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The Sol 5 includes color temperature adjustments to help set a mood in a photo. | Image: Harlowe

Harlowe’s Sol 5 is a three-inch extending light that attaches to the MagSafe mount on your iPhone to improve the quality of your photos and selfies. It’s available now for $79 or for $159 as part of a travel kit that includes a softbox diffuser to help reduce harsh shadows.
The Sol 5 isn’t a new idea. When the iPhone 12 debuted with MagSafe it opened the flood gates for new accessories including similar lights that could stay attached to the back of the phone — ready to improve a photo at a moment’s notice. What the Sol 5 appears to do better is offer more flexibility and control.
The Sol 5’s glowing puck is connected to its magnetic mount with a short arm that extends its reach and lets it swivel 180 degrees and angle as needed. That allows the Sol 5 to be used as an indirect light source as well, softening its effect by bouncing it off another nearby surface. But it doesn’t need to be stuck to an iPhone. It can also be used as a standalone light source, or even a flashlight that far outperforms what the iPhone’s LEDs are capable of.

Image: Harlowe
The Sol 5 features an extending, swiveling head for taking selfies using the cameras on either side of the iPhone.

In standard mode, the Sol 5 projects 200 lumens of light, but it also has a temporary boost mode that will increase its output to 360 lumens for 30 seconds. Its brightness can be further adjusted using one of two dial controls. The other allows the Sol 5’s color temperature to be adjusted between 2,700K (warmer) and 6,500K (cooler) tints.
Horlowe claims the Sol 5’s built-in 1,000mAh rechargeable battery will keep it running at full brightness for an hour and 24 minutes, but frequent use of that boost mode will reduce that runtime.

Image: Harlowe
The Sol 5’s optional diffuser can help soften and spread out the light’s illumination.

The Sol 5’s softbox accessory can be purchased outside of the aforementioned travel kit (which includes a more robust case for everything) for $39. It attaches magnetically to the light to even out its illumination, which Harlowe says makes it ideal for “portrait, beauty, or close-up shots where softer lighting enhances the subject’s appearance.” The softbox also includes an additional diffusion panel that can be attached to further soften the Sol 5’s output.

The Sol 5 includes color temperature adjustments to help set a mood in a photo. | Image: Harlowe

Harlowe’s Sol 5 is a three-inch extending light that attaches to the MagSafe mount on your iPhone to improve the quality of your photos and selfies. It’s available now for $79 or for $159 as part of a travel kit that includes a softbox diffuser to help reduce harsh shadows.

The Sol 5 isn’t a new idea. When the iPhone 12 debuted with MagSafe it opened the flood gates for new accessories including similar lights that could stay attached to the back of the phone — ready to improve a photo at a moment’s notice. What the Sol 5 appears to do better is offer more flexibility and control.

The Sol 5’s glowing puck is connected to its magnetic mount with a short arm that extends its reach and lets it swivel 180 degrees and angle as needed. That allows the Sol 5 to be used as an indirect light source as well, softening its effect by bouncing it off another nearby surface. But it doesn’t need to be stuck to an iPhone. It can also be used as a standalone light source, or even a flashlight that far outperforms what the iPhone’s LEDs are capable of.

Image: Harlowe
The Sol 5 features an extending, swiveling head for taking selfies using the cameras on either side of the iPhone.

In standard mode, the Sol 5 projects 200 lumens of light, but it also has a temporary boost mode that will increase its output to 360 lumens for 30 seconds. Its brightness can be further adjusted using one of two dial controls. The other allows the Sol 5’s color temperature to be adjusted between 2,700K (warmer) and 6,500K (cooler) tints.

Horlowe claims the Sol 5’s built-in 1,000mAh rechargeable battery will keep it running at full brightness for an hour and 24 minutes, but frequent use of that boost mode will reduce that runtime.

Image: Harlowe
The Sol 5’s optional diffuser can help soften and spread out the light’s illumination.

The Sol 5’s softbox accessory can be purchased outside of the aforementioned travel kit (which includes a more robust case for everything) for $39. It attaches magnetically to the light to even out its illumination, which Harlowe says makes it ideal for “portrait, beauty, or close-up shots where softer lighting enhances the subject’s appearance.” The softbox also includes an additional diffusion panel that can be attached to further soften the Sol 5’s output.

