Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Activision is getting set to launch a new, and dare I say fun, system to counter cheaters in Call of Duty: Warzone. As part of an update to the game’s Ricochet anti-cheat system, a new feature called Splat will randomly and without warning plummet detected cheaters straight to the ground after deployment at the start of a match. (Hence the name, Splat.)Activision has toyed with Call of Duty cheaters in a few different ways as of late. The publisher gifted an automatic god mode and invisibility to players getting shot by detected cheaters and later shamed cheaters by announcing they’ve been booted in the kill feed.Taking away parachutes isn’t the only mitigation included with Splat. If people are detected as cheating after the start of... Continue reading…

Even if you never used Omegle, you’d probably heard about its sketchy reputation. | Image: Omegle Omegle, a popular video chat service that randomly connects users with strangers, has shut down after 14 years amid misuse of the platform and increased scrutiny by online safety regulators. In a lengthy statement announcing the closure, website founder Leif K Brooks said that operating Omegle is “no longer sustainable, financially nor psychologically,” and that fighting to prevent it from being misused is “simply too much.” While the website remains live to host Brook’s statement, its anonymous video chat function is no longer accessible.Omegle gained a reputation as a breeding ground for sexual abuse of minors, leading to a prominent lawsuit in which the website was accused of pairing an 11-year-old girl with a sexual predator. The... Continue reading…

A promotional image of Humane’s AI Pin. | Image: Humane Humane has finally shared the details about its new device. Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Apple has agreed to pay up to $25 million to settle claims that it engaged in hiring discrimination. On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that $18.25 million will go toward creating a backpay fund for affected victims, while the remaining $6.75 million is in civil penalties.The DOJ found that Apple violated the Immigration and Nationality Act when recruiting through a permanent labor certification program (PERM), which lets companies hire foreign workers permanently in the US. When recruiting workers for this program, the DOJ says Apple didn’t advertise openings on its website “even though its standard practice was to post other job positions on this website.”The DOJ also found that Apple only accepted PERM position... Continue reading…

Handhelds or portable gaming devices have always been around, but the last couple of years have been pretty exciting with the launch of the Asus ROG Ally, the Steam Deck, and other alternatives. As the space gets crowded, the Ayaneo 2 sticks out, mainly due to its crazy (good) specs. And with great specs, come great prices — the Ayaneo 2 starts at $1,099. Which means you better get it a good case and a screen protector.

Image: Netflix We’ve seen the announcements, then the actors, the teaser, and now the first official trailer for Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender adaptation is finally here.The trailer was a short but packed affair, offering really good looks at both the main characters and the just-as-beloved side characters. Kyoshi Warrior Suki looks amazing, as does the Earth Kingdom city of Ba Sing Se. Avatar fans, it is looking good.Yesterday, Netflix teased that the trailer was on its way, giving us another (if a bit blurry) look at the Gaang. Earlier this year, we got our first look at Sokka, Katara, Aang, and Zuko, while Netflix later released photos of Fire Lord Ozai, Uncle Iroh, Azula, and General Zhao. With the principle players assembled, all that was... Continue reading…

Ultraman’s classic powers make him well-equipped to deal with almost any larger-than-life situation threatening the lives of ordinary people. But in the first teaser for Netflix’s new animated Ultraman: Rising feature from co-directors Shannon Tindle and John Aoshima, none of the hero’s incredible powers can prepare him for the challenges of becoming a father… to a baby kaiju.Ultraman: Rising tells the story of how Japanese baseballer Ken Sato (Christopher Sean) returns to his home country with the intention of becoming the next Ultraman and Earth’s protector, only to inadvertently find himself saddled with the responsibility of raising a baby kaiju. When an encounter with one of Ultraman’s deadliest monster enemies results in Ken’s... Continue reading…

With Netflix’s Umbrella Academy coming to a close with its upcoming fourth season, it seemed like Netflix planned on giving viewers at least a little peek at what to expect during this week’s Geeked Week showcase. Turns out, that’s not quite the case.Every member of The Umbrella Academy’s core cast seems quite excited about the new directions the show’s fourth season’s going to take their characters. But you’d be hard pressed to suss out just what, exactly, is going to become of the Hargreeves siblings now that they’re trapped in an alternate timeline following the events of the show’s season 3 finale. Apparently, we can look forward to seeing new villains, though, and it’s going to be very interesting to find out whether season 4... Continue reading…

Laura Normand / The Verge The Elon Musk-owned SpaceX won a court order preventing the Department of Justice’s hiring discrimination lawsuit from moving forward, as reported earlier by Reuters. In a decision on Wednesday, US District Judge Rolando Olvera ruled that the DOJ’s administrative judges don’t have the authority to review the case.The DOJ sued SpaceX in August over allegations that the company refused to hire asylum seekers and refugees. The agency, which has been investigating SpaceX’s hiring practices since 2020, accused SpaceX of discouraging refugees and asylum seekers from applying “by wrongly stating that SpaceX can only hire U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents.” SpaceX countersued the DOJ in response, alleging that the administrative law... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Nvidia has started emailing out press invites for a “special address” at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The event invitations come just days after rumors suggested Nvidia’s RTX 40-series Super cards will debut at CES 2024, including an RTX 4070 Super and RTX 4080 Super.Nvidia’s invite doesn’t mention GeForce, nor who will be presenting at the keynote on January 8th at 11 AM ET / 8AM PT. Nvidia’s event will take place on a busy day of press conferences at CES, so we’re definitely expecting some news here. Image: Nvidia Nvidia’s CES 2024 event invite. Hardware leakers have been revealing details about RTX 4080 and RTX 4070 Super cards for weeks now, with the more powerful RTX 4080 Super rumored to... Continue reading…

Illustration: The Verge Tumblr is downscaling its ambitions after failing to reach goals for a new audience, aiming to move some staff members to other divisions of parent company Automattic. A leaked memo, which circulated on Tumblr and was confirmed in a Verge comment by Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg, says that “the majority” of Tumblr’s non-support, safety, and moderation staff will “switch to other divisions.” In follow-up posts on Tumblr, Mullenweg stated that Automattic is planning “a more focused approach in 2024,” including an emphasis on the “core functionality” of the site.“After 600+ person-years of effort put into Tumblr since the acquisition in 2019, we have not gotten the expected results from our effort, which was to have its revenue and usage... Continue reading…

Apple announced a slew of new MacBook Pro configurations Oct. 30, and they'll start shipping to users in early November 2023. But with the release of the MacBook Pro, Apple unveiled three new chips: the M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max. You can get each one of these chips in various configurations of the new MacBooks Pro, which can make the lineup a bit confusing. The MacBook Pro is a powerful mobile workstation that can be great for video editing, but you'll want to make sure you have all the specifications you need for the job. To help you find the right one, we've rounded up all the things to consider, and we'll name the absolute best MacBook Pro for video editing as well.