Laid-off workers should use AI to manage their emotions, says Xbox exec

Laid-off workers should use AI to manage their emotions, says Xbox exec

The sweeping layoffs announced by Microsoft this week have been especially hard on its gaming studios, but one Xbox executive has a solution to “help reduce the emotional and cognitive load that comes with job loss”: seek advice from AI chatbots. In a now-deleted LinkedIn post captured by Aftermath, Xbox Game Studios’ Matt Turnbull said…

The Ploopy Knob is an open-source control dial for your PC

The Ploopy Knob is an open-source control dial for your PC

The Ploopy Knob controller can double as a desktop fidget toy. | Image: Ploopy Ploopy has announced another desktop accessory called the Ploopy Knob that can function like a control dial for adjusting volume, scrolling documents, or scrubbing through media on a computer. The Canadian company isn’t exactly a household name like Logitech, but Ploopy’s…

Congress passes budget to expand mass deportations, cut social services, and stall clean energy

Congress passes budget to expand mass deportations, cut social services, and stall clean energy

The Republican-controlled US Congress has passed a budget bill that includes cuts to social programs like Medicaid and more funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), alongside provisions that discourage wind and solar energy production. Passed after a marathon debate in both houses, it will allow President Donald Trump to realize policy goals he’s so…

E Ink is turning the laptop touchpad into an e-reader for AI apps

E Ink is turning the laptop touchpad into an e-reader for AI apps

E Ink’s new ePaper touchpad could draw less power than LCD or OLED alternatives. | Image: E Ink E Ink has developed a new touchpad for laptops featuring the same electronic paper technology found in e-readers. It’s not the first company to look at the ever-growing size of laptop touchpads and see the potential of…

How Nintendo locked down the Switch 2’s USB-C port and broke third-party docking

How Nintendo locked down the Switch 2’s USB-C port and broke third-party docking

There’s always a reason why universal USB-C ports don’t “just work” like you’d expect. In the early days, it was incompetence or naiveté. Later, manufacturers often cheaped out. But in the case of Nintendo’s Switch 2, it appears to be intentional. With the Nintendo Switch 2, it should be easy to plug your new, more…

Phil Spencer isn’t retiring as the chief of Xbox ‘anytime soon’

Phil Spencer isn’t retiring as the chief of Xbox ‘anytime soon’

Microsoft says that Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming CEO and the head of Xbox, isn’t retiring “anytime soon.” The company has responded to rumors of Spencer’s retirement, which have spread online today following Microsoft’s major layoffs. “Phil is not retiring anytime soon,” says Kari Perez, head of Xbox communications, in a statement to The Verge. The…