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Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in MGM’s 2018 Tomb Raider. | Image: Warner Bros Tomb Raider’s movie rights are up for grabs. According to a report from TheWrap , the Amazon-owned MGM waited too long to create a sequel to its 2018 Tomb Raider film, freeing up the rights for the next Hollywood studio that wants to take a stab at creating an adaption of the long-running video game franchise. Several studios are currently engaged in a bidding war to snap up the Tomb Raider rights, TheWrap reports. And since the license come with no obligation to retain the same cast and crew, the next Tomb Raider film could be a total reboot that passes the Lara Croft baton to yet another actress. The 2018 Tomb Raider stars Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft, and was met with mixed reviews that criticized its weak portrayal of the series’... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/9x5l6OS

There’s a lot to be said for an app with one singular function, and that’s what makes the Tab app so magical. Unlike other bill splitting apps like Splitwise , which lets you split and track any type of expense, the Tab app exists to only split meal bills among a group of people. That’s it — that’s all it does. I was first introduced to the app by my friends when I lived in New York City. After many dinners and debates over who ordered an extra side of fries, who got three beers instead of two, and who just had an hors d’oeuvre in place of an entree, we were fed up with doing basic math so the five or six people at the table could each pay their fair share. Thus, we transitioned to the Tab app . Its appeal came from the ease of signing up... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/foVSiRI

Whether you want the best photo quality or ultra-portability, there’s a printer for you. The little prints Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/e3XDoN5

No Finder required.  Apple has made macOS very good at handling drag and drops . For example, I often pull a picture right out of the Photos app or Safari and drop it into iMessage or Slack. One thing that’s always slowed me down, though, is moving around more traditional files, like PDFs or other documents. But then I learned that quite a few apps, including many of the built-in ones, have a quick shortcut to get at the file you’re viewing. Using this shortcut (which is officially called the proxy icon ), you can easily do things like upload a PDF you have open in Preview to Google Drive without having to go looking for the file in Finder. Here’s how it works: GIF of someone dragging a file from Preview to a Safari window with Google Drive. ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2K4orhG

Image: Liam Daniel / Netflix Netflix is suing Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, the duo behind The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical over copyright infringement, as first reported by Deadline . The streaming giant filed the complaint in a Washington, DC district court just days after Barlow and Bear held a live, sold-out show dedicated to their Bridgerton -inspired album. After Bridgerton ’s 2020 debut, Barlow and Bear began creating music based on the Netflix original series and promoting the endeavor on TikTok, where it quickly gained popularity. As fans requested more content, Barlow and Bear soon had enough to create a 15-song album that went on to win a Grammy in April, a first for music originating on TikTok . On July 26th, Barlow and Bear held a concert at the Kennedy... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Ey57eaW

A Long March 5B rocket with the Wentian lab module lifts off from the Wenchang Space Launch Site. | Photo by Yang Guanyu/Xinhua via Getty Images China’s uncontrolled Long March 5B rocket reentered the Earth’s atmosphere over the Indian Ocean, landing somewhere near Sarawak, the Malaysian state on the island of Borneo. The US Space Command confirmed the rocket’s reentry at 12:45PM ET, but it remains unclear where its debris landed. In a translated post on Weibo , China’s Manned Space Agency said the rocket reentered near the same area, and that most of it burned up on its way down. Uncertainty about where the rocket would land rippled across the globe On July 24th, China used a Long March 5B rocket to launch a lab module to its unfinished Tiangong space station . Unlike most rockets, the Long March 5B thrusts its first stage into orbit when delivering its payload. This piece, which... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/VEOWTlY

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Indonesian government has blocked access to a range of online services, including Steam, Epic Games, PayPal, and Yahoo after the companies failed to comply with a new requirement related to the country’s restrictive content moderation laws, as reported earlier by Reuters . In line with the rules, companies deemed “Private Electronic System Providers” must register with the government’s database to operate in the country, or otherwise face a nationwide ban. Indonesia gave companies until July 27th to comply and has since banned those that haven’t. The requirement is part of an overarching law, called MR5 The requirement is part of an overarching law, called MR5, which was first introduced in 2020. As noted by Reuters , the laws give... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/8VGeFXu

