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  • SkyFi has secured $12.7 million in funding to further develop its marketplace that offers satellite imagery from over 50 providers, supporting climate tech initiatives.
  • New York Governor's proposal to legalize robot taxis across the state excludes New York City, creating a significant hurdle for autonomous vehicle expansion in urban areas.
  • Microsoft is committing to expanding its data center infrastructure while ensuring that this does not impact electricity bills for local residents, as AI and cloud services grow.
  • A new Universal Commerce Protocol launched by Google has raised concerns from consumer advocates about potential price manipulation through its AI shopping assistant features, which Google denies.
  • India's labor ministry is pushing quick-commerce firms to rethink their 10-minute delivery promises, emphasizing the safety and wellness of gig workers amidst rapid growth in the sector.

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Engadget

  • UK scraps digital ID requirement for workers 2 hours ago by Kris Holt
    Politics & Government, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Kris Holt

    The UK government has backtracked on a plan to require all workers to have a digital ID following a backlash. It will no longer be mandatory to register with the digital ID program to prove one has the right to work in the country, as the BBC reports. The government announced the now-scrapped digital ID requirement in September. "You will not be able to work in the United Kingdom if you do not have digital ID," Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said at the time. "It's as simple as that."  The government still plans to fully transition to digital right-to-work checks by

  • The best USB-C hub for 2026 3 hours ago by Amy Skorheim
    Computing, Technology & Electronics, Personal Finance - Lifestyle, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Amy Skorheim

    Having fewer ports makes laptops and tablets lighter and more affordable — but that also cuts down on your connectivity options. If you’ve got a MacBook Air, a slim Chromebook or a tablet you’d like to get more utility out of, a USB-C hub can help. Using just a single port on your device, these multiport adapters will let you hook up screens, tap into Ethernet cables, connect mice and keyboards, and transfer data to drives and memory cards. Most also give you a way to power your device through the hub to maximize port availability. We tested over a

  • Meta has closed three VR studios as part of its metaverse cuts 14 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Technology & Electronics, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    Several of Meta's VR studios have been affected by the company's metaverse-focused layoffs. The company has shuttered three of its VR studios, including Armature, Sanzaru and Twisted Pixel. VR fitness app Supernatural will no longer be updated with fresh content. Employees at Twisted Pixel, which released Marvel's Deadpool VR in November, and Sanzaru, known for Asgard's Wrath, posted on social media about the closures. Bloomberg reported that Armature, which brought Resident Evil 4 to Quest back in 2021 has also closed and that the popular VR fitness app Supernatural will no longer get updates. “Due to recent organizational changes to our Studio,

  • Roblox's age verification system is reportedly a trainwreck 14 hours ago by Will Shanklin
    Arts & Entertainment, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Will Shanklin

    Roblox's age-verification system was designed as a response to allegations it has a child predator problem. Less than a week in, how's it going? Well, Wired reported on Tuesday that, in some cases, it's classifying children as adults and adults as children. So, not so great! Last week, Roblox made age verification mandatory for anyone using the platform's chat feature. That process involves either submitting a facial age estimate via selfie or (optionally for anyone 13 or older) uploading a government ID check. After verifying, you can only chat with groups of players around your age. The move came after reports grew

  • Instagram wants you to personalize your Reels algorithm for 2026 15 hours ago by Karissa Bell
    Media, Arts & Entertainment, Social & Online Media, site|engadget, provider_name|Engadget, region|US, language|en-US, author_name|Karissa Bell

    Last month, Instagram began rolling out a new set of controls that allowed users to personalize the topics recommended to them by the Reels algorithm. Now, Meta is making that feature available to all English users of the app globally, along with the ability to highlight their top topics for the coming year.  The feature begins with a selection of topics Meta's AI thinks you're interested in based on your recent activity, and has controls to remove them or add new categories. There's also a separate field for identifying what you want to see less of, and a new "build your


The Verge

  • Inside the White House shitposting machine 13 hours ago by Tina Nguyen
    Column, Policy, Politics, Regulator, Social Media, Tech

    Screens at the White House display AI-modified videos of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) that were shared on social media by President Donald Trump. | Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images Hello and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers about the technology, broligarchs and brainrot rapidly transforming politics and civic society. Not subscribed to The Verge yet? You should! It can materially improve your life. Last week was a grim reminder that no matter what sort of horror is being perpetrated or how many people end up dead, the Trump administration's knee-jerk response

  • WeatherTech founder might be the newest US consumer protection official 14 hours ago by Lauren Feiner
    News, Policy, Politics

    President Donald Trump made an unconventional pick for his nomination to the Federal Trade Commission: WeatherTech founder and CEO David MacNeil. MacNeil founded the company, which makes weather-resistant car floor mats, in 1989, according to its website, and he owns 100 percent of the company. WeatherTech has made it a mission to keep its manufacturing and workforce in the US. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson congratulated MacNeil on X and called him an "outstanding businessman and great patriot," sharing a clip from a news segment where MacNeil shared his commitment to manufacturing in the US. If confirmed, MacNeil become the third member

  • I tested several cases for the Switch 2 and these are the best 15 hours ago by Cameron Faulkner
    Buying Guides, Gadgets, Gaming, Nintendo, Tech, Verge Shopping

    Our picks include carrying cases and ones you can leave on during handheld and docked play. | Image: The Verge, Getty Images You might find it kind of sad to put your hard-earned Switch 2 into a protective case. To me, it’s freeing. Sure, it can take away from the slick design. But using a case relieves me of the worry that the console will accumulate tons of little scratches, or worse. I’ve tested several types of cases on the Nintendo Switch 2 since it launched in June, including flimsy shells that snap or slide onto the Switch 2 to provide

  • The Bone Temple turns 28 Years Later into a terrifying crisis of faith 16 hours ago by Charles Pulliam-Moore
    Entertainment, Film, Movie Review

    Because there was such a long gap between the releases of 28 Weeks Later and 28 Years Later, it was surprising to hear that writer-director duo Alex Garland and Danny Boyle already had plans for their latest collaboration to be the first chapter of a new horror trilogy. Sony seemed keen on fast-tracking the pair's idea, as 28 Years Later and its sequel began shooting back to back. But it also felt like the studio wanted to bring a different kind of energy into the franchise when it tapped Nia DaCosta to direct the new film. That energy and its distinctness

  • Senate passes a bill that would let nonconsensual deepfake victims sue 16 hours ago by Lauren Feiner
    AI, News, Policy, Politics, xAI

    The Senate passed a bill that could give people who've found their likeness deepfaked into sexually explicit images without their consent a new way to fight back. The Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits Act (DEFIANCE Act), would let victims sue the individuals who created the images for civil damages. The bill passed with unanimous consent - meaning there was no roll-call vote, and no Senator objected to its passage on the floor Tuesday. It's meant to build on the work of the Take It Down Act, a law that criminalizes the distribution of nonconsensual intimate images (NCII) and requires


Wired


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