Technology

Earlier this year, Facebook launched a new feature that let small businesses create paid online events. The company framed it as a way of helping organizations struggling with lost revenue during the pandemic, and said that because of the exceptional circumstances, it would not collect any fees on purchases for these events until August 2021. But the social network also stressed that any payments made on iOS would be subject to Apple’s standard 30 percent platform fees, noting this meant less money for small businesses. As Fidji Simo, head of Facebook’s main app, said at the time: “We asked Apple to reduce its 30% App Store tax or allow us to offer Facebook Pay so we could absorb all costs for businesses struggling during COVID-19. Unfortunately, they dismissed both our requests and [small...

We’re expecting Apple to announce four new iPhones later this year, and signs and portents increasingly suggest that the smallest will be named the iPhone 12 mini — a title new to the iPhone range but with a solid Apple heritage. Past and present mini Apple products include the iPod mini, iPad mini, and Mac mini. So it might be time for a mini iPhone, too. The name was mentioned earlier this week by established leaker @L0vetodream, who suggested that the four new iPhones would be called the iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Now another leaker, @duanrui1205, has shared images showing Apple’s “silicone case stickers,” complete with names and hand-labeled screen sizes. They match previous rumors for sizes and specs, with the line-up as follows: Apple iPhone 12 m...

Twitter says it’s working on bringing its “read the article before you retweet it” prompt to all users “soon.” The company began testing the prompt in June, which shows up when people go to retweet a story they haven’t clicked through to actually read. Twitter says its motivation is to “help promote informed discussion.” Headlines often don’t tell the whole story and can even be actively misleading. Encouraging people to at least read the article they’re sharing seems like a smart way to promote media literacy and stop some of the knee-jerk reactions that can make misinformation viral. More reading – people open articles 40% more often after seeing the promptMore informed Tweeting – people opening articles before RTing increased by 33% Some people didn’t end up RTing after opening the arti...

Microsoft’s source code for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 has leaked online. Torrent files for both operating systems’ source code have been published on various file sharing sites this week. It’s the first time source code for Windows XP has leaked publicly, although the leaked files claim this code has been shared privately for years. The Verge has verified the material is legitimate, and we’ve reached out to Microsoft to comment on the leak. It’s unlikely that this latest source code leak will pose any significant threat to companies still stuck running Windows XP machines. Microsoft ended support for Windows XP back in 2014, although the company responded to the massive WannaCry malware attack with a highly unusual Windows XP patch in 2017. While this is the first time Windows XP ...

Microsoft Flight Simulator has got a lot of people hankering to take to the virtual skies. But for many the experience isn’t complete without a flight stick of some sort. With lots of these now sold out that can be tough. But here’s a solution: 3D-printed parts that snap onto an Xbox One controller for a DIY conversion into a hands on throttle-and-stick or HOTAS. This amazing little mod is the work of Akaki Kuumeri, a 3D printing tinkerer who maintains a YouTube channel showing off some of his creations. Kuumeri has made a video for this mod, too, and it’s well worth a watch, just for the groanworthy selection of puns alone. The mod takes just $10 and “an afternoon of your time” to make If you want to made the mod yourself, Kuumeri has uploaded the plans to Thingiverse to download for free...

You might be wondering: “Did Amazon just break Apple’s App Store guidelines by bringing a cloud gaming service to iPhone?” And I can understand why, given that I told you just last week how Apple doesn’t permit Google Stadia in anything close to its current form, and Amazon’s just-announced Luna is a lot like Stadia. Wouldn’t the same rules apply? But the truth is that Amazon has a simple way to get around Apple’s App Store rules entirely — and it’s making me wonder how long it’ll be before Google, Nvidia, Microsoft and others follow suit. Hello, PWA The short version: Amazon Luna on iOS is not a traditional app. It’ll never appear in the App Store, and it doesn’t need to. As Engadget reports, it’s a progressive web app (PWA), which is mostly a fancy name for a website that you can launch ...

