The Nintendo Switch 2 is more expensive in practically every way: pricier console, pricier games, an entire Chat button you'll eventually have to pay to use. So it was nice when Nintendo revealed you won't need its own $55 camera to video chat with pals. "You can use the Nintendo Switch 2 camera accessory (sold […]
Facebook is adding support for passkeys on its mobile app. That means you’ll be able to log into the platform using your device’s authentication method, like your fingerprint, face scan, or PIN, making it more difficult for bad actors to take control of your account. Passkeys offer a more secure alternative to typical passwords because […]
The richest and most customizable desktop for FOSS Unix
The second of three KDE point releases planned for 2025 is here, with more tiling options, accessibility improvements, and much more.…
AI tools are flooding the culture ecosystem — and no corner of the arts space is immune. In this series, we’re looking at the ways artists are embracing AI, pushing back on it, or trying their best to find an equilibrium with a new technology that’s both sweeping and destabilizing. We talk to perfumers questioning […]
The next version of the Near Field Communication (NFC) standard aims to make it easier to make payments, pair devices, and unlock doors using your phone or smartwatch. The most notable improvement is a boost to the distance of contactless connections from 0.5cm to 2cm, extending the range by x4. The NFC Release 15 standard […]
Robin Ward was recovering from a broken arm when he fell in love with The Roottrees are Dead, a free browser game hosted on itch.io, an indie games salesfront. He reached out to its creator, Jeremy Johnston, and told him, "This should be a bigger deal than it is." At the same time, Ward says, […]
Waymo announced today that it intends to launch a fully autonomous robotaxi service in New York City — but first it needs to change state law to permit its vehicles to operate with safety drivers behind the wheel. The Alphabet-owned company said it has applied for a permit from the city’s Department of Transportation to […]
Google is building Search Live into AI Mode, allowing you to have a back-and-forth voice conversation with the company’s AI chatbot right from its search engine. The test, which is rolling out now to Labs users in the US, currently doesn’t support camera-sharing, but Google plans to add the capability in the “coming months.” Search […]
I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten back into Animal Crossing: New Horizons in a pretty big way since the Switch 2 arrived. I’ve started a new island (the game loads faster and runs better on that console), and I’ve been doing house chores to the relaxing music. The natural progression of my invigorated […]
Choosing a budget Android phone typically means wading through a ton of product pages and doing spec comparisons. Of course, a simpler way through the noise is to use The Verge’s handy guide to the best cheap phones. But we’re going to make it even easier for you today with a great discounted option. The […]
Are they using it to death then locking it in a drawer? Schemes needed as shipments of refurbed kit dips
Less than a third of European consumers trade in or sell their old phones, limiting the supply of secondhand devices that might otherwise stimulate a more environmentally friendly alternative to buying brand new.…
If you stumbled across Terence Broad's AI-generated artwork (un)stable equilibrium on YouTube, you might assume he'd trained a model on the works of the painter Mark Rothko - the earlier, lighter pieces, before his vision became darker and suffused with doom. Like early-period Rothko, Broad's AI-generated images consist of simple fields of pure color, but […]
Blame Ryan Reynolds. With a new wireless brand from the hosts of SmartLess emerging last week, and the debut of Trump Mobile this week, it sure seems like there's a hot new trend in Celebrities Selling Things: phone service. How did it come to this? Why can't they just stick to tequila? I talked to […]
The most surprising thing about Govee's colorful smart lamp with a speaker built-in is that we didn't get something like this sooner. We've had color-changing smart home lights that sync to music via an app, and we've had Bluetooth speakers with RGB lights - putting the two together feels like the natural next step. The […]
Framework finally made a touchscreen laptop, and the convertible 2-in-1 is one of the coolest-looking computers ever made. It doesn't have top-tier specs, but its two-year-old 13th Gen Intel Core i3 processor isn't on its last legs just yet. Like Framework's Laptop 13, the new Laptop 12 has modular ports and fully repairable innards. And […]
Honda successfully conducted a “launch and landing test of an experimental reusable rocket” developed by its research and development subsidiary, the company announced this week. It was the first time Honda landed a rocket after it reached an altitude of 890 feet, according to a press release. The launch took place at a Honda test […]
