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by Andrew Webster on (#6CH9C)
Image: Apple No, this isn't another Mario Bros. Movie situation - this time, Apple has put up the entire first episode of its post-apocalyptic drama Silo on Twitter so anyone can watch for free. The move comes the same week that the series is set to air its season 1 finale, and not long after season 2 was officially confirmed.You can watch it right here:
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The Verge
| Link | https://www.theverge.com/ |
| Feed | http://www.theverge.com/rss/index.xml |
| Updated | 2025-07-05 02:17 |
by Jay Peters on (#6CH9D)
Image: Google Google is refreshing the way the Android robot logo and wordmark look, as reported by 9to5Google - and you may have already spotted one of those updates.Perhaps the more obvious redesign is coming to the Android robot head, which is starting to appear in 3D in official Google marketing materials. Google used a bunch of versions of the 3D head in its Google I/O 2023 keynote, and the company appears willing to show them in different colors and textures instead of just the standard Android green. 9to5Google's article has a gallery of a few other examples, including the 3D Android robot heads at CES and in Google ads. Image: Google I kind of love the magenta robot. But it's not just the Android head that's... Continue reading...
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by Chris Welch on (#6CH7C)
Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge It was inevitable that despite their hefty $549 price, Apple's AirPods Max headphones would eventually start to miss out on the company's latest software enhancements. Headphones are basically computers now and have evolved into their own platform, so just like with any iPhone or Mac, Apple's ecosystem tricks and new features increasingly require more powerful silicon and revamped components.We started to see the swan song for the two-and-a-half-years-old AirPods Max earlier this month at WWDC when Apple announced several new features coming this fall that, in nearly all cases, will exclusively apply to the second-generation AirPods Pro - and no other models. The headlining feature is called Adaptive Audio," a new sound mode that... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CH7E)
Futurama will be back on July 24th. | Image: Hulu Sweet mama, it's Futurama! Hulu finally announced it: Futurama will return for its 11th season on July 24th, 2023, giving us the chance to check back in with Bender, Fry, Leela, and the rest of the Planet Express crew.Unfortunately, we aren't getting all of the 20 episodes promised when the season was announced in February last year. Hulu didn't say why that is, but we can speculate. The ongoing Writers Guild of America strike is a possibility, and we've asked Hulu about that; we'll update if we receive an answer.Anyway, here's a teaser:And now, a full trailer:The new Futurama series will be available for streaming every Monday over its 10-episode run, and Hulu says it'll hit series tropes like Fry and Leela's romance, Nibbler's... Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6CH7F)
Image: BioWare The Star Wars MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic is changing development studios. In a developer blog on the BioWare website, BioWare general manager Greg McKay wrote that while EA will remain the game's publisher, active development will move from BioWare to Broadsword - the studio known for its work on Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot.Players will continue to enjoy the SWTOR they know and love," McKay wrote. There are also exciting new features planned that the team is not quite ready to talk about yet, but suffice it to say that players can expect improvements and new content into the future."SWTOR's studio move was long rumored. Earlier this month, IGN reported that EA and Broadsword signed a letter of intent indicating that S... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CH5B)
You can now preorder the Nanoleaf 4D Screen Mirror & Lightstrip Kit for TVs that the company showcased at CES 2023. | Image: Nanoleaf Nanoleaf has unveiled a batch of new, addressable smart lighting and gaming products designed to jazz up your home entertainment experience, including an integration with Overwolf gaming software, the 4D Screen Mirror & Lightstrip Kit, and an expansion to the Ultra Black line of lighting panels. Nanoleaf Shapes Ultra Black Hexagons were announced during the company's annual Nanoleaf Live event on Tuesday and are available to preorder today from the Nanoleaf webstore.A nine-piece Smarter Kit is priced at $219.99, while a three-pack expansion is available for $69.99. As the name suggests, these are effectively an all-black version of the company's iconic interconnecting hexagonal LED panels (albeit slightly dimmer if previous Ultra Black... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6CH5C)
SAE support forTesla's charger could mean stations like this will only need one kind of plug soon. | Photo by Umar Shakir / The Verge The standards organization known as SAE International is announcing support for Tesla's EV North American Charging Standard" or NACS port. SAE's adoption will make it easier for electric vehicle charging station manufacturers and operators to implement the port while also making charging for EV owners more consistent and reliable. Tesla's formerly proprietary charging port was opened up last year in a bid to become the de facto EV standard in the US.The US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation has worked with Tesla and the SAE in an effort to expedite the Tesla plug as a standard to improve the country's charging infrastructure.
