by Justine Calma on (#6GB3J)
Photo Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Dee Dwyer for The Verge The US is the world's biggest producer of oil and gas. Can Granholm chart a path to a more sustainable future? Continue reading...
The Verge
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| Updated | 2026-08-05 16:49 |
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by Jon Porter on (#6GB17)
Illustration: The Verge Google is suing scammers who are trying to use the hype around generative AI to trick people into downloading malware, the company has announced. In a lawsuit filed today in California, the company says individuals believed to be based in Vietnam are setting up social media pages and running ads encouraging users to download" its generative AI service Bard. The download actually delivers malware to the victims, which steals social media credentials for the scammers to use.Defendants are three individuals whose identities are unknown who claim to provide, among other things, the latest version" of Google Bard for download," the lawsuit reads. Defendants are not affiliated with Google in any way, though they pretend to be. They have... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6GAQM)
Image: Dan Seifert / The Verge Apple started using OLED screens in the iPhone X back in 2017, and before that, in the first Apple Watch. And the Touch Bar, of course (RIP). But it's been slow to move away from LCD elsewhere, like its iMacs, MacBooks, standalone displays, and iPads. I want OLED on all those things, but if the iPad Pro gets it first, as rumor has it, then that's fine by me.There's no product where the use of an LCD panel bothers me more than my 11-inch iPad Pro. It's got a nice-looking screen so long as I'm looking directly at it. Go a little off-axis, though, and the screen gets way dimmer. That's true of my laptop, too, but I'm always sitting directly in front of that screen, and almost always looking at a browser window with text in it.Contrast... Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6GAH1)
Illustration: The Verge Many Threads users are now saying they have the ability to opt out of having their posts shown on Instagram and Facebook. To keep Threads posts from showing up Meta's other platforms, tap the two lines in the top right of the Threads app > Privacy > Suggesting posts on other apps - two switches let users turn off suggestions on Instagram or Facebook. Meta tends to roll out Threads features slowly, so if you don't see the new toggles yet, give it time.Instagram and Facebook each got a For you on Threads" carousel in the last few months. Responding to user grumpiness, Threads said in October it was listening to feedback" shortly before testing the opt-out switch that's rolling out now.The feature was clearly intended to drive... Continue reading...
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by David Pierce on (#6GADE)
Image: William Joel / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 14, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, you're my favorite, so happy you're here, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, I've been traveling a bunch, so I've watched Mission: Impossible - Fallout, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and most of Rick and Morty. I've also been reading about life as an OnlyFans star and the insane growth of WhatsApp, doing some holiday meal planning in Mela, nodding vigorously at how bonkers tipping culture has become, and trying to make a dent in Barack Obama's very good AI reading list.I also have for you a rundown of the best tools for managing money, new gadgets... Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6GA6F)
Image: Supergiant Games Oh damn: Netflix is bringing Hades to its gaming service in 2024.We've known Netflix is serious about its gaming library. Ever since it added the Oxenfree series and, arguably, going all the way back to Hextech Mayhem, Netflix has shown its gaming offerings weren't going to be just silly, time-wasting waiting room games but solid mobile versions of indie games with name recognition, including the announcement of Braid earlier this week. Never has that idea been more expressed than in this latest announcement that Supergiant Games' Hades will debut exclusively on mobile via Netflix.Hades is an isometric dungeon crawler roguelike in which you play the seriously hot Zagreus, prince of Tartarus and son of Hades, as he tries to escape his... Continue reading...
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by Andrew Webster on (#6GA6G)
Image: Netflix It's been a while since we learned that Netflix was teaming up with Production I.G for a Terminator anime, but today we finally have some more details on the show. The debut teaser for the anime was featured at Netflix's Geeked Week event, and it shows, well, the title and not much else.For the unaware, animation studio Production I.G has worked on some of the most iconic anime ever, from the original Ghost in the Shell film all the way up to recent releases like the Star Wars Visions anthology. For Terminator - which doesn't have an official name yet, by the way, and is somehow the first animated take on the franchise - the eight-episode series will be directed by Masashi Kudo, best-known for working on the Bleach franchise, with... Continue reading...
