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Messaging app Discord has added the ability to customize your profile just a little bit more than you could before: you can now fill in a short “About Me” blurb, and, if you have Discord’s premium Nitro subscription, you can add a banner image to your profile. I noticed the change in the Mac version of Discord on Wednesday, but I haven’t opened the app for a little while, so it may have been added sooner. To make the changes, at least on the Mac version of the app, click on the User Settings gear, then the “User Profile” section. (That section had a bright red “New!” alert on it when I first opened up Discord settings.) From there, you can write a 190-character blurb about yourself (which can include markdown and links if you want), and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22558005/discord-profile-bio-about-me-banner-image

Volvo unveiled a new concept car that forecasts the Swedish automaker’s all-electric future. The vehicle was revealed during a “Tech Day” event held Wednesday during which Volvo laid out an extensive roadmap to becoming an EV-only carmaker by 2030 . The vehicle, called “Concept Recharge,” features suicide doors that open up to a roomy interior, where the lack of an internal combustion engine means more space for the driver and passengers. The sleek exterior design and minimalist interior certainly evoke Tesla but also are reminiscent of other EVs on the market, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E. But the concept won’t necessarily appear in this form as a production vehicle. Henrik Green, chief technology officer at Volvo, said it was... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557900/volvo-ev-concept-recharge-electric-battery-range

Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images The latest mega-auction of an NFT tied to a piece of internet history is complete, with Sir Tim Berners-Lee selling a digital item representing source code to the original web browser for $5,434,500 . Berners-Lee is credited as the creator of the world wide web that this site is published on, and the NFT includes a time-stamped signed archive including 10,000 lines of the source code that initially made it possible to display an HTML document, among other things. For comparison, the highest price for an NFT remains the $69 million or so MetaKovan paid to own Everydays: the First 5000 Days by the artist Beeple , while Jack Dorsey’s digital collectible representing the first tweet on Twitter sold for a little less than $3 million . “I’m... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557765/www-nft-tim-berners-lee-sothebys-source-code

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge T-Mobile announced on Wednesday that it is fully compliant with the FCC’s new anti-spoofing protocol, telling the FCC that its now certifying that calls from its network are protected against impersonation by scam callers using the STIR/SHAKEN protocol. Verizon also announced that it’s verifying that the number that shows up on your caller ID is actually the number that’s calling you, using the same STIR/SHAKEN protocol. The two major carriers announcing their progress on the same day isn’t a coincidence — Wednesday, June 30th, is the deadline the FCC set for major carriers to implement STIR/SHAKEN. The protocol works to prevent scam and spam callers from spoofing their number The protocol, with its James Bond-themed name, works to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557539/t-mobile-verizon-carriers-fcc-stir-shaken-certification-deadline-spam-calls

Iketsj/YouTube Have you ever been using a recently updated Mac computer and thought, “Man, I would love to use this operating system with a really tiny keyboard and a really tiny screen?” Okay, me neither, but I certainly would love the opportunity to carry a MacBook around in my pocket and whip it out on command. Apparently, YouTuber Ike T. Sanglay Jr., or “ Iketsj,” has had this thought as well. In this eight-minute vlog , the YouTuber builds a tiny handheld PC that can run macOS Big Sur, and it’s very fun. The PC includes a LattePanda Alpha SBC (single board computer) with an Intel Core m3 CPU and 8GB of RAM, as well as an Arduino Leonardo microcontroller board, a 240GB SATA SSD with the operating system preinstalled, and a 3D-printed case (of... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557725/handheld-pc-macos-big-sur-diy-youtube-video-iketsj

Dozens of satellites launched to space on Tuesday in SpaceX’s second in-house “ride-share” mission from Florida, bringing the total number of orbital objects carried by Elon Musk’s space company this year to nearly 900. A reused Falcon 9 rocket launched 88 satellites total for the “Transporter-2” mission, including the first five for a new Pentagon agency and dozens more for various companies, countries, and schools. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket lifted off at 3:31PM ET from Cape Canaveral, Florida, marking the company’s 20th launch this year and the eighth flight for the rocket’s first stage booster. That booster returned to Earth about 10 minutes later at SpaceX’s Landing Zone 1, a pad of concrete that hasn’t been used for rocket landings... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22555477/spacex-elon-musk-launch-satellites-falcon-9

