Just over a year after being sentenced to five years in prison for the theft of billions of dollars in Bitcoin, hacker Ilya Lichtenstein is free. Lichtenstein announced his release in a post on X, specifically crediting Trump: "Thanks to President Trump's First Step Act, I have been released from prison early. I remain committed […]
Now that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has appointed a new CEO to run Microsoft's biggest businesses, he has a little more time on his hands for other adventures. Beyond focusing on Microsoft's technical work, Nadella is now turning to the ancient art of blogging to discuss Microsoft's year ahead and why he thinks everyone needs […]
Have you always wanted to scan your groceries at home? If so, the newest smart fridge from GE Appliances is for you. There's a barcode scanner built into the water dispenser that works along with an interior camera and an 8-inch tablet to help you keep track of what food you need and add it […]
It's time to reboot another OG Pebble smartwatch - specifically, the round-faced Time Round, which is getting a follow-up more than a decade after its original launch. The new Pebble Round 2 improves upon its predecessor with longer battery life and a larger 1.3-inch touchscreen display, ditching the chunky bezel that surrounded the original Time […]
Tesla's sales fell in the fourth quarter of 2025, as rising competition and the expiration of the federal EV tax credit continued to sap the company's global ambitions. The sales drop has led to Tesla losing its title as the world's best-selling EV maker to China's BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year. The […]
The Freestyle Plus all-in-one portable projector features 430 ISO Lumens, or "nearly twice the brightness of the previous generation," according to Samsung. Great! But also a little strange since both the original and second generation Freestyle projectors listed "550 lumens" on their respective spec sheets. See, projector makers are notorious for playing fast and loose […]
Petkit has announced two new automated machines at CES 2026 designed to feed and care for your pets using AI-powered cameras that track their behavior and provide health insights that may otherwise go unnoticed. Launching sometime in April 2026, the Petkit Yumshare Daily Feast is one of the first automatic dispensers that works with wet […]
LG is adding a karaoke-focused party speaker to its lineup of Xboom devices, which is built in collaboration with Will.i.am. Announced this week, LG says the Stage 501 speaker comes with an "AI Karaoke Master" that can remove or adjust vocals from "virtually any song," similar to the Soundcore Rave 3S. It can also adjust […]
Some years ago, I was writing a science fiction short story in which I wanted to incorporate verses from a 1928 song, "Button Up Your Overcoat." However, when I sold the story, my editor told me that since the song was still copyrighted, it was safer not to include the verses. If I had written […]
As usual, 2025 was a year of deep congressional dysfunction in the US. But state legislatures were passing laws that govern everything from AI to social media to the right to repair. Many of these laws, alongside rules passed in past years, take effect in 2026 - either right now or in the coming months. […]
Instagram boss Adam Mosseri is closing out 2025 with a 20-images-deep dive into what a new era of "infinite synthetic content" means as it all becomes harder and harder to distinguish from reality, and the old, more personal Instagram feed that he says has been "dead" for years. Last year, The Verge's Sarah Jeong wrote […]
2025 video game sales plummet due to Trump tariffs; Xbox struggles, loses exclusives; gaming industry loses Zampella and Itagaki; Shinobi: Art of Vengeance wins HHW Gaming's GOTY.