More from The Verge + The Verge's gadgets of the decade This was a ton of fun to participate in. A lot of us argued a lot. These aren't necessarily the best, the more successful, or even the most influential (though all three are reasons for some of them to be included). To my mind they're the most definitional, which is a fuzzy idea but to me it means that if you wanted to understand what tech and gadgets were and meant for the last 10 years, this is the list. + This was the decade climate change slapped us in the face Warming up a degree or two might seem like small beans, but consider this: at 2 degrees Celsius of warming, nearly all of the world's coral reefs could vanish. Tens of thousands of people could lose their lives each year to extreme heat at 2 degrees of warming compared to meeting the 1.5-degree target. + Wheels redesigns its shareable e-bikes to include a helmet Wheels the company, not the Mac wheels. Anyway: Yes! This is great! I bought a little collapsable helmet and I have no idea if it actually is as safe as promised (I checked for certifications but you know how it goes). Even if my helmet was totally okay, it doesn't matter because I never really carry it around. Somebody should do a startup with lockable helmets that can just be bolted on to any rentable rideable. + The Justice Department will reportedly investigate Google's Fitbit acquisition Justice Department antitrust chief Makan Delrahim has hinted that privacy concerns could play a role in any investigation. "It would be a grave mistake to believe that privacy concerns can never play a role in antitrust analysis," Delrahim said at a conference in November, soon after the acquisition. "Without competition, a dominant firm can more easily reduce quality — such as by decreasing privacy protections — without losing a significant number of users." + Google is using machine learning to make alarm tones based on the time and weather How odd that this is only launching on this specific Lenovo clock. I would definitely give this a shot on my phone -- I am sure many many more people use their phones as alarm clocks than smart speakers. + Chrome now warns you when your password has been stolen I use 1Password, which has a similar (and honestly more robust) feature. I may have mentioned this before but I'll say it again: sometime in the near future when you find yourself binge watching something, pull our your laptop and just run through changing some passwords. With 1Password, I was able to just grind through dozens of passwords in the course of an afternoon with Netflix. + Google built its own tiny HDMI 2.1 box to jump-start 'the next generation of Android TV' Before you get too excited, know that it's a developer device. Like its predecessor, the ADT-2, it's possible you'll never see one officially available for purchase. After all, the ADT-2 didn't exactly spawn a wave of new tiny Android TV devices (unless you count Nvidia's chunky new Shield TV tube). + Facebook tells US attorney general it won't remove encryption from its messaging apps I wonder if this will differ in any way from the fight Apple had with the FBI over encrypted messages. Facebook does not have the foundation of wide public support for its privacy policies that Apple does. + iOS 13.3 arrives with full support for physical security keys So far I haven't managed to get it to work with the Google Advanced Protection Program on the iPhone, which still requires a Bluetooth key (or, ironically, a secure Android phone) to go along with Google's silly, bad Smart Lock app. There's a whole story to be written about the number of inter-app redirects that are required to make this work on the iPhone and why they're happening, but it's all just too exhausting to even start. + Waze now allows you to report unplowed roads and black ice This would have been really useful when I was plotting how to drive three hours in Minnesota right before Thanksgiving after that snowstorm. Honestly surprised it's taken this long. I would like to think it's not because most of Waze's developers live in places where this kind of weather never happens. + Microsoft's full-screen Windows 7 upgrade prompts start next month If you're reading this, there's a better than even chance you'll not see this dialog. But a friend or relative might. Please be helpful. Sometimes it sucks offering tech advice or help because it puts you on the hook to have to help out the next time too. But in this case, it's worth that risk. + Legit finally Lightroom finally adds direct photo import on iOS |
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