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Traffic moves along Highway 11 near the airport as viewed opposite Volcanoes National Park on December 12th, 2016, in Hilo, Hawaii. | Photo by George Rose/Getty Images

A group of young plaintiffs reached a historic climate settlement with the state of Hawaii and Hawaii Department of Transportation in a deal that will push the state to clean up tailpipe pollution.
The 13 youth plaintiffs filed suit in 2022 when they were all between the ages of 9 and 18. In the suit, Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), they alleged that the state and HDOT had violated their right to “a clean and healthful environment,” which is enshrined in Hawaii’s constitution.
“We got what we came for, and we got it faster than we expected.”
The settlement, reached on Thursday, affirms that right and commits the DOT to creating a plan to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 2045. To hit that goal, the state will have to dedicate at least $40 million to building out its EV charging network by the end of the decade and complete new pedestrian, bicycle, and transit networks over the next five years. The settlement also creates a new unit within HDOT tasked with coordinating CO2 emission reductions and a volunteer youth council to advise HDOT.
“I am so proud of all the hard work to get us to this historic moment. We got what we came for, and we got it faster than we expected,” the lead plaintiff, Navahine F., said in an emailed statement.
This is the first settlement agreement in which “government defendants have decided to resolve a constitutional climate case in partnership with youth plaintiffs,” according to nonprofit legal groups Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice, which represent the plaintiffs.
Back in 2018, Hawaii committed to reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2045 — in line with what climate research determined was necessary to meet the Paris climate accord goal of stopping global warming. But the state wasn’t doing enough to reach that goal, the plaintiffs alleged. Transportation makes up the biggest chunk of the state’s greenhouse gas pollution.

“Climate change is indisputable,” Ed Sniffen, HDOT director of transportation, said in a press release. “Burying our heads in the sand and making it the next generation’s problem is not pono.”
Youth in Montana scored another historic legal win last year after the first climate case of its kind to go to trial. A state court found that a Montana policy that barred officials from considering the consequences of climate change when permitting new energy projects violated the rights of the plaintiffs to a “clean and healthful environment.” The lawsuit in Hawaii was expected to be the next landmark youth climate case to go to trial in the US. Several other state and federal youth climate suits are still pending in the US.

Traffic moves along Highway 11 near the airport as viewed opposite Volcanoes National Park on December 12th, 2016, in Hilo, Hawaii. | Photo by George Rose/Getty Images

A group of young plaintiffs reached a historic climate settlement with the state of Hawaii and Hawaii Department of Transportation in a deal that will push the state to clean up tailpipe pollution.

The 13 youth plaintiffs filed suit in 2022 when they were all between the ages of 9 and 18. In the suit, Navahine F. v. Hawaii Department of Transportation (HDOT), they alleged that the state and HDOT had violated their right to “a clean and healthful environment,” which is enshrined in Hawaii’s constitution.

The settlement, reached on Thursday, affirms that right and commits the DOT to creating a plan to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 2045. To hit that goal, the state will have to dedicate at least $40 million to building out its EV charging network by the end of the decade and complete new pedestrian, bicycle, and transit networks over the next five years. The settlement also creates a new unit within HDOT tasked with coordinating CO2 emission reductions and a volunteer youth council to advise HDOT.

“I am so proud of all the hard work to get us to this historic moment. We got what we came for, and we got it faster than we expected,” the lead plaintiff, Navahine F., said in an emailed statement.

This is the first settlement agreement in which “government defendants have decided to resolve a constitutional climate case in partnership with youth plaintiffs,” according to nonprofit legal groups Our Children’s Trust and Earthjustice, which represent the plaintiffs.

Back in 2018, Hawaii committed to reaching net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2045 — in line with what climate research determined was necessary to meet the Paris climate accord goal of stopping global warming. But the state wasn’t doing enough to reach that goal, the plaintiffs alleged. Transportation makes up the biggest chunk of the state’s greenhouse gas pollution.

“Climate change is indisputable,” Ed Sniffen, HDOT director of transportation, said in a press release. “Burying our heads in the sand and making it the next generation’s problem is not pono.”

Youth in Montana scored another historic legal win last year after the first climate case of its kind to go to trial. A state court found that a Montana policy that barred officials from considering the consequences of climate change when permitting new energy projects violated the rights of the plaintiffs to a “clean and healthful environment.” The lawsuit in Hawaii was expected to be the next landmark youth climate case to go to trial in the US. Several other state and federal youth climate suits are still pending in the US.

Read More 

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

I have a bad habit of accidentally deleting files that I suddenly need a day later. Luckily, when files are “deleted,” they are actually not fully wiped from a system — and if they’re backed up to connected cloud storage services, well, those services have their own ways of handling deleted files. So it’s a good idea to know where to look.
This is also something to keep in mind if you’re selling or giving away a system — because in that case, you’ll want to make sure your files are completely, totally wiped.
Whether you’re looking to restore previously deleted files or permanently erase them, here’s what you need to know about them on Windows (and OneDrive) and Android (and Google Drive).
Deleted files on Windows
Delete a file in the normal way in File Explorer on Windows — using the Delete key — and it goes to the Recycle Bin, which has been helping Windows users get back files they’ve accidentally wiped since Windows 95.

