Call of Duty’s PC anti-cheat will require Secure Boot on Windows

To better protect against cheaters, Activision says that Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 players on PC will need to use hardware with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 and have Windows’ Secure Boot feature turned on when the game is available later this year. Ahead of that, Activision is doing a “phased rollout” of the […]

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Bose’s stylish SoundLink Home speaker is cheaper for the first time in months

Audio quality is always going to be a speaker’s most important feature, but it doesn’t hurt if it looks nice too. In our tests, Bose’s SoundLink Home is a solid sounding, aesthetically pleasing portable Bluetooth speaker that you can currently pick up for $199.99 ($20 off) from Amazon, Best Buy, and Bose. The SoundLink Home’s […]

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Microsoft is bringing its Xbox Copilot to the Windows Game Bar

Microsoft started testing its Xbox Copilot on iOS and Android earlier this year, and now it’s bringing the chatbot to the Game Bar feature on Windows 11. Xbox Insiders can start testing a preview of the Gaming Copilot integration in the Game Bar today, and Microsoft is planning “further optimizations” for this new feature on […]

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Introducing Regulator and The Stepback, our new subscriber-exclusive newsletters

Today, I'm excited to announce three newsletter offerings, exclusive to Verge subscribers, that will continue to deliver must-read stories about tech and beyond. First, we're introducing Regulator by Tina Nguyen. Regulator is focused on the battles between Big Tech and Big Government - from the juicy palace intrigue to the devastating consequences of their political […]

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Welcome to Regulator

You'll often see tech policy reporting described as the intersection of technology and politics, and for years, that was a pretty accurate description: Silicon Valley existed independent of Washington politics, and every so often, they'd cross paths, discuss some regulatory concern, write a check, shake hands, and then go their separate ways. This is no […]

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Welcome to The Stepback, a weekly breakdown of one essential story from across the tech world

I'm excited to announce The Stepback, a weekly subscriber-only newsletter that I'll be editing for The Verge. We'll be bringing you a new story each Sunday from a rotating cast of writers from every corner of the Verge extended universe. If you're a regular reader, you know we cover a broad range of topics across […]

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Citizen Lab director warns cyber industry about US authoritarian descent

Ron Deibert, the head of the prominent digital human rights groups Citizen Lab, sounds the alarm at the Black Hat security conference about the "dramatic descent into authoritarianism," but one that the cyber community can help to defend against.

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The Switch OLED went up in price, but you can still save $110

Nintendo recently made the unexpected decision to increase the prices of its last-gen Switch hardware due to “market conditions,” adding $30 to the cost of the $199.99 Switch Lite, $40 to the standard $299.99 Switch, and $50 to the $349.99 Switch OLED. The price difference between the Switch OLED and the standalone Switch 2 now […]

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A ‘unified’ Disney Plus could be the end of Hulu’s app

Disney is planning to fully integrate Hulu with Disney Plus, creating a “unified” app experience that will launch next year, the company announced as part of its earnings results on Wednesday. The new app will put all of Hulu’s content into Disney Plus, calling the future of Hulu’s standalone app into question. With Disney’s deal […]

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Sonos’ smart assistant is expanding from music to home control

Since its launch in 2022, the capabilities of Sonos Voice Control have expanded to include setting timers and checking the weather. But by the end of this year, the smart assistant will introduce compatibility with the Philips Hue smart home platform allowing it to also control lights through voice commands, according to Hueblog. In late […]

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Instagram adds a reposts feed and rips off Snap Maps

Instagram is getting several new features that pull from competitors, and it’s updating a controversial feature that it added earlier this year. Starting today, users will have the ability to repost public Reels and grid posts from other accounts. And similar to TikTok, reposts will be collected in a designated tab on your profile, as […]

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Cohere’s new AI agent platform, North, promises to keep enterprise data secure

Canadian AI firm Cohere is taking aim at alleviating data privacy concerns with its new AI agent platform, North, which can be deployed privately so that enterprises and governments can keep their, and customers', data safe behind their own firewalls. 

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Two arrested for smuggling AI chips to China; Nvidia says no to kill switches

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Tuesday that two Chinese nationals have been arrested for their alleged involvement in illegally shipping "tens of millions of dollars" worth of high-performance AI chips to China.

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Final call: TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 ticket savings end tonight

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 marks 20 years of shaping the startup world — and tonight’s your last chance to save up to $675 on your ticket. From October 27–29, Disrupt returns to Moscone West in San Francisco. Join 10,000+ tech innovators, founders, VCs, and ecosystem builders for three days of high-impact programming, networking, and startup energy. […]

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Jeff Buckley died young but is immortalized in a new documentary

Jeff Buckley captivated an audience of generations with his transcendent voice and soaring guitar. After his untimely passing in 1997 at age 30, he gained posthumous, cult-like status. Never one for the charts, his album Grace has stood the test of time and is listed on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. His […]

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Disney will stop reporting its streaming subscriber numbers

Disney announced that it will no longer report on subscriber numbers for its streaming services in its quarterly financial reports, following in the footsteps of Netflix. The decision comes after a quarter in which it reported 2.6 million new Disney Plus and Hulu subscribers, bringing it to 183 million in total. The decision was announced […]

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ESPN’s live sports streaming service arrives this month

The launch of ESPN’s long-awaited standalone streaming service is just weeks away. Alongside its earnings results on Wednesday, Disney revealed that ESPN’s streaming service and its “enhanced” app will arrive on August 21st for $29.99 per month. ESPN’s new streaming service, which remains separate from ESPN Plus, will offer access to the network’s linear channels, […]

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Google says hackers stole its customers’ data by breaching its Salesforce database

Google confirmed that one of its cloud-stored Salesforce databases was breached, exposing its customer data. Google attributed the breach to a hacking group, ShinyHunters, known for breaking into Salesforce databases.

