The Verge

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft can add ending the day as a $2 trillion company to the list of things it’s accomplished today, alongside announcing Windows 11. That makes it the second American publicly traded company ever to have a market capitalization of over $2 trillion (the other member of the club being Apple, which achieved it in August 2020), according to CNN Business.It’s easy to see how 2020 contributed to Microsoft’s success: the PC market grew by over 10 percent in 2020, according to estimates from IDC and Canalys, and seems to have kept some of that momentum this year. Microsoft also saw success with with its Surface devices, Xbox content, and cloud services — the company says its Intelligent Cloud segment brought in $48 billion alone in its... Continue reading…

Reddit’s error page. | Image: Reddit Reddit was down for many on Thursday, but the company has implemented a fix and the site seems to be working normally. While the outage was going on, Reddit would regularly take a while to try to load a page before showing an error screen with error code 503.On its status page, Reddit first reported an “elevated level of API errors” at 5:04PM ET Thursday, but Downdetector showed a huge spike of user reports of problems shortly after. (At their peak, reports surpassed 40,000.) At 6:51PM ET, Reddit said a fix was being implemented, and at 7:18PM ET, Reddit said the fix was in place. What you might see when you try to load Reddit. During the outage, the company also took to Twitter to assure users that its “team of... Continue reading…

Microsoft is enabling Xbox developers to utilize AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s DLSS on console games. FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) appeared recently on Windows PCs with the aim of boosting frame rates and maintaining image quality. It’s AMD’s answer to Nvidia’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) and early tests have shown it’s a promising technology that will work across multiple games and platforms.FSR is now making its way to Xbox games, too. Microsoft has started previewing support for FSR in its Game Development Kit for both Windows and Xbox today. “It’s supported on Windows, Xbox Series X and S, and Xbox One consoles,” says Jason Ronald, Microsoft’s director of Xbox program management. “FSR was designed to enable developers to... Continue reading…

The ThermoWorks Thermapen is legendary among chefs as the gold standard in kitchen thermometers, affording the fastest and most reliable temperature readings around. And today, the company has revealed its latest model: the $105 Thermapen One, which promises to achieve even faster temperature readings: less than a second (hence the name).ThermoWorks says the new thermometer is the only sub-second instant-read thermometer that can take a “full temperature reading” — technically five full readings in order to reduce uncertainty — without using estimations or predictive algorithms.The company says it spent more than five years developing the new thermometer, which features an improved thermocouple system developed in conjunction with... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The city of Baltimore’s spy plane program was unconstitutional, violating the Fourth Amendment protection against illegal search, and law enforcement in the city cannot use any of the data it gathered, a court ruled Thursday. The Aerial Investigation Research (or AIR) program, which used airplanes and high-resolution cameras to record what was happening in a 32-square-mile part of the city, was canceled by the city in February.Local Black activist groups, with support from the ACLU, sued to prevent Baltimore law enforcement from using any of the data it had collected in the time the program was up and running. The city tried to argue the case was moot since the program had been canceled. That didn’t sit well with civil liberties... Continue reading…

Amazon Music Amazon Music is getting more serious about its podcast endeavors. Today, the company announced that it’s acquiring Art19, a major podcast hosting and monetization platform for an undisclosed sum. This means Amazon will now have a hand in hosting podcasters’ shows as well as selling ads against them because Art19 operates an ad marketplace that targets and inserts ads into programming. An Amazon Music spokesperson says nothing will immediately change on the Art19 platform.This is a major step for Amazon as it looks to take on a bigger role in the podcasting world. Amazon Music only started offering podcasts in September last year, as did Audible in October. But in the time since, Amazon Music has acquired Wondery, one of the last major... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As part of its Windows 11 announcements on Thursday, Microsoft revealed a major policy change to incentivize developers to make apps for the Microsoft Store: starting on July 28th, if a developer uses their own or a third-party payment system in their app, Microsoft will let them keep 100 percent of the revenue. But the deal has one important caveat: it doesn’t apply to games, Microsoft confirmed to The Verge.That omission further muddies the ongoing debate about the differences between an app and a game and app store policies around each — a distinction that is one of the core issues in the ongoing legal battle between Fortnite-maker Epic Games and Apple.Microsoft is largely on the side of apps and games being different because its... Continue reading…

