Did I mention it’s only $56?! It doesn’t do anything other than track steps, but that’s all I want it to do. And at this price? I ain’t complaining. Continue reading…

Out of the box, when you connect a device to your home network with either Wi-Fi or Ethernet, its assigned an IP address automatically. This system is ideal for most people, since it simplifies the connection process and generally works just fine with the services they use. If youre more interested in local networking, however, needing to look up an IP address before making a connection could make it more of a pain than its worth. While some people dont need static IPs at all, there are still several reasons someone setting up a local network should set dedicated IPs for at least some of their devices.

Image: Hulu It only takes a few minutes before Futurama’s new season starts explaining non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, a concept most people probably haven’t thought about for more than a year.Despite being set in the far future, Futurama has always been comfortable commenting on modern life. There have been episodes about smartphones and 3D printers that use sci-fi nonsense to complicate the concepts in a way that makes them funny. That has largely continued to be true over many years (and cancellations). But in its Hulu revival last year, the show really started to mess up the balance, and its topical jokes began to overshadow the sci-fi gags. The upcoming 12th season struggles even more to find a Futurama-style twist on absurd... Continue reading…

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 47, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, so psyched you found us, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I’ve been reading about Skibidi Toilet and the future of mall brands and the legacy of Bell Labs, watching Dirty Pop and catching up on Cobra Kai, downloading every single podcast episode mentioned in this excellent Reddit thread, writing stuff down with Napkin, and trying desperately to figure out what I forgot to pack for vacation. I’ve also been trying new blueberry muffin recipes all week — thanks to everyone who sent me one! Speaking of which: As I mentioned last week, Installer is taking a summer... Continue reading…

Image: Samar Haddad for The Verge It’s one of the most common low-stakes annoyances in modern life: you flop down on the couch at the end of the day, finally with a few minutes to watch one of the dozens of incredible shows or movies you have access to thanks to the peak TV era and the advent of streaming, and you start scrolling. Instead of actually watching anything, you spend an interminable evening opening apps, aimlessly scrolling through endless rows of same-looking tiles. You eventually give up and watch The Office again.On this episode of The Vergecast, we look at why TV and movie recommendations are so complicated, and whether AI might be able to make them better. If Spotify can build infinite playlists of music you’ll like, and YouTube and TikTok always seem... Continue reading…

Image: Apple The end of the world just got a little closer. Apple confirmed that the much-anticipated second season of its postapocalyptic series Silo will start streaming on November 15th.Silo premiered last May and was renewed before the first season finished. Apple first teased season 2, alongside the return of Severance, at WWDC 2024. (Severance’s second season will start streaming in January.)Based on the trilogy of novels by Hugh Howey, Silo is set in the distant future and follows the remains of humanity, who live in giant underground bunkers — the titular silos — to avoid the deadly world outside. The season 1 finale ended with a big twist that made it clear there’s a lot more going on than the show initially lets on. It also only covers... Continue reading…

You may have seen detectives in movies using IP addresses to track down bad guys, but in real life, its not that straightforward. While an IP (Internet Protocol) address is given to your connected devices, you may very well have a different IP address than you did just a couple of hours ago. Also, if youve ever tried to connect to your home network from another connection using your IP address, you might find that its not even your current one anymore.

The smaller sibling to UE’s Epicboom offers plenty of punch for its size. But it’s a little thin on features to justify $250. Continue reading…

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge I’ve got a stack of bookmarked, favorited, and saved-for-later web articles that I’m going to get around to reading one day… but haven’t. I think that part of what puts me off working through that list is that reading on the internet, especially longer pieces, can be a slog. On most sites, besides the text and pictures that matter, you’ve got a constant flurry of ads, pop-ups, panels, and media to deal with.You can avoid this problem by using a bookmarking app such as Pocket, which offers an easier way to both save and read longer content, or you can buy a separate reading device such as a Kindle. However, if you don’t want to deal with another app or device, there’s another way. Most popular browsers now come with some kind of reading... Continue reading…

Have you tried out Explorer Patcher yet? It's a wonderful third-party tool that helps turn your Windows 11 PC into something more Windows 10-like, which is fantastic if you prefer the older OS's ways of doing things. Our editor, Joo Carrasqueira, actually gave Explorer Patcher a spin a few months ago, and he really liked it.

Photo by Tristan Fewings / Getty Images Following reports that the Russo brothers were in talks to helm more features for Marvel, the studio confirmed at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con that the pair will be directing two new Avengers films.During Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the studio announced that the Russo brothers have signed on to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — the former of which will see Robert Downey Jr, return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Doomsday is due out in May 2026, while Secret Wars will follow in May 2027.Just announced in Hall H: The Russo Brothers return to direct Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. Only in theaters May 2026. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/oqnSwWKnYn— Marvel... Continue reading…

With its tail end now visible, how did CrowdStrike affect you folk? Did it barely make a dent in your daily life, or did it turn it upside-down and make getting anything done a living nightmare? Whatever the situation, it's good to see that the world has (mostly) recovered from the outage. It was so big, in fact, that it's hard to believe that any other news actually happened this past two weeks. Fortunately, stuff kept happening, and this week was full of interesting tidbits worth revisiting. So, regardless of if you've just been busy or you've had your eyes glued to the CrowdStrike-related mess, here are our top five news pieces for the past week.