Here’s why you couldn’t see anything on House of the Dragon

Here’s why you couldn’t see anything on House of the Dragon

This still is not from last night’s episode, which is one reason you can see what is happening. | Image: HBO

Things got dark on House of the Dragon last night as characters stole dragons and other characters made super incestuous life choices. And all of it was done under the cover of darkness, leading many viewers wondering if their TVs were busted.

But your TV is not busted. Your TV is a victim of the episode’s director, Miguel Sapochnik. The man can presumably see in the dark because this is the second time he’s directed an episode in the Game of Thrones franchise cast in such darkness people questioned their own eyes.

Back in 2019, Sapochnik directed “The Long Night,” a harrowing hour of TV where the many characters of Game of Thrones gathered to finally end the Night King’s invasion of Westeros. Zombies were decapitated. Beloved characters met their end. Much like last night, there was a light dusting of incest. And everything seemed to have been shot with the lens cap still on the camera.

At the time, Sapochnik insisted that the darkness reigning over TVs all across the country was a feature, not a bug. And HBO Max is insisting the same this time around as well.

Hey there! We appreciate you reaching out about a night scene in House of the Dragon: Episode 7 appearing dark on your screen. The dimmed lighting of this scene was an intentional creative decision. Thanks! ^LL

— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) October 3, 2022

What’s happening here is very easy to understand. The filmmaker isn’t thinking about the product delivered to your phone, TV, or tablet. He’s thinking about what appeared in the editing room as they finalized the episode.

Editing rooms usually include a perfectly calibrated OLED reference monitor. That reference monitor is capable of handling the incredible range of grays and blacks our eyes can see. Your TV at home can’t handle the same range of grays — nor can your phone or your tablet.

This is why an editing room doesn’t just include a $30,000 reference monitor that will make your eyes bleed with the beauty of the content it screens. Editing rooms also often include an OLED TV like you’d find at Best Buy or Costco — only perfectly calibrated. The content is then usually viewed in that same room, which is probably darker than the room you watched the episode in. And the TV could very well be nicer. Cheaper sets can struggle with the blacks and grays where this episode of TV appears to thrive, and when you combine that with a well-lit room, you’re in for a viewing unappealing viewing experience.

But maybe you have a very nice TV. Maybe you were watching it on a perfectly calibrated set in a dark room and still had issues watching House of the Dragon.

But increasingly, filmmakers seem to be forgetting that what they’re watching in the editing suite isn’t what we’ll get at home

If that’s the case, I’m sorry to ask, but how’s your internet?

See, when Sapochnik and company finished editing this episode of TV and reviewing it, they were likely using a very clean copy with little to no compression. The filmmakers are watching way more data than you and I will ever see outside of a UHD Blu-Ray.

Streaming services compress videos so they can stream them quickly and efficiently to us, and that compression means data is lost, and the film we stream into our homes isn’t quite as pretty as what the filmmaker intended. The Long Night’s cinematographer, Fabian Wagner, even blamed compression for the poor reactions to that hour of TV. We all accept it because a little compression is a fine price to pay for convenience.

Oh, and if you’re watching on satellite or cable? The situation could be better — or it could be even worse. Legacy TV is using compression technology that’s way out of date combined with way too many channels you don’t watch. Your coax cable or satellite link may have plenty of bandwidth to spare inside it, but the bad news is somewhere along the line, someone decided to give ESPN and 17 different Nickelodeon channels extra bits to play with while squeezing the bitrate of your movie channels until they’re a muddy mess.

Increasingly, filmmakers seem to be forgetting that what they’re watching in the editing suite isn’t what we’ll get at home. Some films and TV shows that look gorgeous in a theater or a screening room end up looking muddy — and sometimes just straight unwatchable — in our homes.

Some filmmakers are mindful of this. Christopher Nolan begs you to watch his movies in a theater (although he has no problem recording dialogue so “realistic” as to be incomprehensible). Tom Cruise loves to tell you to turn off the Soap Opera effect so you can watch his movies as they’re intended. But some people are Sapochnik and just want to usher you into darkness. Maybe, as our colleagues at Vulture posit, he’s doing this to hide cool Easter eggs and teases for future episodes. But more realistically, he was just born in the darkness, molded by it, and if you want to join him, you’ll need to rethink how you watch TV.

Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge to Social Media Platforms’ Shield

Supreme Court Takes Up Challenge to Social Media Platforms’ Shield The family of a student killed in terrorist attacks challenged a 1996 law that gives websites immunity for suits based on their users’ posts.

Apple SIM can no longer activate new cellular data plans on iPads

Apple SIM can no longer activate new cellular data plans on iPads

Support for new cellular plan activation using Apple’s own SIM was removed on October 1st. | Image: MacRumors

Apple SIM technology is no longer available to activate new cellular data plans on iPads. The Apple SIM, first introduced by Apple in 2014, is a programmable SIM card that could be configured with different operator profiles, eliminating the need to buy a physical SIM from the carrier itself. The change was first spotted by MacRumors.

Apple quietly made the announcement via its cellular data support page, which says that support for new activations using both the standard Apple SIM and embedded Apple SIM would stop from October 1st, 2022. Apple recommends that anyone affected by the change should contact their carrier for details on how to activate a cellular data plan on their iPad.

The Apple SIM always seemed like a temporary solution

The Apple SIM first appeared as a physical nano-SIM card in the GPS + Cellular versions of the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3, and went on to be supported by additional iPad models since its release, including as an embedded SIM in later iPad Pro models. Supported carriers include AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile in the US, with additional carriers offered in other regions. You can check if your iPad supports Apple SIM by looking up the technical specifications of your iPad model on the Apple website. MacRumors notes that all models of the iPad Pro, iPad Air, iPad mini, and iPad released since October 2018 support eSIMs — so, no Apple SIM required.

As we wrote back in 2014, the Apple SIM seemed to be a temporary measure until Apple could rid the world of SIM cards completely, punctuated by the recent launch of the iPhone 14 in the US with no physical SIM tray at all.

Nvidia and the 3D Future of the Internet

Nvidia and the 3D Future of the Internet

There is a lot of work going into creating the next generation of the web. Most of it is focused on the concept that we’ll have a very different experience that is far more immersive. Let’s call it “Web 3D.” The post Nvidia and the 3D Future of the Internet appeared first on TechNewsWorld.

Boeing-backed Wisk Aero reveals a four-seater autonomous air taxi

Boeing-backed Wisk Aero reveals a four-seater autonomous air taxi

Air taxi startup Wisk Aero unveiled its sixth-generation aircraft, an all-electric four-seater that can fly without a human pilot. The Boeing-backed company said it will seek approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to carry passengers as part of a commercial air taxi service.

Wisk, which was formed in 2019 as a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, the flying taxi company bankrolled by Google co-founder Larry Page that recently shut down, is in a race to become the first so-called Advanced Air Mobility company to get the green light from the FAA for passenger testing. Wisk claims that its sixth-generation aircraft is the first electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) candidate for type certification.

