Lead Hacker

Nichelle Nichols as Nyota Uhura in Star Trek. | Photo by Fotos International/Courtesy of Getty Images Nichelle Nichols, who was best known for her groundbreaking role as Nyota Uhura in the original Star Trek series, died at age 89. Her son, Kyle Johnson, informed her fans in a post on Nichols’ Instagram account. “Last night, my mother, Nichelle Nichols, succumbed to natural causes and passed away,” Johnson writes. “Her light however, like the ancient galaxies now being seen for the first time, will remain for us and future generations to enjoy, learn from, and draw inspiration.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nichelle Nichols (@nichellenicholsofficial) Nichols was born on December 28th, 1932 in Robbins, Illinois. Before joining the cast of Star Trek , Nichols toured with jazz artist Duke... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/31/23286342/star-trek-nichelle-nichols-dies-age-89-nyota-uhura

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Considering how intertwined music discovery is with TikTok, it wouldn’t be all that surprising if the company launched a music streaming app of its own. Well, patent filings uncovered by Insider suggest TikTok’s working on just that. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, filed a trademark application with the US Patent and Trademark Office for “TikTok Music” in May. According to the filing, the service would let users purchase, play, share, and download music. It would also allow users to create, share, and recommend playlists, comment on music, as well as livestream audio and video. ByteDance already filed for a “TikTok Music” trademark in Australia last November. ByteDance already has experience with music streaming. In 2020, ByteDance... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/31/23286166/tiktok-music-app-challenge-spotify-apple-streaming-bytedance

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Just days after the Pixel 6A’s launch, Google’s rolling out an update to fix an issue preventing users from unlocking the bootloader and performing mods, according to a report from Android Police . The change is bundled within the Pixel 6A’s first update , which Google just started releasing last week. In short, a bootloader is a piece of software that loads the operating system (OS) on a device when it turns on. Gaining access to the bootloader on Android can give you full control over your OS in a process known as rooting. It also allows you to install modded versions of Android, called ROMs. While some phone-makers and carriers don’t let you unlock your device’s bootloader, Google does things differently. It lets you dive right in on... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/31/23286119/google-pixel-6a-update-moddable-unlocked-bootloader-rooting-custom-roms

Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in MGM’s 2018 Tomb Raider. | Image: Warner Bros Tomb Raider’s movie rights are up for grabs. According to a report from TheWrap , the Amazon-owned MGM waited too long to create a sequel to its 2018 Tomb Raider film, freeing up the rights for the next Hollywood studio that wants to take a stab at creating an adaption of the long-running video game franchise. Several studios are currently engaged in a bidding war to snap up the Tomb Raider rights, TheWrap reports. And since the license come with no obligation to retain the same cast and crew, the next Tomb Raider film could be a total reboot that passes the Lara Croft baton to yet another actress. The 2018 Tomb Raider stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, and was met with mixed reviews that criticized its weak portrayal of the series’... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/31/23285976/tomb-raider-film-new-lara-croft-amazon-mgm-lose-rights-alicia-vikander

There’s a lot to be said for an app with one singular function, and that’s what makes the Tab app so magical. Unlike other bill splitting apps like Splitwise , which lets you split and track any type of expense, the Tab app exists to only split meal bills among a group of people. That’s it — that’s all it does. I was first introduced to the app by my friends when I lived in New York City. After many dinners and debates over who ordered an extra side of fries, who got three beers instead of two, and who just had an hors d’oeuvre in place of an entree, we were fed up with doing basic math so the five or six people at the table could each pay their fair share. Thus, we transitioned to the Tab app . Its appeal came from the ease of signing up... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23282726/tab-app-bill-splitting-review

Whether you want the best photo quality or ultra-portability, there’s a printer for you. The little prints Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23283824/best-instant-photo-printer-polaroid-fujifilm-canon-hp

No Finder required.  Apple has made macOS very good at handling drag and drops . For example, I often pull a picture right out of the Photos app or Safari and drop it into iMessage or Slack. One thing that’s always slowed me down, though, is moving around more traditional files, like PDFs or other documents. But then I learned that quite a few apps, including many of the built-in ones, have a quick shortcut to get at the file you’re viewing. Using this shortcut (which is officially called the proxy icon ), you can easily do things like upload a PDF you have open in Preview to Google Drive without having to go looking for the file in Finder. Here’s how it works: GIF of someone dragging a file from Preview to a Safari window with Google Drive. ... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23283781/macos-drag-files-title-bar-tip-today-i-learned

