Technology

SoftBank isn’t just part of the group investing $500 billion into Project Stargate to build American AI infrastructure capacity for OpenAI. It’s also making a Japanese joint venture with OpenAI, will spend $3 billion deploying OpenAI tech across SoftBank companies, and claims it will revolutionize business with AI agents through a new AI system called […]

Sony Pictures Television says it’s taking over the distribution rights for top game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! from Paramount-owned CBS starting the week of February 10th, reports Bloomberg, while CBS is fighting back by seeking a temporary restraining order. In October, Sony sued CBS for allegedly not putting in enough effort to grow […]

The first “Apple approved” porn app for iPhone is rolling out in Europe, via AltStore PAL’s alternative iOS app marketplace. AltStore PAL developer Riley Testut says that Hot Tub, which describes itself as an ad-free “adult content browser,” has made it through Apple’s notarization review for fraud, security threats, and functionality, and will be available […]

Sid Meier developed the first Civilization game in 1991 and has contributed to every iteration since. When I visited Firaxis Games last year, I saw that the company maintains the very computer Meier used to develop the game, which can still be booted up and played. Walking through the halls of the studio, I saw […]

OpenAI has revealed another new agentic feature for ChatGPT called deep research, which it says can operate autonomously to “plan and execute a multi-step trajectory to find the data it needs, backtracking and reacting to real-time information where necessary.” Instead of simply generating text, it shows a summary of its process in a sidebar, with […]

Your next car purchase is probably going to be more expensive, thanks to President Donald Trump. Around 5.3 million vehicles are built in Canada and Mexico, 70 percent of which are destined for the United States. Those vehicles will soon be subject to 25 percent tariffs, which were just announced by the Trump administration. And […]

Last month, Fortnite Festival, the game’s Rock Band-like music mode, rolled out local multiplayer on PlayStation and Xbox. It’s a great addition if you and up to three buddies want to relive the halcyon days of ‘07 on a single TV, particularly if you’re using a nostalgia-inducing peripheral like the PDP Riffmaster — which is now […]

Smart rings are in the middle of a renaissance. That’s great because we finally have way more options than just an Oura Ring. The downside is most of Oura’s would-be rivals are launching their first, maybe second-gen smart rings. Meaning, if you want an Oura Ring alternative, there’s a good chance you’ll have to put […]

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 69, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, get ready for some web-slingin’, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)  This week, I’ve been reading about Elon Musk’s gamer habits and spy satellites and […]

President Donald Trump has announced that he’s imposing a tariff on goods from some of the US’s biggest trade partners: Canada, Mexico, and China. Under the executive orders signed on February 1st, Canada and Mexico will face a 25 percent tariff, while goods from China will be subject to a 10 percent tax. Energy resources […]

Canada will set its own tariffs against US goods in retaliation to broad 25 percent tariffs President Donald Trump announced Saturday on Canadian imports. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a 25 percent tariff on a total of $155 billion worth of American goods — $30 billion of that on Tuesday when Trump’s tariffs go into […]

The National Transportation Safety Board will only update the press about the plane crashes in Washington, DC and Philadelphia on X — not over email, as reported earlier by The Desk. The agency announced on Saturday that it will use its @NTSB_Newsroom account to share ”news conferences or other investigative information.“ The NTSB later said, […]