Image: The Verge Microsoft is still helping CrowdStrike clean up the mess that kicked off a week ago when 8.5 million PCs went offline due to a buggy CrowdStrike update. Now, the software giant is calling for changes to Windows, and has dropped some subtle hints that it’s prioritizing making Windows more resilient and willing to push security vendors like CrowdStrike to stop accessing the Windows kernel.While CrowdStrike has blamed a bug in its testing software for its botched update, its software runs at the kernel level — the core part of an operating system that has unrestricted access to system memory and hardware — so if something goes wrong with CrowdStrike’s app then it can take down Windows machines with a Blue Screen of Death.CrowdStrike’s... Continue reading…

Image: Epic Games Epic Games plans to bring Fortnite to the third-party iOS app store AltStore PAL, which is only available in the EU. The company made the announcement in a Thursday blog post about its strategy for mobile stores, and it says it expects to announce support for “at least two other third-party stores soon.”While Epic says that it plans to “bring our own mobile games including Fortnite to other mobile stores that give all developers a great deal,” it didn’t provide a specific timeline. In addition to Fortnite, Epic also plans to bring Rocket League Sideswipe to AltStore PAL, spokesperson Natalie Munoz tells The Verge. When reached for comment, AltStore’s Riley Testut pointed to Epic’s post and said that “we’re very excited to be bringing F... Continue reading…

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Microsoft has started testing a new way to access your Android phone from directly within Windows 11’s File Explorer. Windows Insiders are now able to test this new feature, which lets you wirelessly browse through folders and files on your Android phone.The integration in File Explorer means your Android device appears just like a regular USB device on the left-hand side, with the ability to copy or move files between a PC and Android phone, and rename or delete them. It’s certainly a lot quicker than using the existing Phone Link app. Image: Microsoft Android phones will appear inside File Explorer. You’ll need a device running Android version 11 or higher, be part of the Windows Insider program, and the... Continue reading…

Image: Jay Maidment Check out all of The Verge’s coverage of San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Continue reading…

Image: The Verge Valve has introduced some changes to Steam that should make it easier to find and install playable game demos. In a new events blog post, Steam said the “Great Steam Demo Update” was based on developer and player feedback, with new functionality that makes demos behave more like standalone games hosted on the platform.For one, demos can now have a store page that’s completely separate from the main game, allowing developers to display demo-specific content like trailers, screenshots, and supported features. These pages will also display buttons to both install the demo and visit the main game’s store page, and allow players to leave demo-specific reviews.And if a demo becomes available for a game that users have on their wishlists, or... Continue reading…

California Gig Workers Union members gather outside the Supreme Court in May. | Photo by Lea Suzuki / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash workers in California will remain independent contractors after the state’s Supreme Court upheld Proposition 22, as reported by CalMatters. The unanimous decision issued on Thursday is a win for ridehailing and food delivery services, which have spent millions campaigning for Prop 22 to avoid having to classify gig workers as employees.While Prop 22 guarantees workers some protections, such as 120 percent of the local minimum wage for each hour spent driving, a health insurance stipend, and reimbursement for job-related injuries, it’s far from the full range of benefits Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, and other services would’ve had to provide if workers were classified as employees.We are deeply... Continue reading…

We're in the middle of a big AI wave, with basically every company trying to get a piece of the pie. Whether it's software companies trying to come up with AI-powered chatbots using cutting-edge language models, or hardware companies touting how their processors can run those models more effectively, AI is a huge deal. And if you want a PC that's ready for AI, it's a good idea to keep an eye on the PCs that have the specs you need.

The Nest Hello video doorbell can now be fully migrated to the Google Home app from the Nest app. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge Google announced this week that it’s rolling out support for its Nest Hello doorbell in the Google Home app. This allows you to transfer Google’s original video doorbell camera — aka, the Nest Doorbell (wired, 1st gen) — from the Nest app to Google’s Home app. Google is also bringing its garage door detection feature out of Public Preview, making it available to all users with compatible hardware. This uses a Nest Cam to alert you when your garage door is left open. Garage door detection launched last fall in Google’s Public Preview — a public beta where users can try out upcoming features — but is now available to all Nest Aware subscribers in the US and Canada. (Nest Aware starts at $8 a month / $80 a year.) The feature works with... Continue reading…

The mechanical keyboard community is full of people who participate for a variety of different reasons. Some users like to build their own keyboard from scratch, knowing that their board is customized to meet their exact preferences. Others prefer prebuilt mechanical keyboards, owing to their simplicity and reliability. In the past, you might have had to build your own keyboard to get the same level of build quality as if you painstakingly assembled one yourself. Now, that's not the case. Prebuilt mechanical keyboards are of high quality, feature unique designs, and still offer some degree of customization.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge After a year and a half of negotiations, SAG-AFTRA has called a strike of all video game work produced under the union’s Interactive Media Agreement. The strike goes into effect July 26th at 12:01AM and impacts all SAG-AFTRA actors, voice actors, and motion capture actors and involves companies like Activision Blizzard, EA, Insomniac Games, WB Games, and more. According to SAG-AFTRA’s press release, the union and video game companies could not come to an agreement regarding AI protections.“We’re not going to consent to a contract that allows companies to abuse AI to the detriment of our members,” said SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher in the press release. “When these companies get serious about offering an agreement our members can... Continue reading…

Image: NASA NASA and Sierra Space blew up another space habitat in June, and everyone is smiling about it. That’s because the full-size inflatable structure in this “ultimate burst pressure” test only failed after exceeding NASA’s recommended x4 safety levels by 22 percent.Sierra Space’s inflatable structure, known as a Large Integrated Flexible Environment, or LIFE, had its last stress test in January. LIFE is built from “basket-weaved Vectran fabrics” that strengthen once inflated. It’s intended to be used as a component in the Orbital Reef space station project involving NASA, Blue Origin, and Sierra Space.“This second burst test will get us the design, repeatability, and architecture as we go towards our certification of the pressure shell of... Continue reading…

Image: Peacock It looks like Peacock is getting a solid dose of horror very soon. At San Diego Comic-Con, the streamer showed off a very brief teaser for its upcoming thriller series Teacup, while also confirming that it will start streaming in October.According to Peacock, the show “follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive.” It’s helmed by showrunner Ian McCulloch — best known as a producer on the Western hit Yellowstone — and based on the novel Stinger by Robert McCammon. In a statement about the adaptation, McCulloch had this to say:During production the series changed and evolved. Just as it should. Even the title’s different. Stinger is now Teacup. The... Continue reading…