Image: Bluesky Bluesky is taking a big leap toward federating. On Thursday, the social network announced that it is opening up early access for users and developers who want to self-host their data. While this isn’t true federation yet, the company plans to open up federation to larger servers with even more users in its next phase. When the dust settles, anyone can (in theory) create their own server with their own rules on Bluesky’s AT Protocol. The draw of self-hosting is that it offers users more control over their social media. Rather than store your data on Bluesky’s servers, you can keep it on your own, or move your existing posts, likes, and followers to another company’s platform. If Bluesky were to go bankrupt or change hands, users who... Continue reading…

The Verge There are more iPads than ever, and it can be tough to sort out which one is the best for you. Fortunately, we’re here to guide you through your next iPad purchase. Continue reading…

PC gaming handhelds have taken the world by storm with Valve's Steam Deck leading the pack, along with other great entries from the likes of Ayaneo, Lenovo, Asus, and others. Now, what makes these devices so alluring is the fact that you can take your PC gaming with you while you're on the go. Of course, versatility is another huge draw and a USB-C hub is the perfect way to expand its capabilities.

If you've ever used a Chromebook, you may have noticed its keyboard looks a little "softer" than others. That's because each letter on a Chromebook keyboard appears in its lowercase form, compared to other keyboards that use uppercase. If you've ever wondered why this is the case, Google has revealed the answer, and it makes a lot more sense than you may think.

GPT-4 is the latest large multimodal model from OpenAI, and it's able to generate text from both text and graphical input. OpenAI is the company behind ChatGPT and Dall-E, and its primary research focus is in, you guessed it, artificial intelligence. Today, we're going to talk about GPT specifically, what it does, and how it contributes to a growing industry that also includes ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini.

The Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra may not be the best or the most powerful or feature-packed Galaxy phone out there right now, but it's still very relevant in the Android space. Not only will it continue to receive updates for many years to come, but it also beats or goes neck-to-neck with some of the best phones on the market in 2024. So it's easy to see why you may want to buy one right now or hold on to your existing unit for a few more years before upgrading.

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Avast, the cybersecurity software company, is facing a $16.5 million fine after it was caught storing and selling customer information without their consent. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the fine on Thursday and said that it’s banning Avast from selling user data for advertising purposes.From at least 2014 to 2020, Avast harvested user web browsing information through its antivirus software and browser extension, according to the FTC’s complaint. This allowed it to collect data on religious beliefs, health concerns, political views, locations, and financial status. The company then stored this information “indefinitely” and sold it to over 100 third parties without the knowledge of customers, the complaint says.1.... Continue reading…

Image: Intuitive Machines NASA and Intuitive Machines’ lunar vehicle Odysseus was expected to touch down on the Moon today at 6:24PM ET and become the first successful US Moon landing since 1972’s Apollo 17 mission, and now mission control confirmed it is on the Moon and transmitting.Odysseus began its journey to the Moon on February 15th after it hitched a ride on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The mission, officially known as IM-1, is carrying scientific cargo to help NASA learn more about the Moon’s surface before NASA’s Artemis program brings people back to the Moon in 2025. It brings a laser retroreflector array to help other spacecraft make precision landings and a radio navigation beacon to provide geolocation data to landers, rovers, and eventually... Continue reading…

Image: Humane Humane announced that its AI Pin would start shipping in March, but there’s been a small delay. Early adopters are now being told orders will arrive in mid-April at the earliest, according to a video update from Humane staffer (and Verge alumnus) Sam Sheffer and emails we saw in Humane’s official Discord channel.On the plus side, the company says it’ll now throw in three months of its pricy $24-a-month subscription for free with the $699 pin — and will do so for any other customers who buy one before March 31st, too. a few @Humane updates: pic.twitter.com/olYQp8utdc— Sam Sheffer (@samsheffer) February 23, 2024(The $24 pays for the pin’s cellular data, among other things — it’s got its own phone number rather than piggybacking... Continue reading…

ASRock is responsible for creating some of the best motherboards on the market, though simply matching the CPU socket isn't all one needs to consider when buying a main board. Other factors to look at include voltage regulator modules (and their cooling), the number of implemented power phases for CPU power delivery, and connectivity to name but a few. If you're already set on buying an ASRock motherboard, we've rounded up our favorites to help you get started.

Image: Getty After nearly three decades, Vice will stop publishing stories to its website. Vice Media CEO Bruce Dixon said today that the company is going to lay off hundreds of employees as it plans a shift toward social platforms, according to a memo to employees obtained by Washington Post reporter Will Sommer.“It is no longer cost-effective for us to distribute our digital content the way we have done previously,” Dixon writes. “Moving forward we will look to partner with established media companies to distribute our digital content, including news, on their global platforms, as we fully transition to a studio model.”Vice has been struggling with many of the same challenges affecting other companies across the media industry. Advertising has... Continue reading…

Microsoft 365 has become a core part of Microsoft's business over the last decade or so. This subscription service gets you access to all the Microsoft Office apps you've always known, like Word or PowerPoint, with frequent feature additions, all for a relatively low monthly price. However, the subscription model isn't for everyone, and some still prefer buying Office outright with a one-time payment for a perpetual license.