Solar Storms are disrupting farmer GPS systems during critical planting time

Image: John Deere

The solar storms that have been wowing people with the Northern Lights across the United States the last two nights have also been disrupting GPS satellites, crippling some Midwest farmers’ operations, reports 404 Media. The issues have forced many to stop planting just as a crucial planting deadline for corn farmers approaches.

The storms reportedly knocked “some GPS systems” offline temporarily, which messed with the accuracy of “Real-Time Kinematic” (RTK) systems. Tractors from John Deere and other brands use RTK for “centimeter-level positional accuracy” when carrying out farming work like crop-planting or fertilizing, 404 Media writes.

The “extremely compromised” systems caused “drastic shifts in the field and even some heading...

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The Gamma app brings PS1 emulation to the iPhone

Time for some Abe’s Oddysee! | Screenshot: Gamma

iPhone users without a penchant for jailbreaking can finally enjoy the blocky polygons and shifty textures of the original PlayStation with Gamma, a free PS1 emulator that hit the iOS App Store last night. Gamma comes courtesy of developer ZodTTD, which has been creating emulators for the iPhone since the earliest days of third-party iOS apps.

The app has both iPhone and iPad versions with support for Bluetooth controllers and keyboards, as well as customizable on-screen controller skins. It uses Google Drive and Dropbox syncing for backing up your game files and save states (those are the snapshots you can save at any time and reload, a little like pausing your game — great for old-school games that don’t let you save any time you...

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The DJI Pocket 3 is almost everything I wanted my iPhone camera to be

Despite its name, the Pocket 3 isn’t exactly comfortable to stuff in tighter pockets. | Photo by Quentyn Kennemer / The Verge

I can’t think of anything permeating mainstream camera culture as aggressively as the DJI Osmo Pocket 3. The Fujifilm X100VI has stolen some of its thunder among film simulation enthusiasts, but DJI’s still having somewhat of a cultural moment on YouTube, Instagram, and the troubled TikTok by spurring all sorts of creator glee.

Of course, the camera buffs are all over it, but serious and casual creators from other genres have paused their usual programming to rave about how it transcends amateur vlogging pursuits, whether you’re filming a wedding or self-shooting a scene for a Sundance-hopeful short film.

Some of us at The Verge are excited, too: Vjeran liked it enough to call it his favorite gadget of 2023, and Sean just bought one...

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The rise of the audio-only video game

Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge

Not all video games need video. Over the years, games that exist only in audio have taken players into entirely new worlds in which there’s nothing to see and still everything to do. These games have huge accessibility implications, allowing people who can’t see to play an equally fun, equally immersive game with their other senses. And when all you have is sound, there’s actually even more you can do to make your game great.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we explore the history of audio-only games with Paul Bennun, who has been in this space longer than most. Years ago, Bennun and his team at Somethin’ Else made a series of games called Papa Sangre that were among the most innovative and most popular games of their kind. He explains...

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The new iPad Pro looks like a winner

Image: David Pierce / The Verge

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 37, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, send me links, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I’ve been writing about iPads and LinkedIn games, reading about auto shows and typewriters and treasure hunters, watching Everybody’s in LAand Sugar, looking for reasons to buy Yeti’s new French press even though I definitely don’t need more coffee gear, following almost all of Jerry Saltz’s favorite Instagram accounts, testing Capacities and Heptabase for all my note-taking needs and Plinky for all my link-saving, and playing a lot of Blind Drive.

I also have for you a thoroughly impressive new iPad, a clever...

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Game stores are refunding Ghost of Tsushima pre-orders in non-PSN countries

Screenshot: Ghost of Tsushima

Steam is refunding preorders of the director’s cut of Ghost of Tsushima for buyers who live in countries without PlayStation Network access. That’s despite the fact that arguably the most important part of the game is still playable without PlayStation Network account linking. The news comes after Valve abruptly delisted the game yesterday.

Ghost of Tsushima only requires PSN account linking for its Legends multiplayer mode, a requirement the single player campaign is exempt from, the game’s developer went out of its way to say in a recent post. Steam, Green Man Gaming, and Epic Games Store each have disclaimers noting the same thing. In theory, that would mean if you don’t care about multiplayer modes, you could still play, but in...

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OpenAI could debut a multimodal AI digital assistant soon

Illustration: The Verge

OpenAI has been showing some of its customers a new multimodal AI model that can both talk to you and recognize objects, according to a new report from The Information. Citing unnamed sources who’ve seen it, the outlet says this could be part of what the company plans to show on Monday.

The new model reportedly offers faster, more accurate interpretation of images and audio than what its existing separate transcription and text-to-speech models can do_._ It would apparently be able to help customer service agents “better understand the intonation of callers’ voices or whether they’re being sarcastic,” and “theoretically,” the model can help students with math or translate real-world signs, writes The Information.

