Critical Role’s Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, and Travis Willingham go head-to-head-to-head in Choose Your Squad: ‘The Legend of Vox Machina’ edition.
Facebook can’t use your sexual orientation to target ads, EU court says
Meta cannot target a user’s sexual orientation in its personalized ads — even if they are openly queer and make public statements about the subject, the European Union’s highest court ruled Friday. The case was brought from longtime Meta antagonist Max Schrems, as Wired reports. The Austrian activist, whose separate privacy case recently led to…
Ben Horowitz says he’ll donate to Kamala Harris after all
Hedging one’s bets, I suppose. | Photo by Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images After the podcast where Ben Horowitz repeatedly congratulated himself for being brave enough to support Donald Trump in public, it turns out Horowitz will also be donating to Kamala Harris. Or so he says. “As I mentioned before, Felicia and I have known Vice…
Foamstars is going free-to-play starting today
Square Enix’s multiplayer shooter Foamstars is moving to a free-to-play model. The four-player team multiplayer melee officially turned into a free game today on Sony’s PlayStation 4 and 5 meaning you also won’t need a PlayStation Plus subscription to play it, according to a posting on the studio’s support page. If you purchased the game…
Intel says its Raptor Lake crashing chip nightmare is over
Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge Intel may have one less worry on its very full plate: it believes it has now fully addressed its desktop CPU instability woes with 13th and 14th Gen “Raptor Lake” chips. While the company says there’s still no fix for processors that are already damaged, it confirms to…
Fisker faces more bad news as the SEC starts investigating its business practices
The past week hasn’t been the kindest to the electric vehicle industry. Now, it’s capped off with news that the EV startup Fisker is the subject of an investigation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). TechCrunch reported that SEC officials sent several subpoenas to Fisker. The filing doesn’t specifically say what the subpoenas…
The latest on the WordPress fight over trademarks and open source
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge WordPress and its cofounder Matt Mullenweg are embroiled in a public battle against the third-party hosting provider WP Engine. Continue reading… Please follow and like us:
Soon you’ll be able to fling around the klutzy schlub in Human Fall Flat on VR
Why is it so satisfying to toss, drop, throw and fling ragdoll characters down steps, out of windows and into oncoming traffic in games like Human Fall Flat? Ragdoll games just know how to scratch the lizard part of our brain that enjoys being the destructive force of mayhem while also meeting the moral center…
No one can actually use Meta’s newest AI tool, Movie Gen
Meta just announced a new generative AI model to help users turn simple text into images, videos, and audio clips. Meta Movie Gen allows users to input text and automatically generate new videos, personalize videos, do video editing, and generate audio, all of which is trained on a “combination of licensed and publicly available datasets.”…
The best Garmin watches for training and everyday life
Garmins aren’t just multisport behemoths anymore. | Illustration by Will Joel / The Verge Garmin may be best known for its hardcore fitness watches, but it’s got an extensive line of lifestyle offerings, too. Continue reading… Please follow and like us:
MKBHD’s wallpaper app updated with fewer ads
Image: MKBHD via YouTube MKBHD’s new wallpaper app has received its first big update after users criticized the app over pricing and the advertising setup for free accounts. On Friday, the Panels account announced on X that people using the app for free can now download high-resolution images — not just standard-definition ones — by…
X lost a court battle after trying to claim ‘Twitter ceased to exist’
X has lost a legal fight in Australia in which the company tried to avoid a $400,000 fine by claiming that Twitter no longer exists. The creative legal argument, first spotted by ArsTechnica, came amid a more than year-long dispute with Australia’s eSafety Commission. The commission had asked the company, then known as Twitter, to…
Samsung’s One UI now covers all of its consumer devices, including TVs and appliances
Samsung will begin using the One UI name for all its consumer devices, now including TVs and home appliances. Executive Vice President Sally Hyesoon Jeong made the announcement at the company’s 2024 developer conference (via 9to5Google). The One UI branding was previously exclusive to its Galaxy phones, tablets and wearables. “One UI now goes beyond…
From AOL Time Warner to DirecTV and Dish: 20 years of media mergers
Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge This week, DirecTV announced it intends to buy Dish, Sling TV, and the rest of EchoStar’s television business for a dollar (while also taking on all of Dish’s debt), combining almost 20 million satellite TV subscribers from two companies that have been circling one another for decades. But it’s…
EU court rules social networks can’t use personal data forever
Once again, the European Union has issued a ruling preventing Meta from going too crazy with user information. The top court in the EU ruled that limits must be put in place for how long Meta and other social media networks can use people’s information for ad targeting strategies. TechCrunch reported that the EU’s highest…
Why Pharrell Williams made his biopic ‘Piece by Piece’ a Lego movie
Pharrell Williams details his decision to go full Lego in his biopic ‘Piece by Piece’ Please follow and like us:
IRS expands free Direct File program to 12 new states
