The 10 best shows to stream on Apple TV Plus from 2022

Micha Huigen / The Verge Apple TV Plus is one of the best bangs for your subscription buck. It started with a limited number of shows back in 2019, but the offerings have steadily increased, the shows that have ended have ended super satisfyingly, and there’s just a whole lot of stuff you can binge on there. The problem is that, unless it’s Ted Lasso, you might have problems finding other people in your friend group to watch these shows with. But there are probably dozens — dozens! — of us watching Apple TV Plus. Below are some of the best shows you can watch. I excluded Ted Lasso from this list because I’m positive you’ve already watched it. --- Severance You know it’s been a long year when you realize Severance premiered this same year. The show is about people… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/vXqHMlT via Grabey
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Instagram is littered with bright-as-hell HDR videos, but it didn’t have to be this way

Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge I can’t be the only one that’s had this experience: I’ll be passing time scrolling through my Instagram feed when all of a sudden, my iPhone’s screen cranks the brightness up to 11 for a random video clip or reel. It’s worse if you’re in a dark environment or dimly lit bar when this happens because these bursts ignore your brightness settings and can get pretty unpleasant for your eyes. The reason this happens is that people are increasingly sharing HDR (high dynamic range) videos on social platforms — whether they know it or not — and when your fancy smartphone plays them, the display goes into overdrive to showcase, in Apple’s words, the “true-to-life color and contrast” made possible by HDR. But the thing you’ll notice most of all,… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/N2Xmoqx via Grabey
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Elon Musk bought Twitter, and here’s everything that happened next

Laura Normand / The Verge Elon Musk is now the owner, CEO, and sole director of Twitter. His “Twitter 2.0” era has so far included mass layoffs and rapidly changing policy decisions. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/QmlfLo9 via Grabey
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TikTok is now banned on mobile devices issued by US House of Representatives

An internal memo from the US House of Representatives has ordered staff to delete the TikTok app from mobile devices issued by the House. | Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge The US House of Representatives has ordered staff to delete TikTok from any House-issued mobile phones, according to an internal memo obtained by NBC News. The directive was reportedly issued by Catherine L Szpindor, the chief administrative officer of the House, and also bans the popular social media app from being downloaded on House-issued devices going forward. The CAO’s Office of Cybersecurity believes TikTok to be a “high risk to users” due to a lack of transparency regarding how its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, handles customer data. “House staff are NOT allowed to download the TikTok app on any House mobile devices,” the memo said. “If you have the TikTok app on your House mobile device, you will be contacted to remove it.” … Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/H3hspEM via Grabey
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Know the holiday return policies for Amazon, Target, Walmart, and others

Get informed of major retailer’s return policies before you do your holiday shopping | Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images Didn’t get exactly what you wanted during the holidays? Well, good news: you still have a chance at getting the gift you really hoped for. That’s because a number of retailers are offering return policies so you can exchange unwanted gifts for something a little more to your liking. Many have extended their return period as well, so there’s no need to worry about rushing out to get a refund before the new year. For your convenience, we’ve collected the current return policies for a number of major retailers below, highlighting which will give you a little more time to make that refund. --- Amazon Returns: Items shipped by Amazon between October 11th and December 25th can be returned for free until January 31st, 2023. Note that… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/haXxJr0 via Grabey
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Cadillac Lyriq review: the Cadillac of EVs

Cadillac finally made an electric vehicle, and it’s great. Cadillac’s first electric vehicle is the Lyriq, a smooth, sumptuous 312-mile range compact SUV for $64,000 with a focus on comfort over sportiness. But what’s with those door handles? Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/cEJC4H3 via Grabey
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The quest to save a Stadia exclusive

Image: Q-Games Earlier this year, Google announced that it was shutting down its game streaming service Stadia, a short three years since its launch in 2018. While it’s mostly fans of the service feeling the impact of the closure, there are a handful of developers with Stadia exclusives that will unfortunately lose their games when the service shuts down for good in January. One of those is Q-Games, makers of PixelJunk Raiders. The Verge spoke with Q-Games’ founder and CEO, Dylan Cuthbert, who explained the unique situation Q-Games is in, trying to get their exclusive off Stadia’s foundering ship and somewhere safe where people can play it. PixelJunk Raiders is a space exploration roguelike that takes advantage of Stadia’s unique “state share” feature… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/YBMNjw1 via Grabey
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EcoFlow Power Kit review: off-grid living made easy

