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Buzz buzz. | Image: Bananbin I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that not everyone agrees on the best way to handle their computer’s trash directory. Some folks like to let it go until their computer yells at them about storage, while others empty it every single day. I’m somewhere in the middle, but I do try not to let it go too far. And I think I found the best tool for that job a couple of days ago: Bananabin . When the data kept in your Trash folder passes a certain threshold, Bananabin surrounds with buzzing, animated flies that you can shoo away with your mouse. That’s it. That’s the app. GIF: Wes Davis / The Verge I’m sure the novelty will wear off at some point. You can configure the fly threshold from the app’s icon in... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/qgFNj4n

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge For all its impressive technical chops, Apple’s all-singing, all-dancing Vision Pro hasn’t set the world on fire, but it’s early yet, and the company continues throwing its weight behind the headset. It reportedly has plans to add AI features to visionOS and is readying an updated approach to in-store demos. Apple is working through the challenge of incorporating Apple Intelligence into the augmented reality interface of the headset, Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman reported today . That could be a relief for Vision Pro owners who were disappointed that the company didn’t mention it during the AI portion of its WWDC 2024 keynote presentation . The company is adding a new “Go Deeper” option to its in-store demos, Gurman writes. That reportedly... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/7vrOIYV

Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge Whether wired, wireless, or low profile, here are our picks for the best readily available boards. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/9hn0wcL

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 44, 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 why I love the Boox Palma , reading about hot dog contests and the history of Markdown and the future of streaming , watching Shoresy and Federer and a lot of soccer (it’s been a very sports-y week), mourning the end of the Longform podcast , developing a strange obsession with salt water taffy , retesting the Apple Vision Pro, and trying every method I can find for making good iced coffee at home. I also have for you a couple of great new Bluetooth speakers, the new season of Hulu’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/v9tfahi

Willem Dafoe in Nosferatu. | Screenshot: YouTube I’m stuck in a weird spot when it comes to movies and TV, these days. On one hand, the constant churn of remakes, reboots, franchise movies, and sequels often feels like it comes at the expense of original storytelling. But on the other, I am unabashedly looking forward to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice , I’m really enjoying The Acolyte , and I’m sorry, but I’m the reason Nintendo just keeps remaking games , and I will continue to be . (Also, I feel I must apologize to my friends and family in advance for my absence when Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is released.) Thankfully, the trailers that showed up this week look as promising as any of the best of those. Deadpool & Wolverine It’s another Deadpool & Wolverine trailer ; what am I going to do, not... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ohWeXlx

The 10th-gen Kindle Paperwhite may lack USB-C and don a smaller display, but it still nails the basics. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Lately, it seems as though the biggest happenings in the E Ink world revolve around large note-taking devices like the Kindle Scribe and color offerings such as the apt-titled Kobo Libra Colour . That said, if you’re looking for a basic ebook reader to burn through your summer reading list, there’s nothing wrong with picking up a last-gen e-reader like the 2018 Kindle Paperwhite — which happens to be on sale at Amazon (via Woot) in used condition with ads for $49.99. Amazon’s last-gen Paperwhite has become more difficult to find since the arrival of the 2021 model , even if it isn’t a dramatic step down in terms of features. It still carries an IPX8 rating for full resistance against water immersion, as well as a crisp six-inch, 300ppi... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/XWMhHYJ

Photo by Riccardo Savi/Getty Images for Concordia Summit Microsoft AI boss Mustafa Suleyman incorrectly believes that the moment you publish anything on the open web, it becomes “freeware” that anyone can freely copy and use. When CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin asked him whether “AI companies have effectively stolen the world’s IP,” he said: I think that with respect to content that’s already on the open web, the social contract of that content since the ‘90s has been that it is fair use. Anyone can copy it, recreate with it, reproduce with it. That has been “freeware,” if you like, that’s been the understanding. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman: the social contract for content that is on the open web is that it's "freeware" for training AI models pic.twitter.com/FN1xrqnJC0 — Tsarathustra... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/VgZe4F0

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos via Getty Images Since the New Deal era , the bulk of the functioning US government is the administrative state — think the acronym soup of agencies like the EPA, FCC, FTC, FDA, and so on. Even when Capitol Hill is not mired in deep dysfunction, the speed at which Congress and the courts operate no longer seems suitable for modern life. Both industry and ordinary people look to the administrative state, rather than legislators, for an immediate answer to their problems. And since 1984, the administrative state largely ran on one Supreme Court precedent: Chevron USA, Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). That decision has now been overturned . Admin law is not always interesting, but the simple fact is when it comes to the day-to-day, agencies... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/xqPh6QD

