Lead Hacker

Buzz buzz. | Image: Bananbin I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I say that not everyone agrees on the best way to handle their computer’s trash directory. Some folks like to let it go until their computer yells at them about storage, while others empty it every single day. I’m somewhere in the middle, but I do try not to let it go too far. And I think I found the best tool for that job a couple of days ago: Bananabin . When the data kept in your Trash folder passes a certain threshold, Bananabin surrounds with buzzing, animated flies that you can shoo away with your mouse. That’s it. That’s the app. GIF: Wes Davis / The Verge I’m sure the novelty will wear off at some point. You can configure the fly threshold from the app’s icon in... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/30/24189505/bananabin-app-flies-trash-macos-sonoma

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge For all its impressive technical chops, Apple’s all-singing, all-dancing Vision Pro hasn’t set the world on fire. But it’s early yet, and the company continues to throw some weight behind the headset, and reportedly has plans to add AI features to visionOS and is readying an updated approach to in-store demos. Apple is working through the challenge of incorporating Apple Intelligence into the augmented reality interface of the headset, Bloomberg ’s Mark Gurman reported today . That could be a relief for Vision Pro owners who were disappointed that the company didn’t mention it during the AI portion of its WWDC 2024 keynote presentation . The company is adding a new “Go Deeper” option to its in-store demos, Gurman writes. That reportedly... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/30/24189328/vision-pro-apple-intelligence-in-store-demo-cheaper-version

Image: Hugo Herrera / The Verge Whether wired, wireless, or low profile, here are our picks for the best readily available boards. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23384750/best-mechanical-keyboard-wired-wireless-75-percent-layout-cheap-bluetooth

Willem Dafoe in Nosferatu. | Screenshot: YouTube I’m stuck in a weird spot when it comes to movies and TV, these days. On one hand, the constant churn of remakes, reboots, franchise movies, and sequels often feels like it comes at the expense of original storytelling. But on the other, I am unabashedly looking forward to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice , I’m really enjoying The Acolyte , and I’m sorry, but I’m the reason Nintendo just keeps remaking games , and I will continue to be . (Also, I feel I must apologize to my friends and family in advance for my absence when Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is released.) Thankfully, the trailers that showed up this week look as promising as any of the best of those. Deadpool & Wolverine It’s another Deadpool & Wolverine trailer ; what am I going to do, not... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/29/24189019/biggest-trailers-deadpool-wolverine-nosferatu-batman-heretic-week-june-23-29

An Uber and Lyft vehicle in New York. | Photo: Lindsey Nicholson / UCG / Universal Images Group via Getty Images Rideshare drivers in Massachusetts will soon get company-provided benefits, as well as a minimum pay of $32.50 per hour, starting on August 15th. That’s thanks to a new settlement between the state and rideshare companies Uber and Lyft, four years after Attorney General Andrea Campbell sued the companies , asserting their drivers ought to be considered employees under state law. The two companies also agreed to pay a combined $175 million, the bulk of which will be paid out to “current and former drivers who were underpaid by the companies,” Campbell’s office announced yesterday . The office says it will release details about who qualifies and how to apply “in coming weeks.” Despite the settlement and the original thrust of the suit,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/29/24188851/uber-lyft-driver-minimum-wage-settlement-massachusetts-benefi

The 10th-gen Kindle Paperwhite may lack USB-C and don a smaller display, but it still nails the basics. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Lately, it seems as though the biggest happenings in the E Ink world revolve around large note-taking devices like the Kindle Scribe and color offerings such as the apt-titled Kobo Libra Colour . That said, if you’re looking for a basic ebook reader to burn through your summer reading list, there’s nothing wrong with picking up a last-gen e-reader like the 2018 Kindle Paperwhite — which happens to be on sale at Amazon (via Woot) in used condition with ads for $49.99. Amazon’s last-gen Paperwhite has become more difficult to find since the arrival of the 2021 model , even if it isn’t a dramatic step down in terms of features. It still carries an IPX8 rating for full resistance against water immersion, as well as a crisp six-inch, 300ppi... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/29/24188551/amazon-kindle-p

Image: The Verge Whether you want everything but the kitchen sink or top-tier performance for a midrange price, you’ve got options. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23674658/best-android-phone

