The Verge
Mexico’s cultural appropriation ban is off to a messy start
Illustration by Claudia Chinyere Akole
A law meant to protect Indigenous art might just be lip service
The VergeThe VergeLG’s 27-inch Ultragear QHD gaming monitor is a steal at $280
Wow, LG really loves robots in its product images. | Image: LG
It’s Saturday, and hopefully that means you get a chance for some R-and-R-and-D: rest, relaxation, and deals. We’ve pooled together some great tech deals to help with those first two parts.
When it comes to relaxing, what puts your mind at-ease more than some twitch-response PC games? If that describes you, you might like this deal on LG’s Ultragear 27-inch QHD monitor with 2560 x 1440 resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. It’s $279.99 ($100 off) at Amazon. That is the lowest price to date for this IPS panel with a one millisecond response time. That combination of a high refresh rate and low response time, along with Nvidia G-Sync compatibility for combating screen tearing makes it ideal for fast-action games like first-person shooters and...
The VergeFortnite’s Uncharted crossover includes Tom Holland and Nathan Drake skins
_Fortnite_fans have solved an Epic Games puzzle to reveal an _Uncharted_crossover coming to the game on February 17th. Tom Holland will star in _Fortnite_for a second time, thanks to a new skin in his portrayal as Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted movie that hits theaters on February 18th. The original Nathan Drake character and Chloe Frazier will also be available in both movie and video game forms inside Fortnite.
Epic Games started teasing the collaboration late on Friday with a treasure hunt website, days after leakers spotted code inside _Fortnite_that pointed towards an “Uncharted treasure map.” Players had to solve a 14-character password, with some creators getting clues along the way. The password, sicparvismagna, was solved in...
The VergeBinance invests $200 million in Forbes just two years after suing it for defamation
Photo Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
_Forbes_has announced that Binance, “one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency and blockchain infrastructure providers,” is making a $200 million investment to own a part of an “iconic business information brand.” That money is part of a $400 million private investment in public equity (PIPE) arrangement set up for _Forbes_to go public by merging with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC.
A defamation lawsuit and one crypto hacker/writer weren’t enough to stop this deal
The deal makes for an interesting milestone, showing how Web3 firms have reached their “let’s buy a media outlet” moment, kind of like Time Warner and AOL, or AT&T and Time Warner, or Verizon and AOL, or... you get the point.
But this arrangement also brings...
The VergeThe Verge’s 2022 Valentine’s Day gift guide
Photo by Alex Castro / Amelia Holowaty Krales
These gift ideas ran Cupid’s arrow right through us
The VergeHere are 16 last-minute gifts you can still get before Valentine’s Day
Fujifilm’s Instax Square SQ1 is always a welcome gift, one that is currently selling at an all-time low. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge
Let’s face it: most of us have procrastinated on buying a gift for Valentine’s Day before. Thankfully, there’s still time to pick something up before Monday, February 14th, especially if you know where to look. To help you find the right gift, we’ve rounded up a few ideas that are set to arrive on time. These include deals on smart displays like Amazon’s Echo Show 8, as well as retro-inspired instant cameras, AirPods, and even a portable message gun.
For those who waited until the very last minute, we’ve also included some digital gift ideas, including digital gift cards and games. And remember, if you need even more suggestions, you can always peruse our 2022 Valentine’s Day gift guide. There, you’ll find a selection of ideas spanning...
The VergeAmazon says vaccinated warehouse workers can now work unmasked
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Amazon warehouse employees who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 no longer need to wear face masks at work,The Wall Street Journalreported. The company is rolling back a mask requirement it last put back into effect during the omicron surge in December. Last year, the mask requirement was lifted between May and August and again during much of November and December until the spread of the omicron variant spurred a change.
Amazon is pushing incentives for vaccinations instead of mandates
The company also updated its rules for paid time off. Warehouse employees who have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine by March 18th are eligible for COVID-19 related paid leave if they contract the virus, while unvaccinated employees will...
The VergeWordle players, fear not: The New York Times says the ‘vast majority’ of win streak stats have now been carried over
Well, that wasn’t a very good guess. | Screenshot by Jay Peters
_The New York Times’_version of Wordlelaunched Thursday, but just like most big video game launches these days, it’s been messy. While there have been reports of a few different issues, perhaps the most egregious was that some win streaks weren’t carried over from the old Wordle URLs to the Wordle URL on the Times, despite what was promised after the Times announced it was buying the popular word puzzle from creator Josh Wardle. We asked the Times what’s been going on, and spokesperson Jordan Cohen shared details about how it has been fixing things.
