How to live your life in text files

How to live your life in text files

Illustration: William Joel / The Verge

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 26, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome. So psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I’ve been playing with the redesigned You.com for AI research, trying out the Phanpy Mastodon client, getting back into Zombies, Run after reading Vee Song’s great story about Fantasy Hike, and reading the new “lost chapter” of The Martian before probably just rereading The Martian again.

I also have for you some non-earbud earbuds, a nerdy video about nerdy stuff, a new to-do list app, a new thing in ChatGPT, and much more. Let’s do it.

(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you doing, reading, watching, playing, testing, cooking, lifting, soldering, or charging right now? What cool stuff are you into that everyone else should also be into? Tell me everything: installer@theverge.com or +1 203-570-8663. And if you know someone else who might enjoy Installer, forward it to them and tell them to subscribe here.)

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The Drop

• Bose’s Ultra Open Earbuds. For some reason, over the last year or so, almost all in-ear headphones suddenly leave my ears sore and scratchy. So I’m very curious to try these — even though at $299 they’re too expensive for my tastes, the clip-on style seems like it could work.
• Bulletin. The Verge’s Parker Ortolani turned me onto this: a new (Apple-only) news- and RSS-reading app with a lot of AI features for summarization and stuff, but also just a really lovely UI for reading news feeds. You can add premade lists, dump in any site or feed, even save stuff to read later.
• The Space Race. A really cool documentary about early Black astronauts, with tons of archival footage and a really wild Cold War subplot. As with all good space docs, make sure you watch this one on the biggest screen you can find.
• Mark Zuckerberg’s Vision Pro review. The review itself is, like, fine — I think Zuck is right about a lot of the things people actually want headsets for, and about the price-to-quality balance being a tricky one. But shooting a review of a competitor’s product, with your own product, in such a casual way, is just fascinating to me.
• The ONE thing keeping this iconic vintage laptop from working… Recently, for reasons I hope to someday be able to tell you about, I’ve been deep down the rabbit hole of awesome old gadgets. And the This Does Not Compute channel has become one of my favorite new resources — the host is perpetually trying to restore or resurrect some old PC, and even this random Toshiba laptop left me desperately wanting one.
• Superlist. This week’s “to-do list app that’s so close to being everything I wanted and maybe I’ll just spend the whole weekend trying it out.” It’s a teams-first product, which, meh, but this is the best-looking productivity app I’ve seen in years.
• Mario vs. Donkey Kong. More updated spins on old-school Mario games for the Switch! How did we get so lucky! This one’s a platformer with a really fun puzzle-y twist, which is exactly the kind of game I like to spend too many hours playing on the couch.
• How AI Tech Can Give Dead People a Voice. This week’s winner of the “Is this powerful and awesome, or is this horrifying” award is The Shotline, which is using AI to recreate the voices of kids who were victims of gun violence. Joanna Stern’s video is great, and The Shotline’s voices will make you feel… a lot of things.
• DuckDuckGo. DDG just rolled out a cool new tool that lets you sync passwords and bookmarks across platforms without needing an account; you just scan a QR code to add a new device. At this point, I’m wary of saying any company is actually a good privacy option, but DuckDuckGo is certainly doing the work.

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Spotlight

A while back, I got really close to moving all my personal docs, email, calendar, and files into Skiff, which was basically a privacy-focused Google Drive competitor. Stuff got busy, and moving all that stuff is a big project, but it’s been on my list for a while. Super glad I didn’t get to it, though, because Skiff was just acquired by Notion and is now shutting down.

If I’ve learned one thing in my years of covering tech, it’s that nothing is guaranteed to stick around, no matter how much you love it or how popular it is. Things change, mistakes happen, stuff disappears. And every time it happens, I get a little more religious about something that Steph Ango, the CEO of Obsidian, likes to say: file over app.

The idea of “file over app” is to care a lot more about your data itself than the app or platform it’s in. Like, the app you’re using now? Probably not going to be around in 50 years. Text files and JPGs and PDFs? Way more likely to still be here! So invest in formats that last, not apps that don’t.

What that means for me, personally, is that I try to turn my life into text files and their equivalents as often as possible.

• I use an iOS and Mac app called NotePlan for daily notes and task management — the app is built on top of a folder of Markdown files I can easily use anywhere else. Obsidian and Logseq are both the same way and are both excellent (if very different) apps.
• I use the bookmarking service Raindrop to store all the links I care about, for Installer and everything else, and once a week I export all my links as a CSV file and again as a text file.
• Day One is where I keep my actual journal, and every month or so I export the whole thing to a PDF.
• Once a year or so, when I’m feeling both bored and ambitious, I’ll back up my entire camera roll and Google Photos library to an external hard drive. All the other stuff goes into Google Drive, and onto that same hard drive.

I try to find apps that are made with text files in mind. When I can’t, I try to find apps with good, durable export systems, and make sure I’m backing things up often. I’m done getting stuck inside an app I can’t trust to be around for long.

There’s a lot more for me to do here, and frankly still a lot of stuff in my life that will disappear if some big-name services delete my account or go offline altogether. (I’m still trying to figure out whether my email and calendar are things I should be archiving…) But I now have years of journal entries, daily tasks, project archives, and more in a format I’m confident I’ll be able to at least open and look at on my neural face-puter in 2096. And it makes me feel better, so I figured I’d share.

Oh, and by the way, there are so many great text editors out there. Typora is probably the best writing app I’ve ever used. If you write code, you already know BBEdit and VS Code and Sublime Text. Nota, Ulysses, iA Writer, and a bunch of others all do a good job of helping you both write and organize. Living in text files doesn’t mean living in Notepad or TextEdit; you really can have the best of both worlds. Text files forever!

