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Showing posts from April, 2024

Tesla layoffs hit Supercharger team just as it’s poised to take over EV charging

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Photo: Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Tesla was on the cusp of taking over electric vehicle charging in the US — then, the layoffs came. Today, multiple outlets reported that the company has laid off hundreds of employees, just weeks after cutting 10 percent (approximately 14,000 people) of its global workforce. Tesla’s Supercharger division was said to be particularly hard hit, with several soon-to-be-former employees saying that close to the entire team had been cut. According to The Information , Rebecca Tinucci, Tesla’s senior director of EV charging, is leaving the company, alongside most of the 500-person team she oversaw. Tinucci oversaw the effort to win near universal support from other automakers for Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS), an enormous... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/TjoKHp1

The Rabbit R1’s first software update addresses its dismal battery life

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With a dead battery, this is just a nice-looking paperweight. | Image: David Pierce / The Verge Just a week after its initial launch, the Rabbit R1’s first software update is here — and not a moment too soon. Right on top of the list of improvements in the OTA update is “up to 5x” improved idle battery performance, addressing a major pain point for early R1 adopters. It’s also great news for me, specifically, because my R1 is constantly out of power. Today’s update consists of two parts: an OTA update pushed directly to R1 devices and a cloud update to Rabbit OS. Battery life is far from the only issue addressed — other highlights include an improved music playback UI, improved Bluetooth reliability, and a fix for a compatibility issue when the device is plugged into a car that seems to have bricked at least one R1 . There’s also... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WdpHm8G

Can Rabbit’s R1 outsmart the smartphone assistants? Let’s find out!

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Are any of them smarter than just googling the answer? | Photo: Allison Johnson / The Verge Welcome to another episode of the fantastic new game show where we quiz virtual assistants! Say it with me, folks: “Are you smarter than just googling it?” Let’s welcome our contestants. You probably know our first two contestants from such hits as “Set a timer for me” and “How much time is left on my timer?”: Siri and Google Assistant! Big round of applause for these hard-working smartphone assistants. Next up is a newcomer — it’s sleek, it’s orange, it’s the Rabbit R1 ! We’ll quiz them to see just how smart these virtual know-it-alls are. Let’s get started with the lightning round. The first question is a classic: What’s the weather today? Siri: Expect rain today. Google Assistant: Rain. Rabbit R1: Let me see what I can find. Today... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hvj8DpZ

iPads join iPhones in requirement to follow strict EU rules

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iOS, Safari, and the App Store were already designated as Gatekeeper services under the DMA in September 2023. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Following an almost eight-month investigation into whether Apple’s iPadOS holds enough market power to warrant stricter regulation, the European Commission has now designated the iPad operating system as a Gatekeeper service under its flagship Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules. “The Commission concluded that iPadOS constitutes an important gateway for business users to reach end users, and that Apple enjoys an entrenched and durable position with respect to iPadOS,” reads a statement published by the Commission on Monday. “Apple now has six months to ensure full compliance with the DMA obligations as applied to iPadOS.” Under the DMA, which came into force on March 7th , iPadOS will now have to comply with a broad range of rules that allow... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/kKuDIdq

Fiido Air review: so lightweight you’ll forget it’s an e-bike

‘The world’s lightest city e-bike’ claim is worth a test, if not your $1,799. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WwuJg5G

Financial Times signs licensing deal with OpenAI

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Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images The Financial Times has struck a deal with OpenAI to license its content and develop AI tools, the latest news organization to work with the AI company. The FT writes in a press release that ChatGPT users will see summaries, quotes, and links to its articles. Any prompt that returns information from the FT will be attributed to the publication. In return, OpenAI will work with the news organization to develop new AI products. The FT already uses OpenAI products, saying it is a customer of ChatGPT Enterprise. Last month, the FT released a generative AI search function on beta powered by Anthropic’s Claude large language model. Ask FT lets subscribers find information across the publication’s articles. Financial Times Group CEO John... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/7srOmRx

Phone cooler makers need to chill with all the ice

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That’s too cold! | Image: Amazon I don’t know about you, but when I have a nasty case of the hot phone, I have to get rid of that heat this instant . Just kidding, I usually just put it down for a while or restart it when it’s being especially stubborn. But there are companies out there marketing a different solution: little stick-on phone-cooling fans that purport to draw all that heat away. And their product images are a little, uh, excessively icy. How did it come to this? What kicked off this arms race of increasingly frosty phones? I have to assume things started innocently enough, but these RGB-riddled things are pretty squarely aimed at gamers — I’d guess it didn’t take long for these product shots to snowball into the wildly unrealistic pictures on Amazon today. ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/MKvX7JI