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Image: AOL via YouTube

Elwood Edwards, the voice of AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail” greeting, has died at age 74 after a long illness, according to local Ohio news station WKYC, where he was employed for many years.
During a 2016 interview, Edwards recounted how he became the voice of AOL. His wife, who worked at Quantum Computer Services (which later became AOL), heard that the company was looking to add a voice to its software. “I’d been an announcer throughout my entire broadcasting career, and she volunteered me,” Edwards said.

In 1989, Edwards recorded the once-ubiquitous phrase, along with “Welcome,” “Files done,” and “Goodbye” on a cassette tape for just $200. “It started off as a test just to see if it would catch on, and lo and behold, in the mid-90s, it had really caught on.”
Since then, Edwards has made appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and an episode of The Simpsons. He was even spotted as an Uber driver.

Screenshot: The Verge
AOL still gives you the option to hear “You’ve Got Mail.”

As a longtime AOL user (yes, I still use AOL to this day), I’m ashamed to admit that I never knew there was a person behind that iconic voice — I thought it was computer-generated. Even now, Edwards’ voice will continue to live on in my inbox, which still declares, “You’ve Got Mail.”

Image: AOL via YouTube

Elwood Edwards, the voice of AOL’s “You’ve Got Mail” greeting, has died at age 74 after a long illness, according to local Ohio news station WKYC, where he was employed for many years.

During a 2016 interview, Edwards recounted how he became the voice of AOL. His wife, who worked at Quantum Computer Services (which later became AOL), heard that the company was looking to add a voice to its software. “I’d been an announcer throughout my entire broadcasting career, and she volunteered me,” Edwards said.

In 1989, Edwards recorded the once-ubiquitous phrase, along with “Welcome,” “Files done,” and “Goodbye” on a cassette tape for just $200. “It started off as a test just to see if it would catch on, and lo and behold, in the mid-90s, it had really caught on.”

Since then, Edwards has made appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and an episode of The Simpsons. He was even spotted as an Uber driver.

Screenshot: The Verge
AOL still gives you the option to hear “You’ve Got Mail.”

As a longtime AOL user (yes, I still use AOL to this day), I’m ashamed to admit that I never knew there was a person behind that iconic voice — I thought it was computer-generated. Even now, Edwards’ voice will continue to live on in my inbox, which still declares, “You’ve Got Mail.”

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Image: Sega

Sega is planning to delist a lot of its classic games from digital storefronts as of December 6th at 11:59PM PT.
Steam will be affected the most, losing 62 titles including Crazy Taxi, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS into Dreams, and Sonic 3D Blast. Sega is pulling 12 titles from the Xbox store. The Nintendo eShop and the PlayStation Store will “just” lose SEGA Genesis Classics — but that title includes more than 50 old Genesis games, so it still means a lot will be unavailable. You can see the full lists of what’s getting pulled on a Sega support page.
Any games that you have purchased will still be available to download and play after they’re delisted from the storefronts, so if you’ve had your eye on any of them, you might want to buy them before they’re gone.
The delistings are happening ahead of Sega’s planned reboots for Jet Set Radio, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and Crazy Taxi, but those revivals aren’t expected anytime soon. And it wouldn’t be the first time Sega has delisted games ahead of releasing them in a different form: the company pulled the vast majority of classic Sonic games from digital stores before it launched Sonic Origins.
Hopefully, the games getting removed in December will be available to buy again at some point down the line — keeping video game classics alive is already hard enough.

Image: Sega

Sega is planning to delist a lot of its classic games from digital storefronts as of December 6th at 11:59PM PT.

Steam will be affected the most, losing 62 titles including Crazy Taxi, Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Jet Set Radio, NiGHTS into Dreams, and Sonic 3D Blast. Sega is pulling 12 titles from the Xbox store. The Nintendo eShop and the PlayStation Store will “just” lose SEGA Genesis Classics — but that title includes more than 50 old Genesis games, so it still means a lot will be unavailable. You can see the full lists of what’s getting pulled on a Sega support page.

