Silicon Roundabout

You need to watch the bonkers Japanese fantasy horror film House

Get ready to ask “WTF?” a lot. Spooky season is upon us, and traditional horror films like Bring Her Back (excellently gruesome) or The Evil Dead (stone cold classic) are obvious choices for a cozy movie night at home. But, if you're looking for something that's a bit more weird than wicked to get you in the Halloween spirit, I highly recommend the 1977 fantasy horror film House.Describing House is an exercise in futility. Here's the basic plot: A girl goes to spend the summer with her au

Amazon awkwardly edited the guns out of James Bond art

Last week, for James Bond Day, Amazon revealed updated poster art for the movies. But fans immediately noticed that the super spy’s signature Walther PPK was conspicuously missing from every image. In some cases it had clearly and rather clumsily been Photoshopped out. Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan were left awkwardly holding thin air, in the posters for Dr. No and Goldeneye, respectively. Roger Moore seemingly received a body transplant on the cover Live and Let Die, and for A View to a

I thought the Bose QuietComfort headphones already hit their peak - then I tried the newest model

With the new QuietComfort Ultra 2, Bose doesn't try to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it's made strides in almost every essential aspect.

These Bose headphones took my favorite AirPods Max battery feature - and did it even better

Expanded battery capacity is a plus, but smarter power management is even better.

Police are asking kids to stop pulling AI homeless man prank

We’ve been so worried about deepfaked politicians, AI musicians, virtual actresses, and phony satellite imagery that we didn’t even consider the dangers posed by precocious teenagers. Kids are using AI to create images of a disheveled, seemingly unhoused person in their home and sending them to their parents. Understandably, they’re not thrilled and in some instances call the police. The prank has gone viral on TikTok and, in addition to giving parents agita, has become a headache for law

How BlackBerry Messenger set texting free

It's important to remember that two decades ago, text messages cost 10 cents. Each. Back when we measured our cell phone plans in minutes, and when even 3G connections felt fast, text messages were a huge business for wireless carriers and a huge expense for anyone whose kids learned to T9-type just a little too quickly. Then BlackBerry, nearing the peak of its powers, did something remarkable: it cut the carriers out entirely. Before WhatsApp and Telegram, before iMessage and RCS, there w

ChatGPT is becoming an everything app

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 101, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, hope you like silly accessories, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been reading about Intel factories and Nobel Prize winners and ATM thieves, watching this pop-punk "Defying Gravity" cover on repeat, reliving my teenage music taste now that The Format is back, catching up on the new Critical Rolecampaign, ta

Welcome to the ‘papers, please’ internet

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the downward spiral of the internet, follow Adi Robertson. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepbackhere.How it startedBack in 2018, two years after the UK government decided to implement mandatory hard age gates on adult websites, it floated an idea called the "porn pass." The porn pass was a physical card you'd buy by handing over your ID

Apple ends support for Clips video-editing app

Apple’s Clips video editing app is no more. It debuted in 2017 as a way to stitch together videos with music, text, and filters with a clear focus on sharing to social media. Over the years Apple added AR features and more advanced video editing tools. But recently updates had slowed to a trickle. Apple finally decided to pull the plug though, removing Clips from the App Store. The company also updated its support page to state clearly that “the Clips app is no longer being updated, and wi

How The Verge and our readers manage kids’ screen time

This week the Pew Research Center published a study about how parents managed screen time for their kids 12 and under. The results were not particularly surprising (or enlightening, if we're being honest). A full 90 percent of parents said their children watched TV, and 61 percent said their kids interact with smartphones at least on occasion. Somewhat surprisingly, only 50 percent said they let them play a game console of some kind. While 42 percent of respondents said they could do bette

The AirPods 4 and Lego’s brick-ified Grogu are our favorite deals this week

Although Amazon’s fall Prime Day event has come to an end, there are still some lingering discounts available. That means you have yet another chance to pick up an early gift for the holidays, or just something for yourself. Right now, for instance, Apple’s base AirPods 4 are sitting at their lowest price to date, as is Lego’s adorable Star Wars Grogu set. Meanwhile, if you’re looking to add smart lights to your space, a two-pack of Philips Hue smart LED bulbs is cheaper than ever. We’ve a

I compared 5G network signals of Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T at a baseball stadium - here's the winner

With three Google Pixel 10 Pro phones in hand, here's how each carrier fared as I made my way throughout the stadium.

Prime Day was supposed to kick off holiday shopping, but was more about stocking up on essentials

Christmas is coming, but amid economic uncertainty, only 23% of Amazon Prime Day shoppers bought any gifts. Did you?

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 vs. Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold: We compared the two, and here's the verdict

Samsung's and Google's new foldables cater to different users - here's how to figure out which one best suits you.

American politics has devolved into shitposting and aura farming

When Donald Trump's administration issued orders to send the National Guard into Portland, Oregon, a person in a frog balloon suit showed up at the city's ICE facility, where protesters had gathered. After the frog humped the air in front of a throng of federal law enforcement - many dressed in head-to-toe camo with military-grade helmets, gas masks, and riot shields - the feds slowly began to retreat. What else could they do? A soldier knows what to do when they encounter another soldier.

Spotty Wi-Fi at home? 5 products I recommend to fix it once and for all

Reliable Wi-Fi is a must in 2025. If you're dealing with an unreliable connection, you've got options. Here are five products we can vouch for.

Dreams of Another feels like a fever dream

Dreams of Another is like playing an art-filled dream. It's filled with unexpected events, disjointed acts, and hazy landscapes. Scenes end abruptly, and then you unexpectedly pick up the thread later on. You'll meet talking angel statues and fish that want to escape their home and swim to the ocean. But it's that same unstable, dreamlike quality that makes the game so memorable.In Dreams of Another, from PixelJunk developer Q-Games, you play as a pajama-clad man who is aptly referred to o

Is the Coros Nomad really an adventure watch?

Coros' Nomad is marketed as a "go-anywhere, do-anything" adventure watch. It's got GPS and offline maps and will track a lot of activities, from yoga to bouldering. There's an "Adventure Journal," which the marketing copy promises will help you record "every step, catch, and summit." While it doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of a more expensive competitor like Garmin, it's a product seemingly aimed at campers, backpackers, and other outdoorsy types who aren't satisfied with some

Ready to ditch your Windows PC? I found a powerful mini PC that's optimized for Linux

The Kubuntu Focus NX Gen 3 ships with one of my favorite Linux distributions preinstalled, and took me two minutes to setup after unboxing.

Get a phone line with unlimited 5G for $25/month from Metro by T-Mobile - here's how

Bring your own number or get a new one from Metro by T-Mobile, and pay just $25 a month when you sign up for AutoPay. Here's what to know.