Under FAA rules, aviation companies need to receive three types of certification before launching a commercial service. Type certification means the aircraft meets all the FAA’s design and safety standards; production certification is the approval to begin manufacturing the aircraft; and air carrier certification means the company can officially conduct commercial air taxi services.

Wisk’s aircraft features six front rotors, each with five blades, that can tilt either horizontally or vertically, as well as six rear rotors that each consist of two blades and remain fixed in a vertical position. The company says it has a cruising speed of 120 knots, a range of 90 miles (140 kilometers) with reserves, and can fly at an altitude of 2,500 - 4,000 feet above ground.

Wisk aims to one day provide an intercity flying taxi service that can be summoned with an app, like Uber or Lyft. The plan is for the vehicle to not have a pilot on board; instead, it will be flown mainly by an autopilot system, with supervision from a human pilot situated remotely. The aircraft would theoretically takeoff and land from so-called vertiports located on the rooftops of buildings.

The company has said it hopes to launch an air taxi service within the next five years, at which point it predicts conducting 14 million flights annually in around 20 major markets around the globe.

Air taxis, sometimes misidentified as “flying cars,” are essentially helicopters without the noisy, polluting gas motors (though they certainly have their own unique noise profile). In addition to Wisk, companies like Joby Aviation, Volocopter, Ehang, and Archer have claimed they are on the cusp of launching services that will eventually scale up nationwide.

They’ve managed to attract funding from a number of established companies, including Hyundai, Toyota, Airbus, Boeing, Bell, and Uber. Analysts predict that the flying taxi market could grow to $150 billion in revenue by 2035.

Of course, serious obstacles remain before Wisk or any other company can launch a commercial service. The power-to-weight ratio is a huge challenge for electric flight. Energy density — the amount of energy stored in a given system — is the key metric, and today’s batteries don’t contain enough energy to get most planes off the ground. To weigh it out: jet fuel gives us about 43 times more energy than a battery that’s just as heavy.

There have been numerous demonstrations of battery-powered flight, but there are no electric aircraft in commercial operation anywhere in the world.

Maserati’s GranTurismo Folgore will be its first EV

Maserati’s GranTurismo Folgore will be its first EV

The Folgore EV is one of three GranTurismo models coming. | Image: Maserati

Maserati is releasing new details on its redesigned GranTurismo luxury performance coupe, and offers some fresh tidbits on the upcoming all-electric version of it. Announced in March, The GranTurismo Folgore will be the automaker’s first EV, and will launch ahead of its Grecale electric crossover SUV announced earlier this year. It’s all part of the company’s plan to offer electric versions of every Maserati model by 2025 and shift to EV-only sales by 2030.

Today we learn that the GranTurismo Folgore powertrain will be backed by three 300kW permanent magnet electric motors. It’s built on an 800-volt architecture that enables the car to fast charge at 270kW, similar to the Lucid Air and Porsche Taycan. Maserati is also releasing two traditional gas versions of the GranTurismo that sport twin-turbo V6 engines: the Modena, and its more performant counterpart the Trofeo.

Image: Maserati

That might be the charge port door in the rear.

Maserati won’t be holding back the performance on the electric Folgore though: it’ll achieve a 0-62mph acceleration in 2.7 seconds, slightly edging the 2.8 second Porsche Taycan Turbo S in quickness — at least on paper. It can also reach a top speed of about 199mph, nearly the same as Tesla’s claimed 200mph for its Model S Plaid.

The Folgore houses a 92.5kWh battery pack (83kWh usable) that has its cells uniquely arranged in a T-shape, letting all four of its passengers sit as low as the gas versions of the GranTurismo. But you do sacrifice some trunk space for that extra leg room: the Folgore only has about 9.5 cubic feet of storage capacity back there compared to almost 11 cubic feet of the gas versions.

Both the EV and the gas models look almost identical on the outside, save for obvious differences like no tailpipes on the Folgore as well as what looks like the charge port cover on its rear left. As for the interior, you’ll find that the Folgore’s bucket seats are made of recycled ocean waste, but other than that the GranTurismos have largely the same interiors.

Following industry trends, Maserati’s adding a bunch of screens for the driver to navigate. You’ll be greeted with a digital instrument cluster, a central infotainment screen, a “comfort display” for adjusting the A/C, and even an option for a heads-up display that shows info on the windshield in front of you.

Image: Maserati

The front of the GranTurismo Folgore.

Maserati’s iconic center clock is also a screen now. You can change it into different styles and also choose from some widgets like a compass, a G-Force meter, or a stopwatch. It also gives you status indicators like when the Folgore is charging or context messages like connecting bluetooth and when your phone starts charging in the Qi cradle. Maserati’s Mia voice assistant also shows up on the clock, displaying sound-waves when you’re interacting with it.

More details on the electric Folgore, including projected driving range, release date, and pricing will be revealed at a future event, according to Maserati. The automaker has bold plans to have an all-electric lineup by 2025, but has yet to make one available for purchase.

ESPN, Disney, and other networks have returned to Dish and Sling TV

ESPN, Disney, and other networks have returned to Dish and Sling TV

Disney’s networks are back for Dish satellite and Sling TV customers. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Dish and Disney have reached a “handshake deal” to immediately bring Disney’s collection of cable networks back to Dish satellite and Sling TV customers. The two companies confirmed the agreement late on Sunday night. “We are pleased to restore our portfolio of networks on a temporary basis while both parties work to finalize a new deal,” Disney said in a statement.

Dish and Sling TV subscribers have now regained access to ESPN (and its related networks), along with other channels such as The Disney Channel, FX, National Geographic, local ABC programming in select markets, and more. The blackout lasted two days, and although it included college football on Saturday, the two companies have resolved the situation in time for ESPN’s next broadcast of Monday Night Football.

We are pleased to announce that all your Disney and ESPN channels have been restored.

Thank you for your patience and support. pic.twitter.com/ZBTlHRHdkD

— DISH (@dish) October 3, 2022

On Saturday, Dish accused Disney of “walking away from the negotiation table” during efforts to renew their carriage contract. “Disney is more interested in becoming a monopolistic power than providing its programming to viewers under fair terms,” Dish said in a press release after the previous deal expired. Dish claimed Disney wanted “nearly a billion dollar increase” in fees compared to the lapsed agreement and was pushing Dish to bundle ESPN across more of its satellite TV plans, including some that don’t currently include sports networks.

Disney countered by saying its terms “reflect the marketplace and have been the foundation for numerous successful deals with pay TV providers of all types and sizes across the country.” Carriage renewal spats between programmers and TV providers are nothing new — Disney and YouTube butted heads last year — but this one was unusual in that Dish didn’t offer much warning to its customers before the October 1st blackout arrived.

Just went to turn on ESPN and it looks like Dish dropped all Disney channels from service at 3am with no warning.

There's a video from Dish that pops up saying they don't believe it's right to pay $1 billion in extra fees to subsidize ESPN+ (lol).

Brutal timing on CFB Saturday.

