Netflix’s video podcast ambitions may extend beyond its recent deal with Spotify. A new report from Bloomberg suggests Netflix is preparing to create original video podcasts exclusive to its streaming service as well. The streaming giant has reportedly contacted talent to create the new shows and plans to update the layout of its mobile app…
Brandt Ranj is a commerce reporter for The Verge, which means, he says, “I spend my time trying to find good deals and the best gear to recommend to our readers.” He also keeps The Verge’s wearables buyer’s guides up to date, but, he adds, “my role requires me to cover a little bit of…
Patreon is introducing a suite of new features, and some of them are reminiscent of traditional social media platforms. The most obvious callback is something Patreon is calling Quips, which — you guessed it — are essentially tweets. Quips are smaller text, photo, or video posts that are public by default and open for anyone…
On October 31st, ESPN, ABC, Nat Geo, and over 20 other Disney-owned channels went dark on YouTube TV. As the two sides disagree about terms for a new content distribution contract, Google has accused Disney of trying to raise prices for its customers in an effort to boost its own Hulu + Live TV and…
Don’t mind my desk toys. Arturia’s KeyStep is one of the most popular MIDI controllers ever made, especially with modular synth users and the DAWless crowd. It’s small, cheap, has an easy-to-use sequencer, and offers decent connectivity. But it was also released way back in January of 2016. The world of music gear moves more…
When Jeff Bezos decided Amazon needed to get in the smartphone game, he went all in. And the resulting device, the Fire Phone, wound up more densely packed with big ideas than just about any gadget you’ll find anywhere. There was just one tiny problem: they were mostly bad ideas. The Fire Phone shipped in…
Do the ornaments you adorn your Christmas tree with reflect you or your family’s interests? If not, maybe you should rectify that. We recently went hands on with Hallmark’s realistic Xbox 360 replica ornament, which plays a snippet of audio from Halo 3. As it turns out, there are many other ornaments available that are…
It’s not often that a band returns to soundtrack the same game nine years after its release – then again, most games aren’t No Man’s Sky. Once demoed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and at splashy E3 press conferences, in 2016, No Man’s Sky was heralded as gaming’s future. And it was all…
How small will Apple’s affordable MacBook be? Rumor has it, Apple is working on a low-cost MacBook. And not “low-cost for a Mac,” but a proper cheap laptop, possibly as low as $599. For a company that traditionally targets the more premium end of the market, this would be something of an about-face. Of course,…
The Sims 4 community is in turmoil. Its biggest stars are distancing themselves from the game with the support of their millions of subscribers. Then there are creators in the middle: those big enough to be known, but not big enough to be insulated. And they are struggling with a difficult choice of whether or…
