The Verge

A working Apple AirPower prototype unit. | Image: Giulio Zompetti Apple’s AirPower wireless charger was supposed to arrive with the unique ability to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at the same time. Unfortunately, Apple canceled AirPower in March 2019, citing difficulties in bringing the product to life. Since then, we’ve seen a teardown of AirPower, some AirPower clones, and Apple’s MagSafe battery packs. Now, an Apple prototype collector has obtained a working AirPower unit for the first time.Speaking to The Verge, Giulio Zompetti, a 28-year-old from Italy, says he has been able to purchase a prototype AirPower unit from Chinese e-waste sources. “The unit lacks all of its exterior housing, and shows this beautiful and heavy stainless steel chassis,” says Zompetti. I... Continue reading…

In April, AMD announced versions of its Ryzen 5000 desktop CPUs with integrated graphics cards, but it only made them available for prebuilt OEM systems, promising that it would sell the chips to consumers later this year. Well, “later this year” is today, with AMD now offering its Ryzen 5000 G-Series APUs to anyone to buy, not just multimillion-dollar PC manufacturers.Right now, only two of the Ryzen 5000 G-Series chips are available to purchase on AMD’s website: the eight-core Ryzen 7 5700G for $359 and the six-core Ryzen 5 5600G for $259. Both chips, like the standard Ryzen 5000 CPUs, are built on AMD’s 7nm process with its Zen 3 architecture.A good option if you don’t need a powerful GPURight now, AMD is just selling those two... Continue reading…

Photo by Alan Markfield In Free Guy, Millie (Jodie Comer) is a game developer on the outs working to prove that publisher Antwan (a strutting Taika Waititi) illegally stole game code from her and her partner, Keys (Joe Keery) to create Free City, the most popular video game in the world. She infiltrates the game, hunting for the evidence to prove that her original idea was stolen — evidence that she thinks is hidden somewhere deep inside the game itself.And you would think that the movie is about her, right? But Free Guy seems more focused on offering up Ryan Reynolds guilelessly moseying across the screen as the titular Guy, in what feels like a version of The Lego Movie that swaps “charming, stop-motion-style Lego animation” for “video games” and throws in... Continue reading…

Moderna says a third shot of its COVID-19 may be needed against variants | Photo by Ivan Damanik/NurPhoto via Getty Images Pharmaceutical company Moderna said its COVID-19 vaccine is 93 percent effective through six months after the second dose, but as new variants of the virus emerge, people who received the vaccine may need a booster shot before winter.The company made the announcement as part of its second-quarter earnings release Thursday.“We are pleased that our Covid-19 vaccine is showing durable efficacy of 93 percent through six months, but recognize that the Delta variant is a significant new threat so we must remain vigilant,” Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel said in a statement with the earnings release. Moderna president Stephen Hoge said during an earnings call that a third booster “will likely be necessary to keep us as safe as possible through... Continue reading…

Standout design, noise cancellation, and wireless charging for $99 Continue reading…

Staff label and package items in the on-site dispatch hall inside one of Britain’s largest Amazon warehouses in Dunfermline, Fife. | Photo by Jane Barlow/PA Images via Getty Images Amazon announced new efforts that might be able to prevent some overstocked and returned items from becoming trash. It launched two new programs that are intended to make it easier for third-party retailers to sell returned goods and unsold inventory.The moves come in the wake of several separate investigations into Amazon warehouses that found that many returned and unsold items were labeled for destruction. Businesses that use Amazon to sell their products pay to hold their stock in Amazon warehouses. When those goods don’t sell, or if returned items pile up, they might decide to chuck the products to save money.Amazon’s new “Grade and Resell” initiative will now give third-party sellers in the UK the option to sell stuff that’s... Continue reading…

Sony’s original PSVR. More and more details for Sony’s planned next-generation PlayStation virtual reality headset appear to be popping up. According to YouTube channel PSVR Without Parole with further corroboration from UploadVR, Sony held a developer summit on Tuesday where it detailed new information about the controllers and game development strategy for the sequel to the PSVR, and seemed to confirm some features that have already been reported.Among the new details, the next-gen PSVR controllers (or NGVR controllers, based on what PSVR Without Parole claims is the codename for the device) can reportedly not only detect when you’re holding the controller and touching buttons but also how far away your fingers are. The feature sounds a bit like the radar... Continue reading…

