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Sean Hollister

Sean Hollister

Senior Editor

Sean is a senior editor at The Verge, a very good website he helped found in 2011. He thrives at the intersection of gaming, technology, and toys, with a side of consumer advocacy because companies just can't help themselves, can they? Sean previously led breaking news teams at The Verge and CNET and the reviews program at Gizmodo. He also has that voice.

Ethics statement, June 2023: Sean's wife is employed by Apple as a video producer. He therefore does not currently report or edit stories about Apple products or Apple as a company.

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The Verge
Microsoft couldn’t wait for Meteor Lake, so the Surface Laptop Studio 2 has a *separate* AI chip.

Microsoft’s spec sheet shows it’s a “Intel Gen3 Movidius 3700VC VPU AI Accelerator.” Intel’s website reveals that it’s a discrete chip roughly the size of my pinky’s fingertip at 14mm x 14mm.

It’s a PCIe Gen 3 device, so don’t be surprised if it comes on its own tiny SSD-sized M.2 expansion card. Here’s a whitepaper about its siblings. Meteor Lake won’t need a separate NPU like this:


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External Link
Intel is getting a billion dollars back from Europe — down from $1.4 billion — because its monopoly power WAS bad but maybe not THAT bad.

It’s a convoluted story! Intel paid a $1.4B fine in 2009, lost its challenge in 2014, won its challenge in 2022, and today the EU says it still owes a fine of $400 million (via AP).


Antitrust: Commission re-imposes €376.36 million fine on Intel

[European Commission - European Commission]

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Instagram
Ash breaks down why Unity devs are mad.

We’ve literally just now gotten word that Unity has changed its disastrous new pricing model after developers' protests, which you can read about from Ash Parrish here.

Also, here’s her very first appearance on The Verge’s video channels (Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube), explaining why it’s all such a big deal. Give her a warm welcome!


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Twitter
Your SwiftKey (and Samsung) keyboard might now have baked-in DALL-E.

AI-generated imagery is the new clip art, and Microsoft’s now making it dead easy to add to your chats — just swipe and type in SwiftKey to generate AI art on iPhone or Android.

Samsung’s keyboard has SwiftKey under the hood, so this is likely coming to a lot of phones. Microsoft’s also rolling out some “AI stickers” and “AI camera lenses,” but they’re pretty meh right now.


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External Link
PG&E can now fly drones without boots on the ground.

PG&E — not the most popular utility — can now just press a button to dispatch a self-flying Skydio X2 for inspections. It’s setting up automatic drone docks at 12 substations by end of year, and California will let the drones fly along power lines up to two miles away.

While the utility’s BVLOS waiver doesn’t seem to waive the need to have someone watching the drone from the ground, PG&E says it doesn’t need them.


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Youtube
No idea if I’ll use Microsoft Copilot, but this is absolutely my new jam.

Microsoft set its new Copilot ad to Amy McKnight’s “Rise Up Let’s Go.” Such energy... I might just keep it on repeat today!