Photo Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Bad news: flagship phones cost a small fortune these days. Good news: we can help you pick the right one and get the most for your money. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/4AdrpBK

The new Vertex AI capabilities aim to improve the accuracy of Google’s corporate chatbots. | Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images Vertex AI, the Google Cloud development platform that allows companies to build services using Google’s machine learning and large language models, is getting new capabilities to help prevent apps and services from pushing inaccurate information. After rolling out general availability for Vertex AI’s Grounding with Google Search feature in May — which enables models to retrieve live information from the internet — Google has now announced that customers will also have the option to improve their services’ AI results with specialized third-party datasets. Google says the service will utilize data from providers like Moody’s, MSCI, Thomson Reuters, and ZoomInfo and that grounding with third-party datasets will be available in “Q3 this... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Jq8FwCa

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram’s new “AI Studio” will let creators make AI chatbot versions of themselves, and Meta is starting to roll it out as an “early test” in the US, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on his broadcast channel on Thursday. As part of the test, “you might start seeing AIs from your favorite creators and interest-based AIs in the coming weeks on Instagram,” according to Zuckerberg. “These will primarily show up in messaging for now, and will be clearly labeled as AI.” Zuckerberg shared a few videos of conversations with creator-made AI chatbots as examples. From a creator’s Instagram, you can tap a “Message” button to kick off a conversation. A notice at the top says that the messages are generated by AI and “some may be inaccurate or... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/c3VTnK8

Image: The Verge Valve is adding a native gameplay recording tool to Steam so that you can more easily capture and share clips. The game recording feature is available now in beta — including on Steam Deck. You’ll be able to both continuously record clips with background recording or manually turn on recording with a hotkey, according to Valve’s website about the updates . When you’re recording, you’ll see the “Steam Timeline,” and you can add markers to note interesting moments you might want to come back to later. Developers can also have their games mark notable moments on the timeline, which Valve has already implemented with Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 . Today we’ve launched Steam Game Recording into Beta. This is a new built-in system for creating... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/5skIzU6

A 3D-printed version of Super Monkey Ball ’s AiAi completes this custom creation. | Photo: Tom Tilley / X Gamers could get an edge in Sega’s Super Monkey Ball with the help of a unique DIY controller: a literal monkey in a ball that can be physically rolled around instead of mashing a joystick on a gamepad. Super Monkey Ball requires players to tilt and roll a series of complex floating platforms to control the monkey’s movements, so Sega designed the original arcade versions of the game with an oversize trackball controller. That wasn’t carried over to the console versions of the game, and since arcade machines typically cost thousands of dollars, developer Tom Tilley decided to design and build a much cheaper solution made from recycled and 3D-printed materials. “I am a software developer, but I worked for about eight years as a fax and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/250Bw8i

Photo by Michael Tullberg / Getty Images Years after Twitch’s ban, the streamer confirms it was due to messages he sent to a minor on the platform. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/D3U74N2

Image: Jon Porter / The Verge With RGB lighting and customizability, most mechanical keyboards are way more fun to type on than your regular old keyboard. Those perks typically come at a cost, though — but not as much today because Epomaker’s TH80 Pro is on sale at Amazon for $62.99 ($27 off). That’s a new all-time low price on the TH80 Pro and is available on keyboards with Gateron switches in select colors — including black, red, and yellow — as well as with Budgerigar switches. If you’re on a budget, the Epomaker TH80 Pro is our top affordable mechanical keyboard pick . The 75 percent mechanical keyboard doesn’t feel as high-end as some of the pricier picks in our mechanical keyboard buying guide, and its software isn’t as slick. Nevertheless, it still offers a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/xOefEuk

Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge Combatting “cyber and other threats posed by the People’s Republic of China” (PRC) is a top priority for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the end of 2025, according to a guidance document the department released last Thursday. The document describes a “whole-of-society effort” to protect critical infrastructure from outside threats, and China is at the top of the list. Other priorities include managing the “evolving risks” of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies, mitigating supply chain vulnerabilities, preparing for climate change-related risks to critical infrastructure, and addressing dependency on satellite-based services and communications. “From the banking system to the electric grid, from... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/KTaSI6r

