Senate confirms Google critic to lead DOJ antitrust division

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

On Tuesday, the Senate confirmed Google critic and competition lawyer Jonathan Kanter to lead the Justice Department’s antitrust division, marking yet another progressive win in antitrust enforcement under the Biden administration.

Kanter has a long history representing tech companies, like Yelp and Microsoft, in lawsuits accusing Google of anti-competitive behavior. Now that he’s been confirmed, Kanter will lead several Justice Department competition cases against big tech, including a monopoly lawsuit against Google alleging that the company maintains an illegal monopoly in the digital ads market.

“Throughout his career, Kanter has [sic] been a leading advocate and expert in the effort to promote strong and meaningful antitrust...

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Universal’s new contracts will make it more difficult for artists to rerecord their work

Photo By: Will Heath/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Universal Music Group is modifying its contracts to extend the period in which an artist can rerecord their music, The Wall Street Journal reported. The move comes after the success of Taylor Swift’s rerecorded albums and the music label’s effort to gain more rights from artists who decide to rerecord their work.

Before, a standard contract stated that an artist couldn’t rerecord their work five years after their last delivered recording or two years after the end of their contract term, whichever is later. The new format increases the time after recording to seven years and the time after a contract term to five years, _WSJ_says.

Swift owns the music composition rights to her music. Her first label, Big Machine Records, sold the rights...

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Lucid Motors passes Ford’s market cap four years after it nearly got bought

Photo by Andrew Hawkins / The Verge

Four years after Ford was reportedly considering buying Lucid Motors, the EV startup is now worth more than the Detroit automaker. Lucid Motors’ market capitalization passed Ford’s on Tuesday, one day after the startup reported its first quarterly financial results as a publicly traded company and just a few weeks after it started shipping its luxury electric sedan, the Air.

Lucid Motors has a comparatively long history for an EV startup as it was founded in 2007 as a battery company called Atieva. But after a 2016 pivot to making an electric sedan, Lucid Motors found itself running out of money at a time when others were starting to take off. One of the options it turned to was a potential Ford acquisition. From a July 2017 report in R...

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Instagram may soon ask users to verify themselves with video selfies

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Instagram is asking some users to provide a video selfie showing multiple angles of their face to verify that they’re a real person, according to screenshots posted to Twitter by social media consultant Matt Navarra. The social network has long struggled with bot accounts, which can leave spam messages, harass people, or be used to artificially inflate like or follower counts, and it’s possible that Meta (formerly Facebook, Instagram’s parent company) is looking to this feature to help curb the prevalence of bots on the platform.

According to XDA Developers, the company started testing the feature last year but ran into technical issues. Multipleusershavereported being asked to take a video selfie to verify their existing accounts.

...

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Logitech reworked its G303 mouse just for Shroud, but you can buy it, too

A top and bottom view of the new, wireless G303. | Logitech

Logitech has announced the G303 wireless gaming mouse. It’s a little more than just a cordless version of the G303 Daedalus mouse that the company released several years ago. Both a prolific streamer and pro gamer, Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek seemingly got to call the shots for how this revised version would look and feel — even down to requiring that it charged via USB-C. I doubt that he had any input on the price, though. It costs $129.99.

Logitech says that in this collaboration, it was decided by Shroud that the mouse should have “subtle markings approximating Shroud’s finger grip positions, translucent side panels to allow a window into the technology that Shroud wanted to see, and USB-C connections.”

To me, the overall shape of the...

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Brave built its own crypto wallet into its browser

Image: Brave

Brave has announced that its web browser now includes a native cryptocurrency wallet, replacing the previous one that was based on the MetaMask wallet extension. With it, most users should have their blockchain needs covered (depending on what blockchain they use, more on that in a second): they’ll be able to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies like Ethereum, store their NFTs, keep track of how much coins are selling for, and experience the magic of Web3, or websites that have built-in blockchain features.

Brave also says that its built-in wallet will take up fewer CPU resources compared to extension-based ones (like the aforementioned MetaMask) and be less susceptible to phishing or attempts to steal NFTs.

The wallet seems to work...

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Activision Blizzard board rallies around embattled CEO hours after damning report

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Hours after The Wall Street Journal published a shocking report alleging Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick was aware of sexual misconduct allegations at the company, the company’s board of directors posted a statement voicing its support of the CEO.

The board’s language shows no indication that Kotick is in danger of losing his job. “The Board remains confident in Bobby Kotick’s leadership, commitment and ability to achieve these goals,” the statement concludes.

