There was a time when we didn't need photorealism, 4K textures, or open-world quests to feel like superheroes. All that one needed was a rectangular controller, some patience, and that click of a NES cartridge sliding into place. Well before the era of bloated cinematic universes, these games were the be-all and end-all of superhero experiences.

When you start your self-hosting journey, it's not too difficult to keep track of everything. After all, you probably only have a single server with a few services; nothing too crazy. However, as my home lab has grown, I've simply found it too unwieldy to keep track of everything by myself. I've experimented with a few different self-hosted tools to try and keep on top of all of it, but in the end, I went back to Obsidian to track everything.

The E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, DC. The future of the internet will be determined in one building in Washington, DC - and for six weeks, I watched it unfold.For much of this spring, the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in downtown Washington, DC, was buzzing with lawyers, reporters, and interested onlookers jostling between dimly lit courtrooms that hosted everyone from the richest men in Silicon Valley to fired federal workers and the DOGE-aligned officials who terminated them. The sprawling courthouse, with an airy atrium in the middle and long, dark halls that spring from it, is where cases involving government agencies often land, and that meant it was hosting two of the most consequential tech cases in the country, all while fielding a flurry of unprecedented lawsuits against President Donald Trump's administration.Between mid-April and late May, Judges James Boasberg and Amit Mehta respectively oversaw FTC v. Meta and US v. Google, a pair of long-running antitrust lawsuits that seek to split up two titans of Silicon Valley. Over the same period, several DC judges - including Boasberg - had a full docket of cases related to Trump's first 100 days in office, covering the administration's attempt to mass-depor …Read the full story at The Verge.

When your Chromebook starts getting long in the tooth, you might think of chucking it. However, there are ways to repurpose it for various tasks that can assist with your workflow, entertainment, and more. You might think yours is too old and needs to be recycled. But there are many ways to get more from it.

The music industry's nightmare came true in 2023, and it sounded a lot like Drake. "Heart on My Sleeve," a convincingly fake duet between Drake and The Weeknd, racked up millions of streams before anyone could explain who made it or where it came from. The track didn't just go viral - it broke the illusion that anyone was in control. In the scramble to respond, a new category of infrastructure is quietly taking shape that's built not to stop generative music outright, but to make it traceable. Detection systems are being embedded across the entire music pipeline: in the tools used to train models, the platforms where songs are uploaded, the databases that license rights, and the algorithms that shape discovery. The goal isn't just to catch synthetic content after the fact. It's to identify it early, tag it with metadata, and govern how it moves through the system."If you don't build this stuff into the infrastructure, you're just going to be chasing your tail," says Matt Adell, cofounder of Musical AI. "You can't keep reacting to every new track or model - that doesn't scale. You need infrastructure that works from training through distribution."The goal isn't takedowns, b …Read the full story at The Verge.

Stellar Bladehas finally come to Steam, after a year of PS5 exclusivity. The game has sold well out of the gate, clearing one million copies (via Game Donga) sold on Steam, bringing the total sales to over 3 million. This adds to the continued success of PlayStation during this console generation. The math suggests that Stellar Blade sold an additional 50% of its PS5 sales within a few days on Steam, making it a massive success for both PlayStation and developer Shift Up. As the game continues to sell on Steam, alongside its DLC that has been released since its original launch, it begs a question about PlayStation's current strategy. While console owners don't necessarily benefit from exclusives, since other people not being able to play something doesn't improve your own personal experience, did Stellar Blade and the PS5 benefit from the game being exclusive for a year or did exclusivity hold it back?

For ages, Google Drive was my go-to for everything — work documents, photos, personal archives, even the writing projects I never finished. But somewhere along the way, the convenience began to feel like dependence. Between rising subscription costs, growing concerns about data privacy, and a newfound interest in building my own home server setup, I finally decided to jump ship.

