Lead Hacker

Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images The organization that oversees internet domain names has rejected a proposal to transfer management of the .org top-level domain from a nonprofit to a private equity group. ICANN said it wouldn’t approve the sale of .org operator Public Interest Registry because it would create “unacceptable uncertainty” for the domain, citing concerns about debt and the intentions of the for-profit firm Ethos Capital. In a blog post , ICANN’s board said the sale would have given up the current focus of PIR in favor of “an entity that is bound to serve the interests of its corporate stakeholders, and which has no meaningful plan to protect or serve the .org community.” It also noted that the sale would leave PIR with a $360 million debt that could... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21241946/icann-dot-org-isoc-ethos-capital-sale-rejected

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge The coronavirus pandemic has caused the smartphone market to suffer its fastest ever first-quarter year-on-year decline, according to new data from analyst firms. Counterpoint Research and Canalys both put the overall drop in global shipments at 13 percent, though Counterpoint says the drop in China alone was 27 percent while Canalys calculates it at 18 percent. Whichever numbers you look at, the situation is clear: it’s the first time shipments have come under 300 million since 2014, with a precipitous collapse in China preceding falling demand around the world. “By the end of the quarter, as COVID-19 started to spread to other regions, and lockdowns of varying severity were imposed, the pendulum of disruption started to swing from... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21243685/coronavirus-smartphone-market-impact-q1-2020-covid-19

Walmart store Walmart is launching a new delivery service, called Express Delivery, that will get purchased items to a customers’ home in less than two hours, the company announced on Thursday . The new service could be helpful if you need to get items in a hurry while respecting shelter-in-place orders during the COVID-19 pandemic. You’ll be able to use Express Delivery for more 160,000 items, including “groceries, everyday essentials, toys and electronics,” Walmart says. Express Delivery will cost $10 in addition to the regular charge for delivery unless you’re a member of the company’s Delivery Unlimited subscription service, in which case you’ll just pay $10 for Express Delivery. (Similar to Amazon Prime, Delivery Unlimited costs $98 annually or... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21243557/walmart-express-delivery-two-hour-groceries-electronics

Cries at desk. Every once in a while, I hear a cascade of “bleeeeats” from my laptop speakers. For the past several weeks, I’ve been leaving a live stream of goats running while I work. It’s not really something you tune into for 30 seconds and then peace out of: this is a stream you keep on in the background, do some work, and then revisit for a soothing break in your day. And don’t worry, the goats will let you know when it’s time to tune back in. Bleeeat ! You’ll hear the baby goats — kids — bleat as they explore different parts of the farm throughout the day. The most dramatic moments occur when, all of a sudden, all of the goats start bleating at once as they rush toward their bucket of milk. Bleeeat! You might be wondering,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21241455/baby-goat-youtube-live-stream-animals-farm-indiana

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge With theme parks and movie theaters closed and major sports events canceled, there were few parts of Comcast’s business that didn’t feel the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the first quarter of 2020. And company executives said on Thursday that they don’t expect to see a whole lot of improvement for the second quarter. Comcast posted revenue of $26.6 billion for the first quarter, a 0.9 percent decline year over year, and net income of $2.1 billion, a 40 percent drop from the year-ago quarter. Basically, there was less for viewers to watch, and that meant less programming for Comcast to run ads against. The Q1 results reflect “audience ratings declines and reduced advertiser spending resulting from the postponement of sports... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242508/comcast-loses-cable-subscribers-coronavirus

Video games get sequels all the time, but it rarely happens more than two decades after the original trilogy concluded — and it’s even rarer when that sequel is as faithful as Streets of Rage 4 . The just-launched beat ‘em up comes 26 years after Streets of Rage 3 graced the Sega Genesis, and, in many ways, the experience is the same. You still wander the streets, listening to kickass Yuzo Koshiro tracks, while pummeling street punks and bad cops. But Streets of Rage 4 also manages to modernize the experience in key ways — through both its design and visuals — to make it feel unmistakably modern. This is still authentic Streets of Rage , but in a way that works for 2020. The new game takes place a decade after Streets of Rage 3 and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242538/streets-of-rage-4-review-ps4-xbox-steam-switch

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Public health officials are working to limit the spread of the virus Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/24/21080845/coronavirus-news-wuhan-updates-china-sars-mers-cdc-spread

