Lead Hacker

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images A report from Vice has opened my eyes to just how big the Pokémon trading card collecting market is getting — apparently to the point where card rating companies have waitlists that range from six to ten months, with one company claiming it’s receiving over 500,000 cards to grade per week. The card graders, who rate trading cards’ conditions to determine how collectable (and therefore valuable) they are, are so swamped that people who want to get their Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, or sports cards graded are also having to wait in line (or pay out the nose to skip it). One card rating company apparently needed employees so bad it offered $1,000 starting bonuses — and then bumped them up to $2,500 . Another company had to buy two warehouses to store... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22413108/pokemon-trading-card-collectors-overwhelm-grading-collecting-rating

If you’d like a visual of one way that doom could overtake Earth almost immediately, then YouTube user Anselo La Manna has just the video for you: a large asteroid impact simulation scored to nothing other than Pink Floyd . Specifically, that’s “ Great Gig in the Sky ,” off what might be the band’s most beloved and over-analyzed album, Dark Side of the Moon . It’s got everything total annihilation needs: contemplative piano, pedal steel guitar, and of course, a plaintive wail, capturing the whole range of emotions that people might feel if they were burned to a crisp because one big rock hit another. Anselo La Manna also hosts the original clip the mashup video uses on their YouTube page, a simulation of a large asteroid impact. It appears... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22412731/large-asteroid-impact-simulation-pink-floyd-discovery-channel

Facebook Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast , where host Nilay Patel discusses the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories. This week on The Vergecast , Nilay brings in Verge deputy editor Dan Seifert and news editor Chaim Gartenberg to discuss the features added in Apple’s iOS update to 14.5 , Apple and other tech companies’ skyrocketing earnings despite the ongoing pandemic, and how the global semiconductor shortage is affecting the tech industry. Later in the show, senior reporter Ashley Carman runs through the recent developments in podcasting platforms. At an event last week, Apple announced a new subscription feature within Apple Podcasts for creators to offer to their... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22411910/vergecast-podcast-450-ios-14-5-apple-earnings-samsung-galaxy-book-pro

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Hulu’s live TV service is finally getting nine new ViacomCBS channels — Comedy Central, BET, Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., VH1, CMT, MTV, TV Land, and Paramount Network — as part of its regular $64.99 per month cost. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Hulu first announced that these channels would be coming to its service on January 4th, almost four months ago. But despite the long gap, the new channels are finally debuting for subscribers today. Customers who pay for Hulu’s live TV service will also get on-demand access to additional ViacomCBS library titles, including Freaks and Geeks , Moesha, and Sister, Sister , starting today. A long wait, but Hulu customers can finally watch MTV Other ViacomCBS channels — BETher, MTV2, NickToons,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22412295/hulu-live-tv-service-nickelodeon-comedy-central-mtv-viacomcbs-channels

Plus, it won’t be easy to break away from 3rd-party cookies Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. Via Marketing Land - Internet Marketing News, Strategies & Tips https://ift.tt/2uxGgu1

Photo by Tom Flathers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images English soccer teams and organizations are all shutting down their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts for the weekend as part of a massive social media blackout to advocate for better policies regarding discrimination and abuse that players and members of clubs receive on those platforms. English football will unite for a social media boycott from 3pm on Friday 30 April to 11:59pm on Monday 3 May, in response to the ongoing and sustained discriminatory abuse received online by players and many others connected to the game. https://t.co/GYTAuWAEgN pic.twitter.com/dNLuv62nw5 — FA Spokesperson (@FAspokesperson) April 24, 2021 Groups participating in the blackout include the Premier League , the English Football League, the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22412060/english-soccer-teams-boycott-four-day-social-media-protest-online-abuse

Image: Capcom We’re just a week out from the release of Resident Evil Village , and as part of the game’s promotional campaign, Capcom has uploaded an absolute treat to the YouTube channel for Biohazard (which is the name of the Resident Evil series in Japan): an official puppet show starring characters from the game . Yes, everyone’s favorite tall vampire lady, Lady Dimitrescu, is one of the puppets. The three-minute video is simultaneously adorable and terrifying. The show is entirely in Japanese, so I don’t have any idea what the actual story is — I think all of the puppets are meeting up to paint together, using blood as the ink? But it’s worth watching for some seriously silly puppet antics, like puppet-Lady Dimitrescu gleefully gulping down a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22412061/resident-evil-village-puppet-show-capcom-tall-vampire-lady-dimitrescu