Screenshot: Microsoft
You can empty the Windows Recycle Bin with a couple of clicks.

Head to the Recycle Bin folder on your PC, and you can restore deleted files from their original location or delete them permanently. There are several ways to find it.

To make things easier, look for the Recycle Bin shortcut on your desktop. If you don’t see it, right-click on a blank part of the desktop, then choose Personalize > Themes > Desktop icon settings to show it.
You should also see a Recycle Bin shortcut in the left-hand navigation pane of File Explorer; if not, right-click at the bottom of the pane and choose Show all folders.
You can also get to the Recycle Bin by searching for it via the search bar on the taskbar or via the address bar at the top of any File Explorer window.

Once you’re in the Recycle Bin (which is shown in File Explorer):

Click Empty Recycle Bin on the top toolbar to delete everything currently stored in it.
Click Restore all items to restore everything in the Recycle Bin.
Select one or more files, and you’ll see another option: Restore the selected items to bring the file(s) back. You’ll find the same options by right-clicking on a file.

By default, deleted files stay in the Recycle Bin for 30 days before Windows erases them permanently. To change this:

Open Settings, then pick System > Storage > Storage Sense.
Make sure Automatic User content cleanup is toggled on.
Look for Delete files in my recycle bin if they have been there for over…, with the drop-down menu providing the following options: 1 day, 14 days, 30 days, 60 days, or Never. (Files stick around in the Recycle Bin until you wipe them manually.)

Incidentally, if there’s something private and sensitive you want to permanently delete right away (skipping the Recycle Bin), select it in File Explorer and press Shift + Delete. You do get a warning, but once you click Yes, the file is gone forever and can’t be recovered.

Screenshot: Microsoft
It’s up to you how long deleted files stay in the Recycle Bin.

OneDrive’s Recycle Bin
Then there’s the cloud storage service attached to Windows, OneDrive. Depending on how your computer was set up, OneDrive may be backing up your Windows files: you can check by going to Settings > Accounts > Windows back up > OneDrive folder syncing.
OneDrive has its own Recycle Bin, which you can find by opening up OneDrive on the web or looking for the cloud icon in the lower left of your taskbar.

Click Recycle bin to find files deleted in the last 30 days.
Select individual files to bring up the Delete or Restore options at the top.
Without any files selected, click Empty recycle bin to erase everything permanently or Restore all items to bring them all back to your PC.

When you delete a file synced to both OneDrive and your local PC, it’ll be sent to the Recycle Bin in both places, and you can restore it from either of them. However, the Recycle Bin in the cloud and the Recycle Bin in Windows aren’t synced, so you might find something you’ve permanently erased from one place is still available in the other.
Deleted files on Android
When it comes to Android, apps will often manage file deleting and file restoring themselves. If you’re using Google Photos to manage your photos and videos, for example, you can tap Library and then Trash in the app to see recently deleted files. From there, they can be wiped permanently or brought back.
Any files that were synced to the cloud when they were deleted will be kept around for 60 days; if they were stored locally, they stay in the Trash folder for 30 days. The same trash folder that you see in the app can be found in Google Photos on the web in the navigation pane on the left.

Screenshot: Google
The Trash folder in Google Photos for Android.

Screenshot: Google
The Files by Google app lists deleted files.

You can also use the Files by Google app (the default file manager on Android) to find deleted items on your Android phone. In the app, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Trash. Files are kept for 30 days, and if you select a file, you’ll see the Restore and Delete options become active at the bottom.
If you have a Samsung phone, you might be using Samsung’s own apps instead. Inside Samsung Gallery, you can tap the three horizontal lines (bottom right) and then Recycle bin to view, erase, and restore photos and videos you’ve deleted.
Then there’s the My Files app by Samsung, which handles files more generally across Android. There’s a Recycle bin link on the front screen of the app: tap on this to see recently deleted files and to find options to wipe them permanently or restore them to their original locations. In both of these Samsung apps, files are kept for 30 days before automatic, permanent deletion.

Screenshot: Google
Google Drive comes with its own Trash folder.

Deleting Google Drive files
Finally, for apps that sync with Google Drive and for the Google Drive app itself, you have an extra safety net in the cloud. From Google Drive on the web, you can click the Trash link in the navigation pane on the left to see deleted files, which are kept for 30 days. Files can be sorted by type or by the date they were last modified, and as you select files, you’ll see options to restore or permanently delete them above the file list.

Illustration by Samar Haddad / The Verge

I have a bad habit of accidentally deleting files that I suddenly need a day later. Luckily, when files are “deleted,” they are actually not fully wiped from a system — and if they’re backed up to connected cloud storage services, well, those services have their own ways of handling deleted files. So it’s a good idea to know where to look.

This is also something to keep in mind if you’re selling or giving away a system — because in that case, you’ll want to make sure your files are completely, totally wiped.

Whether you’re looking to restore previously deleted files or permanently erase them, here’s what you need to know about them on Windows (and OneDrive) and Android (and Google Drive).

