technology

/ Li-Fi is here to join Wi-Fi as a physical networking layer. 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 Light Antenna One promises up-to-gigabit network connections with infrared light. We’ve known for over a decade that blinking light bulbs can transfer substantial quantities of wireless data, not just dumb infrared commands to your TV. Now, the IEEE standards body behind Wi-Fi has decided to formally invite “Li-Fi” to the same table — with speeds of between 10 megabits per second and 9.6 gigabits per second using invisible infrared light. As of June 2023, the IEEE 802.11 wireless standard now officially reco...

/ A second loss for the FTC this week. 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 Images The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has lost what may be its final attempt to block Microsoft from buying Activision Blizzard. It’s the second loss for the FTC after a US federal judge denied its request for a preliminary injunction earlier this week to block Microsoft from acquiring Activision Blizzard until the conclusion of a separate FTC administrative case. The FTC appealed the decision by Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, and now the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied its request fo...

/ A Missouri judge blocked the White House from contacting social media companies about moderation. Now, the appeals court is pressing pause.

/ The family plan changes come just days after Microsoft increased its Xbox Game Pass prices. 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 Microsoft is ending its Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan. The plan had already spread to eight countries as of February, allowing Xbox Game Pass members to share benefits with up to four other friends or family members. There’s no sign if it will ever return. A Microsoft spokesperson has now confirmed to Eurogamer that the Xbox Game Pass Friends & Family plan will come to a close on August 15th: ...

/ Larry Hryb, a well-known face of the Xbox brand over the past two decades, is departing the company. 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 Images Larry Hryb, an Xbox employee perhaps better known by his “Major Nelson” alias, is leaving Microsoft, he announced on Friday. Hryb has been a major face for many of Xbox’s marketing activities since the days of the original Xbox and Xbox Live online service, through the launch of the Xbox 360 and all of the years since. “After 20 incredible years, I have decided to take a step back and work on the next chapter of my career,” he t...

Entertainment With both writers and actors on strike, the future of Hollywood is at stake. By Emma Roth, a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO. Share this story

Laptop Reviews The Yoga Book 9i jettisons the traditional lower laptop deck for a second touchscreen, which opens up some interesting use cases along with some compromises. By Dan Seifert, an editor overseeing The Verge’s product reviews and service journalism programs. Dan has covered the technology world for over a decade at The Verge. Two screens at the same time. That is the whole appeal of Lenovo’s Yoga Book 9i in a nutshell, as best as I can tell after using the device for a couple of weeks.  The $1,999.99 9i, for the uninitiated, is a dual-screen clamshell touchscreen laptop that eschews the traditional keyboard deck for a second touchscreen on the bottom half. Lenovo has been experimenting with nontraditional laptop designs for years, from foldable ThinkPads to twisting laptop...

/ Don’t keep your console to yourself — you can easily add other users, guests, and family members. *:last-child>*:last-child]:mb-0″> The PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S also cater to families. If you’ve got youngsters in the house who want to track their own gaming progress but aren’t allowed to buy and install games (or access unsuitable content), then a family account can offer another option. Both Sony and Microsoft enable you to set up accounts for your kids that can then be monitored in terms of what games can be played, what content can be accessed, and even what times gaming is allowed to happen. These accounts can then be plugged into your gaming system. Whether you’re adding full gamers, temporary guests, or family members, managing users on the latest gener...

Filed under: p>span:first-child]:text-gray-13 [&_.duet–article-byline-and]:text-gray-13″> By Sean Hollister, a senior editor and founding member of The Verge who covers gadgets, games, and toys. He spent 15 years editing the likes of CNET, Gizmodo, and Engadget. Share this story “Adults welcome,” Lego declared — as it started seriously expanding the average size, price, and detail of its sets beyond anything we’d seen before. Like fellow toymakers, Lego has realized: the greatest generation of brick-loving kids is now old enough to open their bank accounts wide. The result has been a non-stop parade of some of the greatest Lego sets ever made — and the return of classic themes like Space, Castle and Pirates. Also, a lot of intriguing nostalgia-inducing partnerships with the...

Reddit/ Tech / The platform is sunsetting coins and awards but is working on a ‘new direction for awarding’ that it will reveal more about in the coming months. 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 Reddit is sunsetting its current coins and awards systems, meaning you soon won’t be able to thank a kind stranger for giving you Reddit Gold for one of your posts. Awards are little icons on posts you might have come across while scrolling around Reddit, and they’re given by other users to show appreciation for a post. Perhaps the most commonly-known ...

Reddit/ Tech / r/malefashionadvice is private in protest of Reddit, but it is building up a community on Discord and has carried over its guides to Substack. 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 biggest Reddit community that’s still private as part of the Reddit protest is now encouraging its users to congregate elsewhere: Discord and Substack. If you currently try to visit r/malefashionadvice, which has more than 5 million subscribers, you’ll be greeted with a page that suggests you visit the community’s Discord and Substack instead. r/malef...

/ Ratchet and Clank’s PC system requirements recommend a solid-state drive but don’t require it — thanks to DirectStorage 1.2! a]:text-gray-13″>If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement. Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart was the poster child for the PlayStation 5’s blazing fast solid-state drive — but on PC, it doesn’t technically need one at all. In a now-vanished blog post on Steam, Sony, Insomniac, and lauded port developer Nixxes have revealed the game’s PC system requirements, which show you can get away with the standard spinning magnetic platters of a traditional hard drive if you’re satisfied with minimum spec (720p at 30fps). Before you hold this up as the latest proof that the PS5’s SSD was unnecessary, you should also kno...