NASA launched an emergency mission to stop the Swift Observatory from crashing to Earth
The Swift Observatory was launched in 2004, but recent solar storms have pushed its orbit lower, and it's in danger of burning up in Earth's atmosphere as soon as this year. To try and stave off its demise, NASA has enlisted Katalyst Space Technologies. The company's Link spacecraft launched Friday with the goal of intercepting Swift, which has no propulsion system, and boosting its orbit back to its original position. Right now, Swift is circling at an altitude of 224 miles, and Link is aiming to raise that by about 150 miles.
Using a three-armed spacecraft to lift a satellite 150 miles higher into orbit is challenging enough, but the spee …
White House deletes thousands of web pages about energy conservation as heatwave slams US
The US Department of Energy reportedly deleted about 6,000 pages related to energy conservation as a historic heatwave tears across the country.
The deletion was suspiciously timed, following Republican outrage over Mayor Zohran Mamdani asking New Yorkers to help reduce strain on the grid by setting their AC to 78 degrees. Republicans like Ted Cruz (who has famously fled severe weather in his home state), Nikki Haley, and Representative Nancy Mace (South Carolina) quickly pounced, framing the request as socialism and an act of war on women in menopause (the Republican Party is notoriously concerned about women's health).
Of course, this i …
Matic’s robot vacuum is getting a $250 price hike in September
The Matic is our favorite robot vacuum by a pretty comfortable margin. If you’ve been thinking about buying one, you may want to plan on doing it sooner than later. The company will raise its price by $250 on September 9th, going from $1,245 to $1,495. Matic told The Verge that the new price reflects its rising costs for memory and other components for the vacuum, which it says are now tenfold.
Those who buy one directly from the company will get a year’s worth of replacement bags worth $96 at no extra cost. Each refill contains 12 bags, and they ship for free. Additionally, Matic has increased their return policy from 60 days to six months.
Matic
A different kind of robot vacuum and mop, Matic reinvents the floor cleaning machine.
Where to Buy:
Our reviewer Jennifer Pattison Tuohy praised the Matic’s “human-like navigation,” noting in her review that it got stuck only twice during six months of use. In her cluttered (Jen’s words, not mine), three-story home with pets, thick rugs, and high transitions, it handled difficult layouts with ease while delivering powerful suction and a great self-cleaning roller mop. It’ll continue vacuuming even if its water tank runs dry, and it’s quiet enough to let it run without becoming a distraction if you work from home.
It also requires very little maintenance. Rather than relying on a big multifunction dock, it carries its own water tank and stores dirty water in a disposable bag, so you’ll only need to empty and clean its dirty water reservoir. It even drives itself to the sink when it needs more water. Unlike many competing robot vacuums, it can also operate entirely offline, with maps and other data stored locally instead of in the cloud.
Read our Matic review.
Flatbush Zombies’ Erick the Architect misses his BlackBerry keyboard
Erick the Architect is a founding member of, and the primary producer for, the legendary Flatbush Zombies. He's toured the world, performed on Kimmel and Fallon, played Coachella, and collaborated with everyone from Joey Bada$$ and the Rza to James Blake and hardcore punk band Trash Talk. But perhaps the most unexpected collab was with Apple, when Erick popped up following Tim Cook's final WWDC presentation to rap about apps. That was just a precursor to him dropping his new disco and reggae-tinged single, "No Doubt (I'm In Love)."
The new track, produced by Yeti Beats and Federico Vindver, is definitely a shift in tone from the darker, gri …
Hey number pad lovers, this is a keyboard we can finally agree on
I know a vocal group of people who swear by the number pad on their keyboard. And yet, for years I haven't cared about using one - until I put my hands on the Epomaker RT98. It's a mechanical keyboard with a charming retro aesthetic, a fun CRT-like screen, VIA compatibility, a nice typing feel, and most importantly, a modular number pad that can be moved to either side. It's a clever compromise in a budget friendly-ish board, allowing you to further customize your setup without losing the functionality of the coveted "tenkey."
But like many mechanical keyboards out there, it's got some unique quirks and tradeoffs.
Epomaker RT98
Score: 7
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The square-ish phone that I wanted to love
The Ikko MindOne Pro is delightfully small.
I keep calling it a square phone, which isn't quite right; the screen is square, but the phone itself is slightly rectangular. The camera flips up so you can use it for selfies - you can even open it partway to use as a stand or a kind of PopSocket. There's a Clicks-style keyboard accessory that also adds a magnetic ring and a headphone jack. I tried so hard to like it, but this phone is a miss no matter how you look at it.
I used it like a normal phone. I downloaded a minimalist launcher and tried using it as kind of a dumb phone. I put the keyboard case on. I took the keyboard case off. Nothing …
The fanfiction community is at war with AI — and itself
Over the past week, a new fanworks movement has kicked off, with the aim to root out authors using generative AI. But the detection methods being implemented are questionable, and any fanfic writer could be caught in the crossfire.
Broad distaste around the use of Claude, ChatGPT, and other AI tools has long been a thing in creative communities, including the world of fanfiction. Readers and writers have passed around tips for spotting supposedly AI-generated works, citing anything from em dashes to the broad concept of purple prose. But on June 29th, an anonymous X account called @heatedrivalryai promised a seemingly more reliable solution …
Qi fan fan
Despite my initial skepticism, I'm now sold on wireless Qi chargers that add integrated fans to keep your phone cool while charging. I figured they'd be too loud, or too weak, or too gimmicky, but I'm a convert after spending a week with the new $59.99 Kuxiu D5 Qi2.2 charging dock. Its active cooling system has kept my phone from heating up, unlike every other Qi charger I've tried. Good thing, given my own history with an overheating phone.
Last year I fried the logic board on my titanium iPhone 15 Pro. I was on a sweltering train and trying to edit a 4K video on my phone, which was charging from a magnetically attached Qi power bank. Oof, …
Amazon updated 2023’s Fire HD 10 tablet with 4GB of RAM
The Fire HD 8 that launched in 2024 was the last new addition to Amazon's budget-minded tablet lineup, but the company has quietly updated the Fire HD 10 that debuted the year before. In 2023 it was offered with multiple storage configurations that each came with 3GB of RAM, but the 32GB version now ships with 4GB of RAM, and a small price bump from $139.99 to $154.99.
The Fire HD 10 with 64GB of storage still only comes with 3GB of RAM and the other specs for both tablets remain the same, including a 10.1-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 display, a 2GHz eight-core processor, a 13-hour battery, and expandable storage through a microSD card. The refreshe …
While you’re watching the World Cup, the feds may be watching you
It's a big year for America. It's the semiquincentennial, otherwise known as America250, and the United States is cohosting the World Cup. But spectators at these events - and the millions of people who live in the cities hosting them - may not realize that they, too, are being watched.
From Kansas City to New York, the US cities hosting the World Cup have been ramping up their surveillance capabilities in the months leading up to the tournament. Security measures are at an all-time high in Washington, DC, which isn't hosting the World Cup, but is home to a series of spectacles this summer. The Fourth of July festivities in the nation's cap …