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Image: Microsoft

A global IT outage grounded flights and resulted in outages at the London Stock Exchange and other systems early Friday morning. Industries ranging from healthcare, banking, air travel, and others are struggling with a global IT outage that hit Microsoft Windows systems PCs and servers connected to the Crowdstrike security platform early Friday morning — and that could take a while to fully resolve.
CrowdStrike, which is a cybersecurity firm based in the US, said on Friday that a faulty update was the culprit, not a “security incident or cyberattack,” according to a post on X by CEO George Kurtz. Banks, airlines, TV broadcasters, and supermarkets had systems suddenly reboot to display a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error that might require a reboot into safe mode to fix.
Thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled and some businesses are now slowly beginning to come back online. Kurtz told NBC News that it “could be some time” before systems recover.

Image: Microsoft

A global IT outage grounded flights and resulted in outages at the London Stock Exchange and other systems early Friday morning.

Industries ranging from healthcare, banking, air travel, and others are struggling with a global IT outage that hit Microsoft Windows systems PCs and servers connected to the Crowdstrike security platform early Friday morning — and that could take a while to fully resolve.

CrowdStrike, which is a cybersecurity firm based in the US, said on Friday that a faulty update was the culprit, not a “security incident or cyberattack,” according to a post on X by CEO George Kurtz. Banks, airlines, TV broadcasters, and supermarkets had systems suddenly reboot to display a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error that might require a reboot into safe mode to fix.

Thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled and some businesses are now slowly beginning to come back online. Kurtz told NBC News that it “could be some time” before systems recover.

Read More 

Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

IT admins around the world are scrambling to fix a major issue with Windows computers today, after a faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike knocked thousands of PCs and servers offline with a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error. While CrowdStrike has fixed the update that originally caused the problems, many systems are still offline, with banks, airlines, supermarkets, and TV broadcasters struggling to cope without their machines.
The fix, for many, won’t be easy. IT admins are still trying to use an initial workaround provided by CrowdStrike, which involves booting Windows systems into Safe Mode and deleting a system file:

Boot Windows into Safe Mode or the Windows Recovery Environment
Navigate to the C:WindowsSystem32driversCrowdStrike directory
Locate the file matching “C-00000291*.sys”, and delete it.
Boot the host

These steps force Windows to boot into a Safe Mode environment where third-party drivers like CrowdStrike’s kernel-level driver aren’t able to load. IT admins then have to locate the faulty driver on the disk and delete it. This workaround requires, in most cases, physical access to a machine and in some environments could be complicated by disk encryption like BitLocker, or even a lack of admin rights to be able to delete the faulty driver.

The other option is to wait for CrowdStrike’s fix to come through — but getting it has been a problem. Some IT admins are simply rebooting machines over and over, hoping that the CrowdStrike update will get pushed through the network stack before CrowdStrike’s protection engine initializes and then BSODs the machine. Turning machines off and on again (yes, really) seems to be working for some, with reports of machines coming back online after being rebooted multiple times.
CrowdStrike’s update server and content delivery networks are likely being hammered by the millions of machines reaching its servers for an update, so it may take some time for the reboot method to work.
Businesses running virtual desktops may be able to recover quicker than others, by simply restoring affected hosts back to a point before CrowdStrike’s faulty update wreaked havoc. In environments where rebooting isn’t working, the workaround of booting into Safe Mode looks like the best option right now.
Either way, this issue isn’t going to be resolved in a matter of hours like the typical internet outages we see from cloud providers. “It could be some time for some systems that won’t automatically recover, but it is our mission to make sure every customer is fully recovered,” says CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz in an interview with NBC News.
In that same interview, Kurtz apologized for the damage caused by CrowdStrike’s update, but there will undoubtedly be questions around how a faulty update like this ever managed to hit thousands or millions of machines around the world.

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Photo by Anthony Kwan/Getty Images

IT admins around the world are scrambling to fix a major issue with Windows computers today, after a faulty update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike knocked thousands of PCs and servers offline with a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) error. While CrowdStrike has fixed the update that originally caused the problems, many systems are still offline, with banks, airlines, supermarkets, and TV broadcasters struggling to cope without their machines.

