Sega superstars ToeJam and Earl are finally getting a movie

That’s ToeJam on the right, alongside Earl, in case you didn’t know.

Nothing can possibly prepare us for the all-encompassing funk of a movie starring ToeJam and Earl. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a ToeJam & Earl movie is currently in development at Amazon Studios in partnership with Unanimous Media and Story Kitchen.

ToeJam & Earl is just the latest video game franchise getting a movie tie-in. In addition to bigger names like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog getting contemporary adaptations, we’re also slated to see an anime version of Tomb Raider coming to Netflix as well as a live-action version of It Takes Two, which are also being handled by Story Kitchen.

ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove is the latest mainline appearance of the extraterrestrial duo.

ToeJam &...

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The FTC is suing Microsoft to block its Activision Blizzard purchase

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The FTC has filed a legal challenge to try and block Microsoft’s plan to buy Activision Blizzard for $68.7 billion, according to a press release from the regulator. The lawsuit was filed today after weeks of back and forth between Microsoft, Sony, and regulators over competition concerns and the future of Call of Duty. The FTC argues that the acquisition would “enable Microsoft to suppress competitors to its Xbox gaming consoles and its rapidly growing subscription content and cloud-gaming business.”

The vote from the FTC commissioners today means Microsoft now faces significant hurdles to getting its Activision Blizzard deal complete. Regulators in the UK and EU are also scrutinizing the deal closely, despite Microsoft’s repeated...

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Mike Flanagan is creating a TV series for The Dark Tower

Stephen King has granted Mike Flanagan the rights to create a TV show based on his The Dark Tower book series. | Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty Images

Rights to adapt Stephen King’s The Dark Tower books into a TV series have been acquired by director Mike Flanagan and producer Trevor Macy, according to an exclusive interview with Deadline. Within the interview (which explored the horror duo’s production company Intrepid Pictures moving from Netflix to Amazon), Flannagan confirmed that King himself granted them the rights after receiving a “very, very detailed outline” of Flanagan’s plans for the project.

The horror duo is best known for creating Shows for Netflix, such as Midnight Mass and The Haunting of Hill House, and have previously worked together to adapt other works from Stephen King, including Doctor Sleep (2019) and Gerald’s Game (2017). The pair acquired the rights for The...

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Pixel Fold renders arrive with detailed size and spec rumors for Google’s foldable phone

This is what Google’s foldable Pixel smartphone might look like. | Image: OnLeaks and HowToiSolve

New leaks appear to reveal what to expect from Google’s long-rumored foldable phone. Leaker OnLeaks has teamed up with the website HowToiSolve to share renders, a 360-degree video, and measurements of the foldable Pixel device.

According to OnLeaks and HowToiSolve, the phone will apparently have a 5.79-inch cover screen and a larger 7.69-inch inner screen, meaning it will function more like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4, which has a cover screen, than Microsoft’s Surface Duo phones, which do not. Unfolded, the Google’s device will be “roughly” 158.7 x 139.7 x 5.7mm. For comparison, the Z Fold 4 is 155.1 x 130.1 x 6.3mm, so the Pixel foldable could be a bit bigger than Samsung’s.

As for the camera, Google’s foldable will apparently keep the...

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Tech companies fueled the rise of Homeland Security and domestic surveillance, report finds

Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Big tech companies including Microsoft, LexisNexis, and Palantir have helped fuel the militarization of local police forces and the Department of Homeland Security’s demand for high-tech surveillance, according to a new report from The Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE), LittleSis, MediaJustice, and the Surveillance, Tech, and Immigration Policing Project. Researchers working on the project dug into how these companies benefit from a hidden and misunderstood source of funding, which requires states to dump money into law enforcement activities if they want to receive money for things like emergency medical and response services.

The report is specifically concerned with FEMA’s Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) grants, which...

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Amazon is adding a TikTok-like feed of shoppable content to its app

Image: Amazon

Amazon is the latest tech company to take a page out of TikTok’s playbook. The e-commerce giant announced it was launching a new feed in the Amazon app with photos and videos of items users can purchase, first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The feed, which Amazon is calling Inspire, is the company’s attempt at getting app users to make purchases as they’re seeing products in online content — something other tech companies are also attempting to do. TikTok has long been working on its own in-app shopping features, including livestream shopping, and YouTube added affiliate marketing and shopping to its TikTok copy, Shorts.

Inspire will appear as a lightbulb icon in the Amazon app and will roll out to select US shoppers early this...

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The hornet formerly known as ‘murder’ hasn’t been spotted in Washington state this year

Dead northern giant hornets, queens, lined up on top and smaller workers below — all samples brought in for research — are displayed with a field notebook on May 7th, 2020, in Blaine, Washington. | Photo by ELAINE THOMPSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Good news! The invasive insect formerly known as the “murder hornet” might soon be under control in Washington state. After wrapping up its pest trapping season for 2022, the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) reported no sightings of the northern giant hornet.

