The Verge

Image: Microsoft Microsoft has accidentally leaked its internal StagingTool" app that is used by employees to enable secret unreleased Windows 11 features. The software giant typically tests experimental or hidden Windows 11 features in public builds of the operating system, but Windows enthusiasts have until now had to rely on third-party tools to get access to secret features that Microsoft hasn't yet enabled for all testers.The accidental release of Microsoft's StagingTool yesterday was part of the company's bug bash" event this week, where engineers encourage feedback from Windows 11 testers to squash any remaining bugs before a big update. Microsoft is expected to deliver its next big Windows 11 update in September, including native support for... Continue reading...

Alienware has clearly heard the feedback. Its prebuilt Aurora desktop PC needs work, particularly in the cooling department. So the new Alienware Aurora R16 is laser-focused on fixing that - to the point the company is largely ditching its trademark out-of-this-world look.The new Aurora R16 has largely the same basic steel chassis inside, with the same 25.2 liters of space for your components. But its boxy new design ditches multiple pounds of plastic to make the entire computer 40 percent smaller in volume - shrinking all the way down from 60.7 liters to 36 liters in total. Image: Alienware Alienware R15 vs. Alienware R16. They have the same internal volume. The goal of not being impeded by plastics" was... Continue reading...

Image: Getty Images White Castle, yes of Harold and Kumar fame, wants to roll out AI-enabled voices to over 100 drive-thrus by 2024 in the hope that people can get their sliders faster with maybe less arguing with someone over speakers.Working with speech recognition company SoundHound for the technology, White Castle will have an AI voice on its speakers interacting with customers and figuring out what the orders are. The companies promise it will process orders in just over a minute.If you've been at a drive-thru recently, you would know that the menu board and speakers are now big and fancy. But you also know that it still involves yelling from the driver's seat, barking out orders, and an employee often mishearing words.White Castle's AI-enabled... Continue reading...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple first launched its AirTags trackers in April 2021, but if you're waiting to get one until a second generation is released, you might be waiting a long time: the next version of AirTags will likely go into mass production" all the way in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, from Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.Kuo didn't specify if going into mass production means that the trackers will be available in that timeframe or if that milestone is just Apple ramping up supply ahead of putting the devices on sale. Kuo did say that the tracker could have ties to Apple's forthcoming Vision Pro headset: I believe that spatial computing is a new ecosystem that Apple wants to build, using... Continue reading...

Image: The Writers Guild of America Though it won't necessarily lead to an immediate end to Hollywood's ongoing writing strike, the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers are scheduled to have a meeting this Friday - their first since the strike began three months ago.Variety reports that WGA chief negotiator Ellen Stutzman has agreed to meet with AMPTP president Carol Lombardini this Friday in response to a direct request from the AMPTP head to discuss next steps that could lead to labor contract negotiations resuming. In a statement shared to its members on Tuesday evening, the WGA confirmed that Lombardini and Stutzman are set to speak and stressed the importance of paying attention to the union's official channels.We'll... Continue reading...

Here's Reddit's final version of the 2023 canvas before it allowed users to white it out. | Image: Reddit Reddit no longer allows posts or comments on the r/Place subreddit, according to a post from a Reddit admin (employee). The company hosted the third iteration of the collaborative art project, which let users place individual pixels on a giant canvas, over the course of a few days in July.While you can't post or comment in the subreddit, you can still view posts and comments. A pinned post at the top of the subreddit, for example, features images of the final canvas before users posted white pixels to essentially erase everything. That post also links to a time lapse where you can see users banding together to write a very large message protesting CEO Steve Huffman in the waning moments of the r/Place project.Reddit first introduced... Continue reading...

If I asked you the last time you actually had to fax something to someone, odds are you'd stare at me as if I was asking about the last time you hired a horse and buggy. But anyone who has dealt extensively with insurance or medical facilities or with certain legal organizations will know that faxing has not gone away.So let's say you suddenly find that you need to fax a copy of a document to a company - what do you do? You can find the nearest office supply store, many of which offer faxing services. Or you can create a PDF of your document - assuming it isn't already a digital file - and send it via an online faxing service.There are a number of sites out there that will help you send and / or receive faxes online - some quick,... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Roblox just launched in open beta on Meta's Quest VR headsets last week, and it's already been downloaded well over" 1 million times, according to Roblox CEO David Baszucki. That number suggests that the app could potentially be a very popular one for VR devices; according to a February report from The Verge's Alex Heath, Meta has sold nearly 20 million headsets, so it appears that a good number of those Quest owners are dabbling with Roblox.That said, Roblox and Meta have been positioning this open beta as a way for developers to test and optimize their experiences for Quest headsets, and for good reason: I've tried a few Roblox experiences on a Quest 2 and run into a handful of issues. But I imagine that many of the most popular R... Continue reading...

