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Image: The Verge

Opening a webpage inside an app is about to get a little more pleasant — in some Android apps, at least. The Chrome M124 update adds the ability to open in-app webpages in picture-in-picture mode, letting you swap between the webpage and the app without closing your browsing session.
The feature is coming to the Android apps that use Chrome Custom Tabs, which let developers provide customized browsing experiences within their apps. If it’s available in an app you use, you’ll see a new down arrow in the top-left corner of an in-app webpage. Tap the arrow, and the webpage will minimize into a floating window in the bottom-right corner of the screen. You can tap the window to open the tab back up.

GIF: Google

This feature actually seems pretty handy. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to close an in-app webpage to refer to something inside the app, only to lose whatever I was looking at. The feature is only available in apps that use Chrome-based mobile browsers for now, but hopefully others will follow suit.

Image: The Verge

Opening a webpage inside an app is about to get a little more pleasant — in some Android apps, at least. The Chrome M124 update adds the ability to open in-app webpages in picture-in-picture mode, letting you swap between the webpage and the app without closing your browsing session.

The feature is coming to the Android apps that use Chrome Custom Tabs, which let developers provide customized browsing experiences within their apps. If it’s available in an app you use, you’ll see a new down arrow in the top-left corner of an in-app webpage. Tap the arrow, and the webpage will minimize into a floating window in the bottom-right corner of the screen. You can tap the window to open the tab back up.

GIF: Google

This feature actually seems pretty handy. I can’t count the number of times I’ve had to close an in-app webpage to refer to something inside the app, only to lose whatever I was looking at. The feature is only available in apps that use Chrome-based mobile browsers for now, but hopefully others will follow suit.

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The Watcher is quite large. | Image: Disney

Besides watching movies, there’s not all that much to do with Apple’s Vision Pro once you get over the novelty. That’s why I was eager to try Disney and Marvel’s new What If…? An Immersive Story experience / TV show / video game… thing that’s available on May 30th. The companies promised a mixed reality show that would “push the boundaries of technology.” But what I experienced, while very pretty to look at, ended up feeling like an overlong, no-stakes video game tutorial — with no game to follow it.
You’ll go through the Vision Pro-exclusive app either by standing in one spot in a virtual environment, watching things play out and participating when prompted to, or in passthrough, where you can move around while cell-shaded 3D AR characters talk to you. You play the “Hero of the Multiverse,” a nameless character who is recruited by The Watcher, narrator on the Disney Plus series, to save the multiverse by acquiring the Infinity Stones.

But Wong, the Master of the Mystic Arts and friend to Doctor Strange in the MCU, opposes your involvement because, well, who the heck are you? But he reluctantly trains you, and then you go on a journey through realities to acquire each Infinity Stone for vague fate-of-the-multiverse reasons. Along the way, you acquire various abilities, and Wong teaches you special gestures that activate them. You can wave your hands around to banish your opponents to the pocket dimension inside the Soul Stone or clench your hand to shoot fist lasers using the Power Stone.
This stuff is actually fun to do, but it’s also very constrained by the fact that you can only do it at scripted moments, which sucks. That would be fine if the story was compelling, but it’s not given any room to be. It’s just a series of brief vignettes that serve as setup for the next interactive section, then you’re dropped in to get whichever stone you’re after, at which point you learn a new skill that you may or may not use again later. Each vignette basically follows the same pattern and ends up feeling like it’s building to something that never pays off.
The biggest disappointment is that so many of the elements feel like they would work in a different package. It looks great, for one, and it’s fun to see The Watcher towering over me in my dining room and to get a sense of how big Thanos is actually supposed to be. I liked shooting fist lasers, too. But the end result — an experience that doesn’t go all the way to full-on video game or movie — sits in a noncommittal, unsatisfying middle zone.