The fix, for many, won’t be easy. IT admins are still trying to use an initial workaround provided by CrowdStrike, which involves booting Windows systems into Safe Mode and deleting a system file:

Boot Windows into Safe Mode or the Windows Recovery Environment
Navigate to the C:WindowsSystem32driversCrowdStrike directory
Locate the file matching “C-00000291*.sys”, and delete it.
Boot the host

These steps force Windows to boot into a Safe Mode environment where third-party drivers like CrowdStrike’s kernel-level driver aren’t able to load. IT admins then have to locate the faulty driver on the disk and delete it. This workaround requires, in most cases, physical access to a machine and in some environments could be complicated by disk encryption like BitLocker, or even a lack of admin rights to be able to delete the faulty driver.

The other option is to wait for CrowdStrike’s fix to come through — but getting it has been a problem. Some IT admins are simply rebooting machines over and over, hoping that the CrowdStrike update will get pushed through the network stack before CrowdStrike’s protection engine initializes and then BSODs the machine. Turning machines off and on again (yes, really) seems to be working for some, with reports of machines coming back online after being rebooted multiple times.

CrowdStrike’s update server and content delivery networks are likely being hammered by the millions of machines reaching its servers for an update, so it may take some time for the reboot method to work.

Businesses running virtual desktops may be able to recover quicker than others, by simply restoring affected hosts back to a point before CrowdStrike’s faulty update wreaked havoc. In environments where rebooting isn’t working, the workaround of booting into Safe Mode looks like the best option right now.

Either way, this issue isn’t going to be resolved in a matter of hours like the typical internet outages we see from cloud providers. “It could be some time for some systems that won’t automatically recover, but it is our mission to make sure every customer is fully recovered,” says CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz in an interview with NBC News.

In that same interview, Kurtz apologized for the damage caused by CrowdStrike’s update, but there will undoubtedly be questions around how a faulty update like this ever managed to hit thousands or millions of machines around the world.

Read More 

The report didn’t mention Ventura, which is rumored to be a more affordable headset slated for 2024. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Despite recent layoffs in its Reality Labs division, Meta is still barreling ahead with plans for a Quest 4 in 2026 and a higher-end headset in 2027, The Information reports.
While the report didn’t reveal much about hardware, this is the first time we’ve heard about specific timelines for the devices. The Quest 4 will purportedly have a standard and premium version, referred to internally as “Pismo Low” and “Pismo High.” Meanwhile, a higher-end version codenamed “La Jolla” is set for 2027 and is meant to compete with the Apple Vision Pro. Unmentioned in the report is Ventura, a more affordable headset that The Verge previously reported may come out later this year.

Aside from Quest headsets, Meta is also expected to launch a pair of AR glasses with a bonafide display. However, The Information report notes that there’s some doubt surrounding those glasses. Unlike the current Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, this pair will reportedly weigh a hefty 70g and feature a “bulky design” due to the display. That chunkiness, the report notes, means they likely won’t carry the Ray-Ban branding. Ray-Ban’s parent company EssilorLuxottica purportedly wasn’t a fan.
If true, the issue of bulky design wouldn’t be surprising. Most AR glasses with displays have struggled with the same problem. Currently, it’s a challenge to miniaturize displays to a size that’s comfortably wearable, while also maintaining minimally viable battery life and power. As a result, most companies that have attempted AR glasses have left style by the wayside — which itself has been a major barrier to consumer adoption.

The report didn’t mention Ventura, which is rumored to be a more affordable headset slated for 2024. | Photo by Becca Farsace / The Verge

Despite recent layoffs in its Reality Labs division, Meta is still barreling ahead with plans for a Quest 4 in 2026 and a higher-end headset in 2027, The Information reports.

While the report didn’t reveal much about hardware, this is the first time we’ve heard about specific timelines for the devices. The Quest 4 will purportedly have a standard and premium version, referred to internally as “Pismo Low” and “Pismo High.” Meanwhile, a higher-end version codenamed “La Jolla” is set for 2027 and is meant to compete with the Apple Vision Pro. Unmentioned in the report is Ventura, a more affordable headset that The Verge previously reported may come out later this year.

Aside from Quest headsets, Meta is also expected to launch a pair of AR glasses with a bonafide display. However, The Information report notes that there’s some doubt surrounding those glasses. Unlike the current Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses, this pair will reportedly weigh a hefty 70g and feature a “bulky design” due to the display. That chunkiness, the report notes, means they likely won’t carry the Ray-Ban branding. Ray-Ban’s parent company EssilorLuxottica purportedly wasn’t a fan.

