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A Meta Quest 3 on a charging dock. | Photo by David Pierce / The Verge Meta updated a note on the top of its Quest support site to say that a “software update issue” has been bricking Quest 2, Quest 3, and Quest 3S headsets. The company writes that while “most” people can now use their headsets normally, it’s “actively working on resolving the issue for all users.” That Meta is now saying it’s working on a fix “for all users” may be good news for Quest 2 and 3 owners who’ve reported that Meta wouldn’t fix or replace their headsets because they were out of warranty. Some Reddit users say the company has emailed a confirmation that they were getting out-of-warranty service for the issue, and a Meta support forum community manager wrote in an update yesterday that Meta’s customer support “should have new directions on how to support users now.” We're aware that some new Meta Quest 3S devices are having trouble with the initial software update. Our team is working on a so...

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The US Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is proposing new cybersecurity requirements for healthcare organizations aimed at protecting patients’ private data in the event of cyberattacks, reports Reuters . The rules come after major cyberattacks like one that leaked the private information of more than 100 million UnitedHealth patients earlier this year. The OCR’s proposal includes requiring that healthcare organizations make multifactor authentication mandatory in most situations, that they segment their networks to reduce risks of intrusions spreading from one system to another, and that they encrypt patient data so that even if it’s stolen, it can’t be accessed. It would also direct regulated groups to undertake certain risk analysis practices, keep compliance documentation, and more. The rule is part of the cybersecurity strategy that the Biden administration announced last year. Onc...

Donald Trump. | Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Scott Olson, Getty Images President-elect Donald Trump is asking the Supreme Court to let him negotiate a deal to save TikTok from an imminent US ban. In an amicus brief filed to the court, Trump says he “seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office,” and that he “alone possesses the consummate dealmaking expertise, the electoral mandate, and the political will to negotiate a resolution to save the platform.” Last week, the Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments that a bill passed by Congress banning TikTok on national security grounds violates the First Amendment. The bill gives wide latitude to the president to delay its enforcement if there’s progress being made towards a deal ensuring TikTok isn’t fully controlled by its Chinese parent company, ByteDance. But the deadline for that determination is January 19th — one day before Trump is set to assume the presidency. In hi...

Image: Warner Bros. If you’ve been waiting patiently to see how Matt Reeves’ story for The Batman continues once the reboot’s sequel arrives, you’ll have to wait a little longer. It was once set to open October 2nd, 2026, after an initial delay caused by the Hollywood writers’ strike derailed Warner Bros. plans to release it in 2025, but the studio has now announced that it’s pushing The Batman Part II even further back to October 1st, 2027, according to Variety . It appears the most recent shift could be strategic. Variety adds that Warner Bros. has rushed to fill that October 2nd, 2026, slot with an unnamed film featuring Tom Cruise and directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. While that sucks for fans of the bat, one nice consolation is news that Bong Joon-Ho’s Mickey 17 is coming even sooner than expected; it is now scheduled for March 7th, 2025, after delays of its own caused the original 2024 release to slip . Mickey 17 stars Robert Pattinson (who also plays Bruce Wayne in Th...

Fitbit makes an array of fitness trackers, from basic fitness bands to full-fledged smartwatches, though the best Fitbit smartwatch isn’t technically a Fitbit. | Photo illustration by William Joel / The Verge Whether you want a basic fitness tracker or a smartwatch, there’s a Fitbit for everyone — though the best Fitbit smartwatch isn’t technically a Fitbit. Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/5lespo8

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is warning users that some manually made Windows 11 installer media could contain a bug where new PC installs may not get future security updates. It affects USB and CD installers made with October and November release patches, which may be relevant to professional users who set up PCs within business or education environments, or enthusiasts who recently built their own PCs. Microsoft published the bug in its known issues page for Windows 11 (version 24H2): When using media to install Windows 11, version 24H2, the device might remain in a state where it cannot accept further Windows security updates. This occurs only when the media is created to include the October 2024, or November 2024, security updates as part of the installation (these updates were released between October 8, 2024 and November 12, 2024). This does not affect PCs that received the October or November patches through Windows Update or the Microsoft Update Ca...

