Heirloom’s technology filters CO2 out of the air. | Image: Heirloom Microsoft is helping to fund one of the US’s first hubs for pulling planet-heating carbon dioxide out of the air. It struck a deal with California-based startup Heirloom, which says it will capture up to 315,000 metric tons of CO2 for Microsoft over the next decade or so. The partnership fits into Microsoft’s climate goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030, meaning it plans to remove more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits as pollution. The company has made other deals with startups breaking ground on new industrial facilities that filter CO2 out of the air, called direct air capture (DAC) plants. Now, it’s also involved in the Biden administration’s push to build big hubs for DAC plants across the US. The partnership... Continue reading…

One more exec has pleaded guilty. | Illustration: The Verge Ryan Salame, who ran FTX’s Bahamas subsidiary, pleaded guilty to two criminal charges on Thursday. They are conspiracy to make unlawful political contributions and defraud the Federal Election Commission and conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transferring business.“I made political contributions in my name that were funded by transfers from an Alameda subsidiary,” Salame said in court, according to CoinDesk.The former FTX executive also agreed to turn over more than $1.5 billion in assets. Salame — like Caroline Ellison, Nishad Singh, and Gary Wang, the other three executives who’ve already pleaded guilty to fraud charges — was a member of Sam Bankman-Fried’s inner circle. He also spent millions on Republican election campaigns.... Continue reading…

Image: eBay eBay will give sellers the option to create entire product listings from just a photo using a generative AI tool, the company announced on Thursday. eBay believes the AI-driven product listings will accelerate the selling process, especially for new merchants who might feel overwhelmed by all the details they need to provide. The new tool uses pictures uploaded by sellers to fill in details like a product title, description, item category, and other key information a buyer might want to know. Right now, it’s available only in the iOS app, and according to TechCrunch, it will be available on Android in the coming weeks.As someone who spends a lot of time on eBay, I’ll be the first to say that the platform is sort of like the Wild West... Continue reading…

iPads have come a long way since their inception in 2010, going from a misunderstood product to one of the best-selling and most versatile tablets you can get today. We must also thank Apple for delivering more iPad models that adapt to every customer’s needs, expectations, and budgets. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean that getting a new iPad is an easy task, with options ranging from the $300 to the $1,099 mark and possessing different features.

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is testing a new background removal tool in Paint. The feature is rolling out now to Windows Insiders in the Canary and Dev Channels (version 11.2306.30.0) and lets you remove an image’s background with a single click.To use the tool, testers can open an image with Paint and then hit the background removal button on the left side of Paint’s toolbar. From there, Paint will automatically detect the subject of an image and cut away the background. Microsoft notes that you can also manually select the portion of the background that you want to remove. Image: Microsoft Bringing background removal to Paint would make the app even more useful. While I often use Paint for quick image edits, such as cropping,... Continue reading…

The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 for 2022 comes with some big changes, specifically the form factor, which is now a tablet with a detachable keyboard that doubles as a cover. While the official XPS Folio keyboard is probably the ideal keyboard for on-the-go use overall, it may not be for everyone. If you find yourself wanting something different, we've rounded up the best keyboards you can buy for the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 to help you out.

Image: Spike Chunsoft A Japanese court has convicted a man of violating copyright law after he uploaded gameplay and anime videos without publisher permission. Reported by Japanese paper Asahi Shimbun, the 53-year-old man, Shinobu Yoshida, was sentenced to two years in prison and assessed a 1 million yen fine (or about $6,700 USD.) Yoshida was arrested in May of this year after uploading gameplay videos of the visual novel Steins;Gate: My Darling’s Embrace back in 2019. According to a press release from the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), a Japanese anti-piracy trade group, the complaint apparently stemmed from the fact that Yoshida monetized the videos, which violated a Japanese law that prohibits making money off copyrighted material.... Continue reading…

This is the wireless network system you want if you're looking to achieve great speeds and expand the coverage in your home or office. The eero Wi-Fi 6 system mesh network comes with three hubs in order to completely blanket coverage up to 6,000 square feet in order to prevent and do away with dead zones.

Photo Illustration by Sheldon Cooper / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images Microsoft is telling customers it will assume legal responsibility if they get sued for copyright infringement while using the company’s AI Copilot services. In a blog post about an initiative called the Copilot Copyright Commitment, Microsoft chief legal officer Brad Smith said the company will take the heat for any potential legal risks as more copyright holders question how AI companies handle protected works. Microsoft said the policy is an extension of its overall AI customer commitments, announced earlier this year.Microsoft said it chose this path for three reasons: it wants to stand behind customers when using its services; it understands the concern of copyright holders; and it has built guardrails against the possibility of... Continue reading…

Tesla’s Universal Wall Connector can charge this Mustang Mach-E and the Tesla to the left. | Image: Hilton Tesla and Hilton are teaming up to install up to 20,000 electric vehicle charging stations at Hilton hotels and properties. The project will kick off in early 2024, and the chargers are slated for installation at 2,000 locations in the US, Canada, and Mexico.Hilton states this is the largest planned EV network by any hospitality company. On paper, there are enough chargers to have 10 installed per location, but distribution may vary, as Hilton says that “at least six” will be installed at any location. According to the company, EV charging availability is playing a major role in 2023 in converting searches to stays on Hilton.com.Tesla’s recently launched Universal Wall Connector charger (which Hilton is ordering) specifically can power... Continue reading…

Image: The Verge GM-backed Cruise is “just days away” from regulatory approval to begin mass production of its fully autonomous vehicle without a steering wheel or pedals, the company’s CEO, Kyle Vogt, said at an investor conference Thursday. Cruise first unveiled the Origin robotaxi in early 2020 as a vehicle built for the sole purpose of shuttling people around in a city autonomously. But since then, the company has been mired in a lengthy regulatory process before it can begin mass production. The vehicle’s lack of traditional human controls means that Cruise needs an exemption from the federal government’s motor vehicle safety standards, which require vehicles to have a steering wheel and pedals. The Origin has neither. The National Highway... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Senate has voted to confirm Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, breaking a deadlock that has lasted for most of President Joe Biden’s first term in office. Gomez was confirmed by a vote of 55 to 43, filling out the FCC’s Democratic majority. Her confirmation comes roughly two months after she was advanced out of a Senate committee following her nomination in May.Gomez has kept a low profile for much of her career. She served as a senior advisor at the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy prior to her nomination; before that, she worked at the FCC, the law firm Wiley Rein, and Sprint Nextel. As a Democratic commissioner, she’s poised to help Chair Jessica Rosenworcel... Continue reading…