Technology news

Google is testing a feature that can send Nest owners alerts about their furnaces when “unusual or unexpected patterns” are detected. The HVAC alerts will be automatically sent to subscribers of the Nest Home Report email list, notifying homeowners of any small issue in their heating, cooling, or ventilation system before it potentially becomes a serious problem.For example, based on the historical data your Nest thermostat has collected about your home, if it’s taking longer t

Delta announced today that it will be temporarily reducing flights between the US and China due to “significantly reduced customer demand” that has resulted from concerns about the coronavirus. This marks the third US airline to drastically change its operations in response to the outbreak, after United and American announced similar flight cancellations between the US and China earlier this week.Delta says all of its US-China flights will still operate from the same locations, but i

An artistic rendering of how NASA plans to send humans to the Moon | Image: NASA A proposed piece of legislation from the House threatens to change NASA’s efforts to return humans to the Moon, worrying NASA officials and space advocates. The bill — a new authorization act for NASA — could significantly rework the space agency’s lunar plans by changing what kinds of vehicles and resources are used. And it would place a much larger emphasis on getting humans to Mars.
The b

Rapid progress in voice cloning technology is making it harder to tell real voices from synthetic ones. But while audio deepfakes — which can trick people into giving up sensitive information — are a growing problem, there are some good and legitimate uses for the technology as well, a group of experts told an FTC workshop this week.
“People have been mimicking voices for years, but just in the last few years, the technology has advanced to the point where we can clone voices a

Rapid progress in voice cloning technology is making it harder to tell real voices from synthetic ones. But while audio deepfakes — which can trick people into giving up sensitive information — are a growing problem, there are some good and legitimate uses for the technology as well, a group of experts told an FTC workshop this week.
“People have been mimicking voices for years, but just in the last few years, the technology has advanced to the point where we can clone voices a

Image: Emojipedia The Unicode Consortium has revealed 117 new emoji that will be rolled out later this year as part of Emoji 13.0. There are 62 new emoji and 55 new gender and skin tone variants of emoji, including more gender-inclusive options. Some of them look really fun — I already can’t wait to troll my friends with the smiling face with a tear, the face with glasses and a mustache, the ninja, and the cockroach.
Here’s an image from Emojipedia that approximates what all t

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Facebook’s global expansion continues unabated, as the company now reports that at least 2.26 billion people use at least one of the company’s family of mobile apps or its website at least once a day, while 2.89 billion do so at least once a month.Those numbers are up 11 percent and 9 percent, respectively, from this time a year ago, and the daily figure represents the greatest growth among the the collection of stats the company typically

Google’s new Super Bowl ad is going to hit you in the feels, and that’s what it intends. Remember its “Dear Sophie” and “Parisian Love” commercials? I admit I got a little choked up at both of those even though I still had the nagging feeling that maybe I didn’t want Google all that involved in my personal business.
The latest ad is titled “Loretta,” where an elderly gentleman’s voice asks his Google Assistant to help him remember detai

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Tesla’s record-setting number of sales in 2019 also helped the electric automaker generate more money in one year than ever before, the company announced Wednesday afternoon.Tesla generated $24.6 billion in revenue in 2019, buoyed by a fourth quarter revenue figure of $7.4 billion.Tesla still didn’t turn an annual profit — in fact, it lost $862 million in 2019. But that was better than the $1 billion loss the company posted in 2018. Tesla als

Tesla says it’s ready to start delivering the Model Y compact SUV in the first quarter of 2020, in a letter to investors. That’s ahead of schedule, a first for the company.If the Model Y starts shipping in March, that’s several months ahead of the original estimate of “fall 2020” espoused by the company at the Model Y launch event in 2018.It’s not clear which version of the Model Y will be the first to ship
It’s not clear which version of the Model Y wil

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft posted the second quarter of its 2020 financial results today, reporting revenue of $36.9 billion and net income of $11.6 billion. Surface and Office are both up, and revenue from Windows licenses has also increased just as Windows 7 support comes to an end.
Microsoft’s Surface revenue jumped massively during the same quarter a year ago, on the back of a Surface Pro 6, Surface Laptop 2, Surface Studio 2, and Surface Headphones launch. It p