by Ash Parrish on (#6CH5D)
Image: Nintendo Do you have 100 friends? If not, time to find some to play Everybody 1-2-Switch!Way back in 2017, the Nintendo Switch launched with 1-2-Switch, a party game that showed off the capabilities of the then-new Joy-Cons. Despite selling a million copies in its first month, 1-2-Switch was largely forgotten mostly because the Switch also launched with a little game you might have heard of called The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.Now, 1-2-Switch is back with a sequel, Everybody 1-2-Switch, that may actually have a little bit more staying power than its predecessor (despite once again launching within the same window as yet another Zelda game, lol).Everybody 1-2-Switch features more super simple mini-games that might remind people of... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6CH5E)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Paramount Plus is raising the price of its ad-supported plan today. Instead of $4.99 per month, the service's essential plan will now cost $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year.The price increase comes as Paramount Plus simplifies its subscription options with its new Paramount Plus with Showtime tier. Before this change, Paramount Plus had two separate ad-free premium plans: one without Showtime for $9.99 per month and another with Showtime for $11.99 per month. The new Paramount Plus with Showtime tier replaces the $9.99 per month plan, leaving the service with just two subscription options.Unlike Paramount Plus with Showtime, the service's ad-supported essential plan comes only with access to content from Paramount Plus, including... Continue reading...
by Andrew Webster on (#6CH2Q)
Image: Universal The video game adaptations just won't stop, and now they're getting pretty spooky. Case in point: we just got a new trailer for Universal's Five Nights at Freddy's movie. Just like the games, the movie is an animatronic nightmare about possessed mascots at a pizza place. The movie version stars The Hunger Games' Josh Hutcherson as a security guard struggling to deal with this reality. (If the premise sounds familiar, it might be because of the conceptually similar Nicolas Cage film Willy's Wonderland from 2021.)It's directed by Emma Tammi, with Blumhouse - the horror imprint behind recent releases like The Black Phone and M3gan - producing. Five Nights at Freddy's joins a frankly ridiculous number of video game adaptations in the works... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CH2R)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Apple has become the latest operator of an encrypted messaging service to raise concerns about the UK's Online Safety Bill, BBC News reports. End-to-end encryption is a critical capability that protects the privacy of journalists, human rights activists, and diplomats. It also helps everyday citizens defend themselves from surveillance, identity theft, fraud, and data breaches," a statement reads. The Online Safety Bill poses a serious threat to this protection, and could put UK citizens at greater risk."With its statement, Apple joins the likes of WhatsApp and Signal in opposing a provision that would allow communications regulator Ofcom to call on tech companies to use accredited technology" to identify child sexual abuse content... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6CH2S)
The Go 3's Action Pod" allows for a remote live view while detached or longer battery life while magnetically docked. The Go 3 is Insta360's latest pill-shaped action camera, and it's got a neat trick - the camera's detachable case now includes a flip-up screen for a live view of what you're recording.Instead of relying on a smartphone to see what you record (or estimate your composition), the Go 3's case gives a real-time live view whether the camera is inserted or remote. Like the previous Go 2, the case also charges the camera, extending its battery life from 45 minutes on a single charge to 170 minutes. Though, the capabilities of the Go 3's case and other refinements also mean it costs more than its previous model, with the base 32GB configuration available now for $379.99 (the Go 2 cost $299.99 at launch).An $80 price increase over its... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6CH2T)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta is launching a suite of new parental controls for both Instagram and Messenger, the company announced on Tuesday. The new tools give parents the ability to see how much time their child is spending on Messenger, as well as gain more insight into how well their teen really knows the people they're following on Instagram (and who follows them).The company says parents and guardians can now check into their child's Messenger contacts list, along with their privacy and safety settings from the Meta Family Center. Parents will also get notified if their child reports someone on the app - so long as their teen enabled that setting, in addition to seeing who can and can't message them. Image: Meta On Instagram,... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CH2V)
