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Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge It isn’t just software companies looking to enter the generative AI fray. Dell, the PC maker, is going all in on generative AI and offering hardware to run powerful models and a new platform to help organizations get started. The company released what it calls Dell Generative AI Solutions for clients to set up access to large language models and create generative AI projects. The company will offer new hardware setups, a managed service platform, and computers to run generative AI projects faster. Dell is known for releasing laptops and monitors , but the company also produces server racks and other enterprise hardware. While the more public face of the AI arms race is between developers of large language models like Meta, OpenAI, and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813929/dell-generative-ai-laptops-amazon

Local newspaper Ekalaka Eagle thinks it might be the first EV charged in town. | Image: Eric Dietrich / MTFP A Tesla driver from California thought they could quietly borrow some joules in the EV-barren town of Ekalaka, Montana — population 400 or so — but their Model Y ended up on the front page of the local newspaper , dubbed a UEV (or unidentified electric vehicle). “Borrowed Volts,” read the article title in the Ekalaka Eagle , which mentions that it might be the first electric vehicle ever to charge in the town. “It was just sitting there, so I plugged in,” the driver told the Montana Free Press . The port was a NEMA 14-50, the kind often used to power RVs, and despite the passenger’s concern about charging at a random outlet, it was better than their original backup plan of finding a 120-volt plug that might take days to charge the vehicle.... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813946/tesla-model-y-small-town-ev-charging

Image: eBay eBay is the latest company to be hit with unfair labor complaints as this year’s hot labor summer continues amid strikes , threats of strikes , and workers all over the country organizing for better working conditions . The complaints were filed on behalf of workers at TCGplayer, a company eBay acquired in 2022 that’s known for selling and authenticating trading cards from games like Yu-Gi-Oh! , Pokémon , and Magic: The Gathering . The complaints allege that after workers at TCGplayer won their union election back in March , management of eBay and TCGplayer has refused to acknowledge the union and engaged in tactics designed to impede or delay workers’ ability to negotiate for a fair contract. “My colleagues and I haven’t had a cost-of-living... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813935/ebay-tcgplayer-union-labor-unfair-complaints-cwa

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is on sale once again for its all-time low price of $24.99 ($30 off) at Best Buy and Target . It’s one of the best streaming devices you can buy , especially if you prefer one that can neatly hide behind your TV and has excellent support for voice controls. Its Fire TV operating system highlights Prime Video content a lot, and it does have some ads, but its speedy performance and Wi-Fi 6 speeds at this low price are a worthwhile tradeoff. Plus, the Fire TV Stick 4K Max has a tight integration with Amazon smart home accessories, allowing you to ask Alexa to set the mood by dimming the lights in addition to calling up apps or searches with your voice. Another notable deal on Amazon hardware is the latest Echo Show 8... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813875/amazon-fire-tv-max-echo-show-turtle-beach-recon-controller-deal-sale

The N Edition and Fami Edition of the keyboard. | Image: 8BitDo Nintendo doesn’t make keyboards, but 8BitDo’s Retro Mechanical Keyboard might be the next best thing. The $99.99 device comes in two color schemes: an “N Edition,” which has the same gray color scheme the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) had in the West, and a red and white “Fami Edition” that draws obvious inspiration from the Japanese Famicom. Preorders open today , and the keyboard is expected to ship on August 10th. The keyboard comes with a pair of “Super Buttons” — giant red versions of the buttons found on the original NES controller. They’re programmable and come equipped with clicky Gateron Green switches that should make them feel suitably chunky to press. The Super Buttons connect to the keyboard via a 3.5mm cable, and there... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813761/8bitdo-retro-mechanical-keyboard-nintendo-famicom

Illustration: The Verge Twitter, which is rebranding as X, is now listed as X in the iOS App Store, suggesting the app got special treatment from Apple to allow a single-character name. The renaming was briefly hindered by a rule forbidding single-character app names within the App Store — the actual app name on iPhones and iPads already showed up as X. The exception could be a sign Apple wants to keep the hatchet buried with X owner Elon Musk. Late last year, the then-CEO of Twitter accused Apple of threatening to remove the Twitter app from the store . After meeting with Apple CEO Tim Cook, Musk later said it was a simple “misunderstanding.” Alongside the X rebranding, the company also updated its tagline in the store, from “it’s what’s happening” to “blaze... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813883/twitter-x-ios-app-store-iphone-apple-elon-musk

