The student-built Purdubik’s Cube set a new Guinness World Record by solving a Rubik’s Cube in just 0.103 seconds. | Photo: Matthew Patrohay / Purdue University
A team of Purdue University students recently set a new Guinness World Record with their custom robot that solved a Rubik's Cube in just 0.103 seconds. That was about a third of the time it took the previous record-setting bot. But the new record wasn't achieved by simply building a robot that moves faster. The students used a combination of high-speed but low-res camera systems, a cube customized for improved strength, and a special solving technique popular among human speed cubers.
The Rubik's Cube-solving robot arms race kicked off in 2014, when a robot called Cubestormer 3 built with Lego Mindstorms parts and a Samsung Galaxy S4 solved the iconic puzzle in 3.253 seconds - faster than any human or robot could at the time. (The current world record for a human solving a Rubik's Cube belongs to Xuanyi Geng, who did it in just 3.05 seconds.) Over the course of a decade, engineers managed to reduce that record to just hundreds of milliseconds.
Last May, engineers at Mitsubishi Electric in Japan claimed the world record with a robot that solved a cube in 0.305 seconds. The record stood for almost a year before the team from Purdue's Elmore Family School of Electrical and Computer …
Father's Day rules. It's a day to celebrate all that dads have contributed to the people, homes, and communities that they're a part of. Being a dad is a lot of work - something I can vouch for, being a relatively new one myself - so for Father's Day, why not give dear old dad a token of appreciation and love? Whether your dad prefers practical or clever gifts, we think you'll be pleased with the selection of picks below.
Every few weeks, it seems like there's a new headline about a lawyer getting in trouble for submitting filings containing, in the words of one judge, "bogus AI-generated research." The details vary, but the throughline is the same: an attorney turns to a large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT to help them with legal research (or worse, writing), the LLM hallucinates cases that don't exist, and the lawyer is none the wiser until the judge or opposing counsel points out their mistake. In some cases, including an aviation lawsuit from 2023, attorneys have had to pay fines for submitting filings with AI-generated hallucinations. So why haven't they stopped?
The answer mostly comes down to time crunches, and the way AI has crept into nearly every profession. Legal research databases like LexisNexis and Westlaw have AI integrations now. For lawyers juggling big caseloads, AI can seem like an incredibly efficient assistant. Most lawyers aren't necessarily using ChatGPT to write their filings, but they are increasingly using it and other LLMs for research. Yet many of these lawyers, like much of the public, don't understand exactly what LLMs are or how they work. One attorney who was sa …
Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 85, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, sorry in advance that this week is a tiny bit politics-y, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)
I also have for you a very funny new movie about tech CEOs, a new place to WhatsApp, a great new accessory for your phone, a helpful crypto politics explainer, and much more. Short week this week, but still lots going on. Let's do it.
(As always, the best part of Installer is your ideas and tips. What are you reading / playing / watching / listening to / shopping for / doing with a Raspberry Pi this week? Tell me everything: [email protected]. And if you know someone else wh …
Dotemu is on a pretty good run. The video game studio and publisher has been around since 2007, and much of its history is largely working on remakes and remasters of older games. But it's also been involved with major hits in the form of sequels and new games that are in the spirit of older classics, including Streets of Rage 4 and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge.
All of that work is culminating in what looks to be a promising 2025, with three new but classics-inspired games: Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, a new side-scroller for the series; Marvel Cosmic Invasion, an arcade-y beat-'em-up; and Absolum, an original beat-'em-up with roguelike elements.
"We're open to everything," CEO Cyrille Imbert tells The Verge. Despite his title, Imbert says his job involves acting like an executive producer to bring together concepts that answer specific needs for franchises.
