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PBKReviews Motorola’s new foldable Razr doesn’t officially arrive until next month, but we’re already seeing teardowns posted online. The first is courtesy of PBKReviews, which posted a detailed teardown video of the device and its folding screen before the phone has even shipped to most customers. The hotly anticipated Razr is available for presale for $1,499, with current orders not shipping until March 3rd, according to Verizon’s website.The throwback to the Moto RAZR

Two quick things: One, there were major formatting issues with Thursday’s newsletter; Revue says it was a bug. If you recoiled in horror from the formatting and skipped the (magnificent!) column, you can catch up here. Two, we’re looking forward to seeing lots of you in San Francisco on Tuesday for the second Interface Live event with Anna Wiener. I love meeting newsletter readers in person, so please say hi if you’re there! And now on with today’s update.
u can tell how

In part two of a survey that asks top VCs about exciting opportunities in open source and dev tools, we dig into responses from 10 leading open-source-focused investors at firms that span early to growth stage across software-specific firms, corporate venture arms and prominent generalist firms.Where top VCs are investing in open source and dev tools (Part 1 of 2)In the conclusion to our survey, we’ll hear from:Gaurav Gupta, Lightspeed Venture Partners
Julia Schottenstein, New Enterprise A

Image: ABC Some good news for Lost fans: all 121 episodes of the series will soon be available to stream for free. The only downside is that it requires using yet another streaming service — and dealing with ads.IMDb TV, a free streaming service owned by Amazon, will be the exclusive free streaming service for Lost, according to Variety. Fans of Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse’s ABC drama will be available to stream the episodes beginning May 1st, marking the 10th anniversary month

The once-polarizing world of open-source software has recently become one of the hotter destinations for VCs.
As the popularity of open source increases among organizations and developers, startups in the space have reached new heights and monstrous valuations.
Over the past several years, we’ve seen surging open-source companies like Databricks reach unicorn status, as well as VCs who cashed out behind a serious number of exits involving open-source and dev tool companies, deals like IBM&

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge For the first few years of Instagram’s existence, it was a pain to hide stories from people. You had to dig into an individual story’s settings and select followers to hide it from. Then, if you wanted to let those followers see the next story, you had to go into that story’s settings and undo the block.But in 2018, Instagram launched the close friends feature, which makes it much easier to share content with a limited group. Once yo

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Spotify continued to prove it’s serious about dominating the podcast industry with an announcement today that it acquired The Ringer, a media company known both for its culture website and massive podcast operation headlined by The Bill Simmons Podcast. Now, Simmons’ show might instead anchor Spotify’s expanding podcast empire.
The acquisition rounds out a year in podcast-related purchases for Spotify. Almost exactly a year ago, the comp

The web may soon have fewer crappy, mandatory video ads for you to endure. This August, Google’s Chrome web browser will start blocking long, “non-skippable” preroll ads, ads that block a big chunk of your video, and ads that interrupt your videos in the middle, if the video you’re watching is under eight minutes long.That’s actually the official guidance from the Coalition for Better Ads, of which Google is a board member, and will probably impact other companies a

Few things in the pokémon world are as hotly debated as which creature is, in fact, the best. Pikachu is the series mascot, but Slowpoke has a real banger of a theme song. Eevee got a starring role in Pokémon: Let’s Go. Pokémon Sword exclusively introduced leek-wielding, sparkling-eyed Sirfetch’d. As Pokémon’s world of monsters has ballooned to nearly 1,000, it’s never been harder to pick your favorite. But right now, via Google, it’s at

Peloton and Flywheel have agreed to settle their legal disputes over claims that Flywheel copied Peloton’s patented technology, according to a Texas court filing dated February 3rd.The case launched back in September 2018 when Peloton argued that Flywheel’s version of the at-home stationary bike that streams on-demand classes infringes on its patented technology, down to the way workout metrics are displayed and can be used to compete against other live riders in the class. (This for

Thatcher Keats / 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.
Shirley Jackson is best known for her creepiest and most misanthropic work, like her novel The Haunting of Hill House and the vicious short story “The Lottery.” But she was also a prolific chronicler of domestic life, publishing two books of lighthearted stories about raising

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge AT&T has added 13 more cities to its low-band 5G network, including large metro areas like Boston, St. Louis, and Atlantic City, and smaller cities like Wichita, Kansas and Dayton, Ohio, bringing the total number of cities on the list to 32. The carrier continues to expand its sub-6GHz network, which has broad range but slower speeds than the mmWave version of its 5G, which thus far AT&T has limited to business customers.
The full list of cities g

