Lead Hacker

It’s not nothing, but it’s still not great. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The worst month of any Apple Music user’s life has been, for the past few years, December. Do not fight me on this — I’m sure you’ve all had other bad things happen to you in other months, but we must agree that December blows. That’s because December is the month when the cultural phenomenon that is Spotify Wrapped takes over the internet. It takes over Twitter, it takes over Instagram, it takes over TikTok, and some foolhardy souls even post it on Facebook. For users of Apple Music (myself included), it’s like being denied a seat at the cool kids’ cafeteria table. Everywhere we go, we are surrounded by Spotify Wrapped. We cannot escape Spotify Wrapped. And yet, we cannot participate. We’re forced to observe. Until this year. This... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23486187/apple-music-replay-spotify-wrapped-bad

The Stadia Controller. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Google will be issuing refunds for Stadia hardware purchased from the Google Store within two weeks, according to an email sent to customers on Wednesday. That means the refunds should arrive well ahead of the cloud gaming service’s impending January 18th shutdown . Purchases of the Stadia controller, the Founder’s Edition , the Premiere Edition , and Play and Watch with Google TV packages are all eligible for refunds, according to Google’s Stadia shutdown FAQ . At the time of the shutdown announcement, Google committed to refunding hardware and software purchases, and it began software refunds earlier this month . Once your hardware refund has been issued, you’ll get an email confirmation, Google said in Wednesday’s email. Google expects the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/30/23486304/google-stadia-hardware-refund-store

Remote-controlled robots like this are often used by police departments to examine, disarm, or detonate bombs. | Image: DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images San Francisco’s police will be allowed to use remote-controlled robots to kill suspects. The city’s board of supervisors last night approved a controversial policy that lets police robots “be used as a deadly force option when risk of loss of life to members of the public or officers is imminent and outweighs any other force option available.” The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) said it does not own any pre-armed robots and has no plans to arm its current machines, reports Sky News . As SFPD spokesperson Allison Maxie explained in a statement, the department’s robots can now be equipped with explosives “to contact, incapacitate, or disorient violent, armed, or dangerous suspect” in “extreme circumstances to save or prevent further... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/30/23486090/robots-deadly

Would you let this man stick wires in your brain? | Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge So let’s talk about Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company. There’s a “show-and-tell” event coming at 6PM PT / 9PM ET today , November 30th, and ordinarily I would be providing you with the service of telling you where to watch it. But frankly, I don’t know, and like most Musk companies, Neuralink does not have a PR department. Fun! It’ll be on YouTube , probably. Musk has said he wanted to do tests in people in 2022, but he is also completely lousy at deadlines One thing to keep in mind during the presentation is that the Food and Drug Administration specifically regulates medical devices — not just brain implants. That means clinical trials to get the agency’s approval. Now, I see that Neuralink has a job posted for a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/30/23484918/elon-musk-neuralink-event-brains-computers

Buttons and smartwatches belong together. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge For me, the worst part about running in cold weather isn’t the freezing wind, black ice, or the fact that my face feels like it’s been stabbed with one thousand needles. It’s the 10 seconds spent shivering as my icicle fingers navigate through menus to launch an Apple Watch workout. Ten seconds isn’t much, but it’s enough for the cold to seep into your bones because you’re not moving. That’s why I was stoked for the Apple Watch Ultra and one of its key new features: the Action Button. The Action Button is a programmable physical button that’s exclusive to the Ultra. Unlike the digital crown or side button, it isn’t hard-coded to do any one thing. Instead, you can program it to do anything you want. Sort of. Apple placed the button on... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23475900/apple-watch-ultra-action-button-of-the-month

You could win cash, in-game currency, or even consoles during the two-month-long tournament. | Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment Starting on December 1st, PlayStation gamers will be able to compete in ladder tournaments against other players for clout and prizes. Dubbed the “Win-A-Thon,” the ladder tournaments for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 run from December 1st to January 31st and can be entered via the Events page on each console. Sony seems to be making it deliberately simple to use this feature, giving it some front-and-center attention on the homescreen. After all, new features don’t mean much if you can’t find them (RIP Accolades) . PlayStation Tournaments on PS5 officially launches today. Full details on its features, Discord community hub, and a new competition kicking off this week: https://t.co/mghKwKdUX0 pic.twitter.com/wmAqBij15I —... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/29/23484424/sony-playstation-tournament-prizes-con