The University of Alabama will be the first school to exclusively issue mobile student IDs this fall. | ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images Apple Wallet has supported contactless student IDs since 2018, with three US universities supporting the feature at launch. The program has been gradually expanding ever since. Yesterday, the company announced that its virtual IDs will finally arrive in Canada this fall. An unspecified number of additional US universities will adopt it for the first time as well.The University of New Brunswick and Sheridan College will be the first two Canadian schools to use Apple Wallet IDs. The new US roster includes Auburn, Northern Arizona University, University of Maine, and New Mexico State University, in addition to “many more colleges across the country.” The University of Alabama, one of the program’s early adopters, will also be the first... Continue reading…

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) speaks at a press conference urging the inclusion of the Civilian Climate Corps., a climate jobs program, in the budget reconciliation bill, outside of the U.S. Capitol on July 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Ocasio-Cortez was joined by (L-R) Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), Joe Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and climate activists. | Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images If Democrats and progressives have their way, tens of thousands — or even millions — of Americans could soon find work planting urban trees, managing forests, and making homes more energy efficient and resilient to the ravages of climate change. They’d form a new “Civilian Climate Corps” that lawmakers and activists are hoping to fund through the budget reconciliation process.The idea has picked up significant momentumFor more than a decade, different proposals have floated around for a new civilian mobilization focused on climate adaption. Recently, the idea has picked up significant momentum. The most ambitious proposal yet was introduced by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in April. Joe Biden proposed a... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Some Facebook users stymied by the company’s seemingly impenetrable support channels have turned to an interesting — and expensive — loophole to get access to their locked accounts: buying an Oculus Quest headset, as reported by NPR. But it doesn’t appear to be a reliable way to get access, as many reports online indicate that the solution didn’t work out for them.The crux of the issue is that it’s often difficult to know if Facebook is receiving support requests when you submit them through its normal channels. From NPR:

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The 2021 New York International Auto Show has been canceled as the delta variant of COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the United States. The show was supposed to run from August 20th to August 29th at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.The show’s organizers announced the cancellation Wednesday “with great disappointment,” according to a statement, citing the spread of the delta variant and increased safety measures such as the new proof of vaccination requirements announced by New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio this week. The decision came suddenly, as just last week organizers revealed a poster for the event titled “The Future is Bright.” This year’s show was supposed to have a special focus on electric vehicles.“All... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge If you’ve ever hit “Send” on a Gmail email and regretted it ten seconds later, you’ll know how handy — even necessary — a delayed send function can be. It could be the sudden realization that you accidentally hit “Reply all,” or a feeling that you may have sent it to the wrong contact, or that there is a misspelling somewhere in there — or, perhaps worst of all, the knowledge that you just sent off an angry missive that you probably shouldn’t have. In any of these cases, a few seconds to stop that email could keep your day from imploding.(Gmail, of course, isn’t the only email app with this ability; other apps offer it as well.)Gmail offers a standard five-second window to allow you to change your mind and unsend the email, but if you... Continue reading…

Employees at Code for America (CFA) announced today they are unionizing with the Office and Professional Employees International Union (OPEIU) Local 1010. Organizers say 62 people have signed authorization cards, meaning 77 percent of eligible employees have indicated their support for the effort.The national nonprofit builds tech products for government agencies, including helping county courthouses automatically clear peoples’ records once they are eligible and operating one of the biggest intake sites for California food stamp benefits.Employees say they are largely happy with the work — and are better paid than colleagues at other nonprofits. Still, they feel a union could give them more of a say in business decisions. “A union... Continue reading…

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends’ new Rivals mode. | Image: Sony Ghost of Tsushima’s multiplayer mode, Legends, is getting some new free content and a standalone release, Sony and developer Sucker Punch announced Wednesday. The standalone release will be available on September 3rd for $19.99 / €19.99 / £15.99 on both PS4 and PS5.That same day, a big new 2v2 mode called Rivals will be introduced to Legends. Here’s how Darren Bridges, a senior game designer at Sucker Punch, describes it in a blog:

Image: Square Enix If you haven’t yet played the Final Fantasy VII Remake, now is a good time to jump in since you can get the game for up to half off its usual cost. Square Enix has slashed the price of the digital copy of the base game for PS4 (upgradeable to the PS5 version for free, with your game saves intact) down to $30. This matches the best deal we’ve seen yet for the digital version.Though, if you’re a PS5 owner and want access to the Integrade downloadable content containing a new episode focused on Yuffie, there’s a great deal for you, too. Normally $70, you can get the digital version of Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade for $50 — essentially making the Yuffie-focused episode a complimentary goodie on top of the base game.Final Fantasy VII... Continue reading…