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Screen share

Zoë Schiffer, the managing editor at the excellent Platformer newsletter (and a Verge alum!), just published one of the best tech books I’ve read in a while. It’s called Extremely Hardcore: Inside Elon Musk’s Twitter, and trust me, however wild you think the last couple of years have been at X / Twitter, the actual truth is much wilder. Zoë’s been reporting on this saga throughout, and the book’s a total winner.

I asked Zoë to share her homescreen with us on the eve of her book launch, because one thing I’ve always liked about Zoë is that she is forever deeply conflicted about technology. She reports on it, understands it deeply, uses it constantly, but is also perpetually trying to get her Screen Time numbers down. Since I’m deeply embarrassed by my Screen Time report basically every week, I wanted to see how she does it.

Here’s Zoë’s homescreen, plus some info on the apps she uses and why:

The phone: This is an iPhone 14, I believe. The screen is cracked and I use it exclusively for work. I have an iPhone mini with no apps except Spotify and Google Maps that I use as my personal phone. The process of having a separate work phone (with apps) and a personal phone (with almost nothing interesting) has dropped my screentime to about 2.5 hours a day, not to brag.

The wallpaper: My wallpaper is a photo of my hot a** husband, and my two-year-old daughter.

The apps: Apple Calendar, Google Maps, Apple Notes, Signal, Apple Mail, Threads, ChatGPT, Spotify, Phone, Messages.

My main homescreen has Signal, which I use constantly to communicate with sources, and Threads, which is my primary Twitter replacement. I also have ChatGPT, which I love. I ask it about various health symptoms and also to create recipes for, like, a single chocolate chip cookie.

One screen over I have TikTok, which is my guilty pleasure, and Bluesky, which I’m trying to use more but feels a little chaotic. I also have a pregnancy tracker because (duh) I’m pregnant. Right now the baby is the size of a lime, so that’s nice.

I also asked Zoë to share a few things she’s into right now. Here’s what she said:

• Right now, I’m rereading Harry Potter and listening to a lot of Caroline Shaw.
• Oh you meant on the internet??? Huh. Huuuuuh. I like the fashion newsletter Blackbird Spyplane. I’m a big fan of the Moderated Content podcast.
• I’ve seen the comedian Jacqueline Novak twice IRL (the first time, I dragged Casey Newton along, not realizing the entire set is about blow jobs, and I seriously worried I was going to get fired), and she has a new comedy special on Netflix that really gets me.

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Crowdsourced

Here’s what the Installer community is into this week. I want to know what you’re into right now as well! Email installer@theverge.com or message +1 203-570-8663 with your recommendations for anything and everything, and we’ll feature some of our favorites here every week.

“I’ve been playing the new Dominion card game app! Dominion is a deckbuilding game from back in the day, and it’s got several (I believe 15) expansions so far. Previous iterations of the game online and in app form never fully realized their potential. This is the best implementation of the game to date. There is offline play against AI, matchmaking, and you can also do private matches with friends via a Nintendo-esque friend code system.” — Matt

“I’ve been listening to and immensely enjoying Worlds Beyond Number, an actual play narrative podcast from the best folks to ever do it.” — Caleb

“I received my Retroid Pocket 4 Pro in the mail this week after about a month of waiting from China. It exceeded expectations, and I’m having a great time emulating N64, GameCube, and PlayStation 2 games. On Saturday I had a friend over, and we played couch co-op games just like the good old days using a USB-C hub and a couple controllers. Highly recommended for a huge nostalgia kick.” — Nicholas

“Having fun playing old Nintendo titles on the Miyoo Plus. Such a great device. Feels like a time machine.” — Jamie

“I’m playing, and overwhelmingly impressed with, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown. It feels like a love letter to Castlevania and Metroid, and heavily inspired by Hollow Knight… but also innovates in some really clever ways. It also runs incredibly well on the Switch.” — Steve

“Probably one of the most used apps on my phone is Mela, by Silvio Rizzi. It’s a thoughtfully designed recipe app designed to share with your family. It has a shared family recipe library and integrations with Reminders and Calendar to ensure my fiancé and I are always on the same page. Oh, and it also has a built-in RSS reader for finding new recipes!” — Liam

“It’s called What Happened Last Week, and it’s a great way to keep up with news from countries that are not often reported on in places like Africa, Asia, and Latin America. It contains clear explanations and contexts on developments so it is easy to read even if you have never heard of the names in the story. I find it really useful and complementary to the big Western news sources.” — Richard

“Windows95Man is Finland’s entry to Eurovision this year, and it’s amazing on so many layers. Watching the video on YouTube is mandatory for full appreciation.” — Sighjinks

“The new season of Game Changer on Dropout started this week, and it’s a treat as always!” — Noah

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Signing off

The biggest, weirdest tech story of this weekend is coming from a slightly surprising place: the floor of the NBA All-Star Game. Have you seen the videos of the all-LED full-court screen? Here’s an example of what this kind of thing looks like during a game, too. It looks like a total nightmare to play on, and I’d bet $10 we’ll never see this in a real game with any stakes. But boy is it going to be something to watch. This is my kind of augmented reality.

See you next week!

Facial Recognition in Airports: Biometrics Technology Is Expanding

Facial Recognition in Airports: Biometrics Technology Is Expanding Biometric technology is expanding at airports across the United States — and the world — and transforming the way we move through them, from checking a bag to boarding the plane.

Apple Pay was down for Chase customers for quite a while

Apple Pay was down for Chase customers for quite a while

Not today.

