Technology

Uber teams up with Cruise to deliver more autonomous rides next year

Published

2 hours ago

August 22, 2024

Uber teams up with Cruise to deliver more autonomous rides next year

Uber has signed up another robotaxi company to offer driverless rides inside its app. Starting sometime next year, for “qualifying” rides, Uber will give you the option to take the trip in one of Cruise’s autonomous vehicles. The two companies announced a “multiyear strategic partnership” on Thursday.

Cruise halted its robotaxi service in October following an incident where a Cruise car dragged a pedestrian. The company recently brought autonomous vehicles back to the road with safety drivers. Cruise spokesperson Tiffany Testo tells The Verge that the launch of its partnership with Uber will happen after Cruise brings back its driverless ridehailing service.

In their press release, Uber and Cruise didn’t say what cities the service might be available in, but Testo says that users can “expect” it to launch in one of the cities where it’s doing supervised testing: Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston.

Technology

Trump is launching a cryptocurrency platform, and we have no idea what it does

Published

9 hours ago

August 22, 2024

Press Room

Trump is launching a cryptocurrency platform, and we have no idea what it does

Former President Donald Trump is launching a cryptocurrency platform, he announced Thursday in a post on Truth Social. Trump’s post included few other details, but he and his sons have suggested it will targeted at unbanked and underserved communities.

“For too long, the average American has been squeezed by the big banks and financial elites,” the post reads. “It’s time we take a stand — together. #BeDefiant.” The name of the platform, the DeFiant Ones, is a play on “decentralized finance.”

Trump’s Truth Social post links to a Telegram channel for the as-of-yet unreleased platform, which has posts dating back to August 15th calling it the “only official Telegram channel for the Trump DeFi project.” There are no details about what the project entails or whether it’s a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO), a coin, a trading market, a cryptocurrency blog or publication, or something else altogether.

In July, a company called AMG Software Solutions filed trademark applications for the terms “Be DeFiant,” “World Liberty,” and “World Liberty Financial,” the cryptocurrency publication The Block reported earlier this month. The trademark for World Liberty Financial is for “providing financial information in the field of decentralized finance (DeFi),” the filing reads.

In recent interviews, Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, have suggested the project could be targeted at underserved communities. “Essentially over half this country right now cannot be banked,” Eric Trump told the New York Post. “Meaning they will be rejected for most loans from most institutions. But with this technology they could have the ability to almost instantaneously be approved or denied from a lender based on math, not policy. Money could be in their account in minutes, not months.”

One of Trump’s previous ostensibly altruistic projects, Trump University, was accused of defrauding students and settled for $25 million.

The notion that crypto can help unbanked people better access financial services is a rampant one in the industry — but reports suggest otherwise. The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, found “no systematic evidence that crypto transactions are less expensive than traditional financial transactions,” noting that crypto assets are primarily used for speculation instead of payments.

“The fundamental purpose of financial inclusion is to improve the overall economic well-being of low-income individuals, and encouraging people to use their hard-earned paychecks or savings to buy highly risky assets could do just the opposite,” Todd Phillips, CAP’s former director of financial regulation and corporate governance, wrote in 2022.

The DeFiant Ones is not Trump’s first foray into cryptocurrency. He was the keynote speaker at this year’s Bitcoin Conference in Nashville, during which he promised to fire Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a perpetual enemy of the crypto crowd.

Trump has between $1 million and $5 million in a “virtual ethereum key,” according to his most recent financial disclosures. He also made $7.2 million from three NFT collections. The people who bought Trump’s NFTs have been less lucky. Some tokens lost value almost immediately after being purchased. As of this April, trading volume of Trump’s NFTs was down by 99 percent.

Technology

How to set alerts on your phone for those who are deaf or hard of hearing

Published

9 hours ago

August 22, 2024

Press Room

How to set alerts on your phone for those who are deaf or hard of hearing

Despite being attached to our phones, it is easy to miss an alert or notification of incoming calls or messages. For those who are hearing impaired or deaf, the risk of missing alerts or notifications is increased.