As a giant panda, Meng Meng does not need to worry about corporate emails on her birthday. | Photo by Chen Jimin/China News Service via Getty Images Automated birthday emails are a constant of modern life, right up there with death, taxes, and computer updates with poor timing. Once a year, my inbox fills to the brim with reminders of just how many companies I’ve entrusted with my birthdate. But not this year. No, this year was going to be different. This year I went on a relentless unsubscribing kick, just ruthlessly clicking the unsubscribe button whenever something from a corporate mailing list came into my inbox. But I knew that some things were definitely going to still sneak through. See, companies can’t resist a birthday. It’s one of the easiest things they can do to get someone’s attention. “​​Birthday emails are one of the most effective emails you can send,” says a blog... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/2dxjpnU

Image: Mapbox This interactive world map visualizes “ a cross-verified database of notable people ” to show you the most notable person in your hometown — or anywhere else you might want to look. Topi Tjukanov, a geographer and senior map designer at Mapbox, put the visualization together, which features different influential people from fields including culture, science, leadership, and sports. What someone contributes to society to be considered notable can vary, so researchers tried to narrow it down and account for biases where possible. Did you know Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar and Barack Obama in Honolulu? Who is the most famous person from your home town? I made a map of the most notable people around the world. Built with @Mapbox . C... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/tC2ozEZ

Logitech’s budget-friendly G435 boasts color and comfort as well as a host of solid features. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A good gaming headset is practically a necessity these days. Clean and precise audio is essential for competitive gaming, allowing you not just to pinpoint your enemies but also to communicate effectively with your teammates. Moreover, recent developments in spatial audio and virtual surround sound have allowed headsets to meet — and occasionally surpass — more expensive audio setups, allowing even the most budget-conscious gamer to obtain a competitive edge at a fraction of the price. While you could always invest in a massive pair of speakers, they’re likely to earn you the dubious distinction of the worst roommate of the decade. Thankfully, the right headset will allow you to keep the running and gunning to yourself, which is why... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/aM3jPqk

It takes about five seconds to set up. If you want to know what frame rates your Steam games are running at, there are many third-party programs out there to help. But if all you need is a very basic counter and you don’t care about other hardware stats, you don’t need to download any of these — you can use a feature that’s built right into Steam. Here’s how to set up Steam’s built-in FPS counter for your PC. I go with the top left, myself. Open Steam. Go to Steam > Settings > In-Game . Under In-game FPS counter , select the corner where you’d like the counter to appear. You can also check High contrast color if you prefer. Click Ok . Now, go ahead and start your game. You should see the frame rate your game is running at displayed in the corner that you... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/1ZjINU8

Lawmakers are blaming “three hostile foreign actors.” | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The federal courts’ document system was hit by a breach with a “startling breadth and scope” in early 2020, according to a report from Politico that cites testimony from House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerrold Nadler. The Department of Justice (DOJ) reportedly informed the judiciary about the breach in March and told lawmakers that an investigation is ongoing. Other lawmakers, such as Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), expressed concern that the DOJ had been hiding information about the breach and was refusing to explain it to the public and Congress. Nadler reportedly said that the “system security failure” was the work of “three hostile foreign actors,” though, according to Reuters , security officials for the DOJ didn’t specify which countries... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Ygu4h5e

It’s a mod. After the Nier: Automata community went through a good 96-ish hours of pure, high-octane gas trying to figure out if a heretofore undiscovered church was a mod or an Easter egg or an ARG put together by Yoko Taro and his merry band of weirdos, a trio of modders has come forward and admitted it was a mod. “We have been loving all the discussions and theories — it has been an amazing journey,” reads a statement from the trio. “It has been inspiring to see the community come together after so many years, it has made all the hard work well worth it.” Image: Reddit The mod represents an impressive technological advancement for the Nier: Automata modding community, which in and of itself makes the entire “hoax”... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/NfBwdGa