A game-changing all-in-one power system for cabins and RVs that can be installed relatively quickly. Just add solar. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/zsl0kD3 via Grabey
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These were the films and TV shows that defined 2022

Illustration by Micha Huigen / The Verge From Everything Everywhere All at Once to The Rehearsal to Goncharov and Batgirl, 2022 was an absolutely wild year for films and TV shows that has us all watching. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/ydfbqhD via Grabey
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See inside your Steam Deck with JSAUX’s $30 transparent backplate

JSAUX’s Steam Deck transparent backplate. | Image: JSAUX JSAUX might sound like just another alphabet soup electronics brand, but it’s quickly developed a reputation as the foremost accessory vendor for the Steam Deck — and today, it’s announced what (I’m fairly sure!) is the very first transparent shell for the system. And you know how we love our transparent gadgets here at The Verge. The $30 JSAUX PC0106 Transparent Back Plate for Steam Deck isn’t a full shell, as it just covers (slash exposes) the rear half of the PC gaming portable, but that’s not all you get for your 30 bucks. It also comes with three sets of back buttons, at least one of which is taller than the originals for a longer throw. (It’s not clear whether they’ll help with the stiff press, but the image below gives me hope.) … Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/C2i5TI4 via Grabey
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Lenovo’s Mini LED monitors can charge some of the thirstiest laptops with 140W USB-C PD

And they come in 27 and 31.5-inch varieties. | Image: Lenovo Lenovo has announced two 4K monitors using Mini LED tech, and they seem like very interesting choices for someone who wants a nice display but won’t be doing any hardcore gaming. The 27-inch ThinkVision P27pz-30 and 31.5-inch P32pz-30 come packed with 1,152 dimming zones, a bevy of ports, and even the potentially unprecedented ability to send 140W of power to a laptop — and despite the high price points of many Mini LED monitors, they’re both expected to cost well under $2,000 when they arrive in August 2023. You can connect to the monitors with a single USB-C cable, which Lenovo’s press release says can handle “40Gbps of data and video transfer.” That’s plenty for a 4K monitor running at 60Hz — in fact, Lenovo says you can even… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/BluCde2 via Grabey
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The Pixel 8 camera might adopt a new HDR technique

The Pixel 7 used the same camera sensor as the previous generation, but that might be changing. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Pixel 8 is a long ways off, but some snippets of camera app code identified by developer Kuba Wojciechowski are giving us an early glimpse into what Google might be planning. The code in question refers to “staggered HDR,” which isn’t a technique that Google’s Pixel camera currently uses. The company was one of the first to refine mobile HDR and computational photography, taking them mainstream. Now, it appears to be evolving its tech for the next generation in a significant way. Staggered HDR is a method of capturing short and long exposures of scenes nearly simultaneously. Google currently employs HDR Plus Bracketing, which takes individual photos in rapid succession and uses them to create a final image with a wide dynamic range —… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/rYeztsS via Grabey
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Spotify explores rebranding its main podcast creation tool

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge A very happy holidays to you all! The news is slow, and the food is fried. I made the best latkes of my life (of anyone’s life?) this weekend and also ate four Peter Pan jelly donuts in the span of 24 hours. It really is the most wonderful time of year. On that note, we have a modified Hot Pod schedule for the next two weeks. We’ll have a Thursday issue for HP Insiders and be off Friday. Next week, we’ll only be publishing on Wednesday. And I am not saying that I hope you don’t read any of them, but I do hope you take some well-deserved time with loved ones and away from the internet. Today, Spotify flirts with an Anchor rebrand, and Angela Merkel loves true crime. Who knew? Anchor may be getting a rebrand Spotify simply loves a user… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/WKdaf0u via Grabey
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The best magnetic chargers to buy for your MagSafe iPhone

The Verge Making sense of Apple’s messy MagSafe charging ecosystem, where the first-party options are far from the best ones. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/wrnBoEZ via Grabey
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Apple’s reportedly working on several monitors — including an updated Pro Display XDR