“Orion reached its maximum distance from Earth during the Artemis I mission when it was 268,563 miles away from our home planet.” — NASA | Image: NASA On Monday, NASA’s Orion spacecraft reached its farthest distance from Earth, clocking in at 268,563 miles away from our planet. This marks the halfway point of the 25.5-day Artemis I mission , and the spacecraft will now continue its orbit around the Moon before heading back toward Earth. “Artemis I has had extraordinary success and has completed a series of history-making events,” NASA administrator Bill Nelson said in a press conference, pointing out that Orion was the first spacecraft designed to carry humans to enter a distant retrograde lunar orbit and that it has surpassed the record for the furthest distance traveled away from Earth by a human-rated spacecraft. During Orion’s orbit around the Moon, which will last about a week, it... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/29/23484571/artemis-1-halfway

The new SlimBlade Pro. | Image: Kensington Kensington’s new version of its SlimBlade trackball mouse has a big improvement over the original model: wireless connectivity. With the SlimBlade Pro, which Kensington announced on Tuesday , you’ll be able to connect the trackball to your PC or Mac via Bluetooth or with a 2.4GHz wireless dongle ( via 9to5Mac ). Kensington claims the SlimBlade Pro will be able to get up to four months of battery life on a single charge, so you should be able to use the trackball for quite a while before needing to plug it in. The dongle has a handy storage spot on the bottom of the trackball if you want to keep it out of sight. And if you prefer keeping your mouse or trackball hooked up to your computer all the time, the SlimBlade Pro works with a wired... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/29/23484383/kensington-slimblade-pro-trackball-mouse-wireless

A Rolls-Royce AE 2100-A regional aircraft engine converted to perform a hydrogen test at Boscombe Down in the UK. | Image: Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce and European airline easyJet announced that they’ve successfully tested a hydrogen jet engine — technology the companies hope might eventually help erase aviation’s greenhouse gas emissions. The ground test marks “the world’s first run of a modern aero engine on hydrogen,” Rolls-Royce said in a press release yesterday. Aviation is considered one of the most difficult industries to clean up because it’s much harder to make electric planes than electric vehicles. Batteries charged with renewable solar and wind energy are still too bulky for long flights. So airlines and plane manufacturers are working to develop planes that can run on cleaner fuels like hydrogen, which produces water vapor instead of carbon dioxide when burned.... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/29/23483889/rolls-royce-easyjet-hydrogen-fuel-

Image: Obsidian Entertainment The game’s excellent art style and thoughtful narrative obscure a pretty boring gameplay loop. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23482189/pentiment-xbox-obsidian-entertainment-impressions

Protestors in Hong Kong show solidarity with people in mainland China and hold blank sheets of paper as a symbol of censorship. | Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images Police in China are checking people’s phones for the presence of foreign apps, including Instagram, Twitter, and the encrypted messaging app Telegram, according to reports from The Wall Street Journal and CNBC . While both outlets indicate that police are stopping people at transportation hubs in Shanghai, William Yang, the East Asia correspondent at the German outlet DW News , says it’s happening in Beijing and Hangzhou as well. According to reports from TechCrunch and The Washington Post , people in the country are accessing banned services like Twitter, Telegram, and Instagram through virtual private networks (VPNs) to communicate and organize protests against China’s zero-covid policies. Posts about the protests are heavily censored on... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/28/23482339/

The latest iPad Mini is $100 off for Cyber Monday at a few retailers. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Plenty of tech is on sale during Cyber Monday , including Apple products. Below, we’ve compiled the best Cyber Monday deals on Apple devices that we could find, including laptops, iPads, Apple Watches, AirPods, AirTags, and more. We’re still keeping an eye out for any iPhone deals that pop up as well, though the only kind of deal we’ve seen thus far are carrier discounts and not actual price cuts on hardware. The best Cyber Monday iPad deals It’s a great time to buy an iPad. The base iPad from 2021 with a Lightning connector is a good value for $269.99 . The $100 discount that brings the 2021 iPad Mini with a USB-C connector down to $399.99 is good , too, even though that deal isn’t new. The next step is a great deal on the 2022 iPad Air... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23466789/apple-black-friday-2022-deals-cyber-monday-macbook-ipad-airtags-wa

