by Nathan Edwards on (#6756T)
I, for one, welcome our “let’s just do one of every layout” overlords. Continue reading…
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Updated | 2024-11-27 14:30 |
by James Vincent on (#6754T)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The internet is, in many ways, built on fraudulent measurement. Measuring article and video views keep the wheels of online advertising spinning, while counting likes, faves, etc, constitute an insidious drip of “engagement” that has us all opening apps when we should know better. But some metrics are stupider than others, and Twitter’s new public view count for tweets is definitely one of them.Twitter has long counted views for tweets, but previously chose to keep this information tucked away inside its analytics menu: a data-heavy feature beloved only by social media managers and sadists (but I repeat myself). Knowing how many views a tweet got is useful information, sure, but only if you’re running a business or a brand. For the rest... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6754V)
Jack Sweeney has created a new time-delayed version of the ElonJet tracker account after the original was banned for violating Twitter policy restrictions. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The college student who ran the now-banned @ElonJet Twitter account that used public information to track Elon Musk’s private jet has resumed his activities on Twitter under a new username. As noted by Insider, Jack Sweeney, 20, has created a new account called @ElonJetNextDay — which now tracks Musk’s private jet with a 24-hour delay to circumvent Twitter policy restrictions.Sweeney’s original ElonJet account was suspended from the platform last week following accusations from Musk that it violated Twitter rules by revealing his live location. Twitter updated its policy to forbid publishing a person’s real-time location on the same day it suspended ElonJet. Sweeney said in an interview with Insider that he will be “posting manually”... Continue reading…
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by Verge Staff on (#674Z2)
The Verge As 2022 comes to a close, the art team at The Verge has looked back on the past year to highlight some of our most memorable and favorite art. Throughout the year, we created a diverse array of original art, including melting ice sculptures, interactive comics, a photo shoot featuring baked goods, art for special issues such as our Homeland series, and many striking images for our reviews. “How to replace the sky” comicIllustration by Matt HuynhThe Verge’s first interactive comic (of many more to come!) allows users to experience the comic cinematographically. “How to replace the sky” by Matt Huynh is a look at what art-making means in a world where our tools are always changing and, with them, our expectations and... Continue reading…
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by Nilay Patel on (#674Z5)
YouTube won the big bidding war for NFL Sunday Ticket yesterday, beating out Apple, Amazon, and ESPN with a deal worth a reported $2 billion a year. NFL fans will now be able to get the out-of-market games package as part of the YouTube TV bundle or on its own in the main YouTube app as part of the Primetime Channels feature.It’s a big win for YouTube and Google, which have been slowly but steadily taking over the TV streaming market. And it makes sense for the NFL, which got a deal that looks a lot like the cable and satellite deals it’s used to, dressed up in an app that actually works along with some fancy streaming tricks like live stats and the ability to say “creators” and “Gen Z” while gesturing at YouTube.I caught up with... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#674Z6)
A potential peek into what Google’s cooking up. | Illustration: The Verge Google’s plans for its Pixel phone lineup from 2023 to 2025 have been leaked, if Android Authority is to be believed. On Thursday the outlet published a timeline full of information from a source it called “anonymous but trustworthy,” saying that it’s vetted the plans and warning that some outcomes were more likely than others.The whole thing is worth a read, but here are the top line items: Android Authority says that there’s talk within Google about moving the less expensive A-series phones to a once-every-two-years schedule, and there are plans to design a Pro Pixel for those who don’t want a massive 6.7-inch screen. The outlet is also repeating rumors that we can expect Google to finally reveal its $1,799 folding phone next spring,... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#674Z7)
“No AI Art” images posted by artists started to dominate the trending section of ArtStation following the platform's refusal to ban AI-generated artwork. | Image: @joysilvart Art platform ArtStation is removing images protesting AI-generated art from its homepage, claiming that the content violates its Terms of Service. Members of the ArtStation community have been protesting after AI-generated art began appearing on the platform in early December. Protestors are concerned that AI-generated art is derivative of the labor of human artists and often uses their work without attribution or compensation.In a statement about the removals posted to Twitter, ArtStation said: “For site usability, we are moderating posts that violate our Terms of Service. We understand concerns about AI and its impact on the industry. We will share more about improvements to give users more control over what they see and how they use... Continue reading…