— Joe Pompliano (@JoePompliano) October 1, 2022

Now the question becomes whether Dish and Sling TV customers will see a subscription price hike in the near future once the two sides hammer out a final agreement. Sling TV’s Orange tier, the package that includes Disney networks, currently costs $35 per month. That’s one of the cheapest ways to get linear ESPN compared to services like YouTube TV, which is $64.99/month, and Disney’s own Hulu with Live TV offering, which costs $69.99 per month.

Tesla delivered a record 343,830 vehicles during the third quarter of 2022

Tesla delivered a record 343,830 vehicles during the third quarter of 2022

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Tesla delivered a record 343,830 vehicles in the third quarter of 2022, a sign that the Elon Musk-owned company has bounced back from a slower second quarter related to COVID-related factory shutdowns.

In a report on the automaker’s site, Tesla says the Model S and X made up 18,672 of its quarterly deliveries, while the Model 3 and Y accounted for 325,158. Tesla made a total of 365,923 cars during the quarter, leaving about 20,000 cars in its inventory.

The automaker clarifies that some of these electric vehicles (EVs) were “in transit at the end of the quarter,” adding that they “have been ordered and will be delivered to customers upon arrival at their destination.” Tesla also notes that it had been difficult to “secure vehicle transportation capacity and at a reasonable cost during these peak logistics weeks,” which is why some of the EVs still haven't been delivered. Last year, Musk told employees to stop rushing to increase quarterly deliveries and to instead focus on minimizing costs related to transit.

Tesla ended its two-year streak of record-breaking deliveries last quarter after its Shanghai factory suffered a series of closures stemming from the city’s COVID lockdown restrictions. At the time, the company delivered 254,695 vehicles, its lowest since the third quarter of 2021. Tesla was able to dial up production this quarter now that Shanghai is no longer under lockdown, and the new Gigafactories in Texas and Berlin have started production (despite a cardboard fire).

During Tesla’s AI Day event last week, the company announced that 160,000 Tesla drivers now have access to its Full Self Driving beta, the driver-assist software that’s currently the center of two lawsuits. The California DMV and a Tesla owner both accuse the company of making misleading statements about the software’s self-driving capabilities.

Coinbase pauses transactions in US to address bank transfer issues

Coinbase pauses transactions in US to address bank transfer issues

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Coinbase has temporarily stopped transactions for users in the US due to an issue preventing the company from processing withdrawals or deposits involving bank accounts. Problems started around 7AM ET, but the company announced at around 8:30AM ET that it’s working on a fix.

“We are currently unable to take payments or make withdrawals involving US bank accounts. Our team is aware of this issue and is working on getting everything back to normal as soon as possible,” Coinbase explains on its status page, adding that users can still use a debit card or PayPal account to buy crypto.

We're currently experiencing technical issues creating ACH transfers. Rest assured, your funds are safe. Our team will provide an update here and on our Status Page when full functionality resumes: https://t.co/a3pl4WiDhZ

— Coinbase Support (@CoinbaseSupport) October 2, 2022

Coinbase says on Twitter that users’ funds are “safe,” but didn’t provide a timeline for when the problem will be fixed. The Verge reached out to Coinbase with a request for comment, but didn’t immediately hear back.

For the past couple of days, Coinbase users also had to deal with delayed transactions with Solana after its network suffered an outage on Friday. This has been a rough year for Coinbase and crypto in general, as the value of cryptocurrency has taken a nosedive. Coinbase laid off over 1,000 employees in June and is reportedly facing an investigation from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Intel’s self-driving company Mobileye files for an IPO

Intel’s self-driving company Mobileye files for an IPO

A Mobileye self-driving vehicle. | Image: Mobileye, an Intel company

Intel’s self-driving technology firm Mobileye has filed for an initial public offering (IPO), according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (via CNBC). The Israel-based company, which Intel acquired for $15.3 billion in 2017, specializes in making the chips and software that powers autonomous vehicles.

According to Bloomberg, Intel initially expected the IPO to value Mobileye at $50 billion, but later lowered its expectations to around $30 billion. Mobileye’s SEC filing indicates steady revenue growth over the past few years, jumping from $879 million in 2019 to $967 million in 2020, and topping out at $1.4 billion in 2021. The filing doesn’t provide any information on how much a share could cost.

Founded in 1999 by Amnon Shashua and Ziv Aviram, Mobileye is known for its EyeQ system-on-a-chip (SoC), which serves as the “brain” for Mobileye’s driver-assist and self-driving technology. Mobileye also uses a data crowdsourcing program — called Road Experience Management (REM) — to build out a 3D map using real-time data from vehicles equipped with Mobileye’s technology. The company announced its EyeQ Ultra chip earlier this year, which Mobileye calls its most advanced system yet.

While Mobileye has supplied its technology to companies like BMW, Nissan, Volkswagen, and other major car companies, it’s also taking a stab at creating its own fleet of autonomous vehicles for delivery and ride-hailing services. Mobileye said it would establish a robotaxi service in Germany this year, and also announced plans to launch a driverless delivery service in 2023. The firm is currently testing autonomous vehicles in New York City and said it’s partnering with Chinese automaker Geely to start selling self-driving cars in the country.

Intel first announced its plans to take Mobileye public last year, with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger saying an IPO “provides the best opportunity to build on Mobileye’s track record for innovation and unlock value for shareholders.” Gelsinger also added that Intel would use the funds earned from Mobileye’s IPO to build more chip plants. Intel’s currently building a $20 billion chip manufacturing hub in Ohio and invested another $20 billion to build chip-making plants in Arizona last year.

Law professor Danielle Citron: ‘Privacy is essential to human flourishing’

Law professor Danielle Citron: ‘Privacy is essential to human flourishing’

The American professor of law talks about her new book on the fight for data privacy, the personal dossiers brokers build on us and how, post-Roe v Wade, women’s data in the US may be weaponised

Danielle Citron is a professor of law at the University of Virginia School of Law, where she specialises in privacy and civil rights. Her new book, The Fight for Privacy: Protecting Dignity, Identity and Love in Our Digital Age, outlines the 21st-century assault on privacy from “Spying Inc”, the companies, governments and individuals that seek to exploit and profit from our most sensitive data. She argues that intimate privacy should be enshrined as a civil right in the US.

We hear a lot about companies collecting our data, yet your book still manages to shock when revealing the extent of these practices. You highlight, for example, that our internet search history is essentially in the public realm and could be purchased by any motivated party. Also that the dating app Grindr was sharing information about users’ HIV statuses to third party data brokers before it got caught.
We don’t viscerally appreciate the ways in which companies and governments surveil our lives by amassing intimate information about our bodies, our health, our closest relationships, our sexual activities and our innermost thoughts. Companies are selling this information to data brokers, who are compiling dossiers with about 3,000 data points on each of us, including if we have been rape victims, use sex toys or have had abortions or miscarriages.

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A New Refrain From Artists: We ‘Almost Gave Up on Instagram’

A New Refrain From Artists: We ‘Almost Gave Up on Instagram’ Photographers and illustrators who once eagerly shared images of their work on Instagram are moving away from the site as it emphasizes video.