The 2019 Pro Display XDR alongside the Mac Pro. | Photo by Avery White for The Verge Apple’s working on “multiple new” external monitors outfitted with the company’s in-house silicon, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. This lineup’s expected to include an updated version of the Pro Display XDR, which was last released in 2019. Gurman says the addition of Apple’s own chips should help the displays “rely less on resources from the attached computer.” Apple similarly incorporated the iPhone 11’s A13 Bionic chip into the Studio Display it launched back in March, allowing the monitor to support certain features like Center Stage, spatial audio, and “Hey Siri” voice commands. Besides the rumored Pro Display XDR, it’s still not entirely clear what other kinds of monitors Apple has planned. Supply chain analyst… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/vbdjOxw via Grabey
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The best phone grips and stands for people who hate phone cases

Bumper frames, stands, and grips abound for the case averse among us. Grips, wallets, skins — and even a few cases — for people who can’t stand putting a case on their phone. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/du73zVR via Grabey
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Logitech’s Streamcam is on sale for its lowest price to date

Logitech’s Streamcam, one of our favorite webcams, is down to just $99.99. | Image: Logitech Tis the weekend before Christmas, and if you’re now starting to panic because you’ve yet to decide what you want to gift, we’ve got your back. True, the clock is ticking, but you still have a few days left to order and receive a gift on time. What’s more, we’re currently seeing some great deals on popular presents for all budgets, so you can save, too. If your giftee is a content creator who produces videos, or just want to look good on video calls, Logitech’s Streamcam is currently on sale for $99.99 ($70 off) at Amazon and Best Buy, which is a new all-time low. It’s one of the best webcams available thanks to its sharp picture quality and a slew of extra features, making it a great choice for those who need a high-quality webcam. The… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/sWGwlY9 via Grabey
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The best deals on 4K TVs

We’ve collected deals on all sorts of TVs, ranging from affordable (yet feature-packed) models to high-end OLED and QNED TVs that’ll impress the most discerning viewers. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge The future looks bright for those who are looking to nab a great TV at a substantial discount. It’s not just low-end 4K TVs that are getting the best price cuts this year; we’ve seen many of the latest mid- and high-end models from Sony, LG, Samsung, and more selling for hundreds less than their original list price. So, whether you want a cheap and simple 4K TV with built-in streaming capabilities or you want to spend more money on something like Samsung’s artistic The Frame or LG’s fantastic C2 OLED, we’ve got you covered with all the best deals of the year. Right now, there are currently a number of discounted 4K TVs to choose from, spanning a wide variety of prices, size configurations, and feature sets. Whether you want a secondary… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/dgGI6OW via Grabey
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Tim Sweeney wants Epic to help build a metaverse that’s actually positive

Geralt will be joining Fortnite shortly. | Image: Epic Games Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney laid out what he called his “grand vision” for the company in a livestream on Thursday, and it might not be surprising that the company that builds Fortnite wants to help usher in the best version of the metaverse. While the metaverse doesn’t exactly have a firm definition, Fortnite is perhaps currently the easiest metaverse idea to grasp in that it allows players to easily hang out in 3D virtual worlds and take on avatars ranging from Epic-designed human characters to Goku from Dragon Ball. But Epic doesn’t just develop Fortnite; it also makes the Unreal Engine development tools used by both gaming studios and film productions, operates a Steam competitor in the Epic Games Store, runs Rocket League and Fall… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/uSVAeIH via Grabey
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How researchers recorded the sounds of a Martian dust devil for the first time

A dust devil captured by instruments on the Perseverance rover. From the study authors: “These are images taken of the direct dust devil encounter by the rover’s Navigation Camera (Navcam). The images have been processed to show the quantity of dust. The colour scale ranges from lowest dust content (blue) to highest dust content (yellow).” | Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute/ISAE-SUPAERO On September 27th, 2021, a dust devil whirled past the Perseverance rover on Mars. The rover not only caught the dust devil on its cameras and with its weather sensors but also picked up the faint, eerie sounds of the dust devil on its microphone, the first instrument of its kind to record sounds on Mars. “We were convinced that the microphone was going to give us a whole load of new observations of atmospheric features on Mars that we hadn’t been able to see before,” Naomi Murdoch of the University of Toulouse, lead author of a Nature Communications paper about the research, said to The Verge. “And we haven’t been disappointed!” Rovers have been exploring Mars for decades with cameras, spectrographs, and weather sensors, giving us a… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/DfR3XlC via Grabey
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T-Mobile’s latest 5G coverage hails from the era of Sprint, 3G, and 4G

