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by Umar Shakir on (#6AQHM)
Mario music composer Koji Kondo (right) joins Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto (center) and Nintendo camera programmer Takumi Kawagoe at a Super Mario Bros. Movie screening in April. | Image: Kayla Oaddams/WireImage We’re living in a Nintendo renaissance right now, which includes the release of one of the most successful animated movie launches ever, brand-new theme parks, and a bestselling console. But now, the Super Mario Bros. theme — one of the most recognizable tunes ever — is being eternally honored with an entry into the US Library of Congress (via The Guardian).The Super Mario Bros. theme is officially known as “Ground Theme,” as in the aboveground music in Super Mario Bros., and was first included in the game when it was released on the Famicom and Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985. It marks the first video game music to be inducted into the Library of Congress. Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge Super Mario Bros.... Continue reading…
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The Verge - All Posts
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
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| Updated | 2024-11-26 19:15 |
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by Tom Warren on (#6AQHN)
LinkedIn now has a verification system. | Image: LinkedIn Microsoft-owned LinkedIn is rolling out a free verification system that will allow users to prove their identity and where they work. The verification options include the ability to use CLEAR to prove your identity, verification of your workplace through an email address, and Microsoft’s Entra verified ID platform to obtain digital workplace IDs for free.Unlike Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, you won’t need to pay to get verifications that will show up on your LinkedIn profile. You can verify your workplace just by using a company-issued email address or through Microsoft Entra if your organization already uses Entra.If you want to verify your own identity, then LinkedIn has partnered with CLEAR to allow you to securely confirm your... Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6AQHP)
You can save up to $300 on Microsoft’s beautiful new Surface Laptop 5. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Like Amazon, Microsoft is throwing its own spring sales event and offering discounts on a range of tech. However, while many of Amazon’s deals have since expired, Microsoft’s sale has only just begun and will last through April 20th. Right now, for instance, you could potentially save hundreds on some of Microsoft’s newest laptops, including the Surface Pro 9 and Surface Laptop 5. Even better, some retailers like Best Buy are matching Microsoft’s prices.It’s not all laptops, though; Microsoft is also offering some great deals for gamers. This includes deals on a refurbished Xbox Series X as well as one of our favorite controllers and a few games. Below, we’ve curated some highlights from the sale that are worth a look.Laptop dealsF... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AQHQ)
Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft is bringing Windows 11 to its HoloLens 2 headset. The update will be available free of charge, and Microsoft says it should appear by the end of June as an optional upgrade. HoloLens 2 owners can continue to use Windows 10, but Windows 11 will offer better app performance and some key developer-focused additions.“The free upgrade to Windows 11 promises continuous platform support, meaning our customers can trust in the continued security of their devices,” explains Robin Seiler, Microsoft’s corporate vice president of Windows and devices, in a blog post. “With the upgrade, HoloLens 2 users will continue to receive monthly security servicing updates that reinforce the protection of sensitive information while also improving app... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6AQHR)
Image: Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images The Environmental Protection Agency announced new emissions standards to slash tailpipe pollution, fight climate change, and accelerate the transition to electric vehicles.The proposal, which was first reported over the weekend and released Wednesday, represents the most aggressive plan to reduce carbon emissions by an administration to date. Depending on how the auto industry responds, the EPA projects that the new standards could result in electric vehicles accounting for 67 percent of new light-duty vehicle sales and 46 percent of new medium-duty vehicle sales by 2032 — a dramatic increase over the current EV sales numbers of around 6 percent.The Biden administration is portraying the proposal as a critical effort to reverse the... Continue reading…