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge From the unbeatable Switch Pro and comfy Joy-Con alternatives to a dongle that lets you use your Xbox or PlayStation controllers with your Switch, these are the best Switch controllers you can get. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/23350899/nintendo-switch-controllers-best-wireless-joy-con-gamepad

Photo by David Becker / Getty Images Dr Disrespect’s YouTube channel has been demonetized. In a statement to The Verge , YouTube spokesperson Nicole Bell wrote, “We have suspended monetization on DrDisrespect’s channel for violating our Creator Responsibility policy.” Bell also wrote that Dr Disrespect has been suspended from YouTube’s partner program “following serious allegations against the creator.” The allegations refer to multiple reports that the streamer, whose real name is Guy Beahm, was banned from Twitch in 2020 due to inappropriate messages sent to a minor through Whispers, a Twitch communication app. When Beahm was banned, neither he nor Twitch explained the reason, leaving it a mystery for four years. Late last week, however, Cody Conners, a former Twitch... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/28/24188157/dr-disrespect-youtube-channel-demonetization-partner-program

The new Vertex AI capabilities aim to improve the accuracy of Google’s corporate chatbots. | Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Getty Images Vertex AI, the Google Cloud development platform that allows companies to build services using Google’s machine learning and large language models, is getting new capabilities to help prevent apps and services from pushing inaccurate information. After rolling out general availability for Vertex AI’s Grounding with Google Search feature in May — which enables models to retrieve live information from the internet — Google has now announced that customers will also have the option to improve their services’ AI results with specialized third-party datasets. Google says the service will utilize data from providers like Moody’s, MSCI, Thomson Reuters, and ZoomInfo and that grounding with third-party datasets will be available in “Q3 this... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/27/24187534/google-vertex-

Originally announced in late 2022, TP-Link’s Wi-Fi 7 Archer GE800 gaming router is now available. | Image: TP-Link The TP-Link Archer GE800 Wi-Fi 7 tri-band gaming router was first announced in late 2022 before making appearances at CES 2023 and CES 2024 , alongside a bunch of Wi-Fi 7 laptops . It’s finally available starting today for $599.99, although those excited to upgrade immediately can save $100 as part of a “limited-time launch promotion.” Designed to take full advantage of the broader 6GHz wireless spectrum that Wi-Fi 6E first had access to, Wi-Fi 7 further increases speeds by doubling the maximum channel bandwidth from 160MHz to 320MHz, allowing more data to be transmitted. The Wi-Fi 7 spec also allows connections to span multiple bands with a feature called Multi-Link Operation (MLO). For example, a file can be downloaded on the 6Ghz band... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/27/24187362/tp-link-router-wifi-7-ge800-be19000-gaming

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Microsoft’s first round of Copilot Plus PCs launched last week with the promise of better battery life, performance that matches a MacBook Air, and chips ready for AI. I’ve spent the past week testing both of Microsoft’s new Surface devices, and I think they largely live up to Microsoft’s promises. There are some expected app emulation drawbacks here and there. But for the most part, if you don’t have complex app needs, these new Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite and Plus chips deliver the Windows on Arm experience that Microsoft has been promising for more than a decade. They also put a lot of pressure on Intel to respond. I’ve been most impressed with the battery life on the $999.99 base model of the Surface Laptop during my testing . There... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/27/24187343/intel-windows-on-arm-microsoft-qualcomm-notepad

Photo by Cooper Neill / Getty Images Legendary sportscaster Al Michaels is going to give daily, personalized recaps of the Paris Olympics on Peacock — well, an AI-generated Al Michaels voice will. In practice, the effect is a lot like hearing a sports announcer’s voice in a video game like Madden , except it’s spitting out lines about real-life sports, which, in this case, means custom Olympics coverage. Here’s how it works. To set up what NBC is calling “Your Daily Olympic Recap” in the Peacock app, you’ll provide your name (the AI voice can welcome the “majority” of people by their first name, NBC says in a press release) and pick up to three types of sports that are interesting to you and up to two types of highlights (for example, “Top Competition” or “Viral & Trending... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/26/24185774/olympics-ai-al-michaels-voice-recaps

