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The Verge
25 minutes ago
- Business
- The Verge
Valve founder Gabe Newell just purchased a superyacht company
Valve founder Gabe Newell is setting out on a new adventure — and it doesn't involve Half-Life 3. Instead, Newell is acquiring Oceanco, the yacht-building company that's creating his $400 million super ship, as reported earlier by Boat International. In a post about the change, Oceanco says Newell's interest in the brand comes from a 'lifelong fascination with the sea' and 'a deep respect for the people who live and work on it.' Oceanco is based in the Netherlands, and it has changed leadership a few times since its founding in 1987, with private investor Mohammed Al Barwani helming the company for the past 15 years before Newell came along. Along with Newell's 364-foot-long superyacht, Oceanco developed Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' $500 million sailing yacht, Koru, which stretches 417 feet long. It's also behind the Kaos sailing superyacht owned by Walmart heir Nancy Walton Laurie, as well as the Bravo Eugenia, owned by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Newell has a growing fleet of yachts as well, including the Oceanco-built Draak (formerly called the Tranquility) and the Rocinante superyacht, built by German yacht-maker Lürssen. As for what Newell plans to do now that he's the head of a big superyacht builder, Oceanco puts it pretty simply: 'His first decision? Leave the team alone. Seriously. Oceanco has vision and integrity, and a culture that actually works. Gabe doesn't want to fix it, he wants to fuel it.' Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Emma Roth Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All PC Gaming
The Verge
25 minutes ago
- The Verge
Amazon pulls the plug on Sengled's Alexa skill after months of outages
After repeatedly leaving customers without smart control of their lights, Sengled has been booted from Amazon's Works With Alexa program. As first reported by TechHive, beginning August 1st, Sengled's Alexa skill for controlling its line of LED lights, plugs, switches, and sensors with your voice and routines is no longer available. In a statement to The Verge explaining the decision, Amazon spokesperson Lauren Raemhild said, 'We hold a high bar for the Alexa experience. Sengled has experienced a series of prolonged outages over the past few months that have not been resolved, preventing customers from being able to use Sengled's Alexa skill to control their light bulbs.' The future doesn't look bright for Sengled, which has been silent since the problems started appearing earlier this summer. There appears to have been no communication to customers from the company (Amazon did reach out to its customers about the outages), and no indication of these issues on its website. Repeated attempts by The Verge to contact Sengled have been met with no response. If your Sengled bulbs were Wi-Fi, you're out of luck. There is some good news. If you own Sengled bulbs that use Zigbee, BLE Mesh, or Matter, rather than Wi-Fi, they can still work with Alexa by bypassing Sengled's spotty servers and connecting to a compatible Echo speaker or Eero Wi-Fi router (this may require setting them up again). Another option is to connect Zigbee bulbs to third-party platform hubs that support the protocol, such as Home Assistant, Hubitat, or the Aeotec SmartThings hub. But if your bulbs were Sengled's Wi-Fi ones, you're out of luck. These won't connect to Alexa, although they will still work with Sengled's app, for as long as Sengled's servers are still running. Users have started reporting problems there, too. All of which goes to show that relying on cloud services to turn your lights on is a fragile solution. This is a story we've seen too often in the smart home. Just last month, Belkin shuttered its WeMo smart home business, and the smart home graveyard is littered with other examples: iHome, Revolv, Staples Connect, Lowes' Iris, Best Buy's Insignia, and more. A common thread with these shutdowns is that the products relied on cloud servers. At one time, it was easier and less expensive for a company to develop a cloud-based controller than a local system, as they don't require a hub or bridge and can be simpler to set up and use. However, companies have to maintain those servers, as well as API connections to smart home platforms and voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, which can be costly and resource-intensive. When the business model no longer pans out, history shows us that if they can't sell it, companies just shut it down. This brings me to my best piece of advice to anyone buying a smart home device today, especially something as integral as lighting: make sure it has the option of local control. That way, if the company goes under or stops providing the service you signed up for, then your device will still keep working (in some fashion). Plus, locally controlled devices tend to be faster, as they don't have to wait for a response from a server. Relying on cloud services