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge Twitter — now called X — is threatening to sue the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) for its research into hate speech on Twitter that the company claims is driving away advertisers. In a letter to the CCDH , which was first reported by The New York Times , Twitter lawyer Alex Spiro claims that the CCDH “regularly posts articles making inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading assertions” about Twitter with the goal of harming its reputation. The CCDH is an organization that aims to hold social media companies accountable for the spread of hateful material online. Since Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, the CCDH has published numerous reports that suggest the platform is failing to protect users from hate speech. In its... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813869/twitter-x-ccdh-lawsuit-elon-musk-anti-hate-claims

Image: Disney Loki ’s first season ended by cracking the multiverse so wide open that it seemed like all of existence might be in serious jeopardy or at least on the verge of being conquered by a certain Kang . Both of those possibilities have seemed like they’re becoming realities judging from Marvel’s recent films , but in the first trailer for Loki ’s upcoming second season, there appears to be some hope that things can still be put right. After two Spider-Verse movies about people traveling to other dimensions and glitching out because they’re not supposed to be there, it’s interesting to see Loki (Tom Hiddleston) “time slipping” in Loki ’s new season 2 trailer, both because of the visual similarities between the two phenomena and because it’s... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23813906/loki-s2-disney-plus-trailer-release-date

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Microsoft has submitted a new change of circumstances document to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK, arguing its case for its proposed Activision Blizzard deal to be reconsidered for approval. The CMA first blocked Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard in April, with the regulator making it clear it had concerns over the effect Microsoft’s acquisition could have on the emerging cloud gaming market. Weeks later, the European Commission then approved the deal thanks to Microsoft’s cloud gaming agreements with Nvidia, Boosteroid, and others and a commitment to the EU to open up cloud licensing access to Xbox and Activision Blizzard games. Microsoft now argues the UK regulator should take into... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813956/microsoft-activision-blizzard-cma-argument-uk-regulator

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Microsoft is making it a lot more convenient to use multiple high refresh rate monitors with Windows 11. The software giant has started testing a Windows 11 update that automatically adjusts refresh rates on multiple monitors depending on what content is being displayed, which should improve power usage and could even result in some GPUs spinning up their fans less often. “We have improved refresh rate logic to allow different refresh rates on different monitors, depending on the refresh rate for each monitor and content shown on the screen,” explains Microsoft in a Windows Insider blog from last week, spotted by Neowin . “This will help most with refresh rate-dependent multitasking, like playing a game and watching a video at the same... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813770/microsoft-windows-11-multiple-monitors-refresh-rate-improvements

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony has started testing a new PlayStation 5 software beta that includes Dolby Atmos support, up to 8TB of M.2 SSD storage support, and a variety UI improvements. The beta is rolling out in select countries today and Sony typically makes beta features available to all PS5 consoles within a few months. The biggest addition is Dolby Atmos support. In PS5 games it looks like Sony’s 3D Audio implementation (Tempest 3D AudioTech) will be compatible with Dolby Atmos devices like sound bars, TVs, or home theater systems. Media apps like Netflix can also update their apps on PS5 soon to support Dolby Atmos audio. “Tempest 3D AudioTech specifically renders to the Dolby Atmos audio devices in use – including overhead channels – allowing for even... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/31/23813778/sony-playstation-5-dolby-atmos-support-8tb-m2-storage

Illustration: The Verge If your kid has been mysteriously busting through the Screen Time limits you set on their Apple device, the Wall Street Journal might know why: the publication found that a bug has been preventing certain Screen Time limits set via the Family Sharing system from saving correctly for months. Apple was supposed to fix the issue back in May, but apparently the problem has persisted. Apple’s Family Sharing system allows parents to put usage limits on their kids’ devices, with one of the key controls being the ability to monitor and limit their usage of specific apps and the device as a whole through a feature called Screen Time. The Journal reports finding that a specific setting known as Downtime, which blocks access to the entire device,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/30/23813106/apple-screen-time-bug-parental-controls-family-sharing