Image: Figma Figma is announcing a bunch of new features at its Config conference today, including a major UI redesign, new generative AI tools to help people more easily make projects, and built-in slideshow functionality. Let’s start with the redesign, which is intended to “lay the foundation for the next decade,” according to a blog post. You’ll see things like a new toolbar, rounded corners, and 200 new icons. As part of the design refresh, the company wants to “focus the canvas less on our UI and more on your work” and make something that’s approachable to new users while still being useful to Figma experts. Image: Figma Figma’s “UI3.” Figma says this is the company’s third “significant redesign” since Figma’s closed... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/26/24183730/figma-ai-tools-app-redesign-slides

Photo by Daniel Golson for The Verge I’ll admit, I was too distracted by Rivian’s surprise announcement of a $5 billion deal with Volkswagen to develop software and electric vehicles to notice that the buzzy California company was also planning an investor day event on June 27th. So when I woke up on Wednesday to see this shareholder letter — thanks to InsideEVs with an assist from BloombergNEF’s Corey Cantor on Threads — I was pretty surprised to see Rivian was essentially taking a page from Tesla by teasing us with some shroud-covered mystery vehicles. Screenshot: Rivian It’s already been a pretty jam-packed 2024 for Rivian: the introduction of the more affordable R2 , starting at $45,000; the surprise reveal of the R3 and R3X , which briefly broke... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/26/24186332/rivian-tease-mystery-vehicle-r1-r2-r3-shareholder-letter

Image: Nomad Your outfit has been missing a little blurple, and The Verge is here to fix that. Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/24181102/verge-nomad-apple-watch-band

Image: Apple Apple released new developer betas for iOS 18 and macOS Sequoia on Monday, and spokesperson Fred Sainz confirmed on Friday that the company planned to introduce the ability for users to mirror their iPhone on their Mac . Sainz also said the iOS 18 beta would include new SharePlay screen sharing capabilities. The new feature, which Apple first announced at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month, lets you interact with your iPhone right from your Mac, meaning you can browse apps and even drag and drop files from your Mac to your phone. Your Mac will even show notifications from your iPhone, and when you click on them, your Mac can open them in the mirrored iPhone interface. Image: Apple While mirroring... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/24/24184882/apple-iphone-mirroring-ios-18-macos-sequoia-developer-beta

I’ve tried dozens of gaming headsets and still haven’t found one I like more than the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge I’ve run through an alarming number of gaming headsets over the years from almost every brand you can think of — including Razer, Turtle Beach, HyperX, Logitech, and Corsair — but none impressed me more than SteelSeries’. Its latest high-end set is the Arctis Nova Pro Wireless , and while not cheap, you can get a refurbished model at Woot until the end of June with a 90-day warranty for $179.99 ($170 off the MSRP). SteelSeries headsets are widely lauded for their comfort, well-balanced audio, great mic quality, and sleek design. You can get most of these benefits from the brand’s more affordable options since they typically use similar drivers and microphones, but the Nova Pro Wireless is ideal for multiplatform gamers. Its dual USB base... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/24/24184700/steelse

Our ideas about vampires have evolved significantly since F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror debuted on the silver screen, but the first teaser trailer for Robert Eggers ’ remake makes it seem like it’s going to be a moody, haunting return to the undead basics. Set in 19th-century Germany, Nosferatu tells the tale of how an unsuspecting woman named Ellen Hutter (Lily Rose-Depp) becomes the latest obsession and target of Count Orlok (Bill Skarsgård) — a Transylvanian nobleman and legendary vampire. It’s clear that Orlok already has some degree of influence over Ellen in the teaser as she wonders whether the menacing longing she feels is a sign of evil living within her. But while Ellen is somewhat certain that she’s being... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/24184823/nosferatu-trailer-date-robert-eggers

Enso’s eco-friendly tire. | Image: Enso Congratulations, world. We’ve done it. Since passing the Clean Air Act in the 1970s, we’ve reduced cancer-causing particulate emissions from our cars and other sources dramatically, a change that has added years to our lives . That’s the good news. The bad news is that we can now spend more time focusing on the remaining sources, including some unexpected ones. In an EV era, tires are becoming the greatest emitters of particulate matter, and as we’ve seen, whether it’s the microplastics in our shrimp or the preservatives in our salmon , they’re having a disturbing impact on our environment. In an EV era, tires are becoming the greatest emitters of particulate matter Gunnlaugur Erlendsson wants to do something about that. The affable... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/24/24183327/ev-tire-pollution-enso-us-factory-investment