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Despite pandemic-related hardware shortages, Facebook’s virtual reality business exploded at the start of 2020. The company revealed yesterday that it made $297 million in non-advertising revenue during the first quarter of 2020. That was “driven largely by sales of Oculus products,” rather than other products like Portal. The number is a full 80 percent higher than Facebook’s non-ad revenue in 2019’s first quarter, suggesting that the niche VR industry could be on the rise. But it also reflects a short window of incredible demand, which makes these staggering numbers a little harder to interpret. Non-ad revenue grew 80 percent compared to the start of 2019 Facebook’s Oculus Quest was one of the first VR devices that was both... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21241995/facebook-q1-2020-earnings-oculus-rift-quest-sales-half-life-alyx-pandemic

Ubisoft is adding Vikings to its Assassin series. Assassin’s Creed Valhalla , revealed yesterday , is adopting a Norse-inspired setting. The game’s first trailer offers a cinematic look at the game, coming this holiday, and its “heartless, godless barbarians.” Valhalla stars Eivor, a Viking raider, as he or she (players will be able to chose the gender of their character, as well as customize their look) leads clans “from the harsh shores of Norway to a new home amid the lush farmlands of ninth-century England.” From there, players will build settlements through customization and upgrades, while also raiding fortresses and forging alliances. Ubisoft also teases hunting, fish, drinking games, and “verbally devastating rivals through the art... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242601/assassins-creed-valhalla-trailer-watch-reveal-ubisoft

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Microsoft appears to be getting ready to launch Surface Headphones 2. A new Bluetooth SIG listing , spotted by 91 Mobiles , reveals an updated version of Microsoft’s Surface Headphones. The listing says this new model includes 20 hours of battery life (up from 18 hours on the original), Bluetooth 5.0 support, and support for Qualcomm’s aptX codec that delivers high-definition audio. Interestingly, the listing also states “dial buttons adjust the levels of Noise cancellation to three settings,” which is different from how you adjust the current Surface Headphones. The existing cans include a rotating dial to adjust for 13 different levels of noise cancellation. These new headphones appear to still support the ability to tap and hold to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242666/microsoft-surface-headphones-2-battery-life-dial-buttons-rumor

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Several PC components and gaming accessories are discounted today at Best Buy. Whether you are piecing together your next PC build or just want a few things to complete your setup, these deals might be what you’re looking for. First off, the SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless gaming headset is down to $60 ($40 off) when you buy it with at least $10 worth of Fortnite V-Bucks in-game currency . The lowest price we’d seen before was $80, and with this combo deal, you’re looking at a total of $70 alongside the V-Bucks. Just add both products to your cart to see the price fall. If you haven’t heard of this model, it includes a USB-C dongle that can be plugged directly into the Nintendo Switch console for wireless audio. The sound performance and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2020/4/30/21241843/steelseries-arctis-1-wireless-headset-deal-fortnite-pc-xbox-game-pass

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Zack Moore, state epidemiologist in North Carolina, can’t say how many people in the state have COVID-19. He knows how many people test positive for the coronavirus each day, and how many people are in the hospitals across the state, and how many people go to the emergency room with an illness that could be COVID-19. None of those numbers alone pins down how many people are infected. But together, they help sketch an outline of the pandemic. “It’s never about one single data source. Every source of data is helpful, but they all have their own limitations. So it’s about using them together,” he says. There’s no way for public health experts to actually count every single person who has any illness at a given time, even well-known... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21241402/infection-count-coronavirus-cases-survellience-flu-hospital-sewage-data

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google’s Chrome Web Store is the biggest catalog of browser extensions around, but as with any successful chunk of the internet, more things on offer to install means more scammers and spammers trying to sneak their trash into the mix or looking to abuse the system for their own gain. To that end, Google is introducing several new rules for the Chrome Web Store to help cut down on spammy extensions. Developers of the over 200,000 extensions on the Chrome Web Store will have until August 27th to make any necessary changes to their extensions or risk getting booted from the store. Here’s what’s no longer allowed: Developers can’t multiple extensions that do the same thing Extensions can’t have misleading descriptions, developer names,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242597/google-chrome-web-store-new-spam-policy-extensions