Image: Paramount Just like it did last summer , Paramount Plus is getting ready to hike the prices on some of its streaming service subscriptions. Paramount announced today that, beginning August 20th, the monthly costs for its Paramount Plus with Showtime , Paramount Plus Essential, and Paramount Plus with limited commercials plans will increase for all new subscribers. Paramount Plus with Showtime will now cost $12.99 a month ($1 more expensive), Paramount Plus with limited commercials will now cost $7.99 a month, and Paramount Plus Essential will now cost $7.99 a month ($2 more expensive). Prices for annual Paramount Plus Essential and Paramount Plus with Showtime aren’t changing, and people already subscribed to Paramount Plus Essential on a monthly... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/zE7eqsk

Enso’s eco-friendly tire. | Image: Enso Congratulations, world. We’ve done it. Since passing the Clean Air Act in the 1970s, we’ve reduced cancer-causing particulate emissions from our cars and other sources dramatically, a change that has added years to our lives . That’s the good news. The bad news is that we can now spend more time focusing on the remaining sources, including some unexpected ones. In an EV era, tires are becoming the greatest emitters of particulate matter, and as we’ve seen, whether it’s the microplastics in our shrimp or the preservatives in our salmon , they’re having a disturbing impact on our environment. In an EV era, tires are becoming the greatest emitters of particulate matter Gunnlaugur Erlendsson wants to do something about that. The affable... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/RVIWuck

Apple is once again the focus of the EU’s competition policy. | Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple’s App Store “steering” policies violate the EU’s Digital Markets Act meant to encourage competition, said regulators in their preliminary ruling Monday. The European Commission has also opened a new investigation into Apple’s support for alternative iOS marketplaces in Europe, including the core technology fee it charges developers. “Our preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering,” said Margrethe Vestager who heads up competition policy in Europe. “Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers.” Under the DMA, Apple and other so-called gatekeepers must allow app developers to steer consumers to offers outside their app... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/rfHZh0g

Dr Disrespect at a golf tournament in January 2024. | Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images Twitch abruptly banned one of its biggest stars — Herschel “Guy” Beahm, better known by his persona Dr Disrespect — in 2020 without a word of explanation . Now, four years after Beahm’s permanent ban, two former Twitch employees have come forward to describe events they say contributed to his removal from the platform. One former Twitch employee, who asked to remain anonymous citing the potential risk to their career, told The Verge that Beahm had used Whispers, Twitch’s now-defunct messaging system, to exchange messages with a minor and initiate a conversation about meeting up at TwitchCon. The employee worked on Twitch’s trust and safety team at the time of the ban in 2020. Their comments corroborate a post from Cody Conners, a former... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hZu4UDX

If you weren’t able to catch the season two premiere of House of Dragon last weekend, now is your chance. | Image: Ollie Upton / HBO There’s no denying that streaming services just keep getting more expensive , with Peacock and Max being the latest streamers to raise prices across their ad-free plans. We’re also seeing a number of services — including Max — dropping support for free trials, ensuring no one other than paying subscribers can access their trove of content. Fortunately, if you haven’t previously subscribed to Max, you can sign up for a rare weeklong trial through the end of today, June 23rd. Admittedly, a week isn’t enough time to burn through Max’s extensive back catalog of original programming, which includes newer shows like Hacks , the animated sci-fi epic Scavenger’s Reign , True Detective: Night Country , and last year’s excellent adaptation of The... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/BNhbc6L

For the past two weeks, I’ve been editing in the newest version of Final Cut Pro for the iPad. For many professionals, the original release of this app last year missed the mark . Its tools have just been too limited to use on a daily basis. The new version doesn’t necessarily change that — but despite my many frustrations, I’m finally discovering the joy of using it. The new version of the app, confusingly named “Final Cut Pro for iPad 2” (it is for all current iPads, not the iPad 2), came out this week. And perhaps the biggest new feature in this year’s release isn’t entirely a Final Cut Pro feature: it’s a brand-new app that integrates with it. The new Final Cut Camera is a standalone app for your iPhone that offers advanced camera... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/YLt2ojT

Image: The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 43, 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 reading about memexes and telepathy and John Lennon’s wristwatch , watching Presumed Innocent and Ren Faire , testing Genspark for AI search stuff, redoing my homescreen with Dumbify , and experimenting with overnight oats in an attempt to make mornings less chaotic. (Turns out, peanut butter makes pretty much everything 20 percent better.) I also have for you a new tech podcast, a couple of handy new gadgets, a new calendar app, the game that will take over your weekend, and much more. Let’s get... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/RG85hiu

