Oshkosh’s all-electric firefighting vehicle for airports. | Image: Oshkosh Oshkosh, the 108-year-old American company that makes military vehicles and other specialty equipment, has big plans for your neighborhood. The company appeared at CES in Las Vegas for the first time to announce a raft of new commercial electric vehicles, including plug-in fire engines and garbage trucks as well as AI-powered technology that it says will make these vehicles safer and more convenient. You may know Oshkosh, which has a lot of credibility as a defense contractor, from its contract with the United States Postal Service to build the first all-electric postal truck. Last year, The Washington Post reported that the project was mired in delays, with only 93 trucks delivered to the USPS as of November. But despite these delays, Oshkosh thinks it’s well positioned to help build these next-generation specialty vehicles and says it plans to eventually deliver 165,000 vehicles to USPS, up to 70 percent of which will be electric. The company also announced plans to build a variety of electric and autonomous vehicles for airports, including a robot cargo handler and EVs for construction sites. But the “neighborhood” EVs, as Oshkosh calls them, stand the chance to be the most visible and impactful — if the company can get them built. The first vehicle to be announced today is the McNeilus Volterra ZFL, an all-electric front-loader garbage truck with an AI-powered detection system for refuse bins. The sensors detect the location of the garbage cans and communicate with the truck to ensure it’s positioned accurately. Then a robotic arm is deployed to snag the bin and lift it for trash disposal. Oshkosh is also rolling out a new AI-powered, vision-based contamination system to identify and remove items that don’t belong in the waste or recycling streams. Speaking of robots, Oshkosh has introduced HARR-E, an autonomous electric refuse collection robot that purports to offer on-demand trash and recycling pickup via a smartphone app or virtual home assistant like Amazon Alexa. The robot “makes trash removal as easy as ordering an Uber or a Lyft right from your home,” said Jay Iyengar, Oshkosh’s chief technology officer. HARR-E deploys from a central refuse collection area within the neighborhood and navigates to the resident’s home autonomously for collection before returning to the base to unload and recharge.“Trash removal as easy as ordering an Uber or a Lyft right from your home”For firefighters, Oshkosh is introducing a new Collision Avoidance Mitigation System, or CAMS, that aims to tell emergency workers when it’s safe to get out of their vehicles. According to Iyengar, “CAMS uses an advanced camera and radar sensor suite with AI to accurately detect the trajectory, the speed and proximity of ongoing vehicles relative to a parked emergency vehicle. CAMS can provide up to two to three seconds of advanced notice of an impending collision, giving an extra layer of safety during roadside operations.”It’s an ambitious suite of technologies. Oshkosh says it’s up to the task. But political headwinds, including President-elect Donald Trump’s promises to eliminate billions of dollars in EV incentives, could make success more difficult. Despite this, Oshkosh executives tried to project a sunny outlook. “The reviews on the first vehicle are fantastic,” Oshkosh CEO John Pfeifer said of the new USPS delivery truck. “It’s been written up in a lot of publications about the postal carrier’s responses to the first vehicles. But it’s going exceptionally well.”

Portable SSDs are generally a great investment if you're looking to store your data externally and need lightning-quick access. The only catch is that they usually don't offer tons of storage space, limited to around 8TB if you're looking at consumer-facing products. For most, that's going to be enough, but if you need much more, and are looking to really back everything up, then this Seagate 20TB external HDD is going to be the perfect solution.

To many of us, PC building is second nature, but countless first-time PC builders get intimidated by the prospect of picking the right components for a new build. For someone used to shopping on Amazon for everything, relying on the site for PC component recommendations is often the obvious choice. For any search term, Amazon will throw up hundreds of results, with one of them labeled "Overall Pick."

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge The original StanByMe portable TV and the Inspector Gadget-like briefcase follow-up were surprisingly popular, so of course, we’re getting a new one to kick off 2025. I like to imagine LG literally toting the StanbyME 2 to CES by the carrying straps you can affix to it, as the rep did in this video below.The 27-inch 1440p touchscreen on the StanbyME 2 should offer a sharper picture than the original’s 1080p. It also lasts longer with a four-hour battery life, up from three and a half, but LG has not revealed pricing or availability details.You can still mount the TV to a floor stand that holds and charges it, but LG is unashamedly emphasizing its portability with the carrying strap, which you can also use to hang from a wall like a picture frame on a sturdy enough hook. It’s also compatible with a folio cover that protects the display during transport and doubles as a tabletop stand, and you can magnetically attach the remote to the top of the TV. It has two USB-C ports that you can use for charging and peripherals like webcams, plus a traditional HDMI input.These upgrades feel relatively minor, but if you aspire to be a modern-day Radio Raheem with a TV on your shoulder — and, presumably, the matching pill-shaped StanbyME XT7 Bluetooth speaker under your arm — the StanbyME 2 might be the television for you.

