Tech Point

There are the smartphones and laptops we use every day, and then there’s Next Level technology. In this new Verge video series, s enior e ditor Lauren Goode takes you behind the scenes to show you the technology that’s being worked on at some of the world’s most innovative companies and research institutions. From modular airplanes to prescription video games to Hollywood’s attempt to hack your emotions, Next Level will show you the technology that has the potential to radically change the way we interact with tech. Commercial flying is, for most people, a mediocre experience at best. Unless you shell out for an upgraded seat, you’re generally stuck with little leg room, tepid meals, and nowhere to go for hours or more — all for an average airfare of $350 in the US . Add in recent events , involving overbooking, passenger apparel choices, and dead pets, and the airlines aren’t exactly winning the hearts of customers right now. This is the problem that Airbus thinks it

  At Microsoft's Build 2016 conference, the company shocked the tech world when it announced support for Bash shell and the entire Linux command line system on Windows 10. This year the surprise continued by extending its Linux love to SUSE and Fedora distributions as well. With the first announcement, Microsoft tapped Ubuntu maker Canonical to help ensure smooth Bash performance on Windows as it is on the various Linux distributions. Well, today Canonical is officially releasing Ubuntu in the Windows Store for download right now. Microsoft's Rich Turner also released an official announcement that lays out the benefits of this Windows Store version of Ubuntu as well as some helpful FAQs. Ubuntu (and SUSE and Fedora eventually) run in a sandboxed environment alongside Windows 10. This implementation also allows it to share hardware and files with Windows 10. This integrated approach allows developers to run Linux command line utilities without having to create

  Last month, we found out some juicy tidbits of information about the upcoming Pixel and Pixel XL phones. According to rumors, Google cancelled the mid-sized Pixel 2 XL that was code-named "Muskie" and went instead with an even larger phone code-named "Taimen". The original leak from XDA-Developers highlighted noteworthy specs including an LG made 5.9" 1440p screen powered by a Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. However, up until this point, no photos had been seen. Thanks to a report from Android Police , we may finally have a real look into what the Pixel 2 XL will look like: We rate this rumor a 8 out of 10 on our confidence scale. The reason we are subtracting two points is due to the fact that we are not confident our source material reflects a fully finalized design. As such, there is a possibility that small changes may still occur before the phone makes it into production, as we don't expect Google to announce this

  Throughout the years we’ve reviewed dozens of smartphones and got hands on time with plenty others. The good news is that as smartphones have matured, they've become so good in terms of hardware and design that it’s getting harder to pick something you will truly regret... or if you’re the glass half empty kinda person, they’ve become so good that picking the one that’s right for you can be a challenging task. You've read the reviews and have formed your own opinions on the devices you've owned and currently own, but with our vast access to devices, the best smartphones feature is meant to highlight the stuff that matters, what we'd buy for ourselves based in a number of factors (particularly price point) and thus make it easier for you to buy the best possible device. The Best Phone A Flagship for Less A Mid-Priced Superstar Best Budget Phone iPhone Lovers: Wait Best Overall Samsung Galaxy S8+ In numbers Price:

As tech enthusiasts we pay tribute to one of the most iconic leaders in the history of our industry. Steve Jobs was a tech visionary that transcended the possibilities of his time. Here's a brief timeline of his career in and outside of Apple. Feb 1955   Steve Jobs is born in San Francisco, adopted by the family of Paul and Clara Jobs. 1971 Attended lectures at HP during high school and earned a summer gig alongside Steve Wozniak. 1972   Steve drops out of Reed College after one semester because he "couldn't see the value in it." 1973 A frugal Jobs slept on friends' floors and collected soda bottles for money while sitting in on free courses at Reed, including one for calligraphy. A decade later, he applied this experience to the first Mac's typeface. Fall 1974 After leaving college permanently, Jobs returned to California and scored a technician position with Atari. Apr 1976 Jobs

Ultrabooks are by far the most popular category of laptops, providing enough performance for everyday tasks in a compact, portable form factor you can carry between home and office. But there’s one crucial task that these thin-and-light machines are incapable of, and that’s hardcore PC gaming. Most people looking to play games on their PC will examine a few options. Desktop PCs are the best choice from a price and performance perspective, but they aren't portable. A desktop will require an external monitor and peripherals, and simply can’t replace what a laptop does. Gaming laptops are a portable equivalent and surely they're getting better, but for the most part they're always larger and heavier than an ultraportable for a decent level of power; plus they tend to be pretty expensive. A new option for PC gaming has started to appear over the last few years: external graphics boxes, which connect to a laptop and provide the power of a fully-fledged g

Try as I might, I can’t recall exactly what compelled me to connect a second monitor to my PC for the very first time. Whatever the reason, I was immediately sold on the extra real estate and vowed that I’d never go back to a single display. It’s a promise that I kept for nearly a decade but as the saying goes, never say never. I punched my ticket on the multi-monitor express in 2006 with the purchase of two 22-inch displays. It was tough to swallow at $300+ a pop -- especially for a broke college student -- but later on as a hardware reviewer, I somehow rationalized it as a “need” and pulled the trigger. Having twice the desktop space did wonders for productivity. Being able to have Word open on one screen and photos for a review loaded on the other was invaluable. Similarly, working on a research paper and not having to flip between my write-up and sources was great. When I wasn't writing, I’d use one monitor to surf the web and keep my e-mail, music pl

  All mobile carriers have some type of unlimited data plan, but as we all know “unlimited” is only used in the loosest sense of the term. All these services have a data cap, and the usual practice is to throttle down network speeds once a customer reaches that limit. Verizon’s Unlimited Talk, Text, & Data is no different. Customers have a 22GB per month allowance. If they exceed this limit, they are “ subject to deprioritization .” Meaning if the tower is busy, you will be the first to get slowed down. Ironically, some customers that are exceeding the cap are going to be kicked off their unlimited data subscription. Recently customers began complaining that they had received notification from Verizon “to either port their plans to another carrier or face outright termination.” The problem is only occurring with customers who are carried under the LTE in Rural America (LRA) program. Verizon initiated LRA to bring high-speed LTE service to those in rural areas. To

France is launching the world’s largest startup campus in a converted railway depot in Paris, and it’s keeping the door open for those from underprivileged backgrounds. The space, now dubbed Station F but previously known as the 1920s-era freight hall Halle Freyssinet , opened its doors this week to eligible startups from around the world. The building is 366,000 square feet and contains 3,000 desks, an onsite restaurant and bar, and eight event spaces. The space will host companies from 26 international programs, and the French government is working with the city of Paris to build nearby housing starting in 2018. This is all part of a larger push from France to foster homegrown entrepreneurship and try and build a incubating tech culture like that of California’s Silicon Valley. Station F is being primarily backed by French telecom mogul and billion investor Xavier Niel, to the tune of around €250 million. Most of the startup programs Station F supports are run b