Aerial view of rescue team using inflatable rafts evacuate residents from flooded area after heavy downpour, on July 26, 2021 in Weihui, Xinjiang City, Henan Province of China. | Photo by Cui Nan/China News Service via Getty Images Flooding poses a grave risk to tens of millions more people than researchers previously estimated. Up to 86 million more people lived in flood-prone areas around the world in 2015 compared to 2000, according to a new study published today in the journal Nature.Thanks to satellite remote sensing, researchers were able to build what they say is the most comprehensive dataset of observed floods yet. It shows that more people have moved to waterfronts where they’re at risk. The findings also suggest that older flood maps used to inform urban planning and insurance policies might be underestimating the real-world risk of flooding.Just in the past month, shockingly severe floods have taken hundreds of lives in China, Germany, and Belgium.... Continue reading…

The Tab S7 FE comes with a stylus in the box. | Image: Samsung Samsung’s Galaxy Tab S7 FE is officially coming to the US starting on Thursday for the 5G version with the Wi-Fi model expected a few weeks later, the company has announced. The specs of the stripped-back FE, or “Fan Edition,” version of Samsung’s flagship tablet from last year have been public since a listing for the tablet appeared on its German store in May, but now we have full details of its US pricing and availability.The first version of the Galaxy Tab S7 FE to release in the US will be its 5G model. It’ll be available to order starting Thursday, August 5th, from AT&T, Verizon, and Samsung’s own online store, with prices starting at $669. It will also be available from other retailers, as well as T-Mobile and US Cellular “in the... Continue reading…

Customization aplenty, but the omissions are hard to ignore Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge If you plan to get some typing done on your iPad, Apple’s Smart Keyboard might be a good accessory to pick up. Right now, it’s $115 at Amazon, which is $44 off its usual price. It has plummeted to around $100 before, according to pricing data from CamelCamelCamel, but this is a great deal if you need to buy right now. This model can work with the previous and current generation of the base 10.2-inch iPad, as well as the last-gen 10.5-inch iPad Air or the last-gen 10.5-inch iPad Pro models.For a little less, you can opt for a more protective and capable keyboard from Brydge. Its 10.2 Max Plus model supports the previous and latest generation of the iPad, and it adds not just a keyboard, but also a large trackpad. You’ll need to keep it... Continue reading…

The entry-level Nissan Leaf now starts at $27,400. | Image: Nissan Nissan’s Leaf 2022 range starts at just $27,400, making it the cheapest mass market electric car currently available in the US, according to Electrek. That starting price drops to as little as $19,900 if you include the full $7,500 federal tax credit, for which Nissan vehicles are still eligible. These prices don’t include other charges like licensing and destination fees, or additional state-level incentives, but it’s a promising sign of how affordable electric vehicles are becoming.The exact price difference between Nissan’s 2021 and 2022 Leaf cars varies from model to model. The entry-level Leaf S, which has a 40kWh battery, has reduced by $4,270 from $31,670 to $27,400, undercutting the electric Mini Cooper’s starting price of... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony’s $499 PlayStation 5 console is no longer selling at a loss. Bloomberg reports that Sony chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki shared the news just a week after the company announced it had sold 10 million PS5 consoles.While the PS5 with a disc drive is no longer selling for less than the cost to produce it, the less expensive and disc-less $399 PS5 Digital Edition is reportedly on track to have Sony’s related losses offset by other hardware sales like accessories and the PS4. Sony sold 500,000 PS4 consoles in the most recent quarter, bringing lifetime sales up to an impressive 116.4 million. Image: Sony The PS5 won’t be as costly as Sony’s PS3 launch. It took Sony years to stop losing money on PS3 sales,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook has banned the personal accounts of academics who researched ad transparency and the spread of misinformation on the social network. Facebook says the group violated its term of service by scraping user data without permission. But the academics say they are being silenced for exposing problems on Facebook’s platform.The researchers were part of NYU Ad Observatory, a project created to examine the origin and spread of political ads on Facebook. As the group explained in a blog post in May, their aim is to uncover who pays for political ads and how they are being targeted. Such work has important implications for understanding the spread of disinformation on Facebook, as the company does not fact-check political ads.To help... Continue reading…