Since 2013 , AT&T has quietly bilked customers out of hundreds of millions of dollars with a bogus “administrative fee,” a fee it more than doubled to $1.99 a month in 2018. For a few years there, a California class-action lawsuit made it seem like AT&T might finally get taken to task. But in May, both sides told a judge they’d settle for just $14 million — meaning customers may get less than 10 percent of what they paid AT&T, while AT&T gets to keep on charging them. In June, the judge tentatively approved that settlement — and today, July 29th, we’re hearing that AT&T is texting and emailing customers a link to a currently-blank website where the settlement claim form will live. According to the settlement agreement in Vianu v. AT&T... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/IzkMjde

It’s making several changes to the Play Store. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is trying to cut down on annoying, unskippable ads in Android apps and overall bad behavior in the Play Store ( via TechCrunch ). The company announced wide-ranging policy changes on Wednesday that update rules across several categories to be more specific, clamping down on loopholes developers may have used to skirt existing rules. One of the changes that will impact your everyday phone usage the most is for ads. Google says its updated guidelines, which will go into effect on September 30th, help ensure “high quality experiences for users when they are using Google Play apps.” The new policy tells developers that apps can’t pop up a full-screen ad that won’t let you close it after 15 seconds. There are some exceptions — if you... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/JoLVmMs

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge It might get cheaper and easier to buy popular tech products, like gaming consoles and graphics cards, after Congress approved $52 billion in funding for domestic semiconductor manufacturing. In a 243-187 vote on Thursday, the House passed the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen US science and technology innovation. The bill, a Biden administration priority, includes $52 billion in subsidies to encourage chip manufacturers to build out semiconductor fabrications plants, or “fabs,” in the US. After months of negotiations between the House and Senate, Thursday’s approval resolves the looming threat of chipmakers reconsidering plans to build US plants. Earlier this month, the groundbreaking ceremony for a $20 billion Intel... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/fF1lpxO

Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP via Getty Images Democrats are recharging the fight for net neutrality by introducing a new bill on Thursday that would codify the deeply divisive open internet rules. Led by Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act would reclassify broadband internet service as an essential service, authorizing the Federal Communications Commission to enforce rules banning discriminatory practices like blocking and throttling certain lanes of internet traffic. Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) is spearheading bicameral legislation in the House. “We need net neutrality so that powerful social media companies can’t step on their competition by cutting deals with big broadband providers,” Markey said during a Thursday press... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/GmiZ13H

Kristen Radtke / The Verge Say goodbye to the TikTok-style feed and at least some of those recommendations Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jRfgiYD

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images It’s been a long road for the “Build Back Better” plan — but Wednesday night, after over a year of both public and private negotiations , we finally saw a proposal that could actually clear Congress. Renamed the “Inflation Reduction Act,” the new Sen. Manchin-endorsed proposal would raise roughly $740 billion in revenue through a combination of tax increases and price negotiation — and divert $370 billion of that money to fighting climate change. If it makes it through Congress, the bill would be the largest climate spending package in US history — and with alarming heatwaves in progress all around the world, it couldn’t come at a better time. But while the sheer volume of the package is striking, it’s even more interesting where the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/MEd1vjS

SoulCycle woke up and chose violence with this campaign. | Image: SoulCycle, Equinox SoulCycle isn’t pulling any punches with its latest campaign that offers Peloton users free in-person classes... if they trade in their bikes. The move comes while Peloton is still dealing with excess inventory after misjudging post-quarantine demand. “We’re dead set on seeing you back with your pack, so we’re giving you the opportunity to trade in your bike for the equivalent value of in-studio classes at SoulCycle,” reads SoulCycle’s Souls Reunited campaign site. According to SoulCycle, that translates to 47 classes added directly to the user’s SoulCycle account. The offer is open to the first 100 people to trade in their bikes so long as they live in the contiguous United States. That said, there are a few other caveats. Users must... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/znFoTOu

