Enter the Gungeon is my favorite roguelike of all time and this new cabinet version looks like such a clever take on the original game — one that evokes memories of playing Time Crisis at the movie theater growing up. The only downside? It’s about $5,643.94 more expensive than an Xbox. Who wants to pitch in?
I’m trying out a new type of Quickpost today: a look back at the Verge archives for the given day in history. On March 10th, 2012, we were all talking about Turntable.fm with great hope, because the social music platform had signed a music deal. Turntable was one of our favorite platforms ever, and as you may know, it eventually shut down for good in 2014. It since relaunched with a couple competing versions, but it just isn’t the same anymore.
Bad maps have been a years-long problem for US broadband, and, despite recent updates, an Ars Technica report makes clear that the government has a lot left to fix. The latest anecdote in this sad saga comes courtesy of Starlink, which blames the FCC for counting addresses as “served” when in reality they only have access to the ISP’s internet plan for RVs.
We’ve lost a lot of expertise in government over the past decade. The destruction of Gigi Sohn’s appointment to the FCC is the latest in a trend of asymmetrical polarization and cynicism — the rejection of an extraordinarily qualified public servant due to unchecked ambition and nihilism.
If you’re wondering why communications regulation is lacking over the next few years, including the erosion of the First Amendment, look no further than this travesty in self-governance.
After many years, I’ve been rewatching the TNG-era Star Trek films recently, and something stood out to me in the first entry in the series: Star Trek: Generations.
No, it’s not the fact that Connor from Succession / Cameron from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off was the captain of a starship. It’s the opening scene, which is filled with futuristic reporters — something seldom seen in the Trek universe. It’s just nice to know that people are still asking questions in space.
Front Office Sports reports that Bezos is a finalist in talks to acquire the Washington Commanders: a sports team so frustrating that it made me personally quit NFL fandom and turn exclusively to ice hockey. Bezos’ ownership would probably be a marginal improvement on Dan Snyder’s tenure, who has been long-reviled by DC-area fans and who has plagued the region with his personal scandals.
Winning a Super Bowl with the Washington team? Probably harder than going to space. No wonder Bezos is interested in the challenge.
[Front Office Sports]
We gathered this past Thursday at the gorgeous Wythe Hotel in Brooklyn, NYC for our third Hot Pod event. I want to give a big thanks to everyone on the Verge team who made this happen, as well as our partners at Work x Work, which puts on Hot Pod Summit + On Air Fest each year. (I personally really loved the new experience at On Air Fest this year: The Podcast Experience.)
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On the latest episode (you can find the audio feeds here) TC, Nilay, and Alex broke down this week’s Supreme Court hearings that could significantly impact the internet.
After a break and a lineup change, we also dig into the new fraud charges filed against Sam Bankman-Fried, Spotify’s AI DJ (I don’t trust it), the Microsoft vs. Sony battle over Activision, and Tesla’s new California engineering HQ.
During a brief rebuttal, Twitter tried to weaken some very colorful hypotheticals made throughout the day (like Osama Bin Laden walking into a bank). Waxman did not get to fully complete his thought before the court adjourned, but he seemed to be trying to suggest the absurdity of comparing Twitter’s functions to giving direct material assistance to a known terrorist who walks through your door.
“There are 545 pages in this complaint and there are 4 that mention recommendations,” Waxman said.
We’re now in the final stretch. Eric Schnapper, who also presented arguments for the plaintiffs yesterday in Gonzalez v. Google, focused a lot on the potential of recommendation functions to cause harm. In today’s case, plaintiffs allege Twitter recommendations helped ISIS generally recruit more fighters. Schnapper concedes this doesn’t have anything to do with a specific attack — a standard Twitter is claiming plaintiffs would have to meet.
