Twitter tests a special tag to highlight phone number-verified accounts
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Elon Musk’s bot-baiting aside, Twitter has had many people call for changes to how it identifies accounts and what can be done to call out which ones are more legit than others. Now engineer Jane Manchun Wong has dug up a Twitter label that would put a mark on accounts with a verified phone number. She also noted another test feature showing view counts for tweets, which some users already have access to for their own tweets under the label of “analytics.” However, she said it’s unclear if this would be limited to the author or visible to everyone.
Linking an account to a number is one way to highlight that it was created with more effort than the simplest macro and could be used to filter out which tweets appear the most prominently or make it through the various levels of quality filters. Twitter also allows people to have the same phone number associated with up to ten different accounts, while developers can label automated accounts to let people know there isn’t a human behind each post.
Verified “blue check” accounts are already required to have a verified phone number or email address attached. When then-CEO Jack Dorsey talked about plans to allow verification for everyone, he mentioned having people verify facts about themselves, which could’ve been similar to how services like Airbnb and Tinder use phone numbers as part of their account verification processes.
However, encouraging users to link phone numbers to their accounts and display the status means securing that data becomes an issue. On August 5th, Twitter announced the details of an incident that allowed an attacker to discover 5.4 million account names associated with particular phone numbers and email addresses. By the company’s own account, the privacy flaw was introduced in a June 2021 update, wasn’t reported to Twitter until January, and Twitter was not aware the information had been stolen until July when media reports circulated that someone was trying to sell the database.
In May, Twitter agreed to a $150 million settlement for improperly using phone numbers and email addresses collected for two-factor authentication in its ad targeting, showing how leaky the data can be.
With midterm elections around the corner, there is pressure to make sure information posted on social media comes from real people or at least someone actually in the country they claim. The phone number tag could play a part in judging an account’s trustworthiness, but it’s unclear if or when Twitter could roll it out widely.
Lawmakers Demand Social Media Firms Address Threats to Law Enforcement The Democrats who lead two House panels also expressed concern about “reckless statements” from Republicans after a surge in online threats following the F.B.I. search of Mar-a-Lago.
O No, Lenovo doesn’t like Framework’s circular power button
The offending power button on one of Framework’s designs. | Image: Framework
Framework, the startup that produces modular laptops that are designed to be repairable and upgradable, says it’s in a spot of legal trouble over the design of one of its power buttons. In a tweet, the startup claims to have been contacted by Lenovo’s legal team, who say the circular design of the power button on one of Framework’s designs is too similar to the stylized “O” Lenovo uses in the wordmark for its “Legion” brand of gaming laptops.
“Consumers could believe that Framework’s Broken O Case or the motherboards they cover are produced by, sponsored, endorsed, licensed, or otherwise affiliated with Lenovo, when that is not the case,” a screenshot of the legal letter from Lenovo posted by Framework reads.
The offending power button design doesn’t appear on any of Framework’s laptops. Instead, the circle can be found in the 3D printer case schematics that Framework released back in April, which allow customers to build their own Raspberry Pi-style miniature PCs using just the laptop’s motherboard (these can be bought separately, as well as harvested from a Framework laptop). This YouTube video gives a nice overview of how the 3D-printed enclosure is supposed to work (the power button gets pressed at the 9:35 minute mark).
“It has recently come to our attention that Framework Computer Inc. (“Framework”) has released a GitHub repository of 3D printable reference designs for consumers to print motherboard cases for use with Framework’s motherboards,” Lenovo’s legal team writes. “These 3D printer guides feature a broken O design which is confusingly similar to Lenovo’s Legion Trademarks.”
The @Lenovo legal team says we have to change the power button on our 3D printed case, so we’re opening up a Community contest! Whoever can come up with the best new power button design gets a free i5-1135G7 Mainboard. pic.twitter.com/aBM3xRIzTF
I’m no lawyer, but I guess I can see where Lenovo’s legal team is coming from? The power button design found on Framework’s schematics technically has the same three lines breaking up its circular design as the O in Lenovo’s Legion branding, which can be found on its website, as well as being printed directly on some of its laptops. But, on the other hand, it’s… a circle, one used only in a wordmark, apparently, and the other as a functional piece of hardware. But, whatever, lawyers are gunna lawyer.
Framework doesn’t physically sell anything with the offending power button design on it, so fixing the problem is theoretically as simple as uploading a replacement set of CAD files to GitHub. So, rather than fighting Lenovo, Framework is holding a competition for its users to submit new designs for its power button. Entries are open until August 25th, and the winner gets a free i5-1135G7 Mainboard.
Amazon could avoid UK tax for two more years thanks to Rishi Sunak’s tax break
Firm increased business expenses in 2021 after former chancellor introduced 130% ‘super-deduction’ relief scheme
Amazon could be off the hook for tax in the UK for at least two more years after benefiting from reliefs brought in by Rishi Sunak during the pandemic, a report suggests.
The research from the Fair Tax Foundation indicates that the US tech company claimed more than £800m in capital allowances – business expenses that can be offset against profits – in 2021, £500m more than in 2020.
In the streaming era, Substack helps indie rockers pay the bills. Can it last?
The email subscription platform has been a source of inspiration and financial freedom for Pitchfork favourites struggling in the streaming economy
“I jumped from my chair and knelt over my father, cradling his head. As if in a movie, I held his head in one hand and snapped the other in front of his face, yelling for him to wake up,” writes singer-songwriter Kevin Morby in a recent post on his Substack newsletter, recounting a night his father had a medical scare. “Thankfully, moments later, his eyes, like cherries in a slot machine, quickly dinged forward and he looked around the room without moving his head.”
Morby loves his Substack. The Kansas City-based musician, who is adored by Pitchfork and recently released his seventh album This Is a Photograph, joined the email newsletter platform in April at his manager’s suggestion. He now sends his several hundred subscribers a series of rambling, poetic vignettes every few weeks.
