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Intel picks a favorite in the wireless charging race with A4WP membership

2013-06-20T02:25:52Z

In the competition to establish the one true wireless power standard, the Alliance for Wireless Power (A4WP) is adding a big name partner today: Intel. The A4WP was formed last year by Samsung, Qualcomm, and wireless charging company Powermat, but now boasts over 50 members, including Broadcom, Sandisk and LG. That’s roughly the same as the Power Matters Alliance (PMA) and only a third the number of partners as the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC), both of which back a different technology, inductive charging, under the names Qi and Power 2.0. Although the battle won’t likely be won or lost by a single partner, Intel’s decision is notable since it’s the first time the company has publicly backed any wireless charging standard.

Twitter scoops up Spindle in bid to improve local recommendations

2013-06-19T23:34:21Z

In April, reports surfaced that Twitter was experimenting with new ways to introduce local tweets into the timeline. All Things D reported that the company was looking at different ways to surface nearby tweets, either in the Discover tab or in the main timeline, as a way of making Twitter feel relevant and personalized no matter where you were.

We haven't seen any of those features materialize. But Twitter took another step into local discovery today when it acquired Spindle, makers of an iPhone app that alerted users to nearby events and deals based on their location. The app, which has now been removed from the App Store, integrated with social networks including Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, and Yelp. Users could browse it for...

Back to reality: Microsoft's new Xbox One policies retreat from the future

2013-06-19T23:26:24Z

Last week at E3, in a private room inside Microsoft's massive, green booth, Marc Whitten spent most of our interview talking about the future. "As we think of the next five to ten years of innovation," he said, "we're going to be able to drive really great new experiences. I'm personally most proud of the Xbox 360, and how different the 360 is from what it was in 2005. And that's all about making really big platform bets and bets about the future of entertainment." Whitten would talk about the launch experience at times, but he was much more interested in finding ways to guide Xbox users to the brave new connected world of gaming and entertainment.

Which made today's abrupt about-face all the more surprising. Microsoft announced that...

90 Seconds on The Verge: Wednesday, June 19th, 2013

2013-06-19T22:57:10Z

I used to go to The Cheesecake Factory with my grandparents on Christmas Eve. Good memories. Happy times.

Vine founders tease redesigned UI with drafts and category features

2013-06-19T22:52:38Z

Vine's founders have taken to their own medium to tease what appears to be a number of visual changes and new features to the video service's apps. The apparent redesign would have Vines blown up to the full width of a user's screen rather than existing within individual boxes. The change would create a nearly seamless feed of videos by removing the space that used to be dedicated to comments, likes, and share buttons. Instead, those elements would be overlaid on the very bottom of each post, while a persistent video capture button hovers at the bottom of the screen.

Human Angle: Finding John Marston

2013-06-19T22:11:07Z

Viacom to debut TV highlights on Twitter at MTV Music Awards

2013-06-19T21:17:04Z

The rumored partnership between Twitter and Viacom has come to fruition. The companies said today they have struck a deal to embed clips from popular Viacom shows and events inside Twitter, starting with the MTV Music Awards on August 25th. It's a high-profile push into television that could prove lucrative for Twitter as it prepares for an eventual initial public offering.

People will be able to tweet out ad-supported clips from the awards show, which Twitter says was the most-discussed news event of 2012 at 14.7 million tweets. Afterward, the ability to tweet clips will extend to shows on Viacom networks including MTV, VH1, CMT, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, TV Land, and Spike, among others.

MakerBot purchased by professional-grade 3D printing company Stratasys for $604 million

2013-06-19T21:04:38Z

MakerBot, one of the companies at the fore of making 3D printing available to consumers, has just been acquired by professional-grade 3D printing company Stratasys. MakerBot will continue to operate as a separate company and under its own name, and no immediate plans for the two companies to integrate products or services have been announced. Stratasys is set to pay $604 million for MakerBot, and it should close the deal sometime this fall if it receives regulatory approval. Of that $604 million, two-thirds will be delivered immediately as stock, while the remaining third is subject to MakerBot's performance over the next two years.

While both companies work in 3D printing, they've been distinctly focused on different ends of the...

For the first time, scientists can identify your emotions based on brain activity

2013-06-19T21:00:05Z

The field of neuroscience has been animated recently by the use of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or fMRI. When a person lies in an fMRI machine, scientists can see their brain activity in real time. It’s a species of mind reading that promises to unlock the still mysterious workings of our grey matter.

In April, a team in Japan announced that they could identify when a subject was dreaming about different types of objects like a house, a clock, or a husband. Last November, another group of researchers using this technique was able to predict if gadget columnist David Pogue was thinking about a skyscraper or a strawberry.

What earlier studies couldn’t determine, however, was how the subjects were actually feeling. A new...

Microsoft reverses Xbox One online check and used games policies following backlash

2013-06-19T20:42:57Z

Microsoft is making a major U-turn today by reversing some of its controversial Xbox One policies. In a statement on the company's Xbox blog, Microsoft says it's making policy changes "as a result of feedback from the Xbox community." Microsoft is reversing a 24-hour online check, noting that it will not be required to play offline Xbox One games. "After a one-time system set-up with a new Xbox One, you can play any disc-based game without ever connecting online again," says a Microsoft statement.

Microsoft is also reversing its used game policy, noting there will be no limitations to using and sharing games. "It will work just as it does today on Xbox 360." Microsoft previously revealed it would support installing games to HDD from...