by Andrew Webster on (#6GA5D)
Image: Netflix Following last year's The Sandman, Netflix is bringing even more beloved Neil Gaiman characters to the small screen. This time it's Dead Boy Detectives - which was originally slated to stream on Max - based on a crime-solving duo who made their debut in a Sandman comic in the '90s. The news was paired with the first trailer for the series, which shows off a pretty fun-looking supernatural whodunit.For those unfamiliar, here's the basic setup, courtesy of Netflix:
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by Andrew Webster on (#6G5EE)
The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep. | Image: Netflix Avatar: The Last Airbender, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Devil May Cry, Stranger Things, and 3 Body Problem are all showing out at Netflix's Geeked 2023 showcase. Continue reading...
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by Wes Davis on (#6GA42)
Illustration by William Joel / The Verge The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) reached a tentative deal with Hollywood studio executives, effectively ending the 118-day actors strike. Yesterday, SAG-AFTRA announced that its national board has approved the agreement, 86 percent to 14 percent, and recommended union members vote to ratify it.The deal is still technically pending until union members' vote is tallied on December 5th, though the guild says some of its features will go into effect during the ratification process, such as certain pay raises. SAG-AFTRA offered a summary of the deal in its announcement:
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by Victoria Song on (#6GA0M)
Panera's tip prompts are slightly better because you can choose a dollar amount, and there's a disclosure that your tip may" be distributed to eligible employees. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Tipping is an age-old American debate. How much do you pay and when? Is it a choice or an obligation? Generally, tech has at least made it easier over the years. Smartphones made it a breeze for friends to whip out a calculator to figure out tip and split the bill. And now, checkout screens everywhere, from in-person stores to delivery apps, have added buttons designed to make it easier for you to tip.That's convenient, until it's not. According to a new Pew Research Center report, tipping culture in America has seen a shift in recent years. Seventy-two percent of Americans say tipping is expected in more places than five years ago. Not all of that is tech-related, but it's hard to deny the role checkout screens have in tipflation. Even... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6G9YV)
Marvel Loki's second season goes out with a big, existential bang that gives the god of mischief a glorious, but confusing new purpose at the center of Marvel's multiverse. Continue reading...
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by Umar Shakir on (#6G9YW)
The M3 Pro is not as midrange as you'd expect. | Image: Apple Apple's new M3 Pro chip is looking like an odd duck in an otherwise solidly improved MacBook Pro laptop. For most people who need a computer with a bit of oomph over dreary office tasks and need multiple external monitors, the M3 Pro will serve their needs and have great battery to boot. But year-over-year computer upgraders who might already have a Mac with an M2 Pro chip or even an M1 Pro might not see many (if any) performance improvements unless they shell out more dough for an M3 Max.When you put the 12-core M2 Pro and M3 Pro head-to-head, you'd expect the latter to perform much better. In reality, the M3 Pro isn't running away from the older chips. That's because of an interesting design choice: Apple gave it an equal split of six... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6G9YX)
The black version of the light and airy LinkBuds S can be had for just $108.80. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge You might think that two weeks before Black Friday is a bad time to get the best prices on tech, but with so many deals dropping early it doesn't hurt to be shopping ahead of schedule. For example, the Sony LinkBuds S wireless earbuds have once again dropped down to their lowest prices. You can get Sony's ultra-lightweight and comfy buds in black for just $108.80 ($90 off) at Newegg. Or, if you prefer brighter color options, Amazon, Target, and Sony also have them in white and blue for around $128 ($72 off).The LinkBuds S are all about comfort, with each earbud weighing in at under five grams. These noise-canceling buds are great for wearing for long stretches, like a lengthy commute - especially since they can automatically switch... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6G9S4)
