Tumblr is begging you to please stop asking for porn

Tumblr’s logo. | Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales

Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg would like you to please stop asking Tumblr to bring back porn because it isn’t going to happen. After widespread and inaccurate speculation that Tumblr would lift its ban on adult content, Mullenweg posted a long explanation yesterday of why Tumblr will never go back to the old days. Or, in his words: “the casually porn-friendly era of the early internet is currently impossible.”

That doesn’t mean Tumblr’s policies will stay the same. Mullenweg has said before that Automattic (which bought Tumblr in 2019) wants to loosen the rules its old owner Verizon implemented in 2018, and he reiterated that here, echoing comments he made earlier this week. Verizon’s ban “took out not only porn but also a ton of art and...

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A smart lock with long-range wireless power is finally a reality

Image: Alfred

I’ve spent the last few months testing smart door locks, and I’ve had to set up an Amazon Subscribe & Save order for all the different batteries they’ve been chewing through. Smart locks have a power problem, and smart lock manufacturer Alfred thinks it has the solution: wireless power.

First announced at CES 2020, the Alfred AirCord enabled ML2 smart lock is finally a reality. Wirelessly powered by a Wi-Charge wireless power transmitter, the lock is launching today for commercial real estate developers in the United States and Canada.

The ML2 is a mortise lock designed for high-end residential homes and commercial buildings. While it’s not going to work on your standard front door fitted for a deadbolt lock, Brad Cook, head of product...

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Sonos Sub Mini review: low end for a lower price

The long-awaited $429 Sub Mini doesn’t disappoint, but there are still reasons to opt for the standard Sub

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Meta’s new text-to-video AI generator is like DALL-E for video

A sample video generated by Meta’s new AI text-to-video model, Make-A-Video. The text prompt used to create the video was “a teddy bear painting a portrait.” | Image: Meta

AI text-to-image generators have been making headlines in recent months, but researchers are already moving on to the next frontier: AI text-to-video generators.

A team of machine learning engineers from Facebook’s parent company Meta has unveiled a new system called Make-A-Video. As the name suggests, this AI model allows users to type in a rough description of a scene, and it will generate a short video matching their text. The videos are clearly artificial, with blurred subjects and distorted animation, but still represent a significant development in the field of AI content generation.

The model’s output is clearly artificial but still impressive

“Generative AI research is pushing creative expression forward by giving people tools...

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Two GameStop documentaries miss the forest for the memes

All this fuss for a brick and mortar? | Photo by Sean Hollister / The Verge

The whole thing smacks of ‘content’

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Twitch is temporarily restricting browser support to just Chrome, Edge, and Firefox

Twitch has caused confusion among its users by restricting browser support to just Chrome, Edge and Firefox. | Nick Barclay / The Verge

Poor communications from Twitch have led to confusion following the service announcing that Chrome, Edge, and Firefox are currently the only web browsers officially supported by the popular streaming platform. No context was provided within the announcement, though it appears the restrictions are temporary and have been placed on alternative browsers so that Twitch can locate and shut down access points being used to create masses of bot accounts.

The issues started when users started experiencing errors when logging into the service. Twitch Support then addressed the situation by asking users to login from an up-to-date version of the three supported web browsers, and announced that a help article to address troubleshooting the issues...

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Microsoft’s new Outlook for Windows now available to all Office testers

The new Outlook for Windows design. | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is making its new version of Outlook for Windows available to all Office testers this week. The new Outlook for Windows app will make the desktop email client a lot more like the web version. Microsoft has been working on this redesign for months, and originally released a semi-public beta earlier this year.

“Since then, we’ve received valuable feedback from Office Insiders on Beta Channel about how to create a more consistent, feature-rich experience,” explains Margie Clinton, group product manager on the Outlook team. “We’ve been listening to feedback since May and our team has been working diligently to improve the new Outlook for Windows.”

Image: Microsoft

Office testers can try the new Outlook for...

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Sackboy: A Big Adventure arrives on PC next month

Sony is bringing another PlayStation exclusive to PC. Sackboy: A Big Adventure is set to release on PC on October 27th, according to a trailer that was posted early to Sony’s PlayStation Latin America YouTube account. Spotted by Nibel on Twitter, the trailer confirms the PC port of Sackboy: A Big Adventure will be full of improvements.

4K and 120fps support is listed, alongside support for ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio monitors, Nvidia’s DLSS, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). These are the best improvements to Sackboy: A Big Adventure yet, following a resolution and visuals boost on the PS5 version.

Sackboy is the latest in a line of PlayStation games on PC

Sackboy: A Big Adventure is the latest in a growing line of PlayStation exclusive...

