Jasmine Hicks | The Verge

A tweet about hair relaxer kits connected models from the boxes with women who grew up seeing them

2022-10-14T17:56:31-04:00

A burst of tweets from women who, as children, modeled for relaxer brands is one of the latest instances of the Black Twitter community finding an unexpected connection and reminiscing over a shared experience.

where are these girls today? show yourselves. https://t.co/WHSaNHL6Me
— 𝐀𝐒𝐇 𝐋𝐄𝐎́𝐍 (@AshTheDonLeon) October 2, 2022

The discussion kicked off after @prettiestluxury tweeted a collage of models who posed on a box of no-lye relaxer saying, “I remember wanting to be the face of a hair relaxer so bad.” That was followed by a quote tweet asking these women to “show themselves,” which became the centerpiece of a wider trend.

Oh, they’re looking for us, here’s mine 🥰💖: https://t.co/kYqhSezIhB pic.twitter.com/QDSpZ6fqT0
— Nomsa Sasa Madida 💄 (@NomsaMadida) October 4, 2022

Jaelyn Evans, who was a model on ORS’ Olive Oil Girls No-Lye Relaxer box, said that she has since gone natural. Nomsa Sasa Madida, a makeup artist, also posted a photo update on Twitter showing prominent braids that she’s now wearing long after posing for a relaxer brand.

One connection people quickly made from the posts is that nearly all of the relaxer models appear to have decided to stop using those products and instead now have natural hairstyles. Going through the tweets, I thought most of all about how much I had wanted to achieve the same styles shown in the pictures.

The conversations caught my eye as so many women reminisced on the days when they used relaxer products. Though it’s been five years since I used a relaxer on my hair, the first thing that came to mind was the memory of going to the beauty supply store and seeing the boxes lined up with the models on the front.

Tarkor Zehn, an audio producer here at Vox Media, recalled what she felt when she came across the tweet thread:

I thought it was adorable! It was the best “where are they now” that I never knew I needed. It was super interesting to see how the vast majority of them had either transitioned to being natural or a few of them had alway been natural in the first place. Truly a direct representation on the evolution of Black hair and the impact of the natural hair movement.

then vs now, yes I went natural 😂 https://t.co/qUgD52hfft pic.twitter.com/UWbxus7BzN
— Cowboy Cartier 🤠 (@j0evans) October 3, 2022

BuzzFeed caught up with some of the models who shared some of their experiences and some details about where they are today. While some women in the threads said they hadn’t used the products they were posing for, all of the models quoted by BuzzFeed said that wasn’t the case for them.

A tweet from @chigirlmakeup read, “I heard y’all were looking for the hair box girls…here I go 😂 I was the original ORS perm box girl,” showed the box model posing with her natural hair in a photo collage next to a box of Olive Oil ORS relaxer. She followed up on her tweet saying that she’s been natural for over 10 years and modeled when she was in her early twenties.

The journey from pursuing those looks to presenting the world with braids, curls, and other styles based on how our hair looks naturally was a common thread among the models and the people who were happy to see them come on their timelines.

Google Chat upgrades for threading, custom emoji, and security are coming soon

2022-10-11T17:27:31-04:00

Google finally has release dates for its Workspace upgrades. | Illustration: The Verge

Google has steadily upgraded Workspace throughout the pandemic, and supporting the hybrid workplace took center stage during its Google Cloud Next event this week with new tweaks like an API @ tagging that can pull info from a third-party app into your Google Doc.

As its Workspace suite faces off against competition from Microsoft Teams, Slack, and even Zoom Team Chat, it announced new Google Chat features and release windows for several updates, including the addition of message threading later this month. Google Chat will also spice up its text conversations once it lets users create custom emoji later this year.

You can create your own emoji to be alongside your usual emoji lineup in Google Chat. | GIF: Google" data-portal-copyright="GIF: Google" />

Google is also introducing “broadcast-only” spaces early next year that sound optimized for one-to-many announcements from leaders without needing to fiddle with a lot of settings every time, or make sure everyone’s mic is muted, etc.

Google Meet and Chat are also getting APIs of their own early next year that will allow other apps to create and start meetings in Meet and initiate messages in Chat. The task manager app Asana and employee software LumApps are first up to add these features.

