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Leap Motion controller Ten years after debuting with a $79.99 Kinect-like control unit, the company now called Ultraleap is back with a sequel. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/21/4351588/leap-motion-gesture-control

Google Assistant will no longer integrate third-party lists and reminder apps starting June 20th. | Image: The Verge Google Assistant will lose the ability to integrate with third-party notes apps on June 20th, per an AnyList developer blog post announcing the change ( via 9to5Google ). AnyList says it’s talking to Google about the change and hopes it can re-add integration later but, for now, has nothing to announce. The loss of third-party notes and list app support will come along with the deprecation of Google software support for third-party Google Assistant smart displays, which was discovered in April this year . AnyList noted in its post that integration is still possible with Amazon Alexa and Siri. Right now, there are four options for notes app integrations in Google Assistant settings: Any.do, AnyList, Bring Shopping Lists, and Google Keep.... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/31/23744374/google-nest-hub-assistant-anylist-anydo-keep-thi

Image: Ring Amazon’s Ring unit has agreed to pay $5.8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that its doorbells illegally spied on users. The settlement addresses a lawsuit filed by the FTC Wednesday accusing Ring of unlawfully deceiving its customers over the privacy of their data and the videos collected by its products. According to the agency’s complaint , Ring failed to restrict employees and contractors from accessing customer videos and used them to train algorithms without user consent. “Ring’s disregard for privacy and security exposed consumers to spying and harassment,” FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection director Samuel Levine said in a statement Wednesday. “The FTC’s order makes clear that putting profit over privacy... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/31/23744369/amazon-ring-doorbell-ftc-privacy-spying-settlement

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Instagram users have long theorized about how “the algorithm” works to rank content on the platform and why some users’ posts seem less visible than others. Now, Instagram is opening up the hood on its recommendation system to explain why you see certain posts — at least partially. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) In a blog post, the company breaks down its ranking system by where a user will encounter content: the main feed, Stories, the Explore page, and Reels. There are countless pieces of information companies like Instagram use to predict what users will want to see and interact with, and there’s not one singular, all-knowing algorithm that drives... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/31/23744125/instagram-algorithm-recommendation-posts-reels-stories-shadow-banning

The ESA will be streaming images on YouTube from the Mars Express spacecraft on June 2nd, 2023. | Image: European Space Agency On June 2nd, 2023, the European Space Agency will be livestreaming images from the Mars Express, a spacecraft that first launched twenty years ago, per the agency’s announcement on Wednesday . The stream will take place for one hour, beginning on June 2nd at 11:45AM ET and will show new images every 50 seconds as they come straight from the Express’ Visual Monitoring Camera (VMC). The announcement points out that the images won’t be “live” per se, as it takes anywhere from three to 22 minutes for them to reach the Earth thanks to the famously slow speed of light. (That’s a joke — light is, to our knowledge, still the record holder for universal speed .) The Mars Express has been through a lot while making key discoveries about our rusty... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/31/23743463/esa-mars-express-live-stream

Image: Coin Crew Games Escape Academy was one of my favorite games from last year . I loved the challenging, escape room-style puzzles that gave my brain a good, hearty scratching, and my only real complaint was that it was over too soon. With no more puzzles to solve, I stepped away from the game. But now, to my delight, Escape Academy is getting its second DLC, Escape From the Past , on June 19th. I know most folks don’t play puzzle games for the story ( the possible exception being the fantastic Professor Layton games ), but the premise for Escape From the Past is actually compelling. You’re transported to the Escape Academy sometime in its past to solve puzzles with younger versions of characters from the base game who are still seriously attractive. One of... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23743779/escape-academy-dlc-escape-from-the-past-escape-room

Illustration: The Verge Apple’s rumored mixed reality headset might have extremely pixel-dense and bright displays, according to a tweet from Ross Young , CEO of Display Supply Chain Consultants, who has shared accurate information about Apple products in the past . Young says that the AR / VR headset will be equipped with two 1.41-inch Micro OLED screens, each with 4,000 ppi, and they’ll be able to go beyond 5,000 nits of brightness. You should also be able to see 4K resolution per eye, he said in a follow-up tweet . Based on previous reporting, it already seems like the headset could be a monster device , and displays like these could make it even more of a high-end product. Meta’s Quest 2 offers 773 ppi and 100 nits of brightness , and while that’s not a totally... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/30/23742631/apple-vr-ar-mixed-reality-headset-screens-displays-ppi