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Baseus’ new wall charger includes two retractable USB-C cables and an additional USB-C port. | Image: Baseus Baseus is following Anker’s lead and debuting new charging accessories at CES 2025 that could help ensure you’re never hunting for missing charging cables. The company is expanding its Enercore line with a new $69.99 wall charger, expected as soon as April 2025, featuring a pair of built-in USB-C cables that fully retract and stay out of the way when not in use.The retractable cables on the Baseus Enercore CJ11 are each a little over 32 inches long and work alongside an additional USB-C port so you can also use cables with different connectors. The charger can deliver up to 67W of power with one device connected, allowing you to charge a power-hungry device like a laptop. With two or three of its ports in use, the total power output drops to 65W. Image: Baseus Baseus’ new car charger has two retractable USB-C cables attached to a pivoting head. Baseus also announced a new car charger with more functionality than the one Anker released last November. The Baseus PrimeTrip VR2 Max also features two built-in retractable USB-C cables that are just over 31 inches in length, plus an additional USB-C and USB-A port on its base. Image: Baseus The charger’s retractable USB-C cables work alongside a pair of USB-C ports on its base. It connects to a vehicle’s auxiliary power outlet and delivers a total of 240W of power across all four ports and up to a maximum of 105W to a single port. It’s expected to be available in April 2025 priced at $44.99.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Meta overhauled its approach to US moderation on Tuesday, ditching fact-checking, announcing a plan to move its trust and safety teams, and perhaps most impactfully, updating its Hateful Conduct policy. As reported by Wired, a lot of text has been updated, added, or removed, but here are some of the changes that jumped out at us.These two sections outlining speech (written or visual) are new additions:We do allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality and common non-serious usage of words like “weird.”We do allow content arguing for gender-based limitations of military, law enforcement, and teaching jobs. We also allow the same content based on sexual orientation, when the content is based on religious beliefs.Another section that specifically banned making dehumanizing references to transgender or non-binary people as “it” or referring to women “as household objects or property or objects in general” has been removed entirely.The opening statement about what the policies are “designed to allow room for” that previously listed only health or positive support groups has changed too (new additions marked in bold):People sometimes use sex- or gender-exclusive language when discussing access to spaces often limited by sex or gender, such as access to bathrooms, specific schools, specific military, law enforcement, or teaching roles, and health or support groups. Other times, they call for exclusion or use insulting language in the context of discussing political or religious topics, such as when discussing transgender rights, immigration, or homosexuality. Finally, sometimes people curse at a gender in the context of a romantic break-up. Our policies are designed to allow room for these types of speech.The section that specifically banned targeting people or groups “with claims that they have or spread the novel coronavirus” has also been removed. A link to this 2017 blog post about the “hard questions” Meta faces dealing with hate speech has been removed, and some references to hate speech are now changed to “hateful conduct.”The policy still says that content about denying access to spaces and social services “on the basis of their protected characteristics” is not allowed, but there’s also a new exception (the added text is in bold):...except for sex or gender-based exclusion from spaces commonly limited by sex or gender, such as restrooms, sports and sports leagues, health and support groups, and specific schoolsEven before these changes, the LGBTQ+ media advocacy group GLAAD reported last year that Meta often failed to remove posts violating its hate speech policies. Now, even those guardrails that had been established to protect people from internet harassment are disappearing. “Without these necessary hate speech and other policies, Meta is giving the green light for people to target LGBTQ people, women, immigrants, and other marginalized groups with violence, vitriol, and dehumanizing narratives. With these changes, Meta is continuing to normalize anti-LGBTQ hatred for profit — at the expense of its users and true freedom of expression. Fact-checking and hate speech policies protect free speech.” said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement responding to the changes.A note from Meta’s new policy chief Joel Kaplan said, “We’re getting rid of a number of restrictions on topics like immigration, gender identity and gender that are the subject of frequent political discourse and debate. It’s not right that things can be said on TV or the floor of Congress, but not on our platforms.” Wired also reports that the changes “blindsided” organizations that have been partnering with Meta on its now-discarded moderation efforts, with one unnamed editor at a fact-checking organization saying the effect of the decision “is going to eventually drain us out.”