I am once again asking you to update your Apple devices
Most updates are like this now, but that doesn’t make them less important. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Well, here we are again: I’m writing an article to tell you that you should really update your iPhone, iPad, or Mac as soon as possible, because the latest software for them fixes some pretty nasty bugs. The security notes for iOS / iPadOS 15.6.1 and macOS 12.5.1 describe fixes for bugs in the OS’ kernel (basically the core that controls everything) and WebKit that could allow attackers to run malicious code on your device. The notes also warn that the bugs may have actively been exploited.
This is, unfortunately, something like the third or fourth time I’m writing a postexplicitly asking people to update their iPhones or Macs to patch some pretty serious security flaws. And the truth is, I could’ve written this exact post even more times than that — there have been 13 updates to iOS 15 since its initial release, and nine of them have fixed some sort of arbitrary code execution bug. Oftentimes some of those bugs would allow attackers to obtain kernel privileges.
What’s more, fiveofthosesecurityupdates included the “Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited” warning.
So while you’ve probably done this plenty of times this year (and, honestly, the years before that), I’m going to repeat the steps to update your phone: go to Settings > General > Software Update. On the Mac, go to System Preferences > Software Update.
Constant security updates aren’t necessarily a bad thing. Sure, they could be an indication that a lot of bugs are slipping into software, but they could just as easily mean that a company has gotten really good at finding existing issues and stamping them out. The reason I’m pointing out Apple’s recent track record isn’t to shame it, but to remind everyone that updates these days are pretty important, and that they should be installed ASAP.
Yes, it’s actually really annoying to constantly update your computer or phone. No one wants their devices knocked out of commission for the few minutes it takes to install an update. But Apple is working on a way to make important security updates easier and more automatic.
iOS and iPadOS 16, along with macOS Ventura, will include something called “Rapid Security Response,” which seems like it’ll let Apple push security updates to your device that don’t require a restart. While some updates will probably still require a reboot (it’s hard to patch an issue with a kernel while the OS is running), the feature could take away at least some of the burden of keeping your device secure.
The company’s also introducing an “extreme” security setting called Lockdown Mode, though most people won’t want to turn it on. Apple says Lockdown Mode will turn off several features that are especially vulnerable to security flaws, and that it’s mostly meant for people who think they may be targeted by expert hackers, such as the ones hired by governments. If that’s you, the feature should be available when iOS 16 and macOS Ventura release. (Plus, wow, you sound very cool. Or very scary.)
The rest of us, though, can just make sure to keep updating our devices whenever new security patches come out — no matter how annoying that is or how frequently it happens.
Apple security flaw ‘actively exploited’ by hackers to fully control devices
The vulnerability has affected various models of the iPhone, iPad and Mac, with experts advising updating products to secure them
Apple disclosed serious security vulnerabilities for iPhones, iPads and Macs that could potentially allow attackers to take complete control of these devices on Wednesday.
The company said it is “aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited”.
The best laptop deals you can get right now
The MacBook Air equipped with Apple’s M1 processor is our favorite affordable laptop and is often on sale. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
If you want a great laptop, you’re going to have to fork over a ton of money, right? Not necessarily. There are dozens of good laptops on the market at various price points. While it can feel overwhelming to find the right one for your needs (some are better suited for, say, college students, whereas others are ideal for gamers), that’s why we’ve come up with this list of some of the best laptop deals available right now.
In addition to the latest deals, we’ll share each discounted model’s best features (and downsides) to give you more clarity during your shopping journey. And if you need to do more research, you can also check out our guides to the best laptops on the market and the top cheap laptops as well.
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
The 2020 version of the MacBook Air is the best laptop you can buy.
We consider the newest MacBook Air with Apple’s M2 processor to be the best laptop for most people, one that offers all-day battery life and a combination of features that should more than suffice for the average user. Plus, Apple’s new MacBook is powerful enough that it can even handle some light gaming and even demanding photo and video editing apps like Photoshop and Adobe Premiere. It’s also faster than its predecessor thanks to Apple’s new M2 chip and offers a 1080p webcam, which is a welcome improvement given the disappointing camera on the 2020 M1 model. It’s much lighter and thus more portable as well, yet it retains features like MagSafe charging and Touch ID, as well as a nice display.
While a terrific laptop overall, there is one key area where Apple’s M1 model is better: storage. The base M2 MacBook Air with 256GB of storage is actually slower than its predecessor because it’s stored in a single NAND chip. Also, be aware as well that port selection isn’t great, and the included display notch — which is also found on both the 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros — can make using the menu bar more challenging.
If that doesn’t bother you, however, we’re currently seeing the first discount ever on the new MacBook, which launched just a month ago. Right now, you can buy the “starlight” model at Amazon and B&H Photo with 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, an eight-core CPU, and a 30W power brick for $1,099, a $100 discount.
For a cheaper alternative to our favorite laptop for most, look to the base MacBook Air with the M1 chip, which is the best cheap laptop. Like its successor, it offers everything you need. It’s also faster than most Windows laptops at this price point, and handles demanding photo and video editing apps like Photoshop and Adobe Premiere with finesse, especially compared to its Intel-powered predecessors. Thankfully, all that power doesn’t come at the cost of battery life either. While not as good as the M2 model’s, we found that it lasted between eight and ten hours — even when we played the game Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
In addition to offering excellent performance, the laptop also comes with other nice-to-have features, including a comfortable keyboard and an excellent trackpad. Just note its 720p webcam isn’t particularly good, so if a high-resolution webcam matters a lot to you, you may want to buy one separately. Also, be aware that, due to the limitations of the M1 chip, you can only use one external display at a time and port selection is also limited.
At the moment, the MacBook Pro lineup consists of the newer 14- and 16-inch models released in late 2021 and the 13-inch MacBook Pro that just saw a revision with the M2 processor in mid-2022.