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by James Vincent on (#674V5)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter has updated its list of features for Twitter Blue, saying subscribers paying for the $8-a-month service will now get “prioritized rankings in conversations” and the ability to upload videos up to 60 minutes in length.Twitter owner Elon Musk has long promised to make Twitter Blue users more visible on the site. In November he said subscribers would get “Priority in replies, mentions & search, which is essential to defeat spam/scam,” and earlier this month the company repeated this promise, saying Twitter Blue will offer ”priority ranking in search, mentions, and replies.”“This feature prioritizes your replies on Tweets that you interact with.”An update to the company’s Twitter Blue support page (spotted by TechCrunch; compare... Continue reading…
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by Richard Lawler on (#674FF)
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried leaves Manhattan Federal Court after his arraignment and bail hearings on December 22, 2022 in New York City. | Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images Now that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) is back in the US, he has been released from federal custody. The New York Times and CNBC report the co-founder of the failed and allegedly fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange FTX was released on $250 million bail, secured by his parent’s home, ahead of his trial on eight criminal charges he faces, in addition to civil suits filed by the SEC and CFTC.Prosecutors say billions in customer and investor funds are missing, accusing a small circle of insiders at FTX and Bankman-Fried’s crypto hedge fund, Alameda Research, of misusing the money for themselves from the very start of their operation. First page of Sam Bankman-Fried’s $250 million Appearance Bond, secured by his parent’s home in... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#674FG)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft has filed its response to the lawsuit filed by the US Federal Trade Commission to block the company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the 37-page document, which you can read in full below, Microsoft argues its case for why its $68.7 billion acquisition should go through — it also defends its acquisition of Bethesda owner ZeniMax, while admitting that it’s planning to make three future titles from the company exclusive to Xbox and PC.Those games aren’t named, though Microsoft has basically announced that The Elder Scrolls VI will only be available on its platforms, and confirmed Starfield will be exclusive.Microsoft’s filing pushes back against the FTC’s concerns in general, and also addresses the regulator’s... Continue reading…
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by Sean Hollister on (#674FH)
Image: Microsoft We knew Microsoft would make Bethesda’s Starfield exclusive to Xbox and PC, and it sure looked like The Elder Scrolls VI would skip PlayStation and Nintendo, too. But now, Microsoft’s lawyers are revealing that they’ve got eyes on at least one more exclusive title — there are three future Xbox exclusives from Bethesda, they revealed today, in a response to the FTC’s lawsuit against the Activision Blizzard deal.“Xbox anticipates that three future titles — REDACTED — all of which are designed to be played primarily alone or in small groups — will be exclusive to Xbox and PCs,” reads a passage in Microsoft’s response.Here’s the surrounding context, so you can see for yourself: What might that third game be? Well, B... Continue reading…
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by Mitchell Clark on (#673CJ)
Making it easier to quantify how much of a banger your tweet was. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter announced that view counts for tweets are now visible on iOS and Android and that they’ll be coming soon to the web (I’ve already started to see them there). The feature lets you see how many times someone has looked at your tweet, or anyone else’s, though there are a few exceptions that we’ll cover in just a moment.When you’re in the app, you now see view counters alongside the number of comments, retweets, and likes. According to a Twitter FAQ, not every tweet will have a visible view count. Community tweets, Twitter Circle tweets, and “older” tweets won’t have the data available.As for what counts as a view, it seems like basically any time your tweet shows up on someone’s screen (even if it's your own). Twitter says:
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by Umar Shakir on (#674A9)
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Are you annoyed by how quickly the macOS notification banners that appear in the upper-right corner of the screen disappear? Has it ever annoyed someone you know? Is that person so frustrated with macOS notifications and multitasking that they write an 826-word attack against the preferred platform of many of their Verge colleagues?Well, maybe I can help you make it a bit less annoying. All it takes is deciding which app notifications you’d like to keep on-screen, which you want to hide automatically, and which you’d prefer to only show up as a red badge on your dock.A note: for these directions, I used a Mac loaded with macOS Ventura. If you have macOS Monterey or older, your directions and screens may be slightly different.N... Continue reading…
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by Umar Shakir on (#67460)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Tesla’s Superchargers have been the most convenient charging network for owners of its electric cars, but this week, the automaker announced it will begin to better integrate other compatible fast charging networks as well.Non-Tesla fast charging stations that meet certain criteria over a 60-day period, like an excellent charge success rate, could be whitelisted as what the company calls a “Qualified Third-Party Charger.” Once designated by Tesla, the station would thereby be bestowed as such into Tesla’s built-in navigation system.
