Lead Hacker

Do it for the Vine. | Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk is looking into the Twitter archives for ways to improve his newly acquired social network. His team has told engineers at the company to look at Vine’s code to figure out how much work it would take to revive it, according to a current employee who spoke to The Verge on the condition of anonymity, as they’re not authorized to publicly discuss the matter. Axios first reported the news , saying that the reboot could be ready by the end of the year. That’s an aggressive timeframe to revive a five-year-old app, especially given this tweet from former Twitter product director Sara Beykpour that some of Vine’s code is over 10 years old. But that seems to be a pattern with Musk; this weekend, Twitter employees were told they’d have... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23433429/elon-musk-vine-twitter-purchase

Tenoch Huerta as Namor in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever . | Image: Marvel Studios The way Black Panther: Wakanda Forever ’s Talocan bears little resemblance to the Atlantis of Marvel’s comic books is one of the most intriguing things about the movie and its central villain: the sea-dwelling antiheroic King Namor, played by Tenoch Huerta . Namor’s short shorts, winged feet , and intense hatred of the surface world are all still important parts of his character that Wakanda Forever spotlights with a tale about how he’s moved to lead Talocan to war. But what Huerta was most moved by as he stepped up to the challenge of bringing Namor to the MCU is how Wakanda Forever ’s story and its conceptualization of Talocan are celebrations of Latin American identity with a distinct focus on its shared Indigenous and African roots. U... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23433010/tenoch-huerta-namor-black-panther-wakanda-forever-talocan

DC-America EV stations with Tritium DC fast chargers are built on a skid platform, requiring little digging on-site. | Image: Tritium Tritium and DC-America are partnering to build a nationwide EV fast charging network and have qualified for federal funding to make it happen ( via Electrek ). The two companies are linking their tech to build easily deployable charging solutions, where Tritium provides the chargers and DC-America provides the station infrastructure. DC-America will place all the components on a skid, meaning that the station will require minimal digging and will be easy to deploy and transport “By eliminating the majority of underground conduits and wiring, we are speeding up deployments by greatly reducing the onsite construction as well as reducing installation costs,” said DC-America president Nathan Bowen in an email to Electrek . The systems will... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23433342/tritium-dc-america-nationwide-ev...

The Hummer EV e-bike was inevitable. | Image: Recon GMC joined forces with the world’s largest supplier of e-bikes for law enforcement to produce an over-the-top, dual-motor, fat tire electric bike to complement its equally over-the-top, dual-motor, fat tire Hummer EV truck. It’s the latest sign that automakers are trying to seize on the popularity of e-bikes to help promote the shift to electric vehicles. The Hummer EV all-wheel drive e-bike (as it’s referred to in its press release) features twin 750W hub motors with a peak output of 2,400W, a 48-volt / 17 amp-hour LG-made battery (with an option to upgrade to a 21Ah version) and will be available to purchase either online at gmcebike.com or at GMC dealerships for the price of $3,999. (A little expensive for an e-bike, but... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23433272/hummer-ev-ebike-recon-license-price-specs

Gwendoline Christie | Photo by Gareth Cattermole / Getty Images for BFI The second season of Severance has just started filming, and to mark the milestone, we have some new details on the cast. As Deadline reports , there are quite a few fresh faces joining the offices of Lumon Industries for season 2. That includes: Gwendoline Christie, Bob Balaban, Merritt Wever, Alia Shawkat, Robby Benson, Stefano Carannante, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, and John Noble. That’s a lot of handshakes (available upon request). It’s still not clear when the next season of Severance is due to hit Apple TV Plus; it was first announced in April, just ahead of the season 1 finale . We also have essentially no details on what to expect in season 2, though today, Apple did release this photo of star Adam Scott’s face on Twitter: Every time... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23433190/severance-season-2-cast-gwendoline-christie-alia-shawkat

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge With the holiday season right around the corner, everyone is double-checking their lists and figuring out the best places to fulfill those orders. Thankfully, there are often a number of options when it comes to retailers that have what you want. Because of this, online retailers aren’t just dropping prices to compete with each other, but offering more generous shipping and return policies for their products. Online shopping continues to be the default method for most during the holidays, largely due to convenience and the fact that many retailers offer free shipping when you spend above a certain dollar amount. However, the sudden surge in online shopping during the holidays also increases the possibility of delays as online retailers... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/21570161/holiday-shipping-return-policy-apple-google-microsoft-amazon

