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Image: Stellantis Earlier this week, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares took the stage at the Bernstein investor conference and threw down the gauntlet. Tavares, who oversees companies like Fiat, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, and, most importantly, Jeep, said the launch of the new all-electric Jeep Wagoneer S would signal the start of an EV “offensive” that would take the US by storm, according to multiple reports . And part of that offensive would include a more affordable electric Jeep, priced somewhere in the range of $25,000. For Jeep CEO Antonio Filosa, the announcement from his boss came as a bit of a shock. “It’s a big challenge,” Filosa said Thursday, hours after unveiling the Wagoneer S in New York City. “And unexpected.” Photo by Michael... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/wD3YI8T

Image: The Verge Google is making way for Manifest V3, the Chrome extension specification that could change the way ad blockers work. The company says it will begin phasing out the old system on the Chrome Beta, Dev, and Canary channels starting on June 3rd. If you’re on any of these channels, you may see a warning message on your extension management page that says Google will soon end support for extensions running on Manifest V2. The extensions will still work, but Google says it will disable them on your browser in the “coming months” before removing the ability to use them completely. The stable version of Chrome will eventually get these changes, with a full rollout set for the beginning of 2025. Google’s long-delayed transition to Manifest V3... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jQkpEI7

Illustration by Aaron Fernandez for The Verge We found all sorts of gadgets and goodies to celebrate the class of 2024, from the practical to the poignant. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/8cViWwq

Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images Sony Interactive Entertainment has pulled a controversial interview with Neil Druckmann, head of The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog. Last week, Sony published a ( now archived ) Q&A with the Last of Us creator about the “Evolution of Storytelling.” In the interview, Druckmann spoke about the role of AI in game development, the impact of new technologies on storytelling, advice for new creators, and his hopes for a dream project. Since such interviews with high-profile, AAA creators are relatively rare, news outlets picked up the interview, focusing on Druckmann’s comments about generative AI . Regarding AI Druckmann said: “Moreover, AI is really going to revolutionize how content is being created, although it does bring up some ethical... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ji6VTD5

The NPU inside Copilot Plus PCs takes the stage at a Microsoft Surface and AI event. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge When you launch a game on a Snapdragon on a Windows laptop , you might get an AI frame rate boost from Microsoft’s mysterious Auto Super Resolution (Auto SR) feature. But while Microsoft hasn’t fully explained how the feature works, The Verge can now confirm it’s not Qualcomm technology, not exclusive to Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon X chips, and not exclusive to specific games, either. You’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise! Microsoft’s new Automatic Super Resolution help page bluntly states that a Snapdragon X chip is required — see screenshot — and that all of its processing “occurs on-device using the integrated GPU and Neural Processing Unit.” Image: Microsoft But Qualcomm now tells us that Super Resolution is... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/7fOdVIw

Image: Lego If your little Lego town has grown big enough, it may be time to add an officially sanctioned Lego Apple Store, something that’s vaguely possible if a recently submitted fan build gets the requisite 10,000 votes for Lego to consider it. The immaculately detailed creation has what most people would expect from a modern Apple Store: floor-to-ceiling glass front, tables full of Macs and iPhones, and shelves resplendent with neatly arranged white boxes. One of the project’s designers is Truman, aka Legotruman, a Hong Kong-based fan who was behind the Lego Starry Night build and whose Gundam , Lego Anatomy , and Spirited Away ideas Lego is currently considering. Their collaborator, 2A2A, won a Disney-themed Lego design challenge with a design... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/IWafDLm

Image: Activision Microsoft is confirming today that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 , the next installment in the popular franchise, will be available day one on Xbox Game Pass. After a premature notification earlier today, an official Xbox Wire blog post has now revealed that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be available on Microsoft’s game subscription service later this year. “We’re excited to confirm that Game Pass members will be able to jump into Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on day one with Game Pass,” says Megan Spurr, senior community lead of Xbox Game Pass. The confirmation of a Game Pass release for the next Call of Duty installment comes after questions about Call of Duty ’s availability on Xbox Game Pass. I reported earlier this month that Microsoft had... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/DQnbaVF

