Image SpaceX’s Starshield unit has had a classified contract with the US National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) since 2021 to build a network of “hundreds” of spy satellites for the agency, Reuters reports today, citing unnamed sources “familiar with the program.” A Wall Street Journal report in February listed a classified $1.8 billion SpaceX contract with a then-unnamed government agency. Now Reuters has attached a name, and that it’s to build a network of “hundreds of satellites bearing Earth-imaging capabilities that can operate as a swarm in low orbits.” The report didn’t say when the network will be operational or what other companies are involved. It does mention that a US database of space objects lists satellites deployed by SpaceX... Continue reading…

Although Windows 11 has an array of security features and drive encryption powered by BitLocker, there is no straightforward way to lock a folder on Microsoft's desktop OS. Adding an extra layer of security over private folders is important before sharing your Windows laptop or PC with someone else. Here are the effective ways to password-protect any folder on Windows 11.

Are you using Bing as your search engine? Not a lot of people do, and Microsoft knows it. The company has been on a quest to try to convince people to give its search engine a shot. Perform any action in Windows that opens a webpage, and there's a good chance it'll open in Edge. The company has even been pestering Chrome users to switch to Bing in recent days. Now the company is adding a Bing search bar to Edge error pages, in hopes that you'd use it to figure out what's wrong.

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images An unusually fast process. A classified briefing. Phone lines clogged with teenagers “in near tears.” The bill, meant to force the sale of TikTok, passed by a landslide. Continue reading…

How often do you stick around on the Windows 10 lock screen? It seems that Microsoft wants it to be a hub for information about your PC, but it has been sitting kind of barren for a while now, and there's not much to do past moving past it to use your PC. However, Microsoft is planning to change that with a new update for Windows 10. Available now on the Preview branch, you can add weather, traffic, and financial information to your lock screen, along with some other handy features.

Thanks to their small size, decently capable specs, and large community, the Raspberry Pi SBCs remain some of the best devices for home projects. Like the average desktop, the operating system is one aspect every mainline entry in the Raspberry Pi lineup needs to function.

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Federal prosecutors asking questions about Meta are "looking into whether the company’s social-media platforms are facilitating and profiting from the illegal sale of drugs," according to unnamed sources in a report today by the Wall Street Journal. Prosecutors reportedly sent Meta subpoenas last year seeking records on “violative drug content on Meta’s platforms and/or the illicit sale of drugs via Meta’s platforms.” A Meta spokesperson told the Journal that, “The sale of illicit drugs is against our policies and we work to find and remove this content from our services. Meta proactively cooperates with law enforcement authorities to help combat the sale and distribution of illicit drugs.” The WSJ said TikTok did not respond when... Continue reading…

Bose’s QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds drown out noise exceptionally well while delivering enjoyable sound. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge Working from coffee shops can be great, but noisy neighbors can make it hard to focus. If you’re looking for a way to drown out the noise without being rude, the best noise-canceling earbuds have thankfully returned to their best price. Best Buy, Walmart, and Bose are all selling the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds for $249 ($50 off).In addition to top-notch noise cancellation, the wireless earbuds sound great with a new immersive audio component. Bose also improved voice call performance, so you should have no problem making calls from cafes, while the transparency mode remains crystal clear. The buds are now designed to fit even more securely in your ears while retaining perks like IPX4 water resistance, so you don’t have to worry... Continue reading…

Kab Inc. The legendary Japanese composer wanted to record his final concert. So he asked his son, Neo Sora, to direct it. Continue reading…

Video editing is demanding work that requires specialized equipment, from powerful laptops to slick video editing software. What is often overlooked (but won't be for long once you start actually editing videos) is storage. The best SSDs for video editing need to be fast and offer enough capacity to store large files, and there's a good chance the drive that's already inside your computer is not up to the task.

Image: Playstack I’m sorry, there’s simply no escape. The addictive magic roguelike poker game Balatro, which grossed $1M in eight hours, sold 500,000 copies in 10 days, and has now been played for 1,742 years, is now coming to iPhone and Android too. That’s the word directly from the game’s anonymous solo developer LocalThunk and their publisher Playstack Games, who participated in a verified Reddit AMA earlier this week. The game originally shipped for consoles and Windows PCs — and was briefly banned from some storefronts over a ratings mistake. It’s back, and there’s also now a MacOS port that you can access by buying the game on Steam. The full Reddit AMA has loads of insight into Balatro’s development process, including their biggest... Continue reading…

Subscriptions are all around us at this point; first came Netflix, which allowed us to cut the cord and give in to the world of video on demand. Largely regarded as a consumer convenience, it led to the growth of other platforms such as Spotify. Spotify launched a year after Netflix started streaming, and it too offered users a convenient way to legally consume music anywhere in the world. Since then, we've seen company after company launch its own subscription service, laying the bill at the foot of the consumer while ensuring a positive cash flow month to month.