The Verge

The proposed law could change the way Uber, DoorDash, and Lyft treat their workers. | Photo by Carsten Koall / picture alliance via Getty Images The US Department of Labor has proposed a new regulation that could make it harder for companies like Uber and Lyft to classify gig workers as independent contractors. Under the proposed rule, gig workers could gain new benefits and protections, including minimum wage and overtime.The proposal reverses the Trump Administration’s rule that made it safer to classify gig workers as independent contractors. The DOL withdrew the regulation last year after President Joe Biden came into office, stating it was “in tension” with the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 — but until today, there’s been no clear replacement.

Margot Comstock holding a conversation with Infocom designers Marc Blank and Joel Berez at the Softalk Publishing booth at Applefest 1983 | Image: Al Tommervik Margot Comstock took her winnings from a TV game show and bought a computer. It led to a magazine, which turned into a major hub for the nascent community of developers and fans of one of the most important computers in history. Continue reading…

The Verge Google is partnering with Coinbase to let customers pay for its cloud services in “select” cryptocurrencies (via CNBC). According to Coinbase and Google, crypto-based payments will become available to customers in the Web3 space early next year to start.To enable these payments, Google will use Coinbase Commerce, a tool that lets businesses receive, accept, and convert cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, USD Coin, Tether USD, Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, and others. As noted by CNBC, Coinbase will take a cut of transactions made through its commerce tool. Google plans on utilizing Coinbase Prime as well, an “institutional-grade” crypto trading platform primarily built for large companies, to store and trade cryptocurrencies.As part... Continue reading…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge Icons have become a very handy way of accessing the features of your various apps — especially when you’re dealing with a lot of features on the relatively small screen of your phone. However, if you’re not yet familiar with a particular app and you are faced with a plethora of icons, most of which are not labeled, how do you know what they are and how you should be handling them?(And believe me, if you have this problem, you’re not the only one — I can’t tell you how many times I’ve hit a mysterious icon out of curiosity and then started yelling, “I didn’t want to do that!” at the screen....)So I’m going to go over the icons you will probably see as a viewer on your TikTok homescreen and various other screens. Keep in mind that apps... Continue reading…

Image: Netflix Set a note on your calendars this Halloween — Netflix has dropped the full trailer for Wendell & Wild, a spooky upcoming animated movie co-written and produced by director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) and Jordan Peele (Nope, Get Out).Peele stars alongside comedic partner Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele) as the titular characters, a pair of demon brothers who trick troubled orphan Kat Elliott (played by This Is Us star Lyric Ross) into summoning them to the land of the living, resulting in exactly the kind of mayhem you’d expect from a children’s dark horror-comedy. Selick will also direct the movie, making this his first feature film since Coraline (2009). Image: Netflix Key and Peele will play... Continue reading…

Google first announced Project Starline in May 2021. | Image: Google Google is bringing Project Starline, its next-gen 3D video chat booth, to more companies starting later this year. As part of an early access program, “enterprise partners,” including Salesforce and T-Mobile, will begin using Starline, with Google deploying units of the booth in “select partner offices” for testing, according to a blog post.Google first announced Project Starline at last year’s Google I/O. The idea is that you can sit in the booth and have a virtual conversation with another human being without squinting at a tiny Zoom window or wearing a virtual reality headset. The booth creates the effect of talking to a “real” person by capturing how you look with cameras and sensors and so it can recreate a 3D model for the person... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Everything you need to know to score the best deals possible Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge The @ symbol is about to become the most important feature in Google Docs. As Google continues to invest in making Workspace a more connected and powerful platform, it’s also opening Docs up to third-party developers in a big way. Going forward, all you’ll need to type is “@” and the name of a file or app you’re looking for, and you’ll be able to see and edit it from within Google Docs.The feature is called “smart chips” and refers to essentially embedding other apps into Google Docs. The API that makes all this work is new — Google announced it at its Cloud Next conference along with a handful of partners. Asana users will be able to manage their tasks through an embed in Docs; you’ll be able to see visual previews of Miro and Figma... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Google’s Cloud Next developer event is today, and the Google Workspace team is using the opportunity to announce a number of new tools across Gmail, Docs, Meet, and the rest of the Workspace ecosystem. Google is investing more in its “smart canvas” concept for Docs, letting users embed information and apps inside a document. It’s also releasing some new Meet features with hybrid work in mind, like automatic meeting transcriptions and an AI-powered framing tool for conference room cameras that aims to keep speakers in focus at all times.Google Workspace also has a new leader: Aparna Pappu, who took the job as VP and GM of Workspace in July after Javier Soltero left the company. Pappu has been at Google since 2007, and did a long stint... Continue reading…

