The Verge

Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images Cloud computing company Salesforce is joining other Silicon Valley tech giants in announcing a substantial shift in how it allows its employees to work. In a blog post published Tuesday, the company says the “9-to-5 workday is dead” and that it will allow employees to choose one of three categories that dictate how often, if ever, they return to the office once it’s safe to do so.Salesforce will also give employees more freedom to choose what their daily schedules look like. The company joins other tech firms like Facebook and Microsoft that have announced permanent work-from-home policies in response to the coronavirus pandemic.“As we enter a new year, we must continue to go forward with agility, creativity and a beginner’s mind —... Continue reading…

CBS All Access is set to transform into Paramount Plus on March 4th, but you won’t be able to watch it if you own a second- or third-generation Apple TV. The company announced that it won’t update its app for those devices when the streaming service relaunches next month, as spotted by MacRumors. Image: MacRumors The announcement makes CBS All Access / Paramount Plus the latest service to end support for the set-top box. YouTube announced that it will drop support starting next month, while HBO dropped the aging streaming boxes last year. The second-gen Apple TV is over a decade old (it launched in 2010), while the third-generation version was released in 2012, so it’s understandable that we’re starting to see a... Continue reading…

Photo by Karwai Tang/Getty Images South Africa announced this week that it’s stopping the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford COVID-19 vaccine after a small study found that it wasn’t effective against mild and moderate disease. Other vaccines are also less effective in South Africa, where a variant of the virus with mutations that can dodge antibodies is circulating widely. The AstraZeneca-Oxford product appears to be the worst of all, and it fell down to less than 50 percent effective (the benchmark health agencies set for COVID-19 vaccines).It’s another hit for the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, which has been dogged by shaky relationships with regulators and limited transparency for months. But it’s also a confusing result: the small trial wasn’t able to figure out if the... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Twitter doesn’t need Donald Trump to keep growing. The company said today that it ended 2020 with 192 million daily users, and the figure continued to grow in January — the month when Trump was banned from the platform. Twitter didn’t offer a specific daily usage figure for January, but it said daily user growth was “above the historical average from the last four years.”“We are a platform that is obviously much larger than any one topic or account,” Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said — without specifying which one account he might have in mind — on a call with investors today.The usage details were given in Twitter’s Q4 2020 earnings release, which covers October through the end of December 2020. That means the release wouldn’t normally... Continue reading…

Illustrations by Alex Castro / The Verge Nicolo Laurent, the Riot Games CEO, is under investigation following gender discrimination and sexual harassment allegations, a Riot Games spokesperson tells The Verge today. The investigation was announced after a legal suit was filed against the Valorant developer.Due to Laurent’s stature at the company, a special committee of the studio’s Board of Directors will oversee the investigation, which a third-party law firm is currently conducting. A Riot Games spokesperson told The Verge that the company “is taking all allegations of harassment or discrimination very seriously, thoroughly investigating claims and taking action against anyone who is found to have violated our policies.”According to the lawsuit filed in early January,... Continue reading…

One of the first Android apps — ZXing Team’s Barcode Scanner, an app that predates the first official release of Android itself — is currently getting review-bombed on the Google Play Store. Hundreds of users are leaving 1-star reviews claiming a recent update spews unwanted ads, while nearly 200 more have come to the app’s defense with 5-star reviews of their own.It’s not quite clear what’s going on here, but the prevailing theory is that the 100 million-download strong app is getting mistaken for another one with the same exact name — one that might have been a clone of ZXing’s app and one that did add malware in a recent update, according to digital security firm MalwareBytes.MalwareBytes seems to be aware of the confusion; it... Continue reading…

Image: Adobe Adobe is making it easier for multiple people to work on the same file in Photoshop, Illustrator, or Fresco. The three apps are getting a new feature called “invite to edit,” which will let you type in a collaborator’s email address to send them access to the file you’re working on.Collaborators will not be able to work on the file live alongside you, but they will be able to open up your work, make changes of their own, save it, and have those changes sync back to your machine. If someone is already editing the file, the new user be given the choice to either make a copy or wait until the current editor is finished. It’s not quite Google Docs-style editing for Photoshop, but it should be easier than emailing a file back and forth.The... Continue reading…

