Disney blocks ABC and ESPN from Charter Spectrum viewers

The Verge

Disney has blocked its channels from being accessed by the nearly 15 million subscribers to Charter’s Spectrum service, the second-largest cable TV provider in the US. The blackout means that viewers in major markets like New York and Los Angeles can’t access ABC, ESPN, FX, Freeform, National Geographic and a dozen other Disney-owned channels.

Carriage disputes happen with some frequency when network owners, like Disney, renegotiate contracts with service providers, like Charter. Disney is seeking higher fees, Charter doesn’t want to pay them, and so Disney has yanked its programming as a negotiation tactic.

Charter says that Disney is “demanding an excessive increase” in fees and wants to force customers to “pay for channels you may not...

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Nutrisense review: a pricey way to learn a little

Continuous glucose monitoring still isn’t a proven thing for nondiabetics, but you can learn a little about yourself, provided you can pay.

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Honor’s V Purse is a fashion-inspired foldable concept phone

The concept phone is designed to have a range of purse straps attached to it. | Image: Honor

The V Purse is a new concept phone from Honor that asks “what if foldables were more like fashion accessories?” The company showed off the device during a presentation at IFA 2023 alongside the Honor Magic V2, its latest foldable phone announced in China earlier this year.

The V Purse is a demonstration of what’s possible for folding devices, and Honor hasn’t said if it’ll ever be released it as a product. Conversely, the company says it plans to release the Magic V2 globally no later than Q1 next year, CNBC reports, but has yet to officially announce pricing outside China.

There are two key elements to the V Purse’s design. First is a series of interchangeable straps and chains that clip on to the foldable and allow it to be carried...

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Tesla’s upgraded Model 3 has a new design, rear touchscreen, and range improvements

Image: Tesla

Tesla has announced an upgraded and redesigned Model 3 in Europe, known previously as the Highland. The new design includes changes to the front and rear, a new screen for rear passengers, a redesigned interior, and improvements to aerodynamics and range.

The most obvious exterior changes can be found at the front of the Model 3. The bump at the front has been removed in favor of a sleeker design with a single central vent. The headlights also look a lot slimmer with an Audi-like look for the LED daytime running lights.

Upgraded Model 3 launching today

Built for distance
Go up to 629km on a single charge with updated exterior styling optimized for max aerodynamics

Improved ride comfort
More refined & relaxed ride quality, thanks to a...

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Yale launches a new home security system for Europe

The Yale Smart Outdoor Camera looks on even as the Smart Video Doorbell records a delivery. | Image: Yale

Yale has launched a new line of its home security products specifically for the European market. In addition to a new video doorbell, the company revealed the next-gen of its smart alarm system, plus new indoor and outdoor smart cameras — all of which integrate with its line of smart locks.

Using the Yale Smart Video Doorbell, you can keep tabs on your doorstep with 1080p footage and a 154-degree field of view. The device comes in wired and wireless options, offering two-way audio talk, live viewing, and night vision. You’ll receive a notification when the doorbell detects motion and when someone rings the doorbell. The Smart Video Doorbell itself costs £119.99 / €159.99.

Image: Yale

The Yale Smart Video Doorbell.

...

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Lenovo’s new Legion 9i is a liquid-cooled, Mini LED, RGB monstrosity

For a meager $4,400, all this can be yours. | Image: Lenovo

Lenovo has announced a new Legion 9i, and it might just be the wildest thing I’ve ever seen from the Legion line. It’s coming in October, it starts at a whopping $4,399 (you know, a totally normal price to pay for things), and Lenovo is throwing in all kinds of eccentric stuff.

The company is clearly most excited about the fact that the 9i is the first 16-inch gaming laptop with a self-contained liquid-cooling system. This is exactly what it sounds like. Most laptops use air cooling to transfer heat along heat pipes to a radiator; a fluid-cooled device instead does that with water and a pump which, as you might imagine, can handle much more thermal mass. Such a system could theoretically allow the 9i to pull truly massive amounts of...

