Science and Tech

I Don’t Want To Log In To Your Website

Published

3 weeks ago

March 1, 2023

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An image of a login prompt, one I don’t want to fill out — *No thank u.* | Image: The Verge

There is a new trend among websites where they want my email address before I’m allowed to read their free content. While I sympathize with the struggles of the media business, I am just going to point out something obvious: not reading is easier than reading — and way easier than logging in.

I don’t mind that The Atlantic requires an email — it has kept me from hate-reading the astounding churn of bad takes they publish — but just about everyone else has got to knock this off. You hear me, Reuters? I am annoyed with Reuters, specifically, because it’s a wire service, and I can usually find its articles without logging in by avoiding the Reuters website. As for you, The New York Times, I do not want to read your stories in your app! No…

Science and Tech

Three Months Later, Epic Is Still Silent About Free “Unreal Tournament 3 X”

Published

7 days ago

March 15, 2023

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Gritty sci-fi warriors running with space guns. — Image: Epic Games

Remember when I told you how Epic Games accidentally revealed a new version of 2007’s Unreal Tournament 3 that would be completely free on Steam, EGS and GOG with “no microtransactions and no strings attached?” That was three months ago. Unreal Tournament 3 X still hasn’t been announced, and the company still declines to confirm or deny whether it’s happening at all.

“Thank you for checking in. We have no new information to share on this,” Epic Games comms director Dana Cowley tells The Verge.

As of this writing, an extensive description of the unreleased Unreal Tournament 3 X still appears on Steam. I check almost daily, and I don’t think the page has changed at all in the past three months. The game’s apparently been in the works…

Science and Tech

Google-Backed Anthropic Launches Claude, An AI Chatbot That’s Easier To Talk To

Published

7 days ago

March 15, 2023

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An image showing a repeating pattern of brain illustrations — Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company founded by ex-OpenAI employees, has launched its AI chatbot, Claude. While the tool does much of what OpenAI’s ChatGPT can, Anthropic says its early clients report the tool’s “less likely to produce harmful outputs” and is “easier to converse with.”

Like OpenAI, Anthropic also has big tech backing: Google invested $300 million into Anthropic in February. The company’s chatbot — similar to ChatGPT — can provide summaries, answer questions, provide assistance with writing, and generate code. You can also tweak the chatbot’s tone, personality, and behavior, which sounds a bit more comprehensive than the “creative, balanced, and precise” settings Bing’s chatbot offers.

After working for the…

Science and Tech

Will You Be The Bearer Of Magic: The Gathering’s One Ring?

Published

7 days ago

March 15, 2023

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Image from the Magic: The Gathering Card the One Ring featuring a close up of a gold ring with Elvish script engraved in it. — Image: Wizards of the Coast

I’m usually immune to the charms of Magic: The Gathering’s special crossover sets (although the Bob Ross lands collection almost got me). But this Lord of the Rings-themed collection has pretty much obliterated all of my willpower because these cards are. so. frigging. cool!

I love seeing Frodo and Sam and Aragorn and Arwen rendered in cards that pay homage to their personalities and their big hero moments in the story. I think it’s really clever that Sam’s card, Samwise the Stouthearted, can be flashed in at any time and will return a dead creature to the battlefield, just like when he showed up to rescue Frodo from Shelob’s clutches.

Image: Wizards of the Coast

The card for Tom Bombadil — who is either whimsical…