The new 13-inch MacBook Pro is similar to the M2 MacBook Air but geared toward more demanding use cases. It’s equipped with an M2 processor, unlike its predecessor, but still offers a fan and excellent performance that slightly outshines the M2 Air. Its battery — which we struggled to drain — remains one of its more impressive features, one that allows for up to 18 hours of usage on a single charge. Unfortunately, the laptop still suffers from the same outdated design (and Touch Bar) from 2016, as well as a mediocre, 720p webcam. Plus, there’s no MagSafe charging and you only get a pair of USB-C ports.
On the other hand, the new 14- and 16-inch MacBook Pros are equipped with faster M1 Pro processors, and you can go up to an M1 Max CPU if you’d like to spend more money for even faster performance. They offer a nice selection of ports as well, including multiple Thunderbolt 4 ports and a MagSafe power connector. No matter what you get, these laptops boast incredible performance with some of the longest-lasting batteries we’ve tested yet.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano is the lightest ThinkPad you can currently buy from Lenovo, yet it still offers great performance in a light package. With its exceptional build quality, along with business-targeted security and management features, we think it’s particularly ideal for business travel. Other features we liked include its 16:10 display and the physical privacy shutter for its webcam, although we wished there were more ports and the battery life was less than average. Right now, Lenovo is selling the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Nano for $1,363.45 instead of $2,479 when you use promo code THINKCTODEAL1 and buy the model with 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an Intel Core i5 processor.
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Lenovo’s Yoga 9i is an excellent multimedia entertainment laptop.
Lenovo’s 14-inch Yoga 9i is our favorite laptop for multimedia entertainment. The convertible is equipped with fantastic speakers that deliver the best sound we’ve ever heard for a laptop this size. It also comes with an excellent 1080p touchscreen and other perks, including a built-in stylus and a battery life that will last all day. Just note, however, that it does come with bloatware that can be challenging to uninstall, and we found the 16:9 screen relatively cramped and dim.
Need a Windows laptop that’s budget-friendly? HP’s Pavilion Aero 13 is an excellent choice. Weighing just 2.1 pounds, it’s lighter, thinner, and thus more portable than HP’s Envy x360 13, yet still boasts speedy performance. Plus, unlike HP’s Envy x360 13, it offers a more vertically-spacious 16:10 screen that’s surprisingly bright for a laptop in this price range. Its battery life is much better than HP’s Envy x360 13, although, unfortunately, it does come with bloatware, doesn’t feel anywhere near as sturdy in terms of design, and its speakers’ audio quality isn’t very good.
The Acer Aspire 5 is another budget-friendly laptop to consider. The 15.6-inch laptop doesn't offer Thunderbolt support, but it does feature a wide port selection that includes one USB 3.1 Type-C Gen 1, two USB 3.1 Gen 1, one USB 2.0, one HDMI 2.0, one Ethernet, and a power port. The affordable laptop also features a terrific backlit keyboard that’s comfortable to use and sound quality that punches above its weight class.
They Lost Crypto in the Crash. They’re Trying to Get It Back. In a frenzied effort, investors are trying to recover lost funds from Celsius Network, a crypto firm that imploded this summer.
Major PC modding sites remove Spider-Man mod that replaces in-game pride flags
Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered. | Image: Sony
NexusMods and ModDB, two of the biggest online sites for PC game mods, have removed a project that cut the in-game pride flags from the recently-released PC port of Marvel’sSpider-Man Remastered. As NexusMods explained in a blog post, the mod was uploaded to its site by a brand new account with no modding history, which the site’s administrators suspect is a secondary account for one of the site’s users — a “sock puppet” account.
“It was very clearly done deliberately to be a troll mod,” NexusMods writes. “The fact the user needed to make a sock puppet like a coward to upload the mod showed their intent to troll and that they knew it would not be allowed. Had they not been a coward and had they used their main account instead, we would have simply removed the mod and told them that we did not want to host it, only banning them if they reuploaded it again after being fairly warned. The creation of the sock puppet removed any doubt and made it a very easy decision for us.”
As well as removing the mod, NexusMods says it’s banned both “the sock puppet account and the user’s main account.” The mod replaced the pride flags found around New York City with the United States flag, which is frequently seen in the original game.
Hi! We've removed the content and banned the users. ModDB is an inclusive environment for all and we do not permit targeting marginalised groups. Our content moderation is largely automated but when identified, we have a zero tolerance policy for this kind of content. https://t.co/0leqjUxqJD
ModDB, another popular source of mods for PC games, also confirmed in a tweet that it’s removed the mod. “ModDB is an inclusive environment for all and we do not permit targeting marginalized groups,” the tweet reads. “Our content moderation is largely automated but when identified, we have a zero tolerance policy for this kind of content.”
“Our policy is thus: we are for inclusivity, we are for diversity,” NexusMods says in its post. “If we think someone is uploading a mod on our site with the intent to deliberately be against inclusivity and/or diversity then we will take action against it.” A NexusMods help page notes that “content that may be generally construed as provocative, divisive, objectionable, discriminatory, or abusive toward any real-world individual or group, may be subject to moderation.”
“If this policy upsets you, if we’ve broken some moral code of conduct as a business that you can’t accept, then please, delete your account,” NexusMods writes.
It’s a shame, because the PC modding community has otherwise been on excellent form with the mods they’ve been creating for Insomniac’s Spider-Man title, allowing players to swing around the city as everything from Spider-Man antagonist Kingpin to Black Cat, and there have been plenty of mods to adjust the look and colors of Spider-Man’s iconic suit.