Amazon is pushing back against Lina Khan, the newly confirmed chair of the Federal Trade Commission, by filing a recusal motion against the longtime antitrust advocate, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal . The petition asks Khan to restrict herself from any proceedings involving Amazon on the basis of her past statements about the company, including claims that Amazon is a monopoly and should be broken up. “[Federal ethics rules] require recusal when a new Commissioner previously has expressed views that go beyond general policy commentary and has made statements about specific factual and legal issues relating to a particular company,” the petition reads. “Chair Khan has made numerous and highly detailed public pronouncements... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557456/amazon-lina-khan-recusal-petition-federal-trade-commission-antitrust

The newest Revvl phone offers 5G, a massive 6.8-inch screen, and a rear-facing triple camera. | Image: T-Mobile The year of cheap 5G phones is upon us, and T-Mobile is offering its customers yet another low-cost 5G phone with today’s announcement of the Revvl V Plus 5G. The T-Mobile-branded device will cost $199, with a huge 6.8-inch 1600 x 900 display and 5,000mAh battery. It’ll go on sale first through Metro by T-Mobile starting on July 12th, with sales through T-Mobile starting on July 23rd. The Revvl V Plus 5G comes with Android 11 and uses a MediaTek Dimensity 700 processor designed with inexpensive 5G phones in mind. It’s paired with 4GB of RAM plus 64GB of built-in storage, which is expandable via microSD. It offers a main 16-megapixel rear-facing camera along with two more unspecified 5-megapixel and 2-megapixel sensors on the back as well... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557433/t-mobile-revvl-v-5g-price-screen-specs-availability

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon-owned Twitch is rolling out its Watch Parties feature, which lets streamers host viewing parties for movies and TV shows on Amazon Prime, to Android and iOS, the company announced Wednesday. Watch Parties first launched on desktop web in September . While Watch Parties are a potentially fun way for Twitch streamers to hang out with their communities, there’s one important catch: only viewers who also have an Amazon Prime or Prime Video subscription can join the party to watch what’s being shown. Watch Parties are now rolling out on an Android or iOS device near you. To learn more about Watch Parties, including how to host your own, check out the help article at https://t.co/YvqLMCD5c6 . pic.twitter.com/5aQC9It02G — Twitch... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557702/twitch-watch-parties-android-ios-mobile-amazon-prime-video

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced on Wednesday that it’s fining Robinhood almost $70 million to settle charges over issues it identified with the company’s stock trading service. The authority claims that the financial app company neglected its duty to supervise trades, maintain its own technology, and protect its customers. The fine is the largest in FINRA’s history and Robinhood has agreed to pay. FINRA says since 2016 Robinhood has periodically provided false and misleading information on topics like whether customers were able to place trades on margin (using credit from Robinhood to buy shares), including displaying inaccurate information in its app on how much cash was in customers’ accounts. Robinhood’s... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557419/robinhood-finra-fine-70-million

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images Right now, you could wake up and turn on Wimbledon. By the afternoon, there will be EuroCup matches. And then, in the evenings, we’ve had some thrillingly chaotic basketball — both men’s and women’s, plus hockey and baseball. What a time to be alive (and working from home)! Best of all: it’s all streaming, and I think finally, in 2021, we’re in a place where it’s relatively effortless to watch sports without being tethered to the dregs of convoluted cable packages. Is this the golden age of watching sports during the workday? I mean, I wouldn’t know. Because I, like all staffers at The Verge , am an extremely diligent employee and would never do anything that would distract me throughout the entire workday. Bosses, if you’re reading this,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557593/sports-streaming-during-the-workday-bosses-do-not-read-this

