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Background: US President Joe Biden presents his national statement as part of the World Leaders’ Summit of the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow on November 1, 2021. | Photo by EVAN VUCCI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images The US is doing a pretty horrible job of following through on promises it’s made to tackle climate change, according to two separate new studies. A global ranking of countries completed by Yale and Columbia found that the US now ranks 43rd among 180 nations that Columbia and Yale evaluated in their most recent Environmental Performance Index (EPI). That’s a major plummet since the last time the researchers ranked countries in 2020, when the US was in 24th place. A major plummet When it comes to climate indicators alone (the evaluation also considers countries’ progress on other kinds of pollution and efforts to protect ecosystems), the US fell all the way to 101 from its previous spot at 15th place. The US’s ranking was reported by The... Continue reading

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge With the country still reeling from the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, officials are scrambling for more ways to stop mass shootings — and facing hard truths about how ineffective many of our existing tools really are. Digital monitoring technology has come under particular scrutiny after reporting revealed that the Uvalde school district had experimented with a service called Social Sentinel , which claims to identify and alert schools to threats based on social media conversations. It’s an increasingly common service as schools grapple with the chaos of social media, often raising serious privacy and speech concerns along the way. Systems like Social Sentinel promise to give genuine insight into the huge volume of information posted on... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/31/23148541/digital-surveillance-school-shootings-social-sentinel-uvalde

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Monument Valley , the picturesque puzzle game series where players must navigate maps full of optical illusions, will no longer be exclusive to mobile devices. The complete Monument Valley Panoramic Collection is set to arrive on Steam on July 12th and gives players a broader point of view that isn’t limited by the vertical orientation of phones and tablets. Ustwo, the developer behind Monument Valley , says it had to make some adjustments to account for a wider perspective, as well as for the transition from touch to mouse controls. Kirsty Keatch, a programmer at Ustwo, said in a behind-the-scenes interview that while they designed the mobile version’s touch controls for “large fingers that might occlude the rotators and draggers,” the PC... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/31/23148439/monument-valley-puzzle-game-pc-steam

Image: Nintendo Update 1:05PM ET, May 31st : Nintendo’s latest wave of N64 controllers has sold out. Stay tuned for a new drop in the coming days, weeks, or months. We’re admittedly not sure when that will be, but hopefully soon! The official N64 controller for the Nintendo Switch has just been restocked at the Nintendo eShop. This $49.99 controller allows you to experience N64 games the way they were meant to be played — with a big gray controller with an awkwardly placed central analog stick. This offer is exclusive to the Nintendo store and is only available to purchase if you’re a current Nintendo Switch Online subscriber (Note: you can only access the N64 games with the purchase of the Switch Online Expansion Pack). Unlike some restocks for the Xbox... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/31/23071094/n64-controller-in-stock-nintendo-store-switch-online

Cooking Mama: Cuisine. | Image: Apple Apple has lined up a trio of notable Japanese developers for its June additions to Apple Arcade. Today the company announced four games coming to the subscription service next month, led by Konami’s Frogger and the Rumbling Ruins (a sequel to early Arcade game Frogger in Toy Town ) which launches on June 3rd. That will be followed by Cooking Mama: Cuisine on June 17th, which mixes up the cooking formula by tasking players with figuring out ingredients instead of just picking a premade recipe. Rounding out the list is Air Twister , from legendary designer Yu Suzuki best known for titles like Shenmue and Out Run , which comes out on June 24th. Here’s the official description: Players will assume the role of Princess Arch fighting back against... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/31/23148527/apple-arcade-cooking-mama-frogger-yu-suzuki-june-2022

Mixed reality forecasts are a big part of TWC’s future. | Image: The Weather Channel The Weather Channel is not trying to win you over by spending big on its version of House of Cards . It’s not bidding on The Office next time it comes up, nor is it interested in NFL games. “Our tentpole is Mother Nature,” says Nora Zimmett, TWC’s chief content officer. “And she’s always delivering weather.” TWC launched a dedicated streaming service this month. It costs $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year, and it is ... well, it’s The Weather Channel. The app’s main screen is an always-on stream that replicates exactly what you’d see on cable. That, Zimmett says, is what viewers were actually looking for. “We looked at our audience and heard, ‘where can I get The Weather Channel if I don’t want to pay $200 a month for a traditional bundle?’”... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23144935/weather-channel-streaming-service-app-personalization