Deleted files on Windows

Delete a file in the normal way in File Explorer on Windows — using the Delete key — and it goes to the Recycle Bin, which has been helping Windows users get back files they’ve accidentally wiped since Windows 95.

Screenshot: Microsoft
You can empty the Windows Recycle Bin with a couple of clicks.

Head to the Recycle Bin folder on your PC, and you can restore deleted files from their original location or delete them permanently. There are several ways to find it.

To make things easier, look for the Recycle Bin shortcut on your desktop. If you don’t see it, right-click on a blank part of the desktop, then choose Personalize > Themes > Desktop icon settings to show it.
You should also see a Recycle Bin shortcut in the left-hand navigation pane of File Explorer; if not, right-click at the bottom of the pane and choose Show all folders.
You can also get to the Recycle Bin by searching for it via the search bar on the taskbar or via the address bar at the top of any File Explorer window.

Once you’re in the Recycle Bin (which is shown in File Explorer):

Click Empty Recycle Bin on the top toolbar to delete everything currently stored in it.
Click Restore all items to restore everything in the Recycle Bin.
Select one or more files, and you’ll see another option: Restore the selected items to bring the file(s) back. You’ll find the same options by right-clicking on a file.

By default, deleted files stay in the Recycle Bin for 30 days before Windows erases them permanently. To change this:

Open Settings, then pick System > Storage > Storage Sense.
Make sure Automatic User content cleanup is toggled on.
Look for Delete files in my recycle bin if they have been there for over…, with the drop-down menu providing the following options: 1 day, 14 days, 30 days, 60 days, or Never. (Files stick around in the Recycle Bin until you wipe them manually.)

Incidentally, if there’s something private and sensitive you want to permanently delete right away (skipping the Recycle Bin), select it in File Explorer and press Shift + Delete. You do get a warning, but once you click Yes, the file is gone forever and can’t be recovered.

Screenshot: Microsoft
It’s up to you how long deleted files stay in the Recycle Bin.

OneDrive’s Recycle Bin

Then there’s the cloud storage service attached to Windows, OneDrive. Depending on how your computer was set up, OneDrive may be backing up your Windows files: you can check by going to Settings > Accounts > Windows back up > OneDrive folder syncing.

OneDrive has its own Recycle Bin, which you can find by opening up OneDrive on the web or looking for the cloud icon in the lower left of your taskbar.

Click Recycle bin to find files deleted in the last 30 days.
Select individual files to bring up the Delete or Restore options at the top.
Without any files selected, click Empty recycle bin to erase everything permanently or Restore all items to bring them all back to your PC.

When you delete a file synced to both OneDrive and your local PC, it’ll be sent to the Recycle Bin in both places, and you can restore it from either of them. However, the Recycle Bin in the cloud and the Recycle Bin in Windows aren’t synced, so you might find something you’ve permanently erased from one place is still available in the other.

Deleted files on Android

When it comes to Android, apps will often manage file deleting and file restoring themselves. If you’re using Google Photos to manage your photos and videos, for example, you can tap Library and then Trash in the app to see recently deleted files. From there, they can be wiped permanently or brought back.

Any files that were synced to the cloud when they were deleted will be kept around for 60 days; if they were stored locally, they stay in the Trash folder for 30 days. The same trash folder that you see in the app can be found in Google Photos on the web in the navigation pane on the left.

You can also use the Files by Google app (the default file manager on Android) to find deleted items on your Android phone. In the app, tap the three horizontal lines (top left), then Trash. Files are kept for 30 days, and if you select a file, you’ll see the Restore and Delete options become active at the bottom.

If you have a Samsung phone, you might be using Samsung’s own apps instead. Inside Samsung Gallery, you can tap the three horizontal lines (bottom right) and then Recycle bin to view, erase, and restore photos and videos you’ve deleted.

Then there’s the My Files app by Samsung, which handles files more generally across Android. There’s a Recycle bin link on the front screen of the app: tap on this to see recently deleted files and to find options to wipe them permanently or restore them to their original locations. In both of these Samsung apps, files are kept for 30 days before automatic, permanent deletion.

Screenshot: Google
Google Drive comes with its own Trash folder.

Deleting Google Drive files

Finally, for apps that sync with Google Drive and for the Google Drive app itself, you have an extra safety net in the cloud. From Google Drive on the web, you can click the Trash link in the navigation pane on the left to see deleted files, which are kept for 30 days. Files can be sorted by type or by the date they were last modified, and as you select files, you’ll see options to restore or permanently delete them above the file list.

Read More 

Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Apple says upcoming features like its Apple Intelligence generative AI tools, iPhone mirroring, and SharePlay screen sharing may not be available in the European Union this year, as reported previously by Bloomberg.
Why? The Digital Markets Act (DMA), says Apple, citing the EU law that puts strict requirements on the “gatekeepers” that control massive online platforms to block anticompetitive behavior. Recently, rumors have indicated that Apple and Meta could soon face charges over DMA violations.