to turn your lights on is a fragile solution. As noted, some Sengled bulbs don't rely on a cloud connection and instead can work locally in your home. Thanks to a connection via local protocols like Apple's HomeKit or Zigbee, some products from those companies listed above also still work, even though their servers are gone. That's one of the reasons why the new Matter standard is so crucial to the smart home. While it has had its problems, Matter is built on the foundations of HomeKit, Zigbee, and other technologies. It's an entirely local protocol, communicating to a Matter controller (hub) in your home, not to a company's cloud. While Matter ecosystems such as Apple Home, Google Home, Amazon Alexa, and Home Assistant can connect to the cloud to give control when you're away from home and enable other features like voice assistants, that's a layer on top of Matter. If a device like a smart bulb supports Matter, either over Wi-Fi or Thread, you don't need the internet to turn on the lights. And, if the manufacturer's server dies, your device won't. Matter isn't the only option here. Devices that work over Zigbee, Z-Wave, BLE and BLE Mesh, and local Wi-Fi, also offer local control. But the standardization of Matter, its wide industry support, and its use of non-proprietary IP-based protocols Matter and Thread all broaden its overall compatibility and should make it more futureproof. The situation with Sengled is just the latest reminder that for a truly reliable smart home, look for local control. While the cloud offers benefits, it should be part of your solution for a smarter home, not the only one. Matter is a smart home interoperability standard designed to provide a common language for connected devices to communicate locally in your home without relying on a cloud connection. It is built to be secure and private, easy to set up, and widely compatible. Developed by Apple, Amazon, Google, Samsung, and others, Matter is an open-sourced, IP-based connectivity software layer for smart home devices. It works over Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Thread. Thread is a low-power, wireless mesh protocol. It operates on the same 2.4GHz spectrum as Zigbee and is designed for low-power devices, such as sensors, light bulbs, plugs, and shades. IP-based, Thread devices can communicate directly with each other, the internet, and with other networks using a Thread Border Router. Today, Matter supports most of the main device types in the home, including lighting, thermostats, locks, robot vacuums, refrigerators, dishwashers, dryers, ovens, smoke alarms, air quality monitors, EV chargers, and more. A smart home gadget with the Matter logo can be set up and used with any Matter-compatible ecosystem via a Matter controller and controlled by more than one ecosystem with a feature called multi-admin. Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Samsung SmartThings, Apple Home, Home Assistant, Ikea, and Aqara are among the well-known smart home companies supporting Matter, along with hundreds of device manufacturers. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Amazon Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Amazon Alexa Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Analysis Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Matter Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Report Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Smart Home Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
The Verge
an hour ago
- Business
- The Verge
Amazon's best Kindles are cheaper than ever at Best Buy
A Kindle lets you carry an entire bookshelf while on the go, which is why almost every year we recommend the e-reader in our guides to the best back to school essentials. With a new semester just around the corner, it's no surprise Best Buy is currently offering the latest versions of some of our favorite models at record low prices. You can, for example, pick up the ad-supported Kindle Paperwhite starting at $124.99 ($35 off) from Best Buy and Target, while Best Buy is selling the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition for $179.99 ($100 off). Best Buy is even discounting the Kindle Scribe, selling the note-taking e-reader with 32GB of storage starting at $259.99 ($140 off). Of all the e-readers out there, the Kindle Paperwhite is my top pick for those who mainly own Kindle books. As somebody who loves reading in the bath, my favorite feature is its IPX8 waterproof rating, which lets me relax without worrying. It's also the fastest and easiest Paperwhite to read yet, thanks to a bigger and brighter 7-inch display that retains its predecessor's sharp 300ppi resolution. Amazon's latest Kindle Paperwhite — aka our favorite ebook reader — is perfect for the valentine who likes to relax by the pool or pretty much anywhere. It's designed to last for weeks at a time, not days, while a larger seven-inch display and adjustable color temperature allow for more natural lighting in any environment. Amazon's other discounted Kindles are also worth considering depending on your needs. If