Oppo Oppo has announced the latest iteration of its under-screen camera technology, claiming it allows for a selfie camera to be placed under the display “without compromising the integrity of the screen.” Unlike earlier approaches that reduce pixel density in the portion of the screen that covers the camera in order to let more light pass through, Oppo is using smaller pixels to maintain the same 400-ppi sharpness as the rest of the OLED panel.The result, according to Oppo, is that users should notice “almost no visual difference between the [under-screen camera] area and the rest of the screen during everyday use, creating a much more immersive visual experience.” The company has shown off an image of a prototype phone running an e-reader... Continue reading…

Street Fighter’s Cammy and Guile in Fortnite. | Image: Epic Games Epic Games is adding two more Street Fighter icons to Fortnite. Playable Chun-Li and Ryu skins were added to the game in February, but soon, Guile and Cammy skins will make their debut in the game’s item shop. You’ll be able to buy them starting August 7th at 8PM ET.I think both skins look great — I’m personally a huge fan of Guile’s ridiculous-looking flat top hair.

Apple’s new Apple Store layout. | Image: Apple The Apple Store was mysteriously down on Tuesday for just about an hour, but it has emerged from the downtime with a brand new look and a dedicated tab on Apple’s top-level navigation.At the top of the store, there are images and links to many of Apple’s product lines (Mac, iPhone, AirPods, etc.). Some of those links take you to new dedicated Store pages for the products, which show you what models are available and point to resources like shopping guides, accessories, and support. On the main Store page, there are also sections for what’s new, links to support pages, and more. The iPad category in the new Apple Store. The new design is filled with cards — it’s somewhat reminiscent of Apple’s Store app for iOS. It... Continue reading…

T-Mobile has wasted no time consolidating Sprint’s network and spectrum with its own. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As reported by Light Reading and confirmed to The Verge, T-Mobile has committed to a June 30, 2022 shutdown date for Sprint’s LTE network. It’s an expected move as T-Mobile continues to absorb Sprint’s network and customers into its own base, and comes six months after its contentious planned January 1, 2022 shutdown of Sprint’s 3G CDMA network.A third of Sprint customers have already been moved onto the T-Mobile network, according to T-Mobile. The company expects to be able to migrate the remaining two thirds by that mid-2022 deadline, according to CFO Peter Osvaldik’s remarks at an investor conference last month. Some of those customers will likely need new devices that are compatible with T-Mobile LTE and VoLTE, though the company... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images AT&T announced earlier this year that it would spin its video properties DirecTV, AT&T TV, and U-verse into a new company it would co-manage with private equity firm TPG Capital. That transaction is finally complete, and the services will now operate as a single company under the name DirecTV.As outlined earlier this year when the company initially announced plans to off-load its struggling DirecTV business, AT&T will retain a 70 percent stake in the company, while TPG will take a 30 percent stake. The telecom giant said the deal for which it received $7.1 billion in cash would help pay off its massive debt, with the company projecting it can put a stop to the bleeding by the end of 2023.Part of that debt is owed because of AT&T’s a... Continue reading…

Photo by Joey Roulette / The Verge SpaceX’s Starlink mobile app got a refreshing upgrade this week that makes it easier to find clear patches of sky and monitor connection outages — and adds a new dark mode for its user interface. The app improvements came out yesterday as SpaceX reported 90,000 active users in its open “better than nothing” beta phase, which spans rural regions across 12 different countries so far.The “completely updated and renovated” version, as SpaceX describes in its Apple’s App Store changelog, includes a new way to scan your surroundings for obstructions before installing a Starlink terminal. Like its previous method, the app directs users to scan their surroundings using their phone cameras, but the new version generates a tiny dome around your... Continue reading…

An image from Google’s online store that shows off a new Nest Cam and Nest Doorbell. | Image: Google Google has apparently leaked some unannounced Nest security cameras right on its own online store (thanks for the tip, Eric!). Google confirmed in January that it would be releasing a new lineup of security cameras this year, and it seems like the company’s store may have just revealed what’s on the way.As far as we can tell, the new devices include a combined outdoor / indoor battery-powered Nest Cam, a Nest Cam with floodlight, an indoor wired Nest Cam, and a battery-powered Nest Doorbell. When we tried to click on the “Learn More” and “Buy” links for those devices, the site sent us back to the main Google Store homepage, so it seems that they might be live earlier than they are supposed to be. Image: Google T... Continue reading…

