Microsoft Excel is undoubtedly a powerful spreadsheet software for data analysis and manipulation. That said, even the most seasoned Excel users can run into performance issues when faced with massive datasets. This can lead to lost hours, productivity, and inaccurate analysis. Before you ditch Excel in favor of an alternative, make sure to implement a few strategic techniques to handle such large datasets easily and unlock their true potential in no time.

Image: The Verge A New York judge has determined that SiriusXM’s “long and burdensome” cancellation process is illegal. In a ruling on Thursday, Judge Lyle Frank found SiriusXM violates a federal law that requires companies to make it easy to cancel a subscription.The decision comes nearly one year after New York Attorney General Leticia James sued SiriusXM over claims the company makes subscriptions difficult to cancel. Following an investigation, the Office of the Attorney General found that the company attempts to delay cancellations by having customers call an agent, who then keeps them on the phone for several minutes while “pitching the subscriber as many as five retention offers.”As outlined in the ruling, Judge Frank found that SiriusXM broke... Continue reading…

Adobe Audition is Adobes main audio precision editing app. Its part of the Adobe Creative Cloud, meaning it falls under the subscription trap found with many other Adobe creative software. To avoid the subscription and find better tools available which are more suited to your needs, there are many great alternatives to Adobe Audition you can use across multiple platforms and at different price points.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Sling TV is increasing its monthly subscription prices by $5.99 for all of its plans starting in December. The streaming TV provider said “rising costs” are to blame for the price hikes without specifying why — presumably, not all six of those bucks are intended to pay for its “arcade” library of interactive games that just added Pac-Man and Trivia Crack.There are two packages: Sling Orange, which includes Disney and ESPN networks, and Sling Blue, which includes Fox and NBC programming that previously cost $40 per month, individually. Now, they will cost $45.99 per month. There’s also the combo Sling Orange plus Blue, which offers a mix of both packages for $55 per month — but will go up to $61. Current subscribers will see the price... Continue reading…

Gemini could spring into action soon. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google released the first Android 16 developer preview earlier this week and keen-eyed observers are already uncovering interesting tidbits, including one that hints about a much more useful future for Google’s AI assistant. In Android Authority, Mishaal Rahman writes about a mysterious new API in Android 16 called “app functions,” which appears to give Gemini Assistant agentic-like abilities to take action in apps. It sounds awfully similar to the upgraded “app intents” Apple supports in iOS 18, and it’s exactly the kind of thing that could make AI assistants much more useful than they are in their current state.A page on Google’s developer site describes an app function as “a specific piece of functionality that an app offers to the... Continue reading…

Strava is the de facto fitness data middleman. | Photo by Victoria Song / The Verge A few days ago, Strava upset its users over some restrictive API changes. It might seem odd for one app’s users to fume over an API, but at the heart of the matter is the inherent messiness of fitness data.Here’s a typical scenario. Say you’re all in on Garmin’s platform. You use their watches for running and strength training. Then, you pick up a Peloton bike for indoor cycling. Well, Garmin devices aren’t compatible with Peloton bikes because the two companies haven’t struck a direct deal with one another for data sharing. So, to get your heart rate on the Peloton bike, you buy a chest strap. And then you decide to train for a race, so you sign up for one of those digital coaching platforms — the kind where a personal trainer reviews... Continue reading…

Apple may have just recently released the M4 Mac Mini, but that doesnt mean you cant find it at a discount. The new, much more compact model of Apples mini desktop computer starts at $599, but you can already score better prices than that. Amazon lists the base M4 Mac Mini at just $559, but a special Black Friday coupon brings it below the $500 mark to $499.99.

Image: Getty Baidu’s robotaxi division, Apollo Go, just rolled out its latest robotaxi across multiple cities in China, and if stakeholders in the US aren’t nervous yet, they should be.The RT6 is the sixth generation of Apollo Go’s driverless vehicle, which made its official debut in May 2024. It’s a purpose-built, Level 4 autonomous vehicle, meaning it’s built without the need for a human driver. And here’s the thing that should make US competitors nervous: adopting a battery-swapping solution, the price for one individual RT6 is “under $30,000,” Baidu CEO Robin Li said in an earnings call.“All the strengths just mentioned above are driving us forward, paving the way to validate our business model,” Li added. Adopting a battery-swapping solution,... Continue reading…

It doesn't seem that long ago when mobile gaming was summed up by games like Flappy Bird and Candy Crush. As phones got more powerful, so did the games, and now we have full-blown titles that run in the palm of your hand. As such, companies have developed controllers that cradle your phone and let you play your games without needing to tap the screen. One of our fave models is the GameSir G8 Galileo, and if you've been on the lookout for a stellar mobile controller, you can now get it for its cheapest price ever during this year's Black Friday deals.

The Spectra smartwatch is now available for preorder through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign. | Image: Pocuter The Spectra is a new smartwatch designed from the ground up to be hackable and easy to repair. It was created by Pocuter, a company that has spent the last few years honing an expertise in building small electronics like its tiny Pocuter One computer. What makes the Spectra unique is that it’s repairable, yet with a design that mirrors the Apple Watch which is much harder to get into.The wearable is now available for preorder through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign with delivery expected as early as July 2025. Early backers can preorder one discounted to around $209, while full pricing is closer to around $272. The Spectra is the company’s seventh Kickstarter campaign, but also appears to be one of its most ambitious. Three years... Continue reading…

People choose different browsers for different reasons, and one of the major archetypes is the gamer browser. PC gamers are rarely seen with just one monitor, and they usually have a browser up on a different screen to check out strategies or chat with friends. Now, Microsoft Edge is vying to become the gamer's browser by giving people a way to search for information without Alt-Tabbing out of their game.

Photo by Patrick George for The Verge Hyundai is recalling over 145,000 Ioniq and Genesis vehicles due to a 12-volt battery charging issue that could cause the EVs to lose drive power and increase the risk of a crash.NHTSA says the cause is the vehicles' Integrated Charging Control Unit (ICCU), which is likely to get damaged due to an internal electrical fault.Upon failure of the ICCU, a series of driver warnings appear, and the vehicle activates a “fail-safe” driving mode that slowly reduces drive power over the course of 20 to 40 minutes. Hyundai will instruct owners to take affected vehicles to dealerships to replace the ICCU and its associated fuse and install new software to prevent overvoltage that could damage the part again. Hyundai told NHTSA that as of November... Continue reading…