Before Shredder's Revenge's 2022 release, for example, there hadn't been a good side-scrolling TMNT game for "a while," he says. (Turtles in Time, which helped inspire the game, came out in 1991.) "We were convinced that there was a need for that." There was: the game sold 1 million copies in its first week …
During its live Tudum event, Netflix announced that Stranger Things‘ fifth season will actually be split into three parts. Volume 1 is set to debut on November 26th, Volume 2 premieres on December 25th, and The Finale drops on New Years Eve. Along with the premiere dates, Netflix also shared a teaser showing off some of what Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Dustin, (Gaten Matarazzo), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Will (Noah Schnapp), and Max (Sadie Sink) are going to be up against when the show returns.
Initially, Netflix suggested that Stranger Things’ final chapter would be split into two pieces rather than three, but the new release plans seem like the company’s way of making sure that viewers stick around rather than inhaling the show in a couple of sittings. Though this is the end of the core Stranger Things series, Netflix still has live-action and animated spin-offs in the works. The streamer still hasn’t revealed any more concrete details about the spinoffs, but it probably won’t be long before that changes.
At its now-annual Tudum event, Netflix revealed new trailers for some of its more anticipated feature films.
That includes the very first teaser for Guillermo del Toro’s live-action take on Frankenstein, which stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, Felix Kammerer, Lars Mikkelsen, David Bradley, Charles Dance, and Christoph Waltz. It starts streaming in November, and is the latest project for del Toro on Netflix, following a stop motion Pinocchio and his anthology series Cabinet of Curiosities.
Also at the show was Wake Up Dead Man, the third entry in the Knives Out murder-mystery series, and a follow-up to 2022’s Glass Onion. Director Rian Johnson and star Daniel Craig return, and they’re once again joined by an all-star cast. That includes Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, and Thomas Haden Church.
Along with the very brief teaser trailer, Netflix confirmed when Wake Up Dead Man will be streaming: December 12th.
Going in a completely different direction was latest trailer for Happy Gilmore 2, the follow-up to the Adam Sandler comedy from way back in 1996. The sequel will be one of Netflix’s big swings for this summer. It streams on July 25th.
And if you haven’t seen enough of Squid Game’s third season, we also got one more trailer ahead of its premiere on June 27th, which will mark the end of the series.
And to round out the night, here are the first six minutes of the first episode for season 2 of Wednesday, which streams on August 6th.
Today during this year’s Tudum event showcasing all of Netflix’s upcoming projects, the streamer announced that actress Mikaela Hoover (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) has been cast a Tony Tony Chopper, One Piece‘s anthropomorphic reindeer who joins the Staw Hat Pirates on their search for the Grand Line. In addition to Cooper’s voice, a digital capture of her facial performance is being used to create the show’s CGI character.
Iñaki Godoy (Monkey D. Luffy), Mackenyu (Zoro), Emily Rudd (Nami), Jacob Romero (Usopp), Taz Skylar (Sanji), Ilia Isorelys Paulino (Alvida), Jeff Ward (Buggy), and Michael Dorman (Gold Roger) are all returning in One Piece‘s second season. But the show is also set to introduce a number of new characters from the comics like Charithra Chandran as Miss Wednesday, Joe Manganiello as Mr. 0, Katey Sagal as Dr. Kureha, and Lera Abova as Miss All Sunday.
Though Netflix has committed to quite a bit more One Piece, the second season doesn’t have a solid release date just yet. But the streamer plans for new episodes to debut some time in 2026.
Just one day after Elon Musk’s public departure from his role as a White House employee, the Trump Administration pulled its nomination of Musk ally Jared Isaacman to become the new NASA Administrator. First reported earlier Saturday by Semafor, citing anonymous sources, the move was eventually confirmed by White House spokesperson Liz Huston, and in a tweet by Isaacman. He thanked Trump and said, “The past six months have been enlightening and, honestly, a bit thrilling. I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of government and the weight our political leaders carry.”
The New York Times reports, based on three unnamed sources, that Trump “told associates he intended to yank Mr. Isaacman’s nomination after learning that he had donated to prominent Democrats,” including Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Isaacman, the billionaire founder and CEO of a payments company, Shift4, has purchased several spaceflights from Musk’s SpaceX. He flew on the Inspiration4 mission in 2021, and again last year on Polaris Dawn, completing the first commercial spacewalk.