Harebrained Schemes I woke up feeling a little strange this morning, but I didn’t think much of it. It’s just another day living in the pandemic. But after I got some strange looks at the cafe, I started to get a little worried. On my way home, I took a sip of my coffee and somehow pierced through the paper cup with bottom fangs that I didn’t have yesterday. I ran to the bathroom mirror when I got inside, only to discover that I’d turned into an ork. Awesome! As decreed by the Shadowrun lore (via Twitter user @Gen_Ironicus ), April 30th, 2021 is the day of Goblinization. The Shadowrun wiki over at Fandom says that, today, 10 percent of the world’s population will be transformed into orks and trolls for no apparent reason. Guess I just got lucky! I thought... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22411989/shadowrun-goblinization-april-30-2021-ork-troll-metahumanity

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Trade groups representing some of the largest telecom companies, including AT&T and Verizon, are suing New York over a new state law forcing them to provide cheaper broadband plans for low-income families in the state, as first reported by Axios . Earlier this month , New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a bill that would require internet service providers to offer a $15 a month broadband internet option for low-income consumers and families in the state. It’s one of the first laws in the country enforcing such a rule. But groups like USTelecom, CTIA, and the New York State Telecommunications Association argue that the state has no authority to set broadband prices and that the law could impair the companies’ abilities to upgrade their... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22412177/telecom-law-att-verizon-broadband-internet-new-york-state-low-income-plans

Deepfakes use AI techniques to generate or manipulate videos and pictures. | Artist: William Joel Last week, numerous news outlets reported that a string of European politicians had been tricked by a sophisticated Russian plot. Parliamentarians from the UK, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia had all arranged video calls with a hoaxer claiming to be Leonid Volkov, chief of staff to imprisoned Russian anti-Putin politician Alexei Navalny. As the politicians tell it, they fell victim to a digital fake: a doppelgänger created it using “deepfake” technology to trick politicians — the latest example of Russia’s misinformation campaigns in the West. But the Russian men who orchestrated the calls say the “deepfake” claim is itself misinformation. Speaking to The Verge , the hoaxers say their imitation Volkov was created using effects no more... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22407264/deepfake-european-polticians-leonid-volkov-vovan-lexus

The University of Minnesota’s path to banishment was long, turbulent, and full of emotion Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22410164/linux-kernel-university-of-minnesota-banned-open-source

The latest iPad Pros are powered by the M1 chip. | Apple Following the official reveal last week of the new model refreshes for the iMac and iPad Pros, all of which are powered by Apple’s own silicon — the M1 chip — preorders began for all three products today . As spotted first by 9to5Toys , Expercom is offering an incentive if you pre-purchase any of the three new M1 products , with up to $147 in savings available depending on the configuration you select, making this the first time any of these three brand-new products have seen a discount yet. The base M1 iMac is available for preorder at Expercom for as low as $1,233 ($66 off); this configuration includes 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. As noted previously, the configurations vary, but there are price reductions for multiple... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2021/4/30/22411755/apple-imac-ipad-pro-m1-preorder-discount-amazon-echo-show-5-deal

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Epic will put Apple’s business under a microscope Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22403862/apple-epic-games-fortnite-app-store-antitrust-trial-kickoff

Oh hey, it’s all of my PC games available to play on the Quest 2, wire-free, from within a virtual room. This is getting weird. One of the best features of the Oculus Quest and Quest 2 is that they can be manually linked via USB to your gaming PC so you can play more demanding VR games that couldn’t otherwise be run natively on the headsets. That’s great if you want a way to play games like Half-Life: Alyx , but the obvious downside is that you’re now physically tethered to a PC — so much for the wireless freedom that the Quest platform advertises. Since then, the developers at Virtual Desktop — and, more recently, Oculus itself — have both figured out how to stream the visual feed from your PC to your VR headset while quickly syncing all of your movements over Wi-Fi. Either option will give you the best of both worlds: letting you play the games you want without... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22218827/oculus-quest-2-wireless-pc-vr-games-how-to

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Roku has pulled YouTube TV from its channel store. The distribution agreement between Roku and Google for YouTube TV has expired as of today — and the two sides haven’t been able to reach a new deal. However, Roku says it is “taking the extra step to continue to offer existing subscribers access to YouTube TV on the Roku platform unless Google takes actions that require the full removal of the channel.” New subscriptions from the YouTube TV app have also been switched off “until an agreement is reached.” In an email to customers, Roku warned “it is also important that you do not delete the YouTube TV app as it will not be available for download to Roku devices.” The regular YouTube app is unaffected by this situation and remains freely... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22411711/roku-removes-youtube-tv-channel-store

