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Illustration: The Verge Google is partnering with The Linux Foundation to launch an initiative meant to “fund open development and enhance projects” in the Chromium ecosystem, according to an announcement on Thursday. The fund, called Supporters of Chromium-Based Browsers, is billed as a “neutral” space to support Chromium projects.
Google launched Chromium alongside its Chrome web browser in 2008. It’s the open-source infrastructure that powers Chrome and many othe

We all know how ingrained the internet has become in day-to-day life. However, as the world becomes more connected, online threats grow more and more sophisticated. This means protecting your personal and financial data is more critical than ever, but also more complicated than ever.Here are some key strategies to help you stay secure and maintain your peace of mind online:Use strong, unique passwords for every accountPasswords are the first line of defence against unauthorised access to your ac

Image: Vjeran Pavic / The VergeI’m not saying I want to buy one. I’m just very curious to see where this is going.Honda released one of the more interesting concepts at last year’s CES with two Honda Zero prototypes: the Saloon and the Space-Hub. It promised to come back in a year with something a little closer to production. But rather than temper those space-age design elements, Honda leaned into them. Way in.The Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV retain a lot of what made the co

The Southern California wildfires continue to rage on, devastating areas around Los Angeles, including the Pacific Palisades, Hurst, and Pasadena. Over 180,000 people have had to evacuate their homes, and over 2,000 buildings have been destroyed. The fires, which are widespread and windy, have yet to be contained and have been stretching the limits of firefighting resources. However, according to the Los Angeles Times, California Governor Gavin Newsom has recruited more firef

Image: The Verge xAI has released an iOS app in the US for its Grok chatbot, as spotted earlier by TechCrunch. The standalone app version of the chatbot, which xAI calls a beta, can perform the same functions as the one built into X, as it can field real-time information, answer questions, and generate images.
xAI started testing Grok’s standalone iOS app in December in a handful of countries. There’s no word on when it may come to Android.Though Grok was initially only available to

LaCie’s new Rugged SSD Pro5 will be available in 2TB and 4TB capacities. | Image: Seagate Following the arrival of the first Thunderbolt 5 cables last July and the first Thunderbolt 5 dock last September, it might finally be time to start upgrading your external storage to take advantage of the increased performance. It’s been a slow rollout for Thunderbolt 5 hardware following its official reveal in September 2023, but companies like Seagate, OWC, and Sabrent finally have SSDs enrou

The 2025 tax season is officially upon us. The Internal Revenue Service will open access to its Free File preparation service starting Jan. 10, the federal agency announced in a news release. Free File is a program that allows certain taxpayers to complete their return using guided tax software, free of charge. SEE ALSO:Watch out for these common tax scams
Taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of $84,000 or less in 2024 can use Free File. Those who qualify must start their return by selecting

American Primeval is decently entertaining as an action-drama, though it's quite fascinating in concept. The Netflix mini-series, created by Mark L. Smith and directed by Peter Berg, features an accomplished ensemble playing mostly familiar archetypes during a pre-Civil War struggle for the American West. However, it saps anything resembling wistfulness from its Hollywood Western roots, complicating its chances of cornering the post-Yellowstone market (alongside the latter's many spin-offs). Wha

I can juuuust stretch my fingers far enough to grasp this wide boy. The PC handheld space continues to grow, and the biggest of all is Acer’s new Nitro Blaze 11. As soon as I saw it announced at CES I knew I had to try and get it in my hands, at least for the sheer curiosity of “Will this thing even fit my hands?” The answer is yes — though, kinda just barely.I brought a Steam Deck OLED with me for a quick size and feel comparison. One of the first things I noticed is tha

You can pay the same price for the pictured 8Bitdo Ultimate Wired or the PlayStation-like 8Bitdo Pro 2. | Photo: 8Bitdo Xbox gamers have a growing list of options among the best Xbox controllers, but even expensive ones like the Xbox Elite Series 2 can develop stick drift and other issues.
If you’re tired of shelling out for unreliable controllers, 8Bitdo’s latest wired Xbox models with Hall effect analog sticks and triggers can offer affordable relief, as you can get them for 33 per