The Sonos Move 2, seen here, will be available in a new green color. Sonos' next portable speaker is near - even if it's going to miss the peak of the outdoor summer season. I've learned that the Move 2 will be released around the end of September. Yes, it's called the Move 2 and not Move (Gen 2). The device will have a similar design to the first-generation model. And it's still a hefty sucker at over six pounds. But Sonos has made substantial improvements to audio performance, battery life, connectivity, the charging base station, and more. The image above, obtained from sources familiar with Sonos' plans, is your first look at the Move 2.The biggest upgrade for listeners is that the Move 2 will switch from mono output to true stereo playback thanks to the inclusion of dual angled tweeters; the... Continue reading...

The Chrome downloads tray is moving to the address bar after years of clogging up browsing windows. | Image: The Verge Google is rolling out some updates to its Chrome web browser that should make it easier to quickly find the information you need, whether you're downloading a bunch of files or just browsing the web.The most notable change to Google Search, perhaps, is that Chrome for Android now shows trending Google searches directly within the address bar. iOS users will be able to access this feature sometime later this year." Image: Google Trending searches (seen center) are great for staying updated about current events. Bringing the feature to mobile makes sense for those frequently on the move. Relevant search suggestions will also now appear in the address bar for Chrome mobile users on iOS and Android across... Continue reading...

Illustration: The Verge Google's AI-powered Search Generative Experience is getting a big new feature: images and video. If you've enabled the AI-based SGE feature in Search Labs, you'll now start to see more multimedia in the colorful summary box at the top of your search results. Google's also working on making that summary box appear faster and adding more context to the links it puts in the box.SGE may still be in the experiment" phase, but it's very clearly the future of Google Search. It really gives us a chance to, now, not always be constrained in the way search was working before," CEO Sundar Pichai said on Alphabet's most recent earnings call. It allows us to think outside the box." He then said that over time, this will just be how search... Continue reading...

Image: Worldcoin via Twitter Kenya is pumping the brakes on Worldcoin - the eyeball-scanning crypto project launched by OpenAI founder Sam Altman. The Kenyan government has ordered Worldcoin to stop collecting data in the country while it reviews the project for potential privacy and security risks, as reported earlier by Reuters.Worldcoin is a project that uses your iris to create a unique digital identity, which you can then link to digital currencies managed through the company's World App. The project launched last week and has had people lining up to get their eyeballs scanned by the shiny, silver orbs Worldcoin has set up in major cities around the globe.

Fewer clerks, more ads. | Image: Walmart Walmart is planning to plaster advertisements on its in-store self-checkout screens, TV demo walls, and other surfaces throughout its stores, as reported by CNBC.We can deliver Super Bowl-sized audiences every week," Ryan Mayward, Walmart's senior VP of retail media sales for Walmart Connect, the company's ads division, tells CNBC. Walmart operates 4,684 stores in the US, not including its Sam's Club warehouses and international locations. The company currently serves 240 million weekly customers in its stores worldwide.Walmart plans to get ads onto approximately 170,000 screens throughout its stores and will also pump 30-second radio advertisements from store ceilings. Businesses interested in capturing audiences at the retailer's... Continue reading...

Roborock's last-gen S7 Plus is on sale for $599.99 with its charging dock. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Life is short, so why waste your time vacuuming up your cat's hair balls? If you're looking for a faster and more efficient way to get your cleaning out of the way, Amazon is currently selling Roborock's S7 Plus robot vacuum with an auto-empty dock for just $599.99 ($350 off). That's a new all-time low, one that Walmart is nearly matching.The S7 Plus is a handy little gadget that'll vacuum your carpet and scrub your hardwood floors impressively well. In fact, it was one of our favorite robovacs before the Roborock S8 took its place earlier this year. It doesn't have the new model's AI obstacle avoidance, sure, but it's still outfitted with features designed to make cleaning both easier and faster. This includes the ability to clean... Continue reading...

Image: Amazon Amazon is now letting non-Prime members order grocery deliveries from its Fresh stores, as first reported by Bloomberg. Starting today, customers in a dozen major US cities, including Boston, Dallas, and San Francisco, can place online orders from Amazon Fresh stores and warehouses.While non-Prime grocery delivery is only available in a handful of cities in the US for now, Bloomberg reports that Amazon plans on rolling out the initiative across the country by the end of this year. Other cities in the rollout include Nashville, Charlotte, Richmond, San Diego, Sacramento, Phoenix, Denver, Austin, and Portland, Oregon. Before this change, Amazon only let those who pay for its $139 per year Prime membership order groceries online.N... Continue reading...