Elon Musk is speaking out against Apple. | Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk claims that Apple has threatened to “withhold” Twitter from the iOS App Store for unknown reasons. The news follows a tweet where Musk said Apple had “mostly stopped advertising” on the platform and a poll asking whether Apple should “publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers.” Apple did not immediately comment on Musk’s claim. The news follows much more subtle signs of mounting tension between Apple and Musk-owned Twitter. Musk has criticized Apple’s App Store fee for in-app purchases, dubbing it a “hidden 30% tax” on the internet. And Apple App Store boss Phil Schiller deleted his Twitter account following Musk’s takeover, shortly after Donald Trump’s account was reinstated. In a November 15th... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/28/23482387/elon-musk-twitter-apple-threat-withhold-app-store

Medical personnel use a mammogram to examine a woman’s breast for breast cancer. | Photo by Michael Hanschke/picture alliance via Getty Images Google announced today that it has licensed its AI research model for breast cancer screening to medical technology company iCAD. This is the first time Google is licensing the technology, with the hopes that it will eventually lead to more accurate breast cancer detection and risk assessment. The two companies aim to eventually deploy the technology in real-world clinical settings — targeting a “2024 release,” Google communications manager Nicole Linton told The Verge in an email. Commercial deployment, however, still depends on how successful continued research and testing are. “We will move deliberately and test things as we go,” Linton said in the email. “We will move deliberately and test things as we go.” The partnership builds on... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/28/23481967/google-partners-icad-me

Texting yourself sounds weird until you try it. Then it becomes indispensable. For a while now, my highest-volume messaging conversation has been with myself (which sounds sad now that I say it, but we’ll leave that for another day), and it has become a key part of how I live my digital life. To be clear, I’m not texting with the voices in my head. I’m using my messaging app the way millions of people use their email — to send myself quick notes, reminders, links, photos, and stuff I need to be able to get to later. It all becomes searchable, available across devices, and accessible in the same app that’s already in my dock and opened a hundred times a day to chat with friends and family. Texting yourself is a pretty good life hack and,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/28/23481881/message-self-whatsapp-messages-slack-signal

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge BlockFi has become the latest crypto firm to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a couple of weeks after pausing withdrawals on November 10th. The company is citing a “lack of clarity” around the circumstances of FTX, the collapsed firm going through its own bankruptcy process amid accusations of fraud and shoddy record-keeping . In a press release posted on Monday, BlockFi announced it’s filing for bankruptcy to help “stabilize its business.” The bankruptcy filing submitted in New Jersey lists Ankura Trust Company as its largest creditor, to the tune of $729 million, followed by FTX US at $275 million. The SEC is fourth on the list, owed $30 million as a result of penalties laid down earlier this year. Image: BlockFi B... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/28/23460543/blockfi-ftx-chapter-11-bankruptcy-crypto

Photo by Soeren Stache/picture alliance via Getty Images The European Commission is opening the door for European airlines to begin offering inflight 5G connectivity, the organization has announced , by allocating certain spectrum for inflight 5G as well as “previous mobile technology generations.” Passengers will connect to an on-board pico-cell base station, which then connects to ground-based networks via satellite. Calls, texts, and data are all expected to be supported. “5G will enable innovative services for people and growth opportunities for European companies,” said EU commissioner Thierry Breton. “The sky is no longer a limit when it comes to possibilities offered by super-fast, high-capacity connectivity.” The Commission’s announcement does not offer details on exactly when 5G... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/28/23481637/european-union-inflight-5g-commission-spectrum

Image: Sony Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi isn’t ruling out a PC port for the long-running racing sim franchise. In an interview with GTPlanet ( via Eurogamer ) during the Gran Turismo World Finals on Sunday, Yamauchi told the outlet that the Polyphony Digital development team is “looking into” bringing the series from PlayStation to PC. “Gran Turismo is a very finely tuned title,” Yamauchi told GTPlanet , while also expressing some concern about getting the game to consistently run in 4K at 60 frames per second across all platforms. “It’s not a very easy subject, but of course, we are looking into it and considering it.” Gran Turismo 7 was released exclusively for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 back in March, and its potential jump to PC... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/27/23480846/gran-turismo-chief-looking-into-pc-port-playstation