Image: Disney

Dave Bushore, who directed What If…?, told The Verge in an email that the experience is “holistically different than a game.” The interactive bits, he said, are meant to support the story. And Shereif M. Fattouh, an executive producer at ILM Immersive, said the team plans to keep supporting the app and will “be monitoring to see if there are any updates” needed based on user feedback. The app will only be temporarily free, though they didn’t say for how long or how much it will eventually cost.
There’s potential in the approach for What If…? An Immersive Story, if the team decides to do more with it. It seems clear from Bushore’s response to my questions that the format won’t veer further into game territory, and it’s hard to know from Fattouh’s answer whether the team will make any significant changes down the line to the way the story is presented. (Multiple branching paths through it would be neat, for example). But for now, it will be worth a look after it goes live tomorrow if you have a Vision Pro but don’t expect anything revolutionary.

The Watcher is quite large. | Image: Disney

Besides watching movies, there’s not all that much to do with Apple’s Vision Pro once you get over the novelty. That’s why I was eager to try Disney and Marvel’s new What If…? An Immersive Story experience / TV show / video game… thing that’s available on May 30th. The companies promised a mixed reality show that would “push the boundaries of technology.” But what I experienced, while very pretty to look at, ended up feeling like an overlong, no-stakes video game tutorial — with no game to follow it.

You’ll go through the Vision Pro-exclusive app either by standing in one spot in a virtual environment, watching things play out and participating when prompted to, or in passthrough, where you can move around while cell-shaded 3D AR characters talk to you. You play the “Hero of the Multiverse,” a nameless character who is recruited by The Watcher, narrator on the Disney Plus series, to save the multiverse by acquiring the Infinity Stones.

But Wong, the Master of the Mystic Arts and friend to Doctor Strange in the MCU, opposes your involvement because, well, who the heck are you? But he reluctantly trains you, and then you go on a journey through realities to acquire each Infinity Stone for vague fate-of-the-multiverse reasons. Along the way, you acquire various abilities, and Wong teaches you special gestures that activate them. You can wave your hands around to banish your opponents to the pocket dimension inside the Soul Stone or clench your hand to shoot fist lasers using the Power Stone.

This stuff is actually fun to do, but it’s also very constrained by the fact that you can only do it at scripted moments, which sucks. That would be fine if the story was compelling, but it’s not given any room to be. It’s just a series of brief vignettes that serve as setup for the next interactive section, then you’re dropped in to get whichever stone you’re after, at which point you learn a new skill that you may or may not use again later. Each vignette basically follows the same pattern and ends up feeling like it’s building to something that never pays off.

The biggest disappointment is that so many of the elements feel like they would work in a different package. It looks great, for one, and it’s fun to see The Watcher towering over me in my dining room and to get a sense of how big Thanos is actually supposed to be. I liked shooting fist lasers, too. But the end result — an experience that doesn’t go all the way to full-on video game or movie — sits in a noncommittal, unsatisfying middle zone.

Image: Disney

Dave Bushore, who directed What If…?, told The Verge in an email that the experience is “holistically different than a game.” The interactive bits, he said, are meant to support the story. And Shereif M. Fattouh, an executive producer at ILM Immersive, said the team plans to keep supporting the app and will “be monitoring to see if there are any updates” needed based on user feedback. The app will only be temporarily free, though they didn’t say for how long or how much it will eventually cost.

There’s potential in the approach for What If…? An Immersive Story, if the team decides to do more with it. It seems clear from Bushore’s response to my questions that the format won’t veer further into game territory, and it’s hard to know from Fattouh’s answer whether the team will make any significant changes down the line to the way the story is presented. (Multiple branching paths through it would be neat, for example). But for now, it will be worth a look after it goes live tomorrow if you have a Vision Pro but don’t expect anything revolutionary.

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Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge

Meta says it cracked down on propaganda campaigns on its platforms, including one that used AI to influence political discourse and create the illusion of wider support for certain viewpoints, according to its quarterly threat report published today. Some campaigns pushed political narratives about current events, including campaigns coming from Israel and Iran that posted in support of the Israeli government.
The networks used Facebook and Instagram accounts to try to influence political agendas around the world. The campaigns — some of which also originated in Bangladesh, China, and Croatia — used fake accounts to post in support of political movements, promote fake news outlets, or comment on the posts of legitimate news organizations.
A network originating in China, for example, consisted of several dozen Instagram and Facebook accounts, pages, and groups and was used to target global Sikh communities, Meta says. Another campaign traced to Israel used more than 500 Facebook and Instagram accounts to pose as local Jewish students, African Americans, and “concerned” citizens praising Israeli military actions and discussing campus antisemitism, among other types of content.
Some of the content shared by those two networks was likely created using generative AI tools, Meta writes. Accounts in the China-based campaign shared AI-generated images, and the Israeli campaign posted AI-generated comments, Meta found. The report says that, for now, AI-powered influence campaigns are not sophisticated enough to evade existing systems of detection.
Influence campaigns are regularly discovered on social media platforms. Earlier in May, TikTok said it had uncovered and disrupted a dozen such networks on its platform, including one that it traced to China.