Apple is once again the focus of the EU’s competition policy. | Cath Virginia / The Verge Apple’s App Store “steering” policies violate the EU’s Digital Markets Act meant to encourage competition, said regulators in their preliminary ruling Monday. The European Commission has also opened a new investigation into Apple’s support for alternative iOS marketplaces in Europe, including the core technology fee it charges developers. “Our preliminary position is that Apple does not fully allow steering,” said Margrethe Vestager who heads up competition policy in Europe. “Steering is key to ensure that app developers are less dependent on gatekeepers’ app stores and for consumers to be aware of better offers.” Under the DMA, Apple and other so-called gatekeepers must allow app developers to steer consumers to offers outside their app... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/24/24184629/apple-dma-steering-infringement-ruling

Dr Disrespect at a golf tournament in January 2024. | Photo by Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images Twitch abruptly banned one of its biggest stars — Herschel “Guy” Beahm, better known by his persona Dr Disrespect — in 2020 without a word of explanation . Now, four years after Beahm’s permanent ban, two former Twitch employees have come forward to describe events they say contributed to his removal from the platform. One former Twitch employee, who asked to remain anonymous citing the potential risk to their career, told The Verge that Beahm had used Whispers, Twitch’s now-defunct messaging system, to exchange messages with a minor and initiate a conversation about meeting up at TwitchCon. The employee worked on Twitch’s trust and safety team at the time of the ban in 2020. Their comments corroborate a post from Cody Conners, a former... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/23/24183875/dr-disrespect-twitch-ban-explanation

If you weren’t able to catch the season two premiere of House of Dragon last weekend, now is your chance. | Image: Ollie Upton / HBO There’s no denying that streaming services just keep getting more expensive , with Peacock and Max being the latest streamers to raise prices across their ad-free plans. We’re also seeing a number of services — including Max — dropping support for free trials, ensuring no one other than paying subscribers can access their trove of content. Fortunately, if you haven’t previously subscribed to Max, you can sign up for a rare weeklong trial through the end of today, June 23rd. Admittedly, a week isn’t enough time to burn through Max’s extensive back catalog of original programming, which includes newer shows like Hacks , the animated sci-fi epic Scavenger’s Reign , True Detective: Night Country , and last year’s excellent adaptation of The... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/23/24183275/hbo-max-subscription-free-tria

For the past two weeks, I’ve been editing in the newest version of Final Cut Pro for the iPad. For many professionals, the original release of this app last year missed the mark . Its tools have just been too limited to use on a daily basis. The new version doesn’t necessarily change that — but despite my many frustrations, I’m finally discovering the joy of using it. The new version of the app, confusingly named “Final Cut Pro for iPad 2” (it is for all current iPads, not the iPad 2), came out this week. And perhaps the biggest new feature in this year’s release isn’t entirely a Final Cut Pro feature: it’s a brand-new app that integrates with it. The new Final Cut Camera is a standalone app for your iPhone that offers advanced camera... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/24183158/final-cut-pro-for-ipad-2-final-cut-camera-review

Image: The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 43, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been reading about memexes and telepathy and John Lennon’s wristwatch , watching Presumed Innocent and Ren Faire , testing Genspark for AI search stuff, redoing my homescreen with Dumbify , and experimenting with overnight oats in an attempt to make mornings less chaotic. (Turns out, peanut butter makes pretty much everything 20 percent better.) I also have for you a new tech podcast, a couple of handy new gadgets, a new calendar app, the game that will take over your weekend, and much more. Let’s get... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/23/24183235/copilot-pcs-elden-ring-erdtree-hank-green-installer

Image: The Verge OpenAI has acquired Rockset, an enterprise analytics startup, to “power our retrieval infrastructure across products,” according to a Friday blog post . This acquisition is OpenAI’s first where the company will integrate both a company’s technology and its team, a spokesperson tells Bloomberg . The two companies didn’t share the terms of the acquisition. Rockset has raised $105 million in funding to date. “Rockset’s infrastructure empowers companies to transform their data into actionable intelligence,” OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap says in a statement. “We’re excited to bring these benefits to our customers by integrating Rockset’s foundation into OpenAI products.” “Rockset will become part of OpenAI and power the retrieval infrastructure... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/21/24183216/openai-rockset-acquisition-enterprise-data-startup

