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by Ash Parrish on (#6CBGZ)
Image: Square Enix The game is hindered by its reliance on tropes inspired by Game of Thrones, but its combat and character performances more than make up for a ho-hum story. Continue reading...
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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 |
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CBES)
DPReview has found a new home under Gear Patrol, sparing it from being shut down by Amazon's cost-cutting measures. | Image: DPReview / Gear Patrol DPReview has been acquired by Gear Patrol - a publisher focused on varied product reviews and buying guides. Scott Everett, general manager for DPReview, announced the acquisition on Tuesday, saving the beloved camera reviews website from closure almost three months after the site announced it was being shut down by its former parent company, Amazon. The price of the acquisition was not disclosed.Gear Patrol is a natural home for the next phase of DPReview's journey, and I'm excited to see what we can accomplish together," said Everett. Thank you for your continued support of our team and legacy. We appreciate it and can't thank you all enough."DPReview will continue to operate as it did before the acquisitionEverett says in his... Continue reading...
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by Casey Newton on (#6CBET)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge This is Platformer, a newsletter on the intersection of Silicon Valley and democracy from Casey Newton and Zoe Schiffer. Sign up here.After a bruising week of protests and locked-down forums, things started to get back to normal Tuesday on Reddit, as - oh wait, what's this?
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by David Pierce on (#6CBEV)
With Dash, you can search all your files everywhere, all at once. | Image: Dropbox Dropbox is launching two different but related AI-powered services into its platform. The first is simple and obvious: a tool for summarizing and querying documents. This is neat and useful and the sort of feature you'll see in most tools in this category over time.The other thing Dropbox is launching is much more ambitious and interesting. It's a universal search engine that can access your files in Dropbox but also across the entire web. It's called Dash and comes from Dropbox's 2021 acquisition of a company called Command E. The idea behind Dash, Dropbox CEO Drew Houston tells me, is that your stuff isn't all files and folders anymore, and so Dropbox can't be, either. What used to be 100 files or icons on your desktop," he says, is... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6CBEY)
The Lunar System's main home battery unit contains cells and an inverter, with add-on battery modules stacked underneath. | Image: Lunar Energy Lunar System - from Tesla's former head of energy - is a solar energy backup system with modular battery units that can power your whole home. It might even make you some money... eventually. Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6CBEX)
Image: Nintendo It'll be 40 minutes of announcements - almost definitely including some surprises. Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CBEZ)
Otter Chat AI can generate copy based on what has been discussed, such as drafting an email with action points from the meeting. | Image: Otter.ai Automated transcription service Otter.ai is launching a new chatbot feature that can attend" online meetings to help users summarize information and recall details they may have missed, like dates or figures. Otter Chat - described by the company as an AI meeting genius/participant" - can answer questions and generate content like to-do lists based on what's being discussed in a call. The feature is rolling out worldwide to all Otter users today, June 21st.Otter Chat can be used on recorded conversations that have already been transcribed and during live meetings on Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams that the platform is actively transcribing. The feature will be available to all Otter users at no additional cost, though free... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6CBD7)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Nintendo is holding its second Direct showcase event of the year, and it sounds like it'll be a big one. Back in February, the company showed off Tears of the Kingdom, released a remastered Metroid Prime, added Game Boy games to Switch Online, and gave us a release date for Pikmin 4. This time around, the focus will be on Switch games coming out through the rest of 2023.That includes the next Pikmin, which launches in July, but it's also likely we'll see what big game or games Nintendo has in store for the always-important holiday season. Right now, the only major release on the calendar is the first expansion for Pokemon Violet and Scarlet, which is due out in the fall. The Nintendo Direct showcase is expected to last around 40... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6CBBF)
Image: Google I woke up at 7AM yesterday and discovered that two of my Nest cameras were showing as offline. After hours of troubleshooting and hard resetting the cameras to get them working again, I realized the problem was a peculiar issue on Google's end. Hundreds of Nest Cam owners have reported their cameras showing as offline over the past week or so, but Google hasn't notified owners or even posted the issue on its Nest service status page.Reddit users in the UK started reporting Nest Cam outages yesterday with similar reports on Google's own support forums. Twitter is littered with complaints about offline Nest Cams. 9to5Google even reported on the issues earlier this month, but over the past day the problem has affected a lot more Nest Cam... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CB8D)