Formula E has signed a streaming deal with Netflix. | Image: ABB FIA Formula E World Championship Streamers are gobbling up major sports deals - YouTube has NFL Sunday Ticket, and Apple has Major League Soccer - so why not Roku? In its first live sports streaming rights get, Roku's signed up to broadcast 11 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship races in the 2024 season. At the same time, five races that will air live on CBS Television Network will be simulcast on Paramount Plus, which can be accessed in the Roku Sports Experience, starting in January.Formula E's current season has about a month left to go. A race this past weekend garnered our attention when the DS Penske team was caught installing an RFID scanner that could collect live data" from all other cars before the day's race began, a move the FIA Stewards said was... Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#6CH0W)
The new see-through Beats Studio buds along with other transparent tech. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Gadget, gaming, and smartphone manufacturers are trading in tired matte and dull metallic designs for transparent exteriors. Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6CH0X)
Henry Cavill in season 3 of The Witcher. | Image: Netflix A trend seems to be brewing over at Netflix. After popularizing the binge-watch concept by releasing all episodes of a show at once, lately, the company has been experimenting with different ways of dropping series. The League of Legends spinoff Arcane, for instance, was turned into a three-week-long event, while Stranger Things 4 was split into two when it debuted last May.Now we have The Witcher season 3: volume one will premiere this week, on June 29th, while the second will hit in July.According to executive producer Steve Gaub, the decision was made in part due to Stranger Things - but it also wasn't the plan from the beginning. Instead, during production, the team realized that The Witcher's third season had a very natural... Continue reading...
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by Nilay Patel on (#6CGY5)
Roblox, the virtual world and game platform, has 66 million daily users who spent 14 billion collective hours on it in just Q1 of 2023. If you have kids, you've probably heard of Roblox. If you haven't heard of it, Roblox CEO David Baszucki wants to change that.One idea? Aging up the kinds of experiences that are allowed on its platform. Roblox recently introduced 17-plus experiences. It wants to add new AI world-building capabilities. It's even partnering with advertisers to roll out more immersive ad experiences.It's been years since the number of adults gaming outnumbered kids - it seems like that's driving a lot of growth for everyone, including Roblox. But these virtual world games seem like they all want to expand to be much... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6CGY6)
Lordstown Motors' Endurance EV pickup. | Image: Lordstown Motors The electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors is filing for bankruptcy and suing Foxconn, one of Apple's top iPhone manufacturers, after a deal between the two companies fell through. In a press release posted on Monday, Lordstown Motors claims Foxconn's fraud and willful and consistent failure to live up to its commercial and financial commitments" led to material damage" to the EV company.Lordstown blames Foxconn for the bankruptcy filing, alleging that the Apple supplier had no intention of living up to its commitments." It also claims Foxconn used its agreements with the company to maliciously and in bad faith destroy Lordstown's business - while leveraging resources gained through the partnership to advance its own business... Continue reading...
by Mia Sato on (#6CGWB)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok is introducing a new way for creators to earn money - or at least take a chance at it.The new monetization feature is similar to creator funds, except they're set up by advertisers: A pool of money is set aside and creators are able to submit content for a chance at being selected by a brand. Creators then earn money from the pool based on metrics like views, clicks, and conversions. The program, called Creative Challenge, is open to users 18 years old and up who have at least 50,000 followers.Videos submitted to the program must be high-quality, well-edited, original content," according to TikTok, meaning spammy low-effort content likely wouldn't cut it. It also means that creators making ads for Creative Challenge are doing... Continue reading...
by Victoria Song on (#6CGWA)
You can also opt to just buy the Core for $245. The smart dock uses your iPhone's cameras to give real-time feedback and workout adjustments. It can also render a 3D full-body composition scan. | Image: Tempo Fitness tech may have figured out cardio, but strength training is still an area where at-home fitness struggles. The Peloton Guide hasn't taken off, Lululemon is floundering a bit with the Mirror, Tonal had a bunch of layoffs, and it's generally easier for city dwellers to go to the gym than store a whole dumbbell rack in their living room. But Tempo is back with a big update to its at-home strength training system, adding full body scans and AI-powered classes that adapt to your performance in real time while providing form feedback.Finally, for the first time, we're able to connect your body and workout to an AI and have them actually talk to each other to optimize your workout in real time," co-founder and CEO Moawia Eldeeb told T... Continue reading...