Image: Weber Weber is expanding its line of internet-connected grills to encompass its popular gas models, including the company’s entry-level Spirt lineup, offering Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for tracking temperature and an integrated digital display.Connected grilling isn’t a new concept for Weber: the company has offered a line of iGrill meat thermometers for years as add-ons for its existing grills, and last year, it debuted its second-generation Weber Connect smart grilling hub accessory, which offers a newer and more advanced Weber Connect app. It has also offered Weber Connect smart grilling features on its SmokeFire pellet smoker (in a similar manner to Trager’s WiFIRE smokers).Including smart technology to control things like... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Disney is shutting down Blue Sky Studios, the animation house responsible for the Ice Age movies, according to Deadline. The reason cited by a studio spokesperson is the “current economic realities,” likely referring to COVID, which has hit the movie industry in a number of ways.Blue Sky previously operated under 20th Century Fox’s animation department but became a part of Disney when the company took over the entirety of Fox’s movie and TV show-making business in 2019. That included access to the X-Men franchise — something that may soon become culturally relevant — and Blue Sky Studios. Disney will be absorbing all of Blue Sky’s characters and IP, including its most popular franchises, Ice Age and Rio. Deadline reports that there are... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images SpaceX started accepting preorders for its Starlink satellite internet service late on Monday, as the company broadens its beta program to “a limited number of users per coverage area.” Members of the public can now enter their home address and put down $99 for an antenna-router bundle that Starlink’s website says will ship “on a first-come, first-served basis,” depending on location.The $99 deposits are fully refundable and “may take 6 months or more to fulfill,” the website says. Some locations entered on the website return a notice saying coverage won’t be available until “mid to late 2021,” while some say 2022. The full Starlink kit costs $499 and includes a mountable pizza-sized dish antenna, Wi-Fi router, and power supply.The... Continue reading…

Screenshot by Nick Statt / The Verge As Rod Ponton awoke one morning from uneasy dreams, he found himself transformed during a live Zoom hearing into an adorable pet feline.Such is the fate of some lawyers and video call participants in the coronavirus era who may struggle with some of the more powerful tools offered by platforms like Google Meet and Zoom. Thankfully, we have Ponton’s remarkable transformation on camera as part of a live-streamed hearing of the 394th Judicial District Court now available on YouTube. It was also publicly tweeted by Judge Roy Ferguson, who presides over the district encompassing a handful of small West Texas counties near the Mexico border.

Image: Vanity Fair The Joker is such an elemental comic book villain that any new version is bound to be compared to previous iterations. It’s rare, then, that an actor would get to play two versions of the character in the span of a few years, but such is the blessed life of one Jared Leto. As part of the run-up to the release of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, the director has revealed the first images of the new version of Leto’s take on the Clown Prince of Crime to Vanity Fair. The results are more than a little gloomy.You might remember the original Leto Joker for his tattoos — in particular, the delicately printed “damaged” on his forehead or the variety of “hahahahahas” on his body. That version of the character from Suicide Squad was an edgy,... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The same people who originally brought Android to the Nintendo Switch, the Switchroot team, are back with an Android 10 update, according to XDA-Developers. While the mod is only available for certain Switch models, it allows users who install it to run apps from the Google Play Store, like games, emulators, and streaming services like Netflix and Twitch.The update also brings some more polish to the mod, letting the Joy-Con sticks work as proper analog sticks instead of eight-way D-pads, deep sleep support that the devs say “can last for weeks,” over-the-air updates, and better Wi-Fi support that promises fewer disconnections.Of course, the real reason for adding Android to a Switch is so you can play games that aren’t Switch games,... Continue reading…