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Qwant and Ecosia debut Staan, a European search index that aims to take on Big Tech

European search engines Qwant and Ecosia said on Wednesday that they have both started serving search queries through an index they developed together, Staan, that aims to be a cheaper, more privacy-focused alternative to Google and Bing.

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Nvidia rejects US demand for backdoors in AI chips

Nvidia’s chief security officer has published a blog post insisting that its GPUs “do not and should not have kill switches and backdoors.” It comes amid pressure from both sides of the Pacific, with some US lawmakers pushing Nvidia to grant the government backdoors to AI chips, while Chinese officials have alleged that they already […]

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Teri Hatcher Shares Makeup-Free, No-Filter Selfie: ‘It’s OK to Be Real’

Teri Hatcher is all about keeping it real. The Desperate Housewives star, 60, bared her face for her Instagram followers on Tuesday, August 5, sharing a series of selfies that she said are makeup-free and completely unfiltered. In the snaps, Hatcher can be seen posing for the camera as she wears a white sports jacket […]

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Microsoft makes OpenAI’s new open model available on Windows

OpenAI released a new free and open GPT model yesterday that can run on a PC, and now Microsoft is making that easy to do for Windows users. The lightweight gpt-oss-20b model is now available on Windows AI Foundry, and will be coming soon to macOS, too. You’ll need a PC or laptop with at […]

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John Oliver Claps Back at Jay Leno Over Late Night TV Criticism

John Oliver is sharing his reaction to Jay Leno’s criticism of late night television shows. The former Tonight Show host, 75, recently said he feels the current crop of late night talk show hosts are alienating viewers with apparently partisan politics. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published on Tuesday, August 5, Oliver clapped […]

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Microsoft’s plan to fix the web with AI has already hit an embarrassing security flaw

Researchers have already found a critical vulnerability in the new NLWeb protocol Microsoft made a big deal about just just a few months ago at Build. It’s a protocol that’s supposed to be “HTML for the Agentic Web,” offering ChatGPT-like search to any website or app. Discovery of the embarrassing security flaw comes in the […]

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These 19 Rich Mom Outfits Make You Look Put Together in Seconds

Between school drop-offs, everyday errands and being an all-star mom, we could all use outfits that can keep up with the demand. That’s why we’re stocking up on two-piece sets that make getting ready a breeze – and the best part? They don’t break the $30 mark! We curated 19 stylish two-piece sets that take […]

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If You Have to Watch 1 Netflix Show in August 2025, Stream This 1 Right Now

Though it’s only early August, it already feels like summer’s ending. If that makes you as sad as it makes the Watch With Us team, we’ve got the perfect TV (and movie) remedy — by watching the Wet Hot American Summer series on Netflix. The two spinoff seasons of the cult classic movie are irreverent […]

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Tom Holland Wore His Grandma’s Fishnets for ‘Lip Sync Battle’ Performance

Tom Holland is opening up about the most viral moment of his career on Lip Sync Battle. Back in 2017, the Spider-Man: Homecoming actor dressed up as Rihanna and performed a sultry dance routine to the singer’s hit song “Umbrella” as he took on now-fiancée Zendaya on the hit show. Fast-forward to eight years later, […]

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This $10 Hair Brush Is Jennifer Aniston’s Go-To For Silky, Smooth Locks

Jennifer Aniston is renowned for her gorgeous hair, from the iconic ‘Rachel’ bob in her Friends days to her signature lob, layers and length. We finally learned one of the secrets to her flawless hair, and it’s the Wet Brush Pro Flex hair brush! The actress and haircare icon utilized this ultra-flexible $10 brush on […]

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Netflix’s Most Popular Sci-Fi Movie Now Is This Underrated 2012 Film With The Rock

It just wouldn’t be a normal week if an unexpected movie didn’t shoot to the top of Netflix‘s movie chart. This week, the film in question is Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, the sequel to the 2008 remake of Journey to the Center of the Earth. Both movies are currently streaming on Netflix, but we […]

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This Sci-Fi Remake Is Prime Video’s Most Popular Movie Now — Is It Worth Watching?

Since the original novel was published in 1898, H. G. Wells‘ The War of the Worlds has inspired numerous adaptations, including Orson Welles‘ famous radio broadcast in 1938 and the 2005 film starring Tom Cruise. This month, Amazon Prime Video has added its own take on War of the Worlds, and it’s already one of […]

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