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The National Labor Relations Board has filed a complaint against Amazon in Seattle that alleges the company “unlawfully disciplined and terminated an employee” after they assisted in organizing walkouts last May in protest of Amazon’s new return-to-work directives , issued early last year. In February 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy sent an email to the company’s staff outlining new return-to-work guidelines. Previously, individual teams within the company could decide where employees were expected to work, but Jassy’s email revealed that starting on May 1st, 2023, most Amazon employees were expected to work from the office at least three days per week. (Some roles, such as salespeople and customer support, were exempted.) In response,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/43eF0Mm

Traffic moves along Highway 11 near the airport as viewed opposite Volcanoes National Park on December 12th, 2016, in Hilo, Hawaii. | Photo by George Rose/Getty Images A group of young plaintiffs reached a historic climate settlement with the state of Hawaii and Hawaii Department of Transportation in a deal that will push the state to clean up tailpipe pollution. The 13 youth plaintiffs filed suit in 2022 when they were all between the ages of 9 and 18. In the suit, Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), they alleged that the state and HDOT had violated their right to “a clean and healthful environment,” which is enshrined in Hawaii’s constitution. “We got what we came for, and we got it faster than we expected.” The settlement , reached on Thursday, affirms that right and commits the DOT to creating a plan to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 2045. To hit... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/h7LBewT

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge I have a bad habit of accidentally deleting files that I suddenly need a day later. Luckily, when files are “deleted,” they are actually not fully wiped from a system — and if they’re backed up to connected cloud storage services, well, those services have their own ways of handling deleted files. So it’s a good idea to know where to look. This is also something to keep in mind if you’re selling or giving away a system — because in that case, you’ll want to make sure your files are completely, totally wiped. Whether you’re looking to restore previously deleted files or permanently erase them, here’s what you need to know about them on Windows (and OneDrive) and Android (and Google Drive). Deleted files on Windows Delete a file in the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/IAhf8VF

20th Century Studios Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ’ stunning visual effects are nothing short of astounding, but for the film’s upcoming home release, 20th Century Studios is giving you the ability to see the motion capture performances that were key in bringing the talking apes to life. Though Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will be available to download on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home starting on July 9th, you might want to wait until the movie’s physical release on August 27th when the 4K Ultra HD featuring Inside the Lens: The Raw Cut is in stores. Image: 20th Century Studios In an announcement about The Raw Cut , 20th Century Studios described it as a full-length, split-screen alternative cut that will allow... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SwnaDeF

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Snap Inc., the parent company of Snapchat, has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a gender discrimination lawsuit from the California Civil Rights Department. The lawsuit stemmed from a three-year investigation that found that Snap allegedly failed to “ensure that women were paid or promoted equally.” The allegations span Snap’s period of rapid growth from 2015 to 2022, when the California-based company increased its headcount from 250 to more than 5,000. During this time, California’s civil rights agency claims Snap paid women less and offered them fewer promotions when compared to male employees. Additionally, the lawsuit claims that women at the company “were routinely subjected to unwelcome sexual advances and other harassing... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/yCklSXg

Image: Snapchat Snapchat offered an early look at its upcoming on-device AI model capable of transforming a user’s surroundings with augmented reality (AR). The new model will eventually let creators turn a text prompt into a custom lens — potentially opening the door for some wild looks to try on and send to friends. You can see how this might look in the GIF below, which shows a person’s clothing and background transforming in real-time based on the prompt “50s sci-fi film.” Users will start seeing lenses using this new model in the coming months, while creators can start making lenses with the model by the end of this year, according to TechCrunch . GIF: Snapchat Additionally, Snapchat is rolling out a suite of new AI tools that... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pOi0U3L

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge If you’ve been putting off your next Windows update, now’s the time to install it. Last week, Microsoft patched a pretty nasty vulnerability in Windows 11 and 10 that could put your PC at risk when connected to a public Wi-Fi network, as spotted earlier by The Register . The vulnerability ( CVE-2024-30078 ) could let hackers deploy a malicious packet to devices connected to the same Wi-Fi networks in places like airports, coffee shops, hotels, or even workplaces. From there, hackers can remotely run commands and gain access to a system — all without any user interaction or authentication. Microsoft rolled out a security update for the affected versions of Windows on June 11th. Microsoft has labeled the vulnerability as “important,” which is... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/1Hy5S8R

