Новости за 03.05.2022

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In a bid to push people to its newer plans, AT&T is raising the price of some of its older Unlimited and Mobile Share plans. Single-line users will see up to a $6 a month increase, and people with family plans could have up to $12 a month added to their bills, according to Bloomberg.

Photo: iOttie

Cars have become bastions of electronic gadgetry — but that doesn’t mean that we can’t add a few of our own. Some of us are simply not content with what came with our vehicles, some of us want to have emergency gear available just in case, and some of us have older cars that need help in order to be able to accommodate modern electronics.

Illustration by Harry Bhalerao / The Verge

Gifts for moms of all kinds

A new Instagram test would make the app look even more like TikTok. According to TechCrunch, Instagram is experimenting with full-screen vertical home feeds. Upon opening the Instagram app, users immediately see vertical content meant to “bring video more front and center.” Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed the test in a video posted to Twitter, saying taller photos and videos would begin appearing in some feeds.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Twitter’s pending acquisition hasn’t put a freeze on all product testing, as we’ve seen hints of the upcoming edit tweets feature leak out. And, now, the company has announced a limited test for Twitter Circle. It’s a function that’s similar to Instagram’s Close Friends feature or, if you’ve been around for a while, Google Plus.

The Beats Fit Pro are some of the many noise-canceling earbuds currently on sale. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Mother’s Day is less than one week away, and in honor of that fact, several retailers are now discounting a wide range of tech and accessories. We’re seeing some of the lowest prices we’ve seen on a variety of items, ranging from the latest Kindle Paperwhite to the new Echo Show 15, as well as some of the best fitness trackers, streaming sticks, and noise-canceling wireless earbuds you can buy. Читать дальше...

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced Tuesday that it will close to double its cryptocurrency enforcement division, adding another 20 positions to the Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit — which has been newly renamed from the “Cyber Unit.” The total number of staff will rise from 30 to 50, increasing the agency’s ability to prosecute securities law violations related to new crypto products.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In 2014, it was tough to be a keyboard nerd. I was using a 4-year-old keyboard I’d bought from Mattias that used Alp white switches similar to what had been found in old Mac keyboards. I desperately wanted something with the then-fabled Cherry Blue switch, but it was hard to find anything outside of a smattering of hard-to-find Corsair keyboards and imports from Ducky based in Taiwan.

Image: Paramount Plus

Paramount Plus’ subscriber count has ballooned to almost 40 million with the service gaining 6.8 million subscribers in the first quarter of 2022 alone, Paramount announced in its earnings report on Tuesday. An increase in subscriber count led to more money for the company as well — its direct-to-consumer revenue, which includes Paramount Plus and its free TV streaming service, Pluto TV, increased 82 percent year over year.

Warped Kart Racers.

Later this month Apple is adding a Mario Kart-style racer to its gaming subscription service. Called Warped Kart Racers, the game brings together 20 different characters from 20th Television animated series like American Dad and King of the Hill, with gameplay that looks heavily inspired by Nintendo’s iconic racing series. It’s expected to debut on Apple Arcade on May 20th.

The frame-shaped Echo Show 15 is currently down to $200 at multiple retailers. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

If you’re looking to upgrade the shoddy bulletin board in your kitchen, Amazon’s biggest Echo Show yet is currently discounted for the first time ever at Amazon and Best Buy. The Echo Show 15 launched in December for $249.99, but today, the price has dropped to just $199.99 at both retailers. On the surface, the Echo Show 15 looks like a scaled-up version of the Echo Show 10 with slimmer bezels. Читать дальше...

Spot, the most famous four-legged robot in the world, sometimes seems more like an animatronic entertainer than an industrial machine. But creators Boston Dynamic want to remind the world at large in a new video that this thing can do work, too.

Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The state of Georgia offered Rivian $1.5 billion in tax incentives for the buzzy EV company to build a factory east of Atlanta, according to documents signed by the company and local officials in the state. The factory will cost $5 billion to construct, and eventually produce 400,000 electric vehicles a year. In order to receive the money, Rivian agrees to create 7,500 jobs, with an average wage of $56,000 a year, plus benefits, by the end of 2028. Читать дальше...

