Google’s ‘smart canvas’ vision for Workspace is bringing a pageless interface to Docs

A ‘pageless’ Google Docs document | Image: Google

During Google’s I/O event last year, the company laid out plans to significantly revamp the look and feel of its Workspace cloud apps (they were called G Suite until a 2020 name change). That includes a new look for Gmail that’s starting to roll out this month, search chips (you can just call them filters) for Google Drive, and a set of changes that are about to arrive for Google Docs and Google Sheets.

The theme of this approach is called “smart canvas.” It takes some hints from productivity apps like Notion to give you more options for blending the features of multiple tools in one screen and to promote ways that you can collaborate remotely with coworkers, powered by Google’s AI. Integrating its various office apps is an approach...

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Meta’s policy lead Nick Clegg gets a presidential new title

Photo by Lino Mirgeler/picture alliance via Getty Images

Nick Clegg — Meta’s head of policy and communications — is getting a fancy new title: he’s being upgraded from vice president of global affairs to president of global affairs. The move seems less about elevating Clegg’s responsibilities and more about positioning him (rather than CEO Mark Zuckerberg or COO Sheryl Sandberg) front and center for Meta’s major policy decisions and interactions with governments.

“For the last three years, Nick has managed some of the most complex issues our company faces — including content policy, elections, the establishment of the Oversight Board, and more,” Zuckerberg wrote in a post announcing the move. “Nick will now lead our company on all our policy matters, including how we interact with governments...

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Crypto exchange Binance.US is reportedly dealing with an SEC investigation

Photo Illustration by Rafael Henrique / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is investigating the relationship between the US branch of cryptocurrency exchange Binance and two trading firms that have ties to Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao, as reported by The Waall Street Journal. The two firms, Merit Peak Ltd. and Sigma Chain AG, serve as market makers that continually buy and sell crypto on Binance.US, helping to lower price volatility.

The SEC is particularly concerned with the way Binance discloses its ties to the two trading firms, WSJ reports. On the Binance.US website, the crypto exchange tells users that affiliated market makers can trade on the platform. However, it doesn’t name specific firms.

The SEC has asked Binance.US for more information about both firms

The...

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Spotify is acquiring two major podcast tech platforms

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Spotify is making more podcast acquisitions. The company announced today it’s acquiring both Chartable and Podsights — two of the most prominent podcast marketing and ad attribution companies. The deal price hasn’t been disclosed, but this marks the first major acquisition the company has made this year in a long line of audio purchases.

Both Podsights and Chartable allow podcasters and networks to include tags in their shows that are used to track who listened, if they heard an ad, and whether they took action upon hearing it. Spotify says it plans to use Podsights’ technology outside podcasting and will bring it to the “full scope of the Spotify platform, including audio ads within music, video ads, and display ads.” The Chartable...

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The Last of Us HBO show won’t be out this year

Here’s the first image from the show, which was posted in September. | Image: Neil Druckmann on Twitter

HBO’s upcoming The Last of Us series seems like it will be a faithful adaptation of the hit video game — but unfortunately, it won’t be airing this year, according to comments HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys made to The Hollywood Reporter.

“The Last of Us is shooting right now in Canada. We haven’t announced an air date yet,” Bloys said. “But it’s not 2022. They’re still shooting in Calgary.” He said something similar to Deadline, too:“[The Last of Us] is not going to air in 2022 — they are still shooting in Canada. I imagine you will see it in ’23.”

While it’s a bummer that the show won’t be out in 2022, I’m just fine with HBO taking all the time it needs. The Last of Us is one of my favorite video games, and I really want to see...

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Go read this dystopian story about patients whose bionic eyes went obsolete

A patient with the Argus II. | Photo by Dunyagoz Hospital/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

More than 350 blind people around the world have implants in their eyes made by the company Second Sight Medical Products, which could help partially restore aspects of sight. But the company abandoned the technology a few years ago when it was teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, according to a new investigation from IEEE Spectrum. Now, if something goes wrong with the implants, users are left stranded.

