Latest Technology

A Ford F-150 Lightning caught fire in a holding lot near the automaker’s Michigan factory. | Photo: DR/SP/Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images The Ford F-150 Lightning fire that broke out at a Michigan factory in early February wasn’t caused by a battery defect, according to a report from Bloomberg . In a statement to the outlet, Ford’s South Korean battery supplier SK On calls the incident a “rare” occurrence and says it’s working on a fix. Ford abruptly halted production of its flagship electric pickup on February 4th after one of the trucks caught fire in a holding lot affiliated with its Dearborn, Michigan, factory and spread to two other vehicles. Both Ford and SK have been investigating the issue for weeks and still haven’t resumed F-150 Lightning production. SK has once again started to build batteries in its Georgia factory, however. “We believe this was a rare... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ABpnejI

Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Tesla is convening its first Investor Day event on March 1st at its Gigafactory in Austin, Texas, at which Elon Musk is expected to unleash upon the world his latest Master Plan for the company’s future. Expectations are high, but given Musk’s penchant for leaving past Master Plan promises unfulfilled , keeping those expectations in check may be a wise move. Musk has said the event is for “people and life of earth,” adding that “it will be a message of good hope & positivity for the future.” That certainly sounds affirming, but the reality facing Musk and Tesla today undercuts a lot of the optimism of that message. Wild stock fluctuations , increasing competition , recalls , product delays , allegations of union busting , and an impending r... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/1owei7s

Álvaro Bernis / The Verge How we use the internet is changing fast, thanks to the advancement of AI-powered chatbots that can find information and redeliver it as a simple conversation. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/JC1BfLU

It looks very much like last year’s Dell XPS 15. | Image: Dell The 2023 editions of the Dell XPS 15 and Dell XPS 17 will be available for purchase on March 2nd, Dell has announced. The laptops are identical to their 2022 predecessors , but they’ve been bumped up to 13th Gen Intel chips and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4000 discrete graphics. Both devices will offer Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9 H-series options. The XPS 15 can come with an RTX 4050, 4060, or 4070, and there’s an Arc A370M option as well. The XPS 17 does not have the Arc option but does offer a 4080. Elsewhere, both units can come with up to 64GB of RAM (DDR5) and 4TB of storage onboard, supporting up to 8GB of total storage. Image: Dell XPS 17 also looks familiar, I gotta say. It appears that not all options will be... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/rl8RguZ

Illustration: The Verge The EU has updated its antitrust case against Apple and the control it wields over music streaming services on iOS with potentially good news for complainant Spotify. The European Commission, the EU body investigating the charges, says Apple breached antitrust laws by stopping rival music firms like Spotify from advertising where and how users could subscribe to their apps. This update to the case does not constitute a final ruling, and it’s now up to Apple to marshal a defense and prove the charges wrong. Spotify first made a complaint against Apple in 2019, with the European Commission opening an investigation in 2020. The Commission issued an initial “ statement of objections ” against Apple in 2021, laying out the possible breaches of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/PKOxeWH

The announcement image for Shadow of the Erdtree is enough to fuel weeks of speculation. | Image: FromSoftware One of 2022’s biggest games, Elden Ring , is getting what looks to be its first major expansion: DLC content titled Shadow of the Erdtree . Developer FromSoftware announced in a tweet this morning that the DLC was officially under development, though the company did not share when we might expect a release. A short blog post confirmed the DLC will be coming to PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam. It also said a “follow-up report is still a little ahead” (translation from Japanese via Google) so we can hopefully expect more details sooner rather than later. Elden Ring DLC is hotly-anticipated content for a number of reasons. Elden Ring has been a massive success, selling more than 20 million units worldwide, and FromSoftware... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/7yAzTFu

The new Nokia logo. | Image: Nokia Finnish telecoms firm Nokia has redesigned its logo to remind the world that it doesn’t make mobile phones anymore. “In most people’s minds, we are still a successful mobile phone brand, but this is not what Nokia is about,” Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark told Bloomberg . “We want to launch a new brand that is focusing very much on the networks and industrial digitalization, which is a completely different thing from the legacy mobile phones.” Nokia revealed its new brand identity on Sunday at MWC — the first major redesign of the firm’s logo in nearly 60 years. The company has come a long way since its founding as a single paper mill operation in 1865. Its original logo featured a salmon head — a reference to the Nokianvirta river by which... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/6ZiDMyN