I love going to Summer Game Fest. It's a rare opportunity to connect with my colleagues and friends in person, as well as listen to developers talk about why they make their games. In some ways, this year's SGF gave me everything I love about the event. But while I was comfortably ensconced in a […]
Such rules could be tricky to enforce in the Fediverse, though
Mastodon is the latest platform to push back against AI training, updating its terms and conditions to ban the use of user content for large language models (LLMs).…
Last November, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that, as secretary of health and human services, he would not "take away anybody's vaccines." If you believed him, you were duped. The longtime anti-vaccine crusader remains intent on vilifying lifesaving immunizations and promoting the lie that the shots cause autism and all manner of other conditions. Maybe […]
Klarna, the buy-now-pay-later service, is launching a mobile phone service. The $40 per month phone plan is launching in the US in the “coming weeks,” offering unlimited 5G data, calls, and texts on AT&T’s network — making it yet another MVNO in an increasingly crowded space. MVNOs, or mobile virtual network operators, are companies that […]
Eufy is launching its first portable smart display, designed to allow multiple users to control and monitor security devices from a single hub. The Smart Display E10 is capable of displaying up to four live camera feeds simultaneously and can be paired with the company’s AI-supported video doorbells, smart locks, or the Homebase S380 data […]
In an effort to restore trust in the security of its cameras, smart home brand Wyze has developed VerifiedView — a new layer of protection that embeds your user ID into the metadata of every photo, video, and livestream. Wyze claims the system matches this data to your account before playback, blocking unauthorized access to […]
Ties and Taco Carlier, who founded VanMoof as an alternative to Big Bike, are working for Accell Group, the Dutch cycling giant responsible for over a dozen bicycle brands including Batavus, Sparta, Carqon, and Raleigh. According to multiple sources, the first e-bike, developed for the Raleigh brand and pictured above, is nearing completion. The bike's […]
Leica has announced the first 35mm film produced under its own name, Monopan 50. It’s an ultra-fine grain black-and-white film, and will cost $10 per 36-exposure roll when it goes on sale on August 21st. Leica says that the new film is produced in Germany, though wouldn’t name a manufacturer when asked. The specs, right […]
For about a year, Tyler Johnston has been collecting public information about the inner workings of OpenAI, and for the past month, he’s been working on a report to help the public understand and visualize it. That report, dubbed The OpenAI Files, is out today. It’s a collaboration between the Midas Project and the Tech […]
Switch 2 owners will soon have another big Nintendo game to play. During its latest Direct presentation, the company showed off plenty more of Donkey Kong Bananza, a 3D platformer that launches as a Switch 2 exclusive on July 17th — and it’s looking like a surprisingly robust experience. In the new game DK teams […]
Version 13 can’t come soon enough
Veeam Backup & Replication users are urged to apply the latest patches that fix another critical bug leading to remote code execution (RCE) on backup servers.…
Cassandra rival releases new DBaaS relying on consensus algorithm
ScyllaDB, the wide-column database used by Comcast, Samsung, and banking giant Santander, has released a new database service it claims improves scalability and lowers cost.…
Starting in summer 2026, Netflix subscribers in France will be able to watch commercially broadcast TV content “without ever having to leave the service.” The streaming giant has announced a distribution deal with French media company TF1 Group to make TF1’s free-to-air live TV channels and on-demand TF1 Plus streaming content available to French Netflix […]
Some servers can't renew IP addresses, and there's no fix yet
Microsoft has admitted that June's Patch Tuesday updates could break the DHCP service on Windows Server.…
Garmin has announced a new sleep-tracking band that can be strapped to your upper arm, which could make it more comfortable to wear overnight. The Index Sleep Monitor tracks sleep stages, heart rate, and even your breathing to create a “comprehensive view of overall fitness and recovery,” with a personalized sleep score delivered every morning […]
UK needs skills task force to get slice of $1.8 trillion pie, Lords told
The British space industry is struggling to compete for math, physics, and engineering graduates against a banking sector that can offer £90,000 ($120,000) salaries.…
For that laptop feel without the laptop
Logitech has embraced the sound of silence with its Signature Slim Wired K620 keyboard and M520 mouse combo.…
Amid growing unease that US may compel cloud providers to hand over European data
