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Hackers took over robovacs to chase pets and yell slurs
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/12/24268508/hacked-ecovacs-deebot-x2-racial-slurs-chase-pets
Meta suggests AI Northern Lights pics are as good as the real thing
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/12/24268441/meta-ai-generated-northern-lights-images-threads-users-upset
Metaphor: ReFantazio is the rare fantasy game that goes beyond racism 101
https://www.theverge.com/24268103/metaphor-refantazio-review-atlus-xbox-persona
Apple’s cheapest iPads are still steeply discounted following Prime Day
https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2024/10/12/24267888/apple-ipad-10th-9th-generation-bose-ultra-open-earbuds-deal-sale
Halloween 2024 storyscream: the best spooky things to watch and play
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/12/24264357/halloween-2024-game-film-tv-reviews
Leak: AMD’s Ryzen 9000X3D chips aren’t looking like a leap forward
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268219/amd-ryzen-9000-x3d-leak
Boeing is cutting 10 percent of its workforce
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268218/boeing-layoffs-10-percent-workforce
Google pulled its Wear OS update for old Pixel Watches to fix a big problem
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268166/google-pixel-watch-1-2-wear-os-5-bug-brick-pulled
Casio made a furry robot designed to cuddle and calm you down
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268063/casio-robot-pet-moflin
Imgur is going to be less strict about memes with adult humor
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267304/imgur-less-strict-memes-adult-humor-content-moderation-mature
Adam Mosseri acknowledges ‘mistakes’ in Threads’ broken moderation
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267898/mosseri-acknowledges-mistakes-threads-instagram-broken-moderation
Thrustmaster brings direct drive steering wheels to console racing sims
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267818/thrustmaster-racing-sim-wheel-t598-sony-playstation-direct-axial-drive
Marques Brownlee says ‘we failed on the price’ with Panels
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267900/marques-brownlee-mkbhd-price-panels-wallpaper-app
Stellantis’ CEO promises to leave in 2026 after mostly making a mess of things
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267706/stellantis-ceo-carlos-tavares-retiring-executive-changes
Crucial North Carolina quartz mine is up and running following Hurricane Helene
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267697/north-carolina-quartz-sibelco-resumes-operations-hurricane-helene
Meta has a suggestion for folks like me who forgot to go outside and look at the Northern Lights on Thursday night: just use AI to fake it! But Threads users who replied to Meta’s idea, posted along with three AI-generated images of the Aurora Borealis Meta last night, seem to disagree.
Here’s Meta’s post:
The images show the Northern Lights hovering over the Golden Gate Bridge, over a city skyline, and over a ferris wheel. It’s clearly meant to latch onto a trending moment of people posting their own pictures of the Northern Lights from the amazing and rare display of the lights, which plunged deep into the United States (https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/10/science/gallery/aurora-solar-storm/index.html) on Thursday night.
Once you get past the first few comments from people sharing their own AI-generated Northern...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/12/24268441/meta-ai-generated-northern-lights-images-threads-users-upset)
Image: Atlus
Atlus’ game tackles tough subjects with refreshing nuance, catapulting it beyond simply being ‘Persona with swords.’
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/24268103/metaphor-refantazio-review-atlus-xbox-persona)
Stepping up to the 10th-gen iPad nets you a modern design, a faster processor, and — yes — support for USB-C. | Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge
There have been plenty (https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/24/24164031/ipad-mini-might-get-an-oled-upgrade-in-2026) of (https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/13/24155502/apple-could-update-the-ipad-mini-by-the-end-of-this-year) rumors (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/6/24263414/apple-m4-macs-november-rumor-small-mac-mini-macbook-pro-imac-ipad-mini) swirling regarding a new iPad Mini for more than a year now, but most indicators point toward a processor bump and little else. We haven’t heard much about a new entry-level iPad, though, which makes it a great time to pick up either the ninth- or 10th-gen model — both of which are still on sale for their best price to date in the wake of Amazon’s October Prime Day sale.