The mid-range iPad Air comes with Apple’s highest-end processor for the current iPad line. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Deals on some of Apple’s latest iPads can sometimes be frequent and fierce. The latest one to see a sizable discount is the 2022 iPad Air, which Amazon is selling for $519 with its base 64GB of storage and Wi-Fi connectivity. That $80 discount is part of Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, which just kicked off this morning and has numerous discounts running through tomorrow. This one, like many others, is exclusive to Amazon Prime subscribers. Though if you don’t do Prime, Best Buy is also discounting it for $519.99.This iPad Air deal is the lowest price we’ve seen on the mid-range iPad. One of the standout features you get with this generation of Air is its M1 processor, borrowing the brains of the much pricier iPad Pros. This CPU gives... Continue reading…

The next-gen NUC Extreme PC (seen left) will still be compact, despite being significantly larger than its predecessors. | Image: Intel Intel has teased its upcoming NUC 13 Extreme PC, the latest addition to the NUC (Next Unit of Computing) family of small-form-factor computers and barebone computer kits. The PC codenamed Raptor Canyon was revealed at TwitchCon this past weekend, as reported by VideoCardz, and notably sports a significantly bigger design than its predecessor to support larger graphics cards.A teardown of the upcoming PC was carried out on the convention floor, giving us an indication of its larger size compared to previous models within Intel’s NUC range. It confirmed that Raptor Canyon can support up to a full desktop Core i9 processor and up to 64GB of DDR5 memory. 2.5 and 3-slot graphics cards are also supported, with an unnamed Nvidia GeForce RTX 30... Continue reading…

Delta Airlines will invest $60 million in Joby Aviation, a leading electric air taxi startup, to create a “home-to-airport” service using the startup’s five-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, the companies announced Tuesday. Delta said its investment in Joby could go as high as $200 million if the company hits certain milestones.The service, which will launch first in New York City and Los Angeles with other cities to follow, will be “mutually exclusive” across the US and UK for five years, with the option to extend that exclusivity for longer, the companies said. The home-to-airport service will exist in parallel to Joby’s currently nonexistent airport service, transporting passengers from cities to airports.... Continue reading…

A pile of unannounced Roku-branded light strips spotted by a Redditor. | Image: u/Negative_Source_7316 / Reddit Roku is about to make a big entrance into the smart home if a photo posted to Reddit and two shipping manifests spotted by ZatzNotFunny are to be believed.The unannounced lineup reportedly consists of both white and color smart bulbs, a smart light strip, a smart plug, and indoor and outdoor internet-connected security cameras. Roku also appears to be planning to launch a dedicated Roku Smart Home channel, which will presumably let users control the devices from smart TVs and streaming boxes running the company’s operating system.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft’s head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, has just revealed the company’s dedicated Xbox game streaming device. Spencer published a photo of the device on Twitter, where you can see it sitting on top of his shelf in his Microsoft office space. It’s a small white box, that resembles the look of the Xbox Series S and will be dedicated to accessing Xbox games over the company’s Xbox Cloud Gaming service.Microsoft first announced it was planning an Xbox streaming device last year, and many had incorrectly assumed it would be a stick that would plug directly into a HDMI port. While Microsoft is still working on this Xbox streaming console, codenamed Keystone, it will be more of a box or puck-like device that attaches to monitors and TVs. ... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge All YouTube users will soon get a new way of identifying themselves. The company announced today that @name handles will be used across the platform, a convention that’s common elsewhere on the internet but a departure for YouTube.Every YouTube user will have a unique handle that applies across the platform, from channel pages to Shorts, YouTube’s TikTok competitor. Users can use a handle to mention others in comments, video descriptions, titles, and more, which YouTube says will make it easier for creators to reach audiences and increase visibility.“We want to ensure creators can craft an identity as unique as their content, while giving viewers the confidence that they are interacting with their favorite creators,” YouTube says in... Continue reading…

AirBell discreetly hides an Apple AirTag tracker to keep tabs on your bicycle. | Image: AirBell Riding a city bike comes with two certainties: thieves will target you and tourists will walk in your path. AirBell addresses both issues by discreetly hiding one of Apple’s AirTag trackers inside a small mechanical bell with a loud and pleasant ding.Bicycle theft is an unfortunate reality in many large cities, especially in Amsterdam where I live with my family of five. We use bikes as our primary means of transportation every day, rain or shine. We can’t afford to be without them. As such, I’ve already fitted a few of our bikes with water- and dust-resistant AirTag trackers that I MacGyvered under the saddles to avoid the tags being spotted. I’m constantly worried that the double-sided velcro tape will loosen now that the wet and cold... Continue reading…