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#5A3RS)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The Xbox Series X and Series S are excellent machines, yet, no matter how good they are, there will always be room for improvement. Accessories like the Elite Series 2 Controller and the Xbox Stereo Headset can help you get the most out of your new console, while others, like Seagate’s Storage Expansion Cards, will help ensure you have ample storage space for years to come.Below, we’ve listed some of the best accessories available for the Series X and S, many of which often go on sale at most major retailers.Controllers and charging standsXbox Wireless ControllerFirst up, controllers. The last-gen Xbox Wireless Controller from the Xbox One may be compatible with the Series X / S consoles; however, the older controller... Continue reading…
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by Alice Newcome-Beill on (#6AQHS)
Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge You can game on any keyboard. Or you could pick one with an 8000Hz polling rate. Or analog switches. Or modular macro pads. And, of course, they all have RGB. We’re not barbarians. Continue reading…
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by David Pierce on (#6AQHT)
Image: The Verge What’s the best streaming service? It feels like a big and important question to answer. It’s also a completely impossible, completely subjective question that depends on everything from your budget to your favorite Mission: Impossible movie. The streaming market is a teeming mass of stuff, with various platforms rising and falling, and nothing ever stays the same for very long.But here at The Verge, we like answers. So, for this episode of The Vergecast, we decided to answer that big question the only way we know how: chaotically and at great length. So we held the first annual Vergecast Streaming Services Draft, in which our three co-hosts each drafted their top five streaming services. There were surprises from the very beginning,... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AQD1)
Image: Nvidia Nvidia is making its new RTX 4070 graphics card official today after weeks of leaks. The RTX 4070 will be available on April 13th priced starting at $599 for Nvidia’s own Founders Edition model. Nvidia is pitching the RTX 4070 for 1440p gaming at more than 100fps with ray tracing and the company’s latest DLSS 3 upscaling tech enabled.The RTX 4070 is Nvidia’s first 40-series Founders Edition card that’s reasonably sized, so it can fit inside most cases — even those with small form factors. The RTX 4070 is actually shorter than an RTX 3080 and is designed to match its performance at 1440p at least. Built on Nvidia’s latest Ada Lovelace architecture, the RTX 4070 includes 12GB of GDDR6X instead of the 8GB found on both the prior RTX 3070... Continue reading…
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by Brandon Widder on (#6AQD2)
Samsung’s A54 is a notable upgrade over the last-gen A53, one that comes in either black or violet. | Image: Jon Porter / The Verge Happy Wednesday, y’all. We recently crowned Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Plus the best Android phone you can buy, though we wouldn't say it’s the cheapest Galaxy device currently available. Samsung’s midrange Galaxy A54 presents a more affordable alternative, one you can pick up at Amazon or Best Buy right now with a $50 gift card for $449.99.There’s a lot to love about Samsung’s popular A-series, particularly the A54. It’s very much in line with this year’s Galaxy S23 and S23 Plus and features a number of improvements over the last-gen A53. The newer model packs a 50-megapixel main shooter that allows for better low-light photography along with a 6.4-inch OLED display and support for 25W fast charging. It also includes Samsung’s speedy Exynos... Continue reading…
by Jon Porter on (#6AQD3)
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Chinese officials have signaled how generative AI may be regulated in the country, writing in recently published draft guidelines that the software “should reflect the core values of socialism,” CNBC reports. The proposed rules were published by the country’s Cyberspace Administration of China as it seeks public feedback and provide key indications of how the country’s heavy-handed speech rules may be applied to locally developed competitors to ChatGPT.As well as reflecting socialist values, the draft rules (translated via Google Translate) say generative AI should not attempt to subvert state power, overthrow the socialist system, or undermine national unity. Promoting terrorism, extremism, or ethnic hatred is also prohibited, along... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AQ9B)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Microsoft is getting ready to change how the Print Screen (Prt Scr) key works in Windows 11. For the first time in decades the default behavior will now open Microsoft’s own Snipping Tool instead of capturing an image of your entire screen and copying it to the Clipboard. Microsoft has started testing this change in recent beta builds of Windows 11.While Windows 11 already has a setting to allow you to change Print Screen to open the Snipping Tool, Microsoft will set this as the default behavior in the upcoming KB5025310 update. If you have previously modified the option in Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard then Windows 11 will keep the setting you chose, but for many this will be switched over.Print Screen has always been in need of... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6AQ67)
