Elon Musk says (yet again) that X will stop letting you block users

Image: The Verge

Elon Musk says X’s — formerly Twitter’s — block feature is on the chopping block, repeating his long-standing gripe against the basic social networking feature. “Block is going to be deleted as a ‘feature’, except for DMs,” Musk said in an X reply on Friday. He followed up with another post: “It makes no sense.”

Musk has made his feelings about blocking known in the past months. In June, he said that Twitter should remove blocking in favor of “a stronger form of mute,” and he’s complained about large block lists and mass blocking campaigns against users who subscribe to Twitter Blue. But he also has a long history of promises that are delayed or never implemented — and removing the “block” feature might be a particularly unpopular...

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The new Beats Studio Buds Plus are already $40 off

The lauded successors to the original Beats Studio Buds launched just over three months ago. | Image: Beats

Things move quickly in the deals space — and I’m not simply referring to how fast AirPods and certain retro-fueled controllers can sell out when they become available or dip below a certain price threshold. The Beats Studio Buds Plus launched a mere three months ago, yet they’re already on sale in black for just $129.95 ($40 off) at Woot, which is an additional $20 off the sale price we saw during Prime Day.

The Beats Studio Buds Plus are a much-needed revamp of the original Beats Studio Buds from 2021. They offer better sound, improved noise cancellation, and superior battery life, affording you up to six hours of listening per charge (or nine with ANC turned off). They’re a great option if you own both Apple and Android devices, too,...

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Lamborghini’s Lanzador EV concept has over one megawatt of peak power

Image: Lamborghini

The concept, which was revealed during Monterey Car Week, is a preview of the Italian supercar company’s fourth pure EV model, coming in 2028.

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California gets its first tropical storm watch with Hurricane Hilary

Hurricane Hilary swirls off the coast of Mexico as smoke covers the central United States. | Image: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (CSU / CIRA & NOAA)

The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for southern California today as Hurricane Hilary barrels toward the US and Mexico. This is the first time this kind of alert has been issued for sunny SoCal, which is more prone to drought and fire this time of year than hurricanes.

A tropical storm watch means “that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours,” according to the National Hurricane Center. The watch is in place from the Mexico-California border to the Los Angeles-Orange county line as well as for Catalina and Santa Barbara Islands.

A tropical storm watch means “that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours”

There are...

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Disney Plus moves Ahsoka episodes into prime time on Tuesdays

Image: Disney

Ahsoka, Disney’s next big Disney Plus Star Wars show, will now premiere on Tuesday nights at 9PM ET / 6PM PT, Disney announced on Friday. That means the first two episodes of the show will now be available the evening of Tuesday, August 22nd.

It’s only a slight shift from Ahsoka’s original premiere date of Wednesdays. But since Disney Plus shows typically come out in the middle of the night, this new air time might make episodes easier to watch the moment they debut.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of the change. I’m old and go to bed early, so it’s hard for me to stay up late to watch new episodes of shows right when they air. Since I live on the West Coast, I can now watch Ahsoka at the extremely reasonable time of 6PM PT and still be in...

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Cruise robotaxi collides with fire truck in San Francisco, leaving one injured

Photo by Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

A Cruise robotaxi in San Francisco collided with a San Francisco Fire Department truck late Thursday, CNBC reports. A passenger riding inside the Cruise self-driving vehicle suffered “non-severe injuries” and was transported in an ambulance, according to an official company post on X (formally Twitter) this morning.

The company says its car, which was driverless at the time, “entered the intersection on a green light” before getting “struck by an emergency vehicle.” The post noted that the fire department vehicle was on its way to an emergency scene, suggesting the possibility that the Cruise vehicle did not yield to an emergency vehicle. The crash occurred around 10PM local time in the Tenderloin district of the city.

“We are...

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Big companies use AI-generated ads because they’re cheap

Mondelez logo with Oreos. | Photo by Jakub Porzycki / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Creating an ad can be tricky and costly, and more brands see generative AI as a means to make that process less painful.

Reuters reported large advertising agencies like WPP and multinational corporations like Unilever look to generative AI to cut marketing costs while making more ads.

WPP clients Nestlé and Mondelez, makers of Oreo and Cadbury, used OpenAI’s DALL-E 2 to make ads. One ad for Cadbury ran in India with an AI-generated video of the Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan inviting pedestrians to shop at stores. WPP’s CEO told Reuters savings from generative AI can be “10 to 20 times.”

Unilever created its own generative AI advertising tools and used them to write spiels for one of its shampoo products.

But as more brands look to...

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Here’s how Bambu will fix its 3D printers that began printing by themselves

Users woke to find that their Bambu printers created designs all by themselves. | Image: Bambu

Bambu will issue multiple fixes for the unusual bug that caused some of its 3D printers to start pumping out designs by themselves — and in some cases, damaging the printer in the process. In an official blog post, Bambu details multiple new features that could prevent the 3D printers from going rogue in the future.

