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So pretty. | Screenshot: Terrence O’Brien / The Verge I remember having a Spirograph as a kid and being obsessed with it. Its geometric patterns are hypnotic and gorgeous. I also love generative music composition. So bringing those two things together in a browser tab, I'm hooked. Musical Spirograph is a relatively simple concept. A set of points dash around the screen according to mathematical equations, generating hypotrochoids and epitrochoids. Those points pass through a series of concentric rings which trigger specific notes. Honestly, that alone is fun enough, but you can customize it quite a bit. There are six different virtual rotors to pick from, you can have up to three arms drawing … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/983322/musical-spirograph-generative-composition

The best gift card deal we’ve spotted this year is happening Saturday, August 22nd, at Best Buy stores for one day only. In celebration of the retailer’s 60th anniversary, you can purchase a $100 Best Buy gift card for $60. The deal is only good for as long as supplies last at your local store, so you might want to plan on getting there no later than opening time to boost your chance of getting one. There are some limitations on how you can use the gift card. You can’t use them to buy other gift cards, like iTunes or Google Play credit, and they also can’t be used to buy prepaid or open-loop debit cards. However, they can be used in combination with other discounts or promotions on products from Best Buy, and any returns or cancellations you make will credit back to the gift card. We’ve found a number of deals during Best Buy’s 60th anniversary sale that you can apply that gift card to. The iPad Air M4 dropped to $649 , the lowest we’ve seen since th...

Walmart will soon allow you to pay for your items with Google Pay or Apple Pay. In an announcement on Friday , Walmart says it's going to bring tap-to-pay capabilities to "select" Walmart and Sam's Club locations starting August 24th, before rolling out support to all US stores by the end of 2026 and gas stations by mid-2027. This launch has been a long time coming, as Walmart was one of the last major retailers not to support Apple Pay or Google Pay. The retail giant even backed the launch of the short-lived CurrentC mobile payment service before rolling out Walmart Pay in 2016 , which lets you quickly check out with a QR code at its stores. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/983336/walmart-apple-google-pay-launch

I recently looked back at a photo I'd taken on a smartphone in 2014, and I was struck by just how good it looked. The details were soft, the shadows were dark. It was the kind of photo I felt like I hadn't seen out of a phone in years. That might be changing, though. The Pixel 11 includes a suite of new photography features called Camera Looks that allow those who really care about those things (hi, it's all of us) to dial in their preferences and get rid of that modern over-processed look. On today's episode of The Vergecast , David Imel joins us to discuss his time reviewing the Pixel 11 Pro and how he's thinking about its new approach to … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/podcast/983288/pixel-11-gets-in-on-the-digicam-trend

Mark Zuckerberg. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg now owns an actual castle. Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan bought Strancally Castle and its 440-acre estate in Ireland "several weeks ago," according to The Irish Times . While the exact price of the purchase is unclear, the family could have paid "anywhere between €20 million and €30 million" for the 16,000-square-foot castle, which was restored by its previous owners. "Mark and his family are excited to continue caring for this historic home and look forward to spending time in Ireland, where Meta maintains its international headquarters," a spokesperson tells The Irish Times . The publication says "it is und … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/982955/meta-mark-zuckerberg-strancally-castle-ireland

The 2023 Framework Laptop 13 with AMD Ryzen 7040-series chips. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Some Framework Laptop 13 owners with last-gen AMD chips have reported that a recent BIOS update is bricking their laptops on both Windows and Linux. The BIOS update causing this issue is version 3.20 for Ryzen 7040-series mainboards, released back in July and still available on Framework's site at the time of this writing. Upon running the update, some users reported their laptops getting stuck on the update screen . While some users on Framework's community forums reported that the company was sending them replacement mainboards under the one-year warranty, several with out-of-warranty boards said they were told they'd have to buy new ones. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/982800/framework-laptop-13-amd-7040-bios-320-bricking-warranty

The frost color scheme is nice, but it’s no pistachio or hibiscus. | Photo: Cameron Faulkner / The Verge It'd be easy to overlook the Pixel 11. Want the best cameras? The Pixel 11 Pro is your answer. Want the best bargain? The Pixel 10A is still a great deal. But the Pixel 11 might be the sweet spot in Google's lineup this year. With 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, it delivers the same performance as the base Pixel 11 Pro for $899 - $200 less. And while it's $400 more than the Pixel 10A , it has a faster processor, more RAM and storage, Qi2 charging, and a telephoto lens. It's also the cheapest way to experience what's actually new about the Pixel 11 series. With the hardware basically unchanged from the Pixel 10 except for new colors and a … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/982190/google-pixel-11-review

