content creators to trigger sound effects through soundboards or for pitch-shifting and fun real-time voice changes.Voicemod on macOS is supported on both Intel- and Apple Silicon-powered Macs, and works by creating its own virtual microphone so you can use it in any application. There are more than 100 voice options or enhancements available, and the popular soundboard feature lets you play custom sounds over your microphone in games and during FaceTime or Zoom calls.“We are excited to be the first company to offer a real-time voice changer and soundboard app to macOS users,” says Jaime Bosch, CEO and... Continue reading…
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by James Vincent on (#6AZPJ)
Illustration: The Verge The next target for Google’s AI rush is the company’s advertising business, according to a report from The Financial Times.Citing a presentation shown to the company’s advertising customers, the FT says Google will augment its ad programs with generative AI this year. The presentation describes how customers will be able input content like text, image, and video into Google’s AI systems which will “remix” them to generate ads based on goals like audience and sales targets.The FT says the tools will likely be integrated into Google’s Performance Max program, which gives an overview of customers’ campaigns. Notably, Performance Max already uses machine learning to customize ad spend, but currently only makes strategic recommendations... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6AZE1)
The AT Protocol’s @-symbol logo. | Image: Bluesky Bluesky, the Jack Dorsey-backed decentralized Twitter alternative, now has an Android app. The launch follows the release of the service’s iOS app, which came out in late February. However, if you want to access the service at all, you’ll need to join the waitlist or get an invite code from a friend. Image: Bluesky I don’t have an Android phone, so I can’t vouch for the quality of the Android app. But I would recommend getting on the waitlist for the service — it’s my favorite Twitter clone yet. Right now, it’s a pretty small community of over 25,000 people, and it feels like everyone is really dedicated to maintaining a positive environment. It’s also a nice break from Twitter, which continues to get worse every... Continue reading…
by Alex Cranz on (#6AZE2)
Universal The Fast and Furious franchise is all about family, but it is also about enormous action set pieces that even make Tom Cruise say “neat,” and in the second trailer for Fast X, the 10th — 10th! — installment in the Fast and Furious franchise, Jason Momoa appears to blow up the Vatican.I don’t want to spoil things. It’s a trailer lasting two minutes and 36 seconds, and you should watch it yourself! But it’s a very wild method of exploding that I had not thought possible in a live-action film.And I really hope this isn’t one of those instances where the best bits are in the trailer because this trailer has left me so unreasonably hyped for Fast X that I’m going to need some truly outlandish stunts to top Jason Momoa blowing up the... Continue reading…
by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6AZCM)
Image: Getty Tesla will have a delivery event for its long-delayed Cybertruck in the third quarter of 2023, Elon Musk said during an earnings call with investors Wednesday.After more than three years since its initial announcement, Cybertruck production is expected to start this summer — though Musk has said that volume production won’t begin until next year.“It takes time to get the manufacturing line going, and this is really a very radical product,” Musk said Wednesday. “It’s not made in the way that other cars are made.” Image: Tesla Asked for updated specs, such as range or unique features, Musk demurred, noting that those details would be revealed during the hand-off event.“One thing I am confident of saying is that... Continue reading…
by Jay Peters on (#6AZ7K)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter reiterated today that it’s going to remove legacy verified checkmarks Thursday, April 20th. Yes, that does mean Elon Musk’s Twitter intends to remove the last vestiges of what he once deemed the “lords & peasants system” on 4/20, ha ha.The thing is, I won’t believe Twitter until it actually happens. The company originally said that it would “begin” removing checkmarks on April 1st, but as far as I know, that hasn’t taken place. (Well, outside of Twitter removing The New York Times’ verified checkmark after the publication said it wouldn’t pay the reportedly high fees for organizational accounts, but it seems like Musk made sure that happened.)
