its ur expert

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images A Florida internet law is on hold while a lawsuit contesting it continues. Judge Robert Hinkle has issued a preliminary injunction blocking nearly all of SB 7072, a controversial and sweeping regulation of social media platforms. “The legislation now at issue was an effort to rein in social-media providers deemed too large and too liberal. Balancing the exchange of ideas among private speakers is not a legitimate governmental interest,” Hinkle wrote his order. Moreover, the law “discriminates on its face among otherwise identical speakers,” partly thanks to an eyebrow-raising exemption for companies that operate a theme park. That raises the bar for evaluating whether the law violates the First Amendment — and in Hinkle’s estimation, it... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3dyFjrI

A digital COVID vaccine card in Android. | Image: Google Google is opening up Android’s built-in passes system to let Android users store a digital vaccine card , which it calls a COVID Card, on their phone. The feature will initially roll out in the US, and it will rely on support from healthcare providers, local governments, or other organizations authorized to distribute COVID vaccines. The feature will also support storing COVID test results. For vaccinations, your COVID Card will show info on when you were vaccinated and which vaccine you received, according to a Google support page . The card can be saved from your healthcare provider’s app or website as well as from texts or emails sent to you. Google recommends that you add a shortcut to the card on your home screen and will offer the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3yb8atT

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In March, Twitter said it would soon let you use a security key as your only two-factor authentication method, and on Wednesday, it announced that feature was live on both mobile and web. Being able to use a security key as one of your two-factor authentication methods isn’t new, but now you can make it the only one, if you want to. Physical security keys have advantages over other two-factor methods like an authenticator app or SMS because they don’t rely on a code that a bad actor could intercept. Now security keys can be your one and only two-factor authentication method on mobile and web. Learn more about how security keys can protect your account from attacks: https://t.co/Ta7uQSFhi6 pic.twitter.com/aPDOnbRtVk — Twitter Support... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3hqtp44

Image: Netflix Netflix has shared the first five minutes of its upcoming horror movie trilogy Fear Street , inspired by R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series of young adult novels. The film trilogy, which will be released over three Fridays starting on July 2nd, is also split across three separate time periods: 1994, 1978, and 1666. Teens fleeing for their lives is universal, regardless of the year, it seems. Here’s Netflix’s synopsis for the films: In 1994, a group of teenagers discovers that the terrifying events that have haunted their town for generations ​may all be connected — and that they may be the next targets. As someone who grew up on Goosebumps and marathoned the made-for-TV movie adaptations of the books every Halloween, Fear Street seems like... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2UZ2G7r

Way back in 2005, Apple released Mac OS X Tiger, and with it, the original implementation of widgets on the Mac through its Dashboard software. One of those widgets was a now-defunct iTunes media player — but thanks to the efforts of programmer Mario Guzman, who’s recreated an exact replica of the widget for modern Macs, you can once again enjoy your music in retro OS X style. Ironically, the new Music Widget isn’t actually a widget (at least, not in the current style of widgets introduced in last year’s macOS Big Sur,) but rather a standalone app that mimics the look of the original iTunes widget from 2005. The app is fully functional, offering the same controls as the original. Music Widget only works with the Apple Music app, though—... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3y5lq32

iOS 15 comes with a number of new features and tweaks | Image: Apple Beta versions of new software are great to try out, but sometimes you realize that they’re not so good for day-to-day usage. If you’ve upgraded your iPhone to the iOS 15 beta, which is now available to the public , and you realize that you need to go back to the stable world of iOS 14.6, you can do that. The simplest way to go back to a stable version is to delete the iOS 15 beta profile and wait until the next update shows up: Go to “Settings” > “General” Select “Profiles and & Device Management” Select “Remove Profile” and restart your iPhone Unfortunately, you won’t be able to return to a non-beta version of iOS until a new update is available. (You can check if one is available by going to “Settings” > “General” > “Software... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3h3uwrA