Both keycaps are made of metal and are available in a choice of three colors. | Image: Dbrand Love or hate its irreverent branding, you have to give props to Dbrand for its consistency. The company best known for its range of skins and cases for consumer tech gadgets is releasing its mechanical keyboard keycaps today, and they're remarkably on-brand.The Pyramid keycap is a pointy escape key that the company says stabs whoever presses it (lawyers advised that we soften the tip a little bit, but rest assured you're never more than one firm key press away from drawing blood") and a replacement enter key called The Enter that simply reads fuck off."Rather than full keycap sets that are designed to replace all the keys on a keyboard, these novelty keycaps are designed to just replace a couple of keys. The company says they're... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6G9M4)
Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Apple struck a deal with Amazon to strip competitors' ads off of pages for iPhones, iPads MacBooks, and its other products, according to a report from Insider. The agreement makes search results and product pages for Apple devices cleaner than those of competitors.While Amazon still lists competing products on search result pages for Apple products, it limits the ads it sticks above, below, and between results. For example, when you search for an iPhone 15 on Amazon, you'll only see an Apple product in a banner at the top of the page along with another ad banner at the very bottom. Meanwhile, searches for competing devices, like the Samsung Galaxy S23, surface ads for other products and services throughout the results page. ... Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#6G9M5)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Meta is starting to prompt users to sign up for the paid no ads" version of Facebook and Instagram that's launching in Europe. It's rolling out as Meta responds to new EU privacy regulations by positioning the use of its services with targeted ads as a choice by users. Of course, that choice is also the only alternative available to paying around $20 per month to disengage from ads on Facebook and Instagram.The new prompt clarifies that people using both Facebook and Instagram will eventually need to pay an additional fee to cover both profiles. The pop-up appeared on one of our editor's Instagram accounts (and Matt Navarra mentions people are seeing them on Facebook as well), so you can see what it looks like right here. ... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6G9M6)
It remains to be seen just how much of the fascinating, winding complexity of Cixin Liu's The Three-Body Problem ends up making it into Netflix's upcoming adaptation of the novel from co-creators Alexander Woo, D.B. Weiss, and David Benioff. But in a new clip from the show that's just dropped as part of Netflix's Geeked Week showcase, it looks like 3 Body Problem (that's how Netflix is spelling it) is going to get one of its most important worldbuilding elements very right in a way that makes the story's deeper mystery interesting to watch unfold.While the new teaser clip debuted during Geeked Week doesn't really broach the way 3 Body Problem's story delves into China's past and what becomes of humanity at one of the most pivotal... Continue reading...
by Ash Parrish on (#6G9M7)
Image: Netflix Netflix dropped a bit of a Smile Bomb" (if you know, you know) during Geeked Week 2023. Not only did it share the first trailer for the live-action adaptation of Yu Yu Hakusho but we also got a release date. And it's soon.If you're an anime fan of a certain age, I'm guessing simply reading the words Yu Yu Hakusho" conjures a very specific sound in your head.And I bet it sounds like this.Unfortunately, the teaser did not feature this iconic song, but there is still hope that a remix will make an appearance. And while the ticky-tacky wigs (straight from the Tyler Perry School of Cosmetology) and visual effects aren't quite putting the spirit in my bomb, I fully stood up seeing the Toguro brothers.Yu Yu Hakusho is one of those... Continue reading...
by Andrew Webster on (#6G9M8)
Image: Netflix Season 4 of The Witcher may be far off on the horizon, but there's still plenty more of Geralt of Rivia in store on Netflix. At its Geeked Week event today, the streamer announced The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep, an animated movie that takes place right in the middle of season 1 of the live-action show and is based on the short story A Little Sacrifice. Doug Cockle, the voice actor from The Witcher 3 video game, will be reprising the role of Geralt.Here's the official description:
by Ariel Shapiro on (#6G9HM)
Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images After four (!!) months, the SAG-AFTRA strike has ended. There is a lot to unpack about the contract, but I will let the showbiz experts (read: not me) handle that. For our purposes, there are a few key ways podcasting is affected.The most immediate impact will be on the rewatch podcasts, which can finally resume business as normal. As Amrita Khalid reported this summer, TV rewatch podcasts hosted by shows' former cast members counted as promotion" and were therefore struck. After a long lull, we can expect a deluge of rewatch content in the coming weeks. (Christy Carlson Romano, for one, is very excited.)These shows, many of which regularly rank in the top podcasts on Spotify and Apple, handled the strike in a number of different ways.... Continue reading...
by Verge Staff on (#6G9HN)
Photo: FX Thanksgiving is coming, and after that, December and all of its various holidays. For many of us, this means lots of cooking and traveling and family gatherings, with all that entails. And this year, conversations around the dinner table may be even more fraught than usual.So we asked the staff of The Verge what tools - hardware, software, physical, or mental - they use to get through the holidays. How do they deal with the demands of the kitchen or the demands of the kids? What gadgets and games make things happier and more interesting?Here are some of their answers.Go for a walkJay Peters, news editorI generally love the holiday season; I'm very fortunate to have family that I can happily hang out with for days at a time. Every... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6G9EV)
Image: Warner Bros. Discovery Warner Bros. Discovery just canned Coyote vs. Acme, a live-action and animated film featuring John Cena and the classic Looney Tunes hijinks of Wile E. Coyote. Director Dave Green confirmed that the nearly completed film will not be released shortly after Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter broke the news.Coyote vs. Acme is the third almost finished film that CEO David Zaslav has shelved for financial reasons. Like Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, Coyote vs. Acme got sent to the vault so Warner Bros. Discovery could get a tax write-off as part of its efforts to cut billions in costs following last year's megamerger. The Coyote vs. Acme film cost around $72 million to make, according to The Hollywood Reporter, making for a $30 million... Continue reading...
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by Nilay Patel on (#6G9C1)
One big wiper, or three wipers in a trench coat? | Image: Parker Ortolani / The Verge As Vergecast listeners know, I am deeply and forever fascinated by the Tesla Cybertruck's wiper - it is one of the silliest design compromises in automotive history on a vehicle that is itself a rolling design compromise. I love it so much.Anyway, I've been asking listeners to send in detailed shots of the wiper to confirm a rumor I've been hearing - my thanks to the dozens of people who've passed along photos. I didn't have anything worth running until today, though: our own Parker Ortolani spotted a Cybertruck in NYC and took several photos that appear to show that the single wiper" is actually multiple wiper blades stacked in a row.The idea, I've been told, is apparently to make replacements easier - one assumes sourcing... Continue reading...
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by Jacob Kastrenakes on (#6G9C2)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Qualcomm is scrapping plans to offer a satellite SOS feature for Android phones that would have rivaled the one offered by Apple on its latest iPhones. The feature, Snapdragon Satellite, was announced in partnership with the satellite communications company Iridium in January. Now, just 10 months later, the plan is already dead.Iridium said on Thursday that Qualcomm elected to terminate" their partnership on the feature because no smartphone maker signed up to use it. The feature had already been successfully developed and demonstrated," Iridium writes. But apparently, the interest wasn't there.Qualcomm told CNBC that it'll continue working with Iridium on standards-based solutions" to satellite connectivity, even as it scraps the... Continue reading...
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by Sheena Vasani on (#6G9C3)
The stylish black-and-white version of the Switch OLED is on sale. | Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge It's been a good week for console deals. Earlier this week, the Asus ROG Ally fell to a new all-time low and the PlayStation 5 bundle with Marvel's Spider-Man 2 dropped to $499 ($70 off). Now, Dell's offering the black-and-white Nintendo Switch OLED console for $349.99 with a $75 Dell gift card, effectively dropping the price tag to $275. You also can use the gift card to pick up various games and accessories, like the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.But that's not all. If you already own the Switch OLED, Dell is also selling the Xbox Series X for $449.99 ($50 off) and adding the same $75 gift card. That means you can also save on games like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor or controllers like Microsoft's Xbox Elite... Continue reading...
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by Victoria Song on (#6G9C4)
This laptop is undoubtedly fast, powerful, and earns the Pro moniker. It'll also cost you a pretty penny. Continue reading...
by Umar Shakir on (#6G9C5)
Some of the Arlo equipment you get with the $49.99 per month Total Security tier. | Image: Arlo Arlo is launching a new home security subscription service that includes 24/7 monitoring and all the hardware expected from a do-it-yourself package - plus high-quality 2K cameras included in the advanced tier. The offering, which is called Arlo Total Security, is like a hybrid of traditional home security companies (think ADT) that take care of the hardware with monitoring and smart home packages like Nest Secure and SimpliSafe, where you buy and install the equipment but pay for the service separately.The real meat of Arlo's offering is the top-tier $49.99 per month hardware and monitoring package that includes very good quality 2K cameras with 12x zoom (although it's not the top 4K camera option). Competing security cameras from Ring... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6G992)
Photo by Leon Neal / Getty Images In the grand scheme of history, Elon Musk's full story feels like it has many more chapters left to go, but that isn't stopping A24 from making a big, flashy biopic about him with The Whale director Darren Aronofsky helming the camera.Puck reports that a new Muck biopic based on Walter Isaacson's recent biography of the South African billionaire is in the works.Currently, no writer or other members of the movie's creative team have been announced, but the news comes in the wake of The Whale garnering critical acclaim and Brendan Fraser winning a best actor Oscar for his performance as the film's central character. Director Danny Boyle's 2015 Steve Jobs drama, also based on a biography penned by Isaacson, was similarly well received... Continue reading...