“It is fantastic technology and a lousy company,” Ross Doerr, a Second Sight patient, told IEEE Spectrum.

Second Sight’s implants, the Argus I and the Argus II, don’t restore normal vision; people see things in shades of gray that disappear when they move their heads. And results vary from person to person. Some users of the implants,...

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The Xbox Series S is $30 off for a limited time at eBay

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Right now, you can save $30 on Microsoft’s Xbox Series S at eBay, which drops the price to $269.99 — the lowest we have seen yet. Reputable eBay seller Antonline is offering two options: the standard Xbox Series S console and the Xbox Series S Fortnite and Rocket League Bundle. Both packages get you the console and a matching white controller for that nice $269.99 price, but the Fortnite and Rocket League bundle includes extra in-game content for both free-to-play titles. If you’re hesitant about eBay purchases, Antonline maintains a 98.8 percent positive feedback score on its eBay store and offers a 30-day money-back return policy.

While the Series S may be the lesser of the two Xbox consoles in terms of features and power, lacking a...

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EA reverses decision, will launch The Sims 4 wedding pack in Russia

After previously announcing that it would not release a new The Sims 4 wedding pack in Russia due to the country’s anti-LGBTQ laws, EA has reversed course saying it will now sell My Wedding Stories in Russia with all its LGBTQ content and marketing intact.

In a post on its websiteThe Sims team wrote:

Last week, we shared the below update about our upcoming game pack “My Wedding Stories.” At the time, we believed that our team could not freely share the storytelling of same-sex couple Cam and Dom in Russia and decided the best way to uphold our commitment to sharing their story was to not release this pack there.

Since then, we’ve been listening to the outpouring of feelings from our community including both support for our decision...

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FCC opens apartments up to more broadband competition

Image: Alex Castro / The Verge

Many Americans living in apartment buildings only have one choice of internet provider, and there’s very little tenants can do if they want to switch companies. But consumers could soon find cheaper and hardier service after the Federal Communications Commission approved new rules to bolster competition this week.

In a unanimous 4-0 vote on Tuesday, the FCC banned broadband providers like AT&T and Verizon from entering into certain revenue-sharing agreements with landlords that keep competing companies from serving a building’s tenants. The rules also force broadband providers to disclose any exclusive marketing arrangements they have with landlords to people residing in their buildings. Any “sale-and-leaseback agreements” — where a...

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The Asus ROG Strix Flare II Animate: feature-packed, but overpriced

An expensive hot-swappable gaming keyboard that features a dot matrix LED panel

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Twitter is now letting developers add labels to bot accounts

In September, Twitter launched an experiment of labels for automated (aka bot) accounts to make it easier to know when an account was running on its own. That experiment has apparently proved to be a success, as Twitter will let developers add labels to their automated accounts beginning Wednesday. You’ll see the label on the account’s profile and under the account’s name in your feed.

Specifically, the labels will be available to automated accounts created by developers that use the Twitter API, and account owners will need to opt in to have the label applied to their account, according to Twitter spokesperson Celeste Carswell.

While the rollout is a little delayed from Twitter’s previous promise of letting developers use the labels by...

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Disney Plus goes full Space Jam 2 with a new Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers movie

Call it a reboot. | Image: Disney

Disney has released a trailer for the Disney Plus exclusive movie Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers, and it seems it’s following in the grand tradition of _Space Jam 2_by being squarely targeted toward the age bracket that remembers the characters from late ’80s and early ’90s cartoons.

The movie features Andy Samberg voicing Dale and John Mulaney as Chip, alongside a host of other stars like Will Arnett, Keegan-Michael Key, and Seth Rogan. Based on the trailer, the plot is vaguely about them reuniting after a few decades and teaming up to save the world.

Disney does a lot of lampshading in the trailer and in its Twitter post about how this movie totally isn't a reboot — Chip even shouts “nobody wants a reboot!” But while that argument may...