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Microsoft has issued a temporary fix for Surface Pro X tablets after cameras on the device stopped working last week . Issues with cameras on some Arm-based devices, including the Surface Pro X, started on May 23rd, with owners reporting they couldn’t use their built-in webcams in apps like Zoom and Microsoft Teams. “Microsoft is deploying a critical troubleshooter to mitigate this issue on most affected Windows devices,” reads a support note from Microsoft late on Friday. “This workaround might disable some features of the camera or lower the image quality but should allow the camera to function until the issue is resolved by the device manufacturer with an updated camera driver.” Qualcomm’s camera driver for these particular devices... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/30/23741995/microsoft-surface-pro-x-camera-fix-update

Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge I have two pieces of news for you this morning. The first is that My Photo Stream, the free cloud-based photo syncing feature Apple launched in 2011 , is still up and running in 2023. That’s despite it being effectively superseded by iCloud Photo Library roughly eight years ago . Now that you’re up to date, the second piece of news is that My Photo Stream is shutting down in a couple of months’ time on July 26th, according to an Apple Support page spotted by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman . The end of My Photo Stream won’t come as too much of a surprise. Although it was free, it came with a long list of restrictions on the amount of photos you could upload, and these were only saved on Apple’s servers for 30 days. Photos saved in the cloud then... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/30/23741976/apple-my-photo-stream-discontinued-july-2023

Image: Capcom The latest from Capcom introduces a story mode that builds on the traditional arcade and online experiences expected from a modern fighter. Plus, it has a beginner-friendly control scheme that’s a button masher’s dream. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23741204/street-fighter-6-review-ps5-xbox-pc

Here’s the new Prestige 16. | Image: MSI MSI — a brand traditionally known for gaming hardware — has announced a bunch of laptops at Computex 2023, and there’s an interesting lack of gamery among them. Instead, the company appears to be focusing hard on the premium lifestyle space with its mid-2023 offerings. Notable among these releases is the new Commercial 14 series, a line of business laptops intended to compete with high-end enterprise PCs — the likes of the ThinkPad. I conclude this from the fact that MSI’s press release highlights its “tailor-made solutions to enterprises through a series of optional security measures, NFC (near-field communication) and built-in Smart Card Reader.” If that’s not a word-for-word ThinkPad pitch, I don’t know what is. MSI has attempted... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/30/23741477/msi-creator-z-17-prestige-16-studio-evo-commercial-14

Photo by Colin Young-Wolff / Riot Games Players in the North American League of Legends esports league have voted to walk out in protest of Riot Games’ decision to no longer require franchises to field an amateur team. Since Riot’s announcement, many franchises have already dropped their amateur teams for the summer season, cutting off an important development pipeline for players who want to compete in the main League Championship Series (LCS). The vote, held by the LCSPA, which represents North American League of Legends esports players, passed “overwhelmingly,” according to an early Monday tweet . It’s unclear exactly when the walkout will take place, but assuming the two sides don’t come to some sort of agreement, it seems likely it will happen at the start of the summer... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/29/23741567/league-of-legends-players-association-lcspa-walkout

Image: CD Projekt Red The Witcher is a juggernaut, and thanks to new data from The Witcher game developer CD Projekt Red (CDPR), we have a better idea of just how huge it really is. The studio revealed Monday that The Witcher video games have sold more than 75 million copies , with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt alone responsible for more than 50 million of those sales . Those sorts of numbers mean that series is one of the biggest video game franchises of all time. For comparison, this new data puts The Witcher 3 in spitting distance of smash hits like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Red Dead Redemption 2 , which have both sold more than 53 million copies, and both of those are among the top-selling games ever . Those Witcher sales numbers will probably grow by quite a bit... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/29/23741471/the-witcher-cd-projekt-red-cdpr-gaming-franchises

Power, ports, and pretty lighting — for a price. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23728549/logitech-logi-dock-review-conference-laptop-docking-station

POV: You are a pathetic creature of meat and bone. | Nightdive Studios Welcome to my death machine, interloper. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23738938/system-shock-remake-nightdive-review