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by Sean Hollister on (#67462)
JSAUX’s Steam Deck transparent backplate. | Image: JSAUX JSAUX might sound like just another alphabet soup electronics brand, but it’s quickly developed a reputation as the foremost accessory vendor for the Steam Deck — and today, it’s announced what (I’m fairly sure!) is the very first transparent shell for the system.And you know how we love our transparent gadgets here at The Verge.The $30 JSAUX PC0106 Transparent Back Plate for Steam Deck isn’t a full shell, as it just covers (slash exposes) the rear half of the PC gaming portable. But that’s not all you get for your 30 bucks. It also comes with three sets of back buttons, at least one of which is taller than the originals for a longer throw. (It’s not clear whether they’ll help with the stiff press, but the image below gives me hope.)... Continue reading…
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by Alice Newcome-Beill on (#67463)
Image: Shutterstock Yesterday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Warehouse Worker Protection Act (WWPA), which protects warehouse distribution workers from undisclosed or unlawful work speed quotas. In addition to protecting warehouse workers from unreasonably demanding work quotas, the law will require distribution centers to inform workers of their performance and rights in the workplace.While the law doesn’t target Amazon specifically, its authors say it was designed to address the management practices and quotas that the e-commerce giant places on its employees, which has often been criticized for the dehumanizing expectations placed on its warehouse workers.The WWPA follows a similar law that was passed in California last September (AB-701)... Continue reading…
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by Justine Calma on (#6743T)
Miguel Salazar clears sidewalks of Sherman St. in Denver, Colorado, on Thursday, December 22nd, 2022. | Photo by Hyoung Chang / The Denver Post Frigid temperatures are expected to sting two-thirds of the continental US this week as a powerful storm system races eastward. The timing couldn’t be worse, hitting right before the holidays, when many Americans are planning to travel. Those journeys — and even just being outside in some of the hardest-hit regions — may become treacherous as brutal cold blankets the country.“What better way to kick off the official start of astronomical winter than with numerous winter weather hazards impacting a majority of the Nation,” a National Weather Service (NWS) forecast said early Wednesday. This morning, the NWS updated its forecast to warn of “widespread disruptive and potentially crippling impacts across the central and eastern United... Continue reading…
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by Adi Robertson on (#6743V)
Himesh Patel in Yesterday | Image: Tribeca Film Festival A trailer for Danny Boyle’s film Yesterday might count as false advertising for including a character — played by Ana de Armas — who was cut from the film. As reported by Variety yesterday, a California court is allowing parts of a lawsuit against Universal City Studios to proceed over Universal’s objections. The ruling finds trailers are commercial speech advertising the content of a film and not, as Universal argued, artistic expression that receives full First Amendment protections.Ana de Armas was originally part of a love triangle in Yesterday, a romantic comedy about a man who wakes up in a world where The Beatles never existed, then shoots to superstardom by appropriating their songs. According to CinemaBlend, she was cut because... Continue reading…
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by Andrew Webster on (#6743W)
Topher Grace and Laura Prepon in That ‘90s Show. | Image: Netflix When Netflix first unveiled its sequel to That ‘70s Show, the focus was primarily on the new cast of kids hanging out in Red and Kitty’s basement. But in the first full trailer for That ‘90s Show, we also get a glimpse at some key returning faces: Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon, and Wilmer Valderrama, who will all be reprising their roles in guest appearances.The new show is set in 1995 and follows Leia Forman (Callie Haverda), Eric and Donna’s kid, as she spends a summer with her grandparents and meets a new crew of friends along the way. Naturally, Kitty (Debra Jo Rupp) is excited to have the house full of kids again, while Red (Kurtwood Smith) is less than enthused. Just as important, there appears to be an... Continue reading…
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by Chris Welch on (#6743X)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The “pick me! pick me!” bidding war for NFL Sunday Ticket has finally come to an end, and YouTube won big. The company announced a “multi-year” deal that will see it carry Sunday Ticket both standalone (as a YouTube Primetime Channel) and through YouTube TV. It’s a massive score for YouTube, which successfully fended off Big Tech rivals like Apple to land the deal, and a pivotal moment as live sports continue their transition away from traditional cable — DirecTV is the soon-to-be-former Sunday Ticket rights holder — in favor of major streaming platforms.In one fell swoop, Google has solidified YouTube as a vital destination for NFL fans. And it has resoundingly committed to a long-term future for YouTube TV, which has over 5 million... Continue reading…