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The state of Maine now has the most stringent laws regulating government use of facial recognition in the country. The new law prohibits government use of facial recognition except in specifically outlined situations, with the most broad exception being if police have probable cause that an unidentified person in an image committed a serious crime, or for proactive fraud prevention. Since Maine police will not have access to facial recognition, they will be able to ask the FBI and Maine Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) to run these searches. Crucially, the law plugs loopholes that police have used in the past to gain access to the technology, like informally asking other agencies or third parties to run backchannel searches for them. Logs... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557516/maine-facial-recognition-ban-state-law

Image: Disney Disney’s IP has once again fully synergized with the arrival of a new Marvel-themed Simpsons short titled “The Good, The Bart, and The Loki.” Disney very much appears to be putting that $71 billion investment in IP from 21st Century Fox to work. The company announced Wednesday that the special will debut July 7th exclusively on its streaming service Disney Plus. Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will also voice Loki in the Simpsons adaptation. Because Disney owns everything and we’ve evidently reached peak content, the key art for the animated short is styled similarly to that of Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame — which is not even the first time Disney has done this. But Lisa as Thor and Ralph Wiggum as Hulk... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557599/the-simpsons-loki-short-disney-plus

Photo by Chaim Gartenberg Apple’s iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 won’t launch fully until later in 2021, but you don’t need to be a developer to test the public beta right now. If you’re willing to risk encountering possible bugs in order to try out the new features, we’re going to walk you through the steps for installing the software. It’s a similar process for iPhone and iPad, but we’ve made separate sections for each OS. These betas will update periodically leading up to the final release. Judging from years past, that release should be around the end of the summer, close to when Apple hosts its usual autumn hardware event. Before we get started, here’s the usual word of warning about installing unfinished beta software: these releases may seem stable for general use,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22557308/ios-ipados-15-public-beta-apple-install

Hands-on with the public betas Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22556236/ios-15-ipados-iphone-ipad-software-update-public-beta-preview-apple

Photo by Sam Byford / The Verge Microsoft and Google have reportedly ended a six-year truce on legal battles. The Financial Times and Bloomberg are both reporting that Microsoft and Google formed an unusual truce in 2015, which expired in April. The pact was reportedly forged to avoid legal battles and complaints to regulators. It meant we haven’t seen Microsoft and Google complaining publicly about each other since the days of Scroogled , a campaign that attacked Google’s privacy policies. Now the gloves appear to be off once again, and we’ve seen some evidence of that recently. Google slammed Microsoft for trying to “break the way the open web works” earlier this year, after Microsoft publicly supported a law in Australia that forced Google to pay news publishers for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557595/microsoft-google-six-year-legal-truce-end-scroogled-battles

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Google has announced a big change for developers who want to list their apps on Google Play that could have an impact on the Android app ecosystem. Right now, the standard format for app publishing is the APK, but starting in August, Google will require that new Play apps are published instead using the Android App Bundle. On a Google page about Android App Bundle , the company touts many potential improvements with the new format, such as smaller app downloads for users. But the format has a catch: Android App Bundles are a format that only Google Play uses, which could complicate app redistribution. The App Bundles requirement only applies to new apps The timing of Google’s announcement also comes just days after Microsoft announced... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557390/google-apk-app-bundles-package-format-play-store

Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images The World Health Organization released a guidance document outlining six key principles for the ethical use of artificial intelligence in health. Twenty experts spent two years developing the guidance, which marks the first consensus report on AI ethics in healthcare settings. The report highlights the promise of health AI, and its potential to help doctors treat patients — particularly in under-resourced areas. But it also stresses that technology is not a quick fix for health challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, and that governments and regulators should carefully scrutinize where and how AI is used in health. The WHO said it hopes the six principles can be the foundation for how governments, developers, and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557119/who-ethics-ai-healthcare