Image: Nvidia At Computex 2023 in Taipei, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang just gave the world a glimpse of what it might be like when gaming and AI collide — with a graphically breathtaking recreation of a cyberpunk ramen shop where you can actually talk to the proprietor. Seriously, instead of clicking on dialogue options, it imagines you could hold down a button, just say something with your own voice, and get an answer from a video game character. Nvidia’s calling it a “peek at the future of games.” Unfortunately, the actual dialogue leaves a lot to be desired — maybe try GPT-4 or Sudowrite next time, Nvidia? Here’s the entire conversation I hastily transcribed: Player: Hey Jin, how are you? Jin: Unfortunately not so good. How come? I am worried about... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/28/23740908/nvidia-ace-demo-voice-ai-npc-game-characters

Image: The Verge The Steam launch of Dolphin, an open-source emulator for the Wii and the GameCube, has been delayed indefinitely (via PC Gamer ). A blog post by the developers says that’s due to a Nintendo “cease and desist citing the DMCA” (an earlier version of the blog post simply said “issued a DMCA” but it has since been updated) after they’d announced plans for a Steam launch in March. Dolphin Emulator Project : It is with much disappointment that we have to announce that the Dolphin on Steam release has been indefinitely postponed. We were notified by Valve that Nintendo has issued a cease and desist citing the DMCA against Dolphin’s Steam page, and have removed Dolphin from Steam until the matter is settled. We are currently investigating our... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/28/23740749/nintendo-wii-dolphin-emulator-steam-pc-gaming

The Quest 3 will improve on the Quest 2 (pictured above) in many important ways. | Photo by Owen Grove / The Verge A hands-on look at the Meta Quest 3 reveals a massive set of improvements to the Meta mixed reality headset, as detailed in Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg this morning. Gurman says the Quest 3, now codenamed Eureka, is “far lighter and thinner” than the original Quest 2, which bodes well for its comfort during extended usage. A lot of the features he mentioned are similar to what we expect to learn about the Apple “Reality Pro” VR / AR headset soon, including fancy hand-tracking and pass-through video . But some rumors say the rumored Apple headset could cost as much as $3,000 . Gurman said Meta also hasn’t settled on the Quest 3’s price yet, but that it could be costlier than the $400 Quest 2, which “may stick around at a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/28/23740500/meta-quest-3-vr-ar-headset-preview-leak-hands-on-

Image: The Verge The right-to-repair movement is picking up momentum across the US and the rest of the globe. Here’s the story so far. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/28/23738770/right-to-repair-updates-laws

LG 48GQ900 48-inch OLED gaming monitor | Image: LG The 48-inch LG UltraGear 48GQ900 is on sale at Amazon for an incredible 43 percent off from its typical $1,499.99 price right now, putting it at $852.14 before taxes for Amazon Prime members (or $896.99 for those without Prime), for nearly its lowest price ever. If you’d rather go to the source (or just not Amazon), LG is selling it for $899.99 , as is Newegg . This price is as good as it gets for this giant LG OLED gaming display. If you take this deal, you can expect the usual inky blacks that make OLEDs the contrast champs of the display world, and its 4K resolution will mean a nice, sharp picture spanning its flat panel. Its 120Hz refresh rate can be overdriven to 138Hz, with support for variable refresh rate (VRR), plus stamps for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/28/23740445/lg-48gq900-4k-oled-gaming-monitor-deal-sale

I swear, this is a screenshot of an actual YouTube video. | Image: David Pierce The video’s title is, for once on YouTube, pretty straightforward: “ 24 hours + of pure black screen in HD! ” Leaving aside the questions about the difference between standard- and high-def pure black screens, the video does what it says on the tin. Hit play, and you get more than 24 hours — 24 hours, one minute, 27 seconds, to be exact — of black screen and silence. It’s like turning off your computer, without turning off your computer. This video has 40.2 million views. The first time I watched it, I assumed there was a joke or a Rick Roll or something in there somewhere and watched an upsettingly long time to find it. Nothing. So I figured it was a bit. Fun meta-commentary about the drivel people choose to watch! Most commenters seemed... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/28/23738957/youtube-videos-24-hours-blank-screen