According to Apple, the DMA requirements saying those gatekeepers must let third-party companies interoperate with their services could “force” compromises over privacy and security.
Here is the statement sent to The Verge by Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz:

Two weeks ago, Apple unveiled hundreds of new features that we are excited to bring to our users around the world. We are highly motivated to make these technologies accessible to all users. However, due to the regulatory uncertainties brought about by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), we do not believe that we will be able to roll out three of these features — iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements, and Apple Intelligence — to our EU users this year.
Specifically, we are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security. We are committed to collaborating with the European Commission in an attempt to find a solution that would enable us to deliver these features to our EU customers without compromising their safety.

Contacted about Apple’s statement, EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier responded saying, “The EU is an attractive market of 450 million potential users, and has always been open for business for any company that wants to provide services in the European internal market. Gatekeepers are welcome to offer their services in Europe, provided that they comply with our rules aimed at ensuring fair competition.”
What specifically causes the concerns is unclear, but Apple Intelligence alone covers upgrades to Siri, Genmoji, managing notifications, taking scripted actions across different apps, as well as text generation and summaries. Sainz also reiterated that Apple Intelligence will be available for beta testing this summer, while iPhone mirroring and the expanded SharePlay screen sharing features will roll out in a developer beta on Monday.
Update, June 21st: Added comment from EU spokesperson.

Illustration: Cath Virginia / The Verge

Apple says upcoming features like its Apple Intelligence generative AI tools, iPhone mirroring, and SharePlay screen sharing may not be available in the European Union this year, as reported previously by Bloomberg.

Why? The Digital Markets Act (DMA), says Apple, citing the EU law that puts strict requirements on the “gatekeepers” that control massive online platforms to block anticompetitive behavior. Recently, rumors have indicated that Apple and Meta could soon face charges over DMA violations.

According to Apple, the DMA requirements saying those gatekeepers must let third-party companies interoperate with their services could “force” compromises over privacy and security.

Here is the statement sent to The Verge by Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz:

Two weeks ago, Apple unveiled hundreds of new features that we are excited to bring to our users around the world. We are highly motivated to make these technologies accessible to all users. However, due to the regulatory uncertainties brought about by the Digital Markets Act (DMA), we do not believe that we will be able to roll out three of these features — iPhone Mirroring, SharePlay Screen Sharing enhancements, and Apple Intelligence — to our EU users this year.

Specifically, we are concerned that the interoperability requirements of the DMA could force us to compromise the integrity of our products in ways that risk user privacy and data security. We are committed to collaborating with the European Commission in an attempt to find a solution that would enable us to deliver these features to our EU customers without compromising their safety.

Contacted about Apple’s statement, EU spokesperson Thomas Regnier responded saying, “The EU is an attractive market of 450 million potential users, and has always been open for business for any company that wants to provide services in the European internal market. Gatekeepers are welcome to offer their services in Europe, provided that they comply with our rules aimed at ensuring fair competition.”

What specifically causes the concerns is unclear, but Apple Intelligence alone covers upgrades to Siri, Genmoji, managing notifications, taking scripted actions across different apps, as well as text generation and summaries. Sainz also reiterated that Apple Intelligence will be available for beta testing this summer, while iPhone mirroring and the expanded SharePlay screen sharing features will roll out in a developer beta on Monday.

Update, June 21st: Added comment from EU spokesperson.

Read More 

Image: The Verge

OpenAI has acquired Rockset, an enterprise analytics startup, to “power our retrieval infrastructure across products,” according to a Friday blog post.
This acquisition is OpenAI’s first where the company will integrate both a company’s technology and its team, a spokesperson tells Bloomberg. The two companies didn’t share the terms of the acquisition. Rockset has raised $105 million in funding to date.
“Rockset’s infrastructure empowers companies to transform their data into actionable intelligence,” OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap says in a statement. “We’re excited to bring these benefits to our customers by integrating Rockset’s foundation into OpenAI products.”

“Rockset will become part of OpenAI and power the retrieval infrastructure backing OpenAI’s product suite,” Rockset CEO Venkat Venkataramani says in a Rockset blog post. “We’ll be helping OpenAI solve the hard database problems that AI apps face at massive scale.”
Venkataramani says that current Rockset customers won’t experience “immediate change” and that the company will gradually transition them off the platform. “Some” members of Rockset’s team will move over to OpenAI, Bloomberg says.

Image: The Verge

OpenAI has acquired Rockset, an enterprise analytics startup, to “power our retrieval infrastructure across products,” according to a Friday blog post.

This acquisition is OpenAI’s first where the company will integrate both a company’s technology and its team, a spokesperson tells Bloomberg. The two companies didn’t share the terms of the acquisition. Rockset has raised $105 million in funding to date.

“Rockset’s infrastructure empowers companies to transform their data into actionable intelligence,” OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap says in a statement. “We’re excited to bring these benefits to our customers by integrating Rockset’s foundation into OpenAI products.”

“Rockset will become part of OpenAI and power the retrieval infrastructure backing OpenAI’s product suite,” Rockset CEO Venkat Venkataramani says in a Rockset blog post. “We’ll be helping OpenAI solve the hard database problems that AI apps face at massive scale.”

Venkataramani says that current Rockset customers won’t experience “immediate change” and that the company will gradually transition them off the platform. “Some” members of Rockset’s team will move over to OpenAI, Bloomberg says.