T-Mobile is doing spectrum stuff again. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge T-Mobile has enjoyed an undeniable head start in 5G in the US, thanks to its lucrative Sprint deal, and it’s turning some old spectrum around to pad out its lead. The company has deployed its 1,900MHz spectrum nationwide on its mid-band Ultra Capacity 5G network. The 1,900MHz band has a new lease on life after previously serving the now–defunct Sprint LTE and T-Mobile 3G networks. T-Mobile used its 1,900MHz holdings in a past life to host 3G HSPA+ service while it built out an LTE network using 1,700MHz spectrum. This was also instrumental in making sure unlocked 3G iPhones could use T-Mobile’s network — the 1,700MHz spectrum it relied on for 3G wasn’t compatible with the iPhone. Meanwhile, Sprint used its 1,900MHz spectrum to build out… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/1fVH5mx via Grabey
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The best deals under $25 that make great gifts

Skullcandy’s Jib True may not be the best wireless earbuds you can buy, but they’re hard to beat as a stocking stuffer. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Once December gets going, it starts to feel like time quickly accelerates, and before you know it, your remaining holiday gift shopping starts bumping up against shipping deadlines. But if you’re in need of some simple and easy gift recommendations that don’t cost too many pennies, you’re in luck. In addition to our extensive collection of holiday gift guides, we’re also keeping a watchful eye out for great gifts that are currently on sale. So to help you “win” this year’s holiday gift exchange, we’ve hand-picked a collection of gadgets and tech-adjacent deals under $25 that may make a great present for all types of people in your life. Some of these discounts may even make it seem like you spent more than you actually did, but we’ll… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/fvUKLqk via Grabey
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The developer who unlocked 90Hz on the Pixel 6A needs help finishing the project

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Remember that Pixel 6A mod that unlocks a 90Hz refresh rate? Well, the developer behind it, Nathan Brooke (aka Lunarixus), just made the changes public in hopes that other developers can finish off the tweak. In a post on Twitter, Brooke includes a link to the project on GitHub and says that he just doesn’t have enough time to work on it. The mod activates a seemingly untapped 90Hz refresh rate on the budget-friendly Pixel 6A, which would otherwise ship with a 6.1-inch OLED display running at 60Hz. While The Verge’s senior editor, Sean Hollister, confirmed that the mod does work, there are a few caveats. Note: Green tint is not fixed, this is why we never released it officially, you won’t notice green tint on max and lowest brightness,… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/pIaQ0vB via Grabey
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How to watch the end of NASA’s Artemis I mission

NASA’s SLS rocket sends the Orion Capsule on its way to the Moon on November 16th, 2022. The capsule is set to return to Earth on December 11th. | Photo by Joe Burbank / Orlando Sentinel / Tribune News Service via Getty Images This weekend NASA’s Orion spacecraft will return to Earth, following its 25-day mission around the Moon. The uncrewed spacecraft is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, December 11th. Since its launch on November 16th, Orion has traveled through Earth’s atmosphere and out into space, making a close flyby of the Moon and heading into a distant orbit, reaching a distance of over 43,000 miles from the Moon at its furthest point. Orion traveled around the Moon and made a second close flyby on the return journey and is now on its way back to Earth. The biggest challenge that awaits the spacecraft now is safely entering the Earth’s atmosphere and landing in the ocean. “At present, we are on track to have a fully successful… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/A3cEjdG via Grabey
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The best instant photo printer you can buy right now

Whether you want the best photo quality or ultra-portability, there’s a printer for you. Instant printers are an easy and entertaining way to get photos off of your phone and into the real world. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/ABWfQrE via Grabey
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Kevin Conroy will be Batman one last time in upcoming Suicide Squad game

