Tech
Elon Musk Suspected by Tesla of Using Company Funds To Build Himself a Literal Glass House
It looks like Elon Musk has found himself in hot waters, once again. This time, The Wall Street Journal has reported that the board of Tesla is currently investigating their CEO for possible misuse of funds.According to the publication's sources, the investigation surrounds Musk's use of company funds to build a literal all-glass house near Tesla's Austin-area Gigafactory. The house in question is nicknamed "Project 42." The project is said to be part of an initiative that aided in the purchase of millions of dollar worth of special glass that drew employees' attention last year. Within the area, limited liability firms that have been linked to Musk and other Tesla executives are said to have bought large properties nearby. The space appears to be for personal use, featuring bedrooms, bath...
The best anti-Prime Day deals at Walmart, Best Buy, and other retailers
/ Lo and behold, you don’t have to be a Prime member to enjoy good deals on the Beats Studio Plus, the Roomba j7 Plus, and other gadgets. 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-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”>Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge It’s easy to feel left out of Amazon Prime Day if you’re not a Prime member. Watching everyone else quickly grab deals you don’t have access to can inspire a major case of FOMO; however, you might want to wait before handing over your credit card for a Prime sub...
Meta Now Lets You Use an Avatar to Video Call In Real Time
Meta has created a new tool geared towards those who may have to hop on an early morning meeting or simply feeling less than camera ready. Messenger and Instagram now offer the option to video call with a Meta Avatar.Available across Android or iOS, the feature is billed as “a third option between camera-off and camera-on” that still allows users to feel present during a call. The avatar’s movements will correspond to the user’s own but won’t actually show any of their physical features.Meta has been gradually integrating its avatars into its various VR platforms and games. The company says that over one billion avatars have been created to date. And while most avatars are human, a few have animal personas, meaning you may find yourself on a video call with a cartoon llama.In other tech ne...
Microsoft Inches Closer To Closing Activision Blizzard Purchase
Microsoft might have finally defeated the final boss in its mission to purchase Activision Blizzard.
Intel is quitting on its adorable, powerful, and upgradable mini NUC computers
/ Intel is bringing an end to its cute but hard to buy little NUC PC line that was loved by enthusiast consumers and fun-having IT departments. 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″>This Intel NUC 9 Extreme was one of the larger of the mini-computer line and had more gaming horsepower.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 Intel NUC 11 Extreme could accommodate a full-size RTX 3080 Ti graphics card.
The best Prime Day 2023 phone deals
/ Prime Day is here — and so are some excellent deals on unlocked smartphones from Apple, Google, and Samsung, along with both wired and wireless chargers. 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-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”>Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Because time is a flat circle, back-to-school season is creeping up on us just as we were getting settled into summer. Fall flagship phone launches are on the horizon, too. But before you trade in your SPF 30 for a pumpkin spice latt...
Survey Shows Entertainment Industry Anxious About AI
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes further integrated across a wide segment of industries, there's one particular sector that recently expressed increased anxiety in a recent survey -- namely, the entertainment industry.The survey, put together by Variety, showed that nearly one-third, or 36% of those surveyed were "very" or "somewhat concerned" about the impact specifically generative AI will have on their jobs.Some of the greatest concerns shown were in regard to intellectual property (IP) protections, something several major guilds have called protests to raise awareness for and to get terms on the table for renegotiation. Other groups on strike include the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA.In the case of SAG-AFTRA, an internal letter with over 1,000 signatures including fro...
Google’s AR software leader is out over the company’s “unstable commitment and vision”
/ Google’s AR work has been beset by layoffs and leadership changes. 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”>Illustration: The Verge Mark Lucovsky, the former head of operating systems on Google’s augmented reality team, has left the company. In a tweet on Monday, Lucovsky says “changes in AR leadership and Google’s unstable commitment and vision” contributed to his decision. Lucovsky’s departure adds to the numerous challenges Google’s AR team has faced in recent months, including a round of layoffs and the resignation of Google’s former head of VR, Clay Bavor. In June, a report from Ins...
Porsche is updating how CarPlay works in its cars, adding climate controls and more
/ A new My Porsche app update will give vehicle owners the ability to access vehicle functions like climate controls and interior lighting settings right from the CarPlay experience, demonstrating what Apple’s future in-car software could look like. 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 My Porsche app allows CarPlay to set up Siri controls, adjust climate settings, and more.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″>Owners can see ...
Foxconn drops out of another big factory deal, this time in India
/ Foxconn had a nearly $20 billion deal to build India’s first semiconductor foundry, but now it’s abandoning the project. 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”>Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge iPhone assembler Foxconn is dropping out of a $19.5 billion deal with a major Indian company to build a semiconductor factory in the country, according to Reuters. The canceled Foxconn deal was part of a joint venture with the large oil and metal corporation Vedanta. Foxconn provided a vague explanation as to why it ended its plans to build a semiconductor facility in the country. “Foxconn...
That Google memo about having “no moat” in AI was real — and Google’s AI boss disagrees with it
/ DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis doesn’t believe open-source AI models will outpace Google. 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”>Illustration: The Verge Just a couple of months ago, a leaked memo said to be from a Google researcher cast doubt on the company’s future in AI, stating that it has “no moat” in the industry — and now, we seemingly have confirmation that it was real. In an interview with Decoder, Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google’s DeepMind, told The Verge that although he believes the memo was legitimate, he disagrees with its conclusions. “I think that memo was real. I think e...
Meta’s Threads Surpasses 100 Million Users Globally
Less than a week after launching, Meta’s Threads has garnered more than 100,000,000 users. The text-based app made its debut on Wednesday, an occasion that seemed to have been moved up in the company’s calendar due to the criticism surrounding the new tweet view limit over at Twitter.Built by the Instagram team, the app hit 2 million users in its first two hours, and then steadily rose from there. Users are able to sign up with their Instagram handles and have their following from that app be prompted to connect with them also on Threads.“Threads reached 100 million sign ups over the weekend,” Mark Zuckerberg reported in a post. That’s mostly organic demand and we haven’t even turned on many promotions yet. Can’t believe it’s only been 5 days!”Twitter traffic, meanwhile, isn’t doing so hot...