Read More 

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok is part algorithmic television, part Nextdoor group, and increasingly, part travel agent — a role the platform seems to be leaning into.
Users have been able to tag their geolocation for a while, but now, the company appears to have revamped the landing pages for certain locations like Boston, New York, and Texas. Now, instead of just showing videos that tag that location, TikTok has created categories like “food & drink,” “hotels,” and “shopping” that are filled with relevant videos.
Clicking a button labeled “explore more places” opens up an Apple Maps integration showing a map of businesses in the area that have been tagged in TikTok posts. Beneath the map is a list of locations with details like their address, price level, and how many tags the business has on TikTok. It looks less like the For You page and more like Yelp or a travel site.

Screenshot: TikTok

TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about when the features were introduced, but they appear to be relatively new. The updated location page isn’t available for all tagged areas.
In the last few years, TikTok has come to resemble other platforms out there — and in some cases, it has successfully replaced competitors, at least for younger people. TikTok isn’t yet a perfect Google Search replacement, but it does drive significant business to local restaurants when a video goes viral. Personally, I don’t really use sites like Yelp to find a new restaurant to try; I just search for recommendations on TikTok. Likewise, travel is huge on the platform (has anyone else seen businesses that advertise their “TikTok-famous” status?), and the company’s decision to gather and organize this type of content in one place feels like an acknowledgment of that.
The deluge of paid influencer content makes it hard to fully trust TikTok — and truthfully, other social media platforms — for recommendations. But if you’re already scrolling on TikTok and see restaurant recommendations in a city you’re planning to visit? TikTok is betting that users might just take them.

Illustration by Nick Barclay / The Verge

TikTok is part algorithmic television, part Nextdoor group, and increasingly, part travel agent — a role the platform seems to be leaning into.

Users have been able to tag their geolocation for a while, but now, the company appears to have revamped the landing pages for certain locations like Boston, New York, and Texas. Now, instead of just showing videos that tag that location, TikTok has created categories like “food & drink,” “hotels,” and “shopping” that are filled with relevant videos.

Clicking a button labeled “explore more places” opens up an Apple Maps integration showing a map of businesses in the area that have been tagged in TikTok posts. Beneath the map is a list of locations with details like their address, price level, and how many tags the business has on TikTok. It looks less like the For You page and more like Yelp or a travel site.

TikTok didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about when the features were introduced, but they appear to be relatively new. The updated location page isn’t available for all tagged areas.

In the last few years, TikTok has come to resemble other platforms out there — and in some cases, it has successfully replaced competitors, at least for younger people. TikTok isn’t yet a perfect Google Search replacement, but it does drive significant business to local restaurants when a video goes viral. Personally, I don’t really use sites like Yelp to find a new restaurant to try; I just search for recommendations on TikTok. Likewise, travel is huge on the platform (has anyone else seen businesses that advertise their “TikTok-famous” status?), and the company’s decision to gather and organize this type of content in one place feels like an acknowledgment of that.

The deluge of paid influencer content makes it hard to fully trust TikTok — and truthfully, other social media platforms — for recommendations. But if you’re already scrolling on TikTok and see restaurant recommendations in a city you’re planning to visit? TikTok is betting that users might just take them.

Read More 

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

Meta is apparently deprioritizing VR and its Oculus business to focus on reproducing the surprising success of its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. And it makes sense — VR is out, AI is in, and Meta’s smart glasses are the absolute standout gadget thus far for AI. But in the same week that Alex Heath reported this shake-up in Command Line, The Information reported that Apple is focusing on a cheaper Vision headset in favor of a successor to the Vision Pro. Something’s happening here, and it feels like it’s going to have a major impact on the most distinct visions of our VR and AR future.
So with David stepping away for a show, Alex Heath joins Nilay and myself to talk about what the heck is going on with AR and VR in Silicon Valley right now. But that’s not all we talk about. There’s also a very cool new universal remote with a big screen and a limited audience, Framework has a new laptop with a very curious processor, and Qualcomm’s new laptop processors are finally available to reviewers and the general public. While our team furiously benchmarks them, we dig into what it could mean for the wider industry.

And after those big discussions we, like Big Tech, pivot to talking about AI — because there was big news in that space this week, too! Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s former chief scientist and one of the major participants in last November’s attempted coup, has a whole new AI company. He doesn’t appear to have a big business plan, but he has grand ideas for the future of AI. Plus, Perplexity appears to be burning bridges to create a competitive AI search engine, and the tension between creators and the AI companies who want them both as customers and for training data grows more taut.
Finally, we hit a lightning round that’s got a surprising fashion focus.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started. First, we talked a lot about cool gadgets:

Happy Windows on Arm day.
Qualcomm inside.
Apple’s new hands-free unlocking feature won’t work with existing smart locks
Apple’s fancy new CarPlay will only work wirelessly
This universal remote wants to control your smart home sans hub
The Framework Laptop 13 is about to become one of the world’s first RISC-V laptops
Apple’s Vision Pro team is reportedly focused on building a cheaper headset
Meta forms new Wearables group and lays off some employees

And then, we made a pivot to AI:

