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Richard Lawler
Believe (in Spotify HiFi).

If you’re still waiting for Spotify’s lossless audio offering, Chris Messina notes that the 9.0.58 update that rolled out a couple of days ago on Android has new changes hinting at the feature for settings tied to cellular downloading and checking storage space.

It’s similar to what we saw last month, but after all these years, how long will it take to turn into something everyone can use?

Whoop MG review: a big whoop for a small crowd

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Verge Score

I regret to say it’s still only athletes who should give a whoop about Whoop.

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Andrew Liszewski
8BitDo updated three of its controllers so they’re ‘fully optimized to work with Steam.’

The company announced through its X account that its Ultimate 2 Wireless, Pro 2, and SN30 Pro Bluetooth controllers are now optimized to work with Steam and SteamOS on desktop and handhelds.

8BitDo says it will soon share more details about how the controllers’ Steam compatibility has been improved, but recommends that users update their “controller firmware and Steam client to the latest version for the best performance.”

Three 8Bitdo controllers on a wooden table beneath a Valve Steam Deck console.
Three of 8BitDo’s wireless Bluetooth controllers are getting updates to improve compatibility with devices running Steam or SteamOS.
Image: 8BitDo
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Jacob Kastrenakes
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Andrew Liszewski
The ZX Spectrum inventor’s nephew created a new ultra-thin handheld emulator.

Grant Sinclair, the nephew of Sir Clive Sinclair who invented the iconic ZX Spectrum 8-bit home computer, has created a new handheld emulator called the GamerCard that’s just 6.5mm thick thanks to its unique silicone covered micro button controls.

It’s powered by a Raspberry Pi Zero 2W with a quad-core processor and features a 4-inch, high-res, 60 fps, square screen but its £125 (around $170) price tag puts it in competition with more capable and familiar-looking handhelds from Anbernic and Retroid.

<em>The GamerCard’s Raspberry Pi is compatible with emulators like RetroPie so you can play thousands of retro titles on the handheld, although most won’t fill its unique square screen.</em>
<em>The GamerCard also features a pair of speakers, shoulder buttons on the back. 128GB of storage, a 1,600mAh battery, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and a USB-C port that supports video out capabilities.</em>
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The GamerCard’s Raspberry Pi is compatible with emulators like RetroPie so you can play thousands of retro titles on the handheld, although most won’t fill its unique square screen.
Image: Grant Sinclair Cardiff
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Dominic Preston
Resident Evil is coming to mobile.

Survival Unit is a “survival horror strategy” game for smartphones. That’s about all we know so far, apart from this teaser image that reveals it’ll be set in the timeline’s early days while the Umbrella Corporation is still around.

It’s being co-developed by Aniplex Inc and Joycity Corporation, and we’ll find out more when the trailer drops at 6PM ET on July 10th, including whether it’ll tie into next year’s Resident Evil Requiem.

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Jess Weatherbed
European publishers have beef with Google’s AI Overviews.

A complaint filed by a group of independent publishers alleges that Google abuses its market power by not allowing them to withhold their content from AI Overviews without losing the ability to appear in Search results — a choice that Google believes may impact AI monetization.

The group is calling on the EU Commission to put “interim measures” in place to prevent irreparable harm to competition and news access.

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Andru Marino
I tried playing Lorde’s new CD.

This week we saw Lorde fans having trouble playing the CD version of Virgin because of its recyclable transparent design. I had some positive results playing from traditional clamshell players, but not so much with slot-style CD player mechanisms like in car stereos and game consoles.

Can the music industry make AI the next Napster?

Turns out copyright law in music is special — and the record labels are bringing out the big guns.

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    Andrew Liszewski
    The Remarkable tablet can now send your notes and sketches to Slack.

    If you’re using a Remarkable tablet running at least software version 3.17, a new integration will let you send handwritten notes and sketches directly to Slack with a single tap. Your notes will be converted to editable text that can be copied and pasted, but you’ll also get an image of them you can share with colleagues.

    But the feature is only available if you’re paying for a Remarkable Connect subscription, and have a Pro, Business Plus, or Enterprise Grid Slack plan.

    LLMs are optimizing the adult industry

    ‘It lets me operate at 90 percent when I’m at 30 percent.‘

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    Dominic Preston
    The end of an Anthem.