Images: Audi Starting at a cool $100,000 Continue reading…

Image: Instagram Instagram’s newest guidance for creators makes one thing clear: the platform wants people to stop posting recycled TikToks to Reels. Today, Instagram says it’s making changes to its algorithm and how it recommends Reels to users. Along with that, it’s issuing new best practices on its @creators account to give Instagram users tips on how to make content that’s likely to be seen and promoted.The team now recommends that Reels users post vertical videos that use music found in Instagram’s library or sounds that they find on Reels. They also suggest “starting a trend” that others can participate in, like dance crazes, as well as “entertaining” and “fun” content. Reels that are mostly covered by text, are blurry, have a watermark or logo,... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Huawei has asked a court to overturn the Federal Communications Commission’s designation of it as a national security threat. The Chinese telecom argues that the FCC overstepped its authority in December 2020, finalizing a ban supported by former President Donald Trump. “The order on review potentially impacts the financial interests of the telecommunications industry as a whole,” Huawei’s request says, including network operators the FCC locked out of buying Huawei components.The Biden administration’s FCC reiterated its support for the decision, however. “Last year the FCC issued a final designation identifying Huawei as a national security threat based on a substantial body of evidence developed by the FCC and numerous US national... Continue reading…

It’s 2021 and we’re still finding unique ways to pair up to develop self-driving cars. The latest is between Toyota, AV startup Aurora, and auto part supplier Denso. The three companies will join forces to develop a fleet of robotaxis, with the first hitting the road by the end of this year.It’s a big get for Aurora, the scrappy AV startup founded by Chris Urmson, the former head engineer of Google’s self-driving car project, among others. Toyota, which outsold Volkswagen in 2020 to reclaim its status as the biggest automaker in the world, is one of the few car companies that has yet to pair up with an autonomous vehicle startup. Denso, which spun out of Toyota in the mid-20th century, is one of the largest auto suppliers on the... Continue reading…

Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images The second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump begins today. Trump was charged with incitement of insurrection by the House after the attack on the Capitol last month. House impeachment managers and Trump’s legal team will debate the constitutionality of the case today. After a Senate vote, which will likely pass, both sides will begin opening arguments on Wednesday.What time does the impeachment start?The first day of the trial begins at 1PM ET. There will be four hours for both sides to present arguments. The House has already voted to bring an article of impeachment against Trump, so the Senate arguments will be over whether the misconduct is sufficient to justify penalties, including potentially barring Trump from... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Google launched a VPN for its Google Fi cell service in beta back in November 2018, allowing Fi subscribers to route their phone’s internet traffic through an encrypted connection to help protect security and privacy. Until now, though, it has only been available for Android users, but that will change soon. Google plans to roll out the Fi VPN to Fi subscribers on iPhones beginning this spring, the company announced on Tuesday.Google also announced that the VPN is officially exiting beta on Android. “After listening to your feedback and making performance improvements, we’re taking the Fi VPN out of beta for Android phone users,” Google said. The VPN is included with all Google Fi plans, so you should be able to try it out now if... Continue reading…

Photo Cliff Welch/Getty Images | Photo by Cliff Welch/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Super Bowl 2021 will go down in history for a few things, including being the most-streamed NFL game ever, but it had the lowest numbers in over a decade in terms of viewership. CBS Sports reports that this year’s NFL championship drew in a total audience of 96.5 million viewers, with streaming in particular up by 65 percent compared to last year.Yet, despite a global pandemic and a ton of ways to stream the game, the numbers were still low. As noted by The Wrap, last year’s Super Bowl drew 102 million viewers, meaning that this year’s marquee matchup was down by 5 percent compared to last year. Compared to other recent Super Bowls, viewership was the lowest since Super Bowl 2007, which had a little over 93 million people tuning in to... Continue reading…

The G Power’s massive battery lasts for days, but other features have suffered to make way for it Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony may be working on a version of its Back Button Attachment for the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller, according to a patent filing published earlier this month. The filing, spotted by IGN, shows off an accessory identical in appearance to the existing DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment, describing the product as an add-on with buttons that “may be mapped to controller buttons using customized button mapping pre-sets.”The Back Button Attachment, announced in late 2019, is Sony’s low-cost alternative to a proper pro controller. It costs just $30 and adds programmable buttons to the underside of the DualShock 4 that let you remap crucial functions reserved for, say, the X or O buttons. In turn, this lets you trigger the associated... Continue reading…