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram appears to be exploring a new feature that shares some similarities with Twitter’s Super Follows, according to TechCrunch . Called “Exclusive Stories,” the possible future feature, spotted by developer Alessandro Paluzzi , allows creators to post exclusive content to their Instagram story that’s presumably only available to subscribers. Based on the screenshots Paluzzi shared , exclusive stories are differentiated in your feed with a purple tag (similar to how Close Friends posts have a green one). When you try to watch an exclusive story without being a fan of the person sharing, you’re prompted with a pop-up that says only fans can watch. #Instagram continues to work on the exclusive stories for Fan clubs ℹ️ The Exclusive... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3AdGxCn

Image: Instagram Instagram is no longer a photo sharing app, according to Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram. In a video posted to his Instagram and Twitter accounts, Mosseri said the company is looking to lean into entertainment and video after seeing the success of competitors like TikTok and YouTube. He describes some upcoming changes and experiments that Instagram will be doing, including showing users recommendations for topics they’re not following and making video more immersive by offering a full-screen experience. Changes are coming to video on Instagram At Instagram we’re always trying to build new features that help you get the most out of your experience. Right now we’re focused on four key areas: Creators, Video, Shopping and Messaging. p... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3h7mn5x

Messaging app Discord has added the ability to customize your profile just a little bit more than you could before: you can now fill in a short “About Me” blurb, and, if you have Discord’s premium Nitro subscription, you can add a banner image to your profile. I noticed the change in the Mac version of Discord on Wednesday, but I haven’t opened the app for a little while, so it may have been added sooner. To make the changes, at least on the Mac version of the app, click on the User Settings gear, then the “User Profile” section. (That section had a bright red “New!” alert on it when I first opened up Discord settings.) From there, you can write a 190-character blurb about yourself (which can include markdown and links if you want), and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2SHuFYq

Volvo unveiled a new concept car that forecasts the Swedish automaker’s all-electric future. The vehicle was revealed during a “Tech Day” event held Wednesday during which Volvo laid out an extensive roadmap to becoming an EV-only carmaker by 2030 . The vehicle, called “Concept Recharge,” features suicide doors that open up to a roomy interior, where the lack of an internal combustion engine means more space for the driver and passengers. The sleek exterior design and minimalist interior certainly evoke Tesla but also are reminiscent of other EVs on the market, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E. But the concept won’t necessarily appear in this form as a production vehicle. Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Volvo, said it was... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3Ad7aat

Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images The latest mega-auction of an NFT tied to a piece of internet history is complete, with Sir Tim Berners-Lee selling a digital item representing source code to the original web browser for $5,434,500 . Berners-Lee is credited as the creator of the world wide web that this site is published on, and the NFT includes a time-stamped signed archive including 10,000 lines of the source code that initially made it possible to display an HTML document, among other things. For comparison, the highest price for an NFT remains the $69 million or so MetaKovan paid to own Everydays: the First 5000 Days by the artist Beeple , while Jack Dorsey’s digital collectible representing the first tweet on Twitter sold for a little less than $3 million . “I’m... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3h3meQu

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge T-Mobile announced on Wednesday that it is fully compliant with the FCC’s new anti-spoofing protocol, telling the FCC that its now certifying that calls from its network are protected against impersonation by scam callers using the STIR/SHAKEN protocol. Verizon also announced that it’s verifying that the number that shows up on your caller ID is actually the number that’s calling you, using the same STIR/SHAKEN protocol. The two major carriers announcing their progress on the same day isn’t a coincidence — Wednesday, June 30th, is the deadline the FCC set for major carriers to implement STIR/SHAKEN. The protocol works to prevent scam and spam callers from spoofing their number The protocol, with its James Bond-themed name, works to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3dt8g8e

Iketsj/YouTube Have you ever been using a recently updated Mac computer and thought, “Man, I would love to use this operating system with a really tiny keyboard and a really tiny screen?” Okay, me neither, but I certainly would love the opportunity to carry a MacBook around in my pocket and whip it out on command. Apparently, YouTuber Ike T. Sanglay Jr., or “ Iketsj,” has had this thought as well. In this eight-minute vlog , the YouTuber builds a tiny handheld PC that can run macOS Big Sur, and it’s very fun. The PC includes a LattePanda Alpha SBC (single board computer) with an Intel Core m3 CPU and 8GB of RAM, as well as an Arduino Leonardo microcontroller board, a 240GB SATA SSD with the operating system preinstalled, and a 3D-printed case (of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3h7P1Dv