Today’s Windows 11 news is all about where Microsoft sees computing going over the next few years, but it’s just as much the story of how Skype has flourished and ebbed since its $8.5 billion acquisition a decade ago. Five years ago, Skype was the big name in internet calling and video, and Microsoft made it an “inbox app” for Windows 10 that was included at installation and launched at startup by default.Now, after a pandemic year that has had more people using their PCs for voice and video than ever before, Skype was nowhere to be seen in the Windows 11 presentation or materials. Instead, Microsoft Teams gets a highlight spot in the new center-aligned taskbar and deep integration into Windows. Image: Microsoft ... Continue reading…

One of the biggest announcements at today’s Windows 11 reveal was that Microsoft would offer the option to run Android apps on its new operating system, powered by a new “Intel Bridge” compiler that helps those apps run on x86 systems. But despite being an Intel-developed system, Android apps on Windows 11 won’t just be limited to computers with Intel CPUs. AMD and Arm-based processors will also support Android apps.“Intel believes it is important to provide this capability across all x86 platforms and has designed Intel Bridge technology to support all x86 platforms (including AMD platforms),” Intel confirmed in a statement to The Verge. Microsoft further corroborated that Android applications will be available for all silicon... Continue reading…

Image: ViacomCBS ViacomCBS is once again changing up leadership to emphasize its focus on streaming and ensure the success of its streaming services, particularly its late-to-the-party content giant Paramount Plus. The announcement comes just a day after The Wall Street Journal reported NBCUniversal had approached ViacomCBS about joining streaming forces.ViacomCBS announced Wednesday title changes and additional oversight for several of its executives currently overseeing various ViacomCBS content properties, particularly for its recently launched Paramount Plus streaming service. Leadership reorganizations focused on streaming have become standard for major parent companies of recently launched services like Disney Plus and HBO Max — and ViacomCBS has p... Continue reading…

Deals. Bargains. Sales. Discounts. I don’t know how else to tell you that Steam is selling games for less money, but it’s currently happening. The Steam summer sale will continue through July 8th, with quite a few beloved titles well below market rate.Which ones? Glad you asked. Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Sea of Thieves, Supergiant’s beloved roguelike Hades, From Software’s punishing ninja game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, recently PC-ported Horizon Zero Dawn, Mortal Kombat 11, and open-world coffee-drinking simulator Red Dead Redemption 2 are all at least 30 percent off. Battlefield V is less than $13. Unsettling cinematic platformer Inside is only $4.99.This sale also features a micro text adventure called Forge Your Fate (and... Continue reading…

Microsoft announced Windows 11 today, and one of the headline features of the “next generation” operating system is its visual overhaul. It’s released an entire video about how it designed its new OS, which shows off the new rounded corners, icons, and more.Here’s a look at some of the UI changes Microsoft showed off in its presentation today (along with some that we got a look at from subsequent videos), and how they compare to Windows 10.The Start menu and taskbarMicrosoft has moved the Start button from its time-honored place in the lower left-hand corner to the middle of the screen. While it’s a smaller change than what Microsoft did with the Start screen in Windows 8, it’s still likely going to take some getting used to — for... Continue reading…

Internet service provider Optimum, owned by Altice USA, is dramatically reducing cable internet speeds for new subscribers starting on July 12th. For some Optimum Online plans, upload speeds will be cut from 35Mbps to as little as 5Mbps, Ars Technica writes.The change impacts new customers still serviced by Optimum’s older, non-fiber network, and it will only impact current subscribers if they upgrade, downgrade, or otherwise change their service. Download speeds should remain the same, but you can see how upload speeds are slowed below: Optimum’s speed reductions to their internet-only plans. Lowering the speeds, sometimes by as much as 86 percent in the case of the basic Optimum Online plan, could impact a range... Continue reading…

Photo by Joshua Roberts-Pool/Getty Images After nearly two years of investigations, the House Judiciary Committee met Wednesday to push forward on a package of bills targeting the power large tech companies like Amazon and Facebook hold over the market.“With this package of historic legislation, we have the opportunity to take control of our own destiny to be a global leader in developing rules of the road for the digital economy,” Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said at the top of the hearing. “We cannot be complacent and we cannot delay.”“We cannot be complacent and we cannot delay”But while all six bills were eventually approved out of committee... delay, delay, the lawmakers did.The markup kicked off Wednesday morning and lasted through Thursday afternoon with a few short... Continue reading…

