The Verge

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge This week on The Verge’s Friday episode of The Vergecast, Wired senior writer and Verge alum Lauren Goode stops by to discuss her new podcast Get Wired and stays to talk tech and gadgets with her Verge colleagues Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn.On this episode, we are one step closer to reviewing Microsoft’s long-awaited Surface Duo.Our review of the Microsoft Surface Duo is approachingAround 29 minutes into the show, Dieter reveals he got his hands on Microsoft’s dual screen smartphone, but can only speak on the features of the device with the screen off — so hardware only — until the official release of the product.Dieter discusses how the product feels in-hand, the durability and quality of the glass body, the advantages and... Continue reading…

Amika Mota and a fellow firefighter battled blazes while incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility’s firehouse in Chowchilla. | Courtesy of Amika Mota ‘I am still a firefighter’ Continue reading…

asus If you’re looking to do some PC gaming at respectable frame rates, Asus’ ROG Strix G15 gaming laptop seems like an affordable way to go about doing that. Usually $1,000, it’s $880 today. Despite its low price, it has some high-end features, like Intel’s 10th Gen Core i7-10750H six-core processor, a fast 512GB PCIe-based SSD, and an 144Hz refresh rate display that will provide a fluid-looking experience in and out of gameplay.The rest of laptop isn’t quite as impressive, but it’s not bad for the price. There’s 8GB of RAM built-in (and you can add more yourself later on), and in terms of graphics, it has Nvidia’s GTX 1650 Ti graphics chip. You’ll likely be able to run most of your games at smooth frame rates on medium graphical quality,... Continue reading…

Did you forget that Facebook was building the OASIS? The company has been working on its multiplayer virtual reality social space, Horizon, for a while now, which is comparable in concept if not scope to the fantastical VR world of Ready Player One. This week the company announced it’s expanding access and making Horizon an invite-only public beta.As it goes into public beta, Horizon has been kitted out with new games and environments. Facebook is also introducing new tools to combat abuse on the platform, including the option to step away from the VR world into a “Personal Safe Zone” where you can mute, block, and report the people and content around you You can join Horizon’s waitlist here.The app (service? social network?... Continue reading…

Photo Illustrations by Alex Castro / Photos Getty Images Prisoners at San Quentin are trapped with COVID. We talked to them Continue reading…

The Powerbeats 2 were first released back in 2014. | Image: Beats If you’re a US resident who bought a pair of wireless Powerbeats 2 earbuds before August 7th, then you could soon get a payout over the allegedly “defective” device, MacRumors reports. Apple has agreed to pay out $9.75 million, after it was accused of falsely advertising the so-called “shoddy” earbuds as “sweat & water resistant” and “built to endure.” However, the plaintiffs say that these claims weren’t true, and that the earbuds would stop holding their charge after “minimal use.”Although Apple has agreed to settle, it hasn’t admitted to doing anything wrong. The legal filing notes that the company decided that settling was cheaper than the expense of going to trial. Although the original lawsuit filing claims that Apple’s 2016... Continue reading…

Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge “I think the key for the post-corona era is how real we can feel in a virtual world.” Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge TikTok is in trouble. Over the course of less than a day, the company lost its CEO and gained a surprising new suitor. The breakout social app could be within days of making a deal to sell itself to an American company — but the turmoil surrounding the sale threatens to leave the company permanently damaged.First, the CEO. In May, longtime Disney executive Kevin Mayer left the company to become chief operating officer at ByteDance and CEO of TikTok, its popular US subsidiary. “As one of the world’s most accomplished entertainment executives, Kevin is incredibly well placed to take ByteDance’s portfolio of products to the next level,” ByteDance founder and CEO Yiming Zhang said at the time.Mayer was coming off the wildly successful... Continue reading…

Screenshot: Xiaomi Xiaomi intends to start mass-producing smartphones equipped with its under-display camera technology next year, the company announced today. This is technically the third generation of the technology Xiaomi has developed, the company says, although the first and second versions it produced have yet to find their way into a mass-market consumer device. Xiaomi showed off the technology compared to a more traditional hole-punch notch in a video posted to its YouTube channel.According to Xiaomi, its latest version of the technology works by allowing the selfie camera to see through the gaps in the display’s sub-pixels, which are the red, green, and blue dots that combine to make each pixel. Xiaomi says that the area of the display above the... Continue reading…