Right now, you can grab Apple’s last-gen iPad at Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09G9FPHY6?tag=theverge02-20), Best Buy (https://howl.me/cm6IXByGbF9), and Target (https://goto.target.com/c/482924/81938/2092?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.target.com%2Fp%2Fapple-ipad-10-2-inch-wi-fi-64gb-2021-9th-generation-space-gray%2F-%2FA-54184187%2F&sharedid=theverge.com) with Wi-Fi and 64GB of storage starting at $199 ($130 off). The 10th-gen model, meanwhile, is available from the same three retailers — Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJLCWFNM/?tag=theverge02-20), Best Buy (https://howl.me/cnhiF7MuWJX), and Target (https://goto.target.com/c/482924/81938/2092?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.target.com%2Fp%2Fapple-ipad-wi-fi-10-9-inch-2022-10th-generation%2F-%2FA-87877683%2F&sharedid=theverge.com) — in the same configuration starting at $299 ($50 off). You can also pick up either with 256GB of...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/good-deals/2024/10/12/24267888/apple-ipad-10th-9th-generation-bose-ultra-open-earbuds-deal-sale)
Image: A24
A curated selection of the best new horror games, movies, and TV shows to check out.
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/12/24264357/halloween-2024-game-film-tv-reviews)
Image: AMD
Somebody goofed — and now AMD’s unannounced Ryzen 9000X3D desktop processors have been partially revealed. But like Intel’s new Arrow Lake desktop CPUs (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/10/24265928/intel-core-ultra-200s-series-specs-release-date-pricing), it doesn’t look like they’ll be a huge performance improvement on their predecessors. If so, that’s a shame given how poorly received AMD’s Ryzen 9000 was (https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/14/24220250/amd-zen-5-cpu-reviews-ryzen-9-9950x), to begin with.
According to slides from an MSI presentation published by HardwareLuxx today (via VideoCardz), the new chips may have respectable multicore performance gen-over-gen, with an eight-core 9000X3D outperforming a Ryzen 7 7900X3D by up to 28 percent in Cinebench R23. But they can offer as little as 2 percent gains in Black Myth: Wukong and Shadow of the Tomb Raider, according to MSI’s preliminary testing.
And against the...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268219/amd-ryzen-9000-x3d-leak)
Photo by Kevin Carter / Getty Images
Boeing will be laying off “roughly” 10 percent of its workforce, president and CEO Kelly Ortberg announced in an email to staff on Friday (https://boeing.mediaroom.com/2024-10-11-Boeing-CEO-Message-to-Employees-on-Positioning-for-the-Future). That number equates to 17,000 jobs, Reuters reports.
The layoffs will take place “over the coming months” and will include “executives, managers and employees,” Ortberg says. Leadership teams plan to share more information about how the layoffs will affect specific organizations in the company next week.
The announcement of layoffs follows what’s been an extremely difficult year for the company. In January, Boeing 737 Max planes were grounded after a hole blew in one mid-flight (https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/6/24027943/boeing-737-max-9-planes-grounded-faa-fuselage-hole-alaska-airlines). In July, the company accepted a guilty plea deal (https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/8/24190142/boeing-737-max-doj-guilty-plea-deal-accepted) over 737 Max crashes that happened in 2018 and 2019 and killed more than...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268218/boeing-layoffs-10-percent-workforce)
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Google is working on a fix for a buggy Wear OS 5 update (https://support.google.com/googlepixelwatch/thread/301420568). The company says it paused the OTA update rollout on September 26th after people, including my colleague (https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/25/24254235/the-wear-os-5-update-process-didnt-go-well-for-my-pixel-watch-2) Richard Lawler, reported their Pixel Watch 1 and 2 devices were stuck on a blank screen due to the update.
Google plans to resume the Wear OS 5 rollout for older Pixel Watches “later this year,” as previously reported by Droid Life.
If the update bricked your watch, there are ways to get it working again. Google’s support site has a bunch of general troubleshooting steps (https://support.google.com/googlepixelwatch/answer/13575675?) for getting out of a frozen watch, as well as instructions on how to factory reset (https://support.google.com/wearos/answer/6056905) from Fastboot if you can’t get to the usual settings.