Image: Liam Daniel / Netflix Netflix is suing Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the duo behind The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical over copyright infringement, as first reported by Deadline . The streaming giant filed the complaint in a Washington, DC district court just days after Barlow and Bear held a live, sold-out show dedicated to their Bridgerton -inspired album. After Bridgerton ’s 2020 debut, Barlow and Bear began creating music based on the Netflix original series and promoting the endeavor on TikTok, where it quickly gained popularity. As fans requested more content, Barlow and Bear soon had enough to create a 15-song album that went on to win a Grammy in April, a first for music originating on TikTok . On July 26th, Barlow and Bear held a concert at the Kennedy... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/30/23285371/netflix-sues-creators-unofficial-bridgerton-musical-emily-bear-abigail-barlow

A Long March 5B rocket with the Wentian lab module lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site. | Photo by Yang Guanyu/Xinhua via Getty Images China’s uncontrolled Long March 5B rocket reentered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, landing somewhere near Sarawak, the Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. The US Space Command confirmed the rocket’s reentry at 12:45PM ET, but it remains unclear where its debris landed. In a translated post on Weibo , China’s Manned Space Agency said the rocket reentered near the same area, and that most of it burned up on its way down. Uncertainty about where the rocket would land rippled across the globe On July 24th, China used a Long March 5B rocket to launch a lab module to its unfinished Tiangong space station . Unlike most rockets, the Long March 5B thrusts its first stage into orbit when delivering its payload. This piece, which... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/30/23285239/china-uncontrolled-r

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Indonesian government has blocked access to a range of online services, including Steam, Epic Games, PayPal, and Yahoo after the companies failed to comply with a new requirement related to the country’s restrictive content moderation laws, as reported earlier by Reuters . In line with the rules, companies deemed “Private Electronic System Providers” must register with the government’s database to operate in the country, or otherwise face a nationwide ban. Indonesia gave companies until July 27th to comply and has since banned those that haven’t. The requirement is part of an overarching law, called MR5 The requirement is part of an overarching law, called MR5, which was first introduced in 2020. As noted by Reuters , the laws give... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/30/23285091/indonesia-bans-access-steam-epic-games-paypal-yahoo

Putting essential features at your fingertips is good, actually. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Pixel 2 is an almost five-year-old phone, but it introduced a feature that I miss more and more with each passing year. It was called Active Edge, and it let you summon Google Assistant just by giving your phone a squeeze. In some ways, it’s an unusual idea. But it effectively gave you something sorely lacking on modern phones: a way to physically interact with the phone to just get something done . Looking at the sides of the Pixel 2 and 2 XL, you won’t see anything to indicate that you’re holding anything special. Sure, there’s a power button and volume rocker, but otherwise, the sides are sparse. Give the phone’s bare edges a good squeeze, though, and a subtle vibration and animation will play, as Google Assistant pops up from the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/30/23278192/google-pixel-2-active-edge-squeeze-sides-button-control

A screenshot from Google’s pétanque Doodle. | Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge Google has a delightful new multiplayer Doodle that lets you play a game of pétanque online. If you haven’t heard of pétanque — I hadn’t before writing this article — it’s a game that’s kind of like bocce ball. The goal of pétanque is to throw your ball (the boule) as close as you can to a little ball (the cochonnet) on the playing field in front of you. On your computer, you’ll “throw” the ball by clicking on the boule and dragging back with your mouse to slingshot it forward; on a phone, you’ll toss the boule with your thumb (kind of like throwing a Poké Ball in Pokémon Go ). You get points for having more boules close to the cochonnet than your opponent, and whoever has the most points after three rounds wins. Google has a good... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/30/23284432/google-doodle-multiplayer-game-petanque

Lawmakers are blaming “three hostile foreign actors.” | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The federal courts’ document system was hit by a breach with a “startling breadth and scope” in early 2020, according to a report from Politico that cites testimony from House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler. The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly informed the judiciary about the breach in March and told lawmakers that an investigation is ongoing. Other lawmakers, such as Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), expressed concern that the DOJ had been hiding information about the breach and was refusing to explain it to the public and Congress. Nadler reportedly said that the “system security failure” was the work of “three hostile foreign actors,” though, according to Reuters security officials for the DOJ didn’t specify which countries... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/29/23283942/us-justice-department-federal-courts-data-breach-solar-winds