Those glowing blue lines on the back aren’t (just) for show. | Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge OnePlus’ latest concept phone is all about keeping cool. The company showed off the OnePlus 11 Concept device at MWC Barcelona , which features glowing blue pipelines on its back to represent the cooling liquid of its “Active CryoFlux” cooling technology. Yes, it’s designed to look flashy, but OnePlus argues the cooling system serves an important practical purpose. By keeping the phone cooler under load, the company claims you can get better performance from games, and faster charging speeds. All without the need for the “size, weight, and noise” of a physically spinning fan like we’ve seen from the likes of Nubia or in smartphone cooling accessories from Razer or Asus . Two quoted performance benefits include a 2.1 degree Celcius (around... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/RJ8pMxw

Photo by Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The Crew-6 mission’s getting ready to blast off into space. With the help of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, the company’s Dragon Endeavour spacecraft will lift off early Monday morning at 1:45AM ET from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The spacecraft will carry four astronauts, including NASA’s Stephen Bowen and Warren “Woody” Hoburg, as well as the United Arab Emirates’ Sultan Alneyadi and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. They’re headed to the International Space Station for an up to six-month stay, where they’ll conduct various research projects to help “prepare for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and benefit life on Earth.” With #Crew6 , we’ll gather new information in experiments that will bring us closer to our goal of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Z7B9AzC

Image: Vjeran Pavic / The Verge The massive mobile show is back. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/EA58Ozu

Álvaro Bernis / The Verge How we use the internet is changing fast, thanks to the advancement of AI-powered chatbots that can find information and redeliver it as a simple conversation. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/PRWmUzN

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Twitter product manager Esther Crawford no longer has a job at the company following yet another wave of layoffs, according to Platformer ’s Zoë Schiffer . Crawford headed up various projects at Twitter, including the company’s Blue with verification subscription as well as Twitter’s forthcoming payments platform. During her time at Twitter, Crawford emerged as one of Twitter’s most prominent product managers under Elon Musk’s leadership, and notably tweeted a picture of herself on the floor of Twitter’s office in a sleeping bag and eye mask. “When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you #SleepWhereYouWork,” the tweet reads. When your team is pushing round the clock to make deadlines sometimes you #... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/LzPVtUc

The Xiaomi 13 Pro offers a big image sensor and very fast wired charging. | Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge The Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro are making their global debut today, starting with a launch event at Mobile World Congress. The 13 series phones were announced in China late last year , each with Leica co-branded cameras and top-shelf Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipsets. Based on previous releases, they won’t be coming to the US, but will be available in the UK, Europe, and other parts of Asia. Given that we’ve known the phones’ specs since December, there’s nothing surprising there, but here’s the recap: they’re both upper midrange phones, but the 13 Pro stands out with a 1-inch-type sensor borrowed from the Xiaomi 12S Ultra and 120W wired fast charging. Photo by Jon Porter / The Verge The Xiaomi 13 Pro (pictured) and 13 boast... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jEyzvrh

Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for Turner The 29th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards honors outstanding performances in both film and television. This year’s event will take place at the Fairmont Century Plaza hotel in Los Angeles, California, but won’t air on TNT or TBS as it has in the past. If you’re looking forward to seeing whether Michelle Yeoh takes away an award for her leading role in Everything Everywhere All At Once , or if the stunt performers in Avatar: The Way of Water win for those spectacular underwater action scenes , here’s how to watch the ceremony live. What time do the 2023 SAG Awards start? The SAG Awards take place on Sunday, February 26th, 2023 at 8PM ET / 5PM PT. Where can I watch the SAG Awards? While the year’s event won’t air on cable, you can watch it... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/yiYeu28

