‘That is not acceptable’: Judge orders Google to make rival app store installs easier
‘That is not acceptable’: Judge orders Google to make rival app store installs easier

One month after Epic Games and Google seemingly stopped fighting over the future of Android app distribution, they were back in a San Francisco courtroom today – where Judge James Donato just ordered Google to make it easier to install rival app stores on Android. It’s been nearly three years since a jury unanimously decided […]

The fight over Flock and other ALPRs
The fight over Flock and other ALPRs

There are over 120,000 of Flock’s automatic license plate reader (ALPR) cameras installed all over the US. Flock’s cameras, and others like them, use AI to identify and track vehicles based on their license plate number, make, model, color, and other info, networked together to track vehicles and people’s movements throughout the day and across […]

Microsoft’s Clippy-like Mico character is no longer the face of Copilot
Microsoft’s Clippy-like Mico character is no longer the face of Copilot

Microsoft Copilot will no longer show its emotive yellow blob, Mico, when you use the chatbot’s voice mode. In a support page, Microsoft says it’s going to move Mico to its Learn Live platform, where the avatar will have “more to react to,” as reported earlier by GeekWire. Mico launched in Copilot’s voice mode last […]

The Trump admin will start letting private firms launch international cyberattacks
The Trump admin will start letting private firms launch international cyberattacks

The Trump administration is launching a new program that will allow private firms to perform cyberattacks against foreign criminals, as reported earlier by Bloomberg. The private firms would operate “under the control and oversight” of the federal government, giving them permission to surveil and disrupt criminal networks, according to a presidential memorandum published on Wednesday. […]

I finally found a robot lawnmower I’d trust with my yard
I finally found a robot lawnmower I’d trust with my yard

Robot lawnmowers are finally good enough to take a lot of work out of maintaining a yard, but they’re still not set-it-and-forget-it machines. If you don’t want these autonomous cutting machines to tear up your lawn or go roaming in your neighbors’ yard, you’re still going to need to keep an eye on them. But […]

You can now just point at a mess and this robot vacuum will suck it up
You can now just point at a mess and this robot vacuum will suck it up

Matic, my current favorite robot vacuum, just got a big upgrade. The company has launched Matic Cues, which brings voice and gesture control to the robot. Now, you can talk directly to your vacuum to tell it what you want it to do, or just point at a mess to have it spot-clean. The feature […]

Meta adds AI screening to detect WhatsApp scams
Meta adds AI screening to detect WhatsApp scams

Meta is launching an optional Scam Alert feature on WhatsApp that uses on-device machine learning to flag suspicious messages. Earlier this year, Meta also launched scam detection for device linking requests on WhatsApp. The new Scam Alert feature, which is rolling out in a limited beta, shows users a warning if a chat seems like […]

The Corvette Grand Sport X delivers Porsche 911 performance for a fraction of the price
The Corvette Grand Sport X delivers Porsche 911 performance for a fraction of the price

My drive of the 2027 Corvette Grand Sport X began under oily black clouds, a torrential weather front releasing its grip on Manhattan – an inauspicious start for any mega-powered sports car. Rain pelted the waterlogged pavement, as I set course for the mountain-man roads of the Catskills, then on to Long Island and New […]

This is Instagram’s new logo
This is Instagram’s new logo

Instagram has unveiled a new wordmark, moving away from the recognizable cursive typeface it’s used over the last decade. The updated wordmark is a strange mix of half-cursive half-print that’s somehow less legible than its predecessor. Like, that totally says “Instagzam,” right? “The wordmark at the top of the app hasn’t changed in 10 years, […]

Does Google even want to win at AI?
Does Google even want to win at AI?

Today on Decoder, I’m talking with Hayden Field, The Verge’s senior AI reporter, about a question that’s been rocketing around the tech industry for the past week: Is Google losing the AI race? That’s because last week Google announced a bombshell reorganization of its AI division, Google DeepMind. Jeff Dean, the company’s chief scientist, is […]