Latest Technology

Realme has announced the GT2 Pro, its latest flagship phone and the followup to last year’s impressive GT . The former Oppo sub-brand describes it as “the most premium flagship ever by Realme,” and it’s difficult to disagree with that assessment. The headline feature of the GT2 Pro is how it looks and feels. Continuing the company’s materials collaboration with legendary Japanese designer Naoto Fukasawa, the GT2 Pro is the first phone to be made with a “bio-based polymer,” which Realme claims reduces carbon emissions by 35.5 percent during manufacturing. The “paper green” model I’ve been using has a unique matte finish that feels coarse to the touch and doesn’t pick up fingerprints. I can’t speak to Realme’s environmental claims, but... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jt7LsVA

Ukrainian Territorial Defence fighters patrol the streets after the fight in Kharkiv on February 27, 2022 | Photo by SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Images Google has temporarily disabled live traffic features offered by Google Maps in Ukraine to protect users’ safety as the country is invaded by neighboring Russia. The features use anonymous location data collected from Android smartphones to show where there are traffic delays on roads and which businesses and stores are busy. Experts say such data could offer insight into the progress of the invasion. One open source intelligence (OSINT) expert said he saw signs of the Russian invasion early last Thursday after spotting unusual “traffic jams” at the Ukrainian border on Google Maps. “I think we were the first people to see the invasion,” OSINT expert, Professor Jerry Lewis of the Middlebury Institute, told Motherboard last week. “And we... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/VxoLey7

Here’s the Galaxy Book 2 Pro. Samsung has announced two updates to its premium Galaxy Book line: the Galaxy Book 2 Pro and Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360. The devices will start at $1,049.99 and $1,249.99 respectively; they hit shelves on April 1st with preorders beginning on March 18th. A budget-oriented Galaxy Book 2 360, a convertible version of the regular Galaxy Book , will also ship April 1st with a starting price of $899.99. Both Pro models come in 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch sizes, while the regular Book 2 360 is only a 13.3. As you can probably guess from the names, the Galaxy Book 2 Pro is a clamshell while the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 is a 2-in-1 convertible with a touchscreen and S Pen support. Here’s the Galaxy Book 2 Pro’s keyboard, which is backlit... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/sbXoWl2

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge This report from The Washington Post details how a team of researchers used a combination of Google Maps and radar imagery to track the movement of Russian troops, tipping them off to an invasion of Ukraine before the general public got word of the situation. According @googlemaps , there is a "traffic jam" at 3:15 in the morning on the road from Belgorod, Russia to the Ukrainian border. It starts *exactly* where we saw a Russian formation of armor and IFV/APCs show up yesterday. Someone's on the move. pic.twitter.com/BYyc5YZsWL — Dr. Jeffrey Lewis (@ArmsControlWonk) February 24, 2022 When Dr. Jeffrey Lewis, a professor at California’s Middlebury Institute of International Studies, noticed particularly bad traffic at 3:15AM near the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/OPH5s3i

Five affordable 30 Series handsets. | Image: TCL TCL, the Chinese manufacturer best known for its lineup of smart TVs , has announced five new affordable Android smartphones as part of its 30 Series. Unlike the TCL 30 XE 5G and TCL 30 V 5G announced earlier this year for the US market, the five new handsets are focused on Europe, and their starting prices range from €139 to €249. At the top of the new lineup is the TCL 30 5G, the only one of the new phones to support 5G. It’s got a 6.7-inch 1080p OLED display with a 13-megapixel selfie camera in a small teardrop notch, and around back it has a trio of cameras including a 50-megapixel main camera, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. It’s powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset with a 5,010mAh battery, and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/fZQBqx6

Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images Next week sees Mobile World Congress return to Barcelona, two years after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the world’s biggest mobile phone trade show, and one year after the show took place without many of its largest exhibitors in attendance. Not everyone is making a return to this year’s in-person event ( Sony , Lenovo , and some media outlets including The Verge aren’t attending) but it almost feels like the show is back to full strength. But it’s also an event that’s going to show off exactly how much the smartphone industry has shifted in recent years. As it stands, all the show’s biggest hardware announcements appear likely to come from Chinese brands like Oppo, Honor, TCL, Xiaomi-sub-brand Poco, and Huawei, rather... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jLRqFPa

