Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images Donald Trump has been officially sworn in as the 47th president of the US. Although we’ve already experienced a Trump presidency beginning in 2016, this term could look far different than the first one, particularly when it comes to tech regulation.The heads of major tech companies have apparently come to learn how to deal with Trump, following an era of techlash that invited fury against them from both sides. The executives — who mostly stayed at arm’s distance during the beginning of Trump’s first term — have been quick to get into Trump’s good graces, be it with trips to Mar-a-Lago, attendance at the inauguration, changes to their company policies, or notices to millions of users thanking Trump for his (predicted) role in getting their popular social media app back online.There’s good reason for the CEOs to cozy up to Trump. The next four years could see the president’s choices impact their companies and workers in a laundry list of areas. We’ll be looking at: How Trump handles tariffs against countries including China, where tech companies like Apple assemble many of their goodsWhether Trump deploys the US surveillance state (as well as companies’ own data collection efforts) to carry out promises of mass deportationsThe future of global attempts to fight climate change with likely reduced help from the USEnvironmental regulation within the USExport controls on AI chipsOngoing (and potential new) antitrust cases against many of the largest tech firmsThe possible end of incentives to buy electric vehiclesThe Federal Communications Commission’s role in attempting to revoke spectrum licenses over speech Trump doesn’t likeThe future of tech’s liability shield Section 230Immigration policy, including H-1B visas for high-skilled tech workersHow Trump shields US tech companies from the EU’s DSA and DMA laws.And however the saga over TikTok’s status in the US possibly endsTrump has said he’ll use his first afternoon back in the Oval Office to sign “dozens of executive orders.” They’re expected to cover border policy, the environment, trade, and possibly even a delay to the TikTok ban. If it’s anything like the first term, we’ll see many of those challenged in court — and the results will indicate just how much of a check Trump will have on his power this time around.

I was one of the rare few willing users of Microsoft Edge — even on a Mac. It’s the first thing I’d install on a new laptop. Sure, Microsoft’s aggressive persuasion tactics aren’t exactly agreeable, but I switched to Edge because I wanted a Chrome alternative that wouldn’t disrupt my workflow (with all my extensions) or experience, so it had to be Chromium-based. After sticking with Edge for years, I finally gave in last year and decided to try out the Arc browser. I have to admit that it successfully lured me in with its modern design. It feels refreshingly different from most web browsers, which look identical, with their homepage recommendations (read: ads) being the only differentiator.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Donald Trump said today he’ll declare a “national energy emergency,” a move meant to speed the development of fossil fuel infrastructure. The actions taken on his first day in office mark the start of President Trump’s attempts to boost oil and gas and retreat from global climate goals. He campaigned on promises to “drill, baby, drill,” and undo Biden-era policies to reduce pollution and stop climate change.The US will “fill our strategic reserves up again, right to the top, and export American energy, all over the world,” Trump said in his inauguration speech. Trump also repeated vague pledges he’s made to throw out environmental policies that haven’t actually been put in place. He said his administration would “end the green New Deal, and we will reverse the electric vehicle mandate, saving our oil industry.” It’s unclear what policies he’s referring to with that statement. Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) into law, the most significant piece of climate legislation to date that opened up $369 billion for climate action and clean energy. Trump has previously said that he’d rescind any unspent IRA funds.“I’m not that worried about having an EV mandate since there isn’t one, but I am concerned that he might take steps to make EVs more expensive for American consumers,” Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s Secretary of Transportation, recently told The Verge. But Trump has said that he’ll eliminate subsidies and tax credits Biden introduced to make electric vehicles more affordable.Biden-era tailpipe emissions standards are likely also on the chopping block. The Biden administration tightened pollution standards aimed at slashing greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging more EV sales.A new White House webpage says a priorities for the Trump administration include “streamlining permitting, and reviewing for rescission all regulations that impose undue burdens on energy production and use, including mining and processing of non-fuel minerals.” There’s little detail on the page about what declaring a national energy emergency will entail outside of using “all necessary resources to build critical infrastructure.” It does say Trump wants to end federal leasing of areas for wind farms and take the US out of the Paris climate agreement, echoing promises he’s made in the pastTrump signed an executive order to exit the Paris agreement later in the evening at his inauguration eve rally.Developing...