An iPhone 14 Pro Max. | Image: Nilay Patel / The Verge Some big changes are expected to come to this year’s iPhone 15 Pro lineup — but they might come alongside a price hike, too. In Bloomberg this morning , reporter Mark Gurman confirmed a handful of details that have been floating around all year about what to expect when the next iPhone lineup is announced in just over a month. The new Pro models will both come with titanium frames, instead of stainless steel, making them stronger and lighter, according to Gurman. Their screens will also have thinner bezels, thanks to a new display technology, shrinking the size of the black border by about a third. (Earlier leaks show what that might look like .) And as previously reported, expect the mute switch to be swapped out for a customizable button... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/30/23813082/iphone-15-titanium-thinner-bezels-price-increase

X is coming for every last mention of Twitter. | The Verge Last week Elon Musk announced the death of Twitter as a brand . He had the sign on the HQ taken down and replaced with a garish X , he axed the logo on the website and in the app too. Lingering longer was the “Tweet” button itself. Today the Tweet button briefly changed to Post , hinting that soon every evidence of the little blue bird and its associated twitter will scrubbed from the every place X, the company formerly known as Twitter, can touch. But that’s not why I think it’s time to retire the “tweet.” I wanted to save it . I felt that it was clearly becoming independent of the brand that had adopted it. I argued we should call all microblog posts tweets to avoid this goofy cycle of toots, skeets, threets, and now xeets. But with every... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/29/23812780/tweet-change-name-post-x

A 1970s-era model of the Zenith Space Command. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Space Command didn’t rely on infrared — or batteries. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23810061/zenith-space-command-remote-control-button-of-the-month

The Nook Glowlight 4e struggles to stand out, but at least it’s got buttons to turn the page. | Photo by Sheena Vasani / The Verge The company is looking to give its stores an indie bookstore vibe, but its e-readers have more of an Amazon Kindle in the early 2010s vibe. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/29/23787280/barnes-noble-nook-ereader-daunt-reinvention-eink

The Verge Twitter, which Elon Musk is currently rebranding to X, is officially rolling out its ads revenue sharing program for creators. The company had given some creators payouts earlier this month, but now, users globally who meet the eligibility criteria can apply for the program from the monetization tab in settings. To be eligible for the program, you need to be subscribed to X Blue (which appears to be the new name for Twitter Blue ) or be a Verified Organization, have “at least 15M impressions on your cumulative posts within the last 3 months,” and have at least 500 followers, according to a support document about the program . “We want the process to be as simple as possible, so all eligible X Blue and Verified Organizations subscribers are... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/28/23811535/x-twitter-ads-revenue-sharing-program-creators

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Earlier this week, a reader contacted me with a dilemma: his wife has always had super sharp hearing when it comes to environmental / ambient noise. She can “hear a gnat blink at 1,000 yards. Forty years ago, she could hear electronic clocks running,” he said. And so they’ve been in search of a solution that would help eliminate some of that background clamor while still helping her clearly hear conversations happening directly in front of her. I’m no doctor, nor am I any kind of hearing health expert. Consulting an audiologist would be my top recommendation for next steps — regardless of anyone’s age. But increasingly, consumer earbuds are trying to plug away at these common issues: everyday life can get loud . And when it happens... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23811197/hearing-conversation-apple-airpods-pro-samsung-galaxy-buds-otc-aids

Image: Getty Ford’s electric future is being paid for by giant, gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs. That fact came into stark relief this week during the company’s second quarter earnings report , in which the Blue Oval reported losing $1.1 billion before interest and taxes on its EV business, more than twice as much it lost over the same period last year. Compare that to Ford’s profits in the sale of gas and hybrid trucks and SUVs: $2.3 billion before interest and taxes. Commercial vehicle sales also posted a healthy profit of $2.4 billion for the quarter. Ford lost $1.1 billion on its EV business this quarter It’s been over a year since Ford split its business into two separate entities — one focused on electric vehicles called Ford Model e, and the... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/28/23811222/ford-q2-2023-earnings-ev-loss-production-slow

Image: The Verge Just when you think Elon Musk can’t get any more divisive, he’s weighed in on the light mode versus dark mode debate — and Twitter, currently undergoing a rebranding to X , is apparently going all in on the latter. Early this morning, Musk posted that “this platform will soon only have ‘dark mode’. It is better in every way.” That immediately brought about the usual responses that you might expect, with several people making the case that light text on black can be harder to read. Many are asking Twitter to preserve a light mode option even if it switches to dark mode as the default for X’s new design identity. As someone whose phone only enters dark mode in the rarest of circumstances, that seems like the right path to me. All those... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/27/23810140/elon-musk-twitter-x-dark-mode-only