The Arc is 20 percent off. Still expensive though. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Here’s a good deal: a big swath of Sonos’s speakers and soundbars are 20 percent off through Cyber Monday. The sale is now live at Sonos’s website as well as Best Buy, Target, and other retailers. Pretty much everything is at its lowest price ever, and while there are some notable exclusions — including the Sonos Roam, Five, and Sub Mini — it’s still a great time to fill out your Sonos system. Deals on Sonos soundbars and subwoofers The Sonos Arc is their flagship soundbar with Dolby Atmos, perfect for pairing with that big-ass new TV. It’s $720 at Best Buy , Sonos , and Target , which is better than $900. ( read our review ) The Sonos Beam (second gen) is smaller, and half the price (currently $360 at Best Buy , Sonos , and Target ). It... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/27/23480560/sonos-speakers-soundbars-cyber-monday-deal-best-buy-target

The latest Kindle Paperwhite starts at $94.99 with 8GB of storage and ads.. | Image: Amazon Deals on new LG OLED TVs are nice and all, but not everybody can afford to spend over $1,000. If you’re trying to keep your holiday shopping on a budget, we’re here to help. We found plenty of terrific Cyber Monday discounts under $100 that make for good gifts, ranging from deals on streaming services like Hulu’s to e-readers like the latest Kindle Paperwhite . We’ve curated the cream of the crop here, but if you’re on an even tighter budget, check out our guides to the best Cyber Monday deals under $50 and under $25 . The best early Cyber Monday deals under $100 The best deals on streaming services and devices A yearlong subscription to Hulu with ads is down to $23.88 from $79.99. Even better, new and returning subscribers... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23480442/cyber-monday-2022-tech-deals-under-100-streaming-speakers-gaming

The LG Libero sits flush against partitions. | Image: LG Desk space is pretty limited when you’re working inside a cubicle, but LG’s 27-inch Libero Monitor could help you clear up a little more room. The monitor, which LG released back in August, comes with a two-way stand that lets you either hang it up on the wall of your workspace or have it stand on its own. The Libero’s design is pretty clever. It actually hangs upside down when hooked to the included partition hanger, and then flips right side up when set atop your desk. LG says it automatically adjusts its screen orientation when flipped, and it also comes with a detachable webcam (along with two webcam ports), so you can partake in video calls no matter how it’s mounted. That said, it seems like a useful external monitor or a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/27/23480405/til-lg-libero-space-saving-cubicle-monitor

Frontier described its one-on-one voice calls as “unscalable, inefficient, and expensive” during an investor presentation. | Kathryn Scott Osler/The Denver Post via Getty Images Frontier, the budget-friendly airline that charges for everything from in-flight snacks to carry-ons, is looking to cut costs even more by doing away with its customer service phone line ( via CNBC ). Customers with questions about their reservations can now only contact Frontier’s agents through the live chat on its website, via WhatsApp, or on social media. In an emailed statement to The Verge , company spokesperson Jennifer De La Cruz confirmed that Frontier’s customer service has “transitioned to fully digital communications,” which is supposed to help “ensure customers get the information they need as expeditiously and efficiently as possible.” When customers try to call the phone number that Frontier removed from its website (but... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/27/23

That’s it. That’s the dock. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Friday afternoons growing up meant a trip to the video store. It was an utter thrill, like a little weekly Christmas, where my mom would turn my sister and me loose among the laminated, empty VHS boxes to pick out something to rent for the weekend. And as a rare treat, she would sometimes relent to our whining and let us take home the Holy Grail of rentals: a Sega console. A teenage Video Update employee would retrieve it for us and make sure that the controllers and cords were all accounted for in a massive, nuclear-code-style suitcase. That’s what carrying an entire game console looked like in 1993. Things are a little different now. A few weeks ago, I packed our game console to take it along on a family vacation. This time, it all... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/27/23475551/genki-covert-dock-mini-nintendo-switch

The Noc Design / The Verge You know how most streets in US towns look exactly the same, barring a few differences? That’s kind of how Cyber Monday is to Black Friday. Many of its deals should be familiar if you’ve been paying attention throughout the Thanksgiving weekend, even though it’s taking on another name. If you haven’t been tuned in, well, you’re in for a treat. There are so many best-ever deals on tech like noise-canceling headphones and earbuds, iPads, video games, budget-friendly gadgets, and a lot more (pour one out for the $569 48-inch LG A2 OLED TV at Best Buy, which is no longer available). We’re serving you the best-of-the-best deals right up top, just below a handy table of contents that’ll help you zip around to your preferred product category. ... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23480106/cyber-monday-2022-early-deals-tech-best-phones-gaming-headphones