NVIDIA's DLSS upscaling technology has revolutionized the PC gaming industry in the last few years. Ever since its introduction in 2018 alongside the RTX 20 series graphics cards, we've seen vast improvements in DLSS, with NVIDIA adding more capabilities like ray reconstruction and frame generation. As much as I enjoy using DLSS to upscale and play graphically demanding games at 4K resolution at smooth frame rates, this technology has also negatively impacted the PC gaming space. While it works like magic, your games, in reality, look and feel a bit worse than they should.

TikTok may already be back online but Bluesky and X are quickly jumping on the vertical video train. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge While TikTok is already crawling back online in the US, uncertainty around the video platform’s future has created an opportunity for Bluesky, X, and others to seize. Over the last few hours, both social media platforms introduced new features — including dedicated tabs and feeds for video content — that make it easier for users to discover and watch vertical videos in their apps. Yesterday, Instagram announced a new video-editing rival to CapCut — the video editor owned by TikTok’s parent ByteDance — just after it went offline in the US.“We had to get in on the video action too,” said Bluesky with the launch of customizable feeds for videos. Users can swipe up or down on these feeds to flip through videos and create targeted feeds that only pull video content from specific hashtags, such as this #BookSky feed that riffs on TikTok’s “BookTok” reading community.We had to get in on the video action too — Bluesky now has custom feeds for video!Like any other feed, you can choose to pin these or not. Bluesky is yours to customize.— Bluesky (@bsky.app) 2025-01-20T03:41:13.225Z“Like any other feed, you can choose to pin these or not,” the company said in its post. “Bluesky is yours to customize.”The update has added a new video feed under the search tab that provides a timeline of videos that are trending on the platform. Bluesky says that the ability to swipe through a video-only timeline is specific to custom feeds. Image: Bluesky / The Verge Users may need to refresh their Bluesky app a few times before the new trending videos tab appears. Bluesky also gave a shout-out to AT Protocol developers — the decentralized protocol that Bluesky relies on — who are using it to build video-only TikTok alternatives like Tik.Blue, Skylight.Social, and Bluescreen.Blue, which are currently in early development.X similarly started rolling out a new “Video Tab” to users in the US on Sunday, which appears as a circular play button in the app’s bottom navigation bar. “From there, you can explore a personalized feed of recommended videos reflecting the real-time nature of X across sports, entertainment, news and more,” X said in its announcement.you better not be making a dedicated video tab when I get homeme: pic.twitter.com/ZbmLBmSbDp— X (@X) January 20, 2025

Nvidia’s RTX 5090 vs. RTX 4090. | Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5090 Founders Edition graphics card is arriving later this month, and we’ve managed to unbox one and compare its design to the RTX 4090. Just like our first look at the RTX 5090, this isn’t a review. Performance figures, benchmarks, and impressions beyond the hardware are coming later.The first thing that’s notable about the RTX 5090 is the packaging design has totally changed since the Founders Edition RTX 40-series. Nvidia has switched to housing the RTX 5090 inside a smaller bone-shaped gray cardboard shell that sits inside a much larger brown cardboard box. Photo by Tom Warren / The Verge A dog and his RTX 5090 bone. The outer box — which reads “Inspired by gamers. Enhanced by AI. Built by Nvidia.” — holds a new power adapter cable for the RTX 5090 that includes an updated version of the regular 12VHPWR connector. You’ll need to use four regular PCIe eight-pin power connectors with this adapter, or a new 12V-2x6 cable. The 12V-2x6 is almost identical to the existing 12VHPWR, as the new connector has shorter sensing pins and slightly longer conductor terminals. The slight variation means that existing 12VHPWR cables will work... Read the full story at The Verge.

Designed to help you maximize your productivity, note-taking apps offer an easy way to organize your ideas. With the self-hosted community growing larger by the minute, there’s an abundance of note-taking apps you can run on local hardware.