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Automatic emergency braking is not great at preventing crashes at normal speeds

Automatic emergency braking (AEB) is pretty good at preventing low-speed rear-end crashes but kind of sucks when vehicles are traveling at more average speeds, according to new research from the American Automobile Association (AAA).

Starting September 2022, all new cars sold in the US are required to come standard with AEB, which uses forward-facing cameras and other sensors to automatically apply the brakes when a crash is imminent. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that AEB may help prevent 28,000 crashes and 12,000 injuries by 2025.

Using four common vehicles, AAA wanted to put AEB to the test to see how it’s progressed since first rolling out to production vehicles nearly 20 years ago. What they found was not that...

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Amazon says YES to putting the Yankees on cable

Its last exclusive game of the season won’t be quite as exclusive. | Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images

This Friday’s Yankees game against the Orioles will no longer be exclusively available on Amazon Prime Video, like 20 games before it: the game will also be airing on the Yankee Entertainment and Sports (YES) network, according to a tweet from the cable network. It’s a big change, and it’s something that Apple didn’t do last week, despite pleas from New York’s Attorney General.

Many Yankees fans will likely want to tune in to the game, as outfielder Aaron Judge could tie (or maybe even beat) a record for home runs that’s stood for over 60 years. But the ability to watch the Yankees on YES has been a bit contentious lately; last Friday, New York’s attorney general Letitia James called on Apple to make the game available on cable TV. Like...

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Dbrand’s Steam Deck case is so good it almost makes you forget its big flaw

The Killswitch case keeps your Steam Deck safe and is currently available on the Dbrand site. | Photo by Alice Newcome-Beill / The Verge

In high school, I’d keep my CD player from getting crushed in my bookbag by wrapping it in a wool sock. Considering that the CD player was probably the most expensive thing I owned at the time, I probably could’ve done better. This is how I felt with the first case I bought for my Steam Deck. It was definitely a step up from mismatched footwear, but I knew a device like this demands a little more respect without keeping it constantly locked away inside the case that it was packaged with.

Dbrand, maker of accessories for your phone, AirPods, and even your PS5, shares this sentiment and made “Project Killswitch.” Killswitch is designed to be a better protective skin for the Steam Deck and started development shortly following Valve’s...

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Now you can get a really round Oura smart ring

The really round Oura Horizon comes in five colors, including the new rose gold finish. | Image: Oura

If you were intrigued by previous Oura smart rings but were turned off by a design that didn’t let you spin it on your desk, then you’re in luck. Oura is releasing a rounder version of its health and fitness tracking smart ring line called Horizon, though it’ll cost you $50 more than the version not matching that preference. (via Gizmodo).

The Oura Horizon is largely identical to the last year’s Oura Ring (Gen 3) in terms of functionality, including the blood oxygen monitoring abilities that were just activated this year. This means the Horizon is just a cosmetic change accompanying the old “heritage” design, and it comes in the same original gold, stealth, black, and silver finishes, plus a brand new rose gold color you could totally...

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Hertz and BP are teaming up to create a network of EV chargers in the US

Image: Hertz

Hertz and BP are joining forces to build a network of electric vehicle (EV) chargers throughout the US (via Engadget). The initiative should help support Hertz’s growing fleet of EV vehicles, as the rental car company recently announced plans to purchase a total of over 300,000 EVs from Tesla, Polestar, and GM.

Details about the project are still pretty slim, and the two companies haven’t indicated how many charging stations they plan on building, how long it could take, or how much money either side is committing to the project. But we do know that Hertz is working with BP Pulse, the oil giant’s EV branch, to build out “a network of fast-charging hubs” with the goal of serving both Hertz customers and everyday EV drivers.

According to a...

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Google will help you find better results without tagging ‘Reddit’ onto every search

The company’s “been exploring new ways to make” the info you want easier to find. | Illustration: The Verge

Google may be trying to reinvent the way we search in the future and expanding access to its impressive multisearch feature, but perhaps one of its most exciting announcements from today is a feature it’s calling “discussions and forums.” The idea is simple: whenever you do a Google search that it thinks could be an open-ended question, it’ll pop up a box full of results from “a variety of popular forums and online discussions across the web.” An example in its blog post shows results from Reddit, Quora, and Edmunds showing up when the user searches “best car for big family.”

It’s more or less a meme at this point that you have to add “reddit” to a search if you want to find actually useful results instead of a page full of ads and...

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Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch event: all the news and announcements

Expect to learn more about the Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch at the next Made by Google event. | Image: Google

Google will finally be sharing more about the Pixel 7 and Pixel Watch at its next Made by Google event

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PlayStation’s new loyalty program launches in the US next week

Sony is beginning to roll out PlayStation Stars. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Sony’s new PlayStation Stars loyalty program will launch in North and South America on October 5th, the company announced on Wednesday. The new program will let PlayStation fans earn rewards like points and digital collectibles by doing things like playing a game or earning certain trophies.