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Sinead McSweeney, Twitter’s Ireland-based global vice president of public policy, secured a temporary injunction from the High Court of Dublin to prevent her from getting fired, according to a report from The Irish Times . McSweeney claims she was locked out of her work accounts and Twitter’s Dublin office after not responding to the email Elon Musk sent to employees, which asked workers to reply “yes” to commit to Twitter’s “extremely hardcore” culture , or otherwise leave. Musk sent out the email shortly after his Twitter takeover on November 16th, and gave employees a little over a day to confirm whether they wanted to stay at the company. If an employee didn’t click “yes” on the form included in the email, Twitter said it would “treat... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/26/23479275/twitter-executive-court-injunction-elon-musk-fired-sinead-mcsweeney

My actual face after destroying my nephews with a blue shell. The holidays ( excluding Black Friday ) are truly a time to show a little extra compassion and empathy toward our fellow humans, but if you feel the need to use that blue shell, don’t hesitate. Right now, multiple retailers still have an excellent Nintendo Switch bundle that includes a digital copy of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe , a three-month individual membership to Nintendo Switch Online , and a standard Nintendo Switch . Normally, the combined price of everything included in this bundle would cost roughly $368, but it’s currently available at Walmart , Target , and Best Buy for just $299.99. Mario Kart is a game that needs no introduction, but Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is a rguably the best entry in the series to date thanks to not only the portable... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/26/23479297/black-friday-2022-nintendo-switch-bundle-mario-kart-online-deal-sale

The latest Kindle Paperwhite is still available for its best price yet at Amazon and elsewhere | Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge Despite the arrival of Amazon’s latest entry-level Kindle , the Kindle Paperwhite remains the best value in Amazon’s current Kindle lineup. Thankfully, you can currently find the 8GB, ad-supported model still discounted to just $94.99 (normally $139.99) at Amazon , Buy Buy , and Target . The ad-free model is also available at Amazon for $114.99 instead of $159.99 , which remains its lowest price to date. While 8GB can still hold roughly 2,000 individual pieces of literature, if you’re planning on using your Paperwhite to listen to audiobooks, there are also substantial discounts on the 16GB model, which is on sale at Amazon for $99.99 instead of $149.99 in the ad-supported configuration or for $119.99 (normally $169.99) without ads . While... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/26/23479247/amazon-black-friday-2022-k

Image: TC Sottek / The Verge The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division has reportedly opened up an investigation into RealPage, the real estate technology company accused of contributing to higher-than-normal rent prices. According to a report from ProPublica , the DOJ is looking into whether the company’s rent-setting software allows landlords to coordinate and raise rent across the nation. This comes after last month’s report from ProPublica , which revealed that RealPage’s YieldStar software uses an algorithm to “help landlords push the highest possible rents on tenants.” As noted by ProPublica , YieldStar’s algorithm uses the non-public rental rates gathered from the landlords and property managers that are its clients. YieldStar then repackages that... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/26/23479034/doj-investigating-rent-setting-software-company-realpage

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Huawei, ZTE, Hikvision, Hytera, and Dahua all sell telecommunications equipment and video surveillance technology into the United States, but many of their future security cams and radio hardware will no longer be welcome. The Federal Communications Commission has just announced it’ll no longer authorize some of their equipment — which is a big deal, because companies can’t legally import or sell anything with a radio in the US without that authorization . But as I’ll explain, it’s not a blanket ban, either. Clearly-marked consumer products are likely going to be exempt. Weren’t these companies already banned? Not exactly. You’re probably remembering how the Trump administration didn’t make Chinese telecom companies feel particularly... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/25/23478132/fcc-china-huawei-zte-hikvision-camera-telecom-authorization-ban