Razer’s second set of true wireless earbuds nail fit and audio but fall flat elsewhere Continue reading…

UAE’s Hope probe sits in a clean room before launch. A probe from the United Arab Emirates successfully reached Mars on Tuesday, earning the country a spot in a small group of spacefaring powers that have sent spacecraft to study the fourth planet from the Sun. The UAE hopes the mission will yield key discoveries on Martian weather patterns and catalyze a new science and technology sector as it looks to wean its economy from oil dependence.Hope carried out an intricate and fully automatic maneuver called a Mars Orbit Insertion (MOI) on time at 10:30AM ET, mission engineers said. This maneuver slams the brakes on the spacecraft’s final leg of its journey, slowing Hope’s cruising speed of 75,000 mph down to 11,000 mph by firing all six of its Delta-V thrusters for 27 minutes. The... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Companies looking to make a name in podcasting have mostly done so by spending lots of money on flashy names, big acquisitions, and valuable content libraries. But increasingly, the audio itself, and the recording techniques used to capture it, are becoming the selling point.Today, iHeart Media announced that it’s investing in binaural audio, also known as 3D audio, which effectively places listeners in the room of a recording and makes them feel like it’s happening around them. Listening to a show in 3D audio sounds like you’re in the scene and hearing things exactly as you would in real life because the microphones are often shaped like a human head or a pair of ears. This means the sounds hit your ears as they would normally, a... Continue reading…

Photo: Getty Images Much has been said and written over the years about the post-Steve Jobs era of Apple and whether CEO Tim Cook’s operations-heavy approach to running the iPhone maker has proved more or less successful than Jobs’ at times cutthroat dealmaking and his obsessive, detail-oriented product development.It’s hard to argue now that Cook hasn’t taken Apple to all-new heights — the company is more valuable than it’s ever been, and the wondrous success of the iPhone over the last decade has allowed Apple to build hugely successful secondary businesses around the Apple Watch, AirPods, the iPad, and much more. But how exactly Cook, a logistics expert with deep ties to Asia and a much more measured temperament than his former boss, pulled this off is... Continue reading…

Trees, pandas, earbuds, and Abe Lincoln Continue reading…

eSIM makes it possible to activate your device with a new carrier without waiting for a physical SIM card. | Image: Visible Visible, the Verizon-owned MVNO, is adding some new services that make using it just a bit more like subscribing to one of the big wireless carriers. Starting today, Visible now supports activating service via eSIM. It only works with recent, compatible iPhones, but Visible says it will add support for Android devices soon. The company also is offering 5G service (with limits) and free calling and messaging to Canada and Mexico.Visible customers’ access to Verizon’s 5G network has some important fine print: both Nationwide and Ultra Wideband are included, but data speeds will be capped at 200Mbps. Direct carrier subscribers (AKA Verizon customers) also have priority on the fastest data speeds during times of congestion. That’s par for... Continue reading…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Zendure’s SuperTank power bank is $100 at Wellbots today, which is the lowest price we’ve seen that doesn’t require a coupon code. It will ship for free and is a tax-free purchase for people who live outside of New York state, as well. This battery’s best feature is that it can recharge devices requiring up to 100W (this includes the 16-inch MacBook Pro, among other powerful machines) at the same speedy pace that their factory chargers can deliver, yet it’s smaller and more portable.It contains a 27,000mAh 99.9Wh battery (the maximum you’re allowed to legally bring onto a commercial flight, according to the Federal Aviation Administration), and it hosts two USB-C ports, two USB Type-A ports, and a display to see the remaining battery... Continue reading…

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge An interview with Charlton McIlwain, author of Black Software Continue reading…

Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images/Pool After last month’s deadly pro-Trump attack on the Capitol, lawmakers are investigating the role DLive, one of the video-streaming platforms used to broadcast the riot, played in financing the violence.In a letter to DLive’s chief executive officers Tuesday, Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Jackie Speier (D-CA) called on DLive for details into how it moderates extremist content and how the platform ensures bad actors won’t use its cryptocurrency-based donation model to finance that content anonymously.“Our concern is that online platforms such as DLive are being used to promulgate extremist views that incite offline conflict and violence. We have worked with other platforms… to reform their governance practices around extremist... Continue reading…

Illustration by William Joel | Photo by Franziska Krug / Getty Images Jeff Bezos announced on February 2nd that he’d be leaving the CEO job at Amazon. In the announcement, he signaled he’d be pursuing his “other passions,” which include the Day 1 Fund, the Bezos Earth Fund, Blue Origin, and The Washington Post. Well, it’s nice to have hobbies!The real pressing question, though, is what Bezos is going to do with all that money. Forbes pegs his net worth around $193.2 billion as of the close of trading on February 8th, though it’s possible it’s gone up since this writing. That’s more money than most people’s brains can process! For instance, last year, Bezos’ ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, gave away $4 billion in four months — and her net worth is only a paltry $60 billion by comparison.Anyway, here are some... Continue reading…

Microsoft is improving the dark mode in Word to make it even darker. The software maker has started testing an update to Word that will color entire documents in a dark canvas. Currently, Word has a dark mode that modifies the ribbon and toolbars, but the canvas stays bright white. A future update to Word will include the ability to switch the canvas into dark mode, too.“This has been a long-requested feature from many of Office Insiders and we’re excited to make it happen,” explains Ali Forelli, a program manager on Microsoft’s Word team. “With Dark mode, you’ll notice that the previously white page color is now a dark grey/black.” While the canvas will change, colors in a document will also be adjusted. Reds, blues, yellows, and other... Continue reading…

The unannounced device is likely to be much slimmer than previous devices like the Echo Show 10 (pictured). | Photo: Amazon Amazon is developing a thin Echo device for users to mount on their walls and use as a “smart home command center,” according to a report in Bloomberg. The device could come with a 10- or 13-inch touchscreen display and be capable of controlling smart home devices, playing music and videos, and video chatting thanks to a built-in camera. Naturally, it’s also said to include Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.Wall-mounting a display device could give owners more options for where in the house to place it, rather than having to find an empty space on a table or desk. Amazon has experimented with wall-mounted Echo devices before, like with its Amazon Echo wall clocks, and it’s also possible to wall mount other Echo devices using third-party... Continue reading…

Qualcomm has announced its latest 5G modem — the Snapdragon X65, a successor to last year’s Snapdragon X60 which just started to hit devices as part of the Snapdragon 888 chipset. Qualcomm promises that the new modem will be much, much faster, with support for up to 10Gbps speeds on both standalone and non-standalone 5G networks (assuming your carrier supports it, that is.)It’ll likely be some time before the X65 hits any devices; if history is any indication, it likely won’t show up until next year’s flagship Snapdragon release, which presumably will be announced in December. The new 10Gbps maximum download speed — up from 7.5Gbps on last year’s model — is the flashiest spec, even if its a largely meaningless one, as... Continue reading…

Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge Belgian e-bike maker Cowboy has delivered on its promise to help riders avoid pollution on their commutes with a new air quality navigation feature in the company’s latest iOS and Android apps. Owners now have the option to pick the quickest or healthiest routes to their destination.The feature is enabled by the integration of air quality data from a company called Breezometer, with a claimed data resolution of 5-meters (about 16 feet). That’s specific enough to help riders navigate around polluted routes in densely constructed cities like Amsterdam, as demonstrated in the video above.Breezometer’s ability to measure air quality with such granularity involves some guesswork since it doesn’t have physical sensors distributed at 5-meter... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Reddit will double the number of employees it has over the course of this year to around 1,400 after raising $250 million in a new funding round, the company has announced. Reddit currently has around 700 employees globally. Over 600 are based in the US, according to CNBC, where it has offices in San Francisco, New York, LA, and Chicago.The announcement of the new funding round comes as the site’s r/WallStreetBets subreddit gained widespread attention for its role in increasing the share prices of GameStop, AMC, and other companies. Redditors organized to purchase shares in certain companies en-masse, turbocharging their stock prices at the expense of short-selling hedge funds. As of last week the Securities and Exchange commission is... Continue reading…