Surprise! There are even more Pokémon games on the way. At a livestreamed event on Sunday morning, The Pokémon Company teased two new titles: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet . The games are expected to launch on the Nintendo Switch in late 2022, and the brief teaser looked reminiscent of 2019’s Pokémon Sword and Shield . The games are described as an “open-world adventure” and developer Game Freak says they “take a new evolutionary step in the Pokémon main series.” You can get a glimpse of the new starters in the image below. Here’s the official description: Trainers can explore an open world where various towns with no borders blend seamlessly into the wilderness. Pokémon can be seen everywhere in this wide-open world — in the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/uciLhpV

Anika Molnar/BBCA Sandra Oh finally has something to do Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FVatUku

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Travis Kalanick and Uma Thurman as Arianna Huffington in Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber. | Showtime The Fight For Uber is Super Pumped’s first chapter Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/cfwWNTL

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Facebook is blocking state-run Russian media outlets from advertising and monetizing content on the platform amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine (via Reuters ). 1/ We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world. We also continue to apply labels to additional Russian state media. These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the weekend. — Nathaniel Gleicher (@ngleicher) February 26, 2022 “We are now prohibiting Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on our platform anywhere in the world,” Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s head of security policy announced on Twitter . “These changes have already begun rolling out and will continue into the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/bR139QN

When paired with the Hue Hub and the Hue TV sync box, the Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip is a colorful TV bias light. | Image: Signify Philips Hue smart lighting has long been one of the preferred smart home accessories for passionate aficionados and newbies alike. That’s because the lights are relatively easy to start off your home automation with, expansive enough to build off of, and they just look cool. If you’re already invested in the Hue ecosystem, you can pick up the fancier Philips Hue Gradient Lightstrip for $212.49 at Amazon right now when you clip the on-page coupon for 15 percent off. The discount brings the colorful, 65-inch LED strip down to an all-time low price, saving you nearly $38. Unlike Philip’s standard lightstrips, these can display a multitude of colors simultaneously, making them a great fit for mounting behind your TV as a bias light. Keep... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2cgRuf8

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Valve CEO Gabe Newell is open to Microsoft launching its PC Game Pass service on Steam. In an interview with PC Gamer , Newell says Valve has no plans for an Xbox Game Pass competitor, but that it would be happy to work with Microsoft to bring PC Game Pass to Steam. “I don’t think it’s something that we think we need to do ourselves, building a subscription service at this time,” Newell said. “But for their customers it’s clearly a popular option, and we’d be more than happy to work with them to get that on Steam.” Microsoft and Valve have held discussions about bringing PC Game Pass to Steam, but it’s clearly early days and may never happen. “We’ve talked to people there quite a bit about that topic,” says Newell. “If your customers... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hvB1ZRM

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Thursday, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration imposed sweeping sanctions on Russian banks, energy and infrastructure companies, and a number of individual Russian elites. The US Department of the Treasury provided the full list in a press release , which divided sanctioned entities into two categories: “major Russian financial institutions” and “elites and families close to Putin.” Among the sanctioned individuals is Vladimir Kiriyenko, CEO of VK Group, the parent company of Russia’s biggest social network VKontakte. While he isn’t being sanctioned specifically for his work with the VK group, the result still forbids one of the country’s most powerful tech executives from doing business with any US entity. T... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/TRXWQIe

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As the invasion of Ukraine enters its third day, Russia has blocked access to Twitter in an apparent effort to stifle the flow of information, according to a report from the internet monitoring group NetBlocks . Beginning Saturday morning, NetBlocks failed connections across every major Russian telecom provider, including Rostelecom, MTS, Beeline, and MegaFon. Russians are still able to access Twitter through VPN services, but direct connections are restricted. The motivation behind the restrictions is unclear, but comes amid a broader crackdown on social media platforms in the country. Friday night, Russia announced a new block on Facebook after the platform removed the accounts of four state-run media organizations, a move the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/6FLAs5h

Faraday Future, the California-based EV startup that has nearly gone out of business almost too many times to count, has finally made a car. On Wednesday, the company held an event celebrating the completion of its first “production intent” FF91, the ultra-luxury electric SUV that has been in the works for nearly eight years. Faraday Future — which also goes by Faraday Future Intelligent Electric since merging with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, in July 2021 — claims it is still on schedule to formally begin production of the FF91 in the third quarter of 2022. It’s certainly a milestone for the company It’s certainly a milestone for the company, which has experienced high rates of turnover, flirted with bankruptcy... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0S6LWxg