The excellent bundle isn’t on sale, but it does include one of the best games of the year. | Image: Santa Monica Studio If you’ve been hunting for a PlayStation 5, Walmart is hosting yet another restock event today for Sony’s next-gen console. For the second time this week, Walmart is selling the disc-based PS5 with a digital copy of God of War Ragnar ö k . This time, though, the bundle is available to everybody — not just premium Walmart Plus subscribers. As usual, we recommend logging in to an account you might already have or creating one. It can help to have your billing and shipping info already saved in your account, thus reducing the time it takes for you to check out and minimizing the chance of errors. If you don’t nab a console today, fear not — we will continue serving you with details when more restocks happen. If you’re looking for more Black... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2021/11/9/22772583/playstation-5-ps5-console-restock-walm

The Apple Watch Ultra is $60 off at multiple retailers. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Picking a smartwatch or fitness tracker can be daunting. There are dozens of factors to consider, such as style, durability, connectivity options, battery life, and the types of metrics tracked. Plus, there are enough models to make your head spin. With all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals , it can be hard to know what’s worth it and what isn’t. No worries. We’ve picked out the best deals so you don’t have to. They’re separated into three categories: smartwatches, multisport watches (for your hardcore athletes), and fitness trackers. The best Black Friday smartwatch deals The 41mm Apple Watch Series 8 with GPS is $349, which is $50 off its normal price, at Amazon , Walmart , and Targ et . It lacks cellular capability, but it’s still... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23475045/black-friday-2022-smartwatch-deals-cyber-monday-fitness-trackers

This MacBook Air M2 could be yours for a discounted price this Black Friday season. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great times to get your gadget shopping out of the way. Not only can you find discounts on smaller devices like headphones and games, but you can also save on bigger-ticket items like laptops across the price continuum. Whether you’re looking for the thinnest and lightest device you can buy or a heavy-duty gaming rig, Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring discounts for all. Amazon Laptop Deals The Razer Book 13 is down to $1,549.99 at Amazon (normally $1,999.99) and $1,399.99 at Best Buy . The Razer Book has Razer’s signature portability and sleek style, but it’s built for work and productivity use rather than gaming. Read our review . Samsung’s 13-inch Galaxy Book2 Pro is available at Amazon for $899.99... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23473739/black-friday-2022-laptop-deals-cyber-monday-ap

Image: Max Inferno A lot of the games that I loved at Summer Game Fest are slowly starting to make their way into the wider world beyond previews and demos. A Little to the Left is one of those games — and I could not be more jazzed to tell you about it. A Little to the Left — ALTTL for short — is one of those quiet and peaceful indie games that conceal complex design behind a deceptively simple premise. In it, you’re tasked with setting right your home after the entropy of life (and a very mischievous cat) have mucked it up. To do that, you repair, replace, and reorder household objects in a series of bite-sized puzzles. In one puzzle, you might have a scattered array of broken pottery pieces that you must order correctly to repair a broken vase. In... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23473263/a-little-to-the-left-nintendo-switch-pc

Happy holidays, sports fans. As is tradition, we’re offering our beloved Verge audience a special discount in our merch store from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. We suggest you act quickly, because a deal this good won’t last. Now through 11:59PM ET on Monday, November 28th, everything in our merch store is 50% off. There’s no promo code required. Can’t decide between our Light Mode and Dark Mode tees? No worries — now get them both for the cost of one. Or sail the peaks and valleys of the web with our USB Sea shirt. We’ll have a lot more in store over the next year, so stay tuned. And, as always, if there’s something you’d like to see us make, let us know in the comments. Also be sure to subscribe to our Verge Deals newsletter for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23477816/verge-merch-store-black-friday-cyber-monday-sale-2022

Graphic by James Bareham / The Verge The UK government says it plans to make the sharing of non-consensual pornographic deepfakes illegal, with offenders facing “potential time behind bars.” The new offense is set to be added to the long-awaited and controversial Online Safety Bill, a mammoth piece of legislation that will rewrite the UK’s rules for policing harmful internet content. The government announced this morning that deepfakes would be covered in the legislation along with strengthened laws against “downblousing” (taking explicit images down a women’s top without consent). The passage of the bill was delayed this year by recent political chaos , but the UK government now plans to return it to parliament in December for further debate. 1 in 14 adults in England and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/25/23477548/uk-deepfake-porn-illegal-offence-online-safety-bill-proposal

