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Hospitals use a transcription tool powered by a hallucination-prone OpenAI model
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24281170/open-ai-whisper-hospitals-transcription-hallucinations-studies
Instagram saves the best video quality for the most popular content
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24280968/instagram-video-quality-lower-for-less-popular-videos
Apple’s first smart home display could pay homage to a classic iMac
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24280830/apple-intelligence-smart-home-display-imac-g4-design
How to use the new Private Space feature in Android 15
https://www.theverge.com/24279464/private-space-android-15-pixel-how-to
This is the Mac Mini’s big moment
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24278827/apple-mac-mini-m4-redesign-preview
Wilmot Works It Out is the best parts of jigsaw puzzles, but faster and cleaner
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24278619/wilmot-works-it-out-review
Tim Walz and AOC are going to play Madden together on Twitch
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280200/tim-walz-aoc-twitch-madden
Android 16 could get iPhone-like ‘ongoing’ notifications
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280157/android-16-rich-ongoing-notifications-beta-code-iphone-ios-live-activities
Classic survival horror is still alive and scaring
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24279276/survival-horror-silent-hill-2-fear-the-spotlight
A TikTok alternative called Loops is coming for the fediverse
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280075/fediverse-tiktok-alternative-loops-pixelfed-mastodon-activitypub-signups-open
The Lake House is a welcome return to Alan Wake 2 — and a bridge to the future
https://www.theverge.com/24279410/alan-wake-2-the-lake-house-expansion-review
8BitDo’s first smartphone controller has Hall effect joysticks and triggers
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279435/8bitdo-ultimate-mobile-gaming-controller-android-hall-effect
Best Buy’s gaming sale including deals on the Asus ROG Ally and Scuf’s mobile controller
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24278489/ring-battery-doorbell-plus-deal-sale
McDonald’s busted ice cream machines can now be fixed — legally
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279371/mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-right-to-repair-copyright
All the news about daily puzzle games
https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279439/news-games-crossword-wordle
Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge
Ever wondered why some of your Instagram videos tend to look blurry, while others are crisp and sharp? It’s because, on Instagram, the quality of your video apparently depends on how many views it’s getting. That’s according to a video AMA from Instagram head Adam Mosseri, in which he explained why some videos are lower-quality than others.
Here’s part of Mosseri’s explanation, from the video, which was reposted (lindseygamble_/post/DBkEJmJvprg?xmt=AQGzMcoJTajdK4dS4gfBv7SJBfPs5h1TAx-Ma84165CHPg" rel="nofollow">https://www.threads.net/@lindseygamble_/post/DBkEJmJvprg?xmt=AQGzMcoJTajdK4dS4gfBv7SJBfPs5h1TAx-Ma84165CHPg) by a Threads user today:
In general, we want to show the highest-quality video we can ... But if something isn’t watched for a long time — because the vast majority of views are in the beginning — we will move to a lower quality video. And then if it’s watched again a lot then we’ll re-render the higher quality video.
He...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24280968/instagram-video-quality-lower-for-less-popular-videos)
A smart home display that looks like the iMac G4 would be irresistible. | Photo: Wes Davis / The Verge
The smart home display that Apple is rumored to be releasing next year (https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/29/24257391/apple-smart-home-display-homeos-apple-intelligence-homepod-ipad-robot) could sport a look that harkens back to the iMac G4, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman suggests (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-10-27/apple-m4-macbook-pro-mac-mini-imac-launch-details-ios-18-2-chatgpt-testing-m2rl1vws?srnd=undefined) in his Power On newsletter today.
The new smart home display will apparently be small. Gurman writes it will have a square display angled above a small base that makes it “reminiscent of the circular bottom of the iMac G4 from a couple of decades ago.” It may have speakers, essentially making it the HomePod with a screen that’s been rumored as one of Apple’s possible smart home futures (https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/16/24195063/apple-smart-display-rumors-homepod-ipad).
Gurman didn’t say how much this device might cost but has hinted at (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-10-13/apple-smart-home-plans-new-os-smart-displays-vision-pro-integration-robots-m27kw5m7) an “affordable” smart home device with a square display in the past. Rumors have suggested Apple will release a $1,000 model with a... (https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/14/24220475/apple-next-big-project-tabletop-robot-ipad)
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24280830/apple-intelligence-smart-home-display-imac-g4-design)
Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge
While there aren’t a lot of new features in Android 15 (https://www.theverge.com/24160704/google-android-15-beta-new-features), it does offer some useful additions for your phone — and one of the most interesting is called “Private Space.” Think of it as a separate app vault that locks away specified apps on your Android device.
Of course, the main lockscreen already stops other people from accessing your phone, but Private Space puts an extra barrier in place. The idea is that if you lend someone your device to make a call or look at a photo, they won’t accidentally (or deliberately) stumble into something they shouldn’t. It’s also an extra safety net if your phone is lost or stolen while it’s unlocked.
I tried the feature on a Pixel 8 phone running Android 15. Here’s how it works.
