The Verge

A screenshot of Amazon’s Amp showing a host with several guest callers. Everyone is muted while a song is playing. | Image: Amazon Amazon is launching its long-rumored Clubhouse competitor today: a new app called Amp that’s more about listening to music than sitting around and chatting.Anyone who signs up will be able to host their own live show, complete with the ability to stream “tens of millions of licensed songs” from the big three record labels and “a long list” of indies, Amazon says. The goal is to turn any user into a radio DJ, able to program a playlist, talk to listeners, and chat with call-in guests.Critically, hosts and listeners won’t need to subscribe to any particular service to tune in — anyone can listen in to full-length songs as long as they sign up for Amp, which is free. Image: Amazon A screenshot of Amp displaying a... Continue reading…

Lots of storage space and Bloodborne fan art Continue reading…

General Motors and utility Pacific Gas and Electric are teaming up to determine how electric vehicles can be used to power people’s homes during a blackout — or even feed power back into the grid during times of peak demand. The pilot will take place in PG&E’s home state of California, where wildfires are putting strain on the state’s energy infrastructure.GM is the latest automaker to team up with a utility around the idea of “vehicle-to-grid” technology. (PG&E has also partnered with BMW around a similar idea.) The idea is to use bi-directional charging equipment to push and pull energy from electric vehicles at any given time. In essence, it treats high-capacity batteries as not only tools to power EVs but backup storage cells for... Continue reading…

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge The DIY ethos can be applied to just about anything. Doing it yourself could mean creating the perfect tool for designing more personal video games, or communing with nature to make strange new music. Or maybe it means handcrafting a terrifyingly realistic doll that looks like a vampire baby. This collection of stories seeks to explore the myriad ways that people are using that DIY mentality to make the world a little more interesting — and a lot weirder. Continue reading…

Pitch perfect plants Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge New reports have emerged of hacking campaigns linked directly and indirectly to Russia’s war in Ukraine, with the stories shedding more light on an opaque element of the invasion: cyberwarfare. Many experts predicted that Russia would launch significant cyber attacks in Ukraine, shutting down the country’s electrical grid for example. But while large-scale operations have not materialized, reports of smaller forays are beginning to emerge.On Monday, Google said it had uncovered widespread phishing attacks targeting Ukrainian officials and Polish military. Security outfit Resecurity Inc also shared evidence of a coordinated hacking campaign targeting US firms that supply natural gas (a commodity that has become critical as Western... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is buying cybersecurity company Mandiant in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $5.4 billion.Mandiant’s operations, which draw on the work of more than 600 security consultants and more than 300 intelligence analysts, will be folded into Google Cloud to create an “end-to-end security operations suite.” A range of services will be offered, from consulting on cybersecurity to detecting upcoming threats and testing company’s digital defenses.“Organizations around the world are facing unprecedented cybersecurity challenges as the sophistication and severity of attacks that were previously used to target major governments are now being used to target companies in every industry,” Google Cloud’s CEO Thomas Kurian said in... Continue reading…

After much anticipation and rumors, Apple officially announced that it is holding its first event of 2022 on Tuesday, March 8th. The presented tagline for the upcoming event is “Peek Performance,” a supposed play on words for a sneak peek. We’ll likely get a peek (sorry) at a new iPhone SE with 5G and possibly a new iPad Air or Mac Mini.What time does the Peek Performance Apple event start?The event will be streamed live on Tuesday, March 8th, 2022 at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. As with Apple’s prior streamed events, it will likely be a pre-recorded presentation, with a flashy introduction and various set dressings for the executives hyping up the new products.Where can I watch the Apple event?You can tune in to the event on Apple’s website,... Continue reading…

Apple’s current 30W charger. | Image: Apple Apple could release a new 30W charger this year that uses gallium nitride (GaN) in its construction, according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Gallium nitride is a material that allows chargers to produce less heat, which means they can be smaller while still offering high wattages. Kuo notes that the new charger could have “a new form factor design” which would presumably make it smaller than Apple’s current 30W charger.The company’s first GaN charger was the 140W brick that shipped with the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro. But the much lower wattage of the new 30W charger would likely make it a better fit for one of Apple’s iPhones, iPads, or lower-powered laptops like the MacBook Air. As it happens, last year’s iPhone 13 Pro Max reportedly... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google’s Jigsaw unit is releasing the code for an open source anti-harassment tool called Harassment Manager. The tool, intended for journalists and other public figures, employs Jigsaw’s Perspective API to let users sort through potentially abusive comments on social media platforms starting with Twitter. It’s debuting as source code for developers to build on, then being launched as a functional application for Thomson Reuters Foundation journalists in June.Harassment Manager can currently work with Twitter’s API to combine moderation options — like hiding tweet replies and muting or blocking accounts — with a bulk filtering and reporting system. Perspective checks messages’ language for levels of “toxicity” based on elements like... Continue reading…

