Just because it’s not news, period, doesn’t mean it’s not news to *you*. Like the famous subreddit, our Today I Learned tag is dedicated to the stories that surprised one or more Verge editors despite being old news. If you appreciate them, give our authors a shout!
This one’s by Sanwa, weighs under 2oz, claims it’ll last two months on a USB-C charge. Bluetooth only, 800-4000dpi, $48 with code at Japan Trend Shop. There’s also a cheapo version on Amazon that adds a laser pointer. Anyone tried these? Or this origami one?
Today I learned about comparesffpc.com, which effortlessly lets you compare small-form-factor cases on a virtual 3D desk, in your browser, using this impressive public dataset. It isn’t the only comparo tool, but it’s the cleanest and easiest I’ve used yet. (I’m thinking about swapping my Ncase, any desk-friendly recommends?)
Why reboot your whole SteamOS handheld to desktop when you can visit the desktop from inside the gaming mode? Nested Desktop does have limitations (no file management, no Steam-within-Steam) but gosh are there times this’d come in handy. Jacob at XDA calls it “the best Steam Deck feature you aren’t using”.
Setup: In desktop mode, tap Steam logo on taskbar > scroll down to Lost and Found > Right-click “Nested Desktop” > “Add to Steam.”
There’s an art to building a small-form-factor PC. When my recent upgrade doubled my CPU power draw, I had to choose: buy a bigger case to accommodate a more powerful cooler, or cut a hole in the side of my old one.
I chose the coward’s route. But today I found the FFS PC subreddit, where the case boundaries are merely a suggestion, and CPU coolers, GPUs, and power supplies protrude in all directions. Perfect.
This is the BYD Yangwang U9, one of the fastest production EVs at 233MPH — but all I care about is how much closer we are to Speed Racer’s auto-jacks! Since BYD doesn’t want to get sued, a disclaimer states that “U9’s Leaping Function is prohibited for practical scenarios,” but it claims the feature works under very specific conditions. Would I rather have this or wheels that turn sideways, hmm...
If you’re trying to stay huddled and warm under the covers while enjoying a good ebook, there are tiny robotic fingers — triggered by a wireless remote you can keep under the blankets — that clamp onto e-readers and tap the edge of the screen to turn the page for you.
Book Riot and Wirecutter both have recommendations, but you can find many versions on Amazon for less than $20.
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I would have sworn this feature already existed — probably because it does on desktop Gmail! But Google says it’s new for Android. Just expand your CC and BCC fields, drop your finger atop any email address for a moment, then drag it where you’d like.
$20 direct from Retro Fighters, $28 from Amazon, or about $18 from VGP Canada, all before shipping costs.
Sounds like it’s mostly knockoff Apple Earpods. Wired explains:
What’s going on is this: The plug on the buds using this workaround goes into the Lightning slot, which then doubles as a Bluetooth receiver that receives power from the port but routes its signal through the phone’s Bluetooth. That means your wired connection is actually wireless.
Ubisoft’s Cécile Russeil is EVP in charge of Communications, Corporate Affairs, Diversity, Inclusion, Accessibility, Human Resources, and Legal. So anything and everything the company does to fix that toxic workplace we heard about in 2020, which led to some changes and more recently to arrests — it’s all on her. Sounds like a monster job.
[staticctf.ubisoft.com]
I can’t get enough of ad agency creative Dustin Ballard’s AI hijinks: he made The Red Hot Chili Peppers sing a grocery list, turned Lil Jon’s “Get Low” into a time-honored Christmas classic, and showed up a congressional hearing on AI. That’s just a taste.
Recently, he revealed the process — it starts with his own voice!
Every desktop GPU should ship with four of these unholy things.
(Backstory: In 2013, Valve disavowed its involvement in the Xi3 Piston, a small gaming PC that was supposedly going to be a Steam Machine but shipped with Windows 7 instead. From the beginning, it had “DP/HDMI” stamped on its I/O shield — how did we miss it?!?)
As Jimmy Kimmel said in his opening monologue for the Oscars, “When I went to see Killers of the Flower Moon, I had my mail forwarded to the theater.” If you’re sitting through a three-hour movie, nature may call at an inconvenient moment.
An app called RunPee can help: it alerts you to scenes that are not vital, lets you know how long you have, and summarizes what happened (so you don’t have to irritate your partner with “What did I miss?”). It also tells you if there are any end credit scenes so you can join the bathroom queue as soon as the film ends.