If true, the issue of bulky design wouldn’t be surprising. Most AR glasses with displays have struggled with the same problem. Currently, it’s a challenge to miniaturize displays to a size that’s comfortably wearable, while also maintaining minimally viable battery life and power. As a result, most companies that have attempted AR glasses have left style by the wayside — which itself has been a major barrier to consumer adoption.

Read More 

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

In 2024, it’s always gadget season. But in these hot mid-July weeks, after splashy announcements from Samsung and Motorola and before we see what’s coming from Google and Apple, it’s officially Weird Gadget Season.
On this episode of The Vergecast, we dive into the many weird gadgets that surfaced this week: an iPod-y Apple Watch accessory, an AI-powered Canon camera, the extremely tall Essential phone that never made it to market, and more. We talk about them all, always asking the important question: is this anything?

But before we get to the weird gadgets, we go through some of the big news of the week. After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the current state of social media content moderation has revealed itself… and it’s pretty bleak. We talk about what it means that conspiracy theories are everywhere and whether that’s going to change anytime soon.
After that, we discuss what’s in the new Apple public betas, from the iPad’s impressive but quirky Math Notes feature to the new Phone Mirroring tool that is both great and sort of ridiculous. Then it’s weird gadget time.
After all that, it’s time for the lightning round, in which we discuss Comcast’s new and somewhat underwhelming 4K streaming, Sling’s new and somewhat underwhelming 4K streaming, and Sam Altman’s $27 million house disaster.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with the aftermath of the Trump shooting:

Shooting conspiracies trend on X as Musk endorses Trump
The FBI said it found the Trump rally shooter’s Steam account, then took it back
The Trump rally shooter had a Discord account, company says
The Trump rally shooting is a cash cow for the dropshippers
The FBI says it has ‘gained access’ to the Trump rally shooter’s phone

And on Apple betas:

Apple’s public betas: all the news on iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and more
Apple is finally embracing Android’s chaos
RCS in iOS 18: Apple’s new messaging standard almost solves the green-button problem
Testing Math Notes and the Calculator app in iPadOS 18
Phone mirroring on the Mac: a great way to use your iPhone, but it’s still very much in beta

And in the “is this anything” gadget bonanza:

Canon’s long-awaited EOS R1 and R5 Mark II have eye-controlled autofocus
Dyson unmasks its super customizable OnTrac headphones
A long-delayed hands-on with Essential’s skinny Android phone
This case turns your Apple Watch into a tiny iPod
Google solves its Pixel 9 Pro leaks by just showing the phone early
Leaked photos reveal Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
The OnePlus Pad 2’s vibrating stylus simulates writing on paper

And in the lightning round:

Nilay Patel’s pick: Comcast will have high bitrate, low latency 4K feeds of the Olympics
Alex Cranz’s pick: Sling TV adds 4K streaming for free

David Pierce’s pick: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s $27 million mansion is a ‘lemon’ with a leaky pool, lawsuit alleges

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

In 2024, it’s always gadget season. But in these hot mid-July weeks, after splashy announcements from Samsung and Motorola and before we see what’s coming from Google and Apple, it’s officially Weird Gadget Season.

On this episode of The Vergecast, we dive into the many weird gadgets that surfaced this week: an iPod-y Apple Watch accessory, an AI-powered Canon camera, the extremely tall Essential phone that never made it to market, and more. We talk about them all, always asking the important question: is this anything?

But before we get to the weird gadgets, we go through some of the big news of the week. After the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, the current state of social media content moderation has revealed itself… and it’s pretty bleak. We talk about what it means that conspiracy theories are everywhere and whether that’s going to change anytime soon.

After that, we discuss what’s in the new Apple public betas, from the iPad’s impressive but quirky Math Notes feature to the new Phone Mirroring tool that is both great and sort of ridiculous. Then it’s weird gadget time.