Google Chat is also the latest Google Workspace app to add extra features for data loss prevention. The security feature is already available for Gmail, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Slides. It can help “prevent sensitive information leaks” by flagging potential information from getting out before a worker hits send on a message. It’s rolling out now for Enterprise Standard, Enterprise Plus, Education Standard, and Education Plus accounts.

DLP flags potential data leaks before users send a message. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google" />

Twitch begins testing paid ‘Elevated Chat’ feature

2022-09-30T17:17:58-04:00

Twitch will begin testing a way for its users to boost their chat messages on the platform. Called “Elevated Chat,” the “experiment” is meant to let users elevate their chat messages for a specific time using a one-time fee. The fees are presented in five different tiers ranging from 30 seconds to two and a half minutes, with fees ranging from $5 to $100.

The feature is currently available for a “limited number of channels” on the platform. The option to elevate chats may appear at either the top of the chat or at the bottom of a video, and a user can purchase an Elevated Chat depending on how long they want to keep their message up.

According to Game Developer, multiple people can elevate their chat message at once, but it is on a first-come, first-served basis, is queued depending on who purchased it first, and “is managed by streamers and moderators.” Once a chat message is up, moderators can “timeout” or ban the user. If a comment is removed, users won’t be able to receive a refund, and they won’t be able to elevate someone else’s chat message, either.

As far as revenue, the experiment will feature a 70 / 30 split for creators. The Twitch test began on eligible channels on Thursday and is set to run for about four weeks. It will be available in the US, and other supported countries include Germany, Canada, Australia, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, and Taiwan.

Soon you can buy a Peloton at Dick’s

2022-09-29T16:44:32-04:00

Peloton continues to expand outside of its own marketplace. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

In August, Peloton partnered with Amazon to sell its bikes and other accessories and apparel via the retailer’s website and apps. Today, Peloton announced another partnership with Dick’s Sporting Goods to sell its equipment both online and exclusively in its stores across the US. The partnership marks the first time that its equipment will be readily available for purchase in a third-party retailer’s brick-and-mortar store.

The move to expand its fitness lineup to physical stores beyond the ones Peloton operates isn’t surprising. It’s continuing a plan to improve operations after a disastrous last 18 months that included layoffs, replacing founder and CEO John Foley with a new CEO, and restructuring. Last month, CEO Barry McCarthy announced another round of layoffs and said Peloton will shut down its in-house retail locations in 2023.

Peloton senior VP Jen Parker said in a press release, “This partnership is a natural fit for our brand and our Member acquisition goals … Retail remains a critical touchpoint, and we want to provide the in-store experience that many current and prospective Members still covet.”

In a Q4 earnings report in August, Peloton noted a decline in its membership numbers, a $1.2 billion operating loss, and a 28 percent drop in revenue compared to the same period a year before.

With this new partnership, current and potential Peloton customers can buy the Peloton Bike, Bike Plus, Tread, Guide, and select accessories. The company said orders made online on Dick’s website will also have home delivery and setup, while “select” orders made in-store can be carried out. There isn’t much information on Peloton or Dick’s website except a list showing some of its over 100 stores in the US that will be included in the rollout, scheduled to start ahead of the holiday season.

Amazon is about to announce a bunch of new products

2022-09-28T08:00:00-04:00

Amazon has some new products on the way. The company is holding an invite-only, virtual event today, where it’s expected to introduce products from across its lineup of brands.

Chances are, there’s going to be a lot to see. Amazon is unusually good at keeping its upcoming releases under wraps, and it usually uses its annual September event to announce a lot of new products. Those could come from Amazon’s own product lineup — which includes the Kindle, Fire TV, and Echo — and from some of its acquired brands, like Eero, Ring, and Blink.

The Echo is the big one to keep an eye on. It’s been a while since we saw new updates for the Echo, which last saw a new version of its standard and Dot models in 2020. The Kindle just saw a major update to its entry-level model, but it’s been around three years since the higher-end Oasis was updated. The Fire TV Stick just got an update last year, but it is possible Amazon could have other parts of the Fire TV ecosystem it wants to update.

Then there’s Ring and Eero. Those product lines are a lot harder to predict. But if we do see them, there’s a good chance they’ll continue to build out the product ecosystems they’ve already been working on since they’ve had fairly recent additions to some of their key products.

The event is being livestreamed on an invite-only basis, so it’s not open to the public. The Verge will be covering the event as it happens, giving you updates as they come in through our live blog. The event kicks off at 9AM PT / 12PM ET.