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With Legion Go gaming handheld, Lenovo takes aim at the ROG Ally

Here I am, washing a...truck?

Every company and its mother seems to be putting out handheld gaming PCs these days, and Lenovo is next to the plate. The company has announced the Legion Go, its first Windows-powered gaming handheld, which will be available for purchase in October. It’s got an 8.8-inch QHD Plus screen, an AMD Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, and a 49.2Wh battery (which is bigger than those of the ROG Ally and the Steam Deck). Oh, and the controllers pop off, which is neat.

While Valve’s Steam Deck tends to be the first product that comes to mind when this category is discussed, the Legion Go seems more like a cross between the Nintendo Switch and Asus’ ROG Ally. For one, with models starting at $699, the Ally is clearly what Lenovo is trying to match on...

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The NYPD will police Labor Day parties with surveillance drones

A Skydio 2 drone. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

If there’s a drone flying over your backyard party this Labor Day / J’Ouvert / West Indian Day Parade weekend in New York City, it might be the police — because the NYPD have apparently granted themselves the power to surveil the city that way.

“If a caller states there is a large crowd, a large party in the backyard, we’re going to be utilizing our assets to go up, go check on the party,” said assistant NYPD commissioner Kaz Daughtry, at a live press conference earlier today.

Lest you think we’re taking that out of context, here’s the full quote I just transcribed:

We’re going to be utilizing technology, we’re going to be utilizing drones for this J’ouvert weekend. The drones are going to be responding to non-priority calls and...

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Here’s where you can preorder Sony’s upcoming PlayStation Portal

For now, Sony’s upcoming gaming device is a PlayStation Direct exclusive. | Image: Sony

For months, rumors have been circulating about the release date for Sony’s upcoming handheld, the PlayStation Portal. Now Sony has finally given us an answer: the PlayStation Portal will launch on November 15th. The portable device, which will be able to stream PlayStation 5 games over Wi-Fi, will retail for $199.99.

There is a chance the PlayStation Portal will sell out as quickly as the PlayStation 5 did when it was first released, which is perhaps why Sony is currently limiting orders to one device per customer. We have yet to test the Portal, but if you’re someone who wants to secure a unit at launch, rest assured that Sony has already opened up preorders in the US and several other countries. Here’s what you need to know.

Where to...

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Sony’s portable PlayStation Portal launches on November 15th for $199.99

PlayStation Portal. | Image: Sony

Sony is officially launching its handheld remote player, the PlayStation Portal, on November 15th. The portable device will stream PS5 games over Wi-Fi and features an eight-inch LCD screen running at 1080p resolution at 60fps. Sony says the Portal will launch in the US, UK, and other regions for $199.99 and, on August 31st, made it available to preorder in select countries via Sony’s official PlayStation Direct storefront.

Preorders for other regions — and from other retailers — will follow on September 29th, according to an updated post on the PlayStation blog.

“PlayStation Portal will connect remotely to your PS5 over Wi-Fi, so you’ll be able to swiftly jump from playing on your PS5 to your PlayStation Portal,” says Hideaki Nishino,...

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Windows 11 tests Notepad autosave and better Snipping Tool

Notepad’s getting autosave. Notepad! | Image: Microsoft

Microsoft’s testing some neat new features for the Windows 11 Snipping Tool and the one and onlyNotepad dot exe. They’re only in the Windows Insider Program for now, but they’re there.

Anyone who’s ever tried to shut down their PC or close Notepad in the past, I dunno, 40 years, will be relieved to know that soon Notepad will finally just close without popping up a dialog box for each text file asking if you want to save changes. Notepad is getting autosave. Tabs, dark mode, a little spinny gear thing, and now this? It’s startin’ to look mighty modern around here.

In the Windows Insider Program blog post announcing the new features, Dave Grochocki writes:

With this update, Notepad will start automatically saving your session state...