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by Monica Chin on (#6CGW9)
Apple's latest Mac Pro targets professionals with highly demanding computing workloads. But we talked to those professionals, and they don't want it - because Apple's other computers are just too good. Continue reading...
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by Kevin Williams on (#6CGS7)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Ford advertised a $40,000 electric truck, but recent price jumps have forced some customers to cancel their orders. Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6CGS8)
Image: Microsoft Microsoft has been increasingly moving Windows to the cloud on the commercial side with Windows 365, but the software giant also wants to do the same for consumers. In an internal state of the business" Microsoft presentation from June 2022, Microsoft discuses building on Windows 365 to enable a full Windows operating system streamed from the cloud to any device."The presentation has been revealed as part of the ongoing FTC v. Microsoft hearing, as it includes Microsoft's overall gaming strategy and how that relates to other parts of the company's businesses. Moving Windows 11 increasingly to the cloud" is identified as a long-term opportunity in Microsoft's Modern Life" consumer space, including using the power of the cloud and... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CGS9)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok is killing off its BeReal clone TikTok Now, according to notifications being sent to users. Multiple Twitter users have posted screenshots of the message in different languages, which says that ByteDance is updating the TikTok experience and [is] discontinuing TikTok Now." News of its discontinuation comes a little over nine months after TikTok Now was officially announced, although it's unclear exactly when the feature will disappear for good.TikTok Now was launched in September with the stated aim of fostering authentic and spontaneous connections on TikTok." But it was hard to ignore the fact that its format (asking users to capture a moment once a day using the front and back cameras of their phone) was all but identical to... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CGSA)
The layoffs are connected to Ford's growth plan announced back in 2021. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A new wave of layoffs primarily targeting Ford Motor employees in engineering roles in the US and Canada are expected to take place this week as part of the company's latest cost-cutting efforts. Leaders of the teams impacted by the job cuts received confirmation on Monday, according to CNBC News, while employees are expected to be notified over the next few days.Ford declined The Verge's request to clarify how many employees would be affected by the layoffs. Roles are expected to be cut across all three of Ford's business units - Ford Blue (the company's arm for vehicles with traditional combustion engines), Ford Pro (its commercial vehicle services and distribution business), and Model e (focusing on electric vehicles).People... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CGD3)
Leaked renders of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Galaxy Z Fold 5. | Image: SnoopyTech With about a month to go until the next Samsung Galaxy Unpacked event, we may have a pretty comprehensive idea about what to expect from the next version of the Galaxy Z Flip 5 and the Galaxy Z Fold 5. Several leaks over the last few days have revealed a lot about what the phones may look like - and what's under their respective hoods - ahead of their official unveiling.A Twitter leak early this week from Revegnus showed a photo of a folded phone that looks to be to be the Galaxy Z Flip 5 in a blocky, black case (via 9to5Google). The case hides a lot of the design, but what you can see backs up previous alleged renders. For instance, the screen on the back may be the same 3.4-inch 720 x 748 cover screen that's been predicted. You can... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6CGC5)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft has been sacrificing growing its Xbox Series X / S sales numbers since launch as a tradeoff for investment in cloud and gaming content. In an internal email exchange between Xbox chief Phil Spencer and Xbox CFO Tim Stuart in December 2020, the pair discussed the reasons behind lower Xbox console volumes. The email has been revealed as part of the FTC v. Microsoft hearing.Spencer admits that Microsoft had a yield miss for Scarlett," the codename for Xbox Series X / S consoles, but that it and the delay to Halo Infinite weren't the main factors in our console scarcity" during the initial launch period. Microsoft had cut the compute units on its Xbox Series X silicon down to 52 from 56 to improve production yield, but the... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6CGB0)