Any games that you have purchased will still be available to download and play after they’re delisted from the storefronts, so if you’ve had your eye on any of them, you might want to buy them before they’re gone.

The delistings are happening ahead of Sega’s planned reboots for Jet Set Radio, Shinobi, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage, and Crazy Taxi, but those revivals aren’t expected anytime soon. And it wouldn’t be the first time Sega has delisted games ahead of releasing them in a different form: the company pulled the vast majority of classic Sonic games from digital stores before it launched Sonic Origins.

Hopefully, the games getting removed in December will be available to buy again at some point down the line — keeping video game classics alive is already hard enough.

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Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav thinks putting Donald Trump back in the White House could offer a friendlier environment for major media mergers. “We have an upcoming new administration,” Zaslav said during an earnings call on Thursday. “It’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different.”
Zaslav made the statement in response to a question about streaming partnerships, saying changes under the Trump administration could have “a real positive and accelerated impact” on the entertainment industry. With more competition than ever in streaming, it’s getting harder for services to get a viewer’s undivided attention.
“This is an industry that really needs to consolidate,” Zaslav said. “Consumers put on a TV set and they see 16 apps, and each of those are doing different pricing and you’re sitting there with your phone and Googling where a show is… it’s just not a good consumer experience.”
Zaslav, of course, knows a thing or two about mergers. He oversaw Discovery’s merger with WarnerMedia, axing movies like Batgirl in the process. Recent reports suggest that Warner Bros. Discovery was considering spinning off its streaming business. The company also discussed a possible merger with Paramount for months, which instead agreed to a deal with Skydance following a very drawn-out process. Even Comcast has mentioned partnering with another streamer to bolster Peacock.
Mega-mergers like these could face fewer obstacles under the Trump administration. The president-elect is expected to shake up leadership in regulatory agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, as well as even loosen certain antitrust guidelines.

Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge; Getty Images

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav thinks putting Donald Trump back in the White House could offer a friendlier environment for major media mergers. “We have an upcoming new administration,” Zaslav said during an earnings call on Thursday. “It’s too early to tell, but it may offer a pace of change and an opportunity for consolidation that may be quite different.”

Zaslav made the statement in response to a question about streaming partnerships, saying changes under the Trump administration could have “a real positive and accelerated impact” on the entertainment industry. With more competition than ever in streaming, it’s getting harder for services to get a viewer’s undivided attention.

“This is an industry that really needs to consolidate,” Zaslav said. “Consumers put on a TV set and they see 16 apps, and each of those are doing different pricing and you’re sitting there with your phone and Googling where a show is… it’s just not a good consumer experience.”

Zaslav, of course, knows a thing or two about mergers. He oversaw Discovery’s merger with WarnerMedia, axing movies like Batgirl in the process. Recent reports suggest that Warner Bros. Discovery was considering spinning off its streaming business. The company also discussed a possible merger with Paramount for months, which instead agreed to a deal with Skydance following a very drawn-out process. Even Comcast has mentioned partnering with another streamer to bolster Peacock.

Mega-mergers like these could face fewer obstacles under the Trump administration. The president-elect is expected to shake up leadership in regulatory agencies like the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, as well as even loosen certain antitrust guidelines.

Read More 

Apple’s AirPods are an excellent option for iPhone owners looking for noise-canceling earbuds. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Black Friday might technically be a 24-hour event, but in reality, it’s more like a month-long affair. That’s because many retailers have already begun their sales, including Best Buy, which is dropping impressive deals ahead of its early sales event tomorrow. Today only, for example, Best Buy is offering the second-gen AirPods Pro with a USB-C for $169.99 ($80 off), which is just $1 shy of their lowest price to date. Walmart is also matching Best Buy’s pricing, though the latter retailer won’t begin offering Black Friday deals until November 11th.