It’s a mod. After the Nier: Automata community went through a good 96-ish hours of pure, high-octane gas trying to figure out if a heretofore undiscovered church was a mod or an Easter egg or an ARG put together by Yoko Taro and his merry band of weirdos, a trio of modders has come forward and admitted it was a mod. “We have been loving all the discussions and theories — it has been an amazing journey,” reads a statement from the trio. “It has been inspiring to see the community come together after so many years, it has made all the hard work well worth it.” Image: Reddit The mod represents an impressive technological advancement for the Nier: Automata modding community, which in and of itself makes the entire “hoax”... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/29/23284064/nier-automata-church-mystery-mod

Since 2013 , AT&T has quietly bilked customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars with a bogus “administrative fee,” a fee it more than doubled to $1.99 a month in 2018. For a few years there, a California class-action lawsuit made it seem like AT&T might finally get taken to task. But in May, both sides told a judge they’d settle for just $14 million — meaning customers may get less than 10 percent of what they paid AT&T, while AT&T gets to keep on charging them. In June, the judge tentatively approved that settlement — and today, July 29th, we’re hearing that AT&T is texting and emailing customers a link to a currently-blank website where the settlement claim form will live. According to the settlement agreement in Vianu v. AT&T... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/12/23069156/att-vianu-lawsuit-class-action-administrative-fee

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram might be walking back its horribly received TikTok-style redesign and cutting down on the app’s constant avalanche of recommendations, but that won’t prevent recommended content from appearing in your feed altogether. It turns out there’s a fix for that you might not be aware of; I didn’t even know it was a thing until Instagram head Adam Mosseri casually mentioned it in one of his Stories earlier this week. It’s possible to snooze recommendations and suggested posts from your main Instagram feed for 30 days. Hallelujah! And even better — it only takes a couple taps. How to snooze Instagram feed recommendations for 30 days Scroll through your main Instagram feed until you come across a recommended post . These are usually... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23283844/how-to-snooze-instagram-recommendations-suggested-posts

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Valve’s Steam Deck has been in high demand from the moment reservations went live last year, but if you’re still waiting for an order email to come through, good news: if you have a reservation, Valve says you’ll get your Steam Deck by the end of the year. And even if you make a new reservation, as of this writing, Valve says you’ll get your Steam Deck in Q4. “We’re excited to announce that we’re going to be able to fulfill demand sooner than we had estimated for everyone in the reservation queue,” Valve wrote in a blog post . “Many of the supply chain shortfalls that affect Steam Deck are gradually clearing up, and we’re continuing to ramp production, so we’re able to produce more Decks faster than ever before.” Great news: Everyone... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/29/23283839/steam-deck-pre-order-reservation-valve

Illustration by Ana Kova New Jersey police may have used blood samples taken from babies to investigate crimes, according to public defenders in the state. According to a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Office of the Public Defender (OPD), the practice came to light after a case in which New Jersey State Police successfully subpoenaed a testing lab for a blood sample drawn from a child. Police then performed DNA analysis on the blood sample that reportedly linked the child’s father to a crime committed more than 25 years ago. The suspect then became a client of the OPD, which alerted the office to the techniques used to identify the man. The lawsuit, filed jointly by the OPD and the New Jersey Monitor , now seeks to compel the state of New Jersey to disclose... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/29/23283837/nj-police-baby-dna-crimes-lawsuit-public-defender

Emergency services fight fires on July 19th, 2022, in Wennington, England. A series of grass fires broke out around the British capital amid an intense heatwave. | Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images Climate change made the record-smashing heatwave in the UK last week at least 10 times more likely, new research has found. The analysis was published yesterday by the World Weather Attribution initiative, a collaboration of scientists from universities and research institutes around the globe. “In a climate unaffected by human-induced climate change, it would be virtually impossible for temperatures in the UK to reach 40°C but climate change is already making UK heatwaves more frequent, intense and long-lasting,” Mark McCarthy, science manager of the National Climate Information Centre, said in a Met Office press release . The Met Office declared, for the first time, a “ Red ” heat warning for “exceptional heat” in parts of England for... Continue reading… source https://www.thever

