Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The National Labor Relations Board ruled that Google’s refusal to bargain with a group of unionized YouTube Music contractors is illegal. The three-member panel decided that despite denials by Google, which owns YouTube Music, and its subcontractor Cognizant, the two are, in fact, joint employers of the Austin-based workers who perform data-related tasks, like finding errors in its charts algorithm. “At all material times, Respondents Cognizant and Google have codetermined the essential terms and conditions of employment of employees employed at the E. Parmer Lane facility and have been joint employers,” writes the board in its decision (PDF). Google’s troubles with its YouTube Music contractors first began last year, after a group of... Continue reading…

Dell’s XPS line has brought us some of the best laptops available today, and the new Dell XPS 14 (2024) is already poised to be added to the list. It combines go-anywhere mobility with one of two powerful H-series Intel Core Ultra 7 processors to make for an all-purpose daily driver. However, this laptop performs best when battery life isn’t a concern, so you’ll want to keep an extra USB-C power adapter handy. These are the best chargers to replace the stock 60W adapter for the integrated graphics model or 100W adapter for the dedicated graphics model.

Microsoft has huge plans for its Copilot AI assistant. 2023 was undoubtedly the year of Copilot, and Microsoft has gone on record to say that it wants Copilot to be as influential as the invention of the Windows Start button that can not only work as a chatbot but also help you manage your system. Unfortunately, its functionality doesn't surpass that of a regular ChatGPT-based chatbot right now. While Microsoft hasn't said it'll outright replace the Start button with Copilot, it does hope that people will use it to open apps, manage their PCs, and use it to find answers to questions. It has added it to the Windows taskbar in current preview builds to showcase how useful it hopes it'll be.

If you want to get into development, there’s never been a better time to do so. You can use ChatGPT to learn how to code, start software development on affordable Chromebooks, and browse through thousands of easily accessible tutorials and courses. Python is one of the best programming languages to start with, as it’s relatively easy to learn yet powerful in fields like data science, artificial intelligence, and scientific computing.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The new year was supposed to begin with a brand spanking new calendar app. But roughly 72 hours after the premium email service Hey announced its latest feature — an integrated calendar — co-founder David Heinemeier Hansson received some unwelcome news from Apple: it was rejecting a standalone iOS app for Hey Calendar, because non-paying users couldn’t do anything when they opened the app up.New users can’t sign up for Hey Calendar directly on the app — Basecamp, which makes Hey, makes users first sign up through a browser. Apple’s App Store rules require most paid services to offer users the ability to pay and sign up through the app, ensuring the company gets up to a 30 percent cut. The controversial rule has a ton of gray areas and... Continue reading…

Last year, Microsoft announced that it would be discontinuing many of its own-branded accessories, barring those that carry the Surface brand. That meant products like mice, keyboards, and webcams would no longer be sold by Microsoft. However, if you were worried that these products were going away forever, Incase has come to the rescue with a new partnership that will allow these accessories to live on under a different brand.

There are plenty of great web browsers out there, but until recently, there wasn't one specifically focused on the gaming audience. After all, browsers are multi-purpose tools, but gamers have more specific needs regarding their PC usage, and the web browser is no different. As such, choosing an appropriate web browser for your particular use case is pretty important, and we've done the research to figure out which one is the best for gamers.

Cooler Master has been around for quite some time and is a trusted company that produces a wide variety of computing accessories. The brand's SK620 mechanical keyboard is reliable, compact, and is great for everyday use.

Image: Incase Microsoft surprised everyone last year by deciding to discontinue its range of popular mice, keyboards, and PC accessories. After decades of Microsoft-branded PC hardware, the software giant has decided to focus on the Surface brand instead. Now a unique partnership will see Microsoft’s PC accessories live on, thanks to accessory maker Incase.“The products will be the same products, but instead of saying Microsoft they’ll say Incase, designed by Microsoft,” explains Onwards Brands CEO Charlie Tebele in an interview with The Verge. Onwards Brands is the parent company responsible for the Incase, Incipio, Griffin, and Survivor brands that make accessories for laptops and phones.This is the first time Incase will be offering PC... Continue reading…

Windows 11 brings plenty of cool features and is always getting new ones, too, with updates like the Windows 11 23H2 update. You can enjoy Snap Layouts to multitask efficiently, play with Android apps on your PC, and even link your iPhone to your laptop. One thing that's missing from Windows 11, however, is desktop icons.

The Apple Watch is available in a number of different models and sizes, and each option brings high-end hardware, brilliant display, and ideal integration with your iPhone. Like their full-sized phone siblings, the best Apple Watches deserve some extra protection to keep them looking pristine.

Image: The Verge Warner Bros. Discovery’s add-on sports tier for Max is going to remain free for a little longer than originally planned, as reported by Deadline. The Bleacher Report Sports add-on was added last October, and while it’s been available at no cost to subscribers so far, it was set to become a paid add-on on February 29th, 2024. However, the switch to a $9.99 monthly fee has been pushed out a few months as Warner Bros. Discovery works out some tech issues.“The B/R Sports Add-On will continue to be made available to Max subscribers on us for a few more months as we finalize some tech integrations that will ensure a more seamless customer experience with our platform partners,” Max spokesperson Jeff Cusson said in a statement to The Verge.T... Continue reading…