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The Hummer EV’s battery weighs more than a Honda Civic

We always knew that when General Motors decided to resurrect the Hummer brand as an electric truck, we were still going to get something excessively massive, as per its namesake. But I don’t think we were adequately prepared for the amount of truck bloat encapsulated in the Hummer EV.

According to test data filed by GM with the Environmental Protection Agency — which was first spotted by Car & Driver — the GMC Hummer EV clocks in at an eye-watering 9,063 lbs. That’s several pounds heavier than the 9,046 lbs first reported last summer by enthusiast site GM Trucks.

But that wasn’t the number that really floored me. The one that really singed my corneas was 2,923 lbs, which is the total weight of the Hummer EV’s battery. That’s heavier...

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The Steam Deck will now play these breakout hits from PlayStation Vita, Switch, and Xbox

Valve’s Steam Deck portable game system, launching February 25th, won’t necessarily play every Windows game you own — but a brand-new release of Valve’s Proton compatibility layer, version 7.0, is making the PC versions of PlayStation Vita hit Persona 4 Golden, Nintendo Switch darling Monster Hunter Rise, and Xbox favorite Forza Horizon 5 playable. Heck, we might even be getting _Apex Legends_as well.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Monster Hunter and Persona were killer apps for the PlayStation Vita, and all three of these games are fantastictitles whose journey to PC we’ve been following with great interest. (My colleague Jay called Forza Horizon 5“the perfect portable Xbox game” after using Microsoft’s xCloud to stream it to a...

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Renewable energy growth in the US lags far behind Biden’s climate ambitions

Alta Wind, Windmills produce renewable energy in Mojave Desert outside of Lancaster, California. | Photo by: Visions of America/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Renewable energy growth in the US in 2021 fell far short of what’s needed to reach climate goals, according to a new report by trade group American Clean Power.

The US installed close to 28 gigawatts (GW) of wind, solar, and energy storage capacity last year — which ACP says is less than half of what’s needed to reach Joe Biden’s goal of a carbon pollution-free power grid by 2035. It’s also a 3 percent drop from 2020’s record rate of clean energy installations, as the US wind and solar industries trudged through supply chain disruptions, rising commodity prices and shipping costs, and policy uncertainty last year.

There were unique roadblocks for wind and solar deployment in the US

Globally, 2021 still managed to set a record for...

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Windows 11 is getting new touch gestures, Start menu folders, and much more

New Start menu folders. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is bringing new touch gestures, Start menu folders, a redesigned Task Manager, and lots more improvements to Windows 11. A new build of Windows 11 is available to testers today, and it’s full of new features that look like they will significantly improve the usability of Windows 11 overall.

The new Start menu folders will allow Windows 11 users to customize the pinned section of the Start menu into folders. You drag an app on top of another to create a folder, and you can rearrange apps within folders and remove them. The ability to rename folders is coming in future test builds, but it’s good to see more customization on the Start menu, given Windows 11 launched without many ways to tweak the menu design.

I...

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Fake cheating sites are the latest risk for remote students

Photo by Oli Scarff / AFP via Getty Images

Remote testing service Honorlock is using fake answer sites to tempt and catch students who try to cheat on online exams, according to a report by The Markup. When a student visits one of these “honeypot” sites during an online test, the site automatically sends data back to the student’s remote testing software, indicating that the student is attempting to cheat.

Honorlock is used by over 300 educational institutions

As noted on Honorlock’s site, the service is used by over 300 educational institutions, including the University of Maryland, University of Florida, Arizona State University, and the University of Massachusetts Boston. At its core, Honorlock taps into students’ webcams during tests and uses AI to alert remote human proctors...

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Russian hackers have obtained sensitive defense information technology by targeting US contractors, according to CISA

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Russian state-sponsored hackers have been targeting security-cleared US defense contractors for at least two years, according to an alert released Wednesday by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and National Security Agency (NSA).