SoulCycle woke up and chose violence with this campaign. | Image: SoulCycle, Equinox SoulCycle isn’t pulling any punches with its latest campaign that offers Peloton users free in-person classes... if they trade in their bikes. The move comes while Peloton is still dealing with excess inventory after misjudging post-quarantine demand. “We’re dead set on seeing you back with your pack, so we’re giving you the opportunity to trade in your bike for the equivalent value of in-studio classes at SoulCycle,” reads SoulCycle’s Souls Reunited campaign site. According to SoulCycle, that translates to 47 classes added directly to the user’s SoulCycle account. The offer is open to the first 100 people to trade in their bikes so long as they live in the contiguous United States. That said, there are a few other caveats. Users must... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/28/23282384/soulcycle-peloton-free-classes-bike-exchange-fitness

John Allen, the host of hit podcast MrBallen . In each episode of MrBallen , series host John Allen appears in the center of the frame, usually wearing a plaid shirt with a couple of buttons undone and a baseball cap turned backward, and slowly talks viewers through the events of a “strange, dark, and mysterious” true crime story. Episodes with titles like “What I saw in my room still haunts me” and “Real-life ‘ghost ship’ has a SECRET,” bring in more than 40 million monthly views — a massive volume that still is not enough to put Allen in the upper echelon of YouTube influencers. But in podcasting? He’s a star. Steven Cohen, a longtime audio industry sales executive, was shocked when he dug into the stats for the podcast version of MrBallen , which launched in February. The show was... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/28/23282464/podcast-mrballen-spotify-youtube-apple-rogan

Google’s premium buds have more features — without deal-breaking flaws Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23281445/google-pixel-buds-pro-noise-canceling-earbuds-review

Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images JetBlue and Spirit announced a $3.8 billion merger agreement after a previous deal between Spirit and Frontier Airlines fell apart Wednesday. The newly merged airline will be the fifth-largest in the US in a potential challenge to the dominance of the “Big Four” carriers. Spirit’s shareholders rejected the deal in favor of the more generous offer from JetBlue. The two airlines, JetBlue and Frontier, have been courting Spirit for months in the hopes of creating a bigger budget airline that could have the effect of bringing down airline ticket prices. But it’s been a rocky road to today’s announcement. In February, Frontier announced its plans to buy Spirit in a cash and stock deal valued at $2.9 billion. But JetBlue had its own designs... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/28/23282392/jetblue-spirit-merge-acquire-airline-frontier-reject

Image: Instagram Instagram will begin asking some US users for race and ethnicity data in order to study how different groups experience the platform, the company says in a blog post published today. A random assortment of Instagram users will get a pop-up in the app that leads to a survey asking for their race and ethnicity, hosted by the research group YouGov. Answering the questions is optional, and Instagram says responses “will not limit the experiences that you have on Instagram, including impacting your reach or how people engage with your content in any way.” In a video message posted today, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said collecting the data will help the platform look for ways to improve Instagram for users. “If we’re going to make sure that... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/28/23282148/instagram-race-ethnicity-survey-researchers-you-gov

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google’s improving Gmail’s search results, which should make it easier to find a specific contact. In a blog post , Google explains it’s rolling out “intent matching for names and email addresses,” as well as new “personalized suggestions” in Gmail. With intent matching , a machine learning tool Google uses to help you find topics related to your search, Gmail should narrow down your search results and help you find exactly what you’re looking for a specific contact, email, or file. As Google explains, Gmail will now display email addresses and first names that match your query before showing matching last names. This should come in handy if you’re used to searching for contacts based on their first name, as these results will now appear... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/27/23280860/gmail-search-update-emailing-right-person

Image: PlatinumGames A 45-second clip has sent the Nier: Automata community into a collective state of euphoria, confusion, conspiracy, and good-ass memery. Reddit user sadfutago uploaded a clip to the Nier: Automata subreddit containing a never-before-seen section of the Copied City. Someone randomly posted a video on the Nier Automata subreddit showing they found a secret room in the Copied City. So far no one else has worked out how they managed to make this secret door appear. Literally 1 person on earth has accessed this room and we are uttered mind blown pic.twitter.com/g7W4JxiNDg — Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) July 25, 2022 In the clip, sadfutago opens a hidden door and descends a long ladder into a trippy new area. He passes through another... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/27/23280612/nier-automata-nintendo-switch-secret-church-easter-egg