Spotify's new desktop interface. | Image: Spotify Spotify has officially announced a redesign for its desktop app that aims to offer easier access to details on the song or podcast you're currently listening to, and give you new ways to organize your playlists and other content. According to a blog post published yesterday the changes - which Spotify calls one of its biggest revamps yet" - are rolling out to all Desktop users worldwide" from this week.The biggest change you're likely to notice after the update is the Your Library sidebar on the left of the screen. Rather than showing a simple text list of playlists, the interface now includes colorful icons. It also shows recently played artists and albums to quickly jump back into, alongside playlists. You can minimize the sidebar... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6CB5G)
Amazon's Prime Day will take place in mid-July. Other retailers will likely also hold competing events around that time. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It's that time of year again. Amazon once again announced its annual sales event for Prime members. Amazon Prime Day officially kicks off at 3AM ET / 12AM PT on Tuesday, July 11th, and runs through Wednesday, July 12th.If you can't wait until the Black Friday / Cyber Monday holiday shopping season, Prime Day offers some of the best deals you can get on a range of goods. That's assuming, of course, Amazon won't surprise us again with another Prime Early Access Sale" (aka Prime Day 2.0) as it did in early fall last year.We don't yet know everything that is going to be on sale, but one thing is almost certain based on past trends: the best discounts will likely land on Amazon devices. Historically, we've seen everything from Amazon's... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CB3E)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Discord plans to give creators a new way to make money from their communities by selling digital products via one-time purchases. These new Downloadables" can be things like a recipe ebook, a gaming guide, or a digital wallpaper, and the company plans to begin experimenting with them over the coming months," Discord's Derek Yang wrote in a Tuesday blog post. Downloadables will be available to purchase from a Server Shop, which is also in testing.The new Downloadables and Server Shop add to Discord's server subscriptions as ways for creators to monetize their servers. Server subscriptions are getting an improvement, too: the company is adding tier templates to make it easier to decide what subscriptions to offer to your community.... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CB1D)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Update June 20th, 10:31PM ET: Since we published this story, the mods of r/mildlyinteresting report their accounts have been reinstated. We've updated the story below to reflect the change.Reddit has started removing moderator teams managing subreddits that switched the labeling on their communities to Not Safe For Work (NSFW) in the latest protests against the site.With subreddits tagged NSFW, in addition to applying an age gate for desktop viewers and restricting access on mobile devices to logged-in users in the Reddit app, Reddit also doesn't show ads. This cuts into its ability to monetize them, which is a major part of Reddit's disputed push to charge apps for using the API. On Thursday, r/MildlyInteresting was one that had gone... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CB0F)
Apple IDs now support passkeys, but only in betas for iOS 17, iPadOS 17, and macOS Sonoma. | Illustration: The Verge It appears that passkeys are now supported for Apple IDs, but only if you have the first beta for iOS 17 (or iPadOS 17 or macOS Sonoma). Beta users of Apple's operating systems then have the ability to sign in anywhere that supports signing in with your Apple ID - covering not only Apple.com and icloud.com, but also anywhere else your Apple account is linked to - sans passwords, using just the biometrics on their iPhone or MacBook and a dream.It works anywhere that supports signing in with your Apple ID. For example, if I want to sign in to Reddit and look at my favorite John Oliver-themed subreddits, I can tap the Continue with Apple" button on the sign-in screen, and I'll be given the option to sign in by scanning a QR code with my... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CAZE)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Twitch is replacing its Mature Content toggle for livestreams with new Content Classification Labels," according to a blog post published Tuesday. The new labels are more descriptive, meaning streamers can be more specific about what viewers might see.Twitch says streamers can now mark if their stream features:
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by Umar Shakir on (#6CAWH)
Normal Autopilot and Full Self-Driving beta settings menu (FSD version 10.8). | Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge Tesla CEO Elon Musk might have his very own supersecret driver mode that enables hands-free driving in Tesla vehicles.The hidden feature, aptly named Elon Mode," was discovered by a Tesla software hacker known online as @greentheonly. The anonymous hacker has dug deep into the vehicle code for years and uncovered things like how Tesla can lock you out of using your power seats or the center camera in the Model 3 before it was officially activated.
