HBO’s MoviePass doc is a snapshot of how C-suites kill companies - Technology news - NewsLocker (2024)

HBO Director Muta’Ali’s MoviePass, MovieCrash is a thorough but circuitous breakdown of how executives’ obsession with exponential growth all but destroyed the company.Continue reading…

Elon Musk’s xAI raises $6 billion to fund its race against ChatGPT and all the rest

The Verge Elon Musk founded xAI last summer, and today it announced raising $6 billion in funding, saying it will help bring the startup’s “first products to market, build advanced infrastructure, and accelerate the research and development of future technologies.”So far, xAI has launched Grok, a supposedly edgier version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT available via X, formerly known as Twitter, where the chatbot is currently only available to X Premium subscribers.Funding in this r

35 Best Memorial Day Sales (2024): TVs, Office Chairs, and Ebikes

Not all discounts—or gadgets—are equal. We’ve rounded up the best deals on WIRED-tested gear.

How Netflix turned from chasing HBO to signing a deal with WWE

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge Netflix isn’t just programming content only a small group of people would like — it’s intent on having a little something for everyone. During an interview with The New York Times, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos says he regrets comparing Netflix to HBO and its more limited selection of content in the past.
Here’s the quote, published in this 2013 GQ profile of Reed Hastings:
His dream project: a Netflix series created by Warren Beatty

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28 Best Memorial Day Mattress Deals (2024)

Sleep starting to feel less like a luxury? It might be time for a new mattress or bed sheet. Good thing plenty are on sale.

28 Best Early Memorial Day Mattress Deals (2024)

Sleep starting to feel less like a luxury? It might be time for a new mattress or bed sheet. Good thing plenty are on sale.

The Unitree G1 Is a Short Humanoid Robot That Costs Just $16,000

The Unitree G1 is a $16,000—but still kind of limited—humanoid robot of small stature.

Unhappy With a Service You’ve Been Paying For? It Might Be Time for a Breakup

Ending a relationship with the person you pay to cut your hair, walk your dog, or work on your home can be awkward. But if you need to move on, it’s better to make a clean break.

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The Rebirth of Queer Cruising Apps

Looking for casual sex is often seen as taboo, even in queer circles. A handful of web apps—Sniffies, BKDR, and Motto—are using map technology to reinvigorate interest in cruising culture.

WTF Is With the Pink Pineapples at the Grocery Store?!

Using DNA from tangerines and tobacco, food scientists have made a familiar fruit tastier—and more Instagrammable—than ever. We looked into pink pineapples so you don’t have to.

How Many Charging Stations Would We Need to Totally Replace Gas Stations?

The United States could fully transition to electric vehicles in about 20 years. When that happens, we’re going to need a lot of chargers.

The Auroras Should Be Spectacular This Summer, Thanks to Solar Maximum

Increasing solar activity over the next year could bring more opportunities to see fantastic displays of the northern lights.

Get lifetime cloud storage with Koofr for a one-time payment of £102

TL;DR: Through May 31, you can get a lifetime subscription to Koofr cloud storage with 1TB of space for just £102.10 (reg. £636.34) with coupon code KOOFR. That's almost 84% in savings and a price drop since the service last went on sale.Leave the “storage full” nightmares in 2023 and save yourself unnecessary frustration by storing your most important files, photos, and data in the cloud. In today’s world, nearly everything runs on a subscription-based model, but n

'Interview with the Vampire's latest Easter egg might tease a major plot twist

AMC's daring adaptation of Interview with the Vampire has been bringing thrilling new dimension to Anne Rice's 1976 novel, with plenty of its own dramatic changes. But astute fans watching Season 2 have been picking up on how showrunner Rolin Jones' version has been weaving in bits from other books in the late gothic horror author's 13-book Vampire Chronicles series, including revelations made in the first novel's sequel, The Vampire Lestat, and the sixth book, The Vampire Armand. With episode 1

How 'The Vampire Lestat' comes to play into 'Interview with the Vampire: Part II'

As Interview with The Vampire: Part II —as the second season's opening title cardcalls it —heats up, we not only learn more about Louis de Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), but also his powerful lover Armand (Assad Zaman). Pulling from Anne Rice's broader Vampire Chronicles, showrunner Rolin Jones brings perspectives from her other novels into Episode 10, "No Pain." And with them, a hint of the tragedy of Lestat's first love, Nicolas de Lenfent.Yes, before Louis

NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for May 27

Connections is the latest New York Times word game 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 May 27's Connections solution. But if you'd rather solve it yourself, keep

Atari buys Intellivision ending the oldest video game console war

Nintendo vs. Sega, PlayStation vs. Xbox –the gaming industry has been full of competition for decades now, leading the top companies in the market to go head-to-head in what gamers have dubbed the "console wars."However, one of the original console wars has finally come to an end, roughly around 45 years after either company's gaming system has been relevant. Atari has announced that it is acquiring the Intellivision brand along with "certain games" from Intellivision Entertainment L

Shut the back door: Understanding prompt injection and minimizing risk

The bottom line on prompt injection: Take it seriously and minimize the risk, but don’t let it hold you back.Read More

Instant messaging service ICQ is shutting down after 27 years

One of the oldest, still-running online platforms is finally closing its doors after 27 years. ICQ, a once-popular instant messaging service, announced on Friday via its website that it would be shutting down next month."ICQ will stop working from June 26," reads a message on ICQ.com. "You can chat with friends in VK Messenger, and with colleagues in VK WorkSpace."The alternative recommendations are messaging platforms belonging to VK, a Russia-based social media platform popular in the co

Elon Musk reportedly planning xAI 'Supercomputer' to power Grok

Elon Musk has a lot on his plate these days: Running a publicly traded EV car company, rebranding one of the internet's biggest social media platforms as "X," and launching satellites into space.According to a new report from The Information, Musk is about to split his time with yet another major project: an xAI supercomputer, which he has been calling a "gigafactory of compute."This new report comes from an investor presentation Musk has been using in order to raise money for his AI company, xA

Apple’s WWDC may include AI-generated emoji and an OpenAI partnership

Illustration: The Verge Apple will finally tell its own AI story at WWDC 2024, but it may not mean the sorts of showy features demoed by the likes of Google, Microsoft, or OpenAI. Instead, the event may see Apple rolling out basic AI features like transcribing voice memos or auto-generated emoji — and announcing a rumored partnership with OpenAI, according to Mark Gurman’s Power On newsletter for Bloomberg today.Recent rumors have held that Apple will be allowing chatbots to integrat

Seeing the real world inside a virtual one

Image: Samar Haddad / The Verge From the earliest pixelated games to the outrageously realistic experiences of today, flight simulators have always been pushing the boundaries of what can be visually recreated in a video game. It’s one thing to make space look good; it’s another thing entirely to faithfully recreate the co*ckpit of a 747 and the whole world around which it might fly.
On this episode of The Vergecast, the fourth and final installment of our series on the five senses of

Spotify Tips for People Who Like to Listen to Whole Albums

Spotify favors serving up algorithmically curated playlists instead of complete albums. If you love a long-player, here are some tips to regain control of your listening sessions.

NYT's The Mini crossword answers for May 26

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections &mdas

7 Best Google Assistant Speakers (2024): Smart Displays, Portable, and Soundbars

From smart displays to soundbars, Google’s voice assistant comes in all shapes and sizes. Here are our favorites.

A big list of the best tiny games on the internet

Image: David Pierce / The Verge Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 39, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you’re new here, welcome, get ready for gadgets this week, and also, you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)This week, I’ve been writing about Surfaces and other tablets, chatting with some internet friends about the fall of Red Lobster, reading about Magic: The Gathering and the history of emoji, watching MoviePass, MovieCrash,

We gave Google's AI Overviews the benefit of the doubt. Here's how they did.

By now I don't need to tell you Google has rolled out a feature called "AI Overviews" in Search and made it so that millions of people accustomed to receiving a page of links when they query the world's most popular website now get an AI chatbot's answer at the top of the results page. I probably also don't need to tell you the AI answers have been shown to occasionally be bizarre or even seemingly dangerous. Google Search has been caught on social media allegedly saying people should put

Shockbuster Season: Why the Death of the Summer Movie Is a Good Thing

It’s been nearly 50 years since Jaws and Star Wars turned summer moviegoing into an endless parade of family-friendly fandom flicks. This year promises something blessedly more bleak.

Does String Theory Actually Describe the World? AI May Be Able to Tell

Using machine learning, string theorists are finally showing how microscopic configurations of extra dimensions translate into sets of elementary particles—though not yet those of our universe.

US Offshore Wind Farms Are Being Strangled With Red Tape

This year has seen wind farm costs rise and many projects canceled as developers struggle with opaque regulations and determined opposition—but the industry is far from dead.