The OLED iPad Pro could launch with an M4 chip

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Image: Dan Seifert / The Verge Apple is preparing for its big AI coming out party in this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference ; that much you can count on. But apparently, the company is going to start that party a little early with the OLED iPad Pro that it’s expected to unveil on May 7th . According to Bloomberg’ s Mark Gurman , there’s “a strong possibility” the tablet will launch with an M4 chip and its accompanying neural engine, making it Apple’s “first truly AI-powered device.” Writing in his Power On newsletter today, Gurman said the company could use its May event to explain “its AI chip strategy without distraction,” freeing it to focus on exactly how the iPad Pro and its other M4 devices will use the company’s AI offerings in iPadOS 18. Those could include... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/QwCtFRe

Battle of the best robovacs (that iRobot doesn’t make)

We put the Roborock S8 MaxV Ultra head-to-head against the DreameBot X30 Ultra to find out which of these Roomba competitors’ flagship robot vacuums is the best. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/tzpTA6B

In the first Autonomous Racing League race, the struggle was real

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Screenshot: Wes Davis / The Verge The first race of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL) took place on the Yas Marina Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Formula 1 track today, and I’m pleased to report that a race both began and ended. But the event was not without strife — far from it. During qualifying time trials, the driverless Dallara Super Formula racers outfitted with cameras and software seemed to struggle mightily to complete a full lap. During the trials, cars randomly juked: Image: A2RL Or spun: Image: A2RL Or turned into walls: Image: A2RL Or just pulled off the track to take a little break: Image: A2RL You get well-acquainted with the interstitial music during these highlights.... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/yrRogJF

The Apple Vision Pro’s eBay prices are making me sad

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Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge I paid a lot of money for the privilege of getting an Apple Vision Pro brand-new in February. All-in, with optical inserts and taxes, I financed a little over $3,900 for the 256GB version of the headset. A day or so ago, I made a mistake that I’m sure many early adopters are familiar with: I looked up how much it’s been selling for on eBay. On Wednesday, a 1TB Vision Pro, complete with all the included gear, Apple’s fluffy $200 travel case, $500 AppleCare Plus, and claimed to have been “worn maybe about an hour” sold for $3,200 after 21 bids. The listed shipping estimate was $20.30. Brand new, that combination is $5,007.03 on Apple’s site for me. Another eBay listing, this one with my headset’s configuration (but sans optical inserts) w... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Kxz8qjl

I traded in my MacBook and now I’m a desktop convert

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You can forget a lot about desktops if you use laptops exclusively for 23 years. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge When the M3 MacBook Airs came out last month, I did a good ol’ double facepalm that Captain Picard would be proud of. The wedge shape was no more ( kinda ). My M2 MacBook Air 15 was slightly too big, too heavy, and no matter what certain people say, 8GB of RAM was not cutting it. Analyzing the various MacBook Air and MacBook Pro configurations and prices made my head hurt. Thinking about lugging around a heavier laptop made my back hurt. So I said, “Screw it. I’m going back to the desktop life.” I traded in my M2 Air and got myself a Mac Mini . It made sense. I have a work-issued M1 MacBook Air — a delightfully lightweight wedge that’s more than enough for occasional trips to the office. At home, I use my phone for everything except... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/wid0ovZ

Apple’s last-gen MacBook Pro 16 is on sale for its best price to date

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Even now, the last-gen MacBook is a speedy machine with a stunning, spacious display. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge It’s been a good week for Apple fans. Not only did Apple announce its forthcoming “Let Loose” event , but the entire M3-powered 13-inch MacBook Air lineup received a notable discount . And now, the 16-inch MacBook Pro with the M2 Pro chip has plunged to an all-time low. If you require a laptop capable of handling more intense workloads than the Air, authorized Apple retailer Expercom is selling the last-gen MacBook Pro with 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage, a 12‑core CPU, and a 19‑core GPU for $1,998.99 ($500 off) via Amazon . Like the new M3-powered MacBook Pros , Apple’s last-gen MacBooks can tackle tasks like video editing and photo processing while lasting well over a full workday, which makes them better suited for creative professionals... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/8hqKGsv

All the news about EV charging in the US

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An EVgo charging station that has each DC fast-charging cable option including CCS, CHAdeMO, and Tesla’s NACS. | Image: Umar Shakir / The Verge Tesla’s NACS plug and Supercharger network might help solve North America’s EV charging fragmentation problem, but EV buyers are still feeling uncertain. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Ulx9XIC

