HBO Max adds a shuffle button to help you find something to watch

HBO Max is rolling out its very own shuffle button for desktop. Rather than working like a “play something” button, HBO Max’s new feature will shuffle episodes. So if you know you’re in the mood to watch Friends or _South Park_but don’t know where to start, the button will do the work for you.

HBO Max said the button is one of its most requested features. Streaming rivals like Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu, among others, have similarly experimented with shuffle functions on their apps. Currently, the shuffle feature is available for 45 series on HBO Max, meaning you have 45 options for mindless streaming next time you’re having trouble finding something to watch.

The full list of shows supported is as follows:

• A World of Calm
• Adventure Time ...

Continue reading…

Zoom is making it easy to plug your meeting directly into Twitch

Will Fortnite be able to compete with your 8AM standup?

Zoom announced on Wednesday that it’s making it easier to livestream your meeting or webinar to Twitch by adding native integration with the streaming service to its app. After you connect your Zoom and Twitch accounts, you can start broadcasting your meeting with just a few clicks.

Zoom says the feature is meant to “streamline the process of sharing content within” communities, which definitely sounds like it expects this to be used for things like company webinars. There are a lot of use cases I can think of for this kind of thing, though — it’d be an easy option for people who want to do a live podcast, share a sermon, or make something like a town hall meeting publicly available. Or heck, just stream your 8AM stand-up if you’re...

Continue reading…

Elden Ring’s update patches infinite death loop hack on PC

Image: Bandai Namco

Elden Ring has patched an exploit on PC that hackers used to trap players in endless cycles of death. In the patch notes for update 1.03.2, game publisher Bandai Namco says it includes a fix for “a bug in multiplayer that allowed players to teleport others to incorrect map coordinates.”

The exploit first emerged last week after invaders started crashing players’ games and teleporting their character to an out-of-bounds location, causing them to fall to their death over and over again upon reopening the game. While some victims were able to get themselves out of the death loop by quickly teleporting to a site of grace, others reported losing dozens of hours of gameplay. You can see the effects of the hack for yourself in a video posted by...

Continue reading…

NASA announces plans to develop second Moon lander, alongside SpaceX’s Starship

Today, NASA announced plans to develop a second human lunar lander for its Artemis program, the agency’s major spaceflight initiative to send humans back to the Moon. To build the vehicle, the space agency is calling on commercial space companies to propose concepts for landers that can take people to and from the Moon’s orbit and the lunar surface, with the goal of having them ready by 2026 or 2027 at the earliest.

NASA already holds a contract with commercial partner SpaceX to develop a lunar lander for Artemis, which aims to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon. In 2021, the space agency awarded a sole contract to SpaceX worth $2.9 billion to develop the company’s future Starship vehicle into a lander that...

Continue reading…

You can thank (or blame) NYC for Moon Knight’s English accent

Oscar Isaac as Mr. Knight, one facet of Moon Knight’s personality. | Courtesy of Marvel Studios

It was clear from Moon Knight’s first trailer that Steven Grant’s Britishness and vocal quirks are significant details about him that are likely to factor into how the show handles the character’s canonical struggles with dissociative identity disorder. What was less clear, though, was how the decision to depict Moon Knight as an Englishman actually came about as a result of the larger shape of the current MCU.

Though the Moon Knight of Marvel’s comics was originally born and raised in Chicago before going on to become a marine-turned-costumed superhero, in Disney Plus’ upcoming _Moon Knight_series, Oscar Isaac stars as a slightly different version of the titular character who happens —it seems — to hail from jolly old London. When we...

Continue reading…

Google will test letting Android developers use their own billing systems, starting with Spotify

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is introducing a pilot to let “a small number of participating developers” offer a payment system in addition to Google Play’s. Spotify will be the first and will use both Google Play’s billing system and its own.

“This pilot will help us to increase our understanding of whether and how user choice billing works for users in different countries and for developers of different sizes and categories,” Google’s Sameer Samat said in a blog post.