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by Tom Warren on (#6CAWJ)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is sending CEO Satya Nadella, Xbox chief Phil Spencer, and many other Xbox executives to defend against its Federal Trade Commission (FTC) case for its proposed Activision Blizzard acquisition.Both Nadella and Activision CEO Bobby Kotick will appear in court this week to defend against a potential preliminary injunction against Microsoft's giant $68.7 billion deal to acquire Activision Blizzard. If the FTC is successful in winning an injunction, then Microsoft has admitted in court filings that the deal could well be over.The list of Microsoft and Xbox executives also includes Sarah Bond, head of Xbox creator experience; Microsoft CFO Amy Hood; Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios; and Microsoft Gaming CFO Tim Stuart. Lori... Continue reading...
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by Justine Calma on (#6CAWK)
Photo by Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images Gas stoves release worrying amounts of benzene, a chemical linked to leukemia and other blood cell cancers, according to a new study from Stanford researchers. Benzene that gas-burning stoves release inside homes can reach concentrations even higher than what's typical in secondhand smoke, according to the paper published last week in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.The study adds ammunition to efforts to phase gas connections out of homes and buildings. There's a growing body of evidence on the risks gas stoves pose to public health and the environment. The fossil fuel industry, however, has pushed back hard against policies to shift to clean energy by playing on people's attachment to gas stoves.Seeing the... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CAWM)
Illustration: The Verge Gannett filed a federal lawsuit against Google and parent company Alphabet on Tuesday, alleging that Google has monopolies on the ad tech market that have hurt local news. The lawsuit seeks to restore competition in the digital advertising marketplace and end Google's monopoly, which will encourage investment in newsrooms and news content throughout the country," Gannett wrote in a press release.In its lawsuit, Gannett argues that although the digital ad market has exploded, publishers do not see as much of that money because Google and Alphabet have acquired and maintain monopolies" for ad tech used to buy and sell ads by linking Google Ads (formerly known as AdWords) with the AdX exchange where publishers sell their inventory.... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CATY)
The Federal Communications Commission currently has four members. | Image: Federal Communications Commission Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has announced a proposal to investigate broadband internet data caps and their effect on consumers. To help with the investigation, the FCC has opened up a portal asking for public comment on how they've been affected by data caps - that is, limits on how much internet data a customer can use before being charged more money or having their service slowed down.The FCC especially wants to hear about the effects of data caps on those with disabilities, low-income consumers, and historically disadvantaged communities" as well as their impact on education, the ability to access public safety services, and more.A lot of ISPs suspended data caps during the covid pandemic, with... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6CASK)
Image: Domino's Domino's can deliver your pizza directly to you - instead of to a specific address - while you lounge by the beach or picnic at the park this summer. That's with the new Pinpoint Delivery feature, as first reported by Business Insider, which lets drivers deliver to locations without addresses at no extra cost to the customer.As a result, all you need to do is simply drop a pin of your location in Google Maps from within Domino's mobile app to receive your order. From there, you'll be able to track drivers' GPS locations, check wait times, and receive text updates about your order.Sadly, though, you can't get your pizza delivered straight to your beach chair. That's because you'll have to meet your driver wherever the app deems the... Continue reading...