OnePlus released the mid-range Nord (pictured) earlier this year. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge OnePlus is planning to release an entry-level handset codenamed Clover for around $200 later this year, according to a detailed but unconfirmed report from Android Central.We’ve seen snippets of information about “Clover” floating about the web for a while now, including a purported GeekBench score for the device. But Android Central’s latest report, citing an anonymous “insider source,” includes a full spec-sheet and the suggestion that Clover will launch “imminently” in global markets, including the US.According to Android Central, Clover will have a 6.52-inch 720p (1560 x 720) IPS LCD display, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage (expandable via MicroSD), a Snapdragon 460 SoC, 6000mAh battery with 18W fast charging, a rear fingerprint... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple blocked Facebook from informing users that Apple would collect 30 percent of in-app purchases made through a planned new feature, Facebook tells Reuters. Apple said the update violated an App Store rule that doesn’t let developers show “irrelevant” information to users.The feature lets Facebook users buy tickets for online events directly through the app. Apple’s rules say that purchases of digital content have to use the App Store’s payments system, giving Apple 30 percent of the total. Facebook says it asked Apple to waive this fee so that all of the revenue could go to event organizers, but Apple refused. The feature is now available, but without the message about Apple’s 30-percent cut.Earlier this month, Facebook released an... Continue reading…

Image: Activision Activision has officially announced Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Like previous entries, there will be a beta, which will be open to the public, but you can receive early access if you pre-order specific versions of the game. However, there’s another way to get early access without spending any money: Activision is giving away 10,000 beta keys this weekend.This weekend, the Call of Duty League will be holding its first championship. On Sunday, August 30th at 4PM ET, the publisher will give away early access beta keys to viewers watching the stream on the league’s official website.Activision has not said when it will hold the betaIf you want to be eligible for the giveaway, you’ll need to sign up or log into your Activision... Continue reading…

Image: Samsung Samsung announced the Galaxy Z Fold 2 on August 5th, but didn’t give a release date or price at the time, only promising to share more about the foldable on September 1st. But if you check Samsung’s UK retail website right now, it seems you can already pre-order the Z Fold 2 for £1,799, and it’s set to ship by September 17th (via Max Weinbach).While that price might be eye-popping, it’s actually less expensive than the original Fold’s £1,900 starting price in the UK — a difference of £101. Assuming, of course, that the price listed there isn’t a mistake. Samsung didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.We don’t know yet if a lower price would carry over to the US. The first Fold launched at $1,980, so perhaps the Z Fold 2... Continue reading…

Photo illustration by William Joel / The Verge, Photography by Valerie Macon/Getty Images Kevin Mayer is out as TikTok’s CEO less than four months after taking the job. While his resignation comes in the middle of ongoing political turmoil brought on by the Trump administration, his decision to leave likely has less to do with politics and more to do with his own autonomy as an acquisition looms.“I have done significant reflection on what the corporate structural changes will require, and what it means for the global role I signed up for,” Mayer said in an email to staff, posted in full on Pandaily. “Against this backdrop, and as we expect to reach a resolution very soon, it is with a heavy heart that I wanted to let you all know that I have decided to leave the company.”Mayer became TikTok’s CEO on June 1st, tasked with... Continue reading…

Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images Early this week, Robert Robbins, president of the University of Arizona, got a phone call about poop that helped him stop an outbreak of COVID-19.As part of the school’s return-to-campus plan, the university was analyzing the wastewater from on-campus dorms for signs of the coronavirus. The professor heading the project was calling to say he’d found the virus in the sewage from a dorm called Likins Hall.Administrators descended on the dorm, tested every person inside, and found two cases in people who didn’t have symptoms.“This is going to be a very valuable tool to help us get out in front,” Robbins said in a briefing today. Catching people who are infected with the virus but don’t have symptoms is critical to stopping its spread,... Continue reading…