The current promo drops Apple’s highest-end earbuds to roughly the same price as the open-style AirPods 4 with ANC, which are currently on sale for $168.99 ($11 off). That being said, Apple’s premium earbuds offer more impressive noise cancellation, feature better sound quality overall, and offer a few perks you won’t find in Apple’s cheaper earbuds. They feature intuitive swipe-based controls, for one, and can double as FDA-approved hearing aids thanks to the recent rollout of iOS 18.1.
The Pro also feature a USB-C charging case with a built-in speaker, as do the step-up AirPods 4, which allows you to easily track them down via Apple’s Find My app. Both offer wireless charging and exceptionally clear voice call quality, too, relying on a series of machine learning algorithms to isolate your voice in loud environments.

Read our AirPods Pro with USB-C impressions.

Apple’s AirPods are an excellent option for iPhone owners looking for noise-canceling earbuds. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Black Friday might technically be a 24-hour event, but in reality, it’s more like a month-long affair. That’s because many retailers have already begun their sales, including Best Buy, which is dropping impressive deals ahead of its early sales event tomorrow. Today only, for example, Best Buy is offering the second-gen AirPods Pro with a USB-C for $169.99 ($80 off), which is just $1 shy of their lowest price to date. Walmart is also matching Best Buy’s pricing, though the latter retailer won’t begin offering Black Friday deals until November 11th.

The current promo drops Apple’s highest-end earbuds to roughly the same price as the open-style AirPods 4 with ANC, which are currently on sale for $168.99 ($11 off). That being said, Apple’s premium earbuds offer more impressive noise cancellation, feature better sound quality overall, and offer a few perks you won’t find in Apple’s cheaper earbuds. They feature intuitive swipe-based controls, for one, and can double as FDA-approved hearing aids thanks to the recent rollout of iOS 18.1.

The Pro also feature a USB-C charging case with a built-in speaker, as do the step-up AirPods 4, which allows you to easily track them down via Apple’s Find My app. Both offer wireless charging and exceptionally clear voice call quality, too, relying on a series of machine learning algorithms to isolate your voice in loud environments.

Read our AirPods Pro with USB-C impressions.

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Image: BioWare

After its success with Fallout and the recently released Like A Dragon: Yakuza show, Mass Effect is the next game Amazon wants to adapt. According to Variety, a show based on BioWare’s military space opera RPG is officially in production at Amazon MGM Studios. Variety has reported that F9: The Fast Saga writer Daniel Casey has signed on to write the show with BioWare producer Mike Gamble serving as executive produce along with Ari Arad.
Though BioWare released the Mass Effect Legendary Edition — a collection of the first three games updated for modern consoles — back in 2021, the Mass Effect series hasn’t had an original entry since the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda back in 2017. After Andromeda, BioWare released Anthem, a live-service action game that was significant departure from the studio’s tradition of making single-player, story-driven RPGs. In 2020, BioWare announced that a new Mass Effect game was in-development.
News of a Mass Effect TV show comes on what is known as N7 Day, a semi-official, fan-created holiday that celebrates all things Mass Effect. On previous N7 Days, BioWare has teased information about the next game in the series including a trailer that possibly suggested the return of fan-favorite protagonist Commander Shepard whose story ended with the original trilogy. Though no story details have been revealed about the show, it’s a pretty safe bet to guess it’ll focus on the Commander and I personally can’t wait to see her.

Image: BioWare

After its success with Fallout and the recently released Like A Dragon: Yakuza show, Mass Effect is the next game Amazon wants to adapt. According to Variety, a show based on BioWare’s military space opera RPG is officially in production at Amazon MGM Studios. Variety has reported that F9: The Fast Saga writer Daniel Casey has signed on to write the show with BioWare producer Mike Gamble serving as executive produce along with Ari Arad.

Though BioWare released the Mass Effect Legendary Edition — a collection of the first three games updated for modern consoles — back in 2021, the Mass Effect series hasn’t had an original entry since the release of Mass Effect: Andromeda back in 2017. After Andromeda, BioWare released Anthem, a live-service action game that was significant departure from the studio’s tradition of making single-player, story-driven RPGs. In 2020, BioWare announced that a new Mass Effect game was in-development.

