Technology

Facebook is launching its News tab in the UK in January in a move that’s expected to see the company pay news publishers tens of millions of pounds annually to license their articles, The Guardian reports. In an article announcing the launch, Facebook says it also aims to help publishers expand their audience, potentially benefiting both their subscriber numbers and ad revenue. For news publishers, the most important aspect of the service will likely be the payments Facebook says it will make to include their content. Although Facebook is declining to say how much money it’s expecting to pay as part of the scheme, The Guardian reports that some publishers are expecting to make millions of pounds a year from the service, at a cost to tens of millions of pounds to Facebook overall. Over a do...

That latest WhatsApp update brings improved wallpapers and sticker search to the Facebook-owned app used by over 2 billion people. The most notable change is custom chat wallpaper backgrounds. “Make your chats personal and distinguishable by using a custom wallpaper for your most important chats and favorite people, and you never need worry about sending the wrong message in the wrong chat ever again,” Facebook said in an email sent to The Verge. New wallpapers with dark mode support.Image: Facebook Separate wallpapers can also be chosen for light and dark mode settings. “Watch your chat wallpaper automatically transition as your phone device setting switches from light to dark mode,” says Facebook. WhatsApp is also making the default doodle wallpaper available in more colors. All wallpape...

Coastal cities in the US could find themselves grappling with a new housing crisis in the coming decades. The number of affordable housing units vulnerable to flooding could triple by 2050 as the planet heats up, according to a new study. That amounts to more than 24,000 homes that could flood at least once a year by 2050, compared to about 8,000 in 2000. The study, published today in the journal Environmental Research Letters, ranks the states and cities at greatest risk. Its authors also unveiled a new interactive map that people can use to see how their hometown might be affected. Climate change is transforming cities, and the dangers are piling up on lower-income communities As the world warms, seas rise. That means tides are creeping further ashore, and storm surges are becoming a big...

Nintendo has released a new firmware update for the Switch, and for once it actually adds some features to the console’s barebones OS. The biggest one is a new way to share screenshots and videos directly to your smartphone by scanning a QR code. The process is a little awkward, but it definitely beats the previous method of uploading everything to Twitter or Facebook first. Here’s how it works: You can also now copy screenshots and videos to your PC over USB. Other features include automatic cloud save data downloads across multiple consoles, a new “Trending” section of the user page that shows what your friends have been playing, a shortcut to Nintendo Switch Online services on the home screen, and the ability to prioritize downloads. There are also 12 new user icons themed around the 35...

Apple has hired Josh Elman, a prominent venture capitalist and former vice president of product at stock-trading app Robinhood, to help it improve iOS app discovery in the App Store. Elman announced the news via his Twitter account on Monday, saying he’s also leaving his role as a board partner at the firm Greylock Partners and as a board member of prominent tech companies like Discord and Medium. Elman joining the App Store team may help improve the iPhone maker’s relationship with developers after a rather rough year in which Apple’s stewardship of the App Store has been called into question by critics, rivals, and regulators. For instance, Elman is previously a board member of and investor in Houseparty, the chat app acquired by Fortnite creator Epic Games. 2/ I’m joining Apple to work ...

Zoom is doing pretty well. The company reported $777.2 million in revenue during its third quarter, well over 4x its revenue from the same quarter last year. That’s now two quarters in a row that Zoom’s revenue has quadrupled. Zoom expects to quadruple its revenue year over year once again in the fourth quarter. The immense success should come as no surprise. Zoom became the go-to videoconferencing app at the start of the pandemic, and it’s managed to hold on to that spot even as other services — like Google Meet, Slack, and Microsoft Teams — have increasingly vied for attention. Zoom doesn’t state how many users it has in total, but its metrics around paying customers continue to grow. The company now has 433,700 subscribers with more than 10 employees, up from 370,200 last quarter, and i...