by Emma Roth on (#6AZ9G)
Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Image: Getty Images Elon Musk is threatening to take legal action against Microsoft over claims that the company “trained illegally using Twitter data.” The billionaire’s statement came in response to a tweet noting that Microsoft’s advertising platform announced it would stop supporting Twitter, reportedly due to Twitter’s changes requiring payment to access its API.Musk’s threat is vague but appears to be over OpenAI using Twitter data to train the large language model behind products like ChatGPT. OpenAI, obviously, is not Microsoft, but it did recently receive a significant investment from the company, which is building AI into tools like Bing, Edge, and Microsoft 365.It’s unclear whether Musk will actually sue Microsoft at this point, as he has... Continue reading…
by Emma Roth on (#6AZ7M)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Stability AI, the company behind the AI-powered Stable Diffusion image generator, has released a suite of open-source large language models (LLMs) collectively called StableLM. In a post shared on Wednesday, the company announced that its models are now available for developers to use and adapt on GitHub.Like its ChatGPT rival, StableLM is designed to efficiently generate text and code. It’s trained on a larger version of the open-source dataset known as the Pile, which encompasses information from a range of sources, including Wikipedia, Stack Exchange, and PubMed. Stability AI says StableLM models are currently available between 3 billion and 7 billion parameters, with 15 to 65 billion parameter models arriving later. ... Continue reading…
by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6AZ7N)
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Tesla published its first quarter earnings report in which the company said it earned $2.9 billion in net income on $23.3 billion in revenue. That represents a 24 percent increase year over year compared to $18.7 billion in revenue in Q1 2022.Most importantly, the company’s gross margins fell to 19.3 percent, a sign that its rampant price cutting was starting to take a toll on its bottom line. Gross margins were down 18.9 percent quarter-over-quarter, and 33 percent year-over-year.Some analysts were dour about Tesla’s future in reaction to the earnings report. “Tesla’s underwhelming quarter is the latest sign that growing macroeconomic uncertainty is having some impact on demand for its electric vehicles,” Jesse Cohen, senior analyst... Continue reading…
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6AZ7P)
Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black, Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen. | Image: Summit Entertainment It’s been years since people have worn T-shirts emblazoned with “#TeamEdward” or “#TeamJacob” with any regularity, but that might not stop Lionsgate from trying to resurrect Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight saga as a new TV series focused on supernatural love triangles.According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate TV is in the earliest stages of development on a new take on Meyer’s Twilight novels that served as the basis for the studio’s previous film adaptations that broke all kinds of box office records and ultimately raked in $3.4 billion globally. The project is so far from coming to fruition (if it does) that currently, no creative team whatsoever has been announced. That said, Meyer is reportedly “expected to be involved,” and the new... Continue reading…
by Sheena Vasani on (#6AZ5S)
Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge If you’re a US Facebook user who had an active account between May 24th, 2007, and December 22nd, 2022, you may be able to receive a portion of a multimillion-dollar class action settlement related to user privacy.Facebook parent company Meta agreed to pay $725 million to resolve a lawsuit accusing it of granting Cambridge Analytica and other third parties access to private user data, which a judge has tentatively approved. The tech giant also faced accusations it misled users about how much control they had over their private information. Meta, however, denies it did anything wrong.If you’d like to make a claim, you can do so online by August 25th, 2023. After answering a few questions, you’ll then be able to choose how you’d like to... Continue reading…
by Mia Sato on (#6AY0V)
Image: Ghostwriter / YouTube The generative AI music hype train only needed about 48 hours to go from “oh, that’s interesting” to full Balenciaga pope territory, and while it’s clear someone is using the technology to run a scheme, we’re still not sure who it is.Here’s the short version:
by Sean Hollister on (#6AZ5T)
Lego Sonic can spin. | GIF: Sean Hollister / The Verge, video by Lego Lego has made another fan toy dream come true: its new Sonic The Hedgehog sets actually let you send Sonic spinning through an entire miniature level.This isn’t the first time Sonic has been recreated in Lego form — we got a picture-perfect recreation of Green Hill Zone in 2021 that’ll look great on a bookshelf and a tie-in for the Lego Dimensions video game in 2016. But if you want a playset like Lego’s Mario line, that’s just now happening for the very first time.Each set has excellent references to the games: the flagship $100 Sonic’s Green Hill Zone Loop Challenge has classic fish and tree lizard foes, a two-part Dr. Robotnik boss that can float or stand on legs, forest creatures to rescue after he’s “defeated,” and a table where... Continue reading…
by Nilay Patel on (#6AZ3P)
If young Metro don’t trust you, I’m gonna... tie you up in a decade of fair use litigation. Continue reading…
by Alex Heath on (#6AZ3Q)
You can now change the look of Snap’s My AI. | Image: Snap Snap is releasing its “My AI” chatbot to all of Snapchat’s 750 million monthly users for free, a move that comes less than two months after the OpenAI-powered bot was first made available to the app’s more than 3 million paid subscribers.My AI is also becoming a more integral part of Snapchat. It can now be added to group chats by mentioning it with an @ symbol, and Snap will let people change the look and name of their bot with a custom Bitmoji avatar. In addition, My AI can now recommend AR filters to use in Snapchat’s camera or places to visit from the app’s map tab. And Snap plans to soon let people visually message My AI and receive generated responses; an example shown during the company’s annual conference today showed a photo... Continue reading…
by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6AZ3R)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Volkswagen’s flagship electric vehicle, the ID.4 crossover SUV, is eligible for the full $7,500 federal EV tax credit, the automaker announced Wednesday. The federal government’s list of eligible vehicles has since been updated to include all trim levels of the ID.4.Volkswagen is currently the only international automaker to have a full battery electric vehicle that is eligible for the full credit. The ID.4 is assembled in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which is one of the prerequisites for eligibility. Earlier this week, the federal government released its list of EVs that qualify for the tax credit. The VW ID.4 was initially left off, but as of today, it’s back on.“This is great news for consumers in the U.S. because it expands the choice... Continue reading…
by Jess Weatherbed on (#6AZ0R)
Google Fi has been rebranded as Google Fi Wireless, complete with a new logo for the service. | Image: Google / The Verge Google Fi is getting a new name and some new features. The service is now going by the name Google Fi Wireless, adding some much-needed clarity as to the nature of Google’s relatively unknown wireless carrier, and it’s adding new perks for subscribers as it rolls out the updated branding.The first big change is around smartwatches. Google Fi Wireless’ plans will now support Samsung’s Watch 5, in addition to the Pixel Watch. The service is also expanding smartwatch support to its Simply Unlimited plan, where previously it was only available on Google Fi’s Unlimited Plus and Flexible plans. All three plans support smartwatch connections at no additional cost, allowing the devices to stay connected without a phone. The device options here... Continue reading…
by Ash Parrish on (#6AZ0S)
Massive Monster In case Tears of the Kingdom isn’t your thing or you need something to tide you over until May 12th, Nintendo put on a 20-minute Indie World presentation chock-full of new games, DLC, trailers, and more. Here are the highlights.Mineko’s Night MarketIn Mineko’s Night Market, you play as Mineko, who’s tasked with crafting all sorts of tchotchkes for the weekly Night Market. There’s also a fun, wide world to explore, allowing you to uncover the ancient secrets of the legendary cat-god. But be careful, as there are dubious-looking government agents who don’t want land’s secrets revealed. Mineko’s Night Market looks like a cuter version of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin but without all the demon killing. Out already on Steam and Mac, it makes... Continue reading…
by Ash Parrish on (#6AYXZ)