Among the many surprises of the early minutes of The Game Awards, was a new trailer for the delayed Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League. The short trailer featured Captain Boomerang yelling at the propped up body of a dead Flash while Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and King Shark look on the shadows in horror as Batman kills a hapless police officer. The screen then cuts to black as the late Kevin Conroy shouts his most famous line as Batman, “I am vengeance, I am the night, I am Batman.” The trailer ends on a touching tribute thanking Conroy for his iconic performance of the caped crusader. Conroy, who passed away earlier this month, will voice Batman one final time in Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League which finally has a release date… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/5xT6bAj via Grabey
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Your home security system may now be a little smarter

A new feature from Alarm.com knows when to arm and disarm your security system so you don’t have to. | Image: Alarm.com Millions of smart home security systems are getting a bit smarter this week. A new feature called Smart Arming brings a little flexibility to Alarm.com systems’ arm and disarm settings, making you less likely to trip the alarm by mistake and more likely to actually use it. Smart Arming is available now on systems powered by Alarm.com, a company that provides both hardware and software to hundreds of local and national home security companies. Instead of a rigid on / off schedule, Smart Arming lets you schedule arm and disarm windows, then uses information from security sensors in your home that you select to determine when to set the alarm or disarm it within those windows. It’s like the difference between a programmable thermostat that… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/lB0Jbja via Grabey
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DC sues Amazon for ‘stealing’ $60 million in tips from Flex drivers

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine has sued Amazon for using drivers’ tips to pay their standard wages, attempting to exact a punishment that federal consumer protection agencies couldn’t. Amazon settled with the Federal Trade Commission last year after a lawsuit asserted it had withheld more than $60 million (or about one-third of total customer tips) from Amazon Flex drivers over the course of two and a half years. But while the FTC took that money to distribute back to drivers, it had no mechanism to issue greater penalties. “Amazon has thus far escaped any other consequences,” Racine’s complaint says. The new suit asks for a DC court to assess further financial damages, aiming to “hold Amazon to full account for its… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/TglYDuS via Grabey
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How I learned that Google Lens is more than a gimmick

Image: Google Last Saturday, I discovered two things: I needed to buy a doorbell for my mother’s apartment, and Google Lens could be a really useful time-saver. Here’s what happened: my mother lives in a large apartment complex that was built in the 1970s — and I suspect the doorbells on the apartment doors are the same that were installed then. They click more than they actually ring. I’ve got perfectly good hearing, and I have trouble hearing when somebody presses the doorbell; for my mother, who wears hearing aids, it’s nearly impossible. Recently, I finally decided to do something about it. The photo isn’t great, but Google Lens was able to identify the bell on the neighbor’s door. I spent a couple of hours shopping online…. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/4Gpxb59 via Grabey
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Apple still can’t figure out what kind of car it wants to make

You’re still going to want to start saving your pennies. | Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Apple’s long-rumored car could cost less than $100,000 when it’s finally available to buy, according to Bloomberg. But the car may have less ambitious self-driving capabilities than first planned and arrive a year later than originally expected. While the car had been reported to be a fully autonomous car like prototypes from EV startup Canoo, the current design for the car will have more conventional car features like a steering wheel and pedals, Bloomberg reports. This new version won’t be fully autonomous; instead, users will apparently only be able to activate the self-driving features on highways, closer to driver-assist options like GM’s Super Cruise and Ford’s BlueCruise. (Perhaps Apple is wary of running into the issues Tesla has… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/QtzBl3j via Grabey
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Google will show you suggested keywords right under the search bar

There are about to be new buttons on Google. | Image: Google Google is going to start adding recommended keywords beneath the search bar to help you filter down results, according to a Tuesday blog post from the company. It calls the feature “topics” and says it’ll make it easy to add and remove qualifiers to your query without having to do an entirely new search. As an example of how this system will work, Google shows a search for dinner ideas. In the filters section, where you usually see buttons that let you switch to an Images or Shopping search, are new buttons that let you add modifiers like “easy,” “healthy,” “vegetarian,” and “high protein.” Tapping them narrows your results down, and you can add several of them at once if you want to get really specific. It’s similar to adding more words… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/EjSih75 via Grabey
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His Dark Materials’ third and final season is its most ambitious yet