For years, UPS has been gesturing toward a future where some of its delivery vehicles are electric, autonomous, or drones. Now, the delivery giant is taking steps to make that happen with a trio of announcements designed to boost the company’s profile — and maybe its stock, too — ahead of its quarterly earnings report. It’s the latest sign of UPS’s ambition to future-proof its business, especially as Amazon builds out its own delivery infrastructure.The first announ

The US House Ethics Committee informed House members yesterday that posting audio or video that has been altered for misleading effect on social media, also known as deepfakes, might be in violation of House rules.
The memo says that “manipulation of images and videos that are intended to mislead the public can harm that discourse and reflect discreditably on the House.” It doesn’t explicitly ban House representatives and staff from posting deepfakes on social media, but it doe

Grubhub has a new “growth hacking” strategy that includes creating a restaurant listing on its platform for places it doesn’t even partner with. According to a new report by the San Francisco Chronicle and tweets by restaurant owner Pim Techamuanvivit, Grubhub has been allowing customers to order food from its websites from restaurants that haven’t technically signed up to be on Grubhub or its subsidiaries’ platforms. (Disclosure: my parents own a restaurant that pa

Fifty iPads were stolen from Verkadaco-founder Hans Robertson’s old company. Only when they checked the security system did they realize the video cameras hadn’t been working for months. He was pissed. “The market lagged behind the progress seen in the consumer space, where someone could buy high-end cameras with cloud-based software to protect their home,” Verkada’s CEO and co-founder Filip Kaliszan tells me of his own attempt to buy enterprise-grade security hard

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google is temporarily shutting down all of its China offices due to the coronavirus outbreak, the company confirmed to The Verge on Wednesday. The shutdown includes all offices in mainland China, as well as Google’s offices in Hong Kong and Taiwan.Currently, the offices are closed for the extended Lunar New Year holiday, a measure the Chinese government took to help reduce the spread of the virus by encouraging residents to stay inside and avoid tra

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Lyft announced a round of staff cuts amid questions about the company’s ability to stem its enormous losses and show how it can achieve profitability. The company is laying off about 90 employees, or around 1.6 percent of its 5,500-person workforce. The layoffs were first reported by The New York Times — though Lyft denied that it was part of a broader corporate restructuring, as originally reported by the Times.The layoffs will affect Lyf

Sweat, robot, sweat, robot: a close-up of one of the soft robotic “fingers” sweating. | Image: Mishra et al For the roboticist who has everything, here’s something new: a soft robot hand that sweats.Designed to handle scenarios where long operating hours might lead to a robot overheating and its performance degrading, this three-fingered gripper stays cool by borrowing one of humanity’s greatest attributes: our sweat glands.Humans sweat to avoid overheating; robots can s

The US Department of the Interior said today it would continue to keep its entire drone fleet grounded, except when used for emergencies like firefighting, as the department reviews if the drones are a threat to national security. The Department of the Interior first grounded its more than 800 drones in October due to concerns that Chinese spying and cyberattacks could be aided by the drones, which are made in China or use Chinese-made parts, The Wall Street Journal reported in October. What thi

Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge In case you thought the MoviePass saga would remain a smoldering heap of yesterday’s news from here on out, guess again. Helios and Matheson Analytics, the theater subscription service’s parent company, has at last filed for bankruptcy, according to The Wrap. While that may sound like it signals the complete end of all things MoviePass, there’s one interesting wrinkle: the company may owe subscribers a total of more than $1.2 million.“As

Spotify Spotify’s going all-in on podcasting, which means it needs more people to make shows. In an effort to demystify the podcasting industry and encourage people to pursue their own, Spotify today released a new five-part series about how Gimlet Media, the maker of shows like Reply All and Heavyweight, creates its programs.
Hosted by Gimlet co-founder Alex Blumberg, Gimlet Academy walks wannabe podcasters through the process of creating a show, including how to pitch an idea, identifyi

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Earlier this month, Fitbit quietly rolled out blood oxygen monitoring to five of its devices: the Versa, Versa 2, Versa Lite, Ionic, and Charge 3. (Interestingly, this is a feature that Apple said its Apple Watch is capable of doing, but which has yet to be released for that device.)
Why is this important? Because your blood oxygen levels indicate how well oxygen is distributed throughout your body, which is important for making sure your organs are f