Razer puts the Blade 15’s power in a smaller package Continue reading…

At the end of a surprisingly eventful, exciting presentation of Windows 11, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella came on the video feed to deliver some closing remarks. He laid out his vision for Windows 11 as a “platform for platform creators,” and in doing so, he issued a subtle but nonetheless stinging critique of Apple.Nadella’s speech was almost entirely about building a case that Windows would be a better platform for creators than either macOS or (especially) iOS. He argued that “there is no personal computing without personal agency,” insisting that users should be more in control of their computers.Nadella called out the changes Microsoft is making to its app store rules, allowing more types of apps, Android apps, and — most... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is launching a nationwide campaign to unionize Amazon workers. On Thursday, the union passed a resolution to make the “Amazon Project” a top priority and said it would commit “all resources necessary” to making the initiative successful. News of the campaign was first reported by Motherboard.“Amazon presents a massive threat to working-class communities and good jobs in the logistics industry,” said Randy Korgan, national director of the Amazon Project, in a statement. “Amazon workers are calling for safer and better working conditions, and with today’s resolution, we are activating the full force of our union to support them.”The vote came during the union’s annual convention on June 24th.... Continue reading…

Microsoft announced Windows 11 on Thursday. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft just announced Windows 11, which brings a new design, a centered Start menu, the ability to run Android apps, and a whole lot more. But alongside everything new revealed on Thursday, Microsoft also shared details on features that will be deprecated or removed, and you might want to check out what’s changing in case there’s anything you might have to adjust to in your day-to-day use.Here are some big changes:

Microsoft made Windows 11 official today, but one part of the operating system the company didn’t show during its event was File Explorer. Just like the rest of Windows 11, it looks like File Explorer is getting a significant overhaul. In a video entitled “how Windows 11 is being designed,” Microsoft reveals the new File Explorer UI alongside some changes to the Microsoft Office UI.It appears that the ribbon interface that’s typically been a part of File Explorer and Office is going away. In a brief appearance in the video, you can see a File Explorer that looks more optimized for touch, with controls for file and folder operations built into the top section. As only the top section is shown, it’s difficult to know what else has... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The story of Sony’s beloved handheld Continue reading…

Photo: Evan Blass / Twitter Samsung’s 2021 foldable phones have been revealed in a new leak that shows off the design of the both the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, which are rumored to be released sometime over the summer. The picture comes from noted phone leaker Evan Blass, who posted the image to Twitter with the additional information that the Z Fold 3 is “definitely S-Pen compatible.”

It’s been over three years since former President Donald Trump signed FOSTA-SESTA, a major carveout to internet speech law Section 230. Proponents called the law — which adds penalties for hosting illegal sex work-related content — necessary to prevent online trafficking. But a new government report suggests it remains rarely used, even as legislators push for other, similar platform liability laws.Earlier this week, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a legally mandated report on the first three years of FOSTA-SESTA. The oversight agency compiled data from court records and corroborated it with other organizations, including the nonprofit Human Trafficking Legal Center. It found that over three years, the Department... Continue reading…

The Sims is the latest game to feature a virtual concert, but this one comes with a twist: some of the songs will be performed in the fictional Simlish language. Today EA announced “Sims Sessions,” described as an in-game music festival that will take place inside The Sims 4 from June 29th to July 7th. It’ll be headlined by pop star Bebe Rexha, who will sing her single “Sabotage” in Simlish. Glass Animals and Joy Oladokun will serve as the opening acts, though it sounds like they will be performing in boring old English.In addition to listening to music, players will also be able to explore the festival space, create new outfits, and buy “exclusive digital merchandise” from all of the performers. Meanwhile, Rexha will also be... Continue reading…

Windows 11 was announced today with a load of new features, and if you’re a Windows enthusiast, you are no doubt eager to give it a try. If you want to install a real version, rather than the leaked version that hit the internet on June 15th), Microsoft says it is going to share an early build of Windows 11 through its Windows Insider Program starting next week.If you want to play with early versions of Windows (and we strongly suggest you do it on a machine that you are not using for your day-to-day computing), you can join the Windows Insider program here — just click the Register button and sign in with your Microsoft account. Get an early download of Windows 11 via Windows Insider. You can check if your current... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge My job requires me to set up several Windows PCs per week. That means several times per week, I have to hear the following:“Hi there! I’m Cortana, and I’m here to help. A little sign-in here, a touch of Wi-Fi there, and we’ll have your PC ready for all you plan to do.”I typed that from memory because it is constantly echoing in my head. I cannot escape it. It’s the bane of my existence. I do not want to use Cortana. I do not want Cortana to help me boot up several PCs a week. Please, Cortana, leave me alone. But for years, my complaints have been shouts into the void that Microsoft has not heard.That’s why I’m a bit too excited about one of the tiny announcements that Microsoft just made. If you dig into the company’s Windows 11... Continue reading…