Image: Annapurna Interactive Annapurna Interactive debuted a new trailer for Twelve Minutes, which the studio describes as “an interactive thriller about a man trapped in a time loop,” at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2020. The trailer features an ominous voiceover from Willem Dafoe, and the game will also include the voice talents of James McAvoy and Daisy Ridley.Twelve Minutes seems to take place entirely from a top-down perspective of a small apartment — much of the trailer shows a main living room, and there’s a brief shot of the two main characters in a bedroom — and you’ll be reliving a twelve-minute time loop over and over again. A tidbit on the game’s Steam page makes the game sound extremely intriguing: “Twelve Minutes blends the dream-like tension of The... Continue reading…

Sony debuted new gameplay footage for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, the first PlayStation 5 entry in the long-running hit series from Insomniac Games, at Gamescom Opening Night Live 2020. Sony shared an initial look at Rift Apart at Sony’s big PS5 games reveal in June, including some gameplay, and today’s extended video built upon what has already been shown.Today’s demo featured a lot of classic Ratchet & Clank gameplay — strafe shooting, jumping, platforming, and more — and it all looks great. But as the title suggests, rifts are also a major part of the new game, letting the two protagonists travel from point to point and between entirely new worlds, all with nearly instantaneous load times. It was an impressive display of what the... Continue reading…

Gamescom 2020 may not be the in-person spectacle we’ve come to know, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal. The virtual version of the trade show kicked off with Gamescom Opening Night Live, a two-hour-long event that featured plentiful announcements and trailers, covering everything from the Fall Guys phenomenon to upcoming blockbusters like Star Wars: Squadrons and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.If you missed the show, here are all the biggest reveals.Dragon Age is still aliveIt’s been a long time since we heard about the next Dragon Age. And while BioWare didn’t reveal a new trailer for the game, the studio at least proved it’s still in the works with a behind-the-scenes video full of concept art, early game renders, and... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook is blocking searches for “Kyle Rittenhouse,” the gunman allegedly responsible for the killing of two protestors in Kenosha, Wisconsin Tuesday night. The behavior was first reported by Rolling Stone, but The Verge was able to confirm the block through direct testing. A search for the name returns no results, while a more general search returns a number of results with the shooter’s name included.After Rittenhouse was identified and charged on Wednesday, Facebook removed his profile and blocked users from creating new profiles under the name, out of concern that copycat profiles might be used to spread disinformation. But blocking searches for the name is a more drastic measure, particularly at a time when interest in the details... Continue reading…

Image: Google After announcing Chromecast support for Google Meet, Google has now revealed that the company’s consumer video chat app, Duo, will be coming to Android TV in the form of a native app that lets users start video calls from their TV screen. A beta of Google Duo for Android TV will be released “in the coming weeks.” You can launch both one-on-one and group video calls with the app. “If your TV doesn’t have a camera built-in, you can simply plug in a USB camera,” Google said in its blog post — assuming your TV supports such a thing.The move continues Google’s push to bring its video communication apps to bigger screens. By adding Chromecast support for Google Meet, the company gave people more flexibility in where they can have their work... Continue reading…

Image: Electronic Arts Joining the long list of expansion packs for Electronic Arts’ The Sims 4 is one we haven’t quite seen before: a Star Wars-themed one, called Journey to Batuu. The expansion, detailed in a Gamescom trailer aired during the virtual-only presentation on Thursday, is due out September 8th and brings with it a number of signature characters, items, and environments from the classic franchise.There are droids, lightsabers, and even Rey and Kylo Ren. The trailer also shows the Millennium Falcon, stormtroopers, and some of the apparent hijinks you can get into playing Journey to Batuu, including lightsaber dueling. The pack and its choice of Batuu as the prime destination was apparently inspired by Disney’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge theme park.... Continue reading…