Samat says the feature builds on its plans to allow additional billing systems in South Korea, which Google made in response to legislation passed in South Korea last year. Apple must also allow third-party payment systems in the country as a result of the legislation, and the company has...

Continue reading…

Stephen Wilhite, creator of the GIF, has died

Wilhite after winning a Webby Lifetime Achievement award. | Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Webby Awards

Stephen Wilhite, one of the lead inventors of the GIF, died last week from COVID at the age of 74, according to his wife, Kathaleen, who spoke to The Verge. He was surrounded by family when he passed. His obituary page notes that “even with all his accomplishments, he remained a very humble, kind, and good man.”

Stephen Wilhite worked on GIF, or Graphics Interchange Format, which is now used for reactions, messages, and jokes, while employed at CompuServe in the 1980s. He retired around the early 2000s and spent his time traveling, camping, and building model trains in his basement.

Although GIFs are synonymous with animated internet memes these days, that wasn’t the reason Wilhite created the format. CompuServe introduced them in the...

Continue reading…

Google won’t let you buy movies and TV shows from the Play app starting in May

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google will no longer sell movies and TV shows from the Google Play app starting in May, the company announced (via Ars Technica). Instead, you’ll be able to get movies and shows from the Google TV app.

“On Google TV, you will find the same experience you are used to on Google Play Movies & TV with the latest new releases, rentals, deals, and great recommendations for you,” according to a company support page. Content you have already purchased will be available in the Google TV app, and you can use Play credit / gift cards to buy things there if you need.

Google Play will still have apps, games, and books

Ultimately, this doesn’t seem like too dramatic of a shift. However, this change and Google’s decision to shut down Google Play...

Continue reading…

Now Apple’s iPhone car key will unlock certain 2022 Genesis and Kia models

Photo by JUNG YEON-JE/AFP via Getty Images

Apple’s digital car keys are arriving on the 2022 Kia Niro, 2022 Genesis 690, and the all-electric 2022 Genesis GV60. As spotted by MacRumors, Apple added a key symbol next to all three vehicles in a list on its site, indicating support for the feature.

It’s not clear when Apple first updated the list or if the feature is immediately available on any of these cars. There hasn’t been an official announcement from Apple or either car company yet, so there may be more steps involved in the rollout. Kia and Genesis have reportedly been working to integrate Apple’s digital car keys sincelast year. Samsung has also announced a partnership with Genesis (along with Audi, Ford, and BMW) to create a phone-based digital car key of its own.

A Kia...

Continue reading…

AMD says FSR 2.0 will run on Xbox and these Nvidia graphics cards

Last week, AMD promised a new technology that should let you blow up your games to higher resolutions or increase their framerates without requiring the fancy machine learning hardware of Nvidia’s GPUs like Nvidia’s lauded DLSS. Now at GDC 2022, it’s revealing how the new FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 actually works — and that it’s coming to Microsoft’s Xbox game consoles too.

While AMD says it can’t actually say when Xbox game developers might take advantage of FSR 2.0, it says it “will also be fully supported on Xbox and will be available in the Xbox GDK for registered developers to use in their games.”

And it’s also giving the community a list of both AMD and Nvidia GPUs where you can expect FSR 2.0 to run — if...

Continue reading…

How to monitor and limit your data usage on an Android phone

Photo by The Verge

Although many data plans these days are advertised as “unlimited,” most actually have a cut-off point when your data stream is going to slow radically. If you don’t want to pay the premium prices that “unlimited” plans demand, then it’s even more important that you avoid going beyond your maximum data allowance, or there will be high penalties to pay. Either way, it’s smart to monitor your data flow — not only to make sure you don’t pass your limits but also to find out if you need to rethink your current data plan.

It’s not hard to do this using tools baked into current versions of Android or a third-party app. Here are a few strategies that you can try. (Note: these directions are for a Pixel 6 running Android 12. The interface of your...

