Technology

In case you weren’t aware, the biggest shopping holiday of the year is right around the corner. Yes, Black Friday is nearly upon us, kicking off promptly following Thanksgiving in the US, which happens on Thursday, November 25th. And while some of the best deals are yet to come (don’t worry, we’ll have you covered), we’ve collected some of the best early Black Friday deals you can cash in on right now from various brands and retailers. But for now, here’s what is especially alluring in the deals world. The Black Friday sale at the Ubisoft store is live, and there are massive savings to be had on its catalog of games. Even brand new releases like Far Cry 6 and Riders Republic are enjoying solid discounts during this sale that runs until the 28th of November. At Ubisoft’s online store, make ...

Foundation’s first season has officially wrapped with its season finale, which saw the first chapter of Apple TV Plus’ most ambitious show come to a conclusion. The epic sci-fi show, based on Isaac Asimov’s centuries-spanning series of novels, has grown far beyond its quasi-magic space math from the initial episodes, spinning out different storylines ranging from drama in the Foundation’s newfound home of Terminus to the byzantine imperial politics of Trantor. In the wake of the finale, The Verge’s Chaim Gartenberg and Andrew Webster are revisiting the show to see what worked, what didn’t, and what they’re hoping to see in the already-announced second season. Spoilers for the entire first season of Foundation ahead Image: Apple Chaim: I’m really of two minds about Foundation. With the firs...

It turns out the way to beat the collective will of the internet’s cryptocurrency fans is to have way, way more money than them. Ken Griffin, the CEO and founder of Citadel, has revealed himself as the winner of last night’s $43.2 million auction for a rare copy of the US Constitution. A collective of crypto enthusiasts, calling themselves ConstitutionDAO, managed to raise $47 million in about a week’s time in a quixotic attempt to win the document themselves and put it on display to the public for free. While the DAO didn’t win, they did manage to push the price up on Griffin, with the two parties slowly going back and forth million by million during the auction last night, each seemingly uncertain if they would be able to go a million higher with every passing bid. Finally, ConstitutionD...

Elizabeth Holmes, her hair down and her makeup muted relative to her Theranos days, spelled her name for the court. After the prosecution rested its case in the morning, the defense called her as their third witness, about an hour before the end of the day. She wore a navy blazer with a white blouse — not one of the famous black turtlenecks has made an appearance in court during the months the case against her has dragged on. Holmes is facing 11 counts of wire fraud from her time as founder and CEO of Theranos. Though her testimony today is the first time she’s spoken for herself, we’ve heard her voice already — in the recordings of Fortune journalist Roger Parloff. In those recordings, she lies confidently about her device’s capabilities. And the lies Parloff recorded were consistent with...

A new website called The NFT Bay claims to have right-clicked and saved every NFT on the Ethereum and Solana blockchain networks as JPEG files, stirring up a debate on what makes NFTs so valuable. The website was created by Geoff Huntley, who described himself as “a software engineer and DevOps engineer with a ‘Jack-of-All-Trades’ background.” ?OMG WHO RIGHT CLICKED ALL OF THE #NFTs?☠️??‍☠️ https://t.co/o0YRK78AkL ?‍☠️?? pic.twitter.com/g74TFqzX0n — ?‍☠️ thenftbay.org ? ?? (@GeoffreyHuntley) November 18, 2021 “Did you know that an NFT is just a hyperlink to an image that is usually hosted on Google Drive or another Web2.0 webhost?” Huntley wrote in The NFT Bay’s description. “That’s why you can right-click save-as...

Hulu with Live TV is getting another price hike, but the subscription will now include Disney Plus and ESPN Plus at no additional cost. Beginning December 21st, Hulu with Live TV’s monthly subscription cost will jump from its current price of $65 per month to $70 per month for its ad-supported tier. Its ad-free live TV package, meanwhile, will jump from $71 per month to $76 per month when the change goes into effect. The new pricing will apply to both new subscribers and those already paying for the service. With the change, both of Hulu’s live TV packages will include ESPN Plus as well as Disney Plus, which cost $7 and $8 per month, respectively. That’s a major benefit to anyone currently paying for one or either of those services in addition to their Hulu with Live TV package. It’s less ...

Google sent a letter to the Department of Justice Friday requesting that the department examine whether newly confirmed antitrust division head Jonathan Kanter, who has been a vocal critic of the search giant, should be recused from federal antitrust investigations into Google. In his new role, Kanter will lead the department’s lawsuit against Google alleging it has a monopoly in the search and advertising markets. Kanter has represented a number of companies in motions against Google, which the search giant argues should disqualify him. Most notably, Kanter represented Microsoft in a motion arguing against Google’s acquisition of DoubleClick, which was eventually approved by regulators and was closed in 2008. “Mr. Kanter’s past statements and work representing competitors who have advocat...

If you’re looking to score a great deal on an Amazon device ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, you’re in luck. Amazon is already offering up to 50 percent of some of its most popular products, including the latest Echo Show 5 and Fire HD 10. The company is also offering a number of deals across several categories, ranging from Kindles and Fire TV sticks to Blink devices and even the Halo View, which has yet to be released. For your convenience, we’ve curated a list of the best deals currently to be had on Amazon devices. We’ll be continuously updating this post as well as more deals arrive, so be sure to check back. And, of course, if you want to save even more, check our comprehensive Black Friday hub and our coverage of the best early Black Friday deals. Echo deals Amazon Echo (four...

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder and CEO of disgraced blood-testing company Theranos, took the stand in her own defense late Friday, in a surprise move by the defense team. Holmes is being tried on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, for allegedly misleading investors and patients about Theranos’ blood testing device. Holmes took the stand just after 6PM ET on Friday, to the surprise of most in the courtroom. Verge editor Liz Lopatto, who has been covering the trial, said Holmes seemed relaxed as she answered questions about her background and the company. holmes has been smiling a lot on the stand. she seems relaxed. a lot of you have been asking me about her voice. it doesn’t sound that low to me? but when she punches a syllable for emphasis, she drops her pitch. — El...

A group made up of 17,437 cryptocurrency investors raised over $40 million USD to buy an ultra-rare copy of the U.S. Constitution auctioned off by Sotheby’s this week. The group, which calls itself Constitution DAO, said it received donations “from museum curators and art directors to our grandmothers asking us what ETH is when they read about us in the news.”  Within days, the group broke the record for the most money raised within a 72 hour period. Notably, a significant portion of its donations came from first-time crypto investors with wallets that were initialized for the first time. Organizers told donors that in exchange for their funding, they would receive governance tokens called $PEOPLE and would be able to collectively decide where the document should be housed. The a...

Since the Nest Learning Thermostat launched in 2011, no other smart thermostat has emulated its core function — learning your schedule and adapting to it automatically, so you don’t have to lift a finger. This feature has made the Nest one of the best smart thermostats (lots of) money can buy for years. But just a decade on, Amazon has finally done it. The online shopping giant’s $60 Amazon Smart Thermostat can intelligently determine if you’re home, away, or sleeping and automatically adjust your climate to keep you comfortable and potentially save you money. And you don’t have to program anything. Amazon worked with Resideo (owner of the historic thermostat brand Honeywell Home) to develop the thermostat, and its internals are very similar to the Honeywell T9 and T5 smart thermostats. It...