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by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6G993)
From some angles, it really feels like an ugly competition. I've always had a soft spot for Sony's refreshed, slimmed-down consoles ever since the adorable PS One. All the Sony consoles I've owned were launch versions that are bigger and goofier-looking than their eventual redesigns - giving me massive FOMO - but I think my love affair for slim" PlayStations is now at an end with the new PlayStation 5.If there's ever been a PlayStation in need of a glow-up, it's the PS5. Sony's white-and-black obelisk is a gargantuan console with a design that you learn to live with more than you grow to love. The thought of course-correcting the PS5 design like Sony did with the George Foreman grill-style PlayStation 3 should be a slam dunk, but what we've now got with the $499.99 new PlayStation 5 and $449.99... Continue reading...
by Antonio G. Di Benedetto on (#6G960)
You're in luck if you want the new slimmer PS5 - at least, the one with a disc drive. | Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge The current generation of consoles is getting its first redesign, with Sony's new PlayStation 5 slim" now finally landing after its October announcement. The revised PS5 may not be all that small, but it does feature a unique detachable disc drive, two front-facing USB-C ports (instead of one USB-C and one USB-A), and expanded internal storage of 1TB. The new PS5 Digital Edition starts at $449.99 (notably, that's $50 more than the original PS5 Digital Edition costs), while the standard PS5 with the removable disc drive included runs the same $499.99 as the prior larger model it's replacing.The new PS5 consoles are certainly unique, playing the same games as the original models at the same 4K graphical fidelity and offering users the... Continue reading...
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by Chris Welch on (#6G961)
These $100 earbuds offer good sound and impressive noise cancellation for the price, and they bring back the wing tip design of the Galaxy Buds Plus. Continue reading...
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by Jess Weatherbed on (#6G962)
Cheaper bundles could result in fewer customers canceling their subscriptions when they're finished watching exclusives like Netflix's One Piece (pictured). | COURTESY OF NETFLIX Verizon is planning to offer its customers a discounted bundle of streaming services that includes the ad-supported tiers of both Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery's Max. People familiar with the situation" told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that the bundle will cost $10 a month instead of the roughly $17 per month you'd pay for the services separately.It's unusual for two rival streaming services to agree to a bundle, but there are benefits to doing so via distributors like Verizon, Comcast, Apple, and Amazon. Bundles can attract more customers to both streaming services, and reduce the number of people canceling their subscriptions when they are done watching a specific show. Earlier this week, Sowmyanarayan Sampath, chief... Continue reading...
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by Jon Porter on (#6G91V)
Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine on the set of Deadpool 3. | Image: Marvel Studios Disney has pushed back the release of Deadpool 3 from May 3rd 2024 to July 26th, Deadline reports, days after a tentative deal was reached to end the actors' strike. According to The Hollywood Reporter, production will resume on the film in the next couple of weeks in London, where Marvel and Disney have paid to keep the film's sets intact while production was on hold due.It's one of several Marvel Studios films to see their release dates change like falling dominos. Captain America: Brave New World, which had originally been due to release July 26th, 2024, will now instead release on February 14th, 2025, and Blade has been pushed back from that date to November 7th, 2025. Finally, Thunderbolts has been delayed from December 20th, 2024... Continue reading...
by Sean Hollister on (#6G8VA)
Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Spotify isn't the only one that negotiated with Google for special treatment. Netflix did, too.In 2017, Google offered Netflix a special discounted rate of 10 percent of its in-app payments on Android - meaning Netflix could keep 90 percent of the money - according to documents and testimony in the Epic v. Google trial.Today, you can't subscribe to Netflix from inside the Netflix app on Android, but that wasn't always the case. Netflix previously paid Google 15 percent to do that, Netflix VP of business development Paul Perryman said in a 2022 video deposition that aired in the courtroom on Thursday.Once upon a time, when Netflix could offer its own method of payment, it paid closer to three percent, he said. Google eventually cut... Continue reading...
