Sports games are an incredibly popular genre that people have loved to play throughout the years. However, one sub-genre of sports video games that had a broader audience and generated a lot of excitement was arcade sports titles. These games took the concept of playing a particular sport and greatly exaggerated the best parts of it, not focusing on being a simulation of the sport itself. The big plays are bigger, the crazy moments are crazier, and the hype is greater than any traditional sports game. Some of the greatest sports titles of all time have been arcade sports games that have a reverence for the integrity of the sport, but manage to be great fun in every aspect of their design.

The next generation of Hue’s smart button is bigger, but is it better? Smart lighting company Hue has released a new version of its Smart Button, one of the simplest ways of controlling Hue’s colorful smart lights. The new Smart Button has a bigger design and a bit of price hike — in the U.S., at least, where it now costs $32.99 compared to $29.99 for its predecessor. That’s significantly more than the UK and EU pricing for the new button — £19.99 and €21.99 respectively — possibly a sign of things to come.The new button is available now directly from Hue’s site.A Zigbee device, the Hue button can be programmed to control any single or group of Hue light bulbs and fixtures through the Hue app. According to Philips Hue’s website, the button “allows you to trigger scenes based on time of day, or cycle through a selection. Press and hold to dim and brighten your lights, or even set it to start an automation.” This is the same functionality as the prior model, meaning all that appears to have changed is the design and the price. The new button is almost twice the size, with a 45mm diameter (about 1.8 inches) versus 32mm (about 1.3 inches). It’s now more angular and flatter, versus the more bulbous style of the prior model. It also doesn’t come with a large plastic wall plate that resembles a standard light switch – handy for people who are used to using regular switches. Instead, it only comes with a small metal plate to magnetically attach the button to the wall, according to HueBlog’s hands-on with the button.The Hue button uses the same CR2032 battery, which, according to Hue, should last for two years. HueBlog called out the battery for being a lot easier to replace on this new button than on the previous one. As it works over Zigbee, the button requires a Hue Bridge and is compatible with Matter-supported platforms through the bridge (as its predecessor was). This includes Apple Home, where it shows as a single-press button.I reviewed the first generation of the button when it launched in 2019 for $24.99, and it’s long been one of my favorite easy ways to control Hue lights. An update in 2023 added more control options, including the ability to cycle through Hue’s natural light scenes based on time of day, so you could get the right type of tunable white light for the time of day with just one press.I like the idea of a slightly larger design, which could be easier to use, but the fact that it’s more expensive in the States than in the EU and UK is a worrying sign. Hue is already one of the most expensive smart lighting brands, and based on an email the company sent to users earlier this month, it may be getting even more expensive — at least for those of us on this side of the pond.  According to the promotional message I got on June 9th, Hue’s “prices go up on July 1.”The note about the price increase appears to have only been sent to US customers, indicating the increase may be due to Trump’s tariffs. We’ve reached out to Signify (Philips Hue’s parent company) to confirm and to find out which products will be affected.

NotebookLM has been around since July 2023, but it's still fairly new to most users. But NotebookLM being relatively new or having a smaller audience doesn't translate into a lack of competition.

The gaming handheld market has truly boomed in the last few years, propelled by the success of the original Nintendo Switch. For a while, power alone was enough to make PC gaming handhelds more appealing, but with the Switch 2 now on the market and outshining most of the alternatives, it's become apparent to me once again that Lenovo was the only one to ever come close to delivering the same vision as Nintendo.