The outlet’s sources say...

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iFixit’s Pro Tech Toolkit is on sale for just $60

iFixit’s step-up toolkit has all sorts of bits and bobs, all of which slot nicely in the case and included fabric roll. | Image: iFixit

The right-to-repair movement has logged some serious wins over the past several years, with states like California, New York, and Minnesota having recently passed laws that make it easier for consumers to repair their own devices. But being able to obtain parts and manuals is only part of the process — you also need the tools. Luckily, iFixit’s Pro Tech Toolkit is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and iFixit for $59.96 ($15 off), matching the lowest price we’ve seen on the versatile tool set.

Chances are you know iFixit for its in-depth teardowns of various gadgets and gizmos, including iPhone 15 Pro Max, headsets like the Apple Vision Pro, and the confounding mess that is the Humane AI Pin (sorry not sorry). That said, the company also...

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Google I/O 2024 will be all about AI again

Image: Google

Google is preparing to hold its annual Google I/O developer conference next week, and naturally, it will be all about AI. The company has made no secret of that. Since last year’s I/O, it has debuted Gemini, its new, more powerful model meant to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and has been deep in testing new features for Search, Google Maps, and Android. Expect to hear a lot about that stuff this year.

When Google I/O will happen and where you can watch

Google I/O kicks off on Tuesday, May 14th at 10AM PT / 1PM ET with a keynote talk. You can catch that on Google’s site or its YouTube channel, via the livestream link that’s also embedded at the top of this page. (There’s also a version with an American Sign Language interpreter.) Set a...

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Crow Country is a gloriously grimy revival of ’90s survival horror

Image: SFB Games

Even as modern horror games become unnervingly immersive, there’s still a place for the particular mood of old-school survival horror. Through a combo of grimy visuals, cryptic puzzles, slow pacing, and clunky controls, PlayStation-era games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill were able to create a distinct kind of tension and terror. Crow Country is what would happen if that kind of game never went out of style. It has the look and feel of the classics but with just the right amount of modern flourish. It’s a perfect bite of classic horror.

Crow Country comes from indie studio SFB Games — led by brothers Tom and Adam Vian — which has so far managed to create quite the eclectic library of releases. There was the playful Switch launch...

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Android in the time of AI

Google’s annual developer conference kicks off on Tuesday. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The past few months have made one thing crystal clear: phones remain undefeated.

The AI gadgets that were supposed to save us from our phones have arrived woefully underbaked — whatever illusions we might have held that the Humane AI pin or the Rabbit R1 were going to offer any kind of salve for the constant rug burn of dealing with our personal tech is gone. Hot Gadget Spring is over and developer season is upon us, starting with Google I/O this coming Tuesday.

It also happens to be a pivotal time for Android. I/O comes on the heels of a major re-org that put the Android team together with Google’s hardware team for the first time. The directive is clear: to run full speed ahead and put more AI in more things. Not preferring Google’s...

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The Garmin Lily 2 was the tracker I needed on vacation

The Lily 2 is a small, unassuming tracker that suits casual users. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Its limitations made it fall short in daily life but ended up being a plus while trying to disconnect from the world.

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Gaze upon Dell’s leaked Qualcomm X Elite-powered laptops

That’s a skinny XPS. | Image: Windows Report

Want a look at Dell’s new notebook lineup that’s apparently powered by Qualcomm’s upcoming Snapdragon X Elite processors? Courtesy of Windows Report, these leaked images come ahead of Microsoft’s May 20th event where new Surfaces (and other laptops) are expected to sport the same chips.

They unsurprisingly look like laptops — albeit with overall slimmer profiles.

The most interesting model is Dell’s new XPS 13 9345, which seems to be a sleeker rebirth of the XPS 13 Plus from 2022. It’s got the same touchy touch-bar on the top row and comes with only two USB-C ports for I/O.

Image: Windows Report

Dell XPS 9345

Image: Windows Report

Dell Inspiron 14 7441 Plus

There’s also a leaked...

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Best gaming laptop in 2023: seven laptops to get your game on

From midsized and midrange stars to big, beefy monsters, these are the best technically portable gaming rigs you can get.

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The best laptops you can buy

Illustration by William Joel / The Verge

The best laptops for you, from ultraportables to gaming machines, MacBooks to Chromebooks.

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GameStop will buy and sell rare Pokémon cards — but it doesn’t want to catch ‘em all

Photo by IDA MARIE ODGAARD/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images

GameStop, the used video game retailer that’s become increasingly associated with other kinds of speculative investments, wants to cash in on the resurgent card collecting craze — staffers have told Pokébeach, Polygon, and The Verge that stores will begin buying and selling rare Pokémon cards, and possibly other cards, as soon as next week.