Best podcasts of the week: The hunt for an art dealer’s riches hidden in the mountains
In this week’s newsletter: Join host Peter Frick-Wright as he gets to the bottom of a mysterious quest to find Forrest Fenn’s millions. Plus: five of the best fashion podcasts
Listening
Widely available, episodes weekly This podcast is equivalent to stepping into the studio with a musician. A specially recorded track by artists such as Björk, Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee and Neko Case is followed by an interview in which they explain how they made it. From Björk elucidating how she used the noise of frozen lakes to create soaring, glockenspiel-strafed choral pop, to Crutchfield enthusing about her love of white noise, it is hugely illuminating. Alexi Duggins
A glut of intimate, sideways stories in hit podcast Love + Radio, whose whole archive is now available to binge.
A guided yoga practice (yes, really) with a little singer called Dua Lipa in the new series of At Your Service.
The true story of Putin’s “number one enemy”, shot and killed in 2015, in Another Russia.
Why Buying an Electric Car Just Became More Complicated The new climate, tax and health law signed by President Biden extends a credit for electric vehicle buyers. But there are new strings attached that kick in at different times.
Embracer Group’s game buying spree includes rights to Lord of the Rings and Hobbit
Embracer Group has embarked on an acquisition spree today that includes Limited Run Games, Tripwire Interactive, and the IP rights to Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. There are five acquisitions in total today, alongside a sixth undisclosed deal for a company in the PC and console gaming space.
The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit rights mean Embracer now has control over movies, video games, board games, merchandising, stage productions, and even theme-park rights for the Tolkien fantasy franchises. This includes Amazon’s very big and expensive take on Lord of the Rings that will debut on Prime Video on September 2nd. Embracer notes that it could even explore “additional movies based on iconic characters such as Gandalf, Aragorn, Gollum, Galadriel, Eowyn and other characters from the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien.”
Embracer is a huge publishing group that recently acquired big names like Tomb Raider, Deus Ex, and Thief, and already operates more than 100 studios including Borderlands developer Gearbox, Saber Interactive, and THQ Nordic.
Image: Tolkien Enterprises, Inc. / New Line Cinema Corporation
Could we eventually see a Gandalf movie?
Embracer’s addition of Limited Run Games opens the door to more physical games across its studios and games, as Limited Run is well known for collector’s editions and it often enables smaller developers to be able to create physical copies of their games. Tripwire is known for Killing Floor,Maneater, and Rising Storm. The huge publishing group also announced today the acquisition of home karaoke system Singtrix and Teardown developer Tuxedo Labs.
Embracer has been quietly building its giant publishing group, and it also owns comics and entertainment brand Dark Horse. “I am pleased to welcome an amazing group of entrepreneur-led companies to the Embracer family and to extend our portfolio with some truly remarkable IPs and franchises, including The Lord of the Rings,” says Embracer co-founder and CEO Lars Wingefors in a statement. “It is encouraging that our group has become a natural and preferred buyer of creative, growing and profitable companies within Gaming and Entertainment.”
The five acquisitions announced today are around $577 million in total upfront costs, and there’s even a sixth secret purchase that Embracer isn’t disclosing yet. “Embracer has entered into agreement to acquire another company within PC / console gaming that, for commercial reasons, is not disclosed today,” explains a financial filing. “The purchase price for this un-disclosed acquisition is in the range of being among either third or fourth largest of the transactions.”
Embracer’s buying spree comes months after its deal to acquire Square Enix’s three major Western game studios, and amid huge acquisitions across the gaming industry. Sony acquiredDestiny developer Bungie for $3.6 billion, and Take-Two spent $12.7 billion on FarmVille maker Zynga. Microsoft is also in the process of its giant Activision Blizzard acquisition for $68.7 billion.
Wordle’s upgraded Wordlebot has a new recommended starting word
No, it’s not “words.” | photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images
The New York Times has made a few upgrades to its Wordle assistant WordleBot, and that includes a new recommended starting word: SLATE. Previously, it recommended CRANE, but now you might want to slate this new one into your repertoire.
The NYT introduced WordleBot in April as a “daily companion” to help analyze your Wordle play, and with WordleBot 2.0, the team has made some changes. One of the bigger changes is that the bot no longer limits its analysis to the subset of five letter words that are known Wordle solutions — that is, it’s thinking more like a typical human player would. Previously, the bot could have judged you harshly for guessing a legit word that, for whatever reason, isn’t one of the possible Wordle solutions, which could feel unfair. Now, the bot has its own dictionary of approximately 4,500 words that it thinks players might reasonably guess, and it assigns each of them the probability of being a solution, according to the NYT’s post about the updates.
As a result of the adjustments, the recommended starting word has changed to SLATE from CRANE on regular mode and to LEAST from DEALT in hard mode. That means, in theory, SLATE or LEAST are better starters if you’re playing off the top of your head, rather than with a known list of possible solutions on hand. (Though if you’ve grown attached to CRANE or DEALT, the NYT says that both are still excellent openers. About a quarter of WordleBot users started with CRANE today, so the bot clearly has some influence on people’s play.) The NYT has also added some new stats like a rating for information gained from a certain guess.
The upgrades all sound pretty handy, but unfortunately, WordleBot is still only available to paying Times Games, News, or All Access subscribers. If you’re an active Wordle player, though, the new bot could be an enticing reason to sign up for one of those subscriptions. Also, it has great sneakers.
Philips Hue Play sync box and gradient lightstrip review: wholly unnecessary, totally delightful
Leveling up your home theater experience
Am I wrong for thinking our TVs should be a lot cooler by now? We can pretend 3D TVs didn’t happen because they were bad, and curved TVs were a gimmick at best. Yeah, picture quality and form factor has improved a lot since the 1980s, but it’s 2022! Where’s my awesome sci-fi TV?
All that is to say that when I finally got a chance to test the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box and Play gradient lightstrip, I was hopeful that it would elevate my TV experience. It claims to sync the color-changing backlight (and any other color-changing bulbs you might have) with the content on your TV for a more immersive experience. It’s a “surround lighting” concept to go along with the surround sound we’ve known for years.