The new season of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, Mediatonic’s colorful battle royale platformer, will add new games inspired by the Middle Ages. The developer announced the news today during Gamescom celebrations; players will be able to compete through games inspired by medieval designs.In Fall Guys, players compete in 60-player elimination-based mini-games. The games are simple — races to the finish line, obstacles courses, or memory matching — but fast and fun to cycle through. The new additions, coming in October, include “feudal fortresses, knockout knights and pugilistic paladins,” as well as new costumes, emotes, and more.Following its release earlier this month, Fall Guys has become an instant hit. The game has sold more than... Continue reading…

A handful of voter advocacy groups filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s social media executive order on Thursday, according to Protocol. The order was signed after Twitter fact-checked false tweets by Trump on mail-in voting earlier this year, and Thursday’s lawsuit seeks to ensure platforms can counter voting misinformation online.In their complaint, organizations including Rock the Vote and Free Press argue that the order has the potential to jeopardize the rights of voters who access social media platforms for information on mail-in voting. Thursday’s lawsuit follows a separate lawsuit that was filed in June by the Center for Democracy and Technology, which argued that the Trump administration’s Section 230 order violates... Continue reading…

Image: EA / Motive Studios EA has debuted a new gameplay trailer for Motive’s upcoming Star Wars: Squadron during the Gamescom opening night live stream, giving another look at the single-player campaign for the starfighter pilot simulator.The new trailer shows off how players will jump into the role of two conflicting pilots — one from the Empire and one from the New Republic — in alternating missions. There are also cameos from film characters, like Wedge Antilles.Most of the trailer focuses on an Imperial mission that sees players flying behind enemy lines to infiltrate a New Republic base, escort a shuttle, and help escape with the intelligence. While Squadrons will largely focus on five-versus-five dogfights and larger multiplayer fleet battles, the... Continue reading…

Image: Activision Activision has finally unveiled this year’s Call of Duty title — Black Ops Cold War. It will launch on November 13th, and Activision is making a big deal about how it’s a cross-gen title for both PS5 and PS4, and Xbox One and Xbox Series X, in addition to PC.But if you plan to upgrade to PS5 or Xbox Series X this holiday season, your purchase decision gets a little complicated.Currently, there are ten versions of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War — and you’re actually going to have to pay extra for the higher frame rate and faster load times that PS5 and Xbox Series X can offer. Unlike PS4 Pro and Xbox One X, you can’t just wait for a free patch. Next-gen console upgrades will be locked behind a paywall.To help make sure you avoid... Continue reading…

In 2018, the League of Legends World Championship opened in stunning fashion, thanks to an augmented reality concert from a virtual K-pop group called K/DA. The video for the virtual group’s first single, “Pop/Stars,” currently has more than 360 million views on Facebook, and K/DA inspired its own niche of fandom. Now, in the lead-up to this year’s World Championship, the group is back with a new single called “The Baddest.”You can check out the song in the lyric video above (it has lyrics in both English and Korean), which embraces something of a new sound. The virtual members of K/DA remain the same — it’s made of League characters Ahri, Evelynn, Akali, and Kai’Sa — but the talent behind them has changed. This time around, real-world... Continue reading…

Image: Activision Activision and its development studios, Treyarch and Raven Software, debuted a new trailer for the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and it happens to feature a somewhat eerie and unexpected new character in the series: actual President Ronald Reagan. The trailer aired during the digital-only Gamescom 2020 event, following the game’s official reveal yesterday.Incorporating a real-life historical and political figure — one whose tenure still has controversial effects on modern-day politics, including the imminent 2020 election — is definitely a move. It’s an even weirder one when you consider what the trailer has Reagan doing: ordering you, the player, and your fellow clandestine operatives to essentially break the law and... Continue reading…

Info on the next Dragon Age game is still scarce — BioWare has yet to announce an official title or even show off the game’s cast — but the team behind the hotly anticipated game has some insight to share. The developer released a behind-the-scenes video today with a few more clues: a story about “what happens when you don’t have power? What happens when the people in charge aren’t willing to address the issues?” said lead writer Patrick Weekes.The video features brief interviews with various members of the staff, who talk about their philosophies on character design, a look at concept art, and how BioWare is tackling its next big project.Dragon Age is “still in early production,” according to BioWare GM Casey Hudson. BioWare has... Continue reading…