you read a lot of textbooks with visuals or enjoy graphic novels, I'd recommend buying the Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition instead. It is largely similar to the Paperwhite but steps things up with a 150ppi color mode that's impressively vibrant for an E ink screen. You'll also get double the storage (32GB), no annoying lockscreen ads, and the added convenience of wireless charging. The Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition is Amazon's first e-reader with a color display. It also boasts 32GB of storage, waterproofing, and support for wireless charging. Then there's the Kindle Scribe, which is designed for readers who like to take notes while reading. Its larger 10.2-inch display features a paper-like screen and comes bundled with a stylus. Recent software updates now allow you to finally write directly on the page of what you're reading, while its built-in digital notebook means you won't need to carry a separate one to class. The Kindle Scribe even features AI-powered tools that can clean up your handwriting and keep everything organized, making it an excellent all-in-one study companion. The latest Kindle Scribe is a 10.2-inch e-reader with a stylus for taking notes. It's faster than its predecessor and offers a host of new features, including one that lets you jot notes directly in your book. Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox weekly. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Sheena Vasani Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Amazon Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Deals Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
The Verge
2 hours ago
- The Verge
The HoverAir Aqua is a drone that floats on water.
Posted Aug 4, 2025 at 7:41 PM UTC The HoverAir Aqua is a drone that floats on water. The HoverAir X1 is one of the best drones for people who don't like drones, we found last year: an affordable, portable, and durable self-flying selfie camera. Now, the company's teasing a new model that floats on water (can it land and take off, though?) with a new compact controller. Hopefully it'll be simpler and cheaper than the company's too-ambitious X1 Pro and ProMax drones, whose modular controllers have never worked right for me. Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates. Sean Hollister Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Sean Hollister Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Drones Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
The Verge
2 hours ago
- The Verge
ChatGPT will ‘better detect' mental distress after reports of it feeding people's delusions
OpenAI, which is expected to launch its GPT-5 AI model this week, is making updates to ChatGPT that it says will improve the AI chatbot's ability to detect mental or emotional distress. To do this, OpenAI is working with experts and advisory groups to improve ChatGPT's response in these situations, allowing it to present 'evidence-based resources when needed.' In recent months, multiple reports have highlighted stories from people who say their loved ones have experienced mental health crises in situations where using the chatbot seemed to have an amplifying effect on their delusions. OpenAI rolled back an update in April that made ChatGPT too agreeable, even in potentially harmful situations. At the time, the company said the chatbot's 'sycophantic interactions can be uncomfortable, unsettling, and cause distress.' OpenAI acknowledges that its GPT-4o model 'fell short in recognizing signs of delusion or emotional dependency' in some instances. 'We also know that AI can feel more responsive and personal than prior technologies, especially for vulnerable individuals experiencing mental or emotional distress,' OpenAI says. As part of efforts to promote 'healthy use' of ChatGPT, which now reaches nearly 700 million weekly users, OpenAI is also rolling out reminders to take a break if you've been chatting with the AI chatbot for a while. During 'long sessions,' ChatGPT will display a notification that says, 'You've been chatting a while — is this a good time for a break?' with options to 'keep chatting' or end the conversation. OpenAI notes that it will continue tweaking 'when and how' the reminders show up. Several online platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and even Xbox, have launched similar notifications in recent years. The Google-owned platform has also launched safety features that inform parents which bots their kids are talking to after lawsuits accused its chatbots of promoting self-harm. Another tweak, rolling out 'soon,' will make ChatGPT less decisive in 'high-stakes' situations. That means when asking ChatGPT a question like, 'Should I break up with my boyfriend?' the chatbot will help you walk through potential choices instead of giving you an answer. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Emma Roth Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All AI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All OpenAI Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Policy