This surround lighting experience isn’t quite sci-fi, but it’s still pretty cool. And after using it nearly every night for the last couple of months, I’m sold on it. I know, I’m shocked, too.
Let’s break this system down into its component parts. The $250 Play HDMI Sync Box is the brains of the operation. It is, as the name suggests, a roughly 7 x 4 x 1-inch box. On the back are four HDMI inputs and one HDMI output. This is how the system knows what’s on your TV screen so it can color match your lights; all of the imagery is routed through it. It’s a clever design that greatly reduces lag so your lights stay tightly synced, though there is one major flaw to this method, which we’ll get into in a moment. It was somewhat limited when it first launched, but it now supports Dolby Vision, Atmos, and HDR10 Plus, so your programs should look and sound just as good as they normally do.
The sync box itself sits between your HDMI devices and your TV and does all the lighting processing.
The other major piece is the Play gradient lightstrip, which varies in price depending on the size needed for your TV ($250 for the 55 inch, $270 for the 65 inch, and $300 for the 75 inch). This is a flexible strip of LED lights that affixes to the back of your TV. The 65-inch strip I ended up with contained roughly 80 individual LEDs, but they don’t all have to display the same color at the same time, which is how they are able to create a representation of the many colors being displayed on the edge of your TV screen. The idea is that the colors sort of bleed off of the screen and onto the wall behind it, making the screen feel larger.
There’s one more mandatory component (yup, this is getting expensive) as well as some other nice-to-haves. The mandatory piece is the $60 Philips Hue Bridge, which connects directly to your Wi-Fi router and acts as the central hub for all things Hue. That’s how the sync box will tell the gradient strip which colors to display and when.
The flexible gradient lightstrip comes in three sizes and slots into channels that you affix to the back of your TV.
The nice-to-haves are any other color-changing Hue lights around your living room. These can all be looped into the sync box’s stream so the colors on your screen can extend not just behind your TV but also all around your room, which turned out to be way cooler than I thought it would be.
Setting up the system was simple, but I had a head start because I already had Hue lights scattered around my apartment (accounting for all of the lights in my living room), which meant my Hue Bridge was already set up with my Wi-Fi and account.
That done, my first task was to add the gradient strip to my TV. The system includes a few plastic guides with double-sided tape that you affix to the back of your TV. Then you just slot the flexible gradient strip into the groove in the guides. This was made slightly more complicated for me because I have a 55-inch TV, and Hue accidentally sent me the 65-inch strip. Luckily, because the strips bend, I was able to add some curves to the straightaways, and everything fit and aligned as intended. (Though I’d recommend getting the right size strip for your TV.) From there, you just plug it into a wall outlet and add it to your home system via the bridge and the Hue app.
Setting up the sync box was even easier. You just take the HDMI cables coming from your streaming devices, video game consoles, Blu-ray players, etc., and instead of running them into the TV, you run them into the sync box and then connect the sync box’s HDMI out to the TV and plug in the power.
From there, you have to install a separate Hue Sync app on your phone. This is where you’ll set up and control your impending light show. If you have multiple Hue lights around the room, you will place each of them in a 3D diagram of a room. This is so the sync box knows what color to turn which light and when so everything flows smoothly. You can also create multiple “entertainment area” setups in case there are times when you only want the TV to be backlit.
The sync box is set up and controlled through a separate app from other Hue lights.
The app prompts you to place lights in a 3D model of your room.
At this point, you’re basically good to go. Start playing some content through the sync box and start tinkering with the settings in the Hue Sync app to make the system work like you want it to. On the app’s main screen you can change between video, music, and game modes, adjust the intensity between subtle, moderate, high, and extreme, and adjust the brightness with a slider.
I learned very quickly that I really liked tailoring the experience to the specific content I was watching. For example, if I was watching a movie like Everything Everywhere All At Once, I’d want it in video mode on high intensity with the lights around 65 percent brightness. For movies that were at a slower pace, I preferred the moderate intensity. If I wanted it to have abrupt, near-instantaneous reactions, I switched to game mode and extreme intensity. If I wanted to play music through my TV and have a party vibe, I’d turn it to music mode, which doesn’t really look at the colors on the TV but instead makes the lights pulse along with the beat.
Each of these modes worked shockingly well once I’d tweaked them to my liking. As a cinephile, I really thought that I wouldn’t want to use this system for movies, assuming that they’d be a distraction, but I didn’t find that to be the case at all. As long as the brightness and intensity were set properly, it didn’t overwhelm the film. Instead, it brought me into the world of the movie. It felt more like I was sitting in the same room with the characters rather than viewing them through the window of my TV.
Watching The Simpsons filled my living room with the bright pastel colors of Springfield, and it was a delightful feeling. While I don’t currently have a gaming system setup, I watched a ton of gameplay videos while in game mode, and it was a blast with my apartment lighting up with explosions, laser fire, or bucolic grassy greens depending on the game. While music mode probably isn’t something I’d use unless I were throwing a party, I have to say that the beat matching was exceptional, and I loved seeing my apartment pulse along with beats in Anderson .Paak, Beyoncé, and J. Cole’s music. (It worked well with music videos, too.)
The sync box and gradient lightstrips can work in conjunction with other Hue lights in your home.
A big difference between the Hue lightstrips and cheaper options is response time when gaming, where the Hue shines.
It’s worth noting that while I have eight Hue lights in my living room to play with, I spent a lot of time using the sync box with only the gradient strip on the back of the TV and all the other lights turned off. That alone worked extremely well. It puts out a significant amount of light (1,100 lumens, roughly the equivalent of a 75W bulb but distributed in a long ring), and I often have it on even when the TV is off because it adds more light to my living room and can be controlled like any other light with the regular Hue app. Nature documentaries really popped. When watching movies, I felt like it reduced eyestrain, but it didn’t pull me out like having normal lights on would.