Illustration: The Verge WhatsApp users in Brazil can now officially pay small businesses for goods and services from within the Meta-owned messaging app, the company has announced. The payments-to-merchant feature is available now for a “small number of businesses” but will be rolling out more widely in the coming months, allowing customers to make purchases using Mastercard or Visa credit, debit, or prepaid cards “without having to go to a website, open another app or pay in person.”The rollout of WhatsApp payment services in Brazil has been a multi-year process, and is complicated by the fact that the messaging app has been trying to offer both peer-to-peer transfers and payments-to-merchant services within its app. On the peer-to-peer side, WhatsApp... Continue reading…
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by James Vincent on (#6AQ68)
Illustration: The Verge OpenAI has launched a bug bounty, encouraging members of the public to find and disclose vulnerabilities in its AI services including ChatGPT. Rewards range from $200 for “low-severity findings” to $20,000 for “exceptional discoveries,” and reports are submittable via crowdsourcing cybersecurity platform Bugcrowd.Notably, the bounty excludes rewards for jailbreaking ChatGPT or causing it to generate malicious code or text. “Issues related to the content of model prompts and responses are strictly out of scope, and will not be rewarded,” says OpenAI’s Bugcrowd page.Jailbreaking ChatGPT usually involves inputting elaborate scenarios in the system that allow it to bypass its own safety filters. These might include encouraging the chatbot... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6AQ69)
The iPhone 14 Pro’s physical buttons, which could re-appear on this year’s followup. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge After months of leaks saying Apple will ditch the physical volume and power buttons on this year’s iPhone 15 Pro in favor of fancy solid-state replacements, one of the original sources of the rumor now says it’s not happening.“My latest survey indicates that due to unresolved technical issues before mass production, both high-end iPhone 15 Pro models (Pro & Pro Max) will abandon the closely-watched solid-state button design and revert to the traditional physical button design,” reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a Medium post. 9to5Mac reports that another analyst, Haitong Tech’s Jeff Pu, also thinks Apple will stick with traditional mechanical buttons for iPhone 15 Pro models.
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by Victoria Song on (#6AQ3B)
You don’t need a Spotify or Strava subscription to use the new in-app widget. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Strava has been around since 2009, but today, the popular fitness app is finally, finally adding an in-app Spotify integration. Instead of having to switch between apps, you can now access your Spotify favorites from the workout record screen. And, perhaps the best part is you don’t need a Spotify or Strava subscription to use it.“It’s just one of those things we know people have been asking for a long time, and finally, the stars aligned,” says Mateo Ortega, Strava’s vice president of connected partnerships. When asked about the possibility of adding other platforms, Ortega didn’t rule out the possibility but noted that Spotify was a clear first step.It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see why Strava and Spotify partnering matters.... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6APW4)
Image: NYC’s Mayor Office The New York Police Department is reenlisting Digidog, the four-legged robot that the city faced backlash for deploying a few years back, as reported earlier by The New York Times. NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced the news during a press event on Tuesday, stating that the use of Digidog in the city can “save lives.”Digidog — also known as Spot — is a remote-controlled robot made by the Hyundai-owned Boston Dynamics. It’s designed to work in situations that may pose a threat to humans, helping to do things like perform inspections in dangerous areas and monitor construction sites. However, Boston Dynamics also touts its use as a public safety tool, which the NYPD has tried in the past.
