Tech
Steam is going to let you hide the games you don’t want your friends to see
/ A new beta update to Steam brings a compelling privacy feature. a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>Beta users can now make purchases private right from the shopping cart.
Zack Snyder Is Down To Make A ‘Fortnite’ Movie
A new Snyderverse, but in Fortnite? Consider us intrigued.
Apple Watch ban: everything you need to know
On December 18th, Apple abruptly announced its plans to pull the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 from store shelves starting on December 24th. The move comes in response to an import ban handed down by the US International Trade Commission, which ruled Apple infringed on patents for pulse oximetry tech made by Masimo in October. This means Apple can no longer import and sell the Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 in the US — at least for the time being. The iPhone maker is already trying to come up with a solution to avoid the ban, but it might take a while until the dispute is completely resolved. If you want to keep up with all the latest on Apple’s legal battle, check out the news below. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]...
Pondering the biggest orb
Internet Culture It’s a TV. It’s a roller coaster. It’s a 4D Disney World experience. It’s the Sphere, and it’s a lot more fun than my phone. By David Pierce, editor-at-large and Vergecast co-host with over a decade of experience covering consumer tech. Previously, at Protocol, The Wall Street Journal, and Wired. Share this story The Sphere is the main character in Las Vegas right now. If you’re flying into the city from the right angle, half the plane sees it out the window and feels obligated to tell the other half what they’re witnessing. The woman on the flight next to me, who said she’d been to Vegas precisely 52 times, told the first-timer sitting in the window seat that the main thing he had to do this week was get into the Sphere. No problem, he said. He had U2 tickets. I, in...
The Master & Dynamic MW75 Neuro Headphones Can Read Your Mind
High-end headphone brand Master & Dynamic has partnered with neuroscience company Neurable for headphones that can read your mind — literally. The new MW75 Neuro headphones, touted as the first brain-computer interface (BCI) audio product, use neural sensors to read a wearer's brain waves and determine their peak focus time as well as spot moments of stress.The headphones can track work sessions with a simple press of a button, and, through an accompanying app, offer detailed breakdowns of those sessions, spotlighting everything from peak focus time to moments of stress and recommending when the wearer should take a break. According to the companies, the headphones will even turn active noise canceling on and put your phone in "Do Not Disturb" mode when they sense you're deep in your w...
The Verge’s favorite splurge-worthy gifts for 2023
The sky’s the limit when money is no object, so why waste your hard-earned cash and coin on the everyday essentials? It’s time to dream big. The best gifts aren’t always the most expensive, but you’re probably not going to disappoint anybody by gifting them their very own 146-inch TV. For this gift guide, we decided to dream up all the things we’d really love to receive as gifts if money were truly no object. Admittedly, most of the ideas here aren’t exactly affordable — we’re looking at you, VW ID Buzz — though some aren’t totally out of reach if you’ve got some money to spare. Battle Beaver’s customizable PS5 controller starts around $100, after all, and the Analogue Pocket will only set you back a cool $219.99 (if you can find it). So if you’ve got a couple thousand just lying around — ...
Rite Aid hit with five-year facial recognition ban over ‘reckless’ use
/ The Federal Trade Commission is also requiring the pharmacy chain to delete all the photos and videos it captured of customers. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Getty Rite Aid isn’t allowed to use AI-powered facial recognition technology for another five years as part of a settlement it reached with the Federal Trade Commission. In a complaint filed on Tuesday, the FTC accuses Rite Aid of using facial surveillance systems in a “reckless” manner from 2012 to 2020. During this period, the FTC says Rite Aid used facial recognition technology to “capture images of all consumer...
Google To Pay $700M USD in Settlement Over Antitrust Concerns
Google has announced it’ll be paying $700 million USD in a settlement pertaining to antitrust issues on the Google Play Store.A lawsuit was filed against Google in 2021, addressing longstanding allegations that the company stifled competition on its version of the app store by charging unnecessary fees and implementing restrictions against certain apps.While the settlement still has to receive final approval from a judge, the company will be dividing its payment between US states and affected consumers. The settlement will divest $630 million into USD into the consumer fund, split among about 71.4 million consumers, whereas $70 million USD will go into a fund for US states.Per the terms of the settlement agreement, consumers won’t have to file a claim to receive their share, which totals a...
Hacker Group Rhysida Leaks 1.3 Million Files From Sony’s Insomniac Games
Earlier this month, Sony’s Insomniac Games was subjected to an attack by Rhysida, a ransomware gang that had been responsible for stealing personal data from the British Library system just weeks prior.Rhysida claimed that it had stolen 1.67 terabytes — about 1.3 million files – of “exclusive, unique, and impressive data.” The group demanded that Sony pay them a ransom of $2 million USD within one week, or else they’d leak the data.Now that the deadline has passed, Rhysida has leaked the data, which counts numerous pieces of sensitive information, including HR employee files, financial information and bank account and credit card numbers.There’s also game-specific data, such as the PlayStation 5 Wolverine project that Insomniac was developing for Marvel. Screenshots show stills from the ga...
Here are a few last-minute gifts you can still grab in time for the holidays
/ All of these devices, from the affordable to the pricey, make for great gifts while you can still get them. a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>Headphones and earbuds Sometimes you just can’t beat a classic. Apple’s wired EarPods are on sale at Amazon for around $15 in the Lightning configuration or for around $18 in the 3.5mm and newer USB-C configs — and all three should arrive in time to be the perfect stocking stuffer. Using wired earbuds in the year 2023 may sound a little backward, but the microphone on these bad boys absolutely trounces th...
Copilot users can create their own AI songs with the new Suno AI plug-in
/ A new plug-in for the AI music creation tool Suno can generate custom songs in mere seconds. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>The Suno plug-in on Microsoft Copilot.