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Roblox is now available in open beta on Meta’s Quest VR headsets. Roblox and Meta had announced earlier in July that the social metaverse platform would be arriving on the headsets soon, and now, you can try it for yourself. To check out Roblox experiences on your Quest, you can grab the app from the Quest Store . (Technically, it’s available through Meta’s App Lab .) Once it’s on your headset, you can sign in to your Roblox account and explore from there. Note that you can’t make a Roblox account on Quest just yet, according to a Roblox developer forum post . Because the app is still in beta — Roblox and Meta are launching this in beta to give developers a chance to test and optimize their experiences for VR — there are some issues that R... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/27/23810093/meta-quest-roblox-vr-headsets-beta

Judy Greer as Sophie and Edi Gathegi as Mal in Aporia. | Well Go Entertainment USA Like many of the movies debuting at this year’s Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, Well Go USA’s new sci-fi thriller Aporia from writer / director Jared Moshé riffs on well-known sci-fi tropes to tell a deeply personal story about — among other things — devastating emotional loss. But whereas most time travel narratives about people trying to change the past focus on figuring out how to get there and then deal with the repercussions that come with changing history, Aporia revolves around one grieving woman’s desperate attempt to put her life right by sending a bullet back to the exact point when it all went wrong. Aporia tells the tale of how a woman named Sophie (Judy Greer) is blindsided by the sudden death of her husband Mal (Edi... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23809134/aporia-trailer-jared-moshe-judy-greer-edi-gathegi

They did it. | Crude juxtaposition by Sean Hollister / The Verge This is it, friends — finally, a precision lubricant you can take anywhere. No pressurized overspray. $12.75 on Amazon for a pack of three . Where has this been all my life? (Answer: it already technically existed — but was marketed as a wacky household cleaner to remove stickers and crayon by the likes of As Seen On TV. ) Anyhow, I really don’t think you need me to explain a pen that delivers WD-40 exactly like a Tide To Go pen delivers stain remover any further, right? But just in case, here is a video for all you next-level pros : And some handy illustrations so you can see how it works. Do NOT apply directly to forehead. Good thinking; wrong product . Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/26/22922260/wd-40-precision-pen-tide-to-go

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Sony is acting quickly to make sure owners of its WH-1000XM5 headphones don’t feel left behind after seeing the just-released WF-1000XM5 earbuds gain several new features. (Putting both of those products in the same sentence really hammers home the madness of Sony’s product names, eh?) The company has released a firmware update for the headphones that brings them to parity with the wireless earbuds by introducing support for head-tracking spatial audio. As with the buds, you’ll need a phone running Android 13 or later, and dynamic head tracking only works with compatible video apps. Better still, Sony is no longer making WH-1000XM5 owners choose between multipoint and LDAC. Once you’ve installed the latest update, you can listen to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/26/23808899/sony-wh-1000xm5-update-head-tracking-multipoint-ldac

A man walks with his donkey in the Tafilalet oasis on October 27th, 2016, near Morocco’s southeastern oasis town of Erfoud, north of Er-Rissani in the Sahara Desert. The oasis is at risk of disappearing as the area is drying up due to global warming. | Photo by Fadel Senna / AFP via Getty Images Sucking planet-heating carbon dioxide of the atmosphere doesn’t reverse all the effects of climate change, new research tells us. Carbon dioxide removal, as it’s called, can sound like science fiction — but many companies are already counting on it to undo some of the damage caused by their pollution. Companies might try to prevent their greenhouse gas emissions altogether, or they might try to clean it up after the fact. That’s why we’re seeing all kinds of brands, from Microsoft to the Houston Texans , saying that they’ll plant trees or invest in new technologies that are supposed to filter CO2 out of the air. But even if they’re successful in trapping CO2, does it reverse the conseque...