Animal Crossing: New Horizons won’t hurt or help your mental health Video games aren’t hurting people’s mental health, and they’re not helping it. In fact, they don’t do much to move the needle at all, according to a new study of tens of thousands of gamers. For years, policymakers and public health bodies have expressed concern about the potential for video games to be addictive or harm mental health. This study, published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, offers one of the more comprehensive looks at the relationship between video games and well-being. It builds on previous research from the same team that also didn’t find bad effects on mental health. The research team worked with video game publishers to recruit nearly 39,000 people who played one of seven games: Animal Crossing: New... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/27/23280462/video-game-mental-health-animal-crossing-well-being

Image: Spice DAO The cryptocurrency collective built around a copy of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune script bible will no longer be a collective and is trying to sell its Dune bible. Spice DAO (short for decentralized autonomous organization) recently began “Redemption Phase One,” a fundamental shift in its direction. After a series of setbacks in an ambitious plan for a crypto-powered media studio, the group is letting people who hold its $SPICE token cash out by withdrawing their money from the group’s treasury. It will change its name to “Spice Club,” a “members only group” instead of a body with a formal voting structure. And it will cut its upkeep expenses to the bare minimum, a process that includes handing off the fragile and valuable book that... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/27/23280490/spice-dao-jodorowsky-dune-bible-crypto-sale-planned-liquidation

The Connected Scarf aims to track fans’ emotional response to matches. | Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images The sports world has generally embraced wearable technology with open arms — though it’s usually for the athletes themselves. However, English soccer club Manchester City is hoping to keep track of its fans’ biometrics, too. The club has partnered with Cisco to create a connected scarf embedded with a biosensor to “get a better understanding of the emotion at the heart of the world’s beautiful game.” The Connected Scarf features an EmotiBit sensor that basically sits on a fan’s neck. According to Manchester City’s product site , it includes a PPG sensor, accelerometer, temperature sensor, and an electrodermal activity (EDA) sensor. All of these are typical sensors you’d find in a fitness tracker, and the EDA sensor was one of the marquee... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/27/23280629/manchester-city-smart-scarf-wearables

Apple’s redesigned Home app makes it easier to control your lights, locks, and other smart home devices. | Image: Apple A new Home View and a bit of ‘jiggle mode’ make the HomeKit app more usable, but there’s still a long way to go Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23279283/apple-homekit-home-app-ios16-preview

I am salivating over how convenient this looks. | Image: Google Starting next week, editing PDFs on a Chromebook is going to be a breeze. Users will be able to highlight text, fill out forms, sign documents, and add text annotations directly within the Gallery app. Gallery is the default photo editing app on Chromebooks. Similar to Photos on Windows, it’s where a batch of photos first appears when you open it. Most Chromebooks don’t come with a PDF editor by default, and while free third-party options exist, their features tend to be limited, and editing directly in Gallery seems like it would involve significantly less hassle. This could be a big help for students, a demographic among which Chromebooks are widely used. Not only could they more easily mark up texts and assignments but also they can... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/27/23280660/google-photos-chromebook-gallery-pdf-video-movie-editor-themes

A woman wipes her forehead at the top of the stairs to the Lincoln Memorial during a heatwave on July 22nd, 2022, in Washington, DC. | Photo by Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images Summers are now so brutally hot that the US government created a new website, heat.gov , to help Americans stay safe during dangerous heat spells. It features maps that show current heat conditions across the country and provides other tools and resources to help people beat the heat. The main goal of the website is to prevent heat-related illness and death by sharing up-to-date information on extreme heat. Heat kills more people in the US than any other weather disaster. Often, it disproportionately harms vulnerable pockets of people, including children, older people, and communities of color who live in urban and formerly redlined neighborhoods designed in a way that traps heat . “We don’t have to accept this. Right? This doesn’t have... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/26/232

A chaotic battle in MultiVersus . | Image: WB Games MultiVersus , Warner Bros. Games’ free-to-play fighting game starring characters from many WB universes, launched in open beta in the Americas, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand on Tuesday. The game is available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X / S, and PC, and it has crossplay and cross-progression across all platforms. Technically, the open beta went live at 12PM ET, but there have been issues right from the start — I personally haven’t been able to get past the title screen at all. The developers have since put in the game in maintenance mode and are promising that “servers will be back online soon.” Maintenance mode activated - servers will be back online soon, MVPs! #MultiVersus — MultiVersus (@multiversus) July 26, 2022 M... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/26/23279073/multiversus-open-beta-wb-games-smash-bros