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by Elizabeth Lopatto on (#6APSW)
The emotional core of Succession | Photograph by Macall B. Polay/HBO The key to Succession has been staring you in the face for four seasons and has been played off as comic relief. It is the neglected son Connor Roy, played impeccably by Alan Ruck.Connor is often ignored by the rest of the family. His half-siblings and father seem to view him as irretrievably goofy. But the main theme of Succession is highlighted by his character: he is the oldest son, and he is irrelevant. He even has to remind his half-siblings that he — not Kendall — is the oldest son in the season 3 finale.Spoilers for Succession season 4 belowStill, Connor’s not in the race to replace his father, Logan Roy. He’s not even tasked with anything important. His mother got shipped off to “the funny farm,” and Logan remarried. In the... Continue reading…
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by Ariel Shapiro on (#6APSX)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images I have to say — it is not the spiciest week in podcast news so far. But so it goes!Today, Baby Shark podcasts go at a premium, BBC gets an unwelcome Twitter label, and Lemonada leans further into its audiobook club.Lemonada and Apple Books launch audiobook clubI have said it before, and I’ll say it again until it gets annoying: the worlds of podcasts and audiobooks are becoming increasingly intertwined. Podcast studio Lemonada Media has found a new partner for its book club, this time teaming up with Apple Books.The companies have selected three titles — A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung, Drama Free by Nedra Glover Tawwab, and You Can Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith — that are available as ebooks and audiobooks on Apple... Continue reading…
by Jay Peters on (#6APP9)
Image: Lofi Girl There’s a new person in the Lofi Girl universe. The countdown on the mysterious new Lofi Girl stream wrapped up earlier on Tuesday, and when it was over, a person in a purple sweater with an adorable dog sat down at their computer and started listening to some excellent synthwave beats.You can listen to the new stream here. The new person in the stream doesn’t have a name; an announcement from the Lofi Girl channel only calls them a “brand new character.” “Get ready to fully immerse yourselves in the new realm of retro-futuristic sounds and join us as we embark on a journey through time and space, exploring the wonders of Synthwave and unravelling the mysteries of the Lofi universe!” part of the announcement reads.
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by Sean Hollister on (#6APPB)
The logo for PlayStation Now, Sony’s cloud gaming service that got folded into PS Plus. | Image: Sony Now that Google Stadia is dead and buried, it looks like Sony may seriously care about cloud gaming again. Despite a recent round of layoffs, Sony is currently hiring 22 roles related to cloud gaming tech — including one person whose job will literally be to “Develop and deliver the strategic vision for cloud game streaming at PlayStation.”“Are you a ground-breaking innovator in the cloud streaming product space? Then you likely agree that Cloud Gaming is on its way to becoming a major part of the gaming industry,” reads part of a Sony job posting for a Director of Product Management for Cloud Gaming.That person won’t be alone: Sony is also hiring five senior platform engineers, three software engineers, two technical project managers... Continue reading…
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by Umar Shakir on (#6APPC)
Image: Ikea If you’re like me, you enjoy walking through Ikea stores and dream your home could be as neat and organized as the showroom samples — but you really don’t feel like putting in all that effort. Well, Ikea has a new interior design service that just might help you over that mental barrier of attempting to make a beautiful, modern, and functional space (via Fast Company).Ikea’s not alone in spotting the profit potential of adding more services to everything it already does. Apple just launched Music Classical on top of its iCloud, AppleCare Plus, Apple TV Plus, Apple News, and Arcade. Meanwhile, retailer services continue to creep wider, with Walmart’s own Plus order and delivery services, Best Buy’s Totaltech, and of course, the... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6APHM)
Image: Ford Ford’s factory in Oakville, Ontario, will begin its $1.3 billion ($1.8 billion CAD) transformation into an electric vehicle assembly plant in the second quarter of 2024. The retooling is expected to take six months to finish, the automaker said Tuesday.During the process, an estimated 3,000 workers will be furloughed, according to Automotive News. Ford, however, says it expects to bring back virtually all the factory workers when the plant comes back online at the end of 2024.The factory, which currently produces gas-powered Edge and Lincoln Nautilus crossovers, will be renamed the Oakville Electric Vehicle Complex and will include a 407,000-square-foot battery assembly plant. The facility will use battery cells produced by Ford’s B... Continue reading…
