Technology news

Photo by Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against tax prep company H&R Block for allegedly wasting consumers’ time and money. The company deceptively marketed its services and made them difficult to downgrade, the FTC claims in an administrative complaint issued Friday.
“H&R Block designed its online products to present an obstacle course of tedious challenges to consumers, pressuring them into overpaying for its products,&rdquo

The Vision Pro, which hit store shelves on Feb. 2, launched with electrifying fanfare — and some criticism about its $3,500 value — as Apple stepped into a brand spankin' new product category: mixed reality.Now that several weeks have passed since the Vision Pro's debut, early adopters have had some time with the AR/VR headset. Spotted by MacRumors, some Vision Pro-owning Reddit users are claiming that they're experiencing spontaneous cracking.SEE ALSO:Apple Vision Pro: 3 features it

Google Pay is shutting down in the U.S. in an effort to focus its payment services on Google Wallet. In a blog post on Thursday, Google said the U.S. version of the standalone Google Pay app would be shutting down by June 4, 2024. The Google Pay app, which is still available in India and Singapore will stay the same. SEE ALSO:Google Wallet is making it easier to save passes, IDs and more
Google Pay, the digital payment app for desktop, mobile apps, and in stores, was pretty much phased out by th

You may want to run, you may want to hide, but for most American earners, there's no escape from the inevitable: filing your taxes. The oh-so-joyful tax season is finally upon us, but this year, there's a twist. For the first time ever, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will allow some taxpayers to file online for free directly to the IRS, using the agency's own in-house software and customer service support through a pilot program called Direct File. The program started as invite-only but rece

Illustration: The Verge Google has issued an explanation for the “embarrassing and wrong” images generated by its Gemini AI tool. In a blog post on Friday, Google says its model produced “inaccurate historical” images due to tuning issues. The Verge and others caught Gemini generating images of racially diverse Nazis and US Founding Fathers earlier this week.
“Our tuning to ensure that Gemini showed a range of people failed to account for cases that should clearly n

Two new investigations out this week shine a darkening light on parent-run child influencer accounts, alleging that Meta's content monetization tools and subscription models are providing a breeding ground for child sexual exploitation online. According to an exclusive from the Wall Street Journal, Meta safety staffers alerted the company to adult account owners using Facebook and Instagram's paid subscription tools to profit from exploitative content featuring their own children. Internal repor

It’s been over a half century since humans first set foot on the Moon, but today we understand more about our universe than ever. Our journey into the unknown has been fueled by human curiosity, innovation and even war. Join us as we dive deep into the history of space travel with space historian Margaret Weitekamp. From ancient Chinese roman candle-style rockets, to a Cold War that led to putting a man on the Moon, this is the story of how we got here.

Illustration: The Verge Google has offered a glimpse into its final arguments to a DC federal judge as it seeks to convince the court it’s not operating an unlawful monopoly in search.
The company filed an unsealed version of its posttrial brief on Friday in its battle against the US Department of Justice over its search distribution agreements. The DOJ has argued that Google used exclusionary contracts with phone manufacturers and web browser operators to make it harder for other search e

There are more lurkers than creators on TikTok, a recent Pew Research Center study has found. The fact tank surveyed 2,745 adult TikTok users in the U.S. and observed the accounts and posting behavior of 869 respondents. SEE ALSO:Is the meet cute dead? TikTok has thoughts.
You're not the only camera-shy user: 52 percent of adults surveyed have never posted on TikTok, and only 40 percent have posted a video publicly. In conclusion, a minority of users make up for the majority of content on the pl

SAVE 17%: As of Feb. 23, get the Razer Kishi V2 mobile controller (Android) for just $82.66. That's $17 off its normal price of $99.99.Opens in a new windowCredit: AmazonRazer Kishi V2 mobile controller (Android)$82.66 at Amazon $99.99Save $17.33Get DealWant to play more games while spending less time sitting in front of your TV? Mobile gaming is a simpler prospect than ever these days, and you can even enjoy triple-A titles on the go thanks to cloud gaming. One of the easiest ways to enhance yo

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The Illinois Fighting Illini and Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in a Big Ten Conference contest at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois, on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is scheduled to start at

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The Kentucky Wildcats and Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in a Southeastern Conference contest at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. ET/3 p.m. CT. Kentuck

Wondering how to watch UFC Fight Night? Exclusive broadcastESPN+$10.99 per monthGet Deal
Brandon Moreno vs. Brandon Royval 2 is the headline of the main card of UFC Fight Night in Mexico City on Saturday, Feb. 24. The main card is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Moreno vs. Royval 2 is a flyweight rematch. Moreno won the first meeting via TKO at UFC 255 on Nov. 21, 2020.The 5-foot-7 Moreno is from Mexico, and he enters the match with a 21-7-2 record. Moreno lost his most recent b