Fubo Following FuboTV’s recent move to settle its antitrust lawsuit with Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery over the impending launch of their Venu Sports streaming service, DirectTV and EchoStar are urging the courts to consider how other TV distributors could still be shut out of the sports streaming space.
On Monday, Fubo announced that, as part of its plan to merge with Hulu + Live TV, it would also drop its lawsuit against Disney, Fox, and WBD alleging that their collaboration on

Photo by Apu Gomes / Getty Images As fires rage across Los Angeles and tens of thousands flee their homes, the usual suspects have decided to blame the blazes on their political enemies. In a series of posts on Truth Social, President-elect Donald Trump claimed firefighters’ inability to get the fires under control was due to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s water policies, including an effort to “protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images Google and Microsoft are the latest tech companies to donate to President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Each company contributed $1 million to the fund — the same amount pledged by Meta, Amazon, Sam Altman, and Tim Cook.
In a statement to CNBC, Karan Bhatia, Google’s global head of government affairs and public policy, said the company is supporting the inauguration “with a livestream on YouTube and a direct link on our

Image: Naughty Dog The Last of Us Part 2 remaster is joining the PlayStation Network club. That means you’ll need to link a PSN account if you want to play the game after buying it on Steam, Epic Games, and other PC platforms when it launches in April, as spotted earlier by Video Games Chronicle.
The requirement has proven very unpopular with other Sony titles released on PC, including Ghost of Tsushima, God of War Ragnarök, and the Horizon Zero Dawn remaster. Last year, Helldiver pla

Oh hey, another full-frontal light bar design. | Image: Cochespias1 Pictures posted on social media give us a look at a facelifted Tesla Model Y “Juniper” refresh that lets go of the original Model 3 headlight style in favor of a new front lightbar setup that reminds me of the Chevy Equinox EV. As reported by InsideEVs, Instagram car spy account Cochespias1 and X user DominicBRNKMN posted spy shots of the updated Model Y as it drove around on snowy grounds.Although the images are a b

PRE-ORDER AND SAVE $390: Ahead of its Feb. 14 launch, the Dreame X50 Ultra robot vacuum announced at CES can already be pre-ordered. Doing so early also unlocks a $390 coupon, making it yours for $1,309.99 versus the $1,699.99 launch price.Opens in a new windowCredit: DreameDreame X50 Ultra$1,309.99 at Dreame $1,699.99 Save $390.00Pre-Order HereIf you read "climbing robot vacuum" about the Dreame X50 Ultra and assumed that meant it's the first robot vacuum that can straight up go up stairs, you

Image: OnLeaks on X New day, new Nintendo Switch 2 leaks. Nintendo is getting ever-closer to its April 2025 deadline to reveal its Switch successor, but thanks new renders from OnLeaks and 91Mobiles, we may now have an even better idea of what the new console might look like.
If you’ve been following our coverage of other Switch 2 leaks, these renders shouldn’t look too surprising. According to the new renders, the console will resemble the original Switch, but it will be bigger, wit

The Dutch government has reached a deal with Nvidia to supply hardware and expertise for the construction of an AI facility in the Netherlands.  The facility will centre around an AI supercomputer aimed at accelerating research and development, as the country pushes to further digitalise its economy, according to a statement made Thursday.   The Dutch Minister for Economic Affairs Dirk Beljaarts is currently in Silicon Valley, where he is meeting with executives at Nvidia. The wo

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Amazon’s massive advertising business, which is only surpassed in the US by Google and Meta, is about to get bigger. In addition to selling ads on its sprawling marketplace, it will now let other retailers use the technology powering its $50 billion business on their own websites, as reported earlier by Adweek.
The company’s new Retail Ad Service beta will let other online stores “Deliver contextually relevant ads by leveraging Amazon&rsq

Image: Ugreen If there were some common themes among the chargers and portable power solutions announced at CES this year, it would be more power and more convenience through built-in cables. It’s not a new idea, but with most devices now being USB-C-compatible, it’s easier for companies to integrate charging cables without having to accommodate competing charging standards.
Here are some of the standout charging solutions making their debut at CES this year.
Ugreen Nexode Desktop Ch

Image: Nintendo / Lego While we’re all waiting for official news about the Switch 2, Nintendo has gone ahead and announced a very different kind of console. The company is teasing a collaboration with Lego that will see the original grey brick known as a Game Boy rendered in Lego blocks. There are no details yet, aside from the fact that it’ll be out in October, but it’s likely an official reveal is coming soon.
This isn’t the first collab between the two companies, as th