Image: Trae Patton / Paramount Plus The first episode of Star Trek: Picard ’s third and final season is available to stream online for free, as spotted earlier by Gizmodo . You can either watch the full, hour-long premiere on YouTube or from the Paramount Plus website , but it’s only available for a limited time . Star Trek: Picard ’s final season sees Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) reuniting with some of his USS Enterprise crewmates, including Worf (Michael Dorn), William Riker (Jonathan Frakes), Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton), Beverly Crusher (Gates McFadden), and Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) as they face off against a new foe, Vadic (Amanda Plummer). We've got your weekend shore leave plans right here. For a limited time, stream the season premiere of #StarTrekPicard... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0RGml8z

Apple’s M2-powered Macbook Air is on sale for $1,049. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Just in case you woke up this morning feeling like spending a thousand bucks, we’re starting off the weekend with a terrific deal on Apple’s latest MacBook Air. Right now, the M2-powered model with 8GB of RAM, an eight-core CPU, and 256GB of storage is on sale at Best Buy and B&H Photo for $1,049 ($150 off), which is one of its best prices to date. If you need a laptop that’s a jack-of-all-trades, the M2-powered MacBook Air will likely fit the bill. It boasts a lot of the same features as the excellent M1 model from 2022 — including all-day battery life, Touch ID, and MagSafe charging — yet it offers faster performance and a lighter build. It also features a 1080p webcam and a brighter display than its predecessor. So long as you don’t... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/M20JKyD

Image: The Verge A short story titled “The Last Hope” first hit Sheila Williams’ desk in early January. Williams, the editor of Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine, reviewed the story and passed on it. At first, she didn’t think much of it; she reads and responds to writers daily as part of her job, receiving anywhere from 700 to 750 stories a month. But when another story, also titled “The Last Hope,” came in a couple weeks later by a writer with a different name, Williams became suspicious. By the time yet another “The Last Hope” came a few days later, Williams knew immediately she had a problem on her hands. “That’s like the tip of the iceberg,” Williams says. Since that first submission, Williams has received more than 20 short stories all titled “The... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/5DQbJG1

The Nokia G22, surrounded by iFixit repair tools. | Image: HMD HMD has worked to make what it says are the most common smartphone repairs — replacing a broken screen, charging port, or flat battery — a simpler process on its new Nokia G22, and it’s partnering with repair specialists iFixit to provide customers with the necessary replacement parts, tools, and guides. The Nokia G22 will be available on March 8th in the UK for £149.99 (€179 / around $180) and will be sold in select global markets like Europe but not the US. The company joins a growing list of smartphone manufacturers that are making replacement parts more easily available to end customers. In the past couple of years, we’ve seen Samsung and Google partner with iFixit to sell replacement parts, while Apple launched its own Self Service... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pCTJFoR

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Sony’s PlayStation VR2 arrived this week, and while it’s one of the best virtual reality headsets we’ve ever used , there’s still a number of common VR pitfalls and PSVR 2-specific annoyances new buyers might run into. Whether this is your first VR headset or just your most recent purchase, here are a handful of tips that might keep you from getting sick, tripping on a cord, running out of battery, or — and we hear this is particularly common — thinking Sony shipped you a blurry VR headset when it’s probably just a trick of the light. In fact, let’s start with that one. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge This is how to wear most VR headsets, for that matter. How to wear the PSVR 2 and avoid blur If... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/YaBilGk

Josh.ai showed off a proof-of-concept ChatGPT integration using its voice assistant. The Josh system is currently only available through professional installers. | Image: Josh.ai Today, you can ask Alexa to turn on the lights or have Siri tell you the temperature in your bedroom, and sometimes they’ll get it right. Or you may hear, “You have 15 devices named lights; which one would you like to control?” or “The current temperature in Kathmandu is 53 degrees.” But what if your voice assistant was not only always accurate but could also respond to nebulous comments like “I’ve had a rough day; what’s a good way to unwind?” with “intelligent” responses? For example, by lowering the shades, dimming the lights, adjusting the thermostat, and queuing up some goodies on Netflix? That’s the potential of voice assistants powered by new AI language models, according to Alex Capecelatro, co-founder of the Josh.ai home... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/hwEDfnG