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Porn age verification law is unconstitutional, says judge

Image: James Bareham / The Verge

A federal judge has blocked a Texas law that would require age verification and health warnings for pornographic websites, calling it unconstitutional and poorly defined. In a preliminary injunction decision released today, Judge David Ezra ruled in favor of the Free Speech Coalition, an adult industry trade association. The ruling prevents Texas from enforcing HB 1181, one of multiple state-level bills that would require age verification for accessing adult content online.

Ezra, a Ronald Reagan-appointed district judge, said HB 1181 had numerous problems that could limit internet users and adult content creators’ First Amendment rights. “The restriction is constitutionally problematic because it deters adults’ access to legal sexually...

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Can Samsung Food usher in a new era for the smart kitchen?

Samsung’s new app, Samsung Food, is designed to be a personalized AI cooking assistant. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Wi-Fi-connected kitchen appliances have struggled to prove their worth, but Samsung’s not entirely new app could help realize the potential of connected cooking.

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New York subway system disables feature that could let stalkers track your trips

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

New York’s subway pass system has turned off a feature that could enable others to track your travels if they have access to your bank card number. In a statement to The Verge, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson Eugene Resnick says the agency “disabled the feature” as part of its “ongoing commitment to customer privacy.”

The MTA’s OMNY system is a contactless subway pass option that lets you pay for a fare by tapping your phone or bank card at a station. However, a report published by 404 Mediaon Wednesday found that anyone with your card number and expiration date can see your rides within the past seven days through OMNY’s “trip history” feature.

“This feature was meant to help our customers who want access to their...

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New Chrome feature makes it easier to grab full-resolution frames from videos

Chrome’s new Copy Video Frame tool outputs a high-quality image with no overlay. Too bad I couldn’t use it to show the right-click menu! | Screenshot: The Verge

Google just made it easier to grab high-quality still images from videos — and it works in a bunch of browsers. In a post on Google’s Keyword blog aimed at students, the company announced a new feature built into Chrome that lets you capture a high-quality, non-overlayed frame from the source video. Just right-click on the video when paused and select “Copy Video Frame.” It might not work on all videos — actually, as far as I can tell, it mostly just works on YouTube — but it does work in a bunch of Chromium-based browsers, not just Chrome.

Google’s pitching this as a tool for students to grab notes from lecture videos, which, sure! After messing around with the new feature for a few minutes, I can confirm that it does offer much higher...

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A Baldur’s Gate 3 companion bug is ruining my game

Image: Larian Studios

It brings me no joy to say this, but I can’t play Baldur’s Gate 3 for the foreseeable future. Is it because my plate of games is full and will remain so for the next eight years? That’s true, but it’s not the reason. Or is it because the game has taken over my life such that I ignore my personal and professional responsibilities? Also true — but still not the reason. It’s bugs.

Bugs in a huge game like Baldur’s Gate 3 aren’t uncommon, and more often than not, they’re tolerable nuisances. My bug encounter rate in Act 1 and 2 was negligible, just minor graphical issues, texture pop-ins, and noticeable delays between when an NPC stops talking and my dialogue choices appear. Ignorable. But in Act 3, I’ve encountered an apparent bug so...

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A Valorant esports team has disbanded despite winning crucial tournament

Image: Colin Young-Wolff

Though The Guard won Valorant’s Ascension tournament, earning them a promotion into the international league, the team will not compete in the 2024 season, and its roster has been dissolved.

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Where to preorder the various editions of Starfield (and what’s included)

Starfield is all about space exploration — potentially like hundreds of hours of it. | Image: Bethesda Game Studios

It’s been a very busy year for big game releases, with Starfield being one of the biggest titles that has yet to launch. The Xbox and PC exclusive from Bethesda is promising a massive sci-fi world to voyage around, with over 1,000 explorable planets and countless weapon and mod customizations. It’s also the first new world that Bethesda has created in over two decades, offering a change of pace from its long-running Elder Scrolls franchise.

If what you saw in Bethesda’s 45-minute gameplay preview or our review has you hyped enough to preorder Starfield ahead of its September 6th release date or September 1st early-access launch, we’ve compiled all your options into a one-stop shop. From the $69.99 base game to the $299.99 Constellation...

