Technology

If you’ve got an Alexa device in your home, like an Echo smart speaker, anyone in your home can use it. But there are certain disadvantages to having it associated with only one account. Mainly, it means that everyone is pretty much sharing the same account. You can create what Amazon calls a “household.” That means that there can be two adult accounts on the device. On an Echo, that means it can display photos and allow notifications (for example, for a to-do list) from both accounts. Creating a household also permits one member of the household to make a purchase using the other’s account, which can be useful if one person has a Prime account. (You can add a code if you’d rather not allow the other household member to make purchases.) And outside of an Alexa device, having a household le...

“Where have you been all this time?” A wave of guilt washed over me as I read these words on the screen. Considering how 2020 dismantled our reality and created a new set of post-coronavirus social paradigms, the last thing I wanted was to explain myself to someone I thought would understand. My accuser wasn’t a real friend, exactly. It was dear, sweet Merengue, one of my favorite villagers on Beef House, my Animal Crossing: New Horizons island. “I dropped by your place to look for you, but you were never home,” she said, eyes downcast. If this had happened in real life, with a real friend, I would have started digging a hole of shame. Next, I bumped into Moe, another island favorite. “Man! Where have you been? You can’t just disappear without saying anything,” he said, bursting into tears...

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic took everyone, including the IRS, by surprise. Because of the issues people were dealing with last spring, the filing deadline for federal tax payments was moved from the usual mid-April date to July 15th. This year, it looked look like we weren’t going to get the same tax vacation — until the IRS announced on March 17th that tax day has been pushed back a month. As a result, the new due date for your 2020 taxes is May 17th, 2021. Meanwhile, the IRS has also made it known that the pandemic is slowing down some operations, such as processing returns filed on paper. As a result, it might not be a bad idea to start working on those taxes as soon as possible — and to submit them online. In fact, whether you’re a full-time worker dealing with a single 1040 or a fr...

Lest anyone worry that HBO Max would tarnish Zack Snyder’s auteur work Justice League, for which the company spent $70 million on reshoots and new digital effects in order to meet the director’s requirements and satisfy years of fan demand for a better cut of the widely panned movie, the service is prefacing all streams of the film with a short disclosure: “This film is presented in a 4:3 format to preserve the integrity of Zack Snyder’s creative vision.” That’s right. HBO will not artificially crop the image just to satisfy your natural demand for widescreen viewing. Nor would it tell Snyder that, hey, maybe Justice League isn’t First Cow and doesn’t need to be presented in a tight boxy format in which it’s unclear if the entire film was even originally intended to be presented. After thr...

This story is part of a group of stories called Only the best deals on Verge-approved gadgets get the Verge Deals stamp of approval, so if you’re looking for a deal on your next gadget or gift from major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and more, this is the place to be. Amazon’s Echo Show 8 is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target for $75 right now. While this is not its lowest price ever (the previous best price was only $5 less), it is still an incredible deal on the normally $130 smart display. The Echo Show 8 includes a slightly larger display than the Echo Show 5 and also includes support for videoconferencing apps, including Zoom. Amazon Echo Show 8 $75 $130 43% off Prices taken at time of publishing. Amazon’s $130 smart display featuring a bright and sharp ...

Facebook says it will remove any posts that celebrate the recent shooting in Atlanta or support the suspected shooter. Eight people were killed in the attack. Seven of the victims of the shooting were women and six were of Asian descent. The social network has designated the shooting to be a “violating event,” a classification that it’s previously used for the US Capitol riots in January this year and the killing of two people during Black Lives Matter protests in Kenosha in August 2020. Facebook wants to remove content that celebrates violent acts This classification is part of Facebook’s expanded policies on Dangerous Individuals and Organizations. The social network noted last August that it wanted to address movements “that, while not directly organizing violence, have celebrated viole...

If you’ve got a recent Canon DSLR or mirrorless camera and are interested in getting more use out of it, Canon announced today that it would soon begin selling webcam accessory kits, allowing Canon owners an easier way to retool their cameras as high-quality webcams. Each kit has different parts, but all three packages include a USB cable to connect your camera to your desktop computer or laptop, and a battery insert and power cord so that you can continually keep your Canon camera powered with a wall outlet. It is important to note that none of these kits include a tripod to mount your camera. Webcams have been in high demand Canon has announced three versions of its accessory kit, which are available for preorder at Adorama, Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo, with both retailers noting...

Truck rental company Ryder says it’s owed nearly $4 million from EV startup Chanje after it failed to deliver 100 of the 125 vans promised back in 2017, according to a previously unreported lawsuit in Florida. The lawsuit comes as a massive shift toward electric propulsion is underway in the commercial vehicle space, with new startups raising billions of dollars and established automakers announcing electric delivery vans and trucks at a regular clip. Chanje emerged from stealth in 2017 and is one of a number of electric vehicle startups that have called California home. Like many of its peers, it got early attention by hiring a few former execs from Tesla, and even poached some talent from fellow startup Faraday Future. Also like many of those California EV startups, Chanje is owned by a ...

One perk of being an AT&T wireless subscriber was being able to stream HBO Max without that counting toward a customer’s data cap. That’s no longer the case. California’s new net neutrality law includes banning sponsored data services, known as zero-rating, which previously allowed companies like AT&T to cover data usage of certain platforms (like HBO Max) for customers who use other offerings like internet plans. As part of the law, internet service providers like AT&T won’t be able to cover bundle customers’ streaming data usage alongside no longer being able to offer paid prioritization or play down service speed questions. “We regret the inconvenience to customers caused by California’s new ‘net neutrality’ law,” the company wrote in a blog post. “Given that the Internet do...

Apple is reportedly planning a number of updates to its iPad line, including new iPad Pros launching as soon as April, a new iPad mini with a larger screen, and a refresh of the base iPad, according to Bloomberg. The new iPad Pros are expected to have a similar design as the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pros released last March but have a better processor that’s “on par” with the speedy M1 chip in Apple’s newest MacBook Airs, Pros, and Mac mini, Bloomberg reports. Both models may also have improved cameras. The 12.9-inch iPad Pro could have a Mini LED screen, according to Bloomberg, which should offer a higher contrast ratio and be less susceptible to burn-in than OLED screens. Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said since 2019 that Apple has Mini LED-equipped tablets and laptops in the wo...

Microsoft’s Presenter Coach, which helps you practice presentations, has been available on the web version of PowerPoint for a while now, but it’s finally coming to the desktop and mobile versions of the app. According to Microsoft, the feature will now be available on Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, and, of course, the web. PowerPoint Presenter Coach listens to you while you practice a presentation out loud — it analyzes what you’re saying, and can warn you if you’re talking too fast or slow, using filler words like “um” or “ahh,” or just reading the words off the slide (a personal pet peeve of mine). Trying it out on both PowerPoint for Windows and iOS, it worked shockingly well, doing pretty much everything Microsoft says it should. At the end it gives you a little report, telling you what ...

Google is expanding its real-time caption feature, Live Captions, from Pixel phones to anyone using a Chrome browser, as first spotted by XDA Developers. Live Captions uses machine learning to spontaneously create captions for videos or audio where none existed before, and making the web that much more accessible for anyone who’s deaf or hard of hearing. When enabled, Live Captions automatically appear in a small, moveable box in the bottom of your browser when you’re watching or listening to a piece of content where people are talking. Words appear after a slight delay, and for fast or stuttering speech, you might spot mistakes. But in general, the feature is just as impressive as it was when it first appeared on Pixel phones in 2019. Captions will even appear with muted audio or your vol...