Instagram showing a Timehop post in 2014. | Photo: The Verge When Facebook made a bid to buy Instagram in 2012 for a record-setting $1 billion, many people thought Mark Zuckerberg was making a mistake. But purchasing Instagram turned out to be one of the best tech acquisitions of all time, helping secure Facebook’s dominance in social media for years to come. It did that by quickly imprinting its influence on the famously simple photo-sharing app, adding new features that helped it grow to over 1 billion users. This kind of change could be controversial, even internally. Case in point: some early employees resisted getting rid of Instagram’s old requirement that every photo on the app had to be square-shaped. “It sounds so small now, but at the time, it was a sacred cow of the company,” said... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/CUM0XxY

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a complaint to block Meta from acquiring Within, the company behind the virtual reality fitness app Supernatural. The FTC claims Meta bought Within to absorb competition in the fitness market, where it already owned the similar app Beat Saber . The complaint follows months of speculation that regulators might intervene in Meta’s growing dominance of the consumer VR market , as well as an FTC probe reportedly opened in December of 2021. “Meta in recent years has set its sights on building, and ultimately controlling, a VR ‘metaverse,’” the FTC’s complaint says . It alleges that Meta saw fitness as a “killer app” market that would help it dominate the nascent VR medium, and Within threatened the... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ACnLBIx

Pictured: Sony summoning the Yakuza games to PlayStation Plus. Sony has announced that it’s bringing eight games from the (mostly) beloved Yakuza series to PlayStation Plus throughout the rest of the year, with the first hitting the service in August. Be warned, though — if you’re subscribed to the base PlayStation Plus Essential tier, you’ll only get one of the games. The whole thing is kicking off with Yakuza: Like a Dragon (a great place to start for those new to the series), which will be one of the PlayStation Plus monthly games for August. That means that you’ll be able to claim it with any PS Plus subscription — no matter which tier you pay for. The other monthly games are some heavy hitters, too. There’s Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 , which my colleague Andrew Webster said “might just be... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/YVoBvAg

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On the heels of Spotify’s blockbuster audio drama Batman Unburied , the company is promoting Gimlet executive Mimi O’Donnell to head of scripted fiction at the streamer, according to an internal memo obtained by The Verge . Batman Unburied notably unseated The Joe Rogan Experience when it debuted in May and appears to be a turning point for the streamer. While Spotify has already bulked up on licensing deals with hosts like Rogan and Call Her Daddy ’s Alex Cooper, Batman will likely open the door for more Hollywood series. Julie McNamara, Spotify’s head of talk studios, told staffers that O’Donnell will help produce the streamer’s next ambitious fiction programs, including an upcoming Jordan Peele project and the English adaptation of Caso... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/jslQIy3

Photo by Derek Davis/Portland Portland Press Herald via Getty Images The Biden administration has new plans to get lower-income households hooked up to solar energy. The White House announced two new programs today aimed at expanding access to “community solar” projects among subsidized housing residents and households that receive federal assistance to pay their utility bills. It also launched a new rewards program for existing community solar projects. “ Community solar ” essentially lets many different households share the benefits of one shared solar array. The most common way this takes shape is through a subscription program. A solar company or nonprofit organization will build out a solar farm, and then households that subscribe to the program get credit back on their electricity bills for the energy... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/4kjTud3

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google’s improving Gmail’s search results, which should make it easier to find a specific contact. In a blog post , Google explains it’s rolling out “intent matching for names and email addresses,” as well as new “personalized suggestions” in Gmail. With intent matching , a machine learning tool Google uses to help you find topics related to your search, Gmail should narrow down your search results and help you find exactly what you’re looking for. When you conduct a search, Gmail will now also display email addresses and first names that match your query before showing matching last names. This should come in handy if you’re used to searching for contacts based on their first name, as these results will now appear at the top. Google... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/heg5fjp

Image: PlatinumGames A 45-second clip has sent the Nier: Automata community into a collective state of euphoria, confusion, conspiracy, and good-ass memery. Reddit user sadfutago uploaded a clip to the Nier: Automata subreddit containing a never-before-seen section of the Copied City. Someone randomly posted a video on the Nier Automata subreddit showing they found a secret room in the Copied City. So far no one else has worked out how they managed to make this secret door appear. Literally 1 person on earth has accessed this room and we are uttered mind blown pic.twitter.com/g7W4JxiNDg — Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) July 25, 2022 In the clip, sadfutago opens a hidden door and descends a long ladder into a trippy new area. He passes through another... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/DrUXQFn