People who owned MacBooks with butterfly keyboards will now get paid. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The $50 million settlement over Apple’s bad butterfly keyboard design got final approval by a federal court judge in California, Reuters reported yesterday . US District Court Judge Edward Davila denied an attempt to amend the agreement, writing in his ruling that 86,000 people filed claims. That finally puts a figure on the number of people affected who will get compensation for repairs they’d paid for. Or at least the number who heard about the lawsuit and followed it to the settlement agreement that was reached last July . The original suit came about because Apple laptops from 2015 to 2019 had a new keyboard design that just didn’t hold up under normal use; crumbs and dirt, or even just accumulated dust, could cause keys to fail or... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/27/23740087/apple-macbook-butterfly-keyboard-settlement-final-approval

OpenAI’s ChatGPT is a lot of things, but a lawyer it is not. | Illustration: The Verge Lawyers suing the Columbian airline Avianca submitted a brief full of previous cases that were just made up by ChatGPT, The New York Times reported today . After opposing counsel pointed out the nonexistent cases, US District Judge Kevin Castel confirmed, “Six of the submitted cases appear to be bogus judicial decisions with bogus quotes and bogus internal citations,” and set up a hearing as he considers sanctions for the plaintiff’s lawyers. Lawyer Steven A. Schwartz admitted in an affidavit that he had used OpenAI’s chatbot for his research. To verify the cases, he did the only reasonable thing: he asked the chatbot if it was lying. Image: SDNY This case isn’t going very well. When he asked for a source,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/27/23739913/chatgpt-ai-lawsuit-avianca-airlines-chatbot-research

Apple’s entry-level MacBook Air is an easy rec at $799.99 thanks to its speedy performance and long-lasting battery life. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Happy Saturday, readers! Apple’s upcoming Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) is now less than two weeks away . The company is largely expected to introduce its mixed reality headset — ending what feels like a decade of rumors — along with a new 15-inch MacBook Air . However, if you’re looking for a 13-inch machine that packs plenty of value, Apple’s base MacBook Air from 2020 is matching its all-time low of $799.99 ($200 off) at Amazon and Best Buy . Despite its age, Apple’s M1-equipped remains one of our go-to recs for anyone who can’t afford the newest MacBook Air but wants something lightweight and relatively fast. We once heralded it as one of the best laptops you could get , namely due to its long-lasting battery life, solid... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/27/23738784/apple-m1-

Halle Bailey as Ariel. | Image: Giles Keyte Halle Bailey’s turn as The Little Mermaid’s Ariel is inspired, but the movie’s lackluster sense of visual magic does her very few favors. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23738878/little-mermaid-review-disney-live-action

Image: Netflix While fans await season 3 of The Witcher , Netflix already has its eyes on season 5. In an interview with Deadline , Sophie Holland, the show’s casting director, explained, “We’re just about to start filming on season four with Liam Hemsworth and there will be a short gap then we go straight into season five.” The third season of the fantasy show will kick off on June 29th — but only the first half . Much like Stranger Things 4 , Netflix is splitting The Witcher season 3 into two volumes, the second of which will premiere in July. From there, things get interesting. Starting with season 4, Hemsworth will take over the lead role of Geralt from mainstay Henry Cavill, who is moving on to other projects . Clearly, Netflix has a good amount of... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/26/23739183/the-witcher-season-5-netflix-liam-hemsworth

Image: Nintendo The most enjoyable aspect of Tears of the Kingdom for me right now isn’t so much my own adventures in the game. It’s watching other people far more creative and patient than I am craft the most ridiculous mind-, physics-, and decency-bending machines ever made in a video game. We’re already seeing players craft fire-spouting robots , elaborate murder contraptions that would make Wile E. Coyote exceedingly jealous , and, more wholesomely, horse car washes and baby swings . Here are some of our favorites. @foozology Ganondorf may be the Demon King but im the King of Demons #totk #zelda #link #ganondorf #America #b2 #stealthbomber #oil #switch ♬ Fortunate Son - Creedence Clearwater Revival This is the most American thing to ever... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/22/23732888/tears-of-the-kingdom-builds-crafting-wildest