Nikos Nikolopoulos Welcome to the inner beauty pageant Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23141172/crimes-of-the-future-david-cronenberg-review

Image: DeLorean DeLorean Motor Company has revealed the first images of the Alpha 5 electric vehicle (EV), the brand’s attempt at resurrecting the DeLorean name in an all-electric form. Staying true to the classic ‘80s-era DeLorean known for its appearance in Back to the Future , the Alpha 5 comes with those iconic gull-wing doors and can reach 60mph in about 2.99 seconds (or 88mph in 4.35 seconds, if you’re curious). Before we dive into the details, it’s worth noting the company behind the Alpha 5 isn’t actually the same one behind the original DeLorean vehicles — that company went defunct in 1982. An unrelated Texas-based company, which supplies replacement parts to the owners of vintage DeLorean vehicles, snapped up the rights to the DeLorean brand... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23147339/delorean-alpha-5-first-look-gull-winged-ev-revival

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge They do not go together like peanut butter and jelly Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23140157/comixology-amazon-kindle-integration-terrible

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Amazon is ending support for its Cloud Cam security camera and offering owners a free Blink Mini to replace it. MacRumors noted the change late last week, and The Verge obtained a copy of an email sent to customers announcing the change. Cloud Cam owners will be able to use their cameras and download video until December 2nd of this year, after which all recordings will be deleted and the hardware will no longer function. Customers with the Cloud Cam Key Edition will also lose the ability to connect to smart locks, although they can get a free fourth-generation Echo to replace the functionality. “As the number of Alexa smart home devices continues to grow, we are focusing efforts on Ring, Blink, and other technologies that make your home... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23147362/amazon-cloud-cam-shutting-down-free-blink-mini-echo-replacement

The Pitaka MagEZ Case Pro comes with a magnetic charging puck that attaches to the back. | Image: Pitaka If you’ve wanted MagSafe-style convenient charging on an iPad Mini, Pitaka’s latest case is here for you. The new $79 MagEZ Case Pro for the sixth-generation iPad Mini (aka the iPad Mini 6) has magnetic points on the back that pass power through the iPad’s USB-C port when used with the included pad. Or you can use it with the $129 MagEZ Charging Stand , which elevates the tablet and provides a second Qi charging spot in its base for a phone or headphones. There are some downsides to this approach. Pitaka’s case doesn’t make use of the magnets built into the back of the iPad Mini, and it blocks the USB-C port from access, leaving you with the magnetic pad as the only way to charge the device. Forget about transferring any data over a wired... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23144394/pitaka-ipad-mini-6-magez-case-pro-magnetic-magsafe-charging-pri

An early image of Google’s upcoming tablet, released earlier this month. | Image: Google Google’s upcoming Pixel Tablet might support the cross-manufacturer USI (Universal Stylus Initiative) standard, allowing it to be used with a range of third party styluses, if a recently-discovered entry in the USI’s list of certified products is to be believed. The entry, which we spotted via NuGiz , lists a device from Google with the product name “Tangor” and the model number “Tablet,” which are presumably placeholder names for the Android-powered tablet Google announced earlier this month . USI is an industry-wide stylus standard that Google joined in 2018 . It’s already supported across a range of Chromebooks, allowing them to be used with a variety of styluses from different manufacturers. But while there are plenty of proprietary... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23147251/usi-universal-stylus-initiative-google-pixel-tablet

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge RealityOS — the name Apple is reportedly using for the operating system running on its rumored virtual and augmented reality headset — has appeared in a trademark filing spotted by Parker Ortolani . Bloomberg News was first to report the “reality operating system” branding back in 2017, and references to the name have appeared in Apple’s software . The trademark application hasn’t officially been filed by Apple, but it’s common practice for large companies to apply for trademarks under one-off company names — like Realityo Systems LLC, in this case — in the state of Delaware for the sole purpose of maintaining anonymity. The trademark application is the latest evidence that Apple is on the cusp of announcing its long-rumored headset. It... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/30/23147213/realityos-os-ros-trademark-apple-virtual-augmented-reality-headset