Continue reading…

Google Chrome’s side panel is a new UI for your reading list and bookmarks

No bookmark bar needed (though it’s still available if you’re a fan).

Google has introduced a new sidebar feature to Chrome, which lets you quickly access your bookmarks and reading list while using the desktop version of the browser (via 9to5Google). Previously, the reading list’s main home was as a button on the bookmark bar, which not everyone has enabled.

Clicking the side panel button, which looks like a rectangle with a shaded portion on the right side, will show or hide the panel. Once you’ve got it open, you can access the same reading list functions that were available in the old UI, including the ability to add the page you’re currently on to your list, mark items as read, or remove them. You can also switch over to the bookmarks tab to browse your saved pages.

Of course, you’re...

Continue reading…

Stellantis plans to build an EV battery plant in the US

© 2022 Stellantis

Stellantis, the parent company of Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler, plans to build an electric vehicle battery factory in the US. The news came out of an announcement Wednesday that the automaker would invest $4.1 billion on a new battery facility in Canada, along with South Korea’s LG Energy Solution.

The factory in Windsor, Ontario, will be the first of two planned battery plants to come out of the joint venture between Stellantis, which was formed last year from the merging of Fiat Chrysler and PSA Group, and LG. Construction on the plant is expected to start later this year, with operations set to launch in the first quarter of 2024.

A second plant will be built somewhere in the US, officials said at the event announcing the Windsor...

Continue reading…

The Halo show unmasks Master Chief to reveal yet another generic chosen one

Paramount Plus

Paramount Plus’ Halo show neither shocks nor awes

Continue reading…

Microsoft and Amazon are battling to entice game developers to the cloud

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Microsoft and Amazon are both appearing at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) this week with a simple pitch: use our cloud services to build your game. Both companies have been battling to get businesses to switch to the cloud in recent years, and now the focus is truly on game developers during a pandemic that has challenged the norms of creating games.

“Every few years, the games industry undergoes a transformation — a reinvention of itself,” says Sarah Bond, corporate vice president of game creator experience and ecosystem at Microsoft. “New platforms and new technologies make way for new genres, new gameplay and new IP. Today, we’re in the midst of one of those transformative moments.”

Amazon agrees. “Game developers are embracing...

Continue reading…

Okta says security protocols limited hack, but response came too slow

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

After the disclosure of a hack affecting its authentication platform, Okta has maintained that the effects of the breach were mostly contained by security protocols and reiterated that users of the service do not need to take corrective action as a result.

The statements were made by David Bradbury, chief security officer at Okta, in a video call with customers and press Wednesday morning.

On Monday, hacking group Lapsus$ released images demonstrating that the group had compromised Okta’s internal systems, putting thousands of businesses that rely on the authentication tool on high alert.

“The sharing of these screenshots is an embarrassment for myself and the entire Okta team,” Bradbury said at the start of the call. “Today I want to...

Continue reading…

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has officially been delayed to spring 2023

Image: WarnerMedia

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has officially been delayed to spring 2023, according to an announcement from Rocksteady Games creative director Sefton Hill on Twitter.

“We’ve made the difficult decision to delay Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League to Spring 2023,” Hill’s tweet reads. “I know a delay is frustrating but that time is going into making the best game we can. I look forward to bringing the chaos to Metropolis together. Thanks for your patience.”

We've made the difficult decision to delay Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League to Spring 2023. I know a delay is frustrating but that time is going into making the best game we can. I look forward to bringing the chaos to Metropolis together. Thanks for your patience. p...

Continue reading…

ZTE’s probation for selling US-made products to Iran and North Korea comes to an end

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

ZTE’s probation in the US is coming to an end following a Texas judge’s ruling on Tuesday, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The Chinese telecommunications company had been under supervision by the US government since pleading guilty to illegally selling American-made equipment in Iran and North Korea in 2017. ZTE incurred a $1.2 billion fine as a result of violating US sanctions against both countries.