Be sure to also follow The Verge on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok.

The new NBA app introduces a TikTok-like vertical video feed

2022-09-27T09:34:30-04:00

The TikTok-like video feed will feature content from games. | Image: NBA

TikTok’s vertically-oriented, curated approach to social video has transformed feeds for better and worse, and the NBA is next in line with its newly redesigned app for Android and iOS.

A major part of its individualized user experience is a “For You” vertical video feed that will show highlights from NBA games featuring “behind-the-scenes access to players and teams,” NBA-related shows, content from influencers, and showcase partnered channels like Turner Sports and Bleacher Report.

Another modern social media feature the new NBA app includes is its “stories.” Similar to Snapchat, Instagram, and others, it has a horizontal selection of expiring videos that show top plays or dunks and other NBA-related news. Of course, the app will show live feeds from games and media days.

Competitors like Instagram taking content strategies from TikTok has been a common theme. With this launch, we’re seeing its influence on other institutions beyond social media, as they try their hand at curating content in-house as opposed to feeding it externally to support social media platforms.

The homepage of the NBA app will feature stories of a user’s followed teams as well as game stats and scores. | Image: NBA" data-portal-copyright="Image: NBA" />

The NBA also has a new membership program. Called NBA ID, this free membership will offer access to exclusive content, like pre and postgame press conferences and shows, ticket promotions, prizes gained through fantasy game sweepstakes, exclusive voting campaigns, and more.

Users who already pay for a subscription to NBA League Pass for streaming out-of-market games can link that account to their NBA ID account. According to a press release, in the new app, “the live streams will feature higher video quality, lower streaming latency and a seamless user experience.”

NBA ID members will have access to the NBA Vault. The NBA Vault contains over 3,000 hours of archival footage, including about 500 “classic games in NBA history” for free and every NBA Finals game since 2000. NBA documentaries will be on the app, too. The redesign will also bring in new programming. A new series called Pass the Rock will showcase “the league’s next generation of stars and their lives on and off the court throughout the 2022-23 season.” It is set to begin in late November.

Correction September 27th 10:44AM ET: The NBA’s original press release included details about a SiriusXM integration, we were informed after publication that it is not final and have removed a reference to it.

How fiber-optic cables helped researchers eavesdrop on whales

2022-09-22T15:00:00-04:00

A baleen whale swimming in Alaska. Many species of baleen whales, like the one pictured above, spend time in the Arctic region. | Image: Planet One Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Scientists have been “eavesdropping” on whales in the Arctic using fiber-optic cables. In July, a group of scientists published a study that took a practical method usually used to monitor the cables themselves and used it to monitor the activity of baleen whales in the Arctic. The researchers say similar studies could transform how scientists collect data on marine life.

Under the oceans, fiber-optic cables carry internet traffic around the world. They have also become a usual tool for scientists in the field who would like to collect and access data in real time. Notably, they can be used to detect earthquakes, including aftershocks that go undetected by traditional seismic stations. In this case, those cables were used to detect whale sounds. It’s the first instance of wildlife monitoring being done through a technique called distributed acoustic sensing, the study notes.

“[With] distributed acoustic sensing, we can potentially have better coverage,” Léa Bouffaut, who co-authored the study as a post-doctoral researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, told The Verge. “This may open new possibilities in locations that were either too complicated to access or in regions where governments are not able to fund new projects like this,” said Bouffaut, now a researcher at Cornell University’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics.

Fiber-optic cables crisscross huge areas of the seafloor

Whale researchers like Bouffaut usually use hydrophones to monitor underwater whale activity. Though the hydrophone provides good quality data, it can only cover so much ground. Hydrophones are typically deployed around 10 to 20 kilometers away from each other, Bouffaut explained. This relatively close proximity gives scientists a good idea of where whales might be located, a method similar to using cellphone tower triangulation to detect the location of where a phone call was made. But the oceans are huge, and even a large network of hydrophones can only observe a small area. Fiber-optic cables, in contrast, crisscross huge areas of the seafloor.

Distributed acoustic sensing is already used to check up on the health of undersea cables and can alert communications companies to problems, like a break in the line. It works because a fiber in the cable is connected to something called an interrogator, a device that turns the fiber optic cable into a listening array, Bouffaut explains. The interrogator sends light pulses to the fiber-optic cable at regular intervals. Sounds or vibrations can disrupt the cable and the pulses passing through it. By observing the changes in the light reaching the interrogator, researchers can determine what’s going on near the cable, whether that’s an anchor dropped close to a cable or a whale singing nearby.