Image: DoorDash DoorDash has added Apple CarPlay syncing to its Dasher app, which delivery workers use to accept deliveries and get to your house. For workers with Apple’s infotainment system software in their cars, that means they can spare their phone batteries the cruel and unusual punishment of hours of daily use in the sometimes hot, harsh environment of their car’s dashboard. Dasher VP of logistics Austin Haugen says CarPlay support is one of the “most highly requested features among the Dasher community,” which makes sense. Phones are great for mapping and directions in cars, but they can introduce big problems when you rely on them for your job. Image: DoorDash The Dasher app with Apple CarPlay syncing in action. For... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/26/23808483/doordash-carplay-support-delivery-driver-iphone-mount

The matte screen of Samsung’s latest Frame TV really helps it blend into your walls as art. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Samsung’s Unpacked presentation may have brought new announcements of Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 phones, new smartwatches , and some new tablets , but one of the best Samsung deals right now is on its wall art-inspired The Frame TV from last year. Woot is currently offering a variety of Samsung Frame TV models — ranging from 32 inches to 85 inches — for exceptional prices. For example, the 55-inch Samsung Frame TV is $1,087.99 ($412 off), and the 65-inch model is $1,397.99 ($602 off). The latter is a great size for many people looking to go big, but if you want a gargantuan Frame, you can also get the 85-inch version for $2,697.99 (about $1,600 off). While The Frame may not be an OLED panel or have the lowest latency and VRR for gaming,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/26/23807472/samsung-frame-tv-belkin-boostcharge-m...

Image: CD Projekt Red CD Projekt Red (CDPR), the video game studio behind franchises like The Witcher and Cyberpunk , is laying off “roughly” 9 percent of its staff, according to a Wednesday blog post. That number translates to around 100 people. “There’s no easy way to say this, but today we are overstaffed,” CEO Adam Kiciński wrote in the post . “We have talented people on board who are finishing their tasks and — based on current and expected project needs — we already know we don’t have other opportunities for them in the next year.” The studio has a big slate of projects in the works. Most imminently is the September 26th release of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty , a major expansion starring Idris Elba . In the future, it’s planning to release a remake of t... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/26/23808484/cd-projekt-red-cdpr-layoffs

Illustration: The Verge Microsoft just posted the fourth and final quarter of its 2023 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $56.2 billion in revenue and a net income of $20.1 billion during Q4. Revenue is up 8 percent, and net income has increased by 20 percent. As expected, Windows and devices revenue has been hit hard again this quarter, but Xbox has rebounded somewhat — at least on the content side. Microsoft’s cloud, office, and server businesses continue to make up for a weaker PC market. Microsoft’s entire fiscal 2023 hasn’t been great for its Windows and devices revenue compared to fiscal 2022. Windows OEM revenue, the price that PC manufacturers pay Microsoft to put Windows on laptops and PCs, has dropped significantly for the entire fiscal... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/25/23807075/microsoft-q4-2023-earnings-revenue-profits-windows-xbox-gaming-surface

Tab Groups live here. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge If you’re using Safari but you’re not using Tab Groups, well, it’s time to change that. Tab Groups, as the name implies, allows you to group a selection of tabs together and essentially set them aside for future use. For example, if you have a bunch of tabs you use for work and a bunch of tabs you use after work, you can cordon these tabs off into batches so that they don’t get in each other’s way. You can use your work tabs at work and, when you’re finished, swap them for your “after work” tabs with just one click. You might also have different Tab Groups for different assignments at work or different school projects. Folks who share a computer might have different Tab Groups for each user. The possibilities are endless. Here’s how... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23803135/safari-tab-groups-how-to

Image: Bethesda Game Studios Starfield will be released in just over a month, and on Tuesday, developer Bethesda Game Studios released three animated shorts as part of a new anthology series called Starfield: The Settled Systems . In the shorts, you’ll get a glimpse of three of the game’s big cities. “Follow a delivery pilot in New Atlantis seeking the exciting life of the elite; a stranded orphan looking for a way out of Akila City; and two street rats struggling to survive in the underbelly of Neon,” the studio wrote in a press email. If you’re at all excited for the game, I’d recommend taking the time to watch each of the shorts. They’re all less than three minutes, gorgeous in motion, and offer an intriguing taste of the Starfield universe. Here are the links... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/25/23806975/starfield-the-settled-systems-animated-shorts