Elon Musk says ‘significant mistakes’ were made in how Tesla calculates solar roof costs. Customers are irate Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22410075/tesla-solar-roof-price-increase-customer-reactions

The new iPad Pro | Apple Apple announced a 2021 refresh to its iPad Pro lineup, which now includes the same powerful and efficient M1 processor that’s in its MacBook Air, Pro, and Mac mini computers. Both the new 11-inch and 12.9-inch models will feature the chip, as well as a Thunderbolt port and optional 5G support. The display on the larger tablet has received a particularly big boost, jumping to a Liquid Retina XDR Mini LED screen. My colleague Monica Chin has gone deeper on more of this year’s big improvements . If you have your eye on the new iPad Pro, preorders begin today, April 30th, with shipping beginning the week of May 21st. Preorders are available at several retailers, including Apple’s direct website and Amazon. Where to buy the 11-inch M1 iPad Pro ... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/20/22394227/apple-ipad-pro-2021-how-where-to-buy-preorder-link

Image: Apple Apple’s colorful new M1-powered iMacs , refreshed iPad Pros , and updated Apple TV 4K (with a not-terrible-looking remote ) are now all available to preorder today from Apple’s website. The company says that the new products will be delivered starting on May 21st —at least for the first wave of orders, although that timing will certainly slip as stock sells out. Customers interested in buying the new iMac should take note that only some of the color schemes will be available in stores: green, pink, blue, and silver models will be sold in-person at Apple Store locations, but the full seven-color spectrum will only be offered through Apple’s website, at least for now. The new iPad Pro also features Apple’s new M1 processor (the same as the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22409463/apple-m1-imac-ipad-pro-apple-tv-4k-preorders-price-release-date

Photo by Eduardo MunozAlvarez/VIEWpress Google is redesigning its offices for the post-pandemic world, and The New York Times has a big report full of pictures and videos outlining the company’s plans. But if I had to sum up the tech giant’s approach in two words I would choose “over” and “engineered.” Google has ambitious plans to shake up its offices, but some of them seem needlessly complicated. As the Times notes, the standard for Silicon Valley offices has long been open plan, with designers and developers working by cheek by jowl in the name of “spontaneous collaboration.” (Though this is often a pretext to cut costs by cramming as many workers into pricey real estate as possible.) But, in a cautious COVID-conscious culture neither cramming nor cubicles can cut it:... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2021/4/30/22411593/google-post-pandemic-office-plans-inflatable-robot-walls

An example of the kind of listing that will be prohibited under the new policy. | Image: Google Google has announced new Play Store policies and guidelines designed to make app listings more succinct, accurate, and less of an eyesore. New guidelines affecting the screenshots and videos meant to demonstrate an app’s features and functionality will come into force in the second half of 2021, while specific details about the enforcement of new policies for app titles, icons, and descriptions are coming “later this year.” The new app metadata policies will ban a variety of tricks that app developers use to make their app listings excessively eye-catching. Writing words in all-caps will no longer be allowed unless it’s the name of a brand, and neither will including emoji in app names. App titles will be limited to 30 characters, and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22411560/google-play-store-listings-scammy-emoji-deals-misleading-assets-guidelines-po...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The European Commission is issuing antitrust charges against Apple over concerns about the company’s App Store practices. The Commission has found that Apple has broken EU competition rules with its App Store policies, following an initial complaint from Spotify back in 2019. Specifically, the Commission believes Apple has a “dominant position in the market for the distribution of music streaming apps through its App Store.” The EU has focused on two rules that Apple imposes on developers: the mandatory use of Apple’s in-app purchase system (for which Apple charges a 30 percent cut), and a rule forbidding app developers to inform users of other purchasing options outside of apps. The Commission has found that the 30 percent commission... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22407376/apple-european-union-antitrust-charges-app-store-music-competition-commission-margrethe-vestager