Here’s the sound of the whales captured by the virtual hydrophones.

Here’s the sound of the whales captured by the virtual hydrophones. (opens a new window)

Bouffaut calls the result “virtual hydrophones.” During the experiment, researchers placed these “virtual hydrophones” about four meters apart. The data received can be interpreted audibly, but it can be visualized as well.

Similar to how fiber-optic cables pick up on vibrations from an earthquake, the cable can pick up the sounds made by whale songs. Fin whales in particular make a “series of repeated short and low frequency pulses that share similarities with airgun blasts,” according to the study.

More data about baleen whales in particular could help fill in major gaps in our understanding of whale species, especially in the warming Arctic where this research took place. Even though they are some of the biggest animals on the planet, researchers don’t have enough information about some species of whale to know whether they are threatened or endangered.

“We need to have scientific evidence of what they’re doing and how they’re doing”

“We need to have scientific evidence of what they’re doing and how they’re doing,” Bouffaut explained to The Verge. Using fiber-optic cables, researchers could figure out when whales have migrated in a different direction, and as mentioned above, whether they are present in a specific region. When combined with data about ship traffic, it could help researchers figure out if whales are in increased danger of boat strikes or getting caught in fishing gear. The information collected is also essential to keeping tabs on whales as they recover and cope with a commercial whaling industry.

Now that researchers have collected the data for their study, Bouffaut is looking for other uses of the recording technology. Some curiosities that Bouffaut wants to keep in mind are whether they can only record at low frequencies, how many different species can be recorded, and how far researchers can record a whale.

“One of my hopes is that we can exploit the idea that because we can receive the data in real time, we can deal with the data in real time,” Bouffaut said. “This is something I believe can be helpful for the bioacoustics community because there are a lot of conservation issues that do require real-time monitoring.”

Correction 9/23 10:00AM ET: During this research, Bouffaut was a post-doctoral researcher, not a student. The function of an interrogator is to turn a cable into a listening array, not check on the cable’s health. Fin whales do not make songs with their fins. While data could help mitigate boat strikes, it cannot prevent them. We deeply regret the errors.

Google search can help you buy train tickets in select countries

2022-09-20T15:37:04-04:00

Google rolled out new features in Google Travel | Illustration: The Verge

Google announced a new feature that will allow you to buy train tickets through search in select countries, including Japan, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The company says this could make it easier for users to choose more emission-conscious travel options when booking travel.

According to Google, simply searching two destinations, such as “Berlin to Vienna trains,” will give you access to various listings in a Google search. From there, you can click on a direct link that will take you to the partner website to buy your ticket.

Users can book train tickets via Google search. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google" />

Google is also rolling out a new search tool that will allow you to narrow down flight and hotel options that have lower carbon emissions. When searching for flights, users have the option of selecting “low emissions only” and showing flights in the order of emission amount.

When searching for hotels, users can select an “eco-certified” filter. Hotels that fall under this category are verified by outside organizations, such as the US Green Building Council and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, to “improve” the accuracy of results shown to searchers. Google says that when looking into the environmental impacts of these hotels, the agencies are looking at things like energy efficiency, water conservation, waste reduction, and sustainable sourcing. Google also noted that it does not verify the certification status of each hotel.

Users can sort their flight results by emissions level. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google" />

While users have been able to search for flights and hotels since 2011, Google first introduced carbon emission tracking in 2021 when it rolled out features meant to help users track and shrink their carbon footprints when searching on the platform. This includes providing fuel-efficient driving routes in Maps, as well as offering information about the carbon emissions associated with flights. The company recently expanded eco-friendly navigation to Europe, too.

Even with the rollout of sustainable features, the company was accused of covering up the potential impact of flight emissions when making adjustments to the way it calculates these numbers. When these features were introduced last year, The Verge’s environmental reporter Justine Calma pointed out that environmental advocates said that companies tend to shift responsibility to customers without giving much thought to how the company can reduce its own carbon footprint.

Google says that the new features will expand to more locations in the “near future” and will eventually include bus routes.

Correction September 20 6:20 PM ET: A previous version of the story stated that users have been able to search for flight and hotel information since 2018. This feature has been available since 2011, and was upgraded with additional capabilities on mobile devices in 2018. We regret the error.

Gmail’s iOS 16 lock screen widget looks great, but it’s not coming today

2022-09-12T15:55:58-04:00

Google has revealed a series of new lock screen widgets for the iPhone, including one for Gmail, timed along with the release of iOS 16. A refreshed lock screen is the most obvious change to iOS in this latest update (even if it’s not a new thing for Android users), and Google’s major apps will support it, but you’ll have to wait a little while.

While some developers are pushing updates to their apps today with new widgets, Google says you can expect these to arrive “in the coming weeks,” so until they’re available, we’ll walk you through the showcase.

Lockscreen widgets for several Google apps shown on iPhone screens. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google" />

The Gmail lock screen widget includes several different displays with clean, to-the-point updates, pulling information from your inbox. One is circular and simply indicates the number of new / unread messages in your inbox, while another view is a bar that can display detailed counts for specific sections, like unread messages, promotions, social, unread Google Chat messages, or a simple bar with the date and number of new messages.

Gmail has several widgets designed for the iOS 16 lock screen. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google" />

For Google Maps, the widget can automatically surface ETAs for places it thinks you’ll need to go, including public transportation details and location reminders. It also has options for single-tap shortcuts that can show you nearby restaurants, shopping centers, coffee shops, and hotels.

Google Maps widgets include restaurant, shopping, coffee shop, and hotel searches. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google" />

Google search has one-tap widget buttons, too, that can open up a search box, prep your phone to search using the camera, go to voice search, or open directly into tools like Google Translate, Google Shopping, and Google Scholar.

Other widgets in the works include several for Google Chrome to open the browser, head to voice search, dive directly into an Incognito tab, or open up the dinosaur game. The Google Drive widget can give you access to starred folders with one click and also notify you when a folder or document has been shared with you, while Google News has a widget to compete with Apple’s own News app, promising you a preview of a headline and story.

Google search widgets include the search bar and shortcuts to Google Lens, Translate, voice search, and more. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google" />Google Chrome widgets include a shortcut to the app, voice search, Incognito mode, and Chrome Dino Run. | Image: Google" data-portal-copyright="Image: Google" />

Instagram begins testing ‘reposts’

2022-09-09T16:01:52-04:00

Instagram users would reshare posts onto their feeds. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

If you can believe it, Instagram is testing a new feature that mimics other social networks. TechCrunch reports Instagram confirmed tests of “reposts” to bring someone else’s content onto your own timeline. It’s similar to Twitter’s retweets or the kind of reshares that are common on Tumblr and Facebook and are also in testing on TikTok.

TechCrunch writes the “repost” feature was spotted by Matt Navarra, a social media consultant who posted images in a Twitter thread on Wednesday. However, Alessandro Paluzzi noticed it in development back in May, showing Instagram has been working on it for a while.

This is what the new instagram repost feature intro screen looks like

h/t @alex193a pic.twitter.com/ldOX5PO4Eg
— Matt Navarra (@MattNavarra) September 9, 2022

Sharing someone else’s post for your own followers to see isn’t completely new for Instagram users. Users have been able to share public posts for their followers but only to their Instagram Story or through direct messages. Now, the test would let users share a post on their feeds without having to screenshot it and repost it or go through another source.

Aside from reposts within your own feed, I’ve noticed on my iPhone that Instagram has modified its cross-platform sharing options. Now it’s pushing the buttons to share to Snapchat, Messenger, or WhatsApp ahead of direct-to-DM sharing, which is, again, similar to TikTok’s approach.

Instagram rolled back a test shifting the app toward an AI-powered feed of full-screen pictures and video — part of its apparent slow metamorphosis into TikTok — but isn’t giving up on the effort. Another recent test gives Instagram users the ability to select and mark multiple posts as “not interested” to train the suggestion algorithm toward their preferences.

“We’re exploring the ability to reshare posts in Feed — similar to how you can reshare in Stories — so people can share what resonates with them, and so original creators are credited for their work,” Seine Kim, a spokesperson from Meta told The Verge in an email statement. “We plan to test this soon with a small number of people,” she said, but noted that the feature isn’t publicly available to test yet.

Update September 9th, 8:22 PM ET: Updated with statement from Meta