Marriott and Starwood hotels will have to get better at data security A Marriott Hotel in Germany. | Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty ImagesThe Federal Trade Commission announced on Friday it finalized an order (pdf) requiring Marriott International and subsidiary Starwood Hotels to improve their digital security, reports BleepingComputer. The FTC charged the companies with lax security practices…

Google to court: we’ll change our Apple deal, but please let us keep Chrome Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesAfter its victory against Google in an antitrust trial earlier this year, the Department of Justice recently proposed a sweeping set of changes its search business. The DOJ put a lot on the table, demanding that Google sell its Chrome browser, syndicate its search results, and avoid exclusive deals w…

Here are 40 last-minute gifts you can still nab before Christmas Xbox Game Pass, Spotify subscriptions, retail store gift cards, and other digital products make for great last-minute gifts. | Image: MetaYes, Christmas is a couple of days away — and yes, we know you have yet to buy a gift. We understand that life gets busy, though, and sometimes it feels like the holidays creep up on you out of nowhere. But be…

Hyundai will give its EV customers free NACS adapters in early 2025 An Ioniq 5 using a CCS to NACS adapter to charge at a Supercharger. | Image: HyundaiHyundai announced it will start distributing free CCS to Tesla NACS adapters to its EV customers in the first quarter of 2025. The adapters will enable vehicles such as the Ioniq 5 and Ioniq 6 to connect to “20,000-plus” Tesla Supercharger stations. The free adap…

Halide Mark III is coming with color grades, HDR, and early access for subscribers Image: Lux OpticsLux Optics has released a loose product roadmap for its next big iPhone photo app, Halide 3.0 (which it’s calling Halide Mark III). After being more forthright than usual in the development of its Kino video app, which was recently awarded iPhone app of the year for 2024 by Apple, Lux is giving the next version of its popular ph…

Honey’s deal-hunting browser extension is accused of ripping off customers and YouTubers The PayPal Honey browser extension is, in theory, a handy way to find better deals on products while you’re shopping online. But in a video published this weekend, YouTuber MegaLag claims the extension is a “scam” and that Honey has been “stealing money from influencers, including the very ones they paid to promote their product.” Honey works by…

Asus teases a new RGB-outlined Rog Strix laptop coming next year Image: AsusAsus is planning to launch a new Rog Strix laptop at CES on January 6th, 2025, the company confirmed in a post spotted by VideoCardz. The short teaser shared by Asus shows a laptop with RGB lighting that wraps all the way around the bottom of the device, likely making for an even more colorful underglow when compared to previous gener…

Tech companies want to capture carbon at paper mills and sewage plants Illustration by Hugo Herrera / The VergeGoogle, Salesforce, H&M and other brands have turned to unlikely allies to help them clean up their carbon pollution: sewage treatment plants and paper mills. The companies joined an $80 million plan to take CO2 out of the atmosphere, though the strategies they’re using have yet to show whether they can ha…

Walmart sued over illegally opening bank accounts for delivery drivers Illustration by Hugo Herrera / The VergeThe Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is suing Walmart and payroll service provider Branch Messenger for alleged illegal payment practices for gig workers. The bureau says Walmart was opening direct deposit accounts using Spark delivery drivers’ social security numbers without their consent. The…

Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones are nearly 50 percent off right now The XM4 are over four years old, but they still sound great for the money. | Photo by Chris Welch / The VergeA couple of months ago, we saw the Sony WH-1000XM4 drop to $129.99, which was an absolute steal for the last-gen noise-canceling headphones. That deal predictably sold out in a heartbeat, and there’s no telling whether we’ll see it that l…

How Netflix took on live TV — and got ready to take on the NFL Patrick Mahomes is playing on Christmas. Netflix better not screw it up. | Photo by Jason Miller / Getty ImagesIt hasn’t always gone well for Netflix. Remember the Love Is Blind reunion or the laggy Paul / Tyson fight? But Netflix is betting big that live still matters, even in the on-demand world it helped create. Read the full story at The V…

The AI smartphones that never materialized in 2024 Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty ImagesDespite loud proclamations, AI on smartphones is still mostly a sideshow. Read the full story at The Verge.

Nosferatu is the stuff of exquisitely erotic nightmares Image: Focus FeaturesRobert Eggers’ Nosferatu gets at the heart of what makes vampires an eternally fascinating fixture in our sexual imaginations. Even if you haven’t seen F.W. Murnau’s original Nosferatu or read Bram Stoker’s Dracula, those stories have undoubtedly shaped your ideas about vampires. They weren’t the first tales about undead gho…

Trump announces new tech policy picks for his second term Michael Kratsios appearing at the Web Summit in 2019. | Photo by Rita Franca/NurPhoto via Getty ImagesIn a pair of Truth Social posts on Sunday, Donald Trump announced a set of picks for his administration’s tech policy team that will report to David Sacks, Trump’s “AI and crypto czar.” The picks include Michael Kratsios, who will lead the Offic…

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite (2024) review: slightly larger, slightly faster, slightly better Performance upgrades and screen improvements make the new Paperwhite’s minor updates feel more substantial. Three years have passed since Amazon last updated its flagship e-reader, and while this year’s Kindle lineup seemed focused on Amazon’s first color offering, the Paperwhite still got some welcome improvements. With a higher-contrast screen…

Honda and Nissan plan to merge as we enter the age of electric cars Photo by PHILIP FONG/AFP via Getty ImagesHonda and Nissan have announced plans to merge as the Japanese automakers struggle with competition from rival brands in the electric vehicle market. The two companies confirmed on Monday that they had signed a memorandum of understanding that would create the third largest car maker by sales, behind Toyo…

McLaren Artura review: a plug-in hybrid for the 1 percent A hybrid supercar that can run on electricity alone, while still delivering that twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 experience Read the full story at The Verge.

Here’s a new way to lose an argument online: the appeal to AI Image: Cath Virginia / The VergeNot even authority, just the signifiers of authority Read the full story at The Verge.

X raises Premium Plus subscription pricing by almost 40 percent The VergeX has substantially raised the price of its top-tier user subscription in multiple regions to help bolster the platform’s creator payouts. The increase for Premium Plus came into effect on December 21st according to X, raising prices in the US from $16 per month to $22, or from $168 to $229 for annual subscriptions. Many European countr…

All of Canoo’s employees are reportedly on a ‘mandatory unpaid break’ Image: CanooDays after furloughing dozens of its employees without pay, EV startup Canoo told the remainder of its staff they will be on a “mandatory unpaid break” through at least the end of the year, TechCrunch reported Friday. A company email seen by the outlet said employees would be locked out of Canoo’s systems by the end of Friday, with t…