If your Pixel Watch is healthy and working, Google also just rolled out a...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268166/google-pixel-watch-1-2-wear-os-5-bug-brick-pulled)
Unlike Sony’s robotic dog, Aibo, Casio’s Moflin can’t run away on its own. | Image: Casio
Casio has opened preorders for its robotic pet called Moflin (https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1514734&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.casio.com%2Fjp%2Fmoflin%2F&referrer=theverge.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2024%2F10%2F11%2F24268063%2Fcasio-robot-pet-moflin) that looks like a cross between a hamster and Star Trek’s Tribbles. Unlike Sony’s robot dog Aibo (https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/11/16876086/sony-aibo-hands-on-video-ces-2018) that can follow you around, Moflin is designed to be held and cuddled, and over time, Casio says it will learn who you are and attempt to develop a simulated bond expressed through unique sounds and movements.
Originally developed through a collaboration with a Japanese startup called Vanguard Industries (https://ces.vporoom.com/VanguardIndustries/Japanese-Hardware-Startup-Vanguard-Industries-Inc-Honored-With-Best-of-Innovation-Awards-From-CES-2021), Moflin is now being manufactured and distributed by Casio. It can be preordered for ￥59,400 (https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=66960X1514734&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.casio.com%2Fjp%2Fmoflin%2Fproduct.PE-M10SR%2F&referrer=theverge.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2024%2F10%2F11%2F24268063%2Fcasio-robot-pet-moflin) (around $398 USD) and is expected to be available starting on November 7th. Casio is also offering an optional subscription service called Club Moflin for ￥6,600 (about $44 USD) per year,...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24268063/casio-robot-pet-moflin)
Image: Imgur
Memes on the image-hosting service Imgur “containing references to adult humor” will no longer be considered mature, the company announced in a post (https://imgur.com/gallery/greetings-imgurians-q4-2024-update-KBefaiM) addressing changes to its content moderation policies.
Imgur has been an important part of meme history, with its creator making the service in 2009 as a “gift to Reddit.” (https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit.com/comments/7zlyd/my_gift_to_reddit_i_created_an_image_hosting/) At that time, most platforms didn’t host their own images, so you had to upload them instead on third-party platforms. I remember seeing Imgur a lot on the Something Awful forums back in the day, too, though following other policy changes last year that led to the removal of inactive content and pornography (https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/20/23691156/imgur-porn-ban-sexually-explicit-content-terms-of-service), users scrambled to save old images (https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/8/23713128/something-awful-imgur-download-caper-digital-preservation-photo-hosting).
The changes announced this week could mean that you see spicier memes on the...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267304/imgur-less-strict-memes-adult-humor-content-moderation-mature)
Illustration: The Verge
Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri is acknowledging recent mistakes in Meta’s moderation processes on Threads and Instagram. For example, Meta unexpectedly deleted my account this week because it thought I was underage, the company locked my colleague’s account because she joked about dying in a heatwave, and others have seen their posts disappear with no clear reason why (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/9/24266096/instagram-threads-moderation-account-post-deleted-limited). “Threads Moderation Failures” has been trending this week (https://www.threads.net/search?q=Threads%20Moderation%20Failures) — putting more pressure on Meta’s moderation processes.
Now Mosseri admits that Meta is having problems with those processes and has publicly posted that acknowledgment on Threads. He explains there’s a “tool” that broke, which apparently did not show human reviewers “sufficient context” before they made posts and...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267898/mosseri-acknowledges-mistakes-threads-instagram-broken-moderation)
The Thrustmaster T598 features a Direct Axial Drive powered by an axial flux electric motor. | Image: Thrustmaster
Thrustmaster has announced a new steering wheel base (https://www.thrustmaster.com/en-us/products/t598/) that makes the company’s direct drive technology available on consoles for the first time. It also introduces a new electric motor design — already in use on high-end hybrid sports cars like the Ferrari SF90 (https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/auto/sf90-stradale) — to the world of sim racing, improving realism while also shrinking the hardware.
The Thrustmaster T598 can be preordered today for $499.99 (including a set of racing pedals) and will be available starting on October 19th. Although it is compatible with both PCs and consoles, it’s limited for use with only the PlayStation 4 and 5.