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile has agreed to purchase parts of regional wireless carrier US Cellular in a $4.4 billion deal that includes US Cellular’s wireless customers, stores, and approximately 30 percent of spectrum assets. US Cellular will retain ownership of its towers and “approximately 70 percent of its spectrum portfolio across several spectrum bands,” with T-Mobile entering a long-term arrangement to lease space on more than 2,000 towers. According to T-Mobile, the deal will improve nationwide coverage for US Cellular wireless customers while providing better 5G connectivity in “underserved rural areas” where T-Mobile sometimes struggles compared to AT&T and Verizon. In the announcement, T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert said: With this deal T-Mobile can... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/k4HbO7v

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge An upcoming version of Microsoft Phone Link lets you select and copy text from within images synced from your Android phone. The feature is live now in Release Preview Insider builds, so it should roll out to everyone soon. Phone Link (called Link to Windows on the phone side) lets you sync calls, messages, notifications, and images — and cast your entire phone — from your Android phone to your Windows computer. It also works in a more limited fashion with iOS devices, which only sync notifications, messages, and calls over Bluetooth. Screenshot: Nathan Edwards / The Verge Phone Link will now let you select and copy text from images synced from your Android phone. The Windows Snipping Tool got text... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/sOj9bxJ

The Verge Elon Musk founded xAI last summer , and today it announced raising $6 billion in funding , saying it will help bring the startup’s “first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate the research and development of future technologies.” So far, xAI has launched Grok, a supposedly edgier version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT available via X, formerly known as Twitter, where the chatbot is currently only available to X Premium subscribers. Funding in this round came from several sources, according to xAI, including Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and Saudi Arabian Prince Al Waleed bin Talal. Last year, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that xAI was looking to raise up to $1 billion in equity... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/LOgaBh9

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Netflix isn’t just programming content only a small group of people would like — it’s intent on having a little something for everyone. During an interview with The New York Times , Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says he regrets comparing Netflix to HBO and its more limited selection of content in the past. Here’s the quote , published in this 2013 GQ profile of Reed Hastings : His dream project: a Netflix series created by Warren Beatty. “He’s great in long form,” Sarandos says. “His only problems have been when he’s constrained.” Sarandos is also warming up Jodie Foster, who directed an episode of Orange Is the New Black . “The goal,” he says, “is to become HBO faster than HBO can become us.” His seductive pitch to today’s new breed of TV... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WHftjXD

HBO Director Muta’Ali’s MoviePass, MovieCrash is a thorough but circuitous breakdown of how executives’ obsession with exponential growth all but destroyed the company. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/CAgDafu

Bambu P1P vs. Creality K1C: an ‘easy’ 3D printer showdown. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/1xHzSjv

Ventje’s eVentje. The eVentje custom buildout is a worthy all-electric successor to the iconic VW Camper in Europe. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/wBXCIAq

Tap the waveform icon, circled above, to search with sound. | Screenshots: YouTube Music The Android YouTube Music app is rolling out a feature that’s part Shazam and part your friend when you say, “hey what’s that song that goes...” right before you hum out a bar. The feature lets you hum, whistle, sing, or play a recording of a song to figure out what it is. If you have the new feature, you’ll see a new waveform icon next to the microphone icon that appears when you tap the search button in the upper right corner of the app. Tap this, and the app will start listening. It’s not too shabby, either! When I tested, it was able to identify actual recordings with what seemed like uncanny speed, making it a great replacement for Shazam. As far as listening to me hum, it accurately picked out most of the songs I sang, whistled,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/dxaRzYW