Ruth Wilson in His Dark Materials. | Image: HBO Ahead of the premiere on HBO, the cast behind the fantasy series explains why the last season is the darkest and most complex to date. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/DAuB4xf via Grabey
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Fortnite: Chapter 4 has a new island, dirt bikes, and Geralt of Rivia

Image: Epic Games Following a live event that saw the previous version of the island explode, Fortnite: Chapter 4 is now here — and it includes plenty of big changes for the long-running battle royale. The most notable change is the brand-new island, which includes a number of new points of interest such as a citadel housing a character known as “the Ageless,” a mine full of a new material called kinetic ore, and some kind of abandoned farm. Other additions include a new vehicle in the form of dirt bikes (called a “trail thrasher” in the game), the ability to roll around in a giant snowball, “reality augments” that give you randomized buffs as the match goes on, flying jellyfish that can restore your health, brand-new guns including a rifle that shoots… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/OW1RwPM via Grabey
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Lessons learned after living in an off-grid rental

Inforest Esther off-grid home pictured from above in a great expanse of Swedish forest. | Photo: Inforest InForest’s Swedish cabins are completely off the grid, relying on solar power, battery backup, and a limited amount of water. Living in one for a week required some compromises, but fewer than expected. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/6tuXlSP via Grabey
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Another Blizzard QA department wins union vote

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Workers at Blizzard’s Albany, New York offices — organized as GWA Albany under the Communications Workers of America (CWA) — have won their union vote, making them the publisher’s second union and the third overall union in the US video game industry. The vote was a majority decision — 14 “yes” votes out of a total possible 18 votes — marking an important step in Blizzard Albany’s unionization process that began in July of this year. “With this victory, we’re advocating for ourselves and each other because we care deeply about our work and the games we make,” said Amanda Deep, associate test analyst at Blizzard Albany, in a CWA press release celebrating the win. “Our colleagues at Raven inspired us when they announced the formation of… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/P9GmFya via Grabey
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Today’s Google Doodle celebrates one of gaming’s hidden figures

Gerald “Jerry” Lawson is one of the overlooked founding fathers of gaming. Among the litany of recognizable names in the gaming industry, there is one that’s often left out of the conversation. Gerald “Jerry” Lawson, the engineer responsible for the development of the video game cartridge, among other outstanding achievements, is the subject of today’s Google Doodle. While his name may not get the same recognition as the likes of Carmack, Romero, or Bushnell, Lawson was an instrumental part in the growth and development of video games, long before many of these prominent upstarts would hang their shingle. Image: GoogleToday’s Google Doodle is an interactive celebration of Gerald “Jerry” Lawson’s contributions to gaming. A Brooklyn-born and -raised Black man, Lawson began his career… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/vebNBCi via Grabey
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Elon Musk bought Twitter, and here’s everything that happened next

Laura Normand / The Verge Elon Musk is now the owner, CEO, and sole director of Twitter. His “Twitter 2.0” era has so far included mass layoffs and rapidly changing policy decisions. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/OKxIPSW via Grabey
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The year of 1 trillion streams

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Hello there! I hope you all had a nice break. Thanksgiving food is not my thing, but I did enjoy watching the last third of Saturday Night Fever with my parents and in-laws (shockingly depressing!). Back to the grind. Today, Spotify Wrapped copycats make their debut and Google and iHeartMedia get a slap on the wrist for a misleading ad campaign. Slow Burn wins Apple’s new podcast prize (and promo) Today, Apple Podcasts introduced an award for “Show of the Year,” with its inaugural honor going to Slate’s Slow Burn. In the weeks leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June, Slow Burn published an in-depth account of the history behind the landmark 1973 case. Honestly, the podcast was great (and all the more… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/qvOtJTE via Grabey
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Elon Musk says Apple has ‘threatened to withhold Twitter’ from the App Store