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by Alex Heath on (#6CAQE)
Roblox recently partnered with the Parsons School of Design on a course that had college students design virtual avatars. | Image: Roblox Roblox has been signaling that it wants to be more than a gaming platform for kids. Today, the company is making another push in that direction by letting its creators make experiences specifically for people who are 17 and older.The new age category will allow for more graphic content and adult themes than Roblox has permitted to date, including depictions of heavy bloodshed and alcohol use, chief product officer Manuel Bronstein tells me. To keep underage users from accessing 17 and older experiences, Roblox will require that people scan their driver's licenses and submit a selfie before they can access the new category.Thirty-eight percent of Roblox's daily users last year were over 17, and its fastest-growing user age group is... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6CAQF)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A handful of subreddits have classified themselves as not safe for work (NSFW) to protest Reddit's recent treatment of the platform's volunteer moderators, and as a result, some non-porn communities are starting to get a lot of porn.More than 8,000 subreddits went dark last week in protest of the company's API pricing changes that are set to shut down popular third-party apps. But as the protests went on, Reddit started to push back. In an interview with The Verge, CEO Steve Huffman said that, while the platform allows the protests, the users are not in support of it now. It's like a protest in a city that goes on too long, and the rest of the citizens of the city would like to go about their lives." In an interview with NBC News,... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CAA2)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Spotify is reportedly planning to include lossless audio streaming in a new, more expensive subscription tier codenamed Supremium" internally, according to Bloomberg. The lossless streaming feature was first announced in February 2021 as Spotify HiFi," but is still yet to release over two years later. Bloomberg reports that the new more expensive plan could release later this year, initially in non-US markets.The pricing of Spotify HiFi has been a source of much speculation in the years since its announcement, especially after competitors Amazon Music and Apple Music started offering lossless streaming as part of their standard plans at no additional charge. Bloomberg reports that Spotify delayed the release of HiFi after Amazon and... Continue reading...
by Nilay Patel on (#6CAN8)
It's a big year for the Code Conference - Vox Media's annual tech-and-media gathering founded by Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg has a new location and new hosts: CNBC's Julia Boorstin, Platformer's Casey Newton, and... me. It's going to be a big one, with lots to discuss: it feels like the internet itself is changing as social platforms reinvent themselves in controversial ways, big players push for platform changes like VR, and - of course - as AI disrupts everything.The first guest we're announcing is a big one: newly-installed Twitter/X CEO Linda Yaccarino. Linda's taking over a company that Elon Musk reinvented in dramatic ways - most notably by laying off huge numbers of people, but also by refocusing its mission on a... Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#6CAN9)
OceanGate CEO holds the Titan submersible's Logitech controller. | Image: CBS News Sunday Morning On Sunday morning, an OceanGate submarine vessel with five people aboard went missing in the Atlantic about an hour and forty-five minutes into a planned trip to explore the wreckage of the RMS Titanic. Made of carbon fiber and titanium, the vessel has enough air for 96 hours; however, as word of the emergency has spread, there's also shock at the wireless Logitech F710 gamepad used for steering.The Titan advertises state-of-the-art lighting and sonar navigation systems plus internally and externally mounted 4K video and photographic equipment," and this CBS News Sunday Morning segment from David Pogue, taken last summer, showed the reporter laughing as he was shown its controls. OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush holds up the F710, saying,... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CAJZ)
The new Nomad x Peak Design rugged iPhone 14 Pro case is designed to take a beating and support Peak Design's range of SlimLink mounts. | Image: Nomad / Peak Design If you're in the market for a rugged iPhone 14 Pro case with a little utility, then you're in luck. Nomad, a reputable producer of phone cases, has collaborated with camera bag and accessory designer Peak Design to release a limited-edition phone case for the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max. The Nomad Rugged Case is available to purchase today from $60 with immediate shipping from either Nomad or Peak Design's website.The new Nomad Rugged Case supports MagSafe charging and features Peak Design's SlimLink magnetic attachment technology, making it compatible with all Peak Design mobile mounts, chargers, and accessories. Supported Peak Design mounts - which allow a mobile device to be attached to walls, bikes, motorcycles, cars, and... Continue reading...