GameStop apparently doesn’t want just any cards, though: employees across multiple states say they’ll only be buying cards that have already been graded by Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) at an 8, 9, or 10, meaning they’re in near-mint condition or better with only slight imperfections. And yet, GameStop won’t accept the rarest cards valued at over $500, either, Pokébeach and Polygon report....

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Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile’s ‘unlimited’ plans just got a $10M slap on the wrist

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile will pay a combined $10.22 million to a group of states to settle claims that the carriers lied to customers about their “unlimited” plans and “free” phone offers. The settlement, which follows an investigation from a coalition of 50 attorneys general, requires the three companies to make their advertisements more transparent.

Under the terms of the agreement, Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T can only advertise their plans as “unlimited” if there are no limits on how much data someone can use during a billing cycle. The ads must “clearly and conspicuously” say that restrictions on speed may apply, as well as specify the amount of data customers can use before triggering the slowdown.

Additionally, the attorneys...

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Amazon’s Matter Casting is shaping up so nicely, I want to use it everywhere

Matter Casting is now rolling out to all Fire TVs on FireOS 6 or higher. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge

If the Fire TV is your streaming stick of choice, I have good news. There’s now an easy way to cast content from your phone or tablet to your TV — as long as you’re watching Prime Video. Matter Casting, a new protocol for casting content from an app on your phone to an app on a TV or display, is rolling out now to compatible Fire TVs and could one day be available on more screens in our homes.

Unlike Apple’s AirPlay or Google Cast, Matter Casting is an open standard with no requirement for proprietary hardware. I got some hands-on time with the feature on a Fire TV at Amazon’s Day 1 HQ in Seattle last week and, according to Amazon spokesperson Connor Rice, Matter Casting will be arriving on all Fire TVs running FireOS 6 or higher “over...

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The best deals on MacBooks right now

Some of the latest M3 MacBooks are on sale, and you can find great discounts on older models, too. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Apple currently sells MacBooks equipped with its own M-series chips in a wide range of sizes and price points. It recently discontinued the M1 MacBook Air to make room for the M3 Air, but some retailers are still selling the last-gen laptop starting at $699 — a far cry from the $2,499 starting price of the latest 16-inch MacBook Pro. Purchasing a new MacBook can certainly be a pricey endeavor, but thankfully, finding a deal on a current M3-based model is actually not that difficult.

Although Macs may not experience perpetual discounts, it’s not uncommon to see various models discounted by as much as $400. Alternatively, purchasing refurbished options directly from Apple is another way to save money without waiting for the changing deal...

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The Verge’s 2024 graduation gift guide

Illustration by Aaron Fernandez for The Verge

We found all sorts of gadgets and goodies to celebrate the class of 2024, from the practical to the poignant.

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Bungie’s classic sci-fi shooter Marathon is now free on Steam

Image: Bungie

Before there was Halo and Destiny, there was Marathon — and now Steam users can check out the classic sci-fi shooter for themselves. Bungie just announced that the first game in the original trilogy has surprise-dropped on Steam, and it’s available on both Mac and PC. Even better, you can play it for free.

The game is actually credited to Aleph One Developers, which is described as an “open source continuation of Bungie’s Marathon 2 game engine.” In fact, the group has already made the entire trilogy available to download right here with support for Mac, PC, and Linux. But the Steam launch opens up the games to a big new audience of gamers, and Bungie says the plan is to bring both sequels — Marathon 2: Durandal and Marathon Infinity —...

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Biden really, really doesn’t want China to flood the US with cheap EVs

Photo by Zhang Dagang / VCG via Getty Images

Who’s afraid of China’s electric vehicles? President Joe Biden.

The president is preparing to announce higher tariffs on imported Chinese EVs, effectively closing out the possibility that the country will be able to afford to import its much cheaper and, in many cases, more desirable plug-in vehicles to the United States.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Biden administration will announce plans to roughly quadruple tariffs, to 100 percent from the current 25 percent, as well as tack on an additional 2.5 percent duty.

Who’s afraid of China’s electric vehicles? Joe Biden

So far, the current tariffs have been effective at preventing Chinese companies from importing their EVs to the US. But officials are reportedly nervous about...

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EA is prototyping in-game ads even as we speak

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge

Electronic Arts has a long, storied history of trying to wring more money out of gamers after they’ve purchased a game — now, it appears, the company’s hard at work on its next generation of in-game ads.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson admitted as much on the company’s Q4 earnings call: when an analyst asked about “the market opportunity for more dynamic ad insertion across more traditional AAA games,” he said the company’s already working on it.