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft's Xbox Game Studios chief, Matt Booty, was encouraging Xbox CFO Tim Stuart to spend big money on acquiring game content in 2019 to set the company up to battle Sony in subscriptions. The revelation comes in an email thread that's part of the FTC v. Microsoft hearing.We (Microsoft) are in a very unique position to be able to go spend Sony out of business," said Booty in a December 2019 email, referencing spending $2 billion or $3 billion in 2020 to avoid competitors getting ahead in content at a later date.It is practically impossible for anyone to start a new video streaming service at scale at this point," said Booty, referencing competitors like Google, Amazon, and Sony. Booty described content as a moat and that only... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6CG8Z)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft was looking at acquiring both Bungie and Sega, according to internal documents from the FTC v. Microsoft hearing. In an email seen by The Verge, Xbox chief Phil Spencer wrote to both Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Microsoft CFO Amy Hood, requesting a strategy approval to approach Sega Sammy over a potential acquisition of its Sega gaming studios.We believe that Sega has built a well-balanced portfolio of games across segments with global geographic appeal, and will help us accelerate Xbox Game Pass both on and off-console," said Spencer in the November 2020 email. Image: Microsoft Phil Spencer's email to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and CFO Amy Hood. Microsoft believed a Sega acquisition would drive... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CG90)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Moderators of some of Reddit's most popular communities have posted open letters to the company with a series of requests regarding many key issues at the heart of the recent protests on the platform. The requests include a way for third-party apps to make an affordable return," improvements to moderation tools and accessibility options that match or exceed" what's available with third-party apps, and filling a senior-level role of Moderator Advocate" at the company.More than 8,000 subreddits went dark earlier this month in protest of the company's planned API pricing changes that will force apps like Apollo and rif is fun for Reddit to shut down on June 30th. Some subreddits continued to stay dark after the original 48-hour plan,... Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6CG91)
Image: The Verge On AlaskaCommons.com, the writer Chelsea Waller" says she is a dedicated journalist with a passion for uncovering the truth." One of her stories reads, As an AI language model, I cannot predict whether or not John Wick 4 is going to be a finale of a saga that will be remembered for years to come."The website is just one of the news sites flagged by NewsGuard filled with low-quality, spammy content generated using artificial intelligence tools, where ads for major brands are now appearing, according to a report by NewsGuard. The study was first reported by MIT Technology Review and includes brands like Citigroup and Subaru. Google says it has removed ads from many" of the sites listed in the report, though ads remain on others.More... Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6CBD6)
Image: Square Enix Stay up to date with Square Enix's grittier take on the classic RPG. Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6CG79)
Image: Square Enix With Final Fantasy XVI's new, action-focused combat scheme comes a new suite of tools that assist with making that combat easier. These tools were billed as the game's accessibility features but weren't tied to a menu setting; rather, they were special rings you could equip that were already in your inventory at the game's start. When equipped, each of the five rings assisted with one facet of the game's combat.I loved this approach to Final Fantasy's combat. Though the series hasn't featured turn-based combat since Final Fantasy X, a lot of players - myself included - have been slow to adjust to the series' action-RPG pivot. These rings, then, feel like not only an assistive tool to help players with different levels of abilities but... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6CG7A)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Gamers didn't want to download Ubisoft's terrible PC game launcher, so the company overhauled it to see if it can change their minds.Ubisoft is releasing an update to its PC game launcher that has a fresh interface and is loaded with more features. Currently in beta, the updated Ubisoft Connect client for PC adds enhancements to game library navigation that includes larger and wider icons, along with extra information that can tell you at a glance if the game is downloaded or installed.The Ubisoft Connect update comes after the company streamed its summer showcase earlier this month, which included the upcoming Assassin's Creed Mirage. Connect, like a few first-party publisher-owned launchers, is disliked for its terrible performance,... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CG7B)
Image: Virgin Galactic Virgin Galactic has revealed the crew members who will be aboard the upcoming Galactic 01" mission on June 29th, the company's first fully commercial crewed spaceflight. Announced on Monday, Colin Bennett, Virgin Galactic's lead astronaut instructor, will be joined by Walter Villadei and Angelo Landolfi - two senior members of the Italian airforce - and Pantaleone Carlucci, a pilot and technical engineer from the National Research Council of Italy.If the mission is successful, Virgin Galactic could soon start competing with rival companies offering commercial passenger flights into space, such as SpaceX and the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin. Image: Virgin Galactic Crew members from the Italian Air Force and the... Continue reading...