Image: Apple Apple is poised for its first livestream event of 2022 on Tuesday, March 8th at 1PM ET. The company sent out press invitation emails for the event titled “Peek Performance,” with rumors strongly suggesting Apple will announce a new third-generation iPhone SE with 5G.The iPad Air might also get a new spec bump update at the event, with upgrades to both 5G and an A15 Bionic processor, similar to last year’s iPad Mini. Another rumor suggests an Apple Silicon “M2” upgrade alongside a redesigned MacBook Air might be coming. New Macs, including a more powerful Mac Mini / less powerful Mac Pro (possibly named the “Mac Studio”) with an M1 Pro / M1 Max processor update, could also be announced alongside a last-minute rumor that suggests the... Continue reading…

The Mac Studio’s design is said to be inspired by Apple’s Power Mac G4 Cube from 2000. | Photo by Oleksandr Rupeta/NurPhoto via Getty Images Today’s Apple event could see the announcement of an all-new “Mac Studio” as well as a new standalone monitor, possibly called the “Studio Display,” according to a variety of last-minute rumors and tweets from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.The new Mac is said to be smaller than a Mac Pro, but more powerful than a Mac mini, which could position it as a compact standalone computer targeted at professionals. The name “Mac Studio” first appeared in a report last week from 9to5Mac. Meanwhile, the new monitor (which could be the “Studio Display” model that 9to5Mac has reported on) will reportedly run iOS and be powered by one of Apple’s A-series chips, which are normally found in its iPhones and iPads. The exact specs of the monitor are unclear,... Continue reading…

Amazon Prime Video is reportedly in talks with Sony to develop a live-action series based on the God of War games, according to a report from Deadline.The series is expected to be led by Mark Fergus and Hawk Otsby, the executive producers behind The Expanse, as well as Rafe Judkins, the executive producer of The Wheel of Time. Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions will also be involved, Deadline says.A live-action Twisted Metal is also in the worksDetails about the show’s premise are still sparse, but if the television adaption does come to fruition, producers will have a lot of ground to cover. God of War’s elaborate Greek-inspired history — where you play as the demigod Kratos — starts back in 2005 with the release of... Continue reading…

Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge OLED screens are glorious, gorgeous, vibrant — but they don’t last forever. Eventually, their organically lit pixels can wear, and some have understandably been worried that the OLED-equipped Nintendo Switch, released last October, might eventually succumb to burn-in. The good news? According to one test, it might take 3,600 hours of constant play on a static screen to even begin to see the first signs of that dreaded screen malady.YouTuber Wulff Den reports that after five months leaving a Nintendo Switch OLED turned on, plugged into a charger, leaving a static shot of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s Link effectively staring into the sun, he’s only now finally seeing some ghosting. And it’s not a lot, as you’ll see for... Continue reading…

The event is scheduled for 1PM ET / 10AM PT on March 8th Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon is allegedly employing suppliers in China with links to forced labor, according to a report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), a research group owned by the nonprofit watchdog organization Campaign for Accountability (via NBC News). The report accuses Amazon of continuing to work with these suppliers, despite evidence of their association with Uyghur labor camps.China’s population of Uyghurs, the country’s Muslim ethnic minority, is largely concentrated in the Xinjiang region of China. Over several years, the group has been subject to a number of human rights abuses within the country, including internment camps, constant surveillance, mass sterilization, and forced labor. As the TTP notes, China uses what it calls “labor... Continue reading…