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by Tauriq Moosa on (#6741Z)
Kratos and Atreus in God of War Ragnarök | Image: Sony A spoiler-filled look at the ending of one of the year’s biggest games. Continue reading…
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by Sheena Vasani on (#67420)
You can gift the fitness enthusiast in your life a Peloton subscription even if they don’t own a Peloton. | Image: Peloton Waited until the very last minute to start your holiday shopping? Hey, we get it. Life gets busy sometimes, and judging by how long lines at stores tend to be on Christmas Eve, you’ve got company. If you don’t want to waste precious time in one of those lines, there are thankfully a bunch of digital gifts you can purchase instead. To make your life easier, we’ve rounded up a bunch of options across categories ranging from travel and health to film so you can quickly find the perfect gift without leaving the comfort and warmth of your home.Best last-minute digital giftsFor TV and movie buffs
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by Jay Peters on (#673WQ)
NFL Sunday Ticket subscribers will be watching their games in a new place. | Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images YouTube will be the new home of NFL Sunday Ticket, Google and the NFL announced, ending the months-long question of where the major broadcasting package would end up. NFL Sunday Ticket has been available in the US exclusively via DirecTV since 1994, but the satellite provider won’t have it starting with the 2023 NFL season.Now, it will be available either as an add-on for YouTube TV subscribers or à la carte via YouTube Primetime Channels, which launched last month to “bring shows and movies from more than 30 services directly into the YouTube interface.”No one has confirmed how much it will cost for viewers, but the Sunday Ticket package for this season costs $293.94 to purchase from DirecTV or nearly $400 if purchasing the Max... Continue reading…
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#673M1)
Prosecutors allege that the pair enabled up to 1,000 taxi trips to fraudulently bypass the computer-controlled JFK taxi dispatch system a day. | Image: Spencer Platt/Getty Images Two US citizens have been arrested and accused of conspiring with Russian nationals to hack the taxi dispatch system at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), charging cab drivers a $10 fee to access the front of the queue between September 2019 and September 2021.Daniel Abayev and Peter Leyman (both 48 and from Queens, New York) first successfully hacked the dispatch system in 2019 with the help of unnamed Russian nationals, according to a DOJ indictment filed in the Southern District of New York. Leyman and Abayev accessed the system to move specific taxis to the front of the line, says the DOJ, charging drivers a $10 fee for the privilege. Members of the hacking scheme also offered to waive the $10 fee in exchange for... Continue reading…
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by Richard Lawler on (#673AZ)
Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images Caroline Ellison and Zixiao “Gary” Wang, two executives in Sam Bankman-Fried’s fallen crypto empire, have pleaded guilty to federal charges and are cooperating with prosecutors. The news was announced late Wednesday by Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York.Williams didn’t specify the charges the two pled to but said the guilty pleas were related to their roles as insiders at FTX and its sister company Alameda Research. Wang was a co-founder of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange and owned 10 percent of Alameda Research. (Bankman-Fried owned the other 90 percent.) Ellison served as CEO of Bankman-Fried’s trading company Alameda Research.Ellison pleaded guilty to seven counts, according to The Washington... Continue reading…
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by Mary Beth Griggs on (#6736B)
The last image sent back from Mars by the InSight lander. | Image: NASA On Mars, another machine just bit the dust. The marsquake-detecting, photo-snapping InSight lander has now officially completed its mission and will now spend its retirement in the same place it spent its career — sitting on a flat plain on the Martian surface, as dust slowly accumulates on its solar panels and other instruments.We’ve known this was coming for a while. InSight’s solar panels, which generate electricity for the lander, have been getting covered with dust ever since they unfurled. The mission, officially known as the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight), was expected to run out of power this summer, but a spate of good weather bought it a few additional months of work on... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#6736C)