Setting up Private...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/24279464/private-space-android-15-pixel-how-to)
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge
When the Mac Mini was first introduced in early 2005, it was pitched as a compact, “stripped down” desktop — and the most affordable Mac in Apple’s lineup. Steve Jobs referred to it as a “BYODKM” system (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJpZGeihy0s): you’d bring your own display, keyboard, and mouse, and the Mini would provide a dependable computing experience with all the benefits of macOS.
The Mac Mini has carried on ever since. There have been periods where the Mini has been sidelined and ignored by Apple for long stretches of time. But the debut of Apple Silicon gave it a new lease on life (https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/17/21570046/apple-mac-mini-2020-m1-review). Even if the overall design didn’t change much in the transition from Intel to Apple’s in-house chips, the Mini’s potential soared (https://www.theverge.com/23566070/apple-mac-mini-m2-pro-2023-review).
But now that design is about to change. And if the...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24278827/apple-mac-mini-m4-redesign-preview)
Image: Finji
I used to hate jigsaw puzzles. I thought they were frustrating, messy, and took way too long to solve. But my wife showed me how those parts of jigsaw puzzles can actually be fun: there’s something satisfying and meditative about working through those frustrations, sorting through the mess, and putting a picture together, one piece at a time, over the course of a few hours. (Or days.)
The makers of Wilmot Works It Out, a new puzzle game, understand this, and everything about the game is designed to make solving puzzles fun instead of annoying.
In the game, you play as Wilmot, an adorable white square with a face who has a puzzle-by-mail subscription. (He’s the same smiley square from Wilmot’s Warehouse, a 2019 puzzle game also made by...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/27/24278619/wilmot-works-it-out-review)
Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images
Governor Tim Walz is returning to Twitch and this time, he’ll actually be playing a game. Earlier this month, Kamala Harris’ campaign teamed up with a Twitch streamer to live-stream a Walz rally as part of a World of Warcraft stream. But on Sunday afternoon, Walz will be playing Madden NFL on Twitch with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY).
Like with live-streaming the Walz rally alongside WoW, the idea with this Madden livestream is to try to reach young men, a demographic that Trump polls relatively high with (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/upshot/polls-trump-harris-young-men.html).
Ocasio-Cortez is already well-known for her huge Among Us stream ahead of the 2020 election and a stream in July 2023 (https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/20/23802389/aoc-twitch-stream-date-hasanabi) where she played Pico Park and Gartic Phone. (She’s a fan of League of Legends, too.) But while Walz is a k... (https://www.startribune.com/tim-walz-governor-and-gamer-once-owned-a-sega-dreamcast-heres-what-happened-to-it/601134805)
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280200/tim-walz-aoc-twitch-madden)
Google may be working on persistent notifications similar to its phone call status pictured here. | Photo: Wes Davis / The Verge
Android 16 may come with a new “Rich Ongoing Notifications” feature that lets developers keep persistent notifications in the Android status bar, according to Android 15 (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/15/24268043/google-android-15-pixel) beta code discovered by Android Authority’s Mishaal Rahman, who frequently dives into code to surface coming features.
Right now, the code enables adding a pill-shaped icon with custom text and background color to the Android status bar. Some mock notifications Rahman created show how it could be used for things like telling you when to expect your Uber to arrive. Android has already had a feature like this since Android 12 that lets you know how long you’ve been on a phone call, Rahman notes.
Screenshot: Mishaal Rahman / Android Authority
A...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280157/android-16-rich-ongoing-notifications-beta-code-iphone-ios-live-activities)
Fear the Spotlight. | Image: Blumhouse Games
More than most genres, survival horror feels rooted in time. It started with the methodical Resident Evil on the original PlayStation and is defined in part by limitation — a slow pace, grimy visuals, and scant resources to help amplify the scares. Many of those elements stemmed from the early, awkward days of 3D gaming, whether it was Resident Evil’s clunky controls, which made zombie chases more terrifying, or Silent Hill’s fog, which lent an iconic atmosphere while also letting the developers get around technical limitations of the time (https://www.polygon.com/playstation/24196061/silent-hill-crash-bandicoot-tech-limitations).
And a few decades later, developers are still finding ways to bring the most important elements of those games — namely, the mood and scares — to modern horror without feeling dated.
The most obvious...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24279276/survival-horror-silent-hill-2-fear-the-spotlight)
Image: Loops
The fediverse answer to TikTok is on its way. Signups opened this week for Loops (https://loops.video/beta/sign-up), a short-form looping video app from the creator of Instagram alternative Pixelfed, reports TechCrunch.
Users who’ve signed up (https://loops.video/beta/sign-up) can post up to 60 seconds of video, according to details (dansup/113350266669064875" rel="nofollow">https://mastodon.social/@dansup/113350266669064875) shared by developer Daniel Supernault on Mastodon. He added that using sounds and remixing others’ videos is coming, as are pinned profile videos, and that users will be able to “curate” their comment sections. Videos can be categorized, but hashtags and mentions aren’t yet supported.