    BioWare’s much-maligned live service shooter is shutting its servers on January 12th, 2026. It’ll be playable until then, though you can no longer purchase in-game premium currency, and it’ll disappear from EA Play on August 15th. EA says there have been no layoffs as a result, though jobs were lost at BioWare in January.

    The publisher gave up on fixing Anthem with new content in 2021, and the writing’s been on the wall ever since.

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    Dominic Preston
    xAI gets permission to pollute.

    Elon Musk’s AI company has been granted a permit for 15 natural gas turbines to power a Memphis data center, along with limits on their emissions, which include smog-forming nitrogen oxides and carbon monoxide.

    The company has been accused of running the generators without permits for almost a year, and the Southern Environmental Law Center claims there are many more than that — raising the question of whether xAI will really stop at 15 now.

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    Jess Weatherbed
    Saja beats your idols.

    Netflix only released the Sony-animated K-Pop Demon Hunters movie two weeks ago, but its catchy soundtrack is already beating out established K-pop artists in the US. “Your Idol” by the Saja Boys — the movie’s villainous and entirely fictional boy band backed by some respected voices — hit No.2 on the US Spotify chart Thursday, dethroning BTS as the highest-charting K-pop band in US Spotify history.

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    Twitter
    Thomas Ricker
    Something everyone can hate.

    Elon Musk’s embrace of acronyms like MAGA and DOGE has alienated the left, while his commitment to clean energy and EVs continues to enrage the entrenched oil and gas interests of the Trumpian right. So, can anyone still appreciate Tesla’s massive new off-grid Supercharger, even if it’s only because the company finally nailed a timeline?

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    Justine Calma
    The EPA is reportedly investigating employees who signed a letter critical of Trump.

    The Environmental Protection Agency placed 144 employees on administrative leave, the New York Times reports. The move comes after hundreds of EPA employees signed a letter accusing the Trump administration of “ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters.”

    Since Donald Trump stepped back into office, the EPA has worked to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, including plans to weaken protections against forever chemicals in drinking water. DOGE also tore into the agency, making it more difficult to hold companies accountable for breaking environmental laws.

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    The Verge
    Justine Calma
    House Republicans passed the massive spending bill that slashes solar, wind, and EV tax credits.

    The bill quickly sunsets incentives that Congress approved in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act that was expected to cut US greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 40 percent from peak levels by 2030. On top of more pollution, wholesale electricity prices could also increase by 25 percent by 2030 as a result of the bill, according to one initial analysis

    The bill now heads to President Donald Trump to sign into law.

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    Sean Hollister
    Can confirm: the Genki Moonbase is a stylish power strip.

    Not saying I’d buy, as my fav feature went MIA, but I’d love it as a gift! The $129 Genki Moonbase has three mesmerizing AC outlets (US, EU, UK or AU) and four USB-C charge ports. Those top out at 140W, 100W, 30W and 30W, but you don’t lose too many watts with four gadgets plugged. My only disappointment is the light-up Moonlink cables no longer help you find ports in the dark. Genki says it removed that promise early on.

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    Youtube
    Andrew Liszewski
    DiskFight reimagines Whac-A-Mole with disk drives and floppies.

    Robert Smith created an alternate version of the iconic Whac-A-Mole arcade game for the generation that both remembers arcades and knows why the save icon looks the way it does, as spotted by Hackaday.

    DiskFight swaps hammers and moles for four 3.5-inch disk drives that has players trying to quickly eject and reinsert floppy disks while also dealing with disks that pop out all on their own. It’s powered by Arduinos and a 33-year-old Amiga 600.

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    Youtube
    Charles Pulliam-Moore
    Boys Go to Jupiter to get more ...isometric.

    From director Julian Glander (Summer Camp Island), Boys Go to Jupiter revolves around Billy 5000 (Jack Corbett) — a gig worker whose life is upended when he stumbles across an alien egg that hatches into a small creature he must take care of. The movie looks equal parts inspired, adorable, and like something worth checking out when it hits theaters on August 8th.

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    Youtube
    Charles Pulliam-Moore
    It’s time for Dan Da Dan season 2.

    Following its theatrical preview earlier this summer, the second of Science Saru’s Dan Da Dan adaptation is finally streaming on Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, and a few other streaming platforms depending on which territory you live in. You can also check out the new season’s opening and closing credits sequences on YouTube.

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