Image: Bungie A jury found on Friday that Phoenix Digital, which owns the cheat mod site AimJunkies, is guilty of violating Bungie copyrights when it created cheats for Destiny 2 , reported Stephen Totilo , who has written about Bungie’s cheating lawsuits for Axios . The landmark decision may be the first time a jury has agreed that a cheat creator violated a gaming company’s copyrights. Yesterday’s jury decision awarded Bungie ( PDF ) a tidy sum of $63,210. Bungie counsel James Barker said in a statement emailed to The Verge that the company is “committed to our players and will continue to protect them against cheats, including taking this and future cases all the way to trial.” In 2021, Bungie sued AimJunkies and four defendants (here’s a PDF of the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/UQaFD46

You can get the Sony WH-1000XM5 for under $300 right now, along with tablets, earbuds, and a slew of other discounted items. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge The summer solstice may be when summer officially kicks off, but for many of us, it starts as soon as temperatures begin to rise and the smell of barbecue begins wafting through the air. Memorial Day also serves as the unofficial start to the season, and the deals that are popping up right now are a great indicator that it’s right around the corner. Below, we’ve rounded up the best Memorial Day deals you can get on an array of gadgets and gizmos. This includes wireless headphones like the Beats Solo 4 , which are currently receiving their first discount, as well as inexpensive security cameras like the Blink Mini 2 . You can also pick up Amazon’s latest Fire TV Cube for its best price to date, along with tablets , Garmin watches , and one... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/AYSFcLn

Stacker for iPod is a Tetris clone that never made it to retail models. | Image: Apple Demo YouTuber Apple Demo has found a prototype third-generation iPod that contains a game called Stacker, which never made it to retail models. In addition to Apple’s own version of Tetris, the engineering sample iPod also came loaded with other unreleased titles, including games called Block0 and Klondike, a s noted by Engadget . On the back of the prototype iPod, a “DVT” (Design Validation Testing) label is etched where the storage capacity normally goes, which, Apple Demo explains indicates it was from the middle stage of development. Two songs still in its storage and a helpfully-named playlist suggest this device was used for battery testing. After some tinkering and transplanting the internal hard disk into a second-generation iPod Apple... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/cL1n5Vk

Not everyone is a fan of AI Overviews. | Screenshot: Emma Roth / The Verge If you’ve searched for something on Google lately, you might’ve noticed a wall of text that appears before the actual search results. This feature, called AI Overviews , offers an AI-generated answer to certain queries. But it also pushes your list of links further down the page, which makes it a bit annoying to scroll past when you want to do your own research — and it will get even more annoying once Google starts stuffing ads into it . But even though Google doesn’t let you disable the feature, there are a few ways around it. One of the best ways to “turn off” the feature is to reconfigure your browser’s default search engine options. The website tenbluelinks offers instructions on how to do this in Chrome on Android, iOS, Windows, and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/moIVAD8

Image: Laura Normand / The Verge The Federal Communications Commission has proposed imposing multimillion-dollar fines on the political consultant responsible for the robocall campaign that used an AI-generated deepfake of President Joe Biden’s voice — and on the telecom company that facilitated the calls. Longtime Democratic operator Steve Kramer faces a $6 million fine from the FCC , while Lingo Telecom could be fined $2 million . The FCC announced the proposed penalties on Thursday, calling the Lingo fine a “first-of-its-kind enforcement action.” “We will act swiftly and decisively to ensure that bad actors cannot use U.S. telecommunications networks to facilitate the misuse of generative AI technology to interfere with elections, defraud consumers, or compromise... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/gmGLHMh

An area of dense primary forest in the Loango National Park, Gabon, on Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022.  | Photo: Getty Images Some of the biggest names in tech are joining forces to try something that many before them have failed to do: use trees to cancel out their greenhouse gas emissions. Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce are creating the Symbiosis Coalition as an effort to support “nature-based” projects aimed at taking carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. It’s a tactic companies have used for decades to try to offset their greenhouse gas emissions by planting trees, which take in and store carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. The hope is that paying to restore forests will amplify that process, ostensibly counteracting companies’ carbon footprint. It sounds simple enough on paper. However, a growing body of evidence has shown that this strategy f... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/uh1nCdz