It measures 6.5 feet in length with both blades attached. | Image: Hasbro Hasbro has designed a lifelike lightsaber just in time for the premiere of the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series , one that might be the toymaker’s most ambitious — and expensive — replica yet. The Black Series Reva Force FX Elite Lightsaber costs $499 and measures a total of 6.5 feet long with both blades attached. It’s modeled after the lightsaber wielded by the Third Sister, also known as Reva, a cold and callous Inquisitor set on hunting down Obi-Wan. Just like the iconic lightsabers we’ve seen held by Inquisitors in past Star Wars series, you can take off one of the blades, as well as remove half of the circle in the center of the lightsaber. There are a number of cool lighting and sound effects that you can activate too, and they work... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/29/23146694/double-bladed-lightsaber-costs-500-star-wars-obi-wan-third-sister-reva

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s attempt to dismiss an amended antitrust lawsuit filed by the creator of Cydia, an app store for jailbroken iPhones, has failed (via Reuters ). California District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers denied Apple’s motion to dismiss the case on Thursday and is giving the company 21 days to respond to Cydia’s refiled complaint. Cydia developer Jay Freeman (who also goes by the username Saurik), first filed a lawsuit against Apple in 2020 . The complaint alleges Apple “has wrongfully acquired and maintained monopoly power” in iOS app distribution and payments, ultimately “depriving” third-party app stores of “the ability to compete with the App Store.” Cydia emerged before the Apple App Store even existed, and allowed users to find and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/29/23146529/apple-cant-dismiss-cydia-antitrust-lawsuit-judge

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple may finally bring always-on display to the upcoming iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. According to a report from Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman , Apple could introduce the feature with iOS 16, allowing the iPhone to display a limited amount of information even when it’s locked. Gurman says the iPhone’s version of always-on mode could work similarly to the way it does with the Apple Watch Series 5 and up — the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max will drop the lock screen’s frame rate with always-on mode enabled, letting them conserve energy while the display remains powered on. It’s unclear if the new iPhone will use the same low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) display Apple uses in newer Watch models. These low-powered screens play a huge part in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/29/23146454/iphone-14-pro-max-always-on-display-apple-wwdc-rumors

Image: Aspyr Media Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic ( KOTOR ) II: The Sith Lords is heading to the Nintendo Switch on June 8th, as announced at this year's Star Wars Celebration event. The sequel to the classic KOTOR RPG is supposed to feature some performance enhancements and resolution upgrades, as well as a Restored Content DLC set to arrive post-launch. Image: Aspyr Media As you might’ve guessed, the Restored Content DLC comes with the content that Obsidian Entertainment and Aspyr Media, the game’s developers, left out during their rush to launch the game in 2004. There’s already a fanmade mod for KOTOR II on Steam that restores some of this lost content, but it’s unclear how similar the official DLC will be when it comes out. Y... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/28/23145825/star-wars-knights-old-republic-ii-sith-lords-nintendo-switch-restored-content-dlc

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter started testing Circle earlier this month with a limited group, and now it looks like it’s starting to roll out to more users (via Android Police ). The feature works a lot like Instagram’s Close Friends , as it allows users to send out tweets to a specific group of people rather than all of Twitter. To check if you have access to Twitter Circle, update your Twitter app or head to Twitter in a web browser. When you start composing a tweet, you’ll see a dropdown menu at the top that reads Everyone . From here, you can choose Twitter Circle to limit your tweet to a select audience, or you can hit Edit to add or remove people from your Circle. Twitter won’t notify users if you add or remove them. Choose “Twitter... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/28/23145745/twitter-circle-starting-roll-out-more-users

The Ayn Loki inherits much of its design from the Ayn Odin. | Image: Ayn Ayn, the maker of the Odin Android handheld , is releasing a lineup of what it calls the “most affordable” portable Windows gaming consoles yet (via Liliputing ). The cheapest of the bunch starts at just $299 — $100 less than the 64GB Steam Deck. Ayn announced the news in a YouTube video and a series of posts on Instagram, giving us a look at what we can expect for looks, tech specs, and pricing. While the entry-level $299 Loki Mini comes with 64GB of storage and an Intel Alder Lake U chip, the standard Loki handheld has an AMD Ryzen 5 6600U chip with three different storage options: 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB, each costing $499, $599, and $699, respectively. The $799 Loki Max features an upgraded AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chip and 512GB of storage. ... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/28/23145658/ayn-loki-handheld-runs-windows-starts-299

comcast Comcast has received a patent for a smart speaker — one with a very unusual design, to say the least (thanks to @SteveDonohue on Twitter for pointing this out). Instead of opting for a spherical shape that comes with the Amazon Echo and Apple HomePod Mini , or even the rounded rectangular look of the Google Nest Audio device , a sketch shows what appears to be a speaker with a sloped top and a wide base. Online records show that Comcast first filed for the patent last year, but it didn’t get approved until April 2022. As seen in the sketch, the device seems to have playback controls on the side of the speaker, with an additional button and a small stand on the bottom. Image: Comcast via USPTO The smart speaker... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/28/23145559/comcast-smart-speaker-patent-design-release

