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It’d be a big selling point for the subscription service. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It’s starting to look like the upcoming version of TweetDeck, the power-user-focused version of the Twitter app, won’t be free. Security researcher Jane Manchun Wong has discovered a work-in-progress sign-up page for the app, which boasts that it’s a “powerful, real-time tool for people who live on Twitter” and offers an ad-free experience. While the page doesn’t explicitly say you’ll have to pay Twitter to access TweetDeck, companies don’t usually advertise “helps you avoid the thing that makes us money” as a feature of free products (even if, like the current version of TweetDeck, it is). And wouldn’t you know it, Twitter’s already got a paid subscription service that it’s trying to sell to its power users . TweetDeck is essentially... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/zUlWfbS

Image: Wyze I just threw my Wyze home security cameras in the trash. I’m done with this company. I just learned that for the past three years , Wyze has been fully aware of a vulnerability in its home security cameras that could have let hackers look into your home over the internet — but chose to sweep it under the rug. And the security firm that found the vulnerability largely let them do it. Three years Instead of patching it, instead of recalling it, instead of just, you know, saying something so I could stop pointing these cameras at my kids, Wyze simply decided to discontinue the WyzeCam v1 this January without a full explanation. But on Tuesday, security research firm Bitdefender finally shed light on why Wyze stopped selling it: because... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Av2KQap

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge To help bring an end to wrangling with Dutch regulators that stretched over the last several months, today, Apple published a new version of its App Store rules that allow local dating apps to take payments through third-party processors. Until now, its proposals to comply with a December ruling mandating the change had not satisfied the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) and earned Apple 50 million euros worth of fines. Apple previously announced that it would allow dating apps to use alternative payment systems, but it imposed various conditions on how they could do so. Developers would have to submit a separate app binary for the Dutch App Store, and would have to choose between using its in-app payment system or a... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/pTcNds2

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple and Meta handed over user data to hackers who faked emergency data request orders typically sent by law enforcement, according to a report by Bloomberg . The slip-up happened in mid-2021, with both companies falling for the phony requests and providing information about users’ IP addresses, phone numbers, and home addresses. Law enforcement officials often request data from social platforms in connection with criminal investigations, allowing them to obtain information about the owner of a specific online account. While these requests require a subpoena or search warrant signed by a judge, emergency data requests don’t — and are intended for cases that involve life-threatening situations. Fake emergency data requests are becoming... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/kdZvzWY

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube is rolling out a picture-in-picture mode for YouTube TV on iOS devices running iOS 15 or newer, the company announced Wednesday . YouTube chief product officer Neal Mohan promised on The Vergecast that the feature was on the way, and now it’s finally here. The Vergecast gets results ;) https://t.co/z57srOSCLQ — nilay patel (@reckless) March 30, 2022 With picture-in-picture, you’ll be able to keep watching YouTube TV when you navigate away from the YouTube TV app. The feature could come in handy if, for example, you’re watching a sports game but want to scroll through Twitter to see reactions to what just happened on the field. It’s a feature that’s been available on Android for years , so it’s good to see that Google has... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/4aiCpQt

The new PlayStation Plus Premium subscription will have PS1 games, but it’s the most expensive tier. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony has just announced its new PlayStation Plus subscription tiers , which will be available later this year, and with the new “Extra” and “Premium” levels, you’ll get access to back catalogs of many PlayStation games. However, if you want to play classic PS3, PS2, PS1, and PSP games, you’ll have to pay for “Premium,” the most expensive option, meaning that Sony is joining Nintendo in putting some of its older games behind its highest-cost subscription. Using a subscription to access classic games isn’t new for Sony. For years, the company has offered access to PS4, PS3, and PS2 games as part of PlayStation Now, which is an entirely separate subscription service from PlayStation Plus. But instead of using the Plus shakeup to bring more... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/d5yBTHh