HBO Max is offering free content to potential users. | Image: HBO Max HBO Max is offering free episodes to potential new subscribers in-app and free of charge so they can take its more popular series for a test drive before committing to yet another streaming service.The company announced that, starting today, new viewers mulling a subscription can watch a selection of 13 pilots from HBO and HBO Max without having to sign up for the service. Normally, subscribers would pay $10 per month for HBO Max’s ad-supported tier or $15 per month to go ad-free and get special perks like 4K streaming and day-and-date releases for Warner Bros films. (HBO Max does not currently offer a free trial.) The full list of series whose pilots can be streaming for free is as follows:

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge Sony released its first PS5 software beta last Thursday, and with it came the much-anticipated support for adding an M.2 SSD, letting you install more PS5 games than the fairly restrictive 825GB built-in SSD allows. Alongside the beta, Sony provided a list of requirements, making it clear that you wouldn’t necessarily be able to just grab any SSD and chuck it in your PS5.Which SSDs work with the PS5?Sony’s main requirements are that the SSD be PCIe Gen4 and at least 250GB. However, Sony makes it very clear that your SSD needs a heatsink, which can complicate things, given the limited amount of space in the PS5’s SSD bay. What SSDs you’ll want to consider depends on whether you want to install a heatsink yourself or not, and whether... Continue reading…

Image: WhatsApp WhatsApp is rolling out its “View Once” feature today, which deletes photos or videos from your chat after they’ve been opened by the recipient. When sending a photo or video, you can make it view once by tapping the “1” button to the left of the send button. After the recipient opens it, it’ll be deleted. The recipient will be able to see that it’s a disappearing photo, so it’s still the type of thing you’d only want to use for people you trust to not take a screenshot.In June, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that the feature would be coming, though details about when it would release were scarce. According to WaBetaInfo, the feature has been in beta for about a month. GIF: WhatsApp The recipient will be left with a... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Despite how things may seem, Snapchat hasn’t learned your birthday or birthplace on its own — you likely told it yourself. The app’s exact knowledge of the exact time, date, and location of a user’s birth has been an issue of some concern for users on Twitter and TikTok over the last few days, but it’s due to Snapchat’s Astrological Profile feature and not some nefarious new skill the app has gained as it’s soared in popularity over the last year.You can view your “Astrological Birthday” in the settings section of Snapchat, and if you weren’t aware you had already given the app all of that information, it would be a fairly alarming discovery. Checking baby photos will not reveal that the Snapchat Hot Dog has been with you since birth,... Continue reading…

Just five days after Nikola founder Trevor Milton was indicted, in part, for allegedly misleading investors with footage of a moving truck that was secretly rolling downhill, the hydrogen-trucking startup released footage of a newer prototype driving uphill.The startup showed the video during a presentation of its second quarter financial results on Tuesday. (It also published the footage on YouTube.) While it may be a moral victory for the company to show its truck climbing a 12 percent grade hill in light of the more infamous clip Milton once orchestrated, the release of the footage nonetheless came alongside some bad news: Nikola now expects to deliver half the number of trucks this year than it had originally estimated. Worse, the... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Blizzard president J. Allen Brack isn’t the only executive leaving the company today after presiding over a culture now accused of fostering “constant sexual harassment.” Jesse Meschuk, the company’s head of global human resources, has also now departed, an Activision Blizzard spokesperson confirmed to Bloomberg and to The Verge.“Jesse Meschuk is no longer with the company,” wrote an Activision Blizzard spokesperson. The company declined to comment further. Meschuk appears to have deleted his Twitter account as well.While Brack oversaw the entire Blizzard brand and was named in the state of California’s lawsuit as an alleged enabler, Blizzard’s human resources department was also allegedly complicit. The lawsuit suggested that... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Thunderbolt 4 is still relatively early on, but that isn’t stopping Intel from working on its next version of the connectivity standard, Thunderbolt 5. And thanks to a hastily deleted tweet from Intel executive Gregory Bryant that was caught by Anandtech, we’ve already gotten a sneak preview at the next-generation Thunderbolt standard, which could offer twice the speed of Thunderbolt 4 while maintaining physical USB-C plugs.The most notable thing on the post was a title for “80G PHY Technology” — referencing a physical connector that offers 80Gbps connections, which would be twice the speeds offered by Thunderbolt 4 (which maxes out at 40Gbps). Photo: Anandtech The next line confirms that the new technology still... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Today, NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio announced details of the “Key to NYC Pass,” a plan to require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 before entering locations like fitness centers, restaurants, or entertainment venues. New Yorkers can meet those requirements by carrying their vaccination card or scanning and storing it in one of two authorized mobile apps. While some businesses and events have already begun to require proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test for entry by workers and customers, government-mandated “vaccine passports” have been a controversial topic.

Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images Epic Games only released the v17.30 update for Fortnite early Tuesday morning, but data miners have apparently found a new file within it: audio for an emote based on the Migos song “AM to PM” that features DaBaby, a rapper who has received widespread criticism for homophobic comments toward people with HIV and AIDS he made last week. A file being found in the game doesn’t guarantee that it will be available for players, but it can be a hint about content Epic has been working on.DaBaby has faced criticism since at least the Rolling Loud music festival on July 25th, where he said:

Master Chief can now tell you when to turn left or continue straight, thanks to Microsoft and Google teaming up to add Halo Infinite-themed content inside Waze. The promotion will also let you get directions from Escharum, the leader of Halo Infinite’s antagonists, the Banished. There are also a few other settings that let you make your navigation experience more Halo-y, including the ability to have your vehicle show up as a Warthog or Ghost.To enable the Halo experience, open the Waze menu and tap on the “Drive with Master Chief” button. From there, you can set your Mood, car icon, and navigation voice to be UNSC or Banished-themed. It’s hard to miss the settings. This is a very bad idea, given... Continue reading…

Image: OtterBox OtterBox’s latest gaming controller clip is MagSafe-compatible for iPhone 12 devices, and it costs $39.99. Compared to its previous $30 gaming clip that we reviewed earlier this year, it streamlines the process of connecting your phone to a controller clip by letting it snap on seamlessly with the help of magnets — in other words, MagSafe technology (TM). This solution is preferable to traditional controller clips that clamp around the edges of your phone’s display. I just wish that this one worked with other phones.Some MagSafe-compatible accessories can also charge iPhone 12-series models, but in this case, OtterBox’s MagSafe gaming clip seems to boil down to “it’s a circular magnetic surface.” There are no other special features... Continue reading…

On Tuesday, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission Gary Gensler called on Congress to expand the agency’s authority in regulating cryptocurrency trading, lending, and platforms.“Right now, we just don’t have enough investor protection in crypto. Frankly, at this time, it’s more like the Wild West,” Gensler said in a speech to the Aspen Security Forum Tuesday. “We have taken and will continue to take our authorities as far as they go.”“It’s more like the Wild West”Over the last few years, cryptocurrency tokens and platforms have flourished as US financial regulators have struggled to develop and apply to the new technology. Last December, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed new regulations to make it easier... Continue reading…

Photo by Avery White for The Verge Apple is updating to the Mac Pro with new graphics card modules on Tuesday, featuring options based on the AMD Radeon Pro W6000 series. The company claims the new Radeon Pro W6800X MPX Module, Radeon Pro W6800X Duo MPX Module, and Radeon Pro W6900X MPX module should give a boost to performance for the graphics-heavy tasks Apple designed the Pro around. Continuing to support the Pro by bringing new GPU options to Apple’s custom Mac Pro Expansion Module (MPX) system is a pretty good sign that the company remains committed to its new, modular design.AMD first announced the new graphics cards in June this year, with the promise that the W6800 would bring “up to 79 percent faster performance than the previous generation.” Now a little over... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Sunday, a bipartisan group of Senators published draft text of a massive new bipartisan infrastructure bill, proposing more than a trillion dollars in spending and a vast array of far-reaching provisions. But a little-noticed section in the bill could have significant implications in the fight against drunk driving, eventually mandating a new in-car safety technology to actively prevent Americans from driving while impaired.Introduced under the heading “Advanced Impaired Driving Technology,” the provision would require the Department of Transportation to set a new standard for detecting and preventing impaired driving. The bill calls on the secretary of transportation to release a standard within three years, with the requirement... Continue reading…