Surface Laptop 2 | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Now that Microsoft has announced Windows 11, you may be wondering what you’ll need to install it. Confirming information pulled from last week’s leak, all you’ll need to run it is a 64-bit CPU (or SoC), 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage, specs that are only slightly higher than Windows 10’s current requirements. This marks the end of Windows support for older 32-bit hardware platforms, even though it will continue to run 32-bit software.The fastest way to find out if your system can handle Windows 11 is to download Microsoft’s PC Health App (click here), which will automatically tell you if your specs and settings are ready for the new OS.The system requirements listed by Microsoft are as follows:

Microsoft unveiled Windows 11 on Thursday, and its least expensive version Windows 11 Home will now require an internet connection at setup — and a Microsoft account. Previous versions would let you opt out of Microsoft accounts by creating a local account instead, though the company didn’t necessarily make it easy to find and pushed you to use Microsoft’s login instead. It’s possible you’ll still be able to use a local account afterwards.The internet requirement may make sense since Windows 11 will largely be delivered via a Windows Update, like many of the updates to Windows 10, so you’d need an internet connection to install it on your PC. You’ll need to make sure your machine has enough free storage space to install the updates,... Continue reading…

Supporting local news sources is suddenly something the tech industry worries about, and with Windows 11, Microsoft is adding integration with local news “content creators and authors” front and center.In an expansion on the weather and news taskbar widget it recently added to Windows 10, it not only highlights sources in your areas, but it has a payment feature built right in. As shown in the video stream, you can support people with straight cash donations or Microsoft points, and it shows how many tippers are contributing to each person.

Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 11 today, and the software maker is committing to make it a free upgrade for Windows 10 users. Much like how Windows 10 was free for Windows 7 and Windows 8 users, this new Windows 11 version will be free for existing Windows 10 users.All you’ll need is a PC that meets the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11, which is now a 64-bit CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64GB of storage. Windows 11 will be delivered through Windows Update in much the same way as Windows 10 updates have been made available previously. Image: Microsoft The new Windows 11 UI. Windows 11 will include a new UI, with a Start menu overhaul, performance improvements, and updates to improve multitasking. It... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Anyone trying to watch Microsoft’s Windows 11 reveal over on its official website may have noticed the stream ran into a number of technical issues, including buffering and dropouts. It got so bad that the technical adviser to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was forced to respond, tweeting a link for viewers to watch the livestream on YouTube instead.Only the YouTube livestream wasn’t actually an official Microsoft stream at all and was technically a repost from the retailer Newegg. It just goes to show that live video is pretty damn hard, even if you’re a massive $2 trillion juggernaut like Microsoft.

Windows 11 is real, and Microsoft has just revealed the brand-new app store that will go along with it — which could be a big deal, seeing how previous versions of the idea never really caught on. It will be called the Microsoft Store, not the Windows Store, just like it has been since a rebranding in 2017.Here are some of the very first images of the new Store, and we’re adding more screenshots and details to this post right now. While Windows 11 was thoroughly leaked in mid-June, that leak notably did not include any glimpse of an updated app store, so I figure you’re eager to see how it might look! In a major move, Microsoft’s Panos Panay says developers will now be able to... Continue reading…

Snapchat Snap wants people to discover and make content with music on Snapchat, and today, it secured a major deal to help it achieve that goal.The company has signed a multiyear partnership with Universal Music Group, the world’s largest record label group, to bring its artists’ tracks to the platform. This means Snapchatters can search for music from various artists like Justin Bieber, The Bee Gees, Katy Perry, and others, and include them in their content, whether that be a snap they send a friend or something they submit to Spotlight — Snapchat’s TikTok rival.Deals like this, and specifically with UMG, are critical for Snap’s future success as people discover music online and create viral content around it more frequently. TikTok, in... Continue reading…

Microsoft Teams will be deeply woven into the upcoming Windows 11 update. During its preview of the new version of Windows, Microsoft’s Panos Panay detailed how it’ll be easier and quicker to create and join Teams meetings. The app will get prominent placement on the Windows 11 Start menu, and it’ll also be integrated throughout the system.Teams reached 145 million daily active users back in April. The service has had occasional stumbles and outages, thanks in part to that massive growth. Microsoft launched the free consumer version of Teams in May. Earlier this month, the company previewed a new “front row” layout that will come to the app later this year. It’s designed to help improve hybrid work situations where some people are at... Continue reading…