It promised this change in September, 2021. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple is making good on its promise to let some developers link out to their own sites from within their apps, according to an announcement from the company on Wednesday. The new rules, which go into effect today, let developers of “reader apps” (apps that are primarily meant to provide access to digital content, like Netflix, Kindle, or Spotify) link out to their sites for things like account management or creation. This should help improve the historically bad user experience for these types of apps caused by Apple’s previous rules. Previously, if you downloaded the Netflix app but didn’t have an account, Netflix wasn’t allowed to give you a link to sign up or tell you where you could go to create an account. That made apps frustrating... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/U9pNxXY

Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Apple TV Plus has announced an April 8th start date for Friday Night Baseball alongside a streaming schedule for the first half of the season. The revised 2022 season schedule was announced by Major League Baseball (MLB) earlier in March after players and team owners negotiated an end to a lockout, setting a date for the regular season to begin on April 7th. Streaming will be available for anyone with Apple TV Plus in the US, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Japan, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and the United Kingdom. In the US and Canada, that also includes access to a 24/7 livestream with replays, highlights, and other programming. Even if you don’t pay for Apple TV Plus, it will also be available without a subscription on all hardware... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/KuI8w5T

Moonlighter is one of many recent titles available for a discount on the Nintendo eShop | Image: 11 Bit Studios The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular consoles ever released , one with an ever-expanding library of games to choose from. Odds are if a game is capable of working on the Switch’s hardware, it’s either already available or it will be soon. Thankfully, a number of games are currently receiving price breaks if you’re looking to expand your collection, including first-gen offerings like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey to remasters like Tony Hawk Pro Skater 1+2 . However, if you want to add some less conventional indie titles to your collection, 11 Bit Studios is also discounting most of its digital titles and DLC on the Nintendo eShop, including Moonlighter and Children of Morta , both of which are... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ovBUeaQ

Mark Vande Hei on board the ISS | Image: NASA Record-breaking NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei is set to return to Earth from the International Space Station on early March 30th, coming back in a Russian Soyuz rocket along with two Russian cosmonauts. His scheduled journey back to the planet has been an ongoing source of strife these last few weeks, as tensions have dramatically soured between the United States and Russia after the latter’s invasion of Ukraine. Vande Hei has been on the ISS since April 2021, when he launched from Kazakhstan on another Soyuz rocket. He was originally going to stay on board for just six months, the standard length of stay for most astronauts on the ISS. But in September, NASA announced that Vande Hei’s stay had been extended to better accommodate a few... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Y1CI3xm

Verizon’s network has gotten a noticeable speed bump. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Verizon and AT&T’s recent 5G rollout could put them in a better position to compete with T-Mobile, which has had similar tech rolled out for years , according to data from Opensignal . The company’s analysis showed that when Verizon turned on its C-band equipment in January, its average 5G speeds jumped — and where carriers have their new tech rolled out, they’re all achieving similar speeds. When looking at the average 5G download speeds for each carrier, there’s a clear bump in Verizon’s numbers after the carrier took its C-band equipment online in January . The increased speeds that were available to customers in the rollout area brought its average up by around 15 megabits per second, according to Opensignal. Despite also rolling out... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/kCsNmJ7

British sports car maker Lotus is jumping on the electric bandwagon with the reveal of the Eletre, a plug-in crossover SUV with design language inspired by the automaker’s Evija hypercar . The Eletre will also be the first of three new EVs that Lotus plans to roll out over the next four years, including a sports car (natch), a coupe-sedan, and another SUV. Previously called Type 132, the Eletre is the Geely-owned automaker’s second electric vehicle and will feature futuristic components like camera-only side-view mirrors and a lidar sensor affixed to the front and rear of the roof. As is befitting its sports car legacy, Lotus is emphasizing the performance capabilities of its new electric SUV. The Eletre will be able to sprint from... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Ff9koiw

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Social media use is more strongly linked to bad mental health for adolescents and teenagers during years around puberty and when they’re probably about to leave home, according to a new study . Teenagers who used social media more frequently in those periods scored lower on measures of life satisfaction one year later. Many researchers say things like Instagram and TikTok probably aren’t entirely bad for all adolescents. They’re not entirely good, either, and can cause documented problems with body image, but the impact varies: for some kids at some points in time, it might help them socialize and build relationships; for others at other times, it might be a hit to their self-esteem. The challenge has been figuring out which teens are... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/F6L94mg