Lidya Jewett as Angela Fielding and Olivia Marcum as Katherine. Though Warner Bros. ’ 1973 adaptation of The Exorcist is an iconic piece of horror cinema, none of the studio’s subsequent sequels ever really managed to make all that much of a splash. Only time will tell whether that also ends up being the case with Universal and Blumhouse’s new trilogy of Exorcist features from director David Gordon Green, but the first trailer for The Exorcist: Believer definitely makes it seem like the revival’s cooking with gas. Set in the same continuity as the original film, The Exorcist: Believer tells the story of how widower Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) struggles to save the life of his young daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) after she and her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum) vanish suddenly one day only to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/25/23807004/the-exorcist-believer-trailer

Photo by Mitchell Clark / The Verge Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe is fed up with companies exaggerating their environmental credentials. “There’s far too much greenwashing in the system,” he said in a recent interview. For Scaringe, it’s all too easy for a company to obfuscate the source of its power consumption, especially when it doesn’t actually create any new capacity for renewable energy. And consumers aren’t discerning enough to tell the difference. “This is just so conceptually complex,” he said, making a clear distinction between companies that buy renewable energy to cover their own emissions while also creating new capacity and those who want to “pay a teeny little incremental amount more to get the ability to pat ourselves on the back and say we’re using renewable... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23803541/rivian-solar-kentucky-ppa-ceo-scaringe-interview

Image: Ubisoft Ubisoft now says it will not delete your games just because you didn’t sign in often enough. “Accounts that include purchased PC games are not eligible for deletion,” Ubisoft senior corporate communications manager Jessica Roache tells The Verge. Last week, a tweeted screenshot of a Ubisoft email put gamers in something of a panic because it seemed like Ubisoft planned to delete inactive accounts — including all the games they’d purchased — just because they hadn’t signed in frequently enough. Hey there. We just wanted to chime in that you can avoid the account closure by logging into your account within the 30 days (since receiving the email pictured) and selecting the Cancel Account Closure link contained in the email. We certainly... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805783/ubisoft-delete-game-accounts

Amazon’s live-action adaptation of The Boys has always been a uniquely blood-filled superhero series, and the same has seemed to be true of Gen V — the streamer’s upcoming spinoff show focused on college-aged superheroes training for the big leagues. But unlike the thick, red liquid pouring out of The Boys — which has always felt like an excessively gorey detail meant to emphasize how violent the world Vought International runs really is — Gen V ’s blood seems to serve an interesting purpose judging from a new trailer. Gen V focuses on the lives of a number of students matriculating at Godolkin University School of Crimefighting — Vought’s school for people gifted superpowers after being exposed to Compound V . Like many of the kids at... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805815/gen-v-trailer-amazon-the-boys

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple announced that developers can now apply to get a Vision Pro headset on the company’s website. In addition to the Vision Pro headset, the dev kit also includes help setting up the device, code-level support requests, and “check-ins” with Apple experts about designing and developing an app for visionOS. Apple Vision Pro developer labs are opening soon around the Cupertino London Munich Shanghai Singapore Tokyo Developers: Now’s your chance to get hands-on experience with Apple Vision Pro and see your groundbreaking apps come alive! https://t.co/gxRJK299uf — Greg Joswiak (@gregjoz) July 24, 2023 The company will prioritize applicants who are creating an app that “takes advantage of visionOS features and capabilities” — so,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805883/apple-vision-pro-ar-headset-developer-kit

Image: NetherRealm Studios Mortal Kombat is already a deeply brutal, gore-splattered game , and it’s about to get so, so much bloodier with the addition of Homelander , Peacemaker , and Omni-Man to its roster of fighters. In a video released late last week, NetherRealm Studios confirmed the characters would be part of the game’s Kombat Pack DLC. The DLC also includes Mortal Kombat natives Quan Chi, Ermac, and Takeda. Justice. The good... and the bad. Welcome the Kombat Pack Roster to Mortal Kombat 1. #MK1 pic.twitter.com/QoWFC36y8n — Mortal Kombat 1 (@MortalKombat) July 21, 2023 During an interview with Mortal Kombat kreator Ed Boon at San Diego Comic-Con , J.K. Simmons was confirmed to be the voice of Omni-Man for Mortal Kombat , but it doesn’t seem like either... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805704/mortal-kombat-1-omniman-peacemaker-homelander