Shortly after Thursday’s launch, the Times identified a problem affecting users’ current streak information. “For these users, their Current Streak was being reset to one after successfully...
The VergeSuper Bowl 2022: how to watch the Bengals play the Rams
Joe Burrow, the quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, is set to face off against the Los Angeles Rams (lead by Matthew Stafford) in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. | Photo by Scott Winters / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Super Bowl LVI is being played at the SoFi Stadium in California at 6:30PM ET on February 13th, with the Los Angeles Rams facing off against the Cincinnati Bengals.
If you’re looking to watch the game, the commercials, and / or the absolutely stacked halftime show featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J. Blige, and Kendrick Lamar, here are some of the ways you can do it. Do be warned, though — if you went out and bought a fancy new TV to watch the game, you won’t be getting the most out of it for the game, as NBC isn’t streaming it in 4K this year. (That said, the TV’s still probably great for a bunch of other things.)
What time will the Super Bowl start?
Kickoff is at 6:30PM ET on February 13th, which is 5:30PM CT, 4:30PM MT, and...
The VergeUS nuclear power plants contain dangerous counterfeit parts, report finds
UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 28: Nuclear power plant in northern California | Photo by Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images
At least some nuclear power plants in the US contain counterfeit parts that could pose significant risks, an investigation by the inspector general’s office of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has found. Those parts “present nuclear safety and security concerns that could have serious consequences,” says the resulting report published on February 9th.
While concerns about safety and nuclear waste have vexed the nuclear power industry for decades, the new findings come amidst growing enthusiasm for nuclear energy as a carbon-free power source that can help nations meet their climate goals.
The investigation was conducted after unnamed individuals alleged that “most, if not all,” nuclear plants in the US have fake or faulty parts. The...
The VergeUber and Lyft are finally starting to look like different companies
Photo by: Lindsey Nicholson/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Uber and Lyft have been operating on parallel tracks for a long time. Drivers moonlight for both services, customers toggle between the two apps, and despite Lyft’s efforts to position itself as a “woke” alternative to Uber, the two companies essentially operate identical ride-sharing services in the US.
Of course, there’s a lot to differentiate the two from one another. Uber is global, while Lyft only operates in North America. Uber dominates ride-sharing, taking in roughly 70 percent of US riders spending and leaving Lyft with the rest. But this week’s earnings reports revealed a much sharper divergence between the two companies than we’ve seen in the past, namely around side hustles.
side hustle divergence
Uber’s main side hustle is...
The VergeCall of Duty is getting a ‘new Warzone experience’ in 2022
Big changes for Warzone are on the way. | Image: Activision Blizzard
Activision is working on two big Call of Duty initiatives for 2022, the company announced Friday. One is a sequel to 2019’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and the other is a “new Warzone experience,” both of which will be “designed together from the ground-up,” according to a blog post.
It’s unclear if the new Warzone experience is a full-on sequel or a major update in the vein of Fortnite’s massive chapter changes, and the company didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment asking for clarification. However, Activision is promising some big things. You can expect “a massive evolution of battle royale with all-new playspace and a new sandbox mode,” the blog says, and a new engine that powers “both the new Call of Duty game release...
The VergeNetflix’s Marvel TV shows will disappear at the end of this month
Before Disney Plus, Netflix’s Marvel TV shows were pushing the edge of MCU-adjacent content on streaming, but soon, you won’t be able to watch _Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, Punisher,_or _The Defenders_on Netflix anymore.
News of the pending removal surfaced earlier today at What’s on Netflix, as viewers noticed flags on the shows in the Netflix app. Spokespeople for Netflix and Disney who declined to be named publicly have confirmed to _The Verge_that Netflix’s license ends February 28th.
Polygon points out that this shift is coming just after a few characters from the Netflix shows popped up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Charlie Cox brought his Daredevil character into Spider-Man: No Way Home, while Vincent...
The VergeAmazon is working on a live-action Blade Runner 2099 TV show from Ridley Scott
Photo: Alcon Entertainment
Blade Runner’s next act will apparently be a live-action TV series from Amazon, with original director Ridley Scott set to return as an executive producer on the project, Blade Runner 2099,_Variety_reports.
_Blade Runner 2099_will pick up 50 years in the future from the Denis Villeneuve-helmed sequel Blade Runner 2049 from 2017 and will see Silka Luisa (the showrunner on Apple TV Plus’ Shining Girls) writing and executive producing the series. _Deadline_addsthat Scott may also direct the show himself, too.