The Internal Revenue Service’s free tax filing program, Direct File, will be open to residents of 12 new states for the 2025 tax return season. Those states are Alaska, Connecticut, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to an IRS announcement. They join 12 states — Arizona,…
The third-gen Oura Ring is up to $100 off in this early Prime Day deal
Amazon Prime Day is right around the corner, so the deals are already coming in hot. For instance, the Oura Ring is up to $100 off. The discount depends on which design you go for. The Stealth Horizon design is $350 in all sizes, while many standard colors are $300. The gold option, however, jumps…
TikTok is convinced a buried rug in a woman’s yard contains a body
TikTok loves a good true crime mystery. It’s not uncommon for folks to go viral over somewhat creepy stories where viewers can try to guess what happened. The latest viral series involves a buried rug, cadaver dogs, and lots of theories from TikTok. In short, folks online were enthralled by the story of a woman…
Matt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me’
Matt Mullenweg at WordCamp 2024 in Europe. | Image: WordCamp The lines between the WordPress open-source project, the nonprofit backing it, and the commercial arm owned by Automattic are blurring. Continue reading… Please follow and like us:
Amazon has one pretty good deal on a 2-in-1 laptop ahead of October Prime Day
Combining the oomph of a PC with the creative functionality of a tablet, 2-in-1 laptops make solid buys for shoppers who prioritize versatility and value. In the lead-up to Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon’s “October Prime Day” sale on Oct. 8 and 9, the retail giant isn’t offering a ton of great deals on 2-in-1…
Arc’s ‘better mobile browser’ is now available on Android
Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge After months of waiting, now Android users can take the Arc Search app for a spin. It’s now available as an open beta on the Google Play Store after developers teased an Android version of the app in August. Arc is The Browser Company’s take on web browsing, billing…
The smartphone-sized Boox Palma e-reader’s on sale exclusively for Verge readers
The 6.1-inch Boox Palma looks a lot like a smartphone, but it’s designed to be an e-reader. | Image: Boox Kindles are great and all, but if you want a pocketable e-reader that doesn’t require you to lock yourself into Amazon’s ecosystem, the Boox Palma might be worth a look. The 6.1-inch ebook reader normally…
The Oura Ring Gen 3, our favorite smart ring, is nearly matching its best price to date
The fashionable and discreet Oura Ring Generation 3 is down to nearly its best price to date. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Oura may have just announced the new Oura Ring 4, but until its release on October 15th, the Oura Ring Generation 3 is still the best smart ring on the market….
Fast-Growing Vote-to-Earn ICO Flockerz Hits $400K Mark – Next Big Meme Coin?
Flockerz, a new meme coin aiming to revolutionize decentralization with community-driven governance, is rapidly gaining momentum. Its ongoing presale has surpassed $400K, attracting significant interest from retail and institutional investors. As the crypto market prepares for a potential parabolic bull run, smart money increasingly targets projects with strong fundamentals and community engagement. Flockerz has caught…
New iOS update fixes microphone and password problems
There’s a new fix available for certain iPhones and iPads that addresses issues with recording and password security. Apple released two new patches including iOS 18.0.1 for iPhones and iPadOS 18.0.1, according to the support website. The update also finally allows users with an M4-powered iPad to upgrade to iOS 18, after the initial version…
Nearly a quarter of iPhone users say green bubbles are a dating dealbreaker, new survey reveals
If you’re an Android user, and you’ve been sensing some deep tensions between yourself and iPhone users, you may not be imagining it. According to a new survey conducted by All About Cookies, some iPhone users “think less” of others represented as a green bubble while texting, which often depicts Android users. Conversely, a notable…
Meta deems red triangle a proxy for Hamas support, will enforce removal
Meta has deemed the inverted red triangle (and its accompanying emoji) a proxy for pro-Hamas support, and is enforcing its removal on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The new policy was initially communicated only in internal guidelines, discovered by the Intercept. The inverted red triangle emoji has been used widely among internet users in…
Finding a gift that kids actually like is tricky. This guide will make it easier.
Finding the best gift for a kid requires attention to detail — and an ear for their reactions to various toy commercials. Kids can be particular. The things kids like change not just with age, but also with evolving trends from TV shows and new technology. If parents are lucky enough, their kid will write…
Meta’s Movie Gen looks like a huge leap forward for AI video (but you can’t use it yet)
At this point, you probably either love the idea of making realistic videos with generative AI, or you think it’s a morally bankrupt endeavor that devalues artists and will usher in a disastrous era of deepfakes we’ll never escape from. It’s hard to find middle ground. Meta isn’t going to change minds with Movie Gen,…
Pick up Amazon’s Echo Buds while they’re on sale for $25 for Prime Day
We are just a few days from the official kickoff of Amazon Prime Day, but the deals have already been filling up our inbox. This one’s a doozy. Amazon’s well-reviewed Echo Buds earbuds are on sale for $25, which is half off and a record low price. Amazon’s Echo Buds actually made our list of…