Capitalizing on the new interest in sovereign cloud, UK datacenter biz Pulsant has teamed up with Nine23, a firm specializing in high-assurance managed services for users such as the government, law enforcement, and defense sectors.…
Meanwhile, next-gen script kiddies are levelling up faster thanks to agentic AI
Interview Iran's state-sponsored cyber operatives and hacktivists have all increased their activities since the military conflict with Israel erupted last week – but not necessarily in the way that Amazon chief information security officer CJ Moses expected.…
Mozilla, at least, has warmed to the Chocolate Factory's attempt to improve mic, camera, and location permissions
Google has been testing a new way for websites to ask permission to access sensitive browser controls, such as the microphone and camera, despite longstanding opposition from Mozilla and Apple. Following recent refinements to the proposal, Mozilla now appears to be warming to the changes.…
France announced its own effort to build re-usable engines on the same day
Japanese automotive giant Honda has successfully launched and landed a small rocket.…
Quick reminder: The law that banned the app is called ‘Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act’
The Trump administration is set to again waive the 2024 law that requires the made-in-China social network TikTok to either sell its US operations to a local company or stop operating on US soil.…
In a 68-30 vote on Tuesday evening, the Senate overwhelmingly passed the GENIUS Act with bipartisan support. Eighteen Democrats joined the majority of Republicans in passing the bill, which is the first to establish a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins, crypto tokens that are pegged to the value of the US dollar. In the past […]
Expect headcount reductions over the next few years, says Andy Jassy
Amazon staff on Tuesday got an email from their CEO advising that some of them will probably be replaced by bots.…
Even with the ability to take excellent photos with our phones and instantly share them across the world, there’s something magical about the old-school instant camera. With just a click of a button, you can capture a moment in a photo that you can see and touch almost immediately. Images captured by an instant camera […]
In a purported attempt to limit Israel's ability to wage cyberwarfare, Iran has begun throttling its civilians' access to the internet and plans to disconnect entirely from the global internet by Tuesday night. Fateme Mohajerani, a government spokesperson, said during a recent television broadcast that the speed reduction was "temporary, targeted, and controlled, aimed at […]
The Senate confirmed Republican Olivia Trusty to serve on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Tuesday, installing another nominee by President Donald Trump and ending the brief lack of quorum at the agency. The vote was 53-45, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) being the only Democrat to vote in her favor. Trusty will join Republican […]
Meta is making a change to how sharing videos works on Facebook. Right now, you can share videos as a video from the post composer or as a reel, and both have different sharing workflows. In “the coming months,” however, “all videos on Facebook will be shared as reels,” according to a blog post. “Facebook […]
Little agents everywhere
Salesforce is raising prices for a bunch of its products and claims that increasing integration with AI justifies the increased bills, even after one of its own researchers recently said that AI agents are often underdelivered on basic CRM tasks.…
This week, WhatsApp did something its founders said it would never do: it's putting advertisements inside the app. It ends WhatsApp's decade-plus run of offering an ad-free messaging and calling experience. Meta, which acquired WhatsApp in 2014, attempted to justify the decision by saying ads will be sequestered to its "Update" tab, where you'll see […]
Plus adds a ton more security capabilities for cloud customers at re:Inforce
Amazon Web Services hit a major multi-factor authentication milestone, achieving 100 percent MFA enforcement for root users across all types of AWS accounts.…
Some Switch 2 owners have received the error code 2134-4508, which results in their consoles being permanently banned from accessing any of its online services, as spotted by IGN. It’s not a ban hammer from sucking at Mario Kart World, thankfully for me, but one that’s targeting consoles that have used a Mig – a […]
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says advancements in AI will “reduce” the company’s corporate headcount over the next few years. In a memo to employees on Tuesday, Jassy writes that Amazon expects the change due to “efficiency gains from using AI extensively across the company,” without specifying how many employees would be affected. “As we roll […]
