Decentraland’s billion-dollar ‘metaverse’ reportedly had 38 active users in one day

General view of the Etro fashion show during Metaverse Fashion Week on March 25th, 2022, hosted by Decentraland. | Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

This year, I’ve received about 70 pitches about “metaverse” activities for big brand names like Samsung and UPS in Decentraland, which, as CoinDesk reports, is nearly double the 38 user number recorded by blockchain-watcher DappRadar during one 24-hour period earlier this week.

Decentraland tweeted that it actually has around 8,000 daily active users (DAU) and says it’s working with DappRadar to widen its tracking to include additional smart contracts and transaction types to get a more accurate picture of user activity.

If you’re not familiar with Decentraland, it’s a Web3 “metaverse” built on selling 90,000 plots of virtual land, drawing media coverage like this New York Times report that quotes one investor saying, “Why don’t we go in...

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How to follow the biggest Fortnite tournament in years

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Epic’s grand plans for competitive Fortnite never really took off following the first World Cup in 2019. But the scene could be getting a boost very soon with the first major in-person tournament in several years.

The FNCS Invitational 2022 will be taking place in November at the Raleigh Convention Center and will feature some of the best players in the world fighting it out for a share of a $1 million prize pool. It’s a far cry from the massive $30 million pool from the original World Cup, which took place at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York, but it does at least signal a renewed effort on Epic’s part. Whether that continues into 2023, of course, remains to be seen. (The tournament also comes at a very busy time in the esports world,...

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Eero scrubs its cheapest subscription plan, moves customers to $10 a month service

Eero is ditching its cheapest subscription plan. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Earlier this month, Eero announced it would be transitioning its paid subscription plans to one flat rate of $9.99 a month or $99.99 a year. Formerly called Eero Secure Plus, Eero Plus is now the only option for users of the mesh Wi-Fi system if they want to access features like parental controls, ad blocking, or any network usage information.

Today, subscribers to the now-defunct cheaper plan, Eero Secure, started to receive notifications that their plan was ending and would be transferred to the new — more expensive — Eero Plus plan starting on November 15th.

A subscription is not required to use Eero devices, but without one, you can’t set parental controls or see how devices behave on your network, including how much data is being...

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Nintendo settles labor dispute with former employee

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Nintendo and its staffing and recruiting partner Aston Carter have reached a settlement with a former QA employee who alleged they were fired for union activity, agreeing to pay $25,910 covering back pay, damages, and interest. According to a report in Polygon, the employee filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board back in April in which the two companies were accused of surveilling employees’ union activity, firing an employee for engaging in protected activity like discussing wages, and firing an employee for joining or supporting labor organization.

The employee, Mackenzie Clifton, also stated in an interview with Axios in September that they wanted an apology from Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser. No word yet...

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Best deals from Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale you can still get

Amazon’s Prime Day Early Access Sale is over, but there are still plenty of great deals to check out. | Nicholas Barclay / The Verge

Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale has come and gone, or so we thought. There are still plenty of solid deals to check out. The roundup that follows is a collection of all the best discounts left standing following the supposed closing of the latest Prime Day event. Many of the deals we’ve highlighted are still matching their best Prime Day prices, while others have rebounded slightly from the discounts we saw over the past couple of days but are still worthy of consideration.

We’ll continue to update this list with other great deals that are still valid, giving you a ~~second~~ third chance to cash in on some awesome discounts. If you missed out on a particular product you were hoping to find on sale, don’t worry, as we’ll likely see many of...

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SoundCloud takes a page out of MySpace’s playbook

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

SoundCloud is refreshing its creator suite and plans to launch new tools to let artists connect directly with their biggest fans. The company is betting that interactivity will set it apart both from giants like Spotify and Apple Music and other distribution services like TuneCore and DistroKid, as the market catering to DIY music artists gets more crowded.

The first step is a new creator dashboard. The old version required users to toggle between stats like earnings, streams, and top tracks. The new version allows artists to see all those stats at a glance. While that may be easier, it doesn’t offer anything new yet.

