Technology

An internal Amazon email seen by The Verge confirms that its Prime Day shopping event will take place October 13th and 14th, and that the company will make an official announcement September 27th. In a separate internal email, Amazon warehouse workers were told no new vacation requests would be accepted between October 13th and October 20th, which suggests that the company needs all hands on deck for Prime Day. An Amazon spokesperson said in an email to The Verge that the company has not announced any dates for Prime Day. “Stay tuned for more details on Prime Day,” the spokesperson said, adding that customers can ask Alexa devices to keep them updated about Prime Day. The e-commerce giant is keeping a tight lid on any leaks about this year’s Prime Day, which was postponed from July due to ...

Steam has added a big update to its experimental news hub feature: the ability to actually browse gaming news from a list of publications curated by Steam’s Curator system. The first collection of sources includes “top sites serving players across seven languages,” the company wrote in a blog post. And the whole thing is free. Obviously, the list of publications and sources is customizable, and alongside articles and blurbs players will be able to view videos and other media directly in Steam’s hub. The idea is that the hub should be totally personalized, so you’ll have control over what sources you see (while also, of course, being able to discover new outlets you might enjoy). It’s an interesting move from Steam: the platform is already kind of an everything store for gaming, and a robus...

Google is shutting down paid Chrome extensions offered on the Chrome Web Store, the company announced today. That means that developers who are trying to monetize their extensions will have to do so with other payment-handling systems. As of Monday, developers can no longer make new paid extensions, according to Google — though that’s cementing a policy that has already been in place since March. And that policy follows a temporary suspension of publishing paid extensions in January after Google noticed an uptick in fraudulent transactions that “aim[ed] to exploit users.” Google will gradually phase out other functionality over the coming months, and on February 1st, Google says that existing extensions can no longer charge customers using the Chrome Web Store’s payments system. Here’s the...

Microsoft is announcing a number of new features that are coming to Outlook mobile soon. These include emoji email reactions, voice commands, and the expansion of Cortana support. Apple’s iOS 14 update arrived last week, and Microsoft is adding an Outlook calendar widget that will display upcoming meetings from multiple accounts on the home screen. Similar improvements are also coming to the watchOS 7 complications for Outlook, allowing Apple Watch owners to see the number of unread emails or a calendar complication that lists your free and busy status. Outlook mobile for both iOS and Android is also getting updated with voice commands next month. The voice commands will support email authoring, calling, and scheduling for calendar appointments. New Outlook complications for watchOS 7. Mic...

Razer has released three new wireless gaming products, each in a different category. There’s the $179.99 BlackShark V2 Pro wireless gaming headset that is, in many ways, just like the BlackShark V2 — sans cable. It’s similarly a very comfortable headset that I’ve found easy to wear for hours on end without feeling fatigued or like my head is in a vice. Razer claims it can last up to 24 hours per charge, and the headset is rechargeable via a Micro USB port. The new BlackShark V2 Pro is just as comfortable as the wired version.Image: Razer The visual differences between this model and the $99.99 wired BlackShark V2 are very minor. The Pro has a black Razer logo on it instead of a green one, and it has a 3.5mm jack for wired listening. It’s also debuting the DeathAdder V2 Pro, a wireless take...

Starting today, Disney Plus’ library of TV shows and movies is available to stream on smart displays like the Nest Hub and the Nest Hub Max, Google has announced. Google says all “Google Assistant-enabled” smart displays will support the feature, which should include similar devices from JBL and Lenovo. Content can be started with a voice command, such as “Hey Google, play The Mandalorian on Disney Plus.” Streaming Disney Plus on Google smart displays was possible in the past using the Chromecast-enabled Disney Plus app on another device to “cast” a TV show or film to the display. Now, it can all be done on the smart display itself. Netflix came to the Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max back in July In order to enable the functionality, Google says you’ll need to link a Disney Plus account in the G...

Microsoft is expanding its new Together Mode for Microsoft Teams soon, allowing co-workers to pretend they’re holding meetings in coffee shops, break out into smaller meeting rooms, or use custom layouts to overlay presenters directly onto slide decks. Together Mode, created for pandemic-era virtual meetings, has been part of Teams for a few months now, but Microsoft is adding a few more features that better emulate the way many of us used to work. New scenes include a number of auditoriums, conference rooms, and even a coffee shop. This mode is also getting updated with a new feature that uses machine learning to automatically scale and center people in their virtual seats no matter how far they’re sitting from a webcam. The NBA has been using Microsoft Teams’ Together Mode for its virtua...

Whatever is unveiled during Tesla’s Battery Day event on Tuesday won’t enter “serious high-volume production” until 2022, the company’s CEO Elon Musk has cautioned on Twitter. The time-scale means the technology will mainly impact Tesla’s Semi, Cybertruck, and Roadster projects, the CEO said, adding that the company will continue to buy third-party battery cells even if Tesla decides to make its own. Musk’s comments suggest that any new battery tech shown at Tuesday’s event will be at the prototype stage, ruling out its imminent use in Tesla’s current mass-market vehicles like the Model 3 or Model Y. Musk points towards the “extreme difficulty” in scaling new technology as being to blame, noting that making “the machine that makes the machine is vastly harder than the machine itself.” Musk...

Mark Twain is credited with first saying that if you don’t like the weather in New England, just wait five minutes. The TikTok deal has followed a similar schedule. On Friday, President Trump said downloads of TikTok would be banned from mobile app stores on Sunday, potentially preventing users from receiving critical security updates. On Saturday, Trump said he supported Oracle’s bid to acquire a stake in TikTok and oversee some of its operations, and extended the ban date to September 27th. As part of the deal, he said, the companies involved had agreed to contribute $5 billion for “patriotic education.” On Sunday, everyone involved took a well deserved rest. And as Monday dawned, everything went to hell. Everyone agrees that Oracle and Walmart have bought a combined 20 percent of TikTok...

A former YouTube content moderator is suing the Google-owned company for failing to properly protect her and her co-workers from the mental harms caused by reviewing hours and hours of graphic footage every day. The proposed class-action lawsuit against YouTube is being brought by the Joseph Saveri Law Firm, which previously sued Facebook for failing to safeguard the mental health of its own content moderators. That earlier suit resulted in Facebook paying a $52 million settlement to moderators who developed PTSD as a result of their work for the company. “She has trouble sleeping and when she does sleep, she has horrific nightmares.” The lawsuit, which was first reported by CNET, says YouTube consistently failed to follow its own safety guidelines and provided inadequate support to modera...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly removed information from its website saying that COVID-19 can spread through the air and that it may travel distances farther than six feet. It also removed statements saying that the virus usually spreads when people inhale particles produced by others. The information was added in an update over the weekend and was taken down from a page called “How COVID-19 Spreads” earlier today. A banner at the top of the site now says that the information was posted in error. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) tweeted that the change is “very likely a scandal.” Experts were thrilled to see the original update. Many have stressed for months that the virus can travel through tiny particles that float more slowly through the air, not just through the larger ...