TuSimple may have defrauded investors by failing to disclose its ties to a Chinese firm. | Photo by Andrej Sokolow/picture alliance via Getty Images Autonomous trucking company TuSimple is under investigation for its ties to a Chinese company, The Wall Street Journal reports . The FBI and SEC are said to be looking into whether the San Diego-based company defrauded investors by financing and transferring technology to Hydron, a company led by one of TuSimple’s founders. It was the latest sign of the hard road ahead for many AV companies, as the industry shrinks, capital dries up, timelines are pushed out, and regulators spot cracks in the system. TuSimple, a leading supplier of autonomous truck technology, is already under scrutiny from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration for a crash involving one of its trucks earlier this year. It was the latest sign of the hard road... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23432846/tusimple-self-drivi...

Billions of voice messages are sent every day. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Over the past few months of peak TV , the voice message has emerged as one of my favorite ways to talk about what I’m watching. I’ll finish this week’s episode of Andor , mute the show’s credits, and immediately start recording a voice message of my thoughts to send to a friend. The main reason we use voice messages (or voice notes, depending on where you are in the world) is their asynchronicity — we don’t have to both be free at the same time to communicate. Sometimes, he’s managed to watch the episode hours or even days before me and has already sent a message for me to listen to, while other times, I’ll be the first one to share my thoughts. But every week, the format is the same. The recording starts with a spoiler warning, and then... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23432534/voice-message-note-imessage-whatsapp-defense-etiquette

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge An Instagram outage that started Monday morning is locking users out and telling many of them that “we suspended your account on October 31, 2022.” The platform confirmed the issue on Twitter , stating, “We’re aware that some of you are having issues accessing your Instagram account. We’re looking into it and apologize for the inconvenience.” We're aware that some of you are having issues accessing your Instagram account. We're looking into it and apologize for the inconvenience. #instagramdown — Instagram Comms (@InstagramComms) October 31, 2022 This morning, many users, including some of us here at The Verge , received notifications saying they’re suspended from the platform. Reports of the issue seem concentrated among iPhone... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23432703/instagram-down-outage-suspended-account-banned

Darin Fisher has been building browsers for decades. | Image: Darin Fisher Darin Fisher has built a lot of web browsers. A lot of web browsers. He was a software engineer at Netscape early in his career, working on Navigator and then helping turn that app into Firefox with Mozilla. Then, he went to Google and spent 16 years building Chrome and ChromeOS into massively successful products . Last year, he left Google for Neeva , where he worked on ways to build a browser around the startup’s search engine. And now, he’s leaving Neeva to join The Browser Company and work on Arc , one of the hottest new browsers on the market. Arc, which has been in an invite-only beta for more than a year, is trying to rethink the whole browser UI. It has a sidebar instead of a row of tabs, offers a lot of personalization options, and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/31/23428862/arc-browser-web-company-darin-fisher

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Now that he owns Twitter , Elon Musk has given employees their first ultimatum: Meet his deadline to introduce paid verification on Twitter or pack up and leave. The directive is to change Twitter Blue, the company’s optional, $4.99 a month subscription that unlocks additional features , into a more expensive subscription that also verifies users, according to people familiar with the matter and internal correspondence seen by The Verge . Twitter is currently planning to charge $19.99 for the new Twitter Blue subscription. Under the current plan, verified users would have 90 days to subscribe or lose their blue checkmark. Employees working on the project were told on Sunday that they need to meet a deadline of November 7th to launch the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/30/23431931/twitter-paid-verification-elon-musk-blue-monthly-subscription

Photo illustration by William Joel / The Verge, photo by Christian Marquardt / Getty Images On his first day, Twitter’s new ‘Chief Twit’ quietly changed the homepage to send a message. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/30/23430008/elon-musk-twitter-homepage-subscriptions-changes

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Telegram removed the ability for users on iOS to create pay-to-view posts due to Apple’s strict App Store guidelines ( via 9to5Mac ). In a post on Telegram , CEO Pavel Durov says creators on the platform have been using third-party payment or donation bots to sell access to certain posts on their channels, but that Apple was “not happy with content creators monetizing their efforts without paying a 30% tax to Apple.” Apple doesn’t allow developers to use third-party payment processors in their apps and charges up to a 30 percent commission on any in-app purchases. As noted by 9to5Mac , Telegram initially appeared to have been testing a paid posts feature, as spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra . However, Telegram said in a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/30/23430234/telegram-pulls-paywalled-posts-ios-apple-app-store-rules-bots