Elon’s answer to Twitter verification hell is to go back to manually authenticating accounts. Oh, and making the tick a different color. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Elon Musk says that Twitter’s check mark program could return on Friday, December 2nd, with a new procedure to verify individual identities in order to resolve impersonation issues. Musk described the new manual authentication process as “ painful, but necessary. ” Verified check marks will also be expanded with additional colors — gold for companies, grey for the government, and the original blue for individual accounts. As it turns out, offering so-called verified check marks for an $8 monthly subscription without actually verifying identities wasn’t a brilliant idea. After Musk ignored warnings from Twitter’s own trust and safety staff , the platform’s paid Twitter Blue subscriptions rolled out and quickly resulted in some ‘verified’... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/25/2

Photo by James Wakibia/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Twitter CEO Elon Musk has decided to offer “general amnesty” to suspended accounts — a gentler way of saying that he’s decided to welcome back some of the site’s worst and most toxic people. It’s the second major moderation decision he’s made since taking over after unbanning former President Donald Trump ; both decisions were made after Musk ran an informal poll from his personal Twitter account. The decision to reverse years of moderation work at Twitter effectively trashes Musk’s original promise: to create a diverse council that would help adjudicate serious moderation decisions. Musk then backed out of the idea by blaming “political/social activist groups” for breaking an alleged “deal” — a claim nobody has verified and that... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/24/23476655/elon-musk-general-amnesty-mass-unban-twitter

The deals are at hand. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge If you’ve been putting off replacing an old phone until the end of the year, then well done — Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are here to take the sting out of a new phone purchase. This year’s batch of deals features some healthy discounts on the latest flagships, including the iPhone 14 Pro and Google’s excellent Pixel 7 , as well as some steep price cuts on already well-priced midrange models. If you’re shopping for a new phone, take a look at our picks for the best deals of the bunch. The best Black Friday iPhone deals Apple isn’t one for Black Friday, but you can still find a few ways to save on a new iPhone. Verizon is offering a free iPhone 14 Pro when you trade in an old phone on a select 5G unlimited plan, while AT&T is... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23475851/black-friday-2022-phone-deals-cyber-monday-apple-iphone-samsung-google-motorola

You can save hundreds on LG’s C2 OLED, which is currently on sale in numerous size configurations. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Times are hard, and if you’ve been stressing about how you’re going to afford a good gift this holiday season, it’s understandable. Thankfully, Black Friday offers one of the best (and last) opportunities to save big before the holidays. This year, we’re seeing some steep discounts on the newest and most popular products, including the new AirPods Pro and LG’s latest C2 OLED. There are also deals available that won’t absolutely destroy your budget — like those on the new fifth-gen Echo Dot and even a year of Hulu . Below, we’ve curated a guide to some of the best deals on presents you can buy right now. Many of these are taken right from our various holiday gift guides as well, so if you need further inspiration, be sure to take a look... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23475599/black-friday-deals-gift-ideas-cyber-monda

Some of the top-of-the-line robot vacuums are seeing their first big price cuts this holiday shopping season. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy ‘Tis the season to find some serious bargains on smart home gear. Black Friday and its close cousin, Cyber Monday, have long been prime times to nab a deal on smart lighting , smart locks, robot vacuums, security cameras, and smart speakers, to name just a few. With the new smart home standard Matter on the horizon (yes, it is technically here, but there still are very few devices you can actually buy), it's worth being a bit discerning in your bargain shopping if you plan to take advantage of the new interoperability protocol. (Which means if you want all your devices to work with all the different smart home platforms out of the box). So, we’ve highlighted deals on gadgets that will work with Matter or, if not, gadgets that work with... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23475433/black-friday-2022-smart-hom

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Two Estonians have been arrested and are facing extradition to the US after being accused of defrauding thousands of people out of around $575 million with a crypto Ponzi scheme, according to the US Department of Justice . Sergei Potapenko and Ivan Turõgin, along with four unnamed co-conspirators, were allegedly behind a scam crypto mining company called HashFlare and a fake crypto bank project called Polybius. The scheme began in 2013 when Potapenko, Turõgin, and the others started a company called HashCoins, according to an indictment, which you can read in full below. HashCoins said it built cryptocurrency mining equipment, though the DOJ says it actually only “sometimes” resold equipment and components that it bought off the shelf. By... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/23/23474163/hashflare-crypto-mining-alleged-scam-arrests