Update, February 18th, 12:40AM ET: The issue with Apple Pay and Chase credit cards has been resolved, according to Apple spokesperson Heather Norton, who further tells us that “this was not an Apple Pay issue, and we saw no problems with our systems.” (The not-so-subtle subtext there being that this was a Chase problem, of course.) That maintenance note on the status page was unrelated to this outage, she adds. Original story follows below.

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It appears that Apple Pay is down, particularly for Chase customers — Verge staffers have had their cards declined while trying to pay with Chase cards using Apple Pay, while using the same physical card works just fine. Several people on Threads confirmed the same issue when I asked — although people with non-Chase banks like Citi appear to be using Apple Pay just fine.

Apple’s system status page says that Apple Pay and Wallet have a maintenance in progress which started at 12PM — which is a pretty weird time to start a maintenance that disrupts payments. The page also says that “Some Maryland Users may have issues,” but we’ve had reports in both New York and LA, so it appears we’re all into crab cakes and football today.

Today we are all Maryland Users.

For what it’s worth, the Chase customer service line is currently up to 15-minute wait times, and agents are telling people that Apple Pay is “going through maintenance” to receive “an unexpected upgrade,” which is a delightful euphemism. Sadly, no one seems to know when things will be fixed. We’ve reached out to Apple for comment; we’ll update if we hear anything.

Wyze cameras reportedly let owners see into a stranger’s home — again

Wyze cameras reportedly let owners see into a stranger’s home — again

Image: Wyze

Five months ago, we wrote about how your Wyze webcam might have let strangers peek into your house. It appears to have happened again.

After an extended outage that Wyze linked to problems with AWS, ten different Redditors are reporting that their Wyze app showed them images from a security camera that wasn’t their own — giving them glimpses of a stranger’s porch or living room. Some of the videos were from entirely different timezones.

“One of my cameras notified me of an event from inside someone else home with them in it walking around,” begins one post. “I just got a motion detection notification with a picture for someone else’s house that isn’t mine!” reads another.

“Why did I get someone else’s notification which showed their living room? 2nd time in a few months. This is bad,” read a third.

A fourth wrote, in all caps:

LOOKING THROUGH MY EVENTS AND ITS NOT MY HOUSE. A LADY IS WALKING AROUND IN A LIVING ROOM. THIS IS ON MY ACCOUNT. HUGE SECURITY ISSUE. I SHOULDN’T BE SEEING INSIDE SOMEONE ELSES HOME. ANOTHER EVENT SHOWS SOMEONE ELSES PROPERTY WHICH SEEMS TO BE A BACKYARD.

“I’m able to see a random camera I do not have permission for,” reads a similar post in the Wyze forums. “Notification alert for a camera I don’t own,” a second one starts. Six users commented on other peoples’ Reddit posts to say they, too, were seeing these videos.

On Wyze’s Facebook page, there was another comment reporting the same thing. According to one woman, “Are you also aware that you probably have a major security issue during your current ones! I had an “event” where a lady was walking around her living room! And another where I could see the overview of someone’s back yard!”

Earlier today, Wyze experienced a huge outage of some sort. But even after cameras came back online, it apparently discovered a new security issue with the Events tab — the same place where most of these users say they saw a stranger’s images appear.

“We are still investigating an issue with the Events Tab and will have another update shortly with further info,” the company reported at 1:07PM ET.

At 2:27PM ET, the company turned off the Events tab entirely: “We are temporarily disabling the Event tab in the Wyze app to investigate a possible security issue and will have it back up soon,” it wrote in a service advisory. The company made no mention of what the issue might be.

We contacted Wyze two hours ago at multiple email addresses but haven’t heard back.

Two years ago, I told you how Wyze swept a security vulnerability under the rug for three years, never notifying its customers that their unpatchable v1 cameras could have theoretically let hackers access video feeds over the internet, or that patches were required for later cameras to prevent the same thing.

Last September, The New York Times publicly stopped recommending Wyze cameras following our reporting, noting that Wyze never reached out to its customers or “provided meaningful details about the incident.”

OpenAI can’t register ‘GPT’ as a trademark — yet

OpenAI can’t register ‘GPT’ as a trademark — yet

Image: OpenAI

The US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has denied OpenAI’s application to register the word GPT, which means generative pre-trained transformer, saying GPT is too general a term to register and can prevent competitors from correctly describing their products as a GPT.

OpenAI argued in its application that GPT is not a descriptive word — that GPT isn’t such a general term that consumers would “immediately understand” what it means.

The PTO wrote in its February 6th decision that it doesn’t matter if consumers don’t know what GPT means — because those who do use the technology understand GPT refers to a general type of software, not just OpenAI products.

Since the rise of generative AI, many other AI services have added GPT to product names. For example, there’s an AI detector startup named GPTZero. Other companies often refer to their foundational AI models as GPTs because they literally are.

The term GPT became closely tied to OpenAI after ChatGPT and its AI models GPT-3 (and later GPT-4) became popular. When it opened ChatGPT to outside developers, the company called its custom chatbots GPTs, too. Lately, OpenAI has been giving distinct brand names to other services, though. It recently released its text-to-video generation model named Sora.

Gizmodo notes that this isn’t the first time the US has denied OpenAI’s trademark claim for GPT; the first time was in May 2023. The company can appeal once more to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board for another shot at getting the term GPT trademarked.

OpenAI Completes Deal That Values the Company at $80 Billion

OpenAI Completes Deal That Values the Company at $80 Billion The A.I. start-up’s valuation tripled in less than 10 months.

The State of A.I., and Will Perplexity Beat Google or Destroy the Web?

The State of A.I., and Will Perplexity Beat Google or Destroy the Web? A special Valentine’s Day look back.

