10 expansion batteries connected to a single Power 2000 power station for 22kWh of home backup capacity. | Image: DJI After launching its first portable power stations last year, DJI just launched the Power 2000 with double the capacity, more output power, and big scalability. Unlike a fixed Tesla Powerwall solution, DJI’s followup to the Power 1000 I reviewed last year is designed to scale in support of your day-to-day energy needs no matter where you go while also offering the fastest charging times for your DJI drones. For example, you can take the Power 2000 along to a job site or weekend barbecue. Add solar panels and a few expansion batteries for longer car-camping trips or a vanlife summer, and then stack on a few more batteries when you return home to provide hours of home backup during the next blackout emergency.The Power 2000 is built around a 2048Wh LFP battery and 3000W inverter making this a mid-level unit. It comes slathered in ports, including two 140W USB-C, two 65W USB-C, four USB-A, and four AC outputs (the US model swaps one jack for a 30A RV outlet). It also features a pair of DJI’s dongle-loving SDC ports to fast charge DJI drones; add outputs like a 12V socket and inputs for solar panels; or to connect one of DJI’s Super Fast Car Chargers to tap into solar and/or the excess charging capabilities of your car’s alternator. All the ports can be monitored and controlled inside the DJI Home app. For home owners, those proprietary SDC ports can also be used to daisy chain up to ten of DJI’s existing Power Expansion Battery 2000 modules back to the Power 2000. That’s an impressive 10:1 ratio for a power station (most are 2:1 or 6:1 max in this class) for 22kWh of total stored energy capacity. A typical US home consumes about 29.2kWh per day, but not every device is needed during a blackout. Vanlifers require far less capacity and power — I use about 1.6kWh per day in my own van.The Power 2000 can pull up to 2200W from a standard wall jack to charge its internal battery from zero to full in about 75 minutes. It can be charged more slowly at a reasonably quiet 30dB if the noise produced by the internal cooling fans is a concern. In the event of an outage, the Power 2000 features a very fast 0.01 second cutover to act as a UPS for your most sensitive electronics. By building its 22kg / 48.5lb Power 2000 systems around relatively lightweight (16.5kg / 36.4lb) 2kWh expansion modules and off-loading infrequently used interfaces, DJI’s Power 2000 solution should be easier to move around than competing 3kWh battery systems from Anker, Bluetti, EcoFlow, and Jackery. Those devices, however, are more suited to supporting homes, even when those homes have wheels.For example, the Power 2000 lacks a high-amperage output to directly power 12V RV electrical systems, and DJI doesn’t offer a subpanel option that integrates directly into your house’s electrical system to intelligently offset your energy costs. But these are tradeoffs I imagine many will happily make in the name of increased portability so long as they can avoid having to buy too many proprietary SDC dongles (which can easily get lost). And given DJI’s rapid embrace of the category, I wouldn’t be surprised to see those advanced options made available in the future as the company’s Power lineup matures.The DJI Power 2000 is available today starting at $1,299 / €1,399. Maxing out the system with ten expansion batteries will cost close to $10,000.

Which GPU specs should you use to measure performance? This question becomes moot since benchmarks should be your north star when evaluating multiple GPUs. That said, VRAM has been a major point of discussion lately, hence it's important to highlight why it isn't a make-or-break GPU specification, and why there's a better spec that we should be focusing on. I've decided to use memory bandwidth as one of the most important parameters to determine GPU performance, for both gaming and non-gaming workloads.