News of a Mass Effect TV show comes on what is known as N7 Day, a semi-official, fan-created holiday that celebrates all things Mass Effect. On previous N7 Days, BioWare has teased information about the next game in the series including a trailer that possibly suggested the return of fan-favorite protagonist Commander Shepard whose story ended with the original trilogy. Though no story details have been revealed about the show, it’s a pretty safe bet to guess it’ll focus on the Commander and I personally can’t wait to see her.

Read More 

Image: TikTok

A new “Share to TikTok” feature in Spotify and Apple Music is making it easier for users to share songs, playlists, audiobooks, and more directly in content on the video platform.
Using the integrations, TikTok users can create a direct link to content on the streaming platforms, similar to how they can share songs directly on Instagram Stories. When a user shares a Spotify track, for example, they can choose whether the song will appear as a video, photo, or Story post on TikTok. Viewers of the content can then click the song and navigate directly back to their preferred music app.
It creates an easy link between TikTok and content on other platforms — previously if you wanted to share a playlist you made, you’d have to send a link via messages or drop the link in comments or a caption. TikTok doesn’t make it easy to navigate outside the app: even if you copy and paste a link in comment, it’s not clickable.
TikTok has become a major way audiences discover new music, and the platform has introduced other integrations that better connect the two worlds. Last year, TikTok added the ability to save songs directly from the app without leaving and going to Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. (Spotify today also announced this capability for Instagram.)

Image: TikTok

A new “Share to TikTok” feature in Spotify and Apple Music is making it easier for users to share songs, playlists, audiobooks, and more directly in content on the video platform.

Using the integrations, TikTok users can create a direct link to content on the streaming platforms, similar to how they can share songs directly on Instagram Stories. When a user shares a Spotify track, for example, they can choose whether the song will appear as a video, photo, or Story post on TikTok. Viewers of the content can then click the song and navigate directly back to their preferred music app.

It creates an easy link between TikTok and content on other platforms — previously if you wanted to share a playlist you made, you’d have to send a link via messages or drop the link in comments or a caption. TikTok doesn’t make it easy to navigate outside the app: even if you copy and paste a link in comment, it’s not clickable.

TikTok has become a major way audiences discover new music, and the platform has introduced other integrations that better connect the two worlds. Last year, TikTok added the ability to save songs directly from the app without leaving and going to Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. (Spotify today also announced this capability for Instagram.)

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Image: Laura Normand / The Verge

Jeff Bezos might just be the biggest climate philanthropist out there, which is what makes his swift embrace of Donald Trump as the next US president particularly cringeworthy.
“Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love,” Bezos posted on X, hours after Trump declared victory.
The Amazon founder and chair launched his Bezos Earth Fund in 2020, committing $10 billion to funding action on climate change. The fund’s website describes it as “the largest philanthropic commitment ever to fight climate change and protect nature.”

Big congratulations to our 45th and now 47th President on an extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory. No nation has bigger opportunities. Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love.— Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) November 6, 2024

“Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together,” Bezos wrote on Instagram when he announced the fund. He stepped down from his post as Amazon CEO in 2021 to focus on the fund, The Washington Post, and his other “passions.” (Bezos reportedly killed The Washington Post’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris.)
President-elect Trump, meanwhile, says rising sea levels — which make storms and flooding more dangerous thanks to climate change — simply mean “you’ll have more ocean front property.” On the campaign trail, he disparaged solutions like renewable energy — pushing misinformation like the myth that offshore wind farms are killing whales along US shorelines. He consistently downplays the risks posed by climate change, even as the US reels from disasters like Hurricane Helene that were supercharged by greenhouse gas emissions.
During his first term in office, Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations, placed fossil fuel lobbyists in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency, and briefly pulled the US out of the international Paris agreement to stop climate change.
While the US dropped the ball on climate action at the federal level, local leaders and even the private sector attempted to fill in the gaps. During the last couple of years of Trump’s first term, a wave of big tech companies made commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — ostensibly in line with what’s needed to reach Paris climate agreement goals.
One of the early companies to do so was Amazon, which set a goal in 2019 of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Fast-forward to 2023, and the company still produced 34 percent more carbon pollution than it did when it made its first climate pledge — although its emissions have started to come back down slightly, according to Amazon’s latest sustainability report.
Since its inception, the Bezos Earth Fund has given $2 billion in grants to a wide array of projects — from protecting forests to tracking planet-heating methane pollution by satellite. To be sure, the fund has faced some criticism over the years about Amazon’s own pollution and over how effective and equitable some of the programs it supports have been. Over time, though, the fund has started to funnel more money into grassroots groups working to ensure that there are more diverse voices being heard when it comes to finding solutions. (The Bezos Earth Fund didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from The Verge.)