Image: EA The creators of Wild Hearts, an upcoming hunting game from Dynasty Warriors studio Omega Force, really want you to feel threatened while playing. Much like the Monster Hunter series, the goal in Wild Hearts is to take down giant almost mythological creatures by cleverly using a variety of weapons and gadgets. Often when I play these games, I end up feeling guilty as I watch a dinosaur-like creature limp away while I stalk it with a giant sword in hand. But according to Wild Hearts director Kotaro Hirata, one of the key design goals was to avoid that feeling — and that goes for every creature you’ll come up against.“We didn’t want the players to feel bad when they defeated a monster,” he tells The Verge. “We weren’t exactly going for... Continue reading…

New design, new display, new processor, new price Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon will spend €1 billion over five years to electrify its delivery fleet in Europe, the retail giant announced. The money will be used to “double” the number of EVs in Europe to 10,000 vans and 1,500 “electric heavy goods vehicles.” The company has said it aims to be net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.“Our transportation network is one of the most challenging areas of our business to decarbonize, and to achieve net-zero carbon will require a substantial and sustained investment,” Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, said in a statement.Jassy said that Amazon’s investment will hopefully spur the installation of more public EV chargers in Europe, as well as serve as an incentive to the auto industry to make more electric delivery vehicles.“Our... Continue reading…

Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Welcome to the aesthetics of space photography Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge We’re keeping our heads down to prep for Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale today, but there were some deals that we couldn’t help but tell you about. First off, the SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless gaming headset is $100 off at Best Buy and Amazon, at just $249.99. That price is still a pretty penny for a gaming headset, but there are some reasons why you might like this one as much as we do. It has active noise cancellation, and you can listen to three sources simultaneously (2.4GHz, Bluetooth, 3.5mm) through its included wireless screen-and-dial-equipped base station. To keep the headset going, you get two swappable batteries, one of which can be holstered in the base station to recharge.It’s worth noting that this is the... Continue reading…

Priced at just $30, the new entry-level Chromecast shows how far Google has come since the original HDMI stick Continue reading…

Image: Oddworld Inhabitants My subconscious must have known that last month was the 25th anniversary of the release of Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee because I suddenly and inexplicably became obsessed. I watched Let’s Plays and speedruns of the game. When I finished, I went immediately to the game’s sequel, Abe’s Exoddus, watching even more longplays and speedruns and scouring the Playstation and Xbox game stores for a port.I couldn’t find one. (Lorne Lanning, if you’re reading this, can we please get Exoddus back out here?) So I settled for the next best thing: Oddworld: Soulstorm, which was released just last year. I had previously played New N’ Tasty, a remaster of Abe’s Oddysee, and more than playing Soulstorm — which is a reimagining of Exoddus — I only wanted to... Continue reading…

Microsoft’s fall Surface event happens on October 12th. | Image: Microsoft When is Microsoft’s Surface event?Microsoft’s fall Surface event is set to happen on Wednesday, October 12th at 10AM ET, 7AM PSTHow to watch the Microsoft Surface event live stream?If you’re planning to tune in live, the best place to watch is from the official Microsoft landing page, which doesn’t offer much in the way of details but gives you the option of adding a convenient reminder to your Outlook calendar.While there aren’t any official details on what Microsoft has planned, there are a handful of product announcements we plan to see at the event.The free space on the bingo card for this event is a new Surface Pro 9 announcement with configurations that flex a combination of Intel and Arm hardware, with perhaps the addition... Continue reading…

Modern Warfare II releases October 28th. | Image: Activision Blizzard Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II will require players to register with a phone number on Battle.net to play the game, in order to make players responsible for their actions. The game is set for release later this month on October 28th.It’s a repeat of the practice that caused issues for Overwatch 2 players last week, PCGamer reports. A Battle.net support page lists the upcoming CoD shooter as one of its three games that “require that you add a phone number to your Battle.net account” to play, alongside Overwatch 2 and 2019’s Modern Warfare.The phone verification system, which Activision Blizzard calls SMS Protect, is meant to cut down on toxic behavior from players, preventing them from creating endless new accounts to evade bans or... Continue reading…

Image: Google Google’s shutting down Driving Mode, its standalone Assistant-powered dashboard that offers quick access to audio controls, contacts, navigation, and other shortcuts while you’re on the road, according to a report from 9to5Google. The feature, which Google first announced at I / O in 2019, wasn’t officially launched until last year, but now Google’s sunsetting it on November 21st.The standalone version of Driving Mode isn’t to be confused with the Driving Mode feature built into Google Maps, which automatically boots up once you start navigation. As Esper’s Mishaal Rahman points out, Google added Assistant Driving Mode to Maps before it even released the standalone Driving Mode.The only difference between the two is that you can access... Continue reading…

