Black Friday is when you should be doing your big-time shopping. You won't find deals this good all year long, so why would you waste them? Black Friday is synonymous with big savings, so knowing what you want ahead of time and seeking out the lowest price makes a ton of sense. Whether you're in the market for new graphics cards for your computer, an Apple device, or a new phone, there are plenty of sales to go around.

A Bluesky sign-in screen. | Image: Bluesky Bluesky, a decentralized social media app alternative to X (formerly Twitter), has announced that it has now crossed 2 million users — doing so just two months after crossing 1 million users. The company is also finally about to add a public web interface, which might help make it a more attractive destination for journalists and other users. One big hurdle for Bluesky to reach a bigger audience is that people can’t view links to posts without being signed in, so the upcoming public web interface should finally help alleviate that problem. The public interface is slated for launch “around the end of this month,” according to the company’s blog post.Bluesky will also open the floodgates for federation early next year. Bluesky is... Continue reading…

Image: Epic Games Fortnite just started showing age ratings for every experience you can play in the game, but as a result of those changes, some in-game outfits can’t be used in experiences that are rated Everyone or Everyone 10 Plus, according to a blog post from the Fortnite team. For example, while writing this article, got my game set up to visit the E-rated experience themed around The Game Awards while wearing one of the outfits you can earn from this season’s battle pass. When in the Fortnite lobby, there was a notice that “your selected outfit can’t be worn in experiences of this age rating” — which was surprising to me, because nothing about the outfit struck me as particularly offensive.But when I tabbed over to my locker, where Epic lets... Continue reading…

You've probably heard of Linux even if you haven't used it, and while it is often talked about as an alternative to Windows, Linux isn't just one thing. There are lots of different implementations of Linux, and one of the most popular is Ubuntu, which advertises itself as the Linux operating system for data centers, enterprise PCs, regular desktops and laptops, and more. Here's everything you need to know about Ubuntu.

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube has adjusted its ad-friendly content guidelines to allow breastfeeding videos with nudity — but only in cases when a child is present — as well as videos with twerking, grinding, and other “sensual” types of dancing. The platform updated its guidelines on Thursday with the changes, which will carry over to gaming videos as well.Previously, breastfeeding videos on YouTube that showed a visible areola were not eligible to earn ad revenue. Similarly, choreography videos that showed twerking, grinding, or in which the dancer wore minimal clothing were demonetized under YouTube’s policy. The new updates read as follows: Breastfeeding: Breastfeeding content where a child is present, even with visible areola, can now earn ad... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Google has shared an updated timeline about Manifest V3, the latest version of its Chrome extension specification that has faced criticism for putting limits on ad blockers. After putting the update on pause last year, Google announced on Thursday it will continue the transition to Manifest V3 with some key changes.One of those changes is “improved content filtering support” for the Declarative Net Request API used by ad-blocking extensions. Google previously proposed putting restrictions on the functionality of this API for security reasons, potentially impacting the effectiveness of ad-blockers across all Chromium-based browsers, including Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox. Developers and privacy advocates pushed back on the... Continue reading…

A traditional button in place of a cutout. | Image: Bellroy Two months after some case makers were wrong-footed by Apple’s decision to replace the mute switch with an Action Button on the iPhone 15 Pro lineup, Bellroy has released an updated range of cases. Unlike the first run, which had a cutout over the Action Button that could make it hard to reach in and press, the new designs have a more standard integrated button.“The new design includes another button on the case to give the same functionality and experience as the actual device. It’s a lot more natural and seamless,” says Bellroy’s head of product development Arya Ghavifekr. Bellroy says anyone who bought its first run of cases with the cutout will be able to exchange them for the new model. It’s continuing to sell the old cases that... Continue reading…

Whenever I review a new great laptop or Mac, there's one thing I always find myself doing. Because I have a large 32-inch monitor, I close the lid, place the laptop under my monitor, and connect it via DisplayPort. Then, I need to connect my keyboard, mouse, and other peripherals separately with multiple dongles. However, I haven't needed to use as many dongles in my setup, and I can still place my laptop under my monitor at an ergonomic angle thanks to the Satechi Dual Dock Stand.

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge TikTok is taking action against content promoting the manifesto Osama bin Laden wrote discussing his supposed motivations for the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), TikTok says it’s “proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform.”Dozens of videos about the manifesto, titled “Letter to America,” have surfaced on TikTok over the past several days, with CNN reporting the topic amassed “at least” 14 million views by Thursday. Originally published in 2002, the manifesto criticizes the US government’s presence in the Middle East and support of Israel. However, some creators are now trying to apply that criticism to the US government’s response to the ongoing... Continue reading…

Image: Valve Valve’s new Steam Deck OLED just went on sale today, but there are goodies for the original LCD model, too — the company is now rolling out a stable build of SteamOS 3.5.5 with a hefty list of fixes, changes, and upgrades.Some of the biggest are ones we’ve already seen in a September beta, like support for VRR and HDR external displays, the ability to tweak your screen’s color and undervolt your processor with new firmware, and a graphics driver update with a big performance improvement for Starfield (though it still looks like mud in cities). But there’s one thing on the list I didn’t expect: The update gives the official $79 Steam Deck Dock the new ability to support VRR external monitors itself. (Last I checked, the Steam Deck Dock... Continue reading…

Many people are getting fed up with almost every company adopting some kind of subscription-based model. Having to pay monthly for heated seats in your car or certain features on your smartphone is the worst-case scenario for consumers. The best cloud storage services are all subscription-based, and many of the best streaming services are, too. However, there's one membership that might actually be worth it.

AMD has been upping the game with its Ryzen series of CPUs, making considerable leaps in gen-on-gen performance. There are several great CPUs across AMD’s Ryzen range, so it can get a little confusing to pick the best one for you. This is especially true for CPUs in the same price bracket — like the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D and the AMD Ryzen 9 7900X. These two CPUs retail very close to each other in price while sharing some similarities and differences. We've extensively tested both chips and here’s how they stack up against each other.