As noted by Space.com, the White House also released an in-depth version of its NASA budget request for 2026 on Friday, proposing to cut its funding by nearly one-quarter, from $24.8 billion to $18.8 billion, with funding for science programs dropping by 47 percent. In a statement released Friday, The Planetary Society called the budget justification “an extinction-level event for the space agency’s most productive, successful, and broadly supported activity: science,” that “wastes billions in prior taxpayer investment and slams the brakes on future exploration.”
Now, without Isaacman in place, Ars Technica quotes an unnamed former senior NASA leader who said the request is “just a going-out-of-business mode.”
In a statement emailed to media outlets including NBC, Huston wrote, “It’s essential that the next leader of NASA is in complete alignment with President Trump’s America First agenda and a replacement will be announced directly by President Trump soon.” Despite being unable to confirm to the Senate whether Musk had been a part of his job interview, he had appeared set for an approval vote to replace former Florida Senator Bill Nelson.
According to the NYT, Isaacman was informed of the decision on Friday and declined to comment when reached by phone.
On Sunday evening, Isaacman tweeted this statement:
I am incredibly grateful to President Trump @POTUS, the Senate and all those who supported me throughout this journey. The past six months have been enlightening and, honestly, a bit thrilling. I have gained a much deeper appreciation for the complexities of government and the weight our political leaders carry.
It may not always be obvious through the discourse and turbulence, but there are many competent, dedicated people who love this country and care deeply about the mission. That was on full display during my hearing, where leaders on both sides of the aisle made clear they’re willing to fight for the world’s most accomplished space agency.
The President, NASA and the American people deserve the very best–an Administrator ready to reorganize, rebuild and rally the best and brightest minds to deliver the world-changing headlines NASA was built to create.
I have not flown my last mission—whatever form that may ultimately take–but I remain incredibly optimistic that humanity’s greatest spacefaring days lie ahead. I’ll always be grateful for this opportunity and cheering on our President and NASA as they lead us on the greatest adventure in human history
Update, June 1st: Added tweet from Jared Isaacman.
SpaceX lost contact with Starship after its launch on March 6, 2025. | Image: AFP via Getty Images
With yet another failed Starship test this week, in which the ambitious heavy rocket exploded once again, you might reasonably suspect that luck has finally run out for SpaceX.
But this degree of failure during a development process isn't actually unusual, according to Wendy Whitman Cobb, a space policy expert with the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies, especially when you're testing new space technology as complex as a large rocket. However, the Starship tests are meaningfully different from the slow, steady pace of development that we've come to expect from the space sector.
"The reason a lot of people perceive this to be unusual is that this is not the typical way that we have historically tested rockets," Whitman Cobb says.
Historically speaking, space agencies like NASA or legacy aerospace companies like United Launch Alliance (ULA) have taken their time with rocket development and have not tested until they were confident in a successful outcome. That's still the case today with major NASA projects like the development of the Space Launch System (SLS), which has now dragged on for over a decade. "They will take as long as they need to to make sure that the rocket …
Sony might have just recently introduced a new low price on the PlayStation 5 Pro with its latest Days of Play sale, but that’s not the only deal worth your attention. Sony is also offering a range of accessories at a discount, including the high-end DualSense Edge. Regularly $199.99, the customizable controller is available from Amazon, Best Buy, and Sony for an all-time low of $169 through June 11th.
If you’re looking for a highly customizable controller, the Edge is a great option that offers excellent software integration with the PS5. The premium gamepad lets you effortlessly switch between up to four personalized profiles, each of which lets you customize things like stick sensitivity and rear button controls. It’s just as easy to swap out stick modules, too, allowing you to quickly replace the stick tops should they ever wear out. What’s more, the rear triggers feature adjustable stops, so you can control how far they can be pressed and fine-tune your response time in shooters and other competitive games.