PayPal is now available as a payment method for US Coinbase users. | Image: Coinbase Coinbase has added the option for users to buy cryptocurrency using their PayPal accounts in the US, the company has announced . It says the feature offers a “familiar and trusted” experience for users buying any of the numerous cryptocurrencies that the exchange currently supports, and using PayPal as an intermediary means you don’t have to give your bank account or debit card information directly to the cryptocurrency exchange. The feature will expand to other countries in the coming months. To use the new option, Coinbase says you can add your PayPal account via the “Add a payment method” option, which links to the PayPal login screen. Purchases made via PayPal are capped at $25,000 a day, or 0.46 Bitcoin as of this writing. Debit... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/30/22411545/coinbase-paypal-support-cryptocurrency-trading

Apple has added a new App Store search suggestions feature in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK, that might make it easier to find apps. Now, after typing in a search term, the App Store will attempt to predict what you’re looking for and offer suggested words that, when tapped, will further narrow down your search results and speed up your hunt for specific kinds of apps. Search suggestions actually appeared on some iPhones earlier in April as part of a test, according to MacRumors , but now the feature should be rolling out to all iPhones in the supported regions. Introducing search suggestions on the App Store! Select (or deselect) multiple suggestions to refine your search so you can find even more amazing apps and games. Search... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22410708/apple-app-store-search-suggestions

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge All the news about the huge trial Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22410877/epic-games-apple-app-store-antitrust-trial-lawsuit-news

I wish I’d had this to test with Samsung’s Odyssey G9 Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22410863/microsoft-halo-infinite-pc-32-9-ultrawide-lan

Image: Netflix Sweet Tooth , a new Netflix series based on the DC comic, will debut on the streaming service on June 4th, according to a new teaser trailer that premiered Thursday. Here’s a brief description of the show, from Netflix : “On a perilous adventure across a post-apocalyptic world, a lovable boy who’s half-human and half-deer searches for a new beginning with a gruff protector.” The trailer, which you can watch here or at the top of this post, shows that Gus, the half-human / half-deer boy, isn’t the only human / animal hybrid in this world — I’m pretty sure I spotted a girl with a pig’s snout. And I have to say that by the end, I was already rooting hard for Gus and getting mad at anyone who would dare threaten him. The eight-episode series... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409732/sweet-tooth-netflix-dc-comic-trailer-premiere-date

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Facebook says it will spend $5 million paying local journalists on a new publishing platform. Reuters reported the news on Thursday, saying independent journalists could begin applying for the program today. The company is prioritizing reporters in areas without an existing news source — sometimes called “news deserts” — who plan to cover “Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian or other audiences of color.” Facebook announced its new local news platform last month. The platform includes a self-publishing tool that lets reporters launch newsletters and charge for subscriptions, as well as integration with existing features like Facebook pages and groups. Reuters reports that Facebook will strike multiyear deals with selected journalists, who... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409727/facebook-independent-journalism-platform-5-million-deals-applications-open

Photo illustration by William Joel | Video by Daniel Valls The New York Police Department has canceled its trial of a robot dog made by US firm Boston Dynamics after receiving fierce criticism regarding the “dystopian” technology. “The contract has been terminated and the dog will be returned,” a spokesperson for the NYPD told the New York Post . John Miller, the department’s deputy commissioner for intelligence and counterterrorism, told The New York Times that the machine was “a casualty of politics, bad information and cheap sound bytes.” Said Miller: “People had figured out the catchphrases and the language to somehow make this evil.” The NYPD began leasing the machine nicknamed Digidog last year. “This dog is going to save lives, protect people, and protect officers and that’s our goal,”... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409559/nypd-robot-dog-digidog-boston-dynamics-contract-terminated

Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin is finally getting ready to sell tickets for seats on its suborbital New Shepard rocket. No details on price or timelines yet, but the company tweeted a video on Thursday featuring a cowboy-hat-wearing Jeff Bezos driving an electric Rivian truck through the Texas desert right after Blue Origin’s 15th New Shepard test flight on April 14th. “Guys, how exciting is this, c’mon,” he said before stepping out to inspect the company’s crew capsule, which had just landed under parachutes (without a crew inside). It’s time. You can buy the very first seat on #NewShepard . Sign up to learn how at https://t.co/XNq9WALA7u . Details coming May 5th. #GradatimFerociter pic.twitter.com/K9jugCs9yz — Blue Origin (@blueorigin) April... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409543/blue-origin-ticket-sales-new-shepard-rocket