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by Jay Peters on (#6G8SB)
Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images Google CEO Sundar Pichai is set to testify on Tuesday in Epic's lawsuit against Google. Epic plans to call Pichai as a witness as it makes its case alleging that Google Play is an unlawful monopoly.In court documents, Google requested to use a podium in the courtroom on Tuesday, which suggests that Pichai may indeed appear to testify; last month, when he testified in US v. Google, Pichai stood behind a podium instead of sitting because of apparent back issues. (Judge James Donato granted the request for the podium Thursday evening.)Pichai's appearance isn't a total surprise, as the CEO appeared as one of 53 witnesses Epic said it may or may not call before the trial kicked off. But what he says might be a big deal given his... Continue reading...
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by Richard Lawler on (#5M8KD)
Valve's Steam Deck and its carrying case. | Image: Valve Catch up on our coverage of PC gaming handhelds, starting with Valve's category-defining Steam Deck. Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6G8SC)
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge In its Q3 earnings report published Thursday, game development software company Unity announced that it will likely" be implementing layoffs as part of broader cost saving measures.In the report, the company says it is assessing its product portfolio to focus on those products that are most valuable to our customers" and is evaluating the right cost structure that aligns with the more focused portfolio." It plans to make changes during the fourth quarter, and they will likely include discontinuing certain product offerings, reducing our workforce, and reducing our office footprint." The company expects to complete its changes before the end of Q1 2024.Unity has taken a beating the last few months. In September, it announced a... Continue reading...
by Sean Hollister on (#6G8SD)
Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge After Google confirmed yesterday that it gave Spotify a sweetheart deal on Android app store fees, we were curious if dating company Bumble or any of the other 80 or so developers that have joined Google's User Choice Billing" program were similarly given an alternative arrangement or other sweeteners.Google spokesperson Dan Jackson would not answer our question.Jackson confirmed that the standard service fee the developer pays is reduced by 4 percent" with User Choice Billing, and he pointed us toward Bumble's Q4 2022 earnings call, where CFO Anu Subramanian suggests to investors that Bumble, at least, did not have a special rate at the time:
by Umar Shakir on (#6G8SE)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Activision is getting set to launch a new, and dare I say fun, system to counter cheaters in Call of Duty: Warzone. As part of an update to the game's Ricochet anti-cheat system, a new feature called Splat will randomly and without warning plummet detected cheaters straight to the ground after deployment at the start of a match. (Hence the name, Splat.)Activision has toyed with Call of Duty cheaters in a few different ways as of late. The publisher gifted an automatic god mode and invisibility to players getting shot by detected cheaters and later shamed cheaters by announcing they've been booted in the kill feed.Taking away parachutes isn't the only mitigation included with Splat. If people are detected as cheating after the start of... Continue reading...
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by Emma Roth on (#6G8SF)
Illustration: The Verge Apple has agreed to pay up to $25 million to settle claims that it engaged in hiring discrimination. On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that $18.25 million will go toward creating a backpay fund for affected victims, while the remaining $6.75 million is in civil penalties.The DOJ found that Apple violated the Immigration and Nationality Act when recruiting through a permanent labor certification program (PERM), which lets companies hire foreign workers permanently in the US. When recruiting workers for this program, the DOJ says Apple didn't advertise openings on its website even though its standard practice was to post other job positions on this website."The DOJ also found that Apple only accepted PERM position... Continue reading...
