Technology

The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, The Information reported Friday. The Information describes the probe as an “in-depth investigation into the deal,” which could signal that it will stretch on for many months. The investigation also means the deal will be scrutinized by an FTC newly headed up by Lina Khan, an antitrust advocate and an Amazon critic. The FTC is focused on “the larger implications of the deal for Amazon’s market power,” The Information reported based on information from two people who knew of the probe, and that “the FTC is wary of whether the deal will illegally boost Amazon’s ability to offer a wide array of goods and services, and is not just limited to content production and distribution.” It was widely expected the...

A sweeping executive order aimed at promoting economic competition and signed Friday by President Joe Biden called on the Federal Trade Commission to institute rules to curb anticompetitive restrictions that limit consumers’ ability to repair gadgets on their own terms. Tucked into the executive order that covered 72 initiatives to promote competition in the US economy, Biden specifically asked the FTC to crack down on “unfair anticompetitive restrictions on third-party repair or self-repair of items, such as the restrictions imposed by powerful manufacturers that prevent farmers from repairing their own equipment.” The order is a significant win for the right to repair advocates who have long championed a consumer’s choice to have their technology fixed either by third parties or on their...

Earlier today President Biden signed the Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy, and in it there were several provisions relating to net neutrality. The prior administration’s FCC and FTC rolled back Obama-era rules in those areas, and now there is a clear agenda to restore them. Directives for the FCC from the order: (i) adopting through appropriate rulemaking “Net Neutrality” rules similar to those previously adopted under title II of the Communications Act of 1934 (Public Law 73-416, 48 Stat. 1064, 47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.), as amended by the Telecommunications Act of 1996, in “Protecting and Promoting the Open Internet,” 80 Fed. Reg. 19738 (Apr. 13, 2015); (iv) prohibiting unjust or unreasonable early termination fees for end-user communications contracts, enabli...

Samsung recently launched a web version of its free and ad-supported Smart TV Plus streaming service for live and linear programming as well as added casting support for Chromecast devices. The streaming product, which was previously limited to Samsung TV and mobile devices, launched as a web service in the second quarter, Protocol reported Friday. It’s a curious new player in the streaming wars and launched with seemingly little fanfare, but the rollout makes an app that was previously limited to Samsung users now widely available to just about anyone. Samsung did not have immediate comment about the launch when reached on Friday. However, a spokesperson confirmed the launch of the web version of the service to Protocol. Samsung TV Plus has been around for years — it’s been available on S...

The fantasy world of The Witcher is going to expand later this summer. At WitcherCon — a new event dedicated to, obviously, The Witcher — Netflix announced that the animated prequel Nightmare of the Wolf will debut on August 23rd. The show, which was originally announced last year, is being handled by Korean studio Mir — best-known for its work on shows like The Legend of Korra — with Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich serving as a producer. The anime movie takes place before the events of the show, following Geralt’s mentor Vesemir. You can get a sense of the world and setting in the trailer above. The Witcher debuted on Netflix at the end of 2019 and almost immediately became a huge hit. Since then, the streaming service has set about turning it into a franchise; in addition to N...

If you’re looking to buy a new USB cable, wireless charger, or that fast-charging USB power brick that didn’t come with your new $1,000 phone (but definitely should have), there’s a typical process many people go through. You open Amazon’s site in a new tab or the app on your phone, type in the thing you’re looking for, scan some review scores, and click Buy It Now. Except now, some of the very best chargers, cables, and wireless pads have disappeared — products that reviewers like us independently recommended and that you could buy at more attractive prices than other brands. Today, a search for USB-C or wireless chargers on Amazon will still turn up products from Anker, Apple, and AmazonBasics, as well as many obscure brands with alphabet-soup-style names. But you won’t find options from...