Apple is once again overhauling App Store rules in the European Union, which the company says will resolve its "disagreements with the Commission over business terms and alternative distribution." As part of the changes, every developer that distributes apps will be moved to a single set of business terms, and digital transactions for apps distributed outside of the App Store will be subject to a Core Technology Commission fee of 5 percent. The new terms go into effect on October 1st. They will include a 26 percent commission for App Store apps that use Apple's in-app purchase system, or a 20 percent fee for developers using alternate payme … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/981504/apple-app-store-eu-rules-core-technology-commission

Tesla Cybercabs are lined up on a lot at Tesla Giga Texas in Austin, Wednesday, April 8, 2026. | Image: Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images The Tesla Cybercab , that golden two-seater central to Elon Musk's robo-supremacist ambitions , is finally nearing it's public launch. Whether or not the no-steering wheel and no-pedal vehicle is actually ready for public roads, let alone customers, remains very much in doubt . According to The Information , Tesla is planning a public launch of the Cybercab in Austin, Texas, as soon as this month. The driverless vehicle has been popping up around the country, although often with a steering wheel and pedals , as employees are continuing to gather data. Tesla employees have been testing the fully driverless version on private roads around the com … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/981398/tesla-cybercab-launch-robotaxi-fsd-...

YouTube will soon count a view as soon as a video starts to play, lining up with the system used by Instagram, TikTok, and its Shorts videos. The update will go into effect on August 24th, "which means creators will likely see their total view counts increase faster moving forward," the platform says . Instagram and TikTok similarly add a view to a video when it starts to play or replay, while X counts a view when a user watches a video for at least two seconds. YouTube applied Instagram and TikTok's view-counting method to Shorts last year. YouTube says it's going to keep its original view-counting method under an "engaged views" metric in … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/streaming/981105/youtube-video-view-counting-update

A bulldozer plows through land during construction for a section of border wall near Santa Elena Canyon on August 14, 2026 in Big Bend National Park, Texas. | Brandon Bell/Getty Images About 22 miles south of the former mining town of Patagonia, Arizona, down a winding, unpaved mountain road that passes cows grazing on open range, stands a cottonwood tree believed to be at least 200 years old. The "grandmother" tree, as some locals call it, is imperiled and already showing signs of stress, almost as if it knows its fate. The leaves are yellowing prematurely, falling to the ground at the height of summer. On July 27th, a construction crew felled three neighboring trees to build an extension of President Donald Trump's wall along the US-Mexico border. An activist climbed up the last tree standing two days later and ever sin … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/report/980933/trump-border-wall-...

Integrated BagLev hooks keep Peak Design’s City Line crossbody bag and backpack off the dirty ground. | Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge It's just a hook, sewn into a bag, but I really, really like it. Peak Design is so proud of its clever integration that the San Francisco-based maker of camera gear gave it a name: BagLev, for its ability to keep its new City Line of bags levitated above the dirty ground. How many of us are guilty of coming home and tossing a bag onto the kitchen table or counter to unload it? We pretend it's not a thing, despite the carryall having come into contact with unknown filth picked up from the floors of subways and dive bars, sidewalks, and parks. BagLev lets you hang your bag off a chair, ledge, tabletop, or counter as you go about your day, kee … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/980137/peak-design-city-line-review

According to the Financial Times , OpenAI disbanded its preparedness team at the end of last month. The job of the preparedness team was to assess if models posed serious risks and develop ways to mitigate those risks. (You know, like the possibility that it could go rogue and hack another company.) According to FT , responsibility has instead been divided up for specific areas like bio and cyber, then moved into existing teams. This is the latest change at the company, which has been in upheaval as it heads towards what is expected to be a massive IPO. Over the last few years, it's slowly torn down its more reach-led model, dissolving its AG … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/980817/openai-disbands-preparedness-team