Here is the board of directors’ statement in full:

The Activision Blizzard Board remains committed to the goal of making Activision Blizzard the most welcoming and inclusive company in the industry. Under Bobby Kotick’s leadership the Company is already implementing industry...

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Netflix launches new website for reporting its Top 10 titles

Image: Netflix

After announcing last month that it will begin to shift the way it ranks its top titles, Netflix today is launching a new website where it will share those metrics every week.

During its earnings call in October, the company said it would shift away from its longtime two-minute viewing time metric to instead rank titles by total number of hours viewed. The new weekly Top 10 hub will update every Tuesday with lists of its top films and series in the following categories: Films (English), Films (Non-English), TV (English), and TV (Non-English). Each list will display the number of hours each top-ranking TV show or movie was watched.

Image: Netflix

Each list will track the success of Netflix content during the prior...

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Biden’s $7.5 billion EV charging plan will require a lot of patience

Photo By Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

The Biden administration’s effort to blanket the country in half a million new EV chargers in the next half-decade got $7.5 billion in funding Monday when the president signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill into law. But while those chargers will be necessary as electric vehicle sales continue to climb, Biden’s plan will require institutional — and personal — patience.

Not only will it simply take a while to build out that many chargers, but the majority of what gets built will likely be of the “Level 2” variety, which can replenish about 25 miles of battery capacity per hour. That means EV buyers in the US will have to get used to the idea of sipping energy while they’re out and about and doing most of their charging at home.

“...

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VR treatment for chronic pain gets FDA authorization

Applied VR

The Food and Drug Administration authorized a virtual reality system as a prescription treatment for chronic back pain, the agency announced today. The therapy, called EaseVRx, joins the short list of digital therapeutics cleared by the agency over the past few years.

EaseVRx includes a VR headset and a device that amplifies the sound of the user’s breath to assist in breathing exercises. It uses principles from cognitive behavior therapy, which aims to help people recognize and understand various thought patterns and emotions. The program addresses pain through relaxation, distraction, and improved awareness of internal signals, the FDA said in its statement.

The FDA authorized EaseVRx based on data from an eight-week study in 179...

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Samsung’s ‘Get It Today’ lets you pick up your online order at Best Buy

Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge

If you’re tired of long shipping times, Samsung is now partnering with Best Buy to offer a “Get It Today” pickup option. This lets you make a purchase on Samsung’s online store and then pick it up for free within just a few hours at your local Best Buy.

The “Get It Today” option on Samsung’s website lets you choose a Best Buy store for pickup.

Select Samsung phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, and portable audio devices are all eligible for same-day pickup at Best Buy. Once you’re at the checkout, just select “Get It Today” from the pickup / delivery options, and then choose the nearest Best Buy location. After you enter your payment information, just keep in mind that the shipping option defaults to home...

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Activision Blizzard’s rot goes all the way to the CEO, alleges bombshell report

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images

Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick has been aware of sexual misconduct allegations at the company for years and has had his own history of harassment and abusive behavior, according to a bombshell report in The Wall Street Journal.

The report contains many shocking and previously unreported allegations about Activision Blizzard, which has been under intense scrutiny following the state of California’s July lawsuit alleging the company has a culture of “constant sexual harassment.” The problems appear to go all the way to the top, as the new WSJ report contains numerous troubling stories of Kotick’s awareness of problems and of his own behavior.

In one instance, Kotick was aware that a former female employee at an Activision-owned...

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Spotify, Discord, and others are coming back online after a brief Google Cloud outage

Sites and services like Spotify, Discord, Snapchat, and Etsy seem to be recovering after an outage that brought them, and many other sites, down for a little less than an hour on Tuesday.

The culprit for the outages appears to have been Google Cloud, and the service’s status page still shows a networking issue is currently causing problems resulting in the 404 errors that appeared on affected web pages. An update to the status page posted at 1:17PM ET says “the issue with Cloud Networking is partially resolved,” and it does seem like most services are coming back to life, albeit with some experiencing a few bugs or long loading times. Google’s status page notes that there currently isn’t an ETA on when the problem will be fully fixed.

A...

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Windows 11 is getting a new Media Player app you can test today

Windows 11’s new media player. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has created a new Media Player app for Windows 11, and it’s beginning to test the app with Windows Insiders in the Dev Channel today. The redesigned Media Player app will support both audio and video, and it includes a design that better matches Windows 11’s UI improvements.

