Technology

In 2002, eBay bought PayPal for $1.5 billion, turning it into the way you’d buy and get paid for items you sell on the ginormous auction site. But the once-happy couple has been breaking up for years — and on Valentine’s Day, some sellers may no longer be able to sell items on eBay at all without connecting an old-school bank account instead. This morning, I received a final warning that I would need to add a bank account by February 14th or else “your ability to revise or relist existing listings, or create new listings will be disabled.” eBay tells The Verge this isn’t the deadline for every seller — it’s rolling out in phases, and a quick scan of the web shows it’s been going on for at least a couple years. This isn’t the final phase either, as eBay tells us the rollout won’t be complet...

Earlier this month, Aaron Epstein spent $10,000 to buy an ad in The Wall Street Journal to tell AT&T’s CEO he wasn’t happy with his internet service — service that was limited to a paltry 3Mbps (via Ars Technica). Now, AT&T has him hooked up with a fiber connection, and he’s getting over 300 Mbps up and down. All it took was getting interviewed by Ars, the ad going viral on Twitter, and a Stephen Colbert mention. In his ad, the North Hollywood, CA resident says he’s been an AT&T customer for 60 years (and backs it up with a @pacbell.net email address), and says he’s disappointed that the company isn’t keeping up with competitors when it comes to his area’s internet. Less than two weeks later, AT&T techs had him hooked up, though the company says it was part of a planned rol...

Let’s be honest, when most people think of places to get good Valentine’s Day cards, the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Twitter account is probably not high up on the list. And yet, it’s posted some cards on the NOAA Satellites account, and I think they’re absolutely fantastic. Finding a Valentine’s Day card that comes across as sincere is always challenging. Most of the cards on store shelves just come across as clichéd. The ones from NOAA, however, are adorable. And despite their kind of meme-y aesthetic, it really seems like someone sat down and put some effort into them. That’s not to say they’re not corny — the levels of corniness would probably make the US Department of Agriculture blush — but they’re just so delightfully nerdy in a way I think...

On January 6th, the day a riot of pro-Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, Twitch removed the iconic PogChamp emote because the person it depicted made statements calling for further violence. Two days later, the company committed to rotating in a new version of PogChamp every 24 hours, meaning many streamers briefly became the new face of the emote — but they were sometimes subjected to harassment following their new site-wide prominence. On Friday, the Twitch community voted to crown a new face for PogChamp — and the winner isn’t the face of a streamer. It’s a Komodo dragon. Here’s what the emote looks like: If you’ve hung out in Twitch chats, you may actually recognize this emote: it’s the beloved KomodoHype. And I can see why it won the community vote. While the original PogChamp w...

You might not have to ride public transit to work right now, but if you’re one of the many workers who still commutes in New York City (or if you’re someone like me who fantasizes about their old commute), you’ll now have some new celebrity voice talent to keep you company on your bus or subway ride, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) announced Friday. Normal transit announcements can easily fade in the back of riders’ minds. They’re either too garbled to be understood or you’ve heard them so many times that they don’t even register. But that might be different if, say, Whoopi Goldberg was the one reminding you to wear a mask on the bus. [embedded content] At least that’s a theoretical benefit of the MTA’s new announcements rolling out today, created in partnership with director and ...

Amazon’s Ring has so many different video doorbells in the market it’s getting hard to keep track, but one of them is apparently about to get a big bump with some brand-new features: The Ring Wi-Fi Video Doorbell Pro 2 has just leaked in a listing at Best Buy Canada, as spotted by ZatzNotFunny. It appears to be a direct successor to the high-end Ring Video Doorbell Pro at the same CA$325 (roughly $250 US dollars), but also the first Ring to stream video resolution at higher than 1080p, with a 1536p “expanded Head to Toe view” that “allows you to clearly see who is at your door.” That means Amazon’s catching up to the field-of-view and resolution that Arlo’s Video Doorbell introduced in late 2019. The new doorbell at right seems like it’s shorter and wider, but pretty much the same design. ...