Games that can’t be played may have an exclamation point icon. | Image: Eden Marie on Twitter Scrolling through your Xbox game library, it can be difficult to tell which games you can actually play at the moment — perhaps you downloaded something from Game Pass, but it’s no longer on the service, or your friend came over to play a game and took the disc it was on home with them. Microsoft is currently testing a solution to this problem, with badges that will warn you that a game can’t be launched, according to Xbox engineering lead Eden Marie. In a Twitter thread , Marie explains that the feature adds two badges on screens where you see games, like the homescreen or game library. If you can’t play a game because of licensing issues — say, it was taken off of Game Pass, or you’re currently not logged into the Xbox Live account... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/fJSLX34

A year after launch, Sony’s PlayStation 5 remains (almost) as elusive as ever. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge As Sony’s PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition approach their second birthday, supplies of both of next-gen consoles may finally be catching up with demand. Both models still tend to sell out quickly during restock events, but the window for snagging a console online and in-store has become somewhat more forgiving in recent months. The process for buying a PS5 online hasn’t changed all that much, however, many retailers have made stocks more readily available at their brick-and-mortar locations. Thankfully, there are also still a number of ways to keep on top of supply whenever an online retailer or a store near you gets a fresh batch of the next-gen machines. With a little patience, determination, and luck, you can still get... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/m4lbw0k

Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images A volunteer on Andrew Yang’s 2020 presidential campaign is suing for discrimination and retaliation, alleging that after she spoke up about misogyny in campaign Facebook groups, she was denied opportunities for advancement. Now, Yang’s lawyers are trying to get the case thrown out, arguing that because the volunteer, Erica Lee, was never hired as a paid staffer, she doesn’t have the labor protections she’s claiming. “If their argument prevails, any volunteer anywhere can be horrible sexually harassed, or the victim of horrible discrimination, and there would be no recourse,” says Lee’s lawyer, Vincent P. White. “I don’t know if anyone wants to live in that world. It’s a horrific world that they’re describing.” Andrew Yang’s lawyers... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/wobBeuW

The Dell XPS 13 is one of the best laptops for high school and college students. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Shopping for a laptop can be stressful — doubly stressful if you or your children will be learning online for the first time. Kids of different ages have a range of different laptop use cases and different needs. And as the choices for best laptop and best Chromebook evolve, so do students’ needs. So I spoke to some experts on the subject: students themselves. My recommendations here are meant to accommodate a variety of preferences and price ranges. But they’re a jumping-off point rather than an exhaustive list: every student is different. Before making a decision, you’ll want to make sure you read reviews and try out devices yourself if you can. I’ll do my best to keep this article up to date with items that are in stock. Best laptop... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/6Rr5GHK

A woman wipes her forehead at the top of the stairs to the Lincoln Memorial during a heatwave on July 22nd, 2022, in Washington, DC. | Photo by Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images Summers are now so brutally hot that the US government created a new website, heat.gov , to help Americans stay safe during dangerous heat spells. It features maps that show current heat conditions across the country and provides other tools and resources to help people beat the heat. The main goal of the website is to prevent heat-related illness and death by sharing up-to-date information on extreme heat. Heat kills more people in the US than any other weather disaster. Often, it disproportionately harms vulnerable pockets of people, including children, older people, and communities of color who live in urban and formerly redlined neighborhoods designed in a way that traps heat . “We don’t have to accept this. Right? This doesn’t have... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/nGF

There is no straightforward “download” option for an image in a Google Doc. Issue There is no obvious way to download an image from a Google Docs document. Quick fix Download the document to an HTML file. The full story Like most online publications, The Verge uses a CMS (content management system) to upload its content to the web. This particular CMS demands that you upload any images you want to use separately from the text — which usually presents no problems. But recently, a writer submitted an otherwise fine story in which they had included the images within the text. The writer had gone on vacation, so I couldn’t ask them to send the images separately — and there didn’t seem to be an obvious way to download the pictures so I could pop them into the CMS. After doing some research, I discovered there are... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/xbHPpvr