For a limited time, Hulu’s just $1.99 per month for 12 months. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge If you’ve been waiting for a good deal to land on a streaming service you’ve been eyeing, Black Friday is a great opportunity to save. A number of major services are currently offering some pretty solid deals that’ll save you a lot in the long run, and best of all, some of them are available to both current and returning subscribers. Right now, for instance, new and returning subscribers can enjoy a year of Hulu for just $1.99 a month instead of $7.99 a month , which equates to a savings of $72. To make your life just a little easier, we’ve highlighted some of the best Black Friday streaming service deals currently available below. If you’re looking to save even more money this week, though, be sure to check out our roundup of the best... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23466644/black-friday-2022-streaming-deals-cyber-monday-hulu-hbo-max-paramount-peacock

Dave Bautista as Drax. | Image: Disney The sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe has set its sights on the holidays. It started quietly, with a black-and-white monster movie released ahead of Halloween . But now, with The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney Plus, the MCU has gone ahead and turned the most wonderful time of the year into another piece of its complex and ever-expanding narrative. Now, to be fair, it’s at least a fun addition to the MCU. The special clocks in at less than an hour and is basically a feel-good Christmas story with some sci-fi shenanigans thrown in. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt, doing his best Super Mario impression ) is understandably sad following the loss of Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), so his friends Drax (Dave Bautista) and Mantis (Pom... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23475046/guardians-of-the-galaxy-holiday-special-review-disney-plus

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge We found the best cameras for your budget and needs Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23133103/best-instant-cameras-fujifilm-polaroid-kodak

Apple’s first-gen AirPods Pro are one of our go-to picks and are often on sale. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge If you know where to look, there are often some great discounts available on Apple’s popular — yet oftentimes expensive — AirPods. Since Apple launched the third-gen AirPods last year, we’ve seen the starting price of the second-gen, entry-level model drop from $159 to $129. And now that you can buy the second-gen AirPods Pro and Black Friday season is here , we’re seeing even better discounts on the last-gen Pro and other models. Below, we’ve curated the best deals currently available on each model, including the entry-level AirPods, the AirPods Pro, the third-gen AirPods, and the AirPods Max. And to save even more on other products, including Apple devices, be sure to check out our guide to the best Apple deals this Black Friday and our... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/21302051/best-apple-airpods-deals

Walmart is selling the first-gen AirPods Pro for just $159, which is a $90 discount. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Just like Best Buy and Target, Walmart has already dropped many of its Black Friday deals ahead of the main event. The retailer began rolling out discounts online as part of its Deals for Days event earlier this month, and has continued adding to the pile on a weekly basis. Although it’s possible we’ll see prices drop even further when Black Friday officially lands later this week, we’re already seeing some steep discounts on a range of popular products, including the first-gen AirPods Pro . For your convenience, we’ve curated some of the best tech deals at Walmart for you to check out here. If you’re looking for even more deals, be sure to check out our roundup of the best early Black Friday deals available at all retailers . We’ve also... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23440480/walmart-black-friday-2022-best-tech-deals-cyber-monday

Image: Second Dinner The developers behind Marvel Snap keep giving the people what they want. In a blog post , the developers announced that in the next patch, they’re adding a slew of new cards and a way for players to get the cards they’ve been pining for. Right now, the way you earn cards in Marvel Snap is by making your way up the collection rank ladder. Every so often, you’ll be rewarded with a new card from a specific pool at random. Random is all fun and good as it forces players to get creative in how they construct their decks so everyone isn’t running the same high-powered cards. But it still kinda sucks when you could craft the perfect deck to drive your enemies from you wailing and screaming if only you had that one card. ( Wong , I need Wong!) C... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/22/23473633/marvel-snap-new-cards-collectors-tokens

Aerial view of the Diablo Canyon, the only operational nuclear plant left in California. | Photo by George Rose / Getty Images The Department of Energy extended a $1.1 billion lifeline to California’s embattled Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Diablo Canyon has become a major flashpoint over what kinds of energy are considered “clean” and what risks policymakers are willing to take to reach their climate goals. The $1.1 billion in funding, announced yesterday, comes from a $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit program made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Congress passed last year. Diablo Canyon is the first power plant to be awarded credits from the program, which aims to extend the lives of reactors in danger of closing down. Diablo Canyon is the first power plant to be awarded The two nuclear reactors at Diablo Canyon were slated to be decommissioned... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/11/22/23473116/diablo-canyon-nuclear-power-plant-cal