TCL’s entry-level Q6 QLED TV has fallen to a new low price for a limited time

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The Q6 isn’t known for top-tier gaming specs and ultra-deep black levels, but it offers a lot of TV for just $450. | Image: TCL Here at The Verge , we spend a lot of time reporting on pristine, high-end TV sets — including the latest panels from Sony , LG , and Samsung . That said, not everyone is in the market for a picture-perfect OLED panel or one purpose-built to reduce glare. Thankfully, TCL’s 65-inch Q6 QLED is a more economical option, one you can grab at Amazon and Best Buy today for $449.99 ($250 off), its lowest price to date. Despite being TCL’s entry-level Q Class panel, the Q6 offers a lot for its budget-friendly price tag. The quantum dot-enabled 4K panel is bright and color-accurate, with solid black levels and vivid color that should shine no matter what you’re watching. It features Google’s terrific TV interface and built-in Chromecast functionality... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hodkwKZ

Net neutrality is about to make a comeback

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Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The Federal Communications Commission is set to vote to restore net neutrality on Thursday in the latest volley of a yearslong game of political ping-pong. The commission is expected to reclassify internet service providers (ISPs) — e.g., broadband companies like AT&T and Comcast — as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act. That classification would open ISPs up to greater oversight by the FCC. The vote is widely expected to go in favor of reinstating net neutrality since FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, controls the agency’s agenda. Rosenworcel moved forward with the measure after a fifth commissioner was sworn in, restoring a Democratic majority on the panel. (Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/4VEPvuT

Spotify is struggling to get Apple to approve its iOS updates in the EU

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Spotify submitted a new version of its iOS app that should give users in the European Union in-app pricing information for subscriptions made outside of Apple’s payment system — provided the update doesn’t get stonewalled by Apple again . According to TechCrunch , the latest version of the app doesn’t contain a direct link to subscription plans on Spotify’s website, something the company hoped would allow it to skirt the 30 percent cut Apple takes on subscriptions made via the App Store. Instead, EU users will be directed to manually visit Spotify’s website via a web browser in order to purchase cheaper subscription plans. "Apple continues to break European law,” and unfortunately that means we still can’t give EU consumers the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/7qcorUz

You don’t know your K-pop persona, do you?

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Image: Spotify Spotify has launched a colorful personality quiz designed to help K-pop fans determine their persona . For those unfamiliar with the K-pop term or its Jungian roots , a “persona” refers to the distinct, public-facing role of each member of a band. The feature leans into K-pop’s status as a major area of growth in the global music industry, which Spotify has been eager to tap into. The five-question quiz , which fans can take inside the Spotify app, will identify whether you’re a Main Visual, a Main Vocal, a Main Rapper, a Main Dancer, or a Trainee. In a callout to K-pop fan culture, the quiz will also generate a photocard ( similar to the band-specific trading cards ) with your results that you can share on social media. The feature will be... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/7EWCHzn

Is your PC having trouble? Your smart TV might be to blame

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Maybe your home should be dumb! | Illustration by Adrián Astorgano for The Verge It turns out your TV can actually mess up your computer — at least if you’re using a Hisense TV and Windows. Kevin Snow, a video game narrative designer, wrote on Cohost that they’d been having trouble with their PC . The “Display Settings” menu didn’t open. The “Task Manager” started hanging. Then things necessary to making the computer work started to fail. Spelunking in hidden comments on Microsoft forums revealed the problem: Snow’s TV. “I felt like I’d solved a murder.” Basically, the TV had been generating Universal Plug and Play IDs and had, over the course of several years, convinced Snow’s computer that there were essentially an infinite number of devices on their network. Snow’s smart TV, a Hisense 50Q8G, had inadvertently... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/TGX87Om

Microsoft makes it easier to install Windows store apps from the web

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Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Microsoft is starting to improve the experience of downloading Windows store apps from the web. The software giant has built what it calls an “undocked version of the [Microsoft] Store” that works like a typical executable to install apps from the Microsoft Store. It should cut down on the complexity involved in finding Windows store apps on the web and installing them. Instead of launching the Microsoft Store and a mini window, now when you download apps from the web version of the Microsoft Store it will download a standalone installer instead. This means you don’t have to click install on the web, then allow Chrome or Edge to open the Microsoft Store, and finally hit install to actually install the app. A lightweight installer will be... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/JgbClLZ

