Illustration by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized amendments to its Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), making it easier to protect consumers who are tricked into paying scam tech support companies. The FTC could already go after these fraudster companies if they initiated calls to people — now, they can do the same thing if people call the scammers too.Fake tech support fraud has been on the rise for many years. The “company” tricks people into thinking they have a virus or other problem by sending scam emails, popups, and other messages. This encourages them to call to a help desk, which then convinces them to pay up.The FTC has long attempted to wrangle money back from these scammers. But as it explains in a published proposal, a 2021... Continue reading…

When you need to set up an appointment or meeting, one of the first things you do is look at your calendar. Sharing your calendar for visibility helps keep everyone in the loop. I’m a big fan of Microsoft products like Windows and Office, so I use Outlook Calendar most of the time. Situations arise where I need to share a calendar either internally at work or with friends and family outside the organization.

Big phones, big discounts. | Photo by Allison Johnson / The Verge Black Friday, you may have noticed, is no longer a specific date on the calendar. This year especially, with a late Thanksgiving in the US, it’s a vibe. The deals started arriving well before Friday and they’ll last all weekend, just like turkey leftovers. If the new vibes-based Black Friday means shopping for discounted phones and accessories online any day you please rather than standing in line at the mall, well, that’s a vibe I can relate to.The best Black Friday phone accessory dealsMoft is offering between $10 and $60 off your order of phone accessories like its combination phone stand/wallet, which is a favorite of this phone-case-hater.AirTags, which are always a good stocking stuff, are on sale in a four-pack for $24.99... Continue reading…

AMD's Ryzen 9000 series is available, and the flagship Ryzen 9 9950X is the best of the bunch. Even though Zen 5 is more efficient than the last-gen Zen 4 chips, this flagship CPU calls for a hefty cooling solution. It has a 170W TDP, which is more than mid-range coolers can handle. You don't have to worry too much, though, as your new processor has plenty of cooling options. We've rounded up the best coolers for the Ryzen 9 9950X, including air and liquid-cooling options, so you can find the perfect one for your build and budget.

Illustration: The Verge Google Chat is launching huddles, a Google Meet-powered addition that lets you start a quick call with your coworkers. Google said it would add huddles to Google Chat in customer preview over a year ago, but we haven’t heard about it since then. The company says the feature has started rolling out and should reach all Workspace users by January 6th.As we noted last year, this is the same feature as Slack’s Huddles, using the same exact name. There aren’t a lot of differences between the various office suites these days, but this is really going the extra mile. GIF: Google To get one going, simply click a dropdown menu at the top of a chat and select “Start a huddle.” That’ll pop open an audio call invite that you can... Continue reading…

Image: Laura Normand / The Verge Microsoft is being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission in a wide-ranging antitrust probe, making it the fifth Big Tech company to fall under such scrutiny in several years.The agency is looking into Microsoft’s cloud and software licensing business, cybersecurity services, and AI offerings. Bloomberg first reported the news and The Verge confirmed the investigation with a person familiar with the matter, granted anonymity to speak to a confidential probe. The demand for information that spans hundreds of pages and culminates over a year of informal discussions with Microsoft competitors and partners. One focus is on how Microsoft bundles productivity and security software with its Azure cloud, per the source. The FTC’s... Continue reading…

The note-taking landscape has evolved over the years. While Evernote remains a solid choice for basic note organization, new-age solutions like Obsidian offer a far more powerful and flexible approach to creating a digital cabinet. If you are tired of Evernote’s closed nature and annoying limitations, then it’s time to give Obsidian a try.

A few decades ago, Microsoft made a monumental decision to bundle Internet Explorer 2.0 with its latest operating system, Windows 95. This move in and of itself was normal for Microsoft at the time; identifying a new tech product, developing its own version, and then releasing it at a fraction of the price to steal market share. Internet Explorer 2.0 was launched in this manner on November 27, 1995.

No matter how many years Windows stays at the top of the charts in terms of popularity on the desktop, there's always going to be someone who says "this is the year of the Linux desktop" or they they're switching to a Mac. Don't get me wrong, Windows is far from a perfect platform, but no alternative is perfect, either.

Docking stations and USB hubs are a great way to bring extra connectivity to your computing products. Of course, if you want to go all out, you'll want to go with the former, as it offers more than just a way to keep all your accessories connected. With a docking station, you'll also get power, which means one cable is all you need to keep things connected.

The Kobo Libra Colour is $80 cheaper than the Kindle Colorsoft and comes with stylus support. | Image: Rakuten Kobo The Kindle Colorsoft offers an impressive color screen, but it’s not for everybody. Luckily, if you don’t want to lock yourself into Amazon’s ecosystem, the Kobo Libra Colour is an excellent alternative that’s on sale for an all-time low of $199.99 ($20 off) at Amazon and Target for Black Friday. You can also buy it for the same price from Rakuten Kobo, and if you purchase it with a $50 gift card, the retailer is throwing in a $10 credit that’s good toward books, styli, and audiobooks.Personally, I am a big fan of the Kobo Libra Colour. The waterproof e-reader features the same color E Ink technology used in the Kindle Colorsoft, along with the same crisp 300ppi resolution, which is halved in color mode. There are some subtle... Continue reading…

Image: Larian Studios Larian Studios isn’t done with big updates for Baldur’s Gate 3 just yet. The studio is planning yet another quality-of-life update for the game with Patch 8.“Arriving next year, this update will introduce some of the most eagerly awaited features to BG3: cross-play, and photo mode, along with 12 new subclasses,” Larian wrote on its Steam Community page.Cross play will introduce multiplayer capabilities between any of the game’s platforms including Steam, PC, Mac, Xbox, and PlayStation. Cross platform multiplayer progression will also be added.Another big community ask that Patch 8 will satisfy is the addition of photo mode. The feature will come with a robust suite of options including poses for party members, picture frames, photo... Continue reading…