Author: News Room

I don’t know about you, but I am tired of all the endless phone doomscrolling. I don’t think my brain can take another catastrophic climate change, endangered animal, or increased retirement age fact either. My brain, as the kids say, is cooked. All this, and more, is why I’m rather looking forward to the solar eclipse on 12 August. For me, it’s a chance to step back from the chaos. For a brief moment, I’ll feel significant, insignificant, alone, and together, all at once. My son will join me, staring in amazement, and so will you, here on this pale…

It’s practically common knowledge within the tech world that Samsung is supplying Apple with flexible OLED screens for its debut foldable smartphone. The iPhone Ultra is widely expected to make its debut in September alongside the iPhone 18 Pro, but I already feel like I’ve had a sneak peek. That’s because I’ve just finished testing the Galaxy Z Fold8. Samsung’s first wide book-style foldable uses the same passport-sized outer screen and 4:3 aspect ratio inner display that Apple is believed to have gone for; the upcoming iPhone is also predicted to have a dual camera array at the rear and…

I’ve been a Dyson user for many years, living with the likes of the Gen5 Detect, the V12 Detect Slim before that, and various other models that have come my way as a home tech reviewer.  So when the V10 Konical landed on my doorstep last month alongside Dyson’s all-new Auto-empty Dok, I had a good idea of what to expect: the usual top-notch suction, decent battery life, and that satisfying build quality Dyson is known for. A few weeks later, I can confirm some of that rings true, but a few things have surprised me – both good and…

Earlier this week, the Alaskan cruise ship Wilderness Legacy rescued a small skiff stranded near Farragut Bay after running out of fuel. But, according to tracking data reviewed by the Alaska Beacon and Halifax Shipping News, the closest vessel was actually Mark Zuckerberg’s super yacht, Launchpad.Michael Love, a passenger on the Wilderness Legacy, posted on Bluesky that the captain announced the Launchpad was closer, but “repeatedly refused to respond,” which was met with booing from the passengers. The AIS tracking (embedded below) seems to support that the Launchpad was closer to the vessel in trouble, but then stopped near the…

In 2018 I bet my reputation and self-worth on a huge crowdfunded game design project. It could have been a failure for many reasons, but the one I became most worried about was losing all of the work that was stored locally on my home-built PC — a scenario that would have left a lot of people very upset and placed me in deep trouble. I wasn’t irresponsible, I had local backups, but at some point I found myself in custody of so many important files that it scared me. And no matter how many redundancies I could build at…

X is ending its controversial revenue-sharing program for content creators, which has seen numerous revisions under Elon Musk’s reign. In its place, it’s launching a new Original Content Rewards program on September 8th. To be eligible, creators must have at least 500 verified followers and at least 500,000 Home Timeline impressions from verified users in the last 90 days, among other requirements.Creators will then earn revenue based on “qualified impressions” on “original content.”Qualified impressions are unique impressions from Premium subscribers “on the Home Timeline feed, where at least 50% of the post is visible.” What qualifies as “original content” exactly?…

Tom Holland’s latest Spider-Man movie, Brand New Day, brings the entire MCU movie tally to 38, and at the time of writing, it’s grossed over $1bn at the box office, vigorously shrugging off notions of superhero fatigue like an arachnophobe wearing a tarantula.  And while audiences lap up everyone’s favourite webhead in this firmly Big Apple-based adventure, eyes nervously look to whether the incoming Avengers double-tap of Doomsday and Secret Wars can replicate Spidey’s success later this year and in 2027. Until then, watching the entire MCU run can be a daunting undertaking. So if you’re looking to consolidate your…

To power its new West Texas data center, Amazon is investing in the construction of a new power plant that could be one of the largest single producers of greenhouse gases in the US, according to the New York Times. The new gas-burning plant in Pecos County, Texas has received significant investment from Amazon and, at least initially, would not be connected to the state’s power grid. Instead, its 35 natural-gas turbines would primarily deliver its 7.65 gigawatts of electricity to the new data center.According to Cleanview, which tracks data centers and their associated power projects, GW Ranch received a…

The £230/£200 Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro Max are earbuds with a difference. Their square AI Note-Taker Smart Case has can record, transcribe, even translate meetings. It has 100 built-in languages and promises 97% accuracy. I put it to the test. The case is square and a bit bigger than most – the touchscreen lid slides up to reveal the earbuds. A QR code appears on screen for the app. Pairing is straightforward but you have to pair twice: once for the headphones, a second time for the case. Double-tap on the screen to wake it, then swipe up and select…

Tom Vek burst onto the scene in 2005 with his album We Have Sound, which garnered a solid 7.6 from the tastemakers of the day over at Pitchfork. His undeniably catchy brand of dancy indietronica landed him an appearance on The OC and placement on the Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack. His follow-up, Leisure Seizure, had a lengthy gestation period, but arrived in 2011 to similar success, reaching No. 79 on the UK charts.Vek has continued to release music at regular intervals over the last 15 years, dropping Newer Symbols in 2022. But in 2020 he started toying with this…

Finding a good laptop under $500 was hard enough before RAMageddon. They nearly always had cheap hardware and underpowered, often outdated chips. That’s what made the MacBook Neo so disruptive: It offered great build quality and good-enough performance starting at $599. Windows laptops couldn’t touch it. Even though it’s gone up to $699, it’s still the laptop to beat.So when little-known Chinese brand Chuwi announced a $450 Windows laptop with an aluminum build and a brand-new Intel Wildcat Lake processor, it sounded too good to be true.$449The GoodIt’s $450Tons of ports for a small laptop (though none are very fast)Good…

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 139, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, barbecue sauce, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, I’ve been reading about Johnny Knoxville and Google Zero and the history of the bicycle, @all-ing everyone in all my WhatsApp chats just because I can now, rereading There Will Come Soft Rains because this week is when it happens, seeing if Sabbath can help fix my screentime problems, once again moving everything around in my home office, eating altogether too…