Technology

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is adding Chromebook support to Minecraft: Education Edition, offering another way for schools to teach virtually this upcoming school year. Designed specifically for a classroom setting, Minecraft: Education Edition provides tools for educators like virtual chalkboards and a Classroom mode that allows teachers to communicate with their students and view where they are throughout the game world. Educators can find user-created lessons on the Minecraft: Education Edition website that cover subjects including history and math. The lessons have players exploring the game’s map, like one that has students going on a scavenger hunt to learn the elements of the periodic table, that help kids learn by playing the game. Minecraft:… Continue reading… You Dese...

David Dobrik TikTok announced the first wave of recipients for its new Creators Fund, a $200 million venture that will pay popular personalities for their content. There are 19 creators in total, including David Dobrik, Brittany Tomlinson, Cheyenne Jaz Wise, Justice Alexander, Michael Le, Marissa Ren, and Ross Smith. While many of the recipients already came from full-time entertainment backgrounds — including Dobrik and Smith, who are popular YouTube creators — many of the selected TikTokers came from non-media backgrounds but were able to build substantial followings on the app. Dr. Fayez (@lifeofadoctor), an emergency medicine doctor, has amassed more than 500,000 followers on the app since starting TikTok in 2019 and is known for “mythbusting… Continue reading… You Deserve...

Photo by Brooks Kraft/ Getty Images Some of the US’s largest tech companies, including Apple, Facebook, Twitter, and Microsoft, are speaking out against Trump’s suspension of guest worker visas. In an amicus brief filed Monday, the companies argue the new restrictions could dramatically affect how the country’s economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. “The President’s suspension of nonimmigrant visa programs, supposedly to ‘protect’ American workers, actually harms those workers, their employers, and the economy,” the amicus reads. In June, President Donald Trump issued a proclamation suspending guest worker entry into the US in response to the unprecedented unemployment levels caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Immigration officials were ordered to deny entry… Continue readi...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verg The Google Pixel 4 is discontinued, but Amazon, Best Buy, and B&H Photo each apparently had enough stock left to launch a coordinated sale, bringing the 64GB and 128GB models each down $250 off their original prices. Both Best Buy and B&H Photo have the unlocked Pixel 4 with 64GB of storage in “just black” and “clearly white” for $549. Amazon is currently offering the deal for the black phone only. For $100 more, you can get the 128GB model. Sadly, the larger Pixel 4 XL isn’t looped in here. The best deal we saw for the smaller Pixel 4 model was in April when it dropped down to $499. You can technically get that price at Best Buy right now — but only if you’re willing to activate the phone with a carrier when you buy it. If you’re… Continue re...

Disney’s recently acquired 20th Century Fox TV studio is the latest to have the “Fox” name dropped, with the company announcing today that it’ll be rebranding the studio to just 20th Television, as part of a larger rebrand for all of Disney’s TV studios. Additionally, Fox 21 Television Studios is getting renamed to Touchstone Television (a TV brand that Disney stopped using in 2007), as the company works to remove the last traces of the Fox name from its assets. Disney is also using the rebranding to merge ABC Studios and its subsidiary ABC Signature under the ABC Signature banner. New logos and end cards will appear on TV shows this fall, including on episodes of The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and Bob’s Burgers. Existing… Continue reading… You Deserve to Make Money E...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Trump administration has escalated its threats to ban Chinese social media apps TikTok and WeChat within the US, issuing executive orders last week sanctioning them. The orders will ban “transactions” between US entities and the parent companies of TikTok and WeChat (respectively ByteDance and Tencent). They leave a lot of unanswered questions, but they’re a threatening development for the companies, thanks to presidents’ broad sanctions powers. On August 6th, Trump declared TikTok and WeChat a “national emergency” because of real — but also politically convenient — privacy and security concerns. He invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which lets him ban transactions between US and foreign entities. This… Continu...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Almost every model in Amazon’s Fire lineup of budget-friendly tablets is discounted. The Fire HD 8 is a good value at $60 (usually $90), and even the Fire HD 8 Plus with slightly more RAM and wireless charging support is $30 off; instead of costing $110, it’s down to $80. If you want to step up to a bigger 10-inch screen with 1080p resolution instead of sub-FHD screen, the Fire HD 10 is a better bet. It’s $50 off its usual price, down to $100. Different as these prices might be, all of them have a few things in common that might make shopping easier. They each charge via USB-C and include a charger in the box (though the Fire HD 10 includes a faster 9W charger instead of a 5W charger that’s tossed in with the Fire HD 8). They also all… Continue readi...

A worker in a bucket truck addresses downed power lines along Bread and Cheese Hollow Road in Fort Salonga, New York after a tree knocked them out following tropical storm Isaias | Photo by Steve Pfost/Newsday via Getty Images Massive power outages in the wake of Tropical Storm Isaias could be just a taste of challenges ahead for already vulnerable utilities during an especially bad hurricane season. Isaias revealed how urgently changes need to be made to prevent more blackouts. Isaias knocked out power for more than 2 million customers across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut after barreling through the region on August 4th. Days later, hundreds of thousands are still in the dark, and some might not have power back until August 11th. The governors of New York and Connecticut this week...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings’ Radar tracking technology, which gives advertisers access to anonymized mobile phone data about people who pass by billboards, is launching in Europe next month, the Financial Times reported. The outdoor ad-tracking program has been in the US for four years, but Clear Channel waited to launch in Europe so it could meet the EU’s stricter privacy regulations. William Eccleshare, CEO of Clear Channel’s international division, told the FT that Radar, which he stressed relied on data that was “very well anonymized,” can see and follow people’s movements into a store, follow what they purchase, and look at viewing habits if someone, say, passed by an outdoor ad for a Netflix show. When Clear Channel launched… Continue ...

Facebook-owned WhatsApp appears to be working on new multiple device support with synchronized chat history. WABetaInfo reports that WhatsApp is testing the ability to use an account on multiple devices, including a separate iPad app. WhatsApp currently supports multiple devices through WhatsApp Web, which connects back to a phone account. WhatsApp Web requires a phone to be powered on and connected to the web, but this new multiple device support won’t need to constantly connect back to a phone and will allow people to use WhatsApp on multiple devices simultaneously. Yes, it’s the ability to use your WhatsApp account from 4 devices at the same time.Under development, but it’s great! pic.twitter.com/JYvtMahrag — WABetaInfo… Continue reading… You Deserve to Make Mon...

Folding smartphones are slowly making their way into the mainstream. Could foldable e-readers be next? The E Ink Corporation, the company behind the digital paper tech found in the majority of e-readers, is trying to make it happen. The firm’s R&D lab has been developing foldable e-ink screens for a while, and its latest prototype clearly demonstrates the idea’s potential. The video above comes from GoodEReader.com and shows a foldable e-reader prototype developed by E Ink. An earlier version came out in June, but the latest hardware adds a sturdier hinge, five dedicated buttons down the right hand side of the device, and two lightbars positioned at the top of the screen for illumination. There’s also integrated Wacom technology for… Continue reading… You Deserve to Make M...