Gaming giant Embracer Group is splitting into three companies

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Embracer Group will house major properties like the Lord of The Rings under its new Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends company. | Image: Warner Bros. Swedish gaming conglomerate Embracer Group announced plans on Monday to split itself into three distinct games and entertainment companies: Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain & Friends, and Middle-earth Enterprises & Friends. These will be separate, publicly listed companies, according to Embracer’, which says the move will allow “each entity to better focus on their respective core strategies and offer more differentiated and distinct equity stories for existing and new shareholders.” “This move towards three independent companies reinforces Embracer’s vision of backing entrepreneurs and creators with a long-term mindset,” says Lars Wingefors, co-founder and Embracer Group CEO, “allowing them to continue to deliver unforgettable experiences... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vX9QYfh

Why is Windows 11 so got dang annoying?

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A couple of weeks ago, I ran out of screen on the one external monitor my work-issued MacBook Air can run. So I switched to my five-year-old Windows desktop and plugged in another monitor. Love it. Productivity through the roof. But it means that I’m finally spending significant time in Windows 11, and gosh, is it janky. There are some things that Windows does very well compared to macOS and Linux. All the games are there, for one thing, and Windows runs on all sorts of hardware without a lot of fiddling. You do not have to spend a thousand dollars minimum on a non-upgradable machine to use it. You also generally do not have to download a bunch of drivers or spend six hours in the command line hand-assembling the goddamn operating... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Q1SAWfF

Gentler Streak quieted my evil brain goblin so I could run in peace

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Streaks aren’t the only way to be consistent. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Six weeks ago, I was having a tough time sticking to my running routines and goals. Physically, I was mostly fine. Mentally, the thought of running — a sport I usually love — made me roll into a blanket burrito and never leave my bed. I started hating myself, but none of my usual fitness apps and trackers were helping. After building a weeklong streak, I couldn’t muster the energy to get out of bed one Saturday. I broke it and spent the next day wallowing in guilt and self-pity. Fed up, I went digging around the internet and ended up downloading the Gentler Streak app. Gentler Streak is what it sounds like. It’s an iOS and Apple Watch app with a more compassionate approach toward building a fitness habit. You can set an activity status:... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pi9Es7I

The game emulator your phone has been missing

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Image: The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 35, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, get ready to open some tabs, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been rewatching Killing Eve now that it’s on Netflix, reading about Maggie Rogers and flying cars and the Today in Tabs newsletter , nodding along as MKBHD talks about gadget reviews , testing the Godspeed to-do list app, talking to everyone I know about the Papyrus 2 sketch , listening on repeat to The Tortured Poets Department , and playing with the Plaud AI voice recorder. I also have for you a surprisingly gadget-y week! We have a new set of earbuds to try, a new handheld camera, an AI memory... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/EB9sUOI

This is Tesla’s riveting fix for recalled Cybertruck accelerator pedals

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Tesla’s drilling holes in Cybertruck accelerator pedals. | Image: Tesla ( PDF ) Tesla temporarily halted deliveries and recalled every single Cybertruck after a viral video showed how the pad on its accelerator pedal could slip off and get stuck in the interior trim, leaving the pedal depressed “down 100 percent, full throttle.” Now, video from a Tesla event in California taken today and Tesla’s own documentation confirm the riveting installation that secures the pad with a rivet, and they show us exactly how it’s done. While Aaron Cash’s video posted to X says it’s a “35 second recall fix,” demonstrated at the “Cyber Takeover” event in Long Beach, the video starts with the required drilling jig already in place. Here is the @cybertruck 35 second recall fix at the Cyber takeover event pic.twitter.com/XGsINAEFHQ —... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0qXMyl2

Google’s HD Chromecast is going for just $20

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Google’s latest streaming dongle offers a cheap way to add smart features and apps to any TV. | Image: Google Almost any TV you can buy these days supports streaming in some form or fashion, but what if you don’t like its user interface or it doesn’t have all of the apps you need? That’s where a streaming device like the Chromecast with Google TV (HD) comes in. We usually recommend jumping for the 4K version if you have the budget for it, but the HD model is only $19.99 ($10 off) at Amazon , Best Buy , and the Google Store . It’s a great opportunity to see whether a Chromecast is a better fit for you than Amazon or Roku’s offerings or to access your favorite streaming apps on a secondary TV in your home. Like its pricier sibling, the Google TV platform it uses offers recommendations across a variety of streaming services and provides an array of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/gnQGEjd