Intel has rolled out its 10th Gen chips to almost all of its laptop lineup at this point, and now, it’s time for desktops to get a turn. The company has announced its latest Comet Lake-S processors across its Core i9, i7, i5, and i3 lineups. Leading the range is the new Core i9-10900K, which offers 10 cores, 20 threads, a 125W TDP, boosted speeds up to 5.3GHz, and, according to Intel, it’s “the world’s fastest gaming processor.” Despite the 10th Gen moniker, like Intel’s recent high-performance H-series laptop chips , the new desktop lineup still relies on Intel’s 14nm Skylake architecture , which it’s been using since 2015, not the 10nm process found in its Ice Lake chips. More cores, more threads, more speed But the fact that Intel is... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2020/4/30/21242512/intel-10th-gen-desktop-lineup-offers-gaming-processor-speed

When great just isn’t good enough Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21241919/motorola-edge-plus-review-android-phone-screen-camera-specs-price

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft now has 10 million subscribers to its Xbox Game Pass service, the company confirmed during an investor call yesterday . It’s the first time Microsoft has publicly disclosed Xbox Game Pass numbers, and it’s a sign that the company’s ambitious bet on subscription gaming is starting to pay off. Microsoft has been trying to build a “Netflix for video games” for years, and it looks like it’s taking an early lead before a significant expansion to game streaming later this year. 10 million Xbox Game Pass subscribers is a significant milestone. EA’s competing subscription services, EA Access and Origin Access, hit more than 5 million subscribers last year, and Sony’s PlayStation Now subscriber base reached 1 million in October , five... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242479/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-subscribers-phil-spencer-comments

You can now use your Sonos speaker to listen to free audiobooks from your local library, thanks to a new integration with OverDrive’s Libby app . After downloading the Libby app, you’ll be prompted to register with a valid library card. Then, the app can be connected to a Sonos system and used to play any available audiobooks. Progress syncs across devices, so you’ll be able to pick up where you left off if you’ve been listening elsewhere. Libby isn’t the only source of audiobooks on Sonos (we’re looking at you Audible ), but unlike other services, it’s available completely free. The downside is that your choice of audiobooks will be limited by what your local library has available. OverDrive says that Libby works with 90 percent of public... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242505/sonos-libby-overdrive-local-library-audiobooks-free

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter usage spiked to 166 million daily users in the first quarter of 2020, as more people flocked to the site to keep up with news on the coronavirus pandemic. The usage growth is the largest Twitter has ever reported year-over-year, up from 134 million during this same quarter last year (and up from 152 million daily users at the end of 2019). But the growth wasn’t enough to offset the sudden advertising decline caused by the pandemic — and it could pose problems for Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, who’s on shaky ground with a group of activist investors. Advertising fell apart in March Twitter’s ad revenue started to fall apart in March. From March 11th on, Twitter saw a 27 percent drop in year-over-year ad revenue. This led to Twitter... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21241974/twitter-q1-2020-earnings-coronavirus-mdau-growth-ad-revenue

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The process Quibi used to verify new users’ email addresses sent them to multiple third-party advertising and analytics companies including Google, Facebook, and Twitter, a new report has claimed. When a new user signed up to the streaming service, they received an email with a verification link. Clicking that link appended their address to the URL and sent it in plain text to multiple other companies. Quibi is not the only company whose practices have been called out in the report, which was put together by Zach Edwards at the digital strategy firm Victory Medium. JetBlue, Wish, and the Washington Post were also found to be leaking addresses. But Edwards says that Quibi’s actions are especially egregious because the service launched... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242470/quibi-email-verification-leaking-addresses-ad-companies-facebook-google-data-protection

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Programming note: The Interface will be off on Thursday. Today Apple and Google released an initial version of the API that represents the first phase of their joint effort to enable public health authorities to quickly identify people who may have been exposed to new cases of COVID-19. By mid-May it should be available to most health agencies. And so it’s time to revisit a question we first asked here three weeks ago: will Americans actually use these apps ? That’s the question posed in a new survey conducted by the University of Maryland and the Washington Post . The findings are mixed, report Craig Timberg, Drew Harwell and Alauna Safarpour : Nearly 3 in 5 Americans say they are either unable or unwilling to use the infection-alert... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/4/30/21241344/apple-google-contact-tracing-survey-maryland-washington-post-exposure-notification-surveillance

Image: Facebook Facebook is rolling out a new tool today allowing users in the US and Canada to transfer their photos and videos to Google Photos. The tool can be accessed by heading to your Facebook settings, then heading to the tab that reads “Your Facebook Information.” There you’ll find the option to transfer your photos and videos. You’ll need to connect your Google account before you can transfer your files. Facebook plans to roll the tool out to more services later this year The photo transfer tool initially launched in early December last year as part of the Data Transfer Project, with Facebook vowing to expand the tool to more countries in early 2020. As of March, the tool started becoming available around the globe, including countries in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21241093/facebook-google-photos-transfer-tool-data