The 2022 iPad Air looks a lot like the 2020 model, but with faster performance. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge It’s officially Memorial Day Weekend. Time to get the grill going, throw some drinks in the cooler, and saddle up for some hot deals. We’ve been covering sales and discounts for Memorial Day all week , and we’ve got some fresh ones for your Saturday. First off, Apple’s latest iPad Air with expanded 256GB storage is down to $679 at Amazon. This $70 discount is the best price in over a month for this configuration. If you don’t feel that you need the extra storage, the 64GB model is $569.99 (about $30 off) at Amazon and Walmart . Though the 256GB helps ensure you don’t run short on space too quickly. This latest generation of the iPad Air looks a lot like the previous model from 2020, but it’s been given a big performance boost by borrowing... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2022/5/28/23144495/apple-ipad-air-2022-xbox-serie

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The US Securities and Exchange Commission is scrutinizing Elon Musk’s initial disclosure that he’d taken a substantial stake in Twitter. In a letter sent last month, the SEC told Musk that he “does not appear” to have disclosed his acquisition of Twitter shares within the agency’s required 10-day window. The agency also suggested that Musk likely used the wrong form when he eventually disclosed his stake, using a document that wasn’t meant for someone who was hoping to make changes at the company being bought into. Reports have trickled out that the SEC was looking into Musk’s disclosure, but this is the first public indication of the inquiry. The letter, filed April 4th but just now made public, requests clarifications from Musk on why... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/27/23144536/sec-elon-musk-twitter-disclosure-inquiry

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Verizon is dealing with an incident where a hacker captured a database containing company employee data, including the full names of workers as well as their ID numbers, email addresses, and phone numbers. Motherboard reported that the database is legitimate , as the anonymous hacker contacted them last week, and they were able to verify the data by calling some of the numbers. “These employees are idiots,” the hacker told Motherboard via chat. The hacker is seeking $250,000 in exchange for not leaking the database and said they are in contact with Verizon. A Verizon spokesperson contacted Motherboard confirming the incident, saying, “A fraudster recently contacted us threatening to release readily available employee directory information... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/27/23144418/hacker-verizon-employee-database

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Obi-Wan Kenobi . | Image: Matt Kennedy / Lucasfilm Ltd. A beloved hero, ferocious villains, and lots of world-building Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/27/23144221/obi-wan-kenobi-review-disney-plus

Image: Barnes & Noble Barnes & Noble hasn’t completely forgotten its lineup of Nook e-readers. Starting today, you can preorder the new Nook GlowLight 4e for $119.99. That’s about $30 more than Amazon’s cheapest Kindle and $20 cheaper than Amazon’s extremely popular Paperwhite . But, unlike Amazon’s products, there are no ads you have to pay to avoid, and you can easily sideload content. The Nook GlowLight 4e charges via USB-C and has 8GB of built-in storage, which is standard for an e-reader at this price. It also has a 6-inch 212 ppi E Ink display with illumination. That’s better than the $89.99 Amazon Kindle with its 6-inch 167 ppi display, but the Kobo Nia starts at $99.99 and has the exact same display. The Kobo Clara HD retails for the exact same as the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/27/23144365/barnes-and-noble-nook-glowlight-4e-e-reader-kindle

Bose’s QuietComfort 45 are the most comfortable noise-canceling headphones and are currently available at an all-time low. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge If you’re planning on flying this summer, a good pair of noise-canceling headphones that can help you tune out fellow passengers like the Bose QuietComfort 45s can come in handy. Regularly $329, you can buy them right now for $279 from Amazon , Best Buy , and Bose , which matches its all-time low and is the first significant discount we’ve seen in months. These are the most comfortable noise-canceling over-ears we’ve tested, with oval ear cups that help to prevent ear fatigue while, say, on long flights. At the same time, they’re also pretty light and foldable, making them easy to carry with you and pack, and their 24-hour battery means you won’t need to worry about recharging them anytime soon. Other notable features include a useful... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2022/5/27/23142897/bose-