Scott had previously teased the project in a BBC interview back in November — the first public mention of the series — mentioning that the live-action show was being developed as a 10-episode series to start, with a pilot and a show...
The VergeHow to buy a PlayStation 5
A year after launch, Sony’s PlayStation 5 remains (almost) as elusive as ever. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
While both the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition have been available for more than a year now, supply hasn’t caught up with the massive demand for Sony’s next-gen consoles, namely due to the ongoing global supply chain issues that have impacted everything from cars to consoles. So, how are you supposed to get your hands on either system without resorting to the secondhand market — or worse — scalpers? After all, the consoles are often gone in a matter of minutes, regardless of when and where the restock takes place.
Thankfully, there are ways to keep on top of restocks, which will increase your chances of securing the popular next-gen machine. And with a little patience, determination, and luck, you can still get a PlayStation 5 for the...
The VergeNASA unveils the James Webb Space Telescope’s first images
NASA unveiled a mosaic of the first images captured by the revolutionary James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, today. The image represents the early stages of the telescope’s 18 main mirror segments properly aligning before JWST reaches its full potential.
The image is blurry, but this is actually a good starting point in the long process of adjusting JWST’s mirrors to take ultra-sharp photos of the distant Universe. The 18 points of light that appear in the image all represent the same isolated star, known as HD 84406, seen by a different primary mirror segment. Light collected from each primary mirror segment was reflected back to Webb’s secondary mirror, then measured using one of the telescope’s key imaging instruments, the Near...
The VergeTwitter is having some problems
Happy Friday. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Twitter appeared to be having some issues Friday; it’s not working on desktop for some people, and the problems seem more prevalent on the West Coast. While researching a story, tweets wouldn’t load on a specific profile for me, and then an error message appeared that wouldn’t go away.
However, things seem to be improving. The error has disappeared, though I’m still having some trouble loading profiles. Downdetector is showing a spike in user reports, with about 37,000 reporting problems as of this writing.
Looking at Downdetector’s outage map, it appears the issues have primarily affected West Coast users. That includes me — I’m based in Portland, OR. (Perhaps that red dot over Portland is the Downdetector report I made.)
...
The VergeThe man who got fired by his DAO
Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
One of the many aspirations for “web3” is that you could potentially take certain messy, emotional human processes and clean them up by putting them on the blockchain. “Smart contracts” write their terms directly into code, and actions they take are both public and irreversible. Enthusiasts believe this sort of “trustless” system can enable people come together to work on projects that they otherwise might not.
If you get enough of those people together to work on a project, you might have a decentralized autonomous organization, or DAO. The Ethereum network, on which many DAOs run, describes them as “a safe way to collaborate with internet strangers.” Remember when thousands of people came together within days to raise $47 million in an...
The VergeEngineers are building bridges with recycled wind turbine blades
Construction workers install a new pedestrian bridge made with recycled wind turbine blades in County Cork, Ireland. | ReWind
On a former train track bed connecting the towns of Midleton and Youghal in County Cork, Ireland, workers recently excavated the rusted remains of an old railway bridge and installed a pedestrian one in its place. The bridge would have been an unremarkable milestone in the development of a new pedestrian greenway through the Irish countryside, if not for what it’s made of: recycled wind turbine blades.
That makes it just the second “blade bridge” in the world. The first, installed last October in a small town in western Poland, officially opened in early January. The engineers and entrepreneurs behind these bridges are hopeful they represent the beginning of a new trend: repurposing old wind turbine blades for infrastructure projects.
I...
The VergeThe Canadian anti-vaccine mandate protests are causing automakers to cut production
Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images
Major automakers are feeling the strain of the anti-vaccine mandate protests in Canada that have blocked several major bridges on the US-Canada border. Honda, Toyota, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis have all had to cut production in Canada, the US, or both as the anti-mandate protests stretch into their third week.
It is the latest supply chain disruption to affect the auto industry, which is still reeling from the semiconductor chip shortage that has slowed production and led to increased prices of both new and used vehicles.
The convoy protests began in late January, after a loose affiliation of truckers banded together to drive from western Canada to the nation’s capital of Ottawa to voice opposition to COVID-19 vaccine...
The VergeThe best Chromebook for 2022
Acer’s Chromebook Spin 713 | Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge
The best Chromebook laptop or two-in-one for every Chrome OS fan
The VergeHow to back up your Gmail
Photo illustration byJakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
You may be switching jobs, or maybe you’ve decided to stop using a specific email account, or maybe you just want a copy of all your emails just in case. Whatever your reasons, it’s not a bad idea to back up and export your Gmail and other Google accounts using Google’s Takeout feature. In fact, you can set your accounts to back up regularly, which is a good practice in general.