The Raspberry Pi Foundation has announced a new camera board that should dramatically improve the photographic capabilities available to the popular DIY computer’s enthusiasts and hobbyists. It’s called the High Quality Camera , and it’s built around a 12.3-megapixel backside-illuminated Sony IMX477 sensor with 1.55-micron pixels. There have been official Raspberry Pi camera boards before, but they used much smaller, lower resolution sensors and relied on fixed-focus lenses. The High Quality Camera, however, supports interchangeable C- and CS-mount lenses and offers adjustable back focus. The first options to be available through approved resellers include a $25 6mm CS-mount lens and a $50 16mm C-mount lens. The board has a CS mount but... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242454/raspberry-pi-high-quality-camera-announced-specs-price

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 is a new standard from the Video Electronics Standards Association that allows USB 4 to offer all the bells and whistles of the DisplayPort 2.0 standard as well as transmitting USB data. That means support for 8K displays at 60Hz with HDR, 4K displays at 144Hz with HDR, or even 16K (15360x8460) displays at 60Hz with compression. It’s a big step towards USB Type-C becoming a true jack-of-all trades connector. The USB 4 spec can already transmit DisplayPort data, but AnandTech reports that the new standard remaps USB-C’s high speed data pins to unlock more bandwidth for video. USB 4 is bidirectional, meaning it can carry up to 40Gbps of data in either direction. However, video doesn’t need to go both ways — you... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242445/vesa-displayport-alt-mode-2-0-usb-4-4k-144hz-hdr-8k-16k-displays

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Zoom has admitted it doesn’t have 300 million daily active users. The admission came after The Verge noticed the company had quietly edited a blog post making the claim earlier this month. Zoom originally stated it had “more than 300 million daily users” and that “more than 300 million people around the world are using Zoom during this challenging time.” Zoom later deleted these references from the original blog post, and now claims “300 million daily Zoom meeting participants.” The difference between a daily active user (DAU) and “meeting participant” is significant. Daily meeting participants can be counted multiple times: if you have five Zoom meetings in a day then you’re counted five times. A DAU is counted once per day, and is... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242421/zoom-300-million-users-incorrect-meeting-participants-statement

The Nintendo Switch may not have a proper Virtual Console, but it’s still a great system for classic games , and today sees one of its most unusual retro releases in a while. To celebrate the Neo Geo’s 30th anniversary this week, SNK is re-releasing Neo Geo Pocket Color title SNK Gals’ Fighters for the first time since it came out in 2000. That’s sort of an odd way to pay homage to the Neo Geo arcade system, if you ask me, but the results are certainly cool. By default, the Switch screen shows a scaled Neo Geo Pocket Color console running the game — you can even play it by pressing the console’s buttons on the touchscreen, though I wouldn’t recommend it. The clicky joystick is not quite going to be the same. The Neo Geo... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/30/21242396/nintendo-switch-neo-geo-pocket-color-snk-gals-fighters

AT&T , T-Mobile , and Verizon have all partnered with iHeartMedia to deliver thousands of phone chargers to hospitals so that COVID-19 patients can charge their phones. The companies will donate nearly 40,000 phone chargers, according to T-Mobile’s press release. T-Mobile says it has already donated 20,000 chargers to hospitals in Seattle, New York City, Los Angeles, New Orleans and San Diego. Verizon says it’s providing thousands of chargers to healthcare providers in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, Boston, New Orleans, Detroit and Philadelphia, and more. AT&T says it will donate thousands of chargers to “hospitals in cities across the country that have been hit the hardest by the virus.” The donation efforts by the wireless... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21242130/att-t-mobile-verizon-iheartmedia-phone-chargers-hospitals-covid-19

Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has ruled that artificial intelligence systems cannot be credited as an inventor in a patent, the agency announced earlier this week. The decision came in response to two patents — one for a food container and the other for a flashing light — that were created by an AI system called DABUS. Among the USPTO’s arguments is the fact that US patent law repeatedly refers to inventors using humanlike terms such as “whoever” and pronouns like “himself” and “herself.” The group behind the applications had argued that the law’s references to an inventor as an “individual” could be applied to a machine, but the USPTO said this interpretation was too broad. “Under current law, only natural persons may be... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21241251/artificial-intelligence-inventor-united-states-patent-trademark-office-intellectual-property

