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The Flipper Zero creators’ Busy Bar productivity display will go on sale next month

The Busy Bar makes it obvious to others when you don’t want to be distracted. | Image: Flipper Devices First announced over a year ago in April 2025 , the Busy Bar will be available for purchase starting on July 14th when the device also starts shipping. Created by the same team behind the Flipper Zero wireless multitool , the Busy Bar is instead described as a "productivity multitool" that relies on a pixelated LED display to help reduce distractions and improve focus. The first 3,000 units purchased on July 14th will be discounted to $199, but the Busy Bar will normally retail for $249. Those who previously joined the Busy Bar waitlist will still be able to purchase one next month for $179. The Busy Bar looks a lot like an alarm clock, but i … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/x1d3gz5
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How to end a TV show

Ending any story is hard, but that's especially true of mystery-packed TV shows. Series like Lost initially hook viewers with constantly building secrets and questions, to the point that they can often seem incomprehensible. But the promise is that it will all pay off in the end - a feat that few shows ultimately manage. This creates tension as viewers try to put all of the pieces together while hoping that the show's creators know what they're doing in the long run. The latest example is From on MGM Plus , a Lost -style horror series that just wrapped up its penultimate season, with a fifth and final one coming in 2027. Naturally, endings are … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/gLndWCm

The war against ‘woke’ could end US science as we know it

A sneaky rule change has the potential to blow up scientific research in the United States. But there's still time to fight it. On May 29th, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued a 412-page proposal to revise federal financial assistance. The language is a combination of distinctly Trumpian attacks on "woke" policies and boring governmentese designed to make your eyes glaze over as quickly as possible. But under phrases like "providing further clarification on the regulatory status of the OMB requirements" is something darker - a threat to scientific research in this country, the livelihoods of thousands of scientists, and the li … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/xZqdTKm

The Cube is Jim Henson’s little-known proto-Black Mirror masterpiece

That sure is a man in a cube, alright. | Image: NBC / Jim Henson Company I'm sure we're all familiar with Dark Crystal , so we know that Jim Henson can be weird and tackle slightly more mature subject matter. But there is little in his oeuvre that is quite as mind-bending as the Muppetless The Cube . This 1969 teleplay was produced for an NBC anthology series called Experiment in Television , which featured, appropriately enough, various experimental films, plays, and documentaries. One episode even featured Marshall McLuhan explaining his oft-cited theory that " the medium is the message ." Even among all these oddities, however, Jim Henson's The Cube stands out. It's a 53-minute bottle film - taking place almost e … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/L9mURjW

Prosecutors used ChatGPT logs as evidence in the Palisades fire trial

Jonathan Rinderknecht was facing arson charges for setting a fire on New Year's Day in 2025, which became one of the deadliest wildfires in LA history . To make their case, prosecutors turned to location data from his iPhone, security camera footage, and witness testimony. But they also turned to his ChatGPT logs. Prosecutors said that Rinderknecht had ChatGPT generate images of fire, asked the chatbot, "Why am I so angry all the time?", and ranted to it about how the wealthy were destroying the world. They also pointed to a screen recording in which Rinderknecht asked ChatGPT whether someone could be blamed for a fire if it was lit by their … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/RD9rq36

Ad-free streaming is a luxury now

This is The Stepback , a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more news about the streaming industry, follow Emma Roth . The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here . How it started Streaming was once a reprieve from cable. Not only could you watch whatever you wanted at any given time, but you didn't have to sit through five-minute-long commercial breaks. And the best part was the price: Netflix, for example, cost just $7.99 / month when it launched its standalone streaming service in 2010. Amazon's Prime Video was the same, offering ad-free streaming as a p … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/b4MsGtS

Inside the room where the smart home industry is still betting on Matter

Four years ago, overlooking a canal in Amsterdam, the smart home industry collectively launched Matter , the one interoperability standard to rule them all. Heralded as the solution to the industry's struggles, Matter was built on open standards and existing technologies and is the result of years of collaboration between traditional rivals, including Apple, Google, Amazon, and Samsung. Matter promised an end to walled gardens and ecosystem lock-in. It promised to make a smart home device, like a lock, lightbulb, or sensor, easy to buy and set up. It promised you could choose any brand, use any platform, no expertise required - it would just … Read the full story at The Verge. from The Verge https://ift.tt/2UnSpsy