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by Mia Sato on (#6APHN)
Image: Loewe If you have a spare couple thousand dollars and love confusing people with your clothing, Loewe has something right up your alley.The Spanish luxury brand is now selling the glitchy clothing shown on the runway at Paris Fashion Week last fall under the “Pixel” capsule collection. The release includes clothing items like a baby blue hoodie, a denim skirt, and a T-shirt as well as accessories like a handbag. If you’re on a budget, the cheapest thing is a T-shirt with a blurry Loewe logo for $590. Staying true to the bit, Loewe says purchases will come in limited-edition pixelated packaging. Image: Loewe Loewe’s “pixelated top in technical knit” retails for $1,850. Image: Loewe A... Continue reading…
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by Chris Welch on (#6APHP)
Google TV’s live guide is about to include over 800 free channels. | Image: Google FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) channels are becoming inescapable these days and booming in popularity through their combination of familiar reruns and news programming offered at no cost. Nearly any modern smart TV you buy today will include a slew of them. Roku and Amazon (with Fire TV) are both big advocates. And now, Google is doubling down more than it already was on linear FAST content.Starting today in the United States, the company’s Google TV platform is adding a ton of additional FAST channels. Whether you’re watching from a Chromecast or a TV that runs the software, you’ll start seeing them pop up over the next few weeks.Google TV had already offered FAST content from Pluto TV, but it’s now expanding to... Continue reading…
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by Alex Cranz on (#6APHQ)
Ana Carballosa/Netflix Jennifer Lopez has figured out how we should all be spending our Mother’s Day, and it’s apparently watching her former assassin character protect her kid and deal with lots of bad guys from her past. That’s when her new film The Mother premieres on Netflix.The film comes from writer Misha Green, who also wrote the exceptional Lovecraft Country and Underground. Joseph Fiennes and Gael García Bernal are playing the bad guys J.Lo needs to deal with, while Omari Hardwick plays the dreamy old friend who just really gets her, and Edie Falco plays the cops. Image: Ana Carballosa/Netflix Sometimes, when you’re a reformed assassin saving your kid, you need a dreamy friend who lost his shirt to help. As action films go,... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6APCD)
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission has levied its first fine against a company for “review hijacking” on Amazon, or the act of repurposing reviews from another product in order to deceive users. The Bountiful Company, which makes Nature’s Bounty vitamins and other supplements, is accused of artificially inflating the number of reviews and ratings its products received on Amazon.The agency claims Bountiful abused Amazon’s variations feature, which lets sellers merge products into a single listing when offering different colors, sizes, or quantities of the same item. Since these product variations share the same listing, this also means they share the same reviews and labels applied by Amazon, such as the “#1 Best Seller” or “Amazon’s Choice”... Continue reading…
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6APCE)
Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images Uber says it will fund an e-bike buy-back program for delivery workers in New York City in a bid to get fire-prone batteries off the streets. The company also said it would support an additional fee on food deliveries to help workers afford safer options.The announcement comes amid a worrisome rise in e-bike fires in New York City that have resulted in at least a dozen deaths. Two children were killed last night in Astoria, Queens, in a fire that authorities say was the result of an exploding lithium-ion battery, according to multiple news outlets.The New York City Council recently passed legislation prohibiting the sale of uncertified e-bikes and other micromobility devices, while Mayor Eric Adams has called on the private companies... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6APCF)