“When it comes to the pests that we survey for, the best news is no news,” Sven Spichiger, WSDA managing entomologist, said in a press release yesterday.

It is still too early to declare complete victory over the hornet. It takes three years of no sightings for the pest to be considered “eradicated” under federal guidelines. But this is the first year without sightings since the first report of a northern giant hornet in Washington set off alarm bells in 2019.

“The...

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Broadway’s K-pop musical showed how hard it is to create internet fame

KPOP cast members Min, Abraham Lim, and Luna take their bows on Broadway. | Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images

A Broadway musical tried to court extremely online fans of artists like BTS and Blackpink. It didn’t quite succeed.

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FX’s Kindred series feels like a pale shadow of Octavia Butler’s seminal story

Mallori Johnson as Dana James in Kindred_._ | Image: FX

FX’s new adaptation of Kindred gets utterly lost as it tries to update Octavia Butler’s classic story for a modern-day audience.

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Google’s latest Chrome browser modes can boost battery life and free up memory

Google is introducing new Memory Saver and Energy Saver modes to its Google Chrome web browser. | Image: Google

Google’s Chrome desktop web browser has two new performance modes — Memory Saver and Energy Saver — available starting today. The new modes allow users to reduce Chrome’s memory usage by up to 30 percent and extend battery life when a device is running low on power, according to Google.

Memory Saver mode frees up memory from tabs that aren’t currently in use, which should provide a smoother browsing experience. You can also mark important websites as exempt from Memory Saver to keep them operating at max performance.

Image: Google

Memory Saver mode uses up to 30 percent less memory when active.

Energy Saver mode optimizes potential battery life by limiting background activity and visual effects (such as...

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Google is bringing together its Waze and Maps teams as it pushes to reduce overlap

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Google is merging the team it has working on the navigation app Waze into the same group that oversees Google Maps, the company has announced. The Wall Street Journal reports that the move is not expected to mark the end of Waze as a separate service, and no layoffs are planned as part of the reorganization. However, Waze CEO Neha Parikh is expected to leave the role after the transition, and the move is expected to reduce overlapping work, the WSJ notes.

Going forward, Waze’s 500 employees are expected to be a part of Google’s Geo organization, which oversees Maps alongside Earth and Street View.

Google acquired Waze almost a decade ago

“Google remains deeply committed to Waze’s unique brand, its beloved app and its thriving community...

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Audeze’s $300 gaming headset promises comfort and multipoint Bluetooth

The Maxwell has a more subdued design than Audeze’s previous gaming headset, the Penrose. | Image credit: Audeze

While Razer, Logitech, and other companies are working on their 2023 gaming headsets, Audeze has announced its new Maxwell wireless model that starts at $299 with support for PlayStation, Windows, macOS, Nintendo Switch, and mobile — everything but Xbox. There’s an Xbox version that costs $50 more and makes up for some of the cost increase with a Dolby Atmos license that activates automatically. It’ll start shipping in late December 2022.

Audeze typically makes big promises about great audio quality, which is fine because the products usually back them up. The Maxwell has 90mm planar magnetic drivers, which are slightly smaller than the ones in its 2021 Penrose headset. Through them, you can listen to hi-res audio when connected via the...

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ChatGPT proves AI is finally mainstream — and things are only going to get weirder

A close-up image of a silicon mono-crystal. Silicon is a crucial component in AI. | Image: Catherine Breslin / Better Images of AI / Silicon Closeup / CC-BY 4.0

Researchers talk about the ‘capability overhang,’ or hidden skills and dangers, of artificial intelligence. As the technology goes mainstream, we’re going to discover a lot of new things about them.

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What’s the dumbest privacy choice you’ve made online?

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

AI is in at the moment. Everyone is talking to ChatGPT like it’s an AOL chatbot circa 2001, and everyone else is happily handing their pictures over to Lensa so they can see what they’d look like rendered by an artist’s pen. The picture thing has struck me as a little odd, as there’s not a lot we know about how those images are used after uploading. Could my photos be used to develop the next person’s AI portrait?

Prisma Labs, the maker of Lensa, told TechCrunch it deletes the photos. But I’m reluctant to give my name when they ask for it at the boba tea place — let alone pay an app to ingest pics of my face to make me a cartoon.

In a group chat recently, a friend asked why everyone was falling for the Lensa thing when we didn’t know...

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The $949 price for Dyson’s air-purifying headphones is more absurd than the device itself

The Dyson Zone will initially release in China in January 2023 before being made available for US preorders in March. | Image: Dyson

Dyson has released additional details for its Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones, the company’s first audio product we got to test earlier this year. On a new webpage dedicated to the unreleased headphones, Dyson has officially provided the full specifications, alongside a March release date for the US market and an eye-watering price of $949.