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by Tom Warren on (#6CAJY)
Image: Google Google is adding some more features to its Chrome iOS browser to tempt iPhone users away from Safari. Chrome on iOS is getting built-in Google Lens support soon, which will allow Chrome users to search for anything they see using just their camera. Translations are also being improved, alongside better calendar entry support and a new mini Google Maps view.The Google Lens support will make searching for objects like plants and clothing a lot easier in Chrome. Currently, you have to use the separate Google app to get access to Lens, but Google is adding this same feature into Chrome in the coming months so you can use existing or new photos to search from the Lens icon in the Chrome address bar on iOS devices. Image:... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6BMYM)
Suddenly, June can't come soon enough. | Image: Google During Google's I/O keynote in May, Google introduced both its new flagship foldable and midrange slab phone offerings: the Pixel Fold and the Pixel 7A. These were some of the showcase device announcements at the tech giant's big spring event, which was accompanied by other Android and AI-related news.The Pixel Fold is a new ultra-flagship addition to the Pixel lineup, one that represents Google's first attempt at a foldable phone and takes a page from Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4 in the it's a regular-ish phone that also unfolds into a small tablet" department. It runs a whopping $1,799 and is due out in July. Here's what you need to know and where you can preorder one for yourself.Where to preorder the Google Pixel FoldGoogle is... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6CAK0)
Andrew and Tristan Tate, seen here leaving a Bucharest jail in March, have been indicted in Romania for multiple crimes. | Image: Daniel Mihailescu / AFP via Getty Images Social media influencer Andrew Tate was indicted in Romania on charges of human trafficking, rape, and the creation of a criminal organization, Romanian authorities announced today. Authorities also proposed extending the house arrest of Tate, his brother, Tristan Tate, and two associates who were also charged.Tate and the other defendants are alleged to have recruited seven people by misleading them about an intent to establish a marriage/cohabitation relationship," according to the Romanian law enforcement agency Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). They were later held against their will and, through physical violence and mental pressure," sexually exploited on video for distribution on social... Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6CAK1)
OpenAI suggested changes to the proposed EU AI Act to avoid its AI systems being subject to strict safety and transparency obligations. | Illustration: The Verge OpenAI has been lobbying the European Union to water down incoming AI legislation. According to documents from the European Commission obtained by Time, the ChatGPT creator requested that lawmakers make several amendments to a draft version of the EU AI Act - an upcoming law designed to better regulate the use of artificial intelligence - before it was approved by the European Parliament on June 14th. Some changes suggested by OpenAI were eventually incorporated into the legislation.Prior to its approval, lawmakers debated expanding terms within the AI Act to designate all general-purpose AI systems (GPAIs) such as OpenAI's ChatGPT and DALL-E as high risk" under the act's risk categorizations. Doing so would hold them to the most... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6CAH8)
Sony has every reason in the world to want to keep building out its own cinematic universe of superhero features around Spider-Man, his amazing friends, and the villains that want to kill him, but the first trailer for director J.C. Chandor's Kraven the Hunter movie doesn't exactly inspire hope for what the studio's dropping next.Rather than giving the nerds what they want and just pitting its titular big game hunter against Spider-Man, Kraven the Hunter will tell the dark and rather tragic story of how Sergei Kravinoff (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) became a psychopathic leather enthusiast with a taste for human blood. In Marvel's comics, Kraven's known as something of a fashion-forward criminal who - in addition to murdering Spider-Man - is... Continue reading...
by Monica Chin on (#6CAH9)
This is a nice laptop with a somewhat confusing price. Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6CAHA)
The Cam Link is a tiny adapter, making it great for both laptops and desktops. | Image: Elgato The Elgato Cam Link 4K, an HDMI-to-USB dongle that seamlessly connects your compatible mirrorless camera, DSLR, or action cam is an essential piece of kit for many streamers and Twitch creators. It is now on sale for one of its lowest prices of $86.99 ($13 off) at Best Buy and Amazon.Elgato's Cam Link 4K is incredibly simple to use if your full-size camera is one of the many on its compatibility list. If so, you just plug it into your Windows or Mac computer and see your camera come up in the OS as a webcam source - which can go straight into streaming software like OBS or even video conference calls from Zoom and Google Meet. You'll generally get higher-quality video than any regular webcam, and using larger sensor cameras with it will... Continue reading...
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by Andrew J. Hawkins on (#6CAHB)
Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images Rivian announced it would adopt Tesla's electric vehicle charging standard for its future lineup of vehicles. The deal grants Rivian owners access to thousands of Tesla Supercharger stations across the country and puts Tesla one step closer to becoming the de facto EV charging standard in the US.Starting in 2024, Rivian will offer adapters to its customers so they can access Tesla Supercharger stations, which use the company's North American Charging Standard (NACS) plug and outlet. And in 2025, Rivian will begin to manufacture its R1T trucks and R1S SUVs with Tesla's charging port, obviating the need for an adapter.This agreement makes electric vehicle ownership simpler by offering more ways to fast charge your Rivian vehicle and... Continue reading...