Dozens of satellites launched to space on Tuesday in SpaceX’s second in-house “ride-share” mission from Florida, bringing the total number of orbital objects carried by Elon Musk’s space company this year to nearly 900. A reused Falcon 9 rocket launched 88 satellites total for the “Transporter-2” mission, including the first five for a new Pentagon agency and dozens more for various companies, countries, and schools. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:31PM ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking the company’s 20th launch this year and the eighth flight for the rocket’s first stage booster. That booster returned to Earth about 10 minutes later at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1, a pad of concrete that hasn’t been used for rocket landings... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3wbloW2

Amazon is pushing back against Lina Khan, the newly confirmed chair of the Federal Trade Commission, by filing a recusal motion against the longtime antitrust advocate, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal . The petition asks Khan to restrict herself from any proceedings involving Amazon on the basis of her past statements about the company, including claims that Amazon is a monopoly and should be broken up. “[Federal ethics rules] require recusal when a new Commissioner previously has expressed views that go beyond general policy commentary and has made statements about specific factual and legal issues relating to a particular company,” the petition reads. “Chair Khan has made numerous and highly detailed public pronouncements... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2UfeDVS

The newest Revvl phone offers 5G, a massive 6.8-inch screen, and a rear-facing triple camera. | Image: T-Mobile The year of cheap 5G phones is upon us, and T-Mobile is offering its customers yet another low-cost 5G phone with today’s announcement of the Revvl V Plus 5G. The T-Mobile-branded device will cost $199, with a huge 6.8-inch 1600 x 900 display and 5,000mAh battery. It’ll go on sale first through Metro by T-Mobile starting on July 12th, with sales through T-Mobile starting on July 23rd. The Revvl V Plus 5G comes with Android 11 and uses a MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor designed with inexpensive 5G phones in mind. It’s paired with 4GB of RAM plus 64GB of built-in storage, which is expandable via microSD. It offers a main 16-megapixel rear-facing camera along with two more unspecified 5-megapixel and 2-megapixel sensors on the back as well... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2UblUGk

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon-owned Twitch is rolling out its Watch Parties feature, which lets streamers host viewing parties for movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime, to Android and iOS, the company announced Wednesday. Watch Parties first launched on desktop web in September . While Watch Parties are a potentially fun way for Twitch streamers to hang out with their communities, there’s one important catch: only viewers who also have an Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscription can join the party to watch what’s being shown. Watch Parties are now rolling out on an Android or iOS device near you. To learn more about Watch Parties, including how to host your own, check out the help article at https://t.co/YvqLMCD5c6 . pic.twitter.com/5aQC9It02G — Twitch... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3y8UHmf

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced on Wednesday that it’s fining Robinhood almost $70 million to settle charges over issues it identified with the company’s stock trading service. The authority claims that the financial app company neglected its duty to supervise trades, maintain its own technology, and protect its customers. The fine is the largest in FINRA’s history and Robinhood has agreed to pay. FINRA says since 2016 Robinhood has periodically provided false and misleading information on topics like whether customers were able to place trades on margin (using credit from Robinhood to buy shares), including displaying inaccurate information in its app on how much cash was in customers’ accounts. Robinhood’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2UKSSgW

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge There’s a fantastic discount happening on the previous generation Sony WH-1000XM3 wireless, noise-canceling headphones at Best Buy. Originally $350 (but usually around $250 or so these days), you can get them for $190 new . While these lack some niceties found in the newer XM4 model (concurrent Bluetooth connections, auto play / pause when you remove them or put them on), the package is overall similar in terms of nailing the fundamentals. These have great battery life, USB-C charging, among the best noise cancellation effect around, and sound quality that’s tough to beat at this price. In addition, these come with a zip-up case that makes them easy to stow. I bought these in 2018 and am still patting myself on the back for that decision. ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2Tmvh5R