PUBG Mobile is currently one of Tencent’s biggest titles. | Image: Tencent Games Tencent’s sprawling games empire just grew one studio bigger. Uncapped Games is a new Los Angeles-based studio led by Blizzard veterans Jason Hughes and David Kim. Hughes is serving as the studio’s lead producer and has previously worked on Diablo III and IV , while Kim is its lead designer and has previously worked on StarCraft 2 and Diablo IV . The new studio’s focus will be on real-time strategy (RTS) games, with a focus on creating the “next great PC RTS,” Kim says. Although the RTS genre has remained consistently popular over the years, it continues to be dominated by ‘90s franchises like StarCraft , Age of Empires , and Command and Conquer . A fresh entry to the genre would be no bad thing. “Making the next great PC RTS has been my... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557016/uncapped-games-tencent-studios-blizzard-jason-hughes-david-kim

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge AT&T and Google have announced that all Android phones on the network will use Google’s Android Messages app for SMS and RCS services. T-Mobile made the exact same partnership deal with Google in March, which leaves Verizon as the only US carrier who hasn’t committed to switching its customers to Android Messages by default. Along with the switch to Messages comes another important shift: real interoperability with RCS on other networks. AT&T has supported RCS for awhile now, but that support has been as haphazard as it was half-hearted. The new deal also means that AT&T customers will benefit from the rollout of end-to-end encryption for RCS that Google is rolling out to all customers this year (that rollout has already begun, in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22556686/att-android-phones-rcs-google-messages

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge In a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called for an investigation of Google’s alleged manipulation of the marketplace for online ads, opening the door for a new federal regulator for digital advertising markets. Warren’s letter focuses on a program called “Project Bernanke,” revealed in April as part of a lawsuit against Google led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Under that program, Google allegedly used historical Google Ads data to boost clients’ chances of winning auctions. The practice allegedly resulted in $230 million in additional revenue for the company. “The market for digital advertising has become perhaps the most actively traded commodity exchange in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557314/warren-google-project-bernanke-cftc-digital-ad-regulator

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge The auto industry is holding its fire — for now — over the new requirement to report crashes involving vehicles equipped with partially and fully autonomous driving systems. But automakers are also distancing themselves from the company that appears to be the primary target of the new rule: Tesla. The rule , issued yesterday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, requires companies like Tesla and Alphabet’s Waymo to report incidents involving driver assistance and autonomous systems within one day of learning of a crash, a major change that signals a tougher stance by regulators. car companies are taking a wait-and-see approach So far, car companies are taking a wait-and-see approach, mostly lauding NHTSA’s commitment to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557135/nhtsa-autonomous-adas-crash-rule-response-tesla

J.J. Guest  and  G.C. Baccaris Does anybody else remember Excalibur? You know, Excalibur: the British TV show that ran for two seasons in the mid-1970s, mixing Arthurian legend with Aleister Crowley mysticism, interplanetary exploration, an undead (sorry, spoilers!) villain named Poseidon, and a deeply troubled production history? If so, that’s a little weird because it never existed — but if enough people remember it, maybe that could change. Excalibur is, in fact, an interactive fiction project made by J. J. Guest, G. C. Baccaris, and Duncan Bowsman. It’s a detailed “fan wiki” for the eponymous (and fictitious) BBC series, and clicking through it reveals layers of in-show plot summaries, behind-the-scenes cast and crew drama, and a running conflict between the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/30/22557180/excalibur-interactive-fiction-fan-wiki-lost-tv-show-twine

Last week, a pair of YouTube’s most popular creators was set to spar in the marketplace of ideas in a debate over the government’s simple, common sense advice to wear masks during a global pandemic to stop the persistent spread of COVID-19. The spat grew from a series of videos between right-wing provocateur Steven Crowder and the host of the H3 Podcast , Ethan Klein, calling one another out for their purported bad takes on mask-wearing. In March, Crowder called out Klein for saying that “you shouldn’t think about” what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells you and just wear the mask, rather than criticizing the agency and its scientists. Crowder, who is widely known as the face of the “change my mind” meme, has challenged... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22556239/hasan-piker-twitch-gore-vidal-steven-crowder-sam-seder-h3-podcast-ethan-klein

