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Car-tech breakup fever is heating up

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Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images It’s not you, it’s the interest rates. The reasons are probably more nuanced than that, but a number of prominent car tech companies are finding themselves in the unenviable position of being dumped by the bigger companies that they’ve relied on for funding. It’s especially harsh when you consider we’re a few weeks away from Valentine’s Day. It started earlier this week, when auto parts giant Aptiv said it was pulling funding from Motional , the robotaxi joint venture it started with Hyundai in 2020 . The reason? Money, of course. And how long it was taking to commercialize the technology. Aptiv said it was incurring millions of dollars in losses while waiting for Motional to launch its fully driverless ridehail vehicles. The company... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Ile15Mz

The Nintendo Switch has received a rare discount at Amazon

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The standard Nintendo Switch can be played on the go or while docked on a TV. | Photo by James Bareham / The Verge While the Nintendo Switch 2 is widely expected to drop this year, it’s anybody’s guess when. That means if you don’t want to wait to play games like the Mario vs. Donkey Kong demo and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom , the existing Switch lineup is still your best bet. Luckily, the Nintendo Switch console with neon blue and red Joy-Cons is on sale right now for just $269 when you check out at Amazon , which is a rare $30 discount given it typically goes for $299.99. If you’re looking for a console you can take on the go or play docked on a TV, the Nintendo Switch remains an excellent option. True, the Switch 2 might come with a bigger eight-inch screen, but the 6.2-inch touchscreen found on the original Switch is still spacious... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/S8Vx0J5

The Arc browser is getting better bookmarks and search results, all thanks to AI

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Arc’s new Smart Folders start with an AI query. | Image: The Browser Company Only a few days after releasing an AI-powered mobile app, called Arc Search , The Browser Company is making some big (and of course AI-powered) changes to its desktop browser as well. Unlike Arc Search, though, which is essentially a total rethink of how you use the web on your phone, the new stuff in Arc for Mac and Windows is more straightforward and practical. They turn search queries into bookmarks without needing a Google page, and they keep you up to date on stuff you care about without needing another app. In Arc’s world, it’s all about the web browser. For instance, the new “Instant Links” feature is a way to use AI to skip a search engine: if you’re looking for something specific, like that epic “Blank Space” performance from... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/JLk6hRS

Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel, and more are coming to Apple’s Vision Pro at launch

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Image: Microsoft Microsoft is launching a suite of its Microsoft 365 apps on Apple’s Vision Pro headset later this week. Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Loop, and Microsoft Teams will all be available in the App Store for Apple Vision Pro on February 2nd — the same day Apple’s new headset is available in stores. Apple Vision Pro owners will also be able to access an AI-powered version of Copilot while using the headset, including the ability to create drafts, summarize documents, and generate PowerPoint presentations with your voice. Image: Microsoft Microsoft Word on the Vision Pro. Word on the Vision Pro includes a focus mode much like the reader mode found in the desktop versions, alongside a ribbon... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/x1ugNRf

Shopify’s ‘Magic’ AI image editor can make any product pics look professional

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Shopify Magic Media Editor. | Image: Shopify The Shopify Magic suite of generative AI tools that launched in April last year is adding a media editor that brings generative image fill to its platform and conversational search powered by AI. Merchants can prompt the image editor to change photo backgrounds without Photoshop experience to match whatever theme they have in mind. Shopify’s AI editor can also suggest backgrounds and styles that match existing product images in the merchant’s library once it rolls out this spring . Glen Coates, Shopify’s vice president of product, says many sellers on the platform don’t have access to big studios or professional photographers, but they still need to set their items up for success. Since there’s no additional cost to use this tool, it... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/MkVJ1DB

Microsoft’s Surface devices down again in Q2 earnings as Xbox picks up Activision revenue

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft just posted the second quarter of its 2024 fiscal financial results. The software maker made $62 billion in revenue and a net income of $21.9 billion during Q2. Revenue is up 18 percent, and net income has increased by 33 percent. This is the first quarter Microsoft is reporting earnings as a $3 trillion company and also the first time the company has reported additional revenue from its Activision Blizzard acquisition. While Office and cloud revenue remain strong, devices revenue from Surface sales has continued to decline this quarter, with Windows bouncing back after a slow period for the PC market. Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Surface Laptop Studio 2. Microsoft did warn that... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/i08wsV2

Art collective MSCHF is streaming movies like Barbie in ASCII for free

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MSCHF The art collective MSCHF is stirring up some trouble on the internet again. For its latest project, ASCII Theater , the group will broadcast a popular new film daily in ASCII format that anyone can watch for free. Just paste the command on your Mac or PC’s terminal, and you can watch films like Barbie exactly as, well, virtually no one has intended. ASCII art films are nothing new and date back to the early days of the internet. They are made by converting a film, frame by frame, into lines of text characters. Instead of pixels, you’ll see text. One of the most famous examples is the ASCII art version of the original 1977 Star Wars movie, which was completed by New Zealand-based programmer Simon Jansen in 1997 and is still available... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/wfoxzR4