“At the heart of Media Player is a full-featured music library that allows you to quickly browse and play music, as well as create and manage playlists,” explains Dave Grochocki, a senior program manager lead for Microsoft’s Windows inbox apps team. “The update to the new Media Player will replace the Groove Music app.”

Image: Microsoft

The new artist imagery in Media Player.

The playback view in this new Media Player app includes...

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Meta’s sci-fi haptic glove prototype lets you feel VR objects using air pockets

Meta Reality Labs

You cannot pet a dog in Meta’s new, high-tech virtual reality gloves. But researchers are getting closer.

Meta (formerly Facebook) is known for its high-profile moves into virtual and augmented reality. For seven years, though, it’s been quietly working on one of its most ambitious projects yet: a haptic glove that reproduces sensations like grasping an object or running your hand along a surface. While Meta’s not letting the glove out of its Reality Labs research division, the company is showing it off for the first time today, and it sees the device — alongside other wearable tech — as the future of VR and AR interaction.

At a simplified level, Meta’s haptics prototype is a glove lined with around 15 ridged and inflatable plastic pads...

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Windows 10 on Arm will no longer get x64 app emulation

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Microsoft started testing x64 emulation for Windows 10 on Arm nearly a year ago, but the company is now limiting the feature to Windows 11. The planned feature allows x64 apps that haven’t been compiled for Arm-powered machines to run, allowing devices like the Surface Pro X to access even more apps.

“x64 emulation for Windows is now generally available in Windows 11,” reads an update to a Microsoft blog post today. “For those interested in experiencing this, a PC running Windows 11 on Arm is required.”

That means if you were testing the feature on Windows 10, it’s no longer going to ship in any future operating system updates. You’ll need to upgrade a device like a Surface Pro X to Windows 11, instead.

Microsoft says it’s still...

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Microsoft will now update Windows 10 annually with new features

Microsoft says it’s planning to update Windows 10 annually with any future feature updates. Starting today, Microsoft is releasing the Windows 10 November 2021 update, and the next major update after that will be available later in 2022. This update cadence matches the same used by Windows 11, which will also introduce new features on an annual basis.

“We will transition to a new Windows 10 release cadence to align with the Windows 11 cadence, targeting annual feature update releases,” explains John Cable, Microsoft’s head of Windows servicing and delivery. “The next Windows 10 feature update is slated for the second half of 2022.”

Microsoft’s commitment to future Windows 10 feature updates comes after the company was quiet about its...

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Instagram Live widely releases a new way to support creators

Viewers can buy badges, and they’ll appear next to their names in the comments. | Image: Meta

Today, Instagram is officially launching its Badges feature, which gives viewers a way to pay and support creators on Instagram Live. Although the feature has been in testing for around a year and a half on an invite-only basis, starting today Instagram will allow any eligible creators on the platform to apply for the feature. Once accepted, viewers will be able to purchase “Badges” during a creator’s livestream to support them financially.

Badges are available in three different levels, costing $0.99, $1.99, or $4.99, and show up as one, two, or three hearts next to a commenter’s name during a livestream. Any questions or comments posted by a badge owner will be shown more prominently to a creator, and their Instagram name will appear...

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NASA’s Moon landing will likely be delayed ‘several years’ beyond 2024, auditors say

The Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis I mission lifted above the Space Launch System at Kennedy Space Center | NASA/Frank Michaux

Last week, NASA announced that it was bumping back plans to send humans to the Moon from 2024 to 2025, but according to a new report, the delays could be even more significant. More realistically, such a landing will probably take place several years after 2024, the report claims.

The recent prediction comes from NASA’s Office of the Inspector General, which does periodic audits of the space agency’s various programs. In its latest report, the OIG took a comprehensive look at NASA’s Artemis program, the agency’s ambitious initiative to send people back to the Moon, as well as land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface.

NASA created the Artemis program during the Trump administration. In 2019, then-Vice...

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Health apps and wearables help rich people the most, study finds

Digital tools like motivational text messages that try to nudge people to do more physical activity aren’t effectivefor poor people, according to a new meta-analysis. In one of the most comprehensive efforts to tease apart the impact of behavioral change programs on people with different income levels, the study authors showed that apps and wearables only helped bump physical activity levels for people with high socioeconomic status.

The finding bolstersarguments that digital health interventions can end up widening health gaps between groups and that they’re designed for people with more money and more education.

The new analysis looked at 19 studies that tested whether things like text messages, web-based prompts, or wearable step...