Google Glass. Every major tech company is working on computer glasses. None of them really want to go first. They all remember how Google Glass, and the “Glassholes” who wore them in public, became the laughingstock of the world. So they’ve been waiting, biding their time, refining their prototypes , and every so often making sure investors know that, no, they’re not going to let the first potentially iPhone-sized opportunity since the iPhone slip by. But now, Google itself is taking the next step. And whether you’ve been dreading the moment when Big Tech’s all-seeing eyes reappear on people’s heads or merely counting the days until you can own a hands-free camera-computer, you should know we’re on the verge of contending with them once again. ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ZimPOBg

Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images for Coachella Meta launched a new feature on Monday that allows creators to monetize Facebook videos that feature music from major artists like Post Malone and Tove Lo. By incentivizing creators to stay within the legal bounds of music use on its platforms, Meta may be able to reassure the music industry that it takes copyright infringement seriously. Creators will have access to a library of music licensed by Meta and can monetize videos that feature licensed music with ads. Those creators will then get a 20 percent cut of the ad revenue, while Meta and the music rights holders split the rest. But the new system has ground rules: eligible videos must be at least one minute long, and the music cannot be the primary purpose of the video. It also does... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/41H3UqY

You too can make a Verge -themed Lego minifigure. | Screenshot by Emma Roth / The Verge Lego is testing a new online Minifigure maker, the Minifigure Factory , that lets you create a Lego person of your very own ( via Jay’s Brick Blog , which I promise has no relation to me). In the tool, you’ll be able to select different heads, headwear, torsos, legs, and accessories for your custom Minifig. For the torso, you can go really deep on customization by applying decals and custom text. (Lego will be moderating the designs to prevent users from making inappropriate Minifigs, according to Jay’s Brick Blog .) There are some fun accessories you can pick from, too, like a laptop, a pretzel, and a pizza. Completed Minifigs will cost $11.99, though you can only buy one per household. Screenshot by Emma Roth / The Verge ... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vVKJ6mX

The gang’s all here. | Image: Nickelodeon The first animated movie from Avatar Studios, the team Nickelodeon set up to work on movies and shows in the Last Airbender universe, will feature Avatar Aang and his friends, according to an announcement made during San Diego Comic-Con ( via Gizmodo ). While there’s no word on casting or a story synopsis yet, some fans have expressed excitement over the possibility of getting to see Team Avatar — made up of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Suki, and, of course, Appa — in something new. According to Polygon , the show will focus on Team Avatar as young adults, giving us a look at some of the events that happen between The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra . There are, of course, a fair share of people who were hoping to see something f... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/RONZyMb

Anker 733 Power Bank (GaNPrime PowerCore 65W). | Image: Anker Anker just showed off a slew of new gallium nitride (GaN) chargers dubbed GaNPrime , which adopt the latest GaN 3 fast-charging tech to push up to 150 watts of power while taking up even less space than the previous generation. Anker points out that its new flagship 150W GaNPrime charger is 38 percent smaller than Apple’s 140W GaN MacBook Pro charger , and Anker’s 120W version is 39 percent smaller than Apple’s 96-watt MacBook Pro charger, which provides an obvious edge in portability. Compared to Anker’s own previous generation chargers, the sizes are only slightly smaller. But they can still provide more power for more devices. “The new [737 GanPrime] 120W charger is 8 percent smaller in volume than the Anker 736, but can output 20W more... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/154r9oT

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple has settled its lawsuit with Chicago over the city’s so-called “Netflix tax,” according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter . The tax placed a 9 percent levy on “amusements that are delivered electronically” — essentially targeting streaming services. The exact terms of the settlement weren’t made public. Though, Bloomberg Tax last year reported that revenues from the tax — widely thought to be the first of its kind — grew to over $30 million in the year ending June 30th, 2021. The decision has been a long time coming. Chicago introduced the new tax in 2015 as it attempted to make up for the lost revenue from traditional brick-and-mortar stores. Apple filed its challenge in 2018, and was one of many groups and companies... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/4jiHGvm

