Tech Talk

You can get a great smartphone at this price, whether you want an iPhone, a 90Hz screen, or 5G support If you’re shopping for a new phone on a budget, we’ve got good news: you’re more likely to find midrange sub-$500 phones available in these days of crunched supply chains than many of the recent flagships. Fortunately, there are many excellent alternatives to the pricey, premium models that are nearly as capable and cost a lot less to boot. Companies like Apple, Google, and Samsung are spreading the wealth of features enjoyed by their flagships down to less expensive options. Other brands like TCL are also finding ways to challenge more established manufacturers with lower prices and more premium features. The bad news is this makes the job of picking the best budget phone that much harder. It’s impossible to buy a phone that does everything well at this price point. So prioritize the features that matter most to you, whether it’s 5G compatibility with a particular network, high-

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Ransomware — and particularly the Conti ransomware gang — has become a geopolitical force in Costa Rica. On Monday, the new Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves – who began his four-year term only ten days ago – declared that the country was ”at war” with the Conti cybercriminal gang , whose ransomware attack has disabled agencies across the government since April. In a forceful statement made to press on May 16th, President Chaves also said that Conti was receiving help from collaborators within the country , and called on international allies to help. “We’re at war and this is not an exaggeration,” Chaves told local media . “The war is against an international terrorist group, which apparently has operatives in Costa Rica. There are very clear indications that people inside the country are collaborating with Conti.” “We’re at war and this is not an exaggeration” President Chaves’ declaration of war against Conti comes in the face of u

New York Attorney General Letitia James . | Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images New York Attorney General Letitia James announced Wednesday that her office has launched an investigation into Twitch, Discord, 4chan, 8kun (previously 8chan), and other web and social media platforms in response to the racist attack in Buffalo, New York. The investigation will focus on “platforms that may have been used to stream, promote, or plan the event.” James is focusing her attention on the platforms the shooter used to “discuss and amplify” the attack. The gunman reportedly planned his attack in a private server on Discord before the shooting. In a document written by the shooter, he mentions using and getting influenced by both 4chan and 8chan, two sites known for a lack of moderation. “As we continue to mourn and honor the lives that were stolen, we are taking serious action to investigate these companies for their roles in this attack,” James said in a statement . My office i

Free for people, not businesses. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Almost five months after Google announced that it was going to make G-Suite legacy free edition users start paying for their accounts, it seems to finally have a path in place that most people will be happy with. According to 9To5Google , there’s now a no-cost option that’ll let people keep using their G-Suite accounts for personal use, and signing up for it won’t involve a song and dance of joining a waitlist or transferring data between accounts. In January, Google announced that free G-Suite users would have to start paying for Google Workspace if they wanted to keep their accounts, after around a decade of keeping the legacy free tier around. The company said that if users didn’t decide which paid Workspace tier they wanted by May 1st, they’d be automatically upgraded based on their use. Later, Google said you’d have the option of transferring to a free account, but that you’d lose some features doin

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Netflix has been showing movies and TV shows ahead of their public release to small groups of subscribers in the US, according to a report from Variety . Subscribers who participate in the feedback panels will watch “several upcoming movies and series over the course of about six months,” Variety says, and after they finish watching a piece of content, they’re asked to fill out a survey. The company then takes that feedback into account for potential changes ahead of a film or show’s debut. Netflix is well-known for testing many of its software features ahead of wider releases, like the Top 10 row and the “Play Something” shuffle feature , so it’s perhaps not too surprising that the company is also testing its content with small groups of users. The company has apparently been doing this since May 2021. The groups could help Netflix zero in on potential hits as it tries to weather the fallout from its latest earnings report, where it repor

Image: Disney When Disney Plus’ ad-supported plan goes live later this year, it will reportedly run ads for four minutes on movies or shows that last an hour or less, according to reports from Variety and The Wall Street Journal . As Variety points out, this would make Disney offer fewer ads per hour than some of its competitors. NBC’s Peacock runs no more than five minutes of ads for every hour of content, while HBO Max shows four minutes of ads per hour. Disney Plus’ planned number of ads even beats the Disney-owned Hulu, which runs anywhere from nine to 12 ads in one hour. As for the content of the ads themselves, the company is reportedly taking a cautious approach to maintain its family-friendly image. Disney isn’t just cutting out ads that may have adult themes, like anything related to alcohol or politics — Variety reports that it won’t accept any ads if they're from an entertainment competitor either. Disney may show fewer ads than its competitors Disney plans o

She-Hulk showing up at an event. | Disney Though Bruce Banner’s been one of the most physically powerful people running around Marvel’s movies for years at this point, that’s all about to change this summer as his cousin Jennifer Walters makes her way to MCU in Disney Plus’ She-Hulk: Attorney At Law . While both Hulks make appearances in She-Hulk ’s first trailer, the show’s clearly going to be Jennifer’s to own as she embarks on her own path to heroism. She-Hulk: Attorney At Law ’s first trailer introduces Jennifer at a tricky point in her already complicated life. Because the world’s filled with so many villains committing super crimes, Jennifer’s legal skills put her in high demand, but she isn’t quite certain that’s the kind of force for justice she wants to be. That soul searching’s likely what leads to her meeting up with Bruce (Mark Ruffalo) that somehow leads to an experiment that leaves her with the ability to transform into a hulking (and very CGI-ed) version of herself