Ring’s flying drone camera, the Always Home Cam, was easily the most surprising hardware announcement at today’s Amazon event. It won’t actually be available until next year, but the company has already put together a short ad to demonstrate how the camera can give you a flying, go-anywhere perspective on whatever’s happening in your home. In the video, we see Ring’s security system tripped when a burglar breaks in, and the homeowner immediately dispatches the Always Home Cam to check in. As soon as the careless thief sees Ring’s “compact, lightweight, autonomously flying indoor camera,” he immediately flees. If you were hoping to get an idea of just how noisy the Always Home Cam is, well, this doesn’t really provide that. You can hear the regular drone buzz, but it’s drowned out by a very...

One of the nice new features of iOS 14 was the ability to set your own default mail and browser apps. However, users who tried this out were finding that, after they restarted their device, the default would reset to Mail or Safari. Today, Apple has taken care of that with its first updates for the iPhone and iPad, bringing them up to 14.0.1. The Apple Watch will also update to 7.0.1. Now, when you set your preferred browser defaults to Google Chrome, Firefox, or Microsoft Edge, or your mail defaults to Gmail, Outlook, or Spark, they should stay that way, even after a restart. Other fixes in the release notes, according to 9to5Mac, include problems that could keep camera previews from displaying on iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, keep iPhones from connecting via Wi-Fi, and could keep images from appe...

Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip usually costs $1,380 if you buy it new, but Back Market is selling refurbished units for $799. If you’ve wanted to own one of these but couldn’t justify spending the equivalent of two Xbox Series X consoles and a PS5 digital edition on a phone, now’s your chance to jump in. This version of the Z Flip is compatible with GSM carriers, including AT&T and T-Mobile. This isn’t the Z Flip 5G that was announced more recently; it’s the one that supports LTE. In the review, which you can watch above or read here, The Verge’s Dieter Bohn lauds its performance and battery life, as well as its “solid-feeling, smooth hinge” design. Keep in mind, though, that its foldable glass is still fragile to scratches, and its cameras aren’t much to write home about. Back Market lists t...

Amazon revealed its new cloud gaming service, officially called Luna, at its annual Alexa hardware event today. That makes it an immediate competitor to Google’s Stadia, Microsoft’s xCloud, Sony’s PlayStation Now, and a number of other services from major game publishers all eager to try the code on how to stream video games over the internet. But in a revealing interview with Protocol published after the event, Amazon’s Marc Whitten, the company’s vice president of entertainment devices and services, clarified one of the most vital questions around Luna that wasn’t answered during the reveal: what’s the business model? And from what we can glean from the interview, it’s looking a whole lot like the cable of video games, for better and for worse. Whitten tells Protocol that Luna won’t foll...

Should we invite Amazon’s internet-connected cameras and voice assistants into our homes? That’s been a contentious topic for years — but today, Amazon effectively said “screw it” and announced an entire automated flying indoor robot security system. Yes, that’s right: Amazon’s Ring division now has a camera that can theoretically go anywhere in your home, not just the direction you initially point it. Or, in Amazon’s words: An Innovative New Approach to Always Being Home. Needless to say, the staff of The Verge has a few questions about that. In no particular order and without naming names: Can it go up and down stairs? Why does it look like an air humidifier? What’s battery life like? Does the drone play slap bass? How does it map your house, anyhow? Where do those pictures go? Could som...

Amazon unveiled a radically redesigned $49.99 fourth-generation Echo Dot smart speaker today that doesn’t look like a dot at all — instead, the new Dot is shaped like a ball, or maybe an orb. The new design is a notable departure from the look of previous Echo Dots, which were short, puck-like cylinders that could be said to resemble, well, dots. If you just can’t get on board with having a ball-shaped smart speaker but are in the market for a new Dot, I have good news for you: Amazon is still selling that dot-shaped third-generation Echo Dot. Amazon confirmed to The Verge that it’s keeping the older Dot in its lineup in part to provide an option for those who want to mount their Dot to a wall. An Echo Flex, a small Echo speaker that plugs right into a wall outlet, is another option. And a...