Sony’x upcoming Xperia 5 II — the successor to last year’s Xperia 5 — has leaked almost in full thanks to a leaked promotional video obtained by Android Headlines, which has revealed almost all the information on Sony’s smaller flagship ahead of its planned September 17th release.Much like last year’s Xperia 5, which was a smaller version of the full-sized Xperia 1, the Xperia 5 II looks like a shrunken down version of the Xperia 1 II — although presumably at a lower price than the Xperia 1 II’s eye-watering $1,200.In line with Sony’s recent smartphone strategy, the Xperia 5 II is another super-tall phone, with a 21:9 aspect ratio. The display is still a 6.1-inch Full HD+ HDR OLED panel, although new this year is a 120Hz refresh... Continue reading…

Photo by Brent Rose for The Verge GoPro will now let people on Windows PCs use its Hero 8 action camera as a webcam — though the experience is only in beta for now. The compatibility with Windows follows the introduction of the webcam functionality for macOS users in July.While a GoPro probably won’t make you look quite as nice as if you were using a DSLR or mirrorless camera as your webcam, you’ll likely have better image quality than the webcam built into your laptop. GoPro says that a number of popular videoconferencing services already support the beta software on Windows, including Zoom, WebEx, Slack, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Discord.If you want to set up the Hero 8 as a webcam, GoPro has a guide right here, and it covers both Windows and Mac. The macOS... Continue reading…

Photo by Joel Saget/AFP via Getty Images Esports organization TSM has signed its first professional chess player, US grandmaster and five-time champion Hikaru Nakamura. The youngest American to ever earn that coveted ranking at age 15, Nakamura is considered among the best players in the world, routinely ranking alongside world champion Magnus Carlsen as one of the greatest living chess grandmasters.Nakamura, now 32 years old, also maintains a successful social media presence, with more than 170,000 Twitter followers and a Twitch channel where he live streams himself playing chess and explaining various strategies to his viewers. At the time of the announcement, Nakamura’s channel had more than 500,000 followers and he was streaming live to more than 18,000 people. Nakamura... Continue reading…

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The OnePlus 8 Pro in the onyx black or ultramarine blue color variant is $80 off at Amazon right now. This discount brings the total down to $920. In case you missed it, some OnePlus phones aren’t so cheap — even with a sizable discount like this one applied to it. Nevertheless, if you’ve been waiting for even a slight price drop on the unlocked model that features the Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of fast UFS 3.0 storage, this is your opportunity to save.Some other noteworthy features of the OnePlus 8 Pro include its 120Hz refresh rate OLED screen, which makes content look smooth as you scroll or play games. Additionally, this phone is rated IP68 for waterproofing, and it supports wireless charging and 5G... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Valve is adding a customizable profanity and slur filter to Steam’s chat system. The feature is now available through the Steam Lab beta program, with plans to make it a universal option soon. It filters a default list of commonly used “strong profanity” and slurs for “racial, religious, ethnic, and other identifying groups,” but users can choose to add or remove specific words or upload full block lists of terms.Steam already censors offensive language across its public platform, including in forum posts and reviews. It’s also implemented an optional profanity filter for specific games, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Destiny 2. The new feature works across Steam’s chat service as well as supported games, and its block... Continue reading…

Google is expanding its “Snapshot” feature in Assistant, adding new reminders and more proactive suggestions for new activities you may want to try.The initial version of Snapshot showed information like your daily commute time, upcoming schedule, reminders, upcoming flights, recent online orders, and stock market updates. Google is adding to that list with additional reminders for things like upcoming birthdays or holidays, too.The updated Snapshot view will also expand its recommendations — where the app would previously suggest YouTube videos or Spotify songs, the updated version will use your existing user data to offer new recipe ideas, podcasts, or restaurants to order from. Those suggestions will update over the course of your... Continue reading…