Under another Trump presidency, locally led climate action and philanthropy become even more crucial again. Upon stepping back into office, Trump is expected to introduce a landslide of new policies that would slow the transition to cleaner energy needed to keep climate disasters from growing much worse.
Notably, he said he’d rescind unspent funds from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that set aside $369 billion for energy efficiency initiatives and the domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles and clean energy technologies. The Inflation Reduction Act alone is projected to slash greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 40 percent from 2005 levels by the end of the decade — bringing the US close to reaching goals President Joe Biden set upon recommitting the US to the Paris climate agreement.
Another Trump presidency, on the other hand, would likely increase US greenhouse gas emissions by 4 billion metric tons compared to Biden’s plans, according to a Carbon Brief analysis published before Harris became the Democratic candidate. Trump has also said that he’d take the US out of the Paris accord again.
Bezos certainly isn’t the only tech mogul to kiss the ring since Trump’s win at the polls this week. Elon Musk has been one of Trump’s most influential hype men. Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella have all extended their congratulations, to name a few. The president-elect has responded well to flattery in the past, after all — offering Musk his own “efficiency” task force to run. And Trump frequently threatens his critics with retribution.
All the bromance could really just be a strategic play on the part of Bezos and other billionaires to protect their bottom lines. But that list represents a lot of money and power that could either help keep climate goals alive or fall in line behind a president who told Musk in August that “the biggest threat is nuclear warming … To me, the biggest problem is not climate change.”

Image: Laura Normand / The Verge

Jeff Bezos might just be the biggest climate philanthropist out there, which is what makes his swift embrace of Donald Trump as the next US president particularly cringeworthy.

“Wishing @realDonaldTrump all success in leading and uniting the America we all love,” Bezos posted on X, hours after Trump declared victory.

The Amazon founder and chair launched his Bezos Earth Fund in 2020, committing $10 billion to funding action on climate change. The fund’s website describes it as “the largest philanthropic commitment ever to fight climate change and protect nature.”

“Earth is the one thing we all have in common — let’s protect it, together,” Bezos wrote on Instagram when he announced the fund. He stepped down from his post as Amazon CEO in 2021 to focus on the fund, The Washington Post, and his other “passions.” (Bezos reportedly killed The Washington Post’s planned endorsement of Kamala Harris.)

President-elect Trump, meanwhile, says rising sea levels — which make storms and flooding more dangerous thanks to climate change — simply mean “you’ll have more ocean front property.” On the campaign trail, he disparaged solutions like renewable energy — pushing misinformation like the myth that offshore wind farms are killing whales along US shorelines. He consistently downplays the risks posed by climate change, even as the US reels from disasters like Hurricane Helene that were supercharged by greenhouse gas emissions.

During his first term in office, Trump rolled back more than 100 environmental regulations, placed fossil fuel lobbyists in charge of the Environmental Protection Agency, and briefly pulled the US out of the international Paris agreement to stop climate change.

While the US dropped the ball on climate action at the federal level, local leaders and even the private sector attempted to fill in the gaps. During the last couple of years of Trump’s first term, a wave of big tech companies made commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — ostensibly in line with what’s needed to reach Paris climate agreement goals.

One of the early companies to do so was Amazon, which set a goal in 2019 of reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. Fast-forward to 2023, and the company still produced 34 percent more carbon pollution than it did when it made its first climate pledge — although its emissions have started to come back down slightly, according to Amazon’s latest sustainability report.