Image: Square Enix I’ve been having these weird thoughts lately... like, should I go back and replay the Kingdom Hearts series or not? Fortunately, Square Enix has made this decision trivial with the announcement that it’s releasing the series on Steam on June 13th . To celebrate, and perhaps destabilize an entire generation of adults for whom the first Kingdom Hearts trailer was a transformative experience (aka, me) , a trailer was released with a brand-new recording of Hikaru Utada’s “Simple and Clean.” The trailer was executed very intelligently, showing snippets of the Kingdom Hearts games in chronological order, suggesting to potential customers (and reminding lapsed fans like me ) in what order the games should be played. Steam will have three Kingdom... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/dI2M1Wm

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at Build 2024. | Screenshot: YouTube Microsoft had a lot to say about Windows and AI — and a little to say about custom emoji — during the Build 2024 keynote . The company, like just about everyone else in the industry, is charging hard at cramming AI into every nook and cranny it can find. That means Copilot watching your screen to help you play Minecraft or giving you AI agent co-workers. The whole event was over two hours long, but you can catch the highlights below. Microsoft wants to put AI agents to work Image: Microsoft Microsoft says Copilot AI agents can soon be used as something like virtual employees that businesses can use for menial tasks like monitoring emails, carrying out a series of automated tasks, helping with employee onboarding, or... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/afIOnDm

Illustration: The Verge Microsoft is adding a new Advanced Paste feature to PowerToys for Windows 11 that can convert your clipboard content on the fly with the power of AI. The new feature can help people speed up their workflows by doing things like copying code in one language and pasting it in another, although its best tricks require OpenAI API credits. Advanced Paste is included in PowerToys version 0.81 and, once enabled, can be activated with a special key command: Windows Key + Shift + V. That opens an Advanced Paste text window that offers paste conversion options including plaintext, markdown, and JSON. If you enable Paste with AI in the Advanced Paste settings, you’ll also see an OpenAI prompt where you can enter the conversion you want —... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/wAU16yW

Photo: Asus Following Microsoft’s Windows event, Asus announced its first Copilot Plus PC laptop , the Vivobook S 15 (S5507), driven by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X-series processors. Asus says the Arm-based chip will not only improve a few current Vivobook features but also make new AI-driven programs and workloads fly with 45 TOPS of neural processing power. The new Vivobook S 15 will have the same OLED display as the previous Intel generation (15.6-inch, 16:9, 2880 x 1620, 120Hz refresh rate, and 600 nits peak HDR brightness), but this specific version will have a thinner chassis and display bezels. The S 15 is configurable with either a 12-core Snapdragon X Elite or 10-core X Plus processor , although the Elite chip will be the base version — the one... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hk0ujWP

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes led a tabletop exercise for journalists to role-play as election officials to understand the speed and scale of AI threats they face. | Photo by Ash Ponders for The Verge The job has never been harder, and the threats have never been stranger. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/wQM8nWu

Illustration by Carlo Cadenas / The Verge A security lapse could let millions of college students do free laundry, thanks to one company. That’s because of a vulnerability that two University of California, Santa Cruz students found in internet-connected washing machines in commercial use in several countries, according to TechCrunch . The two students, Alexander Sherbrooke and Iakov Taranenko, apparently exploited an API for the machines’ app to do things like remotely command them to work without payment and update a laundry account to show it had millions of dollars in it. The company that owns the machines, CSC ServiceWorks, claims to have more than a million laundry and vending machines in service at colleges, multi-housing communities, laundromats, and more in the US,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/W8y2Feu