If you primarily use your computer for writing, Google Docs might be your word processor of choice. It's free, simple, and the default option if you use many of Google's services or products. However, there are multiple downsides to using Google Docs. It may not be the safest option out there since Google -- at the end of the day -- is an ads company. Moreover, it relies on an internet connection for most features, despite the fact that there is an offline mode. This, along with a few other reasons, made me wonder what other options I could use to write and format my documents.

Canon’s Live Switcher Mobile app is free for iOS and iPadOS devices. | Screenshot: YouTube Canon has announced a new live streaming app that can wirelessly connect to, and switch between, video feeds from three mobile devices. It’s currently limited to iPhones and iPads running at least iOS and iPad0S 16. Android isn’t supported, but an even stranger omission is that Live Switcher Mobile isn’t compatible with any of Canon’s digital cameras — that functionality will be added “in the future,” according to an FAQ.The app is available for download now and can be used for free, but with some limitations. Video quality maxes out at 720p, the output is watermarked, and the app’s interface will occasionally be cluttered with ads — but those aren’t presented to viewers. For $17.99 per month (which is over $215 per year) output quality gets a bump to 1080p, while ads and the watermark are removed. There’s no option to increase the video resolution past HD. Image: Canon The mobile device serving as a live stream’s primary camera also provides the switching interface. One device running the app is designated as the host which provides the switching interface and serves as the primary camera. Up to two additional devices can be connected providing video feeds from alternate angles, or a live screen capture of a video game being played.Switching between feeds can be done manually, but if you’d like to avoid poking a device that’s serving as one of your cameras, the app can also be set to automatically switch between sources at set intervals of eight to 20 seconds. Multiple videos can be streamed simultaneously using a picture-in-picture effect, while text and image overlays can be added to personalize a livestream, add branding, or provide captioning.Canon says the app supports live streaming to YouTube, Facebook, and other platforms that support RTMP, but its comment display function is limited to those first two platforms.Although its functionality isn’t as robust as the free OBS Studio app that also allows mobile devices to be used as video sources, Canon’s Live Switcher Mobile is potentially an easier alternative for aspiring influencers just getting started with live streaming.It may currently be limited to mobile devices, but the company has confirmed the app “will support Canon’s digital camera connection in the future.” With that added functionality, and maybe a bump to 4K streaming capabilities, its steep price tag could be easier to justify for those looking for a highly portable streaming solution.

Fujifilm has added two new models to its Techno-Stabi binoculars line with stabilization and increased magnification. | Image: Fujifilm Fujifilm has announced two new additions to its flagship Techno-Stabi line of binoculars featuring electronic stabilization, as spotted by PetaPixel. The new TS-L2040 and TS-L1640 deliver even more magnification than Fujfilm’s previous top-of-the-line offering — 20x and 16x, instead of just 14x — while also being smaller and lighter without sacrificing features like waterproofing. Both new models can survive a complete dunking to a depth of one meter for 30 minutes.The Fujifilm TS-L2040, with 20x magnification, will be $1,299.95 when available for purchase starting on January 31st, 2025. The slightly cheaper TS-L1640, which offer 16x magnification, will be $1,199.95.Using binoculars with more than 10x magnification without a tripod or stable support can result in blurred images because humans are simply incapable of holding them steady enough by hand. Even imperceptible hand movements are exaggerated through a pair of binoculars, making it hard to focus on a distant magnified subject. Image: Fujifilm Fujifilm’s new TS-L2040 Techno-Stabi binoculars (right) are smaller and lighter than the company’s previous flagship model (left) which weigh about a pound heavier. Fujifilm’s new models rely on a gimbal-mounted prism with plus and minus three degrees of electronic stabilization. They’re also noticeably smaller and lighter than the company’s existing Techno-Stabi TS-X14x40 binoculars — weighing 1.88 pounds instead of 2.9 pounds — making them easier for birdwatchers to carry on a hike.The two new models aren’t entirely replacing Fujifilm’s heavier and bulkier TS-X14x40 binoculars. Although the older model only offers 14x magnification for the same price as the company’s new 20x offering, they feature a more rugged design with plus and minus six degrees of electronic stabilization.In a video comparing the old and new models, Fujifilm technical expert, Michael Bulbenko, says the older model is still a better choice for boaters given the extra movements while out on the water. Image: Fujifilm Fujifilm says both new models run on a pair of AAA batteries that offer up to 30 hours of stabilization. Other features of the new TS-L2040 and TS-L1640 include 40mm objective lenses on the front that allow more light in to boost brightness. Fujifilm’s cheapest stabilized binoculars, the $749.95 TS12x28WP, feature much smaller front lenses that are just 28mm in size.Both new binocular models are powered by a pair of AAA batteries that Fujifilm says will keep the image stabilization continuously powered for up to 30 hours. The binoculars will also automatically power themselves off after 60 minutes if you forget to, so if you’re headed out on a weekend birdwatching trip, you probably won’t need to pack an extra set of AAAs.