Sony has also spelled out some of the finer details of the program, which broadly line up with information we’ve heard before. The service is free to join with an adult PlayStation Network account, and while players can earn some benefits if they are a PlayStation Plus member, you don’t need to subscribe to PlayStation Plus to join Stars. The “full PlayStation Stars experience” will be available via the PlayStation mobile app but not consoles to...

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Meta permanently bans Pornhub’s Instagram account

Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Instagram says it’s permanently removed the official account for Pornhub for violating policies multiple times, Instagram’s parent company, Meta, told Motherboard.

Meta claims that, over the past decade, Pornhub has repeatedly violated its terms of service regarding nudity, adult content, and sexual solicitation. However, it did not specify how exactly beyond telling the New York Post that the account recently violated rules against sexual solicitation by encouraging Instagram users to leave the social media platform and visit a porn site. Meta adds the adult entertainment company also violated guidelines concerning multiple violations of its terms.

In response, Pornhub published an open letter on Twitter, calling the move unfair and...

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In 2023, Google can notify you if personal info pops up in search

The Verge

Starting “early next year,” Google will be able to notify you if your personal info, such as your phone number, email, or home address, shows up in search results as part of its “results about you” tool. The announcement comes as Google has officially started rolling out the tool, which lets people easily create takedown requests for results with their personal info. The tool started showing up for some people last week.

In a tweet, the company says the notification system will be opt-in. Ideally, it’s not something that most people will have to turn on; however, it will be nice to have the option, especially for those in high-profile positions or who find themselves targeted by harassment campaigns.

Early next year, you'll also be...

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Verizon Plus Play plus NFL Plus

Verizon will let you manage your NFL Plus subscription on its Plus Play platform. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Verizon and the NFL go way back, and on Wednesday, the two groups announced their next new partnership: NFL Plus, the NFL’s new mobile streaming service, will be one of the streaming services offered on Plus Play, Verizon’s upcoming subscription management platform.

Verizon first announced Plus Play in March, and to me, it sounds a lot like Apple’s Channels product. With Channels, you can subscribe to streaming services using your information and payment details linked to your Apple ID and manage those services from your Apple ID account instead of trying to remember a bunch of disparate logins. Plus Play seems to be Verizon’s take on a similar idea, but instead, you manage things via your Verizon account. Verizon has already said that...

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Microsoft’s discontinuing SwiftKey on iOS next week

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Microsoft confirmed that it’s removing SwiftKey from the Apple App Store and ending support for the iOS version of the keyboard app on October 5th. It will still be available if you’ve already downloaded SwiftKey on your iPhone, so long as you don’t uninstall it yourself.

“Microsoft will continue support for SwiftKey Android as well as the underlying technology that powers the Windows touch keyboard,” Chris Wolfe, the director of product management at SwiftKey, said in a statement to The Verge. “For those customers who have SwiftKey installed on iOS, it will continue to work until it is manually uninstalled or a user gets a new device.”

The move to discontinue SwiftKey on iOS comes after months of user complaints that seemingly went...

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Here’s how to preorder (almost) all of Amazon’s latest tech

Amazon says that its Kindle Scribe includes a pen that never needs to be charged. | Image: Amazon

In the span of one hour, Amazon absolutely flooded the zone with a litany of product announcements. Thankfully, we were ready; we flooded our respective zone with stories covering the new Kindle Scribe, the smarter, more capable Fire TV Cube, and a lot more.

If you’re wondering when you can get your hands on Amazon’s latest tech, most of it will launch later this year (and as soon as October, in some cases). Better yet, many of these devices are available to preorder now. So, here are all of the preorder links, release dates, and pricing details available for Amazon’s latest slate of products.

Image: Amazon

Kindle Scribe

The Kindle Scribe (pictured above) is Amazon’s new, high-end e-reader, one that also functions as...

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An all-electric passenger plane completed its first test flight

Eviation’s all-electric aircraft Alice flies above the runway during its first test flight. | Image: Eviation

A prototype all-electric passenger plane took off for the first time yesterday in a test flight that marks a significant milestone for carbon pollution-free aviation. The nine-passenger commuter aircraft called Alice took off at 7:10AM yesterday from Washington state’s Grant County International Airport.

Alice is ahead of much of the pack when it comes to all-electric aircraft under development. It could become the “first all-new, all-electric commercial airplane” if the Federal Aviation Administration certifies it to carry passengers, The Seattle Times reports.

Alice is ahead of much of the pack

The US is trying to erase the planet-heating pollution it produces in the coming decades, including emissions from aviation. All-electric...