Keanu Reeves as John Wick. | Image: Murray Close / Lionsgate Though John Wick: Chapter 4 definitely made it seem like the franchise was about to pivot in a somewhat new direction away from the Baba Yaga himself, according to Lionsgate, John Wick 5 is definitely on the horizon. During a Q4 earnings call this past Thursday, Joe Drake, the chair of Lionsgate’s motion picture group, revealed that, in addition to the Ballerina spinoff starring Ana De Armas and Peacock’s Continental prequel series starring Mel Gibson , the studio is also in early development on John Wick 5 . “We’re building out the world and when that five movie comes, it will be organic — will be organically grown out of how we’re starting to tell those stories,” Drake said. “But you can rely on a regular cadence of John Wick.” Between B... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23739025/john-wick-5-lionsgate-early-development

Image: Daedalic Entertainment The developers behind The Lord of the Rings: Gollum have posted an apology after critics and players alike slammed the title for lackluster gameplay, unrefined graphics, and overall bugginess. In a message posted to Twitter and Steam , Daedalic Entertainment says it’s sorry for the game’s “underwhelming experience.” “We acknowledge and deeply regret that the game did not meet the expectations we set for ourselves or for our dedicated community,” the message reads. “We genuinely value your feedback and have been actively listening to your voices, reading your comments, and analyzing the constructive criticism and suggestions you have provided.” A few words from the " The Lord of the Rings: Gollum™ " team pic.twitter.com/adPamy5EjO — The... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/26/23738863/gollum-developers-apology-negative-reviews-lotr

Image: Nintendo Okay, fess up: I can’t have been the only one to use one of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s known duplication glitches to make a whole bunch of diamonds for easy Rupees. It wasn’t hard to do ! Unfortunately, the money well might be running dry because, thanks to the game’s new version 1.1.2 update , it appears that many of the known duplication glitches have been patched out. The patch notes don’t specifically spell this out: Audio Bug Fixes Fixed an issue where the sound would play at an extremely high volume in certain conditions. Additional Fixes Fixed an issue in the main quest, “Camera Work in the Depths”, where players could not progress beyond a certain point. Downloading the update will allow players to proceed past... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/26/23738772/the-legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-duplication-glitches-update-version-1-1-2-patch

I, a miserly curmudgeon, preordered this thing. | Image: Belkin Today was simply another Thursday when my colleague and The Verge’s senior news editor, Richard Lawler, tagged me in a Slack thread. Upon opening said thread, I pterodactyl screeched. Behold, the Belkin BoostCharge Pro — a $99.99 10,000mAh power bank with a lil divot that lets you fast charge a compatible Apple Watch or second-gen AirPods Pro on the go (and any device that charges via a USB-C cable at up to 20W). Is it expensive? Yes, especially since it’s not yet available and only open for preorders. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who isn’t a wearables reviewer or smartwatch devotee for scoffing. It’s a sensible reaction, and I fully understand why you may think I’m a Dingus of the Highest Order for being this happy about an unproven... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/25/23737658/belkin-boostcharge-pro-smartwatch-fast-charging

The HP Deskjet 2755e, a printer that prompts you to use HP Plus to get free ink. | Image: HP Amazon’s No. 1 bestselling printer is the HP Deskjet 2755e . It’s not hard to see why. For just $85, you get a wireless color printer, scanner, and six months of free ink. It also comes with HP Plus, one of the most dastardly schemes Big Inkjet has ever unleashed. I’m not talking about how printers quietly waste their own ink, or pretend cartridges are empty when they’re not, or lock out official cartridges from other regions . Heck, I’m not even talking about “Dynamic Security,” the delightful feature where new HP firmware updates secretly contain malware that blocks batches of third-party cartridges while pretending to harden your printhead against hacks. No, the genius of HP’s latest scheme is that it’s hiding in plain sight, daring... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/25/23736811/hp-plus-printer-ink-drm-firmware-update-cant-cancel

The new Family Hub Plus smart fridge has a bigger screen and is a Matter controller. | Image: Samsung When Samsung launched its first smart fridge back in 2016, a valid question was, “Do I really need an Android tablet stuck to my fridge door?” If you weren’t convinced you needed one, then it’s doubtful Samsung’s newest model — the Bespoke 4-Door Flex With Family Hub Plus that’s available to preorder today — will change your mind. But if what you really wanted was a bigger Android tablet stuck to your fridge, then you’re in luck. The eighth generation of Samsung’s Family Hub smart fridge sports a giant 32-inch full HD touchscreen, up from 21.5 inches on the previous version . This new plus-sized model is also the first Samsung fridge that’s also a Matter controller . Existing Family Hub fridges 2.0 or newer will be updated to be... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/25/23737374/samsung-family-hub-smart-fridge-matter