It will be a little clunky to activate at first, but a boost is a boost. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta is giving Quest 2 developers 7 percent more GPU compute power to work with, meaning apps and games on the headset you already own might look a little bit better sometime soon.For developers, the increased power should “improve your ability to leverage higher pixel density without substantially reducing the resolution in order to hit the target frame rate,” Meta wrote in a blog post. Phrased a different way, “this means your apps’ visuals will look even better—without sacrificing resolution quality,” Meta says.The change is possible thanks to the Quest using a new 525MHz GPU frequency, which is up from the previous 490MHz, and Meta’s “dynamic clocking system” will automatically up the frequency when it senses an app could use it.... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#67334)
Mobvoi is just the latest wearable company to start charging users for “premium” features. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge One thing that’s guaranteed to rile up consumers? Tacking on a monthly fee where there was once none. Mobvoi, which is known for making affordable Wear OS smartwatches, is the latest to join the subscription bandwagon. The company will start rolling out new sleep features to its TicWatch lineup this week, but if you want ‘em all, it’ll cost you $4.99 a month.In a tweet, Mobvoi announced the new features would include sleep aid songs, AI sleep insights like sleep cycle reminders, historical sleep data, and more sleep-related metrics like maximum and minimum heart rate and SpO2. Of these new features, in-depth data like SpO2, min / max heart rate, and sleep trends will be available to subscribers only. Members will also get 50 sleep aid... Continue reading…
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by Victoria Song on (#67335)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Netflix is taking a page from Peloton’s playbook. Starting December 30th, you’ll be able to stream classes from Nike Training Club on the platform. In total, Netflix subscribers will have access to 30 hours of content in multiple languages and exercises.For the uninitiated, Nike Training Club is a popular fitness app where users can take strength, yoga, and high-intensity interval training led by Nike trainers. It’s geared toward improving your strength, endurance, and mobility across all fitness levels. While some classes require equipment, many don’t. It’s very much in the vein of Apple Fitness Plus or Peloton, albeit without any Nike-branded hardware.According to Netflix, the episodes will be released in two batches. While the... Continue reading…
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by Jay Peters on (#67336)
The fine would be the FCC’s largest ever. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is proposing a $299,997,000 fine against a massive auto warranty scam robocall campaign, the agency announced on Wednesday. The fine, which would be the FCC’s largest ever, targets a huge operation; in just three months in 2021, it made more than 5 billion calls to more than a half-billion phone numbers using just over 1 million caller ID numbers. As the FCC put it, that’s “enough calls to have called each person in the United States 15 times during just those three months.”According to the FCC, the operation is run by Roy Cox Jr. and Michael Aaron Jones via “their Sumco Panama company, other domestic and foreign entities, and a host of international cohorts located in Panama and Hungary... Continue reading…
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by Alice Newcome-Beill on (#67337)
Samsung used nostalgia trip. It’s super effective. | Image: Samsung Samsung is launching a new line of Pokémon-themed accessories on December 26th for its Galaxy Buds, Z Flip 4, as well as the Galaxy Watch 4 & 5. The collection is mostly what you would expect, with a new strap for the Galaxy Watch and a themed case for the Z Flip 4, but the real star of the show, however, is the case for the Galaxy Buds, which just looks like a poké ball.This case was initially made available in limited quantities for South Korean markets and was priced around $105 USD. This new lineup, though, will be available globally and won’t cost nearly as much. Image: Samsung The poké ball case also comes with a small lanyard The case is perfectly round, save for a small flat edge on the bottom that... Continue reading…
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by Alice Newcome-Beill on (#66VF6)
You can still gift the Apple Watch Series 8 in time for Christmas. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The holiday shopping window is closing fast, but there’s still time to pick up a few things that will arrive in time for your favorite nondenominational gift exchange. Whether you’re looking for stocking stuffers or still have a few names on your list you need to cross off, we’ve rounded up our favorite fire-and-forget gift ideas for all the procrastinators out there.The collection we’ve put together here includes small-ish gifts that will travel well, like the Apple Watch Series 8, as well as presents that don’t even need to be gift-wrapped, such as a subscription to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. If you’re looking for more gift suggestions, our deals team has also put together a vast selection of thoughtful ideas for everyone on your... Continue reading…
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