Image: Ubisoft Ubisoft announced a “strategic update” today, and the changes include a delay for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, the upcoming entry in the franchise that takes place in feudal Japan, from February 14th to March 20th.
“As part of the renewed focus on gameplay quality and engaging Day-1 experiences, it has been decided to provide an additional month of development to Assassin’s Creed Shadows,” Ubisoft writes in a press release. “This additional t

The Super Retro Champ plays classic 16-bit titles from the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. | Image: My Arcade First announced at CES four years ago, My Arcade’s Super Retro Champ was a chunky handheld that could play classic 16-bit titles using original Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo cartridges. The console didn’t end up launching, but at CES 2025, My Arcade is reviving it with an expected release later this year.
The design and functionality of the Super Retro Champ appears nearly

Illustration: The Verge Lenovo’s mysterious “future of gaming handhelds” event at CES delivered confirmation this week that Microsoft is combining “the best of Xbox and Windows together” for handhelds. Microsoft’s VP of Next Generation, Jason Ronald, spoke to my colleague Sean Hollister after the event to reveal that not only are big changes coming to the Windows handheld experience but also “you’re going to see a lot of stuff as early as this year

Fifty of the fastest-growing tech firms in the Netherlands are in Las Vegas this week. The crew crossed the Atlantic to attend CES — the world’s biggest tech show. By their side is economic affairs minister Dirk Beljaarts, who’s on a mission to promote Dutch innovation. So is TNW. We’ve partnered with the Consumer Trade Association — which organises CES — on its annual Match program at the event. The in-person meetings connect startups with investors and

Netflix / TMS Entertainment Though Yuto Suzuki’s manga Sakamoto Days hasn’t been publishing for all that long, an animated adaptation of the series is already making its way to Netflix in just a few days.
Set in a world where it’s not uncommon for people to have superhuman abilities, Sakamoto Days tells the story of Taro Sakamoto (Tomokazu Sugita / Matthew Mercer), a legendary hitman who becomes a humble convenience store owner after falling in love with his wife. While Sakamot

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images Smart lock companies have spent 2024 crafting nifty ways for you to gain entry into your front door, including iPhone-tapping Home Key ones from Aqara, a palm scanner from Philips, keypad and fingerprint options from August, and even a Face ID-style one from Lockly. These all sound pretty futuristic already... but does it feel like magic?
I’m talking magic like how my car’s driver door unlocks without me needing to do or touch anything o

Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge The first Nintendo Switch basically had the road to itself, and Nintendo instantly proved just how awesome a hybrid console and handheld could be, leading to massive success. The next Switch is imminent, but it will launch into a world that’s packed with very capable handheld gaming PCs that could present an interesting challenge to Nintendo, especially following news from CES 2025.
Valve’s Steam Deck kicked off the handheld gaming PC push

The Astrohaus Wordrunner keyboard will be available through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in February. | Image: Astrohaus Astrohaus has announced a new addition to its distraction-reducing Freewrite line of writing tools at CES. Unlike its previous all-in-one devices that pair a keyboard with basic monochromatic screens, its new Freewrite Wordrunner is a standalone mechanical keyboard customized with keys and tools designed to help writers stay focused and work more efficiently.
The compan

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that's captured the public's attention. The game is all about finding the "common threads between words." And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we've served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.If you just want to be told today's puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve

Image: VideoLAN The popular open-source VLC video player was demonstrated on the floor of CES 2025 with automatic AI subtitling and translation, generated locally and offline in real time. Parent organization VideoLAN shared a video on Tuesday in which president Jean-Baptiste Kempf shows off the new feature, which uses open-source AI models to generate subtitles for videos in several languages.“At the same time we have automatic translation working to translate the subtitles to your own la

Image: Microsoft Microsoft is holding another Xbox Developer Direct event on January 23rd. It’s the third Developer Direct in a row, making it an annual look at what’s ahead for Xbox for the year. Like last year’s event, Microsoft will provide some updates on Xbox games that are planned for release in 2025, including feature South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, and DOOM: The Dark Ages.
Microsoft’s teaser image for the event also includes a teaser for an unannou