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It’s official: MoviePass is back . Under the company’s new points-based system , you can pay $10 per month to watch one to three movies at any of the 4,000 participating theaters throughout the US. In addition to the $10 / month Basic plan, MoviePass offers three more expensive subscription options: a $20 / month Standard plan for three to seven movies per month, a $30 / month Premium plan for five to 11 movies per month, and a $40 / month Pro for up to 30 movies per month. There’s a separate, more expensive subscription for customers in Southern California and the New York metro area. The reason why each tier includes a range of movies you can watch has to do with the way MoviePass’ new credits system works. Every tier offers a different... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/25/23737424/moviepass-subscription-launch-pricing

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is getting rid of Stories , a feature for temporary posts, beginning in June. Users won’t be able to post Stories starting June 26th, and existing posts will expire after seven days. Stories were first introduced in 2017 under the name Reels and were available to users with over 10,000 subscribers. Similar to Instagram (which in turn lifted the concept from Snapchat), YouTube Stories disappeared after a set amount of time; creators could use Stories to post updates or behind-the-scenes content to promote their channel. But looking around today, it doesn’t seem to have caught on — access was limited, few creators seem to be regularly posting Stories, and the feature doesn’t get much promotion even from YouTube. In the absence of... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/25/23736246/youtube-ending-stories-shorts-community-posts

The Verge / Mia Sato Snapchat’s newest AR filter will paint your nails for you — or at least give you an idea of what they might look like. The new AR lens applies color and other 2D designs to a Snapchat user’s fingernails, allowing them to virtually “try on” colors or designs before purchasing a bottle of nail polish. The new AR nail segmentation technology is launching in a partnership with OPI, a drugstore and nail salon mainstay. Snap is adding an AR filter featuring a handful of OPI colors as part of the partnership. The filter itself is fun to play around with and at the very least approximates what a new shade might look like on your nails. In my experience, some colors looked more realistic than others — a frosted light blue looked chunky, like I... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/25/23735063/snapchats-ar-filter-beatuy-lens-nail-segmentation

Image: Ubisoft Assassin’s Creed Mirage will hit storefronts on October 12th later this year. Though the date was announced officially during today’s PlayStation Showcase , it was apparently leaked ahead of time. Japanese retailers started listing the game with a launch date of October 12th. According to a tweet from Gematsu , Japanese retailers do not use placeholder dates in game listings, only featuring a date if it’s official. Assassin’s Creed Mirage will feature Basim Ibn Ishaq, a side character from Assassin’s Creed Vahalla , and take place in ninth-century Baghdad. The game was first announced during a Ubisoft Forward presentation last year as a part of a group of several forthcoming Assassin’s Creed games, including one for mobile. According to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23736189/assassins-creed-mirage-trailer-release-date-playstation-showcase

A view of the stage during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2023 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. | Photo by Kevin Mazur / Getty Images Warner Bros. Discovery ’s baffling (but unsurprising) decision to lump writers, directors, and producers together as nondescript “creators” in Max’s new credits section has been met with almost nothing but contempt for reasons that should be very clear four weeks into an industry-wide writers strike . Now, the entertainment giant is apologizing for the move, blaming it on technical issues and apparently working to make things right. In joint public statements from Writers Guild of America West president Meredith Stiehm and Directors Guild of America president Lesli Linka Glatter, both organizations lambasted Warner Bros. Discovery Wednesday afternoon for Max’s “devaluation of the individual contributions of artists.” “For almost 90 years,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/24/23736143/hbo-max-credits-warner

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft is working on an easier way to view your saved Wi-Fi passwords in Windows, the company reveals in its latest blog post . The new feature comes in a new Insider Preview Build that’s been released to the Dev Channel. With the new build (23466) of Windows 11, you can now see saved SSID keys in plain text by going to Settings > Network and internet > Wi-Fi and then going to Manage known networks . Then, you can select a saved SSID and click View Wi-Fi security key . And that’s it. Image: Microsoft The new “View Wi-Fi security key” section when viewing any known network in Windows 11 settings. Currently, the Wi-Fi password of the current network your Windows 11 PC is connected to is buried in the wireless... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/24/23736197/microsoft-windows-11-wifi-passwords-insider-preview

