AI super PACs, the hottest investment in tech
AI super PACs, the hottest investment in tech Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter about the collision between Big Tech and Washington (last week of summer edition). If you enjoy this, consider subscribing to get this newsletter weekly and everything The Verge has to offer. Ever since the US Supreme Court ruled in Citizens […]
They’re trying to make deep-sea mining happen
They're trying to make deep-sea mining happen They’re trying to make deep-sea mining happen A protest in Netherlands. This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on deep-sea mining and critical minerals, follow Justine Calma. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. […]
How Burning Man VR rebuilt after Microsoft shut it down
How Burning Man VR rebuilt after Microsoft shut it down It was all just supposed to be a one-time thing. When Burning Man got canceled because of covid-19 in 2020, a number of attendees banded together to re-create the festival on the social VR platform Altspace. That virtual Burning Man experience not only attracted around […]
The one feature that keeps me from recommending flip phones
The one feature that keeps me from recommending flip phones How it started I carry a lot of different phones around, and I rarely get questions about them because most people stopped talking about which phone they own around 2017. I could be using an unreleased iPhone 18 Pro Max Air Ultra to pay for […]
How big trucks and SUVs gobbled up the entire auto industry
How big trucks and SUVs gobbled up the entire auto industry How it started When I was growing up in the Midwest, everyone I knew drove small cars. My dad had a light pink Volvo 240, my mom drove a Dodge Dart, and my grandmother had a 1988 Honda Accord – which would eventually become […]
Google TV’s uncertain future
Google TV's uncertain future Google TV’s uncertain future Last year, Google surprised online video publishers with some stunning news: the company, which now generates over a quarter trillion dollars with advertising every year, effectively admitted that it isn’t very good at selling ads for its own smart TV platform, Google TV. The issue at heart: […]
I tried ‘Bricking’ my phone to fix my brain
I tried 'Bricking' my phone to fix my brain I tried ‘Bricking’ my phone to fix my brain Fixing my eroded attention span has been a journey. Brick has sort of helped. “We need to talk.” Nobody likes to hear those words from their spouse. Especially when it’s delivered in a grave tone as you […]
What in the world are Jony Ive and Sam Altman building?
What in the world are Jony Ive and Sam Altman building? The mystery is the point, but it’s also indicative of where AI hardware is. The last 48 hours have been a wild rollercoaster ride for AI hardware. On Tuesday, Google ended its I/O keynote – a roughly two-hour event with copious references to AI […]
Spotify is sorry that it revealed how many people listen to your podcast
Spotify is sorry that it revealed how many people listen to your podcast Spotify announced earlier this month that podcast creators and listeners would get a new data point: how many plays an episode has gotten. The idea, according to Spotify, was that listeners could discover new shows they hadn’t heard of, enticed by this […]
Let’s talk about the battery in smart glasses
Let's talk about the battery in smart glasses Let’s talk about the battery in smart glasses It’s hard for these to become an all-day AI companion gadget if they don’t actually last all day. We were whizzing down the slopes, screaming because it is sort of ridiculous to go flying down a snowy hill in […]