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by Chris Welch on (#6CAEX)
Illustration: The Verge Apple will expand its Self Service Repair program to cover recent products, including the iPhone 14 lineup and M2-based MacBooks, starting on June 21st. But perhaps more importantly, the company seems to be responding to feedback by eliminating needless friction from the process. The System Configuration" validation step that's required after repairs - and involves calling Apple on the phone - has been criticized as burdensome. With the new changes, you won't have to call the company's repair support team anymore.Self Service Repair users can now initiate System Configuration by placing their devices into Diagnostics mode and following onscreen prompts," Apple wrote in today's press release. Users no longer need to contact the Self... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6CAEY)
Image: Nintendo It seems that Nintendo might've been feeling a little left out. Following a busy few weeks of gaming news, which included showcases from Xbox and PlayStation, along with Summer Game Fest, we now have an impending Nintendo Direct. And it's happening very soon: the event will stream on June 21st at 10AM ET.The timing makes a lot of sense, as following the launch of Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo's lineup for 2023 is pretty sparse. There's Pikmin 4 on July 21st, the first expansion for Pokemon Violet and Scarlet, and... that's about it. The Switch's holiday should look a lot clearer tomorrow, though, as Nintendo says the Direct will feature roughly 40 minutes of information focused mainly on Nintendo Switch titles launching this year,"... Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6CAEZ)
Cadillac Escalade IQ is going to be a really big EV. | Image: GM Big electric SUVs are taking over, and Cadillac's stressfully large SUV is being redesigned to be part of that movement. The automaker has new teaser footage of the Escalade IQ, which was first announced last month, and is planning to fully reveal the full-size SUV on August 9th.The new Escalade IQ footage gives only a few glimpses of the behemoth three-row, including an extruded taillight / spoiler wedge and animated front LEDs that are spread like a wing from the bottom of the grille and tessellated on the sides. The footage also has a close-up of what are likely to be huge 22-inch wheels mounted on Michelin Primacy LTX tires, and there's a close pan of the planar roof and antenna.The IQ's fascia has even more LEDs on the left and... Continue reading...
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by Sean Hollister on (#6CAF1)
Illustration by Hugo Herrera for The Verge President Joe Biden's internet access plan will hand $41.6 billion to internet service providers. In many places, that money will get funneled into private hands. Continue reading...
by Josh Dzieza on (#6CAC5)
Illustration by Richard Parry for The Verge As the technology becomes ubiquitous, a vast tasker underclass is emerging - and not going anywhere. Continue reading...
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by James Vincent on (#6CA8V)
Video platform Vimeo is integrating new AI tools for paying users, including an AI script generation feature powered by OpenAI's tech. The company is promoting the tools as a way for users to create a fully produced video in minutes," and stressing the utility for corporate customers - potential use-cases range from quickly creating highlight reels, to hosting virtual events or company meetings, to exporting quote clips for short marketing videos."There are three new features. A script generator that generates scripts based on a brief description and key inputs like tone and length." A teleprompter, which has no real AI component, but lets users adjust timing and font size. And a text-based video editor, which automatically... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6CA6G)
The new option is available from the privacy menu in settings. | Image: WhatsApp / Meta WhatsApp's latest feature can automatically mute incoming calls if they're from an unknown number, the service announced today. The setting is available by going into WhatsApp's settings, hitting Privacy," selecting Calls," and turning on the Silence Unknown Callers" toggle. WhatsApp says the feature will help screen out spam, scams, and calls from unknown people for increased protection."When enabled, the feature silences all signs of incoming calls from unknown numbers including both sound and visual alerts in the app. However, silenced calls will still appear in your recent calls list with a silenced unknown caller" note next to them, in case you want to call back.The addition of the feature comes after reports of an... Continue reading...