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Michael Alan Stollery, the CEO of blockchain company Titanium Blockchain Infrastructure Services (TBIS), has pleaded guilty to securities fraud over a $21 million cryptocurrency scam. The California man admitted to falsifying details around the BAR coin, a crowdfunding token that should have — but wasn’t — registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The TBIS scam was one of many dodgy initial coin offerings , or ICOs, in the late ‘10s. According to the complaint , between 2017 and 2018 , Stollery introduced TBIS as a new company and hyped its coin with a string of elaborate false claims. TBIS touted nonexistent links with companies like Apple, Boeing, and IBM. Some of the “partners” complained, to which Stollery apparently... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/26/23278995/titanium-blockchain-ceo-michael-stollery-guilty-plea

Faraday Future’s first car is still a far way off in the future, according to recent regulatory filings . The California EV company that has flirted with bankruptcy more times than I can count said this week that it needs more cash in order to launch its debut electric vehicle, the FF91. As such, the company is pushing back customer deliveries to the third or fourth quarter of 2022. That may not seem so far off, but Faraday Future is not exactly known for its ability to meet deadlines. The company was late reporting its first quarterly earnings after going public through a merger with a “blank-check” company. And, of course, Faraday Future has missed several self-imposed deadlines for the launch of the FF91, which has been in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/26/23279021/faraday-future-delays-launch-ff91-ev-problems

The 6A’s Tensor chipset makes all the difference in this midrange phone Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23272042/google-pixel-6a-review-screen-price-specs-battery-camera

Image: Netflix Netflix is expanding its mobile game offerings with another banger. Hot on the heels of the platform’s launch of Into the Breach , this time, Netflix is serving up the exclusive mobile debut of last year’s critically acclaimed Before Your Eyes. Before Your Eyes (not to be confused with the Netflix noir thriller Behind Her Eyes ) tells the story of the recently departed Benjamin Brynn. Using eye-tracking technology, the game allows you to experience Brynn’s memories of life on his journey through death. According to Netflix, the game will utilize your mobile device’s camera to capture players’ blinks and glances. The PC version of Before Your Eyes also had mouse support, but it’s unknown if the Netflix version will have some sort of touch... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/26/23278826/netflix-before-your-eyes-mobile-exclusive

Ryan Gosling in The Gray Man . | Image: Netflix The Gray Man just debuted on Netflix last week, but the streamer already has some big plans for it as a budding franchise. Today, Netflix announced not just a sequel for the thriller but also a spinoff, instantly turning The Gray Man into the company’s next cinematic universe. The company says its plan is to turn it into “a major spy franchise.” Netflix says that the currently untitled sequel is in development and that star Ryan Gosling and directors Joe and Anthony Russo are all set to return alongside co-writer Stephen McFeely. There’s no word on when it might debut. As for the spinoff, Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese, best known for their work on the Deadpool movies, will serve as writers. According to Netflix “the logline is being kept... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/26/23279002/netflix-the-gray-man-sequel-spinoff-cinematic-universe

Blizzard Entertainment The match capped off OWL’s most exciting week all season Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23277168/overwatch-league-midseason-madness-tournament-san-francisco-shock

New running features won’t matter without multi-day battery. At this point, a rugged Apple Watch “Pro” has been all but officially confirmed. Not only did we start hearing whispers of this device over a year ago but also the rumor mill has been amping up as of late with new details about potential specs and features. The latest is that the Pro could offer multi-day battery life on a single charge as well as feature the Apple Watch’s first serious redesign... ever. And, if Apple truly wants to compete with the likes of Garmin and Polar, it will need both. The latest news comes courtesy of Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman in his most recent Power On newsletter . In it, Gurman contends the Pro model will be a “good bit bigger than the standard Apple Watch” — to the point where it might only appeal to a “subset... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23277243/apple-watch-pro-battery-new-design-rumors