As Elden Ring rockets up the charts, amassing some of the most glowing reviews this side of Breath of the Wild , Bandai Namco has issued a PSA letting players know it’s working on ironing out some of the day-one kinks. In the PSA, Bandai Namco said it’s working on correcting some issues related to mouse over-sensitivity, PC anti-cheat bugs, and frame rate / game performance issues that, somewhat annoyingly, cause the game to stutter at random moments. One of the biggest warnings concerns a game save bug on the PS5. If the PS5 console is unexpectedly turned off while playing a game or in rest mode, saved data may not be saved correctly. We are aware of the cause of this issue and are working on a patch to correct it, but until the patch... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/joKOFeY

Nadine Dorries, now UK Secretary of State, has frequently insulted other Twitter users. | Photo by Rob Pinney/Getty Images The UK says it will force social media companies to introduce ID verification tools in order to curb online abuse as part of its upcoming Online Safety Bill. The plans — which are not yet law — would essentially split platforms like Twitter and Facebook into segregated communities, with “verified” individuals able to opt out of all interactions with non-verified users. Critics say the policy will do little to stop online abuse, though, as many trolls are happy to harass people using their own names. A relevant example of this dynamic has been supplied by the same Tory politician spearheading the new policies: Nadine Dorries, the UK’s Secretary of State. Dorries once threatened a journalist on Twitter that if he tried to contact her... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Kv15Cou

https://www.vulture.com/2022/02/kanye-west-instagram-fame-prodbyzaqq.html Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jwZYibc

Galactic Starcruiser invites guests to live in the Star Wars universe for a two-day trip. A galaxy far, far away gets a whole lot closer — for $6,000 per stay Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hBYaIfN

Okay, let’s start with the obvious: it’s important to keep a browser — any browser — up to date so that it can stay ahead of any malware or other nasties that are out there. It also helps you keep up with new features and interface improvements. If you’re a Chrome user, it’s likely that your browser will automatically update itself to the latest available version when it’s restarted. However, if you (like me) have a tendency to keep your browser open for long periods of time, it’s possible that it will not update. In that case, you can do it manually. How will you know whether your browser needs updating? Because when you look at the three dots in the upper right corner (which Google calls “More”), you won’t just see those three dots —... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vdkS1Tc

Mobile World Congress is happening in Barcelona from Monday, February 28th, through Thursday, March 3rd. It’s typically the world’s largest mobile technology show, where some of the biggest smartphone brands announce their latest devices and new technologies. In recent years, the show’s big focus has been on the transition to 5G as well as the emergence of foldable smartphones . But there’s always space for a handful of non-smartphone announcements, whether it’s new laptops or smartwatch updates . In 2020, the show was canceled, and in 2021, it was a quiet affair. 2022 could be a little different, with major announcements expected from several phonemakers. Samsung, which launched its new Galaxy S22 line earlier this month, also has an... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/kL0IEo9

Save a Life’s Patreon tiers were named after military equipment. | Screenshot: Patreon Patreon says it’s suspended the crowdfunding page for “Come Back Alive,” a Ukrainian NGO that was collecting money to support the the country’s military in response to Russian aggression. In a statement given to CNBC , the platform said it “does not allow any campaigns involved in violence or purchasing of military equipment, regardless of their cause.” Come Back Alive’s page said that funds would be used to train soldiers, as well as provide technical equipment, according to Patreon’s blog post. Come Back Alive’s Patreon page dates back to at least May 2020, according to the Daily Dot , but as of January 26th this year it had a modest 936 patrons bringing in around $19,000 a month. That all changed this week after Russia invaded Ukraine,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WIDfjls

The Motorola Edge X30, announced in China at the end of last year, is coming to the US as the Motorola Edge Plus (or the 30 Pro in Europe and other markets). It comes with higher-end specs than 2021’s Motorola Edge offered, starting with the Android flagship chipset-du-jour, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. While Motorola appears to have addressed some of our complaints about that mid-range device , this is also a much more expensive phone at $999, setting the bar that much higher for its feature set. The Edge Plus checks plenty of boxes for a flagship phone in 2022: there’s a big 6.7-inch 1080p OLED with up to 144Hz refresh rate, sub-6GHz 5G including C-band (a Verizon version of the phone will have mmWave, the unlocked model won’t), a 4,800mAh... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/lWi5o6j