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Image Experts warn that Meta’s decision to end its third-party fact-checking program could allow disinformation and hate to fester online and permeate the real world.The company announced today that it’s phasing out a program launched in 2016 where it partners with independent fact-checkers around the world to identify and review misinformation across its social media platforms. Meta is replacing the program with a crowdsourced approach to content moderation similar to X’s Community Notes.Meta is essentially shifting responsibility to users to weed out lies on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, raising fears that it’ll be easier to spread misleading information about climate change, clean energy, public health risks, and communities often targeted with violence.“It’s going to hurt Meta’s users first”“It’s going to hurt Meta’s users first because the program worked well at reducing the virality of hoax content and conspiracy theories,” says Angie Drobnic Holan, director of the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) at Poynter. “A lot of people think Community Notes-style moderation doesn’t work at all and it’s merely window dressing so that platforms can say they’re... Read the full story at The Verge.

Microsoft Excel is undoubtedly one of the most powerful apps out there to work with numbers. However, it requires an Office 365 subscription or an Office 2024 purchase, which isn't feasible for a lot of users. If you don't want to shell out money, a good alternative to Excel is Google Sheets. Not only is it free to use, but it is also a simpler version for students with less intimidating features and options. Moreover, you also get a plethora of templates and features like extensions for added functionality.

Baseus’ new 20,000mAh power bank also provides a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot for up to 10 devices. | Image: Baseus Baseus announced a new power bank at CES 2025 that does double duty as a portable charger and a mobile hotspot. The EnerGeek MiFi Power Bank is expected to be available sometime in April 2025 for $89.99 and will be compatible with 4G networks in over 100 countries including the US, Canada, and Japan.Up to 10 devices can be wirelessly connected to the power bank over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. Download speeds are expected to be up to 50Mbps, but that will vary depending on the network it’s connected to and signal strength. Pricing for the mobile data hasn’t been announced, but the company says it will offer “flexible network plans with no monthly fees or usage restrictions” that can be customized through a mobile app.The EnerGeek MiFi Power Bank also includes two USB-C ports, a single USB-A port on top, and a short integrated USB-C charging cable that doubles as a carrying strap. It has a 20,000mAh battery inside but its power output maxes out at 67W, so larger devices, like some laptops, will need to fly solo to get enough power to charge. A display subtly integrated into the side of the power bank provides details on its remaining charge, power output, and wireless connectivity. Image: Baseus Baseus also announced another 20,000mAh power bank with two integrated USB-C cables but no hotspot capabilities. Baseus also debuted a more traditional 20,000mAh power bank today featuring two integrated USB-C charging cables, one of which fully retracts.It also offers USB-C and USB-A ports for connecting your own cables, up to 100W of power delivery for a single device, and a small screen displaying current power output and the power bank’s remaining charge level. It’s expected to be available sometime in April 2025 priced at $99.99.

Baseus’ new outdoor security camera boosts video quality to 4K. | Image: Baseus Baseus has announced a new version of its solar-powered security camera at CES 2025 that improves video quality from 2K to 4K and extends battery life from 180 to 210 days. But like the previous version, the new Baseus Security S2 camera can potentially run indefinitely using a battery-charging solar panel on top that tilts left and right throughout the day to maximize its exposure to the sun.The company hasn’t announced when the Baseus Security S2 will be available or what it will cost, but the older S1 model currently sells for $129.99 through retailers like Amazon.Without the need for connecting it to power, Baseus says the S2 camera can be installed in about five minutes and in places where running a power line could be difficult or expensive. The only installation limitations are finding a place with enough sun exposure if you’re hoping to completely avoid charging the camera yourself and a spot that’s in range of your Wi-Fi network.The S2 camera doesn’t come with any subscription fees as everything captured by its 4K camera (with a 145-degree field of view and night vision capabilities) is stored locally on the device. Its capacity can be expanded with a microSD card up to 256GB in size, but as with many battery-powered security cameras, the S2 doesn’t support 24/7 continuous recording. Baseus’ camera only records events detected by its passive infrared and radar-based motion sensors. Nothing is uploaded or stored in the cloud, but recordings are remotely accessible through a mobile app. The S2 also features AI-powered object detection with the ability to differentiate people, pets, and vehicles and provide notifications based on what it spotted. Through the app, you can also define activity zones for specific areas you want the camera to focus on, and it includes both Amazon Alexa and Google home compatibility.

When sending important information over email, such as financial statements, health records, or legal documents, it’s critical to keep them safe from prying eyes. If you’re a user of Microsoft Outlook, then you’re in luck! The popular email client has several ways of beefing up the security of your messages, one of them being encryption.