Image: The Verge ChatGPT isn’t working for many users right now. With numerous reports on social media, we also confirmed that the chatbot loads but isn’t able to respond to queries, while others are seeing an “internal server error” message. It looks like the outage started around 1:30PM ET, which is when reports began to spike on Down Detector . At 2PM ET, OpenAI posted an update to its status page , saying ChatGPT, the API, and its text-to-video generator Sora are “currently experiencing high error rates.” An update posted at 2:18PM ET said the issue is “caused by an upstream provider” and that OpenAI is currently monitoring the situation. At 3:06PM ET, OpenAI said it’s “continuing to work on a fix.” There’s no mention of an ETA for when access will be restored. ChatGPT has gone down a few times in the past several months. Just days after OpenAI released Sora to ChatGPT subscribers earlier this month, the video generation tool and ChatGPT went down for hours. Meanwhile, a wi...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge As a special holiday treat, on December 25th, the social media app Bluesky announced that it has added a new feature to its mobile app: a list of Trending topics that lets you know what subjects are popular among its users. Screenshot: Bluesky Bluesky now shows you its current Trends below the search bar. The new feature can be found by selecting the search icon (the magnifying glass), which appears at the bottom of the screen on the mobile app and on the left sidebar on the web. Lists of Trending and Recommended subjects now appear below the search bar. Tap on any topic, and you will be able to access the associated posts. When I tried it, choices among the top five included Christmas and Nosferatu (not an unexpected selection of topics but an interesting juxtaposition). If you’d rather not see the list, you can get rid of it via a small “x” in the upper right corner, or go to Settings > Content & Media and toggle off Enable trending...

This Bluetooth speaker’s design is a breath of fresh air, but Bose skimped on some features that are usually standard at this price. Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FCSemMd

Image: Netflix After years of brand tie-ins and ill-conceived spinoffs, the series is back — and it’s just as tense as ever. Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/GQdHl7u

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images These days, podcasts are going video, and there are a number of visual trends we’ve noticed — some good, some not so much. We’ll show you. Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/HcBJNhC

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images This year showed that a roguelike can be almost anything. Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/9HEpNAc

Xbox Game Pass, Spotify subscriptions, retail store gift cards, and other digital products make for great last-minute gifts. | Image: Meta Yes, Christmas is a couple of days away — and yes, we know you have yet to buy a gift. We understand that life gets busy, though, and sometimes it feels like the holidays creep up on you out of nowhere. But before you spiral into a full-blown panic attack, take a deep breath. Luckily for you, the internet is filled with a treasure trove of gift cards, subscriptions, and other great digital gifts you can buy as late as Christmas Day itself. To help make your life a little easier, we’ve curated a list of some of the best digital gifts we’ve either used ourselves or gifted to our friends and family. We’ve organized the list by interests, too, so you can find the perfect present whether your loved one is into the arts, exercise, or something else entirely. That way, you’ll at least be able to gift something more thoughtful than a generic Amazo...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images After its victory against Google in an antitrust trial earlier this year, the Department of Justice recently proposed a sweeping set of changes its search business . The DOJ put a lot on the table, demanding that Google sell its Chrome browser, syndicate its search results, and avoid exclusive deals with companies like Apple for default search placement. It even kept open the possibility of forcing an Android sale. Now, Google has responded with a far simpler proposal : prohibit those default placement deals, and only for three years. A court found Google liable for unlawfully monopolizing online search, and its remedies are supposed to reset the market, letting rivals fairly compete. Google (obviously) disagrees that it’s running a monopoly, but before it can appeal that underlying conclusion, it’s trying to limit the fallout if it loses. Google’s justification is that search deals were at the heart of the case, so they’re what a c...

Image: Asus Asus is planning to launch a new Rog Strix laptop at CES on January 6th, 2025, the company confirmed in a post spotted by VideoCardz . The short teaser shared by Asus shows a laptop with RGB lighting that wraps all the way around the bottom of the device, likely making for an even more colorful underglow when compared to previous generations . Though Asus doesn’t say which Rog Strix models it will introduce, leaked retail listings suggest Asus could reveal new Rog Strix 18 Scar and Rog Strix G16 laptops. New STRIX, January 6, 8PM PST Save the date https://t.co/mS9trt2BCn #UnlockTheROGLab #CES2025ROG #CES2025 pic.twitter.com/y4hb43gRdY — ROG Global (@ASUS_ROG) December 23, 2024 While the Rog Strix Scar 18 is rumored to come with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 285 HX processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics chip, the Rog Strix G16 could feature the same CPU options but with up to a GeForce RTX 5080, as noted by NotebookCheck . Asus may have more to share t...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Not even authority, just the signifiers of authority Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/QtVpSNY

Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty Images Honda and Nissan have announced plans to merge as the Japanese automakers struggle with competition from rival brands in the electric vehicle market. The two companies confirmed on Monday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding that would create the third largest car maker by sales, behind Toyota and Volkswagen. Nissan alliance member Mitsubishi Motors is also in talks with Honda and Nissan to join the integration, with a decision expected by the end of January. Based on the market capital of all three companies, a finalized merger could result in an entity worth more than 50 billion dollars. Honda will initially lead the management of the merged company according to Honda president, Toshihiro Mibe, with the aim to complete a formal merger agreement by June and finalize the deal by August 2026. “Creation of new mobility value by bringing together the resources including knowledge, talents, and technologies that Honda and Nissa...

The Verge X has substantially raised the price of its top-tier user subscription in multiple regions to help bolster the platform’s creator payouts. The increase for Premium Plus came into effect on December 21st according to X , raising prices in the US from $16 per month to $22, or from $168 to $229 for annual subscriptions. Many European countries like France, Germany, and Spain are impacted by a similar increase, taking monthly prices from €16 to €21. Monthly subscribers in Canada (currently paying $20), Australia ($26) and the UK (£16) will also see pricing increased to $26, $35, and £17 respectively. The higher pricing is immediately applicable to new subscribers, with existing users grandfathered into their current rates until January 20th. X’s basic subscription tier remains unaffected. The pricing changes for US subscribers are the highest increase introduced since Elon Musk purchased the social media platform in 2022. X gave several reasons to justify the price hike, ci...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Our staff writes about the best books they read over the course of the year. Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/xVznv4F

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 65, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, get ready to take up all your phone’s storage space, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This is the last Installer of the year! I’m taking a couple of weeks off for the holidays, and I hope you’re getting some relaxation in too. Thank you so much to everyone who has subscribed to this newsletter, emailed me your recommendations, told me I’m a lunatic about to-do lists, and generally been part of the Installerverse this year. Making this newsletter is so much fun, and I’m so thrilled to get to do it with you. Bigger and better next year! This week, I’ve been reading about Spotify’s ghost artists and Formula 1 and Mufasa and the deeply silly New York Jets , watching Hot Frosty (you can judge me, it’s fine) and re-watching 30 Rock , beating Balatro for the very first time, and trying to convince my toddler that...

Illustration: The Verge In the latest version of the Files by Google app, summoning Gemini while looking at a PDF gives you the option to ask about the file, writes Android Police . You’ll need to be a Gemini Advanced subscriber to use the feature though, according to Mishaal Rahman, who reported on Friday that it had started rolling out. If you have the feature, when you summon Gemini while looking at a PDF in the Files app, you’ll see an “Ask about this PDF” button appear. Tapping that lets you ask questions about the file, the same way you might ask ChatGPT about a PDF. Google first announced this screen-aware feature during its I/O developer conference in May. Rahman posted a screenshot of what it looks like in action: Other context-aware Gemini features include the ability to ask about web pages and YouTube videos. For apps or file types without Gemini’s context-aware support, the assistant instead offers to answer questions about your screen, using a screenshot it ta...

Terradot’s pilot program in Brazil involves spreading crushed basalt over farmland. | Image: Terradot To try to counteract the impact their pollution has on the climate, Google and other big companies have bought into a plan to trap carbon dioxide using rocks. They recently announced multimillion dollar deals with a Sheryl Sandberg-backed startup called Terradot. Google, H&M Group, and Salesforce are among a gaggle of companies that collectively agreed to pay Terradot $27 million to remove 90,000 tons carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The deals were brokered by Frontier, a carbon removal initiative led by Stripe, Google, Shopify, and McKinsey Sustainability. Separately, Google announced its own deal to purchase an additional 200,000 tons of carbon removal from Terradot. Both companies declined to say how much that deal is worth. If the cost is similar to the Frontier agreement — roughly $300 per ton of CO2 captured — it could add up to $60 million, although Google says i...

The Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition is the first hardware from the open-source smart home platform that’s designed for voice control. | Image: Nabu Casa There’s a new voice assistant in town, and this one can work locally in your home without phoning home to its corporate overloads. This week, the popular hobbyist smart home platform Home Assistant officially launched its first voice assistant hardware — Home Assistant Voice Preview Edition . Built for the open-source smart home platform, Voice PE costs $59 and brings a locally controlled, privacy-focused voice assistant to Home Assistant in a plug-and-play package. Once connected to Home Assistant , you can use voice to control any connected device , with commands such as “Turn on the living room lights,” “Lock all the doors,” “Create a timer for 5 minutes,” and many more . While Home Assistant users have been able to control their smart homes with voice using either Home Assistant’s Assist on less capable third-par...

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Thousands of delivery drivers who work for Amazon third-party contractors are now on strike, The New York Times reports . The workers are striking after “Amazon’s repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain with the thousands of Amazon workers who organized with the Teamsters,” according to a Teamsters press release . Workers are picketing at Amazon warehouses from Atlanta, New York City, San Francisco, Southern California, and Skokie, Ill., with other Amazon Teamsters “prepared to join them,” the Teamsters say. “Teamsters local unions are also putting up primary picket lines at hundreds of Amazon Fulfillment Centers nationwide.” The National Labor Relations Board issued a complaint against Amazon earlier this year, saying that Amazon and one of its third-party contractors are joint employers of delivery drivers and that it has “a legal duty to recognize and bargain with the Teamsters Union,” per another Teamsters press release . ...

Image: The Verge In what seems to be a battle between Threads and Bluesky for the hearts and minds of ex-Twitterers, Threads has been adding some interesting new features. The latest is the ability to share photos and videos without including the original post — in other words, without quote posting. (There’s a similar feature in X for videos.) There has been some initial pushback on it. A photographer on Threads complained that “there will be a small watermark-like credit on the photo, but there won’t be a link back to your account.” Curious, I tried out the new feature, went to see if there was indeed no link back to the original post, and followed bryanhansel’s instructions for turning it off. Here’s what happened, and how you can use and adjust Threads’ new feature. (All of these instructions have been followed using the mobile app.) To share images alone Long-press on the image you want to share. A menu will pop up at the bottom of the screen. To share just the ima...

Illustration: The Verge Google has introduced a new AI “reasoning” model capable of answering complex questions while also providing a rundown of its “thoughts,” as reported earlier by TechCrunch . The model, called Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking, is still experimental and will likely compete with OpenAI’s o1 reasoning model . In a post on X, Google DeepMind chief scientist Jeff Dean says the model is “trained to use thoughts to strengthen its reasoning,” and also benefits from the speed that comes along with the faster Gemini Flash 2.0 model . The demo shared by Dean shows how Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking goes about answering a physics problem by “thinking” through a series of steps before offering a solution. Want to see Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking in action? Check out this demo where the model solves a physics problem and explains its reasoning. pic.twitter.com/Nl0hYj7ZFS — Jeff Dean (@JeffDean) December 19, 2024 This isn’t necessarily “reasoning” in the way humans perform it, bu...

This is such a weird episode of The X-Files . | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Phone cameras are incredible little machines, capable of way more than their tiny lenses and sensors would lead you to believe. They can capture core memories at the beach and northern lights in the sky . But even with all of their computational smarts, they have their limits, including one that’s particularly obvious at the moment. You know all those clear, high-quality pictures you’ve seen of the drones hovering over New Jersey at night? No? Exactly. You are probably aware by now that there are drones of mysterious origins visiting the New Jersey skies at night. And if you’ve watched or read a report on the drone situation, you’ve probably seen a grainy photo of distant lights in the sky, maybe with blurred trails from red and green navigation lights. You know the type , because they all basically look the same. But this isn’t happening in some remote part of the country, this is a s...

LG’s Signature OLED T, the transparent TV that was the company’s big flashy reveal at CES 2024 , now has an official price: $59,999. It’s available beginning today in the United States “at select LG-authorized retailers including Best Buy, Video & Audio Center and via LG.com” the company said in a press release. You can’t just walk into your local Best Buy and get this thing, mind you; it’s a special order kind of situation. LG says the first purchase will be made later tonight at a gala at Video & Audio Center. The OLED T lets you switch between its mind-boggling transparent mode, where you can clearly see whatever’s behind the OLED panel, and an opaque mode that eliminates distractions when enjoying content on the 77-inch screen. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Verge (@verge) As is usually the case with Signature models, this OLED gets some completely unique software tricks that you won’t find on other LG s...