Photo by Joan Cros / Corbis via Getty Images SpaceX’s satellite internet network, Starlink, should have roughly 500,000 users within the next 12 months, Elon Musk said at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) conference on Tuesday. SpaceX’s current goal, Musk said, is to beam broadband internet to most of the planet by August. The internet network, in the midst of an open beta phase, has launched more than 1,700 satellites to low-Earth orbit since 2018 and recently surpassed a “strategically significant” benchmark of 69,420 active users, Musk told MWC. He said Starlink is already running in 12 countries and expanding. “We’re I think on our way to having a few hundred thousand users, possibly over 500,000 users within 12 months,” he added. Reaching half a million users in the next year... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22556031/elon-musk-spacex-starlink-users-next-year-telecom-5g

Illustration by James Bareham / The Verge A new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has revealed near-total lack of accountability from federal agencies using facial recognition built by private companies, like Clearview AI. Of the 14 federal agencies that said they used privately built facial recognition for criminal investigations, only Immigration and Customs Enforcement was in the process of implementing a list of approved facial recognition vendors and a log sheet for the technology’s use. The rest of the agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, had no process in place to track the use of private facial recognition. This GAO report greatly expands the public’s... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22556068/federal-agencies-facial-recognition-report-privacy-security-oversight

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge Bloomberg’s Lauren Etter on the rise and decline of an e-cigarette upstart Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22554477/juul-lauren-etter-interview-e-cigarettes-addiction

The Echo Show 5 (left), Echo Show 8 (middle), and the Echo Show (right). | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge When it comes to the Echo smart speakers, Amazon has a slew of devices to choose from, one for practically every occasion. For example, maybe you simply want to add Alexa to a room, or you are looking for an Echo device that will allow you to easily manage your other smart home products. Regardless of the reason, these are the best Echo deals available right now. Echo Dot deals Late last year, Amazon released the fourth generation of the Echo Dot , which looks more like a sphere than an actual dot. But if you prefer the previous design, don’t worry: Amazon has not discontinued the third-gen Echo Dot , which still retains the familiar dot shape. During Prime Day, we saw the fourth-gen Echo Dot drop to its lowest price of $25. However,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/21546591/best-amazon-echo-deals

There’s a crowd for a mini Xbox controller, but this one doesn’t get everything right Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22556150/nacon-rig-pro-compact-review-xbox-series-x-s-one-pc-wired-controller-price-features

The WD My Book Live and My Book Live Duo | Image: WD It looks like there may have been more than one exploit used to cause the mass deletion of data from WD My Book Live NASes last week, according to a report from Ars Technica . When news broke that people were finding that their data was missing, some ( including WD itself ), pointed to a known exploit from 2018 , which allowed for root access of the device. However, it appears as though there’s more going on than was initially suspected. If you have one of these devices, you should unplug it from the internet before reading any further — it’s clear at this point that your data is at risk if the device is online. The second exploit, reported by Ars Technica , doesn’t give an attacker full control over the device like the other exploit. It... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555959/wd-my-book-live-second-exploit-authentication-factory-reset-without-password-root-control

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Consumer Reports is restoring its “Top Pick” recommendation to the Tesla Model 3 after the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released a new evaluation of the car’s camera-based advanced driver assist system. The IIHS was able to show that the Model 3 with Tesla Vision cameras featured effective automatic emergency breaking (AEB) and forward collision warning systems (FCW), two criteria for Consumer Reports ’ Top Pick decision-making. Combined with the IIHS awarding the Model 3 its own “Top Safety Pick” title, Consumer Reports decided to once again recommend the EV. The publication maintains a contemptuous relationship with Tesla. It last revoked its recommendation earlier this May when Tesla began shipping the Model 3 and Y... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555745/consumer-reports-tesla-vision-model-3-top-pick-iihs

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge HBO Max is launching in 39 territories in Latin America and the Caribbean today, expanding the service outside the US and US territories for the first time. A key difference for the launch in Latin America is that there won’t be an ad-supported plan as there is in US, a spokesperson told The Verge . Instead, subscribers in Latin America will have the option to subscribe to a mobile-only plan that supports SD streaming and up to five title downloads, or they can choose a standard plan that supports five personalized profiles, up to three simultaneous users, up to 30 title downloads, and high-definition streams in HD and 4K where available. Pricing will vary based on the region. “With today’s launch, we are introducing our global platform... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/2021/6/29/22556006/hbo-max-launches-in-39-international-markets-outside-us