A stock photo of a chess-playing robot in Shanghai — unconnected to this incident. | Photo by Gao Yuwen/VCG via Getty Images A chess robot broke the finger of a seven-year-old boy playing in a tournament in Russia, according to reports from local news outlets (seen via The Guardian ). The incident happened last week at the Moscow Chess Open, where the robot was hired to play competitors. Video of the incident (below) shows the machine is a standard industrial robot arm customized to move pieces on three chess boards simultaneously. “The robot broke the child’s finger. This, of course, is bad,” Sergey Lazarev, President of the Moscow Chess Federation, told Russian news agency TASS (translation via Google Translate). Said Lazarev: “The robot was rented by us, it has been exhibited in many places, for a long time, with specialists. Apparently, the operators... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/zoT3Ffu

A Long March 5B rocket with the Wentian module takes off from Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site. | Photo by Hou Yu/China News Service via Getty Images China successfully launched its second module, called Wentian, to the Tiangong space station early Sunday morning ( via SpaceNews ). Wentian took off aboard a Long March 5B rocket from the Wenchang Space Launch Site in Hainan, China at 2:22AM ET (2:22PM local), docking at the Tiangong space station about 13 hours later at 3:13PM ET (3:13AM local). The Wentian module contains equipment that allows the Chinese astronauts, also known as taikonauts, to perform various scientific experiments during their time on the station. As noted by The New York Times , the additional module will also provide three extra spaces to sleep, as well as another airlock that crewmembers can use to conduct spacewalks. Watch this footage of #Wentian docking.... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/vQpHPs3

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk allegedly fractured an old friendship with Google co-founder Sergey Brin after having an affair with his wife, Nicole Shanahan, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal . Sources familiar with the situation told the WSJ that the couple filed for divorce earlier this year, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Musk and Shanahan’s affair allegedly occurred at the high-profile Art Basel event in Miami following Musk’s split with then-girlfriend Claire Boucher, also known as Grimes. Sources tell the WSJ that Brin and Shanahan were separated but still living together at the time. The couple’s relationship was reportedly strained due to issues related to the COVID-19 lockdowns and their three-year-old daughter. Musk’s... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/rNXyQIq

The OnePlus 10T in green. | Image: OnePlus The OnePlus 10T isn’t due to launch until August 3rd , but it wouldn’t be a OnePlus phone if the company didn’t reveal a few details early. Today, we’re getting a look at the device’s exterior design, which reveals a couple of interesting (and, depending on your viewpoint, potentially disappointing) changes compared to its predecessor. Although the 10T’s overall design is similar to that of the OnePlus 10 Pro, there’s no alert / mute slider this time, nor is there any sign of the Hasselblad branded-camera system found on recent OnePlus flagships. The alert slider has been a staple of OnePlus’ flagship phones for years, offering a quick and easy way to put its phones into silent and vibrate modes without having to tap through any onscreen... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/v5SsdtU

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Verizon Fios is the latest provider to drop One American News (OAN) network, a move that leaves the right-wing news channel without a major carrier, as reported earlier by The Daily Beast . In a notice on its website , Verizon explains viewers will no longer have access to OAN starting July 31st. “Our negotiation with OAN has been a typical, business-as-usual carriage negotiation like those that routinely happen between content distributors and content providers,” Verizon said in a statement to The Daily Beast . “These negotiations were focused on economics, as they always are, but OAN failed to agree to fair terms.” Verizon didn’t immediately respond to The Verge ’s request for comment. OAN is left without a major broadcasting platform OAN,... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/p20F6DO