The Spin 714 isn’t terrible, but it’s not the champion the 713 was Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23426924/acer-chromebook-spin-714-2022-review

Laura Normand / The Verge Elon Musk reportedly ordered company-wide layoffs at Twitter on Saturday, according to a report from The New York Times . It’s unclear how many workers will be affected by the purported job cuts, but sources told the NYT that some departments will be affected more than others. Previous reports indicate Musk wants to cut down on Twitter’s workforce by 75 percent. Twitter currently has about 7,500 employees. As noted by the NYT , the layoffs could occur before November 1st, the day when employees are supposed to receive their stock grants, which “typically represent a significant portion” of their pay. Musk may not have to pay these grants if he lays off employees before this date. Sources familiar with the situation told the outlet that... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/29/23430332/elon-musk-twitter-reportedly-ordered-company-wide-layoffs

Season 3 of The Witcher hasn’t even premiered yet. | Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic Although season 3 of The Witcher hasn’t premiered yet, Netflix just announced a major change coming to season 4: Liam Hemsworth is replacing Henry Cavill as the titular Geralt of Rivia. Both actors posted about the change on Instagram, with Liam Hemsworth saying he’s “over the moon about the opportunity to play Geralt of Rivia.” Netflix nor Cavill provided a reason for the casting change. “My journey as Geralt of Rivia has been filled with both monsters and adventures, and alas, I will be laying down my medallion and my swords for Season 4,” Cavill said on Instagram . “In my stead, the fantastic Mr Liam Hemsworth will be taking up the mantle of the White Wolf. As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/29/23430147/liam-hemsworth-replacing-henry-cavill-season-4-the-witcher-netflix

The customization options let you take things in some wild new directions with your builds | Image: Alice Newcome-Beill A host of bugs and undercooked features keep the addictive building simulator from reaching its full potential Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/29/23422708/pc-building-simulator-2-game-review

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max could swap mechanical volume and power buttons for solid-state toggles that use haptic feedback instead. That’s according to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo , who says the buttons could function like the solid-state home button first released on the iPhone 7 that you can’t physically press down but vibrates in response to touch. The iPhone 8 , as well as the second and third-generation models of the budget-friendly iPhone SE also feature a solid-state home button, which is powered by Apple’s Taptic Engine. Apple utilizes this same technology to enable haptic keyboard presses in iOS 16 , as well as with the Force Touch trackpads it uses on its MacBooks. (1/6) My latest survey indicates that the volume button and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/29/23429915/iphone-15-ditch-mechanical-volume-power-buttons-solid-state-haptic-feedback-apple-rumors

Project Bluesky Elon Musk finally owns Twitter now. While Twitter’s users are still parsing what that means for them, we’ve got a general idea : laxer content moderation , fewer people keeping the lights on , and maybe the eventual addition of “everything app” features like payments and reservations for services. But the standard Twitter app isn’t the only platform whose future Musk now controls. Over the past three years, Twitter Inc. has also been funding a decentralized social networking project called Bluesky — and it finally seems close to bearing fruit. But under Twitter’s new leadership, with its original champions gone, its future prospects seem shaky. Bluesky was launched under Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s leadership back in 2019, and its... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/29/23428241/elon-musk-twitter-bluesky-decentralized-social-networking-future

Honda’s power station battery slots are angled for easier access. | Image: Honda Honda delivered a new battery swapping station in Tokyo that’s looking mighty similar to the one Gogoro makes. The automaker’s new power pack exchanger lets electric motorcycle riders easily flip their depleting batteries for fresh ones instead of needing to wait around for a charge. The Honda power station itself looks very similar to Gogoro’s: like a vending machine with a grid of battery packs that slide in and out of slots. Image: Honda Honda’s “Power Pack Exchanger e:” station can be expanded to accommodate a whole lot of batteries in busy parts of cities. You can access fully charged batteries by interacting with the touchscreen, pulling one out, and popping in your discharged ones to charge up for use by... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/23428245/honda-power-pack-exchanger-e-mobility-battery-swap-station-competes-with-gogoro