If you’re in the first group, you Pocket should be coming soon. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Analogue has announced that it’ll be shipping out a new wave of Pocket handhelds at the end of March to people who got in early during its December presale. The company tweeted that Group A preorders will start to ship out the last week of March and would all be shipped by the end of the month.That date means that Analogue is just making its first deadline on time — before the Game Boy throwback handheld officially went on sale in December, the company said that the people who ordered first would be getting their Pockets in “Q1 2022.” While that means the wait is close to over for those in Group A (I’ll admit I’ve been starting to check the calendar, muttering to myself, “You know, there’s not a lot of time left in Q1...”), some... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram has removed its standalone Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps from Apple’s App Store and Google Play, as reported by TechCrunch. The removal comes shortly after Instagram’s February 28th announcement that it would stop supporting the IGTV app, and the changes indicate that Instagram is opting to consolidate some of its separate offerings to focus on the main Instagram app.“We’ve removed support for the standalone Boomerang and Hyperlapse apps to better focus our efforts on the main app,” Instagram spokesperson Christine Pai said in a statement to The Verge. “Boomerang is still supported in-app in Stories, and Layout remains a standalone app in the Store. We’ll continue working on new ways for people to be creative and have fun on... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Ubisoft and Take-Two Interactive are suspending game sales in Russia in light of its invasion of Ukraine, joining a growing list of companies that have decided to cut ties with the country (via Engadget).In an updated post on its blog, Ubisoft announced its decision to pause sales in Russia, citing the “ongoing tragedy in Ukraine.” The blog post itself doesn’t go into detail about the ban, but a report from Bloomberg indicates it includes both physical and digital game sales.Take-Two’s ban includes new game sales and installationsTake-Two has also decided to temporarily block new game sales and installations in both Russia and Belarus. The ban applies to all of Take-Two’s subsidiaries, including 2K Games and Rockstar, the developer... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge If you’re interested in a Steam Deck but haven’t reserved one yet, you might want to make a reservation sometime soon. Valve has updated the Steam Deck page to show that any reservations placed now won’t be able to actually make an order until sometime “after Q3 2022,” which means you shouldn’t expect to get one of the handheld gaming PCs of your own until at least October.If you have any interest in a Steam Deck, I recommend putting down the $5 required to make a reservation and secure your spot in line. While my colleague Sean Hollister explains in his review that the Steam Deck, at least right now, is “basically an early access game console,” there was a lot about the device he really liked, and hopefully, many of the kinks will be... Continue reading…

They say recent updates have made a “substantial difference on Apple M1-based Macs.” | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google has said that the latest Chrome update, version M99, is setting records on Apple’s own Speedometer web benchmark and is even faster and more responsive on Macs than Safari. A post on the Chromium Blog breaks down the improvements made to Chrome’s speed over the past year or so when compiling JavaScript and rendering graphics.According to Google, this all adds up to its browser being the fastest on M1 Macs, benchmarking around 7 percent faster than Safari. Chrome M99 also apparently set a speed record with a score of 300 on a benchmark created by Apple’s WebKit team, according to the blog post. The Speedometer benchmark is meant to simulate what it’s like to use a web app running using various technologies to see how responsive... Continue reading…

Disney Though most of Disney’s recent success with The Muppets has come by way of movies like Muppets Haunted Mansion, the studio is gearing up to produce another series featuring the puppet performers as they team up with a human friend.Today, Disney announced its plans to produce The Muppets Mayhem, a new show from The Goldbergs creator Adam F. Goldberg, starring Canadian Lilly Singh alongside Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem, the Muppets’ longtime house band.

Google Samsung, Lenovo, and Microsoft are the first device manufacturers to commit to shipping Android 12L, the new version of Android designed to be better optimized for tablets and foldable devices. Google’s VP of engineering for Android, Andrei Popescu, announced the news in a blog post, saying that 12L would ship to devices from the three companies later this year.Lenovo isn’t a surprise, since its P12 Pro tablet can already run a beta version of Android 12L. It’s not clear exactly which devices from the other two companies will get the update — presumably Microsoft’s Surface Duo 2 is one of them, while any number of Samsung Galaxy Tab tablets or Z Fold phones could potentially benefit from the new software. Google A... Continue reading…

You can type out a response, or choose from pre-written responses. | Image: Google Google’s latest feature drop for its Pixel phones supercharges its Live Caption feature for phone calls, allowing you to avoid having to speak entirely. There are also new custom sticker options, YouTube watch party support in Duo, and a night photography mode for Snapchat. Google says the features are rolling out starting today on the Pixel 3A to 5A and will be coming to the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro later this month.Google’s Live Caption feature could previously turn incoming phone call audio into text, but it’s now being updated to work the other way around, so you’ll be able to type text and have Google’s software read it out in the phone call. A short GIF released by the company shows how the feature can be accessed from the volume button... Continue reading…