Image: Nothing Nothing, the new venture from ex-OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei, plans to release a pair of wireless earbuds this summer, with other products following later in the year, Bloomberg reports. In an interview, Pei said Nothing plans to eventually produce an ecosystem of devices that can connect to one another. The product details were revealed with the announcement that Nothing has completed a new $15 million funding round led by Alphabet’s venture capital unit, GV (formerly Google Ventures).Manufacturing wireless headphones would bring Nothing into competition with some of the world’s biggest tech companies including Apple, Samsung, and Sony. Notably, Nothing would also be competing with Pei’s old company, OnePlus, which released its first... Continue reading…

Android 12 rumored UI and features. | Image: XDA-Developers A series of leaked images may offer a first look at Google’s Android 12 update. XDA-Developers has published screenshots from what is said to be from an “early draft” of documents Google distributes to Android partners. The screenshots, which XDA-Developers says haven’t been fully confirmed, include what appears to be new UI changes, alongside a new privacy indicator and conversation widget.If accurate, the UI changes include an emphasis on rounded corners, with a reduction in the number of Quick Settings available from the unexpanded notification panel. Google also appears to be using a beige color scheme, which could be part of the rumored new native theme system for Android 12. Image: XDA-Developers Android... Continue reading…

A robotic probe owned by the United Arab Emirates is preparing to jump into Mars orbit on Tuesday after launching from Earth last year. For mission managers in Dubai, it’s a nerve-racking climax in the UAE’s first mission to deep space. If successful, the Hope probe will survey the Martian atmosphere. The Emirati cabinet hopes the mission will also inspire a new science and technology sector as the Gulf state looks to wean its economy from oil dependence.The Hope probe launched from Japan’s Tanegashima Space Center last July as Earth and Mars aligned in their orbits around the Sun. Now, having traveled over 300 million miles, Hope is set to carry out an intricate and fully autonomous maneuver called a Mars Orbit Insertion at 10:30AM ET.... Continue reading…

Image: CD Projekt Red CD Projekt says it’s been hacked by attackers who’ve been able to access its internal network, encrypt some devices, and collect “certain data” from the Polish video game company. The Cyberpunk 2077 developer says it will not give in to the demands or negotiate with the attacker, and does not believe any personal data of players or service users has been compromised.In a tweet disclosing the hack, the company shared the ransom note left by the hackers, who claim to have accessed the source code for Cyberpunk 2077, Witcher 3, Gwent, and an “unreleased version of Witcher 3.” The hackers are threatening to release the source code alongside internal legal, HR, and financial documents “if we will not come to an agreement.”

Huawei founder and CEO Ren Zhengfei has called for a reset in relations between the US and the Chinese tech giant. Speaking to international media in China for the first time in more than a year, Ren expressed willingness to speak with President Biden and said he hoped for “open policies” from the new administration.“I would welcome [a call from Biden]” Ren said in translated comments provided to The Verge and reported by CNBC, AFP, and the South China Morning Post. “I would talk with him about common development. Both the US and China need to develop their economies, as this is good for our society and financial balance.”“Allowing US companies to supply goods to Chinese customers is conducive to their own financial performance,” Ren... Continue reading…