The proposed rules include a tiered system that imposes different restrictions for each age group. | Photo by Hugo Hu / Getty Images Chinese minors are facing harsh restrictions on mobile phone and internet usage as part of the country's latest bid to curb perceived internet addiction. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) published draft regulations on Wednesday that would introduce a minor mode" (according to a machine translation) on devices like smartphones, tablets, and watches that will limit access to content and device usage based on the child's age.For example, teens between the ages of 16 and 18 will be restricted to two hours of mobile usage each day under the draft regulations. All devices running minor mode" - regardless of the child's age - will be prohibited from accessing the internet between 10PM and 6AM. Some of these restrictions can be... Continue reading...

This year's flip phones come with much bigger cover screens, but they're not exactly created equal. I'm a cover screen convert.Our first flip-style phones with big cover screens have arrived in the US (pipe down, everyone in China and Europe who has options). The Motorola Razr Plus was the phone that converted me to a cover screen believer - I found it useful not just for checking quick info but also running a handful of full apps I use for simple tasks.So I've been especially eager to check out Samsung's take on a big cover screen on the Z Flip 5. I'm still putting the phone through its paces, but even after a few days with the Flip 5, I'm ready to declare it the cover screen winner - except when it comes to running full-on apps.From a hardware perspective, the Razr Plus' screen is nicer. It's a smooth 144Hz panel with 413ppi,... Continue reading...

The Lemokey L3 is the first keyboard from Keychron's new gaming subbrand. | Image: Keychron Keychron is launching a new keyboard on Kickstarter today that's notable for being the first under its new gaming-focused Lemokey subbrand. The Lemokey L3 will be available via the Kickstarter running this month, and Keychron expects it to ship later this year. Prices start at $209 for a fully assembled model, or $189 for a barebones model without switches or keycaps.Fundamentally, the Lemokey L3 is a modified version of Keychron's existing Q3 Pro, a tenkeyless wireless keyboard equipped with a volume dial and four programmable macro buttons. What distinguishes the Lemokey L3, aside from its slightly different look, is the inclusion of a 2.4GHz USB dongle, which allows the keyboard to be used wirelessly with a 1,000Hz polling rate. In... Continue reading...

Tesla co-founder Martin Eberhard and Elon Musk at the launch of the Tesla Roadster in 2008. | Image: Getty The story of Tesla and Elon Musk can be traced back to the early 2000s, when Musk was ousted as CEO of his first company, PayPal. That incident taught Musk a crucial lesson about the importance of being in control, even when it wasn't your own company.In episode two of Land of the Giants: The Tesla Shock Wave, we talk to Tesla's original co-founders, Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, as well as several of the company's earliest employees, to tell what is essentially an origin of the electric automaker - but also of Musk himself. We learn how Musk was brought on as a crucial early investor but soon used his clout, money, and even a few strong-arm tactics to oust Eberhard and Tarpenning and eventually install himself as CEO of Tesla.... Continue reading...

Image: The Verge Twitter Blue, which Elon Musk is currently rebranding to X Blue, now includes the option to hide the notorious blue checkmark. Twitter Blue subscribers recently started noticing the hide your blue checkmark" option on the web and in mobile apps, offering the ability to hide that they're paying for Twitter and avoid memes about how this mf paid for twitter."The checkmark will be hidden on your profile and posts," notes a Twitter support article. The checkmark may still appear in some places and some features could still reveal you have an active subscription. Some features may not be available while your checkmark is hidden." Screenshot by Tom Warren / The Verge The new hide blue checkmark option. Twitter... Continue reading...

Spatial audio is meant to make conference calls sound closer to real-life conversations. | Image: Microsoft After a few months of testing the feature, Microsoft has widely rolled out spatial audio for its Teams desktop app on Windows and macOS. Similar to what Apple has done with FaceTime, Microsoft's implementation of spatial audio makes it so that voices of everyone on a call sound like they're more spread out, with each person having a distinct position based on where they are on screen.Teams Spatial Audio aligns the perceived audio location of each participant with their video representation to make it easier for users to track who is speaking, to understand better when multiple speakers are speaking at the same time, and to lower meeting fatigue and cognitive load," Microsoft's Hong Sodoma wrote.But Microsoft has hit a wall when it... Continue reading...