Additionally, the Edge offers the same haptics and adaptive triggers found on Sony’s standard DualSense controller, along with two styles of rear paddles, each suited to a different grip preference. Its charging cable also features a handy locking mechanism to ensure it won’t get yanked out while gaming; however, the Edge is limited to approximately eight hours of battery life when used wirelessly, meaning it doesn’t last quite as long as the OG DualSense. I guess that’s the price you pay for souped-up components and software, at least with Sony.
Now through tomorrow, June 1st, you can grab the last-gen Oura Ring Generation 3 at Wellbots in the Heritage configuration for $195 ($104 off) or the Horizon config for $210 ($90 off) when using coupon code OURAVERGE25. They’re functionally the same smart ring even if the design is slightly different, meaning you’ll be able to track your sleeping habits and other health metrics — including your heart rate, SpO2 levels, and menstrual cycle — no matter which size or model you decide to go with. Read our review.
We might be alone in thinking this, but we’d argue that Govee’s new Gaming Pixel Light was one of the coolest gizmos to come out of CES 2025. And right now, it’s available directly from Govee for an all-time low of $95.99 ($24 off) or at Amazon starting at $101.99 ($18 off). The Alexa-compatible grid can display art, animations, and live data, letting you view pixelated details on everything from the weather to the latest NBA scores. It also has an AI component, like everything else, if you’re not much of an artist yourself.
Both Amazon and Anker have dropped the price of Anker’s MagGo Wireless Charging Station to $63.99 ($26 off) for the next couple of days, though you’ll need to punch in offer code WS7DV29E602L at the latter retailer. The adjustable 3-in-1 stand is yet another solid option if you want to top off a pair of AirPods and an Apple Watch alongside your phone, especially since the Qi2 dock can supply up to 15W of power to MagSafe-ready iPhone models.
With the Switch 2 launch days away, analysts and consumers are watching to see how well Nintendo can follow-up the best selling home console in its history. Judging from the pain of trying to secure a Switch 2 pre-order, it seems like Nintendo has nothing to worry about - at least at launch.
Down the line, however, concerns about tariffs, a steadily rising cost of living, and a saturated market might cast a shadow on the Switch 2. The Verge talked to analysts, journalists, and normal video game playing people to put the Switch 2 launch in perspective. The key takeaway? While the console will assuredly have another blockbuster debut, its future looks much less certain.
The Wii U gets brought up a lot in the conversation surrounding the Switch 2, as it's the most famous example of a Nintendo failure. "The Wii U, with its confusing controller-screen gimmick, sluggish user interface, and lack of a great Custom Robo game, was one of Nintendo's worst flops," GameFile author Stephen Totilo explained in an email to The Verge.
It sold less than 14 million units, a dramatic drop from the Wii, which sold over 100 million. And while Nintendo expects to sell one million more Switch 2 units …
Alright, we get it. Y'all are excited about Slate. We thought the little Slate Truck was cool, but based on the number of clicks and comments on our Slate Auto articles so far, you'd like to know more. Many of you wrote in with questions and more than a few people raised some doubts.
So, we wanted to address as many of those as we could. Here's your one-stop shop for Slate answers based on your questions - plus a few of our own.
What are the Slate's full specs, and how does it compare to a Ford Maverick or F-150?
The Slate is clearly a vehicle built for everyday utility, and while it'll make for a handy machine for hauling a lot of things, big towing and heavy cargo were clearly not a top priority. Here are the key specs, compared against the four-wheel drive hybrid Ford Maverick with the 2.5-liter engine and a Ford F-150 4×2 with a 2.7-liter EcoBoost V6.