What will be new, according to Tracy Chan, who leads SoundCloud’s creator division, is a feature that will show artists...

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Matilda the Musical trailer kicks off Netflix’s Roald Dahl ambitions

Andrea Riseborough as Mrs.Wormwood in Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical. | Image: Netflix

Netflix is all in on Roald Dahl after acquiring the rights to the legendary children’s author’s catalog last year. Now, we’re finally getting a sense of what those ambitions will look like with the first trailer for Matilda the Musical. The live-action movie is a key part of Netflix’s holiday plans, and it stars Alisha Weir in the titular lead role along with Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey and Emma Thompson as Miss Trunchbull. It’s based on the 2010 musical adaptation of the original book.

Matilda the Musical was created as part of a deal between Sony and Netflix, and the streaming service is also working on a series based on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory from Thor director Taika Waititi and Phil Johnston, the screenwriter behind Z...

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Here are the best Apple Watch deals right now

The Series 8 starts at $399, and it offers the most comprehensive set of features and sensors (outside of the $799 Ultra). | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Thinking about picking up a new Apple Watch? The timing is always right to find at least one model selling at a deep discount. In fact, Apple recently launched its latest batch of smartwatches for 2022, including the $399 Series 8, the new $249 SE, and the first-ever $799 Ultra, which is aimed at outdoor enthusiasts and swimmers. There are now more Apple Watch models on the market than ever before, so you have plenty to choose from.

But with all of those options, which one should you pick? If you can decide based on specs, here’s a handy breakdown to make it easy to see what one model offers over another. But generally speaking, try to buy the newest watch you can afford so that it continues to receive software updates from Apple. The...

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BMW will be the first automaker to use Amazon Web Services’ cloud platform

BMW will use AWS’s cloud platform to process data from millions of connected cars. | Photo by Roberto Baldwin for The Verge

BMW will be the first automaker to use Amazon Web Services’ cloud software to manage data from its connected vehicles, the companies announced Thursday.

BMW says it has roughly 20 million connected vehicles on the road today. The AWS software will be integrated into BMW’s “Neue Klasse” platform for its future lineup of electric vehicles. This platform will “process roughly triple the volume of vehicle data compared to the current generation of BMW models,” Nicolai Krämer, vice president of vehicle connectivity platforms at the BMW Group, said in a statement.

This platform will “process roughly triple the volume of vehicle data compared to the current generation of BMW models”

Modern vehicles run more on software than ever before,...

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The OnePlus N300 is coming next month with 33W fast charging

The upcoming OnePlus Nord N300 5G takes its minimalist design cues from the N20, with flat side rails and two prominent rear camera lenses. | Image: OnePlus

OnePlus is revealing a few details about its upcoming Nord N300, starting with a spec that’s scarce in the budget class: fast 33W wired charging. Company spokesperson Spenser Blank says that the device is coming to North America next month, where it will follow up the very good OnePlus N200.

The company is offering only a few initial details about the N300 right now, and its price tag isn’t one of them. But judging from the N200’s $239 MSRP, it should land comfortably in budget territory. Phones in this sub-$300 price tag rarely include fast charging — in fact, OnePlus’ $299 Nord N20 may very well be the only other one to include it. Heck, that’s faster than most flagship phones: the iPhone 14 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S22, and Pixel 7 Pro all...

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GeForce Now can now stream games at 1600p in Chrome browsers

Nvidia GeForce Now is increasing streaming performance within Chrome browsers to 1600p at 120fps. | Image: Nvidia

While Stadia fans mourn the loss of Google’s own cloud streaming platform, Nvidia has introduced some new features to GeForce Now for Chrome users to help ease the pain. Starting today, anyone subscribed to the RTX 3080 tier of GeForce Now will be able to stream their favorite PC games at up to 1600p and 120fps in a Chrome browser, an upgrade over the previous 1440p at 120fps cap.

This will allow folks who have 2560 x 1600 resolution devices such as the 2020 M1 MacBook Air to play games in full screen within the Chrome browser, without having to take a hit on either resolution or frame rate.