After all that, it’s time for the lightning round, in which we discuss Comcast’s new and somewhat underwhelming 4K streaming, Sling’s new and somewhat underwhelming 4K streaming, and Sam Altman’s $27 million house disaster.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started, beginning with the aftermath of the Trump shooting:

Shooting conspiracies trend on X as Musk endorses Trump
The FBI said it found the Trump rally shooter’s Steam account, then took it back
The Trump rally shooter had a Discord account, company says
The Trump rally shooting is a cash cow for the dropshippers
The FBI says it has ‘gained access’ to the Trump rally shooter’s phone

And on Apple betas:

Apple’s public betas: all the news on iOS 18, macOS Sequoia, and more
Apple is finally embracing Android’s chaos
RCS in iOS 18: Apple’s new messaging standard almost solves the green-button problem
Testing Math Notes and the Calculator app in iPadOS 18
Phone mirroring on the Mac: a great way to use your iPhone, but it’s still very much in beta

And in the “is this anything” gadget bonanza:

Canon’s long-awaited EOS R1 and R5 Mark II have eye-controlled autofocus
Dyson unmasks its super customizable OnTrac headphones
A long-delayed hands-on with Essential’s skinny Android phone
This case turns your Apple Watch into a tiny iPod
Google solves its Pixel 9 Pro leaks by just showing the phone early
Leaked photos reveal Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold
The OnePlus Pad 2’s vibrating stylus simulates writing on paper

And in the lightning round:

Nilay Patel’s pick: Comcast will have high bitrate, low latency 4K feeds of the Olympics
Alex Cranz’s pick: Sling TV adds 4K streaming for free

David Pierce’s pick: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s $27 million mansion is a ‘lemon’ with a leaky pool, lawsuit alleges

Read More 

Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images

Thousands of flights were temporarily grounded Friday after a major global IT outage caused airline computers to become inoperable. Some flights were resuming Friday morning, but airlines were warning customers of delays and disruptions throughout the day.
The outage apparently stemmed from a software update issued by major US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which is widely used by businesses for managing security on Windows PCs — including by most major airlines.

Long lines were being reported at dozens of airports, including Hong Kong, Berlin, Amsterdam, Denver, and Manchester, according to the New York Times. Departure areas were filling up with distressed travelers as check-out computers were offline.
A TikTok from Atlanta’s airport showed the display computers behind the check-in counters displaying the Blue Screen of Death.

@angelic_effect Global IT outage affecting Hartsfield Jackson airport as well this is at 7:30am #globaloutage #atl #crowdstrike #atlanta #hartsfieldjacksonairport #delayed #microsoft ♬ original sound – angelic_effect

The outage was spurring some airlines to revert to more analog methods. A traveler in India posted on X about receiving his first-ever handwritten boarding pass.

The Microsoft / CrowdStrike outage has taken down most airports in India. I got my first hand-written boarding pass today pic.twitter.com/xsdnq1Pgjr— Akshay Kothari (@akothari) July 19, 2024

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was “closely monitoring” the situation and was responding to airline requests for assistance with ground stops until the outage was resolved.

The FAA is closely monitoring a technical issue impacting IT systems at U.S. airlines. Several airlines have requested FAA assistance with ground stops until the issue is resolved. Monitor https://t.co/smgdqJN3td for updates.— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) July 19, 2024

As of 9:05AM ET Friday, FlightAware’s Misery Map showed 1,401 delays and 365 cancellations across the US. The airport with the most disruptions was Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with 170 delays and 73 cancellations. Globally, Flight Aware says there are a total of 20,465 delays on Friday.
Here’s what Delta Air Lines is saying:

Delta has resumed some flight departures after a vendor technology issue impacted several airlines and businesses around the world. That issue necessitated a pause in Delta’s global flight schedule this morning while it was addressed.
Additional delays and cancelations are expected Friday.
Delta has issued a travel waiver for all customers who have booked flights departing Friday, July 19. It allows customers to manage their own travel changes via delta.com and the Fly Delta app.
The fare difference for customers will be waived when rebooked travel occurs on or before July 24, in the same cabin of service as originally booked. If travel is rebooked after July 24, any difference in fare between the original ticket and the new ticket will be collected at the time of booking.
Customers can monitor and manage their itineraries on Delta.com or on the Fly Delta app.

And United Airlines:
A third-party software outage impacted computer systems worldwide, including at United. We are resuming some flights but expect schedule disruptions to continue throughout Friday. We have issued a waiver to make it easier for customers to change their travel plans via United.com or the United app.
American Airlines said that as of 5AM ET, it was able to “re-establish” its operations.

Earlier this morning, a widespread technology issue with a vendor impacted multiple airlines, including American. Our teams have been working diligently to resolve the issue with the vendor and take care of our customers.
As of 5 a.m. ET, we were able to safely reestablish our operation. We expect there will be impact to our flight schedule today, including delays and cancellations.
American will notify customers whose flight plans are affected via the American Airlines app or text message. Please continue to check the American Airlines app or aa.com for the latest on flight statuses.

