Most people, when optimizing their Wi-Fi settings, assume that the bigger number is better. To be fair, the 5 GHz and 6 GHz bands are faster than the 2.4 GHz band, and a 160 MHz channel width increases your throughput. However, these speed boosts aren't free of downsides, such as reduced range and more interference. Your router or access point's transmit power operates the same way.

So much for doing less political spending. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Elon Musk has handed out at least $276 million to Republican groups since July, The New York Times reports, making him both the party's top known donor and the biggest established midterm donor. $158 million of that money - one of the largest political donations in American history - has been funneled into the Senate Leadership Fund, the main super PAC that aims to secure and maintain a Republican Senate majority. Among others, it's fighting to retain the party's Senate seat in Texas, which serves as a major hub for Musk's business empire.He's also donated over $76 million to America PAC, a super PAC Musk founded in 2024 that canvasses for …Read the full story at The Verge.

The golden era of the Nokia phone left a lasting impression, so much so that people still remember its games fondly. One game jam that started as a fun way to recreate the look and feel of Nokia 3310 games ended with someone building a custom PCB powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico, just to get the extra computational power needed to run newer games people made on their real phone.

Meta is making up for lost time in the AI race. After launching Muse Spark, the first model from its revamped Superintelligence Labs division, and buzzy AI agent Muse, it's now launching two new models it claims can go toe-to-toe with the industry's best. The new models, Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full, are available for Muse Code subscribers starting today. Wonder can also be accessed through the Meta Model API, Meta said. Meta says it eventually plans to power its Muse AI agent with Wonder, starting with subscribers, and will develop specialized models it "can bring to everyone using Muse." It hasn't shared specifics or provided a tim …Read the full story at The Verge.

The Basecase seen here with 3D-printed grips and a rear plate that offers (unofficial) compatibility with Lego blocks and minifigs. Most companies have slowed down releasing new Switch 2 cases, but one of my favorite accessory makers recently debuted its first, after a few delays. The $49 Basecase from Mechanism is a snap-on shell for the console that taps into the company's modular lineup of mounts. You could already mount the Switch 2 in numerous ways with its $19 Basegrip (to your wall, to its Gaming Pillow, to a monitor arm, etc.). The difference is that this new product protects your console, makes its Joy-Con more comfortable to use, and has some interesting modularity.The console shell allows for the full range of the Switch 2's kickstand, and access to all of t …Read the full story at The Verge.

Multiple Ukrainian drone strikes over the last week have taken Russian data centers offline and reportedly caused online bot traffic to plummet - but in reality it's probably not the kind of bot activity most people associate with Russia.A chart citing Cloudflare data has been circulating around social media platforms, showing a sharp decline in bot traffic following attacks on Yandex servers - a technology company often described as "Russia's Google." While many people are inferring that the chart refers to bot farms that push disinformation, conspiracy theories, and other harmful content across online platforms, reputed troll farm expose …Read the full story at The Verge.

There's a recurring trend I've noticed following almost every major tech event. A company announces a dozen new products and features, but somehow, everyone ends up fixating on just one. Before you know it, that one announcement is dominating headlines, social media, and basically every conversation surrounding the event.

As important as some of the messages in The Social Reckoning are, the movie has been drastically underperforming at the box office. Per Variety, Aaron's Sorkin's follow up to The Social Network only grossed a measly $5.5 million this past weekend against a budget that's somewhere within the $30-42 million range. That would make it a certifiable flop that's costing Columbia Pictures (and Sony) quite a bit of money - especially when you compare it to The Social Network's $22 million opening. This isn't entirely surprising given how middling reviews for the film have been. It's currently got a 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has widely been …Read the full story at The Verge.

Regardless of whether you're on Intel or AMD, the first instruction your CPU executes runs in a mode designed for the 16-bit Intel 8086, released in June 1978. This is called "real mode," and despite everything that has changed about processors since then, this part of the startup process has remained remarkably similar.

I’ve been testing two Googlebooks: this Asus model, and HP’s too. My first week with the new Android-powered laptops has been about as rocky as anyone's, but I've slowly learned to like them, even if love still feels a ways off. Every moment that's impressed me has been thanks to Android, whether I've been accessing a native version of a useful app or quickly checking my phone notifications from the laptop user interface.But man, sometimes it just sucks. Phone connectivity is flaky, app casting is awkward, and file-sharing seems to be flat-out broken. And that's just the interaction between a Googlebook and a phone - I have a whole other set of gripes about the limitations of native Android apps on a $ …Read the full story at The Verge.

If the past few years taught us that AI has a place within science and technology, then this year has been a lesson on how LLMs have evolved to allow people at home to achieve what used to be exclusively for the experts. For instance, we've already seen a team use AI to generate a suite of open-source Adobe-like products people can download for free. Now, someone has supposedly found a new planet with the help of Claude Code, and while nothing has been confirmed yet, it's really exciting.

Character.AI, one of the first breakout startups of the generative AI boom, has filed for bankruptcy and is selling some of its assets to Disney. The company, which builds various online bots for users to chat or roleplay with, has faced mounting scrutiny and lawsuits over the safety of its chatbots, but has continued releasing updates and products in recent months.In a press release and blog post published Monday, Character said it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US to facilitate the sale of the company and its assets. "Over the past year, we've taken meaningful steps to sustain and improve our business amid signific …Read the full story at The Verge.