Ye’s Twitter account is locked after he violated that platform’s policies. | Photo by Edward Berthelot/GC Images Twitter confirmed that it locked Kanye West, who now goes by “Ye,” out of his account after he posted an anti-Semitic tweet on Saturday (via BuzzFeed News). “The account in question has been locked due to a violation of Twitter’s policies,” Twitter spokesperson Katie Rosborough said in a statement to The Verge.Twitter has since removed Ye’s tweet, but several users screenshotted the post before Twitter took it down. “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” Ye wrote. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

The future of PCs looks like the Surface Pro X, and Microsoft had better make it work. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge It’s easy to forget now, but Microsoft’s first Surface was a huge risk. By diving into the PC market, Microsoft was competing with its Windows partners. By combining laptop and tablet, it was trying to create an entirely new device category. And by designing new software for Arm-powered Windows computers, it was betting that the mobile era would change the way laptops work and the way people use them.Microsoft didn’t get it all right, and it took a couple of years for the Surface line to really hit its stride. But a decade in, you can’t argue with the results: the Surface worked. Not only did the whole “attach a keyboard to your tablet and now it’s a laptop” idea become commonplace around the industry, but Surface also became a big... Continue reading…

Image: Atlus The Persona 4 Golden and Persona 3 Portable re-releases are scheduled to launch on January 19th, 2023, Persona developer Atlus announced on Twitter. The two JRPGs will arrive on the Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PS5 (via backward compatibility).While Persona 3 Portable’s making its way to Steam for the first time, Persona 4 Golden has been available on the marketplace since 2020 and became a verified Steam Deck title earlier this year. We first heard that Persona 4 Golden, Persona 3 Portable, and Persona 5 Royal were coming to other platforms back in June.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge While everyone is distracted by the recent announcement of the Google Pixel 7 lineup and the Pixel Watch, Wellbots has quietly provided The Verge Deals with an exclusive discount on the charcoal, fog, and lemongrass colorways of the Google Pixel Buds Pro. Normally $199.99, you can grab a pair of the delicious-looking earbuds for just $159.99 when you use the code VERGE40 at checkout — the best price yet. The Pixel Buds Pro are a massive improvement over the standard Pixel Buds, thanks to their enhanced reliability, multipoint Bluetooth support, and improved battery life. While the mic quality could be better and it lacks support for lossless audio, the Pixel Buds Pro remain an excellent choice for noise-canceling earbuds at this price... Continue reading…

The Rivian R1S is just one of the vehicles affected by the recall. | Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge Rivian’s recalling 12,212 electric vehicles (EVs) over a loose fastener that could affect drivers’ ability to control the car (via CNBC). The recall affects nearly every vehicle Rivian has produced this year, and spans the carmaker’s entire lineup, covering certain 2022 R1T pickup trucks, R1S SUVs, as well as the electric delivery vans (EDVs) it's building for Amazon. Rivian produced a total of 14,317 vehicles in the first three quarters of 2022 and delivered over 12,000.According to a notice filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the fastener connecting the front upper control arm and steering knuckle may not have been “sufficiently torqued.” This could potentially result in separation, “causing a loss... Continue reading…

The downtime will begin at about 9PM ET. | Image: Blizzard Blizzard will be taking the Overwatch 2 servers offline once again to fix more of the issues that have cropped up during the game’s rocky launch. The company plans to shut the game down at about 9PM ET (6PM PT), and expects the downtime to last for an hour. This downtime will be the third in two days, as Blizzard had to take the game offline twice on Thursday.Blizzard detailed the fixes in the works and some updates on a few of the bigger issues in a post on its forums. In Friday evening’s downtime, Blizzard plans to fix Watchpoint Packs not appearing as available for players who preordered them, and to address the LC-208 error that is preventing some players from logging in.In Friday’s post, Blizzard confirmed that the change to its... Continue reading…

Blizzard Though Kiriko launched along with Overwatch 2 earlier this week, today, at the Twitch Con opening ceremonies, Blizzard debuted a nine-minute cinematic to introduce her properly.Overwatch animated shorts are experiences unto themselves. The game’s cinematics team is uniquely skilled, knowing exactly what levers to pull and buttons to hit for maximum emotional devastation. I remember sobbing watching Bastion experience PTSD in his cinematic and cheering for Mei as she slogged through the snow in “Rise and Shine.” To celebrate the launch of Overwatch 2, Blizzard released an “Unleash Hope” video, splicing hype Overwatch moments between clips of human achievement and art over a message of hope and love. Exploiting emotion like that is... Continue reading…