its ur expert

A $280 bike lock on a $10,000 e-bike. I've seen lots of so-called "smart" bike locks over the years, but none so far could justify the added cost. A newcomer that got its start securing ATMs for banks is trying to change that. There's nothing wholly unique about the TMD Chain Lock , but the combination of materials, performance, and insurance-friendly ART-2 certification makes it worth considering. TMD's first bicycle lock combines a Bluetooth proximity sensor and motion alarm with a slender core of hardened steel chain wrapped in a soft and lightweight sleeve of high performance Dyneema and Kevlar fibers. That makes this lock tough, yet flexible enough to conveniently wrap arou … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/0ahRIQi

Teenage Engineering has already issued multiple substantial updates for its surprisingly capable $329 EP-133 KO II sampler . Its latest is one of the biggest yet. OS 2.5 adds audio over USB, selectable sample rates for lo-fi fun, sample reverse, an arpeggiator, equal-length autochopping, and it extends the maximum length of a sample from 20 seconds to 40 seconds by capturing mono, instead of stereo, audio. Sample reverse is such a simple feature that it's shocking it wasn't implemented earlier. An arpeggiator doesn't always make a ton of sense on a sampler, but the KO II sounds so incredible repitching samples (like the SK-1 successor I've a … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/AlDFOuG

Margaret Atwood onstage at Detroit Opera House on January 26, 2026 | Photo: Monica Morgan/Getty Images Maraget Atwood, the storied author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin , was interviewed as part of the Babell Literary and Cultural Festival in Porto, Portugal. As it usually does at these things, the issue of AI came up, and Atwood didn't mince words. According to Deadline's recap, Atwood said she'd used an AI chatbot exactly once, Anthropic's Claude, and came away unimpressed. She was looking for information about the British detective series Father Brown and, well: "Claude gave me the wrong answer, or it lied. Of course, it didn't know it was lying because it's not a human being; it's a large language model… It had skimmed a … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/vRsSKcf

After a rollercoaster negotiation process with the Trump administration that dragged on for two weeks, Anthropic's Mythos 5 is finally back in action - at least, somewhat, for a select group of organizations, according to a letter from the government to Anthropic that was viewed by The Verge . Fable 5, however - the public-facing Mythos-class model - appears to still be in limbo, with no apparent timeline for a rollout agreement. The letter, dated June 26th and sent by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to Anthropic co-founder Tom Brown, who had been recently leading negotiations, states that there's been a "revision to the license requiremen … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/ruywBK8

We’ve already rounded up the best Philips Hue deals of Prime Day , but if you’re looking for something a little more budget-friendly, Govee’s latest sale is worth checking out. The company has heavily discounted several of its color-changing smart lamps, including the Table Lamp 2   ($53.99, down from $79.99), Floor Lamp Basic ($59.99, regularly $99.99), the portable Table Lamp Classic ($55.99, down from $79.99), and Uplighter Floor Lamp ($125.99, down from $179.99). I own all but the Portable Table Lamp Classic and regularly recommend them to friends. No matter which lamp you choose, you’re getting a similar experience. Each supports millions of colors and adjustable white light, comes with a variety of preset scenes, and can sync its lighting to music. You can also create custom scenes, schedules, and automations in Govee’s app or control the lamps with your voice using Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. Plus, wit...

Govee’s floor lamps are just $60. | Image: Govee: Prime Day has a funny way of convincing you to buy things you weren’t shopping for in the first place. You sign on intending to buy something sensible you actually need, like a pack of USB-C cables , and an hour later you’ve also added a gadget that can press your coffee maker’s power button and a color-changing smart lamp that syncs to music to your cart.  They aren’t exactly essentials, but they’re the kind of gadgets you never knew you wanted until you saw them and often end up being the most delightful to own. From a pocket-size gaming controller and a tiny crafting machine that lets you make stickers and cards to a cordless barcode scanner that lets you catalog your home library like a real librarian, these are the Verge -approved small gadgets you probably don’t need but will totally want anyway, most of which cost less than $100. SwitchBot Smart Switch But...