Spotify launches hub for artists’ merch Spotify’s new hub recommends merch to users from their favorite artists. | Image: The VergeSpotify introduced a new hub for artist merchandise on Monday that recommends goods like T-shirts, vinyl records, and this brass Lana Del Rey lighter for moody girls. It is the latest effort from Spotify to integrate merch purchasing into the app, which ha…

Google asks Congress to not ban teens from social media Illustration: The VergeGoogle responded to congressional child online safety proposals with its own counteroffer for the first time Monday, urging lawmakers to drop problematic protections like age-verification tech. In a blog post, Google released its “Legislative Framework to Protect Children and Teens Online.” The framework comes as more law…

Meet Rick and Morty’s new voice actors Morty and Rick taking off in Rick’s ship. | Image: Adult SwimThe new voices behind Rick and Morty’s titular duo sound so uncannily similar to their old selves that it almost seemed like Adult Swim might have simply recreated Justin Roiland’s voice using artificial intelligence. It turns out, though, that they’re just two relatively unknown voice…

Spider-Man 2 on the PS5 has twice the spider-men, twice the emo fun Image: Sony Interactive EntertainmentThe sequel doesn’t change a lot, but it adds some welcome variety to the web-slinging open-world series. Continue reading…

Stack Overflow lays off over 100 people as the AI coding boom continues Stack Overflow cuts 28 percent of its staff. | Image: Stack OverflowCoding help forum Stack Overflow is laying off 28 percent of its staff as it struggles toward profitability. CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar announced today that the company is “significantly reducing the size of our go-to-market organization,” as well as “supporting teams” and other…

Intel’s new 14th Gen CPUs arrive on October 17th with up to 6GHz out of the box Image: IntelIntel is launching its 14th Gen desktop processors this week, promising boost frequencies of 6GHz out of the box for its flagship Core i9-14900K. Known as Raptor Lake Refresh, Intel is maintaining pricing for its 14th Gen Core i9, i7, and i5 processors this year, sticking to the same retail pricing as the 13th Gen when these new chip…

Apple has an edge over its competitors in the fight against climate change Apple CEO Tim Cook talks to an employee at a solar farm in Hanstholm, Denmark. | Photo by Christoph Dernbach / picture alliance via Getty ImagesA new report compares climate initiatives by Apple, Dell, Google, HP, Microsoft, and Nvidia. Apple’s far from perfect, but so far, it’s ahead of the pack, according to today’s report. It’s the only comp…

Lakers legend Rick Fox built a house that can suck CO2 out of the atmosphere Laker legend-turned-actor Rick Fox has a new passion: sustainable concrete. | Image: PartannaA new house in the Bahamas is built with an alternative concrete that sucks CO2 out of the air. It’s a home that’s supposed to help in the fight against climate change, and the plan is to build 999 more like it. That’s the slam dunk NBA Lakers legend-tu…

Minecraft has sold over 300 million copies Image: MojangMinecraft already has the distinction of being the bestselling video game of all time. Today, it adds more down to that particular feather in its cap with the announcement that it has sold a staggering 300 million copies. “As we approach the 15th anniversary, Minecraft remains one of the best-selling games of all time, with over 30…

Apple rumors claim refreshed iPads are coming this week Illustration by Nick Barclay / The VergeApple may have a surprise iPad update announcement in store for this week. 9to5Mac says it has corroborated a report from Supercharged that Apple will announce spec bumps for three of its iPads — the base model, the iPad Air, and the iPad Mini. In a story this morning for Bloomberg, Mark Gurman said, “I do…

Apple’s cheaper Vision Pro follow-up still won’t be cheap Image: Vjeran Pavic / The VergeMark Gurman writes in his Power On newsletter for Bloomberg today that the more affordable follow-up to the Apple Vision Pro will “likely” ditch the external display to help it reach an internally-discussed price point between $1,500 and $2.500. Gurman also reiterates what he wrote in June — that the more affordabl…

Everything you need to track your movies, music, books, and more Illustration: William Joel / The VergeHi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 10, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, hooray! I’m so happy you’re here, and also, you can catch up on all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) We made it through 10 weeks! It’s been so fun to make this every week and t…

Caltech ends its Wi-Fi lawsuit against Apple and Broadcom Illustration: The VergeCaltech has had some ups (winning $1.1 billion) and some downs (losing the $1.1 billion award and being ordered to a trial on damages) since suing Apple and Broadcom in 2016 over Wi-Fi patents. Reuters reported this week that Caltech is dropping its yearslong lawsuit against Apple and Broadcom, about two months after the c…

AMD’s Anti-Lag feature is getting gamers banned from Counter-Strike 2 Counter-Strike 2 players could get unceremoniously banned for using Anti-Lag Plus. | Image: ValveCounter-Strike 2 developers strongly warned players in a post that they’ll be banned if they turn on AMD’s Anti-Lag feature for CS2. According to the post, the features from the most recent driver updates are “implemented by detouring engine dll func…

X accused of illegally firing employee who criticized Elon’s return-to-work plan The VergeCNBC reports that the National Labor Relations Board alleged, in a complaint filed Friday, that X violated labor law when it fired an employee who criticized the company. Elon Musk bought the company, then known as Twitter, in October and threatened to fire workers who didn’t return to in-person office work. After Yao Yue encouraged oth…

LG’s desk-friendly C3 OLED has dipped below $1,000 for the first time LG’s 42-inch C3 OLED TV might not be big enough for your living room, but it will look great on your desk. | Image: LGWelcome to the weekend, dear readers! Although we’ve spent the past week pummeling you with deals from Amazon’s fall Prime Day event — some of which are still available, to be sure — our Saturday roundup is mostly concerned with …

I am dying to know who purchased a new Wii U in September Image: NintendoWe take a break from the Microsoft-Activision Blizzard news cycle to bring you this important announcement: 11 years after its arrival, six years after Nintendo ceased its production, and just a few months after it also shut down its online store, someone just bought a brand-new Wii U. The news comes to us via Mat Piscatella, vide…

Netflix’s Squid Game reality show has an official release date Image: NetflixSquid Game: The Challenge, Netflix’s reality show based on Squid Game that will pit 456 people against each other for $4.56 million, will debut on November 22nd, the company announced on Friday. For people based in the US, I’m guessing that means a lot of families will be watching this show over Thanksgiving vacations. Netflix anno…

Here’s Mario’s new voice actor Super Mario Bros. Wonder. | Image: NintendoAfter months of speculation, conspiracy theories, and false alarms, we finally know the name of Mario’s new voice actor: Kevin Afghani. On Friday, Afghani announced the news on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “Incredibly proud to have voiced Mario and Luigi in Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Thanks to Nintendo…

Nvidia is raising the price of GeForce Now, but not in the US Image: NvidiaEnjoying Starfield on GeForce Now, where the cloud gaming service is one of the best ways to play? Starting November 1st, it’ll cost you $6 more in Canada, £2 more in the UK, or an additional €2 in Europe per month for the must-have Ultimate plan. Six-month plans are going up by $20 CAD, £10, and €10, respectively. Nvidia spokespers…