Spam texts can be incredibly irritating — you get a notification and stop what you’re doing to check your phone, only to find somebody is trying to sell you something you don’t want. How can you prevent it? Unfortunately, there are no absolutes in preventing text spam. But there are some ways you can at least minimize the number of spam texts that get through. Here are some strategies to try. Do not answer Top of the list is — as you probably already know — never reply to a spam text, and never ever click on a link within a spam text. If you’re not sure whether a text is spam or legitimate, hold off on replying until you’ve done a bit of research. Use the spam filter on your phone Android phones and iPhones have spam-filtering features... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22555521/spam-text-block-security-iphone-android

Developer Remedy Entertainment announced that it’s making a new game, codenamed “Condor,” a multiplayer spinoff of Control . No release date, price, or story beats have been shared for Project Condor, but all we know so far is that Remedy’s press release says it will be a four-player cooperative PvE (player vs. environment) game. It’ll be built with Northlight, the same engine used for Control . It will release on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X / S consoles. The game will be published by 505 Games. “As a multiplayer game, Project Condor has the potential to engage the gaming community in the long run, contributing to 505 Games’ product revenue stream longer than traditional games,” shared the co-CEOs of Digital Bros Group, the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22556013/remedy-condor-control-multiplayer-spinoff-game

If you own a compatible iPhone, you can try out T-Mobile just by downloading an app. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile is offering a new, low-stakes way to try out its network for free for 30 days with no additional equipment required. Identified by Light Reading , T-Mobile’s existing Test Drive program now works over eSIM with compatible iPhones. All you need to do is download an app, follow the instructions to start the trial with eSIM, and you’re up and running — no billing information required. There’s no change to your current carrier plan or phone number, but you’ll be using T-Mobile data on your device. The Test Drive program has been around in one form or another since 2014. With the most recent iteration — which is still available to those who can’t use the eSIM feature — T-Mobile will send you a free Wi-Fi hotspot you can connect to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555810/t-mobile-test-drive-iphone-esim

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook is getting into the subscription newsletter game. It’s launching a new service today, called Bulletin , that allows writers to publish free and paid newsletters that can be posted to the web, sent to subscribers’ inboxes, and shared across Facebook. Perhaps the biggest perk for now: Facebook says it won’t take a fee from writers “at launch,” and writers retain full ownership of their work and subscriber list. Malcolm Gladwell, Tan France, and Erin Andrews are among the debut writers The new platform is “focused on empowering independent writers, helping them reach new audiences and power their businesses,” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in a live audio call discussing the launch. At launch, Facebook has signed up Malcolm... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555957/facebook-bulletin-newsletter-subscriptions-substack-competitor

Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Joanna Masel is quick to recognize that the contact tracing apps built to track cases of COVID-19 aren’t as good as they could be. The apps, built on a framework offered by Apple and Google, aren’t used by many people in the United States and didn’t seem to make a big difference in the spread of the virus. But Masel, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Arizona and advisor to the team behind the Arizona exposure notification app, thinks there are ways to make the apps more useful. In a paper published last week with colleagues, she outlined one possible improvement: adjust the apps so that they could better recognize situations where people who are exposed to the virus have a lower risk of catching COVID-19. Then, they may not... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22555764/exposure-notification-app-google-apple-covid-improvement

Photo: GitHub GitHub and OpenAI have launched a technical preview of a new AI tool called Copilot , which lives inside the Visual Studio Code editor and autocompletes code snippets. Copilot does more than just parrot back code it’s seen before, according to GitHub. It instead analyzes the code you’ve already written and generates new matching code, including specific functions that were previously called. Examples on the project’s website include automatically writing the code to import tweets, draw a scatterplot, or grab a Goodreads rating. It works best with Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Ruby, and Go, according to a blog post from GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. A descendant of GPT-3 GitHub sees this as an evolution of pair programming, where two coders... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555777/github-openai-ai-tool-autocomplete-code