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge It’s not just you — Instagram and Facebook appear to be completely down for some users, as indicated by reports from Downdetector.com , as well as staff members at The Verge . While not everyone appears to be affected and some people can load all of Meta’s services without an issue, users outside the US, as well as some US residents on the West Coast, appear to be having more problems. If you open both apps and are affected by the issue, you may see some cached content displayed but receive an error message saying that the feed can’t be refreshed or the images and content might not load at all. Based on our tests, both websites may also completely fail to load on a desktop browser or display. That’s not how Instagram’s... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/23428969/instagram-facebook-not-loading-refresh-outage

Driverless cars aren’t going to change the world. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The driverless car startups that haven’t run out of money, gone out of business, or been bought out want you to know that driverless cars aren’t going away. These companies insist that skepticism about the technology is expected but unwarranted and that driverless cars will, in the words of one co-founder , “change the world.” Where have we heard this before? Oh right, practically every tech company and Silicon Valley partisan that has emerged in the last decade or so has insisted that their only goal is to empower mankind and change the world (and not, I don’t know, make gobs and gobs of money). I do agree autonomous vehicles are coming (many are already here), but I think we need to rein in the “change the world” rhetoric. Like,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/23427129/autonomous-vehicles-robotaxi-hype-failure-expectations

Cars are lined up in traffic on Airline Drive in Houston, Texas, on April 13th, 2020. | Photo by MARK FELIX / AFP via Getty Images Traffic jams are linked to lower birth weights, new research finds. Pregnant people in the most congested neighborhoods gave birth to babies who weighed less than babies in less congested areas, according to a study published today in the journal Science Advances . A baby with low birth weight faces a greater risk of health complications — from infection to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). The new study adds to the body of evidence showing that clearing up pollution from cars and trucks will help babies stay healthier. It shows that it’s not just the volume of traffic that affects air quality and health outcomes — the flow of that traffic matters, too. A baby with low birth weight faces a greater risk of health complications Babies... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/23426970/birth-weight-infant-traffic-congest...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Snapchat is decreasing the reward money creators can get when they make content for the platform’s TikTok competitor — again. Business Insider reports that the pot of cash up for grabs for users making Spotlight videos now sits at millions of dollars per year. In February, Snap said it was offering up millions a month to creators making high-performing short-form videos for Spotlight. Even that was a dip from when Spotlight first launched in the fall of 2020, and Snap made splashy promises of paying out $1 million a day for a period of time to people making TikTok-style videos. Snap spokesperson Farrin Jay confirmed the fund sits at “millions of dollars throughout the year” and said the company is focused on rewarding Spotlight creators... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/28/23428471/snapchat-spotlight-payments-tiktok-creator-fund

Signalis. | Image: Humble Games If you miss the days of old-school Resident Evil and Silent Hill, this is just the thing Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23428239/signalis-review-ps4-xbox-switch-pc

Amazon just reported its third quarter earnings for 2022. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon’s sales finally picked up in the third quarter following three consecutive quarters of single-digit growth, according to the company’s earnings released Thursday . But it’s expecting a tighter holiday season amid an uncertain economic environment, and the company’s stock fell more than 4 percent in after-hours trading. Sales hit $127.1 billion last quarter, up 15 percent year over year. That number was likely buoyed by Amazon’s successful Prime Day event in July, which it has called its “biggest Prime Day event ever.” Despite that growth, the company is predicting a slower holiday season. In its guidance, Amazon said net sales should grow between 2 and 8 percent year over year next quarter; last year, Amazon saw 9 percent growth in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/27/23416918/amazon-q3-2022-earnings-sales-up-holiday-season-andy-jassy

The beta UI’s homescreen certainly looks more modern. Valve is officially letting users try out a new version of Steam’s Big Picture mode, which makes the game client look like its popular Steam Deck handheld. The long-awaited change (we were hearing rumblings about it in July 2021 ) is a big upgrade for the gamepad-friendly version of the Steam user interface. In a news post , the company warns that the new UI has “rough edges” but says it’s looking to gather feedback from the community on it. In addition to the updated look, the test also includes new features, including a universal search that’ll surface results from your library, friends list, and the store as well as updates to the quick access and system menus and controller configurator. It’s likely to be a welcome change for people... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/27/23426994/valve-steam-deck-big-picture-mode-ui-test-beta

Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images Who knew left-hand turns were so dangerous? Well, anyone who drives in a city, like an Uber driver, for example, has probably encountered their fair share of dangerous left turns. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , 22 percent of crashes involve a vehicle making a left turn at an intersection. Uber has a novel solution to this problem: fewer left turns. Uber announced today that its in-app navigation system will now recommend fewer left turns in an effort to reduce crashes and make trips safer overall. The adjustments are expected to be “minor” with little impact on trip time, but the effect will hopefully make for a less stressful experience for drivers. Uber Video recording presents... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/27/23426721/uber-safety-left-turn-audio-video-recording-fake-names

You can return a critical component for a $1,900 refund. | Image: Tesla The $1,900 Tesla Cyberquad for kids is being recalled after the Consumer Product Safety Commission determined that it doesn’t meet safety standards for youth ATVs . Although the vehicle is designed to look like the one Tesla announced alongside its Cybertruck and was sold on the automaker’s online store, it was actually made by Radio Flyer. That company, most famous for its classic red wagons, is the one handling the recall. The Cyberquad for kids features a “full steel frame” and electric powertrain and can go up to 10 miles per hour. According to the CPSC, it failed to meet federal standards for mechanical suspension and maximum tire pressure on ATVs for kids and doesn’t have a “CPSC-approved ATV action plan” meant to dictate things... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/27/23426752/tesla-cyberquad-toy-atv-recall-radio-flyer

This update is “just the beginning” for the driver assist system, Ford says. | Image: Ford When Ford announced yesterday that it was pulling its support for Argo AI , the autonomous driving startup it had financed since 2017, it cited as one of its reasons a belief that driver-assist technology will have more near-term payoffs. The automaker said it will be shifting its resources from the Level 4 autonomous technology that was under development at Argo to “internally developed L2+/L3 technology.” “So it’s taking that investment and putting it towards a business where we think we will have a sizable return in the near term relative to one that’s going to have a long arc,” said John Lawler, Ford’s chief financial officer, during a call with investors Wednesday. “So it’s taking that investment and putting it towards a business... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/27/23426449/ford-argo-ai-driver-assist-level-2-level-3-danger-risk

Drew Anthony Smith Argo AI, the self-driving startup backed by Ford and Volkswagen, is shutting down, The Verge has learned. Employees were notified that an announcement would be made late in the day Wednesday. (The news was first reported by TechCrunch . ) The company, which was founded by veterans of Google and Uber’s self-driving car projects, has lost the financial support of Ford and VW, a source said. And according to TechCrunch , the company’s resources will be absorbed by both automakers. Argo is estimated to have around 2,000 employees, though it did announce a round of layoffs earlier this year. A spokesperson for Argo declined to comment. Ford, in an announcement as part of its third quarter earnings, said that Argo has been unable to attract new... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/26/23423998/argo-ai-shut-down-ford-vw-av-self-driving

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A British hacker who brought the entire nation of Liberia offline more than seven years ago was arraigned before a US federal court today, facing new charges of access device fraud and money laundering conspiracy. The hacker, Daniel Kaye, has been accused of operating a dark web marketplace called The Real Deal for stolen login information for social media and bank accounts, US government devices, and a variety of illicit goods like drugs and unlawful hacking tools. The Real Deal allowed third-party vendors to set up online stores and purchasers to rate sellers based on their authenticity. “This case is an example of our persistent determination to work with our international partners to hold criminals accountable no matter how... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/26/23425146/british-hacker-real-deal-liberia-cybersecurity-charged-cryptocurrency-money-laundering

Production line of a Fiesta. | Image: Getty Ford is ending production of the Fiesta in Europe to make room for electric cars. The automaker’s compact four-door vehicle will be the last combustion engine vehicle to roll off its Cologne, Germany plant, and it’ll instead begin production of a Ford-VW all-electric crossover by next Summer ( via Automotive News ). Ford plans to invest $2 billion to build new electric vehicles — 1.2 million of them — over the next six years. Ford Europe’s GM of passenger vehicles, Martin Sander, posted a solemn legacy video on Twitter celebrating the compact car and teasing four-passenger EVs as the ones taking the helm. One is certain to be an all-electric version of the Ford Puma crossover, of which the current combustion version outsold the Focus and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/26/23424591/ford-fiesta-discontinuted-europe