In every possible universe? | Image: Backwoodz Studioz "Breakups are… tough." It's the opening lines of an interlude towards the end of DOOMED! Called "It Happens in Every Universe." It's also basically the thesis of the entire record. It's no grand revelation, but it's a well-trodden subject that Open Mike Eagle manages to mine for artistic gold. Eagle's subject matter is usually personal, and his productions tinged with nostalgia. But DOOMED! is his most intimate album yet. A lot of that is due to the production from Kenny Segal. The two have traveled in the same orbit and worked together before, but this is the first full-length album release from the two. These are some of Segal's most c … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/980799/open-mike-eagle-and-kenny-segal-doomed-review

On Friday, Amazon customers received an email alerting them to an update to the site's terms and conditions. Most notably, it stated that disputes would now be resolved through arbitration and said users agree to a class action waiver. Amazon framed this as a "fast and efficient" way to resolve issues, but it notably would prevent customers from seeking the involvement of a judge or jury in most circumstances. Customers can still take Amazon to small claims court in certain circumstances, though payouts are often limited to a few thousand dollars. The relevant sections of Amazon's legal policies page now read: YOU AND WE AGREE THAT ANY … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/980752/amazon-class-action-arbitration-terms-and-conditions

The compact Polaroid Go is great for road trips and adventures. | Image: Polaroid Smartphone cameras are convenient, but they lack the charm of analog instant cameras. If you’re trying to relive the nostalgia of waiting for an instant photo to develop, Amazon is selling the second-generation Polaroid Go instant camera with a 16-photo film pack for $71.99 (usually $109.99). That’s the lowest price we’ve seen for the bundle, with a pack of film usually costing $21.99 on its own. Plus, it’s four dollars cheaper to buy the bundle than to buy just the camera on its own. Polaroid Go Instant Camera Generation 2 Where to Buy: $109.99 $71.99 at Amazon (with film pack) With its more compact footprint, the Polaroid Go 2 shoots on smaller film to match. Where classic Polaroid photos are 88mm x 107mm, the Go film is 53.9mm x 66.6mm, a great size for sticking to your bulletin board or stashing in your wallet. The camera has a USB-C port for charging the battery...

Doh! | Image: Activision / 20th Century Fox At D23, when asked about the potential for a sequel to the cult classic The Simpsons: Hit & Run game, Matt Groening replied, "I think the original game is coming back in some form," before current showrunner Matt Selman added, "or not." The tone in both of their voices and the body language suggests that Groening may have just revealed something he wasn't supposed to. The original title came out way back in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Windows. While it's possible to get the game up and running on modern computers, it's not available on modern consoles . It's currently not in the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog or on the Xbo … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/980720/matt-groening-simpsons-hit-run-d23

If you squint you can just about make out the hat. | Screenshot: Terrence O’Brien / The Verge Your AI Slop Bores Me is brilliant in its simplicity. There are two tabs: human and LARP as an AI. On one side you enter a request. On the other, you submit an answer. But the important thing is that there's a human on both sides of the equation. Prompts can request a response as text or image, and then whoever is roleplaying as the AI gets 150 seconds to respond. Just like a real LLM, Your AI Slop Bores Me works on a sort of token system. Requests cost credits, and to earn credits you have to jump onto the AI side and answer some of your own. You can also just wait as you get one free request every two minutes. But, as fun as it is to drop … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/980502/roleplay-as-an-ai-chatbot

They’re far more powerful and fun than their bargain price suggests. | Photo: Terrence O’Brien / The Verge When I'm asked what to buy if you want to get into making electronic music, I often recommend Elektron's budget-minded Model:Samples and Model:Cycles grooveboxes. They don't grab headlines the way Teenage Engineering's gear or the Telepathic Instruments Orchid do, and even compared to the company's higher-end and more niche musical offerings like the Digitakt , Octatrack , or Tonverk , they're often overlooked. But as my collection has grown to include fancier and far more expensive instruments, I still find myself coming back to the Model series. Those looking to get their first groovebox are often drawn to more familiar brand names like Korg … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/980275/elektron-model-cycles-model-samples-groovebox-electronic-music-instruments-rev...