South Korea’s Antitrust Enforcers Aimed at Big Tech. Then Came the Backlash.

South Korea’s Antitrust Enforcers Aimed at Big Tech. Then Came the Backlash. The government pledged to protect South Korean online platforms from marketplace giants, but online business circles are crying foul play.

Here are the best iPad deals right now

Here are the best iPad deals right now

Select iPad models go on sale quite frequently, but some discounts on aging models are getting harder to find. | Image: Procreate

While the best iPad deals usually land during major sale events like Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon’s various Prime Days, many of the best iPad deals from the holiday season have persisted into 2024. You can still take advantage of many of those discounts today, particularly on the more affordable iPads. What’s more, prices are likely to drop even further when Apple ushers in a new slate of models, which, according to the latest rumors, could happen as soon as next month.

Forthcoming models aside, it’s difficult to know where exactly you can find the most notable iPad deals unless you’re scouring the major retailers on a daily basis. But that’s often what our deal hunters at The Verge are doing each and every day, so let us help you out. Below, we’ve listed the best deals you can get on each iPad model that is currently available, from the cheapo ninth-gen iPad of 2021 to the latest models equipped with Apple’s powerful M1 and M2 chips.

The best iPad (2021) and iPad (2022) deals

Announced alongside the iPhone 13, the 2021 iPad is Apple’s aging entry-level tablet that still makes a fine device for doing the basics today. The ninth-gen model starts at $329 with 64GB of storage, though the base configuration with Wi-Fi is available at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart right now for around $249 ($80 off), which is just $20 shy of its lowest price to date.

As for the 256GB model that normally retails for $479, Amazon and Walmart are both selling it for $379 ($100 off), which is another second-best price. If you prefer your iPad to include cellular connectivity, the LTE model is also on sale in the 64GB configuration at Amazon and Best Buy for $379.99 ($80 off) instead of $459; you can also grab it in the larger 256GB configuration at Amazon and Best Buy for around $529 ($80 off).

A last-gen model is still worth considering

The last-gen iPad uses an A13 Bionic processor and a 12MP wide-angle camera with Center Stage, a feature designed to keep you framed up and centered while on video calls. The tablet also carries over a number of features from its predecessor, such as the 10.2-inch display, a Touch ID fingerprint sensor built into the home button, and a Smart Connector for connecting a Smart Keyboard.

Although the newer 10th-gen iPad came out in late 2022, the last-gen model is still an excellent tablet — one we consider to be a better value in most instances. The latest iPad modernizes the design with a switch to USB-C, uniform bezels with no home button, a side power button with a fingerprint sensor, and a larger display, but it excises the headphone jack and retails for a much steeper $449. That’s not much of an entry-level price, so hopefully the ninth-gen model sticks around and continues to see moderate discounts.

However, if you do prefer the latest model, the 10th-gen iPad is on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target right now in the 64GB base configuration for around $349 ($100 off). As for the 256GB / Wi-Fi version that normally costs $599, Amazon, Best Buy, and Target are currently offering it starting at $499 ($100 off). These are actually worthwhile deals for the 10th-gen model, which makes it worth considering over the cheaper ninth-gen model if you prefer a more modern design and support for USB-C charging.

The best iPad Mini (2021) deals

The sixth-gen iPad Mini has a larger screen than its predecessor, along with a top-of-the-line processor, support for USB-C, and options for 5G. It has forfeited its 3.5mm headphone jack and dedicated home button in the process, but overall, it’s a solid device that brings a fully refreshed design to Apple’s small tablet form factor.

The changes and refinements to the new iPad Mini come at a heftier price, however, and the new 64GB Wi-Fi model now starts at $499. Electing 256GB of storage brings the price up to $649, while the 5G cellular models are $649 for 64GB and $799 for 256GB. These are some big numbers for a small iPad, and the larger iPad Air might be worth considering if you prefer your dollar to go further with more screen real estate. But if you want the latest and greatest from Apple in a smaller format, this is where the action is.

As of right now, Amazon and B&H Photo are selling the 64GB base model of the iPad Mini for $469 ($30 off). If you need additional storage, Amazon and B&H Photo also have the 256GB / Wi-Fi model for $617 ($32 off). As for the cellular version, you can often find the 64GB model with 5G on sale for $549.99 ($100 off), but no retailers are offering discounts on it as of writing. If you want the step-up 256GB version with LTE, however, it’s on sale at Amazon in pink for $629 (about $170 off).

The best iPad Air (2022) deals

The latest iPad Air usually costs $599, but right now, it’s on sale for around $449 ($150 off) at Best Buy and Walmart, matching its all-time low. The Air is our top iPad recommendation for most people thanks to its speedy M1 processor, modern design, and midrange price. For those who crave more storage, the 256GB variant is also available for $599.99 ($150 off) at Best Buy.

The 2022 iteration of Apple’s lightweight tablet is similar in terms of its capabilities when measured against the previous-gen model but still offers a handful of iterative upgrades. The most pronounced improvement is the M1 processor, which offers better performance, and the front-facing 12MP camera comes equipped with Apple’s Center Stage feature that helps to keep a moving subject centered when recording video or during video calls.

The best iPad Pro (2022) deals

The latest generation of iPad Pros looks a whole lot like the prior model from 2021, as the changes are primarily on the inside. The new Pros still come in 11-inch and 12.9-inch sizes, with the better-looking Mini LED panel once again reserved for the larger model, though both now pack Apple’s newer M2 CPU for even better processing power.

The striking resemblance to the prior generation aside, there are a few reasons to opt for a Pro over something like an Air, such as Face ID unlocking and additional base storage. If display quality is the most important factor in your purchasing decision, the 12.9-inch version is the way to go, as its Mini LED display achieves deeper blacks and better contrast, much like an OLED panel.