Maybe I don’t want a Rosey the Robot after all

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Friend or foe? The Jetsons’ Rosey the Robot has long been an inspiration for developing home robots. But should it be? | Image: Warner Bros. Television, Hanna-Barbera As a child of the 1980s, my perception of the smart home has been dominated by the idea that one day, we will all have Rosey the Robot-style robots roaming our homes — dusting the mantelpiece, preparing dinner, and unloading the dishwasher. (That last one is a must; we were smart enough to come up with a robot to wash our dishes; can’t we please come up with one that can also unload them?) However, after seeing Boston Dynamics’ latest droid, Atlas, unveiled this week, my childhood dreams are fast turning into a smart home nightmare. While The Jetsons ’ robot housekeeper had a steely charm, accentuated by its frilly apron, the closer we come to having humanoid robots in our home, the more terrifying it appears they will be. Not so much... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/6nZcIef

All the news on Qi2 wireless charging

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Anker is amongst the first accessory makers to rerelease MagSafe-compatible accessories that now support the Qi2 standard. | Image: Nathan Edwards / The Verge Qi2 brings MagSafe-like fast magnetic wireless charging for any device. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/L2RH1PS

The Humane AI Pin is lost in translation

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As funny as it was when the AI Pin utterly failed at translating Korean and Japanese, it also broke my heart. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Of all the things the Humane AI Pin promised, I was most intrigued by translation. In a demo , a man speaks to Humane co-founder Imran Chaudhri in Spanish. The AI Pin automatically translates it to English. Chaudhri replies in English. Again, the AI Pin translates his words back into Spanish. There are notable pauses when the AI is processing, but it’s a powerful concept. Unlike with Google Translate, there was solid eye contact between both people. The AI voice sounded more natural and less robotic. And crucially, there were no screens. The language barrier was still there, but it was much more permeable. That’s not what happened when I tried it myself. I spoke some simple phrases in Japanese and Korean. Instead of translating, the AI... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ieCqJA7

TikTok Notes starts rolling out as a new rival to Instagram

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Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok has started rolling out its Instagram rival, TikTok Notes, to select Android and iOS users “for download and limited testing in Australia and Canada.” A tweet announcing the launch , as well as the App Store and Google Play listings, showed off some official images of the app that offer insights about how it works for those of us who don’t have access yet. In them, we see that you can write up headlines for images above your captions, which is a feature Instagram doesn’t natively offer. Image: TikTok The homepage also seems to be divided into two sections, with a separate page where you can view posts from people you follow and another “For You” page. It’s organized a bit like Pinterest’s homepage but with a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/lx52uWf

Dwarf Fortress goes on an adventure

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Image: Bay 12 Games Though you could always go on adventures in Dwarf Fortress , with the game’s Adventure Mode expansion entering public beta today, you can now sally forth with a full complement of updated graphics. In Adventure Mode, there are all sorts of shenanigans to get up to in the ridiculously large and detailed procedurally generated world. It’s an RPG campaign complete with character creation, quests to complete, and bandits to fight. With the public beta, your adventures on the surface world will look a lot more detailed than smiley faces and ASCII art. There’s still the same level of granular detail in combat, allowing you to stab, punch, kick, throw, and bite just about anything on your enemies right down to their eyeballs. Check out a demo... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WpSifkI

NBA bans player for life over online sports betting

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Photo by Brian Sevald / NBAE via Getty Images The NBA has permanently banned Toronto Raptors forward Jontay Porter from the league for violating its gambling rules, the league said in a statement on Wednesday. According to an internal investigation conducted by the NBA, Porter bet on NBA games, disclosed confidential information to other gamblers, and adjusted his participation in certain games to influence the outcome of certain bets. The league started looking into Porter after a March 20th game against the Sacramento Kings in which Porter played for just three minutes. Porter left the game after saying he felt ill. Ahead of that game, Porter told “an individual he knew to be an NBA bettor” about his health status, according to the NBA’s statement. Another person then put an... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/NL47xiJ

Take it slow in this stop-motion sci-fi adventure

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Image: Slow Bros. Harold Halibut moves at its own pace. A point-and-click adventure built with real-world materials and then animated with stop-motion, Harold Halibut tells a story that’s at times slow and ponderous and, at others, cozy and heartwarming. It’s sort of like what would happen if Wes Anderson teamed up with Aardman Animations to make a sci-fi game. Which is to say that it’s charming and built with an incredible amount of care and detail. As a game, it’s standard stuff — but as a place to experience, there’s nothing quite like it. The developers at German studio Slow Bros. say that every element in Harold Halibut was “meticulously hand-crafted using traditional sculpting and model-making techniques.” And much of the joy of the game comes from... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/R5Ej7nz