Image: Massive Monster Cult of the Lamb was one of my favorite games of 2022. When I spoke to the developers, they said they had all kinds of new content in the works, and that day has finally arrived. Revealed during today’s Nintendo Indie World event, Cult of the Lamb’s Relics of the Old Faith update adds tons more godly activities with which you can enrich the spiritual lives of your followers.In Relics of the Old Faith, the four bishops have new forms and abilities and stand guard over remixed versions of their dungeons. There are new weapons and spells to mix and match and a new quest to complete once you’ve finished the game. But more exciting than that, your lamb will now have new followers to save from blasphemy and new buildings to construct to keep... Continue reading…
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6AYY0)
Sidney Sweeney as Reality Winner. | HBO When former intelligence contractor Reality Winner pleaded guilty back in 2018 for leaking an NSA report detailing Russian attempts to interfere with the US’s 2016 election, the Espionage Act made it impossible for her to argue that she was acting out of concern for the American public. Even though it isn’t spelled out, the thorniness of that catch-22 is palpable in the first teaser trailer for Reality, HBO’s upcoming drama about the whistleblower and her interrogation by the FBI.Based on playwright Tina Sattler’s Is This A Room, which was based on transcripts of the FBI’s 2017 interrogation of Reality Winner, Reality — from Sattler and co-writer James Paul Dallas — tells the story of how Winner (Sydney Sweeney) ended up receiving the... Continue reading…
by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6AYY1)
Image: JLR Jaguar Land Rover will invest £15 billion ($18.7 billion) over the next five years in electric and autonomous vehicle technology, the automaker announced Wednesday. The company identified its Halewood plant in the UK for conversion to an all-EV manufacturing facility. And by 2030, JLR says it will be an “electric first, modern luxury carmaker.”The first medium-size all-electric Range Rover will be out in 2025, and JLR will begin to take orders for it later this year. The vehicle will be built using JLR’s electrified modular architecture (EMA), which will power the company’s upcoming slate of EVs. JLR, which is owned by India’s Tata Motors, has previously committed to making its Jaguar-branded vehicles all-electric by 2025.JLR’s plans... Continue reading…
by Alex Cranz on (#6AYY2)
This show has a lot of nuns, but not a lot of guns. | Image: Colleen Hayes / Peacock A lot of people right now are wringing their hands about the rapid emergence and popularization of AI. There’s the way it threatens jobs — as anyone working at CNET will tell you — but there’s also the existential threat AI can create, as Elon Musk is wont to expound upon. Science fiction has been clanging alarm bells about AI since basically the birth of the genre. But too often, the upset about artificial intelligence seems to ignore the myriad of benefits it provides. The emergence of a new technology isn’t necessarily something to immediately villainize or praise but to carefully examine.Mrs. Davis, the new show executive produced by Damon Lindelof and created by Tara Hernandez, lets its main character wrestle with the glory and... Continue reading…
by Andrew Webster on (#6AYY3)
Image: Night School Studio It’s going to be a very supernatural summer. As part of its latest Indie World showcase, Nintendo announced that, after some delays, Oxenfree II: Lost Signals will be launching on July 12th. The game is coming to the Switch but also Steam, PlayStation consoles, and Netflix.Lost Signals is a sequel to the 2016 adventure game that was not only very creepy (with similar vibes to Stranger Things) but also had a novel dialogue system that made conversation very natural. The sequel moves things forward five years to continue the story. Here’s the official premise:
by James Vincent on (#6AYY4)
Illustration: The Verge Google employees repeatedly criticized the company’s chatbot Bard in internal messages, labeling the system “a pathological liar” and beseeching the company not to launch it.That’s according to an eye-opening report from Bloomberg citing discussions with 18 current and former Google workers as well as screenshots of internal messages. In these internal discussions, one employee noted how Bard would frequently give users dangerous advice, whether on topics like how to land a plane or scuba diving. Another said, “Bard is worse than useless: please do not launch.” Bloomberg says the company even “overruled a risk evaluation” submitted by an internal safety team saying the system was not ready for general use. Google opened up early access... Continue reading…