The version of The X-Files: I Want to Believe that premiered in 2008 was not exactly the movie co-writer / director Chris Carter intended to make. Carter wanted to bring agents Mulder and Scully back to the big screen with a grisly story about faith and the supernatural. But executives at 20th Century Fox felt that Carter's ideas were too dark, and he was pushed to turn the project into a PG-13 feature. Now, almost two decades after I Want to Believe 's theatrical debut, Carter is back with a new director's cut of the film for Hulu that's much closer to his original vision. "We got to tell a good X-Files story," Carter said of the original … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/979925/the-x-files-chris-carter-vrach-frankenshteyn-interview-hulu

Instagram's wordmark is iconic. Well, was iconic. Apparently Instagram thought it looked old, so the company rolled out a new one this week. It doesn't look like the old Instagram wordmark. It doesn't even look like it spells Instagram anymore. And we cannot figure out why Instagram decided to do this. On this episode of The Vergecast , David and Nilay start by discussing the new logo, the executive urge to redesign everything all the time, and whether new is always better. After that, they get into the other big Meta release of the week: Mark Zuckerberg's many-thousand-word missive on the future of AI. There are a lot of ideas and proposals … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/podcast/980367/instagram-logo-new-zuckerberg-ai-vergecast

Google will now allow you to remove visible watermarks from the images, videos, and music made with AI tools. With the update , you can toggle off a new "Media watermark" setting in Gemini and Google's AI video generator, Flow. When toggled off, Google will remove the "sparkle" watermark that appears in the bottom-right corner of content generated with the company's Nano Banana and Omni models. Though visible watermarks are now optional, AI-generated content will have invisible SynthID watermarks and C2PA metadata embedded in the background, according to Josh Woodward , the vice president of Google Labs, Gemini, and AI Studio. That means you … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/980416/google-gemini-ai-watermarks-removal

Suno is releasing Studio 2.0 with significant upgrades that push it closer to an actual digital audio workstation (DAW), rather than a bare-bones audio editor with generative AI features. The biggest addition is undoubtedly MIDI support. Suno says that MIDI was its most requested feature, and it's basically a prerequisite for any modern DAW. Unfortunately, Suno Studio doesn't appear to support third-party plugins or VSTs yet, so you're stuck using its proprietary built-in synth. That synth appears to be a basic two-oscillator wavetable plugin with three envelopes and four envelopes. The point is less about using your favorite Arturia vintag … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/979345/suno-studio-2-0-midi-chatbot-custom-effects

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is aiming to spend up to $20 million on equipping officers and agents with specialized gloves that deliver painful electric shocks. These plans were outlined in a notice published by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, with an unspecified quantity of the devices set to be delivered by March 2027. The electrified handwear outlined in the contract is the CTG 5 GLOVE (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), which manufacturer Compliant Technologies refers to as a CD3 (Conductive Distraction and De-escalation) device. Compliant Technologies describes it as "a great, humane, low-optics, de-esc … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/policy/979010/ice-agents-electric-shock-gloves

Maybe don’t let the AI shred next time. | Image: D’Addario After weeks of controversy and speculation, music company D'Addario has admitted that AI, specifically Suno, was used as part of a recent promotional video. For nearly two weeks, the company has denied the allegations , even as evidence piled up against it. It offered various explanations, from low-quality exports, to combinations of plugins like Autotune introducing digital noise, and the use of AI-assisted mastering tools from LANDR and Logic. But now the company has edited its original Instagram post denying the use of generative AI to say it was wrong. In a lengthy update to its post from July 29th (embedded at the bottom), it said: W … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/978982/daddario-guitar-ai-music-suno

Google is gearing up to reveal a bunch of new Pixel devices on August 12th. A series of leaks leading up to the event suggest that the Pixel 11 lineup will come in an array of colors , with signs pointing to a built-in light coming to Pro models . Teasers from Google also indicate that it will show off a next-gen Pixel Fold alongside a Pixel Watch 5 in four different finishes. There might be a new Pixel Tag tracker as well. Google may take the wraps off the new devices well ahead of its Made by Google livestream. On Google’s website , the countdown for preorders ends on August 12th at 10AM ET — eight hours before its event at 6PM ET. Comedian Trevor Noah will host this year’s show, featuring notable guests like NBA star Stephen Curry, podcaster Alex Cooper, Indian cricketer Shubman Gill, and Japanese actress Ayami Nakajo. We’ll be live blogging the event, so stay tuned! Follow along for all the latest news about Google’s Pixel devices. ...