The judge decided not to punish ZTE for alleged visa fraud

As the WSJ notes, US District Judge Ed Kinkeade decided not to punish ZTE for alleged visa fraud, which is the subject of a separate case that’s currently underway in Georgia. Last March, a ZTE researcher and professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology were a...

Continue reading…

Arizona is the first state to put its driver’s license and state ID in Apple’s Wallet

You’ll be able to hold your phone to a terminal to provide your information. | Image: Apple

The first state to officially roll out Apple’s digital driver’s license and state ID is Arizona, the iPhone maker announced Wednesday. “Starting today, Arizonans can add their driver’s license or state ID to Wallet, and tap their iPhone or Apple Watch to seamlessly and securely present it at select TSA security checkpoints in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport,” Apple announced in a press release.

If you live in Arizona and want to add your license or ID to Wallet, you can do so right from the Wallet app. Take photos of the front and back of your license or ID, and you will “be prompted to complete a series of facial and head movements during the setup process,” according to Apple. Apple is not the one approving requests to add...

Continue reading…

Ikea’s new Vappeby Bluetooth lamp speaker has Spotify Tap support

Ikea’s forays into connected audio continue with its new $65 Vappeby Bluetooth speaker lamp, which resembles a futuristic-looking lantern and is the first speaker to feature Spotify Tap (which had previously only been available on a variety of headphones) for one-touch access to the streaming music service.

The Vappeby actually seems purpose-built to replace a camp lantern: it has a rechargeable battery, an integrated LED light, and IP65 resistance (enough for toughing it out in the occasional rainstorm, although definitely not for a dip in a pool). It even comes with a USB-C cable to charge it, although it doesn’t include a wall brick.

The most novel addition is support for Spotify Tap, which is making its Bluetooth...

Continue reading…

Spotify is reportedly moving live audio conversations to its main app

Spotify is reportedly moving live conversations to its main app. | Alex Castro / The Verge

Spotify is renaming its live audio app and moving it into its main music streaming app to make it more visible, according to a report from_Bloomberg_. Greenroom, which Spotify launched last June, will be rebranded as Spotify Live, a place where creators can hold conversations that subscribers can listen to.

At launch, a Spotify account was not required to use Greenroom, but with the product moving to the main streaming app as part of the rebranding, that’s likely to change as well. Evidence of the update, expected in the second quarter, was discovered by developer Steve Moser in Spotify’s iPhone app and confirmed by Bloomberg’s sources.

Spotify launched Greenroom on iOS and Android last year as a competitor to Clubhouse. It was built on...

Continue reading…

Instagram’s new chronological mode is exactly what a feed should be

Instagram says it’s giving users more control over their feeds. | Image: Instagram

Instagram announced on Wednesday that it’s adding two new modes that change how the main feed works, bringing back the much-awaited reverse-chronological view. The company calls the two new modes “Following” and “Favorites,” and says they’re designed to “give you more choice and control over what you see” while using the app (that is, let you avoid things like suggested posts and algorithmic sorting based on who and what the app thinks you like).

Instagram’s description for the “Following” feed is truly something to behold: “See the latest posts from accounts that you follow, in the order they were posted.” And to that, I say _yes._That’s exactly what I want every social network to be!

Instagram says it’ll go on to make the main feed even...

Continue reading…

Intel looks on track to fix its core problems

Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge

Intel is finally on the right track again.

That’s the biggest takeaway of the first year of the company’s reboot, brought on by its new CEO Pat Gelsinger when he took over the reins in early 2021. Intel has a new vision for the future: its “IDM 2.0” approach. Its introduction was exactly a year ago today. That makes today a great time to check in and see how the new Intel — which looks a lot like the old Intel — is shaping up.