It’ll be coming to more devices throughout 2022 and 2023. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Samsung is starting to roll out a “Maintenance Mode” feature for its phones that’s designed to keep your messages, photos, info, and accounts safe when you’re getting your phone repaired. The company’s been testing the feature since July and launched it in China last month, but now it’s launching worldwide for the Galaxy S22, with more phones coming in the next few months. According to Samsung’s press release , Maintenance Mode basically creates a separate user account that will let someone access “core functions” of the phone without being able to see any of your data. That means a repair tech will still be able to test your phone, but you won’t have to worry about them seeing anything they shouldn’t. Once you get your phone back, you... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/26/23424761/samsung-galaxy-s22-maintenance-mode-privacy-repair-worldwide-rollout

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta is introducing new tools for brands reporting potential IP violations on Facebook and Instagram, including some that automate the process of getting posts taken down. Using Meta’s Brand Rights Protection tool, companies can flag content that they believe runs afoul of their intellectual property, including trademark violations, copyright infringement, fake or counterfeit products, and impersonation. Some of the new features announced this week mean that companies will get quicker results when they flag something to Instagram and Facebook. “Brands with a demonstrated history of actionable requests,” for example, could be eligible for automatic takedowns when they report content. Typically, brands or a representative flag content to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/26/23424636/facebook-instagram-intellectual-property-takedowns-trademark-copyright-reporting-system

Image: Apple Apple TV Plus’ creepiest series is almost over. Servant , an M. Night Shyamalan-helmed psychological thriller about unsettling baby dolls, will kick off its fourth and final season in January. The first episode of season 4 will start streaming on January 13th, 2023, with the rest of the 10-episode season releasing weekly after that, wrapping up with the finale on March 17th. The show initially debuted back in 2019 , and it stars Rupert Grint, Lauren Ambrose, Toby Kebbell, and Nell Tiger Free, all of whom will be back for the final episodes. Here’s the setup for the conclusion, via Apple: Following its suspenseful season three finale, season four brings the final chapter of the Turner story to an epic and emotional conclusion. Leanne’s war... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/26/23424663/servant-season-4-trailer-date

Gloomwood ’s trusty cane sword. | Image: New Blood Interactive I have no idea how most people play stealth games, but for me, the genre is primarily about one thing: knocking guys out. What is my mission in any given Deus Ex or Metal Gear Solid level? Stopping a war? Saving the world? No. It is sneaking around a compound, making people not awake anymore, and stacking them in a little pile before I leave. By this admittedly specific standard, Gloomwood may be one of the best new stealth games around. Gloomwood launched in early access on Steam last month, and I still haven’t finished it; I’ve spent a couple hours working through the first of (I think) three current areas. The project is heavily inspired by the Looking Glass tradition of games, particularly Thief — its developers, part of a collective... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23422582/gloomwood-new-blood-interactive-stealth-game-early-access-hands-on

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Sony is bringing multipoint connectivity to its entire current lineup of premium wireless earbuds this fall. Just as with other headphones and earbuds, the feature will let you connect to two Bluetooth audio sources at the same time. So if you’re listening to music on your laptop and a call comes in on your phone, you can answer and switch over to it seamlessly. Sony plans to add multipoint to the LinkBuds and LinkBuds S “by November of 2022.” In a somewhat surprising turn, even the WF-1000XM4s will gain multipoint this winter. Those have been on the market for well over a year, and Sony never so much as hinted that multipoint was in the cards. Once the update is released, you’ll need to update the firmware for your earbuds through the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/25/23423007/sony-multipoint-earbuds-bluetooth-announced-wf1000xm4-linkbuds

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple says that it’s fixed the iMessage and FaceTime outage that was causing “message not delivered” errors on Tuesday for about half an hour starting at 11:48AM ET (8:48AM PT). According to the company’s system status page , the issue affected “some” users, which lines up with our experience; while one Verge staff member did have issues sending messages, a few others were able to do so during the outage. But there were thousands of reports that the service wasn’t working on Downdetector. That makes sense, as any small outage for a service as widely used as iMessage will affect a lot of people. The big three carriers also got a flood of outage reports, which is also not necessarily surprising. If people can’t send messages, they’re going... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/25/23422960/apple-imessage-facetime-outage-down-resolved-back-up