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by Makena Kelly on (#6CG57)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Monday, the House set up new rules around how congressional offices can use ChatGPT and declared that any non-ChatGPT chatbots are not yet authorized, according to a new report from Axios.In a Monday memo, House Chief Administrative Chief Catherine L. Szpindor said that lawmakers and staff were now limited to using ChatGPT Plus, the paid version of the chatbot, due to its enhanced privacy features. Offices can only use the product for research and evaluation" with privacy settings enabled and are forbidden from pasting any blocks of text that have not already been made public" into the service.A number of private companies, including Samsung and Apple, have restricted or banned employees from using generative AI tools like... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CG58)
Image: The University of Texas at Austin John B. Goodenough, a professor who played a critical role in the development of the lithium-ion batteries that are now ubiquitous in the devices we rely on every day, died on Sunday, The University of Texas at Austin announced. He was 100 years old.Goodenough's key battery breakthrough happened more than 40 years ago. He and his research team found that by using lithium cobalt oxide as the cathode of a lithium-ion rechargeable battery, it would be possible to achieve a high density of stored energy with an anode other than metallic lithium," according to the university's blog post.But even though lithium-ion batteries are everywhere - you can find them in things like smartphones, tablets, laptops, video game consoles, and even... Continue reading...
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by Dan Seifert on (#6CG2X)
The Pixel Fold can split-screen between two apps, but that's where its multitasking abilities end. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Google's Pixel Fold is the first real competition for Samsung in the US folding phone market. But it doesn't make up for Samsung's multiyear head start. Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6CG2Z)
Air condition units at an apartment complex during a heatwave in Austin, Texas, US, on Tuesday, July 19th, 2022. | Photo by Sergio Flores / Bloomberg via Getty Images Two-thirds of North America could face electricity shortages when temperatures spike this summer. The warning came from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) today, which cited an analysis by the nonprofit North American Electric Reliability Corporation.Most of the Central and Western US, New England, and Ontario, Canada, are at elevated risk, according to the analysis. Energy shortages are a problem when hotter-than-normal summer temperatures cause electricity demand to skyrocket. People crank up their air conditioning, putting greater pressure on the grid. At the same time, extreme heat can make power plants, as well as solar and wind farms, less efficient when it comes to generating electricity. That mismatch in supply and... Continue reading...
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by Allison Johnson on (#6CG30)
The Pixel Fold is a powerful device with an entertainment-friendly inner screen, but it feels like it's at least one generation away from greatness. Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6CG32)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Netflix has stopped offering its cheapest ad-free tier in Canada, as reported earlier by TechCrunch. In a statement to The Verge, Netflix spokesperson Kumiko Hidaka confirmed Netflix will no longer offer the $9.99 CAD per month basic plan to new members but says existing subscribers aren't affected.The removal of Netflix's basic plan means users in Canada now only have three plans to choose from: the $5.99 CAD / month standard with ads plan, the $16.49 CAD / month standard ad-free plan, and the $20.99 CAD / month premium ad-free tier. At $9.99 CAD per month, the ad-free basic plan helped bridge that gap between Netflix's ad-supported and more expensive tiers, even if it only let users watch in HD and on one device at a time. ... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CG0P)
Come on Barbie, let's go party. | Image: Microsoft I guess Xbox is everything and PlayStation is Ken - leaks about the Barbie movie car coming to Microsoft's wildly fun Forza Horizon 5 have come true. Starting today, Forza players can go download Barbie's 1956 Chevrolet Corvette EV convertible and Ken's ridiculous 2022 GMC Hummer EV pickup.Microsoft is giving some actual physical Barbie crossover stuff away, too, so look for five colorful Xbox Wireless Controller faceplates modeled after Barbie and Ken's on-screen outfits, and the company made a very pink Xbox Series S that lives in the basement (just like mine!) of its own Barbie Dreamhouse. They'll be given away starting July 10th on the Xbox Twitter account and on Microsoft Rewards.Also, there will be 10 Xbox-themed Barbie dolls -... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6CG0Q)
Image: Directors Guild of America The Directors Guild of America has voted to ratify a new labor contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.On Friday evening, as the seventh week of the Writers Guild of America's ongoing strike was drawing to a close, members of the Directors Guild of America overwhelmingly" ratified a new labor agreement with the AMPTP that guarantees pay increases and larger residual payouts and includes some language about protections against artificial intelligence tools.According to the DGA, out of the organization's 16,321 members who were eligible to vote on the new deal, only 6,728 individuals (41 percent) participated, but the vast majority - 87 percent - of those people voted in favor of the contract. Along with a... Continue reading...