Some assembly required. Blue Apron’s new Ready to Cook meals mean even less effort on your part. | Image: Blue Apron Struggling meal kit company Blue Apron has launched a new line of ready-to-make meals , addressing the complaint that its home-delivered, pre-portioned recipes still require too much work to make and too much cleanup afterward. The new ready-to-cook meals do require some assembly but, crucially, no chopping or cleaning up, as its signature ingredient meal kits famously do. Just unpack the pre-portioned proteins, veggies, etc., throw it all into a provided (recyclable) aluminum tray, and pop it into the oven. It’s cooking, Jim, but not as we know it. With increased competition and a growing aversion to subscription services among customers, Blue Apron’s annual revenue hasn’t kept up with its early successes. Valued at $2 billion in 2015 ,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23277373/blue-apron-ready-to-cook-meal-kit-service

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales If your Chromebook supports mobile connectivity, you may be able to start using it as a hotspot. The upcoming change was spotted by 9to5Google in Chromium Gerrit , the web-based code review system Google’s developers use to work on future updates. When the feature is available for testing, you will be able to activate it through chrome://flags. Details about the capability are still slim, with developers describing it as a way for a Chromebook to “share its cellular internet connection to other devices through WiFi.” But once it’s rolled out, it should allow you to connect your phone, tablet, or laptop to your Chromebook’s mobile network. Verizon , T-Mobile , and AT&T already offer — a very limited — line of Chromebooks that you can... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23277096/chromebook-hotspot-mobile-connectivity-google-developers

The compact Apple TV 4K box and its improved Siri remote with a touch-enabled clickpad | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge It’s another week of deals here at The Verge , and we’ve got some bangers ranging from the greatest hits to some of the most fun niches. First off, the Apple TV 4K streaming box with 32GB of storage is down to its frequent sale price of $129.99 at Best Buy and Amazon . Back during Amazon Prime Day, it dipped to $119.99, but if you missed that sale, this is still an excellent price. It supports 4K resolution, as its namesake implies, and it’s got a lot of top specs to bolster its performance — HDR support, HDMI 2.1, and Wi-Fi 6. While one of the latest Apple TV 4K’s standout features is that Apple finally fixed its awful remote design , it also includes an A12 Bionic processor for speedy performance. You can get a good streaming device for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2022/7/25/23277088/apple-tv-4k-streaming-macbook-air-m1

Text or images can now be dragged between apps. | Image: Google Google is rolling out some much-needed upgrades to its Android tablet apps, the company has announced , as it attempts to make them work better on devices with larger screens. Updates are coming for apps including Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Keep, and Google’s announcement says they should arrive over the coming weeks. Docs, Sheets, and Drive are being updated to support drag and drop, letting you easily pull elements like text and images from one app to another. Meanwhile, Drive is getting the ability to open two files side by side, similar to the functionality Apple brought to the iPad with 2019’s iPadOS update. Keyboard shortcuts are also coming to Drive, Docs, and Slides, which should make them much more efficient to use for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23277050/google-android-tablet-apps-update-docs-slides-drive-sheets

Image: Google Google Play is getting a new logo today to celebrate its 10-year anniversary. Google has slightly tweaked the overall shape of its Google Play logo, but the most notable changes are the less vibrant colors that more closely match the green, yellow, blue, and red hues that Google uses for many of its other services. It’s a subtle adjustment that also complements the new Chrome logo updated earlier this year . “We’re introducing a new logo that better reflects the magic of Google and matches the branding shared by many of our helpful products — Search, Assistant, Photos, Gmail and more,” explains Tian Lim, VP of Google Play. The new logo and iconography also mark 10 years of Google Play after it was rebranded from the Android Market in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23277042/google-play-new-logo-10-year-anniversary

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Abortion rights, gun control, and climate change have taken center stage for Democrats running in this year’s midterm elections. But the popular streaming service Hulu has repeatedly rejected Democratic ads focusing on these central campaign issues over the last few weeks, as first reported by The Washington Post on Monday . On July 15th, a group of Democratic campaign organizations attempted to purchase a joint ad on abortion and gun control on the Disney-backed Hulu platform along with other digital buys on Facebook, YouTube, and Roku and more traditional placements on broadcast and cable channels. The ad ran on every other platform, but Hulu rejected it. Hulu hasn’t told the groups if it will run the ad, a Democratic party official... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23277391/hulu-blocks-democratic-ads-abortion-guns-climate-change-january-6-insurrection