Motional and Via are teaming up to launch a free robotaxi shuttle service in Las Vegas. The news comes almost a year and a half after the two companies announced their intention to link up to study how autonomous vehicles could interact with public transit networks. Motional is a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv that has been testing its vehicles in Las Vegas and California. Via is an on-demand shuttle and software company that operates vehicles in New York City and Washington, DC. Together, the two companies say they will launch an autonomous shuttle service in Las Vegas that will be free to use. As of today, Motional’s robotaxis are available on Via’s smartphone app for passengers in downtown Las Vegas. The service will... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/dhOStLU

It’s hard to keep up with all the interesting, important, or just plain fun things you come across on the web. You may come across something you just don’t have time to read right now or want to save because it will come in handy later. But, as most of us have discovered, creating a bookmark on a browser for each article and site that we want to read later can result in a huge bookmarky mess. Years ago, I started getting the better of this issue by signing into Pocket, a popular and long-standing app that allows you to save a bookmarked article to a separate server and then retrieve it for reading at your leisure, using either a computer or a mobile device. Pocket has been around since 2007; originally called Read It Later, it started... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/AJn3gEa

Image: Netflix | COURTESY OF NETFLIX Netflix’s latest game is an addictive trivia title from the creators of Bandersnatch — an interactive experience called Cat Burglar where correct choices help move the story forward. More of this hybrid game-based storytelling is on the way, and Netflix thinks it could help push more of its users to think of the service as a place for games. “You can only do this on Netflix,” Netflix VP of comedy and interactive lead Andy Weil tells The Verge . “You can’t do this on any other platform because we’re a tech company, and that’s in the DNA of Netflix all along. The idea that you can interact with the content is something that we are exploring across all genres, all types of things.” Cat Burglar is an animated series from Charlie Brooker and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/d8H7UZJ

After extensive leaks and teases , Oppo has officially announced the Find X5 Pro, its flagship phone for 2022. It’s a fairly iterative follow-up to last year’s Find X3 Pro, but that was a great phone , and after spending more than a week with a not-yet-final version of its successor I’m expecting the same to hold true. The Find X5 Pro’s design plays off the curved unibody approach of the X3 Pro. This time around the back panel is ceramic, which when combined with the abstract shape of the camera bump gives the white unit I’ve been testing a futuristic, Star Wars stormtrooper-esque feel. It’s an eye-catching device with impressive build quality — it looks better in person than I expected. That unusual camera bump has a little less going on... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/afrZuEA

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images In newly-leaked comments, EA CEO Andrew Wilson has explained why the company is considering ending its licensing deal with FIFA. The comments come after EA publicly announced in October it was reviewing its agreement with FIFA, and considering renaming the title of its popular soccer franchise. The comments, which are the CEO’s most candid remarks yet, were made in a company meeting last November and made public in a report from VGC this week. Wilson suggested that EA feels its FIFA branding deal is unnecessarily restrictive, while not providing enough value to the company. “Basically, what we get from FIFA in a non-World Cup year is the four letters on the front of the box,” Wilson said. Although its FIFA deal gets EA access to the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/k2TwDfZ

Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images Rapper, actor, and serial celebrity endorser Ja Rule has attached his name to many things. There was that random Greek restaurant , a tax prep company , and, of course, his ill-fated ventures with fraudster Billy McFarland as a co-founder of the infamous Fyre Festival. And last year, long before the wave of recent celebrities jumped in on the craze, Ja Rule added an NFT project to his portfolio — without much fanfare or media coverage. The project, called Club Cards, is basically a series of NFT trading cards of other NFT projects’ characters. Each “wave” of releases is in partnership with another NFT series. Ja Rule is listed as a co-founder on the Club Cards website, and he frequently tweets about the project and its releases. Members... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ngCUMVb

You can save $80 today on a pair of UE Fits when you buy them direct from Ultimate Ears. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Presidents’ Day weekend may be over, but thankfully, there are still some sales you can take advantage of. If you’ve been on the hunt for a pair of good (and very unique) earbuds, Ultimate Ears’ Presidents’ Day sale involved a solid deal on the UE Fits that’s definitely worth a look. Normally $249, right now, you can buy the Fits for $199 . That’s a sizeable discount on a pair of true wireless buds that are capable of permanently molding to the shape of your ear in 60 seconds, thus ensuring the best fit possible. ( Note : a pop-up should display when you click the link that will offer you another $30 off on top of this discount if you sign up for marketing emails and agree to receive text messages from Ultimate Ears — not bad!) What’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/TtifFpK