Slate Truck
Ford Maverick
Ford F-150
Horsepower (hp)
201
191
325
Curb weight (lbs)
3,602
3,674
4,171
Max payload (lbs)
1,433
1,500
1,775
Max towing (lbs)
1,000
2,000
8,400
Bed length (ft)
5
4.5
5.5, 6.5, or 8
Bed width (max / min, in)
50 / 54.9
42.6 / 53.3
50.6 / 66.9
Seats
2
5
5
It's worth noting that these Ford numbers vary widely based on configurati …
A lot of games have been released for the Playdate since it launched in 2022, as a quick browse of itch.io or the Catalog shop will attest. But still, there's something unique about the handheld's seasonal format, which just kicked off its second iteration. When it first launched, the Playdate came with 24 games from notable indie developers that were steadily released on a weekly cadence, making a perfect introduction to the little yellow device and its crank. Now, a few years later, we finally have season 2, and it's off to a solid start - and it even includes a bizarre mystery.
The new season runs for the next six weeks and totals a dozen games, two of which will drop each week. The entire collection will run you $39. To start, we have a pair of very different games. Fulcrum Defender, from FTL: Faster Than Light developer Subset Games, is sort of like a modern take on Asteroids. You control a little ship in the middle and fire guns at little squares flying toward you. The twist is that you use the crank to rotate the ship around and aim your shots. There's also something of a roguelike element, where you steadily unlock random upgrades like new weapons or a larger spread for y …
Twitch is announcing a bunch of updates at TwitchCon Europe, including the ability to host a vertical livestream and an open beta test that lets creators stream at a higher quality.
The rollout of vertical streams should make livestreams easier to watch in portrait mode on your phone. Down the line, streamers won't be forced to pick between vertical or horizontal streams; instead, Twitch will let streamers offer their streams in a dual format.
"This allows us to better optimize the viewing experience for a device and how a viewer is using that device," Twitch says in a blog post. "Viewers watching on desktop will still see landscape Viewers on mobile will see your vertical layout if they hold the phone vertically, or landscape if they rotate their phone horizontally."
The company will start testing the feature with a small amount of channels this summer and expand it later this year.
Twitch is also rolling out an open beta of "2k streaming" (which lets creators stream at 1440p) that will be available to all Twitch partners and affiliates. "Upgrading to 2k (1440p) streaming offers a noticeable step up from 1080p streaming, with richer detail, improved clarity, and better perfor …
Thanks to the legal discovery process, Google's antitrust trial with the Department of Justice has provided a fascinating glimpse into the future of ChatGPT.
An internal OpenAI strategy document titled "ChatGPT: H1 2025 Strategy" describes the company's aspiration to build an "AI super assistant that deeply understands you and is your interface to the internet." Although the document is heavily redacted in parts, it reveals that OpenAI aims for ChatGPT to soon develop into much more than a chatbot.
"In the first half of next year, we'll start evolving ChatGPT into a super-assistant: one that knows you, understands what you care about, and helps with any task that a smart, trustworthy, emotionally intelligent person with a computer could do," reads the document from late 2024. "The timing is right. Models like 02 and 03 are finally smart enough to reliably perform agentic tasks, tools like computer use can boost ChatGPT's ability to take action, and interaction paradigms like multimodality and generative UI allow both ChatGPT and users to express themselves in the best way for the task."
The document goes on to describe a "super assistant" as "an intelligent entity with T-shape …
Executive orders President Donald Trump signed to promote fossil fuels amount to an “unconstitutional” overreach of power, they allege in a complaint filed Thursday at a US District Court in Montana. The 22 plaintiffs also claim that by increasing pollution and denying climate science, the president’s actions violate their Fifth Amendment rights to life and liberty.
It’s the latest high-profile case brought against governments by youth concerned about how fossil fuel pollution and climate change poses risks to their health and ability to thrive as they grow up.
Two brothers, aged 11 and 7, “were born into climate change-induced smoke seasons that did not exist for older generations”
Two brothers, aged 11 and 7 and named “J.K.” and “N.K.” in the suit, “were born into climate change-induced smoke seasons that did not exist for older generations and which compromise their health,” the complaint says.
