135 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Sean Hollister

Sean Hollister

Senior Editor

Senior Editor

    More From Sean Hollister

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Framework will send us another Framework Laptop 16 — and here’s what it will fix.

    We told Framework we had several different stability issues, so I was a little frustrated to see the company’s CEO suggest I only encountered one... but I’m happy to say Framework will send The Verge a final production unit with quite a list of hardware and software fixes!

    The DPC_Watchdog_Violation freeze, at least, does seem to be fixed in my testing with a newer BIOS.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    The PC slump is nearly over, Intel Q4 2023 / FY23 earnings suggest.

    Not only did Intel’s consumer chips see 33 percent gains ($8.8B revenue), the CFO said on today’s earning call that “customer inventory levels have normalized” and Intel saw “record performance notebook shipments in the quarter.”

    While PCs were down in 2023 overall, they got close to pre-pandemic numbers of 260-270M shipments globally, and Intel’s bullish on AI upgrades.

    Intel says it hit its goal of $3B in cost-cutting in 2023, and made $2.66B in profit in Q4 (up from $796M loss this time last year).

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    The arsonist who burned beloved anime house Kyoto Animation, killing 36, has been sentenced to death.

    It was a polarizing outcome even within the courtroom, according to The Japan Times and live coverage from the Asahi Shimbun.

    Here’s a very little something we wrote in 2017 about what made KyoAni special, and The Hollywood Reporter’s devastating but uplifting 2019 feature on the tragedy is still worth a read now.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Our best look yet at Disney’s “real” Star Wars lightsaber.

    Former TechCrunch EIC Matthew Panzarino got to touch it — something we’d heard was beyond the reach of mere mortals who don’t work for Disney Parks.

    It looks just as mindblowing as ever. I am so damn jealous. Here’s how the lightsaber likely works.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Vroom goes screech — laying off 800 workers and exiting used car sales.

    While Carvana escaped its seeming plunge into bankruptcy and is now trading for $45 a share, the used car seller now has one fewer competitor. Vroom is technically still around but is now pivoting to just do auto financing and AI analytics for auto retail, laying off 90 percent of the company’s employees as it exits the used auto business.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    The real virus was all the inkjet cartridges we DRM’d along the way.

    HP CEO Enrique Lores on live television, addressing a class-action lawsuit against his company for blocking third-party ink:

    “We have seen that you can embed viruses in the cartridges.”

    Ars Technica, while basically calling bullshit, explains: “HP argued that ink cartridge microcontroller chips, which are used to communicate with the printer, could be an entryway for attacks.”

    Maybe stop putting smart DRM chips into cartridges, then? Also, read this.

    Framework Laptop 16 review: two weeks with the ultimate modular laptop

    6

    Verge Score

    We’ve updated our review score.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    AMA: I reviewed the Framework Laptop 16, ask me anything at 12PM ET!

    I am unreasonably excited about the ridiculously modular Framework Laptop 16. I did loads of testing that didn’t quite fit into my review, so... I’ll answer your burning questions at 12PM ET and throughout the day, and you can begin adding ‘em now! Hit that comments button and you’ll see our Q&A module.

    Don’t be shy: I’ve got this machine right here and am happy to quickly test and measure things for you.

    Sean Hollister
    Sean Hollister
    The phone that got the worst score in Verge history is still kicking.

    ICYMI, we discovered the founder of Leia is using a Red Hydrogen as his daily driver. The phone was one of our flops of the decade, and made our list of the worst gadgets we’ve touched. But... the maker of its screen is not only alive, but thriving! Take a look: