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Paul Hennessy / Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images Movie theaters across the country are closed, but some drive-ins are seeing a resurgence in the wake of social distancing practices. Now, Tribeca Enterprises (the company behind the Tribeca Film Festival), IMAX, and AT&T are partnering to bring a summer movie series to as many drive-in theaters as possible in the US.Tribeca Drive-In will feature a curated selection of movies both old and new, alongsidespecial music and sporting eve

Etsy began pushing homemade masks in early April, and the results panned out in a big way: total sales on the platform doubled last month, by and large thanks to a surge in face mask sales. For comparison, Etsy’s marketplace sales figures between January and March were up only 16 percent.
More than 12 million face masks were sold during April, totaling around $133 million in sales. Etsy says they represented the second largest category of product sales across the entire site during the mon

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Lyft’s ride-hailing business is down 70 percent, year over year, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the company’s chief executives said in an earnings call with investors Wednesday. The company’s ride volume hit a bottom in the second week of April, plummeting 75 percent year-over-year, and has since gradually risen in the final weeks of the month.As the COVID-19 related shutdown continues with no clear end in sight, Lyft is projectin

NFC Contactless Payments stock (1020) The NFC Forum has announced an update for the short-range wireless technology that adds a form of wireless charging to the standard. Future NFC devices could offer wireless charging functionality, albeit in a way that’s far more limited than the popular Qi standard used by almost every other device (via 9to5Google).The new NFC standard is far slower than Qi charging, offering up to 1W speeds compared to base Qi speeds of 5W. (Qi fast charging can reac

Image: Sonos Sonos is refreshing its best-sounding music speaker today, but the new product is so similar to its predecessor that there’s zero reason for anyone with a Play:5 to consider an upgrade. That new speaker is called the Sonos Five. And though it now shares branding with the Sonos One, which was the company’s first product with built-in voice assistant capabilities, the Sonos Five oddly does not include a built-in microphone for use with Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant.Son

Image: Sonos The new app that Sonos announced in March will be released on June 8th, and with it will come the launch of the S2 platform that exclusively powers the new Sonos Arc, Five, and Sub. That new underlying operating system will soon make its way to other Sonos products — pretty much everything except for those very old legacy devices that we keep writing about.When the revamped Sonos app arrives, the current version will be renamed “Sonos S1 Controller” in the Apple A

Image: Sonos Sonos is finally making its long-awaited push into Dolby Atmos home theater audio. That effort starts with the new $799 Arc, a premium soundbar that replaces the Playbar in Sonos’ product lineup. The oddball Playbase speaker, designed to fit underneath some TVs, is also being discontinued today as Sonos simplifies your options to just the Arc and Beam.It isn’t cheap at $800, and it’s $100 more expensive than the Playbar, but Sonos claims that the Arc sets a new st

Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Blizzard Entertainment Heading into 2020, the Overwatch League’s Vancouver Titans were heavy favorites to avenge their 2019 grand finals loss — but that now seems incredibly unlikely. Today, the esports club announced it has dropped its entire roster midway through the season.The issue seems to stem at least in part due to complications around the league’s shift to an online-only format due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While players

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google Authenticator, the company’s code-based authentication app, has received its first update in three years, updating the app’s interface for larger screens with more modern aspect ratios and delivering one of the platform’s most-needed features (via Android Police). The Android version was last updated on August 22nd, 2017, while the iOS one was updated around a year ago to adjust it for iPhone X screens.Now, for the first time, Aut

A new data set from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) details how startups are reacting to the post-unicorn era as COVID-19-related disruptions upset the global economy and remake the risk tolerance of private investors.
What SVB’s new report shows is unsurprising: venture capital deal volumes are falling, startups are tapping existing debt capacities to add cash to balances while they still can and some upstart firms are curtailing spend to reduce unprofitability. The last data point comes via th

Image: Epic Games Epic’s Fortnite has more than 350 million registered players, the game developer announced on Wednesday. That makes the free-to-play battle royale game one of the most popular titles ever made, ranking up there with the ubiquity of Minecraft and some of the most downloaded mobile and free-to-play PC games of the last 15 years. While we have no indication as to how many players log in every day or month, as Epic doesn’t release those stats, the studio did say that i

Ashley Carman / The Verge Spotify is now testing video podcasts in its app, starting with two YouTube stars: Zane Hijazi and Heath Hussar, hosts of Zane and Heath: Unfiltered. The global test, which allows the creators to upload their recorded video footage to the app, will show up for 50 percent of the show’s Spotify podcast listeners, a source close to Spotify tells The Verge, and videos will only be coming to three recent episodes, numbers 28 through 30. The test doesn’t visually

Twitch is getting a new look — sort of. Starting today you’ll see the site’s channel pages slip into something more comfortable, to borrow a phrase; streamers will now have way more control over what their channel looks like when it’s offline, with a more customizable home page, channel trailers, and more. The changes were first announced at last year’s Twitchcon in San Diego, and they’re finally rolling out today.
Probably the coolest part of the new look is