Illustration by Brian Scagnelli / The Verge Last April, 27-year-old Nicole posted a TikTok video about feeling burned out in her career. When she checked the comments the next day, however, a different conversation was going down. “Jeez, this is not a real human,” one commenter wrote. “I’m scared.” “No legit she’s AI,” another said. Nicole, who lives in Germany, has alopecia. It’s a condition that can result in hair loss across a person’s body. Because of this, she’s used to people looking at her strangely, trying to figure out what’s “off,” she says over a video call. “But I’ve never had this conclusion made, that [I] must be CGI or whatever.” Over the past few years, AI tools and CGI creations have gotten better and better at pretending to be human. Bing’s new chatbot is... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/aNjSK60

Alphabet is shutting down its Everyday Robots project — another casualty of job cuts at Google’s parent company and the latest in a long list of failed hardware ventures. According to a report from Wired , Everyday Robots will no longer exist as a discrete team at the tech giant. “Everyday Robots will no longer be a separate project within Alphabet,” Denise Gamboa, director of marketing and communications for Everyday Robots, told the publication . “Some of the technology and part of the team will be consolidated into existing robotics efforts within Google Research.” We’ve contacted Alphabet for confirmation and will update this story if we hear more details about the exact number of jobs affected. Alphabet has been cutting costs this... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pIfRN1T

Image: LumaTouch LumaFusion, a popular video editing app for iPhones, iPads, and Macs, is now widely available on Android and ChromeOS devices following an early access beta in November last year. Comparable to other well-regarded video editors like Final Cut Pro for macOS and Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve for iPad , LumaFusion provides powerful editing features like green screen and chroma key VFX effects, a magnetic timeline, color correction tools, and more to Chromebooks and Android tablets and phones. The app has already proved to be a hit with filmmakers and content creators on Apple hardware, winning the App Store Award for iPad App of the Year in 2021. The developer LumaTouch also claims that LumaFusion has been downloaded 1.1 million times... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vhAej31

Illustration: The Verge Google is running tests that block access to news for some Canadian users in response to a new bill that could force it and other large platforms like Meta’s Facebook to negotiate deals with news publishers to pay them for content, Reuters reports . The tests will reportedly impact less than four percent of Canadian users, run for around five weeks , and will “limit the visibility of Canadian and international news to varying degrees.” The tests come in response to Canada’s Online News Act, also known as “Bill C-18,” which is currently being considered by the Canadian Senate, according to The Globe and Mail . In a tweet, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said Canadians won’t be intimidated by Google’s behavior. “It’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/geE9HJ4

Don’t be afraid to take advantage of your PlayStation 5’s expandable storage — it’s easy! | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge It’s the 23rd day of the second month of the year 2023. What does that mean? Absolutely nothing. So let’s get to today’s deals. The 2TB Samsung 980 Pro NVMe SSD with an included heatsink is selling for a new low price of $159.99 at Amazon and Best Buy on a one-day deal. That beats its previous low by $10, saving you an outright $110 off its full price. While this is a speedy drive for a desktop PC, you can use it to upgrade the storage of your PlayStation 5, especially since it includes the requisite heatsink. If you haven’t opened up your PS5 and given it a storage boost yet, we can’t recommend this SSD enough because it’s very easy to install , and the 667GB of available built-in storage runs out quickly when you install 100GB-plus... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pYn5rwh

Janelle Monáe in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery . | Image: John Wilson / Netflix Later today, Netflix will be releasing a director’s commentary for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery ; subscribers will be able to check it out starting at 1PM ET. This isn’t the first time Netflix has released a commentary track, but the feature is something of a dying art, with DVD and Blu-ray releases largely supplanted by streaming, where special features are much less common. When the news was first announced, writer and director Rian Johnson, who signed on to direct a pair of Knives Out sequels for Netflix , wrote : “Sorry it took a minute but it’s a good one I think.” And given the sheer number of Easter eggs and cameos in the film — including an appearance from this very website — the commentary track will likely make it worth a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/716i3lW