On smartphone cameras, the Seattle Mariners, and disappointment

On smartphone cameras, the Seattle Mariners, and disappointment

The iPhone 14 Pro has one of the best smartphone camera systems money can buy, but it still has its limitations. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

There’s the smell of sizzling sausage, car exhaust, and late-season playoff hopes in the air on Tuesday night as I cross the street toward the stadium. I’m carrying a neon green Mariners fanny pack across my chest (that’s how the kids are wearing them, right?!?) loaded with the essentials: my ID, Kleenex, a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, and an iPhone 14 Pro. The roof of T-Mobile Park hangs open over the adjacent railway, looming like the Death Star, and I head toward an entrance with a few things on my agenda, in no particular order:

• Cheer on the Mariners as they definitely hopefully please dear god end a 20-year playoff drought (Editor’s Note: They did, in fact, end the drought last night)
• Collect the Mariners-branded flannel shirt my ticket entitles me to (we like to keep things on-brand here in Seattle)
• Test out the cameras on the 14 Pro and S22 Ultra
• Figure out if I’m wearing this fanny pack right

I chose these two phones in particular because they’re two of the best you can buy right now. They also present significantly different camera feature sets, and I’m curious which I’ll like using better over the course of the evening. The 14 Pro has more of a “helps you take nice pictures with minimal effort” vibe, while the S22 Ultra takes a maximalist “you want cameras? here, have five” approach. The 10x zoom on the Ultra has really impressed me in the past, but I’m curious to see how it holds up with glowing stadium lights and distant action on the field.

A 10x zoom lets you take advantage of some news views of downtown on the walk to the stadium. Taken with the S22 Ultra.

The 14 Pro doesn’t have the raw telephoto reach of the S22 Ultra, but then, I like how it processes photos in general better than the S22. Will that make it more useful overall? Or will I be annoyed by its limited zoom range? I would have brought more phones, probably, but I’m limited to what I can carry in this fanny pack.

On top of all that, the Mariners are coming off a dismal road trip in which they lost a string of extremely winnable games, casting an all-too-familiar shadow of doubt on our chances of snagging a wild card spot. With about a week left of regular season play, they can’t afford to lose any more easy games.

Taken with the iPhone 14 Pro. We may have the longest running playoff drought in professional sports, but hey, look at the views from the stadium!

Before the game starts, I spend some time on a 300-level pavilion with sweeping views of Elliott Bay and downtown Seattle. The early evening sun even peeks through the “O” in T-Mobile for a brief Stonehenge-like moment. With the S22 Ultra’s 10x zoom, I can get shots of the downtown skyline that the 14 Pro’s 3x zoom can’t touch. Even in wide-angle shots, it captures detail that the 14 Pro’s noise reduction would smooth into oblivion. But then again, the Ultra’s photos of my Stonehenge moment have that cursed Thomas Kinkade over-HDRed look about them, and I much prefer how the 14 Pro handles that situation. Win some, lose some.

During the game, it’s a similar story: sometimes I prefer the Ultra and sometimes the 14 Pro. Sure, getting a telephoto shot from the stands of Seattle starting pitcher Robbie Ray’s delivery is cool in theory, but the results aren’t very inspiring. Highlights are blown out and details are obviously lacking. It’s just too challenging of a situation for this tiny sensor and lens.

I grab a portrait of my friend modeling the included-with-ticket-purchase flannel shirt with the 14 Pro; I like its 2x portrait focal length better than the 1x or 3x options Samsung provides, but it cuts around her curly hair clumsily. The S22 Ultra probably would have done better with subject isolation, but at that point, I’d made my friend sit still long enough that I didn’t bother. I want to be wowed, but up against these (admittedly, very challenging) conditions, they’re just underwhelming.

There’s not much more excitement on the field, either. The season’s breakout star Julio Rodríguez is on the injured list, and so apparently is the rest of the Mariners’ offense. I sit through a grueling seven innings as the Mariners manufacture zero runs and make the Texas Rangers’ pitching look Cy Young-worthy. If none of those words made sense to you, then just know that the Mariners got shut out 5–0, and the game was every bit as disappointing as the score suggests.

I walked myself and my fanny pack of phones back to the light rail station, grateful for my flannel in the early fall evening air. A string of losses in late September shouldn’t put so much of a damper on what has otherwise been an electric season. The baseball season is long and physically demanding — who can reasonably expect a team to keep up a pace of improbable come-from-behind wins all the way from start to finish?

Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed of getting these kinds of photos with a phone

Similarly, I feel a little guilty about my disappointment with the two phones I tested out that night. They’re both little technological marvels in their own way — culminations of decades of advances in mobile technology and digital imaging. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t have dreamed of getting these kinds of photos with a phone camera. I feel I ought to give them a little more credit, even though they underperformed in this particular situation.

They’re the best of the best (and should be, at over $1,000 each). The fact they struggle under these circumstances is only because nobody — not Apple, Samsung, or anyone else — has figured out how to build a smartphone camera that meets every need. If nothing else, I have a new warm shirt to wear as I listen to the Mariners play through their remaining scheduled games from the comfort of home. The next time I attend a game in person, I might have to break out my dedicated camera and a telephoto lens. I just have to figure out how to get it into that stadium-security-approved fanny pack.

The package-tracking Eufy Dual video doorbell is $50 off and doesn’t require a monthly fee

The package-tracking Eufy Dual video doorbell is $50 off and doesn’t require a monthly fee

The Eufy Dual utilizes a second lens, aimed downward, for watching over packages. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

It’s the first of October, which means it’s officially Spooky Season. And while I’m sure all of us are excited to put up our fearsome 12-foot skeletons, there’s nothing fun about the fear of having a package stolen off your porch. A video doorbell is a good way to keep a watchful eye over your front stoop.

The wired version of the Eufy Dual video doorbell is on sale at Amazon or direct from Eufy for $149.99 ($50 off). Amazon requires you to click the $50 on-page coupon, while Eufy has a coupon code of WSCP856PGC to use at checkout for the discounted price. The appeal of the Eufy is that it has two separate lenses, one for seeing who is at your door and one focused on the doorstep clearly showing any packages left there.

However, the real special feature of the Eufy Dual is that you don’t have to rely on a monthly subscription to use it. This wired model with an included chime has 8GB of local storage that fits up to 90 days of 2K video, and you can even use it with either Google Home or Amazon Alexa smart home systems. It’s nice to not be forced into a subscription or to get into bed with just one system, which is why the Dual was our pick for the best video doorbell without a subscription in our buying guide. Read our review of the battery-powered version.

Now, if you’re looking for a bargain when it comes to a video doorbell then it’s hard to beat Ring. The Amazon-owned company has models at all kinds of prices, including some very cheap ones. For example, right now you can get the standard wireless Ring Video Doorbell from 2020 for $69.99 ($30 off) from Amazon or Best Buy. It has table stakes features, like 1080p video and night vision, along with months-long battery life. Or, for even less you can get the wired-only Ring Doorbell of 2021 for just $39.99 ($25 off) directly from Ring.

