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Screw it, I’m installing Linux

I don’t like where Windows is going. Gaming on Linux has never been more approachable. Time to give it a shot.

Nathan Edwards

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Richard Lawler
Meta Chief AI Scientist Yann Lecun is leaving.

Lecun’s widely-rumored departure is official just weeks after significant layoffs affected Meta’s legacy Fundamental AI Research unit (FAIR) that he created. Lecun — the “odd man out” at Meta for believing LLMs are a “dead end” — called creating FAIR “my proudest non-technical accomplishment,” and says he will create a startup to continue his Advanced Machine Intelligence research, with Meta as a partner.

Meanwhile, Meta will presumably lean into its $14 billion bet on Scale AI in pursuit of AGI “superintelligence.”

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External Link
Hayden Field
OpenAI rolled out GPT-5.1 Pro to all Pro users.

The company said that in early testing, users rated it “especially highly for writing help, data science, and business questions.” Enterprise users should receive access next Monday, per OpenAI. GPT-5 Pro, the new model’s predecessor, will be available via the legacy model dropdown menu for 90 days before OpenAI retires it.

The best iPhonesThe best iPhones
Tech
Tech
Allison Johnson
Talking to Windows’ Copilot AI makes a computer feel incompetent

Copilot’s limitations are ever-present, and it can lead you astray on even the basics.

Antonio G. Di Benedetto
The Verge’s 2025 holiday gift guide

A curated mix of tech-y standouts, everyday favorites, and other delights for everyone on your list.

Verge Staff
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Jennifer Pattison Tuohy
Home Assistant has a new Thread/Zigbee stick.

Hot on the heels of the launch of its big Z-Wave stick, Home Assistant is launching a slightly smaller stick to support Zigbee and Thread protocols.

The Home Assistant Connect ZBT-2 USB adaptor launches today for $49 (€45) and is a plug-and-play option for connecting Zigbee, Thread, or Matter devices directly to the Home Assistant platform.

According to the organization, it replaces the Connect ZBT-1 and is more powerful, with four times the speed, and features an ESP32-S3 chip that supports experimental firmware.

Meet CoreWeave, the AI industry’s ticking time bomb

Tick… tick…

Elizabeth Lopatto
I’m out of reasons to recommend Apple’s M1 MacBook Air, even at $600I’m out of reasons to recommend Apple’s M1 MacBook Air, even at $600
Gadgets
The Verge’s guide to Black Friday 2025
Cameron Faulkner
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Richard Lawler
Things are not right in the land of Pebble.

Rebble, which has kept the Pebble platform going, is at odds with Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky, just as Pebble is making its comeback.

Rebble is accusing Migicovsky’s company, Core Devices, of stealing its work, while Migicovsky claims Rebble is trying to build a walled garden around data scraped from the original Pebble Appstore.

The best Bluetooth trackers for Apple and Android phonesThe best Bluetooth trackers for Apple and Android phones
Buying Guides
Steam Machine and Steam Frame: your questions answered

Valve’s big hardware push: you asked, we answered.

Sean Hollister and Jay Peters
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External Link
Stevie Bonifield
Stargate returns from the wormhole again.

Amazon MGM Studios has greenlit a new Stargate series for Prime Video, with Martin Gero as writer and showrunner. Gero formerly wrote, produced, and directed episodes of all three of the original Stargate series. The Prime Video series is the second attempt to revive the franchise after the Stargate: Origins mini-series in 2018.

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TikTok
Elissa Welle
Join me as I try out this viral AI cheating pen.

Videos on YouTube make it seem like one swipe of a scanning pen like this will give you all the answers. I tested it out on math, science, and history questions.

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External Link
Andrew J. Hawkins
Tesla gets green light to launch robotaxis in Arizona.

The company was awarded a ridehailing permit by the state’s Department of Transportation, which clears the way for Tesla to launch a robotaxi service — potentially without safety drivers. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has said he wants to launch in 8-10 new markets before the end of 2025.

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External Link
Andrew Webster
The Letterboxd store opens soon.

The digital movie rental shop is slated to debut in early December. Letterboxd describes it as “curated shelves instead of just scrolling lists endlessly without being able to make up your mind on what to watch.”

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External Link
Terrence O'Brien
Suno valued at $2.45 billion in latest funding round as lawsuits loom.

The AI music company just announced that it raised $250 million in its latest funding round, and its valuation soared from about $500 million last year to nearly $2.5 billion. That money might be going right back out the door, though, as all three major labels — Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and Sony Music Group — are currently suing Suno.

How Jeffrey Epstein used SEO to bury news about his crimes

Documents released by the House Oversight Committee shed light on Epstein’s day-to-day, largely via email — including his preoccupation with his Google presence.

Mia Sato
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Andrew Liszewski
Switchbot’s $30 presence sensor runs for two years on a pair of AAAs.