Kickstarter is adding the ability to collect money indefinitely

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Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Creators fundraising for projects on Kickstarter will soon be able to collect money even after their campaign ends. Currently, Kickstarter projects can last anywhere from one to 60 days, and creators hoping to continue fundraising after meeting their goal have had to go off-platform to keep raising money. The new late pledge feature will allow crowdfunding campaigns to collect money indefinitely if the creator chooses. Late pledges could also be helpful for fans who learn about projects after the fundraising window has closed but want to support the creator. Creators who are offering something in exchange for a certain level of monetary support — a digital download of an album or physical items, for example — will need to end late... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/z5DOynp

YouTube’s ad blocker crackdown now includes third-party apps

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Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is bringing its ad blocker fight to mobile. In an update on Monday , YouTube writes that users accessing videos through a third-party ad blocking app may encounter buffering issues or see an error message that reads, “The following content is not available on this app.” Last year, YouTube “ launched a global effort ” to encourage users to allow ads while watching videos or upgrade to YouTube Premium. It also began disabling videos for users with an ad blocking extension enabled. But now, YouTube says its policies don’t allow “third-party apps to turn off ads because that prevents the creator from being rewarded for viewership.” This appears to target mobile ad blockers like AdGuard, which lets you open YouTube within the ad... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/eQ4BszP

Is a watchdog for corporate climate commitments caving to industry?

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Pigeon River Country State Forest in Vanderbilt, Michigan, U.S., on Wednesday, April 20th, 2022. State and local governments in the US are enrolling public-owned forests in carbon projects that could earn them tens of millions of dollars but provide little new help in the fight against climate change . The charity that serves as a major watchdog on corporate climate commitments faces allegations that it’s caving to industry pressure to relax standards. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) assesses companies’ sustainability pledges and develops standards for how companies can set goals to fight climate change that are backed by science. SBTi’s policies are supposed to prevent greenwashing, which is when companies make misleading statements about their environmental impact. One way SBTi has tried to crack down on greenwashing is by limiting the use of carbon offsets. Offsets are supposed to cancel out some of a company’s carbon footprint, even though that’s often only reflec

Tesla is reportedly laying off ‘more than 10 percent’ of its workforce

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The layoffs follow the company’s first drop in year-over-year vehicle deliveries since 2020. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A few weeks after reporting its first year-over-year decline in vehicle deliveries since 2020, Tesla is now planning to lay off over ten percent of its global workforce, according to an internal company-wide email seen by Electrek . That works out to at least 14,000 of the 140,473 employees that Tesla reported in its latest annual earnings . It’s not clear which teams at Tesla will be impacted. “There is nothing I hate more, but it must be done,” said Elon Musk, in the email published by Electrek . “This will enable us to be lean, innovative and hungry for the next growth phase cycle.” Today’s development is the latest in a string of bad news for the EV maker. The company reported a miss in delivery estimates ahead of its quarterly earnings... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/lO6QCF2

Ikea’s new gaming furniture looks like furniture, not an energy drink

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Ikea’s Brännboll range is just the right mix of neutrals and bright colors to match most modern homes. | Image: Ikea Ikea is introducing a new range of gaming furniture that subverts the usual dark, edgy “gamer” aesthetic for designs that are more likely to blend in with your existing home decor. The company’s Brännboll collection is a lineup of 20 items, including a desk, chairs, accessories, and various storage solutions. Following the mostly-black ROG collaboration Ikea released back in 2021, which was similarly free from overly aggressive “gamer” flourishes , the new Brännboll collection instead focuses on the kind of designs that Ikea does best — simple and recognizably Scandinavian. Seating is the main focus. There’s an armchair that folds out into a lounging position, a rocking-style chair designed to swing with your body’s movement, and an... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jCZWrHG

Google’s Pixel 9 may get an Apple-like satellite SOS feature

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Image: OnLeaks / 91Mobiles Google could be adding a feature very similar to Apple’s Emergency SOS feature to the Pixel 9 and the next Pixel Fold . That’s according to leaker Kamila Wojciechowska, who writes for Android Authority that the company would partner with T-Mobile to offer the feature but may add other providers later. Just like Apple’s system, Google’s SOS feature would reportedly present future Pixel owners with a series of questions to ascertain what’s happening, rather than let users thumb one out. A video in the Android Authority article features the animation Google will display to users to help them get the phone aligned with a satellite. According to Wojciechowska, these are some of the questions the feature will ask: What happened? [Are you/Are... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/CbWfAkM