Since its inception, the Bezos Earth Fund has given $2 billion in grants to a wide array of projects — from protecting forests to tracking planet-heating methane pollution by satellite. To be sure, the fund has faced some criticism over the years about Amazon’s own pollution and over how effective and equitable some of the programs it supports have been. Over time, though, the fund has started to funnel more money into grassroots groups working to ensure that there are more diverse voices being heard when it comes to finding solutions. (The Bezos Earth Fund didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment from The Verge.)

Under another Trump presidency, locally led climate action and philanthropy become even more crucial again. Upon stepping back into office, Trump is expected to introduce a landslide of new policies that would slow the transition to cleaner energy needed to keep climate disasters from growing much worse.

Notably, he said he’d rescind unspent funds from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that set aside $369 billion for energy efficiency initiatives and the domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles and clean energy technologies. The Inflation Reduction Act alone is projected to slash greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 40 percent from 2005 levels by the end of the decade — bringing the US close to reaching goals President Joe Biden set upon recommitting the US to the Paris climate agreement.

Another Trump presidency, on the other hand, would likely increase US greenhouse gas emissions by 4 billion metric tons compared to Biden’s plans, according to a Carbon Brief analysis published before Harris became the Democratic candidate. Trump has also said that he’d take the US out of the Paris accord again.

Bezos certainly isn’t the only tech mogul to kiss the ring since Trump’s win at the polls this week. Elon Musk has been one of Trump’s most influential hype men. Apple’s Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella have all extended their congratulations, to name a few. The president-elect has responded well to flattery in the past, after all — offering Musk his own “efficiency” task force to run. And Trump frequently threatens his critics with retribution.

All the bromance could really just be a strategic play on the part of Bezos and other billionaires to protect their bottom lines. But that list represents a lot of money and power that could either help keep climate goals alive or fall in line behind a president who told Musk in August that “the biggest threat is nuclear warming … To me, the biggest problem is not climate change.”

Read More 

The 8BitDo Retro 108 Mechanical Keyboard will be available starting on December 12th, 2024. | Image: 8BitDo

8BitDo has introduced a new version of the Retro Mechanical Keyboard it debuted last July with its original tenkeyless layout now expanded to include an integrated number pad. The new 8BitDo Retro 108 Mechanical Keyboard is available for preorder now through Amazon for $119.99 — $20 more expensive than the original — with the same NES or Famicom theming. Availability is expected to start on December 12th, 2024.
The new 108-key version of the keyboard uses the same hot-swappable Kailh Box White V2 switches as the tenkeyless version, paired with dye-sub PBT keycaps. The integrated numpad includes additional Windows shortcut keys, a calculator lock button, and a screen lock button. The 8BitDo Retro 108 Mechanical Keyboard’s compatibility is still limited to Windows and Android.

Image: 8BitDo
The integrated numpad includes added Windows shortcuts, a screen lock button, and a calculator function lock.

The keyboard carries over the original’s dedicated volume dial located on its top left corner, as well as a three-way toggle for switching between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz, or turning its wireless capabilities off altogether while using a USB cable for reduced lag. 8BitDo is also still including a set of its over-sized programmable “Super Buttons” that connect to the keyboard with a 3.5mm cable.

Image: 8BitDo
The extended keyboard will still be available in NES and Famicom-themed colorways.

In September, 8BitDo released a set of 165 keycaps featuring the same designs as the NES version of its Retro Mechanical Keyboard, allowing those who prefer larger layouts to customize their keyboard’s appearance to match. The company’s latest offering achieves the same goal, but as an all-in-one solution for those not interested in doing any keyboard customizations of their own.

The 8BitDo Retro 108 Mechanical Keyboard will be available starting on December 12th, 2024. | Image: 8BitDo

8BitDo has introduced a new version of the Retro Mechanical Keyboard it debuted last July with its original tenkeyless layout now expanded to include an integrated number pad. The new 8BitDo Retro 108 Mechanical Keyboard is available for preorder now through Amazon for $119.99 — $20 more expensive than the original — with the same NES or Famicom theming. Availability is expected to start on December 12th, 2024.

The new 108-key version of the keyboard uses the same hot-swappable Kailh Box White V2 switches as the tenkeyless version, paired with dye-sub PBT keycaps. The integrated numpad includes additional Windows shortcut keys, a calculator lock button, and a screen lock button. The 8BitDo Retro 108 Mechanical Keyboard’s compatibility is still limited to Windows and Android.

