Amazon’s Kindle e-readers with built-in 3G will begin to lose the ability to connect to the internet on their own in the US in December, according to an email sent to customers on Wednesday. The change is due to mobile carriers transitioning from older 2G and 3G networking technology to newer 4G and 5G networks. For older Kindles without Wi-Fi, …
Space Chat with Space.com: Starliner launches, astronauts celebrate the Summer Olympics and some crazy space science emerges!, ,
Friday (July 30), Space Chat will explore what’s new in space, including Boeing’s upcoming Starliner launch, what the astronauts are up to in space and all of the crazy new science emerging. Do you want to know what’s going on in space? Every Friday at 1 p.m. EDT (1800 GMT), Space.com senior writer Chelsea Gohd explores what’s new in space …
Biden rule change would require more US-made parts in products sold to the government – CNET,Laura Hautala
President Joe Biden gets a tour of a Mack Trucks facility in Pennsylvania. Biden said Wednesday that he wants to see chipmakers produce microprocessors at US plants so shortages won’t affect the auto industry and other US manufacturers. Getty Images President Joe Biden proposed a new rule Wednesday that would up the requirements for US-made parts in goods sold to …
How Instagram can take its child safety work even further, Casey Newton
In May, I wrote here that the child safety problem on tech platforms is worse than we knew. A disturbing study from the nonprofit organization Thorn found that the majority of American children were using apps years before they are supposed to be — and fully a quarter of them said they have had sexually explicit interactions with adults. That …
Facebook will require US office employees to be vaccinated, Jay Peters
Facebook will require its US employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when they return to the office, the company confirmed to The Verge on Wednesday. “As our offices reopen, we will be requiring anyone coming to work at any of our US campuses to be vaccinated,” Facebook’s vice president of people Lori Goler said in a statement. “How we implement …
The best Chromebook for 2021, Monica Chin
Photo by Monica Chin / The Verge The best Chromebooks aren’t just laptops that run a few Google apps anymore. Chromebooks can cover a wide variety of computing needs now, and a good Chrome OS laptop or two-in-one can be more useful than a mediocre Windows or MacOS laptop. That’s why our pick for the best Chromebook of 2021 is …
Apple will require masks again in most of its US stores, Jay Peters
Apple will be requiring customers and staff at most of its more than 270 US retail stores to wear masks even if they are vaccinated, according to a new Bloomberg report, bringing back a requirement that had been removed starting in June. The change goes into effect Thursday. “After carefully reviewing the latest CDC recommendations, and analyzing the health and …
How to back up your Gmail, Aliya Chaudhry
You may be switching jobs, or maybe you’ve decided to stop using a specific email account, or maybe you just want a copy of all your email just in case. Whatever your reasons, it’s not a bad idea to back up and export your Gmail and other Google accounts using Google’s Takeout feature. In fact, you can set your accounts …
Facebook’s business is doing better than ever, Alex Heath
If you pay even the slightest attention to tech news, you’ve probably recently seen nonstop criticism of Facebook’s handling of COVID-19 misinformation, along with a barrage of negative headlines tied to a new book about the company called An Ugly Truth. These headlines generally paint the picture of a tech giant that is on the outs with users, advertisers, lawmakers, …
Activision Blizzard employees walk out of work to protest rampant sexism and discrimination, Zoe Schiffer
Photography by Zoe Schiffer / The Verge Wednesday morning, hundreds of Blizzard employees rallied outside the company’s main campus in Irvine, California to protest the company’s handling of sexual harassment and discrimination charges. They’re asking the gaming studio to agree to four demands, including ending mandatory arbitration in all employment contracts. “Until these demands are met, we won’t stop fighting,” …