Blackmagic Design releases a DaVinci Resolve editing panel for iPads

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Blackmagic’s new Micro Color Panel lets you edit video on the go. | Image: Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Design announced its video editing software, DaVinci Resolve, was coming to the iPad back in 2022 , and although it supports multitouch input and the Apple Pencil, sometimes, nothing beats purpose-built hardware. On Friday, Blackmagic announced the $495 DaVinci Resolve Micro Color Panel , which it says will be available worldwide in May and is specifically designed for the iPad. At 14.33 inches by 7.18 inches, the Micro Color Panel is about the size of a computer keyboard. It has an iPad Pro mounting slot and connects either via Bluetooth or USB-C. Besides being smaller than Blackmagic’s other color panels, the Micro is also significantly cheaper (The next one up — the Mini Panel — is listed at over $2,000 on Blackmagic’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/DjA3KoV

The first Apple-approved emulators for the iPhone have arrived

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A screenshot from iGBA. | Screenshot: Wes Davis / The Verge I played Game Boy Advance games on my iPhone last night thanks to a new emulator called iGBA, which appears to be the first Game Boy Advance emulator on the App Store since Apple started allowing emulators worldwide. The only trouble is, it doesn’t look like iGBA is developer Mattia La Spina’s own work. Emulation developer and AltStore creator Riley Testut says it’s a rip-off of GBA4iOS, the predecessor to his Delta emulator that was originally made for iOS over a decade ago and that he recently resurrected for the Vision Pro , the source code for which he has published online . Here are some screenshots for comparison, starting with iGBA: Screenshots: Wes Davis / The Verge Screenshots from iGBA. ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Ggp3rLR

Best video game TV show ever?

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The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 34, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been writing about the Humane AI Pin and the Aboard app , reading about the Com World War and why studios cancel already-made movies , watching Ripley and a deep dive into the Game Boy’s incredible sturdiness and power , listening to The Rest is History take on Martin Luther , and seeing if Amazon’s Echo Frames can replace my headphones. I also have for you an excellent new video game show, a new ebook reader worth a look, yet another doc about how bad tech is, a sweet new drone, and much more. I also... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/tUzv97H

Police arrested four people with $300,000 of stolen Lego kits

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Image: California Highway Patrol Los Angeles citizens can rest easy knowing that a criminal theft ring is no longer stalking the city’s retail stores to feed a Lego black market. That’s because the California Highway Patrol (CHP) announced this week that it had arrested four people it accused of swiping what police estimated was “approximately $300,000” worth of Lego sets. The four had allegedly burgled stores like Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s of their Lego stock and sold them to black-market dealers who would then vend the stolen bricks at “seemingly legitimate businesses, swap meets, or online.” Police say they were booked on “charges related to Organized Retail Theft, Grand Theft, and Conspiracy to commit a crime.” Image: California Highway Patrol ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/JdNTOU1

Spotify’s lossless audio could finally arrive as part of ‘Music Pro’ add-on

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Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge Could lossless streaming on Spotify actually be happening this time? We’ve been through so many twists and turns with this saga already, but there’s new cause for hope. Code snippets in recent builds of Spotify for Android yet again tease the possibility of the company’s long-delayed lossless audio coming in the near future. After originally being known three years ago as “Spotify HiFi” and then rumored to be part of a more expensive “Supremium” subscription tier, it seems like Spotify has again pivoted on strategy. The code samples indicate that lossless audio will be included in an optional “Music Pro” add-on that will also include the DJ remix features that my colleague Jess Weatherbed covered earlier today . Those will let Spotify... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Az15j3e

Taking CO2 out of the air would be an absurdly expensive way to fight climate change

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Executives hold shovels during a groundbreaking ceremony at the Occidental Petroleum and 1PointFive carbon removal plant in Ector County, Texas, on April 28th, 2023.  | Image: Jordan Vonderhaar / Bloomberg via Getty Images Attempting to filter enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to make a significant impact on climate change would require hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending, according to a new report . The suite of technologies emerging to attempt that task all fall under an umbrella called carbon dioxide removal, or CDR. It’s still risky and astronomically expensive . But there’s been growing chatter about it, particularly as the US continues producing record amounts of oil and gas . According to the new report by research firm Rhodium Group, the US needs to spend roughly $100 billion a year on CDR in order to scale up to a level that would help the country meet its climate goals. A majority of that needs to come in the form of... Continue reading…

