Lead Hacker

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Telescope blasts off. | Photo: NASA / John Kraus After funding struggles and a name change, the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has been successfully launched . It will now make a three-month, one-million-mile journey to its orbit at the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2) beyond the Moon. From this vantage point, Roman will conduct an unprecedented survey of the universe . Its field of view is 100 times larger than Hubble's and, according to NASA, it can survey the sky 1,000 times faster using its 300-megapixel infrared camera. Roman also has a Coronagraph system that can block and mask glare from stars, allowing it to directly image exoplanets , even smaller, older, and colder planets … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/science/986544/nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-launch

Inspired by Oregon Trail, but minus the dysentery. | Screenshot: Terrence O’Brien / The Verge I used to be an avid hiker and would try to go backpacking a few times a year. I always dreamed of thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail, but life kind of got in the way. (Turns out jobs, wives, and children aren't thrilled with the idea of you disappearing for three months.) But I've been longing to reconnect with my love of the outdoors and just recently took my kids on their first camping trip. So I discovered A Trail Tale at a really opportune time. It's an interactive trail journal created by Andy Moliski with help from his brothers Adam and Alex. The various segments of the trail are rendered in beautiful pixel art reminiscent of a '90s S … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/entertainment/986461/hike-appalachian-trail-pixel-art-a-trail-tale

Alt-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos was arrested by ICE on Thursday, and today the Department of Homeland Security confirmed to Reuters and the Washington Post that he had been deported to the UK. Yiannopoulos came to the US legally in 2019, but overstayed his visa. After he failed to appear in court for an immigration hearing, a final order of removal was issued ​on July 22. The British national made a name for himself as an editor at Steve Bannon's Breitbart and an early supporter of Donald Trump's. He has had a long history of controversial statements and associations, including reportedly helping arrange Trump's dinner with Kanye West an … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/policy/986456/milo-yiannopoulos-deported-ice

Sony Music and Warner Chappell have filed suit against Anthropic in the US District Court for the Northern District of California seeking damages for "tens of thousands" copyrighted works. The companies are asking for up to $150,000 per work, plus up to $25,000 for each instance when identifiable copyright data was stripped. In total, the damages could amount to several billion dollars if a court finds in Sony and Warner's favor and awards the maximum amount. This is just the latest high-profile suit against Anthropic, which recently settled a suit brought by the publishing industry for $1.5 billion . It's also faced multiple lawsuits from … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/986438/sony-music-warner-chappell-anthropic-lawsuit-copyright

BYOK is a no-frills, single-purpose gadget that 90 percent of people will find absolutely frivolous. But for those who spend a significant chunk of their lives putting words to virtual paper, there is an obvious allure. Personally, I think it's at its best when you just stick to the bare minimum, focusing on pure text drafting. Certain users, though, need more. They want BYOK to take notes, they want to use it for writing screenplays, or maybe they want to organize a sprawling novel. Balancing the wants and needs of these more demanding users has been a challenge that BYOK founder Nick Sjolinder has been trying to figure out how to tackle. … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/gadgets/986427/distraction-free-writing-gadget-byok-scripts-extensions

Asha Sharma. | Image: The Verge, Microsoft According to Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Project Helix, which she announced in March as a codename for Microsoft's "next generation console" - phrasing that seemingly implied a singular device - will actually be a "family" of devices." "We've been hard at work on a great next generation and a great family of devices for Helix, and we'll share more soon," Sharma told BBC News . She shared the answer after being asked if Helix will be a discless console. She didn't answer that, but this week Microsoft announced a program for digitizing your physical games . In 2025, Microsoft and AMD announced a "strategic multi-year partnership" to work together on … Read the full story at The Verge. source https://www.theverge.com/games/986337/xbox-ceo-asha-sharma-project-helix-family-of-devices

Amazon and Best Buy have the TCL QM7L mini-LED TV on sale for as low as $797.99 for the 55-inch model, a $200 discount from the usual price. We spotted scaling discounts on larger sizes as well, although Amazon already listed low stock on the 65-inch version. While OLED televisions are great for deep black levels and great contrast, their high price point may be off-putting to some buyers. Mini-LED TVs like this TCL are a more wallet-friendly option, and have high brightness while also supporting features like Quantum Dots for vivid colors. TCL QM7L Where to Buy: $997.99 $797.99 at Amazon (55-inch) $1499.99 $899.99 at Best Buy (65-inch) The QM7L also includes the features you’d expect from a premium television. The 144Hz refresh rate is supported by Variable Refresh Rate to reduce tearing and input lag while gaming, with HDR and Dolby Vision support for great image quality and contrast. The screens have Google TV onboard, with support for AirP...