RTX 3080 members can stream at either 1600 / 120fps or 2160 / 60fps

The RTX 3080 tier of Nvidia’s GeForce Now streaming platform was introduced...

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Acer’s Chromebook 516 GE is here to play — if you’ve got great internet

Pictured: me after flat-lining several Combine soldiers with a mounted turret. Also pictured: me kind of forgetting that I’m gaming on a Chromebook. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

A Chromebook needs more than just an RGB keyboard to be a gaming laptop. It also needs a high-refresh-rate screen and a solid port selection. Now we’re talking. I’ve been testing the $649.99 Acer Chromebook 516 GE, one of a trio of newly announced gaming Chromebooks that my colleague Monica wrote about this week, and I have good news: it does a convincing impression of a gaming laptop, as long as you have fast internet.

I’ve been testing a preproduction unit of the 516 GE, and it’s very different from your typical gaming laptop on the inside. There isn’t a high-end processor or graphics card to run the latest games. Instead, it has the fittings of an ultrabook with the necessary connectivity — cutting-edge Wi-Fi 6E connectivity and a...

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A meeting in Google’s 3D chat booth felt like real life science fiction

Here’s what a Starline booth looks like from a distance. | Image: Google

Project Starline is the real deal. It makes a virtual call feel like a one-on-one conversation. But it’s unclear if it’s something most people will ever get to experience.

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How to increase your personal safety with Pixel and Samsung phones

Vincent Kilbride / The Verge

While there has — rightly — been a great deal written and broadcast about how to deal with attacks and privacy violations online and via social media, there is now increasing attention being paid to helping people stay safe in their homes and out in the world.

Android phones have, over the last few years, added several personal safety features to their toolboxes. Because the apps and features that come with the phones can differ depending on the manufacturer, what follows are some of the ways you can use the tools offered by Pixel and Samsung phones. If you have an Android phone from a different manufacturer, your best bet is to see what you have that is similar to what comes with either of these phones.

Pixel phones come with a Safety...

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Microsoft’s AR glasses aren’t cutting it with US soldiers, says leaked report

Microsoft’s AR goggles are intended to provide soldiers with live information via a head-up display. | Image: US Army

Microsoft’s augmented reality Hololens goggles are getting a rough ride in tests by the US Army, according to internal military evaluations seen by Bloomberg and Insider.

Soldiers testing the headsets have complained about their “mission-affecting physical impairments,” and say that wearing the goggles can cause headaches, nausea, and eyestrain. Acceptance of the tech “remains low,” says a summary prepared for Army and Defense Department officials and seen by Bloomberg, with soldiers complaining that the headsets don’t “contribute to their ability to complete their mission.”

One testimony reported by Insider was even blunter. “The devices would have gotten us killed,” said the tester — referring to the light emitted by the goggles’...

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Microsoft has teased a Windows 11 floating taskbar

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft has shown off a floating Windows 11 taskbar. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed what looks like a concept UI during his keynote presentation at Microsoft Ignite yesterday. Twitter users were quick to spot the unusual taskbar, with its system tray and widgets appearing at the top of the desktop.

The floating Windows 11 taskbar was shown on a Surface Studio device, suggesting that it could be some form of concept that Microsoft is considering for touch devices. Microsoft already does some custom work with its new Surface Studio 2 Plus, which changes the size of the taskbar icons when you move the display.

Image: Microsoft

The UI changes look like a concept.

Some Windows 11 testers previously claimed...

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Smartwatches, not phones, are where the action is at this year

Apple’s Watch Ultra next to Google’s Pixel Watch

Phones have become boring. Each year brings an incremental, iterative update, but the general idea of what a phone is hasn’t changed in ages. Even folding phones, which were heralded as bringing excitement back to the scene, are settling into the same year-over-year processor and camera upgrade cadence that standard smartphones have been in for years.

That’s perhaps never been more true than this year, where each of the major phone releases this fall has been less than exciting. Samsung’s latest Galaxy Fold 4 and Flip 4 are effectively the same devices as last year’s versions but with newer processors and cameras. Google’s Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro are nearly the same as the Pixel 6 models, just with, again, new processors and cameras....

