Adi Robertson, The Verge

Adi Robertson

The Verge

New York, NY, United States

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Recent:
  • Unknown
Past:
  • The Verge
  • polygon.com

Past articles by Adi:

Tumblr says it’s going to ‘fix’ its ‘core experience’ to appeal to new users

Tumblr’s staff blog has posted an outline of its future strategy to attract new users, including redesigning engagement features and improving algorithmic feeds. → Read More

This game about being an ‘80s radio host saving people from slasher movie villains looks great.

It’s billed as a VR game, but Killer Frequency is available on PC and console too, and it’s a fantastic conceit for a first-person puzzler. I totally missed it when it came out in June! → Read More

An appeals court upheld Section 230 carveout SESTA-FOSTA.

I won’t rehash the law’s problems. But the District of Columbia Appeals Court says it’s constitutional because it can be interpreted narrowly to only target aiding and abetting “prostitution of another person,” disregarding its overall chilling effects on online speech: The decision echoes an earlier district court ruling, and the Woodhull Freedom Foundation — which sued over FOSTA-SESTA along… → Read More

California blinks on link tax.

The California Journalism Preservation Act (CJPA, similar to but not to be confused with the federal JCPA) bill is getting rescheduled to next year, and its sponsors are canceling a hearing scheduled next week. In other words, California hasn’t given up on becoming one of the places that makes social platforms pay news outlets for linking to them, but it’s applying the brakes a little — maybe… → Read More

Heartbreaking: the worst court you know just made a great point.

I can almost feel the EFF’s David Greene gritting his teeth as he graciously explains why a recent court ruling on government censorship and social media addresses a real problem in the most transparently bad-faith manner possible. Even if you don’t know or care what “jawboning” is, stick around for this deadpan gem: → Read More

Supreme Court rules for web designer who wanted to discriminate against gay clients

The Supreme Court has voted on 303 Creative v. Elenis 6-3 in favor of a graphic designer who objected to the possibility of designing websites for gay weddings. → Read More

Another state internet crackdown, another NetChoice lawsuit.

Remember SB 396 in Arkansas, which banned minors from an oddly specific set of web platforms? NetChoice — which also has active suits against Florida, Texas, and California — has sued to block it. You can read the full complaint here. → Read More

Minecraft is a “significant” revenue driver for Microsoft, but not thanks to Xbox.

Microsoft’s attorney is asking Stuart to look at a revenue chart for Minecraft by platform, comparing different devices. Here’s loosely how it breaks down: Xbox is the smallest platform for Minecraft, PlayStation is roughly twice as big, and Nintendo’s platform is twice as big as PlayStation (or four times as big as Xbox.) Mobile and PC numbers aren’t broken down, but they’re implied to be very… → Read More

We’re back on Call of Duty.

Carlton has called putting Call of Duty on Game Pass a “prime” motivation of the merger, and he’s said Sony can avoid any ill effects by signing a deal with Microsoft. (Sony, very publicly, has not signed the offer.) He’s also claimed Sony is more motivated by blocking the merger than actually getting a good deal. The FTC is prodding at all these claims, but unfortunately, much of what it’s… → Read More

The FTC is trying to poke holes in Carlton’s expertise before he can poke holes in its case.

The early questioning of Microsoft’s expert involves jabs about how much Carlton’s getting paid ($2,000 an hour), which “percent of the academic sources you rely upon are written by you” (30 percent), and the number of federal cases (five) where at least some of his testimony as an expert witness has been excluded. This line of questioning isn’t unusual for expert witnesses — we saw it in the… → Read More

Microsoft is calling economics expert Dennis Carlton.

Carlton is here to contest the FTC’s claims about competition and the Microsoft acquisition. An FTC attorney is questioning him, asking him to lay out the evidence that’s gone into his expert opinion. → Read More

Satya Nadella is taking the stand.

Microsoft’s CEO is the most powerful figure testifying during this trial, and one of the few executives who’s not focused primarily on games. His name hasn’t appeared that much in the Xbox vs. PlayStation drama so far, but he’s in a position to get questioned about Microsoft’s role as a potential “Big Tech” monopolist, not just a gaming one. → Read More

Nvidia might be a little steamed about Xbox dismissing cloud gaming.

Microsoft’s witnesses have been reiterating that cloud gaming is a feature for Xbox, not a full present-day service. The FTC is using Fisher’s recorded testimony to rebut that idea. Here’s Fisher discussing cloud gaming as a category: This depends on accessibility of content, he says, but it’s not the non-starter Microsoft is painting it as: As we’ve seen in earlier days of testimony, Microsoft… → Read More

“I believe that PC gaming will always be better than consoles.”

So says Nvidia’s Jeff Fisher, unsurprisingly! But enough of the PC vs. consoles wars. The FTC’s attorney is questioning Fisher about Nvidia’s previous discussions with the CMA, particularly the future of cloud gaming and its streaming service GeForce Now. Fisher says GeForce Now doesn’t cannibalize the existing games market — users typically use “lower-end and incompatible systems,” says Fisher,… → Read More

We’re kicking off with Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick.

Wednesday’s hearings begin with yet another executive: Bobby Kotick, who’s so far appeared only in conversations and messages referenced by other witnesses. Kotick will presumably be asked about these conversations, like a meeting where PlayStation’s Jim Ryan reportedly told him “I just want to block your merger.” → Read More

You don’t know who Jormus is? What are you, 100 years old?

This creepypasta-esque story by merritt k is fiction — think “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” by way of NeoGAF. But it may strike a chord in anyone who’s fallen way too deep into a real internet in-joke. → Read More

The Supreme Court has defined what counts as a threat online...

And it requires not just a “reasonable person” viewing the words as objectively threatening, but some kind of subjective intent to threaten, or at least recklessly disregarding a risk of it. The ACLU is happy with the outcome, which follows arguments held in April. Ken White of Popehat has some more complicated thoughts well worth reading: → Read More

Remember the lawyer who submitted fake case law from ChatGPT?

The sanctions for his firm are in, and they’re pretty embarrassing: a $5,000 fine, plus he has to send a letter to every real judge named in the made-up cases. For what it’s worth, he says he thought ChatGPT was just a “super search engine.” → Read More

Black Mirror’s ‘Loch Henry’ can’t decide whether to indulge in true crime or critique it

A story about filmmakers digging up an old crime doesn’t quite land as either satire or horror. → Read More

Black Mirror’s ‘Beyond the Sea’ is a slow-motion tragedy in the depths of space

A character study carried by Aaron Paul and Josh Hartnett. → Read More