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google’s latest Chromebook update adds a feature that tells you if your USB-C cable has limited functionality, the company announced Friday. USB-C cables can have widely varying capabilities, offering things like different charging and data transfer speeds on a cable-by-cable basis, so this new Chromebook feature seems like it could be a useful tool to help troubleshoot issues. “Eligible Chromebooks will notify you if the USB-C cable you’re using won’t support displays, or isn’t performing ideally for your laptop,” Google says in a blog post. “You’ll also get a notification if the cable you’re using doesn’t support the high performance USB4 / Thunderbolt 3 standards that your Chromebook does.” The new feature is coming first to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/27/23144411/google-chromebooks-wrong-usb-c-cable-cursive

Apple’s reportedly predicting flat demand for the iPhone 13 and 14. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple, one of the biggest tech companies on the planet, reportedly doesn’t think it’ll sell any more iPhones this year than it did last year, despite rumors that the iPhone 14 will come with some major improvements ( via MacRumors ). While it’s not necessarily a canary in the coal mine (or a Waffle House being closed ) that the world will keep getting worse, Apple predicting that sales of its most popular product won’t grow could be a sign that the company’s relatively pessimistic about the state of things in the near future. According to Bloomberg , the company is asking its suppliers to make around 220 million iPhones, which is similar to how many it requested in 2021. This runs contrary to some analysts’ predictions, which forecasted that... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/26/23143000/apple-flat-iphone-production-targets-world-events-gro

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images A new lawsuit on behalf of Twitter shareholders was filed against Elon Musk in federal district court in San Francisco on Wednesday night, alleging that the Tesla CEO has actively manipulated the company’s stock for personal gain. The complaint focuses on Musk’s conduct since signing the purchase agreement with Twitter’s board on April 25th, particularly his recent statement that the deal “cannot move forward” without more information about automated accounts on the platform. After signing the agreement, the complaint alleges, “Musk proceeded to make statements, send tweets, and engage in conduct designed to create doubt about the deal and drive Twitter’s stock down substantially in order to create leverage that Musk hoped to use to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/26/23143148/twitter-shareholder-lawsuit-elon-musk-stock-manipulation

Photo by Sylvain CORDIER/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Monarch butterflies might be tougher than we give them credit for. The orange beauties made a surprising comeback in Mexico this winter, environmental organizations and Mexico’s commission for natural protected areas announced this week. To avoid frigid temperatures further north, the butterflies flutter thousands of miles south from Canada and the US to spend the winter months in Mexico. This December, authorities there recorded a 35 percent rise in the monarch butterfly’s presence in Mexican forests. They face serious threats It’s a show of resilience for a species whose numbers have dwindled to worrying lows in the region over the past decade. They face serious threats from habitat destruction and climate change , so much so that the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/26/23142942/monarch-butterflies-comeback-mexico-good-news

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Tesla, along with other electric vehicle companies and environmental groups, asked the Biden administration to invest in charging infrastructure for electric buses, trucks, and other medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. The groups want the administration to allocate 10 percent of the money for electric vehicle charging in the bipartisan infrastructure bill signed last November — a pot that includes $7.5 billion — to go toward infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, they said in a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg this week. “Most public EV charging infrastructure has been designed and built with passenger vehicles in mind,” the letter, also signed by the Environmental Law... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/26/23142938/tesla-ev-letter-charging-medium-heavy-duty-vehicles

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is highlighting how Chromebooks can work in “zero trust” corporate environments with its new Chrome Enterprise Connectors Framework. The new integration system is designed to make the Chrome browser and Chrome OS devices easier for IT departments to implement with existing security, endpoint, and authentication solutions as well as bother management solutions. Google Chrome OS exec John Solomon describes the new tools as a “plug and play” solution that lets other companies helm Chrome OS management functions like remote-wiping a Chromebook using BlackBerry Unified Endpoint Management or flagging malware downloads with Splunk. These types of management functions previously worked through the Google Admin console . Managing and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/26/23142956/google-chrome-os-enterprise-framework-security-endpoint