Apple is seemingly developing an iOS feature that can verify when a photograph was taken using an iPhone camera. 9to5Mac reports that the iOS 27 beta 5 includes code references for an "Apple Reference Image" system that can embed provenance metadata into iPhone photographs at the point of capture - enabling users to prove where the photo originated, and that it isn't AI fakery. Apple Reference Image isn't currently live, but a privacy disclosure in the iOS beta notes that the feature will be off by default. When (or if) it does roll out, 9to5Mac says it can be enabled via Settings > Camera > Reference Image > Reference Mode, and that only p … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/977921/apple-reference-image-iphone-metadata

Games look gorgeous on its 7.9-inch screen. | Photo: Brandt Ranj / The Verge The cost of the Nintendo Switch 2 is going up by $50 on September 1st, 2026 , resulting in a $499.99 price tag for just the console. We’re just weeks away, but Costco is offering a fantastic $499.99 bundle for its members that includes a Nintendo Switch 2 , a 256GB microSD Express card ( usually $59 ), and a one year subscription to Nintendo Switch Online’s Expansion Pack tier, which normally costs $49.99 per year . That’s over $100 in value, and a great way to kickstart your Switch 2 experience. Nintendo Switch 2 Where to Buy: $558.98 $499.99 at Costco (with NSO and 256GB memory card) The Switch 2 has 256GB of internal storage, so a microSD card is likely something you’ll need eventually for storing more games without having to constantly manage your library. With first-party Nintendo games typically running between 10 and 25GB, and larger third-party games reaching 50GB...

Starting February 1st, 2027, creators who want to monetize their channel through YouTube's Partner Program (YPP) will need at least 1,000 subscribers and either 8,000 qualified watch hours over the past year, or 20 million qualified Shorts views in the last 90 days. That's a sizeable jump from YouTube's current requirement of 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 watch hours in the past year, or 1,000 subscribers with 10 million Shorts views in the last 90 days. Creators will also need to maintain 10 million Shorts views over 90 days to earn money from the Shorts Creators Pool, though falling below this threshold won't result in removal from YPP. Ad … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/streaming/977474/youtube-partner-program-new-requirements

Solar energy, at any time of day or night - that's the dream of space mirror projects. Futurists have been imagining satellite mirrors that could reflect the sun's light onto the Earth's surface for over a century. Russian scientists experimented with the concept in the '90s with the Znamya project. The idea is to put a large mirror in orbit and angle it such that sunlight can be reflected onto a specific geographical area for illumination or the generation of solar power. Now, the California-based company Reflect Orbital wants to try this idea again, launching a test satellite named Eärendil-1 as a precursor to a fleet of up to 50,000 spa … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/science/976977/space-mirror-reflect-orbital-fcc-solar-eye-damage

Sadly, there hasn't been a new episode of No Dogs in Space since July of 2024. Part four of the podcast's series on Can wrapped up an abbreviated season three, which focused on experimental rock. Don't get me wrong, I loved seasons one and two, but the show seemed to be gearing up for a deep dive into Krautrock, and I was hype. Unfortunately, that episode ended with hosts Marcus Parks ( Last Podcast on the Left ) and Carolina Hidalgo declaring they were going to do another season on punk (the topic of season one), only for the feed to go quiet. If you're a music obsessive, this is a must-listen podcast. Over the course of 73 episodes, the hu … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/977190/no-dogs-in-space-music-history-podcast

Mark Zuckerberg's yacht "The Launchpad" | Image: Sylvain Lefevre / Getty Images Earlier this week, the Alaskan cruise ship Wilderness Legacy rescued a small skiff stranded near Farragut Bay after running out of fuel. But, according to tracking data reviewed by the Alaska Beacon and Halifax Shipping News , the closest vessel was actually Mark Zuckerberg's super yacht, Launchpad. Michael Love, a passenger on the Wilderness Legacy, posted on Bluesky that the captain announced the Launchpad was closer, but "repeatedly refused to respond," which was met with booing from the passengers. The AIS tracking (embedded below) seems to support that the Launchpad was closer to the vessel in trouble, but then stopped near the entrance … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/977161/mark-zuckerberg-yacht-wilderness-legacy-stranded-boat

Head Coach Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers | Image: Michael Zagaris / San Francisco 49ers / Getty Images Four weeks ago, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan was involved in an accident near downtown Palo Alto. At the time Shanahan said only that the accident was his fault. But during a recent press conference he shared more details about the incident, including the fact that he had his Tesla's Autopilot engaged at the time. Shanahan was not passing the buck, however, saying it was his fault regardless of whether or not Autopilot was engaged. "I've had Autopilot for nine years, so I'm pretty comfortable with it and, you know, who knows what happened when I turned around? Whether it malfunctioned or whether I knocked it off? That's somethi … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/977155/49ers-coach-tesla-autopilot-crash