Illustration: Nick Barclay / The Verge

Meta says it cracked down on propaganda campaigns on its platforms, including one that used AI to influence political discourse and create the illusion of wider support for certain viewpoints, according to its quarterly threat report published today. Some campaigns pushed political narratives about current events, including campaigns coming from Israel and Iran that posted in support of the Israeli government.

The networks used Facebook and Instagram accounts to try to influence political agendas around the world. The campaigns — some of which also originated in Bangladesh, China, and Croatia — used fake accounts to post in support of political movements, promote fake news outlets, or comment on the posts of legitimate news organizations.

A network originating in China, for example, consisted of several dozen Instagram and Facebook accounts, pages, and groups and was used to target global Sikh communities, Meta says. Another campaign traced to Israel used more than 500 Facebook and Instagram accounts to pose as local Jewish students, African Americans, and “concerned” citizens praising Israeli military actions and discussing campus antisemitism, among other types of content.

Some of the content shared by those two networks was likely created using generative AI tools, Meta writes. Accounts in the China-based campaign shared AI-generated images, and the Israeli campaign posted AI-generated comments, Meta found. The report says that, for now, AI-powered influence campaigns are not sophisticated enough to evade existing systems of detection.

Influence campaigns are regularly discovered on social media platforms. Earlier in May, TikTok said it had uncovered and disrupted a dozen such networks on its platform, including one that it traced to China.

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Kino app’s custom recording settings. | Image: Lux

Lux’s Halide app is popular among photographers for its approachable pro-level features, and now it’s launching Kino, a dedicated video capture app for iPhones with a similar focus on supporting the features professionals look for.
Where Halide was designed to take advantage of Apple’s RAW photography support on newer iPhones, Kino is targeting the iPhone 15 Pro’s support for ProRes videos encoded in the Log format. If you don’t know what that is or have never heard of color grading, here’s the description from our review of the 15 Pro: “That’s the super flat color profile that videographers like because it lets them control the look of the final product more.” Our video producer Vjeran Pavic can go into even more detail.
Kino will be available in the App Store for an introductory price of $9.99 until Friday and will cost $19.99 afterward.

Image: Lux
Instant Grade presets in the Kino app.

One of Kino’s headline features is “Instant Grade,” which allows users to shoot footage with grade presets. You can also record in Apple Log format within the Kino app and preview / add the presets later. Kino also has AutoMotion, which “automatically chooses the best exposure settings for cinematic motion blur.”

Image: Lux

Kino also includes the ability to add LUTs (Look Up Tables), which let you alter the look of footage using mathematical formulas. You can even add your own custom LUTs, a feature notably missing from Apple’s Final Cut Pro iPad app.
According to the developers, “None of our apps gather or collect data, or analyze your videos and photos,” and there’s no generative AI training in there, either. While Log support is an iPhone 15 Pro-only feature, it will work on any device running iOS 17 or higher.

Kino app’s custom recording settings. | Image: Lux

Lux’s Halide app is popular among photographers for its approachable pro-level features, and now it’s launching Kino, a dedicated video capture app for iPhones with a similar focus on supporting the features professionals look for.

Where Halide was designed to take advantage of Apple’s RAW photography support on newer iPhones, Kino is targeting the iPhone 15 Pro’s support for ProRes videos encoded in the Log format. If you don’t know what that is or have never heard of color grading, here’s the description from our review of the 15 Pro: “That’s the super flat color profile that videographers like because it lets them control the look of the final product more.” Our video producer Vjeran Pavic can go into even more detail.