Yep, that looks like Twitter. | Image: Substack Substack’s Twitter-like feature for shorter posts, called Notes, is launching for everyone on Tuesday. Notes could prove to be a worthy Twitter alternative for some, especially for Substack writers who have already built audiences on the platform and are looking for a new place to post after Twitter throttled Substack links and marked them as unsafe.Substack’s Notes will appear in their own separate tab, meaning they’ll be separate from the full newsletters you can read in the Inbox tab or the threads you can read in the Chat tab, where you can read newsletters. In a blog post, Substack suggests using Notes to share things like “posts, quotes, comments, images, and links,” and there is no character limit, Substack spokesperson Helen... Continue reading…
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by Ash Parrish on (#6APCG)
Image: Media Molecule Today, Media Molecule has announced it’s terminating live support for its game creation engine, Dreams.“As we continue to evaluate and evolve our priorities for the studio and Dreams, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue live support for Dreams after 1st September, 2023,” the announcement read.Dreams isn’t shutting down entirely, so players will still be able to create things like this rendering of an English breakfast that is so realistic that it actually makes the meal look appetizing. But there won’t be any more updates to the game nor will Media Molecule continue to host community-centered events like DreamsCom or the Impy Awards.The shutdown unfortunately answers one of the questions the Dreams community has long... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AGS0)
AMD’s 3D V-Cache strikes again with an impressive CPU for gaming. Continue reading…
by Tom Warren on (#6APCH)
Image: Microsoft Microsoft is launching its PC Game Pass service in 40 new countries today, including many European markets. After previewing the service in these countries over the past two months, PC Game Pass is officially available in countries across Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East, including Croatia, Iceland, Libya, Qatar, and Ukraine.This expansion means that 86 countries will now have access to Game Pass as Microsoft seeks to grow its subscription service beyond console. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer warned of growth slowing down on the console side of Xbox Game Pass last year,] but noted that the company was “seeing incredible growth on PC.” Microsoft said in October that PC Game Pass subscriptions had increased by 159 percent... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#6APCJ)
Image: Sundance Institute One of the most shocking movies out of this year’s Sundance was Talk to Me — and now, you can finally get a glimpse of the horror flick in its first trailer. The film, which is the directorial debut of YouTubers Danny and Michael Philippou, is a brutal and unrelenting take on teen horror, telling the story of an embalmed hand that lets people become inhabited by spirits after they perform a very specific ritual. The process becomes a viral phenomenon and, well, let’s just say that things don’t go so well.In my review from Sundance, I described Talk to Me as “a shockingly competent debut — and not at all what I expected from a horror movie made by YouTube stars. It may be a movie about viral videos — but the film itself is much more... Continue reading…
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by Jay Castello on (#6APCK)
Berry People. | Image: Sokpop Collective The experimental video game boy band talks about Patreon, milestones, and the future. Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6AP7V)
Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe juices up your iPhone and your AirPods at the same time. | Image: Belkin Yes, Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe is one of our favorite models, but it may not be right for you. True, it can juice up your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch, but if you don’t own an Apple smartwatch, it may not be worth forking out nearly $150. Instead, Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro 2-in-1 Wireless Charger with MagSafe might be a better buy, especially because it’s hit a new all-time low. Right now, you can buy it for $69.99 ($30 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is half the price of the 3-in-1 model.The 2-in-1 version of Belkin’s BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charger can’t charge Apple’s latest smartwatches, but it’s otherwise identical and offers good value for your money. It delivers 15W MagSafe... Continue reading…
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by Emma Roth on (#6AP7W)
Nintendo Live 2023. | Image: Nintendo Nintendo Live is coming to the US. The game maker announced Tuesday that it will hold Nintendo Live 2023 in Seattle, Washington, this September.Like its Live event this past fall in Japan, this year’s in-person event will feature gameplay from Nintendo games, live stage performances, game tournaments, Nintendo-themed activities, and more. There isn’t any information about when exactly the event will take place this summer, but Nintendo says to stay tuned for more details.