Aside from that, as well as a nifty new hover feature that shows where your second-gen Apple Pencil’s tip will land before you touch the screen, they’re very similar to the older models from 2021. The 128GB base models even start at the same price — the 11-inch and 12.9-inch models retail for $799 and $1,099, respectively, and go up from there. As for 5G cellular versions, the 11-inch model starts at $999 and the 12.9-inch model at $1,299.

Sadly, there currently isn’t much in the way of deals on the 11-inch M2 iPad Pro. The best deal you can get is on a Wi-Fi model with 128GB of storage, which is selling for $749 ($50 off) in space gray at B&H Photo. You’ll have to keep checking back if you’re seeking a deal on the larger 12.9-inch model, however, as there are currently no deals available on the larger configuration.

Apple is reportedly working on AI updates to Spotlight and Xcode

Apple is reportedly working on AI updates to Spotlight and Xcode

Illustration: The Verge

A report from Bloomberg says Apple has expanded internal testing of new generative AI features for its Xcode programming software and plans to release them to third-party developers this year. Apple also reportedly looked at potential uses for generative AI in consumer-facing products, like automatic playlist creation in Apple Music, slideshows in Keynote, or AI chatbot-like search features for Spotlight search.

The search upgrade could let iOS and macOS users make natural language requests, like with ChatGPT, to get weather reports or operate features deep within apps.

While other tech giants have been more prominent in releasing AI research and products, in the past few months, Apple released an open-source machine learning framework called MLX that makes it easier to train AI models on Apple silicon chips, a text-to-image editing AI model MGIE, and an AI animator called Keyframer.

Similar to Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot and Amazon’s CodeWhisperer, the programming tool Apple is working on applies a large language model to predict and complete strings of code and potentially write code to test apps.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told analysts that GitHub Copilot had 1 million paying users as of November 2023. Since its launch, GitHub has added more capabilities to Copilot, including a chat feature that guides coders in real time and points out potential code breaks. Microsoft said it will have more news about Copilots and AI for developers at its Build 2024 event in May, and Apple may announce more about its AI plans during the annual WWDC event for developers later this year.

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s statements about generative AI have been conservative compared to his counterparts at Google and Microsoft, but he confirmed in an investor call this month that more generative AI features will be coming this year. Sources told Bloomberg that executives demonstrated many of the AI features for Xcode to Apple’s board late last year.

The best Presidents Day deals you can already get

The best Presidents Day deals you can already get

More than two dozen great products are already on sale ahead of the holiday, including Google’s Pixel Buds Pro. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Presidents Day has us thinking about the upcoming election season — not to mention the hotly contested debates and the inevitable onslaught of presidential memes, some of which are likely to be dangerously believable. Regardless of how you feel about politics, however, the holiday remains a great time to save, especially since many deals go beyond the furniture and big-name appliances that will dominate most circulars in the run-up to the holiday on Monday, February 19th.

We’re already seeing tech sales pop up at trusted retailers like Amazon and Best Buy, where you can find great deals on the gadgets we’ve tried, tested, and wholeheartedly recommend. We’re seeing great prices on devices like Amazon’s Fire TV Stick 4K Max and the Roomba j7 (our favorite robovac) as well as the original Google Pixel Watch and excellent OLED TVs like the 65-inch Samsung S95C and LG’s 48-inch C3. We’ve put together a list highlighting the best deals below, which we plan to update throughout the week as more deals and discounts drop.

Smart home deals

• Amazon’s third-gen Echo Show 8 is down to $89.99 ($60 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. The eight-inch smart display can help you manage your other smart home gadgets, keep you up to speed on the news and weather, and make hands-free video calls using one of Alexa’s many skills. It also has a better speaker array and touchscreen than the previous model and adds essential smart home protocols like Zigbee and Thread. Read our review.
• If you just want a small, affordable smart speaker, the fifth-gen Echo Dot with its integrated LED clock is down to $39.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Target. You can start even cheaper with the colorful Echo Pop, which is going for $24.99 ($15 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. If you’re anticipating a full smart home buildout, however, we’d recommend starting with the fourth-gen Echo, which has better compatibility with the growing list of Zigbee and Matter devices. It starts at $79.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and The Home Depot.
• You can save up to 43 percent on Blink cameras right now, including the 1080p Blink Mini, which is on sale for $19.99 ($10 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and The Home Depot. You can also pick up the Blink Video Doorbell, which you can use wirelessly or hook into your existing doorbell wiring, for $34.99 ($35 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and The Home Depot. Blink devices are some of our top home security picks for those with tighter budgets, though you’ll need a premium subscription plan ($3 a month) to make the most of them.
• Ring doorbells and cameras are available for up to 40 percent off right now. You can go for the standard battery-powered Ring Video Doorbell that’s only $59.99 ($40 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and The Home Depot or get inside coverage using the second-gen Ring Indoor Cam with an integrated privacy shutter for $39.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and The Home Depot.

Laptop and tablet deals

• The latest Amazon Fire HD 10 is down to $94.99 ($45 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Kohl’s in the 32GB configuration; you can also step up to 64GB of storage for $104.99 ($75 off) at Amazon and Best Buy. Amazon’s inexpensive tablet runs Fire OS, which comes with a shaky app store and lock screen ads that cost extra to remove, but it’s one of the few we’d recommend for around this price if you want a basic tablet for media consumption.
• The HP Pavilion Plus 14, which is currently on sale at Amazon for $799.99 ($500 off), is a nice value for a 2.8K 14-inch OLED laptop with a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia RTX 2050 graphics, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. We reviewed the 12th Gen Intel model favorably, but it lacked dedicated graphics, and we’d have appreciated better battery life and a sturdier build quality.