Engineers are racing to fix a failed piece of equipment on NASA’s future deep-space crew capsule Orion ahead of its first flight to space. It may require months of work to replace and fix. Right now, engineers at NASA and Orion’s primary contractor, Lockheed Martin, are trying to figure out the best way to fix the component and how much time the repairs are going to take. In early November, engineers at Lockheed Martin working on Orion noticed that a power component inside the vehicle had failed, according to an internal email and an internal PowerPoint presentation seen by The Verge. Known as a power and data unit, or PDU, the component is a “main power/data boxes,” according to the email, responsible for activating key systems that Orion needs during flight. Orion is a critical part of N...

Developers have now made it possible to emulate PS2 games on the Xbox Series X and S using the RetroArch emulator — something that the PlayStation 5, a successor to the PS2, can’t. Thanks to the Xbox Series X / S consoles’ “Developer Mode,” the emulation software can be added as a Universal Windows Application (UWA), allowing users to download a retail version of the emulation software directly to their console without tricky workarounds, so players don’t have to wait for a re-release to play an older favorite. While RetroArch is able to emulate several different consoles, the compatibility for running PS2 games using the PCSX2 core is particularly notable because of how limited Sony’s PlayStation 5 is when it comes to backwards compatibility compared to the Xbox. The new console is only n...

It was inevitable that Samsung was going to make the switch from “Plus” to “Pro.” Even if there was a “Live” in between. The company has filed the necessary regulatory paperwork with the FCC for its next set of true wireless earbuds. It was already rumored that these would be called the Galaxy Buds Pro, and now it’s right there in documentation directly from Samsung itself. The FCC filing comes with the usual confidentiality protocols in place, so it doesn’t reveal too much more about the Buds Pro. But an image of the regulatory label offers a preview of the charging case’s shape. It seems the Buds Pro will be housed in a case that more closely resembles the case from the Galaxy Buds Live than the Galaxy Buds Plus. Samsung’s FCC filing clearly describes these as the “Buds Pro.”Image: FCC T...

Cyber Monday is here. It’s the last big shopping opportunity of 2020, and if you didn’t already take advantage of some deals that debuted over the weekend, now’s your chance. Every retailer has debuted at least a few new deals earlier than ever, and we’re focused on adding them here — in addition to the great Black Friday deals you can still get. As you’re expecting, there are some great deals on gaming laptops, wireless noise-canceling headphones, earbuds, tablets, and much more. We’ll be doing our best to keep this post updated during Cyber Monday, and stay tuned throughout Cyber Week as we give you as many chances as possible to get everything on your holiday wish list. We’ve put the latest deals right at the top for easy viewing. Latest deals Best Buy is hosting a two-hour special on A...

When it first appeared, Tesla’s tequila was an April Fools’ joke on Elon Musk’s Twitter account. It was also called “Teslaquila.” But that name, ultimately, wouldn’t make it to the final product — which was very, very real. See, “Teslaquila” isn’t possible due to tequila industry regulations. The word “tequila” is a designation of origin; it means the rights of using this word belong only to the tequila agribusiness. That also means no one can register the word as their property. Because “Teslaquila” evokes the word tequila, it cannot be registered as a brand The problem with the branding is “Teslaquila’’ is too similar to the word tequila, according to the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), the entity responsible for regulating and authorizing all of the processes related to the manufactur...

In line with bad things happening in 2020, Disney has digitally removed a lone crew member who accidentally appeared in the background of a recent Mandalorian episode. The crew member, who the internet lovingly dubbed “Jeans Guy,” appeared at the 18:54 mark in season 2, episode 4. Back flat against the wall, the crew member was not in the shot for very long, but they made an impact on Star Wars fans everywhere. People even made mock designs for action figures based on the crew member! You can’t buy that kind of love. The Verge has reached out to Disney about the digital erasure. Upon revisiting the scene, however, the crew member is nowhere to be found, something I was worried would happen. The beauty of digital editing technology is that shows and movies can be worked on in homes around t...