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Microsoft is laying off 4,800 employees

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Satya Nadella in February 2026. | Photo by Sven Hoppe / picture alliance via Getty Images A year after cutting around 9,100 employees , Microsoft is making further layoffs today as it begins its new financial year. The software maker is laying off around 4,800 employees today, approximately 2.1 percent of its workforce. Most of the employees affected by today's cuts are in Microsoft's commercial sales business or the company's Xbox division. In an internal memo to employees, Amy Coleman, executive vice president and Microsoft's chief people officer, blamed the job losses on a changing technology industry and the "need to adjust resources and roles and shift how we operate" to respond to how AI is impacting companies like Microsof … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/news/961528/microsoft-layoffs-july-2026-sales-xbox

Some of the nation’s rich are letting AI teach their kids

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Most Americans don't trust AI . It's proven that it doesn't know what safe toppings for pizza are. People don't even want to listen to AI music . But none of that matters for some of America's wealthy, who are turning to AI to teach their kids instead of traditional schools. Companies like Forge Prep and Alpha School are charging families tens of thousands of dollars to turn their kids into beta testers for AI tutors and "interactive project-based workshops." Unsurprisingly, Silicon Valley have been major adopters of this new model. Shaun Johnson, a San Francisco-based venture capitalist, told the Wall Street Journal that he plans to send his … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/961505/wealthy-ai-schools-alpha-forge-prep

Mr. Lif’s Emergency Rations EP is post-9/11 hip hop at its most daring

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First, you drop bombs, then you send aid. Totally logical. | Image: Definitive Jux There was a period in the early aughts when Definitive Jux (nee: Def Jux) seemed like it was going to be the future of hip hop. While the label featured plenty of experimental, boundary-pushing, and politically minded acts, Lif stood out as the most "conscious rapper" in the traditional sense. It was clear though, that label head El-P envisioned that as an important part of Def Jux's identity, as the first record it put out was 2000's Enter the Colossus EP, from Lif. Mr. Lif's follow-up was 2002's Emergency Rations EP, a sort of place setter for the full-length I, Phantom just a couple of months later. It opens with a skit about Lif missing … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/961484/mr-lif-emergency-rations-ep-post-9-11-review

Where to preorder Grand Theft Auto VI

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A look at in-game cosmetics you’ll get with the Ultimate edition. | Image: Rockstar Games Rockstar's long-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI is launching November 19th, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X consoles. The game will be available digitally at launch, with physical cases containing codes, not discs , so your options for preordering are straightforward. The preloading phase for the game begins on November 12th, which should give you plenty of time to install the game. There are two versions of the game to choose from, the $79.99 Standard and $99.99 Ultimate editions. Both include the same preorder perks. You'll get the Vintage Vice City Pack when the game launches. It's a set of in-game items that includes vehicles, we … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/960838/grand-theft-auto-gta-6-vi-preorder-editions-buy

Xbox is a disaster

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Gears of War: E-Day. This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the bleak state of the video game industry, follow Andrew Webster . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes on Sunday at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Microsoft closed out Summer Game Fest with a bang. The company's annual June showcase was packed with crowd-pleasers: Halo , Gears of War , Fable , a translucent Xbox, and even some pleasant surprises like new Persona and Crazy Taxi games. It was the kind of event that harkened back to the boisterous days of E3, when the industry was in a healthier place an … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/column/960600/xbox-is-a-disaster

NASA launched an emergency mission to stop the Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth

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Engineers from Katalyst Space Technologies testing Link. | Image: NASA/Scott Wiessinger The Swift Observatory was launched in 2004, but recent solar storms have pushed its orbit lower, and it's in danger of burning up in Earth's atmosphere as soon as this year. To try and stave off its demise , NASA has enlisted Katalyst Space Technologies. The company's Link spacecraft launched Friday with the goal of intercepting Swift, which has no propulsion system, and boosting its orbit back to its original position. Right now, Swift is circling at an altitude of 224 miles, and Link is aiming to raise that by about 150 miles. Using a three-armed spacecraft to lift a satellite 150 miles higher into orbit is challenging enough, but the spee … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/science/961459/nasa-emergency-save-swift-observatory-katalyst-space-technologies

Matic’s robot vacuum is getting a $250 price hike in September

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The Matic is our favorite robot vacuum by a pretty comfortable margin. If you’ve been thinking about buying one, you may want to plan on doing it sooner than later. The company will raise its price by $250 on September 9th, going from $1,245 to $1,495. Matic told The Verge that the new price reflects its rising costs for memory and other components for the vacuum, which it says are now tenfold. Those who buy one directly from the company will get a year’s worth of replacement bags worth $96 at no extra cost. Each refill contains 12 bags, and they ship for free. Additionally, Matic has increased their return policy from 60 days to six months. Matic A different kind of robot vacuum and mop, Matic reinvents the floor cleaning machine. Where to Buy: $1245 at Matic Our reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy praised the Matic’s “human-like navigation,” noting in her review that it got stuck only twice during six months of use. In her clutter...