We already knew Nvidia was making a $329 RTX 3060 graphics card, and today, the company announced that it will make its most affordable GPU in the RTX 3000 series available at retailers beginning on February 25th. Retailers will open orders for the RTX 3060 starting at 9AM PT / 12PM ET. Nvidia tells The Verge it will not be creating a Founder’s Edition of the RTX 3060 graphics card. Designed to succeed the aging GeForce GTX 1060 Pascal cards, the RTX 3060 features 12GB of GDDR6 memory. Like the other products featured in the RTX 3000 series, the RTX 3060 will also support DLSS and Nvidia’s suite of RTX applications. With a new RTX 30 card coming later this month, we anticipate that the RTX 3060 GPU will sell out quickly. These cards have been difficult to purchase since last fall when the ...

A YouTuber has posted a video featuring what he claims are two prototype Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra devices, suggesting the phone might have an unusual feature: a 1-inch rear-facing screen right next to the cameras. The video shows this small screen displaying what looks like an image of the phone’s home screen, only… you know, microscopic. A more practical application might be for selfies using the rear-facing camera. The video, since taken down, comes from a little-known Filipino vlogger who goes by Tech Buff PH. XDA-Developers says the device model number checks out, and certain details align with previous leaks. Other details from this alleged leak include 67W fast wireless charging, a 6.8-inch curved OLED with an adaptive refresh rate up to 120Hz, a 5,000mAh battery, and IP68 water and ...

Elon Musk says he pitched the Biden administration on instituting a carbon tax as a way to encourage a faster shift to renewable energy, but he was told the idea was essentially “too politically difficult.” Musk described the conversation with the Biden administration during a new podcast with Joe Rogan that was released Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Rogan had asked Musk whether a new technological breakthrough is needed to increase the adoption of battery-powered vehicles. Musk argued the bigger issue is that “a hell of a lot of batteries [are] needed” in order to shift away from fossil fuels and toward renewable energy. The best way to encourage that shift, in Musk’s view, is to “put a price on carbon.” “Why don’t you just fight for that?...

Microsoft, Google, and Qualcomm have been raising concerns to regulators about Nvidia’s Arm acquisition, according to reports by CNBC and Bloomberg. The companies have approached regulators in the US, EU, UK, and China, reportedly with concerns that Nvidia could change how Arm licenses out its chipmaking technology. Nvidia has pledged that it won’t use its control over the company to change how it interacts with other businesses. Writing to the Financial Times, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said he could “unequivocally state that Nvidia will maintain Arm’s open licensing model. We have no intention to ‘throttle’ or ‘deny’ Arm’s supply to any customer.” Nvidia’s rivals argue, however, that keeping Arm neutral and not using its tech to Nvidia’s own gains isn’t what the company would be incentivize...

WandaVision is moving closer to its endgame, as SWORD clashes with Wanda, Vision continues to question his reality, and the mystery of who is actually behind the Westview Hex grows. But as we get closer to getting those answers, WandaVision has also started to lay the groundwork in this week’s episode for whatever might come next, including hints at a new generation of Marvel superheroes that could pop up in future movies and shows. [Spoilers ahead for WandaVision’s sixth episode.] Two of a kind The show may be called WandaVision, but taking the spotlight in this episode are the couple’s children Billy and Tommy, who jump to the forefront of the early 2000s Malcolm in the Middle-style sitcom of the week. The twins — born just a few episodes ago — have already aged into preteens and are sta...

Alongside the release of Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury for the Nintendo Switch, several retailers have a Mario Red & Blue Edition Switch game console available for purchase. You can buy one right now at Best Buy and Target, while supplies last. Similar to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons-themed Switch released last year, this limited-edition console stands out from other models, with the entire Switch and its accompanying accessories based on the outfit typically worn by the mustached plumber. Retailing for $300, the limited-edition Switch features an all-red console, a red dock stand, a pair of red Joy-Cons, a red casing around the screen, and a blue Joy-Con grip. Additionally, for $300, the Mario-themed Switch also includes a screen protector and a special carrying case that ...