Image: 9to5Mac Apple may have a busy few months up ahead, with the company reportedly planning to release its rumored Tag trackers; a new high-end set of headphones; updated iPad Pro, MacBook Pro, and MacBook Air devices; a 4.7-inch LCD iPhone; and another attempt at a wireless charger (after the disastrous AirPower cancellation). That’s all according to a research note from generally reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo predicting Apple’s product releases for the first half of 2020,

The Daily Crunch is TechCrunch’s roundup of our biggest and most important stories. If you’d like to get this delivered to your inbox every day at around 9am Pacific, you can subscribe here.
1. Apple shares rise after company reports better-than-expected revenue of $91.8B
Applehas worked in recent years to lessen its dependence on the iPhone, in part through services and smaller electronics. This is doubly true as the company posted a year-over-year decline in Mac revenue.
In its lat

Sundance Institute Welcome to Cheat Sheet, our breakdown-style reviews of festival films, VR previews, and other special event releases. This review comes from the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.
Thomas Edison is the inventor you learn about in school. Nikola Tesla is the inventor you learn about on the internet — whether that’s The Oatmeal’s massive 2012 paean to “the greatest geek who ever lived;” Kate Beaton’s sexy Tesla comic; or the Drunk History episode wh

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge Podcast company Luminary received a wave of negative attention following its controversial debut, but the company might be trying to turn things around by teaming up with former HBO visionary Richard Plepler.Plepler, best known for championing series like Game of Thrones and Silicon Valley, is joining Luminary’s board of directors, the company announced today. Luminary founder Matt Sacks is hopeful that Plepler’s record of producing presti

Aurora has been given permission by California regulators to transport passengers in its self-driving vehicles, TechCrunchhas learned.
The California Public Utilities Commission granted Aurora a permit, which was posted on its website Wednesday, to participate in the state’s Autonomous Vehicle Passenger Service pilot. Aurora confirmed the approval.
“This permit lets us give rides powered by the Aurora Driver and shows that we’re committed to being good partners to Cal

AT&T’s revenue took a hit in the fourth quarter as the company gears up for the launch of WarnerMedia’s new streaming service, HBO Max, due to arrive this May. The WarnerMedia division, which includes HBO as well as Turner and Warner Bros., saw revenue decline 3.3% to $8.92 billion — a drop that was in part attributed to WarnerMedia’s decision to not license shows and movies to other services in advance of HBO Max’s debut. The HBO Max investment, which includes

Photos by Sean O’Kane / The Verge The Lincoln Motor Company has confirmed it’s developing an all-electric vehicle that will be powered by tech from EV startup Rivian. It will be Lincoln’s first all-electric vehicle, though the company did not say when it is due, nor did it offer any other details about the vehicle, beyond saying it will “feature connected and intuitive technologies designed to create an effortless experience for Lincoln clients.”Lincoln’s par

Photo by Anusak Laowilas/NurPhoto via Getty Images Electronics giant LG is issuing a blanket employee travel ban to China amid the coronavirus outbreak. The South Korean company says it is also requiring all traveling employees currently in China to return home, while all future travel plans to the country must be approved through a special request.“Effective this week, LG Electronics has implemented a complete travel ban on employee travel to China. Non-China based employees currently in

Hello and welcome back to our regular morning look at private companies, public markets and the gray space in between.
It’s been a busy decade in the venture capital world. Ten years ago there were fewer than 20 known unicorns in the United States. That figure has risen to more than 200 in the intervening period. Back in 2010, global venture capital was estimated by some at around $50 billion. Venture reporter and genial chap Jason D. Rowley put that figure at $295 billion, give or take, a

The latest project to emerge from Google’s in-house incubator, Area 120, takes the newfound interest in short-form video and focuses it on the DIY space. The company today is launching a short video platform called Tangi, initially on the web and iOS, that allows creative types to share how-to videos on subjects like crafting, painting, cooking, fashion, beauty and more.
Unlike apps like TikTok or newly-launched Byte, which are more focused on entertainment, Tangi aims to help people learn

Just two days stand between you and serious savings on tickets to TC Sessions: Robotics+AI 2020. This annual day-long event draws the most innovative and visionary technologists, researchers and investors from two game-changing industries — last year we hosted 1,500 attendees. Make a smart investment. Buy an early-bird ticket before prices go up on January 31 and save $150.
Looking for exposure? We have two fantastic ways to put your early-stage startup in front of a highly influential gro