So, what are you getting for your money? The Dyson Zone supports Bluetooth 5.0 and features a 3.5mm audio jack and USB-C port for charging. Dyson claims the headphones can achieve up to 50 hours of battery life for audio-only operation, which is reduced to a maximum of four hours for combined air purification and audio. Dyson does not specify if these runtimes are with ANC enabled. The headphones...

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Philips Hue lights are 20 percent off at Amazon when you buy three

The discount only applies when you bundle the company’s latest smart bulbs and select items. | Image: Philips Hue

Whether you’re looking to decorate your home with colorful smart lights or shopping for that perfect holiday gift, Philips Hue lights are popping with color, decent brightness, and broad compatibility with voice assistants. They tend to be more expensive than similar offerings from Wyze and Sengled, but Amazon is currently taking 20 percent off your total purchase when you buy three select Philips Hue smart bulbs, light strips, lamps, and accessories.

In terms of what’s available, there is a range of options to choose from. Some, like the Signe floor and table lamp, are already discounted, while others are only available for the full retail price. As an example, you can bundle two Lightstrip Plus extensions with a 1,100-lumen A19 color...

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Our favorite deals we actually bought this year

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Here at The Verge, weare just as eager to take advantage of sales and other good deals as anyone else (more so, perhaps, since we do have a slight interest in cool new stuff). What with inflation and all, the name of the game this year has been how to pick up devices that you need (or just want) for less than it usually costs, whether it’s a special holiday sale like Black Friday or is part of a lightning deal or is just available for less than usual.

At this time of the year, there are more of these special prices available than usual. So here, just in case you’re curious, are some of the deals that Verge staffers have picked up for themselves or as holiday gifts throughout the year. They include audio devices, a great camera, and a...

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Reddit’s 2022 recap transforms users into trading cards

You’ve activated my... Reddit trading card! | Card images: Reddit

It’s app recap season once again, and Reddit is getting in on the moment with its second annual personalized recap. This year, your recap will include an autogenerated trading card that represents you and your Reddit experience in 2022.

Like other recaps, Reddit’s features a lot of personalized data to help you reflect on your year on the platform. You might see things like your most upvoted comment, how much you’ve scrolled as measured in bananas (well, what Reddit calls “Standard Banana Units”), and whether you’re on team cat or team dog.

“Standard Banana Units”

But at the end of your recap, you’ll also be given a “Superpower Reddit Ability” and assigned a rare, epic, or legendary rating based on how much Reddit karma you’ve earned,...

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Starling Bank’s new virtual cards are what every bank needs

Starling Bank’s virtual debit cards. | Image: Starling Bank

UK-based Starling Bank is introducing new virtual debit cards this week that will help customers manage spending, saving, and even security free of charge. These new virtual cards will be linked to a main Starling bank account and use your balance, but they’ll have a unique card number, CVV, and expiry date. That makes them perfect for bundling together payments and tracking how much you’re spending, or using separate cards for security purposes.

Not a day seems to go by without a security breach somewhere, and the worst ones can expose your card numbers and details. While Starling Bank has introduced its virtual cards primarily for tracking spending, you could also use them to assign a virtual card to different utility providers or even...

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How CoinDesk’s FTX scoop left a hole in its corporate overlord

It’s one crypto newsroom, Michael. What could it cost? | Micha Huigen / The Verge

What happens when a story has impact?

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EU sets December 28th, 2024 deadline for all new phones to use USB-C for wired charging

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

We finally have a final official deadline for when new phones sold in the European Union — including future iPhones — will have to use USB-C for wired charging: December 28 2024.

That’s because the EU’s new USB-C legislation has just been published in the bloc’s Official Journal, making it formally binding. Now we know the rules will officially enter into force in 20 days’ time, and individual EU member states will then have a maximum of 24 months to apply them as national law.

The date is more or less in line with previous forecasts from politicians, but until now the exact date has remained vague given the number of stages each piece of EU legislation has to go through. When lawmakers reached an initial agreement on the legislation...

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Sonos and Ikea made a floor lamp speaker that could be perfect for surround sound

The new Symfonisk floor lamp speaker will be available in January. | Image: Ikea

Sonos and Ikea today announced the latest addition to their collaborative Symfonisk product lineup: it’s a new floor-standing lamp speaker. The $260 Symfonisk floor lamp speaker will be available from Ikea’s stores and website beginning in January.

In terms of design, just picture the second-gen Symfonisk lamp speaker with long legs jutting out of the bottom and extending down to a circular base. There’s really not much to it. If you found the last lamp’s style to be tasteful, you’ll like this one. If you thought it was ugly as sin, the floor lamp version probably won’t change your mind. Right now, the standard Symfonisk lamp is selling for $179.99, so the floor lamp option comes at a premium.