For gaming, the response time is lightning-quick and makes it feel far more immersive. Last year, when our Thomas Ricker reviewed the (massively less expensive) Govee Immersion TV Backlight, he found that it was prone to falling behind the content on-screen, but that wasn’t an issue for me with the sync box, especially in gaming mode. For movies, the slower transitions of moderate intensity made the effect more subtle and feel soft and natural.
Integrating the other Hue lights in my living room wasn’t as smooth of an experience, though. When I was watching a movie or a TV show, I discovered that I really didn’t like seeing any of my lights directly or they would become distracting. The way around this is to create an “Entertainment Area” in the Sync app that does not include those lights. Creating a new area is a bit of a pain, and for some reason, the app doesn’t let you edit the areas you’ve already made.
The bigger problem is that once you start syncing content with the TV, those lights that you’ve now excluded remain in whatever state they were in beforehand. So if they were on, you have to exit the Sync app, open the regular Hue app, and turn them off manually. It’s just a few clicks, but it’s really annoying that you can’t do all of this from just one app. The sync box works with Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, but while it responds to some voice commands, I have yet to be able to get that process automated. I’d also like to see the ability to switch between entertainment areas added directly to the homescreen so I don’t have to dive into the settings as often (though that won’t be an issue if the gradient strip is your only Hue light).
The lightstrip is bright enough to use as accent or supplemental lighting even when you’re not watching TV.
Now to the biggest flaw in the system. As the name HDMI Sync Box suggests, this whole thing only works for content that’s coming in through an HDMI cable. That means that if you use the built-in app on your smart TV or even a digital antenna to pick up local broadcast, you are out of luck because the sync box will not work with that content at all. Even the $90 Govee system mentioned above can do that. (Though it requires placing a small camera in front of your TV screen, doesn’t work as smoothly, and doesn’t play as nicely with other smart lights.) Personally, this was not an issue for me because I hate my TV’s built-in apps, so I use Chromecast with Google TV for everything. The same would be true if you use a Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Xbox, PlayStation, or cable box that runs through HDMI. Still, there are tons of people (some of my close relatives included) who just use the built-in apps on their TVs, and if you’re one of them, you do not want this product.
It also must be said that, together, the sync box and gradient strip cost more than $500 (more than $600 if you need to purchase the Hue Bridge, too). That’s more than the cost of a lot of very decent TVs, and that puts this in the realm of luxury products. Among smart home products, Hue has a reputation for being polished, working well, steadily adding features, and playing nicely with other smart home items, and its lighting often costs more than the competition as a result. A lot of people have already bought into the Hue ecosystem (as I have), and for them, while this still isn’t cheap, it adds a whole new dimension and bag of tricks to your home lighting system.
Photography by Brent Rose for The Verge
Update, 6:10PM ET, August 17th, 2022:Changed brand mentions from Philips to Hue or Philips Hue throughout.
Logitech’s Chorus open-back headphones slide onto the Quest 2
The Chorus can be swiveled to find the right position for your ears. | Image: Logitech
Logitech has announced the Chorus, a $99 audio accessory that aims to bolster sound quality coming out of the Meta Quest 2 VR headset. The appeal of the Chorus, as opposed to using over-ear or in-ear headphones you may already own, is that it lets you remain more present in reality with its open-back, off-ear speakers a la Valve Index.
It slides onto each side of the VR headset (compatible with the stock strap or Meta’s Elite straps), and the speakers can swivel to find the right positioning for your ears. Their volume is controlled through the Quest 2’s volume rocker. It’s powered via the Quest 2’s USB-C port, though it supports USB-C passthrough, so you can keep your headset charged or connect other devices to it.
Logitech
These get power via the Quest 2’s USB-C port, though they supply USB-C passthrough to give you the port back.
Logitech claims that the speakers feature custom-tuned drivers that are meant to deliver both the “biggest moments and the tiniest details in the metaverse.” And because of their open-back nature, they won’t stand in the way of letting ambient sound into your ears. There are pros and cons to this approach to speaker design. Sometimes, they provide warmer, more life-like sound quality, and the open-back design could be a safer way to play VR for you. I already mentioned the biggest downside: there’s typically very little noise isolation, both for the listener and for those who may be within earshot. So, these might not be the best solution for people who want privacy while in VR.
Logitech isn’t exactly up against much competition here. At $99, this could be a worthwhile upgrade for people who want more immersion than what the Quest 2’s piddly (yet surprisingly capable) strap-integrated speakers can offer. Though, it’s not the only upgrade route available for Quest 2 owners. In our YouTube video detailing some of my favorite Quest 2 features, tips, and recommended add-ons, I highlighted that you could, for around the same price, grab HTC’s Deluxe Audio strap, which features good-sounding headphones plus a set of strap converters to get a somewhat similar (but less polished) effect to what the Chorus claims to offer. It’s not really much of a hack, but you could also just plug in any set of wired 3.5mm headphones into the Quest 2.
Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 3 improves on a good thing, ignores a bad thing
The Wonderboom 3 design is mostly unchanged from the previous generation but still has plenty of charm. | Image: Ultimate Ears / Logitech
Ultimate Ears just announced the Wonderboom 3, the latest iteration of its beloved entry-level portable speaker that promises high-quality 360-degree audio and up to 14 hours of battery life in an adorably compact package that still floats on water.
Strangely, the Microboom 3 still uses a Micro USB connection in our good year of 2022. It feels a little…well, lazy to carry over the same unfriendly port from the Wonderboom 2 when USB-C is available and mandated on portable speakers in Europe starting in 2024.
The third-generation Wonderboom does offer a few improvements over the Wonderboom 2 while keeping the price unchanged at $99.99. Bluetooth range is now 131 feet (up from the 100-foot range on the Wonderboom 2), and listed battery life has been improved by an hour. Like before, two of the speakers can be paired together for true stereo separation, only now, the extended range and battery life can help your audio to cover more ground at parties. Ultimate Ears has also breathed more sustainability into the speaker, claiming they’re made from a minimum of 31 percent post-consumer recycled plastic.