The HP Envy x360 is one of our favorite 2-in-1 laptops. | Photography by Monica Chin / The Verge With Memorial Day right around the corner, many retailers are putting some awesome deals into effect early. For instance, the HP Envy x360 13 convertible laptop is currently available for $854.99 at HP instead of its usual $1,099.99 when you check out with the code 5MDSHP. This well-built 13-inch convertible laptop offers excellent productivity performance thanks to its Ryzen 7 5800U processor and even managed to surprise us with its capability in handling games with its integrated AMD Radeon graphics. The multitouch-enabled IPS display features a resolution of 1920 x 1080, and while a screen with 400 nits of brightness is far from the brightest screen available, it's more than sufficient for combating glare in brighter environments. In... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2022/5/26/23142219/hp-envy-x360-2-in-1-laptop-lg-gram-samsung-galaxy-book-ace

While it’s not the robot we were looking for, Astro is rolling in the right direction. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23141966/amazon-astro-robot-review

Børge Brende, John Kerry, Xie Zhenhua, Geraldine Matchett, Elizabeth Wathuti, and Marc Benioff attend the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on May 24th, 2022. | Photo by Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Alphabet, Microsoft, and Salesforce today pledged $500 million to new climate tech that’s supposed to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to keep it from heating up the planet. It’s the latest move by Big Tech to propel the emerging technology forward while painting themselves as global leaders when it comes to taking action on climate change. Regardless, these companies have a lot of work left to do to deal with their own emissions. Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) isn’t the solution for Big Tech’s own pollution. To be sure, the climate crisis has gotten so bad that the United Nations’ leading climate experts acknowledge that reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels won’t be enough anymore. We’ll also have to find ways t

The Mach 6 as it appears in Warner Bros. live-action Speed Racer film. | Image: Warner Bros. Though it’s only been 14 years since the last live-action adaptation of Speed Racer from a Western production studio, Apple and J. J. Abrams are stepping up to the plate to make another. Variety reports that Apple and Warner Bros. Television Studios are teaming up to produce a new Speed Racer with J. J. Abrams executive producing and Ron Fitzgerald ( Westworld ) and Hiram Martinez ( Snowfall ) attached to co-showrun. Like the 2008 film, the ‘60s anime series, and the original Mach Go Go Go manga they’re all based on, the new Apple TV Plus series will tell the story of Speed, a young race car driver living in the shadow of his (presumably) long-lost brother. While the new Speed Racer has reportedly been in development for some time, there are... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/25/23141735/jj-abrams-speed-racer-series-apple-tv-plus

Chromebooks are pretty different from traditional laptops in a lot of ways — and not just because of their software. The most obvious physical difference? Chromebooks feature keyboards with a variety of Chrome OS-specific functions, which means they don’t have standard keys like F1 or even Caps Lock. Depending on your style of working, that could be a welcome change or a massive pain. If you aren’t thrilled with that arrangement, though, don’t despair. You can actually remap a fair number of your Chromebook’s keys and dramatically change how you use your device. To get started, simply head into the Keyboard section of your Chromebook’s settings: Click the clock in the lower-right corner of the screen. Tap the gear-shaped icon in the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23141372/remap-chromebook-keyboard-how-to

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Christopher “CJ” Moore, the former Tesla Autopilot software engineer who left to join Apple’s secretive car project last year, has left Apple to join Luminar, an Orlando, Florida-based lidar company, as its new head of software, the company announced. Moore only lasted seven months at Apple. Moore is among a group of top executives from other leading companies to join Luminar, which makes the laser sensors that help autonomous vehicles “see” their surrounding environment. But his departure from Apple is yet another indication of the tech giant’s struggles to retain talent for its befuddled efforts to make an autonomous electric car — known as Project Titan. “We’re attracting the best leaders in the world in their fields to execute our... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/25/23141370/apple-cj-moore-leave-luminar-car-project-titan

“I worry about what it would mean to put another organization in the middle of our relationship.” | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple vice president of people and retail Deirdre O’Brien is explicitly dissuading employees from joining a union in an internal video leaked to The Verge . “I worry about what it would mean to put another organization in the middle of our relationship,” she says. “An organization that does not have a deep understanding of Apple or our business. And most importantly one that I do not believe shares our commitment to you.” This message comes amid union drives at three of Apple’s retail stores — one in New York , one in Maryland , and one in Georgia . The latter two have set dates to hold elections, which they agreed to with Apple. Workers at the Cumberland Mall Apple store will vote on whether to unionize starting June 2nd , and employees at... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/25/23141427/apple-vp-discourages-retail-