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok is part algorithmic television, part Nextdoor group, and increasingly, part travel agent — a role the platform seems to be leaning into. Users have been able to tag their geolocation for a while, but now, the company appears to have revamped the landing pages for certain locations like Boston, New York, and Texas. Now, instead of just showing videos that tag that location, TikTok has created categories like “food & drink,” “hotels,” and “shopping” that are filled with relevant videos. Clicking a button labeled “explore more places” opens up an Apple Maps integration showing a map of businesses in the area that have been tagged in TikTok posts. Beneath the map is a list of locations with details like their address, price level, and... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/21/24183085/tiktok-location-page-categories-travel-recommendations

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge Meta is apparently deprioritizing VR and its Oculus business to focus on reproducing the surprising success of its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. And it makes sense — VR is out, AI is in, and Meta’s smart glasses are the absolute standout gadget thus far for AI. But in the same week that Alex Heath reported this shake-up in Command Line , The Information reported that Apple is focusing on a cheaper Vision headset in favor of a successor to the Vision Pro. Something’s happening here, and it feels like it’s going to have a major impact on the most distinct visions of our VR and AR future. So with David stepping away for a show, Alex Heath joins Nilay and myself to talk about what the heck is going on with AR and VR in Silicon Valley right now.... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/21/24183015/meta-apple-ar-vr-ai-ilya-sutskever-perplexity

Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge Spotify just announced that it would be increasing prices in the US , but on Friday, it announced a new Basic plan that brings back a $10.99 per month tier. This new offering gives you the same ad-free music listening perks you’d get on the $11.99 Premium Individual tier, but you won’t get the 15 monthly hours of audiobook listening that’s also included with Premium. Last year, Spotify bumped up the cost of Premium from $9.99 per month — the price the service launched at in the US more than a decade ago — to $10.99 per month . Now that Premium costs an extra dollar beyond that, the new Basic plan seems to indicate that Spotify sees demand for a cheaper option that drops audiobooks. It also creates a music-only offering that’s the same... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/21/24183161/spotify-basic-plan-drops-audiobooks

Image: FromSoftware Before Shadow of the Erdtree finally goes live, Bandai Namco has implemented a patch that adds a couple of small features and updates just in time for the DLC’s launch in a few short hours. FromSoftware also shared a new launch trailer to herald the DLC’s arrival, but it’s chockful of spoilers, so beware. The update isn’t particularly earth-shattering, but it does include some things worth keeping in mind before all you Tarnished get your head beat in by the vicious monsters patrolling the Shadow Lands . Firstly, we get new hair options! I was pretty down on Elden Ring ’s character creator for its lack of Black hairstyles . It just didn’t make sense that the character creator was so robust and detailed but lacked hairstyles that represent... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/24182462/tips-for-starting-shadow-of-the-erdtree-elden-ring

Image: FromSoftware Arise now, ye tarnished Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/28/22955370/elden-ring-fromsoftware-open-world

Image: Microsoft Last week, I revealed that Microsoft’s Windows engineers were scrambling to secure its controversial AI-powered Recall feature in time for its planned debut on June 18th. Hours later, Microsoft announced that the feature that screenshots nearly everything you do on new Qualcomm-powered laptops is being recalled. Copilot Plus PCs shipped earlier this week without Recall, and Microsoft has modified the setup process to remove it from Windows 11 — it’s now a feature that’s “coming soon” to these devices. Recall is still prominently featured in Microsoft’s marketing materials, which suggests the company is confident it will return very soon. After developing Recall largely in secret away from the usual Windows Insider public testing,... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/20/24182350/microsoft-windows-recall-launch-on-arm

Photo by Spencer Platt / Getty Images For years, automakers have been fussing over the sounds emitted by their electric vehicles, trying to tune them in a way that both presents as futuristic while also not alienating to people who are used to the rev of a four-cylinder engine. They seem to have settled on a series of sounds that could best be described as somewhere in between a whir and a hum. Others would say it sounds like a flying saucer — and not always in a good way. But according to a new survey, most people may prefer something else entirely. Others would say it sounds like a flying saucer — and not always in a good way The online survey of 400 adults in the US found the top-rated sound was a “non-tonal” sound more closely resembling a gas-powered car than any of... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/24182348/ev-sounds-low-speed-survey-non-tonal-white-noise