A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines declined to comment, citing “no impact” on the carrier’s flight status.
Developing…

Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images

Thousands of flights were temporarily grounded Friday after a major global IT outage caused airline computers to become inoperable. Some flights were resuming Friday morning, but airlines were warning customers of delays and disruptions throughout the day.

The outage apparently stemmed from a software update issued by major US cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which is widely used by businesses for managing security on Windows PCs — including by most major airlines.

Long lines were being reported at dozens of airports, including Hong Kong, Berlin, Amsterdam, Denver, and Manchester, according to the New York Times. Departure areas were filling up with distressed travelers as check-out computers were offline.

A TikTok from Atlanta’s airport showed the display computers behind the check-in counters displaying the Blue Screen of Death.

The outage was spurring some airlines to revert to more analog methods. A traveler in India posted on X about receiving his first-ever handwritten boarding pass.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it was “closely monitoring” the situation and was responding to airline requests for assistance with ground stops until the outage was resolved.

As of 9:05AM ET Friday, FlightAware’s Misery Map showed 1,401 delays and 365 cancellations across the US. The airport with the most disruptions was Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, with 170 delays and 73 cancellations. Globally, Flight Aware says there are a total of 20,465 delays on Friday.

Here’s what Delta Air Lines is saying:

Delta has resumed some flight departures after a vendor technology issue impacted several airlines and businesses around the world. That issue necessitated a pause in Delta’s global flight schedule this morning while it was addressed.

Additional delays and cancelations are expected Friday.

Delta has issued a travel waiver for all customers who have booked flights departing Friday, July 19. It allows customers to manage their own travel changes via delta.com and the Fly Delta app.

The fare difference for customers will be waived when rebooked travel occurs on or before July 24, in the same cabin of service as originally booked. If travel is rebooked after July 24, any difference in fare between the original ticket and the new ticket will be collected at the time of booking.

Customers can monitor and manage their itineraries on Delta.com or on the Fly Delta app.

And United Airlines:

A third-party software outage impacted computer systems worldwide, including at United. We are resuming some flights but expect schedule disruptions to continue throughout Friday. We have issued a waiver to make it easier for customers to change their travel plans via United.com or the United app.

American Airlines said that as of 5AM ET, it was able to “re-establish” its operations.

Earlier this morning, a widespread technology issue with a vendor impacted multiple airlines, including American. Our teams have been working diligently to resolve the issue with the vendor and take care of our customers.

As of 5 a.m. ET, we were able to safely reestablish our operation. We expect there will be impact to our flight schedule today, including delays and cancellations.

American will notify customers whose flight plans are affected via the American Airlines app or text message. Please continue to check the American Airlines app or aa.com for the latest on flight statuses.

A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines declined to comment, citing “no impact” on the carrier’s flight status.

Developing…

Read More 

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Samsung has temporarily stopped shipping its new Galaxy Buds 3 Pro to retailers following complaints about quality control. Early customers who received the wireless earbuds ahead of their wider July 24th release reported that the ear tips were fragile and prone to breaking when removed.
The pause was confirmed in a statement to Android Authority, in which Samsung said it had “temporarily suspended deliveries of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro devices to distribution channels” to conduct quality control assessments before the product is delivered to customers. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” the company said, directing customers who had already received the earbuds to contact Samsung support or visit their nearest Samsung service center.

GIF: Zuyoni Tech

The Zuyoni Tech YouTube channel also experienced the issue prior to Samsung delaying shipments.

Amazon pulled the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro listing prior to this official confirmation, while Samsung had pushed the release date on its own website back to August 28th. Samsung had also already issued a statement to its domestic Korean market in which the company apologized for quality control issues with the product.
We can assume from Samsung’s updated web listing that orders will now start shipping in late August, but one customer email published by Android Authority is giving customers the opportunity to cancel their orders.

Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Samsung has temporarily stopped shipping its new Galaxy Buds 3 Pro to retailers following complaints about quality control. Early customers who received the wireless earbuds ahead of their wider July 24th release reported that the ear tips were fragile and prone to breaking when removed.

The pause was confirmed in a statement to Android Authority, in which Samsung said it had “temporarily suspended deliveries of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro devices to distribution channels” to conduct quality control assessments before the product is delivered to customers. “We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause,” the company said, directing customers who had already received the earbuds to contact Samsung support or visit their nearest Samsung service center.