An incandescent light bulb, next to an LED bulb. | Photo by The Verge When you think of a incandescent light bulb, you probably imagine this: a simple droplet of water crafted from opaque white glass, with a giant screw on the bottom, which consumes 40, 60, 75, 100, maybe 150 watts of power to light up a chunk of your home.As of August 2023, those normal" lightbulbs are really, truly banned from sale in the United States. You can still install and use those bulbs, but you won't find them on shelves legally. You'll find far more efficient LED or fluorescent bulbs instead.This isn't like back in 2014 when publications jumped the gun on the light bulb's obituary - manufacturers and retailers have been on notice for a full year (pdf), and August 2023 is the month the Department of Energy will begin fully... Continue reading...

Photo by Dave Kotinsky / Getty Images for MrBeast Burger YouTube personality MrBeast is suing the company responsible for his branded line of fast food including the MrBeast Burger, citing inedible" food delivered to customers. The company, Virtual Dining Concepts, partnered with James Donaldson, aka MrBeast, in 2020 to launch the menu out of ghost kitchens" - storefronts that have no physical presence whose food is made and served out of other existing restaurants.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The bankrupt crypto firm Voyager Digital suffered a potential data breach when it started letting customers recover their funds last month, as first reported by Bloomberg. In a court document filed on July 28th, Voyager's lawyers say they're investigating reports that scammers targeted customers using potentially stolen personal information.Voyager Digital reopened its platform for 30 days in June, allowing customers to withdraw the funds that had been trapped in the brokerage following its collapse last year. While customers withdrew over $491 million from the platform, their data may have been compromised during the process.Voyager's lawyers say they're aware of numerous scams and phishing attempts" affecting customers, some of... Continue reading...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is experimenting with the use of AI to auto-generate YouTube video summaries, according to a notice on a support page dated July 31st. The page, which we spotted via Android Police, notes that these summaries will only appear next to a limited number of English-language videos, and will only be viewable by a limited number of users. They'll appear on YouTube's watch and search pages, and are intended to give a brief overview of a video's contents without replacing its existing description written by a human.We're starting to test AI auto-generated summaries on YouTube, so that it's easier for you to read a quick summary about a video and decide whether it's the right fit for you," the support page reads. Android Police notes... Continue reading...

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is probing reports that 2023 Tesla Model 3 and Model Y vehicles lose their steering control while driving. Approximately 280,000 vehicles could be affected by the results of the investigation, the agency reports. The news was first reported by CNBC.NHTSA says it has received 12 complaints alleging loss of steering control and power steering in the vehicles. Five people filed complaints alleging an inability to steer the vehicle, while an additional seven people said a loss of power resulted in steering difficulties.One complaint reads:

Anker Prime 240W GaN Desktop Charger. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Anker's newest desktop 240W charger can fast-charge multiple devices, supporting up to 140W charging that's compatible with the 16-inch MacBook Pro. It leads off the company's new lineup of Prime" gallium nitride (GaN) chargers that were announced in June and is available for preorder on Amazon and direct from Anker for $199.99, with predicted shipping dates currently listed as starting in mid-September.The lineup also includes an update to last year's PowerCore 24K battery bank - now with a larger 27,650mAh pack. The new 250-watt Anker Prime power bank, besides being more powerful, can also dock on top of a new charging base that doubles as a 100-watt desktop charger. The 250-watt battery bank also supports a new Anker mobile app that... Continue reading...

Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images This is Hot Pod, The Verge's newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more.This is gearing up to be a more eventful August than usual. For today's issue of Hot Pod, I have news about how Disney's spring layoffs hit the in-house podcast team at Marvel. I also have a Q&A I conducted with Warner Music Group's senior vice-president of digital strategy and development, Allan Coye. Coye was the main force in launching Interval Presents, which is WMG's in-house podcast unit. Finally, I have an update on SiriusXM's second quarter earnings call from this morning.Marvel's podcast unit is the latest casualty of Disney cutsMarvel wasn't spared in Disney's axing of 7,000 employees this spring, which included former... Continue reading...

In an aerial view, wind turbines generate electricity at the Block Island Wind Farm on July 7th, 2022, in Rhode Island. | Photo by John Moore / Getty Images The US has some of the most potential for offshore wind energy in the world, says a new analysis by the University of California, Berkeley. Offshore wind resources are plentiful enough to generate up to a quarter of the nation's electricity by 2050, in time to help meet global climate goals.It will take a monumental effort to reach those goals, with very little offshore wind capacity installed in the US today. And the industry is currently facing mounting political and financial challenges even after the Biden administration moved to open up much of the country's shoreline to offshore wind development.But the report shows what's possible in the long run if the US can harness the power of those winds at sea. The good news about this... Continue reading...