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Wednesday, Facebook’s oversight board announced the names of its first 20 members, who will independently oversee moderation disputes on the platform. Chosen in part for a diversity of viewpoints and backgrounds, the members include a former prime minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and the Guardian editor who oversaw the publication of the Snowden leaks.Facebook first announced its plans to launch an oversight board in November 2018. In the mont

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge On Wednesday, Facebook’s oversight board announced the names of its first 20 members, who will independently oversee moderation disputes on the platform. Chosen in part for a diversity of viewpoints and backgrounds, the members include a former prime minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and the Guardian editor who oversaw the publication of the Snowden leaks.Facebook first announced its plans to launch an oversight board in November 2018. In the mont

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Android’s real-time captioning feature, Live Caption, could be coming to Google’s Chrome browser on computers and to Chrome OS, as spotted by TechDows (via 9to5Google). In the latest Canary release of Chrome, there’s a way to access a new “Live Caption” toggle in the browser’s accessibility settings.
However, in a few minutes of testing, I wasn’t able to get Live Captions to work at all. I switched the Live Captio

Image: Boya Sun / Magic Puzzle Company There’s nothing new about 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles, so when a jigsaw puzzle goes on Kickstarter, creators have to think outside of the box. Now, the co-founder of Cards Against Humanity has done just that, launching a project that takes a new approach to the classic pastime.
The Magic Puzzle Company is trying to make puzzles that are full of surprises and twists that keep you engaged as much as possible from start to finish. The first three Magic P

If there was ever a good time to show a healthcare worker you know a little extra love, it's right this instant. 
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, we're celebrating National Nurse's Day on Wednesday, May 6, an annual holiday that recognizes our healthcare heroes' hard work and kicks off National Nurse's Week. (That'll end on May 12 with the birthday of Florence Nightingale, a 19th-century British nurse who's widely considered the founder of modern nursing.) Above all else, it should serve as a r

Just add coronavirus and murder hornets to the long list of things The Simpsons predicted.
OK, so like most of the famous Simpsons predictions, it isn't exactly a prediction of 2020, but it is pretty damn close. 
Twitter user @didgeridougrou posted a viral tweet on Tuesday, in which they surfaced an old clip from the animated series that sure seems a lot like our plight in 2020.
In the clip, Springfield townsfolk clamor and shout at Dr. Hibbert for a cure for a disease, but the doctor tells

Ring Today’s best deals are, as usual, a mix of returning favorites and some new ones that we’ve picked up along the way. While we featured some big-ticket items yesterday, today’s roundup is focused more on practical additions to your home that won’t cost a whole lot. One such product is the Ring Peephole Cam, which is cheaper for readers of The Verge with an exclusive offer code from Daily Steals. Instead of $130, which is the current price at Amazon, you can snag one

TL;DR: Outdoor furniture is up to 40% off as part of The Big Outdoor Sale at Crate and Barrel, which is still going on as of May 6. Outdoor rugs and planters are also 20% off.Most summers, Instagram stories feel like a flex battle of who's at the coolest rooftop bar. This year, it will be who has the coolest patio setup. Mark our words.
Home improvement (whether that be DIY stuff or redecorating) has become a major theme during isolation. Our humble abodes are the only scenery a lot of us have r

Photo: Facebook Facebook is testing a new app to expand internet access in developing countries. The app, called Discover, provides users with a balance of free browsing data provided by several mobile partners. Facebook is running the first trial in Peru, but it plans to launch in a number of other countries in the future, including Thailand, the Philippines, and Iraq.Users will receive free data from their provider each day and will get a notification when it’s available. Discover only

The Oregon Zoo shared a video of one of its bears taking a dip in a tub. | Oregon Zoo The animals at the Oregon Zoo, like many of us, are taking life during coronavirus-induced lockdown one day at a time. The zoo closed to the public on March 17th, and since then, zookeepers have shared adorable and hilarious sneak peeks into life on the inside.
We follow a lot of zoo and farm cams at The Verge — like these big cats and baby goats. But the critters at the Oregon Zoo, so far, have been the

TLDR: Birch has started their Memorial Day sale early this year. As of May 6, you can get their natural mattress for $200 off any size with the code "MDWS200." Have you been having those weird dreams everyone has been talking about since quarantine began? If so, you're definitely not alone. A lot of people have been turning to meditation and other sleep hacks in an attempt to sleep through the night without that random friend from elementary school popping into their head. 
SEE ALSO: W

TL;DR: Grab a last-minute Mother's Day gift during P.volve's sale and save 20% on orders of $75 or more.Since social distancing started, people have been working out at home because gyms across the country have closed. We've started turning to workout apps and home gym equipment. 
P.volve is a company that specializes in both fitness programs and equipment, and now through May 10 you can save 20% on orders more than $75. This is technically the brand's Mother's Day sale, but we won't tell i

Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images Lawmakers have introduced a multibillion-dollar plan to fight child sexual abuse, particularly on the internet.
The Invest in Child Safety Act would authorize spending $5 billion over 10 years to expand anti-child abuse divisions at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, let the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) hire more investigators and therapists, and increase funding for the state- and local-level Internet Crimes Against Children