The U.S. Department of the Interior has confirmed it has grounded its fleet of non-emergency drones amid concerns over cybersecurity.
In a brief statement, the department said the move will help to ensure that “the technology used for these operations is such that it will not compromise our national security interests.”
Interior spokesperson Carol Danko said the department affirms with a formal order the “temporary cessation of non-emergency drones while we ensure that cybersec

Weathering With You is the latest film from Makoto Shinkai, the writer and director who shot to worldwide fame with 2016’s Your Name. Your Name was tremendous; it became the highest-grossing anime film at the time it was released. It was also the perfect distillation of Shinkai’s sensibilities: openly romantic, quietly profound, and every frame gorgeous. It’s tempting to compare Weathering With You to Your Name, since the films have many similarities. That feels unfair, though.

Early Stage SF is around the corner, and we are more than excited for this brand new event. The intimate gathering of founders, VCs, operators and tech industry experts is all about giving founders the tools they need to find success, no matter the challenge ahead of them.
Struggling to understand the legal aspects of running a company, like negotiating cap tables or hiring international talent? We’ve got breakout sessions for that. Wondering how to go about fundraising, from getting your

The informal TechCrunch book club is now venturing into the short story Exhalation, the second piece in Ted Chiang’s eponymous collection.
Today’s story gets at the meaning of existence, climate change, community, and connection all within a beautifully intricate story that runs for just a few handfuls of pages. I was hooked, and so let’s talk about some of the messages Chiang wants to send as part of the piece.
Some quick notes:Want to join the conversation? Feel free to email

Planet 13 is the world’s largest cannabis dispensary. Located in Las Vegas, blocks off the Strip, the facility is the size of a small Walmart. By design, it’s hard to miss. Planet 13 is upending the dispensary model. It’s big, loud and visitors are encouraged to photograph everything.
As part of the cannabis industry, Planet 13 is heavily restricted on the type of content it can publish on Instagram,Facebook and other social media platforms. It’s not allowed to post pictu

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge It’s not tough to get around paying the full $49.99 price on Google’s Nest Mini smart speaker. Right now, Google sells them for $35 each, and during the holiday season last year, they dropped down to $25. Those are good prices, but Daily Steals is offering Verge readers a discount on a two-pack that’s considerably better. By using the offer code VERGENEST at checkout, you can get two for $46.99.These speakers are brand new and are covered by Go

Gabi, a startup built to help consumers save money on home and auto insurance, announced today that it has closed a $27 million Series B.
The company intends on using its new capital to rapidly expand its team and invest in its product. Nearly every startup does something similar after it collects new cash, so what makes Gabi’sround interesting? Its space is attracting lots of capital, it has some notable, venture-backed competitors and its business model helped the company close its lates

Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images On Wednesday, presidential hopeful Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) unveiled a new plan to fight disinformation, aiming to stem the effect of the Russian troll campaigns that plagued the 2016 election.
In particular, Warren proposes harsher laws against spreading misinformation for the purpose of voter suppression, as in ads spreading the wrong date for election day.
“I will push for new laws that impose tough civil and criminal penalties for knowingly dissem

Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images American Airlines will suspend flights between Los Angeles and mainland China from February 9th to March 27th due to a “significant decline in demand” brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, the company announced Wednesday. The airline will continue to operate flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Dallas-Fort Worth and back, as well as between Los Angeles and Hong Kong.
The company says it will contact customers with tickets on these affected fl

The European Commission has endorsed a risk mitigation approach to managing 5G rollouts across the bloc — meaning there will be no pan-EU ban on Huawei. Rather it’s calling for Member States to coordinate and implement a package of “mitigating measures” in a 5G toolbox it announced last October and has endorsed today.
“Through the toolbox, the Member States are committing to move forward in a joint manner based on an objective assessment of identified risks and prop

Update January 29th, 10:10AM ET: SpaceX successfully launched its Falcon 9 rocket on time this morning, deploying all 60 satellites into orbit. The rocket also performed another landing on the company’s drone ship in the Atlantic after launch. While SpaceX did catch one half of the rocket’s fairing, the other half just missed its boat.
Original story: A week after performing a crucial test flight for NASA, SpaceX is poised to launch yet another Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. This miss