According to the alert, Russian-backed actors had targeted cleared defense contractors (CDCs) and subcontractors that supported the Department of Defense (DoD) in a range of areas, including weapons and missile development, vehicle and aircraft design, surveillance and reconnaissance, and combat communications systems. Compromised entities include contractors supporting the US Army, Air Force, Navy, Space Force, DoD, and Intelligence programs.

Through...

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Bose now lets you customize the EQ of its QuietComfort 45 headphones

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Owners of Bose’s QuietComfort 45 noise-canceling headphones can now customize the bass, mid-range, and treble EQ settings to their liking. With a new firmware update released yesterday, the QC45s are no longer stuck on their default, out-of-the-box tuning. You can dial in your preferred settings or choose from a few of Bose’s own presets, including bass boost, treble reducer, and so on.

QC45 owners are already comparing the EQ adjustments on Reddit, with many dialing up the bass response a bit. I noted in my review of the otherwise-excellent QC45s that it was disappointing to see them released without EQ customization, so I’m glad the company got around to adding it.

The latest QC45 firmware also “makes it easier to pair with and...

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Amazon workers at Staten Island warehouse will vote next month on whether to unionize

Amazon workers in New York will vote on unionization | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Workers at an Amazon warehouse on Staten Island in New York City will hold an election next month to decide whether to unionize, the Amazon Labor Union (ALU) said Wednesday. Workers at the warehouse, called JFK8, will vote between March 25th and March 30th, according to the ALU, which is representing the workers. The election will be held in person at a tent outside the warehouse, the ALU tweeted.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) did not immediately confirm the dates and said the two sides were “still in discussion” Wednesday afternoon. But the regulator determined last month that unionization efforts at Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse had “reached a sufficient showing of interest” to hold an election.

We have officially reached an...

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Samsung’s LTE-equipped Galaxy Watch 4 has dropped to its lowest price to date

The LTE versions of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 has reached new all-time lows. | Photo by Dieter Bohn / The Verge

If you, like me, pigged out on one too many chocolates on Valentine’s Day and / or chicken wings during Super Bowl Sunday, today’s smartwatch deal may help you get back on track with your fitness goals. Right now, Samsung’s LTE-outfitted Galaxy Watch 4 is on sale in both size configurations for its lowest prices to date. At the moment, you can pick up the 44mm version at Amazon and Best Buy for $249.99 instead of $329.99 or the 40mm variant for $219.99 (Amazon, Best Buy).

The Galaxy Watch 4 is an excellent Android smartwatch, one that is particularly ideal for those already tapped into the Samsung ecosystem. As we noted in our review last year, the latest Samsung wearable sports a responsive interface and offers greater support for...

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With Android privacy sandbox, Google wants to ditch ad tracking but keep the ads

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

On Wednesday, Google announced the start of a multi-year process to overhaul ad tracking on Android phones, moving the mobile platform along a similar path to the one sketched out by Apple’s tracker blocking on iOS last year.

Currently, Android devices are each assigned a unique identifier known as an “advertising ID,” which is used to build a profile of an Android user that developers can use to target in-app ads. But when the new changes are implemented, the advertising ID will be phased out in favor of alternative targeting mechanisms that Google says will be more favorable to user privacy, according to a blog post published Wednesday.

“Today, we’re announcing a multi-year initiative to build the Privacy Sandbox on Android, with the...

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Twitter’s new CEO is taking ‘a few weeks’ of parental leave and should feel free to take even more

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal will be taking a few weeks of paternity leave. | Photo Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal plans to take “a few weeks” of paternity leave for the birth of his second child, the company confirmed Wednesday. First reported by The Washington Post,Agrawal announced he was taking the leave at a company all-hands meeting last week, although he apparently will take less than the full 20 weeks that Twitter provides.