PowerPoint presentations are about to get a lot (well, maybe not a lot) more exciting.
Microsoft announced Wednesday that its new Surface Headphones and Surface Earbuds will be out May 12. 
While the Headphones are the latest version of a product Microsoft launched a couple of years ago, the earbuds are the company's first real AirPods competitor. 
The Surface Earbuds are interesting because they travel a slightly different road than AirPods or the recently released Pixel Buds. Obvious

TL;DR: As of May 6, the speedy and reliable Logitech G305 wireless mouse is $20 off on Logitech's website for a limited time. If you've recently started working from home full-time with nothing more than a laptop, you probably found out pretty quickly that not having a mouse can really do a number on your hands. Using a trackpad for eight hours, five days a week is a one-way ticket to carpal tunnel town, friend.
We don't want it to get to that point for you though — that's why we're t

ESO/L. Calçada Astronomers have discovered what they think is a new black hole, and if they’re right, it’s not that far away from Earth. At a mere 1,000 light-years away, the small black hole would be our cosmic neighbor — the closest one to our planet ever found.
Being a black hole, the object is impossible to see directly with instruments from Earth, as no light escapes it. So scientists working at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Chile actually inferred tha

Naughty Dog’s new trailer for The Last of Us Part II, the sequel to its much loved 2013 game, does not bode well for Ellie. Released today, the trailer teases a bloody journey filled with loss and regret, seemingly for everyone involved.The Last of Us Part II follows an adult Ellie on a quest for revenge. “After a vicious and violent event disrupts the relative peace that Ellie has found in Jackson, she sets out to bring justice to those responsible,” the trailer description re

Illustration: Alex Castro / The Verge Back in March, 9to5Google reported that Google’s next streaming device will run Android TV and thus offer a more traditional user experience that’s closer in line with Roku and Amazon Fire TV than the company’s previous Chromecast efforts. Now, Protocol is corroborating that news and saying that the new device will “likely” be branded as a Google Nest product to help differentiate it from what came before. It’ll also feat

Microsoft officially took the wraps off the Surface Go 2 and Surface Book 3.
Starting at $399, the Surface Go 2 features a 10.5-inch PixelSense display, Studio Mics (to increase voice clarity and reduce background noise, particularly during video chats), and a 5-megapixel front-facing camera. With 8th-generation Intel Core M processor options, Microsoft says the device is 64 percent faster than its predecessor. 
Additionally, the Go 2 has a new Camera app specifically for the rear-faci

Volvo says Luminar’s LIDAR will be “seamlessly integrated” into its vehicles.| Photo: Volvo Most new cars sold today include a bevy of sensors such as cameras and radar to help power modern conveniences like automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assist. Very few automakers, however, sell cars with the high-powered laser sensor known as LIDAR, and for good reason: most LIDAR are ridiculously expensive, with the leading suppliers pricing theirs at around $75,000. But now,

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Google will announce the first public beta for Android 11 in a live stream at 11AM ET on June 3rd, according to a promotional video spotted by Android Police. The search giant typically debuts Android’s latest public beta in May each year, but the difference in 2020 is that its developer conference, Google I/O, had to be canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Google is promising that the live stream will have new announcements on “connecti

Photo by Philip Cheung for The Verge Uber will lay off 3,700 full-time employees, or around 14 percent of its global workforce, the company said in filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi will forgo his salary for the rest of the year as the company continues to struggle in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.The layoffs are expected to hit the company’s customer support and recruiting divisions. Uber says it will incur approximately $

Hello and welcome back to our regular morning look at private companies, public markets and the gray space in between.
Today we’re taking stock of what’s happening to a number of unicorns, both public and private. This is the third time we’ve sat down to document what feels like a wave of unicorn cuts, capped in this case by Airbnb’sdecision to cut around a quarter of its global staff (25.3%, according to provided numbers).
Airbnb’s cuts follow recent excisions at L

Ring’s $99.99 Video Doorbell with new $49 solar charger. | Image: Ring Ring is relaunching its original Video Doorbell, first introduced in 2014, with features found in its more expensive doorbells without raising the price. That includes 1080p video, improved night vision, and motion zones for $99.99. It’s also introducing a new $49 solar charger that frames and powers the doorbell.
The new Video Doorbell can run off rechargeable battery or hardwired connection and supports two-way

If you've rewatched The Office more than once, you've likely picked up on some Easter eggs or noticed certain filming consistencies and wondered whether or not they were intentional.
On the latest episode of the Office Ladies podcast, former co-stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey talked about two of these instances and shed some real light on just how high the attention to detail was on set.
The episode Fischer and Kinsey discussed was Season 2, Episode 21, "Conflict Resolution." It shows ever

Image: Microsoft Microsoft has announced the Surface Go 2, an upgrade to 2018’s Surface Go, and this new version packs a lot of new features, including a larger 10.5-inch display, a camera app for the rear-facing camera, and improved battery life. The Surface Go 2 also starts at $399.99, making it affordable enough for people who may just want a cheap Windows computing machine without the more expensive bells and whistles of a Surface Pro or Surface Pro X.
The Surface Go has a lot of comp