OpenAI’s former chief scientist is starting a new AI company
Perplexity continues to piss off publishers.
An AI video tool just launched, and it’s already copying Disney’s IP
Anthropic has a fast new AI model — and a clever new way to interact with chatbots
AIs are coming for social networks
TikTok ads may soon contain AI avatars of your favorite creators
McDonald’s will stop testing AI to take drive-thru orders, for now

Finally, we had a lightning round:

Nvidia overtakes Microsoft as the world’s most valuable company
US sues Adobe for ‘deceiving’ subscriptions that are too hard to cancel
Tech CEOs are hot now, so workers are hiring $500-an-hour fashion consultants

Image: Alex Parkin / The Verge

Meta is apparently deprioritizing VR and its Oculus business to focus on reproducing the surprising success of its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses. And it makes sense — VR is out, AI is in, and Meta’s smart glasses are the absolute standout gadget thus far for AI. But in the same week that Alex Heath reported this shake-up in Command Line, The Information reported that Apple is focusing on a cheaper Vision headset in favor of a successor to the Vision Pro. Something’s happening here, and it feels like it’s going to have a major impact on the most distinct visions of our VR and AR future.

So with David stepping away for a show, Alex Heath joins Nilay and myself to talk about what the heck is going on with AR and VR in Silicon Valley right now. But that’s not all we talk about. There’s also a very cool new universal remote with a big screen and a limited audience, Framework has a new laptop with a very curious processor, and Qualcomm’s new laptop processors are finally available to reviewers and the general public. While our team furiously benchmarks them, we dig into what it could mean for the wider industry.

And after those big discussions we, like Big Tech, pivot to talking about AI — because there was big news in that space this week, too! Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI’s former chief scientist and one of the major participants in last November’s attempted coup, has a whole new AI company. He doesn’t appear to have a big business plan, but he has grand ideas for the future of AI. Plus, Perplexity appears to be burning bridges to create a competitive AI search engine, and the tension between creators and the AI companies who want them both as customers and for training data grows more taut.

Finally, we hit a lightning round that’s got a surprising fashion focus.

If you want to know more about everything we discuss in this episode, here are some links to get you started. First, we talked a lot about cool gadgets:

Happy Windows on Arm day.
Qualcomm inside.
Apple’s new hands-free unlocking feature won’t work with existing smart locks
Apple’s fancy new CarPlay will only work wirelessly
This universal remote wants to control your smart home sans hub
The Framework Laptop 13 is about to become one of the world’s first RISC-V laptops
Apple’s Vision Pro team is reportedly focused on building a cheaper headset
Meta forms new Wearables group and lays off some employees

And then, we made a pivot to AI:

OpenAI’s former chief scientist is starting a new AI company
Perplexity continues to piss off publishers.
An AI video tool just launched, and it’s already copying Disney’s IP
Anthropic has a fast new AI model — and a clever new way to interact with chatbots
AIs are coming for social networks
TikTok ads may soon contain AI avatars of your favorite creators
McDonald’s will stop testing AI to take drive-thru orders, for now

Finally, we had a lightning round:

Nvidia overtakes Microsoft as the world’s most valuable company
US sues Adobe for ‘deceiving’ subscriptions that are too hard to cancel
Tech CEOs are hot now, so workers are hiring $500-an-hour fashion consultants

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Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge

Spotify just announced that it would be increasing prices in the US, but on Friday, it announced a new Basic plan that brings back a $10.99 per month tier. This new offering gives you the same ad-free music listening perks you’d get on the $11.99 Premium Individual tier, but you won’t get the 15 monthly hours of audiobook listening that’s also included with Premium.
Last year, Spotify bumped up the cost of Premium from $9.99 per month — the price the service launched at in the US more than a decade ago — to $10.99 per month. Now that Premium costs an extra dollar beyond that, the new Basic plan seems to indicate that Spotify sees demand for a cheaper option that drops audiobooks. It also creates a music-only offering that’s the same price as the $10.99 per month plans for Apple Music and Tidal.
Spotify also has a $9.99 per month Audiobooks Access Tier that gives you 15 hours of monthly audiobook time, but if you want to listen to music on that plan, you’ll have to hear ads.

Image: Nick Barclay / The Verge

Spotify just announced that it would be increasing prices in the US, but on Friday, it announced a new Basic plan that brings back a $10.99 per month tier. This new offering gives you the same ad-free music listening perks you’d get on the $11.99 Premium Individual tier, but you won’t get the 15 monthly hours of audiobook listening that’s also included with Premium.

Last year, Spotify bumped up the cost of Premium from $9.99 per month — the price the service launched at in the US more than a decade ago — to $10.99 per month. Now that Premium costs an extra dollar beyond that, the new Basic plan seems to indicate that Spotify sees demand for a cheaper option that drops audiobooks. It also creates a music-only offering that’s the same price as the $10.99 per month plans for Apple Music and Tidal.

Spotify also has a $9.99 per month Audiobooks Access Tier that gives you 15 hours of monthly audiobook time, but if you want to listen to music on that plan, you’ll have to hear ads.

