technology

Twitter – X/ Tech / The platform formerly known as Twitter experienced a strange outage early Thursday morning. 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: The Verge Elon Musk’s X platform, previously known as Twitter, mostly stopped working for more than an hour. In mobile apps, the timelines wouldn’t refresh, and on the web, a placeholder message proclaimed, “Welcome to X! This is the best place to see what’s happening in your world. Find some people and topics to follow now.” The global internet trackers at Netblocks noted a “significant international outage” that wasn’t linke...

/ It’s been a bad year. But after the fallout, next year could be one of reinvention for the industry. 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: The Verge This is Hot Pod, The Verge’s newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Sign up here for more. Hello! Apologies for the late send, I have been buried in Hot Pod Summit prep. I promise it will be worth it! We’re putting together a great lineup for 2024. We’re still working on our invitation list — if you’re interested in attending, let us know here. This is about the time yakky media folks like myself co...

/ The FTC’s rules would put new restrictions in place, including ones on ad targeting, school surveillance, and push notifications. 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 The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has proposed new changes to the regulations it currently enforces under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), seekingtofurther limit the collection and use of children’s data by tech companies, especially when used for targeted advertising. “Kids must be able to play and learn online without being endlessly tracked by companies lo...

/ 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.

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]...

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 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 — ...

/ 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...

/ 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...

/ 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.

/ Rhysida has released over a terabyte of internal company data comprising over 1.3 million files after initially asking for a $2 million ransom. 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″>Officially released artwork of Insomniac’s Wolverine.

/ Everything Google’s giving up has a time limit, and some of it is exceedingly minor. a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.