Michael wrote in with the following question to highlight this important issue:

“My wife is deaf. Is there a Bluetooth device that will light a flasher or vibrator when her phone rings in her pocket?” — Michael, Sugar Land, Texas

Depending on her specific device, several setting options are likely already available on her phone that can increase the chances of her getting alerts or notifications by flashing or vibrating.

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A call coming in on a smartphone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to set up your iPhone to flash an LED light for calls or notifications

If you have an iPhone, you can use one of its settings to make it flash a bright LED light every time an alert or call comes in. This is a visible indicator, which can help those who are hard of hearing or deaf have a better chance of knowing they received an alert or call. Here’s how to enable LED flashes for alerts and calls:

Unlock your iPhone and tap Settings
Scroll down and tap Accessibility

Instructions for setting alerts (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Scroll down and tap Audio & Visuals
Scroll down and tap LED Flash for Alerts

Instructions for setting phone alerts (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Toggle on each desired setting, such as LED Flash for Alerts, Flash While Unlocked, Flash in Silent Mode

Instructions for setting phone alerts (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Now, when you receive a call or alert on your iPhone, you will not just be dependent on sound or vibrations. You will see a very bright LED light flashing from your iPhone’s camera flash.

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How to set up your Apple Watch to vibrate when your iPhone rings

If you already own an Apple Watch, you can set it up so it alerts you with vibrations when your iPhone rings. Here’s how to pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone:

1. Pair your Apple Watch with your iPhone

Turn on your Apple Watch by pressing and holding the side button until the Apple logo appears.
Open the Apple Watch app on your iPhone, ensuring your iPhone is updated to the latest version of iOS, connected to Wi-Fi or cellular and has Bluetooth turned on.
Hold your iPhone close to your Apple Watch. A pairing screen should appear on your iPhone. Tap Start Pairing.
Tap Set Up for Myself on your iPhone
Use your iPhone’s camera to scan the animation on your Apple Watch screen.
Tap Set Up Apple Watch on your iPhone and follow the remaining on-screen instructions to complete the setup, including choosing your wrist preference and accepting terms and conditions.
Your Apple Watch will begin syncing with your iPhone. Keep both devices close together until the process is complete.

2. Enable notifications for calls

In order to receive call notifications on your Apple Watch, follow the steps below:

On your iPhone, open the Apple Watch app
Tap on the My Watch tab
Scroll down and tap on Phone
Select Mirror my iPhone if it isn’t already selected

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This setting mirrors the call notifications from your iPhone to your Apple Watch.

3. Customize haptic alerts

To make sure you get a strong vibration alert on your Apple Watch:

Open the Settings app on your Apple Watch
Tap on Sounds & Haptics
Under the Haptics section, turn on Haptic Alerts

You can choose Default or Prominent. The Prominent setting provides an additional haptic tap to pre-announce some common alerts.

4. Testing

In order to ensure that the iPhone and Apple Watch are set up properly, make a test call to see if your Apple Watch vibrates as expected when a call is received. When set correctly, you will be able to get the vibrational notifications on your Apple Watch when you receive a call on your iPhone.

A person adjusting notifications on an Apple Watch (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

CAN’T HEAR OR SEE WELL? IPHONE SETTINGS TO MAKE HEARING AND SEEING EASIER

How to set up your Android to flash an LED light for calls or notifications

Setting up your Android device to use the LED light for calls or notifications can significantly enhance your alert system, especially if you prefer visual cues over sound or vibration. Here are some steps to help you enable this feature:

Using built-in Android settings

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.

Open Settings
Scroll down and tap on Accessibility
Choose Advanced settings
Tap Flash notification
Toggle on Camera flash notification for LED flash

Using built-in Google Pixel settings

Open Settings
Scroll to Notifications and tap it
Toggle on Flash Notifications and choose between camera flash or screen flash

By following these steps, you can effectively set up your Android or Google Pixel device to use the LED light for calls and notifications, ensuring you never miss an important alert.

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LED light notifications apps for Android users

Not all devices come equipped with a built-in app to manage this feature. Fortunately, numerous LED notification apps are available that allow you to customize your notification experience. Regardless of whether your phone has an LED light, these apps provide solutions to enhance your alerts and keep you informed.

Flash Alert: The Flash Alert app is designed to enhance notification visibility on Android devices by utilizing the camera flash or screen flash as an alert mechanism. Users can customize their settings to receive visual notifications for calls, alarms and messages, even when the device is on silent or in “Do Not Disturb” mode. The app allows for color customization of the screen flash and provides a preview feature to test settings before finalizing them. This functionality is particularly beneficial for users who may have hearing impairments or prefer visual alerts over auditory notifications.

Flash Alert app (Flash Alert)

Front Flash: The Front Flash app uses your phone’s camera flash to notify you about incoming notifications. While it may not offer the same versatility as LED notifications, you can customize the delay, blink rates and frequency to suit your needs.

LED Flashlight Alerts: LED Flashlight Alerts is another app that allows you to customize LED notifications for incoming calls and messages. It also supports third-party apps, making it a versatile option. Although the app is free to use, it is ad-supported, and the ads can be a bit annoying.

LED Flashlight Alerts app (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

PROBLEM HEARING OR SEEING? HOW THIS IPHONE SHORTCUT CAN COME TO THE RESCUE

How to set up your phone and watch to vibrate when your Android phone rings

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.

Open the Settings app on your Android device
Scroll down and tap Sounds and vibration
Tap Vibrate
Then scroll down and click Vibration intensity and adjust the Touch interaction slider
Next, check the notification settings for the app managing your watch notifications, confirming that notifications are set to vibrate.
On your watch, access the settings menu and navigate to Sound settings to ensure the alarm volume is set to vibrate.
Make a test call to your phone to verify that your watch vibrates when your phone rings.

Subscribe to Kurt’s Youtube channel for quick video tips on how to work all of your tech devices.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Whether you are hearing impaired, hard of hearing or deaf, it is easy to miss important calls and notifications from your phone. While smartwatches like the Apple Watch can be a wearable option so that you can get vibrational alerts when you receive a call or alert on your mobile phone, the other option is to turn on an accessibility feature that’s already native to your iPhone: LED Flashes. It’s vital that users of all abilities can maximize the convenience and features of their phones to stay truly connected.

Do you have any issues hearing calls and alerts from your phone? What devices or features have you used to help solve this issue? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter.

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

The Verge’s favorite audio gear

Published

16 hours ago

August 22, 2024

Press Room

Every year, I ask The Verge’s staff what kind of audio gear they like to use. And they are the perfect set of people to ask: besides working on videos and podcasts, our Slack channels are filled with discussions of the podcasts and music we listen to while working, walking, exercising, or just hanging out.

So here are the headphones, earbuds, and other devices that some of the folks here like to use, both on a professional and personal level.

Headphones and earbuds

RØDE NTH-100 headphones

Andrew Marino, senior audio producer

Professional-level over-the-ear headphones with memory foam cushions and an optional headset microphone.

The RØDE NTH-100 headphones are the comfiest headphones I’ve used. The memory foam cushions let me wear these all day at work without fatigue. The sound is great for the price, too, and the optional headset microphone is one of the best-quality mics I’ve heard on consumer headsets.

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses

Victoria Song, senior reviewer

$379

Smart glasses equipped with Meta AI, a 12MP camera, and audio, in various styles.

On sunny walks and runs, I’m not interested in getting flattened by wayward SUVs in my neighborhood — I need that situational awareness. Many open-ear headphones wrap around the top of the ear, and since I often wear glasses, that’s a lot to put on my poor ears. The Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses kill two birds with one stone; they’re my go-to headphones these days. The audio quality is great, they protect my eyes from UV rays, and once in a while, I use them to snap a photo of a random bunny or stray cat. There’s a mic right by your nose bridge, so you sound pretty great on calls, too. Who doesn’t love a multitasking gadget?

Sony LinkBuds

Andrew Liszewski, senior reporter

Sony’s LinkBuds have a standout design that’s rooted in comfort and an airy, open sound. They also excel when used for voice calls, outshining pretty much all competitors.

They’re not the wireless earbuds I reach for all the time, but when I’m relaxing on a bike ride at the end of the day, the open design of Sony’s LinkBuds helps keep me aware of my surroundings — whether it’s approaching vehicles or other cyclists who are in more of a hurry. Even with some compromises to sound quality, the LinkBuds still sound very good, and because they sit in my ears, they’re easier to wear with a helmet. My favorite feature is the ability to tap on the side of my head to control playback or adjust the volume while riding. The earbuds detect the nearby vibrations as inputs so I don’t have to precisely target buttons or touchpads.

Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro

A photo of Samsung’s purple Galaxy Buds 2 Pro.

These buds have excellent sound quality and good noise cancellation but work best when you’re part of the Samsung ecosystem.

I love my Galaxy Buds 2 Pro; they’re the first wireless earbuds I’ve ever used, and they made the most sense for me, as I’m knee-deep in Samsung’s ecosystem. They fit comfortably inside my ears and their active noise cancellation works well — almost too well — at the gym or on an airplane.

Miscellaneous and accessories

Shure MV7 USB microphone

Andrew Marino, senior audio producer

Shure MV7+ microphone hanging from above.

$279

An update to the well-regarded Shure MV7 with customizable color and improved performance.

The Shure MV7 USB has been our go-to microphone to send to remote guests for Verge podcasts. It’s a very flexible dynamic microphone for podcast interviews because of its sonic similarity to typical radio mics like Shure’s SM7b and has both a USB and XLR output for virtually any recording setup.

Apple’s Lightning and USB-C headphone adapters

Nathan Edwards, senior reviews editor

iPad with headphone jack adapter attached

If you miss having a headphone jack in your iPhone or iPod, this adapter can help.

Taking away the headphone jack was and is user-hostile and stupid. It is stupid that I need an adapter to connect wired headphones to my tablet, and it is stupid that I need a different adapter to use them with my phone.

At least Apple’s Lightning and USB-C headphone adapters are small and cheap. And the USB-C one is a surprisingly good DAC. I keep one of each in a little pouch in my backpack, along with some cheap wired earbuds. If only there were some universal wired audio connector! Maybe someday.

3D-printed rack mounts

Andrew Marino, senior audio producer

Red audio interface device in a bracket under a desk.

$19

Motu offers desk mounting brackets for a variety of audio interfaces, getting them out of the way of your other equipment.

If you have a lot of audio gear on your workspace, I’d recommend making some room by mounting some of that stuff under your desk. I bought a 3D-printed mounting bracket for my Motu audio interface from an Etsy store, which makes my setup look a lot more professional and keeps the tech away from any spilled drinks.

Teenage Engineering PO-33 K.O.!

Andrew Liszewski, senior reporter

Two hands holding a Teenage Engineer microsampler.

$99

This microsampler and drum machine can provide hours of fun for music lovers.

I am by no stretch of the imagination a musician, but I do enjoy living out my Daft Punk fantasies with the Teenage Engineering PO-33 K.O.! It’s part of the company’s Pocket Operators lineup of calculator-sized drum machines, but what sets the PO-33 apart is a built-in microphone that can be used to record sounds that can be turned into beats. I won’t be releasing an album anytime soon, but the PO-33 is an endlessly fun distraction — easy to learn but with enough functionality that it feels like it will take years to master.

Audio-Technica AT-HPH300 headphone hanger

Barbara Krasnoff, reviews editor

$24

A convenient way to hang your headphones up next to or under your desk.

My partner spends a lot of time wearing headphones — among other things, he has a radio show and a YouTube channel — but occasionally he does have to put them aside. When he does, he uses the Audio-Technica AT-HPH300 headphone hanger that he bought a few years ago. It fastens securely to the edge of his desk and has an adjustable padded hook. The hook rotates so he can also move the headphones out of the way and under the desk if he needs to.