EU Codes of Conduct are more of a suggestion than legally enforceable rules. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Meta, Google, TikTok, and X have each pledged to European lawmakers that they will do more to prevent and remove illegal hate speech on their platforms. The European Commission integrated a revised set of voluntary commitments into the Digital Services Act (DSA) on Monday that aim to help platforms “demonstrate their compliance” with DSA obligations regarding illegal content moderation.Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, X, YouTube, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Dailymotion, Jeuxvideo.com, Rakuten Viber, and Microsoft-hosted consumer services have all signed the “Code of Conduct on Countering Illegal Hate Speech Online Plus” — which is not a terribly named streaming service but an update to a 2016 Code. The revised code commits signatories to transparency around hate speech detection and reduction, to allowing third-party monitors to assess how hate speech notices are reviewed by the platforms, and to review “at least two-thirds of hate speech notices” within 24 hours.“Hatred and polarisation are threats to EU values and fundamental rights and undermine the stability of our democracies. The internet is amplifying the negative effects of hate speech,” EU Commissioner Michael McGrath said in a statement. “We trust this Code of conduct+ will do its part in ensuring a robust response.”These EU Codes of Conduct are voluntary commitments and companies face no penalties if they decide to back out of the agreement, as Elon Musk did with X (then known as Twitter) in 2022 when he withdrew the company from the Code of Practice on Disinformation.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Rumors have been floating around for months that Apple might launch a brand-new iPhone model this year: the so-called iPhone Air, a new, super-thin iPhone that may mark the first big design shift for the line in many years. More than a facelift, the iPhone Air is a different strategy altogether, being neither a more affordable base model nor a feature-packed Pro phone. Instead, rumors describe a phone that’s aimed to please people who are willing to sacrifice some function for a sleeker, slimmer design. Basically, it’s the iPhone version of the original MacBook Air.Current rumors suggest the phone will debut as part of Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup this fall, giving it the name iPhone 17 Air. Of course, it’s not a done deal just yet. Apple could still change its plans or the rumors could turn out wrong. But enough reports have come out to suggest that something real is in the works. Here are all the rumors about the upcoming phone so far:The thinnest iPhone yetThe 17 Air will be very thin, but the rumor mill hasn’t totally settled on the exact number.Supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicted a 5.5mm phone in January, which would make it slightly thicker than the 5.1mm M4 iPad Pro that debuted last May. Two days later, Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman reiterated a claim he’d made in December: that the new phone would be “about 2 millimeters thinner” than the 8.25mm iPhone 16 Pro. Supply chain analyst Jeff Pu has suggested it would be around 6mm.No matter who is closest, the 17 Air would be one of the thinnest Apple products ever, even more so than the iPhone 6, which currently holds the record for thinnest iPhone at 6.9mm — and was notably prone to bending. Encouragingly, Apple managed to make the M4 iPad Pro surprisingly sturdy.Battery woesApple is said to be working on novel ways to fit enough battery to meet its ultra-slim phone goal. A November 2023 rumor from ETNews said Apple was attempting to create a new, denser kind of battery that uses carbon nanotubes and a mix of materials like nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum for future devices.But in November 2024, Korean leaker yeux1122 posted that Apple is using standard battery tech. They said the company had sought to get thinner internals to enable both more battery capacity and