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge If you’ve been putting off your next Windows update, now’s the time to install it. Last week, Microsoft patched a pretty nasty vulnerability in Windows 11 and 10 that could put your PC at risk when connected to a public Wi-Fi network, as spotted earlier by The Register . The vulnerability ( CVE-2024-30078 ) could let hackers deploy a malicious packet to devices connected to the same Wi-Fi networks in places like airports, coffee shops, hotels, or even workplaces. From there, hackers can remotely run commands and gain access to a system — all without any user interaction or authentication. Microsoft rolled out a security update for the affected versions of Windows on June 11th. Microsoft has labeled the vulnerability as “important,” which is... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/19/24181908/microsoft-windows-pc-update-wi-fi-vulnerability

Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California on Oct. 25, 2022. | Laura Dickinson/San Luis Obsipo Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images Congress has passed a bill aimed at giving nuclear energy a boost in the US. The Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy (ADVANCE) Act is now waiting for President Joe Biden’s signature to become law. The Senate passed the bill on Tuesday, after the House of Representatives passed a similar bill in February. The bill is supposed to speed up development of next-generation nuclear reactors and position the US to lead the international market, while also helping aging reactors stay online. Nuclear energy is still a divisive solution for reducing greenhouse gas emissions causing climate change, but it has gained bipartisan support in recent years. Nuclear energy is still a divisive solution for reducing... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/19/24181808/congress-pass-nuclear-energ

You can even stack multiple codes if you want to get ready for the forthcoming onslaught of day-one releases. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Unless you’re flush with cash and time is only conceptual in your world, it may be tough to finance and find the time to enjoy all of the games announced during Microsoft’s recent Xbox Showcase . An Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription can help, though, as it’ll provide day-one access to many of the titles currently in development. Thankfully, CDKeys is now selling one-month subscription codes for $10.19 (about $7 off) and three-month codes for $27.99 (about $23 off), the latter of which is a better deal. CDKeys is a trusted merchant here at The Verge , so don’t feel deterred if you’re unfamiliar with the name. The online retailer specializes in selling heavily discounted key codes for gaming products, whether you’re looking to save on... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/19/24180384/xbox-game-pass-ult

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Apple may no longer be working on a new high-end Vision headset amid slowing sales of the Vision Pro, according to a new report from The Information . Instead, Apple has apparently been finding ways to reduce the cost of components for the first model and is working on a cheaper Vision headset that it aims to ship by the end of 2025. The first Vision Pro came out earlier this year, and while it’s a very good VR headset , it has a lot of flaws inherent to many other VR headsets. It’s also quite expensive, starting at $3,499, and — what I noticed most when I tried the Vision Pro at an Apple Store — pretty heavy. With a cheaper Vision headset, which is reportedly codenamed N109, Apple aims to keep the high-res displays that make the Vision... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/18/24181106/apple-vision-pro-team-cheaper-headset

The current promo means you won’t have to pay extra for local storage. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge ’Tis the season of travel, and if you want to beef up your home security ahead of your vacation, today might be a good time to do so. Right now, you can pick up a Blink Video Doorbell with a Sync Module 2 at Best Buy , The Home Depot , and Kohl’s for just $41.99 ($28 off), which is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on the entry-level smart home bundle. If you’re looking for a budget-friendly video doorbell, the battery-powered Blink Video Doorbell is one of our favorite models . The 1080p doorbell delivers all the basics, including support for motion detection, two-way video, and night vision. What’s most notable about this deal, though, is that the bundle includes Blink’s Sync Module 2, which is an optional $49.99 add-on that allows for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/18/24180106/amazon-blink-video-doorbell-anker-747-charg

Image: Secret Mode The sea is basically the blue skin of the world, yet we know so little of its depths. Much like the vastness of space, it is filled with mystery. With both comes the unknown — and, therefore, horror. In Still Wakes the Deep , the latest first-person horror from The Chinese Room, the sea births a mysterious terror that takes over an oil rig, and its workers must fight to survive. Somewhere in the middle of the ocean, players are introduced to protagonist McLearly, a Scottish oil rig’s troublesome electrician. From the beginning, I was incredibly impressed by the voice acting, writing, and performance. Most of the crew are Glaswegians, who use colloquial terms and slang, which the game warns can be “translated” by turning on subtitles.... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/24180103/still-wakes-the-deep-review-xbox-ps5-pc