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Monday, Microsoft finally delivered two long-in-the-works updates for its Xbox Cloud Gaming Service (xCloud) that could mark a sea change for the future of cloud gaming. One is that xCloud games are now powered by custom Xbox Series X hardware, a major upgrade from the Xbox One S consoles that have powered the service since its launch in September. This means xCloud now has faster load times, less latency, and higher-resolution 1080p streaming. But perhaps more importantly, xCloud is expanding from Android to iOS and PC via the web for anyone in 22 countries with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription. Taken together, the two updates mean that nearly anyone who has access to the service can play some of the biggest games on Xbox,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555756/xbox-xcloud-cloud-gaming-pc-ios-next-big-moment

Good Omens is returning for a second season on Amazon Prime Video, the company announced today, with stars Michael Sheen and David Tennant returning to reprise their roles as the odd-couple angel Aziraphale and demon Crowley. Also back for season 2 is Neil Gaiman, who co-wrote the original novel together with Terry Pratchett and will be returning as showrunner alongside Douglas Mackinnon (who directed the first season). Gaiman will also be writing the second season together with John Finnemore. The six-episode first season was originally conceived as a standalone miniseries, and already covered the entirety of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman’s original novel. So much so that both Gaiman and Rhianna Pratchett, Terry’s daughter, shot... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555489/good-omens-second-season-amazon-prime-video-neil-gaiman-terry-prachett

Photo: Marvel Studios Natasha Romanoff finally gets her standalone film Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22555587/black-widow-review-disney-plus-marvel

Microsoft’s big security push is complicated Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555371/microsoft-windows-11-cpu-support-hardware-requirements-tpm-response

Photo by Matt Doughtery / KPRC2 Houston Car companies will be required to report crashes involving advanced driver assistance systems under new rules proposed by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The general order will apply to manufacturers of vehicles equipped with Level 2 driver assist systems through fully autonomous Level 5 systems, according to the Society of Automotive Engineers’ taxonomy for autonomous vehicles. At Level 2, the vehicle can control both steering and acceleration and deceleration, but it falls short of self-driving because a human sits in the driver’s seat and can take control of the car at any time. Level 5 refers to a fully autonomous vehicle that can travel anywhere, under any conditions. Notably, there are not Level 5... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555666/nhtsa-autonomous-vehicle-crash-report-data

The ZenFone 8 delivers flagship-level build quality and performance in a small package Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22431051/asus-zenfone-8-review

Logitech announced its new G335 wired gaming headset that’s available for preorder now at $69.99 . It’s expected to ship in July. The G335 borrows several design elements from the $129.99 G733 wireless model released in 2020 , including its expressive color options (as well as a new mint colorway), the comfortable bungee headband, breathable ear pads, a volume dial built into the right ear cup, and a flip-to-mute microphone. This more affordable model is compatible with the G733’s replaceable headband straps and mic covers sold through Logitech’s site, but it does away with most of that headset’s fancier features, like USB-C charging and the strip of RGB lighting on the front side of the ear cups. Logitech says this wired model has a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555522/logitech-wired-g335-gaming-headset-features-price-release-date

At their best, Super Mario sports titles move beyond the game they’re trying to mimic. You don’t have to care about cars or racing to enjoy Mario Kart , just as you don’t need to know who Pep Guardiola is to have fun with Super Mario Strikers . The sport is just a starting point. From there, Nintendo’s designers expand on it with all kinds of interesting and new ideas. Mario Golf: Super Rush , which is out now on the Nintendo Switch, does some of this. There are familiar characters with superpowers, courses with strange obstacles, and a new mode that’s supposed to emphasize speed over all else. Ultimately, though, Super Rush ends up feeling a little too much like, well, golf. Super Rush at least gets the basics right. Swinging a club feels... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/22555631/mario-golf-super-rush-review-nintendo-switch