Kino will be available in the App Store for an introductory price of $9.99 until Friday and will cost $19.99 afterward.

Image: Lux
Instant Grade presets in the Kino app.

One of Kino’s headline features is “Instant Grade,” which allows users to shoot footage with grade presets. You can also record in Apple Log format within the Kino app and preview / add the presets later. Kino also has AutoMotion, which “automatically chooses the best exposure settings for cinematic motion blur.”

Image: Lux

Kino also includes the ability to add LUTs (Look Up Tables), which let you alter the look of footage using mathematical formulas. You can even add your own custom LUTs, a feature notably missing from Apple’s Final Cut Pro iPad app.

According to the developers, “None of our apps gather or collect data, or analyze your videos and photos,” and there’s no generative AI training in there, either. While Log support is an iPhone 15 Pro-only feature, it will work on any device running iOS 17 or higher.

Read More 

Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images

Sony Interactive Entertainment has pulled a controversial interview with Neil Druckmann, head of The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog.
Last week, Sony published a (now archived) Q&A with the Last of Us creator about the “Evolution of Storytelling.” In the interview, Druckmann spoke about the role of AI in game development, the impact of new technologies on storytelling, advice for new creators, and his hopes for a dream project.
Since such interviews with high-profile, AAA creators are relatively rare, news outlets picked up the interview, focusing on Druckmann’s comments about generative AI. Regarding AI Druckmann said:
“Moreover, AI is really going to revolutionize how content is being created, although it does bring up some ethical issues we need to address. With technologies like AI and the ability to do motion capture right from home, we’re reducing both costs and technical hurdles, opening the door for us to take on more adventurous projects and push the boundaries of storytelling in games.”
Druckmann also expanded on other uses for AI, saying, “AI will allow us to create nuanced dialogues and characters, expanding creative possibilities. However, it’s crucial to precisely direct these tools to achieve the intended outcomes.”
Additionally, Druckmann shared his aspirations for future games, expressing excitement for Naughty Dog’s next project: “I’m eager to see how this new game resonates, especially following the success of The Last of Us, as it could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming.”
However, his comment about “redefining mainstream perceptions of gaming” is what appears to be the cause for Sony pulling the interview. Shortly after Sony published the Q&A, Druckmann wrote on social media stating that he had been misquoted.
“In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with Sony, some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost,” he posted on X sharing his full, unedited comments.

In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with SONY, some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost. Well, here’s the full long rambling answer for the final question about our future game… pic.twitter.com/tVuxX3LYJF— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) May 25, 2024

A few days after making this statement, Sony announced that rather than add Druckmann’s clarification, it had removed the interview entirely, stating, “[We] have found several significant errors and inaccuracies that don’t represent his perspective and values (including topics such as animation, writing, technology, AI, and future projects).”
Although some media outlets did focus on the potential of Naughty Dog’s latest project “redefining gaming,” it was Druckmann’s comments on AI that caused the most backlash. The use of AI in creative spaces like video game development has caused a lot of controversy with concerns that the technology has the potential to exacerbate the already depressed video game labor market. Notably, the clarification Druckmann posted didn’t include any mention of AI while Sony’s retraction statement did.

Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP via Getty Images

Sony Interactive Entertainment has pulled a controversial interview with Neil Druckmann, head of The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog.

Last week, Sony published a (now archived) Q&A with the Last of Us creator about the “Evolution of Storytelling.” In the interview, Druckmann spoke about the role of AI in game development, the impact of new technologies on storytelling, advice for new creators, and his hopes for a dream project.

Since such interviews with high-profile, AAA creators are relatively rare, news outlets picked up the interview, focusing on Druckmann’s comments about generative AI. Regarding AI Druckmann said:

“Moreover, AI is really going to revolutionize how content is being created, although it does bring up some ethical issues we need to address. With technologies like AI and the ability to do motion capture right from home, we’re reducing both costs and technical hurdles, opening the door for us to take on more adventurous projects and push the boundaries of storytelling in games.”

Druckmann also expanded on other uses for AI, saying, “AI will allow us to create nuanced dialogues and characters, expanding creative possibilities. However, it’s crucial to precisely direct these tools to achieve the intended outcomes.”