The Loops Pixelfed account (https://pixelfed.social/loops) has posted videos like the one below of Loops in action. Supernault has posted screenshots (dansup/113350152028693812" rel="nofollow">https://mastodon.social/@dansup/113350152028693812) and screen recordings (dansup/113350166861381826" rel="nofollow">https://mastodon.social/@dansup/113350166861381826), as well.
Creating an account isn’t instantaneous...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/26/24280075/fediverse-tiktok-alternative-loops-pixelfed-mastodon-activitypub-signups-open)
Image: Remedy Entertainment
Remedy’s latest release is connective tissue for its growing video game universe.
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/24279410/alan-wake-2-the-lake-house-expansion-review)
8BitDo’s first smartphone controller is Android-only. | Image: 8BitDo
8BitDo has announced its Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller (https://www.8bitdo.com/ultimate-mobile-gaming-controller/), the company’s first gamepad that attaches directly to smartphones and mobile devices using an expanding clamping mechanism. It’s available for preorder now for $49.99 (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DK37CSHP?tag=theverge02-20) and is expected to be released on November 29th, 2024.
The Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller can be attached to smartphones or smaller tablet devices measuring between 100mm and 170mm in length. For expanded compatibility, instead of plugging in with USB-C, 8BitDo’s new controller connects wirelessly over Bluetooth but only supports Android devices.
The use of Bluetooth necessitates a 350mAh rechargeable battery in the controller, which 8BitDo says is enough for 15 hours of play on a 1.5-hour charge. That added...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279435/8bitdo-ultimate-mobile-gaming-controller-android-hall-effect)
The powerful Asus ROG Ally is $100 off, which is nearly half the price of its successor. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
If you’re a gamer looking to save but can’t wait until another a month until Black Friday, it might be worth checking out Best Buy’s three-day gaming sale. Now through October 27th, the retailer’s offering discounts on gaming gear, but some of the best deals are on hardware specifically.
For example, Best Buy has some notable deals on Windows handheld consoles, like the Asus ROG Ally, which is on sale with a Z1 Extreme chip for $549.99 ($100 off) (https://howl.me/cnnexVKi7NU) (and even cheaper at $499.99 for My Best Buy Plus and Total members). That’s $50 shy of its best price to date, and nearly half the price of its successor, the ROG Ally X. Admittedly, the ROG Ally X (https://www.theverge.com/24204770/asus-rog-ally-x-review-handheld-gaming-pc), offers more impressive performance and battery life, but the ROG Ally is still more powerful...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24278489/ring-battery-doorbell-plus-deal-sale)
Photo by Gerald Matzka/picture alliance via Getty Images
McDonald’s always-broken ice cream machines might finally get easier to fix. That’s because the US Copyright Office granted (https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2024-24563.pdf?utm_campaign=pi+subscription+mailing+list&utm_medium=email&utm_source=federalregister.gov) an exemption allowing third parties (https://publicknowledge.org/public-knowledge-ifixit-free-the-mcflurry-win-copyright-office-dmca-exemption-for-ice-cream-machines/) to diagnose and repair commercial equipment — including the ones that make your McFlurries.
Now, franchise owners will be able to break through the digital locks that have blocked them from repairing McDonald’s ice cream machines for years. According to the Copyright Office, the exemption will allow people to diagnose, perform maintenance, and repair “retail-level commercial food preparation equipment.” McDonald’s ice cream machines have become so notorious for breaking that someone even created a tool to track broken machines (https://www.theverge.com/2020/10/22/21529477/mcdonalds-mcbroken-bot-ice-cream-machines-app-engineering).
The decision is part of the Copyright Office’s final...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279371/mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-right-to-repair-copyright)
Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Everything you need to know about games from The New York Times, Apple, and even LinkedIn.
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279439/news-games-crossword-wordle)
It’s the Leica M’s platinum anniversary, and this camera costs as much (or more) than most weddings. | Image: Leica Camera
Leica is celebrating the 70th anniversary (https://leica-camera.com/en-US/photography/70-years-leica-m) of the M rangefinder camera, but the most precious gift it’s giving for the occasion is for only 250 rich people and costs $22,995. The ludicrously expensive Leica M Edition 70 (https://leica-camera.com/en-US/photography/cameras/m/m-edition-70) set includes a platinum-plated Leica M-A 35mm film camera with Leicavit fast winder, a matching 50mm APO-Summicron-M f/2 lens, and a metallic film container with a roll of black-and-white film.
Yes, the film container is also platinum, and yes, that’s completely ridiculous.
This anniversary edition commemorates when the Leica M3 was released in 1954 as the first M camera. Leica goes to great lengths to honor the M3 and the brand’s legacy just about whenever it can. Back in 2014, the Leica M Edition 60 (https://www.theverge.com/2014/9/16/6182703/leica-m-edition-60-announced) did the same thing...
Continue reading… (https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/25/24279278/leica-m-edition-70-rangefinder-35mm-film-camera-platinum-special-edition)