TikTok may add AI avatars that can make ads

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Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok plans to add an AI creator feature to its platform, which may compete with the sponsored ads human influencers make on the site. The Information reports TikTok is developing virtual influencers to promote and sell items on the platform. The AI avatars can read scripts from prompts generated by advertisers or sellers on its TikTok Shop. The feature is not live yet and could still be changed. According to The Information ’s sources, TikTok staff have been testing AI avatars but found that they were not ready for release and attracted fewer e-commerce sales than human influencers. However, TikTok believes AI creators would complement their crop of creators. TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s unclear how... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/t4maNEx

Microsoft is bringing its Xbox dashboard to the web with party chat and more

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Illustration: The Verge Microsoft is previewing a new Xbox Cloud Gaming interface today that includes the social features and UI you’d normally find in the Xbox dashboard. The new interface includes access to a web version of Xbox party chat, so you can use a browser to join a call with friends instead of the dedicated Xbox desktop and mobile apps. The updated web interface also includes the ability to find and manage Xbox friends, send messages, view user profiles and achievements, and even access notifications. Microsoft is testing this initially with Xbox Insiders before rolling this interface out to all Xbox Cloud Gaming users. As this new interface is part of Xbox Cloud Gaming, most of it will also be available on smart TVs and Meta’s Quest VR headsets,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/IHYTFho

SwitchBot’s robot vacuums now work with Matter, but the platforms need to step up support

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The SwitchBot K10 Plus robot vacuum now works with Matter. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge This week, SwitchBot announced that almost its entire line of smart home devices can now work with Matter through its SwitchBot Hub 2 . This includes its mini K10 Plus robot vacuum — one of The Verge ’s picks for best robot vacuum — as well as the soon-to-be-launched SwitchBot S10 . Along with Ecovacs’ recently launched Deebot X2 Combo and Roborock’s S8 Max Ultra V (coming April 22nd), there are now a handful of robot vacuums that support Matter. The problem is that none of the smart home platforms support robot vacuums through Matter. This chicken-and-egg situation is characteristic of the overall frustrations of the Matter rollout to date. Robot vacuums, in particular, are a category many were excited to see come to Matter. Smart home... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/BwPmCFE

Star Wars Outlaws preorders are up, bringing exclusive skins and DLC in tow

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The open-world Outlaws could be the biggest single-player Star Wars game ever made. | Image: LucasArts It’s official: Star Wars Outlaws launches on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X / S, and PC on August 30th . Ubisoft shared the news alongside a new trailer for the upcoming next-gen title, which is an original adventure set in the ever-expanding galaxy of games based on Lucasfilm’s beloved franchise. You can preorder the game starting today, April 9th, and there are several incentives for punching your ticket early to play it. Developed by Massive Entertainment , Outlaws follows main character Kay Vess and her trusty alien companion Nix as they navigate a galactic criminal underworld. It takes place throughout a range of familiar locales, including Tatooine and Canto Bight, along with Kijimi, Akiva, and an all-new planet named Toshara. The... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Vbo0ZDS

An adult version of scented markers exists… as thermal paste

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Image: Clock Work Tea Party Before today, I had never heard of Japanese thermal paste maker Clock Work Tea Party. But I’ll never forget them thanks to this Tom’s Hardware article; the company makes limited-edition scented thermal paste . It previously released apple- and strawberry-scented pastes, and on April 12th, it’s releasing a new scent that supposedly smells like an Osmanthus plant in full bloom. All its scented pastes are part of the company’s Ekusuri Mugurisu series, which also includes standard thermal paste. Osmanthus, also known as sweet osmanthus or tea olive, is a sweet-smelling, fragrant plant native to eastern Asia that blooms a seemingly endless amount of tiny flowers every spring (and sometimes the fall). It’s part of the olive family, and the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jnk6wYT

WWE went big on AR at WrestleMania 40

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Photo by WWE / Getty Images AR effects have become a key part of entrances and other aspects of WWE TV over the last several years — far outlasting the company’s experiments with VR. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/AEsZDk4

A24’s horror trilogy heads to the ’80s in first Maxxxine trailer

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Image: A24 It’s shaping up to be a promising summer of horror. Last week, we got a first glimpse at Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo , which comes out in August, and this week is starting off with the first trailer for Ti West’s Maxxxine . The movie will round out a trilogy that kicked off in 2022 with the release of both X and its prequel Pearl ; it hits theaters on July 5th. As the title implies, the new movie follows aspiring actress Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) as she attempts to make it big in Hollywood in 1985 following the gruesome events of X . Much like Pearl before her (also played by Goth), she seems willing to do anything to make it happen. But bad news: a mysterious killer known as the “night stalker” is on the loose, complicating those plans. Despite... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/PgUd28t