Scarlett Johansson at Cannes in 2023. | Photo: Laurent Koffel / Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images Researchers at Arizona State University found that Scarlett Johansson’s voice does indeed sound like “Sky,” OpenAI’s currently discontinued GPT-4o voice, according to NPR, which commissioned the comparison. After using AI models developed to analyze vocal similarities to compare Sky to roughly 600 other actresses, the lab reportedly found Johansson’s voice was “more similar to Sky than 98% of the other actresses.”But the models also “often” found that the voices of Anne Hathaway and Keri Russell resembled Sky’s more than did Johansson’s. Visar Berisha, the professor who led the analysis, told NPR that Johansson’s voice is “similar, but likely not identical.” Berisha’s other work includes OriginStory (PDF), an FTC challenge-winning... Continue reading…

Photo: Joe Raedle / Getty Images Boeing, NASA, and the United Launch Alliance (ULA) scrubbed today’s launch of Starliner less than 4 minutes before liftoff. The setback comes after a string of disappointments, but as with its early May delay, the issue wasn’t with Boeing’s crew vehicle.NASA says the ULA is currently investigating why a computer, called a ground launch sequencer, didn’t enter “the correct operational configuration,” triggering an automatic hold. During a press conference afterward, ULA CEO Tory Bruno said the issue was that one of three redundant launch sequencers, which are used to control things like releasing connections to the rocket prior to launch, was slow to respond..@NASA, @BoeingSpace, and @ulalaunch are forgoing a Crew Flight Test launch... Continue reading…

This week was a nice cool-off from the wave of Microsoft and Google news that hit over the last two weeks, but that doesn't mean nothing cool happened. This week saw a ton of awesome homemade projects, plus some announcements from the bigger companies. If you didn't have the time to check out the news this week, here's a quick rundown of the most interesting things that happened.

Photo Illustration: Alex Parkin / Photo by Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images Unsettled host Ilana Levinson spent two months trying to reach one of her contacts in Gaza for an interview. She had stayed in touch with Isam Hammad, a manager for a medical equipment company in Gaza City, since covering his work organizing the March of Return protest in 2018. But after he fled the city in November, the two hadn’t shared much more than the occasional WhatsApp voice note with one another.When Levinson finally got ahold of Hammad in January, he was in Rafah, trying to get his family to Ireland on a family reunification visa. “I have no internet,” he said. “I have had to wake up every night since I made my [visa] application and go to the rooftop, turn on Vodafone Egypt, get the internet, check the list, and go back to... Continue reading…

Of all the components inside your PC, the graphics card is the one that works the hardest yet offers the least trouble. You'll rarely encounter an issue with the GPU and if you do it's likely related to the driver and not the device itself. There are instances where the GPU fails, however, and one could be the cooling solution attached to cool the chip. What happens if your GPU fans fail and could this cause issues for using the PC or playing games? I'm going to explain all!

If you've got your eye on a fun SBC project, you'll need a solid computer, and Orange Pi is one of the many Raspberry Pi alternatives out there. However, you'll still want a microSD card, and while you could look at the best Raspberry Pi microSD cards, we've found the best cards for the Orange Pi.

Image: Toho International Godzilla Minus One is officially streaming worldwide on Netflix as of today, everywhere except Japan and France, according to film distributor Toho International in a release shared with The Verge. You can also buy ($14.99) or rent ($5.99) digital copies, either in color (Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play) or black and white (Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play).Written and directed by Takashi Yamakazi, Godzilla Minus One goes back to the giant radioactive kaiju’s origins. It’s set just at the end of World War II after the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The film follows a kamikaze pilot named Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who after deciding to land on Odo Island rather than sacrifice himself for the war becomes one of the... Continue reading…

As you can see here, Sauron’s fortress of evil is sure to look great beside your modern art collection and West Elm furniture. | Image: Lego You can now own Sauron’s tower from The Lord of the Rings — well, the Lego version at least. Starting today, June 1st, Lego Insiders can purchase the massive Barad-dûr set for $459.99 before it becomes publicly available to everyone else on June 4th. Lego Insiders will also receive Lego’s exclusive Fell Beast set, which comes with J.R.R. Tolkien’s fictionalized steed and a Nazgûl minifig, so long as they make their purchase before the set becomes widely available on June 4th.Not a Lego Insider? Not a problem. The loyalty program is free to join, after all, meaning you can still buy the Lord of the Rings set today if you register for an account on Lego’s website. In addition to the Fell Beast set, Lego is also throwing in a free Water... Continue reading…

Do you think Linux machines require an antivirus scan? While some would argue that the operating system doesn't have enough viruses to justify one, Kaspersky seems to think differently. The company has made a blog post stating that it believes that Linux users should scan their PCs every so often - and while you're at it, why not try this new Kaspersky scanner that happened to come out just now?

The Beats Studio Buds Plus are on sale in all styles, including their slick translucent option. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Beats may be releasing a new pair of budget earbuds later this month, but their $80 price tag comes at the expense of active noise cancellation. Thankfully, if you’re looking for a cool-looking pair of earbuds that will let you listen to music and tune out the world, the Beats Studio Buds Plus remain a great buy. And right now, they’re joining the Beats Solo Pro 4 in dropping to one of their best prices to date at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target, where you can pick them up for $129.99 ($40 off). That matches the best price we’ve seen so far this year and is only $10 shy of their all-time low.Here at The Verge, we’re big fans of the translucent Beats Studio Buds Plus, which are more eye-catching than most wireless earbuds — including... Continue reading…

Minecraft is 15 years old, so it’s only natural that Lego should honor the anniversary with a set just for the game’s many adult fans. The company has started taking preorders for The Crafting Table, a 1,195-piece 18-and-up build, as Jay’s Brick Blog writes. The set will cost $89.99 in the US when it’s released on August 1st.Lego says the set will include “familiar biomes, favorite mobs and hidden Easter eggs.” As the name suggests, the kit looks like an in-game crafting table. But inside of it is a Minecraft diorama featuring 12 biomes including Plains (with a village), Taiga (with a dripstone cave), and Cherry Grove (with an abandoned mineshaft). Image: Lego It also has eight microfigures; among them are Steve,... Continue reading…

Image: Netflix Lara Croft’s next adventure — well, one of them, anyway — will start streaming this fall. Netflix announced that its animated Tomb Raider adaption will hit the service on October 10th. The show is called Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft, and it picks up right after the most recent video game trilogy, which culminated with Shadow of the Tomb Raider in 2018. Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter in the MCU) will star as Croft.Here’s the setup:Following the events of the Survivor series, Lara Croft has abandoned her friends to embark on increasingly more perilous solo adventures. But she must return home when a dangerous and powerful Chinese artifact is stolen from Croft Manor by a thief with an uncanny personal connection. Her daring pursuit... Continue reading…