A 2023 Mac Pro. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Mac Studio and Mac Pro aren’t due for an upgrade to Apple’s M4 chip until the middle of next year. That means both machines will still be on Apple’s M2 generation this year, unlike all other Macs except the MacBook Air, Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman wrote to Power On subscribers today . Throughout 2024, though, all of Apple’s laptops (except the MacBook Air) will move to the M4 chip that the company just gave the iPad Pro , Gurman writes. Amusingly, this herky-jerky chip upgrade cycle means that the iPad Pro is currently the single-core performance champ of Apple’s lineup — and it will continue to be for about another year, when compared to the Mac Studio and Mac Pro. Screenshot: Geekbench It’s not even close, according... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/xRD7dIb

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Sonos is teasing, both in emails and on social media , that its “most requested product ever” is “coming soon” on May 21st (this Tuesday). This, of course, is almost certainly the Sonos Ace, its first wireless headphones. Sonos has been expected to launch the Ace in June , but given the company’s “most requested” phrasing here and the fact that the headphones recently appeared for sale by authorized dealer Schuurman , it seems they’re coming sooner than that. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sonos (@sonos) A launch this week could help Sonos with some of the ire surrounding the roll-out of its new app earlier this month. The app was ostensibly created in part to support the Sonos Ace, but i... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/GuWa01h

Image: John William Evelyn “I couldn’t walk away from the pen and ink thing,” says John Evelyn, creator of The Collage Atlas , a dreamlike storybook adventure recently released on Steam . The entire game is hand drawn, from tiny flowers and insects to huge buildings and the clouds that float over them. Exploring this world unwraps its dreamlike story, with environments folding out in response to your approach. “I had been drawing for many years before that […] and I’d always draw with ink straight away, without any kind of prior pencil work or sketching,” he says. “I liked all the incidental details and the accidents that come out along the way.” He compares it to improv music — “actually, sometimes it goes horribly wrong!” — but says that the feeling of getting... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/emTUY3q

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 38, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and you can also read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been writing about iPads and the future of Google , watching American Fiction and Bodkin , rewatching Her because of… reasons, endlessly replaying the songs of Windows95man , learning how to make better sandwiches , testing Claude for AI stuff, and listening to the new-old Childish Gambino album . I also have for you a new AI model, literally thousands of new Lego pieces, a new way to Google, the fanciest mop you’ve ever seen in your life, more emulators for iOS, and much more. And I have a question: W... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/HKpPmkQ

Image: Blue Origin It’s been over a year and a half since Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket failed mid-flight, and more than two since its last crewed flight. Now, the company is go to launch six human beings into space. The company’s launch window begins at 6:30AM PT / 9:30AM ET, but will start streaming 40 minutes ahead of time on its website . Blue Origin also normally streams its launches live on its YouTube channel , so it’s a pretty safe bet it will do so for its NS-25 mission tomorrow. Assuming the launch goes as planned, it will carry six passengers aboard , including the 90-year-old Ed Dwight, who was America’s first Black astronaut candidate but has never been to space. The other passengers are Mason Angel, Sylvain Chiron, Kenneth L. Hess, Carol... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Da6PE5X

Is this a Game Boy Advance SP or Nintendo DS Lite? Who can say? | Image: Retrohai hai Softbank Have you ever looked at a Nintendo DS and thought it would be cooler if the top screen was swapped for the Game Boy Advance SP’s? Or looked at a Super Nintendo controller and wished it had a GBA SP screen bolted onto the back? Whether you have or not, Hardware modder Hairo Satoh, aka Retrohai hai Softbank, has you covered with some truly cursed reimaginings of Nintendo’s portable consoles. (Recall their portable emulated PlayStation built into the Takara Roulette Controller .) Let’s go on a little journey through Satoh’s Instagram account. Before we get into my favorite mutated Nintendo handhelds — frankententos, if you will — know that Satoh also does some very pretty custom jobs on the company’s various portable consoles. And they’re m... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/z9TXZ2v