Following Aqara and Meross, SwitchBot has announced a new presence sensor with light, PIR, and 60 GHz mmWave radar sensors to detect when people are in a room. It runs on two AAA batteries that are easy to replace and is compatible with various smart home platforms when paired with the SwitchBot Matter Hub.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

<em>SwitchBot’s presence sensor comes with an articulated magnetic base so it can be angled to detect humans but not pets.</em>
<em>The sensor can directly trigger various SwitchBot smart home devices, but it also works with platforms like Google Home and Apple Home when using the SwitchBot Hub.</em>
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SwitchBot’s presence sensor comes with an articulated magnetic base so it can be angled to detect humans but not pets.
Image: SwitchBot
How to find music you will love without the algorithm

Stop letting your streaming service take the reins and start listening with intention.

Terrence O'Brien
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External Link
Ash Parrish
Ubisoft promises to release its earnings report soon.

Last week, Ubisoft delayed releasing its most recent earnings report and asked European markets to stop trading its shares. This week, the company says it’ll release the report before trading opens on November 21st. So whatever’s going on over there, we’ll find out soon enough.

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Cameron Faulkner
Here come the third-party Steam Machine accessories.

Jsaux was early to ride the Steam Deck wave, and it’s even earlier to committing to the Steam Machine. Months ahead of its launch, Jsaux shared renders of two screen-equipped face plates, one of which seems similar to Valve’s not-for-sale e-paper prototype. My big question: how will these be powered?

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Andrew Liszewski
Samsung’s new compact wireless keyboard is lighter than Logitech’s.

At 218 grams the $109.99 Samsung Smart Keyboard is over 288 grams lighter than Logitech’s MX Keys Mini but can also connect and switch between three Bluetooth devices. It’s powered by a CR2032 coin cell battery and includes shortcuts for accessing Bixby, Gemini, or Copilot when connected to a PC.

<em>Instead of a rechargeable battery like Logitech uses, Samsung has opted for a coin cell battery in its new compact wireless keyboard but it didn’t share details on battery life.</em>
<em>The keyboard includes three customizable function keys for launching apps and shortcuts for summoning AI assistants.</em>
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Instead of a rechargeable battery like Logitech uses, Samsung has opted for a coin cell battery in its new compact wireless keyboard but it didn’t share details on battery life.
Image: Samsung
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Tom Warren
Another Windows 10 feature is coming to Windows 11.

Microsoft is finally bringing back calendar appointments to the notification center in Windows 11. It was removed at the launch of Windows 11 in 2021, after Microsoft reworked the taskbar. The new “Agenda view” will be available in preview builds of Windows 11 next month, according to Microsoft.

Image: Microsoft
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Dominic Preston
Robot Phone in real life.

When Honor first revealed its outlandishly named Robot Phone — really a smartphone with a flip-out DJI Osmo Pocket-esque camera arm built into the back — it was only in a slick CGI video. Now it’s shown off prototype hardware at its Honor User Carnival in China, suggesting this concept is one step closer to reality.

Photo of prototype Honor Robot Phone inside a glass box at an event
Photo of prototype Honor Robot Phone inside a glass box at an event
Photo of prototype Honor Robot Phone inside a glass box at an event
Photo of prototype Honor Robot Phone inside a glass box at an event
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The gimbal camera unfolds from the top of the phone.
Photo: 厂长是关同学 / Weibo
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Youtube
Charles Pulliam-Moore
Zeraora? Why, I haven’t heard that name in years.

The mythical pokémon Zeraora has been almost impossible to obtain in the mainline games since it was first introduced in Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon. But that’s probably going to change next month when the monster’s new Mega Evolved form debuts in Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s Mega Dimension DLC.

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Andrew Liszewski
Razer’s Raiju V3 Pro wireless controller is now available in the US.

The company announced its new $219.99 wireless controller for the PS5 and PC last month but it wasn’t immediately available in the US due to “pending regulatory clearance” as a result of the government shutdown. A few weeks later it’s finally available for purchase through Razer’s website.

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

The Razer Raiju V3 Pro wireless controller against a gradient background.
Image: Razer
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External Link
Thomas Ricker
OpenAI board member resigns over Jeffrey Epstein emails.

After communications between Larry Summers — who formerly held positions as Treasury Secretary and president of Harvard University — and the sex offender were made public, the current OpenAI board member now says he’ll resign from the position.

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Dominic Preston
A variation on a theme.

Just about every response to the Echo Aviation Controller, with its jumble of levers and dials, takes a similar tone. It “looks so dumb,” it’s “got extreme doohicky vibes,” it’s “the game controller version of a Bop-It.” But we all want it.

Bazirker:

This looks like an absolute abomination of a device and I can’t wait to buy one

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