Image: The Verge I jumped on the smartwatch bandwagon a bit late, but now I can’t go a day without mine. Beyond delivering helpful notifications, it’s perfect for setting timers, tracking workouts, and monitoring my sleeping habits (which are terrible). If you haven’t yet joined the smartwatch party or you’re looking to upgrade, Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 7 is down to $199.99 ($100 off) in the 40mm / Bluetooth configuration at Amazon and Walmart. If you prefer a larger display, the 44mm model is on sale at Amazon starting at $229.99 ($100 off).While the Galaxy Watch 7 isn’t as flashy as other Samsung wearables, its more simplistic approach is part of its charm. It retains the signature circular design and slim profile of prior models, which remains a stark contrast to the adventure-ready Galaxy Watch Ultra. It’s comfortable to wear while sleeping and working out — as our own Victoria Song noted in her review last year — and it comes with a selection of welcome features, including heart rate tracking, an Energy Score for gauging recovery, and FDA-approved sleep apnea detection.One of the new marquee tools of the Watch 7 is its AI-powered wellness insights, which provide personalized suggestions to help you hit your health and fitness goals. There’s also a 3-in-1 BioActive Sensor that can measure metabolic health thanks to an experimental advanced glycation end products (AGEs) metric, though both features were rather hit or miss in our testing. Of course, the wearable also offers a range of basic smartwatch features, such as the ability to stream music, send texts, and take calls when your phone is nearby.Despite its slimmer design, the Watch 7 offers around 24 hours of battery life with the always-on display enabled, though if you upgrade to the 44mm Watch 7, you can eke out a few additional hours. Samsung’s wearable also runs Wear OS 5, as of now, though we’re expecting the Gemini-powered Wear OS 6 to arrive via an update later this year. All that being said, the timing of these deals could indicate that a Galaxy Watch 8 is on the horizon. Samsung typically holds an Unpacked event in mid-July, and this year it may introduce a refreshed lineup of foldable and wearable devices.Other deals to check outAmazon’s Fire TV Soundbar Plus is down to an all-time low of $174.99 ($75 off) at Amazon. The 37-inch soundbar features three speakers, three tweeters, and two woofers, providing a nice upgrade over your TV’s built-in speakers. Plus, it supports Dolby Atmos for richer, more three-dimensional sound. A dedicated center dialogue channel promises you’ll actually hear what people are saying as well, allowing you to turn off closed captions, while its relatively compact size makes it a great option for smaller setups.The Anker 3-in-1 Cube with MagSafe is available from Amazon and Anker (with code WS7DV2DYGOBA) for $103.99 (about $46 off), matching its best price to date. The 3-in-1 charger is perfect if you own multiple Apple devices, allowing you to simultaneously charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods. The primary wireless pad delivers 15W of power, with an adjustable viewing angle of up to 60 degrees. The Apple Watch charger, meanwhile, features a convenient slide-in and slide-out mechanism, while the AirPods charging pad can be accessed by angling the main charger. It also comes with a 30W USB-C charger and a 5-foot USB-C cable, so you’re ready to go out of the box.The Soundcore Select 4 Go is back down to its all-time low of $19.98 (about $15 off) at Amazon in select colors. The diminutive Bluetooth speaker is perfect for listening to your favorite playlist while relaxing by the pool, at the park, or in the bath. It features IP67 waterproofing, allowing it to withstand immersion in up to 3.3 feet of water for up to 30 minutes, thus providing peace of mind when used outdoors. A handy lanyard also lets you attach it to your bag or your bike’s handlebars, while the speaker’s 20-hour battery ensures it can keep the party going during all-day events.

The PC community is quick to brand older components "outdated" or "obsolete" long before their time has come. You might have done it yourself with air coolers, TN monitors, GTX graphics cards, Gen3 SSDs, or membrane keyboards years ago. Despite such components being perfectly usable in many scenarios, they're often considered out of date. Sure, you shouldn't buy them new in 2025, but that's no reason to discard them if you've already been using them for years. Here's my list of PC parts that were deemed "uncool" prematurely.

I wouldn't have preordered a Nintendo Switch 2 just for myself. The price is high, there's no new Smash Bros. or Metroid Prime (yet), and I've got a perfectly good original Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck that keep me plenty busy. At first, I could only justify the $450 because I write about gaming tech for The Verge.But two weeks in, I can almost justify the cost one additional way: the Switch 2 is turning out to be an upgrade for my whole family. I'm not primarily talking about hand-me-downs, though yes, you could absolutely hand your original Switch down to a kid while basking in the glory of the Switch 2's larger, faster screen. Mom and dad always get the best seats in the house, right? But no: I'm talking about how Nintendo's new features are helping me share the delight of gaming with my 8-year-old kid like never before.We bought my daughter a Switch Lite last Christmas, with Animal Crossing and Let's Go Pikachu, and that's pretty much all she played. All other gaming monopolized the living room TV, where she and her younger sister often clash over what to watch next. But two weeks ago, my eldest suddenly realized that we could now magically beam any of my old purch …Read the full story at The Verge.

Amazon’s mega sale is nearly upon us. This year, Prime Day will kick off on July 8th and run through July 11th, which, for those counting, is twice as long as previous years. Most everything else will likely be the same — well, aside from Amazon’s so-called “Today’s Big Deals” feature — making it a great time to stock up on essentials and save ahead of tentpole shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.As usual, we’ll be here to highlight all the discounts, limited-time promos, and Prime-exclusive deals worth picking up. We’ll also be pulling together any early deals we stumble upon in the run-up to the main event, along with a selection of tips so you can stretch your dollar that much further on robot vacuums, OLED TVs, noise-canceling headphones, and a variety of other Verge-approved gadgets.After all, every little bit counts, right? Amazon Prime Day stretches to four days of deals this year How to sign up for Amazon Prime Here are the price-matching policies for Best Buy, GameStop, and others How to find the best deals during Amazon’s four-day Prime Day sale The best Apple deals you can shop ahead of Amazon Prime Day

The Final Fantasy Magic: The Gathering set is here, and there's never been a more perfect assemblage of Magic cards. The set features cards taken from every mainline Final Fantasy title, including the two MMOs, so there's something for every generation of Final Fantasy lovers. And while Magic has featured other video game crossovers in the past (hello, Assassin's Creed and Fallout!), with the way this set is constructed, from card mechanics to art, you can tell this one is a developer favorite, sure to appeal to the massive chunk of people who love both games. But what if you don't inhabit the center circle in the Venn diagram of Magic and Final Fantasy lovers but are still interested in experiencing this set for yourself? Magic: The Gathering is an intimidating game, even if you're a seasoned player like myself. There are so many ways you can play, both in person and online, that it can be overwhelming to figure out the best way to jump in. So here's a few tips and tricks to playing the Final Fantasy Magic set. Be warned, though: this is the best-selling set in Magic's 30-plus-year history, and you will pay for the pleasure of this experience - if you can find the product to …Read the full story at The Verge.