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Firefox’s new service gives you a burner phone number to cut down on spam

Image: Firefox

Firefox Relay, a Mozilla service designed to hide your “real” email address by giving you virtual ones to hand out, is expanding to offer virtual phone numbers. In a blog post Mozilla product manager Tony Amaral-Cinotto explains that the relay service generates a phone number for you to give out to companies if you suspect they might use it to send you spam messages in the future, or if you think they might share it with others who will.

The idea is that handing out this alternative phone number makes it easier to block spam phone calls or texts in the future. You can either block all calls or texts sent to your relay number, or just block specific contacts. Importantly it lets you keep your “real” phone number private, which is...

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Here’s an early look at Android’s app archiving feature

The feature should display how much storage space you can save by archiving an application instead of having to completely uninstall it. | Image: Google / @AssembleDebug

While we’ve been waiting to hear more about Google’s upcoming tool that “archives” certain apps to help free up space on your device, @AssembleDebug has managed to activate the feature ahead of its release (via Android Police).

Google first announced archiving earlier this year, claiming it can help users free up around 60 percent of their device’s storage for apps without having to completely delete them. In the screenshots shared by AssembleDebug, it appears that the tool will be built into the Google Play Store, allowing users to select between two options when they attempt to uninstall an application. The standard uninstall option is still present alongside a new ‘Archive’ option, which will whisk the app away into a separate...

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Sony and Honda plan to start selling their electric cars in the US in 2026

Sony’s prototype Vision-S 02 SUV, unveiled at CES 2022 as a platform for developing Sony’s EV technology. | Image: Sony

Sony and Honda have announced that they plan to start selling their jointly-developed electric vehicles in the US in early 2026.

The US has been chosen as the first market because of its well-developed taste for EVs. The cars will then go on sale in Japan later the same year, and then, perhaps, in Europe. Preorders for the vehicles will open in 2025, with sales and vehicle customization pushed through online channels.

The two Japanese companies announced they would be working together on a new 50-50 venture earlier this year, with the company later named Sony Honda Mobility. The alliance is intended to unite Honda’s expertise in car manufacture with Sony’s prowess in the fields of sensors, software, and entertainment. The companies hope...

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Microsoft Office will become Microsoft 365 in major brand overhaul

Image: Microsoft

Microsoft is making a major change to its Microsoft Office branding. After more than 30 years, Microsoft Office is being renamed “Microsoft 365” to mark the software giant’s collection of growing productivity apps. While Office apps like Excel, Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint aren’t going away, Microsoft will now mostly refer to these apps as part of Microsoft 365 instead of Microsoft Office.

Microsoft has been pushing this new branding for years, after renaming Office 365 subscriptions to Microsoft 365 two years ago, but the changes go far deeper now. “In the coming months, Office.com, the Office mobile app, and the Office app for Windows will become the Microsoft 365 app, with a new icon, a new look, and even more features,” explains a F...

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The guy in charge of Dish wants to buy Boost from Dish

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Dish Network is considering selling its Boost Mobile arm to a company called CONX Corporation, according to a filing with the SEC, spotted by Light Reading. The rub is that CONX is a “company” founded by Charlie Ergen — co-founder and current chairman of Dish Network itself.

The filing from CONX (no, I won’t get tired of typing that) says that its far from a done deal, informing investors that “no assurances can be made that the parties [it and Dish] will successfully negotiate and enter into a definitive agreement.” And while that’s true for most merger discussions, the fact that Ergen is a higher-up at both companies could help those negotiations go a bit more smoothly.

Why start a new carrier when your other company has already...

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The best Prime Day deals on toys for grown-up children

Lego sets, Nerf blasters, and other fun goodies are all on sale right now. | Image: Lego

The stuff you want isn’t always the stuff you need, and that’s okay. Now and again, it’s nice to treat yourself with something just for you, even if it has little to no practical value. Our collection of the best Prime Day deals on toys for grown-ups is all about filling that void in your soul with all the cool stuff you couldn’t afford as a kid. The bulk of our suggestions for spending that hard-earned disposable income come in the form of Lego sets and Nerf blasters, some of which are perfect for filling that empty space on your curio shelf.