Though you’re really getting into bed with Amazon for those low starting prices, as the more robust features like video history, person alerts, and helpful notifications are locked behind the paywall of a Ring Protect Plan. Also, you have to use smart devices like an Echo Show to best utilize a Ring. There’s also always a chance your footage may be shared with local law enforcement, which people may or may not be comfortable with.

The latest Echo Show 5 smart display is on sale for $34.99 ($50 off) at Target and Amazon. This matches the all-time low price we’d normally only see during a lightning deal on a Black Friday or Prime Day. While Amazon announced all kinds of new devices earlier this week, including a new Echo Dot, the Echo Show 5 of 2021 soldiers on. (Which feels appropriate, since the inexpensive and often-discounted device is fairly simple in operation.) It serves a user best as a bedside smart display for showing the weather and news first thing in the morning, acting as a very smart alarm clock with easy access to Alexa voice control for your smart home. Read our review.

Another Amazon device that is bound to be phased out with a replacement on the way is the second-gen Fire TV Cube. Amazon announced a new fabric-clad Fire TV streaming box is coming October 29th for a pricier $139.99. The new model supports Wi-Fi 6E and even has HDMI passthrough for controlling your cable box (like an Xbox One), though now that means it’s time for some early fire sales on the 2019 model.

Woot is selling the soon-to-be last-gen Fire TV Cube in refurbished condition for just $44.99. That’s $75 cheaper than the full price of the streamer, and about $15 less than any regular sale price you’d normally find on new stock. This refurb deal still comes with a full one-year warranty from Amazon, which sweetens the deal. You don’t normally see that, and it makes opting for this 4K-capable box with Dolby Vision still respectable in 2022 — especially if you also plan to use it as an Alexa smart speaker. Read our review.

Ladies and gentlemen, a few more deals:

• Woot is selling a variety of refurbished Philips Hue smart lights, including a Gradient Ambiance Smart Lightstrip 2m / 6ft Base Kit for $106.99 (regularly $179.99 at full price when new). These lights can get you ready for spooky season with some colorful orange and purple accents, but keep in mind as refurbs they only have a 90-day warranty.
• Need an inexpensive USB-C hub for a laptop just like that MacBook Air? The Anker 341 7-in-1 hub is just $29.74 ($5.25 off) at Amazon. It has ports for HDMI-out, two USB-A, two USB-C, and SD / microSD card slots.
• God of War for PC is just $23.30 ($26.69 off) at Eneba with promo code BOY at checkout. It’s a good time to catch up on the Sony Santa Monica Studio’s epic, as God of War Ragnarok is due out on PS4 and PS5 November 9th. Plus, you can even play this version on a Steam Deck. Read our developer interview.

Elon Musk and Twitter boss’s messages show how pair fell out

Elon Musk and Twitter boss’s messages show how pair fell out

Texts disclosed in a Delaware court filing suggest the two men were bonding before the billionaire Tesla CEO tweeted: ‘Is Twitter dying?’

Newly published messages between Elon Musk and the Twitter boss, Parag Agrawal, show how their relationship appeared to be blossoming before it dramatically soured, with the billionaire Tesla CEO tweeting: “Is Twitter dying?”

The series of text messages, disclosed in a Delaware court filing, suggest the two men were for a short period bonding, including over their shared love of engineering, after Agrawal got in touch with him, weeks before Musk announced his offer to buy Twitter.

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk showcases humanoid robot – video

Tesla CEO Elon Musk showcases humanoid robot – video

Tesla's CEO, Elon Musk, showcases his humanoid robot 'Optimus' at the electric vehicle maker's AI Day event. The billionaire has said a robot business will be worth more than its cars; Tesla's self-driving cars have not yet become a reality. A prototype of the robot walks on stage and waves to the audience. A video of it carrying a box, watering plants and moving metal bars in the Tesla factory is shown.'Our goal is to make a useful humanoid robot as quickly as possible,' Musk said at the event in Palo Alto, California.

• Elon Musk unveils humanoid ‘Optimus’ robot at Tesla’s AI Day
  

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The Molly Russell inquest verdict damns Silicon Valley. There can be no more excuses | Peter Wanless and Beeban Kidron

The Molly Russell inquest verdict damns Silicon Valley. There can be no more excuses | Peter Wanless and Beeban Kidron

These companies make decisions that harm children. The government must take action

• Sir Peter Wanless is the chief executive of the NSPCC. Lady Beeban Kidron is the founder and chair of 5 Rights

The ruling in a coroner’s court in north London on Friday will be felt around the world. The senior coroner, Andrew Walker, concluded that 14-year-old Molly Russell “died from an act of self-harm while suffering from depression and the negative effects of online content”.

The content, he determined, had contributed to her death in a more than minimal way. This is an immensely significant verdict.

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Elon Musk deposition in Twitter fight rescheduled for first week of October

Elon Musk deposition in Twitter fight rescheduled for first week of October

Musk to be questioned under oath by Twitter lawyers on 6 and 7 October in preparation for trial over abandoned $44bn takeover

Elon Musk is scheduled to be questioned under oath by Twitter lawyers next month as the social media company prepares for a trial over the billionaire’s bid to walk away from a $44bn takeover, according to a Tuesday court filing.

Musk’s deposition was originally scheduled for this week but sources close to the litigation said on Monday that the timing of the interview was always subject to change given the fast-tracked nature of the litigation. He is scheduled to be questioned on 6 and 7 October.

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Tesla now has 160,000 customers running its Full Self Driving beta

Tesla now has 160,000 customers running its Full Self Driving beta

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Tesla's Optimus robot prototype was not the only thing the company shared on Friday evening during its AI Day presentation. Autopilot director Ashok Elluswamy took the stage during Tesla's AI day to talk about how the company's Full Self Driving software has improved. He revealed that there are now 160,000 customers running the beta software, compared to 2,000 from this time last year.

In total, Tesla says there have been 35 software releases of FSD. In a Q&A at the end of the presentation, Musk made another prediction — he's made a few before — that the technology would be ready for a worldwide rollout by the end of this year but acknowledged the regulatory and testing hurdles that remained before that happens.

Image: Tesla

Tesla lists progress of its “Full Self Driving (Beta)” project from 2,000 customers in 2021 to 160,000 customers in 2022.

Afterward, Tesla's tech lead for Autopilot motion planning, Paril Jain, showed how FSD has improved in specific interactions and can make "human-like" decisions. For example, when a Tesla makes a left turn into an intersection, it can choose a trajectory that doesn't make close calls with obstacles like people crossing the street.

Image: Tesla

Models can be trained in different situations for more consistent actions in the same locations.

It's known that every Tesla can provide datasets to build the models that FSD uses, and according to Tesla's engineering manager Phil Duan, now Tesla will start building and processing detailed 3D structures from that data. They said the cars are also improving decision-making in different environmental situations, like night, fog, and rain.

Tesla trains the company's AI software on its supercomputer, then feeds the results to customers' vehicles via over-the-air software updates. To do this, it processes video feeds from Tesla's fleet of over 1 million camera-equipped vehicles on the road today and has a simulator built in Unreal Engine that is used to improve Autopilot.