TV and monitor deals

• You can save up to 38 percent on Fire TV devices, including the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, which is down to $39.99 ($20 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. We feel it’s worth paying slightly more for the Max model over the standard Fire TV Stick 4K, as it has faster performance and Wi-Fi 6 connectivity. Read our review.

• Samsung’s 49-inch Odyssey G9 is available for $1,199.99 ($400 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and Samsung. We reviewed the QLED model favorably, and the QHD OLED model is capable of the inky colors and contrast we felt the lesser model should have had to justify Samsung’s original asking price.

• Samsung’s 32-inch M8 Smart Monitor is down to $399.99 ($73 off) in white at Amazon. That price is $300 lower than the original asking cost and more than fair for a solid USB-C monitor that doubles as a 4K smart TV. It has apps that let you stream shows and do work, along with a built-in microphone and webcam for making video calls. Read our review.

Headphones and earbud deals

• The Google Pixel Buds Pro are going for $149.99 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Walmart, which is just over $20 more than their all-time low. We think the Buds Pro are the best earbuds you can buy if you own Pixel devices, as they integrate with Google devices more seamlessly. They support newer features like multipoint and spatial audio, too, and come with solid noise cancellation and great battery life. Read our review.
• Amazon’s second-gen Echo Buds from 2021 are down to $74.99 ($45 off) at Amazon. They’re some of the best earbuds you can buy for the money thanks to their great sound quality, ANC, and passthrough performance. They can be a little thirsty for power, however, which is why you might want to consider picking them up with a wireless charging case at Amazon for $94.99 ($45 off). Read our review.
• Sennheiser’s Momentum 4 headphones are down to around $299.95 ($80 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Adorama. Their 60-hour battery life is more attractive than their dull design, as is their audio quality, which rivals more expensive headphones like Apple’s AirPods Max. They’re also a lot more comfortable than the previous model. Read our review.

• The Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds, aka the best noise-canceling earbuds you can buy, are down to $249 ($50 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Adorama. They offer up to six hours of battery life, IPX4 water resistance, and Immersive Audio (Bose’s version of spatial audio) but are missing conveniences like multipoint support. If you don’t need spatial audio, the QuietComfort Earbuds II are also a great buy, especially since they’re on sale for $199 ($80 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Adorama.

Gaming deals

• Samsung’s 512GB Evo microSD card is going for $24.99 ($10 off) at Amazon. It works great for bumping up the storage on handheld consoles like the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck as well as smartphones or cameras that use SD card slots. It includes an adapter for the latter, though its V30 speeds aren’t ideal for some advanced 4K recording codecs.
• Newegg is selling an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X for $374.99 (about $415) with coupon code PDSSDPA385. It’s one of the lowest prices we’ve found for the 16-core, 32-thread Zen 3 processor, which is one of the most powerful you can buy for an AM4 motherboard.
• Newegg is currently selling digital copies of Diablo IV Ultimate Edition for the Xbox Series X / S for $59.99 ($40 off). The newest in the series, Diablo IV is a massive sequel to the action RPG series with a sinister new antagonist, more dynamic classes, and a reimagined gear system that makes it easier to stack up critical damage. The ultimate edition of the game includes a mount, mount armor, an emote, and a battle pass accelerator that lets you skip 20 tiers.

Smartwatch and wearable deals

• The Google Pixel Watch is going for $199.99 ($150 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store. The second-gen model — which is also currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store for $299.99 ($50 off) — is better in almost every way, but the original Pixel Watch was a good first-gen wearable that reset the tone for what a Wear OS watch should be. Just make sure you keep a charger handy on longer days. Read our review.
• Now through February 19th, eBay is letting you save 20 percent on a refurbished Apple Watch Ultra 2 (or any other item from its Presidents Day sale). That brings Apple’s premium smartwatch down to $583.99 ($146 off) with a one-year warranty when you use offer code PRESIDENT20. Read our review.

Other tech and miscellaneous deals

• The Google Pixel 8 is on sale for $549 ($150 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store, which is a great price for a flagship-level smartphone running Google’s latest Tensor G3 chip. It’s also still one of the best smartphones for snapping photos and video, but the Pixel 8 Pro — currently $799 ($200 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store — is even more impressive thanks to its added telephoto camera. Read our review.
• We like EcoFlow’s portable power stations, and its Delta 1300 model is only $799 ($300 off) at Amazon. It has six 1800W AC outlets, four USB-A ports, two USB-C ports, and a car charging port. It’s also compatible with optional solar panels, such as one with a 60W capacity that’s only $99 at Amazon ($40 off).
• The Sony ZV-1 II is down to around $798 ($100 off) at Amazon, Best Buy, and Adorama. Designed for content creators, the ZV-1 II is a solid vlog-friendly 4K camera with a fixed 18–50mm zoom lens that can stop down to an f/1.8 aperture, an improved touch user interface, and refined shooting modes that make it easier for beginners to get good shots compared to the original.

Terrorists are allegedly buying blue checks on X

Terrorists are allegedly buying blue checks on X

Illustration: The Verge

A report from the nonprofit Tech Transparency Project (TTP) alleges that X has been selling premium subscriptions to subjects of US sanctions, including leaders of the US-designated terrorist organization Hezbollah. The TTP report identifies 28 accounts that were granted checkmarks under owner Elon Musk’s paid verification plan, evading rules that formally state they’re banned from using it. The allegations raise new questions about how strictly social media platforms should vet users — after the Supreme Court ruled just last year that the platform formerly known as Twitter was not responsible for abetting a terrorist attack.