Additionally, Druckmann shared his aspirations for future games, expressing excitement for Naughty Dog’s next project: “I’m eager to see how this new game resonates, especially following the success of The Last of Us, as it could redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming.”

However, his comment about “redefining mainstream perceptions of gaming” is what appears to be the cause for Sony pulling the interview. Shortly after Sony published the Q&A, Druckmann wrote on social media stating that he had been misquoted.

“In editing my rambling answers in my recent interview with Sony, some of my words, context, and intent were unfortunately lost,” he posted on X sharing his full, unedited comments.

A few days after making this statement, Sony announced that rather than add Druckmann’s clarification, it had removed the interview entirely, stating, “[We] have found several significant errors and inaccuracies that don’t represent his perspective and values (including topics such as animation, writing, technology, AI, and future projects).”

Although some media outlets did focus on the potential of Naughty Dog’s latest project “redefining gaming,” it was Druckmann’s comments on AI that caused the most backlash. The use of AI in creative spaces like video game development has caused a lot of controversy with concerns that the technology has the potential to exacerbate the already depressed video game labor market. Notably, the clarification Druckmann posted didn’t include any mention of AI while Sony’s retraction statement did.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Samsung is under investigation after two employees were hospitalized following exposure to X-rays on May 27th, South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) announced. The exposure took place at Samsung’s Giheung chip plant, about 25 miles south of Seoul, writes CNBC.
The two employees were exposed while using a machine that blasts materials with X-rays in order to analyze them. Both showed “abnormal symptoms” due to radiation exposure on their fingers, the NSSC writes in its release. The agency says their blood tests came back normal, but it plans to conduct follow-up testing. Use of the machine has apparently been suspended, and the agency says it plans to figure out exactly how much radiation they were exposed to.
Samsung said the employees “experienced accidental exposures to X-rays on their hands,” in a statement to CNBC. It further told the outlet that it’s supporting the employees’ treatment and is cooperating with authorities. Meanwhile, the NSSC says it will take further measures if it finds that Samsung has violated any safety laws.
It’s not the first time Samsung has been implicated in its employees’ radiation exposure. The South Korean government linked the cancer that took the life of one of the company’s former employees in 2012 with radiation and chemical exposure during her time at one of its factories. The company apologized to workers who’d developed cancer in its factories and set up a fund to compensate them, as well as families of deceased former employees, in 2015.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Samsung is under investigation after two employees were hospitalized following exposure to X-rays on May 27th, South Korea’s Nuclear Safety and Security Commission (NSSC) announced. The exposure took place at Samsung’s Giheung chip plant, about 25 miles south of Seoul, writes CNBC.

The two employees were exposed while using a machine that blasts materials with X-rays in order to analyze them. Both showed “abnormal symptoms” due to radiation exposure on their fingers, the NSSC writes in its release. The agency says their blood tests came back normal, but it plans to conduct follow-up testing. Use of the machine has apparently been suspended, and the agency says it plans to figure out exactly how much radiation they were exposed to.

Samsung said the employees “experienced accidental exposures to X-rays on their hands,” in a statement to CNBC. It further told the outlet that it’s supporting the employees’ treatment and is cooperating with authorities. Meanwhile, the NSSC says it will take further measures if it finds that Samsung has violated any safety laws.

It’s not the first time Samsung has been implicated in its employees’ radiation exposure. The South Korean government linked the cancer that took the life of one of the company’s former employees in 2012 with radiation and chemical exposure during her time at one of its factories. The company apologized to workers who’d developed cancer in its factories and set up a fund to compensate them, as well as families of deceased former employees, in 2015.

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Discord wants to steer its app back to gaming, and it’s rolling out an app redesign to help make that happen. The new look features reworked group messages, voice chats, video calls, and more.
In a message to users, Discord CEO Jason Citron says the company realized it needs to narrow its focus from “broadly being a community-centric chat app” to a service that “helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests.” The company now wants to make it easier to connect before, during, or after playing a game.
This year, Discord will make some changes to the app that will let users reach their conversations faster, as well as improve the reliability of its voice, video, and streaming technology. The company also plans to bring more of Discord’s features to a broader range of devices.