The new shortcuts give you new tools for your chats. | Image: Meta Meta, the parent company of Facebook, is introducing Slack-like shortcuts to Messenger that let you do things like send a message silently or quickly call up a GIF while you’re chatting with your friends. Two of the shortcuts are available today, March 29th, according to Meta: @everyone and /silent. @everyone will let you notify everyone in a chat, which could be useful if you want to make sure to get everyone’s attention. (On behalf of your friends’ notifications, I beg you to please use this one responsibly.) However, if you want to send a message without pinging the whole group, you’ll be able to use the /silent shortcut, Meta says. In “the coming weeks,” there will be a few more shortcuts. /pay will let you send or request money... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/E89ZXnI

The Series 7 was the first Apple Watch to get fast charging. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge While the Apple Watch Series 7 didn’t come with longer battery life, it did offer faster charging — at least, it did until last week. Some users are now complaining the feature no longer works after updating to watchOS 8.5, according to a 9to5Mac report . Fast charging is exclusive to the Series 7. With it, Apple says the Watch’s battery can go from 0 to 80 percent in roughly 45 minutes. However, Series 7 owners on Reddit , Apple’s support forums , and MacRumors ’ forum are saying their Watches are now charging at a snail’s pace. A couple of Reddit users claimed that the Watch would only charge roughly 5 percent in 15–20 minutes. Meanwhile, a user on Apple’s forum claimed the Watch only charged 5 percent in an hour. For context, Apple says... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/JfU4Hwp

Sky Mavis Roughly $625 million worth of cryptocurrency has been stolen from Ronin, the blockchain underlying popular crypto game Axie Infinity . Ronin and Axie Infinity operator Sky Mavis revealed the breach on Tuesday and froze transactions on the Ronin bridge, which allows depositing and withdrawing funds from the company’s blockchain. Sky Mavis says it’s working with law enforcement to recover 173,600 Ethereum (currently worth around $600 million) and 25.5 million USDC (a cryptocurrency pegged to the US dollar) from the culprit, who withdrew it from the network on March 23rd. The attack focused on the bridge to Sky Mavis’ Ronin blockchain, an intermediary between Axie Infinity and other cryptocurrency blockchains like Ethereum. Users could... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/EaBuNGb

Image: ApeCoin DAO Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT holders can buy new merchandise items from Yuga Labs — but they can only use the newly-launched ApeCoin to do it, according to an announcement in the BAYC Discord server. Yuga Labs, which has a large stake in the organization backing ApeCoin, will get more ApeCoin (and more control over the organization) as NFT holders pay for their merch. That is, assuming they can. Continuing cryptocurrency’s trend of “money but worse,” users complained they were having trouble checking out. Hey everyone, we’re aware of the Coinbase Commerce issues during merch store checkout. They are working on a resolution now. If you encountered payment problems we’ll be following up with next steps soon. — Bored Ape Yacht Club... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/GqHCkKV

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On March 24th, EU governing bodies announced that they had reached a deal on the most sweeping legislation to target Big Tech in Europe, known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Seen as an ambitious law with far-reaching implications, the most eye-catching measure in the bill would require that every large tech company — defined as having a market capitalization of more than €75 billion or a user base of more than 45 million people in the EU — create products that are interoperable with smaller platforms . For messaging apps, that would mean letting end-to-end encrypted services like WhatsApp mingle with less secure protocols like SMS — which security experts worry will undermine hard-won gains in the field of message encryption. The main... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/UcpgHsv

The iPhone SE might not be meeting Apple’s sales expectations. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge While luxury electronics like the PS5 and graphics cards may still be selling out left and right, the demand may not be as high for easier-to-make budget offerings. According to a report from Nikkei Asia , Apple will be making 20 percent fewer iPhone SEs in the next quarter than it originally planned and 10 million fewer AirPods for all of 2022. Noted analyst Ming-Chi Kuo provided specific numbers in his note about the demand for the SE, saying that he expects Apple to ship 15 to 20 million SEs in 2022, as opposed to his previous estimate of 25-30 million (that’s somewhere between a 22 and 66 percent decrease for the year). The reports don’t point to supply chain issues or chip shortages, which have plagued much of the electronics... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/1xtQpCY

