Here’s the top tech news for Thursday, January 26th, 2023.
Meta has announced an end to Donald Trump’s ban from using Facebook and Instagram. The ban was put in place two years ago, after the deadly January 6th attacks on the Capitol.
Nintendo and Microsoft made for odd partners this morning, announcing that a long-anticipated remastered edition of the classic Nintendo 64 first-person shooter, GoldenEye 007, will launch Friday for players on Nintendo Switch and Xbox platforms.
Later in the afternoon, Microsoft hosted an Xbox Developer Direct showcase to preview games like Redfall, Forza Motorsport, The Elder Scrolls Online, and Minecraft Legends.
In other news, Adult Swim has officially cut ties with Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland in the wake of the voice actor’s two felony charges for domestic battery and false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, or deceit. The channel says the show is still in production, but its reputation will have taken a severe hit as a result of the allegations.
A big part of Microsoft’s strategy has always been how it bundles the services it offers to businesses. That’s great when everything’s working, less so when there’s an outage like we saw today with Outlook and Teams. If you can’t email your colleagues, and you can’t instant message them, then what in the world is left? WhatsApp? The outage brings to a close a tough week for Microsoft that included layoffs and declining sales.
And finally, Tesla says it’s investing billions in its Nevada operations which it says will help expand its battery cell and Semi truck production. The new $3.6 billion round of investment comes in addition to the $6.2 billion Tesla has already invested in the Nevada Gigafactory. The electric automaker reported its quarterly earnings results this afternoon, saying it earned $3.7 billion in net income on $24.3 billion in revenue.
Now, here’s a silly tweet to start your day:
Stay tuned, as we continue to update this list with the most important news of today: Wednesday, January 25th, 2023.
Jan 27, 2023, 1:48 AM UTCTom Warren and Andrew Webster
GoldenEye 007 is now available on Nintendo Switch and Xbox
After years of rights issues, a remastered version of GoldenEye 007 has finally arrived on Xbox, along with a port of the original for Switch that adds online multiplayer.
Jan 25, 2023, 10:34 PM UTCAndrew J. Hawkins
Joe Manchin is trying to derail the EV tax credit he helped craft
Manchin introduced a bill that would temporarily block the government from handing out the $7,500 tax credit for new EV purchases while also clawing back the credit from some people who have already received it.
Jan 25, 2023, 10:15 PM UTCMakena Kelly
Meta allows Trump back on Facebook and Instagram
The social media giant banned the former president following the deadly January 6th attack at the Capitol two years ago.
Jan 25, 2023, 9:55 PM UTCAdi Robertson
Elon Musk’s Twitter is caving to government censorship, just like he promised
We don’t know if Musk knew Twitter was blocking links to a BBC documentary in India, but it seems clear he doesn’t care.
Jan 25, 2023, 9:35 PM UTCAndrew J. Hawkins
Tesla made more money in 2022 than ever before, but its future still looks rocky
The company ended its third year in a row in the black, but price cuts and flagging demand mean there are more questions than answers.
Jan 25, 2023, 8:23 PM UTCUmar Shakir
Lauren Sánchez will lead an all-woman crew to space on Blue Origin
Media personality Lauren Sánchez has secured herself and a crew of five ‘impactful’ women an ‘early 2024’ spaceflight aboard boyfriend Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin spacecraft.
Jan 25, 2023, 7:42 PM UTCMitchell Clark
Messenger could be the dawn of third-party Windows widgets
Windows 11’s widget system has mostly consisted of Microsoft-made apps, but now a major developer is working on using the feature.
Jan 25, 2023, 7:16 PM UTCVictoria Song
How to use wearable tech if you’ve got tattoos
If you have a hard time using smartwatches because of your tattoos, here are some wearable alternatives.
Jan 25, 2023, 7:10 PM UTCCharles Pulliam-Moore
Rick and Morty will continue but without Justin Roiland
Adult Swim and High on Life developer Squanch Games have parted ways with the Rick and Morty co-creator, who is facing two felony charges for domestic violence.
Jan 25, 2023, 5:41 PM UTCMia Sato and Emma Roth
CNET found errors in more than half of its AI-written stories
The tech news site came under scrutiny this month after it was reported the outlet was using AI to write articles. Last week, executives said the use of the AI tool would be paused ‘for now.’