Two days after the DC insurrection, as the country was still processing the aftermath, MySpace co-founder Tom Anderson posted his second tweet of the past three years. Anderson attached the thinking emoji to an amateurish Photoshop render of Donald Trump, sitting in one of his typically garish offices, with his browser opened to Myspace. “‘MYSPACE TOM’ ABOUT TO GET A NEW FRIEND,” reads the caption, saliently predicting that with the entire internet industry mobilizing to hastily deplatform the president, Trump’s only access to the public might come from a long-zombified social media company. Anderson must’ve found the meme funny enough to log back on, disrupting a truly unprecedented offline streak for the average tech mogul. He... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22407403/myspace-tom-legacy-tech-execs-zuckerberg-dorsey

Photo by Sean O’Kane / The Verge Ford has sold more than 7,000 Mustang Mach-E SUVs so far, and it says 70 percent of those buyers have never owned one of the company’s cars. For comparison, Ford told The Verge that 39 percent of people who bought the more affordable 2020 Escape were new to the brand. So what does that 70 percent figure actually mean? Well, if Ford keeps up the pace and meets its goal of selling 30,000 Mustang Mach-Es in the US in 2021, then it’s a promising sign the company is doing important work in attracting new customers. It’s also evidence that a really capable electric car can help Ford carve out new market share, and that some early production issues haven’t scared away unfamiliar buyers. That could be good news for the all-electric version of... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22408369/ford-mustang-mach-e-new-customers

Steve Carell in The Office. | Photo: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank Comcast said that The Office and WWE were to thank for its new-ish streaming service, Peacock, adding 9 million signups during the first three months of 2021. Peacock now has 42 million members total in the United States. That looks strong compared to HBO’s 44.2 million US customers, but it comes with a huge caveat: Peacock has a free tier, and Comcast doesn’t say how many customers are paying. Still, Peacock got a sizable boost during a quarter when other streaming services notched smaller growth. HBO added 2.7 million subscribers in the US, and Netflix added 4 million subscribers globally. (Disclosure: Comcast is an investor in Vox Media, The Verge ’s parent company.) Two big names contributed to this quarter’s growth. The Office became... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409431/peacock-subscriber-increase-office-wwe-network-q1-2021

Lime’s bright green electric mopeds are coming to New York City. The company that’s better known for its electric kick scooters will initially roll out 100 mopeds in Queens, Brooklyn, and Lower Manhattan. It’s the second US market for Lime’s mopeds, after first launching them in Washington, DC . (The company is also operating a fleet in Paris.) Lime was also recently approved to deploy 1,000 electric scooters in the Bronx as part of New York City’s inaugural shared scooter pilot. It’s the second US market for Lime’s mopeds The mopeds are manufactured by NIU, a Chinese company that also supplies mopeds to New York City-based mobility company Revel . NIU’s mopeds typically get between 25–100 miles of range. Lime’s mopeds will be speed... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409409/lime-electric-moped-nyc-price-announce

Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Best Buy and Amazon are offering the 40mm Apple Watch Series 6 (GPS) for $249, smashing yesterday’s discounted price of $299. This model normally sold for $399, and today’s price drop makes it more affordable than — and superior to — the Apple Watch SE that costs $279. The one downside to this promo is that it only loops in the Product Red model that’s all red, which might not go with your look. At this price, it’s currently about $80 more than 38mm-sized Apple Watch Series 3, yet it provides a sizable boost in power and capabilities. For one, the Series 6 has more internal storage. A few other perks of this discounted watch include its always-on display that’s surprisingly efficient, and its ability to take blood oxygen readings. You... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2021/4/29/22408277/apple-watch-6-best-buy-samsung-galaxy-buds-google-wifi-gaming-headset-deal

Microsoft is announcing today that Halo Infinit e will support crossplay and cross-progression when it launches later this year. This will allow PC and Xbox players to match together and play the Halo Infinite campaign, and the support also extends to multiplayer. Any multiplayer customization and progress will sync across both PC and Xbox. Halo Infinite ’s multiplayer mode will also be free to play when it launches later this year, with support for up to 120fps in the arena mode on Xbox Series X. Microsoft is also ensuring all of the customizations PC players expect are available inside Halo Infinite. This includes support for ultrawide monitors, triple keybinds, advanced graphics options, and other customizations. We’re now waiting to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409334/halo-infinite-crossplay-cross-progression-xbox-pc