The $130 Logitech MX Ink is compatible with both the Meta Quest 2 and 3, as well as “future” headsets. | Image: Logitech Today, Logitech officially announced its MX Ink stylus , the company’s first mixed reality accessory for the Meta Quest 2 and Quest 3 headsets. The MX Ink will provide artists with a more natural alternative to the Quest’s controllers for content creation that feels like using a pencil or a paintbrush. The tracking accuracy and low-latency performance of the Meta Quest’s native controllers have helped position the headset as more than just a gaming or media consumption device, but the controllers, which can feel like holding and working with a can of spray paint, don’t always offer the best interface for content creation. For many artists, a stylus is a preferable tool over a mouse or peripherals primarily designed for gaming, which is... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/17/24180060/logitech-mx-ink-stylus-meta-quest-vr-ar

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The US government is suing Adobe for allegedly hiding expensive fees and making it difficult to cancel a subscription. In the complaint filed on Monday , the Department of Justice claims Adobe “has harmed consumers by enrolling them in its default, most lucrative subscription plan without clearly disclosing important plan terms.” The lawsuit alleges Adobe “hides” the terms of its annual, paid monthly plan in the “fine print and behind optional textboxes and hyperlinks.” In doing so, the company fails to properly disclose the early termination fee incurred upon cancellation “that can amount to hundreds of dollars,” the complaint says. When customers do attempt to cancel, the DOJ alleges that Adobe requires them to go through an “onerous... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/17/24180196/adobe-us-ftc-doj-sues-subscriptions-cancel

Nikon’s new $2,500 Z6 III has the world’s first partially stacked CMOS sensor. | Becca Farsace / The Verge At the beginning of a recent photo walk with a Nikon representative, I was told it was only a matter of time before I became a “birder”. Because eventually every photographer runs out of things to take photos of and is left with only one subject to master: birds. Which, because of advancements in sensor technology, have become a much easier target. The Nikon Z6 III has an articulating back screen that is typical of hybrid photo / video cameras. It was on this same photo walk that I got a few hours with the new $2,500 Nikon Z6 III. And the big news in this camera is its 24.5-megapixel partially stacked CMOS sensor. This is the first camera, ever, to employ this technology. Instead of the circuit parts and pixel area... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/17/24178637/nikons-new-2500-z6-iii-has-the-worlds-first-partially-stacked-cmos-sensor

Illustration: The Verge Google is rolling out a new option called “Listen to this page” that can read a webpage out loud to you from within the Android Chrome browser. The feature comes with playback controls similar to those you’d find in music or podcast players, letting you pause, change the reading speed, scrub forward, or skip ahead or back by 10 seconds at a time. You can also change the voice it uses, as well as the language. The feature supports several, including English, French, German, Arabic, Hindi, and Spanish, according to a Google help page about the feature . To see if you have it, head to a page with a lot of text, then tap the three dots menu and “Listen to this page,” which should appear just below the Translate option. S... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/16/24179757/google-chrome-android-listen-to-this-page-website-reader

A McDonald’s in Pittsburgh. | Photo: Paul Weaver / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images If your local McDonald’s has been getting your order confidently wrong with an AI chatbot at the drive-thru, I have good news for you: The company is ending the program for now. The company told franchisees that it’s winding down an AI drive-thru ordering partnership with IBM “no later than July 26th, 2024,” according to trade publication Restaurant Business . The company will reportedly remove the tech from the over 100 restaurants it’s been testing the system in after partnering with IBM in 2021 . It’s not clear why the company is ending the IBM deal, though. It told Restaurant Business it was testing whether the voice ordering chatbot could speed up service and that the test left it confident “that a voice-ordering solution for... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/16/24179679/mcdonalds-ending-ai-chatbot-drive-thru-ordering-test-ibm