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple could pay an even larger periodic fine if the Dutch competition regulator doesn’t approve of its latest proposal to address its demands to allow dating apps to use alternate formats of payments. The Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) has fined Apple the maximum of €50 million (~$55 million USD) for failing to satisfy its order , and the fine on Monday marks Apple’s 10th penalty. Apple’s new proposal, submitted on the 27th, is currently under review by the ACM, which says it may force Apple to pay another round of fines “with possible higher penalties.” The Dutch regulator has been levying its fines in weekly €5 million (~$5.5 million USD) increments, but the ACM makes it clear that this amount is subject to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/0pPN2s5

SpaceX SpaceX says it will no longer build new vehicles of its Crew Dragon capsule, the spacecraft the company uses to take humans to and from the International Space Station, according to a report in Reuters . The plan for now is to cap the Crew Dragon fleet for carrying humans at four, which SpaceX will re-fly again and again to get crews to space. “We are finishing our final [capsule], but we still are manufacturing components, because we’ll be refurbishing,” SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell told Reuters . After each flight of a Crew Dragon, the spacecraft must go through a refurbishment process in Florida, where certain hardware is tweaked or swapped out to make the vehicle flight-ready again. SpaceX did not respond to a request for comment. “... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/zrgsx2A

The Nintendo Switch OLED model boasts a vibrant, 7-inch display and slate of minor upgrades. | Image: Nintendo The Nintendo Switch was, like most consoles during the pandemic, once in short supply. Thankfully, retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, and Walmart now routinely stock the Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, and upgraded Switch OLED model in multiple color configurations, giving those who struck out ample opportunity to purchase Nintendo’s versatile console. If you’re not sure where you can pick up a Switch as of right now, we’ve vetted stock and rounded up where you can purchase the Nintendo Switch , the Nintendo Switch Lite , and the Nintendo Switch OLED model online and in-store. We’ve also scoured the web for any bundle that seems like a good deal, as well as discounts that might be applicable. Where can I buy a Nintendo Switch right now? If... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/HJyeSVq

You can currently save $300 on the Surface Pro 8 at Best Buy. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge Monday doesn’t have to be all bad, especially when we’ve collected some of the best deals on the internet to ease you into your week. Take the latest version of the Microsoft Surface Pro 8, for instance, which you can currently grab in a high-end configuration at Best Buy for $1,299.99 instead of $1,599.99. This powerful tablet comes equipped with an 11th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage that can be supplemented with SD cards if you need a little extra space. The 13-inch, 120Hz display on the Pro 8 also features 2880x1920 resolution but can also be paired with an external monitor, thanks to its pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports. It even has a 3.5mm audio jack if you’re still using headphones that plug into something,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/4xPpnud

A keyboard with a lot of great ideas, well executed Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/BTsozYU

Reddit has brought back its April Fools’ Day project. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Reddit said Monday that it’s bringing back its r/Place April Fools’ Day experience for four days beginning April 1st. Alex Le, Reddit executive vice president for strategy and special projects said in a blog post that the move was meant to showcase “the magic of online communities, conversation, and collaboration.” The r/Place board, which launched on April 1st, 2017 featured a large, white pixel grid on which logged-in Reddit users could place colored pixels one at a time every five minutes just by tapping on it. It was wildly popular, attracting some 16 million tiles from more than 1 million users (but of course had its share of weird and crude images as well). For the latest iteration of r/Place, which begins April 1st at 9AM ET, log... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/FvJHr2i

Photo by Loren Grush / The Verge President Joe Biden is requesting a whopping $26 billion for NASA for 2023, roughly $2 billion more than the space agency received for the current fiscal year, according to newly released budget documents from the White House . If enacted as is, a third of that budget would go toward NASA’s Artemis program – the agency’s ambitious initiative to send humans back to the Moon. Roughly $7.5 billion is being set aside for Artemis, which aims to send the first woman and first person of color to the Moon as early as 2025. Part of that funding will go toward the development of a new lunar lander capable of taking humans to and from the lunar surface— a recent addition to the Artemis master plan. Roughly $7.5 billion is being set aside for Artemis ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/iEIH6J8

