Category: Uncategorized

The Voice Mate H1 is a small button-like microphone you lift to activate and then can issue smart home commands to. | Image: Aqara Smart home company Aqara has announced the Voice Mate H1 — a home automation voice control system activated by picking up a small puck rather than its microphone always listening for…

The Ki standard could help reduce the number of power cables clogging your kitchen. | Screenshot: YouTube The Wireless Power Consortium (WPC) has announced that it’s releasing the finalized specifications for the Ki wireless power transfer standard that will allow smaller kitchen appliances such as toasters and blenders to operate without the need for power…

Illustration by Laura Normand / The Verge Elon Musk is a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist.” He’s declared himself so committed to the unfettered, open exchange of ideas that he’s said the only way X would let a government suppress speech on its platform is “at gunpoint.” All of this explains why Musk recently allowed X…

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge Verizon’s next big acquisition might be Frontier. Reports from The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg suggest that Verizon is in “advanced talks” to acquire the communications provider, with a potential announcement coming as soon as this week. Joining forces with Frontier could help Verizon expand its fiber footprint —…

Image: Roku Roku is the latest company to lean into the trend of throwing artwork onto your TV screen, offering viewers some serene relaxation time when they’re not actively watching something. Today the company announced a new feature / app called Backdrops, and it all sounds very familiar. Rolling out first to Roku-branded TVs and…

Illustration: The Verge X has won an appeal to block parts of California’s content moderation law, which requires social platforms to publicly post policies against hate speech and misinformation, as well as submit semiannual reports on their enforcement efforts. A federal appeals court decided on Wednesday that the reporting aspect of the law likely violates…

Image: NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) will start sharing stories about some of the agency’s past missions in a new podcast. Dubbed No Such Podcast, the podcast will initially focus on foreign signals intelligence and cybersecurity in the first two episodes, both of which will be available to listen to starting tomorrow, September 5th.…

Image: Volvo Volvo is pushing back its deadline to sell only electric vehicles, now saying it will rely on a mix of hybrids and battery electric vehicles. The company says it will achieve “net zero greenhouse gas emissions” by 2040. Three years ago, the Swedish automaker made a commitment to only sell EVs by 2030.…

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge The Internet Archive has lost its appeal in a fight to lend out scanned ebooks without the approval of publishers. In a decision on Wednesday, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that permitting the Internet Archive’s digital library would “allow for widescale copying that deprives creators…

Image: The Verge Safety regulators are urging the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to investigate the ultracheap e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu. In a statement published Tuesday, two CPSC commissioners say Shein and Temu “raise specific concerns,” including reports that “deadly baby and toddler products are easy to find on these platforms.” The statement…