New Zealand’s Marcus Daniell (TOP) and Michael Venus compete against USA’s Austin Krajicek and Tennys Sandgren during their Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games men’s doubles tennis match for the bronze medal at the Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo on July 30th, 2021. | Photo by Vincenzo Pinto / AFP via Getty Images Athletes are raising concerns about how extreme heat might affect the Summer Olympic Games in Paris, according to a new report . They’re worried that soaring temperatures pose serious health risks to competitors and spectators, not to mention their performance suffering. Average temperatures during the months when the Summer Olympics are typically held have risen by more than 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since the last time the Games were held in Paris in 1924, according to the report. Every fraction of a degree of difference can have an impact, considering even a 0.5 degree Celsius rise in core body temperature can increase a person’s heartbeat up to 10 beats per minute....

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge After a change to its privacy policy drew a lot of attention last week, Sonos has responded and insists it’s still carefully protecting the personal data of its customers. The company removed a line — “Sonos does not and will not sell personal information about our customers” — from its US privacy statement earlier this month. But Sonos claims the reason wasn’t scandalous; the company says it cut the sentence because it was overly broad and already could’ve been viewed as untrue depending on individual state privacy laws surrounding consumer data. “Sonos uses several modern and industry-standard marketing tools, including third party service providers and social media platforms, to help us identify and display relevant ads and marketing... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/CIQpmgq

An artist’s depiction of Google’s Soli radar. | Image: Google We’ve been waiting for Google’s tiny radar to fulfill its potential for years. Now, it looks like the company’s at least giving Soli another chance. According to filings at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Google now has a mystery “wireless device” that features the short-range 60GHz radar tech — as well as 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and a “base plate” of some kind. What could this device possibly be? One early educated guess is that it’s simply a new Nest Thermostat, and that could make sense. The FCC filings don’t show this device having any other radios beyond 2.4GHz and 60GHz; the 2020 Nest Thermostat was similarly light on radios, but it did use Soli radar to automatically detect when you’re in front of the thermostat and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/D5TWvn6

TikTok says the new tools are aimed at helping brands and creators develop global audiences. | The Verge TikTok is introducing some new generative AI tools that aim to help organizations and content creators grow their global audiences using customizable digital avatars and language dubbing features. Building on the Symphony generative AI ad suite unveiled last month, TikTok says these new tools are intended to break down language barriers in marketing and allow brands to “add a human touch to their content” where real models or presenters wouldn’t otherwise be used. The first of the new offerings is Symphony Digital Avatars, which are available in two varieties: stock or custom. Stock avatars are based on paid actors from a diverse range of backgrounds, nationalities, and languages. They are available for commercial use. Custom avatars,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/9MBNetk

Nikon’s new $2,500 Z6 III has the world’s first partially stacked CMOS sensor. | Becca Farsace / The Verge At the beginning of a recent photo walk with a Nikon representative, I was told it was only a matter of time before I became a “birder”. Because eventually every photographer runs out of things to take photos of and is left with only one subject to master: birds. Which, because of advancements in sensor technology, have become a much easier target. The Nikon Z6 III has an articulating back screen that is typical of hybrid photo / video cameras. It was on this same photo walk that I got a few hours with the new $2,500 Nikon Z6 III. And the big news in this camera is its 24.5-megapixel partially stacked CMOS sensor. This is the first camera, ever, to employ this technology. Instead of the circuit parts and pixel area... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Zhx7eIF

Illustration: The Verge Google is rolling out a new option called “Listen to this page” that can read a webpage out loud to you from within the Android Chrome browser. The feature comes with playback controls similar to those you’d find in music or podcast players, letting you pause, change the reading speed, scrub forward, or skip ahead or back by 10 seconds at a time. You can also change the voice it uses, as well as the language. The feature supports several, including English, French, German, Arabic, Hindi, and Spanish, according to a Google help page about the feature . To see if you have it, head to a page with a lot of text, then tap the three dots menu and “Listen to this page,” which should appear just below the Translate option. S... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/e1VMlH7