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by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6G8PC)
Ultraman's classic powers make him well-equipped to deal with almost any larger-than-life situation threatening the lives of ordinary people. But in the first teaser for Netflix's new animated Ultraman: Rising feature from co-directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima, none of the hero's incredible powers can prepare him for the challenges of becoming a father... to a baby kaiju.Ultraman: Rising tells the story of how Japanese baseballer Ken Sato (Christopher Sean) returns to his home country with the intention of becoming the next Ultraman and Earth's protector, only to inadvertently find himself saddled with the responsibility of raising a baby kaiju. When an encounter with one of Ultraman's deadliest monster enemies results in Ken's... Continue reading...
by Ash Parrish on (#6G8PD)
Image: Netflix We've seen the announcements, then the actors, the teaser, and now the first official trailer for Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation is finally here.The trailer was a short but packed affair, offering really good looks at both the main characters and the just-as-beloved side characters. Kyoshi Warrior Suki looks amazing, as does the Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se. Avatar fans, it is looking good.Yesterday, Netflix teased that the trailer was on its way, giving us another (if a bit blurry) look at the Gaang. Earlier this year, we got our first look at Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Zuko, while Netflix later released photos of Fire Lord Ozai, Uncle Iroh, Azula, and General Zhao. With the principle players assembled, all that was... Continue reading...
by Emma Roth on (#6G8PE)
Laura Normand / The Verge The Elon Musk-owned SpaceX won a court order preventing the Department of Justice's hiring discrimination lawsuit from moving forward, as reported earlier by Reuters. In a decision on Wednesday, US District Judge Rolando Olvera ruled that the DOJ's administrative judges don't have the authority to review the case.The DOJ sued SpaceX in August over allegations that the company refused to hire asylum seekers and refugees. The agency, which has been investigating SpaceX's hiring practices since 2020, accused SpaceX of discouraging refugees and asylum seekers from applying by wrongly stating that SpaceX can only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents."SpaceX countersued the DOJ in response, alleging that the administrative law... Continue reading...
by Charles Pulliam-Moore on (#6G8PF)
With Netflix's Umbrella Academy coming to a close with its upcoming fourth season, it seemed like Netflix planned on giving viewers at least a little peek at what to expect during this week's Geeked Week showcase. Turns out, that's not quite the case.Every member of The Umbrella Academy's core cast seems quite excited about the new directions the show's fourth season's going to take their characters. But you'd be hard pressed to suss out just what, exactly, is going to become of the Hargreeves siblings now that they're trapped in an alternate timeline following the events of the show's season 3 finale. Apparently, we can look forward to seeing new villains, though, and it's going to be very interesting to find out whether season 4... Continue reading...
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by Nilay Patel on (#6G8PG)
A promotional image of Humane's AI Pin. | Image: Humane Humane has finally shared the details about its new device. Continue reading...
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by Adi Robertson on (#6G8PH)
Illustration: The Verge Tumblr is downscaling its ambitions after failing to reach goals for a new audience, aiming to move some staff members to other divisions of parent company Automattic. A leaked memo, which circulated on Tumblr and was confirmed in a Verge comment by Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg, says that the majority" of Tumblr's non-support, safety, and moderation staff will switch to other divisions." In follow-up posts on Tumblr, Mullenweg stated that Automattic is planning a more focused approach in 2024," including an emphasis on the core functionality" of the site.After 600+ person-years of effort put into Tumblr since the acquisition in 2019, we have not gotten the expected results from our effort, which was to have its revenue and usage... Continue reading...
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by Ash Parrish on (#6G8PJ)
Image: Netflix Netflix has offered a blink-and-you'll-miss-it first look at Arcane season 2.During its Geeked Week celebration of all things animated and nerdy, Netflix finally showed off the tiniest bit of the second season of its award-winning League of Legends adaptation.
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by Ash Parrish on (#6G8KM)
Blizzard / Xbox Blizzard says it's working on evolving competitive Overwatch in a new direction," after confirming the League's end after six seasons. Continue reading...
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by Mia Sato on (#6G8KN)
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Snapchat will soon have AR lenses that use ChatGPT. The company announced the update today at Lens Fest, its annual developer event.The new beta of Lens Studio for developers includes the ability to create filters with ChatGPT. In an example lens, Snap shows a solar system-themed filter where a user has asked, How far away is Neptune?" Within a few seconds, the lens returns an answer to the question. The new feature could also be applied to create quizzes or randomizers, according to TechCrunch. Image: Snap Snap's AI lenses are powered by ChatGPT. OpenAI's ChatGPT already powers another Snap feature called My AI, a chatbot that users can talk to like they're messaging a friend. Originally an exclusive... Continue reading...
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