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Watch India’s lunar rover take a spin on the Moon

The Indian Space Research Organisation’s Pragyan rover does the twist on the Moon. | Image: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is riding on the high of its Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission’s successful landing, sharing more of it with the world by posting a new video of the lander’s imager observing the rover as it rotates on the no-longer-Super-Blue Moon’s surface.

India’s space agency is trying to research the Moon’s history on the south pole, where the Chandrayaan-3 probe successfully landed last week.

The post describes the rover as a child “playfully frolicking in the yards of Chandamama” in a video captured on August 29th. Chandamama is a term of endearment toward the Moon in Hindi and other regional languages and is also used in nursery rhymes. (My mom used to sing this to me as a lullaby.)

Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
T...

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Nvidia and AMD say they face new restrictions on AI chip sales

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Nvidia and AMD say they face new restrictions in some Middle Eastern countries, Reuters reports. This widens the restrictions on these chips beyond China and Russia. The new licensing requirement applies to “a subset” of Nvidia’s top-end chips, the company said.

In response, the Biden administration said it “has not blocked” chip sales to the Middle East, Reuters reports. “The Commerce Department declined to comment on whether it had imposed new requirements on specific U.S. companies,” Reuters writes. The Commerce Department, Nvidia, and AMD didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Nvidia announced the new licensing requirement in a regulatory filing. Its statement reads:

There are also now licensing requirements to export a...

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Saints Row developer Volition permanently shuts down

Saints Row. | Image: Volition

Volition, makers of Red Faction and Saints Row, is shutting down for good. The news was announced on the company’s LinkedIn account at around 12:30PM ET, or right after all the reviews for Starfield went live.

In the post, the company explained that the reason for Volition’s closure was tied to parent company Embracer Group’s new restructuring program.

“This past June, Embracer group announced a restructuring program to strengthen Embracer and maintain its position as a leader in the video game industry,” the announcement read. “As a part of that program, they evaluated strategic and operational goals and made the difficult decision to close Volition effective immediately.”

Back in June, Embracer Group announced this restructuring...

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Starfield: all the news and trailers about Bethesda’s massive space RPG

Image: Bethesda Game Studios

Prepare to get lost in space with Bethesda’s next big game.

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Belkin’s convertible wireless charger supports new Qi2 magnet-enhanced standard

Belkin’s convertible charger can either stand upright or be used like a traditional pad. | Image: Belkin

Belkin is embracing the new magnet-enhanced Qi2 wireless charging standard with a pair of new products being announced at Berlin’s IFA 2023 tech show. There’s the BoostCharge Convertible Qi2 Wireless Pad to Stand (yes, that’s the name), which can either work like a traditional Qi pad or hold a phone upright while it charges — great for the iPhone’s new StandBy feature. There’s also the BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1 Wireless Charging Pad with Qi2, which is equipped with a pair of wireless charging pads (one 15W and one 5W) plus a USB-C port for charging a third device like an Apple Watch via an optional dongle.

Announced at CES earlier this year, Qi2 is a new version of Qi wireless charging that effectively integrates the magnets from Apple’s...

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Starfield is a stellar sci-fi refresh of the Bethesda RPG formula

Image: Bethesda Softworks

The latest release from Bethesda is reminiscent of games like Fallout and Skyrim, but with a new level of wonder and adventure — and a whole lot of polish.

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Withings adds temperature tracking to the new ScanWatch 2

The ScanWatch 2 will cost $349.95 and features a temperature sensing module. | Image: Withings

After nearly three yearswithout a new smartwatch, Withings is kicking off IFA 2023 by announcing not one but two ScanWatch hybrid watches.

The $349.95 ScanWatch 2 is Withings’ latest and greatest hybrid smartwatch, with a new temperature tracking module that uses a combination of four sensors: a thermistor; heat flux; PPG (the green LED for measuring heart rate); and accelerometer. Data from the four sensors will then be fed into an algorithm that uses movement, heart rate, and skin temperature to deliver health insights. Withings also introduced a slightly pared-down, fashion-first ScanWatch Light for $249.99.