On July 2nd, Microsoft announced sweeping layoffs affecting as many as 9,000 employees, and they had a big impact on the company’s Xbox studios. Microsoft canceled Perfect Dark from The Initiative and closed the studio. Rare’s Everwild, announced in 2019, was canceled, too. And Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios will lose more than 70 employees.“We must make choices now for continued success in future years and a key part of that strategy is the discipline to prioritize the strongest opportunities,” Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said in a memo to employees. “We will protect what is thriving and concentrate effort on areas with the greatest potential, while delivering on the expectations the company has for our business. This focused approach means we can deliver exceptional games and experiences for players for generations to come.”A rumor was circulating that Spencer was planning to retire after Microsoft launched its next generation of Xbox, but the company tells The Verge that Spencer isn’t retiring as the chief of Xbox “anytime soon.”Here’s all of our coverage of the layoffs. Blizzard is winding down support for its Warcraft mobile game The president of ZeniMax Online Studios is leaving. Microsoft’s Xbox cuts have hit key areas. Phil Spencer isn’t retiring as the chief of Xbox ‘anytime soon’ Microsoft cancels its Perfect Dark and Everwild Xbox games Microsoft’s Forza Motorsport developer hit hard by Xbox cuts

Microsoft says that Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming CEO and the head of Xbox, isn’t retiring “anytime soon.” The company has responded to rumors of Spencer’s retirement, which have spread online today following Microsoft’s major layoffs.“Phil is not retiring anytime soon,” says Kari Perez, head of Xbox communications, in a statement to The Verge. The denial comes after Call of Duty leaker GhostOfHope claimed “Phil Spencer will be retiring from his role as CEO of Microsoft Gaming after the launch of the next generation Xbox” and that Xbox president Sarah Bond would be taking over as CEO of Microsoft Gaming.While Microsoft’s comment doesn’t address the rumor fully, it makes it clear Spencer isn’t retiring imminently. Separately, Microsoft communications chief, Frank Shaw, took to X to claim that at least part of the rumor was made up.Spencer originally assumed leadership of the Xbox division in 2014, a promotion from his role as the boss of Microsoft Studios. As the boss of Xbox, he’s overseen many big initiatives, including the launch of the Xbox Series X / S, a huge push into Xbox Game Pass, acquisitions of major companies like Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax Media, bringing more Xbox games to platforms like PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.While Spencer isn’t retiring anytime soon, Microsoft is continuing its big cuts today that have affected Xbox studios and employees. Perfect Dark and Everwild have been cancelled, while Forza Motorsport developer Turn 10 Studios will be letting go of more than 70 staffers. Zenimax Online Studios also reportedly canceled a new MMORPG codenamed Blackbird that had been in the works since 2018.

A mandatory update for Google’s mid-range Pixel 6A phones is coming next week that is meant to reduce the risk of the battery overheating on some devices. According to a support page post, Google is issuing the mandatory Android 16 update starting July 8 to all Pixel 6A devices. However, only users with “Impacted Devices” will see any effect on their battery.Announced earlier this month, the update will reduce the battery capacity on affected phones after they reach 400 charging cycles, Google’s Alex Moriconi told The Verge. The move comes after at least two people reported their Pixel 6As catching fire. Google says affected users will get a notification when the phone has completed 375 cycles, giving them a heads-up that the new battery management features will be activated soon. Once these management tools are in effect, the battery won’t last as long between charges. According to Google, users may see other changes, “like reduced charging performance or short-term changes to how the battery-level indicator on your phone shows your battery capacity as your phone learns its revised battery capacity.” It’s not clear why some Pixel 6A phones are affected and others aren’t, but if yours is, Google is offering free battery replacement — you can check here to see if you’re eligible. The company has already dealt with a similar issue on the Pixel 4A, offering owners a free battery replacement or a $100 credit towards a new phone. It currently has an extended repair program for battery swelling issues on the Pixel 7A.

As I've dove further and further into Home Assistant, I've begun to explore other related tools, too. One such tool I've been playing around with is ESPHome, which inspired me to buy a couple of ESP32 boards, a CYD, and a ton of random sensors. As I deemed my CYD experiment a success, I purchased the XIAO 7.5-inch ePaper Panel from Seeed Studio, as I wanted something battery-powered, long-lasting, and different. My experiment has been a massive success, and it's been an incredibly useful addition to my smart home that's enabled me to work more efficiently.