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Norwegian startup ClexBio is bioengineering human veins to implant inside a patient’s body. Together with CSEM, a Swiss R&D centre, the company has built a prototype bioreactor to grow the veins. Pre-clinical tests in animal models are already underway. Based on the early results, the team is confident that the implants don’t trigger an immune response in patients. Instead, they turn into functional tissue that integrates with the body. If further tests prove successful, the imp

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SAVE 21%: As of today, Feb. 23, the Dyson Zone noise-cancelling headphones are on sale for $549.99. That's $150 lower than the headphones' usual list price of $699.99. Opens in a new windowCredit: DysonDyson Zone Noise Canceling Heasphones $549.99 at AmazonGet DealThanks to its sophisticated vacuums and fancy hair dryers, Dyson has long been a household name. However, the brand isn't only focused on making our household chores and beauty routines easier. Dyson has also ventured into wearable air

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to do this again. Last year, it seemed like there was no reason to believe Spotify would ever roll out its long-delayed HiFi lossless streaming feature, which was announced in 2021 and then never mentioned again. But then, one of the company’s co-presidents kept hope alive, telling my colleague Alex Heath “we are going to do it.”That was in March 2023. And now here we find ourselves, three years

Earbuds can be expensive, especially if you're looking for swanky features like noise cancellation and extended battery life. However, you don't always have to break the bank to get a pair of earbuds that perform well. There are some excellent deals on JBL earbuds at Amazon today.Today's best JBL earbuds deals as of Feb. 23:Best noise-canceling earbuds deal JBL Tune Flex noise-canceling earbuds $79.95(save $20) Get DealBest ergonomic earbuds deal JBL Vibe Beam headphones $44.95(save $5) Get Deal

Well, that didn't last long.Sony's PlayStation VR2 headset launched about a year ago with the promise of delivering high-quality VR exclusively for PlayStation 5. According to a short paragraph in a Thursday post on the PlayStation Blog, however, that could change soon:Also, we’re pleased to share that we are currently testing the ability for PS VR2 players to access additional games on PC to offer even more game variety in addition to the PS VR2 titles available through PS5. We hope to ma

Corsair’s Scimitar RGB Elite gaming mouse is our top pick for gamers who play a lot of MMOs or MOBAs. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge It’s been a good week for gaming accessory deals. Not only is the official Xbox Wireless Controller on sale for just $44 ($16 off), but you can still replace your Nintendo Switch Joy-Con with the Hori Split Pad Compact for $32.49 ($18 off). And PC gamers can get in on the savings, too, now that Corsair’s Scimitar RGB Elite is down t

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The Arizona Wildcats and Washington Huskies men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in a Pac-12 Conference contest at the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is scheduled to start at noon MT/11 a.m. PT. Arizona, ranke

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The UConn and Villanova men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in a Big East Conference contest at the Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut, on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET. U

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The Tennessee Vols and Texas A&M Aggies men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in a Southeastern Conference contest at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET

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The North Carolina Tar Heels and Virginia men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is scheduled to start a

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The Kansas and Texas Longhorns men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in a Big 12 Conference contest at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. CT. Kansas, ranked N

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The Duke and Wake Forest men’s basketball teams are scheduled to meet in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest at LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Saturday, Feb. 24. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. ET.Duke, ran

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Nvidia has officially hit a $2 trillion market capitalization, making it the first chipmaker to cross the threshold. It’s also the third US company to reach over a $2 trillion valuation, right behind Apple ($2.83 trillion) and Microsoft ($3.06 trillion).
The California-based company has seen rapid growth over the past year due to its leadership in the AI chip market. Nvidia’s market cap reached $1 trillion only less than one year ago, and it le

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No one seems to know what causes it. | Photo by @inphenite / Reddit Vision Pro owners are posting near-identical reports of a crack appearing on the front glass of their headsets. None of them seem to know how it happened, either.
The issue was first spotted by MacRumors, and so far, there have been five separate Redditors who have posted about it in the r/VisionPro subreddit. What makes it curious is that all of the uploaded pictures appear to show vertical hairline cracks in the same exact are

SAVE $30: As of Feb. 23, Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is $30 off the original price in the PlayStation Store (just $39.99). With Final Fantasy VII Rebirth releasing on Feb. 29, now is a great time to work your way through Remake if you haven't already. Note: The PlayStation Store isn't currently listing this price as a discount, but all other retailers are offering 'Remake Intergrade' at the original price of $69.99 as of the time of writing. Opens in a new windowCredit: Square Enix'Final