Cutting through games like a hot Blade Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pl8F5SU

In summer of 2010, I was broke and needed a job. Walking the sunbaked streets of Montreal’s downtown, I called up old friends hoping for a lead. I was in luck: a buddy told me a “porn company” was hiring customer service reps. “They pay 15 bucks an hour, and it’s super chill,” he said. Long before it was called MindGeek, the company was Manwin Canada, a name that, at the time, didn’t ring a bell. From an internet cafe, I sent in my CV. I had only ever held low-level service jobs. But I had edited a friend’s indie zine and put that at the top of my work experience. A couple days later, I got a call from an enthusiastic woman at Manwin who told me they were impressed by my résumé and asked if I would be interested in a more senior... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/uLBUGSZ

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The latest beta of iOS 15.4 adds a fifth American voice for its Siri voice assistant. Apple’s user-facing interface simply calls it “Voice 5,” but iOS developer Steve Moser reports that its filename refers to the new voice as “Quinn.” The voice has arrived a little under a year after Apple added its last two American Siri voices , and stopped defaulting to using a female-sounding voice. Axios notes that the new voice sounds more gender-neutral than earlier Siri voices. Apple confirmed to the publication that it was recorded by a member of the LGBTQ+ community, though the company didn’t offer any further details on the voice actor’s identity. Last year’s voices were recorded by Black actors as part of the company’s “long-standing... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/MtSoRnf

Google Hangouts’ logo. | Image: Google If you’re a Google Workspace user, the classic Hangouts messaging service will start to disappear next month as part of the transition to Google Chat. Google has announced that it’ll make Google Chat its default chat application beginning March 22nd, meaning users will be redirected to Chat when they try to visit Hangouts in Gmail on the web, or try to use the old Hangouts mobile apps. The shift from Google Hangouts to Google Chat is the latest step in Google’s constantly evolving messaging strategy, which generally gets more confusing the more you read about it. This particular migration kicked into gear in June 2020 , and focusses on the messaging service integrated with Gmail. Google Chat should not be confused with GChat, the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/loBMke5

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Slack is experiencing some issues, making it difficult for users to send and receive messages, as well as access the platform altogether. Across social media, users have complained that trying to access work-related chatrooms meets long load times, the inability to view threads, and issues when trying to send a message to colleagues. Slack’s status page currently acknowledges the platform “is not loading for some users.” The page says problems started around 9:25AM ET. It seems the issue is widespread, with a number of users complaining on Twitter and a huge spike in issues noted on Down Detector . We’re investigating the issue where Slack is not loading for some users. We’re looking into the cause and will provide more information as... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/sTgEh2k

Crestron is launching a line of connected in-ceiling LED light fixtures that can pair with a solar sensor. | Image: Crestron The pro-install home automation company Crestron Home is adding circadian rhythm lighting to its high-end residential platform. This week the company announced its new full-color, tunable downlight LED light fixtures with circadian rhythm capabilities will be available in August. Smart lighting isn’t a new feature for home automation, but lighting that automatically adjusts throughout the day in tandem with the natural changes of the sun is taking it up a notch. Circadian lighting is an option with some off-the-shelf smart lighting, such as Philips Hue light bulbs working with Apple HomeKit’s Adaptive Lighting . Crestron’s competitors in the pro-install space, including Savant and Control4, also offer various wellness-lighting-focused... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/lR5SXuU

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Microsoft is currently experimenting with two new methods to warn Windows 11 users that they have installed the operating system on unsupported hardware. In the latest test builds of Windows 11, a new watermark has appeared on the desktop wallpaper, alongside a similar warning in the landing page of the settings app. If the test build is running on unsupported hardware, the desktop watermark simply states “system requirements not met,” and appears alongside the build number that is only shown on evaluation or pre-release versions of Windows. It’s similar, but less prominent, to the semi-transparent watermark that appears in Windows if you haven’t activated the OS. Twitter user Albacore first spotted the settings warning earlier this... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/WveyMOR

Anker continues to impress on value Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/tHIcT76

Steven Thaler and/or Creativity Machine The US Copyright Office has rejected a request to let an AI copyright a work of art. Last week, a three-person board reviewed a 2019 ruling against Steven Thaler, who tried to copyright a picture on behalf of an algorithm he dubbed Creativity Machine. The board found that Thaler’s AI-created image didn’t include an element of “human authorship” — a necessary standard, it said, for protection. Creativity Machine’s work, seen above, is named “A Recent Entrance to Paradise.” It’s part of a series Thaler has described as a “simulated near-death experience” in which an algorithm reprocesses pictures to create hallucinatory images and a fictional narrative about the afterlife. Crucially, the AI is supposed to do this with extremely minimal... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/rxSVqmZ