GIF: Zuyoni Tech

The Zuyoni Tech YouTube channel also experienced the issue prior to Samsung delaying shipments.

Amazon pulled the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro listing prior to this official confirmation, while Samsung had pushed the release date on its own website back to August 28th. Samsung had also already issued a statement to its domestic Korean market in which the company apologized for quality control issues with the product.

We can assume from Samsung’s updated web listing that orders will now start shipping in late August, but one customer email published by Android Authority is giving customers the opportunity to cancel their orders.

Read More 

Google is cracking down on functionally useless Android apps. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is raising its minimum quality requirements for Android apps, and will soon remove those that don’t meet expectations from the Play Store. According to the company’s latest spam policy update, apps that demonstrate “limited functionality and content” — such as text only apps, single wallpaper apps, or those that are literally designed to do nothing at all — will no longer be permitted on the Play Store effective August 31st.
These join existing restrictions that barred broken apps that are not responsive, don’t install, crash, or otherwise function abnormally. Google says it’s added the additional requirements to “ensure apps can meet the uplifted standards for the Play catalog and engage users through quality functionality.”
Google has made previous efforts to better police the apps hosted on its Play Store. As noted by Android Authority, as many as 2.28 million apps were blocked from the service in 2023 for violating policies and putting user security at risk. Google also said it had banned 333,000 “bad” Google Play accounts that same year for repeated severe policy violations, and concerns surrounding fraud and malware.

Google is cracking down on functionally useless Android apps. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Google is raising its minimum quality requirements for Android apps, and will soon remove those that don’t meet expectations from the Play Store. According to the company’s latest spam policy update, apps that demonstrate “limited functionality and content” — such as text only apps, single wallpaper apps, or those that are literally designed to do nothing at all — will no longer be permitted on the Play Store effective August 31st.

These join existing restrictions that barred broken apps that are not responsive, don’t install, crash, or otherwise function abnormally. Google says it’s added the additional requirements to “ensure apps can meet the uplifted standards for the Play catalog and engage users through quality functionality.”

Google has made previous efforts to better police the apps hosted on its Play Store. As noted by Android Authority, as many as 2.28 million apps were blocked from the service in 2023 for violating policies and putting user security at risk. Google also said it had banned 333,000 “bad” Google Play accounts that same year for repeated severe policy violations, and concerns surrounding fraud and malware.

Read More 

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has blasted Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass price increases in a filing to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Microsoft revealed last week that it’s increasing PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate prices, and planning to launch a new Game Pass Standard tier soon without day one access to first-party Xbox games.
The FTC calls this new Game Pass Standard tier a “degraded product,” because new Game Pass users won’t be able to sign up to the $10.99 Game Pass for Console, which includes day one game access. Instead, Xbox Game Pass Standard will be priced at $14.99 and won’t include day one games, but will include online multiplayer.
“Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation — combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs — are the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger,” says FTC in a filing today. “Product degradation — removing the most valuable games from Microsoft’s new service — combined with price increases for existing users, is exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged.”
The filing is part of an ongoing appeal lodged by the FTC against a district court’s decision not to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition last year. Microsoft finalized its $68.7 billion deal in October, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals still hasn’t ruled on the FTC’s appeal yet.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has blasted Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass price increases in a filing to the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Microsoft revealed last week that it’s increasing PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate prices, and planning to launch a new Game Pass Standard tier soon without day one access to first-party Xbox games.

The FTC calls this new Game Pass Standard tier a “degraded product,” because new Game Pass users won’t be able to sign up to the $10.99 Game Pass for Console, which includes day one game access. Instead, Xbox Game Pass Standard will be priced at $14.99 and won’t include day one games, but will include online multiplayer.

“Microsoft’s price increases and product degradation — combined with Microsoft’s reduced investments in output and product quality via employee layoffs — are the hallmarks of a firm exercising market power post-merger,” says FTC in a filing today. “Product degradation — removing the most valuable games from Microsoft’s new service — combined with price increases for existing users, is exactly the sort of consumer harm from the merger the FTC has alleged.”