a slimmer phone but failed. The Information wrote later that month that Apple was having trouble finding space for the battery, SIM card, and thermal materials inside, limiting how thin it can be.A more recent rumor from leaker Digital Chat Station suggested that both Apple’s phone and the also-rumored skinny Samsung Galaxy S25 will feature a 3,000 – 4,000mAh battery and measure somewhere between “5.xmm-6.xmm.” The iPhone 17 Air’s displayAll signs right now are pointing to every iPhone 17’s OLED display using the same LTPO panel tech found in current Pro models. That could mean both higher refresh rates and less power consumption, as it enables the screens to raise their refresh rates to 120Hz and then drop as low as 1Hz. That’s part of why Apple’s always-on display feature works without a significant battery cost.As for screen size, rumors generally agree it will measure about 6.6 inches. That’s a tad smaller than the 6.7-inch screen of the iPhone 16 Plus, which the 17 Air may be replacing this year. It’s expected that the phone will get a Dynamic Island with Face ID, like the rest of the flagship line.In-house chips and Apple IntelligenceBloomberg’s Mark Gurman recently said that Apple will outfit the iPhone 17 Air with in-house Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chips, as well as its own bespoke cellular modem. That’ll be a first for the company, which has been trying for years to develop its own modem in an effort to ditch Qualcomm. Apple is apparently confident it’s done that now, and well enough to start putting it in phones, possibly starting with the iPhone SE 4 within the next few months. Apple will probably put a regular A19 chip in the 17 Air, reserving the A19 Pro chip for its Pro phones. The phone could also have 8GB of RAM and support Apple Intelligence AI features as a result. Camera dietRumors have been steadfast that the iPhone 17 Air will only have one camera on the back. Citing supply chain analyst Jeff Pu in October, MacRumors wrote that it will be a 48-megapixel shooter and that the phone will feature a 24-megapixel shooter for the front-facing selfie cam.How much will it cost?The iPhone 17 Air could be expensive despite lacking the fancy camera array of the Pro phones or the dual-camera setup of the base model. The Information even wrote that it could cost more than the $1,299 iPhone 16 Pro Max does now.Not every rumor agrees. The Wall Street Journal wrote in December that Apple is aiming for something cheaper than the Pro phones. That’d put it below $999, where the iPhone 16 Pro starts.Why is Apple making the iPhone 17 Air?Gurman reported in August that boosting sales is the big motivator for the Air redesign after years of Mini and Plus phone flops. Later, in his January 12th newsletter, he wrote that the company sees the Air strategy as “a tried-and-true winner” for getting sales. The Journal’s December story echoed that, saying Apple is trying growth with the iPhone 17 Air following its years of “largely incremental upgrades.” Although the iPhone still makes up about half of Apple’s revenue, the outlet wrote, its “last big wave of sales gains was in 2021,” thanks to carriers’ subsidies amid their 5G push.Apple has tried since 2020 to goose sales using four flagships, and the 17 Air approach is no different, CNBC wrote in November. Apple started with the iPhone 12, 12 Mini, 12 Pro, and 12 Pro Max, then swapped out the Mini models for “Plus” phones starting with the iPhone 14. But the Mini and Plus models haven’t clicked with buyers. Most recently, the iPhone 16 Plus only made up 10 percent of Apple’s screen orders in 2023 and 16 percent of them last year, Ross Young of display research firm DSCC told the outlet. The Air could theoretically replace the Plus as a slightly higher-end option.Drumming up sales isn’t necessarily the whole story though, as Gurman also offered another explanation in January: Apple is using the phone as a testing ground for new technologies, including its in-house wireless and cell modem chips. But more than that, it’s a stepping stone toward the smaller tech needed to eventually build a folding iPhone.