by Jay Peters on (#6AYY5)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta has started its latest round of layoffs on Wednesday, and they affect employees in technical roles, according to CNBC.It’s unclear how many employees are being laid off in this round, but Vox reported Tuesday that the cuts would be “in the range” of 4,000 people. On LinkedIn, I found posts from people laid off in roles including senior engineering manager, user experience researcher, data scientist, technical program manager, gameplay programmer, and content designer.When reached for comment, spokesperson Elana Widmann pointed to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s March 14th post announcing its plans to cut 10,000 more employees in addition to the 11,000 that the company already laid off. In that post, Zuckerberg said there would be three... Continue reading…
by Tom Warren on (#6AYVH)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft is reportedly working on a smaller Surface Pro with an 11-inch display and an Arm-powered Surface Go 4 model. Windows Central reports that the smaller Surface Pro is codenamed Luxor and will be similar in size and shape to the Surface Go, the more budget 10.5-inch tablet that’s designed to look like a tiny Surface Pro.Currently, Microsoft only ships its Surface Pro 9 with a 13-inch screen, in both Arm- and Intel-powered models. A new 11-inch model will also reportedly include a 120Hz display, in keeping with the premium specs found on the current 13-inch models.A move to an Arm processor on the Surface Go 4 is reportedly in the works, too. Codenamed Tanta, the Surface Go 4 is said to ship with a chip based on Qualcomm’s... Continue reading…
by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6AYVJ)
Blue, pink, purple, space gray, starlight — they’re all on sale. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The 2022 iPad Air is on sale once again for its best price to date. Right now, you can get a 64GB iPad Air with Wi-Fi for just $499.99 ($100 off) in one of its five colors at Amazon once the $59 discount is automatically applied at checkout. The deals don’t stop there, however, as the same iPad Air with 256GB of storage is also on sale for $649.99 ($100 off) at Amazon (it, too, reaches this price with an automatic discount at checkout). The latter is a worthwhile upgrade for users who need more storage to fit larger games, lots of photos, etc.Apple’s latest iPad Air may not have a Mini LED display, Face ID, or some of the fancier features found on the newer iPad Pro models, but it has a similar, refined design and packs a more than... Continue reading…
by Victoria Song on (#6AYVK)
Smart glasses in spy movies aren’t as outlandish as you might think. | Illustration: Kyle Ellingson for The Verge Obviously James Bond gets a bit of help from movie magic, but real-life smart glasses can do more than you might expect. Continue reading…
by Tom Warren on (#6AYVN)
Microsoft’s new weather-themed naming for attackers. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft has started naming hackers after the weather in a new naming taxonomy update. Hackers will now be named after events like storms, typhoons, and blizzards, as part of eight groups that Microsoft is using to track cyber attacks. That means the Lapsus$ hacking group that has targeted companies like Nvidia, Samsung, and Microsoft will now be referred to as Strawberry Tempest (no, it’s not a $15 cocktail).The new taxonomy will include five key groups: nation-state actors, financially motivated actors, private sector offensive actors (PSOAs), influence operations, and groups still in development. If a new cybersecurity threat is new or from an unknown source, then Microsoft will assign it a temporary “Storm” designation and a... Continue reading…
by David Pierce on (#6AYRY)
Netflix’s DVD business was once so big it was 1.3 percent of all US mail. | Photo by Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Netflix was never going to be a DVD shipper forever. But to win the streaming wars, it might need to recapture what made DVDs by mail so special. Continue reading…
by Justine Calma on (#6AYRZ)
