Unlike SBCs, microcontrollers have a high learning curve, making them a bit complex for most beginners. Once you include the barrage of features offered by advanced boards like the ESP32 family, its easy to see why newcomers may shy away from DIY projects featuring these microcontrollers.

A little while ago, we came across a curious case where a game publisher called Alderson Games made a huge claim. It stated that Intel was selling defective 13th and 14th-generation processors, with a failure rate of 100%. While at the time it seemed a PC-based issue, the same issue has now appeared within laptops, albeit at a rarer rate.

Computer security has come a long way in the last 15 years, and the days of needing multiple bits of antivirus and anti-spyware software to keep your Windows XP machine secure are largely behind us. Having said that, the information we share with our computers is potentially more damaging than ever, and there could be serious consequences if your device were to be compromised by a malicious attacker. Cybersecurity doesn't have to be hard, and ensuring you're not the easy target is often half the game. That said, here are a few easy to install bits of software that will help ensure your computer is safe and secure online.

ScummVM, short for Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion Virtual Machine, is an open-source software project that serves as a way for nostalgic gamers and retro enthusiasts alike to enjoy some older classic games. Originally developed to run classic LucasArts adventure games that utilized the SCUMM scripting language, ScummVM has since evolved into a versatile piece of software supporting a wide range of point-and-click adventure games from various developers.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Google has bought itself the title of “official AI sponsor for Team USA,” and when the 2024 Olympics broadcast starts on July 26th, you will be reminded of that frequently. NBCUniversal’s partnership with Google will put many of the company’s AI-powered features front and center during the event.The broadcast will include Google Maps’ 3D views of venues like the Versailles, Stade Roland Garros, and the Aquatics Centre, as well as tidbits about what events will occur at each location. The imagery pulls from the Immersive Views added to Maps over the last few years that represent certain landmarks and areas of interest with photorealistic models. Image: Google Image: Google As part of the... Continue reading…

Image: Microsoft Thousands of Windows machines are experiencing a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) issue at boot today, impacting banks, airlines, TV broadcasters, supermarkets, and many more businesses worldwide. A faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike is knocking affected PCs and servers offline, forcing them into a recovery boot loop so machines can’t start properly. CrowdStrike is widely used by many businesses worldwide for managing the security of Windows PCs and servers.Australian banks, airlines, and TV broadcasters first raised the alarm as thousands of machines started to go offline. The issues spread fast as businesses based in Europe started their work day. UK broadcaster Sky News was unable to broadcast its morning news bulletins... Continue reading…

Hundreds of services are out of action worldwide thanks to a Windows BSoD bug that has seen airlines, healthcare providers, banks, and more all go offline. While the true cause of the outage hasn't been discovered, it's thought that a company called CrowdStrike is the cause, with the company blamed for pushing out a faulty update. CrowdStrike is used by many businesses worldwide for Windows PC security management.

Photo by Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The Federal Communications Commission wants to standardize the amount of time consumers have to wait to unlock their cell phones to be able to switch carriers. The agency voted unanimously on Thursday to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking to make mobile service providers unlock customers’ phones within 60 days of activation. The proposal is at an early stage — the notice of proposed rulemaking begins a public comment period before a lengthy process of drafting and revising the rule — but the FCC hopes it will boost consumer choice and competition among mobile service providers. The commissioners are seeking comment on whether the proposed rule should apply to existing or future service contracts and how it could impact smaller... Continue reading…

Image: Google Just hours after revealing the Pixel 9 Pro, Google is showing off the Pixel 9 Pro Fold with a brief, Gemini-linked teaser video. As is standard for Pixel phones, the devices have been leaked all over the internet already, but at least now we can end speculation about the look or name of Google’s next foldable Android phone.Google’s teaser video clearly shows double-stacked lenses for the rear camera module as well as the outside screen and hinge. Image: Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold For confirmation of other specs and details about upgrades from the first Fold, we may have to wait for Google’s hardware event on August 13th. There, we’ll see this phone, the 9 Pro, the Pixel Watch 3, and whatever else is left.Y... Continue reading…

Image: The Verge If you’re trying to play online games on your Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, or even Xbox 360 right now, you might be running into some issues, as Xbox confirmed there was a “major” Xbox Live outage on its status page as of 6:57PM ET.“You may not be able to sign-in to your Xbox profile, may be disconnected while signed in, or have other related problems,” according to a status message. “Features that require sign-in like most games, apps and social activity won’t be available.” For players who could sign into their accounts on consoles, online-connected games couldn’t connect and showed their own Xbox sign-in errors, while other people reported issues with features like remote play.“We are aware that users may be unable to sign in at the... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge If you ever used Google’s URL shortening service goo.gl before it was shut down in 2019, be warned — those links will stop working on August 25th, 2025. Google announced in a blog post that “the time has come to turn off the serving portion of Google URL Shortener,” and that any links in the https://goo.gl/* format will respond with a 404 error next year.Ahead of the shutdown, goo.gl links will start showing an interstitial page on August 23rd, 2024, notifying users that “this link will no longer work in the near future.” This message will initially appear for a “percentage of existing links’’ which will increase as the deadline draws closer. Google is encouraging developers to update impacted links as soon as possible, however, as this... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has blasted Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass price increases in a filing to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Microsoft revealed last week that it’s increasing PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate prices, and planning to launch a new Game Pass Standard tier soon without day one access to first-party Xbox games.The FTC calls this new Game Pass Standard tier a “degraded product,” because new Game Pass users won’t be able to sign up to the $10.99 Game Pass for Console, which includes day one game access. Instead, Xbox Game Pass Standard will be priced at $14.99 and won’t include day one games, but will include online multiplayer.“Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation — combined... Continue reading…