In 2018 I bet my reputation and self-worth on a huge crowdfunded game design project. It could have been a failure for many reasons, but the one I became most worried about was losing all of the work that was stored locally on my home-built PC - a scenario that would have left a lot of people very upset and placed me in deep trouble. I wasn't irresponsible, I had local backups, but at some point I found myself in custody of so many important files that it scared me. And no matter how many redundancies I could build at home, they'd all still be in the same place - a risky bet. So I bought a subscription to Dropbox. Years later, it's still one … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/976092/pc-building-dropbox-backup

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about how AI is changing our daily lives, follow Emma Roth . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Long before ChatGPT became a thing, educators and editors frequently used anti-plagiarism tools to see if writers were being honest about their work. These tools work by comparing a written work against a database filled with content from across the web, scholarly articles, and more to check for matching sentences and phrases. Some, like Turnitin, offer a percentage th … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/column/976690/ai-writing-detectors-suspicion

X wants to make money on previously used handles. | Image: The Verge X is ending its controversial revenue-sharing program for content creators, which has seen numerous revisions under Elon Musk's reign. In its place, it's launching a new Original Content Rewards program on September 8th. To be eligible, creators must have at least 500 verified followers and at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users in the last 90 days, among other requirements. Creators will then earn revenue based on "qualified impressions" on "original content."Qualified impressions are unique impressions from Premium subscribers "on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50% of the post is visible." What qualifies a … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/977143/x-revenue-sharing-original-content-rewards

To power its new West Texas data center, Amazon is investing in the construction of a new power plant that could be one of the largest single producers of greenhouse gases in the US, according to the New York Times . The new gas-burning plant in Pecos County, Texas has received significant investment from Amazon and, at least initially, would not be connected to the state's power grid. Instead, its 35 natural-gas turbines would primarily deliver its 7.65 gigawatts of electricity to the new data center. According to Cleanview , which tracks data centers and their associated power projects, GW Ranch received a permit from Texas allowing for the … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/977124/amazon-data-center-worst-polluting-power-plant

“One ring to rule them all” | Image: Warner Bros. Looking to spend a weekend inside with a good binge? Gruv has The Lord of the Rings trilogy on 4K Blu-ray marked down to $49.99, just below Amazon’s price and only a little bit higher than the all-time low we usually see around Black Friday. This version includes both the original theatrical releases of all three movies — The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and Return of the King — as well as the extended editions, in case you want to spend 12 hours immersed in Middle Earth. New Gruv customers can also save an additional 15% by entering the coupon code FIRSTGRUV15 at checkout. The Lord of the Rings 4K Trilogy Where to Buy: $75 $56.22 at Amazon $75 $49.99 at Gruv Originally released between 2001 and 2003, the Peter Jackson-directed films were shot together in New Zealand, allowing for the trilogy to sweep through theaters three Decembers in a row. They were a hit with audiences, as wel...

The Birdfy Feeder Rookie is a good option if you’re new to birdwatching or simply don’t want to spend a lot on a smart feeder, and several configurations are on sale. The standard model is down to $59.99 ($60 off) at Amazon , which is close to its lowest price. It includes seven days of access to its AI-powered features that can identify different kinds of birds (after the trial expires, it can identify birds up to 10 times per day without a subscription). Alternatively, you can get a version that permanently unlocks its AI bird identification for $85.49 ($34 off) at Amazon , or pick up the standard model with a solar panel for $79.99 ($60 off) directly from Birdfy . Birdfy Feeder Rookie Where to Buy: $119.99 $59.99 at Amazon (without solar) $159.99 $79.99 at Birdfy (with solar) $109.99 $85.49 at Amazon (with permanent AI access) The Rookie covers the basics offered by most smart bird feeders. It features a 1080p camera that lets you watch vis...