On Wednesday, some Bambu users woke to find that their 3D printers had created new unwanted prints overnight — without any prompts or supervision by users. Not only did those prints damage some devices when they attempted to print a second design atop ones they already printed out but it also raised concerns about potential fire risks. Bambu traced the issue back to a cloud server outage — specifically, they sent extra MQTT...

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Target is selling the Xbox Series S with a free $70 game right now

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

The Xbox Series S may sometimes go a little unloved, but Microsoft’s tiny white box isn’t just a QHD-capable console with 512GB of storage — it’s also a veritable deals machine. That’s because, unlike its bigger sibling, the Xbox Series X, the Series S often sees some worthwhile sales. Right now, for instance, Target is offering a special online-only bundle that includes a free digital game when you buy the Xbox Series S for $297.99.

In all, there are about 50 eligible Xbox titles to choose from, including more recent hits like Diablo IV, MLB The Show 23, Hogwarts Legacy, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, along with a handful of other digital titles that normally retail for $69.99. And the Xbox Series S on offer is the “Gilded Hunter...

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Withings Body Smart review: a flawed but thoughtful approach to weight

The scale’s Eyes-Closed Mode gives you an alternative way to interact with your weight and body composition data.

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The fandomization of news

Lil Tay in 2018. | Image: Lil Tay / YouTube

Younger generations expect news to come straight from creators. But when creators are wrong, the news ecosystem quickly breaks down.

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Tiffany Haddish on her new movie’s bleak vision of our streaming future

Tiffany Haddish and Asante Blackk in Landscape With Invisible Hand_._ | Image: MGM

Landscape With Invisible Hand is an alien invasion story with a twist: a species known as the Vuuv take over the planet not by force but through economics. Their advanced technology allows them to live in floating cities with the human elite, while the rest of the population scrapes by on the surface. Because of this, some new ways of making money arise — including a very intimate form of livestreaming. Because the Vuuv do not have romance like humans, they’re obsessed with watching young couples broadcast their lives, tipping generously along the way.

For Tiffany Haddish, who stars in the film, part of the appeal was that the premise didn’t seem that far-fetched. “I really love [director and writer Cory Finley] a lot, I love his work,”...

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Baldur’s Gate 3 on the Steam Deck looks bad but plays great

Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a delight on Steam Deck — even though I sometimes can’t tell what’s going on.

I suspected that might be the case going in. Everything I had seen about Baldur’s Gate 3 before I downloaded it promised a vast, sprawling adventure, and all the streams of the game I watched on Twitch featured incredibly detailed characters and worlds. I’m sure most of those streamers were running the game on top-of-the-line rigs. I suspected that the Steam Deck, which recently had some troubles with The Last of Us Part I, might not be the best place for me to play Larian Studios’ new RPG.

That said, the game just looked like so much fun, and since it won’t be coming to PS5 until September, I really wanted to find a way to play it sooner. I...

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Low interest rates and loneliness: the origins of the pandemic crypto boom

Glauber Contessoto, also known as “Pro,” records a video about Dogecoin. | Image: This Is Not Financial Advice

This Is Not Financial Advice and Easy Money attempt to explain the extremely online financial mania. Their very divergent takes show how difficult it is to fully understand.

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How to delete your Twitter history

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

Over the last few months, Elon Musk’s X, which was formerly known as Twitter, has been a bubbling cauldron of strange advertising decisions, continuous upheavals, and weird overflows of testosterone.

Not that Twitter has ever been calm waters. Before Musk, Twitter was the social media world’s most reliable double-edged sword. One minute, you were retweeting a funny meme account and enjoying some wholesome discussion about your current TV binge fixation, and the next, you were being buried by a harassment campaign or finding your day ruined by a thread that makes you want to throw your laptop through the window.

Either way, if you’re now on X or were ever on Twitter, it’s a good idea to take precautions with your posting history since,...

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Google adds a reminder to clean your Pixel Buds every once in a while

You really should be checking them regularly anyway, but hopefully, this helps to avoid any gross build-up. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

When was the last time you cleaned your earphones? Ideally, you’re not leaving it long enough to see a sizable amount of crud building up (which is fairly unavoidable when you’re regularly shoving them into your ears), but if you happen to own a pair of Google Pixel Buds or Pixel Buds Pro then don’t worry — Google will soon remind you. As reported by 9to5Google, the latest version of the Pixel Buds app (version 1.0.555017123) includes a new notification that will prompt users to regularly clean and maintain their earbuds.

The updated app is currently rolling out via the Google Play Store, and according to a few 9to5Google readers, some users are already starting to see the cleaning notification. Within the prompt, Google notes that...