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Apple is working on a new feature in iOS 17 that turns the iPhone’s screen into a smart home-style display, according to a report from Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman . As noted by Gurman, the interface will show things like the weather, calendar appointments, and notifications when the phone is locked and tilted horizontally. It will show these widgets on a dark background with bright text, Gurman notes, and expands on the lock screen widgets that Apple revealed with iOS 16 . This could come in handy when you have your iPhone set atop your desk or on your nightstand and want to keep up with any notifications or upcoming appointments. Image: Google Examples of Google’s “At a Glance” widget for locked Pixel phones. Google... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/24/23736096/apple-iphone-smart-display-ios-17

The Vivobook 15 is a 15-inch budget alternative to the Acer Aspire 5 but with some of the same problems. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23730552/asus-vivobook-15-intel-11th-gen-15-inch-specs-features-price

Illustration: The Verge Think Google is already loaded with ads? Well, if a new video in a blog post is anything to go by , ads might be even more obtrusive in the company’s new AI-powered Search Generative Experience (SGE). I’ve already expressed some concern over how much ads push things down in SGE based on what Google showed when it revealed the new experience at I/O. But those ads were only above and below SGE, and what Google showed on Tuesday were examples of ads within SGE. See for yourself in a GIF of the video below: This is a video from Google that I converted to a GIF. The GIF moves kind of quickly, so let’s break down exactly what we can see here: In a mobile search for “outdoor activities to do in Maui,” there are normal... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23734609/google-search-generative-experience-sge-ai

Image: Nintendo The Zelda developers are trolls, and I love them. One really well-designed aspect of Tears of the Kingdom is that the game will teach you how to play it. I don’t mean through explicit tutorials; rather, throughout my frankly embarrassing amount of playtime , the game presented to me, either in shrines or in the overworld, obstacles and the tools to surmount them. And every time I solved a puzzle, a more complex version of that same kind of puzzle would pop up later on, forcing me to put together what I learned to take on this new challenge. It makes Tears a kind of Metroidvania in that sometimes my progression is locked until I’ve mastered a certain skill or problem-solving mechanic. The game will also give you a full lesson contained... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23734342/tears-of-the-kingdom-iun-orok-shrine-solution

It should be the size of a hubcap, and it should glow in the dark. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It’s time to mint the coin, sickos! If you have not been paying attention to the most tragically online sectors of the financial internet, here’s a summary: the government is about to grind to a halt — yes, again — to argue over the national debt. But there is a way out, and it’s been known for years. What we do is mint a $1 trillion platinum coin . Nobody in Congress appears capable of even pretending to act like an adult. So in that spirit, I present to you the coin Since 2003, there’s been an increasing level of dumbfuck nonsense from our elected officials around the debt ceiling. The “debt ceiling” is a limit on government spending that was instituted in 1917. When there’s a Democrat in the White House — and sometimes, even when there... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23734654/government-debt-default-trillion-dollar-platinum-coin

Peloton’s kicking off its 2023 rebrand with three new app-only subscription tiers. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Peloton has been eager to remind everyone that it’s not just “ that bike company .” To do that, the company announced today it’s launching three new app-only memberships to highlight its range of fitness content — no expensive Peloton machine required. It’s also revamping the app’s overall design, including Peloton Row workouts for the first time, and introducing Peloton Gym, a new type of strength training content that offers written workouts and video demos. The three new memberships will vary in price and access to content. The Peloton App Free membership is, as the name suggests, free of charge. It will include access to 50 classes across 12 of Peloton’s 16 exercise types. The four types that won’t be included are Row, Row Bootcamp,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23734329/peloton-app-subscription-tiers-fitness

Product Center can generate a selection of different backgrounds to add variety to product images. | Image: Google Google is launching Product Studio, a new tool that allows Google Shopping merchants to quickly edit and customize their product images for free using generative AI. Announced at the Google Marketing Live event on Tuesday , Product Studio is rolling out to US-based sellers in “the next few months” and will be hosted by Merchant Center Next, the company’s redesigned platform for uploading and advertising products through Google Shopping. Product Studio was designed to help sellers diversify product and lifestyle images used on e-commerce listings — something that can help them stand out against competing products but can be time-consuming to create or require expensive photography. According to Google’s own data, product listings with... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/23/23734129/google-product-studio-generative-ai-ads-merchant-center