Microsoft is officially confirming the name for the next release of Windows today: Windows 11. After months of teases, hints of the number 11, and a giant Windows 11 leak, Microsoft’s new operating system is official. The big focus for Windows 11 is a simplification of the Windows user interface, a new Windows store, and improvements to performance and multitasking.Windows 11 includes a new Start menu and updated Start button that are both centered on the taskbar. This UI is very similar to what we first saw in Windows 10X, a project originally planned for dual-screen devices that Microsoft eventually canceled. A lot of the UI work that went into Windows 10X is appearing in Windows 11.The new Start menu drops the Live Tiles that were... Continue reading…

Photo by Belinda Jiao/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images UK carrier EE is introducing roaming charges for customers traveling to almost all EU countries from January next year, BBC News reports. The change applies to any customers who sign up or upgrade their plans after July 7th. From next year, these customers will be charged a flat fee of £2 (around $2.78) a day while in 47 “European destinations,” to get access to their plan’s existing data, minutes, and text allowances. The BT-owned carrier is also selling a 30-day Roam Abroad Pass, which is included with certain plans.Roaming charges for UK customers visiting mainland Europe used to be commonplace until the European Union outlawed the practice in 2017. However, following the UK’s departure from the EU, which involved a transition period... Continue reading…

It’s time for a new Windows Continue reading…

Photo by Huw Fairclough/Getty Images After several rounds in court, Amazon-backed food delivery service Deliveroo has won the right to continue classifying its couriers as self-employed, CNBC reports.The case concerned the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain’s attempt to unionize a portion of the service’s delivery riders operating around Camden. While law obviously differs between the US and UK, a similar throughline in these types of cases is proving (or disproving) the amount of direct control the platforms have over their contractors — the more meddling into how, where, and when generally translates to a stronger case that these workers are, in fact, misclassified employees.The UK Court of Appeals, however, was convinced that a newer version of the Supplier’s... Continue reading…

TCL’s wearable display plugs directly into your phone or laptop. | Photo: TCL TCL says its wearable display will go on sale in July starting in Australia for $899 AUD (about $680 US), with more markets to follow. The company has been teasing the concept for a couple of years now and showed it off earlier this year at virtual CES.TCL calls it NxtWear G and emphasizes that it’s not a VR or AR device in its current configuration. Instead, it acts as an external display for your mobile device or laptop, with two 1080p Micro OLED panels that give the effect of looking at a 140-inch screen.The wearable display works with phones, tablets, and laptops that offer USB-C DisplayPort functionality, including recent MacBooks, iPad Pros, and Samsung S21 series phones. The glasses plug directly into your device, displaying... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is announcing today that it is delaying its plans to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome browser until 2023, a year or so later than originally planned. Other browsers like Safari and Firefox have already implemented some blocking against third-party tracking cookies, but Chrome is the most-used desktop browser, and so its shift will be more consequential for the ad industry. That’s why the term “cookiepocalypse” has taken hold.In the blog post announcing the delay, Google says that decision to phase out cookies over a “three month period” in mid-2023 is “subject to our engagement with the United Kingdom’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).” In other words, it is pinning part of the delay on its need to work more... Continue reading…

The Xbox Series S offers many of the same features as the Series X, but a fraction of the cost. | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge Amazon Prime Day is officially behind us, and while many of the event’s best deals still linger, some retailers are already moving on to bigger—or at least different—things. Take Costco, for example, which is currently offering a members-only deal on the Xbox Series S online, dropping the price from $300 to $290. The next-gen console shares many of the same characteristics as the Series X, yet, it has a slimmer build, less storage, and no disc drive. It also has less processing power, though, it’s still compatible with all the same games, as well as most Xbox One titles. It’s a small discount, but the Series S is hard to come by at any price. Read our review.Cyberpunk 2077By all accounts, it’s been a rough six months for the team... Continue reading…

Photo by Andrew Hawkins / The Verge Volvo plans on offering the lidar — and artificial intelligence-powered safety features — of its upcoming electric vehicle as standard, but the Swedish automaker plans on charging extra for its semi-autonomous systems, like the hands-free Highway Pilot.Volvo’s fully electric successor to the XC90 SUV, to be revealed in 2022, will have two new components that have never appeared on a Volvo vehicle before: a lidar sensor produced by Luminar and an onboard “autonomous driving computer” powered by video game hardware manufacturer Nvidia.Those two pieces of hardware will help enhance Volvo’s traditional safety features, like automatic emergency braking and blindspot detection, before the company is ready to start rolling out more... Continue reading…