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Image: TC Sottek / The Verge

After years of pursuing a group of piracy advocates for illegally hosting and streaming thousands of stolen TV shows, the Department of Justice doled out a series of convictions.
On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber — five men who were responsible for running Netflix knockoff Jetflicks — have been convicted on multiple counts of copyright infringement and money laundering by concealment that could ultimately lead to jail time. The five defendants (along with three other individuals) were first charged back in 2019 when the US government argued that their illegally operated streaming service had led to the loss of millions in revenue for companies including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.
For $9.99 a month, Jetflicks gave its subscribers access to just over 180,000 episodes of various television shows that were initially downloaded from a variety of pirating websites and subsequently uploaded to the company’s own servers in Las Vegas. According to prosecutors, Jetflicks was able to rake in millions of dollars with its subscription model, but as issues with payment processors and objections from studios began to trickle in, the company attempted to pivot and pass itself off as an organization focused on aviation media.
“When complaints from copyright holders and problems with payment service providers threatened to topple the illicit multimillion-dollar enterprise, the defendants tried to disguise Jetflicks as an aviation entertainment company,” FBI Washington Field Office assistant director David Sundberg said.
Following their convictions, Dallman is now facing up to 48 years in prison, while the other defendants are looking at five years maximum, but an official sentencing date has yet to be set.

Image: TC Sottek / The Verge

After years of pursuing a group of piracy advocates for illegally hosting and streaming thousands of stolen TV shows, the Department of Justice doled out a series of convictions.

On Thursday, the Department of Justice announced that Kristopher Dallmann, Douglas Courson, Felipe Garcia, Jared Jaurequi, and Peter Huber — five men who were responsible for running Netflix knockoff Jetflicks — have been convicted on multiple counts of copyright infringement and money laundering by concealment that could ultimately lead to jail time. The five defendants (along with three other individuals) were first charged back in 2019 when the US government argued that their illegally operated streaming service had led to the loss of millions in revenue for companies including Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.

For $9.99 a month, Jetflicks gave its subscribers access to just over 180,000 episodes of various television shows that were initially downloaded from a variety of pirating websites and subsequently uploaded to the company’s own servers in Las Vegas. According to prosecutors, Jetflicks was able to rake in millions of dollars with its subscription model, but as issues with payment processors and objections from studios began to trickle in, the company attempted to pivot and pass itself off as an organization focused on aviation media.

“When complaints from copyright holders and problems with payment service providers threatened to topple the illicit multimillion-dollar enterprise, the defendants tried to disguise Jetflicks as an aviation entertainment company,” FBI Washington Field Office assistant director David Sundberg said.

Following their convictions, Dallman is now facing up to 48 years in prison, while the other defendants are looking at five years maximum, but an official sentencing date has yet to be set.

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Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Image: Getty Images

Elon Musk, who has long touted claims about the world’s supposed depopulation crisis, had another child with an executive at his brain implant company Neuralink, according to a report from Bloomberg. Neuralink director Shivon Zilis reportedly had the child with Musk earlier this year.
Musk already has twins with Zilis, which Business Insider discovered in 2022 after digging up a court document. He has three children with the musician Grimes and six children from previous relationships, making for a total of 12 that we know of. On Thursday, Musk reposted a chart that claims Europe is suffering from a “fertility crisis,” saying “civilization may end with a bang or with a whimper (in adult diapers).”

As noted by Bloomberg, Musk has repeated that line several times in the past, including during a 2022 interview with Tucker Carlson and again during an interview at the Milken Institute conference in May. He told Carlson “a collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces, by far.” In 2021, Musk’s nonprofit organization donated $10 million to the University of Austin to fund the Population Wellbeing Initiative, a research group that studies the human population.
The revelation also follows multiple reports alleging inappropriate conduct from Musk in the workplace and with subordinates. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal said Musk had a sexual relationship with a former SpaceX intern who later became one of the company’s executives. Another employee says she refused Musk’s requests to have children with him several times, according to the Journal.
Last week, eight former SpaceX engineers filed a lawsuit against Musk that claims the billionaire “knowingly and purposefully created an unwelcome hostile work environment based upon his conduct of interjecting into the workplace vile sexual photographs, memes, and commentary that demeaned women and/or the LGBTQ+ community.” The complaint echoes past allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment at SpaceX, including an incident where Musk allegedly propositioned a flight attendant for sex.

Illustration: Kristen Radtke / The Verge; Image: Getty Images

Elon Musk, who has long touted claims about the world’s supposed depopulation crisis, had another child with an executive at his brain implant company Neuralink, according to a report from Bloomberg. Neuralink director Shivon Zilis reportedly had the child with Musk earlier this year.

Musk already has twins with Zilis, which Business Insider discovered in 2022 after digging up a court document. He has three children with the musician Grimes and six children from previous relationships, making for a total of 12 that we know of. On Thursday, Musk reposted a chart that claims Europe is suffering from a “fertility crisis,” saying “civilization may end with a bang or with a whimper (in adult diapers).”

As noted by Bloomberg, Musk has repeated that line several times in the past, including during a 2022 interview with Tucker Carlson and again during an interview at the Milken Institute conference in May. He told Carlson “a collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces, by far.” In 2021, Musk’s nonprofit organization donated $10 million to the University of Austin to fund the Population Wellbeing Initiative, a research group that studies the human population.