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple has settled its lawsuit with Chicago over the city’s so-called “Netflix tax,” according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter . The tax placed a 9 percent levy on “amusements that are delivered electronically” — essentially targeting streaming services. The exact terms of the settlement weren’t made public. Though, Bloomberg Tax last year reported that revenues from the tax — widely thought to be the first of its kind — grew to over $30 million in the year ending June 30th, 2021. The decision has been a long time coming. Chicago introduced the new tax in 2015 as it attempted to make up for the lost revenue from traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Apple filed its challenge in 2018, and was one of many groups and companies... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23276987/apple-chicago-city-netflix-tax-lawsuit-settled

A stock photo of a chess-playing robot in Shanghai — unconnected to this incident. | Photo by Gao Yuwen/VCG via Getty Images A chess robot broke the finger of a seven-year-old boy playing in a tournament in Russia, according to reports from local news outlets (seen via The Guardian ). The incident happened last week at the Moscow Chess Open, where the robot was hired to play competitors. Video of the incident (below) shows the machine is a standard industrial robot arm customized to move pieces on three chess boards simultaneously. “The robot broke the child’s finger. This, of course, is bad,” Sergey Lazarev, President of the Moscow Chess Federation, told Russian news agency TASS (translation via Google Translate). Said Lazarev: “The robot was rented by us, it has been exhibited in many places, for a long time, with specialists. Apparently, the operators... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/25/23276982/chess-robot-breaks-childs-finger-russia-tournamen

A Long March 5B rocket with the Wentian module takes off from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site. | Photo by Hou Yu/China News Service via Getty Images China successfully launched its second module, called Wentian, to the Tiangong space station early Sunday morning ( via SpaceNews ). Wentian took off aboard a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan, China at 2:22AM ET (2:22PM local), docking at the Tiangong space station about 13 hours later at 3:13PM ET (3:13AM local). The Wentian module contains equipment that allows the Chinese astronauts, also known as taikonauts, to perform various scientific experiments during their time on the station. As noted by The New York Times , the additional module will also provide three extra spaces to sleep, as well as another airlock that crewmembers can use to conduct spacewalks. Watch this footage of #Wentian docking.... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/24/23276578/china-launches-wenti

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk allegedly fractured an old friendship with Google co-founder Sergey Brin after having an affair with his wife, Nicole Shanahan, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal . Sources familiar with the situation told the WSJ that the couple filed for divorce earlier this year, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Musk and Shanahan’s affair allegedly occurred at the high-profile Art Basel event in Miami following Musk’s split with then-girlfriend Claire Boucher, also known as Grimes. Sources tell the WSJ that Brin and Shanahan were separated but still living together at the time. The couple’s relationship was reportedly strained due to issues related to the COVID-19 lockdowns and their three-year-old daughter. Musk’s... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/24/23276518/elon-musk-sergey-brin-tesla-google-affair-nicole-shanahan

The OnePlus 10T in green. | Image: OnePlus The OnePlus 10T isn’t due to launch until August 3rd , but it wouldn’t be a OnePlus phone if the company didn’t reveal a few details early. Today, we’re getting a look at the device’s exterior design, which reveals a couple of interesting (and, depending on your viewpoint, potentially disappointing) changes compared to its predecessor. Although the 10T’s overall design is similar to that of the OnePlus 10 Pro, there’s no alert / mute slider this time, nor is there any sign of the Hasselblad branded-camera system found on recent OnePlus flagships. The alert slider has been a staple of OnePlus’ flagship phones for years, offering a quick and easy way to put its phones into silent and vibrate modes without having to tap through any onscreen... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/24/23273890/oneplus-10t-design-alert-slider-display-size-camera-specs

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Verizon Fios is the latest provider to drop One American News (OAN) network, a move that leaves the right-wing news channel without a major carrier, as reported earlier by The Daily Beast . In a notice on its website , Verizon explains viewers will no longer have access to OAN starting July 31st. “Our negotiation with OAN has been a typical, business-as-usual carriage negotiation like those that routinely happen between content distributors and content providers,” Verizon said in a statement to The Daily Beast . “These negotiations were focused on economics, as they always are, but OAN failed to agree to fair terms.” Verizon didn’t immediately respond to The Verge ’s request for comment. OAN is left without a major broadcasting platform OAN,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/7/24/23276366/one-america-news-verizon-fios-dumped-major-carriers-oan