Image: Square Enix Final Fantasy XIV is finally getting its free trial back on February 22nd, over two months after Square Enix stopped offering it to reduce player load after the incredibly popular Endwalker expansion . The news comes from FFXIV ’s latest Letter from the Producer Livestream from director and producer Naoki Yoshida that took place over the weekend, via NME . Final Fantasy XIV has a generous free trial option for new players, allowing them to play the entirety of the base A Realm Reborn release and the Heavensward expansion for as long as they’d like. Square Enix’s enthusiastic social media hype for the free trial has even become a meme in its own right. Have you tried the expanded Free Trial of our critically acclaimed MMORPG #FFXIV ? You... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/AKifGVa

A worthy Note successor that stands alone Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/H4Vg5by

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Twitter might be testing an escape hatch for users who don’t want to be part of a thread. On Friday, writer and researcher Jane Manchun Wong tweeted an apparent screenshot of a new “leave this conversation” feature. As described in the screenshot, the feature would untag your username from a Twitter conversation, prevent people from mentioning you in the conversation again, and stop you from receiving notifications about it. (You can still see the thread.) The feature looks different from “mute this conversation,” an existing option that turns off notifications for a thread you’re mentioned in. According to a followup tweet , leaving the conversation will make your Twitter handle appear as plain text in the tweet where you’re mentioned,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0OruJ2f

A live ring in action. | Screenshot: YouTube YouTube is adding a new indicator to show when a channel is live streaming on the platform, its chief product officer Neal Mohan has announced on Twitter . It consists of showing a ring with the word “Live” on it around a channel’s profile picture when they’re live streaming, which you can tap to jump straight into the live broadcast. The feature should make it easier to find currently live content as you browse YouTube. If the feature sounds familiar, it might be because it’s already used on a couple of other services. TikTok uses a similar pulsing ring effect on a channel’s profile picture if they’re live streaming when you scroll past their video in your feed. Instagram also shows a colorful ring around the profile pictures of live... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/IP0oQix

Image: Zens Zens is expanding its excellent alternative to Apple’s failed AirPower charger, the Liberty wireless charger , with a new model: the Liberty Built-in charger — which, as the name implies, is designed to be integrated directly into your desk itself for an even more streamlined look. The original Zens Liberty charger was released back in 2020 and offered an innovative 16-coil design that allowed you to simply place a Qi-compatible phone or device anywhere on the wireless charging pad instead of having to carefully align charging coils or rely on a MagSafe-style magnetic system. Image: Zens But the original model rather boringly sat on top of your desk, while the new Liberty Built-in charger is designed to be... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/b9imUSN

Capcom has announced Street Fighter 6 , the next major entry in the iconic fighting game franchise, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year. A brief teaser trailer was following the season final of the Capcom Pro Tour, where Kawano defeated veteran Daigo Umehara. The trailer doesn’t show any actual gameplay, but it suggests that Street Fighter 6 will have a more realistic art style than previous games in the series — at least, as realistic as you could expect while maintaining Ryu’s formidable proportions. Capcom says more information on the game will be coming this summer. Capcom will be hoping that Street Fighter 6 has a better launch than its predecessor. Street Fighter V looked and played great when it came out for PS4 and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/rsuXcV7

Truth Social is expected to be available on February 21st. | Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images Former President Donald Trump’s social media app, Truth Social , is expected to make its debut on Presidents’ Day, according to a report from Reuters . In a test version of the app viewed by Reuters , the outlet saw a post from the network’s chief product officer (CPO) indicating the app’s February 21st launch. “By the end of March, we’re going to be fully operational” “We’re currently set for release in the Apple App store for Monday Feb. 21,” the executive — who goes by “Billy B” on Truth Social — reportedly said in response to a beta tester’s question about the app’s public release date. Truth Social has been open to “invited guests only” as early as December, with around 500 beta testers later gaining access to the network. Former... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SLO0M6j

