Amazon’s New Echo Spot is Already Almost Half Off for Prime Day Amazon’s New Echo Spot is Already Almost Half Off for Prime Day Image: Amazon Amazon’s Prime Day is less than a week away, and alongside early deals on its smart home devices, Amazon has started selling the days-old Echo Spot for $44.99 ($35 off), exclusively for Prime members. Like its predecessor, the new Spot is a combination smart speaker and alarm clock, but it drops the camera that nobody liked putting in their bedroom. It also now borrows its design from the Echo Pop, which Amazon claims should give it better sound quality. And being an Echo speaker, it of course supports Alexa voice commands to set your alarm for the morning, call up a weather forecast, or…

Preorder the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 Here’s Where You Can Preorder the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge In addition to three new wearables (the Galaxy Ring, Galaxy Watch 7, and Watch Ultra) and a new pair of Galaxy Buds 3 Pro, Samsung has unpacked details on its two newest foldable smartphones: the Galaxy Z Fold 6 ($1,899.99) and Galaxy Z Flip 6 ($1,099.99). Both bring minimal improvements over their predecessors yet start $100 higher than previous releases. Preorders start today, and the devices will begin shipping on July 24th. The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6 most notably add the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, which is Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset.…

Meta Will Now Let Young Kids Chat in VR — But Only with Their Parents' Approval Meta will now let kids interact with other users in virtual reality, but only if they get parental approval. An upcoming change will let parents individually approve each user their 10- to 12-year-old can call, chat with, and join VR experiences with on Quest. Previously, Meta didn’t allow kids in that age range to use chats, make calls, or invite others to games. Last year, Meta lowered the minimum age for kids who can use its Quest headsets from 13 to 10 years old. Kids in this age range must get parental approval to create a Meta account for the headset, which their parents will have control over. Meta also doesn’t show ads to…

Orka Desktop: New Virtualization Tool for macOS MacStadium, a provider of Mac cloud services, today introduced its new Orka Desktop, a free virtualization tool for macOS. The software allows users to create local virtual machines powered by macOS, offering a simple, user-friendly interface. According to MacStadium, Orka Desktop is primarily targeted at developers who create, test, and deploy macOS and iOS apps. Thanks to Orka Desktop's open-container technology, developers can work with relatively lean virtual machines that only require 15 gigabytes of storage, instead of 90 gigabytes. Orka Desktop requires a Mac with an Apple processor and allows users to create custom macOS images locally. The app offers free, local macOS virtualization, providing developers with powerful tools to create, package, and distribute VMs at no cost. Importantly, the virtual machines…

The First All-Quadriplegic Esports Team Levels the Playing Field The First All-Quadriplegic Esports Team Levels the Playing Field Courtesy of HBO Director Jess Jacklin talks to The Verge about her new documentary following the first all-quadriplegic esports team. Continue reading… source: https://www.theverge.com/24195198/quad-gods-documentary-jess-jacklin-interview

Hyundai Dealers Pressured to Push ‘Fake’ EV Sales, Lawsuit Alleges Hyundai Dealers Pressured to Push ‘Fake’ EV Sales, Lawsuit Alleges Hyundai pressured its dealers to “artificially inflate” its electric vehicle sales figures, instituting a system in which dealers who “played ball” were rewarded while those who refused were “punished,” a new lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Chicago by Napleton Aurora Imports in Illinois and affiliated franchises, says that Hyundai has issued numerous press releases touting the “fake” numbers that purport to show year-over-year growth in EV sales. Dealers who declined to participate in the alleged ruse were put at a competitive disadvantage, including being forced to push unpopular vehicles or denied wholesale price discounts for customers. “That is a false narrative” Hyundai “has emphasized...…

Sony’s ZV-E10 II: The Vlogger's New Best Friend Sony’s new ZV-E10 II camera is designed to sway vloggers away from $1,000 phones The ZV-E10 II looks a whole lot like its 2021 predecessor. Trickle-down economics may be garbage, but Sony remains a steadfast believer when it comes to the tech in its cameras. The new ZV-E10 II continues Sony’s trend of bringing small, iterative changes down from its pricier cameras to more affordable models. Only it’s never without some tradeoffs. The ZV-E10 II is the APS-C mirrorless system camera follow-up to the original ZV-E10 of 2021, now with a bigger battery, a 26-megapixel backside-illuminated sensor, and improved 4K video. It will also cost $999 for the body or $1,099 in a bundle with Sony’s new PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS II…

The Aftermath of the Supreme Court’s NetChoice Ruling The Aftermath of the Supreme Court’s NetChoice Ruling Illustration by Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photos via Getty Images Here’s what the SCOTUS decision might mean for everything from kids' online safety laws to the TikTok ‘ban.’ Continue reading… source: https://www.theverge.com/24195235/scotus-netchoice-kosa-kids-safety-age-verification-tiktok-ban

Itsycal für macOS: Beliebte Kalender-App mit neuen Funktionen Der beliebte Menüleisten-Kalender Itsycal hat mit der neuen Version 0.15.4 weitere Updates erhalten, die sowohl Standardnutzer als auch fortgeschrittene Anwender ansprechen dürften. Die Aktualisierung steht wie gewohnt kostenfrei auf der Webseite des Entwicklers zum Download bereit. Wichtige Neuerungen in Itsycal 0.15.4 Eine der wichtigsten Neuerungen in Itsycal 0.15.4 ist die Möglichkeit, in der Agenda-Ansicht auch Tage anzuzeigen, an denen keine Ereignisse geplant sind. Diese leeren Tage werden zurückhaltend dargestellt, sodass der Fokus auf den Tagen mit Terminen bleibt. Die neue Einstellung soll Nutzern helfen, eine bessere Übersicht über die Tagesplanung der bevorstehenden Wochen zu erhalten. Zusätzlich gibt es eine neue versteckte Einstellung, mit der man den Rahmen um den aktuellen Monat im Kalender deaktivieren kann. Diese Änderung kann über das Terminal vorgenommen…

The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6: Minor Updates and Higher Prices The Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Flip 6: Minor Updates and Higher Prices Hot foldable summer is in full swing, y’all. | Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge If you had any remaining hopes, despite leak upon leak, that Samsung’s foldables would get a major update this year, then I hate to be the bearer of bad news. They’re a little more durable, a little lighter, and come with a handful of tiny upgrades. Even so, both models got a boost of a certain kind: higher prices, with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 now starting at $1,899 and the Z Flip 6 at $1,099. Both phones use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset specially tuned for…