Image: Ford Ford’s executive team revealed new details about the company’s partial autonomy features at a capital markets event Monday. BlueCruise, Ford’s hands-free driver-assist system, will be available in 500,000 vehicles by 2024. And a Level 3 system, which is also called conditional or unsupervised autonomy, will be first available in Ford’s next-generation EVs. BlueCruise is a Level 2 system, meaning the vehicle controls major functions like acceleration and braking as well as lane centering and automatic lane changing. But while drivers can take their hands off the steering wheel and their feet off the pedals, they need to keep their eyes on the road and be ready to take control at a moment’s notice. Ford said that BlueCruise-equipped... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/22/23732877/ford-level-3-driver-assist-autonomous-city-streets

David Zaslav hearing the jeers of a crowd that doesn’t want him there. | Image: Boston University Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav took to the stage at Boston University’s 2023 commencement ceremony this past weekend intending to receive an honorary doctorate and to ingratiate himself with this year’s graduating students by imparting some useful wisdom. While Zaslav got his degree, his speech to BU’s students was received anything but warmly as numerous people throughout the crowd shouted him down in support of the WGA’s ongoing strike for better pay and working conditions. Almost as soon as a sunglasses-sporting Zaslav launched into an uninspired speech reminiscing about his own time at Boston University as a law student, people throughout the commencement ceremony crowd began booing at the 63-year-old entertainment executive... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/22/23732746/david-zaslav-boston-university-commencement-wga-strike

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge President Joe Biden nominated Anna Gomez, a veteran government telecom lawyer, to serve as the third Democrat at the Federal Communications Commission on Monday. Gomez’s confirmation would unlock a more than two-year FCC stalemate, allowing the agency to approve more contentious telecom regulations like reinstating nationwide net neutrality protections. As of publication, it’s unclear when the Senate plans to schedule its first confirmation hearing on Gomez’s nomination. “I congratulate Anna Gomez on her nomination to serve as FCC Commissioner,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement Monday. “She brings with her a wealth of telecommunications experience, a substantial record of public service, and a history of working to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/22/23732988/biden-fcc-nominee-anna-gomez

Image: Nintendo The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has officially been out for 10 days, which means that it’s now possible to see how many hours you’ve spent torturing Koroks exploring the vast lands of Hyrule by checking your account profile on your Switch. Strangely, you’ll only be able to see this number on your Switch 10 days after you started playing a game — it’s a weird limitation that’s been in place for the Switch since it launched . Here’s how to check your profile on your Switch to see how many hours you’ve played the game. (This will let you see how long you’ve played other games, too.) Go to the homescreen on your Nintendo Switch. Navigate to your profile icon in the top-left corner and select it. Select the “Profile” section of... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23732841/legend-of-zelda-tears-of-the-kingdom-hours-played-check

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Finally, Amazon did it — after launching a series of minor Kindle Scribe updates in the past few months, Amazon rolled out two potentially game-changing ones. Starting today, you can now actually convert handwriting to typed text on your Kindle Scribe and write on pages. Truth be told, the new features are very limited in their capabilities. The good news, though, is that Amazon plans on rolling out more updates throughout the year — so here’s to hoping they’ll get better. For right now, though, you can only convert your handwriting to typed text when you export notebooks. Located in the “Share” menu, Amazon now gives users the option to select “Convert to text and quick send.” There’s also a “Convert to text and email” option, which... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/22/23729817/amazon-kindle-scribe-kobo-elipsa-2e-e-reader-stylus-digital-notebook

Mimestream is what happens when you mix Gmail and Apple Mail. | Image: Mimestream The most important thing I can tell you about Mimestream , the email app for Mac that just came out of a yearslong beta , is that it finally made me stop going to Gmail.com. I’ve tried a lot of email apps over the years, and they all have at least one fatal flaw. (Some have several.) Search is the most common culprit: very few apps can search through messages as fast or as well as Gmail, which is why I’ve dumped everything from Spark to Edison to Apple Mail to Newton over the years. But some apps have a hard time finding contacts, others do weird stuff with inbox organization , and don’t even get me started on the ones that seem somehow unable to stay online and actually deliver all my messages. For years, I’ve downloaded apps hoping for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23728602/mimestream-gmail-app-mac-review