The filing is part of an ongoing appeal lodged by the FTC against a district court’s decision not to block Microsoft’s Activision Blizzard acquisition last year. Microsoft finalized its $68.7 billion deal in October, but the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals still hasn’t ruled on the FTC’s appeal yet.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

If you’re trying to play online games on your Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, or even Xbox 360 right now, you might be running into some issues, as Xbox confirmed there was a “major” Xbox Live outage on its status page as of 6:57PM ET.
“You may not be able to sign-in to your Xbox profile, may be disconnected while signed in, or have other related problems,” according to a status message. “Features that require sign-in like most games, apps and social activity won’t be available.” For players who could sign into their accounts on consoles, online-connected games couldn’t connect and showed their own Xbox sign-in errors, while other people reported issues with features like remote play.
“We are aware that users may be unable to sign in at the moment,” according to a 7PM ET post from Xbox’s Support account. “While our teams investigate, follow along here and on our status page.”
DownDetector currently notes more than 7,000 user reports of problems.

We are aware that users may be unable to sign in at the moment. While our teams investigate, follow along here and on our status page. https://t.co/PzAdjUXVXr— Xbox Support (@XboxSupport) July 18, 2024

This outage follows another from earlier this month that prevented users from playing online games and lasted several hours.

Image: The Verge

If you’re trying to play online games on your Xbox Series X / S, Xbox One, or even Xbox 360 right now, you might be running into some issues, as Xbox confirmed there was a “major” Xbox Live outage on its status page as of 6:57PM ET.

“You may not be able to sign-in to your Xbox profile, may be disconnected while signed in, or have other related problems,” according to a status message. “Features that require sign-in like most games, apps and social activity won’t be available.” For players who could sign into their accounts on consoles, online-connected games couldn’t connect and showed their own Xbox sign-in errors, while other people reported issues with features like remote play.

“We are aware that users may be unable to sign in at the moment,” according to a 7PM ET post from Xbox’s Support account. “While our teams investigate, follow along here and on our status page.”

DownDetector currently notes more than 7,000 user reports of problems.

This outage follows another from earlier this month that prevented users from playing online games and lasted several hours.

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Google has bought itself the title of “official AI sponsor for Team USA,” and when the 2024 Olympics broadcast starts on July 26th, you will be reminded of that frequently. NBCUniversal’s partnership with Google will put many of the company’s AI-powered features front and center during the event.
The broadcast will include Google Maps’ 3D views of venues like the Versailles, Stade Roland Garros, and the Aquatics Centre, as well as tidbits about what events will occur at each location. The imagery pulls from the Immersive Views added to Maps over the last few years that represent certain landmarks and areas of interest with photorealistic models.

Image: Google

Image: Google

As part of the deal to promote Gemini and Google’s other AI tools, announcers and commentators will squeeze Google Search AI Overviews into broadcast segments by trying to answer Olympic and Paralympic questions. Between this and the AI-generated Al Michaels recaps, hopefully, it all works better than the time it told us to add glue to our pizza or said that we should expose all of the film in a camera to fix a jam.
Beyond that, comedian Leslie Jones will ask Gemini to help her learn a new sport, amongst other scripted activities, while five Olympic and Paralympic athletes will pop up in “social videos and late-night promos” using Gemini, Google Lens, Circle to Search, and Google Maps Immersive View to explore Paris.
Disclosure: Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, is also an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images

Google has bought itself the title of “official AI sponsor for Team USA,” and when the 2024 Olympics broadcast starts on July 26th, you will be reminded of that frequently. NBCUniversal’s partnership with Google will put many of the company’s AI-powered features front and center during the event.

The broadcast will include Google Maps’ 3D views of venues like the Versailles, Stade Roland Garros, and the Aquatics Centre, as well as tidbits about what events will occur at each location. The imagery pulls from the Immersive Views added to Maps over the last few years that represent certain landmarks and areas of interest with photorealistic models.

As part of the deal to promote Gemini and Google’s other AI tools, announcers and commentators will squeeze Google Search AI Overviews into broadcast segments by trying to answer Olympic and Paralympic questions. Between this and the AI-generated Al Michaels recaps, hopefully, it all works better than the time it told us to add glue to our pizza or said that we should expose all of the film in a camera to fix a jam.

Beyond that, comedian Leslie Jones will ask Gemini to help her learn a new sport, amongst other scripted activities, while five Olympic and Paralympic athletes will pop up in “social videos and late-night promos” using Gemini, Google Lens, Circle to Search, and Google Maps Immersive View to explore Paris.

Disclosure: Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, is also an investor in Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.

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