Category: Technology

Gran Tourismo 7’s more realistic physics update is launching cars into orbit

Gran Tourismo 7’s more realistic physics update is launching cars into orbit

Yesterday’s Gran Turismo 7 game update 1.49 introduced all-new physics that have added extra realism and generally improved gameplay. However, the change is also causing some bizarre problems in specific situations, making cars bounce violently or just get hurled into the air.

The physics updates are generally positive, adding “more natural cornering physics and acceleration/deceleration stability levels,” according to the developer. Similar changes to tire physics and steering allow a more challenging and rewarding driving experience overall. 

However, some bugs appear to have crept in as well, according to gtplanet and posts on Reddit’s r/granturismo. High-horsepower vehicles, often with engine swaps and extreme suspension settings, are literally flying, bouncing or intersecting with the ground, according to multiple (hilarious) videos. 

The problem appears to happen when cars try to accelerate from low speeds, and mostly affects cars under AI control. It also happens during dynamic “Scapes Movies” scenes designed to show off landscapes from cars operated at slow speeds by AI. It’s even been seen in GT Auto’s garages.

It’s clearly a …read more

How to stream the Olympics like a champ

A screenshot showing four feeds of Olympics events.
Peacock’s Multiview is a way to see all the best stuff at the Olympics all at once. | Image: Peacock

For once, the answer for how to stream sports is simple: if you want to watch the 2024 Paris Olympics, you need only open up Peacock. This is the third time the Peacock team has streamed the Olympics, but it’s the company’s biggest undertaking yet: 5,000 hours of content over two weeks across 39 sports, all of it streaming live. Every day, from morning until midafternoon, there will be live sports; in the evening, NBC will air its prime-time show with all the best action from the day. “This is the most content we’ve ever had on the platform,” says John Jelley, NBCUniversal’s SVP of product and user experience. His team’s goal is to help you make sense of all of it.

(Disclosure: Comcast, which owns NBCUniversal, is also an investor in…

Continue reading…

…read more

Google brings Nest Hello support to the Home app

The Nest Hello video doorbell can now be fully migrated to the Google Home app from the Nest app. | Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

Google announced this week that it’s rolling out support for its Nest Hello doorbell in the Google Home app. This allows you to transfer Google’s original video doorbell camera — aka, the Nest Doorbell (wired, 1st gen) — from the Nest app to Google’s Home app. Google is also bringing its garage door detection feature out of Public Preview, making it available to all users with compatible hardware. This uses a Nest Cam to alert you when your garage door is left open.

Garage door detection launched last fall in Google’s Public Preview — a public beta where users can try out upcoming features — but is now available to all Nest Aware subscribers in the US and Canada. (Nest Aware starts at $8 a month / $80 a year.)

The feature works with…

Continue reading…

…read more

The Morning After: OpenAI reveals its AI-powered search engine, SearchGPT

OpenAI announced a new AI-powered search engine prototype called SearchGPT. It’s described SearchGPT as “a temporary prototype of new AI search features that give you fast and timely answers with clear and relevant sources.” The company plans to test out the product with 10,000 initial users, then roll it into ChatGPT after gathering feedback.

It’s a spicy time to launch AI-powered search engines. Last month, Perplexity faced criticism for summarizing stories from Forbes and Wired without adequate attribution or backlinks to the publications. It also ignored robots.txt, a way for websites to tell crawlers that scrape data to back off. Earlier this week, Wired publisher Condé Nast reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to Perplexity and accused it of plagiarism. Also: see the Reddit drama earlier this week.

SearchGPT categorizes its results with short descriptions and visuals, but according to some early users, just like its chatbot forebears, accuracy is… lacking.

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

The best cameras for 2024

WhatsApp hits 100 million monthly active US users

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

Google brings its faster, lighter AI model to free …read more

Microsoft calls for Windows changes and resilience after CrowdStrike outage

Vector illustration of the Crowdstrike logo.
Image: The Verge

Microsoft is still helping CrowdStrike clean up the mess that kicked off a week ago when 8.5 million PCs went offline due to a buggy CrowdStrike update. Now, the software giant is calling for changes to Windows, and has dropped some subtle hints that it’s prioritizing making Windows more resilient and willing to push security vendors like CrowdStrike to stop accessing the Windows kernel.

While CrowdStrike has blamed a bug in its testing software for its botched update, its software runs at the kernel level — the core part of an operating system that has unrestricted access to system memory and hardware — so if something goes wrong with CrowdStrike’s app then it can take down Windows machines with a Blue Screen of Death.