Cruise, the self-driving subsidiary of General Motors, has brought some of its autonomous vehicles out of their coronavirus-imposed dormancy to make deliveries for a pair of food banks in San Francisco, the company announced today. Starting April 16th, the company has helped deliver 3,700 meals for the SF-Marin Food Bank and SF New Deal , two food banks serving low-income families in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cruise’s deliveries have only taken place over eight days, though the company says it is interested in scaling up in the near future. The company says the city of San Francisco is “aware of what we’re doing and supports the effort.” (A spokesperson for Mayor London Breed’s office did not immediately respond to a request for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21241122/cruise-self-driving-car-deliveries-food-banks-sf

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Lyft said it will lay off nearly 1,000 employees, or about 17 percent of its workforce, as the novel coronavirus pandemic continues to decimate the already cash-strapped ride-hailing industry. The layoffs, which the company announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, come as the company’s larger rival, Uber, is reportedly also contemplating steep cuts of its own. Lyft says it will terminate 982 employees, which it anticipates will cost between $28 million to $36 million in “restructuring and related charges primarily related to employee severance and benefits costs,” the filing states. The company says it will also furlough 288 employees and reduce salaries for exempt employees for a three month... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21241351/lyft-layoff-furlough-salary-employees-coronavirus-pandemic

May 4th is the annual Star Wars -themed holiday, and several sales have already begun to celebrate the franchise. One of the most notable so far is the PC version of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order , Respawn’s excellent (and surprisingly challenging) third-person adventure. The digital code (redeemable on Origin) costs $30 instead of $60 at Amazon . The console versions have seen big price drops like this one for the past few weeks, but this is the first time we’ve seen the PC version drop in cost by 50 percent. If your PC is powerful enough to run this game, I recommend picking it up. Another excellent Star Wars -related deal is on the nine-film “ The Skywalker Saga ” collection that you can buy to own in 4K for $80 at Vudu and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2020/4/29/21241163/may-4th-star-wars-deals-jedi-fallen-order-the-skywalker-saga-films-4k-sales

Image: GMC General Motors is delaying the upcoming reveal of the new all-electric Hummer truck, which was originally scheduled for May 20th because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The automaker isn’t yet offering a replacement date for the launch of the new electric vehicle, but it says that the production schedule isn’t currently affected. The new Hummer is due out in late 2021. GM announced back in January that it was resurrecting the Hummer as a 1,000-horsepower electric truck under its GMC brand, and it teased it in a Super Bowl ad starring LeBron James. The vehicle line, which became synonymous with the excess of enormous gas-guzzling SUVs, was retired in 2010 as the automakers recovered from the financial crisis. The new EV version will be built... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21241285/hummer-ev-launch-event-delayed-covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic

Trolls World Tour is the best proof yet that Hollywood might not be as reliant on theaters as it has been for more than a century. The film made nearly $100 million in the past three weeks through digital sales, according to The Wall Street Journal , reportedly bringing in more revenue for Universal than the original Trolls’ entire domestic theatrical haul. It’s an impressive figure, and it speaks to the continued threat to movie theaters — but it in no way suggests that movie theaters are going away or that studios are severing their ties. Trolls World Tour ’s on-demand success comes at a particularly scary time for movie theaters. Both independent theaters and major chains are staring at dim prospects for the rest of the year. AMC... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21239703/trolls-world-tour-amc-digital-streaming-theaters-nbcuniversal-disney-warnerbros

Some of the JPL team posing with the VITAL ventilator. | Image: NASA From spacecraft to medical craft Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21238660/nasa-jpl-engineers-vital-ventilator-covid-19-pandemic-coronavirus

Image: iRobot iRobot, the company behind the autonomous Roomba vacuum, says it’s scrapping its plans to release its lawn-mowing robot, the Terra , because of the pandemic. The company said in its earnings release yesterday that it’s “suspended” its launch plans for the Terra because of COVID-19 and the subsequent global economic downturn the virus caused. The announcement came coupled with news that iRobot laid off 70 employees, mostly in its research and development department, and furloughed 14 sales and marketing staff. The company first debuted the Terra in January 2019 and said it’d be beta-testing the device in the US. In August 2019, iRobot told The Verge that the beta was “progressing well.” The device’s Federal Communications Commission... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21241064/irobot-terra-lawnmower-robot-delay-update-supply-chain