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Ted Lasso helped me crush the competition in FIFA 23

Ted Lasso addresses the media (in FIFA 23_)_ | Image: EA

The last FIFA game adds a lot of new features to the long-running franchise, but I was most excited about cosplaying as Jason Sudeikis and his mustache.

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TikTok removed 113 million videos in three months

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok took down more than 113 million videos between April and June of this year, according to the company’s quarterly transparency report published today.

Though the number of videos the platform removed for policy violations is up slightly from the first few months of 2022, it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the amount of content shared on TikTok. The 113 million represents just 1 percent of total videos uploaded during the three-month period.

The most common reason for removal was violating policies around minor safety, which accounted for just under 44 percent of videos taken down. Other common reasons include illegal activities and regulated goods, as well as adult nudity and sexual activities, according to the report.

An...

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Netflix doesn’t seem to know how to talk about its 3 Body Problem show

3 Body Problem executive producers D.B. Weiss, David Benioff, and Alexander Woo | Image: Netflix

Though Cixin Liu’s The Three-Body Problemis one of the most fascinating and thought-provoking pieces of speculative fiction to come out in recent years, you wouldn’t know it judging from the way that Netflix has (barely) been talking about 3 Body Problem, its forthcoming adaptation of the novel from Alexander Woo, D.B. Weiss, and David Benioff

During this year’s Tudum, essentially all of Netflix’s larger profile projects due out in the coming months, like Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, and The Witcher’s third season, were spotlighted in segments that gave you a sense of what sort of energy their respective creative teams were working with. But when it came to the segment focused on Netflix’s...

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Apple might let you test satellite SOS without sending an emergency message

It might be a good idea to get familiar with the feature before you get into trouble. | Image: Apple

Say you twisted your ankle on the trail, you’re out of cell signal range, and you need to call for help. Sounds like a great time to learn how to use a new feature on your phone, right? Hell no, and it seems that Apple has come to the same conclusion. Sleuths at 9to5Mac discovered some code in the latest iOS 16 developer beta that hints at the existence of a satellite SOS demo mode, potentially so you can get familiar with the feature before you get into trouble.

SOS via satellite is the iPhone 14 and 14 Pro-only feature Apple announced (and demo’d for us) earlier this month. It uses satellite connectivity to help relay messages and location info to emergency services when you’re out of cell range. It’s not live yet; the feature is...

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Verizon teases a ‘5G gaming handheld’ made by Razer

Honestly, I’m just interested to see how Razer competes with the Steam Deck. | Image: Verizon

Verizon is teasing that it’s working on a 5G gaming handheld with Razer and Qualcomm, which is set to be fully announced on October 15th at RazerCon. The carrier talked a little about the device, which will be called the Razer Edge 5G, at a keynote at MWC Las Vegas, saying that it’ll run Android and give you access to cloud gaming services like Xbox Cloud Gaming. Unlike devices like Logitech’s recently announced G Cloud, however, it does seem like it’ll be able to play games stored locally on the device as well.

While details are relatively sparse, we have heard of a similar device before: Qualcomm’s Snapdragon G3x Handheld Gaming Developer Kit. That device, which was shown off late last year, was made to showcase the company’s G3x...

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Republican infighting threatens tech antitrust vote

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

The House is expected to vote on a package of previously uncontroversial bills targeting Big Tech’s market dominance this week, but a sudden flare-up among Republicans is threatening to hold up any movement on the bills.

Earlier this week, Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) announced that the House planned to vote on three bills that would make it more difficult and expensive for large tech companies, like Apple or Google, to acquire smaller companies by increasing filing fees. In turn, those fees would be used to fund investigations for federal antitrust enforcers at the Federal Trade Commission and Justice Department.

“We can’t allow goliath tech firms to crush small businesses and conservatism any longer,” Buck said in a Monday statement....

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Google is trying to reinvent search — by being more than a search engine

Google’s search is becoming both more visual and more exploratory. | Image: Google

The internet is more visual and more interactive than ever. So how does the world’s biggest search engine change to fit the times? By redefining the whole idea.

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Google’s trying to become a one-stop shopping destination

You’ll soon be able to access Google’s shopping features by typing “shop,” followed by whatever you’re looking for. | Image: Google

Google wants its search engine to become the place where you do your online shopping. To do that, the company announced today that it’s introducing a set of new shopping-specific features meant to help you narrow down your results and — more importantly — keep you on Google.

For starters, Google’s folding shopping features directly into its main search bar, no longer requiring you to hit the “Shopping” tab whenever you’re searching for something you want to buy. Starting your searches with the word “shop” followed by a product name will automatically yield a set of visual results and research tools as well as availability in stores nearby. This feature’s coming to mobile first and will arrive on desktop and in more categories “soon.”

...

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