“We have teams internally in the company right now looking at how do we do very thoughtful implementations inside of our game experiences,” said Wilson.

I don’t want to take Wilson out of context. If you read the full question and answer (page 12), you’ll see that in-game ads aren’t the thing he’s most...

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Kobo’s Elipsa 2E, our favorite e-reader for taking notes, is down to its best price yet

The Kobo Elipsa 2E is a better value than Amazon’s less capable Kindle Scribe. | Image: Kobo

I’ll be honest: every model in Amazon’s discounted Kindle lineup is fantastic for those embedded in the Amazon ecosystem, but it’s Kobo that makes my absolute favorite e-readers. If you don’t mind buying ebooks outside of Amazon, Kobo’s e-readers offer fantastic value for the money, which is why I’m excited by today’s sale. The Kobo Sage and Kobo Clara 2E are up to $30 off at Target, but it’s the Kobo Elipsa 2E, which is matching its all-time low of $349.99 ($50 off) at Target and Rakuten Kobo, that stands out the most. Even better, Rakuten Kobo is throwing in a $10 credit when you buy a $50 gift card, which can be used toward an ebook or audiobook from the Kobo store.

Kobo’s ad-free Elipsa 2E is my favorite e-reader for taking notes,...

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Sam Altman shoots down reports of search engine launch ahead of Google I/O

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shot down a Reuters report that claims OpenAI is launching a search product next Monday, the day before Google’s flagship conference, Google I/O.

Altman posted on X that while there is an OpenAI announcement set for Monday morning, it’s “not gpt-5, not a search engine,” but whatever it is, he says it “feels like magic.” The only details provided by the official OpenAI post are that the launch will have updates on ChatGPT and its latest model, GPT-4.

not gpt-5, not a search engine, but we’ve been hard at work on some new stuff we think people will love! feels like magic to me.

monday 10am PT. https://t.co/nqftf6lRL1

— Sam Altman (@sama) May 10, 2024

The Verge reported on Monday that sources say OpenAI has been...

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How to watch the possible aurora borealis this weekend

A smartphone camera will provide better views than your own eyes if you’re lucky enough to witness the aurora this weekend. | Photo by Owen Humphreys/PA Images via Getty Images

Those of you looking to the skies this weekend may bear witness to a cosmic visual experience typically reserved for regions near the Arctic Circle. Various global weather agencies are reporting that the aurora borealis could be visible as far south as Alabama and Northern California over the coming days thanks to unusually strong solar flares.

On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a G4 geomagnetic storm watch — the first to be declared in almost 20 years. G4 geomagnetic storms (which are the second-strongest variety and considered “severe”) can potentially interfere with power infrastructure and navigation systems, but they can also trigger the aurora borealis. That means parts of the world could...

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A rare geomagnetic storm is heading to Earth — here’s what it means for critical infrastructure

An aurora borealis glows a faint purple in the night sky in the district of Märkisch-Oderland in East Brandenburg. | Photo: Getty Images

The National Weather Service’s Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) issued a rare “severe” geomagnetic storm watch for the US for Friday night. The Met Office weather service also issued a similar watch for the UK for Friday and Saturday. They’re worried about coronal mass ejections (CMEs), explosions of plasma and magnetized particles coming from the Sun, that could potentially impact critical infrastructure, including the power grid, internet cables, and satellites.

This is the first time since 2005 that the SWPC has issued a watch for a storm rated as G4, which is the scale’s second-highest rating. Critical infrastructure operators have been notified so they can take precautions, the center says.

Worst-case scenario, all those...

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The best wireless earbuds to buy right now

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

The best from Apple, Bose, Samsung, Sony, Beats, Google, and more.

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Prince of Persia roguelike postponed because ‘everyone and their mum’ is playing Hades II

Image: Ubisoft

Sometimes you gotta know when to hold ‘em, and that’s exactly what Evil Empire, developer on The Rogue Prince of Persia, has done. Today, the studio announced that it would postpone the release of its Prince of Persia-themed roguelike to give players more time with another roguelike that released earlier this week... *checks notes* Hades II.

“Seeing as everyone and their mum is playing that game (including our entire team... and their mums), we have decided to let people have their fun with it before we release The Rogue Prince of Persia,” the studio explained in a statement.

So we've got a little bit of news about The Rogue Prince of Persia, it's all in the big yellow box https://t.co/S3FiyGFfrY pic.twitter.com/9PXlw4J2MZ

— Evil Empire...

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The best smartphone you can buy for under $500

You can get a great device for less than $500 these days if you know how to pick your priorities. | Image: The Verge

You can’t have everything at this price, but you can get a great smartphone. Whether you want an iPhone, a 120Hz screen, or water resistance, you’ve got options.

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