“At Twitter, we encourage and fully support employees taking parental leave in whatever way works best for each person,” Laura Yagerman, head of corporate communications at Twitter, said in a statement emailed to The Verge. “It’s a personal decision, and we created a parental leave program (supporting up to 20 weeks of flexible leave) that is customizable for that reason.” She added that...

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Disney is developing planned communities for fans who never want to leave its clutches

Concept art for Disney’s first planned “Storyliving” community: Cotino, California. | Image: Disney

Disney has launched a new business for fans who can’t bear to leave the pristine, family-friendly world the corporation has nurtured through its theme parks and media ventures.

“Storyliving by Disney” will operate as part of the company’s theme parks division, developing a series of master-planned communities for residential living, designed by Disney’s creative staff and offering the same pampered tranquility found in its resorts.

Disney’s new planned communities will be as pampered and pristine as its resorts

“Picture an energetic community with the warmth and charm of a small town and the beauty of a resort,” said Disney Parks, Experiences and Products exec Helen Pak in a promotional video.

Only one location has been announced so...

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Garmin’s Fenix 7S Sapphire Solar makes the case for smaller fitness watches

It’s got better GPS and solar charging, but the best part is it’s comfortable

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Garmin’s Epix 2 multisport watch made me a touchscreen convert

Let the games begin!

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Microsoft to remove AltspaceVR social hubs and tighten up safety and moderation

Microsoft acquired AltspaceVR in 2017. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is removing all social hubs hosted in AltspaceVR and requiring users to log into the virtual reality app using a Microsoft account. The changes are designed to improve safety and moderation on AltspaceVR, and Microsoft will also turn its existing safety bubble feature on by default and mute attendees joining meetings in AltspaceVR by default.

“As platforms like AltspaceVR evolve, it is important that we look at existing experiences and evaluate whether they’re adequately serving the needs of customers today and in the future,” explains Alex Kipman, head of Microsoft’s mixed reality efforts. “This includes helping people better connect with those who have shared common interests while also ensuring the spaces they access are...

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How to fix your NY Times-based Wordle if it isn’t working

Screenshot: Wordle

As a fairly enthusiastic — if not very expert — Wordle player, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea that _The New York Times_was adding the word game to its quiver. But I understood why the Times would want it, and why the game’s creator would want to not have to deal with its unexpected popularity. So I heaved a sigh, and prepared to continue to play on the new site.

The day came: I clicked on the familiar powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle URL and saw _www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html_in the address field. I mentally shrugged, and prepared for my morning battle with the English language.

And — nothing.

A blank screen. No 404 notice, no “your internet connection is loused up” message — and especially, no Wordle. Just a blank screen.

...

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How to delete your TikTok account

The process is relatively simple. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

If you’ve decided to delete your TikTok account for whatever reason, there’s good news — it’s relatively easy to do and should only take a few minutes (provided you’re already logged in or remember your password). The process can be done either in the app or on the web — here’s how:

Deleting your TikTok through the app

TikTok makes it relatively easy to delete your account through the iOS or Android app.

• Go to your profile, then tap the three lines in the top right corner, which should open the “Settings and privacy” screen.
• Once you’re there, go to Manage account > Delete account.

If you don’t want to answer this question, you are able to skip in. Otherwise, you’ll be presented with some extra information and...

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Hot Pod Summit is back at On Air Fest 2022!

Ashley Carman, editor of Hot Pod

We’re thrilled to announce that Hot Pod Summit — our invite-only event for the people pushing the audio industry forward — is returning to On Air Fest at the gorgeous Wythe Hotel in New York City. The day-long gathering on February 24th will be hosted by _The Verge’s_senior reporter Ashley Carman and will feature programming on the biggest topics in audio, including podcast subscriptions, competing with big tech, moderation, and more.

This is _The Verge’s_first Hot Pod Summit since acquiring the newsletter in 2021, and we couldn’t be more excited to keep this important event going. We’re putting on the event with our partners at work x work; this marks their 5th consecutive year producing the event. And if you want to see what On Air Fest...

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