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Lucid Motors issued a recall notice for some of its luxury electric sedans for a faulty wiring harness connected to the instrument panel. The recall covers 1,117 model year 2022 Lucid Air sedans of all trim levels. The recall was first reported by Lucid Insider , a blog that covers the EV company. The recall addresses the possibility that the “wired data connection to the instrument panel may not have been secured properly during assembly,” a spokesperson said in an email. “Lucid is not aware of any instances when these components have failed in a vehicle or caused an interruption to the instrument display panel.” The extra-long wiring harness, which contains the ethernet wiring for the center and left driver displays, could be damaged... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/25/23141160/lucid-motors-recall-air-ev-wiring-harness-display

If you own a Windows 10 or 11 PC and an Xbox One or Series X / S console, you might not be aware that those devices have some interesting cross-functionality. Using Microsoft’s Wireless Display app, you can easily output the games from your Xbox to your Windows PC screen . Conversely, it’s possible to stream what’s on your PC to the TV that you’re using with your Xbox — you can even control it from the console, and setting it up is surprisingly simple. One note, though: This is a wireless-only feature. Because the app uses Miracast to stream the content from your PC, you’ll need to make sure that both the Windows PC and Xbox One or Series X / S are on the same Wi-Fi network. How to stream your PC to your Xbox One or Series X / S Any... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23125859/microsoft-xbox-one-series-x-s-pc-wireless-display-app-stream-games-how-to

JBL’s Charge 5 speaker is on sale for less than $150 on Amazon, which is a new record low. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge With Memorial Day less than a week away, summer is officially just around the corner. And if your plans this year involve lounging by the pool or picnicking at the park with friends, why not make things more relaxing with the help of a portable Bluetooth speaker? JBL’s Charge 5 is one of the best despite its mono driver, offering up to 20 hours of battery life and perks like stereo pairing and IP67 water resistance. You also won’t need to fret about your phone or other devices running out of battery life using the Charge 5, since the speaker features a USB-A port for topping off your devices as you listen. While it doesn’t sound as nice or as detailed as Bose’s SoundLink Flex, our favorite Bluetooth speaker, it’s still good; it’s also a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2022/5/25/23139581/jbl-charge-5-motorola-moto-g-stylus

The Detect COVID-19 test is an at-home molecular test. | Image: Detect The at-home molecular COVID-19 testing company Detect is partnering with healthcare provider Carbon Health to give customers who test positive easy access to antiviral treatments, the companies announced today . The “Test to Treat at Home” program runs directly through the Detect app, which connects people who test positive for COVID-19 with Carbon Health. Then, they can set up appointments for virtual or in-person visits, depending on their location. At that appointment, a provider can prescribe an antiviral like Paxlovid, and patients can pick the drug up the same day — a timesaver for a drug that has to be taken within five days of symptoms starting. The program is modeled off the Biden administration’s Test to Treat program, which... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/24/23139695/detect-covid-test-carbon-health-antivirals-test-treat

Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic After bottomless headlines about podcast licensing deals, I guess getting acquired is cool again. Or maybe Conan is just tired. I’m tired, and I didn’t even spend three decades as the “good king” of late night. On that note, I will be out for the next few days, so send all pitches and thoughts to Jake (nice ones, please!!). SiriusXM acquires Conan O’Brien’s podcast network So much for sticking to mid-tier deals, SiriusXM (though kudos on the misdirection ). On Monday, the audio giant announced it has acquired Conan O’Brien’s production company, Team Coco, and locked the comedian down in a five-year talent contract. At a reported $150 million , the transaction is by no means the industry’s largest, but it’s a callback to the kind of M&A... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/24/23139665/conan-obrien-team-coco-siriusxm-acquisition-acast-marc-maron-spotify-political-ads

The Microsoft Store for Windows 11. | Image: Microsoft Microsoft is finally adding restore apps to the Microsoft Store on Windows 11. The software maker will soon start testing a new feature that allows you to restore apps onto a new Windows 11 PC. The existing Microsoft Store hasn’t offered an automatic way to restore apps, instead forcing Windows users to manually install apps from their library. “To make it easier for customers to transition to their new PCs quickly and seamlessly, we will soon test a new feature in the Windows Insider channel that helps customers automatically restore their apps, previously installed from the Microsoft Store, to their new Windows device,” explains Giorgio Sardo, general manager of the Microsoft Store. “This will also help developers retain their... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/24/23139768/microsoft-windows-11-restore-apps-microsoft-store-feature

