Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge After its foray into headphones, the next major new product category from Sonos is rumored to be a video streaming box similar to a Roku, Amazon Fire TV, or Apple TV. Such a device has been rumored for ages now, with Bloomberg previously reporting that its price is expected to fall between $150 and $200. And today we got confirmation (or at least something close to it) that the Sonos streamer will run an operating system built by The Trade Desk, a digital advertising business. Janko Roettgers first reported on a partnership between the two back in September, noting that The Trade Desk is “supplying Sonos with the core smart TV OS, and facilitating deals with app publishers, while Sonos is designing its own hardware, and customizing the... Continue reading…

Image: Meta Meta has announced that it’s adding HD video calling and noise suppression to its Messenger app, along with several other features like AI backgrounds that help bring it up to par with other popular smartphone video calling apps. HD video calling is enabled by default on Wi-Fi but can be turned on for calls using your cell data plan in the “Call settings” menu. You’ll also find options to adjust noise cancellation or switch your call’s audio output. Meta says it’s giving users the ability to leave voice or video messages as well. Image: Meta Messenger now has AI-generated backgrounds. Apps like Google Meet, Zoom, and FaceTime have all had these features already, and for many years in some cases. The same goes... Continue reading…

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Microsoft has been trying to convince Windows 10 users to upgrade to Windows 11 for months now, ahead of the end of support date for Windows 10 in October, 2025. Earlier this year, Microsoft started using fullscreen prompts to warn Windows 10 users about the support cutoff, and now it’s using similar prompts to try and tempt people to buy a new Windows 11 PC instead. Over the weekend some Windows 10 users have noticed these new fullscreen prompts, and Microsoft is using them to suggest you can “do more with a new Windows 11 PC” or “level up to the new Copilot Plus PCs” to get “the ultimate Windows 11 experience.” Like the prompts earlier this year, the read more link goes to a promotional site that includes links to new Windows 11 PCs. M... Continue reading…

I've told readers on more than one occasion that I ditched Google Search. It started with the iPhone, where I set DuckDuckGo as my default search engine years ago. After beta testing the Google Search alternative, I took the plunge for my desktop browsers and switched away from Google there, too. Now that I also have ChatGPT Search, I've got nearly all my bases covered. But the more I used alternatives, the more I realized there was one key Google Search feature I started missing—a key feature I had taken for granted all these years. That's the business information that Google Search displays prominently at the top of relevant searches, including store hours. It turns out that's the kind of information I really need in my search experience. Still, I didn't go back to Google Search as my main search engine. Instead, I've started relying on a different Google product that I actually still enjoy using. I'm talking about Google Maps, which displays business information for any company you might need. Google Maps shows the opening and closing times for stores, restaurants, and businesses I might consider visiting. Continue reading... The post After ditching Google, I found a way to get the one Search feature I’ve been missing appeared first on BGR. Today's Top Deals Best Apple deals for November 2024 Best deals: Tech, laptops, TVs, and more sales Today’s deals: $369 Apple Watch Series 10, $449 Google Pixel 8, $200 off Narwal Freo Z Ultra, more Exclusive deal: Buture VAC01 cordless vacuum has a massive 67% discount

The sistrum was one of the most sacred musical instruments in ancient Egypt and was believed to hold powerful magical properties. It was used in the worship of the goddess Hathor, mythological character of joy, festivity, fertility, eroticism and dance. It was also shaken to avert the flooding of the Nile and to frighten away Seth, the god of the desert, storms, disorder, and violence. Isis, in her role as mother and creator, was often depicted holding a pail symbolizing the inundation of the Nile in one hand, and the sistrum in the other hand. It was designed to produce the sound of the breeze hitting and blowing through papyrus reeds, but the symbolic value of the sistrum far exceeded its importance as a musical instrument. Hathor: Goddess of Joy and Motherhood Near the Nile Egyptian Elysium: Connecting the Realms of the Living and the Dead in the Greco-Roman Period Ancient Greek historian, Plutarch, speaks of the powerful role of the sistrum in his essay, “On Isis & Osiris”: “The sistrum makes it clear that all things in existence need to be shaken, or rattled about, and never to cease from motion but, as it were, to be woken up and agitated when they grow drowsy and torpid. They say that they avert and repel Typhon by means of the sistrums, indicating thereby that when destruction constricts and checks Nature, generation releases and arouses it by means of motion.” (Plutarch, Moralia, Book 5, “On Isis & Osiris,” section 63) Read moreSection: ArtifactsOther ArtifactsNewsMyths & LegendsAfricaRead Later 

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, called for President-elect Donald Trump's health administration appointees to face "extensive committee investigations" as part of the confirmation process, Axios reported.

The guilty conviction Wednesday of Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra for murdering Laken Riley on the University of Georgia's campus can hopefully "help bring some peace and closure to her wonderful family," President-elect Donald Trump said.

Louisiana's plan to make all of the state's public school classrooms post the Ten Commandments remains on hold under an order Wednesday by a federal appeals court in New Orleans.

U.S. — With Jose Ibarra now convicted of Laken Riley's murder, police warned that the three others responsible for her death still remained at large.

It's a dark time to be a progressive. But it's the Thanksgiving season, which means it's time to be thankful to whatever non-specific deity or power you believe in. Let's try to keep up that spirit of gratitude by reminding ourselves of these ten things libs can still be thankful for: