Happy ceasefire day and welcome to Regulator, a newsletter for Verge subscribers about Big Tech’s rocky journey through the world of politics. If you’re not a subscriber yet, you can do so here, but my only request is that you sign up before Donald Trump decides to revisit his previous threats toward Iran and kickstart World War III.
Technology
Two minute tech tricks: Start the year with a clean inbox
Email stinks. OK, it’s not that bad, but I’d much rather get things done in person, in a video meeting or over chat. My rule of thumb: If we get into an email back and forth, I’m calling you instead.
That said, email has its place and you might as well make your inbox as useful as it can be. For me, that starts with my annual ritual: Clearing out all the old mail from the year before. Give it a try.
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The trick is simple: Archive your inbox
You’ll be surprised at how effective this is at giving you back some digital headspace.
Email spoofing consists of scammers forging sender addresses that appears similar to yours, allowing them to bypass spam filters and distribute harmful malware or request money from unsuspecting victims. (CyberGuy.com)
So, what is email archiving? Basically, this keeps a record of everything you’ve sent and received — so you’ll always have a copy of any of your messages and attachments — but they won’t be sitting in your inbox.
Sure, you can file all your emails away into carefully sorted folders, but what are the chances you’re actually going to keep up with that level of organization? Archiving is a great gift to give yourself going into the new year. Plus, it’s an easy New Year’s Resolution to keep. Just click a few buttons, and your life is already easier!
Follow these steps to archive in Gmail
- First, open your Gmail account on a computer and click the Inbox folder on the left.
- Above your emails, there’s an empty checkbox. Click the small arrow next to it, and choose All. This selects only the conversations visible on the screen.
- To select all your emails, click Select all (number) conversations in Inbox. Then, hit the Archive icon (folder with a downward pointing arrow).
Gmail will take some time to process your request. Be patient. You may have to do this step a few times to get everything.
FIVE DUMB TECH SECURITY MISTAKES YOU’RE MAKING
Once you’ve archived a message, you can hit All Mail to the left, right under Inbox and your other email folders to find it. Your best bet is to search by a term you know was in the email or by the sender.
Using Apple Mail? Here’s what to do
- Open the Mail app on your Mac. Look through your inbox or other folders and find those emails you want to stash away. Click on an email to select it, or if you’ve got a bunch, hold down the Command key and click on each one you want to archive.
- Got an ‘Archive’ button (looks like a little box) on the toolbar? Just click that, and you’re golden. No button? No problem. Click ‘Message’ at the top, then choose ‘Archive’ from the dropdown. If you’re all about shortcuts, just hit Control + Command + A and those emails will zip right into your archive.
- Where did they go? Head over to the ‘Archive’ folder. It’s in the sidebar under ‘Mailboxes.’ Got more than one email account? Each one has its own Archive folder.
When you need to find those emails again, just click on that ‘Archive’ folder anytime. All your archived emails are there, ready when you are.
Person holds an iPhone (Fox News Digital)
How to archive emails in Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Outlook doesn’t put archived messages into a separate folder. Instead, they’ll go straight to a data file you can access whenever you want.
- Select File > Cleanup Tools > Archive, then hit Archive this folder and all subfolders. Choose the folder you want to archive. In this case, your inbox.
- Under Archive items older than, enter your date. For example, you may want to archive everything before 2012. Then, check the box that says Include items with “Do not AutoArchive.” Click OK, and you’re good to go.
You’ll see emails disappear from your inbox and subfolders. Now they’ll be under the Archives heading.
2023: A YEAR OF INNOVATION AND DISRUPTION IN TECH
Your inbox should be clean as a whistle
Now that you know my secret, your inbox is sure to look a whole lot cleaner to start the new year. Worried you missed something? Here’s my tip: If it’s really important, that person will email you again.
As a side note, remember that even if you archive emails, they can be subpoenaed for legal cases. We don’t give legal advice, so it’s best to consult a lawyer if you have any questions about this.
Use Yahoo? I have steps for archiving here on the website.
Email on your laptop (Cyberguy.com)
Keep your tech-know going
My popular podcast is called “Kim Komando Today.” It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode.
PODCAST PICK: Billionaire doomsday preppers, p*rn copyright trolls & nasty Amazon scam
Plus, my 2024 tech resolutions and ways to have AI help you craft yours. California bans this ultra-weird product from Amazon — and yes, it involves donkeys. Peloton tablet goes obsolete, and I’ve got five tech holiday road trip tips.
Check out my podcast “Kim Komando Today” on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player.
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I’m back after being waylaid last week by the deadly combo of a moderate cold and the beginning of pollen season. (Twenty-one percent of the District’s acreage is taken up by public green space, and DC is consistently ranked the best city park system in America. Unfortunately, I am allergic to every tree and grass.) If you’ve got tips on anything I may have missed or anything I should know about the upcoming weeks, send ’em to tina.nguyen+tips@theverge.com.
Do you actually believe anything OpenAI says?