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by Jay Peters on (#6AP7X)
Last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max and Pro. | Image: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge From USB-C to Dynamic Island, here are the rumored features for this year’s iPhones. Continue reading…
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6AP7Y)
Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau in WandaVision. | Marvel Studios Captain Marvel’s surprise appearance at the end of Ms. Marvel was a reminder that the MCU’s strongest pinch hitter only ever comes down to Earth either by accident or when things are truly out of order because the universe is a massive place full of far more pressing matters that require her attention. While Carol Danvers has never really slowed down long enough to explain just what it is that she’s been getting up to out there in the depths of space, it seems very much like that’s exactly what The Marvels from director Nia DaCosta is going to do.While it’s not all that clear where in the universe Carol (Brie Larson) is, the new trailer does seem to suggest that her powers have somehow become entangled with Kamala Khan’s (Iman Vellani)... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#6AP81)
The Fitbit-to-Google migration starts in earnest this summer. | The Verge The way you log onto Fitbit is about to change. Starting this summer, existing Fitbit users can choose to start logging in using a Google account. Meanwhile, those who don’t already have a Fitbit account will be required to use a Google Account when setting up any new devices.The news isn’t exactly a surprise. Google announced last fall that all Fitbit users would eventually have to migrate to Google accounts and that the switchover would start on a gradual, optional basis sometime in 2023. If anything, this is simply a sign that the migration process is on schedule.Google also reiterated that existing Fitbit users don’t have to make the switch immediately, just that it’ll be required “by 2025.” For users who want to get a jump... Continue reading…
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by Justine Calma on (#6AP80)
View of hazy mountain ridges at sunrise from the Oconaluftee Valley Overlook in North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountains National Park. | Image: Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images Good news, nature lovers! Google Earth is making it easier to explore national parks with Google Maps. The updates will start to roll out this month ahead of National Park Week starting on April 22nd, the day entrance fees are waived.Until now, finding directions to a trailhead has been a crapshoot on the app. Navigating the trail itself can be even harder without a preview of the route on Maps. For national parks at least, that should start to change.The updates will start to roll out this month ahead of National Park Week starting on April 22nd, the day entrance fees are waivedWith this update, when users search for a particular trail within a national park in the US, Google Maps will show the entire route of the trail instead of... Continue reading…
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by David Pierce on (#6AP7Z)
The NFL is coming soon to a YouTube app near you. | Image: Adam Bow/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Football fans, start saving those pennies. YouTube just announced pricing for its new Sunday Ticket package, and access to this season’s games will cost anywhere from $249 to $489.The pricing structure is... confusing. So let’s just quickly run it down.If you’re a YouTube TV subscriber, you’ll pay:
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6AP82)
Image: The Steve Jobs Archive The Steve Jobs Archive has published Make Something Wonderful: Steve Jobs in his own words — a new free ebook containing a curated collection of photographs, emails, speeches, and interviews from the Apple co-founder, some of which have never previously been seen by the public.Make Something Wonderful is available to read now on the Archive’s website via a custom page designed by Jony Ive’s creative agency LoveFrom and is even set in LoveFrom’s custom typeface. The website allows readers to navigate through the book’s table of contents using a scroll bar labeled with subsections. An ebook version is also available on Apple Books, from participating libraries via the Libby app, or through a direct download from the Steve Jobs Archive. ... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6AP4B)
Android is rolling out automated app-archiving almost a year after Google first teased the new feature. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google has started to roll out its new auto-archive tool for Android devices, designed to free up storage space without completely uninstalling applications from user devices. First teased in May last year, Google claims that the auto-archiving feature can automatically reduce the storage taken up by infrequently used apps by almost 60 percent without entirely removing the application or its associated data from a user’s device.Archived applications can be distinguished by a cloud icon overlaid on the app icon. Tapping the archived apps will re-download and fully restore them, provided the app is still available on Google Play. The feature should come in handy for those using Android devices that lack expandable storage or users who are... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6AP4C)