They grew up mostly in Montana but now live in Southern California, and the suit says wildfire smoke has encroached on their lives from state to state. J.K. was born with an abnormal mass of lung tissue and “experienced nosebleeds, sore throats, headaches, tiredness, coughing, trouble breathing, and eye irritation from wildfire smoke,” according to the suit. N.K. has “frequent” upper respiratory infections that have led to emergency room visits. They’ve both missed school days and camp because of feeling sick from smoke and soot in the air from wildfires, it says.
“Every additional ton of [greenhouse gas] pollution and increment of heat Defendants cause will cause J.K. and N.K. more days of poor air quality, more smoke, and thus, more harm to their lives, health, and safety,” the complaint adds.
In recent years, scientists have been trying to better understand the long-term health impact of wildfire smoke, which previously hadn’t been studied as thoroughly as pollution from other sources thought to be more consistent problems, like factories and highways. Now, chronic exposure to wildfire smoke is a growing concern. Wildfire smoke is considered a neurotoxinestimated to be more harmfulthan other common air pollutants, but its effects on the body can vary depending on what kinds of materials burn and how chemicals released by the fire interact with other substances in the atmosphere.
The plaintiffs are seeking injunctive relief to block implementation of those executive orders and to declare them unconstitutional. They also claim that Trump lacks the authority to erode environmental protections passed by Congress under the Clean Air Act. The administration’s efforts to impede scientific research and remove climate informationfrom federal websites amounts to “censorship” and denies plaintiffs access to resources they might otherwise be able to use to minimize risks they face from climate change, the suit alleges.
In response to the lawsuit, White House assistant press secretary Taylor Rogers said in an email to The Verge, “The American people are more concerned with the future generations’ economic and national security, which is why they elected President Trump in a landslide victory to restore America’s energy dominance. Future generations should not have to foot the bill of the lefts’ radical climate agenda.”
The plaintiffs, who hail from Montana, Oregon, Hawai‘i, California, and Florida, are represented by the nonprofit law firm Our Children’s Trust, which has also represented young people in similar climate cases. A federal appellate court dismissed another case that youth filed against the Obama administration in 2015 over fossil fuel pollution causing climate change, and the US Supreme Court ended that legal battle this year when it declined to hear an appeal.
But there have also been some wins. A group of youth reached a settlement last year with the state of Hawai‘i and its Department of Transportation that commits them to a plan to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by 2045. J.K. and N.K. were also plaintiffs in a climate suit filed against the state of Montana. Last year, Montana’s Supreme Court upheld a district judge ruling affirming their right to a clean and healthy environment and rejecting policies that had barred officials from considering the consequences of climate change when permitting new energy projects.
Grindr has always excelled at helping its users find folks looking to spend some quality time together, but the hookup app is looking to speed up the “looking?” process even more with its latest feature.
Today, Grindr announced that Right Now, its social media-like live feed feature, is rolling out to all of the platform’s users following a pilot test in select markets. Unlike Grindr’s traditional grid that shows you an array of other users’ profiles based on how far away they are, Right Now functions a bit more like X / Twitter and displays a stream of recent posts that can include both text and photos.
Right Now posts disappear from the live feed after an hour, and while they don’t have to be used for hookup purposes, posters can hit a toggle specifying whether they’re looking to host (read: have someone over for fun.) At launch, Grindr says users in certain locations “will receive a number of free hour-long Right Now sessions per week (refreshed every Friday)” meaning that the feed will only be accessible in hour-long windows. Down the line, the company also plans to make more sessions available to purchase.
In a press release about the new feature, Grindr’s chief product officer, AJ Balance, explained that Right Now was designed to help people “find exactly what they want, when they want it – without the guesswork.”
“We built this intention-based feature based on feedback from our community so they can connect with like-minded people without wasting time on mismatched expectations,” Balance said. “The response to our initial March launch was so strong we accelerated the global rollout ahead of schedule because it’s clear people want this… well, right now.”