Secretlab’s Omega chair shown with the SoftWeave black fabric added. | Secretlab If you want a comfortable chair with a low-profile design that won’t break the bank, Secretlab’s gaming chairs are generally agreed upon (even by a few Verge writers who have owned one) as being a worthy purchase. And now, its 2020 lineup of chairs, consisting of the Omega, Titan, and Titan XL, can be outfitted in a minimalist black colorway called SoftWeave black. While these chairs already look more subtle than most other options on the market, they do still look a bit like something yanked out of a race car, so the new color option helps.According to Secretlab, this new color is “upholstered in a custom tri-color weave featuring three different shades of black.” It’s worth noting that the fabric looks quite similar to the existing... Continue reading…

Photo by Kena Betancur/VIEWpress via Getty Images Walmart says it’s partnering with Microsoft on a potential TikTok deal. The retailer is pitching the partnership as a way for it to expand its advertising business and grow its third-party marketplace. It comes as reports suggest Microsoft is close to finalizing a deal with TikTok, that could be announced in the coming days.“The way TikTok has integrated e-commerce and advertising capabilities in other markets is a clear benefit to creators and users in those markets,” says a Walmart spokesperson in a statement to CNBC. “We believe a potential relationship with TikTok US in partnership with Microsoft could add this key functionality and provide Walmart with an important way for us to reach and serve omnichannel customers as well as grow... Continue reading…

Lutron’s Smart Wood Blinds work great, but come at a cost Continue reading…

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge Revel has announced it’ll be resuming its electric moped service in New York City starting today, with new protective measures for riders like a mandatory in-app safety test and a requirement that all riders take a selfie of themselves wearing a helmet before they’ll be allowed to ride. The company worked with the City of New York in developing the new safety measures, and city officials have signed off on the new plan.Revel suspended its service in late July after two customers were killed and one was critically injured while riding the shared electric mopeds. At the time, the company had said that it would be “reviewing and strengthening our rider accountability and safety measures” in light of the accidents.

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge If you own a Nintendo Switch or Switch Lite console, or are planning to get one soon, buying a microSD card to expand its internal storage should be your next move. Today, that comes as an affordable move to make, as Amazon has discounted Samsung’s 256GB microSD card by nearly half of its original price. It’s $30 for the rest of the day. Given that most Nintendo Switch games rarely soar above 10 or 15GB each (with many well below that size), this small investment should go a long way.This microSD card will also work with select phones, laptops, and action cameras that have the slot. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge You can save on both the 13.5-inch and 15-inch versions of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3... Continue reading…

The internet rallied around TimTheTatman as the hugely popular Twitch streamer tried and failed, and failed, and failed again to take the crown at the end of a match of Fall Guys last week. When he finally did it, it felt like the whole world had won — a small, strange reprieve in the middle of a stressful summer.“It was almost like everyone was pulling for the little guy,” Tim “TimTheTatman” Betar said in an interview with The Verge. “Like I can’t do it, and everyone wanted to see me be victorious.”“In Fortnite, there’s lots of buttons and stuff happening. Fall Guys is pretty simple.”Fall Guys has turned into a phenomenon since the goofy 60-person party game launched earlier this month. Betar says the game’s accessibility is part of... Continue reading…

Algoriddim is launching a spinoff of its popular Djay app today. The new Mac app, called Neural Mix Pro, lets you isolate and extract different parts of a song, like its drum beat or vocals. You can then export those segments and use them for DJing or remixing with the app or device or your choice.Neural Mix was introduced inside the Djay app for iPhones and iPads back in June. The feature is supposed to use AI to let the app instantly fade out different portions of whatever song is playing, letting you mute or isolate the vocals, the drums, and all the instruments in between. It’s a really powerful tool for DJing, particularly for amateurs who might not have their own library of isolated stems from different tracks.The new app turns... Continue reading…

The winner of this weekend’s Call of Duty League championship will get the normal assortment of goodies, including a trophy, a ring, and a hefty chunk of a $4.6 million prize pool. But the league is also offering something different to crown the winning team: a literal throne.The imposing piece of furniture is the brainchild of designer Sheron Barber, who is best-known for reimagining luxury fashion and working with stars like Post Malone and Russell Westbrook. The chair hasn’t actually been completed yet — what you see in these images is just a render — but the finished product will be made of a composite material called Formica, with a titanium finish. And once a winner has been crowned, more details will be added, including player... Continue reading…

