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150 million users later, Roblox competitor Rec Room is shutting down

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Rec Room, a Roblox-like social gaming platform that lets users create games and experiences for others to play, is shutting down on June 1st. Despite reaching more than 150 million players and creators and, at one point, being valued at $3.5 billion , the company says in a blog post that "we never quite figured out how to make Rec Room a sustainably profitable business" and that "our costs always ended up overwhelming the revenue we brought in." The company also notes that "with the recent shift in the VR market, along with broader headwinds in gaming, the path to profitability has gotten tough enough that we've made the difficult decision t … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/yIXjw1p

Here are our favorite spring cleaning deals from Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

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Amazon’s Big Spring Sale is underway, so naturally, a lot of the deals are geared toward the season, including plenty of gadgets to help with spring cleaning. We’ve already rounded up a selection of great robot vacuum deals , but they’re just one part of a much broader swath of Verge -approved tools that can make tidying up a little easier. If you’ve been putting off small fixes around the house, now is as good a time as any to tackle them with an electric screwdriver like Hoto’s entry-level model . Meanwhile, if you’re looking to clean the dust that collects in your keyboard or along shelves, Fanttik’s electric air duster can clear it out in seconds. Then there’s Bissell’s Little Green Mini , which is great for cleaning up spills and pet stains on carpet. If you’re not interested in a high-end robot vacuum or an air purifier, rest assured that there are plenty of other useful items on sale through March 31st, from pet hair removers to reusable disclothes . Deebot X8 Pro Omni ...

The first Apple Home Key-ready smart lock with UWB is cheaper during Amazon’s Big Spring Sale

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There are so many great smart locks out there. But one of best models that iPhone owners should consider buying now is Aqara’s U400 , which offers hands-free unlocking when you get close enough. It has Apple’s U1 ultra-wideband chip integrated to authenticate you and unlock the door hands-free, so all that you have to do is open the door when you get home. This smart lock is discounted for the first time during the Big Spring Sale , costing $229.49 (originally $269.99) at Amazon . Aqara Smart Lock U400 Where to Buy: $269.99 at Aqara $269.99 $229.49 at Amazon As our reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy put it in her hands-on impressions with the U400 , hands-free unlocking isn’t new — but this is the most reliable implementation she’s tried yet. Apple’s Home Key relies on a mix of Bluetooth and UWB to connect and authenticate, and you don’t need an extra app. In addition to using Home Key, you can unlock the U400 with a code on its touchscreen keypad, through a registered fing...

Steve Jobs and the greatest run of products in tech history

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"I'm pleased to report to you that Apple's back on track." It was May of 1998, and Steve Jobs was about 10 months into his second stint leading the company he'd cofounded more than two decades earlier. (It was also a bit more than a decade after that company forced him out.) Jobs took the stage at the annual Macworld conference in a white shirt and dark jacket, and told the audience the Apple team had been working harder than ever to finish up a new computer, one designed with the internet in mind. It was called iMac. "We think iMac's going to be a really big deal," he told the audience. He was right. When Jobs came back to Apple in 1997, h … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/jpAf1cu

All the latest in AI ‘music’

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People don’t like that they can’t identify AI music. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge AI has touched every part of the music industry, from sample sourcing and demo recording , to serving up digital liner notes and building playlists . There are technical and legal challenges, fierce ethical debates, and fears that the slop will simply crush working musicians through sheer volume. Is it art or just an output? What exactly is “ really active “? Whether it’s a new model or a new lawsuit, we’re covering it all to make sure you don’t miss any major developments. So follow along as we dig into the latest in AI “music.” Suno leans into customization with v5.5 The music industry has embraced a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy about AI. North Carolina man pleads guilty to AI music streaming fraud. Apple Music adds optional labels for AI songs and visuals Qobuz is automatically detecting and labeling AI music now, too. This Chainsmokers-approved AI music producer is joining Googl...

Bluesky’s new app is an AI for customizing your feed

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The latest app from the team behind Bluesky is Attie, an AI assistant that lets you build your own algorithm . At the Atmosphere conference, Bluesky's former CEO, Jay Graber, and CTO Paul Frazee, unveiled Attie, which is powered by Anthropic's Claude and built on top of Bluesky's underlying AT Protocol (atproto). Attie allows users to create custom feeds using natural language. For example, you could ask for "posts about folklore, mythology, and traditional music, especially Celtic traditions." To start these custom feeds will be confined to a standalone Attie app. But the plan is to make them available in Bluesky and other atproto apps. … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/HECnIc1

Red Rooms makes online poker as thrilling as its serial killer

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Juliette GariĆ©py’s Kelly-Anne is an uncomfortable mystery. | Image: Nemesis Films Productions It's rare for a movie to get technology right. And it's even rarer for that movie to be a thriller or horror, where realism takes a backseat to scares and tension. But Red Rooms mostly gets it. Nothing takes me out of a film quicker than a tech MacGuffin that might as well be literal magic. Yes, the phrase " dark web " will always sound a bit silly, but at no point during its 118 minutes does the tech become a distraction. It's not the tech that makes Red Rooms great, though. It's just something that could have easily tanked an otherwise excellent movie. What carries the film is the expert tension building by director Pascal Plante. The perf … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/IG0HBgX