Intel’s past decade or so prior to its recent reinvention was a series of misplaced bets and product misses, culminating in a disastrous summer in 2020 that saw nearly everything go wrong for the company: another delay for its next major manufacturing node, departures of top executives, and the loss of one of its...

Continue reading…

Nothing’s first smartphone is aimed at Apple, not OnePlus

The Nothing OS home screen. | Image: Nothing

Carl Pei wants to take on Apple’s walled garden this summer

Continue reading…

Asus’ ROG Flow Z13 is a Surface Pro that’s got game

Good execution, but its specs aren’t enough for serious gamers

Continue reading…

Netflix’s Pacific Rim anime wraps up in April

Last year, Netflix debuted an anime spinoff set in the mech-vs.-kaiju world of Pacific Rim, and next month, the series will be coming to an end. The second and final season of Pacific Rim: The Black is coming to the streaming service on April 19th and is described as the “epic conclusion” for the story.

The Black follows a pair of twins in Australia who end up utilizing a training Jaeger — those gigantic mechs from the live-action films — to fight monsters and seek the relative safety of Sydney. In an interview with The Verge last year, supervising director Hiroyuki Hayashi explained that one of the goals of the show was to show the impact of the kaiju invasion from a different perspective.

“The people in Pacific Rim: The Black are...

Continue reading…

Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim is coming to Fortnite

Yet another notable athlete is coming to Fortnite’s battle royale. Epic Games announced that on March 26th, players will be able to snag a skin based on two-time Olympic gold medalist snowboarder Chloe Kim. The skin features four different color schemes — including a black-and-gold option and another where she appears encased in ice — and there are also a handful of accessories, including a giant frozen dragon to ride on.

Kim joins a growing list of athletes and celebrities in Fortnite, with includes the likes of tennis star Naomi Osaka, musical duo Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak, NBA legend LeBron James, and Fortnite World Cup winner Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf.

Fortnite just kicked off a new season called “Resistance,” which introduces some...

Continue reading…

The PlayStation Network is down, but not for everyone on PS5 and PS4

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Players are experiencing a number of issues with the PlayStation Network right now, affecting the PS Store, PS Now cloud gaming services, as well as any games, apps, or features that require a network connection. PlayStation’s status page currently says “some services are experiencing issues” and notes that problems began at around 8:30AM ET this morning.

The problem doesn’t seem to be affecting everyone, as some staffers at _The Verge_had PlayStation Plus errors while trying to play Elden Ring, but for others, things are working just fine. There may be a regional aspect to the problem — so far, everyone we’ve checked in the Midwest has a fully operational PS5, but in New York, everyone is getting error messages.

【PSN™障害発生のご案内】
た...

Continue reading…

The new trailer for Alex Garland’s Men goes from quaint to terrifying

Things start out rather quaint and cozy in the latest trailer for Men — directed by Alex Garland, best known for his work on Annihilation and Ex Machina — but that feeling doesn’t last long. It starts with an uncomfortable joke and then gets progressively more unsettling from there, before eventually descending into full-blown psychological horror. (If the embed above doesn’t work, you can also check out the trailer on Twitter.)

The film stars Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, and Paapa Essiedu and is described as a “feverish, shape-shifting new horror film.” Here’s the official synopsis:

In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, Harper (Jessie Buckley) retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to have found a place to heal....

Continue reading…

There’s something off about ApeCoin

Image: ApeCoin DAO

Today, let’s talk about an evolution in the way that startups are being funded, and what it means for the companies working to replace the current internet with blockchain technologies.

For a long while now, the basic deal in venture capital has been simple. Investors give founders money in exchange for equity in a company; they recoup that investment when the company is sold or goes public. (Or, if the company dies, not at all.)

A downside of this arrangement is that companies can take a very long time to arrive at these exits. Most VC funds assume it will take 7 to 10 years to know how well their bets are paying off, and in the meantime they face risk and uncertainty.

The arrival of blockchains over the past decade created a new option...

Continue reading…