On Monday, OpenAI published a 13-page policy paper addressing the impact that artificial intelligence would have on the American workforce. The company also proposed what it believed was the solution: putting higher capital gains taxes on corporations replacing their workers with AI and using that money to create a bigger public safety net. Its solutions included a public wealth fund, a four-day workweek funded by “efficiency dividends,” and government programs to help transition workers into “human-centered” work, all financed by the abundance that artificial intelligence would deliver.
Unfortunately, it was released the day that The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz published a meticulously reported, 17,000-word-plus article chronicling Sam Altman’s history of lying to everyone around him, including to his Silicon Valley backers, his employees, his board, and — relevant in this case — lawmakers trying to regulate AI. The New Yorker article reinforced a long-standing narrative about Altman, and OpenAI by extension: They may spout idealistic values, but would quickly jettison them for financial and political gains.
On its own, said several people I spoke to, the paper was a net positive to AI governance overall, in that it introduced new ideas into the political discourse around the emerging technology. But unless the company’s policy and political influence made good on those promises, said OpenAI’s critics, it may as well just be a piece of paper.
“My guess is that there are people on the team who care about the stuff, who’ve thought really hard about this document and are proud of it, and did good work, even if it’s not addressing all of the questions that I wish it would address,” Malo Bourgon, the CEO of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute (MIRI), told me. “And there’s still the question of: Are those people gonna find themselves in the position that many previous people at OpenAI have found themselves in, where they thought the company had certain values or aligned with things they cared about, and then ended up finding out that wasn’t the case, becoming disenchanted and leaving?”
With OpenAI proposing policy, it’s worth looking back at its history with the government, which the New Yorker piece details in depth. Altman had been one of the first major CEOs to publicly advocate for federal oversight for AI, going so far as to propose a federal agency to oversee advanced models in 2023 — but privately he worked to suppress the laws containing his own safety proposals. A state legislative aide in California accused OpenAI of engaging in “increasingly cunning, deceptive behavior” to kill a 2023 AI safety bill that it was publicly supporting. In 2025, the company subpoenaed supporters of a California state-level AI bill in an effort to, as one such supporter put it to The New Yorker, “basically scare them into shutting up.” And though Altman had once worked extensively with the Biden administration to build AI safety standards, the moment that Donald Trump became president, Altman successfully persuaded him to kill the initiatives he’d once advocated for.
Nathan Calvin, the general counsel at Encode, an AI policy nonprofit where he focuses on state legislative initiatives, had received one of those subpoenas. “What I’ve seen from their policy and government affairs engagement has just been abysmal,” he told me. While he believed that the team who’d written the OpenAI proposal, primarily from the technical safety research side, was acting with good intentions, he was still reserving judgment. “Will those folks remain engaged as we move from general policy principles towards the many other ways in which lobbying and government influence actually happens? Part of me is hopeful, but a lot of me is also quite skeptical about whether that will happen.” (OpenAI did not return a request for comment.)
A modest, absolutely not craven request:
Next week I plan on running an issue of Regulator cataloging the nerdiest events happening during Nerd Prom, aka the White House Correspondents’ Dinner party circuit. If you’re a tech founder, tech company, or someone that does something related to technology and you’re throwing an event during WHCD week, please let me know what you’re up to! From what I’ve heard so far, the tech world is about to shake up the normal social dynamics of the week — I’ve already caught wind of the Grindr party in Georgetown, and the Substack party, which famed looksmaxxer Clavicular is attending — and I’m so, so excited to pull together the most bonkers “SPOTTED” column that Washington’s ever experienced.
(Again, this is contingent upon whether we’re at war with Iran by the end of April, in which case, I imagine no one will be up for frivolity.)
Speaking of DC reporters, this is very true of all of us:
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After nearly two years on pause, Virgin Galactic is selling tickets again. The catch is the price. A seat now costs $750,000. That number is not a typo. It is also a sharp increase from the company’s earlier pricing, which was $600,000. Now the company is reopening sales with 50 new spots available.
The company says flight testing is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026, with commercial service starting in the fourth quarter of 2026.
If you are thinking about booking, you are not alone. More than 675 customers are currently waiting for their turn to experience space travel.
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AIR TAXIS IN THE U.S. COULD LAUNCH THIS SUMMER
Virgin Galactic’s spaceplane fires its rocket engine as it climbs toward the edge of space during a suborbital flight. (Virgin Galactic)
What a Virgin Galactic $750,000 ticket actually includes
Buying a ticket does not mean moving to space. These are short suborbital trips that last about 90 minutes. Here is how it works. Virgin Galactic uses a spaceship that launches from a carrier aircraft at high altitude. After release, the spaceplane fires its rocket engine and climbs to the edge of space. Passengers experience a few minutes of weightlessness before gliding back to Earth. It is closer to a thrill ride than a long mission. Still, for many, the appeal is simple. You get to see Earth from above the atmosphere.
Why space travel ticket prices keep rising
Going to space sounds incredible, but paying for it is a very different story. Building reusable spacecraft is expensive. Testing takes years. Safety requirements are intense. When something goes wrong, the entire program can slow down.