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is going to let thousands more creators include multi-language audio tracks with their videos. The company was already testing the feature with a small number of creators, and beginning Thursday, many more will be able to include multi-language dubs with their videos to make them accessible to broader audiences. If you want to try this feature for yourself, check out this video on MrBeast’s YouTube channel. If you click on the gear icon, you’ll see an option for “audio track,” and if you click that, you’ll see the different language options available. Videos will also default to a user’s preferred language. In its early tests, YouTube says that, as of January, “we’ve already seen over 3,500 multi-language videos uploaded in... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/NI5jtHi

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Spotify’s newest feature is an AI-powered DJ that curates and commentates on an ever-changing personalized playlist. Spotify describes it as an “AI DJ in your pocket” that “knows you and your music taste so well that it can choose what to play for you.” We’ll have to test the feature for ourselves to see how well these claims stand up, but in a launch trailer and clips shared on social media, the feature seems to rather accurately mimic a radio station presenter, dropping in little bits of trivia and commentary about the artist or track while smoothly transitioning between songs. The playlist is endless, but users can apparently switch genres or artists by hitting the on-screen DJ button. Based on this feedback, the feature should... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/VTuwRsQ

Illustration by William Joel Plus more musical features come to Snapchat, and the Dynamic Island could come to an Android phone. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SytV0Rv

It’s like you’re actually in the ship. | Image: Hello Games No Man’s Sky is one of many titles you can play on the now-released PlayStation VR2 , but the game’s virtual reality mode on all VR platforms is getting a big overhaul as part of the new 4.1 “Fractal” update, developer Hello Games announced Wednesday. One of the biggest changes with the Fractal update is that the game’s HUD and UI have been redesigned for VR. That means you’ll be able to look through your multitool’s options in a menu embedded in the multitool, for example, or look at your inventory on a wrist-mounted display. Of course, there are a handful of features that take advantage of the PS5 and the PSVR 2. You’ll see increased draw distances and denser foliage while exploring planets, and the game will use the PSVR 2’s headset... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Y0F3V58

Jabra’s Elite 3 wireless earbuds are on sale for $59.99 ($20 off) today. | Image: Chris Welch / The Verge Cheap gadgets are often cheap because, well, they’re not the best in terms of quality. That’s not true of Jabra’s Elite 3 , however, which are once again on sale for $59.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Best Buy . As our favorite pair of wireless earbuds under $100 , the Elite 3 sound terrific for the price and offer a few niceties typically reserved for more expensive earbuds. They include an IP55 rating for dust and water resistance, for instance, along with the ability to use either earbud independently. So long as you’re fine without multipoint Bluetooth support and active noise cancellation, they’re a good pair of buds that nail the basics and shouldn’t disappoint. Read our review . Gaming laptops are fun, but they’re not the most practical... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/yphrqWC

Ayaneo 2 review: this flashy competitor has the Steam Deck beat on specs, but you can’t play a spec sheet. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FTCuyfR

Álvaro Bernis / The Verge Chinese regulators have reportedly told the country’s tech giants not to offer access to AI chatbot ChatGPT over fears the tool will give “uncensored replies” to politically sensitive questions. That’s according to a report from Nikkei Asia citing “people with direct knowledge of the matter.” Nikkei says Chinese regulators told tech firms Tencent and Ant Group (a subsidiary of e-commerce giant Alibaba) to not only restrict access to the US-developed ChatGPT, but to also report to officials before launching their own rival chatbots. Such a move would fit the Chinese government’s heavy-handed approach to censorship and quick regulatory responses to new tech. Last month, for example, the country introduced new rules regarding the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/L3fjsoN

Uber’s new app update includes support for Dynamic Island and Live Activities for iPhone 14 Pro and iOS 16. | Image: Uber Uber is launching a redesigned version of its app that introduces a homescreen that the company says makes hailing a ride and ordering takeout food a lot easier. Uber is also adding enhancements to the app that make use of the latest iPhone and iOS features. The update is rolling out now to “tens of millions” customers in 1,200 cities globally, the company said. The redesign and new features are the first in a series of updates, Uber’s head of product for rides, Jen You, states in a press release. “These improvements represent the biggest design changes to the Uber app in several years.” Image: Uber The new Uber app homescreen has tabs for rides and Eats delivery on top and a simplified space for suggestions. O... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/AaCxV7d

