The Fitbit Ace LTE is a great smartwatch for kids who aren’t quite ready for their first smartphone. It has cute games, a fun little activity tracker, location tracking, and it lets kids call or text with preselected contacts. There’s no app store, no internet access, no smartphone connection, and no way for them to get spam calls or texts. It’s down to $170.95 from $229.99 on Amazon in both spicy (green and gray, with a purple and green band) and mild (gray, with a gray and black band) during the current arbitrary shopping event. My daughter has been using one since this summer, and we both recommend it. The Ace LTE is a cross-platform standalone watch; parents or guardians set it up using the Fitbit Ace app on Android or iOS. That...
Lifestyle Possible ad Read on The Verge TechThe US Department of Justice finally proposed sweeping remedies to destroy Google's search monopoly late yesterday, and, predictably, Google is not loving any of it. On top of predictable asks—like potentially requiring Google to share search data with rivals, restricting distribution agreements with browsers like Firefox and device makers like Apple, and breaking off Chrome or Android—the DOJ proposed remedies to keep Google from blocking competition in "the evolving search industry." And those extra steps threaten Google's stake in the nascent AI search world. This is only the first step in the remedies stage of litigation, but Google is already showing resistance to both expected and unexpected remedies that the DOJ proposed. In a blog from Google's vice president of regulatory affairs, Lee-Anne Mulholland, the company accused the DOJ of "overreach," suggesting that proposed remedies are "radical" and "go far beyond the specific legal issues in this case." Read full article
Business Read on Ars TechnicaIt’s now the second day of Amazon’s October Prime Day event, and since the company is still pushing a lot of interesting deals, we looked through some of our recent “favorites” articles to find discounts on a lot of the devices we like. What are the “favorites” articles? Well, every month or so, we like to ask our staff about their favorite stuff — whether it’s board games, smart tech, or kitchen gadgets. And the results are usually quirky, personal, and a lot of fun. So, we thought we’d list a few in case you have read about them in the past and thought, well, that sort of sounds good, but it’s a bit pricey. (Or — that’s pretty cheap, but maybe I’ll wait until the price goes down even more...) What follows are some of our staff’s...
Business Read on The Verge TechThe badges for the 2025 convention, designed by artist TAKUMI, render Star Wars heroes and villains alike in the style of period Japanese art.
Entertainment Read on GizmodoOn Threads, the topic of “Threads Moderation Failures” is trending. Some users complain their accounts are being deleted or restricted for linking to articles with controversial topics. Instagram and Threads boss Adam Mosseri is directly replying to some complaints and said he’s “looking into it.” And I’m one of many people who’s had their account deleted for allegedly being a child — which I am not. Moderation is a perennial problem on social media, but based on social media posts and The Verge staff’s own experiences, Meta is currently banning and restricting users on a hair trigger. One of my colleagues was locked out of her account briefly this week after joking that she “wanted to die” because of a heatwave. Others, like Jorge...
Lifestyle Read on The Verge TechThe mystery of a ghoulish 23-year-old auction has finally been solved and the answer is a harsh lesson in how disinformation spreads.
Politics Read on GizmodoTo celebrate the 30th anniversary of Green Day’s classic pop-punk album “Dookie,” Los Angeles art studio Brain has constructed extremely lo-fi versions of the songs in various formats and is selling one-off versions of them. On the website Dookie Demastered you can also enter a drawing for $49 wireless doorbell that will play the intro […]
Entertainment Possible ad Read on TechCrunchHurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota, Florida, around 8:30 pm Wednesday as a powerful Category 3 storm with up to 120 mph winds. The storm — and the many tornadoes it spawned — left more than 3 million Floridians without power. Several fatalities have been reported so far. As of Thursday morning, Milton was still a Category 1 storm just off the east coast of Florida, though it’s expected to weaken later today as it moves farther offshore. Milton struck parts of Florida still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which devastated the US Southeast less than two weeks ago. Helene left Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia to battle with record storm surge, wind damage, and catastrophic flooding. Over 230 people were killed across the six states and millions of homes and businesses were left without power. The monstrous storms follow a summer lull in what’s been projected to be an especially active hurricane season, which could extend through November. Follow here for the latest news and updates.
Crime and Courts Read on VoxIt has been a billboard week for artificial intelligence research. But could big wins for Demis Hassabis and Geoffrey Hinton change broader scientific incentives?
Politics Read on WIRED ScienceSure, it’s not the Switch 2, but it’s a fun new Nintendo gadget.
Entertainment Read on The Verge TechRussia is banning chat platform Discord, the Washington Post reports. The app joins platforms like Facebook and X, which have also been blocked in the country since the start of its war with Ukraine. The twist is that the Russian military relies on Discord to coordinate communications, since the military doesn’t have its own platforms […]
Politics Read on TechCrunchTinyyyyyyy.
Read on GizmodoForget walking and grab this scooter for less than $400 to get from point A to point B a little faster.
Entertainment Possible ad Read on GizmodoThe windows dim, and the rear seats turn around to face a wall-to-wall display at the back. The concept vehicle clearly shows the growing EV ambitions of Sharp's parent company, Foxconn.
Business Read on WIRED Top StoriesTonight marks the conclusion of Prime Day, and Amazon is making a concerted effort to slash prices across a wide array of products. With the countdown underway, shoppers are encouraged to seize these fantastic deals before they vanish at midnight. Here's our Top 12 for the day.
Business Possible ad Read on GizmodoDan Riccio, a longtime Apple executive formerly in charge of hardware, is retiring from the company this month, Bloomberg reports. Riccio has been with Apple for 26 years. Before becoming the SVP of hardware engineering in 2012, he led the company’s iPad division. As the company's hardware head, he oversaw some of the company’s most successful products, including the AirPods and large iPhones, as Bloomberg notes. He also headed up projects such as the Apple Car, which never came to be, and the Vision Pro, which has struggled to gain much of a foothold. He was replaced as SVP of hardware engineering by John Ternus in 2021. At the time, he was said to be taking over an unspecified “new project” that ultimately turned out to be the...
Business Read on The VergeAmazon's massive sale ends today and the WIRED Reviews team is working in shifts to bring you the best deals on products we've tested and tracked.
Business Read on WIRED Top StoriesIf you have an iPad or MacBook on your wish list—or maybe you want a case for your new iPhone 16—we have the best Prime Day Apple deals here.
Business Possible ad Read on WIRED Top StoriesThe insurance giant confirmed a data breach, weeks after cybercriminals posted alleged customer health and medical data online.
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