Virgin Galactic knows this firsthand. The company has faced delays, technical challenges and even tragedy. In 2014, a test flight operated by Scaled Composites, the company that designed and built the spaceplane, crashed and killed co-pilot Michael Alsbury. Since then, progress has been careful and at times slow. That helps explain the high ticket price. With only a limited number of flights and passengers, companies rely on premium pricing to stay afloat.
The company’s latest financials highlight that reality. Virgin Galactic reported a net loss of $279 million in 2025 and negative free cash flow of $438 million, underscoring how expensive it is to build and scale commercial spaceflight. CEO Michael Colglazier signaled that pricing could continue to climb as the company ramps up production and testing.
A new generation of spacecraft is driving the timeline
This latest ticket release is tied to a new development phase. Virgin Galactic says it expects its next-generation SpaceShip to enter ground testing in April 2026, with flight testing expected to begin in the third quarter of 2026. Commercial flights with this new vehicle are still on track for the fourth quarter of 2026.
A second SpaceShip is already in progress and is expected to enter service between late 2026 and early 2027, which is expected to increase flight frequency even more.
“We completed pivotal milestones during the first quarter of 2026, and with assembly of our first SpaceShip nearly complete and ground testing set to begin in April, we have released a limited number of Virgin Galactic Spaceflight Expeditions, each priced at $750,000,” said CEO Michael Colglazier.
That production ramp is key. The company is trying to move from monthly flights to a twice-weekly schedule per ship.
NEW PERSONAL EVTOL PROMISES PERSONAL FLIGHT UNDER $40K
Richard Branson floats in zero gravity during a flight, demonstrating the experience passengers can expect. (Virgin Galactic)
Who is competing in space tourism right now?
The timing of this relaunch is not random. Blue Origin has paused its tourist flights for at least two years. Meanwhile, SpaceX is focused on satellites, cargo missions and government contracts. That leaves Virgin Galactic as the only active option for private individuals who want a ticket to space right now. It is a small market, but for now, it is theirs.
Can space travel ever become affordable?
This is the big question hanging over the industry. Space tourism has been around for more than two decades, yet only a handful of people have actually gone. The dream has always been to make it more accessible. Right now, that dream still feels far away. Companies are trying to scale up. Virgin Galactic plans to increase flights from about four per month to as many as 10. If that happens, prices could eventually come down. But for now, the math is simple. Limited supply plus high costs equals very expensive tickets.
FLYING CAR NOW FOR SALE FOR $190,000
The view from the edge of space shows Earth’s curvature, one of the main draws of space tourism. (Virgin Galactic)
What this means for you
Even if you are not planning to spend $750,000 on a 90-minute trip, this still matters. First, it shows how close space travel is to becoming a real consumer experience. Not for everyone yet, but no longer something that feels out of reach. Second, the technology being developed for these flights often trickles down. Advances in materials, safety systems and aviation design can influence other industries over time. Finally, it is a reminder of how early we still are. Space tourism exists, but it is not mainstream. It is still in the phase where wealthy early adopters help fund the future.
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Kurt’s key takeaways
Virgin Galactic reopening ticket sales is a signal. The industry is not fading away. It is evolving and trying to enter a new phase. At the same time, the higher price tag tells a different story. Space is still hard. It is still risky. It is still expensive. For now, the view from above remains one of the most exclusive experiences money can buy.
Would you ever pay for a trip to space if prices dropped enough, or does the risk still outweigh the thrill? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.
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Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.
Microsoft first started trying to get rid of the Control Panel in 2012, with the launch of Windows 8. More than a decade later, it’s still working on migrating all the old Control Panel items into the modern Settings app in Windows 11. While there have been hints that the Control Panel might finally go away, the reality is a lot more complicated for Microsoft.
“We’re doing it carefully because there are a lot of different network and printer devices & drivers we need to make sure we don’t break in the process,” explains March Rogers, partner director of design at Microsoft. I could be wrong, but I think this is the first full explanation we’ve had from Microsoft about why it’s taken so long to get rid of the Control Panel.
It looked like Microsoft was about to finally cut the Control Panel in 2024, after years of Microsoft pushing aside the Control Panel in its latest Windows 11 updates. But a support note hinting at the imminent removal of the Control Panel was quickly updated to confirm Microsoft was still in the process of migrating the Control Panel to the Settings app.
Last year Microsoft also migrated clock settings, keyboard character repeat delay, mouse cursor blink rate, and formatting for time, number, and currency into the Settings app. There are also plenty of other mouse settings in the main Settings app that let you avoid the Control Panel these days.
I can’t remember the last time I used the Control Panel thanks to Microsoft’s recent mouse and keyboard improvements to the main Settings app, but a lot of Windows users used to prefer the legacy interface simply because you don’t have to dig into multiple levels to find different controls.
Microsoft is “focusing on design craft in Windows at the moment,” according to Rogers. The Settings interface is being “redesigned for clarity” this month, alongside other improvements to Windows 11 that are part of a broader effort to fix the OS.
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