The next big Marvel series on Disney Plus is She-Hulk — and at Comic-Con this evening, Marvel Studios provided a fresh look at the show. The new trailer has a decidedly more lighthearted tone than the first , with Bruce Banner explaining just how important both spandex and yoga are when you’re a gigantic superhero. But it also gets into some legal drama and, of course, includes some cameos from elsewhere in the Marvel cinematic universe. The trailer was released during a SDCC panel that also detailed the future of the fifth phase of the MCU, which includes films like Blade , Captain America: New World Order , and Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 3 , alongside Disney Plus series like the second season of Loki . Elsewhere at SDCC, Marvel also... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/c8WBxdh

Netflix Though the first glimpses of Netflix’s upcoming adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman were already plenty promising, it was difficult to get a sense of how much the show would lean into the graphic novel’s focus on the macabre. Along with teasing out some of the more eye-popping moments that’ll shape The Sandman ’s first season, a new trailer from San Diego Comic-Con also makes clear just how dark the series is going to get. The Sandman ’s latest trailer once again finds Morpheus / Dream of the Endless (Tom Sturridge) newly-freed from his imprisonment by mortals, and in need of retrieving restoring himself to his former power. Some of The Sandman will seemingly follow as Dream tracks down a number of sacred magical items and returns to... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/GAgYzIm

Photo by Loren Grush / The Verge Omead Afshar, the Tesla executive tasked with overseeing operations at the company’s Texas factory, is reportedly the subject of an internal investigation over a glass purchase deemed “suspicious,” according to a report from Bloomberg . Sources close to the situation told Bloomberg that Afshar will likely go on a leave of absence before Tesla cuts him from the company completely. Afshar reportedly placed an order for a “special” type of glass that isn’t all that easy to procure amid supply chain constraints, and told staff it was for a “secret project.” According to Bloomberg , Tesla’s finance department flagged the glass purchase earlier this year, sparking the internal probe led by David Searle, Tesla’s acting head of legal. Afshar has... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/tip278v

Image: Paramount The new Star Trek: Picard trailer gives us a first look at the stars set to reprise their roles in the series’ third and final season. Paramount Plus debuted the one-minute trailer at San Diego Comic-Con, which features most of the main cast from Star Trek: The Next Generation , including Patrick Stewart, LeVar Burton, Jeri Ryan, Michelle Hurd, Michael Dorn, Marina Sirtis, Jonathan Frakes, and Gates McFadden. The teaser gives us brief glimpses at each character, along with short, but profound quotes. Notably absent from the trailer is Brent Spiner, although Paramount Plus hinted at his appearance in a trailer back in April . Season 3 reunites Jean-Luc Picard with his old crewmates, and is set to debut on Paramount Plus in 2023. But... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/ErQjzim

Image: Helen Sloan / HBO Game of Thrones in 4K HDR is set to arrive on HBO Max this August. You’ll get to stream all eight seasons with support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, making for a nice way to bide the time before the series premiere of House of the Dragon on August 21st . Only those who subscribe to HBO Max’s ad-free plan, which costs $14.99 / month or $149.99 / year, will get access to the new formats. Luckily, you won’t have to wait to see House of the Dragon in 4K, either — HBO says it’s debuting the Game of Thrones spinoff in 4K with support for HDR 10, Dolby Vision, and Dolby Atmos. While Game of Thrones is already available in 4K on Bluray, streaming on HBO Max saves you from paying $150 or more outright for the entire boxset. Watching on Bluray... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/XYoa8eH

Dwayne Johnson as Black Adam. | Warner Bros. During the Black Adam panel at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con , star Dwayne Johnson emphasized that even though his character has no problem killing or maiming people who get in his way, he’s really more of an antihero than a proper villain. Watching Black Adam ’s latest trailer, though, and the way the movie’s titular character bashes a number of DC’s classic superheroes, it’s hard not to see Teth-Adam as a clear and present danger. Black Adam’s latest trailer once again gives you the briefest of glimpses of the tragedy in Teth-Adam’s (Johnson) past that ultimately leads to his becoming a magically empowered superhuman somewhat similar (at least in power set and costume) to Shazam . Though Adam’s unable to save his family from a cruel... Continue reading… from The Verge - All Posts https://ift.tt/Y7Cr8kE