Formatting or reformatting an SSD or a hard drive is a simple process which only takes a few minutes. The best SSDs out there from the likes of Samsung, Crucial, etc., come with dedicated utilities for formatting, but you can simply use the built-in tools in the Windows operating system to get it done easily. You don't have to format your SSD frequently, but it may be worth doing it occasionally to restore the drive to a clean state. You can even reformat it to a different file system during this process.

Setting off a high-altitude balloon and tracking its progress around the world sounds like an amazing project, but it sounds like something that would cost hundreds of dollars to set up. Fortunately, our favorite SBC is here to make the project dirt cheap. Someone has released code that lets you turn a Raspberry Pi into a worldwide explorer, and you can even register it on a website where you can track its progress alongside other hobbyists.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Uber has launched a new safety preferences section that gathers all of Uber’s safety tools in one place and lets users schedule them to switch on automatically.Some of the safety tools you can customize include audio recording — which saves encrypted audio of the trip that Uber can use to investigate reported incidents — and PIN verification, so you can ensure you’re entering the right vehicle. You can also share your live location and ride details with people you trust via ShareMyTrip, while RideCheck notifies Uber when a ride suddenly stops or goes off-course.You can choose to activate all of Uber’s safety features by default for every ride or customize your settings based on time and location. For example, you can set it to turn on... Continue reading…

Image: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Getty Images Transcription apps — apps that record and make text transcriptions of the conversation — have been an extremely useful way of keeping records for many of us. This doesn’t only pertain to journalists, who, of course, often keep records of their interviews. When you are caring for a family member who is ill, for example, having a recorded and transcribed record of a conversation with the doctor can be very useful. And when you’re dealing with the insurance company rep afterward — well, ’nuff said.There are two types of transcription services available online today: one that uses an AI engine and the other that uses human transcribers. The latter is usually much more accurate but is also considerably more expensive. As a result, most... Continue reading…

The countdown to Google I/O starts now. | Image: The Verge / Android Android 15’s first public beta is available to download now, provided you have a Pixel phone and a bit of a sense of adventure. It’s the first consumer-facing release after two developer previews, and while we have a good idea of what to expect from Google’s next mobile OS version, we’ll certainly hear more at the company’s annual developer conference soon enough.The blog post highlighting updates in today’s release covers some pretty pedestrian stuff. Apps will scale edge to edge by default and will draw behind translucent system bars on the top and bottom of the screen, rather than around them. There’s OS-level support for app archiving and unarchiving so third-party app stores can take advantage of this feature. Android 15 will also... Continue reading…

Photo: Saul Loeb / AFP via Getty Images This is Hot Pod, The Verge’s newsletter about podcasting and the audio industry. Hi, everyone — I’m starting off today with some big news to share: next week will be my last at Hot Pod and The Verge. Before coming here, all I wanted was to cover the podcasting industry, and I still can’t believe I managed to get a job doing just that. Even when the news was bad (which, let’s be real, was often), I was buoyed by the passion and innovation of this community. It’s been a real privilege getting to know so many of you.I’ll have a few more stories coming out before I leave as well as some final thoughts on the state of the industry. My colleague Jake Kastrenakes has a note below with more information about the newsletter moving forward.As... Continue reading…

Android 15 is in the works, and we've already had two developer previews arrive. They've both been pretty small updates though with quality-of-life improvements for the platform, and now our first Android 15 beta is arriving. Just like the developer previews before it, this is a pretty small update, but there's probably a lot more under the hood.

Image: A24 Director Alex Garland’s new dystopian thriller seems like it has something to say about American society, but it doesn’t have the guts to articulate a cohesive, thoughtful point. Continue reading…

The CPU (central processing unit) is one of the most important components inside a PC. It's what largely determines how much processing power will be available for tasks such as gaming and running software. Choosing the right processor is a complex decision to make, but buying the best CPU is crucial as it plays an intricate role in deciding how well your PC performs on different workloads, how well it runs games, and more. There's a good argument to make for focusing your PC on Intel right now, as even on the laptop side, you'll find many of the best RTX 4090 laptops with Intel chips.

Image: Apple Apple announced some Godzilla-sized updates for its streaming service. First up, the spinoff series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which premiered on Apple TV Plus last year, has been renewed for a second season. There aren’t any details on what the new season will entail or when it’ll start streaming, but showrunners and co-creators Chris Black and Matt Fraction will be returning.On top of that, Apple says that it has signed a deal with Legendary for even more projects based in its “monsterverse,” which will include “multiple spinoff series.” It’s not clear yet what those series might be, but here’s hoping we get a deep dive into the Shobijin. The news comes just a few weeks after the latest feature in the franchise, Godzilla x Kong: The... Continue reading…

Dyson wants to make cleaning fun again, but I was already having fun letting the robots do it. | Image: Dyson Dyson has developed a new feature that uses your smartphone’s augmented reality sensors to virtually paint over areas you’ve vacuumed, so you can see if you’ve missed a spot. The feature, called CleanTrace, uses the lidar scanner found on Pro or Pro Max iPhones 12 and newer and requires you to attach your phone to the vacuum. For now, the $1,000 Gen5detect is the only dust sucker in Dyson’s ranks that will accept the smartphone clamp, which will be sold separately. We’re not yet sure how much it’ll cost. Dyson is planning to add the feature to its mobile app as a free update when it launches this June.CleanTrace exists because “consumers are haphazard and inefficient – regularly overing the same areas multiple times and missing other... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Following Paramount’s move to add Showtime programming to certain Paramount Plus streaming plans, the Showtime standalone streaming platform is coming to an end.Variety reports that Showtime streaming subscribers have begun receiving notices that they will no longer be able to access the platform after April 30th. Going forward, subscribers will have to sign up for the $11.99 per month Paramount Plus with Showtime plan. Paramount Global announced its intentions to shutter the Showtime platform last year after also rebranding the traditional Showtime network as ”Paramount Plus with Showtime.”Though this whole renaming process has been awkward, Paramount’s following through on its plan to fully subsume the Showtime brand. And while... Continue reading…