If you’re looking for an overview of all the best discounts to be had during Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, make sure to head over to our main collection of the best Prime Day deals, which...

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The Apple Watch Series 8 is still available for $50 off for Prime Day

The Apple Watch Series 8 inherits design elements from last year’s Series 7, including the larger display. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

It’s almost time to ring the bell for the cows to come home on Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale, but before that happens we want to note you can still get the Apple Watch Series 8 for $50 off. The best part? This one’s not just exclusive to Amazon or Prime members, as a couple of other major retailers are currently matching Amazon’s price and making it widely available.

As for the configurations and colors available, you can get the 41mm Apple Watch Series 8 with GPS for $349 at Amazon (in midnight or red), at Best Buy (in all four colors), or at Walmart (also in all four colors). If you prefer a larger display, you can get the 45mm version of the Series 8 for $379 at Amazon (in red or midnight), at Walmart (in red, silver, or...

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Truth Social is now available on the Google Play Store

Truth Social has been available on iPhone since February. | Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images

Truth Social, the social media app created by former President Donald Trump, is now available for download on the Google Play Store (via CNBC). In August, Google banned the app over “insufficient” content moderation policies.

Truth Social, which offers a Twitter-like social experience, markets itself as a platform that “encourages an open, free, and honest global conversation.” It first launched on the Apple App Store in February before attempting to offer its app through the Google Play Store.

Google said in a statement that it permits apps on the Google Play Store as long as they “comply with our developer guidelines, including the requirement to effectively moderate user-generated content and remove objectionable posts such as those...

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Amazon faces a wave of walkouts and strikes as it heads into the season of sales

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon is in the midst of its second Prime Day sale of the year, pitched as a way to get Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals early. But as it courts consumers, the workers who handle the mass amount of packages that flow through Amazon’s facilities, warehouses, and air hubs are demanding better pay and working conditions. The threat of strikes, walkouts, and potentially another unionized warehouse are all looming as Amazon’s about to enter one of its busiest seasons.

On Wednesday, workers at Amazon’s ALB1 facility in Albany, New York, started voting on whether to organize with the Amazon Labor Union, the group that unionized Amazon’s JFK8 facility and which is currently negotiating with Amazon for a contract. Another fulfillment center...

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The best laptop you can buy in 2022

Image: William Joel/The Verge

The best laptops for you, from ultraportables to high-powered editing machines

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Best gaming laptop in 2022: seven laptops to get your game on

The best gaming laptop is the Asus ROG Zephyrus G15. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales/ The Verge

All the best gaming laptops at every size and price

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1Password 8 is now on the Apple Watch

1Password 8 adds complications for the Apple Watch. | Image: 1Password

Good news for anyone who uses their Apple Watch to unlock their Mac or as a two-factor authentication tool. 1Password 8 is now available on the device, and it adds some new functionality, including support for larger type and complications.

For the uninitiated, 1Password is a popular password manager. Using it on the Apple Watch lets you quickly access security codes and passwords without having to whip out your phone. (You can also use it to unlock 1Password on your Mac without having to constantly type in your Master Password or rely on Touch ID. Trust me, it’s a game-changer.)

The latest update now allows users to add 1Password as a complication to watchfaces. That might sound like a ho-hum feature, but it basically means that you can...

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What’s the best student laptop? We asked students

The Dell XPS 13 is one of the best laptops for high school and college students. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Shopping for a laptop can be stressful — doubly stressful if you or your children will be learning online for the first time. Kids of different ages have a range of different laptop use cases and different needs. And as the choices for best laptop and best Chromebook evolve, so do students’ needs. So I spoke to some experts on the subject: students themselves.

My recommendations here are meant to accommodate a variety of preferences and price ranges. But they’re a jumping-off point rather than an exhaustive list: every student is different. Before making a decision, you’ll want to make sure you read reviews and try out devices yourself if you can. I’ll do my best to keep this article up to date with items that are in stock.

Best laptop...

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