The TTP report lists the full series of sanctioned entities that got verified on Twitter. The wide range of names includes:

• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, whose account has over 93,000 followers and was listed as “ID verified,” meaning the owner provided government-issued identification to X.
• Iran state news outlet Press TV, one of two accounts (alongside Russia’s Tinkoff Bank) TTP found with a gold “verified organization” checkmark, which typically cost $1,000 a month at the time of TTP’s research.
• Al-Saadi Gadhafi, son of late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who apparently subscribed to Musk’s posts for a time as well.
• Ansarallah, the Yemeni group more commonly referred to as the Houthis — though their official US designation as a terrorist group doesn’t kick in until later this week.

TTP says most of the accounts were verified after Musk took over Twitter and began requiring paid verification. Ten were paying to keep “legacy” checkmarks they’d been granted earlier.

X didn’t offer a comment to TTP at the time of the report’s publication. But it appears to have removed nearly all the verifications, although the two gold checks still appear on Press TV’s and Tinkoff Bank’s accounts. (TTP notes that it also banned one account on the list, linked with Iran-backed militia Harakat al-Nujaba.)

In a post emailed to The Verge, the X safety account also pushed back on TTP’s claims. “X has a robust and secure approach in place for our monetization features, adhering to legal obligations, along with independent screening by our payments providers,” it reads. “Several of the accounts listed in the Tech Transparency Report are not directly named on sanction lists, while some others may have visible account check marks without receiving any services that would be subject to sanctions.” X stated that it had reviewed the report and would “take action if necessary.”

US businesses are barred from economic transactions with people and organizations on sanctions lists. As TTP points out, X’s own policies ban buying premium subscriptions if you’re sanctioned or otherwise banned from financial dealings in the US. TTP points out that it’s possible, albeit unlikely, that X gifted the blue checkmarks to terrorist groups for free — but the ban covers “contribution” of goods and services, too. It’s also possible some unrelated party duped X’s verification program with impersonation, a widely reported problem on the service, though many of the accounts appear well established and credibly belong to their supposed owners.

Beginning in its pre-Musk days as Twitter, X was the subject of a high-profile legal fight over whether it materially supported terrorists. The surviving family of an Islamic State attack victim sued it for failing to ban accounts linked to the group, taking their case to the Supreme Court in February 2023 as Twitter v. Taamneh. But the court unanimously decided against holding Twitter responsible for “aiding and abetting” the attack. An opinion authored by Justice Clarence Thomas declared that the terrorist group’s relationship with Twitter was comparable to Twitter’s “arm’s length, passive, and largely indifferent relationship with most users.” The court applied the same logic to a similar case involving YouTube, avoiding a potentially explosive fight over online liability laws in general.

The question on the table here is different: did Twitter accept hard digital cash (even if it was only $8 a month) from people it was banned from financial dealings with? It’s an issue that’s becoming more and more relevant for social platforms, which, after years of free access, are increasingly pushing users to pay up.

But the court also made a point of distinguishing conscious collaboration from sometimes failing to enforce a stated policy on a platform with hundreds of millions of users. And X, in its favor, did appear to cull the subscriptions when it was made aware of them. Either way, there’s no legal challenge to X here at the moment — just a bad look for the company’s verification plan.

Tesla’s latest update takes aim at cold weather woes

Tesla’s latest update takes aim at cold weather woes

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Tesla rolled out two changes in its latest vehicle software update — 2024.2.6 — that appear to be aimed squarely at battery issues that immobilized cars during an extreme cold weather event in January. One of those new features will tell Tesla drivers how much time they can expect until their battery is warm enough for DC fast charging, while the other will automatically defrost the charge port.

According to the update’s release notes published by Not a Tesla App, the charge port will start warming automatically when drivers use the car’s navigation feature to get to a charging station. Frozen charge ports could be one of the issues that left drivers stranded during an extreme cold snap in Chicago earlier this year, especially if the drivers forgot to follow Tesla’s recommendations for dealing with extreme cold.

Another issue might have simply been that their car batteries weren’t ready to fast-charge, so having a timer telling you how long it will be until your car is ready to accept a Supercharger would obviously be handy.

Not A Tesla App notes that older Tesla vehicles would adjust battery range estimates depending on external factors, including driving history or outside temperature, but for whatever reason, that hasn’t been part of newer models. But with this update, range estimates will consider the age of the battery. Given Tesla’s issues with its range estimates in the past, that may be a step in the right direction.

Walmart might buy Vizio to win the fight over cheap TVs

Walmart might buy Vizio to win the fight over cheap TVs

Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Walmart is eyeing a $2 billion deal to buy the TV maker Vizio, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal. The deal would put the retail chain in a better position to compete with the affordable smart TVs from Roku and Amazon than its existing Onn house brand. It would also give Walmart access to the breadth of customer data collected by Vizio’s smart TV platform and the revenue stream created by serving up personalized ads and taking a cut of subscription fees.

After years of putting its Roku operating system on other TVs, Roku finally launched its own line of smart TVs last year and is ramping up its efforts with plans to release more expensive Mini LED TVs this spring. Meanwhile, Amazon is steadily building out its lineup of Fire TVs while also expanding ads on the TV’s OS.

Image: Roku

Walmart might find itself competing against Roku’s smart TVs.

Walmart partnered with an advertising company last year to provide personalized ads on connected TVs and teamed up with Roku to offer shoppable ads on TVs in 2022.

Additionally, as pointed out by the WSJ, Walmart could leverage its ownership of Vizio to sell ads shown on TVs in stores. The company is already doing this with TV brands displayed inside its stores and is even showing ads in self-checkout aisles. Vizio and Walmart declined to comment on the report.