Image: Tesla

An Unreal Engine-based simulator that helps improve Autopilot.

The automaker already has a large Nvidia GPU-based supercomputer and a data center holding 30PB (that's 30,000,000GB) of stored footage. Tesla is also working on a new custom-built computer using chips designed by Tesla called Dojo, with which the company says it can replace 72 GPU racks consisting of 4,000 GPUs with only four Dojo cabinets.

At last year's AI day, executives revealed Dojo's first chip and training tiles, which would eventually develop into a full Dojo cluster or "ExaPod." Today the company announced that the first ExaPod is expected to be completed by Q1 2023. The company plans to build a total of seven in Palo Alto. In a 10-cabinet system, Tesla said the Dojo ExaPod would break the barrier of the ExaFlop of compute and contains 1.3TB of high-speed SRAM and 13TB of high-bandwidth DRAM.

Since last year's AI day, Dojo development hit a few milestones, including installing the first Dojo cabinet, testing 2.2MW of load testing, and now the company is working at a build rate of one tile per day. Dojo was also demonstrated running a Stable Diffusion model using 25 Dojo dies, creating this AI-generated image based on a prompt of "Cybertruck on Mars."

Image: Tesla

Stable Diffusion AI model for “Cybertruck on Mars” processed on Dojo.

All Tesla vehicles today come standard with a driver-assist feature called Autopilot. For an additional $15,000, owners can buy the Full Self-Driving option, which Musk has repeatedly promised will one day deliver fully autonomous capabilities to Tesla vehicle owners. To date, FSD remains a "Level 2" advanced driver-assistance system, meaning the driver must stay fully engaged in the vehicle's operation while in motion.

FSD, which is currently available to around 160,000 drivers in the US and Canada, allows users to access Autopilot's partially automated driver assist system on city streets and local roads. The system purports to speed up and slow down, make turns — including unprotected left turns, which are extremely difficult for automated systems — and recognizes traffic signals and other road signs.

Tesla has gotten in hot water with the federal government based on reports of FSD malfunction and other safety issues. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating 16 crashes in which Tesla vehicle owners using Autopilot crashed into stationary emergency vehicles, resulting in 15 injuries and one fatality. Tesla is facing a possible recall of Autopilot, FSD, or both after the government upgraded its investigation earlier this year.

The company has been accused of false advertising by regulators and sued by customers for allegedly misleading them about the capabilities of their vehicles. But FSD is also crucial to Musk's vision of a fully driverless future. And Musk himself has largely avoided any serious consequences — so far — in his efforts to obscure the limitations of Tesla's autonomous driving technology.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils prototype of humanoid Optimus robot

Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveils prototype of humanoid Optimus robot

Tesla’s Optimus robot has been revealed on stage at AI day. | Image: Tesla

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed a prototype of a humanoid robot that he said utilizes the company's AI software, as well as the sensors that power its advanced driver assist features. At the start of Tesla's 2022 AI Day presentation, Musk acknowledged that they had "a guy in a suit" last year but promised something much more impressive today.

According to Musk, it can do more than what has been shown, but "the first time it walked without a tether was tonight on stage." Musk said they're targeting a price of "probably less than $20,000."

Image: Tesla

Tesla “Optimus” robot at AI Day 2022

Tesla CEO Elon Musk revealed a working prototype of humanoid robot at Tesla AI day 2022https://t.co/bzseqL50Le pic.twitter.com/D6lfwFQrkz

— The Verge (@verge) October 1, 2022

The back doors of the stage opened to reveal a deconstructed Optimus that walked forward and did a "raise the roof" dance move. Musk admitted that they wanted to keep it safe, not make too many moves on stage, and have it "fall flat on its face." (Best to avoid another Cybertruck sledgehammer incident if you can.)

Afterward, the company showed a few video clips of the robot doing other tasks like picking up boxes. Then Tesla's team brought out another prototype with its body fully assembled but not fully functional. They revealed that the initial robot presented was developed in just the past six months. Discussing hurdles they have to address in getting it from the prototype to a working design, they hope to "get this done within the next few months... or years."

Engineers hope to clear additional design hurdles “within the next few months... or years.”

It contains a 2.3kWh battery pack, runs on a Tesla SoC, and has Wi-Fi and LTE connectivity. Demonstrations focused on addressing the robot's joints, like its hands, wrists, or knees, showed how they processed data for each joint, then looked for the common areas in each design to find a method using only six different actuators. The human-like hands are a "Biologically Inspired Design" that engineers say will make them more suitable for picking up objects of various shapes and sizes, holding a 20-point bag, and having a "precision grip" on small parts.

Tesla's Autopilot software was moved from its cars to the bot and retooled to work in the new body and environment. Tesla motion captured people doing real-world tasks like lifting a box and then using inverse kinematics, repeats the movements using Optimus. Then "online motion adaptation" is applied to make it so these tasks aren't so rigid and can be manipulated to take into account an unstructured environment.

Image: Tesla

Tesla Optimus robot breakdown of CPU, battery pack, actuators, and hands.

"It'll be a fundamental transformation for civilization as we know it," said Musk. He continues to say that Optimus has the potential of "two orders of magnitude" of potential improvement of economic output.

Musk first announced the "Tesla Bot" at last year's AI Day, promising it would be "friendly" and potentially revolutionize the company's assembly line and manufacturing business.

Musk had warned his fans not to expect the prototype to look like the glossy black-and-white rendering first shown at last year's event. But there's been no shortage of hype, with Musk calling the robot "the most important product development we're doing this year" and predicting that it will have the potential to be "more significant than the vehicle business over time."

Future applications could include cooking, gardening, or even "catgirl" sex partners; Musk has said while claiming that production could start as soon as next year.

In the days leading up to AI Day, robotics experts warned against buying too much into Musk's claims. They've noted that other companies are much further along in developing robots that can walk, run, and even jump — but none are claiming to be close to replacing human labor.

Tesla's history is littered with fanciful ideas that never panned out — like a solar-powered Supercharger network, battery swapping, or robotic snake-style chargers — so it's anyone's guess as to whether a production-ready Tesla Bot will ever see the light of day. But the company is where it is today because of Musk's sheer will. And the reveal of a prototype version of the robot is sure to bolster Musk's claims of Tesla as "the world's biggest robotics company."

Food delivery drone lands on power lines resulting in power outage for thousands

Food delivery drone lands on power lines resulting in power outage for thousands

The Wing delivery drone on the power lines. | Image: Energex via ABC Radio Brisbane

A food delivery drone operated by Alphabet subsidiary Wing landed on overhead power lines in Brisbane, Australia, and caught fire. As a result, the network was shut down by energy firm Energex to respond to the incident, leaving thousands without power.

Some 2,000 individuals were left without electricity for around 45 minutes, reports ABC News and The Age, while 300 customers had no power for three hours.

Energex spokesman Danny Donald told The Age that the drone “landed on top of 11,000 volts and whilst it didn’t take out power, there was voltage tracking across the drone and the drone caught fire and fell to the ground.”

