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Silicon Roundabout

Are open-ear headphones viable in 2025? This pair made a bold statement at first listen

The Nwm One open-ear headphones aren't perfect in every environment, but their unique design and rich sound make a case for aware, immersive listening.

I saw the future of TVs at Samsung's South Korea lab - and I'm excited for these 3 things

The new open-source HDR10+ Advanced standard rivals Dolby Vision 2 — and you'll likely start seeing it everywhere soon.

Cleveland Guardians’ pitchers indicted for rigging online bets

Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were indicted in Brooklyn on charges that they conspired to illegallyrig bets on pitches thrown during games. The two were charged with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to influence sporting contests by bribery, and money laundering conspiracy, among other things. According to the indictment:The defendants agreed in advance with their co-conspirators to throw specific types and speeds of pitches, and their co-conspirators used tha

You need to listen to this compilation of ‘80s Spanish ambient and electronic music

Much of La Ola Interior (Spanish Ambient & Acid Exoticism 1983-1990) sounds shockingly contemporary for a collection of tracks recorded in the mid to late '80s. Ambient as a genre was already relatively well established by the time many of the artists on this compilation recorded their songs. But as we neared the end of the century, much of the scene in the US and Japan was beginning to push into New Age territory. These artists from the Spanish peninsula were trafficking in something

YouTube TV, ESPN, and Disney: the latest on the blackout

On October 31st, ESPN, ABC, Nat Geo, and over 20 other Disney-owned channels went dark on YouTube TV. As the two sides disagree about terms for a new content distribution contract, Google has accused Disney of trying to raise prices for its customers in an effort to boost its own Hulu + Live TV and Fubo offerings. Meanwhile, Disney claims that Google is being unreasonable and seeking preferential treatment and below-market rates, and streamed College GameDay for free during the dispute. It

Arturia’s KeyStep mk2 MIDI controller is a shortcut to flow state

Don’t mind my desk toys. Arturia's KeyStep is one of the most popular MIDI controllers ever made, especially with modular synth users and the DAWless crowd. It's small, cheap, has an easy-to-use sequencer, and offers decent connectivity. But it was also released way back in January of 2016. The world of music gear moves more slowly than, say, smartphones, but Arturia has several controllers released after the KeyStep that are already on their third generation. The $139 KeyStep mk2 takes t

This battery analyzer I discovered is a power users' dream - how it stands out

It charges, refreshes, and prepares your batteries for long-term storage.

Not enough people are talking about this budget Lenovo laptop that overdelivers

Lenovo's IdeaPad 5i offers a lot of value for its price point, but certain design elements may hold it back for some.

The tale of the Fire Phone, Amazon’s very strange smartphone

When Jeff Bezos decided Amazon needed to get in the smartphone game, he went all in. And the resulting device, the Fire Phone, wound up more densely packed with big ideas than just about any gadget you'll find anywhere. There was just one tiny problem: they were mostly bad ideas.The Fire Phone shipped in 2014 with a feature list a mile long. The screen had a 3D effect! There were, like, 400 cameras! There was a whole home screen filled with something called "delighters!" But the Fire Phone

Deck out your tree with ornaments of retro consoles, movie moments, and more

Do the ornaments you adorn your Christmas tree with reflect you or your family’s interests? If not, maybe you should rectify that. We recently went hands on with Hallmark’s realistic Xbox 360 replica ornament, which plays a snippet of audio from Halo 3. As it turns out, there are many other ornaments available that are specifically designed to evoke nostalgia and make us open our wallets (surprise, surprise). In fact, did you know that the company also makes a CRT monitor with The Oregon T

65daysofstatic’s new No Man’s Sky album searches for humanity in an AI-filled world

It's not often that a band returns to soundtrack the same game nine years after its release - then again, most games aren't No Man's Sky. Once demoed on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and at splashy E3 press conferences, in 2016, No Man's Sky was heralded as gaming's future. And it was all made possible by the procedural generation that spawned its vast, sci-fi universe.Nearly a decade later, as post-rock band 65daysofstatic returns to re-score the ever-evolving game, generated content

The algorithm failed music

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on how to break free of the algorithm and discover things you love, follow Terrence O'Brien. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepbackhere.How it startedI used to have this ritual. Every Tuesday, I would get off the train at 8th Street on my way home from work. I would pop into Other Music, buy a new CD (or three…) and then walk the rest of the

Ikea just took over your smart home

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 105, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, hope you've recovered from the clocks falling back, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.) This week, I've been reading about David Ellison and Common Crawl and Stephen Colbert, catching up on It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and The Great British Baking Show,letting TikTok turn me on to a new Olivia Dean song and a new Broadway

I invested in a portable label printer, and it's already paying off for my office

The Nelko label maker is a miniature workhorse that uses an app for your smartphone or laptop.

Upgrading your office? 12+ accessories that turned my laptop into the ultimate work machine

These accessories can elevate your basic laptop setup - and you won't have to spend a fortune.

Why my new favorite Windows ultraportable laptop isn't made by Lenovo or Dell

HP's OmniBook 7 Aero packs strong performance, a sharp 2K display, and outstanding speakers into an ultra-lightweight laptop built for professionals.

Samsung gave me a sneak peek at HDR10+ Advanced - it quickly made my TV feel outdated

The upcoming open-source standard goes toe-to-toe with Dolby Vision 2, and you'll likely see more of it in a matter of months.

Is this minimalist timepiece a viable alternative to smartwatches? My verdict after a week

Pebble is back with a $149 smartwatch that comes with key improvements, including a month-long battery life.

The Samsung Q8F is a great midrange TV - especially at this price

The Samsung Q8F is a more budget-friendly TV that still has some premium-grade features. Ahead of Black Friday, you can save $500 on one.

Amazon is selling the M4 MacBook Air for its lowest price ever - and it's an easy buy for me

Apple's 13-inch M4 MacBook Air is an easy win for most consumers, with more base memory, improved display support, and an extremely competitive price.