In the quest to get people to pay monthly for video, having the rights to stream sports, especially football, is key. Apple might finally be playing that game to spruce up Apple TV Plus: The Information reports the trillion-dollar phone maker has expressed early interest in securing the rights to the NFL’s Sunday Ticket package — a subscription covering every game that is not airing on local affiliates — for its video service. The NFL has reportedly not entered into actual negotiations yet, according to Sports Business Journal’s John Ourand, and Apple likely won’t be the only company competing. The Information writes that other streaming competitors, like Disney’s ESPN Plus and Amazon’s Prime Video, are likely also trying to secure even more games for their platforms. Currently Sunday Tick...

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s free update optimizing the game for next-generation consoles, which is set to hit later this year, will include DLC “inspired by” the Netflix show, developer CD Projekt Red and Netflix announced at WitcherCon on Friday. Very little was revealed about what the DLC will look like, but we did get a small tease of what you might be able to expect: “So as an example, you might be able to wear Geralt’s armor inspired by the Netflix series,” Philipp Weber, acting lead quest designer at CD Projekt Red, said during Friday’s WitcherCon stream. More information is coming soon. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt next-gen update is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC this year! Here’s a sneak peek of our updated cover art. Spoiler alert: we also prepared some free DLCs inspired by @...

Goodwood Festival of Speed is back, and littered between the likes of Jaguar, BMW M, and Lotus, was plenty of future-shaping tech.  To go to a car show for the technology might sound a bit left-field, but this is 2021, and many companies aren’t just creating products for today. That’s where Future Lab comes in. Curated by Lucy Johnson, this year’s Future Lab was all about forward-thinking visions of the world that we’re going to have to live in, and as a result, much of the tech on display was designed to help us help the world, and vice versa.  With a mantra that robots and tech should be our friend, technological advancements solved almost everything imaginable — from 24-hour robotic farming and 3D-printed gummy vitamins personalized to your needs to the Arrow SAM Car (which ca...

Sitting down in Nintendo’s offices in Redwood City, California, yesterday, I already knew all of the main details on the new Switch OLED model. It has a larger 7-inch OLED screen, an improved kickstand, increased internal storage, and very minor design tweaks. It’s not the “Switch Pro” that many have been hoping for. It’s just a Switch with a bigger, nicer screen. I knew all that going in, but after playing a half-hour’s worth of Mario Kart and Breath of the Wild, I believe the word “just” in the previous sentence is unfair. The Switch OLED model has a bigger, nicer screen, and that’s more than enough to justify its existence — and perhaps its $350 price. The screen looks brighter and more vibrant to me than the original Switch. The increased contrast is definitely noticeable on Rainbow Ro...

Black Widow was released at the wrong time, in multiple ways. The new Marvel prequel was one of the most high-profile films to be displaced by the constantly shifting theatrical release schedule caused by the shuttering of theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Black Widow — a film set between Captain America: Civil War’s superhero dust-up and Avengers: Infinity War’s cosmos-spanning epic — feels like a movie that should have been released when it’s actually set, instead of as a belated prequel. Warning: spoilers ahead for Black Widow, Avengers: Endgame, Loki, and the general Marvel Cinematic Universe Photo: Marvel Studios It’s not that Black Widow is a bad movie or an unworthy member of the Marvel saga. Its brand of James Bond-esque spy-fi harks back to some of the more grounded MCU f...

Lenovo is a big player in the convertible laptop sphere, and the Yoga 9i is its top dog. A sequel to the Yoga C940, the $1,299.99-and-up 14-inch Yoga 9i is a capable laptop in almost every area that matters, with a comfortable keyboard, respectable battery life, and some of the better specs you can get at its price point. But there’s one area where it’s far ahead of the pack — the audio. Yes, you read that correctly. There’s actually a 14-inch laptop out there with very good audio. I know. I’m shocked to be typing that, too. Though it doesn’t quite surpass the likes of HP’s Spectre x360 and Microsoft’s Surface Pro 7 Plus in many other areas, the Yoga 9i’s innovative speaker design keeps it very much in the premium mix as an exceptional entertainment and multimedia machine. Verge Score 8.5 ...