Jan 25, 2023, 5:02 PM UTCAndrew J. Hawkins
Rad Power Bikes’ new CEO acknowledges ‘mistakes,’ vows renewed focus on safety
Phil Molyneux, a former executive at Dyson and Sony, took over from Mike Radenbaugh late last year after a major recall. In an email to customers, Molyneux said the e-bike company will have ‘a laser focus on safety and reliability.’
Jan 25, 2023, 4:30 PM UTCAsh Parrish
Twitch is going to make pre-roll ads way less annoying
Twitch is also adding a bunch of features for streamers and sharing what it’s working on for creators in 2023 and beyond.
- CValve is notorious for its purported flat structure, where people are encouraged to work on whatever they want. But how does that work in practice?
People Make Games — previously seen investigating just how screwed up Roblox is and unregulated Counter-Strike gambling — anonymously interviewed 16 current and former Valve employees to find out.
Some of the employees interviewed thrived, others called out the company for having a massive diversity problem, and others still pointed to systemic flaws with the Stack ranking system.
- AToday on the Vergecast: Zombies, noncompetes, and the mystery of the missing USB-C hub.
I sat down with Charles Pulliam-Moore to talk the first two episodes of The Last of Us, but if you want to skip possible spoilers jump straight to 22:05 where I’m joined by Margaret O’Mara, author of The Code, to talk about the unique relationship between noncompetes and Silicon Valley. Finally we wrap the episode up answering your questions—including where all the USB-C only hubs are.
Jan 25, 2023, 4:09 PM UTCVerge Staff
The Verge’s favorite desktop accessories
Our workday companions include cats, smart speakers, SAD lamps, and kitchen timers.
Jan 25, 2023, 4:00 PM UTCCharles Pulliam-Moore
Poker Face is Peacock’s first truly great original series
Rian Johnson’s new murder mystery comedy series is aflush with intrigue, great storytelling, and a constellation of knockout guest stars.
- JMicrosoft is going to expand access its AI coding tool.
But, as this report from The Information notes, can AI “pair programmer” GitHub CoPilot be a money spinner? The publication points out:
Even 10 million developers paying $100 a year would generate just $1 billion in annual revenue, a sliver of the $198 billion Microsoft reported in the fiscal year ended June 2022.
Plus, there’s also that pending class action copyright lawsuit...
- RGreen light.
The N64 GoldenEye remaster is almost here, and this afternoon we’ll get a new Tesla quarterly earnings report, in case you’ve missed hearing from Elon Musk.
But first up is the Xbox stream at noon PT / 3PM ET, where we expect to hear about games like Redfall and Forza Motorsport — but not Starfield.
Jan 25, 2023, 2:30 PM UTCCasey Newton
Why Google is facing its most serious antitrust challenge to date
The US government is coming after the company’s ad business — and it might win
- DThe M2 Pro Mac Mini fills out its case.
Apple’s new M2 Pro Mac Mini comes with more power than any Mini before it. And unlike the M1 or M2 versions, the M2 Pro model actually fills out the spacious Mini case with a larger logic board and more powerful power supply. Unsurprisingly, the M2 Pro model also borrows some internal design ideas from the Mac Studio.
YouTuber Luke Miani has taken it down to the metal to see exactly what’s different with the M2 Pro Mini and the models before it. And when you’re done watching that, check out Chris Welch’s review.
Jan 25, 2023, 2:00 PM UTCAndrew J. Hawkins
Honda says all Acura EV sales will be ‘100 percent online,’ starting with ZDX
The performance and luxury brand will start taking reservations for the ZDX and ZDX Type S later this year. And while customers can make all of their purchasing decisions online, dealers will remain part of the process.
Jan 25, 2023, 2:00 PM UTCSangeeta Singh-Kurtz
Can you ‘hack’ your dating app to get better matches?
In this episode of Land of the Giants: Dating Games, we’re looking at the algorithms that run your love life.
Jan 25, 2023, 12:21 PM UTCTom Warren
Windows 11’s File Explorer is getting a modern UI overhaul
Microsoft is reportedly working on a big update to File Explorer that will deeply integrate OneDrive and Microsoft 365.
Jan 25, 2023, 12:07 PM UTCJon Porter
Major supplier to chipmakers expects a recovery sooner rather than later
‘Most of our customers tell us that they expect a recovery in the second half of this year.’
Jan 25, 2023, 8:50 AM UTCTom Warren
Microsoft Teams and Outlook back online after a four-hour outage
Multiple Microsoft 365 services went down worldwide due to a networking issue.
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