The all-Republican Federal Trade Commission agreed to approve a $13.5 billion ad merger if it includes a ban on steering ad dollars away from platforms or publishers based on “political or ideological viewpoints.” The order, which was reported by The New York Times earlier this month, would prevent ad giant Omnicom from wholesale avoiding platforms like X based on their political viewpoints without explicit direction from its advertiser customers. X lost advertisers in 2023 after placing ads next to pro-Nazi content. On Monday, the agency published a proposed consent order that it says would “resolve antitrust concerns” over Omnicom’s acquisition of Interpublic Group, which it says are the “third- and fourth-largest media buying advertising agencies in the U.S.” Under the proposed terms, the newly merged company could not direct or deny advertisers’ spending on any given platform based on that website’s political or ideological views, or those of the content the ads might run alongside. Advertisers who work with Omnicom can still directly request that the media buying agency avoid certain publishers based on political viewpoints.The FTC commonly places conditions on companies seeking to merge through consent orders to prevent anticompetitive effects, but this unusual provision addresses a particular complaint of congressional Republicans and former “First Buddy” Elon Musk, whose company X (formerly Twitter) claimed advertisers engaged in an “illegal boycott” by pulling ads off the platform in the wake of reports on far-right content and Musk’s own promotion of antisemitic conspiracies. The FTC is investigating news outlet Media Matters for encouraging advertisers to drop X; Media Matters sued in response today.One of Musk’s primary targets was the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a voluntary initiative organized by the World Federation of Advertisers that helped companies avoid advertising against illegal or otherwise harmful non-“brand safe” content. GARM disbanded due to limited resources in the wake of the antitrust suit from X. The FTC mentions GARM in its complaint against the Omnicom merger, saying allowing two major companies to merge could have a similar impact. “With one fewer major competitor in the Media Buying Services industry as a result of the Acquisition, the remaining competitors have fewer impediments to coordinating the placement of advertisements, monitoring one another, and punishing one another for taking actions that harm them collectively,” the complaint says.The Supreme Court has previously protected the right to boycott. But in a statement, Republican Chair Andrew Ferguson claimed the provision would not infringe on advertisers’ First Amendment rights. “The decree goes to great lengths to avoid interfering with the free, regular course of business between marketing firms and their customers,” Ferguson says. “Omnicom-IPG may choose with whom it does business and follow any lawful instruction from its customers as to where and how to advertise. No one will be forced to have their brand or their ads appear in venues and among content they do not wish.”The order, however, says Omnicom can’t maintain any policy that “declines to deal with Advertisers based on political or ideological viewpoints” or “directs Advertisers’ advertising spend based on the Media Publisher’s political or ideological viewpoints.”Interpublic CEO Philippe Krakowsky called it a “notable step forward” in the merger process, and Omnicom CEO John Wren said he anticipated closing the deal in the second half of 2025.The proposed order was approved by Ferguson and Commissioner Melissa Holyoak, with Commissioner Mark Meador recused from the matter. President Donald Trump previously attempted to fire the agency’s two Democratic commissioners and has not yet nominated new ones, leaving the typically bipartisan and five-member agency in the hands of three Republicans.Update, June 23rd: Added statements from Omnicom and Interpublic CEOs.

Although Network-Attached Storage devices are used for simple tasks like backup, file-sharing, and data archival, the NAS rabbit hole goes pretty deep. While the CPU and RAM aren’t as important as, say, your gaming PC, you’ll want to go for models that can future-proof your storage server for a couple of years. If you’re building your own NAS chassis (or planning to get rid of the first-party OS in your pre-built enclosure), you’ll have to choose from a variety of operating systems.

When you're done assembling a new build, the urge to get into your favorite game is strong. You've probably spent a couple of hours putting everything together, dealt with cable management, and installed the operating system on your SSD. All you want is to experience your brand-new hardware in all its glory. However, you must tick a few essential checkboxes right after building your new gaming PC. Glossing over them due to laziness or inexperience can be detrimental to your new rig's performance.

Last year, I lost my old AirPods in my apartment and relied on my old-school Lightning EarPods for months before upgrading to an iPhone 16. Honestly, aside from missing wireless connectivity, I hadn’t noticed much difference. That’s why I still think they’re a good investment in 2025, and why I’m considering picking up the newer USB-C EarPods now that they’re on sale for $15.99 ($3 off) at Amazon and Walmart. That’s the best price we’ve seen and a smart buy if you’ve lost your entry-level pair or simply miss the simplicity of wired earbuds.Released in 2023, the USB-C EarPods are designed to work with Apple’s latest iPhones, which have ditched the Lightning port in favor of USB-C. Aside from that, though, they’re virtually identical to the Lightning EarPods that once came bundled with the iPhone (they even include inline controls for volume and playback). They may lack pretty much all of the bells and whistles found on Apple’s latest AirPods, but many of us at The Verge still swear by their mic quality, which, surprisingly, outperforms a couple of pricier wireless options — including older AirPods models. They deliver impressively clear sound, too, which is why some of my colleagues still reach for them during calls.For me, though, what I love most is how low-maintenance they are. I never had to worry about unwanted lag or battery life on long commutes — I just plugged them in and I was good to go. Best of all, they’re dirt-cheap to replace when you lose them, which, given my track record, I most certainly will.