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple is reportedly gearing up to release several new Macs with an M2 chip later this year, according to Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter . Gurman expects the company to debut a 13-inch MacBook Pro, Mac Mini, 24-inch iMac, and a redesigned MacBook Air, all outfitted with the rumored M2 chip. The M2 chip will be slightly faster than its predecessor Apple hasn’t offered any hints about the potential M2 chip, but Gurman thinks its CPU will be slightly faster than the M1’s, and that it will share the same eight-core architecture. Its graphics cores, however, may jump from seven or eight to nine or 10. Come 2023, Gurman thinks Apple may release Pro and Max versions of the M2 chip — just like it did for the M1 chip — as well... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/RoPHwQ0

Whistleblower Aid filed two new SEC complaints on behalf of Frances Haugen. | Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIME Facebook is the subject of two new Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaints filed by Whistleblower Aid, the nonprofit that represents Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, first reported by The Washington Post . The complaints accuse Facebook, now Meta, of misleading investors about its efforts to tackle misinformation about climate change and COVID-19. The complaint alleges a prominent presence of climate change misinformation The first complaint, obtained by The Washington Post , alleges the presence of readily available climate change misinformation on Facebook, making Facebook’s claims that it’s fighting climate denial fall flat. It also contains internal documents detailing employees’ own experiences with climate-related... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hdRQ1g0

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Saturday, attackers stole hundreds of NFTs from OpenSea users, causing a late-night panic among the site’s broad user base. A spreadsheet compiled by the blockchain security service PeckShield counted 254 tokens stolen over the course of the attack, including tokens from Decentraland and Bored Ape Yacht Club. The bulk of the attacks took place between 5PM and 8PM ET, targeting 32 users in total. Molly White, who runs the blog Web3 is Going Great, estimated the value of the stolen tokens at more than $1.7 million . “They all have valid signatures” The attack appears to have exploited a flexibility in the Wyvern Protocol , the open-source standard underlying most NFT smart contracts, including those made on OpenSea. One explanation... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vgxjYZy

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Barry McCarthy, Peloton’s new CEO, weighs an app store and new subscription model as potential ways to kickstart the company’s stagnant sales, as stated in an interview with the New York Times ’ DealBook . “It could be an open platform and part of the creator economy” McCarthy, who served as the former chief financial officer of Spotify and Netflix, says his vision for Peloton may include an app store open to third-party content. “Today, it’s a closed platform — but it could be an open platform and part of the creator economy,” McCarthy tells the NYT . “What other apps would you put on it? Could it be running an app store?” He also downplays the importance of hardware when it comes to Peloton’s fitness equipment. McCarthy suggests the most... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/1n4GVfE

The SEC has responded to Musk’s letter. | Photo by Patrick Pleul/picture alliance via Getty Images The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has responded to Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s claims that the agency has subjected him and his electric car company to “endless, unfounded investigations ,” first reported by the Wall Street Journal . In a letter to Judge Alison Nathan, the SEC refutes Musk’s allegations that it’s ignoring its commitment to distribute $40 million in fine money to Tesla shareholders, which Musk and Tesla had paid as part of a 2018 settlement. The SEC is still working on a plan to distribute $40 million to Tesla shareholders “Given the complexity of the distribution, it has taken time to develop the plan of allocation,” SEC official Steve Buchholz writes in the letter. “That process is nearing completion and, barring any... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/nALSpKG

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Epic Games is hiring its US-based contingent workers full-time and with benefits, Epic confirmed to The Verge . The Fortnite developer is extending the offer to quality assurance (QA) testers, as well as other “eligible” contract-based employees. The news first surfaced in an employee-facing memo obtained by The Verge . In the memo, the company writes it will “offer full-time at-will employment to eligible US-based contingent workers,” and that “many of those offers will be effective April 4th, 2022.” But it also notes that some workers won’t receive the offer, citing “there are a few exceptions in which it makes sense for both the worker and Epic to maintain contingent worker status.” “Most but not all” are quality assurance (QA) testers E... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/IklWvxr

Look at all the numbers! | Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge Vampire Survivors is an Early Access roguelike on Steam that has completely sunk its teeth into me. Each round starts simply: you have just one weapon to take on a few baddies. The weapon autofires, so you only have to worry about moving your character to avoid enemies and scoop up experience gems. But as you level up, get more weapons, and fight more monsters, your screen quickly becomes filled with a smorgasbord of magical weapons and fearsome enemies covering nearly every inch of the screen. Like so: Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge Despite this apparent chaos, I promise you I felt fully in control. The sensory barrage of colors and sounds can almost feel like being in an arcade or a casino — which is... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/p6vNKVr