Elon Musk is speaking out against Apple. | Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Elon Musk claims that Apple has threatened to “withhold” Twitter from the iOS App Store for unknown reasons. The news follows a tweet where Musk said Apple had “mostly stopped advertising” on the platform and a poll asking whether Apple should “publish all censorship actions it has taken that affect its customers.” Apple did not immediately comment on Musk’s claim. The news follows much more subtle signs of mounting tension between Apple and Musk-owned Twitter. Musk has criticized Apple’s App Store fee for in-app purchases, dubbing it a “hidden 30% tax” on the internet. And Apple App Store boss Phil Schiller deleted his Twitter account following Musk’s takeover, shortly after Donald Trump’s account was reinstated. In a November 15th… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/KGiBI5n via Grabey
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The Genki Covert Dock Mini lets me put an entire gaming system in my purse

That’s it. That’s the dock. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Friday afternoons growing up meant a trip to the video store. It was an utter thrill, like a little weekly Christmas, where my mom would turn my sister and me loose among the laminated, empty VHS boxes to pick out something to rent for the weekend. And as a rare treat, she would sometimes relent to our whining and let us take home the Holy Grail of rentals: a Sega console. A teenage Video Update employee would retrieve it for us and make sure that the controllers and cords were all accounted for in a massive, nuclear-code-style suitcase. That’s what carrying an entire game console looked like in 1993. Things are a little different now. A few weeks ago, I packed our game console to take it along on a family vacation. This time, it all… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/fwqIU60 via Grabey
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The best early Cyber Monday deals you can get now

The Noc Design / The Verge You know how most streets in US towns look exactly the same, barring a few differences? That’s kind of how Cyber Monday is to Black Friday. Many of its deals should be familiar if you’ve been paying attention throughout the Thanksgiving weekend, even though it’s taking on another name. If you haven’t been tuned in, well, you’re in for a treat. There are so many best-ever deals on tech like noise-canceling headphones and earbuds, iPads, video games, budget-friendly gadgets, and a lot more (pour one out for the $569 48-inch LG A2 OLED TV at Best Buy, which is no longer available). We’re serving you the best-of-the-best deals right up top, just below a handy table of contents that’ll help you zip around to your preferred product category. … Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/5FCAPyq via Grabey
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The Galaxy Z Fold 4 is the most versatile gadget you can buy

The size of the Fold 4’s inner display changes how you think about what a smartphone can do. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge It’s easy to see the appeal of folding phones — they are big screen devices that get smaller to fit in your pocket. It’s also easy to see the drawbacks; as much as Samsung tries to hide it with trade-in promotions, there’s no denying the Galaxy Z Fold 4’s $1,800 price tag is too steep for the vast majority of people. The question of durability is also hard to ignore — it doesn’t take much searching to find tales of randomly cracked Fold screens. But until you commit and start using a device like the Fold 4 for some time, it’s hard to see the value that a folding phone can bring. I’ve owned a Fold model since 2020’s Fold 2 (and owned the Fold 3 for a year before upgrading to the Fold 4 thanks to Samsung’s aggressive, if fiscally… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/KmDy1PV via Grabey
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The best Black Friday deals on smartwatches and fitness trackers

The Apple Watch Ultra is $60 off at multiple retailers. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Picking a smartwatch or fitness tracker can be daunting. There are dozens of factors to consider, such as style, durability, connectivity options, battery life, and the types of metrics tracked. Plus, there are enough models to make your head spin. With all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, it can be hard to know what’s worth it and what isn’t. No worries. We’ve picked out the best deals so you don’t have to. They’re separated into three categories: smartwatches, multisport watches (for your hardcore athletes), and fitness trackers. The best Black Friday smartwatch deals * The 41mm Apple Watch Series 8 with GPS is $349, which is $50 off its normal price, at Amazon, Walmart, and Target. It lacks cellular capability, but it’s still… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/8xhG0mE via Grabey
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7 games to distract your baby cousins this Thanksgiving

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge And one to totally tear your family apart Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/KrPTeMd via Grabey
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It’s easier to change Alexa’s accent now if you’re into that