Image: Tyler McVicker Valve’s next game appears to be a multiplayer hero shooter known as Deadlock . This is according to leaks from playtesters posted on social media earlier today, with some of the details verified by known Valve data miner Tyler McVicker. “Since testers started sharing Deadlock screenshots all over the place, here’s ones I can verify, featuring one of the heroes called Grey Talon,” McVicker posted on X . The post included four screenshots allegedly from the game, which features characters (one of which looks like the Sniper from Team Fortress 2) battling in a city map that seems reminiscent of Half-Life 2’ s City 17. Another image shows a hero named Grey Talon and includes the character’s weapon and ability icons with a short description. S... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/C4QisE8

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Since the iPhone X’s introduction of OLED and Face ID in 2017, Apple’s phones haven’t changed their look significantly, but now The Information reports a major redesign is underway for a new “Slim” iPhone. The outlet says it could arrive in 2025 as part of the iPhone 17 refresh, with a price even higher than Apple’s current most expensive model, the iPhone Pro Max. 9to5Mac reported on a rumor from Haitong International analyst Jeff Pu saying the new iPhone 17 models could have a refreshed design with a smaller Dynamic Island. Following a rumored size increase and a new side button for the iPhone 16 lineup later this year, the “Slim” iPhone 17 would feature a 6.6-inch display that falls in between the 6.1-inch screen of the smallest... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/doMNRI9

Illustration: The Verge Jan Leike, a key OpenAI researcher who resigned earlier this week following the departure of co-founder Ilya Sutskever, posted on X Friday morning that “safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products” at the company. Leike’s statements came after Wired reported that OpenAI had disbanded the team dedicated to addressing long-term AI risks (called the “Superalignment team”) altogether. Leike had been running the Superalignment team, which formed last July to “solve the core technical challenges” in implementing safety protocols as OpenAI developed AI that can reason like a human. The original idea for OpenAI was to openly provide their models to the public, hence the organization’s name, but they’ve become... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/shAy0en

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon and Harvard University have created a “quantum network” that transmitted an entangled photon from one quantum computer to another over 35 kilometers of fiber-optic cable. Researchers from Harvard and Amazon’s AWS Center for Quantum Networking put a set of nodes around the Boston area to build a network capable of “efficiently catching, storing, and transferring information initially stored in light.” Like the internet we know, quantum networks send information carried by light — in this case, quantum-entangled photons. But they need “repeaters” to prevent those photons from scattering across long distances, as light is wont to do, and the repeaters have to be able to send the photon without breaking its entanglement and modifying... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3ED7Xc2

In its heyday, Inquisition was one of the closest things we had to a Game of Thrones game. | Screenshot: BioWare If you’re a PC gamer with time to kill this summer, the Epic Games Store has come through with a chance to scoop up a bunch of titles on the low. In fact, you can take advantage of the Fortnite maker’s “Mega Sale” without spending a single dime. In addition to deep discounts on top games, you’ll be able to scoop up one free game each week from the Epic Games Store through the sale’s June 13th closing date, starting with Dragon Age: Inquisition ’s Game of the Year Edition . It comes with all of the game’s three main add-ons, plus the Deluxe Edition’s bonus mounts, gear, and weapons. Inquisition features developer BioWare’s patented branching storylines, deep action roleplaying combat systems, an open-world structure, and an evolving... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/HQMzkvR

Is this the best use of RetroArch? | Screenshot: RetroArch Another emulator with tons of history and development, RetroArch , is now freely available on the iOS App Store today . This is great news for retro gaming fans with iPhones because it can emulate a truly eye-crossing number of retro consoles once installed. In fact, there are too many to list here. But some notable emulation cores — the actual separately developed emulation software — included in this version of RetroArch are the NEC PC Engine, Nintendo DS, Game Boy Advance, Virtual Boy, Neo Geo Pocket, and even the PSP (using the same core that drives the PPSSPP app that went up today). You can see the list in full by clicking “more” on RetroArch’s description in its App Store listing . Screen recording: RetroArch J... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/EMoeO5p