“Many people want to have several light...

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Thursday’s top tech news: Another Theranos exec sentenced to over a decade in prison

Former Theranos President Sunny Balwani was sentenced to almost 13 years in prison. | Image: Getty

Plus lots of new content for old games.

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Twitter Blue will reportedly cost more from iPhones to offset ‘hidden 30 percent tax’

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge

Twitter Blue may relaunch at two different price points depending on where you subscribe from, according to a new report from The Information. The premium subscription could cost $11 when purchased via Twitter’s iOS app, or a reduced $7 per month if users subscribe via Twitter’s website. The price disparity is likely an attempt to circumvent the 30 percent commission Apple charges on many in-app purchases.

The premium subscription originally launched at $7.99 a month in early November, when it was only available via iOS (with no option to subscribe via other platforms like Android or the web). But its rollout was quickly paused after numerous users took advantage of one of its trademark features — access to Twitter’s coveted blue...

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Crypto collapse: it’s looking like a long, cold, contagious winter

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

FTX is just the latest company facing an uncertain future as cryptocurrency values drop, revealing flaws in risky financial strategies that fueled the recent crypto and NFT boom.

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Now Telegram users don’t need a phone number — they can buy a fake one with crypto

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Telegram released a new version of its encrypted messaging app today that allows for account signups using purchasable blockchain-based identities instead of real phone numbers. In addition, version 9.2 includes the ability to auto-delete messages on a timer for new chats, and there’s an upgrade to the forum-like Topics feature.

Users had been required to use their mobile phone number to sign up for Telegram, similar to other end-to-end encrypted messaging apps like Signal and WhatsApp. While Telegram maintains that your phone number is never visible to unknown people, it’s still an identifier that inherently stops you short of full anonymity.

To get an anonymous number, you need to go purchase one through the Fragment blockchain, which...

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Former Theranos executive Sunny Balwani is sentenced to almost 13 years in prison

Photo: Getty Images

Ramesh Balwani has been sentenced to 155 months, or just under 13 years, in prison, according to The New York Times. Like his former business partner, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, he’s due another three years of supervised release after he gets out. Balwani will have to surrender to custody on March 15th.

In July, Balwani, also known as Sunny, was convicted on 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his actions while he was president and COO of Theranos. Unlike Holmes, who was found guilty of only defrauding investors, Balwani was found guilty of deceiving both investors and patients.

Part of Balwani’s role at Theranos was overseeing the labs at the blood testing company. Theranos once claimed...

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How to enable end-to-end encryption for your iCloud backups

Your iCloud data is about to get a lot more secure. | Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

With iOS 16.2, Apple is bringing advanced security features to more of your data. Among other things, it is adding highly secure end-to-end encryption for iCloud backups under the name Advanced Data Protection. This means that essentially only you can access the data stored in your iCloud device backup — Apple doesn’t have the key to access it. This is a strong layer of security, and although it takes a little bit of work to set up and requires you to take more responsibility for recovering your data, it’s well worth the effort if you’d like to make sure that you’re the only one who can access your backed up information.

Here’s how to set up end-to-end encryption for your iCloud backups on your iPhone. You’ll need to be running iOS...

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Indiana sues TikTok for misleading users on child safety and data security

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Indiana’s attorney general filed a pair of lawsuits against TikTok on Wednesday, accusing the company of misleading users about its ties to the Chinese government and showing mature content to minors, as first reported by The New York Times.

In his first complaint, Attorney General Todd Rokita claimed that TikTok deceived parents on the amount of sexual and drug-related content accessible to young users of the app. In a second complaint, Rokita’s office argued that Chinese-owned TikTok wrongfully misled users about the Chinese government’s authority to view sensitive user data obtained through the app.

“The TikTok app is a malicious and menacing threat unleashed on unsuspecting Indiana consumers by a Chinese company that knows full well...

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Dish’s $25-a-month Boost Infinite plan is now out in beta

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Dish has launched the beta for its Boost Infinite postpaid cell plan, which promises “Unlimited data, talk, and text” for $25 a month. When Boost Infinite was announced in May, Boost Mobile CEO Stephen Stokols pitched the plan as a way to embrace “web 3.0 trends” that would pay its users back and let them convert unused data into “a real digital currency.” Its website currently doesn’t mention any of that, instead mainly focusing on the appealing price.

For the $25 a month, a price point that isn’t dependent on having multiple lines, you’ll get 30GB a month of unthrottled data, as well as mobile hotspotting, calling and texting to 80 and 200 countries, respectively, and 1GB of data while traveling in Canada or Mexico. To sign up, you...

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