By turning its attention back to gaming, Discord is reversing the plan it set in motion in 2020. As the covid pandemic increased the need for messaging platforms like Discord, the company wanted to become a more general chat app that allowed users to “spend quality time with people, whether catching up, learning something, or sharing ideas.”
A lot has changed since then. Discord laid off 17 percent of its staff after growing its headcount too quickly. Citron was also one of the five CEOs who testified in front of the Senate over concerns about child safety. Lawmakers are currently pushing for legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require platforms like Discord to roll out measures to protect kids.
During an interview on Decoder in April, Citron hinted at turning the company’s attention back toward gaming. “Going forward, we are very focused on gaming as our core use case — group chat around gaming,” Citron said at the time, adding that 95 percent of its users play games.

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Discord wants to steer its app back to gaming, and it’s rolling out an app redesign to help make that happen. The new look features reworked group messages, voice chats, video calls, and more.

In a message to users, Discord CEO Jason Citron says the company realized it needs to narrow its focus from “broadly being a community-centric chat app” to a service that “helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests.” The company now wants to make it easier to connect before, during, or after playing a game.

This year, Discord will make some changes to the app that will let users reach their conversations faster, as well as improve the reliability of its voice, video, and streaming technology. The company also plans to bring more of Discord’s features to a broader range of devices.

By turning its attention back to gaming, Discord is reversing the plan it set in motion in 2020. As the covid pandemic increased the need for messaging platforms like Discord, the company wanted to become a more general chat app that allowed users to “spend quality time with people, whether catching up, learning something, or sharing ideas.”

A lot has changed since then. Discord laid off 17 percent of its staff after growing its headcount too quickly. Citron was also one of the five CEOs who testified in front of the Senate over concerns about child safety. Lawmakers are currently pushing for legislation like the Kids Online Safety Act, which would require platforms like Discord to roll out measures to protect kids.

During an interview on Decoder in April, Citron hinted at turning the company’s attention back toward gaming. “Going forward, we are very focused on gaming as our core use case — group chat around gaming,” Citron said at the time, adding that 95 percent of its users play games.

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Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images

It’s a scheme that “reads like it’s ripped from a screenplay,” according to one Commerce Department official. Thirty-five-year-old Chinese national YunHe Wang allegedly helped run an international botnet that deployed VPN programs to infect more than 19 million IP addresses around the world.
After distributing malware through programs such as MaskVPN and DewVPN, Wang allegedly operated the botnet and sold access to the compromised IP addresses, according to the Department of Justice. The department says his customers then went on to commit their own crimes under the concealment of the proxied addresses.
The botnet, known as 911 S5, “facilitated cyber-attacks, large-scale fraud, child exploitation, harassment, bomb threats, and export violations,” according to a statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland. The US worked with international partners to dismantle the operation, which infected computers in almost 200 countries, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray.
The scheme sold access “to millions of malware-infected computers worldwide, enabling criminals over the world to steal billions of dollars, transmit bomb threats, and exchange child exploitation materials,” said Matthew S. Axelrod, Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security assistant secretary for export enforcement. The scheme’s $100 million in profits were allegedly then used to “buy luxury cars, watches, and real estate.”
The scheme allegedly operated between 2014 and July 2022.

911 S5 Botnet Dismantled and Its Administrator Arrested in Coordinated International OperationBotnet Infected Over 19M IP Addresses to Enable Billions of Dollars in Pandemic and Unemployment Fraud, and Access to Child Exploitation Materials : https://t.co/sEdzhDoHfl pic.twitter.com/R5UBMsOX6n— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) May 29, 2024

Compromised computers allegedly were used to conduct a host of other crimes, including defrauding pandemic relief programs. The DOJ alleges that an estimated 560,000 fraudulent insurance claims came from compromised IP addresses, for example, leading to more than $5.9 billion in fraudulent losses.
The Treasury Department on Tuesday announced sanctions against Wang and two other Chinese nationals for their alleged roles in the botnet, prohibiting transactions with them or their designated organizations.
Wang faces up to 65 years in prison if convicted on all counts, which include charges of substantive computer fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the DOJ.

Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo from Getty Images

It’s a scheme that “reads like it’s ripped from a screenplay,” according to one Commerce Department official. Thirty-five-year-old Chinese national YunHe Wang allegedly helped run an international botnet that deployed VPN programs to infect more than 19 million IP addresses around the world.

After distributing malware through programs such as MaskVPN and DewVPN, Wang allegedly operated the botnet and sold access to the compromised IP addresses, according to the Department of Justice. The department says his customers then went on to commit their own crimes under the concealment of the proxied addresses.

The botnet, known as 911 S5, “facilitated cyber-attacks, large-scale fraud, child exploitation, harassment, bomb threats, and export violations,” according to a statement from Attorney General Merrick Garland. The US worked with international partners to dismantle the operation, which infected computers in almost 200 countries, according to Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray.

The scheme sold access “to millions of malware-infected computers worldwide, enabling criminals over the world to steal billions of dollars, transmit bomb threats, and exchange child exploitation materials,” said Matthew S. Axelrod, Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security assistant secretary for export enforcement. The scheme’s $100 million in profits were allegedly then used to “buy luxury cars, watches, and real estate.”

The scheme allegedly operated between 2014 and July 2022.

Compromised computers allegedly were used to conduct a host of other crimes, including defrauding pandemic relief programs. The DOJ alleges that an estimated 560,000 fraudulent insurance claims came from compromised IP addresses, for example, leading to more than $5.9 billion in fraudulent losses.

The Treasury Department on Tuesday announced sanctions against Wang and two other Chinese nationals for their alleged roles in the botnet, prohibiting transactions with them or their designated organizations.

Wang faces up to 65 years in prison if convicted on all counts, which include charges of substantive computer fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the DOJ.

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Image: Zotac

Zotac is getting into portable PC gaming. The company has started to tease the Zotac Zone, a gaming handheld with a seven-inch, high-refresh-rate, touch-enabled screen and two-stage adjustable triggers. Its display will also come with one spec many of its rivals lack: OLED.
Right now, the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch are the only two gaming handhelds with OLED display options. This could help set the Zotac Zone apart from an increasingly crowded handheld gaming market, which also includes the Asus Rog Ally, MSI Claw, and the Lenovo Legion Go.

Thanks to @prudis06 for brightening this image up.Looks like @ZOTAC is getting into the handheld game. I wonder if this is just a re-badge. pic.twitter.com/5gkgnPdzPQ— Cary Golomb (@carygolomb) May 29, 2024

Zotac will reveal more details about the handheld during its appearance at Computex next week. But it doesn’t seem like the Zotac Zone is ready to launch just yet, as Zotac says it will have “functional prototypes” at the event for visitors to try.
Meanwhile, other hardware companies are preparing the next iterations of their handhelds. Asus plans on revealing the ROG Ally X on June 2nd, while rumors suggest that Lenovo is working on a “Lite” version of the Legion Go.

Image: Zotac

Zotac is getting into portable PC gaming. The company has started to tease the Zotac Zone, a gaming handheld with a seven-inch, high-refresh-rate, touch-enabled screen and two-stage adjustable triggers. Its display will also come with one spec many of its rivals lack: OLED.

Right now, the Steam Deck and the Nintendo Switch are the only two gaming handhelds with OLED display options. This could help set the Zotac Zone apart from an increasingly crowded handheld gaming market, which also includes the Asus Rog Ally, MSI Claw, and the Lenovo Legion Go.

Zotac will reveal more details about the handheld during its appearance at Computex next week. But it doesn’t seem like the Zotac Zone is ready to launch just yet, as Zotac says it will have “functional prototypes” at the event for visitors to try.

Meanwhile, other hardware companies are preparing the next iterations of their handhelds. Asus plans on revealing the ROG Ally X on June 2nd, while rumors suggest that Lenovo is working on a “Lite” version of the Legion Go.