Netflix Whatever plans you had for this year’s 4/20 are now probably going to involve the return of Netflix’s Russian Doll for its second season.There’s a lot going on in the teaser trailer / announcement video for Russian Doll’s second season Netflix dropped this afternoon, but it’s difficult to tease out what’s going on aside from the fact that the universe is apparently back to fucking with Natasha Lyonne’s Nadia Vulvokov.Though it seemed as if Nadia broke free from her Groundhog Day-style hell by the previous season’s finale, the new teaser strongly suggests that there’s more metaphysical mishigas afoot for her and Charlie Barnett’s Alan Zaveri. Mysterious and light on details as the new teaser is, it makes two things pretty clear about R... Continue reading…

Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge Coinbase says it’s currently blocking 25,000 cryptocurrency addresses linked to Russian people or entities, defending itself against claims that Russia could evade sanctions with crypto. In a blog post published yesterday, chief legal officer Paul Grewal outlined how the financial exchange is complying with new rules imposed amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. That includes using “sophisticated blockchain analytics” to identify accounts that are indirectly linked to banned users.Coinbase indicated that the 25,000 blocked accounts were “related to Russian individuals or entities we believe to be engaging in illicit activity.” It didn’t specify when precisely they’d been blocked or how many of the restrictions were related to the... Continue reading…

Dig it or quit it? Continue reading…

You can command your robot underlings with just your voice. | Image: iRobot Connecting your robot vacuum to Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant levels up your hands-free cleaning experience. Once set up, you won’t need to open an app on your smartphone or push a button on the bot to get the cleaning party started. With a voice assistant on tap, just say a command, and your bot will do.Most robot vacuum manufacturers work with Alexa for voice control, although some have more features than others. The basics generally include start, stop, pause, and dock (or go home). But the premium experience includes specific room cleaning commands — so, for example, you can ask Alexa to tell your robot to clean the kitchen and the living room. This is only available on vacuums with the ability to map your home, such as the R... Continue reading…

MIAMI, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 05: Smoke pours from the exhaust pipes on a truck on November 05, 2019 in Miami, Florida. | Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images The Biden administration today announced plans to drastically cut down truck pollution in the US. The Environmental Protection Agency proposed a new rule that would require new trucks to reduce harmful nitrogen oxide emissions by 90 percent from current standards by 2031. Biden is also taking aim at greenhouse gas pollution by boosting efforts to switch out diesel-burning vehicles with electric or hydrogen-powered trucks and buses.The moves reflect fast-moving technological advancements in zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles, according to a White House fact sheet released today. It also follows an infusion of cash for cleaner-burning vehicles laid out in the bipartisan infrastructure law passed last year. The actions align with two... Continue reading…

Apple TV Plus app on X1 | Image: Comcast Last fall, Comcast announced Apple’s streaming TV network would appear on its X1 platform along with Netflix, Amazon, Disney Plus, Hulu, Spotify, and all the other services it already offers, and now the day is here. According to a press release, the Apple TV Plus rollout on Xfinity X1, Xfinity Flex, and XClass TV starts today and should appear on eligible devices “in the coming days.”More importantly, for anyone who has the eligible hardware connected, you can try Apple TV Plus for free. From March 15th through March 21st, Xfinity users can expect an “unprecedented preview” of Apple TV Plus’ original series and films available with no sign-up or sign-in necessary. If you’re not sure if it’s worth it after that (or just haven’t finished... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge, Images: 100rabbits Come sail away with Hundred Rabbits Continue reading…

Is that... Nothing’s debut smartphone? | Image: @Evleaks Last week, when TechCrunch reported that OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei’s new startup, Nothing, could be on the verge of announcing its first smartphone, it said it had seen a picture of Pei showing off a prototype of the unannounced device to Qualcomm’s CEO Cristiano Amon. Now, a very similar, if not the very same image, has been publicly posted to Twitter by prolific and reliable leaker Evan Blass.Everything about this photo screams “tech trade show.” There’s the slick modern decoration, the pristine carpets, the reusable water bottle kept close at hand, and, of course, the unmistakable sign of pristine white sneakers worn with skinny jeans and a jacket. TechCrunch reported that the photo it saw was taken at Mobile World Congress in... Continue reading…

