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Alexa von Tobel has high hopes for ‘fintech 3.0’

It’s been 10 years since Alexa von Tobel sold her financial planning startup Learnvest to Northwestern Mutual for $250 million. Since then, von Tobel became Northwestern Mutual’s first chief digital officer, then chief innovation officer, before launching an early-stage venture firm of her own, Inspired Capital, with former U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. She’s also a New York Times bestelling author, and she’s about to launch a new interview podcast, “Inspired with Alexa von Tobel.”

5 reasons why buying the latest flagship is not always a good idea

C. Scott Brown / Android Authority That brand new flagship phone you have your eyes on sure does look appealing, doesn’t it? It’s often touted as the best on offer, featuring the fastest chipset, cameras that can perform miracles in all lighting conditions, and a design that turns heads. But don’t let your emotions run the show. Take a step back, relax, and truly consider whether you need it before you reach for your wallet. Chances are, buying the latest flagship might be a mistake. Here are

Neanderthals Spread Across Asia With Surprising Speed—and Now We Know How

Neanderthals and modern humans split from a common ancestor around 500,000 years ago, with Neanderthals leaving Africa for Europe and Asia long before modern humans joined them hundreds of thousands of years later. There, Neanderthals dispersed as far as Spain and Siberia. Our prehistoric cousins likely first reached Asia around 190,000 to 130,000 years ago, with another substantial migration to Central and Eastern Eurasia likely between 120,000 and 60,000 years ago. But how did they get there?

How a Cyberattack at a Company You've Never Heard of Nearly Derailed My Anniversary Carrot Cake

Every year since we got married, my husband and I have celebrated our anniversary with a carrot cake. Some years it was from the amazing bakery in our old neighborhood, while others it was a questionably fresh effort picked up at a train station shop on the way home from the office, but often I would bake my own. The funny thing is, neither of us really likes carrot cake. It just somehow ended up being the top layer of our wedding cake, so we have one every year. That's tradition for you. This

Mel Brooks is returning for Spaceballs 2

is a news editor covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme. Spaceballs, which was first released nearly 40 years ago, is getting a sequel in 2027 from Amazon MGM Studios. A Spaceballs 2 announcement trailer posted Thursday doesn’t have any solid details besides the date, though it does poke fun at the entertainment industry’s obsession with franchises and spinoffs by listing many of them out. (I particularly liked “DCU attempt Number

The best budget smartphone you can buy

is a reviewer with 10 years of experience writing about consumer tech. She has a special interest in mobile photography and telecom. Previously, she worked at DPReview. Some of us take a kind of “I eat to live” rather than an “I live to eat” approach to gadgets. They’re tools that help you get things done, not something you want to invest a lot of time or money in. If that’s you — and there’s no judgment here from a certifiable gadget nerd — then you can probably think of more worthwhile ways t

USDOT wants more self-driving cars without pedals or steering wheels

is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State. The US Department of Transportation wants to make it easier for automakers and tech companies to deploy self-driving cars without traditional controls like steering wheels and pedals. In a letter sent to stakeholders, the department said it would streamline reviews of requests for exemptions from safety rules requiring vehi

Oracle shares pop 13% to record high on earnings beat, cloud optimism

Larry Ellison, Oracle's co-founder, chief technology officer and chairman, at right, and U.S. President Donald Trump share a laugh as Ellison uses a stool to stand on as he speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. Trump announced an investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and took questions on a range of topics including his presidential pardons of Jan. 6 defendants, the war in Ukraine, cryptocurrencies and other t

Chime pops 37% in Nasdaq debut after pricing IPO above expected range

CEO of Chime, Chris Britt, center right, rings the opening bell during the company's initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite on June 12, 2025 in New York City. Chime shares jumped 37% in their Nasdaq debut on Thursday after the provider of online banking services sold shares in an IPO that valued the company at $11.6 billion. Late Wednesday, Chime raised about $700 million in its offering, and existing investors sold an additional $165 million worth of shares. The stock, trading under

Chime opens at $43 in Nasdaq debut after pricing IPO above expected range

CEO of Chime, Chris Britt, center right, rings the opening bell during the company's initial public offering at the Nasdaq MarketSite on June 12, 2025 in New York City. Chime opened at $43 in its Nasdaq debut on Thursday after selling shares at $27 each in an IPO that valued the online banking company at $11.6 billion. Late Wednesday, Chime raised about $700 million in its offering, and existing investors sold an additional $165 million worth of shares. The stock is trading under the ticker sy