Heatwaves, mold, and plastic pollution pose new risks to businesses and insurance companies, a new report by reinsurer Swiss Re warns. What do these things have in common? Fossil fuels make matters worse. They release the greenhouse gases warming our planet and are the primary ingredients for plastics, of course. Swiss Re’s annual report flags […]
They're taking the data from IRSengard, claim Dems; officials tell us that's not true
A coalition of House and Senate Democrats has sent an aggressive letter to Palantir CEO Alex Karp questioning whether the controversial data intelligence biz is breaking federal law by allegedly helping the IRS build a searchable "mega database" of taxpayer information, and, likening his firm to US companies accused of aiding human rights violations in apartheid South Africa, Nazi Germany, and the People's Republic of China. …
Sony is bringing its PlayStation concerts to the US this fall, where you can hear live performances of tracks from franchises like God of War, The Last of Us, Ghost of Tsushima, and Horizon. Ticket pre-sales for PlayStation: The Concert begin on Wednesday, and you can see the full list of current tour dates on […]
A symbolic political move
Taiwan has added China's leading foundry operator Semiconductor Manufacturing International Co. (SMIC) and IT giant Huawei to its export control list. The move effectively blacklists the duo from doing business with the chip manufacturing mecca.…
I love modern handheld gaming, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. Just maybe not today? If you decided today was the day to finally drop hundreds of dollars on your first handheld, I might advise you to wait. Four reasons: The best handhelds are sold out If you're reading this story, I suspect […]
China's 'little dragons' pose big challenge to US AI firms
MiniMax, an AI firm based in Shanghai, has released an open-source reasoning model that challenges Chinese rival DeepSeek and US-based Anthropic, OpenAI, and Google in terms of performance and cost.…
Bungie announced Tuesday that it’s delaying Marathon, its new extraction shooter that had been set for a September 23rd release date. The studio isn’t providing a new release date just yet, though has promised to share it sometime this fall. The studio outlined a few “immediate focus areas” for the game. It plans to make […]
Third time's a charm?
Apple has escaped a $300 million patent infringement damages penalty – for now – due to what a trio of judges said comes down to faulty jury instructions.…
Microsoft is confirming today that it’s working on a next-gen Xbox console in partnership with AMD. Xbox president Sarah Bond made the announcement in a minute-long video posted to YouTube, promising to deliver “an Xbox experience not locked to a single store or tied to one device.” Bond says Microsoft is partnering with AMD for […]
Amazon's satellite constellation hits another snag as ULA rocket aborts on pad
A hardware glitch on United Launch Alliance's (ULA) workhorse Atlas V rocket delayed the launch of the second batch of Project Kuiper satellites.…
It’s official: Amazon’s Prime Day event is just three weeks away, and it’s possible we’ll see a number of great TV deals during the four-day event. But if you’d rather not wait and see, LG’s C4 OLED TV has hit a new low price, starting at $699.99 ($800 off) for the 42-inch model at Amazon […]
In case you missed it, the Trump Organization announced yesterday that it plans to release a $499 Trump-branded, "built in the United States" phone later this year. A spokesperson for the Trump Organization doubled down on this claim to The Wall Street Journal, saying "manufacturing for the new phone will be in Alabama, California and […]
Hardcoded passwords and path traversals keeping bug hunters in work
Security researchers have issued a warning about a pre-authentication exploit chain affecting a CMS used by some of the biggest companies in the world.…
It looks like Amazon has decided that two days isn’t enough for its annual Prime Day deal celebration. This year, the event will last a startling four days, running from 3AM ET on Tuesday, July 8th, through 3AM ET on Saturday, July 12th. (Why is it still called Prime Day instead of Prime Days? Dunno […]
Were it not for Neil Gaiman getting caught up in a sexual misconduct scandal, Netflix’s live-action adaptation of The Sandman comics could have run for much longer given how much source material there is to be pulled from. But you can see in the new trailer for the show’s second and final season that the […]
Layoffs loom at Foundry biz despite CHIPS Act relief on the horizon
Intel is reportedly set to shed 15 to 20 percent of its fabrication plant staff from next month, blaming company finances for the move, but the chip giant may get a boost from increased tax credits in a draft bill passing through the US Senate.…
Waymo is continuing its slow and steady approach to the robotaxi business by gradually expanding its service area in the key cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. The company said that starting June 17th, it would begin accepting passengers further south along the San Francisco Peninsula in cities like Brisbane, South San Francisco, San […]