Grindr is not the first app of its kind to introduce functionality clearly inspired by social media platforms. Sniffies, a more cruising-focused Grindr competitor that doesn’t require signing up for an account and allows users to post sexually explicit photos on their public profiles, has had a feature similar to Right Now for some time. But Right Now’s widespread launch is the latest phase of Grindr’s larger plan to roll out a series of new features — many of which are powered by generative artificial intelligence — meant to boost revenue and make users see the app as “the Global Gayborhood in Your Pocket™.”
Previously, Grindr introduced A-List, a tool that uses Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.7 model and Amazon Web Services’ Bedrock to summarize chats with the intention of helping users rekindle “meaningful past connections” and pursue “high-potential matches.” Bloomberg reports the same platform is now underpinning Grindr’s Wingman, a generative AI assistant that can draft chat responses for users who can’t think of things to say for themselves, provide sex tips, and give suggestions about places that might make for good dates. Some of Grindr’s AI features are free to try, but for continued access to them, the company requires users to sign up for its monthly subscription plans.
All of the features are part of Grindr’s effort to bring in more money and staunch the financial bleeding that came following its initial public offering in 2022. As Platformer reported last year, Grindr’s stock price plummeted by 70 percent following its SPAC, and the company has been scrambling to establish new revenue streams amid employee unionization efforts and internal concerns that Grindr “was losing its progressive culture.”
At the Wall Street Journal‘s Future of Everything conference this week, Grindr’s CEO George Arison spoke about how AI has changed his own productivity, and his desire for the company to start thinking about how the technology can be more deeply integrated into its services.
“For all the new things that we build, I want them to be built as if we are an AI-native startup,” Arison said. “If you’re going to do marketing for this, great; start thinking with AI first and then go to people because that’s how I think companies are going to be built moving forward and that’s what we should be doing as a business as well.”
Elon Musk appeared in the White House with a black eye he said he got from rough-housing with his young son.
Elon Musk appeared alongside President Trump for a press conference in the Oval Office Friday, perhaps for the last time, with a noticeable black eye that he says he got from his young son.
"I said, 'Go ahead, punch me in the face.' And he did," he said.
Musk has been feeling the blows, too. Sources in the Trump administration told Reutersthat the billionaire has been "exhausted and exasperated," especially by the blowback against his companies. Tesla's board reportedly initiated a search for a replacement CEO, a claim the directors have denied.
Microsoft is adding text formatting to its Windows Notepad app. The significant Notepad update is available for Canary and Dev Channel testers on Windows 11, and introduces bold and italic styling, alongside hyperlinks and even Markdown support.
The addition of text formatting in Notepad means there’s now a formatting toolbar at the top of the app, alongside the existing File, Edit, and View options. The toolbar includes access to bold, italic, and hyperlink options, but it also includes support for lists and headings.
“The experience supports Markdown style input and files for users who prefer to work directly with the lightweight markup language,” explains Dave Grochocki, principal product manager lead for Microsoft’s Windows inbox apps. “You can switch between formatted Markdown and Markdown syntax views in the view menu or by selecting the toggle button in the status bar at the bottom of the window.”
Since Notepad is usually used with plain text, you can also easily clear all formatting from the formatting toolbar or from the edit menu in the app. If you’re not a fan of the lightweight formatting options, you can also fully disable this new support in the Notepad app settings.
This formatting addition to Notepad comes just a week after Microsoft started testing a new feature in the app that can generate text for you using AI. The new Write feature in Notepad can be used to “quickly draft text based on your prompt,” and alongside these formatting options Notepad is starting to look a lot more like Microsoft Word.
Like I wrote in my Notepad newsletter earlier this week, it’s amazing that Microsoft barely touched Notepad for decades, and now it’s gone from basic log file reader to writing messages itself. A lot of Notepad’s new features have arrived since Microsoft decided to remove WordPad from Windows, after nearly 30 years.