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge AT&T is adding 13 more cities to its low-band 5G network this week, including large metro areas like Boston, St. Louis, and Atlantic City, and smaller cities like Wichita, Kansas and Dayton, Ohio, bringing the total number of cities on the list to 32. The carrier continues to expand its sub-6GHz network, which has broad range but slower speeds than the mmWave version of its 5G, which thus far AT&T has limited to business customers.
The full list o

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple released macOS Catalina 10.15.3 last week, and the update apparently patched a bug that could let you read some text from encrypted emails as if they were unencrypted, according to IT specialist Bob Gendler. A longtime Mac fan, Gendler originally found the bug in July and privately disclosed it to Apple months before publicly writing about it last November, only after the company failed to fix the issue.
Apple told The Verge at the time of Gendler&r

A Canadian man who describes himself as an “artist” was charged after declaring that he was infected with the pneumonia-like coronavirus while traveling on a WestJet flight.James Potok was charged by Ontario’s Peel Police with mischief and breach of recognizance, meaning that Potok previously faced criminal charges and was released with certain conditions. Footage of Potok on the WestJet flight, which was traveling from Toronto to Montego Bay, Jamaica, shows him wearing a surgi

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Apple’s Catalyst apps were designed to help bridge software between its macOS and iOS platforms, and now the company is taking things a step further by enabling universal purchases between the two platforms, as spotted in Apple’s Xcode 11.4 beta by developer Steve Troughton-Smith on Twitter. In other words, if developers choose to enable it, customers who buy the Mac App Store version of an app will also get it on their iOS devices, and vice v

Fitbit Fitbit Coach and Fitbit Premium are the company’s fitness subscription memberships that offer guided health programs from the app / wearable device. Fitbit first came out with its Fitbit Coach program for guided exercises such as HIIT training or body weight workouts, then followed up with a Fitbit Premium program last summer. This latest program offers wellness reports, meditation programs, and other health coaching for improved eating and sleep habits.
If you pay for one you also

Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge At launch, Google promised that a free tier of its Stadia cloud gaming service would arrive sometime in 2020 to go alongside its paid tier. The 12-month span of a year is vague, but Google executive Phil Harrison has narrowed down the waiting period to the next few months, per an interview with Protocol. As for whether “the next few months” might mean August or as early as April or May, we’re not sure. Google declined to tell us more

Image: Disney After The Mandalorian ended, Disney+ subscribers were left wondering what to watch next.The Simpsons is one popular option. There are Marvel and Star Wars movies to watch, but how many times can someone watch Captain America: Civil War? Customers grew restless, and people began talking about how Disney+ had little to offer for people without kids. It’s a concern that investors raised with Disney CEO Bob Iger in yesterday’s earnings call, but Iger waved off the complain

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge The Trump administration is trying to accelerate efforts to break ties with Chinese tech giant Huawei when it comes to building out next-generation 5G cell networks, The Wall Street Journal reports. The goal is to create common engineering standards for 5G networks that would allow tech and telecom companies to use US-made equipment over Huawei’s. As it stands right now, Huawei is the world’s leading telecom hardware provider, and its best-in-

One of the most famous short films in cinema is an 1896 silent film about a train pulling into a station. An intrepid Reddit user has upscaled that film to 4K, brought its frame rate up to 60fps, and even added sound. The effect is impressive, turning a movie that’s over 120 years old into something that seems like it could have been filmed today (via Digg).
Denis Shiryaev, who did the upscaling, said he used several neural networks to upscale the original film, L’Arrivée d&rs

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1. Spotify is buying The Ringer to boost its sports podcast content
Spotifyis doubling down on its podcast strategy with a big acquisition to grow its sports coverage: It announced that it’s buying The Ringer, the popular network of podcasts created and run by broadcaster Bill Simmons, with

Some of the biggest names in competitive gaming are teaming up to form a new kind of league. Today saw the announcement of Flashpoint, a new professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league that differs from almost every other esports venture in one key way: it’s owned and run by the teams. Big-name organizations like Cloud9, Gen.G, Dignitas, Overactive Media, and more have all paid $2 million franchise fees in a big bet to build a more sustainable esports league. “Everyone benef

Teenage Engineering launched its Ikea Frekvens line of speakers and home items earlier this year, and now the company is offering free 3D printing files so customers can create their own Ikea hacks. The Frekvens (which translates to “frequency”) line features a modular system of speaker combinations that work as a perfect base for 3D-printed accessories. Some designs feature handles, wheels, and cupholders to make the speakers even more portable and party-friendly; others let you add