Spike on the Mini Concept Aceman’s central OLED display. | Image: BMW / Mini Mini, the British car brand owned by German automaker BMW, has announced a new “intelligent personal assistant” called Spike, based on the English Bulldog that’s appeared in some past Mini ads. Spike will make his first major appearance at the Shanghai auto show later this month where he’ll be integrated into the cockpit of the Mini Concept Aceman. We can’t help but agree with Jalopnik, which points out that the whole announcement has very “Microsoft Clippy” vibes, or maybe LG’s Bean Bird?The plan is to eventually have Spike appear in future production cars. Carscoops reports that these future models will include the 2023 Mini Countryman, the 2024 Mini Cooper, and the Aceman Crossover SUV in 2025. It’s less clear exactly what Spike will... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#6AP1J)
Image: Epic Games Fortnite just keeps speeding along. As part of its most recent update, the battle royale game is adding gear from Attack on Titan that lets players zip around the island.The update, which brings the game to version 24.40, was first hinted at when the current Fortnite season debuted in March. It includes two pieces of Attack on Titan equipment: the omni-directional mobility gear, or ODM, which “will give you the ability to grapple in the air and strike opponents below,” and “arm-launched rockets” called Thunder Spears. The additions seem like they’ll be a good fit for the faster gameplay of the current season, which includes motorcycles and grindable rails. Image: Epic Games Eren Jaeger in Fortnite. Outside... Continue reading…
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by Tom Warren on (#6AP1K)
Snapchat Lenses inside Microsoft Teams | Image: Microsoft Microsoft has teamed up with Snap to add Snapchat Lenses to Microsoft Teams. More than 20 Snapchat Lenses are now part of the Microsoft Teams app, including ones that will place a cat on your head, a sloth on your shoulder, or virtual sunglasses on your face during video calls.Teams users don’t need to download a separate app or add-on, as Microsoft has integrated Snapchat’s AR Lenses directly into the video effects section of the Teams client. Microsoft has leveraged Snap’s Camera Kit SDK to bring these Snapchat Lenses to Teams.While Microsoft also uses Snap’s Camera Kit for its Flip education platform to add Snapchat Lenses to videos, this new Teams feature will be limited to Teams for Work users only. If you’re using the personal or... Continue reading…
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by Jon Porter on (#6AP1M)
Apple’s 2023 MacBook Pro 16. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The PC market had a rough first quarter, with both IDC and Canalys reporting that worldwide shipments of desktops and laptops suffered a drop of around 30 percent in the first quarter of 2023 versus the same quarter in 2022. IDC reports a drop of 29 percent to 56.9 million units, while Canalys reports a drop of 32.6 percent to 54 million units.Although all five of the biggest manufacturers suffered double digit declines, Apple appears to have been hardest hit. IDC reports that its shipments dropped by 40.5 percent, while Canalys is reporting a drop of 45.5 percent. Both research houses suggest the Mac manufacturer’s market share has also dropped by between one and two percentage points. Image: Canalys A chart... Continue reading…
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6ANV0)
Joaquin Phoenix as Beau Wassermann. | Image: A24 Director Ari Aster’s Beau Is Afraid amps up the comedic absurdity to tell a haunting story about coping with anxiety. Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6ANSA)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk and one of his “Twitter Files” writers, Matt Taibbi, don’t seem to be on great terms right now, and that situation probably isn’t getting any better after Musk posted then deleted a DM conversation between the two of them.Let me try to recap how we got to this point. I’m warning you now that it’s a bit of a mess.
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by Umar Shakir on (#6ANN9)
SpaceX’s Starship stacked on top of the Super Heavy rocket booster. | Image: SpaceX Last week, SpaceX announced it’s poised to launch the fully stacked Starship spacecraft for a first orbital flight test following a launch rehearsal this week and pending regulatory approval. Now SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is confirming it’s ready, with launch “trending towards near the end of third week of April,” Musk wrote in a tweet on Monday.Starship is SpaceX’s long-awaited flagship spacecraft that’s designed to take astronauts and payloads to deep space — including the Moon and, of course, Mars. Most importantly, the parts are designed to be reusable, and it is paired with a massive booster known as the Super Heavy to get it off the Earth’s surface.SpaceX followed that up with this five-minute all-CG reel of Starship on missions to... Continue reading…
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