Last weekend, I was scrolling through my email, listening to the rain and wondering whether I was feeling too lazy to vacuum the rug, when I came across one with the subject line “Turn on Facebook Protect.”“Your account requires advanced security from Facebook Protect,” it said and proceeded to tell me that if I didn’t enable Facebook Protect by a certain date, I would be locked out of my account until I enabled it. I was instructed to click on the big blue button labeled “Turn on Facebook Protect” to get started. I was sure it was a phishing email. Until I found out it wasn’t.It turned out that Facebook is pushing higher security for “certain people in the public eye,” and so is encouraging those on its list to... Continue reading…

Apple is widely expected to release a new iPhone SE model this week, the company’s third — and its quickest update yet for its cheapest line of smartphones.Apple’s release cycle for the SE line is accelerating: the original iPhone SE was released in 2016 as an entry-level option for the iPhone lineup, priced at just $399 — compared to the $649 iPhone 6s model that preceded it a few months before. The second-generation model followed four years later, in 2020.Now, just two years later, Apple is preparing to release its third-generation iPhone SE, one that’s rumored to offer broadly the same design as the 2020 SE, but with an upgraded processor and camera from the 2020 model, along with 5G.And it’s that final detail — the addition of... Continue reading…

The all new Ampler Axel. | Image: Ampler Ampler is back with two all-new pedal-assisted electric bikes — the Juna and Axel — that join updated versions of the company’s Curt, Stout, and Stellar. The five-strong lineup of relatively lightweight e-bikes offers something for everyone in a bid to appeal to all types of riders, of varying sizes and tastes, with designs that look like regular bicycles thanks to batteries integrated neatly into the downtubes.I saw each of the new Amplers at a private event in the company’s new Amsterdam showroom and service center. Each e-bike — from the sporty Curt and Axel to the relaxed Juna and Stellar step-throughs to the sturdy Stout — expresses a maturity in form and function that you’d expect from a company that helped pioneer the... Continue reading…

Photo by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge HyperX’s best gaming gadgets don’t see discounts all that often, but there are some sizeable price cuts happening today at Amazon. Of the bunch, HyperX’s Cloud II Wireless is the one that I can easily recommend for people looking for a great wireless gaming headset that’s compatible with PC, PlayStation consoles, as well as the Nintendo Switch dock. You can get $20 off this model, which now costs $129.99.Within the past year, the Cloud II Wireless has gotten pushed out of our buying guide of the best gaming headsets, but not because it’s a bad product. It’s because other models offer a bit more in terms of functionality at a lower cost. This one doesn’t have a game / chat audio dial, nor does it include the ability to connect over... Continue reading…

Matt Burnett and Ben Levin. | Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge, Photo courtesy of Cartoon Network What happens when DIY and imagination collide Continue reading…

Illustration by Álvaro Bernis / The Verge Alongside digital DIY tools like Twine, Bitsy has made game-making genuinely approachable Continue reading…

The keyboard has a compact layout that even omits dedicated arrow keys. | Image: Razer If you were tempted by Razer’s analog keyboard last year but want something a little more compact, then the Huntsman Mini Analog might be worth a look. Razer says this is the first time it’s brought its Analog Optical Switches to a keyboard with a 60 percent layout, which means it doesn’t have a function row, numpad, or even arrow keys. The result is a very diminutive accessory, ideal for anyone with limited desk space.Having analog switches means the keyboard can register a range of inputs beyond its keys being simply pressed or not-pressed. For example, Razer’s software lets you assign two commands to one key (one for a half press, or another for a full press), and you can also change each switch’s actuation point (aka how much you... Continue reading…

The app’s iOS version. | Image: Nintendo Nintendo has updated its Switch Online mobile apps for iOS and Android to version 2.0, which brings a tweaked design as well as some minor quality-of-life improvements. The app launched shortly after the Nintendo Switch in 2017. It’s designed to work in tandem with the console, offering features like online voice chat that aren’t available on the Switch itself.For my money, the 2.0 update’s most interesting improvement is that it offers an easier way to find and share your friend code, the cumbersome 12-digit identifier that’s the primary way of adding friends on Nintendo’s online service. Instead of having to manually copy out the code from your Switch console itself before sharing it with a friend, the update lets you easily copy it... Continue reading…

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Hackers have successfully stolen internal company data and source code for Galaxy devices from Samsung, the South Korean tech giant confirmed today.News of the breach was first reported earlier this month, with a hacking outfit named Lapsus$ claiming responsibility. The group, which recently hacked Nvidia, shared screenshots purportedly showing roughly 200GB of stolen data, including source code used by Samsung for encryption and biometric unlocking functions on Galaxy hardware.In a statement today, Samsung did not confirm or deny the identity of the hackers, nor whether or not they had stolen data related to encryption and biometrics. But, the company said that no personal data, belonging either to employees or customers, had been... Continue reading…