The revelation also follows multiple reports alleging inappropriate conduct from Musk in the workplace and with subordinates. A recent report from The Wall Street Journal said Musk had a sexual relationship with a former SpaceX intern who later became one of the company’s executives. Another employee says she refused Musk’s requests to have children with him several times, according to the Journal.

Last week, eight former SpaceX engineers filed a lawsuit against Musk that claims the billionaire “knowingly and purposefully created an unwelcome hostile work environment based upon his conduct of interjecting into the workplace vile sexual photographs, memes, and commentary that demeaned women and/or the LGBTQ+ community.” The complaint echoes past allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment at SpaceX, including an incident where Musk allegedly propositioned a flight attendant for sex.

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Tidal is dropping support for MQA. | Image: The Verge

Big news for audiophiles: Tidal is shaking up its audio formats. Starting July 24th, Tidal will drop support for Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) and 360 Reality Audio formats. Going forward, the streaming service says FLAC will be the default for stereo, while Dolby Atmos will be the format of choice for immersive sound.
Tidal allows users to stream in three tiers of audio quality: low, high, and max. Low uses AAC files, which go up to 320kbps. High offers CD-quality lossless FLAC files. And Max goes beyond that, with MQA and higher-res FLAC files. The Max tier is where the decision to drop MQA matters — and probably isn’t all that surprising to longtime Tidal users.

Tidal was one of the few services that supported streaming in MQA format. The main benefit of MQA is that you can retain superior audio quality, but with a smaller file size than FLAC. The problem is that MQA files require special hardware or software to play files. What signaled MQA’s days on Tidal were numbered was when the service introduced a new HiRes FLAC format last year. (HiRes FLAC is just a fancy way of referring to a FLAC file that’s larger than standard CD quality.) Not only was this new format introduced, but Tidal then made HiRes FLAC the preferred default for Max quality streaming. Not helping matters, last year, the company behind the MQA format entered administration in the UK, or the equivalent of filing for bankruptcy.
Based on Tidal’s FAQ, it appears these format decisions were made to prioritize access and cost. For example, it says it picked Dolby Atmos because it has a wide range of “compatible devices, catalog availability and artist adoption of the format.” While many audiophiles enjoy Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format, it’s just not as widely adopted. Tidal also says it’s going with FLAC for stereo because it’s open-source, meaning artists won’t have to go through a third party. Also, unlike FLAC, MQA is a proprietary format, meaning licensing costs are involved.
For Tidal users who have MQA tracks or albums, those files will be automatically replaced with the highest quality FLAC versions that Tidal has available. This also applies to MQA files downloaded for offline playback. Meanwhile, 360 Reality Audio files will be grayed out and unavailable for streaming.
Tidal says it has “no further plans to change our audio format offerings.” However, the change comes soon after the company recently decided to lower its subscription price from upwards of $20 monthly to $10.99. It also decided to consolidate its HiFi and HiFi Plus plans into a single tier.

Tidal is dropping support for MQA. | Image: The Verge

Big news for audiophiles: Tidal is shaking up its audio formats. Starting July 24th, Tidal will drop support for Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) and 360 Reality Audio formats. Going forward, the streaming service says FLAC will be the default for stereo, while Dolby Atmos will be the format of choice for immersive sound.

Tidal allows users to stream in three tiers of audio quality: low, high, and max. Low uses AAC files, which go up to 320kbps. High offers CD-quality lossless FLAC files. And Max goes beyond that, with MQA and higher-res FLAC files. The Max tier is where the decision to drop MQA matters — and probably isn’t all that surprising to longtime Tidal users.

Tidal was one of the few services that supported streaming in MQA format. The main benefit of MQA is that you can retain superior audio quality, but with a smaller file size than FLAC. The problem is that MQA files require special hardware or software to play files. What signaled MQA’s days on Tidal were numbered was when the service introduced a new HiRes FLAC format last year. (HiRes FLAC is just a fancy way of referring to a FLAC file that’s larger than standard CD quality.) Not only was this new format introduced, but Tidal then made HiRes FLAC the preferred default for Max quality streaming. Not helping matters, last year, the company behind the MQA format entered administration in the UK, or the equivalent of filing for bankruptcy.

Based on Tidal’s FAQ, it appears these format decisions were made to prioritize access and cost. For example, it says it picked Dolby Atmos because it has a wide range of “compatible devices, catalog availability and artist adoption of the format.” While many audiophiles enjoy Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format, it’s just not as widely adopted. Tidal also says it’s going with FLAC for stereo because it’s open-source, meaning artists won’t have to go through a third party. Also, unlike FLAC, MQA is a proprietary format, meaning licensing costs are involved.

For Tidal users who have MQA tracks or albums, those files will be automatically replaced with the highest quality FLAC versions that Tidal has available. This also applies to MQA files downloaded for offline playback. Meanwhile, 360 Reality Audio files will be grayed out and unavailable for streaming.

Tidal says it has “no further plans to change our audio format offerings.” However, the change comes soon after the company recently decided to lower its subscription price from upwards of $20 monthly to $10.99. It also decided to consolidate its HiFi and HiFi Plus plans into a single tier.

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