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 is rumoured to launch in the next few months headlining the third generation of the foldable series. The Galaxy Z Flip3 is also expected to make an appearance alongside the Fold3 as both phones look to showcase Samsung’s technological prowess in the foldable smartphone segment. With phones such as the Mi Mix Fold and the Oppo X 2021 become a reality now, the foldable smartphone space has never been so exciting. Samsung is readying the Galaxy Z Fold3 for launch later this year and today we have some exclusive information about it courtesy of popular tipster OnLeaks. Come and take a closer and highly detailed look at the upcoming #Samsung #GalaxyZFold3 (stunning 5K renders + 360° HD video and renders + display sizes + dimensions + color options)! On behalf of my Friends over @digitindia -> https://t.co/5yc3q4kL3L pic.twitter.com/BwiA3WlhRx — Steve H.McFly (@OnLeaks) June 30, 2021 We have managed to get some new renders of the Fold3 from OnLeaks that give us a

LG’s Mini LED use an array of thousands of tiny LEDs as a backlight. | Image: LG LG’s new range of Mini LED TVs, which it’s branding “QNED,” are releasing worldwide starting next month, the company has announced . The lineup consists of three sets, the 8K QNED99 and QNED95, and the 4K QNED90, ranging in size from 65- to 86-inches. LG says the TVs will launch first in North America, with additional regions following “in the weeks ahead.” Mini LED is a relatively new kind of display technology which uses an array of thousands of tiny LEDs as a screen’s backlight. Because there are so many (up to 30,000 in the case of the 86-inch QNED99), they can create a sharper contrast between light and dark areas of an image. LG says the technology, which has previously been used on some TVs from TCL as well as Apple’s latest... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3dvuab7

Amazon has launched two new Echo Show devices in India. This includes an updated version of Echo Show 5 (review) and a new Echo Show 10. As with all Amazon Echo Show devices, the new devices come with a display as well as a front facing camera.  “With the introduction of the new Echo Show devices we have redefined the customer experience. Echo Show 10’s intelligent motion capability makes any place in the room the perfect location to enjoy visuals on the HD display combined with an enhanced audio experience”, stated Parag Gupta, Head of Amazon Devices India. “Indian customers have shared positive feedback about Alexa interactions on their existing Echo Show devices that combine voice, display, and touch. We can’t wait to see how they make the most out of the large brilliant display of the new Echo Show 10 as well as the upgraded Echo Show 5 to enhance entertainment, home security, productivity and more.” Amazon Echo Show 10 The new Echo Show 10 sports a 10.1-inch HD display. However,

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple isn’t backing down from its hybrid work model that will require most employees to return to the office three days a week starting in early September. Fully remote positions will be extremely limited. “We believe that in-person collaboration is essential to our culture and our future,” said Deirdre O’Brien, senior vice president of retail and people, in a video recording viewed by The Verge . “If we take a moment to reflect on our unbelievable product launches this past year, the products and the launch execution were built upon the base of years of work that we did when we were all together in-person.” The news comes nearly a month after Apple CEO Tim Cook sent out an email telling employees the company was rolling out a new work... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3jrvZJP

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Zoom has announced that it’s acquiring a company known as Kites (short for Karlsruhe Information Technology Solutions), which has worked on creating real-time translation and transcription software. Zoom says the acquisition is a move to help it make communicating with people who speak different languages easier, and that it’s looking to add translation capabilities to its video conferencing app. According to its site , Kites began at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, and its technology was originally developed to act as in-classroom translation for students who needed help understanding the English or German their professors were lecturing in. Zoom already has real-time transcriptions , but it’s limited to people who are talking in... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3y5ZaWT

The Demi Lovato Show will debut July 30th. | Image: Roku The first of a dozen-plus Roku Originals to premiere on the Roku Channel will kick off July 30th with The Demi Lovato Show , a series that had originally been slated for a debut on Quibi. The show will now launch as Roku’s first “original” to land on the Roku Channel, the platform’s free and ad-supported streaming offering. While originally intended for Quibi, the show will be brand new to audiences when it arrives on the Roku Channel this week. Each episode will be 10 minutes long, feature a celebrity guest, and will cover topics as wide-ranging as UFOs, activism, mental health, gender identity, and police reform. In a statement, Lovato said that they have “never been one to shy away from speaking candidly about things.” The show had... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3ybJ8uP