Image: Microsoft Microsoft announced during a 25th-anniversary celebration of Age of Empires that the latest game, Age of Empires IV , is coming to consoles next year. It will launch on day one on Xbox Game Pass, and it will be playable via Xbox Cloud Gaming for those who prefer to play on portable devices. The game launched in late 2021 for PC, and it has been available since then for PC Game Pass subscribers, but this is a great opportunity for console gamers to check it out. In case you missed out on the PC release or you’ve just been waiting patiently for news on this port, my colleague Mitchell Clark has some fun coverage from last year on the impressive lengths that Microsoft and World’s Edge (the studio focused on Age of Empires ) went to give... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/25/23422822/age-of-empires-iv-xbox-game-pass-series-x-s-console-november-2022

Stack Overflow is basically Reddit for developers. CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar explains how the company moderates its content. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23421320/stack-overflow-ceo-interview-prashanth-chandrasekar-software-engineering-microsoft

Image: Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service via Getty Images Uber and DoorDash will deliver prescriptions for the covid antiviral Paxlovid filled through Walgreens for free to underserved neighborhoods, the companies announced Monday. The partnership is part of new pandemic response efforts from the White House . “This partnership is yet another way in which Uber’s technology can help Americans recover from the pandemic and make lifesaving healthcare more accessible,” Caitlin Donovan, general manager of Uber Health, said in a statement. Paxlovid reduces the risk of hospitalization and death from covid. It has to be taken within a few days of symptoms first appearing to be most effective, so getting the pills quickly is important. This initiative, which will launch in the coming weeks, is... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/25/23422801/walgreens-uber-doordash-paxlovid-prescriptions

Photo by Nilay Patel / The Verge Last week, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe confirmed what many of us already knew : the buzzy automaker was exploring the possibility of making its own electric bikes. If it follows through — and there’s no reason to assume it won’t; an electric mountain bike would fit in nicely with the company’s specific brand of outdoor adventure vehicles — Rivian will face a challenge that many other automakers have also faced, which is how to build a successful micromobility business. I think there’s no question that Rivian could build a really cool-looking e-bike. The company has certainly made a mark for itself by designing beautifully made and incredibly fun to drive products . But I do think it’s questionable as to whether people would want an e-bike... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/25/23422664/rivian-ebike-cars-electric-motors-porsche-bosch

Lucid Connected Home Charging Station. | Image: Lucid Group Electric car maker Lucid just announced its first set of accessories , which include an at-home charging station that’s capable of supporting up to 19.2kW of electrical power, which works out at around 80 miles of range per hour of charge. The Lucid Connected Home Charging Station retails for $1,200, and its website says shipments will start on November 30th, but the company says to expect a “limited quantity” available until 2023. It has a 24-foot cable, comes with Wi-Fi enabled for future updates, and is “hardware ready” for bidirectional power flow for “customers looking to integrate their vehicle into the company’s future energy ecosystem.” According to Emma Lattanzio, a PR contact for Lucid, “Bi-directional charging features for the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/25/23422522/lucid-ev-charger-air-home-cargo-accessories-launch

The DualSense Edge will be released on January 26th, 2023. | Image: Sony Sony’s DualSense Edge Wireless Controller for the PS5 is now available for preorder from the PlayStation Direct website ahead of its January 26th release. The controller is loaded with additional features you won’t find on the standard DualSense, like replaceable joysticks and two back buttons. But it costs $199.99, which is nearly three times the cost of a standard DualSense controller. For that eye-watering price, Sony is including a fair amount of extras to help you customize your DualSense Edge. You’ll get: The controller itself Two stick caps each of the standard, high dome, and low dome types Two back buttons each of the lever type and half-done type A braided USB cable that can be locked to the controller A carrying case that can... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/25/23422782/playstation-dualsense-edge-ps5-controller-sony-preorder

There’s an additional battery-saving setting that, combined with Low Power Mode, can get you an estimated 60 hours. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Apple Watch Ultra can now last even longer on a single charge. In watchOS 9.1, Apple has added a workout setting that extends battery life to an estimated 60 hours by reducing GPS and heart rate readings. Battery life estimates for the Ultra can be a little tough to parse. The official line is that the watch lasts up to 36 hours with normal use and up to 12 hours during an outdoor run. However, Apple also introduced a Low Power Mode in watchOS 9 that limits or disables certain features to last enough to finish an Ironman race — roughly 14-15 hours. But to get that 60-hour estimate, you have to enable both Low Power Mode and the new “Fewer GPS and heart rate readings” setting. The vanilla Low Power Mode turns off the always-on... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/24/23421179/apple-wa...