Direct drive sim racing wheel bases are often preferred by enthusiasts because the steering wheel is connected directly to an electric motor, instead of...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267818/thrustmaster-racing-sim-wheel-t598-sony-playstation-direct-axial-drive)
Image: MKBHD
Marques Brownlee published a video on Friday (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65ciAONXv0M) addressing the criticisms around Panels (https://panels.art/), his new wallpaper app, saying that he and the team “failed on the price front” at launch. The app received an outpour of criticism (https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/24/24253023/mkbhd-panels-wallpaper-app-response-criticism) from fans, both on the MKBHD YouTube channel and across social platforms. Discussing the app, Brownlee admitted it needed work. “If I was reviewing this app, I would not have been very nice,” he said.
One of the primary criticisms of the app was that the premium “Panels Plus” subscription cost $11.99 per month or $49.99 per year to remove ads and have full access to the available collections of wallpapers. To make things better, Brownlee and the team have been improving the free experience (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/4/24262350/mkbhd-panels-wallpaper-app-fewer-ads-update) by getting rid of in-feed ads,...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267900/marques-brownlee-mkbhd-price-panels-wallpaper-app)
Stellantis is slow to release EVs, and its car prices are skyrocketing. | Image: Stellantis
Stellantis is shaking up its leadership. The company announced today (https://media.stellantisnorthamerica.com/newsrelease.do?id=26318&mid=1) that CEO Carlos Tavares will retire at the end of his contract in 2026, and a host of other executives are being shuffled around immediately. The changes come as Stellantis struggles to manage its US auto business, which includes Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, and Ram. The company is actively looking for Tavares’ successor.
On his way out, the executive shakeup includes replacing the current CFO, Natalie Knight, and North American COO, Carlos Zarlenga, with the company’s China COO, Doug Ostermann, and the Jeep brand CEO, Antonio Filosa, respectively. Knight is leaving the company, Filosa will keep his role at Jeep in addition to becoming North American COO, and Zarlenga’s new...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267706/stellantis-ceo-carlos-tavares-retiring-executive-changes)
Spruce Pine, North Carolina, was hit with major flooding and power outages. | Photo by Steve Exum / Getty Images
Sibelco, one of the companies mining high-purity quartz in Spruce Pine, North Carolina, has resumed operations. In an update on Thursday (https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241010766052/en/Sibelco-Restarts-Production-and-Customer-Shipments-at-Spruce-Pine-Following-Hurricane-Helene), the company said that production and shipments of the quartz, which is crucial to the chipmaking process, are “progressively ramping up to full capacity.”
After Hurricane Helene caused devastating floods, mudslides, and power outages (https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/30/24258295/hurricane-helene-monster-storm-speed-strength-size) in parts of North Carolina, Sibelco announced that it had paused its operations (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/1/24259236/hurricane-helene-spruce-pine-quartz-mining-paused). Earlier this month, the company confirmed it only incurred “minor” damage (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/4/24262289/damage-to-chip-mining-facilities-from-hurricane-helene-was-minor) and that all of its employees were accounted for.
Spruce Pine has the only naturally occurring quartz in the world that’s pure enough to use as a crucible during the chip manufacturing process. In the past, some experts... (https://edconway.substack.com/p/whats-happening-at-spruce-pine)
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267697/north-carolina-quartz-sibelco-resumes-operations-hurricane-helene)
Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge
Lawsuits take a long time, and so there’s no good reason to believe that Google as we know it will be gone anytime soon. But as the antitrust fight against the company continues, and Google’s losses mount, it’s also starting to seem like Google as we know also won’t be around forever. In one case, the Play Store is being opened up (https://www.theverge.com/policy/2024/10/7/24243316/epic-google-permanent-injunction-ruling-third-party-stores); in another, the government says it might try to force Chrome and Android (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/8/24265832/google-search-antitrust-remedies-framework-android-chrome-play) out of Google.
On this episode of The Vergecast, The Verge’s Lauren Feiner (https://www.theverge.com/authors/lauren-feiner) takes us through all the latest movements in the many cases against Google, and what she’s hearing about how the government and the company are preparing for the future.
But before we get to that, we do some wild Tesla speculating. Because you’ve now seen the... (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/10/24265530/tesla-robotaxi-elon-musk-features-range-price-release-date)
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/11/24267716/google-breakup-antitrust-tesla-cybercab-vergecast)