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge WhatsApp’s Spanish language content moderators and customer service representatives are pushing the company for equal pay, according to an internal letter obtained by The Verge . They say they’ve been excluded from a $2 per hour premium paid to other bilingual contractors. The workers are employed by Accenture, a third-party contracting firm, in Austin, Texas. “For several years now, Accenture, Facebook, and Whatsapp have denied equal treatment and pay to Spanish language Contingent Workers,” employees say in the letter. “It is an insult for companies like Facebook and Accenture to publicly champion diversity, but yet fail to deliver this to its own workers.” Accenture classifies much of its workforce as contingent, meaning employees are... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3hkZLNz

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks with reporters on her way to a lunch with Senate Democrats at the U.S. Capitol on June 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. | Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Federal Trade Commission for a thorough review of Amazon’s bid to acquire MGM , arguing that the deal could harm consumers and may have anticompetitive effects in the streaming space and beyond. In a letter addressed to newly sworn-in FTC chair Lina Khan and shared exclusively with The Verge , Warren urged the FTC to specifically and closely examine “the possible anticompetitive effects this deal will have on streaming services and entertainment products in addition to the broader impacts that this transaction may have on workers, small businesses, and competition overall as Amazon—which already dominates numerous markets—accelerates its aggressive monopolistic behavior.” The FTC is said to be r... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https:

Image: United United Airlines is adding a long-awaited feature to the in-flight entertainment seatback screens of its new Boeing 737 Max 8 jets — support for Bluetooth headphones. The company is making the upgrade as part of “United Next” , a new plan to expand and modernize its fleet with what it says are larger, fuel-efficient jets and a more comfortable in-flight experience. I haven’t flown in the last two years — for reasons that are hopefully obvious — but the thing that grinds most of my past flying experience to a halt is dealing with the bizarre two-pronged audio jacks airplanes use for inflight audio. Having headphones with a 3.5mm audio jack isn’t hard, but it doesn’t reflect the Bluetooth audio lifestyle, Apple, and plenty of other tech... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3hnxar9

Our friend, for whom we feared the worst today. Twitter has fixed a bug that left some of us horrified when we opened the site (as is often the case, but for different reasons) — those viewing the social network in a web browser found that they no longer had the option to switch between the algorithmic view and the reverse-chronological one. The algorithmic view, which shows tweets out of order, has been much maligned since it first appeared , and the bug on Tuesday had people worried that Twitter was finally starting to force it on everyone. Twitter’s support account says that web users should be able to change their timeline order again, and a few of us at The Verge have confirmed that the button is back on our timelines. Twitter product lead Kayvon Beykpour called the toggle’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3jr4Ial

Last week, a pair of YouTube’s most popular creators was set to spar in the marketplace of ideas in a debate over the government’s simple, common sense advice to wear masks during a global pandemic to stop the persistent spread of COVID-19. The spat grew from a series of videos between right-wing provocateur Steven Crowder and the host of the H3 Podcast , Ethan Klein, calling one another out for their purported bad takes on mask-wearing. In March, Crowder called out Klein for saying that “you shouldn’t think about” what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells you and just wear the mask, rather than criticizing the agency and its scientists. Crowder, who is widely known as the face of the “change my mind” meme, has challenged... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3x6F92t

Photo by Joan Cros / Corbis via Getty Images SpaceX’s satellite internet network, Starlink, should have roughly 500,000 users within the next 12 months, Elon Musk said at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) conference on Tuesday. SpaceX’s current goal, Musk said, is to beam broadband internet to most of the planet by August. The internet network, in the midst of an open beta phase, has launched more than 1,700 satellites to low-Earth orbit since 2018 and recently surpassed a “strategically significant” benchmark of 69,420 active users, Musk told MWC. He said Starlink is already running in 12 countries and expanding. “We’re I think on our way to having a few hundred thousand users, possibly over 500,000 users within 12 months,” he added. Reaching half a million users in the next year... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3h4FOvF

Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has revealed near-total lack of accountability from federal agencies using facial recognition built by private companies, like Clearview AI. Of the 14 federal agencies that said they used privately built facial recognition for criminal investigations, only Immigration and Customs Enforcement was in the process of implementing a list of approved facial recognition vendors and a log sheet for the technology’s use. The rest of the agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, had no process in place to track the use of private facial recognition. This GAO report greatly expands the public’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3qy2qb0

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Bloomberg’s Lauren Etter on the rise and decline of an e-cigarette upstart Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3w7m0fg

The Echo Show 5 (left), Echo Show 8 (middle), and the Echo Show (right). | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge When it comes to the Echo smart speakers, Amazon has a slew of devices to choose from, one for practically every occasion. For example, maybe you simply want to add Alexa to a room, or you are looking for an Echo device that will allow you to easily manage your other smart home products. Regardless of the reason, these are the best Echo deals available right now. Echo Dot deals Late last year, Amazon released the fourth generation of the Echo Dot , which looks more like a sphere than an actual dot. But if you prefer the previous design, don’t worry: Amazon has not discontinued the third-gen Echo Dot , which still retains the familiar dot shape. During Prime Day, we saw the fourth-gen Echo Dot drop to its lowest price of $25. However,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3eUezkD

There’s a crowd for a mini Xbox controller, but this one doesn’t get everything right Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3y57DJZ

The WD My Book Live and My Book Live Duo | Image: WD It looks like there may have been more than one exploit used to cause the mass deletion of data from WD My Book Live NASes last week, according to a report from Ars Technica . When news broke that people were finding that their data was missing, some ( including WD itself ), pointed to a known exploit from 2018 , which allowed for root access of the device. However, it appears as though there’s more going on than was initially suspected. If you have one of these devices, you should unplug it from the internet before reading any further — it’s clear at this point that your data is at risk if the device is online. The second exploit, reported by Ars Technica , doesn’t give an attacker full control over the device like the other exploit. It... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3qwKD44

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Consumer Reports is restoring its “Top Pick” recommendation to the Tesla Model 3 after the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released a new evaluation of the car’s camera-based advanced driver assist system. The IIHS was able to show that the Model 3 with Tesla Vision cameras featured effective automatic emergency breaking (AEB) and forward collision warning systems (FCW), two criteria for Consumer Reports ’ Top Pick decision-making. Combined with the IIHS awarding the Model 3 its own “Top Safety Pick” title, Consumer Reports decided to once again recommend the EV. The publication maintains a contemptuous relationship with Tesla. It last revoked its recommendation earlier this May when Tesla began shipping the Model 3 and Y... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/36fs1MN

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge HBO Max is launching in 39 territories in Latin America and the Caribbean today, expanding the service outside the US and US territories for the first time. A key difference for the launch in Latin America is that there won’t be an ad-supported plan as there is in US, a spokesperson told The Verge . Instead, subscribers in Latin America will have the option to subscribe to a mobile-only plan that supports SD streaming and up to five title downloads, or they can choose a standard plan that supports five personalized profiles, up to three simultaneous users, up to 30 title downloads, and high-definition streams in HD and 4K where available. Pricing will vary based on the region. “With today’s launch, we are introducing our global platform... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2SzAzdV

Spam texts can be incredibly irritating — you get a notification and stop what you’re doing to check your phone, only to find somebody is trying to sell you something you don’t want. How can you prevent it? Unfortunately, there are no absolutes in preventing text spam. But there are some ways you can at least minimize the number of spam texts that get through. Here are some strategies to try. Do not answer Top of the list is — as you probably already know — never reply to a spam text, and never ever click on a link within a spam text. If you’re not sure whether a text is spam or legitimate, hold off on replying until you’ve done a bit of research. Use the spam filter on your phone Android phones and iPhones have spam-filtering features... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3dudYXE

Developer Remedy Entertainment announced that it’s making a new game, codenamed “Condor,” a multiplayer spinoff of Control . No release date, price, or story beats have been shared for Project Condor, but all we know so far is that Remedy’s press release says it will be a four-player cooperative PvE (player vs. environment) game. It’ll be built with Northlight, the same engine used for Control . It will release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X / S consoles. The game will be published by 505 Games. “As a multiplayer game, Project Condor has the potential to engage the gaming community in the long run, contributing to 505 Games’ product revenue stream longer than traditional games,” shared the co-CEOs of Digital Bros Group, the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2SBSXmD