Unlike most smartwatches these days, the ScanWatch 2’s temperature tracking isn’t intended for advanced cycle tracking,...

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Starfield doesn’t have Nvidia’s DLSS at launch

Starfield, the new space RPG from Skyrim maker Bethesda Game Studios, is launching today without Nvidia’s upscaling technology. AMD is Starfield’s “exclusive PC partner,” with both Bethesda and AMD engineers working together to optimize the game for multithreaded code on Xbox and PC, Ryzen 7000 processors, and Radeon 7000 series graphics cards.

It’s still unclear what this exclusivity contract means for Bethesda, but AMD made it clear to The Verge last week that there’s nothing stopping Bethesda from adding DLSS to Starfield. “If they want to do DLSS, they have AMD’s full support,” said AMD gaming chief Frank Azor. That could mean there’s a period of exclusivity where only AMD’s FSR 2 technology is supported, or Bethesda could have...

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Baidu launches Ernie chatbot after Chinese government approval

Chinese giant Baidu officially launched its chatbot, Ernie Bot, after the government approved its application, alongside that of several other AI companies.

Ernie Bot is now available for download from app stores or Baidu’s website. Much like its main rival, ChatGPT, users can ask Ernie Bot questions or prompt it to help write market analysis, give marketing slogan ideas, and summarize documents. People need to log in to their Baidu accounts to use Ernie Bot, but it’s unclear if the platform is available globally. The Baidu app is available on US Android and iOS app stores but is only in Chinese.

Baidu did not respond to requests for more details about the bot.

Baidu also opened a plug-in market for Ernie Bot.

The company said in an...

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Got a Chromebook? Here’s a free GeForce Now subscription

The Acer Chromebook 516 GE was one of the first gaming-specific Chromebooks, announced 2022. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

The point of cloud gaming is it doesn’t require a powerful PC; a Chromebook should do just fine. Today, Google and Nvidia are ready to prove it by giving away a free, no-strings-attached GeForce Now subscription to every modern Chromebook owner.

You don’t have to buy a new machine, and there’s no recurring subscription. You don’t have to enter any credit card information, Google spokesperson Peter Du confirms to The Verge. As long as you’ve got a Chromebook from 2017 or newer, you can simply head over to Google’s Chromebook Perks page and hit the “Get perk” button to redeem a three-month subscription to the Priority tier of Nvidia’s GeForce Now.

If you’ve purchased a gaming Chromebook, the deal’s even sweeter: you get three months of...

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Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to theaters for the ‘theatrical event of the millennium’

Taylor Swift performing onstage. | Photo by Hector Vivas/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

While there are undoubtedly still Taylor Swift fans out there who are salty with Ticketmaster for causing them to miss out on seeing the Eras Tour live, AMC’s getting ready to offer them a chance to see their idol in all her glory at movie theaters across the country.

Variety reports that AMC is bringing Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour — a filmed recording of Swift’s newest show — to every single one of its US theaters for multiple daily showings on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning this October. Along with showings in regular theaters, AMC also plans for The Eras Tour to play in a number of its premium IMAX and Dolby locations. Here in the US, there are also plans in the works for the show to come to more theater chains,...

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YouTube Music now has YouTube comments, because Google learned nothing

The new Now Playing interface has horizontally scrolling buttons. | Screenshot: Umar Shakir / The Verge

YouTube Music has a redesigned Now Playing screen that includes the comments section from whichever YouTube video it’s pulling from. Now, you can read and write comments directly from the app if that’s what you’re into. The update is rolling out now to iOS and Android users, 9to5Google reports.

Other interface updates include larger album art and a new horizontally swipeable line of buttons above the progress bar. The buttons include save, a now easily accessible share, download, radio, and the aforementioned comments section button — though presumably only for songs with a video available. YouTube Music’s like / dislike buttons are also moved in line with the new buttons, so now the track name and album are aligned to the left of the...

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