Coda producers Philippe Rousselet (L), Fabrice Gianfermi (R) and Patrick Wachsberger (C) posing with Code’s Best Picture award. | Frederic J. Brown/Getty After years of Hollywood working to re-establish the Oscars as a must-see TV event with tweaks to the ceremony and broadcast, the 94th Academy Awards singlehandedly reminded its viewership that nothing lands quite like genuinely unscripted moments that take everyone by surprise as they’re captured and broadcast in real time. Though Netflix brought more than a few contenders that were favored to win at to this year’s Academy Awards, Apple’s Coda made history last night by becoming the first streaming movie to nab a statue for Best Picture — an achievement made even more impressive by how few Oscars the film was nominated for (three) compared to the competition. While The Power of the Dog didn’t take home the award of the night, director... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/JchoHp0

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge A prolific hacking group run by teens Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/NdBOPRD

For the next few weeks, we’re showing you how to run various commonly used benchmarks on your PC. Reviewers like myself find these very helpful in comparing laptops we test to each other. But you don’t have to rely on us — you can easily run these benchmarks yourself on your own PC. Geekbench is one of the easiest and fastest ones to run and will show you how your device stacks up against the competition in a few key areas. Within Geekbench 5 (the latest release), there are a few different tests you can run. Geekbench CPU measures your processor’s performance, simulating both single-core and multi-core usage scenarios. When the test is complete, you’ll get both a single-core and a multi-core score. Geekbench Compute, by contrast, e... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/djW47eD

Coda’s stars after winning big at the awards. | Photo by David Livingston/Getty Images CODA has become the first film from a streaming service to win best picture at the Oscars, in a sign of the growing dominance of streamers like Apple, Netflix, and Amazon at Hollywood’s most prestigious awards ceremony. The Apple TV Plus film follows the struggles of Ruby Rossi (Emilia Jones), the only hearing member in a deaf family, as she tries to explore a life away from her family. Apple acquired the rides to CODA for $25 million in a bidding war after its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last year. As well as winning best picture, CODA ’s Troy Kotsur won best supporting actor for his role in the film, and its writer-director Siân Heder also took away the award for best adapted screenplay. Kotsur is the first Deaf actor to have... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ulr9RXI

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon workers claim they weren’t all properly alerted as what they thought was smoke filled the third floor at a Bessemer, Alabama warehouse on Friday, according to a report from the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) (via Input ). While workers on the third floor were told to clock out, go on unpaid voluntary time off, and evacuate, employees on the other floors were allegedly left to continue working as an unidentified vapor spread throughout the facility. The “smoke” was later found to be vaporized oil from a malfunctioning compressor. According to the RWDSU’s timeline of events, workers on the third floor evacuated around 1:30PM. Hours later, workers on the first floor started seeing the smoke-like substance and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/aCVpRBO

Users could previously watch delayed simulcasts for free on Crunchyroll. | Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Crunchyroll will no longer offer free ad-supported streaming for newly-released episodes, the anime streaming service announced in an update on its site (via Gizmodo ). Viewers who want to watch episodes of new or continuing series will have to upgrade to one of Crunchyroll’s premium plans, which start at $7.99 / month . Users didn’t need a subscription to watch simulcast titles before the change, but there was a tradeoff — Crunchyroll would delay the release of new episodes by one week for free users, while subscribers could watch them one hour after their premiere in Japan. This was something I (and a lot of other people using Crunchyroll for free) happily dealt with as long as I actually got to watch the new episodes. The new policy... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/GjngfIh

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Apple is reportedly planning to release an iPad Pro with the rumored M2 chip sometime between September and November of this year, according to Apple tracker Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter . Gurman expects Apple to issue a major update for the upcoming generation of iPad Pros, which will supposedly include support for MagSafe charging. As Gurman points out, Apple last gave the iPad Pro a significant update in 2018 , when Apple introduced a design with harder corners, an edge-to-edge display, and a USB-C connector. This update came about a year and a half after the release of the iPad Pro 10.5 in 2017 . The new iPad Pro is also rumored to have a glass backing Apple is on track to repeat the same pattern this year, as it launched the most... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/6KtidFQ

Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images The Academy Awards return this weekend to celebrate a standout year of film releases. With vaccinations now widely available, theaters saw record-breaking ticket sales as moviegoers seemed more willing to return to auditoriums to watch highly anticipated releases. But theaters haven’t completely edged out streamers — Netflix swept up a dozen nominations for its critically acclaimed drama The Power of the Dog and several more for its doomsday comedy Don’t Look Up . Folks with traditional cable bundles or an antenna are already teed up to watch the event live on ABC when it airs this evening. But if you’re short the hardware or a cable box, several services will carry the coverage as well. Who is hosting the Oscars? Wanda Sykes, Regina... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/3KwVGJf

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple Pay will no longer support Russian card payment system Mir, closing a loophole that let Russians continue to use the service amid economic sanctions put on the country, according to a report from Reuters . “Apple has informed NSPK [Russia’s National Payment Card System] that it is suspending support of ‘Mir’ cards in the payment service Apple Pay,” a translated announcement on Mir’s site reads. “Since March 24, uploading new ‘Mir’ cards to the service has been unavailable.” The company also notes any Mir cards previously added to Apple Pay will stop working over “the next few days.” Apple Pay first added support for Mir cards last year . Many Russian users have already been cut off from Apple Pay and Google Pay According to The... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/uH0ZQz3

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Uber has secured a 30-month — or two-and-a-half-year — license to keep its ridesharing services up and running in London, according to a report from the BBC . This marks the close of a lengthy battle with the city’s transportation agency, Transport for London (TfL), over Uber’s safety protocols. We’re delighted to announce @TfL has granted Uber a new 30 month licence in London. TfL rightly holds our industry to the highest regulatory and safety standards and we are pleased to have met their high bar. — Uber UK (@UberUK) March 26, 2022 “We’re delighted to announce @TfL has granted Uber a new 30 month licence in London,” Uber announced in a tweet on Saturday morning. “TfL rightly holds our industry to the highest regulatory and safety... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/tLYZcFS

When not in use, Samsung’s Frame TV can be used to display more than 1,400 works of art. | Image: Samsung Now that Samsung’s new Frame TVs are available for preorder , the 2021 model is selling at a new all-time low in multiple configurations until April 5th (or while supplies last). Typically $1,499.99, Woot is selling the HDR-compatible, 55-inch QLED TV for $899.99 , which is $100 cheaper than the previous low we saw during Black Friday and in the run-up to the Super Bowl. The 65-inch model is also on sale for $1,399.99 instead of $1,999, and both TVs come with a one-year warranty from Samsung. While the 2021 model lacks the matte, anti-reflective display found on this year’s model, they’re both designed to display artwork when not in use, allowing them to blend in more easily with your home’s decor. When turned on, they function as... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vSNP8nf

Lilith Walther Bloodborne ’s seventh anniversary was earlier this week, and even though FromSoftware lets fans languish without a PC port, Lilith Walther — creator of the popular Bloodborne PSX demake — continues to keep the community fed, watered, and loved with her new fan project: Bloodborne Kart . An announcement: pic.twitter.com/miydPUzZbR — Lilith.zip ️‍⚧️ (ps1 goth girl) BLM ACAB (@b0tster) March 25, 2022 Bloodborne Kart seems to be exactly what the name implies: a Bloodborne kart racer. It has the same graphics and overall vibe of the PSX demake, but instead of felling foul beasts, the Hunter will now get the opportunity to roam the streets of Yharnam and possibly beyond on a sweet-ass motorcycle. I’m hoping there will be the opportunity... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ACbBskc

The Bose QuietComfort earbuds are discounted to just $219.99 at Amazon and Best Buy right now. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge If you have yet to pick up a decent pair of true wireless earbuds, you can still buy the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds at Adorama and Amazon for $219.99 instead of $279.99, one of the lowest prices we’ve seen on these earbuds since Black Friday. There’s no shortage of noise-canceling earbuds available right now; however, we think these are worth your attention thanks to their excellent sound quality, impressive fit, and wireless — albeit, bulky — charging case. Even with newer options available like the Sony WF-1000XM4 and Samsung Galaxy Buds 2, we still count these among some of the best wireless earbuds you can buy, especially if superb noise cancellation is what you’re after. Read our review . If you’re looking for a solid discount on... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/l5BchZ1

