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Here’s where to preorder all of Amazon’s new Alexa devices and when they arrive

Here’s where to preorder all of Amazon’s new Alexa devices and when they arrive

Amazon's fall hardware event had a little of everything: updated Echo speakers, several Blink security devices, and even a Kindle Scribe with a color screen. Most of the gadgets won't ship for at least a couple of weeks, if not longer; however, most are also available for preorder at Amazon if you want to be among the first to try them. To help make sense of it all, we've rounded up all of Amazon's upcoming wares, along with quick summaries and preorder details for each device. And if you're waiting for our thoughts, stay tuned: we'll be reviewing many of…
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Google is blocking AI searches for Trump and dementia

Google is blocking AI searches for Trump and dementia

Google appears to have blocked AI search results for the query "does trump show signs of dementia" as well as other questions about his mental acuity, even though it will show AI results for similar searches about other presidents. When making the search about President Trump, AI Overviews will display a message that says, "An AI Overview is not available for this search": Go directly to AI Mode, and you'll only receive a list of 10 web results instead of a summarized page of information: Similar searches about Trump are limited in the same way. Various queries about dementia, Alzheimer's,…
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TikTok, #freedom edition

TikTok, #freedom edition

Hello and welcome to Regulator. Today is the last day of The Verge's very good subscription sale: $4 for a month and $35 for the year, for full access to the entire site. Don't delay! When we launched Regulator two months ago, the premise was that I'd write about the collision between Big Tech and Big Government. The key word was collision. Tech and politics no longer existed as separate planets that would occasionally cross paths - they were now crashing into each other in very messy and dramatic ways. The plan was to write a column about one subject…
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Refurbished Sonos headphones, speakers, and soundbars are up to 25 percent off right now

Refurbished Sonos headphones, speakers, and soundbars are up to 25 percent off right now

You can get the Era 100 for just $134. | Image: The Verge With the impact of President Trump’s tariffs leading to higher prices on Sonos gear, scoring a deal feels extra special. Right now, Sonos is currently offering up to 25 percent off a range of refurbished devices, including the Sonos Era 100, Era 300, and the portable Move 2, with prices starting at $134. If you want wireless headphones that can seamlessly integrate with your Sonos setup, a refurbished pair of Ace wireless headphones are currently $239, saving you $160 off the price of a new pair. Sonos…
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Here are 55 great deals you can snag ahead of Amazon’s fall Prime Day event

Here are 55 great deals you can snag ahead of Amazon’s fall Prime Day event

Amazon’s Echo Spot is an excellent smart alarm clock that’s currently $30 off. Amazon recently announced that its fall Prime Day sale — once again dubbed Prime Big Deal Days — will kick off on Tuesday, October 7th, and run through October 8th. While you have a few weeks to get your wishlist in order, the retailer isn’t waiting for the main event to roll out the savings. Amazon has already started dropping early deals and discounts on a range of gadgets, from wireless earbuds to charging stations. You can even get three months of Kindle Unlimited for free. We…
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YouTube caves to Trump with $24.5 million settlement

YouTube caves to Trump with $24.5 million settlement

YouTube has settled a lawsuit President Donald Trump filed against the company in 2021, according to The Wall Street Journal. Trump filed sweeping lawsuits against Google-owned YouTube, Meta (then Facebook), and X (then Twitter) after he was suspended from the platforms, and now all three companies have settled with the president. YouTube will pay $24.5 million, with $22 million going toward the Trust for the National Mall nonprofit to help “support the construction of the White House State Ballroom,” the settlement document says, and $2.5 million will go to other plaintiffs. The full settlement is slightly less than the $25…
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SB 53, the landmark AI transparency bill, is now law in California

SB 53, the landmark AI transparency bill, is now law in California

Senate Bill 53, the landmark AI transparency bill that has divided AI companies and made headlines for months, is now officially law in California.  On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the “Transparency in Frontier Artificial Intelligence Act,” which was authored by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-CA). It’s the second draft of such a bill, as Newsom vetoed the first version — SB 1047 — last year due to concerns it was too strict and could stifle AI innovation in the state. It would have required all AI developers, especially makers of models with training costs of $100 million or more, to…
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Microsoft is bringing its Windows engineering teams back together again

Microsoft is bringing its Windows engineering teams back together again

Windows is coming back together. Microsoft is bringing its key Windows engineering teams under a single organization again, as part of a reorg being announced today. Windows chief Pavan Davuluri, who was just promoted to president of Windows and devices earlier this month, shared the changes to Microsoft's Windows teams in an internal memo. "This change unifies Windows engineering work under a single organization," Davuluri wrote in the memo, which was seen by The Verge. "Moving the teams working on Windows client and server together into one organization brings focus to delivering against our priorities." This the first major Windows…
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Tile’s lack of encryption could make tracker owners vulnerable to stalking

Tile’s lack of encryption could make tracker owners vulnerable to stalking

Security researchers are shining the spotlight on a serious security vulnerability that could enable stalkers to track victims using their own Tile tags, as well as other unwanted violations of security and privacy. Research outlined by Wired shows that Tile’s anti-theft mode, which makes its trackers “invisible” on the Tile network, counteracts measures to prevent stalking. Bad actors could also potentially intercept unencrypted information sent from the tags, like their unique IDs and MAC addresses, and track their movements using other Bluetooth devices or an antenna.  This isn’t news to Eva Galperin, the director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier…
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Apple’s ‘Veritas’ chatbot is reportedly an employee-only test of Siri’s AI upgrades

Apple’s ‘Veritas’ chatbot is reportedly an employee-only test of Siri’s AI upgrades

Siri’s new logo. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman Apple is testing Siri’s upcoming revamp using an internal chatbot called Veritas. The company’s struggles as it tries to keep pace in the AI race are no secret. The next-gen Siri has been delayed multiple times and the debut of Apple Intelligence was met with a tepid response. Veritas gives Apple the ability to quickly develop, test, and collect feedback on new Siri features like “search[ing] through personal data… and perform[ing] in-app actions like editing photos.“ According to Gurman Veritas resembles other chatbot apps like ChatGPT and Gemini. Employees type requests, have…
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