Cath Virginia / The Verge The European Union is attempting to loosen the grip that companies like Apple, Microsoft, and Google have over the digital economy. Tech giants targeted by the Digital Markets Act (DMA) — a law passed in 2022 aiming to make the tech industry less monopolistic — are required to remove unfair competitive advantages that have let them dominate their respective markets by March 6th. But some experts believe the status quo is unlikely to shift. Many of these companies have announced compliance plans in response to the DMA, and for the most part, these changes — as one might expect from a plan crafted by the company itself — are unlikely to result in a loss of power. And then there’s Apple, which appears to be engaging in outright malicious... Continue reading…

Image: Logitech Logitech’s MX Brio is a new $199.99 (£219.99 / €229) 4K webcam aimed at everyone from remote workers to streamers. Key specs include the ability to stream in 4K at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps, an aperture of f/2.0, and an aluminum unibody design that kind of looks a little like a kazoo if you squint at it.Since it’s 2024, Logitech is naturally advertising some AI-powered technology in the MX Brio. The webcam’s “face-based image enhancement” is designed to automatically detect the position of your face within the frame of the webcam and adjust its picture’s white balance, exposure, and focus accordingly. But there have also been hardware improvements, with the company advertising that the pixels in its new webcam’s 8.5-megapixel sensor are... Continue reading…

While Generative AI (GenAI) is a particularly impressive and useful technology in the right hands, it can be used for malicious purposes by bad actors. Companies that develop GenAI tools typically build guardrails around their products to prevent malicious actors from misusing the technology, but even those are circumvented sometimes. This means that firms and services that can potentially be negatively impacted by AI software also need to have protection against this kind of use. Now, Google has announced some ways it will combat AI-generated spam and low-quality content in search results.

I’m the most shocked that I enjoyed the app. | Image: Headspace, Meta I am not a chill person, but I would like to be. It’s why I keep trying various meditation tech, breathing in and out as abstract graphics or disembodied voices guide me to a higher state of being. Or that’s what would happen if most meditation tech worked for me. So trust me when I say I expected nothing from Headspace XR.When the pandemic struck, meditation and mindfulness apps like Headspace were everywhere. Totally makes sense. Yet meditating in VR? It sounds ridiculous. Why would I breathe in a headset when I could just... not. But you never know! Things could surprise you! That’s why I, the meditation skeptic, agreed to try a demo of Headspace XR. Walking into Meta’s New York office, I thought I’d stick on the headset and nod... Continue reading…

When buying a new laptop, you might notice a specific "Intel Evo" badge or brand somewhere on the PC or on the product page. As the Intel name suggests, it's a platform that's tied in with the processor (CPU), first introduced in 2020 with Intel's 11th Gen chips and extending through to the latest Core Ultra mobile CPUs.

One of the things that makes Ubuntu a great operating system and Linux distribution is its simplicity, thanks in part to its Gnome windowing system. The setup process is also simple once you boot up your Ubuntu system for the first time. There's not a lot of extra work needed, and the operating system will take you through a guided setup process, just like the Windows 11 out-of-box experience or the macOS setup wizard might. You don't need any technical knowledge and just have to run through a few steps.

Is this what the Pixel 8a will look like? | Image: OnLeaks / Smartprix The Pixel 8a phone is getting a new 256GB tier, at least according to rumblings heard from retailers by the usually reliable German tech news site WinFuture. The site’s sources also say it will come in four colors, like the $499 Pixel 7a, but it will cost a quite a bit more than that phone at €569.90, or about $618 USD. According to WinFuture’s sources, the beefed-up storage version will cost even more — €630 (about $684 USD) — putting it a whiff away from the regular Pixel 8’s $699 price tag. However, as the site notes, that could be subject to change.The Pixel 8a will reportedly come in obsidian (black), porcelain (beige), bay (light blue), and mint (light green). Last year’s Pixel 7a also came in four colors, but only as a 128GB... Continue reading…

Windows 10 doesn't have a whole lot of time to live. Once its end-of-life date arrives on October 14, 2025, Microsoft will stop developing and distributing security patches for the operating system. After that, it's going to be risky to use a Windows 10 device online due to the potential security loopholes that Microsoft won't work to fix.

Image: The Verge The music labels suing Twitter — now X — for copyright infringement can move forward with parts of their lawsuit. In a filing on Tuesday, US District Judge Aleta A. Trauger partially denied X’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it’s still not clear “to what extent X Corp. may be liable for the infringing acts of users on its platform.”Last year, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) sued X for $250 million on behalf of Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, and other major publishers.The lawsuit alleges that X “breeds massive copyright infringement that harms music creators” by failing to take action against posts containing copyrighted music. Copyright issues on X have... Continue reading…

Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos from Getty Images The Digital Markets Act’s deadline for compliance is imminent. Its six designated “gatekeepers” have fought the rules, but also bent to them. Continue reading…

If you're looking for a motherboard for your new Ryzen 7000 chip, you don't have to look at just the best motherboards; you'll need an excellent AM5 motherboard. However, if you want to make a compact build, you won't need just one of the best ITX motherboards; you'll specifically need an AM5 ITX motherboard. Luckily, for all those small-form-factor obsessed Ryzen 7000 fans, we've got the ultimate list of AM5 ITX motherboards for you.

Logitech's MX lineup has been a reliable option for home and office users for a while, including useful peripherals like keyboards and mice. But there hasn't been a webcam in the MX lineup until today, when Logitech announced the MX Brio 4K. It's a spiritual successor to the Logitech Brio, which is the 4K webcam the company introduced back in 2017. Now firmly part of the MX lineup, the new MX Brio 4K has the build quality and premium feature set to match other MX products. That includes an aluminum build, a versatile mounting clip, and a larger camera sensor size.