The Ford F-100 Eluminator. | Becca Farsace

This 1978 Ford F-100 “Eluminator” pickup truck is the oldest vehicle I’ve ever driven, and also perhaps the newest. That’s because, despite its vintage exterior, everything inside, from the drivetrain to the dash, is less than one year old. Oh, and it’s fully electric.

Tables can now be more nicely formatted, and easily set up with rich text. | Image: Google

Google has announced new dropdown and table tools for Google Docs, as it attempts to evolve its word processing software into more of a collaborative productivity tool. The search giant calls small modular features like these “smart chips,” and they’re part of the “smart canvas” initiative it launched last year. The features are rolling out over the course of this month across all Google Account tiers. Читать дальше...

Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

Stories and lessons from his new book, Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making

Hello, audiophiles!

I am very excited to bring you my first public edition of Hot Pod. Following the trail blazed by Nick and Ashley, I’ll be in your inbox every Tuesday with scoops, news, analysis, and japes (quality of the latter not guaranteed). And, the closest I will ever get to being in a makeover montage, today I also get to introduce a fresh new look for Hot Pod courtesy of the ace design teams at The Verge and Vox Media. Readers will notice that we have an updated logo and layout... Читать дальше...

Spotify’s Roblox debut consists of a series of interactive islands with rotating themes. | Image: Spotify

Spotify has launched its own digital space on Roblox, called Spotify Island, allowing players to make music, play games, and interact with virtual artists, the company announced in a press release. Although it’s called Spotify Island, it’s more like a virtual archipelago — players can hop between other interactive music-themed islands that change throughout the year.

A cross-play widget will appear in the bottom right of the screen when the test is available. | Image: EA

FIFA 22 will see a test of cross-play functionality in the “near future” between players on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and Google’s cloud-gaming service Stadia, EA has announced. Cross-play will be limited to Online Seasons and Online Friendlies game modes, the developer says, letting you play against friends on other platforms, or climb Online Seasons Divisions against a cross-platform playerbase. Читать дальше...

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Facebook is shutting down its podcast platform less than a year after it launched. Creators will be unable to upload new shows to the service as of this week, and the platform will close altogether on June 3rd, reports Bloomberg News. Facebook confirmed the closure of the platform to The Verge but not the specific date.

Four lightsabers from the franchise will be available. | Image: Epic Games

Various lightsabers from the Star Wars franchise are returning to Fortnite for two weeks starting today, Epic Games has announced. These include the lightsabers wielded by Luke Skywalker, Kylo Ren, Obi-Wan, and Mac Windu. The iconic weapons previously appeared in Fortnite in a 2019 event that coincided with the release of Rise of Skywalker. Their return is designed to coincide with May the 4th, aka Star Wars day.

Image: LiveWire

LiveWire, the all-electric motorcycle brand that originated as a division of Harley-Davidson, is teasing the launch of an all new bike next week called the Del Mar. Electrek notes that it’s set to be a middleweight motorcycle, making it a more approachable alternative to last year’s LiveWire One. As well as announcing the date, LiveWire has also released a short teaser trailer, which appears to show the rear of the upcoming bike at the 0:06 mark.

Last month we took a deep dive into Mark Zuckerberg’s grand metaverse plan, and some of the hardware Meta is working on to deliver it, in the form of Project Nazare augmented reality glasses. Now The Information reports on a roadmap for virtual reality hardware that runs through 2024 with four headsets on the schedule, starting with the previously-teased Project Cambria VR headset we expect to see later this year.

Up to 580 buff horses. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

Ford just started shipping its electric F-150 Lightning on April 26th, but it already has a surprise for soon-to-be owners: all versions of the truck will have higher horsepower than it originally announced, and the standard range model will have an even higher payload capacity, according to a press release from the company. While that’s good news for anyone who’s already got a pre-order, it could end up increasing the FOMO for those who don’t... Читать дальше...

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge

In March, Google announced it was voluntarily recalling 1.7 million Fitbit Ionic smartwatches following reports of 78 burns. Now, a recently filed lawsuit says the recall didn’t go far enough, claiming that the same defect affects all of Google’s Fitbit devices.