Oracle shares pop 15% to record high on earnings beat, cloud optimism

Larry Ellison, Oracle's co-founder, chief technology officer and chairman, at right, and U.S. President Donald Trump share a laugh as Ellison uses a stool to stand on as he speaks during a news conference in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Jan. 21, 2025. Trump announced an investment in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and took questions on a range of topics including his presidential pardons of Jan. 6 defendants, the war in Ukraine, cryptocurrencies and other t

U.S. online stores put 'out of stock' signs as Nintendo Switch 2 sales hit record highs

Nintendo Switch 2 controllers are displayed during at the Nintendo New York store on June 4, 2025, for a launch event ahead of the video game hybrid console's midnight release. Nintendo sold more than 3.5 million units of its flagship Switch 2 gaming system in the four days following its launch, with online stores of major U.S. retailers putting up "out of stock" signs. The record-breaking start for the company's first new console in eight years, puts Nintendo on the path to realizing its aim

Why is it called iOS 26? What happened to iOS 19 for iPhone

So, Apple just held its annual WWDC conference where it announces all the new software for the next year. And the company proudly announced the next version of iOS for the iPhone, iOS 26. If you have an iPhone model newer than the XS, you will be able to update to iOS 26 for free later this year. But the current version number of iOS is iOS 18. So what happened to iOS 19? Why did Apple jump to 26? The simple reason is that OS version numbers are based on marketing rather than hard science, and

Topics: 26 apple ios iphone year

Apple categorically denies Siri vaporware claims, and offers a better explanation [Video]

Siri got lots of airtime at last year's WWDC – but not this year There’s no denying that Apple made a major mis-step when it showed off impressive new Siri features during last year’s WWDC, before doubling-down in an iPhone 16 ad. The company was forced to delete the ad and walk back the timing. That led even the most upbeat of Apple commenters to criticize the company for showing off “vaporware,” implying that the demos had been faked. But two Apple execs have now categorically denied this, a

Topics: apple new real siri year

Block shares plunge 18%, for worst day on market in 5 years after earnings miss

Block shares plunged 18% on Friday, their steepest drop since 2020, after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed estimates and issued guidance for 2025 that failed to reassure investors. In its financial report late Thursday, Block reported earnings of 71 cents per share, falling short of the average analyst estimate of 87 cents, according to LSEG. Revenue of $6.03 billion also missed expectations of $6.29 billion. The company posted $2.31 billion in gross profit for the quart

Meta approves massive bonuses for executives after broad layoffs

Meta has offered up a lucrative new executive bonus plan, according to a company filing released Thursday . Under the new plan, executives could earn a yearly bonus of 200 percent of their base salary, which is up from 75 percent. This comes just after Meta announced sweeping layoffs impacting five percent of its workforce . A committee for Meta’s board of directors approved the change on February 13, on the grounds that the “target total cash compensation” for its executives “was at or below t

20 years working on the same software product

I released version 1 of my table seating planning software, PerfectTablePlan, in February 2005. 20 years ago this month. It was a different world. A world of Windows, shareware and CDs. A lot has changed since then, but PerfectTablePlan is now at version 7 and still going strong. PerfectTablePlan v1 PerfectTablePlan v7 I have released several other products since then, and done some training and consulting, but PerfectTablePlan remains my most successful product. It’s success is due to a lot

Report: OpenAI plans to shift compute needs from Microsoft to SoftBank

In Brief OpenAI is forecasting a major shift in the next five years around who it gets most of its computing power from, The Information reported on Friday. By 2030, OpenAI expects to get three-quarters of its data center capacity from Stargate, a project that’s expected to be heavily financed by SoftBank, one of OpenAI’s newest financial backers. That represents a major shift away from Microsoft, OpenAI’s biggest shareholder, who fulfills most of the startup’s power needs today. The change w

Block shares plunge 17%, head for worst day in 5 years after earnings miss

Block shares plunged 16% on Friday and headed for their steepest drop since 2020 after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that missed estimates and issued guidance for 2025 that failed to reassure investors. In its financial report late Thursday, Block reported earnings of 71 cents per share, falling short of the average analyst estimate of 87 cents, according to LSEG. Revenue of $6.03 billion also missed expectations of $6.29 billion. The company posted $2.31 billion in gross profit

Sony’s next Xperia flagship could go all out with not one, not two, but three Exmor T sensors

Alex Walker-Todd / Android Authority TL;DR A rumor claims the Xperia 1 VII will use Exmor T sensors for all three rear cameras. Last year’s model only had an Exmor T sensor for the main camera. The Exmor T sensors could reduce noise in low-light shots and improve dynamic range. Last year’s Xperia 1 VI did little to improve the rear camera situation from the previous year. The hardware was largely identical to the Xperia V, but with some quality-of-life improvements. But a new rumor suggests