Image: Ultimate Ears / Logitech
The new Wonderboom 3 is visually indistinguishable from the beloved Wonderboom 2.
If you were a fan of the fact that both of these older models can float in water, then you’ll be pleased to hear that the Wonderboom 3 will continue that tradition, featuring an IP67 rating for water, dirt, and dust resistance. That rating also means it’ll resist jets of water if you want to listen to tunes in the shower — it’s also “drop proof” if things get slippy.
While a few design changes were made between the original Wonderboom and the Wonderboom 2, this latest model looks visually identical to its predecessor, featuring two-tone fabric and a flat bungee cord loop.
The Wonderboom 3 speaker will be available in four different colors at launch: gray, pink, blue, and black, each with a contrasting strap and iconic control buttons to help them stand out against the body. Ultimate Ears says the speaker will come in these colors “initially,” which suggests we could see more colorways hitting the market in the future if you need more choices.
Image: Ultimate Ears / Logitech
These promotional images suggest we could also see green and lilac colorways made available.
The Wonderboom 3 looks to be a modest upgrade to the previous generation, but hey, if it ain’t broke, then don’t fix it — especially if you’re releasing a successor to one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers on the market. It’s set to arrive in both the US and UK on August 31st for $99.99 / £89.
Update August 17th, 6:39AM ET:Added mention of Micro USB charging.
‘Data void’: Google to stop giving answers to silly questions
Search engine updates ‘featured snippets’ to reduce the number of often comical errors it makes
Google will stop giving snappy answers to stupid questions, the company has announced, as it seeks to improve its search engine’s “featured snippets” service.
That means users should see fewer answers to questions such as “When did Snoopy assassinate Abraham Lincoln?”, to which the service would once merrily respond with “1865” – the right date, but very much the wrong assassin.
‘I’m buying Manchester United’: Elon Musk tweet charges debate over struggling club’s future
Billionaire may well not be serious in his claim but some fans welcomed the offer, given the club’s current woes
Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has electrified the debate about the future of Manchester United by claiming on Twitter that he is buying the struggling Premier League club.
It was not immediately clear what his views are on new coach Eric ten Hag’s controversial insistence on passing out from the back, or whether unhappy star striker Cristiano Ronaldo should be allowed to leave.
Elon Musk wins access to files from Twitter’s former head of product
Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images
Elon Musk’s lawyers notched a partial win this week in their Delaware Court of Chancery standoff against Twitter with a motion requesting information from 22 Twitter employees, or “custodians,” in addition to 41 others that both sides already agreed on for sharing data. Judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled on the issue Monday afternoon, deciding Twitter has to “collect, review, and produce documents” from just one of the people listed: Kayvon Beykpour, the former head of consumer product at Twitter.
With the October 17th trial date for Twitter’s lawsuit against Musk for trying to break up their $44 billion deal drawing closer — and Musk selling billions of dollars worth of his stock in Tesla — his lawyers are trying to find something to shore up their arguments that Twitter committed fraud, while Twitter’s legal team issues subpoenas to help out the case on their side. Insider reports, based on anonymous sourcing, that Musk’s lawyers were pursuing information from Twitter employees who ranged from mid-level execs to lower-level employees, and noted that his legal team filed another motion to compel pursuing info on Twitter’s user data, as well as the methods used to collect and analyze it.
As described in a lengthy countersuit (that Twitter already responded to), they argue the company put walls in the way of Musk’s attempts to verify data about how many daily active users are actually bots, as Musk disputes the company’s claim that spam bots account for fewer than 5 percent of the accounts it measures.
When Beykpour appeared on our Decoder podcast last year to talk about Twitter’s upcoming plans, we described him as “responsible for deciding what tools Twitter actually builds for people to express themselves.” Those tools included things like Super Follows, the live audio Spaces rooms, and its Revue newsletters.
However, he’s now a former exec after Twitter’s new CEO, Parag Agrawal, fired Beykpour and the corresponding leader on the revenue side, Bruce Falck, in one sweeping move on May 12th. Beykpour explained his departure by tweeting, “Parag asked me to leave after letting me know that he wants to take the team in a different direction.”
Bloomberg reports Musk lawyer Alex Spiro said, “we look forward to reviewing Beykpour’s communications and will continue to seek information and witnesses until the full truth comes out.”
Here are the best Kindle deals right now
Amazon’s ad-supported base Kindle from 2019 remains the cheapest Kindle you can buy at $59.99. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
When it comes to finding a device to use to read your ebooks, you have a few options to choose from. You can always buy a tablet or use your smartphone, but those devices are multipurpose and can be used for a ton of things, like surfing the web or doom-scrolling on Twitter. If you are looking for something to strictly read books, e-readers, while niche, are designed to store all of your books in a virtual library with limited functionality.
Amazon, one of the pioneers of the e-reader, has dominated the space for years with its Kindle lineup, which consists of several unique models with their own pros and cons.
Below, we’ve listed each model currently available. Sometimes, there isn’t a deal for one or any of the products — which is often the case following shopping events like Prime Day — but we’ve mentioned the most recent sale price in those instances. Also, keep in mind that Amazon offers 20 percent off all of its Kindles when you trade in select devices, so there are still other ways to save money when none of the models are available at a discount.
The 10th-gen Kindle is Amazon’s most affordable e-reader, and as such, it usually retails for $89.99. Released in 2019, the base Kindle includes a front light, 8GB of storage, and comes with or without ad support. Also, despite including the same 167ppi resolution as its predecessors, the latest model features a slightly higher contrast than earlier models.
The 10th-gen Kindle normally starts at $89.99 with ads, though, we did recently see it on sale for as low as $44.99 during Prime Day. Those sales have since ended, however, the ad-supported model is still available on Amazon in white for $59.99. The same thing goes for the ad-free white model, which is available on Amazon for $79.99 ($30 off).