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Twitch will let streamers ban users from watching their streams

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

Twitch is rolling out an update next month that will finally allow streamers to block banned users from viewing their streams. Currently, Twitch allows you to ban users from the chat section of a stream, but they can still view streams.

Twitch revealed earlier this week, during its Patch Notes stream, that a new setting will be available for streamers in September that will boot people out of chat and live streams in real time. Banned users will automatically be blocked from viewing streams, a long-requested feature that streamers have been waiting years for.

Image: Twitch

The new Twitch ban feature.

“At the time being it won’t stop them from viewing VODs or clips, but that is something we also want to include...

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The iPhone 15 might have faster charging speeds

Apple may need to ship the iPhone 15 with a power adapter to support the increased wattage from USB-C charging. | Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Apple is set to introduce the iPhone 15 in the next few weeks, and the device’s long-rumored transition from Lightning to USB-C may provide a boost to its charging speed. According to 9to5Mac, some of the new iPhone 15 models will support charging up to 35W, compared to the 27W speeds that the current iPhone 14 Pro is limited to.

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo made similar predictions last year, claiming that Apple’s supply chain indicated the company would ditch Lightning in favor of USB-C in 2023. According to Kuo, the switch would enable faster charging speeds for iPhone 15 Pro models, but the feature may only be supported via Apple-certified cables. Apple stopped bundling its iPhones with power adapters back in 2020 to try and combat...

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Threads gets retweets — sorry, reposts — in the reverse-chronological feed

Illustration: The Verge

Threads is adding reposts (aka retweets) to its reverse-chronological “Following” feed, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced in a Threads post on Thursday. It’s a small but nice addition to the app that makes the Following feed a bit more useful, and while Mosseri said Meta added it “based on your feedback,” the Following feed does still have its flaws.

That’s not the only repost-related update from Meta. It’s also rolling out a reposts tab on your profile so that you and others can more easily find the threads that you’ve reposted. I don’t appear to have either update yet on iOS, but I do have the reposts tab when I view my profile on the web. (I think I need to repost more.)

Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge ...

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One surviving Reddit app plans to charge based on how much you use it

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The developer Relay for Reddit, of one of the remaining third-party Reddit apps for Android, detailed the potential prices for planned subscriptions for the app in a new post on Thursday. The costs of a subscription will go up based on a user’s daily average number of API calls, essentially meaning that the more things a person does in the app, the more they might have to pay.

In July, Reddit officially transitioned from a free to a paid API, meaning that developers would have to pay the company for accessing Reddit’s data for their apps. The change forced many popular apps to shut down, but a handful of developers, including the one who makes Relay for Reddit, said they might be able to continue making their apps if they charged a...

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Razer’s new BlackWidow V4 75 could be a great starter mechanical keyboard

The Razer BlackWidow V4 75 mechanical keyboard. | Image: Razer

Razer’s launching a new mechanical keyboard that might get the attention of more than just those who fall into the RGB-forward gamer demographic. The company’s BlackWidow V4 75 includes hot-swappable switches, a gasket-mounted plate with two foam layers, screw holes on the PCB board for screw-in stabilizers, and even factory GPL 205g0 lubricated stabilizers, amongst other features. That’s the sort of stuff you see on enthusiast keyboards like Drop’s Sense75 and Keychron’s Q1 Pro, but from a brand you can easily find at your local Best Buy.

BlackWidow V4 comes in a slightly-condensed 75 percent tenkeyless configuration. Out of the box, you’re getting Razer’s hushed tactile “orange” switches with doubleshot ABS keycaps on top. You could...

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A key feature of NFTs has completely broken

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

One of the big promises of NFTs was that the artist who originally made them could get a cut every time their piece was resold. Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore.

OpenSea, the biggest NFT marketplace still fully enforcing royalty fees, said today that it plans to stop the mandatory collection of resale fees for artists. Starting March 2024, those fees will essentially be tips — an optional percentage of a sale price that sellers can choose to give the original artist. If the seller doesn’t want to hand over any money, that’ll be their choice.

The NFT ecosystem has been on a race to the bottom when it comes to fees. As the market for NFTs collapsed, marketplaces have lowered their own trading fees and stopped enforcing royalty...

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Spotify reportedly has a $38 million white noise problem

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge

Spotify is spending a lot of money on podcasts that don’t actually involve any talking. That’s according to a report from Bloomberg, which states the company could increase its annual gross profit by a whopping $38 million if it steers users away from so-called white noise podcasts.

These kinds of podcasts play various types of relaxing sounds on a loop — like static, crashing waves, or rain — and they’re more popular than you may think. One of the reasons for their popularity is that Spotify has been unwittingly pushing them in front of users thanks to its “algorithmic push for ‘talk’ content (versus music),” according to Bloomberg.