The feature is only available in Korean on select handsets, including the Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra (pictured). | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge AI voice clones are already being deployed in podcasts and video games, but how long until they can be harnessed directly by the general public? Probably sooner than you think, with Samsung today announcing a feature for its Bixby mobile assistant that lets users clone their voice to answer phone calls. The idea is that if someone calls you but you can’t answer aloud you can type out a response and it’ll be read in a simulacrum of your voice. Some caveats here: this feature is only currently available in Korean as the Bixby Custom Voice Creator app for a small number of Samsung handsets (the new Galaxy S23, S23+ and S23 Ultra), which means we’ve been unable to test it ourselves. The voice quality might be abysmal and response time too... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/e0SMRuq

Image: Getty Plus yet more Twitter layoffs, and Nvidia partners with Microsoft as it fights to acquire Activision Blizzard. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0dma4vl

This could be Motorola’s next Razr. | Image: Evan Blass Upcoming foldable flip phones from Samsung and Motorola could have much larger cover displays than the current generation, if a series of leaks about the unannounced devices are to be believed. First there’s the Galaxy Z Flip 5, which Samsung is anticipated to announce this summer. Leaker Ice Universe, who’s been a reliable source of information on unannounced Samsung devices in the past, recently tweeted to “say for sure” that Samsung’s next flip phone will have a bigger external display than the Oppo Find N2 Flip . For reference, Oppo’s flip phone has a 3.26-inch cover display, which is already substantially larger than the Z Flip 4’s 1.9-inch display. The clues have surfaced. The first leak I can say for sure The external screen of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/6j0Jw4h

Photo by Alex Wong / Getty Images Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) threw his support behind striking YouTube Music workers in a letter addressed to Google CEO Sundar Pichai Tuesday, as first reported by the Austin Chronicle . Sanders’ support comes amid growing tensions between workers on YouTube Music’s Content Operations team and its parent company, Google. The nearly 60 workers are formally employed by Cognizant, a third-party contractor to Google. Last October, they filed for a union election with the 1,300-member Alphabet Workers Union (AWU). But shortly after that request was filed with the National Labor and Relations Board, Cognizant issued a new return-to-office mandate that organizers — and Sanders — argue amounts to an illegal union-busting strategy. “Our request to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/T64sY8L

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Is YouTube legally responsible for recommending terrorist content? The court will hear it out. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/mrsofCy

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The first shots have been fired in a Supreme Court showdown over web platforms, terrorism, and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. Today, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Gonzales v. Google — one of two lawsuits that are likely to shape the future of the internet. Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh are a pair of lawsuits blaming platforms for facilitating Islamic State attacks. The court’s final ruling on these cases will determine web services’ liability for hosting illegal activity, particularly if they promote it with algorithmic recommendations. The Supreme Court took up both cases in October: one at the request of a family that’s suing Google and the other as a preemptive defense filed by Twitter.... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/axnYSgq

Illustration: The Verge Microsoft and Sony’s gaming chiefs are both preparing to meet with EU regulators today in a showdown over Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard. The closed-door hearing in Brussels will see Xbox chief Phil Spencer and other senior Microsoft executives argue the case for the $68.7 billion deal to proceed, with PlayStation chief Jim Ryan attending to voice Sony’s concerns over the deal. It’s a pivotal moment for Microsoft’s proposed acquisition, which has already seen opposition from regulators in the UK and US. The FTC is suing Microsoft to block its Activision Blizzard purchase, while the CMA published its provisional findings of its investigation earlier this month, warning that the deal could harm UK gamers. The CMA... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vc3Cln2

The Sonos Era 300. Plus an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto, and more lobbying from Microsoft. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/YJ3qzCn