One note: if you’re backing up a company account, you may find that your company has disabled Takeout. There are third-party apps that say they can back up your Gmail, but you should check your company’s policies before you try them out.
How to back up your Gmail:
- Go to myaccount.google.com
- Under Privacy & personalization, click on “Manage your data &...
The VergeElon Musk is hopeful Texas site will clear approval for Starship’s first orbital launch
Starship stacked on top of the Super Heavy rocket | SpaceX
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says he’s hopeful that his company’s launch facility in Boca Chica, Texas, will receive regulatory approval to launch by March and that the first orbital launch of SpaceX’s new Starship rocket will take place sometime this year.
Musk made these comments during his first presentation on Starship since 2019, which he gave last night at the company’s test facility in Boca Chica, Texas. Standing in front of a full stacked prototype of the rocket that towered high over the stage, Musk provided an overview of some of the latest specs of the vehicle, why he wants to pursue deep space travel, and when he expects to make all these plans happen.
It was his fifth presentation on Starship overall, with Musk talking for more...
The VergeThe excellent Asus Zephyrus G15 is back to its lowest price at Best Buy
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales/ The Verge
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G15 remains one of our favorite gaming laptops, despite its lack of a webcam. This cool and powerful laptop has returned to its lowest price at Best Buy. The G15 is normally available for $1849.99, but Best Buy has currently discounted it to $1,549.99. While Asus has recently updated its 15-inch Zephyrus line to include a webcam and more powerful CPU, the collection of specs still makes last year’s model extremely competitive at this price point. This model of the G15 includes a Ryzen 9 CPU, an RTX 3070 graphics card, a 1TB SSD, and 16GB of RAM. The Verge’sMonica Chin reviewed this laptop for us about a year ago and enjoyed the robust battery life and performance of this laptop.
The Anker Soundcore Liberty 3 Pro...
The VergeTwitch policy update bans sex and hard drugs from usernames
Twitch has updated its usernames policy | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Video streaming website Twitch has updated its policy to ban usernames that have explicit references to sex or hard drugs. According to a blog post on the Amazon-owned platform, “usernames really matter on Twitch,” and given their visibility across the site, Twitch believes usernames “must be held to a universal and higher standard than other places people express themselves,” such as chat.
Under the new policy, which takes effect March 1st, Twitch will remove reported usernames that include “references to sexual acts, arousal, fluids, or genitalia” and references to hard drugs. Alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana are excluded from that list, however. After the deadline, the company says it will suspend users if their usernames are “hateful,...
The VergeBigbug’s a charming nightmare about the internet of other people and their things
Netflix
The internet of things falls apart
The VergePeloton Tread review: the best treadmill by the most volatile company
What’s an excellent treadmill like you doing in this corporate disaster saga?
The VergeFeds are still using ID.me to scan your face — and human reviewers can’t keep up
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Sources say staff at the company are stressed, overworked, and struggling to maintain standards
The VergeHow to get rid of those irritating Meet, Chat, and Spaces tabs in mobile Gmail
I have nothing against Google’s Meet videoconferencing platform — in fact, I’ve used it a few times — but I can’t help being annoyed when the feature is pushed at me via other apps. Specifically, Gmail. Meet first appeared on the desktop Gmail app in the spring of 2020, but it did not take up much space and was reasonably easy to ignore (or remove from your screen, if you so wished).
A few months later, however, Meet made its way onto the mobile Gmail app via two tabs at the bottom of the screen: one labeled “Mail” and one labeled “Meet.” The problem wasn’t only that I was pushed to use a particular videoconferencing app while all I wanted to do was check my email, but it also took up space, expanding the bottom margin of the app and...
The VergeVergecast: Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Unpacked event, Microsoft’s open app store rules, and Peloton’s layoffs
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Every Friday, The Verge publishes our flagship podcast, The Vergecast, where co-hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn discuss the week in tech news with the reporters and editors covering the biggest stories.
This week’s episode covers these big tech stories: Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Unpacked event, the latest updates in tech regulation and antitrust policy, and the various troubles at Peloton this week.
Verge editor Chris Welch joins Nilay, Dieter, and _Verge_managing editor Alex Cranz to discuss his hands-on experience using Samsung’s new phones — the Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus — and the rebranding of Samsung’s Note line.
Senior reporter Adi Robertson also joins the show to explain this week in antitrust policy: the Open App Markets Act...