(Henry Cavill’s) Superman returns. | Image: Henry Cavill on Instagram Henry Cavill is letting people know that he’s not done playing Superman ( via The Hollywood Reporter ). In an Instagram post on Monday, he posted a promotional image of himself as the superhero, along with a video where he says, “I am back as Superman.” His announcement comes after he made a cameo appearance in Black Adam , DC’s latest movie, and as we’re starting to hear reports that a sequel to 2013’s Man of Steel is in the works. In his video, Cavill calls the image and his appearance in Black Adam “just a very small taste of what’s to come.” The caption also references “the dawn of hope renewed” and says that people’s patience will be rewarded. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Henry Cavill... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/24/23420886/henry-cavill-superman-role-return-rumors-man-of-steel

Plastic, Styrofoam, and other trash drain down from storm channels and wash up along the banks of Ballona Creek after the first major rain of the season in Los Angeles, California.  | Photo by: Citizen of the Planet / UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty Images We’ve known for years that plastic recycling rates are low, but they’ve managed to get even worse. The state of plastic recycling in the US is so abysmal that no plastic packaging can even be considered recyclable, according to a new report published today by environmental group Greenpeace. Households in the US tossed out 51 million tons of plastic waste in 2021, says the new report. Just 2.4 million tons of that plastic was recycled, or just under 5 percent — compared to 8.7 percent in 2018 . With so little of the waste recycled, no type of plastic used in the US meets an industry-backed standard for what’s considered “recyclable,” says Greenpeace With so little of the waste recycled, no type of plastic packagin...

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is launching its own version of the Mac Mini today with a $599 PC that’s designed for developers to build native Arm apps for Windows 11. Known previously as Project Volterra , the Windows Dev Kit 2023 (what a name) will be available today in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the US. Developers will be able to purchase the device, but really anyone wanting a miniature Windows on Arm machine can buy one, too. The Windows Dev Kit 2023 is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 platform with 32GB of RAM and 512GB of NVMe storage. There are also two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports at the side and three USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 ports at the rear, alongside an Ethernet port and Mini DisplayPort. There’s also a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/24/23420207/microsoft-windows-dev-kit-2023-project-volterra-release-date-price

Spooky season is also savings season. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Spooky season may soon be coming to a close, but deals season is still in full swing. First off, you can buy the latest version of the Amazon Echo smart speaker for just $49.99 at Amazon , Best Buy , or Target . This $50 discount is the lowest price for the fourth generation of Amazon’s smart speaker. While it came out in 2020, and the smaller Echo Dot just got a fifth-gen release, the ponderous Echo just got a handy new feature added via firmware update. Now, if you have an Eero mesh Wi-Fi router you can use the fourth-gen Echo to extend its network . But the Echo does a lot more than extend a Wi-Fi network, as it’s actually got a pretty formidable sound output for a small speaker. It can fill most rooms with music, and it even has some... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/24/23420466/amazon-echo-apple-pencil-google-pixel-6a-bose-qc45-deal-sale

Bravo to OnePlus for dropping the gimmicky macro camera. | Image: OnePlus OnePlus is bringing its signature fast charging feature to a lower price bracket in the Nord N300 5G. It includes 33W wired charging (with a charger in the box!) and will sell for $228 — an appealing proposition since most flagship phones don’t even include charging that fast. The N300 also bears a striking resemblance to parent company Oppo’s K10 5G , released in India earlier this year. It makes a few tradeoffs to hit its low price point, and we’ll be curious to see how they pan out. The Nord N300 uses a midrange MediaTek Dimensity 810 chipset with 4GB of RAM, which is a shift from the Snapdragon processors used in its previous Nord devices sold in North America. The N300 also breaks away from previous budget OnePlus devices by opting... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/10/24/23416948/oneplus-nord-n300-5g-specs-price-availability-t-mobile