Hello and welcome back to our regular morning look at private companies, public markets and the gray space in between.
Casper, the well-known D2C mattress company, has lowered its IPO price range in a new S-1/A filing made public this morning. The repricing leads to a lower expected valuation for the former startup and a lower IPO raise.
The decision by Casperto shoot lower in its IPO comes after One Medical priced its own public offering conservatively last week, but it was rewarded by the publ

Kurt Keppeler and Christian Bruno / 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.
Years ago, the birth of a meme was cause for celebration. So when Matt Furie’s character Pepe first became famous online, it seemed like a good thing. The easygoing cartoon frog was a shorthand for relatable satisfaction or sadness, particularly on the chaotic mes

Image: John Fenley Last November, a small Wisconsin company named Murfie, which streamed and stored thousands of people’s personal CD and vinyl collections, suddenly went defunct, leaving customers to wonder if their personal collections would be lost forever. Now, after months in the dark, it’s been announced that Murfie’s assets have been purchased by a startup named Crossies, with the intent of moving the collection to a newly obtained warehouse in Arkansas.
Except, Crossie

Photo by Dan Seifert / The Verge It’s Microsoft reorg day today, and the biggest changes involve Surface chief Panos Panay taking over Windows client and hardware. ZDNet reports that the previously separate Windows Experience (client) and hardware teams will now be combined into a single group that will be known as Devices + Windows. Chief product officer Panos Panay will take charge of this newly formed unit, in a clear sign that Microsoft is serious about more closely aligning its softw

Image: Netflix As BoJack Horseman progressed through its six seasons, the show’s most obvious punchline didn’t get funnier; it got scarier. Yes, the cartoon horse was depressed. And an alcoholic. And he hurt the man with cancer. And gave the teens booze. And nearly slept with one. And tanked careers in order to save his own. And left someone to die. But when BoJack concluded with its final eight episodes, it wasn’t interested in a laugh so much as a reckoning.
Mild spoilers to

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge YouTube has sent a cease and desist letter to Clearview AI demanding that the controversial facial recognition startup stop scraping YouTube videos to gather faces for its database and delete any images it’s already collected. The demand, first reported by CBS News, says that YouTube forbids anyone from collecting data from its platform that can be used to identify people and that Clearview has admitted to violating this policy.
“YouTube&rsquo

Photo by Tyler Pina / The Verge It was a big deal when Microsoft slashed $150 off the price of the Xbox One X ahead of Black Friday 2019. You can still find those consoles for the same $349 price, which is a great value, but Dell’s deal goes a little further. Right now, $349 can get you an Xbox One X console bundled with the excellent Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order as well as a second Xbox wireless controller.
Games rapidly drop in price, but accessories tend to hover steadily at their MSRP

Microsoft’s built-in Windows search went down for many users for more than three hours today. Windows search is built into Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 operating system, and it started presenting blank search results for apps or any other search queries at around 8AM ET today. Windows search uses the Bing backend to search for results across the web, and it appears that this was the source of the issue.
Microsoft confirmed it was investigating access and latency issues “with m

Microsoft’s built-in Windows search has been down for many users for two hours so far today. Windows search is built into Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 operating system, and it’s currently presenting blank search results for apps or any other search queries. Windows search uses the Bing backend to search for results across the web, and it appears that this is the source of the issue.
Microsoft has confirmed it’s investigating access and latency issues “with multiple

Microsoft’s built-in Windows search went down for many users for more than three hours today. Windows search is built into Microsoft’s latest Windows 10 operating system, and it started presenting blank search results for apps or any other search queries at around 8AM ET today. Windows search uses the Bing backend to search for results across the web, and it appears that this was the source of the issue.
Microsoft confirmed it was investigating access and latency issues “with m

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge An app developer that’s suing Apple for allegedly copying one of its features says the industry needs to speak out against what it claims are Apple’s unfair business tactics. Blix, the developer behind the BlueMail email management app, claims that Apple not only stole its anonymous email sign-in feature with with “Sign in with Apple,” but it then “suppressed” Blix’s iPhone app in search results and kicked its mac

According to a firm called Check Point Software, a recent vulnerability in Philips Hue smart lightbulbs could allow malware to be installed on the Philips Hue Bridge that lets it access your internet connection and the devices connected to it. (Apparently, this hack doesn’t apply to the version of Philips Hues’ smart lights that feature Bluetooth.)
Before you get too worried, know that Philips Hue patched this vulnerability in mid-January, and your hardware should have automatically

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Some social platforms limit the number of times you can change your username, while others don’t let you do it at all. Instagram is a username free-for-all; you can alter your Instagram handle whenever you want, as many times as you want.There’s a difference between your username and your display name. The display name is on your profile below your avatar. It doesn’t need to be unique to you, and it can contain emoji and special characte