UConnn’s Paige Bueckers faces off against UCF players Tay Sanders and Alisha Lewisin in the second round of the tournament. | Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Sweet Sixteen games in this year’s March Madness tip off tonight and tomorrow — all exciting games (like reigning national champions Stanford vs. Maryland) and one that is going to be deeply stressful for me personally (Connecticut vs. Indiana — go Huskies). You’d be forgiven for thinking that the games started yesterday, though. As of this writing, searching “sweet sixteen march madness” pulls up a schedule box for the men’s tournament, which did have that round start yesterday. The women’s games are relegated to a ribbon at the bottom. This is the first year that the women’s college basketball tournament is able to use the high-profile March Madness branding. The change came after an uproar over the embarrassingly inequitable... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/5x

Google has announced a pilot to allow for alternative payment systems in Android apps. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google announced on Wednesday that it would test letting Android developers use their own billing systems in their apps, the first step in what could lead to a dramatic reshaping of the app economy. However, Epic Games, which has been a strong proponent for opening app marketplaces and sued Google after the search giant removed Fortnite from Google Play for including direct payments, still isn’t happy. It plans to continue advocating for an app ecosystem that offers more choices, according to a statement the company shared with The Verge . “Apple and Google continue to abuse their market power with policies that stifle innovation, inflate prices and reduce consumer choice,” Corie Wright, Epic’s VP of public policy, said in the statement.... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Vg1MRKo

Rockstar Games Rockstar Games has announced it’s offering a new subscription service to GTA Online players. Dubbed GTA Plus, the subscription service grants players exclusive perks for $5.99 a month. According to the announcement: Being a GTA Plus member gets you a recurring monthly GTA$500,000 direct deposit to your Maze Bank account, plus the opportunity to claim properties in and around Los Santos that unlock gameplay updates you may have missed out on, special vehicle upgrades, Member-only discounts, GTA$ and RP bonuses, and more each month. Notably, this membership is only available for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X players, with no word on if the service will come to previous-gen systems or PC. Here’s a full list of the first month’s rewards: ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/kEb2s5q

Spotify is the latest company to suspend its services there. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Spotify is suspending its services in Russia as the country’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its second month. In a statement, the company appears to reference Russia’s new law that punishes spreading fake news about the military with up to 15 years in prison as the primary reason for why it’s shutting down in the country. “Spotify has continued to believe that it’s critically important to try and keep our service operational in Russia to provide trusted, independent news and information in the region,” according to a Spotify spokesperson, who asked not to be named because of “the situation in Russia.” “Unfortunately, recently enacted legislation further restricting access to information, eliminating free expression, and... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/CrEyTo0

A Frosties NFT avatar. | Frosties US government prosecutors have charged two men with fraud and money laundering over a cryptocurrency “rug pull” scheme. Ethan Nguyen and Andre Llacuna allegedly earned around $1.1 million by selling non-fungible tokens (or NFTs) based on cartoon-like characters called “Frosties.” After selling the NFTs, they shut down the project and transferred its funds to a series of separate crypto wallets, leaving Frosties owners bereft of promised rewards. According to the criminal complaint , the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating Frosties in January, shortly after receiving complaints about the scam. Frosties was a buzzy project whose 8,888 NFTs — priced at the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/YkujdLv

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google announced Wednesday it’s making some improvements to how it decides which product reviews it shows in Search results. The idea behind these and other recent product reviews updates is to ensure that reviews you see are high quality and actually include helpful information about a product you might be considering buying. The improvements build on earlier updates “to make sure that product reviews in Search meet certain criteria,” Google’s Perry Liu said in a blog post. Here are some examples of the criteria Liu says the company is looking for: Include helpful in-depth details, like the benefits or drawbacks of a certain item, specifics on how a product performs or how the product differs from previous versions Come from people who... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/T6xvVla