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by James Vincent on (#6CFYQ)
Image: The Verge In recent months, the signs and portents have been accumulating with increasing speed. Google is trying to kill the 10 blue links. Twitter is being abandoned to bots and blue ticks. There's the junkification of Amazon and the enshittification of TikTok. Layoffs are gutting online media. A job posting looking for an AI editor" expects output of 200 to 250 articles per week." ChatGPT is being used to generate whole spam sites. Etsy is flooded with AI-generated junk." Chatbots cite one another in a misinformation ouroboros. LinkedIn is using AI to stimulate tired users. Snapchat and Instagram hope bots will talk to you when your friends don't. Redditors are staging blackouts. Stack Overflow mods are on strike. The Internet Archive is... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CFYR)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg just announced Quest Plus, the company's new virtual reality subscription" that gives users access to the best titles on the platform," he said. With a combination of VR's biggest hits, hidden gems, and back-catalog classics, this is the most affordable way to grow your library with killer content," Meta wrote in a blog post about the subscription.A video from Meta notes that Quest Plus subscribers will get two titles every month," which should feel like a familiar perk if you pay for services like PlayStation Plus that also give free titles to subscribers. According to the blog post, July's titles are Pistol Whip and Pixel Ripped 1995, and in August, you'll be able to claim Walkabout Mini Golf and M... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6CFYS)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon has started recruiting small businesses across the US to deliver packages and build out its network. Axios reports Amazon is interested in connecting with a range of small businesses, including small grocery stores, coffee shops, florists, clothing stores, and more. This means your local barista could finish a pour-over and then jump in a car to take an Amazon package to your neighbor.Last year, Vox reported that Amazon was secretly recruiting mom-and-pop shops in Alabama, Mississippi, and Nebraska to join a pilot delivery program. At the time, businesses like florists and restaurants were asked to handle Amazon's delivery loads within a 10-mile radius for a per-package rate. Participating businesses will need to be available for... Continue reading...
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by Dane McMillan on (#6CFYT)
Results show that Americans are cautiously optimistic, yet artificial intelligence is dominating our conversations Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6CFYV)
32 keys is a lot of customized functions. | Image: Elgato Elgato's Stream Deck holds a tiny place in the hearts of many here at The Verge. We just love buttons, and we love tinkering, so its programmable LCD buttons are kind of a perfect fit. And today, you can get the Elgato Stream Deck XL, which has 32 of those excellent macro buttons, for $199.99 ($50 off) at Amazon or for $3 more at Best Buy.A Stream Deck is a perfect companion for anyone doing extensive Twitch streaming on a Windows PC or Mac, but it's also versatile enough to control just about anything on your computer - even smart home stuff. While most people may feel fine opting for the six or 15-key Stream Decks, the XL can help you go full Sicko Mode. Think of all the things you can control and program with 32 buttons - that gives... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CFYW)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Playables" is a new feature in development for YouTube that could add interactive games to the video platform, The Wall Street Journal reports. The feature was apparently detailed in an email Google sent to its employees asking them to test it. Games could either be playable via the YouTube app on iOS and Android or through the browser on desktop.The WSJ's report only contains details on one game the service could include, Stack Bounce, which it describes as an arcade game in which players attempt to smash layers of bricks with a bouncing ball." It sounds a little bit like Atari classic Breakout to me, but it's hard to tell without seeing screenshots.In a statement, a YouTube spokesperson declined to confirm the existence of the... Continue reading...
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by Jacob Kastrenakes on (#6CFWD)
Who's using AI?AI is suddenly everywhere. Image generators and large language models are at the core of new startups, powering features inside our favorite apps, and - perhaps more importantly - driving conversation not just in the tech world but also society at large. Concerns abound about cheating in schools with ChatGPT, being fooled by AI-generated pictures, and artists being ripped off or even outright replaced.But despite widespread news coverage, use of these new tools is still fairly limited, at least when it comes to dedicated AI products. And experience with these tools skews decidedly toward younger users.Most people have heard of ChatGPT. Bing and Bard? Not quite.Only 1 in 3 people have tried one of these AI-powered... Continue reading...
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