Image: Waze Waze has finally introduced support for Apple Music on iPhones, allowing you to control your music through the navigation app’s built-in audio player. This should make it easier for you to pause, play, and switch between songs while following the directions to your destination. You’ll also get access to Apple Music’s wide selection of playlists directly through Waze, which means you shouldn’t have to open the Apple Music app at all. Apple Music joins a host of other audio streaming services that already connect with Waze. The app first rolled out support for Spotify in 2017 and later added Pandora, TuneIn, and Deezer . In addition to other popular music services like Amazon Music, YouTube Music, and iHeartRadio, Waze also supports a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/24/23139685/waze-apple-music-navigation-streaming-control

The new panel will appear to the right after a Lens search. | Image: Google Google Lens, the search giant’s powerful image recognition software, is becoming slightly less cumbersome to use within the Chrome browser on desktop. Currently, if you want to use Lens on an image on a website, the browser opens a page of results in a new tab. But in the future, the browser will instead show results in a panel to the right of a webpage. Only when you want to find an image’s source will Chrome open a new browser tab. The search giant’s image recognition software has long been available on mobile, where it’s accessible via Google’s apps on iOS or the native camera app on some Android phones. But last year, Google Lens came to desktop via the Chrome browser and can be accessed by right-clicking an image and then selecting... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/24/23139304/google-chrome-lens-image-search-desktop-sidebar-panel

Photo by Kimberly White/Bloomberg via Getty Images Heatsinks are the default when it comes to keeping components cool on your PC and practically every other electronic device, but researchers may have found a way to chill your components without the use of these slotted hunks of metal. A report from Science Daily (via Tom’s Hardware ) highlights a new, sleeker approach to cooling that involves coating the entirety of the device with poly and copper. If you aren’t familiar with heatsinks, they’re typically made of copper or aluminum, two metals that serve as thermal conductors. They often come with several metal fins that pull and spread heat away from the essential components on your device to help prevent them from overheating. The heat then gets pushed out of the system with a nearby... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/23/23137904/heatsink-competitor-copper-coating

District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine has sued Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal. The suit alleges that Zuckerberg was “directly responsible” for creating the lax privacy rules that allowed the consulting firm to harvest user data without consent, then failing to promptly inform users and ensure the data was deleted. It follows a failed attempt to name Zuckerberg in a similar suit against Facebook itself. Racine’s fundamental accusations haven’t changed since the earlier filing last year. The suit covers an incident in which University of Cambridge professor Aleksandr Kogan collected personal information from around 270,000 Facebook users plus data from friends who hadn’t consented to the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/23/23137967/dc-attorney-general-karl-racine-lawsuit-mark-zuckerberg-facebook

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram now has auto-generated captions , which means it can automatically transcribe any videos you watch on the app. But before you start seeing captions appear in the app, you’ll probably have to enable the feature first, and the same goes if you want to post videos with captions. Before we get started, it’s worth noting that auto-generated captions are available in 17 languages at the time of writing: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Arabic, Vietnamese, Italian, German, Turkish, Russian, Thai, Tagalog, Urdu, Malay, Hindi, Indonesian, and Japanese. Instagram plans on adding support for more languages in the future. Here’s how to turn captions on and off on Instagram for iPhone and Android, whether you just want to watch videos... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23136119/how-to-instagram-turn-captions-on-off

Reebok’s adaptive footwear collection is called Fit to Fit. | Image: Reebok Nike isn’t the only sneaker company thinking about accessible shoe design . Reebok announced it’s partnering with Zappos to launch its first adaptive footwear collection, called Fit to Fit. The collection features two sneakers that are designed for easy entry and exit for people with disabilities. The shoes were designed in collaboration with Zappos Adaptive — the e-commerce site’s vertical that acts as a shopping hub for accessible shoes, clothing, and accessories. The $90 Nanoflex Parafit TR are trainers that feature a mesh upper, side zipper, and heel pull tab. Meanwhile, the $65 Club MEMT Parafit are lifestyle sneakers with an extra 4E wide fit, side zipper, and leather upper. Both shoes feature high-abrasion rubber outsoles for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/23/23137792/reebok-zappos-fit-to-fit-adaptive-sneakers