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is working to enhance the integrity of the Play Store by adding new restrictions and safeguards to developer accounts. Google Play Store developers will soon have to verify their email address and phone number and provide extra details like a physical address in an attempt to increase security and ensure that accounts are being created by ‘real people,’ the company has announced . Developers will also be required to use two-step verification. The search giant says it’s making the changes “to keep Google Play safe and secure and to better serve our developer community,” and to “make sure that every account is created by a real person with real contact details.” The Record reports that the announcement coincides with the emergence... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555281/google-play-developer-information-verification-two-factor-authentication-2fa-scams

Nikon is going all-in on the retro aesthetic with its latest Z-series mirrorless camera. The company says the new Z FC, officially styled “Z fc,” is designed specifically to evoke its FM2 film SLR from the ‘80s, with dedicated dials for settings like shutter speed, exposure compensation, and ISO. The approach is similar to the Nikon DF , a retro-style full-frame DSLR that Nikon released in 2013. But the DF was much larger than the film cameras it was inspired by. The Z FC has a 20.9-megapixel APS-C sensor (and of course no SLR mirror and prism), which means the resulting camera is far more compact and looks a lot closer to something like an FM2. Beyond the exterior, the Z FC is a modern camera with broadly similar specs to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/29/22555091/nikon-z-fc-announced-price-specs-release-date

With Dolby Vision gaming HDR technology available on Xbox Series X and Series S consoles , some TV owners have noticed that suddenly there’s a new setting to worry over. While some HDMI 2.1-equipped 4K displays could handle 120Hz, and some can support Dolby Vision for gaming, at first there weren’t any that could do both things at once. Now LG has confirmed it’s the first manufacturer with Dolby Vision HDR at 4K 120Hz support on some of its TVs, just a couple of weeks after owners noticed it arriving in updates. The 03.15.27 firmware enables the feature on C1 and G1 2021 OLED TVs , and today LG says support is on the way for other premium TVs in its 2021 lineup. Additional premium models in LG’s 2021 TV lineup such as OLED Z1 series, QNED... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/games/2021/6/28/22554939/lg-dolby-vision-hdr-xbox-c1-g1-4k

Photo Illustration by Thiago Prudêncio/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images The alternative social network Parler and representatives of former president Donald Trump were reportedly considering an idea to make Trump an active member of the platform after he left office, but Parler apparently pushed back on one key part of the proposed arrangement: the platform did not want to ban Trump’s detractors, according to an excerpt of Michael Wolff’s upcoming book about the last days of Trump’s presidency published in New York Magazine . Here’s what was going on, according to Wolff: One curious point of consideration for the [Trump] family [the morning of January 6th] — prescient of the events that would shortly unfold — was a follow-up to a discussion initiated some months before by aides and family. Trump... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/28/22554880/parler-ban-trump-criticize-book-excerpt

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Juul has agreed to settle its first state lawsuit over deceptive business practices with North Carolina, a move that will limit the vaping company’s marketing claims and placement of products in stores. Under the settlement , Juul will no longer use marketing strategies geared toward young people, including most social media marketing campaigns, advertising near schools, and sponsoring sporting events or concerts. The company also cannot use models under 35 years old for advertisements in the state, and it’s required that Juul products are sold behind the counters of stores, according to The News & Observer . Juul will also pay a $40 million fine to the state. “North Carolina is now the first state in the nation to hold Juul accountable... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/28/22554290/juul-north-carolina-lawsuit-settlement-teen-vaping-marketing

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on Windows 11. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft is announcing that the next version of Office for Windows 11 will have a native 64-bit Arm version, for improved performance on large or picture-filled documents, and support for 64-bit add-ins. The new version of Office is currently in beta, available to Office Insiders . Microsoft also announced a redesign of Office , which you can see above and below. While it uses a similar design to Windows 11, it’ll be available whether you're running the Windows 11 Preview or Windows 10. In addition to the new design, Office will also adapt to your Windows light / dark mode, so you should be able to avoid the experience of opening a document and having it blast light into your eyes at night. Image: Microsoft The... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/28/22554676/microsoft-office-64-bit-arm-windows-11-beta-insider-redesign