A screenshot of Halo Infinite’s campaign. | Image: 343 Industries Halo Infinite’s second season won’t ship with online campaign co-op when it launches on May 3rd, 343 Industries announced. It’s set to launch “later” during season two, with no word on an exact release date.“It’s going to take more time to land a high-quality, full-featured 4-player network co-op experience”Joseph Staten, the head of creative on Halo Infinite says 343 is “aiming to deliver Campaign network co-op later in Season 2,” but won’t be bundling it at launch. It’s unclear whether split-screen and online campaign co-op will release simultaneously, though, as Staten only mentions network co-op as slated for release during season 2.“It’s going to take more time to land a high-quality, full-featured 4-player network co-op... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Netflix is suspending its services in Russia over the country’s invasion of Ukraine, as first reported by Variety.“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia”“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia,” Netflix spokesperson Emily Feingold said in a statement to The Verge.Last week, Netflix said it wouldn’t comply with a new Russian law that requires large streamers to host 20 Russian propaganda channels, such as NTV and the state-backed Channel One. The streaming giant later announced that it’s halting all productions and acquisitions in Russia — Netflix had been working on four Russian originals at the time. According to Bloomberg, Netflix... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok is suspending new video uploads and livestreams on its app in Russia, citing the country’s newly-passed “fake news” law as the reason for the change.

Activision Blizzard faces a wrongful death lawsuit. | Photo Illustration by Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The parents of an Activision Blizzard employee who died by suicide during a company retreat in 2017 are suing the company for wrongful death, according to a report by The Washington Post. Paul and Janet Moynihan, the parents of Kerri Moynihan, a 32-year-old finance manager at Activision Blizzard, allege sexual harassment was a “significant factor” contributing to her death. Investigators ruled Moynihan’s death a suicide after she was found dead in a hotel room at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa in April 2017.The suit claims Activision Blizzard “permitted a work environment in which sexual harassment was pervasive”As noted by The Post, Moynihan was anonymously referenced in the lawsuit filed by California’s Department of Fair... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is reportedly offering money to podcasters in a bid to get them to create video versions of their shows, according to a report from Bloomberg. People close to the situation told Bloomberg that YouTube is offering individual shows $50,000 and up to $300,000 for podcast networks, potentially to fund filmed episodes and other video-based content.YouTube has been making small advances towards pleasing listeners on the platformDespite being a platform for video, the Google-owned YouTube hosts a number of popular podcasts, including the H3 Podcast, Full Send Podcast, and the Logan Paul-led Impaulsive. It even helped foster the growth of the controversial Joe Rogan Experience, which Spotify purchased the exclusive rights to in 2020.Y... Continue reading…

Visa and Mastercard are suspending operations in Russia in light of its invasion of Ukraine. | Photo Illustration by Karol Serewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Visa and Mastercard are suspending operations in Russia in another major blow to the country’s financial system, according to a report from the Associated Press.In an announcement on Visa’s website, the company says it’s working with partners in Russia to “cease all transactions over the coming days.” A separate press release from Mastercard contains a similar message, noting that it’s suspending services in Russia and that its decision wasn’t taken “lightly.” Both companies explain that any transactions made with Mastercard or Visa cards issued by banks in Russia won’t work outside of Russia, while any cards issued by banks outside of the country won’t work at Russian merchants or ATMs.“We regret the impact this will have”“We regret... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Activision Blizzard is suspending new sales “of and in” its games in Russia, the game company’s president Daniel Alegre announced in a publicly-shared letter to employees (via Eurogamer). The move bars Russians from any new transactions with the company, which includes both the sales of its games and in-game purchases.The press release doesn’t specify whether the ban includes both digital and physical games. It does, however, highlight some of the contributions the company and its employees made to Ukraine, and also offers resources to workers affected by the war. The crisis in Ukraine comes at a sensitive time in Activision Blizzard’s history — the company continues to face criticism after it was sued for allegedly fostering a toxic... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge PayPal is suspending its services in Russia in response to the country’s “violent military aggression in Ukraine,” according to a report from Reuters. Ukraine’s vice prime minister Mykhailo Fedorov tweeted out a letter from PayPal CEO Dan Schulman, confirming the company’s decision to shut down its operations in Russia.