Google Maps shows users the most fuel-efficient route. | Image: Google Drivers are taking Google Maps’ advice for how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from their trips, according to the company. In late 2021, Google debuted a feature in Google Maps that allows users to see the most fuel-efficient routes. The feature has since helped prevent around 1.2 million metric tons of planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions, Google estimates in its latest environmental report released today. That’s almost like taking 250,000 gas-guzzling cars off the road for a year, the company says. That’s almost like taking 250,000 gas-guzzling cars off the road for a year The tool launched in the US, but now it’s also available in Canada, Egypt, and nearly 40 more countries in Europe. Google uses a machine learning model to... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805652/google-maps-fuel-efficient-routes-transportation-emissions

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Netflix is introducing a new tab in its mobile apps that could make it easier to actually find something you want to watch, according to a blog post from the company . The new tab, called “My Netflix,” will be available on iOS beginning Monday and starts rolling out on Android in early August. Basically, it sounds like My Netflix will surface titles you’ve shown some sort of interest in as a way to help you make a decision about what to watch. The My Netflix tab will show you things like titles you’ve downloaded, have recently watched, are halfway through, have saved to My List, and have given a thumbs-up to, as well as trailers you’ve watched. “Keep in mind that the more you interact with and tell Netflix what you like, such as saving... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805752/netflix-my-tab-ios-android-find-things-to-watch

Illustration: The Verge Watch out Bard — Bing’s AI chatbot is now available in Google Chrome and Safari. As first spotted by Windows Latest ( via 9to5Google ), you can now access the chatbot from Bing.com in both browsers. There are some limitations to using Bing Chat on Chrome and Safari, though. For one, you can only type 2,000-word prompts, as opposed to the 4,000-word limit that you get when using Bing Chat on Edge. Your conversation with the chatbot will also reset after five turns instead of 30 , and you’ll see some annoying pop-ups that prompt you to download Edge. Screenshot by Emma Roth / The Verge You’ll still get prompted to download Edge. In addition to a wider rollout across different browsers, Microsoft has introduced dark... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805493/bing-ai-chat-google-chrome-safari

It’s your time to shine, little guys. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge What’s old is hot again, and flip phones are so very hot right now. These phones are a far cry from the phone that you mastered T9 texting on in college. Today’s flip phones are garden-variety 2023 smartphones that happen to fold in half — plus a screen on the front cover. They’ve been making a kind of comeback over the past few years, but until now, they’ve existed in the shadows of their bigger, pricier fold-style counterparts. That’s understandable, considering that their small cover screens haven’t been good for much more than checking the weather and pressing pause on a podcast. But that’s all changing this year: in a round of updates from Motorola , Oppo , and very likely Samsung next , cover screens are getting much larger and way... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23803386/samsung-unpacked-2023-galaxy-z-flip-fold-5-motorola-razr-plus

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge After 12 years, the price of Spotify Premium is increasing in the US. The subscription will now cost $10.99 a month, the company announced today . Spotify has charged $9.99 for its Premium subscription ever since its launch in the US in 2011 . “So that we can keep innovating, we are changing our Premium prices across a number of markets around the world,” the company wrote in a post announcing the increase. “These updates will help us continue to deliver value to fans and artists on our platform.” As well as increasing the price of a single Premium subscription, the cost of Duo will increase from $12.99 to $14.99, Family will increase from $15.99 to $16.99, and Student will increase from $4.99 to $5.99. According to an FAQ , existing... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805364/spotify-us-price-increase-10-99-a-month-9-99-month-twelve-years

Yep, $155 million seems Kenough to me. | Image: Warner Bros. Pictures Legions of Barbie-core and biopic fans descended onto theaters this weekend for the “Barbenheimer” box office phenomenon, but one pink-plastered performance, in particular, came out on top. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie has already smashed several records, raking in $155 million domestically over the weekend — the highest US opening ever for a film directed by a woman — beating the previous $153 million achieved by Anna Boden’s Captain Marvel . “The massive, overwhelming response we’ve seen out there proves what we’ve known from the beginning: that ‘Barbie’ is not only an incredibly special film, but clearly the theatrical event of the summer, if not the year,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. Pictures president of domestic distribution in a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23805370/barbie-greta-gerwig-oppenheimer-blockbuster-record-us-opening-weekend