Promises silos for VMs, storage, and networks are out. Happy cloud-like days are in, without hyperscale complications
573 days after closing the acquisition of VMware, Broadcom has released the product that expresses its vision for the virtualization giant's future and what it claims is the template for a modern private cloud.…
Max — soon to be called HBO Max again — is rolling out an update that automatically plays video previews when you hover over shows and movies. The video previews are launching to users in the US now, but Max is still working on an “AI-assisted” tool to pick the clips that go in them. […]
Last September, all eyes were on Senate Bill 1047 as it made its way to California Governor Gavin Newsom's desk - and died there as he vetoed the buzzy piece of legislation. SB 1047 would have required makers of all large AI models, particularly those that cost $100 million or more to train, to test […]
Signify has officially announced its new Philips Hue Play Wall Washer light, which was previously leaked by Amazon UK earlier this month. The company has also launched its new Philips Hue AI assistant in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg, with a broader global release expected by the end of August. Available now in Europe, the […]
Satechi has announced a new SSD enclosure with an aluminum design that matches the black and silver finish and dimensions of Apple’s Mac Mini M4, but thinner so it can perch atop the tiny desktop computer or be used as a matching stand. But since it connects using an included braided USB-C cable, the enclosure […]
Peak Design has announced three new tripods with features and functionality that cater to professional photographers and videographers. The company’s first tripod was a travel model that folded to be as slim as a soda can to prioritize portability. Its new pro tripods, available in three versions, are slightly thicker when collapsed, but they can […]
Whenever Peak Design releases a new product, whether it's a backpack, a camera strap, or even a wallet, I'm always looking forward to seeing what kind of genius engineering tweaks the San Francisco-based company came up with. And while there are some clever tricks here, the newly released line of video tripods is more about […]
The Threads team at Meta has spent the past year working on supporting the broader fediverse and social web, and is launching its biggest integrations yet: a new dedicated feed for fediverse posts, and a way to search for fediverse users inside of Threads. Starting today, if you’ve turned on fediverse sharing in Threads, there […]
Out-of-band getting out of hand
Microsoft has released an out-of-band update to deal with a Surface Hub problem introduced with June's Patch Tuesday fixes.…
Blue Prince, the architectural mystery puzzle roguelite, is coming to a Mac near you. In a press release from the game’s publisher Raw Fury, it was announced that Blue Prince is getting an update that will add Mac support (via Steam) coming “later this year.” Blue Prince released earlier this year and quickly became an […]
Still buying B200s and MI300Xs? Don't feel bad, Nvidia and AMD's NVL72 and Helios rack systems aren't really for the enterprise anyway
Analysis With all the hype around Nvidia's NVL72, AMD's newly announced Helios, and Intel's upcoming Jaguar Shores rack systems, you'd be forgiven for thinking the days of eight-way HGX servers are numbered.…
Although there has been no official announcement, Sega has revealed that it’s discontinuing support for nine retro games that were ported to iOS and Android several years ago. Before that happens, the company has made all the games completely free and removed all in-app purchases, as spotted by Android Authority. The list includes the following […]
Penalty follows year-long probe into flaws that allowed attack to affect so many
The UK's data watchdog is fining beleaguered DNA testing outfit 23andMe £2.31 million ($3.13 million) over its 2023 mega breach.…
Netflix has announced that its first two Netflix House venues will open in late 2025. There’s still no specific opening date yet. The venues were first announced in late 2023 and later confirmed for two initial locations in the US including the King of Prussia Mall outside Philadelphia and the Galleria Dallas mall in Texas. […]
The all-in-one platform for Adobe’s Firefly-branded generative AI models is now available on iPhone and Android devices. The new Firefly mobile app allows users to generate images and videos using text descriptions and experiment with popular AI photo editing tools, enabling creatives to generate assets for their projects on the go. Adobe is also introducing […]
Forms Library blamed for issues experienced by some users
Microsoft is so keen for users to migrate to the New Outlook email client that it has broken Classic Outlook again. This time, affected users are unable to open or create a message.…