The entry-level Kindle and Oasis models were not the only ones that received a refresh in 2019. Amazon also released the Kindle Kids, which comes with a handful of accessories and provides age-appropriate content for younger readers who prefer digital books for $109.99 ($20 more than the base Kindle at standard MSRP).
The Kindle Kids Edition consists of four items: the device, a case, a two-year extended replacement guarantee (in the event the device breaks), and one year of Amazon Kids Plus service. The latter is the biggest selling point of the device aside from the kid-friendly patterns, as it allows parents to grant their kids access to a digital library of kid-friendly books like Percy Jackson and the entire Harry Potter series at no additional cost.
On the deals front, we recently saw the Kindle Kids drop to a mere $49.99 on Amazon as part of the retailer’s two-day Prime Day promotion. Sadly, Amazon is no longer selling the kid-friendly device at that price, though, it is still available on Amazon for $59.99.
Photo by Chaim Gartenberg / The
The Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition is identical to the standard model but features wireless charging and a sensor to automatically adjust the backlight.
Amazon’s latest Kindle Paperwhite is its 11th-gen model, which comes with USB-C support, longer battery life, and a larger, 6.8-inch display. Given the e-reader launched just last year, however, we haven’t seen a ton of steep discounts yet. Thankfully, you can still pick up the last-gen model, which is frequently available for far less than the standard retail price.
The 2021 Kindle Paperwhite comes in three main configurations: an 8GB model with ads for $139.99, an 8GB model without ads for $159.99, and a 32GB, ad-free Signature Edition for $189.99. The latter is identical to the standard Paperwhite, except it also features Qi wireless charging and a sensor that will automatically adjust the backlight when needed. Amazon has also rolled out a Kindle Paperwhite Kids Edition for $159.99, which comes bundled with a kid-friendly cover, a two-year extended replacement guarantee, and a year of Amazon Kids Plus, much like the aforementioned Kindle Kids. All 2021 models are also similar to the 2018 model in that they feature a waterproof design and Audible audiobook support.
We recently saw the ad-supported Paperwhite drop to $94.99 for Amazon Prime members. Although it’s currently not available at the aforementioned sale price, it is on sale for $30 off at Amazon and Best Buy right now, where you can pick it up starting at $109.99. If you buy the e-reader at Amazon, however, you’ll also receive three months of Kindle Unlimited at no additional cost.
Unfortunately, if you’re looking for the Kindle Paperwhite Kids Edition, it’s only available at Best Buy and Amazon right now for $159.99, its standard retail price.
While there currently are no significant deals happening on the 2021 Kindle Paperwhite — save for the slight break on the various bundles — retailers like Amazon and Best Buy often lower the price of the last-gen model during major shopping holidays and bigger sales events, including Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day.
Sadly, despite having been on sale for as low as $69.99 in the run-up to Prime Day, the 2018 e-reader is only available right now in refurbished configuration at Amazon starting at $109.99 — the same price the 2021 model is currently going for at multiple retailers.
The Kindle Oasis is the most expensive of the lineup, starting at $250. The device comes in two storage configurations, 8GB or 32GB, and like the other models, you can get it with or without ads on the lock screen.
The 2019 Kindle Oasis looks very similar to the previous model. It retains its waterproof, 7-inch, 300ppi E Ink display and supports Audible audiobooks via Bluetooth. However, unlike previous models, it can adjust the color temperature to a yellow-toned display, making it easier to read at night.
If you’re looking for a package, the Kindle Oasis Essentials Bundle is also currently on sale in select configurations at Amazon. Right now, you can get either the 8GB, ad-supported configuration for as low as $229.97 ($80 off) or its 32GB variant starting at $309.97 ($30 off), both of which come with a power adapter and either a fabric or leather cover.
Def Con hacker shows John Deere’s tractors can run Doom
Security researcher Sick Codes got Doom to run on a John Deere display. | Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON / AFP via Getty Images
The internet has shown us that Doom can run on everything from a cardboard box to a Roomba and even a single keyboard key, but now we can add a John Deere tractor to that list. Security researcher Sick Codes worked with Doom modder Skelegant to get the game running on a John Deere tractor display and showed off some gameplay at the Def Con hacking conference in Las Vegas.
In the video posted by Sick Codes, you can see how the game plays as a sort of transparent overlay on top of the John Deere user interface (UI). Sick Codes says the whole process took months and involved jailbreaking the Linux system used by the John Deere 4240 tractor. This version of Doom has, naturally, been modified to take place in a corn field, where the player mows down enemies on a tractor.
With epic just-in-time help by NZ based doom modder @Skelegant. She helped get this run using DeHacked Doom, since gzdoom was a mission. Together, we teamed up to make this happen. She is amazingly talented. pic.twitter.com/OfVDMvRhzR
But Sick Codes isn’t just jailbreaking tractors to get them to run Doom. According to a report from Wired, he also devised and presented a new jailbreak that gave him root access to the tractor’s system. This exploit could potentially help farmers bypass software blocks that prevent them from repairing the tractor themselves, something John Deere has come under fire for in the past.
As noted by Wired, Sick Codes was able to obtain “1.5 GB worth of logs” that dealers could use to identify and diagnose problems. But he also found a way to gain root access by soldering controllers directly to the tractor’s circuit board. Unfortunately, gaining root access isn’t all that simple without the right equipment, but Sick Codes told Wired “it would be possible to develop a tool based on the vulnerabilities to more easily execute the jailbreak.”
John Deere’s technological grip on its tractors goes beyond barring repairs. Earlier this year, John Deere remotely locked its equipment after Russians stole it from a farm in Ukraine, and it has done the same on construction sites in China to comply with the country’s financing policies. In response to increasing pressure from politicians, John Deere announced an initiative in March to make its software available to independent repair shops.
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