Technology news

The day before employees plan to walk out over climate change, Amazon announced a new "Climate Pledge" — which includes buying 100,000 electric vans from Rivian. 
Not only could the move help gloss over the company's poor climate change record, it could be very profitable. Amazon invested $440 million in Rivian, which plans to release an electric SUV and pickup truck next year. 
The all-electric vans are scheduled to drop off packages by 2021. By 2022, Amazon says 10,000 will be

Twitter is finally rolling out a major new feature it teased earlier this year.
The microblogging platform announced Thursday that U.S. users will now be able to hide replies to their tweets. Twitter previously tested the feature in Canada. Twitter users in the U.S. can now hide replies to their tweets.Image:twitterIf a user doesn’t want a reply to appear under their tweet, all they have to do is choose "Hide reply" from the drop-down menu on the upper right hand side of the reply.&nb

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s new iOS 13 update adds a new privacy measure that requires apps to get your consent in order to use your device’s Bluetooth. After installing the latest version of iOS, trust me when I say you’ll be surprised by the number of apps asking for Bluetooth permission the next time you open them. Some might seem very strange (like Dunkin’ Donuts in my case), but others probably won’t make you think twice about giving the th

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge As the number of respiratory illnesses linked to e-cigarettes continues to rise, lawmakers and governors in states across the country are pushing for regulations on the products — including bans on flavors and increased oversight of counterfeit cartridges. But well-intentioned as they may be, it’s not clear that the proposals are targeting the source of the problem, or what kind of public health benefits they’ll have in the future.
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Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images On Thursday, Google announced its plan to make “the biggest corporate purchase of renewable energy in history.” This announcement precedes a day of walkouts by tech employees, including those from Google, who are participating in the Global Climate Strike. The tech workers are demanding their employers take stronger actions to combat climate change.Google’s purchase includes a 1,600-megawatt package of wind and solar agree

You might not hear the words "Emily Dickinson" and think "rebellious teen," but that's why we have television. 
In the full trailer for Apple TV+'s upcoming Dickinson, Hailee Steinfeld portrays the famous poet as a young woman straining against society's rules. Also, Wiz Khalifa makes a cameo as Death.
Steinfeld channels her Edge of Seventeen performance in this trailer and the show's first teaser, bringing us into the inner world of a poet who was known for being something of a recluse (ot

YouTube is replacing checkmarks, which could inspire other social media platforms to follow suit — while angering creators in the process. 
Checkmarks, verified badges, and "blue ticks" are used by major tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter to designate the official pages of public figures. However, many users view these verification marks as endorsements by the platforms, not as a way to weed out imposters.
In a post on its community forums on Thursday, YouTube shared a

There's really something to be said for a good celebrity portrait tattoo.
It's a piece of art made for somebody with enough admiration for a person or character to have it permanently inked onto their skin. That kind of dedication demands the most careful, realistic design that captures everything somebody loves about the person tattooed on them.
We're suckers for good portrait tattoos, so here's 19 celebrities that we can't take our eyes off of.
1. Keanu Reeves (John Wick) View this post on Ins

Hey Google, you're not fooling anyone. 
The tech giant made a play for Washington Post print edition readers today in the form of three full-page ads extolling its commitment to privacy. Firefox, it seems, isn't buying it. 
The advertisements, running on page A7, A9, and A11, vary in the specifics, but all push the general theme that Google puts you in charge of your data. 
"Turn it on," begins one of the ads. "Turn it off. You control what data gets saved."
Which is a nice sentim

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge An updated version of Microsoft’s Surface Pen, which is expected to be announced at the company’s annual fall hardware event on October 2nd, may come with wireless charging. An FCC filing for the stylus refers to a “charging coil,” pointing to the possibility that the pen will have an internal power source, allowing for it to be used without AAAA batteries like the pen’s current model does.
Teardowns for competitor stylus

Wing, the drone delivery service that’s an offshoot of Google parent company Alphabet, will launch its first pilot service in Virginia starting in October 2019. The company is teaming up with FedEx, Walgreens, and gift purveyor Sugar Magnolia to deliver health care products, food, and more to residents of the town of Christiansburg in southwest Virginia.The pilot, which is part of the US Department of Transportation’s Integration Pilot Program, aims to demonstrate the viability of dr

If you’ve got an Apple Card, you can already get 3 percent cash back buying products and software from Apple as well as purchases at Walgreens, Uber, and Uber Eats. Starting on Friday, you’ll also be able to get 3 percent cash back for Apple Card purchases at T-Mobile stores, just in time for tomorrow’s iPhone 11 launch.T-Mobile is pushing this new partnership alongside a promotion to get 50 percent off the purchase of a new iPhone “with eligible trade-in,” so using

“This is supposed to be a program that collects money for when you drive on the roads,” said Karen Sheley, an attorney with the ACLU of Illinois. “It should not be a system that allows the government to turn over to private litigants detailed information about your whereabouts."https://twitter.com/WBEZreset/status/1174734129239396354 …