A McDonald’s in Pittsburgh. | Photo: Paul Weaver / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images If your local McDonald’s has been getting your order confidently wrong with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru, I have good news for you: The company is ending the program for now. The company told franchisees that it’s winding down an AI drive-thru ordering partnership with IBM “no later than July 26th, 2024,” according to trade publication Restaurant Business . The company will reportedly remove the tech from the over 100 restaurants it’s been testing the system in after partnering with IBM in 2021 . It’s not clear why the company is ending the IBM deal, though. It told Restaurant Business it was testing whether the voice ordering chatbot could speed up service and that the test left it confident “that a voice-ordering solution for... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/7pNYtwM

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The thinness of the OLED iPad Pro is only the beginning of a renewed effort by Apple to make increasingly thin computers, according to Bloomberg’ s Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter. The company plans a “significantly skinnier” iPhone 17 and is also working on shaving off some of the thickness of the MacBook Pro and the Apple Watch, he writes. It’s not the first time we’ve heard about a new, extremely thin “iPhone 17 Slim,” as The Information and multiple supply chain analysts have reported that this phone is on its way, possibly at a higher price than the existing iPhone 15 Pro Max. I haven’t seen concrete rumors about just how slim it will be, but it could have a 6.6-inch display and a smaller Dynamic Island. P... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/GSodHa7

Image: Apple Siri may do more than make the edges of your iPhone a glowy rainbow when iOS 18 drops this fall. Apple Intelligence features won’t be out until 2025 for anyone not testing them in beta this year, but reports suggest that Siri itself will still get natural language updates and other key features before the year is out. For instance, users will be able to type to Siri without diving into accessibility settings , and it will be more conversational, understanding you even when you trip over your words, according to Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg. Image: Apple Apple could offer instructions for how to do things in iOS this year. He also writes that Siri will “have greater knowledge of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/XyZ8kih

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 42, 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 Excel , reading about tin foil hats and the song “Smooth,” obsessing over Francis Ford Coppola’s note-taking system , watching Anyone But You , Hit Man , and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol because I had a bunch of plane rides, and debating buying Jabra headphones even though Jabra is quitting the headphone game . I also have for you a new minimalist phone, a book to read, a documentary to watch, a fun hack for your Rabbit R1, and much more. Let’s get into it. (As always, the best... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/X0GwfiW

Image: NASA Voyager 1, the farthest human-made craft from the Earth, is finally sending back data from all four of its scientific instruments, NASA said this week . That means the agency is once more receiving its readings on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and space-bound particles. Voyager 1 stopped sending back good data in November, and fixing it was fraught as engineers had to wait 45 hours to hear anything back . In April, the agency got it to start sending back health and status information , then science data from two of its instruments in May . Now, NASA says Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles from Earth, is “conducting normal science operations” and the agency just needs to resync its timekeeping software and do some maintenance on a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/APRw8kp

I wonder what this 3D logo could mean... | Image: Yacht Club Games Shovel Knight might be bouncing into 3D. Developer Yacht Club Games just announced a new mainline game in the hit series that started as a retro-inspired 2D platformer, and the studio says this new game will “launch Shovel Knight into an entirely new dimension of gaming,” according to a blog post . If that wasn’t enough of a clue about the move to 3D, the Yacht Club Games’ Friday livestream celebrating the 10th anniversary of Shovel Knight featured an even more pointed hint: a 3D version of the Yacht Club Games logo. The studio is staying mum about many specifics — there’s no release window — but did tease that “the game will bring electrifying action, richer mechanics, and all the timeless charm you expect from a Shovel Knight title.” W... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/sfQimHU

Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple and Meta could soon face charges from the European Commission for violating Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules. The Financial Times reported Friday that the Commission is planning to charge Apple, and Reuters reported later that Meta could be charged as well. The Commission is reported to be targeting Apple over its “steering” rules that charge developers for pointing to third-party purchase options. Meta’s charges will reportedly revolve around its ad-free subscription for Facebook and Instagram in the EU. The Commission will be issuing preliminary findings, according to Reuters , meaning that the companies can make changes to try and correct things before the Commission makes a final decision. Apple is set to be charged first, R... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/qhkBr6m

