technology

/ The 2021 partnership that let businesses lease new M1 Macs for as low as $30 per month and upgrade to newer hardware on demand has been canceled. Apple partnered with a bank in 2021 to let small businesses lease new M1 Macs for as low as $30 per month, with easy options to upgrade if and when more powerful devices are released. Now that’s no longer being offered, and businesses that had signed up will now have to sign up for a different program from CIT Group, the bank Apple partnered with, or go another route to get their computers. A business that reached out to The Verge shared an email from CIT Group (aka First Citizens Bank) confirming the Mac Upgrade Program has ended. Now the bank is requesting the business to switch to its FMV lease or continue to lease the equipment at the same ...

/ Ford’s patent application outlines a future where autonomous cars drive themselves to the impound lot if their owners are delinquent on their car loans. If you think all of the changes coming to the auto industry will be good for you, think again.  a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Ford Currently, that process is a lot more low-tech, but it’s still infamously predatory and lacking in oversight. In states like California and New York, repossession can occur if an owner is even a few weeks behind on payments, and creditors aren’t even required to notify drivers before it...

/ On February 3rd, Musk said Twitter would share ad money with creators who bought Twitter Blue ‘starting today.’ But we haven’t found anyone who actually got paid. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Illustration: Laura Normand / The Verge On February 3rd, Elon Musk made a big announcement. “Starting today, Twitter will share ad revenue with creators for ads that appear in their reply threads,” he said, later adding that you’d have to be subscribed to Twitter Blue Verified to get your cut. We here at The Verge spent the rest of the day waiting for more information about the program o...

/ The incredible way this bug pees could inspire more efficient designs for water-resistant devices. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Bhamla Lab, Georgia Tech The glassy-winged sharpshooter is an insect so impressive when it pees it could inspire more efficient designs for water-resistant devices. Saad Bhamla was in his vegetable garden in Atlanta, Georgia, when he first noticed the feat. The sharpshooter forms neat, round pee droplets that it flicks away with lightning speed. Bhamla, a Georgia Tech assistant professor of biomolecular engineering, whipped out his iPhone to t...

/ The new mixer allows you to switch between audio outputs and adjust individual app volumes via Quick Settings. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: The Verge A new enhanced audio mixer is coming to Windows 11 that allows users to make individual volume and audio output adjustments directly from the taskbar. The updated volume mixer was officially revealed as part of the new Preview Build 25309 which is being rolled out to testers in the Windows 11 Insider Dev channel. When released, the updated mixer will be located inside the Quick Settings panel on the Windows taskbar, which...

/ The FTC case against Microsoft could unearth rare details on game industry exclusivity deals.

/ A chance to revisit a side-scrolling classic. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Nintendo Now that Game Boy and GBA titles are part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, Nintendo is starting to roll out some classics: and next week that will include Metroid Fusion. It’ll be available to subscribers starting on March 8th. The side-scrolling adventure originally hit the GBA back in 2002, and it represented an interesting evolution of Super Metroid’s 2D design. Here’s the basic set-up: In Metroid Fusion, interstellar bounty hunter Samus Aran is attacked by an X parasite w...

Tech/ Artificial Intelligence / The change comes just hours after big layoffs at CNET and weeks after the outlet came under fire for quietly publishing AI-generated stories.

/ It could have to pay up to $7.8 million to settle the charges that it misled consumers.

/ In an upcoming version of Android, you can use a third-party app like Dashlane to manage passwordless logins instead of Google’s built-in password manager.

Microsoft/ Tech / Microsoft restricted Bing AI in recent days after wild responses, but a new toggle lets the chatbot get more creative once again. a:hover]:text-black [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-e9 dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray-63 [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-13 dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63″>The new toggle for Bing AI.

/ Adding OLED to a running watch might seem odd, but it’s part of Garmin’s strategy to smarten up its watches. a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Garmin Garmin’s Forerunner 265 and Forerunner 965 watches have just landed. And in a first for the line, both sport shiny always-on OLED touchscreens. The Forerunner series comprises Garmin’s midrange, lightweight GPS watches for runners (and triathletes), making the shift to OLED an interesting choice. That crowd tends to favor outdoor readability and long battery life — two things that smartwatches with OLED displays aren’t always ...