Illustration by Ana Kova Public health experts around the globe are scrambling to understand , track, and contain a new virus that appeared in Wuhan, China, at the beginning of December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) named the disease caused by the virus COVID-19, which references the type of virus and the year it emerged. The WHO declared that the virus is a pandemic . The Verge is regularly updating this page with all the latest news and analysis. You can see where and how many cases of the illness have been reported in this map . The majority of the illnesses were initially in China, where the virus first emerged, but the rate of new cases there has nearly stopped. There are now many times more cases outside of China than there were inside of it at... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/23/21078457/coronavirus-outbreak-china-wuhan-quarantine-who-sars-cdc-symptoms-risk

‘It’s not an experiment’ Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21240409/microsoft-xbox-game-pass-pc-gears-tactics-interview

Marco Polo Marco Polo, an app that became popular for staying in touch with friends while social distancing, is looking to make some cash. The free app is launching an expanded premium product today called Marco Polo Plus that costs $5 per month with an annual commitment or $10 if paid monthly. The subscription gives people access to HD video, voice notes, custom emoji, creation tools like speed control, and passes to share with friends to gift them free memberships. The company is giving people a seven-day trial to show them what the Plus experience is like and to convince them to sign up. Until now, Marco Polo has been sustained by venture capital. The pandemic increased its user base, however, and its server costs in tandem. “With this great... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21240327/marco-polo-video-chat-app-plus-subscription-premium

Photo by Mariel Flickinger As classes move online, many students aren’t coming with them Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21239567/remote-school-distance-learning-digital-internet-tech-gap-devices-access

Illustration by Grayson Blackmon We’ve got to be ready for the long haul Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21239689/coronavirus-pandemic-end-covid19-reopen-vaccine-treatment-testing

Image: Google Google’s Area 120 incubator is shutting down Shoelace, a local event organizing app that it’s been trialing in New York City for the past year , 9to5Google reports . The company said the service will be shutting down on May 12th in an email sent out to users yesterday. “While we’re very proud of what we have built and learned, the team has decided that now doesn’t feel like the right time to continue investing in this project,” the email read. Launched last July, Shoelace was an app that allowed people to organize local events called “Loops.” The app then listed these events for other users based on their interests, allowing them to RSVP if they wished to attend. It’s not surprising that Google has chosen to wind down the app after it was... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21240978/google-area-120-shoelace-shut-down-date-event-organizing-app

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge As schools go remote, so do tests and so does surveillance Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21232777/examity-remote-test-proctoring-online-class-education

The race to respond to Zoom’s popularity is well and truly on Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21240942/google-meet-free-zoom-response-microsoft-teams-features

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge People are changing how they listen to Spotify as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced in its latest earnings release today. Spotify says that it has met its forecasts in the three-month period ending March 31st, but noted that people’s daily routines are changing. “Morning routines have changed significantly,” says Spotify. “Every day now looks like the weekend.” It makes sense. As more people work and study at home, people don’t have a morning commute to spend listening to Spotify, and there’s less listening occurring through the service’s car and wearable apps. Spotify says this has had a more significant impact on podcasts than music. However, other devices appear to be picking up some of the slack. The... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21240953/spotify-q1-2020-earnings-coronavirus-covid-19-morning-listening-habits-change-ad-revenue-down

Google is opening up its Google Meet videoconferencing service to anybody who wants to use it, instead of just offering it to enterprise and education customers via G Suite. The company says anybody with a Google account will now be able to create free meetings of up to 100 people that can last any amount of time — though after September 30th it may restrict meeting length to 60 minutes. That Google account requirement is a hard one, however. People won’t be able to just click a link and join a meeting — they’ll need to be logged in. That is so meetings can be better controlled by their hosts, hopefully eliminating the possibility of Zoombombing . Google will also introduce other safety measures: people not explicitly added to a meeting... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21240509/google-meet-video-conferencing-free-gmail

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Oh hey, today is our 500th issue! Thanks to everyone who has been with us from the beginning, and each of you who has joined along the way. We can’t imagine a better use of our time during this weird era than bringing you news and analysis of the day’s big moments in tech, democracy, and the pandemic. One result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been that big tech companies, which long have been reluctant to intervene in questions of content moderation, have quickly become much more aggressive . At Google, for example, the company began showing news stories from trusted sources to anyone who searched for information about the virus. It stepped up efforts to remove videos containing misinformation about the pandemic from YouTube. YouTube also... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/interface/2020/4/29/21239928/youtube-fact-check-neal-mohan-interview-misinformation-covid-19