The Nintendo Switch 2 is great. In many ways, it's exactly what we hoped for: a Switch, only better. And yet there's something… underwhelming about it. Maybe it's unfair, but we've come to expect Nintendo to consistently amaze us with either how its consoles work or the games you can play with them. In this […]
Nissan revealed new details about the upcoming 2026 Leaf, which will return as a crossover SUV with up to 303 miles of estimated range, dual charge ports, and Google’s software built-in. The reborn Leaf will reach dealerships in the US starting this fall at a yet-to-be-announced price. The first-gen Leaf was somewhat charming — in […]
Parent company Mozilla's not my fave either
Opinion I know some people still love Firefox. But, folks, it's a bad relationship, and the problems have been going on for a while now.…
Microsoft’s Copilot advertising has been criticized by an industry watchdog for its productivity claims and confusing use of Copilot branding. The Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Division (NAD) has reviewed Microsoft’s Copilot advertising, and recommended that the software giant discontinues or modifies productivity claims about Microsoft 365 Copilot and more clearly disclose the limitations of […]
Daily puzzle games are seemingly everywhere right now, and starting today, you’ll be able to add a new stop to your puzzle rotation: The Atlantic. The publication is launching a new hub for its growing game offerings, including already available games like Bracket City and Caleb’s Inferno Crossword Puzzle, as well as some new puzzles. […]
GLAM-E Labs report warns of risk to online cultural resources
Bots harvesting content for AI companies have proliferated to the point that they're threatening digital collections of arts and culture.…
Last of Whitehall-wide ERP overhaul will not kick off until next year
The UK's Ministry of Defence has delayed procurement of a £92 million contract to implement Oracle's Fusion cloud-based ERP system.…
OpenAI is officially on the Pentagon’s payroll. The Department of Defence announced a $200 million contract with OpenAI to provide the US government with new artificial intelligence tools, including those used for proactive cyber defense. In a post outlining its latest contracts, the DoD said that OpenAI “will develop prototype frontier AI capabilities to address […]
Preferred and secured creditors walk away with nothing
Brit-based ruggedized phone maker Bullitt Group's liquidation has finally wrapped up – and the firm was in such dire straits that none of its creditors received any recovered funds.…
As for agentic AI, don’t get him started about the enormous challenge of making it work vendors just won't discuss
“AI is not doing its job today and should leave us alone” according to analyst firm Gartner’s global chief of AI research Erick Brethenoux.…
Mostly aimed at Europe and its increasingly nervous users
Microsoft has created a version of its 365 productivity suite that runs on-premises, as part of a move to satisfy European regulations.…
Amazon has announced the dates when its annual Prime Day deal extravaganza will kick off, and it’s happening for much longer than usual. It starts Tuesday, July 8th, at 3AM Eastern and lasts through Friday, July 11th, at the same time. And, instead of being a two-day event that’s exclusive to Prime subscribers, it’s happening […]
Polling was supposed to start on Monday. Organizers warn situation is fluid
A court in Mauritius has postponed the long-awaited election at the African Network Information Centre (AFRINIC).…
Tinder is no longer just a platform for solo dates. The company has announced a new “Double Date” feature rolling out in the US that will let you invite a friend to find — and match with – another pair. The feature lives within a new “Double Date” icon in the top-right corner of the […]
DoD says deal covers 'warfighting'. OpenAI merely mentions healthcare and 'supporting proactive cyber defense'
The US Department of Defense has contracted OpenAI to run a pilot program that will create "frontier AI," but it's not clear what they're building together.…
A moment of panic as some customers thought the free tiers were going away
On Monday, Railway, a provider of cloud infrastructure services, decided to throttle software builds by customers in its lowest paying tiers to accommodate unexpected demand for service following the Google Cloud Platform outage last week.…
Last year, Justin Sun was facing a federal investigation into his crypto empire, to the point that he avoided entering the US. Now, his company is going to be publicly listed on the American stock markets – and reportedly with the assistance of Eric Trump. Tron, Sun’s digital assets platform, announced on Monday that it […]
Google threat analysts warn the team behind the Marks & Spencer break-in has moved on
Cyber-crime crew Scattered Spider has infected US insurance companies following a series of ransomware attacks against American and British retailers, according to Google, which urged this sector to be on "high alert."…
