Author: News Room
Forget going out, why spend money on expensive cinema tickets when you can recreate the theatre experience right in your own living room with one of the best 4K TVs? By investing in a new television, you can enjoy stunning visuals and immersive entertainment without leaving your home. Even if you’re on a tight budget, there are plenty of affordable options that will make a significant difference to your viewing experience. For those with a bigger budget, you can elevate your home theatre setup with top-of-the-line gear that brings the magic of the movies to your doorstep. Selecting the right…
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on phones and other tech outside the US, follow Dominic Preston. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.Smartphone batteries are bigger than ever, while the phones themselves are shrinking. But whether you’re seeing the benefit — thin phones with big batteries — depends on where you live.The key is the introduction of silicon-carbon batteries, which make it possible to fit more battery capacity into the same size cell, as in phones like the…
Time for a spring clean? Whether you’re tackling kitchen crumbs, a dusty rug or pet fluff on the sofa, the best vacuum makes light work of your household chores. That’s why we’ve swept up our favourites below. From handheld helpers to robot vacs that can sweep while you sleep, the vacuum cleaners listed here will cover just about every domestic mess. We’ve included lightweight vacs for little spills, turbo models for serious dust-busting, and a range of options in between. Clear as mud? We’ve also included some vacuum buying tips to tidy up what’s important and bin what’s not, along…
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 97, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, hope you’re having a good iPhone / back to school / it’s-finally-not-hot-anymore week, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)It’s so good to be back! Huge, huge thanks to Jay Peters for doing such a fabulous job here over the last couple of months, and huge thanks to all of you as always for having such good contributions and ideas. Jay will still be around these parts from time to time,…
Panerai has never been shy about leaning into its naval heritage, but its new watch, the Luminor Marina Militare PAM05218 takes things a step further. Officially unveiled to coincide with the opening of the exhibition The Depths of Time, the watch revisits one of the Maison’s defining milestones, paying tribute to the Luminor Marina Militare ref. 5218-202/A, a model that first surfaced in 1993 and has since become a cornerstone of Panerai’s modern identity. That year proved pivotal. Alongside the 5218-202/A, Panerai introduced the Luminor ref. 5218-201/A and Mare Nostrum ref. 5218-301/A, the first two references offered to the civilian…
It’s September, and many among us are dealing with back to school, and anticipating the colder weather that’s on its way (at least, if you live in the northern climes). This, plus a somewhat fraught political atmosphere, means that you might be looking for reliable, affordable ways to escape the doldrums.You don’t need us to tell you that a way to do that is by watching some movies and TV shows. Through September 18th, Paramount is offering a doozy of a deal on both tiers of its Plus streaming service. You can save 50 percent on an annual subscription to…
If you listen to music the way a lot of people do these days — with a pair of wireless earbuds, from a Bluetooth speaker, or just blaring directly out of your phone — you will never notice a difference between Spotify’s high-quality 320Kbps streams and its lossless audio. But, if you usually listen with wired headphones while working at your desk, or have a quality speaker from the likes of Bose that supports Spotify Connect, there actually is something to be gained here.Comparing Spotify’s normal quality streams (96Kbps) with the new 24-bit / 44.1kHz lossless FLAC files feels unfair.…
Looking for the best robot lawn mower? You are? Good. You’re in the right place. Whether you detest manual labour or simply don’t have the time to meticulously manage your lawn, there’s no shame in picking up a robot lawn mower to help make your life go that little bit smoother. Some will work with your smart speaker, too. We’ve rounded up a selection of the best auto mowers below, including traditional ones that require laying down a boundary wire (to prevent them from rolling off into the sunset), and more high-tech versions which make use of fancy GPS, cameras,…
Back in 2021, Spotify announced it would let everyone “listen to their favourite songs the way artists intended”. Which was a bit rich, because artists probably didn’t intend for you to experience their life’s work through a service that pays them peanuts. Fortunately, what Spotify actually meant was the audio quality was about to go up, due to Spotify Lossless hi-fi streams. First they were coming as a premium tier. Then they didn’t show up at all. Meanwhile, Apple and Amazon simultaneously guffawed and torched Spotify’s business plan by sneakily rolling out lossless audio for free. I imagine this was followed by sheer panic…
If you’re to be pedantic, Mario, the most iconic gaming character has different birthdays. Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, he first appeared as an unnamed character in Nintendo’s arcade hit Donkey Kong in 1981 (later named Jumpman in US arcades) before spinning off with his own arcade game Mario Bros. in 1983. But it wasn’t until Super Mario Bros. on the NES console, released in Japan 40 years ago today that he really became the platforming plumber we all know and love. What better way to celebrate this milestone anniversary than to rank the ten best Super Mario games that have…
Elon Musk is pressing Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella to look into Blizzard employees who criticized Charlie Kirk after his death. Musk’s post quotes an X thread listing names and screenshots of the developers.Musk’s direct question to Nadella follows a broader censorship crackdown from Republicans targeting individuals celebrating Kirk’s death or criticizing him. Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) said he would use “Congressional authority and every influence with big tech platforms to mandate immediate ban for life of every post or commenter that belittled the assassination of Charlie Kirk.”Former Blizzard developer Mark Kern, who goes by “Grummz” online and frequently posts about…
Carlson: “…he was definitely murdered, I think… there were signs of a struggle, of course. The surveillance camera, the wires had been cut. He had just ordered take-out food, come back from a vacation with his friends on Catalina Island. No indication at all that he was suicidal. No note and no behavior. He had just spoken to a family member on the phone.And then he’s found dead with blood in multiple rooms. So that’s impossible. Seems really obvious he was murdered. Have you talked to the authorities about it?”Altman: I have not talked to the authorities about it.Carlson: “Um,…