You can do a lot with this little combo. | Image: DJI Drones aren’t just fun to fly — they’ve also become nearly mandatory in creative arsenals to satisfy clients and social media followers hungering for aerial photography and video. Thankfully, the entry-level price barrier has come crashing down over the years. The previous-generation DJI Mini 3 , for example, is now just $329 ($90 off) at Amazon , down from its recently reduced starting price of $419. You can find discounts on various bundles, too, including one that throws in the video RC remote for $429 ($120 off) or the Fly More combo for $459 ($130 off) that packs three extra batteries and a carrying case. All are down to the lowest prices we’ve seen. As you’d expect, the Mini 3’s feature set is a tier below the newest Mini 4 series... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/JPbufUN

Image: Apple Apple is introducing a way to use Apple Pay on non-Safari desktop web browsers, as reported by MacRumors , meaning that you’ll soon be able to use Apple’s payment service to buy things on desktop Chrome, Firefox, and even on Windows PCs. Apple showed how it works in a WWDC 2024 video for developers . If you’re using a desktop browser that isn’t Safari and you see an Apple Pay button, you’ll be able to click that button to bring up a special code you can scan with an iPhone running iOS 18. If you scan the code, you’ll then be prompted to complete the transaction on your iPhone. Image: Apple On desktop, Apple Pay has so far been limited to Safari on Macs. Thanks to these updates, depending on the browser and hardware you... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/OPWkIMf

Breaking streaks no longer has to be something you worry about. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge When I had covid, I was miserable, hacking up my lungs and confined to bed for several days with horrible brain fog. I don’t remember much from that time. I do, however, remember waking up bleary-eyed and feverish to an Apple Watch notification. It said I hadn’t made much progress on my rings. I should take a brisk 27-minute walk. “You can still do it,” it said. No, I could not. It wasn’t my fault I’d gotten sick, but my 85-day streak was broken anyway. Since then, I’ve had nasty shin splints, migraines, and multiple cross-country flights that make it hard to hit exercise goals — all excellent reasons to prioritize rest or build some extra flexibility into my schedule. Despite knowing better, I still felt disappointed whenever I listened... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/5qiw6Rl

Photo by Walid Berrazeg / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Intel, Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm are the household names in chips — but in 2025, the popular but lesser known MediaTek might make a play to join them. Reuters reports that the Taiwanese chip company is now preparing an AI PC chipset to launch in late 2025 specifically for Windows PCs. Currently, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite is the alleged MacBook Air-beating talk of the town , and MediaTek wants a piece of that action. According to Reuters , the new MediaTek chip will reportedly be aimed at the same Microsoft Copilot Plus PC program that Qualcomm helped kick-start with Microsoft. There’s apparently an opening for chipmakers like MediaTek there now that Microsoft’s exclusivity arrangement with Qualcomm for Arm-based versions of Windows is... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0gmAwDk

Illustration: Lille Allen / The Verge On Thursday, Tesla shareholders will face a stark choice: approve Elon Musk’s enormous pay package, the largest ever awarded to a chief executive, or risk him picking up his ball and going home. The shareholder meeting on Thursday is a referendum on Musk’s tumultuous leadership, in which he took a relatively niche startup, wrested it away from its founders , and turned it into what is arguably one of the most consequential car companies in modern history. To reward him for this feat, shareholders are being asked to cast an unprecedented vote on Musk’s compensation — to the tune of $50 billion — for the second time. Last January, a Delaware court judge invalidated Musk’s pay package , first approved in 2018, arguing that the process was... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/BOKP6FD

Image: Flow Computing Flow Computing is making a tough to believe claim: it says it can 100x the performance of any CPU by shifting work to a special parallel processing unit (PPU) inside or outside the chip. And, it claims, it can double the performance of any existing computing code overnight, even if programmers don’t lift a finger to optimize for its new tech. The PPU could even fit into phones and watches, it says, dramatically improving their performance and battery life by offloading work from the CPU. But the company can’t quite show any of that today — because Flow hasn’t built a chip and doesn’t necessarily intend to build one, its co-founders tell The Verge . The company is a spinoff of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and it’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/y7JgPjI

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images X is rolling out private likes as soon as today, according to a source at the company. That means what users like on the platform will be hidden by default, which is already an option for X’s Premium subscribers . A few weeks ago, the company’s director of engineering, Haofei Wang , said the change is meant to protect users’ public image — because “many people feel discouraged” to like “edgy” content. The Likes tab on user profiles will be gone. Users will still be able to see who liked their posts and the like count for all posts, but they will not see the people who liked someone else’s post, according to X senior software engineer Enrique Barragan. (He also hinted at the launch today in a post.) “Soon you’ll be able to like without... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/YRHnw4F