Image: Twitter Twitter is transforming into X, as the site’s former bird logo has now been replaced by an official new X logo. Elon Musk, who owns the transformed social media site, began signaling the change early Sunday morning with a series of tweets, starting with one that said, “and soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” Now X has replaced the Twitter logo on the web version, signaling a change to Musk’s “everything app” that he originally envisioned shortly after purchasing Twitter for $44 billion in November. The X logo will presumably replace the bird logo in mobile versions of the apps once they’re updated. References to Twitter still remain on the main web login prompt, though. S... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/24/23804973/twitter-x-logo-brand-replacement

Illustration: The Verge Apple is using an internal chatbot to help its employees “prototype future features, summarize text and answer questions based on data it has been trained with,” says Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman in Power On today. Apple hasn’t been sure what it wants to do with its Apple GPT chatbot project on the customer-facing side yet, but Gurman’s report shed some light on at least its internal chatbot uses. According to the newsletter, Apple is looking at ways to expand the use of generative AI within its organization, with one possibility being giving the tool to its AppleCare support staff to better help customers dealing with issues. That won’t necessarily happen soon, as the chatbot tendency to get things wrong is well-known to Apple and its CEO,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/23/23804825/apple-gpt-chatbot-apple-care-siri-chatgpt

This Ecobee smart thermostat alerted me to a potentially catastrophic scenario in my home while I was on vacation. But there was little I could do about it from afar. When my HVAC unit failed while I was out of town, my smart thermostat warned me, and the rest of my connected home helped me figure out what was going on. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/23/23800964/smart-home-smart-thermostat-alerts-saved-my-vacation

Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Sometimes you’ve just gotta break the rules and go for it. I attended Nothing’s New York City product drop last week and got my hands on the Nothing Ear 2s and the Nothing Phone 2 . Now, I’m a longtime Verizon customer, which seemed like a major hurdle for actually testing out this phone and its flashing glyphs. At one point, Nothing had mentioned “limited” support for Verizon on its website, but the company has since removed the carrier from its tech specs altogether — never a good sign. But as I’ve come to find out, as long as you’ve got an active SIM that was already in another Verizon-certified phone, you can toss that into the Nothing Phone 2 and get going without any immediate headaches. When I tried doing so, the phone’s mobile... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23803460/nothing-phone-2-verizon-works-okay-wouldnt-depend-on-it

Image: Paramount Star Trek: Strange New Worlds had a pair of surprise announcements at San Diego Comic-Con today. First, the show is stepping out of its weekly release schedule with a new episode tonight — a crossover with Star Trek: Lower Decks will debut on Paramount Plus in a few minutes, at 7PM ET, Deadline reports. And that’s not all — the series is also getting a musical episode in early August called “Subspace Rhapsody.” Deadline points out that this is the first musical episode in Star Trek history, and the publication isn’t wrong, but the franchise has boldly gone there before... sort of. There was a Deep Space Nine episode, called “Chrysalis,” where a group of eccentric, genetically-engineered people break out into an a capella song after one... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/22/23804339/star-trek-strange-new-worlds-is-getting-a-musical-episode

Image: Google Adding alt text to an image in a Google Workspace project is getting much easier after an update included the accessibility improvement. Until recently, adding alt text to images was hidden behind a right-click menu. Now, the option will show up in the “Image options” sidebar — not only that, but the option now comes with an explanation for the feature, telling users what the purpose of alt text is. Alt text is used in media and beyond to describe to people who have difficulty seeing what an image is showing, giving them access to important contextual information sighted people may take for granted. But where alt text is available in software, it’s sometimes not explained, and when people who can clearly see and read their screen are... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/22/23804311/a-google-workspace-update-makes-alt-text-easier-to-add

A Campfire Chat about Diablo IV ’s 1.1.0 update. | Screenshot: Wes Davis / The Verge Three directors working on Diablo IV held a campfire chat livestream yesterday saying they will change how they roll out patches, after an incremental verison 1.1.0 patch for the game abruptly nerfed players’ builds (via IGN ). And they promise updates like that won’t happen in the future — at least, not the way it went down this week. In the livestream, associate director Joe Piepiora, game director Joe Shely, and community chief Adam Fletcher acknowledged complaints about the patch, which massively reduced player power for some builds. Fletcher said of the reduction that, “we know it is bad, we know it is not fun,” and added, “we don’t plan on doing a patch like this ever again.” In the short term, there is at least one quick fix... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/22/23804232/diablo-iv-patch-player-power-blizzard-1-1-0-patch