A spokesperson for Wing told the publication that the drone made a “precautionary controlled landing yesterday … and came to rest on an overhead power line.” The company said it then reported the incident to Energex. “Two hours later, during the retrieval process, there was a power outage in the area,” said the spokesperson. “We’re sorry for any inconvenience caused. We’re currently conducting a review of yesterday’s event.”

“The drone caught fire and fell to the ground.”

Donald told ABC News: “This is the first time that I’ve seen it happen. It could have simply been an equipment malfunction. It may have been human error.” He added that there was no damage to the network and that Energex responded quickly to the problems. “The meal was still hot inside the drone’s delivery box when the crew got there,” said Donald.

“Fifteen years ago, we asked people to be careful if they were giving their children kites for Christmas and where they were flying them,” said the Energex spokesperson. “Now we’re asking parents to be very careful with where their kids fly their drones.”

Image: Andy Jacobsohn/AFP via Getty Images

A Wind delivery dronein August, 2022. Wing’s drone don’t land to make deliveries but drop down packages to customers using a pulley system.

The drone wasn’t flow by children, though, but by Wing — a subsidiary of Google’s parent company Alphabet. Wing’s drones operate as both fixed-wing aircraft and hovering copters, flying autonomously to deliver food and beverages over short journeys typically lasting less than 10 minutes. The company currently operates in three countries — the US, Finland, and Australia — but has found particular success in the Australian suburbs.

As of August last year, Wing offered deliveries to around 100,000 customers in Brisbane, where the crash took place, and has made some 200,000 deliveries as of this March. Wing says drone deliveries suit suburban areas as these regions provide plenty of customers, easy flying conditions, and are not as well served as cities by delivery companies.

Drone deliveries have yet to meet advocates’ high expectations

Although drone deliveries have been much hyped over the past decade, they’ve failed to scale in the way that companies like Amazon initially promised. Success has instead been found in more focused applications; like with Zipline, which delivers small but high-value items like blood and medicine in rural areas.

‘The bleakest of worlds’: how Molly Russell fell into a vortex of despair on social media

‘The bleakest of worlds’: how Molly Russell fell into a vortex of despair on social media

London teenager killed herself in 2017 after the darker side of online life overwhelmed her

On the evening of 20 November 2017 Molly Russell and her family had dinner together and then sat down to watch an episode of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!.

A family meal, then viewing a popular TV show: a scene typical of millions of families around the UK. As Molly’s mother, Janet, said to police: “Everybody’s behaviour was normal” at dinner time.

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Molly Russell: how family are helping shift narrative on online safety

Molly Russell: how family are helping shift narrative on online safety

Ian Russell’s campaigning after his daughter’s death has made case for online safety bill unavoidable, says peer

At the opening of the inquest into his daughter’s death, Ian Russell called for action to “prevent such a young life being wasted again”.

The regulatory landscape for the online world is undergoing significant change in the UK and Molly Russell’s family have contributed to that shift as prominent campaigners for improved internet safety.

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Hyper officially recalls its stackable (and overheating) GaN chargers after all

Hyper officially recalls its stackable (and overheating) GaN chargers after all

The chargers were designed to stack to offer up to 1600W of charging power. | Image: Hyper

Hyper is officially recalling its stackable 100W and 65W GaN chargers and a 130W battery pack, following reports that all three devices can overheat and may pose a fire hazard to consumers. Recall notices for the HyperJuice Stackable GaN USB-C chargers and HyperJuice 130W USB-C battery pack have been posted on the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (US CPSC) website, and the company is emailing its customers directly to ask them to return the devices in exchange for store credit.

According to the CPSC, Hyper has received seven reports of its stackable GaN chargers overheating “resulting in damage to the changing units,” plus two reports of the battery pack overheating and causing “smoke, melting, and property damage.” No injuries were reported as a result of defects in either device. According to the government agency, Hyper sold over 18,200 stackable GaN chargers in North America between October 2020 and August 2022, and over 13,800 of the battery packs between October 2018 and April 2022.

Turns out I apparently wasn’t the only one having to get multiple replacement units for this charger. They all smelled like burnt out electronics and stopped working after a few months.

"Voluntary Recall of HYPER HyperJuice GaN Charger 65W (HJ414) and 100W (HJ417)”: pic.twitter.com/2r0qGvCcGY

— Holger Eilhard (@holgr) September 29, 2022

What’s strange is how Hyper responded to initial reports of its stackable GaN chargers overheating earlier this year. At first, the company told The Verge that it had identified some issues with both the 65W and 100W units, had removed them from sale, and was offering to replace devices within warranty with alternative units to anyone that requested one. But shortly afterwards, the company’s CEO Daniel Chin got in touch to deny that the products had been intentionally pulled from sale because of any defect, and instead blamed a parts shortage. Chin downplayed the complaints, admitting that while there had been some issues with early versions of the 65W charger, any reports of problems with the 100W version were simply “part of the normal defect rate.”

“We’re not issuing a full recall because we’re not seeing a systemic failure,” Chin told us in June.

We were very excited by Hyper’s stackable GaN chargers when they were first announced in 2020. As well as working like a standard USB charging brick (the 65W version offers two USB-C and one USB-A ports, while the 100W model has an additional USB-C port), each charger also has an additional power outlet on its top. That’s what allows you to stack them to get even more charging ports, up to a total of 16 bricks for a maximum combined 1600W of charging power.

Terra founder wanted by Interpol tweets he is making ‘zero effort’ to hide

Terra founder wanted by Interpol tweets he is making ‘zero effort’ to hide

Search for crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon after Luna and UST collapse drags down rival currencies

The crypto entrepreneur Do Kwon has denied being in hiding, even as Interpol issued a “red notice” for his arrest after the collapse of the Terra project he founded.

After South Korean prosecutors said he was “obviously on the run”, Kwon tweeted that he was making no attempt to evade law officers. “I’m writing code in my living room … I’m making zero effort to hide,” he said. “I go on walks and malls, no way none of [crypto Twitter] hasn’t run into me the past couple weeks.”

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How Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and Parag Agrawal cratered the Twitter deal, in texts

How Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, and Parag Agrawal cratered the Twitter deal, in texts

Illustration by Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images

Elon Musk’s deposition for the Twitter v. Musk suit may have been rescheduled for next week, but the public got some more inside dirt about his plans for Twitter, thanks to the release of two slideshow presentations and a slew of Musk texts.

The texts show Musk and a variety of contacts — including former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, entrepreneur Jason Calacanis, and podcaster Joe Rogan — talking about everything from the blockchain to putting Oprah on Twitter’s board. (That part might be a joke, but with Musk, it’s difficult to tell.) But above all, they’re a chronicle of the deal’s slow implosion.

Twitter “never should have been a company.”

The texts are light reading, and you can check them out here if you’re so inclined. They’re mostly divided into two sections: a giddy feeding frenzy around Musk acquiring Twitter and a protracted venting session as the acquisition went south.