Well, that’s one way to kick off a developer-focused tech event. | Image: Google Developer conferences aren’t exactly known for having an energetic, party-like atmosphere, but thankfully, that didn’t stop Google’s latest hype man. The company’s I/O event this year was kicked off by Marc Rebillet — an artist known in online spaces for pairing improvised electronic tracks with amusing (and typically loud) vocals. He also wears a lot of robes. “If you have no idea who I am, I would expect that,” said Rebillet. He introduced himself as an improvisational musician who “makes stuff up.” That made him a good fit to demo the DJ mode that Google recently added to its generative AI text-to-music tool, MusicFX. Back in February, Google DeepMind’s Adam Roberts described the feature as an “infinite AI jam that you control.” R... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ytlDipj

The new Blink Mini 2 adds weather resistance so you can use it indoors and outdoors. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge If you’ve got vacation plans for Memorial Day weekend, a security camera can help you keep an eye on valuables back home so you can really relax during your time off. And right now, one of the least expensive options on the market is even more affordable, with the new Blink Mini 2 selling for just $29.99 ($10 off) at Amazon , Best Buy , and The Home Depot . If you want to keep an eye on packages outdoors, you can also buy the wired camera from Amazon with a weather-resistant adapter for just $39.98 ($10 off). The Blink Mini 2 is an excellent upgrade over its predecessor. It’s still a very basic 1080p camera, but it now offers better low-light performance, a wider field of view, and USB-C support. Most notably, the camera now features IP65... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/uL6JE1P

Image: Square Enix Everybody’s getting bitten by the multiplatform bug; now, it’s Square Enix. In its earnings report released earlier today, the publisher shared plans to increase profits, stating that it will “aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs.” Right now, Square Enix’s biggest games, like Final Fantasy XVI and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth , have been restricted to the PlayStation, with PC releases for select titles including Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade following some time after console launch. However, smaller new releases, like the forthcoming Visions of Mana, are seeing simultaneous release on Xbox . The company wrote that it hopes bringing its major franchises, including its... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/iEScnBX

Image: Apple Even if subscribers are outside cellular or Wi-Fi range (or if there’s a massive outage ), Apple News Plus on iOS 17.5 can still supply them content now that it’s added Offline Mode — this must’ve been farther down the list from Apple Maps, which added offline navigation last year in the iOS 17 update. Top Stories, Apple News Today audio briefings, magazines, narrated articles, and puzzles can automatically download to your iPhone or iPad, all optimized to maximize space on the devices. As promised , the latest updates across macOS, iPadOS, and other platforms also add another word game for News Plus subscribers called Quartiles, competing with The New York Times ’ growing library of games and even LinkedIn . The New Plus Puzzles section... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/lOXG1y8

Image: Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images US safety regulators are looking into two crashes involving Amazon’s robotaxi company, Zoox. The Office of Defects Investigation, under the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, opened a preliminary evaluation into Zoox after two separate reports of the vehicles suddenly braking and causing motorcyclists to crash into their rear end. NHTSA confirms that the Zoox vehicles were operating in driverless mode without safety drivers when the incidents occurred. The vehicles involved in both crashes were Toyota Highlander SUVs, which Zoox uses for testing and data gathering. According to the Office of Defects Investigation, the investigation covers an estimated 500 vehicles. The crashes did not involve Zoox’s unique toaster-looking... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/5jivUrm

Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge Not all video games need video. Over the years, games that exist only in audio have taken players into entirely new worlds in which there’s nothing to see and still everything to do. These games have huge accessibility implications, allowing people who can’t see to play an equally fun, equally immersive game with their other senses. And when all you have is sound, there’s actually even more you can do to make your game great. On this episode of The Vergecast , we explore the history of audio-only games with Paul Bennun , who has been in this space longer than most. Years ago, Bennun and his team at Somethin’ Else made a series of games called Papa Sangre that were among the most innovative and most popular games of their kind. He explains... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WMZD8T7