It makes a 3D model of your body and tracks the emotional tone in your voice Continue reading…

Naomi Hawk works on a job site installing solar panels on the roof of an apartment complex in SE Washington D.C. on August 27, 2019. | Photo by Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post via Getty Images Three thousand Californian apartments will be linked up to solar panels and batteries — meaning they might never experience a power outage again, no matter what California’s utility companies do. The project, planned by German energy storage company Sonnen, will be spread across seven apartment complexes — the largest of its kind.Virtual power plants can offer California residents reliabilityThe connected set of solar panels and batteries form what’s called a “virtual power plant.” Besides making sure the whole community can run on backup solar power during blackouts, these VPPs also reduce strain on the grid — because VPPs store their energy on-site. What’s more, they can be tapped to provide energy during demand peaks.“As I look... Continue reading…

Image: EA / Motive Studios The opening keynote for Gamescom, the biggest gaming convention on Earth, is happening today, August 27th. But instead of passionate fans and media roaming through the event in person, it’s all happening online due to the coronavirus pandemic. If you want to tune into that, we’ve provided all the info below that you’ll need. The gaming news will continue to pour until the event ends on Sunday, August 30th.There is always a lot of big news that comes out of Gamescom, so it’s worth paying attention if you want to hear about the latest games coming to PC, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and the Xbox Series X, as well as the PS4 and Xbox One. A small sampling of what to expect includes Star Wars: Squadron, Fall Guys, but of course there will be a... Continue reading…

Swapping pen and paper for E Ink Continue reading…

Photo by John Nacion/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images As flu season picks up over the next few months, it’s going to get harder for public health officials to rely on trends in the number of people with coughs and fevers to monitor the COVD-19 pandemic. Starting next month, people coming into the emergency room with flu-like symptoms could just have the flu.“The symptoms overlap,” says Edward Belongia, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Marshfield Clinic Research Institute in Wisconsin. Experts will have to lean on other methods, like lab testing, to distinguish COVID-19 from influenza.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks illnesses that look like the flu (referred to as influenza-like illness) through a network of thousands of healthcare providers around... Continue reading…

Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images With consumers eating more meals at home and relying on grocery delivery services during the coronavirus pandemic, Beyond Meat is launching an e-commerce site today to sell its plant-based meat products directly to customers. The site will have some online-only items for sale and will serve as a test kitchen of sorts for future products, said chief growth officer Charles Muth.“It will allow us to have direct conversations with our consumers and will be convenient for consumers who don’t live near a supermarket,” Muth said in an interview with The Verge.Faux meat products were a hot seller at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, with sales of products like Tofurky and Beyond Meat increasing 264 percent. Sales of fresh meat... Continue reading…

Netflix has announced a new live-action TV series based on the Capcom’s popular Resident Evil series of video games that will be produced by Constantin Film, the same company that made the previous six Resident Evil films starring Milla Jovovich.The upcoming series will feature an original story set within the world of the Resident Evil, set across two timelines. The first will see sisters Jade and Billie Wesker (presumably of some relation to longtime series antagonist Albert Wesker) move to the corporate town of New Raccoon City at age 14, before realizing the destination and their father “may be concealing dark secrets.”The second timeline will jump 16 years into the future, with the Earth devastated by Resident Evil’s signature... Continue reading…

MajinBanu (YouTube) Microsoft Flight Simulator players have turned into virtual stormchasers this week, hunting down Hurricane Laura as it approached the US Gulf Coast. While Texas and Louisiana brace for what is being described as an “unsurvivable storm surge,” the real-time weather inside Microsoft Flight Simulator is providing a surreal spectacle for players.Virtual strormchasers have gathered in the skies above the Gulf of Mexico to fly directly into Hurricane Laura. The results demonstrate the incredible realism in Microsoft Flight Simulator, just as Hurricane Laura threatens catastrophic damage in the real world. Players have been flying directly through the eye of the storm, around the outer edges, and even so far up that planes have frozen over and... Continue reading…