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Call of Duty will be available to Nintendo players on the same day as Xbox with “full feature and content parity” under a 10-year agreement between the two platforms, Microsoft’s Brad Smith announced . The deal was announced in early December , but Smith is offering more details today ahead of a hearing in which Microsoft will argue its case with EU regulators to allow its $69 billion acquisition of Call of Duty publisher Activision Blizzard to proceed, Reuters reports . As my colleague Tom Warren wrote back in December , the Nintendo deal is almost certainly part of Microsoft’s attempt to pressure Sony into accepting a similar offer and allay regulatory competition concerns. The PlayStation maker has emerged as one of the chief opponents of... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2jtklb3

Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge As Super Nintendo World opens up in Los Angeles, the creator of Mario talks about getting back to his roots, and exploring new creative fields. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/dMHOp7s

Image: Ubisoft Ubisoft will start messing with Rainbow Six Siege players that cheat by using XIM or similar devices to spoof controller inputs by using a mouse and keyboard on console. In an update to Rainbow Six Siege, players that cheat by using third-party devices like XIM will soon start to notice more input latency that will mess with their aim. Devices like XIM, Cronus Zen, and ReaSnow S1 are often used in online competitive shooters to allow mouse and keyboard users to get the benefits of aim assist from controller mixed with the benefits of movement from mouse and keyboard. They’re steadily becoming a problem across Overwatch, Call of Duty, Destiny 2, Rainbow Six Siege , and other online shooters. “This is a problem that all console shooters... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pQDVYrz

It’s really not that hard. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Getting PCBs made is fun and cheap, they’ll let you draw whatever you want on there, and the cops can’t stop you. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/gTij7VE

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is preparing to launch a new version of Microsoft Teams next month that has been rebuilt from the ground up to significantly improve its system resource usage on PCs and laptops. Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans tell The Verge that the software giant has recently started testing this new Teams client broadly inside Microsoft, with plans to roll out a preview to Microsoft Teams users in March. Known as Microsoft Teams 2.0 or 2.1 internally, Microsoft has been working on this new Teams client for years. The app should use 50 percent less memory, tax the CPU less, and result in better battery life on laptops. While Microsoft shipped some of this early work in the built-in Teams experience for consumers in Windows 11 ,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/aInJbxw

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge While Twitter removes a key security feature for non-paying users. Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/HWcIxvP

David Harbour as Hellboy in the 2019 reboot. | Image: Lionsgate Almost two decades after the release of the Guillermo del Toro-directed Hellboy , the character is getting yet another reboot. Millennium Media has confirmed that Hellboy: The Crooked Man will enter production next month in Bulgaria, Deadline reports . Casting for the titular character (originally played by Ron Perlman and then David Harbour) is yet to be announced, but the new film will be directed by Brian Taylor, best known for the Jason Statham action movie Crank. Perhaps most interesting is that the comics’ original creator Mike Mignola has written the script for the upcoming film alongside Chris Golden. Both were reported to have worked on the script for the 2019 reboot by The Hollywood Reporter , though Andrew Cosby ultimately ended... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FkaVbX1

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Meta’s testing paid verification for Instagram and Facebook for $11.99 per month on web and $14.99 per month on mobile. In an update on Instagram , CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that a “Meta Verified” account will grant users a verified badge, increased visibility on the platforms, prioritized customer support, and more. The feature’s rolling out to Australia and New Zealand this week and will arrive in more countries “soon.” “This week we’re starting to roll out Meta Verified — a subscription service that lets you verify your account with a government ID, get a blue badge, get extra impersonation protection against accounts claiming to be you, and get direct access to customer support,” Zuckerberg writes. “This new feature is about... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/dxUtwls

Illustration: The Verge Google Meet’s launching new 360-degree virtual backgrounds for video calls on mobile. While Google first announced the new feature last month , now it’s rolling out on both iOS and Android and uses your device’s gyroscope to move with you. As you can see in the embedded GIF, the 360-degree background will change depending on where your phone or tablet’s positioned. So, if you move your phone left or right, your background will adjust to show different scenery. Google says users can apply “several” new 360-degree backgrounds during video calls, including one that shows a beach and another with a temple. Image: Google While the feature does look pretty cool, I can see how these backgrounds might get distracting if... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/xz0NCKw