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Image: The Verge

Two more media companies have signed licensing agreements with OpenAI, allowing their content to be used to train its AI models and be shared inside of ChatGPT. The Atlantic and Vox Media — The Verge’s parent company — both announced deals with OpenAI on Wednesday.
OpenAI has been quickly signing partnerships across the media world as it seeks to license training data and avoid copyright lawsuits. It’s recently reached deals with News Corp (The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and The Daily Telegraph), Axel Springer (Business Insider and Politico), DotDash Meredith (People, Better Homes & Gardens, Investopedia, Food & Wine, and InStyle), the Financial Times, and The Associated Press.
The deals appear to range in price based on the number of publications included. News Corp’s deal with OpenAI is estimated to be worth $250 million over the next five years, according to the Journal, while the deal with the Financial Times is believed to be worth $5 to $10 million. Terms for the deals with The Atlantic and Vox Media weren’t disclosed.
OpenAI has been trying to avoid copyright lawsuits over training data and attribution
The agreements also cover how content from the publishers is displayed inside of ChatGPT. Content from Vox Media — including articles from The Verge, Vox, New York Magazine, Eater, SBNation, and their archives — and The Atlantic will get attribution links when it’s cited.
Vox Media will begin sharing content with OpenAI beginning next week, Lauren Starke, a Vox Media spokesperson, tells The Verge. Starke declined to share the terms of the deal. Vox Media says in a press release that it will use OpenAI’s technology to “enhance its affiliate commerce product, The Strategist Gift Scout” and expand its ad data platform, Forte.
The Atlantic says it is developing a microsite called Atlantic Labs, where its teams can experiment with developing AI tools “to serve its journalism and readers better.” Anna Bross, a spokesperson for The Atlantic, declined to disclose the terms of its deals in an email to The Verge.
The deals also appear to provide OpenAI with protection against copyright lawsuits. Content creators ranging from comedians to newspapers have argued that OpenAI’s training of its tools on their work — and ChatGPT’s subsequent ability to recite parts of their work — is a violation of their copyright.
The New York Times is currently suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement over ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. The paper has said it’s spent $1 million so far on the lawsuit. The New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, The Intercept, and six other publishers later filed a lawsuit over similar claims.

Image: The Verge

Two more media companies have signed licensing agreements with OpenAI, allowing their content to be used to train its AI models and be shared inside of ChatGPT. The Atlantic and Vox Media — The Verge’s parent company — both announced deals with OpenAI on Wednesday.

OpenAI has been quickly signing partnerships across the media world as it seeks to license training data and avoid copyright lawsuits. It’s recently reached deals with News Corp (The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and The Daily Telegraph), Axel Springer (Business Insider and Politico), DotDash Meredith (People, Better Homes & Gardens, Investopedia, Food & Wine, and InStyle), the Financial Times, and The Associated Press.

The deals appear to range in price based on the number of publications included. News Corp’s deal with OpenAI is estimated to be worth $250 million over the next five years, according to the Journal, while the deal with the Financial Times is believed to be worth $5 to $10 million. Terms for the deals with The Atlantic and Vox Media weren’t disclosed.

The agreements also cover how content from the publishers is displayed inside of ChatGPT. Content from Vox Media — including articles from The Verge, Vox, New York Magazine, Eater, SBNation, and their archives — and The Atlantic will get attribution links when it’s cited.

Vox Media will begin sharing content with OpenAI beginning next week, Lauren Starke, a Vox Media spokesperson, tells The Verge. Starke declined to share the terms of the deal. Vox Media says in a press release that it will use OpenAI’s technology to “enhance its affiliate commerce product, The Strategist Gift Scout” and expand its ad data platform, Forte.

The Atlantic says it is developing a microsite called Atlantic Labs, where its teams can experiment with developing AI tools “to serve its journalism and readers better.” Anna Bross, a spokesperson for The Atlantic, declined to disclose the terms of its deals in an email to The Verge.

The deals also appear to provide OpenAI with protection against copyright lawsuits. Content creators ranging from comedians to newspapers have argued that OpenAI’s training of its tools on their work — and ChatGPT’s subsequent ability to recite parts of their work — is a violation of their copyright.

The New York Times is currently suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement over ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot. The paper has said it’s spent $1 million so far on the lawsuit. The New York Daily News, the Chicago Tribune, The Intercept, and six other publishers later filed a lawsuit over similar claims.

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