Snap is introducing a new feature it’s calling Friend Check Up. On Snapchat, having someone friended could give them access to your story and even possibly your location, depending on your Snap Map settings, so Snap wants to make sure that everyone on your friends list is still someone you actually want to call your friend.This feature could help make the platform safer for users, if they choose to use it. It could be a good way to help you realize you might still have somebody friended that you don’t want to see your posts. And I know there’ve been plenty of times when I’ve looked at a friend or follower of mine and said “I have no idea who this person is,” or worse: “oops, my ex can see my sadtweeting.”Snap says that the feature... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Last June, 20-year-old Alex Kearns died by suicide, blaming stock trading app Robinhood for his death. He mistakenly believed he’d lost $730,000, and that the company was coming for more than $170,000 of that money in a matter of days. His family now agrees that it was Robinhood’s fault — on Monday, they sued the company for wrongful death.According to the complaint, Kearns never owed any money at all, but that didn’t stop the Robinhood app from suggesting that he did, or sending him an “immediate action required” email telling him he needed to deposit $178,612.73 by June 17th.Here’s a screenshot one of his relatives shared on Twitter last June of what the app reportedly showed him at the time:

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Though the international version of Steam has been available in China for years, an official Chinese release of the the popular PC gaming platform has now debuted (via analyst Daniel Ahmad). If Chinese gamers needed more reason to celebrate, Sony also announced that the PlayStation 5 will be coming to the country soon.The Chinese version of Steam currently only has around 40 titles available, with another 10 or so listed as coming soon. Included in that list are, of course, Valve’s own e-sports titles Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2. The service is a long time coming — Valve announced that it would be bringing it to China back in 2018, though Chinese gamers have been able to access the service with Steam’s global client. ... Continue reading…

What are we actually looking at here? A rock? An enemy? Does it even matter compared to the glory of running Horizon Zero Dawn at the eye-watering resolution of 128 pixels wide by 72 pixels tall? Yes, a YouTuber has managed to play Horizon Zero Dawn at 72p, and that’s not a typo.The YouTuber in question is Kryzzp, who also goes by zWORMz Gaming, and he ran the game at this absurd resolution to test the performance of an Nvidia GT 710, an ultra-budget video card that barely cost $40 brand-new back in 2016. Incredibly, he manages to fend off one of the robotic enemies, though it’s impossible to tell how much ammo he had left after doing so.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook is expanding what false claims it will remove from its platforms related to COVID-19, COVID-19 vaccines, and vaccines in general starting today. The company began removing debunked COVID-19 claims in December of last year and notifying customers when they had interacted with a post that has false information that same month. But now the list of potential claims that could get a post removed has grown.Highlights from the new expanded list of false COVID-19 and vaccine-related claims that will be removed include:

While Zoom was originally created as a serious meeting application for businesses, it has since become one of the most-used services during the pandemic for anyone who wants to have a face-to-face virtual conversation. As a result, the company has been adding more fun stuff, such as weird backgrounds, to use for online family gatherings, friend chats, and well, for business meetings. And now, it’s come up with a feature called Studio Effects that gives you the ability to add a variety of eyebrows, facial hair, and lip color to your video image during Zoom sessions.The feature, still in beta, isn’t really new — Zoom announced it in September 2020 — but this is the first time many Zoom users are first discovering it. At any rate, it’s... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The parent company of a West Virginia newspaper chain has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook and Google parent company Alphabet, alleging the platforms are siphoning away much-needed digital ad revenue. It appears to be the first such lawsuit by a news organization against the digital giants and makes the argument that the platforms represent a digital monopoly that should be broken up, like Standard Oil or AT&T were back in the day.“Google and Facebook have monopolized the digital advertising market thereby strangling a primary source of revenue for newspapers across the country,” according to the complaint filed by HD Media, which operates the Pulitzer Prize-winning Charleston Gazette-Mail and several other West Virginia... Continue reading…

Expanscape A company called Expanscape has created the most Inspector Gadget-like device that I’ve ever seen. It’s a laptop prototype called the Aurora 7 (a working title), and attached to its humongous black box of a chassis are six extra displays that extend out in every direction away from the main screen, each showing its own windows and applications.If you’re like me, the first thought that comes to mind is “that poor hinge!” Yeah, poor hinge, indeed. Many laptop hinges don’t gracefully handle having one screen attached, let alone seven. Piggybacking on the main 17.3-inch 4K display are three other screens of the same size and resolution. Above the left and right displays is a single seven-inch 1200p monitor. You’ll also find one more... Continue reading…