If you own a compatible iPhone, you can try out T-Mobile just by downloading an app. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile is offering a new, low-stakes way to try out its network for free for 30 days with no additional equipment required. Identified by Light Reading , T-Mobile’s existing Test Drive program now works over eSIM with compatible iPhones. All you need to do is download an app, follow the instructions to start the trial with eSIM, and you’re up and running — no billing information required. There’s no change to your current carrier plan or phone number, but you’ll be using T-Mobile data on your device. The Test Drive program has been around in one form or another since 2014. With the most recent iteration — which is still available to those who can’t use the eSIM feature — T-Mobile will send you a free Wi-Fi hotspot you can connect to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3w9Kuoi

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google announced a new website designed to be a “one-stop shop” for people with food insecurity. The “Find Food Support” site includes a food locator tool powered by Google Maps which people can use to search for their nearest food bank, food pantry, or school lunch program pickup site in their community. Google is working with non-profit groups like No Kid Hungry and FoodFinder, as well as the US Department of Agriculture, to aggregate 90,000 locations with free food support across all 50 states — with more locations to come. The new site is a product of Google’s newly formed Food for Good team , formerly known as Project Delta when it was headquartered at Alphabet’s X moonshot division. Project Delta’s mission is to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2Tk9Cvh

Microsoft is introducing a new Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) feature in Windows 11 that’s designed to save laptop battery life and boost refresh rates when they’re really needed. A number of laptops now ship with 120Hz and beyond displays, which make Windows feel a lot smoother across scrolling, animations, and inking. While the added smoothness feels great, running at higher refresh rates takes its toll on battery life. In Windows 10 you have to decide between 60Hz and 120Hz on a laptop, and it’s a static choice. Microsoft is now building DRR into Windows 11, which will allow a laptop to dynamically adjust its refresh rate. “This means that Windows 11 will seamlessly switch between a lower refresh rate and a higher refresh rate based on... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2UbklrO

For all Netflix subscribers out here in India, there’s a bit of good news for you guys. Netflix has just announced that it has launched a new feature that will allow users to watch or stream shows and movies without an internet connection or even a poor internet connection. The feature is out for Android devices while iOS compatibility is coming soon. Users will now be able to watch or stream content from Netflix even if the connection is poor or nonexistent.  Netflix also stated that, "We always want to make it easier for members to access their favourite series or movies regardless of language, device, connectivity, or location. So partial downloading is now available on Android phones and tablets, and we’ll begin testing on iOS in the coming months.” in an official blog post. So, basically how this works is that the feature will automatically download some Netflix content wherever there is a decent connection around. It then stores the content for later viewing. Users can also

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is working to enhance the integrity of the Play Store by adding new restrictions and safeguards to developer accounts. Google Play Store developers will soon have to verify their email address and phone number and provide extra details like a physical address in an attempt to increase security and ensure that accounts are being created by ‘real people,’ the company has announced . Developers will also be required to use two-step verification. The search giant says it’s making the changes “to keep Google Play safe and secure and to better serve our developer community,” and to “make sure that every account is created by a real person with real contact details.” The Record reports that the announcement coincides with the emergence... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2SAthH1

Samsung One UI Watch has officially been announced as the new smartwatch OS based on the Google Wear OS platform. During the ongoing MWC 2021, Samsung also revealed that the One UI Watch will debut on the new Galaxy Watch that will launch in the coming months. Samsung has been working with Google to develop a more integrated OS for its smart wearables and has detailed some features of the One UI Watch that work in tandem with Android. With the new One UI Watch, you can expect a longer battery life, improved performance and access to tons of apps. Samsung is letting go of its dependency on Tizen OS as the One UI Watch is more deeply integrated with the Android ecosystem. For instance, if you have installed a watch-compatible app on your smartphone, their companion apps will be automatically downloaded on the watch. Similarly, if your phone has two or more time zones set up, it will automatically get applied to the watch as well. Being based on WearOS allows the One UI Watch to get a