[RunPee]
The Wham Bam Cloud Personal Printer Sentry is a $29 gadget designed to protect your home if your printer catches fire, by exploding into a cloud of extinguishing powder if direct flame touches it for 2-3 seconds.
Most reputable 3D printers have thermal runaway detection; I don’t know if it works in practice; insert lp0 joke! Totally just bought one anyhow.
I wanted it to be February’s Button of the Month — partly because its big honking button has an incredible click and shoots out a monster jet of flame, partly because it triples as an alarm clock (!), and partly ‘cuz it hearkens back to Casio’s original invention: a finger ring for cigarettes.
Sadly, the Casio QL-10 seems rare. Last time one hit eBay, it sold for $499. Behold history through other people’s cameras in our gallery instead:
I missed its September launch, but Spotify can now auto-generate you a time-appropriate playlist based on your daily listening habits by searching for “Daylist.” Playlists even come with bizarre titles like “ska punch skateboarding tuesday morning.”
Another fun hidden Spotify feature? Search for a number + BPM to generate a playlist of songs at a specific speed. Handy if you’re trying to run with a specific cadence (aka steps-per-minute).
Remember the a capella group that did the scary-good Windows and iPhone sound effects? They... never stopped, and somehow I’m just learning about it today.
Here are MayTree’s incredible renditions of Street Fighter II, Sonic the Hedgehog, PS1-PS4 startup sounds, Animal Crossing, a Persona 5 vid from just a few weeks ago... heck, here’s their entire “game & effect” YouTube playlist. I am now a subscriber.
It’s called the Heat It, and apparently it can work! Not that you need an app-based gadget like this; apparently standalone heat pens are an entire category of bug bite remedy. There are also suction-based sting removers — though some reviews suggest those work best if you notice the bite immediately.
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TIL the Spotify mobile app allows you to play a unique version of the iconic Snake game that munches through the cover art for every song on a playlist of your choosing. Just head into the settings (the three dots) and tap on “eat this playlist.”
I’ve set myself a challenge to complete all my personal playlists without dying. It’s going poorly.
Today I learned there’s a piano-playing animatronic puppet that’s been roaming around San Francisco serenading the locals with Vanessa Carlton’s hit single A Thousand Miles.
Aerospace engineer Ben Howard used iPhone lipsync recordings and a former autonomous food delivery robot to create the project. Carlton herself says that he nailed recreating the fishtail braids she was rocking back in 2002.
People have been DIYing this for years, but it looks like Amazon just started stocking bespoke tool battery adapters in 2022! Friend of mine says his Dyson V6 one works great and — importantly — has low voltage cutoff when installed. (DeWalt famously puts protection in the tool, not the battery.)
Just bought one. If I brick a battery, I’ll let you know!
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How many? How fast? How much do they cost, and who foots the bill? How much electricity do they require? How do we plant them under the sea, and how quickly, with what challenges? How thick are they, and how vulnerable?
Stephen Shankland’s CNET feature has so many of the fascinating answers. I’ll spoil one: “At any given moment, more than 10 cables are typically cut around the world.”
Today I learned about Ventoy, which makes an entire USB drive bootable — then, you just drag and drop ISOs to it!
I now have Win 11, Win 10, Arch Linux and HoloISO on a single stick, which shows up as a single drive with plenty of space for regular files, too. I might never use the dependable Rufus again.
The story of a hometown hero who brought Kurdish to Google Translate has a darker narrative lurking beneath: Google apparently doesn’t pay its hardest-working translators.
Not even the poverty wages it pays those who “rate” search results. Not even when translators add an entire language to Alphabet’s private vault! Volunteers are seen as “a proxy for what a paid rater can do,” a former Google Translate engineer admits.
Even if you measure it like a TV, it’s just over half an inch. Misleading much? In fact, you’d need an APS-C or larger sensor to stretch to an inch diagonally — and only full-frame and medium format sensors are more than an inch wide.
[DPReview]
That comes directly from p. 24 of Tesla’s Model S Emergency Response Guide (PDF), and it’s not just theoretical; fire crews needed four trucks and 6,000 gallons to put one out near Sacramento this weekend. Many fire engines carry less than 1,000 gallons each, and no, they can’t just use foam to smother the fire instead.