Tech pioneer who accelerated internet speeds receives prestigious IEEE Medal

"Today, I don't know anybody who can say they know what artificial intelligence is going to bring us in five years, let alone one year or two years," says Henry Samueli, a pioneer in digital modem technology and recipient of the IEEE's 2025 Medal of Honor. Tiernan Ray/ZDNET In the early days of the consumer internet, most access was via a dial-up modem, a device hooked up to a phone line that transmitted requests for web pages via squeaks and squawks like someone yelling into the line. Also: M

DC Is Relaunching Batman for Only the Fourth Time in Almost 85 Years

A Batman #1 doesn’t come along very often. Well, unless you’ve been reading comics for the past 15 years, in which case, it’s come along a couple times already. Modern comic books! But even then, in what is about to be eight-and-a-half-decades of Batman that’s still not a lot of relaunches–and DC is going all-in to make this fourth one stand out. Last night at ComicsPro DC confirmed that the fourth-ever relaunch of the primary, solo Batman book (there are of course, dozens upon dozens upon doze

Topics: batman bruce dc new years

EV battery manufacturing capacity will rise when 10 plants come online this year

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy, and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. Ten new electric vehicle battery factories are on track to go online this year in the United States. This includes large plants from global battery giants such as Panasonic, Samsung, and SK On, and automakers such as Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Stellantis, and Toyota. If they all open in 2025, the country’s EV batte

Meta approves plan for bigger executive bonuses following 5% layoffs

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, on Sept. 25, 2024. Executives at Meta stand to get bigger bonuses this year. The company said in a corporate filing Thursday that it had approved "an increase in the target bonus percentage" for its annual bonus plan for executives. Meta's named executive officers could earn a bonus of 200% of their base salary under the new plan, up from the 75% they earned previously, according to the filing. The updated b

The best VPN services of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

Virtual private networks (VPNs) encrypt your data and hide your IP address. But there is far more to VPNs than that: they are essential tools to stop others from spying on your online activities, and they can help protect your sensitive information from theft. A VPN is vital when you are traveling or when you have to use public Wi-Fi networks. They forge an encrypted tunnel between your device and the service you are trying to access, which can prevent eavesdropping and stop you from being so e

There’s a new Avatar: The Last Airbender cartoon coming to Nickelodeon

It’s been ten long years since Avatar: The Legend of Korra aired its final episode and over 15 years since Avatar: The Last Airbender bowed out. Now, finally, Nickelodeon has greenlit a sequel series and it sounds pretty awesome. Deadline reports that Avatar: Seven Havens will be a 2D animated 26-episode followup that chronicles the rise of the next Avatar after Korra. Franchise creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are developing the series, so we know it's in good hands. The plot sou

Rivian reports first quarter of ‘positive gross profit’

is transportation editor with 10+ years of experience who covers EVs, public transportation, and aviation. His work has appeared in The New York Daily News and City & State. Rivian announced a significant milestone today, reporting its first “positive gross profit” in its fourth quarter earnings for 2024. It was a sign that the struggling company’s efforts to slash costs through the gut overhaul of its R1 electric vehicles is starting to yield some positive results. But dark clouds loom ahead,

Tesla to test virtual queues at Supercharging locations

Road rage has been around for a while. A newer phenomenon that’s cropping up is EV charging rage — the feeling when a fellow EV owner cuts the line to grab one of the only working charge ports. It’s common enough that people posted altercations between EV drivers on social media and forums. In at least one case, the EV charging rage turned deadly. In response to this rage, and specifically to a fight that broke out at a packed Supercharger station, Tesla announced in a post on X this week it w

Topics: ev post rage tesla year

PlayStation 6 likely to launch in 2028, says former Sony exec

Forward-looking: Now that the PlayStation 5 Pro is here, attention is turning toward Sony's next generation of its console, the PlayStation 6. There's been plenty of speculation about when it will arrive, and according to Shuhei Yoshida, the former Sony exec who was head of SIE Worldwide Studios, we could be waiting until 2028. Yoshida worked at Sony for 38 years, 31 of which were spent at PlayStation. After leaving the company on January 15, 2025, he gave a lengthy interview to GamesBeat. Amo

AI cracks superbug problem in two days that took scientists years

AI cracks superbug problem in two days that took scientists years Cases of tuberculosis (pictured) have increased in the UK and worldwide as the disease increases its resistance to antibiotics A complex problem that took microbiologists a decade to get to the bottom of has been solved in just two days by a new artificial intelligence (AI) tool. Professor José R Penadés and his team at Imperial College London had spent years working out and proving why some superbugs are immune to antibiotics.