The first key section starts about a month before Musk’s $44 billion offer to buy Twitter. In March of 2022, Jack Dorsey reaches out about one of Musk’s tweets, part of a thread complaining about a lack of free speech on Twitter. “A new platform is needed. It can’t be a company. This is why I left,” Dorsey says. He tries to sell Musk on a new decentralized communication protocol, saying Twitter “never should have been a company.” Musk more or less agrees, but with a caveat: “I think it’s worth both trying to move Twitter in a better direction and doing something new.”

Dorsey expresses doubts about this, but when Musk buys a substantial share in Twitter, Dorsey is extremely on board. “I’ve wanted it for a long time. Got very emotional when I learned it was finally possible,” he texts after an initial announcement that Musk is getting appointed. He’s equally enthusiastic about Musk meeting current CEO Parag Agrawal: “Parag is an incredible engineer.”

Threaded through various text message subplots (Kimbal Musk really wants to talk with Elon about Web3), one theme stands out: as Twitter’s old CEO pushed to bring Twitter and Musk together, Musk’s patience with its new one frayed almost immediately. Musk and Dorsey are on the same high-minded wavelength. Meanwhile, Agrawal comes off as, well, a current executive and former nuts-and-bolts engineer at a very large company that’s about to take a big risk.

“Twitter CEO is my dream job.”

This isn’t immediately an issue. “I just want Twitter to be maximum amazing,” Musk gushes in an early conversation after his investment, touting his expertise in “heavy duty software.” Agrawal tries gamely to do a little coder-to-coder bonding: “I used to be CTO and have been in our codebase for a long time ... treat me like an engineer instead of CEO and let’s see where we get to.”

But two days later, Agrawal makes a pivotal mistake: he asks Musk to stop tweeting. “You are free to tweet ‘is Twitter dying?’ or anything else about Twitter — but it’s my responsibility to tell you that it’s not helping me make Twitter better in the current context,” Agrawal texts on April 9th. “I’d like the company to get to a place where we are more resilient and don’t get distracted, bu we aren’t there right now.” Two minutes later, Musk declares joining the board “a waste of time” and says he’ll offer to take Twitter private. (Over in the Web3 B-plot, he’s simultaneously texting Kimbal about how to start a paid blockchain social network.)

“Fixing Twitter by chatting with Parag won’t work,” he tells Twitter board chair Bret Taylor tersely. “Drastic action is needed.”

(Meanwhile, in an ongoing C-plot that is by far the most entertaining part of these text messages, Jason Calacanis offers Musk a constant stream of thirsty suggestions that include raising his offer price, moving Twitter’s headquarters to the Gigafactory in Texas, and bringing YouTube creator MrBeast onto Twitter to win over Zoomers and Millennials. Also, Calacanis is ride-or-die for Musk, will jump on a grenade for him, and tells Musk, among other things, “You have my sword,” and “Twitter CEO is my dream job.”)

“Parag is just moving far too slowly and trying to please people who will not be happy no matter what he does.”

Dorsey is entirely on board with the acquisition — “I won’t let this fail and will do whatever it takes. It’s too critical to humanity,” he pledges. (Back in the B-plot again, Musk is texting Boring Company CEO Steve Davis about “a blockchain-based version of Twitter” where users pay in Dogecoin, then thankfully concluding that “blockchain Twitter isn’t possible.”) And Dorsey tries to smooth things over with Musk and Agrawal: “He is really great at getting things done when tasked with specific direction,” Dorsey tells him.

Musk is not into this. “Parag is just moving far too slowly and trying to please people who will not be happy no matter what he does,” he says. Dorsey diplomatically takes the glass as half-full, saying that “at least it became clear that you can’t work together.” But it’s the last message we get from him — while Musk texts Rupert Murdoch heirs Kathryn and James to say he’s too busy with his crypto startup to rejoin Twitter.

And this all happens while Musk is still mostly excited about buying Twitter. (This section ends perfectly with venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson suggesting that Musk hire his son to run operations — again, a feeding frenzy.) Jump into May, and he’s complaining to banker Michael Grimes about Twitter having “asked no good questions and had no good comments” at a meeting, immediately before asking to slow the deal down in case of World War III and guessing that fewer than half of Twitter’s users are real.

There was plenty of obvious public friction between Musk and Agrawal, and Dorsey’s support for the acquisition was known as well. But based on the string of text messages here, it’s striking just how quickly things with Agrawal go south and how little Dorsey manages to sell Musk on any of this being a good idea — something Musk seems to start doubting nearly the minute he strikes his bargain.

Anker’s Soundcore Liberty 4 earbuds add spatial audio and heart rate tracking

Anker’s Soundcore Liberty 4 earbuds add spatial audio and heart rate tracking

Soundcore Liberty 4 earbuds | Image: Soundcore

Today Anker is adding a new entry to its line of Soundcore earbuds with the Liberty 4. While this set keeps the brand in the budget earbud category with a $149.99 price, they’re the first ones in this line to combine a “stick” design (as seen in the Liberty Air 2 Pro) and dual dynamic drivers that Soundcore claims “push the boundaries of sound performance, offering clarity across all frequencies for the best listening experience with all genres of music.”

The Liberty Air 2 Pro made our list of the best cheap earbuds last year, and the Liberty 3 Pro managed to impress for the price when we reviewed them in February, despite ANC that could use some improvement and some extra emphasis on bass and treble under their default settings.

While we’ll judge how the Liberty 4s measure up once we’ve been able to use them, the spec sheet features a few things that we haven’t seen on every set of earbuds in this price range. Not everyone is a fan of spatial audio features in headphones and buds, but these buds have it, promising 360-degree tracking with a gyroscope and algorithm that try to align the sounds as you move your head while watching movies or listen to music while you have the feature turned on.

Image: Anker

Soundcore Wellness app with heart rate tracking

Image: Anker

Liberty 4 heart rate sensor shown close-up

They also include an in-ear heart rate sensor that ties to a Wellness app to keep track of daily data or just while you work out — in case you don’t have a watch, armband, or ring to monitor that kind of thing.

Image: Anker

Soundcore app shown, with sound settings and link to Wellness tracking

For more typical earbud tasks, they include Bluetooth 5.3, Soundcore’s HearID active noise cancellation, three sizes of ear tips, and 6 microphones (three per earbud) that are supposed to help your voice come through clearly to people on the other end. They also have multipoint connections to stay linked to both your laptop and phone, for example. Like their predecessors, codec support in the Liberty 4 includes LDAC, AAC, and SBC, but not aptX.

Battery life could depend on which features you use, promising up to 9 hours on a charge with normal use, 5 hours in spatial audio mode, 6 hours while in LDAC mode and no noise cancellation, and up to 7 hours with just ANC on.

Their charging case can fast charge them for 15 minutes to add 3 hours of playback or charge them from empty to full in one hour, and the case itself charges via USB-C or wirelessly. Under normal conditions, Soundcore says the Liberty 4 is capable of up to 28 hours of use in normal conditions before you’ll drain the buds and their case.

If you’re interested, they will be available in either black or white, with the black version on sale starting today from Soundcore.com, Amazon on October 10th, and Best Buy’s website by the end of October. The white set is scheduled to go on sale on October 7th from Soundcore and on October 17th from Amazon.