Spotify For years, a loose coalition of companies, including Spotify and Epic Games, has been railing against the so-called app store tax — taking Apple and Google to court and spurring regulators to investigate their up-to-30 percent cut of developers’ app revenue. They argue they’re locked into grossly overpriced billing, hosting, and curation services that sometimes hurt more than they help . So it was a surprise when, on Wednesday, Google revealed a pilot program with Spotify that will let some developers bypass Google Play billing on Android — letting Spotify and potentially others use their own payment platforms instead. But if you think that means Google’s going to give up its piece of the action, think again. Reading between the lines,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ORISF9U

Blizzard Entertainment In the wake of the Overwatch 2 beta date announcement and an apologetic video from game director Aaron Keller promising the team would give more consistent updates on progress , the Overwatch 2 news floodgates have officially opened. In this latest update, we’re offered a glimpse of Overwatch 2 ’s overhauled ping system. “We wanted to create a system that would enhance voice communication as well as provide alternative ways to share information with your team,” systems designer Gavin Winter says in the blog post . New features include character-specific callouts in which, when a player makes a ping, their teammates hear that notification in that player’s hero’s voice. The blog gives an example: “if you’re playing Tracer and ping an enemy... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/myeI49S

Spotify’s Car Mode for Android could be making a return. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Spotify is reportedly letting some Android users test out a new, voice-focused car mode after it removed Car View last year without any obvious replacement. According to a report from 9to5Google , which includes screenshots of the test, Car Mode is less like the hyper-simplified Car View that came before it and more like a version of Spotify’s usual interface that’s tweaked to make quick actions easier. While the current version of Car Mode that Spotify’s testing does have a tab that lets you access your recently played music, the search screen has been replaced by a voice control feature. The interface for controlling what’s currently playing has a similar layout to Spotify’s regular mode, which should let you use muscle memory (without... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2SzYaGb

Nanoleaf’s existing Essentials light bulb and light strip work with Thread, but won’t be updated to support Matter. | Image: Nanoleaf You shouldn’t be concerned about the delay of Matter, the new smart home interoperability standard, because we’re not. That’s the message from smart home device makers Eve Systems and Nanoleaf, who have been involved with developing the protocol that promises smart home nirvana since its earliest days. “I think the three-month delay might actually be a good thing,” says Gimmy Chu CEO of Nanoleaf. “I feel that now there’s more certainty across the industry that we’ll have unity at time of launch.” While there may be more certainty in the industry, current smart home owners are still in a quagmire of uncertainty around which products to buy and when. Especially now that Chu has confirmed to The Verge that Nanoleaf’s Thread-enabled A19... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/TOg1mZA

Adrienn Szabo/Paramount+ After seeing the first episode of Halo , I’m totally on board. I’m a Halo lore hobbyist, meaning that while I’ve enthusiastically experienced the campaigns of Halo ’s Combat Evolved through Guardians , go on regular Halopedia wiki dives, and own a well-loved copy of Eric Nylund’s The Fall Of Reach , I haven’t consumed everything the Halo universe has to offer. ( Ghosts of Onyx , I swear I’ll get to you one day.) But based on the Halo stories I do know, I think Paramount Plus’ series offers a far more compelling look at the Master Chief than anything the games have done so far. Spoilers for the first episode of Halo below: It’s hard translating video games to film and TV. It’s only recently been done right with Arcane , Castlevania , and the S... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/RrBu28X

Last week , AMD promised a new technology that should let you blow up your games to higher resolutions or increase their framerates without requiring the fancy machine learning hardware of Nvidia’s GPUs like Nvidia’s lauded DLSS. Now at GDC 2022, it’s revealing how the new FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 actually works — and that it’s coming to Microsoft’s Xbox game consoles too. While AMD says it can’t actually say when Xbox game developers might take advantage of FSR 2.0, it says it “will also be fully supported on Xbox and will be available in the Xbox GDK for registered developers to use in their games.” And it’s also giving the community a list of both AMD and Nvidia GPUs where you can expect FSR 2.0 to run — if... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/SKZ9cOz