The creators behind these “podcasts” make money off the ads that play during its episodes. Last year, a...

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Match Group will no longer offer background checks on Tinder and other dating apps

Illustration: The Verge

Match Group, which owns dating apps like Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and Match, is ending its partnership with the nonprofit organization that provided background checks to its users, as reported earlier by The Wall Street Journal. The service that provided the checks, called Garbo, is shutting down its consumer-facing business as a result.

Match Group first started offering background checks on Tinder in 2021 before rolling it out to its other dating apps, including Match and Stir, last year. The integration let users run a limited number of free background checks on a potential date using just their last name and phone number, allowing users to see public reports about violence, past arrests, convictions, and restraining orders.

While...

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Microsoft’s AI recommends the Ottawa Food Bank as a tourist destination

Illustration: The Verge

Microsoft has published an AI-generated travel article about Ottawa, Canada, that prominently recommends tourists visit the Ottawa Food Bank, as spotted by Paris Marx. The food bank is the No. 3 recommendation on the list, sitting behind the National War Memorial and above going to an Ottawa Senators hockey game.

Microsoft laid off journalists at Microsoft News and MSN in 2020 to replace them with artificial intelligence. Microsoft didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge

Here is the Ottawa Food Bank’s website if you would like to donate — it recently moved to a new location due to demand that has spiked by 85 percent since 2019. While support is encouraged, CEO...

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Amazon tests new star ratings that are even harder to read

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Amazon is testing a new way to show star ratings for products in search results that is more difficult to parse at a glance, as reported by Android Police.

Under the new system, when you’re browsing search results, Amazon will show you an average star rating as a number, then a singular gold star, and then, in parentheses next to the star, what percentage of reviews are five stars.

The change is a bit easier to understand in an image, so take a look at this one from Android Police:

Image: Android Police

Android Police says it saw this different layout in the Amazon India mobile app, on the Amazon Germany website, and on Amazon’s global website when accessed from Germany.

I don’t like this change because it gets rid...

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The Nvidia Chromebook dream is no more

It’s hard to see a future for enthusiast gaming on the Chromebook with no Nvidia options. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Last year, all signs indicated that 2023 would be an exciting year for ChromeOS gaming. Early on, 9to5Google reported that Chromebooks supporting Nvidia GPUs were in the works. In October, several OEMs announced gaming-focused models (with integrated graphics) in a snazzy joint announcement. It seemed like there was a lot on the horizon for the Chromebook gaming enthusiast.

Those hopes, however, appear to have been dashed. The eagle-eyed folks over at About Chromebooks have spotted language in Google’s code indicating that multiple Nvidia Chromebook projects (including the specific models that were rumored last year) have been canceled. Google has not yet responded to a request for comment on this language.

Photo by...

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Google Maps will stop showing gas stations to EV owners

Google Maps on a Polestar 2. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

Earlier this week, Google Maps reportedly demoted gas stations in the points of interest categories list for electric vehicle owners while using Android Auto. Google confirmed the changes, which it noted have been available to EV drivers since 2022.

“To help people get the most relevant information when navigating, last year we added the ability for EV drivers to see a shortcut for charging stations instead of gas stations on Google Maps for Android Auto,” Google spokesperson Pearl Xu told The Verge. Xu added that the feature has also been live for vehicles equipped with Google built-in vehicle software since 2020.

Xu sent over a list of all the EV-centric capabilities of Google Maps:

Real-time charging port availability: Just search...

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My Baldur’s Gate 3 perfectionism is killing me

Baldur’s Gate 3 has garnered accolades for its flexibility — it feels like you can ally with or betray virtually anyone, including your own party members. I’ve seen it compared to old-school RPGs like Planescape: Torment, “play it your way” immersive sims, and of course, its source material, tabletop Dungeons & Dragons.

After clocking roughly 40 hours in Faerûn, there’s a simultaneously delightful and maddening tension to the open-endedness of Baldur’s Gate 3. On one hand, it pushes me to invest in the high stakes of its narrative, where a single misstep’s personal and universal consequences can feel disastrous. On the other, my most viscerally satisfying encounters have come from abandoning perfectionism and rolling with the punches. I...

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III unveiled with first trailer

Image: Activision Blizzard

As promised, Activision showed off the next Call of Duty today after officially announcing it earlier this month. So now, we have the first trailer for Modern Warfare III — which is a different game than Modern Warfare 3 (2011) — along with some details.

The new game features a single-player campaign that, naturally, follows Modern Warfare II and introduces a new kind of mission called “open combat” that Activision describes as “a new innovation that empowers player decisions like never before.” Players can supposedly choose different play styles — like stealth versus going in guns blazing — and the missions are designed to complement the more crafted, linear story missions Call of Duty is known for.

While Call of Duty releases have been...

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