Technology

A new product for Nintendo Switch users has just been released on Japan’s Greenfunding crowdfunding page. This product, named the ORION, is an 11.6-inch HD display that was designed to fit over the Switch where both the Joy-Cons controllers can be then slid onto the sides of the display like the actual Switch — offering a more enjoyable experience for on-the-go group gaming. The ORION also features an anti-glare coating, a display stand, dual 2.5W output speakers, USB Type-C power input that acts as a mobile battery pack, and a headphone jack. For those that require extra battery life, additional battery packs can be strapped on using velcro straps on the back. Those looking to learn more can head over to Greenfunding to back the project for ¥33,200 JPY (approximately $290 USD). In other t...

A telecoms blackout has reportedly hit Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine, marking one of the most serious communications disruptions of the conflict so far. The blackout was reported by the internet shutdown tracker NetBlocks on March 3rd at 8:23PM local time (1:23PM ET). NetBlocks said that residents had reported massive blasts at a thermal power plant and electrical substation. A power outage tracker monitoring the region also said that it was no longer receiving data for Sumy Oblast. Sumy Oblast is one of 24 administrative regions, known as “oblasts,” that make up Ukraine and has a population of roughly one million people. Social media users reported that explosions had damaged the combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Sumy, resulting in a loss of heat, water and electricity. A video...

Clean energy just had a record-setting year in the US, but without a drastic shift in policies, oil and gas will continue to dominate the US energy sector for the next three decades, according to two new energy reports released today. The Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) annual energy outlook forecast that the US, the world’s top producer of oil and gas, will continue to produce record amounts of crude oil and gas through 2050 if it continues down its current path. Petroleum and gas will also continue to be the country’s “most-consumed” sources of energy through the middle of the century unless something changes. “Though renewable sources grow faster, there is still a large established base of fossil fuel use that we simply do not see losing their predominance through 2050, at lea...

Twitter will be fully re-opening its offices and bringing back business travel starting on March 15th, according to a post written by CEO Parag Agrawal. In his note (see the full text below), Agrawal reiterates the policy put into place by former Twitter lead Jack Dorsey, saying that employees will be allowed to work remotely full-time if that’s what they’re comfortable with. While Agrawal says that he wants Twitter employees to work wherever they “feel most productive and creative” and that the company is committed to “truly flexible work,” his statement does lean a lot on the benefits of office work. It mentions how difficult distributed work is while also saying that “office visits, team meetings, and events all bring that culture to life in such a powerful way.” Twitter is going for a ...

Apple is beginning to change its mask requirements for employees, according to Bloomberg. Vaccinated corporate staffers will not have to wear a mask at offices where “local indoor-mask mandates have been eliminated,” while masks will be optional for retail workers at “a small number of locations” beginning Friday, the publication says. Just last week, Apple began to drop mask requirements for Apple store customers in several states. At the time, employees were still required to wear masks, but it appears Apple is beginning to relax those rules for some. Apple had previously dropped mask requirements for some stores and offices in June, but brought them back in July. Apple didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment from The Verge. It’s still unclear when Apple plans to fully reopen i...

Google’s testing a darker dark mode for its Android search app (via Android Police), according to 9to5Google. This new shade still isn’t the same as the one presented in Google’s test of a pitch-black dark mode on desktops last month. Rather, the one spotted in the mobile app is darker than the usual dark gray but still lighter than pitch black. I momentarily had the pitch-black search page on desktop, but shortly after, it switched back to dark gray. The new dark mode in Google’s mobile app could be more attractive for devices with OLED displays looking to save battery life, or who just prefer to use dark mode more. Android Police said that the new shade is available Google’s latest 13.8 beta in the Google Play Store which you can get via APKMirror, an archive that allows Android users to...

Osom, the company formed by Essential’s employees after the startup went under, has released new details about its upcoming OV1 phone, including a very familiar list of build materials. Meant to compete with flagships from Apple, Google, and Samsung, the OV1 will have a stainless steel and titanium housing, a ceramic back, Corning Victus cover glass, and a Qualcomm processor. The stainless steel is for the phone’s frame, while titanium will be used for accents like the power and volume buttons as well as the ring around the camera bump, according to Android Police. It sounds like the phone will have a heft to it — Osom says the OV1 will be “noticeably bigger” than the Essential Phone, which had razor-thin bezels and a 5.7-inch screen. The company also says the phone will come in white and ...

Nike announces a new change to its widely-used SNKRS reservation system, moving away from its previous shoe-securing program strategy. Formed in 2018, as a first-come, first-served mechanism for consumers to reserve highly sought-after drops, the brand will now incorporate a “draw-like” system that allows everyone a better chance at securing items. The new development will integrate bot-filtration tools and will protect buyer integrity and experience authenticity. The SNKRS Pass system was instituted by Nike as a way for consumers to enjoy the convenience of shopping without the hassle of store crowds or waiting in long lines. In a statement release, Nike shared further details on the program update: “Our goal is to create experiences that are less stressful and more convenient, and we’re ...

One of my biggest computer pet peeves is copying and pasting text. Not the actual mechanism of getting words from one document to another, but the way that modern computers insist on trying to be overly helpful and copying not just the text I want, but all the formatting that comes with it, mucking up my emails and my documents. Pure Paste is a neat new menubar app for macOS that aims to fix that: when it’s open, it automatically strips out any formatting on text you copy, allowing you to paste clean, unformatted text every time. There’s also an option to only clear formatting when you ask Pure Paste to (either through clicking on the menubar icon or through a keyboard shortcut). For those worried about security concerns, the developer notes that while the app does access your clipboard, i...

Verizon announced Thursday that it’s launching a new platform in partnership with Netflix, Peloton, Disney Plus, and other streamers as a hub for customers to “discover, purchase and manage some of their favorite subscriptions.” Called Plus Play, the platform will launch with a select group of customers and brands at the end of the month, with a wider launch later this year, the company said in a news release. Plus Play will centralize streaming subscription services with no additional cost to Verizon subscribers. Plus Play will let Verizon customers manage subscriptions across devices and provide information about deals on content services, like its discount for access to the Disney Plus / Hulu / ESPN Plus bundle and other promotional offers. However, with Verizon and other service provid...

Netflix’s foray into trivia continues with its newly announced series Trivia Quest, an interactive experience that will launch April 1st. Much like its other interactive series like Black Mirror: Bandersnatch or Netflix’s similarly trivia-centered Cat Burglar — which launched last month — Trivia Quest is a narrative interactive experience, meaning each “win” will help move the story along. For Trivia Quest, correctly answering the game’s questions will also help free the friends of the protagonist, Willy, who vows to save hostage citizens of Trivia Land captured by a knowledge-hungry villain named Evil Rocky. Trivia Quest is the latest show to join Netflix’s growing slate of interactive titles. It’s the second game, after Cat Burglar, to include a trivia element — something that Netflix VP...

In the latest salvo from hacktivists working in support of Ukraine, an Anonymous-linked group has defaced a website belonging to Russia’s Space Research Institute (IKI) and leaked files that allegedly belong to the Russian space agency Roscosmos. As reported by Vice, hackers appear to have breached one subdomain of the IKI website, although other subdomains remain online. The compromised part of the site relates to the World Space Observatory Ultraviolet project (WSO-UV), a project similar to the Hubble Space Telescope and planned for launch in 2025. A popular Twitter account tied to the loosely organized Anonymous movement shared details Thursday morning and attributed the action to a group known as v0g3lSec. At time of publication, the uv.ikiweb.ru site was inaccessible. An archived vers...