The gaming scene has really changed since a decade ago, hasn't it? It wasn't long ago that console-exclusive titles were worth their weight in gold, and console manufacturers were highly protective of their IPs. Now, with news like the Final Fantasy 7 remake coming to other platforms due to sales on PS5 not doing so well, some consoles are letting their exclusives go, while others are holding onto them tighter than ever.

My biggest complaint with Liquid Glass in the first iOS 26 developer beta was that it sometimes made Control Center nearly unreadable, but Apple has seemingly fixed that with the second beta, which is out now.In the first beta, the glassiness of everything meant that you could still see a fair amount of what was under Control Center, making it all look really cluttered. With the second beta, what’s under Control Center is much more opaque, making it much easier to read at a glance.Take a look in this comparison slider: Developer beta 1 on the left, developer beta 2 on the right. This isn’t a perfect comparison because I’ve switched a few app icons on my homescreen, but hopefully you can get the idea. In the second developer beta, some colors still bleed into the Control Center buttons in a way that could potentially be confusing. But overall, I think Apple is moving in the right direction here. I’m curious if the company will make more changes ahead of the general release this fall.As reported by 9to5Mac, the beta includes a few other changes, too, including an excellent new ringtone that’s an alternate of the Reflections song. It sounds like something you’d hear in an Ace Attorney game. I switched to it right away.If you want to try the developer beta yourself, here’s our guide on how to install it. If you don’t want to be on the bleeding edge but still want to try what Apple is working on, the company is set to launch a public beta next month.

Windows updates are often known for adding features. Good or bad, most Windows updates bring something new to the table, and that's what makes the OS more exciting. But many times, Updates also remove features instead. Whether it's things like WordPad or... a good Start menu, we've had to say goodbye to a lot of things during the Windows 11 era.

General view of the nuclear power plant Indian Point seen from Tomkins Cove, New York before it powered down in April 2021. | Photo: Getty Images New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced plans today to develop a new nuclear power plant, the first to be built in the state in decades. It’s the latest signal that nuclear energy could see a comeback in the US thanks to wide-ranging support from some strange bedfellows: the Trump administration purporting to seek “energy dominance”; tech companies in need of more electricity for AI data centers; and climate hawks on board with nuclear energy as a carbon pollution-free alternative to fossil fuels. Nuclear energy could see a comeback in the US thanks to wide-ranging support from some strange bedfellows“The use of advanced nuclear technology can provide the State with a greater diversity of its energy resources that will support New York’s goal of a growing economy with a reliable, zero-emission electricity system,” New York State Energy Research and Development Authority president and CEO Doreen Harris said in a press release.Hochul is directing the New York Power Authority to construct at least one new site for nuclear energy upstate with the capacity to generate at least 1 gigawatt of electricity (about half the capacity of Hoover Dam power plant). The state is interested in advanced reactors that are still under development, in the hopes of overcoming some of the obstacles the nuclear energy industry has faced over the years. After a boom in nuclear reactors built in the 1970s and ‘80s, the technology struggled to compete as gas-fired power plants and solar and wind farms became cheaper sources of electricity. Fears about nuclear accidents like the partial meltdown at Three Mile Island and conflicts over where to store radioactive waste have also bogged down the industry. Next-generation designs for small modular reactors are supposed to cut down costs and make it easier to develop new sites for nuclear energy. President Donald Trump signed several executive orders last month to overhaul the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, speed up licensing for new reactors, and truncate environmental reviews. Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Energy, Chris Wright, previously sat on the board of a nuclear energy startup with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.The Vogtle power plant in Georgia has become an example of the kinds of problems that have plagued nuclear power projects; it’s the site of the first all-new reactors built in the US in more than three decades. After construction started in 2009, Vogtle units 3 and 4 finally came online in 2023 and 2024, roughly $17 billion over budget. Now, the average age of a nuclear reactor in the US is 42 years old, with many retiring recently or scheduled to soon shutter. That trend is starting to reverse, with help from Big Tech and government incentives. Google and Amazon have both inked agreements to support the development of next-generation nuclear reactors. Meta signed a deal this month to help keep a reactor built in the 1980s alive for another 20 years. And Microsoft announced a power purchase agreement last year that’s supposed to lead to the restart of one reactor at Three Mile Island. New York has a climate goal of slashing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent this decade compared to 1990. The state is about halfway to that goal, despite missing some key deadlines for finalizing pollution regulations.