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The thinness of the OLED iPad Pro is only the beginning of a renewed effort by Apple to make increasingly thin computers, according to Bloomberg’ s Mark Gurman in today’s Power On newsletter. The company plans a “significantly skinnier” iPhone 17 and is also working on shaving off some of the thickness of the MacBook Pro and the Apple Watch, he writes. It’s not the first time we’ve heard about a new, extremely thin “iPhone 17 Slim,” as The Information and multiple supply chain analysts have reported that this phone is on its way, possibly at a higher price than the existing iPhone 15 Pro Max. I haven’t seen concrete rumors about just how slim it will be, but it could have a 6.6-inch display and a smaller Dynamic Island. P... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/16/24179598/iphone-17-slim-apple-thinness-ipad-pro-macbook-apple-watch

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 42, your guide to the best and Verge -iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage .) This week, I’ve been writing about Excel , reading about tin foil hats and the song “Smooth,” obsessing over Francis Ford Coppola’s note-taking system , watching Anyone But You , Hit Man , and Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol because I had a bunch of plane rides, and debating buying Jabra headphones even though Jabra is quitting the headphone game . I also have for you a new minimalist phone, a book to read, a documentary to watch, a fun hack for your Rabbit R1, and much more. Let’s get into it. (As always, the best... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/16/24178592/light-phone-3-yahoo-news-apple-passwords-installer

Image: NASA Voyager 1, the farthest human-made craft from the Earth, is finally sending back data from all four of its scientific instruments, NASA said this week . That means the agency is once more receiving its readings on plasma waves, magnetic fields, and space-bound particles. Voyager 1 stopped sending back good data in November, and fixing it was fraught as engineers had to wait 45 hours to hear anything back . In April, the agency got it to start sending back health and status information , then science data from two of its instruments in May . Now, NASA says Voyager 1, which is over 15 billion miles from Earth, is “conducting normal science operations” and the agency just needs to resync its timekeeping software and do some maintenance on a... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/15/24179265/voyager-1-functioning-again-nasa-deep-space

The Philips Hue Twilight lamp. | Image: Smartlights.de Philips Hue’s next smart bedside lamp will reportedly be called the “Twilight.” The lamp will feature two buttons on top for power, scene selection, and sleep automation, and it also has LEDs in the back that will feature a sunrise or sunset effect, according to HueBlog.com . The rear LED and main light, like the Hue Dymera ’s top and bottom lights, will apparently be individually controllable, and when triggering its sleep automation, the site says it will simulate a sunset before turning off. It’s not clear yet when — or for how much — Philips will release the Twilight. Image: HueBlog.com HueBlog published leaked images earlier this week that show the lamp’s odd, fixed lampshade. It will apparently come in black or... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/15/24179119/philips-hue-smart-lamp-twilight-solo-lightstrip

There are many 67W chargers out there, but few are as adorable as Sharge’s travel-friendly Retro 67. Earlier this week, we published a guide rounding up an assortment of last-minute Father’s Day gifts for those who celebrate. However, if you need a Hail Mary and your dad is the nostalgic type with a penchant for all things Apple, the Sharge Retro 67 is currently on sale for an all-time low of $39 ($30 off) at Amazon and direct from Sharge . In February, my colleague Sean Hollister penned a personal ode to the Sharge’s three-port USB-C PD and PPS charger (and for good reason). The palm-sized Retro 67 measures 2.2 x 1.5 x 1.5 inches — which is relatively small for what it offers — and can output 67 watts from a single UL-certified port or 45 watts via the primary port while supplying 20 watts across the remaining two. That’s enough juice... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/15/24177773/sharge-retro-67-usb-c-charger-sonos-speaker-soundbar-deal-sale

Air conditioners in windows during a heat wave in New York, US, on Thursday, July 27, 2023. | Photo: Getty Images Household electricity bills could climb with rising temperatures this summer in the US, according to an analysis by the Energy Information Administration ( EIA ). Americans’ monthly electricity bills will likely average $173 between June through August, compared to $168 last summer, the EIA predicts. The slight bump in costs comes from consumers cranking up their air conditioning more to cope with a warmer season than last year. Bills would have jumped higher, if not for lower residential electricity prices helping to balance out some of the increased energy use from air conditioning. Some regions are likely to be harder hit by the weather than others. Because of heat and humidity along the Gulf Coast, residents in Southern states... Continue reading… source https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/14/24178413/summer-bill-electricity-heat-forecast