SpaceX to Launch Intuitive Machines Nova-C Moon Lander: How to Watch

SpaceX to Launch Intuitive Machines Nova-C Moon Lander: How to Watch Intuitive Machines of Houston, the latest private company to attempt to carry NASA payloads to the lunar surface, will lift off early on Wednesday.

It’s not just you: Alicia Keys’ Super Bowl halftime show got changed for YouTube

It’s not just you: Alicia Keys’ Super Bowl halftime show got changed for YouTube

Image: NFL

A crane shot slowly sweeps down toward a massive, billowing rose-red cape attached to someone playing an equally red grand piano. As the camera closes in on the figure, you realize it’s Alicia Keys, playing the descending triplets that begin “If I Ain’t Got You,” one of her earliest and biggest hits. Her voice, as smooth as ever, eases in with a shortened version of the hums that begin the original recording, then she starts belting out the chorus lyrics... and her voice cracks immediately.

That’s how Keys’ surprising (and brief) cameo during Usher’s Super Bowl 2024 performance kicked off if you were watching live. But those who didn’t watch wouldn’t know it now without reading social posts about it or news stories like this AV Club one, because there’s no evidence of it in the official video posted by the NFL after the fact.

Last night Alicia Keys’s voice cracked (first video), and fascinatingly, the official NFL YouTube channel appears to be attempting to erase that little moment, having edited it out in their upload (second video). pic.twitter.com/EM4k8rWT8c

— Robert Komaniecki (@Komaniecki_R) February 12, 2024

If it was an intentional edit, it was an easy one — tricks like cutting out bits of audio and lengthening a nearby note to fill the space are trivial. It’s also not all that unusual — AV Club points out that Jennifer Lopez’ raw 2010 Saturday Night Live performance was altered for a later video upload. It happens elsewhere in entertainment, too, like that disappearing coffee cup in Game of Thrones or just so much of the original Star Wars trilogy, right from the beginning.

If you were among the 126.6 million people whom are estimated to have watched the game live — a record, if accurate — just know that as you watch the NFL’s YouTube upload, you aren’t suffering from the Mandela effect. Keys’ voice really did break; they just don’t want you to know about it.

FCC commissioner wants to investigate Apple over Beeper Mini shutdown

FCC commissioner wants to investigate Apple over Beeper Mini shutdown

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr is calling on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Apple’s response to Beeper Mini — the app that briefly brought iMessage to Android. During the State of the Net Conference on Monday, Carr said the FCC should look into whether Apple’s move “complies with the FCC’s Part 14 rules” about accommodating users with disabilities.

Beeper Mini launched last year, allowing Android users to gain access to iMessage features, including blue message bubbles and the ability to send high-quality photos and videos. However, Apple quickly blocked Beeper Mini users and continued to shut down attempts to make the app work, leading its developers to eventually just give up.

Today, I called for the @FCC to investigate whether Apple violated our Part 14 rules by blocking Beeper Mini - an app that enabled interoperability between iOS & Android messaging.

Beeper bridged the “blue bubble - green bubble” divide that Apple maintains as part of a broader… pic.twitter.com/vxefQZKDXb

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) February 12, 2024

The FCC’s Part 14 rules lay out requirements that “advanced communications service,” such as iMessage, must follow to ensure they’re accessible. By putting a stop to Beeper Mini, Carr argues Apple may violate the FCC’s rule that says providers “shall not install network features, functions, or capabilities that impede accessibility or usability.” He says that the low contrast on the green bubbles “makes it difficult for people with low vision or difficulty with seeing from picking up those messages.”

“Apple made changes to iMessage to disable the functionality of Beeper Mini,” Carr said. “The FCC should launch an investigation to look at whether Apple’s decision to degrade the Beeper Mini functionality that was being provided, which again, encouraged accessibility and usability, was a step that violated the FCC’s rules.” The Verge reached out to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel to see if the agency plans on investigating but didn’t immediately hear back.

It seems like Carr is concerned about more than just the Beeper Mini debacle, though. He also mentioned Apple’s impact on the augmented and virtual reality spaces and criticized the walled garden Apple puts around its products and services. “I think there are potentially negative consequences if Apple perpetuates a world in which it treats its own proprietary technologies one way and degrades the performance of competitive ones,” Carr said.

One of NASA’s new spacesuits passes microgravity test

One of NASA’s new spacesuits passes microgravity test

Collins spacesuit during the test | Collins Aerospace

Collins Aerospace, a private company hired to create spacesuits for use outside the International Space Station (ISS), has tested its suit aboard a commercial microgravity flight, passing a milestone that lets engineers move forward toward critical design review.

NASA outsourced the design of new spacesuits in 2022 after spending 15 years trying to develop new suits on its own. Collins Aerospace said the suit is lighter and has less volume than the “enhanced” Extravehicular Mobility Units that current NASA astronauts use. It can be modified when missions change and fit a much wider range of body types far more easily than the older suits that are based on designs that are decades old.

During the test, the plane executed “roller-coaster-like maneuvers” to induce weightlessness and allow someone wearing a prototype to see if it actually lets someone move around in it under those conditions. As seen in the video below, they tried things like navigating through doors in zero-G.

“The Collins team validated suit performance in a manufactured zero-gravity environment onboard an aircraft, performing a series of demonstrations performed by experienced former NASA astronauts.” - Collins Aerospace

Collins Aerospace’s next test will put the suit in a vacuum chamber to see how it performs in the vacuum of space, while a test under 40 feet of water at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab in Texas will simulate microgravity for spacewalk training.