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge If you’ve been dreaming of the day you can make Alexa sound like your very own British butler, well then, you’re in luck: Amazon is now making Alexa’s English vocals region-free. “We’ve added more voice options for English-speaking customers in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia by giving them the ability to select from Alexa’s American, Australian, British, Canadian, or Indian voice options,” PR representative for Amazon Kaley Heuschkel tells The Verge in an email. Previously, if you attempted to switch up Alexa’s voice, Amazon would force you to make a region change as well, which would disrupt products and services that are only available in the country you live in. In comparison, Apple already lets US customers switch Siri’s accent to… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/c4DCGZu via Grabey
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The best phone to buy right now

Photo Illustration by William Joel / The Verge Bad news: flagship phones cost a small fortune these days. Good news: we can help you pick the right one. Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/41zWja3 via Grabey
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The best Black Friday 2022 deals on headphones and earbuds

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Whether you’re shopping for yourself or trying to come through with an amazing gift for someone else, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great opportunities to pick up the latest wireless earbuds and headphones. Some of this year’s best models from Apple, Samsung, Sony, Bose, Beats, and others have now been on the market for a few months and seeing their first big discounts. Meanwhile, old favorites are hitting all-time lows. Many deals are already up for the taking even before Black Friday technically gets underway. You can expect most of them to continue through Cyber Monday; we’ll be keeping an eye on this list and updating it with notable new discounts as they pop up. The best AirPods deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday * A… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/Jc5sUH6 via Grabey
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Marvel Snap introduces new cards and a way to get the cards you want

Image: Second Dinner The developers behind Marvel Snap keep giving the people what they want. In a blog post, the developers announced that in the next patch, they’re adding a slew of new cards and a way for players to get the cards they’ve been pining for. Right now, the way you earn cards in Marvel Snap is by making your way up the collection rank ladder. Every so often, you’ll be rewarded with a new card from a specific pool at random. Random is all fun and good as it forces players to get creative in how they construct their decks so everyone isn’t running the same high-powered cards. But it still kinda sucks when you could craft the perfect deck to drive your enemies from you wailing and screaming if only you had that one card. (Wong, I need Wong!) C… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/9i2HYUF via Grabey
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Where to buy refurbished products

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Buying a refurbished device rather than one that’s brand-new can save you a ton of money. However, these products don’t usually get the spotlight from retailers like Best Buy, Amazon, or B&H Photo. You also won’t find them sitting on the homepage of Apple, Google, Nintendo, Sonos, or Microsoft, to name a few. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t find refurbs on these sites. First, a quick description of what “refurbished” means. If it has been refurbished, that likely means the product was either broken or roughed up enough to warrant a repair. It could also mean that whoever bought it simply decided they didn’t want it and returned it to the store. The definition of what makes for a refurbished product varies depending on the seller,… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/FKR61aW via Grabey
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How a Pomodoro timer app helped me regain my focus

Focus To-Do helped rebuild my shattered attention span | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge Focusing never used to be a problem for me. I was the annoying kid who could study for eight to 10 hours at a time without complaint. That continued well into adulthood until I experienced my own series of unfortunate events. In the last four years, my parents and our 17-year-old dog all died in rapid succession from incurable neurodegenerative diseases. It didn’t help that it happened alongside a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic. And because I’m a genius, I decided to make digital media my bread and butter, an industry held together by fraying duct tape and brain worms. Needless to say, I started off 2022 as a hot mess. All that time spent doomscrolling and grieving left my focus in shambles. Things spiraled to the point where I’d… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/rUXmPdp via Grabey
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Sony is slashing prices on PS5 games and accessories ahead of Black Friday

It isn’t just the white color scheme of the DualSense that’s $20 off. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge Sony switched on some very good holiday deals on digital video games for PS5 and PS4, as well as PS5 accessories, like the DualSense controller. I won’t list out all of the game deals available at the PlayStation Store, but here’s the best way to frame the significance of the game discounts: you can get three PS5-exclusive games, like, say, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal, and Ghost of Tsushima: Director’s Cut, for less than $100 ($30 each). That’s a far cry from the original $70 cost for just one of these titles. Newer games, like Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7, are a bargain at $39.89 each for the PS5 versions. And then there’s the Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, which costs just $19.89. Onto the hardware, G… Continue reading… from The Verge – All Posts https://ift.tt/7BmUH1i via Grabey
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