CrowdStrike’s…

Continue reading…

…read more

Steam is getting some big upgrades for game demos

The Steam brand logo against a blue and black backdrop
Image: The Verge

Valve has introduced some changes to Steam that should make it easier to find and install playable game demos. In a new events blog post, Steam said the “Great Steam Demo Update” was based on developer and player feedback, with new functionality that makes demos behave more like standalone games hosted on the platform.

For one, demos can now have a store page that’s completely separate from the main game, allowing developers to display demo-specific content like trailers, screenshots, and supported features. These pages will also display buttons to both install the demo and visit the main game’s store page, and allow players to leave demo-specific reviews.

And if a demo becomes available for a game that users have on their wishlists, or…

Continue reading…

…read more

Windows 11 will soon add your Android phone to File Explorer

A photo of Microsoft’s Surface Pro with an OLED display.
Photo by Chris Welch / The Verge

Microsoft has started testing a new way to access your Android phone from directly within Windows 11’s File Explorer. Windows Insiders are now able to test this new feature, which lets you wirelessly browse through folders and files on your Android phone.

The integration in File Explorer means your Android device appears just like a regular USB device on the left-hand side, with the ability to copy or move files between a PC and Android phone, and rename or delete them. It’s certainly a lot quicker than using the existing Phone Link app.

Image: Microsoft
Android phones will appear inside File Explorer.

You’ll need a device running Android version 11 or higher, be part of the Windows Insider program, and the…

Continue reading…

…read more

The best fitness trackers for 2024

The best fitness trackers for 2024

Fitness trackers are a solid option if you really want to hone in on tracking, well, your fitness. Some of the best fitness trackers also include additional sensors to track things like stress, sleep and other health metrics. Sure, you could opt for the best smartwatch, but if you’re not interested in all of the extra features they offer, a fitness tracker might be a better (and more affordable) option. Accurate workout and activity tracking is what fitness trackers do best. They might not look as glamorous as an Apple Watch, but they do a particular job well. We’ve researched and tested a good selection of the most popular fitness trackers out there to help make your decision a little easier.

What do fitness trackers do best?

The answer seems simple: Fitness trackers are best at monitoring exercise, be it a 10-minute walk around the block or that half marathon you’ve been diligently training for. Obviously, smartwatches can help you reach your fitness goals too, but there are some areas where fitness bands have proven to be the best buy: focus, design, battery life and price.

When I say “focus,” I’m alluding to the fact that …read more

X’s Grok chatbot is misleading voters about the presidential election

X’s Grok chatbot is misleading voters about the presidential election

The US is in the middle of another hotly contested and seemingly close presidential election. This election is also happening in this new age of widespread access to artificial intelligence and easily disseminated misinformation. Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon says his office tracked the source of one key piece of election misinformation back to X’s Grok chatbot.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported that X’s premium chatbot service is passing along erroneous information about the deadlines for states’ presidential ballots including Minnesota. When Grok is asked “Which states’ presidential ballot deadlines have passed?”, Grok claims Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington “have passed their presidential ballots.” Grok then sources its information to an X post published on Sunday by user and conservative pundit @EvanAKilgore, which does not include a correction or warning about election misinformation.

In “Fun Mode,” Grok repeats the incorrect information and source with the comment, “So if you’re planning on running for president in one of these states, you might want to check if there’s a write-in option. Or, you know, travel back to before the deadlines passed.” Another response to the same question said “These states have already passed …read more

Comic-Con leak sparks rumors of two remastered Soul Reaver games

Comic-Con leak sparks rumors of two remastered Soul Reaver games

San Diego Comic-Con is a popular time to announce any big news for the geekdom, but it’s also a popular time for big news to accidentally get revealed early. Today, an attendee took a photo of the booth for comic publisher Dark Horse that may have leaked plans for a remaster of two Soul Reaver games. The image shows a statue of characters Raziel and Kain, and the artwork is accompanied by a sign with branding that reads Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver I and II Remastered. The sign has since been removed from the display.

Dark Horse Comics Vice President of Product Development and Sales Randy Lahrman spoke to GameSpot at the convention about the leak. He said the statue in question would be available in August and that more details would be forthcoming, but he did not comment on the possible game remasters.

The Soul Reaver games were made by Crystal Dynamics. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver initially came out in 1999 for the original PlayStation, and sequel Soul Reaver II came out two years later. Both projects were helmed by director Amy Hennig, who went on to work at Naughty Dog …read more