by Dan Seifert on (#6CA5S)
Google's first tablet in many years doesn't try to reinvent what tablets are good for. Instead, it leans into being a good media consumption device and can be a useful smart display when you're not holding it. Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6C9YA)
Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge A ransomware group is claiming responsibility for a hack on Reddit's systems earlier this year - and demanding not just money but policy changes.BlackCat, a ransomware group, says it was behind the February phishing attack on Reddit, as previously reported by Bleeping Computer. In a post shared by researcher Dominic Alvieri, BlackCat claims to have stolen 80GB of data from Reddit and threatens to release it publicly if demands aren't met. The group wants a $4.5 million payout in exchange for the data and also demands Reddit roll back its planned API pricing changes that spurred user and moderator protests last week.At the time of the hack, Reddit said hackers had used a sophisticated and highly-targeted" phishing attack to get access... Continue reading...
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by Brent Rose on (#6C9YB)
Sous vide cooking can produce perfect meats every time, but it takes a long time to do so. Breville's new Joule Turbo can pull the same tricks in as little as half the time. Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6C9YC)
Amazon delivery drivers strike for the first time. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Thursday, Motherboard reported that Amazon delivery drivers in Palmdale, California have gone on strike, a first for the company. The drivers, who unionized with the Teamsters in April and were recognized by Amazon Delivery Service Partner" (DSP) Battle-Tested Strategies in May, are demanding better pay and improved safety conditions. The 84 striking workers walked out on Thursday.
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by Wes Davis on (#6C9YD)
Nick Barclay / The Verge After Baylor microbiology professor and public health advocate Peter Hotez, MD Ph.D. tweeted out a Motherboard article about Spotify's lack of moderation of Joe Rogan's misinformation after a podcast episode with guest Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Rogan challenged him to debate Robert F Kennedy, Jr, proposing a $100,000 donation to a charity of Hotez's choosing if he agreed.In the episode, Rogan and Kennedy hit all the pandemic classics: conspiracy theories about vaccines, 5G and Wi-Fi technology, and ivermectin. All common tropes of covid pandemic conspiracy theories.Twitter's owner Elon Musk joined the Twitter fray, accusing Hotez of hating charity" by not accepting the debate, and after hours of Elon and Rogan stans taunting Hotez, the... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6C9YE)
Microsoft Outlook was subjected to a DDoS attack. | Illustration: The Verge In early June, complaints began cropping up on Twitter that Outlook was down for as many as 18,000 users at the peak of what, it turns out, was a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, according to a story in The Associated Press (AP) this morning. Microsoft acknowledged the attack in a blog post on Friday, offering some technical details and recommendations for guarding against such attacks in the future.The blog doesn't mention whether the company got things under control or whether the attack abated on its own. But on Twitter, the Microsoft 365 Status account tweeted about the outage as it occurred on June 5th, then again later that day, finally seeming to get things under control the next morning:
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by Jay Peters on (#6C9YF)
Photo by: Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty Images Three huge subreddits, r/pics, r/gifs, and r/aww, now only allow posts about comedian and Last Week Tonight host John Oliver. The subreddits have reopened after participating in the ongoing protests toward Reddit, and after each community polled users, the new rules are now in place.As many of you are aware, we recently held a poll to decide on the future of the subreddit," wrote r/gifs moderator u/IronSentinel. This initiative was prompted by statements from Reddit's CEO, who suggested that the desires of the platform's everyday users were being eclipsed by those of moderators." Moderators of thousands of subreddits set their communities to private or restricted modes to protest upcoming API changes that will force beloved... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6C9YG)
The Nikon Z9's stacked sensor doesn't require a mechanical shutter, but that doesn't mean its users don't need good feedback from their cameras. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Snapping a camera's shutter to take a picture is one of the best feelings in photography. You get a timeless, tactile feedback as you capture every decisive moment with a satisfying auditory click" sound. But we're slowly losing this hallmark of picture-taking. Not only because smartphones are replacing full-size cameras for most people but because more cameras are being built without mechanical shutters at all.Nikon's flagship Z9 and newer Z8 cameras forego traditional shutters entirely, so instead of hearing and feeling a mechanical action, you either hear nothing at all or are played the sound of a fake shutter. Just this week, Nikon released firmware 4.0 for the Z9, which added a slew of new features, including extra shutter sounds:... Continue reading...