technology

/ The anonymous service that paired strangers together is shutting down after 14 years amid increasingly strict online safety regulations, with an admission that it was used to commit ‘heinous crimes.’ 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″>Even if you never used Omegle, you’d probably heard about its sketchy reputation.

/ The encrypted messaging service is opening up a limited public test ahead of the feature’s expected launch next year. 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 Signal is publicly testing letting users add usernames to their accounts so they don’t have to share their phone number to connect via the encrypted messaging service. The test was announced via a post on the Signal forums by VP of engineering Jim O’Leary, who referred to the feature as “pre-beta” and warned that there’ll be rough edges including crashes and broken push notifications. An offi...

/ A “contagion” of defecting developers could have shaved billions off its Android revenue, Google feared. 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 illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos by Philip Pacheco, Bloomberg, Getty Images Google has confirmed in court that Epic was offered a $147 million deal to launch its hit game Fortnite on Android’s Google Play store. The deal, which Google’s VP of Play partnerships Purnima Kochikar says was approved and presented to Epic but not accepted, would have seen the money dispensed over a three-year period of “incremental funding” (e...

/ SAG-AFTRA’s long strike may finally come to an end.

Google/ Tech / The Search Generative Experience is going to be available to a lot more people. 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 Google is bringing its Search Generative Experience (SGE) to more than 120 new countries, including Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Indonesia, Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, according to a blog post from Google’s Hema Budaraju. SGE will also support four new languages, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, and Indonesian, which add to its current support for English, Hindi, and Japanese. The expansion means that a lot more people can choose ...

/ Marvel boss Feige won’t be making a Star Wars movie after all. 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″>Kevin Feige at the Hawkeye premiere in Los Angeles, November 17, 2021.

/ Samsung is looking at on-device artificial intelligence to boost its Galaxy mobile devices. 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: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images Samsung has started to detail its own generative AI model, Samsung Gauss, that can run locally on devices. Korea Times reports that Gauss will be integrated into the next Galaxy S24 handset, expected in early 2024. Samsung showcased Gauss during its own AI forum this week, revealing how the AI model can generate and edit images, compose emails, summarize documents, and even operate as a coding assistant. Parts of Sam...

/ Rockstar Games might be ready to finally spill the details on the next Grand Theft Auto game. 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″>Grand Theft Auto V was a huge hit.

/ These two 45-inch UltraGear curved gaming monitors each have compelling specs, and both cost less than a grand. 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”>LG LG has a pair of new 45-inch ultrawide gaming monitors. That sounds very wide to me, though LG says it’s the equivalent of two 24-inch monitors, which sounds almost compact compared to the 49-inchers from Samsung and LG, or the gargantuan Samsung Odyssey Ark we tested last year. The UltraGear 45GR65DC ($799) and 45...

/ The tech behind Google’s ‘magic’ image editor can also work for people trying to sell you stuff. 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″>Very clickable good dogs.

/ A new cross-platform information sharing program called Lantern aims keep predators from directing minors to other platforms for exploitation. 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 Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge A new program called Lantern aims to fight online child sexual exploitation and abuse (OCSEA) with cross-platform signal sharing between online companies like Meta and Discord. The Tech Coalition, a group of tech businesses with a cooperative aim to fight online child sexual exploitation, wrote in today’s announcement that the program is an attempt to keep ...

Creators/ Tech / FigJam AI is available now in open beta and is ‘currently free’ for all customer tiers. 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″>Want an interesting way to start a meeting? FigJam AI generates templates for icebreakers so you don’t need to think of them yourself.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 Sort function automatically groups together stickies under common themes, adding structure to a chaotic whiteboard.