We’re more than four years into the life of the Nintendo Switch, and yet in some ways the handheld device remains an enigma. Namely: when there’s a port of a big game, you never quite know what to expect. Sometimes you get a welcome surprise like Doom Eternal, other times a mess like Apex Legends. Which why I was only cautiously excited about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 — an excellent-yet-awkwardly named remaster of the first two games in the series — making its way to the Switch. This is a game where movement and flow is paramount; if frame rate hitches get in the way of a good run, it’s not really worth playing.Thankfully, from what I’ve played, THPS is a surprisingly solid port. It’s not the ideal way to play, but it definitely works.... Continue reading…

Some sales include a digital display showcasing the moment being purchased. | Image: Wenew After selling an NFT for $69 million in March, Beeple is making his next big move in the digital art space: he’s launching an NFT platform that’ll sell “iconic” moments in time.The platform, called Wenew, is co-founded by Beeple and some longtime collaborators. They’re also bringing on Ryan Schreiber, the founder of Pitchfork, as Wenew’s editor-in-chief. Schreiber will help curate the moments sold on the platform, which will include highlights from the careers of athletes and artists.“We’re definitely looking at this as sort of immortalizing these moments of human achievement for collectors,” Schreiber told The Verge. Image: Wenew Wenew calls the digital displays “physical artifacts.” Wenew’s first NFT series... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro and Grayson Blackmon Ransomware funds more ransomware, so how do we stop it? Continue reading…

Microsoft is hosting a special Windows event later today where we’re expecting the company to unveil Windows 11. Microsoft has been teasing a “next generation” of Windows for months, and a leaked copy of Windows 11 suggests we’re going to see a number of changes during Microsoft’s event today.Microsoft is expected to focus on new UI improvements to Windows, including a new Start menu, rounded corners, and more simplifications to using Windows 11. We’re also expecting to hear more about a new Windows store that will offer better access to apps, and some multitasking and gaming improvements to Windows 11.The event should run for around 45 minutes, which gives Microsoft enough time to talk through the important aspects of Windows 11 ahead... Continue reading…

The JioPhone Next. | Image: Jio Platforms Indian tech giant Jio Platforms has collaborated with Google on a new affordable smartphone called the JioPhone Next, Jio’s parent company Reliance announced today. The Next is aimed at helping the roughly 300 million users in India who are currently on 2G networks upgrade to 4G, TechCrunch reports. It will be released in India on September 10th, before coming to other markets at a later date.Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani said the JioPhone Next would be an “ultra-affordable 4G smartphone,” but didn’t reveal exact pricing or full specs for the device. However, the company did say it will include voice assistant support, translation features, and a camera with support for augmented reality. The phone is running on an optimized version... Continue reading…

Microsoft Design (Instagram) A new version of Windows is coming today Continue reading…

Margins from all four sides were removed decades after the painting was completed. | Video: Rijksmuseum A mixture of artificial intelligence and painstaking research has allowed researchers to restore Rembrandt van Rijn’s The Night Watch to its original size, the Associated Press reports, centuries after it was trimmed down to fit in a smaller wall. The work was conducted as part of the Operation Night Watch project, and the results are being exhibited in the Honor Gallery in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum, which sees the original painting flanked by printed strips filling in the lost sections.The Night Watch was originally completed in 1642, after which it was hung in the club house of the civil militia it was based on. But 70 years later it was moved to a new location, where there wasn’t space for the whole painting and it was unceremoniously... Continue reading…

A classic iPod interface for your Spotify or Apple Music library. | Screenshot: tannerv.com/ipod In an era before multitouch displays, the iPod’s click wheel was the king of music playback control. Now, a new project from frontend software developer Tanner Villarete has attempted to emulate its classic controls as a web app, complete with support for your Spotify and Apple Music library.It’s fantastically simple, using your mouse or finger on a touchscreen to emulate the classic controls. You’ll need to sign in using an Apple Music or Spotify Account, and then it’s a simple case of using the virtual click wheel to select and listen to a selection of your most listened-to artists. It even supports the iPod’s classic “Cover Flow” interface, letting you to flip through album covers like a jukebox. Screenshot:... Continue reading…