Here’s the Google Meet app on Chrome OS. | Google With Chrome OS’s latest update, Google has announced that its Google Meet app will be preinstalled on all Chromebooks. The announcement is part of the company’s larger push to adapt its operating system for remote meetings.The new feature shouldn’t make too much of a difference to longtime Chromebook users who already have a preferred video chat platform installed. But for new students receiving a Chromebook for the first time, or other folks who are trying the platform out, it could certainly mean the difference between using Google Meet for meetings and social calls or turning to competitors like Zoom.Google also says it’s made performance improvements to Google Meet’s experience, including “adapting video calls to different... Continue reading…

Image: Inspiration4/John Kraus The first “all-civilian” mission to space is set to blast off on a SpaceX rocket in mid-September, and the process of getting those astronauts trained and (eventually) into orbit will be documented in a new five-part Netflix series called Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission To Space.Announced Tuesday, Countdown is being billed by Netflix as the first documentary series from the streaming company to cover an event in “near real-time.” Netflix says the first two episodes will arrive on September 6th, followed by two more on September 13th. The company says SpaceX is targeting September 15th for the launch, and if that schedule holds, the fifth episode — a “feature-length finale” — will premiere by the end of the month. The documentary is... Continue reading…

Image: Fandango Fandango has announced that it will phase out the branding of its “FandangoNOW” streaming service and focus on Vudu as its lone app for rentals and purchases of movies and TV shows. The change means that Vudu will now become the default portal for rentals and purchases on many Roku devices, where FandangoNOW has long been the digital store for movies and TV content.Fandango says the united service will “offer more than 200,000 new release and catalog movies and TV shows to rent or buy, including the largest collection of 4K UHD titles and thousands of titles to watch for free — all with no subscription required.” It’ll also continue to support Movies Anywhere and the high-quality video streams that made Vudu popular among home theater... Continue reading…

Microsoft’s new Aqua Shift Special Edition Xbox controller. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft has just revealed its newest Xbox controller — the Aqua Shift Special Edition — and it has a striking, shimmery blue finish that makes it perhaps Microsoft’s flashiest controller yet. But the shiny blue color isn’t its only distinctive feature: the controller also has rubberized side grips that have “a unique dual color swirl on every unit,” according to Microsoft.You can get a close-up look at the controller’s shiny finish and one of the grip patterns in a tweet from Xbox:

Photo by Aubrey Gemignani /NASA via Getty Images Boeing postponed the test launch of its uncrewed Starliner astronaut capsule on Tuesday, the company said in a statement. The delay was caused by a technical issue that popped up after lightning storms on Monday. Mission teams are determining whether the issues can be resolved in time for Starliner’s next launch opportunity on Wednesday around noon.During routine engineering checks the day before Starliner’s planned launch, engineers noticed the position of some valves within Starliner’s propulsion system appeared out of place, Boeing said, adding that the issue was detected “following yesterday’s electrical storms in the region of Kennedy Space Center.” Starliner was slated to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on... Continue reading…

It’s taken a few months, but Apple is now selling the new, Touch ID-equipped version of its Magic Keyboard for anyone to buy, starting at $149 for the standard version and $179 for a full-sized model with a numpad, as spotted by MacRumors.The Touch ID keyboard was introduced alongside the M1 iMac earlier this year, but at the time, the only way to get one was to buy a new computer. Now, though, anyone can buy one of the new keyboards, albeit with one key caveat: the standalone models are only available in Apple’s usual white / aluminum color scheme, instead of the more colorful models that come with the brightly hued iMacs.And for those who must have their accessories match, Apple is also selling the updated Magic Trackpad for $129,... Continue reading…

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) walks back to his office after a bipartisan group of Senators and White House officials came to an agreement over the Biden administrations proposed infrastructure plan at the U.S. Capitol on June 23, 2021 in Washington, DC. | Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images A new generation of pipelines could be born out of the bipartisan infrastructure deal making its way through Congress. But instead of hauling oil and gas, the pipelines would carry planet-heating carbon dioxide. The massive bill would allocate funding for new infrastructure devoted to capturing carbon dioxide, and transporting it to places where it can be buried underground or used in products like carbonated soda.Carbon capture technology aims to scrub CO2 directly at the source of emissions — but it’s remained controversial among climate activists, with many seeing it as a false solution that distracts from emission reduction goals. But Congress’ new bipartisan infrastructure plan would invest billions of dollars into the idea,... Continue reading…