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Meta’s Oculus Quest 2 has shipped 10 million units, according to Qualcomm

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Meta has sold 10 million Oculus Quest 2 headsets, according to Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon at the company’s 2021 investor day, giving the best benchmark yet for sales of Meta’s standalone VR platform since it launched last October.

“Our technologies are the ticket to the metaverse,” Amon said, highlighting Qualcomm’s efforts to establish itself as a key player in VR and AR platforms, especially as the tech industry at large is so heavily emphasizing the metaverse concept.

Ooooh @Qualcomm's @cristianoamon is talking about #XR leadership and @Meta partnership as well as others like @Lenovo and says their technologies are the ticket into the #Metaverse says Quest 2 was 10 million units and that was @Snapdragon XR2 #QID2021p...

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Meta goes into lockdown

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

After a flood of leaks, the company formerly known as Facebook is getting more secretive

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Cowboy Bebop: everything you need to know about Netflix’s live-action adaptation

Image: Kirsty Griffin / Netflix

Stay up to date

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Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2021: news, deal highlights, and money-saving tips

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

We’re here to help you save this holiday season

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Netflix’s Avatar is being shot on a Mandalorian-style virtual stage

Image: Netflix

Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender has kicked off production in Vancouver, and the show will be utilizing some notable tech to create its fantasy world.

Netflix says it has partnered with effects studio Pixomondo on a custom-built facility that’s 84 feet across, 28 feet high, and features 23,000 square feet of stage and more than 3,000 LED panels. It’s similar to the virtual sets utilized most famously by Disney on The Mandalorian. According to Netflix, the set “allows for visual effects to be done in real time in camera, combining multiple environments on a single stage.” The company calls it “one of the biggest virtual production volumes in North America.”

The upcoming adaptation has not been without...

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Amazon’s Wheel of Time tries a little too hard to be Game of Thrones

Image: Amazon Prime Video

The Wheel of Time is Amazon’s second-biggest TV bet ever. “I want my Game of Thrones,” CEO Jeff Bezos is reported to have said. And The Wheel of Time, along with Amazon’s eye-wateringly expensive_Lord of the Rings_show coming in September 2022, are the results. It’s a big adaptation of even bigger fantasy novels, an attempt to beat HBO’s blockbuster hit at its own game and give Amazon a prestige genre series of its own.

But for all the money and effort that’s gone into the show, Amazon hasn’t made a _Game of Thrones_successor, try as it might. _The Wheel of Time_is an interesting attempt at adapting Robert Jordan’s behemoth of a book series, but it’s also dragged down both by its unwieldy source material and its efforts to twist itself...

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Amazon Photos gets overhauled, at least on iOS

Photo by Amazon

Amazon Photos on iOS just got a major redesign, as outlined in a post on the Amazon Photos blog, suggesting that Amazon might be trying to level the playing field with Google Photos.

The update aims to bring smoother navigation, essentially placing all options within “a thumb’s reach.” From the home screen, you should be able to singlehandedly access your photos and account information. The home screen also features a customized slideshow that displays a reel of memories, highlighting vacations, photos of the current date from previous years, and a random selection of photos that change on a daily basis.

Once you select a gallery, Amazon notes that you’ll no longer have to keep scrolling to find a specific picture — swiping up on the...

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Ed Sheeran teases Pokémon Go crossover

What?

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Ohio suing Facebook, says it misled the public about the effect its products have on children

Ohio is suing Facebook | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Ohio is suing Facebook’s parent company, Meta, claiming the social media platform misled the public about the effects its products have on children. The lawsuit, filed November 12th on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS), is seeking more than $100 billion in damages.

The suit alleges that between April 29th and October 21st, Facebook and top executives violated federal securities law when they intentionally misled the public and deceived shareholders about how its products can negatively affect children.

“Facebook said it was looking out for our children and weeding out online trolls, but in reality was creating misery and divisiveness for profit,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement Monday. He...

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The first League of Legends indie spinoffs are out now

Ruined King.

In late 2019, Riot revealed a new publishing label designed to give indie studios the chance to play around in the vast League of Legends universe — and today, the first two Forge games are finally releasing.

That includes Hextech Mayhem, a rhythm platformer from Bit.Trip developer Choice Provisions, which is out on the Switch and PC, with a version also coming to Netflix Games in the future. Joining it is Ruined King, a turn-based role-playing game from Airship Syndicate, which was previously revealed in 2019. It’s launching first on the PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One, with next-gen versions for PlayStation and Xbox also on the way.

Outside of those two games, Riot revealed a new title called Song of Nunu from Rimedeveloper Tequila...

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