Image: 8BitDo
The integrated numpad includes added Windows shortcuts, a screen lock button, and a calculator function lock.

The keyboard carries over the original’s dedicated volume dial located on its top left corner, as well as a three-way toggle for switching between Bluetooth and 2.4GHz, or turning its wireless capabilities off altogether while using a USB cable for reduced lag. 8BitDo is also still including a set of its over-sized programmable “Super Buttons” that connect to the keyboard with a 3.5mm cable.

Image: 8BitDo
The extended keyboard will still be available in NES and Famicom-themed colorways.

In September, 8BitDo released a set of 165 keycaps featuring the same designs as the NES version of its Retro Mechanical Keyboard, allowing those who prefer larger layouts to customize their keyboard’s appearance to match. The company’s latest offering achieves the same goal, but as an all-in-one solution for those not interested in doing any keyboard customizations of their own.

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The store will be around from November 8th to December 31st. | Image: Meta

Meta announced it is opening up Meta Lab, a pop-up experiential retail space for its Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses starting November 8th in Los Angeles. The temporary store will be around through the end of the year and allow customers to try out the glasses and customize their glasses cases as they shop. Meta Lab will also have local events with various creators, including stand-up comedians, live podcasts, and cooking classes.
This particular retail store is an extension of the Meta Lab experience earlier this year at Connect 2024. At that time, Meta had unveiled the transparent versions of its Ray-Bans. The company says that over 90 percent of Connect attendees had attended, with more than 25 percent then purchasing a pair. It appears the LA pop-up won’t be exactly the same thing, as it’s themed to tie-in with LA and Southern Californian lowrider culture. It’ll also include an “immersion experience room” that allows people to view an AI-generated Malibu beach.

Pop-ups and retail stores have gone hand-in-hand with smart glasses in the past. Snap Spectacles famously garnered buzz with vending machines that sold the glasses in random locations around the country. Focals by North also had mobile pop-ups and a Brooklyn retail store so people could try the device and get fitted.
That said, maintaining permanent spaces can be costly for emerging tech — especially in expensive metropolitan areas. That’s likely a big reason why this current pop-up will only be open for a limited time, closing on December 31st. Another Meta Lab experience is planned for Phoenix at the end of January. Meta didn’t say whether we’ll see any further pop-ups beyond that. For now, Meta is using these pop-ups as a test run to see whether there’s a future for Ray-Ban Meta glasses in more permanent retail spaces.

The store will be around from November 8th to December 31st. | Image: Meta

Meta announced it is opening up Meta Lab, a pop-up experiential retail space for its Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses starting November 8th in Los Angeles. The temporary store will be around through the end of the year and allow customers to try out the glasses and customize their glasses cases as they shop. Meta Lab will also have local events with various creators, including stand-up comedians, live podcasts, and cooking classes.

This particular retail store is an extension of the Meta Lab experience earlier this year at Connect 2024. At that time, Meta had unveiled the transparent versions of its Ray-Bans. The company says that over 90 percent of Connect attendees had attended, with more than 25 percent then purchasing a pair. It appears the LA pop-up won’t be exactly the same thing, as it’s themed to tie-in with LA and Southern Californian lowrider culture. It’ll also include an “immersion experience room” that allows people to view an AI-generated Malibu beach.

Pop-ups and retail stores have gone hand-in-hand with smart glasses in the past. Snap Spectacles famously garnered buzz with vending machines that sold the glasses in random locations around the country. Focals by North also had mobile pop-ups and a Brooklyn retail store so people could try the device and get fitted.

That said, maintaining permanent spaces can be costly for emerging tech — especially in expensive metropolitan areas. That’s likely a big reason why this current pop-up will only be open for a limited time, closing on December 31st. Another Meta Lab experience is planned for Phoenix at the end of January. Meta didn’t say whether we’ll see any further pop-ups beyond that. For now, Meta is using these pop-ups as a test run to see whether there’s a future for Ray-Ban Meta glasses in more permanent retail spaces.

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