OpenAI is making a big change for ChatGPT users on its free and Go tiers: starting next week, users on those tiers will be able to have unlimited text chats with the chatbot, according to OpenAI . Right now, you may run into rate limits if you do too many text chats on those tiers, but those limits, just for text, will be going away soon. Messages that include things like file uploads and images will continue to have limits. Next week, OpenAI is also adding a "Think" button for free and Go users that they can use to "access higher reasoning for harder questions." This week, for those users, the company is additionally upgrading ChatGPT's def … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/976239/openai-chatgpt-free-go-text-chats

TikTok says a "moderator error" delayed the removal of a livestream that appeared to show blogger Perez Hilton harming himself, as reported earlier by Wired . Jamie Favazza, a spokesperson for TikTok US, tells The Verge that the platform notified law enforcement about the situation and banned Hilton's account for violating its community guidelines. Hilton, or Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr., is known for the celebrity gossip blog he started in 2004, where he often posted photos of stars featuring his own often obscene or cruel drawings layered on top. Though some users claimed Perez's livestream aired for more than 30 minutes, Favazza disputes … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/976228/tiktok-perez-hilton-livestream-moderator-error

And you thought we were done with this one… | Image: Fenix Flexin We were pretty sure that Fenix Flexin's "Rubberz" was made using AI, but musician Medasin was confident that it was made using Treblo specifically. Now the company and a new detection tool seem to confirm it. On Monday, the company announced the open-source Treblo AI Music Classifier , which detects when a song was generated using Treblo, though not other AI tools. According to a blog post, it has a false positive rate of less than 1 in 1,000. That's not unimpeachable, but it's notable that the company's own Classifier determined that "Rubberz" was "very likely Treblo" with "high confidence," adding more fuel to the PR nightmare for Fenix. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/975528/fenix-flexin-ai-music-generator-treblo

Reddit is enlisting AI to help moderate new subreddits - and eventually the rest of site. The company is introducing automated moderation tools that rely on LLMs to help mods manage their communities, and it's expanding who can use those tools today ahead of a full launch later this year. The company calls the suite of tools "Rules Hub," and the tools let mods decide what rules should be automatically enforced and what should happen when a rule is triggered. Rules Hub relies on LLMs to evaluate "whether a post or comment matches the intent of a rule," which "allows Rules Hub to better handle nuance, natural language, and edge cases while pr … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/975398/reddit-ai-rules-hub-moderator-old-reddit-developer-platform

With great power comes great responsibility… to not justify ads in the name of movie promotions. | Image: BMW / Sony Pictures When a premium car brand like BMW says it has a "special surprise" in store for drivers, I'd expect something more luxurious than having a movie commercial beamed onto the dashboard. That's exactly what's happening to many BMW owners, however, who are being shown banner ads for Spider-man: Brand New Day on their Control Display upon starting the vehicle. In a statement to The Autopian , BMW confirmed that the ads are definitely real, serving as part of "a broader brand partnership" with the new Marvel movie. BMW's own announcement also confirms that the ads are running from July 27th until August 10th, and reveals how widespread they are: … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/transportation/975172/bmw-spider-man-movie-infotainment-ad

T-Mobile is launching a new financing option that will allow you to pay for a device, taxes, and fees over 36 months. In an update on Tuesday , T-Mobile says its new Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) Flex 36 requires no upfront payment and will come with a 0 percent APR for a limited time. Even if you are financing a device, carriers typically require you to pay sales tax, an activation fee, or a down payment at checkout. T-Mobile says its new plan eliminates that by allowing you to pay off all of these costs over time - though its website notes only "well-qualified customers" will pay $0 upfront. The EIP Flex 36 financing option is available … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/tech/975115/t-mobile-financing-eip-flex-36-plan

Video chat with your friends or coworkers directly from the Samsung M80F. Samsung makes a variety of TVs and computer monitors, but if want both and you’re limited on space, you might want to consider the M80F . This capable 32-inch 4K panel combines features commonly found on both types of screens, and Amazon and B&H Photo both have it discounted to $349.99, where it’s usually $400 or much higher. In addition to acting as a standard 4K screen for your computer or console, the M80F has a full suite of video streaming apps you’d expect to find on a television, with picture-in-picture support for multitasking, plus a removable webcam for video chats. Samsung M80F Where to Buy: $699.99 $349.99 at Amazon $699.99 $349.99 at B&H Photo The M80F has above-average connectivity for a monitor. In addition to the ports like HDMI 2.0, USB-C for charging devices up to 65W, and USB-A for your keyboard and mouse, you can also connect the Tizen interfac...