There's always a reason why universal USB-C ports don't "just work" like you'd expect. In the early days, it was incompetence or naiveté. Later, manufacturers often cheaped out. But in the case of Nintendo's Switch 2, it appears to be intentional. With the Nintendo Switch 2, it should be easy to plug your new, more expensive console into video glasses or TVs when you're traveling away from home. USB-C makes it so. But Nintendo has intentionally broken the Switch 2's compatibility with those devices, using a new encryption scheme and some form of dedicated encryption chip, two accessory manufacturers tell The Verge. I haven't yet found pr …Read the full story at The Verge.

Banks are facing renewed pressure to protect their customers from scams on Zelle, the payment network owned by JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Capital One, and other big banks. In letters to the banks, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) asked them how often their customers report Zelle scams that originate from social media.Last year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase over claims they “rushed” Zelle’s launch in 2017 and failed to protect customers from “widespread fraud,” which resulted in more than $870 million lost to scams. In an attempt to protect its customers, Chase began blocking Zelle payments over social media, where scams often show up, last February. The CFPB dropped its Zelle lawsuit in March after President Donald Trump’s administration began dismantling the agency.“Banks, including JPMorgan Chase, have historically failed to protect consumers from Zelle fraud and scams,” the letters state. “According to the CFPB’s lawsuit, for example, since Zelle was created, the banks that run the payment service have not meaningfully improved their ability to detect and prevent fraud or increased their reimbursements to customers defrauded on Zelle to match the increase in fraud rates.”Without the support of the CFPB, the three lawmakers are now taking matters into their own hands. They asked the banks that own Zelle, which they claim is “associated with significant scams and fraud,” if they have noticed any broader trends of fraud on the payment platform, such as whether they come from social media or another source. The lawmakers are also pressing the banks for their policies on reimbursing customers who fall victim to scams on Zelle and other peer-to-peer payment networks. The banks have until July 14th to respond.“Zelle is leading the fight against scams and fraud and has industry-leading reimbursement policies that go above and beyond the law,” Zelle spokesperson Eric Blankenbaker said in a statement to The Verge. “The misguided attacks by the previous leadership of the CFPB would have emboldened criminals, cost consumers more in fees, stifled small businesses and made it harder for thousands of community banks and credit unions to compete.”Update, July 2nd: Added a statement from Zelle.

People enjoy tuning into platforms like Twitch to watch playthroughs of various video games, especially older and beloved titles. A popular part of this has been Twitch Plays Pokémon, which places the chat audience in control of the game on screen, allowing everyone to simultaneously control movement and more. It was something that went viral among game communities, who were intrigued by the idea of seeing a playthrough of an older game that was so dramatic to watch. Twitch Plays Pokémon led to other spins on the concept, including other types of games for Twitch to play together as a collective. But since the surge in popularity of that, other aspects of livestream gaming have appeared online, including some that utilize AI models to play.

Google's AI-powered research assistant, NotebookLM, is undoubtedly one of the best AI tools for productivity out there. Given that the tool is still fairly new, Google’s constantly rolling out new updates and features to improve it. Just two days ago, a leaked internal memo revealed that a lot of the features NotebookLM's been teasing for a while could arrive any day now.

Omni Tools is a browser-based open-source set of creative tools. The range of tools offered has the ability to let you use Omni Tools as a basic Photoshop replacement, edit videos, edit JSON projects, and edit PDFs, among other features. Omni Tools is easy to access from any browser and operating system, and all its tools are completely free to use. There are no limitations from Omni Tools itself, and with the growing number of features in the toolbox, you’ll easily be able to replace your Adobe workflows, especially Adobe Acrobat. Here’s how I’ve used Omni Tools for PDF editing, creation, and more.

GNOME is one of the more popular desktop environments available for Linux distros. It's found in the primary release of Fedora and Ubuntu and is relied on by millions to handle everything from managing windows to creating the graphical user interface. What you may not know is that GNOME can be heavily customized through tweaks, custom scripts, and downloadable extensions. The latter can be found on the official GNOME repository, allowing you to quickly alter the way your Linux install performs with a few clicks.