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is shaking up the world of PC gaming today with a big cut to the amount of revenue it takes from games on Windows. The software giant is reducing its cut from 30 percent to just 12 percent from August 1st, in a clear bid to compete with Steam and entice developers and studios to bring more PC games to its Microsoft Store. “Game developers are at the heart of bringing great games to our players, and we want them to find success on our platforms,” says Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios at Microsoft. “A clear, no-strings-attached revenue share means developers can bring more games to more players and find greater commercial success from doing so.” These changes will only affect PC games and not Xbox console games in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409285/microsoft-store-cut-windows-pc-games-12-percent

Spotify’s redesigned Your Library features dynamic tabs and an easier way to sort your downloaded content. | Spotify Spotify is trying again to make its Your Library tab easier to navigate. It’s introducing dynamic filters, a new grid view, the ability to pin content, and different sorting options. The changes are coming to all users across iOS and Android over the coming week. The filters will likely be the most useful change, with users being able to filter between album, artist, playlist, or podcast. Premium users can also choose to view only downloaded content, which, up until now, has been hard to find within Spotify without scrolling through every artist and album they’ve saved. Users can also choose to pin four playlists, albums, or podcast shows that’ll show up at the top of their content. To pin, swipe right on what you want to keep at the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22408438/spotify-library-redesign-update-downloaded-content

Roku has a strange relationship with remotes: it’s one of the worst offenders when it comes to branded buttons, with a seemingly ever-rotating list of streaming services — Netflix, Sling, even Rdio at one point — that have come and gone over time. One of its remotes even bears a mysterious glyph that’s never been used for anything. And yet, Roku also leads the pack when it comes to customizability. For the last couple years, some of its remotes have offered programmable buttons, and its recently released Voice Remote Pro elevates them to new heights. The programmable shortcut keys, labeled with just a 1 and a 2, are almost infinitely customizable. And Roku actually has the software support to back them up in an easy and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22398024/roku-voice-remote-pro-programmable-buttons-best

A good phone for the price, but if you can spend a bit more you’ll get some worthwhile upgrades Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22408041/motorola-moto-g-play-2021-review-price-screen-specs

We’re nearly six months into the life of the current generation of game consoles, but there are still vanishingly few high-profile exclusives that show off what the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X can do. After getting through the initial wave of launch titles, I’ve spent most of 2021 using my PS5 to play Fortnite . But this week sees the launch of Returnal , a PS5 exclusive that comes with some caveats. It’s challenging and complex, making it the kind of game you’ll die in repeatedly. But it also might be the best showcase for Sony’s new console yet Returnal puts you in the spaceboots of an astronaut experiencing the worst case of deja vu imaginable. After crash landing on a mysterious alien planet, she soon realizes she’s stuck in a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22408468/returnal-ps5-dualsense-3d-audio

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The European Parliament has formally adopted a law requiring internet companies to “remove or disable access to flagged terrorist content” within one hour after being notified by national authorities. Once issued, such takedown notices will apply across the EU, with countries able to levy financial penalties against firms that refuse to comply. The legislation will come into force 12 months after it is published in the EU’s official journal , a standard step for all EU law. It will then have to be adopted by each member state. The legislation has been under discussion in the EU for years. It was first proposed in 2018 at a time when terrorist attacks by groups like ISIS were peaking across the continent and lawmakers were worried about... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409306/eu-law-one-hour-terrorist-content-takedowns-passes-parliament

The integration lets you view charging stations directly from your car’s infotainment screen. | Image: ChargePoint ChargePoint, operator of one of the largest EV charging networks across Europe and North America, is adding support for Android Auto to its app. The functionality means Android phone users will be able to find, navigate to, and start charging from a ChargePoint charging station from their car’s infotainment screen, without having to pick up their phone. Support for Android Auto follows the addition of CarPlay support in November last year. According to ChargePoint, the Android Auto experience lets you view a map with nearby charging stations, check status, filter by metrics like availability and cost, and then start a charging session once you arrive. The in-vehicle app can also be set to notify the driver once a busy charging station... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409310/chargepoint-android-auto-electric-vehicle-charging-network...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Shutting down its semiconductor plant in Austin, Texas lost Samsung over 300 billion won (around $270 million), Yonhap News reports . Speaking during a conference call, a senior vice president at Samsung’s foundry business Han Seung-hoon said that the shutdown affected around 71,000 wafers, corresponding to “around 300 to 400 billion won in damage.” The statement coincided with Samsung’s latest earnings release , in which it reported strong sales of its smartphones and other consumer electronics. The South Korean electronics giant was forced to shut down its Austin plant — which produces microprocessors like radio frequency integrated circuits and solid state drive controllers — back in February after a storm left some 200,000 Austin... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409273/samsung-austin-texas-plant-month-shut-down-losses-smartphone-sales-chip-shortage