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung and LG just reported their first quarter results for the three-month period ending in March, with earnings largely unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, both companies warn that the impact will be felt over the current quarter ending in June. Namely, Samsung and LG expect customers to cut back significantly on TV and smartphone purchases. In Q1, Samsung’s net profit was down slightly compared to the same quarter last year, but revenue was up 5.6 percent overall thanks to strong demand for its server and mobile components. The company said that some of its customers are restocking their chip supplies because of supply uncertainty, Reuters notes . Mobile profitability was also up, although shipments were down. Meanwhile,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/29/21240925/samsung-lg-earnings-q2-2020-coronavirus-earnings-down-tv-smartphones-memory-chips

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple Maps will now show COVID-19 testing sites in all 50 states and Puerto Rico ( via TechCrunch ). When you search using terms like “COVID-19 test” or “coronavirus test,” places that offer COVID-19 tests will be marked on your map. If you start typing COVID-19 into the search bar, you’ll also see the “COVID-19 Testing” search term appear at the top of your search bar, like what you’d see if you started typing something like “groceries” or “coffee shops.” Apple’s information cards for the testing sites include the site’s hours, address, and phone number, as well as a warning that “COVID-19 testing may require a doctor’s referral and an appointment at the testing center” and a link to the website of the healthcare provider offering the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21240546/apple-maps-covid-19-testing-sites-mobility-trends

AMC Theatres will no longer play Universal films effective immediately after “unacceptable” comments were made from NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell on its decision to bypass a traditional theatrical release for Trolls World Tour and make it a digital exclusive, according to The Hollywood Reporter . In a new interview with the Wall Street Journal , Jeff Shell noted that Trolls World Tour succeeded their expectations, pulling in nearly $100 million in revenue through digital sales alone and more than five million copies sold. As a result, Shell noted that as “soon as theaters reopen, we expect to release movies on both formats,” meaning some movies would continue with theatrical releases while others would go directly to digital retailers or... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21240637/amc-theaters-universal-trolls-world-tour-disney-warnermedia-digital-streaming

Photo by Robert Paul / Blizzard Entertainment Overwatch ’s top professional player is moving on to a new game. Today, Jay “Sinatraa” Won left the Overwatch League’s San Francisco Shock, and ESPN reported that it’s so he can switch to a different title: Riot’s new team shooter Valorant , which is currently in closed beta. Won will reportedly compete for esports organization Sentinels, which is also home to Fortnite World Cup champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf . The player has confirmed his departure from the Shock and that he’s moving to Valorant , while Sentinels have teased a new Valorant team . In a post on Twitlonger , Won said he retired from Overwatch because he “straight up just lost passion” for the game. Won made headlines last year with a dominating season . His team won the OWL... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21240497/overwatch-league-sinatraa-leaving-sf-shock-valorant

Illustration by  Alex Castro When people were ordered to stay home during the pandemic, online shopping became a vital resource for basic goods like toilet paper, groceries, and cleaning supplies. People need those products fast, and Amazon provides that service. Before the pandemic, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance reported in 2016 that Amazon captures nearly one in every two dollars that Americans spend online. Over the past month, Amazon’s stock value has increased significantly during a recession while its demand grows further, advancing its dominance in the online shopping market. Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, says that kind of dependence should make us deeply concerned. Mitchell has been a vocal critic of... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21234925/vergecast-podcast-interview-stacy-mitchell-institute-for-local-self-reliance-amazon-monopoly

Image: Google Google is bringing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds ( PUBG ) to Stadia today, and it’s promising to launch several EA games later this year. PUBG will be free for Stadia Pro members and will include the new Cold Front season pass. Stadia Free members will be able to purchase the base game for $29.99 or bundled with the season pass for $39.99. PUBG on Stadia will also support cross-play, so you can play against friends on console. Google appears to be launching one of its promised Stadia features with PUBG today: the ability to click a game link and instantly play. You can follow this l ink if you’re a Stadia Pro member, and it should instantly launch the game. It’s something we’ll likely see used a lot more in YouTube videos to promote Stadia... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/28/21239809/google-stadia-pubg-launch-ea-games-fifa-star-wars-madden-nfl-release-date