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 37, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, send me links, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been writing about iPads and LinkedIn games , reading about auto shows and typewriters and treasure hunters , watching Everybody’s in LA and Sugar , looking for reasons to buy Yeti’s new French press even though I definitely don’t need more coffee gear, following almost all of Jerry Saltz’s favorite Instagram accounts , testing Capacities and Heptabase for all my note-taking needs and Plinky for all my link-saving, and playing a lot of Blind Drive . I also have for you a thoroughly impressive new iPad, a clever... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0oNhWxa

Screenshot: Ghost of Tsushima Steam is refunding preorders of the director’s cut of Ghost of Tsushima for buyers who live in countries without PlayStation Network access. That’s despite the fact that arguably the most important part of the game is still playable without PlayStation Network account linking. The news comes after Valve abruptly delisted the game yesterday . Ghost of Tsushima only requires PSN account linking for its Legends multiplayer mode, a requirement the single player campaign is exempt from, the game’s developer went out of its way to say in a recent post . Steam, Green Man Gaming, and Epic Games Store each have disclaimers noting the same thing. In theory, that would mean if you don’t care about multiplayer modes, you could still play, but in... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Glf9rh7

Illustration: The Verge OpenAI has been showing some of its customers a new multimodal AI model that can both talk to you and recognize objects, according to a new report from The Information . Citing unnamed sources who’ve seen it, the outlet says this could be part of what the company plans to show on Monday . The new model reportedly offers faster, more accurate interpretation of images and audio than what its existing separate transcription and text-to-speech models can do . It would apparently be able to help customer service agents “better understand the intonation of callers’ voices or whether they’re being sarcastic,” and “theoretically,” the model can help students with math or translate real-world signs, writes The Information. The outlet’s sources say... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/nIjBC6w

Photo by Zhang Dagang / VCG via Getty Images Who’s afraid of China’s electric vehicles? President Joe Biden. The president is preparing to announce higher tariffs on imported Chinese EVs, effectively closing out the possibility that the country will be able to afford to import its much cheaper and, in many cases, more desirable plug-in vehicles to the United States. According to The Wall Street Journal , the Biden administration will announce plans to roughly quadruple tariffs, to 100 percent from the current 25 percent, as well as tack on an additional 2.5 percent duty. Who’s afraid of China’s electric vehicles? Joe Biden So far, the current tariffs have been effective at preventing Chinese companies from importing their EVs to the US. But officials are reportedly nervous about... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/uIfzSYd

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shot down a Reuters report that claims OpenAI is launching a search product next Monday, the day before Google’s flagship conference , Google I/O. Altman posted on X that while there is an OpenAI announcement set for Monday morning, it’s “not gpt-5, not a search engine,” but whatever it is, he says it “feels like magic.” The only details provided by the official OpenAI post are that the launch will have updates on ChatGPT and its latest model, GPT-4. not gpt-5, not a search engine, but we’ve been hard at work on some new stuff we think people will love! feels like magic to me. monday 10am PT. https://t.co/nqftf6lRL1 — Sam Altman (@sama) May 10, 2024 The Verge reported on Monday that sources say OpenAI has been... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/MpKgB0S

Image: Asus The Asus ROG Ally was the first true Steam Deck challenger; while I’d argue it fell a little short , it legitimately improved the state of affordable Windows handheld gaming with its plugged-in performance boosts and smooth variable refresh rate screen. Now, Asus is beginning to reveal its successor: the ROG Ally X. Don’t call it an Ally 2: when it ships in the second half of the year, the Windows-based Ally X will have the same AMD Z1 Extreme chipset and the same 7-inch 48–120Hz VRR screen. It’s not quite like the Steam Deck OLED , where Valve got AMD to revise its chip for better battery life and stability and added a larger, brighter, gorgeous new OLED panel with improved response time and slimmer bezels. “We’re not looking at 30 to 40... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/z17mD8M