On April 16th, 2023, people gather to attend an award ceremony on the outskirts of Mumbai, India. Heatstroke killed more than a dozen people as early summer temperatures soared. | Photo by AFP via Getty Images Record-shattering heat is cooking much of Asia. Brutal temperatures have been recorded across more than 12 countries in the past couple weeks. That includes oppressive heatwaves in India and China, which together represent a third of the world’s population.It’s a “monster” heat spell “like none before,” climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera tweeted today after describing it as the “worst” April heatwave in Asia’s history last week.A “monster” heat spell “like none before”Thailand beat its national heat record over the weekend, with a temperature of 45.4 degrees Celsius (113.72 degrees Fahrenheit) recorded in the province of Tak. Neighboring Laos also likely hit its “highest reliable temperature in its history”... Continue reading…
by Emma Roth on (#6AYS0)
Image: Google Google Meet is rolling out the ability to switch off individual feeds. This should help block out any potential distractions during a meeting, such as a colleague’s obnoxious virtual background or maybe even an adorable cat that pops up in front of someone’s webcam.Google says it won’t notify anyone that you’ve turned off their feed, so you won’t have to worry about hurting anyone’s feelings if you’re just not a fan of their virtual background (or cat). The meeting layout won’t change for anyone else on the call, either.You can turn off individual feeds on Meet’s mobile and desktop apps. To do this, pull up the list of people in the meeting and find the person you want to hide. From there, hit the three dots next to their name and... Continue reading…
by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy on (#6AWWB)
You can now use the Roomba j7’s camera to check in on your home. Today, an alert popped up on my iRobot app telling me I could now use the j7 Combo robot vacuum to see a live view of my home, should I want to. A new beta feature called Remote Check In turns the company’s flagship robot vacuum into a livestreaming security camera. iRobot is playing catch-up here; lots of robot vacuum manufacturers have had the live view camera function for a while now (including Samsung’s JetBot AI and models from Roborock and Ecovacs). But I was intrigued to see how the Roomba would handle this new task.Part of the iRobot beta program (which you sign up for in the app), Remote Check In launched in a limited capacity in November 2022. Today, it became broadly available, according to Ryan Schneider of iRobot. Hence the... Continue reading…
by Adi Robertson on (#6AYQ1)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge In 2014, a Colorado singer-songwriter accepted a seemingly innocuous friend request on Facebook. This morning, nearly a decade later, the Supreme Court will hear a case about the fallout — and it might redefine what’s legal to say online.Attorneys will present arguments today in Counterman v. Colorado, a closely watched case about the boundaries of unlawful “true threats.” The case’s petitioner, Billy Raymond Counterman, claims that he was convicted of stalking based on an overly broad definition of a threat. He argues that a series of Facebook messages weren’t intended to cause distress and shouldn’t be legally actionable. On the other side, the state of Colorado argues it should be sufficient for a reasonable person to find these... Continue reading…
by Andrew Webster on (#6AYQ2)
Image: Nintendo Nintendo’s turn-based war series is back, and it feels as fresh as ever. Continue reading…
by Abigail Bassett on (#6AYMV)
BMW’s 7 series has long held the place as the brand’s ultimate expression of luxury. | Photo by Abigail Bassett for The Verge Want a glimpse of the future of luxury cars? The BMW i7 is where it’s at. And the 31-inch, 8K drop-down movie screen for rear passengers is just the icing on the cake. Continue reading…
by Thomas Ricker on (#6AYK0)
Tesla’s V4 Supercharger now supports non-Tesla EV charging, like this all-electric VW ID Buzz. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge Tesla has only one V4 Supercharger in the world — it opened in March to Tesla drivers and was recently made available to all EVs. The V4 Supercharger is located in Harderwijk, the Netherlands, which is just an hour away from my home in Amsterdam where Tesla has its EMEA headquarters. And since I’ve been testing an all-electric VW ID Buzz for the past few weeks (review coming!), well, I just couldn’t resist a visit.Tesla has over 45,000 Superchargers worldwide. About 17,000 are in the US, and of those, only about a dozen stations in New York and California are open to other EVs. But in Europe most Supercharger stations are already available to other EVs, many have been for years. So it was no surprise to see Tesla open up its first V4... Continue reading…