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge An ongoing lawsuit pursued by Amazon against the US government and Microsoft will continue after a federal judge rejected a motion to dismiss the case. The suit concerns Microsoft’s success in securing the $10 billion JEDI cloud computing contract with the Defense Department — a decision that Amazon says was influenced by President Donald Trump’s dislike of the company and its CEO Jeff Bezos. The decision, as reported by The Washington Post and Bloomberg News , means Amazon can now argue in front of a court that Trump himself and former defense secretary Jim Mattis should testify. A motion to dismiss the case was rejected by Judge Patricia Campbell-Smith on Wednesday April 28, though her full opinion was filed under seal. Amazon and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409245/amazon-microsoft-jedi-contract-reject-motion-dismiss-trump-influence

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The PS5 will be available to buy in China on May 15th, a little over six months after its original release in the US last year, Sony announced today . The disc version of the console will retail for 3,899 yuan (around $600), while the cheaper disc-free model will cost 3,099 yuan (around $479). Preorders open today. The launch means Sony’s next-gen console will beat Microsoft’s to release in the country, although CBNC notes that Microsoft received safety approvals to release the Xbox Series X and Series S there at the end of last year. Relative to its size and population, China isn’t considered a huge market for console gaming. Game consoles were technically illegal in the country until 2014 , which meant PC and mobile gaming has become... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22409232/ps5-sony-china-launch-may-15th-release-date-price

Image: Vivaldi Vivaldi announced today that it’s updating the desktop and Android versions of its Vivaldi browser with the ability to block annoying cookie preference pop-ups. Thanks to the passage of the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), you’ve probably had to click through at least one dialog box asking if you’d like to manage how a site tracks you. Vivaldi’s new update lets you avoid those notifications — with some major caveats — while theoretically still keeping you safe from tracking. Vivaldi’s logic for the new feature, affectionately called “Cookie Crumbler,” is that while giving users control over how they’re tracked is good, doing so through a pop-up “leads to clicking ‘allow’ or ‘accept’ without realizing that... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22408098/vivaldi-cookie-crumbler-blocks-pop-ups-floc-gdpr

No matter how much web browsers improve, it feels like they can’t keep pace with everything we want to do. Open one too many tabs on a few-year-old laptop, and your fan starts spinning, your battery life dips, your system starts to slow. A faster or cleaner PC might fix it, but a startup called Mighty has a different idea : a $30-a-month web browser that lives in the cloud. Instead of your own physical computer interacting with each website, you stream a remote web browser instead, one that lives on a powerful computer many miles away with its own 1,000Mbps connection to the internet. Suddenly, your decent internet connection would feel like one of the fastest internet connections in the world, with websites loading nigh-instantly and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/29/22408818/mighty-browser-chrome-cloud-streaming-web

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon has announced that over 500,000 of its workers will get a permanent increase in their hourly wages starting in mid-May, from as low as an additional 50 cents an hour to as much as three extra dollars per hour (via GeekWire ). That’s a substantial chunk of its 1.3 million person workforce getting at least a small pay bump, and the company shared that it’s investing over $1 billion in these pay increases. Amazon said that it’s also on a hiring spree for “tens of thousands of jobs across our operations in the US.” Amazon previously recognized its warehouse and delivery workers with a $2 pay bump last March as the company worked to meet increased demand during the pandemic, but that was a temporary raise that disappeared in May 2020 ,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/28/22408440/amazon-hourly-wage-increase-2021-factory-delivery-workers

Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images Two shots of a COVID-19 vaccine reduced the risk of hospitalization by 94 percent for people over 65, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That age group is at the highest risk of severe cases of COVID-19 — that’s why it was prioritized for the early waves of vaccination in the United States. Keeping that age group out of the hospital would go a long way to drive down the hospitalization rates from the disease overall. The analysis looked at people hospitalized at 24 hospitals in 14 states during January, February, and March. It included 417 hospitalized patients, 187 of whom tested positive for COVID-19 and 230 who did not. Partial vaccination, defined in this case as having a first dose two... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/28/22407574/covid-vaccines-hospitalization-risk-moderna-pfizer